The Violence of The Queen of Spades Essay examples

The Violence of Plath’s Daddy Daddy is probably Plath’s most famous poem. The critic George Steiner has said that, It is a poem by which future generations will seek to know us. He has also called it, the Guernica of modern poetry. The violence of its imagery and tone, the references to concentration camps, torture and fascism certainly evoke Picasso’s most celebrated painting. Plath claimed that in this poem she was adopting the persona of a girl with an Electra complex whose father had been a fascist, but while the poem is not completely autobiographical, it contains several obvious references to her own life. For example, here she refers to the picture of her father: You stand at the blackboard, daddy, In the†¦show more content†¦In Colossus the dead father was tended as an idol but in Daddy he is metaphorically killed. Plath no longer seems possessed by the desperate need for security and protection which permeated the earlier poem. A comparison of the poems’ endings illustrate this point. Colossus ends on a note of empty despair, and we have the sense of the persona standing bereft and helpless before the memory of the dead: My hours are married to a shadow No longer do I listen for the scrape of a keel On the blank stones of the landing. In Daddy however, we have the sense of the persona in a triumphant, almost exalted state. This is reflected in the language which is no longer the traditional, restrained, poetic diction of the earlier poem but unstrained, slangy and free: Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through. In Colossus Plath remains in the classic, passive role of the female who mourns the dying god and sacrifices to the idol. She is still prostrating herself on the altar of masculinity and performing a traditional, feminine role. In Daddy, she breaks completely free from the victim position and from the power and influence of men. She appreciates what a victim she has been by referring to herself as a Jew, butShow MoreRelatedThe Irish Poetry and Postcolonialism2255 Words   |  10 Pages An example is his poem entitled Digging in which he talks about his past which is related to the past of Ireland. The beginning of the poem is a little bit violent, when the poet declares his powerful with the stanza snug as a gun, but this violence changes at the end the poem when author says: Between my finger and my thumb the squat pen rests Ill dig with it What the poet means it is that his weaponRead MoreThe Irish Poetry and Postcolonialism2261 Words   |  10 Pages An example is his poem entitled Digging in which he talks about his past which is related to the past of Ireland. The beginning of the poem is a little bit violent, when the poet declares his powerful with the stanza snug as a gun, but this violence changes at the end the poem when author says: Between my finger and my thumb the squat pen rests Ill dig with it What the poet means it is that his weaponRead MoreEssay on Analysis of Seamus Heaneys North3769 Words   |  16 Pagesa select body†. That this may be an admirable aim for a poet, and especially so for one writing against a background of ethnic violence, is not in doubt. It is, however, extremely difficult to remain neutral when one identifies oneself with an ethnic party involved in conflict. It is my intention, then, in this essay, to document how Seamus Heaney’s reaction to violence in his homeland has affected his writings, with particular reference to the volume of poetry entitled â€Å"North†. This volume firstRead MoreLiterature and Language10588 Words   |  43 Pagesamour against fate; Death lays his icy hand on kings; Sceptre and Crown Must tumble down And in the dust be equal made With the poor crooked Scythe and Spade. Here Sceptre and Crown represent kings and queens, while Scythe and Spade represent ordinary peasants and workers . Synecdoche A further kind of figurative language is SYNECDOCHE, which is usually classed as a type of metonymy. Synecdoche refers to using the name of part of anRead MoreIndian English Novel17483 Words   |  70 Pagesand remained aloof from the vital currents that were sweeping the country forward in the nineteenth century. The development of modern Assamese and Oriya, the two eastern neighbours of Bengali, was also late in coming and was preceded by valuable spade-work done by the Christian missions. Orissa too had recovered its homogeneous integrity and the intelligentsia in the regions was educated in Kolkata and carried back with them the impact of the literary resurgence in Bengal. Lakshmikanta BezbaruaRead MoreIgbo Dictionary129408 Words   |  518 Pagesback-hand): á »Å' nà  -à  chá »  ilÄ « aka Ä zá » ¥ He wants to take a bribe A. witness; surety: á »Å' bà ¹Ã¯â‚¬ ¥ onye aka ebÄ“ m He is my witness B. pledge: Kà   ife à   nà ²Ã¯â‚¬ ¥dá » ¥ n’ak a ebÄ“ Let this (thing) stand as a pledge left hand toothache A. stinginess B. rigid discipline C. force; violence right hand (e.g. some people cannot bear to inflict injury on other even in treatment, as in incision of abscess, injection, etc.) be stronger than (lit. hand to be greater than hand): I am stronger than he illicit gin (lit. made by hand) one’sRead MoreManagement Course: Mba−10 General Management215330 Words   |  862 Pageswhich it was nominated. This tied the record for the most Oscars ever earned by one motion picture. Such an achievement might seem unlikely for a producer/director whose film debut was titled Bad Taste, which it and subsequent works exemplified in spades. Peter Jackson made horror movies so grisly and revolting that his fans nicknamed him the â€Å"Sultan of Splatter.† Nonetheless, his talent was evident to discerning eyes—at least among horror film aficionados. Bad Taste was hailed as a cult classic at