The childlike nature of the speaker underscores the authenticity of said remorse. The childlike nature itself is emphasized in several ways, not the least of which is the very scheme that got her into trouble in the first place: Trying to replace her father and marry him rather than actually dealing with and getting over his death. This primitive coping mechanism brings to mind a child who makes up imaginary friends when she lacks them in reality. Another example of the speaker's childish nature was brought up by Alvarez, who pointed out the repetitive "oo" sound echoing throughout the poem, especially in lines like, "Brute heart of a brute like you" (line 50), in which the immediately harsh message is softened by the "oo" sounds. The epitome of this tenderness which is woven into the poem's word structure comes when the speaker lovingly says, "Daddy, you can lie back now" (line 75). Although it is followed by more shocking and hateful imagery, it is all the more significant, then, that the line in question is separated from this imagery by a break. Alvarez's statement that "Daddy is a love poem" (471) is not entirely true, as he based that statement on the contention that the pity in the poem was "for the person who made her suffer" (471), which would be the husband. However, he is correct in recognizing the underlying tenderness and love that exists beneath the obvious surface layers of resentment and animosity.

contrasts sharply with the mood set in the first half of the poem. The speaker briefly describes her suicide attempt at the age of 20, confessing the reasoning behind such a course of action: "At twenty I tried to die/ And get back, back, back to you" (lines 58-59). This does not strike me as something someone would do for someone she hated; as far as we can tell, the speaker's father himself has committed no crimes agains

Some topics in this essay:
Judith Kroll, Hughes Plath's, Jews Nazis, , Hughes Daddy, Ted Hughes, father's death, ted hughes, childlike nature, half poem,