Ted Hughes - 'Daffodils'

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  • Daffodils
    • Written in free verse form - makes the poem feel conversational and personal to the reader.
    • Use of direct address with interrogatives and pronoun "you" feels as if poet conversing directly with Plath. Use of parentheses even feels like a comment made only to Plath and the reader can feel intrusive.
    • Repetitive use of personal pronoun "we" emphasises bond between Plath and Hughes that this memory recalls.
    • Connotations of daffodils themselves - spring, new life - contrast with sombre underlying meaning of the poem which is that all of this happiness was interrupted by Plath's death. Life v. Death encapsulated in flowers.
    • Final image of "wide open" wedding scissors, that represent Plath + Hughes' relationship, represents the poets potential feelings that relationship was ended abruptly and left open.
      • Despite this being a sombre end to the poem, the image of the anchor is connotes that the memory of Plath is anchored within Hughes, quite a solid and powerful image. Resonant ending.
    • Rather random line numbers in stanzas mirrors poets inability to collect and make sense of these memories, alludes to emotional affects of loss on poet.
    • Poetic significance of daffodils?

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