Sylvia Plath's Daddy: A Feminist Stylistic Analysis Using Sara Mills’ Framework

This paper uses Sara Mills’ (1995) feminist stylistic methodology to analyze Sylvia Plath's poem Daddy (1962) in order to investigate how language and style build and deconstruct patriarchal power. In the model of feminist stylistics proposed by Mills’ (1995), using the qualitative method, this research works with the poem itself as the primary data. Close reading is conducted to locate linguistic features, including narrative voice, pronoun usage, metaphors, and transitivity, that encode gendered power relations. The analysis reveals that Plath's stylistic devices (repetition, metaphor, diction) are used purposefully to evoke patriarchal oppression and resistance on the part of the speaker. By integrating textual detail with socio-historical feminist context, the study demonstrates how Mills’ (1995) model reveals the dual role of poetic language as both a medium of oppression and a site of resistance. Finally, a feminist stylistic reading brings to the fore Daddy as a strong critique of gender inequality and demonstrates how Plath's language performs feminist resistance.