Compare and Contrast of Sylvia Plath and Sharon Olds

Sylvia Plath vs. Sharon Olds Katherine Waldman A traditional American household has changed throughout the years to the point where ‘traditional’ isn’t even politically correct to depict anything about a family anymore. But if we look back to the standard traditional household and there was always a father, a mother, and a 2.5 children. The father has always been designated as the head of the household and something that Sylvia Plath and Sharon Olds have in common is just that, that they grew up during a father-dominated time, in a father-dominated family, and this lifestyle is reflective in their poetry as well. â€Å"The Colossus† by Sylvia Plath is about the pain and hardships she experienced with her father’s death. Sylvia’s†¦show more content†¦With using these mythological gods as metaphors for the father’s we can take a step back and see how damaged these women were from their relationships. Olds’ had to deal with an alcoholic father, something that I know is not easy and what’s worse than alcoholism is what Plath had to go through, being completely ignored and neglected from your father and that wound will take longer to heal. Both poems come from terrible relationships from young women with their fathers. And again, this can go to show that no matter how absent a father may be from your life and how he might treat you, when you are part of a father dominating family structure, you cannot escape his influence on your life and these emotional damages will follow you forever. Works Cited Jonas, Shari. â€Å"The Effects of the Father Daughter Relationship on Self Esteem – From First Love to Self Love.† EzineArticles.com. 22 Apr. 2009. Web. 13 Nov. 2010. Olds, Sharon. Cheap. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. lt;http://b2bwise.blogspot.com/2002/04/saturn-by-sharon-olds-he-lay-on-couch.htmlgt;. The Colossus - A Poem by Sylvia Plath - American Poems. American Poems - YOUR Poetry Site. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. lt;http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/sylviaplath/1441gt;. A Celebration, This Is - Www.sylviaplath.info. Web. 15 Dec. 2011.Show MoreRelatedBusiness and Management2600 Words   |  11 Pages | | | | |The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, T. S. Eliot (pp.199-203) | | | | |Daddy, Sylvia Plath (pp. 524-526) | | | | |Before the Mirror, John Updike (pp. 564-565) |