Robert,
I think that a poem needs to be judged as a poem, and not as a historical document. Whether Plath was being fair to her father or not is beside the point. For you, the allusions to the death camps are outrageous. I assume that she was trying to be outrageous, and for me the metaphors worked powerfully. I don't think that any subjects should be set aside just because one cannot do justice to them. It is in the nature of death camps that no one can do justice to them. But I think that everyone has an obligation to remember them, and if poetry, which is the most moving kind of language, does not even make the effort, all humanity is the poorer.
Susan
|