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Summary ‘To my father who died’ (Dawn Garisch)
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‘To my father who died’ (Dawn Garisch)
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To my father who died1
Summary: This piece begins with a speaker sitting along a
shore. Suddenly, she finds the soul of her father emerging
Dawn Garisch from the sea, and he tries to visualize the sea again through
her eyes. He takes a long look at the wash, unsure of where
to cast his eyes. Then, he scans for the depths where he can
plunge again as a fish.
The title says “To my father” as a note or present would, and is not
addressing the father directly, as the poem does with the pronoun
“you”. The title is for the reader, who is invited to read what she wrote
to her father. The last two words, “who died”, make the reader
consider the circumstances closely: how can a note be addressed to
someone who is already dead? The poem has actually been written
for the daughter, the speaker/poet herself, who is trying to understand
her father and his relationship or lack thereof with her. Addressing him
directly in the poem itself is a device to bring him closer to her, while
we know he is dead because the title tells us this before we even read
the poem.
, 2
The poet addresses her deceased father directly
through the use of the preposition “To”
Personification
Gives the sea a human quality of breath to the sea and this
image contrast directly with the deceased father.
Alliteration
To serve as reminders of the distant
rather that shared experiences of
her upbringing.
Simile
The understanding of the relationship with
the speaker’s father.
The simile suggest neglect – the child is
“washed up”. Once the value minerals
have been extracted, all that remains for
a driver are “shells/ and other flotsam
fragments” which creates an impression of
isolation and neglect in the relationship
between the speaker and her father.
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