Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Sylvia Plath's "Full Fathom Five" dives into a haunting portrayal of the sea as an emblematic figure of the father, painting the ocean as a mysterious, alluring, and even perilous entity. The title itself evokes Shakespearean undertones, notably from "The Tempest," where "Full fathom five thy father lies" speaks of a father's mysterious depths, opening up the possibility of considering the ocean as a paternal metaphor. It presents the sea as both an inexhaustible source of mystery and as an entity intimately associated with the concept of fatherhood.

The poem begins with a direct address to the "Old man," which may well refer to the father figure or a god-like figure symbolized by the sea. The line "you surface seldom" immediately establishes an emotional distance and scarcity of appearances. Plath then continues the metaphor with, "Then you come in with the tide's coming / When seas wash cold, foam-" imbuing the image of the father with nature's unpredictable rhythms, aligned with tides that are cold and remote.

As the lines unfold, Plath intricately weaves together natural imagery and personal reflections. The "white hair, white beard" evokes the image of a traditional father figure, while the description of this figure as "far-flung" and like a "dragnet, rising, falling, as waves / Crest and trough" introduces the themes of flux and instability. This fluctuating, unpredictable nature of the father figure makes him difficult to understand or even 'fathom,' reinforcing the theme of emotional and perhaps intellectual distance.

Moreover, Plath delves into the mystical aspects of this sea-father figure: "The old myth of origins / Unimaginable." This line portrays the ocean, and by extension the father, as a primordial force beyond human comprehension. This elusiveness elevates him to an almost divine status but also contributes to his "dangers," which the speaker acknowledges without fully understanding.

The poem navigates through the emotional landscape of absence and loss, symbolized by "muddy rumors / Of your burial." The father figure's "reappearance" defies these rumors, yet his form suffers some "strange injury" and "seems to die," conveying the temporal and vulnerable aspects of fatherhood and perhaps humanity at large.

As the speaker mentions the "archaic trenched lines / Of your grained face," time becomes another character in the poem. The father figure, like the sea, bears the marks of countless years, his experiences recorded in "unbeaten channels / Of the ocean." Yet, even as "Ages beat like rains," he defies decay, embodying "sage humor and / Durance" that can erode even "the groundwork of the earth and the sky's ridgepole."

Towards the end, the speaker mentions walking "dry on your kingdom's border / Exiled to no good," expressing a sense of emotional exile, distanced from the father's inexplicable world. The poignant lines, "Father, this thick air is murderous. / I would breathe water," culminate in a desperate yearning for a return to the elemental, a wish to be submerged in the unfathomable depths of the father's oceanic realm, to understand and be close to him, even at the risk of drowning.

"Full Fathom Five" is a poignant exploration of the complexities of father-daughter relationships, rendered through the grand metaphor of the sea. It captures the contradictory emotions of awe, yearning, fear, and an intense desire for reconciliation. Plath's vivid imagery and keen emotional insights combine to form a rich tapestry of symbolism, making the poem a compelling journey into the depths of familial bonds and human vulnerability.

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