Missing ‘Love’ In “Say You Love Me” Molly Peacock replays a particular incident from her childhood in her point of view with diction and simile to create imagery. She speaks about a time, when her father was intoxicated and when he abused her. The father violently asked her whether she loved him or not. Her younger sister was home, but she could not help because she feared his strength and demeanor. Although, the three family members were at home, a feeling of loneliness struck them all. Peacock tries to convey this frightening scenario to acknowledge that children and women are vulnerable to a man’s strength. Also, she reveals how the people who are being abused may feel in this type of situation. Her audience includes children and
He’s acting like a baby whose cries without the thoughts of others; the alcohol freeing him of his adult facade. His face is filled with tears mimicking that of a baby. Although, he’s old, his skin is peeling off revealing this baby inside of him. He’s lost and doesn’t know what to do. All three imageries connect and reveal a man whose monstrous, scary, and hysterical, but inside, he’s feeling helpless and unloved.
The irony of this poem, depicted by the diction and imageries, is the loneliness. The father, sister, and Peacock are home together. The poem also indicates that the mother will come home after work. The phone symbolizes the outside world in this poem, but for all of them, it will never ring. “The phone was not ringing” (43-44) was the line that the father spoke. It expresses the hope that there can be salvation for him and the family, but it did not happen. There’s “no world out there” (44), therefore no one can call and she cannot call anyone. Consumed by all their fears, the family encapsulated themselves in their own imaginary world. In reality, they are not physically alone nor are they isolated by the outside world. The father fears of being unloved uses alcohol to lose himself and escape of reality. Peacock and her sister are imprisoned to their own fears of their father and the hatred they feel. Everyone cannot see light, the help of the world outside of their fears, sadness, and hatred. They are “completely