Essay about Sylvia Plath - 1185 Words

Sylvia Plath This line is from Sylvia Plaths poem Lady Lazarus, one of many that helped make her an icon of modern American poetry. They have an eerie, prophetic quality, seeming to foreshadow the tragic death of this young writer. Understanding Sylvia Plaths words require a closer look at both her life and a few of her works. Though critics have described her writing as governed by negative vitalism, her distinct individuality has made her a conversation piece among those familiar with her. (Pollitt 338) However, it is not negative vitalism that controls her writing, but simply her approach to dealing with her feelings. She writes from her experiences, she writes from her soul. Sylvia Plaths poems reflect the†¦show more content†¦In the summer of 1953, she hid herself in a hole in her cellar after overdosing on sleeping pills but was found and saved. After a hospitalization, she was given electroshock treatments and psychotherapy and released to go back to school for a successful last year. She won many prizes and publications and even a scholarship to the University of Cambridge. At Cambridge she met Ted Hughes, an English poet who later became her husband in 1956. They moved to Boston a year later and Plath became an instructor at Smith. After a series of failed attempts to publish poetry books, the couple moved back to England where they had their children, Freida and Nicholas. However, Plaths medical problems and miscarriage left her distraught. Finally, her book of poetry, The Colossus and Other Poems (1960) was accepted and published by William Heinemann Limited. Also, she received a Eugene F. Faxton Fellowship to complete the novel she had begun about her nervous breakdown called The Belljar, Which happened to be published under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas, due to Plaths insecurities. (Magnusson 1170) Unfortunately, her marriage was deteriorating, and her husband was having an affair. She and Ted separated in 1962. During the time between her separation and her suicide in 1963, she was extremely depressed and often ill from the cold and draughty apartment where she and her children lived. With no telephone and frozen pipes, herShow MoreRelatedSylvia Plath836 Words   |  4 Pages Sylvia Plath is said to be one the most prodigious, yet interesting, confessional poets of her time. She was an extremely vital poet of the post-World War II time period and expressed her feelings towards her father and husband through her poetry. Plath’s mental illness had a dramatic influence upon her work in which she demonstrated the hatred she had for her father specifically. The poem â€Å"Daddy† is an easily applicable example. Within this piece of work, Plath uses direct references to howRead More`` Daddy `` By Sylvia Plath1013 Words   |  5 Pages In Sylvia Plath’s poem, â€Å"Daddy†, she shows her emotions for her father, Otto Plath. Sylvia Plath lost her father at eight years old when she still had much love for him (Famous People â€Å"Biography†). After a number of years, hatred is built up inside of Sylvia towards her father. When her father first died, she loved him and she grieved over her father’s death. After years of confusion, she eventually decided and wrote, â€Å"Daddy, Daddy, you bastard, I’m through† (Line 80). In â€Å"Daddy† by Sylvia PlathRead MoreEssay On Sylvia Plath1607 Words   |  7 Pageshas to offer. Sylvia Plath was a confessional poet, using her personal experiences and very real situations to give â€Å"negative† emotions the artistic charm and characteristics traditionally saved for â€Å"positive† emotions. Her father died in her eighth year of life, and although this event tormented her until her own death, time went on. She married Ted Hughes, the two of them encouraging each other’s careers as much as they could, but still there was tension between them. It was when Plath learnt of her Read MoreBiography of Sylvia Plath942 Words   |  4 Pagestwentieth century, Sylvia Plath was highly esteemed by fans and fellow writers alike. Sylvia Plath’s parents, Aurelia Schober and Otto Plath, had met when Aurelia became Otto’s student at Boston University. Otto was a biology professor with an infatuation with bees; he had even published a book titled Bumblebees and their ways. Otto and Aurelia married in January of 1932, and by October of the same year Aurelia gave birth in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts to a daughter, Sylvia. Sylvia spent her childhoodRead More Sylvia Plath Essay2106 Words   |  9 Pages Sylvia Plath was a gifted writer, poet and verbal artist whose personal anguish and torment visibly manifested itself in her work. Much of her angst stems from her warped relationship with her father. Other factors that influenced her works were her strained views of human sexuality, her sado-masochistic tendencies, self-hatred and her traditional upbringing. She was labeled as a confessional poet and biographical and historical material is absolutely necessary to understand her work. SylivaRead More Sylvia Plath Essay1700 Words   |  7 Pages Sylvia Plath was a troubled writer to say the least, not only did she endure the loss of her father a young age but she later on â€Å"attempted suicide at her home and was hospitalized, where she underwent psychiatric treatment† for her depression (Dunn). Writing primarily as a poet, she only ever wrote a single novel, The Bell Jar. This fictional autobiography â€Å"[chronicles] the circumstances of her mental collapse and subsequent suicide attempt† but from the viewpoint of the fictional protagonistRead MoreThe Life Of Sylvia Plath Essay1313 Words   |  6 PagesThe Life of Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath was a very dedicated author who lived from 1932-1963. She is best known for her poetry. Plath started writing and was a published poet at a very young age. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Plath’s first poem was published when she was eight years old. â€Å"Plath’s poems explore her own mental anguish, her troubled marriage to fellow poet Ted Hughes, her unresolved conflicts with her parents, and her own vision of herself†(Poetry Foundation). Plath was a devotedRead MoreBiography of Sylvia Plath1452 Words   |  6 PagesCritical Analysis Sylvia Plath, a great American author, focuses mostly on actual experiences. Plath’s poetry displays feelings and emotions. Plath had the ability to transform everyday happenings into poems or diary entries. Plath had a passion for poetry and her work was valued. She was inspired by novelists and her own skills. Her poetry was also very important to readers and critics. Sylvia Plath’s work shows change throughout her lifetime, relates to feelings and emotions, and focuses on dayRead MoreThe Poetry of Sylvia Plath734 Words   |  3 PagesSylvia Plaths poetry roots from her harsh life long battle with heart break, death, and depression. It is clear by her work, that life was a daily struggle for this poet. In the research of her poetry, i found one poem in particular that really interested me. My main focus was the poem Mirror. The narrator of this poem is a wall mirror. At first glance, the mirror appears to be human, based off of its qualities and descriptions. The m irror has the ability to recognize things, such as the smallRead MoreMirror by Sylvia Plath817 Words   |  3 PagesSylvia Plaths poem, Mirror,† represents the disturbed self of the woman, The mirror signifies the unsympathetic male view of a woman and what is socially expected of her: having a flawless beauty and perpetual youth. As the persona ages over the years, the mirror maliciously reflects the alterations in her appearance. Age becomes the persona’s flaw and inadequacy and consequently her foundation of anxiety and alarm. The mirror projects what is thought of the woman as she grows older. It claims