Analysis Of Sylvia Plath

Joan D. Vinge once said, “We are all born with a unique genetic blueprint, which lays out the basic characteristics of our personality as well as our physical health and appearance... And yet, we all know that life experiences do change us.” In the short story, “Initiation,” by Sylvia Plath, Millicent, a teenage girl whom is being initiated into a high school sorority must go five days doing what their sorority big sister commands them to do. While being initiated, Millicent starts to realize that while being part of a group that she’s been longing to be apart of is great, being an individual and creating yourself makes you more unique than those who are part of a group. Having individuality allows you to be more free, and makes you more memorable to those around you.

In the short story “Initiation” by Sylvia Plath, the protagonist Millicent, a girl at Lansing High School is being tried as a member of an elite sorority. The girls must go through a week of being an older sister’s servant to be then tried on Friday at Rat Court. Only the most popular girls are accepted into the sorority. These popular girls are also the ones who get the most, popular boyfriends. Everything seems like a dream to Millicent except for the fact that her best friend Tracy wasn’t even considered. Although she wants to belong in the sorority, Millicent finds out that things might not be as perfect as they seem. In “Initiation” by Sylvia Plath, the author uses the point of view third person omniscient to allow the reader to

America stands as the most prominent nation of liberty and freedom for all, yet some people still feel the reins of America’s oppressive past. Those include young African Americans and women, who feel that society places unequal expectations on them, simply based on their gender or race. Two young, American writers, Sylvia Plath and Langston Hughes especially feel this way through their works, Sylvia Plath at Seventeen and Theme for English B. Plath and Hughes employ tone, tone shift, and parallelism throughout their works to convey their message that young adults must stand up to demoralizing social expectations.

In the short story “Initiation” by Sylvia Plath, Millicent Arnold is a narcissistic teenager undergoing her initiation into the most prestige social group at Lansing High. Despite being aware of the risk at losing her best friend, Tracy, Millicent eagerly seeks the opportunity to be part of a close-knit group and as a result, she is mistreated and forced to conform to the group’s narrow standards. Plath explains how being part of a social group does not necessarily help one grow individually, but rather assimilates them into what is portrayed as esteemed social status. As Millicent goes through the downgrading initiation process, she discovers the value of friendship and realizes that being associated with a certain group will not help her achieve confidence in her true self.

Poets, Judith Wright, Sylvia Plath and Emily Dickenson all express their views on life and death, however, do so in varying manners. Through imagery, Wright and Plath both consider life’s beginnings, however, Wright considers it to be a beautiful gift, whereas Plath views birth as an empty burden. Subsequently, through structure Dickenson and Wright each acknowledge life, expressing how in some cases it is difficult, yet in other circumstances it is celebrated. Finally, through tone, Dickenson and Plath convey their views on death, yet differ in that Plath believes it is purifying and holds a sick fascination with it, while Dickenson instead holds a unique curiosity about it. Therefore, whilst each poet recognises the journey of birth,

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 “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 “[chronicles] the circumstances of her mental collapse and subsequent suicide attempt” but from the viewpoint of the fictional protagonist, Esther Greenwood, who suffers the same loss and challenges as Plath (Allen 890). Due to the novel’s strong resemblance to Plath’s own history it was published under the pseudonym “Victoria Lucas”. In The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath expresses the

Sylvia Plath is known as a profound writer, depicted by her lasting works of literature and her suicide which put her poems and novel of debilitating depression into a new perspective. In her poem “Lady Lazarus,” written in 1962, her mental illness is portrayed in a means to convey to her readers the everyday struggle of depression, and how it affects her view of her world, herself, and even those who attempt to tackle her battle with her. This poem, among other poetry pieces and her novel The Bell Jar, identify her multiple suicide attempts, and how the art of dying is something she has become a master of. Plath’s “Lady Lazarus,” about her trap of depression and suicide attempts, is effective and thought provoking because of her allusions to WWII Nazi Germany and the feelings of oppression and Nazism that the recurring images evoke.

In her poem, “Lady Lazarus,” Sylvia Plath uses dark imagery, disturbing diction, and allusions to shameful historical happenings to create a unique and morbid tone that reflects the necessity of life and death. Although the imagery and diction and allusions are all dark and dreary, it seems that the speaker’s attitude towards death is positive. The speaker longs for death, and despises the fact the she is continually raised up out of it.

/ One year in every ten / I manage it” (Plath, 1-3). At this point, we are aware that there is a reoccurring event taking place in Plath’s life at least once in every decade. The thought of the same event taking place once very decade as if it’s a designated time, leads one to think about premeditation; it’s obviously something good if she is purposely doing it. The opening stanza has neither negative nor positive connotations that can lead to the idea. Plath continues the poem with the use of figurative language such as, “my skin /

In Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy,” and “Lady Lazarus,” Plath displays her deepest emotions and concerns. Her beliefs completely contradicts her fathers so she has to deal with a lot of negative emotions throughout her life. Both of these poems were both written at the end of Plath’s life and really show her state of mind. Throughout her poems, we are able to see the motivation behind her feelings and her suicide attempts. “Daddy,” and “Lady Lazarus,” by Sylvia Plath are the closing notes to Plath’s grudges towards her father, her husband, and many other things.

In Sylvia Plath’s poem “Lady Lazarus”, Plath uses the horrific events of the Holocaust to symbolize the numerous deaths and rebirths of Lady Lazarus. Each death in the story is at the fault of a man and at the end of the story, Lady Lazarus rises from the ashes with a new vigor and devours all men to take back the reins of her life. Resurrection is an important theme throughout the poem and Plath uses both the name of Lady Lazarus, and more importantly, the nature of the mythical phoenix to emphasize this. The symbolization of the phoenix being reborn unravels the idea that Lady Lazarus invited these deaths with the knowledge that after each death comes a self-empowering metamorphosis.

Sylvia Plath was influenced to write poems early on in her life. One of the biggest influences within her writing include her father, Otto Plath. Otto Plath had died from an illness caused by diabetes in 1940. After this traumatizing event, Plath had written very vivid poems explaining her problematic relationship with her father, and her feelings after he had died. She wrote a poem named Daddy (“Sylvia Plath” Poetry). Daddy is a poem including a characteristic person representing Plath’s father in real life. Her father in the poem is a dark person that Sylvia Plath has to “kill” (Ardagh, Emily). Plath was very upset about this sudden death of her father, so she thought the perfect idea was to write a poem about him. Another important person

“Lady Lazarus” contains a huge amount of figurative language and literary elements to communicate that the poem is indeed a look into Plath’s life, as it reflects her battle with a mental illness. Furthermore, the speaker’s tone varies across the poem, since suicide can be seen as a powerful performance, or a piece of art, that allows for cleansing and resurrection from a patriarchal society. Thus, Plath demonstrates her desire for death as a masterpiece by using diction, the circus metaphor, and the Holocaust imagery to develop the tone of the poem.

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 day to day experiences.

In contemplating her own feelings and reasons for suicide, Sylvia Plath weighs how to emerge, and learn, from her own death wish: “How is it done? Talking and becoming aware of what is what and studying it is a help”102. In fact, Plath’s most successful poems are spoken by personas who address their survival of attempted suicide. It is her speakers that wish to die and so defiantly fail at completing their own suicides that interest me most. The speaker of the poem “Lady Lazarus” infamously claims that “Dying / is an art,” and it is Plath’s artistry of suicide which makes her poetry so successful.103 Her speakers are perfected in their inability to die—thus, Plath’s success of the failed