Poetry Is Not Turning Loose From Emotion, By Sylvia Plath Essay

Saying Sylvia Plath was a troubled woman would be an understatement. She was a dark poet, who attempted suicide many times, was hospitalized in a mental institution, was divorced with two children, and wrote confessional poems about fetuses, reflection, duality, and a female perspective on life. Putting her head in an oven and suffocating was probably the happiest moment in her life, considering she had wanted to die since her early twenties. However, one thing that was somewhat consistent throughout her depressing poetry would be the theme of the female perspective. The poems selected for analysis and comparison are, ”A Life”(1960),”You’re”(1960), “Mirror” (1961), “The Courage of Shutting-Up” (1962) and

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

“Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences” (Plath). Sylvia Plath is a confessional poet who is often the subject of her poetry. Throughout the majority of her life Sylvia Plath simply wished to live an ordinary life. However, Plath endured many tragedies during her life that influenced her stylistic approach to poetry; often based off her emotions. In her poems, Plath acquires her central source of influence from her personal life and employs a variety of techniques to brand her message into her reader’s head, through intense language and controversial use of literary techniques.

In 1963 on a cold winter day of February 11th, Sylvia Plath ended her life. She had plugged up her kitchen, sealing up the cracks in doors and windows before she was found with her head inside of her gas oven inhaling the dangerous fumes. She was only thirty years old, a young woman with two small children and an estranged ex-husband. A tragic detail of her life is that this is the second time she had tried to commit suicide. Plagued with mental illness her whole life, which is evident within her poetry. She would write gripping, honest portrayals of mental illnesses. Especially within Ariel, the last poetry book she wrote, right before she took her life. Although it’s hard to find a proper diagnosis for Sylvia Plath, it is almost definite that she at least had clinical depression with her numerous suicide attempts and stays in mental hospitals undergoing electroshock therapy. Sylvia Plath is now famously known for her writing and the more tragic parts of her life. Such as the separation from her husband, Ted Hughes, mental illness, etc… Plath may not have intended for her life and art to become inspiration to many people but that has become the end result. Sylvia Plath writing shows symptoms of her suicidal thoughts. To study specific moments in Sylvia Plath’s life, it can be connected to certain writing’s of her’s, such as “Daddy”, The Bell Jar, and “Lady Lazarus”.

Sylvia Plath displays many themes in her work; however she has the tendency to conceal and dig her themes, metaphors, and symbols deep in her poetic words, which leaves us readers left to decipher them. Plath is a poet that conveys quite compelling emotions through her work and is both prodigious and petrifying while still gloomy and relieving. Though there are many themes to revisit, the more significant ones evident in her writing will be explored. Mortality, journey, depression, and hope are the key themes that strike the heart of Plath’s poetry and will be further analyzed. Poems such as Blackberrying, Crossing the Water, Departure, Suicide off egg Rock, and Mystic, display a very strong

Sylvia Plath’s work is marked with her trademark style, one full of enigmatic analogies and ambiguous metaphors. Sadly though, the life of Sylvia Plath was indeed shorter than anyone expected. Nevertheless, in the thirty years Plath meandered through the world, she left an everlasting impact. Remembered as one of the most dynamic and admired poets of the twentieth century, Plath cultivated a literary community unlike any predecessor. Additionally, since a sizable portion of Plath’s work was read posthumously, her suicide brought the much needed attention to physiological illnesses. Unfortunately though, Sylvia Plath will never know the perennial impact she left from her distinguished works that have touched numerous lives.

It is said that without melancholy there is no art, and there is no better embodiment of that than beloved poet and author, Sylvia Plath. Often referred to as one of the most dynamic poets of the 1900’s, Plath had no limits on her expression through poetry. Her poems ranged from flowing verses on nature to unconventional commentary on the social restrictions placed on individuals. She is most known for her poetic expression of her own mental anguish, never shying away from topics of death and despair.

feelings as positive and negative currents and whichever one is feeling the strongest, it takes

Sylvia Plath is well known for her rather obscure themes in her writing. One theme that appears in almost all of her poems is that of isolation from mankind and the world. In Plath’s case, isolation can also mean isolation from expression, from freedom, or from people. Plath’s poems “Daddy”, “Lady Lazarus”, and “Tulips” all express isolation through separate literary techniques such as metaphor, juxtaposition, and imagery

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. “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 devoted English student in high school. She performed so well in English that she was awarded a merit scholarship for Smith College where, eventually, she went on to pursue a degree in English. She was often referred to as “The Golden Girl” by her professors and her peers. It is also a well-known fact that she struggled immensely with depression. Some setbacks with her mental health forced her to take a break from college and graduate a year late. She eventually graduated from Smith College with highest honors in English. She took time off of school because she suffered from a mental breakdown. She had disappeared for a few days and was found close to death. She had attempted suicide and was hospitalized immediately. Several years and many attempts later, Plath was successful in taking her own life at the young age of 30. Plath’s constant struggle with depression showed up in her poems time and time again. Her writing very clearly reflected off of her life. Sylvia Plath lived a life

Many poets, writers, and artists suffer with the monsters of mental illness, however, Sylvia Plath may be one of the most iconic. Many believe living with debilitating mental illness can aid in creativity. Throughout Sylvia’s short life, she produced brilliant yet immensely troubled writing. Sylvia Plath’s struggle with both Bipolar Disorder and Depression is communicated within her writing through her use of creativity, visceral language, and emotional rawness. Her inner turmoil can be interpreted in her brilliant and vehemence evoking poetry as well as her novel, The Bell Jar. Although in Plath’s time she was considered tortured, she is held in the highest esteem in today’s literary world.

Sylvia Plath’s rather depressing story begins in Boston, Massachusetts October 27, 1932, the day Aurelia Plath gave birth to her. In the span of Plath's life she constantly suffers from depression which eventually leads to her brutal suicide on February 11, 1963. Sylvia began writing poetry a young age and continued to write throughout her life, earning herself many awards, even some after her death (Bio.com). During the time in which Plath was working for Mademoiselle magazine, in 1953, she tried to kill herself for the first time. Plath recovered shortly from the traumatic incident over her first suicide attempt while receiving treatment from a mental health facility. Soon after, Sylvia started studying at Cambridge University, where she

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) and Anne Sexton (1928-1974) both explored similar themes such as tone, structure, and symbolism. Many of their poems were cries for help, which resulted into metal illness, depression, and suicide. In 1958, Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath met, and much to their surprise had a few things in common. They both were fascinated with death and suicide. Both Sexton’s and Plath’s poetry are considered as confessional poetry in which they were very honest, depressed, and had suicidal or homicidal tendencies. Sylvia and Anne’s views on what happened in their life and on independence, are what nearly separates them from other confessional poets. Sexton and Plath’s poetry range over a variety of topics such as death, suicide, rage, and mourning. They both utilize a convincing use of symbolism, deep image, metaphors, and soul-searching. Plath’s “The Colossus”, “Full Fathom Five”, “Daddy”, and Sexton’s “And one for My Dame” and “All My Pretty Ones”, are very enraged and different feminist perspectives, giving different views on the relationships with a father and a husband.

Sylvia Plath lived a life with death following her. Plath presents a character named kindness as a symbol of death in the first line of her poem, Kindness. The character's purpose is to reflect Plath’s internal struggle. Sylvia Plath’s “Kindness” represents her depressive thoughts of suicide through the poems dark, deathly tone.

According to Allen Ginsberg’s quote, “poetry is not an expression of the party line. It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that’s what the poet does”, the common poet “makes the private world public”, or in other words, processes his or her personal life into stanzas of interconnected words. Bearing this in mind, Sylvia Plath, alias Victoria Lucas, was an American poet who portrayed an entire life soiled with problems regarding Ted Hughes (her ex-husband), Otto Plath (her father), and herself in between the verses of her poetry through the use of literary devices. In order to understand the subjects, language, tone, and purpose of her poetry in maximum depth, readers