Did you ever think that a student who excelled in school and appeared fine on the surface would have severe depression and not only end up dying from that cause, but also one of her main inspirations behind her successful poems? Sylvia Plath was one of the most admired poets of the twentieth century. As a young girl she did great in school, although she did repeat fifth grade to be the same age as her fellow classmates, Plath had gotten straight A’s and excelled in English, specifically creative writing. She was first introduced into poetry at the young age of eight where she wrote poem and it appeared in “The Boston Herald. As Plath grew up she tried to find ways to improve her poetry, she mainly relied on the Thesaurus, she also focussed …show more content…
Plath’s main influences were behind other important people in her life and major events that affected her life. Towards the ending portion of Plath's career her poems became more about her personal life, especially nature and also a huge negative experience that impacted her life such as her divorce to another poet Ted Hughes. Nature played a big part of her inspiration in her poems especially after she married her husband Ted Hughes and moved to New York. New York is where she wrote most of her nature inspired poems such as “Dark Wood, Dark Water” . In “Dark Wood, Dark Water” Plath vividly describes nature with many uses of imagery such as a lake thick with fish”. Another event that had a influence was her divorce. She had first met her husband, fellow poet Ted Hughes at a party, since then they hit it off, he helped her gain most of her poetic voice and they both influenced each others poems. So when they divorced it mainly played a part in her late career of poetry and also a key of tone in her poems. In her poem “Ariel” Plath describes some of her feeling and depression she had after she got a divorce to her husband Ted Hughes. For example some lines that described her depression were “And I Am the arrow, the dew that flies, suicidal, at one with the drive into the red eye.” Not only did these events influence her but also other key people were part of her inspiration of Plath’s
Sylvia Plath was the first person to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1982,and she is well known for her poems “daddy”. Sadly Plath committed suicide,but before she killed herself she left a note for one of her neighbors to tell them to get a doctor and when they found her she was lying in the oven with wet towels covering the door so her children wouldn't die from the gas to. Plath’s husband Hughes published most of her poems or novels that weren’t published because she had committed suicide at such an early age. It’s because of Hughes publishing her works that she won the Pulitzer Prize in 1982 but she was too late for her to claim it because she was dead 20 something years or so. Plath achieved this from studying with the one and only Robert Lowwell which she made her famous Colossus
Sylvia Plath's poems evoke the worst of subjective fallacies. Probably some of our charged reactions are symptomatic of the times and the culture; but more of them seem to stem from the always-too-easy identification between troubled poet and what might be the tone of imagery and rhythm of the poem considered. Because Plath worked so intensively in archetypal imagery (water, air, fire as bases for image patterns, for example), many of her poems could be read as either "dark" wasteland kinds of expressions, or as the reverse, as death-by-water, salvation poems--destruction implied, but also survived, phoenix-like.
Depression affects 350 million people and is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Everyone deals with depression a different way but it is not easy, the best way is to see a professional and talk about it to try to let it all out, but most people come up with their own way. Depressed modern poets such as Jack Kerouac and Sylvia Plath tried to shock themselves into reality and heal their depression and feelings about certain subjects with alcohol and electroconvulsive therapy but could not. They both decided to chose the outlet of poetry and release their negative feelings by writing about similar themes. This becomes evident when one draws similarities between themes such as isolation, nature and love proven by examining The Big Sur by Jack Kerouac and many poetic works from Sylvia Plath. Being a popular poet can do alot to one, and if ones fans only care about their work and not their true feelings the artist tends to feel isolated.
Sylvia Plath was an American author whose books reflected mostly on her life as well as showing her feelings and opinions about certain things. She had one of her books, “The Bell Jar”, published under a different name because it was so autobiographical (source 2). Although she was successful, depression tormented her horribly (source 2). Although she had bad depression, and attempted to commit suicide with sleeping pills, she was still successful with her works (source 2). Sylvia’s poems and books reflect on how difficult her life was.
Sylvia Plath is regarded as one of the best writers in history. She was a very talented poet and also published a semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar. Even though she was successful, her life was full of tragedy. She suffered from mental illness and many personal losses. She used these experience in her work as an outlet for her anguish. She is known as a confessional poet.
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 1935, when Plath was three, she welcomed a baby brother, Warren. Shortly after, Plath's little brother was born the family moved to Winthrop, Massachusetts (thefamouspeople). Sadly when Plath was eight, her father died from complication of diabetes(Poets). After her father's death she lost her faith in God and remained irresolute about her religion. During this time, she wrote the poem "Electra on Azalea Plath", which was inspired by visits to her father's grave(Thefamouspeople). Plath continued to make more poetry and earned a scholarship to Smith College in 1950. However, Plath's junior year in college, she made her first suicide attempt by overdosing on sleeping pills. After six month of intense shock therapy, Plath returned to Smith College and later earned a Fulbright Scholarshp to Newhnham College in Cambridge.(Wagner-Martin 1). While at Cambridge, Plath met another poet who she fell
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 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
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.
As one of the most multitalented writers of the twentieth 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.
In fact, Sylvia Plath’s depression, her relationship with Ted Hughes, and her German roots and culture are all reflected in her poetry. One aspect of Plath's life reflected in her poetry is her depression. Plath became depressed in 1953 when she learned she had not been accepted into
Elizabeth Winder’s Pain, Parties, Work: Sylvia Plath in New York, Summer 1953 illuminates different aspects of Sylvia Plath’s life. However, Winder depicts Plath not as the mythologized martyr of a collapsed marriage or the tragic woman poet with a debilitating illness but rather as a young girl wanting to immerse herself in the rich, material culture of her time. Winder’s biography gives insight to the life of an intelligent young woman amidst the gender constraints of mid-century America, a theme that is further explicated in Plath’s novel, The Bell Jar.
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.
Sylvia Plath was born in 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts. She wrote her first poem at the young age of 8 ½. that poem was displayed in The Boston Traveller. When she first began writing, she wrote about general topics, nature, and scenery, but as time went on and with more experience, her poems acclaimed more depth. Plath loved writing, and in an interview with Peter Orr, Plath once said ‘I don 't think I could live without it. It 's like water or bread, or something absolutely essential to me. I find myself absolutely fulfilled when I have written a poem, when I 'm writing one. Having written one, then you fall away very rapidly from having been a poet to becoming a sort of poet in rest, which isn 't the same thing at all. But I think the actual experience of writing a poem is a magnificent one” (The Poet Speaks).