Writing Styles of Sylvia Plath Essay - 1277 Words

The Life and Writings of Sylvia Plath After reading and discussing many poets and their written work, I have realized that not only pain, but any emotion that the poet is feeling, plays a large part in how the poems express themselves through their writing. I have chosen to explore Sylvia Plath and the poems she has written and how her pain and personal experiences have influenced her poetry. Similar to many other authors of the twentieth century, Sylvia Plath’s writing was influenced largely by her depression and mental illness. I found it rather interesting that her life began during The Great Depression and that from a young girl at the age of eight she was suffering and battling her own personal depression. It’s almost as†¦show more content†¦The year they divorced, Plath wrote the poem â€Å"Tulips†. Some say that this poem was written to help her cope with her post-partum depression. One example of this would be that she gave the tulips life- like characteristics. In lines thirty-seven and thirty-eight Plath personifies the tulips by saying she can â€Å"hear them breath/lightly through their swaddlings like an awful baby†. This is a great example of how one might assume Plath was trying to get her fears of being a mother out. Although, she loved her children, she still somewhat pictured a baby as awful. Already suffering from depression probably intensified her post-partum depression much more than a â€Å"normal† woman might experience it. Sylvia started her writing shortly after her father’s passing and increased in emotional force as she got older and matured. The more pain she felt and the more she suffered, the more intense her literary work became. Her life was obviously filled with pain and agony. It’s quite clear that her writings were influenced by all of the happenings in her life and not only her father’s death. It’s most probable that Plath’s depressi on caused chaos in her marriage and home life, well-being, and eventually led her to take her own life by inhaling fumes from a gas oven that she had turned on in February of 1963. I attached this poem to my review because we didn’t review it in class and wanted to ensure you had a copy toShow MoreRelatedSylvia Plath: The Exemplary Confessional Poet1015 Words   |  5 Pagesessentially an autobiographical style of writing. Often focusing on topics that were taboo at the time like mental illness and suicide, it is no surprise that Sylvia Plath wrote poetry in this style. Plath suffered from depression most of her life and used writing as an outlet (Spinello). In her works â€Å"Cut,† â€Å"I Am Vertical,† and â€Å"Lady Lazarus,† Plath exemplifies confessional poetry through the themes of resentment, death, and mental illness. To understand why Plath is placed in the literary categoryRead MoreSylvia Plath s The Bell Jar, And Her Other Works1413 Words   |  6 Pagesend† (Goodreads). In Sylvia Plath’s final days, the things she desired, did in fact annihilate her. Sylvia Plath desired perfectionism and the need to feel like she acquired a meaning. As interpreted in the novel, The Bell Jar, and her other works; Sylvia Plath parallels her own traumatic path throughout her life and her downward spiral during the 1950s, explaining her struggle with her mental suffocation and the inexorable depression that contaminated her mind. Sylvia Plath’s emotional turmoilRead MorePoetry Is Not Turning Loose From Emotion, By Sylvia Plath Essay1092 Words   |  5 Pagescomplicated as explaining how you feel from the inside out. Sylvia Plath effectively expresses her complicated emotions in a form that is bizarre to some. Leaving the reader in curiosity, she uses the stroke of a pen to capture the people who can not capture themselves. Sylvia Plath effectively captivates her readers appeal through her poetry by using emotional appeal, powerful language, and profound and developing structure. Sylvia Plath had a past that represents the type of hell that is unimaginableRead MoreThe Transition in Sylvia Plath’s Work1438 Words   |  6 Pagescoincidence and joie de vivre and shocks of beauty together with some hurtful self-questioning. --The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath It has been almost 50 years since the American literary community lost one of its greatest treasures, Sylvia Plath. Even in recent days, numerous scholars are still studying many admirable qualities in Plath’s collection of work. She has developed a unique writing style and performed thoroughly at an early age. Over the years, the events of her life highly affect the focus ofRead MoreEssay about Sylvia Plath1185 Words   |  5 PagesSylvia 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 familiarRead MoreSylvia Plath s Life And Accomplishments892 Words   |  4 PagesSylvia Plath was born in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts on October 27, 1932. Plath’s family moved to Winthrop, Massachusetts when she was four years old. When she was eight, her father, Otto Plath died, this was same year she published her first poem. Plath was a very hardworking, persistent student in high school. She was soon rewarded after her graduation with many published works and successes. Plath attended Smith College with two sch olarships. At Smith, she excelled academically and achieved manyRead MoreSylvia Plaths Lady Lazarus1289 Words   |  6 PagesSylvia Plath, author of â€Å"Lady Lazarus†, is â€Å"widely considered one of the most emotionally evocative and compelling American poets of the postwar period† (â€Å"Plath, Sylvia: Introduction†). Plath was born in Boston, Massachusetts and her father died when she was eight. Plath attended Smith College and due to overwhelming conditions, she lapsed into a severe depression and overdosed on sleeping pills. After receiving psychiatric care, Plath enrolled in Newnham College where she met and married EnglishRead 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 MoreConfessional Poetry in The Word by Sylvia Plath Essay777 Words   |  4 PagesPoetry Essay What sets apart the poetic style of both modernism and postmodernism is that both attempted to diverge from the traditional proses of 19th century, specifically, from realism. Both also tend to form around the philosophy of subjectivity as both explore the inner emotions of characters and thus use it to develop ideas and conceptions in the reader’s mind. Experimentation is present is both modernist and postmodernist works; however, it takes on a central role in postmodern works andRead MoreSylvia Plath s Life And Accomplishments974 Words   |  4 PagesSylvia 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 an y predecessor. Additionally, since a sizable portion of Plath’s work was read