Biography
Sylvia Plath and Dorothy Parker grew up in very different circumstances. Plath’s
childhood seemed to be almost like someone living a perfect life, while Parker’s youth
was much rougher and less privileged. In spite of these differences, their poetry turned
out to be quite similar – both dealt with dark, depressing subjects. What they had in
common was both were divorced and both had parents die at a very young age.
Sylvia Plath seemed to be driven to be perfect in everything she tried, whether it
was in social situations or at school. She was born in Boston in 1932, and grew up in a
comfortable middle class family (poets.org). She was a popular girl, who got straight A’s
and won many school prizes (sylviapath.de). From the outside, she appeared to be a
perfect child, but there were apparently problems hidden under the surface that became
obvious as she grew older. Her father was a college professor, considered to be an expert
on bees, which explains why a number of her poems referred to bees and beekeeping.
(sylviapath.de). He died when Plath was only 8 years old.
Plath’s mental and emotional problems surfaced when she was a junior in college.
She suffered a nervous breakdown and tried to kill herself with an overdose of sleeping
pills (sylviapath.de). After undergoing treatment using psychotherapy and electroshock
therapy (sylviapath.de) she recovered enough that she was able to return to college and
do very well her senior year (poets.org). She later described her therapy experiences in
an autobiographical book named The Bell Jar. She attended Cambridge University for 2
years beginning in 1955 (poets.org). In England she met and married a British poet
named Ted Hughes in 1960. In the early 1960’s Plath lived in a small London flat with
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little money and her two young children. She killed herself on February 11, 1963 with
cooking gas, at the age of 30 (sylviapath.de).
Dorothy Parker had a much less pleasant childhood, growing up on Manhattan’s
Upper West Side. She was born in August of 1893. Her mother and stepmother both
died when she was quite young, and her father died when she was only 20 years old
(poets.org). Her formal schooling ended when she was 14. Parker married Edwin
Parker, a stockbroker, but they were divorced in 1928, when she was 34 (poets.org). She
married a second time in 1934, to actor Alan Campbell, divorcing him in 1947, and then
remarrying him in 1950 (poets.org).
Professionally, Parker was very popular and at the height of her career – unlike
Plath who did not become famous until after her death. She founded a well-known
intellectual and literary circle, The Algonquin Round Table in 1919, when she was only
25 years old (poets.org). She was a very successful poet, even though she was suffering
from depression and alcoholism, and had attempted suicide (poets.org). Parker died of a
heart attack in 1967 at age 73.
Critical Paper
Dorothy Parker is known for having straightforward verse, clearly presenting her
stance, providing an uninterrupted, but definite rhyme scheme and her consistent form
and presentation. This combination of characteristics causes her poetry to be considered
neoclassical. Her images and diction are synecdochical (which means that she talks
around a word, she describes it rather than saying it), i.e. “marble on its pedestal” instead
of “statue”. This style of writing could be detrimental to other poets, but Parker’s talent
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for selecting which details to include makes this a positive attribute for her poetry (CLC
416).
Poetic devices typical to Parker’s poetry include satire, irony, passion and
suffering, repetition, sarcasm, and humor. Parker uses each of these devices in such a
way that they do not become excessive or predictable. Many of her poems include
criticism and self-criticism, conflicting ideas, and deep analyses of social customs. She
was unquestionably a feminist. Her poems almost always consist of women and the
issues that are important to them. Ironically, at a time when home was the accepted place
for women, Parker’s speakers do not talk about home. Her satire occurs when readers
understand the futility of the circumstance, not that of the speaker. Parker puts women
in stereotypical female circumstances, and then she proceeds to distort the situation. The
most common targets of Parker’s satirical wit are “the upper class, the self-pitying, the
shallow and boring, and the envious” (english.uiuc.edu).
In reading many of Parker’s poems, one may find depressing images of
loneliness, misery, and isolation. Many of the themes that Parker wrote about in her
poems are still present in today’s society. She wrote about the communication problems
that exist between men and women, the failure of relationships, jealousy, alcoholism and
absurd social practices (english.uiuc.edu). Even Parker’s simplest poems should be read
on three levels. On the first level, the poem is simply a commentary that reveals fixable
human weaknesses. She accomplishes this mainly with repetition, dullness and
hyperbole. On the second level, the poem addresses not only the poem’s characters’
weaknesses, but also those of the reader. In the third level her sarcasm becomes evident
because her unrelenting need to expose is obvious (CLC 416).
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One of Parker’s most famous poems, “Resume”, is kind of like “a consumer’s
report” for those considering committing suicide. The title “Resume” has two possible
meanings, both of which could be associated with the poem. Resume, without accents,
means “to go on again after an interruption; to continue”. With accents, a resume is “a
brief account of personal qualifications and experience”. The poem lists the speaker’s
experiences and qualifications relating to suicide. The speaker has tried the methods and
is therefore capable of rating them. Since all of the possible choices for suicide are in
some way or another faulty, the speaker figures that she “might as well live”. The irony
in this poem arises because the reader is given unanticipated and quite honestly
depressing reasons to continue to live (english.uiuc.edu).
Another one of Parker’s poems, “One Perfect Rose”, shows that truly committed
love is very rare. The first two stanzas are relaxed with a quiet, serene tone.
Significantly, there are six lines of “perfect” iambic pentameter. This portrays the rose as
an “amulet” for love, as it is commonly seen. In the third stanza, the quiet tone is still
present, but there is an abrupt change when “one perfect limousine” becomes more
desirable than the rose; an object representing money is substituted for the rose as a
symbol of love. Due to the social situation in the 20’s (women could not ever earn as
much money as a man) the speaker should not be viewed as simply materialistic.
Although this offers a rather cynical view on life and love, it was practical if the love and
financial security possible through marriage were not within reach by any other means
(english.uiuc.edu).
Although not as obvious as in some of Parker’s other poems, “One Perfect Rose”
is a satire that targets the poetical. In the first two stanzas she uses a higher level of
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diction and tone to achieve an old-fashioned and essentially a very poetical effect.
Uncharacteristically of Parker, she chooses to use an inverted sentence structure, adding
even more to the poetical, almost flowery, effect. This increases the shock of the final
stanza, which reverts back to Parker’s usual conversational style. By over-romanticizing
the first two stanzas, and then turning to such a practical concern in the last stanza, she
not only achieves strong verbal irony, but also succeeds in mocking classic poetic style.
Similar to Dorothy Parker’s poetry, Sylvia Plath’s poems consist largely of dark,
depressing topics conveyed in ironic verse. The biggest difference between Plath and
Parker’s poetry is that while Parker writes in a very relaxed, conversational style, Plath’s
poetry is much more disjointed and therefore more difficult to understand even on a
literal level.
A prime example of Plath’s irony in poetry is in “Lady Lazarus”. Reading it, one
can clearly see the seriousness of the subject (references to her three attempted suicides)
but one is confused due to the strangely light tone of the poem. Plath compares herself to
the biblical figure Lazarus who was resurrected by Jesus. She also compares herself to a
cat with nine lives in that she has been resurrected from her attempts at suicide three
times (english.uiuc.edu). The three deaths of Lady Lazarus compare to three of her own
crises. The first is the death of her father that was the focal point of many of her poems.
The second is the breakdown that she had after her junior year in college. The third is a
foreshadowing of her imminent death (poetry criticism 382). There are four basic
groups of images that show the Lady’s identity. The first portrayal of her is cloth or
material (lampshade, linen, napkin). After that, she becomes only body (knees, skin and
bones, hair). Shortly after that, the Lady is described as a physical object (gold, ash, a
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cake of soap). At the end of the poem the Lady is resurrected “as a red-haired demon”.
Her state changes depending upon whom she is interacting with in the poem
(english.uiuc.edu). In “Lady Lazarus” and several of her other poems, including
“Daddy”, which will be discussed later, Plath makes comparisons to the Holocaust or just
uses Jews as victims and Germans as overbearing masters (poetry criticism 386). In
“Lady Lazarus” she relates the torture of the Jews with her suicide. She uses the
Holocaust as a metaphor for mortal combat between a self and its deadliest enemy
(english.uiuc.edu).
Sylvia Plath’s most famous poem, “Daddy”, has a different purpose than some of
her earlier poems about her father. She is no longer trying to get back to her dead father,
now her goal is to rid herself of his memory and the feelings of resentment she has
because he died and left her when she was still a child – when she still worshipped him
like a god (English.uiuc.edu). Although Plath worshipped her father she felt hated and
repressed by him and was admittedly scared of him. In the last two stanzas Plath
describes her father as a vampire and then claims to have put a stake through his heart.
By putting a stake through his heart, Plath is able to release the evil associated with her
father’s memory. Plath is also metaphorically able to kill her husband and all men
(english.uiuc.edu). The last line of “Daddy” reads “Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m
through”. The phrase “I’m through” could mean that Plath accepted her failure or
wishful thinking on her part. A third explanation might be that she is finally ready to die
now that she has come to terms with her memories of her father (poetry criticism 387).
Another of Plath’s more famous poems is “Ariel”. The title could mean a number
of things – a reference to the spirit of Shakespeare’s Tempest and the name of the horse
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Plath was learning to ride. The most powerful meaning is that “Ariel is the spirit of
poetry, the romantic embodiment of inspiration or genius” (english.uiuc.edu). In this
poem the images are scattered and disjointed to show the mental process
(english.uiuc.edu). The lines in the poem often seem short and thoughts seem severed.
As the poem continues the pace of the horse ride increases and with this the visual effects
become more intense (english.uiuc.edu). The different parts of the poem are circularly
connected “the rider is one with the horse, the horse is one with the furrowed earth, and
the dew on the furrow is one with the rider” (poetry criticism 381-382). “Ariel” is
another excellent example of how Plath overlays several very different concepts and
thoughts into a single poem. Plath has a gift for drawing readers deep into her poetry
“The poem entices us into a kind of death – the experience of abandoning our bodies and
selves” (english.uiuc.edu).
Apart from the surface similarities such as the subjects of the poems, Dorothy
Parker and Sylvia Plath’s poetry had very little in common. While both dealt with dark,
depressing issues, Plath’s poetry had a much more dismal aura. This was due in large
part to the major differences in the style of their poetry. Parker often used humor in her
poetry (although “when we are amused by her work we are trapped, because we are never
meant to agree with her characters.” [CLC 416]), but Plath – while venturing many places
– never quite became humorous in her verse. Parker’s poetry did have more depth than
just the literal, surface meaning, but Plath’s works were, overall, much more cryptic and
hence subject to many different, often several, interpretations.
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Professional Criticism
Parker: Contemporary Literary Criticism, Vol. 15
p. 415-417
Arthur F. Kinney, in his Dorothy Parker (copyright © 1978 by G. K. Hall & Co.;
reprinted with the permission of Twayne Publishers, A Division of G. K. Hall &
Co., Boston), Twayne, 1978, 204 p.
Plath: Poetry Criticism, Vol. 1
p. 378-379
Reader Response
Resume: I found “Resume” to be slightly humorous, a fact I’d like to deny now because
one of the criticisms said that we shouldn’t find her poetry humorous because we
were never meant to agree with her characters. It’s an ironic poem because the
reason not to kill yourself isn’t because you want to live, but because there are
problems with all the ways to go about killing yourself. I wasn’t sure what the
title meant; I never even thought of it as being resume without italics. The last line
was obviously the best part of the poem: “You might as well live.” Its sort of an
offbeat comment; not really a desire, just living by default.
One Perfect Rose: Unfortunately for my dignity, I found the last stanza in this poem
humorous as well. I didn’t notice while reading it how the tone became more
casual in the last stanza, but it made a lot of sense once I read that. I thought that
the speaker seemed to lack emotions and didn’t really care for or believe in love
because to most people, women at least, a rose would mean more than a
limousine. I generally liked the poem; it was easy enough to understand.
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Lady Lazarus: I looked up the story of Lazarus before I read the poem in hopes that it
would help me understand it, but it didn’t really. For some reason what I found
about Lazarus didn’t mention that he was resurrected by Christ or perhaps I could
have made a connection. I was, for the most part, confused about this poem. Until
the 12th stanza, I didn’t really have much of an idea about what was going on.
Even at that point I was unsure if I was correct. I was right in that I thought it was
talking about her attempts at suicide, but then I was wrong in thinking that the rest
of the poem was about people trying to help her when she didn’t want it. To me
the tone seemed to become angrier at the end of the poem, but I didn’t read
anything else about that so maybe I was just growing angry.
Daddy: I really noticed the amount of repetition Plath used in this poem. She repeated
several words and phrases to emphasize different parts of the poem and did so
very effectively. I think I caught on to more parts of this poem than I did on any
other poem by Plath. The conflicting emotions she felt towards her father were
very evident. The only expressions of positive feelings were mainly about how
she used to feel. She used to pray to recover him, she tried to… get back, back,
back to him, and she made a model of him. Beyond those, I noticed anger towards
her father, I thought she felt hated by him (the comparison with the Jew and the
Nazis), she was scared of him, and generally thought he was a bad, evil man.
Unfortunate Coincidence: This was a very cynical poem. I think it was my favorite by
Parker. I found it extremely funny, but I’m not completely sure why because it
isn’t like I don’t believe in love. It showed a lack of emotions, and it was quite
obvious that the speaker, Parker, doesn’t believe in love. It was just funny to me
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because she was saying that two people couldn’t possibly be in love. If they both
said they were, then one of them had to be lying.
The Poems I Read:
Sylvia Plath:
 Morning Song 1961
 Daddy 1962
 Lady Lazarus 1962
 Cut 1962
 Ariel 1962
 Wintering 1962
 The Swarm 1962
 Stings 1962
 The Arrival of the Bee Box 1962
 The Bee Meeting 1962
 Tulips 1961
 The Colossus 1959
 Black Rook in Rainy Weather 1956
Dorothy Parker
 One Perfect Rose 1926
 Resume 1926
 Unfortunate Coincidence 1926
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Works Cited
Beckman, Anja. “Sylvia Plath Homepage”. 19 Feb. 2004. 12 Mar. 2005.
<<http://www.sylviaplath.de/>>
“The Academy of American Poets” 7 Mar. 2005 <<http://www.poets.org>>.
“Dorothy Parker”. Modern American Poetry. 22 Mar. 2005.
<<http://www.english.uiuc.edu>>
“PoemHunter.Com – Thousands of poems and poets”. 25 Mar. 2005.
<<http://www.poemhunter.com>>
Poetry Criticism. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Research Co.
Riley, Carolyn, ed. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 15. Detroit: Gale Research Co.
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