Online International Interdisciplinary Research Journal, {Bi-Monthly}, ISSN2249-9598, Volume-III, Issue-IV, July-Aug 2013
Sylvia Plath: An overview
Neetu Dabas
Email id- drneetudabas@gmail.com
Abstract
The paper shows the inner dynamism through the analysis of few poems. Sylvia Plath
traces the role of masculine in the society in many of her works. This paper explores the
literary life and thoughts of an exceptional American woman, writer, novelist and poetess
etc. Sylvia Plath (1932 –1963) became a rich and attractive target for critics and analysis
of her own life and literary works. The paper also explores the image of men as
dominating characters at that age. They are having godly images, satanic evil portrait,
solemn and mean. The paper describes her state of mind with the help of her work
“Daddy” and “The Bell Jar”.
KEYWORDS: psychic reality, Sylvia Plath, feminism, poetry analysis.
Introduction In this paper, few poems are analyzed as a feminine reality of a poet.
Sylvia Plath was born on October 27, 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts. She lived with her
parents Otto Emil Plath and Aurelia Schober Plath and later her brother Warren in the
suburbs of Boston (Steinberg). She was very delighted to be a ‘Smith Girl’ and tried her
best to shine in all of her classes. Plath published her first poem at eight years old and
was very intelligent. She was married to the English poet Ted Hughes, and together they
had two children, Frieda and Nicholas.
Plath committed suicide in London in 1963, and was buried in the churchyard at
Heptonstall, West Yorkshire. The poetry and writings of Sylvia Plath occupy a special
position in American poetry due to its nature, topics, treatment and imagery. Her life and
bitter experiences have affected her poetry and the presentation of her material. She is
widely recognised as one of the most important American poets of the twentieth century.
On the morning of 11 February 1963, Sylvia Plath committed suicide in London. In this
paper I will take the different approach from previous studies. I will connect the poems
with Plath’s psychic reality. At the time of her death, she was known as the author of a
first, moderately well received book of poems “The Colossus (1960)”. In addition, she
had recently published a novel, “The Bell Jar (1963)”, under the pseudonym Victoria
Lucas. She had published a number of prose stories and sketches in various magazines
and journals.
I practice all my moves
I memorize their stupid rules
I make myself their friend
I’ll show them just how far I can bend
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Online International Interdisciplinary Research Journal, {Bi-Monthly}, ISSN2249-9598, Volume-III, Issue-IV, July-Aug 2013
She boarded on a master’s degree course at Newnham College, Cambridge. At a
party in Cambridge in February 1956, she met the young English poet Ted Hughes. The
couple married within four months of their first meeting, in a ceremony that took place in
London on 16 June 1956. Sylvia Plath’s poetry is mainly about 20th century feminism
and women’s social injustices. The poem “Daddy” criticises the male aggression and
depicts men being responsible for all the social injustices. The most frank announcement
comes in "Daddy" when she out cried:
Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I'm through
The more vital turn in her relationship with her father and males in common,
which reflects the acute and extreme unstable emotional state of Sylvia Plath is when she
wrote in "Daddy":
Daddy, I have had to kill you
The Bell Jar was Sylvia Plath’s most commendable and only novel. The book
references too many real people, and dolorous events in Plath’s life. “The Bell Jar” is the
story, in other words, from behind the electroconvulsive shock treatment. It dramatizes
the decisive event of her adult life, which was her attempted suicide and accidental
survival, and reveals how this attempt to annihilate herself had grown from the decisive
event in her childhood, which was the death of her father when she was eight. Further,
the symbolic use of shadow in "Daddy" and "the Colossus" represented the fears of being
or living in the shadow of the empowered by society males, who are the father and the
husband in Sylvia's case.
Plath does not enjoy the limitations of being a woman. Being a woman to Plath character
meant being a slave. In the years Plath lived, women were inferior to men. The male’s
job was to bring home the money, and the female’s role was to take care of their families,
complete house duties, and cook. They weren't allowed to work, and if they were
allowed, their husbands would receive their paychecks. Poetry is just the evidence of life.
Leonard Cohen once said “if your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.”As Sylvia
Plath’s life burned into a heap of dust, her poetry grew and bloomed. In the years before,
her death, her most troubles period, Plath penned three of her most well-known poems,
“Daddy”,
“Lady,
Lazarus”
and
“Tulips”
all
three
illustrating
the misery of depression. Her Posthumously-released novel, The Bell Jar, also deals with
extended bleakness and its poverty of the soul. She was bipolar, her depression, and self
image were the main ingredients of her poetry and suicide. Her first suicide attempt was
as a junior in college, after being rejected by Harvard college. She was found after three
days, it was a miracle she was still alive, and spent six months in psychiatric care.
Unfortunately, her second suicide was a success on February 11, 1963. Plath’s poetry and
prose reflect on her prolonged battle against despair, bringing to life her personal
struggles as an artist and as a woman. Although Plath’s life ended with tragedy, her
writings continue to be seen a culturally significant commentary on gender roles. Plath
strove in life to have the ability to be more than just a wife and mother and to succeed
through her creative endeavors. Although in the end, Sylvia Plath could not endure the
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Online International Interdisciplinary Research Journal, {Bi-Monthly}, ISSN2249-9598, Volume-III, Issue-IV, July-Aug 2013
pain of her distress, choosing to end her own life, she live on a everlasting on her many
dedicated readers and followers. After all this she is able to come alive in her writing and
truly make a significant difference in the world through her self-expression and aspiring
goals to be significant distinctiveness civilization.
Conclusion This paper describes the mental conflict of a fabulous writer, poet and
novelist, Sylvia Plath. She makes a significant difference throughout the world with her
writings and works. But she cannot afford the ways and custom of life regarding
feminism. Her works represented the fears of being or living in the shadow of the
empowered by society males, who are the father and the husband in Sylvia's case. Being
a woman to Plath character meant being a slave. She also can’t tolerate the death of her
father and her relation with her husband. Though she takes her life in the state of
confusion and stress over her mind, she is able to come alive in her writing and truly
make a significant difference in the world through her self-expression and aspiring goals
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