Sylvia Plath’s Life - 1219 Words

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. Though often compared to the likeness of the protagonist of her semi-autobiographical novel, Plath showed many initial differences. As documented in the biography, Plath travels to New†¦show more content†¦This is exemplified when Mrs. Willard explains to Buddy, â€Å"What a man is is an arrow into the future, and what a woman is is the place the arrow shoots off from.† Likewise, Mrs. No rton, mother of Richard, advises, â€Å"Girls look for infinite security. Boys look for a mate. Both look for different things.† This is troubling for both Plath and Esther, who have nurtured ambitions of their own with no plans of supporting a husband. Likewise, both have seen their mothers become submissive to their husbands. As a result of these experiences, they are disappointed in that woman are forced to be pure for their husbands while men are given more freedom. These sentiments lead to strong sense of dissatisfaction and culminate in a rejection of the lives in which they are currently situated in; they both seemed to reject the false self by throwing away the clothes that masked the woman they idealized. In the biography, Plath does not directly reveal her inadequacy; she reveals this through Esther. When confronted with the question of future plans, Esther responds that she does not know. Esther feels surprised at hearing herself say this; this realization might s uggest Plath’s internal thoughts at the time, which culminated in a nervous breakdown. She had won a series of prizes and merits but her experiences at Mademoiselle only revealed that these accomplishments alone would not guarantee the life she hoped for; she was constantly pressured to acquireShow MoreRelatedA Courage’s Attempt to Take Her Life back in Sylvia Plath’s â€Å"Daddy† 1991 Words   |  8 PagesSylvia Plath a highly acclaimed twentieth century American poet whose writings were mostly influenced by her life experiences. Her father died shortly after her eighth birthday and her first documented attempt at suicide was in her early twenties. She was married at age twenty-three and when she discovered her husband was having an affair she left him with their two children. Her depression and the abandonment she felt as a child and as a woman is what inspires most of her works. Daddy is a majorRead MoreHow Sylvia Plaths Life is Reflected in the Poem s Daddy, Morning Song, and Lady Lazarus2237 Words   |  9 PagesHow Sylvia Plaths Life is Reflected in the Poems Daddy, Morning Song, and Lady Lazarus Sylvia Plath has had an exciting life, if I can use this word. Her father died from an undiagnosed diabetes when she was eight. At the same time, a short couplet that she wrote was published in the Boston Sunday Herald. Later, she won scholarships to study in Smith, Harvard, and finally Cambridge. There, Plath married Ted Hughes, who was a good poet, too. What amazes me in her life isRead 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 Comparison Essay1339 Words   |  6 PagesComparison: Sylvia Plath’s â€Å"Tulips† and Mary Oliver’s â€Å"Poppies† Throughout time females have found it hard to achieve acceptance and accreditation in the world of poetry. However, two American female poets, who were born in the 1930’s, did make a name for themselves. During this era of rapidly changing gender roles, social values and world politics, these women were able to produce a rich variety of poetry. These poets are known for their driven personalities and their captivating poems about alienationRead MoreBiography of Sylvia Plath942 Words   |  4 Pagestwentieth 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. Sylvia spent her childhoodRead MoreA Reflection in Sylvia Plaths Mirror1013 Words   |  5 PagesA Reflection in Sylvia Plath’s Mirror Amanda L. Wilson Eng:125 Introduction to Literature Professor Lyndsey Lefebvre November 18, 2013 A Reflection in Sylvia Plath’s Mirror Sylvia Plath’s poem Mirror (1963) is evocative, provocative, and expressive. According to Clugston (2010) these are important components of poetry. Sylvia Plath’s first line is a projection of the mirror providing its introduction saying, â€Å"I am silver and exact†(Plath, 1963, line 1). The mirror is the protagonist whoRead MorePoetry Explication of Sylvia Plath’s â€Å"Mirror†949 Words   |  4 PagesPoetry Explication of Sylvia Plath’s â€Å"Mirror† The first thing one can notice in Sylvia Plath’s poem â€Å"Mirror† (rpt. In Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson, Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 9th ed. [Boston: Wadsworth, 2006] 680) is that the speaker in the poem is the mirror and the woman in the poem is Sylvia Plath. As you read through the poem, the lake is relevant because of the famous mythological story of narcissus. He was extremely beautiful and one day while drinking from a lakeRead MoreThe Transition in Sylvia Plath’s Work1438 Words   |  6 PagesLife has been some combination of fairy-tale coincidence 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 yearsRead MoreContributions Of Sylvia Plath1302 Words   |  6 Pagesto peoples’ mental health are just a few of examples of profound writers who contributed to the growth and development of literature. Sylvia Plath was also a profound writer and one of the most respected poets and prose writer of her time as well. She was once described as â€Å"one of the most celebrated and controversial of postwar poets writing in English† (â€Å"Sylvia Plath†). Many of her poems talked about her own mental issues, her marriage problems, conflicts with her parents that were left unresolvedRead MoreSylvia Plath836 Words   |  4 Pages Sylvia Plath is said to be one the most prodigious, yet interesting, confessional poets of her time. She was an extremely vital poet of the post-World War II time period and expressed her feelings towards her father and husband through her poetry. Plath’s mental illness had a dramatic influence upon her work in which she demonstrated the hatred she had for her father specifically. The poem â€Å"Daddy† is an easily applicable example. Within this piece of work, Plath uses direct references to how