¶ Sylvia Plath: One of the greatest poets of the 20th century
¶ Introduction
Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) was an American poet and novelist known for her confessional style of writing, celebrated for her poignant and introspective works. She is considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th century.
¶ Early life
Sylvia was born on October 27, 1932, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to Otto Emil Plath, a German immigrant and professor of biology and entomology, and Aurelia Schober Plath, a teacher and writer. She had one younger brother named Warren.
Growing up, Sylvia's family emphasized academics and intellectual pursuits. Her father, Otto, was a scholar, and her mother, Aurelia, had a passion for literature. This environment nurtured Sylvia's early interest in writing and literature, leading her to start writing poems at a very young age.
Sylvia attended public schools in Boston and excelled academically, consistently achieving top grades. Her talent for writing became evident early on. But then Sylvia’s father died due to complications from untreated diabetes, which led the family to struggle financially. She was only 8 years old and this loss influenced heavily her poetry and writings.
“I can’t let Shakespeare get too far ahead of me, you know”
¶ Intellectual brilliance
Sylvia was brilliant and ambitious. She excelled academically and won scholarships, which enabled her to attend prestigious institutions such as Smith College and then Cambridge University (UK). At that time, getting a high-class education served women mostly to assure marriage with powerful men. Sylvia wanted something else - she wanted to be an intellectual and live life on her own terms. She quickly realized the world was designed and set up for men. Women were a mere support, expected to deliver babies and run a house.
¶ First glimpse of a woman’s adult life in the 1950’s
In the summer of 1953, in the third year at Smith, Sylvia was selected as one of twenty college students to work as a guest editor or "guest associate" at the New York-based fashion magazine "Mademoiselle." This opportunity was the result of a writing competition she had won. The program, known as the "Guest Editorship for College Women," was a highly sought-after position among young women aspiring to enter the world of publishing and writing.
During her month-long trainee period at "Mademoiselle," Sylvia was immersed in the glamorous world of New York City's fashion and publishing industries. She worked at the magazine's offices, where she experienced the day-to-day operations of a major publication. This included tasks such as reading and selecting articles, assisting with photo shoots, and attending social events and parties.
However, Plath's experience at "Mademoiselle" was not entirely as she had anticipated. While it was a prestigious opportunity, she began to feel disillusioned and overwhelmed by the expectations and pressures placed on young women of her generation. She struggled with feelings of inadequacy, the pressure to conform to societal ideals of femininity and beauty, and the sense that her own ambitions as a writer were being stifled.
This period of disillusionment and the clash between her personal aspirations and the societal norms she encountered at "Mademoiselle" would later serve as the basis for her semi-autobiographical novel, "The Bell Jar." In the novel, the protagonist, Esther Greenwood, undergoes a similar experience during her time as a guest editor at a fashion magazine in New York City.
¶ Mental health issues
Sylvia’s mental health issues played a significant and complex role in her life and work. Her struggles with mental illness, particularly depression, are a central theme in her poetry, prose, and personal writings. Her battle with depression began during her college years. She faced intense academic pressures and her own personal challenges, which contributed to emotional distress.
In 1953, she started showing serious signs of mental collapse, which led her mother to take her to the doctor. She underwent electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which was a common treatment for severe depression at the time but that was not well administered to Sylvia. On August 24 Sylvia tried to kill herself, by taking her mother’s sleeping pills.
She was then taken to McLean Hospital and was treated for six months with ECT and insulin. Her stay at the hospital and her Smith Scholarship were paid for by poet and novelist Olive Higgins Prouty, who also had recovered from a mental breakdown. After this, Sylvia could go on with her life, but her mental health state continued to fluctuate in the years following her hospitalization.
¶ England
After recovery, Sylvia returned to college, where she graduated with top honors, earning an A.B. summa cum laude. She was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society and possessed an IQ of approximately 160. Then in the fall of 1955 she received a Fulbright Scholarship to study another BA in English at Newnham College, part of the University of Cambridge in England. During her time at Newnham, she continued to write poetry and contribute to the student newspaper Varsity. She also had the opportunity to travel around Europe during her winter and spring breaks.
In February 1956 she met Ted Hughes, whose poems she had read in the campus newspaper. They immediately hit off when met in person and got married four months later.
¶ Marriage
In the first years of marriage, the couple seemed happy. Ted’s career started to take off (later he became one of the greatest British poets) and the couple went to live in the US for a couple of years, where they met fellow poets and writers.
Back in England, in 1960, The Colossus, Sylvia’s first collection of poetry was published and her first child, Frieda, was born. However, a scary fact emerged in 1961, when her second pregnancy ended in miscarriage: in a letter to her therapist, Sylvia wrote that Hughes beat her two days before the miscarriage. There have been allegations of domestic violence in the relationship, with Plath accusing Hughes of being physically and emotionally abusive towards her.
In 1962, their marriage was already tumultuous. Sylvia had just had their second child, Nicholas, while Ted was having an extramarital affair with writer Assia Wevill, a friend’s wife. The affair devastated Sylvia. Also the relationship between Sylvia and Ted was often characterized by power imbalances, with him often taking the dominant role. Sylvia felt overshadowed by Hughes's poetic talent and struggled to assert her own identity as a writer. They separated and Sylvia was living in London alone, taking care of their two kids by herself and in very poor conditions.
In 1963 her semi-autobiographical novel “The Bell Jar” was published and received good reviews, although this didn’t make Sylvia very enthusiastic. At this point Sylvia was deeply depressed and couldn’t count on any support system.
¶ Death
Sylvia Plath died by suicide on February 14, 1963. She was 30 years old.
¶ Late acknowledgement
Sylvia’s work was practically buried with her death as she was not immediately acknowledged in all her genius. After her passing, Ted Hughes played a significant role in managing her literary estate and publishing her remaining works. Some argue that his editorial choices and decisions about which of her writings to publish may have influenced the public perception of her work and legacy.
In 1965 her final collection of poetry, "Ariel," was published and it is now considered one of the most important works of 20th-century poetry.
Sylvia’s poetry was also embraced by the feminist movement, which saw her as a powerful voice for women's experiences. Her work can be seen as both a reflection of feminist ideas and a critique of societal expectations placed on women. While she may not have identified as a feminist in the conventional sense, her writing has been an important part of feminist literature and has contributed to discussions about women's roles and experiences.
With her growing popularity, after being rescued from oblivion, her life was the subject of several biographies and documentaries, which helped to introduce her work to a wider audience. These works also brought attention to her struggles with mental illness, which further endeared her to readers who faced similar challenges.
As a result of these factors, Plath's work has become increasingly popular and influential over the years. She is now considered one of the most important poets of the 20th century, and her work continues to be read and studied by scholars and fans around the world.
¶ Poetry collections
- The Colossus and Other Poems (1960, William Heinemann)
- Ariel (1965, Faber and Faber)
- Three Women: A Monologue for Three Voices (1968, Turret Books)
- Crossing the Water (1971, Faber and Faber)
- Winter Trees (1971, Faber and Faber)
- The Collected Poems (1981, Faber and Faber)
- Selected Poems (1985, Faber and Faber)
- Ariel: The Restored Edition (2004, Faber and Faber)
¶ Collected prose and novels
- The Bell Jar, under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas" (novel, 1963, Heinemann)
- Letters Home: Correspondence 1950–1963 (1975, Harper & Row, US; Faber and Faber, UK)
- Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams: Short Stories, Prose, and Diary Excerpts (1977, Faber and Faber)
- The Journals of Sylvia Plath (1982, Dial Press)
- The Magic Mirror (1989), Plath's Smith College senior thesis
- The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath, edited by Karen V. Kukil (2000, Anchor Books)
- The Letters of Sylvia Plath, Volume 1, edited by Peter K. Steinberg and Karen V. Kukil (2017, Faber and Faber)
- The Letters of Sylvia Plath, Volume 2, edited by Peter K. Steinberg and Karen V. Kukil (2018, Faber and Faber)
- Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom (2019, Faber and Faber)
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Plath
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sylvia-Plath
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/sylvia-plath
Documentary “Sylvia Plath: Inside the bell jar”, by Teresa Griffiths (2018)
https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/portrait-gallery-opens-visual-exploration-life-sylvia-plath
http://latribu.info/libros/assia-wevill-la-amante-debil/