the short life and blazing art of sylvia plath

Likewise, Sylvia Path is many things to many people. Or we squint our eyes to see a reflection where there is none. We project our own experiences into the spaces left blank. Human nature urges us to incorporate our own humanity into the literature we consume. By signing up you agree to our terms of use Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. This costume has stuck in my mind for years it’s decidedly emblematic of what Sylvia Plath means to some people: a beautiful, doomed woman. I recall one Halloween party with a ghoulish attendee who made a costume of Plath’s suicide - she died with her head in a gas oven. She suffered from depression, and The Bell Jar fictionalizes her struggles and treatment. She has achieved some level of literary immortality, partially because of the tragedy of her short life. Although these published works are few in number, a rich body of her writing has survived, thanks to the fastidious journals she kept throughout her life and her habit of letter writing. Plath’s Collected Poems, published in 1981, won the Pulitzer Prize. It continues to inspire readers for its honesty, fury, and provocative, searing language.

Plath’s second volume of poetry, Ariel, published posthumously and edited by her estranged husband Ted Hughes, received wide acclaim. The other, her novel The Bell Jar, has become a staple in English literature curricula.

Her debut poetry collection was 1960’s The Colossus and Other Poems. Sylvia Plath is one of the most celebrated voices in 20th century American literature. A note: readers who are sensitive to stories about people like Sylvia Plath who suffered from mental illness and died by suicide should approach this article with caution.

The short life and blazing art of sylvia plath