Sylvia Plath

1. Sylvia Plath 1932-1963 “The blood jet is poetry / there is no stopping it.”

2. A brief biography: childhood After discovering poetry, Sylvia said I “had fallen into a new way of being happy.” • Born in Boston on October 27, 1932, to Aurelia Schober and Otto Plath • Her father was German-Polish; uni professor and bee-keeper • A precocious child- knew insect names in Latin! • Her mother introduced her to poetry which she loved • Idolised her father and longed to please him • In 1930s he developed diabetes, but refused treatment. Gangrene of leg led to amputation. • In 1940, when Sylvia was 8, her father died and she published her first poem.

3. “I still do not know myself. Perhaps I never will. I am afraid of getting older. I am afraid of getting married…I want, I think, to be omniscient…I think I would like to call myself the girl who wanted to be God. . . . Never, never, will I reach the perfection I long for with all my soul. . . .” (diary, age 17) Sylvia Plath as a young woman • At school she was a top student, excelling in English • 1950 recieves a scholarship to Smith College • 1953 won a competition to guest-edit Mademoiselle magazine in New York. • Suffers mental & emotional exhaustion • Is rejected for a Harvard writing course • First suicide attempt –overdose. Receives electric shock treatment. • She writes about these experiences in her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar

4. Sylvia goes to England • 1954 Plath went to Harvard summer school, graduates summa cum laude in 1955 • Wins a Fulbright Scholarship to England • 1956 She met Ted Hughes, a poet, at a Cambridge University party • According to her journal, at this meeting he kissed her and she bit him on the cheek, drawing blood. • It was an intense courtship and they were married within months. He was “very simply the only man I’ve ever met whom I could never boss.” (Sylvia to friends)

5. Motherhood & Writing • After a 2 year teaching stint in America the couple decided to commit to writing full-time and return to England • In 1960 Plath had her first child, Frieda, and published her first book of poetry, ‘The Colossus’. • In 1962, following a traumatic appendix operation and the birth of their son Nicholas, Plath's writing became more frantic.

6. Sylvia & Ted’s relationship was passionate and tumultuous She was attracted to his physical power, his way with animals esp owls, his reputation as a poet, and appreciated his encouragement of her poetry She feared losing him 1962 – the beginning of the end June: 2nd suicide attempt – driving car off the road July: Discovers Ted’s affair with Assia Weevill. Sept: They separate Oct: She writes 26 poems in one month Dec: She takes her 2 children and moves into a maisonette in London She prepares Ariel, a collection of 41 poems Sylvia Plath & Ted Hughes

7. The end: 1963 • The Bell Jar is published under a pseudonym and receives good reviews • She is depressed, isolated and mentally unstable • February 1963, in one of the coldest winters in English history, she succeeded in taking her life • Her body was discovered the following morning. • She was survived by her 2 children. • 1965: Ariel was published. • 1982 she is posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Literature.

8. In our study of Sylvia Plathwe will consider these questions… • What are the distinctive characteristics and strengths of her poetry? • How much should the author’s biography be considered when interpreting their work? • Was she a great poet, or simply famous because of her tragic life? • In what ways was her poetry affected by her relationship with Ted Hughes? • To what extent does her work ‘fit’ categories such as ‘confessional’ poet, Feminist poet etc?

9. Resources Biographical information • http://www.sylviaplath.info/biography.html • http://www.bbc.co.uk/poetryseason/poets/sylvia_plath.shtml • http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=7083