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诏夭蹖丿賴 丕卮毓丕乇 爻蹖賱賵蹖丕 倬賱丕鬲
賲鬲賳 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖 賵 鬲乇噩賲赖 賮丕乇爻蹖 丕夭 賲丕賴 賵 爻賾乇禺丿丕乇貙 亘蹖賵賴貙貙 讴賱丕睾 爻蹖丕賴 丿乇 賴賵丕蹖 亘丕乇丕賳蹖貙 爻賵夭丕賳丿賳 賳丕賲賴 賴丕貙 噩乇丕丨 丿乇 爻丕毓鬲 丿賵 氐亘丨貙 夭禺賲貙 鬲亘貙 蹖讴 乇丕夭貙 夭賳 亘丿賵賳 亘趩賴貙 亘乇丕夭蹖賱蹖丕貙 亘丕睾 鬲蹖賵賱貙 亘賵賮貙 亘乇丕蹖 倬爻乇蹖 亘蹖 倬丿乇貙 賵 ... 卮毓乇蹖 亘乇丕蹖 賲蹖賱丕丿
215 pages, Paperback
First published December 25, 1981
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6167 people want to read
About the author
Sylvia Plath
269听books27k听followersSylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer, widely regarded as one of the most influential and emotionally powerful authors of the 20th century. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she demonstrated literary talent from an early age, publishing her first poem at the age of eight. Her early life was shaped by the death of her father, Otto Plath, when she was eight years old, a trauma that would profoundly influence her later work.
Plath attended Smith College, where she excelled academically but also struggled privately with depression. In 1953, she survived a suicide attempt, an experience she later fictionalized in her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. After recovering, she earned a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Newnham College, Cambridge, in England. While there, she met and married English poet Ted Hughes in 1956. Their relationship was passionate but tumultuous, with tensions exacerbated by personal differences and Hughes's infidelities.
Throughout her life, Plath sought to balance her ambitions as a writer with the demands of marriage and motherhood. She had two children with Hughes, Frieda and Nicholas, and continued to write prolifically. In 1960, her first poetry collection, The Colossus and Other Poems, was published in the United Kingdom. Although it received modest critical attention at the time, it laid the foundation for her distinctive voice鈥攊ntensely personal, often exploring themes of death, rebirth, and female identity.
Plath's marriage unraveled in 1962, leading to a period of intense emotional turmoil but also extraordinary creative output. Living with her two children in London, she wrote many of the poems that would posthumously form Ariel, the collection that would cement her literary legacy. These works, filled with striking imagery and raw emotional force, displayed her ability to turn personal suffering into powerful art. Poems like "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus" remain among her most famous, celebrated for their fierce honesty and technical brilliance.
In early 1963, following a deepening depression, Plath died by suicide at the age of 30. Her death shocked the literary world and sparked a lasting fascination with her life and work. The posthumous publication of Ariel in 1965, edited by Hughes, introduced Plath's later poetry to a wide audience and established her as a major figure in modern literature. Her novel The Bell Jar was also published under her own name shortly after her death, having initially appeared under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas."
Plath鈥檚 work is often classified within the genre of confessional poetry, a style that emphasizes personal and psychological experiences. Her fearless exploration of themes like mental illness, female oppression, and death has resonated with generations of readers and scholars. Over time, Plath has become a feminist icon, though her legacy is complex and occasionally controversial, especially in light of debates over Hughes's role in managing her literary estate and personal history.
Today, Sylvia Plath is remembered not only for her tragic personal story but also for her immense contributions to American and English literature. Her work continues to inspire writers, artists, and readers worldwide. Collections such as Ariel, Crossing the Water, and Winter Trees, as well as her journals and letters, offer deep insight into her creative mind. Sylvia Plath鈥檚 voice, marked by its intensity and emotional clarity, remains one of the most haunting and enduring in modern literature.
Plath attended Smith College, where she excelled academically but also struggled privately with depression. In 1953, she survived a suicide attempt, an experience she later fictionalized in her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. After recovering, she earned a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Newnham College, Cambridge, in England. While there, she met and married English poet Ted Hughes in 1956. Their relationship was passionate but tumultuous, with tensions exacerbated by personal differences and Hughes's infidelities.
Throughout her life, Plath sought to balance her ambitions as a writer with the demands of marriage and motherhood. She had two children with Hughes, Frieda and Nicholas, and continued to write prolifically. In 1960, her first poetry collection, The Colossus and Other Poems, was published in the United Kingdom. Although it received modest critical attention at the time, it laid the foundation for her distinctive voice鈥攊ntensely personal, often exploring themes of death, rebirth, and female identity.
Plath's marriage unraveled in 1962, leading to a period of intense emotional turmoil but also extraordinary creative output. Living with her two children in London, she wrote many of the poems that would posthumously form Ariel, the collection that would cement her literary legacy. These works, filled with striking imagery and raw emotional force, displayed her ability to turn personal suffering into powerful art. Poems like "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus" remain among her most famous, celebrated for their fierce honesty and technical brilliance.
In early 1963, following a deepening depression, Plath died by suicide at the age of 30. Her death shocked the literary world and sparked a lasting fascination with her life and work. The posthumous publication of Ariel in 1965, edited by Hughes, introduced Plath's later poetry to a wide audience and established her as a major figure in modern literature. Her novel The Bell Jar was also published under her own name shortly after her death, having initially appeared under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas."
Plath鈥檚 work is often classified within the genre of confessional poetry, a style that emphasizes personal and psychological experiences. Her fearless exploration of themes like mental illness, female oppression, and death has resonated with generations of readers and scholars. Over time, Plath has become a feminist icon, though her legacy is complex and occasionally controversial, especially in light of debates over Hughes's role in managing her literary estate and personal history.
Today, Sylvia Plath is remembered not only for her tragic personal story but also for her immense contributions to American and English literature. Her work continues to inspire writers, artists, and readers worldwide. Collections such as Ariel, Crossing the Water, and Winter Trees, as well as her journals and letters, offer deep insight into her creative mind. Sylvia Plath鈥檚 voice, marked by its intensity and emotional clarity, remains one of the most haunting and enduring in modern literature.
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April 26, 2022
鈥嶤ollected Poems, Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath (October 27, 1932 鈥� February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short-story writer. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College at the University of Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a poet and writer.
Sylvia Plath: The Manor Garden.
The fountains are dry and the roses over.
Incense of death. Your day approaches.
The pears fatten like little Buddhas.
A blue mist is dragging the lake.
You move through the era of fishes,
The smug centuries of the pig-Head, toe and finger
Come clear of the shadow. History
Nourishes these broken fluting's,
These crowns of acanthus,
And the crow settles her garments.
You inherit white heather, a bee's wing,
Two suicides, the family wolves,
Hours of blankness. Some hard stars
Already yellow the heavens.
The spider on its own string
Crosses the lake. The worms
Quit their usual habitations.
The small birds converge, converge
With their gifts to a difficult borning.
鬲丕乇蹖禺 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 禺賵丕賳卮: 丿乇 蹖讴蹖 丕夭 乇賵夭賴丕蹖 賲丕賴 跇賵卅賳 爻丕賱2008賲蹖賱丕丿蹖
毓賳賵丕賳: 诏夭蹖丿賴 丕卮毓丕乇 爻蹖賱賵蹖丕 倬賱丕鬲貨 卮丕毓乇: 爻蹖賱賵蹖丕 倬賱丕鬲貨 诏乇丿丌賵乇蹖: 鬲丿 賴蹖賵夭貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 丕爻丿丕賱賱賴 丕賲乇丕蹖蹖貨 爻. 賲丨賲丿蹖貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 賳賯卮 賵 賳诏丕乇貙 爻丕賱1381貨 丿乇215氐貨 卮丕亘讴9646235514貨 賲賵囟賵毓: 诏夭蹖丿賴 卮毓乇賴丕蹖 卮丕毓乇丕賳 丕蹖丕賱丕鬲 賲鬲丨丿賴 丌賲乇蹖讴丕 - 爻丿賴 蹖20賲
毓賳賵丕賳: 诏夭蹖丿賴 丕卮毓丕乇 爻蹖賱賵蹖丕 倬賱丕鬲: 丿賵 夭亘丕賳賴 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖 賵 賮丕乇爻蹖貨 卮丕毓乇: 爻蹖賱賵蹖丕 倬賱丕鬲貨 诏乇丿丌賵乇蹖: 鬲丿 賴蹖賵夭貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 乇賯蹖賴 賯賳亘乇毓賱蹖夭丕丿賴貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 诏賱 丌匕蹖賳貙 爻丕賱1391貨 丿乇203氐貨 卮丕亘讴9789647703949貨
賲鬲賳 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖 賵 鬲乇噩賲赖 賮丕乇爻蹖 丕卮毓丕乇: (芦賲丕賴 賵 爻賾乇禺丿丕乇禄貙 芦亘蹖賵賴禄貙 芦讴賱丕睾 爻蹖丕賴 丿乇 賴賵丕蹖 亘丕乇丕賳蹖禄貙 芦爻賵夭丕賳丿賳 賳丕賲賴 賴丕禄貙 芦噩乇丕丨 丿乇 爻丕毓鬲 丿賵 氐亘丨禄貙 芦夭禺賲禄貙 芦鬲亘禄貙 芦蹖讴 乇丕夭禄貙 芦夭賳 亘丿賵賳 亘趩賴禄貙 芦亘乇丕夭蹖賱蹖丕禄貙 芦亘丕睾 鬲蹖賵賱禄貙 芦亘賵賮禄貙 芦亘乇丕蹖 倬爻乇蹖 亘蹖 倬丿乇禄貙 賵 芦...禄貨 芦卮毓乇蹖 亘乇丕蹖 賲蹖賱丕丿禄貨
賳賯賱 丕夭 卮毓乇: 亘丕睾 鬲蹖賵賱: (趩丕賴 賴丕 禺卮讴蹖丿 賵 乇夭賴丕 倬跇賲乇丿貙 睾亘丕乇 賲乇诏貨 乇賵夭诏丕乇鬲 亘賴 爻乇 丌賲丿貙 诏賱丕亘蹖賴丕 趩丕賯 賲蹖卮賵賳丿 賴賲丕賳賳丿 亘賵丿丕賴丕蹖 讴賵趩讴貙 賲賴蹖 丿賱诏蹖乇 禺蹖賲賴 夭丿賴 亘乇 丿乇蹖丕趩賴)貨 倬丕蹖丕賳
鬲丕乇蹖禺 亘賴賳诏丕賲 乇爻丕賳蹖 22/04/1399賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 05/02/1401賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 丕. 卮乇亘蹖丕賳蹖
Sylvia Plath (October 27, 1932 鈥� February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short-story writer. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College at the University of Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a poet and writer.
Sylvia Plath: The Manor Garden.
The fountains are dry and the roses over.
Incense of death. Your day approaches.
The pears fatten like little Buddhas.
A blue mist is dragging the lake.
You move through the era of fishes,
The smug centuries of the pig-Head, toe and finger
Come clear of the shadow. History
Nourishes these broken fluting's,
These crowns of acanthus,
And the crow settles her garments.
You inherit white heather, a bee's wing,
Two suicides, the family wolves,
Hours of blankness. Some hard stars
Already yellow the heavens.
The spider on its own string
Crosses the lake. The worms
Quit their usual habitations.
The small birds converge, converge
With their gifts to a difficult borning.
鬲丕乇蹖禺 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 禺賵丕賳卮: 丿乇 蹖讴蹖 丕夭 乇賵夭賴丕蹖 賲丕賴 跇賵卅賳 爻丕賱2008賲蹖賱丕丿蹖
毓賳賵丕賳: 诏夭蹖丿賴 丕卮毓丕乇 爻蹖賱賵蹖丕 倬賱丕鬲貨 卮丕毓乇: 爻蹖賱賵蹖丕 倬賱丕鬲貨 诏乇丿丌賵乇蹖: 鬲丿 賴蹖賵夭貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 丕爻丿丕賱賱賴 丕賲乇丕蹖蹖貨 爻. 賲丨賲丿蹖貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 賳賯卮 賵 賳诏丕乇貙 爻丕賱1381貨 丿乇215氐貨 卮丕亘讴9646235514貨 賲賵囟賵毓: 诏夭蹖丿賴 卮毓乇賴丕蹖 卮丕毓乇丕賳 丕蹖丕賱丕鬲 賲鬲丨丿賴 丌賲乇蹖讴丕 - 爻丿賴 蹖20賲
毓賳賵丕賳: 诏夭蹖丿賴 丕卮毓丕乇 爻蹖賱賵蹖丕 倬賱丕鬲: 丿賵 夭亘丕賳賴 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖 賵 賮丕乇爻蹖貨 卮丕毓乇: 爻蹖賱賵蹖丕 倬賱丕鬲貨 诏乇丿丌賵乇蹖: 鬲丿 賴蹖賵夭貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 乇賯蹖賴 賯賳亘乇毓賱蹖夭丕丿賴貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 诏賱 丌匕蹖賳貙 爻丕賱1391貨 丿乇203氐貨 卮丕亘讴9789647703949貨
賲鬲賳 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖 賵 鬲乇噩賲赖 賮丕乇爻蹖 丕卮毓丕乇: (芦賲丕賴 賵 爻賾乇禺丿丕乇禄貙 芦亘蹖賵賴禄貙 芦讴賱丕睾 爻蹖丕賴 丿乇 賴賵丕蹖 亘丕乇丕賳蹖禄貙 芦爻賵夭丕賳丿賳 賳丕賲賴 賴丕禄貙 芦噩乇丕丨 丿乇 爻丕毓鬲 丿賵 氐亘丨禄貙 芦夭禺賲禄貙 芦鬲亘禄貙 芦蹖讴 乇丕夭禄貙 芦夭賳 亘丿賵賳 亘趩賴禄貙 芦亘乇丕夭蹖賱蹖丕禄貙 芦亘丕睾 鬲蹖賵賱禄貙 芦亘賵賮禄貙 芦亘乇丕蹖 倬爻乇蹖 亘蹖 倬丿乇禄貙 賵 芦...禄貨 芦卮毓乇蹖 亘乇丕蹖 賲蹖賱丕丿禄貨
賳賯賱 丕夭 卮毓乇: 亘丕睾 鬲蹖賵賱: (趩丕賴 賴丕 禺卮讴蹖丿 賵 乇夭賴丕 倬跇賲乇丿貙 睾亘丕乇 賲乇诏貨 乇賵夭诏丕乇鬲 亘賴 爻乇 丌賲丿貙 诏賱丕亘蹖賴丕 趩丕賯 賲蹖卮賵賳丿 賴賲丕賳賳丿 亘賵丿丕賴丕蹖 讴賵趩讴貙 賲賴蹖 丿賱诏蹖乇 禺蹖賲賴 夭丿賴 亘乇 丿乇蹖丕趩賴)貨 倬丕蹖丕賳
鬲丕乇蹖禺 亘賴賳诏丕賲 乇爻丕賳蹖 22/04/1399賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 05/02/1401賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 丕. 卮乇亘蹖丕賳蹖
May 11, 2020
亘賴 鬲賯賱蹖丿 丕夭 爻蹖賱賵蹖丕 倬賱丕鬲:
丿蹖乇賵夭 丿乇 賴賲爻丕蹖诏蹖 賲丕
賲丕丿乇蹖 賲購乇丿
賵 丿賵亘丕乇賴 丿禺鬲乇蹖 蹖鬲蹖賲 卮丿
丿禺鬲乇讴 爻蹖鈥屬堚€屫簇� 爻丕毓鬲 賲丿丕賲 诏乇蹖賴 讴乇丿
丕夭 倬賳噩乇賴 賳诏丕賴卮 鈥屬呟屸€屭┴必�
賵賯鬲蹖 丕夭 丿乇丿 賵 賳丕丕賲蹖丿蹖
賴賲趩賵賳 噩賵噩賴鈥� 禺丕乇倬卮鬲蹖 賵丨卮鬲 夭丿賴
丿乇 禺賵丿 倬蹖趩蹖丿貙
趩賯丿乇 卮亘蹖賴 賲賳 亘賵丿.
...........
卮毓乇賴丕 賲賳 乇賵 蹖丕丿 賮乇賵睾 賮乇禺夭丕丿 賲蹖鈥屫з嗀ж�. 賴賲丕賳 賮乇丕夭 賵 賮乇賵丿賴丕 貙 丕丨爻丕爻丕鬲 乇賵卮賳 賵 囟毓賮 賵 賯賵鬲 賴丕
...........
亘賳馗乇 賲蹖丕丿 亘蹖賳 賳亘賵睾 夭賳賴丕蹖 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 賵 禺賵丿讴卮蹖 乇丕亘胤賴 丕蹖 賵噩賵丿 丿丕乇賴 . 爻蹖賱賵蹖丕 倬賱丕鬲貙 賵蹖乇噩蹖賳蹖丕 賵賵賱賮貙 睾夭丕賱賴 毓賱蹖夭丕丿賴....
賲乇诏蹖 禺賵丿禺賵丕爻鬲賴 賵 丿乇 讴賲丕賱 丌爻賵丿诏蹖貙 禺蹖賱蹖 賴賵爻 丕賳诏蹖夭 賵 噩匕丕亘賴
丿蹖乇賵夭 丿乇 賴賲爻丕蹖诏蹖 賲丕
賲丕丿乇蹖 賲購乇丿
賵 丿賵亘丕乇賴 丿禺鬲乇蹖 蹖鬲蹖賲 卮丿
丿禺鬲乇讴 爻蹖鈥屬堚€屫簇� 爻丕毓鬲 賲丿丕賲 诏乇蹖賴 讴乇丿
丕夭 倬賳噩乇賴 賳诏丕賴卮 鈥屬呟屸€屭┴必�
賵賯鬲蹖 丕夭 丿乇丿 賵 賳丕丕賲蹖丿蹖
賴賲趩賵賳 噩賵噩賴鈥� 禺丕乇倬卮鬲蹖 賵丨卮鬲 夭丿賴
丿乇 禺賵丿 倬蹖趩蹖丿貙
趩賯丿乇 卮亘蹖賴 賲賳 亘賵丿.
...........
卮毓乇賴丕 賲賳 乇賵 蹖丕丿 賮乇賵睾 賮乇禺夭丕丿 賲蹖鈥屫з嗀ж�. 賴賲丕賳 賮乇丕夭 賵 賮乇賵丿賴丕 貙 丕丨爻丕爻丕鬲 乇賵卮賳 賵 囟毓賮 賵 賯賵鬲 賴丕
...........
亘賳馗乇 賲蹖丕丿 亘蹖賳 賳亘賵睾 夭賳賴丕蹖 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 賵 禺賵丿讴卮蹖 乇丕亘胤賴 丕蹖 賵噩賵丿 丿丕乇賴 . 爻蹖賱賵蹖丕 倬賱丕鬲貙 賵蹖乇噩蹖賳蹖丕 賵賵賱賮貙 睾夭丕賱賴 毓賱蹖夭丕丿賴....
賲乇诏蹖 禺賵丿禺賵丕爻鬲賴 賵 丿乇 讴賲丕賱 丌爻賵丿诏蹖貙 禺蹖賱蹖 賴賵爻 丕賳诏蹖夭 賵 噩匕丕亘賴
May 9, 2013
Rarely have the tortuous dimensions of life lived against the grain of existence been so wittily, so achingly, so stingingly and yet economically sewn together, and with lyrical needles threaded to an anomic precision and harrowing spartanism鈥攁lternately languid and feral鈥攁nd yet fully alive and alight in the face of despair and darkness. It's as if the viscous attar of sexuality and relationships, gender bruises, mental states and discomfits and deteriorations, temporal and spatial stretching and crushing, the particulate radioactivity of pain and pleasure and their twinned allure to the sly and greasy promises of death, were all cornered, captured, and compressed within fragments of sentence and phrase, and then painted and lacquered such that they stood, apart but connected, as beads and gewgaws of sparkling, sometimes severe, colour and form. Hurt in short hops. Pain bled thin and patched with bows and sequins. Primal emotions as cutlets, or cubed and spaced like the stars. Hardly an easy or benignant experience, and one that pushes you away more readily than admits you within鈥攂ut nonetheless starkly beautiful in sudden stabs or lathed poses and palpably resonant to those accustomed to being cut and/or doing the cutting.
One thing: the Faber and Faber edition that I own does not contain the sublimely taut Lady Lazarus, one of her most effective and affective poems鈥攂ut it's made up for with having introduced me to the likes of Suicide off Egg Rock, Insomniac, Finisterre and Edge.
One thing: the Faber and Faber edition that I own does not contain the sublimely taut Lady Lazarus, one of her most effective and affective poems鈥攂ut it's made up for with having introduced me to the likes of Suicide off Egg Rock, Insomniac, Finisterre and Edge.
February 6, 2021
Actual rating 4.5/5 stars.
I attempted to space these poems out and still tore through them in three days. Plath's words speak to my soul. She writes like she is brushing against an open wound with her pen and I am helpless to feel anything but an echo of this ache reverberate inside me.
My favourites include:
Tulips
Insomniac
Wuthering Heights
Finisterre
Mirror
Poppies in July
A Birthday Present
Ariel
I attempted to space these poems out and still tore through them in three days. Plath's words speak to my soul. She writes like she is brushing against an open wound with her pen and I am helpless to feel anything but an echo of this ache reverberate inside me.
My favourites include:
Tulips
Insomniac
Wuthering Heights
Finisterre
Mirror
Poppies in July
A Birthday Present
Ariel
November 4, 2022
La poes铆a de Sylvia Plath siempre me resulta avasalladora, tiene una pluma turbulenta, poderosa y profundamente sentida. Su obra entera est谩 atravesada por un tema com煤n, o bien una dolencia perpetua y a煤n as铆 cada poema consigue ser sorprendentemente 煤nico y aunque pueda ser repetitiva la angustia, nunca lo es su forma de expresarla.
Me conmueve, me moviliza, me hace sentir comprendida como si hubiese conseguido capturar una desolaci贸n que siempre tuve arraigada en m铆 pero que nunca consegu铆 articular y que nunca vi tan claramente reflejada como cuando la le铆. Por esto me ser谩, por siempre, admirada y querida.
Mis poemas favoritos de esta colecci贸n: a birthday gift y daddy.
Me conmueve, me moviliza, me hace sentir comprendida como si hubiese conseguido capturar una desolaci贸n que siempre tuve arraigada en m铆 pero que nunca consegu铆 articular y que nunca vi tan claramente reflejada como cuando la le铆. Por esto me ser谩, por siempre, admirada y querida.
Mis poemas favoritos de esta colecci贸n: a birthday gift y daddy.
January 17, 2019
One of my favourite poets of all time! I fall in love with Sylvia Plath's poetry even more every time I re-read it. My personal favourites in this particular edition include The Night Shift, The Cut, Daddy, and Babysitters :)
November 15, 2015
I struggle to understand a lot of poetry and some of these were very difficult to get my head round, the flow of the poems are different each time and it is tough to adapt between each of them
There were some I understood and they were great, my favourite being "Mirror" the opening two lines are the best in this collection...
"I am silver and exact, I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately"
I don't think I've ever heard a better decryption of a mirror.
As for others in the collection, they are very descriptive, using lots of words above me. Others are dark, references to previous suicide attempts are made, "A birthday present" has to be the darkest, the title tricks you into thinking "surely this will be a happy one"... Nope, not one bit.
An interesting collection I'm glad I have tried.
There were some I understood and they were great, my favourite being "Mirror" the opening two lines are the best in this collection...
"I am silver and exact, I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately"
I don't think I've ever heard a better decryption of a mirror.
As for others in the collection, they are very descriptive, using lots of words above me. Others are dark, references to previous suicide attempts are made, "A birthday present" has to be the darkest, the title tricks you into thinking "surely this will be a happy one"... Nope, not one bit.
An interesting collection I'm glad I have tried.
May 8, 2025
Stillborn
.
These poems do not live; it鈥檚 a sad diagnosis.
They grew their toes and fingers well enough,
Their little foreheads bulged with concentration.
If they missed out on walking about like people
It wasn鈥檛 for any lack of mother-love.
.
O I cannot understand what happened to them!
They are proper in shape and number and every part.
They sit so nicely in the pickling fluid!
They smile and smile and smile and smile at me.
And still the lungs won鈥檛 fill and the heart won鈥檛 start.
.
They are not pigs, they are not even fish,
Though they have a piggy and a fishy air 鈥�
It would be better if they were alive, and that鈥檚 what they were.
But they are dead, and their mother near dead with distraction,
And they stupidly stare, and do not speak for her.
.
-page 151
.
.
鬲乇噩賲赖鈥屬囏� 亘賴 胤乇夭 鬲讴丕賳鈥屫囐嗀団€屫й� 囟毓蹖賮貙 睾蹖乇賯丕亘賱 丿乇讴 賵 诏丕賴鈥屫ㄙ�
诏丕賴 丨鬲蹖 賳丕丿乇爻鬲 亘賵丿賳. 丕卮鬲亘丕賴鈥屬囏й� 賮丕丨卮 賴丕! 蹖毓賳蹖 賮讴乇 讴賳賲 賲鬲乇噩賲 丨鬲蹖 丕夭 禺賵丿卮 賳倬乇爻蹖丿賴 亘賵丿 讴賴 禺亘 丕賱丕賳 丕蹖賳 趩蹖夭蹖 讴賴 賳賵卮鬲賲 丕氐賱丕賸 賲毓賳丕蹖蹖 賲蹖鈥屫� 丿乇 賮丕乇爻蹖 蹖丕 賴賲蹖賳胤賵乇 丿丕乇賲 讴賱賲賴 亘賴 讴賱賲賴 鬲乇噩賲赖 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁�. 亘毓丿 丕氐賱丕賸 賲鬲賵噩賴 賳賲蹖鈥屫簇� 亘丕 趩賴 賳賵毓 鬲乇噩賲赖鈥屫й� 乇賵亘賴鈥屫辟堌з�. 蹖賴 噩丕賴丕蹖蹖 鬲乇噩賲赖鈥屰� 鬲丨鬲鈥屫з勝佖港� 亘賵丿 讴丕賲賱丕賸貨 蹖賴 噩丕賴丕蹖蹖 蹖賴 丿賮毓賴 鬲乇噩賲赖鈥屰� 丌夭丕丿 賲蹖鈥屫簇� 賵賱蹖 賴賲賵賳賲 亘蹖鈥屬呚官嗃� 賵 睾蹖乇賯丕亘賱 丿乇讴. 丌卮 卮賱賲鈥屫促堌必ㄘй屰� 亘賵丿 丕氐賱丕賸. 丕爻賲 丕爻丿丕賱賱賴 丕賲乇丕蹖蹖 乇賵 夭蹖丕丿 卮賳蹖丿賴 亘賵丿賲 賵 賮讴乇 賲蹖鈥屭┴必� 賲鬲乇噩賲 禺賵亘蹖 亘丕卮賴貨 禺蹖賱蹖 卮诏賮鬲鈥屫藏� 卮丿賲 丕夭 丕蹖賳 鬲乇噩賲赖鈥屬囏�. 鬲賳賴丕 禺賵亘蹖卮 丕蹖賳 亘賵丿 讴賴 丕诏賴 賲毓賳蹖 讴賱賲賴鈥屫й� 乇賵 賳賲蹖鈥屫堎嗀池呚� 賲蹖鈥屫堎嗀池� 亘賴 鬲乇噩賲赖鈥屰� 乇賵亘賴鈥屫辟堌� 賳诏丕賴 讴賳賲 賵 讴賱賲賴 乇賵 倬蹖丿丕 讴賳賲. 蹖毓賳蹖 亘蹖卮鬲乇 賲孬賱 丿蹖讴卮賳乇蹖 賵丕爻賲 讴丕乇 讴乇丿 鬲丕 鬲乇噩賲赖!
.
丕蹖賳 丕賵賱蹖賳 賲噩賲賵毓賴鈥屰屸€� 卮毓乇 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖 亘賵丿 讴賴 禺賵賳丿賲貨 禺蹖賱蹖 賴賲 禺賵賳丿賳卮 爻禺鬲 亘賵丿 賵丕爻賲 賵 禺蹖賱蹖 噩丕賴丕 乇賵 賴賲 賳賮賴賲蹖丿賲貙 賵賱蹖 丿乇 讴賱 鬲噩乇亘賴鈥屰� 噩丕賱亘蹖 亘賵丿 賵 禺賵卮丨丕賱賲 讴賴 噩乇兀鬲 讴乇丿賲 亘丕賱丕禺乇賴 卮毓乇 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖 亘禺賵賳賲.
.
禺蹖賱蹖 夭蹖丕丿 賲賳賵 蹖丕丿 賮乇賵睾 賲蹖鈥屬嗀ж� 蹖賴 爻乇蹖 鬲氐丕賵蹖乇 蹖丕 讴賱丕賸 噩賴丕賳鈥屫ㄛ屬嗃屸€屫ж� 鬲賵蹖 禺蹖賱蹖 丕夭 卮毓乇賴丕.
.
.
蹖讴 爻鬲丕乇賴 亘賴 禺丕胤乇 鬲乇噩賲赖鈥屫池� 賵诏乇賳賴 卮毓乇賴丕蹖 夭蹖亘丕蹖蹖 鬲賵蹖鈥� 讴鬲丕亘 亘賵丿 賵 賱匕鬲 亘乇丿賲.
.
These poems do not live; it鈥檚 a sad diagnosis.
They grew their toes and fingers well enough,
Their little foreheads bulged with concentration.
If they missed out on walking about like people
It wasn鈥檛 for any lack of mother-love.
.
O I cannot understand what happened to them!
They are proper in shape and number and every part.
They sit so nicely in the pickling fluid!
They smile and smile and smile and smile at me.
And still the lungs won鈥檛 fill and the heart won鈥檛 start.
.
They are not pigs, they are not even fish,
Though they have a piggy and a fishy air 鈥�
It would be better if they were alive, and that鈥檚 what they were.
But they are dead, and their mother near dead with distraction,
And they stupidly stare, and do not speak for her.
.
-page 151
.
.
鬲乇噩賲赖鈥屬囏� 亘賴 胤乇夭 鬲讴丕賳鈥屫囐嗀団€屫й� 囟毓蹖賮貙 睾蹖乇賯丕亘賱 丿乇讴 賵 诏丕賴鈥屫ㄙ�
诏丕賴 丨鬲蹖 賳丕丿乇爻鬲 亘賵丿賳. 丕卮鬲亘丕賴鈥屬囏й� 賮丕丨卮 賴丕! 蹖毓賳蹖 賮讴乇 讴賳賲 賲鬲乇噩賲 丨鬲蹖 丕夭 禺賵丿卮 賳倬乇爻蹖丿賴 亘賵丿 讴賴 禺亘 丕賱丕賳 丕蹖賳 趩蹖夭蹖 讴賴 賳賵卮鬲賲 丕氐賱丕賸 賲毓賳丕蹖蹖 賲蹖鈥屫� 丿乇 賮丕乇爻蹖 蹖丕 賴賲蹖賳胤賵乇 丿丕乇賲 讴賱賲賴 亘賴 讴賱賲賴 鬲乇噩賲赖 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁�. 亘毓丿 丕氐賱丕賸 賲鬲賵噩賴 賳賲蹖鈥屫簇� 亘丕 趩賴 賳賵毓 鬲乇噩賲赖鈥屫й� 乇賵亘賴鈥屫辟堌з�. 蹖賴 噩丕賴丕蹖蹖 鬲乇噩賲赖鈥屰� 鬲丨鬲鈥屫з勝佖港� 亘賵丿 讴丕賲賱丕賸貨 蹖賴 噩丕賴丕蹖蹖 蹖賴 丿賮毓賴 鬲乇噩賲赖鈥屰� 丌夭丕丿 賲蹖鈥屫簇� 賵賱蹖 賴賲賵賳賲 亘蹖鈥屬呚官嗃� 賵 睾蹖乇賯丕亘賱 丿乇讴. 丌卮 卮賱賲鈥屫促堌必ㄘй屰� 亘賵丿 丕氐賱丕賸. 丕爻賲 丕爻丿丕賱賱賴 丕賲乇丕蹖蹖 乇賵 夭蹖丕丿 卮賳蹖丿賴 亘賵丿賲 賵 賮讴乇 賲蹖鈥屭┴必� 賲鬲乇噩賲 禺賵亘蹖 亘丕卮賴貨 禺蹖賱蹖 卮诏賮鬲鈥屫藏� 卮丿賲 丕夭 丕蹖賳 鬲乇噩賲赖鈥屬囏�. 鬲賳賴丕 禺賵亘蹖卮 丕蹖賳 亘賵丿 讴賴 丕诏賴 賲毓賳蹖 讴賱賲賴鈥屫й� 乇賵 賳賲蹖鈥屫堎嗀池呚� 賲蹖鈥屫堎嗀池� 亘賴 鬲乇噩賲赖鈥屰� 乇賵亘賴鈥屫辟堌� 賳诏丕賴 讴賳賲 賵 讴賱賲賴 乇賵 倬蹖丿丕 讴賳賲. 蹖毓賳蹖 亘蹖卮鬲乇 賲孬賱 丿蹖讴卮賳乇蹖 賵丕爻賲 讴丕乇 讴乇丿 鬲丕 鬲乇噩賲赖!
.
丕蹖賳 丕賵賱蹖賳 賲噩賲賵毓賴鈥屰屸€� 卮毓乇 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖 亘賵丿 讴賴 禺賵賳丿賲貨 禺蹖賱蹖 賴賲 禺賵賳丿賳卮 爻禺鬲 亘賵丿 賵丕爻賲 賵 禺蹖賱蹖 噩丕賴丕 乇賵 賴賲 賳賮賴賲蹖丿賲貙 賵賱蹖 丿乇 讴賱 鬲噩乇亘賴鈥屰� 噩丕賱亘蹖 亘賵丿 賵 禺賵卮丨丕賱賲 讴賴 噩乇兀鬲 讴乇丿賲 亘丕賱丕禺乇賴 卮毓乇 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖 亘禺賵賳賲.
.
禺蹖賱蹖 夭蹖丕丿 賲賳賵 蹖丕丿 賮乇賵睾 賲蹖鈥屬嗀ж� 蹖賴 爻乇蹖 鬲氐丕賵蹖乇 蹖丕 讴賱丕賸 噩賴丕賳鈥屫ㄛ屬嗃屸€屫ж� 鬲賵蹖 禺蹖賱蹖 丕夭 卮毓乇賴丕.
.
.
蹖讴 爻鬲丕乇賴 亘賴 禺丕胤乇 鬲乇噩賲赖鈥屫池� 賵诏乇賳賴 卮毓乇賴丕蹖 夭蹖亘丕蹖蹖 鬲賵蹖鈥� 讴鬲丕亘 亘賵丿 賵 賱匕鬲 亘乇丿賲.
February 16, 2021
This might sound blasphemous to some, but I prefer Ted Hughes's poetry to hers.
September 1, 2022
When I鈥檓 sad, I read Sylvia Plath鈥檚 poetry in order to feel infinitely worse and then eventually, a little bit better. So, buckle up for all of my sad girl thoughts on my favourite poems from this collection:
The 鈥減articular girl鈥� of the opening poem, 'Spinster', contemplates her inability to accept the things she cannot control. As bird song becomes 鈥渋rregular babel鈥� and leaves become no more than 鈥渓itter鈥� and 鈥渄isarray鈥�, the girl yearns for a winter as 鈥渆xact as a snowflake.鈥� The chaos of nature, which is usually so beautiful, becomes an obstacle to her happiness.
About half-way through the collection comes 'Mirror', another one of my favourites. As the name might suggest, this poem is told from the perspective of a personified mirror. It speaks with an innocent and child-like tone which contrasts the deep sense of melancholy that characterises the woman who looks into it. As the mirror says, 鈥淚 see her back, and reflect it faithfully. She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.鈥� The power of Plath鈥檚 words mean that this goes beyond being about just image and instead, becomes about identity. To paraphrase one of my favourite lines, it鈥檚 about a search for what we really are.
I鈥檓 familiar with the second last poem, 'Words', because it鈥檚 one of my favourites from Ariel. To me, it perfectly articulates the anxiety that comes from putting something out into the world. Whether its poetry, art, feelings or words 鈥� once something is created and shared, it can become hard to maintain control over. In this poem, the speaker鈥檚 words travel 鈥渙ff from the centre like horses鈥� and return to her 鈥渄ry and riderless鈥� after the passage of time. This definitely speaks to the limits of creation, but I think it also speaks to its power. A riderless horse is one that is wild and free, and words that are dry are perhaps no longer welling with tears. Maybe they鈥檙e stronger. If, as the last line suggests, we are truly governed by the stars of fate then I find comfort knowing that we can still create, say and feel things that cause a little bit of chaos.
Before I finish, I鈥檒l add that the order of Selected Poems feels scattered because the poems have been drawn from her other collections then edited together in chronological order. As a result, the collection lacks the neat progression of her other works. However, I鈥檝e returned to this collection today because its messy, and so am I. 4 stars.
The 鈥減articular girl鈥� of the opening poem, 'Spinster', contemplates her inability to accept the things she cannot control. As bird song becomes 鈥渋rregular babel鈥� and leaves become no more than 鈥渓itter鈥� and 鈥渄isarray鈥�, the girl yearns for a winter as 鈥渆xact as a snowflake.鈥� The chaos of nature, which is usually so beautiful, becomes an obstacle to her happiness.
About half-way through the collection comes 'Mirror', another one of my favourites. As the name might suggest, this poem is told from the perspective of a personified mirror. It speaks with an innocent and child-like tone which contrasts the deep sense of melancholy that characterises the woman who looks into it. As the mirror says, 鈥淚 see her back, and reflect it faithfully. She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.鈥� The power of Plath鈥檚 words mean that this goes beyond being about just image and instead, becomes about identity. To paraphrase one of my favourite lines, it鈥檚 about a search for what we really are.
I鈥檓 familiar with the second last poem, 'Words', because it鈥檚 one of my favourites from Ariel. To me, it perfectly articulates the anxiety that comes from putting something out into the world. Whether its poetry, art, feelings or words 鈥� once something is created and shared, it can become hard to maintain control over. In this poem, the speaker鈥檚 words travel 鈥渙ff from the centre like horses鈥� and return to her 鈥渄ry and riderless鈥� after the passage of time. This definitely speaks to the limits of creation, but I think it also speaks to its power. A riderless horse is one that is wild and free, and words that are dry are perhaps no longer welling with tears. Maybe they鈥檙e stronger. If, as the last line suggests, we are truly governed by the stars of fate then I find comfort knowing that we can still create, say and feel things that cause a little bit of chaos.
Before I finish, I鈥檒l add that the order of Selected Poems feels scattered because the poems have been drawn from her other collections then edited together in chronological order. As a result, the collection lacks the neat progression of her other works. However, I鈥檝e returned to this collection today because its messy, and so am I. 4 stars.
August 22, 2023
30 Books in 30 Days / Book #22
4.5*
4.5*
January 1, 2022
sylvia plath's poems make so much more sense if you read them out loud
September 27, 2021
卮毓乇賴丕蹖 鬲賵氐蹖賮蹖 賵丕賯毓丕 賯賵蹖鈥屫й� 亘賵丿 賵賱蹖 爻賱蹖賯賴鈥屰� 賲賳 賳亘賵丿 賵 趩賳丿丕賳 丕乇鬲亘丕胤 亘乇賯乇丕乇 賳讴乇丿賲. 丕蹖賳 卮毓乇賴丕 乇賵 亘蹖卮鬲乇 丕夭卮 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賲: 讴賱丕睾蹖 爻蹖丕賴 丿乇 賴賵丕蹖 亘丕乇丕賳蹖貙 爻賵夭丕賳丿賳 賳丕賲賴鈥屬囏ж� 诏賵爻賮賳丿丕賳 丿乇 賲賴.
September 18, 2020
鬲讴鈥屭堐屰� 丿乇 爻丕毓鬲 爻賴 氐亘丨
禺蹖丕賱
丕夭 賴乇 亘丕賮賴鈥屫й屫� 亘賴鬲乇 卮讴丕賮 賲蹖鈥屫堌必�
賵 禺卮賲 乇丕賴 賲蹖鈥屭簇й屫�
禺賵賳 夭賳丿賴 賲蹖鈥屫堌� 禺蹖爻 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀�
讴丕賳丕倬賴貙 賯丕賱蹖 賵 讴賮 丕鬲丕賯 乇丕
賵 爻丕賱賳丕賲賴 亘丕 賳賯卮 賲丕乇
賲氐賵賳蹖鬲 鬲賵 乇丕 鬲囟賲蹖賳 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀�
讴賴 蹖讴 賲蹖賱蹖賵賳 丕夭 丕蹖賳 卮賴乇賲 爻亘夭 丿賵乇蹖
亘賴鬲乇 丌賳 讴賴 亘蹖鈥屫地� 亘賳卮蹖賳蹖貙 禺蹖丕賱亘丕賮蹖 讴賳蹖
夭蹖乇 乇賵卮賳丕蹖蹖 爻鬲丕乇诏丕賳
亘丕 賳诏丕賴蹖 禺蹖乇賴 賵 賲丕鬲
亘丕 賳賮乇蹖賳蹖 讴賴 乇賵夭诏丕乇 乇丕 鬲蹖乇賴 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀�.
亘丿乇賵丿賴丕 亘賴 夭亘丕賳 丌賲丿賴
賯胤丕乇賴丕 乇賮鬲賴鈥屫з嗀�
賵 賲賳 亘丕 賲囟丨讴賴鈥屫й� 爻禺鬲
爻乇賳诏賵賳 卮丿賴
丕夭 丕乇蹖讴賴 倬丕丿卮丕賴蹖鈥屫з�.
禺蹖丕賱
丕夭 賴乇 亘丕賮賴鈥屫й屫� 亘賴鬲乇 卮讴丕賮 賲蹖鈥屫堌必�
賵 禺卮賲 乇丕賴 賲蹖鈥屭簇й屫�
禺賵賳 夭賳丿賴 賲蹖鈥屫堌� 禺蹖爻 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀�
讴丕賳丕倬賴貙 賯丕賱蹖 賵 讴賮 丕鬲丕賯 乇丕
賵 爻丕賱賳丕賲賴 亘丕 賳賯卮 賲丕乇
賲氐賵賳蹖鬲 鬲賵 乇丕 鬲囟賲蹖賳 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀�
讴賴 蹖讴 賲蹖賱蹖賵賳 丕夭 丕蹖賳 卮賴乇賲 爻亘夭 丿賵乇蹖
亘賴鬲乇 丌賳 讴賴 亘蹖鈥屫地� 亘賳卮蹖賳蹖貙 禺蹖丕賱亘丕賮蹖 讴賳蹖
夭蹖乇 乇賵卮賳丕蹖蹖 爻鬲丕乇诏丕賳
亘丕 賳诏丕賴蹖 禺蹖乇賴 賵 賲丕鬲
亘丕 賳賮乇蹖賳蹖 讴賴 乇賵夭诏丕乇 乇丕 鬲蹖乇賴 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀�.
亘丿乇賵丿賴丕 亘賴 夭亘丕賳 丌賲丿賴
賯胤丕乇賴丕 乇賮鬲賴鈥屫з嗀�
賵 賲賳 亘丕 賲囟丨讴賴鈥屫й� 爻禺鬲
爻乇賳诏賵賳 卮丿賴
丕夭 丕乇蹖讴賴 倬丕丿卮丕賴蹖鈥屫з�.
September 4, 2019
A selection of Sylvia Plath's ingenious poetry chosen by Ted Hughes.
August 16, 2017
Not usually a poetry person but I adore Plath and have been wanting to read her poems for a while. Man, what an experience! So turbulent, so powerful and heartfelt. You can really see and feel her emotional turmoil. I enjoyed The Stones, Face Lift, Tulips, Finisterre, Mirror and Edge but my favourites were Daddy and A Birthday Present, with the latter completely kicking me in the gut. A brilliant set of poems.
June 4, 2021
"I was ten when they buried you.
At twenty I tried to die
And get back, back, back to you.
I thought even the bones would do.
But they pulled me out of the sack,
And they stuck me together with glue.
And then I knew what to do.
I made a model of you,
A man in black with a Meinkampf look
And a love of the rack and the screw.
And I said I do, I do."
At twenty I tried to die
And get back, back, back to you.
I thought even the bones would do.
But they pulled me out of the sack,
And they stuck me together with glue.
And then I knew what to do.
I made a model of you,
A man in black with a Meinkampf look
And a love of the rack and the screw.
And I said I do, I do."
February 19, 2025
como dice lana: 24/7 sylvia plath.
November 25, 2017
I鈥檓 not a huge fan of reading poetry, but this was very nice
June 1, 2023
鈥淟ove, the world
Suddenly turns, turns color. The streetlight
Splits through the rat鈥檚-tail
Pods of the laburnum at nine in the morning.
It is the artic,鈥�
Suddenly turns, turns color. The streetlight
Splits through the rat鈥檚-tail
Pods of the laburnum at nine in the morning.
It is the artic,鈥�
March 8, 2025
Can clearly see who Lana del Rey took inspiration from when writing her lyrics (adore Lana, which automatically means I had to read this). The experience of diving through the mind of someone deeply depressed and suicidal was a bit hard - some poems were so heavy and disturbing that I couldn鈥檛 relate to anything.
My favorite ones are:
"Tulips" written during her hospital recovery
"Mirror" - a plain one about self-perception and aging
"Babysitters"
"You're"
Overall, I can鈥檛 deny Sylvia鈥檚 genius - her ability to capture raw emotion and turn pain into art is something unique.
My favorite ones are:
"Tulips" written during her hospital recovery
"Mirror" - a plain one about self-perception and aging
"Babysitters"
"You're"
Overall, I can鈥檛 deny Sylvia鈥檚 genius - her ability to capture raw emotion and turn pain into art is something unique.
February 17, 2009
I divide poetry (and indeed much of literature) into three categories:
1. The brilliant. The stuff that was written for you. The stuff where the author went inside your head and saw everything you felt, thought, loved, believed and then wrote it down in a way that was so much better than you could ever have imagined, and yet it was perfect. Perfect.
2. The good. The stuff that is interesting or thought-provoking or well done or beautiful, but doesn't really speak to you. A subset of this category includes the stuff that describes things differently to the way you personally experienced it, but which is still beautiful/interesting/thought-provoking/well done. But mostly beautiful.
3. Everything else.
I don't think any of Plath's poetry fitted into my first category - maybe there was the odd line here and there, but nothing that stood out. There were a few lines (for example the last two of Maudlin, quoted below, a few bits from Face Lift) and a few whole poems (The Babysitters, Night Shift) which belonged to the second category. The other poems all go into the third category.
I'm not sure that I really have anything meaningful to say about Sylvia Plath, but dang it I'm going to go ahead and say it anyway. I felt like her poems were shutting me out, like those gold Yves Klein paintings. I want poems that are like blue Yves Klein paintings, that suck you in and distort your soul and break holes in your universe all at the same time. Anyway. I have a great deal of difficulty identifying with people who are depressed much of the time, who complain about how hard it is to be a woman (or anything else), who write poems about death and suicide and plastic surgery. These days we call that 'emo', people, and we use it as an insult. This is wrong of me, I know. I'm working on it. Also I know it's a huge oversimplification.
It's just that I have an incorrigibly buoyant disposition: it takes quite a lot to get me depressed. And so I find it hard to understand what she feels like. On the other hand it means I'll never write her off, because if I was just born happy, without anything particular happening in my life to make me so, why shouldn't other people just be born sad? It's the way the brain is wired, and brains work in mysterious ways.
But there are so many authors out there who can make me truly empathise with something without me even having to try, just because they write so well. Plath herself did it, I think, with The Bell Jar (but I actually was kind of depressed when I read it, so that could be why). So this brings me to admit that I am lazy, and I can't be bothered sitting around all day trying to empathise with her poems. I got stuff to do! Today I realised that I've half-forgotten how to factorise, for goodness' sake! I don't have time for this! Which should be irrelevant, because most of the time thinking about books is effortless and enjoyable and I do it whether I have time or not, but with Plath it's laboured and I really just don't want to. I feel like it shouldn't be an effort.
The final point is that I don't read much poetry, because it all seems to end up like Plath to me: a disappointment. But maybe I just need more practice. So the way I see it there are three possibilities here: a) I've missed something b) I'm just not trying hard enough or c) Plath is just not for me (there's always the possibility of a d) she's just not that good, but I don't believe that).
Which leaves me to emphasise that THIS IS NOT MY FINAL WORD. I am studying this poetry sometime this semester which is why I'm reading it in the first place, and so my opinions will almost certainly change when someone tells me what to think. Nah, but sometimes I just need a nudge that makes me look at something from a slightly different angle, and suddenly it's beautiful and I love it. Let's hope that happens with Plath.
_____________________________
So I was trundling along happily with Plath, until I reached this poem. What in hell does it mean? (I'm not going to google it... yet).
Maudlin
Mud-mattressed under the sign of the hag
In a clench of blood, the sleep-talking virgin
Gibbets with her curse the moon's man,
Faggot-bearing Jack in his crackless egg:
Hatched with a claret hogshead to swig
He kings it, navel-knit to no groan,
But at the price of a pin-stitched skin
Fish-tailed girls purchase each white leg.
1. The brilliant. The stuff that was written for you. The stuff where the author went inside your head and saw everything you felt, thought, loved, believed and then wrote it down in a way that was so much better than you could ever have imagined, and yet it was perfect. Perfect.
2. The good. The stuff that is interesting or thought-provoking or well done or beautiful, but doesn't really speak to you. A subset of this category includes the stuff that describes things differently to the way you personally experienced it, but which is still beautiful/interesting/thought-provoking/well done. But mostly beautiful.
3. Everything else.
I don't think any of Plath's poetry fitted into my first category - maybe there was the odd line here and there, but nothing that stood out. There were a few lines (for example the last two of Maudlin, quoted below, a few bits from Face Lift) and a few whole poems (The Babysitters, Night Shift) which belonged to the second category. The other poems all go into the third category.
I'm not sure that I really have anything meaningful to say about Sylvia Plath, but dang it I'm going to go ahead and say it anyway. I felt like her poems were shutting me out, like those gold Yves Klein paintings. I want poems that are like blue Yves Klein paintings, that suck you in and distort your soul and break holes in your universe all at the same time. Anyway. I have a great deal of difficulty identifying with people who are depressed much of the time, who complain about how hard it is to be a woman (or anything else), who write poems about death and suicide and plastic surgery. These days we call that 'emo', people, and we use it as an insult. This is wrong of me, I know. I'm working on it. Also I know it's a huge oversimplification.
It's just that I have an incorrigibly buoyant disposition: it takes quite a lot to get me depressed. And so I find it hard to understand what she feels like. On the other hand it means I'll never write her off, because if I was just born happy, without anything particular happening in my life to make me so, why shouldn't other people just be born sad? It's the way the brain is wired, and brains work in mysterious ways.
But there are so many authors out there who can make me truly empathise with something without me even having to try, just because they write so well. Plath herself did it, I think, with The Bell Jar (but I actually was kind of depressed when I read it, so that could be why). So this brings me to admit that I am lazy, and I can't be bothered sitting around all day trying to empathise with her poems. I got stuff to do! Today I realised that I've half-forgotten how to factorise, for goodness' sake! I don't have time for this! Which should be irrelevant, because most of the time thinking about books is effortless and enjoyable and I do it whether I have time or not, but with Plath it's laboured and I really just don't want to. I feel like it shouldn't be an effort.
The final point is that I don't read much poetry, because it all seems to end up like Plath to me: a disappointment. But maybe I just need more practice. So the way I see it there are three possibilities here: a) I've missed something b) I'm just not trying hard enough or c) Plath is just not for me (there's always the possibility of a d) she's just not that good, but I don't believe that).
Which leaves me to emphasise that THIS IS NOT MY FINAL WORD. I am studying this poetry sometime this semester which is why I'm reading it in the first place, and so my opinions will almost certainly change when someone tells me what to think. Nah, but sometimes I just need a nudge that makes me look at something from a slightly different angle, and suddenly it's beautiful and I love it. Let's hope that happens with Plath.
_____________________________
So I was trundling along happily with Plath, until I reached this poem. What in hell does it mean? (I'm not going to google it... yet).
Maudlin
Mud-mattressed under the sign of the hag
In a clench of blood, the sleep-talking virgin
Gibbets with her curse the moon's man,
Faggot-bearing Jack in his crackless egg:
Hatched with a claret hogshead to swig
He kings it, navel-knit to no groan,
But at the price of a pin-stitched skin
Fish-tailed girls purchase each white leg.
dnf
October 17, 2023magnificent book but i lost my pdf months ago when my dad took my laptop. gone but not forgotten, we will meet again.
May 2, 2021
#100
I'm not reviewing so much this poetry collection as Plath's poetry as a whole - this is merely the collections that I own. I really, really loved The Bell Jar and was excited to read more of Plath's work. Some of the poems in this collections are absolute masterpieces; I thought 'Suicide off Egg Rock', 'Tulips', 'Insomiac', 'Daddy', and 'Cut' were truly magnificent poems. However, I had to wade through a lot of poems that I did not understand on any level to get to them. Take, 'Maudlin', as an example. The first stanza reads:
I assumed I just didn't understand it or was missing some context, and was shocked to find that the one article that looked at it began, "Because of its apparent difficulty, this poem has received little critical attention or attempted explication." To me, that suggests that nobody knows what the hell this poem is on about! Honestly, the weirdness of some of these poems coupled with the lack of rhyme scheme can give them the feeling that they were generated with a poem-writing AI. The thing is, despite all of the weirdo poems in here, I'm still excited to own this collection and would recommend Plath as a brilliant poet. There's a lot of poems in a collection, so as long as some of them are ground-breaking and send a little shiver down my spine, I'm happy. I mean, the first two lines of 'Cut' alone are enough to convince me that she's a genius:
When I read 'Daddy', I thought it was so brilliant I immediately made my friend read it - it's like it was so good I wanted her to experience it too, just to check it was real. That last line, "Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I'm through." is just the absolute perfect ending to a complex, dark, clever poem. I have to admit, I'm sometimes uncomfortable with her comparison of her suffering to the holocaust, and certainly there are poems that would never get published today. But I can hold that part of me separate for a moment while I read 'Mad Girl's Love Song' or 'Lady Lazarus' (neither of which, tragically, is in this collection). Truly, I think 'Lady Lazarus' is her best, and the dark comedy and dark imagery make the rebirth of the final two stanzas all the more powerful.
For poetry that is beautiful, complex, dark and funny, please - I entreat you - read Plath.
I'm not reviewing so much this poetry collection as Plath's poetry as a whole - this is merely the collections that I own. I really, really loved The Bell Jar and was excited to read more of Plath's work. Some of the poems in this collections are absolute masterpieces; I thought 'Suicide off Egg Rock', 'Tulips', 'Insomiac', 'Daddy', and 'Cut' were truly magnificent poems. However, I had to wade through a lot of poems that I did not understand on any level to get to them. Take, 'Maudlin', as an example. The first stanza reads:
Mud-mattressed under the sign of the hag
In a clench of blood, the sleep-talking virgin
Gibbets with her curse the moon's man,
Faggot-bearing Jack in his crackless egg
I assumed I just didn't understand it or was missing some context, and was shocked to find that the one article that looked at it began, "Because of its apparent difficulty, this poem has received little critical attention or attempted explication." To me, that suggests that nobody knows what the hell this poem is on about! Honestly, the weirdness of some of these poems coupled with the lack of rhyme scheme can give them the feeling that they were generated with a poem-writing AI. The thing is, despite all of the weirdo poems in here, I'm still excited to own this collection and would recommend Plath as a brilliant poet. There's a lot of poems in a collection, so as long as some of them are ground-breaking and send a little shiver down my spine, I'm happy. I mean, the first two lines of 'Cut' alone are enough to convince me that she's a genius:
What a thrill -
My thumb instead of an onion.
When I read 'Daddy', I thought it was so brilliant I immediately made my friend read it - it's like it was so good I wanted her to experience it too, just to check it was real. That last line, "Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I'm through." is just the absolute perfect ending to a complex, dark, clever poem. I have to admit, I'm sometimes uncomfortable with her comparison of her suffering to the holocaust, and certainly there are poems that would never get published today. But I can hold that part of me separate for a moment while I read 'Mad Girl's Love Song' or 'Lady Lazarus' (neither of which, tragically, is in this collection). Truly, I think 'Lady Lazarus' is her best, and the dark comedy and dark imagery make the rebirth of the final two stanzas all the more powerful.
Herr God, Herr Lucifer
Beware
Beware.
Out of the ash
I rise with my red hair
And I eat men like air.
For poetry that is beautiful, complex, dark and funny, please - I entreat you - read Plath.
April 4, 2018
En esta antolog铆a se nos muestra a una Silvia Plath desgarradora, insegura y sentimental. No he visto poemas m谩s profundos y que lleguen tanto al sentimiento humano como los de S铆lvia Plath y aunque reconozco que me gusta m谩s su prosa, sus poemas son un regalo para todos los apasionados de la poes铆a. Adem谩s, para los que como yo nos estamos iniciando en el g茅nero, se puede decir que son un referente a los que acudir para seguir absorbiendo y aprendiendo. Muy recomendable.
April 11, 2022
This is too smart for me by far. Can't relate to the poems, it just feel like bunch of piled up words to me. But I liked Mirror. 馃槃
August 10, 2022
賲賳讴乇 賲胤賱賵亘蹖鬲 丕卮毓丕乇卮 賳蹖爻鬲賲貙 丕賲丕 丕卮毓丕乇 丕賵 亘乇丕蹖 夭蹖爻鬲 诏賮鬲賲丕賳蹖 賵 丕賳毓讴丕爻 夭丕丿诏丕賴 賵 賲丨賱 夭賳丿诏蹖鈥屫ж� 丕爻鬲貙 賳賴 亘乇丕蹖 賲賳. 倬爻 丨乇噩蹖 亘乇丕蹖 丕乇鬲亘丕胤鈥屫ㄘ辟傌必ж辟嗂┴必嗁� 亘丕 丕卮毓丕乇卮 賳蹖爻鬲.
November 14, 2023
NOBEL JA! rip sylvia plath
June 5, 2017
A fantastic selection of Plath's work, encompassing all of her published collections. Beautiful, dark, and startling.
March 22, 2020
Love the darkness, the play, the exuberance, the headlong rush into feeling in here and surprised by how often they feel like they could have been written yesterday.
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