Seven Essential Poems by Sylvia Plath (1958–1962)
An article from TheCollector.com presents an overview of seven must-read poems by Sylvia Plath, focusing on her most fertile period from 1958 to 1962. The poems analyzed are 'Full Fathom Five' (1958), 'The Colossus' (1959), 'Tulips' (1960), 'Lady Lazarus' (1962), 'Daddy' (1962), 'Ariel' (1962), and 'Contusion' (1962). The article discusses each poem's themes, imagery, and biographical context, emphasizing Plath's complex relationship with her father, Otto Plath, her struggles with mental health, and her mastery of poetic form. Key works like 'Daddy' and 'Lady Lazarus' are noted for their rage and feminist significance, while 'Ariel' and 'Contusion' explore themes of liberation and finality. The article also addresses the controversial use of Holocaust imagery in Plath's poetry, citing critic Al Strangeways. The poems are drawn from Plath's collections including 'The Colossus' and 'Ariel', and the article includes photographs of Plath, her father, and her family.
Key facts
- Sylvia Plath's most productive poetic period was 1958–1962.
- The seven poems analyzed are 'Full Fathom Five', 'The Colossus', 'Tulips', 'Lady Lazarus', 'Daddy', 'Ariel', and 'Contusion'.
- 'Full Fathom Five' (1958) compares Plath's father to Poseidon from Greek myth.
- 'The Colossus' (1959) depicts her father as a grotesque, looming statue.
- 'Tulips' (1960) is set in a hospital room after an appendectomy and explores themes of emptiness and life.
- 'Lady Lazarus' (1962) is a searing poem about suicide and spectacle, ending with 'I eat men like air'.
- 'Daddy' (1962) uses Nazi imagery and is considered a confessional poem about patriarchal oppression.
- Plath's father, Otto Plath, died when she was eight; he was a biology professor who studied bees.
- Plath attempted suicide at ages 10, 20, and succeeded at 30.
- 'Ariel' (1962) is a poem of motion and liberation, ambiguous in meaning.
- 'Contusion' (1962) is one of Plath's last poems, filled with images of closure and death.
- Critic Al Strangeways is cited on Plath's use of the Holocaust as a mythic dimension.
- The article includes photographs of Plath, Otto Plath, and Plath with her children.
- Plath studied at the University of Cambridge as a Fulbright Scholar in 1955.
- Her husband was poet Ted Hughes, from whom she became estranged.
Entities
Artists
- Sylvia Plath
- Otto Plath
- Ted Hughes
- Al Strangeways
- Jane Baltzell Kopp
- Warren Kay Vantine
Institutions
- TheCollector.com
- Poetry Foundation
- Smith College
- University of Cambridge
- Fulbright Program
- The Wall Street Journal
- San Diego Union-Tribune
- The New Yorker
- The New Statesman
- National Churches Trust
- Five College Compass
- ResearchGate
- Johns Hopkins University Press
Locations
- Northampton
- Massachusetts
- United States
- Cambridge
- England
- United Kingdom
- Heptonstall
- North Atlantic coast