Sylvia Plath Questions and Answers
Sylvia Plath
Explain Sylvia Plath as a confessional poet.
The "confessional" poets were a school including Ann Sexton, John Berryman, Robert Lowell, and Sylvia Plath who were mid-twentieth century American poets who composed poems in free verse with...
Sylvia Plath
Describe postmodern elements in Sylvia Plath's poetry.
Postmodernism can be viewed as both a reaction against modernism and, paradoxically, an extension of it. Sylvia Plath's poetry (as well as her prose writings) fits both of these definitions....
Sylvia Plath
What is a line-by-line analysis of the poem "Night Shift" by Sylvia Plath?
The title of the poem "Night Shift" gives some indication of what the unknown sound may be before we start reading. However, Plath's negations in the first stanza—it is "not a heart beating," nor...
Sylvia Plath
Analyze the poem "Medallion" by Sylvia Plath.
Sylvia Plath's poem, "Medallion" is about a snake she finds dead, and the details of its body that she notices. Written in 1959, its form was strictly "controlled." Plath uses imagery, literary...
Sylvia Plath
Explain the poem "The Zoo-Keeper's Wife" by Sylvia Plath
A number of scholars, especially those working in the field of feminist literary criticism, have seen "The Zoo-Keeper's Wife" as a critique of traditional marriage. In particular, they point to the...
Sylvia Plath
Provide a detailed summary and analysis of the poem "Lesbos" by Sylvia Plath.
"Lesbos" is one of Sylvia Plath's poems collected in Ariel, a book edited by Plath's husband, the English poet Ted Hughes, and published after Plath's death by suicide. It was not actually included...
Sylvia Plath
What are the similes and metaphors found in Sylvia Plath's poem "You're"?
"You're" is rife with similes and metaphors as its purpose is to compare the titular character to all of the things which remind Plath of him/her. This poem is about an unborn child--a baby still...
Sylvia Plath
Poem "You're": what do these lines mean?:- A common-sense / thumbs-down on the Dodo's mode- Trawling your dark as...
The poem is indeed a complex one, and there will be more interpretations out there, I'm sure. - A common-sense / thumbs-down on the Dodo's mode Here I think Plath is recognising the innate...
Sylvia Plath
Write an essay which compares "The Bull Calf" by Irving Layton to "Tulips" by Sylvia Plath.
Your first step in writing your essay is to identify the basic characteristics of Irving Layton's “The Bull Calf” and Sylvia Plath's “Tulips.” Layton's poem is composed in free verse with no...
Sylvia Plath
The Philosophy of Human life in Sylvia Plath's poetry I want to know some thing about Plath's poetry: If you can...
Plath was a Confessionalist poet. Therefore, her work was one which spoke to how her life was and the conflicts she faced. Her work is typically seen as dark and depressing. Her philosophy was...
Sylvia Plath
Plath's poetry is intense, deeply personal, and quite disturbing. Do you agree?
I agree completely with your statement. Besides the piece by piece analysis of her work that supports that assessment, remember that Plath's life writings are essentially a journal of mental...
Sylvia Plath
What is an analysis of "Bitter Strawberries" by Sylvia Plath?
"Bitter Strawberries," by Sylvia Plath, describes a conversation that takes place among farm workers who are picking strawberries. The conversation is about "the Russians," who pose a threat to the...
Sylvia Plath
Why does Sylvia Plath use images of the Holocaust in her poems "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus"?
Plath uses much sustained death imagery: both suicide and Holocaust imagery (comparing herself to a Jew and her father to a Nazi). She writes grim apostrophes to her executioners, her father in...
Sylvia Plath
Please give some literary devices that are used in "I Am Vertical" by Sylvia Plath.
This poem is based around two central comparisons that the speaker of the poem makes between herself and then a tree and a flower. It is this sense of kinship--or the lack of it--that is explored...
Sylvia Plath
What are the themes and techniques in the poem "Bitter Strawberries" by Sylvia Plath?
The main themes are xenophobia (fear of foreigners or ‘Others’) and stubbornness with that prejudice and war mentality. This poem directly refers to the Cold War which was basically a game of...
Sylvia Plath
How accurate is it to call Sylvia Plath as a feminist? Please present concrete examples to support your answer.
Plath's feminism is probably most visible in her novel The Bell Jar. The men she presents throughout the story are largely clueless and insensitive to women. In some cases, their behavior would be...
Sylvia Plath
What are the themes and poetic techniques in the poem "Cut" by Sylvia Plath?
The poem "Cut" by Sylvia Plath is a confessional poem written during an especially difficult time in her life. It had recently become publicized that her husband, Ted Hughes, was having an affair,...
Sylvia Plath
How did Sylvia Plath treat the theme of Feminism in her poetry? quotations would be helpful
Sylvia Plath, an American author considered one of the most emotional writers of the post war period, was a deeply troubled individual who committed suicide at the age of 30. "A complicated...
Sylvia Plath
What is meant by the line "A creel of eels, all ripples" in the poem "You're"?
In 1960, Sylvia Plath wrote this short poem to describe her feelings towards being pregnant for the first time. She had a complicated relationship with the notion of pregnancy. Sylvia Plath was...
Sylvia Plath
What are the themes of "Wintering" by Sylvia Plath?
The themes of "Wintering" by Sylvia Plath are renewal and regeneration and feminine identity and motherhood, all of which have personal meaning for Plath, who writes in self-analysis. The poet...
Sylvia Plath
What is Sylvia Plath's poem "You're" about?
Sylvia Plath's poem "You're" is narrated by a speaker who is a mother meditating on her unborn child. The speaker's use of comparison, mostly through figurative language, captures the feeling of...
Sylvia Plath
What are some examples of personification in "Crossing the Water" by Sylvia Plath?
You have certainly picked a poem with a number of separate examples of personification in it. Let us remind ourselves of the definition of personfication. Personification is a figure of speech...
Sylvia Plath
Assess the following statement: "Sylvia Plath articulates her subjectivity in terms of objectivity."
Seeing that Sylvia Plath's poetry is so strongly identified with the idea of confessional poetry, I tend to think that her subjectivity is expressed in a terminology of the personal. She does not...
Sylvia Plath
What are the poetic devices, imagery of Sylvia Plath's poem "Night Shift", why are they significant and how do they...
Unlike many of Sylvia Plath poems, "Night Shift" does not address feminist issues such as the domestic realm, nor the confessional quality that prevails in much of her poetry. Instead, "Night...
Sylvia Plath
Explain how Sylvia Plath might be considered a poet of failed relationships.
One of the reasons for this critical designation as a poet of failed relationships is poems about failed relationships, like "Daddy." This symbolic poem ("Daddy, I have had to kill you. / You died...
Sylvia Plath
What are common literary tones, devices, and themes that can be found in all of Sylvia Plath's poetry?
Plath is hard to put into a box; her poetry entirely unpredictable. Her frequent tones seemed to expose herself at varying times of her life. These would portray brillance, detachment, worry,...
Sylvia Plath
What literary devices does Sylvia Plath employ in her poem of "I Am Vertical"?
Plath uses a variety of devices in her poem "I Am Vertical." To begin, here is the second stanza of the poem: Tonight, in the infinitesimal light of the stars, The trees and flowers have been...
Sylvia Plath
Anne Sexton's "The Civil War" and Sylvia Plath's "In Plaster" speak to the multiple selves and identities that both...
In both Anne Sexton's "The Civil War" and Sylvia Plath's "In Plaster", the narrators talk about divided selves, with one self offering up a critique of the second self. The tone, themes, and...
Sylvia Plath
Was Sylvia Plath daring to break convention?
I certainly think that Plath deserves credit for challenging conventions. She was not afraid to challenge poetic conventions of the day in the idea of ensuring that her work was an accurate...
Sylvia Plath
In "Initiation," do you agree or disagree with Millicent's choice not to join the sorority?
It's hard not to agree with Millicent's choice to turn down the sorority at the end of Plath's story "Initiation." First, Millicent has a number of logical reasons not to join. Her best friend,...
Sylvia Plath
Critically analyze the uniqueness of Sylvia Plath in the poems "Mirror" and "Morning Song."
In the poems "Mirror" and "Morning Song," the most obvious sign of Sylvia Plath's uniqueness is found in her nearly uncomfortable level of honesty in portraying the inner life of a woman. "Mirror"...
Sylvia Plath
Are death and sucide a part of the confessional mode in Sylvia Plath's poetry?
Typical characteristics of Confessional poetry are : -The use of "I" stories -Descriptions of personal life (including family trials and personal struggles) -Craft was true to poetic conventions...
Sylvia Plath
Comment on the last two lines of "Crossing the Water" of Sylvia Plath.
Poetry can be very difficult to analyze for often the poet is speaking so figuratively, based upon their personal perceptions, that it can be difficult to fully appreciate what the poet is trying...
Sylvia Plath
Ginsberg, Howl Bishop, "The Fish" Lowell, “Skunk Hour” Plath, "Daddy" In what ways are different poets more or...
First, you need to ask yourself, what makes a poet confessional? A lot of times, a poet will write in a voice specific to the poem, not necessarily about themselves. That doesn't mean that the poem...
Sylvia Plath
Which poet ranks as the most confessional of the confessional poets: Plath, Ginsberg, Bishop, or Lowell? Ginsberg:...
Although Sylvia Plath (often along with Anne Sexton) is most inexorably tied with the Confessional movement of poetry, Robert Lowell, the creator of the style, is probably the most confessional of...
Sylvia Plath
My question is how to conclude my introduction? And who can give me some suggestions about what this research paper...
I think what you need to do in your essay is analyze Sylvia Plath's poetry from a feminist perspective. You might start out with several research questions: What roles do women play in the poems?...
Sylvia Plath
Please analyse the poem "Full Fathom Five" by Sylvia Plath.
In analyzing Plath's poetry, one has to account for the role of her father in her life and work. Plath's experience with her father was formative. Articulated in her poetry, there is a struggle...
Sylvia Plath
How would one write a brief critical appreciation of Sylvia Plath's poem "Event"?
Originally titled "Quarrel," "The Event" was written in 1962, and is plainly a commentary on Plath's deteriorating marriage to Ted Hughes. It was written following a visit from Assia Wevill, the...
Sylvia Plath
Write a critical appreciation of Sylvia Plath's "Circus in Three Rings."
A critical appreciation of Sylvia Plath's “Circus in Three Rings” will strive to determine the poem's purpose and then evaluate how well its form and content fulfill that purpose. Let's begin with...
Sylvia Plath
Compare and contrast the images used in the poetry of Plath and Alexie. The poems of both writers are bitter, yet...
One of my favourite poems by Sherman Alexie is "How to Write the Great American Indian Novel." In this poem, the speaker bitterly challenges stereotypical notions of what it is to be American...
Sylvia Plath
I'm coming across reviews that are critical of Plath's using Holocaust imagery in poems like “Lady Lazarus” and...
The Holocaust has long been considered sacred territory. Politicians, entertainers, and others who have cavalierly offered images from the Holocaust for metaphorical or comparative purposes have...
Sylvia Plath
I am writing a research paper on the poet Sylvia Plath. Are there any things I should emphasize especially?
You can divide her life into three sections: juvenalia (her young period of writing as detailed in The Bell Jar), the Colossus years (her first book of poetry), and her Ariel years (her last book...
Sylvia Plath
Examine the imagery and poetic devices in these lines from Sylvia Plath's poem "Night Shift." It was not a heart,...
These stanzas from "Night Shift" by Sylvia Plath are replete with poetic devices and with sensory imagery, in particular. They describe a factory which is in full production, so naturally the...
Sylvia Plath
How does Plath use the sea and the seascapes in "Full Fathom Five" and "Suicide Off Egg Rock"?
"Full Fathom Five" takes its title from Shakespeare's The Tempest. (The phrase has since been used in other texts and mediums.) In Act One, Scene Two, Ariel sings that Ferdinand's father has...
Sylvia Plath
What does this stanza in the poem "Night Shift" mean? What are the important elements of this stanza? Explain and...
In this stanza the speaker apparently succeeds in tracking down the sound that has been disturbing her all evening; the source is finally 'exposed' as coming from an industrial factory. The line...
Sylvia Plath
Can "Crossing the Water" be considered a Gothic poem?
Yes. Gothic literature is a genre that focuses on death, darkness, terror and chaos. Generally, the genre glorified these things to find meaning in the irrational rather than the rational....