Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath is a timelessly iconic author, lauded for her works of prose, poetry, and fiction that dealt with a wide array of emotions and themes. The beauty and complexity of her work often comes from its rawness, her ability to communicate a concise range of emotions from sorrow to rage, love to hatred. Plath’s legacy remains strong today, with her impact ranging from feminist celebration to personal hero worship.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1932 to a family of Austrian and German Jewish heritage. Plath’s parents were highly educated; her father was a college professor and her mother was a registered nurse. While their relationship was turbulent and they divorced when Sylvia was 8 years old, they provided a stable enough upbringing for her to excel academically. She studied at Smith College after graduating high school as a part of the class of 1950 and wrote her first published poem when she was 18.

Plath was often categorized by her peers as determined and hard-working, particularly when it came to her writing. Although Plath also had a beautiful resilience and optimism in her early years, after her college graduation, she suffered from a devastating depression and suicidal thoughts. She attempted to take her own life in 1953, though she was unsuccessful. This period of her life is detailed in her work The Bell Jar, published under a pseudonym shortly before her death in 1963.

In 1956, the same year that Plath met her future husband Ted Hughes, she published her first and only novel, The Bell Jar. The novel follows a protagonist named Esther Greenwood, who is on the cusp of a nervous breakdown, describing her troubled inner monologues and experiences. Considered an American modernist classic, the novel’s frankness and insight into mental health has earned it a deeply adoring following.

Plath wrote poetry and short stories over her lifetime, the former of which would become her most prominent contribution to literature. As she suffered more extensive mental health issues, she wrote more vigorously and openly about them, leading to a darkly poetic and deeply honest embrace of her emotions and anxieties. Her most popular works of poetry include Ariel and The Colossus, published posthumously in 1965 and 1962, respectively.

Though Plath’s writing often focused on depression, anxiety and trauma, her work was far from discouraged and hopeless. She wrote about her anxieties in a way that was strangely romantic and brash, encouraging readers to acknowledge their own emotions and to feel empowered by them. Her works often celebrated a strength and power in struggle, amplifying and exploring darker aspects of life and feelings.

Plath tragically passed away in 1963 at the young age of 30. Her death has since been attributed to a suicide via gas inhalation. Plath has had an enormous impact on modern language, literature, and culture, inspiring an array of writers, artists, and muses all around the world.

In 1998, Plath’s manuscripts, journals and letters were bought for a large price by the McGuire Center for American Studies and have since been located at the Ransom Center in Texas. Part of this collection is so popular that it has its own website and fan base, allowing readers to engage with her work and follow her writings in a more intimate way.

Plath’s legacy and contributions to literature, especially from a feminist perspective, way will remain vivid and indelible for many years to come. Her works are a reminder of what’s possible when one puts their struggles front and center, and does so boldly. Her influence continues to inspire and challenge, giving readers a piece of literature that will truly last forever.