Sylvia Plath

About the Author

Sylvia Plath was born in 1932 and grew up on the Massachusetts coast. Her father died when she was eight. A stellar student, Plath won scholarships to attend Smith and Cambridge University, where she met and married the poet Ted Hughes. They had a rocky marriage and two children. Plath won great acclaim for her first book of poetry, The Colossus, in 1959, and published the pseudonymous The Bell Jar in 1963 to make money. Plath had suffered from mental illness throughout her life and she fell into deep depression as her marriage dissolved, eventually committing suicide in 1963. Several books of her poetry published after her death display Plath’s genius and won her a posthumous Pulitzer Prize. Plath’s works are still widely read today.

LitCharts guides for works by Sylvia Plath

Explore LitCharts literature and poetry guides for works by Sylvia Plath. Each literature guide includes a full summary, detailed analysis, and helpful resources. Each poetry guide offers line-by-line analysis and exploration of poetic devices.

Ariel

Sylvia Plath's "Ariel" was first published posthumously in a 1965 collection of the same title, which Plath had completed not long before her death in February 1963. In this free verse poem, a spea... view guide

Cut

The American poet Sylvia Plath wrote "Cut" in 1962. After suddenly slicing her thumb while chopping an onion, the poem's speaker compares her bloody wound to a series of surreal, disturbing, and da... view guide

Daddy

"Daddy" is a controversial and highly anthologized poem by the American poet Sylvia Plath. Published posthumously in 1965 as part of the collection Ariel, the poem was originally written in October... view guide

Edge

"Edge" is thought to be the final poem Sylvia Plath ever wrote. Dated February 5, 1963, six days before her death, "Edge" has been read by many critics (though not all) as a reflection of her despa... view guide

Fever 103°

"Fever 103°" was first published in Sylvia Plath's posthumous collection Ariel (1965), although she wrote the poem in 1962. The combination of hellish and heavenly imagery reflects her state of men... view guide

Kindness

Sylvia Plath's "Kindness" personifies kindness itself as a "nice" woman who's trying to help the morbidly unhappy speaker. The sweetness and comfort "Dame Kindness" offers is no "cure" for the spea... view guide

Lady Lazarus

Sylvia Plath wrote "Lady Lazarus" in 1962, during a creative burst of energy in the months before her death by suicide in 1963. The poem alludes to the biblical story of Lazarus, whom Jesus famousl... view guide

Mad Girl's Love Song

"Mad Girl's Love Song" is a villanelle written by the American poet Sylvia Plath in 1953, when Plath was in her third year at Smith College. The poem, one of Plath’s most famous, is a portrait of t... view guide

Metaphors

Sylvia Plath wrote "Metaphors" in March of 1959. The poem's pregnant speaker relays her deep anxiety about motherhood and her estrangement from her quickly changing body through a series of clever ... view guide

Mirror

Sylvia Plath wrote "Mirror" in 1961, shortly after having given birth to her first child. Written from the point of view of a personified mirror, the poem explores Plath's own fears regarding aging... view guide

Morning Song

The American poet Sylvia Plath first published "Morning Song" in 1961, shortly after the birth of her first child. The poem paints a surreal, intimate, and tender portrait of a woman navigating mot... view guide

Nick and the Candlestick

Sylvia Plath's “Nick and the Candlestick” is a free verse poem told from the perspective of a woman who has recently given birth. As she nurses her son, the speaker expresses her struggle to naviga... view guide

Poppies in July

"Poppies in July" appeared in Sylvia Plath's important posthumous collection Ariel (1965). In this short, nightmarish poem, a speaker gazes at a field of poppies and sees her own pain reflected bac... view guide

Poppies in October

Sylvia Plath's "Poppies in October" is a melancholy poem that focuses on beauty in the natural world. The speaker notices vibrant red poppies in October, when the flowers don't typically bloom. Ins... view guide

Sheep in Fog

Sylvia Plath's "Sheep in Fog" explores the speaker's intense feelings of disappointment, despair, and insignificance. The speaker feels like they've been trudging too slowly through life and have f... view guide

Sow

"Sow" is an early poem by Sylvia Plath, written in 1957 and collected in The Colossus (1960). It describes a male farmer's female pig in wonder-struck terms, elevating her to the status of a mythic... view guide

The Applicant

Sylvia Plath's “The Applicant” is a free verse dramatic monologue in which a salesperson rigorously interviews a man who has applied to buy a wife. The poem satirizes rampant consumerism and patria... view guide

The Arrival of the Bee Box

“The Arrival of the Bee Box” is a poem by Sylvia Plath, one of the most prominent American poets of the 20th century. It was published in her bestselling collection Ariel, and forms parts of a sequ... view guide

The Bell Jar

In the summer of 1953, Esther Greenwood, a brilliant college student, wins a month to work as guest editor with eleven other girls at a New York magazine. Esther lives with the other girls at the ... view guide

The Moon and the Yew Tree

"The Moon and the Yew Tree" was written by the American poet Sylvia Plath in October 1961. Like much of Plath's writing, this is a deeply ambiguous poem that has been interpreted in a number of dif... view guide

The Munich Mannequins

Sylvia Plath's "The Munich Mannequins" examines the deadening cruelty of objectification. The poem's speaker (a figure who seems to speak for Plath herself) regards the "mannequins" of Munich—that ... view guide

The Night Dances

The American poet Sylvia Plath wrote "The Night Dances" in 1962, not long after the birth of her second child. The poem contrasts the beautiful yet fleeting nature of human existence with the infin... view guide

Tulips

Sylvia Plath wrote "Tulips" in March of 1961, after having her appendix removed and receiving get-well flowers from a friend. The speaker of the poem, hospitalized for an unspecified procedure, fee... view guide

Words

Sylvia Plath's "Words" ruminates on the power and limitations of language. Words, the speaker says, are like the sharp thwacks of an ax into a tree, the "echoes" of which travel far and wide. While... view guide

You're

In Sylvia Plath's "You're," a mother addresses her unborn baby. Describing the child in vivid, playful figurative language, the speaker conveys both eagerness and a touch of anxiety about new mothe... view guide