"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. As its title suggests, the poem deals with themes of both heartbreak and mental illness. The speaker laments a lost love even as she repeatedly suggests that this love was simply a figment of her imagination all along. That said, as with much of Plath's poetry, the poem's meaning is ultimately open to interpretation. "Mad Girl's Love Song" was officially published in the August 1953 issue of the women's magazine Mademoiselle. Plath herself battled with mental illness throughout her short life, and died by suicide at the age of 30.
Get
LitCharts
|
|
I shut my ...
... inside my head.)
The stars go ...
... world drops dead.
I dreamed that ...
... inside my head.)
God topples from ...
... world drops dead.
I fancied you'd ...
... inside my head.)
I should have ...
... inside my head.)
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
The Original Printing — See"Mad Girl's Love Song" as it first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Mademoiselle.
Plath's Disappearance — The Boston Evening American on Plath's disappearance and feared suicide, followed by the reprinting of "Mad Girl's Love Song."
An Interview With Plath — A 1962 interview on how Plath started writing poetry.
"Sylvia" Trailer — Watch the trailer for the 2003 film on Sylvia Plath, starring Gwyneth Paltrow.
TED-Ed Talk — Listen to a TED-Ed talk by Iseult Gillespie on the importance of Sylvia Plath.