The Transition in Sylvia Plath’s Work

Life has been some combination of fairy-tale coincidence and joie de vivre and shocks of beauty together with some hurtful self-questioning. --The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

It has been almost 50 years since the American literary community lost one of its greatest treasures, Sylvia Plath. Even in recent days, numerous scholars are still studying many admirable qualities in Plath’s collection of work. She has developed a unique writing style and performed thoroughly at an early age. Over the years, the events of her life highly affect the focus of her work. This transition is evident in her use of colors, object, and most importantly, her purpose for producing each poem. Plath’s development is presented clearly in her juvenilia poem “Female Author” to some of her later pieces, for instance “A Life”.

In Plath’s case, her tragic life is a crucial element that one cannot pass over. Various researchers believe that being able to recognize and study the poet’s life is the key to his or her poems. Glyn Austen agrees when he writes, “Certain key events provide a framework for approaching Plath…death of father, suicide attempt, psychiatric treatment, marriage, childbirth, hospitalization, betrayal, suicide” (Austen). All these factors suggest that emotion is Plath’s fundamental material when it comes to the motivation of her topic.

Although people often associate Plath’s accomplishments with her depression, sadness is not the only theme Plath is known for. The “Female Author” is a good model for Plath’s earlier work even though it was unpublished. It was probably written between her adolescence and her time in college. Plath is full of enthusiasm throughout this stage of her adulthood, as she states, “this is now, and now, and now. L...

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...Austen, Glyn. "Life and art: context in Sylvia Plath's poetry: Glyn Austen argues that an understanding of Sylvia Plath's life is the key to her poetry." The English Review Feb. 2002: 12+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.)

(A 1962 Sylvia Plath interview with Peter Orr, The Poet Speaks: Interviews with Contemporary Poets Conducted by Hilary Morrish, Peter Orr, John Press, and Ian Scott-Kilvery. London: Routledge 1966.)

(Plath, Sylvia, and Karen Kukil. "Sylvia Plath Quotes (Author of The Bell Jar)." Share Book Recommendations With Your Friends, Join Book Clubs, Answer Trivia. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Web. 10 Dec. 2011.)

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