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| Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath |
Bio:
Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) was an American poet and prose writer from Boston (Massachusetts). Born in a well-off and cultured family -her father was a university professor-, she was brilliant at her studies but suffered from depression since she was young. She married British poet Ted Hughes and lived first in the United States before relocating to London (England). They had two children. In September 1962 the couple separated as Sylvia discovered Ted had been having an affair with another woman. In February 1963 Plath committed suicide in her London home at the age of 30.
Poetry:
Plath's poetry is important in the genre of confessional poetry. In her poetry she reflected her internal struggles with her feelings and with those around her.
Other works:
Plath also published a semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, and wrote journals which were published posthumously.
Controversy:
Some people (including some feminists) have blamed Ted Hughes on Sylvia's death, especially as Hughes' next partner also committed suicide. This led to continuous attacks to Hughes, including the vandalisation of Plath's tombstone in order to erase Hughes' name from it.
In this link you can hear Sylvia reciting her own poem Daddy, one of her most famous.
"Daddy" read by Sylvia Plath
Another female poet in the style of Plath:
Another woman also from Massachussetts, Anne Sexton (1928-1974) can be said to have some similarities to Sylvia Plath in her style of poetry and also in her life. Unlike Plath, she came from a family with no connections with culture and started writing while she was a stay-at-home mother as a therapy for her depression. Similarly to Plath, her depression led her to suicide.
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| Anne Sexton |
