Sylvia Plath is a renowned author from the confessional poetics era. She wrote real poems about strong topics that most people were too afraid to discuss openly. She wrote about hard topics like mental illness, war, and forced marriage. The thing Plath did so well was speak truth through these topics, but she did it in a way that was for the reader to decipher; she put metaphorical meaning to many of her topics.
The first poem I took a deep look at is “Lady Lazarus,” written by Sylvia Plath. This particular poem starts by saying, “I have done it again” (Plath line 1). This opening sentence makes the reader wonder what exactly she did “again.” Towards the middle of the poem, readers get a closer look at what exactly the narrator is talking about. Drawing back to the second line, Plath writes “One year in every ten” (Plath 2), and while I first didn’t know what this meant, the poem continued to say “I am only thirty. And like the cat I have nine times to die. This is Number Three.” (Plath 20-22). Now we know that the narrator is 30, and she repeats a similar action every ten years. She also notes being like a cat with “9 lives,” and mentions the word “die.” This hints at the confessional topic that is suicide and mental illness. Plath did not hesitate to make it known what she was talking about. Using small hints throughout the poem, Plath hints at mental illness and suicide. As the poem continues, she gets a lot more vivid and uses much stronger language when she writes, “I do it so it feels like hell. I do it so it feels real” (Plath 46-47). This part made my jaw drop because it is very dark, and it makes it very clear what exactly Plath is getting at. It is a hard pill to swallow knowing the narrator in this intentionally makes their suffering by intentional death worse on purpose to make it feel “real.” Toward the end of the poem, the author writes about how “Out of the ash I rise with my red hair” (Plath 82-83). These particular lines, paired with the cat having 9 lives comparison, a reader could assume that the narrator in this poem struggles with unsuccessful suicide attempts and continuously lives even when she tries not to, ever so often. This poem is clearly in the confessional poetry genre because of the deep and dark language used, the targeted idea of suicide, and the constant mention of dying. Poems like this definitely make readers feel dark emotions. During this era of poetry, discussing mental health was in many ways something that you just did not do. Plath came out swinging when she wrote this poem, directly discussing things that weren’t really ever discussed, making her a confessional poet.
The second poem I analyzed by Sylvia Platt again is called, “Morning Song.” After reading the poem, and knowing a little bit about the author, it can be said that this poem is about the tragic topic of losing a baby. In the opening stanza, the narrator says, “The midwife slapped your footsoles and your bold cry took its place among the elements” (Plath lines 1-2). This opening piece lets the reader know that the narrator experienced a full-term pregnancy and that her baby did come into the world. A few lines later though the narrator says, “I am your mother no more” (Plath line 7). This forms the idea that something happened that came between the mother and baby staying that way. At this point in the poem, it is hard to put a direct idea to what could have happened. However, very soon after we found out that the narrator is not the baby’s “mother” anymore, the author writes “Than the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own slow. Effacement at the wind’s hand” (Plath 8-9). The words “cloud” and “wind’s hand” allude to heaven and the sky, making it seemingly apparent that the baby has passed away. When I read these lines, I felt so sad for the narrator. Going through something like this, and then to top it off, feeling like you can’t talk about it had to be terrible. The poem closes with the narrator discussing some sounds she hears; Your handful of notes; The clear vowels rise like balloons” (Plath lines 17-18). These words could be a few different things, but based on the rest of the poem, I think the narrator is talking about hearing sounds outside and in the wind that remind her of the baby. It is not surprising that this could have turned the narrator’s world dark and changed her life. Sylvia Plath writes about devastating topics like suicide, and it makes sense that if something like this happened to someone, suicide attempts might be an aftereffect. During the era in which this poem was written, this is another of the heartbreaking topics that was not talked about nearly enough. Sylvia Plath continued on with this poem, further proving herself as a confessional poet during her time.
A third poem, written by Sylvia Plath, once again discusses yet another difficult non-verbalized topic of the time. The poem “The Applicant” discusses the way women were subject to marriages that they didn’t fully want to be in and presumed consistent roles of the time, even if they wanted more for themselves. Plath uses a different strategy at the beginning of this poem and opens with a question stating, “First, are you our sort of a person?” (Plath line 1). Furthermore, various lines in the poem allude to empty marriage, like: “Rubber breasts or a rubber crotch, Stitches to show something’s missing? No, no? Then. How can we give you a thing?” (lines 5-7), and “Empty? Empty. Here is a hand” (Plath 10). The title “The Applicant” makes it seem as if the man in the poem is trying to convince the girl to marry him and be with him, but some of the things he wants from her are difficult topics. A few of the lines at the end of the poem allude to why he wanted to marry her, though, and it seems twisted. The author states, “You have an eye, it’s an image” (Plath 38). This seems to symbolize that he wants to marry the girl and make her his wife for the sole purpose that she looks pretty, and she is a trophy for him. This is definitely a topic that was not discussed a lot at this time, but once again, Sylvia Plath was not worried about what others would think and gave her opinion on the topic anyway. Through her poem about suicide attempts, infant death, and now the sickening ways of marriage, she is a confessional poet through and through.
Sylvia Plath was one of the most well-known confessional poets of her time, and he personal story definitely contributed to that. According to The Poetry Foundation, “Plath’s poems explore her own mental anguish, her troubled marriage to fellow poet Ted Hughes, her unresolved conflicts with her parents, and her own vision of herself” (The Poetry Foundation). It is very interesting that all of these things that happened in her personal life were things that made her what is known as a confessional poet. Plath’s works make you think and question things the way we know it today. Knowing that she actually went through most of the things she writes of is saddening. I am glad she took poetry seriously and used it as an outlet to discuss issues she was facing in her life, even if it would ruffle some feathers.
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