Imagery In Sylvia Plath’s Poems

Sylvia Plath, one of the significant representatives of Confessional Poetry, whose extremely appealing "images" have contributed highlights to the kingdom of poetry. Taking Plath’s poem as study object, the dissertation cuts in from the aspect of images on the base of gender consciousness, applying research methods such as eco-criticism, psychoanalysis, gender criticism and archetypal criticism to focus on the examination of aesthetic experience projected into the symbol of images by the aesthetic subject. It aims at presenting the aesthetic value of the symbol of image in Plath’s poetry in terms of ideological implication as well as artistic form.The present dissertation consists of the following six parts:Chapter One the introduction part provides a brief history of Plath Studies both at home and abroad, including the motivation of the selected topic and the research subject. It also expounds the elementary object and research approach of the dissertation.Chapter Two firstly seeks to point out the correlations between Confessional Poetry and Imagist Poetry by presenting the concept of Image; secondly, starting from the concrete poetry text, it demonstrates confessional poets’enthusiasm about the "Image" of poetry and their apathy about the rules and forms as well as musicality in Imagist Poetry. Finally, it demonstrates the contribution of Confessional Poetry to the symbol of "Image" and the development of English poetic form.Chapter Three deals with the aesthetic harmony between the "Mirror" image and the thought of female existence in Plath’s poetry. According to Lacanian theory,"Mirror" image is fundamentally a kind of projecting of individual existing state. The "Mirror" image in Plath’s poetry, on the one hand, projects the lyric protagonist’s thought over individual life existence, while looking into the mirror, the poet accomplished lyric protagonist’s self-identity of female identity and subject personality; on the other hand, while paying close attention to "individual I", the poet cast more vision on the mirror of society, taking an active part in social political affairs and showing her concern over human society.Chapter Four probes into the aesthetic characteristics of "Color" image in Plath’s poetry. Plath was sensitive to color inherently and familiar with skills of art of painting to apply color, and she applied the comprehension to her poetry creation to express her unique life experience. Whether it is the "red" representing the dimension of life, or the "black" the border of death, or the "white" the fantastic transformation of nihility, they all express the poet’s peculiar inner experience.Chapter Five interprets the natural images in Plath’s poetry. It investigates the relationship between human being and nature revealed in Plath’s poetry from the aspects of "ocean imagery","animal imagery" and "botanical imagery" and the poet’s ecological thought projected through these natural images.Chapter Six is the conclusion of the dissertation, on the basis of summarizing the study mentioned above, points out firstly that Plath carried forward the core element of "image" in poetry creation and developed its connotation in her own poetry creation, therefore enriched the English poetic form; secondly, while "looking into the mirror to observe herself", what Plath was concerned about is not only the individual life experience but more about the society and all humanity.