| Sylvia Plath's poetry pulses with imagery and sound; it excites, disturbs, and unnerves. When Plath writes "I," one rarely questions the authenticity of the speaker. One feels privy to certain aspects of the poet's life experience. Her father's death, her subsequent psychotherapy, and the dissolution of her marriage contribute directly to the often surreal affect of the poetry. Plath's unique voice emerges from the bubbling cauldron of repetitive grief issues, existential tendencies, and patriarchy to create a new order of post-modern poetry. The thesis attempts to lead readers to a better appreciation of that poetry by demonstrating that Plath did not desire death, but rather desired growth, in an understanding of her own mysterious existence. It is evident through textual analysis that she was writing to achieve liberation from a crippling grief, autonomy as a woman artist, and absolution from years of guilt, at the time of her suicide. |
