Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was a bright, intelligent, and determined woman with a need to succeed and a burning desire to write. She was an American writer whose best-known poems are noted for their personal imagery and intense focus (Welz, 1). In this paper, I will discuss her background that influenced her writing, information about her work, and give an analysis of one of her poems.
Sylvia was born in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts on October 27, 1932. During her early childhood, Sylvia's father Otto suffered from a lengthy illness. Otto, certain he had cancer, did not seek treatment initially, but when he finally did, it was too late. A case of diabetes was diagnosed. His illness was too advanced for survival and he died just a few days after Sylvia's 8th birthday. Otto was a professor of biology at Boston University, and had specialized in bees. Her mother, Aurelia, worked two jobs to support Sylvia and her brother Warren (Lucas, 2). At school Sylvia appeared to be a model student. She won many prizes and scholarships. Sylvia studied at Gamaliel Bradford Senior High School. In October 1955, after high school, Sylvia attended Newnham College at Cambridge University on a Fulbright scholarship. In 1956 she married English poet Ted Hughes and, in 1960, they had their first child. But, the following February in 1961, a miscarriage left Sylvia feeling depressed. In August, they moved to a Devon farm. Sylvia was isolated and her relationship with Ted was weakening. But, on January 17, 1962, her son Nicholas Farrar was born. Then, Sylvia discovered Ted’s affair with Assia Wevill and Sylvia and Ted were separated by September. That December, Sylvia took her children with her to London and moved into an apartment, which was the former home of poet William Butler Yeats. Then, on February 11, 1963, at the age of 30, Sylvia gave up her life by gassing herself to death with her kitchen oven (Martin, 248). Her miserable life had a major effect on her success in literature.
Sylvia’s...
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