Portrait of Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath

1932 - 1963

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for her two published collections, The Colossus and Other Poems and Ariel, as well as The Bell Jar, a semi-autobiographical novel published shortly before her death. Plath's work often dealt with themes of death, rebirth, and psychological trauma, drawing from her own struggles with depression and mental illness. Her intensely personal and emotionally charged poetry has made her one of the most studied and influential poets of the 20th century.

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my lids and all is born again.

Timeline

1932

Born in Boston, Massachusetts

1950

Entered Smith College

1953

First suicide attempt and hospitalization

1955

Graduated summa cum laude from Smith College

1956

Married Ted Hughes

1960

Published "The Colossus and Other Poems"

1962

Separated from Ted Hughes

1963

Published "The Bell Jar" under pseudonym Victoria Lucas

1963

Died by suicide in London at age 30

Notable Quote

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my lids and all is born again.

Sylvia Plath

Influences

  • Emily Dickinson
  • Robert Lowell
  • Anne Sexton
  • Theodore Roethke

Achievements

  • Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1982, posthumous)
  • Fulbright Scholar at Cambridge University
  • Pioneer of confessional poetry