1. + Silvia Plath By Wendolyne Camero

2. + Who is Sylvia Plath? Born October 27, 1932, in Massachusetts. American poet, novelist and short story writer. Studied at Smith College and Newnham College Cambridge. Married poet Ted Hughes in 1956. Lived in the U.S and then moved to England. Had two children Frieda and Nicholas. She struggled with depression and a marital separation. Committed suicide February 11, 1963.

3. + Her Work… The Colossus and Other Poems Ariel The Collected Poems The Bell Jar

4. + My favorite poem… Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath I have done it again. One year in every ten I manage it—Sylvia Plath A sort of walking miracle, my skin Bright as a Nazi lampshade, My right foot A paperweight, My face a featureless, fine Jew linen. Peel off the napkin O my enemy. Do I terrify?– The nose, the eye pits, the full set of teeth? The sour breath Will vanish in a day. Soon, soon the flesh The grave cave ate will be At home on me And I a smiling woman. I am only thirty. And like the cat I have nine times to die. This is Number Three. What a trash To annihilate each decade. What a million filaments. The peanut-crunching crowd Shoves in to see Them unwrap me hand and foot-- The big strip tease. Gentlemen, ladies These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. The first time it happened I was ten. It was an accident. The second time I meant To last it out and not come back at all. I rocked shut As a seashell. They had to call and call And pick the worms off me like sticky pearls. Dying Is an art, like everything else. I do it exceptionally well. I do it so it feels like hell. I do it so it feels real. I guess you could say I've a call. It's easy enough to do it in a cell. It's easy enough to do it and stay put. It's the theatrical Comeback in broad day To the same place, the same face, the same brute Amused shout: 'A miracle!' That knocks me out. There is a charge For the eyeing of my scars, there is a charge For the hearing of my heart-- It really goes. And there is a charge, a very large charge For a word or a touch Or a bit of blood Or a piece of my hair or my clothes. So, so, Herr Doktor. So, Herr Enemy. I am your opus, I am your valuable, The pure gold baby That melts to a shriek. I turn and burn. Do not think I underestimate your great concern. Ash, ash-- You poke and stir. Flesh, bone, there is nothing there– A cake of soap, A wedding ring, A gold filling. Herr God, Herr Lucifer Beware Beware. Out of the ash I rise with my red hair And I eat men like air. 23-29 October 1962

5. + The Bell Jar An autobiographical book, published in 1963, based around the 1950’s. The main Character is Esther Greenwood, a college student from Massachusetts, goes to New York to work on a magazine for a month as a guest editor. Esther passion is to write poetry, and indeed is a great writer. Her boyfriend Buddy Willard doesn’t seem accept her love for writing and this leads to conflicts. Esther faces problems of her identity and doesn’t know what she really wants as far as her personal life. This all brings her to a deep depression and even tries to commit suicide and fails. Esther has psychological issues and is unable to control her illness. She gets help, but deep inside she knows that it will never go away.

6. + Important Quotes from The Bell Jar “The silence depressed me. It wasn't the silence of silence. It was my own silence.” “There must be quite a few things a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them.” “I didn't want my picture taken because I was going to cry. I didn't know why I was going to cry, but I knew that if anybody spoke to me or looked at me too closely the tears would fly out of my eyes and the sobs would fly out of my throat and I'd cry for a week. I could feel the tears brimming and sloshing in me like water in a glass that is unsteady and too full.” “I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart: I am, I am, I am.” “There ought, I thought, to be a ritual for being born twice - patched, retreaded and approved for the road.”

7. + My thoughts… Sylvia Plath is an amazing writer, mysterious and interesting, but I think her insanity lead her to writing some of the greatest poetry, and a great book as well. The Bell Jar is said to be based about her, and I do believe she is talking about herself the whole time. The irony about it is in the book Esther is insane and tries to commit suicide several times, in real life Sylvia commits suicide and ends her life. It seems as if her illness inspires her to write her poetry, because there is always that dark feel to it. Lady Lazarus narrates her feelings about her suicidal attempts.

8. + Why I chose this writer? Sylvia Plath’s life is interesting itself, not to mention her magnificent writing. Sylvia influenced me because her head was like a totally different world that you just want to get to know. Her life was filled with mystery and it left us all wondering why she did what she did. It was tragic end and she could have done even greater things. Overall she is one of the best American writers.