Sylvia Plath : A Literary Life (Literary Lives)

Rating:
Summary: A concise view of Plath in her time
Review: This book is an excellent look at what Plath wrote, her beginnings as a writer, the climates that she worked in and how her relations with her mother and her husband helped to shape her writing. While I would have liked to see more of how Plath's favorite authors influenced her, there is enough new material (letter and journal excerpts, as well as the author's observations) to make it a worthwhile addition to the ever-growing pile of books on the legendary Sylvia Plath. A good study for beginners and scholars alike.

Rating:
Summary: Sylvia Plath : A Literary Life
Review: Wagner-Martin (Univ. of North Carolina) focuses on how Plath's story "interfaces with American culture during the 1930s, the 1940s, and the 1950s, and with British culture during the last decade of her life." The author discusses how Plath wanted to become "the great poet" and learned to draw from the real events of her life. Few of her stories or poems mention a mother; her father, Otto Plath, and his early death, surfaces "either as primary theme or as a subtle embroidery" in many of her poems and stories. Her one novel, The Bell Jar, with its objectified heroine, Esther, shows Plath's understanding of "the subtleties and the full ranges of mental and physical health." Traditional literary knowledge was of little use to Plath; she composed to "the true wildness of her imagination." She wrote about women who murdered the "Daddy person," gave birth to and nurtured children, and "have no use for anything that remains of their earlier lives." Although Wagner-Martin avoids connecting Plath's writings directly with her life, she believes that avoiding connections is nearly impossible. A few awkward sentences notwithstanding, this intelligent, focused study will enhance the reading of Plath's work. The author includes notes and a chronology. Recommended for all academic collections.

Rating:
Summary: Sylvia Plath : A Literary Life
Review: Wagner-Martin (Univ. of North Carolina) focuses on how Plath's story "interfaces with American culture during the 1930s, the 1940s, and the 1950s, and with British culture during the last decade of her life." The author discusses how Plath wanted to become "the great poet" and learned to draw from the real events of her life. Few of her stories or poems mention a mother; her father, Otto Plath, and his early death, surfaces "either as primary theme or as a subtle embroidery" in many of her poems and stories. Her one novel, The Bell Jar, with its objectified heroine, Esther, shows Plath's understanding of "the subtleties and the full ranges of mental and physical health." Traditional literary knowledge was of little use to Plath; she composed to "the true wildness of her imagination." She wrote about women who murdered the "Daddy person," gave birth to and nurtured children, and "have no use for anything that remains of their earlier lives." Although Wagner-Martin avoids connecting Plath's writings directly with her life, she believes that avoiding connections is nearly impossible. A few awkward sentences notwithstanding, this intelligent, focused study will enhance the reading of Plath's work. The author includes notes and a chronology. Recommended for all academic collections.