Sylvia plath

Sylvia plath


The poetry of Sylvia Plath and Bruce Dawe differ considerably in style, context and language, yet offer unique perceptions of the issues surrounding society and themselves. Born two years apart in different countries, both poets demonstrated great promise and talent at a very young age, especially Plath who regarded herself as, ‘dangerously brainy.’ Their talent has been recognised with many awards and scholarships, yet both poet’s received international fame from their late poetry. Dawe’s reputation as an acclaimed Australian poet arrived 37 years after his was born, when he won the Ampol Arts Award for creative literature. As with Dawe’s poetry, Plath found her true voice later in life when she decided to write at a much faster pace and more controlled rhythm. Although her writing was at its peak at his time, Plath’s marriage to British poet Ted Hughes was experiencing complications. Ted’s relationships with fashion models drove the marriage apart, and later made a depressed Plath to take her own life. The anger and betrayal that she felt at the hand of Hughes, were very strong and are apparent in Plath’s late poetry. Images of death and pain appear throughout many of these poems (Ostriker, p348). Sylvia Plath explores the emotions and feelings of her own life experiences in her poetry. Like her marriage breakup affecting her late poetry, Plath’s work reflects the pivotal moments in her life where she releases...

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