A new edition of Sylvia Plath's Pulitzer Prize-winning Collected Poems, edited and with an introduction by Ted Hughes read full description
reviews
Oct 28, 2010
Austin
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I suppose they call this confessional poetry--it's personal and autobiographical--but there's something deeply artistic going on in Plath's tortured imagination. Some of my favorite poems.
Confessional poetry, like much else that is modern, is not modern. Catullus wrote it in ancient Rome and Walter Pater tells us of the poésie intime of Joachim du Bellay who wrote in the sixteenth century. Du Bellay was an early advocate of writing in the vernacular (in his case, French) as oppose More...
Confessional poetry, like much else that is modern, is not modern. Catullus wrote it in ancient Rome and Walter Pater tells us of the poésie intime of Joachim du Bellay who wrote in the sixteenth century. Du Bellay was an early advocate of writing in the vernacular (in his case, French) as oppose More...
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Jan 14, 2008
Adam
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Whoo-boy, nobody has given me more trouble than Sylvia Plath. Only Byron may be as difficult in seperating the personality from the work, and with him we at least have a good bit of time since the works were actually written. I half-wonder if anybody can really be objective about her work.
See, she has a group of followers who just about worship her to the point of Tori Amos's fans, where everything she's done is meaningful and perfect. Her suicide date is celebrated. Every word she More...
See, she has a group of followers who just about worship her to the point of Tori Amos's fans, where everything she's done is meaningful and perfect. Her suicide date is celebrated. Every word she More...
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Jan 14, 2008
jack
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i keep coming back to plath as a source of inspiration for my own writing or alternately as a reason to never try to write anything again. because, people, she is one of the best. arguably one of the top five american poets of all time.
the only downer of this book is that ted hughes edited it, and he was the piece of shit she killed herself over. so if you want to read the ariel poems in their correct, initially intended order check out the notes in the back for that. why that assho More...
the only downer of this book is that ted hughes edited it, and he was the piece of shit she killed herself over. so if you want to read the ariel poems in their correct, initially intended order check out the notes in the back for that. why that assho More...
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Jan 13, 2011
Jeremy Allan
rated it: 
First: my rating applies to the edition, not the poetry.
After hacking away at this collected poems for the better part of six months, I'm not sure I have any interest in rating the poems. I think, in part, this is due to a certain experience I had in reading, as if this were a history book or a chronicle rather than a work of literature. Of course, while that reveals something (unsavory?) of my predisposition as a reader, I think it at leaves gives a hint as to how the work struck me More...
After hacking away at this collected poems for the better part of six months, I'm not sure I have any interest in rating the poems. I think, in part, this is due to a certain experience I had in reading, as if this were a history book or a chronicle rather than a work of literature. Of course, while that reveals something (unsavory?) of my predisposition as a reader, I think it at leaves gives a hint as to how the work struck me More...
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Oct 06, 2009
Doug
rated it:
Sylvia Plath... at last I'll spell your name right >_<
My review:
When I approached this book, I did not check the introuctions but, instead, got right into the poetry. I did not want to feel bias towards her stories or her struggle, because if art wishes a story or struggle to be told, it does so. See Oscar Wilde's preface to Dorian Gray for a better explanation. This, as well as the broken formalism in her style, may be the cause for why I don't "get it" as, while I s More...
My review:
When I approached this book, I did not check the introuctions but, instead, got right into the poetry. I did not want to feel bias towards her stories or her struggle, because if art wishes a story or struggle to be told, it does so. See Oscar Wilde's preface to Dorian Gray for a better explanation. This, as well as the broken formalism in her style, may be the cause for why I don't "get it" as, while I s More...
Mar 25, 2011
Esther
rated it:
My psychiatrist laughed when I said I read Sylvia Plath, "why do all you young women" etc. I do think part of it is that Sylvia becomes a friend if you go through some of the same stuff she did. Any famous person who shares your condition does. But to say that's all she's good for, as if there's no merit or instruction in her work...
And then, once again, it's back to the emotional Plath -- phrases that crush your head both because they are so well wrought and also because you More...
And then, once again, it's back to the emotional Plath -- phrases that crush your head both because they are so well wrought and also because you More...
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Oct 09, 2010
Fevvers
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I've taught this collection at A Level and it was a challenging yet enlightening experience. Plath's imagistic, brutal poems are beautiful yet cutting. Our appreciation of her work is certainly heightened by a knowledge of relevant biographical information (her father's death and the effect it had upon her; her marriage to Ted; her psychological and emotional state; her suicide attempts etc) but these poems are engaging literary gems in themselves. Vibrant colour symbolism, aggressive imagery, h
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Jun 01, 2011
Jason
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It would be an understatement to say that I fell in love with Sylvia Plath. The Bell Jar sank my heart, broke it in two, and revived it again. Her choice of words, even in prose, dance through your mind and are hard to forget.
This is especially true, though, of her poetry. Each poem has a beautiful life of its own, but together as an anthology, the poems show Plath's true heart, fickle, angry, passionate, uninhibited. From the more disturbing poems like "Daddy" to findi More...
This is especially true, though, of her poetry. Each poem has a beautiful life of its own, but together as an anthology, the poems show Plath's true heart, fickle, angry, passionate, uninhibited. From the more disturbing poems like "Daddy" to findi More...
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Jun 08, 2011
Heidi
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Oh, how I love Sylvia Plath! I realize she's not everyone's cup of tea and that's fine. I think her poetry is brilliant and speaks of her tortured soul. So many of us can relate to the pain that comes through in her words. I find her work inspiring, but sometimes one can wallow along with her be dragged down into her deep sadness.
A tidbit from one of my favorite poems, "Daddy"
Not God but a swastika
So black no sky could squeak through.
Every More...
A tidbit from one of my favorite poems, "Daddy"
Not God but a swastika
So black no sky could squeak through.
Every More...
Jun 22, 2009
Synesthésia
rated it:
What can be said about this tome? It's one of my absolute favourites, one of the poetry collections that has followed me across the continents over the years, with my sprawling notes gathering in the margins. It is the most complete overview on Plath's poetry, and whereas I'm not the fondest fan of Plath's early work, I am very fond of Crossing the Water and Winter Trees' poems, which shine next to their chronological cousins. This collection shows the bewitching development of one of the world'
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Sep 06, 2011
Hugo
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Amazing, simply stunning. The raw emotion in her poetry reminds me of older British poetry and the musically of Auden. "Daddy" is probably the one that stayed with me the most, the mythology and imagery are tearing on wounds still open.
You stand at the blackboard, daddy,
In the picture I have of you,
A cleft in your chin instead of your foot
But no less a devil for that, no not
Any less the black man who
Bit my pretty red heart in two.
I More...
You stand at the blackboard, daddy,
In the picture I have of you,
A cleft in your chin instead of your foot
But no less a devil for that, no not
Any less the black man who
Bit my pretty red heart in two.
I More...
May 17, 2011
Jed
rated it:
I decided to read this book because I thought it would have a good varity of poems for me to write a review on.
This book comes under the book of poetry category
What I liked about this book is it is a series of poems, all about different subjects from these two authors that have used a variety of techniques and poetic devices professionally to create great poems and a whole lot of them.
What I didn't like about this book is it malignly stuck to a fixed lenghth and sty More...
This book comes under the book of poetry category
What I liked about this book is it is a series of poems, all about different subjects from these two authors that have used a variety of techniques and poetic devices professionally to create great poems and a whole lot of them.
What I didn't like about this book is it malignly stuck to a fixed lenghth and sty More...
Jan 11, 2009
Chetley
rated it:
3.5 stars would be a better rating, but three stars is unjustifiable. Due to personal allegiances and taste, placing Plath at 5 stars and thererby even with Robert Desnos is impossible for me. With that said, Plath is a master. Her use of imagination, original images, perfectly fitted metaphor, persona, and, especially tone is powerful. Emotion is her thing. It seeps out of her poetry, but never alienates the reader, instead, her pain engages the reader. All those High School goths girls out th
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Feb 06, 2012
Myles
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I know--I'm a cretin. As much as I love some of these poems, as a whole, this book is exhausting.
I firmly believe that Sylvia Plath was a great artist, in prose as well as poetry. The Bell Jar is one of my favorite novels. Nor do I think that her personality or the legend of her life overpowers her work. What personality could dim the power of "Conversation Among the Ruins", "The Colossus" or "Lady Lazarus"? They are some of her most well-known poems, b More...
I firmly believe that Sylvia Plath was a great artist, in prose as well as poetry. The Bell Jar is one of my favorite novels. Nor do I think that her personality or the legend of her life overpowers her work. What personality could dim the power of "Conversation Among the Ruins", "The Colossus" or "Lady Lazarus"? They are some of her most well-known poems, b More...
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Jun 30, 2010
Robby
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I am fascinated by insanity, instability, depression. People who fall into that hole and never get out, who resurface only to fall right back in. I am fascinated by their stories, how they got there, how things end, and how they get there. Sylvia Plath’s poetry is about all of these things, but also about everything else, and I have always been fascinated by this woman who has been dead for almost 50 years.
She is notorious for many things, her honesty, her imagery, and the way she took h More...
She is notorious for many things, her honesty, her imagery, and the way she took h More...
Jun 15, 2010
Emily
rated it:
the only question i ever buzzed in on during my one high-school quizbowl tournament (walton B team, vanderbilt university tournament, nashville 1999) was about 'the bell jar'. i got it right. that gives me a 100% record in quizbowl. and i love her poem 'the times are tidy', which is in this collection. we'll see how it goes ...
it's impossible for me to read a book of poetry all in one go, no matter its size. it's like trying to drink concentrated fruit juice; you just need something More...
it's impossible for me to read a book of poetry all in one go, no matter its size. it's like trying to drink concentrated fruit juice; you just need something More...
Jun 14, 2007
Mme. Bookling
rated it:
Yes please. This is a fabulous collection of all MzPlath's work. Lady Lazurus is my favorite by far. Shall I list it here? Well, ok.
Lady Lazarus
I have done it again.
One year in every ten
I manage it-----
A sort of walking miracle, my skin
Bright as a Nazi lampshade,
My right foot
A paperweight,
My featureless, fine
Jew linen.
Peel off the napkin
O my enemy.
Do I terrify?-------
The More...
Lady Lazarus
I have done it again.
One year in every ten
I manage it-----
A sort of walking miracle, my skin
Bright as a Nazi lampshade,
My right foot
A paperweight,
My featureless, fine
Jew linen.
Peel off the napkin
O my enemy.
Do I terrify?-------
The More...
Jul 06, 2010
Leanna
rated it:
Well, so I loved this. I'd read it before but it had been 3 or 4 years. Plath definitely starts out more conventional, in her earlier poems. Like most of the rest of her fans, I guess, I fall in love with her around the Ariel period. What is it about her...her musicality, the sharpness of her images, her dark sense of humor, the domestic subject matter, her unique voice, her passion, the readability (for me, that tends to mean some sort of narrative and not too terribly long!).... love love love
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Jun 28, 2011
Felicia
rated it:
I may not be extensively-read in poetry, but Sylvia Plath's poems reach a place in my soul that is hard to describe. She inspires me in my own poetry writing and she overwhelms with every ounce of emotion that she pours into her poetry. That's what strikes me about Sylvia's poetry. She's not a half-assed poet. Every emotion occurs in a tidal wave that sweeps you away.
Right now this is the only book of hers that I own, but it's one of my most prized possessions.
Right now this is the only book of hers that I own, but it's one of my most prized possessions.
Aug 11, 2010
Dbohemian
rated it:
As a poetry fan I rarely encounter books that are worth my attention. I never truly liked short anthologies, nor did I like themed poetry books. This collection is a must for those who appreciate Sylvia Plath not only as a poet, but also as a human being. I often just open this book on a random page and read. The woman, as known to all, was a genius. This book only accentuate this fact, with numerous poems derived from one source of brilliance.
Feb 11, 2011
Camilla
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Collected Poems
Sylvia Plath
This collected poems are a sample of the great work of Sylvia Plath. Intimacy, love, the sight of the world and life from those eyes of hers, her expectations and the passion she put in each of her verses.
There are different worlds we can find in this book. It was amazing to find common places with Ted Hughes, some cross roads and feelings, too. In some way, her poetry reminded me of a fresh garden and also a cold night.
It was not easy to let More...
Sylvia Plath
This collected poems are a sample of the great work of Sylvia Plath. Intimacy, love, the sight of the world and life from those eyes of hers, her expectations and the passion she put in each of her verses.
There are different worlds we can find in this book. It was amazing to find common places with Ted Hughes, some cross roads and feelings, too. In some way, her poetry reminded me of a fresh garden and also a cold night.
It was not easy to let More...
Sep 20, 2011
Christey
rated it:
A confessionalist poet through-and-through, you really get a sense of the author’s life and feelings while reading her deeply personal poetry. Her effective imagery paired with the true and pure emotions apparent throughout her choice of diction is what makes her a great poet. This book contains Plath’s poetry from her juvenile years and follows her poetry up until her unfortunate death.
Jan 31, 2010
Eileen
rated it:
These are beautiful, honest, wrenching poems. They show us life through the lens of a brilliant mind, struggling “to keep reality at bay” and to overcome her inner demons.
They are all haunting, but my thoughts keep coming back to two in particular. In CHILD, Sylvia Plath tells her baby how she would love for his beautiful eyes to reflect only wonderful things rather than the anxious, troubled spirit she has become.
In MIRROR, she personifies a looking glass. Speaking More...
They are all haunting, but my thoughts keep coming back to two in particular. In CHILD, Sylvia Plath tells her baby how she would love for his beautiful eyes to reflect only wonderful things rather than the anxious, troubled spirit she has become.
In MIRROR, she personifies a looking glass. Speaking More...
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Nov 24, 2010
Nina
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These poems are overwhelmingly rich in images and symbols and written in the most beautiful use of the english language i can think of. They open up a whole detailed universe of imaginations and emotions in your mind. Every single poem has left me speechless when i took the time to read it thoroughly (sometimes even aloud or whispering) and let entirely engage myself into it.
Jul 24, 2010
Sarah
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Of course I've read poems by Sylvia Plath before, but never a large collection. It's easy to let her biography overshadow her work, but once you read these, it's easy for the work to stand on its own merit and understand why she's so well-respected more than 50 years after her death. Language and imagery here are carefully crafted in a way that is seldom seen.
Aug 09, 2007
vie
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"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my lids and all is born again. (I think I made you up inside my head.)
The stars go waltzing out in blue and red, And arbitrary blackness gallops in: I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead. I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane. (I think I made you up inside my head.)
God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade: Exit seraphim and Satan's men: I shut my eyes an More...
Jun 09, 2011
Daniela
rated it:
I give this collection four stars because in all honesty, most of Plath's poetry is not all that great. Although I'm aware that her poetry is what she is famous for, most of her work is not to my personal liking. Yet, there are true gems within these pages and they certainly boost up my rating. I have marked a decent number of poems with slips of paper so that I may easily find them again when the mood strikes. I will admit to doing this only when a piece of poetry truly effects me. Although, as
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Jan 07, 2011
Kristie
rated it: 
Her poems are all dark and depressing, and although some people see artistic value in it, I don't. I didn't particularly enjoy reading about her daddy/husband issues and tortured anti-heroine notions of killing herself, which she eventually did anyway. I guess it's just not for me.
Dec 29, 2008
Hannah
rated it:
One can only hope to have the power to evoke the emotions and sensations that Syhlvia Plaths poetry is capable of. As a writer, Sylvia Plath, is fluid, vivid and extra ordinary...one of a kind! An absolute must for those who love poetry and a cannot live without for women who love poetry.
Jul 09, 2010
Ian
rated it:
The book is a comprehensive collection. Plath having been one of the predominant Confessionalists, her work is primarily informed by her personal life. The book offers a small biography on her which is helpful as well as early drafts and uncollected poems.
