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Sylvia Plath Poems Chosen Carol Ann Duff
Sylvia Plath was one of the defining voices of twentieth-century poetry, and one of the most appealing: few other poets have introduced as many new readers to poetry. Though she published just one collection in her lifetime, The Colossus, and a novel, The Bell Jar, it was following her death in 1963 that her work began to garner the wider audience that it deserved. The manuscript that she left behind, Ariel, was published in 1965 under the editorship of her former husband, Ted Hughes, as were two later volumes, Crossing the Water and Winter Trees in 1971, which helped to make Sylvia Plath a household name. Hughes's careful curation of Plath's work extended to a Collected Poems and a Selected Poems in the 1980s, which remain in print today and stand testimony to the 'profound respect' that Frieda Hughes said her father had for her mother's work. It was not until the publication of a 'restored' Ariel in 2004 that readers were able to appraise Plath's own selection and arrangement of her work.
This edition of the poems, chosen by the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, offers a fresh selection of Sylvia Plath's poetry to stand in parallel to the existing editions. Introduced with an inviting preface, the book is essential reading for those new to and already familiar with the work of this most extraordinary poet.
This edition of the poems, chosen by the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, offers a fresh selection of Sylvia Plath's poetry to stand in parallel to the existing editions. Introduced with an inviting preface, the book is essential reading for those new to and already familiar with the work of this most extraordinary poet.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
243 people are currently reading
2164 people want to read
About the author
Sylvia Plath
280 books28.5k followersSylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer, widely regarded as one of the most influential and emotionally powerful authors of the 20th century. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she demonstrated literary talent from an early age, publishing her first poem at the age of eight. Her early life was shaped by the death of her father, Otto Plath, when she was eight years old, a trauma that would profoundly influence her later work.
Plath attended Smith College, where she excelled academically but also struggled privately with depression. In 1953, she survived a suicide attempt, an experience she later fictionalized in her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. After recovering, she earned a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Newnham College, Cambridge, in England. While there, she met and married English poet Ted Hughes in 1956. Their relationship was passionate but tumultuous, with tensions exacerbated by personal differences and Hughes's infidelities.
Throughout her life, Plath sought to balance her ambitions as a writer with the demands of marriage and motherhood. She had two children with Hughes, Frieda and Nicholas, and continued to write prolifically. In 1960, her first poetry collection, The Colossus and Other Poems, was published in the United Kingdom. Although it received modest critical attention at the time, it laid the foundation for her distinctive voice—intensely personal, often exploring themes of death, rebirth, and female identity.
Plath's marriage unraveled in 1962, leading to a period of intense emotional turmoil but also extraordinary creative output. Living with her two children in London, she wrote many of the poems that would posthumously form Ariel, the collection that would cement her literary legacy. These works, filled with striking imagery and raw emotional force, displayed her ability to turn personal suffering into powerful art. Poems like "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus" remain among her most famous, celebrated for their fierce honesty and technical brilliance.
In early 1963, following a deepening depression, Plath died by suicide at the age of 30. Her death shocked the literary world and sparked a lasting fascination with her life and work. The posthumous publication of Ariel in 1965, edited by Hughes, introduced Plath's later poetry to a wide audience and established her as a major figure in modern literature. Her novel The Bell Jar was also published under her own name shortly after her death, having initially appeared under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas."
Plath’s work is often classified within the genre of confessional poetry, a style that emphasizes personal and psychological experiences. Her fearless exploration of themes like mental illness, female oppression, and death has resonated with generations of readers and scholars. Over time, Plath has become a feminist icon, though her legacy is complex and occasionally controversial, especially in light of debates over Hughes's role in managing her literary estate and personal history.
Today, Sylvia Plath is remembered not only for her tragic personal story but also for her immense contributions to American and English literature. Her work continues to inspire writers, artists, and readers worldwide. Collections such as Ariel, Crossing the Water, and Winter Trees, as well as her journals and letters, offer deep insight into her creative mind. Sylvia Plath’s voice, marked by its intensity and emotional clarity, remains one of the most haunting and enduring in modern literature.
Plath attended Smith College, where she excelled academically but also struggled privately with depression. In 1953, she survived a suicide attempt, an experience she later fictionalized in her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. After recovering, she earned a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Newnham College, Cambridge, in England. While there, she met and married English poet Ted Hughes in 1956. Their relationship was passionate but tumultuous, with tensions exacerbated by personal differences and Hughes's infidelities.
Throughout her life, Plath sought to balance her ambitions as a writer with the demands of marriage and motherhood. She had two children with Hughes, Frieda and Nicholas, and continued to write prolifically. In 1960, her first poetry collection, The Colossus and Other Poems, was published in the United Kingdom. Although it received modest critical attention at the time, it laid the foundation for her distinctive voice—intensely personal, often exploring themes of death, rebirth, and female identity.
Plath's marriage unraveled in 1962, leading to a period of intense emotional turmoil but also extraordinary creative output. Living with her two children in London, she wrote many of the poems that would posthumously form Ariel, the collection that would cement her literary legacy. These works, filled with striking imagery and raw emotional force, displayed her ability to turn personal suffering into powerful art. Poems like "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus" remain among her most famous, celebrated for their fierce honesty and technical brilliance.
In early 1963, following a deepening depression, Plath died by suicide at the age of 30. Her death shocked the literary world and sparked a lasting fascination with her life and work. The posthumous publication of Ariel in 1965, edited by Hughes, introduced Plath's later poetry to a wide audience and established her as a major figure in modern literature. Her novel The Bell Jar was also published under her own name shortly after her death, having initially appeared under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas."
Plath’s work is often classified within the genre of confessional poetry, a style that emphasizes personal and psychological experiences. Her fearless exploration of themes like mental illness, female oppression, and death has resonated with generations of readers and scholars. Over time, Plath has become a feminist icon, though her legacy is complex and occasionally controversial, especially in light of debates over Hughes's role in managing her literary estate and personal history.
Today, Sylvia Plath is remembered not only for her tragic personal story but also for her immense contributions to American and English literature. Her work continues to inspire writers, artists, and readers worldwide. Collections such as Ariel, Crossing the Water, and Winter Trees, as well as her journals and letters, offer deep insight into her creative mind. Sylvia Plath’s voice, marked by its intensity and emotional clarity, remains one of the most haunting and enduring in modern literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 193 reviews
April 7, 2019
sylvia plath: obsessed with the moon
me: me too bitch tf
me: me too bitch tf
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December 31, 2023genuinely big brain poems, very challenging. i had to research every single one to understand the context HHH. it does take effort, however i feel like there's great payoff! plath exercises her artistry masterfully - her poetry themes, choice of language through repetition, her vivid imagery, is super interesting to read and dissect from every angle. hardcastle crags, daddy, fever 103 are on my top 3 but i want to keep reading more from her! the compilation was so well done and i definitely want to read something from carol duffy now!
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April 22, 2021Encore une fois, impossible de noter une forme avec laquelle je suis si peu familière. Je n'ai pas tout compris à ces poèmes, je n'ai pas souvent su décortiquer les images, comprendre les métaphores. Ce n'est pas très grave, c'est aussi ça la poésie je pense. J'ai quand même marqué plusieurs poèmes qui m'ont touchée : I Am Vertical, Mirror, Event, For A Fatherless Son Cut et Lady Lazarus. Ils sont sombres, et ont des images très puissantes.
Carol Ann Duffy a arrangé sa sélection à peu près dans l'ordre chronologique alors je constate que j'ai été plutôt conquise par des poèmes dans la deuxième moitié de la très courte carrière de Plath. Je ne compte pas arrêter mon enquête sur Sylvia de sitôt.
Carol Ann Duffy a arrangé sa sélection à peu près dans l'ordre chronologique alors je constate que j'ai été plutôt conquise par des poèmes dans la deuxième moitié de la très courte carrière de Plath. Je ne compte pas arrêter mon enquête sur Sylvia de sitôt.
August 14, 2023
Will definitely read an analysis on these and come back later.
April 13, 2019
Muhabbet ettiğim kişi Virginia Woolf okumuş, Sylvia Plath okumamışsa Sylvia Plath için çoğu zaman “Amerika’nın Virginia Woolf’u” diyorum ben. Tam tersi bir durum olduğunda ise Virginia Woolf için “İngiltere’nin Sylvia Plath’i” tanımını yapıyorum. Aynı yüzyılın farklı bölümlerinde, farklı kıtalarda yaşamış olan bu iki kadın (Virginia Woolf: 1882-1941; Sylvia Plath: 1932-1963) pek çok ortak özelliğe sahip ve nitekim Plath, günlüklerinde esinlendiği yazarlar arasında Woolf’u da gösteriyor. Tabii işler bu kadar basit değil ama benim şöyle bir teorim var: bazı insanlar, kanlarında depresyonla doğuyorlar ve sevgi dolu bir ailede, para sıkıntısı çekmeden, istedikleri eşyaların yanı sıra aşkı da elde ederek yaşamaları bu durumu değiştirmiyor. Benim gözümde Sylvia Plath de, Virginia Woolf da bu sınıfa giriyor. Bu kitaptaki Sylvia Plath şiirleri de daha önce okuduğum şiirleri ancak her okuyuşumda bambaşka hislerle vuruyorlar bana…
Devamı: https://zimlicious.com/sylvia-plath-s...
Devamı: https://zimlicious.com/sylvia-plath-s...
March 16, 2019
Having grown up in a non-English speaking country, I didn’t read my first Sylvia Plath poem until late last year and I never read "Ariel“. My five stars are, therefore, not so much a verdict about the selection and arrangement by Carol Ann Duffy as they are of Plath’s poetry itself – which I found to be just the right mixture of cryptic and accessible, the latter due to the highly evocative language. Although I didn’t "get“ every single poem, on the whole I found them powerful, urgent and surprisingly familiar. The nature poems in particular pack a punch (Blackberrying stands out) and I’m already looking forward to re-reading them again and again.
September 29, 2019
Read this partly sitting in a bench near Notre-Dame (perfect setting) and then finished it on a rainy Sunday (also perfect).
God, she really was talented and tormented.
God, she really was talented and tormented.
March 21, 2020
I love Sylvia Plath and this collection made my love 100000 times stronger
September 25, 2021
“We shall by morning / Inherit the earth. / Our foot’s in the door.”
- Mushrooms
“But in twenty-five years she’ll be silver, / In fifty, gold. / A living doll, everywhere you look. / It can sew, it can cook,”
- The Applicant
“Every woman adores a Fascist,”
- Daddy
“Out of the ash / I rise with my red hair / And I eat men like air.”
- Lady Lazarus
March 6, 2023
Her poetry is just so incredible - I think I prefer this collection over Ariel.
“The blood blooms clean
In you, ruby.
The pain
You wake to is not yours.”
“The blood blooms clean
In you, ruby.
The pain
You wake to is not yours.”
June 8, 2024
ses mots dans mes veines
November 24, 2024
10/10. Did I understand every poem? No. But that's the fun of it! That just means I'll get to reread and reread this infinitely and discover something new each and every time. I adore Plath's poetry, and I am especially drawn to her poems dealing with femininity, womanhood and mental health.
May 6, 2023
Live laugh love Sylvia Plath
October 27, 2024
Je m’attendais à plus palpitant. En réalité, très peu de poèmes m’ont touchés… je pense que la symbolique de pas mal de poèmes m’a échappé.
“I hurl my heart to halt his pace,
To quench his thirst I squander blood;
He eats, and still his need seeks food,
Compels a total sacrifice.
His voice waylays me, spells a trance,
The gutted forest falls to ash;
Appalled by secret want,
I rush From such assault of radiance.
Entering the tower of my fears,
I shut my doors on that dark guilt,
I bolt the door, each door I bolt.
Blood quickens, gonging in my ears:
The panther's tread is on the stairs,
Coming up and up the stairs.”
“I hurl my heart to halt his pace,
To quench his thirst I squander blood;
He eats, and still his need seeks food,
Compels a total sacrifice.
His voice waylays me, spells a trance,
The gutted forest falls to ash;
Appalled by secret want,
I rush From such assault of radiance.
Entering the tower of my fears,
I shut my doors on that dark guilt,
I bolt the door, each door I bolt.
Blood quickens, gonging in my ears:
The panther's tread is on the stairs,
Coming up and up the stairs.”
June 1, 2022
As a person who has studied Drama and in particular poems and deciphering them on a regular basis over at least 18+ years, I can safely say that this novel is a bunch of random words put together for the most part.
Why does everyone go on about how great Plath is? I did indeed want to enjoy her writing however she has went from depressing writing a book when you are mentally going deranged to this? A few of these poems made a bit of sense however for the most part this was not very poetic at all.
Why does everyone go on about how great Plath is? I did indeed want to enjoy her writing however she has went from depressing writing a book when you are mentally going deranged to this? A few of these poems made a bit of sense however for the most part this was not very poetic at all.
August 11, 2017
Her works seem to find me in times where I question myself, question everything.
I did like some of the poetry here, most of it I had read before in one way or another. "Event", "Poppies in July" and "Poppies in November" are the new interesting ones, alongside Lady Lazarus and Cut.
Her style does not directly echo my tastes in poetry, nonetheless I did quite like the rhythm and non-consequential rule bending for some of them.
I did like some of the poetry here, most of it I had read before in one way or another. "Event", "Poppies in July" and "Poppies in November" are the new interesting ones, alongside Lady Lazarus and Cut.
Her style does not directly echo my tastes in poetry, nonetheless I did quite like the rhythm and non-consequential rule bending for some of them.
January 19, 2022
By the roots of my hair some god got hold of me.
I sizzled in his blue volts like a desert prophet.
The nights snapped out of sight like a lizard's eyelid:
A world of bald white days in a shadeless socket.
A vulturous boredom pinned me in this tree.
If he were I, he would do what I did.
I sizzled in his blue volts like a desert prophet.
The nights snapped out of sight like a lizard's eyelid:
A world of bald white days in a shadeless socket.
A vulturous boredom pinned me in this tree.
If he were I, he would do what I did.
December 30, 2024
la amo
December 25, 2023
2.5/3
A wide variety of poems, some absolutely excellent, others didn’t quite hit the mark for me.
A wide variety of poems, some absolutely excellent, others didn’t quite hit the mark for me.
November 6, 2023
There are the poetry collections that we skim and forget, and then there are the poignant, evocative, dramatic, and timeless (but dated in their use of language and concepts) pieces penned by Sylvia Plath. I borrowed this copy from the school library in late 2022, flipped it open to a random page as I was headed to my locker, and stumbled upon "I Am Vertical"; it's been a year and it still hasn't exited my mind. The devastating way in which she writes just encapsulates all of the sorrows she endured when she was still alive and all the inner demons she constantly fought. I quickly worked my way through the entire collection and soon found myself grappling with the reality she had crafted; this curation by Carol Ann Duffy is a condensed masterclass of Plath's engagement with poetry. Read if you want something to ponder.
(p.s. I currently have the Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath in my possession (the one with the blue cover and green words) and it's brilliant. The pretty complete Juvenelia collection at the end is absolutely beautiful.)
(p.s. I currently have the Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath in my possession (the one with the blue cover and green words) and it's brilliant. The pretty complete Juvenelia collection at the end is absolutely beautiful.)
June 19, 2021
disclaimer: this is literally just my unfiltered opinion
It was a difficult one; I either really connected to the poems, or just didn't at all... And in some cases, I was extremely uncomfortable with the racist language Plath uses. Please don't try and tell me it's a 'product of the time' because I am in THIS TIME and I'm allowed to not like a white woman using racial slurs as a causal metaphor, regardless of when it was written. Certain poems were beautiful; tulips and stillborn really stood out for me. But all in all, my current reading of Plath's work (including the Bell Jar) does feel kind of soured by the racism included. Three stars for the genuinely gorgeous poems, but I cannot rate this higher because the rest of this collection kind of disappointed me.
It was a difficult one; I either really connected to the poems, or just didn't at all... And in some cases, I was extremely uncomfortable with the racist language Plath uses. Please don't try and tell me it's a 'product of the time' because I am in THIS TIME and I'm allowed to not like a white woman using racial slurs as a causal metaphor, regardless of when it was written. Certain poems were beautiful; tulips and stillborn really stood out for me. But all in all, my current reading of Plath's work (including the Bell Jar) does feel kind of soured by the racism included. Three stars for the genuinely gorgeous poems, but I cannot rate this higher because the rest of this collection kind of disappointed me.
January 27, 2020
Let me start this review by saying that most of the time I love Plath's poetry and this is a beautiful collection. Yet, this collection started with the more nature-focused poems of Plath's oeuvre, which do not always work for me. Luckily, the second and third part of the collection did work for me!
December 16, 2015
I have to admit, I can't make sense of a lot of these poems. I've tried to enjoy the language but find it frustrating that I can't seem to "crack the code". Cue lots of reading about how to understand poetry, which I fear may turn me off the whole subject again...
May 12, 2023
some cool ones but also some i had to search up on genius lol 🫣
March 18, 2024
I cant describe how much impact this had on me. Reading this disturbed me and comforted me at the same time. its a masterpiece.
March 5, 2024
English is not my first language so you can imagine how I had a hard time with some of Plath’s metaphors and vocabulary. But the more I read the more I understood her, I don’t know how to describe it but her poems are so full of her. There are poets that write for others, so others can see themselves in their poetry; Sylvia wrote for herself and I ended up feeling so close to her as if we were intimate friends, as if I knew her, then I understood that the familiarity I felt is due to the only thing that connects us… womanhood, and it’s so nostalgic.
I wrote MY interpretation of each poem, though I must admit I did do research on her life while reading this (I researched A LOT about her life) and I almost feel like you should now Sylvia’s life in order to truly understand her poetry.
Having nothing else to add, here are my interpretations of all 75 poems in this compilation (the ones in bold are the ones I loved the most):
Oh, and 24/7 Sylvia Plath, of course.
1. Ode for Ted - Admiration for her husband
2. Pursuit - The “hunt” where men are the predators and women are the prey “Condemned by our ancestral fault”. Refusing to be completely seduced, refusing to give away her power like women before her.
3. Fiesta Melons - How time takes away from women’s beauty and desirability. (Could be the title of a Lana del Rey song)
4. Departure - Financial struggles.
5. November Graveyard - Desth and decay
6. Everlasting Monday - Monotony and isolation.
7. Hardcastle Crags - Running away from the oppression to find meaning but fearing the unknown and turning back to the oppression because that’s everything she knows.
8. The other two - The two versions of self, the one we see and the one others see.
9. All the dead dears - The process of consumption in death
10. Memoirs of Spinach-Picker - The satisfaction in her work (picking spinach) a sense of accomplishment
11. Full Fathom Five - the parallel between an old man and the sea. (beautiful description)
12. Poems, potatoes - what creates poetry
13. The eye-mote - The beautiful field with horses scenery before something got in her eye.
14. Watercolor of Grantchester Meadows - Something joyful and beautiful can hide hidden hazards.
15. Metaphors - Pregnancy and discomfort
16. Man in Black - Coastal landscape and a solitary figure (?)
17. The sleepers - Unconsciousness
18. Medallion - Rule of the jungle
19. The Manor garden - Transition
20. Blue moles - How sad and merciless nature can be
21. The Colossus - Her father and feeling small next to him
22. Witch Burning - Being powerless and loosing your identity to outside forces
23. The stones: Rebirth after heartbreak
24. The Net-Menders: Fishermen
25. Mushrooms - Multiplication of species
26. You’re - Describing her baby who is still in her belly
27. The hanging man - Being tortured and tormented by something bigger than yourself
28. Still-born: The babies were loved and looked perfect yet they are not alive
29. Love letter - Her lover gives her a reason to live
30. Magi - Not feeling enough or worthy around her daughter
31. Candles - Twi different generations (her’s and her grandma’s)
32. Parliament Hill Fields - Being at Parliament Hill Fields while reflecting the loss of her baby
33. Zoo keeper’s wife - The opression of women in a marriage
34. Morning song - Being a mother to a newborn
35. In plaster - A version of herself who is emotionless and never complaints looks down on her
36. Tulips- Her stay at a hospital, the peacefulness of conscious healing
37. I am Vertical - Feeling useless and not being satisfied with who she is, what she is.
38. The rival - Being in competition with her husband’s mistress
39. Wuthering Heights - Feeling lonely, reflecting and describing her walks in Yorkshire Moors
40. Blackberrying - Inevitability of death
41. Last words - Peace and tranquility when she dies.
42. The moon and the yew tree - Disappointment and hopelessness
43. Mirror - The mirror tells the truth about you and the truth is that time is passing by
44. Little fugue - Fugue in the sense loosing one self also referring to music, talks about mourning her father.
45. Crossing the water - There is light even in the darkest times
46. Pheasant - Appreciation for nature not in a performative idealized way but for what it is “Let be, let be” Also the different points of view both her and her husband have about things.
47. Elm for Ruth Fainlight - Emotional (and perhaps physical) damage she has been through
48. The rabbit catcher - Men being hunters and women being doomed to fall on their traps
49. Event - Slowly becoming strangers with her husband, loosing connection
50. Poppies in July - Being so tormented that even something that is typically harmless like poppies results unsettling
51. For a Fatherless son - Her being glad the boy is too young to realize he doesn’t have a father and seeing herself in him
52. A birthday present - Feeling curious about what’s inside her birthday present, highlighting the irony of being alive for yet another year. “After all I am alive only by accident. I would have killed myself gladly that time any possible way.”
53. The bee meeting - Feeling like the odd one out, feeling unprepared, feeling fear, feeling unloved. (I think it’s important to note her dad was a bee expert)
54. The arrival of the bee box - A metaphor for God and what he does to us humans. Intrusive thoughts and temptation to abuse her power but ultimately doing the right thing.
55. Stings - The parallels between the bees and herself
56. Wintering - Going from winter to spring (Transformation). Learning from the female bees who survive winter without male bees.
57. The Applicant - The inhumane expectations on women. Ignoring their mental health and focusing on how gracefully will they age, who will they marry.
58. Daddy - Her daddy issues. Her father was reportedly a nazi simpatizer, in this poem she compares herself to a Jew and a gypsy to make a metaphor about the wounds her father caused her. Missing her father (he died when she was 10) and marrying someone who reminds her of him (it was an abusive marriage). Feelings of anger and love and hate towards her father.
59. Fever 103 - Feeling pure but not pure in the way in which society determines a woman’s worth. Pure in a sense of innocence, of being fragile, delicate, sensitive. And the similarities between purity in a religious way, a sexist way or her own way.
60. Cut - She cuts herself while cutting an onion. She associates her injury with dark things.
61. Ariel - (Ariel is the name of the horse Sylvia rode) An almost accident happened when she was riding the horse that scared her for her life. How during this scary situation Sylvia and the horse became almost one.
62. Poppies in October - Imagery. One of the few poems by her that is not autobiographical (I believe).
63. Nick and the Candlestick - For her son Nicholas, her pregnancy with him and her love and admiration for him once he was born.
64. Lady Lazarus - Her encounters with death “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.” and her reunions with life “Comeback in broad dayTo the same place, the same face, the same bruteAmused shout:‘A miracle!”
65. The Couriers - Being let down in the past and not getting her hopes up in order to not be disappointed again.
66. Death & Co. - two business partners that represent the two sides of death itself
67. Winter trees - Landscape scenery and reflecting on women as a sex
68. Sheep in fog - Expectations
69. The Munich Mannequins - Women are expected to be perfect but once one becomes a mother it becomes impossible to keep faking perfection. Being perfect is unnatural. “Perfection is terrible, it cannot have children.Cold as snow breath, it tamps the womb”
70. Kindness - Her husband’s acts of “kindness” are useless and almost offensive when he does the bare minimum to help her with her biggest burden… being a mother
71. Words - Once you put your words out there for others to interpret they don’t belong to you anymore
72. Contusion - The physical effects dying has on the body
73. Balloons - Balloons she has around her house and the tenderness she feels when her children play with them
74. Edge - (Last poem she wrote) The dead body of a woman with her children (She probably took their lives as well) the woman’s corpse is content that she can rest and everything is over at last.
75. Child - The pure love she feels towards her children and wishing they would stay pure and innocent, wanting to protect them from getting polluted by the bad things of the world.
My favorite verse
“I am too pure for you or anyone.Your body hurts me as the world hurts God.”
From the poem: Fever 103
I wrote MY interpretation of each poem, though I must admit I did do research on her life while reading this (I researched A LOT about her life) and I almost feel like you should now Sylvia’s life in order to truly understand her poetry.
Having nothing else to add, here are my interpretations of all 75 poems in this compilation (the ones in bold are the ones I loved the most):
Oh, and 24/7 Sylvia Plath, of course.
1. Ode for Ted - Admiration for her husband
2. Pursuit - The “hunt” where men are the predators and women are the prey “Condemned by our ancestral fault”. Refusing to be completely seduced, refusing to give away her power like women before her.
3. Fiesta Melons - How time takes away from women’s beauty and desirability. (Could be the title of a Lana del Rey song)
4. Departure - Financial struggles.
5. November Graveyard - Desth and decay
6. Everlasting Monday - Monotony and isolation.
7. Hardcastle Crags - Running away from the oppression to find meaning but fearing the unknown and turning back to the oppression because that’s everything she knows.
8. The other two - The two versions of self, the one we see and the one others see.
9. All the dead dears - The process of consumption in death
10. Memoirs of Spinach-Picker - The satisfaction in her work (picking spinach) a sense of accomplishment
11. Full Fathom Five - the parallel between an old man and the sea. (beautiful description)
12. Poems, potatoes - what creates poetry
13. The eye-mote - The beautiful field with horses scenery before something got in her eye.
14. Watercolor of Grantchester Meadows - Something joyful and beautiful can hide hidden hazards.
15. Metaphors - Pregnancy and discomfort
16. Man in Black - Coastal landscape and a solitary figure (?)
17. The sleepers - Unconsciousness
18. Medallion - Rule of the jungle
19. The Manor garden - Transition
20. Blue moles - How sad and merciless nature can be
21. The Colossus - Her father and feeling small next to him
22. Witch Burning - Being powerless and loosing your identity to outside forces
23. The stones: Rebirth after heartbreak
24. The Net-Menders: Fishermen
25. Mushrooms - Multiplication of species
26. You’re - Describing her baby who is still in her belly
27. The hanging man - Being tortured and tormented by something bigger than yourself
28. Still-born: The babies were loved and looked perfect yet they are not alive
29. Love letter - Her lover gives her a reason to live
30. Magi - Not feeling enough or worthy around her daughter
31. Candles - Twi different generations (her’s and her grandma’s)
32. Parliament Hill Fields - Being at Parliament Hill Fields while reflecting the loss of her baby
33. Zoo keeper’s wife - The opression of women in a marriage
34. Morning song - Being a mother to a newborn
35. In plaster - A version of herself who is emotionless and never complaints looks down on her
36. Tulips- Her stay at a hospital, the peacefulness of conscious healing
37. I am Vertical - Feeling useless and not being satisfied with who she is, what she is.
38. The rival - Being in competition with her husband’s mistress
39. Wuthering Heights - Feeling lonely, reflecting and describing her walks in Yorkshire Moors
40. Blackberrying - Inevitability of death
41. Last words - Peace and tranquility when she dies.
42. The moon and the yew tree - Disappointment and hopelessness
43. Mirror - The mirror tells the truth about you and the truth is that time is passing by
44. Little fugue - Fugue in the sense loosing one self also referring to music, talks about mourning her father.
45. Crossing the water - There is light even in the darkest times
46. Pheasant - Appreciation for nature not in a performative idealized way but for what it is “Let be, let be” Also the different points of view both her and her husband have about things.
47. Elm for Ruth Fainlight - Emotional (and perhaps physical) damage she has been through
48. The rabbit catcher - Men being hunters and women being doomed to fall on their traps
49. Event - Slowly becoming strangers with her husband, loosing connection
50. Poppies in July - Being so tormented that even something that is typically harmless like poppies results unsettling
51. For a Fatherless son - Her being glad the boy is too young to realize he doesn’t have a father and seeing herself in him
52. A birthday present - Feeling curious about what’s inside her birthday present, highlighting the irony of being alive for yet another year. “After all I am alive only by accident. I would have killed myself gladly that time any possible way.”
53. The bee meeting - Feeling like the odd one out, feeling unprepared, feeling fear, feeling unloved. (I think it’s important to note her dad was a bee expert)
54. The arrival of the bee box - A metaphor for God and what he does to us humans. Intrusive thoughts and temptation to abuse her power but ultimately doing the right thing.
55. Stings - The parallels between the bees and herself
56. Wintering - Going from winter to spring (Transformation). Learning from the female bees who survive winter without male bees.
57. The Applicant - The inhumane expectations on women. Ignoring their mental health and focusing on how gracefully will they age, who will they marry.
58. Daddy - Her daddy issues. Her father was reportedly a nazi simpatizer, in this poem she compares herself to a Jew and a gypsy to make a metaphor about the wounds her father caused her. Missing her father (he died when she was 10) and marrying someone who reminds her of him (it was an abusive marriage). Feelings of anger and love and hate towards her father.
59. Fever 103 - Feeling pure but not pure in the way in which society determines a woman’s worth. Pure in a sense of innocence, of being fragile, delicate, sensitive. And the similarities between purity in a religious way, a sexist way or her own way.
60. Cut - She cuts herself while cutting an onion. She associates her injury with dark things.
61. Ariel - (Ariel is the name of the horse Sylvia rode) An almost accident happened when she was riding the horse that scared her for her life. How during this scary situation Sylvia and the horse became almost one.
62. Poppies in October - Imagery. One of the few poems by her that is not autobiographical (I believe).
63. Nick and the Candlestick - For her son Nicholas, her pregnancy with him and her love and admiration for him once he was born.
64. Lady Lazarus - Her encounters with death “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.” and her reunions with life “Comeback in broad dayTo the same place, the same face, the same bruteAmused shout:‘A miracle!”
65. The Couriers - Being let down in the past and not getting her hopes up in order to not be disappointed again.
66. Death & Co. - two business partners that represent the two sides of death itself
67. Winter trees - Landscape scenery and reflecting on women as a sex
68. Sheep in fog - Expectations
69. The Munich Mannequins - Women are expected to be perfect but once one becomes a mother it becomes impossible to keep faking perfection. Being perfect is unnatural. “Perfection is terrible, it cannot have children.Cold as snow breath, it tamps the womb”
70. Kindness - Her husband’s acts of “kindness” are useless and almost offensive when he does the bare minimum to help her with her biggest burden… being a mother
71. Words - Once you put your words out there for others to interpret they don’t belong to you anymore
72. Contusion - The physical effects dying has on the body
73. Balloons - Balloons she has around her house and the tenderness she feels when her children play with them
74. Edge - (Last poem she wrote) The dead body of a woman with her children (She probably took their lives as well) the woman’s corpse is content that she can rest and everything is over at last.
75. Child - The pure love she feels towards her children and wishing they would stay pure and innocent, wanting to protect them from getting polluted by the bad things of the world.
My favorite verse
“I am too pure for you or anyone.Your body hurts me as the world hurts God.”
From the poem: Fever 103
May 30, 2020
Carol Ann Duffy, thoust hath different Carol Ann Tastebuds to mine own.
Loved the introduction so much, and a selection of the poems. Particularly admired her ‘mirror’ imagery. The repetition of ‘carbon monoxide’ throughout the poems was very upsetting to read:-( in this posthumous collection :-( and appearing in poems written long before Plath’s suicide :-(
I did not realise Plath used q u i t e a l o t of language and metaphors that felt (albeit indirectly) racist and antisemitic. 👁 Such poems appeared near to each other, towards the end of the collection. 👁 The introduction said the poems were organised semi-chronologically. 👁 Gonna research if Plath wrote these in the same Problematic Period, or if Carol Ann Duffy broke the chronological timeline here, and had grouped these poems together to highlight their issues/cruelty.
Whom’stve knows? Mayhaps me soon.
Anyhow, those poems made me like the collection a whole lot less.
Loved the introduction so much, and a selection of the poems. Particularly admired her ‘mirror’ imagery. The repetition of ‘carbon monoxide’ throughout the poems was very upsetting to read:-( in this posthumous collection :-( and appearing in poems written long before Plath’s suicide :-(
I did not realise Plath used q u i t e a l o t of language and metaphors that felt (albeit indirectly) racist and antisemitic. 👁 Such poems appeared near to each other, towards the end of the collection. 👁 The introduction said the poems were organised semi-chronologically. 👁 Gonna research if Plath wrote these in the same Problematic Period, or if Carol Ann Duffy broke the chronological timeline here, and had grouped these poems together to highlight their issues/cruelty.
Whom’stve knows? Mayhaps me soon.
Anyhow, those poems made me like the collection a whole lot less.
March 27, 2022
The Bell Jar is one of my favourite books, so I've been eager to read Plath's poetry for a long time, but have always put it off. I always felt that I wasn't clever enough and that it would just go over my head, and I was partly right. I first started reading these poems myself, but quickly got frustrated and just couldn't make sense of it. I took to YouTube and found some lovely videos of Plath reciting her poetry and I found that the poems I listened and read were the ones I enjoyed the most. Daddy is the one that I liked most from the whole collection.
It is no doubt that Plath had a way with words, and had much of importance to say, but unfortunately I couldn't find a connection with the poetry. Maybe I'm more of a prose gal.
It is no doubt that Plath had a way with words, and had much of importance to say, but unfortunately I couldn't find a connection with the poetry. Maybe I'm more of a prose gal.
November 18, 2025
Poetry needs to be slowly absorbed if I am to stand a chance at developing those complex feelings they elicit. This is true of this collected anthology. Plath’s descent into depression and personal mental horrors is palpable in poems like ‘Lady Lazarus’.
It is easy to understand those thoughts of unworthiness, and of feeling like death or disappearance would alleviate the negative impact of just living in other people’s lives. Plath sums up the trauma of that voice in your mind which always questions and silences you. Which hates you and seeks only to destroy you.
These poems are a strange catharsis. A way of feeling like others do understand how hideous mental health can be. Plath’s eternal truthfulness is hard to witness and read but is impactful in the assault. The collection is a permission to be honest about how you feel. To not say the easy ‘fine’ when asked.
These poems are beautiful and captivating, detailing a well documented decline and death, but showcasing the life lived before.
It is easy to understand those thoughts of unworthiness, and of feeling like death or disappearance would alleviate the negative impact of just living in other people’s lives. Plath sums up the trauma of that voice in your mind which always questions and silences you. Which hates you and seeks only to destroy you.
These poems are a strange catharsis. A way of feeling like others do understand how hideous mental health can be. Plath’s eternal truthfulness is hard to witness and read but is impactful in the assault. The collection is a permission to be honest about how you feel. To not say the easy ‘fine’ when asked.
These poems are beautiful and captivating, detailing a well documented decline and death, but showcasing the life lived before.
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