Chapters in a Mythology: The Poetry of Sylvia Plath

by Judith Kroll

This is the first full-scale study of Plath's poetry, in which Kroll persuasively disputes the image of Plath as a death-obsessed poet whose poems were little more than vivid symptoms or a biographical record of anguish foreshadowing her suicide in 1963. Each chapter challenges its readers to confront a writer whose verse is full of tremendous complexity and nuance. Kroll shows that Plath's poems form a mythic biography presided over by a “Moon-Muse” in which depictions of death are nearly always matched with visions of rebirth and transformation. This new edition features a substantial new foreword from Kroll, in which she dispels many myths surrounding her authorship and relations with Plath’s husband, Ted Hughes. Chapters in a Mythology is an original work of fresh scholarship and impressive insight that remains a compelling examination of one of the 20th century's great poets.

Genres: Nonfiction, Poetry, Literary Criticism

336 pages, Paperback

Published March 15, 2007

Reviews

[Allison]

It's nice to see a book that deals with the poetry and not the suicide, especially with a copyright of 1976. I'm a little skeptical of Hughes's influence, but most of the critical thought seems to be of the same conclusions that I come to without his influence. So I think that my skepticism is unwarranted in this case.

[Renee Jaspers]

This book completely transformed my understanding of Sylvia Plath's poetry. It is so much more than they teach in college. There is an underlying arc in her work that I never fully grasped until reading this book.

[faith adams-michaels]

taught me a lot I didn't know and brought out a lot I did know, but hadn't consciously put into words- can't wait to reread her works, especially Ariel, with these new ideas and perspectives. it is amazing what thorough analysis and cross-referencing can bring out of texts. I don't know that I 100% agree with the conclusion but many of the arguments are compelling and provide a lot of interesting information and context for the poems as a whole. not a fan of the Ted quotes, but nothing he said was necessarily out of line.

[Dan Ust]

Highly readable, brings together a lot of research, and got me to reread (and, in not a few cases, read for the first time) many of Plath’s poems.

[Kathryn]

I read this book because it was written by a friend of mine. This book really is written more for poets and authors and others in the field, and is a must-read for them. Though it was often above my head, I enjoyed it anyway. It was clearly written, with much depth and insight into Plath's prose/poetry. Gave me even more of an appreciation for Sylvia Plath as a writer, though I already thought highly of her, since I think that "The Bell Jar" was one of the best-written books I've ever read.