Plath
Plath is a surname, most associated with American poet Sylvia Plath (1932–1963), whose confessional poetry and novel *The Bell Jar* made her a literary icon.
Her work's intense exploration of depression, death, and female identity—combined with her suicide—has made "Plath" shorthand for tortured artistic genius: She's been in her Plath phase since the breakup.
Concerning one's own life
- rawIn original state
- introspectiveExamining one's own mind
- catharticEmotionally releasing, relieving
- unfilteredNot passed through screen
personal · soul-baring · vulnerable · diaristic · The Bell Jar · journals · exposé · intimate
Cessation of life
- suicideVoluntary death by oneself
- despairTotal absence of hope
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- depressionProlonged low state
torment · madness · electroshock · asylum · McLean · drowning · blood · fever
Male-dominated social order
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
- domesticityLife centered around home
- motherhoodState of being a female parent
- womanhoodAdult female state
identity · gender roles · subjugation · autonomy · confinement · female voice · bodily autonomy · feminine mystique
Vivid descriptive language
- metaphorImplied identity comparison
- stanzaPoem's line grouping
- verseMetered poetic passage
- enjambmentUnpaused verse continuation
alliteration · assonance · diction · rhythm · villanelle · dramatic monologue · symbolism · apostrophe
Arising from deep instinct
- searingBrowning with intense heat
- piercingPenetrating or very sharp
- ferventIntensely and sincerely felt
- vividIntensely clear and bright
ferocious · urgent · relentless · electric · compressed · explosive · unflinching · startling
autobiographical
Concerning one's own life
- rawIn original state
- introspectiveExamining one's own mind
- catharticEmotionally releasing, relieving
unfiltered · personal · soul-baring · vulnerable · diaristic · The Bell Jar · journals · exposé · intimate · unflinching
death
Cessation of life
depression · torment · madness · electroshock · asylum · McLean · drowning · blood · fever · resurrection
patriarchy
Male-dominated social order
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
- domesticityLife centered around home
- motherhoodState of being a female parent
womanhood · identity · gender roles · subjugation · autonomy · confinement · female voice · bodily autonomy · feminine mystique · housewife
imagery
Vivid descriptive language
enjambment · alliteration · assonance · diction · rhythm · villanelle · dramatic monologue · symbolism · apostrophe · lyric poetry
visceral
Arising from deep instinct
- searingBrowning with intense heat
- piercingPenetrating or very sharp
- ferventIntensely and sincerely felt
vivid · ferocious · urgent · relentless · electric · compressed · explosive · unflinching · startling · powerful
PlathMary Oliver
Maya Angelou · Walt Whitman · Shel Silverstein · Rumi · joyful
PlathMaya Angelou
Mary Oliver · Robert Frost · longevity · survivor · resilient
PlathMary Oliver
Robert Frost · serene · detached · observational · impersonal