Read this transcript of an interview with Sylvia Plath
conducted by Peter Orr on 30th October 1962.
Read these books by Sylvia Plath
- Collected Poems
contains all of her published poetry from 1956 onwards in order of composition plus 50 poems from her youth
- The Bell Jar
her only published novel, a summary and analysis of the chapters can be found online at GradeSaver.
- Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams
a collection of short stories
- The Journals of Sylvia Plath
Please note that a new, unabridged edition of the Journals is now available (see below), as an introduction, however, this abridged version should suffice.
- The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
ed. by Karen V. Kukil, these are the unabridged journals from 1950 to about 1960, taken from the manuscripts at Smith College
The 23 journals detail her adult life: student days at Smith College, her time at Cambridge University where she met and later married the poet Ted Hughes, the two years spent living in New England and life in Devon, including the birth of their children, before the marriage broke down in 1962.
I also provide a page with a more detailed Bibliography of the works of Sylvia Plath.
The life of Sylvia Plath
Information on Sylvia's life can be found in the short biography provided online, this page also
links to a longer bio if you want to know more.
If you want to get to know Sylvia Plath better I recommend to get The Journals of Sylvia Plath or a biography (see below). The book
Letters Home is a collection of letters that Sylvia Plath wrote to her mother, they show a different side of her.
- Stevenson, Anne: Bitter Fame. A life of Sylvia Plath
A good biography though it has been heavily influenced by Ted Hughes' sister Olwyn. Especially the last chapters do not
tell you the whole truth about the breakup of the marriage.
Read an excerpt from Bitter Fame
describing the time when Sylvia and Ted Hughes first met in Cambridge
- Wagner-Martin, Linda: Sylvia Plath : A Biography
- Plath, Aurelia(ed.): Letters Home. Correspondance 1950 - 1963
selected & edited with commentary by Aurelia Schober Plath
student guides
The following guides provide an introduction to the life and work of Sylvia Plath and are recommended for short papers and student essays
that do not require in depth background reading.
- York Notes on the Selected Works of Sylvia Plath
The Notes are designed for GCSE and A level and are tailored to exam requirements. The books provide criticism on specific texts plus questions. Information on the author and the historical background to the text is given and a specimen essay, commentaries, hints for study and a summary of the text is included. The present book provides a commentary and notes on selected works by Sylvia Plath.
- Levy, Pat: A Guide To: Poems of Sylvia Plath
This series is designed to help students shorten revision time, remember more and obtain higher
grades. This text covers themes, settings and characters, and contains questions to develop a personal
view of the text, essay practice and mind maps which summarize what students should know.
- Wisker, Gina: Sylvia Plath : A Beginner's Guide
This handy series from Headway offers brief yet lucid introductions to the worldıs cultural icons. Each book examines the life,
the work, and the legends surrounding its subject, and key terms and concepts are highlighted and clearly explained. Additionally,
each chapter ends with a review section for easy reference and to help consolidate the readerıs understanding of the text.
research
My page on Online Articles provides a
list of articles and papers that are available online. Please respect the copyrighted nature of these resources!
You may also want to read this transcript of an interview with Sylvia Plath
conducted by Peter Orr on 30th October 1962.
If you have access to a college or university library with collections in
Modern American Literature, consult your reference librarian for help in
locating Sylvia Plath materials. A large town or city library may also have some useful
materials.
On the following pages you will find a list of Books on Sylvia Plath and
Articles on Sylvia Plath. Some of the books can be ordered online at amazon.com, where this is the case I have provided a link.
Others may be difficult to find or only available in the UK.
links
Finally, if you want to see what information other Sylvia Plath homepages provide, here is a list of
Plath Links. I especially recommend the
Sylvia Plath Forum hosted by Elaine Connell which in its archives provides a lot of interesting material plus the discussion of some poems.
Last Modified: 5 July 2005 Anja Beckmann
