Date of Award
Fall 2017
Document Type
Honors Project
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
English, Linguistics, and Communication
Department Chair or Program Director
Richards, Gary
First Advisor
Scanlon, Mara
Major or Concentration
English
Abstract
"Finding Sylvia: A Journey to Uncover the Woman Within Plath's Confessional Poetry" focuses on investigating the relationship between Sylvia Plath's personal life and her confessional poetry. The paper explores and comments on how Plath's confessional and personal poetry both differ from and align with the writing in her letters, novel, and journals. It seeks to comment on how confessional poetry should be viewed by the reader, and how confessional poetry can be an expression of truth while also being a form of writing that heavily depends on creativity. It discusses the many theories surrounding readings of Plath, and argues that the best way to read Plath is to simply read and allow her voice to speak for her, rather than expecting to find a truer version of Plath hiding in her journal entries or letters.
Recommended Citation
Daly, Emily, "Finding Sylvia: A Journey to Uncover the Woman within Plath's Confessional Poetry" (2017). Student Research Submissions. 236.
https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research/236