Resource Tag: OCCUPATIONS. POETS

Some scholars have argued that writing poetry was harmful for the psychological health of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. This author argues, that while both writers seem to have suffered from affective disorders, their poetry probably provided a cathartic benefit for them. Therefore, their writing may have helped both of these poets to survive longer […]

This presentation examines the topic of creative people who have suffered affective illness & died by suicide. It includes findings of a study of American poets. A number of perspectives on excesses of creativity among those with affective illnesses are discussed. It notes the observed relationship between decreased serotonin levels & violent suicide/homicide may be […]

A magazine clipping briefly describing the life, suicide, poetry & prose of Sylvia Plath. (CM)

Discusses the poetic works of Ann Sexton in comparison with the work of Sylvia Plath & Emily Dickinson. Emphasizing the overlapping life themes of these women, the author presents varying viewpoints on the demon lover syndrome & discusses the suicides of Sexton & Plath. (13 ref)

Presents a lengthy discussion of the controversy surrounding Sylvia Plath & her writings, illustrated with examples from her poetry & her novel “The Bell Jar”.

Presents a wide-ranging discussion of the social relations of suicide that includes a review of sociological theories of suicide; information about connections between social isolation & self-destructive behaviors; an analysis of the influence of negative interaction on suicidal behavior; & an examination of the role of sexuality in suicide & death. Concludes by illustrating the […]

This article discusses the poem “Daddy” which Sylvia Plath wrote a few months before her suicide. The use of the words “black” & “dark” are frequently used in this, & her earlier works. Author states that the use of these words would be of interest in exploring other writers’ work which was written prior to […]

An article about Anne Sexton’s suicide & the conflicts faced by artists in their profession. (NBB)

Examines the failure of Sylvia Plath’s efforts to control her suicidal violence & to bridge her isolation from others via the shared affective experience of poetry. At first, she used traditional forms & mediated images, but when she abandoned them for a more personal expressive art, she lost the shaping, controlling devices she had been […]

The early life & rise to success of poet Richard Brautigan–who committed suicide in 1984–are examined & discussed. (NBB)

This theoretical discussion of suicide explores attitudes toward suicide throughout history & examines the contemporary suicides of Sylvia Plath & George Sanders in a philosophical & moral context. (NBB)

When noted author Sylvia Plath died, critic A. Alverez said she had, in her most recent poems, made poetry & death inseparable; one could not exist without the other. He went on to classify her work as “a murderous art”. Stephen Spender spoke of her “disconcerting, terrifying poems”. Author Romano explores several passages from The […]

This article offers a discussion on “The Savage God” by Alvarez, which purports to be a study of the relationship between suicide & literature. The author challenges this relationship by analyzing the suicide & writings of Sylvia Plath.

Sylvia Plath is of interest to psychology because her poetry is a part of what proved to be her suicidal mania. The article demonstrates the significant relationship between manic excitement & certain symbolic aspects of the imagery in her poetry. (MRE)

When the attempt to maintain stable aggressive cathexes of object-representations differentiated from self-representations fails, there results a preponderance of primitive identifications that may cause the ego to be overwhelmed by unneutralized aggressive energies. The life and poetry of Sylvia Plath illustrates what I have termed ‘fusion with the victim’, a regressive vicissitude of identification with […]

Sylvia Plath committed suicide rather than succumb to the murderous rage which she felt toward her children. Her critics attribute the surge of power in her poetry in the last 3 yrs of life to “maturity”. All neglected the coincidence of pregnancy & a change in the quality & content of her work. When creativity […]