Sylvia Plath

"In these poems...Sylvia Plath becomes herself, becomes something imaginary, newly, wildly and subtly created." -- From the Introduction by Robert Lowell

Perennial Classics Edition

Ariel

A brilliant collection of poetry by Sylvia Plath, one of America’s most famous and significant female authors. It is characterized by deep, psychological introspection paired with ambiguous scenes and narratives. This edition restores Plath’s selection and order of poems, eschewing her husband’s revisions in favour of the author’s pure, unmodified vision. Random House of Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in ebook form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.

Poems

This is so relatable. Omg. Lemme go watch Bojack while Lana Del Rey is playing in the background cause wow. I feel called out. 

Atli 💗🧚🏽‍♀️

“At twenty I tried to die and get back, back, back to you. I thought even the bones would do. But they pulled me out of the sack, And they stuck me together with glue. And then I knew what to do. I made a model of you..."

Imagine fearing your father so much that talking to him always had you stuttering. And having such a terrible relationship that you didn't know who he was so you look for him in every man you date. #daddyissues lol

This is by far my favourite poem. It's so terrifying that one could get to the point where they can acknowledge things that they used to know as beautiful, but they don't want that beauty to overpower the negative aspects of life. :/

The tulips are too excitable, it is winter here.

Look how white everything is, how quiet, how snowed-in.

I am learning peacefulness, lying by myself quietly

As the light lies on these white walls, this bed, these hands

Levi-Mae 

A Facsimile of Plath's Manuscript, Reinstating Her Original Selection and Arrangement (P.S.)

Ariel: The Restored Edition

Lindsay

If the moon smiled, she would resemble you. 

Of something beautiful, but annihilating.

I do not want much of a present, anyway, this year.

The place I am getting to, why are there these obstacles—

The courage of the shut mouth, in spite of artillery!

All day I feel its soft, feathery turnings, its malignity.

The fever trickles and stiffens in my hair. 

My night sweats grease his breakfast plate.

I didn’t want any flowers, I only wanted 

To lie with my hands turned up and be utterly empty.

The nurses pass and pass, they are no trouble, 

They pass the way gulls pass inland in their white caps,

Doing things with their hands, one just the same as another,

So it is impossible to tell how many there are. 

My body is a pebble to them, they tend it as water 

Tends to the pebbles it must run over, smoothing them gently. 

They bring me numbness in their bright needles, they bring me sleep.

Than the cloud that distils a mirror to reflect its own slow

Emiley Jones

Listen: these are its hooves: it has gone off, like a horse.

All night I shall gallop thus, impetuously,

Till your head is a stone, your pillow a little turf,

well that went over my head completely...

asmo

Jada

the farther i got the more confused i got

Melanie Trujillo

𓆨

“People or stars
Regard me sadly, I disappoint them.”

mina nayeri

Tracy K

** spoiler alert **
           "I wonder how hungry they are.
I wonder if they would forget me
If I just undid the locks and stood back and turned into a tree... 

the box is only temporary"

Kendall McClain

“Dying
Is an art, like everything else.
I do it exceptionally well.

I do it so it feels like hell.
I do it so it feels real.
I guess you could say I’ve a call.”
--------------------

For years, I have been adamant about one thing when it comes to books: I do not like poetry.
Or just maybe, I haven’t been reading the right poetry.

After resisting the genre for years, I thought the only thing that could reverse my disinclination would be Sylvia Plath’s poems. If she can’t do it, well, perhaps it is time to give it up for a lost cause.
Except, she did do it. Kind of.

Ariel is an exceptionally powerful and hauntingly real collection of poems. For the most part, it had none of the forced depth, nor the enigmatic references, nor the ridiculous sounding metaphors that I have come to associate with poetry. Admittedly, not all of them resonated with me, and very few of the poems did fall into the “what the hell is this even about” category. But the rest was a magical, emotional, reflective journey that had me actually enjoying poems.
That’s a big feat.

My favorites:
The Courier
The Elm
The Rival
Letter in November

Is it the sea you hear in me, it’s dissatisfactions?

frankie

Is it the sea you hear in me, it’s dissatisfactions?



luca

“The moon is no door. It is a face in its own right,
White as a knuckle and terribly upset.
It drags the sea after it like a dark crime; it is quiet
With the O-gape of complete despair. I live here.”

4 ½ stars
pretty damn solid poetry collection !! i envy sylvia plath's mind a lot, she had such a way with words... tbh i found her associations very unique and i think her style is very distinct. a lot of the poems here were thought-provoking, yes, but they also felt straight up provocative sometimes. i'm not sure i got even just 50% of what she was trying to communicate in these, but that's probably because i was constantly in awe of how melodic and satisfying her lines sounded, so i didn't particularly focus on the messages. anyway, i had a great time reading this !
my favs: the applicant, lady lazarus, tulips, cut, the moon and the yew tree, the rival, daddy(this one killed me, one of, if not the best poem about grief i've read so far) and the hanging man.

Beatriz Aguiar

most of these poems just went over my head. i wish i would've studied them and gotten the proper context to properly enjoy them.

Faber Modern Classics

heather

Sylvia Plath's use of multiple literary devices like alliteration, assonance, parallelism etc. is really just another chef's kiss moment for me! I really liked  Lady Lazarus  and  The Night Dances!

Favorites:

-"The Applicant"

-"Lady Lazarus"

-"Tulips"

-"Poppies in October"

-"The Courage of Shutting-Up"

-"Berck-Plage"

-"Gulliver"

-"Getting There"

-"A Birthday Present"

-"Letter in November"

-"The Rival"

Celestine Taevs-Nakaya

Wasn’t expecting so many poems about bees.

dont normally enjoy poetry but this was great

Sara

Anna Brunner

In all honesty I am not the greatest at reading/interpreting poetry but I enjoyed this nonetheless

Cams Campbell

This is my first foray into Plath and I'm pretty much a noob with poetry in general. I'll be honest: I struggle. I wonder if I need to be in the right frame of mind, or whether should the poems drag me from the real world into a better place? I'm not sure. 

It's not what I was expecting, maybe that's it. Now that I know that, I should have another go; find some lines that I get and hold onto them. There are other worlds than these.

雪 xue

i loved it at the beginning and then i became disillusioned by her weird habit of using poc as imagery for suffering

Melanie Richards

Mostly lovely poems, but I docked a star for a couple racial insensitivities that didn't sit well with me. Googled about this issue and apparently Plath's journals contain some pretty prejudiced remarks. Anyway, no one is perfect and these were written in the early 60s, but Plath is such a feminist icon that it is worth mentioning.

Caroline Mao

4.75 stars

This is the first poetry collection I've read in a long time. I read Plath's The Bell Jar as well as snippets of her poems, and I really enjoyed reading this. The way she constructs her poems, how she seems to view the world - all of that was unique, sometimes brutally honest, and riveting.

Athena Eloy

Much prefer the clarity that marks Plath's Bell Jar than the purposeful obfuscation that characterizes her poetry.

Melody Izard

Death is stalking. Calling sweetly. The children have hooks. Husband is just like daddy. Hurt, death and cruelty are made stunningly beautiful.

Ariel Perennial Classics Edition

Reviews

Highlights