'The world is blood-hot and personal': in her moving and illuminating introduction, the poet Emily Berry remembers her own teenage encounters with Ariel and offers a personal way into this definitive collection. She shows us how Plath can crystallize our most volatile emotions, transforming them into images so potent and precise that they resonate with us all. Plath has been an inspiration to successive generations; her influence, enduring and profound. 'If the poems are despairing, vengeful and destructive, they are at the same time tender, open to things, and also unusually clever, sardonic, hardminded . . . They are works of great artistic purity and, despite all the nihilism, great generosity . . . the book is a major literary event.' A. Alvarez, Observer, 1965
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer known for her confessional style and exploration of themes such as mental illness, gender roles, and the complexities of human relationships. Her most notable works include the semi-autobiographical novel "The Bell Jar" and the poetry collection "Ariel," which was published posthumously.
Plath's writing is characterized by its raw emotion, vivid imagery, and unflinching honesty. She is credited with helping to redefine the genre of confessional poetry and has had a lasting impact on subsequent generations of writers.
Plath's most famous work is arguably her poem "Daddy," which delves into her complex relationship with her father and themes of power, control, and liberation. Despite her tragic death by suicide at the age of 30, Sylvia Plath's literary legacy continues to inspire and resonate with readers around the world.
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