The Imagery of Sylvia Plath

Abstract

<p>The thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter I, the Introduction, examines critical approaches that have been made towards the poetry of Sylvia Plath and tries to show their limitations & Chapter II discusses the essentially allusive nature of the poetry and proposes a different method -- extensive analysis of the imagery - whereby a greater understanding of what the poet is trying to communicate may be obtained. Each of the next three chapters examines, in a roughly chronological way, a particular group of recurring symbols and images. Attention is paid to the body of as yet uncollected poetry and, where appropriate, the prose works are mentioned, Chapter VI, the Conclusion, summarises the implications of the analysis, and provides an example of the insights that may be made into the meaning of some of the apparently impenetrable obscurities that face the reader of Plath's poetry. Implicitly throughout, the view, is adhered to that the poetry itself rather than the poet is of the greater importance.</p>