Saturday, September 27, 2014

Sylvia Plath makes me sad


I've always heard that Sylvia Plath's poetry was fairly depressing, and I've come to find out that's in fact very true. They not only had sad topics (especially Lady Lazarus), but they also all had incredibly somber tones. All I'm saying is that I'm glad I read this at the end of summer and not the beginning because I probably wouldn't recover. Not that these are issues with the work itself, I'd just rather not be sad. The fact that I'm that worried about it ruining my summer actually says a lot about the work itself. It has a certain level of class without feeling too informal and unrelatable. It's really authentic and honest.

But of all the poems for this half of the week, the one that stood out to me the most was Housewife by Sexton. Unlike something like Lady Lazarus, it doesn't feel like this thorough, epic confession, but it's very short and says exactly and only what it wants to say. It goes right back to the whole feminism thing that came up in the reading last week and I think I found this one more interesting than those. It just has a really interesting approach to the (at this point in time) well used criticism of the role of the housewife, and by not making it anything too big and stays really direct (it doesn't go into too much rational behind the argument, just state the argument itself), I think it makes itself harder to argue against and easier to keep in the back of your mind.

2 comments:

  1. Zac,
    Where did you see these things in the actual poems? Make sure you provide direct textual support for your ideas.
    Also, did you find Plath's "Daddy" to be somber? I find it very playful...
    ~MS

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  2. I read through all of Plaths stuff at once and after "Lazy Lazarus" was thinking "somber." But after I read your comment I went back and looked at "Daddy" and agree with you. It wasn't the brightest of topics but had an oddly fun structure and beat to it. The concept really didn't drag the poem down, it still felt playful (I'm trying not to use your word "playful" because I really wanted to add more to what I'd written above with my own input, but I can't find a better word for it).

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