History Creator / SylviaPlath

** "Lady Lazarus" which also doubles for AsTheGoodBookSays. Lazarus of Bethany is a man revived by Jesus four days after his death. Guess what "Lady Lazarus" is about.

** Some mistakenly think of "Medusa" as this, believing the title to be referring to the monster from Greek mythology. (It actually refers to a jellyfish.)
** Likewise some assume ''Ariel'' is a reference to ''Theatre/TheTempest'' when it was in fact the name of Plath's horse. The central poem of the collection is about her sense of freedom while riding.

[[{{Biopic}} Her life was made]] into a 2003 movie starring Gwenyth Paltrow as Sylvia and Creator/DanielCraig as her husband, Creator/TedHughes.

[[WMG:[[center:'''''PSA from TV Tropes:\\
If you or someone you know is experiencing any thoughts of suicide or self harm,\\
[[UsefulNotes/SuicidePrevention talk to someone you trust and let them know about it]]. [[YouAreNotAlone There are people out there who are willing to help you and others in need.]]''''']]]]

Sylvia Plath (October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet and novelist who's probably most famous for committing suicide at the age of thirty. Although not the first, she helped popularise a then-new genre of poetry — [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessional_poetry confessional poetry]] — that emphasises revealing intimate details about the poet's life, often with brutal honesty. Plath is still incredibly popular today, despite her short life and limited bibliography, precisely ''because'' of her honesty, coupled with her imagery and diction.

[[{{Biopic}} Her life was made]] into a 2003 movie starring Gwenyth Paltrow as Sylvia and Creator/DanielCraig as her husband, Ted Hughes.

* StockShoutOut: As previously mentioned, Sylvia Plath is really quite popular despite -- compared to other writers in the 20th century -- her limited literary output. There are [[ShoutOut shout outs]] to ''The Bell Jar'', as well as specifically to Plath. They range from a ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'' episode about her typewriter, a ''Series/{{House}}'' patient that wrote a poem in the style of Sylvia Plath, a Series/{{Californication}} episode, and a song by Music/TheAntlers titled "[[Music/{{Hospice}} Sylvia]]". A preoccupation with Sylvia Plath in cinema has become cultural shorthand for tough, feminist young women who may be hard to be around, as with Kat Stratford in ''Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'' and Lisa from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.

A little public service announcement that we at Wiki/TVTropes would be very remiss not to make here: If you're feeling suicidal, ''please'' [[UsefulNotes/SuicidePrevention get help immediately.]] Talk to a loved one at the very least and let them know how you're feeling. [[YouAreNotAlone There]] ''[[YouAreNotAlone is]]'' [[YouAreNotAlone help out there]], no matter what you might believe.

Sylvia Plath (27 October 1932–11 February 1963) was an American poet and novelist who's probably most famous for committing suicide at the age of thirty. Although not the first, she helped popularise a then-new genre of poetry — [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessional_poetry confessional poetry]] — that emphasises revealing intimate details about the poet's life, often with brutal honesty. Plath is still incredibly popular today, despite her short life and limited bibliography, precisely ''because'' of her honesty, coupled with her imagery and diction.

* StockShoutOut: As previously mentioned, Sylvia Plath is really quite popular despite -- compared to other writers in the 20th century -- her limited literary output. There are [[ShoutOut shout outs]] to ''The Bell Jar'', as well as specifically to Plath. They range from a ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'' episode about her typewriter, a ''Series/{{House}}'' patient that wrote a poem in the style of Sylvia Plath, a Series/{{Californication}} episode, and a song by Music/TheAntlers titled "[[Music/{{Hospice}} Sylvia]]".

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* StockShoutOut: As previously mentioned, Sylvia Plath is really quite popular despite -- compared to other writers in the 20th century -- her limited literary output. There are [[ShoutOut shout outs]] to ''The Bell Jar'', as well as specifically to Plath. They range from a ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'' episode about her typewriter, a ''Series/{{House}}'' patient that wrote a poem in the style of Sylvia Plath, a Series/{{Californication}} episode, and a song by ''The Antlers'' titled ''Sylvia.''

Sylvia Plath (27 October 1932–11 February 1963) was an American poet and novelist who's probably most famous for committing suicide at the age of thirty. Although not the first, she helped popularise a then-new genre of poetry—[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessional_poetry confessional poetry]]—that emphasises revealing intimate details about the poet's life, often with brutal honesty. Plath is still incredibly popular today, despite her short life and limited bibliography, precisely ''because'' of her honesty, coupled with her imagery and diction.

* LiteraryAllusionTitle:

* StockShoutOut: As previously mentioned, Sylvia Plath is really quite popular despite--compared to other writers in the 20th century--her limited literary output. There are [[ShoutOut shout outs]] to ''The Bell Jar'', as well as specifically to Plath. They range from a ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'' episode about her typewriter, a ''Series/{{House}}'' patient that wrote a poem in the style of Sylvia Plath, a Series/{{Californication}} episode, and a song by ''The Antlers'' titled ''Sylvia.''

* StockShoutOut: As previously mentioned, Sylvia Plath is really quite popular despite--compared to other writers in the 20th century--her limited literary output. There are [[ShoutOut shout outs]] to ''The Bell Jar'', as well as specifically to Plath. They range from a ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'' episode about her typewriter, a ''Series/{{House}}'' patient that wrote a poem in the style of Sylvia Plath, a {{Californication}} episode, and a song by ''The Antlers'' titled ''Sylvia.''

* ''TheBellJar''

* ''{{Ariel}}''

[[{{Biopic}} Her life was made]] into a 2003 movie starring Gwenyth Paltrow as Sylvia and [[JamesBond Daniel Craig]] as her husband, Ted Hughes.

* {{Biopic}}: Her life was made into a 2003 movie starring Gwenyth Paltrow as Sylvia and [[JamesBond Daniel Craig]] as her husband, Ted Hughes.

* CreatorBreakdown: The poems written in the weeks before her suicide get darker and darker, until you get to [[http://www.sylviaplathforum.com/edge.html Edge]], which is a creepy poem about a statue of a woman, and the last poem she ever wrote.
* DeadArtistsAreBetter: As soon as she died, the accolades and awards started pouring in.
* ExecutiveMeddling:
** Ted Hughes rearranged the order of the poems for her last book, ''{{Ariel}}'', and even added some poems that Plath hadn't intended to go in the book.
** According to a letter she wrote to her brother, Sylvia Plath never intended for a US publication of ''The Bell Jar''.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Her death at thirty prevented any poetry she might have yet created from coming into existence. She also had a second novel in mind that would present the world through the eyes of health as opposed to the eyes of the depressed and suicidal Esther.

* AuthorExistenceFailure
* BilingualBonus: At least a minor one in "Daddy," for all the German speakers out there.

** By her former husband, Ted Hughes, no less. Hughes rearranged the order of the poems for her last book, ''{{Ariel}}'', and even added some poems that Plath hadn't intended to go in the book.
Hughes also burned some of her journals, including the one recounting the weeks leading up to her suicide.

* ExecutiveMeddling: By her former husband, Ted Hughes, no less. Hughes rearranged the order of the poems for her last book, ''{{Ariel}}'', and even added some poems that Plath hadn't intended to go in the book.

* HarsherInHindsight:
** "Mary's Song," a poem about the Holocaust, takes on a different meaning after her suicide, considering all the visceral images about sacrificial lambs. Though the lamb was a metaphor for the Jews (as Holocaust victims), the reader can't help but think of someone else who died in an oven...
** Any of her journal entries about how happy she was with Ted Hughes carry somewhat of a tragic undertone to it.

* MagnumOpus: ''{{Ariel}}'', and Plath knew it. She wrote in a letter to her mother that "I am a genius of a writer; I have it in me. I am writing the best poems of my life; they will make my name." "Daddy" is frequently chosen as the pick of the litter.

** In ''TheBellJar'', Esther hadn't been happy since her father had died nine years ago.
* ParentalAbandonment: Sylvia Plath's father, Otto Plath, died when she was eight years old.
* PenName: ''TheBellJar'' was originally published under the name Victoria Lucas.
* RapeAsBackstory: By an older man she was in an abusive relationship with
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Can't properly emphasise how Plath wanted to marry a man that would see her as a woman and not just a pair of breasts and a vagina.
* StockShoutOut: As previously mentioned, Sylvia Plath is really quite popular despite--compared to other writers in the 20th century--her limited literary output. There are [[ShoutOut shout outs]] to ''TheBellJar'', as well as specifically to Plath. They range from a ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'' episode about her typewriter, a ''Series/{{House}}'' patient that wrote a poem in the style of Sylvia Plath, a {{Californication}} episode, and a song by ''The Antlers'' titled ''Sylvia.''
* WellDoneSonGuy: Plath desperately wanted her mother's affection to the point that one reason that she wrote was to win her affection. She struggled with realising that she had to write for herself and not her mother's love. She wrote about it in her journal that doubles as a TearJerker: "I felt I couldn't write because she would appropriate it. Is that all? I felt if I didn't write nobody would accept me as a human being. Writing, then was a substitute for myself: if you don't love me, then love my writing and love me for my writing."
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The difference between ''The Colossus'', her first book of poems, and ''Ariel'', her second, in terms of quality, is enormous. We can only imagine how great the next book might have been.
** Even more apparent once you read her journals; what a treasure trove of raw talent.
** She also had a second novel in mind that would present the world through the eyes of health as opposed to the eyes of the depressed and suicidal Esther.

* ''[[TheBellJar The Bell Jar]]''

!!Her work and life feature these tropes:

* AuthorAvatar: Esther Greenwood, the main character in ''TheBellJar'', is based on Plath, and the book recounts her experiences with depression.

* DespairEventHorizon: Most people will agree that Ted Hughes leaving Plath was the last straw because, once you read her journals, you understand that he meant everything to her. Granted, this isn't meant to blame Hughes for her suicide; before their fallout, Hughes cared about her and likely did what he could to help her.
* DrivenToSuicide: This is what happens when the man who meant the world to you leaves you on top of years of mental illness and depression; you stick your head in a gas oven. At the least, she still had the goodwill to lay out breakfast for her children, open their window, and seal the cracks in their door so that they wouldn't have to die with her.
** On a side note, the woman her husband left her for (Assia Wevill) also committed suicide, in the same manner, but she took her child with her.
** And the son of Sylvia and Ted ended up killing himself in 2009 due to his own depression.
* ExecutiveMeddling: By her former husband, Ted Hughes, no less. Hughes rearranged the order of the poems for her last book, ''{{Ariel}}'', and even added some poems that Plath hadn't intended to go in the book.
** Hughes also burned some of her journals, including the one recounting the weeks leading up to her suicide.
*** He said he did it because he never wanted his children to see what she was like in her last days.
** Another notebook from the last couple years of her life existed, but Hughes claimed in 1982 that it "disappeared" and still has yet to be recovered.
** Plath never intended for a US publication of ''TheBellJar''. To quote a letter that her mother, Aurelia Plath, wrote in 1970 to Harper & Row: Practically every character in ''TheBellJar'' represents someone--often in caricature--whom Sylvia loved... as this book stands by itself, it represents the basest ingratitude. That was not the basis of Sylvia's personality; it was the reason she became so frightened when, at the time of the publication, the book was widely read and showed signs of becoming a success. Sylvia wrote her brother that "this must never be published in the United States."

*** Especially considering how she sees herself as a Jew in "Daddy".

* ImportantHaircut: After recovering from her breakdown in 1953, she bleached her hair to a platinum blonde color in celebration of the "new persona" that she fashioned for herself.
* LiteraryAllusionTitle: "Lady Lazarus" which also doubles for AsTheGoodBookSays. Lazarus of Bethany is a man revived by Jesus four days after his death. Guess what "Lady Lazarus" is about.