Sinister: Not all those who wander are lost.

[Peter Carter]

> Finally, I thought I'd mention one more thing about my dearly departed
> darling Sylvia Plath. The aforementioned friend once attended a tea party
> she held when she was studying in Cambridge, and he described her as a
> self-centred, arrogant litte prig. He was probably right, but that didn't
> prevent her from being one of the most brilliant, sincere and lyrical
poets
> of the 20th century. I suppose there is another lesson: not all poets are
> capable of holding congenial tea parties. A lesson worth learning.

Have you ever read 'Birthday Letters' by Ted Hughes... I assume any Sylvia
Plath/poetry fan would have done so. Don't you think that looking at Ted
Hughes' last work makes the likes of 'Ariel' pale into insignificance?
Whether Hughes was a bastard or not (and I'd bet money that the infidelities
were not entirely unprovoked), you have to admit that Hughes' work is
entirely more thoughtful, emotionally charged and perceptive than Plath's.
Poems like 'Oijui' (sp?)and 'Epiphany' easily eclipse the likes of 'Daddy'
(the most over-rated of Plath's poems) and 'Lady Lazarus', although maybe
'The Arrival of the Bee Box' comes close. Even compared to the likes of
Seamus Heaney she tend to pale by comparison. Looks at 'Digging' and compare
it to 'Ariel', doesn't Plath seem a little childish, lacking in perception,
clumsey even. While I appreciate that Plath is a VERY good poet, I think it
is a little odd to call her one of the most brilliant poets of the 20th
Century. The only reason I can see that she has been awarded this status in
so many people's eyes is because of her value in history... i.e. her
marriage to Ted Hughes and subsequent suicide.

As for Plath's self-centredness and arrogance. Do you not think that she
could bge allowed to be a little self-centred given all that she went
through in her life? If her pain was enough to make her constantly wish to
commit suicide then I think it was probably more important than anyone
elses. As for arrogance... it seems evident, through her poetry, if not her
auto-biography (or whatever the hell it is), that she was totally
self-depricating and lacking in self-worth, any arrogance was likely to have
been a cover to prevent other people from noticing what was gonig on
underneath.

"...and of course everyone felt appropriately shocked and saddened by the
women's affliction..."

The Happy Reaper


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