Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Semester of Degree Completion
2003
Thesis Director
John Guzlowski
Abstract
Many critics who study Sylvia Plath's works discuss the autobiographical significance of her poetry and prose, labeling her art as primarily confessional. My research shows that Sylvia Plath's awareness of and sensitivity to contemporary and historical cultural events, along with her acute sense of literary tradition, shape her art and widen the scope of critical interpretation. My study, although conceding that aspects of her writing are autobiographical, focuses on the modernist elements in her poetry and prose. By identifying her writing through the lens of modernism, I view her art in terms of its cultural, historical, political, and aesthetic qualities. I conclude that as a modernist writer Sylvia Plath suggests viable alternatives to the modern world's dehumanized condition.
Recommended Citation
Williams, Autumn, "Love, Violence, and Creation: Modernist Mediums of Transcendence in Sylvia Plath's Poetry and Prose" (2003). Masters Theses. 1395.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/1395
