The body of Sylvia Plath

Abstract

The following dissertation will attempt to analyse the depiction of the bodily in Sylvia Plath's work. The main focus will be directed towards the relationship between Plath's poetry, postmodernism and post feminism. The introductory chapter will seek to give a brief overview of the tensions that exist between biological and ideological definitions of the human body. A first chapter will attempt to find analogies between Plath's poetry and the representation of bodies in postmodern theoretical and cultural discourse. The second chapter will attempt to provide focus on the notion of identity and identification in Plath's work. The third chapter will seek to detect elements of bodily performance and exhibitionism in Plath's confessionalism. The conclusion will attempt to present Plath as a cultural icon, and to investigate the manner in which her body remains ever-present within contemporary culture.