Commentary on “Mad Girl’s Love Song” by Sylvia Plath
It is important that when reading the poem “Mad Girl’s Love Song”, written by poet Sylvia Plath, the reader first knows key information about Plath’s life so that they may better understand the context of the poem. Sylvia Plath was born in 1932, and she began attending Smith College in the year 1950. While she was attending the college, she got a job as an editor for Mademoiselle magazine. “Mad Girl’s Love Song” was published in Mademoiselle in the year 1953, though Plath first wrote the poem in 1951. Shortly after the poem was written, Plath’s mother noticed that her daughter was self-harming. This was the beginning of a long battle with mental illness Plath would experience throughout her life. Later, while still in college, Plath had a mental breakdown and attempted suicide for the first time. She would end up taking her own life at the age of 30. Plath was diagnosed with severe depression, and some argue she also had bipolar disorder. This battle with depression and self-harm that Plath experienced becomes even more significant after analyzing “Mad Girl’s Love Song”. On the surface, “Mad Girl’s Love Song” is about Plath’s …show more content…
Through the repetition of certain lines, the diction choice of specific words, and personification of objects, Plath shows the reader that this poem is concerning the human mind, and the struggles that go on within it. Plath suffered with mental illness throughout her life, and this poem is the first sign of the illness that would eventually cause Plath to take her own life. Her lover is a perfect metaphor for her lost happiness, as she again relates humans to their emotions through poetic devices. While Plath is known for her tragic, end-of-life poetry, “Mad Girl’s Love Song” somberly foreshadows the life Plath would eventually
It is important that when reading the poem “Mad Girl’s Love Song”, written by poet Sylvia Plath, the reader first knows key information about Plath’s life so that they may better understand the context of the poem. Sylvia Plath was born in 1932, and she began attending Smith College in the year 1950. While she was attending the college, she got a job as an editor for Mademoiselle magazine. “Mad Girl’s Love Song” was published in Mademoiselle in the year 1953, though Plath first wrote the poem in 1951. Shortly after the poem was written, Plath’s mother noticed that her daughter was self-harming. This was the beginning of a long battle with mental illness Plath would experience throughout her life. Later, while still in college, Plath had a mental breakdown and attempted suicide for the first time. She would end up taking her own life at the age of 30. Plath was diagnosed with severe depression, and some argue she also had bipolar disorder. This battle with depression and self-harm that Plath experienced becomes even more significant after analyzing “Mad Girl’s Love Song”. On the surface, “Mad Girl’s Love Song” is about Plath’s …show more content…
Through the repetition of certain lines, the diction choice of specific words, and personification of objects, Plath shows the reader that this poem is concerning the human mind, and the struggles that go on within it. Plath suffered with mental illness throughout her life, and this poem is the first sign of the illness that would eventually cause Plath to take her own life. Her lover is a perfect metaphor for her lost happiness, as she again relates humans to their emotions through poetic devices. While Plath is known for her tragic, end-of-life poetry, “Mad Girl’s Love Song” somberly foreshadows the life Plath would eventually