Comparison of the Poet Sylvia Plath with Emily Bronte - Essay Example

Comparison of the poet Sylvia Plath with Emily Bronte Sylvia Plath has been proclaimed as one of the most read personalities of the 21st century through the unique presentation of the subjects which contributed to the popularity of the confessional poetry. Both the life and the works of the poet have embarked the readers of the literature at a flux. The works and life of Plath is often associated with history- the Nazi period in which she lived. The Nazi versus Jews elements were personally put into her life as she thinks that she has become a mixture of both as born to a Nazi father and Jewish mother. The transfusion of both the elements was present in the works of the Plath. The poetical genius of Plath was often compared to the classic writer, Emile Bronte who popularized the Gothic genres in English. Both the writers have some elements in common- the depressed state and the treatment of the subject matters- death. So the individual seclusion, which both of them had witnessed in their life, could be shown its reflection in their works. This article includes the similarities and differences in the life and writings of these two renowned writers as reflected in their works. Comparative elements Both Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) and Emily Bronte (1818-1848) had many similar experiences in their life which showed its counterparts in their writing. Sylvia Plath was a person who wandered through experiences to see her father’s counterpart in life as her father Otto Plath was died at her age of eight. Though the marriage of her with Ted Hughes has made in her a kind of solution but soon it turned to become a downfall. Emily Bronte, though not married had affected with the loss of her mother when she was only three. The writer, Susan Kavaler-Adler says in her book, The Creative Mystique: from red shoes frenzy to love and creativity that Emile Bronte like Sylvia Plath had the experience of “separation-individualism” (Kavaler-Adler 11). Both of them had their influence on their father. Susan Kavaler-Adler further says that most women artists like Emily Bronte, “suffered a primal loss of the mother which harshly influenced the way the father was internalized and deployed in the internal world” (Kavaler-Adler 11). These two writers represented the age at which they lived. The pseudonym of Emily Bronte, Ellis Bell and the only novel of Plath, ‘The Bell Jar,’ take some kind of comparison. Plath had published the novel under the pseudonym, Victoria Lucas. The writers used the pseudonym in order to conceal their true identity to the then readers. Sylvia Plath, a modern writer had more exposure to the world whereas Bronte was put inside her house. The series of death that Emily witnessed in her life has made her tantalize with the effects of death in her. It was the insanitary condition of the house of Bronte which inflicted the symptoms of tuberculosis and eventually her death in 1848. The presentation of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw in the novel, Wuthering heights of Emily Bronte posthumously published in 1847, is a clear cut narrative description of the Gothic Middle English ages. The novel set in the moor background depicts the social milieu of the period in which she lived. She was rather afraid towards the concept of marriage which remains to be a crucial aspect in her personal life. U.C. Knoepflamacher speaks out, “The sexual consummation of marriage is consistently depicted as dangerous by Bronte” (Knoepflmacher 92). The personal life of the author could be seen at short intervals in the novel The Wuthering heights. The second dream of Lockwood allows plunging into the narrative of the life between Heathcliff and Catherine culminating the tragic incidents in it. The life of Plath is very clear in her work, The Bell Jar, an autobiographical novel. It puts forward the mental trauma of the author in her life. Esther Greenwood a replica of Plath runs through the real life of the author depicting the mental trauma of the author. The contrasting elements in Plath and Bronte Even though Emily Bronte and Sylvia Plath had many similar experiences they differ in many ways too. The works of Plath showed clear evidence of the confessional poetry whereas the poems and the novel of Bronte showed a mature aspect at looking at the incidents. The novel Wuthering Heights depicted how the protagonist, Heathcliff accounted for his own destruction. It is a novel that depicted the masculine power and celebration. Ann Oakley retorts, “…the novel was taken to be a representation of brutality and violence, a celebration of masculine sexual power” (Oakley 26-27). The personal aspects of Emily Bronte are not transparent in her work, but she tried to represent the longing for the masculine power which she was denied. In the analysis of the works of Sylvia Plath, especially the Ariel Poems and her novel ‘The Bell Jar,’ a reader can directly put into the confrontation with the real life of the writer. The protagonist, Esther Greenwood in the Bell Jar represents Plath’s reasons for suicide attempts and madness. Linda Wagner-Martin says about the madness and suicide attempt of Sylvia Plath, “she wished to make that madness seem symptomatic and further, she wished to evince her detachment and maturity by treating her case with irony and humor” (Wagner-Martin 115). What Plath had experienced in her life was presented before the readers through her poems and novel. The poems of Plath are also dealing with her personal life. For example, her poem, Lady Lazarus describes her state after attempting suicide by taking large amount of pills. The psychic disorder was heavy in Plath whereas Emily Bronte survived her mental torments and lived until she was succumbed to tuberculosis. The poems of Plath deliberately are set in the modern scenario where she encounters with traveling between the countries, abortion, hospitalization, life in hostel, car accident, and finally with the embrace of a gas cylinder which caused for her death in 1963. What Emily Bronte had tried to portray a partial glimpse of the writer, but Sylvia Plath pictured her life well in each and every sentence that she used. Thus it can be said that Emily Bronte was more implicit whereas Plath was more explicit in her works. Conclusions The writers namely Sylvia Plath and Emily Bronte though born in two different periods had shown the feminine self in different perspective. Both of them had the similar experience of being separated in their earlier life. Both had died at their 30’s and the element of ‘father stimulation’ was very deep in them. The incidents of their personal life had shown its impetus in their writings. The narrative technique used by both writers was different. Plath was rather revolutionary in a sense that she dared to write the things on her own self which contributed to the confessional poetry. The writings of Emily Bronte depicted the Gothic culture of the novel category which got magnified in the novel, ‘The Wuthering Heights. The two writers, representing two periods, had contributed much to literature and it is crystal clear when analyzing their own life in their writings. This marks for the world reputation of Sylvia Plath and Emily Bronte. Works cited Kavaler-Adler, Susan. The creative mystique: from red shoes frenzy to love and creativity. Routledge, 1996. Print. Knoepflmacher, U. C. Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights.Illustrated Edn. CUP Archive, 1989. Print. Oakley, Ann. The Ann Oakley reader: gender, women and social science. Illustrated edn. The Policy Press, 2005. Print. Wagner-Martin, Linda. Sylvia Plath, the critical heritage. Taylor & Francis, 1988. Print. Read More