Sylvia Plath facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sylvia Plath
Plath at her Chalcot Square flat in London, July 1961
Born	(1932-10-27)October 27, 1932 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	February 11, 1963(1963-02-11) (aged 30) London, England
Resting place	Heptonstall Church, England
Pen name	Victoria Lucas
Occupation	Poet novelist short story writer
Language	English
Alma mater	Smith College Cambridge University Boston University
Period	1960–1963
Genre	Poetry fiction short story
Literary movement	Confessional poetry
Notable works	The Bell Jar Ariel
Notable awards	Fulbright Scholarship Glascock Prize 1955 Two Lovers and a Beachcomber by the Real Sea Pulitzer Prize for Poetry 1982 The Collected Poems (posthumously)
Spouse	Ted Hughes ​ (m. 1956)​
Children	Frieda Hughes Nicholas Hughes
Relatives	Otto Plath (father) Aurelia Schober (mother)
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Sylvia Plath (October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American writer. She was a poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is known for her honest and personal style of poetry.

Her most famous works include the poetry collections The Colossus and Other Poems (1960) and Ariel (1965). She also wrote The Bell Jar, a novel published in 1963. After her death, The Collected Poems was released in 1981. This collection won her a Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 1982. She was the fourth person to receive this award after their death.

Sylvia Plath was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She studied at Smith College and the University of Cambridge in England. She later took writing classes at Boston University. There, she met other poets like Anne Sexton. In 1956, she married fellow poet Ted Hughes. They lived in both the United States and England. They had two children before they separated in 1962. Sylvia Plath faced many personal challenges throughout her life. She often explored these feelings in her writing.

About Sylvia Plath's Life

Her Early Years

Sylvia Plath was born on October 27, 1932, in Boston, Massachusetts. Her mother, Aurelia Schober Plath, was from America. Her father, Otto Plath, was from Germany. Otto Plath was a professor at Boston University. He studied insects, especially bumblebees.

Sylvia's brother, Warren, was born in 1935. In 1936, her family moved to Winthrop, Massachusetts. This area was later mentioned in her poems. Sylvia published her first poem at age eight. It appeared in the Boston Herald newspaper. She continued to publish poems in local magazines. At age 11, she started keeping a journal. She also showed talent in art. She won an award for her paintings in 1947.

Sylvia's father, Otto Plath, died in November 1940. This was shortly after her eighth birthday. His death had a big impact on Sylvia. After his death, her mother moved the family to Wellesley, Massachusetts. Sylvia attended Bradford Senior High School there. She graduated in 1950. Right after high school, her work was published nationally in the Christian Science Monitor.

College Life and Challenges

Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts

In 1950, Sylvia Plath began studying at Smith College. This is a women's college in Massachusetts. She was a very good student. She also worked as an editor for The Smith Review. After her third year, she got a special job. She became a guest editor at Mademoiselle magazine. This meant she spent a month in New York City. This experience was difficult for her. Many of the things that happened that summer later inspired her novel The Bell Jar.

She was upset that she missed a chance to meet poet Dylan Thomas. She admired his writing very much. She tried to find him in New York but he had already left. She also was not accepted into a writing class at Harvard.

Sidgwick Hall at Newnham College

Sylvia received some medical care during this time. She then made a good recovery. She returned to college and graduated from Smith in 1955. She earned high honors. She was also part of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

She then received a Fulbright Scholarship. This allowed her to study at Newnham College, Cambridge, in England. This is a college for women at the University of Cambridge. She kept writing poetry and publishing her work. She also traveled around Europe during her breaks.

Career and Marriage

Plath's time at McLean Hospital inspired her novel The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath met poet Ted Hughes in England on February 25, 1956. She had read his poems and wanted to meet him. They quickly became close. Sylvia described Ted as a "singer, story-teller, lion." They both loved writing poems. They decided to get married a few months later.

They married on June 16, 1956, in London. Sylvia's mother was there. They spent their honeymoon in Paris. Sylvia returned to Cambridge for her second year of studies. During this time, they both became interested in astrology.

In 1957, Sylvia and Ted moved to the United States. Sylvia taught at Smith College for a while. But she found it hard to teach and write at the same time. In 1958, they moved to Boston. Sylvia worked as a receptionist at a hospital. In the evenings, she took creative writing classes. These classes were taught by poet Robert Lowell. Other writers like Anne Sexton were also in the class.

Lowell and Sexton encouraged Sylvia to write about her own life. This helped her become a more serious writer. She and Ted also met poet W. S. Merwin, who became a good friend.

Chalcot Square, near Primrose Hill in London, Plath and Hughes' home from 1959

Plath and Hughes traveled across North America. They stayed at an artist colony called Yaddo in New York. Sylvia said she learned to be true to her own unique style there. In December 1959, they moved back to London, England. They lived at 3 Chalcot Square. An English Heritage plaque marks her home there.

Their daughter, Frieda, was born on April 1, 1960. In October, Sylvia published The Colossus. This was her first collection of poetry. In February 1961, Sylvia had a miscarriage. She wrote about this experience in some of her poems. In August, she finished her novel The Bell Jar. The family then moved to a small town called North Tawton. Their son, Nicholas, was born in January 1962. In mid-1962, Sylvia and Ted started keeping bees. This inspired many of Sylvia's poems.

In September 1962, Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes separated.

Starting in October 1962, Sylvia wrote many poems. These poems are now very famous. She wrote at least 26 poems for her collection Ariel. In December 1962, she moved back to London with her children. She rented a flat at 23 Fitzroy Road. The famous poet William Butler Yeats once lived in the same house. Sylvia felt this was a good sign.

The winter of 1962–1963 was very cold. The pipes froze, and her children were often sick. The house also had no phone. Sylvia continued to face personal difficulties. But she finished her poetry collection. It was published after her death. Her only novel, The Bell Jar, was published in January 1963. She used the pen name Victoria Lucas for this book.

Her Passing

Sylvia Plath passed away on February 11, 1963. She was 30 years old.

Her Works

Sylvia Plath began writing poetry at age eight. Her first poem appeared in the Boston Traveller. By the time she went to Smith College, she had written over 50 short stories. Her work was published in many magazines. At Smith, she studied English literature. She won many awards for her writing and studies. This included prizes for her poetry. She also worked as an editor for Mademoiselle magazine. In 1955, she won the Glascock Prize for her poem "Two Lovers and a Beachcomber by the Real Sea".

Her Legacy

Many people see Sylvia Plath as an important voice. Her work, especially Ariel, was very powerful. It spoke to many women about their feelings and experiences. Writer Honor Moore said that Ariel showed Sylvia Plath as a strong and brave woman. Her poems explored difficult emotions in an honest way.

Smith College, where Sylvia Plath studied, keeps her writings. The United States Postal Service made a postage stamp featuring Plath in 2012. An English Heritage plaque marks her home at 3 Chalcot Square in London. In 2018, The New York Times wrote an obituary for Plath. This was part of their project to remember important people who were overlooked.

List of Publications

Poetry Collections

• The Colossus and Other Poems (1960)
• Ariel (1965)
• Three Women: A Monologue for Three Voices (1968)
• Crossing the Water (1971)
• Winter Trees (1971)
• The Collected Poems (1981)
• Selected Poems (1985)
• Ariel: The Restored Edition (2004)

Collected Prose and Novels

• The Bell Jar, using the name "Victoria Lucas" (novel, 1963)
• Letters Home: Correspondence 1950–1963 (1975)
• Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams: Short Stories, Prose, and Diary Excerpts (1977)
• The Journals of Sylvia Plath (1982)
• The Magic Mirror (1989), her college thesis
• The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath (2000)
• The Letters of Sylvia Plath, Volume 1 (2017)
• The Letters of Sylvia Plath, Volume 2 (2018)
• Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom (2019)

Children's Books

• The Bed Book (1976)
• The It-Doesn't-Matter Suit (1996)
• Mrs. Cherry's Kitchen (2001)
• Collected Children's Stories (2001)