Abstract

By investigating Plath's maternal experience between 1959 and 1963, its transformation into unique poetic imagery has been elicited through a detailed exegesis of her verse and novel. This is an examination of how maternity helped Plath originate a new faith, style and direction in her writing. Full use is made of the dating of The Collected Poems to rectify previous confusion and omissions, and the vital interaction between her life and art is considered in the light of the available biographic materials, despite their limitations. This work does not, however, limit her work to a single perspective, but synthesizes the soundest elements of diverse critical reaction, at the same time exposing fashionable misconceptions that still distort her art.