Is there a direct link between creativity and mental illness? Have you ever heard of the Sylvia Plath Effect? We will address both these questions when we read Sylvia Plath’s “Mirror”.
Tragically, Sylvia ended her life at the height of her powers. On the evening of February 11, 1963, Sylvia tucked away her kids safe and sound in their beds before descending downstairs to stick her head in the kitchen oven. First, she sealed the windows and doors and cranked the gas. In the morning, she was found dead on the floor.
Sylvia struggled with severe bouts of depression for most of her life. “Mirror” is an intense poem about self-reflection. I’m hoping this semester my students will delve beyond the text: that they will examine the artist behind it, that they will look at their ownselves in the “Mirror”.
Here, I found an article that details both the tragedy and success of this tortured artist.
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.