Sylvia Plath, revised

by Caroline King Barnard Hall

Since the publication of the first edition of Sylvia Plath in 1978, interest in Plath's work has continued to grow steadily. Caroline Hall takes notice of these intriguing developments while stressing her earlier emphasis on the continuity of Plath's posthumous reputation as a fine poet and a good fiction writer. In this revised edition, Hall provides new chapters to examine the biographies and the Journals, and expands on her discussion of the Bell Jar chapter to include analysis of Johnny Panic. She identifies remaining puzzles that face Plath scholarship regarding selection and control of the posthumous publications, particularly those controversial rearrangements and deletions made by Hughes. Hall also relates Plath's work to the women's movement and raises interesting questions about the relationship between Plath's life and art; this study will help readers assess the appropriateness of the label "confessional poet" for Plath.