‘The power of Plath’s poetry comes from her fearless exploration of the darker aspects of life.’ In light of this statement explore the ways in which Plath writes about the darker aspects of life in her poems.

To approach this question it is important to define the dark aspects of life- this could encompass Plath’s depression, her attitude towards death, her relationship with her husband Ted Hughes, her anxiety surrounding motherhood or her understanding of women’s place for example. However, in an essay I would primarily focus on her depression, her attitude towards death and her relationship with her father. The question also asks the student to address several poems, and so I have chosen Sheep in Fog and Edge.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Paragraph 1- Focus on depression- Within Sheep in Fog Plath explores her depression for example through the use of run on lines, which create a slow and drawn out rhythm. This is apparent as she describes “People or stars Regard me sadly, I disappoint them”. The use of caesura created with the comma (“sadly, I disappoint them”) also creates a sense of detachment, as she distinguishes herself from the other people, and therefore society. By depicting her speaker in this way Plath draws upon her own sense of detachment, as she was separated from her mother in America, and her husband, who was engaging in an affair. Hence, Plath uses this imagery to once again illustrates her depression and loneliness, as she is consumed by the “dark aspects of life”. Plath intertwines this isolation with imagery of light and darkness, evident in the final stanza as she depicts feeling “Starless and fatherless, [in] a dark water.” Again, this acts as a metaphor for her depression, as she is consumed by the “dark water”. In comparison, within Edge Plath also demonstrates a juxtaposition between light and darkness, as she describes her children as a “white serpent” the colour of milk”, a stark contrast to “Her blacks” which “crackle and drag.” By exploring this imagery Plath is able to intensify her emotional turmoil, as she fills both poems with highly negative undertones. Hence, by using run on lines, caesura and the juxtaposition of light and dark imagery within both of these poems, Plath is able to place an emphasis on her isolation and subsequent depression, one of the clear facets of the “dark aspects of life”.