A Review of 'The Colossus and Other Poems' by Sylvia Plath

"With this startling, exhilarating book of poems, which was first published in 1960, Sylvia Plath burst into literature with spectacular force.  In such classics as 'The Beekeeper's Daughter,' 'The Disquieting Muses,' 'I Want, I Want,' and 'Full Fathom Five,' she writes about sows and skeletons, fathers and suicides, about the noisy imperatives of life and the chilly hunger for death.  Graceful in their craftsmanship, wonderfully original in their imagery, and presenting layer after layer of meaning, the forty poems in The Colossus are early artifacts of genius that still possess the power to move, delight, and shock."

I'm not the greatest when it comes to reading or even understanding poetry, but I know that I love Sylvia Plath (or what I've read of her work so far) and so I decided to give her poetry a try.

I found that it was best to read Sylvia's work in chunks as opposed to one sitting.  I felt like I could put in a decent effort to gain meaning for myself and also try and figure out what the words she used meant for her own life if I waited between a handful of poems.  I would definitely recommend this approach.

The image that best sticks with me is the heart beat, I Am, I Am, I am as well as the tips of waves looking like knives.  I don't know how she does it (well, how she did it) but the images she evokes are just so striking and you can't help but be taken in by what Sylvia is saying.

Someday I'll have to go through this book of poems again.  I'd like to get a physical copy of my own so that I can write in it.  This time, I was using my Nook (e-reader) and I was highlighting and typing in notes, but it's just not the same.  I'll try books with my e-reader, but ultimately, I'd like them in my hand, if they're good.

I give 'The Colossus':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude