Reviews

Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath

lori85's review against another edition

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4.0

I bought this mostly for "Lady Lazarus." That one NEVER gets old.

chalkbard's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A

4.0


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vdvanl's review against another edition

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5.0

So it turns out "The Collected Poems" means literally everything Sylvia Plath EVER wrote. It's arranged more or less chronologically, and when I was about halfway through the book I was all set to only give it three stars. At 2/3 of the way through, it had gone up to four stars, and by the last 20-30 pages there was no way it was getting anything less than five.

Although her earlier poems aren't to my particular taste, and you can tell her command of the craft is still developing, it's so wonderful to be able to trace that evolution from obviously talented novice to absolute master. Moving, evocative and completely unforgettable.

petrathepoet's review against another edition

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5.0

I think I love Sylvia Plath.

miriiam16's review against another edition

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4.0

...“Si me arrancas el corazón
para saber qué lo mueve,
pararás el reloj que
acompasa nuestro amor”.

Leer a Sylvia Plath ha sido una aventura al poder observar todo su recorrido vital de forma acelerada por medio de su poesía.

Mentiría si dijera que ha sido fácil leerla, porque muchas de sus palabras encierran múltiples significados y la traducción, si en poesía es complicada, aún más lo es con el nivel de esta maravillosa escritora (había casi 900 anotaciones).

Me ha encantado que recurriera con tanta elegancia al simbolismo, la magia y numerosos mitos.
A veces olvidaba que su obra la escribió antes de los treinta años, que fue cuando decidió poner fin a su vida, y que desde muy joven ya mostraba una gran maestría que muchos otros poetas no logran jamás.
Es verdad que al principio se pueden observar contenidos más estéticos y joviales, y hacia el final es palpable el odio y desesperanza en sus versos.

A pesar del triste final, me ha sorprendido la cantidad de poemas en los que se centra y esfuerza en vivir, en disfrutar de las cosas bellas de la naturaleza y de la vida.

“Y, al próximo paso que él dé,
me liberaré,
desataré
a la enjoyada muñequita
que el guarda como un tesoro,
y soltaré a la leona,
el grito en el baño,
el manto de agujeros”.

iesvanderlaan's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The course of Sylvia’s life can be seen truly well by dissecting the poems. Sometimes the findings are aching and heartbreaking.

danielmhimself's review against another edition

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relaxing slow-paced

3.0

mastro1022's review against another edition

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3.0

I wanted to like this book more than I did. It took me almost two years to get through it because I found most of it aggressively mediocre. The vast majority of her work feels like it's meant to sound pretty, but it misses the mark for me. It's just... dense. However, there's the occasional standout poem that brings this from a 2 star book to a 3 star book. I would never read this cover to cover again, but I would revisit my favorites. Without my annotated copy by my side for reference, some of my favorites were Mirror, In Plaster, and Fever 103.

fantomerrant's review against another edition

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4.0

"Dying
Is an art, like everything else.
I do it exceptionally well.

I do it so it feels like hell.
I do it so it feels real.
I guess you could say I've a call."

Favourites:

- Tulips
- Elm
- Ariel
- Lady Lazarus
- Edge

(didn't quite like the juvenilia section, but Plath is brilliant and her writing feels like starvation)

elclubdelbrunch's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

4.0