jjjjuliafreitas's review against another edition
5.0
It's amazing to see the other side of the story. How someone who loves another person can also hurt them. Ted shows how deep his love for Sylvia Plath was in this collection. How did he hurt her so bad if he loved her that much? Aside from that,
This poems are so well written it hurts to read them. You can clearly feel the grief he feels about his dead wife, and I think that reading this collection is a Marvelous adventure.
This poems are so well written it hurts to read them. You can clearly feel the grief he feels about his dead wife, and I think that reading this collection is a Marvelous adventure.
haylieprovencher's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
4.0
good collection of poems, however failed to keep my attention. i think this book was too long. all of the poems had the exact same type of style so it felt like it dragged on
cielllo's review against another edition
5.0
something went wrong every time I've tried to upload this but here we go.
Birthday Letters is pretty much a collection of Sylvia obsession of the greatest degree; one that seems extremely destructive and all-consuming. The reoccurring appearances of Sylvia's father 'daddy', the colour red, 'America', allusions to medical horrors and prophecy as well as tons of literary references seem to grant quite some insight into TH's thinking patterns and mental landscapes.
What struck me most are the suggested hierarchical (or triangular) dynamics of their relationship. In a conversation piece, Ted would look at Sylvia who'd look at the ghost of 'daddy' - a linear arrangement only closing as a triangle (and a seemingly mutual relationship between the two living souls) by Sylvia projecting the lost, godlike 'daddy' onto Ted (in an Electra complex that is more than indirectly implied by TH) while TH is forced into admiration/ worship/ observation of 'daddy' when following her gaze to the ghost. The way in which the incorporeal father manifests between them astounds me to no end.
I feel like Freud would have a great time relating the complete omission of TH's father besides the obsessive, impotent deification of Sylvia's to a projection of his own Oedipus complex, but daddy-sylvia-ted group sessions would probably fill enough hours of a single therapist already.
Birthday Letters is pretty much a collection of Sylvia obsession of the greatest degree; one that seems extremely destructive and all-consuming. The reoccurring appearances of Sylvia's father 'daddy', the colour red, 'America', allusions to medical horrors and prophecy as well as tons of literary references seem to grant quite some insight into TH's thinking patterns and mental landscapes.
What struck me most are the suggested hierarchical (or triangular) dynamics of their relationship. In a conversation piece, Ted would look at Sylvia who'd look at the ghost of 'daddy' - a linear arrangement only closing as a triangle (and a seemingly mutual relationship between the two living souls) by Sylvia projecting the lost, godlike 'daddy' onto Ted (in an Electra complex that is more than indirectly implied by TH) while TH is forced into admiration/ worship/ observation of 'daddy' when following her gaze to the ghost. The way in which the incorporeal father manifests between them astounds me to no end.
I feel like Freud would have a great time relating the complete omission of TH's father besides the obsessive, impotent deification of Sylvia's to a projection of his own Oedipus complex, but daddy-sylvia-ted group sessions would probably fill enough hours of a single therapist already.
milesjmoran's review against another edition
4.0
Nobody wanted your dance,
Nobody wanted your strange glitter - your floundering
Drowning life and your effort to save yourself,
Treading water, dancing the dark turmoil,
Looking for something to give -
Whatever you found
They bombarded with splinters,
Derision - mud - the mystery of that hatred.
Nobody wanted your strange glitter - your floundering
Drowning life and your effort to save yourself,
Treading water, dancing the dark turmoil,
Looking for something to give -
Whatever you found
They bombarded with splinters,
Derision - mud - the mystery of that hatred.
om_nom_nomigon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
1.5
shelfofunread's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Misogyny
skinnygetout's review against another edition
5.0
Ted Hughes is my favorite English poet. I have always admired Sylvia Plath's melancholic and moribund poetry, and Hughes' own brooding voice is every bit an equal. Every poem in Birthday Letters is dedicated to or is written about Sylvia Plath. Each poem is a study in love, longing, and the loss of an intense relationship and an intense woman. Hughes has a singular ability to capture place that often reminds me of Robert Lowell's majestic prose in Life Studies. But rather than taking on the burden of unpacking family history, Hughes unravels and examines his burgeoning and waning love affair and marriage to Sylvia Plath. My personal favorite is 15 Rugby Street, wherein Hughes describes exploring Plath like finding your way through the darkness of an old apartment building with its many mysteries, only to come upon a revelatory discovery, in which Hughes call Plath "America." If you are at all interested in Plath, mid century poetry, and beauty then I highly encourage you to read this collection.