Why should you read Sylvia Plath? - Iseult Gillespie
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- Опубликовано: 6 мар 2019
- Explore the haunting and intimate works of poet Sylvia Plath, who digs into issues of mental health, trauma and sexuality in works like “The Bell Jar.”
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Under her shrewd eye and pen, Sylvia Plath turned everyday objects into haunting images: a “new statue in a drafty museum,” a shadow in a mirror, a slab of soap. Her breathtaking perspectives and unflinching language made her a touchstone for readers seeking to break the silence around issues of trauma, frustration and sexuality. Iseult Gillespie shares why Plath's writing continues to captivate.
Lesson by Iseult Gillespie, directed by Sarah Saidan.
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TED-Ed are you making a new one soon?
Make a vid about short circuit! Thanks
We need" why should read Hurperd George wills"
TED-Ed I could start narrating those even though I don’t have half the attention this channel does.
I wouldn't expose any normal person to her writing she wrote phycopathic mania,I mean for real.her writing was dark and demonic,and how she won awards for that poetry beggs the question of the people's sanity who believe her writing had spiritual substance!
" why can't i try on different lives, like dresses, to see which one fits best? "
Because adjusting to each new life would confuse you. It's difficult enough to adjust to one BLOODY life!!
Because life is a test
truth
Sylvia was so relatable
I see this not exactly as a question looking for an answer- although in some deep form she hopes she could try on different lives- but an expression, a representative to the depressing nature of her current life. Her tiredness, or bleak look in her life that she wishes to do away with.
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my lids and all is born again.
I think I made you up inside my head
But I lay awake in my bed; pillow against my tired head.
I was broken hearted. So what other option I had. So to warm up my Cold heart.
I cried and farted.
Hrithik Chauhan 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Mad girl’s love song !!
@@alyssasofea6760 Yusss someone who finally gets it
But couldn’t someone like kill you or hurt you while you’re closing your eyes
“I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. And I am horribly limited.”
― Sylvia Plath
Beautifully written.
which chapter?
@@SaraSara-le7dg you can find it at the first page of 'The Midnight Library' by Matt Haig.
@@Jerryismycat tysm
@SHEA I dont know where that sentence exactly is at Plath's book, but i read that sentence on the book 'The Midnight Library'.
"I rise with my red hair. " When I was in my darkest depression, I wanted to end my life. Plath's Lady Lazarus saved me. I dyed my hair the reddest red and faced another day. Now I am in a better place. Sylvia Plath is a blessing in my life.
i hope you're doing well
I also dyed my hair red after reading lady Lazarus...
I also dyed my hair red when I was recovering from depression! This color is so empowering to wear.
that is so beautiful; your strength is admirable and I am happy Plath was able to touch you so rawly and help you access your inner power
Congrats for recovering
_The Bell Jar_ published in 1963 still reads like it could have be released yesterday.
Yes
ive noticed that about good poetry
published* sorry I had to, but I completely agree
@manic pixie dream boy lol
Including all the blatant racism! 😃
“Dying is an art like everything else.”
Ask the Tibetans
"I do it exceptionally well"
Her death was pretty underwhelming tbh.
The animation in this one is hauntingly beautiful! Just like Plath's poems. Kudos to the animators!
Yes... They did a very good job
The animation is beautiful! I loved how they captured Plath's imagery
@@BenTheSkipper xxxxtra684
l0
True
Pl
I discovered Sylvia Plath during the darkest period of my life, and I owe my recovery and strength to her. It's amazing how I could relate to her despite all the decades we've lived apart. ❤️
but how did she help?? she dealed with it by killing herself in an oven
Ei Jing Tan you’re ridiculously short sighted
Sophie it was a genuine question. No need for remarks
@@blueshades98 Sylvia Plath helped me also, when I was very depressed. Because she felt like I felt, & had expressed it perfectly. I wasn't alone. It's like looking at the painting The Scream by Edvard Munch, you put it on the fridge & it carries the feeling for you, & you don't have to feel it any more. You start to feel better.
I feel exactly the same. ♥️ Hope you are doing okay. ♥️
I remember reading “The Bell Jar” for the first time a few years ago, and I remember Esther being the very first character in literature that I felt I could really relate to. When she was describing her feelings all I could think was “Oh my god, this is me”.
Me too, I just read it the first time recently. I want to distance myself from her cynical and depressed outlook on life and at the same time I relate to her so much!
I have never felt so closely related to a character until I read the passage about the fig tree. It overwhelmed me.
Me too and I’m a guy
me too!!!
THIS IS HAPPENING TO ME.
*“If you expect nothing from anybody, you’re never disappointed.”-Sylvia Plath*
"if you have nothing ,you have nothing to lose." Same vein if you see what I mean.Bob dylan
Seems like Phil Dunphy was quite a aficionado of Sylvia Path.
Ted Hughes beat her to the point of her miscarrying, while also having an affair with her editor. Together they hid many of Sylvia’s poems that were her cries for help bc they were detrimental to their reputations. When Sylvia’s work was finally published in “Ariel” it was to late to save her, but her voice is still heard today and saves countless others from her situation
Prove it.
Were all of her works ultimately found and published? Specifically asking about the ones her husband tried to hide.
@@Anjunacore111 her husband Ted Hughes took charge of publishing them as her next of kin. Which he did.
@@Anjunacore111 Not all of them, Ted Hughes destroyed Plath's last two journals (on which she wrote up to some four days before committing suicide). So those will never be recovered I guess. He justified himself saying he didn't want their children to read them. It is notable that Hughe's second wife also committed suicide.
@@ex621 we don't know what she wrote about her children there. They seem to have been her last concern. She left them with a mug of milk and some bread! Poor babies.
“Her astounding ability to express what often remains inexpressible.”
This is exactly what it felt when reading through her journals.
Sylvia Plath - a successor to the despairing legacy of Virginia Woolf and spokesperson for so many unheared cries of women that weren't documented individually.
You know, you can't document every individual without losing out on meaning. People necessarily use the same expressions and think the same way most of the time.
If you documented every single person, you'd end up with a sea of regurgitated words, which would bore you to death. Not all people are as good as Sylvia Plath. It's a good thing that we can't see all the failed artists (and there are a lot, you just don't know it), because they would have turned off even the historians who gave us Plath.
I can see the notification that tells me you replied with something, and i see some of the text in it, but i can't see the actual comment. Could you copy paste it and reply again please?
@@BygoneT I replied. I think it wasn't worth it. No disrespect. Appreciate your opinions. :)
@@BygoneT see, being overscrupulous over the thing that you haven't have any "Real" idea about beside beating around some pages of classic literature, you think you know what you are talking about when you are talking about women sufferings. You are sitting over there in your well privileged space and country while commenting condescendingly on youtube. 'False consciousness' what Marx would call it. No disrespect really and nothing personal just get some perspective first before you go out on someone calling copy-paste etc. That is why it isn't worth responding to.
Love and peace. :)
@@hrithik3165 Oh, so you just didn't like the comment, i get it, that happens xD
Well from what i recall it's probably something about how everything has been said and done.
At the risk of being a contrarian, i think that's false. If you take a ten year cycle as a time frame, a lot of things change, and what happens in those ten years, necessarily cannot happen in either the previous or subsequent decade.
If you think about how relevant your actions are to the rest of your life, about 80% of it goes out the window. Lunch yesterday for example, won't be relevant to your job 10 years from now. If you take all the lunch you ever had, dinners, breakfast, times you went out with friends, school, and even most of your job's career, is mostly irrelevant. Important choices and discussions happen only a couple of times and they affect the rest of your life.
That would go double for literature; since most people are not writers, most of writers are not good, most words are repeated and most thoughts are as well. But if you can focus on something unique, good stuff is always there, which is why we go for what's easy to spot. Of course it would be a shame to lose out on some good literature because good points are overlooked, but unfortunately manpower is limited. Out of the meat grinder of literature we don't have many outstanding works (and for some reason, a good part of the biggest works in history were written by Russians, what's up with that?), and that's probably because by the time you get to the crux of a hidden gem, you lost interest because of grammar, event set ups, prose, weak rhymes and the like.
Still, there's something unique written for every era, and what surprises me is how relevant some can be. (Machiavelli and Adam Smith can still be read with no issue today, except maybe the former can be a disturbing read for who has never delved into political schemes)
EDIT: If everything was already said and done in some way, we wouldn't still be working to understand what we have. The issue is that for convenience, we use the same words to mean different things, and that can be very counterproductive. For example, Dante in his Divine Comedy makes up so many words and verbs, it's a real pain to remember all of them. But they serve their purpose perfectly. One of my favourites refers to the Mountain of Purgatory resting on a lake. The verb Dante makes up is "Dislagare", which is a clever mix of Dis(Latin for separation), and "Allagare" which is Italian for "To flood", but "Dislagare" means something like "To separate its mass towering over a lake, dividing itself from the rest like a flood and two pieces of opposite land". It's really beautiful.
Now the reason we don't do this sort of thing anymore is because we're lazy... (and that people who have no clue what you're saying, don't really have the time to figure you out)
I love how they paid attention to the fact that Sylvia Plath was left-handed at 0:46 and also at 0:58, when she crosses her arms and the left hand stays up, as in the case of lefties!
Wait really?? Was she left handed?
@@dilshadkalawant3882 yes :)
The most sensitive people often think that their sensitivity is a curse..
Whereas the truth is it is such a blessing. First thing is that such people are quite rare in this world.
Secondly the sensitivity is a powerful strength that can be used for great artistic or even scientific ventures.
The creativity and passion, the empathy and deep observation, makes possible such things that no one else could've imagined!
Brilliantly said ! 👍🏼
Hmm... we're talking about someone who committed suicide
@@ubbdaubermensch1528 My father died suddenly when I was young so I can imagine how it feels, and the only thing I want to say is that depression is not the only path, there are millions of different possible paths and many are cheerful and happy to walk...
Let's just not glamorize depression and suicide. There are ways to heal.
To me it's a curse... I wish I wasn't so sensitive. Although I know that I'm able to experience things so much more deeply than those who surround me, this makes me very vulnerable to experience suffering and it contributes to increase my feeling of loneliness, because people usually don't understand why I feel and experience the world in the way I do. I wish I didn't suffer from severe depression since I was 14... I'm 26 and I'm tired. I can't even finish my degree in English Filology (literature and linguistics) at college, which I LOVE. There are creative and passionate people out there who are healthy and happy, I wish so hard I was one of them. There are very few good things about being highly sensitive.
@@espritpastequien3522 She was depressed not only her dad died suddenly but also she was bipolar, which is caused mostly by heredity. So there wasn't much that she could do.
I mean any poems that ted ed features usually is the only recommendation I need
My favourite poem of all time is a Plath poem: I am vertical.
I’m not sure why, but I find it so beautiful and chilling at the same time.
the mirror one right?
But I would rather be horizontal
I am vertically
challenged...
Count me too another Vertical one, a wanna be Horizontal
thanks for the recommendation (:
I've got Sylvia Plath poems to read in my English Literature Syllabus rn, so this video is perfect timing. Gotta show this in class.
Christ University?
The . Mirror??
Neither XD
Diya Mehta - good luck honey ! ☺️
Nope!
24/7 Sylvia Plath
I was looking for you.
Genevevo Official writing in blood on the walls because the ink in my pen don’t work in my notepad
I was looking for lana's fans. ❤❤❤
Lanaaaaaa
Lana stan!!
She was truly gifted. I wish I had an ounce of the talent she had in writing poetry. Her poems give me comfort now and then.
her unabridged journals alone are just such a treat. i was 15 when i first read it, barely in touch with the english language as it wasn't my first (nor my second), and it made me fall in love with the language. it was so well-written yet so easy to understand.
I remember reading the bell jar in high school when I was just starting to have slight improvement with my severe panic disorder and depression. While she was an excellent writer, the story was painful to read especially knowing that she later committed suicide. I think it was very un enjoyable for me to read because much of her thought processes and gradual decline I had experienced and was struggling with. It’s alarmingly real and raw and just left me feeling numb after finishing it.
same, as someone who is reading it this school year so far, and in the past year, had multiple suicide attempts and had to be sent to a mental hospital, the bell jar is extremely hard to read and to be honest has made my mental health a tad worse just because of my recent experiences
It’s a shame that the best works of art come from the most hurt and traumatized of people. We’ve gotten great works from so many writers and artists with depression, and too often, they take their own life
I remembered Van Gogh who cut his ear and committed su*c*de,the painter of an artwork called"The starry night"
This is so beautiful and sad at the same time. Thanks for making this author and poet know to me...
she was my savior when I suffered from depression
she is best but died too early
"the bell jar" was one of the books that helped me realize I need professional help (I also suffer from clinical depression). Its ending gave me hope 💖💖🙏🏼
good luck, you'll be okay ❤
I hope you’re doing well!
Does it have a happy ending?
@@mbrunnen04 It does! The main character, Esther recovers and has a baby : )
@@rusadulgokraka ohh wow that's great! thank you for the reply!!!
a video on Brontë sister will be great
Yes i am also waiting
I write poetry and it truly helps me acknowledge and understand what I experience. The flow of words, the flow of emotion when pen is put to paper, can be absolutely cathartic.
Music has become a new outlet for me and singing, producing musical sound has set my soul on fire.
Someday, I hope I can write about how these artistic outlets have set me free.
Lady Lazarus.... One of the most touching poem 😔
The Bell Jar changed my life in high school. It was like reading about myself.
this is me now...it's crazy what she could convey and continues to even decades later
“i am a victim of introspection.” i did a 11 page paper on her recently and it’s my favourite i’ve ever done, such an incredible poet
It's a courageous thing to open up about your mental state through poems
Bell Jar is truly a masterpiece, the feeling of despair and being trapped are acutely felt while reading it.
"The air of the bell jar wadded round me and I couldn't stir "
“I am, I am, I am” The Bell Jar is one of my favourites and re-read it often, she was a genius.
She kept me alive.
So her work is like her therapy. And her work helps many people even years after her death
It sure helps me. I have been dealing with depression ever since I was bullied by a teacher and recently saw her work, though I wished I had discovered her earlier. Her poems and the book she wrote resonated with me. It's as if someone knows exactly what I'm feeling and put it into words perfectly.
So in love with her compelling language and her ideas that can make one see through mundane things in a totally different dimension
I have read her poem 'Mirror'.... Indians might be knowing what I am talking about😊
Yup I read it in my 10th grade...and loved it
2 years ago they cut that from syllabus and now the books have been changed
Oh yeah lmao used to be part of cbse syllabus
I had Tulips by her in 12th. ISC.
@@vanshikayadav5688 That's sad. If you have time, read this poem though.
I've only watched the first three minutes of this video, I just wrote a whole poem in less than five minutes, the inspiration I needed, thank you Sylvia.
I’ve never connected to poet like I have Sylvia Plath, she feels like an old friend and mentor. As I struggle with mental health on and off, I try to push through as a sort of honor for her.
this is so beautifully put
Do why you should read Norwegian Wood / Haruki Murakami next please ! I love this series so much :D
He's a genius honestly
All his books are masterpieces
Yeees this is my favourite book ☺
Oh, finally! I found one comment suggesting the awesome Murakami! 💓
Murakami in general. Norwegian Wood is great but he wrote many great novels.
I have “how we need another soul to cling to” tattooed on my ankle. She’s one of my favorite poets!
The way Plath describes her thoughts through the art of literature really speaks from the inside of me.
I have adored her work since I was a child. I have a quote and several tattoos inspired by her writings, decor inspired by her. I own so many different editions of her writings. I also have multiple framed quotes form her poetry hanging up on the wall in bedroom near my bed to inspire me and remind me I have never been alone or worthless and others have felt like I do. ❤
doing plath for my a’levels, and I’m really enjoying it sm
She is one of my fav writer.Her words resonate with your heartbeat.I first read one of her quote on Pinterest obviously during my dark days and thought I wanna know about the writer. I was shocked to know how she died ,It was one of the worst ways of dying while reading it all I was teary eyed.
Love you TED-Ed
Edit: Your videos are so inspiring thanks for the heart
i'm a senior in high school and have decided to write my english final on plath's works she is such an astounding author i can't wait to unpack her writing
The narrator is amazing, her voice complements and honour the author's memory wonderfully
Thank you Ms Gillespie, for the excellent summary and advocacy of this great of 20th century literature, but also for the words of encouragement and inspiration. Your own voice is revealed as also highly literate and fiercely intelligent.
Sylvia Plath is one of my most favourite poets and authors. I would always remember her chilling poems.
The Bell Jar is a strange read to me. On one hand Iove most of it, the way she describes with imagery and her thoughts on paper, but on the other, the character is so cynical and cold that I feel less sympathy for her. (I guess that's depression + her personality...)
Absolutely true, and I noticed strong connotations of racial discrimination and a profound obsession with conventional beauty too.
Yes, writing of that time.
The Bell Jar was good in many ways. But after a point it gets lost in a " First World problems" cliche. I get it ..Esther was young and it was set in the 50s but I was expecting more from the author . There are times when Esther comes off as spoilt and indifferent and that made the book unrelatable to me.
Ion know that what’s makes it so relatable. Esther isn’t perfect, and she is unlikeable at time like everyone else on the world. No one is a beacon of perfection, nor should we be. Esther’s personality took on more darker tones as we read about it’s darker themes. Standing at the crossroads is uncertain and smugness and an unlikeable attitude are inevitable.
she is human. she is not perfect embodiment of a person. like many of us she too had some faults
Thank you for this beautiful illustration on one of my favorite poets and writers of all time.
The Belle jar was by far my favorite book to read and annotate. As someone who also struggles with bipolar disorder, it's the only book I've read that gives me a deep connection to the main character. I find solace in knowing I'm not alone with my struggles through Plath's work. She will always carry a special place in my heart
THANKS FOR RELEASING THIS
The animation of this video would have made even Plath proud.
Good job.
This video gets recommended to me about once a month. I come back every time.
I loved “The Bell Jar”!!! And the animations are AMAZING. As always. Thanks, TED-Ed!
I was fascinated by Sylvia Plath. I was born in an orphanage and abused as a child and I found it strange that I could relate to someone who was as depressed as she was. I remember reading 'Poppies in July' as a teenager and felt like it was her only voice in the room
Thanks for featuring Sylvia Plath, one of my favorite female authors of all time alongside Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, etc.
Also, please do Robert Frost, Albert Camus, Marcel Proust, e.e. cummings, and Kazuo Ishiguro.
yess Camus!
Thank you, this animation and the way you told the narrative was beautiful.
I've been waiting all my life to see this video.
I’m reading The Bell Jar for the 3rd time now and I love it more each time I read it 💚
Ted ed really helps me with extra knowledge
Trueeee
whoever makes these animations is amazing
The story and narrator are perfect. How beautiful pronunciation and English this is. You read all story such as a poem.
30 freakin years old beyond a loss of great talent, it's heartbreaking. She will always be one of the most impressive wordsmiths who should still be with us.
Sylvia Plath is really awesome! 😍
😂😂
Sylvia plath looks Hot, Though.
@@azrafrahman8456 YOU COULD SAY SHE SMOKIN HOT.
to express what often remains inexpressible
i am so happy you made this. Thank you TED-Ed
Read "Ariel" in class, the whole poem, in 1973. Had it by heart and they loved it. One of my happiest memories of college.
Just finished reading The Bell Jar, which I've had for many years but just never felt like reading it. Well, it beckoned to me and I have fallen in love with Plath's writing style. Next, I will explore her poetry. I just wish she had written more books. Such a sad loss.
I am mesmerized by Sylvia Plaths' creative and meaningful words.
“Their smiles catch onto my skin,
little smiling hooks”
Amazing. Chilling
Plath is in my reading list. But I've been putting it off because her works are so so complex. She really was a genius. I'm going to take an online class on poetry and then go to Plath. I really like this video. Not only does this make me want to read Plath sooner, it is even more to my taste because it mentions her relationship with Ted Hughes to the minimal. And even then it doesn't pronounce the name. Thank you TED Ed.
Can you guys please make a video on polyphasic sleep cycle and also the effects of implementing it on? Also just wanted to say that I love every one of your videos, the work behind your videos is just amazing. Keep up the good work :)
I used to read the bell jar once a year. It was the first time I had a description for depression when no one really spoke about it. She did create beauty from her darkness.
The artwork used in these Ted Ed videos amazes and delights the eye. 😍🙌
I always wanted to read her poems and after this video I am definitely!!!
Thanks a lot Ted ed!!! 😊😊😊😊
Did you live through the readings? or are you depressed too?
I currently study her for my A Level- English Literature and her fixation with death in Ariel- the collection is very intriguing to explore
So beautifully done! Kudos to the illustrator
She was brilliant and very observant . She knew how take her feelings and show them by comparison to everyday objects and nature , which provoke strong emotions in her readers .
I took deep breath N listen to the old brag of my heart ..
I am; i am; I am ~ Sylvia plath ❤️
Need to read her works ASAP. Also, very cool animation!
I'm so glad that you recommend me this very masterpiece, thank you Ted Ed
P.S the animation is mesmerizing
The Bell Jar is a masterpiece, definitely one of the most powerful I have ever read, thank you, Sylvia 🙂
This the the only recommendation I need to read books. Thanks Ted-ed you're amazing people.
Can you also make a video on why you should read The Little Prince ( Le Petit Prince) by Saint Exūpery? It's one of my favorite novels and I want to see how you guys take approach it😁😁😁😁
CAN'T SIMPLY RESIST CLICKING ON A NEW TED ED VIDEO NOTIFICATION..
....AND ESPECIALLY ON A FASCINATING TOPIC
This video popped up in my recommended a day after I bought "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath. I've previously bought and read her selected poems, loved it, now this video makes me even more excited about reading The Bell Jar.
Wonderfully explained. I have deep interest on those unconventional poets and their creations. Thanks for such an wonderful video.
Her "Bell Jar " was very difficult for me to go through. I could relate so much that I was scared, I didn't dare finish it cause I knew it was her biography and how it would end. I am at exact age and exactly at the same place in career as she was while she wrote it. During the second attempt, just when the passage regarding her suicidal thoughts came up, I accidentally spilled hot tea all over my laptop and it was damaged. Hopefully I'll finish it in third attempt.
I’ve had “the bell jar” sitting on my bookshelf for more than 5 years, unread... going to start today.
It inspires ones to keep pushing on when things get bad! She gave people the desire to live when all else tells you to give up!!!
My poems improved leaps and bounds, as the style of Sylvia took me around. Will always look up to her.
Why you should wacth Ted-Ed?
Me:
The amazing part of the bell jar is even to this day it's so relatable ...every feeling , every pain even the social events ....
every event is just like she wrote the story for me ...
it's like I'm ester inside the bell jar
And I also know there are people who feels the same way
A hauntingly beautiful book 🖤
This is one of the best channels on youtube!
Bell Jar was on my bucket list, thanks fot this illustration, it has moved me to read it...