A part of an author's life that heavily influenced their writing - Essay Example

and Number Sylvia Plath Aspiring are often told to “write what they know.” The reason that this advice is repeated over and over again is because when a writer writes about what they are already familiar with, they bring a sense of realism to the piece that they otherwise might not have been able to do. Just as this is true of novice writers, so too, is it true for the writers who have achieved worldwide acclaim and notoriety. Often times, some of these famous writers have produced their best works from being influenced by their own experiences within their lives.

Sylvia Plath is one such example of an author whose writing was particularly influenced by her own life, especially her struggles with mental illness. Sylvia Plath was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1932(“Sylvia Plath Biography,” 2011). Her early life was marred with tragedy when, at just eight years old, her father died(“Sylvia Plath Biography,” 2011). Plath’s experience with her father’s death influenced many of the poems that she wrote as both a child and an adult. It was due to this realism that she incorporated into her written works that an eight year old Plath received a measure of success when she had her first poem published in The Boston Herald(“Sylvia Plath Biography,” 2011).

Her poems and stories are said to be primarily autobiographical which illustrates that Plath lived by the motto of writing what she knew. Perhaps the best example of Sylvia Plath’s writing being influenced by her own life can be found in her most famous work The Bell Jar. This novella is about a severely depressed woman who seeks help from a psychiatric hospital. The main character ends up being able to conquer her mental illness by the end of book and appears to go on to live a happy life(“Plath, Sylvia : The Bell Jar”).

The book is said to be largely autobiographical and many of the experiences that the main character has in the book are similar to those experienced by Plath who attempted suicide in 1953 and received treatment at a hospital in Massachusetts(“Plath, Sylvia : The Bell Jar”). The main character deals with common treatments of the time such as electroshock therapy and psychoanalytic therapy which mirrors Plath’s ordeal at the hospital(“Plath, Sylvia : The Bell Jar”). Plath dealt with chronic mental illness, and it was her own life experiences that influenced this particular book as well as her poetry.

The happiness that the main character in The Bell Jar displays at the end is likely wishful thinking on Plath’s part as she successfully committed suicide in 1963, not long after the book’s publication(“Plath, Sylvia : The Bell Jar”). Pain is a common life experience that authors draw from in order to construct their poems, stories, and other creative works. One reason for this is, of course, that writing what they know allows them to make their words come to life. However, authors also do this in order to connect with their readers.

People often have similar experiences and when a writer writes about them and a reader reads about them, the writer and reader are sharing something much more profound. By drawing on her personal struggles with mental illness, Plath provided herself both an outlet for her pain as well as a touchstone for others who were struggling with similar issues. It is because of the fact that Plath drew from her personal life and struggles so much that she if often regarded as one of the more truthful and darker authors of contemporary literature.

ReferencesSchaffer, Amanda. "Plath, Sylvia : The Bell Jar." Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database . 17 Feb. 1997. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. ."Sylvia Plath Biography ." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. .