Sylvia Plath and the depression continuum

Cooper, Brian

doi:10.1258/jrsm.96.6.296

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In this study, Cooper has discussed the concept of depression from the point of view of general practitioners like John Horder who indicated that her mood had deepened into a severe depression marked by constant agitation, suicidal thoughts and inability to cope with everyday life. According to Cooper (2003), Plath had tried to commit suicide many times, mainly when she was at the age of twenty which was associated with overwork and failure to get into a Harvard writing class and finally succeeded at the age of thirty which was associated with the failure in her relation with her husband Ted Hughes. This study focused on the reasons behind such depression from the family life, her failure in some scholarly events and her shocking of the infidelity of her husband Ted Hughes after a love relation with Asia Wevill.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Depression in Sylvia Plath and Abu Alqasem Al Shabbi's Selected Poems: A Comparative Study

Abdu Nagi

2023

hesj

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Depression is a universal phenomenon that can haunt men as well as women regardless of any social, cultural or literary background. Sylvia Plath and Abu Alqasem Al Shabbi are two poets whose poetry reflects the prevailing concept of depression due to some inner as well as outer causes. This study is significant since it investigates depression of two poets from different cultures despite the short span of their lives. It presents Al Shabbi as a paralleling poetic figure to Plath. The present study aims at investigating these causes of depression and to figure out similarities and differences between Plath and Al Shabbi's depression in the selected poems 'Daddy, Lady Lazarus, Tears and The Nameless Depression'. The presents study has used the descriptive, analytical and comparative approach. In spite of the fact that Plath and Al Shabbi did not live at the same time and culture, depression is the uniting factor between them. This study concludes that depression in the case of Plath is due to the patriarchy of men over women in America whether a father, a husband or any male-figure whereas depression in the case of Al Shabbi is due the patriarchy of the same literary gender in Tunisia.

show abstract

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Depression in Sylvia Plath and Abu Alqasem Al Shabbi's Selected Poems: A Comparative Study

Abdu Nagi

2023

hesj

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Additionally, it is well-documented that Plath suffered from depression for most of her life (e.g. Brian, 2001;Cooper, 2003) and tried to commit suicide at least twice. She writes about these experiences in her diaries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motion and conflicted self metaphors in Sylvia Plath’s ‘Smith Journal’

Demjén

2011

MSW

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper considers how mental states can be conveyed by metaphorical expressions in texts of a personal nature. Figurative language is understood to play an important role in the expression of such complex nuanced phenomena (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999; Kövecses, 2000; Gibbs, Leggit & Turner, 2002). This study focuses on two main groups of metaphors, linked to mental states, in the Smith Journal of “The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath”. ‘Mental state’ here refers to various aspects of cognitive functioning, but with a focus on mental states of affect — mental states that are intrinsically valenced (Ortony & Turner, 1990). Specifically, this paper focuses on metaphors of MOTION and SPLIT SELF. Both manual intensive analyses and automated corpus methodologies are employed in the investigation: Wmatrix (Rayson, 2009) is used to explore relevant expressions, in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of metaphor groups. Relevant expressions are identified by an in-depth manual analysis of sample journal entries. The MIP procedure (Pragglejaz, 2007) is used for metaphor identification, and interpretations draw on research in psychology. Metaphors of mental states are analyzed in terms of their implications for conveying various aspects of mental states, such as valence and intensity.

show abstract

“…At times, the study of "genius" and "madness," or "creativity" and "mental illness," converge in the same person. Popular examples of such convergence are in the lifestories of John Nash, the mathematician and Nobel Laureate who suffered from Schizophrenia (Nasar, 1998), Sylvia Plath, the renowned poet who suffered from major depression and who committed suicide (Cooper, 2003), and the 19th century international chess phenomenon, Paul Morphy, who may have succumbed to delusional disorder (Ponterotto, 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The “Genius” and “Madness” of Bobby Fischer: His Life from Three Psychobiographical Lenses

Ponterotto

Reynolds

2013

Review of General Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Robert (Bobby) James Fischer (1943–2008) remains one of the most puzzling and enigmatic personalities in modern American history. In 1972, at the height of Cold War tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States, Bobby Fischer defeated Soviet Boris Spassky to become the first official world chess champion from the United States. Two decades later, after playing a rematch with Spassky in war-torn Yugoslavia, Fischer became a fugitive from U.S. justice. Although always an independent, autonomous, and forthright person, Fischer's behavior after the 1972 championship grew increasingly strange and bizarre. “Who was Bobby Fischer and what happened to him” is a lingering question that has not been adequately answered by psychologists, historians, and biographers. The present article examines the life of Bobby Fischer from three diverse psychobiographical lenses: Erikson's (Erikson, E. H. [1950]. Childhood and society. New York, NY: Norton) psychosocial development model; the clinical diagnostic model of the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP; Shedler, J. [2009]. Guide to SWAP-200 Interpretation. Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure: Where Science Meets Practice. www.SWAPassessment.org ); and a strengths-based positive psychology model (Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. [2004]. Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.). Suggestions for advancing the science of psychobiography are put forth with particular emphasis on incorporating mixed methods approaches to research.

show abstract

Sylvia Plath and the depression continuum

Cited by 7 publications

References 18 publications

Depression in Sylvia Plath and Abu Alqasem Al Shabbi's Selected Poems: A Comparative Study

Depression in Sylvia Plath and Abu Alqasem Al Shabbi's Selected Poems: A Comparative Study

Motion and conflicted self metaphors in Sylvia Plath’s ‘Smith Journal’

The “Genius” and “Madness” of Bobby Fischer: His Life from Three Psychobiographical Lenses

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About