THE WOUND AND THE BOW EFFECT IN SELECTED POEMS OF SYLVIA PLATH: A PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDY
Abstract
The present article aims at examining a number of Sylvia Plath’s poems in the light of Edmund Wilson’s theory “The Wound and the Bow”. According to Wilson, the literary text that the reader reads and enjoys is the product of a painful process that the artist goes through to purify his\ her soul of guilt and pain. In presenting his thoughts, Wilson depends on Freud’s theory of dreams in which Freud asserts that dreams are loaded with symbols driven from personal traumas. Likewise, according to Wilson, poetry is loaded with symbols inspired by the artist’s personal suffering. Thus, Wilson’s theory could be easily applied to Plath’s poetry that is a direct production of her childhood trauma and adulthood suffering.
Keywords
References
- Bloom, Harold. Sylvia Plath. Infobase Publishing. 2007.
- Freud, Sigmund . “Formulation Regarding the Two Principles of Mental Functioning”. In Collected Papers. IV, 19. 1954.
- Hyman, Stanley Edgar . “ Edmund Wilson and Translation in Criticism”. In The Armed Vision. NY: Alfred A. Knopf. 1948.
- Plath, Sylvia “Full Fathom Five” and “Stings”. http://hellopoetry.com\\sylvia-plath\. 2017.Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. New York: Routledge. 2006.
- Wagner, Linda and Anne Stevenson . "Two Views of Plath's Life and Career". http:// www.google.com.Retrieved. 2017.
- Wilson, Edmund . “ Philoctetes: The Wound and the Bow”. In The Wound and the Bow. NY: Oxford University Press. 1947.
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
-
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Tavga Saeed
*
Türkiye
Publication Date
September 30, 2019
Submission Date
April 7, 2019
Acceptance Date
September 30, 2019
Published in Issue
Year 2019 Volume: 3 Number: 9