(October 27th, 1932 — February 11th, 1963)

Sylvia Plath was an American poet and author. She is best known for her poetry collections Ariel and The Colossus and Other Poems, as well as her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar.

Plath was born in Boston, and she began writing at a very young age. Her first poem was published at only eight years old. She was a very intelligent child and very driven to succeed. She had her first national publication just after graduating high school.

She went to college for a Bachelor of Arts degree. During this time, she worked as an editor and continued to write. By this time, it was also clear that Plath was clinically depressed. She underwent ECT therapy directly before her first suicide attempt. After her suicide attempt, she was subjected to more Electroconvulsive therapy and insulin shock treatment at a psychiatric facility.

For her master’s degree, Plath went to Cambridge University, where she met Ted Hughes. She and Hughes married in 1956, but the marriage quickly became troubled. Plath and Hughes both continued to write, travelling throughout the US and working in Boston for sometime before moving back to England. They had two children together and a miscarriage — after which, Plath admitted that Hughes had beat her a few days before miscarrying.

After discovering her husband’s infidelity, Plath left him and moved to London with her children. She very quickly wrote, edited, and sold The Bell Jar, but she was slowly becoming more depressed. A month after The Bell Jar was published, she committed suicide.