Close reading the poetry of Sylvia Plath

Join us for a short course of close reading the poetry of Sylvia Plath. Led by Mariah Whelan, poet and lecturer.

Wednesdays, 19 and 26 February 2025, 2.00 to 4.00 pm British Time.

I know the bottom, she says. I know it with my great tap root:   
It is what you fear.
I do not fear it: I have been there.

– Sylvia Plath, ‘Elm’, 1965

In a survey carried out in 2018, the Poetry Society asked people: Who is your favourite poet? The winner, by an overwhelming majority, was Sylvia Plath.

Continuing our series of close reading sessions, join Dr Mariah Whelan as we observe, analyse and discuss the techniques that have led to Plath’s enormous and perennial popularity. Together, we will map how Plath mastered fixed forms and experimented with ‘confessional’ voices to write some of the most engaging poems written during the twentieth century.

This is the perfect course for anyone wanting to enhance their skills of analysis in a warm and collegiate atmosphere. No prior experience of close reading is necessary to take part.

Click on image below for booking page.