Deconstructing the Tortured Poet

By: Ella Bolton

"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; 

I lift my lids and all is born again. 

(I think I made you up inside my head.). 

-excerpt from A Mad Girl's Love Song, Sylvia Plath 1953

In 2001, psychologist James C. Kaufman coined the term ‘The Sylvia Plath Effect’ which describes ‘the phenomenon that poets are more susceptible to mental illness than other creative writers.’ The name is in reference to the aforementioned Sylvia Plath, an American author and poet who rose to fame in the 1960’s. Plath is most prominently recognized for her novel The Bell Jar which is praised as a feminist manifesto during the oppressive 1950s American backdrop.

Plath is one of the most prominent names that comes to mind when considering the tortured artist persona. She famously suffered with depression her whole life, spurred by the death of her father at the age of eight. Plath’s depression worsened throughout her college years leading to her first suicide attempt on August 24, 1953. Following this attempt, Plath was admitted psychiatric care for six months during which she insured electroconvulsive therapy and insulin shock therapy. Unfortunately in 1963, Plath was successful in her final suicide attempt, dying at the age of 30.

Plath is just one example of the plethora of writers deemed part of the tortured artist club where the most talented artists are doomed by their mental illness and quests for perfection. While the study primarily focused on female poets' likelihood in relation to mental illness, other famous authors such as F. Scott Fitzergerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Virginia Woolf have all been cited as examples of this phenomenon.

F. Scott Fitzgerald suffered from crippling alcoholism, which is said to have been a result of his anxiety and depression. This alcoholism is rumored to have contributed to his fatal heart attack in 1940. Fitzgerald also endured intense anxiety and depression. A close friend to Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway was heavily involved in both World War I and World War II as well as the Spanish Civil War. It’s hypothesized that Hemingway suffered from a not yet diagnosed post traumatic stress disorder. This coupled with his rampant alcoholism paired with a deep depression lead to ultimately his suicide in 1961. Virginia Woolf lost both of her parents at the age of twenty-two, leading her to develop bipolar disorder. This led to Woolf spending 1910, 1912, and 1913 at Burley House, an institution for “women with a nervous disorder.” She too took her life in 1941 at the age of 59.

So why is it poetry is so inherently linked with mental illness? As writers are we all doomed to suffer for our craft in the name of perfection? I think not necessarily.

Hurt calls to hurt. It is easy to sympathize with poetry because we too find ourselves in the vulnerable state in which the piece was created. When a writer lays their work out for the world, written in blood and tears, how can the reader not weep alongside them? We gravitate towards these authors' works in an attempt to feel understood. As cathartic as literature can be, it is important to remember you are not alone in these feelings.

If you or someone you love is struggling with suicidal thoughts; call the National Suicide and Crisis Hotline at 988.