Test Your Knowledge of Sylvia Plath

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. Sylvia Plath wrote only one novel which was published, 'The Bell Jar'. It was published under an assumed name. This name was: Victoria Lucas Anne Sexton Esther Greenwood Aurelia Schober

2. True or False: 'The Bell Jar' is entirely fiction. True False

3. Hospitalized at age 20 for an attempted suicide, Plath stayed at which hospital? Massachusetts General McLean St. George Saint Botolph's

4. In the fall of 1950 Plath began college, which college did she attend? Harvard Wellesley Cambridge Smith

5. Plath and Hughes had two children, what were their names? Frieda and Nicholas Ted and Sylvia Otto and Aurelia Sylvia and Warren

6. In 1953 Plath won a Guest Editorship at Mademoiselle magazine for a short story she wrote. What was the name of that story? Sunday at the Minton's And Summer Will Not Come Again Youth's Appeal for World Peace Bitter Strawberries

7. Plath wrote a poem about an animal entitled 'Ariel', what type of animal was this poem about? lion bird dog horse

8. To my knowledge,Plath published only one children's book, what was the name of this book? The Bull of Bendylaw Tinker Jack and the Tidy Wives The Bed Book Ella Mason and her Eleven Cats

9. 'The Collected Poems of Sylvia Plath' won a prize in 1981 (18 years after her death). Which prize was this? Answer: (One Word)

10. For many years after her suicide, a vast majority of people believed a specific person was responsible for driving Plath to it, who was this person? Olwyn Hughes Aurelia Plath Ted Hughes Otto Plath

11. Plath wrote a peom titled 'Metaphor' - what is the metaphor this poem is alluding to? a year animals the sea pregnancy

12. What is the date of Plath's birth? October 27, 1932 June 16, 1932 February 11, 1932 ******************************

13. Which of the two children born to Plath and Hughes is now a poet and painter? Answer: (Frieda or Nicholas)

14. True or False: Plath's death could have been avoided? (Just referring to the facts of her death, not her underlying mental condition) True False

15. 'Letters Home' is a published collection of letters between Plath and another person. Who is this person? Ted Hughes Otto Plath Warren Plath Aurelia Plath

16. What is the date of Sylvia Plath's death? October 27, 1963 ******************************** June 16, 1963 February 11, 1963

17. Two editions of Sylvia Plath's journals have been published - which one was highly edited by Ted Hughes (abridged or unabridged)? Answer: (abridged or unabridged)

18. At which college, in March 1957, was Plath offered a teaching position? Wellesley Oxford Smith Cambridge

19. Which well known poem of Plath's was written after her stay in St. Pancras hospital due to a miscarriage and an appendectomy (in 1960)? Tulips Insomniac I Am Vertical Barren Woman

20. One of Plath's published poems was accomplished through a writing assignment given to her by Hughes. Which poem was this? Monologue at 3a.m. Love Letter The Moon and the Yew Tree Conversation Among the ruins

21. How old was Sylvia when her father died of diabetes mellitus? 12 10 8 6

22. In which poem does Plath use a panther to describe Hughes? Ode for Ted Love Letter The Glutton Pursuit

23. Which of Plath's collections of poetry was published 2 years after her death? Ariel Crossing The Water The Colossus Winter Trees

24. Which Indiana Library holds the Plath Estate? Lilly Purdue Indiana University Ball State

25. In what area of Massachusetts was Plath's first home? Wellesley Haverford Boston Jamaica Plain