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99 Timeless Quotes By Sylvia Plath, The Author Of The Bell Jar

Famous As: Famous for Her Books 'The Bell Jar' and 'Ariel'
Born On: October 27, 1932
Died On: February 11, 1963
Born In: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died At Age: 30

Sylvia Plath was one of the dynamically talented and skilled poets of the 20th century who rose to prominence after her death. Plath’s contribution to the literary world has been significant. She attracted the attention of the readers by her verse writing that attempted to catalogue despair, violent emotion and obsession all in a single verse. What made Plath’s writing unique from the rest was the fact that her works were largely autobiographical. They explored her own mental anguish, her troubled marriage to fellow poet Ted Hughes, her unresolved conflicts with her parents, and her own vision of herself. Sylvia Plath suffered from severe depression all her life that led to her suicidal death at 30. Her poetry is basically associated with the Confessional movement, and most of her work is compared to the work of other poets such as Lowell and Anne Sexton. Plath’s works revolve around violent or disturbed imagery, which she tackles with a playful use of alliteration and rhyme. The same can also be seen in her quotes wherein in few words she takes a dig at life’s greatest lessons. Her quotes widely touch varied genres of life and give readers some important thoughts to ponder about. Listed below are some of the most popular quotes by Sylvia Plath. Get inspired by them.

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If you expect nothing from somebody you are never disappointed.

If you expect nothing from somebody you are never disappointed.

Sylvia Plath
And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.

And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.

Sylvia Plath
Kiss me, and you will see how important I am.

Kiss me, and you will see how important I am.

Sylvia Plath
I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am.

I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am.

Sylvia Plath
I have the choice of being constantly active and happy or introspectively passive and sad. Or I can go mad by ricocheting in between.

I have the choice of being constantly active and happy or introspectively passive and sad. Or I can go mad by ricocheting in between.

Sylvia Plath
Perhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously close to wanting nothing.

Perhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously close to wanting nothing.

Sylvia Plath
The silence depressed me. It wasn't the silence of silence. It was my own silence.

The silence depressed me. It wasn't the silence of silence. It was my own silence.

Sylvia Plath
I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought,

I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, "This is what it is to be happy.

Sylvia Plath
Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences

Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences

Sylvia Plath
Remember, remember, this is now, and now, and now. Live it, feel it, cling to it. I want to become acutely aware of all I’ve taken for granted.

Remember, remember, this is now, and now, and now. Live it, feel it, cling to it. I want to become acutely aware of all I’ve taken for granted.

Sylvia Plath
If neurotic is wanting two mutually exclusive things at one and the same time, then I'm neurotic as hell. I'll be flying back and forth between one mutually exclusive thing and another for the rest of my days.

If neurotic is wanting two mutually exclusive things at one and the same time, then I'm neurotic as hell. I'll be flying back and forth between one mutually exclusive thing and another for the rest of my days.

Sylvia Plath
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; 
I lift my eyes and all is born again.

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my eyes and all is born again.

Sylvia Plath
Is there no way out of the mind?

Is there no way out of the mind?

Sylvia Plath
I desire the things that will destroy me in the end.

I desire the things that will destroy me in the end.

Sylvia Plath
I like people too much or not at all. I've got to go down deep, to fall into people, to really know them.

I like people too much or not at all. I've got to go down deep, to fall into people, to really know them.

Sylvia Plath
If the moon smiled, she would resemble you.
You leave the same impression 
Of something beautiful, but annihilating.

If the moon smiled, she would resemble you. You leave the same impression Of something beautiful, but annihilating.

Sylvia Plath
We should meet in another life, we should meet in air, me and you.

We should meet in another life, we should meet in air, me and you.

Sylvia Plath
There is nothing like puking with somebody to make you into old friends.

There is nothing like puking with somebody to make you into old friends.

Sylvia Plath
The trouble was, I had been inadequate all along, I simply hadn't thought about it.

The trouble was, I had been inadequate all along, I simply hadn't thought about it.

Sylvia Plath
I talk to God but the sky is empty.

I talk to God but the sky is empty.

Sylvia Plath
When they asked me what I wanted to be I said I didn’t know.

When they asked me what I wanted to be I said I didn’t know. "Oh, sure you know," the photographer said. "She wants," said Jay Cee wittily, "to be everything.

Sylvia Plath
I must get my soul back from you; I am killing my flesh without it.

I must get my soul back from you; I am killing my flesh without it.

Sylvia Plath
How we need another soul to cling to.

How we need another soul to cling to.

Sylvia Plath
To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is a bad dream.

To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is a bad dream.

Sylvia Plath
I felt very still and empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo.

I felt very still and empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo.

Sylvia Plath
I am still so naïve; I know pretty much what I like and dislike; but please, don’t ask me who I am. A passionate, fragmentary girl, maybe?

I am still so naïve; I know pretty much what I like and dislike; but please, don’t ask me who I am. A passionate, fragmentary girl, maybe?

Sylvia Plath
Dying is an art.
Like everything else,
I do it exceptionally well.
I do it so it feels like hell.
I do it so it feels real.
I guess you could say I have a call.

Dying is an art. Like everything else, I do it exceptionally well. I do it so it feels like hell. I do it so it feels real. I guess you could say I have a call.

Sylvia Plath
I don’t care about anyone, and the feeling is quite obviously mutual.

I don’t care about anyone, and the feeling is quite obviously mutual.

Sylvia Plath
I have never found anybody who could stand to accept the daily demonstrative love I feel in me, and give back as good as I give.

I have never found anybody who could stand to accept the daily demonstrative love I feel in me, and give back as good as I give.

Sylvia Plath
Perhaps some day I'll crawl back home, beaten, defeated. But not as long as I can make stories out of my heartbreak, beauty out of sorrow.

Perhaps some day I'll crawl back home, beaten, defeated. But not as long as I can make stories out of my heartbreak, beauty out of sorrow.

Sylvia Plath
What did my arms do before they held you?

What did my arms do before they held you?

Sylvia Plath
I wonder why I don't go to bed and go to sleep. But then it would be tomorrow, so I decide that no matter how tired, no matter how incoherent I am, I can skip on hour more of sleep and live.

I wonder why I don't go to bed and go to sleep. But then it would be tomorrow, so I decide that no matter how tired, no matter how incoherent I am, I can skip on hour more of sleep and live.

Sylvia Plath
I was supposed to be having the time of my life.

I was supposed to be having the time of my life.

Sylvia Plath
Because wherever I sat—on the deck of a ship or at a street café in Paris or Bangkok—I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air.

Because wherever I sat—on the deck of a ship or at a street café in Paris or Bangkok—I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air.

Sylvia Plath
I want to be important. By being different. And these girls are all the same.

I want to be important. By being different. And these girls are all the same.

Sylvia Plath
So many people are shut up tight inside themselves like boxes, yet they would open up, unfolding quite wonderfully, if only you were interested in them.

So many people are shut up tight inside themselves like boxes, yet they would open up, unfolding quite wonderfully, if only you were interested in them." (Initiation)

Sylvia Plath
I felt wise and cynical as all hell.

I felt wise and cynical as all hell.

Sylvia Plath
The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.

The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.

Sylvia Plath
I couldn’t see the point of getting up. I had nothing to look forward to.

I couldn’t see the point of getting up. I had nothing to look forward to.

Sylvia Plath
I didn't know why I was going to cry, but I knew that if anybody spoke to me or looked at me too closely the tears would fly out of my eyes and the sobs would fly out of the throat and I'd cry for a week.

I didn't know why I was going to cry, but I knew that if anybody spoke to me or looked at me too closely the tears would fly out of my eyes and the sobs would fly out of the throat and I'd cry for a week.

Sylvia Plath
I didn’t want any flowers, I only wanted
to lie with my hands turned up and be utterly empty.
How free it is, you have no idea how free.

I didn’t want any flowers, I only wanted to lie with my hands turned up and be utterly empty. How free it is, you have no idea how free.

Sylvia Plath
There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them.

There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them.

Sylvia Plath
How we need another soul to cling to, another body to keep us warm. To rest and trust; to give your soul in confidence: I need this, I need someone to pour myself into.

How we need another soul to cling to, another body to keep us warm. To rest and trust; to give your soul in confidence: I need this, I need someone to pour myself into.

Sylvia Plath
I write only because
There is a voice within me
That will not be still

I write only because There is a voice within me That will not be still

Sylvia Plath
Out of the ash 
I rise with my red hair
and I eat men like air.

Out of the ash I rise with my red hair and I eat men like air.

Sylvia Plath
And the danger is that in this move toward new horizons and far directions, that I may lose what I have now, and not find anything except loneliness.

And the danger is that in this move toward new horizons and far directions, that I may lose what I have now, and not find anything except loneliness.

Sylvia Plath
Living with him is like being told a perpetual story: his mind is the biggest, most imaginative I have ever met. I could live in its growing countries forever.

Living with him is like being told a perpetual story: his mind is the biggest, most imaginative I have ever met. I could live in its growing countries forever.

Sylvia Plath
Eternity bores me,
I never wanted it.

From the poem

Eternity bores me, I never wanted it. From the poem "Years", 16 November 1962

Sylvia Plath
I lean to you, numb as a fossil. Tell me I'm here.

I lean to you, numb as a fossil. Tell me I'm here.

Sylvia Plath
I think I made you up inside my head.

I think I made you up inside my head.

Sylvia Plath
If they substituted the word 'Lust' for 'Love' in the popular songs it would come nearer the truth.

If they substituted the word 'Lust' for 'Love' in the popular songs it would come nearer the truth.

Sylvia Plath
How frail the human heart must be―a mirrored pool of thought.

How frail the human heart must be―a mirrored pool of thought.

Sylvia Plath
The floor seemed wonderfully solid. It was comforting to know I had fallen and could fall no farther.

The floor seemed wonderfully solid. It was comforting to know I had fallen and could fall no farther.

Sylvia Plath
If I didn't think, I'd be much happier; if I didn't have any sex organs, I wouldn't waver on the brink of nervous emotion and tears all the time.

If I didn't think, I'd be much happier; if I didn't have any sex organs, I wouldn't waver on the brink of nervous emotion and tears all the time.

Sylvia Plath
If you love her

If you love her", I said, "you'll love somebody else someday.

Sylvia Plath
What did my fingers do before they held him?
What did my heart do, with its love?

From

What did my fingers do before they held him? What did my heart do, with its love? From " Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", 1962

Sylvia Plath
So much working, reading, thinking, living to do! A lifetime is not long enough.

So much working, reading, thinking, living to do! A lifetime is not long enough.

Sylvia Plath
Ever since I was small I loved feeling somebody comb my hair. It made me go all sleepy and peaceful.

Ever since I was small I loved feeling somebody comb my hair. It made me go all sleepy and peaceful.

Sylvia Plath
I began to think vodka was my drink at last. It didn’t taste like anything, but it went straight down into my stomach like a sword swallowers’ sword and made me feel powerful and godlike.

I began to think vodka was my drink at last. It didn’t taste like anything, but it went straight down into my stomach like a sword swallowers’ sword and made me feel powerful and godlike.

Sylvia Plath
People or stars
Regard me sadly, I disappoint them.

From the poem

People or stars Regard me sadly, I disappoint them. From the poem "Sheep in Fog", 2 December 1962, 28 January 1963

Sylvia Plath
I thought the most beautiful thing in the world must be shadow.

I thought the most beautiful thing in the world must be shadow.

Sylvia Plath
There I went again, building up a glamorous picture of a man who would love me passionately the minute he met me, and all out of a few prosy nothings.

There I went again, building up a glamorous picture of a man who would love me passionately the minute he met me, and all out of a few prosy nothings.

Sylvia Plath
What horrifies me most is the idea of being useless: well-educated, brilliantly promising, and fading out into an indifferent middle age.

What horrifies me most is the idea of being useless: well-educated, brilliantly promising, and fading out into an indifferent middle age.

Sylvia Plath
I love my rejection slips. They show me I try.

I love my rejection slips. They show me I try.

Sylvia Plath
Is anyone anywhere happy?

Is anyone anywhere happy?

Sylvia Plath
So I began to think maybe it was true that when you were married and had children it was like being brainwashed, and afterward you went about as numb as a slave in a totalitarian state.

So I began to think maybe it was true that when you were married and had children it was like being brainwashed, and afterward you went about as numb as a slave in a totalitarian state.

Sylvia Plath
I am terrified by this dark thing that sleeps in me.

I am terrified by this dark thing that sleeps in me.

Sylvia Plath
How can you be so many women to so many strange people, oh you strange girl?

How can you be so many women to so many strange people, oh you strange girl?

Sylvia Plath
I am too pure for you or anyone.

From the poem

I am too pure for you or anyone. From the poem "Fever 103°", 20 October 1962

Sylvia Plath
What is my life for and what am I going to do with it? I don't know and I'm afraid. I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want.

What is my life for and what am I going to do with it? I don't know and I'm afraid. I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want.

Sylvia Plath
I am sure there are things that can't be cured by a good bath but I can't think of one.

I am sure there are things that can't be cured by a good bath but I can't think of one.

Sylvia Plath
The trouble about jumping was that if you didn't pick the right number of storeys, you might still be alive when you hit bottom.

The trouble about jumping was that if you didn't pick the right number of storeys, you might still be alive when you hit bottom.

Sylvia Plath
I would catch sight of some flawless man off in the distance, but as soon as he moved closer I immediately saw he wouldn’t do at all.

I would catch sight of some flawless man off in the distance, but as soon as he moved closer I immediately saw he wouldn’t do at all.

Sylvia Plath
It seemed silly to wash one day when I would only have to wash again the next.

It made me tired just to think of it.

It seemed silly to wash one day when I would only have to wash again the next. It made me tired just to think of it.

Sylvia Plath
I have taken a pill to kill
The thin
Papery feeling.

I have taken a pill to kill The thin Papery feeling.

Sylvia Plath
Is it the sea you hear in me?
Its dissatisfactions?
Or the voice of nothing, that was your madness?

Love is a shadow. 
How you lie and cry after it.

Is it the sea you hear in me? Its dissatisfactions? Or the voice of nothing, that was your madness? Love is a shadow. How you lie and cry after it.

Sylvia Plath
I know pretty much what I like and dislike; but please, don't ask me who I am.

I know pretty much what I like and dislike; but please, don't ask me who I am.

Sylvia Plath
I felt dumb and subdued. Every time I tried to concentrate, my mind glided off, like a skater, into a large empty space, and pirouetted there, absently.

I felt dumb and subdued. Every time I tried to concentrate, my mind glided off, like a skater, into a large empty space, and pirouetted there, absently.

Sylvia Plath
Here I am, a bundle of past recollections and future dreams, knotted up in a reasonably attractive bundle of flesh. I remember what this flesh has gone through; I dream of what it may go through.

Here I am, a bundle of past recollections and future dreams, knotted up in a reasonably attractive bundle of flesh. I remember what this flesh has gone through; I dream of what it may go through.

Sylvia Plath
It was my first big chance, but here I was, sitting back and letting it run through my fingers like so much water.

It was my first big chance, but here I was, sitting back and letting it run through my fingers like so much water.

Sylvia Plath
Please don’t expect me to always be good and kind and loving. There are times when I will be cold and thoughtless and hard to understand.

Please don’t expect me to always be good and kind and loving. There are times when I will be cold and thoughtless and hard to understand.

Sylvia Plath
Why do we electrocute men for murdering an individual and then pin a purple heart on them for mass slaughter of someone arbitrarily labeled “enemy?

Why do we electrocute men for murdering an individual and then pin a purple heart on them for mass slaughter of someone arbitrarily labeled “enemy?

Sylvia Plath
I have suffered the atrocity of sunsets.

I have suffered the atrocity of sunsets.

Sylvia Plath
At twenty I tried to die
And get back, back, back to you.
I thought even the bones would do.

At twenty I tried to die And get back, back, back to you. I thought even the bones would do.

Sylvia Plath
The thought that I might kill myself formed in my mind coolly as a tree or a flower.

The thought that I might kill myself formed in my mind coolly as a tree or a flower.

Sylvia Plath
The blood of love welled up in my heart with a slow pain.

The blood of love welled up in my heart with a slow pain.

Sylvia Plath
I knew you'd decide to be all right again.

I knew you'd decide to be all right again.

Sylvia Plath
I wanted to be where nobody I knew could ever come.

I wanted to be where nobody I knew could ever come.

Sylvia Plath
Character is fate.

Character is fate.

Sylvia Plath
You are a dream; I hope I never meet you.

You are a dream; I hope I never meet you.

Sylvia Plath
I am jealous of those who think more deeply, who write better, who draw better, who ski better, who look better, who live better, who love better than I.

I am jealous of those who think more deeply, who write better, who draw better, who ski better, who look better, who live better, who love better than I.

Sylvia Plath
I felt myself melting into the shadows like the negative of a person I'd never seen before in my life.

I felt myself melting into the shadows like the negative of a person I'd never seen before in my life.

Sylvia Plath
But I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure at all. How did I know that someday―at college, in Europe, somewhere, anywhere―the bell jar, with its stifling distortions, wouldn't descend again?

But I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure at all. How did I know that someday―at college, in Europe, somewhere, anywhere―the bell jar, with its stifling distortions, wouldn't descend again?

Sylvia Plath
I must learn more about these people―try to understand them, put myself in their place. No, instead I am so busy keeping my head above water that I scarcely know who I am, much less who anyone else is.

I must learn more about these people―try to understand them, put myself in their place. No, instead I am so busy keeping my head above water that I scarcely know who I am, much less who anyone else is.

Sylvia Plath
Whenever I'm sad I'm going to die, or so nervous I can't sleep, or in love with somebody I won't be seeing for a week, I slump down just so far and then I say: 'I'll go take a hot bath.

Whenever I'm sad I'm going to die, or so nervous I can't sleep, or in love with somebody I won't be seeing for a week, I slump down just so far and then I say: 'I'll go take a hot bath.

Sylvia Plath
Wear your heart on your skin in this life.

Wear your heart on your skin in this life.

Sylvia Plath
I must be lean & write & make worlds beside this to live in.

I must be lean & write & make worlds beside this to live in.

Sylvia Plath
I may never be happy, but tonight I am content.

I may never be happy, but tonight I am content.

Sylvia Plath
All I want is blackness. Blackness and silence.

All I want is blackness. Blackness and silence.

Sylvia Plath