PSYCHOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS IN THE WORKS OF WOMEN WRITERS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SYLVIA PLATH AND ANNE SEXTON

This article investigates the psychological dimensions of the literary works of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, two central figures of twentieth-century American confessional poetry. Both writers employ autobiographical material to explore mental illness, identity formation, trauma, and female subjectivity. Using psychoanalytic and feminist literary perspectives, the study examines how psychological suffering is articulated and transformed through poetic language. While Plath’s work demonstrates a highly symbolic and controlled engagement with psychological conflict, Sexton’s poetry emphasizes direct self-disclosure and therapeutic expression. The article argues that, despite shared thematic concerns, Plath and Sexton differ significantly in their aesthetic strategies and psychological positioning, contributing distinctively to the representation of women’s inner lives in modern literature.