Ariel: The Restored Edition (15 page)
Read Ariel: The Restored Edition Online
Authors: Sylvia Plath
By David Semanki
,
Ariel and other poems
The printed poems follow the order of Sylvia Plath’s manuscript
Ariel
and other poems
. The definitive edition of each poem derives from Sylvia Plath’s manuscript. All of the poems in the manuscript are present in
The Collected Poems
, edited by Ted Hughes.
Sylvia Plath in the manuscript uses three dots under punctuation that she wants to restore. All the dashes within the poems of this edition are now one standard length unlike in
The Collected Poems
. All the underlined words that appear in the manuscript have been changed to italics. Some poems contained within this volume differ from the version published in
The Collected Poems
. The poems, as previously published, may contain punctuation and spelling not dictated by the manuscript. We have here printed the poems in accordance with Sylvia Plath’s manuscript.
Here follows a complete listing of Sylvia Plath’s punctuation and word choices in contrast to the version printed in
The
Collected Poems
, arranged thus: restored edition]
Collected Poems
Morning Song
4
statue] statue.
8
distils] distills
The Couriers
10
Alps,] Alps.
12
grey] gray
Thalidomide 5
appal] appall
The Applicant 1
person] a person
A Secret 17
secret!] secret …
26
head!] head –
27
drawer.] drawer!
33
Do] ‘Do
40
stampede –] stampede!
41
twirling,] twirling gutterals.] gutturals!
The Jailor
title
: Jailor] Jailer
28
subversion] subversion,
45
me.] me!
Cut
dedication
: for] For
Elm
dedication
: for] For
the dedication has been placed in parentheses
The Night Dances
an extra line-space reintroduced between stanzas 7 and 8,
dividing the poem into equal halves of 14 lines each
The Detective 15
No-one] No one
Death & Co 1
Two. Of] Two, of
Lesbos 10
a schizophrenic] schizophrenic
11
panic.] panic,
26
you,] you.
27
Mama] mama
39
t.b.] T.B.
41
Hollywood] in Hollywood
52
jewel.] jewel! valuable.] valuable!
63
They] He
The Other
an extra line-space reintroduced between stanzas 8 and 9, dividing the
poem into equal halves of 16 lines each
Poppies in October
the dedication
for Helder and Suzette Macedo
has
been restored
12
cornflowers!] cornflowers.
The Courage of Shutting-Up 3, 5, 16
discs] disks
5
heard,] heard –
20
going.] going!
21
by] by,
25
time!] time.
Nick and the Candlestick 2
stalacmites] stalactites
Berck-Plage 2
inflammation!] inflammation.
32
throat!] throat …
64
whitely,] whitely
73
grey] gray
91
unnatural] natural
Getting There 4
appal] appall
56
an
is placed between parentheses in Plaths’s
typescript
Medusa 13
you,] you
26
Paralyzing] Paralysing
31
X ray] X-ray
Purdah 8
valuable.] valuable!
19
arrives,] arrives
20
mirrors.] mirrors!
25
curtain.] curtain
35
macaws.] macaws!
45
plies] flies
46
crystals,] crystals
The Moon and the Yew Tree 5
Fumey] Fumy
A Birthday Present
14
all,] all
39
cotton –] cotton.
50
cold,] cold
Letter in November
14
Wellingtons] wellingtons
28
grey] gray
Amnesiac 1
Recognize.] Recognize!
4
wife] wife –
6
cocker.] cooker!
15
barren.] barren!
18
rears,] rears
19
tail.] tail!
Daddy 9
grey] gray
27
a period replaces a comma after the final ich
38
gypsy] gipsy
43
moustache] mustache
45
o You] O You
60
do] do.
Fever 103° 52
Nor] Not
The Bee Meeting 15
beanfield,] beanfield.
39
cow parsley] cow-parsley
The Arrival of the Bee Box 17
appals] appalls
Stings 9
it.] it,
12
grey] gray
Wintering 16
the ‘s’ has been accidentally dropped from Chinese in Plaths’s typescript;
the correct spelling has always been used in the published poem
, Facsimile of the manuscript for
Ariel and other poems
Sylvia Plath’s manuscript
Ariel and other poems
consists of sheets of 8½×11 inches cream-coloured typing paper. She used a black typewriter ribbon.
Sylvia Plath’s name and Devon address appear in the upper right-hand corner on the original and carbon copy sheets of the two discarded title pages of the manuscript in the Smith College archive. On both sheets, Plath has used black pen. The original discarded title page reads ‘Daddy’. ‘A Birthday Present’, ‘The Rabbit Catcher’, and ‘The Rival’ are deleted. On the discarded carbon copy title page of ‘Daddy,’ ‘A Birthday Present’ and ‘The Rival’ are deleted.
Plath created two identical dedication pages, again using carbon copy paper. Only the original is reproduced here.
She also created two identical contents pages by use of carbon copy paper. On the original contents page, all of Plath’s marks are in black ink, except for the mark in red over the ‘h’ of ‘Death & Co.’; the other mark in red is in the lower right hand of the page. On the carbon copy contents page, she underlined in red the titles of poems that were accepted for publication and typed or wrote the place of publication next to each title. All handwritten annotations are in black ink except for the word ‘Poetry’ opposite ‘Purdah’ and ‘Fever 103°’, which is written in red. It is possible that some of the annotations were made as late as January 25, 1963, when the
London Magazine
accepted a number of Plath’s poems for its April 1963 issue.
, Facsimile drafts of the poem ‘Ariel’
On all the original working drafts of ‘Ariel’ where Sylvia Plath has typed her name in the upper right-hand corner, she has also included her Devon address. The original typeset proof of ‘Ariel’ from the
Observer
contains Sylvia Plath’s Devon address in two places under her name.
The Swarm 5
What] Who
9
marshalling] marshaling
10
Shh,] Shh!
11
Shh.] Shh!
16
Clouds! Clouds!] Clouds, clouds.
23
pack dog] pack-dog
26
high.] high!
27
Germany.] Germany!
33
grey] gray
37
Pom, pom.] Pom! Pom!
39
chariots] charioteers Army.] Army!
40
Napoleon. Napoleon!
43
sea.] sea!
51
grey] gray
55
Pom, pom!] Pom! Pom!
58
black,] black
60
Europe.] Europe! honey.] honey!
Ariel
[A] Faber & Faber, London, 1965; Harper & Row, NY, 1966
Crossing the Water
[CW] Faber & Faber, London, 1971; Harper & Row, NY, 1971
Winter Trees
[WT] Faber & Faber, London, 1971; Harper & Row, NY, 1972
The Collected Poems
[CP] Faber & Faber, London, 1981; Harper & Row, NY, 1981
The following are the dates of composition for Sylvia Plath’s poems in
Ariel and other poems
as established in
The Collected Poems
and on the manuscripts at Smith College. The bracketed abbreviations indicate the Sylvia Plath volume in which the poem first appeared.
‘Morning Song’ (19 February 1961) [A]
‘The Couriers’ (4 November 1962) [A]
‘The Rabbit Catcher’ (21 May 1962) [WT]
‘Thalidomide’ (4–8 November 1962) [WT]
‘The Applicant’ (11 October 1962) [A]
‘Barren Woman’ (21 February 1961) [CP]
‘Lady Lazarus’ (23–29 October 1962) [A]
‘Tulips’ (18 March 1961) [A]
‘A Secret’ (10 October 1962) [CP]
‘The Jailor’ (17 October 1962) [CP]
‘Cut’ (24 October 1962) [A]
‘Elm’ (12–19 April 1962) [A]
‘The Night Dances’ (4–6 November 1962) [A]
‘The Detective’ (1 October 1962) [WT]
‘Ariel’ (27 October 1962) [A]
‘Death & Co.’ (12–14 November 1962) [A]
‘Magi’ (1960) [CW]
‘Lesbos’ (18 October 1962) [A]
‘The Other’ (2 July 1962) [WT]
‘Stopped Dead’ (19 October 1962) [WT]
‘Poppies in October’ (27 October 1962) [A]
‘The Courage of Shutting-Up’ (2 October 1962) [WT]
‘Nick and the Candlestick’ (24 October 1962) [A]
‘Berck-Plage’ (28–30 June 1962) [A]
‘Gulliver’ (3–6 November 1962) [A]
‘Getting There’ (3–6 November 1962) [A]
‘Medusa’ (28 October 1962) [WT]
‘Purdah’ (28 October 1962) [WT]
‘The Moon and the Yew Tree’ (22 October 1961) [A]
‘A Birthday Present’ (30 September 1962) [A]
‘Letter in November’ (11 November 1962) [A]
‘Amnesiac’ (21 October 1962) [WT]
‘The Rival’ (July 1961) [A]
‘Daddy’ (12 October 1962) [A]
‘You’re’ (January/February 1960) [A]
‘Fever 103°’ (20 October 1962) [A]
‘The Bee Meeting’ (3 October 1962) [A]
‘The Arrival of the Bee Box’ (4 October 1962) [A]
‘Stings’ (6 October 1962) [A]
‘The Swarm’ (7 October 1962) [A]
‘Wintering’ (8–9 October 1962) [A]
The following poems are listed in the order of the contents of the published volume of
Ariel
. Those with dates indicate poems that were not originally part of the manuscript
Ariel and other poems
. These dates refer to the dates of composition as established in
The Collected Poems
and on the manuscripts at Smith College.
‘Morning Song’
‘The Couriers’
‘Sheep in Fog’ (2 December 1962, 28 January 1963)
‘The Applicant’
‘Lady Lazarus’
‘Tulips’
‘Cut’
‘Elm’
‘The Night Dances’
‘Poppies in October’
‘Berck-Plage’
‘Ariel’
‘Death & Co.’
‘Lesbos’ (not included in original U.K. edition, but included in original U.S. edition)
‘Nick and the Candlestick’
‘Gulliver’
‘Getting There’
‘Medusa’
‘The Moon and the Yew Tree’
‘A Birthday Present’
‘Mary’s Song’ (18–19 November 1962) (not included in original U.K. edition, but included in original U.S. edition)
‘Letter in November’
‘The Rival’
‘Daddy’
‘You’re’
‘Fever 103°’
‘The Bee Meeting’
‘The Arrival of the Bee Box’
‘Stings’
‘The Swarm’ (not included in original U.K. edition, but included in original U.S. edition)
‘Wintering’
‘The Hanging Man’ (27 June 1960)
‘Little Fugue’ (2 April 1962)
‘Years’ (16 November 1962)
‘The Munich Mannequins’ (28 January 1963)
‘Totem’ (28 January 1963)
‘Paralytic’ (29 January 1963)
‘Balloons’ (5 February 1963)
‘Poppies in July’ (20 July 1962)
‘Kindness’ (1 February 1963)
‘Contusion’ (4 February 1963)
‘Edge’ (5 February 1963)
‘Words’ (1 February 1963)