“Skunk Hour” By Robert Lowell (1956)

Along with Anne Sexton, Robert Lowell was one of the few contemporary poets that Plath studied and read. “Skunk Hour,” one of Lowell’s best-known works, is from his 1959 collection Life Studies. Plath read from this collection regularly while composing the works in Ariel. Both poets rely on juxtapositions and enjambed lines to create fragmented works. Compared to Plath’s “Ariel,” “Skunk Hour” relies more on conventional syntax and sentence construction.

“The Colossus” By Sylvia Plath (1962)

“The Colossus” is the title poem of Plath’s first collection of poetry, 1962’s The Colossus and Other Poems. Indicative of Plath’s earlier work, “The Colossus” is less concentrated than “Ariel,” but it still deals with themes of the fragmented self. The poem begins with the speaker unsuccessfully attempting to reassemble their addressee. “The Colossus” also uses allusion to suggest the murder of Clytemnestra through reference to Aeschylus’s play Oresteia. Both “The Colossus” and “Ariel” show Plath to be writing through classic literary texts.

“The Black Art” By Anne Sexton (1962)

Anne Sexton is perhaps Plath’s closest contemporary in terms of subjects explored. Sexton is famous for her direct Confessional verse. Unlike Plath, who uses juxtaposed images and personas to manifest her ideas and themes, Sexton states her ideas directly.