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’ve a call.
-Sylvia Plath
“Lady Lazarus”

 Not only are they all artists of their own kind, not only are they extremely well-known in the art and literature world, not only are they all women… they all attempted and succeeded in ending their own lives. 

Sylvia Plath was only thirty when she suffocated herself in her kitchen gas oven.  Image Credit

Virginia Woolf was fifty-nine when she drowned herself in a local river.  Image Credit

Sarah Kane hung herself in her hospital room bathroom at the age of twenty-eight.  Image Credit

Anne Sexton killed herself by carbon monoxide poisoning at the age of forty-five. Image Credit

Iris Chang was thirty-six when she shot herself in the mouth with a revolver.Image Credit

It is not uncommon to think that poets, novelists, painters, artists, authors and any other source of contribution to the art and literature genre have psychological illnesses.  In fact, with the three mentioned above, it is true that they were tortured by depression, bipolar disorder and/or schizophrenia.  So does the life of a creative artist bring about hardship, confusion, illness, and eventual mental breakdowns?

Some studies have actually backed up this theory, suggesting that writers, artists and such are more likely to have a mental illness.  Also, people with certain mental illnesses, such as depression and other mood disorders, may appear to be more creative in certain aspects. On the other hand, some researchers have found that creative individuals are more susceptible to have mental illnesses.  The typical chicken and egg theory comes to mind: Which came first: the creativity or the mental illness?

James Kaufman came up with the theory of the Sylvia Plath effect in 2001. He conducted a study that showed creative writers, in particular female poets, are much more susceptible to mental illnesses than any other career.  

This does not necessarily say that there are more individuals with mental illnesses in the creative writing profession than any other profession.  In fact, this is probably not even remotely true.  Kaufman was saying that these female poets have a higher risk of developing a mental disorder.  Reasons for this may be due to the conflict between reality and the fiction world they have been a part of for so long.  Another reason may be the inability to connect personal feelings and emotions with the work itself.  Also, Kaufman makes an assumption that poets are more likely to deal with these illnesses because poetry often lacks a writers’ narrative.  Finally, another possible explanation is the high rejection rate that poets and writers go through on a daily basis with their work. 

It is possible that some artists, poets, novelists, and other creative writers discover their creativity through the mental illnesses that encompass them.  Perhaps they are drawn to this occupation through their psychological disorder.  Or maybe they had this creativity to begin with; maybe the occupation led them to their own demise, despair, and tragic ending.  Whatever the cause, whatever the reason, this issue must be acknowledged and further researched.

A very interesting article was written at ScaryPlace which dealt with the works of poets who committed suicide.  By using a computer program, researchers were able to analyze 291 poems, 156 which were written by nine poets who committed suicide and 135 which were written by nine poets who did not.  Researchers determined that the 156 poems gradually indicated the poets’ seclusion and withdrawal from other people as well as an obsession with themselves.  

According to the authors at ScaryPlace, those who committed suicide were much more prone to using pronouns such as “I”, “me”, and “my”, indicating that obsession with themselves.  

Also, before their impending suicide, the poets used less words of communication through their works, like “talk”, “share”, and “listen” as the non-suicidal poets increased their use of these words.