Year 12 IB Extended Essays 2017

styles derived from the male-controlled society in which they grew up, adding self-doubt and

unease to their lives. Patriarchal society pressured and repressed overly ambitious women, and

‘encouraged’ them to dissolve back into the stereotypical domestic lifestyle where women were

expected to mould themselves to. Both poets share a similar context as they were both women

living during the 1950’s, so it is no surprise that the hardship they experienced in their family

lives opened a ‘can of worms’, and created macabre opportunity for concepts and ideas to

inspire their writing. Finally, Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath are shaped by similar socio-

cultural contexts, and use similar techniques to bring to life shared thematic concerns.