Ariel was the last book of poetry published during Sylvia Plaths lifetime.

It has been the cause of much controversy among feminist critics. At the time of Plath's death, she left a nearly completed manuscript entitled Ariel and Other Poems. The version that was published was similar but not identical: some poems were trimmed to reduce what her husband Ted Hughes considered to be redundancy, and additional poems composed in her final weeks were added to the manuscript. Some critics consider this to be an intrusion upon her intent, while other critics note that even at that late date Hughes and Plath frequently helped edit each other's work.

Contents (1965 version)

Poems marked with a * were not in Plath's original manuscript, but were added by Hughes. Most of them date from the last few weeks of Plath's life.

1. Morning Song
2. The Couriers
3. Sheep in Fog *
4. The Applicant
5. Lady Lazarus
6. Tulips
7. Cut
8. Elm
9. The Night Dances
10. Poppies in October
11. Berck-Plage
12. Ariel
13. Death & Co.
14. Lesbos
15. Nick and the Candlestick
16. Gulliver
17. Getting There
18. Medusa
19. The Moon and the Yew Tree *
20. A Birthday Present
21. Mary's Song * (only in US version)
22. Letter in November
23. The Rival
24. Daddy
25. You're
26. Fever 103°
27. The Bee Meeting
28. The Arrival of the Bee Box
29. Stings
30. The Swarm * (only in US version)
31. Wintering
32. The Hanging Man *
33. Little Fugue *
34. Years *
35. The Munich Mannequins *
36. Totem *
37. Paralytic *
38. Balloons *
39. Poppies in July *
40. Kindness *
41. Contusion *
42. Edge *
43. Words *

Left out of original manuscript

1. The Rabbit Catcher
2. Thalidomide
3. Barren Woman
4. A Secret
5. The Jailor
6. The Detective
7. Magi
8. The Other
9. Stopped Dead
10. The Courage of Shutting-Up
11. Purdah
12. Amnesiac

External links

• Slate.com article about publication of restored Ariel
• image of book cover
• collection of articles on the new edition
• Defense of the publication of the new edition by Plath's daughter in the Guardian, November 13, 2004