Open AccessThe Bell Jar_ Shattered: Exploration of creativity through a psychiatric lens
Author(s) -
Romesa Qaiser Khan,
Asnia Latif,
Ali Madeeh Hashmi
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
annals of king edward medical university
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2079-7192
pISSN - 2079-0694
DOI - 10.21649/akemu.v25is.3015
Subject(s) - creativity , genius , melancholia , psychoanalysis , mental illness , depression (economics) , medicine , literature , psychology , psychiatry , mental health , developmental psychology , social psychology , art , cognition , economics , macroeconomics
Aristotle’s theory of melancholia hypothesized for the first time that individuals who possess any form of genius are prone to depression more than the average person. The list of examples supplementing Aristotle’s theory is by no means exhaustive. Extensive medical research has also been done to establish this connection. We will briefly review our understanding of the relationship between creativity and mental illness. We will discuss the insights provided by the life and works of American poet, novelist and short story writer Sylvia Plath. Sylvia Plath extensively chronicled her struggle with lifelong depression in her semi-autobiographical novel 'The Bell Jar'.