Made up of poems that are so original in their style and so startlingly accomplished in their confessional voice that they helped change the direction of contemporary poetry Ariel is a masterpiece. -- New York Observer Sylvia Plath s famous collection as she intended it. When Sylvia Plath died she not only left behind a prolific life but also her unpublished literary masterpiece Ariel. When her husband Ted Hughes first brought this collection to the public it garnered worldwide acclaim but it wasn t the draft Sylvia had wanted her readers to see. This facsimile edition restores for the first time Plath s original manuscript--including handwritten notes--and her own selection and arrangement of poems. This edition also includes in facsimile the complete working drafts of her poem Ariel which provide a rare glimpse into the creative process of a beloved writer. This publication introduces a truer version of Plath s works and will alter her legacy forever.