The Applicant

"The Applicant" is a poem written by American confessional poet Sylvia Plath on October 11, 1962. It was first published on January 17, 1963 in The London Magazine and was later republished in 1965 in Ariel alongside poems such as "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus" two years after her death.^[1]

The poem is a satirical 'interview' that comments on the meaning of marriage, condemns gender stereotypes and details the loss of identity one feels when adhering to social expectations. The poem focuses on the role of women in a conventional marriage and Plath employs themes such as the conformity to gender norms. It was written a few days after Sylvia Plath’s decision to divorce Ted Hughes^[2] and it has been interpreted as a comment on her isolation within that relationship and the lack of power women held in her society.