First published in 1960, The Colossus was Sylvia Plath's debut collection of poems and marked the arrival of a major new talent.

‘She steers clear of feminine charm, deliciousness, gentility, supersensitivity and the act of being a poet. She simply writes good poetry. And she does so with a seriousness that demands only that she be judged equally seriously. . . There is an admirable no-nonsense air about this; the language is bare but vivid and precise, with a concentration that implies a good deal of disturbance with proportionately little fuss.’ A. Alvarez, Observer