`Every text constructs its own truth'. In working in the confessional mode to represent their passionate yet tragic relationship, both Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath demonstrate their skill in constructing their own version of the truth. Hughes' Birthday Letters are framed as a dialogue with Plath who committed suicide shortly after their relationship ended. Plath's autobiographical novel The Bell Jar and diary entries present a contrasting truth about her frame of mind and their bitter relationship. In each genre both writers draw the reader into their most intimate feelings and moments, using vivid language and symbolism. Studying these texts has given me a sense of what each writer believed was the `truth' but I am also aware of the great control and structure they have used to convey both their own persona and that of the other to manipulate this truth.

Central to the construction of Hughes' truth...