There is no official ranking of “most altered” poems.
However, one frequently cited example stands out for the scale of editorial change:
Ariel by Sylvia Plath.
Case Study: Ariel (1965 vs 2004 Restored Edition)
Before her death in 1963, Plath completed a manuscript ordering of Ariel.
Her intended sequence:
-
Began with “Morning Song”
-
Ended with “Wintering”
-
Contained 40 poems arranged in a specific arc
After her death, the 1965 edition—edited by Ted Hughes—made substantial structural changes:
-
12 poems were removed
-
12 different poems were added
-
The sequence of poems was rearranged
-
The tonal progression shifted
Example:
Plath’s original ordering built toward poems such as “Lady Lazarus” and “Daddy” in a specific trajectory of escalating intensity.
The 1965 edition redistributed these poems, altering the narrative rhythm of the collection.
In 2004, a restored edition reestablished Plath’s original ordering based on her manuscript.
The wording of individual poems remained largely intact.
The primary alteration was structural.
Why This Case Is Significant
Unlike punctuation normalization (e.g., Emily Dickinson) or lineation adjustments (e.g., Gerard Manley Hopkins),
Ariel presents:
-
Different poem selection
-
Different sequence
-
Different emotional progression
This changes how readers interpret the work as a whole.
Other Notable Examples (Less Extensive but Important)
The Prelude — William Wordsworth
-
Multiple manuscript versions (1799, 1805, 1850)
-
Published posthumously in 1850
-
Editorial preference for final version shaped canon
Emily Dickinson
-
Dashes replaced with commas
-
Capitalization standardized
-
Line breaks altered in early editions
These changes affected tone and rhythm but did not alter poem selection.
What Can Be Confirmed
If measured by:
-
Structural rearrangement
-
Selection of poems
-
Change in interpretive arc
Ariel is one of the most substantially altered posthumous poetry collections in modern literary history.
The alterations were editorial, not authorial.
Conclusion
No single poem can be officially declared “most altered.”
However, based on documented editorial intervention,
Ariel represents one of the most significant posthumous transformations in poetry publication history.