SYLVIA PLATH AND CONFESSIONAL POETRY
A reaction to the dictates of Pound and Eliot and the "eXcesses'! of DYllan Thomas. This reaction against the established, intellectual, academic poet- took another form in the u.s. A, and from there travelled to England with Sylvia Plath, The poets involved in this reactionary movement came to be called the Confessional Poets. Heading the group were Robert Lowell and Theodore Roethkc. Younger poets like Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, who Studied with Lowell. leanled to write in the same: anti-intellectual, subjective style. SO did John Berryina. Together. These poets initiated a new trend in poetry, glorifying the personal and the private. expressing their innermost secrets aloud for all to hear. Plath Married Ted Hughes, Confessional poetry already reached England.
'Tile )'ear 1959 illay be regarded as a watershed in the history of literature for it was this year that two imp events took place & shaped the nature of poetry.
The first of these events was the publication of life Studies by Robert Lowell heralded a new kind of poetry, marking a significant departure from the complex symbolism and the formal language and style of T. S, Eliot. Focusing attention on his own self, Lowell chose to look inward rather than outward. Consequently his work moved away from the classical state, to personal, more private.
Second Imp event in 1959 with poet Allen Ginsberg, his poem became a controversial affair, Changing the concept of poetry.
Lowell and Roetlke, and other poets like Sylvia Plath, John Berymal and Anne Sexton, has come to be called "Confessional Poetry."
Themes-
Personal growth childhood
Failed relationship
Father complex
Nervous Breakdown
Suicide, death, diseases
Desire to shock
Question of Authenticity
Beyond personal
Psychoanalysis
Plath-1933-63
Death of father when she was 8
Separation from husband
First suicide attempt at 21 final at 30
Works- Colossus in 1956, Crossing the water and winter trees, Arial posthumously published, The Bell Jar, Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams
The colossus,
Daddy,
Lady Lazarus,
Purdah, Ariel,
Pursuit,
The Applicant,
Fever 103
The colossus
There is an interesting allusion at the start of the fourth stanza. Here, she refers to “Oresteia” Aeschylus’s tragic trilogy.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/89119/the-colossus
https://poemanalysis.com/sylvia-plath/the-colossus/
Daddy,
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48999/daddy-56d22aafa45b2
https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/sylvia-plath/daddy
Lady Lazarus
Lazarus is a character from the New Testament who dies, and who Jesus brings back to life in the Gospel of John.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49000/lady-lazarus
https://poemanalysis.com/sylvia-plath/lady-lazarus/
Purdah,
Antagonised - cause (someone) to become hostile.
Indefatigable - of a person or their efforts) persisting tirelessly.
Pallors - Pale appearance
Polyps - Creature
Appurtenances - an accessory or other item associated with a particular activity or style of living.
Concatenation - a series of interconnected things.
Sheath - a close-fitting cover for the blade of a knife or sword.
Parrakeets - Small parrot like creature
Macaws - Long tailed parrots
Ariel
Stasis - a period or state of inactivity or equilibrium.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49001/ariel
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