Confessional Poetry Essay

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Claire Kelley Poetry Final Paper Confessional Poetry As seen by many poets throughout the course of the semester, confessional poetry expresses the personal side of the poet’s life. As stated by Dr. Scanlon on Contemporary poetry, “confessional poetry is marked by its intimate autobiographical subject matter that is sometimes referred to as grotesque. Masturbation, depression, suicidal tendencies, alcoholism, drug abuse are all openly discussed. This type of poetry is commonly associated with work from the movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s.” This kind of poetry is often seen as “poetry of the personal or ‘I’” where many poets frequently use the first person and discuss their own lives whether it’s positive or of their struggles. These poems are often used to create memoirs of overcoming traumatic experiences or mental disorders. A few poets studied through the semester: Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, and Theodore Roethke, all used confessional poetry. Using this, readers were able to better connect with the poet and give a completely personal edge to the poems. Sylvia Plath was born on October 27, 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1940, Sylvia being only eight years old, her father passed away from diabetes. Sylvia had always been a driven, successful person even during her youth years. She kept a journal starting at the young age of eleven, which were published in magazines and newspapers. “Christian Science Monitor” published in 1950 just after graduating high school, was her first national publication. Sylvia was described as an exceptional student though battling deep depression and a suicide attempt. In 1956, Sylvia Plath found her English poet husband, Ted Hughes, shortly after graduation. However, their marriage ended in 1962 when Ted Hughes left her for another woman, Assia Gutmann Weyill. Fighting depression during that winter, she created her book,
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