When people joke about suicide, there can be a hidden kernel of truth on their true feelings about it. Perhaps it is not "hidden" exceptionally well behind a joke or a poem, but it is a way to creatively interact with their emotions and confess their experiences. In this era of post-war poetry, we see an influx of voices that were not overly flowery or complicated, but those who spoke plainly on their experiences - which differed greatly from the typical white man that was given a platform so often in our society. This movement of revealing, personal poetry is known as "confessional poetry," and is one that still being read and even written to this day. This erasure of private and public life has been going on since the end of the 19th century, but certainly after the Second World War, we see an influx of different writers and poets from all backgrounds (especially in America). Poetry, one could argue, might have always been "confessional" - isn't that what poetry is? To shed light onto truths? However (to again borrow Ezra Pound's philosophy on Modernist poetry) this age of poetry was "made new." Dying
Sources:
Academy of American Poets. “A Brief Guide to Confessional Poetry.” Poets.Org, 2014, poets.org/text/brief-guide-confessional-poetry. Accessed 4 Oct. 2019. Grobe, Christopher. “From Midcentury Confessional Poetry to Reality TV.” Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2019, lithub.com/from-midcentury-confessional-poetry-to-reality-tv/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2019. Edmund, Aiyana. “The Tragic Relationship of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes.” Literary Ladies Guide, 2012, www.literaryladiesguide.com/literary-musings/relationship-sylvia-plath-ted-hughes/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2019.
2 Comments
sandra
10/6/2019 01:44:54 pm
I can't believe there's audio of Plath reading her poem, she wrote something extremely personal, explaining how dark depression is, and she even read it out loud. I wonder how she felt reading that out loud, more alone than ever or relieved at getting the emotion out.
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Madison Booher
10/6/2019 08:41:42 pm
This was a really cool interpretation on the poetic piece you used. Brought upon a lot of vulnerability. I loved how much you emphasized how confessional this particular writing was. Great job!!
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