Confessional poetry

INTRODUCTION- ‘Mirror’ is a lyrical confessional poem written by Sylvia Plath a year prior to her death. She had written in the year 1961 but it was first published in 1971 by a London firm named Faber and Faber, eight years after her death. It was published as a part of a collection entitled ‘Crossing the Water’. It expresses the feelings of Sylvia Plath by an animated and personified mirror. GENRE- The genre of confessional poetry came into being in the mid-twentieth century with the entry of…

The final stanza draws down from the compression and peak feeling of the previous stanza, keeping the sense of the old woman’s liveliness, however in the kinaesthetic verbs “drawing,”, “opening.” “grow”, “puts on,” “arranges” and “places.” The juxtaposition of the actual and active of the first line and the abstract “years,” or “time” as a burden and measurable, maintains blood-heat for the poem while the placing of opposites : “Grow less and less” quickens the pulse a little, as the reader…

unfairly based on their gender. Women’s roles within the Puritan community were compromised due to their husbands thinking the very least of them and considering them weaker, both physically and mentally. Anne Bradstreet, a Puritan poet, began to write poetry that portrayed the struggles of a Puritan, in particular a Puritan wife against the hardships of the New England colonial life. In addition, Bradstreet wrote several love poems to her husband. The purpose of her love poems, for example “To…

The authorial choices in The Falling Leaves and Come On, Come Back show the impact of war on the human spirit through several factors: Title, tone, imagery, language, form and structure. The poems emotionally appeal to the targeted audience to feel sympathy about the tragedy of war and how it affects the human spirits. The Falling Leaves a poem written by Margeret Postgate Cole (1893-1980). Cole was an atheist, feminist, socialist and a pacifist. She went to Cambridge and her profession was…

Allan (Of which he did not fully and legally adopt Poe), Going to the best schools available and showing himself as a superlative student, later being kicked out due to insufficient funds, And Later becoming the person who paved the path for modern poetry and short stories. The first story of Poe’s that I am going to review is “The Raven”. This Poem had first appeared in the “Evening Mirror”, and had made way for many parodies to come.…

Edward Thomas and Robert Frost both write about the harshness of life. In his poem 'The Owl ', Thomas provides a didactic character in the form of the owl and describes his literal and metaphorical journey towards the realisation of his privilege, compared to others around him who are suffering. The title focuses on the owl, and is chosen as the poet is reflecting on hearing the owl 's cry. On the other hand, Frost uses 'Out, Out ' to describe a tragic event in which the harshness of life is…

The thought provoking essay “Poetry as a Way of Saying” by Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren, provides an educational direction for a reader’s comprehension and understanding of the “naturalness” of poetry. They claim in this critical text that “mere immersion does little good unless the reader is making, however unconsciously, some discriminations, comparisons, and judgements” and that “by trying to understand the nature and structure of poetry. . .readers may accelerate and deepen the…

A native of London, England, John Keats was born on October 31, 1795 and devoted his life to poetry marked by his bright use of imagery, sensuous appeal and philosophical ideas. Although his life and writing career of less than six years was very short-lived, his poetic achievements are extraordinary. Keats believed that reality is determined by knowledge. Therefore, most of his poems stem from internal conflicts. Several of his great works including “Ode to a Nightingale” and “Ode on a Grecian…

The astonishing level of agony present in a person once they have lost a loved one is described in the poem, “Stop All of the Clocks, Cut off the Telephone” by W.H. Auden. In this poem, the poet describes the pain of ending an intense sensation of love when one of the partners has passed away. The inability to cope once one’s love has ended provokes the feeling that life has ended due to the thought of the inability to live alone. This is found in the poem when Auden states, “For nothing now can…

Kipling composed a poem titled If-, which instantly drew much attention and admiration in Great Britain. As a matter of fact, the poem itself has been rewritten and printed in a multitude of languages throughout the years. This instructive piece of poetry contains a diversity of themes; three of the major themes being masculinity, leadership and defeat. Although the poem was composed in 1896, it was not until 1910 that it was published in a book called Rewards and Fairies, which contained…