Confessional poetry: Difference between revisions
imported>Michael Forde Cayley (New page: {{subpages}} '''Confessional poetry''' is a genre of autobiographical poetry disclosing intimate, often psychologically painful, aspects of the author's life. These may be related to wider...) |
imported>Yi Zhe Wu (one of the most well-known) |
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* [[Audre Lord]] | * [[Audre Lord]] | ||
* [[Robert Lowell]] | * [[Robert Lowell]] | ||
* [[Sylvia Plath]] | |||
* [[Adrienne Rich]] | * [[Adrienne Rich]] | ||
* [[Anne Sexton]] | * [[Anne Sexton]] | ||
* [[W. D. Snodgrass]] | * [[W. D. Snodgrass]] | ||
Latest revision as of 22:15, 2 September 2008
Confessional poetry is a genre of autobiographical poetry disclosing intimate, often psychologically painful, aspects of the author's life. These may be related to wider historical, social or cultural themes.
The genre came to the fore in the USA in the 1950s and 1960s. While a number of earlier poets - including the Latin poets Propertius and Horace - wrote in apparently revealing ways about their lives, this usually involved a persona or mask - that is, the assumption of a "pretend" character. In contrast, the confessional poets sought to be honest in the exploration of their inmost selves. The term 'confessional' was probably first used by M. L. Rosenthal in a 1959 review of Life Studies by Robert Lowell.
Among those who have written confessional poetry are: