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Confessional Movement. Ron Miranda Erica Madeja Kevin Paragas Warda Ahmed . Confessional Movement. Emerged in the late 1950s and early 1960s Themes dealt with private experiences and feelings about death, trauma, depression, and relationships.
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Confessional Movement Ron Miranda Erica Madeja Kevin Paragas Warda Ahmed
Confessional Movement • Emerged in the late 1950s and early 1960s • Themes dealt with private experiences and feelings about death, trauma, depression, and relationships. • Often expressed in an autobiographical manner • The confessional poetry of the mid 20th century dealt with subject matter • Poetic techniques such as symbolism, rhyme, diction, similes, metaphors, and personification were most commonly used.
Robert Lowell • Born March 1, 1917 in Boston, Massachusetts. Died September 12, 1977 from sudden heart attack. • Attended Havard University for two years then transferred to Kenyon College. • Opposed WWII and was imprisoned as a result. • Suffered from severe episodes of maniac depression and was often hospitalized for it.
Notable Works • Life Studies (1959) • Land of Unlikeness (1944) • Lord Weary's Castle (1946) • Received a Pulitzer Prize in 1947 for these two books.
John Berryman • Born 1914, died 1972. • Obtained an undergraduate degree from Columbia College in 1936. • Attended Cambridge University on fellowship. • Taught at Wayne State University in Detroit, Harvard, and Princeton. • A professor at the University of Minnesota from 1955 - 1972.
Berryman cont. • Awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1964 from his Dream Song poems • Described himself with his irrepressible alter egos "Henry" and "Mr. Bones" in the Dream Songs • Poetry consists of sequences of sonnet-like poems with wrenched syntax, array of diction, intense language and tone, and mixing emotions • Was emotionally unstable from his father's suicide during his childhood, was a heavy drinker throughout his life, and committed suicide in 1972 by jumping off a bridge in Minneapolis. • Was elected a Fellow of The Academy of American Poets in 1966 and served as a Chancellor from 1968 until his death.
Anne Sexton • 1928 – Born in Newton, Massachusetts • 2 daughters • 1954 – Diagnosed with postpartum depression (depression suffered by a mother following childbirth) • Admitted in Westwood Lodge, a neuropsychiatric hospital; encouraged to pursue her interest in writing poetry
Anne Sexton cont. • Themes: depression, isolation, suicide, despair, women issues • Pulitzer Prize winner of Royal Society of Lit. • Modern model of a confessional poet • 1974 – Committed suicide; lost battle Notable Works • Live or Die (1966) • Love Poems (1969) • Selected Poems (1964) • The Completed Poems (1981) • The Death Notebook (1974) • To Bedlam and Part Way Back (1960) • Transformation (1971) • Words for Dr. Y: Uncontrolled Poems (1978)
Sylvia Plath • Born October 7, 1932 • Died Feb. 11, 1963 due to suicide. • American Poet, novelist, and short story writer. • Attended Newnham College where she was a newspaper writer • Won Pulitzer prize for her collection of poems.
Notable works • Kindness • The Bell Jar (Poem written before her death) • April 18 • The Babysisters • A Birthday Present • Cinderella
AP Writing Prompts • Prompt #1: In Berryman’s poem Dream Song4, he talks about his infatuation with an already married woman. Is this normal human nature for man to want a woman, or is it lustful because the woman is already married? Write a well organized essay explaining your view, be sure to use evidence from the poem. • Prompt #2: In "The Truth the Dead Know" by Anne Sexton, Sexton addresses the subject of death. Read the poem carefully. Then write a well-developed essay in which you analyze how poetic devices help to convey Sexton's complex attitude toward death.
Quiz • Define confessional poetry. • When did it emerge? • What are some of the themes incorporated in confessional poetry? • What caused Anne Sexton to evolve in poetry? • Berryman is known to incorporate comedic relief in his poems. How does he do so in Dream Song 4? • Berryman uses his technique of adding comedic relief to secretly describe a feature of the woman in Dream Song 4. What is it? • What are some possible themes in “Skunk Hour”? Use evidence from the poem to support your claim. • In “Skunk Hour”, why do you think Lowell alludes to Queen Victoria’s Century in the second stanza?
Sources • http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5650.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/6 • http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/10 • http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/robert-lowell#about