Poetry Review – Sylvia Plath and Her Confessional Poetry

Sylvia Plath and her confessional poetry

The terminology “confessional poetry” was first introduced by RL Rosenthal, a professor of English at New York University while discussing Robert Lowell’s work “Life Studies.” He also applied the same term to Plath’s poetic work. Plath never gained popularity in her life. It was after her suicide that she became widely known after the posthumous publication of Ariel, a collection of poems, which were surprising and acclaimed for their nature.

Plath is considered one of the first Anglo-American poets who refused to hide or disguise the true feelings and passions of life. His daring metaphors, his violent and intense imagery give a mythical touch to his poetry. She handled topics that were painful and gruesome such as suicide, self-loathing, Nazi shock treatment, dysfunctional relationships, and homicide. Plath’s complicated literary personality was impossible to separate from his work. His deeply personal lament achieved universality through his shocking imagery. The element of “I” is never far from his poetry. She rejects the doctrine of impersonality that was propagated by most modern American poets. I wanted the reader to experience what the speaker was facing. Plath’s artistic ability lies in her ability to allow the reader to understand what is happening with the simplest of reference, or sometimes without reference.

Sylvia was the victim of obsessive compulsive disorder. The world expected a lot from such a bright, charming and intellectual girl. He did his best, but his divided personality always failed him. I wanted to be loved and pour out love; he went from pillar to post to satisfy this wish, but it was not granted. Her love for her parents, her husband, and her children did not find the right direction. As a result, she was obsessed with the desire to die. His poetry oscillates between the extremes of life and death and imprints his notions on the reader’s mind with the translucent power of his poetic faculties.

Most of his poetry travels on two planes simultaneously; the apparent and the hidden or underlying. Plath’s Bee poems are clear evidence of this feature of his poetry. In poems such as “The meeting of the bees” and “The arrival of the bee box”, Sylvia used the imagery of the apiary, but expressed her fears, doubts and suspicions about the world around her. These poems emphasize that the most important fear is fear of the known world. He concocted the murder of the queen bee as his own end, the uselessness of the productive queen is beautifully and remarkably identified with his own life, but the irony lies in the fact that he ended his life with his own hands.

Plath’s poetry has rightly been marked as confessional poetry since his work is never without personal materials. He keeps his life at the center of the subject and then the expression evolves. His metaphors, similes, and mythical allusions add sparkle to his brilliant work. There is a liquid fluidity to her verse form that takes the reader into Sylvia’s world where, at times, we encounter a bright, joyous light of joy, while at other times there is a grim and gruesome rein of inevitable death. Plath’s poetry is a unique blend of joy and mourning that is inseparable.

Plath is listed as the great poets of American literature who rebelled against conventional tradition. Your work is your own identity. She lives and breathes in every line of her poetry. Even a layman can perceive the pain and agony of the speaker. All of these outstanding traits earn Sylvia the title of confessional poet.