Reading and writing confessional poetry

  • David McGraw

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

This dissertation is comprised of a creative component and a critical component. The creative component is presented in the form of a sequence of twenty-seven confessional poems. This sequence of poems is composed under the formative influence of the works of various confessional poets, which include but are not limited to, Robert Lowell, Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath.;The critical component is presented in the form of an examination of the genre and original school of confessional poetry. This paper seeks to investigate and confirm the various traits of the genre of confessional poetry through an examination of both the works of Lowell, Sexton and Plath, as well as relevant literary criticism. This literary criticism includes, but is not limited to, the influential study of the original school of confessional poets, written by the critic, Robert Phillips.;In his study, Phillips develops a criteria which can be applied to confessional poetry. This paper also seeks highlight an omission in Phillips' criteria by proving the existence of the shared theme of physical disassociation between the subject or speaker of the poem and the surrounding environment through the genre of confessional poetry by referral to the works of the aforementioned poets as well as referral back to the creative element of this dissertation.
Date of Award6 Dec 2018
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • University Of Strathclyde
SupervisorDavid Kinloch (Supervisor) & Elspeth Jajdelska (Supervisor)

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