Poetry Review – Sylvia Plath and her Confessional Poetry
Sylvia Plath and her confessional poetry
The terminology “confessional poetry” was first introduced by RL Rosenthal, 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 his life. It was after his suicide that he became widely known after the posthumous publication of ariel, a collection of poems, which were surprising and acclaimed in their nature.
Plath is considered one of the first English American poets who refused to hide or disguise the true feelings and passions of life. His bold metaphors, his violent and intense imagery give a mythical touch to his poetry. He dealt with themes that were painful and frightening like suicide, self-loathing, Nazi shock treatment, dysfunctional relationships, and homicide. Plath’s complicated literary personality was inseparable from his work. His deeply personal regret achieved universality through the shocking images of him. The element of ‘I’ is never far from his poetry. She rejects the doctrine of impersonality that was propagated by most modern American poets. She wanted the reader to experience what the speaker was up against. Plath’s artistic ability lies in her ability to make the reader understand what is happening with a simple reference, or sometimes without reference at all.
Sylvia was a victim of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The world expected a lot from such a bright, charming and intellectual girl. She tried her best, but her split personality always failed her. She wanted to be loved and shower love; she went from one pillar to another to fulfill this wish, but she was not granted it. Her love for her parents, husband and children did not find the right direction. As a result, she was obsessed with the death wish. Her poetry oscillates between the extremes of life and death and impresses her notions on the reader’s mind with the translucent power of her poetic faculties.
Most of his poetry travels on both planes simultaneously; the apparent and the hidden or underlying. Plath’s Bee poems are open evidence of this feature of his poetry. In poems such as “The Meeting of the Bee” and “The Arrival of the Bee Box”, Sylvia used the imagery of the apiary but she expressed her own fears, doubts and suspicions about the world around her. These poems emphasize that the most important fear is the fear of the known world. She elaborated the killing of the queen bee as her own end, the uselessness of the productive queen is beautifully and remarkably identified with her own life but the irony lies in the fact that she ended her life with the her own hands.
Plath’s poetry has rightly been marked as confessional poetry as her work is never without personal materials. He keeps his life at the center of the theme and then evolves the expression. Her metaphors, similes and mythical allusions add sparkle to his brilliant work. There is a liquid fluidity to her verse form that draws the reader into Sylvia’s world where, at times, we find a bright and joyous light of joy, while at other times there is a grim and ghastly rein of inevitable death. Plath’s poetry is a unique mix of joy and grief that are inseparable.
Plath is listed as the great poets of American literature who rebelled against conventional tradition. His work is his own identity. She is living and breathing in every line of her poetry. Even a layman can sense the pain and agony of the speaker. All of these salient features earn Sylvia the title of confessional poet.