Kamala Das: Confessional Poetry

Perhaps, in the following essay I put a quart into a pint pot, because I intend to puzzle out, or rather, find and give a deeper insight into Walt Whitman's sexuality that is still a question on agenda. There are readers and critics who state that it is a shame to humble his poetry to this level, but I think that he was homosexual in his era the topic cannot be left untouched, because therefore this factor was very influential on his everyday life, thinking and hence on his poetry, too.

She is certainly as a noted critic puts it ‘one of the most important writers writing in India today. Much more can be said of Mahashweta Devi. She stands with few equals among today’s Asian writers in the dedication and directness with which she has turned writing in to a form

Women in India were unaware of their miserable condition. It is in the post independence period the women’s quest for identity of her own commenced. The 20th century saw the shift from outer to inner sensibilities and no one can better understand a man or woman better a feminine writer. In modern English fiction a number of women novelists have arrived on the literary scene, they have set out making new forays in to the world of women. Nayantara Sahgal being a feminist writer has emphasized in her novels on freedom and a new definition of the New Women. Sahgal’s heroines are well aware of the injustice done to them in their marriage and they come out of this traditional bond.

The existence of poetry as an artform predates literacy itself. Over the course of history, poetry grew from a verbal form of art, existing mainly in religious hymns, to becoming the universal “language of the heart”. The work of William Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe, some of the most notable poets of history, has resonated with generations of Americans. Although they lived in a Pre-industrial world, their work remains powerful because the themes expressed in their artwork can still be applied to modern society. On the contrary, protruding among this group of ancient poets is Robert Frost, whose modern work remains just as powerful, shaping generations through his questions of existence, and depiction of loneliness in an indifferent universe. One of Frost's most celebrated poems: The Road Not Taken, is influential not only in the literary world, but also within American culture. The poems subsequent ripple through American life is analyzed by David Orr In his essay The Most Misread Poem in America. Here, Orr argues that the misread of The Road Not Taken magnifies the underlying issues in society’s understanding of both Frost and poetry as a whole.

Poetry presents the words of the unspoken truths. Throughout history, many influential writers have made an impact on society through their writing. Raymond Carver, an award winning writer, wrote many poems and stories throughout his career that shaped writing for many other poets. Carver was born into a family of poverty and from a young age, he did not have an ideal relationship with his parents due to the strong use of alcohol by his father. Later in his life, Carver suffered from alcoholism as well and tried to distance himself from everyone around him and pushed a career to the side. Carver was headed down a toxic and negative path whether he liked it or not; Carver rushed into an unhealthy marriage, was diagnosed with cancer, hospitalized for his alcoholism many times and was told he was going to die. Once he moved to California and found his passion for literature, his whole life slowly turned around. He began to feel happier, quit drinking, divorced his first wife and married the love of his life, Tess Gallagher. Carver typically writes short stories and he was also a confessional poet, which was someone that broke the mold of traditional formed poetry and began to write narrative poems about their life. In Raymond Carver’s “Late Fragment,” an enforced message is that it is not necessary to dwell on the smaller things in life, because in the end it’s all up to how we feel we lived life.

In the poem “Passed On” by Carole Satymurti, the speaker tells a story almost as in a novel of their mother and how she left them a box of index cards with advice on life when she died. The speaker’s gender seems to be female. In the poem, the poet presents the theme of growing up and becoming one’s own person through the maturation and acceptance process. She personifies the index cards themselves, comparing them to her mother. They also characterize the speaker and her mother and create a mood of sadness and longing, implying that perhaps the mother has been dead for some time, but the speaker has never truly accepted this.

The homosexual themes displayed in Walt Whitman’s works, especially in his most famous collection of poems Leaves of Grass, raise the question of his own sexuality. Many of his poems depicted affection and sexuality in a simple, personal manner, causing nineteenth century Americans to view them as pornographic and obscene. Based on this poetry, Whitman is usually assumed to be homosexual, or at least bisexual. However, this assumption does not account for major influences of his writing such as the shift from transcendentalism to realism and the American Civil War. After considering these factors, it can be concluded that Whitman’s poems were not intended to set apart a few homosexual men, but to bring all men and women together.

The articles “Voicing the Feminine Within: A Journey through the Life Narrative of A. Revathi”, Writing a Life Between Gender Lines: Conversations with A.Revathi about her autobiography The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story”, Gender Geometry: A Study of A. Revathi’s autobiography The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story and the interview Voice of Visibility by NithinMayanth are the only works directly based on Revathi’s autobiography The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story, the primary text of this research.

American poet Sylvia Plath (October 27 1932 – February 11 1963) was one of the most influential poets of the 20th century. Her semi-autobiographical writing style pioneered the postmodernist form of poetry known commonly as ‘Confessional Poetry’, which emerged from the United State in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. The confessional poetry of the mid-twentieth century centred mainly on subject matter that was previously considered taboo in American poetry, such as mental illness and sexuality. Plath battled clinical depression for most of her adult life,

The political and social events of the sixties and the seventies along with growing opportunities of education and employment for women encourage women belonging to the urban middle class to engage in literary activities. The thematic concerns of these women writers have been cantering around women related issues. The social setting for most of these writings is the urban middle class and the protagonist is, more often than not, a woman. Indian Culture treats women with utmost reverence. Women are identified with Adi Shakti or the primordial energy. Woman’s avatar as mother treated as highest manifestation of human relationship; It is the mother who gets precedence over all other principles of life including father and god in importance. She

In compliance with Jeanette Winterson’s perspective, the struggle for resolution and meaning within the Modern world due to the rapidly changing social context of the era is underscored through the judicious use of poetic rhythms and images which has contributed to the enduring value of poetry. The internal struggles due to the contradicting desire for relationships and the desire for solidarity, and the uncertainty that underpins the search for spiritual fulfilment are encapsulated in T.S. Eliot’s poetry. This notion can be seen particularly through the thorough examination of Eliot’s poems Preludes (1917) and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915) as the audiences over time are exposed to the complexity of the human psyche which illuminates

This will not be one more lament for the sad state of contemporary American poetry. Yet to define some of the basic strengths of new work I have to begin with what seems like a lament. For perhaps the most important invigorating element for contemporaries is a widespread dissatisfaction with what is called romantic lyricism, poetry based on the dramatization of intense subjective states

Confessional poets in the 1950’s and 1960’s shaped confessional poetry into a type of writing that forever changed American literature. With controversial subjects at the time such as death, trauma, depression and how relationships impacted people, confessional poetry carved a gateway for private subjects and feelings to be expressed through autobiographical writing. The inspiration behind confessional poetry was the therapy it brought to the writer, being able to take personal experiences and thoughts and construct them into beautiful poems helped these writers cope with their personal experiences and feelings in a new, and constructive way. Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton were a major part of the confessional writing movement in the 20th

I heard the passing bells calling out my name I knew I'd never see another day I couldn't swim against the tides of blame I knew there was no other way You better practice your lines You better practice your words I know that real monsters lie Between the light and the shade It doesn't matter what you say or feel When honest men become deranged They'll genuflect to a lie

In the early 20th century, the Modernist philosophical movement dominated literature. Despite the maturity of the topics the world faced during the time, literature erred on the conservative side and avoided personal issues such as depression, sexuality, and trauma. In the 1950’s, however, Sylvia Plath emerged to spearhead a new era of writing in the form of Confessional poetry. Plagued with depression, suicidal tendencies, and trauma tied to her father’s death, Plath explored these taboo themes in her poetry. Alongside a few other influential writers of the period, Plath’s intense and intimate poems hailed the start of a revolutionary literature movement (“A Brief Guide to Confessional Poetry”). Death, victimization, and a negative father-complex were the leading themes in Plath’s life, and inspired much of her work, including the poems “The Colossus,” and “Daddy.”