The literary criticism that Sylvia Plath received for being untrained in poetry, which in turn hindered the final outcome of her poems, seems to overlook the whole idea of poetry and the confessional style she was writing in. Poetic guidance for a writer is obviously a positive trait to have, but the fact that Sylvia Plath, an untrained writer, was so widely read denotes the natural ability she had for writing and expressing her emotions with strong images and themes. As was discussed in class, Plath was accessible to the public. People who were reading her poetry did not have to be educated in poetic forms or concepts to understand and relate to her poetry. Also, this trait did not limit the success of her poetry because it appealed to the educated and uneducated alike. The fact that someone who was not trained, besides workshops, etc. gives hope to people that anyone can write if they feel so compelled and can do it well. This idea of course is limited in the sense that not everyone can write good poetry, but regardless of what you are writing and what type of criticism you receive, the actual feeling of writing and expressing your thoughts for others, or just for yourself, is liberating. Putting your thoughts onto paper can have a tremendous effect on your mind and personal well-being. Whatever the themes of your poetry, the chance to express yourself creatively opens new doors to your own consciousness. You can see a part of yourself from outside your own perception. There is a certain type of removal that takes place. The fact that Plath, and others, were confessional poets, gives way to the thought of poetry as medicine. Dr. Martin instructed Plath to write down her thoughts, to get them to surface outside of her own personal consciousness, to try and release her from her manic state. This in turn helped her, for a period of time at least, regain herself and once again give her control of her feelings, which led to the publication of To Bedlam and Part Way Back. Sylvia Plath as a person may not be educated in poetry, but it does not effect the emotion and power she presents as a confessional poet.

September 15-21: Plath and Confessional Poetry

In “Sylvia Plath and Confessional Poetery: A Reconsideration,” critic M. D. Uroff contends that Sylvia Plath uses “abstracted autobiographic” details to create feelings of sorrow and, adversely, side steps self-revelation. When considering confessional poetry, Robert Lowell’s Life Studies becomes the foreground of themes of sexuality, alcoholism, mental illness and despondence. Lowell uses his poetry to convey the speaker as a “literal self” that expresses personal, “confessional” details.
Although the term confessional poetry incorporates these ideas, of the literal self, Plath creates her own poetry that encompasses confessional themes. Unlike Lowell, Plath creates characters that are “generalized figures not real-life people, types that Plath manipulates dramatically in order to reveal their limitations.” Although Urloff states that these imaginative characters move past the boundaries of a typical confessional poet, Plath is still expressing all of the feelings and emotions congruent with the style. Plath’s characters are not truly literal, but are still images that convey the painful and suicidal emotions present in her life. Plath has stated, “I think my poems immediately come out of the sensuous and emotional experiences I have, but I must say I cannot sympathize with these cries from the heart that are informed by nothing except a needle and a knife, or whatever it is. I believe that one should be able to control and manipulate experiences, even the most terrifying, like madness, being tortured, this sort of experience, and one should be able to manipulate these experiences with an informed and intelligent mind.” Here, Plath is stating that her poetry is a manipulated form of her deepest emotions. She is still confessing the themes of a confessional poet, but in a style different of Robert Lowell.
Throughout the article Uroff repeatedly mentions that Plath’s characters do not “confirm any self-understanding.” When discussing the poem “Daddy” Uroff states, “The pace of the poem reveals its speaker as one driven by a hysterical need for complete control, a need that stems from the fear that without such control she will be destroyed. Her simple, incantatory monologue is the perfect vehicle of expression for the orderly disordered mind.” The thought that there is no self-understanding in Plath’s poetry confirms the idea of the disordered mind. Plath must create these characters, and must have control on them because she herself does not understand the madness she feels and her lack of control she really has. Self-revelation is present in Plath’s poetry. She realizes her mental instability and creates characters to express her emotions. Uroff also states that Plath, “chose to deal with her experience by creating characters who could not deal with theirs and through their rituals demonstrate their failure.” Even though Plath chose to avoid the literal self in her poetry, she still successfully incorporates all of the emotions of a confessional poet.

September 7-14. Manic depression in "Waking in the Blue"

With Life Studies, Robert Lowell creates a new style of poetry, termed by M. L. Rosenthal to be confessional. Lowell uses intimate personal information and creates an autobiographical approach to poetry.
Manic depression, which was a recurring illness for Lowell, is present in the poem “Waking in the Blue,” which was published in Life Studies. Throughout the poem Lowell moves from feelings of great sadness and depression to possible happiness and humor. This form adheres to the basic symptoms of manic depression, emotions moving from elevated, mania, to depressive, and sometimes the appearance of both at the same time. At the beginning of the poem Lowell observes the night attendant and how he “catwalks” down the corridor of the mental hospital. Lowell begins the poem with a vision of youth, but his reminiscence quickly changes to the fellow institutionalized. Lowell states at the beginning of the second stanza, “What use is my sense of humor?” Here Lowell sees the inevitability of old age and expresses his humor cannot even save him. Lowell as well as Stanley, “hoarding the build of a boy in his twenties,” is sill trying to hold on to his youth, and the acclaim that their youth encompassed with the “bravado ossified young.”
In the final stanza of the poem Lowell again makes a transition from mania to depression. “After a hearty New England breakfast, / I weight two hundred pounds / this morning. Cock of the walk, / I strut in my turtle-necked French sailor’s jersey / before the metal shaving mirrors, / and see the shaky future grow familiar.” Lowell is mimicking the young night attendant and as he walks toward the shaving mirrors. After breakfast Lowell has an elevated mood, and expresses himself with the catwalk. Lowell’s mood is quickly deformed again into depression when he sees himself in the mirror and again fears the future and the realization of where he is, surrounded by “old timers,” like himself, and holding a locked razor, for fear of suicide is a concern for the institute’s staff.
The manic depression that Robert Lowell suffers from makes its way into his confessional poetry and his realization of his own problems. Through it you can see how he moves from periods of sanity and hope to the agonizing fear he has of himself.