安徽三联学院外语学院美国文学课件Chapter 19 American Poetry Since 1945.ppt

American Poetry Since 1945 Robert Lowell Silvia Plath Allen Ginsberg Contents Ⅰ. Idiosyncratic/ Confessional Poetry Ⅱ. Experimental Poetry Ⅰ. Idiosyncratic/Confessional Poetry 1. History of Development This new poetry school emerged in 1950s-1960s in America. The first confessional poem is Life Studies written by Robert Lowell, a famous American poet. Just like a guilty Christian confessed to the priest, he disclosed his privacy, inner sufferings, spiritual wounds and sexual desire and impulse completely and directly in this poem, which caused a strong reaction in poetry circle. And then 1960s’ “Confessional Poetry” movement started in America. Because of the influence of existentialism and dissatisfaction to the irrational material civilization and rigid life-style, many young poets who couldn’t find lofty ideal and living purpose imitated Robert Lowell to regard poetry as a tool to self-disclose and self-vent. Furthermore, some of them expressed their disgust of existence and suicide after being well-known. 1. History of Development Ⅰ. Idiosyncratic/Confessional Poetry 2. Main Features Poems of this school are usually absurd, depressed and lacking reason, and reflect intellectuals’ distress, up-set, confusion and desperation. 3. Representative Writers and Works Robert Lowell: Lord Weary’s Castle (1946) Anne Sexton: Live or Die (1966) Silvia Plath: Ariel (1965) The Applicant (1966) Ⅰ. Idiosyncratic/Confessional Poetry Ⅱ. Experimental Poetry Experimentation is one aspect of all Modernist and Postmodernist poetry, but experimental poetry makes a special point of innovation. The contemporary poetry with experimentation which began in the 1950s may be divided into five loose schools The young experimental writers have tended to be counter-culture intellectuals who disassociated themselves from universities and American society. Their poetry is daring, original, and sometimes shocking. 1. The Black Mountain School 2. The San Francisco School 3