Analysis Of For Lizzie And Harriet, By Robert Lowell

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Perhaps among the most personal of subject matter, the relationship of the family unit has been explored at great lengths in confessional poetry. Reputable confessional poet Robert Lowell explored the idea of fatherhood while struggling with mental illness. Lowell wrote of a pain to which many readers could relate. Going through a separation and divorce, Lowell felt vulnerable and this was especially evident in his writings about his daughter. The vulnerability experienced by Lowell at this time appears to grow with each poem, and he seems to develop a fixation on the relationship he shares with his daughter and, in particular, the rift between them. While initially making comparisons between himself and his daughter in infancy in the first poem of For Lizzie and Harriet, (such as both of them being wearied by the passage of time), he appears to further unravel in The Hard Way, feeling more alone as his daughter reaches an age associated with self-sufficiency and rebellion. By this point in the collection of poems, it appears Lowell has become more concerned with the idea of mortality, both his own and his daughter’s. It seems as if he is at a loss as to how to close the gap between the two of them, and so, offers her the best advice he believes he can. “Don’t hate your parents, or your children will hire unknown men to bury you at your own cost.” (Lowell, 2003) This is almost a plea to his daughter. It highlights how deeply concerned he is about the distance between them. While it does seem that Lowell holds an austere view of adolescence, it also appears that his genuine attempt to impart some wisdom to his daughter is one made as a result of some emotional growth. The reader is presented with a powerful image of a man who i... ... middle of paper ... ...ate to this feeling. Sexton goes on to describe her passion for death, which far outweighs her passion for life. She feels there is an art to death. She beleieves suicide will provide relief. These immensely private thoughts are disturbing to the reader, who is able to infer that Sexton’s state of mind is such that these thoughts could turn to actions at any time, which they eventually did. Molesworth contends that all confessional poets share a “common-denominator” being “a split between revealing intimate details in an unvarnished context, and obscuring the occult curve of their own dissociated, self-concealing emotional lives.” Whether or not writing this intensely personal poetry caused a downward spiral for Plath and Sexton, (and perhaps other poets), it stands to reason that it is nonetheless an extremely powerful expression for both the poet and the reader.

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