Poetic Terms Dictionary
Literary Movement

Confessional Poetry

The term was coined by M.L. Rosenthal reviewing Lowell in 1959. Represents a radical shift from the impersonality demanded by T.S. Eliot's modernism.

Definition

A mode of poetry, prominent mid-20th century, that draws directly on the poet's own traumatic or private experience.

Example

Sylvia Plath's Ariel (1965); Anne Sexton's Live or Die (1966); Robert Lowell's Life Studies (1959).

Related Terms

Lyric Autobiographical Poetry Expressionism Modernism