الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract This thesis attempts to analyze and illustrate how “memory” and “ego” operate in Anne Sexton’s (1928-1974) and Denise Levertov’s (1923- 1997) poetry. Both of these notions are obvious in Sexton’s and Levertov’s distinctive subjective poetry which employs autobiographical and highly personal elements such as inner suffering, traumas, pain, and mental disorder. Therefore, they are often associated with a poetic movement often known as “confessional” poetry which flourished in the late 1950s and early 1960s. This study then explores the workings of the notions of “memory” and “ego” as the benchmark of the two poets. Moreover, this study argues that Sexton’s and Levertov’s poetry goes beyond the conventional boundaries of the “confessional” tradition. That is, their poetics could share the general characteristics of postmodern poetry. In so doing, this thesis is going to apply the French critic Roland Barthes’ aesthetic concepts of the “readerly text” and “writerly text” as defined in his book entitled, S/Z (1974). Employing Barthes’ concepts would underline the poetic fingerprint of Sexton and Levertov within the American aesthetic and cultural scene after World War II. |