Confessional poetry
A focus on the naturalistic qualities of life experiences is undeniably expressed throughout Irena Praitis’ work. Coupled with a raw, unfiltered interpretation of life through an intimate sphere, it is clear to see that Praitis’ poetry is influenced by great poets such as Sylvia Plath and within the same realm as relevant contemporary poetic movements, like confessional poetry. Praitis relationship with confessionalism is evident through her references to her real life experiences, which serve the purpose of minimizing the distance between her poetry’s persona and herself as a poet.[1] . Like Plath, who according to M.D. Uroff, in Sylvia Plath and Confessional Poetry: A Reconsideration, is "not concerned with the nature of her experience, rather she is engaged in demonstrating the way in which the mind deals with extreme circumstances or circumstances to which it responds with excessive sensitivity,” Praitis also emphasizes the stages that emotions journey through in a difficult experience.[7] The mode of confessional poetry came about during the 1950s, when poets began using the language of poetry to comment on a unfiltered perspective of life, with an openness to experience.[3] In, Confessional Poetry & The Artifice Of Honesty, David Yezzi writes that “confessionalism is a question of degree. What makes a poem confessional is not only its subject matter – e.g., family, sex, alcoholism, madness – or the emphasis on self, but also the directness with which such things are handled.”[8] This tactic is evident throughout Praitis’ collection, Branches, where she aimed “to write as clearly as [she] could about matters of the heart.”[6] As Praitis observes “we speak the language of commerce, the language of politics, the language of social propriety (or rebellion), but we still struggle when it comes to emotions and matters of the heart…the more language of the heart we have out there to help inspire us at moments when we need it, the better.”[6]
In Branches, it is evident that Praitis writes her poems in a confessional poetic style that "put[s] the speaker [themselves] at the center of [the] poems in such a way as to make…psychological vulnerability and shame an embodiment of...civilization."[7] The collection is broken up into three sections that follow the coping with of “matters of the heart,” and like Plath, uses the medium of nature to comment on her emotional state with regards to her poems subject matter,[6] The first section offers more of a direct time lapse of the author's relationship with this persona she constantly refers to as "you." She begins the section by illustrating her physical, emotional, and mental dissatisfaction with this person. In the poem Rations she writes, "I want your soul unprepared and naked before me;” her yearning for this person is unquenchable as she has yet to meet the "naked" truth.[4] The first couple of poems in this section describe nature – which is symbolic of her emotions – as beautiful, unobtainable and mysterious. For example, Praitis writes of the sun and its meaning with regards to life, to mark the end of love. From that point the poems quickly shift to a more dismal mood as she begins to darken the illustrations of nature, indicating the change in her emotions. In the poem Opening she expressing that, "Earth/ Is unforgiving,” her romance is ending and thus nature, like her emotions, are merciless – constantly present and unrelenting.[4] The first section ends with despair and sorrow over the loss of love which is reflected by the change in nature to rainy, dirty, and cold.
As David Yazzi explains, when it comes to confessional poems, “what sets them apart from other poems that incorporate details from life, is their sense of worn-on-the-sleeve self-revelation and their artful…sincerity.”[8] The second is more of a reflection of life thus far, following the first section with a small sense of hope throughout. According to Uroff, Plath once said, "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.”[7] In her poetry, Praitis manipulates nature around her in an attempt at finding the beauty – essentially life itself – in order to break away from the cold winter that has settled in. In the poem After Fire, Praitis directly states, "life returns to full strength only after the push of years,” describing her way of coming to terms with the battle of emotions she must face before reaching hope.[4] She explains the guilt she feels for causing destruction and pain to what may be her son in In Tattered Cloth. The emotions vary from guilt and despair to a cry for help as she goes through the process of trying to mend the broken pieces of her life and seek hope or guidance throughout this abundance of distraught emotions. She incorporates a religious influenced poem Churches, where she describes the church in the first section of the poem as a place that brings forth the light in the dark sanctuary, symbolizing hope. Towards the end of the section, hope becomes the primary emotion illustrated. In the poem Chaff, Praitis uses apples to represent the process of birth, growth, and death that is being experienced, finding comfort in the thought that she has passed the stage of death and is now springing into life, where spring is sprouting through the cold winter. In the 6th section of Winter Interlude, she writes, "see this broken branch / holds spring inside" which defines this new sense of hope she has found.[4] |
The third section of the collection takes a more optimistic approach in the final stage of this heart break. The trees are represented as intelligent and wise beings that understand the concept of emotion. In other words, nature (the emotions) understand the process that they have just endured. In the poem The Trees Have Finished Waiting, for example Praitis indicates the end of her wait for change in winter, indicating the need to let go of the past. In this last section she invokes the understanding of weakness of memory and the need to bury it in winter, often times forgetting that spring always comes back. She also brings back the sun from section 1, as it melts away the winter of sorrow and pain, replacing it with a rebirth of beauty. This section may be representation of her re-rebirth emotionally, allowing her to find herself. It is poems “relying on facts, on ‘real’ situations and relationships, for [their] emotional authenticity” that invokes the epitome of confessional poetry. [8] No doubt Praitis poetry is a perfect example of this technique, expressing the raw uncut versions of life and their importance in self-discovery. It is through poetry such as this that we are truly able to experience “language of the heart,” and ask ourselves how often we allow ourselves to speak such a dialect.[4]
Work Cited
[1] "Confessional Poetry." The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English, (2003). Oxford Reference. Web. 3 Dec. 2014
[2] "Irena Praitis." Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics. California State University, Fullerton, Aug. 2014. Web. Nov. 2014. <http://english.fullerton.edu/faculty/i_praitis.asp>.
[3] Molesworth, Charles. "‘With Your Own Face On’: The Origins And Consequences Of Confessional Poetry." Twentieth Century Literature 22.2 (1976): 163. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.
[4] Praitis, Irena. Branches. Indian Trail, SC: D-N Publishing, 2007. Print.
[5] Praitis, Irena. Irena Praitis. California State University, Fullerton, n.d. Web. Nov. 2014. <http://hssfaculty.fullerton.edu/english/ipraitis/>.
[6] Praitis, Irena. Personal interview. 3 Dec. 2014.
[7] Uroff, M. D. "Sylvia Plath and Confessional Poetry: A Reconsideration." The Iowa Review, 8.1 (1977): 104-115. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Dec. 2014
[8] Yezzi, David. "Confessional Poetry & The Artifice Of Honesty." New Criterion 16.10 (1998): 14. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.
[2] "Irena Praitis." Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics. California State University, Fullerton, Aug. 2014. Web. Nov. 2014. <http://english.fullerton.edu/faculty/i_praitis.asp>.
[3] Molesworth, Charles. "‘With Your Own Face On’: The Origins And Consequences Of Confessional Poetry." Twentieth Century Literature 22.2 (1976): 163. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.
[4] Praitis, Irena. Branches. Indian Trail, SC: D-N Publishing, 2007. Print.
[5] Praitis, Irena. Irena Praitis. California State University, Fullerton, n.d. Web. Nov. 2014. <http://hssfaculty.fullerton.edu/english/ipraitis/>.
[6] Praitis, Irena. Personal interview. 3 Dec. 2014.
[7] Uroff, M. D. "Sylvia Plath and Confessional Poetry: A Reconsideration." The Iowa Review, 8.1 (1977): 104-115. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Dec. 2014
[8] Yezzi, David. "Confessional Poetry & The Artifice Of Honesty." New Criterion 16.10 (1998): 14. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.