Sentimentality in Family-related Poetry

Poetry is of course built and created from the emotions of the poet. Emotion is the foundation of a poem. However, there is only a thin line between a beautiful poem filled with emotions and an overly sentimental piece. This is clearly portrayed in two of this week’s readings.

Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” and Galway Kinnell’s “After Making Love We Hear Footsteps” are both related to Family. Most will agree that the topic, Family, is one that is sensitive and emotional. Although both poems relate to family matters, they are two very different, almost opposing poems.

In “Daddy,” Plath voices her opinion, mostly negative ones, regarding her father. Going through this poem, I can tell she has very strong emotions towards her dad. A little risky, Sylvia Plath is on the verge of being overly sentimental. Certainly, a poem is where a poet expresses his or her emotions, but I believe Plath may have immersed herself in too much of her own emotions while writing this poem.

Bit my pretty red heart in two.
I was ten when they buried you.
At twenty I tried to die
And get back, back, back to you.
I thought even the bones would do. (56-60)

The stanza above may be too overwhelming for the reader. The content makes the reader step back away from the poem. This piece contains a little Too much emotion and details.

On the other hand, Kinnell’s “After Making Love We Hear Footsteps” does a good job in avoiding excess sentiment. He does not go into too much detail about making love (a topic which not every reader might be comfortable with if overly used), and instead focuses his details on his son and the emotions the child brings him. The last line, “this blessing love gives again into our arms” ensures that this poem’s main topic is the child, not love making (21).

The Beats Vs. The NY School

After reading the poems for this week, I noticed something unique to each category of poems. The poems from the Beats are more related to the poet’s thoughts. They are also a little more on the passive side. On the other hand, the poems coming from the NY School concentrate on a specific event; they are usually about one subject or occurrence. There are some poems in this category that are like stories and some that are about writing poems or being a poet.

One of my favorite pieces from the Beats is Gregory Corso’s “Marriage.” In this poem, the entire thought process of a man thinking about marriage is stated. After reading this poem, I thought to myself, “Wow, this is so real and true.” Common thoughts of a man meeting his significant other’s parents for the first time is seen:

When she introduces me to her parents
back straightened, hair finally combed, strangled by a tie,
should I sit with my knees together on their 3rd degree sofa
and not ask Where's the bathroom?
…
O how terrible it must be for a young man
seated before a family and the family thinking
We never saw him before! He wants our Mary Lou!
After tea and homemade cookies they ask What do you do for a living?
Should I tell them? Would they like me then? (10-13, 16-20)

In this poem, Corso emphasizes on his thoughts and feelings.

A very different type of poem, Frank O’Hara’s “The Day Lady Died” from the NY School describes a specific event (the day Billie Holiday passed away). In this poem, O’Hara lets the reader know what a typical New Yorker day in the year 1959 was like. He uses numerous references to popular culture to highlight the lifestyle and culture of his time. For example, he would “have a hamburger and a malted and buy an ugly NEW WORLD WRITING” on a typical day.

The poem from the Beats concentrates on the thoughts of the common man, while the piece from the NY School emphasizes the typical lifestyle and culture of a specific time period.

Plainspoken, But Indeed Poetic

Free Verse is a type of poetry that does not follow strict metrical and rhythmic patterns. Poets using Free Verse have a lot of freedom in creating their poems.

The poems of this week are very plainspoken. These modern poets use everyday language to write about everyday topics. In order to distinguish their writings as poetry and not just “mere facts,” these poets use brilliant techniques.

In my opinion, what makes poems different from “mere facts” is that poems are created from the thoughts and feelings of its creator. When one reads a poem, he or she can experience what the poet felt at the time the poem was written. Even though the poems of this week are written so plainly, the content of the poems is a part of the poet. Each individual poem reflects the personal experience of a poet and what he or she went through.

In addition, the poets of this week make use of certain poetic elements. For example, repetition of the words “Why” and “Somebody” can be seen in Elizabeth Bishop’s “Filling Station.”

Why the extraneous plant?
Why the taboret?
Why, oh why, the doily? (28-30)

Somebody embroidered the doily.
Somebody waters the plant,
or oils it, maybe. Somebody
arranges the rows of cans
so that they softly say:
ESSO-SO-SO-SO
to high-strung automobiles.
Somebody loves us all. (34-41)

Moreover, rhyme is present in John Berryman’s “The Dream Songs: 324.”

Henry in Ireland to Bill underground:
Rest well, who worked so hard, who made a good sound
constantly, for so many years:
your high-jinks delighted the continents & our ears:
you had so many girls your life was a triumph
and you loved your one wife. (1-6)

The rhyme scheme here is aabbcc.

These modern, plainspoken and everyday poems are definitely not “mere facts” and are extremely poetic.