“Skunk Hour”
E1010851
“Skunk Hour” is a confessional poem by Robert Lowell, noted for its stark portrayal of personal despair and modern American life.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| “Skunk Hour” canonical | 1 |
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
confessional poem
ⓘ
poem ⓘ |
| author | Robert Lowell NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| collection | Life Studies NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| criticalReception |
considered a key work of confessional poetry
ⓘ
highly acclaimed ⓘ |
| famousLine |
"I myself am hell"
ⓘ
"My mind's not right" ⓘ |
| firstPublicationYear | 1959 ⓘ |
| firstPublishedIn | Life Studies NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| genre | lyric poetry ⓘ |
| hasCharacter | speaker ⓘ |
| hasMotif |
animals as survivors
ⓘ
nighttime ⓘ voyeurism ⓘ |
| includedIn | many American poetry anthologies ⓘ |
| influencedBy | modernist poetry ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| literaryMovement | Confessional poetry ⓘ |
| literaryTechnique |
autobiographical detail
ⓘ
colloquial diction ⓘ enjambment ⓘ imagery of decay ⓘ symbolism ⓘ |
| narrativePerspective | first person ⓘ |
| notableImage | skunks in a town parking lot ⓘ |
| openingLine | "Nautilus Island's hermit" NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| period | postwar American poetry ⓘ |
| publisherOfFirstBookAppearance | Farrar, Straus and Cudahy NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedWorkByAuthor |
For the Union Dead
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Life Studies NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| setting | coastal Maine ⓘ |
| structure | eight stanzas ⓘ |
| studiedIn | university literature courses ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
mental illness
ⓘ
modern American life ⓘ personal despair ⓘ spiritual crisis ⓘ urban decay ⓘ |
| theme |
alienation
ⓘ
breakdown of community ⓘ consumer culture ⓘ death and morbidity ⓘ loss of faith ⓘ self-scrutiny ⓘ |
| verseForm | free verse ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.