%0 Journal Article
%T Writing as a Way of Existence: Existentialism in Robert Lowell¡¯s <i>Life Studies</i>
%A Yining Ma
%J Advances in Literary Study
%P 88-96
%@ 2327-4050
%D 2022
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/als.2022.101006
%X This article takes Robert Lowell¡¯s first confessional book of poems, Life Studies as the object of study, and instead of focusing primarily on the oft-discussed autobiographical and historical factors, concentrates upon the philosophical pursuit—existentialism conveyed in this work. The article shall contextualize Lowell¡¯s continual artistic creation for renewed existence as part of the process of realizing ¡°being-for-itself¡± that is central to the existentialist school, to provide a new perspective for understanding Lowell¡¯s writing and life. Lowell¡¯s poetry reveals the condition of human existence in a lonely and hollow state and under the restrictions imposed by the others. The way to transcend this predicament, as the poet in Life Studies shows, is to realize ¡°being-for-itself¡± through writing, enabling the poet to become more open-eyed and to revive his existence. The ceaseless improvement of the poet¡¯s comprehension of self and the other in the process of composition indicates a typical existential life in which the individual revives by free choices and decisions.
%K Robert Lowell
%K <
%K i>
%K Life Studies<
%K /i>
%K Existentialism
%K Writing and Life
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=113796