Writing Against the Lyric: Self-Sabotage and Poetic Survival in J. H. Prynne and Denise Riley

Abstract

This is concerning poetry techniques utilized by J.H. Prynne and Denise Riley, who both criticize the norms of lyric coherence, expressivity, and fixed subjecthood in their artists. Through self-defiance, these poets are trying to survive by deliberately breaking the rules of the traditional poems that represent the incomplete and insecure world of modernity. In their interaction with the lyric, both Prynne and Riley destroy the fantasy of single selfhood, welcoming contradiction and multiplicity. The opaque, thick language of Prynne, with its intellectual and philosophical allusions, is artificially challenging and does not welcome easy communication, actively encouraging the reader to participate in the process of understanding. In contrast, Riley pays attention to the dislocation of time, unstable use of the pronouns, and suppressed affectivity, as she aims at revealing the intricacies of grief, loss, and even disintegration of personal identity. Although both poets are stylistically different, they prove that the notion of self-sabotage is not an unsuccessful attempt but an artistic reaction on the restrictions of the lyric tradition, developing new styles of poetry that are not vulnerable to commodification and provide alternative manifestations of subjectivity. This article brings out, through an evaluation of their work, the way that self-sabotage becomes a measure of resistance and survival to enable Prynne and Riley to push the boundaries of language and redefine poetic success in a postmodern, fragmented environment.