Robert Lowell was considered a major figure of Confessional Poetry. Confessionalism is an American school of poetry from the 1950s and 60s which foregrounds the poet’s personal experiences. Broadly defined, Confessional poetry lays bare the most intimate and personal events and thoughts of the poet writing, even to the point of broaching taboo subjects like sex or mental illness. In part, Confessionalism positioned itself as a counterpoint to the idealized domestic life of the 1950s, working to deconstruct the perfect suburban American dream. Like many artistic movements, the Confessionals were named and grouped together as such by outside critics rather than by themselves. Anne Sexton, John Berryman, W.D. Snodgrass, and Sylvia Plath were Lowell’s peers and major figures of Confessionalism.

“Epilogue” was published as the final poem in Robert Lowell’s final book of poetry, Day by Day. Published in 1977, the year of Lowell’s death, Day by Day was Lowell’s only book that contained only free verse. As one of Lowell’s more well-known poem’s, “Epilogue” famously grapples with Lowell’s relationship to confessionalism. After a poetry career that (among other things) was notable for its radical infusion of Lowell’s autobiography and intimate experiences, “Epilogue” is an honest examination by an artist of his own artistic career and its relation to the Confessional label applied to it.