RACHAEL MARKS RETURNS

Since this is my first post I will tell you what I plan to do with my topic (along with what the topic is). I'm sorry for the fact that this may be a longer read than the other posts due to my being behind.
My topic is: Raskolnikov's (yes I now am writing his full name since I know how to pronounce it now) internal struggle in comparison to the elements of internal struggle in poetry (namely the works of Elizabeth Bishop and Erica Jong).
I plan on addressing what internal struggle is and the elements of choices, regret, control, desire, reflection, and coping.

Within the novel Crime and Punishment, there is an extrodinary amount of internal struggle. Raskolnikov is the main subject of this conflict as there is rarely a moment where he is not contemplating his actions, trying to find a solution, or attempting to make a decision. Most of his struggle is linked to Aliona Ivanovia with the struggle he is faced with before and after murdering her. It can be said that internal struggle is one of the stronest themes of Crime and Punishment, an argument that would commonly be found in regards to poetry.
Much like this novel, poetry in its entirity is difficult to completely pin down as having one key theme, but more often than not poetry carries out the theme of internal struggle. Even authors that are not as dark as the context of this novel will struggle with issues that plauge their minds. It is not only the Sylvia Plath's and Edgar Allen Poe's that are tortured by self inquery, but the romantics and the seemingly fulfiled poets as well.
Not one person can say they have lived a single day without facing one internal struggle. The struggle does not have to be "should I murder?" it could be as simple as "should I get a drink of water?". In some beliefs, poetry is one of the key ways of addressing this conflict. Whether it is the authors voice or not, poetry written in first person typically finds the narrator dealing with their personal problems. Poetry can be seen as a way of getting out a person's feelings and helping the person deal with their frustration or confusion, much like Raskolnikov does through battling himself inside and outside of his head. Many of his battles can be seen as having somewhat of a poetical composition to them (considering that poetry is not only rhyme and lyrical patterns). In that argument, it can be said that Raskolnikov, along with many other characters in Crime and Punishment, can be associated with poets like Elizabeth Bishop and Erica Jong (amongst many others).
Erica Jong and Elizabeth Bishop are not poets who construct poems with questionable sanity to the level of Crime and Punishment, but this factor makes them all the more interesting to use them as a comparison. They are not concerned with exactly the same matters as the novel, but dwell on similar conflicts in a repitive fashion. Many of Jong's poems address the conflict of a woman's place in society, while Bishop addresses the subject of unkempt desire. Crime and Punishment and these two poets are all on the same track of longing something or someone in a certain fashion. Their yearning can be seen as a weakness, but also a self reflective attribute. They touch very little on the subject of action, but there are moments where they will get up and do something to shape their conflict, even if it is not what they want to do. Jong and Bishop can be used to capture the essence of each stage of Raskolinkov's internal struggle, as if to show that everyone has the same amount of conflict raging in their head.