Confession and the Feminine Self: A Comparative Study in Selected Poems of Wafa'a Abdul Razzaq and Sharon Olds

Abstract

There is no doubt that any creative writing whatever its form or genre carries aspects of self-revelation and repeats confessions of the self. It also reflects its views about the world and the other. Yet, with feminine literature, confession takes further dimensions because the world of the woman is a world that reveals without declares. It is a world that diagnosis without shows. Confession is a new type of writing. It is the product of many social and cultural transformations, especially what the feminist movement has produced. Therefore; the literary woman becomes capable of defending other women and enhancing their attitudes and perspectives. Female poets become the voice that reveals the inner world of a female because literature in general and poetry, in particular, is the outcome of culture.
 This paper which is entitled Confession and the Feminine Self searches in the relations of communication and absent between the culture of an Iraqi poet; Wafa'a Abdul Razzaq (1952-) and that of an American poet; Sharon Olds (1942-). It clarifies the aspects of differences and similarities in revealing the feminine self. The research consists of an introduction that sets as a background to the feminine self. First section deals with the theme of fear and pain. The second section studies the theme of motherhood while the last section tackles the theme of the body. The researcher depends on an analytical approach in dealing with the subject. The researcher also depends on Arabic references not because English references are not available but in an attempt to reveal the Arab way of thinking. The research ends up with a conclusion that sums up the findings of the study.