That's the how and the why and the where: literary tradition and revisionism in the poetry of Eavan Boland and Carol Ann Duffy

Abstract

In this thesis I examine the works Outside History and The Worlds Wife, collections of poems by Eavan Boland and Carol Ann Duffy, respectively. My main goal is to make a comparative analysis of their works as feminist re-visions in order to discuss the implications of such re-visions to womens literary history and tradition. First, I discuss the historicalcontext in which women have produced literature throughout the centuries. Particularly, it interests me to explore the main aspects that somehow have contributed to distance mens literary production from womens. Second, I analyze how Boland and Duffy explore differentthemes in their works from a revisionist perspective, considering Adrienne Richs concept of re-vision. I argue that their revisionist poetry contests the Western literary tradition and the canon by means of transgression and the concept of profanation, based on Giorgio Agambens theorizations. Finally, I consider the differences and similarities in the way each author explores the main themes in their works in order to transgress and profane the literary canonand tradition. I argue that, as result of their profanation, the authors help to build and consolidate womens literary history and tradition.