A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE POEMS OF KAMALA DAS AND FOROUGH FARROKHZAD A THESIS SUBMITED TO BHARATI VIDYAPEETH UNIVERSITY, PUNE FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENGLISH UNDER THE FACULTY OF ARTS BY MS. ANGELA SADEGHI TEHRANI UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF Dr.P.F.PATIL FORMER PRINCIPAL KAVERI COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND COMMERCE, PUNE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH YASHWANTRAO MOHITE COLLEGE, PUNE - 38 BHARATI VIDYAPEETH UNIVERSITY, PUNE - 30 INDIA MARCH 2014 iii CERTIFICATE OF THE GUIDE CERTIFIED that the work incorporated in the thesis “A Comparative Study of the Poems of Kamala Das and Forough Farrokhzad” submitted by Ms. Angela Sadeghi Tehrani was carried out by the candidate under my guidance. Such material as has been obtained from other sources has been duly acknowledged in the thesis. Date: Dr.Pitambr Fakira Patil Place: Pune Research Guide iv DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE I declare that the thesis entitled “A Comparative Study of the Poems of Kamala Das and Forough Farrokhzad” submitted by me for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy is the record of work carried out by me during the period from May 2009 to October 2013 under the guidance of Dr.Pitambar Fakira Patil and has not formed the basis for the award of any degree, diploma, associateship, fellowship, titles in this or any other University or other institution of Higher learning. I further declare that the material obtained from other sources has been duly acknowledged in the thesis. Date: Angela Sadeghi Tehrani Place: Pune Research Student v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT It took me well over three years to write this thesis and much of the delight of writing it came from the collaborative efforts of family, friends, and the university I studied in it. To all of them, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks. Primarily and especially, to my very dear guide, Dr.P.F.Patil whom his endless support and generosity gave me the opportunity to think freely for my research. His endless motivation and encouragement inspired me so much. He has been a real mentor for me. I would also like to thank the members of the research committee, Dr.S.B.Gokhale, Dr.M.Mathkari, Dr.S.Chindhade, Dr.V.A.Rankhambe for their brilliant comments and suggestions. My hearty thanks to Dr.R.S.Zirange, Head of the Department of English for his kind attention to the progress of my research. I am grateful to Prof.Chikmat who introduced Indian English Poetry to me; I learnt a lot from him and his nice lectures. I also like to thank the PhD section officer, Dr.Suresh Suryawanshi for all of his earnest and sincere cooperation during these years. I am also thankful to Hon.Prin.K.D.Jadhav in Yashwantrao Mohite College for his support during my research. Thanks to Dr.P.M.Bulakh, Director, Board of College and University Development for his kind official helps. I would like to express my heartily gratitude to Dr.Farzaneh Milani, Head of the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures at the University vi of Virginia for her very precious favour to send her books to me and to Syracuse University Press, New York to grant me to use them. I would also like to thank all my friends who supported me to strive towards my goal, Babak Bardia, Ghazaleh Jaberi, Nima Mirzai, Mojgan Aalipour, Arkhawan Fattah, Ahmad Mohammed, Younes Salih, and Zeyad Ayed; particularly to Dr.Omid Ghahreman and my cousin, Sahar Rezvani for providing valuable sources. A special thanks to my family. Words cannot express how grateful I am to my family- in-law not to let my husband alone in Iran during my absence and to my dear parents and brother for their emotional support and prayer, which sustained me thus far. I would like to express appreciation to my beloved husband Amir who tolerated this farness and was always my support in the tough moments. He helped me like an assistant and pushed me forward patiently; without his love, this task was impossible. At the end, I owe thanks to two people who taught me a lot, Mrs. Fouzieh Kiani, my teacher in the first grade of elementary school and Mrs.Zahra Shokri, my Persian Literature teacher in the high school, the presence of these two dears was a milestone in my educational life. March 01, 2014 Angela Sadeghi Tehrani vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Certificates ii - iii Declaration iv Acknowledgement v - vi Chapter I 1 - 26 Introduction 1.1. Hypothesis 1.2. Scope and Limitations of the Study 1.3. Aims and Objectives of the Study 1.4. Methodology 1.5. Significance of the Study 1.6. Review of Literature 1.6.1. Related Studies 1.6.2. Related Concepts and Terms 1.6.1.i. Criticism 1.6.2.ii. Comparative Literature 1.6.2.iii. Confessional Poetry 1.6.2.iv. Modernism Chapter II 27 - 47 Theoretical Framework 2.1. Foreword: What Is Comparative Literature? 2.2. Appearance to Development of the Term - Comparative Literature viii 2.3. Afterword and Summing Up Chapter III 48 - 115 An Outlook of Contemporary Persian Poetry and Thematic Analysis of Forough Farrokhzad’s Poems 3.1. Modernist Poetry 3.2. The Tradition of Women’s Writing in Contemporary Iran 3.3. Thematic Analysis of Forough Farrokhzad’s Poems Chapter IV 116 - 184 An Outlook of Contemporary Indian Poetry in English and Thematic Analysis of Kamala Das’ Poems 4.1. Modern Indian Poetry in English 4.2. Women’s Voices 4.3. Thematic Analysis of Kamala Das’ Poems Chapter V 185 - 274 Comparative Study of Different Aspects as Expressed in the Poems of Kamala Das and Forough Farrokhzad 5.1. Comparison 5.2.Contrast Chapter VI 275 - 311 Conclusions 6.1. Main Findings in the Poems of Forough Farrokhzad 6.1.1. Summing Up 6.2. Main Findings in the Poems of Kamala Das 6.2.1. Summing Up ix 6.3. Similarities and Differences 6.3.1. Similarities 6.3.2.Differences 6.4. Epilogue Appendix 312 -316 Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Web Source 317 -318 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1 Chapter I Introduction Literature in Iran has always been used as a major medium of communication. This gesture also indicates the enormous popularity of classical poetry in Iran. In fact, until the end of the nineteenth century, poetry was the dominant literary form of expression. It was considered the greatest art of all. The most important figures of Iran's classical literature are poets such as Ferdowsi (940-1020 A.D.), Rumi (1207-1273 A.D.), Sa'di (1220-1290 A.D.), and Hafez (1320-1390 A.D.). Their works have been translated in all major languages. The tradition of poetry in Iran has kept its importance in twentieth century through great poets such as Nima Yushij (1895-1960), Ahmad Shamlu (1926- 2000), Mehdi Akhavan-e-Saleth (1928-1990), Sohrab Sepehri (1928-1980), and Forough Farrokhzad (1935-1967) who revolutionized traditional forms and founded Iran's modern poetry. However, since the end of nineteenth century, prose has acquired more attention. Authors such as Ali Akbar Dehkhoda (1879- 1956), Mohammad Ali Jamalzadeh (1892-1997), and later Sadegh Hedayat (1903-1951) contributed in forging a simple prose language, which could become accessible to ordinary people. This modern prose enabled short story writers and novelists to use literature to engage readers in socio-political issues of the society. 2 The 1979 Islamic Revolution was followed by a literary revolution. Although the combination of ‘pure’ literary values and political concerns continued their existence in the post-revolutionary literature, this period was marked by the desire to redefine oneself in that changed society. Indeed, this desire, or rather need, is a common outcome to any revolution but Iranians chose literature as one of the major vehicles of expressing this need. In a very short period of time a surprising number of novels and short stories were published. It is also noteworthy that women's involvement in literary production has increased to an unprecedented degree and their works represent a major aspect of the new identity of Persian literature. This new identity is a blend of traditional and modern trends, and its scope is determined by local and universal concerns. Of late, the realistic, modernistic, pessimistic mode of the first three decades of post-independence writing has been giving way to a non-representational, experimental, self-conscious and optimistic literature. But the real challenge the writers of today face is the enforced homogenization and standardization of culture due to globalization and the new, easy and superficial internationalism which tempts Indian English writers to market themselves abroad. Having said this, it also needs to be mentioned that there has been a movement to take Indian writing across the globe. Fictional writings and even representations of nature and characters in its best form by writers like Salman 3 Rushdie (1947), Vikram Seth (1952), Amitabh Ghosh (1956) have taken Indian writing and writers to great heights. These are efforts of several generations of Indian authors writing in English that have resulted in international success, particularly since the publication of Midnight's Children (1981) by Salman Rushdie. The Indian novel in English has finally been accepted as an important literary endeavour. It could also be mentioned that Indian women writers have begun to gain recognition – thanks to Arundhati Roy(1961) winning the Booker Prize for The God of Small Things in 1997. Prior to the rise of the novel, many Indian women composed poetry and short stories in Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Urdu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. Women were the chief upholders of a rich oral tradition of story-telling through myths, legends, songs and fables.