The Study of Mourning in Female Elegy

Yıl 2012, Cilt: 9 Sayı: 2, 311 - 323, 01.04.2012

Şebnem Düzgün Editörden

Öz

Elegy is a genre which has been under the influence of the rules imposed by male poets throughout
its history. Therefore, only a little space is left for the female poets who desire to express their individuality.
However, female elegists’ contributions to the development of the genre cannot be denied because their
struggles to defy the established rules have offered tremendous varieties. Female poets, contrary to traditional
male poets, are against the idea of separation from the dead as they believe it is the corpse, not the thoughts,
which disappears when a person dies. Therefore, their mourning is continuous, which is demonstrated by
a circular structure moving from sorrow to sorrow. On the other hand, the fact that female elegists cannot
find a substitute for the deceased is interpreted as a distinct sign of melancholia by some critics inspired
by Freud’s statements in his essay “Mourning and Melancholia” (1917). Another distinction is that female
elegists do not regard elegy as a tool to claim themselves as the inheritors of the deceased. This study is an
examination of mourning in female elegies. In examining “Remembrance” and “North Haven”, the present
study aims to contribute to the discussions about the representation of female mourning in Anglo-American
women’s poetry

Anahtar Kelimeler

elegy , Emily Brontë , Remembrance , Elizabeth Bishop , North Haven , individuality , melancholia , mourning

The Study of Mourning in Female Elegy

Öz

Ağıt, tarihi boyunca erkek şairler tarafından ortaya konulan kuralların etkisi altında kalmış bir tür- dür. Bu nedenle, benzersizliklerini açığa vurmak isteyen kadın şairler için çok az bir alan bırakılmıştır. Fa- kat, kadın ağıt yazarlarının bu türe olan katkıları inkar edilemez; çünkü yerleşmiş kurallara karşı gelme ça- baları muazzam farklılıklar sunmuştur. Kadın şairler, erkek şairlerin aksine, bir kişi öldüğünde düşüncele- rin değil, bedenin yok olduğuna inandıklarından ölen kişiden ayrılma düşüncesine karşı çıkarlar. Bu ne- denle, matemleri süreklidir ve bu gerçek, üzüntüden üzüntüye doğru hareket eden dairesel bir yapıyla gös- terilir. Öte yandan kadın ağıt yazarlarının ölünün yerini dolduracak bir şey bulamamaları, Freud’un “Mo- urning and Melancholia” (1917) adlı makalesindeki ifadelerinden esinlenen bazı eleştirmenler tarafından melankolinin belirgin bir göstergesi olarak yorumlanır. Bir diğer ayrım da kadın ağıt yazarlarının ağıtı ken- dilerini ölünün varisi olarak iddia etmek için kullanabilecekleri bir araç olarak görmemeleridir. Bu çalış- ma, kadın şairler tarafından yazılan ağıtlarda görülen matemin bir incelemesidir. Mevcut çalışma, İngiliz yazar Emily Brontë’nin “Remembrance” başlıklı şiiri ile ve Amerikalı yazar Elizabeth Bishop’un “North Haven” başlıklı şiirini inceleyerek Anglo-Amerikan kadın şairlerin şiirlerindeki matem temsilleri hakkın- daki tartışmalara katkıda bulunmayı amaçlamaktadır

Anahtar Kelimeler

ağıt , Emily Brontë , Remembrance , Elizabeth Bishop , North Haven , özgünlük , melankoli , matem.

Kaynakça

• The Norton Anthology of American Literature retreived from: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/eng- lish/naal7/ contents/B/authors/bryant.asp. on March 15 2012.
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