The thesis begins with an introductory chapter that explains the creative process, providing quotes from well-known poets and examples from my own personal history and ideas. Some of the creative concepts discussed are different manifestations of inspiration, such as the duende and the Muses. However, the act of creating a work of art--what actually occurs when an artist works--remains undiscovered. Every poet is part of the poetic tradition, yet she also strives to supersede that very tradition. In my poetry, I try to build on and deviate from the poetic tradition, while simultaneously representing events from my cultural and personal history. Twenty-nine poems follow the introduction. The poems included in this volume represent a contemporary writing style influenced by Romanticism and Modernism, apparent in nature imagery and ambiguity.

Kamala Das is one of the best-known contemporary Indian women writers, albeit largely for the controversy that her candid, confessional writing has sparked in the relatively traditional context of Indian academia. Since the publication of her first collection of poetry, Summer in Calcutta (1965), Das has been considered an important voice of her generation. Her provocative poems are known for their unflinchingly honest explorations of the self and female sexuality, urban life, and women’s roles in traditional Indian society. Critics have expressed a range of opinions on her work: some laud her boldness, compelling sincerity and striking originality, while others dismiss her work as sensationalist, limited in scope and unsophisticated. In this dissertation, issues of selfhood represented in the poetry of Kamala Das will be analysed with regard to various aspects of her identity, such as those of a housewife, a lover, an Indian, a female writer, and a confessional poet. Selected theories on identity formation posited by Erik Erikson and Norman Holland will be explored, as will relevant hypotheses on female identity by Nancy Chodorow and Judith Gardiner. I propose that selected aspects of these theories shed light on the themes, tones and subject matter of Das’s verse. Almost all of her poems are personal and are fuelled by an intense need for emotional fulfilment. I suggest that the poet’s search for love is central to her identity and I aim to show how this (largely unsuccessful) quest, as reflected in Das’ poems, stems from various expectations by and on her. The recurring theme of expectations and the resulting tones of despair (the ‘hopes and fears’) in her work will be traced and analysed. This research is valuable in that there has been little exploration into identity and expectations in Das’ work and there is almost no research on her emanating from Africa. Through close textual analysis I also aim to highlight how useful insights into identity formation and female writing can enable a more in-depth understanding of Das’s poetry. Both female identity and women’s writing are increasingly significant fields in academia today, and there has been a rise in autobiographical writing in recent years; thus this research will contribute to debates about these issues in contemporary poetry. A portfolio of my own creative writing will accompany the essay. Like Kamala Das, I am also a Malayalee woman (from the province of Kerala in India) and I identify with some of her concerns with regard to the roles of women. Although my writing is not confessional or as personal as Das’s, our shared experience of the socio-cultural expectations placed upon us (due to our gender and ethnic background) links this mini-dissertation to my poetry portfolio. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / English / unrestricted

This doctoral thesis involves two components, a book length collection of poems and a critical study of ‘Herbert White’ and ‘Ellen West’ by Frank Bidart. The collection of poems, The Coagulate, consists of four parts: 1) Semi-personal poems focusing on nature both in a general sense and in specific reference to the natural British landscape. 2) Poems that explore the nature-based myths and contemporary social idiosyncrasies of Japan.3) Poems that explore the social perception of mental illness and the individual voices that exist in spite psychological classification.4) Poems by an alter-ego and pseudonym named Lee Cole, a completely foreign perspective to my own. These poems were written with the intent to adhere to Frank Bidart’s concept of Herbert White as ‘all that I was not.’ However, unlike Bidart, these poems attempt to remove the presence of the poet and forgo the use of a feint. The collection is organised with contexture in mind rather than chronology. Poems build upon one another and one section flows into the next causing the book to have a fluid quality. The critical component examines Bidart’s treatment of two mentally ill characters in respect to the establishment of the form, style, and voice that would become a hallmark of his poetry. Chapter 1 looks at the first poem of Bidart’s first book, ‘Herbert White.’ This chapter examines how Bidart’s unique use of typography, voice, Freudian theory, and the sharing of the poet’s history contributed to the crafting of a mentally ill character and the contexture of Golden State. It suggests that the inclusion of the poet, a stable presence in comparison to White, allows the reader to recognise certain universal human personality traits in a character that seems inhuman. Chapter 2 examines how Bidart crafted ‘Ellen West,’ a character just as unlike Bidart as ‘Herbert White.’ Central to this analysis is the examination of how to construct a character struggling with identity. It also examines the use of dramatic monologues and how ‘Ellen West’ fits into a form with a flexible definition. As with Chapter 1, Chapter 2 examines how Bidart uses the poet’s self to add to a fictional narrative and how that reflects upon his personal poetry, indicating that Bidart’s use of the self is a redirection from how the Confessional poets used first-person.