Document Type
Thesis
Date of Degree Completion
Winter 2008
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English Literature
Committee Chair
Virginia Mack
Second Committee Member
Paulus Pimono
Third Committee Member
Jason Knirck
Abstract
William Butler Yeats's (1865-1939) work harkens back to an idyllic Ireland-a mythic land of heroes. Through his and others' depiction of Ireland as an idealized space, Yeats furthered the myth of the Mother Ireland figure. Due to this representation, female Irish writers, like Eavan Boland (1944- ), find that Irish women have not only been written out of the canon, but also out of the fabric of history. Thus, this study examines the works of lrish poet Rita Ann Higgins (1955-) through the lens of the Yeatsian tradition, which has long defined Irish identity. Higgins writes in direct contrast to Yeats's depiction of lrish women, writing women out of mythology and into reality through her characterization of their daily lives. Higgins also destabilizes the Yeatsian view of identity by appropriating the myth of Mother Ireland and examining it through the eyes of a modem Irish woman.
Recommended Citation
Bator, Jeanine Alene, "REPOSSESSING IDENTITY: THE WORK OF RITA ANN HIGGINS" (2008). All Master's Theses. 1974.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1974