Feminism and Postfeminism: The Context of Modern Indian Women Poets Writing in English

Feminism and postfeminism: the context of Modern Indian Women Poets Writing in English is a research-based study of Indian women poets of the post-independence era. These modern poetesses are significant for voicing their minds with great courage and boldness. The focus of the study goes on their feminist leanings and reactions. The author’s analysis tells that women poets from 1965, with the first poetry publication of Kamala Das, to 2000, show a bold feminist voicing. The dominant theme with the majority poetesses of this span is man-woman relationship, especially in terms of their quest for gender role, identity and space in the patriarchal set up of society. The poetesses have, therefore, been scanned mainly for their portrayal/representation of men, their feminine/female sensibilities and urges, and their quests for identity, space, recognition and respect. After 2000, with the advent of the new century and the new millennium, one can notice a remarkable change in the preoccupations of the new Indian women poets. The new poetesses show a detour from the conflict of gender. Unlike their predecessors, these budding poetesses are aloof from the polemics of sexes. They rather appear to be looking into man-woman relationship with newer insights to perpetuate mutual understanding and harmony between the sexes through acceptance and appreciation of differences and individualities. And thus herald the ‘post’ – phase of feminism with do have the promise of an egalitarian future.