Female Voices in Keats’s Poetry

The book, Female Voices in Keats’s Poetry studies some major women figures in John Keats’s poetry in the light of recent criticism of sexual ambiguity in Keats. Sexual ambiguity, as scholars have discussed, refers to the sexual identity or fragmented poetic self as reflected in John Keats’s verse. It examines some central women characters of Keatsian verse in the light of this dual strand: first, as to how far these women figures are projections of Keats’s own poetic self; and secondly, what do they reveal, as regards attitudes of a male poet towards women. A study of these women figures provides interesting observations on feminine projections besides trying to correlate the shaping of these attitudes with the psychological and biographical strands of the poet’s life. The study of Keatsian verse complicates the issue of gender, has already been highlighted by recent criticism. The book examines the female characters in his poetry in the light of deeper conflicts, complexities and confusions within Keats’s own poetic self.