Staring Inward: Eavan Boland’s Archive of Silences in Domestic Violence

The critical revision of the ways in which literature represents the conflict between voice and silence has traditionally led to the consideration of poetry as a genre in which this contrast acquires a deep resonance. From the distribution of its formal pauses to the gaps in meaning between the expl...

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Main Author: Marcos Hernandez
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Associação Brasileira de Estudos Irlandeses 2021-05-01
Series:ABEI Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.revistas.usp.br/abei/article/view/197754
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author Marcos Hernandez
author_facet Marcos Hernandez
author_sort Marcos Hernandez
collection DOAJ
description The critical revision of the ways in which literature represents the conflict between voice and silence has traditionally led to the consideration of poetry as a genre in which this contrast acquires a deep resonance. From the distribution of its formal pauses to the gaps in meaning between the explicit and the implicit levels of language, silence and the unsaid can be defined as fundamental components to perceive the literary text. In the case of the Irish poet Eavan Boland, her position in relation to this antagonism has been critically studied according to her desire of giving voice through her poetry to all those Irish women who have been historically silenced. In doing so, the contrast between these two extremes has been frequently connected to her distinctions between history and the past and the public and the domestic poem. This essay will analyse the conducting thread joining these oppositions through a close reading of two poems from her compilation Domestic Violence (2007). Additionally, it will explore Boland’s silences not only as an act of giving voice to the unvoiced but also as a formal expression of the layers of meaning hidden underneath the poem.
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spelling doaj.art-7ca76ba24f5e498d8c16f414e62096fd2022-12-22T03:22:47ZengAssociação Brasileira de Estudos IrlandesesABEI Journal1518-05812595-81272021-05-012328910410.37389/abei.v23i2.197754155743Staring Inward: Eavan Boland’s Archive of Silences in Domestic ViolenceMarcos Hernandez0Universidad de La LagunaThe critical revision of the ways in which literature represents the conflict between voice and silence has traditionally led to the consideration of poetry as a genre in which this contrast acquires a deep resonance. From the distribution of its formal pauses to the gaps in meaning between the explicit and the implicit levels of language, silence and the unsaid can be defined as fundamental components to perceive the literary text. In the case of the Irish poet Eavan Boland, her position in relation to this antagonism has been critically studied according to her desire of giving voice through her poetry to all those Irish women who have been historically silenced. In doing so, the contrast between these two extremes has been frequently connected to her distinctions between history and the past and the public and the domestic poem. This essay will analyse the conducting thread joining these oppositions through a close reading of two poems from her compilation Domestic Violence (2007). Additionally, it will explore Boland’s silences not only as an act of giving voice to the unvoiced but also as a formal expression of the layers of meaning hidden underneath the poem.https://www.revistas.usp.br/abei/article/view/197754eavan bolandcontemporary irish poetryirish historysilence in literature
spellingShingle Marcos Hernandez
Staring Inward: Eavan Boland’s Archive of Silences in Domestic Violence
ABEI Journal
eavan boland
contemporary irish poetry
irish history
silence in literature
title Staring Inward: Eavan Boland’s Archive of Silences in Domestic Violence
title_full Staring Inward: Eavan Boland’s Archive of Silences in Domestic Violence
title_fullStr Staring Inward: Eavan Boland’s Archive of Silences in Domestic Violence
title_full_unstemmed Staring Inward: Eavan Boland’s Archive of Silences in Domestic Violence
title_short Staring Inward: Eavan Boland’s Archive of Silences in Domestic Violence
title_sort staring inward eavan boland s archive of silences in domestic violence
topic eavan boland
contemporary irish poetry
irish history
silence in literature
url https://www.revistas.usp.br/abei/article/view/197754
work_keys_str_mv AT marcoshernandez staringinwardeavanbolandsarchiveofsilencesindomesticviolence