The representation of women in the poetry of Eavan Boland and Carol Ann Duffy

This Master thesis deals with the representation of women in the poetry of Eavan Boland and Carol Ann Duffy. It focuses on contemporary women poets and the way whereby they both convey women in Ireland and Great Britain. The study primarily explores Eavan Boland’s depiction of women. She states in her book New Collected Poems significant aspects such as anorexia, love and sexuality. Subsequently, Boland’s poems represent not the truth, but a truth about Irish women in society. Furthermore, this paper draws a point of comparison with the work of an influential Scottish writer, Carol Ann Duffy. In her collection of poems, The World’s Wife, the author highlights the importance of gender incompatibilities and discrimination. In addition, she gives women a voice in a society that has been traditionally reserved for men. To sum up, this thesis aims to determine the differences and analogies between Eavan Boland and Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry in their representation of women.