Abstract
Eavan Boland (1944-2020) paved the way for a new era for the next generations of poets through her treatment of the concept of violence as an Irish poet. While looking retrospectively at the turning points in Irish history and making her own private space visible to her readers, Boland also addresses the concept of violence on a gendered basis. Boland’s intellectual radar captures the period of Irish nation-building and the political and ethnic conflict in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s to 1998. Boland juxtaposes the socially experienced violence in these periods with everyday life experiences. Thus, the boundary between public and private spheres disappears in her poetry. According to Boland, from a gender perspective, the heroic ideal created in the face of violence excludes “the heroine” in Irish history. Accordingly, this paper problematizes how Boland handles violence on grounds of gender. To address this question, the following four poems are explored respectively in this paper: The War Horse, Suburban Woman, In Her Own Image, and Domestic Violence. In these poems, Boland identifies violence as a social experience which cannot be excluded from the private sphere and portrays it as an intertwined material with everyday experiences of the feminine subject.
Keywords
Ethical Statement
During the writing process of the study titled “Representations of Violence Crosscutting Gender in the Works of Eavan Boland”, scientific rules, ethical and citation rules were followed; no falsification was made on the collected data and this study was not sent to any other academic publication environment for evaluation.
References
- Allen-Randolph, J. (1993). Private worlds, public realities: Eavan Boland’s poetry 1967–1990. In C. Murray (Ed.), Irish University Review, 23(1), 5–22.
- Allen-Randolph, J. (1999). A Backward Look: An interview with Eavan Boland. Colby Quarterly, 35(4), 292–304.
- Boland, E. (2005). New collected poems. Carcanet Press.
- Boland, E. (2006). Object lessons: The life of the woman and the poet in our time. Carcanet Press.
- Boland, E. (2007). Domestic violence: Poems. W. W. Norton Company.
- Brown, T. (1993). Heart mysteries there: The War Horse. Irish University Review, 23(1), 34–39. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25483770
- Clark, H. (2007). Review of Domestic violence, by E. Boland. Harvard Review, (33), 180–182. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27569402
- Clutterbuck, C. (2021). Bodily vulnerability and the ethics of representing woman and nation in the Poetry of Eavan Boland. ABEI Journal, 23(2), 133–146. https://doi.org/10.37389/abei.v23i2.197758.
- Clutterbuck, C. (2005). Eavan Boland and the politics of authority in Irish poetry. The Yearbook of English Studies, 35, 72–90. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3509339.
- Clutterbuck, C. (1999). Irish critical responses to self-representation in Eavan Boland, 1987–1995. Colby Quarterly, 35(4), 275–287.
- Dean, T. (2014). Staging Hibernia: Female allegories of Ireland in Cathleen Ní Houlihan and Dawn. Theatre History Studies, 33(1), 71-82.
- Gelpi, A. (1999). Hazard and death: The poetry of Eavan Boland. Colby Quarterly, 35(4), 210–228.
- Ingman, H. (2007). Twentieth-Century Fiction by Irish Women: Nation and Gender. Ashgate.
- Trachsler, V. (2021). Priestess or sacrifice? Domestic tasks and poetic craft in Eavan Boland’s poetry. ABEI
- Journal, 23(2), 161–176. https://doi.org/10.37389/abei.v23i2.197760.
- Villar, P. (2006). The text of it: A conversation with Eavan Boland. New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua, 10(2), 52–67. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20558067.
- Wallenfeldt, J. (2025, April 26). The Troubles. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/The-Troubles-Northern-Ireland-history.
- Walter, K. (2013). From aisling to chora: female allegories of the nation in contemporary Irish women’s poetry. Irish Studies Review, 21(3), 313–325.
Abstract
Modern İrlanda Edebiyatı’nın en bilinen şairlerinden biri olan Eavan Boland (1944-2020), şiirinde şiddet kavramını ele alma biçimiyle genç İrlandalı yazarlar için yeni bir kapı aralamıştır. Boland, İrlanda tarihindeki dönüm noktalarına retrospektif bir biçimde bakar, aynı zamanda gündeliğin içinde bir ‘özel alan’ tarif eder, bunları yaparken de şiddet kavramını toplumsal cinsiyet temelinde ele alır. Boland’ın entelektüel radarına İrlanda’nın uluslaşma dönemi ve 1960'ların sonlarından 1998'e kadar Kuzey İrlanda'da yaşanan siyasi ve etnik temelli çatışma dönemi girer. Boland bu dönemlerdeki toplumsal olarak deneyimlenen şiddeti gündelik birey yaşantısı ile yan yana koyar. Dolayısıyla Boland şiirinde kamusal alan ile özel alan sürekli bir diyalog halindedir. Hatta, kamusal ile özel alan arasındaki sınır Boland şiirinde zaman zaman ortadan kalkmıştır. Ayrıca, Boland’a göre toplumsal cinsiyet perspektifinden bakıldığında, şiddet karşısında yaratılmış olan kahraman ideali İrlanda tarihinde kadın kahramanı dışlamaktadır. Bu kavramsal çerçeveden hareketle bu yazı, Boland’ın kendi şiirlerinde şiddeti toplumsal cinsiyet temelinde nasıl ele aldığını sorunsallaştırır. Bu yazıda, belirtilen sorunsala sırasıyla Boland’ın şu şiirleri üzerinden yanıt verilir: Savaş Atı (The War Horse), Banliyö Kadını (Suburban Woman), Kendi Suretinde (In Her Own Image), ve Ev İçi Şiddet (Domestic Violence). Bu şiirlerde şiddet özel alanın dışında bırakılamayan bir toplumsal deneyimdir ve feminen öznenin ‘özel alan’ deneyimleri ile iç içe geçmiştir.
Keywords
Ethical Statement
“Eavan Boland’ın Şiirlerinde Toplumsal Cinsiyet ile Kesişen Şiddet Temsilleri” başlıklı çalışmanın yazım sürecinde bilimsel kurallara, etik ve alıntı kurallarına uyulmuş; toplanan veriler üzerinde herhangi bir tahrifat yapılmamış ve bu çalışma herhangi başka bir akademik yayın ortamına değerlendirme için gönderilmemiştir.
References
- Allen-Randolph, J. (1993). Private worlds, public realities: Eavan Boland’s poetry 1967–1990. In C. Murray (Ed.), Irish University Review, 23(1), 5–22.
- Allen-Randolph, J. (1999). A Backward Look: An interview with Eavan Boland. Colby Quarterly, 35(4), 292–304.
- Boland, E. (2005). New collected poems. Carcanet Press.
- Boland, E. (2006). Object lessons: The life of the woman and the poet in our time. Carcanet Press.
- Boland, E. (2007). Domestic violence: Poems. W. W. Norton Company.
- Brown, T. (1993). Heart mysteries there: The War Horse. Irish University Review, 23(1), 34–39. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25483770
- Clark, H. (2007). Review of Domestic violence, by E. Boland. Harvard Review, (33), 180–182. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27569402
- Clutterbuck, C. (2021). Bodily vulnerability and the ethics of representing woman and nation in the Poetry of Eavan Boland. ABEI Journal, 23(2), 133–146. https://doi.org/10.37389/abei.v23i2.197758.
- Clutterbuck, C. (2005). Eavan Boland and the politics of authority in Irish poetry. The Yearbook of English Studies, 35, 72–90. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3509339.
- Clutterbuck, C. (1999). Irish critical responses to self-representation in Eavan Boland, 1987–1995. Colby Quarterly, 35(4), 275–287.
- Dean, T. (2014). Staging Hibernia: Female allegories of Ireland in Cathleen Ní Houlihan and Dawn. Theatre History Studies, 33(1), 71-82.
- Gelpi, A. (1999). Hazard and death: The poetry of Eavan Boland. Colby Quarterly, 35(4), 210–228.
- Ingman, H. (2007). Twentieth-Century Fiction by Irish Women: Nation and Gender. Ashgate.
- Trachsler, V. (2021). Priestess or sacrifice? Domestic tasks and poetic craft in Eavan Boland’s poetry. ABEI
- Journal, 23(2), 161–176. https://doi.org/10.37389/abei.v23i2.197760.
- Villar, P. (2006). The text of it: A conversation with Eavan Boland. New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua, 10(2), 52–67. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20558067.
- Wallenfeldt, J. (2025, April 26). The Troubles. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/The-Troubles-Northern-Ireland-history.
- Walter, K. (2013). From aisling to chora: female allegories of the nation in contemporary Irish women’s poetry. Irish Studies Review, 21(3), 313–325.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Language Studies (Other) |
| Journal Section | Review Article |
| Authors | |
| Early Pub Date | June 10, 2025 |
| Publication Date | June 11, 2025 |
| Submission Date | May 9, 2025 |
| Acceptance Date | June 10, 2025 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2025 Volume: 3 Issue: 1 |
