Symbolic Articulations of Post-Traumatic Memory in Women’s Poetry: Fire, Ashes, and Self-Transformation in Atwood and Al-Malaika
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1703.28Keywords:
comparative literature, poetic symbol, post-traumatic memory, psychological readingAbstract
This paper explores poetry’s capacity to transform post-traumatic memory into symbolic articulation in two major collections of prominent poets, Margaret Atwood and Nazik Al-Malaika. Both poets come from different cultures yet explore similar emotional experiences. Drawing on the psychological approach and trauma theories of Freud and Jung, this paper probes the psychological concepts of inner entrapment, fragmentation, transformation, and individuation. While prior studies have explored trauma in women’s poetry, limited attention has been paid to the symbolic articulation of post-traumatic memory across different cultures. By focusing on language and imagery in the selected works, the study aims to demonstrate how post-traumatic memory can distort the perception of both inner and external realities. In addition, it argues that the employment of symbols such as fire and ashes reflects the poets’ emotional bonds and psychological development throughout the poignant articulation of traumatic memories. The findings reveal a significant resemblance between the two poets in the symbolic expression of traumatic memory despite differences in time and cultural contexts. Both Atwood and Al-Malaika demonstrate psychological maturity through true self-acceptance and resilience. This paper contributes to studies of trauma and memory by enhancing the understanding of women’s poetic engagements with private traumatic memory as a transformative symbolic practice. Future research examining additional linguistic techniques in the poetry of diverse poets could enrich interdisciplinary scholarship and further illuminate poetry’s role in post-traumatic self-reconstruction.
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