productive feminine language in poetry: a comparative analysis of adrienne rich and margaret atwood’s poems from the perspective of poststructuralist feminism

Challenging the predominant idea that language functions as a neutral mirror of objective reality, poststructuralist feminists emphasize that the prevalent language in patriarchal societies privilege the masculine in construction of meaning all throughout the patriarchal history which allows no place for feminine modes of expression and writing. therefore, female writers utilize their ability in creative writing to portray female difference in language and text by focusing on female experiences expressed in feminine language. through using feminine modes of writing and expression rather than the dominant masculine methods of writing, such female writers as margaret atwood and adrienne rich rediscover female experiences in their poems exhibiting productivity and plurality of women’s language. thus, the purpose of the present study is to conduct a comparative analysis of atwood and rich’s poems from the perspective of poststructuralist feminism. the most significant finding of the research is that, through using genuine female forms of expression rather than the authoritarian masculine modes, both atwood and rich bring into being the symbolic weight of female consciousness and, consequently, illustrate the oppressive forces that obstruct female expression. the study implies that through viewing women's difference as a source of power rather than a point of inferiority to men, such feminist writers as atwood and rich stand against the dominant patriarchal modes of writing and exhibit the productivity of feminine language and writing as opposed to the prevalent masculine language.