SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This thesis analyses contemporary poetry focusing on the theme of migration from a woman’s perspective. The poems are interpreted using close-reading methodologies, focusing on selected motifs such as hope and nostalgia. The thesis will trace innovations in the application of those motifs in contemporary poetry as opposed to classical poetry. The outlook on migration as processed through the poems of the selected poets differentiates itself from other literary and poetic works as being at its core hopeful rather than despairing.