Feminism: A Feminist and Critical Analysis of Donnes Poetry

The Flea and Woman's Constancy

A Research Proposal Presented to the Faculty

Of
Department Of English
National University of Modern Languages
Supervisor
Dr. Akbar Sajid
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
of Master of English

By
Farrukh Iqbal
December, 2014

National University of Modern Languages Islamabad

Multan Campus
December, 2014

ABSTRACT
The research comprises post-structuralist techniques to find out social and cultural
discrimination towards women in Renaissance lifestyle. It is designed to discover
how John Donne has portrayed the marginalization of women in The Flea and
Woman's Constancy. More specifically, this research is designed to discover how
females at the edges are considered as an annoyed creature from Renaissance
viewpoint regarding their patriarchal viewpoint. The literary textual research further
is designed at determining the common reasons of feminism and the needs of women
to obtain freedom regarding the social and cultural viewpoint of the females at the
limits.

Keywords: Feminism; Gender Discrimination; Femininities; Renaissance Period

1.1 INTRODUCTION
The aim of the existing research is to explain and make clear the techniques Donne
has designed and represented the marginalized women in their poetry from a
particular perspective of feminism. As feminism encourages various opinions, such as
gender changes, gender inequality and gender oppression; hence, the women in The
Flea and Woman's Constancy proper in the perspective of existing research.
Moreover, the research tends to show marginalization of women from a Renaissance
feminist perspective.
Donne has proven amazing skills in illustrating the numbers and developing a wellknitted strategy. They are generally a feminist and were one of very few men in the
Renaissance era, who dared to increase the words against social and cultural
inequalities, presented by patriarchal cultures.

1.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH

Donnes The Flea and Woman's Constancy has a good spot in contemporary
feminist literary works even in the literature. Feminist poet is involved with both
comprising the sexualities of women in literary works as well as female's place in
patriarchal cultures, through providing words to the women at the edges. Main to the
oppressive patriarchy is explanations of what it is to be a woman in patriarchal culture
or society.

1.3 PURPOSE OF RESEARCH

Construction of women identities and psychological oppression towards women, in
The Flea and Woman's Constancy are the center of attention of analysis. The
main purpose of this research is to find the oppressive components of patriarchy
which usually marginalize independence of women identification.

1.4 DELIMITATION OF STUDY

The analysis focuses on the critical study of poetry of The Flea and Woman's
Constancy. The analysis does not include the other texts of John Donne.

1.5 LITERATURE REVIEW

The analysis has used the theoretical frameworks advocated by Abrams, Woolf,
Elaine Showalter, Cameron, Deborah Tennon, Dale Spender, Friedan, Kate Miller,
Bell Hooks, Mary Wollstonecraft, Sara Mills, Walter Nash etc. whose feminist
concepts can be necessary to create a knowing on femininities and the oppression of
male dominance towards women. According to them womanliness is a social
construct. The complexity of the age is reflected in the written literature of John
Donne.

1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The analysis pursues descriptive approach and an illustrative strategy, and its
results are based on an in-depth critical and literary feminist analysis of the poems
The Flea and Woman's Constancy. Since poems have been published with a
highly effective feminist perspective hence, some components of this placement have
been

taken for

analysis.

Moreover,

Feminist

Stylistics

Methods will

be

applied to evaluate the text messages.

1.7 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. How John Donne represent the oppression of male dominance towards women
in The Flea and Woman's Constancy?
2. How does Donne give a strong voice to the women at the margins in The
Flea and Woman's Constancy?

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