Confession, embodiment and ethics in the poetry of Antjie Krog and Joan Metelerkamp

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis examines the work of two contemporary South African poets, Antjie Krogand Joan Metelerkamp. Through an analytical-discursive engagement with their work,it explores the relationship between confession and embodiment, drawing attention tothe ethical potential located at the confluence of these theories and modes. The theoryinforming this thesis is drawn from three broad fields: that of feminism, embodimentstudies and ethical philosophy. More specifically, foundational insights will comefrom the work of Simone de Beauvoir, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and EmmanuelLevinas. While much of the theory used originates from Western Europe and NorthAmerica, this will be mediated by sensitivity towards Krog and Metelerkamp's SouthAfrican location, as is fitting for a study focused on embodied confession and theethical treatment of the other.The first chapter will establish Krog and Metelerkamp as confessional poets andexplore the ethical implications of this designation. It will also explore the contextualgrounds for the establishment for a confessional culture in both the United States ofAmerica of the 1950s that gave rise to the school of confessional poets, and in SouthAfrica of the 1990s. The second chapter will use embodiment theory to discuss therelationship between poetry and the body in their work, and the ethics of thisrelationship. The remaining chapters concentrate on three forms of embodiment thatfrequently inhabit their poetry: the maternal body, the erotic body and the ageingbody. Throughout the analyses of their poetic depictions of, and engagements with,these bodies, the ethical potential of these confessional engagements will beinvestigated.Through the argument presented in this thesis, Metelerkamp's status as a minor SouthAfrican poet will be re-evaluated, as will that of Krog's undervalued Englishtranslations of her acclaimed Afrikaans poetry. The importance of confessional poetryand poetry of the body, often pejorative classifications, will also be asserted.Ultimately, through drawing the connections between confession, embodiment andethics in poetry, this thesis will re-evaluate the way poetry is read, when it is read, andpropose alternative reading strategies.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University