The poetry of Ruth Miller : the Word and her words
Master Thesis
2002
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University of Cape Town
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This dissertation analyses a selection of Ruth Miller's poetry collected in Floating Island (1965), Selected Poems (1968) and previously uncollected poems included in the posthumous collection, Ruth Miller: Poems, Prose, Plays (1990) edited by Lionel Abrahams. It extends and argues against the most recent readings of Ruth Miller proposed by Joan Metelerkamp (1991 and 1992). Metelerkamp suggests that previous criticisms of Miller, focusing exclusively on her modernist intent, ignore Miller's role as a woman living in a society dominated by patriarchal authority; an authority that is informed by the Judeo-Christian tradition. This dissertation extends Metelerkamp's observation, showing how the existential crisis that is made manifest in Miller's poetry is generated by both her compliance with and denial of this patriarchal Judeo-Christian meaning-making system. It also registers a changing development in Miller 's poetic trajectory from her earlier to her later poems. Metelerkamp's criticism of Miller's poetry has not recorded this development, allowing for the overall pronouncement that her poetry registers only loss and shows no conscious signs of negotiating the patriarchal system in which she is entrapped. In contrast, the conclusion of this dissertation points to elements in Miller's later poetry that suggest the development of Miller's voice as well as indicating Miller's recognition of her own compliance and desire to break with patriarchal authority.
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Bibliography: leaves 65-66.
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Salkinder, M. 2002. The poetry of Ruth Miller : the Word and her words. University of Cape Town.