Student Research 1:

The Representation of the Oriental Woman in Sylvia Plath’s Poetry: Liberating the Veiled Body in “Purdah” and “Ariel”

Hind Alem, a PhD graduate student at the School of Foreign Languages - the University of Jordan, has published a research paper taken from her Dissertation that was supervised by Professor Hussain Al-Hawamdeh titled Subversive Disenchantment of Western Myths, Fairy Tales and Oriental Figures in Sylvia Plath's and Anne Sexton's Poetry (Aug. 2023). The research was taken from the third chapter of her dissertation under the title "Appropriating the Oriental: The Exploration of the Eastern Female" (p.p. 87-117). The first section of this chapter is titled "Liberating the Veiled Body" and the second section is "Reimagining the Oriental Woman."

The Representation of the Oriental Woman in Sylvia Plath’s Poetry: Liberating the Veiled Body in “Purdah” and “Ariel”​

The  present  article  discusses  the  representation  of  Oriental  female  figures  in  selected  poems  of Confessional poet Sylvia Plath, revealing the function of the women’s representations and their contribution to the poet's battle against patriarchy. The Orientalist aspect of Plath’s works is complex and comprises different layers  of  meanings.  The  analysis  focuses  on  the  characters  of  Ariel  and  the  Muslim  bride  in  “Purdah” regarding the notion of modesty through the physical and symbolic object of the veil. Thus, the study raises the question of whether the poet offered Eastern women the same voice of liberation as Westerners or whether her judgment  was  influenced  by  Oriental  discourse  that  is  prone  to  stereotypes  and  a  lack  of  knowledge  about other  cultures  and  religions. The  study  relies  on Edward  Said’s  Orientalist  discourse,  alongside  Leila  Abu Lughoud’s clarification on the position of Oriental women in the Western eye. The analysis also sheds light on concepts such as the “Wild Woman Archetype” to  focus  on  the  paradoxes  of  empowerment  and  subjugation embodied in the Oriental figures referenced in Plath’s poems. The  study  illustrates,  through  selected  poems, the  attitude  of  Sylvia  Plath  towards  Oriental  women  and  her  endeavor  to  speak  out  on  behalf  of  women's rights universally, at the risk of dismissing the peculiarities of Oriental culture and religion.

Link to Research: 

https://tpls.academypublication.com/index.php/tpls/article/view/5718/4572

​​Student Research 2:

Sir Charles Sedley’s Adaptation of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra: Transformation from Anxiety into Admiration ​​

Eyad Al-Haddar, a MA graduate student from the School of Foreign Languages - the University of Jordan, has co-authored (with Prof. Hussein Alhawamdeh) a research paper titled "Sir Charles Sedley’s Adaptation of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra: Transformation from Anxiety into Admiration." The paper was published in International Journal of English and Education​ (ISSN: 2278-4012, Vol. 8, Iss. 1, January 2019). The paper examines drama in the English Renaissance with specific focus on William Shakespeare's tragedy Antoney and Cleopatra.

The Abstract: 

This paper examines Sir Charles Sedley’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra (1607), showing the Restoration tolerance to the East and anxiety of Charles II’s transformation into absolutism. In Sedley’s Antony and Cleopatra (1677), Cleopatra is depicted as a virtuous and faithful queen, defending simultaneously Egypt against Octavius Caesar’s colonialism and preserving virtuous love of Antony. Sedley’s adaptation lacks the Renaissance stereotypical delineation of the East and demystifies the Renaissance glorification of the Roman empire. Sedley’s play offers stages of moral reformation of Octavius Caesar from tyranny and absolutism into wisdom and peace. Unlike Shakespeare, Sedley empowers the Oriental and Western women, represented by Cleopatra and Octavia, against the Roman patriarchal and colonial abuses. Moreover, Sedley’s play reshapes the Shakespearean stereotypical delineation of Antony, showing him as a rational and moral Roman leader. This study aims at enriching modern scholarship on Sedley’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, providing a more detailed textual analysis of Sedley’s play through Restoration lens. ​​

Link to Research: 

https://www.ijee.org/assets/docs/3EYAD.2122029.pdf​