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Abstract

Of the many important female American poets of the twentieth century, Adrienne Rich is one of the most significant. In her many journals and essays, Rich exposes an ongoing journey of self-discovery, a journey also revealed in her poetry. Her books of poetry Diving into the Wreck and The Dream of a Common Language in particular display a progression of thought about womanhood. This progression begins with a desire for androgyny achieved through a revival of the feminine portion of history in Diving into the Wreck. To achieve androgyny would mean an achievement of balance between male and female, which would mean the notion of male supremacy could be successfully discarded. Rich abandons this androgynous approach, however, and moves forward to express a need for and attempt at a rewritten history of women in The Dream of a Common Language. An advocate for the Women's Liberation Movement and radical feminism, Rich's work reflects her philosophical and political leanings that stem from the 1970s.This is a comparative study that draws not only from the writings of Rich herself but also from contemporary scholarship and literary critics.

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