Metamorphosis of Women’s Presence in Badr Shakir Al-Sayyab and Ahmad Shamlou’s Poems

Al-Sayyab and Shamlou are two of the most prominent contemporary poets who, in spite of their love poems, tried to address the revolutionary function of women in their literary work. By promoting the woman's personality in this respect, they have detached her lover stereotypical face and have highlighted their revolutionary share and their ability to fight for liberation alongside men. Therefore, this research attempts to study the position of women in poetry of the two poets, and depicts their presence along with the changes that have been made in their personality. This is why categories such as struggle for liberation, accompaniment of solving human problems, and the escape of traditions are referred to as the most important constituents of women presence in the literary work provided by these poems. In Badr Shakir Al-ssayab’s poem, except for their traditional role, women are the symbol of the vanished homeland and sometimes represent the symbol of return to oneself. However, this linear trend in presenting women reflects well in the personality of those such as “Hafsa al-omari” and “Jamilah Bouhired” and reaches perfection. Al-Sayyab seeks to depict his revolutionary function in defending human freedom by matching women's personality with “Ishtar” and giving them Christ’s personality. On the other hand, in Shamlou's poems, women play an independent role in the social struggle. “Roxana” and “Aida” are models of revolutionary women in such poems. It seems as if the poet is looking for his soul-mate so as to enter the battle with her. The results show that the occurred metamorphosis, expect for the two poet's intellectual maturity, is influenced by the evolutionary process of Arab and Persian societies, modernization process, and initiation of humanity in contemporary thought and poem.