Crisis of Female Criticism and the Dilemma of Woman Becoming in Adrienne Rich's Poetry

Introduction: The study explores cultural, social, and political standpoints about woman in the poetry of Rich. Adrienne Rich is a prominent figure in defending woman’s status in the American society. She is an active feminist. Her notion that a woman is “special” (Rich, “When We Dead Awaken”, 2001, p. 15) is a source of her female power. In her works, Rich elucidates crises of criticism against women calling for equality and liberation, on the one hand. On the other hand, she persuades women to struggling for altering their social positions. Adrienne Rich, a poet of towering reputation and towering rage, whose work distinguished by an unswerving progressive vision and a dazzling, empathic ferocity brought the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse and kept it there for nearly a half-century.