பாஞ்சாலி சபதத்தில் பெண்ணியத் திறனாய்வு (Panjali Sabatham A Feministic Criticism)

Abstract

Literary criticism aims to excavate the deeper meanings embedded in literary works. Aspects invisible to the eyes of the writer and reader can be brought to light via literary criticism. While literature is an artistic product, literary criticism can be described as scientific research on literary works. The creation of literature is parallel to the conception of literary criticism. Once a literary work is thoroughly investigated, literary criticism accompanies the process. Hence, it is impossible to separate literary criticism from literature. Fundamentally, literature brings pleasure to human beings. However, literary criticisms make them think. Any literary work gains more value when it goes through literary criticism as the process identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the work. Panjali Sabatham, one of the famous works by the renowned Mahakavi Bharathiyar, is critically reviewed in this paper. Since literary criticism allows one to look at one complete work or specific portions of a work, this paper focuses on the feminist aspects of Panjali Sabatham using the Literary Criticism Framework. The criticism yields important findings like Bharathi’s objective for naming the work as Panjali Sabatham, the penalties for violence against women, feminist pride, and female slavery, which are intertwined within the work.