Hend H Ezzeldin | Ain Shams University (original) (raw)

Papers by Hend H Ezzeldin

Exile is not a singular phenomenon but rather a varied and a heterogeneous one. The term exile ge... more Exile is not a singular phenomenon but rather a varied and a heterogeneous one. The term exile generally denotes displacement which refers to a movement out of one's original place, be it imposed or by one's choice. The theme of exile is pervasive in Irish literature reflecting the isolation felt by Irish writers who regarded themselves homeless at home and uprooted from earth as a whole. Many critics maintained that this intense sense of un-belonging to any place is translated into the logic of 'colonial aphasia' from Derek Mahon whose poetry is conditioned by various types of exile. Failing to take a stance of what was happening in his homeland and to elucidate his cantankerous, dissociated feelings, Mahon's decision was to sever himself entirely from any home no matter what this 'home' incarnates. In one of his interviews, however, Derek Mahon expressed utter disapproval of being seen as an exile and made it explicit that this should not be the way to interrogate his writing. Despite the fact that much of his poetry testifies that he is a displaced writer in exile, deeper readings of his works would showcase various attempts at connecting with the world he seems to reject. This paper attempts to examine Mahon's occult sentiments towards his homeland, his people, and his vocation by delving into some of his major poems to illustrate his endeavors at association even if the poems reflect detachment and disconnection. In every poem, there is a sense of belonging-to a place, a people, or to one's self-despite the sweeping motifs of division and aloofness.

Throughout history, man found himself entrapped between the materiality of the physical world and... more Throughout history, man found himself entrapped between the materiality of the physical world and the spirituality of the metaphysical one. Natural or man-made disasters that resulted in devastation and destruction in the wide world created not deformed bodies, but fragmented selves lost in the outer and the inner realms alike. Sharing a Christian background, Wallace Stevens (1879 – 1955) and Li Young Lee (1957 - ) seem to have found two ways to comprehend the reason behind their existence: through the physical world (the other) and through the self. Comparing and contrasting the two poets is an attempt to underscore the odyssey each of them has taken to understand the external world. In search of being, Stevens and Lee have embarked on a lifelong journey following two distinct routes but heading towards the same destination: voyaging through the universe and flying within the spirit. By digging deep into their volumes, the book attempts to highlight the relationship between the self and the other in the poetry of Stevens and Lee.

International journal of humanities and social sciences, 2017

In its general usage, the term ‘subaltern’ denotes alterity, difference, inferiority, and subordi... more In its general usage, the term ‘subaltern’ denotes alterity, difference, inferiority, and subordination. This theory has been foregrounded by the writings of Antonio Gramsci, Ranajit Guha, and Gayatri Spivak. Spivak declares the impossibility of representing the subaltern groups or giving them voices in narratives written by powerful parties as the typical representation of the subaltern groups often obscures their voice. In the context of colonialism, the subaltern cannot speak and is thence, unrepresented. This paper traces the representations or rather the un-representations of the subaltern in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre , Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights , and Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sign of Four . Written in the Victorian period which was one of imperial expansion, the subaltern, in these three novels, is rather dehumanized, associated with madness, darkness, and savagery and is denied a voice to express his true feelings or defend his actions. Being always the object rather...

This research paper underpins the significant role played by dreams in the construction of realit... more This research paper underpins the significant role played by dreams in the construction of reality in the poetry of the American poet Langston Hughes. Being a member of the Black community, Hughes recorded the nuances of Black life and the frustrations they faced, struggling to find a place in a world that would rather deny their very existence. He dreamed of a world that would treat all humans equally and would give voices to all minorities and ethnic groups. Dreams were a means of reconstructing as well as deconstructing reality for Hughes, and a 'positive' means of escapism from the brutal world without. In his dreams, the poet was able to live his desired-for life and enjoy the harmony within until time would come when his dreams will be part of a reality lived by all human kind. The function of the dream, herewith, is to deconstruct the ruthless reality where the poet lives and reconstruct a parallel reality where every noble thought becomes plausible. The dream becomes...

Proceedings of The 4th World Conference on Research in Social Sciences

In Disney's 1937 movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the female is represented as a p... more In Disney's 1937 movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the female is represented as a prototype of innocence, naivete, and gullibility. Offering her services of cooking and cleaning for the dwarfs, they accept to hide her in their house to keep her away from the eyes of the evil queen. Like any stereotypical female, she dreams of her prince charming who comes at the end of the tale to rescue her with his magical kiss, bringing her back to a life abundant with servitude and passivity. In Rupert Sanders' 'Snow White and the Huntsman' (2012), Snow White fights the evil queen, aided by both the natural world and the patriarchal society, to avenge for her father and claim her throne back. Whereas Disney's movie does not provide us with ample details about the evil queen or even furnish the story with the necessary context behind the queen's evil doings, the 2012 movie does. Clearly, the Disney movie puts clear boundaries between the concepts of good (Snow White) and evil (the queen) while the 2012 movie seems to be uncertain in drawing these lines. Like Snow White, Ravenna was a victim who lost her entire family and found retaliation the only response to a life of misery and loss. Ravenna is the villainous woman who marries men only to kill them and take everything they possess; she is the charming woman who enchants all men by her beauty and grace and thus fits the profile of the 'femme fatale'. I propose, however, that the real femme fatale in the movie is not Ravenna, but Snow White herself, who plays the role of the evil queen's alter ego, putting an end to Ravenna's rebellion against the male-dominated society but only to elicit another form of uprising where males and females are no longer at the ends of the spectrum, but collaborate to put an end to Ravenna's evil. Using a feminist/archetypal theoretical framework, I will explore Victorian tendencies towards gender stereotyping and trace the transformation that befell female representation over time. The conceptual focus of the paper examines the impact of feminism and feminist literary criticism on the construction of the femme fatale character and explores feminist perspectives on its representation in literature and film. The paper endeavours to trace the femme fatale's evolution ideologically through the characters of the evil queen and Snow White by placing the archetype vis-à-vis Victorian and modern tenets.

In Disney's 1937 movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the female is represented as a prototype... more In Disney's 1937 movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the female is represented as a prototype of innocence, naivete, and gullibility. Offering her services of cooking and cleaning for the dwarfs, they accept to hide her in their house to keep her away from the eyes of the evil queen. Like any stereotypical female, she dreams of her prince charming who comes at the end of the tale to rescue her with his magical kiss, bringing her back to a life abundant with servitude and passivity. In Rupert Sanders' 'Snow White and the Huntsman' (2012), Snow White fights the evil queen, aided by both the natural world and the patriarchal society, to avenge for her father and claim her throne back. Whereas Disney's movie does not provide us with ample details about the evil queen or even furnish the story with the necessary context behind the queen's evil doings, the 2012 movie does. Clearly, the Disney movie puts clear boundaries between the concepts of good (Snow White) and evil (the queen) while the 2012 movie seems to be uncertain in drawing these lines. Like Snow White, Ravenna was a victim who lost her entire family and found retaliation the only response to a life of misery and loss. Ravenna is the villainous woman who marries men only to kill them and take everything they possess; she is the charming woman who enchants all men by her beauty and grace and thus fits the profile of the 'femme fatale'. I propose, however, that the real femme fatale in the movie is not Ravenna, but Snow White herself, who plays the role of the evil queen's alter ego, putting an end to Ravenna's rebellion against the male-dominated society but only to elicit another form of uprising where males and females are no longer at the ends of the spectrum, but collaborate to put an end to Ravenna's evil. Using a feminist/archetypal theoretical framework, I will explore Victorian tendencies towards gender stereotyping and trace the transformation that befell female representation over time. The conceptual focus of the paper examines the impact of feminism and feminist literary criticism on the construction of the femme fatale character and explores feminist perspectives on its representation in literature and film. The paper endeavours to trace the femme fatale's evolution ideologically through the characters of the evil queen and Snow White by placing the archetype vis-à-vis Victorian and modern tenets.

European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 2017

In a world characterized by a loss of direction, an absence of hope, and a disbelief in spiritual... more In a world characterized by a loss of direction, an absence of hope, and a disbelief in spirituality, a world that disrespects differences, obliterates human relations, and undermines emotions, man tends to lose faith in humanity. Amidst this debris of human fragmentation and disconnectedness, Li-Young Lee ventures to reach the whole world by transcending time and space, appealing to the metaphysical, and excluding the cultural. This research paper aims to highlight Li-Young Lee's endeavors at creating tight bonds between himself and the rest of the world by unifying the dichotomies of the self and the other, interlacing a web of mutuality to embrace the entire universe. Lee calls into question the separation between beginning and end, birth and death, past and future, man and woman, and body and mind attempting to create a universal dialogue reflecting transcultural hybridity. To attain his goal, Lee depends on his memories to write poetry that is deeply personal but is universal in its appeal. Borders dissolve and language opens up to become the go-between the self and the other, giving meaning to what is invisible and evanescent.

Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 2018

Sufism is the mode of religious life in Islam in which emphasis is placed on the activities of th... more Sufism is the mode of religious life in Islam in which emphasis is placed on the activities of the inner self than external rituals and performances. The essence of Sufism lies in its internal transcendental experience. The aim of Sufis is to delve into the human soul and see through its darkness in order to reach the ultimate truth. Sufi poetry is abundant with images that present the human soul as a mystery that could be decrypted via contemplation, meditation, and inner vision. The target of Sufis is to reunite with the Universal Self that is the ‘truer’ self of every human (i.e. God). Likewise, Romanticism is founded on the doctrine that all creation began in harmonious unity. Romantic poets share Sufis’ quest for truth and an illuminating path towards reaching the essence of the Divine. A renowned Romantic poet, John Keats, contrary to his fellow Romantics, never alluded to sharing any interest with the orient or the spirituality it incarnates. However, by attempting a Sufi rea...

Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 2019

Demystifying the puzzle of the ancient Mariner's real story and identity has been the aim of many... more Demystifying the puzzle of the ancient Mariner's real story and identity has been the aim of many critics. Direct analysis of the poem would always propound a crossing of boundaries between the real and the uncanny without providing a clear interpretation of the actual context of the mariner's tale. The mariner's dilemma occurs when he shoots an albatross without any distinct reason, thus resulting in the death of all the crew members who turn into eccentric creatures. Accentuating his sense of guilt, the mariner stops a guest from entering a wedding and starts narrating his story. Whereas the guest never questions the reliability of the fictitious elements of the mariner's account, the readers do. Similarly, Edgar Allan Poe's speaker posits questions to an unwelcomed guest, a raven, who visits him at night and gets infuriated at the consistent answer he receives from him: 'Nevermore'. The readers are aware that the speaker is suffering from a psychological disorder since he insists the raven would reply to his distorted inquiries. This paper reads the mariner's as well as the Raven's speaker's quandaries in association with trauma theory highlighting their traumatic experiences and underscoring the unreliability of their narration by diagnosing them as patients of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Reference will be made to the importance of the albatross and the raven as fundamental motifs that project the characters' psychological predicaments resulting in the implausible tales they both recount.

Advances in Language and Literary Studies , 2019

Exile is not a singular phenomenon but rather a varied and a heterogeneous one. The term exile ge... more Exile is not a singular phenomenon but rather a varied and a heterogeneous one. The term exile generally denotes displacement which refers to a movement out of one's original place, be it imposed or by one's choice. The theme of exile is pervasive in Irish literature reflecting the isolation felt by Irish writers who regarded themselves displaced at their very home and uprooted from earth per se. Many critics maintained that this intense sense of un-belonging to any place is translated into the logic of 'colonial aphasia' from Derek Mahon whose poetry is conditioned by various types of exile. Failing to take a stance of what was happening in his homeland and to elucidate his cantankerous, dissociated feelings, Mahon's decision was to sever himself entirely from any home no matter what this 'home' incarnates. In one of his interviews, however, Derek Mahon expressed utter disapproval of being seen as an exile and made it explicit that this should not be the way to interrogate his writing. Even though much of his poetry testifies that he is a displaced writer in exile, deeper readings of his works would showcase various attempts at connecting with the world he seems to reject. This paper attempts to examine Mahon's occult sentiments towards his homeland, his people, and his vocation by delving into some of his major poems to illustrate his endeavors at association even if the poems reflect detachment and disconnection. In every poem, there is a sense of belonging-to a place, a people, or to one's self-despite the sweeping motifs of division and aloofness.

Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 2018

Sufism is the mode of religious life in Islam in which emphasis is placed on the activities of th... more Sufism is the mode of religious life in Islam in which emphasis is placed on the activities of the inner self than external rituals and performances. The essence of Sufism lies in its internal transcendental experience. The aim of Sufis is to delve into the human soul and see through its darkness in order to reach the ultimate truth. Sufi poetry is abundant with images that present the human soul as a mystery that could be decrypted via contemplation, meditation, and inner vision. The target of Sufis is to reunite with the Universal Self that is the 'truer' self of every human (i.e. God). Likewise, Romanticism is founded on the doctrine that all creation began in harmonious unity. Romantic poets share Sufis' quest for truth and an illuminating path towards reaching the essence of the Divine. A renowned Romantic poet, John Keats, contrary to his fellow Romantics, never alluded to sharing any interest with the orient or the spirituality it incarnates. However, by attempting a Sufi reading of his poem 'Ode to a Nightingale', this research paper will attempt to highlight the underlying philosophy and uncover the spiritual implications hidden within Keats' ode and propound a solid connection between Sufi and Romantic ideologies.

European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 2017

International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies, 2017

In its general usage, the term 'subaltern' denotes alterity, difference, inferiority, and subordi... more In its general usage, the term 'subaltern' denotes alterity, difference, inferiority, and subordination. This theory has been foregrounded by the writings of Antonio Gramsci, Ranajit Guha, and Gayatri Spivak. Spivak declares the impossibility of representing the subaltern groups or giving them voices in narratives written by powerful parties as the typical representation of the subaltern groups often obscures their voice. In the context of colonialism, the subaltern cannot speak and is thence, unrepresented. This paper traces the representations or rather the un-representations of the subaltern in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, and Arthur Conan Doyle's The Sign of Four. Written in the Victorian period which was one of imperial expansion, the subaltern, in these three novels, is rather dehumanized, associated with madness, darkness, and savagery and is denied a voice to express his true feelings or defend his actions. Being always the object rather than the subject of narration, the subaltern is never given a chance to recount his-story, always seen as the inferior other whose history should be told by more powerful entities. Falling prey to fear and despair, and failing to express his feelings in a humanely manner as a result of un-representation, the subaltern, in these novels, breaks out in uncontrolled irrational behavior; in an attempt to be recognized.

Philology: Literature and Linguistics Series, 2014

An ardent exponent of reality, Wallace Stevens (1879 -1955) has made strenuous efforts to underst... more An ardent exponent of reality, Wallace Stevens (1879 -1955) has made strenuous efforts to understand its complex and multi-layered structures. According to many critics and scholars of Stevens, reality, for him, is either factual or invented (in and via his imagination). Many of them have argued that Stevens rejects the external or factual reality for it has neither meaning nor content, and thus, contributes nothing to one's understanding. As for his imaginative conception of reality, they believe that it is secular and earthbound. Other scholars maintain that a conflict between reality and imagination is always found in Stevens' poetry and is never resolved. This research paper argues against such views. Although Stevens was intensely dissatisfied with the external world, he never rejected it wholly. To comprehend the reasons behind his existence, Stevens embarked on a life-long journey following two distinct routes: voyaging through the universe and flying within the spirit. This paper traces Stevens' philosophy of combining the secular and the sacred, the external and the internal, and the factual and the inventive as expounded in his poem 'Sunday Morning'.

Philology: Literature and Linguistics Series, 2010

International journal of humanities and social sciences, 2017

Proceedings of The 4th World Conference on Research in Social Sciences

European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 2017

Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 2018

Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 2019

Advances in Language and Literary Studies , 2019

Exile is not a singular phenomenon but rather a varied and a heterogeneous one. The term exile ge... more Exile is not a singular phenomenon but rather a varied and a heterogeneous one. The term exile generally denotes displacement which refers to a movement out of one's original place, be it imposed or by one's choice. The theme of exile is pervasive in Irish literature reflecting the isolation felt by Irish writers who regarded themselves displaced at their very home and uprooted from earth per se. Many critics maintained that this intense sense of un-belonging to any place is translated into the logic of 'colonial aphasia' from Derek Mahon whose poetry is conditioned by various types of exile. Failing to take a stance of what was happening in his homeland and to elucidate his cantankerous, dissociated feelings, Mahon's decision was to sever himself entirely from any home no matter what this 'home' incarnates. In one of his interviews, however, Derek Mahon expressed utter disapproval of being seen as an exile and made it explicit that this should not be the way to interrogate his writing. Even though much of his poetry testifies that he is a displaced writer in exile, deeper readings of his works would showcase various attempts at connecting with the world he seems to reject. This paper attempts to examine Mahon's occult sentiments towards his homeland, his people, and his vocation by delving into some of his major poems to illustrate his endeavors at association even if the poems reflect detachment and disconnection. In every poem, there is a sense of belonging-to a place, a people, or to one's self-despite the sweeping motifs of division and aloofness.

Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 2018

Sufism is the mode of religious life in Islam in which emphasis is placed on the activities of th... more Sufism is the mode of religious life in Islam in which emphasis is placed on the activities of the inner self than external rituals and performances. The essence of Sufism lies in its internal transcendental experience. The aim of Sufis is to delve into the human soul and see through its darkness in order to reach the ultimate truth. Sufi poetry is abundant with images that present the human soul as a mystery that could be decrypted via contemplation, meditation, and inner vision. The target of Sufis is to reunite with the Universal Self that is the 'truer' self of every human (i.e. God). Likewise, Romanticism is founded on the doctrine that all creation began in harmonious unity. Romantic poets share Sufis' quest for truth and an illuminating path towards reaching the essence of the Divine. A renowned Romantic poet, John Keats, contrary to his fellow Romantics, never alluded to sharing any interest with the orient or the spirituality it incarnates. However, by attempting a Sufi reading of his poem 'Ode to a Nightingale', this research paper will attempt to highlight the underlying philosophy and uncover the spiritual implications hidden within Keats' ode and propound a solid connection between Sufi and Romantic ideologies.

European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 2017

International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies, 2017

Philology: Literature and Linguistics Series, 2014

Philology: Literature and Linguistics Series, 2010