The Concept of Altruism in Modern English Poetry

Abstract

The present paper portrays the necessity of the concept of Altruism in modern English poetry. The word "modern", generally, concerns with the rapid changes of technology and media. However, the attempts to understand the inner structure of the modern time determine the universal need for a concept that calls for the benefit of the other in addition to the one's self. This concept is "Altruism" which denotes the act of giving more priority to the other's needs.  This study, thus, aims to focus on the meaning of Altruism as an international topic which constitutes the center of many literary and philosophical works. In literature, more specifically, the term "Altruism" has been a subject of various interpretations. Many genres of literature dealt with the subject of Altruism in terms of preference for morals. Writers & poets, therefore, were conscious to present the altruistic subjects in their works and insisted to write about the unselfish behaviors as an attempt to reduce the wide effect of egoism. This paper illustrates the concept of Altruism in some modern English poems as  examples. It is divided into two sections, the first one is an introduction which includes sub-sections about types of Altruism and the relationship between literature and Altruism. While the second section concerns with explaining the concept of Altruism in  Molly Peacock's poem "Altruism" (1989) and Jimmy Santiago Baca's poem "I Am Offering This Poem" (1990). The paper ends with a conclusion which demonstrates some points of the subject.