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Abstract
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This study is significant on the grounds that it compares two different poets from different regions and countries: John Keats and Badr Shakir Sayyab, the former is a major Romantic poet of English Romantic period and the latter from a deprived third world country in the middle east, Iraq, which has previously had a great civilization. The significance of this thesis lies in its promotion of Iraq literature in the light of its comparison with a major poet to inculcate the idea that other poets should be known and talked about. It moves from Eurocentric ideas and welcomes all and spreads the idea of equality among all people of the world wherein lies its contribution to comparative literature. Studying Western literature alone indicates an entrenched imperialist argument for white superiority and worldwide domination of other races, especially Asians. This comparison of two different poets is significant because it indicates that literature is universal and poets from different parts of the world should be compared and contrasted, which denies the separation of superior and inferior poets. Thus, this thesis endeavors to analyze the poetry of John Keats and compare it with that of Sayyab, the Iraqi poet. Both these poets suffered a lot and their sufferings find expression in their poetry. Thus, it is a fertile ground to study these two different poets and set them against each other to comprehend how similar and different they are in terms of their poetic themes and expression. Of course, Sayyab studied English literature for his B.A and it is very highly likely that he may have been influenced by the English poets and authors. According to Baidoun, Al-Sayyab came under the influence of the major English romantic poets like Wordsworth, Shelley, and Keats (44-45).
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