Draft:Feminist Poets of the Sangam Period

.The Sangam era is considered the golden age of Tamil literature, during which Tamil poets flourished. During that time, male poets composed Sangam poetry, and female poets also contributed significantly. When these poets brought their compositions to the Tamil literary world, their names were not explicitly mentioned, whether in anthologies or individual poems. This lack of attribution is evident when exploring the literature, whether in anthologies or individual poems, making it challenging to identify the female poets who contributed to Sangam literature.

If the names of female poets from ancient times were not explicitly recorded, their names were often derived from prominent words or themes used frequently in their literary works. As an example, a poet praises Semponn Parakkai in a poem. The name of this poet remains unknown to researchers. Nevertheless, the poem exhibits poetic brilliance. Hence, the poet is referred to as Semponn Parakkai Neerar, named after the theme of the poem, as no specific name is available for identification.

They are referred to as Sangam poets who belonged to the Sangam period. In the first Sangam, there were 549 poets, in the second Sangam, 449 poets, and in the third Sangam, 468 poets, all contributing to the growth of Tamil literature. Among the total of 1446 poets, 32 were female poets. .[citation needed].The names of these female poets and the number of poems they contributed in various anthologies such as Akanaṉūṟu,Purananuru, Kuṟuntokai,Naṟṟiṇai, Patiṟṟuppattu, and Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai are listed in the table provided here.