Throughout history, people from various regions and time periods have faced exile, most often due to political and economic reasons. Today, exile remains a pressing global issue, affecting many individuals around the world. It is a challenging and often painful experience that can completely transform a person’s life, yet it can also bring some positive outcomes. This master’s thesis explores the theme of exile in the poetry of Uruguayan poet, writer, and activist Cristina Peri Rossi. The thesis is divided into a theoretical and an empirical section. The first part provides an overview of the sociopolitical and historical context of Uruguay in the 1970s and 1980s, when the country was under a civil-military dictatorship. It outlines the course and consequences of the regime, everyday life in Uruguay during this period, and offers a brief look into the country’s cultural, and especially literary, scene. The thesis also discusses the life, literary work, and key literary characteristics of Cristina Peri Rossi, who, due to dictatorship, permanently moved to Spain, where she continues to live and write. We demonstrate that her personal circumstances, particularly her experience of exile, have profoundly influenced her literary work, mainly her poetry, and we highlight her academic awards. The thesis further defines the concept of exile, presents the main characteristics of literature of exile, especially in the Hispanic American context, and introduces key authors who experienced exile firsthand and later addressed it in their work. In addition, it discusses the sociopolitical function of art and the essential sociological ideas related to the theme. In the next chapter, we explore the theme of exile in the literary, and especially poetic, work of Cristina Peri Rossi. We mention autobiographical elements from her life and their connection to the lyrical subjects of her poems. In the empirical section, the thesis examines how lyrical subjects in Cristina Peri Rossi’s poetry relate to exile. The analysis shows that they experience exile in complex and ambivalent ways, even many years later, through feelings of loneliness, inferiority, and nostalgia, and through positive memories of their homeland. The selected poems reveal how their attitudes toward exile evolve and transform over time. Through an interdisciplinary approach, drawing from literary studies and theory, as well as sociology, cultural anthropology, psychology, and history, this master’s thesis offers a comprehensive analysis of exile in Cristina Peri Rossi’s poetry. It also outlines the sociopolitical significance of her poetic work, thereby emphasizing the reciprocal influence between art and society.
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