Transcending the Awareness of Pain in Poetry: A Critical Focus on the Poems of Pain by Jane Austen and Emile Dickinson versus Jayant Mahapatra and Bibhu Padhi

Abstract

Portrayal of pain or any emotion through poetry is an eccentric way to feel disconnected from the outer world in order to minimize the intensity of that emotion unlike pleasure does with its form. Pain is an inseparable part of life. It comes to us in different forms and makes us feel it. In this context, this paper attempts at comparing four poets of different modes of temporal as well as geographical set-ups dealing with the theme of pain. At first, it focuses on the scientific and philosophical meanings attributed to pain. Then, through the poetic revelation of pain, it critically delves into ‘I’ve A Pain in my Head’ by Jane Austen, and ‘After Great Pain, a formal feeling comes’ by Emile Dickinson. It is observed that Jane Austen uses the concept of pain casually by a narrating a conversation between a doctor and a patient complaining of a headache. On the other hand, Dickinson’s concept of pain indicates a funeral in the poem. It is the mental pain she focuses as her concern. The focus then shifts to the revelation of pain in the poems of the two well-known Indo-Anglian poets Jayant Mahaptra and Bibhu Padhi. Jayanta Mahapatra’s ‘Pain’ deals with the emotion in a unique way. He focuses on the concept of pain by putting a rhetorical question at the human existence. According to him, pain is the pain of being a human being. Bibhu Padhi in another way talks about physical pain covering all the body parts those who suffer and then concludes with a critical discussion correlating scientific, philosophical and poetic interpretation of pain.