Symbolic Representation of Insignificant Creatures in Jibanananda Das's Selected Poems

Abstract

The paper explores the symbolic representation of insignificant creatures in Jibanananda Das's selected poems. Jibanananda Das (17 February 1899 – 22 October 1954), a renowned Bengali Modern poet, very often used imagery and symbolism in his works to convey complex themes and ideas. In most of his poems, he portrays animals and insignificant creatures such as owls, rats, flies, geese, ravens, mosquitoes, kites, martins, and snails as powerful symbols of life and death, growth and decay, and the cyclical nature of existence. This paper explores how Jibanananda Das gives a poetic tone to the wild creatures which were othered by most of his contemporaries; where his contemporaries stated these creatures are very unpoetic and lower in tone to use in poetry. By examining the use of language, imagery, and poetic devices such as similes, metaphors, and personification, this research demonstrates how the poet portrays these creatures with deeper meanings and implications. The study also investigates how the poet's use of these symbols contributes to the larger themes and motifs of his poetry, such as the transience of human life, the interconnectedness of all things, the search for meaning in a chaotic world, time consciousness, death consciousness, and many more things. The paper also helps us to know how these symbols represent the nostalgia for the past, love life, and modern life of the poet himself. By thoroughly leafing through his poems, literary notes, essays, and secondary texts on Das’s works; this paper demonstrates the critical overview of Jibanananda Das. Keywords: Wild Creatures, Death, Otherness, Self-Consciousness, Time-Consciousness, Symbol.