A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE CONCEPT OF DEATH IN WALT WHITMAN AND SHAIKH AYAZ’S POEMS

Abstract

The current study is a part of my PhD thesis “A Comparative Study of Walt Whitman and Shaikh as the poets of Political Freedom and Cultural Awareness” in which attempt is made to explore common concepts of love, freedom, cultural heritage, political tendencies and notion of death. So present study investigates depiction of death in poems of Walt Whitman and Shaikh Ayaz. Death is an undeniable fact of life. No one can escape from its lethal clasp. It is a universal phenomenon that one day all living beings are bound to perish and decay. It is observed that the subject of death is a topic of frequent discussions and writings with some writers. The Holy Scriptures, religious sermons, jail diaries, memoirs and other literary works have visibly presented its existence with arguments and proofs. Novelists, playwrights, biographers, essayists, travel writers and poets have portrayed it with sad and gloomy depictions but Walt Whitman and Shaikh hold different perspectives with regard to death. The current study is a qualitative research and textual analysis method has been used to undertake it. Findings reveal that Whitman and Shaikh Ayaz, two influential poets of different lands and regions, present their notions of death with optimistic views. They celebrate death. For them death is not an end of life rather a new beginning. Sometimes they hold similar notions but, in some cases, their treatment to death differs. In this connection, the present study will open new windows to the world of research.