A Lacanian Reading of Human Psyche in the Poetry of John Keats and Faiz Ahmad Faiz

Abstract

Romantic poetry, as an expression of the conscious and unconscious sentiments of the individual, holds a significant potential to be analysed for psychological contents. Such a view would reveal the personal life and psychological status of the poets. Therefore, the present paper concentrates on the Lacanian reading of the poetry of John Keats and Faiz Ahmad Faiz: the two major romantic poets of two different eras. Lacan divides the development of human psyche into three different stages i.e. ‘imaginary order’, ‘symbolic order’ and ‘real order’ While focusing on the ‘imaginary order’ and ‘symbolic order’, this comparative study intends highlighting the similar psychological states of the two poets as expressed in their poetry.