Philosophical Musings over the Phenomenon of Death: A Thematic Study of Selected Poems of Shiv K Kumar’s Where Have the Dead Gone? And Other Poems

Abstract

This research article makes an attempt to thematically study the philosophical musings of Shiv K Kumar over death in his selected poems of Where Have the Dead Gone? And Other Poems. Kumar’s first love is poetry and, therefore, he is called an intuitive and philosophical poet. In his scholarly collection of poems, he seriously cogitates on the occurrence of death and questions where man goes after he dies. He is quite certain that intellect and reason cannot explain the mystery of life while intuitions can make us comprehend what life is. Through his poems, the poet makes his readers understand that life is balanced between the two absolutely opposite points of birth and death. It is a universally known fact that where there is birth, there is death. Birth is glorified and death is treated as something dreadful and is, hence, mourned. Intertwined in the philosophical riddle of birth and death, man has been trying for ages to delve into the mysteries of life, death, and rebirth. The poet wants to remain calm and composed and takes the life as it comes to him. In his collected poems, it is clearly understood that he treats the death of human beings and animals equally.