Stylistic and thematic analysis of Vihang Naik’s poetry

Abstract

Vihang Naik’s poems from his collection ‘Poetry Manifesto’ have been made to exhibit how the artistic device of the poetic language of his varied range of verses attributes to the autonomous nature of his poetic language. His short and simple poems, ranging from ‘recognizable’ to ‘elusive phenomenon’, are easy to relate but connote the meaning beyond that of structure and line of thought and leaving much for reader’s imagination and contemplation. The structure, vocabulary and tone of his poems are its remarkable features. Naik’s poetic style is certainly characterized by economy of words and structure. Economy of poetic vocabulary is accompanied with economy of images. Spontaneity is another impressive feature of Naik’s poetry. It is never labored. Another quality which distinguishes him from many other Indian poets that he does not succumb to the temptation of philosophizing or show casing the Indian culture, which remains a temptation before some poets. He exercises a balance between involvement in and detachment from his subject.