The Speaking Body: Corporeal Symbolism in Arya Gopi's Poetry

Abstract

Poetry is an amalgam of both melancholy and bliss for Dr. Arya Gopi. She is an Indian bilingual writer who handles a wide variety of themes, the analysis of which would perhaps be a herculean task for a scholar. Her poetry contains everything. It speaks of inner and outer conflicts. It addresses intricacies of human psyche; confronts with life and death alike. Seldom do her words wither to be of a particular theme; instead it embraces everything general. Gopi's collection of poems, Sob of Strings (2016) reveals her keen observation and unique poetic techniques. Her poetry can perhaps be considered synonymous with several of the confessional poems of Sylvia Plath, Emile Dickinson and Kamala Das. Basic human emotions, life, death, nature and the like never really are redshirts here. Another significant aspect of Gopi's poetry must be the vitality of corporeal imagery made use of in Sob of Strings. Body can best used in theatre rather than literature, however, systematic development of bodily symbolism can make a work of literature complete. Body plays a vital role in meaning-making, which is a complex process. Plath and Emile Dickinson have constantly made use of several body centred symbols in order to depict intricacies of the human psyche. So does the author of Sob of Strings. Her poetry thus is a celebration of versatile themes, to justify which the author, without deliberate interruption, uses a handful of corporeal symbols.