A PSYCHOANALYTIC EXEGESIS OF TRAUMA IN COVID-19 POETRY

ROBERTS, SMITHA AND ADIMORA-EZEIGBO IN PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

For thousands of years, pandemics have influenced human history, having a significant effect on economies, civilizations, and cultures. After first appearing in late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic quickly spread over the world and affected almost every sphere of human existence. It has had a significant psychological and emotional impact in addition to its well-documented physical effects. Throughout history, poetry has functioned as a profound means of self-expression and a reservoir of collective memory, especially during times of crisis. The scope of this study is limited to analysing three poems written during or in  response to the COVID-19 outbreak. They are “Yellow Was Her Colour” by Linda Roberts (Canada), “Misery” by Smitha T. G. (India), and “Song of a Caged Bird” by Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo (Nigeria). These poems, selected from published anthologies, COVID-19 Pandemic Poems, The Sky is Falling: A Collection of Pandemic Poems, and World on the Brinks: An Anthology of COVID-19 Pandemic, respectively, reflect a broad range of voices, genres, and emotional registers. Although it does not attempt to provide a comprehensive analysis of all COVID-19 poetry, the study aims to emphasize recurring themes of trauma representation and argue for poetry's role as both a symptom of and a solution to crises. We also aim to add to the current academic discussions in literary trauma studies, psychoanalytic critique, and literature related to pandemics. We have used Caruth’s trauma theory to analyse the poems because it provides an appropriate framework for examining how poetry resolves the conundrum of expressing the inexpressible.