Pandemics and Literature: Exploring the Depiction of Disease in Poetry

Abstract

Literature has witnessed diverse changes in its form, style, expression and genre with time. It has evolved with the evolution of society and expanding in vision. With changing trends, literature has also been understood according to new perspectives, ideas and thoughts. The change that COVID-19 has brought in the lifestyle of masses across the globe has given rise to a new way of decoding literary works. This new vision has given rise not only to a new theme of writing but also provided a new way of looking at some untouched works from the past that directly or indirectly talked about disease, its spread and the psychological impact of  pandemic. The paper traces the influence of pandemic prevalent in English poetry where there are evidences of loss, pain and devastation intermixed with a sense of hope and strength. It covers selected poems that discuss factors associated with pandemic and reiterate the depiction of state of survivors during the outbreak. Poetry is one major genre of literature that has its own vivid impact over the readers. The paper is going to discuss some influential writers like Elizabeth Bishop and W.B. Yeats and the meanings behind their works.