Sickness, Pain and Death in the Poetry of Nima Yushij

The aim of this essay is to show how themes of wound, sickness, blood, pain and death are represented in the poetry of Nima Yushij, and their implicit meanings. Based on the discourse of the Constitution period it is argued that such themes represent slaughter and bloodshed. On the other hand, the image of sick bodies can be interpreted as a sign of democracy and the presence of minority voices. The paper takes advantage of the ideas of Charles Baudelaire and Linda Nochlin. According to Nochlin's views on wounded and sick bodies, lack of body’s cohesion in Nimaꞌs poetry can be considered as a metaphor of absence. This absence has created a modern world without cohesion and certainty. It is argued that experiences of sickness and death in Nimaꞌs poetry is based on a relationship between artist’s sensitivity and that of the patient, as Baudelaire stated. Finally, it is concluded that injury, sickness and death’s image in art does not mean decay and non-existence; it means “new birth”. In other words, we can understand a new meaning of art and beauty via non-aesthetic themes.