A Bachelardian Perspective on Fire in Selected Poems

Abstract

The study problematised the applicability of Bachelard’s elemental theory of imagination to different literary works. Gaston Bachelard (1884-1962) can be described as a French philosopher who propounded his theory of understanding and analysing poetry or poetics. He ushered in a new idea of poetics of imagination in his book ‘The Psychoanalysis of Fire’. Thus, this article aimed at analysing the poetic element of ‘Fire’ in poetic works that include ‘The Tyger’, ‘Urizen’, ‘The Four Zoas’, and ‘Brush Fire’. The article adopted a qualitative approach and desktop methodology. The paper was underpinned by the theory of imagination. The study shows that Bachelard’s theory of imagination deals with poetic elements such as ‘Fire’, ‘Water’, ‘Air’, ‘Earth’, and ‘Space’. The above elements are not elements of nature but show the poetic inclination of the poets which finds manifestation in their works and are taken in the pre-Socratic sense. The study also shows that Bachelard’s theory of imagination is not only applicable to previously mentioned literary works or texts but also brings to the fore the poetic element of the poet, that is, the poetic element of fire. The study concludes that these poems exhibit imagery of fire which is reflected through the lexicon used in the poems and brings out the poetic element of the poet.