Emotions and Emotional Intelligence Beyond Words in the Poetry of Rose Ausländer, Selma-Meerbaum Eisinger, Paul Celan, and Dan Pagis

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Published: Dec 10, 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/lincu-2018-2-0125
Keywords:
emotions emotional intelligence emotional competences Holocaust writers Chernivtsi reading transaction

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Raluca Ștefania Pelin
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Romania

Abstract

Emotions are sometimes concealed in barely observable gestures or facial expressions.. Poetry follows a similar path when it hides an abundant load of emotional states behind the scarcity of words which are therefore endowed with a manifold power of expression. The secret to resonating with the message of the poet lies in the readers’ ability to approach poems from the perspective of emotional intelligence in order to become aware of the poet’s emotional states beyond words – states that stirred such a flux of thoughts and words, to find the bridge that links them to the poet in a particular common understanding of life issues, and to become aware of their own emotions, not only those felt while reading the poem, but their own emotional manifestations in similar contexts. The poetry of Rose Ausländer, Selma-Meerbaum Eisinger, Paul Celan, and Dan Pagis takes the readers to realms where suffering is intensely felt and where compassion and empathy take shape so as to change the readers’ perspective upon the world. The English versions of the poems are faithful mediators of these emotional states to readers belonging to various cultural backgrounds and historical contexts, and convey the powerful message that human inner battles transcend all borders and become precious life lessons.
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How to Cite
Pelin, R. Ștefania. “Emotions and Emotional Intelligence Beyond Words in the Poetry of Rose Ausländer, Selma-Meerbaum Eisinger, Paul Celan, and Dan Pagis”. Linguaculture, vol. 9, no. 2, Dec. 2018, pp. 81-98, doi:10.47743/lincu-2018-2-0125.
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Vol. 9 No. 2 (2018)
Section
Articles
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Author Biography

Raluca Ștefania Pelin, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Romania

Raluca Ștefania Pelin is a Ph.D. student at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iași, Faculty of Letters. The title of her thesis is Literature and Emotional Literacy - The Transforming Power of Literature Over Young Readers’ Minds and Behaviour. She has taught English and German for 15 years at Richard Wurmbrand College, Iași. She took part in a Socrates Programme: “General activities of observation, analysis and innovation” – Project title: ADORE Teaching Adolescent Struggling Readers. A Comparative Study of Good Practices in European Countries, hence her interest in the topic of reading literacy and the acquisition of life skills by means of literature. As part of her research in order to obtain the First Degree in Education, she has integrated concepts from the field of Emotional Intelligence and Emotional Literacy into the study of literature.

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