Article Details
  • Published Online:
    June  2026
  • Product Name:
    The IUP Journal of English Studies
  • Product Type:
    Article
  • Product Code:
    IJES040626
  • DOI:
    10.71329/IUPJES/2026.21.2.39-57
  • Author Name:
    Sreenidhi S and Maitali Khanna
  • Availability:
    YES
  • Subject/Domain:
    Arts and Humanities
  • Download Format:
    PDF
  • Pages:
    39-57
Volume 21, Issue 2, April-June 2026
A K Ramanujan’s Conceptualization of Poetry and Poetics in the Light of Theory of Embodiment
Abstract

According to the Theory of Embodiment, individuals process their and others’ emotional experience (real and fictional) using their own bodily experience and sensations. This paper explores A K Ramanujan’s works in the light of the Theory of Embodiment developed within the discipline of cognitive linguistics and cognitive psychology. Ramanujan’s poetry was shaped by his view that the mind and the body come together to cognize the world. This view aligns with the Theory of Embodiment. Therefore, the paper analyzes Ramanujan’s poetics by juxtaposing it with the three fundamental concepts that make the Theory of Embodiment—mind-body connection, process of categorization, simulation and projection— and examines how the poems of Ramanujan are exemplars of the fundamentals of this theory. A study of this kind is essential to form a strong theoretical base for further cognitive linguistic studies of not only Ramanujan’s works but also other Indian writings in English.

Introduction

The poetry of A K Ramanujan (AKR), a renowned Indian poet, is a testament to the creative potential latent in the human experience. To AKR, poetry was a means to weave together the threads of culture, language, and the human condition for an intricate and aesthetic exploration of emotions and ideas.