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

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. Keywords: , , , , ,

Keywords

• emotions
• emotional intelligence
• emotional competences
• Holocaust writers
• Chernivtsi
• reading transaction