Digital Object Identifier
Decadence, a major theme is visible clearly in the poems of Jayanta Mahapatra, specifically in the volume A Rain of Rites. In this volume, the poet has portrayed the wretched condition of life in Odisha, the native land of Mahapatra in post- colonial era. In this poem, the poet has explored the economic condition of his People, which has had an unexpected impact on their lives who have become not only economically but morally, ethically, and spiritually paralysed. This paper focuses on the poems like “Hunger”, “A Missing Person”, “Dawn at Puri”, “The tattooed Taste”, “The Whore House in Calcutta Street” and “Dawn”. These poems narrate the picture of decadence in the form of fractured humanity, the greedy self, and unshattered carnal desires of a patriarchal society. This analysis shows the symbolic language of Mahapatra through which he has expressed the grief and guilt of both his people and his place.
Ms. Malabika Mishra, Dr.Papri Mukhopadhyay. “Decadence in ‘A Rain of Rites’ by Jayanta Mahapatra: A Bird’s Eye View.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 17, no. 4, August 2026, pp. 513-529. DOI, https://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n4.31.
Open Access · CC BY 4.0 · Crossref DOI ·
the-criterion.com