Hermeneutic Analysis of Besik Kharanauli's Poem "Due to Lack of Words": Existential Loneliness and the Creative Burden

Abstract

This article presents a hermeneutic analysis of "Due to Lack of Words“, a significant poem by the prominent contemporary Georgian poet, Besik Kharanauli. The study aims to delve into the profound thematic and figura­tive layers of the text, utilizing the hermeneutic methodology to fully grasp the author's intentions and the intrinsic value of the artistic work itself. Given that poetry often employs figurative language, a hermeneutic app­roach, as a theory of interpretation, is crucial for uncovering the poem's hid­den, subtextual meanings and achieving a deep understanding of the author's vision.

Our analysis primarily draws upon Hans-Georg Gadamer's concept of the „hermeneutic circle“, a fundamental principle that emphasizes the inter­connectedness of the part and the whole within a text. This method allows for a comprehensive, rather than superficial, examination of the poem's aes­thetics, seeking appropriate explanations for the author's underlying mea­ning. Hermeneutics, as the art of interpretation, highlights the interplay bet­ween the text, the author, the reader, and the broader context, enabling us to comprehend the existential loneliness, creative burden, and the poet's alienation from the world as depicted in the poem.

The hermeneutic analysis of „Due to Lack of Words“ reveals it as a deeply layered artistic text, reflecting on existential loneliness, the creative burden, and the tragic fate of the poet. By applying Gadamer's principles of the „hermeneutic circle,“ it becomes clear how individual elements of the poem – such as its title, the refrain „Don't call me, Mother“, the feeling of past burden, and the poet's „illness of foolishness“ – acquire profound signi­ficance within the overall context of the work.

The analysis demonstrates that the speaker's rejection of their mother is not impulsive, but rather an expression of a heavy internal state, provoked by the sense of life's futility (echoing Ecclesiastes' vanity) and the inherent tragedy of the artist's creative burden. Concurrently, „hermeneutic“details within the poem, such as the difficulty of "lifting one's head," the mother's voice associating with pain, and the illusory nature of the past, point to the lyric hero's deep psychological and emotional exhaustion.

The poem's titular phrase, "Due to Lack of Words“, serves as a crucial guide, hinting at a rupture of identity, where "word" (logos) signifies divini­ty for the lyrical hero, and its "absence" suggests a Nietzschean "death of God“. Consequently, life loses its meaning and becomes empty, rendering the individual akin to a „dummy“, reminiscent of T.S. Eliot's „Hollow Men“. The repeated refrain, „Don't call me, Mother“, underscores the protagonist's profound isolation and pain, indicating a tragic alienation from both self and the world. This can be interpreted as a desire for enforced isolation or „in­ter­nal emigration“, especially within the Soviet era context, but also as an individual spiritual crisis stemming from various subjective and objective circumstances across any epoch.

Furthermore, the poem delves into the poet's self-perception, port­raying himself as „sick with foolishness“ – not madness, but an overwhel­ming expenditure of creative energy that was misdirected or found no complete outlet. The comparison of his song to a bird's, where it doesn't re­turn, symbolizes the one-sided nature of the creative process. The lines about not rushing to shed weaknesses and not exchanging dreams for reality highlight the poet's pessimism and disillusionment, suggesting his dreams were too beautiful to be fulfilled in a harsh reality.

The poem also reflects on the poetic calling as a curse and a blessing, where the poet experiences an acute sensitivity to the world's minutiae, seeking to feel „every needle, every eyelash“. This resonates with Baude­laire's „Benediction“, where the mother curses the birth of her poet son. The poem tragically equates poetry not with happiness, but with destruction, consuming the poet's „heart and liver“. The ultimate burden lies in the poet's inability to describe the world directly, symbolizing the creative anguish and uniqueness of finding a new language.

In conclusion, Besik Kharanauli's „Due to Lack of Words“ not only portrays the poet's individual crisis but also reveals universal truths about the human psyche, the weight of creation, and the complexities of dialogue with the world. Gadamer's concept of the „fusion of horizons“ supports the idea that despite the different experiences of the poet and the reader, the text creates a new space for understanding, where shared existential feelings are exchanged. Thus, „Due to Lack of Words“ remains a significant literary work that compels the reader towards profound reflection and interpretation.