NEVERMORE: THE LANGUAGE OF LOSS AND INCAPABILITY TO MOVE ON

Authors

  • Z ASHFAQ University Law College, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan Author
  • SHUH SHERAZI Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture Sciences, University of Punjab, Lahore, P.O BOX. 54590, Lahore, Pakistan Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64013/bbasrjlifess.v2026i1.47

Keywords:

Grief and mourning, memory and nostalgia, existential philosophy, trauma and remembrance, attachment theory, narrative of loss

Abstract

This article explores the philosophical and psychological dimensions of grief and man’s inability to fully detach himself from loss. Using Edgar Allan Poe’s, The Raven as the symbolic touchstone of departure, this study examines how memory, mourning and nostalgia shape the experience of loss across the intellectual traditions. Using existential philosophy, psychoanalytic theory, neuroscience and literary thoughts including the works of Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Albert Camus, Sigmund Freud, Marcel Proust and contemporary psychological studies, this paper focuses on the true nature of grief by arguing that it is not merely a process of detachment but is also a form of negotiation between memory and continuation. Memory functions both as a refuge and prison, keeping the presence of what has been lost intact, as well as preventing complete emotional closure. This paper demonstrates the persistence of memory and the human’s refusal to “move on”, are the instrinsic aspects of the human consciousness and identity. Ultimately the  healing comes not by erasing the memory but by embracing the reality and by transforming the grief into strength and by making the language of loss both as expression of despair and a pathway towards the psychological resilience and existential renewal.

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Published

16-03-2026

How to Cite

ASHFAQ, Z., & SHERAZI, S. (2026). NEVERMORE: THE LANGUAGE OF LOSS AND INCAPABILITY TO MOVE ON. Journal of Life and Social Sciences, 2026(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.64013/bbasrjlifess.v2026i1.47

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