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Shloka Poem Summary
Shloka Poem Summary
Shloka Poem Summary
encompassing and therefore it can be applied to almost any freedom issue ,at any time . Still
, some metaphors and images clearly stem from the 60s .It is not absolutely necessary,
though , to know them to get the message of this song.
Stanza N2 starts off with the metaphor of a mountain being washed into the sea . Dylan
chose this image because it is almost impossible to imagine the time it will take until a
mountain will finally be washed into the sea. This mountain is compared to the , in the
authors eyes, racist materialist , imperialist and repressive American society . It will take
exactly the same time to open societys eyes to liberal ideas as it takes to wash down the
mountain. Dylan implicitly wants to encourage the civil rights movement to keep on trying to
make the U.S.A. a better place to live in , even if it will take an almost unimaginable long
time .
As in the first stanza his second and third question are more straightforward than his
philosophically disguised questions before. He then moves to the oppression of some people
(... allowed to be free...) . The following lines connect to his idea that made him write
Blowing in The Wind : he accuses the general public of turning their heads and pretending
not to see what is going wrong .
In the third stanza the author appeals to the reader not to remain in his / her lethargy , but
to sharpen his / her senses to the evil of the world . This is emphasized by the application of
words relating to our senses :look /see ,ears/ hear and cry /hear .
The first question urges the reader to open his eyes in order to perceive his surroundings
clearly. He is to open his ears to the cries of the suppressed people and to finally realize that
too many have died in vain.
2.1.3 Dylans Appeal to the Reader
Dylan appeals to the readers common sense by asking these obvious questions. The point
Dylan wants to make is that the real problem concerning the above -mentioned questions is
not answering them but asking them. Most people, he points out ,do not care about those
problems and do not bother to ask such obvious questions .
Further more , the song is validating the concern of the youthful protest movement while
absolving them from the obligation to come up with absolute answers to the problems about
which they protested.
The main idea of this song is that there are no hard and fast answers , the first obligation is
to care. The way to answer those questions , said Dylan is by asking them. But lots of
people have to first find the wind.
2.1.4. Personal View
Personally , I think it is a great song , because , on the one hand it implicitly deals with the
topics young revolutionaries liked to hear about ( oppression of blacks , womens role in
society ) but on the other hand , because all statements are put generally , it can be applied
to any freedom issue at any time.
Rabindranath Tagores poem Govindas disciple is a moral fable that deals with the relation
between Govinda and his disciple Raghunath. It is a subtle critique of materialism that goes
by in the name of spiritual respect.
The disciple presents a pair of gold bangles to his master. The master is not pleased at his
disciples gift. He wants to teach his foolish disciple that attachment to this metal is a serious
impediment to divine blessing. A disciple who seeks divine life is expected to possess
detachment from the material world. The master lets one of the bangles roll down into the
river. The panic-stricken disciple jumps into the water to recover the lost bangle. The master
spent the time reading scriptures. As the daylight faded, the disciple came up and begged
his master to help him spot the direction where the bangle fell to make yet another attempt.
To his shock, the master obliged him by throwing the other bangle to the same direction
where the first one fell.
This is how he teaches a lesson to his disciple and makes him realize that he was only
satisfying his ego and not showing real selfless regard for his guru. What is left unsaid is
more eloquent and effective. The abrupt end gives the reader a powerful message.
I think that one can examine the imagery used to describe the bangles the first time the guru
examines them when given by the student. An example of personification could be seen
when the diamonds darted shafts of light. The implication here is that the diamonds have
come to life, reflecting the severe love the student holds for the bangles, almost to value
them more than anything else. When Tagore writes that it slipped from his hand and rolled
down the bank., in this figure of speech, the idea of the object holding value is something
that brings out how the student viewed the object, explaining why he was destined to lose it.