How Poet used Imagery and Figure of Speech so perfectly in his

poem To India — My Native Land

In the poem, To India — My Native Land, the poet, Derozio wrote in such in such a way that there
is a presence of Imagery and Figure of Speech which makes reader attracted to this poem and
they can easily visualize what is written and also it makes them easily graspable the entire
poetry. They can easily get the message of the poet.

“ My country! ”
The poem begins with a grief-stricken utterance My country! that reverberates throughout the
poem. The poet, with a heart brimming with sorrow, grieves over the lamentable and nightmare
scenario of present India. India is trodden under the British feet.My country! The profound
patriotic fervor of the poet finds expression in this passionate address. Here, the poet uses the
figure of speech — Apostrophe. Apostrophe is rhetorical device that addresses things which are
personified; absent people or abstract ideas. Apostrophe is often used to convey extreme
emotion. Derozio personifies India as a Divine Goddess. India is considered as a female figure
since we always relate to our country as mother and in India we refer to our country as Bharat
Mata (or Mother India).
“In thy days of glory past:”
In the past when India was full of glory In the past, India had a rich cultural, spiritual and literary
attribute: she was full of glory and was admired and revered all over the world. India was
regarded highly by all but now, because of her subjugation to the British imperial intentions, she
has lost all her glory and grandeur.
“A beauteous halo”
Halo means a circle of light surrounding the head of a holy person in a painting or a sculpture.
The phrase underscores the divine and stellar status that India enjoyed in the past.
“She was Worshiped as a deity, as a goddess. ”
The poet resorts to the figure of speech Metaphor to compare India to a deity. (metaphor is a
figure of speech in which two things are compared omitting like or as.)
“ Can we forget those happy days? ”
The poet then exclaims rhetorically where the glory and reverence that India enjoyed in the past
have vanished. Rhetorical Question is a question in which the answer is implied in the question
itself. Such a poetic technique is used by the poet to involve the readers in the drift of the poem.
“Thy eagle pinion is chained at last Eagle is no royal bird;”
Pinion is its wings. The poet metaphorically compares India at present to an eagle, a regal bird,
which is chained and, hence, cannot fly. The contrast of India at present to the India in the past is
obvious. In the past. India was like. an eagle regally soaring high up in the sky. But, at present,
she has been demeaned to the condition of a chained eagle unable to fly but can only crawl
piteously on the lowly rubble.
“grovelling in the lowly dust art thou ”
Here, grovelling means crawling; humble means cheap, worthless; dust means earth The
meaning of the word dust is significant in that it refers to a saying in the Bible “Thou as dust;
thou returnst to dust”. Dust is an image of death. According to the Christian belief, God created
man out of clay (dust) and when, afire his death, he is buried, he becomes one with the earth
(dust).
“Thy minstrels hath no wreath to weave for thee”
Minstrels are poet-singers. Wreath is a floral decoration placed over man’s dead body to show
respect and regard to the dead soul. Wreath is an image of death. The poet employs these
images of death- dust and wreath- to communicate to the readers the worthless and
meaningless as well as the demoralized condition of India under the British dominance. The
writing of a poem is compared, using a concealed metaphor, to the weaving of a wreath. In the
past, the poets used to compose and sing songs of praise glorifying the greatness of India. Now.
the poets can no more write these eulogies since India is in a miserable state having lost all its
glory and divine status of the past.