Critical-Analysis of poem “The Professor”

Introduction:
The poem “The Professor” is written by Nissim Ezekiel_ an Indian poet, actor, playwright,
editor, and art critic. He was a foundational figure in postcolonial India’s literary history,
specifically for Indian poetry in English. This poem is written in the form of a monologue.
This means that there is only a single speaker in the poem, and he speaks to someone who
listens to him silently, never once responding to his comments or queries with any words.
Here it is only Professor Sheth who speaks and never his former student. So, the listener
here is only a receiver of communication, called an interlocutor. The diction that the
professor uses would be quite unusual for native English speakers, but it is very common for
Indian speakers of English. Ezekiel has deliberately used such diction to mimic and parody
the way in which most Indians speak English. Ezekiel often satirizes Indian English in his
poetry, as seen here in this poem. What is also remarkable about this poem is the way in
which Ezekiel has focused on the generation gap in the form of the professor’s realization.
While speaking to his former student, the professor realizes that times have changed
drastically since his youth and his old age and that such changes are happening at an
alarmingly fast rate.
Even though the professor is old-fashioned and doesn’t have the best sense of humor, he is
quite endearing in his own way. He speaks in a rather uninhibited fashion. He also doesn’t
hesitate to stop in the street to talk to a man who had been his student years ago. Perhaps
this episode is drawn from Ezekiel’s own life. As we know, both Ezekiel and his father had
been eminent professors in their own time. So meeting former students would have been
an altogether too common experience for them, especially since they had lived the majority
of their lives in Bombay, which is where they had taught as well. Perhaps Ezekiel cherished
his memories of meeting his own or his father’s students fondly, and that is why he has
written this poem to commemorate such memories.

Central -Idea:
Professor Sheth, who had once taught geography and has now retired, encounters a former
student of his on the road and stops to have a pleasant conversation with him. He tells the
student about his own health and inquire about the student’s health as well. He speaks
about their children. He reminisces about how thin the student had been and how he has
gained weight and importance since then. Finally, Professor Sheth invites his former student
to visit his house one day.

Themes:
 Satire on Indian English: Ezekiel satirizes the way in which Indians speak in English
through this poem. This is noticeable in the use of present continuous tense, where
 simple present tense should be the norm. For example, the professor says, “I am
going out rarely,” when he could have just said, “I go out rarely.” The professor also
often omits certain parts of speech while speaking. That is why he says “I am not
against” instead of saying “I am not against it” or “Every family must have black
sheep” instead of “Every family must have a black sheep.” His phrases are repetitive,
as in “Our progress is also progressing,” and he uses such formal and outdated words
as “issues” in place of “children.” Even his puns are centered on the use of language,
such as when he compares reaching the age of 100 with scoring a century or when
he uses the double meaning of the word “weight” to make a joke. Ezekiel is
masterful in observing these peculiarities of Indian English and transferring them
effortlessly into his poetry. They make his poems humorous and enjoyable to read.
 Generation gap: Professor Sheth realizes that many changes have happened since
he was a young man and after his retirement. In his generation, it was quite common
to have a large number of children. However, in subsequent generations, that
number had reduced as a result of the use of birth control. Moreover, India has
become more and more advanced in terms of technological and scientific
innovations. All this is happening so fast that he cannot even keep track of all the
progress. This does not sadden him, though. He does not seem to especially affected
by it. He accepts it as a fact of life that is out of his control, and so he is indifferent to
it.
 Urban Thinking Pattern: The Professor revolves around the typical urban mentality
of people in India. The speaker here is a professor whose academic excellence is far
above from that of a common man. Instead of having a broad thinking, the professor
has a narrow, stereotyped thinking. His views are confined to his family, children and
their material achievements in life. He talks about his daughters who are happily
married and about his two sons who are sales and bank managers respectively. Like
a typical urban mentality, he thinks women should be happily married and confined
to their homes only. The poet has ridiculed the typical Indian mentality which
measures a person’s success based on monetary gains. Ezekiel has intertwined
satire, irony, humor with Indianism, urbanity and academic excellence to draw the
picture of a bereaved professor who meets one of his former students.

Analysis through Gist/Summary:

By analyzing the poem in the form of summary we will come across by the simple beauty of
the poem with its hilarious Indianisms , which we can call basically, Indian cultural
expressions. This is not about English grammar but the flavor Indian cultural attitudes lend
to the English language.
“Now I am retired, though my health is good ”.
That is an expression which may leave an Englishman perplexed. But to an Indian or
someone familiar with the Indian ethos, it is a perfectly normal expression. Know that he
has not retired but is retired. Which means he is healthy enough to continue to work for
another decade or so. But a silly service rule retires everyone at sixty on the basic
assumption that one cannot discharge normal duties after sixty, a rule from an archaic rule
book made when the life expectancy was extremely low.
“One is sales manager/One is bank manager. Both have cars”.
Know that both are Managers and have cars. Some years ago , a manager’s position , Sales
Manager or Bank Manager was a prestigious one, and in those times when most had only
scooters , it was a big deal to have cars. Parents flaunt their children’s high status in the
society . Whether or not one asked about the children they would announce their status- a
cultural trait so typical about a middle-class parent.
“How many issues you have? Three?”
It is typical Indian English to call children issues. When someone has three children, they will
say he has three issues – something official about it.
“How is your health keeping? Nicely? I am happy for that”.
Grammar purists may not approve of such usages but it conveys a lot more than a formal
“how do you do ” or some such expression. There is warmth in this more informal inquiry
about other’s health and expression of happiness about all being well and good with the
other person.
“This year I am sixty-nine and hope to score a century”.
Look at the cricket term : score a century. In cricket- crazy India cricket terminology is
routinely used as part of everyday conversation.
“ You were so thin like stick…Now you are man of weight and consequence”
Old man has his tongue in his cheek. Thin like a stick is a typical Indian expression. Man of
weight refers to new prosperity acquired and the consequent body weight.
“ I am living on opposite house’s backside”
An Englishman will be zapped by the complicated coordinates of the house. Someone
familiar with the layouts of the Indian streets will understand the location quickly . And
there is no better way of conveying the location. The English language is enriched by the
improvisations made by an Indian English speaker . Some interesting usages in Indian
English are reflected in this poem , which shows how keen an observer of human nature the
poet is.
“I am Professor Sheth”. Note he introduces himself as Professor Sheth. Once a professor,
always a professor.
“Once I taught you geography”. Note the usage “once”.
“Sarla and Tarala are married /Their husbands are very nice boys;”. All these family details
he is telling someone he meets after a gap of several years , whom he knew only as student
years ago. In India it is not unusual to talk about oneself and about ones’ family even when
you meet someone whom you know only briefly.
“You won’t believe but I have eleven grandchildren …”. “You won’t believe” is a typical
Indian way of trying to arouse the other’s curiosity.
“Their husbands are nice boys…”. An affectionate way of referring to sons-in-law in Indian
culture.
“Our progress is progressing”. Our progress , like per capita growth of GDP etc. is moving
slowly and has not reached the desirable level : an indirect way of saying we are developing
but not developed yet.
The narrative has some more platitudes:
“Every family must have black sheep”,
“We have to change with times,” etc.
The Indian elder uses platitudes in his talks with the youngsters liberally. One wonders how
a plain narrative like this can be called poetry. It has no imagery or nor does it invoke
sensory impressions . Yet it is a poem for the speech rhythm it uses with a delicious irony
that runs throughout the poem.
The old man has met an ex-student after a long time , may be after several decades and yet
launches into a monologue as if with someone he has had a long-standing relationship. As
with most Indian elders this one is a compulsive talker who does not leave a chance to chat
with people if it presents itself on the road. The social intercourse that takes place here is
one-sided and the younger man remains a mute listener.
The irony arises from the fact that neither the speaker nor the listener has English as his
mother tongue. Yet both use English to talk to each other , interspersed with cultural
expressions used in their mother tongues. E.g. “I am living on opposite house’s backside”.

STYLE AND FORM:

“The Professor” is both a conversational poem as well as a satirical poem. “The Professor” is
in a conversational form, it is about a conversation between two people, a professor and his
former student. The professor is the narrator in this poem and he talks about himself, his
family and children. The poem is in free verse style without having any regular metrical
form. This form helps the poet to freely describe the thoughts and feelings of a retired
professor. He speaks about his sons and daughters, his health, changing times and changing
values, talks that are typical of a middle-aged man. Thus, we can say the poet Nissim Ezekiel
has used an informal style to convey the thoughts of the old man. A satire is a way of
criticizing a person, an idea or anything else. In a satire, the human follies are attacked by
using humor, irony and exaggeration. The Professor is a satirical poem where the professor
is the object of satire and is ridiculed by the poet. Through the character of the professor,
Ezekiel has satirized the educated class, living in the cities. Like an old father-figure, the
professor speaks about his eleven grandchildren and then boasts about the material wealth
of his sons. Moreover, the poem is a blow to the Indians who use English language, making
mistakes of syntax, grammar, tense, etcetera, but still they would speak in English(they find
it prestigious) rather than in their own mother tongue.
Tone:
The tone of the professor’s voice is mostly cheerful and optimistic throughout this poem.
Only at one point does it lose its cheer slightly, and that is when he is talking about his third
son, whom he calls the black sheep of the family. There is also a note of passive resignation
with respect to the changes that are happening in the world. He knows that the values that
had been cherished in his own time are losing currency now, but that cannot be helped, so
he accepts it. Otherwise, the professor is glad that both he and his student are in sound
health and that their children are doing well. In the end, when he invites his former student
to his house, we can, in fact, imagine him doing so with a smile on his face.

Poetic and Literary Devices:

 Rhyme scheme: The poem does not follow any identifiable rhyme scheme in this
poem.
 Rhetorical Question: The rhetorical device is used when a poet addresses his or her
poem to an absent audience. In this poem, the poet uses the device of a rhetorical
question when the narrator directs all his words to a former student of his whom we
do not see at any point in the poem. Example: “Remember me? I am Professor
Sheth”, “How is your health keeping? Nicely?”,” How Many issues you have?
Three?”.
 Metaphor: This literary device is used when a covert comparison is made between
two different things or ideas. In this poem, the poet uses the device of metaphor in
line 29 when the narrator compares becoming 100 years old with scoring 100 runs in
cricket i.e a century.
 Simile: This literary device is used when an overt comparison is made between two
different things. In this poem, the poet uses the device of simile in line 30 when the
narrator compares how his student looked when he or she was young with a stick
and also uses the word “like” while making this comparison.
 Dramatic Monologue: The poem uses the technique of dramatic monologue where a
single speaker narrates everything in first person narrative in the presence of a silent
listener. So, here in this poem the speaker is a professor and the listener is his
student.
 Hyperbole: Hyperbole means exaggerating something. Ezekiel has shown that
Indians have the habit of exaggerating for emphasis. The use of hyperbole is quite
apparent in the professor’s speech. The examples are listed below:
“Our progress is progressing”. “ Everything is happening with leaps and bounds”.
“This year I am sixty -nine”. “You were so thin, like stick”.
  Use of Irony: The narrator being a professor should have a well command not only
over the subject that he teaches but also the language he uses. But the poem is full
of grammatical errors. He talks like a boastful father, as he speaks of his sons-“By
God’s grace, all my children/Are well settled in life”.
 Persona: The speaker adopts the persona of Professor Sheth, who narrates his life
experiences and observations, giving the poem a personal and conversational tone.
 Irony: The repetition of "Remember me?" at the beginning of the poem contrasts
with the mundane details of the professor's life, suggesting a sense of irony and
perhaps insignificance in the speaker's expectation of being remembered.
 Anaphora: The repetition of phrases like "I am retired," "My wife died some years
back," and "Every family must have black sheep" creates a rhythm and emphasizes
the professor's routine and matter-of-fact tone.
 Symbolism: The mention of the professor's health and the absence of major illnesses
symbolize his resilience and adherence to "sound habits in youth."
 Juxtaposition: The professor juxtaposes his own aging and infrequent outings with
the rapid changes happening in the world, highlighting the contrast between
personal experience and societal progress.
 Humor: The professor's comment about hoping to "score a century" at age sixty-
nine and his jest about the listener's weight add a touch of humor to the
conversation, lightening the tone of the poem.
 Alliteration: Instances like "Sales Manager," "Bank Manager," and "sound habits"
employ alliteration, enhancing the poem's musicality and rhythm.
 Imagery: Descriptions like "thin, like stick" and "man of weight and consequence"
create vivid images that contribute to the characterization of both the professor and
the listener.

Conclusion:
These devices collectively contribute to the poem's portrayal of the professor's life, his
reflections on aging, and his engagement with societal changes. Moreover, the professor
mentioned in the title of this poem speaks in such a strange dialect of English, and he seems
to be rather old-fashioned, readers cannot help but love him. They admire him for his
indomitable spirit, which has kept up his health, as well as his love for his students that
makes him stop to talk to one, and that, in fact, is what gives rise to this poem itself. Ezekiel
is known for creating such essentially Indian and loveable characters, and Professor Sheth is
no exception.