BEGE-143

Understanding Poetry
Indira Gandhi National Open University
School of Humanities

BLOCK 1 BRITISH POETRY 5

BLOCK 2 AMERICAN POETRY 73

BLOCK 3 INDIAN ENGLISH POETRY 123

BLOCK 4 POETRY FROM THE MARGINS 175

EXPERT COMMITTEE
Dr. Anand Prakash (Retired) Prof. Malati Mathur
Formerly at Hansraj College Director, School of Humanities
University of Delhi
IGNOU Faculty
Dr. Hema Raghavan (Retd.) Prof. Neera Singh
Formerly at Gargi College
Prof. Malati Mathur
University of Delhi
Prof. Nandini Sahu
Dr. Vijay Sharma
Prof. Parmod Kumar
Principal (Retd.)
RLA College Dr. Pema Eden Samdup
Delhi University Ms. Mridula Rashmi Kindo
Dr. Malathy A

COURSE PREPARATION
BLOCK 1 : BRITISH POETRY
Dr. Anand Prakash (Retd.) (Unit 1 to 4), Formerly at Hansraj College, University of Delhi
BLOCK 2 : AMERICAN POETRY
Dr. Nupur Chawla: Unit 1 to 4, Assistant Professor, Maitreyi College, Delhi University, Delhi
BLOCK 3 : INDIAN ENGLISH POETRY
Dr. Richa Bajaj: Unit 1 to 4, Hindu College, University of Delhi, Delhi
BLOCK 4 : POETRY FROM THE MARGINS
Dr. Payal Nagpal: Unit 1 to 4, Janki Devi College, University of Delhi, Delhi

COURSE COORDINATION, CONENT & LANGUAGE EDITING

Ms. Mridula Rashmi Kindo, IGNOU (Course Coordination and Content & Language Editing
of Block 1-4)
Dr. Anand Prakash (Retd.), Formerly at Hansraj College, University of Delhi (Content &
Lanuage Editing of Block 2 to 4)
COVER PAGE ARTIST & COVER DESIGN
Ritu Bhutani, an independent artist, conducts regular art workshops at Pathways School, Gurgaon
and The Social Canvas, a weekly art program.
Cover Design by A.D.A. Graphics, New Delhi

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Mrs. Munni Naudiyal
Assistant Executive (Data Processing)
PRINT PRODUCTION
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Assistant Registrar Assistant Registrar
MPDD, IGNOU, New Delhi MPDD, IGNOU, New Delhi

May, 2021
©Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2021
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COURSE INTRODUCTION
Dear student, welcome to the course titled “Understanding Poetry.” It aims to
acquaint you with the meaning and importance of poetry in our life. As you
would know, poetry is as old as humanity itself. All societies have a tradition of
poetry, oral or written. Also, at the centre of poetry lie emotions and feelings that
are innate in us. Apart from enjoying poetry in our life, we reflect on the words
and expressions in it for earning a deeper understanding of the truth enshrined
literary writing in general and poetry in particular. In the modern period, we
study and analyze poems and share our thoughts about them with others.
In this course, we shall engage with poetry written in England, America and
India. Here, we have a selection of poems written in each of these countries. In
addition to the three important segments mentioned, we have a category called
the margins that takes us into the perspective of people away from the mainstream
in our country. See that this fourth segment has an importance of its own and
should therefore be considered for viewing in depth. Also note that two blocks in
this course are focused exclusively on India. With that in view, the first two
blocks of this course serve as a backdrop to the culture in our country.
The four blocks in this course are as follows:
Block 1: British Poetry.
Block 2: American Poetry.
Block 3: Indian English Poetry.
Block 4: Poetry from the Margins.
The first block “British Poetry” is wider in range. It begins with a unit on a
general note, introducing you to the value and relevance of poetry as well as the
nature of this particular form. The ideas in this unit would apply to the units of
all other blocks in this course. This unit is given the name “Poetry: An
Introduction.” The other three units provide for our reading poems from England
composed in the long span of time from the seventeenth century to the nineteenth.
Indeed, the distinction is not as much between the centuries but the trends to
which the selected poets belong. Through them you will learn about poets such
as John Donne, Andrew Marvell, William Wordsworth, S.T. Coleridge, Robert
Browning and Alfred Tennyson. The first two of these belonged to the
Metaphysical stream, Wordsworth and Coleridge to Romanticism, and Browning
as well as Tennyson represented the Victorian trend. You will also get to know
here that Metaphysical poetry stretched the limits of meaning in language and
employed hyperbole to focus on apparently simple truths. One of the truths in
this category of writing was love. Romanticism was always linked with the mood
of the time, not so much to the specific aspects of life, and Victorian standpoint
projected an earthy lyricism through the poetic mode. The variety of poems in
this block will surely enrich your understanding by letting you enter into the
domain of wit, imagination and social appeal.
The second block named “American Poetry” has poems by four poets. They are
Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, Wallace Stevens and Langston Hughes.
They cover the whole range of the twentieth century. It is also assumed that
American poetry in the previous centuries was not as creative and rich in
connotation as it became in the twentieth century. In the discussions in this block,
we note that American poetry had a great amount of diversity with respect to
themes and regional colouring. As we read the poems here, we realize that America
was not an integrated society the way England was. Among themes, stress was
discernible in terms of individuality in the American poetic tradition. Williams, Stevens
and Hughes spoke from the standpoint of their specific experience. This was reflected
in their use of idiom. These poets were socially conscious and voiced their concerns
with gusto. So far as Robert Frost is concerned, one finds him laid back and steady in
conviction. The dramatic element is particularly pronounced in his poetry. One has to
struggle hard for spotting a viewpoint in him. Frost asserts the obvious but the same
carries in it far-reaching associations. In his case, common sense would soon take the
form of a deeply felt truth. One can safely see that American poetry in the twentieth
century has carried the weight of freedom and humanist values earned by people from
political clashes in the previous centuries.
In the third block titled “Indian English Poetry,” you will be face to face with poetry
written in English by an erstwhile colonial subject. English came as a secondary tool
of communication to the Indian mind. It was sourced in study and hard-earned
conviction and emanated from adherence to European values. The Indian English
poet was a divided sensibility. S/he looked at the phenomena around her or him from
two angles simultaneously, one’s own as an individual and that seeking approval for
expression from a distant onlooker. The poetry also made sense from the class angle.
Poets invariably came from the educated middle class with an urban background.
That limited their scope and range. At the same time, their poetic venture freed them
from tradition. All poets in this block belong to the post-Independence period. Their
outlook is experiential. They seek guidance from what they see happening in front.
They are also more creative than their counterparts in other languages. Initially, they
carried the burden of modernism. Later, however, they shed anxiety and took a bold
position on the issues of the day. In this block, you will come in contact with voices
that courageously express their intent. From Nissim Ezekiel and Eunice D’Souza to
Dilip Chitre and Keki N. Daruwalla, not to mention A.K. Ramanujan, Jayant Mahapatra,
Arun Kolatkar and Agha Shahid Ali, there is a long sequence of responses and
assertions.
You will find the fourth block interesting for an altogether different reason. Its title is
“Poetry from the Margins.” It presents the poetry of the people who live away from
our society. Think of the tribals in India as well as those others, victims of prejudice
and economic deprivation, whom we see only for a short while during the day. We do
not interact either with the former or the latter, the socially oppressed. Of late though,
they have become visible to us because of the democratic structure we adopted after
Independence. This block is devoted to the poetry written by members of these two
sections. To the tribal life belong poets Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih from the Khasi
tribe and Nirmala Putul from the Santhal tribe. Nongkynrih’s poems are “The Colours
of Truth” and “The Ancient Rocks of Cherra.” Nirmala Putul’s poems are “Mountain
Woman” and “Mountain Child.” The other two poets Jyoti Lanjewar and Sukirtharani
come from the sections of the socially oppressed in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu
respectively. Lanjewar’s poems are “Caves” and “Leadership.” Sukirtharani’s poems
are “Pariah God” and “Untitled Poem II”. This block will also tell you about specific
debates on the tribals and Dalits. With the help of these debates, we shall understand
the nature and temperament of these two sections. The poems discussed in this block
will acquaint you with the richness, simplicity as well as the problematic existence of
these sections.
Overall, the course has a special value and significance; it will bring you face to face
with poetry, life and culture in different parts of the world as well as the variety and
diversity present in our own country.
Block

1
BRITISH POETRY
Block Introduction 7
UNIT 1
Poetry: An Introduction 9
UNIT 2
Metaphysical Poets: John Donne and Andrew Marvell 19
UNIT 3
Romantic Poets: Wordsworth and Coleridge 35
UNIT 4
Victorian Poets: Robert Browning and Alfred Tennyson 51
BLOCK INTRODUCTION
Block 1: British Poetry
Dear student, you would be curious to know about the content in this block. Its
title is “British Poetry.” Prepared to meet your requirements with respect to poetry
in a general sense, it will begin with a discussion on the nature of poetry. Questions
such as what is poetry, how it is different from other forms of literature, and what
it does to appeal to your sensibility will be taken up in its first unit. That will help
you become clear about the larger role poetry might play in the field of culture.
Please keep in mind that these and other related questions enable you to understand
the importance of poetry in common life. In this part, you will confront these
issues. But these issues are not as simple as they appear. On closer scrutiny, you
may see that general points about poetry such as these will lead you to the meaning
of human imagination, creativity and the way feelings and emotions are expressed
in life. With assistance coming from them, you will earn capability to grasp as
well as enjoy the great masterpieces written in English and other languages. You
will also get to know the relationship between poetry and the historical period in
which it is produced. The interaction between the two becomes a framework
providing an authentic nature and specificity to poetry. The title of the first unit
in this block is “Poetry: An Introduction.”

The title of the second unit is “Metaphysical Poets.” This will take you straight
into the middle of English poetry. The poets who preceded the Metaphysical
poets were Geoffrey Chaucer who wrote in the fourteenth century and Philip
Sydney as well as Spenser who wrote in the sixteenth century. The Metaphysical
poets came in the seventeenth century. You may be wondering why we begin in
this unit with a poetic trend that existed in the seventeenth century. The answer
is that we have chosen to begin with the two poets, John Donne and Andrew
Marvell since they are closer to us in time than the earlier ones. The language of
these two poets sounds more familiar than that of the sixteenth century and before.
From the point of view of emotions and feelings, too, Donne and Marvell belong
to our era of secular ideology and humanism. In this unit, we have one example
of poetry each from the two poets. We read here Donne’s poem “Canonization”
and Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress.” You will enjoy Donne’s poem for its wit.
The poem is rich in connotation. It might say two opposite things in the same
breath. That is certain to excite your imagination. A similar thing will happen
when we read Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress.” It is a poem of love and the
closely related subject of time. Mark the range in which vast areas of human
emotion and death, or time, are captured.

The third unit engages with the trend of Romanticism that dominated the English
cultural scene from the last quarter of the eighteenth century to the middle of the
nineteenth century. In this unit, two poets, Wordsworth and Coleridge are
discussed with reference to one poem each by the two. Here, we have a view of
Wordsworth’s “The Ruined Cottage” and Coleridge’s “Kubla Khan.” I use the
word “imagination” in the context of poetry as a literary form. You will find that
this word enjoys an intimate association with Wordsworth and Coleridge.
Apparently, the two poets say little of importance about their country or society
and are concerned primarily with the world of mind. That qualifies them to be
called Romantic. However, they bring their time and society in focus, not
respecting details but the mental state presented therein. “The Ruined Cottage”
British Poetry tells us about the strength and courage of a woman in the hills and “Kubla Khan”
takes us on a journey to a land of wonder. At the same time though, we remain
ever submerged in the atmosphere of deprivation and dullness in English life.
“The Ruined Cottage” keeps us stuck to the fact of poverty and want in society
and “Kubla Khan” has us in the grip of fear, turmoil and ghostliness. As a result
of this, we are hard put to explain why the two major writers of the time avoid
the contemporary context in their imagination. The Romantic trend gave us the
poetry of the supposedly unreal and illusory.

The last unit of this block is given the name “Victorian Poets.” This is the only
title that refers to a monarch, Queen Victoria. Yet, more than to the monarch, the
title refers to the long period of time in which Queen Victoria ruled England,
from 1837 to 1901.For that reason, the period signified the socio-literary trend
“Victorianism.” This unit sticks to Victorianism influencing the poetry of the
period. It covers two representative poetic voices, Robert Browning and Alfred
Tennyson. The poems that are analyzed and commented upon here are “The Last
Ride Together” and “Crossing the Bar.” The first poem takes up for discussion
the issue of pessimism in circumstances of doubt and uncertainty. Browning
twists the point of Victorianism to say that fulfilment and harmony are possible
if the individual involved in the existing life-struggles stressed the value of the
moment. For Browning, the important thing was the intellectual acumen enabling
him to adopt a defiant posture. On the other hand, the unit considers Tennyson as
a poet of calm and balance. In it is explored the region of feeling rooted in a
disciplined life. “Crossing the Bar” by Tennyson is lyrical in rendering the feeling
of stability and self-assurance. Here, Victorianism is reflected in accepting the
situation as a phenomenon of lasting tranquility. The unit shows that poetry can
be a means of accepting and compromising with the inevitable. The poem
recognizes that a particular social climate can hinder the process of exploration
and replace it with accepting that which is on offer. The process of exploration
was the hallmark of Romanticism. Victorianism reversed that process effectively.

8
 Poetry: An Introduction
UNIT 1 POETRY: AN INTRODUCTION
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Poetry in its Linkage with Society
1.3 Poetry in the Process of Historical Development
1.3.1 Poetry in the Augustan Age
1.3.2 The Romantic trend
1.3.3 Modernism and Poetry
1.3.4 Poetry in Our Time
1.4 Let Us Sum Up
1.5 Questions
1.6 References
1.7 Suggested Readings

1.0 OBJECTIVES
In this unit, we shall grapple with the literary form known as poetry. First, we
shall raise the question—What is poetry and how should one interpret it in general
terms? After talking about it briefly, we shall proceed to consider a few opinions
of established poets and critics to learn of the nature of poetry as well as its role
and function. I am sure that this popular subject will be of some interest to you as
scholars and students of literature. It will help you distinguish poetry from prose
and take you into the domain of feelings and emotions as well as those ideas and
attitudes that relate to higher goals of life, and the ideals to be pursued for making
us self-aware and sensitive. Let us consider the precise sense in which the word
poetry is used.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Under this head, the distinctive aspect of poetry may be considered. In this regard,
let us take help from Philip Sydney who said of poetry that it was “almost the
highest estimation of learning” (Enright 4). That means human learning realizes
itself at a truly supreme level through the poetic act. It is assumed that wisdom is
crystallized in poetry and enlighten those areas of life that generally remained
shrouded in darkness. Sydney has left some scope for other forms of literature to
come equal to poetry, to contend with them, through use of the word “almost.”
For him, then, debate is needed to affirm the place that poetry enjoys with respect
to rational and thoughtful prose. The latter belongs to philosophy where mind is
active to understand the phenomena of the world surrounding us. Also mark that
philosophy defines and explains even as poetry shares and communicates. The
target for poetry is learning where for philosophy it is distinct and precise finding.
In that sense, learning is simpler since based on observation and awareness. The
terms of poetry and prose are laid out through deployment of specific vocabulary.
Sydney knows the value of distinction and sticks to the set of words that would
assist him in the enunciation of the point. His aim is to explore the region of truth
as he has said that poetry “in the noblest nations and languages that are known,
9
British Poetry hath been the first light-giver to ignorance, and first nurse, whose milk by little
and little, enabled them to feed afterwards of tougher knowledges.” Clearly, in
human social existence, poetry is the first measure of light, and source of nurturing,
as it sets the tone for approaching complex processes of knowing that will then
be mastered gradually. Here, we see that there is no binary between light and
nurturing on one side and increased knowing on the other. Seeing and observing
are one with continuance of effort to grasp deeper aspects of nature and society.
So far as Sydney is concerned, beginnings of learning in its pure and spontaneous
way are to be recognized in poetry across nations and communities.

Sydney wrote An Apology for Poetry, or The Defence of Poetry (from which the
lines quoted above have been taken) in 1580, way before Shakespeare appeared
on the English literary scene. That means poetry had come under attack at the
time and “an apology” or a “defence” was needed to underpin the veracity of
this art form. Let us not forget that for a long period of time literature and poetry
had been synonymous. Thus, poetry or the whole of literature had come to lose
their sheen as they were seen to be engaged with “unreality,” not with areas of
contention in politics, religion or nature that were accepted as tangible and real.
The same may be true for the times to come, as in our own time, too, we connect
with poetry partly defensively, but chiefly to assert its place in the real imaginative
act. One says this because knowledge soon went in the direction of science and
learning as a seminal enterprise had to fend for itself through evoking support in
feelings and fantasy. But the effort to assert has continued uninterrupted. Reference
can be made to Dryden’s Dramatic Poesy, Wordsworth’s Preface to Lyrical
Ballads, Coleridge’s and Matthew Arnold’s discussions on poetry, and T.S. Eliot’s
“Individual Talent,” among others. All these take up the cause of poetic expression
unmistakably.

1.2 POETRY IN ITS LINKAGE WITH SOCIETY

Let us look at poetry from a slightly different perspective, that of social
significance enshrined in the verse form. It is not merely to do with various
branches of knowledge or with imagining scenes of peace and harmony in life as
the Romantics in England did in the early nineteenth century. For this purpose,
we pick the poet and critic Jose Marti (1853-1895) tell us about the poetic use to
which the great American poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892) put in the same century
when the Romantics lived and wrote. Talking of Whitman, Marti says about
poetry the following:

It is a matter of expressing in words the hubbub of throngs of people settling

down, of cities at work, and of oceans and rivers harnessed and put to man’s use.
Will Walt Whitman pair consonants and combine in tame couplets these mountains
of merchandise, these forest of mast, these cities of ships, these battles where
millions are felled to preserve man’s rights, and let the sun, whose limpid fire
spreads over the vast landscape, rule over all? (Marti 182)

We note here words that denote larger than life developments such as merchandise,
ships, man’s rights, and vast landscape. Obviously, the change occurring in
America is the issue. Firstly, should literature take cognizance of this change,
and if yes, can the mentioned aspect be contained in simple description? For
Marti, the change in conditions of life should be reflected in literary writing so
that it may prepare itself for holding the range and intensity of contemporary
10
happenings. Literature in general and poetry in particular take cognizance of the Poetry: An Introduction
happenings around them. Also, the happenings would relate to occupations and
workings of people that keep them in good shape. Motivations of living are a
good source of inspiration as well as actual experimentation for improving upon
existing methods of techniques to produce. For this reason, poetry depicts people
in their states of happiness and sadness. It appears quite simple to write a happy
or sad song or a tragic account of failures in life. But come to think of it, these
states carry within their fabric a whole area of human survival and struggle. As
such, the emotional states are records of people’s working in their circumstances.
On another plane, they set standards of quality that humans created by dint of
hard work and discipline. Good poetry makes the reader aware about the said
circumstances and the struggles waged by people working in a spirit of mutuality
and unity. So, we have individuals and groups living in a social ethos. In the
process of living, individuals and groups construct ideas to suit their requirements.
The general nature of the activity mentioned in our discussion is the raw material
that poetry uses to project its meaning, ideals, lessons drawn from life and specific
morals to pursue. Above, we have cited a response to Whitman’s poetry. Taking
help from the reference to Whitman, Marti has responded to the issue of
representing life in the following manner:

Walt Whitman speaks in verses that seem bereft of music until, after listening to
them for a while, one hears something like the earth echoing to glorious, unshod,
conquering armies riding across it. At times his language strikes one as the window
of a butcher shop hung with sides of beef; at others like the song of patriarchs
singing in chorus with that gentle world-weariness, at the hour when smoke
vanishes in the clouds. (Marti 183)

In this quote, we are struck by the earth echoing to the march of armies. It signifies
the power of poetry that can hold a conversation with the working of the earth.
Which are the armies crossing the vast grounds of various countries on a mission
of victory? In an obvious sense, the armies comprise energetic young men going
in a particular direction bound to an aim. See that the armies do not have to
concern with personal desires but to achieve a commonly held ideal. The mention
of patriarchs and clouds lifts the level of the account to an altogether different
level. The comment says about the times of high passion, glory and big triumphs.
Soon we become conscious about the nineteenth century America caught in
turbulence and vigour. Also note how poetry in an essential sense covers all
aspects of nature and society, of human and other forms of life and spreads its
net. That is where poetry is elemental, touching only broader parts of reality.
That Is where we might start from for making of poetry.

1.3 POETRY IN THE PROCESS OF HISTORICAL

DEVELOPMENT
From here on, we go into the specific areas of society and history from where
poetry draws its inspiration and gets moulded by the existing environment. In
this part of discussion, we shall talk about poetic trends and also seek assistance
from poets and critics if necessary. What comes straight to mind in this regard
are the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In the post-Elizabethan decades in
the seventeenth century, poetry as a literary medium was in use quite consistently.
First the Metaphysical poetry that experimented with a new kind of emphasis. It
went by wit essentially. The emotion was sought to be held in check most of the 11
British Poetry time. The language of poetry was distinct and self-conscious. It defied convention
and offered a challenge to the reader’s imagination. The mode was of a game
that poets played. Since drama had been in the air for a long while, the poets
enjoyed the deployment of dialogue. Tension prevailed at the centre of the poem
more in the manner of a device than a naturally occurring flow. Also, the poets
dealt with such philosophical concerns as death, love, time and ideas playing a
crucial role in life. We might as well say that a sort of culmination of all these
happened in the way Milton composed his poetic works, mainly Paradise Lost.
Clash of views was the hallmark of Milton’s expression. Let us remember that
Milton had initially planned to write Paradise Lost as a drama. His intention was
to bring issues such as the fall, the role of Satan, God and Son as well as other
important figures in the ambit of interaction. Significantly, both Adam and Eve
were to move through the perspective of sin in terms that would bring them
closer to the reader and make him see the concerned tussles as if his own. So far
as poetry was concerned, Milton interpreted it as “the precious life-blood of a
master spirit.” This is high praise. Think of the words in this statement that raise
the level of poetry to the uppermost level of human creativity. Of this kind of
poetic expression, Milton is the last example, giving his all to it and showing the
said expression is akin to man’s cherished emotions and goals.

1.3.1 Poetry in the Augustan Age

However, poetry could not sustain any longer the vigour that Chaucer, Marlowe,
Shakespeare and Donne had expressed through it. One may ask about the reason
behind the decline of it towards the end of the seventeenth century. It moved out
of the territory of drama and threat to it came also from pressures asking for
prose. In that context, the eighteenth century was in the middle of preparing
ground for realistic appraisal of things, the mundane and immediate. No more
those flights either in intellect or passion that had made poetry their companion.
In general, issues cropping up in the wake of mercantilism gave a different turn
to poetry by confining it to the life in the city. The eighteenth century was termed
the Augustan age and its ideals had undergone vital changes. It aligned itself
with stability, social manners, moral conduct, considerations of harmony and a
new definition of art at the centre of which stood the heroic couplet. In that
scheme, reason and intellect occupied superior position satire as a form was
thought to be corrector of deviations from the norms. The strengths of the
eighteenth-century poetry lay in exposing hypocrisy, sham and falsehood that
was on display in day-to-day dealings of people in the urban centres. The times
had to do much with the powerful section of trade and commerce that had wealth
but no dignity. With them, depth of emotions and feelings was never the issue
and success alone mattered. Folly and humbug reigned supreme. Those were the
new realities. Let us remind ourselves, however, that literature cannot impose its
own traditional norms, the ones rooted in the earlier circumstance, on the act of
representation. Instead, writing has to keep pace with novelty on which it has
limited control, if at all. We note in the eighteenth century an empowerment of
the ordinary folk in the country. The merchants who came to rule the roost were
an offspring of the ordinary masses busy with production in small towns and
villages from where they were heading towards the cities. Their produce was
becoming merchandise since it was meant to be made available to a wider section
of consumers away from the place where producers lived. Increased amount of
wealth in the hands of this section was the result. At the same time, this section
required manners and morals going parallel to their social influence. At the core
12
of their activity and aspiration was planning, appropriate articulation to Poetry: An Introduction
communicate with fellow tradesman, handling the class of artisans and labour
skillfully, to name a few. On its side, skillfulness would bring in clever ways to
bring round difference and disagreement. In sum, mind and reason were the
requisites. Even if prosaic, these traits suited the new ethos better than imaginative
exploring of the surroundings. Put them next to the literary representation of the
day, the sharply satirical verse, and see that the two were identical in nature. This
is what eighteenth century poetry, such as that of Alexander Pope, was. Many of
Pope’s titles contained the word “essay”—An Essay on Man, and An Essay on
Criticism, for instance. The word had a somewhat connotation then, nevertheless
it was indicative of the changed scenario. Those became examples of the Augustan
poetry that contributed towards lending support and authenticity to the society
unfolding at the time. Two things, then—closeness to prose and drawing attention
to reason than emotion came up concretely. The following poetic manner comes
to mind:
In Poets as true genius is but rare,
True Taste as seldom is the Critic’s share;
Both must alike from Heav’n derive their light,
These born to judge, as well as those to write.
(Enright, An Essay on Criticism 111)
In these lines, Pope is remarkably near the spoken idiom. For the sake of clarity,
let us paraphrase Pope’s lines—”In poets, we do not see genuine talent these
days. In the same manner, critics also do not exhibit any sense of judgment. Both
poets and critics draw their wisdom from the heavenly powers, the former have
their role in judging what is wrong or right and the job of the latter is to write.”
The point made by Pope is to differentiate the two from the angle of that which
they are supposed to do in society. The only word of contention here is “heavenly
powers” that denotes less the figure of God or gods than the inclination inherent
in the minds of the two. Further, judging and writing are placed in the context of
work and its merit. Reduce work and merit to labour and value and the poetic
line begins to resemble a statement made by a shopkeeper in terms of the trade.
At the same time though, Pope is no less a poet than his counterparts in the
seventeenth or nineteenth centuries since he raises fundamentally the question
of what is beneficial for society and how the act of writing can tell us about the
evaluation of effort in the domain of human creativity. Indeed, he complains
about the falling standards of writing in poetry and criticism. The irony lies in
the fact that literary writing is under attack, in these lines, from those who do not
take their job seriously and let idleness and mediocrity enter creativity. Also,
mediocrity would work through the mundane and average, not inspired
engagement with truth and intellectual substance. Pope’s poetry is rooted in the
reality of his time and reflects the rot spreading in contemporary sensibility.

1.3.2 The Romantic Trend

It is interesting to note that in the eighteenth century, foundations had been laid
for a new kind of writing that swore by imagination, something that was not
figuring in Augustan poetry. In the period, mundane ruled and the lofty occupied
back seat. Reason and intellect were at work, not the aspect of life that drew
strength as well as appeal from feelings and emotions. I have the Romantic
13
British Poetry movement in mind that recognized the place of high ideals in life and evoked the
hidden areas of human interest. The Romantic movement also had a close alliance
with nature, the simplicity of rural life and the wonder residing in dreaming
about social change and human fulfilment. These last poems were absent in the
urban setting of mercantilism, money, profit-making and success. A third thing
stayed in the background. Next to England, just on the other side of the border in
France, a chain of momentous happenings had started that would take in its grip
the thinking of the whole of Europe. That was the French Revolution. At a higher
level, the French upheaval had much in common with the American War of
Independence a couple of decades before, in the seventies. The American War
was characterized by the spirit of anti-colonialism and the French Revolution,
starting in 1789, had the struggle against monarchy at its centre. These two
movements would not make political sense to bourgeois consolidation in England.
I am deliberately using this reference to show that poetry might tap emotional
resources of a whole nation, if not of a multiplicity of nations, and shake up
deeply entrenched structures all over the place. Romanticism was such an example
of a poetic trend. Thus, I return to the nature of poetry and project a changed
point of view of literature in the context. Let me draw your attention to what
William Wordsworth would say about poetry towards the close of the eighteenth
century. At the threshold of a new era of literary writing, Wordsworth’s object
was to

choose incidents and situations from common life, and to relate or describe
them, throughout, as far as possible in a selection of language really used
by men, and, at the same time, to throw over them a certain colouring of
imagination, whereby ordinary things should be presented to the mind in
an unusual aspect; and, further, and above all, to make these incidents and
situations interesting by tracing in them truly though not ostentatiously,
the primary laws of our nature: chiefly, as far as regards the manner in
which we associate ideas in a state of excitement. Humble and rustic life
was generally chosen, because, in that condition, the essential passions of
the heart find a better soil in which they can attain their maturity, are less
under restraint, and speak a plainer and more emphatic language; because
in that condition of life our elementary feelings co-exist in a state of greater
simplicity, and, consequently, may be more accurately contemplated, and
more forcibly communicated; because the manners of rural life germinate
from those elementary feelings, and, from the necessary character of rural
occupations, are more easily comprehended, and are more durable; and,
lastly, because in that condition the passions of men are incorporated with
the beautiful and permanent forms of nature. (Enright 164)

The argument put forward by Wordsworth has two important expressions,

“language really used by men” and “a certain colouring of imagination.” The
men denote in the context common people in the village who share their intent
with the neighbour directly and through simple language. The scope of the intent
is widened with use of imagination. The emphasis is clearly on simplicity and
genuineness. This was missing in the poetry of the eighteenth century where wit,
insight and criticism as well redefining of norms were central. Wordsworth’s
departure from the convention indeed clarifies for us the crucial trait of
Romanticism. In one major step, Wordsworth crosses the boundary of culture
and reaches the rural setting. For Romanticism, the village is the well-considered
preference. See that the note struck by Wordsworth is an act of conscious assertion.
14
And the assertion is not of the royalty or the moneyed and privileged, but of the Poetry: An Introduction
simple folk who speak “a plainer and more emphatic language.” In the last part
of the passage, we note the mention of the “elementary feelings” twice. What
could be the reason for this? The elementary signifies both fundamental and
vital, something without which humans will cease to be human. Poetry for the
Romantic viewpoint is partial to the trait of innocence. At a deeper level, this
becomes a sharp critique of ostentation and prosperity, laying bare their
hollowness. As you remember, Romanticism has a connect with the dominant
passion that the French Revolution generated. Looked at in this manner, the
Romantic definition of poetry relates with the feelings yet to be recognized in
their true potential. The future of poetry is to rest with those who dream of an
alternative paradigm of creativity.

To take the cause of poetry further, Wordsworth touched upon the idea of the
poetic process, the act in which the poet is aware of the job he performs. That is
the beginning of a new aspect with which any future poet deals with. In this
regard, the famous lines of Wordsworth are the following:

I have said that poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings:

it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity: the emotion is
contemplated till, by a species of re-action, the tranquillity gradually
disappears, and an emotion, kindred to that which was before the subject
of contemplation, is gradually produced, and does itself actually exist in
the mind. (Enright 180)

This quote is a good guide to anyone aiming to be a poet. For Wordsworth, the
aim is to capture a feeling the poet had in the raw. That, however, was not the
time to write but to wait for a tranquil moment when he revisited the feeling to
affirm its true nature. The feeling having meanwhile attained a concrete form
became fit for capturing. It takes the poet back to the moment when he had the
feeling initially. Thus, tranquillity has a functional role, and “the tranquility
gradually disappears.” We have seen that Wordsworth as a Romantic poet is
careful about his poetic act and is driven by the cause of awakening the self and
asserting it.

1.3.3 Modernism and Poetry

For the literary trend that started in the latter half of the nineteenth century and
reigned supreme in the twentieth century, I use the blanket term Modernism.
Firstly, the word itself is problematic. Immediately as modernism is used, the
nineteenth century, howsoever appealing a literature it may have produced, is
pushed into the background as unmodern. Secondly, modernism does not indicate
a direct link with the established viewpoint of modernity. Interestingly, humanism
or rationality, too, have been kept outside the fold of modernism. The word sticks
to the present time, namely the late nineteenth century when social systems in
Europe had become shaky. The truth of that moment became the watchword of
literature. Let us have a look at the reason behind this interpretation of modernism.

The regimes of the period could not move towards increased production any
longer. The glut of goods in the market caused crash in the prices and profits fell.
Alternatively, if production was restricted, factories faced closure and workers
lost jobs which in turn affected demand for goods in the market. It appeared that
laissez faire or the free market principle had lost relevance in the new situation.
15
British Poetry In the realm of writing, this meant human initiative had become weak and control
on it from invisible forces in the economic environment had grown stronger.
Think of its connection with a writer who felt stifled by the society he lived in.
What kind of human figures would he visualize for depiction in his writing? For
him, success or failure became meaningless since writing suffered loss of faith.
Literary expression was removed from its central position in society and the
writer was without a point from where to view life. This aspect of a dead end was
projected as modernism. Meanwhile, clouds of a world war hovered over Europe.
It was no longer possible to be a pessimist like Matthew Arnold or an optimist
like Browning. Both situations had a common basis in a goal meant to be pursued.

An important departure from literary trends we talk of was that modernism of

the twentieth century had no historical placing. It was an independent and
autonomous entity; it seems to have descended suddenly on the literary scene.
One could call it an ideology of loneliness, alienation and being. The modern
individual carried it on his shoulders. Indeed, the individuality of a person was
the very thing according to it. There being no link with or support from society,
neighbourhood, and relationships as well as institutions such as the family or the
work place, the individuality floated around helplessly. T.S. Eliot’s “Love Song”
comes to mind. The figure of Prufrock searches for a point of reference in vain.
We see in the poem his psychological domain. He doubts and self-doubts. The
sense of emptiness haunts him all the time. Prufrock is a product of pre-War
years when nothing seemed to make sense. The goals and concerns of nationalism,
human good, social equality, and justice attracted people no more, or Eliot exhibits
this view in his poems quite definitively. The accepted idea of modernism since
the Renaissance period had taken in its fold principles of rationality, humanism
and questioning of ills and evils without break. The new modernism turned a
blind eye to that. In order to justify such a position, Eliot sought to separate art
from life’s processes and underlined a cleavage between art and social issues.
He did it while discussing the nature and relevance of art. Let us consider the
following:

No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance,
his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists.
You cannot value him alone; you must set him, for contrast and comparison,
among the dead. I mean this as a principle of aesthetic, not merely historical,
criticism. The necessity that he shall conform, that he shall cohere, is not onesided;
what happens when a new work of art is created is something that happens
simultaneously to all the works of art which preceded it. (Enright 294)

Mark that Eliot mentions historical criticism only in passing and deals with the
question of art only in aesthetic terms. For him art is not a social product, it does
not require a social base. Also, the cohering and conforming of the poet are at the
individual level—he shall conform, he shall cohere. In addition, the work of art
is also a single and autonomous entity. The work of art is on one side and “all the
works of art which preceded it” are on the other as if standing at distance from
each. I wonder if that is a lapse, but Eliot has in mind solely the living poet
whereas all those who belong to an earlier period fall in the category of “the
dead.” The main contention, however, is about a neat division between the alive,
the practicing, and the dead. That may be unacceptable to a whole section of the
deprived and oppressed authors and the larger audience in the western capitalist
world and the colonized communities. Is Eliot aware of such a division, such a
16
distance? The interesting part is that the colonized communities might have a Poetry: An Introduction
different and more meaningful centre of existence than available to the inhabitants
of the waste land.

1.3.4 Poetry in Our Time

What the modernist Eliot failed to see was noted in concrete terms by a different
set of poets in the thirties and forties. These latter were called pink poets. They
were mindful of fissures in western and other societies caught in the web of
mixed cultures and ideologies. In that sense, the challenge for poetry in the
twentieth century was the shrinking scope of art that came to terms with the
tangle material developments. In fact, the aesthetic had to be in vital connect
with the human-social dynamic. There could be spotted an urge in the
contemporary world to look at the surroundings critically. Outside the gloom in
the market-dominated world existed hope for change in the anti-imperialist
struggles at the time. Emergence of Soviet Russia was one sharp pointer. The
modernist mind saw in it a certain doom of tradition. As indicated, for poetry
beyond Eliot and his contemporaries were expressions of protest discernible in
poets such as W.H. Auden and Stephen Spender. It was an unmistakable turn to
revolutionary strategies in art in corners of Europe, Africa and Asia. Bertolt Brecht
in Germany, Pablo Neruda in Chile appeared on scene with paradigms of freedom
and justice in an idiom that stretched from the literary heights already touched
by Walt Whitman in the previous century.

1.4 LET US SUM UP

In this unit, we have gained familiarity with a few basic aspects of poetry such as
its link with society and history. Even as based in feelings and emotions, poetry
seeks its inspiration from its surroundings. It follows the rhythms of life around
it, whether of the people sitting at the top of the ladder or those placed at the
bottom of it. All the same, the writers of poetry project the dimension of the past
the way it was shaped initially and the way it changed into the form it assumed
later. We realized how poetry evolved a specific character under pressures from
outside as well as from the writer’s consciousness. It kept pace with changes in
its environment and contributed in its own way to the process of cultural and
social development. From its beginnings in the period of Renaissance to its
weakening in the modern period as also its flowering in far away cultures of the
colonies, poetry exhibited its inner dynamic. These should help us connect
meaningfully with the next three units in this block.

1.5 QUESTIONS
1) There is a specific way in which poetry carried the influence of life in the
eighteenth century. Elaborate.
2) What was the distinctive feature of Romantic poetry? Explain.
3) What did modernism come to mean in the twentieth century? Explain with
reference to T.S. Eliot.

17
British Poetry
1.6 REFERENCES
Enright, D.J. and Ernst De. Eds., English Critical Texts. New Delhi: OUP,2010
Marti, Jose. On Art and Literature: Critical Writing. Fp. 1982. Delhi: Aakar,
2011.

1.7 SUGGESTED READINGS

Abrams, M.H., The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical
Tradition. Oxford, 1953.
Barrell, John., Poetry, Language and Politics. Manchester, 1988.
Enright, D.J. and Ernst De. Eds., English Critical Texts. New Delhi: OUP,2010
Marti, Jose. On Art and Literature: Critical Writing. Fp. 1982. Delhi: Aakar,
2011.

18
 Poetry: An Introduction
UNIT 2 METAPHYSICAL POETS: JOHN
DONNE AND ANDREW MARVELL
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 A View of the Metaphysical Trend
2.3 About the Poet: John Donne
2.4 “The Canonization”: The Text
2.5 “The Canonization”: An Overview
2.6 “The Canonization”: Stanza-wise Analysis
2.7 Marvell and Donne as Metaphysical Poets: Background and Themes
2.8 About the Poet: Andrew Marvell
2.9 “To His Coy Mistress”: The Text
2.10 “To His Coy Mistress”: Section-wise Analysis
2.11 “To His Coy Mistress: A Thematic Overview
2.12 Let Us Sum Up
2.13 Questions
2.14 References
2.15 Suggested Readings

2.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
gain knowledge about the Metaphysical poets John Donne and Andrew
Marvell;
critically analyse on significant poem of each of Donne and Marvell.

2.1 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, I shall briefly comment upon the metaphysical trend in English poetry
of the seventeenth century. This will be with reference to the changed climate of
culture; it reflected wit in its diverse ways of representation and became a point
of departure from conventions established in Elizabethan England. Help will be
sought in this regard from biographical details of the poets and specific factors,
cultural or social, active in the period. Thereafter, a poem each of John Donne
and Andrew Marvell will be discussed at length—the former’s “The
Canonization” and the latter’s “To His Coy Mistress.” While doing so, we shall
go into the issues the two poems raise and identify the authorial intent and purpose
working through each of them. Those will then be explained so that we can
relate to them and see their relevance to our context.

19
British Poetry
2.2 A VIEW OF THE METAPHYSICAL TREND
What we associate with Metaphysical poetry emerged in English cultural life in
the early seventeenth century is uncertainty. That was the period of political and
ideological clashes, one finding it difficult to tie oneself with a strong belief.
Monarchy existed at the time as the crucial governing factor. The Tudor kings
had given the country a firm footing in political order thriving on a stable centre.
The court headed by the king ruled to the advantage of all, the upper classes and
the people at the lower rung. At the same time though, the arrangement was not
as stable as it had been in mid-sixteenth century. Social tensions could be seen
increasing by the day under pressure from one or other development. Towards
the end of her tenure, Queen Elizabeth herself did not command as much respect
as she did in the fifteen eighties as cliques raised head and conspired to disturb
harmony for petty gains. England had become weaker than before and the common
masses faced unease of living. With the Queen’s death in 1603, the change from
the Tudor dynasty to the Stuarts had traumatized a large section of the populace
in terms of loyalty and faith. The people did not look for guidance, the changed
leadership at the top of the court or the Church of England that had established
itself in place of Roman Catholicism in the preceding years inspired no confidence.
In the context, King James was the new reference—he came from a Roman
Catholic background and received support from those who had been secretly
critical of the previous regime. It appeared that ground was slipping from under
the feet of the English people who had veered around England as a nation. Thus,
in matters of social living and religious faith the Englishman moved on a shaky
ground. The common feeling was neither physical nor spiritual predominantly.
It could only be described as “metaphysical,” beyond the physical and spiritual,
something weird and deeply disturbing.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the dramatic mode dominated the
literary space. That mode presented the affairs of the world on the stage with
actors enacting social roles. Plays dealt with issues of political or social interest.
They generated interest in the audience for the broader ways of living. The aspects
of governance, morality, loyalty, and human relationships held sway. Drama had
meant success or failure at the social level. The life at the court, military ventures,
dissidence in the section of the nobility, heroism pitched against fraud and trickery
were matters of enquiry. The metaphysical poetry broke that and drove sensitive
minds towards self-examination. Internal feelings and processes of thought
became new areas of interest. It led away from the dramatic mode and looked for
the private and personal domain of individuals. It has been rightly observed by
Ronald Carter and John McRae that,

While theatre was the most public literary form of the period, poetry tended to
be more personal, more private. Indeed, it was often published for only a limited
circle of readers. This was true of Shakespeare’s sonnets … and even more so
for the Metaphysical poets, whose words were published mostly after their deaths.
(Ronald Carter, Ronald and John McRae. The Routledge History of Literature in
English. New York: Routledge, 2001, 94)

The distance created between drama and poetry was crucial. It neatly separated
the public domain from the world of individual thought. Also, the thought in the
case covered exploration and the urge to experiment, it encouraged the writer to
unsettle accepted notions of conduct. For a long time, the word “metaphysical”
20
carried negative implications. It denoted something unnatural and weird, having Metaphysical Poets: John
Donne and Andrew Marvell
no link with serious writing. It was seen as laboured and stretched. Samuel Johnson
in the eighteenth century gave this word to the poets such as Donne, Herbert and
Marvell in the previous century. In fact, till the early twentieth century,
metaphysical poets did not attract serious critical attention. Herbert J.C. Grierson
and T.S. Eliot later retrieved these poets to establish them as worthy of critical
attention and thought.

2.3 ABOUT THE POET: JOHN DONNE

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

John Donne (1572-1631) was a poet, priest and a soldier in sixteenth-seventeenth

century England. He was born into a Catholic family at a time when Catholicism
was an illegal faith. Church of England was at the religious centre and the King
was deemed supreme authority there. Donne’s family were ‘recusant Catholics’,
a term used to define those who continued allegience to Pope and Roman
Catholicism, refusing to follow the Church of England. He had to drop out of
both Hertford College, Oxford and University of Cambridge because of his
Catholicism. A degree would be conferred upon the individual only if s/he took
the Oath of Supremacy which was an act of swearing allegiance to the King as
the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. He was elected as the Member
of Parliament in 1602, a year after which Queen Elizabeth I died, succeeded by
King James I of England. A time of patronage, Donne too wrote under his patron
Robert Drury. In a turn of events, Donne wrote two anti-Catholic polemics,
Pseudo-Martyr (1610) and Ignatius His Conclave(1611). King James, impressed
with Donne’s work asked him to take holy orders and he became a priest in the
Church of England in 1519, though grudgingly. Thereafter he serves as the Dean
of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London from 1621-1631. His early poetry were satires
on Elizabethan society and he also wrote erotic poems, the elegies, where he
deployed unconventional metaphors. His later poems developed a more pious
and sombre strain, and many assume financial strain and numerous illnesses as
reasons for it.

21
British Poetry
2.4 “THE CANONIZATION”: THE TEXT
For God’s sake hold your tongue, and let me love,
Or chide my palsy, or my gout,
My five gray hairs, or ruin’d fortune flout,
With wealth your state, your mind with arts improve,
Take you a course, get you a place, 5
Observe his honour, or his grace,
Or the King’s real, or his stamped face
Contemplate, what you will, approve,
So you will let me love.

Alas, alas, who’s injured by my love? 10

What merchant’s ships have my sighs drown’d?
Who say my tears have overflow’d his ground?
When did my colds a forward spring remove?
When did the heats which my veins fill
Add one man to the plaguy bill? 15
Soldiers find wars, and lawyers find out still
Litigious men, which quarrels move,
Though she and I do love.

Call us what you will, we are made such by love,

Call her one, me another fly, 20
We are tapers too, and at our own cost die,
And we in us find the Eagle and the Dove.
The Phoenix riddle hath more wit
By us, we two being one, are it.
So to one neutral thing both sexes fit, 25
We die and rise the same, and prove
Mysterious by this love.

We can die by it, if not live by love,

And if unfit for tombs and hearse
Our legend be, it will be fit for verse; 30
And if no piece of chronicle we prove,
We’ll build in sonnets pretty rooms,

22 As well a well-wrought urn becomes

The greatest ashes, as half-acre tombs, Metaphysical Poets: John
Donne and Andrew Marvell
And by these hymns, all shall approve 35
Us canoniz’d for Love.

And thus invoke us: ‘You, whom reverend love

Made one another’s hermitage;
You, to whom love was peace, that now is rage;
Who did the whole world’s soul contract, and drove 40
Into the glasses of your eyes
(So made such mirrors, and such spies,
That they did all to you epitomize)
Countries, towns, courts: beg from above
A pattern of your love! 45

2.5 “THE CANONIZATION”: AN OVERVIEW

The above poem has the title “canonization.” The word means raising of level of
a person after death. It is generally related to the region of spirituality. As the
raised level is recognized and finally accepted by society, the person concerned
earns additional esteem and is looked up to by the people. Under Christianity,
the person is of the level of a saint. But can it not go into other areas of life?
Donne thinks it can. Hence the poem with its emphatic assertion of the idea.

For us, the process of recognition and acceptance of great virtues is important.
As suggested, it can be in culture, morality, and specifically literature. As we
read this poem, we might see the poem bestowing greatness on the emotion of
love. One of the greatest poets of love in English literature, John Donne uses wit,
argument, and flashes of creativity to exhibit his preference for love and lovers.
Mark that the poet has drawn love out of the realm of spirit or transcendence and
put it on the pedestal of the body, human senses and indeed in antagonism to the
affairs of politics, economy and military ventures. Keep also in mind the fact
that Donne mentions these fields of life since they are the vital centres of
Elizabethan and Stuart periods. At the time, court took to politics and merchants
employed the influence of money to get things done. The military ventures were
still more deeply structured in a country vying for honours in the European frame.

“The Canonization” has 45 lines. It has five stanzas of nine lines each. In its own
manner, it has a rhyme scheme even as Donne takes some liberty in his use of
it—he plays with words, their sounds as well as meanings. The angle of meanings
makes the poem witty. I give examples from the last stanza and see that in it,
“love” is rhymed with “drove” and “above.” Further, “hermitage” goes well with
“rage” in the next two lines, whereas “eyes,” “spies” and “epitomize” occur
consecutively in the following three lines. Keeping the rhyming words in mind,
shall we charge Donne with lightheartedness or levity? Think and reach your
conclusions. At the same time though, consider that the poem has survived almost
four hundred years in England’s cultural history and it is thought to be a great
poetic feat as well as a profound statement. The poem challenges convention
23
British Poetry and might unnerve the reader with its straightforwardness. There is no chance of
alleviation of the soul and spirituality that may be inherent in the attitude to
religion the poet maintained. Donne had a profound belief in matters of spirit
and grace, dimensions that he constantly explores in his religious poetry. Here,
Donne gives his all to love and its power to transcend interests of privilege,
comfort and wealth. He does not care much for the latter and fiercely argues in
support for celebratory intimacy with the woman lover.

2.6 “THE CANONIZATION”: STANZA-WISE

ANALYSIS
In light of the above, let us take a look at the first stanza.
Stanza 1
For God’s sake hold your tongue, and let me love,
Or chide my palsy, or my gout,
My five gray hairs, or ruin’d fortune flout,
With wealth your state, your mind with arts improve,
Take you a course, get you a place, 5
Observe his honour, or his grace,
Or the King’s real, or his stamped face
Contemplate, what you will, approve,
So you will let me love.
It is the beginning of a dialogue between the lover and the beloved, the former
being “I” and the latter “you.” Also, the stanza of nine lines is one sentence. The
first line is in the form of an assertion, “For God’s sake hold your tongue, and let
me love.” It begs the question whether reference to God in the line is provocative
and might shock the believers. But the sentence has not ended. The second line
moves unstoppably from thereon to the ninth. In this length, the point is made
that the beloved may concentrate on things such as the fear of contracting
paralysis, joint pain, suffering loss of fortune, a plan to rise in status, improve
mental skills, join a progressive path, gain high office, aspire for worldly honour
or divine grace, attain nearness to the King or from distance meditate on King’s
face embossed on coins. So far as the lover is concerned, the beloved has any or
all these options to adopt. However, the poet-lover impatiently demands of her
to know, “So you will let me love.” We can call it a total commitment to love.
Stanza 2
Alas, alas, who’s injured by my love? 10
What merchant’s ships have my sighs drown’d?
Who say my tears have overflow’d his ground?
When did my colds a forward spring remove?
When did the heats which my veins fill
Add one man to the plaguy bill? 15
Soldiers find wars, and lawyers find out still
24
 Litigious men, which quarrels move, Metaphysical Poets: John
Donne and Andrew Marvell
Though she and I do love.
In the second stanza, the idea is expanded further to cover areas of life that will
ensure stability in trade and commerce. The poet has decided to steer clear of the
field mentioned, nor would he disturb any who joined in it of his own will. Also,
he would not disturb the course of nature, nor be a cause of spreading a disease,
that being not his wish or plan. Another might be of choosing a career in army.
The poet-lover is clear about either—he would not be part of a military campaign
and leave alone. The list of rejections includes, too, the debates and dissentions
lawyers indulge in. At the end of all these mentions, he makes a declaration of
his sole intent that “she and I do love.” Indeed, all worldly options available to
the poet-lover lacked appeal. The only one no person would ever think of
considering is what the poet is hankering after—of loving.

Stanza 3
Call us what you will, we are made such by love,
Call her one, me another fly, 20
We are tapers too, and at our own cost die,
And we in us find the Eagle and the Dove.
The Phoenix riddle hath more wit
By us, we two being one, are it.
So to one neutral thing both sexes fit, 25
We die and rise the same, and prove
Mysterious by this love.
The third stanza takes us to the mystical aspect of life where love gets defined in
a new manner and the metaphysical is raised to another level. For Donne, love is
paradoxical, it has mutuality of the two lovers as well as their separateness. The
two reinforce each other. The idea of the moth or fly proves it beyond doubt. So
does the myth of phoenix. The flies move around the candle flame and are burnt
as they approach the flame. This implies that the two die in the act of approaching
the taper. From there, Donne is led on to the Eagle and Dove. The two have
strength and docility. They represent action and fight on one side and peace on
the other.
Stanza 4
We can die by it, if not live by love,
And if unfit for tombs and hearse
Our legend be, it will be fit for verse; 30
And if no piece of chronicle we prove,
We’ll build in sonnets pretty rooms,
As well a well-wrought urn becomes
The greatest ashes, as half-acre tombs,
And by these hymns, all shall approve 35
Us canoniz’d for Love. 25
British Poetry The next stanza is more concrete since it brings the idea back from its heights of
mystery and encloses it in literary expression. Even as the question is of death,
the poet tackles the theme of immortality through mortality. The usual trick played
upon death is of building tombs that remain pointers of how humans lived and
loved. Donne has a different take on the issue. His answer to building tombs is
giving a protective cover of words to the love he cherishes for his beloved. For
him, the sonnet erects better walls and “pretty rooms” for love than a structure of
bricks. In a more precise sense, the ashes of the lovers could be preserved in a
literary composition that he calls “a well-wrought urn.” This phrase was made
famous by critics in the twentieth century. Thus, as Donne emphatically
announces, true canonization would be that the feeling of love was immortalized
in a love poem.

Stanza 5
And thus invoke us: ‘You, whom reverend love
Made one another’s hermitage;
You, to whom love was peace, that now is rage;
Who did the whole world’s soul contract, and drove 40
Into the glasses of your eyes
(So made such mirrors, and such spies,
That they did all to you epitomize)
Countries, towns, courts: beg from above
A pattern of your love! 45
In the final stanza, love is made at once a hermitage, a place protected from
viewing by the world, and sensuous undertaking of soul’s contraction. The idea
is erotic in the sense that the two lovers live in isolation and are undisturbed. Its
religiosity consists in the sanctity one attaches to the relationship. The question
is whether the two can co-exist and even merge with each other. Donne himself
was a man of religion, a preacher and a great scholar. For this reason, he was
called Dr Donne. In poetry, he accords a very high place to intimacy between the
lovers. This is reinforced by wit and a deep faith in the Divine. At the same time,
death, life, beauty and passion are blended with one another in it. “Glasses of
your eyes” in it is celebratory and suggestive of mirth, with the whole world
asking for such a pleasure, “begging” for it “from above” so that that they earned
“A pattern of your love.”

2.7 MARVELL AND DONNE AS METAPHYSICAL

POETS: BACKGROUND AND THEMES
As we finish discussing Donne and move towards Andrew Marvell (1621-1678)
who was born in the first quarter of the seventeenth century, much later than his
predecessor, let us begin considering metaphysical poetry as an expression of
thoughtfulness and intellectual viewing. The themes Metaphysical Poetry dealt
with were of the urban male equipped with an evolved sensibility—he was
educated, circumspect, courageous and open-minded. He also responded
genuinely, free from bias or preconceived notions. It is significant that this urban
male had no pressures from his readers and peers to adopt a particular standpoint.
26
He did not publish, but only circulated his poems among friends and cultured Metaphysical Poets: John
Donne and Andrew Marvell
acquaintances. The outlook informing this trend of writing was rational; it went
into the reasons behind the phenomenon he confronted. He was curious to make
sense of the scene unfolding before him. In fact, the word “scene” is important in
the context; it was constantly changing, sometimes for the better, mostly for the
worse.

We might refer to the struggles between the monarchs of the day and the
Parliament that generated debate as well as misgivings and misapprehensions.
The masses and the gentry were not sure about the rightness and wrongness of
the issues in front. The questions were political and ideological. The former
touched upon policies pursued by the monarch and the latter were concerning
faith and belief. Andrew Marvell was face to face with an atmosphere of divided
loyalties, doubt and self-doubt. The existing thought, too, ceased to be
philosophical, it grappled instead with actual reactions of the people to the
developments around them. Keep in mind the building up of the civil war in
mid-seventeenth century. It did not happen overnight but was the result of a
whole century of social conflicts. Initially, the spectacle was of disturbed minds,
later it became affected by real fears of existence. The process of nationalist
integration helped England no end. That made it move from strength to strength.
Initially, the monarch received support from forces that strengthened the country,
tied the people in a social bond that had culture and religion to sustain them. At
the same time though, the unity of social sections threatened to sow seeds of
secular ideals in the minds of the emerging urban populace. The clergy too was
changing, subjecting faith-related matters to criticism at the individual level. Put
all these together and see that metaphysical poetry was gaining ground and
spreading its influence beyond the cities and towns to the hinterland. We view
this process in clear light as we interpret the poems of Andrew Marvell.

Marvell was a combination of Puritanism and individual liberty. The former gave
him discipline and intellectual rigour and the latter allowed him indulgence of
the senses. Where did the poet stand between the two? Would he keep reminding
himself that he was to be a straightforward defender of self-discipline from where
the point of inspiration of piety would guide him? On the other hand, would he
reject entirely the logic of life that resided somewhere in his mind telling him to
see it and recognize its concreate existence? Whereas in Donne the question
would have been answered with reference to the mystery of divinity working in
an individual’s life, in Marvell the question would stand firm in the middle of
dilemmas the poet faced. There was no scope in Marvell for the said mystery or
mysticism that was associated with his predecessor. Let us also keep in mind
that much time had elapsed between the two poets under discussion. English
society was not the same in Marvell’s time that existed in the first half of the
seventeenth century. Individual liberty had struck roots meanwhile and poets as
well as thinkers had to take cognizance of a mind capable of resolving conflicts
of the spirit with the world surrounding it. Also, the struggle of the individual
with his inner self had acquired dimensions that went beyond philosophy. In the
new social order, those dimensions were to assume a yet more sustained shape
comprising intellect and scientific learning. The air of the second half of the
century was qualitatively different from that of the sixteen tens and twenties. In
that sense, Donne and Marvell complement each other and give us a fullness of
understanding of the Metaphysical thought.

27
British Poetry
2.8 ABOUT THE POET: ANDREW MARVELL

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

Andrew Marvell (1621-1628) was a British satirist, politician who was also a
part of the House of Commons between 1659 and 1678. A friend of John Milton,
Marvell was born in Yorkshire. He was a son of a clergyman of Church of England.
From 1642-1645, he travelled in Europe. He was in favor of Charles I and
criticised his execution. Only later did he become sympathetic to the republican
cause of Oliver Cromwell, who was against monarchy. This being the robust
political background, let us now look at the poet’s literary persona.

Let us see how T.S. Eliot describes the poet Andrew Marvell. For Eliot, Marvell’s
grave needs neither rose nor rue nor laurel; there is no imaginary justice to be
done; we may think about him, if there be need for thinking, for our own benefit,
not his. To bring the poet back to life—the great, the perennial, task of criticism—
is in this case to squeeze the drops of the essence of two or three poems; even
confining ourselves to these, we may find some precious liquor unknown to the
present age. Not to determine rank, but to isolate this quality, is the critical labour.
The fact that of all Marvell’s verse, which is itself not a great quantity, the really
valuable part consists of a very few poems indicates that the unknown quality of
which we speak is probably literary rather than a personal quality; or, more truly,
that it is a quality of a civilization, of a traditional habit of life.

Eliot has rightly asserted that Marvell’s poems send out to us the message of
concrete living and they contain what may be called “the essence” and the
“quality.” These are counter posed to the “quantity” of Marvell’s writing. He did
not write many poems, but the quality of what he wrote was path-breaking. Also,
as we read the poems today, we find that their quality is “literary,” not “personal.”
It does not draw attention to Marvell but to the value of the meaning he captured
through them. At the same time, the meaning was not of the poet but of the time
when the writing happened. What Eliot emphasizes is “a quality of civilization,
of a traditional habit of life.” Let us have a view of these words. Civilization is a
raised level of understanding. It accords respect to the emotion Marvell expressed.
“Traditional habit of life” indicates those forms of behaviour that relate to stability
and enrichment stance a poet adopts. Eliot always appreciated the staying power
of literature that kept it grounded in the dynamic reality of how people felt and
28
reacted to challenges. We have to see whether this idea is actually central to the Metaphysical Poets: John
Donne and Andrew Marvell
poem we study in this unit. We shall focus upon the literariness of the poem “To
His Coy Mistress.”

First, let us acquaint ourselves with the poem. It is in the voice of the poet persona
who presents a specific stance. Is the stance intellectual, something that brings
out the question of assertion? Is the poet persona expressing annoyance or deep
questioning, or yet more, an eagerness to work out of the business of living? We
might see in the query a gradual movement from a state of mind (annoyance), to
exhibit impatience (forced questioning) to the final concern for the life he is
caught in (the nature of the business of living). We shall pursue this path for
realizing the literary aim.

2.9 “TO HIS COY MISTRESS”: THE TEXT

Had we but world enough and Time,
This coyness Lady were no crime.
We would sit down, and think which way
To walk, and pass our long Loves Day.
Thou by the Indian Ganges side
Should’st Rubies find: I by the Tide
Of Humber would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the Flood:
And you should if you please refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews. 10
My vegetable Love should grow
Vaster than Empires, and more slow.
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine Eyes, and on thy Forehead Gaze.
Two hundred to adore each Breast:
But thirty thousand to the rest.
An Age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your Heart.
For Lady you deserve this State;
Nor would I love at lower rate. 20

But at my back I alwies hear

Time’s winged Chariot hurrying near:
And yonder all before us lye
Desarts of vast Eternity.
Thy Beauty shall no more be found,
Nor in thy marble Vault, 29
British Poetry My echoing Song: then Worms shall try
That long preserv’d Virginity:
And your quaint Honour turn to dust;
And into ashes all my Lust. 30
The Grave’s a fine and private place,

But none I think do there embrace.

Now therefore, while the youthful hew
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing Soul transpires
At every pore with instant Fires,
Now let us sport us while we may;
And now, like amorous birds of prey,
Rather at once our Time devour,
Than languish in his slow-chapt pow’r. 40
Let us roll all our Strength, and all
Our sweetness, up into one Ball:
And tear our Pleasures with rough strife,
Thorough the Iron gates of Life.
Thus, though we cannot make our Sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.

2.10 “TO HIS COY MISTRESS”: SECTION-WISE

ANALYSIS
Lines 1-10
Had we but world enough and Time,
This coyness Lady were no crime.
We would sit down, and think which way
To walk, and pass our long Loves Day.
Thou by the Indian Ganges side
Should’st Rubies find: I by the Tide
Of Humber would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the Flood:
And you should if you please refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews. 10
In the first ten lines of the poem, we find the use of hyperbole, words carrying
exaggeration. The poet would go to any length, it is said, for carrying out the
wishes of the beloved. The tone is of playfulness as if he were humoring her. The
30
references to Time take the poet persona through historical happenings such as Metaphysical Poets: John
Donne and Andrew Marvell
the Flood and the conversion of the Jews in the ancient past. Apart from history,
there is mention of geography. The Indian Ganges and the river Humber stand
out. The time spent by the lover is equally pleasure-giving with the lover searching
for rubies before he would meet his woman from a closer angle. Also, the lover
indirectly says that so much of time is not available to them. The suggestion is
that humans have very little time in which to love and derive pleasure. The nature
of love, too, is indicated. It is of physicality, of the senses.

Lines 11-20
My vegetable Love should grow
Vaster than Empires, and more slow.
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine Eyes, and on thy Forehead Gaze.
Two hundred to adore each Breast:
But thirty thousand to the rest.
An Age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your Heart.
For Lady you deserve this State;
Nor would I love at lower rate. 20
We move to the next ten lines, and what do we come across? It is sensuality of
the extreme kind. Meanwhile, the tone of levity has given place to the loving as
a serious pursuit. The body parts of the woman are stated from eyes to the forehead
and then on to “each breast.” The rest of the body is emphasized in terms of each
part. Years of life are counted as “hundred years,” “two hundred,” and finally,
“thirty thousand.” These will be spent “adoring” the woman’s body. We do not
fail to note that in the first half of the poem there is a remarkable mix of wit,
over-emphasis and roguishness. For grasping the sense of the poem, wit might
be used as a serious indicator. The poet persona passionately argues in support of
an idea that cannot be put into action—love is not available to humans as they
long for it. The opposite is true. The moment of love comes and soon disappears.
That is the tragic part. Marvell has made this point subtly to suggest that the
essence of life is loss, scarcity and defeat even as the desire is uncontainable in
the short span of time one gets.

Lines 20-30
But at my back I alwies hear
Time’s winged Chariot hurrying near:
And yonder all before us lye
Desarts of vast Eternity.
Thy Beauty shall no more be found,
Nor in thy marble Vault,
My echoing Song: then Worms shall try
That long preserv’d Virginity:
31
British Poetry And your quaint Honour turn to dust;
And into ashes all my Lust. 30
These lines present a dreary picture. Every moment of human life is marked by
the dread of death moving near the individual human being. Suddenly, the
aforementioned Time turns into Death riding a chariot to catch the man as fast as
possible. How does Marvell spell the nature of human existence and the scene
around? The answer to this question is summed up in the expression desserts of
“vast eternity.” This is completely antithetical to the sensual picture of love
visualized in the beginning. We are made to imagine the beautiful human body
turning into a corpse and resting in the grave where “Worms shall try/ That long
preserv’d Virginity.” Clearly, the spectacle has changed from an event of
celebration to a horror. For the mistress, her beautiful body served the cause of
chastity and honour even as the lover’s passion bore the markings of lust. The
envisioned ending of both in the grave is deeply saddening, if not subject of
bitter realization.
Lines 31-46
The Grave’s a fine and private place,
But none I think do there embrace.
Now therefore, while the youthful hew
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing Soul transpires
At every pore with instant Fires,
Now let us sport us while we may;
And now, like amorous birds of prey,
Rather at once our Time devour,
Than languish in his slow-chapt pow’r. 40
Let us roll all our Strength, and all
Our sweetness, up into one Ball:
And tear our Pleasures with rough strife,
Thorough the Iron gates of Life.
Thus, though we cannot make our Sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.
In these last fifteen lines, the drama of love as a paradox receives a new colouring.
Marvell uses wit to work out an effective answer to defeat Death as Time. The
paucity of time becomes for him a challenge. For Marvell, the resolution lies in
putting the opportunity of loving to appropriate use. It offers a fine example of
metaphysical conceit, a neatly presented argument that turns tables on the
adversary. Under the discipline of the conceit, the vocabulary of coarseness is
transformed into that of bright hopefulness, and words occur of the manner of
“embrace,” “youthful hue,” “morning dew,”and “willing soul”—these being
characteristics of youthful humans. In that phase, their bodily pores earn the heat
of “instant fires” that make them behave like “like amorous birds of prey.” Thus,
the fight in the new situation is between Time on one side and lovers enjoying
32 intimacy on the other. In that moment, strength and sweetness of the lovers is
“rolled up into one ball” and pleasures are snatched from the struggle they have Metaphysical Poets: John
Donne and Andrew Marvell
with each other in the act of togetherness.

2.11 “TO HIS COY MISTRESS: A THEMATIC

OVERVIEW
The poem is about a vision that would guide the humans in their pursuit of living.
It is to do with acceptance of the real permeating their surroundings. For the
humans who are projected as lovers, it is essential they do not lose way in the
middle of uncertainties. The hurdles get created because of doubt and self-doubt.
Wrong knowledge is the basis of the doubt in the woman lover—she has lost
initiative for the reason that traditional norms and principles have created a web
to imprison her. The male lover is not just a man but the visionary in whom the
poet and lover stand united. We call him the poet persona in our discussion. He,
too, has to work hard for convincing the woman lover about the truth of what he
calls Time. Couched in the vocabulary of sensuality, the poem makes the
philosophical point that things keep on moving from one phase of life to another
irrespective of what is being pursued by ordinary mortals. However, the answer
is hidden in the human intellect, call it wit if you like, that alone can work out the
method to free oneself from the tentacles of fate, inevitability and worldly
possessions. This idea sets Marvell apart from all other Metaphysical poets
including John Donne who wavers between divinity and love. Is it because
Marvell is historically better placed to see the conundrum meaningful living
presents? Let us not overlook the clouds of a decisive civil war in mid-seventeenth
century venturing to unravel the hidden dynamism of realist thought. For a short
while in that period, the poets were face to face with processes of change and
courageous intervention. As quoted above, Eliot called it “a quality of a
civilization, of a traditional habit of life.” We can give further thought to it and
give it an appropriate articulation in view of what unfolded in the latter part of
the twentieth century.

2.12 LET US SUM UP

In this unit, we came to grips with the Metaphysical trend as a concept. We were
able to see why the problematic word aroused curiosity in criticism for such a
long time even as the basic view was one with the prevailing ethos seventeen
forties and fifties. We noted it shaping up as time progressed. Help in that regard
came from John Donne’s poem “The Canonization.” There was a touch of intense
curiosity and deliberation as Donne went on evolving his perspective. One could
not miss in Donne’s engagement with love the sense of the religious and rational
angles simultaneously. With the discussion of Marvell’s poem “To His Coy
Mistress,” we got on to firmer ground and saw the nature and efficacy of the
intellectual conceit at the back of Metaphorical poetry. In that effort, T.S. Eliot’s
argument to appreciate Andrew Marvell assisted us greatly. We also noted the
changing ideological scenario in England in the middle years of the seventeenth
century to play a significant role; it found a voice in Marvell’s poetic endeavour.

2.13 QUESTIONS
1) What was the atmosphere in England when Metaphysical poetry was
written?
33
British Poetry 2) Interpret the term ‘metaphysical’ in the context of the early seventeen century
England.

3) Donne represents love in both worldly and mystical terms. Comment with
reference to the poem “The Canonization”.
4) What according to Donne is a preferred way to immortalise love?
5) Explain the phrase “well wrought urn” as used by Donne in the above poem.
6) Comment on the poet’s treatment of the concept of time in the poem “To
His Coy Mistress”.

7) Compare and contrast ideas of love in Donne’s “The Canonization” and

Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress”.

8) Do you think the male lover in the two poems is overbearing? Give a
reasoned answer with references from “The Canonization” and “To His
Coy Mistress”.

2.14 REFERENCES
Alden, Raymond MacDonald. “The Lyrical Conceits of the Metaphysical Poets”.
Studies in Philology, Vol.17, No.2, 1920.

Carrol, John. J. “The Sun and the Lovers in “To His Coy Mistress”. Modern
Language Notes, Vol.74, No.1, 1959.
Claire, John. A. “Donne’s The Canonization”. PMLA, Vol.80, No.3, 1965.
Eliot, T.S. “The Metaphysical Poets”. Times Literary Supplement, 1921.
<https://www.usask.ca/english/prufrock/meta.htm>
Perkins, David. “Johnson on Wit and Metaphysical Poetry”. ELH, Vol.20, No.3,
The John Hopkins University Press, 1953.

2.15 SUGGESTED READINGS

Austen, Frances. The Language of the Metaphysical Poets. Basingstoke, 1992.

Brooks, Cleanth., Historical Evidence and the Reading of Seventeenth-Century

Poetry. Columbia, 1991.

34
 Metaphysical Poets: John
UNIT 3 ROMANTIC POETS: Donne and Andrew Marvell

WORDSWORTH AND COLERIDGE

Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 What does “Romantic” stand for?
3.3 William Wordsworth as a Romantic Poet
3.4 Wordsworth’s Poem “The Ruined Cottage”
3.5 A View of “The Ruined Cottage”
3.6 “The Ruined Cottage”: An Example of Poetic Narrative
3.7 Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Voice of Romanticism
3.8 “Kubla Khan”: The Text
3.9 “Kubla Khan” as a Poem of Magic and Wonder
3.10 Let Us Sum Up
3.11 Glossary
3.12 Questions
3.13 References
3.14 Suggested Readings

3.0 OBJECTIVES
After having read this unit you will be able to:
understand the Romantic era and the Romantic poets;
be able to comment on two important poems of Wordsworth and Coleridge.

3.1 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, we shall take a poem each by the two Romantic poets William
Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge for discussion. Our aim would be to
grasp the meaning of the word “Romantic” that sets it apart from other forms of
English poetry as distinct with its own features. The poem by Wordsworth would
be “The Ruined Cottage” and by Coleridge The Rime of the Ancient Mariner;
these would provide examples of the Romantic expression in a specific sense,
exhibiting features of a different kind of poetry written in the early nineteenth
century. Needless to say, Romantic poetry marked a clear departure from that
written in the preceding period. With the two poets as subjects of this unit,
Wordsworth stood primarily for simplicity and spontaneity and Coleridge for
fantasy, there being a recognizable gap between them. In the thematic content,
too, the two poets showed variation in concern and interest. Yet, the two shared
the broader perspective of humanism and imaginative representation. Also, they
worked in close proximity as poets.

35
British Poetry
3.2 WHAT DOES “ROMANTIC” STAND FOR?
This is a correct point of entry for us. In an apparent sense, whatever appears to
be unreal and dream-like is considered romantic, the opposite of this word being
real or realistic. But Romantic with a capital R is a historical construct. It was
associated with a happening, a trend that reworked the nature of social
understanding in the closing years of the eighteenth century. The happening
referred to was French Revolution of 1789.The decisive episode was the third in
Europe in a span of 150 years—the first two being the English Civil War in mid-
seventeenth century and the American War of Independence in 1775. Since we
are directly concerned with French Revolution, let us stress its passion and fervour
against the French monarchy. The fight was between the French ruling class
headed by the monarch and those men and women who came from the lower
rungs of society under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte. It was attended by
great violence and bloodshed. At the end, the common people were the victors.
How do we define the passion and fervour the episode generated, and which
rooted out the entrenched aristocracy for good? Who were the heroes of this
struggle against the mighty state? The answer is, the common masses who lived
in cities, towns, and more significantly the villages. Look at the list of sub-heads
under the category “The Popular Revolution” in a chapter in Georges Lefebvre’s
book The French Revolution. The sub-heads are: “The Economic Crisis; The
‘Good News’ and the Great Hope; The Aristocratic Conspiracy and the
Revolutionary Mentality; The Parisian Revolution; The Municipal Revolution;
The Peasant Revolution and the Great Fear; The Night of August 4; and the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen; The October Days.” (vi)1. See
the range of activities the writer refers to in this case. It covers the whole spectrum
of the phenomenon. In its sweep, the whole of France has shown itself.

Let us talk briefly about the aristocratic conspiracy. All the privileged in the
country got together and thought of ways to disrupt the unity among the masses.
The dividing line between the two was clear. The significant part is that the
section with resources felt threatened by those who had nothing to fall back on.
Also, there was no locus standi of the privileged except tradition sanctifying
their high position. This brought out the worse in them—violence, high-handed
behaviour, tricks and falsehoods. Instead, strength of the people without resource
came from their common cause of freedom from shackles. The latter were in the
form of the state observing rules of hierarchy. Inequality was the essence of their
thought. If masses saw the aristocracy as their adversary, they had to draw
inspiration from the thought of standing up to the hierarchy. If we translate the
view of resistance in imaginative terms, we would take recourse to fancy, dream-
like envisioning of harmony. Those indeed form the crux of the romantic principle.
It had deep roots in a different kind of traditional virtue that reached humans
from nature, village, mutuality of faith in community living and innocence of
perception. Romanticism stood for these things. As suggested, this is what the
people involved in the struggle thought of. They wished to bring in the
aforementioned range of social life to counter the force of monarchy, the old
system of control and governance blocking social growth and natural direction.

What we have seen in the foregoing is the crux of Romanticism. It is a view we

imagine. The view goes against the spirit of dogma and rigid tradition. The process
of understanding of this phenomenon is complex. That has the stability of the
state of affairs. Who would not like to see continuing the old ways, the tested and
36
tried? There are dangers in the opposite scenario. Nothing is certain and assured. Romantic Poets: Wordsworth
and Coleridge
Humankind is wary of change. It despises change for the simple reason that
change would bring the element of uncertainty. On the other hand, change is
attractive and inspiring. It dares man to take a step in the direction of the unknown
where dangers lurk. At the same time though, the dangers invite to move in that
direction— the region of fantasy and the unexplored. Indeed, the more the danger,
the more is the urge to know and experiment. It is so fascinating! See that we
have indicated in clear terms the terrain of the unexplored. That was the time in
the closing years of the eighteenth century when new avenues had been opened
to visualize a new world of possibilities hitherto unimagined.

Getting back, we come to understand that the Romantic mind bade good bye to
the established, the accepted and internalized. The Romantic mind was not in
love with the clear and the mundane that lacked inspiration and did not offer any
challenge. The clear was a construction of common sense. It sought continuity
with traditional wisdom so that ordinary principles appeared eternal. Further, the
village, the open fields and dense forests had given way to the ways of the city,
the urban living led by money and worldly success. Romanticism rejected them
as superficial. Keeping it in view, let us consider briefly the concerns of
Wordsworth’s poem “The Ruined Cottage.” But this might precede with a general
view of the poet Wordsworth.

3.3 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH AS A ROMANTIC

POET

(Image source: Wikipedia)

Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, Cumbria, England on 7 April, 1770. The

place was a market town situated at the confluence of the River Cocker and
River Derwent. The town, a part of Cumbria, was close to the Lake District that
appears as a constant reference in Wordsworth’s poetry. His poetic career began
with the publication of Lyrical Ballads, co-written with Samuel Taylor Coleridge
in 1798. The book had two editions, one in 1798 and the second in 1800. It
contained poems such as “Tintern Abbey,” “The Tables Turned” and “Michael.”
The “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” was published in 1804. Wordsworth
completed his epic-length poem The Prelude in 1805 and kept working on it 37
British Poetry further till his death in 1850. Finally, the poem had two versions, the 1805 version
and the 1850 version. Both versions of The Prelude were published posthumously.
During the long period between 1805 and 1850. Wordsworth wrote a large number
of poems, close to 400 and kept up with changes that occurred in England over
time.

His initial interests were in consonance with social change and revolution and he
was a champion of people’s causes. In this context, one should keep in mind
Wordsworth’s visit to France during the years of the French Revolution where
he was politically active as a supporter of the common masses. As things unfolded
though in the years following this period, he changed priorities and became more
and more philosophical. The shift occurred clearly in the first decade of the
nineteenth century that saw his loss of concern for the common masses. In the
second decade of the nineteenth century, Wordsworth had changed over to the
nationalist conservative paradigm and was rewarded for it with the title of Poet
Laureate eventually. Still, whatever the political choices, Wordsworth was linked
imaginatively with the humanist concerns and seldom lost touch with emotional
aspects of social life, not once in sympathy with the pomp and show of the market
that cast a shadow on ideology and general outlook of the people. Even today,
Wordsworth is remembered for his attachment preference for simplicity and
spontaneity. His choice always remained “the still sad music of humanity,” a
phrase that occurred in “Tintern Abbey.” Here, also to be noted are the lines “To
me the meanest flower that blows can give/ Thoughts that do often lie too deep
for tears” that form part of his “Immortality Ode.”

Wordsworth’s mind was always haunted by nature, and by the ways of life away
from the city. Village, the mountainous region, the wanderer in the forest, and
the like are recurrent images in his poetry. At the same time, he would consider
nature as a source of strength and self-awareness. He saw it working inside
himself, guiding and teaching him, letting him learn as a person. If he felt changes
in his outlook, he would ascribe them to the care nature gave him. He kept the
notion of nature’s educative company sustaining him. It worked like a mantra.
Significantly, in each phase of life nature made him conscious about the value of
being with the common humanity in its journey towards goals that would never
be reached, but trying for which was essential. As a consequence of the many
failings simple humanity met, there would be moments of breaking apart. But
humans had it in them to live by hope that would take them forward.2 This was
left to interpret by the poet. In “Tintern Abbey,” Wordsworth reached such a
conclusion. The question was taken up at length in The Prelude. In both poems,
the note of autobiography was predominant. That was the quest Romanticism
attempted and finally defined.

3.4 WORDSWORTH’S POEM “THE RUINED

COTTAGE”
Wordsworth’s “The Ruined Cottage” is in your course; it presents the specific
sense of want and deprivation away from the city. The poem presents a cottage
in a state of disarray and decline. The poet’s tone is elegiac, leaving us thinking
about a shrinking world. Perhaps, the world of the village has no future to look
forward to. This theme was explored at length by Wordsworth in another poem
“Michael” where the writer identified with a peasant happy in his surroundings
38 but has a son who wishes to go to the city for some time. Before leaving for the
city, the son made a promise that he would return soon. But he never came back Romantic Poets: Wordsworth
and Coleridge
even as the peasant’s misery kept piling up. The same subject is pursued in “The
Ruined Cottage.” Let us see how the poem begins:
’Twas summer and the sun was mounted high.
Along the south the uplands feebly glared
Through a pale steam, and all the northern downs
In clearer air ascending showed far off
Their surfaces with shadows dappled o’er
Of deep embattled clouds: far as the sight
Could reach those many shadows lay in spots
Determined and unmoved, with steady beams
Of clear and pleasant sunshine interposed;
Pleasant to him who on the soft cool moss
Extends his careless limbs beside the root
Of some huge oak whose aged branches make
A twilight of their own, a dewy shade
Where the wren warbles while the dreaming man,
Half-conscious of that soothing melody,
With side-long eye looks out upon the scene,
By those impending branches made more soft,
More soft and distant.
The scene captured in these lines is typically Wordsworthian, with a stress on the
richness of the details of nature; these expand the scope of the poem. The interplay
between shadows and “steady beams of clear and pleasant sunshine” catches
attention. It is away from the humdrum of the city and tells of happy prospects to
follow. But that is not the intention of the poet. For him, this description is to
work as a positive background to the series of happenings coming later if he
cared to appreciate it. The following scene is restrictive and dreary, the sense of
pain and loss will be more intensely felt. Note in these lines the “soft cool moss,”
“some huge oak whose aged branches make a twilight of their own” and “those
impending branches made more soft” promise tranquillity.
But at the same time, the title of the poem lurks behind these to warn of difficult
days to visit the scene. The mood changes to a picture of dilapidation. That sets
the tone of melancholy and tragedy. The change is introduced with “other lot
was mine.” The poet shows his deep concern for the decay he observes in a
corner of those hills. In the introduction of change is hidden an actual person, a
pedlar, a wanderer in the hills and selling his ware, who becomes a bridge between
the reader and the poet. We are going to be witness to the account the pedlar
would present. Since the cottage and the family living in the cottage are the
subject of the poem, we may take note of the state of affairs surrounding them.
From outside as the poet approaches the place, he sees the four bare walls of the
cottage with no inhabitant in sight when an old man lying motionless on a bench
nearby is spotted. The description of the pedlar is evocative, offering more than
a picture of the human figure. An aged man, 39
British Poetry He lay, his pack of rustic merchandize
Pillowing his head—I guess he had no thought
Of his way-wandering life. His eyes were shut;
The shadows of the breezy elms above
Dappled his face. With thirsty heat oppress’d
At length I hailed him, glad to see his hat
Bedewed with water-drops, as if the brim
Had newly scoop’d a running stream.
First, we become aware of the poet’s choice of such an ordinary person for
portrayal so we knew of what he did, whom he visited and the things he felt in
the process of pursuing his trade. From here on, we would be in touch with two
narrators, the poet and the pedlar. The former is a means of articulating the details
about the ruined cottage and the latter a witness of the happenings over time.

3.5 A VIEW OF “THE RUINED COTTAGE”

The poem is a story of life of a family living in the hills. Its chief characters are
the woman Margaret, her husband Robert and their two children who together
constituted a happy family unit. The pedlar would come over to their home and
exchange greetings. He would stay and chat with the woman and watch the
husband busy on his loom during the day and labouring happily in the field and
the big courtyard in the evenings and mornings. The couple was loving and jovial
and the hospitality of Margaret was unforgettable. The atmosphere is beautifully,
though briefly, romanticised in the poem. It resembles a small paradise on earth
where the earth and human beings live in utmost harmony. One says “briefly”
since the cottage inhabitants were soon overtaken by two years of successive
crop failures. We are told of this with great sensitivity in the voice of the pedlar,
where the pain is intense and the earlier tranquillity is severely disturbed. There
is also a reference to Robert falling seriously ill at one point and is left weak by
the disease. The crop failure led to further misery and what appeared to be a
never-ending sequence of happy incidents soon became matter of great misery
and want. All this is told in the poem with sadness. In it, the poet’s voice and the
pedlar’s feelings merge to make a feeling of suffering and deep sympathy. To
quote:
[E]re the second autumn
A fever seized her husband. In disease
He lingered long, and when his strength returned
He found the little he had stored to meet
The hour of accident or crippling age
Was all consumed. As I have said, ’twas now
A time of trouble; shoals of artisans
Were from their daily labour turned away
To hang for bread on parish charity,
They and their wives and children—happier far
40
Could they have lived as do the little birds Romantic Poets: Wordsworth
and Coleridge
That peck along the hedges or the kite
That makes her dwelling in the mountain rocks.
Here, a total merging of the troubled family and the little birds and mountain
rocks is perceived. Still more telling is the talk of “shoals of artisans/ To hang for
bread on parish charity.”That stretches the dimension to cover a wider area of
social life in the secluded mountainous surroundings. We take note of the
community of labouring people, “their wives and children” going through
starvation that would gradually take them to slow death. The situation is sad.
The family faces disarray since there is nothing the family can do to get back the
stability they had in life earlier.

3.6 “THE RUINED COTTAGE”: AN EXAMPLE OF

POETIC NARRATIVE
The poetic narrative, the story so to say, hangs on three characters in the main—
the poet-listener, the pedlar giving the first-hand account, and Margaret. As the
narrative proceeds, the listener and the teller get fused into one figure that
empathizes with Margaret. From then on, the focus is on the woman whose life’s
phases and increasing sadness are captured. Within the spaces of this arrangement
fall the description of Margaret’s husband, and the two children they had initially.
At one stage, the husband Robert decides to leave the place to join the army. His
decision is explained as a step to get some money to be used later by Margaret
for sustenance. Robert never told Margaret his plan of leaving. He simply
disappeared. In a couple of days of his going, the woman saw “a purse of gold”
left by someone in her home. This suggested to her, the husband’s idea behind
his plan. Margaret has grit and spends time looking after her two children. She is
fated to see the elder son dying first. After a few years, the younger one also dies,
leaving her entirely alone in the cottage. Those are incidents hiding their own
truth about what Margaret went through and the impact it left on the pedlar. The
poem ends with Margaret, too, meeting death.

In the title of the poem, “ruin” is of many levels. Even nature is a part of it that
takes human life away from the cottage and the scene is interpreted so very
clinically, in minutest detail, by the pedlar. By itself, the wild plants and shrubs
take over to combine with the walls, doors, windows, even books on the shelf
that turn into a wasteful growth. The question arises whether the spirit of Margaret
was shattered by the working of forces in and around her home. The answer is a
firm no, says the narrator. To quote:
My Friend, enough to sorrow have you given,
The purposes of wisdom ask no more;
Be wise and chearful, and no longer read
The forms of things with an unworthy eye.
She sleeps in the calm earth, and peace is here.
I well remember that those very plumes,
Those weeds, and the high spear-grass on that wall,
By mist and silent rain-drops silver’d o’er, 41
British Poetry As once I passed did to my heart convey
So still an image of tranquillity,
So calm and still, and looked so beautiful
Amid the uneasy thoughts which filled my mind,
That what we feel of sorrow and despair
From ruin and from change, and all the grief
The passing shews of being leave behind,
Appeared an idle dream that could not live
Where meditation was. I turned away
And walked along my road in happiness.”
Here, the positive words are wisdom, peace, calm earth, tranquillity and beautiful.
The other set of words that get rejection are sorrow and despair as well as idle
dream. One should leave them behind. The pedlar ends the description with “I .
. . walked along my road in happiness.” Such a message in the poem expects the
reader to go over the suffering of the helpless as a part of life that meant wisdom,
not despair. Therein lies the dignity of living, suggests Wordsworth through the
poem.

Finally, we observe that the poem has brought to light the misery of a country
woman in surroundings of nature. There is a link between the sufferings of the
woman and the circumstances in which she is placed. Even as she faces “ruin,”
she accepts her fate with fortitude. The poet has shown the decline in her fortune
dramatically. He uses a viewer in the form of the pedlar. The two views of the
episode intensify the effect.

3.7 SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE: VOICE OF

ROMANTICISM

(Image source: Wikipedia)

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in 1772 in Ottery Saint Mary in Devon, Great
42 Britain. One of the leaders of the English Romantic Movement, Coleridge was a
close associate and friend of William Wordsworth. Poems for which he became Romantic Poets: Wordsworth
and Coleridge
famous in Romantic poetry include The Rime of Ancient Mariner, “Kubla Khan”,
and Christabel. In his book Biographia Literaria, Coleridge explained his views
on the poetic process with ingenuity and insightfulness. In it, his thoughts and
opinions are of great merit, containing seeds of what would emerge later as leading
theories of writing. Apart from containing elaboration of important philosophical
concepts, the book traces Coleridge’s personal journey as a poet. Coleridge was
a great table talker. He excited the contemporary with comments and observations;
these took his listeners into the realm of speculation. He was an admirer of
Shakespeare and analysed some of the Bard’s characters, such as Hamlet, with
great depth. He is considered a pioneer in the field of psychological criticism.
Coleridge died in 1834.

Coleridge’s closeness with Wordsworth did not mean that they agreed on all
aspects of literary writing. In many a case, they differed with each other in
approach and outlook. With respect to poetry, we see in Coleridge an emphasis
on metaphysics and magic. Whereas Wordsworth engaged mainly with the life
of simplicity and innocence, Coleridge chose the spiritual and the psychological
aspects for poetic depiction. Comparing the two, Ronald Carter has observed:

Wordsworth’s poetry is concerned with the ordinary, everyday world and

with the impact of memory on the present; Coleridge’s poetry frequently
communicates a sense of the mysterious, supernatural and extraordinary
world. Wordsworth stated that he wanted to explore everyday subjects and
give them a Romantic or supernatural colouring; by contrast, Coleridge
wanted to give the supernatural a feeling of everyday reality. (Carter 208)3

It is suggested that Coleridge received inspiration from those elements in human

nature that were laid in the layers of the mind. He let imagination follow its own
creative ways and explore unknown fields of experience. Coleridge’s stress on
the supernatural sets him apart as a poet of mystery and vision, a realm that fills
the reader with wonder. One sees in his poetry a search for the sources of creativity,
fears and apprehensions submerged in the human mind and a longing for knowing
the forces active in dark shadows, fierce storms, and angry seas. This was not
perceived or appreciated by Wordsworth who stood for natural surroundings,
the theme of childhood, the life in a lonely hut, and the pleasure of memory that
gave him sustenance.

One can raise the question whether the two contrasting ways of approaching life
(as happened in the case of Wordsworth and Coleridge) could be considered
parts of a single movement called Romanticism. In answer to it, one might argue
that Coleridge and Wordsworth engaged themselves with a variety of responses
of the human mind, that being the centre of interest in a vital sense. Society with
its clashing structures, economic interests, urban living, divisive penchant of
choices was seldom their concern. That was crude materialism catering to worldly
issues mired in superficial pleasures. On the other hand, in Romanticism both
villages and high seas were the opposite of what one saw in political clashes or
social tensions witnessed in the ways of living in a city. What joined Wordsworth
and Coleridge was the keener aspect of vision in which humanity and nature
stood integrated. Particularly in Coleridge, the unknown held great fascination.
Needless to say, with the unknown came subjects of human spirit, sin and virtue
as well as threats and dangers. Innocence and spontaneity saved Wordsworth
from falling prey to doubts or apprehensions. In Coleridge, however, dark and 43
British Poetry disturbing images of the supernatural, something not available to reason,
howsoever sublime, became the issue. From this viewpoint, let us have a look at
Coleridge’s famous poem, “Kubla Khan”.

3.8 “KUBLA KHAN”: THE TEXT

Let us read the poem:
Kubla Khan
Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment.

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan

A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round;
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.

But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted

Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!
A savage place! as holy and enchanted
As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted
By woman wailing for her demon-lover!
And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
A mighty fountain momently was forced:
Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail:
And mid these dancing rocks at once and ever
It flung up momently the sacred river.
Five miles meandering with a mazy motion
Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,
Then reached the caverns measureless to man,

44 And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean;

And ’mid this tumult Kubla heard from far Romantic Poets: Wordsworth
and Coleridge
Ancestral voices prophesying war!
The shadow of the dome of pleasure
Floated midway on the waves;
Where was heard the mingled measure
From the fountain and the caves.
It was a miracle of rare device,
A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!

A damsel with a dulcimer

In a vision once I saw:
It was an Abyssinian maid
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight ’twould win me,
That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome! those caves of ice!
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.

3.9 “KUBLA KHAN” AS A POEM OF MAGIC AND

WONDER
This poem by Coleridge has the basic features of illusion. It depicts the unreal
and the imaginary. Nothing in it resembles that which we ever saw in life. As we
see the poem’s subtitle, we note that by the poets’ own admission, it is “a vision
in a dream. A Fragment.”

Lines 1-11
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
45
British Poetry Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round;
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
The beginning takes us away to a world where a mysterious king by the name
Kubla Khan ordered a pleasure-dome be built. The name of the place is equally
mysterious, Xanandu. The beginning has eleven lines that contain two long
sentences. In them, we are made to think of the nature of the sacred river, the
sunless sea, and a forest of incense-bearing trees. Sacredness and incense are
directly linked. However, the sunless sea is associated with darkness. The poet
has talked of an enclosed place. It is girdled. The place has forests and also spots
of greenery in it. We might visualize it as a painting. When we put these details
together, we think that pleasure, natural scenery, holiness and the protecting walls
build through these lines a spectacle of beauty and wonder. The mention of
“ancient” in the lines also points towards the unknown and unimaginable. Is the
writer taking us on a journey to the distant past that is fixed in its own character
and will never be available to us? Since I call this scene a painting, I am imagining
the place as fixed and unmoving. The river and the streams in it run on their
course but they denote calm and rhythm.
Lines 12-36
But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted
Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!
A savage place! as holy and enchanted
As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted
By woman wailing for her demon-lover!
And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
A mighty fountain momently was forced:
Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail:
And mid these dancing rocks at once and ever
It flung up momently the sacred river.
Five miles meandering with a mazy motion
Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,
Then reached the caverns measureless to man,
And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean;
46
And ’mid this tumult Kubla heard from far Romantic Poets: Wordsworth
and Coleridge
Ancestral voices prophesying war!
The shadow of the dome of pleasure
Floated midway on the waves;
Where was heard the mingled measure
From the fountain and the caves.
It was a miracle of rare device,
A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!
The atmosphere changes in the above lines. It is a long passage of 25 lines. First,
we are told of a “deep romantic chasm,” a gap in the earth wide, deep and
threatening. The word “romantic” implies the opposite of the real. Yet, we may
look at it and soon turn eyes away so it would not send messages of destruction
to us. In one stroke, calm and rhythmic pattern take a beating. The poet says, “it
is a savage place,” something alien to human and civilized living. We are told
that in those surroundings, a woman is weeping as she waits for her “demon
lover.” Further, the place is enchanted, driven by a magical force. The time is of
the night even as the moon in the sky is not shedding enough light, it being “a
waning moon.” Still more disturbing is the mighty fountain keeping company
with the panting earth, volcanic bursts and dancing rocks. We are made to think
of an earthquake shaking and toppling everything in the scene. The previously
existing sunless sea has turned here into a lifeless ocean.
We are informed that all this tumult constitutes actually voices of the ancestors
who warn there would be seen a war. Under impact of the shaking earth, the
pleasure-dome, too, is seen as swaying. Its shadow on the waves of the river
shows this. The last two lines of this section indicate a shift. They turn attention
away from the violent scene and prepare ground for a rhythmic working out of
the deathly riddle inherent in the passage. The word “miracle” at the end of the
passage is metaphorical more than it is literal. Such things do not happen, are not
seen in the phenomena of life. They are the working of chance, an unknown
unrecognized agency. In that sense, the poem itself is a miracle, to the reader and
the poet. But miracle lights up the dark moments of life, makes them look up,
struggle with self to get sense out of the scene in front.
Lines 37- 47
A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw:
It was an Abyssinian maid
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight ’twould win me,
That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome! those caves of ice! 47
British Poetry The third section has ten lines. It reads faster and the lines are short. They follow
a different beat. It is celebratory and is close to a dance sequence. We can raise
the question whether this is a logical way ahead from the previous cluster of
lines. An answer would be that in a dream sought to be portrayed in a poem, no
particular logic is adhered to. The two passages can link with each other as two
pictures placed together. It is called “a vision once I saw,” that would mean it is
something different not just in theme but also in terms of time. “Once” takes the
reader into a different time-frame. The vision contains a maid who is playing on
the musical instrument dulcimer and singing along with it a song. We note that
the song affords a “deep delight” accompanied by “loud music.” That brings
back the memory of the pleasure-dome King Kubla Khan ordered to be built.
The poet is firm in his belief that he “build that dome in air.” Thus, by a circuitous
route, we return to the mission of erecting the pleasure-dome. Once announced,
the mission sends the poet into a frenzy. The next and last part of the poem is the
capturing of that frenzy.

Lines 48-54
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.
The last part of the poem has eight lines. These show us the poet using the quaint
ritual of the onlookers weaving three times a circle around him. Why? Because
he is fed on honey-dew and has “drunk the milk of Paradise.” In these lines,
again there is a mention of holiness (“holy dread). It follows from the tone and
tenor of the poem that it crosses boundaries of reason and logic to present a
vision. In the sub-title, the expression “a fragment” was given. We may ask
ourselves whether the poem ended abruptly justifying it was a fragment. We
have no evidence of it being a fragment since for us the poem is certainly a
whole—implying it has logic its own. It began with the idea of the pleasure-
dome that finally got realized on the strength of music and dance.

In the nineteenth century context, Romanticism also meant a working of

imagination at its peak. It drew help from dreams, fancies, imaginings, magic,
and make-believe. Romanticism indicated the parallel existence of man’s inner
life, his mind and creativity, an area that had not yet been explored. It was beyond
the reasoning prevalent at the time. Coleridge’s poems such as “Kubla Khan,”
“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, and “Christabel” are examples of that
creativity in which magic and miracle are supreme. Are those for real? The
questions have been raised by Coleridge in definitive terms.

3.10 LET US SUM UP

In this unit, we have discussed one poem each by William Wordsworth and Samuel
Taylor Coleridge. “The Ruined Cottage” is by the former and “Kubla Khan” is
48
by the latter. The two poems exemplify English Romantic poetry manifesting Romantic Poets: Wordsworth
and Coleridge
two distinct responses to the aspects of the nineteenth century England. Both
relate to nature, the second in a peculiar sense though. In the first poem, the
loneliness and poverty as also the grit of the woman of the mountain are
highlighted. In the second poem, we confront the magical nature of the scene
that cannot be easily imagined by human beings. It does not end at a specific
point of the depiction, but pauses with a jerk as if a thread that was continuing
from one point suddenly broke. It is ghostly and contains the hints of death and
destruction. Consider placing these poems together. We may then realize that
Wordsworth’s answers in “The Ruined Cottage” are secular and humanist,
dwelling on the perseverance of the poor. On the other hand, Coleridge evokes
mystery and fear on purpose, visualizing that much in the human imagination is
unknowable. You may have visualized in these poems the working of the human
mind as opposed to the incidents that take place in the social environment. The
two poems complement each other under the larger trend of Romanticism.

3.11 GLOSSARY
Humanism : a viewpoint that is based on the conduct of human beings
in society. It emphasises the values of objective thought as
against the notions of divinity and traditional morality.

Phenomenon : the scene in society that encompasses life, ideas, norms

and values.

Hierarchy : the structure with parts that standing in order of importance.

The structure has people at the top, the second position, the
third position, and so on.

Monarchy : a system of governance where the King is supreme authority

in a society. It is based on the ruler in the position of a king
as his birth right

3.12 QUESTIONS
1) What do you understand by Romantic poetry? Explain.
2) Discuss Wordsworth as poet of nature.
3) Write a critical note on Wordsworth’s poem “The Ruined Cottage.”
4) Discuss Coleridge as a poet of Romanticism.
5) What do ‘magic’ and ‘mystery’ signify in Coleridge’s “Kubla Khan”?
Explain with examples.

6) Is “Kubla Khan” entirely unreal, having no link with the nineteenth century
England? Support your answer with examples from the poem.

3.13 REFERENCES
1) Carter, Ronald. The Routledge History of Literature in English. Oxon:
Routledge, 2011. Indian Reprint.

2) Lefebvre, Georges. The French Revolution. London: Routledge, 1962. 49

British Poetry 3) Raymond Williams has observed: “The historically liberating insight, of a
new kind of possible order, new kinds of human unity, in the transforming
experience of the city, appeared, significantly, in the same shock of
recognition of a new dimension which had produced the more familiar
subjective recoil. The objectively uniting and liberating forces were seen
in the same activity as the forces of threat, confusion and loss of identity.”
Kanav Gupta. Ed. Romantic Poets. Delhi: Worldview, 2016, p. 31.

3.14 SUGGESTED READINGS

Carter, Ronald. The Routledge History of Literature in English. Oxon: Routledge,
2011. Indian Reprint. Kermode, Frank., Romantic Image. London: Routledge,
1957.
Lefebvre, Georges. The French Revolution. London: Routledge, 1962.
Reed, Arden,, ed, Romanticism and Language. London, Methuen, 1984.

50
 Romantic Poets: Wordsworth
UNIT 4 VICTORIAN POETS: ROBERT and Coleridge

BROWNING AND ALFRED

TENNYSON
Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 The Victorian Age
4.3 Transition from Romanticism to Victorian Thinking
4.4 Browning: The Man and the Poet
4.5 Browning as the Poet of Dramatic Monologue
4.6 Analysis of “The Last Ride Together”
4.7 A General Comment on the Poem
4.8 Stanza-wise Analysis
4.9 Tennyson: The Poet
4.10 Analysis of “Crossing the Bar”
4.11 Stanza-wise Analysis
4.12 Let Us Sum Up
4.13 Glossary
4.14 Questions
4.15 References
4.16 Suggested Readings

4.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
know about the Victorian Age;
understand the term Dramatic Monologue;
discuss the content of the poems of Browning and Tennyson.

4.1 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, we shall have a view of the Victorian poets with help from one poem
each by Robert Browning and Alfred Tennyson. The presentation shall take us to
the age in which the two poets lived. They were inspired by the developments of
the age. At the same time, they charted a territory of poetic expression unique to
their times. The Victorian Age followed the Romantic tradition that believed in
dreaming big and recognizing the trends of the time as challenges. The time span
between the eighteen forties till the end of the nineteenth century characterized
stability. Yet, the age produced poets that left an impact on the cultural landscape.
This will be highlighted in some detail in this unit. The unit will also provide to
you the analysis of Browning’s “The Last Ride Together” and Tennyson’s
“Crossing the Bar”.
51
British Poetry
4.2 THE VICTORIAN AGE
Let us take a general view of the socio-cultural developments in the nineteenth
century England. The period between 1837 and 1901 is considered to be the
Victorian age, literally because Queen Victoria reigned during this period.
However, the term refers to the larger phenomenon that changed England crucially.
It also impacted Europe that reshaped and redefined itself in the nineteenth century.
Clearly, different countries of Europe were interlinked economically and socially.

The Nineteenth century was a century of self-doubt and philosophical questioning.

It saw the rise of important thinkers such as Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, John
Stuart Mill, and Sigmund Freud making significant contributions to the thought
of the day. The ideas of Jean Jacques Rousseau in the eighteenth century had
already made inroads into the thinking across countries in the continent. Rousseau
gave a call for return to nature because the course of the existing society, according
to him, had snatched away everything spontaneous from the common people.
The masses were in the grip of the regulated life of the city with rules and
principles that curbed processes of thought. For that reason, Rousseau would
make sense in the previous century. In the nineteenth century, thinkers and writers
engaged in intense debates on questions of science, technology, morality and
religion. Karl Marx in the Communist Manifesto(1848), focused upon the plight
of the workers and the underprivileged. Marx’s analysis hinged on the clash of
interests between the proletariat and the capitalist class in a historical frame.
Charles Darwin challenged the theory of creation with his evolutionary model in
the book On the Origin of Species (1859). A deep questioning of God led to the
Victorian crisis of faith as a result. The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
in the later years of the 19th century proclaimed that God was dead and the
human being had to rely on his own resources for resolving questions of existence.
The works of Sigmund Freud further sharpened the critique of society and God,
as Freud connected the cause of anxiety and fear in life with the oppressive
social institutions affecting the human mind. Rational observation and scientific
analysis were the two methods to understand society, nature and human behaviour.
Of these three, society loomed large in the Victorian period since it alone could
give strength and stability to the common people needing resources to sustain
them. That was the crux. Yet, matters could not be resolved on the social plane
unless the governing social relations were upturned. The physical dimension of
the existing dilemmas had made people sit up and wonder. Interestingly, these
issues had become the staple of the nineteenth century fiction. Novels,
philosophical treatises, political comments and analyses as well as scientific tracts
were the order of the day. It appeared that poetry was losing ground to these new
forms of expression. The Victorian dilemma was as much of society as it was of
the literary expression.

The aims and objects of people in the nineteenth century were to look for
intellectual support. Previously, the support came from belief systems and norms
of tradition. Most of them were linked with philosophical thought that permeated
entrenched principles of life.

52
 Victorian Poets: Robert
4.3 TRANSITION FROM ROMANTICISM TO Browning and Alfred
Tennyson
VICTORIAN THINKING
The nineteenth century was unique in the sense that it graduated from ideas of
the past to the ones that were to be forged anew. This was seen specifically in the
Romantic age that questioned social institutions and searched for resolution in
nontraditional areas of life. Blake, Wordsworth and Keats as well as Shelley
stand testimony to this. Romanticism became a precursor for changes that might
visit the society later in the century. The concerned changes were in the process
of coming up but were not yet visible to the eye. This question found clear mention
in the poetry of the period. Matthew Arnold’s poem “Dover Beach” (1867) comes
to mind. It talks of absences of support, psychological and moral. In it, the poetic
voice visualizes the sea at Dover appearing unconcerned about the society on
the hard plain. The poem uses the metaphor of the sea reflecting the mechanical
rising and falling of life irrespective of a goal. Did it indicate a crisis? For Arnold,
the “Sea of faith” bound human life with its protective grip in the past. The
turning of the poem into a melancholic song is unnerving. The poet bemoans the
dwindling of faith in the present era when no “certitude, nor peace, nor help for
pain” exists. We may remember in the context that Arnold talked of the lofty
place that poetry occupied in human affairs. For him, poetry was capable of “a
high order of excellence.” He observed that “The best poetry is what we want;
the best poetry will be found to have a power of forming, sustaining, and delighting
us, as nothing else can.” (Enright, 261-2)

The Victorian crisis of faith is a commonly used phrase. It denotes the dilemma
of the nineteenth century individual caught between personal belief and larger
historical forces. The new scientific theories raised issues of morality, fellow
feeling, and ease of living. At the other end of the spectrum stood upheavals, too
daunting for comfort. Social revolution knocked at the door and if allowed in
and to work for, they would spell untold violence. The background for such a
circumstance was the rising gap between the rich and poor. The privileged stuck
to dogma, thinking that would ensure stability. Yet, the number of those who
wished to work and were without work threatened to shake up the apparent balance
in life. Contrast it with the impatience of the Romantic poet in the preceding
decades to only feel defeated since the new was not all that reassuring. Science
questioned as faith wavered.

Where would poetic expression stand in those times of malaise in the thirties and
the forties? The poets of the period had a great tradition of poetry behind them.
In the shadow of Romanticism, the Victorian poet would find it difficult to get a
subject of immediate relevance, something that would inspire him to engage
with. The difference was that the challenges were haunting the powers that be,
the state, the politics, as well as the thinkers. The crisis was predominantly
economic. Increase in poverty and lawlessness were the issues keeping the
administration on its toes. The writer was an abject spectator of the social scene
unfolding in front.

Romantic expression derived strength from nature and an innocent past evoked
by life in the village. The Victorian period, however, had not the same passion
for creating a new perspective and waiting for a new dawn. The vision covering
vistas of possibility, experiment and creativity had gone. The answers lay in
complexities of the past driving society to a stalemate. The village structures 53
British Poetry based on a sedate agriculture were being dismantled by the resource-hungry
capitalism. The industrial revolution introduced factory-based production and it
attracted large masses of people to the cities. Management of colonies far from
England was another burden the metropolitan England had to bear. The colonies
ensured regular supply of raw materials but that added to the schedule of
production on a yet larger scale. That provides us with the background against
which the two poems in your course can be interpreted. The poems are Browning’s
“The Last Ride Together” and Tennyson’s “Crossing the Bar.” “The Last Ride
Together.” We begin with a short account of Robert Browning.

4.4 BROWNING: THE MAN AND THE POET

(Image source: Wikipedia)

Robert Browning (1812-1889) was born in Camberwell, England. His writing

career spanned the entire nineteenth century. Although he received limited formal
education, he was well versed in both Greek and Latin. He began writing poems
early in life and his first book of poems was published anonymously under the
title Pauline: A Fragment of a Confession in 1833.He was twenty-one years old.
One could discern in the poem his passion for the contemporary concerns. Later,
he adopted an objective stance. That earned him appreciation in the literary circles.
Soon, he was in touch with Elizabeth Barret, a woman senior to him by six years.
She wrote poems and had won acclaim before he came to know her. Finally,
against the wishes of her family, she married Robert Browning secretly. This
helped Browning decisively in many ways. Being fond of her, he wished to
preserve her as a friend and beloved at any cost. She was seriously ill and needed
a climate different than that prevailing in England for recovery. In 1846, the
couple shifted to Florence, Italy and lived there for fifteen years. The life in that
city influenced his poetry. The previous subjectivity in writing was gone and
Browning wrote with a sense of detachment.

As we read Browning’s poems, we note that even as he shares with the reader his
sentiments and feelings, he sees to it that they are combined with an intellectual
attitude. He consciously chooses to maintain distance from what he states. Such
a distance equips him with dramatic skills to portray life’s situations. In his poems,
he seldom gives his own voice to the characters he chooses to present. He lets
54
them have their own. Browning also has the penchant for dwelling on Victorian Poets: Robert
Browning and Alfred
psychological tendencies. He would elaborate them and give them a distinct Tennyson
shape. Gradually, such an attitude became the defining nature of Browning’s
poetry.

4.5 BROWNING AS THE POET OF DRAMATIC

MONOLOGUE
It was the use of the dramatic monologue in poetry that won Browning fame and
renown. That also provided interiority to the form. His poetry contained portrayals
with a specific thought content. Through the monologue form, he created
characters gifted with capability to look inward. Later in his career he wrote
verse drama as well. This was concretized in Stafford that he composed in 1837.
His other plays in verse form include Pippa Passes (1841), A Blot in the Scutcheon
(1843) and Luria (1846).

Another aspect of Browning’s poetry is optimism. It reflects an attitude of

acceptance and assertion. Interestingly, Browning stood apart from his times. He
was not exactly critical of them (the times) but brought in awareness while dealing
with them in poetry. This gave a special quality to his utterances. The best part of
his poetic expression was its relative detachment from the context where it was
placed. He stood on his own, defining shades and adding to his characteristic
twists. Other poets of his period carried remnants of Romanticism, extending
melancholy to a context that rested on soft language and easy sentimentality.
That made the Victorian poetic expression weak and insipid. Browning’s strong
individualism stood him in good stead. He knew what he was saying since he
went with confidence into the implications of the idiom current at the time. We
do not see any sense of doubt or uncertainty in Browning. Nor is he particularly
given to anxiety or helplessness that characterized the Victorian ethos. However,
this is confined, as suggested, to his individual stance where he thinks and
intellectualizes. The poet assumes the role of an interpreter. He represents a
fascinating unity between a person who feels and the one who makes sense unto
himself of the given circumstance. This lends subtlety to the poem. The dilemmas
coming up in this process are the stuff of Browning’s poetry. If that is what we
witness, how could he be called a Victorian poet?

4.6 ANALYSIS OF “THE LAST RIDE TOGETHER”

The poem in your course is “The Last Ride Together.” Its title hints at a few
things. Why the last? And does it portray togetherness of two people ending in
tragedy? An important feature of the poem is that it is a portrayal as well as a
performance. If read by the poet to an audience, it will resemble a dramatic
piece. The poem is in the voice of the lover drawing the reader into his inner
world. We might also see that as the speaker “I” addresses the reader directly.
Let us give the poem a read:

The Last Ride Together

I said—Then, dearest, since ’tis so,
Since now at length my fate I know,
Since nothing all my love avails,
55
British Poetry Since all, my life seemed meant for, fails,
Since this was written and needs must be—-
My whole heart rises up to bless
Your name in pride and thankfulness!
Take back the hope you gave,—I claim
—Only a memory of the same,
—And this beside, if you will not blame,
Your leave for one more last ride with me

II.
My mistress bent that brow of hers;
Those deep dark eyes where pride demurs
When pity would be softening through,
Fixed me, a breathing-while or two,
With life or death in the balance: right!
The blood replenished me again;
My last thought was at least not vain:
I and my mistress, side by side
Shall be together, breathe and ride,
So, one day more am I deified.
Who knows but the world may end tonight?

III.
Hush! if you saw some western cloud
All billowy-bosomed, over-bowed
By many benedictions—sun’s
And moon’s and evening-star’s at once—-
And so, you, looking and loving best,
Conscious grew, your passion drew
Cloud, sunset, moonrise, star-shine too,
Down on you, near and yet more near,
Till flesh must fade for heaven was here!—-
Thus leant she and lingered—joy and fear!
Thus lay she a moment on my breast.

IV.
Then we began to ride. My soul
56 Smoothed itself out, a long-cramped scroll
Freshening and fluttering in the wind. Victorian Poets: Robert
Browning and Alfred
Past hopes already lay behind. Tennyson

What need to strive with a life awry?

Had I said that, had I done this,
So might I gain, so might I miss.
Might she have loved me? just as well
She might have hated, who can tell!
Where had I been now if the worst befell?
And here we are riding, she and I.

V.
Fail I alone, in words and deeds?
Why, all men strive and who succeeds?
We rode; it seemed my spirit flew,
Saw other regions, cities new,
As the world rushed by on either side.
I thought,—All labour, yet no less
Bear up beneath their unsuccess.
Look at the end of work, contrast
The petty done, the undone vast,
This present of theirs with the hopeful past!
I hoped she would love me; here we ride.

VI.
What hand and brain went ever paired?
What heart alike conceived and dared?
What act proved all its thought had been?
What will but felt the fleshly screen?
We ride and I see her bosom heave.
There’s many a crown for who can reach,
Ten lines, a statesman’s life in each!
The flag stuck on a heap of bones,
A soldier’s doing! what atones?
They scratch his name on the Abbey-stones.
My riding is better, by their leave.

57
British Poetry VII.
What does it all mean, poet? Well,
Your brains beat into rhythm, you tell
What we felt only; you expressed
You hold things beautiful the best,
And pace them in rhyme so, side by side.
’Tis something, nay ’tis much: but then,
Have you yourself what’s best for men?
Are you—poor, sick, old ere your time—-
Nearer one whit your own sublime
Than we who never have turned a rhyme?
Sing, riding’s a joy! For me, I ride.

VIII.
And you, great sculptor—so, you gave
A score of years to Art, her slave,
And that’s your Venus, whence we turn
To yonder girl that fords the burn!
You acquiesce, and shall I repine?
What, man of music, you grown grey
With notes and nothing else to say,
Is this your sole praise from a friend
“Greatly his opera’s strains intend,
“Put in music we know how fashions end!”
I gave my youth; but we ride, in fine.

IX.
Who knows what’s fit for us? Had fate
Proposed bliss here should sublimate
My being—had I signed the bond—-
Still one must lead some life beyond,
Have a bliss to die with, dim-descried.
This foot once planted on the goal,
This glory-garland round my soul,
Could I descry such? Try and test!
I sink back shuddering from the quest.
Earth being so good, would heaven seem best?
58 Now, heaven and she are beyond this ride.
X. Victorian Poets: Robert
Browning and Alfred
And yet—she has not spoke so long! Tennyson

What if heaven be that, fair and strong

At life’s best, with our eyes upturned
Whither life’s flower is first discerned,
We, fixed so, ever should so abide?
What if we still ride on, we two
With life for ever old yet new,
Changed not in kind but in degree,
The instant made eternity,—-
And heaven just prove that I and she
Ride, ride together, for ever ride?

4.7 A GENERAL COMMENT ON THE POEM

This poem has ten stanzas each of which contains eleven lines. In the title of the
poem, the word “Last” has many meanings. It may be referring to the many rides
in the past all of which were enjoyable. The obvious meaning of the word is that
the lovers are meeting on this occasion for the last time. Connect that with the
ending of the poem, “Ride, ride together, for ever ride.” Think of the word “ride”
in the case. It could denote a relationship, a joining together at the physical level.
Indeed, physicality is the crux. Not for a single moment are the lovers away or
separate from each other. The lover is talking continuously either to her or his
own self. The union between the two defines the central parameters of the poem.

In spite of the many stages the poem passes through, the emotion of love is at its
core, giving it great vigour. The poem is not sentimental or emotional. It is
primarily of the intellectual kind. We see in it how different points are made
about life, passion, time, various art forms and the human aspect of living. There
are differences, contrasts, similarities, and strong or weak stresses on the
arguments forwarded. The poet proves to his own satisfaction that arts such as
music, sculpture, or poetry lack in the pleasure of the moment that can be
prolonged to eternity. His own preference would be for poetry but there, too,
love between man and woman scores over the act of composing a poem. The
poem is in the classical mode where emotions work under the discipline of logic.
We see this reflected in the speech. The command of the poem is in the hands of
the speaker who argues, counter-argues, reaches conclusions, uses rhetoric, raises
questions and proves the point of love as a supreme experience.

4.8 STANZA-WISE ANALYSIS

I
I said—Then, dearest, since ’tis so,
Since now at length my fate I know,
Since nothing all my love avails,
Since all, my life seemed meant for, fails,
59
British Poetry Since this was written and needs must be—-
My whole heart rises up to bless
Your name in pride and thankfulness!
Take back the hope you gave,—I claim
—Only a memory of the same,
—And this beside, if you will not blame,
Your leave for one more last ride with me.
In this stanza, “since” is used five times. It serves the specific purpose of
connecting with the lover’s long history of relationship with the woman. This
affords him reasons to ask her for a favour—”Your leave for one more last ride
with me.” In the past, he has had a good number of rides with her, the present one
might be one more to add to them. What do you say about the reasons he has
given? I believe he is both humorous and earnest. The jocular tone suggests that
his bonding with her has lasted a long time. But where is the harm? He could
enjoy her company one more time. He failed in his mission of being her companion
all his life. Why? By the lover’s own admission, the woman decided to end the
relationship. Can we call it the beginning of a narrative? After the episode of
friendship, a new one of parting with her has begun. Will the woman oblige him
and give him consent for one more ride with him? This creates curiosity and
suspense for the reader. The question may be answered in the following stanza:

II
My mistress bent that brow of hers;
Those deep dark eyes where pride demurs
When pity would be softening through,
Fixed me, a breathing-while or two,
With life or death in the balance: right!
The blood replenished me again;
My last thought was at least not vain:
I and my mistress, side by side
Shall be together, breathe and ride,
So, one day more am I deified.
Who knows but the world may end tonight?
The first five lines of this stanza are charged with uncertainty. Will the woman
agree? After a struggle, she says, “Right!” The consent is hard earned for the
lover, it became a question of life and death. Read the first five lines and guess
what went on in the woman’s mind at the time. First, the lover saw pride in her
“deep dark eyes.” The expression “pride demurs” conveys her rejection that was
temporarily withdrawn. “Replenished me again” brings the half-dead lover back
to life. He is excited that if the world ended as he rode with her, the ride would
assume permanence. See the words used for the moment of togetherness, they
make us aware of the predominance of the body in the poem. The love between
the man and the woman bears the intensity of physicality. The association of the
bodies being active in intimacy raises the two in level—the lover is “deified,” he
60
becomes a god. Because of the power generated in these lines, it takes us to the Victorian Poets: Robert
Browning and Alfred
following lines: Tennyson

III
Hush! if you saw some western cloud
All billowy-bosomed, over-bowed
By many benedictions—sun’s
And moon’s and evening-star’s at once—-
And so, you, looking and loving best,
Conscious grew, your passion drew
Cloud, sunset, moonrise, star-shine too,
Down on you, near and yet more near,
Till flesh must fade for heaven was here!—-
Thus leant she and lingered—joy and fear!
Thus lay she a moment on my breast.
Mark “billowy-bosomed.” The comparison of the woman’s body with the cloud
is to create a sense of beauty at many levels. The lover thinks of nothing else
except nearness with the beloved in that moment. That means all to him. He
enjoys it immensely, his imagination being at work in the moment. Its vocabulary
is of the manner of day-to-day living, and at its back stands the poetic power.
The beauty of the woman is compared with natural elements such as the cloud
and the star. The comparison is not of one body part with the cloud or star, but in
terms of human passion. The visualization is dreamy with the soft feel and
lightness of the cloud having similarity with the woman’s bosom. Soon, this is
achieved poetically, intimacy hinted at between the lover and beloved.

IV
Then we began to ride. My soul
Smoothed itself out, a long-cramped scroll
Freshening and fluttering in the wind.
Past hopes already lay behind.
What need to strive with a life awry?
Had I said that, had I done this,
So might I gain, so might I miss.
Might she have loved me? just as well
She might have hated, who can tell!
Where had I been now if the worst befell?
And here we are riding, she and I.
Here, the passion of the lover is intense—”Thus we began to ride.” The said ride
is not of moving along a path, but is result of the active engagement of the lovers
with each other. In riding, they attain closeness. The soul smoothening itself out
refers to the previous and present states. Previously, the minds of the lovers were
61
British Poetry tied to conventions, now they shed old inhibitions and are awakened. Living in
the moment is different experience. The former does not go forward but generates
passion from within. The writer mentions ifs and buts of social existence that
stifle fulfilment. Categories of hate and love become irrelevant. Shall we call it
the celebration of human senses in a circumstance the lovers created on strength
of their conscious choice? Browning means precisely that at the end of this stanza.

V
Fail I alone, in words and deeds?
Why, all men strive and who succeeds?
We rode; it seemed my spirit flew,
Saw other regions, cities new,
As the world rushed by on either side.
I thought,—All labour, yet no less
Bear up beneath their unsuccess.
Look at the end of work, contrast
The petty done, the undone vast,
This present of theirs with the hopeful past!
I hoped she would love me; here we ride.
In these lines, the poet-lover raises the question of failure in life. This gives a
sense of loss to human beings, whereas the important thing is the effort. Take,
says the poet, the point of love that engages the lover and beloved into the
unknown regions where attaining bliss is the sole aim. Making plans would not
yield pleasure, only being active will result in satisfaction. Conversely, what one
does is petty, whereas that which remains to do is vast. Also, success does not
matter in such a context. Enlarged argument about success or failure is of no
consequence against close companionship of the lovers. See how the poet
establishes the value of love.

VI
What hand and brain went ever paired?
What heart alike conceived and dared?
What act proved all its thought had been?
What will but felt the fleshly screen?
We ride and I see her bosom heave.
There’s many a crown for who can reach,
Ten lines, a statesman’s life in each!
The flag stuck on a heap of bones,
A soldier’s doing! what atones?
They scratch his name on the Abbey-stones.
My riding is better, by their leave.

62
Here, the poet juxtaposes love with other professions in society. What do statesmen Victorian Poets: Robert
Browning and Alfred
and soldiers get at the end of their missions? In the poet-lover’s opinion, they Tennyson
spend a whole life to get a mention in history books or a stone laid in their
memory. That, however, will not amount to much when put next to the pleasure
the lovers earn while riding together. Clearly, the poet-lover says in glee—”My
riding is better.” For the many associations of the “ride,” refer to the previous
stanzas where riding was elaborated as the enjoyment the lovers had in moments
of intimacy.
VII
What does it all mean, poet? Well,
Your brains beat into rhythm, you tell
What we felt only; you expressed
You hold things beautiful the best,
And pace them in rhyme so, side by side.
’Tis something, nay ’tis much: but then,
Have you yourself what’s best for men?
Are you—poor, sick, old ere your time—-
Nearer one whit your own sublime
Than we who never have turned a rhyme?
Sing, riding’s a joy! For me, I ride.
In this stanza, a ticklish question is asked. It is linked with the work of a poet.
That makes the observation ironical. The writer gets here a chance to judge his
own endeavour in light of that which he said in the appreciation of loving. He
asks, who is better: the poet, or the lover? Browning gives the pride of voice to
the lover, not to himself as a poet. We see a split here between Browning the poet
and Browning the lover. That is the moment of judging oneself in the pursuit of
doing and saying. Is there a gap between the two? If yes, who is the weightier of
the two? There is no doubt in Browning’s mind though. The poet is busy saying,
assessing, rhyming and putting together emotions. It is the poet’s life-long mission.
However, it does not touch the ecstasies of love. For Browning, lovers do not
compose poems. Instead, they do the very thing called love. The poet admits
defeat in front of the lover.

VIII
And you, great sculptor—so, you gave
A score of years to Art, her slave,
And that’s your Venus, whence we turn
To yonder girl that fords the burn!
You acquiesce, and shall I repine?
What, man of music, you grown grey
With notes and nothing else to say,
Is this your sole praise from a friend,
“Greatly his opera’s strains intend, 63
British Poetry “Put in music we know how fashions end!”
I gave my youth; but we ride, in fine.
This stanza brings into the reference the sculptor and the musician. Both of them
are men of the arts dealing in aesthetic affairs. The lover addresses each one of
them and asks about their standing in broader life. His tone is that of a victor as
if he stood on a higher pedestal, and rightly so. The arts are fine as they go, but
the hard work and time spent on them by the artistes take their toll. Pleasure is
the last thing that the artistes would think of. Their eye or ear would remain
stuck to their work. The Venus in stone would not have the kind of admiration a
young woman walking towards him might receive. And so far as the musician is
concerned, he takes long to hone his skills to win appreciation from an audience.
In both the cases, the years spent on the pursuit raise the issue of true joy. To a
similar pursuit, of love, the lover gives “my youth; but we ride, in fine.” Obviously,
there is no comparison.

IX
Who knows what’s fit for us? Had fate
Proposed bliss here should sublimate
My being—had I signed the bond—-
Still one must lead some life beyond,
Have a bliss to die with, dim-descried.
This foot once planted on the goal,
This glory-garland round my soul,
Could I descry such? Try and test!
I sink back shuddering from the quest.
Earth being so good, would heaven seem best?
Now, heaven and she are beyond this ride.
This stanza raises the level of the “The Last Ride Together” still higher. In it, the
terms are philosophical. The concepts of the earth and heaven have been brought
in. It is significant that Browning talks in this poem about the heights love can
attain on the earth. Yet, we may consider that the reference to the divine adds
worth to human passions. Interestingly, the reverse is suggested to be equally
true. The implication is that the awakening about heaven is made possible through
the route of humanity occupying the earth. The meaning of “a bliss to die with,
dim-descried” is that humanity of the earth can give glimpses of heavenly bliss
that are not easily seen.

X
And yet—she has not spoke so long!
What if heaven be that, fair and strong
At life’s best, with our eyes upturned
Whither life’s flower is first discerned,
We, fixed so, ever should so abide?
64
What if we still ride on, we two Victorian Poets: Robert
Browning and Alfred
With life for ever old yet new, Tennyson

Changed not in kind but in degree,

The instant made eternity,—-
And heaven just prove that I and she
Ride, ride together, for ever ride?
This stanza has hidden in it a vague suggestion about eternity achievable in life.
The two lovers have remained close to each other for some time and one of the
lovers has not spoken for a while. What could be the reason for the two in tight
embrace and the moment came to stand still? Vocal and impetuous as ever, the
male lover dreams that they might have reached heaven, the final destination.
This may be called the flight of imagination in which the wish-fulfilment occurred.
Even if that were a make-believe, it was worth gloating over. See how the state
of eternal bliss is visualized in words such as “with our eyes upturned” and “life
for ever old yet new.” That is the image of eternity. The idea is reinforced with
“Changed not in kind but in degree” and “instant made eternity.” That is as near
bliss as the two lovers could reach. Has it happened or is the lover only believes
to be the case? In the answer to this question can be found the resolution of the
issue dealt with in the poem.

In the poem as a whole, the overall emphasis is on the pursuit of love in human
life. The nature of the poem being the dramatic monologue, it conveys a mental
state and an ideal that human beings wish to realize. Within the parameters of the
monologue, a form of representation addressing one’s self and an imagined
audience, the complexity of social surroundings and an escape route from them
are being projected.

The surroundings are hinted at by the many areas engaging human attention.
Those are of a statesman, a soldier, poet, sculptor, and musician. The final
preoccupation is of religiosity. These are only examples. However, they point
towards conscious choices one makes. Do these lead an individual anywhere?
No, says the lover. They only catch a person in a web of activities. The escape
route is that of emotions letting an individual receive inspiration from them. The
central word is “ride.” It is repeated again and again in the poem. The word has
rich associations. It stands for relationship and interaction. It also keeps life pure
from day-to-day happenings, unaffected by the prevailing norms of living. Love
is at the core of existence and gives full liberty to the individuals involved in it.
See the way the lover in the poem begins with a no from his beloved and gains
nearness with following rejection. He leaves it to her to go away from the scene
or temporarily be with him for a short while. The point made is that temporary
togetherness can be made intense and enriching. The message coming out of
this is of quality living. The intensity of closeness conceals in it what the poet
has called eternity. There is a whole argument behind the dialogue, a monologue
in fact, that works on the dialectic of living and existing, of gaining selfhood and
mechanically observing external norms. It is an intellectual poem in the best
sense of the word.

65
British Poetry
4.9 TENNYSON: THE POET

(Image Source: Wikipedia)

Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) was poet laureate in the court of Queen Victoria.
He was born in a middle-class family and his father was a clergyman. Tennyson
completed his education from Trinity college, Cambridge and published his first
collection of poems along with his brother while still in college in 1827 titled
Poems by Two Brothers. Later in life, he became a leading poetic voice and
wrote about the beauties hidden in nature as well as about important figure in
culture and history. To the latter, he gave an independent voice. In his case, it
was an amalgamation of the subjective and objective. He would write lyrics on
one side that revealed his inner feelings and long verses that commented
objectively upon the issues of his time. The works he is known for include
“Ulysses”, In Memoriam, The Lady of Shallot, and Idylls of the King.

Even as Tennyson followed the Romantic poets who linked their role as voicing
grievances of the common people, Tennyson listened to the middle-class
preferences of sedateness and tolerance. He belonged to the period of relative
stability, The repeal of the Corn Laws and a time of peace in the country sent
waves of conservatism to its writers, enabling them to breathe easy and write
about human feelings than radical aspirations. That took Tennyson away from
politics and social dissent. He came to adopt a nationalist stance. It resulted in
melancholy taking cognizance of loss of faith and the rise of scientific materialist
thought. The former was to be promoted and the latter presented as an unsettling
thought. Change in society was not the strong point of Tennyson. It disturbed
him and left him restless. He was a Victorian poet in the true sense. Yet, he had
his own areas of inspiration and emphasis.

Perhaps, a kind of poetic detachment from the poet’s own opinion was in the air.
Browning had laid the foundation of the dramatic monologue. In it, the poet
spoke in the manner of another person, a figure picked up from the past. It was
the dominant mode in Browning. Tennyson attempted the same. However, he
would write equally emphatically about his own individual feelings and emotions.
In this regard, Grierson’s view about Tennyson is worth noting:

Tennyson was the heir of the Romantic Revival; he had outgrown Byron, he
found Shelley thin, but he had learned something from Coleridge and Keats, and
66
tried to learn something from Wordsworth; and he had a solid backing of classical Victorian Poets: Robert
Browning and Alfred
scholarship than any of them. The Arthurian poems in particular suggest Keats Tennyson
by their pictorial quality. But Tennyson was not so richly endowed as Keats in
the less

4.10 ANALYSIS OF “CROSSING THE BAR”

Sunset and evening star,
      And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
      When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

      Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
      Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,

      And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
      When I embark;

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place

      The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
      When I have crost the bar.
The central theme of the poem is death and specifically the poet’s visualization
of his death. It is a take on what he leaves behind and how his death might be
received by those he knows. He wishes that “may there be no moaning of the
bar, when I put out to sea”. The sea is the metaphor for death or an afterlife. At
the same time though, Tennyson hides behind the narrator to achieve objective
distance between the image and him. Thus, we are face to face with an onlooker
who has a viewpoint of his own. The narrator, thus, constantly refers to the time
of living that kept him steady and comfortable. The lines in the poem seem
untouched by pain or anxiety felt by an individual or a section of society. The
tone of the poem is philosophical that looks at the surroundings with vague
curiosity. It soon turns into an idea one is to engage with.

For us, the lines in the poem present a state of mind that is impersonal and
detached. The voice in the poem seldom looks inwards. It wishes to define a
posture the poet may have evolved over time. In view of this, it matters little that
one is leaving a place and going elsewhere or may stay back and see things the
way they exist. In the title, “crossing” is reflective about the act of proceeding in
a direction but avoids spending time upon what one might confront on reaching
67
British Poetry the destination. Calmness and tranquility seem to be the stance the narrator has
lived with all one’s life. The question arises whether at the back of the poem
stands a period of steady fulfilment that marked the temperament of the nineteenth
century as the poet was witness to. Since tensions and doubts are not the issues
one grapples with, it is an apt projection of what has been termed the steady
character of Victorianism.

4.11 STANZA-WISE ANALYSIS

I
Sunset and evening star,
      And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
      When I put out to sea,
In this stanza consisting of four lines, we find that the third and fourth lines do
not form a whole sentence—the fourth line has a comma at its end. Interestingly
though, we do not feel the need to rush to the fifth line for knowing what we are
being led to. The reason is that this poem assigns no importance to a statement.
Instead, it presents to us a couple of pointers. First, we begin thinking about the
link between the first and the second line. The gap between the two is significant.
If it is time of sunset, why should the poet make mention of a call? The third line
expresses a wish that no bar should give out a cry of pain. The fourth line is half
sentence. Soon, we move out of the stanza and guess the poetic intention. In the
context, the poet talks to himself, saying the day has ended and it is time to rest.
Also, he has perhaps been waiting for a message and a call. The bar in the next
line is the curved surface of sand. That tells us the poet looks on a seashore. The
picture is finally complete, with the poet completing his life’s innings. As a result,
he has to prepare for the journey beyond life. Do we not think that the poet has a
quiet message to convey? He accepts death as a fact of life.

II
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
      Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
      Turns again home.
Here, we are made to observe the sea as the end of the earth. Does that mean the
earth stands for life and the region beyond the sea is where the poet’s journey
would end? To make it clear, the poet reminds us of the call in the first stanza.
We are told that the tide is “too full for sound and foam.” It is quieter and deeper.
It speaks about the temperament of the sea ready to envelop the poet in its folds.
The poet praises the sea as turning “again home.” Thus, the earth as home changes
into a place that becomes “again home.” There is a problem, yet. One says it
since the initial impression was that the home was the region beyond the sea.
Which is home then, the sea or the place beyond the sea? Or is it that the sea and
the place beyond it are the same for the poet? Possibly, we shall get the answer in
the next stanza.

68
III Victorian Poets: Robert
Browning and Alfred
Twilight and evening bell, Tennyson

      And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,
      When I embark;
The words in this stanza are soft and lyrical. Consider the rhyming of “bell” with
“farewell” and “dark” with “embark.” Also, dark is associated with sadness, but
the poet denies it, saying it is “no sadness” in the present case. The prospect of
starting the journey, embarking on it has no trace of the sense of missing the
place the poet inhabited all his life. Getting back to the first line, the evening bell
might give us an idea of the church. Mark that bell is spoken of as if in passing.
On the other hand, the last line has the word embark, literally using a boat for the
journey. It is simple yet so subtle! The stanza as such captures a moment of
utmost tranquility. Death in the case evokes fulfilment, not loss.

IV
For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
      The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
      When I have crost the bar.
“Bourne” means the final goal or destination in life. As such, “our bourne of
Time and Place” has a transcendental dimension. Still, the poet does not explicitly
suggest heaven, nor does “my Pilot” suggest God. It is worth appreciating that
the direct and less than formal address in the use of “Pilot” denotes close
relationship, as in between friends. It has respect and self-respect inbuilt in the
phrase. Again, “face to face” is sensuous, hinting at a long wait preceding the
final union. Both Time and Place with capital letters in the beginning are
philosophical. They widen the scope of the message. Likewise, “flood” is not
merely a rise in the tide but the mythical event in the dawn of human history.
That makes the poet use “crost.” The lines in the stanza are tantalizing. They do
not commit but provide pointers. It is an enriching description. It uplifts the
sense and covers the details in glory. We are impressed by the control exercised
by the poet. Let us bear in mind that the poem was the last Tennyson composed.
The lytic has an unparalleled grace. It is a whole statement about living in the
human and social world and bidding goodbye to it when the life in it has remained
fulfilled. Tennyson lived a life of poetic and social success.

Tennyson was seldom taken by the current concerns of the age in which he lived—
it was an age of doubt, turmoil and search. Tennyson remains stuck to the accepted
and established, never bothering about to the visions of change and dynamic
conduct. He should not be accused of avoiding the uncomfortable but of attesting
to that which he normally confronted. His supposed conservatism had a dignity
about it. He chose for inspiration the myths and legends of the medieval period.
This was at the expense of newness and experimentation. Be that as it may,
Tennyson will keep appealing to us on strength of maturity and sedateness he
chose to adopt and put to use in his writing.

69
British Poetry
4.12 LET US SUM UP
In this unit, we discussed a poem each by Robert Browning and Alfred Tennyson.
In them, we saw the questions that disturbed the Victorian mind. In “The Last
Ride Together,” the lover sought answers to the problem of fulfilment absent in
the existing period. For this reason, the poet explored the area of human
preoccupation with self of the individual. In the same manner, Tennyson pondered
over the life’s journey signified by the voice of the narrator—the journey in
question met with peace and equanimity at the end. The happy ending of the two
poems said with full clarity the message of values that sustained life in a major
part of the nineteenth century. For grasping the nature of the dilemma in that
period, a view of Romanticism helped, too. This was mentioned with emphasis
in the unit.

4.13 GLOSSARY
Regulated life of the city : Artificial life; the mechanical pattern
followed by the people in a city.

The evolutionary model : Associated with Charles Darwin that

rejected the idea of creation of the world
by a divine being.

The sea of faith : A term used by Matthew Arnold for

describing the confusing state of
organized religion.

The pleasure of the moment Moment as eternity is a paradox, the two

seem opposite

that can be prolonged to eternity : to each other but mean a specific thing
in the context. In poetry, the moment is
generally emphasized. The more intense
its, the stronger becomes its appeal,
everlasting and engaging.

4.14 QUESTIONS
1) What do you understand by the Victorian crisis of faith? Has it to do the
emergence of emergence of science in the nineteenth century? Discuss.
2) Explain the main concerns of Victorian poetry as distinct from those of the
Romantic poetry.
3) Discuss Browning’s “The Last Ride Together” as a dramatic monologue.
4) Tennyson’s “Crossing the Bar” contains a vision of peace and tranquility.
Do you agree? Give a reasoned answer.

4.15 REFERENCES
Nietzsche, Friedrich Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None. 1885.
Enright, D.J. and Ernst De Chickera. Fp. 1962. English Critical Texts. New Delhi:
70 OUP, 2010.
A period of steady fulfilment: It has negative connotations. Steady fulfilment Victorian Poets: Robert
Browning and Alfred
lacks dynamism and is indeed static Tennyson

4.16 SUGGESTED READINGS

Armstrong, Isobel., Victorian Poetry: Poetry, poetics and politics. London:
Routledge, 1957.
Black, Eugene C., Victorian Culture and Society. London: Macmillan, 1973.
Enright, D.J. and Ernst De Chickera. Fp. 1962. English Critical Texts. New Delhi:
OUP, 2010.
Nietzsche, Friedrich Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None. 1885.

71
British Poetry

72
Block

2
AMERICAN POETRY
Block Introduction 75
UNIT 1
Robert Frost 77
UNIT 2
William Carlos Williams 89
UNIT 3
Wallace Stevens 100
UNIT 4
Langston Hughes 111
BLOCK INTRODUCTION

Block 2: American Poetry

Dear Student! This block introduces you to four important American poets —
Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, Wallace Stevens and Langston Hughes.
Each unit in this block is based on a single poet. In the units you will find a
discussion of the poet’s works, as also critical perspectives on them. This will
help you understand the poems in your course, and also make you aware of the
themes and concerns, literary and socio-political trends associated with the poets.

Unit 1 begins with an overview of American poetry to make you aware of the
different phases of development and the poets discussed in it. With this, you will
have a broad idea of the period concerned, and also know about the poems therein.
Each phase is characterised by a unique style and set of themes. Next, this unit
discusses two poems by Robert Frost—”A Boundless Moment” and “After Apple
Picking”. Analysing each poem, we might reach a few open-ended conclusions.
Nature has a distinct presence in Frost’s poems. Equally importantly, Frost’s
Humanist stance is captured in the analysis. Frost’s engagement with the
ordinariness of life sets him apart from other poets of the time. His poems bring
into focus concrete values of hard work, struggle, and hope.

The second unit is about the twentieth century American poet William Carlos
Williams. We have a view in it of the American Civil War in the nineteenth
century. In Williams’ period, the genre of the novel was dominant and poetry
was not actively pursued. Later in the century, however, poets started responding
to the changes in the scene. Williams is associated with the Imagist movement in
Modern poetry. The movement had a particular aesthetic involving images and
evocative words. Williams had his own brand of modernist experiment. His “A
Widow’s Lament in Springtime” and “The Dead Baby” have a morbid atmosphere,
reminiscent of the modernist trend. His attention to everyday experience and
concrete images is noticeable. He fashioned his own brand of Modernism distinct
from that of others.

The third unit is based on another modernist poet, Wallace Stevens. The poems
in your course are “The Snowman” and “The Emperor of Ice-cream”. In the first
poem you will note Imagist strains where language used is direct, and it also
brings alive the scenes of winter. But there are portions that are abstract and
philosophical. Stevens uses particular phrases in the poem which appeal at one
level and describe the physical surroundings at another. There is also a delayed
revelation of the central subject in Stevens’ poems. This along with the eclectic
mix of tones contributes to the experimental nature of his craft, making him a
modernist poet. The poem “Emperor of Ice-cream” has a strange combination of
spirited preparations and a suggestion of someone’s death. In it, Stevens combines
the abstract and the concrete references. This unit acquaints you with these and
other features of Wallace Stevens’ poetry.

The fourth unit carries a discussion on the African-American poet, Langston

Hughes. The discussion begins with a comment on a few conceptual terms crucial
to understanding African American poetry. Some of these terms are Black Arts
Movement, Civil Rights Movement, Jazz poetry and the Harlem Renaissance.
They define the literary and cultural movements that Hughes was associated
American Poetry with. The ethnically marginalised position of this poet sets him apart from the
other three poets in this block. In the poem “Negro Speaks of Rivers”, the
individual’s selfhood and racial history are made to coalesce and self
determination becomes a paramount concern. The language use gives one a sense
is of a deeply felt experience. It is also symbolic in a lot of places. The poem
“Young Gal’s Blues” is particularly unique as it is written in the blues form, a
musical form involving expression of intense emotions, usually of sadness
combined with alienation the slaves have to bear with. Use of this form is an
effective expression of the unique cultural identity of the African American. We
also notice the use of a particular dialect in these poems, one that belonged to the
common folk. The popular, folk and mass appeal of the poems of Langston Hughes
underlines the fact that the purpose of his artistic expression was expressly
political.

This block is sure to make available to you values of commitment to a cause and
an expression that links poets with the reality of their time. The poets discussed
in this block are representative voices of American experience in the twentieth
century.

76
 Robert Frost
UNIT 1 ROBERT FROST
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction: American Poetry
1.2 Robert Frost: Life and Works
1.3 “A Boundless Moment”: Introduction & Stanza-wise Discussion
1.4 “A Boundless Moment”: Thematic Analysis
1.5 “After Apple Picking”: Introduction and Stanza-wise Discussion
1.6 “After Apple Picking”: Thematic Analysis
1.7 Robert Frost: Critical Approaches
1.8 Let Us Sum Up
1.9 Questions
1.10 References

1.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit will acquaint you with one of the seminal poets of twentieth century
America, Robert Frost. He belongs to the initial trend in American poetry whereby
poets worked to concretize American voice in the poetic mode. Frost does this
by evoking the rural setting and using colloquial language. Studying his two
poems, “A Boundless Moment” and “After Apple Picking”, we shall note how
he uses the natural setting to comment on essential aspects of life. Social and
philosophical issues shine forth in his poetry, as he juxtaposes the natural world
with human experience.

1.1 INTRODUCTION: AMERICAN POETRY

American Poetry has an interesting beginning. Some of the initial American poems
are traced back to the English colonists who were based in America, a British
colony until the United States’ Declaration of Independence in July 1776. In the
seventeenth century, the English colonists expressed in poetry their impressions
of different aspects of life in the country of their occupation. Anne Bradstreet
and Thomas Morton are two such poets who wrote in the 1600s. In 1625, Rev.
William Morel wrote the poem “New England” which is believed to be a rhymed
catalogue of American weather, the native women, and various other American
aspects noticed by the British colonists. This trend of the British colonists writing
about America started in the fifteen century and continued well into the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries. Then came a shift in the Eighteenth century when
native voices started to appear in America.

The nineteenth century saw the emergence of a few notable poets who
distinguished American voice from that of the British colonists. Walt Whitman,
Emily Dickinson, H.W. Longfellow, Emerson, Thoreau, Edgar Allen Poe are
some of the well known poets of the time. Nineteenth century American poetry
aimed at exploring and establishing an idiom that was American in nature. Robert
Frost, one of the first few poets of the twentieth century carried forward the
nineteenth century trend of contributing to the authentic American voice and 77
American Poetry experience. By means of an emphasis on descriptions of the rural landscape and
use of American colloquial speech, Frost defines contours of New England life
and stresses social and philosophical themes of his time.

Having found an American voice, poets in the second decade of the twentieth
century veered towards modernism. Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot, both of whom
were expatriate American poets, are famously associated with this movement’s
early inroads into the American culture. Thus, Modernism as a part of the larger
European phenomenon influenced American practitioners. Wallace Stevens,
Gertrude Stein, William Carlos Williams, Hilda Doolittle and E.E. Cummings
are among American poets associated with High Modernism in the twentieth
century. It is crucial to note that not all twentieth century poets in America
subscribed to this literary movement. There were certain writers and poets who
steered clear from it. Some of them are associated with the literary trend called
New Criticism. They are Allen Tate, Robert Penn Warren, John Crow Ransom
among others. Poets like Langston Hughes were associated with the Harlem
Renaissance around the same time; it focussed on the social concerns of the
African Americans.

1.2 ROBERT FROST: LIFE AND WORKS

(image source: wikimedia commons)

Robert Lee Frost, a twentieth century American poet, also known as a New
England poet lived a life rich in associations. Born to educated parents and
raised in San Francisco, Frost lost his father at the early age of eleven and had to
move to his native town of New England to pursue his career. Dearth of money
necessitated the mother and the son to settle down there. He dabbled with various
employment options to earn a living—newspaper reporting, teaching at school,
at times even working at a mill. Writing poetry was a leisurely past-time for him.

Around 1900, his persistent bad health raised a possible concern for Tuberculosis.
This made him move with his family to live on a farm in New Hampshire. Around
1906, with a still worsening health, Frost engaged in composing verses with
eagerness. In 1912, he moved out of the farm and settled in England.
Buckinghamshire was the place he chose.His first poetry collection A Boy’s Will
78
was published in 1913. North of Boston came out next in 1914. After his brief Robert Frost
stay in England he moved to Vermont, United States in 1919 and bought a farm.
From then on, he frequented between rural settlements and city dwellings. This
connection with the countryside explains his preoccupation with nature. Frost
received no recognition until he was forty years old. From 1930 onwards did
acknowledgement come his way and in 1957 he received honorary degrees from
Oxford and Cambridge and also became the poet to have won a Pulitzer four
times.

1.3 “A BOUNDLESS MOMENT”: INTRODUCTION

& STANZA-WISE DISCUSSION
Let us discuss the poem, “A Boundless Moment”, which is from Frost’s 1924
poetry collection, New Hampshire that won the Pulitzer Prize. This poem is in
your course and is meant to be studied in detail. An important link of this poem
is with a major event that shook the world, the First World War (1914-1918). It
was marked by widespread destruction and a complete breakdown of all that had
defined people’s lives until that moment—values, beliefs, associations, and ideas.
All that had previously given meaning to the world, was called into question in
those years. Imagine, this was the world handed over to the common people and
artists alike by the rulers of resources in countries of Europe.

“A Boundless Moment” captures two individuals who happen to pass through a

forest and come across a mysterious sight far-off in the distance. One of them
tries to comprehend what the sight might be, but his guess is as good as that of
his fellow traveller. The poem is written in the voice of the second traveller who
revisits that moment in his imagination. There is a clear reference to ‘He’ and ‘I’
in the poem defining the two travellers. ‘He’ describes a version of the vision
they observed in the distance. The attempt to interpret that vision highlights the
writer’s state of mind. We are made to observe that what lies ahead is not a
clearly defined figure, hence the act of interpretation. The poem presents
meditations on nature that appears in the form of the forest. In it, the woods
coalesce with the philosophical ruminations. Man’s interaction with nature is
shown in it where the vision of the forest fuses with the mind of the observer.
This is where the distinct poetic genius of Robert Frost gets manifested. The
writer’s persona in the poem notices something at a distance but nothing is distinct.
This sense of wonder is the crux.

tanza-wise Discussion
“A Boundless Moment” tickles the mind through the three short but extremely
evocative stanzas. In it, we are face to face with two opposite states of mind, one
ascribed to the ‘he’ in the poem and the other to ‘I’.
Stanza 1
He halted in the wind, and—what was that
Far in the maples, pale, but not a ghost?
He stood there bringing March against his thought,
And yet too ready to believe the most.
This stanza introduces to the reader one of the two travellers in the poem. Passing
through the woods, the first traveller notices something in the distance, but he is 79
American Poetry unable to figure out what exactly it is. The speaker, who is the second traveller
presents his companion’s state of mind and his response to the curious sight that
they see in the distance.

See in these lines a reference to the wind that is blowing. It immediately transports
the reader to the realm of nature, the lush green woods that lie in front of the two
travellers. ‘He’ (the first traveller) sees something at a distance amidst maples,
but as said is unsure about what it is. He stops, looks at it, finds it pale but it is
not as stark and horrifying as a ghost. To him the sight is enigmatic; it indicates
an unrecognizable image. Why is the word “ghost” used in the context? Think
about its significance. In it, there is a faint suggestion about ghostliness. As we
dwell on the idea, we are struck by the aspect of imagination residing in the
observer’s mind. It is a state of mind, overcome by doubt and anxiety that makes
the traveller imagine an unearthly being—”pale but not a ghost?” Could it possibly
reflect the crisis overtaking the European world during the War years? Reflect
on it to grasp whether the uncertainty of the scene in the forest was indeed an
unsettling vision of the apprehension rampant at the time. At another level,
reference to the ghost evokes mystery surrounding the image. That form might
be termed a spirit.

Further in the stanza, while observing the unknown image the traveller wonders
about the month of the year. After his initial response to the sight in the distance,
the traveller thinks of the month of March. The speaker says, he brings “March
against his thought/ And yet too ready to believe the most”. Reference to March
is a little challenging to grasp. It makes us stop and guess its meaning in the
poem’s context.

What does the month of March signify? The traveller, in an attempt to make
sense of the distant vision, recalls changes that appear in nature in that month of
March and correlating it with what he sees. He actively uses his faculty of reason
to make sense of the confusing form. Immediately then, the speaker says, “And
yet too ready to believe the most”. Even as the traveller uses reason and tries to
correlate the vision with changes witnessed in nature at the time, he is ready to
believe that which is told to him. The words “And yet” tell that the speaker is
talking of two contrasting attitudes. The first involves using his faculties to
understand the given difficulty and the second is characterised by “belief” alone.
Also, the month is associated with reason and imagination.

Stanza 2
Oh, that’s the Paradise-in-bloom,’ I said;
And truly it was fair enough for flowers
had we but in us to assume in march
Such white luxuriance of May for ours.
This stanza tells us directly about the second traveller, who as we know is the
speaker in the poem. The first traveller struggles to understand, whereas the
second lets us know what could be made of the vision they confront. He interprets
it as a “Paradise-in-bloom”. The phrase “in bloom” indicates that the speaker is
referring to flowers. The word “paradise” signifies an image that is idyllic, serene
and extremely beautiful. The vision, according to the second traveller is that of a
cluster of flowers whose beauty is ethereal and indeed appears to be very close
80 to the perfection one associates with Paradise.
In the next set of lines, the speaker elaborates on his interpretation of the vision Robert Frost
as a bunch of paradisiacal flowers. Commenting on the time of the year suitable
for such flowers in bloom, the speaker says the conditions were “fair enough for
flowers” “had we but in us to assume”. Clearly, he puts human agency at the
centre. Flowers that he sees in distance are not as much a matter of season or
month, but that of a state of mind. Human capacity is of significance here, the
ability to visualise despite all conditions and challenges hindering one’s
perception.

Here, the opinion of the speaker is in focus; it indicates optimism. His association
of “Paradise” and “white luxuriance” is in sharp contrast to the description of the
“pale” vision in the first stanza. Between paradise and the ghost-like appearance,
which one of the options is preferable? This question is posed to the reader.

When the second traveller states, “Had we but in us to assume in March the
white luxuriance of May”, he points to the human capability of turning the
situation in one’s favour by means of appropriate perspective. We find that to be
fixed on freshness and optimism. March and May indicate two contrasting
situations in life—the former poses challenges, the latter is associated with
optimism. A forward-looking approach is asserted in the process. For us, “white
luxuriance” is a metaphor for the human ability to construct a positive
circumstance.

Stanza 3
We stood a moment so in a strange world,
Myself as one his own pretense deceives;
And then I said the truth (and we moved on) .
A young beech clinging to its last year’s leaves.
Having demonstrated two possible responses in a moment, and siding with
optimism, the speaker in these lines introduces a sudden shift in stance. He states
that he and his fellow traveller stand “in a strange world”. It is strange because
of the mystery pervading the woods and that elicits different responses. The
same person who reinforces the human potential to imagine a paradise, now
talks about his own ‘pretense’. See the dichotomy between pretense and truth.
His assertion is that the unclear vision they saw could also be an example of
pretense with no reference to reality. That is followed at this moment by: “And
then I said the truth”.

The true description of the vision is that it is not a bunch of flowers that they see,
but “A young beech clinging to its last year’s leaves”. It is actually a beech—a
large tree with grey bark and glossy leaves. Strangely though, he realizes it has
not shed its old leaves of the previous year. There is yet a catch. The first traveller
sees it as something pale, almost verging on something similar to an apparition.
However, the second traveller sees it as a bunch of flowers. At the same time,
they agree it is a sight that has something unique about it, something that could
be interpreted in a negative as well as a positive manner.

They also realize the uniqueness lies in that here was a tree that seemed to have
defied the course of nature, keeping its old leaves intact. The words used are
“clinging to its last year’s leaves”. From one perspective, it spells tradition, holding
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American Poetry on to the past and not having a forward-looking approach. Such a stasis is
indicative of a lack of dynamism that is essential to any form of life.

Let us mark the three stages—the first involving a curious sight, difficult to
make sense of and the traveller sharing his perplexity in taking it as something
with a threat. The second traveller attempts to decode the image in the next stage
and ascribes a positive meaning to it. In both cases, a crucial aspect of life is
taken up. But in the third stage, the poet problematizes what he has established
so far as acceptable. That is done through the use of “pretense.” While we may
ascribe a particular meaning to a tentative situation in life, it is at the same time
important for being real.

1.4 “A BOUNDLESS MOMENT”: THEMATIC

ANALYSIS
The poem “A Boundless Moment” engages with the processes of human cognition
and the individual’s response to surroundings. In three short stanzas, the poem
packs myriad ideas pertaining to conditions and individuals’ approach to them.
All these ideas are delineated by means of experience the travellers underwent
in the course of their journey. By means of a deep engagement with nature the
poet has located through them the essential questions of fear, agency, and
subservience.

At the centre of the poem is a conundrum, a challenge that the travellers confront
in the woods. The situation involves uncertainty, making it difficult to understand
what lies in front. Mystery and strangeness form the crux of the challenge. It
comes in the form of a shapeless sight at some distance in the woods that the
travellers try hard to interpret. In it we notice Robert Frost’s characteristic style,
subtly establishing a connection between nature and phenomenon of human life—
the strange natural sight that has a parallel in nature.

The poem brings out the idea that one’s state of mind determines the impact of
circumstance on us. In the event of uncertainty, one might respond with fear and
anxiety. That eventually colours one’s perspective. To the first traveller, the
unknown sight appears “pale”, even suggesting the possibility of it being a
“ghost”. But the second traveller views it as a “paradise in-bloom”. The same
sight inspires different responses from the two individuals, demonstrating the
possibility alive in every difficult situation.

Add to this the idea of reason and belief. In the face of a challenging circumstance,
one might take recourse to reason and make sense of the situation on one’s own.
Consider the first traveller bringing “March against his thoughts” and trying to
reason out the nature of the sight in front. The ability to think for oneself is a
laudable human characteristic. At the other end of this approach is belief, whereby
the individual gives more importance to the knowledge gained through
deployment of the senses. Thus, reason and independent thought are replaced
by subservience to a different logic that entails unquestioning acceptance. These
two contrasting approaches are seen coexisting in the first traveller.

Thereafter, the concept of human imagination is introduced by means of the

second traveller. His active imagination makes him perceive the sight as one
involving a bunch of flowers. The ability to dream about and envision that which
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may not exist in reality already is an essential and a liberating aspect of human Robert Frost
personality. This renders the person capable of imagining an alternative to the
existing conditions that may be uncertain, hazy or unclear but worth trying for.

1.5 “AFTER APPLE PICKING”: INTRODUCTION

AND STANZA-WISE DISCUSSION
“After Apple Picking” was published in 1914 in Robert Frost’s second poetry
collection North of Boston. The poem is situated in an apple orchard. It involves
thoughts of an individual who has been picking apples for a long time and is
overcome with exhaustion. His involvement in his work is intense and so is the
resultant association with it. This is a crucial element in Frost’s poetry; a deep
organic connection between man and nature. Frost’s engagement with nature is
not philosophical, but a deeply humanist one. By means of nature, he comments
on human shortcomings, failings, accomplishments and potentialities alike.
Stanza-wise Discussion
Lines 1-8
My long two-pointed ladder’s sticking through a tree
Toward heaven still.
And there’s a barrel that I didn’t fill
Beside it, and there may be two or three
Apples I didn’t pick upon some bough.
But I am done with apple-picking now.
Essence of winter sleep is on the night,
The scent of apples; I am drowsing off.
The speaker in the poem ruminates about apple picking. He is in the middle of
the task when these thoughts appear. The ladder is still sticking through the tree
and there is a barrel that is yet to be filled to the brim from the apples picked by
the speaker. The ladder, the speaker says, is pointed towards heaven “still”. Use
of the word still is interesting. It establishes a sense of time, which is crucial to
the poem. It indicates how he has been picking apples for a long time now, but
the task is not yet complete. The poem begins by giving us the impression that
apple picking is a painstaking task. This thought immediately brings one to respect
the worker, and the poet establishes a sense of dignity as a trait of labour. The
half-full barrel (“there is a barrel I didn’t fill”) indicates how there is still work to
be done, while the person is tired already. Tiredness is an essential part of the
experience of a hardworking individual. The speaker is drowsy, while the
fragrance of the apples lingers in the winter night’s air. “Essence of winter sleep”
and “scent of apples” creates an atmosphere of cold lull witnessed during winter
evenings, but not without the pleasant fragrance of the fruit. The image captures
the quiescence of a cold evening in an apple orchard, as the speaker says, “I am
drowsing off”.
Lines 9-17
I cannot shake the shimmer from my sight
I got from looking through a pane of glass
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American Poetry I skimmed this morning from the water-trough,
And held against the world of hoary grass.
It melted, and I let it fall and break.
But I was well
Upon my way to sleep before it fell,
And I could tell
What form my dreaming was about to take.
In these lines, the speaker mentions an incident that had taken place earlier. He
had looked through a broken piece of glass and observed his surroundings that
he describes as “the world of hoary grass”. Here “hoary” indicates the colour
greyish white. The green surroundings acquired that tinge when viewed through
the broken glass. At another level “hoary” also indicates something old and
familiar. The natural surroundings now no longer held a distinct charm for the
worker. The piece of glass was acquired from a water trough that had broken
upon falling. That is an important piece of information explaining the speaker’s
words: “I let it fall and break”. This humanizes the worker busy doing his job in
the orchard. Unmoved by the broken glass, and merely remembering the
“shimmer” that he saw, the speaker adds, “I could tell what form my dreaming
was to take”. Nothing else had the capacity to leave an impression on his mind
long involved in apple picking.
Lines 18- 25
Magnified apples appear and reappear,
Stem end and blossom end,
And every fleck of russet showing clear.
My instep arch not only keeps the ache,
It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round.
And I keep hearing from the cellar-bin
That rumbling sound
Of load on load of apples coming in.
These lines comprise a short dream sequence, detailing that which occupies the
speaker’s dreams. Huge apples appear and disappear in his dream. The image
evoked is surreal. The dream-like quality lies in the fact of how the regular size
of the fruit is “magnified” and seen as distorted. Big size of the fruit indicates the
grip it has on the dreamer’s mind that again brings in long hours of work. The
magnified vision is such that every spot on the apple is visible clearly (“every
fleck of russet showing clear”). This further establishes how deeply involved
and connected he was with the work he was doing. Does he only have visual
associations? No, his close connection with his work goes beyond it. He has a
tactile memory of the sensation in his foot, from hours of standing on the ladder
and taking steps to pick apples. He recalls the “pressure of a ladder round” at the
sole of his feet. The “ache” and the “pressure” are distinctly felt even in sleep.
After visual and tactile imagery, even the sense of sound is evoked. He consistently
hears “the rumbling sound of load on load of apples coming in”. This, too, points
towards the exhausting work and long-lasting impressions he has of it on his
84 body and mind.
Lines 26-35 Robert Frost

For I have had too much

Of apple-picking; I am overtired
Of the great harvest I myself desired.
There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch,
Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall,
For all
That struck the earth,
No matter if not bruised, or spiked with stubble,
Went surely to the cider-apple heap
As of no worth.
This part of the poem tells us about the exact process involved in picking apples.
The speaker talks of the reason for the state that he is in and also the processes of
his work. He says it is “the great harvest I myself desired”. The instinct to be
productive and work well is a sign of a sincere worker performing his job
professionally. The mention “There were ten thousand fruit to touch” conveys
the abundance of that year’s produce. We must also notice the way he talks about
the fruit and establishes his passionate involvement in the process. He points to
the delicate handling of the fruit, “touch, cherish in hand, lift down, and not let
fall.” The process is elaborate. Such is the value apples have for him, and such
is the extent of care he associates with them.

Lines 37- 42
One can see what will trouble
This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is.
Were he not gone,
The woodchuck could say whether it’s like his
Long sleep, as I describe its coming on,
Or just some human sleep.
The issue in these lines is the quality of sleep and what it does to the worker who
says, “One can see what will trouble this sleep of mine.” The word ‘trouble”
does not have a negative connotation in the context, it implies instead that his
long hours of work have had a healthy impact on him. Sleep is defamiliarized in
these lines; they stress an experience the speaker is not aware of. The speaker
compares his sleep with that of a woodchuck’s, of a rodent. The comparison of
one’s sleep with that of the animal woodchuck, is intriguing. It brings out the
state of mind of the individual who despite extreme toil is unable to get a sound
refreshing sleep. Further, this analogy reflects the poet’s closeness with nature.
His comprehension also is deeply embedded in the references rooted in nature.
The state of mind of the worker in conjunction with the descriptions from nature
widen the scope of this poem.

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American Poetry
1.6 “AFTER APPLE PICKING”: THEMATIC
ANALYSIS
The poem is about reflections of an individual working in the orchard, picking
apples. The most striking aspect of the poem is its humanist strain. The speaker’s
thoughts acquaint us with ideas of tiredness, hard work, and humility, all of
which together construct an experience intensely genuine and authentic. The
apple picker is exhausted from overwork but working hard is a choice he has
made consciously. In a moment of intense motivation, he promises to himself a
good harvest, establishing the worth of human desire be productive. The speaker
juxtaposes the expression of his tiredness, his inability to work any further with
an expression of his goal of having a good harvest. The detailed reference to
exhaustion and the urge to work more is an acceptance of his limitations. He
does not glorify the act but expresses nonetheless his thoughts honestly.

In the poem the reader is made aware of intricate details of a worker’s life and
his thoughts. The central figure chosen by the poet is not a grand individual, but
an ordinary person working in the orchard. The representation of his state of
mind and the depth of his conviction familiarizes the reader with the vagaries of
work of an apple picker. The apple picker has a candid tone in the poem as he
talks about his pending work and the sleep that overpowers. However, it is not
an expression of his resentment with the working conditions. The atmosphere is
positive and the speaker is seen to be painstakingly involved in his work.

In Frost’s poetry, human experience is depicted in conjunction with scenes from

nature. We observe in it the thoughts, travails and challenges of an active individual
pursuing his goals seriously. The impressionable mind of an individual is
commented upon by means of images from nature. While acquainting us with
the predicament of such an individual, Frost’s poems highlight how at times,
people put extra pressure on them with no compulsion from outside. Sleep is not
what they choose, but something that visits them so that they carry on with their
job with renewed vigour. It is a moot question though whether Frost remains
unconcerned about the gains of labour workers; that may be appropriated those
others who control society’s resources. In the poems that we have discussed in
this unit, there is little mention of groups of workers sitting and exchanging
notes about their shared pursuits and social goals. Instead, Frost seems to be
emphasising an abstract human productivity for its penchant of hard work and
genuineness of purpose.

1.7 ROBERT FROST: CRITICAL APPROACHES

Robert Frost has attracted considerable scholarly attention. Critics have
commented on his being a poet of nature, and about the decisive humanist strain
in his poetry. While nature acquires a central position, Frost’s engagement with
the natural world is by means of a speaker in the poem. What we notice are not
abstract descriptions but nature filtered through the experience of an individual.
Nina Baym in “An Approach to Robert Frost’s Nature Poetry” has said, “First,
we have the pastoral dialogues, eclogues and monologues dealing with the
mutability of human relations and human existence...Second we have the nature
lyrics usually composed as tiny dramas of recognition, illumination, or resolution
involving a lone speaker confronting the landscape.” The mention of dialogues
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and monologues in Frost’s poems establishes a decisive presence which is Robert Frost
characteristic of his style. Baym highlights that his poems deal with “mutability
of human existence”. This implies that the poet often engages with the idea of
change that is central to both human existence and processes of nature. We also
notice this in the poem “A Boundless Moment” that mentions a tree with old
leaves, evoking the idea of change central to both human life and nature. When
these are violated, a strange sight that piques observers’ curiosity gets created.

Critics have also commented upon Frost being different from other modernist
poets. He does not engage with the idea of futility and aimlessness; instead, he
makes meaningful observations about social experience and values associated
with it. Hyatt Howe Waggonner in the essay “The Humanistic Idealism of Robert
Frost”, says, “Harvard had lost its attraction for him (Frost)...he returned to New
Hampshire to write poetry of life, as he knew it, to keep close to common human
experience...Robert Frost knew what he wanted and it was not the wasteland.”
This aspect is traceable in the poem “After Apple Picking” where Frost elaborates
on human experience involved in hardwork and labour as well as the values of
ambition and objective self-reflection.

Human presence in Frost’s poetry also brings to light the dramatic mode which
is significant. The dramatic element involves the presence of two or more
perspectives that clash or interact in the poem. On this account, Robert S. Newdick
in his essay “Robert Frost and the Dramatic” quotes Robert Frost has observed
that, “The height of poetry is in the dramatic give and take...in a lyric the dramatic
give and take is within oneself and not between two people.” This ‘dramatic give
and take’ mentioned by Frost is evident in the poem “After Apple Picking”. The
poem comprises internal dialogue of the worker who has been working for long
in the apple orchard and finally contemplates the need for some rest. But he is
unsure if he would be able to sleep well enough. That shows Frost’s deep concern
for issues that relate to society.

1.8 LET US SUM UP

Robert Frost, writing in the early twentieth century, exemplified a distinctive
poetic voice in America, one very different from that of American modernist
poets. His unique engagement with nature often carried with it a deep
understanding and reflection on essential features of human life. Both poems “A
Boundless Moment” and ‘After Apple Picking” evoke vivid images from the
world of nature, while raising important questions such as change, mutability,
hard work, and reward among others.

1.9 QUESTIONS
1) What is the significance of nature in Robert Frost’s poetry?

2) The poems “A Boundless Moment” and “After Apple Picking” put stress
on specific issues central to human existence. Comment.

3) Discuss the use of language in Robert Frost’s poems.

4) Robert Frost’s poems are characterised by a “deceptive simplicity”. Do

you agree? Give an answer with references from poems in your course
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American Poetry
1.10 REFERENCES
Baym, Nina. “An Approach to Robert Frost’s Nature Poetry”. American Quarterly,
Vol.17, No.4 1965.

Beach, Christopher. Cambridge Introduction to Twentieth Century American

Poetry. Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Newdick. S Robert. “ “Robert Frost and the Dramatic”. The New England
Quarterly, Vol.10, No.2, 1937.

Hyatt Howe Waggonner. “The Humanistic Idealism of Robert Frost”. American

Literature, Vol.13, No.3, 1941.

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 Robert Frost
UNIT 2 WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction: Twentieth Century American Literary Background
2.2 About the Poet
2.3 Modernism in America
2.4 “A Widow’s Lament in Springtime”: Stanza-wise Discussion
2.5 “A Widow’s Lament in Springtime”: Thematic Analysis
2.6 “The Dead Baby”: Stanza-wise Discussion
2.7 “The Dead Baby”: Thematic Analysis
2.8 William Carlos Williams: Critical Approaches
2.9 Let Us Sum Up
2.10 Questions
2.11 References

2.0 OBJECTIVES
In this unit we aim to discuss two poems by the Modern American poet William
Carlos Williams (1883-1963). The poems are “A Widow’s Lament in Springtime”
and “The Dead Baby.”

We will closely analyse these poems after grasping their surface meaning,
following which we shall go into the ideas conveyed through them. Placing the
poems in the American poetry tradition of the time, we shall evolve an
understanding of the poet and his writing in general. Finally, we shall conclude
the discussion by considering different scholarly perspectives on the poet William
Carlos Williams. This unit will also include a critical commentary that will help
us fine-tune our appreciation of the poet.

2.1 INTRODUCTION: TWENTIETH CENTURY

AMERICAN LITERARY BACKGROUND
Following the great poetic craft of Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and
Longfellow in the nineteenth century, American poetry saw a slump in the later
years. From 1890 to 1910,one saw the rise in prominence of the novel form for
reasons that relate to history. After the Civil War, America was building itself up
with a powerfully expanding economy and a vision of development. This affected
the masses on a big scale. The mood of the times was pragmatic, focussing on
issues requiring immediate attention. There was little concerning imagination
that poetry could engage with. As a result of this, the poetic form took a backseat
and the novel form flourished. Thus, it was only in the second decade of the
twentieth century that poets began to respond to existing social changes, as the
urban character of American life emerged concretely.

We have touched upon some of these features in the previous unit. For instance,
while Robert Frost focused on provincial America and expressed his intent in an
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American Poetry apparently simple style, most other poets of the time were heavily influenced by
the European trend of Modernism. This new trend was witnessed across arts and
architecture. Modernism had partially resulted from decisive changes the world
over in the previous century.

We will discuss this literary trend in detail in a separate section here. One may,
however, note that as a result of this influence, a number of twentieth century
poets moved to London and Paris, the cultural centres at the time. While a few
poets like Robert Frost came back, Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot stayed there, and
Gertrude Stein moved to Paris. Connecting the high modernists in contemporary
writing, was the spirit of experimentation in both form and content. Poets, like
other artists, broke away from traditional styles and invented new forms to express
themselves in face of the new reality.

Interestingly, with the Second World War, the fifties and the sixties saw another
shift in poetic idiom; this change manifested in a variety of forms. For instance,
there were poets who adopted the confessional mode, and those who subscribed
to the formal mode of New Criticism, in addition to the others, such as the Beat
poets, who represented dissident cultural social voice.

2.2 ABOUT THE POET

(Image source: Wikisource)

William Carlos Williams was born in 1883, in Rutherford, New Jersey. His father
was from the West Indies and mother from Puerto Rico. He studied at the
University of Pennsylvania Medical school where he met Ezra Pound and Hilda
Doolittle. After receiving his degree in 1906, Williams decided to practice
medicine and write poetry; the two went hand in hand. His first collection of
poems published around 1908 did not get a favourable response. His second
volume Tempers (1913) was published with Pound’s help in London. Till then,
Williams had not found his distinct poetic voice. Even though Tempers was met
with approval, Williams accepted he was working under the influence of English
poets than reacting specifically to his times, with an American sensibility at the
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back. He observed, “I should have written about things around me...but I just William Carlos Williams
didn’t know...I knew nothing of language except what I’d heard in Keats and
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.” That was the moment when he turned to Imagism
and adopted the Imagist logic. Simultaneously, he was in touch with the literary
and artistic avant garde in New York.

Williams’ four seminal poetry volumes are Al Que Quiere (1917), Sour Grapes
(1921) Spring and All (1923) Kora: In Hell had appeared in (1920). Keeping
company in quality, with Spring and All, were the later ones that included The
Desert Music and Other Poems (1954), Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems
(1962), and Paterson (1963, repr. 1992).Williams captures the lived reality of
his time in these collections where the emotional and physical aspects have equal
emphasis. He portrays individuals, scenes from society, as well as objects from
urban spaces that would otherwise be considered ordinary. What also distinguishes
his poetry from that of other modernists like Eliot and Pound is the spontaneity
of the language he uses. This is at variance with use of a self-conscious literary
style of the high modernists.

A good friend of Ezra Pound, Williams is often associated with the Imagist
movement in Modernist poetry. Imagism is regarded ordinarily as a part of
Modernism. In the latter, the poets adopted an aesthetic involving directness of
expression. On his part, Williams only partially adopted the characteristics of
the movement. He carried his own brand of Modernist experiment in poetry. He
is known to have influenced the poetry of the fifties and sixties in general and
the Beat movement in particular. He was a friend and mentor to the iconic beat
poet, Allen Ginsberg and wrote the introduction to his poetry collection Howl
and Other Poems.

Willaims was influenced by the European avant garde movement that vouched
for breaking away from tradition. But what distinguished him was the conviction
to preserve American experience. He chose to capture ordinary individuals and
the immediate surroundings in verse. He sought inspiration from painters and at
times also painted. His association with the New York group of artists and writers
called “The Others” is well known. The group included Wallace Stevens, Martin
Duchamp, Man Ray, among others.

2.3 MODERNISM IN AMERICA

Modernism was an artistic movement that came into being in the early twentieth
century Europe. Its American variant carried the essential features of the
movement. Apart from writers and artists already mentioned, European painters
such as Pablo Piccasso, Henri Matisse, and Paul Cezzane also influenced
American Modernists. T.S. Eliot has described the times as, “the immense
panorama of futility and anarchy which is contemporary history.” All structures,
values and conventions that define human life are called into question by the
proponents of Modernism. A boom in technological innovation led to a new
urban landscape in America with the construction of skyscrapers, bridges, the
subway and factories. Developments were also witnessed in the field of
psychology and sciences which called into question conventions believed to be
true until the nineteenth century.

In the period under consideration, the two Wars had unleashed mass destruction.
Loss of life had caused general confusion and gloom. This ushered in an entirely 91
American Poetry different era in arts. Ezra Pound’s famous phrase “make it new” describes the
phenomenon aptly. Poetry too caught up with this process of creating what came
to be termed a new aesthetic.

2.4 “A WIDOW’S LAMENT IN SPRINGTIME”:

STANZA-WISE DISCUSSION
The previous part of this unit forms a meaningful background to the two poems
we plan to study here. We might see that reflected in the comments about the
poems. Let us straight away zero in on the first six lines of the poems “A Widow’s
Lament in Springtime.” These go as follows:

Line 1-6
Sorrow is my own yard
where the new grass
flames as it has flamed
often before but not
with the cold fire
that closes round me this year.
In these lines, the poet uses the image of fire and the yard to bring out the idea of
sorrow. The experience of sadness is described in terms of the poet’s own personal
space. It establishes a deep connection with the experience of gloom. Sorrow is
likened to garden, a corner close to the speaker, hence establishing the immediacy
of experience. The emotion is superimposed onto the garden which now appears
so different, bogged down as the speaker is with absence of hope. The poet has
inverted the conventional word-use. Mark that the grass in the line “flames”
than merely “grows”. Inversion is a part of the poetic licence. It highlights the
emotional discomfort of the speaker. Consider how “a cold fire” surrounds the
speaker. This image appears to be in continuation to the image evoked by the
word “flames”. Fire can also evoke a sense of burning desire. The poet clarifies
that the fire the widow witnesses is “cold”. The widow’s sorrowful state evokes
a picture of stasis caused by the dark emotion visiting her.

Lines 7-10
Thirty Five years
I lived with my husband.
The plumtree is white today
with masses of flowers.
The source of the widow’s sorrow is now clarified; the speaker evokes memory
of her husband. Here, use of the past tense (“lived”) is crucial. The speaker has
talked in the present tense but while referring to the husband, it becomes “lived”.
The “cold fire” surrounding the speaker then indicates sadness accompanying
the end of a thirty-five year long companionship of the two. Talking about the
direct reality, the speaker shifts back to the image of nature involving the “plum
tree” with “masses of flowers”. Her reflections on the garden bring forth her
state of mind. Instead of talking of sadness in a confessional mode, the poet
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evokes the image of the garden and its foliage which serve to underline the William Carlos Williams
speaker’s state of mind. One might say that the poem has a subtle mix of direct
personal references and those of the yard, both of which stress her specific feeling.

In the lines above another distinctive feature is seen. The speaker’s disturbed
mind is evident in the abrupt shifts in her thought. She first thinks about the past,
of having lived with her husband for thirty five years, then jumps to the present
moment; it also manifests in her observation about the white flowers of the plum
tree “today”. We note an abrupt change from the thought of her own loss (“I
lived with my husband”) to the one of tree’s abundance with “masses of flowers”.
These contrasting images establish her deep sense of gloom, as if she lacks what
nature offers.

Lines 11- 19
Masses of flowers
load the cherry branches
and color some bushes
yellow and some red
but the grief in my heart
is stronger than they
for though they were my joy
formerly, today I notice them
and turn away forgetting.
In these lines, the garden imagery continues. The speaker describes the masses
of flowers in abundance on the cherry branches. The flowers also seem to colour
the nearby bushes. They intertwine with the bushes or fall from the tree onto the
bushes, thus adding another hint of colour to them. Colours bring a sense of
vibrance and life, indicating joy. Such an imagery is contrasted with the speaker’s
gloom evoked right from the beginning. These colours in her garden, which used
to be a source of joy, today are no match with the immense grief that burdens the
woman’s heart. One’s perception of the surroundings is a mirror of one’s mind.
The same objects that were once a source of happiness, no longer appeal to the
individual. The speaker does not find inspiration in nature, but turns away from
it as her gloomy state of mind takes over and dominates the scene.

Lines 20- 28
Today my son told me
that in the meadows,
at the edge of the heavy woods
in the distance, he saw
trees of white flowers.
I feel that I would like
to go there
and fall into those flowers
and sink into the marsh near them. 93
American Poetry The personal element continues with a reference to the speaker’s son. The boy
notices trees with white flowers and tells his mother about them. The speaker
wishes to go there, fall into those flowers and sink into a marsh nearby. Falling
into flowers indicates the speaker’s desire to escape her immediate reality. Those
flowers are on the trees but she imagines herself falling amidst them. It is a
surreal image and also one where nature is seen as an escape and not as a source
of inspiration. Further, the reference to the speaker’s wish to drown herself in the
marsh indicates suicide. The hopelessness of the present and complete lack of
redemption from deep sorrow is highlighted. The grief is too immense and the
speaker contemplates ending her life by “sinking” into the marsh. Image of the
marsh is also very powerful as it brings to mind a gradual death, by being pulled
into something much against the individual’s will. This can be a replica of the
speaker’s emotion; she feels bogged down by the pressures of having lost her
husband and progressively gives in to the excruciating grief.

2.5 “A WIDOW’S LAMENT IN SPRINGTIME”:

THEMATIC ANALYSIS
A distinguishing feature of Williams’ craft is astute observation of the
surroundings. He represents minute details of the space where the poem is situated.
In the given poem, that space is a garden. Interestingly, description of the yard
resonates with the mood of the poem. It is grim and morose as the speaker
expresses her sorrow and the vacuum she feels at the loss of her husband. The
correlation between topography and the mood is noticed at the outset. The speaker
says, “sorrow is my own yard”. That establishes the sadness she feels is deeply
personal. It colours her view of her own garden which even though in full bloom,
appears dreary. We notice how the speaker’s emotional state is then superimposed
on the surroundings. Throughout the poem, the image of the garden coexists
with the picture of her own sadness. There are a cluster of references to this
space, such as “where the new grass flames”, “The plum tree is white today”,
“Masses of flowers/Load cherry branches” and “colour of some bushes yellow
and some red”. The poet engages with the physical world at the level of both
materiality and emotion; one does not overpower the other but complements it.
The image of the yard is simple, picked up from everyday life in America, thus
bringing alive a particularly American landscape. This emphasis on topography
and directness of image expressed in simple language distinguishes Williams
from other poets of his time.

The poem focuses on the individual’s self and sense experience. This establishes
the poem as a Modernist one. Liberal use of the personal pronoun “I” puts the
self at the centre, expressing a unique experience. I mention those references in
the poem that underline this fact. They are: “My own yard”, “my son”, “husband”,
“I lived”, “I notice”, “I feel”. It is through the prism of the speaker’s distinct
personal experience that the reader is able to note such a reality. It is deeply felt
and full of sorrow. The sadness depicted is personal, caused due to the husband’s
death, but the mood is also characteristic of the times. The poet’s choice of the
subject indicates this. Williams wrote this poem in 1921, a time when the world
was recovering from a devastating World War. The poem’s lingering sense of
gloom is consonant with despair that had gripped humankind at the time. This is
also an important theme of Modernism.

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One of the features of Modernism is over-indulgence in the present as well as an William Carlos Williams
uncritical acceptance of it. It implies that the individual takes current conditions
as the only possible order, without attempting to actively work for changing
them. It involves a sense of resignation and a fatalistic approach. One of the
significant emotions noticed in writings from the early twentieth century Europe
was sadness. It resulted in anxiety. This is evident in the given poem as well. In
it, the speaker’s son tries diverting the speaker’s attention to a meadow nearby,
to help uplift her spirits. But she chooses “to fall into the flowers and sink into
the marsh near them”. This end of the poem leaves no hope of recovery.

Williams also subscribes to the Imagist trend. Imagism was a sub-movement

during Modernism. It was characterized by the use of clear images and direct
language. Different elements from nature were evoked for the purpose: yard,
grass, cold fire, plum tree, masses of flowers, cherry branches, meadows, heavy
woods and white flowers. We have the references that create a picture of nature
in all its bounty. An abundance of flowers sway on the plum tree. They colour
the surroundings yellow and red. This is in contrast to the void that exists in the
speaker’s life. Nature’s abundance is blotted out by the emptiness left behind
after the sad demise of the speaker’s beloved partner. Nature that was once a
source of joy no longer has the same impact.

If the poem subscribes to the Modernist trend, there would be elements in it that
depart from it. Williams does not radically re-work established literary
conventions. His expression is direct and straightforward. The poem has a definite
verse form and clearly avoids dismantling conventional structures of meaning.

2.6 “THE DEAD BABY”: STANZA-WISE

DISCUSSION
Stanza 1
Sweep the house
under the feet of the curious
holiday seekers —
sweep under the table and the bed
the baby is dead —
Here, the speaker asks someone to clean the house and prepares for the baby’s
dead body to arrive. He gives instructions about how and where to sweep; under
the table and the bed and also under the feet of “the curious holiday seekers”. We
face the question: who are the curious holiday seekers? Clearly, people present
in the house at the moment are not just immediate family. The speaker in that
case would refer to them as “holiday seekers”. The phrase is a sharp comment on
the attitude of those present there. It is an occasion of mourning and the death of
a young baby is unfortunate. Also, reference to the people as holiday seekers
highlights their apathy and indifference. The word “curious” refers to something
strange about the people gathered there. It is a comment on a section of society
that is insensitive to others’ pain. The setting is that of a house, with a bed, a
table and a window. It is not a fancy dwelling, but a humble living space.

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American Poetry Stanza 2
The mother’s eyes where she sits
by the window, unconsoled —
have purple bags under them
the father —
tall, well spoken, pitiful
is the abler of these two —
In this stanza, the speaker’s gaze is on the grieving mother. Initially, the fixtures
and guests in the room—the table, bed and holiday seekers were in view. In
these lines though, the mother is at the centre. Her grief-stricken figure is
represented. The grief of losing her child is so immense that no effort of
consolation would help. At another level, she has remained unconsoled since
there is none in the room who empathizes with her. She feels desolate and struggles
with the emotion all by herself.

The mother’s difficult position is further highlighted by a contrasting reference

to the father who is “tall, well-spoken, pitiful” and “abler of these two”. One
may note that words used to describe the father are positive as compared to those
used for the disconsolate mother. He is “well-spoken” while the mother is silent.
He is also “abler of the two”. What ability could the poet be hinting at? The
reference here is to the ability of an individual to come to terms with a difficult
circumstance. While the mother is distraught, the father appears composed. That
in spite of the fact that he is described as “pitiful.”

Stanza 3
Sweep the house clean
here is one who has gone up
(though problematically)
to heaven, blindly
by force of the facts —
a clean sweep
is one way of expressing it —
In this stanza, something still more telling is revealed. The child, the poet says,
“has gone up/though problematically”. What do we make of it? It is a significant
phrase uncovering another dimension of the situation. There is something
“problematic” about the death of the baby. It is not a natural death. The poet says
that the baby “has gone up to heaven, blindly by force of facts”. We might ask:
What are the facts referred to here? It is evident that the death is due to external
circumstances that proved compelling, hence the word “force”. The manner of
death is hinted upon when the poet says, “a clean sweep, is one way of expressing
it”. The word ‘sweep’ indicates that death was sudden, unexpected. The
circumstances causing it were abrupt, making it yet more shocking. Also, the
death is referred to as ‘problematic’. Since no clear reason is cited, it renders the
poem mysterious, a quintessential feature of Modernist writing.

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Stanza 4 William Carlos Williams

Hurry up! any minute

they will be bringing it
from the hospital —
a white model of our lives
a curiosity —
surrounded by fresh flowers
Urgency in the speaker’s tone has continued in this stanza. The sense of time
hanging heavy predominates. While most Modernist writing would defy the logic
of time altogether, Williams keeps it intact and lets it guide the sentiment of the
speaker. The house needs to be readied for rituals before the dead baby is brought
home. The baby is described as “a white model of our lives, a curiosity”. A
model refers to something central, around which another thing is formed. The
baby is the centre of life in the household. But the word “curiosity” yet again
brings back the sense that something was odd about the circumstance in which
the baby died. And when it is brought home, it would be surrounded by fresh
flowers, as per the ritual.

2.7 “THE DEAD BABY”: THEMATIC ANALYSIS

Ordinariness is a significant aspect of Williams’ poetry. He bases “The Dead
Baby” on everyday experience of the common people. The situation indicates a
sad event in the life of a couple. The woman and the man talked of in the poem
are ordinary, not the ones socially important. The engagement with the simple
and the ordinary distinguishes Williams poetry from that of others. Yet, we do
not call it simplistic. It may be said that the poet has used regular situations and
people for depiction. Even as the idea of death is an essential truth of life, it is to
be seen as a part of human experience, not a subject of philosophical comment.
Williams describes the occasion of a young death in the context of the last rites
the family would perform.

Time has a palpable presence in the poem. There is a sense of urgency to finish
the task and ready the house before the body is brought home. Time hangs heavy
and there is a task to be completed. That is in sharp contrast to the idea of time in
high modernism. For modernists, time disintegrates and is not noted in its linearity.
Under their notion of the stream of consciousness, past, present and future become
fluid and do not appear in progression. For Williams though, a departure from
the popular notion is necessary in view of the situation he is faced with.

Examining aspects of the form further reinforces the unique character of Williams’
poems. On the one hand it can be said that the speaker’s tone is matter-of-fact.
The speaker in the poem is focused on the fact that the house must be swept
clean in time to prepare for the arrival of the dead baby. This is in line with
William’s characteristic attention to detail. Despite the dispassionate tone adopted
in the poem, there is a shift in the last stanza. The baby is referred to as “a white
model of our lives’’. The word “our” establishes a sense of belongingness between
the baby and the speaker, while in the rest of the poem, there is a dispassionate
stance. We also a two-pronged engagement with the issue. One is of providing a
number of details about the scene and the other of holding back vital information
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American Poetry about how the baby died and what may have been the motive of the person who
killed the baby. These gaps exist and seem to be under a creative plan. That gives
the poem its body, its aesthetic form. The more we grapple with the issue, the
better would be the purpose of the poem served. We observe that abstractions
associated with this form are the core of the poem.

Along with the binaries, we also note that the sentences are short and terse.
That’s a feature common to most of his poems. There is no rhyme and images are
from the immediate surroundings. All this is put together in an atmosphere that
is full of sadness.

2.8 WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS: CRITICAL

APPROACHES
Williams’ engagement with the surroundings has been commented upon widely.
Bringing alive his contemporary setting, Williams constructs American character
in poems. This was particularly a crucial concern at the time when the genre was
coming into its own in the country. Talking of what poetry in America means,
Williams himself states, “Its forms are the form of empire. The first thing we
must do as poets (poor things!) is to throw it out, body and soul. Why? To build,
if we are men, something better. To invent, then a prosody of our own, has been
our first objective in our approach toward reality in our place and day.” In this
statement, Williams first establishes that the poem’s form carries within it form
of the empire—that is the British aesthetic. Hence the need to invent their own
style of writing verses, that foregrounds distinct American sensibility and locale.
This is emphasized further in the assertion that they must recreate a reality “in
our place and day”. This makes Williams culturally, geographically and
historically specific. This specificity is seen in his observation of the things and
people around.

Discussing Williams’ poetry, Linda Welshimer Wagner in her essay “William

Carlos Williams: Giant” says, “The poem was to re-create significant elements
of contemporary life as found in the poet’s immediate surroundings— his
local...what Williams championed was the use of familiar materials as the means
to general truth, not an emphasis on local culture for its own sake.” Wagner
points out how his poetry brings alive the flavour of his surroundings. “Familiar
materials” were those that everyone would see daily, but perhaps not pay attention
to it. Williams uses the same materials and through them evokes certain ideas of
relevance. In the two poems in our course, we have seen him engage with a
garden and a house with some fixtures. In another famous poem, he talks about
the red wheelbarrow. Christopher Beach reiterates, “Williams sought to capture
a sense of lived reality, particularly of the physical world.”

Williams’ creative engagement with the ordinary people was one of the aspects
that the high modernists misunderstood about his craft. They interpreted it as a
lack of artistic grace. In the context, Wallace Stevens remarks, “Williams is not
philosophical”. Infact, Stevens refers to this ordinariness as “anti-poetic” (Wallace
Stevens). But an answer to this charge is clearly evident in “Paterson”, a famous
epic poems by Williams, where he says there are “No ideas but in things”. For
Williams, poetic inspiration lay in ordinary objects of the surroundings.

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In a speech titled, “Experimental & Formal Verse: Some Hints Toward the William Carlos Williams
Enjoyment of Modern Verse”, Williams presents his view of the place of poetry
in society. He says, “Our dreams are escapes from an oppressive reality — But
dreams may be dominated and put to great service for the individual and the race
by the poet, by structural imagination and skill”. Here Williams’ take on the role
of the poet is significant. One has a purpose of bringing benefit to the common
people. Imagination and dreams help them deal better with reality and understand
it. The poet’s imagination and skill renders an apparently disconnected
circumstance integrated. Here, Williams also strikes a balance between craft and
fancy, both of which make a poem. We understand that his poems are structurally
thought out and at the same time have a role to play in a world that at times gets
too difficult for the people.

2.9 LET US SUM UP

We have observed that Williams Carlos Williams combines the poetic style of
both early twentieth century American poetry and that of the high modernists in
America. The first involves a poetic spirit that contributed to the development of
a distinct American idiom. The second is characterized by experimentation and
reworking of literary convention that had existed until the nineteenth century.
Williams’ poems have features of both these poetic trends. In the process, he
evolves an aesthetic of his own comprising sharp observation of the surroundings,
use of simple imagery and a language that carries the flavour of everyday living.

2.10 QUESTIONS
1) William Carlos Williams devises his own aesthetic, which at times appears
to coincide with modernism and sometimes seems to depart from it.
Comment.
2) What is the significance of the physical world in Williams’ poetry?
3) Discuss the structural elements in the poems “A Dead Baby” and “A Widow’s
Lament in Springtime”.

4) Comment on William Carlos Williams as a twentieth century American

poet.

2.11 REFERENCES
Beach, Christopher. The Cambridge Introduction to Twentieth Century American
Poetry. Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Lechlitner, Ruth. “The Poetry of William Carlos Williams”.Poetry, Vol 54, No.6,
Sep, 1939.

Wagner, Linda Welshimer. “William Carlos Williams: Giant”. College English

Vol.25, No.6, 1964.

Williams, Carlos, Williams. “Experimental & Formal Verse*: Some Hints Toward
the Enjoyment of Modern Verse”, in The Cambridge Introduction to Twentieth
Century American Poetry.
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American Poetry
UNIT 3 WALLACE STEVENS
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 About the Poet
3.3 Wallace Stevens: The Poetic Craft
3.4 “The Snow Man”: Stanza-wise Analysis
3.5 “The Snow Man”: Thematic Analysis
3.6 “The Emperor of Ice Cream”: Stanza-wise Analysis
3.7 “The Emperor of Ice Cream”: Thematic Analysis
3.8 Critical Perspectives on Wallace Stevens
3.9 Let Us Sum Up
3.10 Questions
3.11 Suggested Readings and References

3.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
talk about Wallace Stevens the poet, his life and work;
appreciate two significant poems of Wallace Stevens;
analyse the thematic aspects of the two poems.

3.1 INTRODUCTION
This unit will acquaint you with another American modernist poet, Wallace
Stevens (1879-1955). We shall study the two famous poems composed by him,
“The Snow Man” and “The Emperor of Ice Cream”, both are included in his first
poetry collection Harmonium published in 1923. Even though Stevens’ poetic
style underwent change in his later collections, it had a strong base in his initial
experiments in Harmonium. Studying the two poems in the course we will realize
Stevens’ place in American modernism and see how his works interact with the
literary trend in question. In this unit, we shall discuss his manner of expression
and grasp the ideas his poems deal with.

3.2 ABOUT THE POET

Wallace Stevens was born in 1879, at Reading in Pennsylvania. A lawyer by
education, Stevens had moved to New York soon after graduating from Harvard.
He attended New York Law School and worked for a number of years in a few
law firms. Eventually, he moved to the insurance sector and occupied a high
position in a company where he worked until the end of his life. Adopting these
ways of earning livelihood, Stevens wrote poems at night. His Harmonium was
published in 1923. Following this, he published a number of collections until the
1950s, when he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and his health deteriorated.
Some of his collections include, Ideas of Order, The Man with the Blue Guitar
100
(1937), Parts of a World, along with Transport to Summer. In 1950 he wrote The Wallace Stevens
Auroras of Autumn and in 1954 he published his last collection of Collected
Poems (1954), for which he also won the Pulitzer Prize in 1955, shortly before
his death.

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

He loved travelling to Florida and used to live at a hotel close to the sea. This
experience is believed to have influenced his poetry, too. While at Harvard, he
was under the tutelage of philosopher George Santayana whom he immensely
admired. During his visits to Florida, he also met Robert Frost and Ernest
Hemingway, both great poets of his time. But he is known to have entered into a
serious disagreement with both. On his death in 1954, the other major poet of the
day, William Carlos Williams, wrote the obituary for Stevens.

Stevens is known for his long as well as short poems. One undeniable
characteristic of his verses is that they are steeped in philosophy, to the extent of
appearing too abstract to comprehend. A number of twenty-first century critics
observed it. Simon Critchley, has remarked that “Stevens’ poetry fails”. In it,
failure could be interpreted as the inability of words to adequately represent
reality. But the validity of this remark might be ascertained in the course of
reading his poems.

3.3 WALLACE STEVENS: THE POETIC CRAFT

Poems of Wallace Stevens belong to the American modernist trend. However,
we must understand that while different writers or poets are associated with one
literary trend or the other, each of them interacts with its conventions in a manner
of one’s own. Such is also the case with Stevens. Unlike Ezra Pound and T.S.
Eliot, language in Stevens’ poems is direct and straightforward. The syntax is
such that there is no break in the meaning to be conveyed or the flow of the idea.
This is in sharp contrast to classic modernist poems that strongly experiment
with form as well as content to the extent that they become abstract in an extreme
sense. Breaking away from the established trends was a hallmark of modernist
aesthetics. However, Stevens is not experimental to the point that meaning might
collapse in the pursuit.

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American Poetry One traces characteristics of the imagist movement in his poems, a movement
that flourished in the twenties. This movement was one of the important trends
falling under the broader category of modernism. Imagism was characterised by
the poet using sharp images in his verses, each with an elaborate method. Imagist
poems have word pictures that make the reader visualize the exact object being
described. Ezra Pound pioneered this movement. William Carlos Williams is
also known to have subscribed to this trend. In a number of his early poems
Stevens does create such vivid word pictures. One example is the poem in our
course “The Snow Man”. Also, in “A Sunday Morning”, Stevens resorts to the
use of distinct imagery. The difference is that in the process, he also innovates
and combines abstract words with concrete images. That saves him from obscurity.
Consider the following stanza from “A Sunday Morning”.

Complacencies of the peignoir, and late

Coffee and oranges in a sunny chair,
And the green freedom of a cockatoo
Upon a rug mingle to dissipate
The holy hush of ancient sacrifice.
In the above stanza Stevens creates the comfortable domestic atmosphere with
images of a “peignoir”, a woman’s light night gown working in association with
“coffee and oranges in a sunny chair” and the “rug”. Here, mark the abstract
words he uses with these images. “Complacencies’’ denotes comfort with oneself.
The poet talks about complacencies of the nightgown, and indicates through it
the laid-back mood of a participant in the scene. “Green freedom” tells of the
sense of openness felt by a bird as it flies in the greens and “late coffee” brings to
mind the hot drinks one sips at leisure. We notice, thus, how abstractions mingle
with clearly defined images in Stevens poems. Even in “The Snow Man”, the
poet creates images of a harsh winter “bough of pine trees crusted with snow”,
and “junipers shagged with ice” but he combines them with philosophical
questions of logical links. For him, “One must have a winter’s mind” to regard
such coldness. The idea conveyed to us is of the mind of winter to be deciphered
in the larger universe of the poem. This melange of distinct images and
philosophical reflections creates Stevens’ own brand of Imagism that is difficult
to comprehend but engages the reader’s attention.

In the poem “A High Toned Old Christian Woman”, we read:”Poetry is the

supreme fiction, madame.” For Stevens, the poetic mode is characterised by
imagination. It is this fiction or creative flight that becomes the carrier for
ruminations about the questions of being, death, and life. In the “Snow Man”,
we observe further read: “nothing that is not there and the nothing that is” or in
“The Emperor of Ice cream” to the effect: “Let be be finale of seem.” These two
poems are in our course. We shall interpret these statements later in our discussion.
Here, let us take up “The Snow Man” at length.

3.4 “THE SNOW MAN”: STANZA-WISE ANALYSIS

One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
102 Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;
 And have been cold a long time Wallace Stevens

To behold the junipers shagged with ice,

The spruces rough in the distant glitter
In these lines, the poet talks about the attitude of an individual in the period of
extreme winters. He evokes sharp images to create the atmosphere of winter.
“Frost”, “pine trees crusted with snow”, “junipers shagged with ice” are the
words and phrases he uses to bring out a sense of the ice-cold weather. We may
note that the trees mentioned are all conifers and they have borne the effect of
cold for a long time. Conifers are trees that grow in cold climates, hence their
nature to survive in extreme weather conditions. The poet points out there is
something particularly harsh about winter that has damaged the junipers. Even
the spruces appear “rough”. The poet refers to a prolonged spell of cold weather
that has adversely impacted the trees.

We are made to observe that in order for one to appreciate such a winter, “one
must have a mind of winter/ to regard the frost”. The word employed to suggest
this is “regard.” There is a kind of particularity about this use. In the opinion of
poet, the individual should interpret the winter for what it is, instead of having a
judgemental view of the phenomenon. The trees are described as bearing the
brunt of the cold weather and appearing damaged. Yet, the individual is not shown
to associate winter with severity and rejection. The poet wishes that the reader
saw it objectively, indeed “regard the frost” as given. For driving the point
home, he says, “One must have a mind of winter”. We note that the word “winter”
describes the mind that is capable of observing the scene dispassionately.

At another level, Stevens wishes to indicate that objectivity might call for maturity
enabling one to be closer to the scene and yet maintain distance. There is a
difference between dispassionate observation and cold indifference. The
individual does not pay sufficient attention to the cold weather. The response in
the poem is complex, hence the poet’s conclusion: “one must have a mind of
winter.” In such a case, there is no place for emotional biases in favour of or
against the surroundings. Following this, let us consider the following lines:
Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,

Which is the sound of the land

Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place

For the listener, who listens in the snow,

And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
The train of thought continues here from the previous lines. Mark that there are
no full stops in the lines. We spot only a solitary semicolon separating the two
major strands of the idea. In the beginning, the importance of a clinical attitude 103
American Poetry of the observer who is in the midst of extreme winter is noted. Later, it is stressed
that one should not associate sadness with the harsh winter wind. The landscape
is bleak, with no hope of newness. We observe that the leaves are “few” and the
land is “bare”. The atmosphere does not warrant the individual to associate the
emotion of sorrow with the dreary wind. One has to further refrain from imagining
situations that are away from the scene. The poet states that “the listener...nothing
himself beholds”. Next come the lines that play on the word “nothing”—the
observer does not assume that which is not there “and the nothing that is” draws
our attention to it. The landscape characterised by nothingness is the reality he
confronts while he assumes nothing, only focusing attention on the nothingness
that the place signifies. Why is “nothing” emphasized so specifically? Perhaps,
the poet finds the world around him to be meaningless, with no aspect in it
inspiring enough to sustain him. The absence of belonging between the spectacle
in front and the person looking at it is a comment on the society itself that the
poet inhabits. In that sense, nature is a metaphor of the dullness of situation the
poet is forced to bear. In the beginning, we talked about death, life, and the
poet’s being as inter-related. That is truly signified by these lines. Without allowing
the tedium of life to enter the description, the poet has evoked an image of stillness,
cold, and desolation. But the very absence of actual happenings and episodes
that may have filled the picture call out for a comment. The heaviness of the
details gathered in the lines begin telling the story of “what is not there and the
nothing that is.”

3.5 “THE SNOW MAN”: THEMATIC ANALYSIS

The poem represents objectivity of perspective that shows blankness and a dreary
world. In it, the speaker gives a voice to the mental state that has stopped to
comment on the happenings of the time the poem aimed to capture. Alert
individuals were needed to comprehend a certain question of being in the given
surroundings. Ironically though, the accusing finger pointed towards the
individuals themselves. As a result of this, viewing the cold winter became an
issue. For this viewing, no emotion was required, nor was it therefore expressed.
Undeniably, emotion would have underlined the truth of the circumstance. But
truth was elusive. It could not be formulated in clear terms. Describing a mental
state would have created the background of an argument, but in turn the argument
might have reduced the scope of envisioning the situation in depth. That is the
conundrum the modern individual faces. Words and phrases do not suffice. When
vacancy and emptiness are the issues, images would do a better job than
statements. Thus, trees covered in snow and standing quiet become better carriers
of the veracity of the scene. The land may be an apt reference, with roads, pathways
and streets as its pointers. But the social scene has problems of quiet suffering
and helpless existence than of clashing interests and priorities. The episode of
struggle has shifted from the given society to far off places where different patterns
exist. There is no visible warmth or comfort to be seen. A place that is bare, with
sharp winds blowing through it, is to be considered for making sense of. The
speaker is given the situation “one must have a mind of winter/ to regard the
winter/ to regards the frost.” Interestingly, mind has shifted from the citizen to
the winter season. “Mind of winter” makes sense under the perspective of
modernist expression. Consider that the place of the poet has more of snow than
human exchange. The same is denoted by the “sound of the wind...which is the
sound of the land.”Such an approach of saying and unsaying gives precedence to
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rationality over sentimentality. This also puts in perspective the title of the poem, Wallace Stevens
“The Snowman”. Snow, that indicates coldness could be a parallel for rationality.
The individual observer witnessing the winter in a detached manner brings to
mind the image of the snowman.

The language used is direct for most part of “The Snow man.” It is descriptive,
bringing alive the scene of extreme winter. The cluster of images evoking the
frost, the snow, the cold trees, few leaves and a bare land, make the poem very
close to an imagist one. The poem comprises direct expression of well-constructed
word-pictures. The poem also displays economy in the use of words. One may
note that the first two stanzas have a mix of visual and tactical images that extend
to the feeling of close contact— “pine trees crusted with snow”, “junipers shagged
with ice”, “spruces rough”, “distant glitter”. In the following stanzas, the poet
shifts to auditory images, representing the winter season by means of sound. The
wind blowing across trees, leaves conveying messages through movement, and
the sound emanating from the land are examples. These evoke a sense of
desolation that is characteristic of places related to climate. We notice that the
distinct imagery brings out a consolidated sense of coldness, detachment,
objectivity and reason. One can say that it is reminiscent of the time when the
poem was composed. That was in 1921, four years after the First World War
ended. The atmosphere was such that everything was called into question in the
face of widespread violence and destruction. In such an atmosphere, while some
artists gave in to despair, Stevens vouched for distance and detachment. That
indicated the coping mechanism whereby the individual regards the surroundings
for what they actually are. This reminds us of what T.S Eliot remarked in his
famous essay “Tradition and Individual Talent” (1921) saying, Poetry “is not a
turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of
personality but an escape from personality.” In the act of escaping, the poet creates
a distance from his expression because of which the writing assumes a detached
character. We can see it happening in the case of Stevens.

Another significant feature of “The Snowman” is its beginning and the end, both
of which contain philosophical suggestions. The phrase “mind of winter” does
not carry a direct meaning, unless one interprets the word ‘winter’ as suggesting
an approach. Likewise, the poem ends with an equally abstract assertion that
reads more like a conundrum—”Nothing that is not there and the nothing that
is,” as stated above. The speaker says in the poem that the individual beholds or
sees nothing that is not present before his eyes. Instead, “the nothing that is”
stands for the the winter landscape that is characterised by bareness.

3.6 “THE EMPEROR OF ICE CREAM”: STANZA-

WISE ANALYSIS
Call the roller of big cigars,
The muscular one, and bid him whip
In kitchen cups concupiscent curds.
Let the wenches dawdle in such dress
As they are used to wear, and let the boys
Bring flowers in last month’s newspapers.
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American Poetry Let be be finale of seem.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.
These lines have a speaker giving instructions to people for doing various chores.
“Call the...muscular one”, “bid him”, “let the boys bring flowers” are the phrases
that establish it is an occasion and the speaker wants a few things done in the
case. The foremost among them is that he wants the ice cream vendor to come
and whip the ice-cream. This is done through calling it “concupiscent”. It is a
strange use of the word that means something driven by the sexual desire. Using
this word for the ice cream brings out the mood of the speaker; there is an over-
indulgence in sense experience of the things around. The speaker is either in a
philosophical state or the occasion is such that it involves heightened sexual
desire. Next, he gives instruction for the children; girls can wear ordinary clothes
and “dawdle”, that means to move idly and slowly. The fact that girls’ movement
is not brisk or full of joy gives us a hint that the occasion is not a joyous one. And
the ice cream being prepared can be part of the ‘treats’ for the funeral. In some
Western cultures, funeral is a big event involving elaborate preparations and
arrangements. It is not a sober affair, unlike in the Indian context. Hence the
boys are asked to bring flowers, “in last month’s newspapers”. This phrase further
puts the mood in perspective. Flowers are not for gifting, nor are they to spell a
happy occasion. That is why they are being brought in old newspapers. The
occasion is not celebratory and joyous.
The last two lines of the stanza are philosophical. That is denoted by “Let be be
finale of seem”. The first “be” in the sentence refers to the reality of existence
and “seem” points towards a different realm of existence, that, too, of appearance
than reality. The speaker reiterates that material existence is the culmination
(“finale”) of everything that is in the realm of ideas alone. All that is manifest in
reality is the truth meant to be accepted. All that we conceptualise in terms of
abstract existence holds meaning till the time it exists in the form of a material
reality. Mark the words, “The only emperor is the emperor of ice cream”. Maker
of the Ice cream, a dish being made on the occasion, is Death, the one who has
ultimate authority. Death is the only sovereign whom nobody can defeat or
deny.
Take from the dresser of deal,
Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet
On which she embroidered fantails once
And spread it so as to cover her face.
If her horny feet protrude, they come
To show how cold she is, and dumb.
Let the lamp affix its beam.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.
Consider that in these lines, the speaker’s instructions have continued further
from the previous stanza. This is the moment when someone would “take from
the dresser...that sheet”. Flowers, the sheet, and pudding—are all needed for a
funeral. The speaker asks the individual to take out the same sheet from the
drawer on which the woman had embroidered birds (“fantails”). It is stressed
that the same sheet should be used to cover the woman’s dead face. There is a
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strong irony here—the sheet the woman happily embroidered is the one being Wallace Stevens
used to cover her dead body. This brings out the stark reality death is, something
none can deny nor defy. The morbid description of the corpse continues as the
poet delves deep into details. Incase, he suggests, the sheet proves insufficient
for covering her up completely, it shall show the icy coldness associated with
death and a complete absence and movement (“to show how cold she is, and
dumb”).

It is clearly stated in the stanza that the lamp, ritualistically lit near the head of
the dead body, should affix its beam. The lamplight should be fixed, without
flickering or fading out. Having described in detail, and instructed meticulously
about preparations for the funeral, the poet reverts to the refrain that, for him,
establishes death’s sovereignty.

3.7 “THE EMPEROR OF ICE CREAM”:

THEMATIC ANALYSIS
The poem is an eclectic mix of a tone which is instructional, at times philosophical
and on occasions involving words which are abstract. We may note that these
seemingly different elements coexist in the same imaginative universe,
contributing to the poem’s unique style. Let us first understand the instructional
tone and the discordant words used. The speaker gives instructions for carrying
out various tasks, as if in preparation of an occasion. “Call”, “bid him”, “let the
boys” are the phrases which establish this. The instructions are cascading,
appearing one after the other. This brings out a tone of urgency, pointing to the
need to be meticulous in the tasks that need to be done. One notes a somewhat
discordant sense evoked by the words “muscular” and “concupiscent”, used to
describe the ice cream man and ice cream respectively. We call them discordant
because these words bring out a sense of physical detail and pleasure, which
oddly coexists with the otherwise matter of fact instructive tone of the speaker.

Next, the tone is also philosophical, though sparingly. The first stanza has the
statement, “Let be be finale of seem”. This statement comes as an abrupt shift
after the instructions given by the speaker for the occasion. It introduces the
important duality of appearance and reality. The word “be” takes us to the material
world and “seem” points to that which we ‘perceive’, adding our own objective
understanding to what we see. Hence the appearance of subjective and tentative
while conversely the verifiability of material reality. The phrase indicates that
existence is the culmination of that which is perceived or visualised. Thereafter,
the refrain “The only emperor is the emperor of ice cream” is not without its
share of abstraction, too. The foremost thing we note here is that the word
‘emperor’ appears someone with absolute power and as such used as ice cream.
The two words of completely opposite kind gets proximity to each other, further
contributing to the discordant word-usage indicated above. When read together,
the two assertions give us a hint of the meaning expressed in the poem. Talking
of existence, appearance, and sovereignty, the poet pre-empts what is to come in
the poem next, that being the reference to death and the dead body. The ice
cream is one of the puddings made on the occasion of funeral and is the only
sovereign truth in such a case. It affirms death as the only absolute power in the
overall context of material reality.

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American Poetry In a significant sense, the delayed revelation of the central subject or idea in the
poem is brought into focus. This, along with the eclectic mix of tones used in the
poem contributes to its experimental nature, making it a modernist one. The
occasion, which is actually a funeral, is not made clear in the beginning. It is
only towards the end of the poem that the reader makes sense of the details and
understands the exact occasion for which instructions are given. This is a unique
feature of the poem— even though the central subject is death, yet the atmosphere
of the poem remains distant from the pale of the subject. Nowhere is present a
sense of sadness or despair. The speaker’s state of mind has remained uninfluenced
by the occasion. This is clear from the way instructions for the funeral preparations
are not given. The sentiment is further highlighted when we notice the speaker
referring to the woman’s dead body specifically. He asks for it to be covered, “if
her horny feet protrude, they come to show how cold she is and dumb”. The
words “cold” signifies the lack of warmth which further indicates absence of
life. The word “dumb” signifies absence of sound. And the feet are “horny”,
which is a word used to suggest her excitable nature when she was alive. See
how the words are used to describe the corpse—they are direct and visual, to the
point of being nasty and crude. Rather than being devoid of sadness, the poem
becomes literal and crass in the descriptions of the dead body.

3.8 CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON WALLACE

STEVENS
Peter Schjeldhal has observed: “[Stevens] is certainly the quintessential American
poet of the twentieth century, a doubting idealist who invested slight subjects
(the weather, often) with oracular gravitas, and grand ones (death, frequently)
with capering humour.” This is a comment on both the poems included in our
course, “The Snow Man” and “The Emperor of Ice Cream”. If Stevens is a
doubting idealist, it would be incumbent on us to recognize in the two poems a
sense of detached interest. The poet could be accused of not taking a position
where the position was due.

We may keep in mind that Stevens was closer to the First World War, and also
apart of radical break from traditional modes of expression. In that context, artists
invented new means of articulating a reality that had lost positive appeal in the
face of mass destruction. Radical changes were seen in the aesthetic approach,
too. Stevens avoids experimentation. William Carlos Williams in Wallace Stevens.
Poetry, Vol. 87, Jan. 1956 has said: “Technically, Stevens was not, as were many
of his contemporaries, an experimentalist.” Indeed, one might observe selective
emphases and an abstract philosophical strain coexisting in his poems.

We note also that Stevens was not as much of an Imagist as his contemporaries
William Carlos Williams or Mariane Moore were. “[His] early poetry is clearly
marked by the influence of Imagism, yet at the same time the poems depart from
the Imagist practice in their far greater tendency to abstraction and philosophical
argument” (Critchley), We recognize in it the modernist imagist influence
informed by ruminations about death and philosophical concerns such as reality,
appearance, and existence. Reiterating it, Simon Critchley has stated that Stevens’
poetry “contains deep, consequent and instructive philosophical insight...and that
this insight is best expressed poetically.”

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In these perspectives we note the recognition Stevens received from the criticism Wallace Stevens
of the time. He was appreciative of it but did hint at limitations regarding position.
Ambivalence in position was the factor that drew notice.

3.9 LET US SUM UP

In the poem “The Snow Man,” we understand how Wallace Stevens used cold
weather as a means of making significant observations about human attitude to
surroundings, and the broader idea of dispassionate observation. In it, he is able
to combine the reference to nature with what he noticed in the destinies the
people around him confronted. He also evoked the idea of “nothingness” linked
to the bare land in the midst of cold winters. Nothingness is a philosophical
concept central to most of the modernist writings. The sheer destruction caused
by the War and a complete lack of hope was visualised as ‘nothingness’ by a
great number of European writers of the twentieth century. While Stevens touched
upon modernist themes, he did not fully subscribe to the movement’s penchant
for aesthetic experimentation. He had a selfhood and a sense of identity that set
him apart from the usual run of the modernist minds. In the poem “The Emperor
of Ice-Cream”, we notice the imagist influence as in the previous poem, and also
the poet’s departure from it at a few places elsewhere. He departed from the
conventions of imagism by introducing abstract words, along with concrete word
pictures. In this poem, he used the subject of death but ironically the poem’s
atmosphere was far from morbid and dreary, an intuitive expectation while dealing
with the subject. Instead, Stevens dealt with death with rational detachment
evident in the instructive, clinical tone of the poem and in his detailed description
of the dead body focusing on its being cold and silent. Thereafter, he chose the
image of ice cream to indicate funeral preparations and indicated through it the
poet’s attitude towards this truth. It did reflect the elaborate ceremony particular
to funerals in western societies, but its emphasis exhibited by the poem’s refrain
“the only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream” brought into open the poet’s
preoccupation with the subject. Even this subject is reminiscent of the post First
World War climate fraught with ideas of death, destruction, and meaninglessness.

3.10 QUESTIONS
1) Comment on the speaker’s tone in the poem “The Emperor of Ice Cream”.

2) What is the significance of the phrase “one needs a mind of winter” in the
poem “The SnowMan”? Explain.

3) ‘Wallace Stevens is an Imagist poet with a difference’. Comment on the

statement with reference to the two poems in your course

4) Stevens’ poems are significantly philosophical. Do you agree? Give a

reasoned answer with references from “The SnowMan” and “The Emperor
of Ice-Cream”.

3.11 SUGGESTED READINGS AND REFERENCES

Beach, Christopher. “Lyric Modernism: Wallace Stevens and Hart Crane” in
Cambridge Introduction to Twentieth Century Poetry. Cambridge University
Press, 2003.
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American Poetry Critchley, Simons. Things Merely Are: Philosophy in the Poetry of Wallace
Stevens. Routledge, 2005.

Williams, Carlos William. Wallace Stevens. Poetry, Vol. 87, Jan.1956.

Schjeldahl, Peter. Insurance Man: The Life and Art of Wallace Stevens. The New
Yorker, April 25, 2016.

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 Wallace Stevens
UNIT 4 LANGSTON HUGHES
Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 About the Poet
4.3 Some Literary Terms Relevant to Discussion on Hughes
4.4 “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”: Stanza-wise Analysis
4.5 “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”: Thematic Analysis
4.6 “Young Gal’s Blues”: Stanza-wise Analysis
4.7 “Young Gal’s Blues”: Thematic Analysis
4.8 Critical Approaches to Langston Hughes
4.9 Let Us Sum Up
4.10 Questions
4.11 References

4.0 OBJECTIVES
After you have read this unit you will get to know about the poet Longston
Hughes. You will be able, to critically analyse his poems, ‘The Negro Speaks of
Rivers’and Young Gal’s Blues’.

4.1 INTRODUCTION
This unit aims to acquaint you with a seminal voice in African American literature,
Langston Hughes. The discussion focuses on two of his poems, “The Negro
Speaks of Rivers” and “Young Gal’s Blues”. The two poems involve the unique
aesthetic evolved by African American writers and it raises issues central to their
experience. With the American Civil War (1861-65), the Civil Rights Movement
(1954-68), the Harlem Renaissance (1920-1930s) and the Black Arts Movement
forming the backdrop of African American Literature, we understand Langston
Hughes’ contribution to the political and cultural questions of the time.

4.2 ABOUT THE POET

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(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)
American Poetry Langston Hughes (1901-1967) was a pioneering figure in African American
Literature. He wrote poetry, novels, short stories, newspaper columns and
composed operas as well. Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri. He spent most
of his childhood with his maternal grandmother, who after being widowed had
married a man actively supporting the abolitionist cause, and had been part of
the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society in 1858. She, too, supported the cause. With these
values defining Hughes’ grandmother, we understand how Hughes grew up on
stories about racial pride. This was the solid foundation on which his secular
sensibilities developed as a young man.

Studying at Columbia University in New York, Hughes lived in Harlem. He

faced discrimination at the university that was dominated by the whites. He soon
dropped out and finished his education at Lincoln University, Philadelphia. He
started writing poems very early and composed his first poem as a high school
student while living with his grandmother. His convictions also seem to have
appeared from his own father’s stance, who divorced his mother and went away
to escape highly restrictive conditions of slavery. He did not accept his black
identity and tried to evade it. This lack of pride in one’s own cultural background
is later addressed by Hughes in his poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”.
Completing his graduation from Lincoln University in 1929, Hughes returned to
Harlem in New York and lived there for the rest of his life.

His first poem, which also came to be one of his most famous ones, “The Negro
Speaks of Rivers” was published in 1921, in the magazine The Crisis. His first
book of poems “The Weary Blues” was published in 1926. Hughes’ work
contributed to the movement called the Harlem Renaissance. We shall discuss it
in detail later in this unit. His work depicted life of the working class and at
times lower sections of the African American community. He encouraged racial
pride and treated racial consciousness as a source of inspiration for black writers.
He confronted stereotypes and discriminatory social conditions, working to create
a distinct sense of self for the Black Americans to take pride in. Some of his
poems have folk and Jazz rhythms which are a significant feature of African
American poetry.

In the mid 1950s and 1960s, Hughes’ popularity became worldwide and he
influenced numerous young Black writers as well. But he had an issue with a
particular distortion in some of their writings when they either over-
intellectualized or seemed to veer into racial chauvinism, hating the whites for
the sake of it. This happened overriding other factors that define an individual’s
place in society. Hughes also discovered writers like Alice Walker and James
Baldwin, who eventually became well-known names in African American writing.
A sympathizer of Soviet Russia, Hughes made a few trips to Moscow in his early
career. This political inclination is evident in his emphasis on the experience of
the working class and lower sections of the Blacks.

4.3 SOME LITERARY TERMS RELEVANT TO

DISCUSSION ON HUGHES
The Harlem Renaissance: It was a social, intellectual, and artistic movement
in Harlem, New York City, between 1920-1930s. As a result of the Great Migration
of the African Americans from southern states to the northern parts of the country,
Harlem became the base for a number of social struggles after the American
112
Civil War (1861-1865). As the war ended between the northern states and the Langston Hughes
slave-owning southern states, slavery was abolished and a Reconstruction Era
(1863-77) began; in it the emancipated Black Americans rallied for political
rights, equality and social status. But the remnants of racial prejudice made this
move difficult, with white supremacists exerting control in the southern states.
They denied civil rights and basic advancement to the Black community. This
caused the African Americans to move towards north of the country, in search of
better living conditions, and an environment conducive to growth and
advancement. This spirit informed a number of writings and cultural expressions
that were based on racial pride. It also led to a revival of writings by African
American writers,that had been obscured in the wake of new developments. Alan
Locke’s anthology The New Negro, a cornerstone of the Harlem Renaissance,
carried works of numerous black writers and poets including those of Langston
Hughes. The unique feature of these writings was that they represented African
American culture, gave voice to their identity, and forged a strong sense of
community.

Themes of these writings included a sense of pride, embodied in the idea of the
“New Negro”, a term popularised during the Harlem Renaissance. It signified
the African American who by means of creativity and intellect subverted racial
stereotypes and created an alternate discourse. That brought back Black
experience to the American culture.

Black Arts Movement: This was a movement in the 1960s and 70s that is often
referred to as the Second Renaissance, the first being the Harlem Renaissance.
The two movements are seminal in consolidation of Black Arts aesthetic. While
the intent of forging racial pride was common to both, Harlem Renaissance
involved a re-introduction of African American experience into the American
culture, popularising it and making it visible. The Black Arts Movement resisted
Western conventions in arts and established new ways to articulate Black
experience and establish a distinct Black American voice. Further, writings of
this phase were more politically engaged as compared to those of the Harlem
Renaissance. Artists resisted any attempts to regulate their art, stressing the need
to embrace and express their Blackness. They achieved this aim of self-
determination by engaging with historical and cultural African American
experience. A somewhat radical flavour associated with the movement was
missing during the Harlem Renaissance.

The phrase ‘Black Aesthetic’ is also associated with the movement and was coined
by Larry Neal in 1968. Even as a concrete definition of the term does not exist,
broadly it involves the view that art should be used to mobilize the Black masses.
It focuses on the Black perspective and ideology, centering on their culture and
life. Amiri Baraka is a vocal proponent of the term, as he emphasised the political
facet of the Black art. The term is at times critiqued for limiting its engagement
with a cultural history, emphasising Blackness over other identities that need
equal consideration. But any artistic movement that is distinctly political, is always
at the centre of debate. We as students of literature, need to understand its aims,
and observe the emancipatory role it plays for a section of society. Langston
Hughes’ major works are associated with the Harlem Renaissance, with a few
appearing during the Black Arts Movement in the fifties and sixties.

Jazz Poetry: It is a kind of poetry inaugurated by the African Americans in the

1920s. It is rhythmic and rooted in orality, meant to be performed, and seeking a 113
American Poetry public ear. Its aim is different from that of poetry printed on the page. Jazz poetry
was meant to be performed. It had an urgent and popular appeal made the African
American experience reach the masses. Hence the acquisition of improvisation,
repetition, rhythm and everyday speech. This was a potent tool for people with a
long history of enslavement. By means of such a poetry. The blues poetry of
Langston Hughes exerts for this style of writing. The poem in our course “A
Young Gal’s Blues” belongs to this genre.

Civil Rights Movement: It was a mass movement that took place between 1954-
1968. The Civil War culminating in abolition of slavery in 1865 conferred
citizenship on all African Americans, and gave them voting rights. The era after
these reforms focussed on their implementation while also rallying for civil rights
for the Black Americans. This period continued well into the twentieth century
as the deep-rooted social prejudice against the Blacks was a difficult reality to
contend with. Giving momentum to this objective was the Civil Rights Movement.
It involved a vocal denunciation of discriminatory practices that had gone on
well after the Civil War and the Reconstructions Era. Racial segregation, and
violence at the hands of people in general and white supremacists like Jim Crow
in particular are examples. The movement involved non-violent mass protests
and civil disobedience. This social movement coincided with the Black Arts
movement in culture.

4.4 “THE NEGRO SPEAKS OF RIVERS”:

STANZA-WISE ANALYSIS
I’ve known rivers:
I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in
human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
In this poem, the speaker uses the symbol of rivers to express his thoughts about
the history of racial prejudice against African Americans. Rivers evoke the idea
of civilizations that flourished on their banks. And in the context, such are the
civilizations with a history of slavery. In the given stanza, we may note the repeated
use of the word “known”. We gather that knowledge is one of the foremost tools
of an empowered self. The repeated use of “I” helps to reinforce selfhood and a
sense of pride in African American culture. The culture is old and troubled. It
goes far back in time, hence the use of the word “ancient”. We get a glimpse of
this troubled past when the speaker asserts that the rivers are “older than the
flow of human blood in human veins”. The word “human” is used twice within
the same sentence to have an impact. It makes us think of all that makes us
human, giving us the sense that before a certain point in history, humanity was
non-existent and brute practices reigned supreme. By mention of ancient rivers,
the speaker evokes the troubled past of slavery.

The lines reiterate the issue that goes way back to the past. The speaker likens
the depth of his soul to that of the rivers implying that he has an understanding of
the old practices. He sympathises with his ancestors who were wronged.
Additionally, the speaker’s stance on the issue of racial segregation is noticeable.
It comprises the cerebral aspect of being aware of the history whereby his soul

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 I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. Langston Hughes

I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.

I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New
Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.
In the above section, the speaker moves to particular references, the groundwork
for which is laid in the initial lines of the poem. His mention of multiple rivers
has the purpose of showing how widespread the slavery was. Both ancient and
modern times witnessed slave trading societies. The rivers Nile, Congo,
Mississippi and Euphrates cover a vast area of the globe. Euphrates is an important
river of West Asia, originating in Eastern Turkey and flowing through Syria and
Iraq to join the river Tigris. Congo flows in Africa, while the Nile moves through
Africa to ultimately join Egypt. Civilizations that flourished on these rivers have
a history of slavery and we note that the Black speaker is aware of it.

The poet associates the rivers with personal experience, attempting to make them
his own. In the Euphrates, he “bathed” at early dawn, “built my hut near the
Congo”, and as for the Nile, he “raised pyramids above it”. Bathing in the river
is an image that gives a sense of immersive experience. Also, the activity of
bathing is a personal metaphor conveying deep identification and belonging.
The suggested close contact does not evoke one’s homeland, but the long history
of slavery connecting slaves all over the world. And this very sense of cohesion,
community that Hughes aimed to inculcate in his people by means of poetry.
The identity is not national but racial here. The speaker, by means of mentioning
rivers and consequently reminding the reader of civilisations in different parts of
the world, evokes awareness of a particular kind of past sadly associated with
subjugation and bondage.

Following this, the poet stresses the idea of ownership of one’s history. It is
sweet, and cherished, no matter how tough the circumstances may have been.
The speaker built a place of dwelling near the Congo river and the memory of it
lulls him to sleep. The Congo in Africa speaks to Hughes’ racial roots more than
the Euphrates does. The place has a soothing impact on him. One is put to sleep
in a moment of immense comfort. That calming sense of ease and succour further
re-establishes the speaker’s special bond with his race and a sense of pride in the
particular experience. On the Nile as well, raising pyramids evokes a sense of
ownership. We must note that he is raising “pyramids” not any regular concrete
structure. Pyramids bring a sense of something significant and momentous into
view.

In the lines, the personal and the historical are beautifully blended. One is difficult
to separate from the other. Racial history is not a distant, disconnected entity for
the poet, but is a part of the Black American’s sense of being.

The speaker also refers to a factual reference. It is of the Mississippi river that
brings to life the historic moment when Abraham Lincoln sailed down the
Mississippi river to New Orleans that brought about Lincoln’s knowledge of the
slave markets flourishing in the area. That was in the nineteenth century before
Lincoln became the American President in 1821. He is known to have significantly
contributed to the abolitionist cause. Hence the appearance of the river “singing.”
The visit made teenage Lincoln notice the gruesome reality. It contributed to his
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American Poetry strong stand against slavery during the American Civil War. Here, the river does
not merely sing, its “muddy bosom” or the dirty insides begin to glow golden in
the sunset. The glow could be a reference to the fact that Lincoln’s awareness of
slavery gave the social cause its most important leader rallying against the
adversaries.
I’ve known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
In this last part of the poem, the speaker reiterates his position on these rivers,
the consequent civilizations and the history associated with them. They are ancient
and dusky, that is the breadth of the speaker’s awareness. He is referring to the
rivers with a sense of pride. The refrain “my soul has grown deep like the rivers”
brings home the point that he is not just involved cerebrally and culturally but is
also emotionally joined to the reality of his race.

4.5 “THE NEGRO SPEAKS OF RIVERS”:

THEMATIC ANALYSIS
As we noted above, the poet has used in the poem the symbol of ‘rivers’ to talk
about racial history. Euphrates, Congo, Nile and Mississippi are the rivers along
which vast civilisations flourished. The common thing among them is that the
civilizations witnessed the practice of slavery. Euphrates originates in Turkey
joining Syria. Iraq, Congo in Africa, Nile in West Africa, Egypt, and Mississippi
in the US— this vast network of rivers in various parts of the world indicates
how the practice of slavery has a long history and is not concentrated in one
place alone. Highlighting this awareness of the African American, the speaker
aims to reinstate racial pride and a feeling of belongingness. For him, African
Americans should associate deeply with their roots, and contribute to connect
these with people of similar experience. It unites them in common experience,
strengthening their faith in themselves and building a stronger will to fight the
biases they confront.

The individual’s selfhood and racial history are made to coalesce which becomes
a primary concern in the poem. It underlines an awareness of self. On its part,
poetic expression is a means of reinstating that confidence amongst the people.
We particularly see self-determination projected in this poem in a multiplicity of
ways—consider first the assertion of knowledge of their past touched upon here.
The sense of inferiority that may have been perpetuated due to years of subjugation
is countered with this emphasis on the aware self. That is related with the first
but has a distinctness of its own. References from history contribute to the
strengthening of the fight against slavery in America. Further we notice a deep
sense of belonging in the poetic voice. The speaker talks of having bathed, having
built houses on the rivers. Hence, the refrain in the poem about his soul running
deep as the rivers. This depth of the soul is reminiscent of a sensitive response to
reality.

Structurally, we notice that the first and the last stanzas carry the refrain of the
poem, which is well distinguished from the preceding lines with a gap. The
language use gives one a sense that the issue is deeply felt. It is also symbolic in
116 a lot of places. Lincoln sided with the cause which led to a whole movement,
climaxing in a civil war but which ultimately led to the abolition of this crazy Langston Hughes
social practice.

4.6 “YOUNG GAL’S BLUES”: STANZA-WISE

ANALYSIS
I’m gonna walk to the graveyard
‘Hind ma friend Miss Cora Lee.
Gonna walk to the graveyard
‘Hind ma dear friend Cora Lee
Cause when I’m dead some
Body’ll have to walk behind me.
This poem is written in the blues form. Blues is actually a music form involving
expression of deeply felt experience, usually one of sadness, by a race that has
known slavery. Compositions in this form are meant to be sung, hence repetition
and straightforward expression are significant features of such a poem or song.
The given stanza represents the speaker’s preoccupation with death, as she
expresses the desire to join her friend’s cortege or funeral procession to the
graveyard. Cora Lee is a dear friend of the speaker who has died. As she takes
part in the procession, the speaker thinks of her own death—that one day there
will be people walking behind her coffin, too, carrying her to the graveyard. The
title indicates that the speaker is a young girl, and for her to harbour such thoughts,
it speaks volumes about her past experience of her surroundings. Young people,
impressionable as they are, easily pick-up the sentiment of their context. The
sadness of this young girl is representative of her conditions and racial memory.

Another thing to be noticed is that the dead girl is a dear friend of the speaker,
which means that even she was young and died before time. The death of a
young girl is an extremely unfortunate circumstance. The reason is not known
but the sentiment of sadness is clearly expressed. Those belonging to the racial
minority suffer not just social ostracism but also reel under poverty with hardly
any access to good healthcare. The possible reasons of death could be multiple,
but the reasons are not the focus of the poem. The emotion and the moment
evoked bring to mind the conditions of people whose voice is represented here.

This incident triggers within the young girl a fear of her own death. She begins
to visualise the day she would die, then there will be people accompanying her
cortege as well. The tragic sentiment is heightened as the young girl is seen
thinking these thoughts. It brings out her state of mind which also reflects upon
the circumstance around. It is not a happy, positive circumstance but one fraught
with challenges. Thus, the poet brings us close to the emotions and the lived
reality of the African Americans. The choice of the speaker is significant. It is a
common girl. The poet wishes to articulate the experiences of common people
among the community of Black Americans, those who directly face the brunt of
a biased social reality.
I’m goin’ to the po’ house
To see ma old Aunt Clew.
Goin’ to the po’ house
117
American Poetry To see ma old Aunt Clew.
When I’m old an’ ugly
I’ll want to see somebody, too.
The phrase “po’ house” could be a shortened version of the acronym POC, which
means person of colour. Anyone who is non-white in the American society is
referred to with this word. So, the speaker points out that she is going to the
house of another person of colour, who happens to be her aunt. These lines clarify
that the young girl, the speaker, is an African American. Aunt Clew is old. After
ruminating on death, the young girl thinks about old age and the lack of beauty
associated with it. The sympathetic, humanist tone is undeniable in the speaker’s
words. She is able to empathise with her old aunt. Her sensitivity towards the
lonely old age is much more than one would expect from a young girl. She is
able to feel the exact challenges of her aunt and wishes to be there for her and
give her company. We notice that others’ difficult predicament triggers a parallel
visualisation of that reality in her own life—first it was death and now it is old
age. She is able to sympathise with their struggles and connects with them at a
human level. The poet underlines the value of fraternity amongst African
Americans. The young girl empathises with those who suffer. At another level it
also makes her insecure about the time when she will have to confront the same
reality. Hence, the reiteration that when she is in difficult times, she too will
need people to help her.
The po’ house is lonely
An’ the grave is cold.
O, the po’ house is lonely,
The graveyard grave is cold.
But I’d rather be dead than
To be ugly an’ old.
In this stanza, the speaker combines the two experiences—of the sadness at the
graveyard and at the house of her aunt, a person of colour. Ideas of loneliness
and the loss of life evoke a deep sense of gloom in her. Old age, death and the
physical signs of aging are evolved thoughts for a young girl to contemplate on.
After her initial response of fear, insecurity and anxiety, she naively makes a
choice between the two experiences. She elects death than a disintegrating body.
Instead of facing the trials of life, she chooses the serenity of death. One notices
a refusal on the speaker’s part to go through any circumstance that is torturous.
In the phrase “the grave is cold”, coldness indicates the denial of life.
When love is gone what
Can a young gal do?
When love is gone, O,
What can a young gal do?
Keep on a-lovin’ me, daddy,
Cause I don’t want to be blue.
After old age and death, she contemplates the circumstance of loss of love—
when love is gone, “O/ What can a young girl do?”. It is the lack of love she felt
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at the death of her close friend and the approaching end of her aunt whom she is Langston Hughes
related to.

4.7 “YOUNG GAL’S BLUES”: THEMATIC

ANALYSIS
This poem is written in the blues form adopted, as opposed to the lyric style in
the previous one. The blues is primarily a genre of folk music associated with
the expression of melancholy that people go through in a difficult circumstance.
The sadness does not take the form of hopelessness and stasis. Instead, it is a
way of coming to terms with the difficult reality of the Black Americans.
Engagement with these emotions contributes to Hughes’ humanist stance whereby
he highlights their potentialities as well as difficulties. The blues form is closely
associated with Jazz poetry. The typical stanza structure involves a three-line
stanza where the first two lines are a repeat followed by a third different line.
With the aab structure, the second line which is a repetition of the first has an
addition of a word or a twist that is an impromptu choice of the composer. In
Hughes blues poems, we notice six-line stanzas—he breaks one sentence into
two parts which appear as two separate lines. However, the repetition and the
overall aab structure remains intact.

Such a poem is an expression of the tragedy as well as resilience of the African

Americans. In the poem Hughes engages with the ideas of death, old age,
loneliness in a matter of fact way, the way in which it actually hits the individual
hard. There is no poetic treatment of these issues which further contributes to the
form adopted by the poet here. The language is direct, hard hitting, ordinary, that
which is meant to convey the sentiment foremost than paying attention to the
way it is conveyed. In blues songs, much of the content is improvised. Stanzas
there are connected with a consistent logic of mood and theme than any other
literary device. Improvisation and the use of dialect are the distinctive features
adding to the folk element of the poem. We notice an African American slang
being used here. The phrases “I’m gonna walk...‘Hind ma friend” “Cause when”
“old an’ ugly” indicate the particular slang deployed here.

The use of this form is an expression of their unique cultural identity. The poem
makes us aware of the particular dialect and the form that was popularly used by
the African Americans for self-expression. With a history of being silenced and
discriminated against, composing poems and songs and making them heard by
various artistic meant is a political act.

In the time of Hughes, the assertion of self in poetry meant to consolidate one’s
voice while contending with forces of oppression. Hughes has done that effectively
in the given poem. He also brings out the crucial sense of bonding, cooperation
and fraternity amongst the African Americans. This is evident in the young girl’s
ability to empathise with the others’ predicament. The poet reposes faith in
people’s ability to coexist with strength, supporting one another through tough
times. This is a message that needed to be rekindled amongst people, many of
whom had begun doubting themselves and their roots because of a long history
of subjugation and mistreatment.

The themes of death, old age, loss of beauty, and lack of love are evoked in this
poem. The speaker expresses her thoughts, and lays bare her anxieties. In
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American Poetry comparison with the previous poem where the voice was confident and self-
assured, this poem brings out the speaker’s anxieties and fears. Further, by means
of bonding between the daughter and the father, the poet indicates the commonness
of experience between the African Americans as well as others. This poem
indicates how Hughes does not romanticise or deify the race, but presents them
realistically, making the audience aware about the predicament of common people.
Articulated in human terms, African American perspective is brought back in
vogue, a voice that is seldom heard, without either stereotyping or unrealistic
glorification. Thus, he lets us know an entire spectrum of emotions of the African
American people, creating a space for them in the country’s cultural landscape.

4.8 CRITICAL APPROACHES TO LANGSTON

HUGHES
“The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” is a seminal essay by Hughes that
helps us understand the poet’s purpose. One of his primary motivations was to
create art that was to instil a sense of pride into his own people, to undo the years
of shame and low self-confidence. The target audience for his works involved
both oppressed and oppressors among the African Americans as well as the white
population. The intention was to correct the self-image of the African Americans
and also others’ opinion of them, both of which stood majorly compromised
through years of slavery. In the essay, Hughes articulated the challenge confronting
African Americans in particular and added, “But this is the mountain standing in
the way of any true Negro art in America—this urge within the race toward
whiteness, the desire to pour racial individuality into the mould of American
standardization, and to be as little Negro and as much American as possible.”

Black artists by means of their art, sought to reverse the self-deprecatory view
current at the time, particularly evident in the middle class. It is the common
people who retain their unique racial identity without obsessing over the
standardized white ways. And it is in these very people that Hughes and other
Black artists seek their cultural base. Middle class is fine, yet Hughes has the
wish to widen the base. He says, “But then there are the low-down folks, the so-
called common element, and they are the majority...They furnish a wealth of
colourful, distinctive material for any artist because they still hold their own
individuality in the face of American standardizations.” The phrase “American
standardisations” conveys the idea of white culture that had a lure for the African
Americans.

The cultural identity that the Black artists sought to create was by the means of
both theme and form. In his blues poems in particular, the language use and the
rhythmic quality, set apart African American experience in their own terms. In a
preface titled “A Note on the Blues” to one of his poetry collections Hughes
observed, “The Blues are songs about being in the midst of trouble, friendless,
hungry, disappointed in love, right here on earth.” The form itself conveyed a lot
about the Black Americans, their history, context and the struggles that define
them.
In the essay, “The Elusive Langston Hughes”, Hilton Als quotes another popular
Black writer James Baldwin’s observations saying, “Hughes, in his sermons,
blues and prayers, has working for him the power and the beat of Negro speech
and Negro music. Negro speech is vivid largely because it is private. It is a kind
120 of emotional short hand—or sleight of hand—by means of which Negroes express
not only their relationship to each other but their judgment of the white world.” Langston Hughes
Here Baldwin draws our attention to the connection between the formal quality
of Hughes’ poems and their politics. The speech and rhythm are peculiar to the
African Americans.
Edward Waldron in the essay “The Blues Poetry of Langston Hughes” has stated,
“While Langston Hughes certainly did not limit himself to any one form or subject,
his concern with the common man...makes his use of the blues form especially
“right.” The fact that he centred his poems around common people does justice
to the politics evident in his verse.

4.9 LET US SUM UP

In this unit, we got a view of the two styles of poems Hughes wrote—the lyric
and the blues or jazz poetry. Through these genres, he established a unique
aesthetic to articulate distinct experiences of the African Americans. Different
elements included the use of everyday language, at times using the African
American dialect in a conversational tone, which also had a rhythmic quality to
it. Hughes used the medium of poetry to reinstate racial pride amongst the Blacks,
some of whom were predisposed to preferring the white conventions and ways.
By bringing their history to the fore, he embraced the difficult past, accepted it
instead of letting it inculcate a sense of inferiority. Further, the unabashed
articulation of sorrow in the blues, was another step by the poet in gracefully
owning the past characterised by racist discrimination. Articulating their felt
experience indicated their resilience and refusal to accept discriminatory
conditions any further. Hughes engaged with common people from the
community, giving voice to their emotions and making space for them in the
American culture.

4.10 QUESTIONS
1) What is the significance of rivers in the poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”?
2) The sense of self is intertwined with history. Comment on the statement
with reference to the poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”.
3) Hughes does not romanticise African Americans but presents them in human
terms. Apply this to the poem “Young Gal’s Blues”.
4) Comment on the melancholic strain in the poem “Young Gal’s Blues”.
5) Discuss Langston Hughes as an African American poet.

4.11 REFERENCES
Als, Hilton. “The Elusive Langston Hughes”. The New Yorker. March 2, 2015.
Chinitz, David. “Literacy and Authenticity: The Blues Poems of Langston
Hughes”. The John Hopkins University Press. Vol.19, No.1, 1996.
Hughes, Langston.”The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” in Keeping Time:
Readings in Jazz History. Oxford University Press, 1999.
Waldron, Edward. “The Blues Poetry of Langston Hughes”. Negro American
Literature Forum. Vol.5, No.4, 1971.
Walser, Robert. Keeping Time: Readings in Jazz History. Oxford University Press,
1999. 121
American Poetry

122
Block

3
INDIAN ENGLISH POETRY
Block Introduction 125
UNIT 1
Nissim Ezekiel and Eunice de Souza 127
UNIT 2
A.K. Ramanujan and Jayanta Mahapatra 141
UNIT 3
Arun Kolatkar and Agha Shahid Ali 152
UNIT 4
Dilip Chitre and Keki N. Daruwalla 164
BLOCK INTRODUCTION
Block 3: Indian English Poetry
The block on Indian poetry in English is meant to acquaint you with the specific
trends that shaped poetry written in the post-independence period. It is in this
period that the new canon of Indian English Poetry evolved and gained identity.
The units in the present block would familiarize you with trends in Indian English
writing of the twentieth century in general and poetry in particular. The discussion
begins by contextualizing Indian poets in their specific time span and place. The
poets discussed in the block include Nissim Ezekiel, Eunice de Souza, Jayanta
Mahapatra, A.K. Ramanujan, Arun Kolatkar, Agha Shahid Ali, Dilip Chitre and
Keki N Daruwalla. Each of these writers contributed to the canon of Indian English
poetry and projected points of view that could coexist along lines of secular
existence. Being seminal poetic voices of the twentieth century, they provided a
distinct form to the poetic practice in India. We shall see in the four units of this
block the key features of this canon and also how each writer added a distinctive
viewpoint to it.

Foremost among those who consciously worked towards creating a specific Indian
poetic voice was Nissim Ezekiel (1924-2004). He along with the fellow writers
encouraged young poets to write in English. He published these young poets in
journals he was editorially associated with. At the same time, he wrote extensively
on the art of writing poetry. When it comes to his own poems, you will find in
Nissim Ezekiel a happy amalgam of western thought and Indian sensibility.
Ezekiel could write with ease, poems on an Indian subject as well as those that
were universal in nature. In many ways, he represented the modern intellectual
of the post-independence period. Among the poets mentioned above, we have an
important Feminist poet, Eunice de Souza (1940-2017) depicting dramatic scenes
of discrimination against women. She, along with Kamala Das, has been
instrumental in the evolution of a feminist perspective in Indian literatures, mainly
as a poet. In her poem “Bequest” de Souza explores the predicament of young
girls caught in the patriarchal web. She along with Nissim Ezekiel would be
discussed at length in the first unit of the block.

In unit two, you would be acquainted with the works of Jayanta Mahapatra
(b.1928), a poet from Odisha. He wrote simultaneously in English and Odia
language. He was a romantic poet and impressed readers by his flights of
imagination. The poems of Mahapatra draw an organic picture of the world he
inhabits while expressing the effect it has on the poetic self. His poem “A Rain
of Rites” is a case in point. A.K. Ramanujan (1929-1993) was from Karnataka.
He settled abroad. Even though primarily a poet, Ramanujan was also a formidable
critic and translator. His scholarship put him in line with the great thinkers of the
time. This was on the strength of his contributions in the field of translation.
Ramanujan wrote both short lyrics and long verses. His poem “On the Death of
a Poem” discusses the subtleties of the creative practice and the role of the poet
in the endeavour.

The third unit of the block would offer a view of the poems of Arun Kolatkar
(1932-2004) and Agha Shahid Ali (1949-2001).The former’s “Ajamil and the
Tigers” and the latter’s “Postcard from Kashmir” are in your course. Kolatkar
and Shahid Ali are the new age poets, different in sensibility but clear in
Indian English Poetry perspective. The unit would open with a discussion on the changing paradigm
of Indian English poetry and put you in contact with two seminal writers of the
latter half of the twentieth century with diverse sensibilities. Kolatkar is strongly
rooted in the Indian culture reality while Shahid Ali is an Indian-American poet
with a global perspective.

Unit Four would bring you in touch with the phenomenon of the 1980s and 90s,
particularly about India’s cultural life of the time. The two poets speak of the
concerns of our era when life became increasingly mechanical and contrarily,
literature looked inwards to point at its own incapacities. You would be able to
notice in the poems in this unit a thematic shift and change in poetic style. “Ode
to Bombay” and “Chinar” by Dilip Chitre (1938-2009) and K.N. Daruwalla
(b.1937) respectively reflect the individual proclivity and stance of the poets.

Thus, you would find that all these units discuss the larger literary scene of post-
independence India that became the background against which we could place
the poets in your course. At the end of this block you should be able to trace the
development of Indian poetry in English that went through various phases of
development. With the benefit of hindsight, we can look back at these poets with
our specific twenty-first century viewpoint and evaluate them while keeping the
present in mind. We can see where poetry has reached today owing to the efforts
of poets and thinkers who contributed to its growth in the previous century.     

126
 Nissim Ezekiel and Eunice de
UNIT 1 NISSIM EZEKIEL AND EUNICE DE Souza

SOUZA
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 The Historical Background
1.3 Indian English Poetry
1.4 The Modernist Trend in Indian English Writing
1.5 Nissim Ezekiel: An Overview
1.6 Nissim Ezekiel’s “Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S”: A Reading
1.6.1 The Text
1.6.2 Analysis
1.7 Ezekiel’s Style and Approach
1.8 Eunice de Souza: An Overview
1.9 “Bequest” by Eunice de Souza: A Reading
1.10 Eunice de Souza’s Aesthetic Approach
1.11 Eunice de Souza and the Feminist Trend in Indian Writing
1.12 Let us Sum up
1.13 Glossary
1.14 Questions
1.15 References
1.16 Suggested Readings

1.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
gain knowledge about the historical background of Indian English Poetry;
discuss the point of Nissim Ezekiel and Eunice de Souza prescribed for
you;
write about the two poet’s style of writing poetry.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
This unit intends to familiarize you with trends in Indian English writing of the
twentieth century. The discussion would begin with contextualizing Indian
literature written in English in the post-Independence period. Specifically, the
unit focuses on two seminal poets of the twentieth century, Nissim Ezekiel and
Eunice de Souza, who were instrumental in establishing what can be called the
canon of Indian English Poetry. After reading this unit you should be able to gain
an understanding of the evolution of Indian English poetry and its lasting appeal.
The unit would acquaint you with the major literary trends that influenced writers
in the second half of the twentieth century. Through the writings of Ezekiel, you
will see how tenets of modernism, essentially a European movement, flourished
127
Indian English Poetry in India. In the writings of de Souza you will find the growth of a peculiar Indian
feminism. Let us first try and understand the historical moment to which these
poets belong, and later we shall explore the category of Indian Poetryin English.

1.2 THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The decades following the Independence of India brought along new challenges
for the country. The partition of 1947 created huge displacement, with millions
of refugees left without livelihood and home. This was followed by the tussle the
Indian government had with the Princely states that had to be integrated within
the country. There was also growing discontent regarding the national language
during the 1950s, leading to the creation of linguistic states in 1956. The map of
India was in a state of flux. Add to this the fact that there were the wars with
China (1962) and Pakistan (1965 and 1971), and the death of Jawaharlal Nehru
(1964) that further disturbed peace in Indian’s life. Alongside, there were efforts
made to strengthen the process of nation building, implementing Five Year plans
and setting up of an industrial infrastructure to ensure progress and development.
In spite of this, poverty and joblessness continued to be the scourge of the nation.
What do you think could be the possible reasons for this? In education, even as
the percentage of literacy improved, there wasn’t a cohesive education policy to
strengthen it and ensure its growth. Importantly, the idealism and selfless devotion
of the nationalist movement of the 1930s and 40s dwindled in the post-
Independence period and became clichéd words often misused to gain personal
ends. The said idealism was replaced by competition, individual growth and
careerism, strife for affluence, and a complete disregard of socio-political thought.

These are some of the challenges that India faced in the post-Independence period
and become the backdrop against which literature of the time might be evaluated.

1.3 INDIAN ENGLISH POETRY

It is important to remember that politically India became free in 1947 but culturally
it remained in the stranglehold of the British by becoming a member of the British
Commonwealth (see glossary). Thus, cultural influence of the British survived
which ensured its hegemony for decades to come. In this atmosphere, the use of
English language for communication, expression, and education gained currency
among people belonging to the new middle class in India. There was an increased
stress on study of English language and literature and a distancing from the
regional languages, the onward movement of literatures in the regional languages
notwithstanding. Owing to the spike in literacy rates, English readership increased
and this added to the growth and popularity of English in India. Indian English
literature thus attained a new found importance and the result was that several
English journals in India cropped up adding further to the existing ones.

It is at this time that we notice the new trend in Indian English writing, one of
bringing out literary journals and magazines that were entirely devoted to creative
writing and literary criticism. The concerned journals published literary works
from aspiring writers and at the same time presented critical essays that outlined
the aesthetics of modern Indian literature. They taught an entire generation of
writers in India regarding how to write and what to elect for focus. Western
formalist techniques were discussed and applied in Indian literatures. Specifically,
the journals devoted to the cause of Indian English poetry gave immense fillip to
128
its development. Literary and Art magazines began publishing poems by young Nissim Ezekiel and Eunice de
Souza
aspiring writers and published reviews on them. A new wave of literary practice
surfaced at the time and Indian writing in English on the whole received greater
recognition than before.

Indian English poetry, particularly in the post-Independence period, was driven

by the new urge for self-expression and aesthetic form. The romantic and
nationalist strains in poetry that were predominant in the first half of the century
were increasingly sidelined in the new phase of India’s development. The focus
of writers shifted towards ideas of individualism, urban life, self-scrutiny along
with an engagement with aspects of tradition and modernity. Writing during this
period turned experiential, focused as it was on the self and the journey of this
self. There was also an entire movement at the time to enhance India’s literary
capabilities and create a literature that was distinctly Indian, one that spoke of
the new times while being mindful of the ancient Indian ethos. Importantly, it
was in poetry that the post-independence period witnessed the most crucial
developments. In the fifties arose a school of poets who tried to turn their backs
on the romantic tradition and write a verse more in tune with the age, its general
temper and its literary ethos. They tried, with varying degrees of success, to
naturalize in the Indian soil the modernistic elements derived from the poetic
revolution effected by T.S. Eliot and others in the twentieth century British and
American poetry (Naik, 201).

The effort to look at India’s past and present with the available tools of western
modern thought gave a distinct character to poetry written during the time. Let
us discuss the western movement of modernism that was inherited by writers in
India in the post-Independence period.

1.4 THE MODERNIST TREND IN INDIAN

ENGLISH WRITING
Modernism in India found feet specifically in the post-independence period when
the eye of the poet turned inwards, as it were, towards the self. In the 1950s,
‘new poetry’ had come into being in different languages (in Hindi it went by the
name of ‘nai kavita’). In English the “new poetry” movement was strengthened
by the establishment of the Writer’s Workshop in Calcutta in 1958 founded by
P.Lal and some others who used it as a forum to discuss features of western
modernism. Its “Miscellany” was devoted to experimental works written by new
writers on the block.In fact, in 1958 the first modernist anthology of Indian poetry
in English was edited by P.Lal and K.R. Rao titled Modern Indo-Anglian Poetry.
Nissim Ezekiel was among the first new poets who brought out entire collections
of poems based on the new themes of experimentation and representation of the
personal voice of the poet. Ezekiels’ works made modernism even more popular
and appealing among Indian readers.

A modernist poet refrained from advocating politics or making a social comment

in literature. Since the war against the imperialist colonizer had been won,
Literature turned away from the problems of life and society and in most cases
found itself unequipped to deal with the crisis. There was at best a sense of
helplessness and personal anguish visible in modernist poetry, which became
the popular ‘alienation theme’ vividly present in Ezekiels’ poems. The aggression
and zeal for the social ideal were replaced by individual growth and struggle for
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Indian English Poetry selfhood. Modernism was a pan-India movement and was not limited to literatures
in English. Its emphases, however, were similar across regions and languages.
On this issue, the literary critic E. V. Ramakrishnan in his book Indigenous
Imaginaries: Literature, Region, Modernity has made an important observation.
To quote:

The term modernism implies a literary/artistic movement that was

characterized by experimentation, conscious rejection of the nationalist/
Romantic as well as the popular, and the cultivation of an individualist,
cosmopolitan and insular world view. In the European context, it
signified a set of tendencies in artistic expression and writing styles of
the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries through a new aesthetic
that was iconoclastic, insular and elitist. The aesthetics of modernism
in the west had a transnational, metropolitan worldview that excluded
the claims of the local and the national and made no concession to the
popular taste. While the modernism that emerged in Indian literatures
shared many of these defining features, its political affiliations and
ideological orientations were markedly different. Due to its postcolonial
location, the Indian modernism did not share the imperial or
metropolitan aspirations of its European counterpart. It invested heavily
in regional cosmopolitan traditions. It was oppositional in content and
questioned the colonial legacies of the nationalist discourse. It was elitist
and formalistic and deeply distrustful of the popular domain. (241)

Thus, modernism was “elitist” in nature and catered to a limited number of

academic groups, and kept out the popular base more or less entirely. Unlike the
literature of the pre-Independence period, particularly the progressive literature
that centered on social themes, modernist writing focused on individualism and
alienation from society. Its approach was formalistic. Experimentation with
different literary forms made it appear novel and inspiring. A modernist poet is
ever aware that one is responsible for one’s own actions even in the face of
situations that render one helpless. It is this awareness that leads to guilt and
anxiety in the modernist individual and becomes a perpetual source of grief and
outpouring in modernist poems. Ezekiel, despite his contributions to the new
literary practice in India that paved way for a canon, needs to be understood in
the modernist framework. We might remember that Ezekiel was educated in the
western model of education and that he was an urban poet belonging to the
metropolis. His emphases are largely drawn from western models and his
inspirations come from the works of English modernist poets such as T.S. Eliot
and Ezra Pound.

1.5 NISSIM EZEKIEL: AN OVERVIEW

Nissim Ezekiel (1924-2004) was born in Bombay in a Bene Israel Jewish family.
His parents were both teachers and under their influence Ezekiel soon took to
translating works from Marathi to English, as well as writing plays and editing
fictional works. His first poem was published in 1942 in a literary journal. By
1947, Ezekiel completed his Masters from Bombay University and began teaching
at Khalsa College, Bombay. In 1948 a friend of Ezekiel’s, Alkazi, bought tickets
for them to sail for England. Ezekiel remarks of that period of youth as one full
of adventure. He says –”So with 10 pounds in my pocket, and the exuberance
and optimism of youth, I boarded the Jal Azadi” (Bombay Magazine, 1983). The
130
years spent from 1948 to 1952 in a foreign country brought new experiences and Nissim Ezekiel and Eunice de
Souza
learning for Ezekiel, among them a few unpleasant too. He stayed in a small
basement room, wrote reviews and other short pieces to make ends meet. In a
poem, he wrote his impressions of the place thus, “The view from the basement
room is rather small/ A patch or two of green, a bit of sky” (“A Poem of
Dedication”). Ezekiel joined a clerical position at the Indian High Commission
in London but soon grew tired and wished to return to Bombay. To this end he
took up a job along with a friend at a cargo ship that was going to India where the
two did menial tasks of scrubbing and washing. Before sailing, however, Ezekiel
was able to send the manuscript of his poems to the Fortune Press London and
the volume got published in 1952. Thus, his first collection of poems titled A
Time to Change was published in London and was based on his experiences of
that period. Once back in India, Ezekiel took up job as sub-editor of The Illustrated
Weekly of India under the editor C. R. Mandy, who was instrumental in cultivating
the new literary sensibility in India. In 1953 his second collection of poems
titled Sixty Poems came out. Editing added finesse to his poems as Ezekiel became
ever more conscious of the art of writing.

In his later years, along with writing and publishing poetry, Ezekiel became a
leading literary critic of his day as he edited and published magazines, and advising
young writers how to write poetry. About these years of the 1950s of learning
and practicing writing, Ezekiel has said, “I joined Shilpi Advertising as copywriter
and in the earlier part of the mornings I edited Quest, the sister magazine to
Encounter. I also wrote a great deal of literary and art criticism, the latter of
which Alkazi taught me, though he never cared to write it himself. During my
five years at Shilpi, I was elevated to the manager’s position and then sent to the
USA to study their hard sell techniques. But I learnt more about art and other
things there than about advertising” (Bombay Magazine, 1983). By 1960s Ezekiel
had established himself as a poet and critic to reckon with. He was appointed as
lecturer at Mithibai College in 1961 and later joined the Bombay University and
gained professorship there. A series of publications appeared after this. These
include the following collections: The Third (1959), The Unfinished Man (1960),
The Exact Name (1965), Hymns in Darkness (1976) and Latter Day Psalms
(1982).

Ezekiel was heavily influenced by the Irish-English poet, W. B. Yeats, and

identified with him at the level of identity and politics. He felt himself to be like
Yeats both an insider and outsider in his country. Note that Ezekiel was a Jew
belonging to the Bene Israel community. It is believed that a group of this Jewish
community landed in Southern Maharashtra 2000 years ago when their ship was
marooned in a storm. Most of those who travelled didn’t return and decided to
settle in India instead. Thus, while Ezekiel was born in India his culture and
roots come from elsewhere. Yeats on the other hand was an Irishman who settled
in England. In his poetry, he always returned to the Celtic myths of Ireland for
inspiration and blended the English modernist approach with his ‘Irishness,’ as
it were. Ezekiel draws a lot from Yeats’ works. In fact, Ezekiels’ poem “Enterprise”
is from the collection The Unfinished Man the title of which was borrowed from
Yeats’ epigraph to his poem “A Dialogue of Self and Soul”.

Linda Hess, a scholar and friend of Ezekiel defined him as “an endless explorer
of the labyrinths of the mind, the devious delvings and twistings of the ego, and
the ceaseless attempt of man and poet to define himself, to find through all the
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Indian English Poetry myth and maze a way to honesty and love” (Quest, 1966).Some of the themes
and issues in Ezekiels’ poems include the notion of time and its changing course;
the metaphor of the journey and pilgrimage; departure from home and the return
to it; and struggle for selfhood. In an attempt to pursue passions and find balance
in life, Ezekiel writes in a poem: “I do not want the yogi’s concentration/ I do not
want the perfect charity/ Of Saints nor the Tyrant’s endless power/I want a human
balance humanly acquired” (“A Poem of Dedication”). Ezekiel can be both
Philosophical and abstract, and material and witty. “Goodbye Party for Miss
Pushpa T.S” belongs to the latter kind. It is a poem written in a humorous style
and is both amusing and ironical. Let us read this poem and try locating its
significance.

1.6 NISSIM EZEKIEL’S “GOODBYE PARTY FOR

MISS PUSHPA T.S”: A READING
1.6.1 The text
Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S.

Friends,
our dear sister
is departing for foreign
in two three days,
and
we are meeting today
to wish her bon voyage.

You are all knowing, friends,

What sweetness is in Miss Pushpa.
I don’t mean only external sweetness
but internal sweetness.
Miss Pushpa is smiling and smiling
even for no reason but simply because
she is feeling.

Miss Pushpa is coming

from very high family.
Her father was renowned advocate
in Bulsar or Surat,
I am not remembering now which place.

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Surat? Ah, yes, Nissim Ezekiel and Eunice de
Souza
once only I stayed in Surat
with family members
of my uncle’s very old friend-
his wife was cooking nicely…
that was long time ago.

Coming back to Miss Pushpa

she is most popular lady
with men also and ladies also.

Whenever I asked her to do anything,

she was saying, ‘Just now only
I will do it.’ That is showing
good spirit. I am always
appreciating the good spirit.

Pushpa Miss is never saying no.

Whatever I or anybody is asking
she is always saying yes,
and today she is going
to improve her prospect
and we are wishing her bon voyage.
Now I ask other speakers to speak
and afterwards Miss Pushpa
will do summing up.

1.6.2 Analysis
Let us see the facts that emerge from the poem—to begin with, we know that the
speaker is addressing a group of people gathered to bid farewell to Pushpa T.S.
who is going to settle down abroad; next, Pushpa T.S as also the people present
at the party belong to the upper middle class, that is, to the family of advocates
and aristocrats. We are told that “Miss Pushpa is coming/from very high family”.
It is this group that becomes the target of ridicule in the poem. It is about the
wealthy and privileged who nurtured hopes of bagging an opportunity abroad so
they could flaunt it and win admiration of others in India. Further, Pushpa T.S is
described in the poem as a meek submissive woman who is a picture of admiration
for the assumed male speaker. His references expose the conservative upper-
class society in India for whom a woman ever smiling, “cooking nicely” and
“never saying no” is an image of perfection and beauty. We are not told what
kind of a woman she is and what her thoughts and ideas are. We see her through
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Indian English Poetry the eyes of the judging speaker who represents a patriarchal outlook and tells us
what “good spirit” in a woman is and what bad is. Pushpa T.S., we are told, is
also a popular lady among the crowd, especially men. She remains frozen in the
narrative of the speaker who fixes her in a role and a type. Importantly, Ezekiel
exposes the male gaze through the speaker’s expressions where the woman is
observed minutely and unsparingly.

The irony in the poem comes from the fact that the speaker uses the structure and
idiosyncrasies specific to the indigenous languages of India while the spoken
language is actually alien. This misfit amuses the reader. For instance, the poet
calls Pushpa T.S. “sister” which is an Indian nomenclature, a way of addressing
a woman with respect. It seems the speaker has the vernacular phrases in mind
while the language used is English so that the poem appears to be a transliteration
into English. Another amusing aspect of the Indian English deployed liberally
by Ezekiel in the poem is the use of the gerund form of the verb popularly used
in Indian variations of English. Satire and irony are at the centre of this poem.

The poem brings into the question the identity and role of the English language.
This question had engaged writers who chose to write literary works in English
during the nationalist movement. In the post-Independence period, it appeared
pertinent to ask— What is India’s relation with the English Language? The
question is an uncomfortable one because we despised the colonial rule and the
colonizers, how could we then embrace their language and express our emotions
through it? Why should we do such a thing? Should we not have discarded the
English language along with the removal of the British from seat of power?
Language, however, runs deep in cultures. Once English had entered our lives,
mixed with the Indian culture, it continued to thrive. The result is what we see in
the poem “Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S.”.In fact, Ezekiel made Indian
English the theme of another of his poem titled “A very Indian Poem in Indian
English”. In independent India, English continued to enjoy a superior position in
life. If one were to be seen as civilized and polished, one had to be a suave
English speaker since without it one felt incompetent and inferior. We do not
feel incapable if we do not know other languages. Why is that the case? This
mindset is an indicator of cultural hegemony (see glossary) that the English
language has over us. Not being able to speak in English became a stigma and it
continues to oppress the minds of Indian people till now. Ezekiel was able to
look at this obsession with the English language particularly among middle class
Indian people who remained culturally submissive to the colonial Language and
felt compelled to use it to assert their superiority.

However, this usage is very different from the poets’ use of Indian English for
their creative writing. Those who received western education abroad or at home
wrote with similar ease and poise as their counterparts in the west. This upper
middle-class intelligentsia spoke and wrote in English like their erstwhile masters.
They consciously inculcated the style and manner of westernized English. So,
the specimen of English that you witness in “Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa
T.S” and “A very Indian Poem in Indian English” is not how Ezekiel spoke or
wrote. It is how the large sections of Indian people who learnt the language or
were somewhat familiar with it used it in everyday life, as also those who wished
to prove their superiority by the fact that they knew English and would use only
English in Indian gatherings. Ezekiel creates an amusing picture of people
gathered to bid goodbye to a lady of their club who is enviously going abroad.
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The poet is at the same time satirical of this group in society that shows off its Nissim Ezekiel and Eunice de
Souza
knowledge of the English language and maintains an upper-class attitude while
in reality they make a complete fool of themselves. But fools before whom? The
poet and the likes of him who know the nuances of the language. While the poet
exposes the foolishness of this section of society that continues to obsess over
the English language and its usage, he also opens space for us to see that the
judging eye of those who can satirize this group laugh at them and mock their
Indianisms (see glossary), namely the westernized urban intelligentsia. M.K.
Naik is of the opinion that Ezekiel in such poems assumes an “easy superiority
expressing itself in surface irony as in his ‘Very Indian’ poems ‘in Indian English’,
in which the obvious linguistic howlers of Indian students are pilloried with
metropolitan snobbishness”(203-4). The poet, thus, adopts a patronizing attitude
towards those who are ill-equipped to use English. His surface level irony in the
treatment of the subject also betrays his own position as one who could never
fully accept his semi-Indian identity and ever remained in a state of self-alienation.
In one of his poems titled “Background, Casually” he wrote of the alienation felt
by his community—”my ancestors, among the castes, were aliens crushing seed
for bread”.

1.7 EZEKIEL’S STYLE AND APPROACH

Ezekiel wrote poems of two different kinds—the terse, meticulous and the lucid,
free. He painstakingly carried the themes in each poem to their logical end while
maintaining a kind of determination and focus while making the point. Ezekiel
was known for his use of subtle irony, particularly, the distant ironic stance he
could assume in the poem that turned from humorous to sardonic. However, he
maintained in poetry a formality of manner and paid great attention to rhyme
scheme and perfection in stanza forms. He was equally adept with the colloquial
style in poetry.

1.8 EUNICE DE SOUZA: AN OVERVIEW

Let’s now turn our attention to the other poet in the course, Eunice de Souza. She
is a woman writer from the Goan Catholic community who has the benefit of
having English as her first language and therefore successfully deploys the spoken
English idiom of her community. The reality she depicts through her poems is
starkly Indian. Her representations as also language carries a distinct Indian
flavour. Eunice de Souza(1940-2017) remained an active thinker till her last
days. She taught English literature for over thirty years at St. Xavier’s College in
Mumbai. She spent her childhood in Pune and graduated from the University of
Mumbai after which she went to the Marquette University, Wisconsin to pursue
her Masters. She came back to India and attained a PhD from the University of
Mumbai. Interestingly, when de Souza returned to India and applied for a teaching
position it was Nissim Ezekiel who interviewed her and dissuaded her from taking
the job, suggesting it would make her unhappy and this became a start to a long
standing friendship. De Souza through Ezekiel met several contemporary poets
including Kamala Das, Gieve Patel and Dom Moraes, among others. She engaged
with the themes of contemporary society in her poems and fictional pieces. Her
seminal poetry collections include Fix (1979), Women in Dutch Painting (1988),
Ways of Belonging: Selected Poems (1990), Selected and New Poems (1994),
and Learn from the Almond Leaf (2016). De Souza primarily known as a poet
135
Indian English Poetry also wrote novellas in her later days such as, Dangerlok (2001) and Dev and
Simran (2003). Her poems revolve around the predicament of women in Indian
society, particularly when seen from the lens of a Christian family. Certainly, de
Souza doesn’t become the mouthpiece of Christian value system or tradition.
She critically looks at institutions of family, religion and marriage from a close
observant eye. For instance, her first collection Fix brings to the fore the
ambivalence the subject feels towards her parents. The stance is assertive and
feminist. De Souza spent most of her life in India and understood the pulse of the
times, the changing scenario particularly with respect to women. She saw the
change over decades where women came out into the public sphere, received
education and began going to work. This instilled new hope in her and gave her
a decided stance from where she could critique the social institutions working
necessarily against the interests of women. She evocatively expressed it in poetry.
Her style is serious and witty, seldom casual or flippant. There is focus and
discipline in her poems.

1.9 “BEQUEST” BY EUNICE DE SOUZA: A

READING
“Bequest,” taken from the collection Ways of Belonging: Selected Poems (1990)
is a projection of Christian values and their changing meaning in contemporary
society. Let us first read the poem—
Bequest
In every Catholic home there’s a picture
of Christ holding his bleeding heart
in his hand.
I used to think, ugh.
The only person with whom
I have not exchanged confidences
is my hairdresser.
Some recommend stern standards,
others say float along.
He says, take it as it comes,
meaning, of course, as he hands it out.
I wish I could be a
Wise Woman
smiling endlessly, vacuously
like a plastic flower,
saying Child, learn from me.
It’s time to perform an act of charity
to myself,
bequeath the heart, like a
spare kidney –
136 preferably to an enemy.
Although de Souza’s “Bequest” is on the theme of the oppressive environment Nissim Ezekiel and Eunice de
Souza
of a Christian home, the poem is different from her early poems such as “Catholic
Mother” that came out in 1979. While “Catholic Mother” juxtaposes the
judgmental Christian community against the silent woman figure, “Bequest”
brings into focus specifically the woman subject who has to fight many battles.
Bequest at one level brings out the predicament of a woman in contemporary
society and at another, lays bare the state of affairs around this subject, that is,
the way of life in a Christian family. These two themes are central in understanding
de Souza’s works. Most of her poems are about women who are strong and
determined and must deal with the pressures emanating from their surroundings.
In “Bequest,” too, she lays it down for us. The subject active as a figure in the
poem is sick of those who seem to control her life. She is not the typical Indian
woman submitting to authority, speaking less and observing decorum. On the
contrary, she is vocal about her thoughts and feelings and is certainly not the one
to compromise or accept the given. Those who follow the norms in society as
also those who uphold and ensure their upkeep “recommend” to her as “stern
standards, /others say float along” are not she would relate to. Both options are
unacceptable to her. Then comes the third voice in the poem, “He says, take it as
it comes, /meaning, of course, as he hands it out”. The male figure “he” represents
the patriarchal viewpoint who in the garb of “take it as it comes” actually means
take it as he likes it. Does the woman have a choice when so many voices work
to suppress the voice of the female subject who refuses to submit to the patriarchal
order? De Souza shows a sense of disgust for them and a spirit to fight them out.
The disgust that she experiences in the beginning of the poem when she speaks
about her reaction to seeing a picture of Christ holding his bleeding heart in his
hands and she thinks “ugh,” that gets connected with her abhorrence for the
upholders of tradition and patriarchy. This is evident particularly in the last
stanza when she says—
“It’s time to perform an act of charity
to myself,
bequeath the heart, like a
spare kidney –
preferably to an enemy”.
Why does the poet think that bequeathing her heart would be an act of charity?
Why does she think the heart should be treated as a spare kidney and why would
she prefer giving it to an enemy and not a friend?

It is a feminist poem in which the woman subject speaks her mind. Her poems
become stark because they hit out simultaneously at the religious and patriarchal
orders. She is irreverently vocal about her thoughts on both.

1.10 EUNICE DE SOUZA’S AESTHETIC

APPROACH
The poems of de Souza are in one sense personal and in another distant and
social. The poet becomes the subject of the poems and draws herself out of them.
She recounts the feelings of the subject by standing outside it. This sharpens the
observation shared with the reader. For this reason, her poems seldom appear
melodramatic or word-heavy. At a few places, they are confessional, but soon 137
Indian English Poetry the feminist in her wakes up and takes charge. This lends her grit and the urge to
resist.

To reiterate, de Souza’s poems are dramatic in nature for she portrays with words
vivid scenes from our surroundings that have a picturesque quality. In descriptions
she turns ironic—the hypocrisy of social discourses is brought to the centre and
the stance of the poet in the process assumes a clear image.

Since de Souza has both the eye of a critic and poet, she considers language a
key issue in writing. She makes it a subject of serious discussion. Ever self-
critical of her writing and her use of words de Souza believed in working hard on
her poems, editing them till they reached an aesthetic point. In one of her
interviews she outlined the importance of language in poetry by suggesting that,
‘language is what poetry is all about. It’s not about wearing your heart on your
sleeve, courage and all that. It is finally language. And if you forget that you are
not really a poet” (from Contemporary Indian Poetry in English, 118). Clearly
by placing emphasis on language, de Souza formulated a new aesthetic of poetry.
She has taken poetry out of the realms of pure passion, heart-felt emotions (or
what may be called the feminine elements in a poem). Ever conscious about the
use of language and its manifold meanings, de Souza is a craftswoman whose
emotions seldom supersede the central idea in a poem. For her the feeling which
is at the centre of a poem requires discipline of language. The poem according to
her is based on a feeling which is remembered and recreated. This feeling has to
be disciplined stringently. This constitutes the aesthetics of de Souza’s works.

1.11 EUNICE DE SOUZA AND THE FEMINIST

TREND IN INDIAN WRITING
Eunice De Souza contributed to the canon of women’s poetry in particular and to
the Indian feminist tradition in general by unequivocally pointing out the source
of female oppression. She was courageous enough to put in the dock religious
practices and social values that controlled women and strengthened the hold of
patriarchy in society. To call a spade a spade and to treat with contempt such
malpractices made her de Souza’s poems stand out among the rest.

The roots of Feminism in India may be traced to the mid-nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries with seminal works of Savitribai Phule (1831-1897)and
Tarabai Shinde (1850-1910)coming to the fore. Shinde’s Stree Purush Tulana
became a modern feminist text interrogating the prejudices of society necessarily
set against women. The national movement in India and the struggle for
independence brought women out of their homes and into the sphere of public
life. This added immensely to the growth of women’s movement. During the
Gandhian phase women became equal participants in life. The cause, however,
was focused on attaining freedom from the imperialist British rule. But as a
corollary, women began to express and assert themselves in the public sphere.
However, feminism as a systematic approach and a full-fledged movement in
India came up properly only in the latter half of the twentieth century when
women thinkers, theorists, social activists and writers took it upon themselves to
begin pushing for women’s cause in literature, culture and politics. These women
expressed opinions as also made claim on their rights. A whole section of women
emerged on the scene who took up the cause of women, and fought for their
equal status is country’s environment.
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There occurred a paradigm shift and a change of attitude that became visible in Nissim Ezekiel and Eunice de
Souza
women’s writings. One could identify a changing trend in writers such as Kamala
Das in the nineteen sixties who began to write about herself as an independent
subject with an identity of her own. Women’s writing of the 1960s and 70s was
often confessional, expression as it was of an anguished and disturbed subject.
This was replaced by a more self-assured feminist voice of the 1980s and 90s
that disregarded social validation, experimented with the literary form and probed
the vital aspects of life including gender. Eunice de Souza while incorporating
certain aspects of the confessional writing of the 60s and 70s, de Souza aligns
more with the new age feminists whose works are bold, incisive and self-critical.
The outer world and the conflicts of the inner world are treated with equal
detachment in her works. The engagement with the subject matter is personal
but the writer is ever conscious that the predicament is produced by society.

1.12 LET US SUM UP

You must have noted that the unit was divided into three distinct sections. The
first part was devoted to the development of Indian English writing in general
and poetry in particular. The second section focused on the poet Nissim Ezekiel
and his specific concerns. The third one brought to the centre the works of Eunice
de Souza and her feminist outlook. You may have noticed that de Souza, like
Ezekiel, was an urban western educated poet, but she speaks in the voice of the
oppressed, of the women of her community and is, therefore, able to depict in
her poems the realities of Indian ethos with precision. For de Souza, there is
little escape from patriarchal conventions for a woman. However, Ezekiel and
de Souza are both deft in their use of satire. They can effectively drive a point
home through satirical representation. We also note that their perspectives differ—
de Souza seldom turns philosophical, and Ezekiel successfully escapes from
personal anguish to make entry into the philosophical.

1.13 GLOSSARY
British Commonwealth :
refers to the British Commonwealth of Nations,
a voluntary association whose members include
United Kingdom and its erstwhile colonies to
maintain goodwill and friendship among one
another and with the ex-colonizer. The British
monarch remains the symbolic head of this
association.

Cultural hegemony : domination through cultural and ideological

means. It refers to maintaining rule over a group
or country through its social institutions and
practices.

Indianism : suggests a distinct Indian way of using the English

language; a word or idiom that is characteristic
of Indian English.

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Indian English Poetry
1.14 QUESTIONS
1) Write a note on the growth and popularity of Indian English in the post
independence period.

2) What are the characteristic features of Indian English poetry? How is it

different from the romantic and nationalist poetry of the pre-independence
period?

3) What do you think is Ezekiel’s purpose in presenting to us the ‘indianisms’

in the poem “Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S”?

4) Do you agree that Eunice de Souza’s poems are personal and yet socio-
political in nature? Give reasons for your answer.

1.15 REFERENCES
Ezekiel, Nissim. “A Poet’s Passage” Bombay Magazine, 1983

Hess, Linda. “Post-Independence Indian Poetry in English”. Quest. Vol. 49 Spring,

1966. pp28-38.

Naik, M.K. A History of Indian English Literature, Sahitya Akademi,1982.

Ramakrishnan, E. V. Indigenous Imaginaries: Literature, Region, Modernity.

New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2017.

“Eunice de Souza in conversation with Sindhu Menon”. Contemporary Indian

Poetry in English. Ed. Mohan Ramanan, Afeefa Banu, and Pramod Nayar. New
Delhi : Sahitya Akademi, 2010.

1.16 SUGGESTED READINGS

Anklesaria, Zerin. “Wit in the Poetry of Nissim Ezekiel”. A Journal of Indian
Writing in English. Vol. 14, no.2. July, 1986.

Anagol, Padma. The Emergence of Feminism in India, 1850-1920. NY: Routledge,

2016.

King, Bruce. Modern Indian Poetry in English. New Delhi: Oxford, 1987.

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 Nissim Ezekiel and Eunice de
UNIT 2 A. K. RAMANUJAN AND JAYANTA Souza

MAHAPATRA
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Modern Indian Literature and the Issue of English Language
2.3 A. K. Ramanujan: An Overview
2.4 A.K. Ramanujan “On the Death of a Poem”: A Reading
2.5 Ramanujan’s Poetic Style
2.6 Jayanta Mahapatra: An Introduction
2.7 Jayanta Mahapatra’s Poem “A Rain of Rites”: A Reading
2.8 Jayanta Mahapatra’s Poetic Style
2.9 Let Us Sum Up
2.10 Glossary
2.11 Questions
2.12 References
2.13 Suggested Readings

2.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit would acquaint you with two major poets of modern Indian English, A.
K. Ramanujan from Karnataka and Jayanta Mahapatra from Odisha. After reading
this unit we shall be able to get acquainted to:
the life and works of A. K. Ramanujan and Jayanta Mahapatra;
discuss Ramanujan’s poem “On the Death of a Poem” and his poetic style;
discuss Mahapatra’s poem “A Rain of Rites” and his poetic style.

2.1 INTRODUCTION
You will note that despite their interests in the rich culture of their region, the
two poets A. K. Ramanujan and Jayanta Mahapatra broaden the scope of their
poetry to include universal emotions and speak specifically about the idea of the
poet and the poetic practice in the twentieth century. Interestingly, Ramanujan
deploys the crisp short lyric of the vachanas in his poems and Mahapatra resorts
to the imagism and experimentalism that was popular in the early modernist
literature of the West in the twentieth century. Both writers use the English
language freely without carrying the burden of it as a foreign language. They are
able to knit well the English language with the local Indian experience. Thus,
language becomes unself-conscious yet focused on the described experience; it
is in this sense not self-referential. Let’s look at the question of language in
modern Indian literature.

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Indian English Poetry
2.2 MODERN INDIAN LITERATURE AND THE
ISSUE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Modern Indian Literature had to deal with the specific problem of English
language. During the British colonial rule the English language was inducted
into the formal education system and it became the medium of instruction in
higher education. Along with this, the British sought to bring modern education
in India. The teaching of classical literature was replaced by modern literature
much of which was English. The study of regional literatures was thus
supplemented with English language and literature. Knowledge of English also
ensured employment opportunities for the young educated Indians. The language
worked as a great equalizer as the new class of Indians found a means through
which they could connect and communicate with fellow Indians. Where regional
languages created barriers in communication, English came in handy. Thus, as
Sujit Mukherjee has observed, “English literature was, by and large, the link
literature of modern India. Correspondingly, English as a link language was shared
by all educated Indians, and made them fit for employment in several capacities
under the British. Not only could the educated Indians communicate with the
British in this language, they could also communicate with one another on, as it
were, a neutral language territory”. In this way the English language acquired a
secular identity. Even after 1947, no substitute emerged on the scene that could
replace English and become the link language of India. Even as Hindi was being
touted as the national language, it did not receive support of many states. The
scenario post-independence changed the status of English considerably. It was
no more a compulsory medium of college teaching. States could choose their
regional language of instruction in schools. This made the future of English
precarious, yet it remained a functional language used across India. It also became
a bridge through which cultures within India and outside could be understood.
Thus, Indian English literature in the post-independence period emerged as a
significant choice before a writer who wished to get across to different regions,
states and the larger world abroad. Indian English literatures and Indian literatures
in translation thus became an important link between the regional and world
literatures. English language in the hands of Indian writers assumed the status of
a local language constantly being appropriated to suit the context. It was no
more an alien language or the colonizer’s language but one directed towards
exploring Indian life from a different perspective.

A.K. Ramanujan in an interview with Chirantan Kulshrestha has given his bits
on the use of English language in India. He brings out a specific problem that
writers in India faced while using the English language. According to him:

Indians writing in English is mostly writing in a second language and it raises

several questions…Usually a second language is not learned in childhood. When
one writes in a second language not learned in childhood, superimposed on a
first, one may effectively cut oneself off from one’s childhood. …Second language
also tends to be learned formally. They are learned or used in an active community
of native speakers, though it may be somewhat different for a few city Indians. It
is true that a great deal of live intellectual dialogue in south Indian cities does
take place in English still. But few of us know English well enough to describe
common intimate things in English—a kitchen operation, an obscure gesture, a
family quarrel. We’re split linguistically in so many ways (from Oxford India
142 Ramanujan,41).
Ramanujan further observes that this spilt has made a great deal of Indian writing A.K. Ramanujan and Jayanta
Mahapatra
in English what he calls “upstairs English, platform English, idiom-book English,
newspaper English. With no slang available, they are stuck in a ‘register’, a
formality, a learned posture”(41). Also, he notes that with a foreign second
language like English we are separated from the community of people in India
and in fact in the process become elites. Thus according to Ramanujan “true
language use is unconscious” whether in primary or secondary language—”the
more self conscious it is the more artificial it becomes, and the more trammeled
in manners, rules, opinions” (42).

2.3 A. K. RAMANUJAN: AN OVERVIEW

A. K. Ramanujan (1929-1993) was a prolific writer and scholar of South Asian
literature and culture. He received the Padmi Shri award in 1983 for his
contribution to Indian literature and scholarship. Four volumes of his poems in
English that were published in his lifetime include The Striders (1966), Relations
(1971), Selected Poems (1976), and Second Sight (1986), along with several
other poems published posthumously such as in Collected Poems (1995).
Ramanujan was an avid translator of Tamil and Kannada works. He translated
ancient Tamil and medieval Kannada poetry into English. Interior Landscape:
Love Poems from a Classical Tamil Anthology (1967); Speaking of Siva, and
Kannada Bhakti poems by Virsaiva Saints (1973) are some of his translations.
The flowering tree and other Oral Tales from India came out posthumously in
1997. Also, his posthumous collection of essays, Collected Essays was published
in 1999. A polyglot, Ramanujan was also a poet, essayist, translator, folklorist,
and playwright. About his poems in particular and poetry in general, Ramanujan
has observed the following—

I do rework poems a lot. Something around me often touches me and returns me

to an old unfinished piece and makes me see what I tried to say there. I return to
it and redo it and if this redoing is any good, it reflects not only the change in
myself, but in redoing I find myself changed. So there is a kind of dialectic
between oneself and the poems and things, the craft has to be inspired continually.
Every little change, every self-criticism you make has to be a creative act. There
is no line between craft and inspiration, no real line between intelligence and
imagination. At that point its sensibility (I almost said ‘character’) or nothing—
all through, in the beginning, the middle, the end. If not, it’ll really show. There’ll
be dead words, holes, borrowings, helpless patches, betrayals. (Oxford India
Ramanujan 39)

Certainly, poetry for Ramanujan was a product of hard labour. He wasn’t ever
fully satisfied with the final work because for him there was no final point of
creativity. It was a continuous effort. Interestingly, Ramanujan in the above
passage mentions the effect his poems have on him even as he is working on
them. As is rightly suggested, the relation between the self of the poet and poem
is dialectical (see glossary); one keeps altering and reshaping the other and that
it works both ways. He also points out that in creativity there aren’t distinct
categories of imagination and intelligence— two parts of the brain that exist
separately. No, in life as in literature both are ever active and in fact constitute
one unit. According to Ramanujan, integrated presence can be seen in the
sensibility that gets projected in a work of art. Without it, poetry would lose its
value. There would be hollow expressions and no spirit in it. With this, you
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Indian English Poetry would have gained a sufficient enough understanding on Ramanujan’s bent of
mind, his emphasis on character in poetry as also his views on the use of English
language by Indian writers. Now let us turn to the specific poem “On the Death
of a Poem” in your course.

2.4 A.K. RAMANUJAN “ON THE DEATH OF A

POEM”: A READING
This poem was published in the collection Second Sight (1986), the last collection
of poetry published in his lifetime. It came two decades after the first collection
The Striders and contains poems of his mature phase.

“On the Death of a Poem” specifically deals with the question of how a poem
gets formed in the mind of the poet. You will note that images in the poem are
personified (“images consult one another”). They talk and have thoughts which
they share with one another. Does it mean that images have an identity of their
own and a will of their own? In answer one might say, they are not entirely
guided by the poet’s wish. The poet is absent from the poem. He seems to play
little role in the discussions and is not the voice of conscience. Let us have a
look at the text:
“On the Death of a Poem”
Images consult
One
Another,
A conscience-
stricken jury,
and come
slowly
to a sentence.
As is evident, the poet is not an active agent who might have created the poem.
The focus is entirely on images and words that get formed in a sentence. Who
writes the poem? Is it the poet or images of events and people that write themselves
on the page through the agency of the poet who might at best be a catalyst? The
English modernist poet T.S. Eliot at least thought that was the case—for him the
poet was a passive entity, a medium through which poetry flowed. He called the
poet a “catalytic agent,” a depersonalized subject. A. K. Ramunjan was not a
modernist writer like Eliot but he was well aware of this dimension of poetry,
that it gets created on its own. Thus, the intimate process of creating a poem is
laid bare before us where the poet is sensitive to the inner workings of a poem
and believes that his words and images talk to one another and have a life of their
own. Even as Ramanujan claimed that he had no theory of poetry and that he
wrote poems as they occurred to him, he was ever conscious about the poetic
form. He knew that disjoined images had to be brought together while ensuring
that the form of the work was not diffused and coherence was maintained in it.
These ideas are brought to light in the present poem where Ramanujan discusses
poetically the art of writing and the struggles of the poet—the problem of
managing images that may not cohere and might die without actually becoming
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the poem he intended. Thus, the poem brings to the fore many interpretations A.K. Ramanujan and Jayanta
Mahapatra
about the making of poetry and the poet.

Let’s have a close look at the poem. Images in it play an important role. They
discuss and consult, they are the “conscience-stricken jury”. Why do you think
images are “conscience-stricken”? What bothers them? Is it the case that they
don’t stand up to the challenge faced by the poet? Are they ill-equipped to project
the intent? Or are images in fact skeptical of the poet, judging the aim of the
poet? Surely, they have the last say since they are the “jury” in the case. Images
are in a state of conflict and they must also play the part of the jury and decide
what the poem says and whether they will be a part of it. Having reached at a
resolution, they tread “slowly” and cautiously before they decide to become a
part of a sentence. Images come alive as people in the poem to whom the poet
owes articulation and who in turn owe a picture to the poet. This uneasy interaction
between images and the poet gives a dramatic quality to the poem.

Why do you think the poem is titled “Death of a Poem”? What does the poet
want to convey through it? Is it about how a poem dies when it is caught in
judgements? In consultations and discussions, is the spirit of the poem lost?
Does a poem that is left mid-way remains incomplete because images do not
cohere leaving the poet dejected? The present poem brings up for discussion
these questions. The central idea of the poem is that creating a poem can be a
challenging task and that it may not reach completion, thus leading to its ‘death’.
The tone of the poem is impersonal and controlled as the poet deals with the
process of creative expression in abstract terms. There is little flamboyance or
amplification of the subject in the poem. It might indeed be said that the direct
precision in the economy of phrase heightens its poetic quality.

2.5 RAMANUJAN’S POETIC STYLE

A. K. Ramanujan grew fond of writing short poems particularly in his later phase.
After having translated the classical Tamil and Kannada verses his poetic style
became terse and precise, almost aphoristic. He used indirect short statements
with a wide range of meaning. These are mostly fleeting thoughts captured and
crystallized in poetry. They do not necessarily move in a specific direction. Take,
for instance, his poem “Self Portrait”. It is of nine lines made up of short statements
woven together in a single sentence. Let me quote the entire poem here:
I resemble everyone
But myself, and sometimes see
In shop-windows,
Despite the well-known laws
Of optics,
The portrait of a stranger,
Date unknown,
Often signed in a corner
By my father.
As in the previous poem the intent is hidden somewhere and the meaning has to
be worked out by the reader personally. This poem is about the poet who has the 145
Indian English Poetry capability to look at oneself from outside and at the same time enter other people’s
lives. He cannot recognize himself and in fact sees in his reflection an image of
his father or for that matter somebody else but him. The self-portrait and the
portrait of the stranger are in fact one.

Ramanujan’s poems have been viewed as belonging to the tradition of medieval

vachanas which were short concise lyrical axioms. About Ramanujan’s creative
practice, Molly Daniels (A. K. Ramanujan’s wife) has observed that his poems
exhibit his “gift for yoking of the dissimilar, and in his later works, we notice
that the use of opposites and contraries makes subjectivity more universal”. At
the same time, she claims that Ramanujan’s “true contemporaries were the
classical Tamil poets of two millenniums ago. His short lyric contains a large
thought” (“An A.K. Ramanujan Story”, xiv). In this sense, he carries the tradition
of classical Tamil literature in his poetry. Ramanujan has also spoken about the
impact it had on him, “These classical Tamil poems attracted me by their attitude
to experience, to human passion, and to the external world; their trust in the
bareness, the lean line with no need to jazz it up or ornament it. They seemed to
me Classical, anti-Romantic, using the words loosely, as we know them in
European Literature” (Interview with CJ 43-44). That was the model Ramanujan
applied in his own poems—direct, bare and classical in style but based on human
passion and experience. There is very little of the romantic in Ramanujan. For
that kind of poetry, we must look towards the second poet of this unit, Jayanta
Mahapatra who despite evoking myths and legends and speaking of history and
memory in his poems, stuck to the romantic idiom and deployed all its
characteristic features. Let us now turn our attention towards him.

2.6 JAYANTA MAHAPATRA: AN INTRODUCTION

Jayanta Mahapatra was born in a Christian family in Cuttack, Odisha in 1928
and spent most of his life there. He studied at the Ravenshaw College in Cuttack
to specialize in Physics and at Patna Science College, after which he went on to
teach at various colleges in Odisha. Thus, there is a distinct local colour in his
writing and Mahapatra prefers to remain in this territory. To go into the family
background of the poet, it is worth noting that extreme economic hardship forced
his grandfather to convert to Christianity in 1866.

During the nineteenth century, conversions to Christianity in India mainly

happened for two reasons—to escape deprivation and starvation, and to rid oneself
off the stigma of the low caste. The Christian missionaries, when they first arrived
in India in the early nineteenth century, promised food and free education to the
common people if they converted to Christianity. The ordinary folks who struggled
to make ends meet had little option but to accept the new religion as their own.
In the specific case of Odisha, the Christian missionaries came to the region in
1822 and created conditions for a literary revival. The first Odia Bible had already
been published in 1811. The missionaries, however, established schools and
brought out regular Odia periodicals and newsletters. They set up the first Odia
printing press in 1836 which gave a boost to the Odia language and literature.
Needless to say, spread of Christianity happened alongside. However, a landmark
event in Odisha’s history mobilized the Odia people. In 1868, at a meeting of the
Asiatic Society held in Calcutta it was proposed that Bangla be made compulsory
in Odia schools. It was an attempt by the British administration to de-recognize
the Odia language. For ease of administration, Indian officials working for the
146
East India Company in Bengal province convinced the British that Odia was a A.K. Ramanujan and Jayanta
Mahapatra
dialect of Bangla and thus the status accorded to a national language was set to
be taken away from Odia. This united the Odia people against the injustice of the
British as they became aware that their Odia identity was under threat. It led to
a massive resistance from the Odia people who fought for their language and
culture. Thus, we might keep in mind that “modern Odia writing arose from an
urgent need to preserve the language and prevent the submersion of an Odia
identity”. It is this that constitutes the defining feature of Modern Odia literature—
the awareness of their culture and history and the need to preserve it. The fight
against linguistic submersion of Odia was specifically taken up by the pioneers
of Odia literature in the nineteenth century such as Gaurishankar Ray, Fakir
Mohan Senapati, Radhanath Ray and Madhusudan Rao. These writers mobilized
the people and led the campaign against the language policy of the administration.
It was to be a long battle since the onslaught on language didn’t stop. In fact, in
1895 the central administration made Hindi the language of schools in Odia
areas stripping Odia language of its rightful claim. It was only in 1905 that the
policy was reversed and Odia got its due place. But in the process an entire
generation of writers and thinkers came to the centre of the scene and pursued
the cause of the Odia people as a collective group and spoke of their concerns.

This is the tradition that the twentieth century Odia writers such as Jayanta
Mahapatra inherited. Even as he began writing poetry at the age of forty,
Mahapatra constantly engaged with the history of Odisha and created images in
his poetry based on local legends and myths. There are references to the Kalinga
war of the ancient period and to the famine of 1866 in Odisha in his poems.
Specific points in history when the lives of the people were shaken and changed
are Mahapatra’s points of engagement as he builds a narrative around these events.
Further, elements of nature and their interplay—the historical, mythological and
folklorish— became significant in Mahapatra’s scheme of things. This could be
seen as the larger political concern of the poet who wished to be seen as an Odia
poet more than anything else.

Jayanta Mahapatra’s poems were first published in international journals such as

the Critical Quarterly, the Kenyan Review and the Sewanee Review. His
collections of poems include Close the Sky, Ten by Ten (1971), A Rain of Rites
(1976), Relationships(1980), Life Signs (1983), A Whiteness of Bone (1992) and
Shadow Space (1997). An acclaimed poet, Mahapatra also translated Odia poetry
into English. For instance, he translated the poems of Gangadhar Meher, Sachi
Routray, Soubhagya Mishra and Sitakanta Mahapatra. He also edited journals
like Chandrabhaga and Kavya Bharati. His contribution to Odia literature is
seminal.

2.7 JAYANTA MAHAPATRA’S POEM “A RAIN OF

RITES”: A READING
The poem begins in the following manner—
Sometimes a rain comes
Slowly across the sky, that turns
Upon its grey cloud, breaking away into light
Before it reaches its objective.
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Indian English Poetry The poem is not a general comment on rain. The poet refers to a particular kind
of rain— “a rain” that “breaks away into light”. Such a rain does not take the
regular course of coming down straight to the earth. It instead turns upon the
“grey cloud” that has harboured it and bursts this cloud turning it into lightning
before the rain touches the ground. The poet is referring to a common natural
phenomenon of lightning but looks at it through the agency of rain. The latter is
an active agent that hit the clouds. The poet becomes one with the rain and thinks
of what it does to the cloud. Also, note the poet wants us to remember that the
rain has the capability to strike the very cloud that contained it. We may note that
in the poet’s scheme of things, the rain turns fiery and uncontrollable, and its
wrath does not spare the cloud. In the second stanza, the poet introduces “I” in
it, his subjectivity, and the impact this has on him. It is borne out by the following
lines:
The rain I have known and traded all this life
Is thrown like kelp on the beach.
Like some shape of conscience I cannot look at,
A malignant purpose in a nun’s eye.
The rain known to the poet is not the same as the one mentioned in the first
stanza. He contrasts the two kinds of rain and states that he perhaps wished that
the two would stay close and coexist. It is sustained by the line, “the rain I have
known and traded all this life/ is thrown like kelp on the beach”. The rain that is
available to the poet is like the kelp, that is, a seaweed that grows in underwater
forests. He wishes for a miraculous rain that bursts and shines through lightning
is another form of the same he knows. The metaphor of such a rain is extended
further. It is like “some shape of conscience” or “a malignant purpose in a nun’s
eye”. It works for him to know that his conscience resembles the phenomenon
and is like a wicked intention in someone who is supposed to be as pure and
untainted as a nun.

What do you think the rain signifies in the first two stanzas of the poem? At one
level, the rain could refer to the poetic muse, where the poet feels that creative
inspiration should have come to him as some revelation or miracle with a power
of lightening, one that could break clouds. At another level, it comes to him in
the form of ordinary things, bringing along doubt and self-doubt, making him
question his own intentions and purposes, and striking at his conscience. The
poem could be about the struggles of the poet with creativity. Further, the rain
could signify life itself. The poet might have wished for a glorious life and career,
while in reality he is stuck in the monotonous and the banal, engaged with the
average concerns of life. It could thus refer to the poet’s existential (see glossary)
crisis. Since, rain is a symbol of fertility, it could refer to the fruition in life the
poet hopes for. The rain could stimulate his creative practice. You could add
more interpretations to the symbol of the rain. Let’s discuss these points in the
light of the following stanza of the poem—
Who was the last man on earth,
To whom the cold cloud brought the blood to his face?
Numbly I climb to the mountain-tops of ours
Where my own soul quivers on the edge of answers.
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The stanza poses a question, but one that is rhetorical since the poet knows the A.K. Ramanujan and Jayanta
Mahapatra
answer. His position is that none exists “to whom the cold cloud brought” passion
referred to in “the blood to his face”. Gone are the days when the poet had an
eye-opening moment of revelation. There is a kind of weariness expressed through
these lines as the poet persona “numbly” climbs to the mountain tops where his
“soul quivers on the edge of answers”. The poet is on a quest, a search for
resolution, yet aware that exhaustion and timidity alone would be met at the end.
The climbing up the mountain top carries a resonance of the modernist motif of
the Myth of Sisyphus. According to the myth, in order to punish Sisyphus, the
gods had condemned him to roll a rock up to the top of the mountain without a
break. Once Sisyphus climbed the top of the mountain, the rock would fall back
to the ground because of its weight. The gods thought there couldn’t be a worse
punishment than futile, hopeless work. Albert Camus (1913-1960, French
modernist writer and visionary, in his essay “The myth of Sisyphus” used this
myth to make his point about the twentieth century human existence. He found
Sisyphus to be the “absurd hero” epitomizing the predicament of the modern
intellectual. The myth is tragic and so is the modern consciousness—an ordinary
person works each day in his life on the same tasks hoping to reach at the top. It
appears likely that at some point in time, one becomes conscious of the futility
of it all.

The myth in question works in the background of the poem when the poet becomes
conscious of the absurdity that impacts one’s life. We might take into consideration
the last two lines of the poems where two questions are posed for us to go over:
Which still, stale air sits on an angel’s wings?
What holds my rain so it’s hard to overcome?
The angel guiding or protecting him is presented not a powerful charismatic
figure. Instead, it is wearied just as the poet-subject is. It carries “still, stale air”
and suggests an all-encompassing inertia. The poet believes that the cosmos is
set against him and withholds the rain that belongs to him. It is not allowed to
reach him. It is as if the poet-subject were fighting this cosmic battle all by
himself.

Thus, the poem speaks of the intense solitude of the poet and his moments of
questioning and self-questioning. The entire poem is centered upon the poet’s
being. The cultural ethos and the local flavours of Odia life that Mahapatra was
known for are not the focus, and the poem brings to the fore the tragic
consciousness of the poet unable to resolve his life’s dilemmas. For K. Ayyappa
Paniker, the irony, in Mahapatra works to achieve not just a satiric effect but “to
heighten a tragic awareness” (18). Mahapatra takes recourse to modernist devices
and motifs to bring home the point of his own alienation and crisis.

2.8 JAYANTA MAHAPATRA’S POETIC STYLE

You must have noticed that in Mahapatra, images appear as montage. An event
or a phenomenon becomes the starting point for the poet to explore a feeling that
is then explained through a set of images. At the same time, no image is separately
put to use. Instead, all images get interconnected and work in unison. This takes
care of the problem of a pre-determined schema. New and fresh combinations
add great poetic value to the representation. A conscious poetic style emerges in
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Indian English Poetry the process. Mahapatra deliberately creates coded metaphors and places them
together in the poem with the aim that the meaning gets created on its own.

2.9 LET US SUM UP

In this unit you have studied in detail the specific concerns of Indian English
poets A.K. Ramanujan and Jayanta Mahapatra, both of whom were modern poets
of the post-colonial period. Indian English poetry in their works stands out as
self-assured as well as exploratory. These poets are not self-conscious in their
use of Indian English nor do they make it a subject of a predetermined concern.
Their focus is on the experience and emotion of the individual in the existing
period. They creatively use the English language for meeting their creative ends.
While A.K. Ramanujan is structured and succinct in his poetic style, Mahapatra
is deft in his use of romantic images. In them we see a variety of themes and
styles suggesting that Indian poetry in English has come a long way and become
more self-assured than before in its aesthetic working.

2.10 GLOSSARY
Dialectical : an approach that deals with two or more contradictory
perspectives. In it, ideas opposed to each other can still be
seen in their connection and dynamic working.

Existential : it refers to a school of thought based on the principal of

‘existence precedes essence’. The existential crisis stems
from the idea that life has no essence per se and that which
happens does not take humans forward.

2.11 QUESTIONS
1) Discuss modern Indian English poetry as it emerged in the post-
independence period.
2) What are A.K. Ramanujan’s views on the use of English by Indian writers?
Discuss.
3) Translation of classical Tamil helped Ramanujan develop his own poetic
style. Comment.
4) What does the rain signify in the “Rain of Rites”? Explain.
5) Mahapatra was an Odia poet with a modernist sensibility. Discuss

2.12 REFERENCES
Mukherjee, Sujit. “A Link Literature for India”. Translation as Discovery and
Other Essays on Indian Literature in English Translation. Hyderabad: Orient
Longman, 1994.

Paniker, K. Ayyappa. ed. Modern Indian Poetry in English. New Delhi: Sahitya
Akademi, 1991.

Ramanujan, Molly Daniels. The Oxford India Ramanujan. New Delhi: OUP,
2004.
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 A.K. Ramanujan and Jayanta
2.13 SUGGESTED READINGS Mahapatra

Das, Bijay Kumar. The Poetry of Jayanta Mahapatra. Kolkata: Writers workshop,
1992.

Mahapatra, Jayanta. Door of Paper: Essays and Memoirs. New Delhi: Authors
Press, 2007.

Padhi, Sangita. Indian Poetry in English: A Critical Study. New Delhi: Atlantic,
2016.

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Indian English Poetry
UNIT 3 ARUN KOLATKAR AND AGHA
SHAHID ALI
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 The Changing themes of Indian English Poetry
3.3 Arun Kolatkar: An Overview
3.4 A Reading of Kolatkar’s Poem “Ajamil and the Tigers”
3.5 Agha Shahid Ali: An Introduction
3.6 “Postcard from Kashmir”: An Analysis
3.7 Let Us Sum Up
3.8 Glossary
3.9 Questions
3.10 References
3.11 Suggested Readings

3.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
gain knowledge of the life and works of Arun Kolatkar and Agha Shahid
Ali;
critically analyse the poems of the two poets.

3.1 INTRODUCTION
This unit would open with a discussion on the changing paradigm of Indian
English poetry and acquaint you with two seminal writers of the latter half of the
twentieth century showing diverse sensibilities. One of them is strongly rooted
in the Indian culture and reality while the other is an Indian-American poet with
a global perspective. You would note that Indian English poetry in the hands of
these writers is both political and aesthetically equipped. Each, in one’s own
terms, experiments with the poetic form to get across the central idea.
Romanticism and sentimentalism are largely kept out of the purview in their
poems. While Arun Kolatkar is more satirical, Agha Shahid Ali is intense. Their
poems, however, are thought-centric in their basic strain which adds to their
appeal. Let’s first look at the larger literary scene of the post-independence period
that would become a background against which we can place these poets.

3.2 THE CHANGING THEMES OF INDIAN

ENGLISH POETRY
The post-colonial period in India brought new challenges for the people who
had visualized a free and equitable society. Since the 1960s, the dominant strain
of disillusionment in Indian literature had been at its peak. Meanwhile, the focus
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of Indian literature had shifted from the social concerns to individual struggles. Arun Kolatkar and Agha
Shahid Ali
The poetic practice became refined as more educated sections sprung up in Indian
society—we had a growing educated young population that looked for job
opportunities and strove to achieve individual success in all fields. This was
accompanied by the urge to better one’s social position and climb the social
ladder. As a result, a burgeoning middle class emerged in India that was educated
and intellectually evolved. It is from among this group that new poets emerged.
These new poets were well versed with English language as also the western
culture. Their readers were also the enlightened groups coming from the middle
class; they wanted to read works that represented their concerns. Thus, reading
literary works became a private affair, meant for self-fulfillment and pleasure. It
had little role to play in the socio-political life of the time. Indeed, its area shifted
from the social space of common people to literary clubs, cafes and drawing
rooms where educated men and women sat and talked. This shift led to a change
in concerns, too. Questions of injustice, poverty and suppression were discarded
and likewise, literary expression focused on middle class aspirations of men and
women, their personal relationships of love and marriage and disillusionment
with life. But the cause for this disillusionment would not be stretched to the
social dimension; those remained rooted in individual flaw or incapacity.
However, this was accompanied by a new kind of unabashed audacity particularly
in poetry that looked critically at the spiraling growth of capitalism in the country.
Both the writers discussed in this unit fall in this latter category.

3.3 ARUN KOLATKAR: AN OVERVIEW

Arun Kolatkar (1932-2004), a bilingual poet who wrote equally well in his mother
tongue Marathi and English. He was also an artist and a translator. Born in
Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Kolatkar grew up in British India and witnessed the
dawn of the new nation. In this sense, he knew the concerns that troubled the
country in its phase of nation-building. In 1947, he did matriculation and in 1949
joined the JJ School of Art in Mumbai to pursue fine arts. Kolatkar wanted to
become an artist and tried his luck at painting but soon moved towards advertising.
He began his career as a commercial artist working for advertising firms, and
took to writing poetry seriously only later in life. Once he had elected poetry to
be his main interest, Kolatkar began critically observing the way in which Indian
society moved towards consumerism and money-making. The post-colonial India
was turning exclusionist in attitude where those who did not believe in the ideals
of individual success and profit were increasingly sidelined and left in the lurch.
Gone were the days of raising slogans for justice and equality. The discourse of
post-colonial India was based on a particular kind of progress meant for the rich
and the powerful, not for the poor and the destitute. This reality became more
than evident in sensitive writers like Kolatkar who took it upon themselves to
challenge the centres of authority through their poetic practice.

Kolatkar’s collection of poems Kala Ghoda expresses the wrath of the artist-
poet against a system that was meant to benefit the common people and instead
sidelined them. Kolatkar designed the cover for his volume of poems as well, so
both the cover and the poems became a statement about the prevailing system.
The collection speaks about the ills of urban life as he saw them in (then) Bombay.
The title Kala Ghoda is a reference to a popular art district of downtown Mumbai
and houses the heritage buildings and museums. Kolatkar’s first collection of
poetry Jejuri won him the Commonwealth Poetry Prize in 1976. Since it earned
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Indian English Poetry recognition the world over, it was believed by many among the literati that Indian
English poetry had turned a new leaf. In the poems included in the volume Jejuri,
Kolatkar boldly targeted the hypocritical ways of the Brahmins and the functioning
of the oppressive religious order in society. The title of the collection was inspired
from the temple town of Jejuri in Maharashtra, a place of pilgrimage. Kolatkar
had visited the place in 1963 and captured in poetry what he saw there. Kolatkar
called a spade a spade and seldom used the sophisticated poetic idiom that you
would find in the poems of Ezekiel or Mahapatra, for instance. His was a more
direct and assertive style, a bold stance countering the corrupt nexus of religion
and capitalism in our society. An experimentalist, Kolatkar continued to explore
and stretch the medium of poetry. Sometimes, he would use in his poems
expletives that shocked the readers, at other times, he would use the simple folktale
form to convey his message. He had the ability to engage the reader in a narrative
poem as well as a dramatic poem. According to the critic Afeefa Banu, Kolatkar
belonged to,

A group of Marathi poets whose poetry showed strong affinities with a whole
range of radical poetry from European Dadaist, to Futurists and Surrealists, to
the contemporary Beats of the US. Although he started writing in Marathi and
English simultaneously, he won acclaim as a great poet in Indian English first.
One remarkable feature of Kolatkar’s poetry, both Marathi and English, is that
he treats language as a living entity. The poems speak in different voices and
tones, English of the American western Movies, and Marathi speckled with
Bombaiyya Hindi, often dotted with sarcasm and irony, which many critics find
difficult to digest. (28)

Thus, Kolatkar’s works are marked by originality since the play with language
happens at a deeper level. Language is not merely a passive medium that carries
the writer’s intent. In his poems, language begins to take its own shape and
suggests simultaneous points of references. The ways in which it develops and
formulates the idea make the poems gripping.

3.4 A READING OF KOLATKAR’S POEM

“AJAMIL AND THE TIGERS”
The poem “Ajamil and the Tigers” is taken from the collection Jejuri and builds
a narrative in verse. As mentioned above, Jejuri was a pilgrimage town and the
poetic subject of Jejuri is centered around a pilgrimage, a journey with which
the collection opens. Its last poem is about the imminent return of the narrator
poet. In the collection, there are several poems on the place and the myths and
how guides and saints build their own narrative about this mystical town. The
place has a mythical significance created through centuries of story-telling. The
poem “Ajamil and the Tigers” belongs to this group of poems. It is meant to be a
religious-moral tale. But it doesn’t stop there. One can interpret the poem from
socio-political point of views as well. The poem is structured as a fable that is an
animal tale and works as an allegory (see glossary) for our times as well. Like
all allegories this poem, too, has a message and a lesson. The question is—what
kind of a picture is the poet presenting? Is it a critique on the modern system of
living or some general moral axiom he is presenting through the tale? What is
his purpose in writing such a story? Also, is this story meant for children or a
part of children’s literature or yet a take on the existing social system? In order
154 to reach an understanding, Let us first read the poem.
“Ajamil and the Tigers” Arun Kolatkar and Agha
Shahid Ali
The tiger people went to their king
And said, ‘We’re starving.
We’ve had nothing to eat,
Not a bite,
For 15 days and 16 nights.
Ajamil has got
A new sheep dog.
He cramps our style
And won’t let us get within a mile
Of meat’.

‘That’s shocking’.
Said the tiger king.
‘Why didn’t you come to see me before?
Make preparations for a banquet.
‘I’m gonna teach that sheep dog a lesson he’ll never forget’.
‘Hear hear’, said the tigers.
‘Careful’, said the queen.
But he was already gone.
Alone
Into the darkness before the dawn.

In an hour he was back,

The good king.
A black patch on his eye.
His tail in a sling.
And said, ‘I’ve got it all planned
Now that I know the lie of the land.
All of us will have to try.
We’ll outnumber the son of a bitch
And this time there will be no hitch.
Because this time I shall be leading the attack’.

Quick as lightning
The sheep dog was.
He took them all in as prisoners of war,
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Indian English Poetry The 50 tigers and the tiger king,
Before they could get their paws
On a single sheep.
They never had a chance.
The dog was in 51 places all at once.
He strung them all out in a daisy chain
and flung them in front of his boss in one big heap.

‘Nice dog you got there, Ajamil’,

Said the tiger king.
Looking a little ill
And spitting out a tooth.
‘But there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding.
We could’ve wiped out your herd in one clean sweep.
But we were not trying to creep up on your sheep.
We feel that means are more important than ends.
We were coming to see you as friends.
And that’s the truth’.

The sheep dog was the type

Who had never told a lie in his life.
He was built along simpler lines
And he was simply disgusted.
He kept on making frantic signs.
But Ajamil, the good shepherd
Refused to meet his eyes
And pretended to believe every single word
Of what the tiger king said.
And seemed to be taken in by all the lies.
Ajamil cut them loose
And asked them all to stay for dinner.
It was an offer the tigers couldn’t refuse.
And after the lamb chops and the roast,
When Ajamil proposed
They sign a long-term friendship treaty,
All the tigers roared.
‘We couldn’t agree with you more’.
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And swore they would be good friends all their lives Arun Kolatkar and Agha
Shahid Ali
As they put down the forks and the knives.

Ajamil signed a pact

With the tiger people and sent them back.
Laden with gifts of sheep, leather jackets and balls of wool.
Ajamil wasn’t a fool.
Like all good shepherds he knew
That even tigers have got to eat some time.
A good shepherd sees to it they do.
He is free to play a flute all day
As well fed tigers and fat sheep drink from the same pond
With a full stomach for a common bond.
At the most simplistic level, the poem narrates a story about animals. In the story
along with animals who talk, there is the figure of a man Ajamil who can converse
with them. What kind of a tale is this? And Who is Ajamil? He is a legendary
character from the tales in Jayadri Mahatmay. According to the legend, Ajamil
was a devotee of Khandoba (an avatar of Vishnu) worshipped in Jejuri. He would
take the sheep for grazing, and even after having sinned was redeemed because
in his last moments before death he took the name of god.

Here in the poem, Ajamil has the responsibility of protecting the sheep. For this,
he has kept a sheep dog that protects the sheep from being hunted by the tigers.
The sheep dog is efficient and skilled at his job, because of which the tigers have
been going hungry. The afflicted tigers approach their tiger king and raise their
concern, telling him they have not eaten for fifteen days. The tiger king angry
with the sheep dog speaks like a goon who owns the place, as in, “I’m gonna
teach that sheep dog a lesson” and “that son of a bitch”. He decides to launch an
attack with his gang of tigers. When they attack, ironically, they are beaten by
the swift dog that was at 51 places all at once. The dog enchains them. Do you
see the irony of the situation here? The boastful tigers are in chains and sheep
dog controls them. It is just the opposite of what we expected. However, having
lost the battle physically to the dog, the tiger king manipulates and changes his
stance. He tells Ajamil that they came to make friends, not to fight. Ajamil too
understands their state and motive, he is not innocent. He appears to take them
seriously but understands, too, their penchant for treachery. Yet, he tries to use
the situation to his advantage. He knows he has to live with the tigers in the
times to come—so, why should he displease them? Thus, he offers them to join
for dinner which the tigers readily accept. They are treated with lamb and roast.
After this, Ajamil signs a pact with them of friendliness. The tigers happily agree.
Ajamil sends them back with gifts—leather jackets and sheep to carry home.
Thus, the story narrated in the poem ends in a compromise and apparently a
harmonious existence is ensured at the end.

It is worth questioning, yet—Are the sheep happy with the arrangement? Do

they have a say in the matter? In fact, they constitute the silent subjects in the
poem. They never speak nor converse among one another and we are given no
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Indian English Poetry clue as to what they might be thinking on the matter. Ajamil decides to sacrifice
some sheep to protect the rest and keep the tigers happy. The fate of those whose
life is at stake is really not in their hands.

The poem at one level speaks of harmonious coexistence achieved through

diplomatic intervention. Of course, in nature one cannot expect both tiger and
sheep drinking water from the same pond. It goes against the logic of nature’s
equilibrium. Take for instance, one of Aesop’s fables, “The Lion and the Goat”
where the lion and the goat quarrel over who should go first to the water fountain
to quench their thirst. In the fable, they are determined to fight one another till
death, till they see vultures hovering over them waiting for one of them to fall so
they could become food for the vultures. Finally, the lion and the goat decide to
patch up and not be foolish and die in a quarrel. The story of the sheep and the
tigers presented in the poem by Kolatkar has an uncanny resemblance to Aesop’s
story. We know that the sheep can never be friends with the tiger. Yet, Ajamil
was able to achieve the impossible and reach conciliation. Yet how? He bribed
the tigers with gifts and some sheep.

Now, read the poem as a social and political satire, and it would take a different
dimension altogether. Seen from this angle, one could argue that Ajamil represents
the state, and thus acts as the state’s agent. He could be the middleman, the
broker, who has to deal with the crooks, whose job it is to protect the common
people and who maintains an entire section of deputies or watchdogs working
for the state. The sheep dog could as well be the ordinary honest man who does
not understand double dealing, yet becomes a part of the network of corruption.
Unknowingly, he becomes an agent of vice who facilitates the work of people
like Ajamil. What about the tigers? They represent the corrupt elements in society
whose nexus grew by the day in independent India. They could be Dacoits,
criminals or the moneyed sections having power and influence. The tigers,
confident and bold seem to hold everyone in their power. These people must be
placated. They are the rogues who want their share in everything. The Bombay
scene of criminals and hooligans that was a nascent group in the 1970s but became
formidable in the decades to come is prophetically captured here. The whole
scene changes to a precarious Bombay life where different kinds of stakeholders
fight for their share and use cunning and deceit to get by. The poem thus speaks
of a deeper systemic malaise operative in society. Reality suddenly becomes
complex and difficult to understand. The silent sheep remain the victim and go
unnoticed in the poem. They neither have a say nor a role to play in matters that
affect their lives. What could be more ironical?

The idea of sacrifice and compromise are also presented with equal weight in the
poem. If we focused on these from a religious-ethical point of view, the poem
would appear to be a narrative of sacrifice for god and compromise as the essence
of life. However, the question is—Does the poet approve of the sacrifice made
by Ajamil or the compromise that was reached between him and the tiger-king?
Is the poet showing in fact a realistic version of the story, suggesting that in
today’s world diplomacy and cunning go hand in hand? Who is the guilty one
here? Finally, who lost and who won—Ajamil and the tigers who won or that the
sheep who suffered a serious loss? Do you think the issue got resolved? All
these questions get raised as we read the poem. This makes the poem thought-
provoking. The more we think about these issues, the better we shall grasp the
truth of our world. The poem brings to our notice how the law of the land was
158 changing at the time, and how deceit and trickery became the order of the day.
In another poem titled “Crabs”, Kolatkar deploys the image of crabs as threats. Arun Kolatkar and Agha
Shahid Ali
The poem begins in a dramatic way “Look, look./ Just look at them. /The crabs.
/ There are two of them./ They’re keeping watch/on whom, you ask?/ on you of
course,/who else?”. Again, the meaning is unclear but Kolatkar imaginatively
gives colour to the dramatic scene and alerts the reading, saying, “They’re going
to eat your eyes”. The image of the crabs has to be decoded and it is never clear
in the poem what these crabs represent. On his part, Kolatkar tells us that there
are entire sections in society operating in a hidden manner out to grab and kill
those who challenge the powers that be.

Kolatkar’s poetic practice was critical of the elements of tradition, lineage and
folklore on the one hand and bohemianism, alternate culture and imagism on the
other. With the advantage of being an artist, Kolatkar could create word-pictures
that moved and spoke. He experimented with these and in some cases made
poetry out of such details. These corroborate the acumen and skill of the poet.
Importantly, Kolatkar would not compromise on his perspective while
experimenting with the poetic form.

3.5 AGHA SHAHID ALI: AN INTRODUCTION

Agha Shahid Ali (1949-2001) was a Kashmiri poet who was born in a highly
educated and well to do family in Srinagar. He grew up in Srinagar and received
his early education there. Shahid Ali studied at the University of Kashmir to
complete his Bachelor’s degree and attained his Master’s degree from Hindu
College of Delhi University. Shahid Ali taught in Delhi University for a while
before leaving the country to pursue his Phd. from Pennsylvania in 1975. Later,
he moved to Arizona to pursue a course in creative writing. This was followed
by a period of teaching in various colleges and universities in the US and settled
down there. He wrote all his poems in English, and considered English as his
first language and Urdu his mother tongue. This gave him the identity of an
Indian American poet. He became an American citizen in 2001, and the same
year died of brain cancer in Amherst, Massachusetts. His poems had a universal
appeal even as Kashmir loomed large in them. The range and variety of his
poems speak for his inclusive vision. Partly because of the exposure he received
in his growing up years, he drew inspiration from various sources. The largely
secular and western atmosphere around him made him adopt a multicultural
outlook. The subjects of his poems range from museums and historical places to
happenings in Damascus and Chile. He was equally stirred by art cinema,
American pop music, Indian classical music, film bhajans and Ghazals. The
dynamic personality of Agha Shahid Ali combined with his sensitivity and
intensity of expression to make him a poet of vast appeal.

He wrote political poems that spoke of inequality and injustice in society. He

also translated the poems of the revolutionary Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz; these
were published as a collection titled The Rebel’s Silhouette (1992). His career of
three decades as a poet is marked by a large number of collections, notable among
them being Bone Sculpture and A Walk Through Yellow Pages.

3.5 “POSTCARD FROM KASHMIR”: AN ANALYSIS

Taken from the collection The Half-inch Himalyas, the poem “Postcard from
Kashmir” speaks of the poets’ changing relation with the place he calls home. It
159
Indian English Poetry is about how an entire lived experience of his children has shrunk in the size of
a postcard. Let us have a look at it:
“Postcard from Kashmir”

Kashmir shrinks into my mailbox,

My home a neat four by six inches.

I always loved neatness. Now I hold

The half-inch Himalayas in my hand.

This is home. And this the closest

I’ll ever be to home. When I return,
The colours won’t be so brilliant,
The Jhelum’s waters so clean,
So ultramarine. My love
So overexposed.

And my memory will be a little

Out of focus, in it
A giant negative, black
And white, still undeveloped.
In this poem, Shahid Ali looks back nostalgically at his country of birth and
more particularly the Kashmir he knew. The postcard in the present case is all he
has as a reminder of his motherland. Kashmir has fitted neatly into a post card of
four by six inches unlike the reality which is complex and far from diverse. The
poem juxtaposes what is and what appears to be the reality in Kashmir. Also,
being away from Kashmir, in a distant land of the United States, the poet’s
perspective has changed. The towering presence of the Himalayas seen from
Kashmir occupies a space of half an inch on the postcard. The perspective of
distance has enabled the poet to look at it objectively. Yet, he cannot do that
sufficiently well because the memory he carries is way stronger than the present-
day conditions. With distance, the perspective becomes broader and more
comprehensive. What does the poet see? The poet compares the picture of Kashmir
on the postcard with the one he carries in his mind that is “a giant negative, black
and white, still undeveloped”. Note that the photograph in his mind is “giant”
unlike the postcard that is small. The photograph of his mind has not been printed
yet, it has remained undeveloped in the photographer’s studio. Pitched against
these two images (of the poet’s mind and that carried in the postcard) is the third
image of the actual Kashmir, which the poet would not be able to relate with,
even if he decided to go back home. As he says, when I return, “The colours
won’t be so brilliant, /The Jhelum’s waters so clean, /So ultramarine”. There is
also the suggestion that the picture in his mind is as brilliant, clean and ultramarine
as the one represented in the postcard: “this is the closest/I’ll ever be to home”.
160
The implication is that the actual Kashmir has lost its brilliance and beauty. It is Arun Kolatkar and Agha
Shahid Ali
no more a place the poet can call his home. An uneasy relation with the past as
also with the home one has left behind is predominant in the poem. Looked at as
a Diaspora (see glossary) poem, it has the stock themes of divided cultural and
national identities, memories and nostalgia, in addition to an altered perspective
of the subject as well as the mingling of the east and west. At a political level,
Shahid Ali always remained disturbed by the unfolding situation in Kashmir and
the struggles of its people during the 1990s. In an imaginative sweep, the poet
wrote the prose poem “Dear Shahid” where his grief is amply projected. To
quote an excerpt from the poem—

Dear Shahid:
I am writing to you from your far-off country.
Far even from us who live here
Where you no longer are.
Everyone carries his address in his pocket
At least his body will reach home.
The tension in the Kashmir valley is aptly suggested through these lines where
life is precarious and uncertain. In a lot of his poems on Kashmir and those
speaking of his parents, Shahid Ali deploys the narrative form as if he were
recounting a story and then in the middle of it, he adds images to the narrative to
fulfill the poem’s poetic journey. He goes back often in such poems to his
childhood or to a time when he wasn’t born for bringing out the histories as he
saw them. Those included the specific episodes dealing with his ancestors, parents
and the common people of the place. There is nostalgia and a deep sense of pain
attached with his response. In the poem “Snowmen” Shahid Ali begins with,
“My ancestors, a man/ Of Himalayan snow,/ Came to Kashmir from Samarkand,/
Carrying a bag,/ Of whale bones”. In another poem titled “A Dream of Glass
Bangles” Shahid Ali revives a traumatic moment of his childhood—”those
autumns my parents slept/ warm in a quilt studded/with pieces of mirrors/ on my
mother’s arms were bangles/like waves of frozen rivers” and soon the scene
shifts to “the air a quicksand of snow/ as my father stepped out/ and my mother/
inside the burning house/ a widow smashing the rivers/ on her arms”. There is a
strong imprint of the very personal perceptions of the poet in the scenes described
here which suddenly turn from soft moments into tragedy.

Novelist Amitav Ghosh wrote about the impact of Shahid Ali’s poetry saying,
“His 1997 Collection, The Country Without a Post Office, had a powerful
impression on me. His voice was like none I had ever heard before, at once
lyrical and fiercely disciplined, engaged and yet deeply inward. Not for him the
mock-casual almost-prose of so much contemporary poetry: his was a voice that
was not ashamed to speak in a bardic register”. This is an apt description of
Shahid Ali’s genius. The poems dealing with home and Kashmir particularly are
of this strain and move the reader immensely. His style is personal and suggestive
while his vision is cosmopolitan. Images and narratives merge in his poetry, and
the emotional sweep of the poems make this poet particularly appealing. The
pain expressed by him in his verses is impressive for its outreach and concern.

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Indian English Poetry
3.7 LET US SUM UP
The dark surrealistic style of Kolatkar with a hint of irony suggests that Indian
English poetry has evolved a great deal and has formed a distinct style of its
own. Without the self-consciousness of their predecessors, the contemporary
Indian poets writing in English freely borrow the techniques and styles of the
western poets without accepting their perspective. The vision is essentially Indian
as also the concerns of the poet. We can see that with Kolatkar Indian English
poetry has come of age. In Agha Shahid Ali’s case we find that the personal and
the political are aesthetically united. His perspective is historical and his themes
inclusive. He has a rare intensity of emotion that he can skillfully and effectively
articulate. This goes deeper than sentimentality. Even as grief carries the force in
his poetry, it is seldom existential or self-referential. Even though diverse in
concerns, the two poets discussed in this unit project an image of objectively
reading the cultural scene in contemporary India with engagement.

3.8 GLOSSARY
Allegory : a creative piece that has a story running at two distinct
levels—the literal level and the metaphorical.

Fable and Parable : a fable is a short story that consists of animals as central
characters who converse with one another. Fables have
a moral behind them. A parable is also a short story but
one that does not involve animals as characters. A moral
purpose always works behind it.

Diaspora : literature of the diaspora refers to literary works written

by those whose country of origin is different from their
country of residence. Diaspora authors are those who
have settled outside their native country and yet are
constantly haunted by the memories of the home.

3.9 QUESTIONS
1) Write a note on the concerns of Indian English Poetry in the post-
independence poetry.
2) Comment on the use of irony in the poem “Ajamil and the Tigers”.
3) Kolatkar has deployed the form of the fable to comment on the political
reality of India at the time. Discuss.

4) Agha Shahid Ali’s poem “Postcard from Kashmir” projects three images
of Kashmir. Explain these in the light of the discussion in this unit.
5) Write a note on Kashmir as an overarching theme in the poetry of Shahid
Ali.

3.10 REFERENCES
Ghosh, Amitav. “‘The Ghat of the Only World’: Agha Shahid Ali in Brooklyn”.
The Nation, Feb.11, 2002.
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Banu, Afeefa. “Modern Indian English Poetry”.Contemporary Indian Poetry in Arun Kolatkar and Agha
Shahid Ali
English. Ed. Mohan Ramanan, Afeefa Banu, and Pramod Nayar. Delhi: Sahitya
Akademi, 2010.

3.11 SUGGESTED READINGS

Ali, Agha Shahid. The Veiled Suite: The Collected Poems. New York: W. W.
Norton & Company, Inc., 2009. Print.

Benvenuto, Christine. “Agha Shahid Ali.” The Massachusetts Review Vol. 43,
No. 2. Amherst: The Massachusetts Review, Inc., 2002. pp. 261-273. Web. JSTOR.
29 March 2015.

Zecchini, Laetitia. Arun Kolatkar and Literary Modernism in India: Moving Lines.
London: Bloomsbury, 2014.

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Indian English Poetry
UNIT 4 DILIP CHITRE AND KEKI N.
DARUWALLA
Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Dilip Chitre: An Introduction
4.3 Dilip Chitre’s Poem “Ode to Bombay”
4.4 Keki N. Daruwalla: An Introduction
4.5 Keki N. Daruwalla’s Poem “Chinar”
4.6 Let Us Sum Up
4.7 Questions
4.8 References
4.9 Suggested Readings

4.0 OBJECTIVES
The unit is meant to acquaint you with the phenomenon of the 1980s and 90s in
India’s cultural life in general and Indian poetry in particular. In the context, the
poets analyzed in the present unit speak of the concerns of this era as life became
increasingly opportunity-centric and literature looked inwards to point at its own
incapacities. Dilip Chitre and Keki N. Daruwalla are the poets we shall be focusing
upon in this unit. You would be able to notice in the poems analyzed here a shift
in thematic concerns and change of the poetic style. Importantly, during the period,
disillusionment among poets turned to cynicism as there was little that inspired
writers. They took for expressing ordinary themes and wistfully looked at life.

4.1 INTRODUCTION
As has been mentioned in the previous units, Indian English Poetry became more
and more self-oriented in the post-Independence period. It turned to self-
interrogation and focused on creating an identity for it, particularly distancing
itself from the concerns of the poor and deprived. Indian English poetry tried to
emulate the western literary trends and chose to merge with what was considered
mainstream writing. In order to make a mark for itself and to be seen as a distinct
entity, Indian English poetry had to generate a new kind of expression by turning
to customs and traditions; those would be redefined and made relevant. Linguistic
skills were attended to with gusto. The formal in writing was sought to be replaced
by the popular and aggressive. The writers of the 1960s made the individual a
common reference point to which the poet returned after having traversed other
areas of interest. The issue of identity was sorted out in this manner. Kamala
Das, and later Eunice de Souza brought in freshness of ideas and created a concrete
feminist framework for literary emphasis. Later still, came on the scene poets
making a choice to be political in their stance—both Agha Shahid Ali and Arun
Kolatkar in their own way made it a point to comment on the problems of the
day. Likewise, A.K. Ramanujan made Indian poetry crisp and succinct. His care
with language and a humanist perspective gave the required push to Indian English
164
poetry. In Dilip Chitre, the urban westernized perspective is more pronounced Dilip Chitre and Keki N.
Daruwalla
and there is a blurring of the poetic position as he persists with the artistic world
and shuns social concerns. In Daruwalla there is both sophistication and a
humanist approach that forces the fellow writers to take a second look at their
roles. Initiative and sense of independence are the markers of contemporary Indian
English poetry. Shirish Chindhade has observed that “It is a paradoxical fact that
Indian poetry in English has flourished with the native colours, situations and
experience chiefly after independence. It has boldly divorced itself from the
mainstream of English poetry in an effort to be an independent entity and has
emerged as part of ‘Indian’ literature (28).

4.2 DILIP CHITRE: AN INTRODUCTION

Dilip Chitre (1938-2009) was born in Vadodra, Gujarat. Although his mother
tongue was Marathi, he knew Gujarati equally well, and because of his early
education in a Jesuit school he learnt English when young. He was well versed
in Hindustani language, too, that was spoken in a larger part of the country in the
pre-independence period, Chitre attained a comprehensive view of Indian cultures
and languages owing to the different places he stayed in his formative years.
When he was twelve, his family moved to Bombay. Exposure to many languages
enabled Dilip Chitre to take up for expression both Marathi and English. He also
translated Marathi works into English. He is best known for his translations of
the Bhakti poet Tukaram. A writer, critic, translator, and filmmaker, Chitre also
penned a novel titled Morphyus. He was a leading figure in the “Little Magazine”
movement that took shape in Marathi literature.

Two things find specific mention in Chitre’s poetry, the urban surroundings and
broader social concerns. We are struck by his stress on the modern outlook that
is critical of the mundane. He has successfully delinked himself from the values
of the National Movement. It is the emerging India that takes his attention. It is
progressive in the apparent sense. At the same time though, the erosion of
modernity in outlook worries him. Not to shed tears for peace and harmony
being targeted by the neo-rich in the country, Chitre would have us take a position
on the drift happening towards dogma. He appears to be a misfit in his
surroundings that are pressed hard by the mighty in society. This may have taken
him to the solace in the saint poet Tukaram. So far as social concerns are
concerned, Chitre is not with the model of planned development. He sees in it an
increasing influence of the state. The poet in Chitre would find powers of the
regime daunting since there lie the many restrictions on free enterprise and
dynamism. The way left in the context is of seeking shelter in the world of art. It
is also noteworthy that Chitre would not be sufficiently aware of the pitfalls of
the Cold War active in literature. He was a known votary of keeping literature
outside the pale of social influence and commitment. For him, it would be better
if the writer confined himself to the world of individual sensitivity and the
processes of the mind.

Chitre’s first collection of Marathi poems was published in 1960 titled Kavita.
His English poetry collections include, Ambulance Ride (1972), Travelling in a
Cage (1980), The Mountain (1998), No Moon on the River Karha (2000), Post-
climactic Love Poems (2005), and As Is, Where Is: Selected Poems (2007), among
others. His translation of Tukaram’s poems under the title Says Tuka (1991) and
the book Shri Jnande’s Anubhavamrut: The Immortal Experience of Being (1996)
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Indian English Poetry drew critical notice. For him, the postcolonial era opened up new avenues to
establish intercultural discourse. He considered it a “truly pluralistic global literary
tradition” (126). In many ways, Chitre represented this pluralistic global tradition
in writing. Being a poet from urban background, Chitre speaks from the point of
view of the modern upper-middle class that saw life from the prism of the
metropolis. In the urban centres, he recognized diversity. At the same time, he
finds himself alone, often isolated. This leads him on to the path of cynicism. In
his poems, the immediate moment is crucial, the here and now, which expands to
include the commonly experienced emotion, the universal experience. Even when
he offers a view of space and time, it is either a generic view or specifically
meant for the urban city-dweller. Consider how Chitre outlines this idea in the
poem “Absence from Myself”—
Spaces, spaces, spaces
Time leaves no detail untouched
And time takes all details away
My ancestors and so is my successor
That leaves me no space but here and now.
The “here and now” is the focus of the poem where the poet is placed between
ancestors and his successors both of whom are dead and the poet alone is alive.
The poem in your course “Ode to Bombay” also engages with the question of the
present moment and its transience as also the question of life and death. Both are
of ephemeral nature. At one level, the poem is about the city,then Bombay.He
associated this place along with other metropolitan cities as governed by ideas
of ambition and acquisition. The spread of ambition and acquisition that make
the citizens alienated in their surroundings do harm to the mental health of society.
We need to critically evaluate the poet’s point of view and think about the causes
behind such an assessment of contemporary India. Does he approve or disapprove
of such circumstances? Does he remain non-committal? This would bring us
closer to the worldview of a writer. Let’s look specifically at the poem in our
course and gain clarity on the issue.

4.3 DILIP CHITRE’S POEM “ODE TO BOMBAY”

Let us read the poem.

“Ode to Bombay”

I had promised you a poem before I died

Diamonds storming out of the blackness of a piano
Piece by piece I fall at my own dead feet
Releasing you like a concerto from my silence
I unfasten your bridges from my insistent bones
Free your railway lines from my desperate veins
Dismantle your crowded tenements and meditating machines
Remove your temples and brothels pinned in my skull
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You go out of me in a pure spiral of stars Dilip Chitre and Keki N.
Daruwalla
A funeral progressing towards the end of time
Innumerable petals of flame undress your dark
Continuous stem of growing

I walk out of murders and riots

I fall out of smouldering biographies
I sleep on a bed of burning languages
Sending you up in your essential fire and smoke
Piece by piece at my own feet I fall
Diamonds storm out of a black piano

Once I promised you an epic

And now you have robbed me
You reduced me to rubble
This concerto ends.
By convention, an ode is a poem addressing a particular person, season or place.
The ode is lyrical and might be sung. It does not follow a particular meter or
rhyme scheme and is irregular in pattern. It is made a poem by the tone the poet
adopts or a picture and image the poet uses to communicate something important
for the benefit of the listener. That description is wholly sustained by the “Ode to
Bombay” in which the city with the name Bombay is spoken to. The poet speaker
is the observer and has the city in front of him which engages him and binds him
to the place. The poem begins with the writer making the statement “I had
promised you a poem before I died.” The tone is personal. The question arises,
why the poet brings in the theme of death in the opening line? See the queries
arising from the mention of death. Is the poem precisely about death that may
apply to the poet, and by association to the city as well? If we move to the third
line, we note that the writer refers to his own dead feet and releases the city (you)
from there. The sole purpose is to share with the city the loss of quality suffered
by the speaker. It is not a simple poem. The word that comes to mind about the
piano is a conscious selection of the details of the picture. It poses problems. For
instance, the piano has black keys but the poet has turned that into blackness. To
complicate it further, diamonds are shown as storming out piece by piece. The
link of concerto with the piano is logical—the instrument gives out a musical
composition with the poet’s silence being its medium. Once again though, the
help is offered by the poet as silence has a close affinity with death. Indeed, one
might call the first stanza entirely devoted to the subject of death through a
metaphor that is extended further to cover a whole variety of details in the city’s
life. Those are—bridges, bones, railway lines, dismantling of tenements or small
structures keeping company with temples, where people go to worship, and to
brothels that symbolize carnal pleasure. Imagine the vast range of the first stanza
and likewise of the city under view. All this is achieved through deployment of
the metaphor of death.

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Indian English Poetry The poem explores the conflicting relation the poet has with the city of Bombay
that excites him and at the same time hurts him. There is both endearment and
detachment experienced by the poet for this city. In this city, diamonds fall from
blackness—”Diamonds storming out of the blackness of a piano”. This is how
the poet visualizes the city of Bombay. What does this reference suggest? At
one level, it is a reference to the city of dreams that Bombay became famous for
during the latter half of the twentieth century. Bombay was the place of glamour,
films, arts and commercial cinema where people with starry eyes came from all
parts of the country to fulfill their dreams. It became a symbol of gaining quick
success and fame. See that diamonds aptly project the city, they shine against
the background of a musical note such as that of a piano. At another level the
phrase stands in sharp contrast to what follows it: “Piece by piece I fall at my
own dead feet”. The picture of glamour and amazement is replaced by the poet
breaking apart as if he were made of pieces that begin to fall. It is an expression
of how the city has broken him, shattered him and taken away from him his own
being. A similar expression occurs in the closing lines of the poem—”you have
robbed me/ You reduced me to rubble”. There is a constant reiteration that the
city has consumed the poet and reduced him to what he calls a rubble. It has
taken the essential human quality from him and yet this deserves to be called an
epic according to the poet, as he claims: “Once I promised you an epic.” The
poem is worthy of being sung in an ode. The complete destruction of the poem is
the final stroke with which the concerto ends—the concerto of the poet’s own
destruction and death.

Meanwhile the poet remains engaged with the city for it seems to have an
overwhelming presence in the poem—as if poet were a lover and the city a
beloved. It is clear from the poem that the poet finds himself in the clutches of
the city and wishes to break free from it. He says, “I unfasten your bridges from
my insistent bones/Free your railway lines from my desperate veins”. There is
also the suggestion that the city has entered his very being, in his veins and
bones, and that he can barely escape its influence. The reference to railway lines
and machines tells us that the city is moving towards industrialization and turning
mechanized. The poet finds the new life almost unbearable, yet he is stuck to the
place. The only way he can sever ties with the city is in death—”You go out of
me in a pure spiral of stars /A funeral progressing towards the end of time”. Note
that the poet has lived to see riots and murders that abound in the city “I walk out
of murders and riots”. He knows the city’s brothels and its underbelly. These
leave an impact on him as he helplessly goes over them, “I fall out of smouldering
biographies/ I sleep on a bed of burning languages”. He cannot come out unscathed
from these as he says he breaks into pieces and the pieces fall on his feet. The
picture in the poem turns violent as also oppressive, and yet there is a sense of
moving on. The wide range of the poem makes it appear as a concerto with its
high and low notes, its climactic moment and its tragic close. It appears like a
musical composition where the poet is the composer, narrator, observer and the
victim. The strong force of the city of Bombay acts upon him and consumes him.
The subject poet is a passive entity, a site on which this dramatic composition is
played. The city of Bombay is the active agent that has its way and has capability
to destroy the poet subject.

In the poem, we come across the attitude of despair that might remind us of
English poets such as T.S. Eliot. Indeed, Eliot was there in the cultural air in that
period and had entered the English syllabi in India’s universities. Look at the
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images in the poem and compare them with those in Eliot, particularly the ones Dilip Chitre and Keki N.
Daruwalla
he wrote around the time of the First World War. One might specifically refer to
the Waste Land.

Let us now turn our attention to another poet who deploys locales skillfully and
makes them palpable like human beings with the situations in which they are
placed. We observe that places are not outside the influence of human beings, as
independent geographical entities with no social characteristics enshrined in them.
They are invariably merged with human motives, aims and aspirations and express
the dynamic of life the same way as humans carry in their gestures the flavour
and fragrance of the places. Let us see how far it may be true of the poet Daruwalla.

4.4 KEKI N. DARUWALLA: AN INTRODUCTION

Born in 1937 in Lahore that later became a part of Pakistan, Keki N. Daruwalla
grew up in an educated Parsi family that moved to Junagarh in 1945. His father
was a professor in the Government College, Lahore and the family constantly
kept moving from one place to another. Keki Daruwalla kept changing different
schools to keep pace with the movement in the family. In consequence, the young
man who would one day become a poet gained deeper knowledge of the world
of words, images and the sound patterns inherent in the social circumstance. The
result was that Keki N. Daruwalla, as he grew up, became well versed in English,
Hindi, Gujarati and Punjabi, and attained a working knowledge of Urdu which
he studied for two years in school. For Daruwalla, English is very much an Indian
language that has over decades been coloured by the local idiom. It easily fits in
with other languages.

In 1958, Daruwalla joined the Indian police service and grew in rank to become
the special assistant to the prime minister on international affairs. He was engaged
in cabinet secretariat roles till retirement. A recipient of the Sahitya Akademi
Award which he won in 1984 for his collection The Keeper of the Dead, Daruwalla
took up for depiction in his poetry the marginalized communities much like his
own to comment on life. He is often seen as a landscape poet whose poetic
vision is expansive as his scenes vary from Moscow and England to Kashmir
and Banaras. The natural world and its depth remain engaging subjects for
Daruwalla who finds that pictures of a place add to the feel of a region, bringing
to life its community and people. The two are in fact inseparable in his poems.
According to James Finn Cotter, Daruwallahas combined “perfect narrative
tension with psychological perception, so that the reader is drawn into the scene
and then let go”. Take for instance his Crossing the Rivers. It is rich in vivid
descriptions that are at the same time symbolic. As he claims in the Introduction
to Two Decades of Indian Poetry 1960-1980, “My poems are rooted in landscape
which anchors the poem. The landscape is not merely meant there to set the
scene but to lead to an illumination. It should be the eye of the spiral. I try that
poetry relates to the landscape, both on the physical, and on the plane of the
spirit. For me a riot-stricken town is landscape (21). This identification of the
place with a feeling and an event is typical of Daruwalla’s writing. You as young
readers would be able to trace it in the specific poem meant for study in your
course.

Daruwalla’s ten volumes of poetry include, Under Orion (1970), Apparition in

April (1971), Crossing the Rivers (1976), Winter Poems (1980), The Keeper of
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Indian English Poetry the Dead (1982), Landscapes (winner of the Commonwealth Poetry Award, 1987)
A Summer of Tigers (1995), The Map Maker, The Scarecrow and the Ghost (2004).
His stories have been collected in Sword and Abyss (1979) and The Minister for
Permanent Unrest and Other Stories. He has also written a novel Pepper and
Christ. Daruwalla was awarded the Padmi Shri in 2014.

4.5 KEKI N. DARUWALLA’S POEM “CHINAR”

The poem “Chinar” by Daruwalla is a fine example of landscape poetry. It evokes
the image of the tree chinar and that gets extended to Kashmir. It also brings
alive the river Jhelum and the lakes of Kashmir. At the same time, the moment of
dusk when the faint light touches all the static elements is vividly evoked in the
poem—the visual imagery that sets him apart from other poets of his generation.
Let us now read the poem.
“Chinar”

The chinar confronts the sunset

with its own dusk.
You can hear the drip of crinkled leaf.
Isn’t this what they call dry rain,
this slow, twisting dead-moth descent
from the sapless branch?

In the eye of the lake

and the running eye of Jhelum
it holds you, this bonfire death
that slowly drips fire,
these smouldering rusts
without the clank of metal.
A wind alights on the tree
and the eye cannot follow
each bronze-scale severed
from the mail of the dying giant,
each clenched child-fist of a leaf,
the largesse of it
the aching drift of it
the flame and the fall of it.
The title of the poem “Chinar” is indicative both of nature and social place. It is
linked with the arrival of autumn in Kashmir. The indications come from words
such as “dry rain” and “sapless branch” that characterize the season’s change.
We note that the poet does with effort catch nuances of the season and of
170 contemporary history. There is something in nature that leaves him dissatisfied
with it. We are fascinated by mention of the eye of the lake and the running eye Dilip Chitre and Keki N.
Daruwalla
of Jhelum. The two are one and yet different. The former is relatively fixed and
the latter is a symbol of movement. The active river is connected with the crinkled
leaves of the chinar. Has the water of the river not reached the trees that stand
next to it? Is it a metaphor of the source not giving life to the surroundings? In an
answer to this, we may say that for the poet, something inexplicable has happened
to the valley and its inhabitants. Chinar is a symbol of the people of Kashmir
who are strong and dignified but have lost verve and positive spirit over time.

The poet is consistent in his use of the details that speak as loud as the words in
the poem. Take a look at the first stanza. What is signified by the dusk of the
chinar? Does the word denote change or decline? It might speak of the mix of
the hopeful and its opposite. For the poet, as stressed earlier, chinar is more than
a tree, it is a cultural icon of stability and strength. Its shade is protective and
sheltering, yielding a soothing space that preserves life. If all these are threatened
in a specific situation, the different parts of the tree will have to bear the weight
of the issues confronting the community of Kashmiris. Additionally, what does
the sunset stand for? Does it give character to the place or the tree that is affected
by it? The two questions draw a line of distinction between the two, the tree and
the season, but we remain aware of the sense of distance between them. That
gives the reader a sense of unease. For us, it is not a sense of wonder but of
worry. The poem is subtle in its message and the writer’s sympathies appear to
lie with that possible integration between nature and social life which is sadly
missing at the time the poem is composed. We realize that the poem symbolizes
a disturbed scene in nature carrying the burden of political turmoil and turbulence
in the region. In a positive way, the writer visualizes the state of things as
community-oriented. Thus, the selection of the symbol helps us understand the
discourse as secular and material, not airy and ephemeral.

To us, the poem has steered clear of the mysticism that is a cliché often used
about consciousness of the people. The poet has a sense of control running through
the poem in terms of a bond of nature. A careful avoidance of political divides
and ideological gaps between the hegemonic ideas of the nation and those of the
highly sensitive periphery ensures a deft balance; it keeps the poem stuck to the
theme of pain and worry than of suggesting easy solutions. How the identity of
the place gets merged with the mission of joining a broader politics of nationalism
comes to the fore as the poem proceeds towards the end. The same are observed
in the poem “Chinar” that you have for reading and analyzing. Note that the poet
is barely visible in the poem. He offers to us a description of a moment—the
transition of seasons and of the day, as dusk takes over. The image of transition
is central to the poem. And yet the poet is not at the centre of it. The absence of
the ‘I’ in the poem makes one aware that the poet is nowhere talking about himself
or the impact that the scene has on him—he is somewhere on the sidelines from
where he observes the phenomenon. Of course, the poetic voice is present in the
way things are projected. The poet remains hidden but not his viewpoint that
helps in shaping the poem. The conscious choice to remain in the background is
part of Daruwalla’s larger politics. His poems are seldom self-referential, that is,
the focus of the poem is not the poet but the place he is describing. He foregrounds
the picture that begins to speak independently to the reader with minimal
intervention of the poet. Even as the descriptions are the poet’s, the interpretation
appears to be that of the reader. This adds to the aesthetic quality of the poem.

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Indian English Poetry Shirish Chindhade, while referring to Daruwalla’s poem “Boatride along the
Ganga” (from the collection Crossing the River) and specifically the lines “What
plane of destiny have I arrived at/ where corpse-fire and cooking-fires burn side
by side”, has observed that,

Daruwalla’s lines embody an entire mode of faith embraced by a people. This

kind of intense awareness of his environment and its roots is what precisely
makes Daruwalla an authentically or legitimately ‘Indian’ poet—not even an
urban poet but the poet of his native hills, plains, rivers and faiths. (11)

Here, Chindhade has emphasised the ‘Indianness’ and authenticity of expression

in Daruwalla, his Parsi identity notwithstanding. On the other hand, Chindhade
is of the opinion that “Chitre, though born and brought up in the Indian culture”
fails to find his “roots here” (123). Even as Daruwalla spent most of his time in
urban centres, he is hardly an urban poet, quite different though from Chitre in
whom urbanity is quite pronounced.

About Daruwalla’s poetic sensibility, Norman Simms has observed that “by
meaning less than it speaks, the [Daruwalla] poem is more than its words: what
it signifies is less than what it designates”. Brevity of expression enhances the
meaning of his poems. His is a poetry of keen observation and social comment.
Daruwalla seldom writes political poetry, yet he is often satirical towards blind
faith and superstition. His poetry springs from various cultures, projecting myths
and legends that abound in Indian life. He takes a critical look at the phenomenon
with a humanist’s eye. Even as some of his poems appear word-heavy containing
complex image structures, his poetic craft is not compromised as the meaning of
the poem is taken to its logical end. Add to this the fact that his vision is of a
liberal humanist; it keeps the poem open-ended. There is a diversity of subject
matter in Daruwalla, and the poet portrays the concerns sensitively. While being
rooted in reality, Daruwalla takes the actual experience and feeling to a mystical
level where the poetic spirit gets specifically projected. Daruwalla is conscious
of the use of word-structures, images and the voices submerged in the situation
he deals with. He sensitively combines these under an honest liberal perspective.

4.6 LET US SUM UP

This unit has provided an analysis of the poems “Ode to Bombay” and “Chinar”
by Dilip Chitre and K.N. Daruwalla respectively. The thematic concerns of both
poets might have become clearer to you in the process. These two poets provide
a concrete view of Indian English poetry as the concerns expressed in them have
an allegiance to the urban experience. Their poetry is influenced by the larger
trends active in our culture. There is a conscious attempt in them to stick to the
roots and to the place one might call one’s home. This gives uniqueness to their
works. Chitre draws inspiration from the universally felt emotion in his reach. In
the case of Daruwalla, the projection of the place and its people together create
urgency. Keki N. Daruwalla belongs to the same period as Dilip Chitre. That
gives us an opportunity to go into their respective sensibilities and see their
distinctions as well as similarities. Daruwalla has a marked streak of rationality
and value-based social stand. He is highly sensitive to the needs of culture in
modern surroundings and alive to the humanist values existing in our world.

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 Dilip Chitre and Keki N.
4.7 QUESTIONS Daruwalla

1) Comment on the metaphor of death in the poem “Ode to Bombay”.

2) What is an Ode? Is the title of Chitre’s poem justified in your view?
3) Comment on the use of the landscape in the poems of K.N. Daruwalla and
Dilip Chitre.
4) Discuss the symbol of Chinar in Daruwalla’s poem.

4.8 REFERENCES
Cotter, James Finn. Hudson Review. 30thAnniversay Issue. Spring, 1978.

Chindhade, Shirish. Five Indian English Poets: Nissim Ezekiel, A.K. Ramanujan,
Arun Kolatkar, Dilip Chitre, R Parthasarathy. New Delhi: Atlantic, 2001.

Chitre, Dilip. “Translating Sensibility”. Culture and the Making of Identity in

Contemporary India. Ed. Kamala Ganesh and Usha Thakkar. New Delhi: Sage,
2005.

Simms, Norman. “Design in the Poetry of Daruwalla”. Critical Spectrum: The

Poetry of Keki N. Daruwalla. Ed. F. A. Inamdar. Delhi: Mittal, 1991.

Keki N Daruwalla. Ed. Introduction. Two Decades of Indian Poetry 1960-1980.

Delhi: Vikas publishing, 1980.

4.9 SUGGESTED READINGS

King, Bruce. “Keki Daruwalla: Outsider, Skeptic and Poet”. The Indian Literary
Review, 4.2, 1986.

Nabar, Vrinda. “Keki N. Daruwalla: Poetry and a National Culture”. Shahane,

Vasant and Sivaramkrishna, eds. Indian Poetry in English: A Critical
Assessment. Madras: Macmillan, 1980.

Sarangi, Jaydeep. Ed. Explorations in Indian English Poetry. New Delhi:

Authorspress, 2007.

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Indian English Poetry

174
 BEGE-143
Understanding Poetry
Indira Gandhi National Open University
School of Humanities

Block

4
POETRY FROM THE MARGINS
Block Introduction 177
UNIT 1
Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih 179
UNIT 2
Nirmala Putul 194
UNIT 3
Jyoti Lanjewar 206
UNIT 4
Sukirtharani 221
COURSE INTRODUCTION
Block 4: Poetry from the Margins
Dear student, this block titled, “Poetry from the Margins” will help you
understand, visualise and interrogate the term marginality by exploring it through
literature. The term ‘margins’ also suggests a centre in relation to which they are
margins. With this in view, what is the nature and composition of literature from
the margins and how does it contest the notion of a centre? What is really speaking
the kind of literature that stands far away from the centre and demands assertion?
This block will help you understand that there is no one way of analysing literature
from the margins. Just as there is an amalgamation of powerful forces that
constitute in many ways an apparently coherent centre that is dominant. The
voices from the margin are diverse and gradually taking form; they continue to
assert meaningfully. One of the most important aspects of studying literature
form the margins is to understand the varied social contexts and the voices located
therein; ones that we have been conditioned to ignore. The general tendency is
to understand literature from the point of view of the centre. But it is when we
look at the wide-ranging voices emerging from the margins that we appreciate
literature and life in a holistic manner.

This block will introduce you to voices from different parts of the country and
also from different social constructs. The first unit focuses on Indian English
poetry with special reference to the poems of Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih. It will
help you know the meaning of Indian Writing in English as a genre. The unit
places Nongkynrih within the context of English poetry from the North-East.
You will confront new ideas and will ask as to how poetry from the North-East is
different from poetry in other parts of the country. What is it about poetry from
the North-East that makes it marginal? You will have to contend with this
challenging question. You will also wonder as to why these poets have been
ignored for long. In the process your attention will be focussed on the Shillong
poets and specifically the work of Kynphan Sing Nongkynrih. This will be
followed by an analysis of his work, and the poems, “The Colours of Truth” and
“The Ancient Rocks of Cherra”. The unit will also explain to you some of the
myths and legends from Shillong that find their way into Nongkynrih’s poetry.
To sum up, the first unit will help you appreciate the efforts of a poet from a
region whose linguistic and cultural ethos finds expression in the English
language.

The second unit of this block is based on the work of Nirmala Putul of the Santhali
tribe. It will spring new questions in your mind regarding the nature of tribal
voices from the margins. The answer lies in understanding the historical and
cultural specificity of the tribes and their unequal positioning in literature that is
acknowledged by the mainstream one. Putul is a woman from the Santhal tribe,
an indigenous tribe of India. Voices like Putul’s came into the fore-front only
recently. The poet uses simple language to explain the belief system and lives of
the Santhal tribe. This unit will let you know from close quarters the idea of
orality in literature. In terms of the centre, we are used to admitting the historical
presence of literature that is written and recorded. But there is also a whole body
of literature as songs, poems and other forms that have been passed down orally.
This course is an attempt to understand and interpret the oral transmission of
such literature that has been recorded in the written form only recently. An analysis
Poetry From the Margins of Putul’s poems, “The Mountain Woman” and “The Mountain Child” throw
light on some of these aspects of Santhal life.

The third and fourth units will help you understand writings from the Dalit
community. Socially the Dalits have been marginalised on the basis of caste.
The socio-cultural and political marginalisation of the Dalit community has also
prevented their writings from gaining buoyancy in the world which is fast
changing today. Their writing and expression is an assertion and act of resistance
to the forces that marginalise them. These two units will also show you the way
in which writings by Dalits especially the women exists in an unequal relation to
the determining central forces.

Unit 3 will provide you with an understanding of the theoretical debates and
constructions used to analyse the writings by Dalit women. It will focus
specifically on the work of the Marathi Dalit writer, Jyoti Lanjewar. You will
also be able to comprehend the way in which the women from the Dalit community
are marginalised on various counts. A brief history of the Dalit movement and
the role of the women in it will help you recognise the social concerns of the
Dalit women and their assertion of identity. The poems “Caves” and “Leadership”
by Jyoti Lanjewar have been discussed in detail in this unit.

Unit 4 on the Tamil Dalit woman writer, Sukirtharani shows you the way in
which the Dalit movement has evolved in recent times. The history and culture
of marginalised communities find their way into the vibrant poetry by Dalit
women. You will be able to locate a distinct feminist voice in the work of poets
like Sukirtharani. An analysis of her poems “Pariah God” and “Untitled-II” show
the ways in which the Dalit women respond to the new world of the twenty first
century as active women, who participate in the process of building a society on
their own terms. The block on “Literature from the Margins” brings to you the
literary voices of different kinds to help understand the complex nature of
marginality and the need to visualise it as a structure that has in it the potential to
assert and take concrete form.

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 Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih
UNIT 1 KYNPHAM SING NONGKYNRIH
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Poetry from the North-East and Indian English Poetry: Some Debates
1.3 Writing from the North-East
1.3.1 Welsh Missionaries, Soso Tham and Khasi Literature
1.3.2 The Shillong Poets and Indian English Poetry
1.4 “The Colours of Truth”
1.4.1 Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih
1.4.2 “The Colours of Truth”: An Interpretation
1.5 “The Ancient Rocks of Cherra”
1.6 Let Us Sum Up
1.7 Glossary
1.8 Questions
1.9 References
1.10 Suggested Readings

1.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit will introduce you to:
poetry from the North East;
writing from the North East ;
Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih and his two poems.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
This unit has been divided into three broad sections. The first analyses English
poetry from the North-East and its relationship to the construct of Indian English
poetry. The second section examines the position of the Shillong poets in it. The
third section will familiarise you with the poetry of the Indian English poet
Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih who belongs to the North-eastern state of Meghalaya
based in the capital city, Shillong. Nongkynrih is from the Khasi tribe and writes
both in Khasi and in English. This unit focuses on two of his English poems,
“The Colours of Truth” and the “Ancient Rocks of Cherra”.

1.2 POETRY FROM THE NORTH-EAST AND

INDIAN ENGLISH POETRY: SOME DEBATES
Sanjukta Dasgupta in her essay, “Politics of Language and Post-Independence
Indo-Anglian poetry” presents a historical trajectory of Indo-Anglian poetry from
the pre-Independence period to the 1990s. Dasgupta mentions early poets during
the “colonial period” such as Toru Dutt, Aurobindo Ghosh, Manmohan Ghosh,
179
Poetry From the Margins Sarojini Naidu, Rabindranath Tagore and Vivekananda. Analysing the nineteenth
century trends in poetry, she has explained how poets in this period made use of
the tropes of English poetry to show a skilled usage of the colonisers’ language.
There was an attempt at a “harmonious assimilation” of the two contexts. A
characteristic feature of pre-Independence poetry was the nationalistic fervour
whereas the later poetry was marked by an attempt to realise hybridization of the
two cultural contexts. This idea was ridiculed in the 1950s by poets such as P.Lal
who formed the Writers Workshop in 1958 (Dasgupta 209). With this is associated
the beginning of a new trend in Indian English poetry.

Let us face the following questions. How was one to reconcile to the issue of
writers of an erstwhile colony writing in the language of the coloniser? Was it a
betrayal of any sort? Would a borrowed language express the peculiarities of
their context? According to Dasgupta:

Oppressed by a guilty conscience, the Indian poets writing in English

experienced a sense of identity-crisis and as a result their integrity was
flawed by lack of confidence, uncertainty and indecision. Their distress
and desperation are registered in their poems which clearly signal their
uneasiness and their simultaneous inability to use the mother tongue for
the purpose of writing poetry. Tension, anxiety and schizophrenia are some
of the recurrent problematics of such poetry… (210)

This anxiety regarding the use of the English language continued up to the 1980s.
It is at the beginning of the 80s and later with the advent of globalization that a
new idiom begins to emerge in Indian English poetry. Dasgupta elucidates how
in the Third World this led to a kind of “cultural mosaic, encouraging cultural
pluralism”. This also created the hegemony of the West over the culture of the
third world countries. But Dasguptah as also pointed out how the discourse of
globalization brings in heterogeneity—

Instead of the canon and the grand narrative, activating the differences
occupies prime importance, for such an approach discourages exclusionism
and celebrates the primacy of inclusionism in the dissemination of culture.
Aijaz Ahmed observes that in the case of a multilingual country like India,
despite the fragmentation and splintering of national culture, the
kaleidoscope of regional cultures simultaneously emphasises the presence
of a national culture. (212)

This becomes an important point of entry to understand Indian English poetry

from the region of the North-East. Dasgupta presents the polemical debate around
Indian English. On the one hand English remains an elitist language since it
emerges as a product of English schools and university education. On the other
hand, Dasgupta uses Aijaz Ahmad’s argument to point out the “Indianization” of
English. The use and spread of English needs to be understood with respect to
the assimilation of the language in the Indian context rather than as a “mode of
ejection”. Indian English poetry, too, expresses these contradictions—the use of
a language that belonged to the coloniser, its assimilation within the Occidental
context, overpowering market forces which allow integration in ways that make
it an elitist language, and finally its use to focus on cultural heterogeneity. The
last fragment is of great value in understanding the politics of poetry from the
North-East. This blanket of cultural heterogeneity allows scope for a new patch
of poetry to emerge. Elke Boehmer analyses the writer of Indian English as a
180
“cultural traveller” working and expressing third world contexts within a western Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih
premise that restores the supremacy accorded to English and the western context.
Dasgupta counters the argument in the following manner:

This comment establishes the hegemony of the west on the culture of the
rest of the world, which is a debatable premise, for the postcolonial writer
is an empowered voice that would be able to distinguish between felicitous
fusion and subordination. Migrant writers however follow the programme
outlined by Boehmer as is evidenced in Rushdie, Mistry and Ghosh among
others… Nevertheless, native writing in indigenous English or “Englishes”
continues prioritising the culture of the nation and more intensely of the
region while simultaneously expressing awareness of the dominant
European cultural tradition, philosophy and intellectual experiments from
Derrida to Foucault. Indo-Anglian poetry is very much a culture specific
construction and its dynamism is obvious from the enthusiasm of the young
and new poets who participate in thousands in the British Council sponsored
All India Poetry Competition held every year. (216-217)

The critic points out how there are some “migrant poets” who would take the
route suggested by Boehmer, but there are others who devise newer routes. She
acknowledges the problem of English and writers from a privileged context of
education, writing about the native context through a “spectatorial attitude”. But
at the same time the idea of the plurality of “Englishes” allows expression of
new ideas which makes it valuable both at the level of discourse and
understanding. GJV Prasad, too, raises this question, “What is English doing in
India that has been independent for more than fifty-six years? And what is Indian
English, whose language is that?” According to him, we need to:

“… brown the language, to acculturate it, to create distinct Indian English

voices. We needed our Indian English to gesture casually, with elan, to
various Indian languages, to our texts and contexts, but unfortunately the
language is still at ease only with white texts and literary contexts. Thus,
the challenges to new Indian English poets is still the same that the earlier
poets didn’t or still haven’t met squarely—to push English slowly but surely
to the multiple locations of our complex. Indian lives. We have to ensure
that the English language does not become, or should I say remain, the
language that only prostitutes us—servicing the world through our call
centres; we have to ensure that our English becomes truly a language that
is flexible and supple and strong enough to give poetic expression to our
India(s). We have to add colour to the language, to make rich with our
flavours. As the poet Agha Shahid Ali once said, we should not chutnify
English, we have to biryanise it, letting all flavours retain their distinct
identities even when seeping into each other to create a unique
offering…The fact is that English does not belong to any one region in
India. (47)

According to Prasad, the term Indian English only demarcates it from English of
other countries. But English in India is not a homogenous construct. Its usage,
style and many other factors vary from region to region, and culture to culture.
Taking cue from Prasad’s argument, the writers of Indian English must interact
with writers in other languages. This will help us redefine English and its role
and function in life.
181
Poetry From the Margins In our context, we might raise the question where English poetry from the North
East is to be placed. What we have discussed so far would help us understand the
historical evolution and transitions of a language, while also enabling us to realize
the use and style of English. An attempt to analyse the poetry from the North-
East necessitates an evolution of the language in that region. What is the rubric
under which we can place the Indian English writers from the North-East? Do
they use tropes similar to the ones used by poets from other? How do they fit in
with this “globalised quilting,” to borrow Sanjukta Dasgupta’s phrase?

1.3 WRITING FROM THE NORTH-EAST

In geographical terms the North-East refers to the eight states of India—Sikkim,
Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal
Pradesh. In the Introduction of an anthology of poetry from the North-East,
Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih and Robin S. Ngangom have observed:

‘North-East’ is, of course, a blanket term that has been used to imply a
homogenous province, a single political domain, inhabited by kindred
people with a common history. Understandably, with a tenuous historical
and geographical link to the rest of India, the North-East remains little
known, and perhaps largely misunderstood (singled out, for example as
India’s insurgent heartland’). Its eight states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura are inhabited
by a conglomeration of peoples, a melange of cultures, languages and
religions that it would be a grave injustice to make any generalized statement
about them. (ix)

Probing the question posed in this comment would indeed be useful. The North-
East is not a uniform category but a confluence of different cultures. The many
states constituting the North-East have people whose lineal descent and ancestry
is from various tribes. In this region, there are people from the Indo-Aryan group,
too, such as Assam and Tripura. According to Patricia Mukhim the North-East is
inhabited by people from “South-east Asian origin such as Tibeto-Burman and
the Mo-Khmer groups” whereas the rest of India is of “Dravidian or Aryan”
descent (Mukhim 177). Ngangom and Nongkynrih explain how in Meghalaya,
there are twenty ethnic groups in its list of Scheduled Tribes. These are further
divided into sub-tribes and clans. Each of these groups has its own dialect and
cultural identity. In short, any attempt to homogenise the North-East on any count
will defeat the purpose of placing it in its linguistic and cultural context. To
extend this further, an analysis of literature from any one of the states should be
attempted for knowing the complexity of that region.

The literature of the North-East in English is fairly recent. Whereas Assamese,

Manipuri and Bengali had an established script, the dialects of many other tribes
did not have a script. In the nineteenth century, the Welsh missionaries came to
the Khasi hills and brought the Roman script—

[In] 1841, Thomas Jones of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists’ Mission

cast the Khasi language in written form using the Roman script. As scholars
on the subject have remarked, the success of Thomas Jones’s alphabet also
inspired the Garo, the Mizo and the Naga tribes to adopt the Roman rather
than the Bengali script, and later by almost all the tribes except for the
182
 Kokboroks and Chakmas of Tripura, who use the Bengali script, and some Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih
in Assam, who use the Assamese script” (x).

An interesting cultural interaction can be marked in this discussion. Nineteenth

century India was a colony of the British Empire. This was a period of great
reform movements, and also one in which white missionaries came to India. In
the context of the culture of the tribes, the Roman script of the coloniser provided
a new medium of expression to the people of the North-East. The impact was
both Christian and English. Literary expression started taking form in a language
seen then. It is a fairly recent phenomenon in the history of the tribes. Ngangom
and Nongkynrih point out how this created a hierarchy of a certain kind under
which their own traditions were considered “pagan and preposterous”. Later in
time, things moved on. Writers of today make use of Assamese, Bengali, Manipuri,
and English along with their own particular dialects and languages. The important
point is the influx of English as a language with its own cultural context and its
linguistic and cultural aspects mingling with the North-East. Criss-crossing this
are the traditions and rituals understood by people of the North-East in their own
languages presented in the Roman script.

1.3.1 Welsh Missionaries, Soso Tham and Khasi Literature

It would have become clear to you by now that an analysis of Indian English
poetry should take into account the specificities of the context that include region,
tribe, culture and economy. The development of English in the North-East is to
be gauged against its interactions with the regional languages. Schools started
by the Welsh missionaries introduced literature in the English language in the
study courses pursued there. Soso Tham (1873-1940), the Poet Laureate of
Shillong studied in a missionary school till class VI. He finally taught Khasi in
Shillong Government High School, Mawkhar. The only non-missionary poet of
the region was a non-Khasi, S.M. Amjad Ali who also became the “father of
Khasi poetry”. In short, the advent of the Welsh missionaries in Shillong started
a new phase of writing. In “The Birth Pangs of a Poet: The Early Works of Soso
Tham, Chief Bard of the Khasis”, Nongkynrih explains this cultural interaction
as follows:

The Khasis, who had a rich oral literature consisting of* myths, folk stories,
fairy tales, fables, narrative poetry, gnomic phawar (verse) and lively
traditional songs, had never obtained the blessing of the written word until
the mid-nineteenth century, that is, until the appearance of the Welsh
Presbyterian Missionary, Thomas Jones, on July 22, 1841. Prior to this,
around 1831, there were indeed attempts by Krishna Chandra Pal and
Alexander B. Lish of the American Baptist Mission of Serampore, to reduce
Khasi to the complex Bengali script. But these had proved unsuccessful
and it was left to Jones to take up where they had left off. The tenacious
and inventive Welshman resorted to Welsh orthography and the Roman
script to cast the language in written form. The outcome was the publication,
in early 1842, of the First Khasi Reader or Cacitab Ban Hicai Ca Citien
Cassia. It is out of this little book that all other Khasi books have emerged.
(141-142)

Understanding the position of Khasi in terms of the script helps locate the use of
English in the early period. In its first phase of interaction, the Khasi language
was written in the Roman script under the surveillance of the Welsh missionaries. 183
Poetry From the Margins The literature was primarily “Christian and moralistic”; the exceptions being
Khasi grammar books. Khasi writing in Roman script introduced English and
influenced the writer imbibing both traditions in writing. Ngangom and
Nongkynrih point out this dilemma:

The literary legacy of the missionaries can be said to be double-edged.

While, on the one hand, they gifted the tribes with a common literary
heritage, on the other, they made them deny the existence of their own
literatures in their rich oral traditions and taught them to be ashamed of
whatever is there is, as something pagan and preposterous. That is why the
poetry of some of the hill-tribes even today is seen to be either singing
hymns or adoring cuckoos in the woods and non-existent daffodils in the
vales. (xi)

The advent of the Welsh missionary had given the writer a relationship with the
English language. Yet, the cultural hegemony of English diluted the use of other
languages as also the cultural specificities reflected in those writings. This
presented a tough challenge to the writer from the North-East.

Ngangom and Nongkynrih provide new dimensions to the issue of language and
the themes depicted through it. The modern poet from the North-East read
extensively and are not confined to the Anglo-American trends. In the course of
writing, they are able to evolve a new aesthetic—”these writers with their
extensive reading of modern world literature from English translations, do
passionately grapple with some of the psychological and social perplexities of
the present. Having cut their teeth on Lorca, Seferis, Arghezi Neruda, and the
hard-edged modernists of the Third world they find common ground in chronicling
their subjective realities and the predicament of their people” (xi) Needless to
say that such a venture fills them up with creative vigour and gives them a direction
and a viewpoint to adopt.

1.3.2 The Shillong Poets and Indian English Poetry

Let us examine the issue of Indian English poetry in the North-East from the
point of view of exclusion. We have already discussed the influence that English
might exert on the writers of the North-East. But there are other related factors
that exercise dominance within the domain of Indian English. One of the ways
adopted by the hegemonic forces is to exclude the poets from the North East.
That may benefit the writers of the mainland India writing in English. They can
happily take it on themselves to represent the interest of the North-East and
flaunt such a writing as genuine. In “Anthology-Making, the Nation, and the
Shillong Poets”, Prasanta Das draws attention to two comprehensive anthologies.
One of these is by Jeet Thayil, 60 Indian Poets and the other by Ranjit Hoskote,
Reasons for Belonging. Both the anthologies fail to include the Shillong Poets.
So, we might wonder who the Shillong Poets are. For us, they are the ones to be
found out and given emphasis. The Shillong poets include Temsula Ao, Robin S
Ngangom, Desomnd S Kharmawplang, Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih, Ananya S
Guha, Indari Syiem Warjri, Almond D Syiem, and Donbokland Rynthathiang.
Prasanta Das sees them in direct contrast to the Bombay poets like Jeet Thayil.
Das acknowledges how Shillong with its missionary schools has over time become
a place noting a peculiar flourish in Indian English writing. Citing the reasons
behind their possible exclusion from these anthologies, Das explains how the
184 tropes used by these poets are not those of Anglo American poetry. To quote:
 Ngangom, Kharmawplang and Nonkynrih are dismissive of the work of Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih
the English and American poets. The poets they feel close to are the political
ones like Pablo Neruda, Czeslaws Milos, Mahumd Darwish, Yehuda
Amichii who by choice or circumstance (or both) voice the anguish and
aspirations of their land and its people. Because Ngngom, Kharmawplang
and Nongkynrih feel they have an obligation to write about the crucial
contemporary problem of their region.They write about terrorism,
insurgency, human rights abuses, environmental and ecological concerns,
erosion of tribal values, and the corrupt politician-businessman-bureaucrat
nexus. This gives their work a distinct identity within Indian English poetry
but it also makes it different. The three write poetry that is narrative,
emotional and lyrical; they also make statements in their poems. Thus,
their poetry runs counter to the taste of “the Bombay poets” like Thayil
who generally prefer poetry of symmetry, intellect, irony and wit. (20)

According to Das, contemporary poets such as Thayil concentrate on “craft”,

whereas this is not the focus of poets like Nongkynrih. Das’s contention makes it
clear that poets like Nongkynrih express the complex socio-political and cultural
anxieties of their landscape—the political apathy of the state and the problem of
insurgency against which the former is ranged. Das cites from the Introduction
by Ngangom and Nongkynrih to the book on the North-East writing to say that
the creative aims therein are bound to be different from poets coming from other
parts of India. Arguing the case of the ethnic strife and insurgency in the North-
East, Satpathy has explained how “The Shillong poets, for all their diversity,
have all experienced paroxysms of ethnic strife. They have been caught in the
crossfire between state terrorism and the terrorism of the insurgents” (14). Writing
from the North-East will map these changes at the level of culture and politics.
English language in the region will also evolve in a manner distinct from that of
other regions and cultures.

This discussion benefits us in many ways. First, it approaches Indian English

poetry from the point of view of the North-East. Also, it provides us with a broad
spectrum of Indian English poetry. Indian English has multiple contexts from
which different creative styles emerge. The concerned subjects of interest are
seen as diverse and linked and they lend dynamism and vitality to the writing of
the North-East within the framework of Indian English.

1.4 “THE COLOURS OF TRUTH”

Poetry from the North-East has many aspects that span the social, political,
cultural, and linguistic. These factors gain substance when combined with images
of the natural habitat. In poetry from the North-East, these find expression in a
variety of ways. The social refers to the tribes and the non-tribal communities in
the North-East. Those could be the Khasi, the Garo or any of the numerous tribes
in Meghalaya. There is also the presence of the non-tribal people in the region.
To begin with, the hill tribes of the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo were brought under
the state of Assam by the British imperialist powers. During the partition of
Bengal in 1905, they came under East Bengal. Following a unification of Bengal
in 1912, Meghalaya became a part of Assam. The states of the North-East became
a part of India in 1950 after the Instrument of Accession. But for various reasons
there have been political conflicts made more complicated by the problem of
insurgency. It is only in 1970 that Meghalaya was carved out of Assam as a
185
Poetry From the Margins separate state. The word political is therefore made complex not only by this
very chequered historical trajectory but also by different insurgent factions in
the region. The conflict between the tribes and the state over supremacy of various
kinds marks the social, cultural and other aspects of the region. Poetry from the
North-East reflects the many kinds of conflicts in the region. All this is set against
the veritable beauty of the region offering a contrast. Culturally, the North-East
signifies plenitude—a rich region with oral narratives, legends, and stories passed
down from generations in the previous era. Each tribe generally has its own
creation myth. And this is interesting as it lends plurality and diversity to Indian
culture. We are generally used to understanding the creation story only in terms
of mainstream religions and belief systems. But the different creation stories
from the North-East make our understanding of culture and myths diverse. It is
only in the recent past that a lot of these have been written down. The complex
inheritance of orality carries its own structures that resist the ‘normalcy’ of the
written word. Oral transmission of these narratives is a dynamic process with its
own specificities. All this is wound up with the advent of the missionaries, the
establishment of Christianity and the use of English as has been discussed earlier.

1.4.1 Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih

Indian English poet Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih belongs to the North-Eastern
state of Meghalaya. He is from the Khasi tribe and writes both in Khasi and in
English. He teaches literature in the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU),
Shillong. He is the author of Around the Hearth: Khasi Legends and is the co-
editor of Dancing Earth: An Anthology of Poetry from North-East India. He has
also published plays and his most recent one is Manik, a play in five acts.

1.4.2 “The Colour of Truth”: An Interpretation

“The Colours of truth”

The Colours of truth

A siesta phone call

Oozes friendly warnings.

Insurgents have grown

incredibly urbane, these days.
The question is, must we subterfuge
to shield a pedagogic stooge?

I close my eyes
turn towards the sun.
The colour I see is
disgorging blood.
I close my eyes
186
shade them with my palms. Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih

The colour I see is

life-erasing black.

These are the colours of destiny

of immutable truth
and the colours also
with which warring pawns
are daily decorating our towns.

Indian Literature 48.3 (221) 2004; pg 25

The yearning of seeds 2011
“The Colours of truth” was first published in the journal Indian Literature in
2004. It then appeared in Kynpham Sing Nongkynrish’s 2011 poetry collection
titled, the yearning of seeds. In it, this poem has been grouped along with other
poems under the sub-title “The Season of the Wind”. “The Colours of Truth”
presents the wide-ranging complexity emerging from the region, beset by the
problem of insurgency. In “The Colours of Truth” cultural and ethnic complexity
is set against the backdrop of conflict and insurgency in the region. Periods of
political turmoil coupled with insurgency have redrawn the cultural map of the
region in different ways. The poem focuses on the impact of these factors on the
people who were traumatised by the conflict in the region. In the first stanza, the
reader’s expectation regarding the comfort and solace offered by an afternoon
siesta is pitted against warnings conveyed over the phone. The laziness of the
“siesta” and the generous claims of the word “oozes” are belied by the “friendly
warnings”. The caution conveyed over the phone is part of the “normal” in
Meghalaya and refers to unrest in the region.

The second stanza lends clarity to the warnings further as the poem makes an
explicit reference to the “insurgents” and their new ways. People creating conflict
in the region have adopted the ways of the new world and their tactics seem
more “urbane” to the poet; such as threats over the phone. It is, of course, a pithy
comment on the issue of insurgency in the region. The phone call by the insurgents
indicates the use of more modern methods to make demands from the people.
The question posed by Nongkynrih disturbs the mind—”The question is, must
we subterfuge/ to shield a pedagogic stooge?” This idea lies at the centre of the
poem. The word “subterfuge” indicates both deceit and strategy. The poet asks
the reader if the people of Meghalaya should cover up for people who have
created unrest in the region. This is a dilemma faced by the common people in
their daily lives. The poet refers to the insurgents as “pedagogic stooge”—one
who unthinkingly serves the interests of a person or faction without understanding
their own motivation. Keeping at bay the rationality, the person starts to follow a
line of thinking that is detrimental to the peace-loving society around him. This
phrase captures the way in which people are suddenly and passionately engulfed
by an anarchic way of thinking that harms one and all. The poet poses a question—
should “we” protect such people?

187
Poetry From the Margins In the third stanza the poet closes his eyes and turns towards the sun. He does not
do so with open eyes. The fact that he closes his eyes and thinks about the sun
indicates his desire for hope and new life. But all he sees is the blood pouring
out. An intense image, it expresses the violence that afflicts the region, as the
poet sees only the colour of blood. Hope sits uneasy with the colour that prevails
in the real world—that of blood. This image intensifies further in the next stanza.
The poet now closes his eyes with his palms and sees only one colour—”life-
erasing black”. This line is an immediate reflection on the one before this in
which the question was posed. The work of insurgents has only led to eroding of
lives. The beauty of Meghalaya with its many colours, its greenery and rain and
clouds is replaced by the colour black that engulfs all. This is how Mamang Dai
explains how poetry from the North-East can no longer be about the beauty of
the place but has to be about insurgency:

It must be owned that all our home states are totally changed from what
they once were. Today the stories emerging from this region are more about
bloodshed and killings. This is an area that provokes thought and debate
today, both amongst writers of the North-east and those who review these
writers—as if the choice for contemporary literature from the region today
is between guns and bullets or ancient tales and rhapsodies that should
now be discarded as idyllic irrelevance. Yes, there is writing about bullets
and guns and death and betrayal. It can hardly be otherwise, when we are
confronted with changes that bring such terror and anguish. (5)

The poet refers to the colour of blood and of the darkness of death. These are
colours of destiny. Is the poet being pessimistic? Probably not. But he is certainly
disappointed at the political situation and the problem of insurgency which is
taking the beauty of the region away from it. He calls it the “immutable truth”.
He is accepting the reality of the situation. You can no longer see the many
colours, violence and bloodshed have left only red and black to the region. The
motif of black is a telling reflection of the poet’s poignant sense of the loss of the
colourful diversity of Meghalaya because of insurgency in the region.

The “warring pawns” are the many conflictual forces in the region. Nongkynrih
does not mention them as warring factions but as “warring pawns”. There are
conflictual forces in the region, controlled by powerful people who use these
factions as mere pawns of certain forces to further their interests. This ties up
with the idea of the “pedagogic stooge” as someone who blindly follows a person
or idea and is in turn exploited by it.

Nongkynrih’s poetry is an expression of the pain and anguish of the people. The
imagery is visual. The image of an innocent afternoon siesta gives way to that of
a sinister one of insurgency. The central picture of the poet closing his eyes and
waiting for sunshine expresses the stark reality of the situation where the region
is marked by blood due to conflict. Closing his eyes with the palms of his hands
disturbs as the poet gets no respite. All he sees is black a colour that absorbs all;
in this case all life. Referring to these colours as “decorating towns” carries none
of the colour or revelry generally associated with decorating towns especially
during a festival. The written word and the expectation that it generates is
consistently belied.

The colours that define the region are those of truth—the red of blood and the
black of darkness. Hope lies in accepting the truth of the situation. Both the
188
poet’s attempt at turning towards the sun and the creative act of writing the poem Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih
to express truth indicate hope. Writing and expression can help the poet and the
people of Meghalaya come to terms with the situation by accepting the colours
of truth. Thinking that the people are basking in an idyllic surrounding in sunshine
or decorating the region in a cultural context needs to be abandoned. The colourful
veneer should be divested of its supposed worth and the truth accepted.

1.5 “THE ANCIENT ROCKS OF CHERRA”

The Ancient Rocks of Cherra
(For Nigel, Who Questioned)
This land is too old, too old
and withered, for life to be easy.

Poverty eats into the hills and squeezes

a living from stones and caterpillars
gathered for out-of-town drunks
each market-day.

Where the serpent’s death throes

cut deep wounds into the land
lie deep gorges like fiendish mouths
yawning for desperate victims.

There is nothing remarkable here

only this incredible barrenness.

Men and trees have left their habitats

To a crude and lowly breed like brush,
but the sight of dark-grey rocks like sages
spells home to me.

The poem “The Ancient Rocks of Cherra” is a part of the section, “The Fungus”
in the collection the yearning of seeds. The poem refers to the landscape and
surroundings of Cherrapunjee or Sohra as it was formerly called. It was also the
capital of Meghalaya before Shillong.

The poem begins with a kind of epigraph to Nigel Jenkins, the famous welsh
poet and critic and creates a dialogue between the poet and Jenkins; this can be
seen in other works as well. More recently in Nongkynrih’s book of haikus and
the senryus, Time’s Barter, the dedication to Nigel Jenkins suggests that the debate
around Indian English poetry has entered a new phase. The dedication establishes
189
Poetry From the Margins a historical link reminiscent of the Welsh missionaries who had come to the hills
in the nineteenth century. The use of English and the transition to Christianity
can be attributed to the impact of this interaction during the colonial period in
India. In the present day, the interaction between the Welsh people and the people
from the North-East can be called collaborative. At the same time, it ever keeps
in sight the fact that English is an acquired language dealt with very differently
in the case of the colonised. In this new phase the writers from the North-East
evolve an identity that can be called unique.

The first stanza of the poem establishes the ancient history of Cherra through the
rocks that have stood the test of time. At the same time though, the terrain of the
place is rough. The rocks are old and withered and they do not make life easy for
the ordinary people. Whereas the rocks show the age-old culture and physical
presence of the place, their starkness reflects the region. It is a place marked by
poverty. With great difficulty, the people manage to eke out a living from “stones
and caterpillars/ gathered for out-of-town drunks/ each market day”. The plenty
expected of a “market-day” is replaced by the plainness of the rocks and the
emphasis is on squeezing a living. The market day was the time when people
went out to buy and make merry. But even on such a day all they get is caterpillars
gathered from the stones.

The next stanza refers to the legend of U Thlen, the man-eating serpent. According
to Mamang Dai, “The legend of U Thlen is still very much alive in Meghalaya;
and in the dim, rain-wet hills of Sohra, better known as Cherapunjee, it is quite
easy to conjure up the shadow of the serpent and hear the ghostly beat of a drum
(5). Nongkynrih explains the legend thus—The legend accounts for the
introduction of evil in the society. U Thlen was the son of Ka Kma Kharai,
daughter of U Mawlong Syiem, the chief god of the area. She was a harlot and
hence considered depraved. She became an evil deity who gave birth to a deformed
demon, U Thlen, who she abandoned in a cave at the foot of the Pomdoloi falls.
As legend would have it, Thlen was an evil creature with super-natural powers
who lived in the wilderness of Sohra. His favourite form was that of a gigantic
python. The powerful god, Suitnoh provided a solution to get rid of U Thlen who
had started eating up the people on their way to the market place. An iron ball
was thrust down his throat and he vanished. Suitnoh asked everyone to consume
the flesh of U Thlen in one day. However, an old woman forgot this instruction
and kept some for her son leading to the resurrection of U Thlen who then tempted
the old woman with riches. He eventually pushed her to get human beings to
satiate his hunger and hence the practice of hiring paid killers for U Thlen. (A
brief summary from Nongkynrih’s retelling of the legend of U Thlen, Refer: “U
Thlen: the man-eating serpent”).

According to Nongkynrih, the legend of the man-eating serpent is much talked

about and now signifies “the cause of a kind of deadly illness where a person
loses his natural colour, grows thin and weak, with a strange bloatedness about
his face and belly” (33). One can read into this story from two perspectives:
One, that the onus of the evil lies on the women of Cherra as U Thlen is begotten
of a harlot; two, that later it is an old woman who “forgets” to give the remaining
piece of U Thlen’s body to her son to eat. The Biblical parallels also draw notice.
The appearance of the serpent and the idea of temptation point towards Eve. But
that is where this parallel ends. The Khasi legend has its own specificity. Sohra
is seen through and presented by means of the lens of this tale that has been
190
passed orally from generation to generation. The death of UThlen “cut deep Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih
wounds into the land”. The geographic structure of the place, and its gorges are
likened to the mouth of UThlen who would wait for his victims on the market-
day. The ordinary people are the “desperate victims” who became food for the
monster. But more importantly, an interpretation that gains ground is how the
legend can be compared to the current situation in Meghalaya where the monster
of insurgency makes the ordinary people its victim. In this way one can mark
that poets make creative use of myths in different ways in the society.

This idea moves into the next stanza as the poet remarks how all is barren in
Cherra. This sense of unproductivity is intensified by another factor. The people
of Cherra have left their habitat and moved to other places leaving their homeland
barren. Trees, too, have left the place leaving a “lowly breed like brush”. Who is
the “lowly breed”? Whereas no clear answer emerges, there is a suggestion that
it could possibly be the people left behind and who are seen as ineffectual.
According to the Collins dictionary, “brush” refers to “an area of rough open
land covered with small bushes and trees” Subashish Bhattacharjee and Saikat
Guha have observed:

The region seems prehistoric in its barren wilderness. The only means of
cultivation in some of the green North-eastern hills is jhum (slash-and-
burn cultivation) which is practiced on the slopes of hills, but its productivity
is very low. As a result, poverty reigns supreme over the hilly region…The
grey rocks appear to him sages, the epitome of tolerance, which renders
the unruly landscape bearable to him. It is also his profound love for his
native land, bearing in its bosom the scars of insurgencies, that infuses
tolerance within him… (85)

“The Ancient Rocks of Cherra” indicates that which is left behind and is neither
productive nor organised. Insurgency and lack of means to improve productivity
have resulted in the barren state of Cherra. The poet indicates that whatever be
the situation, the dark-grey rocks of Cherra spell home to him. It asserts the
desire to call people back to their space so they could bind with the historicity of
the place, however stark. In “Hard-edged Modernism: contemporary poetry in
North-east India” Nongkynrih has identified a kind of rootedness in the poetry
from the North-East:

This same rootedness is visible everywhere in the poetry of the North-East

today. The roots of their beloved land; the roots of their people’s culture;
the roots of their times; and most of all, the roots of the past that is “lost” to
them, have sunk deep into their psyche. And this is the chief reason why
their poetry is found to be bonding—even though it may come from “the
very different regions... (41)

The ancient rocks of Cherra, like the Himalayas, have been present all along.
Nongkynrih’s attempt at reviving the sage-like quality of the rocks lends new
meaning to the presence of the rocks of Cherra. The poem is both a creative act
and one of recovery that adds new dimensions to poetry from the North-East. It
is suggested that the rocks of Sohra have stood the test of time and will also
overcome the phase of insurgency.

191
Poetry From the Margins
1.6 LET US SUM UP
This chapter has introduced the debates around Indian English Poetry with special
focus on the idea of link between region and literature. It has emphasised, too, a
vital relationship between literature and society. The unit has also presented a
brief history of the beginnings of English in the Khasi region of the North-East.
The insurgency and lack of political will created a dismal mood in the region.
The poet, Nongkynrih struggles against all odds in these two poems to accept
reality and to look for hope in the ancient history of Sohra.

1.7 GLOSSARY
Myth : Myth refers to a set of beliefs of a community of people.
These are generally transmitted from one generation to
the next.

Legend : It is a story that people believe in and which evolves

through time, there being no historical veracity in it.

Oral Narratives : These are stories that are narrated and not written down.
The transmission is oral. They are written down much
later in the day.
Insurgency : Unrest and rebellion against the forces of the state.

1.8 QUESTIONS
1) How will you position English poetry from the North-East within the
category of Indian English?
2) Who are the Shillong poets? Describe the different aspects of their poetry?
3) Discuss the significance of the title of the poem, “The Colour of Truth”.
4) Describe the myth used in the poem “The Ancient Rocks of Cherra”.
5) Comment critically on the poems of Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih.

1.9 REFERENCES
Bhattacharjee, Subashish and Saikat Guha. “Towards a Poetics of Reconstruction:
Reading and Enacting Identity in Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih’s Poetry.” Rupkatha
Journal,VI.2, 2014. Pp 82-94.

Dai, Mamang. “On Creation Myths and Oral Narratives.” IIC Quarterly. Ed.
Geeti Sen. New Delhi: IIC, 2005. ISSN: 0376-9771.

Das, Prasanta. “Anthology-Making, the Nation, and the Shillong Poets.”

Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 43, no. 42, (Oct. 18 - 24, 2008), pp.19-21
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40278071
Accessed: 10-04-2020 11:33 UTC
Dasgupta, Sanjukta. “Politics of Language and Post-Independence Indian English
Poetry” Indian Literature, Vol. 42, No. 5 (187) (Sept.-Oct.,1998), pp. 207-217
192
https://www.jstor.org/stable/23338793 Accessed: 10-04-2020 11:36 UTC Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih

Ngangom, S. and Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih. Ed. Dancing Earth: An Anthology

ofPoetry from North-East India. Gurugram: Penguin, 2009. PRINT

Nongkynrih, Kynpham Sing. the yearning of seeds. NOIDA: HarperCollins, 2011.

PRINT
—-time’s barter. NOIDA: HarperCollins, 2015. PRINT
—”Hard-edged Modernism: contemporary poetry in North-east India” India
International Centre Quarterly, Vol. 32, No. 2/3, pp. 39-44. PRINT
—”The Birth Pangs of a Poet: The Early Works of Soso Tham, Chief Bard of the
Khasis.”
Indian Literature, vol. 50, no. 5 (235) (September-October 2006), pp.137-151.
Jstor https://www.jstor.org/stable/23340731
Accessed: 10-04-2020 11:34 UTC
—”U Thlen: the man-eating serpent” IIC Quarterly. Ed. Geeti Sen. New Delhi:
IIC, 2005. ISSN: 0376-9771. PRINT

Mukhim, Patricia. “Where is this North-east” IIC Quarterly. Ed. Geeti Sen. New
Delhi: IIC, 2005. ISSN: 0376-9771. PRINT

Prasad, GJV. “New Challenges for Indian English Poetry” Indian Literature,
Vol. 49, No. 4 (228) (July-August 2005), pp. 45-48
Jstor https://www.jstor.org/stable/23340771
Accessed: 10-04-2020 11:36 UTC
Satpathy, Sumanyu. “’Weiking’ In The Mists or the Literature of ‘Real Conflict’:
English Poetry from the Khasi Hills. Indian Literature, vol. 43, no. 2 (190) (Mar.-
Apr., 1999), pp.12-22. jstor https://www.jstor.org/stable/23342396
Accessed: 10-04-2020 11:39 UTC

1.10 SUGGESTED READINGS

Naik, M.K. A History of Indian English Literature. New Delhi: SahityaAkademi,
Rpt 2014.
Naik, M.K. and Shyamala A. Narayan Indian English Literature 1980-2000.
New Delhi: Pencraft, 2001.
Narayan, Shyamala A. Indian English Literature: 2001-2015. New Delhi:
Pencraft, 2001.
Ngangom, S. and Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih. Ed. Dancing Earth: An Anthology
of Poetry from North-East India. Gurugram: Penguin, 2009. PRINT
Nongkynrih, Kynpham Sing. the yearning of seeds. NOIDA: HarperCollins, 2011.
PRINT
—-time’s barter. NOIDA: HarperCollins, 2015. PRINT
Sen, Geeti. Ed. IIC Quarterly: Where the Sun Rises, When Shadows Fall, The
North-East. New Delhi: IIC, 2005. ISSN: 0376-9771.
193
Poetry From the Margins
UNIT 2 NIRMALA PUTUL
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The Santhals: An Introduction
2.3 Orality in Literature
2.4 Nirmala Putul’s Poetry
2.5 “The Mountain Woman”: An Analysis
2.6 “The Mountain Child”: An Analysis
2.7 Let Us Sum Up
2.8 Glossary
2.9 Questions
2.10 References
2.11 Suggested Readings

2.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit will introduce you to the Santhal tribe and their literature and culture.
It will enable you to understand the wide range of Nirmala Putul’s poems. The
unit will enable you to critically analyse two of her poems.

2.1 INTRODUCTION
This unit will introduce you to the social context and culture of the Santhals. It
will familiarise you with the idea of orality in literature, tribal imagination and
the importance of folk songs in translation. This will be followed by a note on
Nirmala Putul’s poetry and a detailed analysis of the two poems by Nirmala
Putul, “The Mountain Woman” and “The Mountain Child”.

2.2 THE SANTHALS: AN INTRODUCTION

The Santhals form one of the indigenous tribes of India. The tribe is considered
to be one of the most homogenous ones spread over various states such as Assam,
Orissa, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh. They are also to be
seen outside India in Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. A Santhali chooses to call
her/him as a Hor-hoponor the child of man. It is also stated that Santhals were
earlier called Kharwar. What is to be particularly noted is that they believe in
humanity and no other method of identity. At times, they also refer to themselves
as manjhi. In A Santal Dictionary P.O. Bodding has explained the word Santal
as follows:

The word is explained by the Santals themselves as meaning “one who

belongs to Santor Saotor Sat, a country in the Midnapur district (the
present Silda pargana). The name may also be connected with Santbhum
(also Samantabhum) in the Bankura district, the Santals simply saying
that it is on the other side of Sikhar. Sat is probably an abbreviation of
194 Skr. Samanta, boundary; the meaning might thus be a borderman. (183)
Bodding has also explained how the word is spelt in English as Santal or Sonthal. Nirmala Putul
The district where “more Santals live than in any other, is the Santal Parganas”.
Historically, the Santhals have been classified by researchers like Col. Dalton
under Dravidians and by Ranjit Guha as the Proto Australoid. It is generally
accepted that they existed prior to both Aryans and Dravidians. Along with the
Ho, Munda, Bhil, Gond, they “commence the ancient ethnic stratification of the
country” (Das 208). The Santali language is part of the Austro-Asiatic group of
languages. The Santhals are a community of people that can be described in
terms of the movement related primarily to agriculture. The early documentation
of the Santhals has been done by Sir John Shore in 1795 who spoke of their
presence in “Ramgarh in Birbhum district” (Soren 22). There seems to have
been migration of the tribe variously mapped by scholars such as L.O.Skresfrud
from the North Western side to the Chotanagpur Plateau and by others like Colonel
Dalton from the North-Eastern side to the Chotanagpur Plateau. (O’Malley 89).
But as P.O.Bodding points out, the lack of written records indicates that one has
to rely on their “their traditions, their customs, their language, their anthropological
features and what may be found in foreign records” (Bodding qtd. in O’Malley
90). The culture of the Santhals has become available in the written form only in
the recent past. The Santali language is one of the oldest spoken languages in
India. It was included as a Scheduled Language, through the ninety-second
amendment in 2003, in the Eighth Schedule of the constitution of India. The
Santali language does not have an accepted script, but Olchikkiis considered to
be its script. Santali existed in the oral form right to the nineteenth century when
the Roman, Bengali or Odia script began to be used. Olchikki does not share the
properties of scripts such as Devanagari. The Olchikki script was devised by
Pandit Raghunath Murmu in 1925 who wrote literature in Santali. According to
CarrinTambslyche:

In 1976, Murmu explained to me that he wanted to translate in ideograms

the basic gestures of life. He was also a dramatist, but what concerns us
here is his stress on the importance of imagining a script which would
embody the colour of village life, a script that Santal children could
teach themselves to each other. This script is probably the only tribal
script in India which has been able to establish itself in teaching, printing
and distribution. Murmu founded in 1950 an institution for the
propagation of Santal culture and literature which has since developed
into a large network, operating in several states under the name of
ASECA (Adivasi Socio Educational Association). He hoped that all
Santals would adopt his script. It has indeed been very important in
Orissa, but has not been taken up by the Santals living in Bengal or
Jharkhand, who prefer to use the scripts of the dominant languages. (8-
9)

Researchers who have recorded the life and customs of the Santhals, mention
how the entire village moves together with its head or the manjhi (97). The shift
is mainly for agricultural purposes. In 1832, the Santhals moved into the area
called the Damin-i-koh in Jharkhand to settle down there. As is explained in the
Bengal District Gazetteers, the introduction of Permanent Settlement led to “an
extension of tillage” and the Santhals were called to cultivate the lowlands and
to rid it of wild beasts. They are known for what is referred to the “ ‘slash and
burn’ swidden type”, an expertise in clearing forests and turning it into arable
land (Nathan et. al WS-59). In short, the basis of the Santhal life is the sense of
195
Poetry From the Margins a community in the form of a village and that of land and cultivation. The task of
clearing the land given to them by the British led to their settlement and subsequent
oppression. Exploitation at the hands of the zamindars on the one hand and by
the British colonisers on the other, led to their rebellion of 1855, also known as
“Santhal Hool”. The rebellion was led by the Murmu brothers Sidhu, Kanhu,
Chand and Bhairav and their two sisters Phulo and Jhano. Many Santhali women
actively participated in this rebellion. Various missionary societies were
established in the Santhal Paraganas after the rebellion. (Tambslyche 3). As W.J.
Culshaw explains how the story of rebellion has become an integral part of
Santhali consciousness and their songs continue to celebrate their leaders (6).

2.3 ORALITY IN LITERATURE

Santali literature has been handed down from one generation to the next in the
oral form. As mentioned, the Olchikki script appeared only in 1925. The Santhal
songs, folk tales and myths are a repository of their culture transmitted orally for
generations. They function as a “cultural script” preserving the dynamism and
fluidity of the tribe, “referring to the way(s) through which people organize
experience and make sense of their lives in the cultural setting” (Mathur 105).
Each tribe has its own creation myth which is often recited at key moments.
According to Bodding, one of the key moments of this transmission is through
the guru-shishya tradition especially when a member is included in the tribe. At
that point during the ceremonial feast or the chachochhatiar,we are told: “One
indispensable part of the ceremony is that a guru recites the traditions, beginning
with the creation and ending with how they came to their present home” (O’Malley
92). According to their creation myth, the Santhals believed that there was nothing
to begin with, except the ultimate cosmic force, “Thakur Jiu”. As Bodding records
in Traditions and Institutions of Santals:

Towards the rising of the sun (the East) was the birth of man. At first there was
only water, and under the water there was earth. Then Tahkur Jiu created the
beings that live in water, the crab, the crocodile, the alligator, the raghob boar
fish, the sole prawn, the earthworm, the tortoise and the others. (3)

It is believed that the first human couple came from a pair of swans hans and
hasil created by Thakur Jiu. These laid eggs and then emerged the human race in
the form of a boy and a girl Pilchu Haram and PilchuBudhi—Pilchu meaning
original, Haram, an elderly man and Budhi an elderly or a married woman. They
were kept at Hihiri Pipiri. They roamed around naked till tempted by Lita to
taste rice beer. With sexual desire, there came seven boy and girls who married
among themselves. But as they did not lead the life laid out for them, Thakur Jiu
instructed Pilchu Haram and PilchuBudhi to hide in a cave while the rest were
wiped out. The couple subsequently had more children. (O’ Malley 106). The
creation myth is known as binti and is recited at marriages.

2.4 NIRMALA PUTUL’S POETRY

Nirmala Putul was born in 1972, in Dudhani Kuruva village, Dumka of the Santhal
Pargana, Jharkhand to a Santali Adivasi (tribal) family. She writes in the Indian
tribal language, Santali. She graduated in Political Science (Hons.) and has a
Diploma in Nursing. Collections of her poems have been translated into Hindi
such as Nagare Ki Tarah Bajte Hain Shabad (Words Resound like Drums) and
196
Apne Ghar Ki Talash Mein (In Search of One’s Own House) and Phutegaek Nirmala Putul
Naya Vidroh (There will be another rebellion). She is the recipient of many awards
and is actively involved in developmental work in Dumka. She was awarded the
“Sahitya Samman” in 2001 and the “Rajkiya Samman” by the Jharkhand
government in 2006, in addition to several other awards.

Nirmala Putul’s poetry is rooted in the culture and landscape of Santhali life.
Her poems reflect a deep understanding of the integra1 connection between nature
and Santali life. Literature, specifically poetry forms the basis of representing
the meaning of nature to the Santhals. The poem “If You Were in my Place”
questions the developmental paradigm of mainstream society that privileges some
and leaves the others out. Putul asks pointed questions in this poem—
How would you feel
if your village stood in the lowlands of distant hills
and you lived in huts of grass and straw
right next to oxen, cows, goats and chickens and pigs
the anxious light of lamps about to flicker out?
Forced to see the faces of
children whimpering from hunger
how would you feel?
Translated from the Santali original by Arlene Zide with Pramod Kumar Tiwari
and the poet.
Putul does not lose sight of her moorings and bases her work in Santali life,
looks at the ‘developed’ world to ask, what if the positions had been reversed?
This reversal posed as a question sheds light on the realities of the Santali life
marked by people living in “huts of grass and straw” and “children whimpering
from hunger”. The successive stanzas point towards the complete lack of basic
amenities such as water. In the developed world, people open taps in their houses
to use water. But in the far-flung villages, water has to be given to children from
“mouthfuls of water/ from a spring/ flowing miles away. The women have to
gather firewood and the men have to break rocks for running the household.
Whereas other children have access to education, the Santali children continue
to lead a life in the village driven primarily on cultivation.

In the next three stanzas of the poem, the tone of the poem becomes sharper and
more critical. She asks what if she was “sitting on a chair” and “you begging for
some work,/ wheedling and whining/ in your sick little language?” She then asks
what if you were being gazed at and exploited by someone else.Putul’s questions
are to the advocates of the developed world who have completely ignored the
indigenous tribes like hers. She asks what if she were at the beginning of the line
and “you” at the end? The physical features of the Santali are brought in the
question next: “If you were black and your nose was flat,/ the soles of your feet
full of cracks?” She asks how it would feel if you had these features and were
mocked at for them. The questions raised by Putul point to a tone that is different
from the one used in the poems such as “Mountain Man”, “Mountain Woman”
and “Mountain Child”. Putul questions the extreme disparity that is there in the
society.
197
Poetry From the Margins Putul’s voice places the concerns of Santali life from the woman’s perspective.
The span of her poetry is broad—from poems describing the Santali’s connections
with nature to the problems faced by the Santali women. There is an intensely
lyrical quality to her descriptive poems and the tone turns dark in others where
she foregrounds the problems faced by the women. In the poem “Bitia Murmu
ke Liye” (For Bitia Murmu) Putul stresses the fractured times and the challenge
that lay ahead for women like Bitia Murmu. In “What Am I to You?”, Putul
questions the position of the woman within the family asking what she is—”A
hook/ on which you can hang/ the shirt you just took off/ filled with boredom,
sadness and exhaustion/ Or a taut clothesline in the courtyard/ to pile on the
clothes of the whole household.” (Trans.from Hindi by Aruna Sitesh and Arlene
Zide in consultation with the Poet and Pramod Kumar Tiwari). It is to be noted
that Putul’s work is significant for their holistic perspective. Lack of amenities
and education to a lot of the women is a problem faced by the Santhali women
and one that needs to be countered. In commenting on the problems faced by the
Santhali women writers, Maya Mandi states:

The major problem of Santali woman-writer relates to lack of literacy

among Santali women, and they don’t have much interest in Santali
literature. Thus women readers are few. Naturally if we write on the
problems of Santal women, very few women can read it. They also
cannot publish their writings in the form of books, as they themselves
cannot move from place to place for selling them. Very few women get
the help and inspiration from the editors of newspapers and journals.
Moreover, the publications of the Santali literary journals, though so
essential, do not usually get patronage of the State & Central Govt., like
their counterparts in other Indian languages.

At present about 150 journals and magazines in Santali are being

published from various parts of the country, as also about 100 books of
various kinds every year, and more than 300 writers are involved in
Santali literature as a whole. (141)

In this context, the work of Santali women writers like Nirmala Putul is a valuable
contribution to the evolving cultural script of the Santhals.

2.5 “THE MOUNTAIN WOMAN”: AN ANALYSIS

Mountain Woman

A bundle of dried wood on her head, she

comes down the hill
Mountain woman
will go straight to the bazaar
and selling all her wood,
will quench the fire of the entire family’s hunger.

Hanging on her back,

198 a child wrapped in a sheet
Mountain woman, planting paddy Nirmala Putul

planting her mountain of grief

for a blossoming crop of happiness
Breaking apart the stones of the mountain, she’s breaking
mountainous rituals and taboos.

Weaving mats on the mountains

passing her mountainously long day

She makes brooms

weapons to fight filth
Piercing the knot of her hair with a flower
She is piercing someone’s heart

She runs after the cows and goats, her feet

inscribe in the earth
hundreds of her innocent maiden songs

Translated from the Santhali original by Aruna Sitesh and Arlene Zide in
consultation with Nirmala Putul
As the titles of three of her poems suggest, the mountain figures as an important
trope in Nirmala Putul’s poetry. It indicates the physical terrain of Santhal life as
also the solidity of their identity. The mountain has stood the test of time and is
ever present. The Santhals, too, come from the aboriginal tribes and have been
present prior to the coming of the Aryans and Dravidians.

This poem presents glimpses of a Santali woman’s life. In the first stanza of the
“Mountain Woman”, women are seen going to the forest to collect firewood.
The journey down the hill means that the women have to first go uphill to collect
firewood. It is almost like a ritual. It can be seen that it is the women who perform
this work and not the men. Women work hard and go to the forest to procure
wood. According to Nayan Jyoti Das,

The key role in the economy of the Santal society is played by the women.
Most of the domestic works are performed by them. They engage
themselves in domestic works, collection of firewood, rearing of child
and domestic livestock, selling and marketing for the family. They also
always are busy with agricultural activities like sowing and reaping,
fishing, gathering forest product along with performing wage labour as
and when required. They are the head loaders. They pick leaves. (208)

The woman in the poem is referred to as the “mountain woman” as she performs
heavy tasks on a daily basis. Having collected firewood, she goes straight to the
bazaar to sell it. The money will help, “will quench the fire of the entire family’s
199
Poetry From the Margins hunger”. Putul is suggesting how the woman is the bread winner of the family.
She is aptly referred to as the “mountain woman”.

In the next stanza the mountain appears in a totally different manner. The mountain
woman carries her child on her back as she works in the fields. This also explains
how both tasks of tending to the farm and rearing the children is performed by
the woman. The man is not to be seen anywhere. Santhal society is largely
patriarchal. Even though women contribute economically to the growth of the
family, it is men who are considered more important. In this way, mountain stands
witness to the hard work performed by the woman. The Santhals are generally
engaged in clearing forests or in paddy cultivation. In the poem, the woman does
not sow paddy alone, but also her “mountain of grief”. The seeds that she sows
will bring her not just crop but a “blossoming crop of happiness”. Two important
aspects of Santhal life can be seen in this poem. The work is done entirely by
women. Further, the association of the woman with the mountain points towards
the tough life led by the Santhal woman. The happiness lies in the harvest as it is
an agrarian society. In doing all this work that is hard, the woman is also breaking
stereotypes and taboos that have restricted her. Putul presents the woman as a
worker, a producer. Labour transforms the woman’s grief to joy as it yields harvest
as well as happiness. The woman continues to perform the role of the nurturer as
she “plants”. The tasks performed by the woman remind one of Putul’s poem, “If
You Were in My Place”. In it she asks: How would you, who are part of mainstream
society feel, in case your wife, “to light the house-stove/ was forced to gather
firewood/ and bring it from the jungle”? Women’s productivity, labour and their
role as nurturer remain a matter of concern in Putul’s poetry.

In the next two lines of the poem, the word “mountain” has been used in yet
another way—”mountainous rituals and taboos”. Mostly, the breaking of stones
involves use of implements associated with men. As Das points out, “Women,
for example, are not allowed to plough. They cannot even thatch a roof or use a
leveller. They are prevented from shooting arrows, using razor, chiselling holes,
striking with an axe or fishing with line and hook” (209). Therefore the breaking
of stones, generally a male task is being performed by the woman who is then in
breaking the mountain also breaking taboos. A glimpse of the work done by the
mountain in the poem “Mountain Man” clarifies this further:
Sitting on the mountain, sings mountain-songs
Writes on the mountain in mountain script
– “m” is for mountain
Honing the blade of his axe on the mountain
He’s sharpening up the dulled numbness of what’s lodged inside him

(Translated from the Santhali original by Aruna Sitesh and Arlene Zide in
consultation with Nirmala Putul and PK Tiwari)
The man sits on the mountain, sings songs and sharpens his blade to break the
rock. In the “Mountain Woman” this task is taken up by the woman. In doing so
she breaks the taboos placed on the women and their position in the family.

The next two lines indicate both the nature of work and the immensity of it. Her
day is packed with work ranging from household chores to working in the fields.
200
What she then weaves on the mountain is the verdure of the paddy. The green Nirmala Putul
mat or the entire planting of the paddy is done by the woman. Her day is
“mountainously long” and she continues to perform her tasks untired. Women
and their labour has been ignored by patriarchal societies everywhere. In her
poetry, Putul presents women as active workers and throws light on this aspect
of Santali women’s lives.

The next stanza amalgamates the woman’s strength with her beauty. Her “brooms”
are “weapons to fight filth”. The use of the term weapons indicates that the filth
is not just one that can be cleaned up. It points towards the “filth” in society. This
could be the leering men or other practices that marginalise the women. In the
same stanza, the next two lines emphasise her femininity as she pierces the knot
of her hair with a flower and in the process someone’s heart. The indication
being that there is an onlooker appreciative of her beauty. But when analysed
with respect to the first two lines of this stanza, the use of filth and the broom as
a weapon to counter it shows how she is ready to combat anyone who misbehaves
with her.

The final stanza emphasises her form as a young woman. This is in contrast to
the hard work laid out for the woman in the previous stanzas. The woman is seen
uninhibited as she runs around full of fun and frolic and chases the “cows and
goats”. Her feet inscribe the earth and show how she runs around barefeet, singing
“innocent maiden songs”.

The poem’s description of the woman in terms of hard work done through the
day is in sharp contrast to the way the mountain man has been described in “The
Mountain Man”. He is seen as stationary and unproductive, defined only in terms
of his physical strength and machoism—
Mountain-like body
Mountain-like chest
Mountain-like complexion
Man’s physical features are akin to the mountain but he is not seen moving around
with the kind of agility noticed in the mountain woman. He relates to the mountain,
carries its history, and shares his sorrow and joys. But he is not seen working
with the mountain woman in the fields. The work in the fields, the tending to the
young ones is all done by the mountain woman. This points towards the disparity
in the roles accorded to the men and women in Santali society. According to Dev
Nathan et al:

But no woman is allowed to participate in the rites. They cannot sacrifice

animals or witness the sacrifice [Archer 1983: 129]. They can assist in
certain ceremonies but can only share certain portions of the sacrificial
meat, i e, other than the head, which is the ritually most valued part of
the meat. Thus, women are ritually not full members of the clan or family.
On marriage they leave the father’s clan, but never become full members
of the husband’s clan. This is a crucial step in creating a class of persons
with lower political rights. Women are also excluded from most of the
village collective rituals. They cannot enter the sacred grove (jaher or
sarna). They do not participate in the main dance of the agriculturist
harvest festival (lohrae). But in the gathering-related flower or spring
festival (baha) they alone perform the main dance. (WS-60) 201
Poetry From the Margins The poem under discussion is a translation of a Santali poem by Nirmala Putul.It
has tremendous visual appeal. In the translation, too, one can mark a distinct
rhythm and the use of word pictures. The woman carrying dried wood, or working
in the field with a child on her back, all create word pictures in the mind. The
woman putting a flower in her hair, or her feet digging into the earth throws up
earthy smells that create appeal. As indicated above, the word “mountain” is
used in many different ways, to denote toughness, security, and burdensome
responsibilities. Its use is both metaphoric and metonymic. It represents not just
the woman’s hardy nature but also aspects of her life metonymically. Putul’s
presentation of the woman as worker in “Mountain Woman” focusses on her
mountain-like difficulties. She is both a worker and a nurturer. And yet, in Putul’s
style the sensuousness (dancing around the mountain in a free-spirited manner)
at the end of the poem is a sign of hope.

2.6 “THE MOUNTAIN CHILD”: AN ANALYSIS

The mountain child —
a fragment of the mountain —
plays in the lap of the mountain
Toddling up the mountain
he plants his feet in the mountain soil
to rise like a mountain
in the land of mountains
The whole mountain
lives inside the mountain child
And in the lap of the mountain
lives the scurrying mountain child
The mountain child sees
a plane flying over the mountain
And he asks his father —
What is that bird?

(Trans. Lucy Rosenstein)

This poem describes the growth of the child in the lap of nature. It charts the
development from an infant to a young boy running around the mountain
highlighting the integral connection between the Santhals and nature. It is in
four stanzas and has the point of view of one who is observing a Santhal child.
The mountain child is referred to as “a fragment of the mountain”. For the Santhal
community the earth and the mountain take on the nurturing role. Also, nature
and human relations are integrated into one ecosystem in the case. As a child
plays in its mother’s lap, so does the mountain child in the lap of the mountain.

The growth of the child can be marked in the next stanza as it moves from the
mother’s lap to become a toddler. Here, too, the child ambles in the mountain
soil and plants his feet there. The warmth of the mother’s lap changes to the
202
mountain soil that holds the child’s feet and teaches them to stand. The child Nirmala Putul
“plants his feet” or stands firmly just like the mountain. Just as a child takes on
its parents’ attributes, the child, too, takes on the qualities of the mountain—an
idea emphasized in the next two lines of the stanza. It “rises like a mountain/ in
the land of mountains”. This also shows how the mountainous landscape is a
vital aspect of the child’s growth.

The connection described in the previous stanza turns metaphorically into an

umbilical one as the mountain remains within the child and the child runs around
in the mountains. In this stanza, a new movement is discernible in the child.
From sitting in the lap to being a toddler who learnt its first steps, the child is
now “scurrying” in the mountains. This movement of dashing or running around
in the mountain shows how the child has learnt to walk. This growth takes place
in the mountain’s lap.

In the last stanza another character appears—the father. The child is inquisitive
and asks the father about an aeroplane flying above its head. The young child
wonders as to what it is. It thinks the object to be a bird and asks—”what is that
bird?”.This is a telling line. It shows how the defining factor of growth in a
Santhal child is nature and not machine. The growth of children from mainstream
society might take place in a developed world with machines, technology and
the sighting of aeroplanes. But this is a mountain child growing up in the midst
of nature. It sees the aeroplane in the image of “a bird,” and not a machine. The
child’s curiosity touches the heart. G.N. Devy has explained:

The tribal imagination, on the other hand, is dreamlike and hallucinatory.

It admits fusion between various planes of existence and levels of time
in a natural way. In tribal stories, oceans fly in the sky as birds, mountains
swim in the water as fish, animals speak as humans and stars grow like
plants. Spatial order and temporal sequence do not restrict the narrative.
This is not to say that the tribal creations have no convention or rules,
but simply that they admit the principle of association between emotion
and the narrative motif. (170)

The imagination is used in this poem, “Mountain Child” to make us think how
there are two different growth patterns that can be seen in society. One is machine-
based and the other is nature-based. The Santhal child grows up in nature’s lap
and its growth and development follow the model of nature. That is why the
child identifies the aeroplane as a bird. Nature is essential to the growth of the
Santhal child. The poet makes us think of children growing up in the cities and
towns who might be able to identify the aeroplane but not a single bird or flower.
The poem stresses the importance of the way the Santhal child grows up in the
mountains and takes on qualities of strength and solidity from it. Each stanza
marks the development of the child from an infant to a young child scampering
around. Santhal identity is developed in nature.

Both the poems reflect on the simplicity as well as aural and visual quality of
Putul’s poetry. It is a blend of all these that tap the senses to give us a glimpse
into the world of tribal imagination—one that contests the superficial ways of
the modern world. The use of word pictures, presentation of nature in a sensuous
manner in a simple and meaningful manner speaks for a reorientation of
perspective.
203
Poetry From the Margins
2.7 LET US SUM UP
In this unit you gained familiarity with the Santhal tribe and its creation myth.
This was followed by a discussion of the wide range of Nirmala Putul’s poetry.
Finally, an analysis of the poems “Mountain Woman” and “Mountain Child”
would have help you relate with all that is associated with the mountain as a
metaphor to understand about the Santhal woman and the child.

2.8 GLOSSARY
Myth : Myth refers to a set of beliefs of a community of people.
These are generally transmitted from one generation to
the next.

Oral Narratives : These are stories that are narrated and not written down.
The transmission is oral.
Umbilical : The chord that connects the mother to the child in the
womb.

2.9 QUESTIONS
1) Write a note on the Santhals.
2) Analyse the tropes employed by Nirmala Putul in her poems.
3) Discuss “The Mountain Woman” with reference to its focus on human
strength.
4) Describe the atmosphere created in the poem “Mountain Child”.
5) Analyse the relationship between Santhal writing and nature.
6) Comment on the nature of tribal imagination and the role it might play in
literature.

2.10 REFERENCES
Bodding, P.O. A Santal Dictionary. Vol. 5. New Delhi: Gyan P, 2013. [Rpt of
1936]

—-Traditions and Institutions of the Santals. New Delhi: Gyan P, 2016. [The
book, Horkaren Mare Hapramkoreak Katha a classic was originally published
by Late Rev. L.O.Skrefsrud in 1887. It was re-edited by Bodding in 1916 and
1929. The translation was only published after the author’s death. The manuscript
was with Prof. O Solberg and was finally edited by Sten Konow.]
Culshaw, W.J. Tribal Heritage: A Study of the Santals. New Delhi: Gyan P, 2018.
[Rpt of 1949].
Das, Nayan Jyoti. “Santali Women: Under the Shadow of Long Silence”
International Journal of Humanities & Social Science Studies (IJHSSS) Volume-
II, Issue-I, July 2015, Page No. 207-212. ISSN: 2349-6959 (Online), ISSN: 2349-
6711 (Print).
Devy, G.N. Ed. Painted Words: An Anthology of Tribal Literature. New Delhi:
204 Penguin, 2002.
Mandi, Maya. “Problem of being a Woman Writer in Santali Language.” Indian Nirmala Putul
Literature, May-June, 1992, Vol. 35, No. 3 (149) pp. 140-142.
Mathur, Nita. “Chanted Narratives of Indigenous People: Context and Content.”
Asian Ethnology, 2008, Vol. 67, No. 1, pp. 103-121.
Nathan, Dev, Govind Kelkar and Yu Xiaogang “Women as Witches and Keepers
of Demons: Cross-Cultural Analysis of Struggles to Change Gender Relations”
Economic and Political Weekly, Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 1998, Vol. 33, No. 44, pp.
WS58-WS69.
O’Malley, L.S.S..Bengal District Gazetteers: Santal Parganas. New Delhi: Logos
P, 1910, 1984, 1999.
Putul, Nirmala. “What Am I to You?” Trans. Nirmala Putul, ArunaSitesh, Arlene
Zide and Pramod Kumar Tiwari Indian Literature, November-December 2005,
Vol. 49, No. 6 (230) p. 49.
—”If you were in my place” Trans. Nirmala Putul, Arlene Zide and Pramod
Kumar Tiwari. http://tribesintransition.blogspot.com/p/nirmala-putul.html
—”Mountain Woman”. Trans. Aruna Sitesh and Arlene Zide in consultation with
Nirmala Putul. http://tribesintransition.blogspot.com/p/nirmala-putul.html
—”Mountain Man”. Trans. Aruna Sitesh and Arlene Zide in consultation with
Nirmala Putul and P.K. Tiwari. http://tribesintransition.blogspot.com/p/nirmala-
putul.html
—”Mountain Child”. Trans. Lucy Rosenstein. https://www.poetrytranslation.org/
poems/mountain-child
Soren, Dhuni. History of Santals: A Brief Account. Jharkhand: Dream P, 2019.
Tambslyche, Marine Carrin. “The impact of cultural diversity and globalization
in developing a Santal peer culture in Middle India” EMIGRA Working Papers
núm. 46, ISSN 2013-3804.

2.11 SUGGESTED READINGS

Bodding, P.O. A Santal Dictionary. Vol. 5. New Delhi: Gyan P, 2013. [Rpt of
1936]
—-Traditions and Institutions of the Santals. New Delhi: Gyan P, 2016. [The
book, Horkaren Mare Hapramkoreak Katha a classic was originally published
by Late Rev. L.O.Skrefsrud in 1887. It was re-edited by Bodding in 1916 and
1929. The translation was only published after the author’s death. The manuscript
was with Prof. O Solberg and was finally edited by StenKonow.]
—-Santal Folk Tales. New Delhi: Gyan P, 2007.
Culshaw, W.J. Tribal Heritage: A Study of the Santals. New Delhi: Gyan P, 2018.
[Rpt of 1949].
Devy, G.N. Ed. Painted Words: An Anthology of Tribal Literature. New Delhi:
Penguin, 2002.
—-Countering Violence. Telangana: Orient BlackSwan, 2019.
O’Malley, L.S.S..Bengal District Gazetteers: SantalParganas. New Delhi: Logos
P, 1910, 1984, 1999.
Soren, Dhuni. History of Santals: A Brief Account. Jharkhand: Dream P, 2019.
205
Poetry From the Margins
UNIT 3 JYOTI LANJEWAR
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Women and Dalit Writing: Some debates
3.2.1 Dalit women and the Feminist Movement: Gopal Guru and Sharmila Rege
3.3 Marathi Dalit Poetry
3.3.1 Jyoti Lanjewar
3.4 “Caves”: An analysis
3.5 “Leadership”: An analysis
3.6 Let Us Sum Up
3.7 Glossary
3.8 Questions
3.9 References
3.10 Suggested Readings

3.0 OBJECTIVES
After having read this unit you will be able to:
understand Women and Dalit Writing;
analyse critically two poems of Jyoti Lanjewar.

3.1 INTRODUCTION
This unit will acquaint you with the debates around Dalit writing. It will provide
you with a theoretical methodology to understand the evolution of writing by
Dalit women and Dalit feminist writers. You will also be familiarized with the
terms “difference”, “Dalit feminist standpoint” and “diversality”. This will be
followed by an analysis of Jyoti Lanjewar’s work with special reference to the
poems “Caves” and “Leadership”.

3.2 WOMEN AND DALIT WRITING: SOME

DEBATES
The discussion around the discourse of women’s writing acquired new
significance with interventions from Dalit writing. In the recent past, questions
regarding writings by Dalit women and those by feminist orientation have
appeared leading to a reformulation of the structure of Dalit feminist thought.
The most pivotal article in this context is Gopal Guru’s “Dalit Women Talk
Differently” that appeared in the Economic and Political Weekly in 1995.

3.2.1 Dalit Women and the Feminist Movement: Gopal Guru

and Sharmila Rege
This section will introduce contemporary debates around Dalit feminist theory—
206 Gopal Guru’s idea of the distinctness of Dalit women’s voice, Sharmila Rege’s
critique of this uniqueness and suggestion of a Dalit feminist standpoint as well Jyoti Lanjewar
as Nivedita Menon’s idea of “diversality”. Gopal Guru’s article, “Dalit Women
Speak Differently” brought to the fore the specific context of Dalit women. It
triggered a debate about the relationship of the oppressed women to the feminist
movement, and reconstituted it on the lines of “difference”. In his argument,
Guru distinguishes the voice of Dalit women from all others and presents it within
a distinct context—this he labels as “different” from other constructs used for
feminist discussions. In his article, he also interprets the issue of the women
marginalized along caste lines as a consequence of both external and internal
factors in our society. In the case of the former, a non-Dalit framework of feminism
claims to explore Dalit women’s issues, but really speaking does so without
understanding their socio-economic and political context. The internal factors
refer to the exploitation of these women by patriarchal social structures.
Consequently, Dalit women’s writing needs to be analysed along coordinates
that must be distinct from those usually employed to understand women’s
concerns. The feminist movement does speak for them but according to Guru, it
lacks an understanding of the specifics (socio-political) of their context; in his
opinion, therefore, it remains non-Dalit and middle class. As one sees, writing
by Dalit women articulates exploitation within patriarchal structures such as the
family. He explains:

The claim for women’s solidarity at both national and global levels
subsumes contradictions that exist between high caste and Dalit women.
The latent manifestations of these contradictions involve subtle forms
of caste discrimination as practiced by upper caste upper class women
against Dalit women in the urban areas and resorting to slander of Dalit
women in rural areas…They consider the feminist theory developed by
non-Dalit women as unauthentic since it does not capture their reality.
This comprehension gets clearly reflected in the 12-point agenda adopted
by the NFDW and in several papers presented by the Dalit women at
the Maharashtra Dalit Women’s Conference held in Pune in May 1995.
Dalit women define the concept of Dalit strictly in caste terms, refuting
the claim of upper caste women to Dalithood. Dalit women activists
quote Phule and Ambedkar to invalidate the attempt of a non-Dalit
woman to non-Dalit identity. (EPW 2548)

For Guru, there are various reasons for understanding the distinctiveness of the
Dalit women. The first is the “ultimate subordination” of the woman’s voice to
other powerful voices in the peasant movement. The second reason is that the
“moral economy” practiced by the upper class did not apply at all to the case of
the Dalit women for various reasons. In the case of the third factor, as cited
above, Guru mentions how the contradictions between Dalit women and upper
castes are not taken into account. The relationship between the two is skewed in
favour of the privileged and this aspect needs to be interrogated. Therefore,, due
to a combination of reasons, the Dalit woman’s voice gets subsumed within other
voices and what we have is the non-Dalit woman speaking on her behalf. He
further explains the internal factor of marginalization by Dalit patriarchy:

In the post-Ambedkar period, Dalit leaders have always subordinated,

and at times suppressed, an independent political expression of Dalit
women. This political marginalization has been openly condemned by
Dalit women at the regional conferences of Dalit women and at the
207
Poetry From the Margins Delhi meet. It is not only in the political arena that Dalit women face
exclusion. In the cultural field, for instance, Dalit women have criticized
their male counterparts for dominating the literary scene. Dalit male
writers do not take serious note of the literary output of Dalit women
and tend to be dismissive of it. Dalit women rightly question why they
are not considered for the top positions in Dalit literary conferences and
institutions. (EPW 2549)

Guru explains how the question of the Dalit woman must be examined from her
point of view which would necessitate a re-articulation of the frame of reference
itself. According to him, such a position contains “emancipatory potential”, and
has a more “encompassing view of reality”. When looked at from within the
context of “difference,” the identity of the Dalit woman finds expression and
articulation. It is this “talking differently” that forms the identity of the Dalit
woman in Gopal Guru’s theorization.

In response to this argument, another contemporary theorist and scholar, Sharmila

Rege who has recently written, Writing Caste, Writing Gender: Narrating Dalit
Women’s Testimonios, argues the matter differently. In her article, “Dalit Women
Talk Differently: A Critique of ‘Difference’ and Towards a Dalit Feminist
Standpoint Position”, Rege gives another dimension to the discussion. The article
was initially presented as a paper at a seminar on Dalit visions organized by the
Vikas Adhayayan Kendra in Pune in March 1998. In it, Rege raises a crucial
point about the act of constituting the Dalit woman question as distinct since it
separates the cause of Dalit women from the larger feminist movement. The
Dalit woman question, when considered as particular, could then be raised only
by the Dalit woman. Rege cites the example of the black woman in Western
feminism. Arising out of a confluence of literary theories like Post-structuralism,
Deconstruction and Postmodernism, the black woman is situated within a distinct
politics and as a result both feminism and the white woman remain silent on the
race question. Rege analyses the complexity of the question of the Dalit woman
and the way in which it is addressed both by the women’s organisations of the
Left and the feminist movement. She elaborates:

Thus in retrospect, it is clear that while the left party-based women’s

organizations collapsed caste into class, the autonomous women’s groups
collapsed caste into sisterhood–-both leaving Brahmanism unchallenged.
The movement has addressed issues concerning women of the Dalit,
tribal and minority communities and substantial gains have been
achieved but a feminist politics centering around the women of the most
marginalized communities could not emerge. The history of agitations
and struggles of the second wave of the women’s movement articulated
strong anti-patriarchal positions on different issues. Issues of sexuality
and sexual politics which are crucial for a feminist politics remained
largely within an individualistic and lifestyle frame. Issues of sexuality
are intrinsically linked to caste and addressal of sexual politics without
a challenge to Brahmanism results in lifestyle feminisms. (WS-43)

Mainstream feminism is therefore seen as wanting and limited in scope by both

the scholars. But where Gopal Guru places the recovery of the lost voice within
a structure of “difference”, Rege rightly challenges it and presents an alternative
problematic for the Dalit woman question and for enhancing the larger concerns
208 of the overall women’s movement. As Rege avers:
 Though Guru’s argument is well taken and we agree that Dalit women Jyoti Lanjewar
must name the difference, to privilege knowledge claims on the basis of
direct experience on claims of authenticity may lead to a narrow identity
politics. Such a narrow frame may in fact limit the emancipatory potential
of the Dalit women’s organizations and also their epistemological
standpoints. (WS-44)

Rege also explains how it will be valuable to actually present the concerns of
Dalit women through what she calls a “Dalit feminist standpoint”—one that will
be located within the lives of these women on the margins and will hence be
emancipatory.

This position argues that it is more emancipatory than other existing

positions and counters pluralism and relativism by which all knowledge
based and political claims are thought to be valid in their own way. It
places emphasis on individual experiences within socially constructed
groups and focuses on the hierarchical, multiple, changing structural
power relations of caste, class, ethnic, which construct such a group. It
is obvious that the subject/agent of Dalit women’s standpoint is multiple,
heterogeneous even contradictory, i e, that the category ‘Dalit woman’
is not homogeneous — such a recognition underlines the fact that the
subject of Dalit feminist liberatory knowledge must also be the subject
of every other liberatory project and this requires a sharp focus on the
processes by which gender, race, class, caste, sexuality–all construct
each other. Thus, we agree that the Dalit feminist standpoint itself is
open to liberatory interrogations and revisions. The Dalit feminist
standpoint which emerges from the practices and struggles of Dalit
woman, we recognise, may originate in the works of Dalit feminist
intellectuals but it cannot flourish if isolated from the experiences and
ideas of other groups who must educate themselves about the histories,
the preferred social relations and Utopias and the struggles of the
marginalized, A transformation from ‘their cause’ to ‘our cause’ is
possible for subjectivities can be transformed. By this we do not argue
that non-Dalit feminists can ‘speak as’ or ‘for the’ Dalit women but
they can reinvent themselves as ‘Dalit feminist’. Such a position,
therefore, avoids the narrow alley of direct experience-based
‘authenticity’ and narrow Identity polities’. For many of us non-Dalit
feminists, such a standpoint is more emancipatory in that it rejects more
completely the relations of rule in which we participated (i e, the
Brahmanical, middle class biases of earlier feminist standpoints are
interrogated). Thus, adopting a Dalit feminist standpoint position means
sometimes losing, sometimes revisioning the ‘voice’ that we as feminists
had gained in the 1980s. This process, we believe is one of transforming
individual feminists into oppositional and collective subjects. (WS-45)

The important point to take away from Sharmila Rege’s argument is that any
positionality that speaks about the lives of Dalit women must be located within
their specific context. As a result, this construct should be analyzed as one that is
“heterogeneous” and “contradictory”. Thus the anxiety of the woman oppressed
by caste has to be understood from within her social construct and should not be
seen as unique and hence isolated. Further, it should not mean that the Dalit
feminist standpoint is based on lived experience alone. Rege recreates the feminist
209
Poetry From the Margins field to articulate the Dalit feminist standpoint and allows for a rethink in feminist
discourse. According to her, one must explain the way in which the Dalit feminist
standpoint will be interventionist within the feminist field and create a wider
theoretical and practical expanse for both Dalit and non-Dalit women.

Feminism must expand its frontiers to speak about the question of the Dalit
woman. Anupama Rao points out how this debate has been extended with Chaya
Datar’s critique of this argument and a focus on “the centrality of economic
exploitation and market fundamentalism in disenfranchising women” (Rao 4).
Rao elaborates the way in which writings by Dalit women have challenged the
“masculine register of dalit sahitya” (Rao 30). The feminist scholar Nivedita
Menon presents on a positive note the point that “diversality” is a more inclusive
term to address the concerns of Dalit women than “intersectionality”. The latter
is a term used frequently in feminist discourse. “Intersectionality” has been used
to analyze identity as constituted at the intersection of a plurality of discourses.
The understanding being that identity and the woman question need to be analyzed
from the point of view of caste, class and other factors. However, the feminist
scholar Nivedita Menon finds this to be a term that has limitations. According to
her, it emerges within the construct of law and deals with issue of race and gender.
However, in the context of India the vectors to determine women’s identity are
many. In place of intersectionality, she advocates the idea of “Diversality”.
Combining Rege’s Dalit feminist stand with the idea of diversality gives us a
methodological tool with which to place the discussion around Dalit women and
their work. Menon explains how feminism must take cognizance of the idea that
“women” is neither a stable or homogeneous category and nor are “caste, race or
class” (Arya 25). She cites the example of western theories and identifies in
them a kind of unidirectionality by which ‘their’ theories apply to the
contemporary reality in general. But ‘our’ theories are not cited as an example to
understand the feminist discourse in the west. In her critique of the idea of
intersectionality, Menon states:

Feminist solidarities as well as disjunctures in solidarity must be seen

as conjunctural, fluid and radically negotiable. No universal nature can
capture the conjunctural nature of political engagement; and (2) I suggest
that as we saw with the govermentalisation of gender, the easy
acceptability of intersectionality for international funding agencies
should give us pause. The term intersectionality seems to work not for
feminism, but for state and international funding agencies…Feminism
is heterogeneous and internally differentiated across contexts. This
recognition makes it impossible to articulate a simple feminist position
on any issue, and alerts us to what Walter Mignolo has termed
‘diversality’—the recognition of diversity as a universal condition
(2000). Analyses that begin with the assumption of a unified and
homogenous category of ‘woman’ may well be productively opened up
to other identities by the intersectionality framework; but analyses that
begin with the understanding that identity is provisional and conjunctural,
would find, I have argued, that the intersectionality framework freezes
notions of pre-existing individual, woman and other identities. (Arya
38)

Menon’s postulation of ‘diversality’ as a methodological tool helps us understand

that the universal frameworks are limited and wanting. It is therefore important
210
to reorient the feminist movement by looking at it from the perspective of Rege’s Jyoti Lanjewar
idea of the Dalit feminist standpoint and Menon’s idea of diversality. This will
help us understand how at any given point in time, things can clash in contradictory
ways. The Dalit woman’s standpoint is a considered move towards diversality to
understand how at any given moment, the issues of caste, class identity, and
patriarchy clash to raise questions we would have otherwise ignored.

3.3 MARATHI DALIT POETRY

Marathi Dalit writing can be traced back to the Bhakti movement of the fourteenth
century and the reform movements of the nineteenth century. Writings by Jotiba
Phule in the nineteenth and by B.R.Ambedkar in the twentieth century articulated
the context of the Dalits in literary expression. In the post-Independence period,
Dalit writing in Marathi gained impetus with the work of Baburao Bagul in the
1960s with his short story collection When I Had Concealed My Caste. Poetry
by writers such as Narayan Surve combined a Marxist outlook with the Dalit
context giving new directions to this writing. Articles in the magazine
Asmitadarsha introduced debates around Dalit issues and their representation in
writing. The 1970s saw the beginning of the Dalit Panther movement with
Namdeo Dhasal, Arjun Dangle and J.V.Pawar in the forefront (Dangle xl).
Dhasal’s poetry collection Golapitha (1972) shook people out of their
complacency with an unabashed expression and a totally different style of writing.
The bold images and vocabulary used by the male poets around the time made
their writing an anathema for many in the field. Where the spotlight remained on
the works by the Dalit panthers, the writing by women had emerged around this
time in a powerful manner and begun to speak in new ways. In the article, “”How
three generations of Dalit women writers saw their identities and struggles?”
translator of Dalit writings, Maya Pandit has pointed out how Dalit women entered
the domain of the written word around the 1970s—

From Baby Kamble, the first Dalit women to write her autobiography,
to the new generation women writers like Pradnya Pawar, Chaya
Koregaonkar, Shilpa Kamble, one can see a clear progression in the
way they have interpreted and re-constructed the realities of their
gendered existence…The most significant aspect was their indomitable
spirit, which took pride in their being Dalit Mahar women and which
protested strongly against Hindu religious doctrine and the caste
oppression it had generated. Their portrayal of the graded patriarchy
among the Dalit communities reflected a rare and humane maturity.
They did not denounce their men, but tried to explain the violence
directed at them as the only outlet available to their men suffering under
the yoke of caste oppression. Significantly, they were markedly different
from their male counterparts, both in the perception of gendered
inequalities and a sense of agency.

Pandit also poses the question of whether the writing of the women was different
from that of men. According to Pandit, writing by women was more sensitive
and nuanced. It made use of the cultural practices of their lives which were
known to them. This was unlike the position held by the men who rarely saw
them as agents of transformation in society. In Dalit Personal Narratives, Raj
Kumar has explained how most upper caste writers of Indian literature have
ignored the interventions made by Dalit women and have restricted their
211
Poetry From the Margins understanding to women as victims. However, women have at all times made
their presence felt. Lack of education, knowledge of the written word might
have prevented clear articulation but this does not diminish the struggles of women
who refused to remain passive. Like Pandit, Kumar, too, traces many generations
of women writers from those that lay “emphasis on women’s rights” in the first
phase to the second phase of “emphasis on women’s liberation and autonomy”
(216). Raj Kumar stresses on the need for a more unified Dalit women’s
movement. According to him lack of education is one of the primary reasons for
the absence of a concrete Dalit women’s movement—

Despite nearly five decades of literacy programmes and formal

educational facilities available in independent India, the number of
literates among Dalit women is abysmally low. A majority of them strive
to lead a simple and ordinary life due to rampant poverty in their families.
Poverty forces them to abandon education and work hard to find ways
and means to survive. Illiterate women cannot write their
autobiographies. But, as there are examples, these women, given a
chance, can narrate their joys as well as sorrows to someone who can
help document their narrative voices. (210)

Raj Kumar’s argument combines the theoretical with a more practical approach
taking into account the complexities of lived life. He also traces the Dalit women’s
movement to E.V. Ramasamy Periyar and the Self-Respect Movement, one that
helped women deal with “self-respect, marriages and measures of birth-control”
(214). The Ambedkarite philosophy and way of life gave confidence to the women.
These ideas are reflected in Lanjewar’s poetry.

3.3.1 Jyoti Lanjewar (1950-2013)

Jyoti Lanjewar was a Dalit feminist poet from Maharashtra. Born to a middle
class family in Nagpur, Lanjewar did her PhD in Marathi. She taught in Shree
Binzani City College, Nagpur University. She was a member of the Republican
party of India (Atthawale) and presided over the women’s front. She participated
in the Namantar Andolan (1978-1994), a struggle launched to change the name
of Marathwada University, Pune to Babasaheb Ambedkar University. It was finally
changed to Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. Disha was her first
poetry collection followed by Jhep. Lanjewar was deeply aware of the issues of
caste, class and gender and the way in which women were exploited due to a
combination of these factors.

Jyoti Lanjewar’s poetry

Lanjewar belongs to the second generation of Dalit women writers. Like her
contemporaries Kumud Pawde (1938-) and Urmila Pawar (1945-), she wrote
with conviction. According to Pandit, these women came into an urban and
industrialized world that gave them a “fractured modernity”. On the one hand,
the aftermath of the green revolution compelled migration to the cities and on
the other, conversion to Buddhism gave them “a rare self-confidence”. In this
context, Dalit women evolved their own style of feminism as against the Savarna
feminism of the 1980s that ignored the caste question. According to Maya Pandit:

They (Dalit women) were quite “different” from their predecessors in

the way they saw their lives constructed by a fractured modernity. Their
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 voice is modern, intensely individual, acutely sentient and deliberately Jyoti Lanjewar
audacious. They challenged the Varna system and proposed a critique
of patriarchal ideologies and practices in their own communities as well
as in the society around them. They were strongly ‘feminist’ and in that
they were distinctly different from their men; but at the same time, they
were quite ‘different’ from the upper class/ upper caste women in the
feminist movement who demanded reforms in rape laws and in the family
institution as their political agenda. But did not see caste as one of the
foundational principles of social structures that generated that violence.
This is where the Dalit women’s consciousness registered a strong
protest. Their incisive critique of the Savarna feminist movement of the
eighties exposed the inadequacies, and emphasized the organic
connection between caste and gender oppression. They provided
alternative perceptions of the construction of Dalit women’s identities
in post-Independence India, where the nexus between caste, and
patriarchy dominated.

Jyoti Lanjewar has written many poems such as “Disha”, “Why were you born?”,
“Sting”, “Mother” and many more. The exploitation of the woman at the level of
caste, class and patriarchy are the subjects of her poetry. Her poems express the
impact of the Ambedkarite movement on Dalit thinking. She is deeply aware of
the battles to be fought by Dalit women at many levels. “Mother”, is one of the
most powerful poems that present this idea. She remembers the ‘mother’ who
derives strength and fortitude from Ambedkarite thinking and tells her daughter
to follow the same path. “Mother” has been described by Eleanor Zelliott as a
“social and revolutionary” poem. Descriptions of the life of a Dalit woman in
“Mother” disturb the reader. Take a look at this excerpt from “Mother”:
putting a five paise coin
on a little hand
saying ‘go eat candy’
taking the little bundle from the cradle to your breast
saying “Study, become an Ambedkar”
and let the baskets fall from my hands...
…
I have seen you
on a crowded street with a market basket on your head
trying always to keep your head covered with the end of your sari
chasing anyone who nudged you deliberately
with your sandal in your hand…

I have seen you working until sunset

piercing the darkness to turn toward home,
then forcing from the door
that man who staggered in from the hooch hut……..

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Poetry From the Margins I have seen you
at the front of the Long March
the end of your sari tucked tightly at the waist
shouting “Change the name”
taking the blow of the police stick on your upraised hands
going to jail with head held high………
(Anand and Zelliot 100-102)
“Mother” describes the travails of a Dalit woman as also her participation in the
“Long March”. It was a march that took place in 1979 after the government’s
reversal of the decision to rename Marathwada University in the name of Dr.
B.R. Ambedkar. According to the translators, Martinez, Thorat and Zelliot, “Jyoti
Lanjewar’s entire poem is a pain of praise to the hardworking Dalit women who
in spite of illiteracy and many forms of back-breaking labour give great strength
to the dalit movement begun by Ambedkar” (Anand and Zelliot 103). At the
same time, the poem’s vivid descriptions of a Dalit woman’s life leave on us
strong impact. This voice of protest characterize her other poems also such as
“Caves”.

3.4 “THE CAVES”: AN ANALYSIS

Their inhuman atrocities have carved caves
in the rock of my heart
I must tread this forest with wary steps
Eyes fixed on the changing times
The tables have turned now
Protests spark
Now here
Now there.
I have been silent all these years
listening to the voice of right and wrong
But now I will fan the flames
of human rights
How did we ever reach to this place
this land which was never mother to us?
Which never gave us
even the life of cats and dogs?
I hold their unpardonable sins as witness
and turn, here and now.
a rebel.
This poem is an example of protest poetry and must be read against the background
of Dalit oppression from the Dalit feminist standpoint. It is the voice of a Dalit
214
woman speaking against the oppression and subjugation taking place at multiple Jyoti Lanjewar
levels. The poem questions the atrocities inflicted on Dalits by a society regulated
by powerful people. There is also a lot of pain that is visible in this poem as can
be seen in the lines:
Their inhuman atrocities have carved caves
in the rock of my heart
In the opening lines, the poet speaks of “inhuman atrocities” that have carved
out caves in the poet’s heart. The atrocities refer to the violence inflicted on the
Dalits and their marginalization. We need to interrogate “their” in the first line.
Who or what does “their” refer to? It refers to the upper caste, the society, in
short, the powers that oppress. Likewise, “Inhuman” indicates the brutal manner
in which Dalits are treated; it is a sort of behaviour that would not be meted out
to a human being in normal circumstances. It also says a lot about people who
inflict violence. What kind of people are they? Their insensitivity and barbaric
nature come to the fore. Strangely, they are considered to be civilized. But
Lanjewar’s citing of the inhuman atrocities exposes how they are barbaric and
cynical in nature. Lanjewar’s is a woman’s voice and, therefore, a hidden
implication about the atrocities inflicted on the Dalit woman gets stressed. The
poem works at two levels—the oppression of Dalits and the exploitation of Dalit
women in particular.

In the poem, the poet refers to the woman’s journey in life as a walk in the forest.
She needs to walk carefully. It seems as if she is worried about an impending
danger. Each step has to be taken with caution. One is tempted to ask as to why
caution is required. The poet observes “change” around her and looks out for it.
As her gaze remains fixed on the changing currents, it appears that the poet
wants to see what change will mean for her in the time to come.

The idea of change is mapped at this juncture. The tide has turned and the shift in
situation is marked as one where the existing system has been toppled. The
oppressed people have found a voice—that of protest. The resulting change is
that of protest against the inhuman atrocities the oppressed were compelled to
bear. The poet also maps Dalit histories by mentioning how they have been quiet
all these years. They had been fed on what was traditionally thought to be right.
Clearly, who decides the right? The answer quite obviously is: it is the people in
power. The present statement might work at two levels. It is the entire upper
caste Brahmanical practice that conditions the Dalits into believing that the upper
castes are superior to them. The Dalits are trained to accepting and giving consent
to the ‘assumed supremacy’ of the upper caste people. Lanjewar’s poem is a
protest poem resisting this idea. At another level we need to bring in the Dalit
feminist standpoint. This will help mark the oppression of the Dalit woman—
she is doubly marginalized as compared with the male. Her oppression as Dalit
is coupled with instances of beating and torture both within the family structure
and outside of it. That is why the Dalit feminist standpoint discussed in the
previous section needs to be thought over.

Here, we might remain conscious of the fact that the writer is a woman. She
takes a decisive leap as she plans to fan the flames of “human rights”. Lanjewar
uses the idea of human rights as a point of entry into the structure of protest.
Human rights will destroy the structure of the said right created to a whole section
215
Poetry From the Margins of the productive lot. The poet challenges the atrocities committed on the
oppressed by using the framework of human rights.

The question to be raised is—why do the socially oppressed not question the
given rubric of the right and wrong? The poet expresses her disappointment and
anger at the fact that this land where they remained was never the motherland it
was meant to be. It did not nurture them or provide them with a full life. She
rejects the land, and the nation in which they are placed, and asks—how can a
land that treated the Dalits inhumanly belong to them? It makes the reader question
the boundaries of the nation-state and its complete marginalization of the Dalits.
A nation has to be constructed on the idea that it belongs to all. Each of its
citizens should enjoy equal rights in the country. If that were to be the case, how
is it that one section exercises control whereas the rest are treated as of a lower
status? Lanjewar’s is the voice of rationality and humanity as she asks pertinent
questions.

Lanjewar considers atrocities inflicted on Dalits as “unpardonable sins.” The

treatment meted out to the Dalits will bear testimony to their oppression. The
poem culminates on a note of protest as in the final lines the poet declares her
opposition to the oppression. It is also a moment of the Dalit woman speaking
and asserting herself in the social domain. The poem is a mark of protest against
the savage treatment meted out to the Dalits.

3.5 “LEADERSHIP”: AN ANALYSIS

“Leadership”

Trees should not make

Any assurance to anyone
Clinging to old objects of devotion
Should not be leaders to hypocrites
Trees should remain like a “tree”
Quite unnecessarily
Trees grow as tall grasses
Calling themselves rebels
Caring for their own camps
Few have built secure fences around
Constructed limits for themselves

Sometimes Trees turn providers

Not to one but several birds
With them
Indulge in child play
Help them

216 To built nests

For others Jyoti Lanjewar

Protect their younglings

Provide warmth of leaves
Gradually as the birds come of age
The trees also teach them
To change the nest
And not just so
On convenience
Bid them to fly.
In “Leadership” Jyoti Lanjewar has used the example of a tree to elaborate her
views on the idea of leadership and what it should entail. The poem’s tone and
style reminds us of Gieve Patel’s poem, “On Killing a Tree”. A simple idea from
nature is used to comment on the current scenario and to make the reader think
about that which leads to a better world.

The poem’s title, “Leadership” elaborates the qualities needed in an able leader.
This can be understood to mean a true leader who will take the Dalit movement
forward. It draws a direct parallel between trees and leaders as both are supposed
to serve the people. Lanjewar uses the example of the tree to advise the leaders
about employing discretion in giving assurances to people. According to Lanjewar,
the tree remains rooted at one place, standing solid. But its strength should not
be associated with a tendency to adhere to old ideas—”old objects of devotion”.
The trees should not provide assurances to anyone based on traditional ideas.
The trees provide shelter but these facilities should not be extended to
“hypocrites”. Lanjewar uses this idea to elaborate the role of the leaders in giving
them new and dynamic ideas. The tree should follow its natural course and grow
in the direction it thinks fit. The growth of the trees is not altered or is not
incumbent on any “assurance” to anyone. The leader should not play to the gallery
and be hypocritical in his utterances. The beauty of the tree lies in being in its
natural state. Leaders, too, should just be themselves. They have a job to perform
and they should continue to do this irrespective of the many influences around.
The sense of discrimination is what they require.

The growth of trees as tall grasses is seen in contrast to the solidity mentioned
previously. The similarity of the tree to tall grasses is seen as an unruly,
uncontrolled growth, and is likened to leaders who call themselves rebels.
Lanjewar considers this as problematic. When people start moving only their
specific line of thinking, they would “care for their own camps”. The poem’s
tone changes in the next two lines. The idea is that there are only a few people
who have built “secure fences” around. This could mean two things. One, the
poet could be referring to the integrity of the leader that will prevent a person
from falling prey to the designs of the powerful people. Without such secure
fences, people end up serving the interests of the rich and mighty. The idea of
determining one’s limit is important. How far will one go? There will be
temptations and pressures of many kinds, but the leaders have to create a secure
chain around them so that they have the strength to follow their own convictions.
The poet is quick to point out that there are very few who are able to follow
convictions. There is also a subtle suggestion of negotiation in this poem. It is
217
Poetry From the Margins mentioned that leaders should remain alert about lure of the times. As Lanjewar
describes her own work in the following lines:

My poetry is about humanity and its seemingly endless struggles for

survival, for change, for justice and sometimes humanity happens to be
the oppressed marginalized... it’s a wonderful process of all these voices
coming out of me. (qtd. in Vitthal)

In the poem, Lanjewar explains the role of the leader as a provider. According to
her, some trees turn providers but they are not selective about this role. The
leaders, too, are to serve the cause not of any one group of people but of other
groups as well so that the benefits reach the people at large. As trees provide
shelter and help the birds build their nests, leadership might be genial to the
people. The idea of building a nest is not to indicate just the four walls, but the
need to build lives. Leaders have to take it upon themselves to help people protect
those the weak and insecurely placed. When translated to the context of leadership,
the younglings are people who are underprivileged and require tending to. The
trees also teach the birds to change their nest once they have learnt how to fly.
From the leader in the political world to the one at home, all must imbibe these
qualities. The general tone in which Lanjewar writes prevents this from being a
sermon.

The dominant idea that surfaces in Lanjewar’s poetry is about leaders extending
their leadership benefits to people irrespective of caste, class or gender. Her
poetry is a voice of protest denouncing inequality. Her emphasis is on human
rights and equality, on an egalitarian world in which all enjoy the rights and
privileges of the country.

3.6 LET US SUM UP

This unit has presented an understanding of the debates around Dalit feminism.
It acquaints the readers with a variety of views elaborated by scholars of Dalit
feminism and explains terms such as Dalit feminist standpoint and diversality.
The unit has also positioned Jyoti Lanjewar in line with Dalit women’s writing
as belonging to the second generation of Marathi women writers whose work
was wide-ranging and nuanced. Here, the poet’s larger social concerns are in
focus.

3.7 GLOSSARY
Diversality : A new coinage. It calls into question the tendency to put in
one basket the many identities in a society. Instead, it
emphasizes the need to protect the given cultures and life-
patterns by analyzing them in terms of the specifics of their
context.

Black Panther : It is a Dalit movement that started in 1970s with the writings
of Namdeo Dhasal, Arjun Dangle and J.V. Pawar. On 9th
July, 1972 the Dalit Panthers group was established in
Bombay. (Dangle xl)

218
Egalitarian : A term rich in ideological associations. It stresses the Jyoti Lanjewar
importance of equality in a society divided into classes with
prejudices and oppressive tendencies.

3.8 QUESTIONS  
1) Write a note on the debates around Dalit feminism.
2) Write a critical note on Dalit women’s writing.
3) Comment on the title of the poem, “Caves”.
4) Critically comment on the qualities of a leader as expressed in the poem,
“Leadership”.
5) Analyse Jyoti Lanjewar’s poetry as the voice of protest.

3.9 REFERENCES
Anand, Mulk Raj and Eleanor Zelliot. Ed. An Anthology of Dalit Literature.
New Delhi: Gyan P, 2018.

Arya, Sunaina and Akash Singh Rathore. Ed. Dalit Feminist Theory: A Reader.
New York: Routledge, 2020.
Dangle, Arjun. Ed. Poisoned Bread. New Delhi: Orient Black Swan, 2009.
Guru, Gopal. “Dalit Women Talk differently” EPW Oct 14-21, 1995.
Kumar, Raj. Dalit Personal Narratives: Reading Caste, Nation and Identity. New
Delhi: Orient Black Swan, 2009.

Pandit, Maya. “How three generations of Dalit women writers saw their identities
and struggles? https://indianexpress.com/article/gender/how-three-generations-
of-Dalit-women-writers-saw-their-identities-and-struggle-4984202/

Rao, Anupama. Ed. Gender and Caste. New Delhi: Kali for Women and Women
Unlimited, 2003.

Rege, Sharmila. “Dalit Women Talk Differently: A Critique of ‘Difference’ and

Towards a Dalit Feminist Standpoint Position.” EPW. Oct 31, 1998.
Vitthal, Bhupali Kusum.
https://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=
article&id=7032:jyoti-lanjewar-a-rebel&catid=119&Itemid=132 12.7.2020

3.10 SUGGESTED READINGS

Abraham, Joshil K. and Judith Misrahi-Barak. Dalit Literatures in India. London
and New York: Routledge, 2016.

Anand, Mulk Raj and Eleanor Zelliot. Ed. An Anthology of Dalit Literature.
New Delhi: Gyan P, 2018.
Arya, Sunaina and Akash Singh Rathore. Ed. Dalit Feminist Theory: A Reader.
New York: Routledge, 2020.
219
Poetry From the Margins Dangle, Arjun. Ed. Poisoned Bread. New Delhi: Orient BlackSwan, 2009.

Deshpande, G.P. Ed. Selected Writings of Jotirao Phule. New Delhi: Left Word,
2002.

Kumar, Raj. Dalit Personal Narratives: Reading Caste, Nation and Identity. New
Delhi: Orient BlackSwan, 2009.

Limbale, Sharankumar. Towards an Aesthetic of Dalit Literature. Trans. Alok

Mukherjee. Hyderabad: Orient BlackSwan, 2014. [Rpt]

Rao, Anupama. Ed. Gender and Caste. New Delhi: Kali for Women and Women
Unlimited, 2003.

Rege, Sharmila. Writing Caste/ Writing Gender: Dalit Women’s Testimonios. New
Delhi: Zubaan, 2006.

220
 Jyoti Lanjewar
UNIT 4 SUKIRTHARANI
Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Dalit Writing in Tamil Nadu: The Beginnings
4.3 Dalit Women’s Writing from Tamil Nadu
4.4 Sukirtharani’s Poetry
4.4.1 “Pariah God”: An Analysis
4.4.2 “Untitled-II”: An Analysis
4.4.3 Sukirtharani: A Feminist Voice
4.5 Let Us Sum Up
4.6 Glossary
4.7 Questions
4.8 References
4.9 Suggested Readings

4.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
know about the life and works of Sukirtharani’s poetry;
examine two poems of Sukirtharani critically.

4.1 INTRODUCTION
In the previous unit you have studied Marathi Dalit poetry. The unit also explained
the debates around writings by Dalit women and the methodology through which
Dalit feminist writing can be approached. In this unit you will study Sukirtharani,
a Dalit feminist poet from Tamil Nadu. There will be an analysis of the note of
protest in this stream of Tamil poetry. This will be followed by an elaboration of
the discussions around this writing. Sukirtharani’s poems “Pariah God” and
“Untitled-II” will be examined in detail.

4.2 DALIT WRITING IN TAMIL NADU: THE

BEGINNINGS
The beginnings of Dalit writing can be traced to Maharashtra. The writings of
Jotiba Phule (1827-1890) in the nineteenth and of B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956)in
the twentieth century set the path for a new way of expression. This acquired
great stimulus from the works of Baburao Bagul (1930-2008) in the post-
Independence period in India. The Dalit Panthers movement of the 1970s brought
to the forefront not only a new set of writers but also an entirely different way of
thinking and expression. Writings by Namdeo Dhasal (1949-2014) and others
defied the usual mode of expression to narrate to the world, stories of the atrocities
committed on Dalits. These found voice in a realistic mode without any dressing
up of expression. Writings by women began to appear in a more cohesive manner
221
Poetry From the Margins in Maharashtra around this time. The work of Dalit women writers gave fresh
directions to the corpus of this writing. The form of life writings such as the
autobiography, biography and the testimonio became popular as a part of this
trend.

The epicentre of this writing can be located in Maharashtra, yet it reverberated

in other parts of the country. In Tamil Nadu, an awareness of women’s rights can
be traced to the Self-Respect movement, “a radical anti-caste movement begun
by E.V. Ramasamy Periyar in 1925, and which convulsed the Tamil country into
eruptions of defiance, anger and subversion for the next two decades” (V. Geetha
in Deshpande 325). Proponents of this movement advocated the use of reason to
make choices and a secular approach was to be adopted in all matters. “Reason
and mutuality” were the cornerstones of this movement. The Self-Respect
movement considered marriage as a trap for women and Periyar was critical of
the way in which Brahminism “condemned women to the servitude of marriage”.
This was resisted by the self-respecters through inter-caste marriages and also
widow remarriage. As V. Geetha explains, “By rendering marriage a matter of
individual choice and desire, as well as a social contract, the self-respect marriage
form made the caste Hindu family appear suddenly vulnerable” (Deshpande 327).
However, the movement was limited in approach. It is in the 1990s as the
translations of B.R. Ambedkar’s writings became available in the form of the
“first Tamil volume in 1993,” a new wave of resistance and realisation of Dalit
identity began in Tamil Nadu. (Satyanarayana and Tharu 21). This was
accompanied with rise of new Dalit organisations in1989. Writings by Tamil
Dalits appeared in journals and little magazines such as Nirapirikkai. According
to Satyanarayana and Tharu,

In November 1994 a special dalit issue of Nirapirikkai was published,

with translations from Marathi dalit writing (selections from Poisoned
Bread) and carried the work of Tamil Dalits. In 1995 the Tamil India
Today brought out a special issue on Tamil dalit writing that included
Raj Gauthaman’s critical essay, stories by Sivakami, Idayaventhan,
Bama, Ravikumar, Cho. Dharman and Imayan, poetry by K.A.
Gunasekaran and Pratibha Jeyachandran. This moment can be described
as the birth of dalit writing in Tamil Nadu. (26).

The Dalit movement in Tamil Nadu in the twentieth century has been led by
Cho. Dharman (born 1953), Bama (born 1958), T. Dharmraj (born 1967), Raj
Gauthaman (born 1950), K.A. Gunasekaran (born 1955), Imayam (born 1964),
N.D. Rajkumar (born 1966), Ravikumar (born 1961) and many others. The Dalit
women’s writing in Tamil can be credited to Bama (born 1958), P. Sivakami
(born 1957), Malthi Maithri (born 1968), Salma (born 1968), Kutti Revathi (born
1974) and Sukirtharani (born 1973). They have all contributed to the making of
Tamil Dalit literature through life writings and narratives in the form of
biographies, autobiographies, short stories, novels, poetry testimonies, memoirs
and many other forms of literary expression. Anthologies such as No Alphabet in
Sight and collections such as Wild Words have made the works of these writers
available in English translation.

A common thread that runs through these works is of a rejection of the caste
system that hierarchizes and privileges the Brahmins and other castes while
relegating Dalits to the bottom of the system, considering them to be impure and
222 untouchable. Protest against oppression by a realistic presentation of their lives
and a rejection of the methods of cultural hegemony is a prominent marker of Sukirtharani
this writing. Examining the nature of Dalit protest, in the article, “Dalit Culture”,
Tamil intellectual, Raj Gauthaman raises important points about the role of protest
in Dalit culture. He explains how the identity of a Dalit is posited as a “negative”
one as against that of the Hindu hegemonic caste considered as “positive”. By
way of countering this, the critic suggests that firstly the Dalits need to ally with
the blacks and women. Secondly, they should also collaborate with other marginal
social groups such as the tribals. To quote, “Dalit culture should distinguish itself
as sub-national, defined in contrast to the national” (153). He explains how they
should then evolve Dalit culture as an alternative culture. The task is not easy
due to years of oppression that have made the Dalits vulnerable. Gauthaman
uses Richard Lanoy’s term “antipodal culture” to suggest the formation of an
alternative culture by the Dalits. However, as they begin, the Dalits will have to
engage with the structures available in society such as religion and caste, as
these forms continue to perpetuate in society. The protest culture of the Dalits
must invert the paradigms created by the hegemonic caste groups. From here
they need to move to a stage of integration:

The dalit protest culture cannot rest with turning the hegemonic cultural
symbols of power on their head….Dalits who destroy the divide between
the positive and negative identities by means of the dalit cultural
movement should consolidate their freedom by opposing the national
bourgeoisie, agrarian bourgeoisie and their collaborating classes…In
short, the dalit liberation movement which begins in the cultural plane
as a negative movement should in stages become a positive movement
for the liberation of all human beings. (157).

Where this protest movement should begin by asserting itself against the
hegemony of the dominant groups, it needs to move from resistance, formation
of an alternative culture and finally to a positive movement for the liberation of
all. Literature by Dalit women suggests the road ahead as their writing combines
these factors. Writings by Dalit women in Tamil inverts the order created by the
dominant power structures at the levels of caste, class and gender. But their
ability to evolve a fresh paradigm in writing creates an alternative rubric—one
that allows the women to combine critique with a new language that allows free
and easy expression. This is liberating for the community of women at large.
Sukirtharani’s poetry needs to be analyzed from this perspective.

4.3 DALIT WOMEN’S WRITING FROM TAMIL

NADU
This section will introduce you to a debate around the writing, especially poetry,
by Dalit women in Tamil. Contemporary Dalit women’s writing marks a distinct
turn from the kind available earlier. At present there is a spark of feminist poetry
from poets such as Sukirtharani, Kutti Revathi and Salma. According to the poet
Kutti Revathi, Dalit women’s poetry in Tamil Nadu came into its own with the
work of Kutti Revathi, Salma and Sukirtharani. The collection Wild Words: Four
Tamil Poets (2012) is a testimony to the same. In “Of What Our Written Language
Speaks…”, Revathi explains the problems around women’s writing,

For one, ours is a social space which has excluded women from any
form of sexual dialogue. Another reason is that Tamil women’s poetry
223
Poetry From the Margins was totally opposed to the extant dominant voice of Tamil nationalism.
Just as the body belongs to man, so do the words that denote the parts
thereof, is another reason. So, too, is the exclusion of women from poetry,
the finest literary form. And where her entry is permitted, such permission
is granted only on condition that her poetry must subject itself to self-
censorship. (30)

Revathi is critical of dominant discourses in Tamil society that prevent the woman
from coming out to speak and when she does it is through strategies of censorship
to control her voice. She explains further how in the case of Tamil poetry, the
women writers engaged with classical literature for a long time and the new
voices emerged only in the twentieth century. She mentions the work of twentieth
century poets such as Meenakshi and then Perundevi and Rishi. In the case of
Perundevi and Rishi, their poetry expressed women’s lives but they continued to
work within the “mainstream without claiming a separate identity”. It is in the
works of Sukirtharani, Salma, Malathi Maithri and Kutti Revathi that the critic
marks the advent of a new voice, feminist and assertive as well as one that explores
new directions. She states:

…poetry constitutes a kind of weaponry for a language, an essential

articulation of that society and a form of its activism. Therefore, even in
the very adoption by women of poetry as their literary form of choice,
there is a profound politics as well as activism. (30)

In the present time, women seek expression of their lives in different ways creating
“weaponry” for a new language. Whereas for Revathi, this change takes place
only recently in the twentieth century, Latha Ramakrishann who writes under
the pen name”Rishi”thinks otherwise. Writing in response to Kutti Revathi’s
article, Latha Ramakrishnan in “Regarding the Article by Kutti Revathi on Women
Poetry in Tamil”argues against Revathi’s comment regarding “the lack of a
separate identity” in her work. According to Latha Ramakrishnan,

Such categorization restricts the layers of meaning of a poem. New

Poetry is rich with the element of ambiguity and open-endedness and
the line between lines and readerly texts which include the feminist text
too but the demarcation of a poem as feminist poetry or ‘women writing
poetry’ restricts the expanse of a poem, in my opinion.(21)

The poet-critic in this quote terms this as “reductionist theory” and elaborates
how many like her may not have asked for a separate category of expression, but
they certainly foregrounded issues related to women’s lives. There might be no
easy resolution but it is significant to mark how issues surrounding Dalit women
are at the centre of this discussion and this must be considered as a significant
milestone in literary analysis. Where Ramakrishnan’s point about the relevance
of her poetry is pertinent, we need to acknowledge that the new tone used by
poets such as Kutti Revathi and Sukirtharaniis markedly different from what has
been written before their time. Take a look at these lines from poems by four
different poets:
The demon’s features are all
Woman
Woman’s features are all demon
224
 Demon language Sukirtharani

Is poetry
(From “Demon Language” by Malathi Maithri, Wild Words 27)

Nature has been

more perfidious to me
than even you;
But from you began
the first stage of my downfall
(From “A midnight tale” by Salma Wild Words32)

I know a woman who made

of the body’s aridity, a beautiful knife—
and went to prison.
She hated the dawn.
(From “Dawn” by Kutti Revathi Wild Words61)

I translate her poverty

the hunger she eats,
the hunger she expels,
her dwelling place
whose air is sprinkled with untouchability
her oppressed community
I speak the words becoming her
(From “Translating her” by Sukirtharani Wild Words81)
In all these poems there is a forthright voice that demands complete expression
of women’s life in all its aspects. The poems give us a glimpse into the thought
processes as also the life processes of these women. In an interview given to K.
Srilata and Swarnalatha Rangarajan, Suikrtharani comments on the nature of
women’s writing as follows:

Land, language, culture, tradition and heritage are factors that influence
women’s writing. What unifies the work of all women writers is the
subject of women’s oppression. Women who write about feminism or
who are concerned about reforming society are not asking for your
sympathy—our voices are politically charged arguments aimed at
challenging oppressive forces acting against women. There is always a
political statement in our poems. (183)

In the work of these poets, the woman is produced as an active agency performing
life-affirming actions while at the same time expressing the anxieties of living a
triple marginalized life. These poets are cognizant of their exclusion at the levels
225
Poetry From the Margins of caste, class and gender. There is therefore an attempt on their part at forging a
new language to reconstitute women’s lives in poetry.

4.4 SUKIRTHARANI’S POETRY

Sukirtharani was born in Lalapet, a small village near Ranipet in Vellore district,
Tamil Nadu. She teaches Tamil in a government girls’ high school there. Hers
was one of the ten or twelve Dalit families who lived in the “cheri”. Her father
was a Hindu and mother a Christian, even as the family followed the Christian
faith. She was the fifth of six children and the siblings managed to complete
their school education in course of time. As Lakshmi Holmstrom explains,
“Traditionally, their occupation was to take away the carcasses of the dead animals
belonging to the upper caste people, and to bury or burn them. For this, they
were paid in grain” (Holmstrom 115).

Sukirtharani has brought out six poetry collections in Tamil—Kaipattri Yen

Kanavu Kel, (Hold My Hand Listen to My Dreams, 2002), Iravu Mirugam (The
Night Beast, 2004), Avalai Mozhipeyarthal (Translating Her, 2006),
Tiindapadaada Muttham (Untouchable Kiss, 2010),Kaamatthipoo (The Flower
of Lust, 2012) and Ippadikku Yeval (Yours Eve, 2019). She is currently working
on a novel. She is a recipient of many awards. Sukirtharani appeared in a
documentary film, She Writes, with other Tamil poets.

In her writings and interviews, she recounts the brutal discrimination against
Dalits. Her understanding of the marginalized life is experiential and exploratory,
and the voice is of protest and inquiry. Sukirtharani’s poetry poses questions
about living in an unequal world where identity is marked by ostracism. Instead
of writing an autobiography or a testimonial, she chooses the genre of poetry to
express herself. In their article, S. Shankar and Charu Gupta explain how life
narratives are an “imprecise term” to describe writing about lives. They employ
the term “life narratives” (as against life writing) in a “generically fluid” manner
to include not just autobiographies and biographies but also memoirs,
ethnographic interviews, nonfictional references within fiction, biopics, legal
testimonies, art work, memoirs, Facebook posts, blogs, confessional poetry, and,
lastly and most tragically, a suicide note” (4). Their rationale for doing so is as
follows:

In using this term, we sometimes stretch the mean­ing of the word “narrative.”
We deploy life narratives in a generically fluid and wide variety of ways, as we
wish to include not only biographies and autobi ographies, but indeed to recognize
the multiplicity of subgenres in which lives are narrated. It has seemed to us
better to use the term “life narrative” rather than such alternative terms as “life
writing” or “life representation” (not all texts are written, after all; and
representation seems at once too theoretically loaded and vague a term). “Life
narrative” has seemed the best of the terms on offer because more often than not,
as an object of study, a life offers itself to us in some (fragmentary or otherwise)
narrated form. (Shankar and Gupta 4)

The use of the term “life narratives” as against “life writing” provides us with a
way of documenting these women’s lives through their poetry, fictional work
and other forms of expression. They help in creating the antipodal culture
mentioned by Gauthaman. The poetry of Sukirtharani and other Dalit feminist
226
poets are also instances of a life narrative. On her part, Sukirtharani finds it Sukirtharani
easier to reach out to her audience through poetry as for the most she remains
busy as a teacher, a role that she takes on with great seriousness.

Having been discriminated against on the basis of caste in school, the poet felt
that the teacher’s role is very important. It is because of her teacher Kalyani that
Sukirtharani’s interest in Tamil grew and she would always sign in Tamil. Another
teacher who influenced her was Shyamala Gowri. Sukirtharani realized soon
enough in life that the possibility of creating an identity by choice is not there as
you are always judged in terms of the caste to which you do or do not belong.
The poet from Tamil Nadu is ever conscious of her voice as that of a woman’s in
a society that tries to control and contain it. Her poetry is therefore marked by an
intensity and openness that compels the reader to rethink the way in which
boundaries are drawn in the society.

Sukirtharani’s poetry is marked by the anguish of having grown up on the margins.

Exclusionary caste-based practices have left a scar that is difficult to overcome.
She recounts numerous instances that drove her caste identity ahead of her. The
shaping up of a young girl in an unequal society is difficult. The poems are then
both a way of mapping Dalit lives as also resisting societal practices that
marginalize and oppress Dalit women. Tropes such as the body, sexuality and
woman’s viewpoint are at the centre of her work. According to Lakshmi
Holmstrom,

In poems such as “I speak up bluntly” and “A faint smell of meat”, her

poetry charts her journey as a young woman, from humiliation and shame
to an assertion of pride in herself—and that includes her body and sexual
self. (118)

For her poetry is a mapping of Dalit lives and their protest against the way in
which power structures and coalitions in society oppress subjects caught in them.
Sukirtharani’s poetic voice is an assertion of the Dalit feminist standpoint. In the
poem, “Infant Language,” she writes:
I need a language
Still afloat in the womb
which no one has spoken so far,
which is not conveyed through signs and gestures.
…
The keys of that unique language
Will put an end to sorrow,
Make way for a special pride.
(Wild Words77)
These lines assert the need for a new idiom in which the poet chooses to express
herself, through words that no one has spoken so far. Poetry presents new idioms
of protest. At the same time, she gives to this language an honour, dignity and a
“special pride”. Sukirtharani sees this act as liberating—one that will end the
sorrow faced by women like her. Poetic expression, has a social purpose in the
work of Sukirtharani. In the next two stanzas of this poem, there is a feral power
227
Poetry From the Margins in the words as she states—”You will read there my alphabet, and feel afraid.” In
her own words,

In most of my poems, there is a powerful sense of ‘I’, a strong subjectivity. I

strongly feel the need to bring my sense of self into the picture. It is said that
bringing the “I” repeatedly into one’s work is a mistake as it can crystalllise into
one’s ego. But the “I” which I use does not stand for Sukirtharani alone, it
represents several women like Sukirtharani. This representative “I” is an integral
part of my poems and I must use it. (Srilata and Rangarajan 183)

Sukirtharani’s poems bear signs of a poignant subjectivity and an intense desire

to evolve poetry that subverts societal norms and prejudices. People are used to
looking at caste matters from the perspective of the binary divisions, but she
holds a mirror up to the society showing the people exactly what she intends
doing. Sukirtharani’s poetic concerns range from an attempt to forge a new
language to describing the horrors of Dalit lives and the way in which they have
had to bear ostracism and humiliation over the ages. Instances of skinning carcass
of dead cattle, beating the drum at funerals and processions, suppression of
women’s bodies and lives are the subject of Sukirtharani’s poetry. Poems such as
“A faint smell of meat”, “A portrait of my village” present the dark picture of
Dalit lives. The episodes from this life provide us with a fragment of a life
narrative.

4.4.1 “Pariah God”: An Analysis

“Pariah God”
You say
the heat that sears your side
is a pariah sun.

You say
the beak that steals
the worm-ridden grain spread out to sun
is a pariah crow.

You say
the mouth that snatches
food along with your wrist
is a pariah dog.

When the land is tilled

and sweat is sown
you say
it is pariah labour.

228
 If this is how everything is named Sukirtharani

what is the name of that pariah god

who walks the earth blood-thirsty?
Translated Meena Kandasamy
(Satyanarayana and Tharu, 313)
The poem, “Pariah God” explores the construction of the term “pariah”. It
originally comes from the word parai, a musical instrument.The people who
played the parai or the drum on weddings and funerals constituted a specific
social group, considered lower in terms of caste divisions. People belonging to
this group were discriminated against by the privileged caste groups. Over a
period of time, pariah was used to refer to Dalits in Tamil Nadu. At the same
time, pariah also refers to an outsider, one who does not belong to the social
system. The term pariah therefore captures both the social history and the lineage
of humiliation and ostracism faced by the Dalits in Tamil Nadu. As Sukirtharani
recounts in an interview with Divya Karthikeyan,

My grandfather played parai (the musical instrument after which the

Dalits in Tamil Nadu were named as Pariah) in events of the village.
My father worked in EID Parry as a labourer. In festivals or funerals,
parai is an important part of the rituals. Every year one person would
be chosen to perform the task of playing parai, which he should oblige.
My father protested and the panchayat called him and cast him out of
the village. As my father was working at Parry’s in Ranipet, it didn’t
affect him.

The construction of Dalits as pariah is an attempt to label them as outsiders. In

their respective zones of habitation, the Dalits are treated as outcasts and pariahs.
In writing “Pariah God”, Sukirtharani reveals the process of naming and contests
the legacy of being a pariah in society. One is reminded of the theorist Frantz
Fanon who in his book Black Skin, White Masks (1952) presented the wide
disparity in the habitations of the blacks from the white settlements and the
strategies of marginalisation of the blacks.

The poem is structured in I-You format and is framed as a question. The “I” is
the Dalit voice and “you” refers to one who occupies a privileged position. The
poem is both an accusation and a question to the privileged caste groups. Written
in five stanzas, the opening sentence of the first three begins with “You say” to
question the strategy of naming and difference. The poem presents the way in
which the upper caste groups name and categorise the Dalits as pariahs.
Sukirtharani points out how the entire structure of Dalit existence as been rendered
as a pariah. Every aspect of their life ranging from natural elements to birds and
animals are ‘named’ as pariah.

The opening line of the first stanza in an accusatory tone inverts the usual order—
”You say”. Through this first statement, the subservient position of the Dalits is
inverted and it is the privileged caste people who are interrogated. In it, the sun
that gives light and is life affirming is also harsh. The harshness of the sun is
blamed as pariah. The “heat that sears your side” indicates how the powerful
social groups name the harshness of the sun as “pariah sun”. The Dalits are not
given credit for the light and life-giving aspects of the sun, but its heat is attributed
to them. 229
Poetry From the Margins The second stanza again opens in the questioning tone—”You say”. This time
the bird stealing the grain spread out in the sun is considered to be a pariah. Note
how the bird’s natural act of pecking at the grain is considered as theft, she
“steals” it. Moreover, the grain spread out is “worm-ridden” and not healthy
grain. When the crow pecks at the useless worm-eaten grain it is called the “pariah
crow”. The crow’s natural act is tantamount to stealing and it is accorded pariah
status. This is the way in which theft is associated with the marginalised.
Sukirtharani’s poetry shows that the world in which they live is not conducive to
their existence as their entire ecosystem is seen as pariah. There is a continuous
battle with the things around. Each aspect of their lived life is a reminder that in
their own world they are outcasts.

The next stanza re-emphasizes the I-you format. Here, the dog who “snatches”
the food away from “your” hand is considered to be pariah, too. This is an act of
violence as the dog grabs the food and also the “wrist”. The bird “steals”, the
dog “snatches” and they are all considered pariah. By extension, not only are the
Dalits ‘named’ as pariah but their identity is also framed as negative as theft, and
violence is associated with them. This phraseology indicates the way Dalits are
trapped in a structure created by the upper castes. Sukirtharani’s poem interrogates
these assumptions pointing a way out of this structure. The poem is a process of
writing back to question the basis of this naming. Dalit lives are ridden by this
unequal relation with respect to the other privileged people. Writing is a challenge
to the norms set by the socially privileged.

The fourth stanza turns the argument around. The first sentence begins on a
different note. It presents Dalits as productive labour. It suggests how labour is
performed by the pariahs as the work force does not come from the privileged
caste. The latter only enjoy the fruits of the labour of the former. The fourth
stanza draws the attention of the reader to the real work done by them—”land is
tilled” and “sweat is sown”. The labour is pariah, but they are not seen as producers
in society. They are only exploited as “pariah labour”.

The first four stanzas enumerate the many ways of the construction of a pariah,
and the last stanza poses a question as Sukirtharani challenges this process of
naming—”What is the name of that pariah god/ who walks the earth blood-
thirsty?” The opening line reiterates this arbitrary process of naming. She asks if
there are a community of people who are pariahs, then surely there must be a
“pariah god”. However, this is a god who has given them a life of oppression and
deprivation and is “blood-thirsty” as the lives of the Dalits are denied the vigour
of life.

“Pariah God” interrogates and exposes the multiple ways in which each aspect
of lived lives is rendered a pariah by the powerful castes and social groups. The
poem is also written as a challenge to such strategies of naming. It documents
the exclusionary practices of the powerful. An inquiry into the nature of the
“pariah” status is a process of “inversion” that unsettles the coordinates used by
the hegemonic caste groups to marginalise and exploit the Dalits.

4.4.2 “Untitled Poem-II”: An Analysis

“Untitled Poem-II”
As they skinned a dead cow
230
I stood guard Sukirtharani

chasing the crows away.

The leftover rice

gathered as alms
from sundry village homes
after long waits
turned piping hot in
my bragging.

Seeing my father
down the street
with a tell-tale drum
slung around his neck,
I passed quickly,
face averted.
Unable to state
In the classroom
my father’s vocation
and his annual pay,
in the classroom,
I’d fell victim
to the teacher’s cane.

Sitting friendless
in the back row,
I broke down and cried,
My grief invisible to the world’s gaze.

But now,
should anyone happen to ask,
I tell them readily:
Yes, I am a pariah girl.
Translated N. Kalyan Raman,
(Satyanarayana and Tharu, 317)
Untitled-II is a declaration of pariah identity. It documents the life of the outcasts
and the atrocities inflicted on them. Instances from Dalit lives are presented
through the eyes of a young Dalit girl. The poem maps her transition from youth 231
Poetry From the Margins to maturation. Sukirtharani’s poetry is experiential as it provides different
instances of both lived and observed lives. In this sense the poem is an instance
of a “life narrative” (to use the term given by S. Shankar and Charu Gupta). The
poem does not carry a conventional title, a trend that can be seen in the poetry of
other writers of this orientation like N.D. Rajkumar. In a discussion of Bama’s
Karakku, M.S.S. Pandian has stated that “to name is to exercise power. But a
deliberate refusal to name can enable a politics of collectivity. In this case, the
shroud of anonymity frees events, persons and institutions from the possibility
of individuation and renders them general” (Rao 132). In this case the naming of
the poem as “untitled” is a rejection of the process of naming. At the same time,
it points towards a collective social condition of the marginalized.

The first stanza of the poem, “Untitled-II” presents the vocation of the oppressed
community. The pariahs were the drummers. Over a period of time they began to
move dead cattle out of the village and were given grain in return. The opening
lines, presented from the eyes of a young girl present a picture of the work done
by the Dalits “as they skinned a dead cow”. The poetic persona explains how it
was her job to chase the crows away. She is the onlooker who stands and watches
the task being performed. Her growing up has been mediated through these acts.

The second stanza presents another dimension. We get to know how the poet
would wait for food outside homes to collect “leftover rice/ gathered as alms”.
Sukirtharani points out how this, too, was procured after a long wait. In her
concocted story the food turns “piping hot” as the young vulnerable girl later
brags about a hearty meal. But in reality, this food was denied to her. As her
imagination converts the “leftover rice” into piping hot food, the wide gap between
desire and reality stands exposed. Moreover, the desire is for a basic human
right. Dalits performing their social function of removing dead cattle were
considered impure and were made to wait for food.

The third stanza brings to the fore the practice of beating the drum performed by
the Dalits. The poem provides a glimpse into the excruciating pain and humiliation
as also the very bleak picture of Dalit lives. The drum is a “tell-tale drum”. It is
the witness and repository of the many stories of pain and humiliation borne by
the Dalits. On seeing her father beating the drum, the poetic persona of the young
girl is made to confront her status as pariah. Sukirtharani points out how these
stories are not necessarily from her life but from the lives of other Dalit people—
”It was a collective experience of many Dalits. At one point of my life, I was
ashamed of my caste. At my school, teachers used to ask who belonged to forward
caste and who are Harijans? But I couldn’t openly identify myself with that
term. If we are the children of God, then whose children are the others?”
(Karthikeyan). Sukirtharani’s tone is honest and straightforward as she uses words
to weave the pain of her experience and accepts the embarrassment associated
with growing up in such an environment. The young girl feels embarrassed at
accepting the humiliation they are subject to and walks away “face averted”. Her
father and family did not fit into the developmental paradigm created by the
privileged upper caste people who held sway in society. She is embarrassed and
unable to state her father’s profession or the meagre income, and was subject to
the teacher’s cane. In Sukirtharani’s poetic world, the teacher has a role to play,
as someone who shapes lives. In her own time, she was greatly influenced by
her Tamil teacher. But in this case the teacher’s cane falling on the student is a
mindless act and shows the insensitivity of the teacher. The young girl’s life is
232
marked by solitary sadness as she sits “friendless/ in the back row” and cries. Sukirtharani
This might make the girl lose self-esteem. Her grief is “invisible/ to the world’s
gaze”. Not only the teacher but the rest of the world, too, is unable to understand
the grief of the young girl.

But in the last stanza, the poetic voice is no longer that of an insecure young girl.
It is a voice that belongs to the mature woman who has dealt with the complexities
of her life. We see in it a woman who carries within her the pain of growing up in
an unequal world. All this has taught her to declare, “Yes, I am a pariah girl”.
This declaration is a challenge to the world of the privileged. The poetic voice
announces the young girl’s pariah status to liberate herself from the shackles of
a debilitating structure. Sukirtharani explains the complexities associated with
the word pariah as follows:

When people keep referring to me as parachi (outcast) to belittle me, I

feel I must confront them by affirming my identity. There is a difference
between the identity one takes upon oneself and the one that others
force on to you. In my village, people continue to refer to us by offensive
caste names such as parathevaidya or parathevaidyapasanga. When I
am at home, I don’t have to think about my caste, but the moment I set
foot outside my house, caste chases after me like a dog. I am known as
a ‘dalit’ teacher in my school. I seem to be carrying this burden onto my
shoulders without being conscious of it. This is something very
characteristic of my life. Caste, therefore, seeps into the self I construct
through my poems. (Srilata and Rangarajan 185)

Her comments make clear the peculiar reference point of caste and gender in her
poetry. Identity is formed in terms of the many discourses that pervade her life in
its many phases. Her acceptance of the status as “pariah” is a declaration that she
has inverted the order established by the hegemony of the upper caste. She will
now use it in a life-affirming manner through her poetry. The “Untitled Poem-II”
expresses the angst of growing up in a world where the classification and rigidity
of caste identities deal a blow to her Dalit identity. Sukirtharani acknowledges
this sense of pain and loss but hers is the voice of strength. As she emerges from
the pain, she locates within her a strong woman who rejects such societal
classifications and inequalities. Sukirtharani’s words are an assertion of human
dignity as a Dalit woman.

4.4.3 Sukirtharani: A Feminist Voice

Sukirtharani’s poetry has a strong quality to it that creates a fresh voice of poetry.
The tone is direct and unhindered. Her poetry developed against the normative
structures of caste and family and was considered obscene. As she recounts,

Her poetry developed, she says, in atmosphere of disapproval, refusal

of permission to attend public meetings on the part of her parents, and
evasive lies on her part. When her first collection, Kaipattri En Kanavu
Kel (Hold Me and Hear my Dreams) was published in 2002 and her
name was bandied about with that of other women poets and trashed for
its so called obscenity’, she received no support from her family….None
of this broke her spirit. Instead, she says, she was inspired to read the
poetry of other women closely: Sri Lankan and other Asian women
poets, Kamala Das, the novels of Taslima Nasreen. ‘I realized then,’ she
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Poetry From the Margins writes, ‘a woman’s body had become the property of man. I realized
that it was my first duty to redeem it. So my poetry began to put forward
a politics of the body’. (Holmstrom 117)

Despite no support from family and society, she moved on to define her literary
pursuits. The influence of writers like Kamala Das, Taslima Nasreen and closer
home, Kutti Revathi helped her develop a unique style of writing. Sukirtharani
is ever conscious of being marginalised both at the level of caste and gender. She
captures in her poetry scenes from lived and observed life in which women are
controlled and contained as much by patriarchal structures as by caste. Her
realisation that the female body is controlled by a society divided at different
levels leads her to speak for equality for women. Sukirtharani explains,

I began to think and write about the body. First, I thought about feelings.
Tolkapiyam mentions eight kinds of feelings. All eight kinds of feelings
come from the body; one had to liberate one’s feelings, one’s body from
male domination. Second, the body is the object of sexual violence; it is
also the means of labour. I made this work into a project. One can think
about dalit women and the double violence they experience in relation
to each of these areas. (Satyanarayana and Tharu 312)

This combination of caste and gender in understanding women’s lives brings

forth poetry that is liberated.

Sukirtharani’s poetry expresses a deep consciousness of the body. She writes to

bring forth the way in which patriarchal societies contain female bodies and
treat them as property. But in her poetry, there is also a celebration of the female
form. The woman’s realisation of her body’s exploitation and the act of reclaiming
it as her own is a significant marker of her poetry. Take a look at “Untitled Poem-
I”—”With handfuls of poems/ I come to you;/ You wait for me/ with countless
kisses./ In a kiss, several poems—/ In a poem, several kisses/ slip away from
us.” In it, the woman is the active doer. She is not the passive individual whose
body is being acted upon. She is the performer. In poems such as “Night Beast”
or “The Smile of Aeons,” beauty and deep sensuality are combined to define the
female form in a totally new way. For instance, in the lines from “The Smile of
Aeons”—”Broad shoulders adorned/ with drawings of sugarcane and vine/glitter
from a coat of sandal paste./ Gentle tooth marks sink/into a high, nubile breast”
we see a clear emphasis on the body.Sukirtharani’s poetry restores a sense of
confidence and dignity to the female body.In explaining her idea of feminism to
Karthikeyan, she says,

Feminism is supposed to be inclusive. And if there’s space for dalit

writing, so why shouldn’t there be one for dalit women, I thought. We
can never define feminism by one standard. My language of feminism
is different from yours. For some, feminism may be about having the
right to go to pubs and stay out late at nights. For me, feminism is having
the right to be able to step out of the house, and both are equally
important.

We need to understand that the feminism in New Delhi is not the same
as in Kanyakumari. The feminism in Lalapet is different from that of
Kanyakumari. But what is important is the common thread of women’s
freedom that runs through. It is only laced externally with personal
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 experiences. On this respect, dalit feminism is different and important Sukirtharani
just as much.

Sukirtharani’s voice resonates with those of the other Dalit women poets writing
in Tamil. Her poetry is an instance of her understanding of the complexities of
identity formation that confronts diverse discourses ranging from caste, class
and gender. Susie Tharu describes Sukirtharani’s poetry as “a brave and moving
engagement with sexuality that draws on the feminist reclamation of desire and
sexual pleasure” (Arya 184). Sukirtharani wrests free her Dalit identity and the
body of the woman from restrictive traditions that cause humiliation. Her poetry
is powerful and liberating as it inspires to follow the path of dignified living.

4.5 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we have studied the context of Dalit women’s poetry from Tamil
Nadu. The idea of protest in it sets new directions for the reader to observe. This
unit has provided an overview of writings by women poets like Sukirtharani and
Kutti Revathi. They have been central to creating new possibilities in women’s
writing. The unit has also focussed on the idea of life-narratives that afford a
deeper understanding of the life of the marginalized women. In the end, we had
a view of the modern values these women poets cherished. That strengthened
their faith in the feminist ideals of equality and honest conduct. Sukirtharani and
Revathi succeed in gaining a voice of assertion and struggle.

4.6 GLOSSARY
cheri : the streets where Dalits lived.
hegemonic : power and control exercised by one social group at the
level of ideas.
antipodal : directly opposed to.
diversality : used in the sense of Nivedita Menon’s explanation of the
term; preserving and supporting difference.

4.7 QUESTIONS
1) Write a note on Dalit women’s writing from Tamil Nadu.
2) Discuss how Sukirtharani’s poetry is an example of life narrative.
3) Comment on the title of the poem “Pariah God”.
4) Analyze the poem, “Untitled-II” and show its relevance to dignified living.
5) Critically comment on Sukirtharani’s feminism as reflected in her poetry.

4.8 REFERENCES
Gauthaman, Raj. “Dalit Culture” Trans. M.S.S.Pandian. No Alphabet in Sight:
New Dalit writing from South India. Ed. K. Satyanarayana and Susie Tharu.
Gurugram: Penguin, 2011. pp149-157.
Geetha, V. “Periyar, Women and an Ethic of Citizenship. The Problem of Caste.
Ed. Satish Deshpande. NOIDA: Orient BlackSwan, 2014. 235
Poetry From the Margins Holmstrom, Lakshmi. Trans. Wild Words: Four Tamil Poets. NOIDA:
Harperperennial, 2018.

Ramakrishnan, Latha. “Regarding the Article by Kutti Revathi on Women Poetry

in Tamil (Published in IL 254, Nov-Dec, 2009).”Indian Literature July/August
2010, Vol. 54, No. 4 (258), pp. 20-23.

Rao, Anupama. Ed. Gender and Caste. New Delhi: Kali for Women and Women
Unlimited, 2003.

Revathi, Kutti and N. Kalyan Raman. “Of What Our Written Language
Speaks….”Indian Literature. November/December 2009, Vol. 53, No. 6 (254),
pp. 29-35.

Shankar, S. and Charu Gupta. “ ‘My Birth is My Fatal Accident’ “: Introduction

to caste and life narratives.”Biography, Volume 40, Number 1, Winter 2017, pp.
1-15 (Article).

Srilata, K. and Swarnalatha Rangarajan. Lifescapes: Interviews with

Contemporary Women Writers from Tamil Nadu. New Delhi: women Unlimited,
2019.

Sukirtharani. “A Dalit Poet’s Explorations into Discrimination and the Female

Body” Int. Divya Karthikeyan. https://thewire.in/caste/dalit-poet-discrimination-
female-body-poetry

Sukirtharani. “The Smile of Aeons” Indian Literature. November/December 2009,

Vol. 53, No. 6 (254), pp. 50-51.

Tharu, Susie. “The dalit woman question.” Dalit Feminist Theory: A Reader.
Ed. Sunaina Arya and Akash Singh Rathore. New York: Routledge, 2020.

4.9 SUGGESTED READINGS

Abraham, Joshil K. and Judith Misrahi-Barak. Dalit Literatures in India. London
and New York: Routledge, 2016.

Arya, Sunaina and Akash Singh Rathore. Ed. Dalit Feminist Theory: A Reader.
Ed. New York: Routledge, 2020.
Deshpande, Satish. Ed. The Problem of Caste. NOIDA: Orient BlackSwan, 2014.
Holmstrom, Lakshmi. Trans. Wild Words: Four Tamil Poets. NOIDA:
Harperperennial, 2018.
Rao, Anupama. Ed. Gender and Caste. New Delhi: Kali for Women and Women
Unlimited, 2003.
Rege, Sharmila. Writing Caste/ Writing Gender: Dalit Women’s Testimonios. New
Delhi: Zubaan, 2006.

Satyanarayana, K. and Susie Tharu.No Alphabet in Sight: New Dalit Writing

from South India. Gurugram: Penguin, 2011.

—-steel nibs are sprouting: New Dalit Writing from South India. NOIDA: Harper
236 Collins, 2013.