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A Comparative Study of T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar as Modernist Poets

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 A
Comparative Study of T. S. Eliot
and
B. S, Mardhekar as Modernist Poets

A Thesis submitted
to the

University of Mumbai
for the

Ph.D. (Arts) Degree

in English

Submitted by

Laxman Babasaheb Patil

Under the Guidance of

Dr. Adya Prasad Pandey

M.A., Ph.D.

Department of English,
University of Mumbai,
Kalina Campus, Vidyanagari,
Santacruz (East),
Mumbai - 400 098.

June, 2012
 STATEMENT BY THE CANDIDATE

As required by the University Ordinance 0. 770, I wish to state that

the work embodied in this thesis titled "A Comparative Study of T.
S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar as Modernist Poets" forns my own
contribution to the research work carried out under the guidance of
Dr. Adya Prasad Pandey at the Associate Professor and Head,
Department of English, Ramniranjan Jhunjhunwala College,
Ghatkopar (W.), Mumbai, who is associated with the Department of
English, University of Mumbai for the research activities. This work
has not been submitted for any other degree of thís or any other
University. Whenever references have been made to previous works
of others, it has been clearly indicated as such and included in the
Bibliography.

Signature of Candidate

Mr. Laxman Babasaheb Patil

Certified by

Signature of Gude/
Dr.Adya Prasad Pandey

Associate Professor and Head,

Department of English,
R. J. College, Ghatkopar (W.)
Mumbai - 400 086
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certity that Mr. Patil Laximan Babasaheb has duly

completed his thesis for the degree of Ph.D. of the University of

Mumbai and his thesis entitled "A Comparative Study of T. S.
Ellot and B. S. Mardhekar as Modernist Poets" is up to the

standards both in respect to its content and literary presentation for

being reterred to an examiner,

Ifurther certily that the cntire work has been donc by the cndidate

under my guidance and that no part of it has been submitted

previously for any degree or diploma.

Dr. Adya Prasad Pandey

Research Guide
Associate Professor and Head,
Department of English,
R. J. College, Ghatkopar (W.)
Munbai - 400 086
 DEDICATED

TO

MY BELOVED

PARENTS
FOR THEIR

PERENNIAL SOURCE

OF

INSPIRATION ANDBLESSINGS
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Iappreciate and place on record all my well-wishers who have extended their full
support, encouragement, guidance and blessings in completing my thesis on "A
Comparative Study of T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar as Modernist Poets." First of
all, Iexpress a deep sense of gratitude to my research guide Dr. A. P. Pandey,
Associate Professor and Head, Dept. of English, Ramniranjan Jhunjhunwala, College.
Ghatkopar (W.), Mumbai, for his encouragement, inspiration and valuable guidance.
In spite of his busy schedule, he spared much time for me during the arduous course
Son
of my research. I am thankful to his wife Mrs. Bhavana Pandey and,Ashish Pandey
who always welcomed me and extended due hospitability whenever I visited the
family.

Iam indebted to Dr. C. J. Jahagirdar, Ex-Professor and Head, Dept. of English,

Shivaji University, Kolhapur, who inspired me to select this topic and helped me to
prepare the proposal of this thesis. I am thankful to Dr. Prakash Deshpande-Kejkar, a
critic and creative writer for continuously supporting me in my academic endeavour.

Iam extremely thankful to Dr. Coomi Vevaina, Professor and Head, Dept. of English,
University of Mumbai and Dr. Rambhau Badode, Professor in the Dept. of English
and other faculty members and non-teaching staff of the Department whose
encouragement and guidance helped me a lot in completing the task in time.

Iwould like to thank Principal of Nya. Tatyasaheb Athalye Arts, Ved. S. R. Sapre
Commerce and Vid. Dadasaheb Pitre Science College, Devrukh and the management
members of Deverukh Shikshan Prasarak Mandal for their moral support during the
process of research work.

Iam also grateful to my colleagues who were anxious for my work and always
supported me in the best possible ways. I am especially thankful to all my well
wishers who unconditionally supported me in my academic pursuit wherever I needed
them. Iwould also thank the teaching and non-teaching staff of the College for
helping me and allowing me to utilize all the resources available at hand.
 acknowledge Dilip Chitre, an eminent author and poet for translatino
Iwould like to
poems in An Anthology of Marathi Poetry, which were frequently used
Mardhekar's
by me to substantiate my points.

thankful to the librarians of Osmania University Library (OUCIP), Hyderabad

Iam
Neharu Library, University of Mumbai, A. S. P. College library, Devrukh
Jawaharlal
College Library, Ghatkopar for their kind gestures in offering the treasury of
and R. J. thankful to Mr
my research work. I am
books and critical materials required for
extending his help by giving me
Mukund Bhagwat of Mauj Prakashan, Mumbai for
valuable material.

Prof. S. V. Takalakar, Prof. Sagar

I would like to place on record my friends
Arvind Mardhikar, Dr. Sunil
Sankapal, Dr. S. D. Sargar, Dr. Rajendra Chaugule, Prof.
Prof. Dhananjay
Sawant, Prof. P. B. Patil, Prof. Rrajesh, Mali, Prof. Santosh Rathod,
Dalvi, and Prof. Surendra Khandekar for supporting me time to time.

Mrs. Aasha Sawant who

Iam grateful to my cousin Mr. Sunil Sawant and his wife
always welcomed me without any reservation whenever I was required to come to
Mumbai regarding my research work.

Mrs. Shailaja Patil, my better half, deserves my heartfelt thanks for encouraging me
and sharing more familial bond and responsibilities for giving me maximum time to
this work.

Place: Mumbai

Date: 8June 2012 L. B. Patil

 ABBREVIATIONS

Aa. Ka. Ka. Aanakhi Kahin Kavita

Ka. Ka. Kahin Kavita

ECP Eliot, T. S. Collected Poems. London: Faber and Faber, 1958.

tr.D.C. Translated by Dilip Chitre

Pl. Note:

1. ‘Shishiragam’, ‘Kahin Kavita’, ‘Aankhi Kahin Kavita’ and ‘Uncollected’

poems are collectively published in Mardhekar Bal Sitaram’s
Mardhekaranchi Kavita Mumbai: Mauj Publication, 1969.

2. The researcher has also translated few lines of Marathi poems into English and
the same is placed in brackets.

3. Marathi citations are translated into English by the researcher.

 CONTENTS

Sr. Name of the Chapter Pages

No.

1 A Comparative Literary Study and Modernism in poetry 01-49

2 The Influences on T. S. Eliot and Modernism in his 50-125

Poetry

3 The Influences on Bal Sitaram Mardhekar and 126-194

Modernism in his Poetry

4 Comparative Study of T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar as 195-262

Modernist Poets

5 Conclusion 263-275

6 Bibliography 276-284

7 Synopsis
 Chapter - I

The Comparative Literary Study

and
Modernism in Poetry
 CHAPTER - I

A Comparative Literary Study and Modernism in poetry

PART - A

A Comparative Literary Study

“Comparative Literature studies, essentially, the influence that authors or literatures

of different nations have exerted on one another, as well as the diffusion of such

influences the national point of departure is never allowed out of sight, and the

studies often go into minute particulars”

-- Simon Jeune, Comparative Literary Studies, S. S. Prawer, p. 51.

Comparison is natural tendency in human beings, and people compare things

unconsciously in their day-to-day activities. While comparing things in this way, what

does one do? Obviously, one notices similarities and differences between those

things. Again one can compare wanted and unwanted aspects in a thing.

The application of comparative approach in the academic field has developed in the

recent years. The idea of comparative approach begins with a desire to find out the

similarities between texts or authors from different cultural contexts. It is almost

agreed that the study of any writer or any book in a comparative perspective can be

termed as ‘Comparative Literature’. Matthew Arnold was the first to use this term in

English, and he made it famous through his lectures. The term ‘Comparative

Literature’ means a comparative study of two authors or literatures.

1
Comparative study has acquired a vital importance today, so Indra Nath Chaudhari

says:

In the modern era of multiculturalism comparative cultural studies play

a vital role. In the background of globalization comparative studies
help a lot and it has become an intellectual discipline. In 1906 Tagore
used the term Viswa Sahitya for comparative literature. Goethe
initiated the idea when he coined a term Walt literature for the study of
literatures of different countries together.1

Even though there were disagreements against comparative literature rejecting its

identity as a separate discipline, some scholars strongly justified its role in widening

the literary perspectives. The discipline of comparative literature was consolidated by

a strange ordinance with another political brain wave in the wake of destructive and

dangerous wars. However, after 1970s the scholars’ attention on comparative

literature shifted to the great wave of diverse critical theories like structuralism, post-

structuralism, feminism, and deconstruction and so on. Hence, the debate on the

justifiability of comparative literature continued. When in other parts of the world

comparative literature suffered cynicism, it flourished in the countries like India,

China, Japan, Taiwan etc. Thus while in Europe comparative literature was a matter

of choice, in India it was a necessity, because of its multilingualism.

The views, the methods and aims of comparative literature have not yet been

unanimously accepted by those who are working on the subject. This may perhaps

seems the strange reason behind it that comparative literature has been recognized as

a distinct discipline only in the recent times. It is still a growing field of research. The

comparatists apply various approaches in their investigations giving stress on the

similarities, differences and / or on the both.

2
 The aim of comparatist, in our opinion, should be to find out the
implications and the underlying identities of both similarities and
differences so that even the differences can be given their proper place
in a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the artists. It
should be borne in mind that there can be no significant difference
without any underlying identity.2

One should be earnest and sincere in ones inquiry and desire to explore the truth. The

comparatist must have an open mind and he has to be self critical. The present study

aims at investigating both similarities and differences in the works of T. S. Eliot and

B. S. Mardhekar in order to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of literary trends

– modernist – perceptible in literary domain across the world.

Any literary analysis and critical evaluation helps to understand the work of literature.

No work exists in isolation. Each text has a tradition. It is related to other texts.

Howsoever unique it may be, each work of art can be traced back to its sources. Each

work of art is related to the society, the history and there are various influences on the

writer. It is the embodiment of the real world of the living organism.

According to Ganesh Devi, comparative literature in India is directly linked to the rise

of modern Indian nationalism. The noted critic Swapan Majumdar says that it was

because of the predilection for national literature that comparative literature struck

roots in the Third World Nations, in India in particular. There is a great scope for the

study of comparative literature in India, where the cultural basis of the literary works

in many languages is the same, though there is marked differentiation owing to the

genius of the regional language in which it is written.

3
One of the simplest ways of making Indian literature popular is to compare it with the

world’s classics. Since there are various classics in regional literature which are

unknown to the world as they are not translated into English; their literary

significance can be adjudged if they are compared with classics of world literature.

“Certain areas of Indian literary achievements can never be fruitfully studied by

scholars of any one language alone. With the help of a broader canvas and a wider

vision a comparatist can truly appreciate any literary work. It needs the efforts of a

comparatist to assess, investigate and locate the stimulus for this movement.” 3

Comparing literatures is one way of widening the critical awareness, correcting taste

and, perhaps, arriving at proper judgement. One can compare any two literatures of

the world not with studying the language and cultural differences. It is an assessment

of two literatures by using various critical theories. In a multi-lingual and multi-

cultural country like India, comparative literature helps us to assess the literary texts.

Comparative literature studies interrelationship between two or more literatures. In

future, the comparative literary studies, perhaps, would be named as comparative

cultural studies as the literary studies are now being oriented into cultural aspects.

The main objective of comparative literature is to study the interrelationship in

between different literatures. An eminent scholar in comparative literature, Sisir

Kumar Das propounds that the ultimate goal of comparative literature “is to visualize

the total literary activities of man as a single universe.”4 Though it is very difficult to

achieve this goal one should at least start with two literatures. Sisir Kumar Das further

says that the comparatist should not confine to these two literatures but should go

beyond to as many literatures as possible.

4
Goethe wanted the common reader to go beyond the narrow boundaries of his

language and geography and to enjoy the finest achievements of man. The

comparatist is also expected to go beyond the narrow confines of his language and

geography and for understanding the relationships between literatures in their totality

and not only to enjoy the finest in all literatures. These relationships help a

comparatist to discern trends and movements in various national cultures. Sisir Kumar

Das distinctly spells out the concerns and taboos that a comparatist should bear in

mind:

A comparatist is hardly in a position to exercise any aesthetic judgement

in choosing the best works in all the language of the world. He is
concerned mainly with the relationships, the semblances and differences
between national literatures; with their convergences and divergences.
He has to work within a rigorous framework to avoid subjective
predilections and personal preferences. But at the same time he wants to
arrive at a certain general understanding of literary activities of man and
to help create a universal poetics.5

Hence the comparative perspective adopted in this study seeks to arrive at a general

understanding of the literary activities through their semblances and differences as

well as convergences and divergences. Moreover, H. V. Deshpande says,

“Comparative literature offers extraordinary possibilities of exploring the

interrelations between literatures…Influence/reception, analogy, thematology,

genology, ‘placing’, historiography, and translation have been some of the main

concerns of comparative literature studies.”6

Literary works that are compared with another literary piece can be called as

comparative study of literature. The comparison could be in terms of structure, style,

theme or the philosophic vision of the writers. A more comprehensive and adequate

understanding of the works and their authors is the main motto of comparative

5
literature. It is the study of literatures written in various countries and literatures

written in various languages. Comparative literature is one of the most important

academic and literary disciplines. In Comparative Literature, the East and the West

are merging and are unifying the world into a single whole.

Comparative literature crosses the border of the language and culture. It is the primary

goal of this thesis to show the similarities and differences between the two poets who

belonged to the different traditions of literary cultures and enriched by contributing

significantly to literary corpus of the world.

This research work highlights certain aspects of comparative literature with specific

focus on the modernism in the poems of T. S. Eliot and those of B. S. Mardhekar.

Comparison is a general human tendency with regard to perception and

understanding. In some particular disciplines, comparison becomes an important and

useful tool for revealing experiences as well as texts.

Generally, a comparative study is expected to do some academic works. The first is to

enhance our understanding and consciousness both in terms of similarities and

differences. Recognition of similarities and differences is the main purpose of

Comparative Literature. The second most important work is to transcend the

phenomenon compared in order to arrive at a universal frame-work which can

accommodate both the phenomena as epistemological categories. The present thesis,

emphasizes on the emphasis on to dwell upon the similarities and differences in the

works of T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar who are the exponents of the Modernism in

English and Marathi poetry respectively.

6
The specific strategy adopted to explore the possibilities of comparison and contrast

between the two poets is the comparative methodology. This is the aspect which can

be defined as the recognizable effect of one writer on the other writer without

implying any sense of hierarchy and subordination. Influence, therefore, presupposes

a context in which the process of influence can take place. However, an eminent critic

Prof. C. J. Jahagirdar says, “The inevitable colonial context in which our Comparative

Studies have developed may easily suggest a relationship between the dominant and

the subordinate.”8

In the present study T. S. Eliot’s English poetry is compared with the Marathi poetry

of B. S. Mardhekar. Both T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar lived through the two

World Wars. Therefore, they were aware of the trauma that the wars created on

human life all over the world. Both were witnesses to the disintegration brought by

the Wars in the lives of men and women. The effects of industrialization,

urbanization, and scientific development were disastrous in modern civilization. Basic

values of life were shattered. The spiritual way was lost; the moral foundations of

society were crumbling to pieces; dishonesty loomed large everywhere. In a world

such as this, T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar were trying to salvage what they could

do out of ruins. For instance, at the end of The Waste Land the protagonist goes about

setting his land in order and he says, “These fragments I have shored against my

ruins.” Similarly, Mardhekar too in his poems Aanakhi Kahin Kavita says, “-‚ããäÍãÞã

•ããÌããè ‡ãŠãÖãè ÌãÓãó, / ‚ãããä¥ã ½ãÖ㦽ãã ¾ããÌãã ¹ãì¤Þãã; / ‚ã½ÖãÔã ‚ãã½Öãè ¹ãì¶âÖã ¹ãÖãÌãñ ! / ‡ãŠã¤ìãä¶ã ÞãÓ½ãã

¡ãñß¿ããÌãÀÞãã!” (–So may some more years pass, / May the next Mahatma come forth; /

So may we take a look at ourselves / Removing the blinkers from our eyes!)

7
Thus, they tried to revive the tradition which was deteriorating day-by-day with

emerging scientific and technological advancement mushrooming across the world.

Both of them are of the opinion that tradition – noble and good – can be used to

substantiate the individual talent. The tradition and the individual talent cannot be

treated as separate but complementary to each other. At a time which witnessed the

collapse of tradition, T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar tried to revive it. Both of them

believed in tradition as well as in the individual talent.

8
 PART- B

Modernism in Poetry

This part of the chapter tends to analyze the term “modernism” and to arrive at

definite conclusion with regards to its meaning and implications. Every man is

modern in his own age. Every writer, his literary work, and the period in which he

lives is modern. The ancient Romans and Greeks thought they were modern. The

Elizabethans in their age considered themselves to be modern. The Classicalists in

eighteenth century thought they were modern. The Romantics looked upon

themselves as modern by rejecting the literary tradition propagated by the classicists.

One simply does not have an appropriate term for the literary period in which one

lives.

At the outset, it would be appropriate to refer to the dictionary for the meaning of the

term – Modernism, being the main focus of the present study. Illustrated Oxford

Dictionary explains the meaning of the terms ‘modern’ (adj.) as, 1. of the present and

recent times, 2. in current fashions; not antiquated. The term ‘modernity’ is a noun.

The term ‘modernism’ is also a noun and means – 1. modern idea or methods, 2. the

tendency of religious belief to harmonize with modern ideas, modern thought,

character, or practice.8

Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. The

term ‘modernist’ (adj.) means something, as a peculiarity of usage or style, typical of

modern times. “The term modernism is derived, obviously, from the root stem

‘modern’, and it is related to the concepts of modernization and modernity.”9

9
The term ‘modern’ is used to describe the present, recent, current not antiquated,

advanced times, style, technique, or technology of contemporary situation and current

trends in any field like literature, politics, economics, society. People use the terms

like modern literature, modern political theories, modern economy, modern society,

and modern technology in daily discourse. These terms tend to bring out the

comparison between the things in the past and their present situation. This comparison

helps to identify how things change, improve or degenerate. The dressing styles of

men and women, their behaviour and relations among themselves fifty years ago were

different.

The twentieth century started “And modernization was happening

everywhere…nearly everything we think of as characteristically modern already

existed in England by 1914: aircraft, radio, telegraphy, cinemas, …”10 The inventions

of the telephone, the telegraph, and automobile had changed the ways of life. The

common man was looking with wonder at wireless telegraphy, the silent film, the

photograph, the aeroplane etc. “The growth of industrialization, science and

technology, and urbanization advocated a break with tradition, blind belief, slavish

obedience to any kind of authority, and the application of reason and logic to our

thinking and solution-seeking process..”11 A. C. Ward highlights the significant

characteristics of this century by saying, “…in the first fifty years of the twentieth

century the human race moved faster – forward and backward – than during perhaps

fifty generations in the past…Progress and regress, both, are fruits of the Scientific
12
Revolution which has been the outstanding feature of this century.” The production

of the wealth and the general standard of living is possible because of modern science,

technology and inventions. These things were not available in past and so life was not

comfortable. People were deprived of ‘modern facilities’, but now “real and deep

10
 13
changes…did occur in the first decade of the twentieth century.” The countries

which excelled in modern inventions and their applications in various fields enjoyed

the superiority over other countries are called modern. During the nineteenth century

England ruled the entire world. Today England lost that status and there remained

only a glorious past. In this way, “The term “modern” is, of course, highly variable in

its temporal reference, but it is frequently applied to the literature written since the

beginning of World War I in 1914.” 14

The definition and discussion of the term ‘modern’ as mentioned above is for general

and multi-purpose use. For present study, it is essential to see the meaning of the term

‘modernism’ in relation to literature because like other fields, ‘modernization’ crept in

literary arena.

The Dictionary of Modern Thought defines ‘modernism’ as:

a break from the established rules, traditions and conventions to insist a

fresh way of looking at man’s position and function in the universe. It
is remarkable, in that, it experiments with new forms and styles in
writing. Modernism is particularly concerned with language and with
linguistic experimentation which brought forth some innovative modes
of expressions. The obsession with experimentation and innovative
styles in literature made it popular with the new generation of writers
which was the product of new “socio-culturalism”. 15

However, the key phrases in relation to literature in above definitions are – ‘a break

from the established rules’, ‘traditions and conventions’, ‘to insist a fresh way of

looking at man’s position and function in the universe’, ‘experiments with new forms

and styles in writing’, ‘linguistic experimentation which brought forth some

innovative modes of expressions’, ‘obsession with experimentation and innovative

styles in literature.’ These phrases can very well epitomize the nature of so called

‘modern’ literature.

11
The term ‘modern’ is used to explain current and present-day trends in art and

literature during the first two decades of twentieth century. There is no remarkable

difference between the poetry of the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth

century. The early twentieth century– the Edwardian and the Georgian – poetry was

often called ‘modern’ poetry. Early twentieth century poetry – though it continued to

be written in the same ‘decadent’ (exaggerated Romantic) manner like the late

nineteenth century poetry – is called ‘modern’. The poets like Robert Bridges, Walter

de la Mare, Thomas Graves wrote poetry in the same romantic manner like the late

nineteenth century. Jackson held the same view. For him, “Modern art is (to me)

nothing more than the expression of contemporary aims of the age that we’re living

in.” 16

We can “distinguish between two groups of writers: the group that was already

established in the first decade of the present century; and the group that had not so far

begun to produce but was shaping its ideas already in conformity, with a work which

had had no public impact.” 17 Chronologically, first to follow in the twentieth century

is the Edwardian poetry named after Edward –VIII (1901-10). Second is the Georgian

Poetry named after George –VI (1910-36). The Georgian poetry derives its title from

the five volumes edited by E. M. (Edward Marsh) in 1912, 1915, 1917, 1919 and

1922. The Georgian poets were mere versifiers, dreamers and in their own way they,

too, were escapists. Their poetry had lost its innovation, strength, and fascination. It

had been decayed, debased and futile to show the agitation and complication of the

modern mind-set and feelings. So the modernist poets and critics discontented with

the Georgian poets and criticized them as “a sadly pedestrian rabble.”18 The

Edwardian and the Georgian poets were unable to react against the political, social,

and ideological problems of the age. Like Romantics, they also indulged in the

12
countryside, nature, and fairyland. But “when these poets wrote of Nature, they wrote

as town-dwellers who met Nature only from Saturdays to Mondays, rather than as

men who knew her in all moods.”19 They wrote ‘decadent’ poetry. So the Georgian

poetry “does not give vision, it does not awaken.”20 “For the most part, their work

shows little awareness of industrial world, around them, and often it has an all too
21
obvious facility of technique and shallowness of feeling.” The Georgians were not

competent enough to tackle the terrible realities of the modern, urban, industrial life
22
and “withdrew from the reality, not to the ivory tower, but to oast house.” The

Georgians kept “adherence to the forms and techniques of main traditions of English
23
poetry.” They avoided the controversial both in subject matter and in style. They

were “content to employ the conventions of diction and forms favoured by almost all

English poets from Wordsworth to Hardy.”24 The Georgian poetry was also

condemned for its treatment of simple themes in a simple way, particularly the gentler

aspects of nature, and for its musical and pictorial effects. It was “as simple as child’s

book,”25 and so it turned into a “stagnant creek from the main current of English

poetry.”26 The Georgian poetry failed to capture the nerve of the age so it lost its

vigour and vitality.

The critics have badly underestimated the Georgian poetry. Even worthy and

intellectual poets were considered as mediocre and negative. It became the dictum of

the time to say, “if it is good it cannot be Georgian; if it is Georgian, it must ipso

facto, be feeble.”27 Thus, the term Georgian has been equated with substandard,

inferior, imperfect and second-rate. But this was not the whole truth, because there

were poets like Edward Thomas who was “an original poet of rare quality who has
28
been associated with the Georgians by mischance.” No doubt the Georgian poetry

has some inherent weaknesses and shortcomings. But more unfortunate thing was that

13
it was evaluated by the standards and ideology of modernism of Pound and Eliot.

Consequently, it appeared mediocre, depressing, and negative.

The Georgian poetry can be divided into two phases. The first phase covers the period

of 1912 to 1915, while the second phase – Neo-Georgian – covers from 1915 to 1922.

The first phase failed to understand the complex nature of the modern age. The last

three volumes (1917, 1919, and 1922) have nothing in common with their

predecessors. The second phase of Georgian poetry was a revolt against the poetic

establishment of its age and a challenge to the romantic and sentimental nature of

poetry. The Georgians of the second phase and the War poets made efforts to change

the subject matter and technique of poetry. The Georgian started to bring new changes

in poetry. They could not believe in the Victorian complacency nor wrote in the

romantic manner. They had no effective tradition and ideology to follow. So they had

to create their own tradition. All their attempts were not sufficient to bring about the

significant and decisive changes in contemporary poetry. However, the new tradition

in form and content was carried out by the outsiders –Yeats, Pound, and Eliot – who

were not English. They are called modernists. The modernists were confused and

disappointed by the complication of the twentieth century. The life for them was

overwhelmingly confusing and complex. For expressing their inner self, they explored

new techniques and styles. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock of T. S. Eliot is one of

the representative poems of modernism. This is the monologue and exposes the

problems of expression, dialogue, and communication. The protagonist probes and

fumbles for right choice of words, right expression to communicate the passionate

feelings of his love story. The structure of the poem displays the confusion of his

mind.

14
The change also took place between the relationship of writers and readers. The

writers upheld their relations with readers which happened to be in the late nineteenth

century. Earlier the relationship between the writers and the readers was well-defined

and understood. Both the writers and the readers were the members of same social

reality.

In this way, the poetry in early twentieth century started to bring about the changes.

These changes were so powerful that Peter Barry exclaims, “Modernism was that

earthquake in the arts which brought down much of the structure of pre-twentieth-
29
century practice in music, painting, literature, and architecture.” The modern

movement in English poetry begins around 1910, with Eliot, Pound, and Yeats. The

modernism in Europe was at its peak during the first three decades of twentieth

century. Many of avant-garde figures that we today associate with the modernist

canon in art and literature produced their pioneering works during these years. The

‘modernist’ poetry emerged with some publications during the year 1917- 1922.

Three major works were published in English Literature manifesting new and

different trends during the nineteen twenties. These works were – T. S. Eliot’s The

Waste Land (1922), James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922) and D. H. Lawrence’s Women in

Love (1920). These three works confused and bewildered readers as well as the

learned literary critics. These works were written with different and new literary

themes and techniques. They were produced with avant-garde, irregular,

unconventional, incomprehensive and confusing manner. While stressing the

importance and nature of these literary works Douglas Bush writes, “Then in 1922

came two works in prose and verse that were to make this year a landmark in modern

literature, Ulysses and The Waste Land, although they were not at first received with
30
general understanding and acclamation.” After these works, a chain of similar

15
literary writings ensued. It is worthwhile to note the observations of Habib regarding

the nature, place, period, exponents, and the reasons of the modernism as:

Modernism comprised a broad series of movements in Europe and

America that came to fruition roughly between 1910 and 1930. Its
major exponents and practitioners included Marcel Proust, James
Joyce, Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, William Faulkner, Virginia Woolf,
Luigi Pirandello, and Franz Kafka. These various Modernisms were
the results of many complex economic, political, scientific, and
religious developments over the nineteenth century, which culminated
in the First World War (1914-1918). The vast devastation,
psychological demoralization, and economic depression left by the war
intensified the already existing reactions against bourgeois modes of
thought and economic practice. 31

Poets like W. B. Yeats, Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, Wallace Stevens, W. H. Auden,

Robert Graves, Robert Lowell, and Dylan Thomas, the novelists like Joseph Conrad,

James Joyce, D. H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, E. M. Forster, and Ernest Hemingway,

the dramatists like G. B. Shaw, Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Samuel

Beckett, and the critics like T. S. Eliot, I. A. Richards, F. R. Leavis, Lionel Trilling

are the modernists. They are ‘modern masters’, and the ‘men of 1914’ as considered

by Wyndham Lewis. They are recognized as the pioneers of the “new literature”. This

‘new’ literature was modern because it was experimental, innovative, and current, and

it was altogether different from the Victorian literature. Draper comments in this

regard:

The theme of modernism is, in Ezra Pound’s phrase, ‘make it new’.

Being ‘modern’ suggests being abreast of the times, aware the
twentieth century’s technological change and its advances in
knowledge which make superstition and ignorance relics of the past
that are rapidly becoming outmoded. Yet, ironically, modernist poets
such as Pound and Eliot ‘make it new’ by going back to the past – by
insisting on the need to re-open those lines of communication which
constitute tradition. 32

16
Eliot and Pound found the whole poetic environment hostile, vague and degenerated;

and the modern world complex, confused and chaotic when they started writing

poetry. There was a drastic change in all walks of human life. At such a background,

it was not encouraging to write poetry on the pattern of romantic school.

Modern literature addresses itself to the modern mind. This new literature was not

easy to comprehend. “There is a feeling that the world has become so baffling that it
33
is impossible to make sense of it.” For understanding this new literature, one

requires special comprehensibility, special techniques, and knowledge of other

disciplines. The conventional, traditional and old consideration of literature would not

be sufficient. One must be prepared to think unconventionally, to appreciate new

forms, to learn the language with which the poet creates the changed world. For

example, T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land is a ‘new’ type of poem as it is unconventional

and unusual. Munir writes about the complexity and difficulty of modern poetry as:

The most common phenomenon of modernist poetry is that it, at first

glance, like other modern art, is often strange and incomprehensible. It
neither makes sense readily nor reads fluently. The readers have to
grapple with the certain problems to grasp its meaning. The pluralistic
complexity and difficulty arises as the artists try to restore rejuvenation
and bring novelty to the anemic poetry of romantic school by rejecting
the tonic of a huge fresh mannerism into it. Modernist poetry, thus,
demands a new way of reading to understand it, neglecting the
conventional expectations – the traditional claim.34

The common reader of poetry would find the difficulty in understanding and

appreciating it. The Waste Land is mysterious, obscure; complex. “This

mysteriousness attracted some readers and repelled others. This modern poetry seems

to perplex the common reader. In its day, The Waste Land became a by-word for

obscurity.”35 Ulysses of James Joyce is tiresome and irritating to read it. Reader would

not find any interest in it. In short, Ulysses is not a novel in a traditional sense. D. H.

17
Lawrence in his novel wrote about ‘the vast uncomprehending and incomprehensible’

instincts of man that were mysterious. Lawrence explored the unknown, unidentified

and unexplained area of human character. The conventional, average, ordinary reader

and critics of literature disliked and resented this “new” literature. Arnold Bennet

criticized Virginia Woolf’s novel Jacob’s Room. Virginia Woolf advocated by saying

that the life is changed and it is not the same as it used to be and one receives

innumerable impressions. In her famous essays, ‘Modern Fiction’ (1938), Woolf

explains this point clearly:

Examine… ordinary mind on an ordinary day. The mind receives a

myriad of impressions: trivial fantastic, evanescent, all engraved with
the sharpness of steel. From all sides they come, in incessant shower of
innumerable atoms, and as they fall they shape themselves in to the life
of Monday, Tuesday – the accents fall differently from the old … Life
is not a series of gig lamps symmetrically arranged; life is a luminous
halo, a semi-transparent envelope surrounding us from the beginning
of consciousness to the end. 36

The writers of the early twentieth century were aware of the change. They manifested

this changed world through their writings. They proclaimed that the modern age is

different from what preceded it and people live in a changed society. A. C. Ward

observes:

Young men and young women during the twentieth century looked
back upon the Victorian Age as dully hypocritical. Victorian ideals
appeared mean and superficial and stupid. This mood was part cause
and part consequence of changes, effected or impending, in the
literature of the first quarter of the twentieth century. From 1901 to
1925 English literature was directed by mental attitudes, moral ideals,
and spiritual values governing Victorian literature. 37

Literature, being a mirror of society, reflects the happenings of the contemporary

milieu.

18
Early twentieth century witnessed change in all the walks of life. Modernism became

a progressive and reforming tendency. It describes a sequence of revolutionising

cultural movements in art and literature which emerged in the three decades before

1914. Robin Walz expresses:

Modernism can be understood, then, as an early twentieth century

cultural movement that strove to achieve a new consciousness about
the experiences of modernity through new forms of artistic
expressions. Yet unlike many nineteenth-century artistic and literary
movements, such as Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism,
Impressionism or Symbolism, modernism cannot be defined in terms
of a distinctive style or genre. Modernist movements such as
Expressionism, Constructivism, Neo-Plasticism or Abstract
Expressionism were extremely diverse. Their aims were manifold as
well at times even antithetical to one another. 38

These literary trends upheld the conventional and traditional idea of literature. “If all

the arts touched by modernism what had been the most fundamental elements of

practice were challenged and rejected: thus melody and harmony were put aside in

music ...”39 This challenge, rejection and revolt were necessary and natural because

life itself has transformed drastically. On the line of Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot also

justified the poetry in his The Metaphysical Poets: “Our civilization comprehends

great variety and complexity and this variety and complexity, playing upon the

refined sensibility must produce various and complex result. The poet must become

more and more incomprehensive more allusive more indirect in order to force to

dislocate it necessary language into meaning.”40

The fresh trends in art and literature were the representatives of new and coming age.

They practiced under name of modernism. The advent of the twentieth century – this

19
modern era – witnessed the process of the intellectual unrest. Actually the roots of this

process lay in the nineteenth century. The industrial revolution, urbanization,

advances in new theories, advance in knowledge, advances in sciences and social

sciences, doubt in traditional beliefs shook the Victorians. They were torn between

faith and doubt. The Victorians were uncertain and doubtful about the human

existence. The Origin of Species (1959) of Charles Darwin propounded theories which

contrasted the religious conception of man and the universe. Darwin’s Origin of

Species and Descent of Man made orthodox Christians angry. Origin of Species

propounded the theory of the Survival of the Fittest on the basis of Might is Right.

The theory of evolution explained scientifically about the descent of man. This

scientific explanation of man’s descent from monkey shook the faith of average man

in Christianity. However, the spirit of systematic study and logical analysis began

with progress in sciences. Darwin’s theory upheld the Christian conception of man

and the universe. According to Darwin’s theory, the different living species were

evolved on the earth. Man was one of those species. These species were constantly

struggling for the survival. According the law of the Survival of the Fittest, man

survived because he was fit for the survival. Man has some outstanding qualities like,

speaking, thinking, strength, capacity, endurance and adaptability for survival of the

species. Therefore, man adapted and changed himself according to the circumstances.

The weak, incapable and unchanging are bound to die. Nature-earth – the mother of

all – observes the rule of birth and death. “To some, the Voice of Darwin in The

Decent of Man sounded more credible and more authoritative than the Voice of God

in the Book of Genesis.”41 Therefore, Darwin’s theory made people doubtful towards

the notion and existence of man, Christianity and the universe. Christianity seemed to

be governed by wrong ideas. Alfred Tennyson’s In Memoriam presented the kinds of

20
consequences of the modern science had on the human feelings. He expressed the

agnostic view when he wrote – ‘We have but faith: we cannot know!’/ For knowledge

is of things we see.’42

In this poem, he expressed the spirit of the age when he said, ‘There is more truth in

honest doubt than in half creeds.’ In the same way, the cry of Newman on his death-
43
bed – “O GOD, if there be a GOD, save my soul, if I have a soul!” – shows how

scepticism had made reason prevail over sentiment and faith. The Victorians shocked

and confused because of the drastic ideas propounded by science about man, religion

and the universe.

“Modernism did not appear miraculously out of the blue. Throughout the nineteenth

century, as industrialization and the politics of nationalism and imperialism were

rapidly transforming European society, many artists and writers grappled with the

issue of what constituted a uniquely modern art and sensibility.” 44 Already the effects

of the Industrial Revolution caused so many problems like hunger, suffering, conflict,

dislocation, etc. Because of the Industrial Revolution the villages were deserted.

People left their villages, homes for better prospects. The cities were swelling. The

cities were no more symbols of civilization, culture and sophistication. Urbanization

created new problems. The cities became notorious for overcrowding and the growth

of squalor and slums in England. They become the centre of greed and evil. The

family bonds were disintegrated and dissolved. People in cities lost their identity.

They felt loneliness, alienation, and boredom. The employment of women and

children was common. Factory working hours were long and wages were low. The

problems of health, hygiene, safety, education, slum etc. were very common. All these

glaring issues invited the attention of modern writers like T. S. Eliot and B. S.

21
Mardhekar. They started to write ‘new’ poetry. “The new poetry was also a city

poetry…It is written by, and for, a metropolitan intelligentsia.”45 Social reformers,

intellectuals, thinkers tried their level best to bring solace and satisfaction. But in spite

of all those attempts ‘the eternal note of sadness’ continued. Matthew Arnold

expresses true spirit of the age in the nineteenth century itself in his poem Dover

Beach ‘neither joy, nor love, nor light, nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain.’

And the final crucial blow was given by World War I to already disturbed society.

And definitely the whole world was changed. The perceptible changes in social milieu

were obviously discernible with the outbreak of the World War I, which exercised its

devastating effects across the world.

The modernist avant-garde was politically motivated with rise of the First World War

and the Russian revolution. First World War began in August 1914, and it had a deep

impact on British society and on the whole of British culture and thought. The process

of degeneration of old imperial Britain was already started before the war, but the war

led to a much weaker Britain on the world stage. D. H. Lawrence writes:

It was in 1915 the old world ended. In the winter 1915-16 the spirit of
the old London collapsed; the city in some way, perished, perished
from being the heart of the world, and became a vortex of broken
passions, lusts, hopes, fears, and horrors. The integrity of London
collapsed and the genuine debasement began, the unspeakable
baseness of the press and the public voice, the reign of that bloated
ignominy…. 46

There were two phases of this war period. The first phase had a nationalistic zeal;

delight in the glory of sacrifice in the cause of nation and humanity. Soldiers held the

medieval and romantic notions of war and they were ready to die for the sake of

nation and people in danger and distress. The young men went to the war with all

sorts of ideals. Initially, they welcomed war and joined war out of patriotism. Till that

22
date England enjoyed supremacy over all the countries. England had been ‘the

mistress of the seas’, and ‘the workshop of the world’, and even ‘the sun never sets

from British empire’. The young men who joined the war had high regards for war.

They desired that war could bring them dignity and nobility. They wanted to become

heroes and the war offered them opportunity to prove their vigour, valour, virtue and

virility. Thus, they had the traditional notions of war.

However, old and traditional armament replaced and instead, advanced and modern

weapons were used in the World War I. Instead of the courage, valour and skill of an

individual soldier, advanced, modern weapons proved to be decisive. Another

important difference of the World War I was that its effects were not limited only to

warriors or soldiers but it killed innocent children and women not related with the

War. The war had also caused tremendous devastation of public property. These

different aspects of this war baffled and perplexed the soldiers. The struggle,

bloodshed continued. The end of war seemed far-away. The soldier poets came to

know the ‘futility’ of war more than its opportunities of glory, noble sacrifice, vigour,

valour, dignity and nobility. These poets were disillusioned by the ghastly and

terrifying consequences of the war. They wrote about their experiences, sufferings,

and futility of the War. The poets such as Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon

presented the whole reality of war, the boredom, the despair, the depression, the

‘futility’, the terror and above all the ‘pity of war’. The post-war phase witnessed “the

loss of faith, the groundlessness of value, the violence of war, and a nameless,

faceless anxiety.”47 This is the phase of dissatisfaction, disappointment,

disillusionment and neurosis. People in England were confronted with doubts,

worries, lusts, hopes, fears, and horrors. London was no more the centre of the world.

23
The post-war period was resonated with the memories of war and fears of war. World

War I had deeply influenced the psychology of public.

The literary sensibility of the writers had also changed. The war opened a new chapter

in the history of English literature. “Writing in a period of war increased complexity

and emotional dislocation they were attempting not only to reassert the importance of

human experience, but also to explore it in all its intricacy. But the vigorous attempts

of the war poets were frustrated by their premature death in action.” 48 The ‘Exposure’

of this new literary sensibility presented as,

Our brains ache in the merciless iced east winds

that knive us
wearied we keep wake because the night is silent ......
Low, drooping, flares confuse our memory of the salient ....
worried by silence, sentries whisper, curious, nervous,
But nothing happens.49

Wilfred Owen made Exposure of Futility in Strange Meeting of war. The best war

poetry is anti-war. Wilfred Owen wrote, “I am not concerned with poetry. / My

subject is War, and the pity of the War. / The Poetry is in the Pity.” 50 The poets were

against the war, suggesting that they were nothing to do with war.

This war is not our war,

Neither side is on our side:
A vicious mediaevalism,
A belly-fat commerce. 51

“The waste of young life and the tragic pathos of cheated youth struck down on the

threshold of the undone years.” 52 The poets were living in a war-torn world.

Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Isaac Rosenberg Edward, Thomas and others wrote

war poetry. The Waste Land of T. S. Eliot also contains war references and it reveals

24
the disillusionment caused by the First World War. The war had changed the whole

social structure and had gone into making a new public psychology. A sense of

dislocation, of uncertainty, of fatality, of the baselessness, of aspiration, of the vanity

of endeavours and a desire for a life prevailed. “Though Wilfred Owen and Siegfried

Sassoon may not have contributed to the establishment of what we call ‘modernism,’

the poetry of the First World War has a clear right to be considered part and parcel of

modern poetry.” 53

Women led the suffrage movement (1906-1910) in England for the right to vote for

the parliamentary elections. The slogan ‘Vote for Women’ was the wider demand by

women for sex equality. A woman’s place was no longer remained in the home.

Women started to work in shops, offices and other professions. They became aware of

their rights. They were organized for ‘the Women Liberation.’ The marriage and

family responsibility were considered as an obstacle in the way of women’s progress.

As women started to work out and away from homes, they were unable to take care of

their children. The traditional concept of family was changed. Women started to take

support of law and they refused to follow conventions ethics and traditions. The

awareness of equality, freedom, opportunity inspired women to enjoy personal

expectations and desires. They were struggling for the personal progress. Man -

woman relationship is being portrayed and presented boldly in literature. Before the

First World War, male supremacy had suffered in the rise of the ‘new woman’ and the

suffragette movement. The women in The Waste Land of T. S. Eliot enjoy some extra

freedom and they are engaged in illicit practices. The freedom of women caused some

evils also. The problems like children care, perverted sex, and prostitution are the

some examples of evils caused by women liberation.

25
The rise of psychology was as an independent scientific discipline during the last

years of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century. Sigmund

Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams published in 1900 and translated into English

1913 developed the theory of psychoanalysis. Freud explains the two levels of the

functioning of mind – the primary level and the secondary level. The primary level of

mind is called unconscious mind which constitutes the basic thinking of the mind. The

expression of human wishes and desires are the act of the unconscious mind. This

primary level of mind appears through the dreams the myths of the primitive man,

childhood fantasies, and mental disorders like insanity, schizophrenia, neurosis, split

personality. The secondary level of the mind called the conscious mind manifests by

man’s logical, critical and rational thinking aimed at understanding and analysing the

objective reality. Our day-to-day normal, outward and superficial behaviour is the

result of this mind.

According to Freud, man’s life and character were more influenced by the primary

(or unconscious) level of the basic thinking of the mind than by the secondary

(or conscious) level. This shift of the psychoanalytical theory from conscious level to

unconscious level is a decisive factor of man’s character and personality which

shocked the traditional and orthodox people in Europe. Freud pointed out that people

had failed to understand the importance of the primitive mind because it is repressed

by the rational mind or the secondary mind and the conventions of the society. The

secondary mind appears through man’s logical, critical and rational thinking aimed at

understanding and analysing the objective reality. Sigmund Freud explained that the

life and character of man were influenced by the primary level of mind than by the

secondary level.

26
Freud in his ‘Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality’ stated that “libido” (the sexual

instinct) is the most powerful human impulse. He says that the repression of ‘libido’

in childhood days cause mental disease and seriously affect the character in his adult

age.

Freud classified human mind into three layers: Ego – the conscious, Id – the sub-

conscious and Super-Ego – the unconscious. He explained the fact that the Id and the

Super-Ego influence the Ego (the conscious mind). This explanation of the

psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud opened the new field of study for a character

and human actions, activities. The ‘libido’ is the main driving force of life. According

to Freud, the sexual drive is the primary urge of man and it is present right from

childhood. Freud interpreted the Greek Tragedy Oedipus, the Rex in the light of the

concept of the Oedipus complex – the mother fixation.

This explanation shattered the age-old notion of man as a rational animal. Freud’s

psychoanalysis proved that the infantile sexuality is either repressed or sublimated but

never removed. “…the Freudian phenomenon of infantile sexuality, though initially

received with horror, has focused attention on the importance of early developments

and given childhood a status it had only previously had in the pages of Rousseau and
54
the writings of other ‘progressives.’ That is why any individual is not absolutely

normal. So called normal individual shows sometimes abnormality in himself. The

influence of psychoanalysis on literature was remarkable. Virginia Woolf in The

Common Reader-1925 wrote, “On or about December, 1910 human character

changed.”55 James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and Dorothy Richardson started to use the

technique of the stream-of-consciousness in their novels. The theories and analysis of

Freud about human mind and behaviour started a new era of knowledge and gave

27
justification for poetic imaginations and fantasies. In this way, Freud’s contribution in

literature and literary criticism is undoubtedly substantial and setting a mile stone.

Albert Edward rightly observes, “Interpretation of Dreams (tr. 1913) … opened the

way to the exploration of the vast fields of the subconscious and the unconscious, and

thus encouraged the novelist’s tendency to dwell more and more within the mind of

his character.”56

Anthropology, as a discipline studied the evolution of cultural life of mankind down

the ages. This study revealed the existence of a number of moral and religious

systems during the past, which, shocked man’s faith in the absoluteness of religious

and ethical systems. Sir James Frazer’s remarkable work in twelve volumes, The

Golden Bough (1890) proved that the irrational and savage elements have always

been more powerful in human civilization than the rational and cultured elements.

Frazer again interpreted that Christian ceremonies in existence were simply the

sophistications of savage rituals.

In the social sphere increasing knowledge tended only to confirm and

strengthen intimations of moral unease and to destroy faith in the
essential and unquestioned rightness of Western ways of behaviour.
Advances in anthropology, for instances, helped to undermine the
absoluteness of religious and ethical systems in favour of a more
relativistic standpoint. 57

The study of anthropology also revealed that the primitive society of man had an

integrated structure. It displayed the power of maintaining a structured unity amidst

variety of cultures. Therefore, the myth of universal human nature was exploded by

the primitive society. Moreover, the study of anthropology revealed that the

environment influences modes of behaviour of an individual.

28
While observing the influence of myth on modern literature Trilling says, “Anyone

who thinks about modern literature in a systematic way takes for granted the great

part played in it by myth, and especially by those examples of myth which tell about

gods dying and being reborn – the imagination of death and rebirth, reiterated in the

ancient world ...”58

The development of empirical and sceptical approach to the study of social life

changed the perspectives about the concept of man. The uniform and all convincing

picture of man was yet to form. Man is the outcome of economic and social forces to

Marxists. Marx did not accept the existence of life beyond the material and social

existence of human life. For the Marxists, the metaphysical entity of man was non-

existent. According to the Marxists, the man was not determined by the presence of

his consciousness, the spiritual and moral forces but only by the material forces of

production. For the liberals, man is able to harmonize his varying rationed desires

which freed from constraints, reflects the harmonies prevalent in nature. The Christian

conception of man is that the man is descendent of Adam, man is the child of sin but

man has a chance of salvation from the sin with the Grace of God. But according to

Christianity, man enjoys Free Will and, therefore, the punishment of sin is the misuse

of that Free Will by man. But this religious concept of man does not find much favour

with the twentieth century man.

The social, psychological, literary, economic, scientific developments have entirely

reshaped the social psyche. The traditional, conventional and old things became

irrelevant and useless.

In addition to the development of psychology and anthropology, other foreign

influences and divergent tendencies in art and literature like Symbolism, Imagism,

29
Realism, Dadaism, and Surrealism have substantial influences on the corpus of

twentieth century English poetry.

Symbolism was basically a late nineteenth-century movement of French origin in

poetry and other arts. In literature, the movement had its roots in Les Fleurs du mal

(The Flowers of Evil, 1857) by Charles Baudelaire. Baudelaire greatly admired the

works of Edgar Allan Poe, and translated them into French. It had a significant

influence and the source of images. It is a mode of indirect expression and is a

conscious technique of expression. It was dominant in the literature during 1860 to

1890. It is generally regarded as a bridge between Romanticism and Modernism. The

symbolists were deeply discontented with the established norms of poetry. The aim of

Symbolists is to revolt against the modern materialistic society, existing taste and

critical opinion, narration, statement, public and political things, didacticism,

sentimentality, rhetoric eloquence. Symbolists expected that art should aim to capture

complete truth. They wrote in a highly metaphorical and suggestive manner,

endowing particular images or objects with symbolic meaning. Symbolism was a

reaction against naturalism and realism. The path to symbolism began with that

reaction. They tried to express concepts, ideas, wishes, mood, emotions, feelings,

states of mind, and spiritual experiences through the use of concrete and familiar

objects. Symbolism is a power of understanding and expressing inarticulate and

incomprehensive complexes of experiences in some apprehensible and visual

presentations. Symbolists want to transform the inner personal feelings and

experiences through the physical and concrete symbols. Wellek and Warren write,

“Whenever poetic symbolism is discussed, the discussion is likely to be made

between the “private symbolism” of the modern poet and the widely intelligible

symbolism of past poets…The alternative to ‘private’ is difficult to phrase: if

30
‘conventional’ or ‘traditional’, we clash our desire that poetry should be new and
59
surprising.” There are two types of symbolism – the conventional or ‘public’ or

‘traditional’ symbols and the ‘private’ or ‘personal’ symbols. The ‘conventional’

symbols are well-known, apprehensible, rational, coherent and consistent. But while

using ‘personal’ symbols, poets “Often do so by exploiting widely shared associations

between an object or event or action and a particular concept… Some poets, however,

repeatedly use symbols whose significance they largely generate themselves, and
60
these pose a more difficult problem in interpretation.” The French symbolists

exploited private symbols in poetry. The techniques of the French Symbolists had an

immense influence all over Europe. This influence exerted ‘especially in 1890s and

later’. “The Modern Period, in the decades after World War I, was a notable era of

symbolism in literature. Many of the major writers of the period exploit symbols

which are in part drawn from religious and esoteric traditions and in part invented.” 61

The French symbolists showed the modernists the way in which a complex image,

metaphysical conceit, wit, irony, and metaphor can be effectively used.

The term Symbolism means that every physical and natural object may represent an

intellectual or moral idea. For instance, the ‘rock’, – strong and steadfast, becomes a

symbol for God, or Church or Love. The ‘rock’ can also stand for something

different. For example, ‘rock’ can break under pressure or under heat of the sun. So, it

may stand for spiritual barrenness and disintegration. Hence, T. S. Eliot has made

symbolic use of ‘rock’. Symbolism, therefore, is a means for suggesting the things

and creating multiple meanings effectively.

In the first decades of the twentieth Century, T.S. Eliot was influenced by two early

Symbolist poets, Tristan Corbiere (1845-1875) and Jules Lafourge (1860-1887).

31
Under their influence he wrote Prufrock and The Waste Land. The rhythms of these

poets – particularly Lafourge – are found in much of Eliot’s other work as well. He

was constantly in touch with “French poets of the Symbolist school, and with the

Anglo-American movement known as Imagism.”62 Ezra Pound also experimented

with symbolism in his verse.

Imagism, the literary movement, is led by T. E. Hulme and Ezra Pound. The

movement began in reaction to the Georgian poetry. The origin of Imagism is to be

found in two poems of T. E. Hulme published in 1909. Hulme had established the

Poets’ Club to discuss his theories of poetry. F. S. Flint, the poet and critic was a

champion of free verse and modern French poetry. They initiated the discussion to

reform contemporary poetry through free verse, haiku, tanka - a short poem - and the

removal of all unnecessary verbiage from poems. The American poet Ezra Pound was

introduced to this group for similar views on poetry. In 1911, Pound introduced two

other poets, H. D. (Hilda Doolittle) and Richard Aldington (husband of Hilda

Doolittle) who were students of the early Ancient Greek lyric poetry. In October

1912, he submitted three poems each by H. D. and Aldington under the rubric

Imagiste to Poetry magazine. That month, Pound’s book Ripostes was published with

an appendix called The Complete Poetical Works of T. E. Hulme, which carried a note

that saw the first appearance of the word Imagiste in print. Aldington’s poems

appeared in the November issue of Poetry and H.D.’s in January 1913, and Imagism

as a movement was launched. The March issue contained Pound’s A Few Don’ts by

an Imagiste and Flint’s Imagisme. These imagists issued several manifestos of

Imagism but they agreed upon following six statements which were included in

Flint’s Imagisme.

32
 i) Direct treatment of the “thing”, whether subjective or objective

ii) To use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation

iii) As regarding rhythm: to compose in sequence of the musical phrase, not in

sequence of the metronome

iv) Complete freedom of subject matter

v) Free verse was encouraged along with other new rhythms.

vi) Common speech language was used, and the exact word was always to be
used, as opposed to the almost exact word.

Imagism is described as ‘the grammar school of modern poetry.’ “The Imagist

movement, in which Pound played a great part, reflected impatience with

63
conventional diction and metres.” So Imagists wanted to improve the existing

stagnant and weak situation of English poetry. The existing poetry had limits in its

expression due to the conventional iambic metre. Imagists “shunned abstractions,

aimed at the utmost economy of words, and reduced poetic ornament to a minimum.

They wished to produce poems with the sharpness of outline and precision of form…”
64
The imagists brought an experimental revolution in English poetry. They introduced

free verse with its irregular rhyme, rhythm, metre, and length of lines. Free verse is

supposed to be the best medium to reveal the fluctuations in moods and emotions, and

the change in subject matter. Free verse is flexible so that it accommodates a great

variety of subject matter, different shades, different length of lines, and force of words

and sounds of the modernist poets. The Waste Land is one of the finest examples of

this moving from blank verse, to song, to prose, to music – all speech. They aimed to

create a new verse and give a new direction to English poetry avoiding all

unnecessary verbiage. Imagists cultivated a perfect idiom for poetry by collecting

33
various things from various sources. They neglected stanza forms and attempted to

write vers libre. They were of the opinion that poetry should address the modern

world with modern language, and images suitable to the modern experience. The poet

should use definite, clear, precise, and concrete visual images. The poet needs not to

express his feelings and experiences directly to the readers. He should find, in Eliot’s

phrase, “objective correlative”, an emotion equivalent, to evoke the complexity of the

emotions in the readers. The imagist poems make no arguments, tell no story, and

preach no morality. They simply, clearly, and directly present images. It depends on

the critical and literary insights of the readers to make sense out of them.

Imagists fed up by hackneyed and worn out diction of existing poetry, they

appreciated a perpetual quest for original, natural, and exact word to convey the

impression of the poet to the reader. Pound was deeply influenced by Japanese haiku.

Under the deep influence of haiku and imagism, Pound condenses the original

rambling and disorganized script of Eliot’s The Waste Land (1922) to half of its size

and declares that this poem as “the justification of our movement, of our modern
65
experiment.” Pound is the champion of this poetry. His style displays a remarkable

command of language, imagery, rhythm, and other formal skills.

According to Pound imagism presents an intellectual and emotional complex

instantly. The argument of older poetry is replaced by a single dominant image or

related images. Its effect is immediate. Pound and Eliot exploited this device in their

own ways.

If a symbol is used for externalizing inner feelings or states of mind, an image is the

footprint of the outer world on the poet’s sensibility.

34
 66
Realism “is said to represent life as it really is.” In novels, realism attempted to

portray external objects and events as the middle class man sees them in everyday

life. In poetry, it had not been dominant but modern poets portray external world

realistically. They turned to realism for raw material of their poems. They were very

much fascinated by squalor and dirtiness caused by the industrial civilization for the

subjects-matters. Moreover, the destruction and devastation caused by the First World

War was significant to evoke their passions. The hectic activities of urban life and the

commercial exploitation were uncontrolled in modern society that made the poet

search for a new system of values. There was a great disappointment about the luxury,

comfort, and progress provided by science. The shortage of housing, food-stuff and

other necessities of life were the harsh realities of life that made the poets utter almost

a cry of despair. The Waste Land of T. S. Eliot is a clear example of the

disillusionment of modern world. The poets were searching for a refuge from the

unbearable burden of life. T. S. Eliot found a shelter in the Roman Catholic faith; W.

B. Yeats found it in Celtic mythology. However, the search of the other poets found

stability and this spirit opened up other alternatives in the modern world.

The Dadaism movement started in Switzerland in 1915 during the First World War.

The dominant personalities of this movement were Hans Arp, Husgo Ball, Tristan

Tzara and Francis Picabia. After the First World War, the Dada movement reached to

Germany. Max Ernest and Kurt Schwitters were the propagators of this movement in

Germany. From Germany it reached to Paris. The poets like Andre Breton and Louis

Aragon wrote and contributed to the Dada journal. ‘Dada’ is a French term and it

means a hobby-horse – a wooden rocking horse as a child’s toy. The term ‘Dada’

denotes life as a mere toy without significance. The figurative meaning of this term is

one’s favourite subject. The exploration of psychology led to the violent irrationalism

35
of the Dadaists and the revolution of the surrealists. To destroy all traditions in art and

all values in life was the objective of this movement. Hugo Ball wrote about the

objective of the movement in November 1916: “What we call Dada is a piece of

tomfoolery from the void, in which all the lofty questions have become involved . . .,

extracted from the emptiness in which all the higher problems are wrapped, a

gladiator’s gesture, a game played with the shabby remnants ... a public execution of
67
false morality.” The Dada is the movement which was an expression of revolt

against the horrors of the world war. Dada manifesto announced: “Order = disorder;

ego = non-ego, affirmation = negation: all are supreme radiations of an absolute art ...

Art is a private matter, the artist does it for himself; any work of art that can be
68
understood is the product of a journalist.” The Dadaists initiated a new concept of

anti-art in literature. This movement developed the nihilistic and pessimistic attitudes

in painting and poetry. In February 1920, the Dada manifesto appeared:

No more painters, no more writers, no more musicians, no more

sculptures, no more religion, no more publications, no more royalists,
no more anarchists, no more socialists, no more Bolsheviks, no more
proletarians, no more democrats, no more armies, no more police, no
more nations, no more these idiocies, no more, no more, NOTHING,
NOTHING, NOTHING. Further – We are against everything, and, a
true dada is against dada itself. 69

Even Dadaists opposed themselves one another due to their ideological differences

and so they divided the Dada movement. This movement could not continue

vigourously, and give rise to a new literary movement called Surrealism. Andre

Breton became the leader of this new movement and he came out with a new

manifesto in 1924.

36
Surrealism means beyond realism or super realism. The prefix ‘Sur’ means additional

or extra. The movement originated in France as a result of quarrel among the

Dadaists. Maurice Nadeau points out in The History of Surrealism:

The movement was envisaged by its founders not as a new artistic

school, but as a means of knowledge, a discovery of continents which
had not yet been systematically explored: the unconscious, the
marvellous, the dream, madness, hallucinatory states – in short, if we
add the fantastic and the marvellous as they occurred throughout the
world. The accent, perhaps in reaction to Dada’s destructive
anarchism, was on the systematic, scientific, experimental character of
the new methods. 70

The above observation shows that the surrealists were interested in a total revolution

in the consciousness of man by which man might go beyond the everyday world.

They were not interested in outer reality.

The surrealists had the influence of Freud’s psychology. The interpretation of dreams,

fantasies and unconscious mind were important for them. Freud’s analysis of the Id

and the Super-ego caused the development of surrealism in sculpture, painting and

literature. The well-known painters were attracted towards the Surrealism, as it was

new way of looking at life, rather than merely a new style of art. For instance, Picasso

discarded his own neo-classical technique and became a surrealist. The content was

very important for the surrealist in literature. Surrealism is major trend in poetry and

is marked with a series of experiments in style. Surrealism stimulated tendency for

experimentation and the desire to oppose the orthodox view about art and morality.

The writers began writing in “a language without grammar or syntax, a language

without rhyme or rhythm.”71 They rejected the traditional modes of artistic

organization to experiment with free associations. When the Second World War

started in 1939, the force of surrealism as a movement was reduced. The poetry of

37
Dylan Thomas, James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, and the novels of Henry Miller are

examples of Surrealistic non-sense.

Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque were the famous modernist painters. They

articulated their artistic vision through a multidimensional surface of geometrical

plains. They founded and developed the school in painting named Cubism.

Symbolism, Imagism, Realism, Dadaism, Surrealism, and cubism were the important

tendencies that flourished during the twenties of the twentieth century. These

tendencies produced the new literature. This literature thus produced in various and a

diverse form is called as the ‘modern’ literature and the trends and tendencies related

with this are known as the ‘modernist’. “In strict usages, modernism is a term of

aesthetics, the principles upon which a work of art is judged as a valid or beautiful.

Simply put, modernist aesthetics are different from traditional ones.” 72

Modernism is a literary movement which comprises a variety of trends and streams.

The classicism of T. S. Eliot, nihilism of Dada, primitivism of D. H. Lawrence and

Einstein’s revolutionary concept of time and space are the aspects of this same

movement. The influence of this movement reached in the every nook and corner of

human life. The modern man is embodiment of innovative passion. The Victorian

values are now old and out-dated and emphasized the need of new approach to life.

This purpose is served by modernism. Modernism is the movement that is replacing

the old, hackneyed and pedestrian way of the Victorian life.

The modernist writers were concerned as much with the form and technical

excellence as with the content. They reject the ordinary, mundane, usual and explore

fresh and new meanings in life. Their exploration is essentially self-interested but it

38
exposes the depth and a variety of inner self. The vision of the modernists is so strong

that it cannot be spelled through traditional and conventional use of language. So,

modernists undertake experiments with conventional syntax and grammar. W. B.

Yeats and T. S. Eliot extensively use personal symbolism. Their poetry expresses the

privately felt reality. D. H. Lawrence also uses personal symbols in his novels

profusely. These attempts of the modernist writers resulted in experiments with style

and technique. These experiments were necessary, because the experience they felt

were not conventional. To explore appropriate form to express their literary vision

and sensibility, technical experimentation became necessary.

There are varieties of expressions of the Modernist movement. It manifested through

the several of forms with several writers and artists. The modernism of T. S. Eliot

expressed through his classical tendencies. It is also equally expressed through his

excessive concern for the religious values in an age marked by a general loss of

religious faith. James Joyce and Virginia Woolf perceived a new reality which led

them in continuous exploration for new possibilities and forms of expression. The

major aspects of the aesthetics of modernism are intensity of artistic vision and the

consequent technical excellence of their arts.

It is observed that after the Second World War the ‘revolutionary force’ of modernist

trends in literature which dominated the early decades of this century started to

decline. But modernism is not completely dead. It will not die so long as human

beings aspire for novelty, curiosity, discovery, perfection, excellence.

Literature as an art is not static but dynamic – always trying to seek perfection. In this

sense, no literature is ultimately modern. Still some general characteristics of

modernism in literature can be taken into account. They are – consciousness of

39
relationship with decaying conventions, consciousness of isolation from the

traditional and contemporary literary trends, rejection of tradition, and quest for

innovation, and metropolitan intelligentsia, disappointment, frustration and

disillusionment, lack of spirituality, classical allusions, references from earlier

literature, the use of juxtaposition, borrowings from other cultures and languages, use

of images and symbols as typical and frequent literary techniques, the use of irony,

movement toward obscurity and complexity, use of colloquial language rather than

formal language, experiments with language, syntax, rhyme, rhythm, etc. so tend to be

fragmented, inversion, stream-of-consciousness technique, free verse, impersonality.

Modern writer has to rely on tradition for a number of purposes. For instance, T. S.

Eliot relies on the Metaphysical poets for style, language etc. or G. M. Hopkins on the

old English tradition. Modern writers always tend to emphasize on novelty of form

and content, keeping in mind the traditional forms and contents. The modernist

elements can be properly realized and appreciated in consonance. Tradition and

Individual the Talent throws light on how tradition is important to promote individual

talent. Modernism is just a continuation of tradition supplemented by experimentation

in form, content, and style. Writers like T. S. Eliot, W. H. Auden, Virginia Woolf

James Joyce, Samuel Becket and John Osborne are called the Modernist writers who

have looked into tradition, enriching it with their own insight by executing

experimentations in form, style, and content.

The text that perhaps best exemplifies the age (modernism) is T. S.

Eliot’s poem The Waste Land (1922), which presents a vision of a
fractured society where the poet can find no order or consolation. As
with so many works of the period it is innovative and experimental in
form: it seems to be built out of fragments of poetry, reflecting a world
where the artist can impose confident and comprehensive control over
the facts he encounters. A term often applied to the formally innovative

40
 works of this period is modernist: modernist works, such as Eliot’s,
Woolf’s or Joyce’s, are often difficult to read, but they become less
difficult if we see that the difficulty simply enacts the problems the
artist is having in making sense of the world. 73

T. S. Eliot has presented heart rending picture of deteriorating modern world through

his writings. He has rejected the romantic conceptions of poetic creation and

professed scientific outlook. He has rejected the very idea of ‘expression of

personality’ in literature and propounded the conception of ‘escape of personality’

from literature. He rejected the role of poet in poetic creation and poet becomes only

the ‘catalyst’. The poet and protagonist are no more ‘heroes’. “Nothing is more

characteristic of the literature of our time than the replacement of the hero by what

has come to be called the anti-hero, in whose indifference to or hatred of ethical

74
nobility there is presumed to lie a special authenticity.” He says, “Poetry is not a

turning loose of emotions but an escape from emotion, it is not the expression of
75
personality but an escape from personality.” He further says, ‘the progress of an

artist is a continual self-sacrifice a continual extinction of personality.’ T. S. Eliot’s

theory of objective co-relative is also important. The only way of expressing emotion

in the form of art is by finding ‘an objective correlative’ in other words, a set of

objects, a situation, a chain of events, which shall be the formula of that particular

emotion such that when external facts which must terminate in sensory experience are

given the emotion is immediately evoked. One of the principles of modernism is

included in this Eliot’s stand. That is modern literature expresses feeling rather than

focusing on structure. Eliot does not like independent existence of emotions and

thoughts. According to Eliot entire original work of art in any field is impossible

because tradition of that literature is inevitable. Writer gives new significance and

41
meaning to the tradition with his work. This is the important attempt of joining

modernity with tradition.

The influence of modernism started to decline after 1930. “From 1930 onward the
76
avant-garde writers of the two preceding decades begin to retire from the scene.”

During this period the socio-cultural changes started to take place. The rise of Fascism

in Italy and Nazism in Germany influenced European political and social scene. The

Second World War devastated and shocked human values once more in Europe. Ezra

Pound, one of the pioneers of modernism started to be re-examined and became the

object of criticism. Modernists are ultimately ‘Fascists’, Modernism is a deception,

modernism is escapism running away from social reality, and these are the comments

openly heard. The influence of modernism is declined in literature. After that Albert

Camus, Satra and experimentalists started to influence the literary field.

Modernism is basically Western literary movement. This movement appeared in India

after 1940s. “Ironically, as modernism spread around the globe, its revolutionary force
77
waned as it became canonized in modern art museums and at universities.” In this

way the spirit of modernism in the Europe had already declined when it started to

influence the literature of other countries.

Still it cannot be said that in India one is completely modern. Majority of population

live in villages. Even though there is a rapid growth of urbanization, modernity,

perhaps, yet to usher in India. Educated middle class is so called modern in India.

They imitate Westerns. They tend to define their identity and existence in a European

framework.

42
The term ‘modernism’ as introduced to Indian literatures in regional languages after

the Second World War. All regional language literatures have experimented this

“ism” in various forms of literature. However, the term ‘modernism’ is used in

Marathi literature after 1945. The term ‘modernism’ is used in Marathi literature as

term Navsahitya (new literature). This is used to mean modernity or modern point of

view. The pioneers of this Navsahitya are B.S. Mardhekar and Gangadhar Gadgil. It is

reasonable to add that Mardhekar went to England, had interactions with T. S. Eliot

and was influenced by his poetry. Not only his poetry but his aesthetics is also

influenced by ‘The Bloomsbury Group’ of modern era. Mardhekar’s poetry is called

‘Navkavya’ as professed the principles of modernism.

The modernism of T. S. Eliot has historical and social background. The ruin,

devastation, meaninglessness, helplessness, fears are experienced in day to day life.

The expressions of all these things are inevitable and natural in Eliot’s poetry. T. S.

Eliot’s modernism is comprehensive and not only limited to literature. On the other

hand, Mardhekar’s modernity was formal and literary. It has not been supported by

society at large. The important thing here to explain is that race, milieu and moment

were different for Mardhekar than Eliot. European and Maharashtrian way of life was

different. The social, political and economic conditions were different. Indian leaders

like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, Babasaheb Ambedkar modernized through the

Western education. They tried to educate and inculcate a new sense of reality among

the Indian people. Their efforts proved to be fruitful. Indian independence movement

and post-independence period characterized the social life in India. Pandit Neharu was

the pioneer of this new, modern age. The attempts were made to bring the modernism

in India also. Neharu wanted independent India to make modern. Justice, freedom

equality, fraternity, all-round development were the objectives before Pandit Neharu.

43
Neharu knew the importance of science and technology with all other developments.

He supported and established University Grant Commission, Sahitya Academy,

Poetic-Play Academy, National Book Trust, National Laboratory etc. for educational

and cultural development. He wanted to make this country rich with all these modern

values. He tried hard to materialize his dream. In this way, the optimistic picture was

felt everywhere in the country. Maharashtra was not exception to this phenomenon.

However, the modernism which was prominently experienced in England, it did not

grow and spread in Marathi literature significantly because majority of the people had

rural background and a lack of mass literacy. Mardhekar though practiced modernism

in his poems, he could not get sufficient readership to appreciate new literary

movement.

On the contrary, the modernism of Sharadchandra Muktibodha was matching with

social aspiration because of its positive approach. His preface Navi Malwat (newly

trodden pavement) is important in this respect. The next poet on this Navi Malwat is

Vinda (G. V.) Karandikar who enjoys high literary recognition and is recipient of

highest Indian literary award called Gyanpeeth Award. Narayan Survey can also be

referred to as modernist poet. It is true that the dreams of Neharu have disillusioned

after 1960, but it, perhaps, cannot be said that the spirit of modernism has been ended

there in 1960. The expression of modernism is still felt with the technological and

scientific development. The embodiment of technological and scientific development

can be seen in form of agriculture industry, environment protection, computerization,

information technology, bio-technology and this modernization is enjoyed and

favoured by society. The emancipation movement of women and downtrodden has

also significance with modernism in the society. In short, the modernism in India has

44
a social philosophy and the writer who brings this philosophy into the literature can

definitely hold the central place in literary world.

The influence of modernism is gradually declined and new experimentations crept in

literature. Of course, modernism is still practiced and held by writers like Vilas

Sarang, Kiran Nagarkar, Arun Kolatkar through their writings. These few selected

writers continued modernism but they were not successful in influencing the taste of

the literary culture in public. The number of the writers and their writings is also very

small. It is also noteworthy that Dilip Chitre had been modernist writer at the early

phase of his writing, however; later on he accepted saint tradition of Dnyanadev and

Tukaram.

This is the dynamics of ‘modernism’ in modern Marathi literature. The influence of

‘Western’ modernism on Marathi literature is not so strong. It is not continuous, well-

defined and well-organised. In India, especially, in Maharashtra social, cultural,

political, economic life-style is still remained ‘traditional’.

45
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1. James Jancy, Chandra Mohan, Subha Chakraborty Das Gupta, Nirmal Kanti
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5. Ibid. 96.
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46
22. William Yarkv Tyndall. Forces in Modern British Literature. New York:
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27. Ibid., 105.
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34. Munir Khan. Modernism and After. New Delhi: Adhyayan Publishers &
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35. W. W. Robson Modern English Literature. London: O U P 1984, p. 112.
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37. A. C. Ward. Twentieth Century English Literature. London: The English
Language Book Society, 1965, p. 02.
38. Robin Walz. Modernism. Great Britain: Pearson Educated Limited Longman,
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39. Barry Peter. Beginning Theory. Manchester: University Press, 2002, p. 81.
40. T. S. Eliot. Selected Essays. London: Faber and Faber, 1986, p. 289.
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42. T. Herbert, Warren. ed. Tennyson, Poems and Plays. London: Oxford University
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43. http://www.newmanreader.org/biography/meynell/chapter2.html
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45. John Holloway. ‘The Literary Scene’ The Pelican Guide to English Literature,
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47
46. op. cit. G. H. Bantock. ‘The Social and Intellectual Background’ The Pelican
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47. Michael Levenson. ed. The Cambridge Companion to Modernism. Cambridge:
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48. Munir Khan. Modernism and After. Adhyayan Publishers & Distributers, New
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England: Penguin Books, 1970, p. 118.
51. op. cit. Michael Levenson. The Cambridge Companion to Modernism. U. K.:
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52. A. C. Ward. Twentieth Century English Literature. London: ELBS, 1965, p .171.
53. D. J. Enright. ‘The Literature of the First World War’ The Pelican Guide to
English Literature Vol. 7, ed. Ford, Boris. England: Penguin Books, 1970, p. 154.
54. G. H. Bantock. ‘The Social and Intellectual Background’ The Pelican Guide to
English Literature Vol.7, ed. Ford, Boris. England: Penguin Books, England,
1970, p. 20.
55. http://harvardmagazine.com/2001/11/eliots-elect-the-harvard.html
56. Edward Albert. History of English literature. Calcutta: O. U. P. 1998, p. 522.
57. G. H. Bantock. ‘The Social and Intellectual Background’ The Pelican Guide to
English Literature Vol. 7, ed. Ford, Boris. England: Penguin Books, 1970, p. 22.
58. Lionel Trilling. Beyond Culture: Essays on Literature and Learning. London:
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59. Rene Wellek & Austen Warren. Theory of Literature. London: Penguin Books,
1993, p. 189.
60. M. H. Abrams. A Glossary of Literary Terms. New Delhi: Thomson Wordsworth,
2007, p. 320.
61. Ibid., 323.
62. G. S. Fraser. The Modern Writer and His World. London; Penguin Books, 1967,
p. 109.
63. Ibid., 34.
64. A. C. Ward. Twentieth Century English Literature. London: ELBS, 1965, p. 188.
65. http://www.sfu.ca/english/Gillies/engl438/Lecture-2.htm
66. M. H. Abrams. A Glossary of Literary Terms. New Delhi: Thomson
Wordsworth, 2007, p. 269.
67. http://www.dadart.com/dadaism/dada/020-history-dada-movement.html
68. http://www.freemedialibrary.com/index.php/Dada_Manifesto_(1918,Tristan_Tzra))

48
69. Nadeau Maurice. The History of Surrealism. (tr. Richard Howard), London:
Jonathan Cape, 1968, p. 62.
70. Ibid., 71.
71. John Peck & Martin Coyle. Literary Terms and Criticism. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2002, p. 79.
72. Robin Walz. Modernism. Great Britain: Pearson Educated Limited Longman,
2008, p. 07.
73. John Peck & Martin Coyle. Literary Terms and Criticism. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2002, p. 07.
74. Lionel Trilling. Beyond Culture: Essays on Literature and Learning. London:
Penguin Books, 1967, p. 36.
75. T. S. Eliot. Selected Essays. London: Faber and Faber, 1986, p. 21.
76. John Holloway. ‘The Literary Scene’ The Pelican Guide to English Literature
Vol. 7, ed. Ford, Boris. England: Penguin Books, 1970, p. 91.
77. Robin Walz. Modernism. Great Britain: Pearson Educated Limited Longman,
2008, p. 06.

49
 Chapter - II

The Influences on T. S. Eliot

and
the Modernism in his Poetry
 CHAPTER - II

The Influences on T. S. Eliot and Modernism in his poetry

Thomas Stearns Eliot was born on 26 September 1888 at the family’s home at 2635,

Locust Street in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the son of Henry Ware Eliot and

Charlotte Champe Stearns. His father was a president of the Hydraulic-Press Brick

Company of St. Louis. After graduating from Washington University, he went into

business and achieved success. His mother was born in Baltimore in 1843. She was

educated in private schools in Boston, Sandwich and State National School at

Framingham. She was a school teacher before she married Henry Eliot in 1868. She

had passion for social work, and she was an ambitious poet. She wrote poems

throughout her life. Eliot’s father died in January 8, 1919 and mother died in

Cambridge on 10 September, 1929.

Eliot’s parents were prosperous and secure in their mid-forties. Eliot was the youngest

of seven children. His paternal grandfather, William Greenleaf Eliot, had been the

Dean of American Unitarianism. William Eliot graduated from Harvard Divinity

School. He established the Unitarian church in St. Louis. The Eliot family chose to

remain in their urban Locust Street home because of William’s attachment to St.

Louis. Annie Dunne, an Irish nurse took care of Eliot. She sometimes took him to

Catholic Mass. As a result, Eliot knew both the city’s muddy streets and its exclusive

drawing rooms. He regularly attended Smith Academy in St. Louis until he was

sixteen years old. When fourteen, he discovered the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and

he seems to have been attracted to it. Rossetti’s The Blessed Damozel and Byron seem

50
to have attracted him. His Poems Written in Early Youth shows the noticeable

influence of Byron.

Eliot entered at Harvard University in 1906, after receiving his early education at

Smith Academy and Milton Academy. He took his B. A. in 1909 in an elective

programme and an M. A. in English Literature in 1910. He spent the academic year

1910-11 at the Sorbonne in Paris. There he attended Bergson’s lectures and returned

to Harvard in 1911. He had been there up to 1914 working for a doctorate in

philosophy.

In December 1908, Eliot made a discovery which was to transform the entire course

of his life. Arthur Symons’s The Symbolist Movement in Literature (1899) introduced

him to the poetry of Jules Laforgue, which gave his literary efforts a voice. By 1909-

1910 his poetic vocation had been confirmed and he joined the board, and for a short

time, he became secretary of Harvard’s literary magazine, the Advocate. His poems of

this period for the Advocate such as Nocturne, Humoresque, and Spleen show the

impact of the French Symbolists.

In 1910 and 1911 Eliot wrote the poems that would establish his reputation: The Love

Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Portrait of a Lady, La Figlia Che Piange, Preludes, and

Rhapsody on a Windy Night. Their effect was both forceful and unique, and their

recognition spread out among his contemporaries.

Eliot worked amid a group that included Santayana, William James, the visiting

Bertrand Russell, and Josiah Royce. Under Royce’s direction, Eliot wrote a

dissertation on Bergson’s neo-idealist critic F. H. Bradley and produced a searching

philosophical critique of the psychology of consciousness. He took interest in

51
anthropology and religion, and took almost as many courses in Sanskrit and Hindu

thought as he did in philosophy. By 1914, he left on a travelling fellowship to Europe.

In August 1914, he was in London with Aiken. On 22 September, 1914, Eliot and

Pound met in London. Aiken had shown Eliot’s manuscript poems to Pound, who

was impressed. The two initiated collaboration. Pound encouraged him to live in

London.

In early spring 1915, Eliot’s Harvard friend Scofield Thayer, later editor of the Dial,

introduced Eliot to Vivien Haigh-Wood, a dancer, the daughter of the painter Charles

Haigh Haigh-Wood, and a friend of Thayer’s sister. Eliot was attracted towards

Vivien’s exceptional frankness and charmed by her family’s Hampstead polish. In

June 26, 1915 he married Vivien at the Hampstead Registry Office. His parents were

shocked, and then, when they learned of Vivien’s history of emotional and physical

problems, profoundly disturbed. The marriage nearly caused a family break, but it

also permanently marked the beginning of Eliot’s English life. Vivien refused to cross

the Atlantic in wartime, and Eliot took his place in London. With Pound’s support,

Eliot published The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, in Poetry in June 1915. In the

meantime, Preludes and Rhapsody on a Windy Night published in Wyndham Lewis’

Blast.

Eliot, after the marriage, tried desperately to support himself and his wife by teaching

school, reviewing and extension lecturing. During this period, the illness of his wife

caused anxiety and tension. He worked on his Ph. D. thesis, “Experience and the

Objects of Knowledge in the Philosophy of F. H. Bradley.” Eliot finished it in April

1916, but did not obtain his degree because he did not undertake the necessary

journey to Massachusetts for the justification and defense of his dissertation. The

52
thesis was eventually published in 1964. Bradley remained one of the leading

influences on Eliot, the poet. He gave up teaching in 1916. He became assistant editor

of the avant-garde magazine the Egoist. From 1917 to 1919, he was assistant editor of

the Egoist. Then on 19 March, 1917 he found stable employment in the foreign

section of Lloyds Bank at two pounds ten shilling a week. His knowledge of French

and Italian languages qualified him for this job. He writes about his experience:

I know from experience that working in a bank from 9.15 to 5.30, and
once in four weeks the whole of Saturday, with two weeks holiday a
year, was a rest cure compared to teaching in a school. The advantage
of the bank was not that it allowed him rest, but that it left him energy
to ‘practise and perfect himself in writing’, and to ‘cultivate other
interests as well.1

The job gave him the safety he required to turn back to poetry. His first volume of

poems, Prufrock and Other Observations, was published in June, 1917 with the

financial support of Ezra and Dorothy Pound.

Eliot had developed extraordinary relations with the British intellectual group. Russell

introduced him with political figures, like Herbert Henry Asquith, the writers of

Bloomsbury group, artists, and philosophers of the day. They invited him to country-

house weekends. In the mean time, Pound corroborated his entry into the international

avant-garde. There, Eliot had an opportunity to mix with William Butler Yeats, the

English painter and novelist Wyndham Lewis, and the Italian Futurist writer Tamaso

Marinetti. Eliot was more accomplished in the manners of the drawing room. This

accomplishment gave him a status as an observer who could shrewdly judge both

accepted and experimental art from a platform of apparently vast learning. He

collected a second small volume of verse, Poems, and a volume of criticism, The

Sacred Wood in 1920. During this period, Eliot acquired reputation as a critic. By this

53
time, Eliot started to think of himself as part of an experimental movement in modern

art and literature. Ezra Pound also boosted his confidence.

Woolf couple (Leonard and Virginia) published Eliot’s Poems 1919 in May. In the

meantime, Eliot completed The Waste Land. This is a long poem and Eliot had been

working on it since 1919. The Waste Land’s extraordinary intensity arises out of

unexpected blending of varied elements into a rhythmic whole of great skill and

daring. This long poem is based on Eliot’s London life. ‘The Waste Land was at first

correctly perceived as a work of jazz like syncopation–and, like 1920s Jazz,

essentially iconoclastic.’ Eliot’s horror of life is scattered all over the poem. It was

considered by the post war generation as a commotion and cry for its sense of

disillusionment and disappointment. Eliot represented barren world of horror, doubts

and sterile lusts waiting for some signal or assurance of salvation. Pound helped to

prepare and sharpen the poem. Pound altered and gave present shape to the poem. By

all means The Waste Land broke away with the post-Romantic tradition of the poetry.

It was written on the lines of the French Symbolists, Dante and the English

Metaphysical poets. Eliot’s old friend Thayer, by then publisher of the Dial, decided

to publish the poem in Dial. Thayer arranged in 1922 to award Eliot the magazine’s

annual prize of two thousand dollars to secure The Waste Land for the Dial. The poem

is dedicated to Ezra Pound who ‘condensed force of its style’.

In 1922, Eliot accepted an offer from Lady Rothermere, wife of the publisher of the

Daily Mail, to edit a high-profile literary journal. The initial issue of the Criterion

came out in October 1922. Like The Waste Land, it shook the whole European

culture. Because of the Criterion’s editorial voice, Eliot became one of the central

figures in men of letters in London.

54
However, Eliot was much disturbed by domestic anxiety to celebrate his

achievements. After the illness of Vivien in 1923, Eliot in despair came close to a

second breakdown. The next two years were so bad for him. After that a fortunate

incident helped him to free from the burden of his employment at the bank. Geoffrey

Faber viewed the advantages of Eliot’s twofold proficiency in business and letters and

employed him as literary editor of the new publishing firm of Faber and Faber. At

about the same time, Eliot reached out for religious support. Eliot realized the

uselessness of his family’s Unitarianism. He shifted his devotion to the Anglican

Church. The roots of his future devotion can be viewed in The Hollow Men, appeared

in Poems 1909-1925 (1925). Eliot became a British citizen and baptized into the

Church of England in June 1927. Very few followers were prepared for the same. In

this way, Eliot roused another storm in his life within five years of his avant-garde

accomplishment. From this time, he became ever more engaged in sociological and

cultural concerns. He collected a group of politically conservative essays under the

title of For Lancelot Andrewes in 1928 and Eliot dedicated this volume of essays to

his mother. And again the same (storm) is repeated when in 1928 prefacing them, he

declared that he regarded himself as a “classicist in literature, royalist in politics, and

anglo-catholic in religion.” By this time, Eliot’s poetry concentrated openly on

religious matters. He published a series of shorter poems in the late 1920s in Faber’s

Ariel series. These were the short pieces issued in pamphlet form within noteworthy

modern wrappers. These consisted of Journey of the Magi (1927), A Song for Simeon

(1928), Animula (1929), Marina (1930), Ash-Wednesday (1930) articulated the pangs

and the pains involved in the receiving of spiritual conviction and discipline and

‘Triumphal March’ (1931). Journey of the Magi and A Song for Simeon were

55
attempted according to Browning’s dramatic monologue. They speak Eliot’s desire

‘to exchange the symbolist fluidity of the psychological lyric for a more traditional

dramatic form.’ These poems were written in more comfortable, musical and

contemplative manner than his previous works in which the dramatic elements had

been more powerful than the lyrical.

Eliot drew himself towards the drama, the most objective and the most social of the

arts. Eliot tried to revive the poetic theatre and to connect it in the services of

religion. He attempted his hand in it during the last half of his career. In this way he

attempted to reach a larger and more varied audience. He had started to write an

experimental and striking jazz play in early 1923. Sweeney Agonistes published in

1932. He wrote a church pageant entitled The Rock in early 1934 and performed in

May and June 1934. Murder in the Cathedral was performed with great success in

June 1935. In this play, he used the chorus in the traditional Greek manner. After the

remarkable achievement of this play Eliot changed his devices. In the late 1930s,

accordingly, Eliot tried to combine a drama of spiritual crisis with contemporary

theater of social manners. The plot of The Family Reunion is based on the plot of

Aeschylus’s Eumenides and was less popular. However, Eliot intended this plot to tell

a story of Christian salvation. Even though he was discouraged, he produced more

popular combinations of the same elements to much greater success. After the war,

Eliot became the champion of the poetic theatre. Through The Cocktail Party, he

showed that poetry still could be an efficient medium of communication in the theatre.

Two more plays - The Confidential Clerk and The Elder Statesman - were followed

by this. These last two plays were more laboured. In spite of having contemporary

characters and settings, The Confidential Clerk (1935) and The Elder Statesman

(1957), are essentially an extension of his religious poetry.

56
In 1926, Eliot delivered the influential Clark Lectures at Cambridge University,

followed in 1932-1933 by the Norton Lectures at Harvard. This man of letters

received the award of the Order of Merit and the Nobel Prize for literature in 1948.

Eliot published his Collected Poems 1909-1935 (1936). Theatrical experiments were

stopped in World War II and again Eliot tried his hand in poetry. Four Quartets

(1943), is the group of four poems- Burnt Norton (1936), East Coker (1940), The Dry

Salvages (1941) and Little Gidding (1942). These are patterned on the voice and five-

part structure of Burnt Norton. East Coker was published at Easter 1940. It took its

title from the village that Eliot’s ancestor Andrew Eliot had departed from for

America in the seventeenth century. Eliot had visited East Coker in 1937. The Dry

Salvages, published in 1941, reverted to Eliot’s experience as a boy on the

Mississippi. Its title refers to a set of dangerously hidden rocks near Cape Ann. Little

Gidding was published in 1942 and had a less private subject, suitable to its larger

ambitions. Little Gidding had been the site of an Anglican religious community near

Cambridge. Eliot had experience of the burning streets of London during World War

II. The community of Little Gidding inspired meditation on the subject of the

individual’s duties in a world of human suffering. It is homage to Dante. It is written

in a form of terza rima.

With the publication of this poem, Eliot achieved the height of wide popularity and

recognition. During this period, the British public responded to the contemporary

references in the wartime poems and to the tone of Eliot’s public contemplation on a

widespread disaster. Eliot’s readers were silent. Some of them like F. R. Leavis,

praised the philosophical flexibility of his syntax and some of them doubted Eliot’s

57
digression from the authenticity of a rigorously individual voice. Eliot’s conservative

religious and political beliefs began to wane in the post war period.

Eliot wrote no more major poetry after the war. He devoted himself completely to his

plays and to literary essays. Vivien died in January 1947. After that Eliot started to

live a secluded life as a flat-mate of the critic John Hayward. After a span of ten

years, he married Valerie Fletcher in January 1957 and sought satisfaction that he had

been deprived of all his life. But his happiness would not go on for a long time and he

died on 4th January, 1965 in London. According to his own instructions; his ashes

were buried in the church of St. Michael’s in East Coker, a village of his ancestor. A

commemorative inscription on the church wall bears epitaph --lines chosen from Four

Quartets: “In my beginning is my end. In my end is my beginning.”

Eliot’s reputation went far and wide in the decades after his death. A master of poetic

syntax, a dramatist of the terrors of the inner life, Eliot remained one of the twentieth

century’s major poets.

Apart from the volumes already mentioned, Eliot’s other publications need to be

mentioned to have a glance over his vast literary creation:

Dante (1929); his free rendition of Anabasis: A Poem by St. - J. Perse (1930); the

collection of his Selected Essays 1917-1932 (1932; rev. ed., 1950); his Norton

lectures, The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism (1933); his aggressive,

argumentative lectures, After Strange Gods (1934); Essays Ancient and Modern

(1936); his metrical jeux d’esprit, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (1939),

popularized in the musical Cats; his studies in Christian culture, The Idea of a

Christian Society (1939) and Notes towards the Definition of Culture, (1948); and the

58
late collections of essays On Poetry and Poets (1957) and To Criticize the Critic

(1965). Eliot’s Poems Written in Early Youth were collected and printed in 1950, his

Harvard Ph. D. dissertation was published in 1964 as Knowledge and Experience in

the Philosophy of F. H. Bradley, and the first volume of his Letters appeared in 1988.

After bringing out his biographical details, it will be more befitting to discuss about

his poetic creed which he practiced during the long span of his literary career. His

own statement throws the light on his own poetic creed. “We do not imitate, we are

changed; and our work is the work of the changed man; we have not borrowed, we

have been quickened, and we become bearers of a tradition.” (The Egoist, July, 1919, p. 3)

Eliot believed that no poet exists and grows independently. This ‘tradition’ or past

influences poets. Poetry comes out from a continuous association between the old and

the new, as Eliot pointed out between the ‘Tradition’ and ‘the Individual Talent’.

What Eliot wants to say is that the heritage is inevitable. The influences in an

individual’s life play vital role in shaping and forming one’s personality. “A poet can

learn from another how to use certain effects and how to perfect a certain form; in

short he can learn his craft as every artist has to do; he can also be forewarned by the

example of his predecessors and therefore avoid, thanks to them, certain pitfalls. All

technical aspects of the work of art can be assessed quite easily.” 2

There is a remarkable difference between influence and imitation. C. T. Thomas says,

“Influence is a much more subtle and unconscious process than borrowing or

imitation.”3 Eliot has explained the difference between the two thus, “… the

difference between influence and imitation is that influence can fecundate, whereas

imitation can only sterilize.” 4 Eliot has “brought to his work not only the influence of

59
 5
his sources but what might more aptly be called an awareness of his predecessors.”

During the course of his development as a poet, Eliot was under the spell of various

influences. These include philosophers, thinkers, and poets. Eliot as a poet came

under the marked literary influences of the English Metaphysical poets, Elizabethan

and Jacobean dramatists, the French Symbolists, the Imagists, Dante and Oriental

Philosophy. Eliot assimilated the influences of these men completely into his own

sensibility. Therefore, Leonard Unger writes, “One of the most familiar aspects of

Eliot’s poetry is its complex echoing of multiple sources.” 6

Here it is necessary to mention few thinkers and poets who influenced Eliot regarding

his poetic career. They are – Irving Babbitt, Santayana, S. T. Coleridge, Matthew

Arnold, Henry Bergson, F. H. Bradley, Elmer More, Remy de Gournmont, Jacques,

Charles Maurras, Maritain, and T. E. Hulme. Basically they influenced and shaped

Eliot’s thoughts, opinions, and ideas about life and literature. They influenced Eliot’s

career as a critic also. No doubt, it is impossible to separate Eliot as a poet and critic,

because Eliot as a critic is always behind Eliot the poet. But for the sake of

convenience, it is necessary to limit the discussion of influences to the various poets

only.

In the following paragraph Douglas Bush sums up influences on Eliot:

Though Mr. Eliot has been hardly less eclectic and exclusive in his
self-education, the cultural matrix of his poetry has been composed
mainly of orthodox materials, and the result has been an orthodox as
well as individual whole. Some of the formative influences on his
thought and technique were Irving Babbitt, T. E. Hulme, and Mr.
Pound; Dante; Shakespeare and other Elizabethan dramatists; Donne
and other metaphysicals; and such French poets as Gautier, Baudelaire,
and Laforgue. There have been many others of importance, such as
The Golden Bough and The Bhagavad-Gita, The Bible and the liturgy,
Lancelot Andrewes and the St. John of the Cross. And Mr. Eliot is one

60
 of those highly literary poets who get some of their most original
effects from echoing other writers. In Sweeny among the Nightingales,
for example, the sinister references to the circles of the stormy moon,
the Virgilian horned gate, and gloomy Orion apparently come from
Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. In Mr. Eliot’s early poems the heroic
symbols of an older day commonly become ironical, either through a
deliberate twist or through remaining heroic in a debased context. 7

Various influences started to work on Eliot from his childhood days. The atmosphere

in the family could be imagined from Eliot’s words, “When breakfast was finished,

chairs would be drawn back from the table and Bibles passed around. A selected book

of New Testament would be read in course, or one of the Psalms, each member

reading a verse twice round the circle …After this family would kneel while Dr. Eliot

offered a brief prayer…” 8 This deep religious background, perhaps, was responsible

for Eliot’s dislike for reading the Bible as mere literature.

Eliot’s mother was a former school teacher, and had passion for social work at the

Humanity Club of St. Louis. “She had ambitions to be a writer also.” 9 She was a poet

with a taste for Emerson. Eliot’s mother was a poet of ability, much interested in

technical innovations, and this must have conditioned Eliot’s own technical interests.

She was also much interested in religion. She regarded her son as outstanding. Eliot

too was dedicated to his mother who was encouraging the poetic abilities of Eliot. She

wrote to her son (April 1910): “I hope in your literary work you will receive early the

recognition I strove for and failed.”10

When Eliot was a boy of fourteen, he was influenced by Omar Khayyam as he

himself accepts through Edward Fitzgerald’s translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar

Khayyam:

I seem to remember that my early liking for the sort of verse that small
boys do like vanished at about the age of twelve, leaving me for a

61
 couple of years with no sort of interest in poetry at all. I can recall
clearly enough the moment when, at the age of fourteen or so, I
happened pick up a copy of Fitzgerald’s Omar which lying about, and
the almost overwhelming introduction to a new world of feeling … It
was like a sudden conversion; the world appeared anew, painted with
bright, delicious and painful colours. Thereupon I took the usual
adolescent course with Byron, Shelley, Keats, Rossetti, Swinburne. 11

Donald Hall asked Eliot, “Do you remember the circumstances under which you

began to write poetry in St. Louis when you were a boy?” Eliot’s reply to this

question was: “I began I think about the age of fourteen, under the inspiration of

Fitzgerald’s Omar Khayyam, to write a number of very gloomy and atheistical and

despairing quatrains in the same style, which fortunately I suppressed completely –

12
so completely that they don’t exist. I never showed them anybody.” “I became

much more prolific, under the influence first of Baudelaire and then of Jules
13
Laforgue.” “…years late, in 1959 – after the tranquility brought by his second

marriage – he remembers that Omar inspired him to write a dark, despondent poetry –

“very gloomy and atheistical and despairing.”14

Eliot started to write poems “before he discovered Laforgue, with ‘At Graduation

1905’, faintly evoke the poetical effects of Gray, of Blake’s Poetical Sketches, of

Wordsworth, Shelly, Keats, of Tennyson, Arnold, Swinburne. The diction is drawn

from these poets.”15 Eliot had also read the works of Lord Byron, Robert Browning,

and D. G. Rossetti, which influenced him deeply.

Before going to Harvard in 1906, Eliot had the influences of Romantics as mentioned

above. The arrangements of courses of study at Harvard were in a free elective

system. This arrangement allowed Eliot to read an extensive range of courses at the

expenses of a more intensive learning of classics. At Harvard, Eliot studied Greek and

Latin classics, history of ancient art, of ancient philosophy, French, German, and

62
works of Dante. Eliot was also attracted by From Ritual to Romance of Jessie Weston

and The Golden Bough of James Frazer. The influence of these books on his mind

was so deep that it is revealed in The Waste Land.

While Eliot was studying in Harvard (1906-1910), he obtained a great intellectual and

emotional support in European cultural tradition. He looked in to the writings of the

French Symbolists, English Metaphysicals, Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists and

Dante. His close relation with the English Imagist poets was also proved to be fruitful.

At Harvard, Irving Babbitt was the one of the influential professors. He was the

professor of French Literature. He was an anti-romantic humanist. Irving Babbitt had

the most significant influence on Eliot’s youthful, responsive, sensitive, and receptive

mind. Babbitt and George Santayana instilled in him a taste for literature, and he read

widely the classic literature of Europe and contemporary European literature. Babbitt

stressed the importance of classicism, order, and discipline. Accordingly, Eliot

rejected individualism, and turned to tradition, order, discipline, pattern and authority.

The influence of Babbitt was so powerful that, “He remained under the spell of his

former teacher till 1927, when he was baptized in the Church of England.”16 Eliot

called Babbitt “a stout upholder of tradition and continuity.” 17 F. O. Matthiessen is of

the opinion that, “Among the members of the Harvard faculty those who most clearly

left their influence upon him were Irving Babbitt and George Santayana.”18

Babbitt drew Eliot’s interest to modern thoughts about art and poetry. In this way, he

turned Eliot’s mind away from narrow thoughts in search of wider horizons.

Moreover, Babbitt was one of the earlier sources for Eliot’s theory of impersonality

also. Herbert Howarth writes, “the classicism of Babbitt instructed Eliot in

concentration on the essentials,” and the most important service of Babbitt “was to

63
introduce Eliot to the theory of the living past.” 19

Eliot was disappointed by the literary and cultural tradition of America. He was

looking for literature and philosophy of other parts of the world. He wanted to find

out fundamentals of consecrated belief because the external world of practical affairs

was diseased with corruption. There was no hope of saving the civilization from to

‘fall apart’. During the period of his early student career at Harvard that Eliot

discovered in 1908, Arthur Symons’ book The Symbolist Movement in Literature

(1899) that gave the direction to his life. Eliot writes about this book:

But if we can recall the time when we were ignorant of the French
Symbolists, and met with The Symbolists Movement in Literature, we
remember that book as an introduction to wholly new feelings, as a
revelation…the book has not, perhaps, a permanent value for the one
reader, but it has led to results of permanent importance on him. 20

The Symbolist poets showed evils of society, condemned all the unsophisticated

surfaces of life’s vulgarities, and ultimately rejected the society itself. Eliot

appreciated and valued their attitude and approach. He was already in a mood of

doubt and indecision about dedication to a religious faith finally found something to

fall back upon.

Symons brought Eliot into literary contact with Laforgue, Rimbaud, Verlaine, and

Corbiere. Eliot himself confesses, “I myself owe Mr. Symons a great debt. But for

having read this book, I should not in the year 1908 have heard of Laforgue and

Rimbaud. I should probably have not begun to read Verlaine, and but for reading

Verlaine I should not have heard of Corbiere. So, Symons’ book is one of those that

have affected the course of my life.”21 Eliot came to know the importance of the

French Symbolist poets – like Baudelaire, Mallarme, Laforgue, Arthur Rimbaud – by

64
reading this book. Modern writers and literature were profoundly influenced by

Arthur Symons’ Symbolists Movement in Literature. Eliot learned how to use images

and symbols, so as to convey the personal ‘fleeting sensations and feeling.’ Eliot

extensively uses symbols like ‘desert’, ‘rocks’, ‘rain’, ‘drought’, ‘flood’, etc. in his

poems. The important thing that he learnt from the French Symbolists was their

compactness and condensation of forms. The suggestiveness, idiom, and technique of

the French Symbolists had stimulated new expectations for poetry in Eliot.

What attracted Eliot towards the French Symbolists was their extreme condensation

of form. All unnecessary particulars were removed, and comprehensiveness and

vastness was achieved through extreme condensation and compression. Connecting

links were eliminated. The great deal of experience was compressed in small space.

Hence Virendra Roy writes:

They Symbolists believed that no two moments of human

consciousness are similar and moments of experience are fleeting and
their memories vague. Then how to capture them in words? For this
they needed a special medium which they found in symbols. And
because the personal experience of one poet was different from that of
another, they used personal symbols which they created in moments of
experiencing the deeper reality. In this way symbols were the earthly
correspondences or analogies of the images of mystic experiences and
spiritual visions.22

While stating the importance of the French Symbolists on Eliot, Genesius Jones says,

“..to begin with what was probably the first decisive and one of the most enduring of

all these influences: that of the French Symbolists’ aesthetic, their attitude towards

poetry.”23

The most significant stage of Eliot’s growth as a poet came in 1910 when he left for

Paris. In Paris, Eliot came across the writings of Jules Laforgue whose strength as a

65
poet lay in ‘manner and stance’ rather than in substance. He had evolved a verse

technique proficient of incorporating a kaleidoscopic variety of sensations and moods

and presenting them as if occurring simultaneously within the poem. Eliot’s free verse

techniques owe much to Laforgue.

Eliot said about Jules Laforgue, “He was the first to teach me how to speak.” (‘Talk

on Dante’, Adelphi, 1951, p.1017) Eliot found his temperament “to be akin to his, not

only mirrored the ugliness and boredom of the modern city life, but he presented

through the technique of incoherence and free associations diverse images and

symbols arising in the unconscious of experiential reality. In short, Eliot’s study of

these poets assured him of the reliability of subjective experience.” 24

Eliot frankly and honestly confesses the influence of Laforgue on him.

The verse libre of Jules Laforgue, who, if not quite the greatest French
poet after Baudelaire, was certainly the most important technical
innovator... The form in which I began to write in 1908 or 1909 was
directly drawn from the study of Laforgue together with the later
Elizabethan drama; and I do not know anyone who started from
exactly that point. 25

Eliot himself admitted that he began to write in a form emerging from a study of

Laforgue and of late Elizabethan drama. Therefore, it is more interesting to study the

personality of Eliot as it emerges in his first poems under the influence of his French

ancestor. The differences are significant in the articulation of a thought in its final

expression.

Laforgue offered Eliot both a style and a means of self-defence,

transforming his own temperamental pessimism and social unease into
the basis for irony. Laforgue’s ‘inflexible politeness towards man,
women, and destiny’, as Symons put it, allowed him to explore the
terrors of life concealed behind social forms without dropping his own

66
 mask. ....If Eliot was more punctually ‘modern’ than Pound, it was
partly because his early discovery of Laforgue allowed him to develop
a ver de societe able to confront both the aesthetic and the social
implications of mimesis. Like Pound, he focused some of his unease
and discontent on the salon – 26

Eliot found in Laforgue a way of fusing his loftier aspirations with his sense of irony,

his romantic and heroic feelings with his satiric perception of absurdity and

pretension. “The uneasy, discordant confrontation of man and woman in Laforgue is

there in new modes in several of the 1917 poems, including The Love Song of J.

Alfred Prufrock itself. So is the dirty urban scenery of ‘one night cheap hotels’,

‘broken blinds and chimney-pots’ and ‘the trampled edges of the street. ”27 Laforgue’s

technique of sudden transition, unusual contrast, mock-heroic element, sentimental

and serious notes influenced Eliot largely. Abrupt and unexpected contrasts appealed

to the readers. As for example, ‘April is the cruelest month’ (The Waste Land), ‘I have
(ECP,
measured out my life with coffee spoons’ (The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock)
61)

Eliot copied the device used by Laforgue i.e. to speak with two voices, one

sentimental and serious, other scornful and superficial. Prufrock is the best example

of this sort. The selection of theme, ‘repetitions and echoes’, and even movement of

verse in Prufrock are written under the influence of Laforgue.

Eliot had been the first English poet who gave response to the important

developments in modern French poetry.

For the prevailing influence in these early poems is that of Laforgue,

with Baudelaire behind him. From this source, besides his fluid metre,
Eliot has adopted his urban settings, with their burden of tedium and
nostalgia, and his notation of feelings by means of fugitive and
intermingled sense-impressions, diversified with literary allusions or
ironic asides. 28
67
Eliot learned from Laforgue how to use the short, typical scene, repetitions, echoes,

and above all irony. Laforgue and Pound helped Eliot to free himself from the

manners exhausted by the Victorian poets and to reintroduce a sense of speech rhythm

into English poetry. Eliot was inspired by Symons’ book of revelations, and he

particularly liked the essay on Laforgue.

Charles Baudelaire, the French poet, tremendously influenced Eliot’s spirit.

Baudelaire struggled to accomplish great accuracy and economy through

concentration of striking images and suggestive phrases. He was the first French poet

who extended the poetic diction to include metropolitan objects and people. He wrote

with significant intensity about the ugliness and monotony of the cosmopolitan life in

his poetry. He described Paris as a city of dirty roads, stanching streets, inhibited by

foul smelling, dirty, drunken hypocrites and whores. From this description of Paris as

‘the anti-heap city’, Eliot was to formulate his ‘Unreal City’. Eliot was deeply

impressed by Baudelaire’s delineation of the vitality of spirit, of the horror and

boredom, monotony. This deep and lasting impact is to be found in The Waste Land.

Baudelaire was mainly dealing with the ugly aspects of the modern city life,

demonstrating the routine and horror of daily events. Baudelaire portrayed sordid

aspects of life in metropolis fusing fact and fancy, glory and horror. Similarly, Eliot

also declared his age as ‘the waste land’ and he became its spokesperson. Eliot has

highlighted the corruption and decay of modern civilization in The Waste Land and

The Hollow Men. In spite of the progress of the age in the form of scientific

achievements, there is a keen realization of the sickness and agony of the human

heart. Everyday routine business of modern life, its lack of dedication and ambition,

its laws of ethical standards, show the disintegration of material civilizations.

68
Eliot was influenced by his choice of contemporary urban life as the subject matter of

his poems, and his imagery is concerned. Eliot experienced a strong affinity between

himself and Baudelaire. Eliot says:

The invention of language at a moment when French poetry in

particular was famishing for such invention is enough to make of
Baudelaire a great poet. Baudelaire is indeed the greatest exemplar in
modern poetry in any language, for his verse and language is the
nearest thing to a complete renovation that we have experienced. But
his renovation of an attitude towards life is no less radical and no less
important.29

Baudelaire transformed the modern sensibility of metropolis into great poetry.

Baudelaire portrays the streets of Paris as dirty and filthy in his poem Tableaux

Parisiens. He shows rags, mud, garbage, carts, and ugly old men and women. We

recall here Eliot’s The Waste Land.

Baudelaire’s influence on Eliot is chiefly spiritual. In this regard Eliot wrote, “All first
30
rate poetry is occupied with morality. That is the lesson of Baudelaire.” Thus, “The

influence of Baudelaire and his successors is powerful both in the moral colouring of

Eliot’s poetry and in his views on poetic symbolism, on the use of mythological or

literary parallels and allusions, on the music in poetry, and on sensibility.”31

Eliot learned from Baudelaire, “the sort of material that I had, the sort of experience

that an adolescent had had, in an industrial city in America, could be the material for

poetry, and that the source of new poetry might be found in what had been regarded

hitherto as the impossible, the sterile, the intractably unpoetic…”32

Another significant poet who influenced Eliot’s Eliot’s theory and practice of poetry

is Mallarme. Eliot was writing according to his ‘laws’ of poetic creation. Mallarme

gave importance to the poetic value of words. His aim was to suggest a thing without

69
referring to it, by allusive words, not by direct words. Eliot used such evocative words

in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, ‘The yellow fog that rubs its back’.

Eliot learned from the Imagists how to employ concrete images to capture fleeting,

emotional experiences, and the use of colloquial, day-to-day language for the purpose

of poetry. Eliot also learned how to portray harsh picture of city life as it is actually

lived. However, Ezra Pound a shining luminary of Imagism has strongly influenced T.

S. Eliot.

T. S. Eliot met Ezra Pound in 22 September 1914 in London. By this time, Ezra

Pound had already been in England for more than five years. Charlotte, Eliot’s

mother, was hoping as late as 1916 that her son would go back to Harvard as a

professor of philosophy. During this period, Eliot was “still in indecision between

philosophy and poetry. It was Pound’s influence that turned Eliot’s interests to
33
poetry.” The influence of Ezra Pound on Eliot is well-known. While observing the

influence of Pound on Eliot, Fraser says, “That Eliot learned much from Pound is

common knowledge, though the earliest influences on his poetry were different ones,

the decadent poets of the 1890s, and Jules Laforgue. And even when, from about

1915 onwards, he came strongly under Pound’s technical influence.”34

Eliot has declared that Pound exerted a deep influence on his poetic development.

Because of Pound, Eliot decided to stay in England and dedicate himself totally to

poetry. Eliot had not published Prufrock for more than four years because of his

inability to secure a suitable publisher. Pound undertook the publication of Prufrock

and he was credited for the publication of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock in

Poetry in June 1915. In the same month, Eliot married Vivien.

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Moreover, it is well known that Pound altered, reduced, and shaped The Waste Land

to its present shape. Raine Lawrence writes about creation of The Waste Land:

Early in January 1922, T. S. Eliot brought a disorderly sheaf of

manuscripts to Paris, planning to ask his colleague Ezra Pound for a
critical assessment of his work in progress. Leaving Paris a few weeks
later, his manuscript now heavily marked by Pound, Eliot departed
with the poem that we know as The Waste Land, a work that not only
differed from what he had originally brought, but that would soon
require an institutional venue through which to address a public,
however defined.35

Meanwhile, Preludes and Rhapsody on a Windy Night published in the second issue

of Wyndham Lewis’s Blast.

Eliot admired Pound’s verse technique, and defended his vers libre from the blames

of looseness, and considering it as “only possible for a poet who has worked tirelessly

with rigid forms and different systems of metric.”36 Eliot and Pound were thinking

and experimenting regularly along the same metrical lines in relation to free verse.

The explanation of Pound’s free verse could be applied straight to Eliot’s experiments

in Prufrock and Portrait of a Lady.

Pound’s scholarship, exploration of the past and poetic tradition appealed to Eliot.

Pound’s use of past to explore the present is more important. Mauberley reflects his

own poetic experiments on the literature of the past and past culture in general. These

experiments are reflected in The Waste Land. Eliot says, “I confess that I am seldom

interested in what he (Pound) is saying, but only in the way he says it.” 37

The influence of Ezra Pound continued on Eliot for a long time. Eliot frequently

visited to Pound during those days and spent much time in learning at the feet of the

master-craftsman in verse. Wydham Lewis says, “It is no secret that Ezra Pound

71
exercised a very powerful influence upon Mr. Eliot…Mr. Eliot was lifted out of his

lunar alleyways and …into a massive region of verbal creation in contact with that
38
astonishing didactic intelligence – that is all.” Pound proved the potentiality of

intellect in poetic writing and the necessity of developing complex form with a pattern

of allusions and cross-references. Eliot learned from Pound the technique of using

past a commentator on the present degeneration.

Pound had high admiration for Eliot and called him the true voice of Dante. Pound in

his letter to Harriet Monroe writes about Eliot, “He is the only American I know of

who has made what I can call adequate preparation of writing. He has actually trained
39
himself and modernized himself on his own.” This letter also indicates that Pound

made some modifications in Prufrock and Eliot obviously incorporated them.

Eliot was influenced by Pound’s doctrine of Imagism. His Imagist poetry doubtlessly

left deep-seated mark on Eliot’s mind and poetry. Pound had been with Imagist

movement from 1910 but later on, he separated from the movement. The Imagist

clarity and concentration can be seen in Eliot’s first two volumes and in The Waste

Land. Eliot learned from Pound how to use concrete and sharp images for recording

fleeting emotional experiences and use of colloquial languages. The other images

provided him with a ruthless picture of city life. Eliot respected Pound by admiring

his editorial efforts with The Waste Land in 1922 and accepting the fact that Pound

not only helped in making his poetry but in making Eliot a mature mind.

Eliot’s aesthetics and his notion of tradition were also indebted to Ezra
Pound (1885-1972) and the imagist movement. Pound assumed a broad
range of critical roles: as poet-critic, he promoted his work and the
woks of figures such as Frost, Joyce, and Eliot; he translated numerous
texts from Anglo-Saxon, Latin, Greek, and Chinese; and associating
with various schools such as imagism and vorticism, he advocated a

72
 poetry which was concise, concrete, precise in expression of emotion,
and appropriately informed by a sense of tradition. As a result of his
suggestions, Eliot’s major poem The Waste Land was radically
condensed and transformed. The ideas of Pound and Eliot have had a
lasting influence but their most forceful impact occurred between the
1920s and the 1940. 40

Alighieri Dante, the medieval Italian poet, who wrote The Divine Comedy and The

Inferno, influenced Eliot. For Eliot, Dante was the poet of universal fame. Eliot did

not change his views about Dante till the end of his life. He found much similarity

between the conditions of modern Europe and the conditions of Dante’s Italy and

above all, because he felt a very close emotional and spiritual affinity with Dante.

Eliot says, “My point is that you cannot afford to ignore Dante’s philosophical and
41
theological beliefs, or to skip the passages which express them most clearly.”

Dante’s Divine Comedy greatly influenced Eliot’s The Waste Land and other works.

Eliot liked Dante’s spiritual outlook and his language. Eliot’s poems contain

references to Dante’s characters. He is said to have memorized long passages from

Dante’s work. So many lines from Dante’s poems appear in Eliot’s poems. The

epigraph to the first collection of his poems, Prufrock and other Observations (1917)

shows Eliot’s indebtedness to Dante. Eliot followed the diction and poetic techniques

of Dante. He learned from Dante how to polish words and to bring them in the line

with the best European poetry. Eliot liked Dante’s precision of diction and his great

economy in the use of words. Genesius Jones expresses, “…he learned from Dante

how to use clear visual images.”42 He attempted to mould his own style and diction

after Dante. While confessing Dante’s influence Eliot says, ‘‘I still, after forty years,

regard his poetry as the most persistent and deepest influence upon my own verse.’’ 43

“The full influence of Dante upon Eliot is not seen until the later poems, particularly

Ash-Wednesday (1930) and Four Quartet (1936-42)…But Eliot began his reading of

73
Dante at Harvard, and the influence of the thirteenth-century Italian poet upon him is

so pervasive.” 44 Dante portrayed Inferno a realm occupied by spiritually dead people

and who have fallen a victim to lower instincts and resorts to deception and

wickedness. Eliot was deeply influenced by Dante’s essential human value and

compassion for the tortured soul of humanity. Moreover, Dante’s picture of hell,

purgatory and paradise made remarkable influence on Eliot’s poetic experience. The

whole work of Eliot could be perceived as making progress from the hell of The

Waste Land through this purgatory of Ash-Wednesday to the paradise of Four

Quartets. “Dante helped him see the connection between the medieval Christian

inferno and the modern life.”45

While observing Dante’s influence on Eliot, Genesius Jones says, “Mr. Eliot’s poetry,

however, shows us at every turn what he had learned from Dante in the historical

vein. For example, Dante’s use of Virgil and Cavalcanti is paralleled by Mr. Eliot’s

use of Dante and Baudelaire.” 46

In “What Dante Means to Me”, a talk given in London, on July 4, 1950, Eliot recalled

his first encounter with Dante forty years before (in 1910):

…and when I thought I had grasped the meaning of a passage which

especially delighted me, I committed it to memory; so that, for some
years, I was able to recite a large part of one canto or another to
myself, lying in bed or on a railway journey. Heaven knows what it
would have sounded like, had I recited it aloud; but it was by this
means that I steeped myself in Dante’s poetry…I do not think I can
explain everything, even to myself; but as I still, after forty years,
regard his poetry as the most persistent and deepest influence upon my
own verse. 47

Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists created the world of spiritual despair born of the

horror of intrigues and murders, infidelity and usury. When the tragic protagonist

74
wades through the horrifying situations and is spiritually bewildered, his “mind seems

to triumph.”48 Eliot had the same opinion like Italian thinker, Niccolo Machiavelli,

that common men are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowards, jealous. Eliot was in search of

the work to validate his own conviction in spiritualism. In this way his spiritual

journey from doubt, suspicion and disbelief to acceptance of Christian belief is

exemplified in his study of the Elizabethan and Jacobean literature.

Eliot was attracted by the power of metaphoric concentration, power of melodrama,

and the fluency and conversational vitality of blank verse of the Elizabethan and

Jacobean dramatists. He was influenced by the Jacobean dramatists’ verse which was

at once colloquial, concentrated in metaphoric intensity, moving easily from casual to

elevated, and excitingly varied in pace.

English Metaphysical poets inspired and influenced Eliot. Their anxiety with the crisis

of values and cultural deadlock was identical with his apprehension of the cultural

downfall of the modern world. Eliot considered the Elizabethan and Jacobean age as
49
“a period of dissolution and chaos,” “the hold on human values, that firm grasp of

human experience, which is formidable achievement of the Elizabethan and Jacobean

poets’ comprehension.”50

Eliot’s attraction for the Metaphysical poets is seen when he writes about the

Metaphysical poets, “Donne had a genuine taste both for theology and for religious

emotion” and Donne was among those, “who seek refuge in religion from tumults of a

strong emotional temperament which can find no complete satisfaction elsewhere.”51

Eliot’s terseness, condensation, omissions, connectives and links are due to the

influence of the metaphysical and the Jacobean poets. Eliot was attracted towards the

Metaphysical poets because of their endless belief in Christianity in an age when the

75
problem of faith was related with human existence itself.

The influence of Metaphysical poets is responsible for making Eliot a modernist poet.

All the characteristics of modernist techniques influenced Eliot.

Metaphysical colloquialism of style and rhythm, realistic particularity,

toughness of sensibility, the complex and often dissonant expression of
tension and conflict, the resources of irony, ambiguity, paradox, and
wit – such qualities helped to energize and tighten the modern temper
and technique, to create an attitude and a medium suited to a troubled,
skeptical, anti-heroic age.52

G. S. Fraser underlines the influence of English Metaphysical poets thus, “And even

when, from about 1915 onwards, he came strongly under Pound’s technical influence,

he had other sources of his own, the English metaphysical poets and the Jacobean

Dramatists…” 53

Explaining his sense of gratitude to the Elizabethan and Jacobean drama in his essay

To Criticize the Critic (1961), Eliot asserted that it was from them that he got his

imaginations inspired, sense of rhythm accomplished and his emotions nourished.

Their language thrilled him by blending into a single phrase, two or more varied

impressions. Their attraction is classified in one of Eliot’s best essays The

Metaphysical Poets (1921):

When a poet’s mind is perfectly equipped for its work, it is constantly

amalgamating disparate experience; the ordinary man’s experience is
chaotic, irregular, fragmentary. The latter falls in love, or reads
Spinoza, and these two experiences have nothing to do with each other,
or with the noise of the typewriter, or the smell of cooking; in the mind
of the poet the experiences are always forming new wholes.54

There is a striking similarity between the age of Donne and the twentieth century

modern age, and so there is the revival of interest in the Metaphysical poets. The

76
influence of the Metaphysical poets is clearly seen in the volumes of 1917 and 1920.

Eliot started reading Donne at Harvard and was strongly influenced by his poetic

techniques. Donne’s techniques had energy, variety, and wit. Eliot adopted from

Donne the a conversational tone, a colloquial vocabulary, ironical conceits, surprising

images, sudden and ironic contrasts, rapid connection of ideas and irregular verse, the

use of non-poetic, prosaic words, brilliant wit and shocking juxtapositions, the

irregular verse and difficult sentence structure in accordance with thought and feeling.

Eliot’s description of evening as a ‘patient etherized upon the table’ and ‘the fog

creeping like a cat’ reminds immediately Donne’s poetic style.

John Holloway highlights the influence of Donne as, “The new qualities of Eliot’s

earlier verse have often been seen as standing in very close connexion with his special

interest in early seventeenth-century dramatic and lyrical verse, especially Donne.”55

Eliot was influenced by Browning’s technique of writing dramatic monologue. The

Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Portrait of a Lady, La Figlia Che Piange, Preludes,

and Rhapsody on a Windy Night are combination of the robustness of Robert

Browning’s monologues with the elegance of symbolist verse and compacting

Laforgue’s poetry of alienation with the moral earnestness explore the subtleties of

the unconscious with a sarcastic wit. Considering this fact G. S. Fraser says, “Both

Eliot and Pound also learned something from Browning’s dramatic monologue.”56

Hulme influenced Eliot’s early poetry. His influence on Eliot is noteworthy. For him

Romanticism is disorder and classicism is health. Hulme opposed the romantic view

of man. He stressed the requirement of order and tradition in human life. Much of

Eliot’s literary work and critical concepts - impersonality of art, classicism, tradition,

and orthodoxy - are founded on Hulme’s metaphysical principle. According to

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Hulme, poetry is not the expression of the personality of the poet. The poet is only

supposed to explain the accurate curve of what he sees, whether it is an object or a

thought in the mind. The true vehicles of expressions are images and metaphors.

Hulme believed in an organic view of poetry and each part of poem is “modified by

the other’s presence, and each to a certain extent is the whole.”57 Hulme expected the

objective before the poet is an “accurate, precise, and definite description.”58 For him,

order is essential to achieve something important.

Pound was the link between Eliot and Yeats. Yeats was the one of the major poets of

the period. Like Eliot, Yeats did not belong to English origin. He was an Irishman.

One of his major achievements was to fuse the old tradition of Gaelic literature, the

early pagan legends and the later oral traditions of lyric and folk songs with the

Anglo-Irish tradition. Eliot was undoubtedly affected and profoundly influenced:

both by Yeats’ sense of what it is to be a poet and by the example of

the poet that Yeats provided in his life and his work – affected and
influenced to the degree that he not only wrote one of his finest critical
pieces as the Yeats memorial lecture of 1940, but also allowed
phrases, ideas and attitudes of the older poet to enter his own poetry of
the time. 59

Yeats’ ideas, attitudes, and style were not so important for Eliot but his work and the

values he had as a human beings have been of great importance and the integrity of

his passion for his art and his craft. The echoes of Yeats are seen throughout in his last

three Quartets - East Coker, Dry Salvages, and Little Giddings.

Tennyson influenced Eliot’s poetry throughout his career. Of all his poems In

Memoriam had the most powerful effect on Eliot’s poetry. Imagery, style, subject, and

experimental structure appear in The Waste Land. It is a spiritual rewriting of

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Tennyson’s In Memoriam. Eliot clearly praises his predecessor’s great experimental

elegy:

Its technical merit alone is enough to ensure its perpetuity. While

Tennyson’s technical competence is everywhere masterly and
satisfying, In Memoriam is the most unapproachable of all his poems.
Here are one hundred and thirty-two passages, each of several
quatrains in the same form, and never monotony or repetition. . . . We
may not memorize a few passages, we cannot find a “fair sample”; we
have to comprehend the whole of a poem which is essentially the
length that it is. . . . It is unique: it is a long poem made by putting
together lyrics, which have only the unity and continuity of a diary, the
concentrated diary of a man confessing to himself. It is a diary of
which we have to read every word. 60

Eliot praised Tennyson’s In Memoriam while composing another major work with

strong parallels to the elegy, The Four Quartets. David Ned Tobin describes

Tennyson’s influence on Eliot in his book Eliot’s Victorian inheritance: Like his

peers, Eliot’s poems at Harvard show significant influence of Tennyson. A young

poet who is writing poetry in the first decade of twentieth century would find it

impossible to keep away from the influence of Tennyson.

As Eliot grows more mature and one of the major poets of his age, he praised

Tennyson and wrote: “Tennyson is a great poet, for reasons that are perfectly clear.

He has three qualities which are seldom found together except in the greatest poets:

abundance, variety, and complete competence.” 61

Eliot is influenced by oriental philosophy as he studied it at the Harvard University.

Babbitt aroused interest in him for Indian Literature and Philosophy. Eliot studied

both Hinduism and Buddhism as a part of course curriculum at Harvard. The impact

of this reading is seen both in The Waste Land and The Four Quartets. The

Bhagawatgita and Patanjili’s Yoga had shown Eliot the realistic way of redemption of

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man from the chain of time. The birth-death cycle incarnated through the symbol of

wheel in The Waste Land originates from The Gita which appears at large scale in

Four Quartets. Likewise, the self-disciplining and purifying austerities of Patanjali’s

philosophy of Yoga fulfilled a religious need of T. S. Eliot and reinforced the ideas of

time and flow of consciousness. The new thing he learnt from Patanjali was the

efficaciousness of the eightfold path of self-discipline (Yoga) for the repression of the

mental activity and eventually the total eradication of thought process. Eliot must

have been influenced by Patanjali’s exclusive elaboration of the perfect

efficaciousness of human efforts of asceticism, self-denial, detachment and

desirelessness for self-realization. Irving Babbitt and Paul Elmer More gave useful

guidance in this regard. Eliot accepted the influences of Oriental philosophy on him in

Notes Towards the Definitions of Culture: “Long ago I studied the ancient Indian

languages, and while I was chiefly interested at that time in Philosophy, I read a little

poetry too; and I know that my own poetry shows the influences of Indian thought
62
and sensibility.” Eliot’s poetry shows the impressions of the Upanishads, the

Bhagwadgita, Patanjali’s Yogasutra and the teachings of the Lord Buddha.

Immediately after his arrival from Europe (1911), Eliot started studying Eastern

philosophy. He studied Sanskrit and Pali under Charles Lanman and Patanjali’s Yoga-

Sutras under James Wood. He was very happy to discover in The Bhagwatgita

philosophical and religious beliefs different from those of his family. Eliot studied

Sanskrit and Indian philosophy and he says that he experienced “a state of enlightened

mystification.”63 Eliot’s passion for oriental philosophy was very strong even at

Harvard. Moody writes, “He also studied Sanskrit- some of the Upanishads…the

Bhagavad-Gita – and wandered in the mazes of Patanjali’s metaphysics.”64 He himself

acknowledged proving that he studied the Bhagwadgita in the original Sanskrit. The

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influence of Hindu and Buddhist teachings contributed to the shaping of his religious

outlook. These teachings continued to inspire him throughout his life. He had very

deep interest in the oriental philosophy. However, he deliberately stopped taking any

further interest in it, because he had a fear of losing his love and interest in western

culture. In this relation Stephen Spender writes:

He became rather mystical, through distrusting this tendency in

himself. But Buddhism remained a life-long influence on his work and
at the time when he was writing The Waste Land he had almost
became a Buddhist or so I once heard him tell the Chilean poet,
Gabriele Mistral who was herself a Buddhist. The Buddhist and
Christian mysticism in the Four Quartets seem very close to one
another. 65

The Vth part of The Waste Land shows the influence of Buddhism and Indian

philosophy. In What the Thunder Said, he attempts to achieve peace by turning

directly to religion, but just as love has failed because he has not affirmed it. Souls in

The Waste Land can only be saved by chapel Thunder, no longer dry and sterile, is

meaningful. The Sanskrit words Da Da Da - Datta, Damyata, Dayadhum - are used to

express the sounds of thunder. They mean one is to give, to sympathise, to control.

The poem concludes with the note of peace “shantih, shantih, shantih which as Eliot

points out is a formal ending to Upnishad and which means “The peace which passeth

understanding.”

Eliot is the first and foremost modernist poet who gave expression to modernist

sensibility and initiated new movement and tradition. Even though, Eliot was a

classicist and a supporter of tradition, he attacked the “traditional” poetry. His poetry

is modern because its new imagery, new poetic technique, new versification and new

diction express the finest consciousness of the modern age. He was the leading master

of modernist poetry. G. S. Fraser is of the opinion that, “For many readers of our time

81
the name of T. S. Eliot (1888-1965) is virtually synonymous with modern poetry.

During the 1920s, Eliot was an avant-garde figure, a centre of controversy, a party
66
leader…accepted as the leading writer of the age.” So Bernard lays stress on the

causes which accounted for Eliot to be a modernist, “Eliot’s version of Modernism

emerged in response to the specific cultural dilemmas of his generations of Americans

faced with post-World War European culture as a questionable and uncertain option

rather than a dominant; given after Cold War.” 67

Since the publication of The Waste Land, Eliot has invited a strong critical attention

for his innovative and experimental techniques introduced in his poetic works. He has

been frequently attacked for his unconventional form for having contained the

elements of obscurity and complexity. William Carlos Williams said in his

autobiography that The Waste Land “wiped out our world as if an atom bomb had

been dropped upon it.” 68

It is relevant now to deal with characteristic features of Eliot’s poetry, which will

facilitate proper understanding of his poetic genius.

His poetry tends to capture the spirit and temper of the age, makes conscious efforts to

revive the deteriorating conventions which need to be comprehended for the

embodiment of poetic expressions. Twentieth century came up with a rapid social

change discernible in all the walks of life. There was a complete breakdown of the

agrarian way of the life and economy from the last decade of the nineteenth century.

Consequently, it was the beginning of the process of urbanization and

industrialization which led to “the unending monotony of pulsing machines.”69

Urbanization and industrialization were accompanied with the problems like crime

and vice, over-crowding, housing shortage, and fall in standards of sexual morality.

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World War I, the Civil Rights Movement, Prohibition, Women Suffrage, and the

Great Depression accounted for a great social change. The attitudes of people changed

with high expectations after World War I, but were soon lowered after the fall of

economy. Women’s suffrage shifted the focus of society from simple traditions to

concentrate on more of urban culture. The Great Depression caused anxiety and

anguish resulting in despair. The scientific spirit and rationalism of the age aroused

the doubts and disbelief about accepted social beliefs, conventions, and traditions. In

religious affairs, it gave rise to sceptism and antagonism. The social and literary

atmosphere was confused and perplexed by the development in the study of

psychology, promoted by Sigmund Freud and others.

All these changes and developments were not portrayed and projected by the early

twentieth century writers. So Maxwell writes, “The Georgians, however, failed to

adapt poetry to a changed environment when it should have been obvious that radical

change was demanded, and are at least partially responsible for the decline of interest

in good poetry.” 70 The Edwardian and Georgian poetry of England had been decadent

and escapist. It was completely cut off from the unbearable facts and harsh realities of

the age. They failed to capture the spirit of the contemporary scenarios. Still the

Edwardians and Georgians were taking interest in ‘rainbows, cuckoos, daffodils and

timid hares.’

Eliot was born and brought up in this changed social atmosphere. He felt strong

isolation in literary tradition of the time. “T. S. Eliot ‘make it new’ by going back to

the past – by insisting on the need to re-open those lines of communication which

constitute tradition.”71 He developed the different tone and texture of his poetry. He

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started to push away orthodox literary tradition and set to modify it. In this relation

Michael Bell writes:

Tradition, for Eliot, was not what he called an “orthodoxy”, a rule to be

followed, but a largely unconscious inheritance being continually
modified within the self. Like Pound and other modernists, Eliot
thought closely about the paradoxes of tradition in relation to
creativity; the most original talent is not only bound within a tradition
but is most likely to reaffirm it; in this connection, “renewing” is a
bottomlessly ambiguous term. And it was within this sense of the
greater, transindividual “mind of Europe” that he was able to project
his truly mythopoeic imagination.72

The Edwardian and Georgian poets went back to the poetic style of the early

Romantics without knowing their experiences and became the fashionable followers

of Wordsworth and Keats. There took place a gap between poets and their social

reality. They discovered the society based upon ugly commercialism and therefore ran

away into holiday resorts or Sunday retreats of their dreamlands. The appearance of

Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock in 1917 proved a significantly complete break with

this collapsed nineteenth century poetic tradition. Eliot’s Love Song of J. Alfred

Prufrock demonstrated entirely different characteristics which had nothing in

common with the early twentieth century British poetry. Eliot’s poetry is anti-

nineteenth century poetic tradition also by virtue of its theme. Although, The Love

Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is love song it does not assert love. It is withdrawal from

love which has been conventional theme of the earlier poetry. The poetic theme and

the technique of poetic style were strikingly different from those of the contemporary

poetry. Then, the writers experienced varieties of successive movements. They had to

struggle hard to continue their existence and creativity. Their struggle affected their

works characterized by experimentations, innovations, fragmentations in subject-

matter and style. Their works challenged convention against new techniques and

84
manners. Eliot started to revolt against the Victorian tradition. A. G. George says,

“The contents as well as the forms of his poems are new. Both thematically Eliot’s
73
poetry indicates a break with the Victorian tradition.” In 1909, Eliot already started

writing poetry in America under the influence of the French Symbolists. He was the

product of the fusion of these far off traditions – the French Symbolists, the

Elizabethans, the metaphysicals and others.

Nineteenth century poetic tradition rejected commercialization, urban characters, and

city life as ugly and unpoetic. So the poetry cut itself away from the essential roots of

the reality. For the first time, Eliot filled his poems with the objects from the real city

life and turned them into poetic images. Elizabeth Drew says, “There is the impact on

the senses of all the ugliness and squalor of the common urban scene; the sight of the

‘broken blinds and chimney pots’, of vacant lots with their grimy scraps of news-

paper, of sunless dry geraniums…” 74

Eliot proved that poetry consists in the suggestions, implications, communication of

the poetic experience, and not in the beauty of objects. His Love Song of J. Alfred

Prufrock, The Waste Land and other poems are full of ugly objects and images and

throughout all these poems; there is a deliberate attempt to diverse all traces of

romanticism out of potentially romantic images. In the opening lines, ‘the evening’ an

image with romantic possibilities is discarded of all its conventional charm by being

likened to ‘a patient etherized upon a table’ or the ‘fog’ to a ‘cat’. Most images in the

poem are part of the same technique. For instance, ‘I have measured out my life with

coffee spoon…’ and / ‘I grow old …I grow old…/ I shall wear the bottoms of my

trousers rolled.’ (ECP, 15)

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Eliot’s poems are anti-romantic in their use of the spoken language, rhythm and

words, phrases and idioms of everyday use in the sophisticated society of abnormality

sensitive people.

Thus, Eliot’s poetry marked a sharp break with the nineteenth century poetic tradition

and set the tradition for the development of modern English poetry.

Modernism is the attitude of revolt which came into existence in the 1910s. This

revolt appears both in the form and in theme of the poetry. Eliot rejected the

degenerated romantic convention. Robson writes, “He disliked the vague poeticism

into which the romantic tradition had degenerated. A new start had to be made.” 75 He

saw social life in its naked realism. So that even the most commonplace and prosaic

subjects were considered suitable for poetry. Eliot was not going to make a beautiful

world. He says in his essay on Matthew Arnold, “The essential advantage of a poet is

not to have a beautiful world with which to deal.” 76

The modernist poetry of Eliot undertook drastic changes. These came in force from

the publication of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prurock in 1917. The modernist poets

always attempted experimentations and innovations in subject-matter, setting,

language, metre, rhythm, symbolic technique etc. Eliot’s Prufrock is the beginning of

all these experimentations and innovations. So F. R. Leavis says, “The Love Song

marks a complete break from the nineteenth century tradition. It is a revolutionary

poem, one of the best specimens of T. S. Eliot’s style, diction, technique and

versification.” 77

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So far as the setting is concerned, Eliot’s poetry is urban and not rural. It abandoned

the romantic tradition of poetry and its objects and scenes. The Love Song of J. Alfred

Prurock is different in these respects. The scenes shift to the city streets and

restaurants. It deals not with the simplicity and innocence of the nature but

complexity, cruelty, immorality and heartlessness of the metropolitan life.

The love in romantic poetry is unexhausted subject-matter. Eliot’s love song is ironic.

The protagonist is unheroic and unable to express his love to his beloved. He does not

perform heroic deeds confidently but withdraws from the heroic deeds. Instead of

facing problems, he runs away from them.

The romantic poetry escapes from the harsh realities of the life, while the modern

poetry expresses the boredom and the horror of the contemporary urban life. Eliot’s

poetry portrays a realistic picture of hypocrisy, and the monotonous routine way of

life. This poetry does not create dreamland like romantics. Instead of running away

from the mundane and bitter reality of city life, modern poetry seeks to portray it.

The modern poetry uses the everyday, colloquial, conversational language. It rejected

the use of the conventional poetic language. By using familiar language, modern

poetry brought vigour and vitality in poetry. Words are picked out from day-to-day

use like ‘coffee spoon’, ‘but-ends’, ‘cigarettes’, etc. The style of opening is also

colloquial like, ‘Let us go then you and I’. It reminds one of Donne’s poems which

begins abruptly as ‘For God’s sake hold your tongue and let me love.’ So “Pound said

that Eliot had actually “modernized himself on his own.” Pound was talking about the

diction, structure, and sensibility of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prurock ‘Let us go

then, you and I, / When the evening is spread out against the sky / Like a patient

etherized upon a table.” 78

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The use of free verse provides much variety for the poets. Every poet can evolve his

own style to suit his purpose. There are experiments and innovations in the metre,

rhythm, length of the lines etc. This gives poetic language a kind of flexibility. So

Helen Gardener says, “The great quality of Mr. Eliot’s new verse is its rhythmic
79
flexibility.” He employed the images and the symbols suitable to express the

complexity and the obscurity of the modern age. The use of various techniques like

allusions, juxtaposition, the mythical method, objective co-relative is also innovative

in the sphere of the modern poetry. “Ash-Wednesday, in fact, along with ‘Marina’,

represents Eliot’s purest poetry qua poetry, employing a distinctively modernist

technique, though paradoxically almost entirely isolated from the pressures of a

recognizably twentieth-century environment.”80 Above all, all these aspects mark the

break from tradition and give a new direction to modern English poetry.

Eliot portrays the realistic modern metropolitan life. This aspect is most outstanding

which makes Eliot different from the previous writers in English. His poetry is of

streets and houses and people, and not of woods and fields and flowers. He started to

deal with problems of ugly and sordid city life. His poetry was pre-eminently

concerned with urban life – the life of the modern industrial activities. London is

“unreal city”, (ECP, 63) for Eliot. The torturing impact of a modern city life crushed the

lonely individuals. Modern man in city is forced to lead essentially lonely, gloomy,

and tragic life. Eliot demonstrates sights in big cities with all their ugliness and
(ECP, 61)
dirtiness. Eliot shows ‘a heap of broken images.’ in metropolis. Sweeney

Among the Nightingales portrays the individual who leads a full blooded life on the

animal level. Something illicit and sinister is going-on at the background.

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Prufrock’s love song is the interior monologue of a person divided against himself – a

person nervous, timid and lacking in self-assurance. In The Love Song of J. Alfred

Prufrock, Eliot expresses the boredom, the horror, as well as the glory of the

contemporary world. The poem presents a realistic picture of the hypocrisy, ‘In the
(ECP, 12)
room the women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo’ and the boring

routine. Moreover, Prufrock as a lover is wholly disappointed. The poem manifests

theme of the failure of communication of a positive relationship between a man and a

woman. His work shows the larger theme of individual’s loneliness. In Prufrock, the

theme of loneliness is overwhelming and it is embodied in several of ways from the

beginning to the end.

Gerontion stands for a decayed old man who is representative of the useless and

disordered people of the modern civilization. Gerontion, the little old man, is a ‘dull

head among windy spaces’ (ECP, 37) Both Prufrock and Gerontion are depressed as they

have no warmth of faith. The isolation and loneliness of the people in the modern

cities were no compensations to the development of individual talents. Eliot expresses

the disorder and disillusionment of contemporary life through his peculiar technique

and the images of city life like, ‘the muttering retreats’, ‘Of restless nights in one-
(ECP, 11)
night’s cheap hotels’, ‘streets that follow like a tedious arguments’. It is a

representation of impotent and decayed civilization. The manners of the people are

governed by selfish and self-seeking motives. The life in these surroundings is

naturally frustrated.

The tragedy of the typist girl in The Waste Land ‘like a taxi throbbing, waiting’(ECP, 69)

– emphasizes the uselessness of modern city life. Denizens of modern city have lost

their affection, passion, faith in God and religion and the consequence of this loss of

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faith is loss of vitality, both spiritual and emotional. As a result, the life in the modern

waste land is a life-in-death. Douglas Bush says, “All these poems, short and long,

were pictures rootless, restless human beings dehumanized by a Godless, mechanized,

and sterile civilization.” 81 Prufrock, Gerontion, the Lady, Mr. Appollinax, Aunt Helen

and Sweeney are the typical products of modern decayed civilization.

The modernist poetry portrays the realistic picture of city life. Unbearable realities of

metropolitan life have devastated all the illusions and romantic dreams. The troubles

of daily life changed the personality and outlook of poets. The disappointment and

distrust preoccupied because of harsh experiences of immorality and ugliness of

metropolis. The following expression of Prufrock shows that he is disappointed and

frustrated.

I grow old… I grow old …

I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.
Shall I part my hair behind?
Do I dare to eat a peach? (ECP, 15)

Eliot considers modern man as ‘hollow’ and ‘stuffed’. Modern man is living in ‘the

dead, cactus land’. He is ‘walking alone in death’s other kingdom’.(ECP, 88) The Waste

Land illustrates modern uneasiness, depression, psychosis, which reflected in: ‘I think
(ECP, 65)
we are in rats’ alley / Where the dead men lost their bones.’ Modern waste

landers lead meaningless, routine, and mechanical life in The Waste Land as, ‘The hot
(ECP, 66)
water at ten / And if it rains, a closed car at four.’ The sex relations of the

people are also mechanical. The typist girl offers her body to the clerk with a sense of

indifference and lethargy. There is no pleasure, no grief and no productivity in the

sex. So after the sexual intercourse, ‘She smoothes her hair with automatic hand, /

And puts a record on the gramophone.’ (ECP, 70)

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Eliot articulates the complex nature of modern life by various techniques. In The Love

Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Eliot employs modern setting and contrasts with a heroic

age which is introduced through allusions and quotations. Eliot, in his well-known

poem, The Waste Land, depicts impenetrable contrasts and searches vainly for a

meaning and solution where there is only: ‘A heap of broken images, where the sun

beats, / And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, / And the dry stone no

sound of water.’ (ECP, 61)

Industrialization and materialism generated greed for wealth and physical pleasures.

Hence, there was a decline in the moral and spiritual values. The principle of liberty,

ironically enough, misinterpreted and gave importance to individual impulses. The

importance for individual aspiration challenged the social ethics and codes. The codes

and conducts of social behaviour and social authority pushed aside. Next to this, the

religious faith suffered a serious loss. Advance of science and scientific attitude made

modern man doubtful towards religious teachings and God. In spite of material

prosperity, modern man became spiritually sterile and he lost mental peace.

All this is reflected in Eliot’s poetry. Eliot presented the horrible condition of modern

man in The West Land. He demonstrated the spiritual sterility and barrenness of

modern civilization. The Waste Land is the unpleasant and disgraceful presentation of

human civilization and morals. Ash-Wednesday and Four Quartets illustrate the way

of salvation from cultural and spiritual decay.

Sex and sexual activities remain the vital force behind the behaviour of the modern

waste landers. The immoral and unnatural sex relations perverted sex which is

responsible for the spiritual sterility of the modern world. Sex is degenerated to the

extent that it becomes only an entertainment leading towards vulgarization. The sex is

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not fertile and it only resulted in spiritual barrenness. The degeneration and

vulgarization of sex are responsible for the spiritual sterility of the citizens of the

waste land. Eliot highlights the sexual disorder through his poems and stressed the

need of religious belief.

In addition to the spiritual barrenness, the poet also carries a note of pessimism to

purge the world of its impurities. The Waste Land can be converted into a beautiful

garden and the hollow men transformed into important people if they are prepared to

pay the price. The price is religious trust. The Hollow Men is contemplation on the

human nature in this world, and on the relationship of this world to another – the

world of death, or perpetuity. The poem articulates the spiritual sterility which is

reached at the extreme point so that prayer is also not possible and when hollow men

try to pray only dry, meaningless whispers come out of their lips. Therefore, they are

leading life without hope. So the poem ends with the note of pessimism: ‘This is the

way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper.’(ECP, 90)

At the end of The Waste Land, Eliot links together the philosophy and the preaching

of the East and the West. He wants to show that religious restoration can be possible,

if we listen to the message of the thunder – DA, DA, DA, means – Datta (Give),
(ECP, 76-77)
Dayadhvan (Sympathise), and Damyata (Control). It is considered that The

Waste Land is Eliot’s Inferno, his Ash-Wednesday is his Purgatorio and his Four

Quartets is Paradiso. In other words, The Waste Land studies the spiritual barrenness

of modern city people.

Eliot’s erudition was profound as his poetry is crammed with allusions, references,

quotation, and literary reminiscences. He was familiar with not only one literature but

with many literatures, not with one philosophy but with many philosophies. He

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studied European literature from Homer to his own day, the Hindu and the Buddhist,

and the oriental philosophies and literatures, ancient and primitive myths and legends,

Biblical mythology and legends. His deep study equips him with references and

quotations. Eliot’s use of quotations is practical and organic and not mere display of

scholarship and learning.

Eliot was influenced by Jessie Weston’s From Ritual to Romance and James Frazer’s

The Golden Bough. These two books of anthropology supplied him the legends. Eliot

borrowed the legendary treatment of the Grail and the Fisher King from From Ritual

to Romance and he sought the knowledge of a number of myths and rituals from The

Golden Bough. These myths and rituals are related to the fertility rites such as the

Tarot Cards, the Phoenician Sailor, the Hanged man, Philomela, the Biblical whore of

Babylon, the ceremony of foot washing. The mythical allusions highlight the sense of

contrast between the past and the present.

For describing the dissolution and despair of the modern civilization, Eliot evokes the

Biblical references. These references are most relevant to the modern civilization. The

lines like, ‘What are the roots that clutch’, ‘I will show you fear in a handful of dust.’
(ECP, 61-62)
, ‘The rattle of the bones.’ (ECP, 68) easily signify the voices of Ezekiel and the

preacher of the Ecclesiastes.

The titles and epigraphs of the poems are borrowed from the works of Dante,

Marlowe, Shakespeare, Aeschylus and other famous writers. The use of references

and quotations from famous writers helped Eliot to strengthen his message because of

the strength of associations. For instance, like Baudelaire’s description of Paris, Eliot

describes London as ‘unreal city’. A line from Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield,

‘when lovely woman stoops to folly’ shows how lovely women committed suicide.

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Through this Eliot makes sharp contrast with the modern females like typist girl who

is very casual to her virginity and indifferent towards sex. Shakespeare’s Cleopatra

and Ophelia (‘good night sweet ladies’) Pope’s Belinda and Keats’ Lamia are also

referred.

Not only the Western influences but also Indian spirituality highlights the theme of

The Waste Land. The preaching of Buddha is essential to control the wayward lust,

greed, anger and desire. This preaching appears in The Fire Sermon. Eliot makes an

effort to suggest the possible remedy for all the problems of the world. In What the

Thunder Said, Eliot gives the message of Lord of Creation –‘Da Da Da’ – means

Datta (give), Dayadhavam (sympathise) and Damayata (control). These three words

are taken from Upnishada. At the end, Eliot wants to restore Shantih, Shantih,

Shantih. James Olney says, “Eliot is famous, of course, for his allusions, his

quotations and his stealing from other poets.” 82

Eliot’s poetry is crammed with the borrowings. Consequently, readers who are not

familiar with those borrowings get bewildered and confused to comprehend the

meanings of poetic lines. Since, Eliot was familiar with the literature and philosophy

of many languages; he fused together all these borrowings of different writers and

languages into an artistic whole. In his The Waste Land, he borrowed plenty of the

allusions and references from different writers and languages. The Fire Sermon gives

a fine example of how Eliot adopts, alters and transforms literary allusions to suit his

design. The line from the Tempest, “Weeping again the king my father’s wreck” is

changed into “musing upon the king my brother’s wreck” to suit for the reference to

Percival story which Eliot has in mind. The modern love affairs between Sweeney and

Mrs. Porter have their roots in the story of Actacon and Diana. The ‘sounds of horns

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and motors’ from ‘a noise of horns hunting’ of the modern automobile have been

devised on the lines of Andrew Marvell’s ‘At my back I always hear “Times winged

Chariot” from To His Coy Mistress. The song of the first daughter of the Thames,
(ECP, 71)
opening with, ‘The river sweats / Oil and tar’ suggested the love as an

unproductive affair of ‘Elizabeth and Leicester / Beating Oars.’(ECP, 71) Eliot through

these lines implies that the relations between Elizabeth and Earl of Leicester though

glamorous it was as empty and sterile as sex relationship in the modern world. The

ancient and modern allusions and the juxtaposition made the symbolism rich and so it

became ironic. In this way, Eliot enabled the special technique, which Sean Lucy

calls, “exuberant poetic shorthand.” Louise says, “he is an erudite charlatan.” 83

Juxtaposition is a device in which important things are placed side by side with the

unimportant. Eliot continuously juxtaposes the present and the past, and the contrasts

in his poems. In his The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Hamlet and Prufrock are

juxtaposed and the sharp contrast is brought out. The problems of both are in no way

identical. So Maxwell says:

This suggestive juxtapositioning of past and present, of

commonplace troubles with the singing of the mermaids, of ideas,
phrases, and scenes, of the hinted sympathy for the lonely men in
shirt sleeves with the desire to escape to the sea-floor – all these fuse
to communicate to the reader Prufrock’s dilemma, the utter
impossibility of his ever solving it. 84

The juxtaposition of the present and the past indicates the degradation of values and

spiritual barrenness of the present. The parallelism brings apparent glamour of the

modern reality. The myths and rituals are related to the fertility rites such as the Tarot

Cards, the ceremony of foot washing etc. But in the present, the modern Madam

Sosostris uses the cards for immoral purposes. Helen Gardener writes:

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 This sense of boredom and the horror behind both beauty and
ugliness is expressed also by the trick… of juxtaposing the
beautiful and the ugly, the heroic and the sordid, and makes it
more than a trick….We call one beautiful and the other ugly; they
are both irrelevant to our disasters. We should think the death of
Agamemnon important and the death of Sweeney sordid. 85

Elizabeth and Leicester create an illusion of glamour. Their relationship was basically

futile and infertile. Helen gardener calls it as, “the barren flirtation of Elizabeth and

Leicester.” 86 This is paralleled with the empty and futile relationship of the clerk and

the typist in the modern world.

The Waste Land is far away from previous forms of poetry because of the varied

perspective and absence of a central, constant speaker. The first stanza supports this

point. The first seven lines are customary and having regular rhymes and meter so the

reader is presented with a “normal” poem. Unexpectedly, the German words

“Starnbergersee” and “Hofgarten” appear and compel to change his view of the poem.

Again before casting it away in line 12: “Bin gar keine....” Just as quickly, though, the

lines revert to a previous pattern with the use of “And I...”, “And down...”, “And
(ECP, 61)
when....” “Discontinuity, in other words, is no more firmly established than

continuity,” 87 writes Michael Levenson. In his analysis of the initial eighteen lines, it

becomes apparent that no clear conclusion may be drawn as to who is speaking, or

how many speakers are present. Eliot suddenly switches to a foreign language so that

it is impossible to understand the poem. The entire poem seems to be an unusual

mixture of perplexing lines. The poem shifts from scene to scene without any logic.

The readers bewilder because of the foreign names and it is felt that they are in a

foreign setting, hearing a foreign voice.

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Eliot’s The Waste Land is famous for its use of fragmentation and juxtaposition.

Eliot’s use of bits and pieces of formal structure suggests that fragmentation is

nevertheless productive even though it is anxiety-provoking. Eliot wants to suggest

that something new can be made from the devastations. Eliot employs an image of the

scavenger which will reappear in his later poetry. Crabs are scavengers, garbage-

eaters who live off refuse that makes its way to the sea floor. Eliot’s discussions of his

own poetic technique suggest that making something beautiful out of the waste of

modern life may be the highest form of art. For example, a crab sustains and

nourishes itself on garbage. It suggests that fragments may become integrated.

Eliot synthesizes fragments of two different cultural aspects and forms an organic

whole. In lines 307-311 of The Waste Land,

To Carthage then I came

Burning burning burning burning

O Lord Thou pluckest me out
O Lord Thou pluckest
burning”, (ECP, 72)

St. Augustine’s words from his Confessions and the Buddha’s Fire Sermon are

brought together to form a new, incongruous whole. This fusion suggests some type

of ‘truth’ that may be learnt by fusing these ancient bits of wisdom, two different

perspectives.

T. S. Eliot uses images and symbols as literary techniques. Images means mental

pictures or sense impressions communicated to the readers through the words. Poets

use images for communication of meaning or for decorating the language. Basically,

images are used to convey the meaning of abstract idea through concrete and tangible

objects. To communicate this perception of the modern complex world, Eliot used the

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varieties of images from various sources. Some important sources are- Flowers and

gardens, the months and the seasons of the year, water, lake and the sea, city streets,

smoke and fog, parts of the human body, images of stairs, images of fire and thunder,

images from earlier literature, philosophy and myths, images of perverted sexual

activities. These various types of images are used by Eliot mostly in The Waste Land,

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Ash-Wednesday, and the Four Quartets.

The modern civilization can be portrayed truly into poetry only through the

appropriate imagery. In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Eliot draws his images

from the dirty surroundings of the streets and slums. ‘The evening’ is compared with

‘a patient etherized upon a table’, the streets are compared to ‘tedious arguments’.

These are the unexpected images with an element of conceit in it. These images give

an idea about the state of mind of the protagonist which is frustrated and tedious. In

the same way, the image of the ‘ragged claws’ is evocative of the desire for going

down the sea for escaping from the degradation and humiliation as a result of refusal.
(ECP, 11)
The image of “restless nights in one night cheap hotels” and that of women

talking suggest a coming and going of any lives across of fixed points of boredom or

loneliness. Prufrock’s irony is more expressive of general human predicament than

that of his own.

The Waste Land is a treasury of various images. These images are presented through

changing rhythms and the changing emotional tone. The image of fertility is woman

in human life similarly; water is the image of fertility in nature. Maxwell writes, “the

significance given generally to the water symbol in Eliot’s poetry is elucidated by its
88
being associated with fertility in the person of Mr. Apollinax.” These two images

dominate in the poem. In the first part, references of women are frequent but fleeting.

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All these images are reduced, frustrated, or self-frustrated female force and energy. In

the second part, the extended portraits of two women have been portrayed. The first

begins with a line- ‘The Chair she sat in, like a burnished throne’. (ECP, 64) This recalls

Cleopatra in Shakespeare’s play. The second ends with – ‘Good night, ladies, good

night, sweet ladies, good night, good night.’ This is the line spoken by Ophelia in the

‘mad scene’ in Hamlet. Cleopatra conquered men by her sexuality, but she

exaggerated her powers, and ended by making love to death. Eliot’s Cleopatra lives a

death-in-life among sexual and erotic background. Ophelia was the helpless and

innocent victim of men. Eliot’s Ophelia is the sexual worker of a returned soldier

from military. He is likely to deceive her. The fourth section The Fire Sermon is

totally devoted to water. Water, the very element wipes out and then reinstates in a

new form. The absence of water predominates:

Here is no water but only rock

Rock and no water road the sandy mad
The road winding above among the mountains
Which are mountains of rock without water. (ECP, 74)

The image of the ‘hanged man’ in The Burial of the Dead associates with the hanged

god in Frazer’s The Golden Bough and also with the crucifixion of Christ. The

drowned Phoenician sailor is suggestive of the primitive myth of the fertility god.

As a modernist poet, Eliot employs the unconventional and strange images so that the

readers surprise. For instance:

The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains, (ECP, 11)

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The imagery in the above lines conveys the mental state of Prufrock. In The Waste
(ECP, 72)
Land, Eliot uses ‘The broken fingernails of dirty hands’ to symbolize the

aimless and cheap life of three daughters. However, the imagery used is not

conventional so it is surprising and unexpected to the readers.

Compressing two images together is one more speciality of Eliot. Consequently, such

compressed images become very difficult to understand. For example, in The Waste

Land the two images are brought together so that it becomes difficult to understand

the meaning. ‘By the waters of Leman I sat down and wept.../ Sweet Thames, run
(ECP, 68)
softly till I end my song,’ In these lines, the water of ‘Leman’ means, The

Israelites lament their captivity in Babylon, and again ‘Leman’ is also name of the

lake of Geneva. Moreover, ‘Leman’ stands for lust, Mistress, or Prostitute. All these

images are compressed by Eliot in one and naturally it becomes difficult to penetrate

in the image. Such types of images are lavishly used in The Waste Land and other

poems so that the poems become more and more impenetrable.

Eliot is also a master of using ironic-satiric images. His profound knowledge and

reading helped him to create ironic-satiric images. This is the device in which first

half of the line gives a sense of nobility while the second half or the end presents

disgusting impression. For instance, ‘I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
(ECP, 12-13)
/ I know the voices dying with a dying fall’ , and again, ‘She smoothes her

hair with automatic hand, / And puts a record on the gramophone. (ECP, 70) , ‘They wash
(ECP, 69)
their feet in soda water’ By using such ironic-satiric images, Eliot poignantly

conveys the sense of spiritual barrenness and degradation of modern culture.

Apparently, people look noble and glorified but in reality they are very mean and

weak.

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Eliot was influenced by Donne and his school. So he borrowed the metaphysical

conceits from the metaphysicals. These conceits are in the form of symbol-images. In

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock ‘fog’ stands for ‘cat’ as well as unhealthy and

dirty surrounding. In the same poem, Eliot compares ‘evening’ with ‘a patient

etherized upon a table’. ‘When evening is spread out against the sky / Like a patient

etherized upon a table;’(ECP, 11) Ultimately both the ‘evening’ and ‘patient’ represent

Prufrock’s mental state. The helplessness of modern life compels Prufrock to become

a worm ‘pinned…on the wall.’ (ECP, 13) Ash-Wednesday has also symbol-images. There

are ‘the three leopards’, ‘the lady in white’, ‘the winding stair’, ‘the singing bones’,

‘the garden’, ‘the rose’ and so on.

Symbolism as a movement was originated in France and Eliot had a full influence of

this movement. The symbolism of Eliot is inspired from the two sources – classical

tradition and the modern life and knowledge. Eliot uses symbols which can be easily

identified as traditional. For example, ‘dry bones’, ‘cactus land’, ‘rats’ stand for

spiritual sterility and the use of these symbols apply for both the past and the present

waste lands. Apart from these symbols, Eliot uses symbols which are based on the

aspects and knowledge of the modern civilization. These are the symbols like, ‘oil

and tar’, ‘empty bottles’, ‘coffee spoons’, ‘jug jug’, ‘taxi throbbing waiting’. These

symbols stand for degeneration and spiritual sterility of modern civilization. Elizabeth

Drew writes, “In ironic contrasts, Eliot sets various symbols of degradation and

ugliness and a complicated parallel between the sterility of the worker-bees and that

of the ‘Word’ of sectarian theological argument.” 89

Eliot communicates indirectly by means of symbols. Eliot’s Prufrock and Other

Observations displays the profuse use of the symbols. Prufrock’s indecision,

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incertitude, boredom is conveyed through symbols. The unending streets symbolize

the chain of a long argument. Eliot here symbolizes the boredom of Prufrock. In The

Waste Land, the journey of German Princess to the various places symbolizes the

rootlessness of the modern persons. The symbols of ‘rats’, alley’ signify the

monotony and emptiness of city life. ‘Red rock’ symbolizes the spiritual and political

degeneration of modern Europe. The ‘oil’ and ‘tar’ in Thames stand for pollution of

water.

The personal symbols are used to articulate the momentary impressions passing

across the poet’s mind. Eliot makes use of the symbols to convey intricate and

dissolute modern urban life. From these symbols, Eliot wants to convey an idea of the

modern waste land. Maxwell is of the opinion that, “his (Eliot’s) symbols and

metaphors are not private and beyond the complete understanding of the outsider.” 90

T. S. Eliot uses irony as a poetic device in his poems. The term irony signifies the

concealing of what is actually said in order to achieve special artistic effect. It is the

statement in which the meaning differs from the meaning that is apparently expressed.

Eliot’s use of irony in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and The Waste Land is

noticeable. The irony begins from the very title of The Love Song of J. Alfred

Prufrock. Prufrock – the hero or protagonist – dares not to speak about his love. He
(ECP, 12-13)
says, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”, ‘how should I begin.’ He is timid and

coward. He is afraid of making of his love proposal. He takes refreshment to gather

courage to make decision. In The Waste Land, the parallels between the past and the

present are brought together by contrast or by comparison. For instance, the three

waste lands, the Biblical, the Fisher King’s and King Oedipus’, are made obvious by

putting them together. In The Waste Land, Eliot indicates the degradation of ethical

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principles of the modern age by creating ironic contrasts. Once the banks of Thames

were full of nymphs, their sports and songs, however, they are now full of young girls

with their lovers. The attitude to sex and chastity is ironically contrasted with the past

and the present. In the modern age, sexual gratification of the young unmarried girls is

considered as recreation and not procreation.

By juxtaposing the present and the past, Eliot compares and brings out contrasts. He

glorifies the past and criticizes the present in an ironical vein. The men and women in

the poems of Eliot present the irony of the modern waste landers. ‘Madame

Sosostris,...is known to be the wisest women in Europe’(ECP, 62) is a ironical statement

since the ancient fortune-teller is represented by the modern Madam Sosostris. The

sex enjoying and coke drinking typist girl portrayed on the background of Philomela

and the heartbroken song of the nightingales.

The divergent tendencies of early twentieth century influenced social life of England.

Eliot exposes the intricate problems of the modern civilization. His age was very

diverse and complex to perceive. T. S. Eliot justified the poetry in his The

Metaphysical Poets: “Our civilization comprehends great variety and complexity and

this variety and complexity, playing upon the refined sensibility must produce various

and complex result. The poet must become more and more incomprehensive more

allusive more indirect in order to force to dislocate it necessary language into

meaning.” 91

Eliot’s poetry deals with the contemporary city civilization, its complexity, obscurity

and intricacy. The following lines from The Waste Land can be cited to support the

above point. ‘Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee / With a shower

of rain; we stopped in the colonnade, ... / Bin gar keine Russin, stamm’ aus Litauen,

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 (ECP, 61)
echt deutsch. Eliot’s poetry is highly significant as the subject matters and

ideas are so close to our everyday lives. Helen Gardener accounts for the difficulty in

Eliot’s poetry in the following words:

The difficulty of poetry may be due to one of several reasons. First,

there may be personal causes which make it impossible for a poet to
express himself in any but an obscure way; while this may be
regrettable, we should be glad, I think, that the man has been able to
express himself at all. Or difficulty may be due just novelty …Or
difficulty may be caused by the reader’s having been told, or having
suggested to himself, that the poem is going to be difficult … And
finally, there is the difficulty caused by the author’s having left
something out which the reader is used to finding; so the reader,
bewildered, gropes about for what is absent, and puzzles his head for a
kind of ‘meaning’ which is not there, and is not meant to be there. 92

Eliot, as a modernist poet, deliberately maintained the difficulty and obscurity in his

poetry. D. E. S. Maxwell says, “the esotericism of Eliot’s poetry is sought voluntarily,

in protest against the demands of a public kept in being in England by Georgian

poetry, in the hope of finding or creating an audience though smaller, would at least,

realise that poetry makes demands of the reader as well as on the poet.” 93

New techniques of poetry are also responsible for the complexity in Eliot’s poetry.

Eliot followed the techniques of Laforgue, Baudelaire, and Ezra Pound. The unusual

use of images and symbols make poetry difficult. Eliot’s images and thoughts are

confusing and complicated. The use of mythical method, irony, wits, conceits, (like

‘fog’ being a ‘cat’) myths, new rhythm makes his poetry difficult for common

readers. Douglas Bush is of the pinion that he says, “Difficulty remains, in both

elusive symbols and abstractions, but particulars merge with reflection, and the

language and rhythm move from the level of mystical meditations and lyrical

incantation to the deliberately prosaic.” 94

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The borrowings from various sources are overloaded in Eliot’s poetry. He uses

allusions, references, quotations, and literary reminiscences in his poems. The

publication of The Waste Land raised the problem of obscurity of his poetry. David

Daiches remarks in this connection, “Eliot’s obscurity arises from his use of material

known only to him, from associations operating in his own mind as a result of old

reading which he cannot count on sharing with any considerable body of readers, and

from the introduction of, for example, Sanskrit words. (which conclude the poem) for

whose meaning we have to defend entirely on his assurance…” 95

Eliot often customized and changed the references so that it becomes impossible to

discover their sources. The borrowings are used not for the sake of decoration but

they are useful and organic. This technical device produces a sense of ironic
(ECP, 70)
comparison and contrast. ‘When lovely woman stoops to folly’ recalls us of

the importance involved in chastity in the past, and it is ironically contrasted with the

typist’s indifference to it. Similarly, Diana is ironically contrasted with Mrs. Porter’s

washing her feet in, ‘in soda water,’ (ECP, 69) to get better her skin.

The compression and condensation is one more reason of Eliot’s difficulty. Eliot is

indebted to Ezra Pound for the technique of compression and compactness in poetry.

The compression gives lyric intensity to Eliot’s composition. Eliot became successful

in condensing vast subject matter in a small space. In this regard I. A. Richards aptly

writes, “Allusion in Mr, Eliot’s hand is a technical device for compression. The Waste

Land is the equivalent in content to an epic. Without this device twelve books would
96
have been needed.” The elimination of connecting links and the grammatical signs

imparts alertness, flexibility and quickness to his verse. It helped Eliot to the abrupt

transitions and fast jumps. The flexibility of Eliot’s poetry facilitates him to move

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with agility from one thought to another. In this way, Eliot brings about the

amalgamation of contradictory or heterogeneous ideas. Eliot is always keen to

omitting, eliminating and removing what can be left out. The readers of Eliot are

confused and perplexed because of the absence of logical links, inconsistency, sudden

transitions and shifting.

The subject-matter and its nature is one more reason of difficulty in Eliot’s poetry. As

the subject is complex inevitably his poetry becomes complex. Eliot is not much

interested in external or outward portraying, but he is profoundly interested in internal

or mental states. He explores deeper and deeper into human soul and analyses human

emotions. He is much concerned with what is happening in the subconscious. Like

Browning he adapts the device of dramatic monologue in the poems like Love Song of

Alfred J. Prufrock and Gerontion. This discontinuous narration of the subconscious

resulting in sudden jumps and free association of ideas is difficult to understand. One

needs some brain-work to understand Eliot’s poems. Louise Morgan rightly calls

Eliot’s poetry as, “...often incomprehensible and obscure, that he has a brain and no

heart.” 97

The use of images and symbols is another characteristic of Eliot’s poetry which is

responsible for difficulty and obscurity. Eliot chooses the words with reference to

their sense and sound. He chooses and selects intensely outstanding expressions and

exploits the words to draw the different shades of their meanings. One has to read his

poems two or three times in order to fully understand the meaning of his poetry. It is

essential to mention Bender’s comment on the difficulty of Eliot’s poetry:

Eliot’s poems fragment the continuity of space and time and violet
ordinary syntax in order to represent this emotional complex precisely,
but as a result reader finds it difficult to follow the subjective
associations of the poet. In The Waste Land, poet’s literary associations
are so diverse that the author provides notes for the reader. You will

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 have difficulty negotiating the literary allusions and innovative
language of Pound and Eliot. 98

When Eliot started writing poetry at that time the language of poetry was far away

from the language of everyday life. It was conventional and formal. T. S. Eliot started

to change and reform this language by making some experiments. He wants to use

easy, common, formal, and precise language for his poetry. He has expressed his

desire for accurate phrasing and concise language expressions in The Little Gidding

Part- V of Four Quartets.

The word neither diffident nor ostentatious,

An easy commerce of the old and the new,
The common word exact without vulgarity,
The formal word precise but not pedantic, 99

The second section of Ash-Wednesday can be mentioned as an instance of Eliot’s

accurate and precise poetic diction in the following lines.

Lady of silences
Calm and distressed
Torn and most whole
Rose of memory
Rose of forgetfulness
Exhausted and life-giving
Worried reposeful
The single Rose
Is now the Garden
Where all loves end (ECP, 95)

Eliot selects the words in his poems with reference to their meaning and sound for

what he calls ‘auditory imagination.’

The use of interior monologue with the broken rhythm is helped to create suitable

modern colloquial language for poetry. Colloquial expressions and scholarly

statements find an equal place in his poetry. Many of Eliot’s lines have become

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popular in English literature in the form of catchphrases of proverb. A few of them

are- ‘And indeed there will be time … There will be time, there will be time’, ‘living

and partly living’, ‘after such knowledge, what forgiveness?’, ‘why should the aged

eagle stretch its wings?’, ‘the bitter apple and the bite in the apple;’ and of course ‘not

with a bang but a whimper.’ These words of Eliot echo in our mind and became

famous in twentieth century literature. So Helen Gardener says:

Mr. Eliot was from the first a poet with a remarkable range of diction,
and with a natural gift of memorable phrase. He was consciously
aware of the varied resources of English poetic diction and delighted
to place an exotic word exactly, or to give us the sudden shock which
the unexpected introduction of a commonplace word or phrase can
provide. 100

There are abrupt display of wit, violent and ironic contrasts, colloquial tone, and quick

association of thoughts in the fashion of the Metaphysicals. For instance, Preludes

begins with, ‘The winter evening settles down / With smell of steaks in passageways’,
(ECP, 21)
and La Figlia Che Piange has a direct, straightforward and colloquial

beginning, ‘Stand on the highest pavement of the stair –– / Lean on a garden urn ––’.
(ECP, 34)
Even Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock and The Waste Land are also famous for

their openings. The conversation of lady with the lover in The Waste Land is

communicated in the conversational language.

‘What is that noise? ’

The wind under the door.

‘What is that noise now? What is the wind doing?’

Nothing again nothing.
‘Do
‘You know nothing? Do you see nothin g? Do you remember
‘Nothing?’ (ECP, 65)

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The Waste Land is the fine example of in which Eliot employs the language of

common conversation. Gerontion is written in conversational and straightforward

manner. ‘I am old, an old man in a dry month, / Being read to by a boy, waiting for

rain.’(ECP, 37)
The opening of this poem is also direct and colloquial. Conversation

Galante is written in a conversational style.

Eliot’s language is charged with words, phrases and images borrowed from the

horrible realities of everyday city life. He attempts to assimilate his language to

everyday speech and made it non-poetic. His assimilation of the poetic and the

prosaic, of the common word and the formal, the colloquial and the far-off, the

precise and the suggestive is the innovative experiment in poetry. Douglas Bush

writes, “Everyday speech and slang, the brittle, staccato rhythms of the modern city,

are mixed with the exalted language and symbols and the slow, weighted, broken

utterances of an organized religious vision.” 101

Eliot varies his language according to the character and the status of the speaker.

Eliot’s strange use of words and phrases caused the novelty in his poetry. Recurrence

is a characteristic element of day to day conversation and it creates a rhythm:

And indeed there will be time

For the yellow smoke that slides along the street
Rubbing its back upon the window-panes;
There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;
There will be time to murder and create,
And time for all the works and days of hand,
That lift and drop a question on your plate;
Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea. (ECP, 12)

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Eliot uses the repetition of certain key-words for his own purposes to create a feeling

or mood of the poem. In above lines, ‘time’ is the key-word and its purpose is to show

future time and postponement of present action. In this way, there are repetitions of

words and phrases and every word and phrase has definite function to achieve. And so

Hugh Kenner writes:

Every phrase seems composed as though the destiny of the author’s

soul deepened upon it. Yet it is unprofitable not to consider the phrases
as arrangements of words before considering them as anything else.
Like the thousands little gestures that constitute good manners, their
meaning is contained in themselves alone. Eliot is the most verbal of
the eminent poets: more verbal than Swinburne. If he has carried
verbalism for beyond the extirpation of jarring consonants, it is
because of his intimate understanding of what language can do. 102

Eliot is the master of the technique of compression and compactness in poetry. There

is no “between” between throbbing and waiting, no comma or other punctuation, and

yet this is where the all important connection between Tiresias and the modern worker

is accomplished. He eliminates the connecting link in the following lines from

Pruludes:

You curled the papers from your hair,

Or clasped the yellow soles of feet
In the palms of both soiled hands. (ECP, 22)

The possessive “your” is left out in the second and third lines, but it can be assumed

that the woman addressed by the speaker is clasping the soles of her own feet with her

own hands. Eliot also eliminates the punctuations. For example, there is no

punctuation mark from, ‘Here is no water’ (l.331) to ‘But there is no water’ (l. 358)
(ECP, 74)
. By employing this technique, Eliot compressed and condensed the immense

material within a little space. In this regard, Helen Gardner says, “Mr. Eliot’s most

striking quality in the poetry that culminates in The Waste Land was an extreme

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power of condensation….His poetry had a peculiar force of expression; it was

economical of words, omitting the merely connecting phrase, elliptical and in the best

sense rhetorical.” 103 The omission of linking words and the grammatical signs creates

alertness, flexibility and quickness to his verse. The flexibility of Eliot’s poetry helps

him to move quickly from one thought to another. The absence of logical links,

inconsistency, sudden transitions and shifting confuses readers of Eliot. “Eliot once
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said that the poet must “distort” language in order to create his meaning” “They

might seem to be writing in a language without grammar or syntax, a language

without rhyme or rhythm. The baffling experience of Eliot’s poetry in particular

conveys a sense of people alienated from each other and living broken, fragmented

lives in a world without values.” 105

Eliot is deeply interested in portraying internal or mental states. He penetrates deeper

and deeper into human soul and analyses human emotions. What is happening in the

subconscious is more important for him. He employs the technique of dramatic

monologue in the poems like Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Gerontion. This

discontinuous narration of the subconscious is difficult to understand.

There are various modernist characteristics in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

such as the stream-of-consciousness technique conveying Prufrock’s fragmentary

thought processes. This particular technique allows the reader to enter into the

character’s mind. Laurence Pennine draws a sound conclusion when he asserts that

the poem “presents the apparently random thoughts going through a person’s head

within a certain time interval.” 106

The stream-of-consciousness does not make it clear what is meant to be interpreted

literally and what is symbolic. Prufrock’s thought processes shift abruptly as well as

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the topics under discussion. For example, the subject suddenly switches from very

trivial things such as his bald spot or whether to eat a peach, to the concept of time

and the universe.

The afternoon is described as, “Asleep…tired…or it malingers”, (ECP, 14) which reflects

how Prufrock can only see the negative aspects of life; he is full of misery and

pessimism. Death is a further theme of the poem as we have seen with the image of

Prufrock as an insect pinned against the wall. Death is personified as ‘the eternal
(ECP, 14)
Footman.’ Another key theme is that of exploration of the self and self-

questioning. Prufrock is extremely indecisive, much likes Shakespeare’s Hamlet; he is

full of self-doubt and somehow even struggles with the idea of eating a peach.

As a poet uses the stream-of-consciousness technique, it is often difficult to determine

the literal and symbolic meaning of the poem. In general, Eliot uses imagery which is

indicative of Prufrock’s character, representing aging and decay. For example, “When
(ECP,
the evening is spread out against the sky / Like a patient etherized upon a table”
11) (ECP, 14)
, the “sawdust restaurants”, “cheap hotels,” and the yellow fog,” are

reminiscent of languor and decay, while Prufrock’s various concerns about his hair

and teeth, as well as the mermaids “Combing the white hair of the waves blown back /

When the wind blows the water white and black,”(ECP, 15)107
show his concern over

aging.

In Gerontion, Eliot combines the stream-of-consciousness and allusion. Grover Smith

remarks, “To make the past seem present, because the memory of it exists in the

educated consciousness and at the same time to exercise awareness of

“contemporaneity” are the technical intentions of Gerontion which thus shows in

large the practical application of Tradition and Individual Talent.”108 Gerontion is

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preparatory to The Waste Land in which the stream-of-consciousness technique has

been employed. Gerontion stresses remembrances, but The Waste Land memories.

Draper is of the opinion that, “The Waste Land is musical rather than discursive in

form, i. e. it has neither a logical nor a temporally consecutive narrative, but consists

of words, lines, paragraphs adjusted in relation to other words, lines and paragraphs as

sections of music are in a prelude or tone poem.” 109

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Gerontion are written in internal monologue.

The thoughts of the protagonists are discontinuous. There is no consistency or

development in thoughts and feelings. There are sudden leaps on the pattern of the

stream-of-consciousness technique employed in the poems. These poems have

fragmented images. In Rapsody on a Windy Night, a night-rambler drunk wine and

walks through city streets. The poem presents the memory and fancy of young man

during midnight who feels drowsy because of wine. He is confused and his memory

does not follow any pattern or system of thought. Grover Smith highlights the

significance of the word ‘rhapsody’ in the title of the poem. He says that the,

“rhapsody of consciousness moves like a musical composition.” 110

Sometimes poet does not want to use direct statement. He is interested only in

implying the objects. Implication means suggestion. The direct statement does not

create complexity; however, implication creates complexity or obscurity in

understanding the meaning. So readers have to understand the meaning with the help

of context of the statement. In Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Prufrock is trapped in

the indecision. He has a moral cowardice. He is a man of indecisiveness. He is not

bold enough to express or act. He postpones all his actions because of lack of

confidence. These traits of his personality are not directly communicated by the poet.

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However, he uses the implication or suggestion. ‘No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was
(ECP, 15)
meant to be.’ And again, ‘And indeed there will be time, / To wonder, ‘Do I
(ECP, 12)
dare?’ and ‘Do I dare?’ Similarly, in The Waste Land, ‘The river sweats / oil
(ECP, 71)
and tar’ and ‘Elizabeth and Leisester / Beating Oars.’ These lines imply the

empty and sterile sex-relationship of Elizabeth and the Earl of Leicester.

Free Verse abandons all conventional regular patterns, and rhymes. It is not organised

into a regular metrical forms i.e. into feet, recurrent units of weak and strong stressed

syllables. Most free verse has irregular line length and lacks rhyme. In the twentieth

century, it became very common. Sometimes it is referred to as open form of verse or

by the French term verse libre.

Eliot thought that the Elizabethan blank-verse has proved its usefulness and

effectiveness. So Maxwell writes, “Some of Eliot’s poems reveal a further

experimenting with a basic blank-verse pattern – of which there is a suggestion in

Prufrock and Portrait of a Lady. … The regular pattern breaks down completely with

lines as shot as, ‘Do I dare,’111 However, he was in search of a new and suitable verse

medium. Eliot attempted some experiments with a new verse technique in Sweeney

Agonistes. Eliot’s new verse form in Sweeney Agonistes is a kind of the experiment to

evolve a proper verse form which is in tune with speech habits and rhythms used

today. Eliot’s search for new verse form is related with the styles of conversation,

which are popular today. He attempted to bring poetry near to the people. Therefore,

he wanted to develop a verse form, which through its rhythm could be useful in

communicating the meaning and essence of the themes and thoughts of his choice.

Eliot’s Sweeney Agonistes has a rhythm in words used normally in day to day life.

Each line has two parts and four strong beats. The beat and time are effective and

114
together communicate the message of the poet to the readers. The spell of words and

phrases is a part of the rhythm inherent in Eliot’s verse form. Eliot’s verse in Sweeney

Agoniste does not convey profound meaning. As an example of free verse Sweeney

Agonistes is perfect. Ash-Wednesday is written in free verse.

Because these wings are no longer wings to fly

But merely vans to beat the air
The air which is now thoroughly small and dry
Smaller and dryer than the will
Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still. (ECP, 94)

Here, Eliot has not used the customary poetic form but a much looser form of free

verse. This form has helped him to present the chaos, confusion and disorder. Free

verse is devised upon organic rhythm of the speaking voice. His verse form is flexible

and suitable to all moods and kinds of poetry. It is in accordance with the stream of

his thoughts and feelings. Helen Gardener says, “Mr. Eliot has freed the metre by

exercising a far greater liberty within the line in the number of syllables, and by using

the four-stress line as a norm to depart from and return to.” 112

Eliot revolted against traditional rhyme scheme, especially the iambic metres. He

wanted to make it flexible to explain the complexities of the modern mind and the

conflict of ideas. He carried out experiments in verse form and devised a particular

kind of flexible measure suited to his diverse needs. He came to know that the

traditional blank verse and the heroic couplet would not be suitable to express the

great complexity and variety of contemporary civilization and for his purpose as well.

Ultimately, he became successful in devising proper verse for his poetry.

Nevertheless, Eliot had total control over the large variety of conventional metres. In

Prufrock and Other Observations, he uses an irregularly rhyming verse-paragraph

with the different length of lines. According to the necessities of thoughts and

115
emotions, the variations in the number of stresses and syllables are employed but

essentially rhythm is conventional. So Helen Gardiner says, “The characteristics

metre of Prufrock and Other Observations (1917) is an irregularly rhyming verse

paragraph in duple rising rhythm, with more or less variation in the length of the lines

…. What is original is the use to which metre is put, not the metre itself.”113

In The Waste Land, Eliot displays his ability in the handling of conventional metre.

The basic metre used in it is the heroic lines. The use of run-on lines and the end-

stopped lines creates the ironic atmosphere. In Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, he h

makes traditional iambic metre flexible and uses irregular length if lines.

Eliot was a great innovator of the verse forms. He did not care about the number of

syllables and their stress patterns. He wrote short lines which make music in a poem

so these lines became attractive. He employed a line with four stresses and a pause at

the middle of line. Eliot enjoyed the freedom within the line in using the number of

syllables. In some lines there are three syllables, in some lines there are five syllables

while in some other lines there are more than that.

The conventional iambic measure is broken up to accommodate sudden changes of

tone and feeling and the clash of opposite thoughts. The free verse gave him freedom

and flexibility to suit his thought and content. In order to make natural, life-like and

modern, he alternates the formal rhythm with speech rhythm. In The Waste Land, the

flexibility of words and the variation of rhythm can be seen according to the changing

mood or emotion.

In this way, he went away from the traditional metres like iambic and invented the

flexible metre suitable to express idea of modern city life. In short, Eliot achieved a

116
verse form which could capture the rhythm of modern life and meets the diverse

requirements.

For bringing out the similarities and differences between the past and the present,

poets explore the ancient myths and legends. They juxtapose these myths and legends

with the present horrible realities and the problems of modern culture. Eliot is

conscious of the perplexity and complexity of modern life. He wants to present the

contemporary situation in a proper order not through narrative method but through

mythical method. For Eliot, mythical method is “simply a way of controlling, of

ordering of giving a shape and significance to the immense panorama of futility and

anarchy which is contemporary history…Instead of narrative method, we may now

use the mythical method.” 114

Eliot uses the mythical background in The Waste Land. So, The Waste Land gives an

idea of the horrible sterility and reality of the present as compared with that of Fisher

King and Oedipus, the Rex. The poem does not only portray the disillusionment of the

post-War generation but the disillusionment all over the modern world. It was not the

intention of Eliot to glorify the past at the expense of the present but by mythical

method, he has exposed the similarities and contrasts between the past and the

present. As Helen Gardner says, “The poem is not a mere presentation of the modern

dilemma, but it also demonstrates that beneath both beauty and ugliness there lurk in

all classes and in all ages boredom and terror; all wars are the same war, all love-

making the same love-making, all home-comings the same home-coming.” 115

The juxtaposition of King Agamemnon, Nightingale creates the horrible reality of

crime and horror of the present modern culture. Sweeney is in danger as Agamemnon

was, so his gratification is short-lived. Agamemnon was brutally murdered by his wife

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after a feast while the Nightingales sang as they are singing now. Eliot portrays the

mood of crime and terror faced by the mankind.

Eliot attempted to find out an ‘objective correlative’ for emotions. He thought that the

emotions of poet should not be expressed in the poem. The only way to express

emotion in poetry was to find a set of objects, words, situation or a chain of events

which when given would immediately evoke that emotion. The idea of objective

correlative was popularized by Eliot. Eliot uses this concept in Love Song of J. Alfred

Prufrock, The Wase Land, Rhapsody, Gerontion. It is a central component of several

of his poems. The following is Eliot’s definition of objective correlative: “a set of

objects, a situation, a chain of events which shall be the formula of that particular

emotion.”116 Rhapsody on a Windy Night shares many modernist techniques with

Prufrock. Both use personification, which is a branch of objective correlative.

Throughout Rhapsody, Eliot personifies the street lamp, the street-lamp sputtered, the

street-lamp muttered.

The poetry before Eliot lost originality and it was imitative. The poets escaped the

harsh realities of contemporary civilization and expressed their own personality and

feelings in their poems wandering in the beauties of nature. Eliot rejects the romantic

theory of expression of personality in poetry. He considers personality as the source

of eccentricity and chaos. He has explained that the poems of the romantics cannot be

understood completely without knowledge of the main events of their life. According

to Eliot, the direct expression of emotions related to one’s personal life makes the

poetry uninteresting. He considers poems as a medium of expression and not as a

device of expression of personality. Therefore, Eliot wanted poets to make new

devices and generate all the possibilities of words in order to express completely new

118
circumstances of modern civilization. Eliot himself started to use new techniques in

his poems to comprehend changed contemporary culture. He puts forth his famous

theory of impersonality in his essay, Tradition and the Individual Talent. He writes,

“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. But, of course, only those

who have personality and emotions know what it means to want want to escape from

these things.”117

It would not be appropriate to say that Eliot was traditional or he reveres tradition. His

concept of tradition is rather different. Eliot believes in the tradition that can be built

and acquired through continuous struggle. One should have correct understanding and

perspective of the idea of history and its basis of the past. Nobody can perceive the

essence of the tradition without this. The past is always there in the present. A fine

awareness of tradition means the interaction between the past and present, particular

and general, and temporal and eternal. One who shows respect to the tradition is fully

conscious of his role in the present and roots in the past. Therefore, every poet and

writer can be understood in the correct way in relation to his or her indebtedness to

the literary figures of the past. Eliot was of the opinion that the past cannot be

changed by the present and at the same time the past cannot determine the present.

Eliot believed in the importance of the past and the classics. Like John Donne, Eliot

belonged to the tradition of wit and paradox in English poetry. The poetry of Eliot is

connected to the European and English poetic tradition.

119
References:

1. op. cit. A. D. Moody. Thomas Stern Eliot. London: Cambridge University

Press, 1979, p. 9.
2. op. cit. Genesius Jones O. F. M. Approach to the Purpose. London: Hodder and
Stoughton, 1964, pp. 24-25.
3. C. T. Thomas. Poetic Tradition and Eliot’s Talent. Madras: Orient Longman,
1975 p. 6.
4. op. cit. Ibid., p. 6.
5. Leonard Unger. T. S. Eliot: Moments and Patterns. Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press, 1966, p. 15.
6. Ibid., 10.
7. Douglas Bush. English Poetry.London: Methuen & Co. Ltd. 1965, pp.202-203.
8. Howarth Herbert. Notes on Some Figures Behind T. S. Eliot. London: Chatto
and Windus, 1965, p. 16.
9. C. T. Thomas. Poetic Tradition and Eliot’s Talent. Madras: Orient Longman,
1975, p. 2.
10. op. cit. Narsingh Srivastava. The Poetry of T. S. Eliot. New Delhi: Sterling
Publication Pvt. Ltd. 1991, p. 2.
11. T. S. Eliot. The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism. London: Faber and
Faber, 1987, p. 33.
12. op. cit. James Miller. E. Jr., t. s. eliot, The Making of American Poet.
Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005, p. 36.
13. Donald Hall. ‘Interview with T. S. Eliot’ in Writers at Work: The Paris Review,
Second Series, 1963, pp. 92-93.
14. op. cit. James Miller. E. Jr., t. s. eliot, The Making of American Poet.
Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005, p. 36-37.
15. A. D. Moody. Thomas Stern Eliot. Cambridge: University Press, 1979 p.17.
16. Abdul Moghni. Eliot’s Concept of Culture. New Delhi: S. Chand & Company
Ltd., 1986, p. 42.
17. T. S. Eliot. Selected Essays. London: Faber and Faber, 1986, p. 473.
18. F. O. Matthiessen. Achievement of T. S. Eliot: An Essay on the Nature of Poetry
with Additional chapter by C. L. Barber, New York: O.U.P. 1967 p. 20.
19. op. cit. C. T. Thomas. Poetic Tradition and Eliot’s Talent. Madras: Orient

120
 Longman, 1975, p. 9.
20. T. S. Eliot. The Sacred Wood, Essays on Poetry and Criticism, London:
Methuen, 1966, p. 5.
21. Ibid., 5.
22. K. T. S. Virendra Roy. Eliot Quest for Belief. Delhi: Ajantha Publications,
1979, pp. 55-56.
23. Genesius Jones. Approach to the Purpose. London: Hodder and Stoughton,
1964, p. 30.
24. K. T. S. Virendra Roy. Eliot Quest for Belief. Delhi: Ajantha Publications,
1979, p. 56.
25. op. cit. Hugh Kenner. The Invisible Poet: T. S. Eliot London: Methuen, & Co.
Ltd. 1959, p. 12.
26. Peter Nicholls. Modernisms, A Literary Guide. London: Macmillan Press, 1995
p. 180.
27. Martin Scofield. T. S. Eliot, the poems, Cambridge: University Press
Cambridge, 1988, p. 31.
28. L. G. Salingar. ‘T. S. Eliot: Poet and Critic’ Ford, Boris ed. The Pelican Guide
to English Literature. Vol. 7, England: Penguin Books, 1970 p. 331.
29. John Hayward. ed. Selected Prose. England: Penguin Books, 1965, p. 180.
30. op. cit. Starkie Enid. ‘The Lesson of Baudelaire’ ‘Tyro’ 1922, p. 167.
31. L. G. Salingar. ‘T. S. Eliot: Poet and Critic’, ed. Boris Ford. The Pelican Guide
to English Literature, Vol. 7, England: Penguin Books, 1970 p. 338.
32. Middleton Murry, Max Plowman, and R. Rees. eds. Adelphi, T. S. Eliot, 1951,
p. 107.
33. C. T. Thomas. Poetic Tradition and Eliot’s Talent. Madras: Orient Longman,
1975 p. 19.
34. G. S. Fraser. The Modern Writer and His World. England: Penguin Books,
1967, pp. 261-262.
35. Raine Lawrence. ‘The Cultural Economy of Modernism’. The Cambridge
Companion to Modernism ed. Levenson, Michael. Cambridge: University
Press, 2005, p. 45.
36. Martin Scofield. T. S. Eliot, the poems, Cambridge: University Press
Cambridge, 1988, p. 38.
37. op. cit. Kristian Smidt. The Poetry of T. S. Eliot. London: Routledge & Kegan

121
 Paul, 1961, p. 9.
38. Akhileshwar Jha. The Poetry of T. S. Eliot. Delhi: Chanakya Publications, 1989
pp. 34-35.
39. Hugh Kenner. ed. T. S. Eliot: Twentieth Century Views Englewood Cliff, NJ.:
Prentice Hall, 962, pp. 28-35.
40. M.A.R. Habib. Modern Literary Criticism and Theory: A History. Malden,
USA: Blackwell Publishing, 2008, p. 17.
41. T. S. Eliot. Selected Essays. London: Faber and Faber, 1986, p. 257.
42. Genesius Jones. Approach to the Purpose. London: Hodder and Stoughton,
1964, p. 25.
43. op. cit. Genesius Jones. Approach to the Purpose. London: Hodder and
Stoughton, 1964, P. 70.
44. Martin Scofield. T. S. Eliot, the poems. Cambridge: University Press
Cambridge, 1988, p. 34.
45. op. cit. R. K. Kajal. Eliot and Impersonality. New Delhi: New Heights, 1984 p.
11.
46. Genesius Jones. Approach to the Purpose. London: Hodder and Stoughton,
1964, p. 78.
47. op. cit. James Miller. E. Jr., t. s. eliot, The Making of American Poet.
Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005, p. 94.
48. T. S. Eliot. ‘Seneca in Elizabethan Translation’, T. S. Eliot. Selected Essays.
London: Faber and Faber, 1986, p. 79.
49. T. S. Eliot. Selected Essays. London: Faber and Faber, 1986, p. 132.
50. Ibid., p. 297.
51. T. S. Eliot. For Lancelot Andrews, Essays on Style and Order, London: Faber
and Faber, 1970, p. 25.
52. Doulas Bush. English Poetry. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd. 1965, p. 197.
53. G. S. Fraser. The Modern Writer and His World. England: Penguin Books,
1967, pp. 261-262.
54. T. S. Eliot. ‘The Metaphysical Poets’, Selected Essays, London: Faber and
Faber, 1986, p. 287.
55. John Holloway. ‘The Literary Scene’. The Pelican Guide to English Literature,
Vol. 7, ed. Ford, Boris. England: Penguin Books, 1970 p .68.
56. G. S. Fraser. The Modern Writer and His World. England: Penguin Books,

122
 1967, p. 34.
57. T. E. Hulme. Speculations. London: Routledge, 2000, p. 139.
58. Ibid., 132.
59. James Olney. ‘Where is the real T. S. Eliot? Or The Life of the Poet’, The
Cambridge Companion to T. S. Eliot. ed. David Moody. Cambridge: Uni.
Press, 1997, p. 4.
60. http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/tennyson/im/tse1.html
61. http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/tennyson/im/tse1.html
62. Kermode, Frank. ed. The Selected Prose of T. S. Eliot. London: Faber and
Faber, 1975, p. 113.
63. T. S. Eliot. After Strange Gods: A Primer of Modern Heresy. London: Faber
and Faber, 1934, p. 40.
64. A. D. Moody. Thomas Stern Eliot. Cambridge: University Press, London, 1979,
p. 7.
65. William Collins. T. S. Eliot. Glasgow: 1975, pp. 26-27.
66. G. S. Fraser. The Modern Writer and His World. England: Penguin Books,
1967, p. 109.
67. Bernard Sharratt. ‘Eliot: Modernism, Postmodernism, and after,’ The
Cambridge Companion to T. S. Eliot. ed. David Moody. Cambridge: Uni.
Press, 1997, p. 230.
68. James Longenbach. ‘Modern Poetry’. The Cambridge Companion to
Modernism. ed. Michael Levenson. Cambridge: Uni. Press, 2005, p. 123.
69. D. E. S. Maxwell. The Poetry of T. S. Eliot. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul,
1961, P. 8.
70. Ibid., 5.
71. R. P. Draper. An Introduction to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English. London:
Macmillan, 1999 p. 11.
72. Michael Bell. ‘The Metaphysics of Modernism’ The Cambridge Companion to
Modernism. ed. Levenson, Michael. Cambridge: University Press, 2005, pp.
15-16.
73. A. G. George. T. S. Eliot: His Mind and Art. New York: Asia Publishing
House, 1962, p. 1.
74. Elizabeth Drew. T. S. Eliot: The design of His Poetry. New York: Charles
Scribner’s Sons, 1949, p.32.

123
75. W. W. Robson. Modern English Literature. London: Oxford University Press,
1984, p. 110.
76. T. S. Eliot. The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism. London: Faber and
Faber, 1987, p. 106.
77. F. R. Leavis. New Bearings in English Poetry. London: Chatto and Windus,
1950, p. 75.
78. James Longenbach. ‘Modern Poetry’ The Cambridge Companion to
Modernism. ed. Michael Levenson. Cambridge Uni. Press, 2005, p. 120.
79. Helen Gardner. The Art of T. S. Eliot. London: Faber and Faber, 1985, p. 29.
80. R. P. Draper. An Introduction to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English. London:
Macmillan, 1999 p. 17.
81. Doulas Bush. English Poetry. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1965, p. 205.
82. James Olney. ‘Where is the real T. S. Eliot? Or The Life of the Poet’, The
Cambridge Companion to T. S. Eliot. ed. Moody, David. Cambridge Uni.
Press, 1997 p. 4.
83. Louise Morgan. ‘The poetry of Mr. Eliot’, T. S. Eliot: Critical Assessment, Vol.
I., ed. Clarke, Graham. London: Christopher Helm, 1990, p. 371.
84. D. E. S. Maxwell. The Poetry of T. S. Eliot. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul,
1961, P. 64.
85. Helen Gardner. The Art of T. S. Eliot, London: Faber and Faber,1985,pp.82-83.
86. Ibid., p. 94.
87. Michael Levenson H. A Genealogy of Modernism: A study of English literary
doctrine 1908-1922. Cambridge: University Press, 2005, p. 170.
88. D. E. S. Maxwell. The Poetry of T. S. Eliot. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul,
1961, P. 53.
89. Elizabeth Drew. T. S. Eliot: The design of His Poetry. New York: Charles
Scribner’s Sons, 1949, p. 38.
90. Ibid., P. 65.
91. T. S. Eliot. Selected Essays. London: Faber and Faber, 1986, p. 289.
92. Helen Gardner. The Art of T. S. Eliot. London: Faber and Faber, 1985, p. 73.
93. D. E. S. Maxwell. The Poetry of T. S. Eliot. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul,
1961, P. 14.
94. Douglas Bush. English Poetry. London: Methuen, 1965, p. 206.

124
95. op. cit. Kumar, Satish. Modern English Poetry. Kanpur: Aradhana Brothers,
2002 p. 108.
96. C. B. Cox & Hinchliffe Arnold eds. T. S. Eliot: The Waste Land: A Selection of
Critical Essays, London: Macmillan, 1968, p. 52.
97. Louise Morgan. ‘The Poetry of Mr. Eliot’, T. S. Eliot; Critical Assessment Vol.
I. ed. Clarke, Graham, London: Christopher Helm, 1990 p. 371.
98. Todd K. Bender. Modernism in Literature. Canada: Holt, R & W, 1977 p. 246.
99. T. S. Eliot. Four Quartets, London: Faber & Faber, 2001.
100. Helen Gardner. The Art of T. S. Eliot. London: Faber and Faber, 1985, p. 15.
101. Douglas Bush. English Poetry. London: Methuen, 1965, p. 205.
102. Hugh Kenner. The Invisible Poet: T. S. Eliot. London: Methuen, 1960, pp. 4-5.
103. Helen Gardner. The Art of T. S. Eliot. London: Faber and Faber, 1985, p. 101.
104. M. A. R. Habib. Modern Literary Criticism and Theory: A History. USA:
Malden, Blackwell Publishing, 2008, p. 16.
105. John Peck & Martin Coyle. eds. Literary Terms and Criticism. New York:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2002, p. 79.
106. Laurence Perrine. Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 1st edition.
Harcourt: Brace & World, 1956. p. 798.
107. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stream_of_consciousness_writing
108. Grover Smith. T. S. Eliot’s Poetry and Plays. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1967, p. 25.
109. R. P. Draper. An Introduction to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English. London:
Macmillan, 1999 p. 11.
110. Grover Smith. T. S. Eliot’s Poetry and Plays. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1967, p. 25.
111. D. E. S. Maxwell. The Poetry of T. S. Eliot. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul,
1961, P. 58.
112. Helen Gardner. The Art of T. S. Eliot. London: Faber and Faber, 1985, p. 31.
113. Ibid., pp. 17-18.
114. T. S. Eliot. ‘Ulysses, Order and Myth’, in The Dial, LXXV (Nov.1923), p. 483.
115. Helen Gardner. The Art of T. S. Eliot. London: Faber and Faber, 1985, p. 99.
116. Frank Kermode. ed. The Selected Prose of T. S. Eliot. London: Faber and
Faber, 1975, p. 48.
117. T. S. Eliot. Selected Essays. London: Faber and Faber, 1986, p. 21.

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 Chapter - III

The Influences on B. S. Mardhekar

and
the Modernism in his Poetry
 CHAPTER - III

The Influences on B. S. Mardhekar and Modernism in his Poetry

This chapter tends to explore the formative influences on Mardhekar which shaped

him as a creative writer and credited to have brought the modernist tendencies in his

poetry. It is important to dwell upon biographical, psychological, contemporary,

socio-cultural, political, economic, and literary backgrounds of a writer if one tends to

survey deeply his works. All these aspects directly or indirectly influence the work of

art of a writer. The understanding of these aspects gives proper insight into his artistic

work. The formative influences need to be studied for understanding of his literary

work. One should consider beginning of career, chronology of his work, variety of

artistic works, inter-relations among these works. These factors intensify the

understanding of the literary personality of the writer. So, before analysing

Mardhekar’s literary work, it is essential to throw light on the literary orientation

which shaped and promoted his literary potential.

Mardhekar family comes from the village Mardhe in Satara district (Maharashtra-

India). His origional surname was Gosavi, which means ascetic (Nath Panth).

However, surname ‘Mardhekar’ is given and practiced after the name of his village

Mardhe. The forefathers of Mardhekar were related to the race of Ramdas. Even

though the real village is Mardhe, his father had been living in Khandesh. His father

Sitaram Narayan Mardhekar was a teacher and mother Savitri was a housewife.

Mardhekar was born on 1st December, 1909 in Faizpur village. The three elder

children had not survived, so without baptism Mardhekar was called ‘Bal’, infant, and

his elder sister as ‘Kamali’. Afterwards, the name ‘Bal’ was permanently attached to

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him. His primary education completed in Bahaddarpur, (1914-17) Faizpur, and

Savade (1917-20) and then he went to Dhule at Garud High School (1920-24). He

completed his matriculation in Khandesh. As he had lived in the rural Maharashtra

during his early childhood days, he had first hand experience of rural life, manners,

way of life, religious and cultural aspects, rural and rustic language which reflected

later in his poetry. Mardhekar had been in Fergusson College, Pune (1924-28) to

pursue his B.A. degree. He wrote under the pen name ‘Ramesh Bal’, from June to

October, 1928.

Mardhekar went to London for I.C.S. examination in 1930. He tried hard to get

through I. C. S. examination but failed only by six marks. However, his I. C. S.

examination study enriched his knowledge of English literature and other subjects,

which helped him in his literary career. He sought admission in University College,

London for B. A. degree. He had been in London during 1930-33. He came in contact

with literary figures over there. When Eliot was at the top of his career, B. S.

Mardhekar went to England and published Arts and Man in London. T.S. Eliot read

Mardhekar’s manuscript of booklet Arts and Man found it ‘interesting’ and ‘well-

written’. Mardhekar experienced degradation, disintegration, devastation of human

culture in England. He came to know about the changing scenario of European

literature.

When he returned Mumbai, he had much debt to repay. He was under the pressure of

debt, depressed, and dejected. He was desperately in need of the job to pay his debt.

He tried to get job but he failed miserably. After that he was employed for a while as

the Assistant Editor of the Times of India (1934). He resigned this job in 1935. Later

on, he worked as a tutor of English for some period of time in Elphinstone College,

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Mumbai in 1935. He left Elphinstone College in 1936 and transferred Karnatak

College, Dharwad. After working there for sometime he joined Ismail Yusuf College,

Jogeshwari, Mumbai in 1937 and then Sydenham College in the same year. He

worked there upto 1938, and left teaching profession in 1938. In the same year, he

joined as a Programme Director in a branch of Akashwani (All India Radio network).

He had to go various places like Mumbai, Colkatta, Mumbai, Patana, Delhi,

Trichanapalli, Colkatta, and Delhi due to the transferable job. The pressure of debt

and troubles in transfers might have caused frustration in him. The same is expressed

in his poetry. Mardhekar was intellectual, sharp, and sensitive. So whatever he

experienced, it directly affected his life and poetry.

Homau Nallaseth was a student in Elphinstone College for five years from 1934 -

1939. She completed her B. A. in 1939. She was a brilliant student and won

prestigious prizes like ‘Elice Prize’, ‘Raja of Dhar Prize’. Mardhekar came in contact

with her. They fell in love with each other. Afterwards, she was “appointed to fill the

temporary vacancy in the English department. ...In June, (1940) Miss Nallaseth
1
married Mr. Mardhekar (of the All India Radio) ...” Then she worked in Ismail

Yusuf, Ramnarayan Ruia College. During these years, she supported Mardhekar to

pay his debt and took care of his parents when he happened to be away from them.

Mardhekar's mother died in 1941. Mardhekar tried his level best to satisfy his father

in his last days and he died in 1945. Homau Nallaseth named as Hema Mardhekar

after the marriage. She completed her M. A. in 1944. Then she went to Indraprasha

College, Delhi. Mardhekar and Hema could not live together. Hema was in Mumbai

and Mardhekar had to go wherever his job took him. The marriage could not prove

fruitful. Some unknown problems were there in between them to separate them

forever. Mardhekar divorced her in 1950. In 1952, she completed her Ph. D. in

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London. She came back and resumed her work from 1952. In 1952, she married Dr. P.

E. Dastoor. But Mardhekar expressed his feeling of gratitude to Nallaseth as, “Finally,

I would like to express my gratitude to my wife to whose valuable assistance I owe

whatever clarity these lecture may express.”2 Mardhekar married Anjana Sayal, a

Punjabi Brahmin in 1952. Raghav Mardhekar, a son, was born on 10th February,

1953. Mardhekar had been ill from January, 1956 and he died by the same illness in

Ram Manohar Lohiya Hospital (old name: Willingdon Hospital ) on 20th March,

1956.3

Mardhekar had been the editor of a magazine Indian Listener during 1949-1950. He

was selected as a President of Poetry Section of Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya

Samelan orgazined by Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh in 1950. As a president, he

delievered a lecture on Kavyatil Navinata (Novelty in Poetry). A Sahitya Academy

Award was declared for his Saundrya ani Sahitya in 1957.

The two things – the relations with Ramdashee family and his birth and residence in

Khandesh – have definitely influenced Mardhekar’s personality. His relationship with

Ramdashee family inculcated asceticism in him. Later on, it has been expressed in his

some of the poems. Mardhekar had been brought up in the traditional, simple,

civilized and middle class family of a school teacher. He had to experience insecure

life because of transfers of his father in his early life and his own transfers in his life.

He was troubled and that wanderings made him restless. He was sad because of this

rootless and unstable life. The impact of Ramadashee tradition and Khandesh can be

seen on Mardhekar’s language and personality.

Khandesh appears in some of his poems also. But when Mardhekar came in Mumbai,

he tried to adjust himself with the modern way of life-style. It was not possible for

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him to adjust properly with new, modern way of life because of the earlier traditional

impressions. As a result his poetry presents a fine blend of irony, mercy, pity and

compassion in poems like, ‘ªñÌã•ããè¶ãñ ‡ãŠÁ¥ãã ‡ãñŠÊããè, / ¼ãã¦ãñ ãä¹ã‡ã슶ããè ãä¹ãÌãßãè ¢ããÊããè’ (Ka.Ka.40)
(Rice

crop ripened and turned yellow by the mercy of God). However, he still remembered

the old way of life which he had experienced during his childhood days. e.g. ‘Øã¥ã¹ã¦ã

Ìãã¥ããè’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.9) (Ganpat Grocer)

Prof. James R. Sutherland had been the tutor of Mardhekar in England. When

Mardhekar was in England (1930-1933), he experienced the declining trends in

romantic poetry. There had been revival of ‘classicism’ as a reaction to Romanticism.

Classicism is characterized by emphasis on form, simplicity, proportion, and

restrained emotions. Mardhekar was conscious of this transformation and transition.

So he remained aloof of the influence of Ravikiran Mandal. However, D.V.

Deshpande strongly affirms the influence of Ravikiram Mandal on Mardhekar’s first

collection of the poems Shishiragama. He adds that “Mardhekar had been learning to

write poetry in this collection.”4 D. S. Joshi who was living with Mardhekar made

comment on the failure in I. C. S. examination in London, “…Mardhekar was very

unfortunate indeed. He stood 50th and the last man taken was 46th with a difference

them of on 6 marks. His total was 1101.” 5 But that study enriched and widened his

abilities. His study of psychology was helpful for his writing on aesthetics; and using

stream-of-consciousness technique in novels like, Àã¨ããèÞãã ãäªÌãÔã (Night’s Day), ¹ãã¥ããè

(Water) and also in his some of his poems also.

Mardhekar had a threat for mechanization caused by scientific invention. He

expressed this threat ironically through the poems like ‘ªãñ¶ã ŒããñʾããâÞ¾ãã ãäºã·Öã¡ãè’, (Ka.Ka. 10)

(I am a wedding-guest / In my own two-room establishment;) ‘ãäÌãÍããÊã ¹ã›á›ñ, Ôã¦ãñÊã ¦ããâºãìÔã’ü

130
(Ka.KA. 41)
(Huge oily reddish belts,). This threat is also underlying in his novels, ¦ããâºã¡ãè

½ãã¦ããè (Red Soil) and ¹ãã¥ããè (Water). On the whole, his stay in England enhanced his

personality and poetic sensibility. He became familiar with rich Western tradition of

paintings and the experiments in it, which was helpful in transforming and moulding

his outlook towards arts.

After Shishiragama, he started second phase of poetry with novelty and

experimentation. The hymns, psalm stored for a long time in memory since childhood

days helped and inspired him to compose natural rhythm, meter, and music to suit for

new poetry.

The pre-war high principles and objective of England, France and other countries had

been trampled down. Frustration was haunting everywhere. That age was called as the

‘Age of Anxiety’ or ‘Age of Despair’. Naturally, that has been reflected in

contemporary English poetry. Mardhekar read this poetry and experienced its all

facets.

Mardhekar is the first Marathi poet who is conscious about the pre and post Second

World War conditions, modern scientific developments, destructive power of this

development, and uncertainty of man’s fate among all these things.

“Mardhekar was introvert and reticent....His mind was always obsessed by some

tensions and duality. He had sufferings, but he had no habit of expressing his

sufferings.”6 During the introduction in informal gathering, he said, “what is the

importance of the things like name, village, when born, what does?’ Only, I write

little poetry that is all.”7 He has not exposed his personal life, feelings, and

expectations to anybody. He has not written anything about himself and about his

131
poetry. Even he has not answered the objections on his poetry in the news-papers. He

had to advocate his poetry only when there was an accusation of indecency in the

court against his poems. His poetry and other genres are the source of information

about his life. Mardhekar’s poetry is the screen of his life, but whatever is seen on this

screen is rather obscure, unclear, and faint. It could inspire to apply biographical

approach to his poetry. Mardhekar had been lonely, carefree, taciturn, self-willed in

his life. These characteristics have been reflected in his poetry. His works include:

1. Arts and Man: Mortiboy’s London (1937), 2. Basic English (not available) 1938,

3. Shishiragama (1939), 4. Vangmayin Mahatmata (1941), 5. Ratricha Divas (1941),

6. Tambadi Mati (1943), 7. Two Lectures on an Aesthetics of Literature (1944),

8. Kahin Kavita (1947), 9. Pani (1948), 10. Aankhi Kahin Kavita (1951), 11.

Saundarya ani Sahitya (1955), 12. Mardhekarachi Kavita - includes Shishiragama,

Kahin Kavita, Aankhi Kahin Kavita and some uncollected poems (1959), 13.

Mardhekaranchya Kadambarya (1962), 14. Natsretha ani Char Sangitika (1965).

Mardhekar belongs to a traditional Brahmin family. When Mardhekar was a student,

Sanskrit was the compulsory subject in school curriculum and especially a good

Brahmin student was expected to learn and know Sanskrit language. Brahmin families

used to compel their children the rote exercises of Sanskrit idioms, aphorisms,

epigrams hymns, psalms, canticle, stanzas from Gita, gnomes, Ramrakshya. In this

way, Mardhekar was exposed to Sanskrit language during his school days. Sanskrit

language and literature influenced him when he was a student. Mardhekar studied

Mahabharata, which is also a sign of Sanskrit influence.

Dhondo Vitthal Deshapande has made some observations regarding the influence of

Sanskrit literature and folk literature on Mardhekar. According to these observations,

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he shows the relations between Sanskrit chant (Mantra), stanza, and Mardhekar’s

poetry, e.g. ‘ÔãÌãó •ãâ¦ãì Áã䛶ãã: ý ÔãÌãó •ãâ¦ãì ãä¶ãÀãÍã¾ãã: ý’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.16)

(all germs despaired), ‘–

ÔãÖ ¶ããõ ›À‡ãŠ¦ãìý’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.14)

‘ÔãÌãÃÞã‰ãŠ¼ãƽãÔ‡ãŠãâÀ ½ããÊãâ‡ãŠ ¹ãÆãä¦ã ØãÞœãä¦ã.’ (Ka.Ka.36)
These and many

more distortions show the influence of Sanskrit on Mardhekar. Even the phrases like,

‘Ìãâªñ ¦ã½ãÖ½ãá’ (Ka.Ka.6)

are easily used by Mardhekar. In this way, Mardhekar’s poetry

shows close relations with Sanskrit Literature and language.

Mardhekar’s language is charged by the old Marathi literature as his language is

partially like the language of Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, and Ramdas.8 It cannot be

certainly said whether these influences are because of deep and meticulous study of

saint poetry or because of place and role of saint poetry in contemporary life styles

which were influenced by the life traditions of Ramayana, Mahabharata and teaching

of saints and pendants. In the curriculum of contemporary education, Nawinata

(Novelty) of Parshurampant Godabole had important place. During his early life,

Mardhekar had been familiar with and influenced by the saint poetry. In his early

phase of writing, Mardhekar might have been inspired to write spiritual poetry.

However, this is not only the sole reason for shaping and molding of his spiritual

poetry. His nature gradually became spiritual. The influences of saint poetry are not

on his first collection, but they are clearly seen on his next two collections, Kahin

Kavita (Some Poems) and Aanakhi Kahin Kavita (Some More Poems).

Mardhekar sought solace and peace of mind in different ways and he had his own

inner strength. So, even though in Kahin Kavita Mardhekar used old forms and

vocative cases like, •ãõÔããè, ¹ãõ, Øãã, Ìããñ, and also he used old forms like Owi and Abhanga,

one can assume that they are because of the influence of saint poetry. If one reads

introduction of Kahin Kavita, one comes to know that he was conscious of his affinity

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with saint poetry. Accordingly, he drew himself towards the saint poetry and which

influenced his poetic expressions. The important lines like, ‘½ãã¢ãã ‚ã¼ãâØã ½ãã¢ããè ‚ããñÌããè ý

¶ã¦ã³ÓŸ Øãã©ãã ØããñÌããè, / ƒâãä•ã¶ããÌããè¶ã Øãã¡ãè •ãñÌããè ý ÜãÀâØãßñ ýý’ (Mardhekar says that his abhanga and

owi relates the mean story of mechanical life in metropolitan life.) and ‘‡ã슟ñ —ãã¶ãñÏãÀ

ÏãñÓŸ ý ‡ã슟ñ ¦ãì‡ãŠãÀã½ã ¹ããäÌã¨ã, / ‡ã슟ñ Ôã½ã©ãà £ããèÀãñªã§ã ý Ôãâ¦ã ÔãÌãà ýý / Ôãâ¦ã Í㺪ãÞãñ ¶ãã¾ã‡ãŠ ý Ôãâ¦ã ‚ã©ããÃÞãñ

£ãìÀâ£ãÀ / †‡ãŠ Í㺪ãÞãã ãä‡ã⊇ãŠÀ ý ¡¹ã‹¹ãŠÀ ½ããèýý’ (Prologue of Ka.Ka.)

in that introduction need the

critical attention.

In such lines, Mardhekar glorifies the Saint poets of high literary status. He feels that

he stands nowhere as compared to them as far from poetic act and genius are

compared. In the introductory poem of Kahin Kavita, Mardhekar again says that

everything has been changed and in this changed time-frame he felt a sense of

alienation. In such a state of mind, it was not possible for Mardhekar to establish

relations with and rely on saint poetry. When he realized this fact, Mardhekar did not

completely adopt a new way. He has not written poetry which will appear to be

outdated in this changing situation, and at the same time, he has not written ‘totally

contemporary’ poetry. The main reason of this is – his roots. So, Mardhekar appealed

to the saint poets for his support because, in any changing condition, original

resemblance in nature cannot be forgotten. One can unfold Mardhekar’s poetry in the

following way – Shishirgam shows personal experiences, Kahin Kavita related to the

experiences of social situation, and Aanakhi Kahin Kavita became predominantly

spiritual. The pressure of changing social condition changed Mardhekar’s personality

and it became spiritual. There was only a reticent dialogue, self-analysis, and

monologue. During this monologue, the comparison with saints was constantly going

on. This comparison is not only in the introduction of Kahin Kavita but also it is in

spiritual experiences of life – Aanakhi Kahin Kavita so that, the communion of

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Mardhekar with saint poetry had been developed.

Mardhekar acknowledged the influence of Dnyaneshwar by saying, ‡ã슟ñ —ãã¶ãñÏãÀ ÏãñÓŸ ý

‡ã슟ñ ¦ãì‡ãŠãÀã½ã ¹ããäÌã¨ã, / ... / Ôãâ¦ã Í㺪ãÞãñ ¶ãã¾ã‡ãŠ ý Ôãâ¦ã ‚ã©ããÃÞãñ £ãìÀâ£ãÀ / †‡ãŠ Í㺪ãÞãã ãä‡ã⊇ãŠÀ ý ¡¹ã‹¹ãŠÀ ½ããèýý
(Prologue of Ka.Ka.)
(Dnyaneshwar was great, and Tukaram was sacred, where Sait Ramdas

was noble. All were the Saints; who were expert in words and verse. The saints were

experts of meanings where as I am useless.)

There might be two reasons of the love and reverence about Dnyaneshwar. One, the

love as an ordinary, common, cultured Marathi reader towards Dnyaneshwar, and

another is because of deep and meticulous study of Dnyaneshwari. Mardhekar’s

reverence towards Dnyaneshwar can be due to the first reason. It seems perhaps not

possible that Mardhekar read Dnyaneshwari deeply. Mardhekar mentioned

Dnyaneshwar only once in his Kahin Kavita. He has not mentioned Dnyaneshwari in

his literary criticism. Had he studied Dnyaneshwari carefully, he should have

reflected it in his discussions of various literary concepts. It shows that the influence

of Saint Poetry on Mardhekar is because of similarity in reciprocal attitudes and

identical tendency. There are few references of Dnyaneshwari which show similar

attitudes between Dyaneshwar and Mardhekar.

Mardhekar aspired to trace out occult and antagonism in life. He knew that these

occults are incomprehensible and mysterious. Still he continuously tried to

comprehend them, bring harmony and order in spite of their internal contradictions.

As a result, in Mardhekar’s poetry, there are two states of minds – one inactive and

another active. Out of these two–the later state of mind is powerful. In this way,

Mardhekar’s Kahin Kavita is a monologue. In Kahin Kavita he is intellectually

confused and raises questions and tries to answer them himself. ‘¹ãŠ§ãŠ ¦ãì¢ããè •ãÀ ªØã¡ãè

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ãä¼ãÌãƒÃ’ (If only your impenetrable eyebrow) (Uncollected Poems No.7)
is the example of this

type. ‘•ãØãñ¶ã ¹ããñߦ㒠(‘will live with suffering’) shows the confidence out of mental

confusion.

Politeness and humility in Dnyaneshwar is another characteristic which influenced

Mardhekar. Dnyaneshwar was polite and confident towards his readers. Politeness in

Dnyaneshwar is the result of ultimate self-realization and self-knowledge. It gave him

confidence. Politeness in Mardhekar is not a result of complete knowledge but

because of the consciousness of the incomplete knowledge. In spite of this

consciousness, his ardent yearning and obsession to seek complete knowledge

continued. He considered himself a representative of ignorant, unknowing and

unlighted. This ardent obsession for complete knowledge compelled Mardhekar to

‘½ããØã¶ãñ’ (‘request’). The request is of intellectual poet in scientific age – ¼ãâØãì ªñ ‡ãŠããäŸâ¶¾ã

½ãã¢ãñ ... ¾ãñ… ªñ Ìãã¶ããè¦ã ½ã㢾ãã / ÔãìÀ ¦ã좾ãã ‚ããÌã¡ãèÞãñ’... ‘Ìãã‡ãìŠ ªñ ºãìã䣪Ôã ½ã㢾ãã / ¦ã¹¦ã

¹ããñÊããªã¹ãƽãã¥ãñ’(Aa.Ka.Ka.1) (Let my hardness / Break, let the mind’s / Acid clear / out, let

my voice / bear the tunes you / Love...let my intellect be bent / like hot iron [tr.D.C.])

This ‘request’ of Mardhekar is for completeness of his intellectual and spiritual

journey. Dnyaneshwar influenced Mardhekar’s idealistic outlook towards life. Vijaya

Rajadhyakshaya says, “As Mardhekar was influenced by new English poetry, in the

same way he was influenced by Marathi saint poetry.” 9

The influences of Tukaram on Mardhekar are remarkable. In spite of Ramdashi

tradition, he tuned with Tukaram. Like Tukaram, Mardhekar also experienced ruin

and devastation in worldly life. Both had to bear degradation, dishonor, insult and

humiliation. Because of that, there might be close relations established between these

two poets. Perhaps, during this process of disintegration, Mardhekar might have
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sought various supports for his mental rehabilitation. One of the supports may be

perhaps in the form of Tukaram.

Tukaram was ashamed of his incompleteness. He articulated this regret in his so many

hymns ‘½ããè ‚ãÌãØãì¥ããè ‚ãⶾãã¾ããè’ (‘I am vicious, unjust’, Gatha, p. 383 no. 2247). It is the

representative example of this regret. Influenced by Tukaram, Mardhekar also

expressed his regret through the poems like ‘¦ã좾ããÔããŸãè ªñÌãã ý ‡ãŠã¾ã ½¾ãã ¢ãìÀãÌãñ’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.30)

(‘what sense does it make, Lord! / if I pine for you? / how can a cockroach hope / to

become a moth?’ [tr.D.C.]) Here, Mardhekar compared himself with saints and

monks. Because of this comparison, Mardhekar sharply realized his meanness.

Tukaram’s theme of incompleteness influenced Mardhekar and like Tukaram,

Mardhekar was inactive and silent towards his incompleteness. Both had a desire to

overcome that incompleteness. Tukaram knew, for getting perfection the extinction of

ego is necessary, so he writes, ‘¦ãì‡ãŠã ½Ö¶ãñ •ãñÌÖã ØãñÊãã ‚ãÖâ‡ãŠãÀ ý ¦ãñÌÖã ‚ãã¹ã¹ãÀ ºããñÊããäÌãÊãñ ……’

(‘Tuka says when ego disappeared… Called automatically…… [Gatha p.12, No.80]).

Mardhekar also requested in the same way, ‘•ãã…ªñ ‡ãŠã¹ãÃⶾã '½ããè' Þãñ, / ªñ £ãÁ ÔãÌããÃÔã ¹ããñ›ãè;’
(An.Ka.Ka.1)
(Let the meanness / Of my ego vanish, / Let me embrace all; / Grant my

feeling the accuracy / Of a precision balance, [tr.D.C.]) It becomes clear that these

poets wanted to seek perfection of personality and they wanted to establish

communion with the Almighty.

Tukaram’s attitude towards religious rituals influenced Mardhekar. Like Tukaram,

Mardhekar does not like religious rituals, ¾ãñ©ãñ ¶ããÖãè ›ãß ý ½ãðªâØã ½ãÀãß / ¶ããÖãè, ¶ããÖãè ½ããß ý

Ô¹ãã䛇ãŠãâÞããè ýý / ¾ãñ©ãñ ¶ããÖãè £¾ãã¶ã ý ¼ã§ãŠãè Ìãã ¼ã•ã¶ã (An.Ka.Ka.10)

(No cymbals strike here / No

drums beat, / No rosaries are held / Here crystalline: / There is no meditation, /

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Devotion, nor prayer; No human feelings / Are renounced here: [tr.D.C.])

For Tukaram man is god so he says, ‘•ãñ ‡ãŠã Àãâ•ãÊãñ Øããâ•ãÊãñ’ (‘Those who are distressed

and dejected, who helps them is a saint and he is God’) but Mardhekar parodises this

and presents political leader by saying, ‘•ãñ ¶ã •ã¶½ãÊãñ Ìãã ½ãñÊãñ’ (Ka.Ka.3)
(‘those who have

not born or died,)

Tukaram’s sympathy for suppressed and oppressed is reflected in Mardhekar’s poetry.

So, like Tukaram, Mardhekar also has sympathy for suppressed and marginalized

section of society. He says, ‘¼ãԽ㠇ãŠÀãè Øãã ‚ã¦ãã ¦ãÀãè Öñ - / Öñ Öã¡ãâÞãñ Œã¡ñ Ôãã¹ãŠßñ!’ (Ka.Ka.56) (‘O,

innocent Shiva! / Wherever you are, / open all your three eyes / and at least now turn /

to ashes these / standing skeletons. [tr.D.C.]) Both Tukaram and Mardhekar are

humanitarian. Thus, the influence of Tukaram on Mardhekar is evident.

Ramdas is Mardhekar’s deity (family god). Mardhekar has hereditary relations with

Ramdas. Mardhekar was personally devoted to Ramdas. There are the reasons which

helped Mardhekar to establish emotional relations with Ramdas. These reasons might

have inspired Mardhekar to read poetry of Ramdas. He might have read it

meticulously and minutely. Considering all these facts, it can be said that there is a

remarkable influence of Ramdas on Mardhekar.

Both of the poets wandered a lot. This wandering was profitable for both of them and

enriched their world of experience. The content of Ramdas’ poetry was widened

because of his wandering. Degradation and depression of society made Ramdas

lonely, depressed, and unhappy. Because of this feeling, he continuously expressed

degeneration of man and society in his poetry. ‘†ñÔãñ ‚ãÌãÜãñ ¶ããÔãÊãñ ý / Ô㦾ããÔ㦾ã ÖãÀ¹ãÊãñ ý

‚ãÌãÜãñ ‚ã¶ãã¾ã‡ãŠ ¢ããÊãñ ý ÞãÖì‡ãŠ¡ñýýü’ (In this way, everything is rotten. Truth and untruth are

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lost / All turned into antiheroes / everywhere ……ü [Dasbosh: 11.2.24]) In this way,

Ramdas portrays the picture of socio-religious condition of contemporary life. As

influenced by Ramdas, Mardhekar has same feeling and he says, ‘¨ãìã䛦㠕ããèÌã¶ããè, Ôãì›ãè

‡ãŠÊ¹ã¶ãã’ (Ka.Ka.28)
(broken images in inadequate and incomplete life) Mardhekar deals

with misery, brokenness and decay of human values resulted from the process of

industrialization. The approach of both poets is same, even though the contexts are

different. Like Ramdas, Mardhekar dreamt of new world, new society, and new man.

After Shishiragama, Mardhekar no longer followed the conventional poetic from.

Kahin Kavita is his next poetic phase. His expression is concerned with harsh realities

in life. The language of poetry becomes harsh instead of soft. This change in

expression and language might have come because of influence of Ramdas. In this

relation, ‘‡ãŠãÖãñ ½ãã•ããäÌã¦ãã ªìÖãè’ (Ka.Ka.8) (why do you create division?) from Kahin Kavita

is important to study. The expression and elocution of the style in this poem reminds

the style of Ramdas. For this purpose, ‘‚ããÀã½ããÞãã Àã½ãüý’ (Ka.Ka.2)

(God is of lazy person)

is important. Words like Ram, Narayan remind us Ramdas’ poetry. So his Kahin

Kavita appears as if it has been written in Ramdas’ style.

Ramdas is Mardhekar’s role model. Mardhekar has sympathy, agony, love and

spiritual craving. But he is helpless because he was trapped in the tides of adverse

situations. Mardhekar is, thus, saint poet of scientific age and his poetry has saintly

tendency. However, Mardhekar’s poetry turns to be difficult as he tends to capture

modernist sensibility, spirit and taste which in themselves are very complex and

intricate in nature.

Mardhekar seems to have been considerably influenced by Marathi poetry. A survey

of his poems brings out the fact that he read Marathi poetry widely and extensively.

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The poets who have made a mark in his poetic career need to be discussed and

deliberated. Mardhekar read primarily modern poets like Keshavsut, Govindagraj,

Balkavi and Madhav Julian. He was influenced by these poets so it would be better to

consider the influences of these poets on Mardhekar.

The influence of Keshavsut is quite obvious on Mardhekar as Gangadhar Gadgil

remarks ‘‘Mardhekar: the Second Keshavsut”.10 T. V. Sardeshmukh supported Gadgil.

Keshavsut and Mardhekar were pioneer poets of bringing fundamental changes in

modern Marathi poetry.

There are common elements in them regarding their discordant relations with

contemporary society and their relations with the Almighty. Both accepted this

physical world, still they had longing for extra sensory perception. This was not

because of blind faith. So Keshavsut says, ‘ãä¼ã‡ãŠãÀ ¾ãã •ãØããè ý ƒãäÞœ¦ã ¶ã ãä½ãßñ ‡ãŠãâÖãè ý ½Ö¥ãî¶ã

‚ããÊããñ ¦ã좾ãã ¹ãã¾ããè ý ‚ããñ½ã ãä¼ãàããâªñÖãè……’ (Desires are not fulfilled in this miserable world, so I

came at Your feet, give alms)11 and likewise Mardhekar says, ÖãÔã¡Ê¾ãã ¦ãì•ã ãäÍã̾ãã ¦ãÀãèãäÖ /

¦ã좾ããÞã ‚ããÊããñ ¹ãã¾ããè Êããñߦã; / ½ãìŸãè¦ã £ãÁ¶ããè ¶ãã‡ãŠ, ÊãããäÌãÊãñ (Although I hurled curses at you, / I

came graveling to your feet; / truckling to you in the end, I pressed / my burning eyes

upon yours.) (Uncollected:7)

Mardhekar’s poetry was more engaged in himself and a sense of incompleteness

caused a guilty sense in him. The similar relations towards society and the Almighty

brought together these poets from different era. So the trend of Keshavsut merged in

new poetry. Mardhekar gave the same to the late new Marathi poetry.

Govindagraj’s artistic temperament could have invited the attention of Mardhekar.

During the early years of his career, the influence of Govindagraj on Mardhekar was

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more profound, which gradually reduced. ‘ÍãñÌã›Þãñ ¹ãìŠÊã’ (The Last Flower) and ‘ãäªÌ¾ã㦽ã

¹ãÆÔ¹ããà ֪¾ã Öñ Øããñ¡ ØããƒÃÊã ‡ãŠãñ¥ããÔã Øãìâ•ããÀÌããè?’(Shishiragama:6) have style and influence of

Govindagraj. The style of this poem is closer to Ravikiran Mandal’s poetry but

emotions and thoughts are like those of Govindagraj.

During the next phase of Kahin Kavita the tendency and content of Mardhekar’s

poetry had changed. His new content was in need of new style. However, the

influence of Govindagraj was gradually losing its effect. By this time Mardhekar

found a new style for Kahin Kavita. Because of all these things, the influence of

Govindagraj on Mardhekar at the end of Shishiragama was slowly, but not

completely, disappeared. The relations of these two poets can be seen vividly through

their satirical and parodical poems. Mardhekar is influenced by Govindagraj’s poetry

which portrays the disappointment and consciousness of darkness of life.

Mardhekar’s student life (1924-28) in Pune was the flowering period of Ravikiran

Mandal. Ravikiran Mandal, (initial name ‘Sun-Tea- Club’) established in 1923, was

a group of eight poets designed to compose poems and recite them on every Sunday

in order to invite the attention of the budding poets. They were writing according to

the lines of Keshavsut. Ravikiran Mandal is comprised of two words; ‘Ravi’ means

‘sun’ and ‘kiran’ means ‘ray’. The exponents of this group tend to extend horizons of

Marathi poetry among the people like uncontrollable rays of sun which flash out

everywhere. Ravikiran Mandal’s practice of poetry recitation attracted common

readers of those days. Recitation resulted in developing the curiosity and interest

about new poetry. For the first time in Marathi literature, these poets boldly expressed

poems of love theme and they practiced and established the new techniques of poetry.

Govindagraj was popular poet during that period. His popularity doubled because of

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the publication of ÌããØÌãõ•ã¾ãâ¦ããè (Wagweijayanti) after the death of Govindagraj. This

popularity transformed in the popularity of Ravikiran Mandal.

Mardhekar was witness of all these events. The poetry of Ravikiran Mandal was

everywhere around Mardhekar. So he could not remain isolated from it. It is clearly

seen the impression and influence of Ravikiram Mandal in respect of structure, style

and use of words in Mardhekar’s early poems like, ‘‡ãŠãñ¥ããè ¶ã‡ãŠãñ ‚ã¶ãá ‡ãŠããäÖ ¶ã‡ãŠãñ, ªñÌã¦ãã ¦ãì

†‡ãŠÊããè’ (Nobody and Nothing wanted, you the only Goddess) (Shishiragama:7)
. D. V.

Deshpande says, “Shishiragama is the first collection of his poems. The poems of this

collection have the strong shadow of Ravikiran Mandal.” 12

The influence of Madhavrao Patwardhan on Mardhekar is stated by Vijaya

Rajadhyakshya as, “Madhav Julian had been influential poet, when Mardhekar started

to write poetry. So naturally, he influenced Mardhekar...Mardhekar has incorporated

Julian in himself to some extent.” 13 Mardhekar has strong influence of Madhav Julian

which might have attracted Mardhekar towards Urdu and Parashi style. Mardhekar,

perhaps, was tempted to use such stylish words during his youth. So Mardhekar’s

friend, S. P. Bhagwat says, “The influence of Madhav Julian on Mardhekar is evident

in Shishiragama.” 14

Poems like ‘Ôãâ¹ãÊããè ‚ããÍãã ‚ãã¦ãã ‚ã¶ãá ãä¶ãÀãÍããÖãè ½ããÌãßñû’ (Hope is finished now and also

despair’s going down) (Uncollected:1)

and ‘½ãã¢ãñ Öñ ¹ããä¦ã; ãä½ã¨ã Öñ;’ (He is my husband; and he
(Uncollected:2)
is a friend) from uncollected section are written according to Madhav

Julian’s style. Both of these poems might have been written when he was writing

Shishiragama. His essay, ‘Ìããݽã¾ããè¶ã ½ãÖ㦽ã¦ãã’ (Wangmayeen Mahatmata-1940) clears

that after Shishiragama the influence of Ravikiran Mandal was nearly disappeared.

Mardhekar attacked the poets of Ravikiran Mandal in this essay. Even he has not
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spared Madhav Julian. In this situation Mardhekar would not go back to his old

influences by writing, ‘½ãã¢ãñ Öñ ¹ããä¦ã; ãä½ã¨ã Öñ;’ (He is my husband and he is a friend).
(Uncollected:2)

Even though the influence of Ravikiran Mandal on Mardhekar was faint, his relations

with Madhavrao Patwardhan remained intact. The dejected, rejected and neglected

lover in Mardhekar may have some similarities in that of Madhavrao. The poem

‘½ãã£ãÌãÀãÌã ¹ã›Ìã£ãö㒠(Madhavrao Patwardhan) (Uncollected:3)

reveals this feeling. In this

poem, Mardhekar acclaimed Madhavrao for his courage, manliness, confidence and

purity. For Mardhekar, Madhavrao is something outstanding and distinguished among

this helpless crowd and he says, ‘¹ãŠ§ãŠ ¦ãì¢ããè ÔÌãããä¼ã½ãã¶ããè ÞããÊã ºãñ¡À Ìãðãä§ãÞããè’ (only your walk

is having self-respect and fearless nature). These lines clearly show that Mardhekar

sought Madhavrao’s support which finally promoted Mardhekar to gathere the

courage to endure personal grief. The influence of Madhavrao could easily wipe out

the short lived influence of Ravikiran Mandal on Mardhekar. So Mardhekar got rid of

Ravikiran Mandal’s style and developed his own.

Balkavi’s influence on Mardhekar is twofold – psychological and literary. S. P.

Bhagwat says, “Balkavi is the only poet who constantly appealed Mardhekar as a

poet. The early poems of Shishiragama have the influence of Balkavi.”15 Mardhekar’s

emotional attachment to Balkavi and his poetry is so deep and attractive that his

poetry and his literary criticism manifest this emotional relationship. Mardhekar puts

forward some theories and concepts in his literary criticism. For the illustrations, he

has given examples from Balkavi’s poems. Mardhekar explained this on the basis of

the poems ‘¹ããÀÌãã’ (Parava) and ‘ÏããÌã¶ã½ããÔã’ (Shravanmas) that the unity in poetry

should be dynamic and that should be intellectual and emotional. In order to explain

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the three principles – of rhythm, harmony, contrast and balance, (‘Êã¾ã¦ã¦Ìã’) Mardhekar

selected his poem, ‘Œãñ¡¿ãã¦ããèÊã Àã¨ã’ (A Night in Village) Mardhekar puts his theory of

equilibrium of new emotionality (¶ã̾ãã ¼ããÌã¶ãããä¶ãÓŸ Ôã½ã¦ãã¶ã¦ãñÞãã ãäÔ㣪ãâ¦ã) on the basis of

Balkavi’s poems ‘¦ããÀãÀã¶ããè’ (Taramani) and ½ããñãäÖ¶ããè (Mohini). Mardhekar immensely

found such a type of equilibrium of new emotionality in Balkavi’s poems, so he says,

“¹ãÆãä¦ã¼ãã£ã½ããöãñ ŒãÀã ¶ããäÌã¶ã ‡ãŠãäÌ㠹㊧㊠†‡ãŠÞã; ¹ããäÖÊãã ‚ãããä¥ã ÍãñÌã›ÞãããäÖ; ãä¦ãÍããèÞ¾ãã ‚ãã¦ã ãäªÌãâØã¦ã ¢ããÊãñÊ ãñ

ºããÊã‡ãŠãäÌã ©ããòºãÀñ.” (There is only one truly genius new poet; first and last; that is Balkavi
16
Thomare who passed away before his thirty). These details show how Mardhekar

was deeply influenced by Balkavi.

Initial poems in Shishiragama clearly show Balkavi’s impressions. ‘½ããßãÌãÀʾãã

ºããâ£ããÌãÀ¦ããè’ (On Bank of Heath) (Shishiragama: 2)

, ‘ãä¦ãÀãÌãÀʾãã ¼ã̾ã ãäÍãßñÌãÀü’ (On Magnificent

Rock of Bank) (Shishiragama:3)

, and ‘ÌããÞã¶ã-½ãضãã ¹ã¶ãÇã슛ãèÞ¾ãã’ (A girl deeply absorbed in

reading ....)(Shishiragama: 4) are the poems that portray beautiful outdoor scenes and evoke

Balkavi’s poems. Mardhekar is gratified by the beauty in Balkavi’s poems. Out of this

gratification he exclaims –‘Ôããöª¾ããÃÞãñ •ãØã¦ããÌãÀ¦ããè ¹ãÔãÀñ ºãÜã Þãã⪥ãñ / ÀããäÖÊãñ ‡ãŠã¾ã ‚ãã¦ãã ½ããØã¥ãñ…’

(See, Beauty of Moonlight is spread over the World / What is Left to Beg for? /
(Shishiragama: 3)
Nothing is left to beg for!) . This exclamation shows Balkavi’s deep

influence on Mardhekar.

Like Balkavi, Mardhekar’s world of beauty is disappeared in due course of time.

Balkavi expressed the destruction of dreamland in his ‘‡ãŠãäÌãºããßñ’ (Poet Children).

Mardhekar also experienced such a type of destruction of dreamland. Both, because of

these experiences received new insight of the world experience. After the destruction

of dreamland, Balkavi’s ‘‡ãŠãäÌãºããßñ’ (poet children) had to fall in deep valley, where

there was only darkness and no place for beauty. Balkavi has portrayed pictures of

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this new dreadful and horrible world in his ‘Œãñ¡¿ãã¦ããèÊã Àã¨ã’ (A Night in Village). Such

poems give a new and different turn to Balkavi’s nature poetry. Mardhekar had also

been the witness of this new dreadful world during World War II. This new world

inspired the writing of Kahin Kavita. Very first poem, ¹ãÆñ½ããÞãñ ÊãÌÖãßñ, / Ôããöª¾ãà ¶ãÌÖãßñ,

Íããñ£ãì? / - ‚ããÔã¹ããÔã ½ã졲ããâÞããè ÀãÔã (here and there / heap of dead bodies) (Ka. Ka.1)
in Kahin

Kavita deal with horror of the World War II, and keeps itself away from

Shishiragama which is characterized by the romantic treatment of subject matters.

Mardhekar continued the style of Balkavi in his Kahin Kavita also. The first part of

‘Íãì¼ãÆ - ãä¦ããä½ãÀ -½ããñև㊠- ÌããÔã¶ãã’ (Ka.Ka.20)

(White-Darkness - Attractive-Lust) convinces

this. The style in first half of this poem is of Balkavi and this is suitable for its

content. This content changes in second half, which portrays the picture of numb,

frustrated, tired and unlucky human life. It is thus observed that Mardhekar

understood the ability and suitability of Balkavi’s style to include different contents.

Mardhekar has given new form to Balkavi’s style like abhangaas and hymns of

saints.

It is observed that while reading Mardhekar’s Shishirutuchya Punaragme, one recalls

its relations with Balkavi’s Udashinata (Depression) and Balvihag (Child Bird).

Balkavi saw perfectly happy child and found himself to be haunted by the sufferings

in life.

An analysis of the influences of Marathi poetic tradition on Mardhekar reveals that he

has not directly accepted any influence as it is. He made it suitable for his poetry by

changing his style or by mixing two influences together. As a result, these influences

were exploited in his work in unique way. Secondly, tendency of assimilating these

influences in Mardhekar was present from Shishiragama. During the course of time

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this tendency became more conscious and mature. So his poetry of later phase became

rich with varied influences. The third important thing is some influences on

Mardhekar are permanent. S. P. Bhagwat observes, “Mardhekar understood implicit

strength of the poets used in his poetry. Mardhekar’s style in early poems of

Shishiragama has been influenced by his predecessors.”17 Mardhekar had full and

conscious control to accept, reject or change any influence on him. In this way,

Mardhekar’s relations with Marathi poetic tradition became beneficial for maintaining

the originality of his literary framework.

After the publication of Kahin Kavita, Mardhekar was criticized by his critics for

losing Marathiness, because of the influence of English literature. In the course of

time, the intensity of this criticism gradually reduced and the greatness of

Mardhekar’s poetry was accepted as a work of high literary order.

The poetry of inter World Wars (i.e.1918-1939) period underwent a number of

changes thematically and structurally. Mardhekar had been in England (1930-1933)

for education for four years. He was passionately attached to English language and

literature. During these years his knowledge of contemporary literature became

updated. Since Mardhekar was a lecturer, his touch with English Literature continued

in India also. He was not only poet who had been influenced by English poetic

tradition but other poets like Keshavsut, Govindagraj, Balkavi, Tambe, Madhav Julian

were equally influenced by English poetic tradition. These poets were far behind

(some 75-100 years) from English poets. Mardhekar bridged this gap and made

Marathi poetry at par with English poetry. So the influence of English poetic tradition

on Mardhekar was very deep and lasting. His career as a poet was enriched at

multidimensional level. The parameter of his experience and outlook became wider.

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He became conscious about strengths of language, which gave him impetus of making

experiments in his poetic expressions. This consciousness became firm in Mardhekar

because of the influence of English. The three decades –1910 to 1940 – were the

decades of change in England. During these thirty years there were considerable

changes in English literature, of course, in every field of life.

The study of these changes will help to understand the development of Mardhekar as

a poet. The new trends in intellectual field started to appear in England during the

period between two world wars (1918-1939). The First World War causes wide and

dreadful destruction in social, political and economic fields which caused the

unprecedented destruction of human values. Scientific inventions and developments

threw light on so many fields which lead to physical prosperity and leisure to

mankind. Ironically enough out of this prosperity and physical happiness,

dissatisfaction came out. Various doubts started to make man restless. Science

shackled human being by clearing the age-old mysteries of the world and made aware

the limitations and weaknesses of human beings. The difference between expectations

and practical experience brought frustration to human being. The impressions of all

these things are perceptible in literature.

During this stay in England, Mardhekar was not only influenced by Hopkins but also

Donne and Eliot. There are glaring similarities in Donne and Mardhekar. The

argument in love poetry of Donne is to be found in Mardhekar’s early love poetry in

Shishiragama. Donne explains the limitations of intellect. Mardhekar is also sceptical

about intellect and knowledge. Both Donne and Mardhekar were aware of

uselessness, scepticism and so they turned towards faith and trust. Their minds are

pendulum between faith and doubt. So spirituality in their poetry is not

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straightforward but with twists and turns. Donne was a religions preacher so there was

continuous conflict in his poetry. The treatment of spirituality is quite similar in the

poetry of Donne and Mardhekar. Blending of emotions and thoughts is one of the

strengths of Donne’s poetry. Much of the poetry during Donne’s period became weak

because of separation of emotions and thoughts. Eliot aptly called it ‘dissociation of

sensibility’. Emotions and thoughts mutually strengthened by blending together.

Mardhekar’s poetry is the fine example of this type of poetry where thoughts and

emotions are properly assimilated. He developed this literary taste perhaps due to his

close association with Donne and his literary world.

The Romantic poets dominated the first three decades of nineteenth century. There are

relations between the English Romantic poets and the modern Marathi poetry. English

Romantic poetry influenced Marathi literature to some extent. Wordsworth,

Coleridge, Byron, Shelley and Keats were familiar to Marathi poets and poetry.

Though Mardhekar’s poetry is anti-romantic, there are some similarities regarding

gloominess between Keats and Mardhekar as initially he was a romantic poet. In

addition to Tennyson, other poets of Victorian Age such as Robert Browning, A. C.

Swinburne, D. G. Rossetti, C. G. Rossetti, have partially influenced the literary

expressions of Mardhekar.

G. M. Hopkins is the next English poet who seems to have influenced and shaped the

artistic temperament of Mardhekar. This fact is ascertained by Vinda Karandikar who

says, “Mardhekar’s poetry is influenced by English modern poets like Hopkins, Eliot,

and Auden.”18 Dilip Chitre also holds similar view and says, “Especially, Kahin

Kavita of Mardhekar is influenced by Hopkins.” 19

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V.A. Dahake said that Mardhekar was influenced not by English but by European

poetry and his poetry expressed the consciousness like world poetry. “It was not

imitation, but application. Mardhekar did the same thing in Marathi poetry what

Pound and Eliot did in English poetry.”20 Mardhekar is undoubtedly influenced by

G.M. Hopkins (1844-1889), who himself confessed that “he had been influenced by

different, good and historically important poet i.e. G.M. Hopkins.” 21

There is a relation between Hopkins’ Felix Randal and Mardhekar’s ‘coalman’ in

‘ª¥ã‡ãŠ› ªâ¡Ô¶ãã¾ãì •ãõÔãñ.’ In this poem Hopkins portrays the picture of ironsmith. Hopkins

as a man and preacher has sympathy towards ironsmith. ‘My tongue had taught thee

comfort, touch has quenched my tears. / My tears that touched my heart, child, Felix,

poor Felix Randal. 22

There is resemblance between Hopkins ‘ironsmith’ and Mardhekar’s ‘coalman’ in

‘ª¥ã‡ãŠ› ªâ¡Ô¶ãã¾ãì •ãõÔãñ’ (Ka.Ka. 46)

(As strong muscles of arm). Felix Randal is perfectly

resembled with ‘Øã¥ã¹ã¦ã Ìãã¥ããè, Øã¥ã¹ã¦ã Ìãã¥ããè, ãäÌã¡ãè ºãã¹ã¡ã / ãä¹ã¦ãããä¹ã¦ãã¶ãã ½ãÁ¶ã ØãñÊãã’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.9)

(‘Ganpat’ grocer, poor smoker / Died by smoking.) Mardhekar’s reference to pity for

Ganpat Wani is same as Hopkins’ Felix Randal. Like Hopkins, Mardhekar also

pictured harsh realities in his poetry. He avoided giving the details and explanations

after the subject of the poems. The synthesis of emotions and intellect, varied

experiences and technique to express them in proper way are the common

characteristics in Hopkins and Mardhekar.

Mardhekar is influenced by Hopkins’ experiment with of poetic language. Hopkins

expected poetic language to be heightened form of spoken language. He liked to

distort the diction continuously. In Pied Beauty he employs the dialectal sense of

‘mole’ as ‘spot’ or ‘stain’: ‘rosemoles all in stipple upon trout that swim’.

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‘Inversnaid’ that deals with the waters, ‘tuindles’, which means either ‘to double’ or

‘to divide in half', ‘degged’ means ‘sprinkled’, ‘to slogger’ means ‘to hand loosely

and untidily’. Hopkins’ poetry is affected by his above views and accordingly, he

wrote poetry. He directly uses the words of spoken language and technical words also.

Forming compound words is his special style. Some poets use such compound words

but Hopkins’ compound words are somewhat bold. For instance, he uses compound

words like, ‘fresh-firecoal’, ‘chestnut-falls’, ‘rose-moles’, ‘couple-colour’.23 He

frequently yokes together incongruous words. Reader remains alert because of his

unexpected use of compound words. One recalls Hopkins use of language while

reading Mardhekar’s poetry. The use of colloquial language in ‘¹ãŠÊã㛪ãªã’(Ka.Ka.31) (Big

Brother Platform) is remarkable in that view. Colloquial words like ‘ãäÖ½½ã¦ã, ¶ã‡ãŠ›ãè,

ªß¼ã³ã,’ technical words like ‘Àãñºããñ,’ ‘¹ãã¾ãÊã¶ã’ and some compound words like ‘Öã½ããÊã -

¹ããñ›óÀ, ãäÌã¡ãè- ½ãããäÞãÔã’ü recall Hopkins.

In the year 1918, one younger poet Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) was killed in the war.

Wilfred Owen’s poetry presented direct and ironical picture of the war reality, so the

false and romantic presentation of the war was realized. A war destroys and more than

that war is responsible for the degradation of human being and according to Owen

that is the real tragedy of war. His poetry influenced Mardhekar who dealt with the

war themes in his poems.

Mardhekar’s hymns during World War II have underlying consciousness of war. The

poems like, ‘‚ã•ãî¶ãÖãè ¾ãñ¦ããñ ÌããÔã ¹ãìŠÊãã¶ãã (Aa.Ka.Ka.32)

(but flowers still have smell. / and the

soil is still sparkling red: / even now the goat eats leaves / climbing the dwarf stumps.

[tr.D.C.]), and ¹ãÊããè‡ãŠ¡ñ ‚ã¶ãá ¾ã죪 - ¶ãØããÀñ; / ÞãÖî‡ãŠ¡ñ ‚ã¶ãá †‡ãŠÞã ãäØãÊÊãã, / •ã춾ãã ÍãÌããÌãÀ ¶ãÌãñ ãä¶ãŒããÀñü’

(an earthquake here / and war-drums there; / cries everywhere, / fresh embers on old
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corpses.), have the references of the war. These expressions have irony and pity for

the people who have suffered in war. This shows the influence of Owen on

Mardhekar. Such notes can be found in - ‘¹ãÆñ½ããÞãñ ÊãÌÖãßñû’,...‘ªñÍããÌãÀ ½ãã¾ãã / ‡ã슥ããÞ¾ãã ?

‡ãŠãñ¥ããÞããè?” (Ka.Ka.1) In this way, there is anti-war tone in above lines.

“Mardhekar had been in Europe during 1930 to 1933. He might have read the modern

poetry of T. S. Eliot and other poets and might have been influenced by this poetry.”24

He wrote and published a critical essay, Arts and Man in England. T. S. Eliot

responded it to be “provoking” and “well- written.”25 Mardhekar’s own statement

shows the influence of Eliot on him, “I do not like Auden, Spender and I do not think

that they are great poets. Eliot is the great poet; his poetry charged the atmosphere in

England when I was there. He was at the top of popularity.” 26

T. S. Eliot started writing poetry during the First World War. Since then he advocated

poetry as the expressions of frustrated, split, unstable, sad passions. According to him

poetry is not supposed to present truth, beauty, goodness etc. He advocated and

supported obscurity in poetry. He elucidated the important aspects like language,

imagery etc. Mardhekar has deeply been influenced by the deep poetic thoughts of T.

S. Eliot. These thoughts might have given Mardhekar a new direction. “Like T. S.

Eliot, Mardhekar’s conception of ‘emotional equivalence’ about modernity in poetry

was fundamental. Like Eliot, Mardhekar also believed in ‘free verse means not

modern poetry.”27 The mockery in ‘ƒÀñÔã ¹ã¡Êããñ (Aa.Ka.Ka.12)

is not superficial as it

appears, but it is mockery of modern poetry.

Eliot influenced Mardhekar’s both poetry and poetic theory. Eliot’s early poems and

The Waste Land, The Hollow Men are important poems to show the influence on

Mardhekar. These poems have much similarity with Mardhekar’s ‘ãä¹ãâ¹ãã¦ã ½ãñÊãñ (Ka.Ka.21)

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(mice in the wet barrel died; / their necks dropped, untwisted; / their lips closed with

lips; / their necks fell, undesiring. [tr.D.C.]), ‘Öã¡ãâÞãñ Ôãã¹ãŠßñû’ (Ka.Ka.56) (skeletons laugh /

Watching / flesh plaster-off; / even if you try / very hard to hide it, / finally the teeth /

must show their water. [tr.D.C.]), ‘½ããè †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.16)

(I am an ant, he is an

ant,…). The life of modern man in these poems became effective because of blending

the irony and pity.28

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is the first poem of T.S. Eliot which was

published in Prufrock and other Observations in 1914. Prufrock is the hero of this

poem. Eliot has presented Prufrock’s agony through effective series of images like

‘The floor of the silent seas’, ‘pinned on the wall’, ‘The eternal footman’, ‘chambers

of the sea’, ‘I am lazarus’.29 Prufrock is common and helpless man. Mardhekar also

has presented such common and helpless persons through his poems such as Ganpat

Wani, Varhadi, Nakati, Ants.

The epic of the modern age- The Waste Land - of Eliot published in 1922 and it

presents the picture of modern waste land. Eliot ironically comments on this world

through his ‘waste land’. Through the images like ‘Marie’s sex with her cousin’s

sledge’, ‘Lil’, ‘Belledonna’, ‘The daughters’, ‘Philomella’, he pictures sins of sex, fire

of lust, spiritual sterility, evils of material civilization, lack of faith and devotion in

modern world. Likewise, Mardhekar portrays the same picture through his ‘ãä¹ã¹ãã¦ã

½ãñÊãñ’(Ka. Ka. 21) (mice in the wet barrel died; / their necks dropped, untwisted; / their lips

closed with lips; / their necks fell, undesiring. [tr.D.C.]) and ‘Öã¡ãâÞãñ Ôãã¹ãŠßñû’ (Ka.Ka.56)

(‘skeletons laugh / Watching / flesh plaster-off; / even if you try / very hard to hide it,

/ finally the teeth / must show their water.’ [tr.D.C.]). The mechanical and perverted

sex is pictured in The Fire Sermon of The Waste Land. One can easily compare here

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the reference with poems like Mardhekar’s ‘ãä¹ãÞãñ ‚ãâ£ããÀ ¹ããñ‡ãŠß (Ka.Ka.47)
(the empty

darkness is ruptured, / the black tear swells up / trickles on the cheek dry up / the dew

wells up. [tr.D.C.]) and expressions like ‘Ôããõ—ãñÌããÞãì¶ã Ôã½¼ããñØããÞããè / ‚ããäÍãÞã ‡ãŠÔãÀ¦ã ‚ãÔã¦ãñ

ÖÊã‡ã‹¾ãã,’ (Ka.Ka.41).

The Waste Land presents the dramatic crisis of disorder, disease and emotions. The

Hollow Men show lethargy due to the loss of spirit in soul and body. The Hollow Men

of Eliot say, ‘we are the Hollow man, we are stuffed men, / ... in our dry cellar’.30

Most of the poems of Mardhekar present the same picture. The men in Mardhekar’s

poems are singing the some song. For example, the poems like ¾ãñãäÍãÊã ¦ãñÌÖã •ã¹ãî¶ã ¾ãñ ¦ãî,
(Ka.Ka.42)
(be gentle when you come), ½ã¶ããÔã ¹ã¡Êããè •ãÀ ãäŒãâ¡ãÀñ (Aa.Ka.Ka.14)
(if your mind is

blown up by a blast / cement the gaping holes with fear [tr.D.C.]), ‚ããñŸãÌãÀ ‚ããÊããè ¹ãî•ãã ý

¼ãÀñ ½ã¶ãã¦ã ‡ãŠã¹ãÀñ / ‚ããñʾãã ¹ãã¹ããâÞããè Ìããßî¶ã ý ¢ããÊããè Ìãã¦ã¡ Œãã¹ãÀñýý (Aa.Ka.Ka.18) (mind is full of fears at

worship) represent the loss of spirit in soul and body.

Eliot has influenced Mardhekar’s style. Eliot’s sharp contrast, parallelism use of

irony, folk songs, erudite allusions, using quotations from classical poetry are the

some of the characteristics which are conspiciously adopted in Mardhekar’s poetry.

However, Mardhekar does not use mythical stories, quotations, and allusions

profusely like Eliot.

Mardhekar studied English poetry with interest for a long time. Naturally, English

poetry influenced Mardhekar’s poetry. The fundamental experiments in English

poetry of his age influenced Mardhekar’s poetic personality. Mardhekar understood

and accepted these radical changes which possibly enriched his poetic capability. Like

English, Mardhekar had been influenced by other Indian and European literatures

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also. Out of all these influences, Mardhekar’s poetry remained original as he did not

imitate them but has presented in his own poetic style.

The researcher tends to explore the modernism in the poetry of B. S. Mardhekar by

analyzing his works and critically discussing them how far they have the flavour of

modernism in them. The focus will be concentrated on the features of modernism and

their application to the poems of B. S. Mardhekar. To investigate this aspect of

Modernism in Mardhekar’s poetry, it is necessary to dwell upon the history of

Marathi poetry in brief. Marathi poetry has a literary history of eight hundred years.

The first phase was dominated by religious and devotional poetry of Saints. This

poetry was especially written for the purpose of the social awareness, education, and

entertainment. The ballad form was also popular in Marathi poetry and it has

substantially contributed to Marathi poetry. With the end of Peshawai in 1818, the

British rule in India brought changes in all the walks of life. With the British rule,

modernism came to India. British rule introduced Indians with new life and literature.

Hence, new consciousness about life, art and literature was felt everywhere. Indian

society started to change. The stagnation of ages ended and the movement towards

newness and knowledge started. The radical change occurred at around 1885 because

of the influence of English Romantic Poetry on Marathi poetry. Keshavsut, the ‘brave

soldier’ of a new era, brought revolution in Marathi literature.

This revolution was followed by the second revolution brought about by B. S.

Mardhekar. Gangadhar Gadgil calls Mardhekar as “Mardhekar: the second

Keshavsut.”31 This new revolution took place after sixty years from the first

revolution. B. S. Mardhekar’s poetry is the modernist poetry in real sense of term.

Mardhekar had been in England for his study, where he experienced the devastative

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effects of First World War. Europe was restoring what had been lost in the War.

Mardhekar became familiar with the life and literature of Europe. When he came back

to India, he started to rejuvenate and stimulate decaying Marathi poetry during 1920-

1940. He started to write on the principles of English Modernist Poets. Vinda

Karandikar rightly says, “A poet who was writing in Marathi on the line of the

Western Modern Poets was Mardhekar….Mardhekar, the first Marathi poet who was

writing like Western English poets.”32

The characteristics of modernism in Marathi literature are – a rejection of tradition, a

metropolitan consciousness, a movement toward character complexity, and quest for

innovation, use of irony, juxtaposition, free verse, experimentation in language, use of

the stream-of-consciousness technique, the use of maxim from classical literature, the

use of imagery and symbolism, satire, irony, remix, fracture of idiom, incomplete

narration. The subject-matter of the modern poetry can be decaying of social

standards, horror and fear, spiritual isolation, frustration, disillusion, rejection of

historical subjects, rejection of outdated social system, etc.

There is a strong reaction against the romanticism in Mardhekar’s Kahin Kavita

(Some Poems) (1947) and Aankhi Kahin Kavita (Some More Poems) (1951). They

clearly display Mardhekar’s modernist consciousness. So G. V. Karandikar says, “An

important characteristic of Mardhekar’s poetry is his experimentation.

Experimentalists like Mardhekar means creative scientists in the field of literature. …

No poet is there in whole Marathi tradition who has an artistic daring like

Mardhekar.” 33

Mardhekar started a new poetic tradition as D. B. Kulkarni says, “Mardhekar was

doubtlessly an epoch making poet.”34 This new poetic tradition was suitable for

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Mardhekar’s personality. It was influenced by the ancient and contemporary Marathi

poets like Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Ramdas and Modern Marathi Poets like

Govindagraj, Balkavi, Madhav Julian and Western poets like Dante, Hopkins, and

T. S. Eliot. Their influences on Mardhekar were not superficial but deep and

meticulous. These influences were the guiding force for Mardhekar. King Bruce

observes, “Marathi poet revived the old tradition of saint poetry and combined it with

modern European trends.” 35

Marathi poetry during early twentieth century imitated romantic literature under the

colonial impact of British. Kusumawati Deshpande used the term “an era of

mediocrities”36 for this period. The poets of Ravikiran Mandal wanted to make poetry

simple, easy, and popular. Kusamavati Deshpande puts it in a following way:

Writers, generally speaking, would not pitch their aspirations high for
not wanting to strain the reader’s understanding or imagination unduly.
To entertain him, was what they set out to do. They confirmed to the
age, for which conformism was the prime value. …The ‘Mandal’ was
faded gradually. But ironically, it has continued to live in the parodies
of its mannerisms in “Jhenduchi Phule” (1925) by P. K. Atre. 37

The romantic spirit in Marathi poetry started to decay during 1930-1940. Some of the

noteworthy poets of this period were Anant Kanekar, Keshavkumar, Kusumagraj,

Anil, B. B. Borakar, P. S. Rege and B. S. Mardhekar. Their poetry followed the

conventional structure and rhythm. For the sake of innovation, they attempted literary

forms like sonnet, Rubyiat, Ghazal, satire, free verse etc. The fashion of recitation of

Ravikiran Mandal helped poets to make their poems popular among the public.

Patriotism, social outlook, modernization were the subject-matter of the poetry of the

day.

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Mardhekar’s Shishiragamaa (1939) – first collection of poems – shows the flavour

and influence of romanticism. “The poems bear strong influence of Ravikiran

Mandal. Mardhekar was practicing poetry in this collection.”38 “Poems of

Shishiragama show that Mardhekar was writing under the influence of romantic

tradition of Maharashtra. But he escaped himself from this tradition.”39 Basically,

Shishiragamaa deals with the personal experiences and the frustration in love. During

that period Mardhekar had been under the influence of Ravikiran Mandal.

Shishiragamaa shows the romantic elements like natural scenes and sights, beauty of

the woman, and frustration in love resulted in the desire of death. Shishiragamaa

displays the influences of Madhav Julian, Balkavi, Govindagraj, and other poets. “The

Mardhekar of Shishiragamaa was largely the product of two influences that were a

little disparate: of Balkavi, and of the Ravikiran Mandal”.40 All the poems of

Shishiragamaa are addressed to Suhas – perhaps the beloved of Mardhekar. These

poems are characterized by the theme of love and frustration.

The process of modernization makes its beginning in India during the post-

independence period. Modernization in India is basically connected with industrial

development, urbanization, and secularism, the application of scientific and

technological inventions in all the walks of life. Alongwith the technical progress, the

spread of education of the time were also responsible for modernization. So Dr.

Babasaheb Ambedkar says:

For the evils are not due to machinery and modern civilization, they
are due to wrong social organization which has made private property
and pursuit of personal gain matters of absolute sanctily. If machinery
and civilization have not benefit everybody the remedy is not to
condemn machinery and civilization but to alter the organization of
society so that the benefits will be usurped by the few but will accrue
to all.41

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Mardhekar was the major poet during post 1940 in Marathi poetry. The perception of

Marathi poets changed immediately after 1940. This change can be experienced in the

poetry of Mardhekar and his contemporaries like P. S. Rege and Vinda Karandikar.

Though, initially Mardhekar seemed to be influenced by romanticism, in due course

of time, he changed completely. “Mardhekar’s conception of poetry is basically

modernist…and romanticism is totally rejected.”42 “Experimentalism began in Indian

regional-language poems during the 1940s, usually as the writers became familiar

with such English-language modernists as Eliot and Pound. B. S. Mardhekar (1909-

56) had made his own blend of the modernism of Eliot, Pound and the Surrealists with

the Marathi saints’ poetry of Tukaram.”43 By 1945, Marathi poetry was totally

changed. The publication of Kahin Kavita (Some Poems) of Mardhekar in 1947 made

havoc in Marathi literary field. The poems like ‘ãä¹ã¹ãã¦ã ½ãñÊãñ ‚ããñʾãã „âªãèÀ’ (Ka.Ka.21) (mice in

the wet barrel dead ;) confused the Marathi scholars and critics. For the first time,

Mardhekar presented ugly and seamy side of modern time in his poetry. In this way,

“Some of the poems in Kahin Kavita (1947) shocked the common reader…”44 After

the publication of Kahin Kavita, P. K. Atre wrote, “I am trying to understand the

meaning of Mardhekar’s dead mice in the wet barrel; (‘ãä¹ã¹ãã¦ã ½ãñÊãñʾãã „âªÀãÞãñ’) for last

two and half years. But I did not understand even the tip of the dead rat’s tail. If critics

say such poems could be understood after ten years, then I will read it after ten years.”
45
D. V. Deshpande rightly opinioned, “…but his (Mardhekar’s) poetry has trodden
46
some new trends for Marathi poetry” The characteristics of modernist poetry are

seen in Mardhekar’s poetry as he rejected the romantic outlook towards poetry. This

view is expressed by Kusumawati Deshpade, “Mardhekar had achieved a

breakthrough for modernity.” 47

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His second collection of poems, Kahin Kavita (Some Poems) is totally different from

Shishiragama. It deals with the social problems created by the science, industry,

urbanization, commercilization, and capitalization. “This poetry portrays the picture

of a man who is victim of modern industrialism and capitalism.”48 In this modern

world, common and sensitive man finds himself difficult to live and he is reduced to

insect like an ant. Kusumawati Deshpande sums it up in the following way:

The poems in Kahin Kavita express the predicament of the sensitive

modern man. The old certainties have crumbled away, with no new
ones to replace them and sustain his inner life….Men are
dehumanized, degraded into “mice lying dead in a wet drum”; dying is
a compulsion for them, and so is living. But there is no misanthropy in
such portraiture of degenerated man Mardhekar has profound
sympathy for him; only he does not beat his sympathy in the
sentimental or melodramatic manner beloved of the insensitive writer
and reader. 49

Mardhekar made Marathi poetry modern in true sense of term by breaking down the

conventions of decaying romantic poetry. Mardhekar wrote modern poetry of the

changed era in his Kahin Kavita and Aankhi Kahin Kavita. “This transformation in

Mardhekar’s poetry has important place in the history of Marathi poetry. The fast

changing social situation under the impact and influence of machine age and the split

personality and its horror expressed in Mardhekar’s poetry at the first time.”50

Mardhekar was not happy with his contemporary poetry. He wanted to shake

conventional poetic system. The ordinary reader of contemporary romantic poetry

was happy and contented with what he had. Mardhekar experimented with various

aspects of poetry and challenged established poetic system.

The majority of Mardhekar’s poems were written during 1939-1951. That was the

period of the Second World War, Indian Freedom Movement, violent activities of

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partition, and the famous Bengal famine and its victims. The age in which Mardhekar

was living was overwhelmed by violence and other unpleasant activities, metropolitan

dominance, industrialization, mechanization, religious and communal riots, various

social problems and political issues. He was fully aware of all these happenings. The

first three poems from Kahin Kavita are about the War. S. T. Kullli says, “Mardhekar

was writing in a complicated and age of commotion. The age was shattered with two

World Wars, Indian independence, violent and grim riots, and decay of capitalism,

uncontrolled urbanization, industrialization, and loss of human values, inventions of

science, new thoughts and theories.”51

Kahin Kavita was published in 1947. Naturally, the poems of this collection might

have been written four to five years before the publication. This was the prime time of

Second World War. The seeds of partition were sown in India during this period. This

period witnessed the large scale of massacre. The human principles and ethical values

were radically changing during this period. The whole world had been affected by the

World War. Everywhere, people saw the heap of dead bodies, the firing machines,

shower of bullets, the air raids, the devastation of the districts, ponds of blood, and

cries of people with pains. “All these led to the destruction and the death of the

earth.”52 These pressing situations compelled Mardhekar to change and deviate from

the earlier conventions of poetry.

The modernist is one who wants be with the time. He does not think tradition

completely outdated or useless. So he does not want to reject it completely. His

tendency is to accept what is useful and relevant from the tradition. Likewise,

Mardhekar accepted something useful for his purpose from the tradition of Marathi

poetry. So G. V. Karandikar says, “I do not want to say that Mardhekar has totally

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neglected Marathi poetic tradition. On the contrary, it can be said that he has revived

some part of Marathi tradition in a new way. Mardhekar is a first Marathi poet writing

with contemporary English poets.”53 “Mardhekar’s poetry is classical and not

romantic. Precision, symmetry, balance, avoiding excessive imagination and emotions

is the natural tendency of his poetry.”54 Modernist literature embodies the mentality

and personality of a writer. Such writers give new meaning, form, shape, and

dimension to the desired aspects of the tradition. In this way, they make tradition

contemporary, up-to-date, new and useful. In this respect, Mardhekar is the modernist

poet. He attempted to give new meaning to owi and abhangaa in nathalgatha after

Shishiragama. In this way, his later poetry is modernist. Experimentation in poetry is

not complete refusal of poetic conventions but rather it is opportunity for rejecting

and selecting as per poet’s requirement. The following extract from A History of

Marathi Literature shows spirit of the modernism in Mardhekar’s poetry:

His experimentation, as well as that of the other ‘new poets’ did not
mean a rejection of the tradition of poetry, but of what had become
warped or lifeless in it. What was vital in the tradition was maintained
or retrieved from neglect, as a source of invigoration, and also of a
sense of continuity. Mardhekar was invigorated by Balkavi, and by
Tukaram and Ramdas of the distant past; 55

Mardhekar belongs to middle class which was dominant when he was writing poetry.

He thought that he was a member and representative of depressed, lost, confused,

frightened, and lonely generation. He was writing during and after the Second World

War. The writers of this era were rethinking over the established values of life. The

utter devastation compelled them to think seriously over the meaning of life. Human

life was becoming more and more complicated. The crowd and its commotion were

increasing. This was happening especially in the metropolitan city like Mumbai.

Mumbai was becoming the city of industry and machine and not of man. “It is well-

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known that Mardhekar has hatred towards machines and machine age”56 because man

has to run with the speed of machine and he forgets his own existance. Modern man

lacks the confidence of his power to do something. Hence, he is confused and became

helpless. He is unable to do anything noble, even he has no desire and willpower. He

fails to comprehend these persistent troubles of life and tackle with them successfully.

Mardhekar chose this confused, weak, and lonesome middle class man of Mumbai for

his poetry. The protagonist of his poetry is submissive and he lacks heroic qualities.

The people in cities like Mumbai are ‘confused’. This confusion is expressed through

Mardhekar’s poems like, Øããò£ãßÊãñʾãã ‚ã¶ãá ãäÞãâÞããñß¿ãã / ãäØãÀØããÌãããä¦ãÊã ØãÊÊããè½ã£¾ãñ (Ka.Ka.45)

(In

the confused and narrow lane of Girgaon) and ‘‡ãŠ¥ãã ½ããñ¡Êãã ãä¶ãͦÞãÊã¦ãñÞãã / Ûããã ¹ããÊããèÞ¾ãã

‚ããÌãã•ãã¶ãñ; (Ka.Ka.37)
(the voice of the house-lizard broke the pivot of silence.) These

poems narrate the serious experiences.

Mardhekar has portrayed metropolitan life of Mumbai in his poems. For instance,

ªÖã ªÖãÞããè Êããñ‡ãŠÊã Øãã¡ãè,

Ôããñã䡦㠂ããÊããè ¹ããñ‡ãŠß ÔÌããÔã,
Üã¡¿ããßã¦ãʾãã ‡ãŠã›¿ããâÞãã ‚ã¶ãá
Ôããõªã ¹ã›Êãã ªãè¶ã „ªãÔã.
Ûãã ¶ãÞã ½ãìâؾãã: ãäÖÞã ½ãã¶ãÔãñ: (Aa.Ka.Ka.16)

(Lacal train of 10:10 / came exhaling with empty breath; / hands of clock agreed on

the deal and Day depressed, / These are not ants but men: / Gandhiji was the same,

even Yeshu Christ and Krishna, Kalidas and Taikobra were the same)

In such poems, Mardhekar presents the panorama of Mumbai, its busy schedule, and

other engagements of people in unbecoming activities of city.

Mardhekar has delineated the wrethed life of common men of Mumbai in his poems.

They are poor and living in slums. They are living just like insects and worms in

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slums. The dirty and sordid surruondings in which common man lives is very

awesome. He forgets where he lives because he is busy in daily business of life – the

routine life and nothing more than that. Mardhekar portrays the passionless, ugly,

hectic, distorted life of Mumbai in his various poems like:

½ãØã ãäªÔãñ ŒãÀãè Üãã¥ã;

‡ãŠãÀŒãã¶â¾ãã¦ããèÊã ¦ãñÊã
‚ããÊãñ Öãñ…¶ããè ãä¶ãÞãÀã
¹ã㥾ããÌãÀ ›ã‡ãŠãè¦ããèÊã. (Ka.Ka.53)

(Then appears real dirt; / When oil of the factory / drained out on the water in tank)

Moreover, Mardhekar exposes sexual activities of city people. These sexual activities

take place even at noon also. This is sexual infatuation and moral degradation of

urban life. The continuous sexual business is shown in the poems like:

¹ãŠÔã¹ãŠÔãî¶ã ¾ãñ¦ããñ Ôããñ¡¿ããÌãÀ¦ããè ØããÀ

Öã ¦ãìÍããÀ-‡ãñŠÔãÀ ¹ãñŠÔã-Øãòª ‚ãÊãÌããÀ;
ÖìâØããè¦ã ¦ã¾ããÞããè ŒããÀ› ½ã㪇㊦ãã Öãè
‡ãìŠãä¥ã ‡ãŠãäÀ¦ããñ ‚ããñÊãñ ‚ããñŸ ƒ©ãñ ½ã£¾ããâ¶Öãè (Ka.Ka.51)

(Foam appears on the cold soda with fizz / somebody makes his lips wet at midday by

smelling salty intoxication). No poet before Mardhekar in Marathi literature portrayed

genuine picture of metropolitan life in Mumbai with all its squalor and ugliness.

Kahin Kavita expresses Mardhekar’s disappointment and split personality. These

essential traits in his poetry arise because of his individual family problems and

metropolitan problems faced by man. Kusumawati Deshpande says, “The sense of

disillusionment and frustration that is so prominent in Mardhekar as to make it for

many a hall-mark of the ‘new’ poetry, is not found in most of the other leading poets

of the period.”57 These feelings of depression and frustration influenced Mardhekar’s

devotional life also. So he says, ‘†‡ãŠÊãã ‚ãÔãì¶ã! ½ã¶ããè ªãñ¶ã ¢ããÊããñ / ‚ãã¦ãã ½ãã¨ã ¼¾ããÊããñ! ½ãÊãã

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½ããèÞã!!’(Ka.Ka.15) (Eventhough I have one body, my mind is split, now I feared myself)

Mardhekar observed that all the ethical values of human life have destroyed and it

seems hard to restore them. As a result, his poetry tells the story of disillusioned and

frustrated man. The helplessness generates craving for God and he starts praising

God. This is expressed through the poems like, ‚ããÍã¾ããÞãã ¦ãìÞã ÔÌãã½ããè! / Í㺪ÌããÖãè ½ããè ¼ããè‡ãŠãÀãè,

/ ½ããØ㶾ããÊãã ‚ãâ¦ã ¶ããÖãè (Aa.Ka.Ka.1)

(God, you are the master of meaning! / I am a mere

beggar / Carrying the burden of words. [tr.D.C.]) and ‚ã¶ããñßጾãã¶ãñ ‚ããñߌ㠇ãŠÍããè /

Øã¦ã•ã¶½ããÞããè ²ããÌããè ÔããâØã; (Aa.Ka.Ka.25) (How a stranger can show acquaintance of last life?) 58

The frustration in Mardhekar’s poetry reflects his own unhappiness of his life. S. P.

Bhagwat says, “Frustration was often there in his behavior, conversation, and letters.

This increased afterwards.”59 His poetry shows the dark shadow of restlessness and

anxiety. So Kulli says, “The decadence of ethics and human values led to the thoughts

of alienation, nihilism, death instinct.”60

Mardhekar ironically conveys the predicament and helplessness of human life. The

reasons of the predicament and helplessness of man are – industrial revolution,

urbanization, crowd, loss of natural life resulted in monotony and boredom of urban

life, destruction and devastation because of the World Wars, loss of human values,

frustration, fear, insecurity, and restlessness, the Quit India movement of 1942,

Independence of 1947, bloodshed and killing of partition, problems of refugees.

Mardhekar displays the evil consequences of the Wars on the human behaviour. This

unsympathic and unkind behaviour of people is accountable for the loss of human

generation. Science is not responsible for this but the application of science by man.

‘¾ãñ©ã Í㺪 ¶ããÖãè ãäÌã²ãã¶ãã ý Öñ ‚ãÌãÜãñ ½ãã¶ã̾ãããäÌã¶ãã’ (Ka.Ka.11) (here science is not guilty but man is

responsible) All the modern problems arise because of the human tendency. Modern

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man has no sympathy, compassion and fellowfeeling. In his Kahin Kavita, Mardhekar

displays everywhere unwholesome aspects of human beings. Consequently, he

becomes sad and frustrated and says, ‘Ôãâ¹ãÊããè ‚ããÍãã ‚ã¦ãã ‚ã¶ãá ãä¶ãÀãÍããÖãè ½ããÌãßñ, / ‚ããñÔãã¡Êãñʾãã

½ã¶½ã¶ããè Ôã㪠ªñ¦ããè ‡ãŠãÌãßñ’ (Uncollected: 1) (Hope is finished and despair also goes down, crows

are calling in my desolate mind)

Mardhekar portrays true picture of his age as, ‘ÔãÌãó •ãâ¦ãì ãä¶ãÀãÍã¾ãã:’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.16)
(all the

germs are disappointed) He equates modern man with insects. But insects are not

frustrated. However, modern man is frustrated insect. This is the height of irony.

Metropolitan man has to live with his problems. Hence, he is frustrated. The

frustration in Mardhekar’s poetry is the result of contemporary social reality and

situation.

While portraying ugly and weary picture of metropolitan life he becomes irritated and

says:

ãä¹ãÞãñ ‚ãâ£ããÀ ¹ããñ‡ãŠß,

ØããäÖÌãÀ ¾ãñƒÃ ‡ãŠãßã;
ØããÊããè ÌããßÊãã ‚ããñÜãß,
ªãäÖÌãÀ ¢ããÊãñ Øããñßã. (Ka.Ka.47)

(the empty darkness is ruptured, / the black tear swells up / trickles on cheek dry up /

the dew swells up. [tr. D. C.] )The note of frustration and sadness is very important

here.

Industrialization and commercialization made man mechanical and the sense of

detachment is dominant everywhere. The feelings of attachment and care have

disappeared. The importance and lust for power and wealth governed human

behaviour. Metropolitan man is aware of all these things. He knows that there is no

balm for pain and no support for loss. The protagonist of this poem rejects attachment

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out of utter frustration. He says, ‘‡ãŠãñ¥ããè ¶ã‡ãŠãñ ‚ã¶ãá ‡ãŠãÖãè ¶ã‡ãŠãñ’ (Shishiragama: 7). Mardhekar in

his sonnet, ‘¹ãÆãè¦ããèÞããè ªìãä¶ã¾ãã ÔãìÖãÔã’ (Shishiragama: 18) expresses despair in his personal life but

it can be applicable for every metropolitan man. Thus, ¶ããÖãè Öñ ¶ããäÍãºããè! –– ¶ãÔããñÞã! ––

½ãã蛦ããè •ããØãñ¹ã¥ããè ¹ãã¹ã¥¾ãã; (Shishiragama 18)

can be applicable for those who have not been

loved and cared. So B. S. Pandit wtites, “The dreams and desire of man have shattered

in the adverse situation of life. Man is becoming faithless, insecure, confused,

doubtful, and weak. The sympathetic and factual picture of this man is presented in

Bal Sitaram Mardhekar.” 61

The modern man feels and experiences detachment, isolation, and loneliness. These

feelings are reflected in ‡ã슟ñ Øã¾ãã, ‡ã슟ñ ½ã‡ã‹‡ãŠã, Ö§¾ãã‡ãŠãâ¡ ‚ããÖñ ¾ãñ©ãñ ¹ã슇ãŠã., (Ka.Ka.8) (where is

Gaya, where is Makka, massacre is useless here) Ôã§ãñÞãñ ¦ãì¹ã Ôã§ãñÞããèÞã ¹ããñßãè, ½ãã¶ã̾ããÞããè Öãñßãè.
(Ka.Ka.19)
(Power enjoys everything, but humanity is on bonfire) The whole society is

irrational. The silence is under the pressure of the War and devastation. Mardhekar

has sympathy for the people who are living in such a condition. He was writing poetry

of lonely and helpless man. The exploitation is everywhere. But man is forced to live

and die. •ãØãã¾ãÞããè ¹ã¥ã Ôã§ãŠãè ‚ããÖñ ½ãÀã¾ãÞããè ¹ã¥ã Ôã§ãŠãè ‚ããÖñ. (Ka.Ka.21) (life too is a compulsion, /

death too is a compulsion. [tr.D.C.])

The third and final shift in Aanakhi Kahin Kavita of Mardhekar’s poetry was towards

spirituality. Gangadhar Gadgil says, “He wrote some poems which are having full of

faith. In some poems, he goes in trance by the sight of beauty and he forgets

himself.”62 D. V. Deshpande says, “Mardhekar had a deep belief in God and His

power. For example, Öãñ¦ãñ - ‚ããÖñ - ÖãñƒÊã ¾ãã¦ãì¶ã / Ìããè•ã ÌããÖ¦ãñ Öãñ¥¾ããÞããèÞã / Ûãã Ô¶ãã¾ãîÞ¾ãã ¦ããÀãâÞãã Àñ,

/ ¦ã좾ããÞã Öã¦ããŒããÊããè ÔÌããèÞã. (Ka.Ka.54)

(the switch of these muscles-strings, / lies under Your

hand) In this way Mardhekar believed in the controlling principle of God.”63

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Spirituality is a prime concern of Mardhekar’s Aanakhi Kahin Kavita. He believes in

God but God for him is not one who bestows the material gains to His devotees.

Harsh and unbearable experiences of contemporary situation germinated urge in

Mardhekar to unite with God. Sometimes Mardhekar is helpless before situation. He

thinks that only God will set things in order. He wistfully requests God to set things in

proper order and save the world from damnation. He is fully aware of his limitations

and so says:

¦ã좾ããÔããŸãè ªñÌãã ý ‡ãŠã¾ã ½¾ãã ¢ãìÀãÌãñ

¢ãìÀßã¶ãñ ‡ãõŠÔãñ ý ¹ã¦ãâØããÌãñ
Ôãã£ãìÔãâ¦ã •ãñ©ãñ ý ºãõÔãÊãñ ãä¦ãÓŸ¦ã
½ã¶ã‡ãŠÓ›Ìããè¦ã ý ‚ãÖãñÀã¨ã ýý
‡ãŠã¾ã ¦ãñ©ãñ ½ãã¢ããè ý Êããâ¡ãè £ã¡¹ã¡
ãä‡ãŠÀ›ãè ¹ã‡ãŠ¡ ý ¼ããÌã¶ãñÞããèýý (Aa.Ka.Ka.30)

(what sense does it make, Lord! / if I pine for you? / how can a cockroach hope to

become a moth? / where saints wait / day and night / flagellating their minds, / what

hopes may I entertain, / I, who have fallen short. [tr.D.C.]) In this way, he knows his

weakness and his struggle to communion with God is weak compared to Saints.

Mardhekar has been polite towards God and at the same time has quarrel with Him.

After accepting the existence of God, Mardhekar blames God. He takes God on the

task. He holds God as responsible for tragic, helpless and wretched situation of man.

He expresses his dislike and despair in the poems like, ÀãÌã, ÔããâØã¦ãã ªñÌã ‡ã슥ããÊãã, / ÍãÖã•ããñØã

•ããñ ÍãÖã½ãðØããÔã½ã; (Ka.Ka.43)

(Watch it Mister! Whom do you tell / of God! / He is

pretentious as an ostrich; / We dry in the sun like mackerel, / And get beaten hard;

[tr.D.C.])

After abusing in this way, Mardhekar asks – ‡ãŠãÓŸ ¢ããÊãñʾãã ½ã¶ããè ý •ãßãè, Ô©ãßãè ãä¶ã ¹ããÓãã¥ããè, /

ÔããâØãã ¹ãããäÖÊãã ‡ãŠã ‡ãŠãä£ã ý ªñÌã ‡ã슥ããè ýý (Ka.Ka.4)

(Tell me, if you have ever found Him, / In a

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wooden mind, / Or in water, or stone, or space? [tr.D.C.]) and shows disbelief in God.

Mardhekar saw the decline in social values. By requesting God he tries to restore the

degradation of social situation. He also complains with agony, ¾ãñ©ãñ ¦ãî ‚ãÔã¦ãã¶ãã ‚ãÔãñ ‡ãŠã

Üã¡ãÌãñ? (Why this should have happen in your presence?) There is a note of atheism in

it.

His sincere pleadings of God can be seen when he wishes the grace of God to restore

human values by destroying the degradation, therefore he requests:

‚ãÔããäÍãÊã ¼ããñß¿ãã ¼ãõÀÌãã

„Üã¡ ¦ãì¢ãñ ¦ãÀ ãä¦ã¶ãÖãè ¡ãñßñ;
¼ãԽ㠇ãŠÀãè Øãã ‚ã¦ãã ¦ãÀãè Öñ -
Öñ Öã¡ãâÞãñ Ôãã¹ãŠßñ! (Ka.Ka.56)

(O innocent Shiva! / wherever you are, / open all your three eyes / and at least now

turn / to ashes these / standing skeletons. [tr.D.C.])

God is only omnipotent and we are only the puppets in His hands, so Mardhekar says,

‚ãã¼ããßãÞ¾ãã ¹ãʾãã¡ Ô¹ã⪶ã / ã䛹ãÀãè ¦¾ããÞããè Ûã㠽㡇㋾ããÌããäÀ. ü(Aa.Ka.Ka.32) (the pulsation beyond the

sky, / but it makes these clay-pots clutter. [tr.D.C.]) He firmly believes that nothing is

possible without the power and grace of God. The yellow wind of Buddhagaya – Ûãã

ØãâØãñ½ããä£ã ØãØã¶ã ãäÌã¦ãßÊãñ, / Íãì¼ããÍãì¼ããÞãã ãä¹ãŠ›ñ ãä‡ãŠ¶ãÀã; / ºã죪Øã¾ãñÞãã ãä¹ãÌãßã ÌããÀã (Aa.Ka.Ka.8) (a sense of

asceticism) – comes to him at half a way. His personality changes and gradually, he

becomes ascetic. During this progression of mind, Mardhekar experiences the union

of heaven and earth in the Ganga (Holy River).

At the last stage, Mardhekar totally surrenders to God. This is last stage of his

spiritual consciousness. “Some of his poems are soaked with full of faith. He becomes

enchanted by the sight of beauty. He forgets senses” and says, ‘¼ãÁ¶ã ¾ãñƒÊã ת¾ã •ãñ£ãÌãã,’

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(Prologue to Aa.Ka.Ka.)
(Then when the heart is full to the brain / when sweat is wrung from

every limb [tr.D.C.]) ‘¼ãâØãì ªñ ‡ãŠãã䟥¾ã ½ãã¢ãñ’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.1)

(Let my hardness / break, let the

mind’s / acid clear / Out let my voice / Bear the tunes you / Love. [tr.D.C.]) 64 Step by

step, Mardhekar’s mind is anxious to have complete revelation of God. The journey

of Mardhekar’s poetry is started by the yearning God. But the beginning and the

destination of this journey is – from the darkness to darkness. This is the beginning of

journey. ‡ãñŠÊãñ •ãⶽãã¹ããÔãîãä¶ã Àã¶ã ý ‚ãã¹ãìʾãã ãä•ãÌããÞãñ •ãã¥ãì¶ã, / Ìãã›Êãñ ‡ãŠãè ‡ãŠãßãñŒãã¦ãî¶ã ý ¾ãñÍããèÊã ¦ãî ýý
(Ka.Ka.13)
(worked hard from birth for You, thought that You will come from the

darkness). In this way, Mardhekar has worked hard for God. The journey which

started in night, ended in dark region. He could have crossed this dark region but in

this unending darkness, he could see only a glimpse of light otherwise, everywhere

darkness.

Allusion is the technique in which poets artistically interweave mythical, historical,

cultural and literary references. Mardhekar is famous in using allusions in his poetry.

These allusions give new meaning and reference while retaining the original reference

and meaning. Through the use of allusions, poets convey two meanings and reader

experiences the meaning at two levels. This is the rare skill in Mardhekar. There are

two levels of experiences of poets and readers. These two levels are experienced at

the same time. Following example makes it clear.

‘–•ãñ ¶ã •ã¶½ãÊãñ Ìãã ½ãñÊãñ ý ¦¾ããÔããè ½Ö¥ãñ •ããñ ‚ãã¹ãìÊãñ,

¦ããñÞããè ½ãì¦Ôããäª •ãã¥ããÌãã ý ªñÌã ¦ãñ©ãñ ‚ããñߌããÌãã ýý
½ããñÊãñ £ãã¡ãè •ããñ ½ãÀã¾ãã ý ¶ããÖãè ‚ããÔãî ‚ãããä¥ã ½ãã¾ãã,
¦¾ããÔããè ¶ãñ¦ãã ºã¶ãÌããÌãñ ý ‚ãã½Öã ½ãòü¤ÀãÔã ŸãÌãñýý (Ka.Ka.3)

(Cunning person is God who cares for those who have not born or dead. He has no

tears and sympathy. We innocent, ignorant make him leader.) Here reader reminds

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famous abhanga of Tukaram, •ãñ ‡ãŠã Àãâ•ãÊãñ Øããâ•ãÊãñ ý ¦¾ããÍããè ½Ö¶ãñ •ããñ ‚ãã¹ãìÊãñ ý ¦ããñÞããè Ôãã£ãì

‚ããñߌãÌãã ý ªñÌã ¦ãñ©ãñÞã •ãã¶ããÌãã ýý (Saint and God is one who helps those who are miserable

and wretched) and the contrast between the past and the present becomes remarkable.

Mardhekar uses well-known prayers, lyrics, folk songs, and abhangaas and uses his

own words to show changed and transformed situation, references in the modern

world. The sharp contrast is also served through this technique. In this connection

Suresh Bhruguwar writes, “Mardhekar transformed the technique of allusion into

deviation and this is the gift of Mardhekar to Marathi poetic stylistics.”65

Mardhekar makes use of popular Marathi songs and conveys serious subject-matter.

He observes railway station platforms in Mumbai on which people move like ants.

Irony is that in this crowd no love and passion are seen. Hence, everybody is lonely.

So ironically, Mardhekar evokes Balkavi’s line, ‘Öã ¹ãÆñ½ããÞãã Êããòü¤ã ÌãÁãä¶ã Öãñ ‚ããÊãã’ (this

flow of love came down) is changed as ‘–‚ããÊãã ‚ããÊãã ÔÌãԦ㠪ÀãÌãÀ ‚ããÊãã Öãñ ‚ããÊãã / Öã

½ãìâؾããÞãã Êããòü¤ã ‚ããÊãã! ŒããñÊãã ¹ãŠã›‡ãŠ ŒããñÊãã! –’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.16) (Came down on the door, this cheap

flow of ants, open gate.) Balkavi’s poem alluded here is written in an appreciation of

morning sunrays in delightful atmosphere; on the other hand, Mardhekar ironically

describes the crowd on the platform of railway station. Balkavi is in the mood of

jubilation while Mardhekar suggests hurries and worries. The contrast between these

two lines is remarkable.

Mardhekar employs the famous and popular lines of the old Marathi poems for

emphasizing the ugly scenes of the changing metropolitan life. In ‘‡ãŠãß¿ãã ºãºããâß

‚ããâ£ããÀãè,’ (Ka.Ka.36) (In utter darkness) the method of allusion has been used. Through this

method, Mardhekar creates the contrasts. With these lines, the new and the old world

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are presented simultaneously and it becomes effective because of its sharp contrast.

Mardhekar borrows the famous lines and changes them and the meaning of the

changed line becomes quite different. e. g. ‘¡ãñßñ Öñ ãä¹ãŠãäʽã Øã¡ñ, Œããñ‡ã슥ããè ½ã•ã ¹ããÖì ¶ã‡ãŠã’,
(Ka.Ka.45)
(your eyes are filmi, do not cough and look at me) is changed by substituting

two words, ‘•ãìãäʽã’, (repressive) and ‘Àãñ‡ã슥ããè’ (stare). Interestingly, the substituted

words signify the lust and passion of lover of modern era.

To evoke the past and the present simultaneously in the mind of the readers, to

compare them, to bring together opposite things and to shock the reader is the purpose

of juxtaposition. “Mardhekar brought together the old and the new worlds and

indirectly compared them and shown a sharp consciousness of the new world. It is a

sarcasm and pity.” 66

Mardhekar uses the effective method of juxtaposition. He uses owi and abhanga to

convey the new meaning through the old popular styles of Marathi poetry. The

purpose of this was to bring in reader’s mind the past and the present at the same time

and show the sharp contrast. By using this technique, Mardhekar portrays modern city

life and all its facets. The poem, Íãì¼ãÆ-ãä¦ããä½ãÀ-½ããñÖ‡ãŠ-ÌããÔã¶ãã ý ½ã½ãÃÀ-ÀÌã-ÞããäÞãæã-¶ã¾ã¶ãã

(Ka.Ka.20)
(white-dark-attractive-desire) is the good example of juxtaposition. Saint

Tukaram’s abhanga,

•ãñ ‡ãŠã Àâ•ãÊãñ Øããâ•ãÊãñ

¦¾ãããäÍã ½Ö¶ãñ •ããñ ‚ãã¹ãìÊãñ
Ôãã£ãì ¦ããñÞããè ‚ããñߌããÌãã
ªñÌã ¦ãñ©ãñÞã •ã¶ããÌãã

is changed and has given new and different shape to Tukaram’s abhanga and created

imagery of ‘leader’ and ‘diplomat’ by replacing some words. The common man is like

‘lamb’, ‘mouse’, ‘ant’ before the rulers and the capitalists. Mardhekar used old

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Sanskrit and Marathi sayings, expressions, famous and popular lines and used them to

criticize new heartrending picture of the world.

Mardhekar borrows the lines from his forerunners and changes, alteres to make them

suitable for his purpose. For example, Saint Tukaram’s line, ‘ãäÞã§ããè ‚ãÔãî ²ããÌãñ Ôã½ãã£ãã¶ã' is

changed by using different word ‘½ã²ã¼ãÆãâãä¦ã'. This change conveys different meaning on

the background of original meaning. By doing this, he portrays the picture of modern

man and shows the difference between the past and the present generation as ãäÞã§ããè ‚ãÔãî

²ããÌããè ý ½ã²ã¼ãÆãâãä¦ã'. Another line of Saint Ramdas - '½ãÀãÌãñ ¹ãÀãè ãä‡ãŠãä¦ãÃÁ¹ããè „ÀãÌãñ is changed as,

½ãÁ¶ããè „ÀãÌãñ £ã¡Á¹ãñ ýý. Mardhekar replaced one word and changed the meaning. Through

this, he conveyed the tendency of modern man and contrasted it with the earlier ages.

In this way, Mardhekar has given reverse meaning to the older form by changing

order or replacing a word or words. The spiritual teaching of Tukaram is distorted and

presented the war time tendency and mentality of people. Faith is replaced by cruelty.

This is the special style of Mardhekar to portray the present by using the lines from

different poets from different periods.

How does the ‘new’ poetry emerge? and What is the ‘new poetry’? Both of these

questions are answered by Mardhekar in a same way. The newness in poetry means,

“new emotional equivalences”67 and new poetry means, “new emotional

equivalences.”68 Here, Mardhekar actually wants to say that; ‘new emotional

equivalences’ means ‘new images.’ New poetry is possible only when there are ‘new

images.’ 69 Mardhekar’s power lies in his special use of new imagery.

It is known that Mardhekar brought imagism in Marathi poetry. The use of imagery

was there in earlier Marathi poetry also. But Mardhekar’s use of imagery is innovative

because he carried out some experiments with it. He undertook experiments with
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imagery because of intense requirement of expression. The contemporary reality is

more complicated and incomprehensible. To express this complicated and

incomprehensible reality poet needs to use imagery. In this way, the innovative use of

imagery was required. Marathi romantic poets used beautiful, attractive and sensitive

images like lotus, moon, flower, swan, water spring and unattractive, ugly and fearful

images like darkness, owl, crow, bear etc. All these images are replaced by new

images in Mardhekar’s poetry. The diverse and opposite perceptions of and reactions

to such perception are expressed through such images. Here poet’s perception,

sensitivity and attitude is important than the conventional meaning of images.

Mardhekar uses unconventional images like, ‘£ããñº¾ããÞããè ½ã… ƒÔ¦ãÀãè’, ‘¹ãŠãÊØãì¶ãã¦ãÊããè ÞãⳇãŠãñÀ’

‘½ããäÊã¶ã ½ã¶ããÞ¾ãã £ããؾããÌãÁ¶ããè’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.17)

(Crescent in March (Falgun) moves on dirty

minds like washerman’s iron moves on sheer yarn) ‘Þãõ¨ã ºãÜã¦ããñ Ìãã‡ãã’, ‘Þãõ¨ã ÞããÊãÊãã

Þãã›î¶ã’, ‘Ìãñ¡¿ãã Ôã¹ãã› ¹ãð©ÌããèÊãã’, (Aa.Ka.Ka.23) (April leans down to look / From a deep blue

sky / ... April licks a mad, / Flat Earth, and passes; [tr.D.C.]) The following poem

presents the series of innovative images: ‘¶ÖãÊãñʾãã •ã¥ãì Øã¼ãÃÌã¦ããèÞ¾ãã / Ôããñ•Ìãß ½ããñև㊦ãñ¶ãñ ºãâªÀ

/ ½ãâìºãã¹ãìãäÀÞãñ „•ããäߦ㠾ãñƒÃ’, (Ka.Ka.58) (Like a woman enceinte, fresh from her bath, / In all her

holy loveliness, slow / On the pinnacle / Of your triumph / You felt, you were / Taller

than the sky.) Such images tend to be obscure and difficult due to their unexpected

fusion. So King Bruce says:

Like the surrealists’, Mardhekar ‘plumbed images out of a Freudian

underworld, and strung them together’; but he did not use free-
association or surrealist automatic writing. Despite the seeming
obscurity images are strung together with a purpose; often there is a
counterpoint making ‘two processes of consciousness sound
simultaneously’. Throughout Mardhekar’s poems ‘one gets feeling that
one is trapped and enclosed in a death chamber from which there is no
escape…The trap is absolute and eternal’. The concern which

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 Mardhekar feels is therefore religious, not socio-moral, nor socio-
cultural.70

The picture of helpless and meaningless modern man in metropolitan city is presented

in the poem,

‘½ããè †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè, Öã †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè,

¦ããñ †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè, ¦ãì †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè,
ãäÖ †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè, ãä¦ã †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè,
¹ããâÞã †©ãʾãã, ¹ããâÞã ãä¹ãŠÀâØããè;’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.16)

(I am an ant, he is an ant, / You are an ant, She is an ant / Five native, five foreign)

This life in city is so numorous and so fast. It shows crowd and rush of workers in

Mumbai. The images of an ‘ant’, ‘rat’, ‘germ’ are portrayed on the various levels as to

show all the characteristics of lower middle class people.

Kusumawati Deshpande comments upon source and precision of Mardhekar’s

imagery in following way:

Some of Mardhekar’s imagery springs from contemporary science, and

some from the changeless rural life. His diction holds apparently
incompatible elements together: English words dialect words, obsolete
words, Sanskritzed words. To the perceptive, their togetherness is not
an eccentricity, but a search for precision. And such precision – “the
precision of the laboratory scales” – was what the artist in Mardhekar
had ever set his heart on achieving. For him the hard concrete
statement, and not the clutter of hazy abstractions. 71

Mardhekar uses to combine two images together and this makes his poetry obscure

and difficult to understand. For example,

¹ãâ‡ã‹ÞãÀÊããè •ããäÀ Àã¨ã ãäªÌ¾ããâãä¶ã,

¦ãÀãè ¹ãâ¹ã¦ããñ ‡ãìŠãä¥ã ‡ãŠãßãñŒã .....
¹ãŠ¦ãá‡ãŠ¶ãá ºãÔãÊããè ÀºãÀãè Àã¨ã ;
ØãìÀØãìÀÌããÌããè ÀºãÀãè ‡ã슨ããè ýý
¦ãÀãè ¹ãâ¹ã¦ããññ ‡ãìŠãä¥ã ‡ãŠãßãñŒã ...
¹ãŠ¦ãá‡ãŠ¶ãá ºãÔãÊããè ÀºãÀãè Àã¨ã; (Ka.Ka.59)

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(although the lights / have punctured the night / someone still pumps darkness into it /

...../ the rubber night goes flat; ..../.... / dogs lick the leather/ of the hidebound mind /

in layered heaps..../ on a punctured night / made of rubber / make rubber dogs growl.

[tr.D.C.]) There are two images, one is ‘Àã¨ã’ (night) and another is ‘‡ã슨ããè’ (dogs).

These two images are fused together, so the poem becomes more difficult to

understand.

The contemporary life of Mardhekar is characterized by the helplessness,

despondency and disillusionment. Naturally, his poetry reflects the desperation about

the contemporary life. While expressing this desperation, and anger, Mardhekar

makes use of irony, sarcasm, and satire. He ironically portrays the effects of the

World War II, industrialization, religious infatuation and massacre, capitalism led to

economic inequality and exploitation of poor, helplessness of lower-middle class, and

the struggle for livelihood of downtrodden. The following poem shows the effects of

modernization and so only the skeltons laugh and no flesh is there:

Öã¡ãâÞãñ Ôãã¹ãßñ ÖãÔã¦ããè

¢ã¡¥ããžãã ½ããâÔããÔã ¹ããÖì¶ããè;
ãä‡ãŠ¦ããè Êã¹ããäÌãÊãñ ¦ãÀãè ÍãñÌã›ãè
ªã¦ããâÞãñ ãäªÔã¥ããÀÞã ¹ãã¥ããè.
¹ãÖã ãäÌãÞããÁãä¶ã ¦¾ãã¶ãã ‡ãŠÔãÊããè
½ãõ©ãì¶ããâ¦ã Àñ ‚ãÔã¦ãñ ãä¢ãâØã;
ªãŒããäÌããä¦ãÊã ¦ãñ ¼ããñ‡ãŠ ãäÀ‡ãŠã½ãñ
ãä•ã©ãñ ‚ãÔããÌãñ ½ããâÔãÊã ãäÊãâØã. (Ka.Ka.56)

(skeltons laugh / Watching / flesh plaster-off; / even if you try / very hard to hide it, /

finally the teeth / must show their water / ask them what kick / they get out of fucking;

/ promptly they'll point / at an empty hole / where a healthy penis / should have been.)

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Mardhekar often juxtaposes the past with the present and shows in his own ironical

style how the earlier life was happy and contented. His experiences of both earlier life

- country life - and the modern life in Mumbai are presented in:

ãä‡ãŠ¦ããè ¦ãÀãè ãäªÌãÔãã¦ã

¶ããÖãè Þãã⪥¾ãã¦ã ØãñÊããñ;
ãä‡ãŠ¦ããè ¦ãÀãè ãäªÌãÔãã¦ã
¶ããÖãè ¶ãªãè¦ã ¡ìâºãÊããñ.
Œãìʾãã Þãã⪥¾ããÞããè ‚ããñ¤
‚ããÖñ ½ãã¢ããè Öãè •ãì¶ããèÞã

Still he desires to go in simple country life but ironically enough, he knows his

limitations and says:

ºãÀã ½Ö¥ãì¶ã Öã ƒ©ãñ

ãäªÌãã ¹ããÀÌãã ¹ããžããÞãã;
ºãÀãè ¦ããñ¦ãžãã ¶ãßãÞããè
ãäÍãÀãè £ããÀ, ½ãìŒããè ¨ãÉÞãã. (Aa. Ka. Ka. 31)

The ironic juxtaposition of the rural and urban life is clear here however, the

innovative imagery in ãäªÌãã ¹ããÀÌãã ¹ããžããÞãã; and ¦ããñ¦ãÀã ¶ãß is also noticeable.

Mardhekar ironically criticizes the application of scientific inventions in day-to-day

life. The profit making tendency of the people is also ironically criticized. The

following poem tells how people are affected by the vices like arrogance, lust, rivalry,

ego and jealousy. They easily make use of medicine for very ordinary purposes and

how physicians are making much money out of this business:

½ãÔ¦ãÊããè ƒÞœñÞããè ‡ãŠã¾ãã ý ƒÃÓþãã, ‚ãÖâ¦ãã, ‚ãÔãî¾ãã

ºããñÞã¦ããè, •ãõÍãã ‡ãŠãè Ôãì¾ãã ý ƒâ•ãñ‡ã‹Íã¶ãñ ýý
ƒâ•ãñ‡ã‹Íã¶ãñ Ìããü¤ñ Íã§ãŠãè ý ƒâ•ãñ‡ã‹Íã¶ãñ •ããƒÃ ¼ããè¦ããè;
ƒâ•ãñ‡ã‹Íã¶ãñ ÊãŸáŸ Öãñ¦ããè ý ºãìãä® - Ô¶ãã¾ãî (Ka.Ka.9)

Mardhekar assigns himself the role of ‘joker’ or ‘fool’, and by this he gets the

freedom of commenting on contemporary perverted aspects of society. He laments

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over the loss of delicate passions like love, compassion and pity. Many of

Mardhekar’s poems are elegies on the various aspects of human loss. The glory of

human culture is decayed. The characteristics of heroism have been lost and people

become weak and inactive like Ganpat Wani who are satisfied only with smoking vidi

and daydreaming where heroic action does not take place. Mardhekar has parodied

the relationship of men and women also. He has the hatred for passionless sexual

relations and says, ‘Ôãâ—ãñÌããÞãì¶ã Ôãâ¼ããñØããÞããè / ‚ãÔããèÞã ‡ãŠÔãÀ¦ã ‚ãÔã¦ãñ ÖÊã‡ã‹¾ãã’ (Ka.Ka.41) (This is the

futile exercise of the sex without sense) Thus, Mardhekar covers many aspects of

human life in his ironic portrayal.

Using the irony is one of the characteristics of modernism. So D. V. Deshpande

writes:

The use of irony is profuse in Mardhekar’s poetry. ‚ãã—ãã Öãñ¦ãã ÌããèÀ / Öã¦ããè
ÜãñƒÃ ÍããèÀ / ‡ã슥ãÞ¾ãã? ‡ãŠÍããÊãã? / - ¼ãã‡ãŠÀãè ¹ããñ›Êãã ýý!’ (Ka.Ka.1) (Warrier is obeying
orders and is ready to kill anybody for the sake of livelihood. At one
hand the soldiers are killing for the livelihood while at another, the
beggars are helpless and they are requesting alms with naked body.)
ºã¡Ìããè¦ã ãä›-¾ããà ý ‚ã£ãùããñ› ãä‡ãâŠÌãã / ‚ããñâØãß ªñŒããÌãã ý ªãŒãÌããè¦ãýý (Ka.Ka.19) (…A child is
begging alms everyday and his mother is helpless behind him.)
Mardhekar here shows compassion. Man is degraded. The degradation
and degeneration is seen everywhere. 72

Poetry before Mardhekar was simple, straightforward, easy and romantic in its nature.

Mardhekar spent his early part of life in rural area of Maharashtra, especially in

Khandesh. Later on, for higher education and service, he had to live in Mumbai, Delhi

and London. When in Europe, he experienced the effects of World War I on human

life. In Mumbai and Delhi, he experienced the metropolitan consciousness. He had

varied experiences of rural life and metropolitan life, Indian life and European life.

Because of these diverse regional and cultural experiences, his poetic expressions

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inevitably became very complicated. Multilingual, multicultural and diverse social

influences are responsible for obscurity in Mardhekar’s poetry. A famous poet Grace

says, “Complexity is separate chapter in Mardhekar’s poetry.”73 “The poem, ‘ãä¹ã¹ãã¦ã

½ãñÊãñ ‚ããñʾãã „âªãèÀ; / ½ãã¶ãã ¹ã¡Ê¾ãã ½ãìÀØãßÊ¿ããÌããè¥ã;’ (Ka.Ka.21) (mice in the wet barrel died; / their

necks dropped, untwisted; [tr.D.C.]) created the storm in Marathi literature because of

its symbols, unpoetic language and obscurity of theme.”74 Hence, “Mardhekar’s

poetry remained far away from the common, ordinary readers and its responsibility

lies not with critics but readers are also equally responsible for that because readers

also could not understand this poetry.”75 The supporters of obscurity think that

complex and obscure experiences create complex expressions in literature. Mardhekar

had experienced the opposite things like pre and post World War life, Indian rural and

Indian metropolitan life, European and Indian life, European and Indian literature.

The following extract from Modern Indian Poetry in English by King Bruce describes

the obscurity in Mardhekar’s poetry.

Chitre praises the Marathi poet Mardhekar for his obscurity: ‘the
obscurity arising out of a specific communication-technique based on
his private poetics’. It is the defiant obscurity of modern poetry in the
face of hackneyed techniques of communication; to understand the
poetry we must ‘grasp the grammar of the poet’s individual
consciousness.’ Mardhekar used musical organization of imagery and
counterpoint.’ … ‘New speech rhythms, new syntax, or vocabulary or
imagery, result from a revolutionary structural upheaval deep within
the creative poet’s personality.’ …‘A major poet breaks away from
previous modes of consciousness and thus will always be obscure to
most readers. He or she will, like Mardhekar or Kolatkar in Marathi,
‘hit upon the new’ and crash ‘into the unknown’, annihilating in the
process the habitual poetics of past generations.76

Mardhekar’s poetry becomes difficult because of the innovative use of language.

Readers expect the conventional poetic language from Mardhekar but he used

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unconventional and unexpected slang, uncultured, obscure words and phrases in his

poems. e.g. 'Ô¦ã¶ã', (breast) '¤ìâØã¶ã', (buttock) '¼ããñ‡ãŠ', (hole) 'ãäÊãâØã', (penis) 'Öã¡ãâÞãñ Ôãã¹ãßñ

ÖãÔã¦ããè', (skeletons laugh) 'ãä¹ãÞãñ ‚ããâ£ããÀ ¹ããñ‡ãŠß' (the empty darkness ruptures). Mardhekar

used to make unusual combination of words and some English words in his poems.

Unusual combination of adjectives and nouns make it difficult to grasp the meaning

of lines. e. g. 'ãäÞãÀ‡ãŠã ¶ãŒãÀã',(slit affection) and 'ãäºãÊããñÀãè ‚ããÍãã' (the prism of our hopes).

Such a type of use of adjectives conveys a kind of indirect sarcasm.

The unusual and new imagery is the important reason of complexity in Mardhekar’s

poetry. Madhukar Wakode says, “The publication of Mardhekar’s Kahin Kavita in

1947 shocked readers and critics. Strange new images, strange combination of

Marathi-English-Sanskrit words, oblique style and his style of fracturing words and

his carefree style appeared strange to readers.”77

The degree of complexity and obscurity in Mardhekar’s poems are enhanced as he has

not given the titles to his poems. Vilas Sarang feels that Mardhekar has followed

Auden, an English poet, as far as the practice of numbering the poems, instead of

giving them title, is concerned. “Auden has given only numbers to poems in his first

collection of poems. This is a new thing. Mardhekar has followed this practice. This

possibility of imitation of Auden cannot be denied.”78

Vasant Shahane also expresses, “A genuine assessment of B. S. Mardhekar as an

author is rendered rather difficult owing to the elusiveness, ambiguity and complexity

of his work.…The complex moral and aesthetic patterns of Mardhekar’s writings,

particularly his poetry are perhaps associated with the innate complexity of modern

civilization itself.…his new and strange experimentation with form and technique.”79

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Besides thematic concerns, Mardhekar experimented with the use of languages with

regard to vocabulary, grammar, syntax etc.

The modernist poetry uses the everyday, colloquial, conversational language. It

rejects the use of the conventional poetic language. By using familiar language,

modernist poetry brought vigour and vitality in poetry. Mardhekar uses the colloquial

and day-to-day conversational words like, ‘‡ãŠ¹ãããäÍãÞãñ ºããò¡', '¼ãã‡ãŠÀ', '¼ãìƒÃ½ãìØããÞãã ªã¥ãã', '‡ãŠã›ñÀãè

ÌããâØããè', 'ÌããÊããÞãñ ½ããñ¡', 'ãä›ÈâØãÊã', 'Öããä¹ãŠÔã', 'ãäÍãâØãÊã'. He uses rural, rustic and colloquial words in

his poems. Mardhekar uses some English words which are used in Marathi day-to-day

conversation. e.g. ‘injection’, ‘clutch’, ‘switch’, ‘signal’, ‘cylinder’, ‘tire’, ‘pump’,

‘puncture’, ‘acid’, ‘crystal’ etc. He picked up these words and gave them new

meaning and form in association with Marathi words. The nouns in English like

‘puncture’, ‘pump’, are used as verbs ‘puncturali’, ‘pumpto’ in Marathi. This is the

innovative use of language or ‘experiment’ in language.

Like Donne and Eliot, the opening of Mardhekar’s poems is also colloquial. His

poems like, ‘ãä‡ãŠ¦ããè ¦ãÀãè ãäªÌãÔãã¦ã / ¶ããÖãè Þãã⪥¾ãã¦ã ØãñÊããñ;’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.31), Ôã‡ãŠããäß „Ÿãñ¶ããè ý ÞãÖã-‡ãŠãù¹ãŠãè

ܾããÌããè, / ¦ããäÍãÞã ØããŸãÌããè ý Ìããè•ã-Øãã¡ãè ýý (Ka.Ka.7) show the influence of Donne and Eliot. In this

way, Mardhekar uses informal style of opening of the poems.

Mardhekar gives unconventional forms and forms new coinage to the Marathi words.

The words like -'Øãâ•ãªãÀ', '¢ãØããß', '„ãäØãÞã¦ãã' are fromed from the origional words Øãâ•ã,

¢ãØãã, „ãäØãÞã. Sometimes he combines unusually two Marathi words and gave new form

to it. e.g. '¾ãâ¨ã½ãìØ£ã', '¼ãì‡ãñŠ‡ãâŠØãããäÊãÔ¦ãã¶ã.' So eminent critic of Mardhekar D. B. Kulkarni

says, “Only two poets - Govindagraj and Mardhekar - in modern Marathi poetry

added words to dictionary.”80 English words like, ‘break’, ‘robo’, ‘pylon’, ‘cocktail’,

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‘piston’ are abundant in Mardhekar’s poetry. The alternative Marathi words are not

available so he uses them as they were. These words fit in Marathi language as if they

are Marathi and this is the skill and speciality of Mardhekar. He makes some English

words Marathi. e. g. from ‘polish’, he made ‘polishane’. These words become Marathi

because of their changed morphology and day-to-day use in conversation.

The use of language is very important aspect in Mardhekar’s modernism. “In

Shishiragama his language was under the influence of Govindagraj, Balkavi, and

Madhav Julian.”81 Afterwards, his language is influenced by Donne, Eliot, and

measures of Marathi Saint Poetry like owi and abhangaa. So his language becomes

disciplined. However, language was not sufficient to express his feelings and

experiences. Mardhekar was fully aware of the inadequacy of conventional Marathi

poetic language to express his feelings and experiences. He complains and

metaphorically says, ‘¦ãâØã ‚ãÔãñ •ããäÀ ãäÌã•ããÀ / Í㺪ãÞããè ‚ããÍã¾ããÔã, ÀãŒã ¦ããäÀ ƒ½ãã¶ã ýý (Ka.Ka.25)

(Eventhough, the trouser of the words is short for content, keep fidelity.) The same is

expressed in the poems like, ‚ããÍã¾ããÞãã ¦ãìÞã ÔÌãã½ããè! / Í㺪ÌããÖãè ½ããè ãä¼ã‡ãŠãÀãè! (Aa.Ka.Ka.1) (God,

you are the master of meaning! / I am a mere begger carrying words), ‚ãÌãÜã¡ ‚ããÍãã,

„Ôã¶ããè ¼ããÓãã, „Ôã¶ãã „ÞÞããÀ (Aa.Ka.Ka.26)

(difficult hopes, borrowed language, borrowed

uttarance, borrowed intention.)

Mardhekar changes Marathi poetic language for his purpose without disturbing its

fundamental form. For doing this, he gives new words, new syntax, new rhythm, new

process of pronunciation, new intonation to the language in various ways and makes it

convenient for his use. Like Marathi language, Mardhekar was proficient in English

language also, which made him to use English words at appropriate places.

Sometimes he uses English words separately, and sometimes he uses them in

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association with Marathi words. He uses these English words in a fashion and style of

Marathi rustic person, '¡ã§ãŠÀ', 'ƒâ•ãñ‡ã‹Íã¶ã', '‡ã‹ÊããñÀãñ¹ãŠã½ãÃ', (Ka. Ka.9)

'‡ãŠãù‡ãŠ›ñÊã', '¹ãŠÊã㛹ãŠãù½ãà ',

'‡ã‹ÊãÞã', (Aa.Ka.Ka.16)
'©Çãì' (Ka Ka.31)
'ãäÍãâØãÊã' (Ka.Ka.39)
While doing all these experiments,

Mardhekar wanted to shape and turn Marathi language according to the lines of

English language. So Marathi syntax, phrases, and words have become obscure and

complicated to understand.

Mardhekar wanted to express in his poetry what he felt intensely in the metropolitan

cities – loneliness, isolation, boredom, insecurity, sense of loss, faithlessness etc.

Then he came to know the inadequacy of words and language to express his feelings.

He felt that romantic idiom is not sufficient to express contemporary horrible reality

and its consciousness. So to achieve his end, he undertakes some experiments with

words, syntax and language. Mardhekar follows his own rules and regulations of

language. He changes the conventional and romantic language. The language before

Mardhekar had a logical arrangement. But Mardhekar had to use this language for

modern poetry. So instead of keeping logical orders, he keeps emotional order. Poetry

before Mardhekar followed the chronological order of events and narration.

Sometimes Mardhekar neglects the rules of Marathi sentence structure. He changes

the order of the words in his poems and this aspect is noticeable. Mardhekar has also

fractured the grammar and syntax of Marathi language. This is one more reason of

obscurity in Mardhekar’s poetry. “¹ãìÔã¦ããñ ÔãìÖãÔã, Ô½ãÁãä¶ã¾ãã / ¦ãì•ã ‚ããÔãÌãñ” (Prologue and Epilogue to
Shishiragama)
(I ask Suhas, recalling / the sheding leaf after leaf, I wipe tears.) is the

complicated word order, Mardhekar has devised. '¹ãìÔã¦ããñ' (means to wipe and to ask) is

the verb and it is used for ‘¦ãì•ã’ (you) and '‚ããÔãÌãñ' (tears) but by placing these two

words far away from each other Mardhekar confused reader. Another example is,

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‘ãä¹ã¹ãã¦ã ½ãñÊãñ ‚ããñʾãã „âªãèÀ; / ½ãã¶ãã ¹ã¡Ê¾ãã, ½ãìÀØãßáʾãããäÌã¶ã;’ (Ka.Ka.21) (mice in the wet barrel died;

/ their necks dropped, untwisted ;) This line should be like, ‘‚ããñʾãã ãä¹ã¹ãã¦ã „âªãèÀ ½ãñÊãñ;.’

But by using unusual word order Mardhekar brings multiplicity of meaning. The word

‘‚ããñʾãã’ is now applicable for both ‘„âªãèÀ’ and ‘ãä¹ãâ¹ã’ because of its changed word order.

Mardhekar has given “new language to poetry – the language of machine, and

scientific age. The use of language of machine age is remarkable in Mardhekar’s

poetry.”82 The language of Mardhekar’s poetry became Marathamoli – having a

Marathi flavor. “It started to follow the form and the rhythm of the daily discourse. It

emphasised an aptness. Sometimes, it became rough and rustic.” 83

Instead of using conventional poetic words, Mardhekar uses slang, vulgar, rustic

words. This is one of the experiments of Mardhekar. The banned words like, bhok,

vistha, sandasatil ghan, tirrya, ling are used boldly by Mardhekar. The established

convention of not using vulgar, indecent, words is broken down for the requirement of

content. This innovative technique of using words and phraseology is one of the

characteristics of modernism.

Mardhekar changes the idiom of Marathi poetry. He carries out experiments and

opens the new possibilities for the poets of next generation. He was already familiar

with English and European literature and he knew Sanskrit, traditional, old and

modern Marathi poetry. This helps him to do experiments in poetry. He brings

modernism in Marathi poetry without harming Marathiness. So D. V. Deshpande

says, “Mardhekar’s language is difficult. It is influenced by the whole Marathi

literature. Partially, it has been influenced by Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, and Ramdas.

The echoes of old Sanskrit literature are heard in this language.”84

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Modernist poets violate the conventional rules of grammar and so they bring

innovative use in language. This is called the deviation. Such use in language

becomes memorable and such use makes language and literature rich and proficient.

Mardhekar has not cared for the general rules of sentence structure and syntax. He has

not preferred the logical arrangement of words in language. So majority of

Mardhekar’s poems seem to be obscure. There is no relation between ‘‡ãŠ¥ãã ½ããñ¡Êãã

ãä¶ãÏÞãÊã¦ãñÞãã and Ûãã ¹ããÊããèÞ¾ãã ‚ããÌãã•ãã¶ãñ;’ (Ka.Ka 37) (the voice of the house-lizard broke the

pivot of silence.) and the following lines, ‘£ã½½ã½ã ÔãÀ¥ã½ã’ ‡ã슥ããè ºããñÊãÊãñ / ¹ããÓãã¥ãããä¦ãÊã ºã죪-

ãä½ãÓãã¶ãñ.’ (Ka.Ka 37)

“Though these lines are brought together they do not have any

relation. They are irrelevant.”85

Mardhekar uses punctuations in his Kahin Kavita and Aankhi Kahin Kavita in a

meaningful manner. Such a type of use of punctuation brings dramatic effect in his

poems. Perhaps this might be because of the impact of English language. He uses

punctuations in a different ways. e.g. "¤ãÔãßÊããèè ‚ã¶ãá •ãÀã ‘‚ãÖ½ãá’¦ãã " (Aa.Ka.Ka.8)
‘Ôãì›áÊãã’,

½Ö¥ã¦ããè ÔããÀñ, ‘¹ãÆã¥ããèè’!" (Ka.Ka.37)

Mardhekar’s use of brackets is also of English style. e.g.

"•ãØ㥾ããÞããè (¹ã¥ã „²ãã) ¹ãÆãä¦ã—ãã" (Aa.Ka.Ka.2)

(To live (but Tomorrow)/ In a broadcast.) "¹ã슛ñÊã

(Öãñ¦ããè Ìãñ¡ãè ‚ããÍãã)" (Aa.Ka.Ka.7)

(“(I fondly hoped) The puritan mould”) The use of dash is

also noticeable. e.g.-‚ããÔã¹ããÔã, -¼ãã‡ãŠÀãè ¹ããñ›ãÊãã !! -‚ãã½ÖãèÞã •ãߥã- (Ka.Ka.1) ‘-ºããƒÃ, ãä¼ã‡ãŠã-¾ããÊãã

ÜããÊãã’; (Ka.Ka.23)
- ‚ãããä¥ã ¹ããâØãʾãã ØããƒÃ •ãØã¼ãÀ; / Øããñ½ãî¨ã¶ãñ ¹ããÌã¶ã ‚㽺ãÀ! Some of the lines are

written in an italic style by Mardhekar, where he mixed another poetic form and

where he borrowed earlier popular lines with some changes to create iroy. For

instance,

‡ãŠãß¿ãã ºãâºããß ‚ãâ£ããÀãè

£ã¹ãã¹ã¦ãñ Öñ ƒâãä•ã¶ã;
‡ã슛ᛠãä¹ãÌãß¿ãã ¹ãÖã›ãè

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 ‚ããÀÌã¦ããñ ªõ¶ãâã䪶ã
¼ããòØãã . –––

"Üã¶ã:;ãã½ãÔãìâªÀã Ïããè£ãÀã ãäØããäÀ¥ããñª¾ã ¢ããÊãã,

„ãäŸ ÊãÌã‡ãŠãäÀ ã䪶ã¹ããßãè..............." (Ka. Ka. 36)

Inversion is stylistic device. The change in order of accepted grammatical words or

reversing the word order is called inversion. This technique is used by a poet

deliberately to bring expected effect or for emphasizing the particular word. This is a

kind of short-cut to establish harmonious communication between poet and reader.

Deliberate and planned inversion characterizes the style of a poet. For making

inversion, successful and popular a poet needs skill. The purpose of changing the

order of words is to give special emphasis on one word of the group. ¼ã›‡ãŠ¦ã ãä¹ãŠÀÊããñ

¼ã¶ãâØã ‚ãããä¶ã‡ãŠ (Ka. Ka.27)

, Ûãã ØãâØãñ½ããä£ã ØãØã¶ã ãäÌã¦ãßÊãñ (Aa.Ka.Ka.8)
, ¹ã슛ñÊã Öãñãä¦ã Ìãñ¡ãè ‚ããÍãã (Aa.Ka.Ka.9)

are the examples of inversion. Mardhekar is very famous for practicing inversion.

Conventional grammatical rules are neglected for the sake of ‘prime words.’ Prime

words – emphasized words – are the angels of poet. Generally, these words are verbs

and they are placed at the beginning of the line. Mardhekar employs this stylistic

device skillfully in his poems.

The subject-matter of modernist poetry is complicated human life of new era, and

when poets deal with it, obiviously the poetry becomes obscure and complicated.

Mardhekar uses the stream-of-consciousness technique in his poetry. The continuity

of thought process is deliberately disturbed to reflect psychological state of characters.

Some expected links and statements are dropped and the sequence is disturbed. This

also helps poet to convey fractured modern society and confused behaviour of people.

Moreover, this is the true and psychological presentation of the conscious and the

subconscious mind. Mardhekar uses discontinuous technique and complex images to

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represent speed, absurdity and chaos of contemporary world. Consequently, poem

becomes difficult to understand and readers get bewildered.

This discontinuous technique is employed in the lines like: ‚ã²ãã¶ããè •ãØããÔã ý —ãã¶ã ¹ãã•ãî ¶ã¾ãñ,

(Not to give knowledge to the ignorant / remain after death bodily). Here he jumps

from ‘—ãã¶ã ¹ãã•ãî ¶ã¾ãñ’ to ‘½ã²ã¼ãÆãâ¦ããè’ (wine delusion) and from ‘½ã²ã¼ãÆãâ¦ããè’ to ‘¹ãã•ãî ¶ã¾ãñ’.

Mardhekar employs the stream-of-consciousness technique in his poems, they are

‘‚ããÀã½ããÞãã Àã½ã’, ‘Ôã‡ãŠãßãè „Ÿãñ¶ããè ý ÞãÖã-‡ãŠãù¹ãŠãè ܾããÌããè', ‘‡ãŠ¥ãã ½ããñ¡Êãã ãä¶ãÏÞãÊã¦ãñÞãã’. A word from

a word and an image from image is created, so that these poems confuse readers. So

Gangadhar Gadgil comments on his use of stream-of-consciousness, “Mardhekar

jumps from one branch to another like a squirrel. Often times, instead of moving from

the state of consciousness, he moves with the sub-consciousness state of mind and he

comes up in between the time to startle reader.”86 Some unusual combinations are

used by Mardhekar, e.g. ‘½ã졲ããÞããè ÀãÔã, (heap of dead bodies) (ÀãÔã is used for grains)

'Øããñß¿ããâÞãñ ¹ããÀãØã' (pollen of bullets) (¹ããÀãØã is used for flowers) (Ka.Ka.1)

Mardhekar here

creates unique emotional effect.

It is generally accepted that modernist poets use free verse as a medium for their

poetic expressions. The use of free verse is the most essential characteristics of

modernist poetry. Mardhekar’s contemporary poets used free verse as a medium of

poetry. However, Mardhekar’s views are somewhat different and he is against using

free verse as a modernist technique. On the other hand, he selects traditional poetic

forms like abhanga and owi as a medium of his poetry since these forms are nearer to

free verse. In this way, Mardhekar enjoys the freedom of free verse in traditional

poetic forms to express modernist sensibility. The modernist poets those who have

infatuation to use free verse are parodied by Mardhekar, ‘ƒÀñÔã ¹ã¡Êããñ •ãÀ ºãÞÞã½ãá•ããè /

186
½ãì§ãŠœâª ¦ãÀ ãäÊãÖãè¶ã ½ããèÖãè,’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.12) (If I may be resolved; I will also write Free Verse.)

However, Mardhekar proves that he can write in free verse.

Mardhekar abandons the sonnet form of his earlier romantic influence and practiced

abhanga, owi, dewidar, and padakulak. In most of his poems, he uses padakulak, a

sixteen syllable line. Mardhekar uses this metre profusely in his Kahin Kavita and

Aankhi Kahin Kavita. While writing his modernist poetry, Mardhekar has not

abandoned prosody and metre and this is the tradition in his poetry. The structure of

Mardhekar’s twenty eight poems is like Saint Poetry. This shows the influence of the

Saint Poetry on Mardhekar. Out of these twenty-eight poems, some are written in owi

and some are written in abhanga. Mardhekar abandons free verse but he uses owi and

its flexibility for his purpose of expression. Owi is not written in the rules of prosody

so it is as much as like free verse. Mardhekar tries to free his poetry by using

traditional forms like owi, abhanga etc.

Mardhekar tells the story of modern man through owi metre which was used by Saints

for spiritual writings. Kahin Kavita begins with:

½ãã¢ãã ‚ã¼ãâØã ½ãã¢ããè ‚ããñÌããè ý ¶ã¦ã³Ó› Øãã©ãã ØããñÌããè,

ƒâãä•ã¶ãÌããè¶ã Øãã¡ãè •ãñÌããè ý ÜãÀâØãßñ. (Prologue to Ka.Ka.)

(My abhanga, my owi relates the story of meanness / train is rolling without engine)

This construction is like owi-abhanga. Mardhekar’s ‘‚ããÀã½ããÞãã Àã½ã,’, ‘•ãñ ¶ã •ã¶½ãÊãñ Ìãã

½ãñÊãñ,’ are written like abhangaas. In Kahin Kavita, following poems are written in owi

form: ‚ããØã ‚ãâ£ããÀãÞããè •ããèÌãã ý ‡ãŠãñ¥¾ãã ªñÌãã¶ãñ ÊããÌãÊããè!,(Ka.Ka.4) ‘‚ããÖñ ºã죣ããèÍããè ƒ½ãã¶ã ý •ãã¥ãñ ãäÌã—ãã¶ãÞããè

—ãã¶ã; (Ka.Ka.11) ‘¶ããÖãè ‡ãŠãñ¥ããè ‡ãŠã ‡ã슥ããÞãã ý ºãã¹ã-Êãñ‡ãŠ, ½ãã½ãã-¼ããÞãã,’ (Ka.Ka.12) ‘‡ãñŠÊãñ •ã¶½ãã¹ããÔãìãä¶ã Àã¶ã ý

‚ãã¹ãìʾãã ãä•ãÌããÞãñ •ãã¥ãì¶ã,’ (Ka.Ka.13)

‘ÞããÊãÊãã Öã ºãâãä ªÌãã¶ã ý Øãã¡ã Öã‡ãŠãè ºãâãäªÌãã¶ã’, (Ka.Ka.14)
‘•ãØããÞãã

187
Êãã蹦ããßã ý ¶ããÖãè, ãä‡ãâŠÌãã ¼ããñßã;’, (Ka.Ka.15)
‘ãäÍãÌããäÊãâØã ½ãã¢ãñ ãäÊãâØã ý ÖñÞã ‚ãÍããâ¦ããèÞãñ ãäºãâØã,’ (Ka.Ka.16)
‘•ãñ

‚ã—ãã¶ãã¦ã •ã¶½ãÊãñ ý ‚ãããä¥ã ‚ã—ãã¶ãã¦ã ½ãñÊãñ, (Ka.Ka.17)

‘ºã¡Ìããè¦ã ãä›Å¾ããà ý ‚ã£ãùããñ› ãä‡ãâŠÌãã.’ (Ka.Ka.19)
and

Ka.Ka.5,6,8,9,10.

In this way, by using owi and abhanga, Mardhekar tries to connect his poetry with

Marathi poetic tradition. He brings out this old treasure and tries to make it new and

suitable by polishing it. This is the modernist attitude to look at tradition and to give it

new form and dimension. Therefore, Kusumawati Deshpande writes, “He had been

emotionally nourished on the poetry of two saints, Tukaram and Ramdas. This

‘modernist’ poet had used their verse forms, and even some of the mannerisms of

their diction.The spiritual strain that had been dormant now came alive, and some of

the poems in the book throb with it.”87

S. P. Bhagwat says:

Mardhekar used old Marathi metre abhanga for his modernist and
varied expressions, in the same way; he used modern popular metre
padakulak. .... But he attempted and changed the structure of
padakulak for his purpose of theme of his poems. Sometimes he
changed the number of words from four to five to six in a line;
sometimes he cuts line, e. g. ‡ãŠãß ½ããÁ¥ããè, ØãñÊãã ›¹ãÊããè / ¶ã ‡ãŠß¦ã. (Aa.Ka.Ka.26)
(Time gave a gentle tap / On the head) Sometimes he changed rhyme
scheme, sometimes he inserted the popular lines of different metres
and disturbed the rhythm of padakulak then he used to continue
padakulak. e.g. Øããò£ãßáÊãñʾãã ‚ã¶ã ãäÞãÞããòß¿ãã. 88

He follows the rhyme scheme, but the words he devised for the internal rhyme are

unexpected. This use of rhyme scheme is his novelty, individuality, and originality.

e.g. In ‘‡ãŠãß¿ãã ºãâºããß ‚ãâ£ããÀãè / £ã¹ãã¹ã¦ãñ Öñ ƒâãä•ã¶ã;’ (Ka. Ka.36) he used ‘ß’ in such a fashion that

it becomes unexpected pattern of rhyme. Again the rhyme in the words like, ingine-

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dainandin, bhonga-gongatala, sara-dhara, aani-chakrapani, dhamadhum-saaragam,

and gard-jard is remarkable one.

Shishiragama is Mardhekar’s first collection of poems where he tells his frustrated

love story. This collection of poems has a strong influence of Ravikiran Mandal.

Hence, it is written in the romantic style of Ravikiran Mandal. Therefore, Prakash

Deshpande says, “It feels that the poems in Shishiragamaa are of ‘personal’ in nature.

But the poetry after that becomes ‘impersonal’.”89

Afterwards, in the second collcetion of the poems in Kahin Kavita, Mardhekar

describes the sordid social situation in Maharashtra and especially in Mumbai where

he goes far away from his personal note of sadness. Like Eliot, the principle of

‘impersonality’ has practiced by Mardhekar effectively in his poems. His Kahin

Kavita presents the agony of the modern metropolitan man and Aankhi Kahin Kavita

shows a path to escape from the agony, and as a matured poet he deals with the

devotional life. In short, he becomes metaphysical - beyond physical - poet.

Thus, the critical evaluation and analysis of his poems underlines the influences on

Mardhekar from various sources – foreign and native. Mardhekar despite having

formative influences from other writers is a progressive artist who used his own

conscience to explicate the modernist sensibility. He has not imitated blindly the

literary devices used by other poets but definitely he was inspired by some of them.

His expectations executed with regard to content and style qualify him to be a

modernist poet who contribted significantly to the treasure of Indian literature.

189
References:

1. Vijaya Rajadhyakshya. Punha Mardhekar. Mumbai: Mauj Prakashan Gruha,

2008, pp.161-162.
2. op. cit. Vijaya Rajadhyakshya. Punha Mardhekar, Mumbai: Mauj
Publication, Gruha, 2008.p.176.
3. Ibid., pp. 233-35.
4. Dhondo Vitthal Deshpande. Mardhekaranchi Kavita, Ek Abyas, Nagpur:
Sahitya Prasar Kendra, 1990, p.3.
5. op. cit. Vijaya Rajadhyakshya. Punha Mardhekar. Mumbai: Mauj Prakashan
Gruha, 2008.p.201.
6. Srilekha Sane. ‘Mardhekarachi Kavita’, Marathi Wangamayacha Abhinava
Itihas. ed. Jogalekar, G.N. Pune: Snhewardhan Publishing House, 1993, p.
137.
7. Vasanti Muzumdar. ed. Sahityachi Bhoomi, S.P. Bhagwat. Mumbai:
Granthali Prakashan, 1997, p.18.
8. Dhondo Vitthal Deshpande. Mardhekaranchi Kavita, Ek Abyas. Nagpur:
Sahitya Prasar Kendra, 1990, p.3.
9. Vijaya Rajadhyakshya. Punha Mardhekar. Mumbai: Mauj Prakashan Gruha,
2008. p. 62.
10. Gangadhar Gadgil. ‘Mardhekar: Dusare Keshavsut’ Mauj, Mumbai: Mauj,
22 June, 1949, pp. 7-10.
11. R. S. Jog. ed. Harapale Sreya. Pune: Continental Publication, 1978, p. 197.
12. D. V. Deshpande. Mardhekaranchi Kavita: Ek Abhyas. Nagpur: Sahitya
Prasar Kendra, 1990, p. 3.
13. Vijaya Rajadhyakshya. Punha Mardhekar. Mumbai: Mauj Prakashan Gruha,
2008, p. 2.
14. Vasanti Muzumdar. ed. Sahityachi Bhoomi, S.P. Bhagwat. Mumbai:
Granthali Prakashan, 1997, p.48.
15. Ibid, 48.
16. B. S. Mardhekar. Saundrya ani Sahitya. Mumbai: Mauj Prakashan, 1992,
p.161.
17. Vasanti Muzumdar. ed. Sahityachi Bhoomi, S. P. Bhagwat. Mumbai:
Granthali Prakashan, 1997, p. 48.
18. G. V. Karandikar. Parampara ani Navata. Mumbai: Popular Publication,
Mumbai, 1980, p.192.
19. Dilip Chitre. Satyakatha. Mumbai: Mauj Prakashan Gruha, Oct. 1964,
pp.19-32.
20. Vasant Aabaji Dahake. ‘Kavitevishayi’, Navkaviteche Pravartak: Ba. Si.
Mardhek. Aurangabad: Swaroop Prakashan, 1999, p.113.

190
21. Vasanti Muzumdar. ed. Sahityachi Bhoomi, S.P. Bhagwat. Mumbai:
Granthali Prakashan, 1997, p.8.
22. John Hayward. ed. The Penguin Book of English Verse, London: Penguin,
1987, p. 388.
23. Ibid., 388.
24. Vasant Aabaji Dahake. ‘Mardhekarachi Kavita: Sandharbh: Aadhunikata,
Aadhunikawad’, Navbharat, Wai, Nov.-Dec. 2009, p.73.
25. Vijaya Rajadhyakshya. Punha Mardhekar. Mumbai: Mauj Publication
House, 2008, p. 114.
26. Vasanti Muzumdar. ed. Sahityachi Bhoomi, S.P. Bhagwat, Mumbai:
Granthali Prakashan. 1997, p.8.
27. Vijaya Rajadhyakshya. Mardhekaranchi Kavita: Swoorup ani Sandarbh,
Vol.2. Mumbai: Mauj Prakashan Gruha, 1991, pp. 35-36.
28. Allott Kenneth. ed. The Penguin Book of Contemporary Verse, 1918-60,
England: Penguin Books, 1970, p. 118.
29. T. S. Eliot. Collected Poems. London: Faber & Faber, pp. 13-14.
30. Ibid., 87.
31. Gangadhar Gadgil. ‘Mardhekar: Dusare Keshavsut’. Mauj. Mumbai: Mauj,
22 June, 1949, pp. 7-10.
32. G. V. Karandikar. Paramparaani Navata. Mumbai: Popular Prakashan,
1980, p.192-93.
33. Ibid., 201.
34. D. B. Kulkarni. Ananyata Mardhekarachi. Pune: Padmagandha Pub. 2009,
p. 46.
35. Bruce King. Modern Indian Poetry in English. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 2004, p. 173.
36. Kusumawati Deshpande and M. V. Rajadhyaksha. A History of Marathi
Literature, New Delhi: Sahitya Academy, 1988, p. 138.
37. Ibid., 138.
38. D. V. Deshpande. Mardhekaranchi Kawita: Ek Abhyas. Nagpur: Sahitya
Prasar Kendra, 1990, p. 3.
39. Vasant Aabaji Dahake. ‘Mardhekarachi Kavita: Sandharbh: Aadhunikata,
Aadhunikawad’, Navbharat. Wai: Nov.-Dec. 2009, p. 75.
40. Kusumawati Deshpande and M. V. Rajadhyaksha. A History of Marathi
Literature, New Delhi: Sahitya Academy, 1988, p. 143.
41. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Writing and Speeches, Vol. 9, Mumbai:
Education Dept. Govt. of Maharashtra, 1990, p. 283.
42. Vasant Patankar. ‘Samakalin Marathi Kavita; Vastav, Khandit-vastav’
Navakshar Darshan. ed. Bandekar, Pravin. Sawantwadi: Jan.Feb.March-
2007, pp.5-16.

191
43. King Bruce. Modern Indian Poetry in English. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 2004, p. 163.
44. Kusumawati Deshpande and M. V. Rajadhyaksha A History of Marathi
Literature, New Delhi: Sahitya Academy, 1988, p. 143.
45. op. cit. Vijaya Rajadhyakshya Mardhekaranchi Kavita: Swaroop ani
Sandarbha, Vol.I, Mumbai: Mauj Publication Gruha, 1991, pp. 16-17.
46. D. V. Deshpande Mardhekaranchi Kawita: Ek Abhyas. Nagpur: Sahitya
Prasar Kendra, 1990, p. Introduction.
47. Kusumawati Deshpande and M. V. Rajadhyaksha A History of Marathi
Literature, New Delhi: Sahitya Academy, 1988, p. 145.
48. Vasant Aabaji Dahake. ‘Mardhekarachi Kavita: Sandharbh: Aadhunikata,
Aadhunikawad’, Navbharat. Wai: Nov.-Dec. 2009, p. 76-77.
49. Kusumawati Deshpande and M. V. Rajadhyaksha. A History of
Marathi Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Academy, 1988, p.144.
50. Prakash Deshpande-Kejkar. Marathi Kawita: Nawee Walane, Aurangabad:
Saket Publication, 1994, p. 9.
51. S. T. Kulli. Teen Aarvachin Kavi. Mumbai: Lokvangmaygruah, 1989, p. 88.
52. D. V. Deshpande. Mardhekaranchi Kawita: Ek Abhyas. Nagpur: Sahitya
Prasar Kendra, 1990, p. 35.
53. G. V. Karandikar. Parampara ani Navata. Mumbai: Popular Publication,
1980, p.193.
54. Ibid., 197.
55. Kusumawati Deshpande and M. V. Rajadhyaksha. A History of
Marathi Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Academy, 1988, p.150.
56. D. V. Deshpande. Mardhekaranchi Kawita: Ek Abhyas. Nagpur: Sahitya
Prasar Kendra, 1990, p. 15.
57. Kusumawati Deshpande and M. V. Rajadhyaksha. A History of Marathi
Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Academy, 1988, p. 149-150.
58. Ganadhar Gadgil. Khadak ani Pani. Pune: Utkarsha Prakashan, 1985, p.230.
59. Vasanti Muzumdar. ed. Sahityachi Bhoomi, S.P. Bhagwat, Mumbai:
Granthali Prakashan. 1997, p. 33.
60. S. T. Kulli. Teen Aarvachin Kavi. Mumbai: Lokvangmaygruah, 1989, p.86
& 92.
61. B. S. Pandit. Aadhunik Marathi Kavita. Nagpur: Suvichar Prakashan,1968,
p. 297.
62. Ganadhar Gadgil. Khadak ani Pani. Pune: Utkarsha Prakashan, 1985,
pp.228-229.
63. D. V. Deshpande. Mardhekaranchi Kawita: Ek Abhyas. Nagpur: Sahitya
Prasar Kendra, 1990, p.13.

192
64. Ganadhar Gadgil. Khadak ani Pani. Pune: Utkarsha Prakashan, 1985,
pp.228-229.
65. Suresh Bhruguwar. ‘Mardhekarachi Kavyashaili’, Navbharat. Wai: Nov.-
Dec. 2009, p.65.
66. Vijaya Rajadhyakshya. Mardhekaranchi Kavita: Swaroop ani Sandarbha,
Vol.I, Mumbai: Mauj Prakashan Gruha, 1991, p. 50.
67. B. S. Mardhekar. Saundrya ani Sahitya. Mumbai: Mauj Prakashan, 1992,
p.137.
68. Ibid., pp.138-139.
69. Yeshawant Manohar. Marathi Kavita ani Aadhunikata. Nagpur: Ambedkar
Dhamma Pub., 1993, p. 110.
70. King Bruce. Modern Indian Poetry in English. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 2004, p. 173.
71. Kusumawati Deshpande and M. V. Rajadhyaksha. A History of
Marathi Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Academy, 1988, p.144.
72. D. V. Deshpande. Mardhekaranchi Kawita: Ek Abhyas, Nagpur: Sahitya
Prasar Kendra, 1990, p. 53.
73. D. V. Deshpande. Mardhekaranchi Kawita: Ek Abhyas, Nagpur: Sahitya
Prasar Kendra, 1990, p. Introduction.
74. Vasanti Muzumdar. ed. Sahityachi Bhoomi, S.P. Bhagwat. Mumbai:
Granthali Prakashan. 1997, p. 2.
75. Vijaya Rajadhyakshya. Mardhekaranchi Kavita: Swaroop ani Sandarbha.
Vol.I. Mumbai: Mauj Publication, 1991, p. 141.
76. King Bruce. Modern Indian Poetry in English. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 2004, p. 83.
77. Madhukar Wakode. ‘Lokdharmiya Laingik Lokachar ani Mardhekari
Avikshar’. Kavita Rati. Dhule: Sept. to Dec. 2009, p. 86.
78. Vilas Sarang. ‘T. S. Eliot ani Mardhekar’, T. S. Eliot ani Marathi
Navkavyava Samikshya, eds. Vaidya, Sarojini, Patankar, Vasant. Mumbai:
University, 1992. pp. 41-42.
79. V. A. Shahane. ‘B. S. Mardhekar as Modern Marathi Poet’. Indo-Iranian
Journal, Springerlink Pub.1962, p.151.
80. D. B. Kulkarni. Ananyata Mardhekarachi. Pune: Padmagandha Pub. 2009,
p. 185.
81. Vijaya Rajadhyakshya. Mardhekaranchi Kavita: Swaroop ani Sandarbha,
Vol.I, Mumbai: Mauj Publication, 1991, p.156.
82. Vijaya Rajadhyakshya. Punha Mardhekar. Mumbai: Mauj Publ., 2008, p.61.
83. Vasanti Muzumdar. ed. Sahityachi Bhoomi, S.P. Bhagwat, Mumbai:
Granthali Prakashan. 1997, p. 33.

193
84. D. V. Deshpande. Mardhekaranchi Kawita: Ek Abhyas. Nagpur: Sahitya
Prasar Kendra, 1990, p.3.
85. Ibid., 14.
86. Ganadhar Gadgil. Khadak ani Pani. Pune: Utkarsha Prakashan, 1985, p.228.
87. Kusumawati Deshpande and M. V. Rajadhyaksha. A History of Marathi
Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Academy, 1988, p. 144.
88. Vasanti Muzumdar. ed. Sahityachi Bhoomi, S.P. Bhagwat, Mumbai:
Granthali Prakashan. 1997, p. 53.
89. Prakash Deshpande-Kejakar. ‘B. S. Mardhekar ani T. S. Eliot’, Taulanik
Sahityabhyas: Tatweani Disha, ed. Jahagirdar, C. J. Kolhapur: Saurabh
Publication, 1992, p. 185-195.

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 Chapter - IV

Comparative Study of T. S. Eliot

and
B. S. Mardhekar as Modernist Poets
 CHAPTER - IV

Comparative Study of T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar as Modernist

Poets

This chapter proposes to compare the similarities and differences between the poetry

of T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar. All the aspects of modernism will be compared

and contrasted in this chapter. They were contemporaries sharing many similarities

and very few differences in their poetry. The basic similarities in these two poets are

found in their modes of apprehension and execution, and how they express

distinctively assertive modernist sensibility and stance in their poetry. Moreover, the

poetry of T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar has close affinity as they have undertaken

the modernist thematic concern.

Both T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar were the modernist poets of first half of

twentieth century in their respective literatures. They were modernist poets who gave

expression to modernist sensibility and started new movements and traditions in

literature. Their poetry is modernist because of its new imagery, new poetic

techniques, new versification and new diction expresses the finest consciousness of

the modern age. They dominated and changed the early twentieth century poetry.

They were innovators and promoters of a new style of poetry as it is teemed with

unusual and divergent characteristics of its own. The contemporary social intricacies

and complexities were responsible for unconventional and innovative treatment in

their modernist poetry. The modernist poetry contained the techniques of dissociation,

dissonance, disharmony and discontinuity. The modernist poetry does not contain the

conventional poetic forms, images and idioms and it reproduced the individual likes

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and dislikes of the poets. Even though, Eliot was a classicist and a supporter of

tradition, he attacked the “traditional” poetry. He was the leading master of modernist

poetry. Mardhekar initially (in Shishiragama) started to write poetry according to the

lines of Romantics – Ravikiran Mandal– but later on he became a leading master of

modernist Marathi poetry. Dr. C. J. Jahagirdar writes:

There is obviously a shift from the early Romantic Mardhekar to the

later modernist Mardhekar – a shift responsible for the remaking of
the poetic tradition in Marathi. This shift in Mardhekar from
Romanticism to Modernism has been commented upon in literary
terms. It is clear that Mardhekar’s exposure to Western literature was
largely responsible for this shift. It is also clear that from the textual
evidence given by his poetry that Mardhekar’s relationship with Eliot
played a major role here.1

Both T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar tried to reflect the social situation of the age and

they deliberately made efforts to revive the literary traditions of their respective

literatures. The social change in the twentieth century is responsible for the change in

poetry. Industrialization led to urbanization and it caused numerous problems like

ugliness, crime, over-crowding, housing shortage, sexual immorality etc. Poets as

sensitive persons reacted to these problems and portrayed them in their poetry. The

vivid pictures of the metropolis problems of London and Mumbai have been

portrayed by Eliot and Mardhekar respectively in their poems. Earlier poetry soaked

in dreamland, far away from everyday problems, was slowly turning into

degenaration. The writers of an earlier genaration could not mirror the problems of the

time. Like Edwardian and Georgian poetry, Marathi poetry of the early twentieth

century was Romantic but it had no vitality and force of handling the social issues. In

short, poetic traditions before both Eliot and Mardhekar were same and they set to

change them to suit to the changing social trends and scenario of contemporary

society.

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Both Eliot and Mardhekar were writing about contemporary society which has

witnessed varied dimensions in every walk of humanities. They thought something

wrong in existing poetic tradition therefore; they opened their own poetic traditions.

They intended to do something different which they strongly felt can only give vent to

their feelings. They developed different tone and texture of their poetry to articulate

the true spirit of the age. In this way, both Eliot and Mardhekar’s poetry marks the

complete break from earlier poetic traditions. They set aside some old-fashioned and

unnecessary elements of the conventional poetry and included something new for

their purposes. By improving the existing tradition, they evolved their own

convention which is known as ‘modernism’ in poetry.

Early twentieth century English poetry imitated the poetic styles of the Romantics

seeking their inspiration from Keats, Shelley, Wordsworth and they become the

fashionable singers, similarly, the Marathi poets of early twentieth century –Ravikiran

Mandal – followed the tradition of Marathi poetry which was influenced by the

English Romantics. The Romantic poetry – dream poetry– was far away from social

problems. Instead of facing the modern problems, both English as well as Marathi

pre-modernist poetry retired in the forests and in their dreamlands. This Romantic

tradition of escaping from the problems was cut by both Eliot and Mardhekar in their

literatures. T. S. Eliot’s Love Song of Alfred J. Frufrock is the milestone of the

modernist poetry. The themes and the techniques of his poetry were absolutely

different from the earlier poetry. Similarly, Mardhekar’s poems from Kahin Kavita

mark the break from the tradition of Marathi Romantic poetry in the respects of

theme, language, imagery, style etc. So Dr. C. J. Jahagirdar observes:

Like T. S. Eliot, Mardhekar also rebelled against a Romantic tradition

which operated merely in terms of certain stock conventions... Yet

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 another powerful tradition – powerful because it was highly popular –
against which Mardhekar reacted was that of the Ravi Kiran Mandal –
a group of poets who luxuriated in an easy domesticity of emotions and
extracted appeal by reciting their poetry.2

Modernism is known for its experimentations, innovations, fragmentations in subject-

matter and style in literature. Both Eliot and Mardhekar brought up in changing

literary atmosphere. Hence their poetry became something complex and obscure

because of expermentation and innovation. It dealt with the evils of

commercialization and urbanization. Eliot and Mardhekar deal with ugly objects and

images intentionally avoiding all the Romantic images in their poetic works. In the

same way, both Eliot and Mardhekar experimented with various features of poetry

revolting against the established poetic norms and conventions.

T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar being the modernist poets, started to revolt against the

poetic traditions of their own literatures. Specifically, this revolt appears in the form

and theme of the poetry. Both of them reject the degenerated romantic conventions.

They saw the social life which was teemed with nakedness, ugliness, sordidness,

squalor. So they do not create beautiful world and those ugly and unpoetic subjects

were considered suitable for their poetry. They were supposed to portray “both beauty

and ugliness; to see the boredom, and the horror and the glory,”3 and ‘ãä¹ãÞãñ ‚ãâ£ããÀ ¹ããñ‡ãŠß,

/ ØããäÖÌãÀ ¾ãñƒÃ ‡ãŠãßã; / ØããÊããè ÌããßÊãã ‚ããñâÜãß, / ªãäÖÌãÀ ¢ããÊãñ Øããñßã.’(Ka.Ka.47)

Unlike the Romantics, both of them select unconventional subject-matter like dirt,

filth, barrenness, rats, worms, and crowd for their poetry. They portray the urban,

metropolitan pictures in their poems. The nature and beautiful objects disappeared and

projected dirt and filth of metropolitan life. Instead of natural beauty, they picture

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‘half-deserted streets’, ‘cheap hotels’, ‘sawdust restaurants’(ECP, 11) of city and crime,

cruelty, immorality of the city life.

Instead of themes of love of Romantic poetry, they show sex and lust of city people.

The protagonists in modern poetry are not heroes but they are involved in immoral

and criminal practices like sex, gambling, corruption etc. The lovers in modernist

poetry are not bold but they are spineless. The Romantic poetry escaped from the

agonizing facts of life while the modernist poetry picturizes the dullness and the terror

of the metropolitan life. Both of the poets represent true and factual impressions of

dishonesty and the boring routine of life.

Language is the important aspect of poetry with which Eliot and Mardhekar undertake

experiments. Leaving away conventional language, they used day-to-day and

idiomatic. They select the vocabulary from everyday conversation and thus; both Eliot

and Mardhekar deviate from established and formal poetic language. In Eliot’s

poems, day-to-day words and phrases like ‘shirt-sleeves’, ‘window-panes’,

‘cigarettes’ and lines like ‘Are you alive, or not? Is there nothing in your head?’,
(ECP, 65)
‘What shall we do tomorrow?’ are used. Similarly, Mardhekar also used the

words like, ‘¼ãâØããè’, ‘¹ãìâØããè’ ‘ºãÀØã¡¿ãã’, ‘‡ãŠÀ¹ã› ¤ñ‡ãŠÀ’, ‘Ôã½ã²ããÞ¾ãã’, ‘¼ãã‡ãŠÀ’, which are

colloquial.

Eliot and Mardhekar were dealing with something different urban problems. So it was

necessary to use complex and intricate imagery to picturize new problems. Readers

often find difficulty in understanding the imagery of both Eliot and Mardhekar. They

uses obscure and complex images like, ‘yellow fog that rubs its back’, ‘the yellow

smoke that rubs its muzzle’ (ECP, 11)

and ‘Þãõ¨ã ºãÜã¦ããñ Ìãã‡ãã’(Aa.Ka.Ka.23), ‘Í㺪ãÞãñ Þã½ãÞãñ’

, ‘ÀÔãã¾ã¶ããÞãã ÁÔãÌãã’(Aa.Ka.Ka.35), ‘¡ããäßâºããè ¹ããÀã,’

(Aa.Ka.Ka.27) (Aa.Ka.Ka.25)
. These images are

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difficult to understand as they are unconventional. Both Eliot and Mardhekar use

various techniques like allusions, and juxtapositions, which show that they were away

from traditional poetry.

By doing this, Eliot and Mardhekar show tradition as helpful and can be made fresh

for modernist movement. Experimentations in poetry are not total rejection of

tradition but rather it is an opportunity for rejecting and selecting as per the demands

of time. For representing the picture of the modern mechanical world, Mardhekar tries

his hand in traditional Marathi poetic forms like abhanga and owi.

In this way, both Eliot and Mardhekar reject tradition and at the same time they revive

and maintain tradition by experimenting it.

Dr. C. J. Jahagirdar writes, “It is concern for the tradition for which invites an

interesting comparison between Mardhekar and Eliot, without of course, obliterating

the important differentia separating them: This is because both the poets were concern

with the remaking of their respective poetic traditions.”4

Eliot’s Prufrock, Gerontion, and the Hollow Men are the representative characters of

the modern metropolitan life. The human life in London is at the background of

Eliot’s poetry. The Waste Land is an epic portraying London as a representative city

of the modern world.

Eliot’s poetry deals with urban life and the problems created by industrial activities.

Eliot portrays the realistic modern metropolitan life. His poetry is of streets and

restaurants and people, and not of woods and birds and flowers. He calls London,
(ECP, 63)
“unreal city”, in spite of material developments, luxurious life, and physical

comforts; its environment is dirty, disgusting, sordid and terrible. The agony and

200
anguish of a modern city life squeezed the lonely individuals. Man in city is

compelled to lead essentially lonely, gloomy, and tragic life. Eliot portrays sights of

metropolitan cities with all their ugliness and dirtiness. Elizabeth Drew puts it in right

words, “Above all these are the smells of steak in passage-ways, of stale beer, of

cocktails and cigarettes, of dusty paper-flowers, of females in shuttered rooms.”5 Eliot

has first hand experiences of London city to demonstrate the lack of direction and
(ECP, 61)
purpose, and the sense of drift and ‘a heap of broken images’. In Sweeney

Among the Nightingales, Eliot presents scene in some low pub situated in some city of

South America. The character in the poem is a beast in the form human leading a full

blooded life on the animal level. He looks like an ape, he is ‘Apeneck Sweeny’ and

has ‘zebra stripes’ and resembles a giraffe. Sweeney symbolizes the degradation of

the sexual function for animal like pleasure in cities. Besides, the dull brothel with

yawning whores and gaping pimps are presented.

The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock is urban in its theme and setting. It presents the

ugliness of modern civilization, the never ending streets ‘like a tedious arguments’
(ECP11)
of modern cities, smoking chimneys, yellow fog, dirty drains and smell of

female bodies. Prufrock is torn between ‘decisions and revisions’ and worried about

‘his arms and legs ...thin’, ‘necktie’, and ‘a simple pin’. (ECP, 12) The protagonist of the

poem tries to justify his cowardice and lack of nerves for formulating a proposal of

love to his beloved. The modern aimless life of the city dwellers is responsible for this

mental state. His irresolution and re-decision grows because of his middle-age and the

bald in his head. Irresolution, self-pity and self-disgust of Prufrock are indicated

through a series of images. He presents the destructive elements, squalor, the

foolishness and the ugliness of modern urban life (e. g. ‘In the room the women come

and go / Talking of Michelangelo’(ECP, 12) and the tiresome routine and the neurosis

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and spiritual agony which it produces. Furthermore, the lovers in Eliot’s poetry are

completely disillusioned and disappointed. Love for them is a mere animal passion

and the very gentle passion of love turned into lust. Eliot presents theme of the failure

of communication of a positive relationship between man and woman. He deals with

the theme of individual’s loneliness, which is reflected in The Love Song of J. Alfred

Prufrock.

In Gerontion, Eliot represents ‘a decayed old man’ (ECP, 37) who is representative of the

panorama of futility, confusion and disorder of the contemporary society. Elizabeth

Drew says that Eliot’s poems show, “the immense panorama of futility and anarchy

which is contemporary history.”6 Gerontion, the little ‘old man’ is ‘A dull head
(ECP, 37)
among windy spaces’ who is deprived of the warmth of faith. The people in

the modern cities are facing the problem of the isolation and loneliness. The anarchy,

disappointment and disenchantment of modern life are represented through the images

of city life. It is a demonstration of impotent and rotten society. The life in these

surroundings is naturally frustrated. Gerontion reflects the desolateness of the modern

civilization. He considers himself ‘dull head’ ‘among windy spaces’ and is

disillusioned about the purpose of the modern world.

In The Waste Land, Eliot is morbidly attached with metropolitan immorality and

shabbiness. The poem begins with presenting a picture of sterile modern civilization

and of ‘broken fragments’, ‘dull roots’, ‘dried tubers’, ‘out of this stony rubbish’.

London is the ‘unreal city, under the brown fog in a winter dawn’ and its ‘crowd

flowed over London Bridge’ and in this city ‘death had undone so many’ where

‘sighs, short, and infrequent, were exhaled.’(ECP, 63)

‘The river, Thames, bears no

empty bottles, sandwich papers, silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes, cigarette

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ends’(ECP, 68) and ‘London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down’. (ECP, 77)

There are no ‘roots that clutch’, and no ‘branches grow’ in the modern urban
(ECP, 61)
civilization. There is a ‘fear in a handful of dust’. The seduction of the typist

girl in The Waste Land is ‘like a taxi throbbing, waiting’ (ECP, 69) highlights the futility

of contemporary city life. Cenizens of modern metropolitan have lost their love,

passion, conviction in God and religion and the consequence of this loss of conviction

is loss of strength– both spiritual and emotional. As a result, the life in the modern

waste land is a life-in-death. Eliot’s poetry says Robson “evokes an urban civilization

which has lost its roots and is dying of spiritual thirst.”7 The feelings of insecurity and

loneliness, even in a numerous crowd, are portrayed by Eliot. The restaurants,

smelling of oil and tar, dust and rotten cabbage, ‘faint smell of beer’,(ECP, 21) ‘thousand

sordid images’,(ECP, 22)

‘cigarettes in corridors and cocktail smells in bars’ (ECP, 26)
,
(ECP, 30)
‘Miss Nancy Ellicott smoked / And danced all the modern dances;’ are

pictured in his poems. Prufrock, Gerontion, the Lady, Mr. Appollinax, Aunt Helen

and Sweeney are the typical products of modern decayed culture. This is how the dark

side of modern metropolitan life has been pictured by T. S. Eliot.

Finally, Draper’s general estimate can be specifically used for Eliot. He says, “their

(modern poets’) feeling for the age which they thus reflect is one of disgust rather

than approval; what they tend to see around them is pollution and decay an urban

environment which is dehumanized, if not inhuman, and a way of life which is

normally corrupt: ‘the burnt-out ends of smoky days,’- to quote the early Eliot of

‘Preludes’.8

Like Eliot, Mardhekar also for the first time in Marathi poetry portrayed the

consciousness of modern man in Mumbai. Mardhekar has displayed in his poems

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rush, crowd, feelings of loneliness and insecurity of man in Mumbai. Modern

metropolitan man is trampled and suppressed and he is forced to live the wretched

life. For a man in Mumbai, ‘•ãØãã¾ãÞããè ¹ã¥ã Ôã§ãŠãè ‚ããÖñ; / ½ãÀã¾ãÞããè ¹ã¥ã Ôã§ãŠãè ‚ããÖñ. / „ªãÔã¦ãñÊãã

•ãÖÀãè ¡ãñßñ,’ (Ka.Ka.21) (life too is a compulsion, / death too is a compulsion [tr.D.C.]) The

pressure of leading natural life is significant and this pressure trampled down human

ethics. Modern man in metropolitan city says, ‘Ôã‡ãŠãßãè „Ÿãñ¶ããè ý ÞãÖã -‡ãŠãù¹ãŠãè ܾããÌããè, / ¦ãÍããèÞã

ØãŸãÌããè ý Ìããè•ã - Øãã¡ãèýý’ (Ka.Ka.7)

(Getting up early in the morning / have a tea-coffee, / go

straight to catch a local train / work in the office) and he has no choice. It is just like

Eliot’s, ‘Hot water at ten. / And if it rains a closed car at four. / And we shall play a
(ECP, 66)
game of chess. / ...waiting for a knock upon the door.’ The helplessness of

modern man achieves the height of calling himself as ‘¹ãÆñ¦ã Á¹ããè’ (Ka.Ka.07)
(corpse like)

Disillusionment and helplessness resulted in detachment, so a man says, ‘‡ã슥ããÞ¾ãã

¹ãã¾ããÞãã ý ‡ãŠãÖãè ‚ãÔããñ Øãì¥ã; / ‚ãã¹ãìÊããè ‚ãã¹ã¥ã ý ãäºã¡ãè ¹¾ããÌããè ý’ (Ka.Ka.07) Eliot’s evening like ‘patient

etherized upon a table,’ in Prufrock and Mardhekar’s -‡ãŠãßñ ¹ãìÞœ / Êã¹ãÌãì¶ããè ¹ãã¾ããè, ØãªÃ / ƒ©ãñ

ÌããäÔ¦ã¦ã ØãÊããèÞœ / ¼ããñ ¼ããñ ¼ãìâ‡ãñŠ ÊããÊã•ãªÃ / Ôã⣾ãã‡ãŠãß (Ka.Ka.36)

deal with the similar problems

faced by people in metropolis. ‘Yellow fog’ of Eliot can be seen in Mardhekar’s ‘‡ã슛á›

¹ããèÌãß¿ãã ¹ãÖã›ãè’ (Ka.Ka.36) The consequences of mechanical life are horrible, and these are

presented in:

Þã‡ãŠã‡ãŠ¥ããÀñ ‚ãºãÊãŒã ãä¹ãÔ›¶ã

ãäÖÔã‡ãñŠ Üãñ¦ããè ½ãããäÀ¦ã ãä½ã›‡ã‹¾ãã;
Ôãâ—ãñÌããÞãì¶ã Ôãâ¼ããñØããÞããè
‚ããäÍãÞã ‡ãŠÔãÀ¦ã ‚ãÔã¦ãñ ÖÊã‡ã‹¾ãã. (Ka.Ka.41)

“It is well-known that Mardhekar has utter hatred and dislike for machines and

machine age.”11 The various dimensions of life of modern man in Mumbai are

presented in ‘½ããè †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè, Öã †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè, / ¦ããñ †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè, ¦ãì †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè,/ Öãè †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè, ¦ããè †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè, /

204
and ultimately Mardhekar says,‘‚ãÍãã ¾ãñ©ãʾãã ÔãâÔããÀã¦ã / •ãØ㥾ããÞããÖãè Þãì‡ãŠÊãã ¹ãã¤ã;’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.16)

(In such a world, the way of life is missed)

The crowd and its commotion especially in the metropolitan city like Mumbai were

increasing. Modern metropolitan people lost their sense of self and in this state of

confusion; they were helpless and could not find proper social order. Man was at the

threshold of degeneration so he could not understand how to face and overcome these

totally new problems. Mardhekar selected this confused, helpless, and lonely middle

class man of Mumbai for his poetry. The protagonist of his poetry is the anti-hero. He

is helpless and bewildered. His bewilderment and helplessness are articulated through

the lines like, ½ãã¢ããè ‚ãã¦ãæãñ ãä¹ãŠ¾ããê ý ‡ãõŠÍããè ¾ã½ããÞããè ‚ãÌãÊã㪠(Ka.Ka.14)
, ÔãÀ¥ããÌãÀ¦ããè ÔãÀ¥ã ÊããØãÊãñ /

ãä•ãÌãâ¦ã ‚ããÍãã ¹ã¡ñ „¦ãã¥ããè; (Ka.Ka.37)

and ‘¹ããäÀãäÔ©ã¦ããèÞãñ ãä¹ã…¶ã ‚ãããäÔã¡ / ãäÊãºããäÊãºãÊããè Öãè ½ã¶ãñ Ö¡‡ãìŠßãè;’
(Aa.Ka.Ka.50)
.

In such poems, Mardhekar pictures the rush, crowd, mechanical life, and helplessness

in Mumbai. Mardhekar shows the horror and threat of metropolitan life in Mumbai.

Because of this horror and fear, people seek refuge in various drug addictions. The

life of these people becomes meaningless and futile. The frustration creeps in human

life. The following poem shows horror and frustration of human life:

½ã¶ããÔã ¹ã¡Êããè •ãÀãäŒãâ¡ãÀñ

©ãã¹ãã Øããß ¼ããèãä¦ãÞãã,
‚ã¶ãá £ã½ã¶¾ãããä¦ãÊã £ããÀãÌãÀ¦ããè
ºã¹ãÊ ÀÞãã ½ãØã •ã¶ã-Àãè¦ããèÞãã.
‚ããâ£ãÀãÞãã £ãã‡ãŠ „ªâ¡,
‡ãŠãßãñŒããÞããè Öã‡ãŠ ‚ã‡ãŠãäʹã¦ã,
....¼ã¾ãã¶ã¦ãñÞ¾ãã ºãìÁ•ããÌãÁ¶ããè
¾ãñƒÊã ‡ãñŠÌÖã Íããèß ‚ã¶ãããä½ã‡ãŠ;
ãäØãßã ãä¦ãÊãã ‚ã¶ãá ½ãâ¨ã ‚ããŸÌãã
½ãã¶ãã¦ãʾãã ¹ã¥ã ½ã¶ãã¦ã, Êããõãä‡ãŠ‡ãŠ;

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 -- “ÔãÖ ¶ããõ ›À‡ãŠ¦ãì !
ÔãÖÌããè¾ãà ¡ÀÌããÌãÖõ!” (Aa.Ka.Ka.14)

(if your mind is blown up by a blast/ cement the gaping holes with fear; / put the ice

of civil behaviour / on the blood stream that runs fast./ the terror of darkness is vast, /

the call of darkness is sudden; seeing such an unsculptured night / your mouth will go

dry with fright. / whistle / blown from the tower of / desolation; [tr.D.C.]).

This shows horror as an inevitable in twentieth century metropolitan life. Mardhekar

portrays the picture of mill worker in Mumbai in his ªãñ¶ã ŒããñʾããâÞ¾ãã ãäºã-Öããä¡ ý ½ã㢾ãã ½ããè Ìã-

Öããä¡ (Ka.Ka.10) (I am a wedding-guest / In my own two-room establishment; / Or, am the

son-in-law / On a visit [tr.D.C.]) The worker in the poem lives in the two rooms but

he is not the owner of these rooms. So long as he is working in the mill, he is allowed

to live there. So he is ‘varhadi’- wedding-guest - at his residence. He has to work in

night shifts. He becomes tired and cannot sleep because of hard work and unnatural

shifts of work.

Metropolitan man is living helpless, mean, inactive, restless, and miserable life which

has lost its order. Common man is facing the problems like exploitation, inflation,

shortages, unemployment, ‘‡ã슥ããè ½ãÀãÌãñ, ‡ãìŠãä¥ã ½ããÀãÌãñ / ‡ã슥ããè •ãØããÌãñ Œãã„¥ããè ªØã¡’. (Aa.Ka.Ka.5)

(Some slay, and some are slain, / some root into garbage for scraps, / some smelt the

lives of others, / and gather sheaves of gold.) All these made man frustrated,

insensitive consequently, the importance of humanity and value of man is lost in, ‘•ããèÌã

¹ãõÍããÊãã ¹ããÔãÀãèý ‚ã¥ãì- ¾ãìØããè’ (Ka.Ka.6) (Life of man is worthless in this atom-age)

Mardhekar has portrayed common man of Mumbai like, „âãäªÀ, (rat), ½ãìâØããè, (ant), •ãâ¦ãì

(germ) in a small alley. Man has lost his vitality, he is reduced to ‘wheel’ for daily

business of life - the routine life and nothing more than that. Mardhekar pictures the

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mechanical lifestyle such as vulgarity, ugliness and business of man in city of

Mumbai in the poems like, ãäÌãÍããÊã ¹ã›á›ñ Ôã¦ãñÊã, ¦ã㽺ãìÔã, (Ka.Ka.41)

(Huge belts, oily and

reddish,), £ãÌãÊã £ãì‡ã‹¾ããÞ¾ãã Ôãâ©ã ºã›ãâÞããè / ʾããÊããè ½ãÊã½ãÊã ãä‡ãŠ¦ããè ÜãÀñ Öãè; (Ka.Ka.32) (Silent curls of

white fog / how many houses put on this muslin;), ºã¡Ìããè¦ã ãä›Å¾ããà ý ‚ã£ãùããñ› ãä‡ãâŠÌãã / ‚ããñâØãß

ªñŒããÌãã ý ªãŒãÌããè¦ã ýý (Ka.Ka.19)

(Thrashing buttocks with an empty stamoch / showing

squalid sight). The frustration is very clear in:

¦ã좾ãã ¼ãìÀ‡ã‹¾ãã ‡ãñŠÔããâÞãñ

Ìãß ½ã㢾ãã ØããÊããÌãÀ,
½ã㢾ãã ãä¤Ê¾ããÍãã ºããñ›ãâÞãñ
¦ãß ¦ã좾ãã Ô¦ã¶ããÌãÀ. (Ka.Ka.47)

(my cheeks sore with the marks/ of your blanched hair; / on your breast / my fingers

lying limp. / o i cannot, i cannot disrupt / the clutches of your past nights; / i am

awake still, yet / desires graduate into death. [tr.D.C.]) Majorty of Mardhekar’s poems

deal with the city life of Mumbai.

People rush towards Mumbai for the sake of livelihood and they live there in small

places, they work in factories on minimum wages. It is impossible for them to meet

both ends. They run with the enormous wheels of machines and lose the meaning of

their life. Their lusts and desires are not quenched properly, so they live and die like

rats. Mardhekar here expresses the condition of metropolitan man through the

imagery of rats and their various impressions.

For Eliot, modern culture is metropolitan culture, and modern poetry is poetry about

metropolitan culture and its consciousness. The process of urbanization in Europe was

so fast that Eliot was compelled to assume that poetry is an expression of

metrropolitan culture and consciousness. However, in Maharashtra, where Mardhekar

was writing poetry, the urbanisation was not so fast and majority of people were

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living in rural area. Even the roots of Mardhekar were deeply seated in rural area so

he writes, ãä‡ãŠ¦ããè ¦ãÀãè ãäªÌãÔãã¦ã / ¶ããÖãè Þãã⪥¾ãã¦ã ØãñÊããñ; / ãä‡ãŠ¦ããè ¦ãÀãè ãäªÌãÔãã¦ã / ¶ããÖãè ¶ãªãè¦ã ¡ì½ºãÊããñ.
(Aa.Ka.Ka.31)
It was not possible for Mardhekar to eradicate his roots from rural area so

he had regret for going away from village. Still he had attraction and love for village

life with river, moonlight, etc. But city life was inevitable for him and he cannot be

escaped. So he writes:

ºãÀã ½Ö¥ãî¶ã Öã ƒ©ãñ

ãäªÌãã ¹ããÀÌãã ¹ããžããÞãã;
ºãÀãè ¦ããñ¦ãžãã ¶ãßãÞããè
ãäÍãÀãè, £ããÀ, ½ãìŒããè ¨ãÉÞãã. (Aa.Ka.Ka.31)

The above observations show that both Eliot and Mardhekar deal with modern

metropolitan life and the problems of modern people. Especially, both the poets

highlight the dirt, pollution, industrial problems, spiritual sterility, rush, helplessness,

confusion, insecurity, detachment, meaninglessness, disillusionment, immorality, loss

of vitality, perverted and commercilization of sex of modern man.

The language of poetry before Eliot and Mardhekar was far away from the language

of everyday life. It was so poetic and formal. Eliot and Mardhekar intended to change

and reform the language by making the language of poetry ‘easy’, ‘common’,

‘precise’, and ‘not pedantic.’ The use of the interior monologue with the broken

rhythm helped to create suitable modern colloquial language for poetry. Both Eliot

and Mardhekar used colloquial expressions and scholarly statements in their poetry.

Their lines became popular in English and Marathi literatures respectively. They tried

to exploit the utmost possible meaning of the words and gave new life, new form, and

new colour to the words they used.

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The readers are surprised to note the simple use of language and phrases. For
(ECP61)
example, The Waste Land begins with, ‘April is the cruelest month’, and The

Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock has a direct, straightforward and colloquial

beginning. Eliot at once opened the topic by saying, ‘Let us go then, you and I’. (ECP11)

The conversation of lady with the lover in The Waste Land is conveyed in the

colloquial language.

My nerves are bad to-night. Yes, bad, stay with me.

Speak to me. Why do you never speak? Speak.
‘What are you thinking of?’ What think? What?
‘I have never know what are you thinking. Think.’(ECP, 65)

The language of common conversation is spread out all over The Waste Land. The

language in Gerontion is conversational and straightforward. ‘I have lost my sight,

smell, hearing, taste, and touch: / How should I use them for your closer contact?’(ECP,
39)

Mardhekar also uses colloquial and conversational words and phrases. Mardhekar was

not totally eradicated from rural life like Eliot. So he employs rural and conversational

words in his poems. The style of opening is also colloquial like Eliot. For instance,

¹ãŠÊã㛪ãªã, ¹ãŠÊã㛪ãªã
¾ãñ¦ãñ Øãã¡ãè, •ãã¦ãñ Øãã¡ãè;

The same poem shows the use of colloquial and rural words.

½ãìœãèªãÀ ‚ã¶ã ½ãìœãèºãØãÀ ºããè;

Ö½ããÊã-¹ããñ›ÃÀ ãä¶ãßñ¦ããâºã¡ñ
¦ãì½ããè ¹ãããäÖÊãñ Ö•ãÀ•ãºããºããè !
¹ãÞã‡ãŠ ¹ãã¶ã Ûããñ ‡ã슶ããè ©ãìâ‡ãŠÊãñ;
.....................................
¦ãì½ããÔã ªãªã, Ÿã„‡ãŠ ‚ããÖñ
¹ãÀ Ôã½ã²ãÞããè ºãããäÀ‡ãŠ ºãã¦ã ! (Ka.Ka.31)

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(Big brother platform. / Big brother platform / You’ve seen a lot of ’em / Mustachioed

porters / And clean-shaven ones / Waving the flags! / You’ve seen so many / Coolies

wearing red / And coolies wearing blues! / You have seen the Smartest! / Some spat

their betel-juice at you; / … / But, you Big Brother, / You know the secret of each!

[tr.D.C.])

Mardhekar also uses some English words which are used in Marathi day-to-day

conversation. e.g. ½ãñ‡ãùŠãä¶ã‡ãŠ (mechanic), ÖÊããñ ÖÊããñ (hello, hello), ãäÌãÊãñãä‡ã‹›È‡ãŠãèÞããè (electric

chi), Øãã¡Ã (guard), ¡Èã¾ãÌÖÀ (driver), Êããñ‡ãŠÊã (local), ºãÔã (bus), ºãʺã (bulb), etc. He picked

up these words and gave them new meaning and form in association with Marathi

words. The nouns in English like ‘¹ãâ‡ã‹ÞãÀ’ (puncture), ‘¹ãâ¹ã’ (pump), are used as verbs

‘¹ãâ‡ã‹ÞãÀÊããè’ (puncturali), ‘¹ãâ¹ã¦ããññ’ (pumpto) in Marathi. This is the innovative use of

language made by Mardhekar.

Eliot also uses the words and phrases from other languages like, ‘Bin ger keine’, ‘Et

O ces voix d’ enfants’, ‘Frish weht der Wind / Der Heimat zu / Mein Irisch Kind /

Wo weilest du?’ ‘Shanti, Shanti, Shanti’.

Mardhekar understood the inadequacy of the conventional poetic language to express

modern and metropolitan crisis. So Mardhekar uses Sanskrit and English words to

convey his message, and he enjoys the freedom of giving new form to conventional

language. In this way, he tries to bridge the gap between colloquial language and

poetic language and “changed the fundamental nature of language.”9 For example, in

the poem,

¹ãâ‡ã‹ÞãÀÊããè •ããäÀ Àã¨ã ãäªÌ¾ããâãä¶ã,

¦ãÀãè ¹ãâ¹ã¦ããñ ‡ãìŠãä¥ã ‡ãŠãßãñŒã .....
¹ãŠ¦ãá‡ãŠ¶ãá ºãÔãÊããè ÀºãÀãè Àã¨ã; .....

210
 ØãìÀØãìÀÌããÌããè ÀºãÀãè ‡ã슨ããè ýý
¦ãÀãè ¹ãâ¹ã¦ããñ ‡ãìŠãä¥ã ‡ãŠãßãñŒã ...
¹ãŠ¦ãá‡ãŠ¶ãá ºãÔãÊããè ÀºãÀãè Àã¨ã; (Ka.Ka.59)

(although the lights / have punctured the night / someone still pumps darkness into it /

although the laughter / has turned into a mania / loyally the tears bark still / the rubber

night goes flat; / no tyre to spare / in space; / dogs lick the leather / of the hidebound

mind / in layered heaps. [tr.D.C.]).

Mardhekar combines colloquial language with English words with their Marathi form.

In the poem, ‘ãä‡ãŠ¦ããè ¦ãÀãè ãäªÌãÔãã¦ã / ¶ããÖãè Þãã⪥¾ãã¦ã ØãñÊããñ; (Aa.Ka.Ka.31) ‘(Since so long / I have

not been in moonlight; / (Since so long / I have not dived / plunged in the river) the

combination of words is very strange. ‘¹ããÀÌãã ¹ããžããÞãã ãäªÌãã’ (dove lamp of mercury) is

combined with ‘ŒãìÊãñ Þãã⪥ãñ’ (open moonlight) and ‘¦ããñ¦ãÀã ¶ãß’ (stammering tap) is

combined with ‘ÌããÖ¦ãñ ¹ãã¥ããè' (flowing water). This combination is innovative and so

creates a new effect. Thus, new poetic language possibilities are opened up by

Mardhekar in Marathi and T. S. Eliot in English.

Mardhekar had an influence of old Marathi and Saint Literature. Colloquial

expressions and scholarly statements find an equal place in his poetry. Some of the

words and lines from this literature become popular among the common and illiterate

people. e. g. ‘‚ã㽺ããñãä¶ãÞ¾ãã ½ããØãñ ‡ãŠãØã ¦ãìû¢ãã ½ããû¢ãã Þãâ³ ØãñÊãã ?’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.23) (But, darling! Why

suddenly/ Is your moon down? / Oh darling, why, so early/ Is your moon down?

[tr.D.C.]), “ªñÌãã•ããè¶ãñ ‡ãŠÁ¥ãã ‡ãñŠÊããè / ¼ãã¦ãñ ãä¹ã‡ã슶ããè ãä¹ãÌãßãè û¢ããÊããè” (Ka.Ka.40)

(“God has shown

mercy, / paddy ripened and turned yellow / God has shown mercy / And everyday

morning is appeared) and many more.

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Sometimes he uses English words, ‘pylon’, ‘radar’, sometimes he uses Sanskrit

words, ‘‚㺪’ ‘ãä‡ã‹Êã¸ã’ and he uses the rustic, rural Marathi words - 'ãä›ÈâØãÊã', 'Öããä¹ãŠÔã',

'ãäÍãâØãÊã’. His seemingly distorted language is his strength, and in addition to that he

forms new words like, ‘¹ããùãäÊãÍãÊãñÊãã’, ‘¢ãØããß’, ‘Øãâ•ãªãÀ’.

Both Eliot and Mardhekar’s language is charged with words, phrases, and images

borrowed from the horrible realities of everyday city life. They tried to assimilate

their language to everyday speech and made it non-poetic. They undertook the

innovative experiments in poetry by assimilating the poetic and the prosaic, the

common and the formal, the colloquial and the far-off, the precise and the suggestive.

Eliot’s conversational words, phrases, sentences are not rural but urban while

Mardhekar’s words, phrases, and sentences are rural because in Mumbai, majority of

people come from rural area of Maharashtra and they are either illiterate or semi-

literate even Mardhekar himself lived in rural Maharashtra.

Eliot and Mardhekar were not interested to follow old and outdated idiom of their

forerunners. They expected that poets should create entirely an innovative medium

which is competent enough of assimilating and articulating new objects and new

thoughts, new ideas, and new characteristics of modern life. Modern poets must use

different language from the past because modern life is governed by science and

technology. It is completely different from the life of the earlier periods.

Both Eliot and Mardhekar were interested in undertaking the experiments to find new

medium for poetry. Eliot tried to widen the variety of poetic idiom by introducing

expressions used in regular speech but these expressions generally considered as

unsuitable for poetry. Eliot had a deep understanding of classical literature so he could

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borrow whenever he likes the phrases from famous poets. One can find in his poems

idiomatic phrases and words expressing precisely and accurately the meaning which

he wants to convey. Eliot used archaic and foreign words by ancient poets,

philosophers and prophets. For instance, ‘DA, Datta, DA, Dayadhvam, DA,

Damyata,’ ‘Shantih, Shantih, Shantih’, The Hanged Man (Frazer), ‘I remember /

Those are pearls that were his eyes’ (The Tempest), A Game of Chess (Middleton’s

Women Beware Women), ‘But at my back...’ (Marvell’s To His Coy Mistress), ‘When

lovely woman stoops to folly’ (Goldsmith’s Wicar of Wakefield).

Mardhekar also had knowledge of Marathi poetic tradition and he also, like Eliot,

borrows lines and phrases from famous poets and folk literature and produces an

unexpected effect of meaning. e. g. ‘ªñ Øãã ÖòãäÞã ªã¶ã ý ªñÌãã, ½ãã¢ããè Öã¡ñ / Œãㄶããè ãäØã£ãã¡ñ ý ¨ã칦ã

ÌÖãÌããè ýý (Ka.Ka.2)
•ãñ ¶ã •ãⶽãÊãñ Ìãã ½ãñÊãñ ý ¦¾ããÔããè ½Ö¥ãñ •ããñ ‚ãã¹ãìÊãñ, / ¦ããñãäÞã ½ãì¦Ôããä­ •ãã¶ããÌãã ý ªñÌã ¦ãñ©ãñ

‚ããñߌããÌãã ý’ (Ka.Ka.3) -‚ããâºããñ¥ããèÞ¾ãã ½ããØãñ ‡ãŠã Øã / ¦ãì¢ãã ½ãã¢ãã Þãâ³ ØãñÊãã? - (Aa.Ka.Ka.23)

Eliot experimented with the language and he developed his own technique of

compression and compactness in poetry. He eliminates all the connecting links,

punctuations, all the grammatical signs of connection and order. This helps him to

compress and condense the vast material within a little space. The elimination of

connecting links and the grammatical signs gives alertness, flexibility and quickness

to his verse. It helps Eliot to the abrupt transitions and fast jumps. The flexibility of

Eliot’s poetry facilitates him to move with agility from one thought to another. For

example,

Declines. On the Rialto once.

The rats are underneath the piles.
The jew is underneath the lot.
Money in furs. The boatman smiles, (ECP, 41)

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Mardhekar also has developed the technique of compression and condensation while

employing language in poetry. He eliminates connecting links in the following poem

and is a fine example of this type.

¹ãÆñ½ããÞãñ ÊãÌÖãßñ,
Ôããöª¾ãà ¶ãÌÖãßñ,
Íããñ£ãî?
- ‚ããÔã¹ããÔã
½ã졲ããâÞããè ÀãÔã;
¾ãâ¨ãã¦ãî¶ã ‚ããØã;
ãäÌã½ãã¶ããÞãñ ÖÊÊãñ,
ºãñãäÞãÀãŒã ãä•ãÊÖñ; (Ka.Ka.01)

Eliot’s use of punctuation is not so lavish. On the other hand, Mardhekar uses the

punctuations profusely and his use of punctuation is unique. He uses punctuations in

his Kahin Kavita and Aankhi Kahin Kavita in innovative style. Such a type of use of

punctuation brings dramatic effect in his poems. Perhaps this might be because of the

influence of English language on him. He uses punctuations for different purposes.

e.g. “•ããäÀ'Þãã ›ãñ¹ã” (Aa.Ka.Ka.19)

, ‘Ôãì›áÊãã’, ½Ö¥ã¦ããè ÔããÀñ, ‘¹ãÆã¥ããèè’!” (Ka.Ka.37)
Mardhekar’s use of

brackets is also of English style. e.g. “‚ãã½Öã ¼ãؾãÌãâ¦ãã (àã½ãÔÌã ‚ããÖáâ¦ãã)” (Ka.Ka.1), “¹ã슛ñÊã (Öãñ¦ããè

Ìãñ¡ãè ‚ããÍãã)” (Aa.Ka.Ka.7) (“(I fondly hoped) The puritan mould) Eliot also uses the dash in

his poems. e.g. trail along the floor- / And this, and so much more?- (ECP14) The use of

dash is also noticeable in Mardhekar’s poems. e.g.-‚ããÔã¹ããÔã, ... -¼ãã‡ãŠÀãè ¹ããñ›ãÊãã !! -

‚ãã½ÖãèÞã •ãߥã- (Ka.Ka.1)

‘-ºããƒÃ, ãä¼ã‡ãŠã-¾ããÊãã ÜããÊãã’; (Ka.Ka.23)
In this regard Vijaya

Rajyadhyakshya says, “He uses boldly ‘-’ this punctuation wherever and whenever

required.”10 Mardhekar also uses some lines in italic style perhaps for highlighting

their switching over poetic form and difference in meaning. The proper and

meaningful use of punctuations is a part of Mardhekar’s experimentations. “His skill

214
of breaking poetic lines at particular places is wonderful. Because of all these things,

Mardhekar’s language has acquired a particular form.”11

Mardhekar changes the conventional and romantic language because he thinks that

miserable plight of city cannot be suitably expressed in such a language. For

expressing these metropolitan problems appropriately, he carried out some

experiments with words, syntax, and language. Mardhekar changes the logical order

of language and instead he uses emotional order. For example, ‘‡ãŠ¥ãã ½ããñ¡Êãã ãä¶ãÏÞãÊã¦ãñÞãã /

Ûãã ¹ããÊããèÞ¾ãã ‚ããÌãã•ãã¶ãñ;’ (Ka.Ka.37) (the voice of the house-lizard broke the pivot of silence.)

is the fine example of this type. There is no logical order in ãä¶ãÏÞãÊã¦ãã (‘stillness’), ¹ããÊã

(‘house-lizard’), ¹ããÊããè (‘pali language’), ‘£ã½½ã½ã ÔãÀ¥ã½ã’ (‘surrender to Dhamma’).

Mardhekar breaks the general rules of Marathi grammar and changes the order of

words in his poems. This characteristic is noticeable in his poetry and this makes his

poetry difficult and obscure. For example, in ‘½ã¶ãã¦ãʾãã ¹ãã¦ã‡ãŠãâÞãñ / Öãñ¦ããè ãä‰ãŠÔ›Êã ¦ã¾ããÀ; /

‚ã•ãì¶ã ÍãñÊã‡ãŠãè / ‚ããÖñ ãäÍãÌããè ãä•ã¼ãñÌãÀ’ (Ka.Ka. 49) the order of the words is changed, it should be

like, ‘½ã¶ãã¦ãʾãã ¹ãã¦ã‡ãŠãâÞãñ / ãä‰ãŠÔ›Êã ¦ã¾ããÀ Öãñ¦ããè; / ‚ã•ãì¶ã ÍãñÊã‡ãŠãè ãäÍãÌããè / ãä•ã¼ãñÌãÀ ‚ããÖñ’) In this way,

the complicated word order has been devised. Another example is, ‘¹ããäÀãäÔ©ã¦ããèÞãñ ãä¹ã…¶ã

‚ãùãäÔã¡ / ãäÊãºããäÊãºãÊããè Öãè ½ã¶ãñ Ö¡á‡ãìŠßãè; / ÊããØã¦ããèÊã Àñ ‡ãŠ£ããè ¦ãÀãè ‡ãŠã’ (Ka.Ka.50) These lines should be

like, ‘¹ããäÀãäÔ©ã¦ããèÞãñ ‚ãùãäÔã¡ ãä¹ã…¶ã / ãäÊãºããäÊãºãÊããè Öãè ½ã¶ãñ Ö¡á‡ãìŠßãè; / ÊããØã¦ããèÊã ‡ãŠã Àñ ‡ãŠ£ããè ¦ãÀãè’.

Mardhekar disturbs the natural course of words and by using unnatural word order he

brings complexity of meaning. In another poem, ‘ªñÌãßã¦ãʾãã …ª ÖìâØã¦ããñ / Øãã¼ãã ¼ãÁ¶ããè

‡ãŠãßãñŒããÊãã’ (Ka.Ka.35)
(incense smells the overwhelming darkness in the sanction of

temple) syntax is broken, and it should be like, ‘ªñÌãßã¦ãʾãã Øãã¼ãã ¼ãÁ¶ããè ‡ãŠãßãñŒããÊãã …ª

ÖìâØã¦ããñ’.

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Like Eliot, Mardhekar also changes the idiom of Marathi poetry. He explores the

possibilities of new idioms. He was familiar with English and European literature; he

knew Sanskrit and traditional literature. This knowledge helped him to carry out some

experiments in poetry. He used slang, vulgar, rustic words like, ¼ããñ‡ãŠ, (bhok), ãäÌãÓ›ã

(vistha), Ôãâ¡ãÔãã¦ããèÊã Üãã¥ã, (sandasatil ghan), ãä›Å¾ãã (tirrya), ãäÊãâØã (ling).

Mardhekar transforms Marathi words in a strange manner. The words like -‘Øãâ•ãªãÀ’,

‘¢ãØããß’, ‘„ãäØãÞã¦ãã’ are transformed from the root words Øãâ•ã, ¢ãØãã, „ãäØãÞã. Moreover, he

makes compound words of two Marathi words in an unusual manner. e.g.

‘¾ãâ¨ã½ãìØ£ã’,‘¼ãì‡ãñŠ‡ãâŠØãããäÊãÔ¦ãã¶ã.’ English words like, ‘break’, ‘robot’, ‘pylon’, ‘cocktail’,

‘piston’ are lavishly used by Mardhekar’s in his poetry. The alternative Marathi words

are not available so he uses them as they are. These words fit in Marathi language as

if they are Marathi and this is the skill and speciality of Mardhekar. He made some

English words Marathi. e.g. from ¹ãâ¹ã (pump), ¹ãùããäÊãÍã (polish) he made ¹ãâ¹ã¦ããñ (pumpto),

¹ãùãÊããèÍã¶ãñ (polishne). These words become Marathi because of their changed

morphology and day-to-day use in conversation. They hold no more English entity.

“Mardhekar inherited from Hopkins and T. S. Eliot the techniques like formation of

new words by breaking the original words, yoking together heterogeneous ideas,

creating strange and innovative images.”12

Mardhekar has made plentiful use of inversion in his poems. Inversion is stylistic

device of changing in order of accepted grammatical words or reversing the word

order. Deliberate and planned inversion characterizes the style of a poet.

Mardhekar is very famous for practicing inversion. Conventional grammatical rules

are neglected for the sake of ‘prime words.’ Prime words – emphasized words – are

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generally verbs placed at the beginning of the line. e. g. ÖìâØããè¦ã ¦ã¾ããÞããè ŒããÀ› ½ã㪇㊦ãã /

......... / ÜãããäÔã¦ã ‡ã⊟¦ããñ ‡ãŠãß ½ã¶ãããä¦ãÊã ŒãÀ¡ñ / ¹ãìâŠãä‡ãŠ¦ã £ãìÀãâÞãñ †‡ãŠÊã‡ãŠãò¡ñ ‡ãŠãñ¡ñ. (Ka.Ka.51)
Suresh

Bhrungurwar says, “This is Mardhekar’s favorite stylistic device, and he has

13
artistically handled in his many poems.” On the other hand, Eliot has not used

inversion as a device in his poems as Mardhekar did.

Eliot and Mardhekar uses new techniques in their poetry and these techniques are

responsible for the complexity and obscurity of their poetry. They use unusual

symbols, and images, confusing and complicated thoughts, contradictory and

heterogeneous ideas, use of irony, experiments in language like compression and

condensation, elimination of connecting links, punctuations, grammatical signs of

connection and order, strange imagery, discontinuous expressions, borrowings from

various sources, allusions, references, quotations, make their poetry complicated and

obscure. Those who are not familiar with the new techniques bewilder and confuse to

comprehend the meanings of poetic lines. As a result their poetry appealed only for

learned small group of the people and remained away from the common and ordinary

people.

The following lines show the complexity in Eliot’s poetry.

Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee

With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade,
And went on in the sunlight, into the Hofgarten,
And drank coffee, and talked for an hour.
Bin gar keine Russin, stamm’ aus Litauen, echt deutsch. (ECP, 61)

It is not easy to understand the meaning of these lines. Even Matthiessen found

himself Eliot’s poetry, “unable to understand.”14 Being a modern poet, Eliot

deliberately and consciously maintained the difficulty and obscurity in his poetry.

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In the same way, Mardhekar’s poetry tends to be incomprehensible and obscure as he

has employs the modernist technique in his poems. The poems like, ‘ãä¹ã¹ãã¦ã ½ãñÊãñ ‚ããñʾãã

„âªãèÀ; / ½ãã¶ãã ¹ã¡Ê¾ãã ½ãìÀØãßÊ¿ããÌããè¥ã;’ (Ka.Ka.21)

(mice in the wet barrel died; / their necks

dropped, untwisted ;) made the havoc in Marathi literature since they are written with

the modernist techniques.

Eliot and Mardhekar are known as experts in devicing strange and shocking images

and symbols. Unexpected and complex images of both of the poets confuse the

readers. By using such images and symbols, they present complex modern world they

visualized.

Eliot’s image of evening like ‘a patient etherized upon a table’ is a surprising image

with an element of conceit in it. It shows the state of mind of the protagonist and his

desire of forgetfulness by means of anesthesia. Eliot’s Prufrock and Other

Observations displays the profuse use of the symbols. Prufrock’s indecision,

incertitude, boredom is conveyed through symbols: ‘When the evening is spread out
(ECP, 11)
against the sky, / Like a patient etherised upon a table;’ Here the image of ‘a

patient etherised upon a table’ symbolizes Prufrock’s vacuity. The image of ‘yellow

fog’ represents a lazy cat, and the lazy state of mind of Prufrock who postpones the

proposal. The ‘yellow smoke’ also suggests the filthy and unhealthy atmosphere of

the city. (ECP, 11-12)

Eliot’s The Waste Land presents a series of images. The woman is an image of

fertility in human life and water in nature. These two images dominate in the poem.

The imagery in the following lines is highly ironical and suggestive.

And I must borrow every changing shape

To find expression…dance, dance

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 Like a dancing bear,
Cry like a parrot, chatter like an ape.’(ECP, 20)

This imagery suggests a kind of dehumanization of young man because of his

confusion and the disappointment. He has become an animal. The young man

becomes humiliated and self convict for his deceitful and cruel desertion of the old

lady. His mind occupied by the thought of her death. ‘Well! and what if she should
(ECP, 20)
die some afternoon /…/…/ And should I have the right to smile? Indeed, the

young man has committed a serious crime more serious than fornication. The

epigraph taken from Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta (Act-IV, Scene-I ‘Thou hast

committed – / Fornication: But what was in another country, / And besides the wench

is dead.’) suggests a state of psychological rape committed by the young man into the

lonely and empty life of old lady.

By using unusual and unconventional images and similes, Eliot astonishes and

surprises to the readers. In The Waste Land, he equates the typist girl to engine
(ECP, 69)
waiting ‘Like a taxi throbbing waiting’, and symbolizes the eagerness of the

typist girl to return home. In Rhapsody on a Windy Night, it is surprising to find the

image of prostitute standing against the open door. The opened door is likened to a

‘grin’ which carries indicative mood of the scene. “Regard that woman / Who

hesitates toward you in the light of the door / Which opens on her like a grin.” (ECP, 24)

Like Eliot, Mardhekar’s use of imagery is innovative because he carries out some

experiments with it. Mardhekar undertakes experiments with imagery because of

intense requirement of expression. According to Mardhekar, ‘new emotional

equivalences’ means ‘new images.’ New poetry is possible only when there are ‘new

images.’ Mardhekar’s power lies in his special use of imagery. The experience of

contemporary reality is more complicated and incomprehensible. To express this

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complicated and incomprehensible reality, poet needs to use extremely complicated

imagery. In this way, the innovative use of imagery was required. Marathi Romantic

poets used beautiful, attractive and sensitive images like lotus, moon, flower, swan,

water spring and unattractive, ugly and fearful images like darkness, owl, crow, bear

etc. All these images are replaced by new images in Mardhekar’s poetry. The

perception, sensitivity and attitude of poet is important than the conventional meaning

of images. Mardhekar uses images like ‘ãäØã£ãã¡ñ’, ‘½ãò¤Â’, ‘„âãäªÀ’, for a man. The

following images are also innovative: ‘‡ã슺ã¡ã †‡ãŠãâ¦ã’, ‘ÔããØãÀãÞãã ¼ãâØããè’, ‘¶ÖãÊãñʾãã •ã¥ãì

Øã¼ãÃÌã¦ããèÞ¾ãã / Ôããñ•Ìãß ½ããñև㊦ãñ¶ãñ ºãâªÀ / ½ãâìºãã¹ãìãäÀÞãñ „•ããäߦ㠾ãñƒÃ’, (Ka.Ka.58)

(Like a woman

enceinte, fresh from her bath, / In all her holy loveliness, slow / On the pinnacle / Of

your triumph / You felt, you were / Taller than the sky.), ‘‚ãããä¥ã ½ã¶ãã¦ããèÊã ãäºã¾ãã / ªñ¦ããè ÖßîÞã

‚ããßÔã., (Aa.Ka.Ka.33)
(And the seeds in the mind / slowly stretch the body), ‘‚ããâ£ããÀã¦ãì¶ã

ÔãÊã¦ã ¹ãì¤ñ •ãã¥ããÀã À¡ãÀãÞãã ãä‡ãŠÀ¥ã’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.32)

(to live a little, and then to die / all during a

wink; / through darkness the radar's / ray bruises onward. [tr.D.C.]), ‘ãäªÌãã ¹ããÀÌãã ¹ãã-

¾ããÞãã / ºãÀãè ¦ããñ¦ã-¾ãã ¶ãßãÞããè / ãäÍãÀãè £ããÀ’ (Aa.Ka.KA.31), ‘¹ãâ‡ã‹ÞãÀÊããè •ããäÀ Àã¨ã ãäªÌ¾ããâ¶ããè, / ¦ãÀãè ¹ãâ¹ã¦ããñ ‡ãìŠãä¥ã

‡ãŠãßãñŒã’, ‘ÀºãÀãè Àã¨ã’ (Ka.Ka.59)

(although the lights / have punctured the night / someone

still pumps darkness into it ... / the rubber night goes flat; [tr.D.C.]), ãä‡ãŠ¡Êããè ‡ãŠãßãñŒããÞããè

¹ãŠßñ ý Àã¨ã¹ããßãè ¾ãâ¨ãã½ãìßñ; (Ka.Ka.10) (The roots of darkness are rotten / By the mechanism of

night shift), Þãõ¨ã ºãÜã¦ããñ Ìãã‡ãã / ãä¶ãß¿ãã ¶ã¼ãã¦ãî¶ã ŒããÊããè; ...Þãõ¨ã ÞããÊãÊãã Þãã›î¶ã / Ìãñ¡¿ãã Ôã¹ãã› ¹ãð©ÌããèÊãã,
(Aa.Ka.Ka.23)
(April leans down to look / From a deep blue sky / ... April licks a mad, /

Flat Earth, and passes; [tr.D.C.]). The imagery in the following poem is very complex

to understand.

•ããäÍã £ããñº¾ããÞããè ½ã… ƒÔ¦ãÀãè

¦ãÊã½ã ãä¹ãŠÀãÌããè Ôãì¦ããÌãÁ¥ããè'
¹ãŠãÊØãì¶ãã¦ãÊããè ÞãⳇãŠãñÀ ¦ããäÍã
½ããäÊã¶ã ½ã¶ããÞ¾ãã £ããؾããÌãÁ¶ããè’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.17)
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(Crescent in March (Falgun) moves on dirty minds like washerman’s iron moves on

sheer yarn). Such images tend to be obscure and difficult. Mardhekar’s images are

difficult to understand because of unusual and unexpected fusion of images or use of

images.

Eliot uses to compress together the images. As a result those compressed images tend

to be impenetrable. Readers need to re-read to understand such images. In Love Song

of J. Alfred Prufrock the images of Lazarus and Prince Hamlet do not make a sense

immediately. Such types of images are abundantly used in The Waste Land, so that

the poem becomes more and more complex. Like Eliot, Mardhekar also used to

compress images and consequently his poetry becomes difficult to understand. Even

G. V. Karandikar says, “The speciality of Mardhekar’s poetry is not in new images

but in a way of compression of images.”15 Mardhekar compressed two images

together and consequently poem becomes obscure and difficult to understand. For

example:

¹ãâ‡ã‹ÞãÀÊããè •ããäÀ Àã¨ã ãäªÌ¾ããâãä¶ã,

¦ãÀãè ¹ãâ¹ã¦ããñ ‡ãìŠãä¥ã ‡ãŠãßãñŒã ....
¹ãŠ¦ãá‡ãŠ¶ãá ºãÔãÊããè ÀºãÀãè Àã¨ã ; .....
ØãìÀØãìÀÌããÌããè ÀºãÀãè ‡ã슨ããè ýý
¦ãÀãè ¹ãâ¹ã¦ããññ ‡ãìŠãä¥ã ‡ãŠãßãñŒã (Ka.Ka.59)

(although the lights / have punctured the night / someone still pumps darkness into it /

...../ the rubber night goes flat; ..../.... / dogs lick the leather / of the hidebound mind /

in layered heaps..../ on a punctured night / made of rubber / make rubber dogs growl.

[tr.D.C.]) There are two images, ‘Àã¨ã’ (night) and ‘‡ã슨ããè’ (dogs). These two images

fused together, which makes poem more difficult to understand.

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The use ironic-satiric images are special quality of Eliot and Mardhekar. Their typical

use of contrast in ironic-satiric images creates an ironic effect. For example, in the

following lines from The Waste Land, first half of the line is inspiring while the

second half is disgusting.

When lovely woman stoops to folly and

Paces about her room again, alone,
She smoothes her hair with automatic hand,
And puts a record on the gramophone.’ (ECP, 70)

And again, ‘They wash their feet in soda water’, ‘I have measured out my life with
(ECP, 51)
coffee spoons;’ . These ironic images intensify the sense of spiritual sterility,

ennui, uselessness, decay of the modern metropolitan life. In the same way,

Mardhekar also uses ironic-satiric images in his poems, ‚ããÀÌã¦ããñ ªõ¶ãâã䪶ã / ¼ããòØãã. -,

“Üã¶ã:;ãã½ãÔãìâªÀã ãäÑã£ãÀã ãäØããäÀ¥ããñª¾ã ¢ããÊãã, / „ãäŸ ÊãÌã‡ãŠãäÀ ã䪶ã¹ããßãè......”, “Íãì¼ãâ ‡ãŠÀãñãä¦ã ‡ãŠÊ¾ãã¥ãâ

ªããäÀ³¿ãâ ¨ãÉ¥ã-Ôãâ¹ãÖãè / Íã죪ºãìã䣪ãäÌã¶ããÍãã¾ã ¼ããòØãã‡ã슨ããè ¶ã½ããñÔ¦ãì ¦ãñ.” (Ka.Ka.36)

and creates the same

effects like that of Eliot.

Eliot borrowed the metaphysical conceits from the metaphysicals. The Love Song of J.

Alfred Prufrock contains the number of conceits which are in the form of symbol-

images. The symbol-images suggest more than what is actually described. In The

Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock ‘fog’ is compared to ‘cat’ and Prufrock’s mental state

is compared to ‘a patient etherized upon the table.’ Prufrock is conscious but

conscious of nothing. Mardhekar’s ‚ãâ£ããÀÊãñ ‚ãâ¦ã¾ããýã ý ãäªÊãã •ãñÌÖã ‡ã‹ÊããñÀãñ¹ãŠã½ãÃ; / Íããä§ãŠ ‚ãÔãîãä¶ãÖãè

Ìã½ãà ý ãä¶ã¹ããäÞã¦ã ýý (Ka.Ka.9) conveys the same meaning. The streets in the city are compared

with tedious arguments. This image brings out boredom and frustration. Fog also

signifies the dirty and unhealthy physical surroundings of the city life. Prufrock

desires to go away from the unbearable facts of modern life and seek shelter

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somewhere in the deep bed of the sea like a fish. ‘I should have been a pair of ragged

claws / Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.’ (ECP, 13)

Eliot employs the picture images of people, and objects at a certain moment of time or

action. The Waste Land is pregnant with such images. There are Madam Sosostris, the

clairvoyant, the crowd crossing London Bridge, Mr. Eugenides, the typist girl, the

sordid clerk. The images of all such persons carry with them number of associations.

Similarly, Mardhekar also uses the picture images of people like, Øã¥ã¹ã¦ã Ìãããä¥ã,
(Aa.Ka.Ka.9)
-‚ããäÍãÞã Öãñ§ããè ¶ã‡ãŠ›ãè †‡ãŠ, (Ka.Ka.52)
ºãâãäªÌãã¶ã (Ka.Ka.14)
, Œããªãèºã⪠Íãñ› (Ka.Ka.14)
, †Ìãü¤ãÔãã

¹ããñÀ (Ka.Ka.19)
, ÊããÞããÀ ‚ããƒÃ (Ka.Ka.19)
, Íãñ› ÔããÌã‡ãŠãÀ (Ka.Ka.19)
, ‡ãŠãñßÍãñÌããÊãã ‡ãŠãßã (Ka.Ka. 46)
,

¹ãŠÊãã›áªãªã, ¹ãŠÊã㛪ãªã (Ka.Ka.31)

The application of symbolism in Eliot’s poetry is based on the problems faced by the

human being in the modern society. The Waste Land has the symbolism connected

with the legend of the grail and which are an essential part of the European literary

tradition. The philosophical traditions of Indian and Western cultures are combined in

The Waste Land. Eliot has used the old legends, myths and symbols to focus the

attention of the problems and crisis faced by the contemporary society. Similarly,

“Mardhekar employs symbols and images of machine age in his poetry”16 to presents

helpless and wretched situation of life.

Both Eliot and Mardhekar used personal symbols to express the vogue, fleeting

impressions, passing across the poet’s mind. Eliot uses the symbols to express a

complex and decadent modern urban life. ‘Dry bones’, ‘dry grass’, ‘cactus land’,

‘rocks’, ‘winds singing dryly’ in The Waste Land suggest spiritual loss and loneliness.

‘Rats’ suggests the sordidness. These symbols signify an idea of the modern waste

land. Mardhekar uses the symbols like, „âãäªÀ, ½ãìâØããè, ªÊãªÊã, £ã¹ãã¹ã¦ãñ ƒâ•ããè¶ã, ãäŸÔãîß ºãÀØã¡¿ãã,

223
Öã¡ãâÞ¾ãã ãä¦ãÀ¡¿ãã and all these intensify the sordidness, boring routine, helplessness,

inhuman industrial problems and other problems in metropolitan life.

Eliot and Mardhekar portray external world of harsh realities. Moreover, they attempt

to peep in the inner reality of modern people by using stream-of-consciousness

technique. They incarnate the inner reality by visualizing the psychic of the

characters. They give much importance to the subconscious states of mind of their

characters. Thus, they attempt to probe human psychic to analyse emotions. For doing

all this, they use the device of dramatic monologue in their poems.

Through the employment of this technique, reader also enters in the mind of

character. Eliot employs this technique in the poems like Love Song of Alfred J.

Prufrock, Gerontion. It is seen that Prufrock’s thought processes shift abruptly as well

as the topic under discussion. For example, the subject suddenly switches from very

trivial things such as his bald spot or whether to eat a peach, to the concept of time

and the universe.

The use of stream-of-consciousness technique makes poem obscure and difficult and

one cannot seek the literal and the symbolic meaning of the poem. In Gerontion the

stream-of-consciousness technique has been employed. Gerontion stresses

remembrances, but The Waste Land memories. Both, Prufrock and Gerontion, escape

conventional thought processes in the poems. The stream-of-consciousness technique

is adopted in these poems. They contain fragmented images.

Mardhekar too deals with the complicated human life of a new era and obviously his

subject-matter becomes obscure and complicated. Mardhekar presents split

personality, factures, psychosis, and suppressed passions of the people. The

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expression of his poetry is discontinuous. In this technique, the conscious and

subconscious mind is reflected alternatively. So any statement can be missed or

eliminated. “The continuity is disturbed. This becomes complicated and obscure.”17

The poet uses discontinuous technique, irrelevant images to present speed,

incongruity, irrelevance, disorder of modern world and consequently reader gets

confused. e. g. In the poem, ‘¹ãâ‡ã‹ÞãÀÊããè •ããäÀ Àã¨ã ãäªÌ¾ããâ¶ããè', 'Àã¨ã' and '‡ã슨ããè' are two images.

It is necessary to understand the nature and meaning of these two images to

understand the meaning of the poem otherwise, the poem becomes difficult.

The stream-of-consciousness technique is used in the following lines: ãäÞã§ããè ‚ãÔãî ²ããÌããèý

½ã²ã¼ãÆãâ¦ããè ýý /‚ã²ãã¶ããè •ãØããÔã ý —ãã¶ã ¹ãã•ãî ¶ã¾ãñ, (Ka.Ka.2) (keep in mind wine delusion / not to give

knowledge to the ignorant / remain after death bodily). Here he jumps from ‘—ãã¶ã ¹ãã•ãî

¶ã¾ãñ’ to ‘½ã²ã¼ãÆãâ¦ããè’ (wine delusion) and from ‘½ã²ã¼ãÆãâ¦ããè’ to ‘¹ãã•ãî ¶ã¾ãñ’. There are some

poems where Mardhekar employs the stream-of-consciousness technique, such as –

‘‚ããÀã½ããÞãã Àã½ã’, (Ka.Ka.2)

‘Ôã‡ãŠãßãè „Ÿãñ¶ããè ý ÞãÖã-‡ãŠãù¹ãŠãè ܾããÌããè', (Ka.Ka.7)
'‡ãŠ¥ãã ½ããñ¡Êãã ãä¶ãÏÞãÊã¦ãñÞãã’
(Ka.Ka.37).

In short, both of the poets use the stream-of-consciousness technique in their poems to

represent the fractured mentality of the modern man, disorder and to show

psychological paralysis of our civilization.

Traditional medium of poetry is verse. However, the modernists emphasized prose as

a medium of poetry. According to the modernist poets, the difference between prose

and verse is technical. So they use prose in the poems skillfully for the purpose of

reflecting their views. Moreover, prose as a medium suited them to carry out some

experiments and it gave them flexiblity in use. So the prosaic language in their poetry

225
is mixture of various elements. The poems of both Eliot and Mardhekar show the use

of unconventional and non-poetic words, phrases, syntax and images. This enhances a

kind of novelty and sometimes beauty in expression. Eliot uses prose in his Journey of

Magi. It was easy for Eliot to use such a prose in poetry since English language is

witnessed some experiments but the use of prose of Mardhekar is bold and

praisworhty. Characteristically, importance to the use of verse is given in Marathi

poerty. The fashionable Romantic Marathi poetry before Mardhekar had employed

fine verse for recitation of love. The Romantic poets portrayed the beauty of their

beloved in a fine verse form. On this background, the experiment of Mardhekar is

noteworthy. So the use of prose is important aspect in modernist poetry.

Eliot was not interested in using traditional rhyme scheme, and metres. He aimed at

explaining the complexities of the modern mind and the conflict of ideas, so he made

his metre flexible and suitable to his purpose. For example, in Prufrock and Other

Observations he employs an irregularly rhyming verse paragraph with the different

length of lines. He brought variations in the number of stresses and syllables as per

the requirements of the thoughts and emotions.

Eliot had total control over all conventional metres. His ability of handling of

conventional metre can be seen in The Waste Land. The ironic atmosphere is created

by the use of run-on-lines and the end stopped lines. Eliot uses short lines with the

music of their own. He uses a line with four stresses and a pause at the middle of the

line. In some lines there are three syllables, in some lines there are five syllables while

in some other lines there are more than that. He could easily express the vision of life

through this metre. He uses this in The Four Quartets:

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 Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future.
If all time is eternally present
All time is unredeemable.

Thus, he invented the flexible metre appropriate to express idea of modern city life

and went away from the traditional metres like Iambic.

Mardhekar also undertake the experiments in poetic language. He uses dramatic lines

and old poetic forms like owi and abhanga in his poems. Keshav Sadre says, “The

lines of Owi are not written in the rules of metre so they are nearer to Free Verse.”18

Instead of using conventional language, Mardhekar started to use language of the

Saint Poetry. Hence his language became disciplined. He found the language of his

time was not sufficient to express his feelings and experiences. He writes, ‘‚ããÍã¾ããÞãã

¦ãìÞã ÔÌãã½ããè! / Í㺪ÌããÖãè ½ããè ãä¼ã‡ãŠãÀãè! (Aa.Ka.Ka.1) (God, you are the master of meaning! / I am a

mere beggar / Carrying the burden of words [tr.D.C.]) and ‘‚ãÌãÜã¡ ‚ããÍãã, „Ôã¶ããè ¼ããÓãã,

„Ôã¶ãã „ÞÞããÀ’(Aa.Ka.Ka.26) (difficult hopes, borrowed language, borrowed utterance,

borrowed intention.) So he experimented with the language and because he found

existing poetic language inadequate to express his thoughts. So he says, ‘¦ãâØã ‚ãÔãñ •ããäÀ

ãäÌã•ããÀ / Í㺪ãÞããè ‚ããÍã¾ããÔã, ÀãŒã ¦ããäÀ ƒ½ãã¶ãýý’ (Ka.Ka.25) (Eventhough, the trouser of the words

is fit for content, keep fidelity.)

Generally, the modernist poets use free verse as a medium of their poetic expressions.

Accordingly, T. S. Eliot carried out some experiments with a new verse techniques in

Sweeny Agonists. Eliot wanted to evolve a verse form which would tune with speech

habits and rhythms used in those days. His search for new verse form is related with

the styles of popular conversation. He wanted to bring poetry near to people. His

Sweeney Agonists has a rhythm in words used normally in day to day life.

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Eventhough, Eliot’s Sweeney Agonists does not convey profound meaning; it is

perfect as an example of free verse.

Eliot wrote Ash-Wednesday in free verse:

Because these wings are no longer wings to fly

But merely vans to beat the air
The air which is now thoroughly small and dry
Smaller and dryer than the will
Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still.’(ECP, 94)

This form has helped him to present the chaos, confusion and disorder of the day.

On the other hand, Mardhekar’s contemporary poets like Anil (A. R. Deshpande) used

free verse as a medium of poetry. But Mardhekar has rejected to use free verse as a

poetic medium. Rather he has expressed the new matter in the old medium. He uses

abhangaas of Saint Poets to express his modern sensibility. He has not criticized other

poets who used free verse, but he indirectly made fun of these poets in poems like,

‘ƒÀñÔã ¹ã¡Êããñ •ãÀ ºãÞÞã½ãá•ããè / ½ãì§ãŠœâª ¦ãÀ ãäÊãÖãè¶ã ½ããèÖãè,’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.12) (If I may be resolved; I will

also write Free Verse.) So D. B. Kulkarni says, “But Mardhekar has not written poetry

in free verse except,

‚ããÊããñ àããä¥ãÞãã ãäÌãÔããÌãã ½Ö¥ãî¶ã;

›ñ‡ãŠÊãñ ¹ãã¾ã:
¦ããñ ¦ãîÞã Ö›á‡ãŠÊãñÔã ‘‡ãŠãñ¥ã’ ½Ö¥ãî¶ã.
‚ãããä¥ã ½ã¶ãã¦ãÊãñ ãäÍã¥ãÊãñÊãñ Öñ¦ãî
Íãñ¥ã ¢ããÊãñ’. (Epilogue Ka.Ka.)

(I came for a moment’s rest: / Rested my tired feet; / And you of all, suddenly /

Questioned me “who?” and all the weary Intentions of my mind / were turned to shit.

[tr.D.C.]) 19 So Vilas Sarang says, “Mardhekar does not use Eliot’s free verse; but like

Auden he writes in fixed metre.” 20

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Mardhekar does not reject the rhyme and alliteration. He uses rhyme and alliteration

to highlight the meaning of the words and not for showing his command on words and

language. So figures of speech acquire a very special form and place in Mardhekar’s

poetry.

Both T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar hold the similar views on the use of free verse in

their poems. Both of the poets emphasize on content and not on the outward form.

They were not interested in making poem attractive by its form and style. They handle

only few selected metres. Eliot shows mastery over few metres like iamb, blank verse,

terza rima, quatrains, heroic lines, run-on-lines, end-stopped lines. He experimented

and made flexible traditional iambic metre in Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock. In The

Wate Land he uses heroic lines as a base metre and uses run-on-lines and end-stopped

lines. Little Gidding is written in terza rima. Mardhekar concentrates on metres like,

padakuak, owi, abhanga.

T. S. Eliot was against using the free verse as he writes, “Verse libre has not even the

excuse of a polemic; it is battle cry of a freedom, and there is no freedom in art. And

as the so-called verse libre which is good is anything but ‘free’, it can better be

defended under some other label.”21 Thus, both Eliot and Mardhekar’s views are

similar. “The rejection of rhyme is not a leap of facility on the contrary; it imposes a

much severer strain upon the language.”22 Like Eliot, Mardhekar’s conception of

emotional equivalence about new and modern poetry is fundamental. Mardhekar was

against the notion of ‘Free verse means modernity.’ He ridiculed the fashion of free

verse in his ‘ƒÀñÔã ¹ã¡Êããñ •ãÀ ºãÞÞã½ã•ããè’ (Aa.Ka. Ka.12) (If I may be resolved; I will write Free

Verse.)

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Irony is one of the important characteristics of modernist poetry. Eliot’s technique of

producing irony is to demonstrate unusual resemblance and difference between

similar and dissimilar things, and Mardhekar also follows the same method. Both

Eliot and Mardhekar use irony in their poems. Even the title, Love Song of Alfred J.

Prufrock has ironic vein. It is not love song at all and the protagonist dares not to

speak about his love. He says, ‘Do I dare?’ and ‘Do I dare?’ ‘How should I begin?’
(ECP12-13)
As he is timid and coward, he is afraid of making his love proposal. Eliot

presents the ironical situation of modern man. He has ironically picturized the

romantic tendency, mechanical city life, and spiritual barrenness of modern man in his

poetry. External appearance of modern man is something like advanced,

knowledgeable, and prosperous but in reality he is ‘hollow man.’ This is the ironical

image of this man Eliot has presented.

The similarities and the dissimilarities of the of the three ‘waste lands’ – the Biblical,

the Fisher King’s, and King Oedipus’ – are made obvious by putting them together.

Eliot shows the distortion of moral values in the modern age through the ironic

contrasts. Once, the banks of Thames were full of nymphs with their sports and songs.

However, they are now full of young girls with their lovers. The past and the present

are juxtaposed, and the contrast is suggested ironically. The characters in the poems

of Eliot also expose the irony of the modern man. The ancient fortune-teller is

represented by the modern Madam Sosostris. The sex enjoying and coke drinking

typist girl modelled on Philomela and the pathetic song of the nightingales.

Eugenides, the sordid clerk, the woman playing music on her stretched-out hair, as if

it were a violin, the clairvoyant are all contrasted with the ancient myths or legends.

These characters and contrasts highlight squalor, vulgarity, degradation and

unfruitfulness of the modern city life.

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Mardhekar also uses irony in his poetry. He ironically presents the contemporary

cultural contrasts which ultimately led to comedy. Through the use of irony,

Mardhekar presents helplessness, desperation, and boredom of the contemporary life.

For example,

‡ã슕ã‡ã‹¾ãã Íãâ‡ãŠã ãä‡ãŠ¦ããè‡ãŠ ãäªÔã¦ããèÊã

ÌãÀÌãÀÞããè ‡ãŠ¦ã¡ãè ÔããñÊã¦ãã;
•ã춾ãã ¹ãìÀãⶾãã „¦ÔããÖãÞãñ
ŒãÊããÔã ¢ããÊãññ ‡ãŠiÊãÞã ¦ãñÊã;
‚ãÌãÔãã¶ããÞãã „Ô㥾ãã ‡ã‹ÊãÞã‡ãŠã;
ãä‡ãŠ¦ããè ªãºãÊãã ¦ããäÀ ¹ããÌãñÊã;
ªñÌããÜãÀÞãã Íãã¹ã ªñ„ßãè
Ö¹ãŠãèÔãã¦ã ‚ã¶ãá ¦ãã¹ã „²ããâÞãã (Aa.Ka.Ka.16)

(Innumerable rotten doubts will appear while removing surface skin. The oil of old

enthusiasm is finished yesterday. Pressing the clutch of borrowed power will not help

to relieve the tomorrow’s office tension.)

and ¹ãâØãî ÊãâÜãñ ãäÖ½ããäØãÀãè ý ¶ããÌã ÞããÊãñ •ãÊããñªÀãè; / •ããèÌã ¹ãõÍããÊãã ¹ããÔãÀãè ý ‚ã¥ãì-¾ãìØããèýý (Ka.Ka.6)
(lame

crosses mountain, submarine goes deep in sea, life is penniless in atom-age.)

Mardhekar portrays the passionless application of science and technology by in an

ironical way. e.g. ƒâ•ãñ‡ã‹Íã¶ãñ Ìãã¤ñ Íã§ãŠãè ý ƒâ•ãñ‡ã‹Íã¶ãñ •ããƒÃ ¼ããè¦ããè; / ƒâ•ãñ‡ã‹Íã¶ãñ ÊãŸáŸ Öãñ¦ããè ý ºãìãä® -Ô¶ãã¾ãì

ýý / ƒâ•ãñ‡ã‹Íã¶ãñ ¹ãõÔãã ãä½ãßñ ý ‚ãããä¥ã ¹ããÀ⺾ãã ¦ãõãäÍã ½ãîßñ (Ka.Ka.9)

In these lines Mardhekar ironically

says that everything you can get by science and without any effort, only you have to

pay money. You may get strength, by medicine not by hard physical work, you will

become fearless by medicine, you may become fat, and your muscle and intellect also

will become efficient with injecting or the application of medicine. All these are

happening for collecting money. General practitioners are greedy and collect money

by the holy profession of physician. The irony is that during the earlier period people

used to work hard for getting strength, power, fearlessness, intellect.

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Like Eliot, Mardhekar also juxtaposes the past and the present. However, he

juxtaposes through the old Marathi poetic forms like owi and abhanga poetry. He uses

the old forms and by replacing and changing some words, he creates the contrasts –

the ironic contrasts. Mardhekar indirectly compares the old and the new and through

this he underlines the contrast between them. This new world is changed and in this

world old values, emotions, passions, ideas, thoughts are outdated and useless.

Mardhekar tells the ethics of modern world about war in:

‚ããÀã½ããÞãã Àã½ã ý ÌãªãÌãã ãä¶ãÓ‡ãŠã½ã

Œã⪇ãŠã¦ã ¹ã¥ã ý ãäÌãÔãÀãÌãã ýý
Œã⪇ãŠã¦ã ‚ããñʾãã ý ªãÁØããñß¿ããÞãã Àñ
¶ããÖãè ¶ããÀã¾ã¥ã ý ‡ãŠªã¹ããèÖãèýý
‡ãŠãñÀ¡ãè ŸñÌããÌããè ý ªãÁ ÔãÌãà ‡ãŠãß
‚ããñŸÌãÀ ½ããß ý Öì‡ã슽ããâÞããè ýý(Ka.Ka.2)

(There is no god in wet trench of ammunition / All the time there is a chain of orders.

/ Name of God is not possible.) Battlefield is not the place of prayer, logic,

philosophy, god, love, sympathy, but you have to forget all these things because

orders, gunpowder, killing, winning at any cost, are the watchwords on battlefield.

Mardhekar uses old popular poem of B. R. Tambe and tender, sensitive love feelings

are distorted and ironically presented lust by changing only few words. “¡ãñßñ Öñ ãä¹ãŠãäʽã

(•ãìãäʽã) Øã¡ñ, Œããñ‡ãìŠãä¶ã (Àãñ‡ãìŠãä¶ã) ½ã•ã ¹ããÖì ¶ã‡ãŠã! / ‡ãŠã¤ì ½ããè ªß¥ãã (‡ãŠãäÍãªã) ‡ãŠãäÍã, ãä¶ãÌã¡ì Ô㌾ãã, ‚ãããä¥ã

½ã‡ãŠã!” (Ka.Ka.45) (The words in bracket are original.) In another poem a lover requests

his beloved –

¾ãñãäÍãÊã ¦ãñÌÖã •ã¹ãî¶ã ¾ãñ ¦ãî,

ãäŸÔãîß ½ã㢾ãã ¹ãÖã ºãÀØã¡¿ãã;
‚ãããäÊãâØã¶ã ¦ãî ªñ¦ãã ½ã•ãÊãã
‡ãŠ¡‡ãŠ¡ì¶ããè, Ûãã ãä¹ãÞããä¦ãÊã ãä¶ã£ã¡¿ãã. (Ka.Ka.42)

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(Be gentle when you come, / brittle are my ribs. / If you hug me hard, my dear, /

they’ll snap / (oh so gallantly). / But don’t hesitate to come just because / my ribs are

brittle; / the heart’s intentions can use my ribs / as bamboos for a bier.)

This is the condition of middle class people. This ironical situation heightens the

tragic gloom of middle class people. Even they cannot enjoy the natural and delicate

passion like love.

So D. V. Deshpande says, “Mardhekar has parodied the relationship of men and

women. He had the hatred for passionless sexual relations. Ôãâ—ãñÌããÞãì¶ã Ôãâ¼ããñØããÞããè / ‚ãÔããèÞã

‡ãŠÔãÀ¦ã ‚ãÔã¦ãñ ÖÊã‡ã‹¾ãã (Ka.Ka.41)

(This is the futile exercise of the sex without sense). Here

he has shown the helplessness of the women and the parody of the mankind.” 23

Mardhekar enjoys the freedom of commenting on contemporary perverted aspects of

society. Even the tender passions like ‘love’ and ‘beauty’ are absent in this age and so

Mardhekar becomes sad. His sadness is underlined through the irony and parody

giving a touch of comedy.

D. V. Deshpande says, “Some of the poems of Mardhekar have social background.

These poems are written with parody, compassion, and disappointments.”24

Mardhekar portrays the pictures of ordinary men and women like Ganpat Wani whose

ambitions are so weak and they lead the lifeless life. Mardhekar has parodied Ganpat

Wani’s life which has no beauty. His mean and meaningless dreams have been

shattered in the smoke of his vidi. His dream of ‘making the building on this place’

shows disappointment and frustration. People keep very low ambition like Ganpat

Wani and they do not achieve such low ambitions. “Man has to struggle for the basic

needs in this modern world. This is the tragedy of man. ”25

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Kusumawati Deshpande says, “But irony, a significant feature of Mardhekar’s poetry,

resulting from his perception of the discord between what seems and what is,

pervades the work of many of these poets. Also his realization of the contradictions

within man, of the grotesque that lurks in the dark corners of his mind and of the

hollowness of the simplistic formulae about him.” 26

Both Eliot and Mardhekar ironically juxtapose the past and the present. Both of them

sarcastically comment upon the various undeserved and undesired aspects of modern

civilization. Eliot uses the mythical references for ironical presentation while

Mardhekar does not.

The use of juxtaposition and fragmentation is one of the special features of Eliot’s

poetry. This technique is important because the modern culture in The Waste Land is

fragmented. Eliot juxtaposes the past and the present, and shows the sharp contrast

underlying at deeper level. The ‘unreal city’ in The Burial of the Dead is London and

it represents any other city in the modern waste land. By juxtaposing this ‘city’, Eliot

shows boredom and depression of the crowds moving over the London Bridge, and at

the same time, he makes us to compare the same thing with that of Dante’s Paris. In

this way, Eliot compares and criticizes the present. The past is glorified and the

sordidness and squalor of the present is highlighted by dissimilarities. The

‘resembling contrasts’ are seen so many times in Eliot’s poetry.

Similarly, juxtaposition of opposite types of experiences is favourite method of

Mardhekar. He meaningfully juxtaposes the contrast imagery, the old and the new

ideas, religious beliefs and scientific theories, Eastern and Western cultural legacy.

Mardhekar represents tension and helplessness of modern society through this

juxtaposition. Like Eliot, Mardhekar also brings together the old and the new worlds

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and indirectly compares them and shows a sharp consciousness of the new world. For

example, Saint Tukaram’s abhanga:

•ãñ ‡ãŠã Àâ•ãÊãñ Øããâ•ãÊãñ

¦¾ãããäÍã ½Ö¶ãñ •ããñ ‚ãã¹ãìÊãñ
Ôãã£ãì ¦ããñÞããè ‚ããñߌããÌãã
ªñÌã ¦ãñ©ãñÞã •ãã¶ããÌãã

(God and Saint is one who cares for wretched and depressed.) is juxtaposed with,

•ãñ ¶ã •ã¶â½ãÊãñ Ìãã ½ãñÊãñ

¦¾ãããäÍã ½Ö¶ãñ •ããñ ‚ãã¹ãìÊãñ,
¦ããñãäÞã ½ãì¦Ôãªãè •ãã¥ããÌãã ý ªñÌã ¦ãñ©ãñ ‚ããñߌããÌãã ýý
½ããñÊãñ £ãã¡ãè •ããñ ½ãÀã¾ãã ý ¶ãããäÖ ‚ããÔãî ‚ãã¥ããè ½ãã¾ãã
¦¾ãããäÍã ¶ãñ¦ãã ºã¶ãÌããÌãñ ý ‚ãã½Öã ½ãòü¤ÀãÔã ŸãÌãñ ýý (Ka.Ka.3)

(Cunning person is God who cares for those who have not born or dead. He has no

tears and sympathy for wretched. We innocent and ignorant make him leader.)

In this way, the teaching of Saint Tukaram is juxtaposed with the contemporary

tendency through the same lines. By replacing the some words he has shown the total

contrast. Mardhekar ironically criticized heart rending picture of the modern world.

Mardhekar takes the lines and phrases from his forerunners, changes them to serve his

purpose. For example, Saint Tukaram’s line ‘ãäÞã§ããè ‚ãÔãî ²ããÌãñ Ôã½ãã£ãã¶ã’ (Let the mind be

satisfied) is changed and by using another word ‘½ã²ã¼ãÆãâãä¦ã’, (delusion by wine) he

changes the meaning of original line. In this way, he depicts modern man and reveals

the contrast between the past and the present, ãäÞã§ããè ‚ãÔãî ²ããÌããè ý ½ã²ã¼ãÆãâãä¦ã' (Let the mind

be delusioned by wine). Some more examples show Mardhekar’s ironic presentation

of the present and the past. Mardhekar replaces one word and changes the meaning of

Saint Tukaram’s line, ÖñãäÞã ªã¶ã ªñØãã ªñÌãã ý ¦ãì¢ãã ãäÌãÔãÀ ¶ã ÌÖÌãã' (Give me the alms of not

forgetting You) and Mardhekar says, ªñ Øãã ÖñãäÞã ªã¶ã ªñÌãã, ½ãã¢ããèè Öã¡ñ / Œãã…¶ããè ãäØã£ãã¡ñ ý ¨ã칦ã

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ÌÖãÌããè ýý (Give me the alms of satisfaction of vultures by eating my bones). This line

conveys the tendency of modern man and contrasted it with the earlier ages. The

meaning is totally changed, showing the exploitation, corruption, greeed of the

people. Instead of, “Üã¶ã:Íãã½ãÔãìâªÀã ãäÑã£ãÀã ‚ãÁ¥ããñª¾ã (daybreak) ¢ããÊãã,” Mardhekar

changes one word and he changes the total meaning of the line. The new line

describes exact picture of mill worker in Mumbai city, and shows how he has gone far

away from natural life. So his morning song changes and his new song becomes,

“Üã¶ã:Íãã½ãÔãìâªÀã ãäÑã£ãÀã ãäØããäÀ¥ããñª¾ã (started mills and machines) ¢ããÊãã, / „ãäŸ ÊãÌã‡ãŠãäÀ ã䪶ã¹ããßãè
(Ka.Ka.36)
(daily working shift).....”

Both Eliot and Mardhekar explore in their tradition similarities and dissimilarities

between ‘contemporarianeity and antiquity’. They juxtapose them with the realities of

the modern life and in this way, they bring out the similarities and contrasts between

the past and the present. This technique is used to criticize ironically modern society.

The references between the past and the present underline the degradation of values

and the spiritual barrenness of the present. Eliot has rich heritage of myth, culture,

history, and literature so he seeks his material from these sources and he can easily

juxtapose the past and the present. However, Mardhekar use only literature. This is

the difference between Eliot and Mardhekar in using juxtaposition.

Eliot’s poetry is full of allusions, references, quotation, and literary reminiscences. He

studied the literature of many languages and knew many philosophies. He knew

Hindu and the Buddhist, and the oriental philosophies and literatures, ancient and

primitive myths and legends, Biblical mythology and legend. His meticulous study

equipped him with allusions and quotations. Prufrock’s indecision and moral

cowardice are exposed by implication: ‘No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to

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be” (ECP, 15) and again in the lines: “And indeed there will be time, / To wonder, “Do I

dare?” and “Do I dare?” (ECP, 12)

He brings together the borrowings from different writers and languages in The Waste

Land. The Fire Sermon in The Waste Land is a good example of how Eliot adopts,

transforms and transfigures literary allusions to serve his own function. Eliot alteres

and uses the lines from the various work of arts like Tempest, the story of Actacon

and Diana, To His Coy Mistress to suit for his multipurpose use. For instance, Lines

to a Duck in the Park (of ‘Five Exercises’), ‘soon the enquiring worm shall try / Our
(ECP, 146)
well-preserved complacency,’ are adapted from the lines in Marvell’s To His

Coy Mistress, ‘… then worms shall try / that long-preserved virginity…’27

Eliot portrays the modern waste land with its dissolution and depression. The Biblical

allusions are applicable to the modern waste land. The voices of Ezekiel and the

preacher of the Ecclesiastes are to be noticed in the lines such as ‘What are the roots

that clutch’, ‘I will show you fear in a handful of dust.’(ECP, 61-62) ‘The rattle of the

bones,’ (ECP, 68)

The use of references and quotations from the writers like Dante, Baudelaire,

Shakespeare, Webster are seen in Eliot’s poetry. These references and quotations

strengthen Eliot’s subject matter because of the power of associations. For example, a

line from Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield, ‘when lovely woman stoops to folly’ is

taken to show how lovely women committed suicide. But the woman in the modern

waste land – the typist girl – is indifferent and just mechanical towards the chastity.

Allusions of Shakespeare’s Cleopatra and Ophelia (‘good night sweet ladies’) Pope’s

Belinda and Keats’ Lamia are also there. That is why James Olney says, “Eliot is

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famous, of course, for his allusions, his quotations and his stealings from other poets,

but no poet it seems to me ever quite dominated his moral and artistic imagination.”28

Buddha’s preaching the fire of lust, anger, and greed appears in The Fire Sermon.

Like St. Augustine, the preaching of Buddha is necessary to control the unruly lust

and desire. Eliot tries to offer the possible solution against all the evils of the world.

Datta (give), Dayadhavam (sympathize) and Damayata (control) are the three words

from Upnishada. These words appear in ‘What the Thunder Said.’ This ‘Da Da Da’ is

the message of the Lord of Creation to His children to bring rejuvenation. The

culmination of all this is the use of ‘Shantih, Shantih, Shantih’ for the expected ideal

life.

Like Eliot, Mardhekar is also famous in using allusions in his poetry. These allusions

give new meaning and reference while retaining the original reference and meaning.

Through the use of allusions poets convey to the reader two meanings. These two

levels are experienced at the same time. For this purpose, Mardhekar uses popular

lines like, ªñÌãã•ããè¶ãñ ‡ãŠÁ¥ãã ‡ãñŠÊããè, / ¼ãã¦ãñ ãä¹ã‡ã슶ããè ãä¹ãÌãßãè ¢ããÊããè. (Ka.Ka.40)
These lines are taken

from school curriculum and used in his own poem repeatedly. The lines suggest the

routine of harvesting of rice with the grace of God but Mardhekar uses the line

ironically to suggest daily routine life of clerk which is boring and helpless, and

problematic because of industrial and urban effects.

Through the use of well known prayers, lyrics, folk songs, abhangaas Mardhekar

shows changed and transformed situation, references in the modern world. The sharp

contrast is also served through this technique.

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Mardhekar uses famous and popular Marathi songs and lines in his poems for

expressing serious subject-matter. He saw crowd in hurry at railway platform in

Mumbai. This was horrible sight for him. For describing this crowd, Mardhekar

parodies Balkavi’s line, ‘Öã ¹ãÆñ½ããÞãã Êããòü¤ã ÌãÁãä¶ã Öãñ ‚ããÊãã’ (this flow of love came down) is

changed as ‘–‚ããÊãã ‚ããÊãã ÔÌãԦ㠪ãÀãÌãÀ ‚ããÊãã Öãñ ‚ããÊãã / Öã ½ãìâؾããÞãã Êããòü¤ã ‚ããÊãã! ŒããñÊãã ¹ãŠã›‡ãŠ

ŒããñÊãã!–’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.16) (Came down on the door, this cheap flow of ants, open gate.) In his

line, Balkavi was welcoming morning sunrays in a happy mood while Mardhekar is

parodying horrible sight of crowd in Mumbai railway station platform. Mardhekar

highlights contrast between these two lines.

Mardhekar uses the quotations from the old Marathi poems for portraying the picture

of the modern changing city life. ‘‡ãŠãß¿ãã ºãºããâß ‚ããâ£ããÀãè,’ (Ka.Ka.36)

(In utter darkness)

‘Øããò£ãßáÊãñʾãã ‚ã¶ãá ãäÞãÞããòß¿ãã’ (Ka.Ka.45) (Confused and narrow lane) are the poems in which

this method is used. This method sets the contrast in Mardhekar’s poetry. Sometimes

Mardhekar converts these quotations so as to suit to describe the picture of new age.

For instance, ‘¡ãñßñ Öñ ãä¹ãŠãäʽã Øã¡ñ, Œããñ‡ã슥ããè ½ã•ã ¹ããÖì ¶ã‡ãŠã’, (these eyes are filmi (untrue), do

not cough and look at me) is converted by replacing the words, ‘•ãìãäʽã’, (repressive)

and ‘Àãñ‡ã슥ããè’ (stare). The changed new words suggest the passionate tendency and

intention of ‘lover’ of modern era.

Oftentimes, Mardhekar replaces words with same rhyme and conveys opposite

meaning of same line or context. This is very special quality in Mardhekar. e.g. „Íãã –

ãä¶ãÍãã (usha–misha), ‚ãÁ¥ããä‡ãŠÀ¥ã½ã¾ã –‚ãÁ¥ãÌãÁ¶ã½ã¾ã (arunkiranmaya – arunvarunamaya),

Ìã¶ã½ããßãè–ãäªâ¶ã¹ããßãè (vanmali – dinapali), ‚ãÁ¥ããñª¾ã–ãäØãÀãè¥ããñª¾ã (arunodaya – girandaya),

ãä¹ãŠãäʽ㖕ãìãäʽã (julmi – filmi), Œããñ‡ãìŠãä¶ã–Àãñ‡ãìŠãä¶ã (rokuni- khokuni) and many more. In this

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connection, Suresh Bhruguwar writes, “Mardhekar transformed the technique of

allusion into deviation and this is the gift of Mardhekar to Marathi poetic stylistics.”29

Eliot always thinks past as a strength surviving within the present and which could be

brought into life and action. He explains the concept of mythical method in his review

of James Joyce’s Ulysses:

In using the myth, in manipulating a continuous parallel between

contemporareity and antiquity, Mr. Joyce is pursuing a method which
others must pursue after him …It is simply a way of controlling, of
ordering of giving a shape and a significance to the immense panorama
of futility and anarchy which is contemporary history…Instead of
narrative method, we may now use the mythical method. 30

Again Elizabeth Drew is of the opinion that Eliot considers the mythical method, “as

a way by which the artist can give shape and significance to the chaotic material of

contemporary life.”31 The mythical background of The Waste Land provides the

strange sickness of the Fisher King in the Grail legends, and the horrible sterility. It

has come like a curse upon his lands. It can only be restored and removed by the

Deliverer. Although the background of the poem is modern London, the implication is

the immorality of human nature and degeneration of human race all over the world.

Most of the characters in Eliot’s poetry are the personification of the roughness and

irrationality. These characters are spreading across the modern world. Sweeney is the

personification of evil and against everything which is dignified and ideal. The

reference to king Agamemnon suggests his approval of the terrible conditions faced

by human beings. Sweeney is as much in danger as Agamemnon was in his time so

his pleasure is momentary. According to Greek legend, Agamemnon was cruelly

assassinated by his wife after a feast while the Nightingales sang as they are singing

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now. Such atmosphere is portrayed by Eliot – the atmosphere of crime and horror

faced by the mankind being in the modern civilization.

Greek myth and legend have been comprehensively used in Prufrock and Other

observations, The Waste Land and Sweeney Agonistes. The depth of spiritual meaning

is found in the mythical world of the ancient Greeks by the modern poets like Eliot. It

is so different from the brutality, cruelty and vulgarity belonging to the world around

them. Eliot portrays the perfect and ideal life against the degradation of human values

and standards across the world.

The use of mythical and legendary references is not profuse in Mardhekar’s poetry

like that of Eliot. However, by using such references, Mardhekar conveys sometimes

different, sometimes opposite meaning to the readers. e.g. ‡ã슟Êããè Ôããè¦ãã, ‡ã슟Êãã ÀãÜãÌã?
(Aa.Ka.Ka.11)
, ³ãõ¹ãªãèÞãñ Ôã¦Ìã, (Aa.Ka.Ka.1)
(Draupadi’s ordial), ‘•ããäÍã ‡ãì⊦ããèÞ¾ãã ãäÊããäÖÊããè ¼ããßãè’
(Aa.Ka.Ka.21)
(Give it what Kunti was given / A precious but gloomy devotion,)

The Romantic poetry was far away from the disappointment and frustration of the

modern city life. On the contrary, the modernist poetry portrays the realistic picture of

the evils and troubles of city life. T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar’s poetry mirrors

boredom, frustration, helplessness of the city life. The problems of metropolitan life

changed the temper and sensitivity of poets. The disillusion and pessimism

overwhelm in modernist poetry because of bitter experiences of squalor and

sordidness of cities.

The activities of the metropolitan life made modern life disappointed and

disintegrated. So disappointment and disintegration is the major theme of the

modernist poetry. Eliot and Mardhekar’s poetry presents disturbed family and social

241
life in metropolitan cities. The men and women in their poetry are lonely and

spiritually barren. They are weak, indecisive, and timid like Prufrock and a lover in

Portrait of a Lady who ‘prepared for all the things to be said, or left unsaid,’ (ECP, 16) a
(ECP, 70)
typist girl in The Waste Land who ‘puts record on the gramophone’ after sex,

are the persons who became disappointed and dissatisfied.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is a poem about city life. It depicts the world of

yellow fog and yellow smoke, pool of dirty water in the drains and a tea party in a

room. ‘In the room the women come and go / Talking of Michaelangelo.’(ECP, 11)

Prufrock is a representative citizen of Eliot’s poetic world, a representative of the men

and women of our disillusioned, disappointed world. The persons in this poem are

busy in ordinary and trivial parties and talks. In this world of trivialities, a man

‘measures’ his life in ‘coffee spoons’. Prufrock is the modern Hamlet but he refuses

that he is Hamlet. He says, ‘No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be.’ The

modern man is empty, barren and futile. Prufrock is struggling to get a way to express

the overwhelming complexities of the modern world and the perplexities of modern

life. ‘It is impossible to say just what I mean! / But as if a magic lantern threw the

nerves in patterns on a screen.’(ECP, 14-15)

Eliot was aware of the complex problems that people come across in the modern

period. His early poems like The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1917) express the

disillusion, irony, and disgust of the modern civilization which is trivial, sordid, and

empty.

Prufrock is disillusioned and he became pessimistic. He says, “I grow old… I grow

old … / I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.” He says, “Shall I part my hair
(ECP, 15)
behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?” His disillusionment and pessimism is so

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sharp and agonizing. So he says, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?” / And indeed there

will be time. He is “With a bald spot in the middle of my hair – (ECP, 12)

In The Hollow Men also hollow men’s acute sense of disillusionment and pessimism

can be seen in the following lines.

We are the hollow men.

We are the stuffed men,
Leaning together,
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion. (ECP, 87)

The speakers in the poem are disillusioned and pessimistic. They are ‘Shape without
(ECP, 87)
form, shade without colour, / Paralysed force, gesture without motion.’ Eliot

considers modern man as ‘hollow’ and ‘stuffed’. The World War I gave disheartening

experiences which caused disbelief in established ethical values.

Eliot in his well-known poem, The Waste Land, examines the disappointing and

despondent panorama of the human being. He depicts its impenetrable contrasts and

searches vainly for a meaning and solution where there is only: ‘A heap of broken

images, where the sun beats, / And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,

/ And the dry stone no sound of water.’ (ECP, 61)

The Waste Land presents contemporary hopelessness, tediousness and psychological

emptiness. These lines suggest the same idea- ‘I think we are in rats’ alley / Where the

dead men lost their bones.’(ECP, 65)

A. G. George says, “Eliot’s The Waste Land

expresses the mood of weariness and disillusionment of post-war Europe and that it is

a sort of detached commentary on the disintegration of latter-day civilization.” 32

243
The Waste Land presents the spiritual and emotional sterility of the modern world.

The modern citizens are living in death. They have lost passions and vitality. They

lead completely inactive and lonely life. They like and welcome sterile winter and

‘April is the cruelest month’ for them for it reminds them of the stirring of life.

Eliot expresses the disorder, confusion and chaos of modern life through the imagery

of city life. It is a portrait of an incapacitated and decayed society. The denizens of

modern society are governed by selfish and self-seeking motives. The people and

their organizations are equally corrupt. So leading the life in such background

obviously causes disappointment, dissatisfaction, psychosis and weakness. This is

dramatically presented through modern life of Sweeney, Prufrock and Gerontion. F.

R. Leavis writers, “Eliot’s poetry expresses the disillusionment of a generation, the

post-war generation in Europe and is a vision of desolation and spiritual draught.”33

Not only people in general but the lovers in Eliot’s poetry are greatly disillusioned.

Mardhekar is the first poet in Marathi poetry who perceived the process of cultural

disintegration in Mumbai because of mechanical progress. He displays all this in his

poetry. Mardhekar saw that people are leading meaningless and mean life in Mumbai.

The poems like ‘ãä¹ã¹ãã¦ã ½ãñÊãñ ‚ããñʾãã „âãäªÀ; , Øã¥ã¹ã¦ã Ìãã¥ããè

(Ka.Ka.21) (Aa.Ka.Ka.9)
show

meaninglessness, helplessness, and futility in life. Like Eliot’s Prufrock, Mardhekar’s

men say, ‘†‡ãŠÊãã ‚ããÔãî¶ã ý ½ã¶ããè ªãñ¶ã ¢ããÊããñ, / ‚ãã¦ãã ½ãã¨ã ¼¾ããÊããñ ý ½ãÊãã ½ããèÞã ýý’(Ka.Ka.15)

(Eventhough I am single, I have two minds, now I feared myself)

Kahin Kavita of Mardhekar expresses the same mental agony. This is happened

because of personal and social crisis in his life. This disappointment and frustration

affected Mardhekar’s spiritual life also. Mardhekar saw the principles of liberty,

equality and fraternity are not going to settle down. This dream is shattered and so

244
disillusion and frustration is everywhere in Mardhekar’s poetry. S. T. Kulli says,

“There is frustration and helplessness in his poetry. There are no inspiring and

stimulating values and consciousness in his poetry, and we should not forget the
34
frustration in his poetry is of noble scale.” The agony, depression and dejection are

expressed through the poems like, ‚ããÍã¾ããÞãã ¦ãìÞã ÔÌãã½ããè! / Í㺪ÌããÖãè ½ããè ¼ããè‡ãŠãÀãè, / ½ããØ㶾ããÊãã

‚ãâ¦ã ¶ããÖãè / ‚ãããä¥ã ªñ¥ããÀã ½ãìÀãÀãè! (Aa.Ka.Ka.1)

(God, you are the master of meaning! / I am a

mere beggar carrying the words.), ‚ã¶ããñßጾãã¶ãñ ‚ããñߌ㠇ãŠÍããè / Øã¦ã•ã¶½ããÞããè ²ããÌããè ÔããâØã;
(Aa.Ka.Ka.25)
(How a stranger can show acquaintance of last life?) 35

Mardhekar was living in the decaying civilization. He had a respect for his earlier

civilization so he became restless because of its decay and death. His poetry shows

the dark shadow of restlessness and anxiety. Mardhekar had to bear many defeats in

his life. So he says, ‘‚ãÍãã ¾ãñ©ãʾãã ÔãâÔããÀã¦ã / •ãØ㶾ããÞããÖãè Þãì‡ãŠÊãã ¹ããü¤ã.’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.16) (In such a

world, the way of life is missed) He portrays the helplessness of man and sarcastically

expresses the meaninglessness of human life. The causes of helplessness and

meaninglessness of man are – industrial revolution, urbanization, crowd, loss of

natural life resulted in monotony and boredom of urban life, destruction and

devastation because of the World Wars, loss of human values, frustration, fear,

insecurity, and restlessness, the Quit India movement of 1942, Independence of 1947,

bloodshed and killing of partition, problems of refugees. The following poem portrays

the horror of the War:

- ‚ããÔã¹ããÔã
½ã졲ããÞããè ÀãÔã;
¾ãâ¨ãã¦ãî¶ã ‚ããØã;
Øããñß¿ããâÞãñ ¹ãÀãØã;
ãäÌã½ãã¶ããÞãñ ÖÊÊãñ,
ºãñãäÞãÀãŒã ãä•ãÊÖñ;

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 À§ãŠãÞããè ©ããÀãñßãè;
‚ã¹ãâØã ‚ããÀãñßãè; (Ka.Ka.1)

(How shall I see love and beauty? here and there heaps of dead bodies / fire from the

machines / pollens of bullets / air-raids / destruction of districts / ponds of blood /

pangs of pains)

D. B. Kulkarni says, “The subject-matter of Mardhekar’s poetry is post World War II

western consciousness....enormous and unnecessary massacre.”36 In this way,

Mardhekar portrays the effects of the Wars but he does not like to blame science but

he thinks the fault is of man. ‘¾ãñ©ã Í㺪 ¶ããÖãè ãäÌã²ãã¶ãã ý Öñ ‚ãÌãÜãñ ½ãã¶ã̾ãããäÌã¶ãã’ (Ka.Ka.11)
(here

science is not guilty but man) Man is the root cause of all these problems. Humanity

is lost. Mardhekar sees meanness, helplessness, insecurity, and transitory of human

life. The poems like Ôãâ¹ãÊããè ‚ããÍãã ‚ã¦ãã ‚ã¶ãá ãä¶ãÀãÍããÖãè ½ããÌãßñ, / ‚ããñÔãã¡Êãñʾã㠽㶽ã¶ããè Ôã㪠ªñ¦ããè

‡ãŠãÌãßñ (Uncollected:1)
(Hope is finished and despair also goes down, crows are calling in

my desolate mind), ¼ã›á‡ãŠ¦ã ãä¹ãŠÀÊããñ ¼ã¶ãâØã „ªãÔã, (Aa.Ka.Ka.27)

(wandered aimlessly and

disappointed) express these feelings.

Mardhekar portrays true picture of his age in ‘ÔãÌãó •ãâ¦ãì ãä¶ãÀãÍã¾ãã:’ (Aa.Ka.Ka.16)
(all the

germs are disappointed) This is the impression of the world around Mardhekar. He

saw people who are forced to live with their problems created by modern era. Modern

man is reduced to an ‘ant’, ‘germ’, ‘rat’ etc. while portraying the picture of modern

girl he becomes frustrated and says,

-- ‚ãÍããèÞã Öãñ¦ããè ¶ã‡ãŠ›ãè †‡ãŠ,

„Êã›ñ ‡ãñŠÔã ãä¶ã ãä¦ãÀ¹¾ãã ãä¼ãÌã¾ãã;
½ãìÀ‡ãŠ¦ã ªãÌããè „Àãñ•ã „¸ã¦ã,
¤ñ¹ãã •ãõÍãã ¦ãñʾããÜãÀÞ¾ãã.
....................................

246
 ‡ãŠã¾ã ÖãÊããŒããè Ô¨ããè¦ÌããÞããè Öãè;
½ãã¶ãìÔã‡ãŠãèÞãñ ‡ãŠã¾ã ãäÌã¡âºã¶ã! (Ka.Ka.52)

(Alas, how has womanhood degraded to this, what a strange parody of human dignity,

that a woman must blatantly display her sex-complex in this way half concealing and

half revealing the hidden ache of unfulfilled passion)

The note of frustration and sadness with sarcasm is very important here. His ideals of

humanity and womanhood have been shattered and so he became frustrated. D. V.

Deshpande says, “Mardhekar shows only the truth. These poems are written with the

social background with disappointments. Because we see everywhere Ganpat Wani

and great and grand personality is not possible to see. There is an absence of greatness

in the character of men and women.” 37

The world of love and beauty is destroyed and desire for power and wealth dominated

human behavior. The every act of modern man is governed by selfishness. Mardhekar

himself was unhappy in his life. Some of his dreams have been shattered, so he

became frustrated, and lonely. Perhaps this personal note of frustration might have

been doubled his frustration in poetry. The poems like, ‘‡ãŠãñ¥ããè ¶ã‡ãŠãñ ‚ã¶ãá ‡ãŠãÖãè ¶ã‡ãŠãñ’,
(Shishiragama:7)
and ‘¹ãÆãè¦ããèÞããè ªìãä¶ã¾ãã ÔãìÖãÔã’ (Shishiragama:18) express despair in his personal life.

S. R. Gadgil writes on the frustration and disappointment in Mardhekar’s poetry in the

following way:

The impact of capitalism and imperialism was so devastating on the

society. Mardhekar was frustrated by the helplessness of human being.
... Mardhekar was totally frustrated and might have been not believed
in making new world by overcoming human wrongs and shortcomings
of social order.... The profound sympathy in Mardhekar’s heart turned
in frustration and disdain.... Mardhekar has portrayed the wretched and
helpless middle class man and his horrible situation.... Mardhekar
became a joker because of frustration resulted by deeper and true

247
 consciousness.... The frustration behind Mardhekar’s veil is heart-
rending and painful.... All encompassing frustration of the middle class
is the soul of his poetry... Mardhekar has given very important place
for Marathi poetry.38

The pursuits of the worldly pleasures and materialism have brought about the general

decline in the moral and spiritual values. Democracy and individualism have

supported freedom in social life and this led to the destruction of the foundations of

the modern social authority. The old religious values and faith in God had eclipsed.

Science has the infinite power for destruction regardless of moral and spiritual

considerations. The Waste Land portrays the whole culture of modern Europe of early

twentieth century.

Eliot demonstrates the horrible situation of life in The West Land through the new

symbolic methods and ancient myths. In The Waste Land, he points out the squalor

and humiliation of human culture and values. Maxwell says, “the Waste Land is that

man’s worldly life is spiritual death, that there must be a renewal of asceticism before

this can be remedied. ‘The collections of these two representatives of eastern and

western asceticism (Buddha and St. Augustine) as culmination of this part of the

poem’ is most certainly not an accident.”39

The degeneration, vulgarization and commercialization of sex are responsible for the

spiritual and emotional sterility of the citizens of the waste land. The main concerns

of the poem are the sexual disorder, and need of religious belief. As I. A. Richards

says, “Eliot’s persistent concern is with sex, the problem of our generation, as religion

was the problem of the lust.”40 The sexual motif is the more frequently remarked. The

infertility and sterility of the barren land is seen through the sexual relations.

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The hollow men express grief on their own hollowness because they are spiritually

void and devoid of faith. When they try to pray, only dry, meaningless whispers come

out of their lips. They lead a life of negation, a life of rejection of everything valuable

and positive. They suffer from mental vacuity. Their heads are stuffed with only straw

rather than anything significant. In this way, the poem is a kind of satirical elegy. The

way the poem ends is the pessimism of Eliot’s vision: ‘This is the way the world ends

/ Not with a bang but a whimper.’(ECP, 90)

Playing against this pessimism is the

Christian hope of another sort of end, and end that is a beginning the Kingdom of

God. The poet recognizes that there are: ‘Those who have crossed / With direct eyes

to death’s other kingdom.’(ECP, 87)

Eliot’s poetry shows the contrast between the glory and honesty of the past and the

squalor and inherent spiritual emptiness of present life. Gerontion and Prufrock are

same types of persons. However, Eliot is now portraying the picture on a larger scale

of the so-called modern civilization. As Hugh Kenner points out, “corridors and

passages are places to wander, places where a lone man may move toward a prepared

doom or toward an illicit bed.”41

Prufrock is the hero of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Eliot presents Prufrock’s

agony through effective images. Prufrock is common and helpless man. The epic of

the modern age – The Waste Land – of Eliot presents the picture of modern waste

land. Eliot ironically comments on this world through his ‘waste land’. He pictures

sins of sex, fire of lust, spiritual sterility, evils of material civilization, lack of faith

and devotion in modern world.

The Hollow Men of Eliot is like an epilogue of The Waste Land. The consciousness of

personal anguish, dereliction, menace and sterility are skillfully treated in these two

249
poems. This consciousness becomes more poignant in The Hollow Men. This poem is

the ultimate confession of defeat and yielding. The Waste Land presents the dramatic

crisis of disorder, disease and emotions. The Hollow Men shows lethargy due to the

loss of spirit in soul and body. The Hollow Men of Eliot says, ‘we are the Hollow

men, we are stuffed men, ... in our dry cellar’.

Like Eliot, Mardhekar’s poetry reflects the consciousness of the decline and

destruction of all human accomplishments, long preserved cultural human ethics,

humanity, and the development made by man. The poems like •ããèÌã ¹ãõÍããÊãã ¹ããÔãÀãè ý

‚ã¥ãì¾ãîØããè (Ka.Ka.6)
(Life is penniless in this atom age.), •ãØ㥾ããÞãã ‚ãÔãÊãã ÔãÌãªã ý ½ãÀ¶ãã¦ãÞã

‡ãŠã¤ãè ‡ãŠãäÍãªã (Ka.Ka.20)

(life is in death) show the degradation and dehumanization of

human values and ethics. Most of the poems of Mardhekar present the same picture as

Eliot has presented in his poetry. Mardhekar also presents common and helpless

persons like, ‘Øã¥ã¹ã¦ã Ìãã¥ããè, ºãâªãèÌãã¶ã, †Ìã¤ãÔãã ¹ããñÀ, ÊããÞããÀ ‚ããƒÃ,’ through his poems. The

personality of modern man is degraded and it is reduced to nothingness.

Mardhekar presents the horrible situation of modern life in his poems. Man is reduced

and no vitality can be seen in his activities. The trivial activities of modern man like

smoking bidi, and drinking tea are shown and in this way man became inactive ¹ãÆñ¦ãÁ¹ããè
(Ka.Ka.7)
(like corpse). The result of all this is ‘ãä•ã©ãñ ãä¹ã‡ãŠãÌãã ¶ããÀß ¦ãñ©ãñ / ›ãñ¹ãÊããè¦ã ‡ãìŠãä¥ã ¼ãÀãè

½ããÔãß¿ãã’ (Ka.Ka.50)
(The glory of the past is vanished and the repulsion is everywhere).

Even human relationships have been spoiled because of greed and self-centred

tendency of man. This led to frustration and the sense of loneliness. So Mardhekar

wistfully asks a question, ‘¶ããÖãè ‡ãŠãñ¥ããè ‡ãŠã ‡ã슥ããÞãã ý ºãã¹ã-Êãñ‡ãŠ, ½ãã½ãã-¼ããÞãã, / ½ãØã ‚ã©ãà ‡ãŠã¾ã

ºãòºããèÞãã ý ãäÌãÍÌãÞã‰ãŠãè? ýý’(Ka.Ka.12) (Are there no blood relations like father-son, uncle-

nephew? Then what is the use of navel in the universe?)

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The spiritual life of modern man is sterile. There is no spiritual progress so Mardhekar

asks, ‘‡ãŠãÓŸ ¢ããÊãñʾãã Öãñ ½ã¶ããè ý •ãßãè, Ô©ãßãè, ãä¶ã ¹ããÓãã¥ããè, / ÔããâØãã ¹ãããäÖÊãã ‡ãŠã ‡ãŠ£ããè ý ªñÌã ‡ã슥ããèýý ....

Øãñʾãã ÌãÓããêÞã ¹ããñ©ããè¦ã ý ãä‡ãŠ¡ñ ̾ããÊãñ ýý’ (Ka.Ka.4)

(Tell me, you have ever found Him. / In a

wooden mind, / Or in water, or stone, or space? [tr.D.C.]) All attempts to spiritual

progress are futile, so ‘‡ãñŠÊãã £ã½ããÃÞãã ãäÊãÊããÌã’ (Ka.Ka.8)

(Religion and all ethics have been

auctioned)

The degradation of woman dignity is also picturized by Mardhekar in his poems like –

‚ããäÍãÞã Öãñ¦ããè ¶ã‡ãŠ›ãè †‡ãŠ. (Ka.Ka.52)

Here he highlights degradation of female dignity and

respect. The sexual activities are also described and women are forced to sell their

bodies in ãä•ã©ãñ ½ããÀ¦ãñ ‡ãŠãâªñÌã¡ãè / ›ãâØã •ãÀãÍããè Ÿã‡ãìŠÀ´ãÀã (Aa.Ka.Ka.3)

This dehumanization is

caused because of capitalist way of life and urban problems. The mechanical and

perverted sex is pictured by Mardhekar in his poems like ãä¹ã¹ããâ¦ã ½ãñÊãñ ‚ããñʾãã „âãäªÀ; / ½ãã¶ãã

¹ã¡Ê¾ãã, ½ãìÀØãßʾãããäÌã¶ã; (Ka.Ka.21)

(mice in the wet barrel died / their necks dropped,

untwisted [tr.D.C.]) and ‘Öã¡ãâÞãñ Ôãã¹ãŠßñ ÖãÔã¦ããè (Ka.Ka.56)

(skeletons laugh). These poems

present the sexual perversion in cities like Mumbai. Mardhekar’s ãä¹ãÞãñ ‚ãâ£ããÀ ¹ããñ‡ãŠß, /

ØããäÖÌãÀ ¾ãñƒÃ ‡ãŠãßã; (Ka.Ka.47)

(the empty darkness is ruptured, / the black tear swell up

[tr.D.C.]) and expressions like Ôãâ—ãñÌããÞãî¶ã Ôãâ¼ããñØããÞããè / ‚ãÍããèÞã ‡ãŠÔãÀ¦ã ‚ãÔã¦ãñ ÖÊã‡ã‹¾ãã, (Ka.Ka.41)

(this is the futile exercise of sex without sense) portray the picture of degradation of

human values and ethics.

Eliot propounded the theory of impersonality of poetry in his famous essay, Tradition

and the Individual Talent. He professes the theory very concisely by 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. But, of course, only those who have

personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things.”42

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This is one of the anti-romantic aspects of Eliot’s poetry. Eliot attempts to find out an

‘objective correlative’ for emotions. Eliot thought that the emotions of poet should not

be expressed in the poem. The only way to express emotion in poetry was to find a set

of objects, words, situation or a chain of events which when given would immediately

evoke that emotion. The idea of objective correlative was popularized by Eliot. Eliot

uses this concept in Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, Rhapsody,

Gerontion. It is a central component of several of his poems. The following is Eliot’s

definition of objective correlative: “a set of objects, a situation, a chain of events

which shall be the formula of that particular emotion.” 43 Rhapsody on a Windy Night

(1917) shares many modernist techniques with Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Both

use personification, which is a branch of objective correlative. Throughout Rhapsody,

Eliot personifies the street lamp, the street-lamp sputtered, the street-lamp muttered
(ECP, 25)
.

In this way, Eliot wants poetry should be neither a free expression of emotion nor the

expression of the personality characteristics of the poet. He opposes the importance to

emotion given by the romantic poets. He stresses the impersonal nature of poetry. He

considers the subjectivity as the cause of eccentricity and confusion. So he has

explained that the poems of the romantics cannot be understood completely without

knowledge of the main events of their life. According to Eliot, the direct expression of

emotions related to one’s personal life makes the poetry uninteresting. He considers

poems as a medium of expression and not as a device of expression of personality.

Mardhekar’s poems in Kahin Kavita concentrate on the social reality. Mardhekar does

not use his personal life references in poetry. It can be said that Eliot’s principle of

‘impersonality’ has been practiced by Mardhekar more effectively than Eliot himself.

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He opposes the importance of emotion given by the romantic poets. So D.B. Kulkarni

says, “Bal Sitaram Mardhekar freed poetry from the personality of poet. He gave

poetry personality-mind-psychology, and reader is expected to go to poem and not to

poet.”44 In Kahin Kavita he deals with social reality and in Aankhi Kahin Kavita he is

drawn towards the spiritual life. In this way, he went past his personality.

Draper presents an account of Eliot’s personality which has been exposed in his work:

The Waste Land was written in the years immediately following the First
World War, and also at a time when Eliot himself was going through a
personal crisis connected in part at least with the breakdown of his
marriage to Vivien Haigh-Wood. ‘These fragments I have shored against
my ruins’ can thus be read as both a public and a private statement. In
spite of his emphasis on impersonality … Eliot’s poetry retains a
strongly personal flavor. And this becomes more apparent in the work
after The Waste Land. In ‘Marina’ (1930), for example, although…A
strongly personal sense of loss … 45

Similarly, Mardhekar’s first collection of poems Shishiragama expresses strong note

of subjectivity. It is because initially Mardhekar had the influence of Ravikiran

Mandal – a romantic group of Marathi poets – and in these early poems he expresses

his frustration in love. Vilas Sarang confirms the same view and he writes:

Poems in Shishiragama are of personal nature, but after that

Mardhekar’s poetry becomes impersonal. ... Especially in Kahin
Kavita, he concentrates on social reality. Mardhekar is not using
personal life in his poetry like Eliot. Moreover, Eliot has not handled
social reality extensively like Mardhekar. Mardhekar has followed
the principle of ‘impersonality’ more than Eliot himself.46

Eventhough, both Eliot and Mardhekar propagote the theory of impersonality in their

poetry, the glimpses of personal life are perceptible in their poems.

World War I exercised strong impact on all the walks of human civilization, and

literature is not exception to this. Literature manifested effects of the World Wars on

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human psyche and behaviour. The modernist poetry expressed sense of destruction

and devastation caused by the World Wars. Sense of devastation and destruction is

one more characteristic of the modernist poetry. There is separate group of War Poets

in English poetry demonstrating the demolition, ruin and damage caused by the Wars.

Even though, Eliot was in Europe during the World Wars and experienced them

closely, his poetry does not exhibit or tell war stories. However, his perception of ruin

and wreck of human civilization caused by the War is very poignant. The basic values

and principles of human life have been shattered. The very framework of human

civilization based on passions, love, sympathy, fellowfeelings and conviction is

destroyed. Man lost sympathy, faith and spirituality and Eliot portrayed the result of

all these things in his poetry.

On the contrary, Mardhekar directly touches the effects of the Warld War II and

shows the horrible consequences on human beings. For him, war is against all human

values generated over the ages. The elementary passions like love, pity, sympathy are

at the stake because of the War. He criticizes the tendency and horrible effects of the

war in, – ‚ããÔã ¹ããÔã ½ã졲ããÞããè ÀãÔã. (Ka.Ka.01) The poem, ‡ãñŠÊãã ©ããñ¡ã Àãñ•ãØããÀ (Ka. Ka.05) shows the

futility of war. In ‚ããÖñ ºãìãä®Íããè ƒ½ãã¶ã (Ka.Ka.11)

, he protests the atom bombs explosion in

World War II. The disappointment and despair in Mardhekar’s poetry is characterized

by World War II.

Eliot had observed the destruction of the World War so closely in Europe. However,

Mardhekar had no first hand experiences of war scenes and effects as he was far away

from the direct destructive effects of the World War. As a result Mardhekar’s

perception of war is not so profound like that of Eliot. Nevertheless, the awareness of

damage caused by the World War is also responsible for the frustration and

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depression in Mardhekar’s poetry. There is remarkable difference between T. S. Eliot

and B. S. Mardhekar as regard to the delineation of war and perception the war.

Eliot was a royalist in politics and had no consideration and concern of the importance

of the masses for democracy. He had given no importance to the economic problems

of the downtrodden. The characters in Eliot’s poetry are common men and women but

Eliot has posed them as workers and he has not presented their problems as workers.

On the contrary, Mardhekar protests against capitalism in his poetry. Mardhekar

accuses capitalists for exploiting the common man during the World War II. He has

portrayed ironically ‘Œããªãèºã⪠Íãñ›’ (Ka.Ka.14) (the contractor of war armaments). In the

same way, he protests ‘Íãñ› ÔããÌã‡ãŠãÀ’ (Ka.Ka.19) (rich merchant) who neglects the agony of

poor and accumulates money without compassion. Mardhekar had a strong belief that

the capitalists are the exploitors of proletariat. Mardhekar portrays the wretched and

helpless situation of proletariat. Not only capitalists but politicians also exploit poor.

Both capitalist and politicians, in league, exploit people and they are responsible for

the added trouble to the people.

In Mardhekar’s poetry, the class consciousness has a strong underlying note. He has a

sympaty for marginalized and suppressed people. The poverty has generated a number

of familial and social prolems. Mardhekar’s men and women represent these problems

in his poems. He hates economic inequality which ‘•ãØ㥾ããÞããÖãè ¹ãã¤ã Þãì‡ãŠÌã¦ãñ’ (misses the

order of life). He relates the disgraceful stories of common people in his poetry. His

views are progressive. In this regard, the views of Eliot and Mardhekar are totally

different.

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The Waste Land ends with optimistic note, Shantih Shantih Shantih. What the

Thunder said to restore the barren land is ‘Da (Datta = Give), Da (Dayadhvam =
(ECP, 76-77)
Sympathize), Da (Damyata = Control)’ , and then it would rain, the thirst

would quench – the spiritual thirst. Eliot adopted the Anglo-Catholic faith of England

in 1927 and his spiritual quest is reflected in poetry after that.

Ash-Wednesday is a religious poem and it is an account of man’s spiritual quest with

all struggles of human soul. A poem is totally free from doubts and hesitations. It is an

account of deeply felt experiences of irresolution, doubts, repentance and painful

conflicts which accompany the choice of suppressing one’s self to the will of God.

The will of the poet is gaining a larger perspective of the spiritual world. The lines
(ECP, 94)
‘Teach us to care and not to care / Teach us to sit still.’ , state a picture of the

spiritual life in the world. These lines are from a prayer of the ancient time. The last

line, ‘And let my cry come upon Thee’ (ECP, 103) is ritualistic words of the confession

which is a practice in Christian Churches. ‘Our peace is His will’ (ECP, 103) , with which

Eliot’s poem ends, shows the eternal roots of Christian Church. He has come to

repose in his faith and to which he has completely surrendered his soul. In Ash-

Wednesday and Four Quartets, Eliot’s perspective is changed. The spiritual discipline

welcomes for all the pain and struggle that they involve. There is nothing rash about

Eliot’s new conviction, for it is not conviction about him. So John Baillie writes,

“Christian revelation is the only full revelation; and that the fullness of Christian

revelation resides in the essential fact of the Incarnation; in relation to which all

Christian revelation is to be understood.”47

The Journey of Magi stands for spiritual quest and the birth into a new faith. ‘Birth or

Death? There was a Birth, certainly, / We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth

256
and death.’ (ECP, 108) The hurdles are symbolic that come across the way of the progress

of Pilgrims. Four Quartets is concerned with search for meaning in the chaos for the

peace and joy and the discovery of God in permanence. The poem is the expression of

a spiritual quest.

At the end of The Waste Land, Eliot links together the philosophy and the preaching

of the East and the West. He wants to show that religious restoration can be possible,

if we listen to the message of the thunder – DA, DA, DA, means – Datta (Give),
(ECP, 76-77)
Dayadhvan (Sympathize), and Damyata (Control). It is considered that The

Waste Land is Eliot’s Inferno, his Ash-Wednesday is his Purgatorio and his Four

Quartets is Paradiso. In other words, The Waste Land studies the spiritual barrenness

of modern city people.

“Eliot’s Journey of the Magi and other religious poems were published when

Mardhekar was in England. The profound influence of this seems to be exercised on

Mardhekar.”48 So the third and final shift in Aanakhi Kahin Kavita of Mardhekar’s

poetry was towards spirituality. Gangadhar Gadgil says, “He wrote some poems

which are having full of faith. In some poems, he goes in trance by the sight of beauty

and he forgets himself.” 49

A meticulous reading of Mardhekar’s poetry reveals that the ‘Spirituality’ is the

central tendency in his poetry. Piety is the important and central theme in his poetry.

Mardhekar had been spiritual throughout his life. It seems that he had an obsession for

revelation of God. Like Tukaram, he had a quarrel with God, means he believed in

existence of God. So Akshaykumar Kale says, “Mardhekar’s personality was

basically spiritual.” 50

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Mardhekar believes in God. God for him is not one who bestows the material gains to

his devotees. Mardhekar had no belief in conventional conception of God. S. P.

Bhagwat says, “He had no belief in worship and devotion. Therefore, Mardhekar

could not feel the support of God as an ordinary man feels it in devotion. This caused

disappointment and despair.”51 While struggling with contemporary emotional and

intellectual conflict he had a strong desire to communicate with Almighty and this has

been manifested in Aankhi Kahin Kavita. For Mardhekar, God is something different

than that. He believes in the existence of God in this universe. God is everywhere in

this universe. God is the prime power behind all the happenings in the universe. He is

omnipotent. So Mardhekar says,

¹ãããäÖÊãñ ¾ãã ¡ãñßã!

ãäÌãÏÌãâ¼ãÀ ¼ããñßã
Ôã¡Ìããè ¹ããÞããñßã
¹ãìŠÊããäÌ㥾ãã •Ìããßã!! (Ka.Ka.1)

(I have seen God: The omnipotent, with my own eyes,) and tells in helplessness

‘¦ã좾ããÔããŸãè ªñÌãã ý ‡ãŠã¾ã ½¾ãã ¢ãìÀãÌãñ / ¢ãìÀßã¶ãñ ‡ãõŠÔãñ ý ¹ã¦ãâØããÌãñ’ (Aa.Ka. Ka.30)
(what sense does it

make, Lord! / if I pine for you? / how can a cockroach hope to become a moth?)

(tr.D.C.) After accepting the existence of God, Mardhekar blames God. He takes God

on the task and asks, ‘¾ãñ©ãñ ¦ãî ‚ãÔã¦ãã¶ãã ‚ãÔãñ ‡ãŠã Üã¡ãÌãñ? (‘Why this should have happen in

your presence?’) and again asks •ãñ ‚ã—ãã¶ãã¦ã •ãⶽãÊãñ ý ‚ãããä¥ã ‚ã—ãã¶ãã¦ã ½ãñÊãñ, / ¦¾ããÔã ªñÌãã ¦ãî

£ããäÀÊãñ ý ¹ããñ›ãè?ýý (Ka.Ka.17)

(O God, have embraced those who have born in ignorance and

died in ignorance,) He holds God as responsible for tragic, helpless and wretched

situation of man.

Eliot and Mardhekar believe in the power of religious faith. They feel that the

spiritual barrenness of the modern culture can be healed and recovered by the

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religious faith. Both of them are aware of the limitation of worldly life with its anxiety

and depression. The material prosperity and luxury cannot make man happy and

contented. Only the religious faith can lead to solace and salvation. Their love for

spiritual way of life is a result of harsh experiences they have in the mechinical age.

They are the saint poets of the industrial age trying to restore spirituality for comfort,

solace and salvation. Their poetry is a religious preaching. So Dr. C. J. Jahagirdar is

of the opinion that, “Mardhekar and Eliot were basically religious poets of a particular

kind – they were both religious poets trapped in modern metropolitan culture.” 52

To conclude the chapter, it is worthwhile to say that T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar

were the prominent literary luminaries of England and Maharashtra (India)

respectively. Both of them have similarities as well as differences as have been

reflected in their poems. Despite being the poets of two different continents, they

share the modernist literary sensibility between them. However, the different cultural

backgrounds which they belonged have promoted few points of dissimilarities.

259
References:

1. C. J. Jahagirdar. ‘Mardhekar and T. S. Eliot: A Study in Reception’, The

Literary Criterion, Mysore: Vol. XXIV Nos. 3 & 4, 1987, P. 138.
2. Ibid., 134.
3. op. cit. Harold Bloom. T. S. Eliot. USA: Chelsea House Publishers, 2003,
p.99.
4. C. J. Jahagirdar. ‘Mardhekar and T. S. Eliot: A Study in Reception’, The
Literary Criterion, Mysore: Vol. XXIV Nos. 3 & 4, 1987, P. 136.
5. Elizabeth Drew. T. S. Eliot: The Design of His Poetry, New York: Charles
Scribner’s Sons, 1949, p. 33.
6. op. cit. Elizabeth Drew. T. S. Eliot: The Design of His Poetry. New York:
Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1949, p. 1.
7. W. W. Robson. Modern English Literature. London: Oxford University Press,
1984, p. 112.
8. R. P. Draper. An Introduction to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English.
London: Macmillan, 1999 p. 11.
9. Vijaya Rajadhyakshya. Mardhekaranchi Kavita: Swaroop ani Sandarbha,
Mumbai: Mauj Publication, 1991, p.161.
10. Ibid., 6 and 9.
11. Ibid., 9.
12. Yeshawant Manohar. Marathi Kavita ani Aadhunikata, Nagpur: Ambedkar
Dhamma Pub. 1993 p. 121.
13. Suresh Bhruguwar. ‘Futel Hoti Vedhi Aasha’, Navbharat, Wai: March-April,
2010, p.78
14. F. O. Matthiessen. The Achievement of T. S. Eliot. New York: Oxford Uni.
Press, 1972, p. 98.
15. G. V.Karandikar. Parampara ani Navata. Mumbai: Popular Publication, 1980,
p. 205.
16. Kulkarni, D.B. Ananyata Mardhekarachi. Pune: Padmagandha Pub. 2009, p.
137.
17. Vijaya Rajadhyakshya. Mardhekaranchi Kavita: Swaroop ani Sandarbha,
Vol.II. Mumbai: Mauj Prakashan Gruha, 1991, p. 120-22.
18. Keshav Sadre. Kavitetil Adhunikatavad. Srirampur: Shabdalaya Publication,
2000, p.68.
19. D. B. Kulkarni. Ananyata Mardhekarachi, Pune: Padmagandha Pub. 2009, p.
180.
20. Vilas Sarang. ‘T. S. Eliot ani Mardhekar’. T. S. Eliot ani Marathi Navkavyava
Samikshya, ed. Vaidya, Sarojini and Patankar Vasant, Mumbai University,
1992. P.41.

260
21. T. S. Eliot. Selected Prose, London: Penguin Book, 1956, p. 87.
22. Ibid., 91.
23. D. V. Deshpande. Mardhekaranchi Kawita: Ek Abhyas, Nagpur: Sahitya
Prasar Kendra, 1990, p. 54-55.
24. Ibid., 65.
25. Ibid., 48.
26. Kusumawati Deshpande and M. V. Rajadhyaksha A History of Marathi
Literature, New Delhi: Sahitya Academy, 1988, p.150.
27. D. E. S. Maxwell. The Poetry of T. S. Eliot. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul,
1961, P. 74.
28. James Olney. ‘Where is the real T. S. Eliot?’ The Cambridge Companion to T.
S. Eliot. ed. David Moody, Cambridge University Press, 1997 p. 4.
29. Suresh Bhruguwar. ‘Mardhekarichi Kavyashaili’, Wai: Navbharat, Nov.-
Dec.2009, p.65.
30. T. S. Eliot, ‘Ulysses, Order and Myth’, in The Dial, LXXV (Nov. 1923), p.
483.
31. Elizabeth Drew. T. S. Eliot: The Design of His Poetry, New York: Charles
Scribner’s Sons, 1949, p.2.
32. A. G. George. T. S. Eliot: His Mind and Art, New York: Asia Publishing
House, 1962 p.1.
33. F. R. Leavis. New Bearings in English Poetry. London: Chatto and Windus,
rpt.1950, p. 34.
34. S. T. Kulli. Teen Aarvachin Kavi. Mumbai: Lokvangmaygruah, 1989, p. 88.
35. Ganadhar Gadgil. Khadak ani Pani. Pune: Utkarsha Prakashan, 1985, p.230.
36. D. B. Kulkarni. Ananyata Mardhekarachi. Pune: Padmagandha Pub. 2009, p.
169.
37. D. V. Deshpande. Mardhekaranchi Kawita: Ek Abhyas. Nagpur: Sahitya
Prasar Kendra, 1990, p. 65.
38. S. R. Gadgil. Marathi Kavyache Mandand, Vol-II, Pune: Padmagandha
Publication, 2005, p.127-131.
39. D. E. S. Maxwell. The Poetry of T. S. Eliot. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul,
1961, P. 34.
40. I. A. Richards. Science and Poetry, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1970,
p.58.
41. Hugh Kenner. The Invisible Poet: T. S. Eliot. London: Methuen, 1960, p. 197.
42. T. S. Eliot. Selected Essays. London: Faber and Faber, 1986 p. 21.
43. Frank Kermode. ed. The Selected Prose of T. S. Eliot. Faber and Faber,
London, 1975, p. 48.
44. D. B. Kulkarni. Ananyata Mardhekarachi. Pune: Padmagandha Pub. 2009, the
cover.

261
45. R. P. Draper. An Introduction to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English.
London: Macmillan, 1999, pp. 15-16.
46. Vilas Sarang. ‘Eliot and Mardhekar’, Navbharat. Wai: Aug.-Sept.-Oct. 1989,
p.2.
47. John Baillie and Martin Hugh. ed. ‘Revelation’ in Revelation, London: Faber
& Faber, 1937, p. 1-2.
48. Vilas Sarang. ‘T. S. Eliot ani Mardhekar’, T. S. Eliot ani Marathi Navkavyava
Samikshya. ed. Sarojini Vaidya and Vasant Patankar. Mumbai: University of
Mumbai, 1992. P.42.
49. Gangadhar Gadgil. Khadak ani Pani. Pune: Utkarsha Prakashan, 1985,
pp.228-229.
50. Akshaykumar Kale. Aarvachin Marathi Kavyadarshan. Nagpur: Banahatti
Prakashan, 1999, p. 423.
51. Muzumdar Vasanti. ed. Sahityachi Bhoomi, Bhagwat, S. P. Mumbai: Granthali
Pub. 1997, p. 33.
52. C. J. Jahagirdar. ‘Mardhekar and T. S. Eliot: A Study in Reception’, The
Literary Criterion, Mysore: Vol.XXIV Nos. 3 and 4, 1989. p. 141.

262
Chapter - V

Conclusion
 CHAPTER - V

Conclusion

The thesis “A Comparative Study of T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar as Modernist

Poets” draws up conclusion based on the analysis of the poems and non-fictional

works of T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar. This comparative study, perhaps, will be a

modest contribution facilitating the interpretation of T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar’s

poetry in the light of modernism. The conclusion can be put forth as follows:

T. S. Eliot was the major and influential modernist poet of early twentieth century,

who played an important role in establishing and popularizing the modernist

movement in English poetry. Similarly, B. S. Mardhekar was an epoch-making poet

in modern Marathi poetry who brought Marathi poetry on a par with English poetry

by employing new themes and techniques which gave vent to the modern sensibility.

The critical evaluation and exploration of their poems show that there are

resemblances as well as differences in the treatment of modernism. They are similar

as both of them try to capture the pangs and sufferings of people caused due to fast

changing scenario of the world. They are different in respect of age, country,

circumstances which shaped their literary career.

Eliot’s poetry shows the manifold influences of Italian poet Dante. It is accepted that

The Waste Land and The Hollow Man echo Dante’s poetry. Eliot was influenced by

the Metaphysicals, Symbolists, Imagists, Sanskrit and Oriental philosophy. His poetry

is embodiment of these influences. Mardhekar had been the worshipper of Dante. His

worship goes to the extent of saying that after death, he desired to be in the company

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of Dante and Shakespeare. This faith might be the result of his reading Dante’s poetry

in Italian and English translations. Mardhekar was influenced by Sanskrit literature,

Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Ramdas, Marathi and English Modern poets and literary

traditions. The nature of influences on Eliot and Mardhekar is similar. They were

influenced by their own traditions and foreign traditions also.

The poetry of Eliot and Mardhekar is the products of new, changed social

circumstances. They felt that existing poetic tradition was inconvenient to incorporate

and express the social problems of the time therefore; they went back to their

traditions for the solution of this problem. For their unique expressions, they wanted

to re-open their poetic traditions. They wanted to do something ‘new’ by going back

to the past for their unusual expressions. Being modern poets, they started to revolt

against the poetic traditions of their own literatures. Specifically, this revolt appears in

the technique and the theme of the poetry. They discarded some outdated and

unwanted things of the traditional poetry and incorporated some desired and useful

things making their poetry more appropriate to carry out their intentions. They

developed their own tradition by selecting and rejecting something from their existing

literary conventions and traditions. This new tradition is called ‘modernism’ in poetry.

Both of the poets do not think tradition completely outdated or useless. So they do not

reject tradition completely, on the other hand, they set to modify tradition by

experimentations. In this way, they revived and retained poetic traditions for their

requirements. Both Eliot and Mardhekar are classical as they have precision,

symmetry, and balance in their poetry and they avoided excessive imaginations and

emotions. They made tradition contemporary, up-to-date, new and useful and gave

new meaning and dimension to old forms and techniques to suit their purposes.

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Mardhekar uses old Marathi poetic forms like abhang and owi and through these

forms he expresses his perception of contemporary world.

Both T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar represent early twentieth century modern

civilization in their poetry. They deal with the problems like crime, vice, over-

crowding, housing shortage, sexual immorality etc. caused by industrialization and

urbanization. Eliot in London and Mardhekar in Mumbai observed and experienced

these problems and they projected the same carefully in their poetry. The earlier

poetry had been decadent and escapist and it was completely cut off from the

unbearable facts and harsh realities of the modern civilization. The writers before

Eliot and Mardhekar ran away from city problems and took interest in the simple

country life singing with birds describing forests and riversides. They failed to capture

the nerve of the time. Early twentieth century English poetry and Marathi poetry

during 1930-1940 was Romantic in spirit and it started to decay. T. S. Eliot and B. S.

Mardhekar set aside the romantic tradition and evolved their own way to capture the

spirit of modern age engrossed in an everyday saga of sufferings of people.

The most important characteristic of modern poetry is metropolitan consciousness.

Eliot and Mardhekar’s poetry is the first significant expression of metropolitan

consciousness. At first time they portrayed mechanical, futile, boring, lonely, routine

life of metropolitan man in their poetry. Powerless, indecisive, disillusioned and

spiritually barren modern metropolitan man first time appeared in their poetry.

So far as setting is concern, both of the poets deal with the urban, metropolitan

pictures. They reject romantic tradition of portraying scenic beauty. From natural

beauty they came in city ‘half-deserted streets’, ‘cheap hotels’ and ‘sawdust

restaurants’. Instead of simplicity and innocence of the nature, they deal with ‘soot

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that falls from chimneys’, ‘brown fog’, ‘empty bottles’, ‘sandwich papers’, ‘cigarette

ends’, ‘sounds of horns and motors’, ‘a wicked pack of cards’, crime, cruelty,

immorality of the metropolitan life.

The love songs of Eliot and Mardhekar are ironic and they are not love songs in a real

sense of term. However, love in romantic poetry was popular subject-matter. But sex

and lust took place instead of tender passions of love. The protagonists in modern

poetry are un-heroic and governed by guilty passions of sex and crime. Instead of

facing problems, the modern lovers ran away from the problems. Modernist poetry

presents the boredom and the horror of the contemporary urban life and modern men

are ‘troubled, confused and drowned’ and ‘lost their bones’. Eliot and Mardhekar

portray the realistic picture of hypocrisy and the monotonous routine life. Both T. S.

Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar deal with the contemporary city civilization, its intricacy

and complexity.

Both Eliot and Mardhekar show pessimism, frustration, disappointment and

disillusionment of modern metropolitan culture in their poetry. Harsh realities of

metropolitan life have devastated all the illusions and romantic dreams. The problems

of everyday life changed the temperament and mood of the poets. The men in

Mardhekar’s poems are singing the same song like the hollow men, ‘we are the

Hollow men, we are stuffed men, ... in our dry cellar’ these lines could be refraining

of Mardhekar’s long poem made out of all poems together. Thus, both Eliot and

Mardhekar present the decline and the decay of the moral, spiritual and sexual values

of modern culture.

The World War I and its effects were the dominant theme of poetry of 1920’s.

However, in Eliot’s poetry direct war references are not seen as he has not pictured

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the destruction and devastation caused by the War like other war poets of his age.

However, his consciousness of destruction and devastation of human culture is deeper

than that of the war, as he had observed the destruction of war so closely in Europe.

Mardhekar portrays the effects of the World War in his poetry, and he protested the

war mentality. He regrets over the destruction caused by the World War. He portrays

the picture of war in, -‚ããÔã ¹ããÔã ½ã졲ããÞããè ÀãÔã. In Kahin Kavita No. 05, he says war is

misuse of human power and pelf. Since Mardhekar was far away from the direct

destructive effects of the World War, his consciousness of war is not so deep like that

of Eliot. However, the consciousness of destruction caused by the World War is one

of the reasons for the disappointment and despair in Mardhekar’s poetry. The

difference between Eliot and Mardhekar lies in the degree of intensity as far as the

treatment of the War is concerned in their poetry.

The characters in Eliot’s poetry are common men and women but he has neither posed

them as workers nor presented their problems as workers. Eliot has not presented

capitalism in his poetry; however, he supported rightist ideology. Eliot’s political

approach was anti-democratic and gradually he turned towards dictatorship.

On the other hand, Mardhekar did not hold any political ideology, as his approach

towards people was extensively humanitarian, equalitarian, liberal and democratic.

However, the economic inequality is another social problem for which Mardhekar has

great concern. He presents the heart-rending stories of common men in his poetry.

Mardhekar’s poetry bears leftist ideology and his attitude is progressive. Thus Eliot

and Mardhekar stand opposite in their attitudes.

Eliot wrote long poems for presenting his views, thoughts or stand; on the other hand,

all the poems of Mardhekar are short and predominantly lyrics. Mardhekar has not

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accepted Eliot’s stand of writing for elite readers. Mardhekar’s reader was common,

ordinary and simple man. Mardhekar might have used hymns for reaching towards

readers but unfortunately his poetry has not reached to common reader.

Modernism is characterized by series experimentations, innovations, fragmentations

in subject-matter and innovative style. The poetry of Eliot and Mardhekar deviated

from the conventional poetry by undertaking experimentations and innovations in

subject-matter, setting, language, metre, rhythm, symbolic technique. Eliot’s Love

Song and Mardhekar’s Kahin Kavita are the beginning of all these experimentations

and innovations. Both Eliot and Mardhekar were the products of the fusion of the far

off and divergent literary traditions. Therefore, new poetry in English and Marathi

became something complex and obscure dealing with the problems of

commercialization and urbanization with ugly and un-poetic subjects. They

deliberately discarded all the Romantic images throughout all their poems. The Love

Song of Alfred J. Prufrock and The Waste Land are the representative poems of Eliot

having full of ugly objects and images. In the same way, Mardhekar experimented

with various aspects of poetry in his Kahin Kavita and Aankhi Kahin Kavita and

challenged established Marathi poetic order and convention.

Eliot had a background of eighteenth century neo-classical poetry, so he could easily

accept and practice modernism and protested against romantic tradition. On the

contrary, Mardhekar’s practice of modernism and protest against romanticism is

unique because he has no such classical tradition to fall back upon.

Eliot and Mardhekar used new techniques which cause the complexity and obscurity

in their poetry. They used unusual symbols, and images, confusing and complicated

thoughts, contradictory and heterogeneous ideas, use of irony, experiments in

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language like compression and condensation, elimination of connecting links,

punctuations, grammatical signs of connection and order, strange imagery,

discontinuous expressions, borrowings from various sources, allusions, references,

quotations, make their poetry complicated and obscure. Those who are not familiar

with all these things bewilder and confuse to comprehend the meanings of poetic

lines. As a result, their poetry appealed only to learned small group of the people and

the common and ordinary people could not properly understand them.

Both Eliot and Mardhekar use juxtaposition as a technique in their poems and through

this device they compare and contrast the past and the present. They go back to their

past and find similarities and dissimilarities between ‘contemporarianeity and

antiquity’. Through the comparison, they show remarkable difference between the

earlier and modern culture, and ironically criticize the degradation ethical values and

spirituality of the modern culture. Both of them sarcastically comment upon the

various undeserved and undesired aspects of the modern civilization.

For the purpose of juxtaposition Eliot evokes the myth, history and literature for

ironical presentation while Mardhekar relies on literature only. For this purpose

Mardhekar selects famous lines from poetic forms owi and abhang. Through these old

poetic forms Mardhekar conveys the new meaning and old popular styles of Marathi

poetry.

Both Eliot and Mardhekar use the allusion in their poetry to set up a parallel between

the past and the present. Again this technique is necessary to express the complexity

of the modern world. They avail the popularity of earlier poetic lines and use them in

their poems, and successfully present the intricate and complex nature of the modern

world.

269
Eliot uses mythical method in his poetry for controlling, ordering and giving a shape

and significance to the futility and anarchy of contemporary society. Instead of the

narrative method, he uses the mythical method. On the other hand, Mardhekar does

not use this technique. Mardhekar wrote small poems. Perhaps this might be the

reason for not using the mythical method.

The use of imagery and symbols is the special feature of modern poetry. Eliot and

Mardhekar are the masters of using unconventional, innovative and complicated

imagery and symbols in their poetry. They explore many new images to suit their

purpose. They had to portray the modern civilization which was intricate and complex

and that could be portrayed truly through complex imagery.

Both Eliot and Mardhekar compress two images together and again it tends to be

ambiguous and complex. The use of ironic-satiric, picture-imagery, symbol-images,

metaphysical and personal images is the specialty of both poets.

The complex and intricate imagery in their poetry is the result of the subject-matter on

which they were working. The images like ‘yellow fog that rubs its back’, ‘the yellow

smoke that rubs its muzzle’ of Eliot and ‘¡ããäßâºããè ¹ããÀã’, ‘ªã¦ã ãäÌãÞã‡ã슶ããè ØãñÊããè Àã¨ã; / Ôãì¾ãà ¹ãÖã¦ããñ

•ãÀã Þã‡ãŠ¥ãã;’ of Mardhekar are difficult to understand as they are unconventional.

Both of the poets are popular for using irony in their poems. They create irony to

signify the strange similarity and dissimilarity between the contradictory and the

parallel things or tendencies. The difference between the various aspects like moral

values, spiritual cravings of the past and the present is ironically presented by these

poets. For making the irony effective they use the technique of juxtaposition through

which the past and the present is represented. Even Eliot’s use of title of the poem,

270
Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is ironical since it is not love song rather it is

withdrawal of love.

As modern poets, both Eliot and Mardhekar were not much interested in external

portraying but they were profoundly interested in internal or mental states. In this

way, they tried to explore into human soul and analysis of human emotions. They

were much concerned with what was happening in the subconscious.

In short, both poets use the stream-of-consciousness technique in their poems to

represent the fractured mentality of the modern man, disorder and to show

psychological paralysis of our civilization.

Modernists give importance to prose asserting that the prose is equally important like

verse and the difference between prose and verse is technical. Eliot uses prose in his

poetry skillfully. His Journey of Magi is the best example of this type. Eliot profusely

uses unconventional and non-poetic words, phrases, syntax and images in his poems.

Mardhekar also uses non-poetic and prosaic words, phrases, syntax, and images in his

poems without any hesitation. This experiment of Mardhekar is remarkable on the

background of Marathi romantic tradition in which verse has been given much

importance. Modernists advocat the use of prose in poetry and protested against

ornamental and poetic prose. They insist upon the simplicity, clarity, and terseness of

prose.

T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar hold similar views regarding free verse. They wanted

poetry should give more importance to content and not to the external form. Both

Eliot and Mardhekar concentrate their attention on few selected metres. Eliot makes

iambic metre flexible, and uses heroic lines with some freedom. He experiments with

271
blank verse and heroic lines. He uses terza rima, run-on-lines, and end-stopped-lines

in his verse. Mardhekar concentrates on metres like, Padakuak, owi, abhang.

Since T. S. Eliot was against the use of the free verse so he writes, “Verse libre has

not even the excuse of a polemic; it is battle cry of a freedom, and there is no freedom

in art.” In this way, Eliot and Mardhekar hold the same views. “The rejection of

rhyme is not a leap of facility on the contrary; it imposes a much severe strain upon

the language.” Like Eliot, Mardhekar does not believe in that ‘Free verse means

modernity.’ He ridicules the fashion of free verse in his ‘ƒÀñÔã ¹ã¡Êããñ •ãÀ ºãÞÞã½ã•ããè’ (If I

may be resolved; I will write Free Verse.)

Eliot and Mardhekar undertake experiments with language. They use the everyday,

colloquial, conversational language. They bring vigour and vitality in poetry by using

familiar and day-to-day language. They pick up the words from day-to-day

conversation. Both Eliot and Mardhekar go far away from formal and conventional

poetic language. Eliot uses in his poems day-to-day words and phrases like ‘coffee

spoon’, ‘but-ends’, ‘cigarettes’ and lines like ‘one must be so careful these days’,

‘What shall I do now? What shall I do?’ etc. and in the same way, Mardhekar uses,

‘‡ãŠ¹ãããäÍãÞãñ ºããò¡’, ‘¼ãã‡ãŠÀ’, ‘¼ãìƒÃ½ãìØããÞãã ªã¥ãã’, ‘‡ãŠã›ñÀãè ÌããâØããè’, ‘ÌããÊããÞãñ ½ããñ¡’, ‘ãä›ÈâØãÊã’, ‘Öããä¹ãŠÔã’,

‘ãäÍãâØãÊã’. In no way these words are poetic according to conventional approach.

Mardhekar uses informal style but it was not possible for Eliot to use such an informal

style rather he uses colloquial style. Eliot avoids figurative and ornamental language

and brings the poetic language near to colloquial language. His colloquial style is

urban whereas Mardhekar’s colloquial style is rural. Eliot does not use rural or

regional colloquial style. Mardhekar uses the colloquial and day-to-day conversational

272
words like, ‘¼ãã‡ãŠ¡-‡ãŠ¡ºãã’ ‘‡ãŠ¹ãããäÍãÞãñ ºããò¡’, ‘¼ãã‡ãŠÀ’, ‘¼ãìƒÃ½ãìØããÞãã ªã¥ãã’, ‘‡ãŠã›ñÀãè ÌããâØããè’, ‘ÌããÊããÞãñ

½ããñ¡’, ‘ãä›ÈâØãÊã’, ‘Öããä¹ãŠÔã’, ‘ãäÍãâØãÊã’.

Both of the poets are charged for their complex and obscure poetry. Whereas Eliot has

given titles to his poems, Mardhekar has not given titles to his poems. Whereas Eliot

has supplied notes for his poetry to facilitate its understanding, Mardhekar has offered

no notes and hints entailing his poems to be complex and obscure to understand.

Eliot undertakes some experiments in poetic language but he has not tried his hand in

inversion, on the other hand Mardhekar uses this devise freely and profusely.

Eliot uses the device of implication in his poems and avoided direct statements. This

created complexity in understanding poems. In Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Prufrock is trapped in the indecision. He has a moral cowardice. He is a man of

indecisiveness. He is not bold enough to express or act. Mardhekar has not used this

device.

Eliot confessed that his early poetry was under the influence of Omar Khayyam’s

Rubaiyat was personal. Mardhekar’s first collection of poems Shishiragam expresses

strong personal note. It is because initially Mardhekar had the influence of Ravikiran

Mandal - a romantic group of Marathi poets- and in these early poems he expresses

his frustration in love. In Kahin Kavita he concentrates on social reality going away

from personal issues. Furthermore, Eliot does not deal with social reality widely like

Mardhekar. Mardhekar pursues the theory of ‘impersonality’ more than Eliot himself.

Like Eliot’s theory of impersonality, Mardhekar’s conception of emotional

equivalence about new and modern poetry is fundamental. Thus, both Eliot and

Mardhekar, even though known for their impersonality in their poetry, express

personality to some extent in their early poetry.

273
Eliot and Mardhekar’s poetry deal with spirituality leaving away pessimism. They

believe firmly that only religious faith would control and restore the decaying and

degenerating human culture. The strength and uniqueness of Eliot and Mardhekar lie

in trying to restore religious faith in secular culture of mechanical age. Eliot’s poetry

highlights spiritual sterility in the life of man of modern mechanical age. Eliot

portrays deplorable and heart-rending picture of modern man whose spiritual

barrenness led to degeneration. He not only professed spirituality but he joined

Anglican Church of England in 1927 and this change in his faith is reflected in his

poetry. He undertook the path of Christianity for salvation. Mardhekar has revived the

tradition of Marathi Saint Poetry and so he came to know the limitations of mortal

life. Mardhekar is craving for the union of God, and his poetry shows his love for

spiritual life. He prays for God in very terse language.

There is the similarity between these poets in the way in which ideological formation

took place. Eliot had been atheist and he became theist; Mardhekar had been atheist

and theist at the same time. Ultimately, he became theist. Eliot’s faith was in

Christianity, especially in Anglo-Catholic Church. On the contrary, Mardhekar’s faith

was mere secular, individual and spiritual. Eliot’s Journey of the Magi and other

religious poems were published when Mardhekar was in England. The profound

influence of this seems to be exercised on Mardhekar.

Both Eliot and Mardhekar have different kind of devotional notes echoed in their

poetry. Eliot had his faith in God after experiencing the vicissitudes in life, and felt

that true bliss and solace can be attained through God. Here one important difference

is that Mardhekar’s devotion was already there from the beginning. He had not to

acquire it by efforts. Eliot’s poetry can be divided as pre-religiousness and

religiousness.

274
Eliot has influenced Mardhekar’s style. Eliot’s sharp contrast, parallelism use of

irony, folk songs, erudite allusions, using quotations from classical poetry are the

some of the characteristics one finds in Mardhekar’s poetry. Mardhekar does not use

mythical stories, quotations, and allusions profusely like Eliot. The rhythm of

classical poetry and folk songs in the poems like, ‘‡ãŠ¥ãã ½ããñ¡Êãã ãä¶ãÏÞãÊã¦ãñÞãã,’ (the axle of

stillness is broken) and ‘½ããè †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè, Öã †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè, / ¦ããñ †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè, ¦ãì †‡ãŠ ½ãìâØããè’ (I am an ant,

he is an ant, you are an ant) are found in Mardhekar’s poetry.

Mardhekar studied English poetry with interest for a long time. Naturally, English

poetry influenced Mardhekar’s poetry. The fundamental experiments in English

poetry of his age influenced Mardhekar’s poetic personality. Mardhekar understood

and accepted these radical changes. Accordingly, his personality enriched as poet. His

enriched personality is expressed in his poetry. Like English, Mardhekar was

influenced by other Indian and European languages also. Despite these influences,

Mardhekar’s poetry remained original.

It is found that The Waste Land is Eliot’s Inferno, his Ash-Wednesday is his

Purgatorio and his Four Quartets is Paradiso. Similarly, Mardhekar’s Shishiragam is

Inferno, Kahin Kavita is Purgatorio and Aankhi Kahin Kavita is Paradiso.

Thus, the entire discussion and critical evaluation of T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar’s

poetry shows that their poetry is replete with modern references which qualify them to

be called the modernist poets of English and Marathi literatures respectively.

275
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5. Mauj, Mumbai: Mauj, 22 June, 1949.
6. Satyakatha, Mumbai: Mauj Publ. Oct. 1964.
7. The Literary Criterion, Mysore: Vol. XXIV Nos. 3 & 4, 1989.
8. Navbharat. Wai: Aug.-Sept.-Oct. 1989.
9. Navakshar Darshan. Sawantwadi: Jan.Feb.March-2007.
10. Kavita Rati. Dhule: Sept. to Dec. 2009.
11. Navbharat, Wai, Nov.-Dec. 2009.
12. Tarun Bharat, Nov.-Dec. 2009.
13. Navbharat, March-April, 2010.

283
III) Websites:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stream_of_consciousness_writing
2. http://harvardmagazine.com/2001/11/eliots-elect-the-harvard.html
3. http://www.dadart.com/dadaism/dada/020-history-dada-movement.html
4. http://www.freemedialibrary.com/index.php/Dada_Manifesto_(1918,Tristan_
Tzra))
5. http://www.newmanreader.org/biography/meynell/chapter2.html
6. http://www.sfu.ca/english/Gillies/engl438/Lecture-2.htm
7. http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/tennyson/im/tse1.html
8. http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/tennyson/im/tse1.html

284
SYNOPSIS
 SYNOPSIS
of Ph. D. Thesis

of
Laxman Babasaheb Patil

Submitted to
University of Mumbai

for the Degree of

Ph. D. in English

Guided by
Dr. Adya Prasad Pandey

Department of English,
University of Mumbai,
Kalina Campus, Vidyanagari,
Santacruz (East),
Mumbai – 400 098.

7th April, 2012

 Synopsis of the Thesis

to be submitted to

University of Mumbai

for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy
(English)

Name of the candidate : Laxman Babasaheb Patil.

Title of the Thesis : A Comparative Study of

T. S. Eliot and B. S.
Mardhekar as Modernist
Poets.

Degree for which the Synopsis is presented : Ph. D. (English) Arts.

Name and Designation of the Guide : Dr. Adya Prasad Pandey.

Associate Professor and
Head, Dept. of English,
Ramniranjan Jhunjhunwala
College, Ghatkopar (W),
Mumbai – 400 086.

Registration No. : 30

Date of Registration : 10 / 02 /2009

Signature of the Candidate :

Signature of the Guide :

Date of Submission : 7th April, 2012

Place : Mumbai
 SYNOPSIS

The thesis entitled ‘A Comparative Study of T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar as

Modernist Poets’ has been divided into five chapters to facilitate and ensure the
systematic exploration of the subject undertaken by the researcher. Since the comparative
study is a fine tool to understand the similarities and differences between authors, the
poetic works of T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar have been analyzed and discussed in the
light of the modernist tendencies.

Chapter-I entitled ‘A Comparative Literary Study and Modernism in Poetry’ has two
parts. The first part discusses the need and significance of the comparative study in brief
and the second part deals with the term modernism and discusses the various causes and
the characteristics of modernism in poetry.

The term ‘modern’ is used to explain present-day trends in literature. The early twentieth
century poetry is often called ‘modernist’ poetry. The industrial revolution, urbanization,
advances in new theories, advance in knowledge, advances in sciences and social
sciences, doubt in traditional beliefs shook the people of the modern age. They were torn
between faith and doubt. World War I brought about a number of changes in the social
and the political scenario. The poets presented the whole reality of War, the boredom, the
despair, the depression, the futility, the terror and the pity of the War. The Suffrage
movement (1906-10) for the sex equality and the woman liberation increased the
awareness of equality, freedom and opportunity. The freedom of ‘new woman’ caused
some social and ethical problems and the same is reflected in literature. The development
of psychology and the study of mind compelled new writers to deal with new subjects
and to undertake the new techniques of writing like stream-of-consciousness,
unconventional images and others. The study of anthropology revealed the integrated
structure of the primitive society of man has power of maintaining a structured unity
amidst variety of cultures. For Marxist, man is the outcome of economic and social forces
and he is a productive and creative animal. The Christian conception of man is that man
is descendent of Adam; man is the child of sin but has a chance of salvation from the sin
with the Grace of God.

1
The social, psychological, literary, economic, scientific changes and developments have
entirely reshaped the social psyche. The traditional things became irrelevant. The
changing times had their effects and caused the modern movements.

Symbolism is a power of understanding and expressing inarticulate and incomprehensive

complexes of experiences in some apprehensible and visual presentations. The imagists
aimed at the utmost economy of words, precision of form and reduced poetic ornament to
a minimum. They introduced free verse with its irregular rhyme, rhythm, metre, and
length of lines. Realism attempted to portray external objects and events as they are. The
objective of Dada movement was to destroy all traditions in art and all values in life.
Surrealism attempted to express the true functioning of thought without any control of
reason.

These tendencies flourished during the twenties of the twentieth century. The new
literature thus produced in various and diverse form is called as the ‘modern’ literature
and the trends, and tendencies related with this are known as the ‘modernist’.

Modernism is a break from established rules, traditions, and conventions and it insists a
fresh way of looking at the world. The modernists reject the ordinary, mundane, usual
and explore fresh and new meanings in life. The vision of the modernists cannot be
spelled through conventional use of language. Therefore, modernists undertake
experiments with conventional syntax and grammar. These attempts resulted in
experiments with new forms, style and technique.

Some general characteristics of modernism in literature are: a consciousness of

relationship with decaying conventions, a consciousness of isolation from the traditional
and contemporary literary trends, a rejection of tradition and quest for innovation,
metropolitan intelligentsia, disillusionment, spirituality, classical allusions, references
from earlier literature, the use of juxtaposition, borrowings from other cultures and
languages, the use of images and symbols as literary techniques, the use of irony, a
movement toward obscurity and complexity, the experiments with language, inversion,
stream-of-consciousness technique, free verse, and impersonality.

2
The influence of modernism in non-European countries like India started to germinate
after 1940. In Maharashtra, the modernism started with B. S. Mardhekar’s Kahin Kavita
and Aanakhi Kahin Kavita. Mardhekar did in Marathi what Eliot did in English poetry.

Chapter-II entitled ‘The Influences on T. S. Eliot and Modernism in his poetry’, explored
formative influences and treatment of modernism in his poetry.

At Harvard in 1906, he read From Ritual to Romance of Jessie Weston and The Golden
Bough of James Frazer and these influences are revealed in The Waste Land. Afterwards,
Irving Babbitt and George Santayana inspired in Eliot a taste for literature. Babbitt’s idea
of tradition, classicism, and the theory of impersonality influenced Eliot.

Arthur Symons’ book The Symbolist Movement in Literature (1899) gave the direction to
Eliot’s literary career. Symons brought Eliot into literary contact with Laforgue,
Rimbaud, Verlaine, and Corbiere. Eliot learned how to use images and symbols to
convey the personal ‘fleeting sensations and feeling.’ The important things he learnt from
the French Symbolists were their suggestiveness, condensation, idiom and technique of
forms.

Eliot’s free verse techniques owe much to Jules Laforgue. Eliot learned how to use
certain effects from Laforgue: the short, typical scene, repetitions, echoes, how to speak,
verse libre and irony. Eliot was deeply impressed by Baudelaire’s delineation of the
vitality of spirit, of the horror, boredom, and monotony. Mallarme influenced Eliot’s
theory and practice of poetry. Eliot learned from the Imagists how to employ concrete
images to capture fleeting, emotional experiences, and the use of colloquial language.
Eliot was influenced by Pound’s doctrine of Imagism and learned how to use concrete
and sharp images and the use of colloquial language. Eliot liked Dante’s spirituality, use
of clear visual images and precision of diction. Dante’s picture of hell, purgatory and
paradise made remarkable influence on Eliot’s poetic experience.

Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists created the world of spiritual despair born of the
horror of intrigues, murders, and infidelity. Eliot’s spiritual journey from doubt and
disbelief to acceptance of Christian belief is exemplified in his study of the Elizabethan
and Jacobean literature. Eliot was influenced by the colloquial verse, terseness,

3
condensation, omissions of connective links of the metaphysical and the Jacobean poets.

Eliot adopted from Donne a conversational tone, a colloquial vocabulary, ironical

conceits, surprising images, sudden and ironic contrasts, the use of non-poetic, prosaic
words, brilliant wit and shocking juxtapositions, the irregular verse and difficult sentence
structure in accordance with thought and feeling. Eliot was influenced by Browning’s
technique of writing dramatic monologue. Much of Eliot’s literary work and critical
concepts are founded on Hulme’s metaphysical principle. Eliot was influenced by Yeats
and Tennyson also.

Eliot studied Hinduism, Buddhism, The Bhagawatgita and Patanjili’s Yoga-Sutra. They
showed Eliot the realistic way of redemption of man from the chain of time. Eliot studied
Sanskrit, Pali and Indian philosophy and he says that he experienced “a state of
enlightened mystification”.

Eliot’s poetry is urban. He expresses the disorder, confusion, chaos and disillusionment
of modern life by his technique and the imagery of city life. It is a portrait of an
incapacitated and decayed society.

Eliot rejected the degenerated romantic convention and attempted experimentations and
innovations in subject matter, setting, language, metre, rhythm, symbolic technique etc.
Eliot’s Prufrock is the beginning of all these experimentations and innovations and it
marks a complete break from the nineteenth century tradition.

The use of imagery and symbolism is unconventional. He employed the images and the
symbols suitable to express the complexity and the obscurity of the modern age. The
discontinuous narration of the subconscious resulting in sudden jumps and free
association of ideas is difficult to understand. Eliot continuously juxtaposes the present
and the past in his poems. Eliot’s poetry is full of allusions, references, quotation, and
literary reminiscences. Eliot always thinks past as a strength surviving within the present
and which could be brought into life and action. Mythical method is a way of controlling,
of ordering of giving a shape and significance to the futility and anarchy of contemporary
history.

4
Eliot attempted to find out an ‘objective correlative’ for emotions. The only way to
express emotion in poetry was to find a set of objects, words, situation or a chain of
events which when given would immediately evoke that emotion. Eliot propounded the
theory of impersonality of poetry in his famous essay, Tradition and the Individual
Talent.

Chapter-III entitled ‘The Influences on Bal Sitaram Mardhekar and Modernism in his
Poetry’ deals with how Mardhekar was exposed to European literature of post-War
period. Mardhekar experienced degeneration, disintegration, devastation of human
culture in England. He studied English literature for his I. C. S. examination. Initially,
influenced by Ravikiran Mandal, he wrote frustrated love poetry in Shishiragam – the
first collection of poems. However, in his childhood days he was exposed to Sanskrit
idioms, aphorisms, epigrams, hymns, psalms, canticle, and stanzas from Gita, gnomes,
Ramrakshya. Mardhekar studied ‘Mahabharata’.

Mardhekar’s language is charged by the old Marathi literature and Saint Poetry.
Dnyaneshwar influenced Mardhekar’s idealistic outlook towards life. The influences of
Tukaram can easily be traced in Mardhekar’s poetry. The form (Abhang) and content are
like those of Tukaram in Mardhekar’s poetry.

After Shishiragam, Mardhekar no longer followed the conventional ‘poetic’ form. Kahin
Kavita is his next poetic phase. His expression is concerned with harsh realities in life.
The language of poetry becomes harsh instead of soft. This change in expression and
language might have occurred because of the influence of Ramdas.

Madhav Julian was a prominent poetic luminary who influenced Mardhekar. Balkavi’s
influence on Mardhekar is twofold – psychological and literary. The early poems of
Shishiragam have the influence of Balkavi. He continued the style of Balkavi in his
Kahin Kavita also. Mardhekar is influenced by Marathi poetic tradition. He made it
suitable for his poetry by changing his style or by mixing two influences together.

Mardhekar admitted G. M. Hopkins’ influence on him and used Hopkins’ few techniques
in his poetry. Hopkins expected poetic language to be close to spoken language, and he

5
liked to distort the diction continuously. Accordingly, Mardhekar undertook experiment
with poetic language. Wilfred Owen’s poetry presented direct and ironical picture of war
reality. His subject is war, and the pity of the war. Similarly, Mardhekar’s hymns during
W.W.II have underlying consciousness of war. He showed irony and pity for the people
who have suffered in war in initial poems of Kahin Kavita. Mardhekar read the modern
poetry of T. S. Eliot and other poets. He published a critical essay, “Arts and Man” in
England which was appreciated by Eliot as “provoking” and “well- written.”

Like T. S. Eliot, Mardhekar’s conception of ‘emotional equivalence’ about modernity in

poetry was fundamental. Like Eliot, Mardhekar also believed in ‘free verse means not
modern poetry’. Eliot influenced Mardhekar’s poetic theory, poetry and style. Eliot’s
sharp contrast, parallelism use of irony, folk songs, erudite allusions, using quotations
from classical poetry are the some of the characteristics which are conspicuously adopted
in Mardhekar’s poetry. However, Mardhekar does not use mythical stories, quotations,
and allusions profusely like Eliot.

Kahin Kavita (Some Poems) (1947) and Aankhi Kahin Kavita (Some More Poems)
(1951) clearly display Mardhekar’s modernist consciousness. Mardhekar experimented
with various aspects of poetry and challenged the established poetic tradition.

Mardhekar selected the confused, helpless, and lonely middle class metropolitan life of
Mumbai for his poetry. The protagonist of his poetry is anti-hero. He shows the horror
and threat of metropolitan city like Mumbai. The life of the people becomes meaningless,
helpless, restless, miserable and futile and the frustration creeps in.

Besides thematic concerns, Mardhekar shares with Eliot experiments in the use of
language concerning vocabulary, grammar, syntax etc. He experimented on punctuation,
brackets, signs and breaking of lines unexpectedly. This innovation and experimentation
brought originality and novelty in his poetry.

Modernist poetry deals with complicated subject matters of new era. Mardhekar presents
split personality, fractures, psychosis, and suppressed passions of the people. Naturally,
his poetry became obscure and complicated. To present speed, incongruity, irrelevance,

6
disorder of modern world, he used discontinuous technique, irrelevant images, the
stream-of-consciousness technique for expression.

Mardhekar’s use of imagery is innovative, for instance, he used to combine two images
together making his poetry obscure and difficult. Mardhekar has rejected the use of free
verse as a poetic medium. He used abhangas of Saint Poets to express his modern
sensibility. The use of mythical and legendary references is not profuse in Mardhekar’s
poetry.

Aanakhi Kahin Kavita dominantly represents the consciousness of spirituality of

Mardhekar. He had a strong desire to communicate with Almighty while struggling with
contemporary emotional and intellectual conflict.

Chapter- IV concentrates on Comparative Study of T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar’s

Modernist poets. They were contemporaries sharing many similarities and very few
differences. Their poetry is modernist because of its new imagery, new poetic technique,
new versification and new diction, which expresses the finest consciousness of the
modern age. They were innovators and promoters of a new style of poetry. The
contemporary social intricacies and complexities were responsible for unconventional
and innovative treatment in their modernist poetry. Mardhekar became a leading master
of modernist Marathi poetry.

Both Eliot and Mardhekar felt something wrong in existing poetic convention and
therefore, they went back to their traditions for the solution of this problem. They wanted
to re-open their poetic traditions for their expressions. They wanted to do something
‘new’ by going back to the past for their unusual expressions. In this way, both Eliot’s
and Mardhekar’s poetry marks the complete break from the existing Romantic poetic
tradition. They discarded outdated things of the traditional poetry and incorporated some
desired things in their poetry that would suit to their purposes. By selecting and rejecting
something from the poetic tradition, they developed their innovative tradition; to be
rightly called ‘modernism’ in poetry.

7
Both T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar’s poetry tried to reflect the social situation of the
age. Industrialization led to urbanization and it caused numerous problems like
sordidness, ugliness, crime, vice, over-crowding, housing shortage, sexual immorality
etc. Both Eliot in London and Mardhekar in Mumbai experienced these changes carefully
and expressed them through their poetry.

Both Eliot and Mardhekar show modern metropolitan culture in their poetry, which is
characterized by pessimism, frustration, disappointment and disillusionment. The
problems of everyday life changed the temperament and mood of poets. The disillusion
and pessimism crept in because of bitter experiences of squalor and sordidness of cities.

Eliot had observed the destruction of World War so closely in Europe that his
consciousness of war becomes profoundly deep. On the other hand, Mardhekar was far
away from the direct destructive effects of the World War as a result his consciousness of
war is not so deep. However, the consciousness of destruction caused by the World War
is one of the reasons for the disappointment and despair in Mardhekar’s poetry.

The economic inequality is another social problem for which Mardhekar had great
concern. He presented the heart-rending stories of common people in his poetry.
Mardhekar’s poetry bears leftist ideology and his attitude is progressive. On the other
hand, Eliot never raises the problems of workers, since he has faith in a royalist political
ideology. In this way, Eliot and Mardhekar stand opposite in their attitudes.

Eliot and Mardhekar reformed the language by making some experiments. They wanted
to make the language of poetry ‘easy’, ‘common’, ‘precise’, and ‘not pedantic.’ These
poets undertook various experiments with poetic language like compression and
compactness, eliminating connecting links, punctuations, creating new rhythm, syntax,
chronological order of language, using the words from other languages, formation of new
words. The use of the interior monologue with the broken rhythm helped to create
suitable modern colloquial language for poetry. They tried to exploit the utmost possible
meaning of the words and gave new life, new form, and new colour to the words they
used.

8
Eliot and Mardhekar are the masters of using unconventional and complicated imagery
and symbols in their poetry. The source of their unconventional and unusual images is
modern complicated metropolitan life. Both of them show boredom, dehumanization,
disappointment, sex perversion, and other modern metropolitan problems through their
imagery and symbols. They compress two images together and again it leads to
ambiguity and complexity. The use of ironic-satiric, picture-imagery, symbol-images,
metaphysical and personal images is the specialty of both poets. They have explored
many new images to suit their purpose and approach.

Both Eliot and Mardhekar were not much interested in external portraying. They adapt
the device of dramatic monologue in their poems to explore deeper into human soul and
analysis of human emotions. In short, both poets used the stream-of-consciousness
technique in their poems to represent the fractured mentality of the modern man, disorder
and to show psychological paralysis of our civilization.

T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar’s views on free verse are similar. Like Eliot, Mardhekar
does not believe that ‘Free verse means modernity.’ They concentrated their attention on
few selected metres. Eliot undertakes experiments with iambic metre, heroic lines, blank
verse and heroic lines; moreover, he uses terza rima, run-on-lines, and end-stopped-lines
in his verse for various purposes. Mardhekar concentrated on metres like, Padakuak, owi,
abhang.

Eliot and Mardhekar ironically juxtapose the past and the present. Through the
comparison, they show remarkable difference between the earlier and modern culture and
ironically criticize the degradation of modern culture.

Like Eliot, Mardhekar use the technique of allusion in his poetry profusely. They use this
technique in their poems to set up a parallel between the past and the present and to
express the complexity of the modern world.

Eliot uses mythical method in his poetry for controlling, ordering and giving a shape and
significance to the futility and anarchy of contemporary society. On the other hand,
Mardhekar has not used this technique.

9
Eliot propounded the theory of impersonality of poetry by 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.”

Eliot attempts to find out an ‘objective correlative’ for emotions. The only way to express
emotion in poetry is to find a set of objects, words, situation or a chain of events which
when given would immediately evoke that emotion. Like Eliot, Mardhekar’s conception
of emotional equivalence about new and modern poetry is fundamental.

Mardhekar’s poems in Kahin Kavita concentrate on the social reality. Mardhekar does
not use his personal life references in poetry. It can be said that Mardhekar has practiced
Eliot’s principle of ‘impersonality’ more effectively than Eliot himself has. In Aankhi
Kahin Kavita he is drawn towards the spiritual life where one’s personality is extinct.

Both Eliot’s and Mardhekar’s poetry is spiritual. The difference is that the spirituality in
Mardhekar is from the very inception whereas Eliot’s poetry has two phases called –
pre-spiritual and spiritual.

The last chapter concludes the comparative study of T. S. Eliot and B. S. Mardhekar as
the modernist poets. The study reveals that both the poets brought out modernist elements
in their respective literatures. Both were living during early twentieth century and were
influenced by the various forces. These poets while dealing with the modernism
demonstrate similar characteristics. Both poets broke away from the earlier romantic
poetic tradition with the content, form and technique. There is obsession for poetic
experimentation and innovation in both of them. The causes of similarities in poetry are –
both belong to same period, influenced by similar factors, even T. S. Eliot influenced
Mardhekar. However, they have differences also as they belong to different social,
political and economic milieus and different literary traditions.

10
 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

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11
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12
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1938.
55. Illustrated Oxford Dictionary, London: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 2007.
56. Dahake Vasant Aabaji. ‘Kavitevishayi’, Navkaviteche Pravartak: Ba. Si.
Mardhekar. Aurangabad: Swaroop Prakashan, 1999.
57. Deshpande, D.V. Mardhekarachi Kavita; Ek Aabhyas. Pub.Sahityasagar Kendra,
1980.
58. Deshpande, Kusumawati & Rajadhyaksha, M. V. A History of Marathi Literature.
New Delhi: Sahitya Academy, 1988.
59. Gadgil S. R. Marathi Sahityache Mandand. Vol. II. Pune: Padmagandha
Publication, 2005.
60. Gadgil, Ganadhar. Khadak ani Pani. Pune: Utkarsha Prakashan, 1985.
61. Jogalekar, G. N. ed. Marathi Wangamayacha Abhinava Itihas. Pune: Snhewardhan
Publishing House, 1993.
62. Karandikar, G. V. Parampara ani Navata. Mumbai: Popular Publication, 1980.
63. King, Bruce. Modern Indian Poetry in English. New Delhi: Oxford University
Press, 2004.
64. Kulkarni D. B. Ananyata Mardhekarachi. Pune: Padmagandha Pub., 2009.
65. Kulli S. T. Teen Aarvachin Kavi, Mumbai: Lokvangmaygruah, 1989.
66. Rajadhyakshya, Vijaya. Mardhekaranchi Kavita: Swaroop ani Sandarbha. Vol. I&
II. Mumbai: Mauj Publication, 1991.

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 67. Rajadhyakshya, Vijaya. Punha Mardhekar. Mumbai: Mauj Prakashan Gruha, 2008.
68. Rajadhyakshya, Vijaya. Shodh Mardhekaracha. Mumbai: Mauj Publication, 2009.
69. Sadre, Keshav. Kavitetil Adhunikatavad, Srirampur: Shabdalaya Publication, 2000.
70. Yeshawant, Manohar. Marathi Kavita ani Aadhunikata, Nagpur: Ambedkar
Dhamma Pub. 1993.
71. Amur, G. S. & Others. Essays in Comparative Literature and Linguistic. Delhi:
Steriling Pub. 1984.
72. Dev Amiya, Sisirkumar Das ed.Comparative literature: Theory and Practice.
Delhi: Sterling Pub., 1981.
73. Dhavan R.K. ed. Comparative Literature. Delhi: Bahari Palli,1991.
74. Prawer S.S. Comparative Literary Studies :An Introduction.London:
Duckworth,1973.

II) Journals / Articles etc.

1. Sarang, Vilas. Eliot & Mardhekar Navbharat: Aug.Sept.Oct.1989.
2. Pinge, Ravindra. Mardhekaracha Ramdashi Gaon:Ravivar Sakal, Divali Issue 1986.
3. Bhruguwar, Suresh. Futel Hoti Vedhi Aasha, Navbharat, March-April, 2010.
4. Chitre, Dilip. Satyakatha, Mumbai: Mauj Publ. Oct. 1964.
5. Dahake, Vasant Aabaji. Mardhekarachi Kavita: Sandharbh: Aadhunikata,
Aadhunikawad, Tarun Bharat, Nov.-Dec. 2009.
6. Gadgil, Gangadhar. Mauj, Mumbai: 22 June, 1949.
7. Jahagirdar C. J. Mardhekar and T. S. Eliot: A Study in Reception; The Literary
Criterion, Vol.XXIV Nos. 3 and 4, 1989.
8. Patankar, Vasant, Navakshar Darshan, Jan.Feb.March-2007.
9. Shahane, V. A. B. S. Mardhekar as Modern Marathi Poet, Indo-Iranian Journal,
Springerlink Pub.1962.
10. Wabagaonkar M. S. Mardhekaranche Nasadiyasukta, Navbharat Nov.-Dec. 2009.
11. Wakode Madhukar, Lokdharmiya Laingik Lokachar ani Mardhekari Avikshar,
Kavita Rati, Sept. to Dec. 2009.
12. Hardikar, Vinay. Mardhekaranchya Shodhat. Manus: Diwali, 1978.

III) Websites:
1. http://harvardmagazine.com/2001/11/eliots-elect-the-harvard.html
2. http://www.dadart.com/dadaism/dada/020-history-dada-movement.html
3. http://www.freemedialibrary.com/index.php/Dada_Manifesto(1918,TristanTzra)
4. http://www.newmanreader.org/biography/meynell/chapter2.html
5. http://www.sfu.ca/english/Gillies/engl438/Lecture-2.htm
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stream_of_consciousness_writing
7. http://www.archive.org/details/afterstrangecods00eliuoft

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