ENGLISH LITERATURE

Crictical Analysis:
The Gift of India
by Sarojini Naidu

Efforts by:
Jia Jindal
PreSC Science
 ENGLISH LITERATURE
Acknowledgement!
On the very outset of this project, I would like to extend my sincere and heartfelt obligation
towards Ms. Gargee Das, my English teacher. Without her active guidance, help,
cooperation and encouragement, I would not have made headway in the project.
I am ineffably indebted to Ms. Kanchan Khandke, the principal of my school for
giving me the opportunity to do this project.
I also acknowledge with a deep sense of reverence, my gratitude towards my parents
and friends, who have always been a pillar of strength for me.
Thanking You,
Jia Jindal
PreSC Science
Contents
Introduction 1.

Form and Language of the Poem 2.

Literary Devices 3.

Imagery 4.

Themes, Mood and Tone 5.

Stanza-wise Explanation 6.
 ENGLISH LITERATURE
Introductio
Known as the ‘Nightingale of India’, Sarojini Naidu was a patriot,

n
Indian political activist and poet. She played a major role in the
National Movement and her poetry reflects her visions and ideals.
Sarojini Naidu’s The Gift of India is set in the adverse conditions of
the First World War (1915), wherein Indian soldiers were martyred
in foreign lands. The speaker of the poem, Mother India, describes
the heroism of her martyred children and their devotion towards their
motherland. She recounts the invaluable bounties she has offered to
the world -including the gift of the lives of her children- and reminds
or appeals to the Allied Forces to remember the Indian contribution to
their victory.
Rhyme Scheme
The poem The Gift of India has a simple
and elegant rhyme scheme of aabbcc. Form and
Form
Each of the stanzas have six lines, where the
first two lines introduce either an idea or
Language of
create a picture, the next two lines build up
on them, and the final two present a sort of
small conclusion for the stanza.
the Poem
Stanza Overview
The first stanza introduces the various gifts India has
bestowed upon the colonizers, which include both its
riches and people. The second stanza focuses more on
the wistful state of martyred Indian soldiers. The third
stanza talks of the grief those deaths have brought. And
finally, the fourth stanza is a sort of appeal to honor the
sacrifices of the Indian soldiers for the cause of the war.
Literary Devices
Similes Alliteration Rhetorical
1. “Gathered like pearls Question
in their graves.” 1. “Silent they sleep---" ('s')
2."Scattered like shells 2. “Scattered like shells...” ('s')
"Can measure the grief
on Egyptian 3. “They lie with pale brows and
of the tears I weep
sands.” brave, broken hands.” ('b')
Or compass the woe of
3. “They are strewn like the watch I keep?”
blossoms mown
down by chance.”
Personification
Oxymoron 1. "Remember the blood of my Metaphor
martyred sons.”
"And the far sad glorious 2. "Can ye measure the grief of the  In this poem, the Indian
vision I see.” tears I weep. soldiers are compared to
    Or compass the woe of the 'priceless treasures.’
watch I keep?"
 Imager
y Color Imagery:
The richness of material resources of India —snatched by British— is symbolized by ‘gold’ which
is not only a metal but a color symbolizing traditions. Also, the ‘pearl’ like Indian soldiers are dead,
their brows have now turned pale, the beautiful colored flowers have now withered away and the
meadows of Flanders and France have turned ‘blood-brown’. The ‘red banners of victory’ bring
suggestion of a victory at the cost of the blood of Indian soldiers. The color imagery of red is also
prominent in the last line when mother India asks to remember the blood of her martyred sons.
Auditory Imagery:
The soldiers moving to the call of 'the drum-beats of the duty' is an example of auditory imagery.
Visual Imagery:
The image of the dead Indian soldiers 'gathered like pearls in their alien graves’ is a very pictorial
representation of the ravages of wars. The violence of war and the horrors of it is captured by a
powerful visual imagery when Mother India bemoans how the soldiers have become like blossoms
ruthlessly sheared and cut down on the blood soaked meadows of France and Flanders (a Dutch-
speaking region in Belgium).
Themes, Mood and Tone
The poetess brings to us the idea that war is horrible and destructive. It being the
product of hatred only spreads hatred and ill- will, it takes a heavy toll of precious human
lives. Thousands of Indian soldiers were killed during the World War I. They were fighting
on alien lands for an alien cause. Another idea which the poetess brings to us, is that the
MORAL sacrifices of brave people cannot and should not be forgotten. Brave soldiers who die
fighting deserve to be honored and remembered.

The poetess expresses the deep sense of sadness and grief felt by all Indians at the
brutal killings of Indian soldiers. No one can measure the tears of grief that the
PATHOS despair in her heart and the hope that comforts the anguish. She has a sad vision of the
bloody flag wavering, proclaiming victory. The soldier died but they won a decisive
victory for their masters.

In the end, a note of optimism and hope overpowers the mood of the poem. The poetess
anticipates a time when man would be free from the shackles of dominance and cruelty
OPTIMISM and live in a world where hatred will be overpowered by love. She urges the world to pay
respect and homage to the martyred soldiers for their heroism so that their names can
be immortalized in the history as the brave men who died to protect the honor of the
country. She hopes that the brave soldiers would be remembered with gratitude for their
valorous deeds and the coming generation would remember their sacrifices. 
 Stanza -Wise Explanation
Stanza 1: Addressing the British, Mother India asks them if there is anything which she has not showered upon them. She has not deprived them of any of her
resources: the richest of garments, food or gold. She has never denied any form of sacrifice to the world that was needed for a better tomorrow. She has
promptly given away her sons, Indian soldiers, to the eastern and western countries without any hesitation to ensure harmony in the world. She has agreed to
send Indian soldiers to the land of chaos, death and destruction to fight an alien war in an alien land.

Stanza 2: Mother India laments the death of the heroic soldiers who fought valiantly in the war and are now lying buried in their graves in foreign lands like pearls
in their shells. Some of them are buried along the Persian sea while others are scattered like shells on the Egyptian sands. They are lying pale and colorless
with hands that have been broken in the battlefield. There are other brave soldiers whose lifeless bodies lie scattered like flowers in the blood - tainted
meadows of Flanders and France. The selfless sacrifice of the Indian soldiers show that India has always lived up to its expectations proving its loyalty to its
global allies.

Stanza 3: Mother India asks rhetorical questions to express the fact that there is no possible way in which the world can measure the intensity of her grief. The
world cannot possibly comprehend her grief and suffering at the loss of her martyred sons. Even though she is torn by the grief in her heart, she is exhilarated
by a sense of pride offered by the soldiers. Her pride in the heroism and spirit of her sons overwhelms her sense of despair and sorrow. She bears
immeasurable pain and anguish in her heart at the thought of parting ways with her sons. However, she prays for a world in which there is no place for fights,
hatred and terror and the thought of a better world in which peace and harmony is restored gives her hope. Here she is anticipating their victory which will put
an end to the cruelties in the world. In the same time, she is sad because glory will be brought to the country at the cost of soldiers’ lives.

Stanza 4: Mother India vehemently expresses her sense of pride in the achievements of the Indian soldiers. Even though she has suffered a lot, a hope for a better
future wherein peace is restored, gives her satisfaction. The poem ends on a note of optimism and hope. Mother India hopes that when the world of terror and
hate shall cease, a new world will be formed in which peace and harmony would bring joy in people's lives. Mother India expects the world to respect and
remember the soldiers who fought bravely in the wars and sacrificed their lives for a peaceful future. She also hopes that the contribution of the Indian soldiers
will be recognized by the world. She wants people to pay their homage and gratitude to the soldiers so that they can be immortalized in the history of the world
for their valor and heroism.  
 Conclusion and Food for
Thought
Over 1.5 million Indian troops served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another 67,000 were wounded. In total at least 75,237
Indian soldiers died during the war. The reason for the death of such a large number of Indian soldiers was because of the despotic
British government who deployed the Indian soldiers for dangerous duties near enemy ranks.
The selfish British Empire gave no attention to these Indian beliefs of cremation. They simply dragged all the Indian dead bodies into
mass graves and buried them underground without performing any Hindu rituals of samskara. The Empire gave a different type of
treatment to the dead bodies of the British soldiers. Each and every one of the white bodies were respectfully collected from the
warfronts and taken home by chartered flights of the British Airways. Once in England, they were given a ceremonial welcome and
the burial ceremony was conducted according to the proper Christian practices.
In the fourth and last stanza of the poem, Sarojini Naidu makes a request to the British Empire. She wants the empire to remain
thankful for the sacrifice done by the dead Indian soldiers. Indians fought the war with equal or higher courage compared to their
English counterparts. So Mother India wants the empire to remember the sacrifice done by the sons of India for the success of the
empire. She wants the empire to honor the dead soldiers along with the honors going to be given for the British martyrs. But what
happened in the end? The dead British soldiers were celebrated as war-heroes. Their widows were summoned to the Buckingham
Palace and posthumous awards were presented in honor of their dead husbands. Their children were given reservation for higher
studies in prestigious military academies and even future employment was guaranteed to them. But, in the case of the dead Indian
soldiers, no such consideration was given. They were not given the status of martyrs because they were all poor and black Indians.
All that their relatives received was a telegram from the war office informing the death of their near ones in the war. All in all, Naidu’s
The Gift of India highlights the horrors of war, rather than romanticizing it.
 ENGLISH LITERATURE
Bibliograph
https://www.litbug.com/2019/10/25/the-gift-of-india-by-sarojini-naidu-summar
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https://beamingnotes.com/2018/02/22/the-gift-of-india-analysis-by-sarojini-nai

https://www.indo-anglianpoetry.in/2022/09/poem-the-gift-of-india-theme-summ
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https://englicist.com/questions/themes-in-poem-the-gift-of-india

https://englicist.com/topics/the-gift-of-india

Reverie: A Collection of ISC Poems (Evergreen Publications)

Workbook on Reverie: A Collection of ISC Poems (P.S. Latika, Xavier Pinto)

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