Poem Analysis

Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock

The Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock | Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock Summary

Literature, English Literature, Poem Analysis
Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock
Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock

Introduction

          The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock was T. S. Eliot’s first important publication and it has often been called the first masterpiece of Modernism in English Literature. Through this poem, Eliot presents the despair and passivity of a middle-aged man, Alfred J Prufrock. The poem was most probably written between 1910 and 1911.

T. S. Eliot originally entitled this poem Prufrock Among the Women. He changed the title to The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock before publishing the poem in a poetry magazine in 1915 (Ezra Pound). The pome is typically not of the 20th century but of all ages. It deals with the emotional frustration and despair, the hollowness of human beings living at any period in history. This poem is written in the form of a “Dramatic Monologue”.

About T. S. Eliot (As A Poet)

            Thoman Streams Eliot; most commonly known as T. S. Eliot, is one of the significant poets of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 for his contribution to modern poetry. When T. S. Eliot died, Robert Giroux wrote,

“The World become a lesser place.”

            In 1911 he wrote his first and most acclaimed poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. The Waste Land, Ash Wednesday, Four Quarters, The Journey of the Magi, The Hollow Men, Morning at Widow, and The Hippopotamus are some of his good poems. He has also written seven plays.

The theme of the poem

          Social Anxiety, Lack of Spirituality, Loneliness, Love, Criticism Of the Modern age. Isolation and Mental instability is the theme of the Poem The Love Song by J. Alfred Prufrock.

The setting of the Poem

          The Setting of this poem is a big, dirty modern city. Here the poet does not mention any particular name of the city but it seems representative of other great cities of modern western civilization.

About The Title

          Originally the poem was entitled “Prufrock Among the Women” but later before his publication in poetry magazine, the title was changed to The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. The title of the poem indicates a romantic love situation, it is used ironically by the poet. The name Prufrock has been derived from the name of a furniture dealer in St. Louis.

structure and Form

            This is a poem of about 132 lines and an epigraph of 6 lines taken from the Dante Divine Comedy. This love song by J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot is primarily written in free verse. This means that most lives do not follow a specific rhyme scheme or metrical pattern.

Love Song Poem Analysis

            In the poem, Eliot shows the sordid and aimless modern life. He shows the inner conflict duality, disintegration, and irresolution of the modern man. Eliot seems to say that modern life has been devoid of purpose and there is no spiritual direction. Juxtaposes the title it is an anti–romantic poem. It records Prufrock’s recoil from love rather than his engagement in love.

Prufrock is a middle-aged dandy who has seen much of the city life with its meaningless socializing and decadent values. He wants to make love with a Lady but he does not have the mental courage to disclose it. He is indecisive and passive, unable to take any initiative. His personal failure, together with his experience with life and society, makes him totally frustrated. He wants to get relief from such a situation by taking a walk-in city.

            Prufrock is not going to the lap of nature to breathe fresh air. Rather, his Journey would be in a half-deserted street on a foggy evening. The street is a half-deserted street because people leave the street in the evening and go to their homes. Again the streets are surrounded by cheap hotels and dirty restaurants. People spend their nights there but do not get proper rest and sleep.

The streets run in a winding course leading people to no destination. These winding streets are compared with a tedious argument. These lines are reflective of the protagonist’s state of mind. He is in a restless situation and he feels lonely and isolated. Yet he has no escape rotate to get rid of his isolation and boredom. Prufrock suffers from a lack of will and hesitation. He takes a decision that is immediately postponed and revised. Various thoughts crisscross his mind like the winding streets.

            Prufrock is timid and nervous lacking boldness. He is so paralyzed by his will that he himself does not dare to utter the Overwhelming Question of proposing to a Lady. He hesitates to offer his heart’s desire to the lady because he thinks that whatever he says to the lady will be answered by,

“That is not I meant at all/ That is not it at all.”

            Prufrock is a middle-aged dandy with some Physical limitations. He afraid that

“With a bold spot in the middle of my hair.”

            He is conscious that he is being aged as he says,

“I grow old. ….. I grow old……

            All through the poem Prufrock remains in his room. He is so infirm in will that she is ready for a hundred indecision, and for a hundred visions and revisions. It seems that while remaining in his room, he is content to imagine himself going through the streets. He wears clothes of the latest fashion to hide his age and to cover his boldness, yet he cannot gather the courage to offer his love.

            Prufrock’s timidity results from his experience with the society in which he lives. He is already known the hollowness and meaninglessness of his own life. He has also known the frivolity and artificiality of the women, as he says,

“For I have known them all already,
 known them all…”

            Although he feels an attraction to the lady, he is aware of their worthlessness. In this sense too, the poem is no praising song of love.

Conclusion

          Thus, the title of The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock neatly undermines the romantic association of Love Song with the ridiculous name Prufrock. The poem records the love wish of a man with neither the physical, vigor nor mental courage to propose love. Instead of depicting o the joy, bliss, and hope of Love, the poem reveals the helplessness and pathos of the protagonist. 

            Eliot very effectively portrays the pollution and shabbiness that are associated with modern city life. People are in decayed and sordid surroundings and leading hopeless life. The poet aptly reveals the boredom, loneliness, and frustration of modern society. Here the condition of Prufrock is symbolic of the condition of modern urbanized civilization. Thus, the title of the poem seems quite justified.

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Our Casuarina Tree By Toru Dutt

Our Casuarina Tree By Toru Dutt Summary & Critical Analysis

Literature, Indian Literature, Poem Analysis
Our Casuarina Tree By Toru Dutt
Our Casuarina Tree By Toru Dutt

Introduction

            Our Casuarina Tree is one of the notable poems of Toru Dutt. It was published in her collection of poems Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan in 1882. The tree is used as a symbolic representation of the poetess’s past memories. She wrote this poem when she was Abroad. The poem is written in an autobiographical tone.

About Toru Dutt

Toru Dutt was known as a great poetess, novelist, essayist, translator, and outstanding pioneer in the history of Indian English Literature. She is also the first Indian poetess, who write in French and English at that time when Indian writers were facing lots of criticism from English literature writers. Their work has not only been appreciated but has even been republished.

Many critics compared Toru Dutt with John Keats because his style of writing is just like John Keats’s. Among his world-famous poem included- Sita, Lotus, Baugmaree, The Tree Of Life, Ancient Ballads, and Legends of Hindustan. She also died at an early age at the age of 21.

About The title of “Our Casuarina Tree”

” The Casuarina tree” here is symbolic. It was the tree under which the poetess and her siblings and friends played in their childhood. Thus it holds a special place in the poetess’ heart. Even when all of them went their separate ways, the Casuarina tree stayed as it was. It became the symbol of their everlasting love for siblings and friends.

Structure of The poem

Our Casuarina tree poem consists of fifty lines which are divided into 5 Stanzas and there are 11 lines in each stanza. The Rhyme scheme of each stanza is ABBACDDCEEE.

Analysis Of “Our Casuarina Tree”

            The first stanza of Our Casuarina Tree begins with the image of a tree. The poetess says that a creeper like a python is winding the tree. Its hold was too tight, so it had left a scar on the trunk. The poet further states that no other tree would have sustained this hold, for it is too strong, but her tree did.

Like a Giant, the tree has proudly worn those scars like a scarf, representing its strength. To further describe its beauty, the poetess says, it is filled with crimson flowers in every bough like a crown that invites birds and bees. Often at night, when the poetess could not sleep she used to listen to the music that filled her garden.

            The second stanza of the poem starts with a morning view. When every morning, she opens her window, and her eyes rest on the delighted tree. Sometimes during other seasons and mostly during winter seasons, she has seen a baboon sitting on the top branch like a statue waiting to receive the first array of sunlight. Whereas, his ‘Puny of Spring’ plays around in the lower branch of the trees. Along with his scenic beauty, the poet also experienced Kokila’s welcoming notes. She has also observed the cows guided towards the pastures and the water lilies spring under the shadow of the hoar tree, like gathered snow.

            In the third stanza, the poet comments on why the tree will remain dear to her always. Besides the morning bliss, the tree remains her of the time she played with her siblings. The tree blended with the memory of them gives her the images of the intense love they shared, leaving tears in the poetess’s eyes. The poetess mourns for those departed souls. She also imagines that the tree shares her loss which she hears as Dirge Like Murmur resembling the waves breaking on a pebble beach.

            In the fourth stanza, the poet presents an in-depth connection with the tree. Through the image of waves, she takes us to a foreign land which is known as “Where the waves gently kissed the classic shore”. Whenever this music of the waves touching the waves rises it arouses the memory of the tree in front of the poetess’s eyes as she has seen in her youth.

            In the final and last stanza, the speaker wants to erect something in honor of the Casuarina Tree. For those who were beloved, who are resting in peace, love it. She wants the tree to live long like those trees of “Borrowdale” making a reference to Wordsworth’s “Yew Tree”. Also, she makes an attempt to distinguish the trees of England from the Casuarina tree, connecting to her varying emotion. The Casuarina tree stands for nostalgia, longing, and memory whereas the trees of England reflect her isolation.

            The final lines of the poem underscore the idea of a poem as a written memory. The poetess seeks Love to protect the tree and her poem from time’s ravage.

Conclusion

The poem, Our Casuarina Tree is a reminder of Toru Dutt’s childhood and the happiness she experienced with her siblings and friends, that childhood is not alive now.

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Village Song Poem Summary

Village Song By Sarojini Naidu Summary | The Village Song Summary

Indian Literature, Poem, Poem Analysis
Village Song Poem Summary
Village Song Poem Summary

Village Song Poem

Full are my pitchers and far to carry,
Lone is the way and long,
Why, O why was I tempted to tarry
Lured by the boatmen’s song?
Swiftly the shadows of night are falling,
Hear, O hear, is the white crane calling,
Is it the wild owl’s cry?
There are no tender moonbeams to light me,
If in the darkness a serpent should bite me,
Or if an evil spirit should smite me,
Rām re Rām! I shall die.

My brother will murmur “Why doth she linger?”
My mother will wait and weep,
Saying, “O safe may the great gods bring her,
The Jamuna’s waters are deep.” . . .

Introduction

            Village Song By Sarojini Naidu is a beautiful poem that speaks about traditional Indian villages. In the poem, the poet describes the difficulties faced by an Indian village woman. It was first published in Sarojini Naidu’s second collection of poems, The Bird of Time. The speaker of the poem is a small girl living in a village who has gone to fetch water from a river that is far away from her home.

            There are many places in India where people do not have the facility of running water and for that, they have to walk a long distance to collect water from wells, rivers, ponds, or similar water bodies. It is a chore usually done by women at home. Here the poet talks about a situation where a girl has gone to fetch water from the river. The poem deals with the traditional living style of the village and the attachment of the young girl to her family and how fear is created in her mind because of the darker environment.

About Sarojini Naidu

            Sarojini Naidu is known as the Nightingale of India. She was one of the greatest poets, short story writers, freedom fighters, and social activists. She has earned a respectable place in the English language and literature. She received many awards for his work. Sarojini Naidu was born in a Bengali family in Hyderabad. Her mother Varada Sundari Devi Chattopadhyay, was a poetess and used to write poetry in Bengali.

            Sarojini was so good at poetry, that the reason she started getting called The Nightingale of India or Bharat Kokila by Mahatma Gandhi. Her poetry imagery, color, and lyrical quality were so amazing. His famous poem collection included – The Golden Threshold, The Temple, The Birds of Time, Awake, Indian Weavers, and The Feather Of The Down.

Explanation Of the Poem

            The girl explains that the pitchers she is carrying are full of water and she has not reached her home yet. She has to walk a long distance carrying the water-filled pitchers to reach her home. Then she explains the reason for her being late as she was attracted by the song sung by the boatman. The time is almost evening, it is getting dark and the girl is getting scared by the sound of the birds surrounding her. She thought the sound is made by the white crane or it is the wild owl’s cry. The road she has taken is also not clean and plain, it passes through a jungle.

            The time referred to in the poem is twilight and it is getting darker and the moonlight is not present at that moment. The girl says that the tender moonbeam could give her relief from the fear she is facing. The girl takes a path that is not plain and clean, she fears that a snake may bite her or that evil spirits may haunt her. In this deep state of fear, she takes the name of God Rama to save her from misery.

            It is also notable that in many Indian traditions, it is believed that Chanting God Rama’s name keeps evil away from people and there is the possibility that the girl is taking Rama’s name to keep such evil energies away.

            The second stanza shows a shift in the speaker’s thinking process where she is now imagining the reaction of her brother and mother. She gets anxious as she remembers her brother and mother. She imagines that her brother will murmur in concern at her delay. On the other hand, her mother will wait and fear that someone bad had happened to her daughter as the water of Jamuna River is deep.

            Her mind comes back to the fearful thoughts of self. She weeps thinking about what will happen to her if a storm breaks. If the lightning starts where she hides to save herself. Her fear increases as she thinks about these things. She calls her god, again and again, to protect her footstep and guide her to reach her home safely.

Conclusion

            The poem of Sarojini Naidu Village Song depicts the feeling of an Indian girl, who lives in a village. Though the poem was written in the 90s, the condition still exists in many Indian villages. It is about the traditional village way of a girl’s attachment to her family and how the darker surroundings create anxiety in her thoughts.

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A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal By William Wordsworth

Summary, Literature, Poem, Poem Analysis
A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal
A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal By William Wordsworth

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Poem

A slumber did my spirit seal;
I had no human fears:
She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.
No motion has she now, no force;
She neither hears nor sees;
Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course,
With rocks, and stones, and trees.

Introduction

            A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal is one of the five Lucy poems written by the great romantic poet William Wordsworth. It was first published in the volume Lyrical Ballads that Wordsworth co-authored with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. This volume was written in 1798 and published in 1800. This is a poem about Wordsworth’s deep love for his beloved and his reaction to her sudden and untimely death.

            Wordsworth had experienced some harsh realities of life like the French Revolution, the War between France and England, etc., hence this poem holds the spirit of Escapism from city life to the elemental nature which, for the poet, is an ideal place. Through this poem, Wordsworth describes an appreciation of life beyond death.

About William Wordsworth

          William Wordsworth was one of the founders of English Romanticism. He was born in Cockermouth, Cumbria on April 7, 1770. P. B. Shell another great poet of romanticism called him Poet of Nature. Wordsworth along with Coleridge published Lyrical Ballads in 1798 in which he defined poetry as,

“Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling.”

            Imagination, Nature, Subjectivity, and Humanism are the basic theme of Wordsworth’s poetry. During his long poetic career, he wrote a large number of poems among which – Tintern Abbey, The Daffodils, The Solitary Reaper, Lucy Poems, and Lyrical Ballads are well known. Like all great romantic poetry, his poetry is a record of his inner experiences.

Structure Of The Poem

            A Slumber did my Spirit seal is a short two-stanza poem made up of two quatrains, or sets of four lines. The rhyme scheme of this beautiful poem is ABAB CDCD which gives it an even more enchanting touch. The second and fourth line of each stanza contains six syllables, while the first and third contains eight.

The Theme of the Poem

            In the poem, A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal, the poet expresses his views after the death of his beloved. He is deeply grieved and troubled by the death of his beloved. He is deeply grieved and troubled by the depth of his beloved. He has gone numb but in his numbness, he realizes that he needs to move on and accept his fate. He realizes that death is inevitable and he needs to accept the fact that his beloved is no more.

            He shows the readers understand that even after death, his beloved or all our beloved dead people are alive as a part of nature. They are free from worldly affairs and are immortal.

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Poem Analysis

            In the first stanza, the poet says that he has put to rest his conscience and thus has no Human Fears. Human fears mean the fear of losing property, belongings, and life. Now having given up all such things that give birth to human fears he has now attained peace in nature. The poet talks about Lucy who is according to the poet, beyond the prison of life and has attained death.

            She does not feel the earthly time and earthly years have become timeless for her. Thus she is immortal now and it is Lucy because of whom the poet has attained fearlessness from earthly fears.

            In the second stanza, Wordsworth says that being immortal, she has no movement or energy. She neither does hear something nor sees. She has become part of the earth and is rolling with it as it turns from day to night and vice versa.

            Lucy is in her grave, covered with soil, and is under the shade of the trees. Thus the poet considers her to be in the lap of nature which is an ideal place. By narrating the story of the immortal Lucy, he appreciates the fearlessness of death which is not the root cause of human sorrows and worries.

Conclusion

            Thus, through the poem A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Wordsworth desires that he should attain the same peace as Lucy after becoming part of nature. Wordsworth describes becoming a part of nature and for becoming, so death is a must.

            So, William Wordsworth conveys the message that Death is Inevitable. Nobody is beyond the reach of death.

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Kamayani By Jaishankar Prasad

Kamayani By Jaishankar Prasad | Kamayani Summary

Literature, Indian Literature, Poem Analysis
Kamayani By Jaishankar Prasad
Kamayani By Jaishankar Prasad

Introduction

            Kamayani is one of the magnum opus, which means the great work of Jaishankar Prasad. It was considered a great epic of the human psyche. It is an epic of romance (Chhayavad). It is published in 1936. It is a long narrative poem. This poem is completed in seven years. In this poem, Manu, Shraddha, and Ida keep their historicity intact signifying symbolic meanings. Shraddha is the symbol of Faith. Ida is the symbol of Intellect and Manu is the symbol of Mind. The main story of Kamayani can be divided into four parts –

  1. The flood and destruction of the race of Gods.
  2. The meeting of Manu and Shraddha.
  3. The Union of Manu and Ida.
  4. The Journey of Manu to Kailash.

About Jaishankar Prasad

            Jaishankar Prasad was a prominent figure in Hindi Literature as well as Hindi theatre. He was also known as a Chhayavadi poet. He is considered one of the Four Pillars of Romanticism in Hindi Literature along with Sumitranandan Pant, Mahadevi Varma, and Suryakant Tripathi Nirala. Prasad started writing poetry with the pen name Kaladhar. He was a poet, play writer, novelist, story writer, and literary critic. He led the revolt in poetry as well as in every field. He wrote seven books of poetry, thirteen plays, three novels, five collections of short stories, and one book on Literary essays. In her glowing tribute to Jaishankar Prasad, the poet-critic Mahadevi Varma said:

“Whenever I remember our great poet,
 Prasad a particular image comes to my mind.”

Structure of Kamayani

            The basic structure of Kamayani has been drawn after the original Vedic literature. This is also said that it is written in the pattern of Dante’s Divine Comedy. It is the epic of emotions, feelings, and sentiments. The poetic texture of Kamayani has two aspects: –

  1. Content
  2. Form

            At the level of content, Kamayani has higher pleasure, aesthetic seriousness, deepest subtleties, and dazzling image which established it as a great epic in Hindi Literature.

            At the level of form, Kamayani’s phonological organization, sweet and melodious overtones it is sense relations win our hearts.

Theme Of Kamayani

            Jaishankar Prasad has divided the whole theme of Kamayani into 15 Cantos – Anxiety (Chinta), Hope (Aasha), Faith (Shraddha), Eros (Kama), Passion (Vasna), Shyness (Lajja), Action (Karma), Jealousy (Irshya), Intellect (Ida), Conflict (Sangharsh), Dream (Svapna), Renunciation (Nirved), Bliss (Anand), and Mystery (Rahasya).

Kamayani Poem Analysis

            Manu is the hero of this epic. According to Hindu Mythology, he is supposed to be the progenitor of the human race. Manu is the first man in Indian History. The Poem has three main characters – Manu, Shraddha, and Ida.

            The description in Canto Worry and Hope is related to the flood and destruction of the race of Gods, while the Cantos from faith to Jealousy is related to the meeting of Manu and Shraddha. The union of Manu and Ida consists form intellect to Renunciation and lost part, the Journey of Many to Kailas comprises of last two cantos – Mystery and Bliss.

            The story of Kamayani begins with a horrible flood in which the whole divine race and their glory are completely destroyed. Manu also belongs to this race of gods who escaped death because at that time he was in his boat. Something mysterious pushed the boat in such a way that it dashed against the top of the Himalayas Mountain. Manu was seeing that great deluge with a heavy heart and tearful eyes which had destroyed his whole family and society. This destruction was caused mainly for three reasons – Pride, excess of luxury, and inactivity. Once he meets Shraddha (the daughter of Kama) and marries her. Kama, Vasana, and Lajja enter their life.

            Manav the son of Manu and Shraddha is born and is also the symbol of human progeny. Manu is then called upon by Karma to perform the sacrifice. Swayed by Irshya he abandons Shraddha and Manav. In the course of his wandering, he meets Ida, who is the embodiment of intellect. Her prosperous kingdom Sarasvat region has been ruined by the flood. Charmed by her Manu lays the foundation of a new human society. When in his over-enthusiasm he tries to possess Ida, but she refuses to marry him. Then he tries to rape her.

            Manu’s this act brings about a popular revolt. He is badly bounded. Shraddha arrives with Manav and sees Manu. Forgiving his betrayal she restores him to health. Ashamed of his bad behavior, Manu is repentant and decides to renounce the world. So he slips away without informing his wife and child to undergo penance to have a darshan of reality. Shraddha entrusts Manav to Ida and joins Manu in this journey to achieve bliss in Kailash.

Conclusion

            Kamayani begins on a note of despair and ends on a note of bliss. Through this poem, Jaishankar Prasad has given the massage to humanity that in this blind race of materialism, everybody is running after wealth and luxury but its ultimate result is nothing except destruction.

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