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The Garden Summary By Andrew Marvell | The Garden By Andrew Marvell | Thought In The Garden

Introduction

”Thought in the Garden” is one of the most famous metaphysical poems, which is also romantic in its subject. It was written by a great Metaphysical Poet ‘Andrew Marvell’. The other title of the poem is ‘The Garden’ and the poem is ‘The Garden’ the poem is romantic because it is about nature. It is the expression of the poet’s personal and emotional feelings about life in nature and society. It is a classical poem in its form because the stanzas, rhythm, rhyme, and word choice are like in classical poetry. The Poet claims that nature is the only true place for complete luxury. The poet begins this poem by comparing nature with society and social life.

About the poet

Andrew Marvel was an English Metaphysical poet, Satirist, and Politician. He was a close friend of “John Milton”. He wrote on a wide range of topics about many social matters. For example, he composed works based on personal and political satires, there is a place for the emotion of love in his writing. He also recounts political events in his poems. Among his world-famous poem included – To His Coy Mistress, The Thought in the Garden, Horatian Ode, and The Definition of Love. Marvell achieved a recognizable position in literary history after his death.

Structure of The Poem

The poem “Thought In the Garden” has divided into nine stanzas each stanza has 8 lines. So the poem has a total of 72 lines. The Rhyme Scheme for each Octave is AABBCCDD.

The setting of The Poem

The poem is set in a Garden which becomes the poet’s place of relaxation and lax, undisturbed by the hassles of society. It may be referred to as the “Garden Of Eden” as there are many bibliographical references throughout the poem.

The Theme Of The Poem

The theme of the Poem is Natural Beauty, Poetic Imagination, and Spirituality. In the poem, Marvell seems to be a priest of Nature.

Explanation Of the Poem

In the first stanza, the speaker criticizes men who Vainly amaze themselves by putting a garland of a few leaves and believing they have achieved victory, prestige, and reward for all their endless labour. But in fact, the true and complete pleasure lies in the complete Garland of Response in Nature. In the second stanza, he personifies the quietness and innocence in nature and speaks to them saying that he has, at last, found them after losing his time in men’s company. Then, he calls the trees “amorous” which means sexually playful or powerful.

Expressing such an odd emotion and attachment to trees, he criticizes his lover for cutting trees to write their beloved’s name. In the fourth stanza, he claims that when men’s love and youth finish, they turn to nature. According to the speaker, even God did this, for example, Apollo and Pan changed their lover into trees. In the fifth stanza, he gives a very sensuous description of his physical pleasure. In the sixth, he argues that his pleasure is moreover mental. In the seventh stanza, he further claims that this pleasure has a spiritual aspect. He romanticizes how he feels, he feels as if his soul is singing and gliding from tree to tree as a bird.

In the 8^th or 9^th stanza, the speaker compares himself with the lonely Adam in Eden, he also argues that being lonely was a second paradise for Adam, one the paradise which was the Garden of Eden and the second the paradise of being alone. In the 9th stanza, the speaker thanks God for creating a unique world of its own which is the garden. The garden or nature, in general, has its own time, the rush and hurry of society don’t apply here. Even the Sun seems to have its own sweet course. The Garden is therefore the only source of true physical, mental as well as spiritual satisfaction and ‘response’.

As a metaphysical poem, Thought In The Garden uses conceit, wit, far-fetched images and allusions, and a dramatic situation. The balance of emotion and intellect is also another metaphysical feature. The argument about physical pleasure is twisted into the argument about mental pleasure. He argues, according to a medical philosophy, that his mind is an ocean of all the things and images of the real world. The poem is also a dramatic and emotional expression of personal feelings, which is at the same time balanced with witty and intellectual ideas and allusions. This Unified Sensibility also gives the poem another feature of Metaphysical poetry.

Conclusion

Thus now we can say that the main theme of the poem Thought in The Garden is that peaceful life in nature is more satisfying than social life and human company. The poem is about someone who thinks that hanging out in nature is the coolest thing a person can do. So Thought In the Garden is one of the best poems by Andrew Marvell with the features of Metaphysical poems.

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Literature Notes

– Varsha Singh

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Obituary By AK Ramanujan | Obituary Poem Analysis

Literature, English Literature, Indian Literature, Poem Analysis

Introduction

The poem “Obituary” is written by A. K. Ramanujan, full name Attipate Krishnaswami Ramanujan who was an Indian English Literature. The poem was published in 1971. In the present poem “Obituary” means a notice of death in a newspaper including a brief biography. The poem is written about the death of his father. The poet explains how his death has affected his family and what his father has achieved in his life.

About A. K. Ramanujan

A.K. Ramanujan was a great Indian Poet, translator, and scholar of Indian Literature and linguistics. He was born in Mysore, Karnataka, to a Brahmin family that loved and encouraged learning. He was fluent in many languages including English, Kannada, and Tamil. Ramanujan was also awarded “Sahitya Akademi Award” posthumously in 1999 for “The Collected Poems”. His notable works include The Stories, Second Sight, A River, and Relations.

Structure of The Poem

It is an eight Stanza poem and each stanza contains seven lines. These lines do not follow a specific rhyme scheme and meter.

Theme Of Obituary

Death of the father, the consequences the son and his family faces the death of his father, and the ridicule of rituals is the main theme of the Poem.

Analysis Of Obituary Poem

The poet started this poem by saying when his father died he left nothing for the family but problems like dust on a table of paper debts, unmarried daughters, and bedwetting a grandson whose name is after him because of “Toss of a Coin”. The lines show the poet’s dissatisfaction with his father. He does not seem to be sorrowful because of death. The poet is more concerned about the duties of his family which he has performed. He has to pay the debts of his father, he has to marry off his sister and also has to take care of a young child who urinates in bed.

In the olden days, daughters were considered a burden because the girl’s family had to not only take responsibility for all the marriage expenses but also give a huge dowry to the boy’s family. This indicates that the father has left his family with nothing but liabilities to be paid off.

These lines also show the culture of a typical Indian family which is patriarchal in nature. Neither the mother of the poet nor his sister is earning. As the poet is now the eldest male in the family all the duties are bestowed on him. The poet continues that his father has left a house that leaned slowly through our growing years on a bent coconut tree in the yard.

The lines mean that they have inherited a house from his father who is leaning on a coconut tree and thus in bad condition. The poet calls his father the burning type, indicating that he was a bad-tempered man and would never behave properly with him or the other family members. Being not tempered he burned properly at the cremation.

The lines continue from the previous one. He is burnt very easily from both sides, except his coins here coins mean – the anger of his greed for money which didn’t look one bit different even after burning, and also several spinal diseases though some of them burnt to coal.

This stanza continues from the previous one. According to the poet, the remains of his father’s pyre are left for sons to pick as the priest said, facing east where their rivers met near the railway station. The lines show that the priest forces the son to perform Hindu rituals. The poet is in no way ready to do it. His father has no grave as his ashes and remains are thrown in the river with his full name.

In the fifth stanza, the poet says that his father was born into the Brahman, family. In Hinduism, the Brahmans are worshipped as “Avtaras Of Gods”. However, the poet shows that his father took birth as Brahman got his birth was Surgical and even his death could not be controlled. His father died in the market of heart failure and he could not save himself.

These lines in other sense mark that he has achieved nothing in this world. His birth was surgical and what he did in his life showed his incapability.

In the sixth stanza, the poem sees that two lines were written for his father inside the column of a Madras newspaper which is sold by the kilo after four weeks after his death to street hawkers. These street hawkers sell it in turn to the small groceries. From these groceries, the poet buys salt, coriander, and jaggery in newspaper cones which he reads for fun.

In the last stanza, the poet says that he began to buy more of these things in the hope of finding these Obituary Lines which were written for his father. His father left for him a changed mother and more than an annual ritual. The poet is showing his dislike for the ritual which is celebrated in memory of his father for his peace.

Conclusion

Thus, the poet A. K. Ramanujan says that his father achieved nothing in this world except those two lines of the Obituary which were written in the newspaper he could never find out. The poem “Obituary” is hence a Critique of the poet’s father and his incapabilities.

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– Varsha Singh

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To His Coy Mistress Summary & Analysis By Andrew Marvell

Literature, English Literature, Poem Analysis, Poetry

Introduction

“To His Coy Mistress” is a perfect example of a love and Metaphysical poem written by ‘Andrew Marvell’, who was a great English metaphysical poet, satirist, and politician of English Literature. Love, religion, patriotism, and nature were favourite themes of his poetry. Like John Donne’s Marvell’s poetry exhibits all the qualities of metaphysical poetry.

About The Poem

The poem “To His Coy Mistress” is considered one of Marvell’s finest and best-recognized “Carpe diem” poem means to capture the day. The poem was published in 1681, three years after Marvell’s death. The title of the poem “To His Coy Mistress” tells us that the speaker is saying something to his ladylove who is shy. The word ‘Cay’ is used with a specific meaning that the ladylove is not at all responsive to her lover’s call of making love.

Structure Of The Poem

It is 46 lines long poem “To His Coy Mistress” with three sections. The first section consists of 20 lines and speaks of what the lovers would do if they had a limitless life. In the second section of 12 lines, the speaker talks of death and how time would destroy the beloved’s beauty. And the last section consisting of 14 lines conveys the speaker’s urge to his lady to make love before time flies. The speaker addresses his mistress and argues about the need to make love without wasting time. The whole poem is written in iambic tetrameter, each line has 8 syllables.

Analysis Of The Poem

The first Stanza opens dramatically with an argument. The poet tells his lady love ‘The Coy Mistress’ in clear terms and very pointedly that if they could love through eternity, he would as her beauty deserved to spend thousands of years just for the appreciation of her physical beauty. He would spend her one hundred years on her eyes and forehead, two hundred years on each breast, thirty thousand on the rest of the organs of her body. The last age he would spend exploring the beauty that lay in her heart. Obviously, while Marvel lays stresses more on physical charm and the attraction of the flesh, he gives less importance to the heart.

While the first stanza poignantly points out the brevity of life, the second stanza expresses the poet’s awareness of approaching death.

“Time Winged Chariot hurrying near”

The speaker was talking about the possibilities of the extent of love that they could enjoy if they had eternal life in this world. But Alas! It is impossible. He says that he bears the sound of time’s wings as it flies closely behind their back. Time waits for no one. It flies leaving everything behind. He also says that the other world is waiting for us at a distance. Thus the lover reminds his beloved of life’s brevity.

The poet further describes the situation after death. In our destined tomb, our beauty will slowly but surely turn into dust. So the beloved’s beauty will fade as soon as she dies. After mentioning the beloved’s beauty the speaker speaks about the virginity that she has preserved for a long time. After death, the worm would destroy this long-preserved virginity. Thus, we see the speaker trying to make his lady realize that things like beauty and virginity are no use after death.

The last section of “To His Coy Mistress” Poem starts with “Now Therefore”. It means the speaker will now talk about the things they need to do right now before time flies. He says that youth is the best part of life to enjoy. At this time one becomes energetic and passionate. The skin is as fresh as the “Morning Dews”. The speaker here is actually talking about his lady’s erotic desire which he believes he can see in her body so, he suggests that they should indulge in physical lovemaking without wasting time. This is like making hay, while the sun shines.

Poet further says:

“And Now, Like am’rous birds of Prey,
Rather at once out time devour.”

Here the speaker suggests that the two lovers should be like passionate preying birds and eat time before time eats them. He means to say that unless the lovers enjoy their time at their youthful heights, time won’t wait for them and they will slowly suffer the destructing power of time. Life is just an iron gate that doesn’t open easily. It is filled with struggle and resentment. Will all their strength and passion, the lovers will tear the iron gate to get that happiness.

In the last couplet, the poet wants to say that they cannot stop time, but they use it in a way that will leave them victorious.

Conclusion

Thus, the poem “To His Coy Misstress” contains beautiful romantic touches. It has several theme touches. It has several themes including Short Time, Sex, Morality, Freedom, Love, Carpe, Diem, and Confinement. The poem “To His Coy Mistress” explores expressions of a man to a woman with mixed emotions of love and lust. So “To His Cay Mistress” is a great love poem by “Andrew Marvell” in which he spends the poem trying to convince his mistress that she should have sex with him.

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– Varsha Singh

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London By William Blake Summary & Analysis

Poem Analysis, Literature, Poetry

London By William Blake Poem

I wander thro’ each charter’d street,
Near where the charter’d Thames does flow.
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

In every cry of every Man,
In every Infants cry of fear,
In every voice: in every ban,
The mind-forg’d manacles I hear

How the Chimney-sweepers cry
Every blackning Church appalls,
And the hapless Soldiers sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls

But most thro’ midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlots curse
Blasts the new-born Infants tear
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse

Introduction

“London” is a poem written by ‘William Blake’, who was known as an English poet, painter, and printmaker of the early Romantic era. The present poem London was published in Songs of Experience in 1794. It is a post-industrial poem which throws light on the ill effect of industrialization. After Industrialization, the rich class began exploiting the working class. In the poem, the poet talks about the psychological as well as physical exploitation of the poor people by the rulers, the priests, and the rich people.

About The Author

William Blake’s most renowned work in poetry is Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience, Poetical Sketch and Jerusalem considered one of the leading poetic works of the Romantic era. His world-famous poem includes – The Lamb, The Tiger, A Poison Tree, The Chimney Sweeper, and Holy Thursday. A great critic of the 21^st century Jonathan Jones says about him:

“Far and away the greatest artist Britan has ever produced.”

Structure of The Poem

The poem has a total of 16 lines which are divided into four stanzas, known as quatrains, and the rhyme scheme of each quatrain is ABAB.

Analysis of The Poem

In the first stanza, the poet says both the land and water(Themes) are now under the control of the government. There is no freedom in accessing or using them. It throws light on how nature is now controlled and restricted by the upper class for its own benefits poet further says:

“And mark in every face I met,
Marks of weakness, marks of woe”.

Here the poet says that he finds marks of sorrow and distress in the face of every poor whom he meets in the street.

In the second stanza, the poet shows us, Men cry because of poverty, bad living conditions, restrictions exploitation, etc. Infants cry because most of them are born of prostitutes. They lack parental love and proper nutrition. They fall ill and die. Poet uses cries instead of protests because the poor, the infants, and all the underprivileged lack education and cannot protest against the system. They just cry like children because they don’t know how to raise their voices.

In all these voiceless cries the poet finds psychological imprisonment and suffering which is not visible. The poet finds this deep suffering among the poor class by listening to their cries and watching them being restricted in streets and water.

In the third stanza, the poet brings to light how the church and rulers exploit the people. During that time, the church would use to make the orphans work in the chimneys because they could go into the chimneys. The church is described as blackening because of two reasons – first, they made the children work in the chimneys black and dirty, and then black and dirty, and the second church did wrong by exploiting them. Hence, the Church was not the “House of God” but a dark or “Evil place”.

In the next two lines, the poet describes the exploitation of Soldiers by the rulers. Soldiers are commanded by the rulers. They are also unable to revolt against the system.

In the final stanza, the poet talks about another important section of the poor class which is the prostitutes. After the industrial revolution, prostitution was the only option for poor women to feed their families. And with this came sexually transmitted diseases which were inherited by their children.

The last line also means that the disease spread by prostitution spread among the men who further spread them to the whole family and all this happens in a cycle. “Industrial Revolution” lead to a population explosion in cities, drastic migration of people from rural areas to urban areas, war, poetry, etc. The Soldiers died and their wives, mothers, and sisters had to involve in prostitution to feed their families, Similarly, the women belonging to the poor section also had to do the same and this cycle goes on.

Conclusion

Thus, the poem “London” sums up the whole picture of society by describing the condition of London and how every bad thing is linked to the effect of the industrial revolution.

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– Varsha Singh

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A River By A. K. Ramanujan Summary

Indian aesthetics, English Literature, Indian Literature, Literature, Poem Analysis, Poetry

Introduction

The poem “A River” is written by ‘A. K. Ramanujan’ is a great Indian English poet, professor, translator, playwright, and scholar. He wrote in both English and Kannada. He was awarded “Padma Shri” in 1976 and the “Sahitya Akademi” Award posthumously in 1999 for his literary works. Ramanujan published two volumes of Poems ‘The Striders’ and ‘The Relation’. The Poem “A River” appeared in ‘The Striders’ in 1966.

About A. K. Ramanujan

A River Poem Summary

“A River” poem is about a riven “Vaikai” which flows through the city of Madurai, which is situated in Tamil Nadu. It is a holy city, full of temples and poets. The poets of ancient times, as well as modern times, have written poems on this city and its temples. They have also written about the river and floods. ‘Ramanujan’ first talks about the beauty of the river and then tell how it killed people. The poem is divided into four stanzas and each stanza has a different line length.

In the first stanza poet says Madurai is the city of temples and many poets write about the beauty of the city, its temples, and its river which dries up making the sand visible. In the summer the water flows in small streams. As the water flows in small streams, the sand looks like the ‘ribs of humans’. In addition to the sand, there are straws and woman’s hair under the bridges – having rusting bars which obstruct the free flow of water. There are also wet stones which are shining and look like sleeping crocodiles and those which are dry seem to be like water buffaloes without hair relaxing in the sun.

However other poets have written only about two seasons that is summer and raining for describing their beauty. They have not brought to their verses what loss has been inflicted on the people because of the rainy seasons.

In the second stanza, the poet says that he has seen that incident when there was a flood. It also carried off three village houses, a pregnant woman, and a couple of cows which were named Gopi and Brinda. Poet further says, in the new poet and the old poets, no one ever talked about the pregnant woman.

The poet imagines that the twins were kicking at the while to escape but couldn’t and were ultimately drowned to death with their mother. The other poets never brought this tragic incident into their poems.

In the last stanza, according to the poet, the river is poetic and can be romanticized only once in a year, and then in just half an hour, it takes away 3 houses, a couple of cows, and a pregnant woman who was expecting twins having fair bodies and also was thinking of having diapers of different colours. So as to distinguish between them.

The last stanza thus compares the contrasts of the writing of the poet himself and another poet of his age. All the other poets try to praise the beauty of the river and on the other hand, the poet himself makes a balance between the beauty and the losses inflicted on the people by it.

Conclusion

Thus, the poem “A River” shows the insensitive attitude and the complete unconcern of the city poets, both the old and new, towards the tragic situation of human suffering and fatality.

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– Varsha Singh

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