Introduction: On the basis of their themes, Sarojini Naidu’s lyrics may be divided into five broad categories: (1) Nature-lyrics, (2) love-lyrics, (3) lyrics of life and death, (4) folk-lyrics dealing with the life of the common folk of India, and (5) miscellaneous lyrics, including patriotic lyrics. These are not watertight compartments, there is much overlapping … Read more
Mysticism: The word “Mysticism” is a derived from “Mystes” which means a person initiated into the “mysteries”. “Mystes” in its turn is derived from the Greek word “muein” which means “to keep silence”. Thus, Mysticism is the belief that knowledge of God and of Real Truth is independent of the mind and the senses. Being … Read more
Critical Appreciation of the Poem: Boat – Ride along the Ganga is one of Daruwalla’s finest poems. Its scene is laid in Varanasi, the ancient and holy city which has been the repository of Hindu culture and religion since times immemorial. It contains a vivid and picturesque description of the Ganga with all its squalor, … Read more
Summary of the Poem: This poem centres round two incidents, each of which led the poet to form a certain resolve. The first incident occurred when the poet was yet a boy. Walking along the river – bank in the company of his father, and passing the ghat where the Hindus cremated their dead, the … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: The poem ‘The Forsaken Merman’ is one of the early poems of Matthew Arnold, published in 1849. Most likely, the hint for the poem has been taken from Hans Anderson’s “The True Story of My Life” and George Borrow’s Romantic Ballads. It is a sad poem that speaks of loneliness … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: ‘A River’ was published in ‘The Striders’ in 1966. It is a poem on the Vaikai, which flows through Madurai. This river is appropriately described as a ‘city of temples and poets’, approximately 450 km. south of Chennai. For about 2000 years, this city has been the seat of Tamil culture. … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: The poem ‘Upagupta’ is a part of Tagore’s writings in English in an anthology of 86 poems, translated from the original Bengali Version by Tagore himself. The anthology is entitled ‘Fruit Gathering’. These poems have a haunting melody and belong to a world of experience where sensuous merges with the spiritual. … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: The poem ‘The Queen’s Rival’ is based on a Persian folk tale shared with Sarojini by a close friend. It has been taken from the poems’ section of ‘The Golden Threshold’, the first volume of verse by Sarojini Naidu. The monotony and drudgery of Queen Gulnaar’s existence has been portrayed in … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: Toru Dutt has blended the autobiographical element, the poignant note of pathos, the elegiac note and the deep – sensuous description of nature in the poem, ‘Our Casuarina Tree’. It is a poem about the great Casuarina tree which grows in front of Toru’s house. Through the poetic expression of the … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: This short epigrammatic poem was first published by Frost in the December 1920 issue of the Harper’s Magazine; it was later collected by him in New Hampshire, a collection of his verses. In the poem the poet speculates about the end of the world. Some say that the world will end … Read more