Critical appreciation of the poem ‘Absalom and Achitophel’

 

        Dryden wrote Absalom and Achitophel in 1681. This long poem consists of more than two thousand lines in two parts. The work is an allegorical satire in heroic couplets. There are many more inspired writers but there appeared no English writer who succeeded so well in so many different branches of writing. His Absalom is his greatest achievement that finds hardly any parallel in the whole range of English literature. It has various literary qualities.

            Dryden’s poetry has the representative character. In Absalom and Achitophel, historical facts have been depicted in literary manners. David Nichol says, “When we read the works of Dryden, we make a study of his Age.” The occasion of the poem was Charles II’s suppression of a rebellion headed by Shaftesbury. Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660. He had no child from his queen Catherine though had many illegitimate children. He had many mistresses. Absalom’s mother was also a mistress. But Absalom was a bastard, he was not entitled of succession. There were two political parties Tory and Whig. The Tories favoured the King but the Whig was opposite party. Its leader was Shaftesbury who supported Absalom for the succession Tories were in favour of James II, the younger brother of Charles II. Shaftesbury was arrested but acquitted by the Grand Jury. After the death of Charles II, James II became the King of England. These historical facts have been elaborated in the poem. It produces the true picture of the age. It bears not only political background but also social and religious position of the Restoration age.

            Allegory, fable, classical imitation, mock-heroic, parody and burlesque are the usual forms for satires as a satire cannot be depicted in a direct narrative form. In direct narration an another may be put into trouble. Dryden adopted the form of a Biblical allegory. It comes out from Jewish history. The analogy between Jewish history in the reign of David and the conditions of England in 1681 has given Dryden the incentive to employ the form of allegory. The parallel between David and Absalom and Charles II and Monmouth had already been described by other writers before Dryden took it up. Dryden found a similarity in the political situations of both regimes. Having adopted the same method of depiction, Dryden took it up in his own style.

            Dryden was over fifty when he wrote his great satires-Absalom and Achitophel-in two parts in 1681 and 1682. The poem succeeds in creating an impression of the inmate goodness of an indulgent King, and of his beneficent majesty, and arousing the reader’s sympathy. This great satire contained in ‘Absalom and Achitophel’ was motivated by the political events of the time. Dryden assailed the political figures of his time-Shaftesbury, Monmouth, and others who were opposing Charles II. For this satire, he used the Biblical story of ‘Absalom and Achitophel’. Through the allegorical method, he condemned the evil designs of the enemies of Charles II. As a political satire ‘Absalom and Achitophel’ has no rival. The poet has been able to maintain artistic excellence in his political satire. He has roused the tone of the satire by different devices.

            The supreme excellence of Absalom and Achitophel lies in its sketches of character. Sir Walter Scott has said that there is a gallery of portraits. The portraits with which this poem abounds especially reveal the art of Dryden. We can watch there a fine sense of delicate touch and the felicity of picturesque characterization. There is living truth of organic wholes. Dryden’s characterization is the variety of treatment.

            Dryden has maintained the epical quality in his poem. It is a heroic-poem the subject of which is lofty-the futile plot against a legal king. A critic says, “Dryden uses the highlighting that is required for epic poetry, as for tragedy, there is plot, the characters, the wit, the passions, the descriptions are all exalted above the level of common converse as high as the imagination of the poet can carry them with proportion to verisimilitude.

            Some critics have thrown light on some faults in the poem. According to them its end is defective. The end has no poetic justice and no conclusion, no plot and from the beginning to the end no action. Some characters only speak but do nothing. The descriptions of Jave nods, Olympus tramples, and the cloudy scenes have no significance.

Absolam and Achitophel: A Political Satire

 

        Satire is a literary attack on the follies and vices of an individual or society to correct them through laughter and ridicule. It has some characteristics. These are:

Ø  Literary form of expression.

Ø  Disgust at the ugly and foolishness.

Ø  Humour.

Ø  A sincere desire to correct or reform.

            The only intention of Dryden to write this poem was to support King Charles II. The King himself asked Dryden to write a poem satirizing the Whig party and particularly its leader Shaftesbury. Dryden was also a supporter of Tory. He was called Staunch Tory. He used satire very strictly for people who were against King Charles II and made plan to dethrone him.

            First, Dryden attacked the Earl of Shaftesbury. With his, brilliant tricks he represented Shaftesbury as a hypocrite. We found Shaftesbury a smooth talker and with this capability, he convinced Duke of Monmouth to go against his father.

            Dryden also attacked the Protestant group. The Protestant group was in fear that if James, the brother of King Charles II, came to the throne then Roman Catholics would be beneficial and would be in power. Here, it is notable that James, the Duke of York was thought to be a follower of the Pope Roman Catholic. Instead, Protestants wanted to see the Duke of Monmouth in the throne of England. In Absalom and Achitophel, Dryden tried to show the traitorous activities of the Whigs against their king.

            In the seventeenth century England, religion played a big role in ruling the country, and politics and religion were closely related to each other. Both Protestant Christians and their rival Roman Catholic were in cock fight to grab the power of the country. To prevent Roman Catholics from getting into power in England, a clergyman, Titus Oates, in favor of Protestants, also made a plan and claimed that James and Roman Catholics had tried to kill King Charles II to make James as the king of England which was later proved wrong.

            Dryden in Absalom and Achitophel also criticized the Duke of Buckingham with whom he had personal conflict. When Dryden joined as a poet-laureate and historiographer to the government in 1670, he got both money and recognition. Being jealous of Dryden’s a prosperity, some contemporary high officials started making fun of him. Duke of Buckingham was one of those people. In his literary work, The Rehearsal, he strongly criticized Dryden. In Absalom and Achitophel, Dryden took revenge for making fun of him. In his poem, Dryden compared the Duke of Buckingham to the Biblical character Zimri, who being lured to the throne of Israel, killed his master and ascended to the throne though Zmiri could only survive for seven days as the king of Israel. In reality, the Duke of Buckingham was initially a friend of King Charles II, but when the religious chaos between Whigs and Tories started, he joined the Whigs, the rebel group of King Charles II.

            In Absalom and Achitophel, Dryden did not focus much on the Duke of Monmouth who in the poem is compared to Absalom. Instead, he criticized much about Shaftesbury who is compared to Achitophel. According to the Bible, Achitophel was a counselor to the court of King David, father of Absalom. When Absalom set to fight against his father, King David, Achitophel joined Absalom’s side. So, Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel would be much more related to the Biblical incident of Absalom and Achitophel, if he gave much importance to the Duke of Monmouth while making satire. However, Dryden mostly attacked Shaftesbury (symbolizing Achitophel in the poem). There are some political reasons behind it. At that time in England, Shaftesbury was in the lead of the Whigs, who placed “The Exclusion Bill” in the House of Commons. So, Dryden wanted to save King Charles II from any volatile situation due to the continuing rebellion. That is why; Dryden gave much importance while making satire. Another reason is that Dryden might have thought that if he criticized Duke of Monmouth much then he would be more furious and as the Duke of Monmouth was an illegitimate child of King Charles II, Dryden tried to make a compromise between the King and Duke of Monmouth so that the movement over the religion and power could be stopped.

            In Dryden’s time, satire became popular, especially among the political parties. In that time, Dryden wrote this poem. It is his best work. Now, this satirical poem is considered a classical work of Dryden in English literature.

English Language: A Brief History

The English language is a West Germanic language that originated in England. It is the third most spoken language in the world after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. English has been influenced by several other languages over the centuries, including Old Norse, Latin, French, and Dutch.

The earliest forms of English were spoken by the Anglo-Saxons, who settled in England in the 5th century. The Anglo-Saxons were a mix of Germanic tribes from Scandinavia and Germany. They brought with them their own language, which was called Old English.

The English language has gone through distinct periods throughout its history. Different aspects of the language have changed throughout time, such as grammar, vocabulary, spelling, etc.

The Old English period (5th-11th centuries), Middle English period (11th-15th centuries), and Modern English period (16th century to present) are the three main divisions in the history of the English language.

The Old English period began in 449 AD with the arrival of three Germanic tribes from the Continent: the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. They settled in the south and east of Britain, which was then inhabited by the Celts. The Anglo-Saxons had their own language, called Old English, which was spoken from around the 5th century to the 11th century.

Old English was a Germanic language, and as such, it was very different from the Celtic languages spoken by the Britons. It was also a very different language from the English we speak today. It was a highly inflected language, meaning that words could change their form depending on how they were being used in a sentence. There are four known dialects of the Old English language:

Northumbrian in northern England and southeastern Scotland,

                            Mercian in central England,

                            Kentish in southeastern England,

                            West Saxon in southern and southwestern England.

Old English grammar also had a complex system, with five main cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, instrumental), three genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), and two numbers (singular and plural).

The Anglo-Saxons also had their own alphabet, which was known as the Futhorc. The futhorc consisted of 24 letters, most named after rune symbols. However, they also borrowed the Roman alphabet and eventually started using that instead.

The vocabulary was also quite different, with many words being borrowed from other languages such as Latin, French, and Old Norse. The first account of Anglo-Saxon England ever written is from 731 AD – a document known as the Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which remains the single most valuable source from this period.

Another one of the most famous examples of Old English literature is the epic poem Beowulf, which was written sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries. By the end of the Old English period at the close of the 11th century, West Saxon dominated, resulting in most of the surviving documents from this period being written in the West Saxon dialect.

The Old English period was a time of great change for Britain. In 1066, the Normans invaded England and conquered the Anglo-Saxons. The Normans were originally Viking settlers from Scandinavia who had settled in France in the 10th century. They spoke a form of French, which was the language of the ruling class in England after the Norman Conquest.

The Old English period came to an end in 1066 with the Norman Conquest. However, Old English continued to be spoken in some parts of England until the 12th century. After that, it was replaced by Middle English.

The second stage of the English language is known as the Middle English period, which was spoken from around the 12th century to the late 15th century. As mentioned above, Middle English emerged after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when the Normans conquered England.

As a result of the Norman Conquest, French became the language of the ruling class, while English was spoken by the lower classes. This led to several changes in the English language, including a reduction in the number of inflexions and grammatical rules.

Middle English is often divided into two periods: Early Middle English (11th-13th centuries) and Late Middle English (14th-15th centuries).

The Early Middle English period began in 1066 with the Norman Conquest and was greatly influenced by the French, as the Normans brought with them many French words that began to replace their Old English equivalents. This process is known as Normanisation.

One of the most noticeable changes was in the vocabulary of law and government. Many Old English words related to these concepts were replaced by their French equivalents. For example, the Old English word for a king was cyning or cyng, which was replaced by the Norman word we use today, king.

The Norman Conquest also affected the grammar of Old English. The inflectional system began to break down, and words started to lose their endings. This Scandinavian influence made the English vocabulary simpler and more regular.

The Late Middle English period began in the 14th century and lasted until the 15th century. During this time, the English language was further influenced by French.

However, the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) between England and France meant that English was used more and more in official documents. This helped to standardise the language and make it more uniform.

One of the most famous examples of Middle English literature is The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, which was written in the late 14th century. Chaucer was the first major writer in English, and he e helped to standardize the language even further. For this reason, Middle English is also frequently referred to as Chaucerian English.

French influence can also be seen in the vocabulary, with many French loanwords being introduced into English during this time. Middle English was also influenced by the introduction of Christianity, with many religious terms being borrowed from Latin.

After Old and Middle English comes the third stage of the English language, known as Modern English, which began in the 16th century and continues to the present day.

The Early Modern English period, or Early New English, emerged after the introduction of the printing press in England in 1476, which meant that books could be mass-produced, and more people learned to read and write. As a result, the standardization of English continued.

The Renaissance (14th-17th centuries) saw a rediscovery of classical learning, which had a significant impact on English literature. During this time, the English language also borrowed many Greek and Latin words. The first English dictionary, A Table Alphabetical of Hard Words, was published in 1604.

The King James Bible, which was first published in 1611, also had a significant impact on the development of Early Modern English. The Bible was translated into English from Latin and Greek, introducing many new words into the language.

The rise of the British Empire (16th-20th centuries) also had a significant impact on the English language. English became the language of commerce, science, and politics, and was spread around the world by British colonists. This led to the development of many different varieties of English, known as dialects.

One of the most famous examples of Early Modern English literature is William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, which was first performed in 1597. To this day, William Shakespeare is considered the greatest writer in the English language.

The final stage of the English language is known as Modern English, which has been spoken from around the 19th century to the present day. Modern English has its roots in Early Modern English, but it has undergone several changes since then.

The most significant change occurred in the 20th century, with the introduction of mass media and technology. For example, new words have been created to keep up with changing technology, and old words have fallen out of use. However, the core grammar and vocabulary of the language have remained relatively stable.

Today, English is spoken by an estimated 1.5 billion people around the world, making it one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. It is the official language of many countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. English is also the language of international communication and is used in business, education, and tourism.

The Boy with a Catapult : Question-Answers

 

1.      What kind of a boy was Bodh Raj? Pick out words from the text that describe him.

Ans: Bodh Raj was the oddest boy in the school. He was callous. He would catch a wasp with his bare fingers, pull out its sting, tie a thread around it and fly it like a kite. He was vindictive and took pleasure in hurting others. Everyone was afraid of him. If Bodh Raj quarrelled with anyone, he would charge at him head-on like a bull or viciously kick and bite him.

2.      Why did the narrator’s new home appeal to Bodh Raj?

Ans: The narrator’s new home appealed to Bodh Raj because he found it a good hunting ground.

3.      Why did the narrator’s mother tolerate his friendship with Bodh Raj?

Ans: The narrator’s mother tolerated his friendship with Bodh Raj because she realised the narrator was lonely and needed company.

4.      Why was the narrator afraid of taking Bodh Raj to the storeroom in his new house? Did his fears come true?

Ans: The narrator was afraid to take Bodh Raj to the storeroom in his new house because he thought that he might kill the birds. No, his fears did not come true.

5.      What change did the narrator notice in Bodh Raj while the latter was hunting the mynah chicks?

Ans: The narrator noticed a change of heart in Bodh Raj. Instead of harming the mynah chicks, he saved their lives from the kite.

6.      How did Bodh Raj save the mynah chicks?

Ans: Bodh Raj saved the Mynah chicks by continuously distracting the kite by aiming at it with his catapult. He then asked the narrator to do the same, while he arranged a table and a broken chair, stood on it brought the nest down and placed it safely in the garage, where the kite could not enter.

Savitri: An Introduction

 

        Sri Aurobindo Ghosh is one of the greatest personalities in modern India. He is a multifaceted genius. He was a profound thinker and a prolific writer. He was essentially a nationalist, a yogi, a guru a scholar, a philosopher, and above all, a great poet. He gained a deep insight into Indian culture and civilization. His creativity and inspiration came from his practice of yoga. He began his public life as a political activist. It was he who pushed the agenda of complete Independence of India from British rule. He was one of the most distinguished spiritual leaders of India. As a spiritual reformer, he introduced his visions on human progress and spiritual evolution.

          Savitri, an epic poem in blank verse, is Aurobindo’s masterpiece. It is based on the story of the Mahabharata. Here Ghosh expresses his mystic experiences. It is a means of ascension. Its richness of imagery, beauty of expression, and sheer number of memorable lines remind us of Shakespeare.  But in terms of depth and width of spiritual experience, it has no equal in the English language. Savitri is the most valuable text ever composed.  Sri Aurobindo tried to lift the level of the poem higher and higher and that’s why Savitri was published only after he left his physical body.

          The story woven in this epic is based on the Mahabharata. This is the story- There was a king named Aswapathy. He was the king of Madra. He was childless. To have a child he worshiped gods and goddesses for eighteen years. Simultaneously he performed a hundred thousand sacrifices. The goddess Savitri became happy with him. She appeared before him out of the sacrificial fire. She declared herself pleased. She said that his desire to have an issue would be satisfied. She bestowed upon him a daughter. As she was a gift of the goddess Savitri, Aswapathy gave her the name of Savitri. She was beautiful like Laxmi. She was of golden colour and she had heavenly beauty.

          Over time, she became young. Her parents became anxious about her marriage. But it was very difficult for them. She had so strong and brilliant personality that no prince dared to come forward to ask for her hand. Aswapathy was pained at this. And thus he asked her to go around the country and choose her own partner. He sent her out to travel with an old minister as an escort.  Savitri wandered here and there for more than two years.

           After completing her journey, she returned to her father's place. At that time the great seer Narad was there. She disclosed her choice of Satyavan who was the son of King Dyumatsen. Dyumatsen was living in exile because his enemies had taken advantage of his blindness and driven him out of his kingdom. Satyavan along with his family was living in a hermitage in the forest. The young prince Satyavan was brave, intelligent, generous, and forgiving. The parents therefore approved of her choice. But Narad disapproved of the choice because he knew that Satyavan was fated to die after one year. But Savitri was adamant. She said that one makes the choice once only. The parents consented to her choice and she was accordingly married to Satyavan.    Immediately after marriage, she betook to the simple and hard life of the hermitage where Satyavan lived. She was extremely happy to find Satyavan as her husband, the man of her choice. But she could not for a moment forget the dire prophecy of the great sage, Narad. She was preparing herself for the great crisis.

          On the fateful morning, Satyavan wanted to go to the forest to bring fuel for the sacrificial fire. Savitri insisted on accompanying him to the forest.  In fact, she did not want to undertake the risk of letting him go alone to face his death. She got permission. She argued that she wanted to see the forest. They reached a certain place well known to Satyavan and stopped there to cut wood. After cutting some wood, Satyavan complained of severe pain in the head and Savitri offered her lap for him to rest his head. After a short time, Satyavan fell asleep, and Savitri saw the God of Death standing before her. He declared that he had come to take the life of Satyavan and accordingly took it. Savitri followed the spirit of Satyavan separated from his physical body and captured in the noose of the God of Death. She conversed with Yama, the God of Death. Her conversation so pleased him that he granted her several boons, the last of which was the restoration of the life of Satyavan. Thus Savitri triumphed over Death as well as Fate and returned to her hermitage.

          Savitri is the most comprehensive, integrated, beautiful, and perfect cosmic poem ever composed. Its range is vast - earth to heaven. It illuminates every important concern of man. The theme is not merely Satyavan’s death; rather it is the suffering, misery, and death. The death of Satyavan means the defeat of Truth and the invasion of darkness. But Savitri armed by the power of her love, struggles with Death and secures her husband. The Mother says that ‘…everything is there: mysticism, occultism, philosophy, the history of evolution, the history of man, of the gods, of creation, of Nature. How the universe was created, why, for what purpose, what destiny - all is there. All that nobody yet knows. You can find all the answers to all your questions there. Everything is explained in clear words so that spiritual adventurers may understand it more easily.’

          Savitri is considered as a legend and a symbol. Sri Aurobindo exploited the action for subtle and symbolic purposes. The tale of Satyavan and Savitri is recited in the Mahabharata as a story of conjugal love conquering death. But this legend is one of the many symbolic myths of the Vedic cycle. Savitri is a goddess of the supreme. She is a savior spirit. She is the light of love that defeats darkness and achieves the recovery of Truth. She is the vanquisher of evil. She is the symbol of power or shakti and love. Savitri is the symbol of struggle, redemption, and the incarnation of the divine mother. She is both the response and the resulting transformation. She redeems the universe from the tyranny of Yama and restores to earth the paradisal vision of life. But in her victory, there is an affirmation of the spirit. There is the ascent from lower consciousness to the next higher level of consciousness and this is a precondition for the progress of civilization. There is continuous and upward progress in the human race.

             Satyavan is the soul carrying the divine truth of being within itself but descending into the grip of death and ignorance. Aswapati is the Lord of Tapasya that helps us to rise from the mortal to the immortal planes. Still, this is not a mere allegory. The characters are not personified qualities but incarnations. They take human bodies to help man and show him the way from his mortal state to divine consciousness and immortal life. The symbolic significance of the poem is brought out by focusing on the development of the inner life of Savitri. Commenting on the symbolic significance of the poem, Sri Aurobindo remarked that “Savitri is an experiment in mystic poetry, spiritual poetry cast into a symbolic figure.”

           In Savitri, the central myth is the myth of freedom. This myth emphasizes the evolutionary view of human nature. It focuses on the soul’s ability to experience infinitude and to attain freedom from a deterministic order of lower nature. Thus the mythic conflict between Savitri and Yama not only reflects the myth of individual freedom but also reflects the myth of social or collective salvation. Savitri is also a cosmic epic as it denies private and personal salvation as an end in itself. Aurobindo’s conception of evolutionary progress implies cosmic consciousness. Cosmic consciousness concerns humanity as a whole.

          Sri Aurobindo was one of the greatest mystics and visionaries of modern history. It may be observed that mysticism is embedded in Sri Aurobindo’s poems. He says that man should transcend the conscious level and realize the super-conscious level through the medium of yoga. The union with God can transform a person into a worthy human being. Savitri is perhaps the most powerful artistic work in the world for expanding man’s mind towards the Absolute.  Like the two Indian epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, Savitri, has a romantic inwardness and an insistent emphasis on the mystical. The marriage of Savitri and Satyavan fits in with a definite stage in the spiritual evolution. Savitri is looking for inward expansion of her spiritual energy. Satyavan is looking for transcendent power. They find the fulfillment of their quest in each other. The two lovers were born to realize the words of the Divine Mother. Together, they can assert the victory of love over death. His mystical thought can illuminate the world and destroy ignorance and fanaticism. It can also enhance the toleration level in an individual.

            Sri Aurobindo revolutionized human thought and had a tremendous impact on people all over the world. He evolved a writing style of his own that would be in line with his spiritual thought. Sri Aurobindo is a skillful craftsman in the use of blank verse and felicity in poetic expression. He shows a piercing and instantaneous insight into the heart of his subject. He came under the influence of poetic movements of his time like Decadence and Modernism. Sri Aurobindo’s monumental epic, Savitri, reflects the consummation of the many poetic styles.

            Savitri is an epic of universal significance. In this context, he can be compared with Dante and Milton.  Like Goethe, he chose an ancient story from mythology and molded it into a legend. It is concerned with the destiny of man and his relations with the Divine. It is an inner drama, the inner epic of man.  K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar says that Aurobindo was not merely a writer who happened to write in English but really an English writer.

 

Coolie is based upon the theme of hunger, starvation and degradation. or Coolie is “an epic of misery”

 

Munoo is the central figure in the novel. He is a boy of fourteen, living under the shadow of the ill-treatment of his uncle and aunt. Despite all this, he is content with the idyllic happiness. He grazes his cattle plays with companions and enjoys the juicy mangoes. However, he has seen the people dying of hunger and starvation. He knew how his father died a slow death of bitterness and disappointment and his mother passed, her life in grinding grains. He had also heard that his father’s five acres of land were seized by the landlord because he could not pay the interest on the mortgage due to scanty rains and the bad harvest. The most horrible was the sight of his mother’s death. “The sight of her as she had laid dead on the ground with a horrible yet set expression on her face” had sunk into his subconscious with all its weight of tragic and utter registration.

Munoo has been taken from the village to the town of Sham Nagar by his uncle to work as a servant in Babu Nathoo Ram’s house. The ill-treatment which he receives in the house of Babu Nathoo Ram is more harrowing than he received at the hands of his uncle and aunt. Babu Nathoo Ram is a Sub-Accountant in the branch of Imperial Bank of Sham Nagar. His mistress is a shrewish, quarrelsome woman, who employs the boy at Rs. 5 per month. She ill-treats Munoo. She takes hard work from him. He was engaged in the work from morning till night. She gives him very poor quality food to eat, sometimes stale food. He is practically starved. Babu Nathoo Ram always showered torrents of abuses and curses on his head without rhyme or reason. They also beat him severely. When he complains to his uncle, he instead of showing love and sympathy for the boy beats him mercilessly and he even does not give him any money to take food. His uncle said to him that he had neither money nor sympathy for him. Hence he threw him out of the house. He was so badly treated that he had hatred for him. There is none in his life now. He is alone and alone only and he runs away from his callous and inconsiderate uncle and his mistress.

Munoo has left the hellish place of Sham Nagar and come to Daulatpur. This is the next phase of his life. This place also could not evaluate him and he is again in the grip of heavy circumstances. He is employed in a pickle factory the owner Prabha Dayal and his wife have a soft corner for the boy but Ganpat, the other co-partner of the factory treats him badly and because of his bad character he cheats on Prabha Dayal and he is reduced to beggary the pickle factory is sold out, and subsequently Munoo is fated to work as a coolie — which, means mere beast of burden—first in the grain market and then in the village market. In the market, he saw the naked starving conditions of the coolies who are competing with one another for jobs at extremely low wages. The suffering of Munoo and the other coolies is harrowing. In fact, they are reduced to the level of beasts.

  Munoo is paid very low wages in the vegetable market and he sees here that there is stiff competition from numerous starving coolies like him. After that, he tries his luck at the railway station but he had no license which is required for every coolie. The police make him go away and he runs away in terror and a kind-hearted elephant driver comes to his help. He then reaches Bombay with the help of the elephant driver.

While sojourning in Bombay; Munoo came across the lepers, the beggars, the sick and the dying and the wretched condition of the workers and the coolies. They are all degraded and demoralised. They cringe before Jimmie Thomas because they are afraid of being dismissed from the job. They also give commissions and fruits to him to make their jobs secured in the factory they have to tolerate bitter humiliation. They also cringe before the baniya from whom they purchase provision on loan, and hence their exploitations by all possible crooked ways are at the zenith.

            The last phase of Munoo’s life is spent in Simla where he is employed as page-cum-rickshawpuller of Mrs. Main waring. He has not only to do domestic work but also to pull her rickshaw, whenever the memsahib would like to go or wherever she wants to go. Besides, she also uses him sexually. Hence his health is aggravated and he begins to cough out blood. And finally, he dies in the arms of his friend Mohan at the age of sixteen. His miserable life comes to an end as a welcome release.

The misery of Munoo is the misery of millions of Munoo in India. The life history of Munoo is full of miseries. He finds no silver lining in the dark cloud. He is beaten from pillar to post, is overworked and humiliated, and treated merely as a beast of burden till he dies in the bloom of life due to hunger, suffering and disease. Munoo is a universal figure, than life character, and he represents the suffering and starving millions of the country.

Jayanta Mahapatra: General Estimate as a Poet

 

Jayanta Mahapatra is an eminent Indian English poet born in Cuttack in 1928. He belongs to a lower-middle-class family. He had his early education at Stewart School, Cuttack. After a first-class Master's Degree in Physics, he joined as a teacher. He began writing poetry at the age of forty in 1968. Therefore he is called “a late bloomer in poetry.” Mahapatra’s poetry is an eloquent expression of the eternal silence of the Unknown. His poetry springs from deep personal memories and experiences. He is a celebrated poet in post-independence Indian English poetry. Perhaps any discussion on Indian English Poetry is incomplete without referencing his poetical works.

According to him “poem is knit together by an inconceivable silence, which is intangible (abstract/untouchable) substance, of which words are but manifestations; words which can build the poem from a silence and to which the poem must eventually return.  The poet experiences this silence within and it opens out “a thousand memories, a thousand longings, as these, in turn, come into being in a poem.

The Orissa landscape, history, culture, social life, poverty, rites and rituals constitute the most important theme of Mahapatra’s poetry.  He frankly discusses sex, sexuality, prostitution and poverty. ‘Hunger’ and ‘The Warehouse in a Culcutta Street’ are his famous poems on this theme. He depicts a somber and gloomy vision of life which is marked by loss, dejection, grief, alienation and suffering. His poetry is an exploration of the Indian sensibility and ethos, especially the Orissa landscape, religion and psyche, and the intricacies of human relationships. His poems seem like all of these are his personal life encounters.

He uses language in a very vast way; he uses English idioms for Indian text. He shows his love for Orissa in many poems like Myth, and grandfather but he finds the English language more comfortable than Oriya. His poems also show women in a helpless and objectifying light. A major example of the power of males and sexuality is seen in his poem ‘Hunger’. His area is indeed limited only to his experiences and history. His poetry appears to be very difficult because of its contrived style.

Mahapatra’s poetic sensibility is typically Indian. He is intensely aware of his environment and vividly portrays the variegated Orissa landscape throbbing with religious fervour. His poetry deals with contemporary socio-political reality in India. It also exposes the economic disparity and utters the apathy (indifference) of the politicians to the public welfare. Prostitution and sexual exploitation result from economic disparity and gross social injustice.

Mahapatra also explores with robust tenderness the intricacies of human relationships, especially those of lovers. His poetry is related to the existential dilemma of the modern man.  He is intensely aware of the alienation and isolation of the modern man. His poems demonstrate a remarkable concern for both structure and linguistic versatility. His symbols and images are evocative (motivate) and suggestive, and they reflect his love for the Orissa landscape with all the myths and rituals associated with it.

Coolie as a Picaresque Novel

Edwin Muir says, "The picaresque novel is the tale of the hard-working travelling hero, suffering every vicissitude, good or bad, and enduring them all.” Coolie has several elements of a picaresque novel. It is episodic in nature. It relates to a series of adventures and episodes but lacks logical unity. The novelist has shown the adventures of Munoo because he moves from the North to the South, and then returns to the North. It describes his adventures or misadventures in Sham Nagar, in Daulatpur, in Bombay and in the end, in Simla where he breathes his last.

Firstly, he is appointed as a domestic servant in Babu Nathoo Ram’s house in Sham Nagar and he is ill-treated there and then runs away from Sham Nagar. He then reaches Daulatpur and works as a boy servant in a pickle factory and then he serves as a coolie in the grain market. Next, the turn of fortune’s wheel brings him to Bombay where he works in a textile mill and experiences the worse conditions of the coolies, communal riots, drinks and even goes to the red light area. Lastly, he comes to Simla and is appointed as a domestic servant-cum rickshaw puller of Mrs Mainwaring and dies of consumption.

      The novel Coolie is charged with a loose and rambling plot. The only unity that these adventures have is that they happen to the central figure, Munoo. Coolie is not a novel of character like a picaresque novel, but it is a novel of movement and action. The novelist does not take an interest in the evolution of Munoo’s character; he simply gives a description of the various phases in his life and the adventures and happenings which take place in his life.

Anand never speaks of Munoo’s inner and spiritual developments, he never attains maturity or self-realisation. He wanders here and there without any goal in his life. In fact, he does not act but he is acted upon by society Munoo spends his life visiting one place to another and within two years of a hard life, he passes away. He moves from Bilaspur, his village to Sham Nagar and from there to Daulatpur, from Daulatput to Bombay and lastly returns from there to Simla. At every turn of his life, he meets someone and is helped by him. The persons who come into his life are mostly kind-hearted and sympathetic, and his future course of action is determined by chance and fate.

      A picaresque novel deals with a wide variety of events and characters. The canvas of Coolie is a crowded one, so Anand has little time for character development, for giving us well-developed, three-dimensional, remarkable figures. In the life of Munoo, a great number of characters appear but soon they are replaced by others. Over time, when Munoo ends his Sham Nagar sojourn, his uncle, Daya Ram, his master Nathoo Ram, Bibiji and others are not heard of. Their place is taken by Prabha Dyal, the pickle factory owner, his wife, Parbati and the co-partners of the factory Ganpat, Toder Mal, and others. When Munoo leaves Daulatpur for Bombay these characters are left behind. While living in Bombay he comes across Hari Har, his wife, Lakshmi, Ratan, Jimmie Thomas, the foreman of the factory and many others. These characters also make an exit from the scene when he comes from Bombay to Simla. After that, no characters are again seen on the stage. What happens to Hari and his family and Ratan is not further stated. There is not a single character save Munoo who is present from the beginning to the end of the novel.

      A picaresque novel is panoramic in nature. Through the movement of the hero from one place to another, the novelist presents a wide panorama of social life i.e. it relates to social criticism and social indictment. Coolie is also a panoramic novel. Its action moves from the village of Bilaspur in the hills of Kangra, in Punjab to Sham Nagar, from Sham Nagar to Daulatpur, from Daulatpur to Bombay, and then back again from there to Simla in the North. Thus, the novelist gives a wide view of the varied scenes and sights of India.

      Anand’s purpose in writing a novel like Coolie as a picaresque novel is to give a panorama of the society of the times and to expose and criticize its many evils and vices, and injustices. Indeed a picaresque novel is a novel of social criticism. Anand through his great art Coolie gives us a comprehensive and detailed view of the society of the time. He has concentrated on the sordid side of life.

      In a nutshell, Coolie contains the elements of a picaresque novel. In fact, it has the picaresque framework—its series of adventures, its diversity of characters and incidents and its episodic nature. Coolie is only different from a picaresque novel as its hero is not a rogue, but a humble, and innocent boy who has been the victim of the world’s rogueries.

Walt Whitman: A Poet of Democracy

 

Whitman is not only the greatest poet of America but also one of the greatest poets of the world. Democracy is the keynote of his poetry. In his poetry we find newness. He is considered as the greatest poet of American democracy. A faith in the inherent dignity and nobility of the common man is the very root and basis of Whitman's democracy. In his view all men and women are equal and all professions are equally honourable.

Whitman laid stress on liberty, fraternity and brotherhood. Without these ideals, there is no question of democracy. In his poems Whitman celebrates himself. But the self-celebration is the celebration of himself as a man and an American. This makes him at once the poet of democracy and the poet of America. In fact, Whitman's democracy is ideal and universal. The body of his thought is nationalistic. His democracy is spiritual too. It is because he sees in democracy the possibilities of universal peace, tolerance and brotherhood. Whitman is not a mere idealist, a theorist of democracy but his democracy is practical. His ideal of democracy is essentially pragmatic and earthbound.

Union, equality, human dignity and progress are major themes of Whitman's poetry. Whitman is the most uncompromising champion of democracy, liberty, equality, fraternity and brotherhood in the annals of American poetry. The idea of union attains a great height in the theme of death. His 'When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed' deals with the death of Abraham Lincoln, the leader and hero of American democracy. In his handling of his theme, Whitman is the undoubted forerunner of the poetry of socialism. Whitman was the first to introduce the theme of labour into poetry.

In Whitman's poetry, we come across repeated references to scientists, engineers, technicians, architects, inventors and others. In 'Song of the Open Root' Whitman gives expression to the Darwinian theory of the continuous struggle for existence. The scientific theory that matter is indestructible has been expressed in 'Song of Myself'. Whitman believed in the deterministic theory. He believes that whatever has been created has its significance. Nothing that has been created is useless. Even evil has its place and significance. That's why the poet shows his interest in the body along with the soul. Nothing is really evil or trivial and worthless. Therefore, he sings of the entire expanse of the round globe.

Whitman is the most revolutionary of poets. He is a revolutionary not only in matters of versification but he is equally a revolutionary regarding the subject matter. His treatment of love and sex is equally revolutionary. This treatment is frank and realistic. He again and again asserts that he is the poet of the body and the soul.

Whitman is a great technical innovator. His poetry was a new kind of poetry. It deals with new themes and ideas. Thus it required a new kind of language. To increase the expressive range of his language, he freely used words taken from the life of trade, commerce and business of the average American. He compounded and coined words. He imported words from a foreign language. He did not even hesitate to use slang and colloquial words. He was a symbolist long before symbolism became a conscious movement in Europe. His poetry is highly symbolic. He used symbolism to communicate his apprehension of the mystery of the universe.

Thus Walt Whitman is a great poet. He greatly influenced the coming generations of English and American poets. He is, indeed, the greatest poet of American democracy and his 'Leaves of Grass' is the Bible of Democracy.

Games at Twilight (Question-Answers)

 

Questions and answers

1. Describe the afternoon when the children wanted to play outside.

Ans. It was still too hot to play outdoors. They had their tea and the utensils had been washed long ago. The children were anxious to go out but their mother didn’t allow them to go outside. The children felt suffocated inside the house.

2. What did the children do as they went out?

Ans. As they went out, the children felt released. They began tumbling, pushing against each other, frantic to start their play.

3. Where did Ravi hide? Why was he pleased with himself for choosing that place?

Ans. Ravi hid himself inside the shed next to the garage. Yes, he was happy with himself at choosing that place as the shed made him feel protected.

4. What shapes could Ravi dimly see in the shed?

Ans. Ravi could dimly see the shapes of old wardrobes, broken buckets, and bedsteads around him.

5. What, according to Ravi, was the loveliest scent in the world?

Ans. According to Ravi, the sweet scent of water on dry earth is the loveliest scent in the world.

6. What did the children do while Ravi was hiding?

Ans. While Ravi was hiding, the children had forgotten about Ravi and also started different games.

7. Comment on the narrative technique of story Games at Twilight

Ans. “Games at Twilight” is narrated by a third-person narrator. The narrator is absent in the story but is aware of the thoughts and feelings of the characters. The narrator introduces the emotional experiences of childhood through the psyche of Ravi. The third-person narrative only limits Ravi and his thoughts as the story develops.

7. Character sketch of Ravi

Ans. Ravi is the central character of the story. He is one of the younger members of the family who picked his nose panicking that Raghu will find him. Ravi is afraid that he isn’t tall or doesn’t have long legs like Raghu’s and doesn’t stand any chance of escaping Raghu. Ravi wants to be like Raghu. When Ravi finds out how fast he is with switching his place of hiding and quick thinking he self-congratulates. He begins to desire of winning over Raghu and everyone else in the group. He is so engrossed in his imagination that he forgets it has been hours he has been hiding and he needs to touch the “den” to claim his triumph. And with his dreaming, he overcomes his fear of the dark and spooky place. When he runs to the verandah to touch the “den”, he bawls, and tears roll down his cheeks because he thinks he has won. But soon realizes his victory has no value because his cousins have shifted to different games and have long forgotten about hide and seek. His dreams are crumpled by the reality of his insignificance.

8. Write a note on Symbolism used in the story Games at Twilight.

Ans. Symbolism is presented in the story by using the Verandah, the shed, and the funeral game as symbols. The verandah symbolizes safety which is the children’s place for playing and their mother allows them to go out only with the condition that they will play on the verandah. The verandah is familiar to the children as well as the mother because it is near their home. The shed instills a sense of fear because it is an unfamiliar spooky and dark place and Ravi is unaware of animals and insects that could be living there. This place inspires a sense of being unsafe and being watched by unknown beings. The funeral game is seen toward the end of the story. Ravi sees the children playing the game where two children create a tunnel out of their hands and the remaining kids duck under it as they sing a song about being remembered after their death. This funeral game implies the death of Ravi’s dreams and hopes as he lies down on the damp grass with his face on it scorned by the way he is treated.

9. Comment on the appropriateness of the title of the story

The word twilight implies light from the sky denoting both light and darkness. The title reflects the thin line between both light and darkness indicating the thin line between reality and fantasy. Ravi dreams of winning over all of his cousins while hiding in the shed at noon but meets with reality when he touches the verandah in the evening. Ravi is hit with the reality of his insignificance at the end of the day. He falls from his web of fantasies with the realization that his victory means nothing.

10. Write a note on the themes of the story Games at Twilight.

Ans. Childhood and its joys and sorrows are the themes of the short story. Summer and its discomfort are for adults; for children, summer with its long holidays is an unadulterated delight. Games at Twilight has at its center, a large gaggle of children; brothers, sisters, and cousins, no doubt come together for vacations. The older ones tend to be bossy, like Raghu for example, or they are motherly and managing like Mira. The little ones Manu and Ravi occupy a no man’s land. If they are meek and lack self-esteem like Ravi does, they are in for a distressing time. But they grow up fast enough and take their place in the pecking order. Ravi is seeking a position and success but does not find it the way he wants.