MAJOR THEMES AND IMAGERY IN SAROGINI NAIDU'S POETRY ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF JBottor of $I)iIos(opIip IN ENGLISH BY SYED AMIN ASHRAF DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 1993 ABSTRACT Sarojini Naidu, 'The Nightingle of India', has occupied a unique position in Indian English poetry. Her poetic talent flourished in Western surroundings but she Was never an imitator. Endowed with keen poetic sensibility and extra-ordinary perception, she felt the phenomenon of human life around her, sir Aurbindo remarks, "She springs from the very soil of India, her spirit, although it employs the English Language in its vehicle, has not other tie with the west", Sarojini Naidu was blessed with 'bird like quality* but her songs are not only lyrical but also evocative. She contemplated life in its varied condi­ tions and situations. She observed folk life and the fascinating natural phenomenon. She thought of man's longing for love, and his everlasting ignorance about - 2 - the mystery of life and death. These aspects were viewed in the Eastern light but their expression has an ever­ lasting beauty of its ovm, Glasgow Harold observedx- "The pictures are of the East, it is true, but there is something fundamentally human in them that seems to prove that best songs know nothing of East or West." Sarojini Naidu in her songs tried to express her emotional tensions, but the imagery which she employed was striking and thus paved a new path in Indian English tradition of poetry. She skilfully adopted specific imagery suited to her theme, purpose, mood and situation, Sarojini Naidu*s compass as a poetess is very wide and no specific theme can be traced out in her poems. Her poetic fervour underwent a drastic change with the changing political, social and emotional - 3 - conditions. Variations in her ethos resulted in variety of themes. Golden Threshold primarily contains the poems which reveal the picture of Indian Polk life. Alongwith the treatment folk life, she also reveals interest in natural sights and scenery Beautiful word pictures are painted here. The Bird of Time is a collection of poems in which she contemplates about life and death. Broken Wing is a collection of her miscellaneous poems. In it 'Tei^ple' trilogy of love poems, is her major contribution to Indian English poetry. Feather of Dawn. The poems in this collection are remarkable for patriotism and her love for child. In this Way Sarojini Naldu*s range of themes is very wide. Her treatment of different themes is original, profound, sensitive and varied. - 4 - Sarojini Naidu keenly observed, felt and responsed to various human emotions, patterns of behaviour, condi­ tions of society and beauty of nature. Thus the major themes in her poems are nature. Love, Life and Death, Indian Polk life, and patriotism. These themes in her poetry have been evaluated under the following chapter- wise scheme: Cliapter I : Her Times, Life and Works Chapter II : Oriental and Indian Ethos in Saroj ini * s Poetry. Chapter III : Patriotic Fervour Chapter IV : Poetry of Nature Chapter V : Theme of Love, Life and Death Chapter VI : Imagery and Art MUCM THEMES AMI NMOERY IN SMMMHH HMMTS METHY YMBSIS SUtMITTEO 90^ THE AWAKO 0^ THC DEOMS OF •V SYBD AMIM ASHRAP DEPARTMCNT OP CNOLISH ALIGAItH MUSt-IM UNIVERSITY AU<»ARH (INDIA) 1993 T4253 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT All through my teaching career I was beset with the idea of pursuing research in an area which could be both inspiring and original. It was almost near the time of my superannuation from active service that the desire could materialise. My revered teacher. Professor A.A. Ansarl advised me to work on Wordsworth'^ . Preface to Lyrical Ballads^ Professor K.K. Sharma of the university of Allahabad suggested different topics on Romantics, especially, on Wordsworth and Keats. I had not yet made up my mind when after sometime my teacher Professor Masoodul Hasan advised me to read Anglo-Indian poetry and find out a topic for myself in this area. Credit goes to Prof. Hasan for introducing Anglo-Indian literature in the Department of English. It was just during an informal chat that my friend Dr. R.K. Agarwal, Head, Department of English, Bagla College, Hathras, asked me to read Sarojini Naidu. I read the poetess with avidity and absorbing interest. I felt great fascination for the poems, Indian weavers, to a Budha seated on a Lotus, Ecstasy and the (^een's Jsival. A study of these poems motivated me to go through all her poems with zest and verve. I found them varied in nature:religious, mystic, romantic and patriotic. The imagery permeating her work struck me a lot. Consequently I decided to work on the Major themes and Imagery of Mrs, S..Naidu's poetry which I was able to complete after superannuation. I am thankful to my friend Professor Farhatullah Khan for encouraging me and full of admiration for his erudite scholarship. He rendered me valuable help in giving me time for discussing about certain parts of my thesis. I have no words to express my sense of gratitude to my senior colleague and friend Prof. H.C. Raizada who allowed me to use his personal library, gave me Mrs. Naidu's collection as gifts, borrowed books for me from different persons and places, went through my thesis word to word and suggested valuable modifications. Thanks are also due to Mr. Mohd. Owais Khan who was nice enough to get the thesis typed for me and if there are certain errors in spelling here and there they should be construed to be the personal contribution of the typist to my thesis. [ SYED AMIN ASHRAF ] CONTENTS Page No. PREFACE i-iii CHAPTER I : HER TIMES, LIFE AND WORKS 1-92 CHAPTER II : ORIENTAL AND INDIAN ETHOS IN SAROJINI'S POETRY 93-155 CHAPTER III : PATRIOTIC FERVOUR 156-195 CHAPTER IV POETRY OF NATURE 196-243 CHAPTER V : THEME OF LOVE, LIFE AND DEATH 244-290 CHAPTER VI : IMAGERY AND ART 291-342 A SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 343-353 «v ^v PREFACE The change in literary fashions and critical attitudes leads to the debunking of the great writers of the preceding age. It is therefore not surprising that the new aesthetics which evolved in the wake of Hulme- Pound-Eliot school of modern poetry, depedestalized many literary demi-gods who were looked upon with awe and inviolable reverence by the earlier generation. The great Indian English poets like Toru Dutt, Manmohan Ghosh, Aurobindo Ghoshe, Harindranath Chattopadhyaya were all condemned as "colonialites" and criticized for "their outsize reputations". Sarojini Naidu, "the gifted poetess," the Nightingale of India of yester years, on whom Arthur Symons and Edmund Gosse showered unreserved admiration and about whom that "profound judge of life and literature", Sri Aurobindo, said that she had "qualities which make her best work exquisite, unique and unchallenged in its own kind", had also to face this literary heresy. She was relegated to mediocrity because her poetry abounded in subjectivity, exotic imagination and profound emotional rapture to the detriment of objectivity, wit, irony and arid intellectualism, the qualities which were considered the real hall mark of a great and the "whirligig of literary taste is about to come ii full circle", the old poets are once again emerging in their real stature and being judged in proper perspective. Sarojini Naidu is once again being praised for her unique creative and lyrical qualities and for opening a window into the real life and spirit of India. Sarojini Naidu's delight in life is reflected in the beautiful pictures she has drawn in her poems of the myriad — dimensional pageants of Indian life, its scenes of nature, and its religious and cultural ethos. Born in a Bengali Brahmin family of the Muslim state of Hyderabad, she was nourished on the best in the cultural traditions of the Hindu and the Islamic religions and life. Her keen perception and minute observation of life around her awakened in her love for Indian life in its varied conditions and situations. Her natural oriental spirit made her brood over the problems of love, life and death. With such profound and rich experience of life springing from the very soil of India, she wove her memorable lyrics of joy and beauty. The pictures drawn by her thus cover the wide range of Indian life and its cultural ethos. Though there have appeared many biographical and critical studies of Sarojini Naidu's life and poetry, no attempt has so far been made to highlight in details the rich material of subject matter treated by her through iii the varied themes of her poetry. Most of the studies are of general nature and deal with her colourful life and interpret her lyrical qualities and artistic use of diction and verse form. The purpose of this study is to give an indepth analysis of the major themes in Sarojini Naidu's poetry and correlate them with the rich, evocative and functional imagery used by her to convey her vision of life adequately and effectively. CHAPTER -ONE Her Times, Life and Works Introduction: Men generally raise their eyebrows at women taking to creative writing as their chief concern in life. In reply to one of the letters of young Charlotte Byonte• Robert Southey advised her not to take to literatvare for the frequent indulgence in imaginative work was likely to interfere with her domestic duties and responsibilities. He wrote: "The day dreams in v^7hich you habitually indulge are likely to induce a distempered state of mind; and in proportion as all the ordinary uses of the world seem to you flat, and unprofitable you will be unfitted for them without becoming fitted for anything else.