Name:Jani Hetal umiyashankar
Roll no:12
Class:M.A.part-1
Semester:1
Submitted to:Department of English
M.K. Bhavnagar University
Assignment Topic:
Sarojini Naidu as a
poet
Introduction
There
were many poets in Indian writing in English like Rabindranath Tagore Shri
Aurobindo Toru Dutt and Sarojini Naidu among them sarojini Naidu is one of the
best poet in Indian writing in English. She was most gifted child of mother India.
She sharing her pain her agony and hopes with us by her poetry. An English poet
sarojini Naidu first gain the attention of public in her time but it was just a
beginning. Let’s see her life and work in detail.
Sarojini Naidu - her
life
She
had started writing at the age of 13 and composed than 2000 lines. Sarojini
chattopadhyay a Bengali girl was dreamer who falls in love with Dr Naidu. She
had violent passions for him. Even though her parent shifted to England. She
did what she wanted. She married in 1898 after returning from England. She was
a path-maker. Her word is highlight of the period. She enriched the literature
which not only the easterners appreciated but also the westerners.
Indeed
her whole life had been a battle and a struggle she had to fight without
remission the battle of her health losing and winning and losing again and she
had to struggle long against the bludgeoning of arcumstance neither winning nor
crying aloud. Happiness and sadness life and death victory and defeat this all
feature he face in her life in her soul. Though she remain happy all time and
full off laughter but we not see whats goigng on her heart in her life sarojini
almost had been as tragically and full of pain and ecstacy as the wife and
mother Mr. Arthur Symons told about her when she was seventeen years old: “all
the life of the tiny figure”
“Seemed to concentrate itself in the
eyes: they turned towards the sun….her body was never without suffering, or her
head never without conflict: but neither the body’s weakness nor the hearts
violence would disturb that fixed contemplation” Sarojini
was the eldest daughter of a scientist, dreamer and a mystic jester father and
half angel and half bird mother was born on 13 February 1879 at colorful
Hyderabad in most cheel and beautiful atmosphere. She was very beautiful and
precious girl. At twelve she had passed matriculation. Her parents not allow to
marry with Dr Naidu because Sarojini’s parents were Bengali cattopadhyayas and
Dr.Naidu was an Andhra and a Naidu. And another reason is Sarojini was too
young to marry. So they shipped her to England thinking that she was forget him
but this not happen. After returning she marry with him.
The vision of love makes her so conscious and
by it she become a great poet of India. The vision of faith the vision of mother,
The vision of patriotism , The vision of India the mother made him so
conscious. The mastery of phrase and rhythm Without them she would not
translated her visions and experiences into melodious poetry. Her friend Mr. Gosse
reading her first poetical effusions told about her that she might be a poet of
she has a true poet’s sensibility and also said that by using Indian theme she
wrote many poems ‘’some sincere penetrating analysis of native passion of such
mysterious intimations as stirred the soul of the fast long before the west had
begun to dream that it had a soul”
Her work
She
wrote many lyrics , odes and some other work. In 1905 ‘The Golden Threshold’
came out as her first collection of poems. swift thoughts , strong emotions
spring into lyrics. She was called The Nightingale of India. ‘The Bird of Time’
was published in 1912. It is graver , songs of life and death are found. There are
love songs as well. ‘The Broken wing’ was final collection which brought out in
1917. She wrote memories of her father and the leader Gokhale.
‘The
Flute-Player of Brindavan’ is a jewel of lyric. ‘To Buddha seated on a lotus’ ,’
The Temple: A pilgrimage of Love’ is a trilogy of lyric sequence , Each of
eight poems. There are a few remarkable poems addressed to a man by a women and
she wrote it with a great passion. After ‘The broken wing’ she ceased to be a
poetess. She left poetry writing and jumped into politics. The woman , the
mother , the patriot remained , but the poet was no more than a memory. There
are mixed reviews about her poetic achievement. She wrote in traditional way
but music is her great quality. She have feeling of place, occasional
atmosphere. She has rhythmic variety and melodic richness. Love for her mother
land Hyderabad and country add color in her poetic style. Her songs are lyrical
so sense and sound are combined to produce emotion her images are very beautiful
and sophisticated there are some dialogue type poems like monologues or
self-talking communal songs are also found in her work.
One critic say’s about her: “ Although
her work is unpopular with modernist poets and critics , she remains the most
studied of Indian poet in English after Aurobindo continuing to charm
generations of readers”.
‘The Golden Threshold’ Sarojini Naidu’s
first collection of poems which come out in 1905. Many people say’s that “ this
little volume should silent forever the scoffer who declares that women cannot
write poetry.” Her poetry seems to sing itself as if swift thought and strong
emotions sprang into lyrics of themselves. Her poetic skill is very good and
she expressed her emotion and pain very beautifully into poem. This was amazing
creation of her.
About
her poetic skill Glasgow Herald said:”The pictures are of the East it is true :
but there is something fundamentally human in them that seems to prove that the
best song knows nothing of East or West” , J.B.Yeat’s portrait of her made her
a figure of pure romance. In 1906 at the Calcutta session of the Indian social
conference she adroitly up the suppression of women right in India with the
loss of the Country’s freedom.
She
was very near to Gokhale. She wrote him more letters and poem to addressed him.
After reading her poems Gokhale said : “Your speech was more than an
intellectual treat of the highest order. It was a perfect piece of art. We all
felt for the moment to be lifted to a higher plane.” And another thing he said:
“You begin with a ripple and end in eternity.” Sarojini Naidu was imperiously
alive. And so Mr John Galsworth called her “ A sigil of Honour.”
“Why
did you turn your face away?
Was
it for love or hate?....
Still
for love’s sake I am foredoomed to bear
A
load of passionate silence and despair.”
Sarojini
Naidu’s second volume of poems ‘ The Bird of Time ’ printed on 1912. After read this Edmund Gosse
remarked that in it “ A Graver Music.“
In this part of poems include “ Songs of Life and Death.” Life is often
brightly painted but death ‘s shadows creep or linger. In this volume, there
are many love songs, dirges and elegies. In these two songs love and death and
death and life: is very beautifully addressed to death and life. For Example,
“ Life is
prism of my light
And death the
shadow of my face. “
Sarojini Naidu’s final collection of
poems ‘The Broken Wing’ came out in
1917. This collection is a memory of her father and Gokhale. ‘The Flute player of a Brindaban’ and ‘To a Buddha
seated on a lotus’. Many westerns critics and artists find face of Jesus in
this poem. But, Indian poets and artists made face of Krishna in their
imagination. Sarojini drew picture of Lord Krishna in her poem. Hence she wrote
many poems taking him as a central figure. She drew the picture of all the
deities in her poems through her powerful imagination.
Gokhle was very near to Sarojini
Naidu. Sarojini wrote many letters to him. And after read her poem Gokhle
remarked and said to her :
“It
was no doubt a brave and beautiful speech but you sometime s use harsh and bold
prases.”
Sarojini
Naidu wrote many poems. There are many feature. They are : beauty and boldness
, bite of anger and the heat of passion. Her poems are immediately
intelligible. Sarojini love her native Hyderabad very much. She not afraid to
make music out of her fascination for bazaars in the city and the bustling
tradesmen and the variegated merchandise.
Four volumes published of her work.
There are 200 songs and lyrics ‘Cradle song’ and ‘child fancies’. She wrote
many poems in her poems there are children’s poems , poems on love and death ,
nature poems , patriotic poems and even poems of mystical transcendence.
Sarojini Naidu essayed all her work with her unfailing verbal facility and
rhythmical dexterity she generally succeed as well. ‘The Sanctuary’ attempts a
kind of resurrection after the death described. In the second section she wrote
upon death. She says that “If you were dead, her death would seal their
difference and she should therefore welcome her death. She wrote poem about
women’s condition in the society. She wrote in her one poem that :
“
Who cares if a women’s heart be broken?
O
let my love alone…..
O
let my Death alone…..
Welcome
o fiery pain! “
In
‘ My Woman’s intelligence ‘ she once
remarked “ cannot grapple with the transcendent details of politics.” It was not even because of her entry into
politics for she had in it for over ten years without damaging her poetic
inspiration. Sarojini Naidu writes upon politics also. She stucks the right ‘
patriotic ‘ note again and again love of one’s country was an emotion as much
as the love of man or nature and some of her poem’s for an example her
invocations to the national leaders and her lyrics ‘ Awake ‘ , ‘ An Anthem of
love ‘ and ‘ To India ‘ are patriotic without the faintest trace of jingoism. ‘
Awake ‘ is addressed to M.A.Jinnah. In her poem love for nation woven very
well.
About
her poetic skill Shri Aurobindo writes or said in 1935. Aurobindo became very
happy to read her poems. Her skill of writing very beautiful. Shri Aurobindo
said :
“
Her work has a real beauty “
“
Some of her lyrical work is
Likely I think to survive
Among the lasting things
In
English literature and
By
these even if they are
Fine
rather than great.
She
may take her rank
Among
the immortals. “
Her Death
In
1949 she fell ill. And when her physician came and gave her sleeping pill. She
smiled and said : ‘ Not eternal sleep , I hope “ But at night her sleep
becoming a journey towards god. Such many people said that.
“
Nightingale of heaven
and God “
Conclusion
Thus
Sarojini Naidu known as “Nightingale of India “ She wrote many poems upon
nature , Like and death , love poems and men and women relationship. Her poems
flows light on patriotism.
Your work is in progress.
ReplyDeletedo it batter work in assignment ,very well good work. .
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