THE HARP OF INDIA’ BY HENRY L DEROZIO:

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was an Indian of Indo-Portuguese origin. His father was Portuguese and his mother, Indian. He was born in 1809 when India was under the British rule. Derozio was greatly inspired with love for the country of his birth. Perhaps his contacts with other contemporary Indian nationalistic writers (like Raja Rammohan Roy) influenced his attitude. Though he died of cholera at the early age of 22 in 1831, Derozio's verses reflect maturity and a sensible understanding of the need to love one's own country. There is no doubt that Derozio wrote for instilling patriotic fervour amongst the youth. All his writings seem to promote a spirit that is truly 'Indian'. Amongst the better known of his poems is the narrative ‘The Faqueer of Jungheera’.

Derozio's love for his country is expressed in his sonnets The Harp of India and To India—My Native Land. His poems, Evening In August, The Faqueer of Jungheera, The Eclipse and Song of the Indian Girls give ample evidence of his nationalist thought and poetic talents. His poems have elements of English romantic poetry, but are Indian in content, theme and imagery

Why hang'st thou lonely on yon withered bough?Unstrung for ever, must thou there remain;Thy music once was sweet — who hears it now?Why doth the breeze sigh over thee in vain?Silence hath bound thee with her fatal chain;Neglected, mute, and desolate art thou,Like ruined monument on desert plain:O! many a hand more worthy far than mineOnce thy harmonious chords to sweetness gave,And many a wreath for them did Fame entwineOf flowers still blooming on the minstrel's grave:Those hands are cold — but if thy notes divine

May be by mortal wakened once again,  Harp of my country, let me strike the strain!

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Signposts1. The withered condition of the harp.2. Why is it in this condition?3. Previous patriots' contribution.4. Poet's desire to play the harp.

hang'st: hangs.yon: that.withered: dried up and dead.bough: branch.Unstrung: untuned.fatal: deadly; resulting in death.Neglected: ignored.mute: dumb; silent.desolate: deserted; lonely.desert plain: vast area of sandywasteland.harmonious: melodious.chords: musical notes in harmony.wreath: a circular band of flowers.entwine: to twist or wind something in or around something else.blooming: blossoming.minstrel: poet.cold: lifeless.divine: heavenly.

The sonnet is Petrarchan in form and it illustrates Derozio’s concept of poetic creation. Like the nineteenth century romantic poets, he finds in poetry a process of recollection, a wild tour of imagination, an enchanting look at the past, a passionate love for Nature, and a powerful invocation of the Muse. Sweet madness; delicious frenzy and strains of fire stand for spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings. References to Himalay and Arabian sea are topographically native. Immortal harpings: this expression

stands for the tradition of poetry.

          The first two lines contain a very beautiful use of personification. The nation has been personified as a withered bough. The poet says:

       Why hang’st thou lonely on you withered bough?

        Unstrung for ever, must thou there remain The poet laments over the fact that the rich

tradition of India lies neglected and is mute like an unstrung harp on the withered bough of a leafless tree.

Withered flower on a withered bough The poet imagines the wretched and

miserable condition of India to a withered bough.

Our country has a rich past.  India was an evergreen flower blooming and

blossoming on an ever-green bough. But during the British rule, people had to lead a life of slavery even worse than beast.

So, here the metaphor is very apt and suggestive..

The poet mentions only one bough of the tree which is withered. By this connotation he seems to say that the people of India are slave to the British rule only physically, not spiritually.

Only the bough is withered, not the root and stem.

The soil beneath the root ( the age-old culture and civilization) is still fertile and nourishing.

“Silence hath bound thee with her fatal chain:

Neglected, mute and desolate art thou.Like ruined monument on a desert plain” ruined monument’symbolises the lost

glory and grandeur of nation. Our past was very grand and golden like a great monument

.

Several men in the past before him have played the music of the harp and in return the harmonious chords of harp have produced sweetness.•Sweetness/ fame has also garlanded many a wreath for the nation. •The flowers on the grave of the minstrels of the nation are still blooming. [Here, the term ‘minstrel’ suggests the man of honour and fame who kept on playing the harp of India in order to produce harmonious music of eternal values. They are now no more].

The poet is of the opinion that the music of the harp is eternal. It can never be destroyed. He asks the permission of the harp so that he may strike the strain