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World Literature Term Paper about Rabindranath Tagore and his works. This paper focuses on Gitanjali.
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World Literature
Rabindranath Tagore: “Gitanjali”
The life and times of Rabindranath Tagore greatly influenced his works. Tagore’s
birthplace had a great impact on him. He was born in culturally rich area: “The mansion
in which Rabindranath was born on 7 May 1861, No. 6 Dwarkanath Tagore’s Lane,
Jorasanko, lay in the heart of the Bengali section of Calcutta” (Dutta 34). The place
where they lived was diverse as the Tagores were Bengali Hindus. Tagore provides the
best description of his family say it is “the product of ‘a confluence of three cultures:
Hindu, Mohammedan, and British’” (Sen OL). Tagore was a name known in Calcutta
even before Rabindranath existed. His family was prominent: “His father was the
Maharishi Debendranath Tagore, the Hindu reformer and mystic and his mother was
Sharada Devi” (Harilal OL). Westerners also influenced Tagore’s poetry: “Western
influences on Tagore were Romantic: Goethe in Germany; Wordsworth, Keats, and
Shelley in England; Whitman and Emerson in America. He refers to these poets time
after tie, nor is the attraction surprising. Most of these poets had themselves been
influenced by Indian thought and literature” (Palmer OL). Since the romantics used ideas
that Tagore grew up with, he could relate to their work: “What Tagore liked in the
romantics was essentially what they had gotten from India—their mystical insistence on
the closeness, indeed, the unity of the divine, the human, and the natural world in
general” (Palmer OL). The variety of influences work themselves into Tagore’s poetry.
Tagore’s family and household helped him become a success. The family was
already thriving in numbers: “His mother already had 12 living children when Tagore
was born, several of whom were married. Her husband was often away on business.
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Tagore’s support therefore came from his older siblings” (Harilal OL). Fortunately the
amount of siblings didn’t hinder Tagore, but actually helped him. Of these twelve
brothers and sisters, five were close and helpful to Rabindranath:
[His] brother, Dwijendranath, born in 1840, was an interesting and gifted
figure. So were four others of the thirteen surviving children of the
Maharshi: Satyendranath, born in 1842, Hemendranath, born in 1844,
Jyotindranath, born in 1849, and a daughter Swarnakumari, born around
1856. Rabindranath, who was the youngest, far outshone them all, but he
owed much to their stimulus in childhood and youth – particularly to
Jyotindranath….These five [siblings], plus two sister-in-laws and two
elder cousins living in the other house, together with the cream of
Calcutta’s artists and intelligentsias as visitors, generated an atmosphere in
Joransanko of variety, vivacity, and celebration of eccentricity virtually
bound to nourish any seed of talent. (Dutta 37)
Even though Tagore became more famous than his siblings, he couldn’t have done it
without their support nor without living in the Tagore household. Another reason his
siblings had a greater impact on him was the early death of his mother. The void of not
having a mother was filled by one of Tagore’s sister-in-laws:
Rabindranath never received the love of his mother (his mother died when
he was quite young). But when he was about seven or eight, his brother
(fifth eldest, Jyotirindranath) was married and brought home Kadambari
Devi. Tagore and Kadambari were about the same age. But perhaps
because the mothers’ instinct comes early to women, kadambari filled for
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Tagore the void left by the death of his mother. To this young brother-in-
law of her own age, she had extended great affection and love. (Chatterjee
OL)
More deaths occurred in his family which led to more changes in his outlook towards
poetry: “The inner change in Tagore came through the experiences of the death of his
wife, a son and a daughter. At this time he wrote the Bengali poems of ‘Gitanjali’ for
himself and not for publication. This transformation in the poet brought to him the
realization that Santiniketa was his sadhana (spiritual work)” (Cenkner 62). “Gitanjali” is
a perfect example of poetry that wasn’t aimed the public. The Tagore family provided
Rabindranath with experiences and support that made him into the great man he was.
Tagore’s education was significant to him, and the method of teaching was even
more so. He started schooling at normal age, and showed his poetic talents early. He
learned from private tutors beginning at age five and was writing poetry by age eight
(Kalasky 401). This talent did not go ignored. “He [Satkari Babu, one of Tagore’s
teachers] sent for me one day and asked: ‘So you write poetry, do you?’ I did not conceal
the fact. From that time on, he would occasionally ask me to complete his quatrain by
adding a couplet of his own” (Chakravarty 92). Practicing poetry at a young age
developed his skills even more. ). Tagore was not only gifted in poetry, but also in
thinking. He thought through his experiences and could analyze them. Tagore did this
while pondering about his education many times:
I well remember the surprise and annoyance of an experienced
headmaster, reputed to be a successful disciplinarian, when he saw one of
the boys of my school climbing a tree and choosing a fork of the branches
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for settling down to his studies. I had to say to him in explanation that
‘childhood is the only period of life when a civilized man can exercise his
choice between the branches of a tree and his drawing-room chair, and
should I deprive this boy of that privilege because I, as a grown up man,
am barred from it?’ What is surprising to notice is the same headmaster’s
approbation of the boys’ studying botany. He believes in an impersonal
knowledge of the tree because that is science, but not in a personal
experience of it. (Chatterjee OL)
Because Tagore was not satisfied with the education and educators of his day, he
established his own methods of teaching in his later life.
“In matters of education, Tagore was a lifelong believer in freedom in
nature, within and without. In his own life, he shunned structured school-
education entirely; he believed that a mind which is not truly free to
knowledge bound in the pages of books or confined within four walls, is a
mind which is uninspired. As an educator, he therefore chose the marga
of freedom whereby young students could be closer to their own nature as
well as nature outside” (Chatterjee OL).
Other criticisms Tagore had about the schools of his time dealt with the British rule over
India. The Westerners had taken over the education system and there was a lack of
understanding between teachers and students.
He said in his essay, ‘Indian students and Western Teachers, ‘that Indian students
needed sympathy and inspiration, but that, ‘the least insult pierces to the quick.’
The university, he argued, could be the arena for the beneficial meeting and
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sharing of cultures, but it cold never be such as long as the British stereotyped the
Bengali, made men into adjectives rather than nouns, and demanded a relationship
based on fear and hate. (Chatterjee OL)
Rabindranath Tagore didn’t feel the education provided in schools was enough for life.
He felt that the teachers hindered the learning process with their strict and blind views.
[insert closing sentence / transition]
Writing and translating “Gitanjali” proved to be a fascinating task for Tagore. It
was originally written in Bengali, and he never intended to make his poems a worldwide
sensation. Tagore only wanted to use some extra time productively by translating: “It is
an old habit of mine…that when the air strikes my bones, they tend to respond in music.
Yet I had not the energy to sit down and write anything new. So I took up the poems of
‘Gitanjali’ and set myself to translate them one by one” (Kripalini 215). Before the
translation of this poetry collection, Tagore put together three collections of poetry of
which “Gitanjali” was the second. It was a time when thoughts of religion overcame his
mind: “The religious consciousness, the need of establishing a satisfactory relationship
wit the Absolute, the Ultimate, which was to find its culmination in the ‘Gitnajali’ period,
[was] beginning to stir within him” (Kripalini 136). To understand these deep feelings,
Tagore found a perfect place to release the thoughts on paper: “As a child, weary from
running about the livelong day flees to its mother’s breast, so Tagore laid his tired limbs
aboard ‘Padma’ [his houseboat]. Here he lived all by himself, writing a number of songs
that were afterwards translated into English and included in ‘Gitanjali’(Khanolkar 166).
Translating from one language to another is already difficult, but keeping the mood,
meaning, and emotions as strong as the original is even more so. Tagore put an intense
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amount of his feelings into “Gitanjali.”: “All the pain and suffering…both in the world
and in his mind, which this poet…went through in the first decade of this century wer
finally resolved and sublimated in the songs that poured forth from his full and chastened
heart in 1909 and 1910 published as ‘Gitanjali’ (Handful or Offering of Songs) in the
latter year” (Kripalini 210). Tagore also felt that his knowledge of the English language
was embarrassing. He didn’t understand how people liked the translations. “I cannot
imagine to this day how people came to like it [“Gitanjali”] so much. That I cannot write
English is such a patent fact that I never had even the vanity to feel ashamed for it. If
anybody wrote an English note asking me to eat, I did not feel ashamed of it. If anybody
wrote an English note asking me to tea, I did not feel like answering it….” (Chatterjee
OL). If it hadn’t been for Tagore’s friends who saw the magnificence in his poetry, the
world may have never sung “Gitanjali.” “It was Rothenstein who initially read Tagore’s
manuscript, exulted in the poems, contacted Yeats, introduced Tagore to writers, artists,
and thinkers, and arranged for the publication of the book by the India Society and then
by Macmillan” (Dutta 164). The journey from his first lyrics of “Gitanjali” in Bengali to
the translations in English that Tagore was ashamed of definitely came to a very happy
ending.
Tagore traveled to many places, and some experiences were good, while others
were not. He took some of the trips only because he was invited to speak. “In 1916,
speaking in Japan and across the USA, he eloquently warned each nation about the
dangers of militaristic nationalism, unbridled commercialism, and the love of technology
for its own sake” (Dutta 13). Tagore’s intelligence was in demand after the Nobel Prize
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and a few universities had listened to him, but he didn’t always feel welcome in some
parts of the world.
At the immigration office in Vancouver, a US official, aware of who he
was, nevertheless kept him standing for half an hour and then asked him
the stock questions: who had paid his passage, had he been to jail, was he
going to settle permanently in the USA? (A London paper claimed that
Tagore was even asked if he could write.) Not surprisingly, Tagore’s anti-
American hackles rose. (Dutta 284)
Despite this event, Tagore did continue traveling. As discussed before, he grew up in a
diverse country in a diverse family. This made him and his range of ideas immeasurable;
the vastness only grew with every place he visited. “Yet for all I know, it [staying in
Calcutta] was necessary, not for my peace of mind, but for realizing, rightly or wrongly,
that my mission of life was not for exclusively turning out verses difficult of
comprehension” (Chakravarty 25). Tagore even realized what he wanted to do with his
life and talents by venturing everyone in the world his name had reached. On the inside,
Rabindranath Tagore was still Indian. No matter where he went, he wouldn’t forget his
home. “[In London], he was stuck in one stuffy, sparsely-furnished room in Regent’s
Park in bleak midwinter, having to fend for himself. ‘Sometimes Indians would come to
see me and, though my acquaintance with them was but slight, when they rose to leave I
wanted to hold them back by their coat-tails’” (Dutta 71). “Gitanjali” brought Tagore
opportunities to travel the earth knowing that someone would be waiting for him to speak
or impart his intelligence to them. However, he didn’t leave his mother land for long.
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Rabindranath was recognized many times for his work. His most notable honor
was the Nobel Prize. This not only acknowledged his talent in poetry, but brought him
international fame. “Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), who was knighted in 1914
(presumably because he won the Nobel Prize in 1913), has been one of the few Indians to
gain an international reputation” (Seymour-smith 711). Recognition from home probably
meant more to Tagore than honor from everywhere else. He received this kind of special
tribute from both Bengal and India:
It is fitting that after independence, India chose a song of Tagore (‘Jana
Gana Mana Adhinayaka,’ which can be roughly translated as ‘the leader of
people’s minds’) as its national anthem. Since Bangladesh would later
choose another song of Tagore (‘Amar Sonar Bangla’) as its national
anthem, he may be the only one ever to have authored the national
anthems of two different countries. (Sen OL)
Poetry isn’t the only art Tagore is known for. He did much more in his life. Some would
even go as far and say:
‘If asked to select but one man to represent the highest Hinduism has
produced, many would select Rabindranath Tagore…He was a genius in
many fields- poetry, short stories, music, choreography, painting,
architecture, science, education, social service and statesmanship. Three
months before his death, though troubled by the war in Europe, he wrote
an essay ‘Crisis in Civilization (Sabhyatar Sankat)’ in which he said, ‘I
shall not commit the grievous sin of losing faith in Man.’ (Chatterjee OL)
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As mentioned before, Tagore’s intentions had nothing of fame and fortune in them, but
however good or bad his name did travel the globe. At the time, Tagore was not very
happy with the attention: “The perfect whirlwind of public excitement it has risen to is
frightful. It is almost as bad as tying a tin can at a dog’s tail making it impossible for him
to move without creating noise and collect crowds all along. I am beng smothered with
telegrams and letters for the last few days…. Really these people honour the honour in
me and not myself’” (Kripalini 229). Without even trying, Rabindranath Tagore became
known worldwide for his talent and gift in poetry and other arts. He definitely deserved
all the accolades he received if not more.
Tagore wanted India to be an independent nation. To show how much his country
meant to him, “In 1919, by repudiating his knighthood, he became the first Indian to
make a public gesture against the massacre at Amritsar” (Dutta 13). Rabindranath wasn’t
a violent man, but when it came to his beliefs he was ready to fight. “…‘just then a
police sergeant shoved a Bengali lady supporter of khadi. The next instant my non-
violent non-cooperating condition was converted into furious sedition.’ The hero is
promptly picked up, roughed up and jailed – not for the first time in his life” (Dutta 261).
Tagore even experienced jail in his quest for freedom. Gandhi, the most widely known
Indian freedom fighter of India, and Tagore respected each other because of their mutual
goals. “’I regard the Poet’, Gandhi said, ‘as a sentinel warning us against the approach
enemies called Bigotry, Lethargy, Intolerance, Ignorance, Inertia, and other members of
that brood’” (Dutta 13). Tagore’s death did not take his great thoughts and ideas away
from the world. “Rabindranath Tagore, who died in 1941 at the age of eighty, is a
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towering figure in the millennium-old literature of Bengal” (Sen OL). He is still
remembered as one of the greatest Indian poets that ever lived.
The events in history that occurred during Tagore’s times also influenced his
poetry. As noted earlier, a variety of events impacted Tagore’s works. “Gitanjali” is
filled with religious references because “Much of Tagore’s ideology came from the
teaching of the Upanishads and from his own beliefs that God can be found through
personal purity and service to others. He stressed the need for new world order based on
transnational values and ideas, the ‘unity consciousness’” (bigchalk OL). Another
fantastic Indian poet, Kalidas, also had an impact on Tagore’s work: “’Rabindranath’s
real master has been Kalidasa. He never misses a chance of paying Kalidasa homage,
either by explicit panegyric or by subtler way of paraphrasing or quoting…’” (Kalasky
403). “Western influences undoubtedly curtailed older Bengali habits of leisure, but if
there was one thing for which people in Bengal had remained famous (as they still are), it
was for their love of meeting ‘for the pleasure of simply being together or, to use the
Bengali world, ‘to do adda’” (Dutta 45). <<< I don’t see a solid purpose for this
paragraph. Should I move these few quotes to the biographical influences paragraph?
>>>
Tagore’s works prompted many different reactions. His works were definitely
recognized in India. He was even compared to the most well-known Indian at the time.
“As a supreme symbol of India’s culture and spirit, Tagore was a contemporary of the
other colossus of nineteenth century India, Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948). Tagore and
Gandhi were great admirers of each other, despite their difference in matters of politics,
nationalism and social reform” (Chatterjee OL). Although not everyone knows, Tagore’s
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stories, songs and paintings were also honored. “ Tagore was not only an immensely
versatile poet; he was also a great short story writer, novelist, playwright essayist, and
composer of songs, as well as a talented painter whose pictures, with their mixture of
representations and abstraction, are only now beginning to receive the acclaim that they
have a long deserved” (Sen OL). Only after the success of “Gitanjali” did people take
notice of this other art. Not only did Tagore follow his Indian background, but he
believed in accepting ideas from everywhere. “An assiduous student of classical
Sanskrit, Bengali, and European literatures [,] Tagore passionately affirmed his Indian
heritage and identity, yet repudiated nationalism and asserted is devotion to a universal
divinity” (Kalasky 401-402). His universal nature made accepting his works easier.
“Since last year the book, in a real and full sense, has belonged to English literature, for
the author himself, who by education and practice is a poet in his native Indian tongue,
has bestowed upon the poems a new dress, alike perfect in form and personally original
in inspiration. This has made them accessible to all in England, America, and the entire
Western world for whom noble literature is of interest and moment” (Hjarne OL).
Translating “Gitanjali” into English was one of the best things he did in his life because it
became available to the rest of the world. Tagore was not very sure of this fact though.
‘When I [Tagore] first translated them into English, I had not the slightest
faith my English would be readable. Many even suspected that Andrews
had done the translating. It embarrassed poor Andrews terribly. The day
Yeats invited all the distinguished personages to Rothenstein's home for a
reading of Gitanjali, I cannot describe to you how utterly embarrassed and
uneasy I felt…. By nature the English are somewhat reticent, they could
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not say anything right there and then’” (Chatterjee OL). “’I [Yeats] have
carried the manuscript of these translations [of ‘Gitanjali’] with me for
days, reading it in railways trains, on the tops of omnibuses and in
restaurants, and I have often had to close it lest some stranger would see
how much it moved me.’ (Kalasky 402)
This miraculous collection of poems stunned its first listeners and critics to an extent that
Tagore could not believe. He did not have a positive outlook, but a positive outcome was
due indeed. Rabindranath Tagore’s English translation of “Gitanjali” was almost loved
by all.
Not all of Tagore’s reception was positive. Although most people were taken
aback by Tagore’s lyrics, a few felt that there was nothing special about Rabindranath
Tagore. Some of the media was very cruel to him: “A section of the press kept him under
constant fire, frequently descending into mud-sling…. ‘ Few writers have been more
scurrilously abused [than Tagore],’ wrote Nired Chaudhuri, the leading critic of modern
Bengal. It was this abuse, in part, Chaudhuri claimed, that forced Rabindranath to look
westwards for appreciation in 1912” (Dutta 9). Aside from local media, the Western
press could not help but attack his name, race, or religion: “The ‘Globe’ of Toronto,
Canada, wrote: ‘It is the first time that the Nobel Prize has gone to anyone who is not
what we call ‘white’. It will take time, of course for us to accommodate ourselves to the
idea that anyone called Rabindranath Tagore should receive a world prize for literature”
(Kripalini 226) A newspaper in California went along the same lines: “The ‘Times’, Los
Angeles, complained that young modern writes in Europe and America had been
discouraged by the award of the [Nobel] Prize ‘…to a Hindu poet whose name few
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people can pronounce, with whose work fewer in America are familiar, and whose claim
for that high distinction still fewer will recognize’” (Kripalini 226). It is sad that these
negative critics couldn’t focus on just Tagore’s poetry. A judgment based on anything
else should not be even considered. Some critics did comment on the poetry itself:
“Indeed, critics were not wanting who refuse ‘to fall under the spell of this Indian poet.’
One of them wrote in ‘New Age’, London, ‘any of us could write such stuff ad libitum;
but nobody should be deceived into thinking it good English, good poetry, good sense, or
good ethics’” (Kripalini 223). The claim that “any of us” could do the same is highly
disprovable. One may wonder why that critic didn’t write poetry and win the Nobel Prize.
Other still had a different reason to put down Tagore, but they accepted the fact that
“Gitanjali” was of high quality. They started to make themselves feel better because they
wanted to be part of the honor the poet received: “Some critics patted themselves on the
back that the British had civilized the Indian’s so well that the latter could write such
good stuff” (Kripalini 223). It is a ridiculous proposition to make such a relation. Other
critics who also felt that “Gitanjali” was remarkable said that Tagore couldn’t have done
it himself: “There were many critics, both in Great Britain and in India, who found it
hard to believe that Tagore who had not published anything in English before could write
so well in that language and attributed the success of ‘Gitanjali’ to Yeats having
drastically revised or rewritten the poems” (Kripalini 221). Without knowing it, these
critics just praised Tagore praising “Gitanjali.” The fallacy in their argument saying that
Tagore didn’t write the poems is clarified by the same source: “Yeats did here and there
suggest slight changes, but the main text was printed as it came from Tagore’s hands’”
(Kripalini 221). The poet didn’t deny using help, but it is clear that Yeats did not have
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any part in Tagore’s Bengali “Gitanjali” and therefore could not have had a huge impact
on the translation. [need sentence] “John butler Yeats, the painter and father of poet,
wrote thus to his son about the content and style of Tagore’s poetry: ‘His ideas are
vapourously philanthropic…Out of vapour you can make a background or atmosphere,
not the body of the poetry, the feelings it excites [are] too tepid, and who indulges
himself in that kind of speculation weakens his power in its very source” (Palmer OL). A
few critics did not like the poetry because they compare it to his original, Bengali, poems.
“Many Bengali critics consider it over-sensuous, so much given to musings and
digressions about beauty that it falls short of the standard of his best work” (Lago OL).
Another critic agrees that “Poetry is, of course notoriously difficult to translate… (Sen
OL), but they also continue with“…anyone who knows Tagore’s poems in their original
Bengali cannot feel satisfied with any of the translation (made with or without Yeats’s
help). Even the translations of his prose works suffer, to some extent, from distortion”
(Sen OL). Not many people can or have compare both Bengali and English texts making
it hard to trust a few people’s opinions. Every poet will receive negative criticism, but
none of the attacks towards Rabindranath Tagore’s “Gitanjali” have strong support.
Most critics feel Tagore had something special inside of him. One of Tagore’s
best friends and critics “Mr. Yeats[,] observes in his Introduction to the ‘Gitanjali’: ‘A
tradition, where poetry and religion are the same thing, has passed through the centuries,
gathering from learned and unlearned metaphor and emotion, and carried back again to
the multitude, the thought of the scholar and the noble’” (Radhakrisnan 180). Because
Tagore was religious and showed it in his poetry, others felt the magic of his beliefs.
Critics saw a great personality when they looked at Tagore. “The basic and most robust
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characteristic of Tagore’s philosophy of life was his emphasis on the development of the
human personality and his deep-set conviction that there is no inherent contradiction
between the claims of the so-called opposites – the flesh and the spirit, the human and the
divine, love of life and love of God…” (Kripalini 5). [insert sentence] “The loving and
intense religious sense that permeates all his thoughts and feelings, the purity of heart,
and the noble and unaffected elevation of the style – all amount to a total impression of
deep and rare spiritual beauty’” (Dutta 186). One critic believes Tagore is among the
most influential Hindus:
The Hindu culture of the few- the philosophers, artists, rishis (seers), and
poets- is a culture much to be admired. But for every Sankara, or
Kalidasa, or Buddha, or Tagore there are thousands living in squalor, filth
and ignorance…But this should not blind critics to one of the great
strengths of this culture- the fact that it has produced some of the noblest
specimens of the human race. (Chatterjee OL)
While some compared him to the greatest that lived, others felt that his greatness came
with his similarities with the common person: “The author of ‘Gitanjali’ could be as
practical and down-to-earth as any American farmer or Bolshevik manger of a collective
farm. His only difference from the former was that he used his practical ability to benefit
others and not himself, and from the latter was that he did not believe in using force but
relied on the power of persuasion” (Kripalini 152). Although Tagore could be compared
to a farmer or manger, the differences are what made him lovable to all. What separated
him from the rest was his thinking: “Rabindranath…is a reflective thinker, but in him
reason and reflection are subordinated to imagination and emotion” (Radhakrisnan 161).
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Tagore let the world discover his thoughts and feel his emotions through his poetry.
Without this form of art, Tagore’s ideas wouldn’t have been to every corner of the earth:
“If Rabindranath has touched Indian hearts, it is because he is first and foremost a poet
and not a philosopher” (Radhakrisnan 169). Even though Tagore could be seen as a
philosopher, he used this mental power to create intriguing poetry such as “Gitanjali.”
“His [Tagore’s] penetrating insight into human minds and the many intricate ways they
relate to other people around them in love and in conflict…allowed him to map
characters and stories…from his pen” (Bengali Literature OL). Another unique quality
critics saw in Tagore was his ability to relate with children. “In a world where adults
emphasized how much children can learn from grown-ups, the poet never forgot how
much adults can learn from children” (Chandler 235). Tagore was different in that he
didn’t look for recognition; his poetry came from the heart. This is why the Nobel Prize
wasn’t everything. “If there was a bigger prize [than the Nobel Prize] for Tagore – it was
to be the hearts and souls of millions of Bengaliees who lived during his lifetime or will
ever walk on this earth since his passing away” (Bengali Literature OL). [concluding
sentence]
“Gitanjali” was a very moving collection of poetry for many. One large reason
for its success was because “’Gitanjali’…had the great and rare luck of the translator’s
being the author himself, an author who had already worked in words for well over thirty
years. It was destined to be a miraculous transformation” (Mauro 334). Another reason
is that Tagore’s life and experiences were felt in “Gitanjali” by everyone who read it.
“’Gitanjali’ while being a handful of flowers that the poet offers to the Lord of his Life, is
something more than just a sentimental bouquet. It is a handful of word-flowers that
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drew their life from his own experience” (Khanolkar 154). “’Gitanjali’ was more than
just words; it was a part of him: “His religious poetry of this period which culminated in
the passionate sincerity and utter simplicity of ‘Gitanjali’ was wrung out of his heart’s
blood. His religious insight, like that of all great saints and mistics, was born of deeply
experienced sorrow and loneliness” (Kripalini 204). Because every aspect of Tagore’s
thoughts are in “Gitanjali”, his religious beliefs can also be found in it. Tagore made
religious poetry personal and therefore magnificent. Tagore’s religious poetry has been
placed with the “world’s highest poetry” by critics because of its quality (Kripalini 181).
Tagore was accepted as an experienced and talented poet which allowed him to make his
own style. “A poetic genious like Rabindranath need not be bound by forms. He is a law
unto himself, makes his on rules and breaks thought he ordinary conventions”
(Radhakrisnan 149). Because the poet and translator was the same, and because Tagore
put his heart and soul into “Gitanjali”, it has emotionally moved people all over the
world.
Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Gitanjali’ was acknowledged all over the world by critics
and the media. Translating “Gitanjali” proved to be one of the smartest things he did.
“Now that ‘Gitanjali’ was being translated into most of the progressive and cultured
languages of the world, Tagore was winning a host of admirers and new friends in every
land. Everywhere, people felt that in some mysterious way he uttered the thoughts of
their inmost hearts” (Khanolkar 193). Articles praising Tagore’s poetry could be found
in various newspapers in different parts of the world. Chicago was one city that praised
him: “Tagore’s reputation was sensibly increased by an appreciative review of
‘Gitanjali’ in the ‘Chicago Tribune’” (Khanolkar 175). Even the well known literary
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magazines couldn’t help but praise it: “’Gitanjali was reported to be enjoying great
popularity, and the ‘Times Literary Supplement’ of November 7 [1912] had carried a
long and appreciative review of it” (Khanolkar 173). That magazine wrote: “‘…and in
reading these poems one feels, not that they are the curiosities of an alien mind, but that
they are prophetic of the poetry that might be written in England if our poets could attain
to the same harmony of emotion and idea’” (Kripalini 223). The British literary
magazine felt as if Tagore was familiar, and his ideas were for everyone. Another aspect
of Tagore’s poetry that made it favorable to many was its newness. “Never before had
poetry been read like this—in prose form, in a foreign tongue, before a foreign audience,
to whom its fancies, its imagery were something altogether new and unlike anything they
had heard till now” (Khanolkar 1). The novel style and ideas of “Gitanjali” raised its
praise to great heights. Some even said “It was of this book that critics considered equal
or superior to everything in the West from the Songs of David, the writings of Christian
mystics, and Dante, on down to Milton, Wordsworth and Shelley” (Palmer OL). To back
that bold statement up, the critic explains: “Tagore wrote some 3,000 poems and songs.
I know of no English or American poet who wrote as much. He penned some 100,000
lines of poetry. This quantity astonishes those who realize that a great writer like John
Milton wrote only about 18,000 lines of poetry” (Palmer OL). After observing the
world’s reaction, one should also look at how his own country felt. Not surprisingly,
India and Bengal are the proudest of their poet. This is reflected in the schools where
“Every Indian schoolchild learns…to recite his patriotic poem ‘Where the Head is Held
High and the Heart Set Free from Fear’, and of course to sing, on a variety of public
occasions, the Indian nation anthem, ‘Jana Gana Mana’, composed by Tagore in
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Bengali…” (Desai 5). The world accepted Tagore’s poetry, acknowledged his talent, and
praised “Gitanjali,” his greatest translated piece.
“So great was his hatred for this concept that he refused to entertain It even
where India was concerned. He had led the movement against British authority, seeing
colonialism as an expression of greed and selfishness, but he would not replace it by
Indian nationalism which he feared just as greatly” (Desai 11).
Perhaps publishers had a premonition for the future success of “Gitanjali”
because Tagore did not have trouble getting it published once the first company accepted
the risk. “From Rothenstein he received a copy of ‘Gitanjali’ published by the India
Society, together with a letter saying that arrangements had been finalized for Macmillan
and Co. to publish a further edition of ‘Gitanjali’ as well as ‘The Gardener’ and ‘Cresent
Moon’” (Khanolkar 173). After the original publication, everyone wanted a part of
Tagore, even though it hadn’t received any recognition yet. “First published in March
1913, ‘Gitanjali’ was reprinted ten times before the award of the Nobel Prize on 13
November” (Dutta 167). [concluding sentence]
Bengali literature has very rich roots and Tagore is just one part of it. The
Bengali language originates from Sanskrit and its literary heritage reflects that (Bengali
Literature OL). (Bengali Literature OL). This heritage started even before a system of
permanent writing was developed. Folk poetry was the origin and the first that came
before anything could be printed and saved:
Bengali literature has its roots in poetry. Bengali poetry has its roots in its
people. Long before the print medium was invented, folk tales had been
told from one generation to the next…. Kobials (folk poets) would often
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recite their compositions in front of appreciative audiences not only in
their immediate neighborhood, but often in far-away places…. (Bengali
Literature OL)
The folk poetry was popular not only for its entertainment value, but for its inspirational
value also: “The verses, which often included references to familiar characters from the
great Indian epics ‘Mahabharat’ and ‘Ramayan’ would serve as beacons for thousands…”
(Bengali Literature OL). Listening to poems about characters they knew or people that
lived inspiring lives positively impacted the Bengalis. Modern Bengali poetry developed
from that same inspiring folk culture and there were a few people who helped create a
rich cultural background: “Madhusan Dutta who appeared as a comet in the literary sky
of Bengal following Naveen Chandra Sen, introduced blank verses and sonnets and
presented to the world his masterpiece epic poetry ‘Meghnad Badh Kabya’” (Bengali
Literature OL). Tagore is given the most acclaim for his contribution to Bengali
literature: “Bengali Poetry reached its peak in the hands of Nobel laureate Rabindranath
Tagore (Bengali Literature).
The different literary figures belonged to separate periods into which Bengali
Literature is structured. Prose came in early 19th century. “William Carey…translated
the Bible into Bengali in 1801 for spreading Christianity – noted as the pioneering work
in Bengali prose” (Bengali Literature OL). Although it was just a translation, it was a
start of a new poetry form in this language. The Loric Period consisted of fables.
Fable-centered literature of this period has been classified into two distinct
streams. The first steam was purely romantic…. Events were exciting,
and happenings romantic. Characters and storylines were inspired by the
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omnipresence of God…. The second stream, not unlike its predecessor,
continued to be laden with religious preaching and moral edicts. However,
these were less exotic and less fanciful. Soon these stared to deal with
tales of ordinary people and their ordinary lives. (Bengali Literature OL)
This was the first step in going from folk to a more modern type of literature. Characters
that people could relate to helped increase interest. The Bankim Period slightly swayed
from the idea that literature had to have moral judgements. The literature from this
period was meant to please the reader. One author from the transitional period between
the Loric and Bankim periods couldn’t successfully accomplish this: “A new era dawned
with Pyarichand Mitra’s trend-setting prose- based novel…. Many criticized Mitra…of
not writing for entertainment value only. He…erred in making value judgments. ”
(Bengali Literature OL). Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, whom the period is named after
was the first to progress Bengali literature to have entertainment value. “It is Bankim
Chandra Chatterjee who finally dropped curtain on the Loric period…” (Bengali
Literature OL). After this Bankim period came the most known period in Bengali
Literature; the Tagore Period contains Bengali literature’s best. “The Tagore period,
which followed the Bankim period and co-existed with the Sarat Period, has to date been
the most defining period in Bengali literature…” (Bengali Literature OL). This was
because Tagore had talent and versatility, and because it was the first time Bengali
literature became world renowned. Bengali poetry was read outside of Bengal and India
on a larger basis. Because of this Rabindranath Tagore is considered a “world
phenomenon” (Bengali Literature OL). The works of the Tagore period still remain the
most known of the Bengali literature outside of Bengal. The Sarat Period was during the
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same time period as Tagore’s days. Even though Tagore’s name was everywhere “…it
was novelist Sarat Chandra Chatterjee who brought modern Bengali literature to the
[Bengali] masses…” (Bengali Literature OL). He was more learned in pure Bengali and
therefore gave the readers something more. Sarat knew enough himself that Tagore did
not alter him: “His mastery on this branch of Bengali literature was so complete that…
remaining under the full glare of Tagore’s creative genius, Sarat Chandra was never to be
influenced by it…” (Bengali Literature OL). Out of all of the literary periods
The freedom of his nation was of great importance to Tagore. Gandhi was the
most known freedom fighter in Tagore’s time. Tagore and Gandhi knew and respected
each other very much, however, they didn’t agree on everything (Sen OL). They had
their own ideas and beliefs on how to go about earning freedom. Even if this was true,
“Rabindranath knew that he could not have given India that political leadership that
Gandhi provided and he was never stingy in his praise for what Gandhi did for the
nation…” (Sen OL). There were many problems in India; some because of the British
rule and the others not. “Towards the end of his life, Tagore was indeed become
discouraged about the state of India…” (Sen OL). Rabindranath Tagore felt the need to
do something to help his nation.
Tagore’s style is emotionally felt throughout the hundred-plus poems. Imagery is
the dominant technique that Tagore uses. “Written while Tagore was in extreme pain and
moving slowly but inexorably toward death, they are compact, elegant, contemplative,
and riveting lyrics that pierce the quiet realm of planets an stars, then dive back to the
flowery, noiseome Earth, where beauty and ugliness, life and death entwine” (Seaman
OL). Images continually form as one reads “Gitanjali” as one line from it shows: “…
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The horizon is fiercely naked – not the thinnest cover of a soft cloud, not the vaguest hint
of a distant cool shower” (Tagore 45). Tagore paints a picture of the sky with his words
to bring to feeling of emptiness. Many have recognized that “’…[ Tagore uses a]
wonderful abundance of imagery…” (Kalasky 404) but few go on to conclude that “Here
we get close to the heart of his genious, and can confidently claim for him the title of
great poet. No poet that ever lived…has a more constant and intimate touch with natural
beauty’” (Kalasky 404). Perhaps the first stanza from poem XVI reveals Tagore’s zeal
and mastery towards imagery: “I have had my invitation to this world’s festival, and
thus/ my life has been blessed. My eyes have seen and my ears/ have heard” (Tagore 19).
The poet feels blessed because he was able to satisfy his senses and experience the world.
Although the amount of imagery is incredible, the fact that Tagore only uses a few things
to create the vast variety of images is even more so: “’There is a recurrence of certain
vocabulary, of flowers, south wind, spring, autumn, tears, laughter, separation, tunes,
bees, and the rest…’” (Kalasky 403). Tagore utilizes many recurring motifs in
‘Gitanjali’.
Nature was close to Tagore’s heart. “So deep is Rabindranath’s love of nature
that to him every aspect of nature becomes a symbol of beauty” (Radhakrisnan
Cenkner2). Tagore creates images of the beauty of nature throughout “Gitanjali” as seen
in poem LXVII:
There comes the morning with the golden basket in/ her right hand bearing
the wreath of beauty, silently to/ crown the earth.// And there comes the
evening over the lonely meadows/ deserted by herds, through tackles
paths, carrying cool/ draughts of peace in her golden pitcher from the
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western/ ocean of rest.// But there, where spreads the infinite sky for the/
soul to take her flight in, reins the stainless white/ radiance. (Tagore 79)
“Indian thought never cared for nature divorced from spirit, Nature thus viewed is an
illusive phenomenon” (Radhakrisnan 135). Tagore, as an Indian, also felt a connection to
nature. In “Gitanjali” he exclaims “Thou art the sky and thou art the nest as well”
(Tagore 79) saying that his soul through God is one with nature. Because “Nature is
present in nearly every poem of these three volumes…” (Lago OL), it is apparent that
nature was needed to complete Rabindranath Tagore.
The poet was also in search of the Eternal or Ideal. Tagore refers to the Eternal
throughout the poetry. “In ‘Gitanjali’ the ‘eternal’ is in quest of man – a quest which
leaves its footprints on endless stretches of planets” (Verma 91). This longing to reach
God elevates the value of “Gitanjali.” It has a bigger purpose. “Poetry would not delight
and give joy if it did not reveal the eternal though its form. Poetry aims, in the language
of Hegel, ‘ to present in forms for the imagination features of the ultimate ideal of the
harmonised universe’” (Radhakrisnan 127). In writing “Gitanjali,” Tagore successfully
accomplishes Hegel’s definition of poetry because of the quest to the eternal is included.
Other motifs are also dispersed within “Gitanjali.” Even though there is much
repetition, Tagore makes excellent use of his limited motifs:
Rarely was fine poetry, one thinks, made out of less variety; rain and
cloud, wind and rising river, boatmen, lamps, temples and gongs, flutes
and vinas, birds flying home at dusk, travelers tired or with provisions
exhausted, flowers opening and falling. It is astonishing what range the
poet gets out of these few things—they are far too naturally and purely
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used there to be called properties, as they justifiably might be in much of
his work…. (Thompson OL)
[add sentence] One of his common motifs is “the poet” that is actually referring to God.
“The tribute to the poet of the earth is eloquently expressed in ‘Gitanjali’ (song No.
XLIX, pp.23-24): ‘Masters are many in your hall and songs are sung there at all
hours….’ The divine hears the note of human pain in the poet’s song which is ‘plaintive
little strain mingled with the great music of the world’” (Verma 124). Tagore relates God
to his own life to feel closeness. Another motif of Tagore’s is time. “In the ‘Gitanjali’
poem (LXXXII) ‘Time is endless in thy hands, my lord’, the Old Testament idea of a
revealing pattern of life which God dog not permit one to see fully, He limits the vision
by time, while in His hands time is endless” (Verma 24). While reading “Gitanjali,” what
Tagore said about time being endless seemed true. As Tagore stayed with only a few
motifs, he also stayed with the common language for his poetry: “Most important, he
initiated a rhetorical revolution in modern Bengali poetry by using language that
orthodox literary pundits considered unsuited to serious poetry: he used the simpler
colloquial diction and verb forms of the vernacular instead of the highly Sanskritized,
more formal and sonorous diction of literary Bengali” (Lago OL). Tagore’s ability to
create an entire collection of poetry using limited motifs and a simple language brought
him the recognition he deserved.
Translating poetry from Bengali to English created an almost new poetry
collection apart from the original. Even though the original Bengali “Gitanjali” was
rhymed and was sung, the translation into English changed this:
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Inextricably bound up with this great event was the problem of translation,
a problem always central to international literary exchange; it becomes
especially thorny when, as in the case of Rabindranath’s poems, the form
is changed from rhymed metrical verse to free verse, when the editors
neither know the language of the original poems nor enlist as consultant
any one who does, and the general public has neither information about
other poetry in the Bengali language nor access to instruction in that
language. (Lago OL)
“Despite the archaic language of the original translation of ‘Gitanjali’…its elementary
humanity comes through more clearly than any complex and intense spirituality…” (Sen
OL). After the translation, the style differed from the original, but still proved to be
powerful.
“Gitanjali” is also a collection of melodic poems that can be sung. One critic
even claims: “They [poems of ‘Gitanjali’] fairly cry out to be set to music” (Lago OL).
Melody is a key aspect in Tagore’s poetry. This is why the original poems were sung.
“The Song Offerings are more of song in the original and more of an offering in the
English” (Mauro 333). The title of the poem indicates that the poem has the melody of a
song: “’…the titles of these three volumes [‘Gitimalya’, ‘Gitanjali’, & ‘Gitali’] clearly
indicates that Tagore considered the melody to be at least as important as the poetic
imagery’” (Kalasky 413). Even though the translation does not have the complete
songlike melody, there is a distinct melody and rhythm in “Gitanjali.” One critic reveals
that “There will be melody in the tongue only if there is melody in the heart. The
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harmony of the soul is attained when the mind is not seized with doubts” (Radhakrisnan
129). Tagore had a beautiful tune inside of them that created the melody of “Gitanjali.”
Tagore’s poems also display wonderful rhythm. As with melody, Tagore’s inner
qualities and lifelong experiences expressed the rhythm in his poems (Radhakrisnan 129).
To apply this rhythm to his lyrics, Tagore used prose: “They are written in prose, but a
prose which has all the rhythm and beauty of poetry” (Kripalini 270). He chose abandon
the rhyme he used in Bengali in order to keep his message pure: “…realizing that rhymes
have a restricting effect on the free flight of the poetic spirit, Rabindranath employs the
rhythmical prose…” (Radhakrisnan Cenkner9-150). “Gitanjali” is meant to be read aloud
and only this way will one be able to get the full effect of its rhythm: “The movement of
his prose may escape you if you read it only from print, but read it aloud, a little
tentatively, and the delicacy of its rhythm is at once apparent” (Pound OL). A critic says
that the prose Tagore chose to write in was meant to be: “I think this good fortune is
unconscious. I do not think it is an accident. It is the sort of prose rhythm a man would
use after years of word arranging” (Pound OL). Tagore’s rhythmical prose is successful
in keeping melody, rhythm, and the original ideas from the Bengali “Gitanjali.”
Rabindranath Tagore uses a mixture these ideas to create tones and feelings in
“Gitanjali.” All of them together can be overwhelming: “Their wistfulness, which if one
were to read all 159 poems at a sitting, would become very wearisome, echoes a
dominant mood of Kshanika” (Lago OL). Underlying all of the feelings, there is a
calmness; “…beneath and about it all is this spirit of curious quiet….As the sense of
balance came back upon Europe in the days before the Renaissance, so it seems to me
does this sense of a saner stillness come now to us in the midst of our clangour of
NAME 28
mechanisms…” (Pound OL). Tagore is asking for this silence in “Gitanjali”: “…come
to me, my lord of silence, with thy peace and rest” (Tagore 44). The poems may be quiet,
but not sullen. “…these poems [of ‘Gitanjali’] are full of light, they are full of positive
statement” (Pound OL). Through “Gitanjali,” Tagore reveals how God bring this
positive, light feeling: “The light of thy music illumines the world” (Tagore 3). Since
much of the mood comes from a spiritual angle, not all readers may be able to relate.
One critic sees that “…if they [poems of ‘Gitanjali’] have a quality that will put them at a
disadvantage with the ‘general reader’, it is that they are too pious. Yet I have nothing
but pity for the reader who is unable to see that their piety is the poetic piety of Dante,
and that is its very beautiful…” (Pound OL). The imagery also impacts the tone of
“Gitanjali.” The scenes Tagore creates with his words takes the reader through a calm,
natural-filled world: “In the fragrant days of sunny April through the forest path he
comes, comes, ever comes” (Tagore 51). As seen in the previous quote, “His work is,
above all things, quiet. It is sunny, Apricus, ‘fed with sun’, ‘delighting in sunlight’. As
noted before, Tagore has a connection with nature. “One has in reading it a sense of even
air, where many Orientals only make us aware of abundant vegetation” (Pound OL).
Contrary to most, one critic feels that the poems are slightly dismal:
The book’s mood is grey, its key is almost always minor, its pictures
mournful, or, at best, untouched by exhilaration. Probably the impression
of monotony comes from this oneness of mood, an impression as of a
wind wailing through rainy woods, and from the fact that the book gets its
effects out of the merest handful of illustrations (Thompson OL)
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There are certain parts of “Gitanjali” where one may seem lost and down: “I have no
sleep tonight. Ever and again I open my door and look out on the darkness, my friend!// I
can see nothing before me. I wonder where lies thy path!” (Tagore 26) However, the
message in “Gitanjali” asks the reader to look beyond the outside into ones own self. It is
there where the light and happiness of “Gitanjali” can be experienced: “I knew not then
that it was so near, that it was mine, and that this perfect sweetness had blossomed in the
depth of my own heart” (Tagore 23). The “sweetness” Tagore refers to is the realization
of self-worth. Through hues, feelings, nature, and pictures formed by words Tagore
makes a positive mood prevail throughout his poems.
Although most people would agree that poetry need not be as deep and spiritual
as Tagore made it, to him it was necessary. Another critic felt that some philosophy is
required in superior poetry: “Though it is not the aim of poetry as a species of art to tell
us of a philosophy, still it cannot fulfill its purpose unless it embodies a philosophic
vision. It must offer an interpretation of life, give a fuller view of reality” (Radhakrisnan
127). Tagore wrote “Gitanjali” not only because it was his art form, but it became his
way to discover his own soul (and help others do the same). While creating the spiritual
poems, Tagore succeeded in making beautiful art with his words. The same critic earlier
in this paragraph gives importance to the concluding feelings of a poem: “A tragedy
which leaves on the mind an impression of disgust and dissatisfaction is a failure as a
work of art. The ultimate feeling in true art should be one of triumph and satisfaction”
(Radhakrisnan 132). Tagore is able to bring the sense of satisfaction in the end by having
the relationship with the lord grow. [add book quotes]
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The hundred plus poems in ‘Gitanjali’ revolve around a few strong themes.
Tagore’s love of nature is presented in the lyrics of “Gitanjali”. Tagore’s connections
with nature is unmatched my anyone: “’Gitanjali’ brings the poet into closer and more
familiar contact with the natural world than any previous book” (Hall 491). “Gitanjali’s”
contents are very religious, but Tagore makes them more subtle with nature. “While
most of Tagore’s poems are imbued with a deeply spiritual and devotional quality
bordering on mysticism, his vision is firmly grounded in a love for nature and the world
sensuous experience” (Kalasky 401). Poem IV gives an example of this: “I shall ever try
to drive all evils away from my heart and keep my love in flower, knowing that thou hast
thy seat in the inmost shrine of my heart” (Tagore 4). Tagore relates his love of nature to
God’s presence everywhere in order to comprehend spiritual ideas. “To him
[Rabindranath Tagore] every flower is a symbol of worship, every garland a gitanjali,
every forest a temple, and every hill-top God’s dueling-place” (Radhakrisnan 142).
Seeing God in all of nature most likely sustained his love for nature. He felt no
separation or differences: “A poet who wishes to see beauty everywhere must love the
earth. The soul must be at home in the world and feel no strangeness in it”
(Radhakrisnan 131). As the quest for a Hindu is to become one with God, Tagore was
one with nature. “The true poet finds his happiness in the world or not at all. The poet
must have love of nature and of creation” (Radhakrisnan 130). Seeing that his creator
and the creator of nature were the same, “Rabindranath taught that nature reflects the
Supreme Person, that divinity is immanent and behind the phenomenal creation, and the
genuine education is experiential and not vicarious” (Chandler 235). Rabindranath
Tagore’s perspective is not shared by all; the Western viewpoint differs:
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There is in [Mr. Tagore] the stillness of nature….He is at one with nature,
and fins no contradictions. And this is in sharp contrast with the Western
mode, where man must be shown attempting to master nature if we are to
have ‘great drama’. It is in contrast to the Hellenic representation of man
the sport of the gods, and both in the grip of destiny…. (Pound OL)
Unaware, or choosing not to care about others’ views, Tagore passionately filled
“Gitanjali” with his own beliefs and his own true love for nature.
Love was showered towards many things in this poetic journey. “…Tagore had
defined ‘love’ as the perfect comprehension…” (Verma 127). Poem LXV explains that
definition: “Thou givest thyself to me in love and then feelest thine own entire sweetness
in me” (Tagore 76). From God’s love, Tagore feels the strength, feels the power within
himself. Tagore’s deepest feeling of love is expressed towards God. “The fountain
[‘Gitanjali’] from which all this springs is a deeply dug source in the rugged rocks of ages
—the love which man has felt for his deity and who responded to it” (Verma 131 132).
From this love, Tagore wrote the hundred or so poems of “Gitanjali” in Bengali and
translated most into English to spread the feeling further. “His previous themes converge
in this series [‘Gitanjali’, ‘Gitamalya’, and ‘Gitali’], including love of nature, love of
women and mankind, the dedication to nation and poetry…” (Cenkner 25). One poem
reveals Tagore’s care for his country: “Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my
country awake” (Tagore 40). The theme of love is everywhere in “Gitanjali.”
The search for and connection to God is what carries a reader through all the
poems of “Gitanjali”. “The idea of a direct, joyful, and totally fearless relationship with
God can be found in many of Tagore’s religious writings, including the poems of
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‘Gitanjali’” (Sen OL). It is clear that Tagore is religious because “Gitanjali” is not the
only place God is a main theme. He takes two angles when he looks at God: “The poet
worships God as the spirit of beauty, while the philosopher pays his homage to God as
the ideal of truth” (Radhakrisnan 160). As noted before, Tagore finds God everywhere in
what he loves most, nature:
“If he seeks the divinity in nature, he finds there a living personality with
features of omnipotence, the all-embracing lord of nature, whose
preternatural spiritual power nevertheless likewise reveals its presence in
all temporal life, small as well as great, but especially in the soul of man
predestined for eternity” (Hjarne OL).
Because Rabindranath Tagore is Hindu and Indian, his background’s influences are in his
poetry. “In India, the greater part of our literature is religious because God with us is not
a distant God. He belongs to our homes as well as to our temples” (Chandler 235).
Tagore always keeps God around him in “Gitanjali”. “…when a person experiences the
Supreme Self, a person fulfills the purpose of human existence. The Supreme Self is not
an abstract philosophical conception but reality experienced immediately by individuals
through expanded consciousness” (Chandler 234). This realization of “the Supreme” is
what Tagore is trying to bring out through his poetry. [concluding sentence]
Rabindranath Tagore’s religious practices and beliefs are visible in “Gitanjali.”
“Yeats was not wrong to see a large religious element in Tagore’s writings” (Sen OL).
However, since almost the entire “Gitanjali” is an “offering” to God, it is not surprising
to see copious amounts of religious references. “Praise, prayer, and fervent devotion
pervade the song offerings that he lays at the feet of this nameless divinity of his” (Hjarne
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OL). One of those “offerings” wonderfully illuminates Tagore’s faith in his deity: “If I
call not thee in my prayers, if I keep not thee in my heart, thy love for me still waits for
my love” (Tagore 37). He is saying that God will always love him regardless of his
attitude towards Him. This is the divinity that Tagore’s “Gitanjali” is an offering to. This
is the God that inspired him to make these religious poems. “Tagore’s expression of a
personal communion with a supreme deity who inspires his praise and devotion [is]
culminated in ‘Gitanjali (Song Offerings)’” (Kalasky 401). After feeling God inside
himself, Tagore let “Gitanjali” flow out of himself expressing his religious nature as a
strong theme in the poems.
Death is different in the mind of this poet than most others. “In ‘Gitanjali’ there
are a few deftly created songs out of the original Bangla which touch on the theme of
‘death’…” (Verma 130). In those poems that do have the theme of death, the reader gets
the impression that Tagore is unafraid and ready for death: “O thou the last fulfilment of
life, Death, my death, come and whisper to me!” (Tagore 107). Unlike most people,
Tagore asks for death’s arrival. “In Tagore, death is a great friend, an extension of the
frontiers of consciousness in other dimensions” (Verma Cenkner8). Tagore realizes that
death is inevitable and thus puts a positive outlook towards it. He almost sees it as a
celebration to his life: “On the day when death will knock at thy door what wilt thou
offer to him?// Oh, I will set before my guest the full vessel of my life---I will never let
him go with empty hands” (Tagore 106). The poet is certain that he will live a complete
life so as to not regret anything he must give up at the time of death.
Tagore desired freedom, not only for his country, but also for the world. His
experiences under the British rule brought the theme of freedom into “Gitanjali”:
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For Tagore it was of the highest importance that people be able to live,
and reason, in freedom. His attitudes toward politics and culture,
nationalism and internationalism, tradition and modernity, can all be seen
in the light of this belief. Nothing, perhaps expresses his values as clearly
as a poem in ‘Gitanjali’: ‘Where the mind is without fear and the head is
held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken
up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;…Where the clear stream of
reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;…Into
that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.’ (Sen OL)
[insert sentence] “They [poems from ‘Gitanjali’] contain not only his surrender of
himself, but also the expression of his grief for this country’s sorry state” (Khanolkar
154). To deal with his country’s “sorry state,” Tagore asks his deity for the ability to do
something: “Give me the strength lightly to bear my joys and sorrows.// Give me the
strength to make my love fruitful in service.// Give me the strength never to disown the
poor or bend my knees before insolent might” (Tagore 41). The poet would not accept
sitting around watching his nation go down; he wanted to do all that his strength would
allow. “Tagore believed that India had a message for the world, but he thought India
must also incorporate others’ messages into her own cultural repertoire” (Chatterjee OL).
Before accepting others’ ideas, ones own ideas must be strong. Tagore’s quest in
“Gitanjali” included the desire for freedom; he wanted the freedom to live life, nothing
more.
There are other important themes as well. “Tagore, poignant and wise, ponders
love, fear, time memory, and the porousness of the self in poems of wonder, sorrow, and
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solace” (Seaman OL). “’Rabindranath is frequently characterized as a poet of joy.
Assuming that ‘joy’ means not ‘happiness’, but implies a realization of the
transcendent…’” (Kalasky 404). “His own attitude, moreover, is that he is but the
intermediary giving freely of that to which by birth he has access. He is not at all
anxious to shine before men as a genius or as an inventor of some new thing” (Hjarne
OL).
Tagore’s structure varies throughout “Gitanjali,” but the length of lines is based
on a Bengali meter. “He combined one of the oldest of Bengali meters, the payar (two
lines of fourteen syllables each), with subject-matter drawn from the most commonplace
details of daily living” (Lago OL). As mentioned, there are two lines together that form
one stanza, and there are mostly four stanzas in every poem. “Gitanjali” consists of one
hundred three poems. They are written in unrhymed prose.
“[The] metrical achievement of ‘Gitanjali’ is impeccable. The poems were
written to be sung; but they sing themselves” (Hall 491). Because “Gitanjali” was first
written in Bengali, it had the melodic structure of a song. Translating it into English took
away its songlike quality.
Rabindranath Tagore created almost a story-like structure in “Gitanjali.” In the
beginning, the poet establishes a relationship with his deity. Later on he expresses the
desire to realize God and reach Him. By the end he is ready to accept death having lived
a satisfactory life. This collection of poems ends with the poet dedicating his everything
(including these poems) to the divinity he seeks throughout “Gitanjali.”
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Works Cited
Dutta, Krishna Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad-minded Man. New York: St.
Martin's, 1996 (DePaul PK1725 .D871996)