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Good afternoon. So, this is our first session on discussion of poetry. So, my question is,
what is poetry? Anyone? The poetry is defined in different ways, by different people. Some,
even call it spontaneous expression of emotions and some may disagree, that anything which
is written after much contemplation and with a definite line of thought, cannot be all
that spontaneous. So, poetry as a genre, has as many admirers as detractors. So, some people
are passionate lovers of poetry and some people have, you know, absolute dislike, disdain
for the genre. One of our most famous contemporary poets, Marianne Moore, she says, I too dislike
it; that is her take on poetry. And, W H Auden, the celebrated war poet from Britain, he famously
said, poetry makes nothing happen; still we read and enjoy poetry. A very few genres give
us as much pleasure as reading good poems. So, poetry makes nothing happen; well, we
will see. So, today, what we are going to do is, look at certain stylistic devices,
certain sub genres of poetry and also, in certain influential poetic movements, down
the years. And, while doing so, I will give you certain examples from a various genres;
of course, I will give you more recent, more contemporary examples of different kinds of
poems, written especially during the late 60s and 70s onwards. So, what does poetry
require? Poetry, of course, like all works of art, all works of literature, it requires
imagination. So, one is imagination; it is also a sort of musical game. Of course, all
literature is music; whether it is a prose, or a play, there is an element of music in
language. So, yes, but it is more so, in poetry. So, poetry is also, engenders certain kind
of music and it is one of the reasons for the immense popularity and the kind of pleasure
it evokes in people. Poetry, of course, is also, one genres, one
of the genres, which require lots of a stress on rhyme, meter and a structure, ok. Still,
there are no hard and fast rules; there are no set codes, or rules, to write, or a structure;
poetry, it can even be free verse. And today, we are going to look at several examples,
where we will find that, there is absolutely no structure, especially, in the so called,
postmodern poetry. But, still, there is lot of depth, lot of meaning embedded in those
poems. So, the patterns that exists within language, you know, and we are talking, with
this specific reference to poetry; one is word order; sentence order, sentence, a structure,
sound, emphasis, rhythm, stress and the way it is displayed on a page, on, on, on the
page, ok. So, the kind of pattern it forms on the page, all these constitute poems, poetry.
Let us come to the basic styles. So, basic is, what are the different kinds of a style
of poetry?
So, one is lyric. Lyric is a kind of poem, which is, which expresses a single emotion
and can be set to music; and think, some major poems by Lord Tennyson. So, he is one of the
more well known writers of, poets of, in the lyrical form. Of course, we have ode and when
you talk ode, you know, during the past three to four hundred years, one name that suddenly
comes to me, is John, John Keats; all those wonderful, extremely beautiful odes; An Ode
to the Nightingale, Ode to Autumn, for example, Ode to the Grecian Urn, that is my personal
favorite. So, ode is a serious and dignified composition kind of poem, which is exalted
in subject matter. But then, I am also going to give you an example, where the subject
matter is not so exalted, ok. So, how, definitions, or our understanding of genres change, or
changes, down the years, down the ages, that is what we are going to talk about.
We have sonnet, as one of the examples; sonnet is a poem in fourteen lines. Shakespearean
sonnets, Spenserian sonnets, even Miltonic-sonnets and what do they do, they express a single
thought. So, that is one important idea. And then, we have elegy. So, grace elegy; it is
lamentation for the dead; basically, it is lamentation for the dead. It is an, it is
a poem of tragedy, expressing a very, heart-felt tragic emotions. So, that is elegy. We have
idyll. Idyll does not have a set form; it is basically associated with pictorial quality.
And, now let us go on to epic. Now, epic, when you talk epic, what comes,
especially in the, from the western context, what comes immediately to our minds? Iliad
and Odyssey, and what are they? So, an epic is a long tale in verse; it has a deep sense
of moral purpose, with exalted heroes as principal characters. So, think Achilles and think Odyssey;
so, I am sorry, Ulysses, ok. So, all these are epic heroes. So, an epic needs a hero;
even in our Indian context, we have the two famous epics; so, which tell us the story
of great heroes. Next we have the ballad. Ballad is more like an oral form; it is also
like a, like an epic. It arises out of folk literature, you know, the kind of a poem,
that has been passed down from one generation to another, generation to generations, ok.
So, that is, it tells a story, again in verse. So, think of Sir Walter Scott’s The Lay
of the Last Minstrel, that is a very good example of a ballad.
Then, you have satire. Satire is, the purpose of satire is to ridicule, to correct certain
social, is a kind of some problem. So, there is, there, there could be some, or it sometimes,
it is also a personal attack. So, that is a satire. So, it is intended to ridicule certain
attitudes and certain sort of, certain sorts of behavior; and, it can be found in both
prose as well as poetry. Think Byron’s Vision of Judgment and Butler’s Hudibras.
Now, these are the major kinds, or styles of poetry. Now, from here, let us go down
to the major poetic movements. Of course, I am sure, you are familiar with the romantic
movement; we also have a meta physical movement, the classical movement, as well as the modernist
movement. You have the poetry of the First and the Second World War, and then, you have
the postmodern poetry, something which we are going to discuss in the subsequent classes.
So, postmodern poetry, who are the major poets? What are the major names associated with postmodern
poetry? So, one is Philip Larkin; then Thom Gunn,
Ted Hughes, Geoffrey Hill and Anthony Hecht. So, these are the people, but you know, they
are not, this is not a definitive list; these are not all; we have several more examples
of major postmodern poets, who have been writing this and who came into prominence, especially
during the 60’s and the 70’s onwards. So, one defining feature of the postmodern
poetry is, is anti postmodernist; of course, that is, a major feature of postmodern is
a anti-modernist. So, if poets like, let us think, Ted Hughes, so, they are, they, a completely
opposite; they go totally against the tide of modernism. We look at certain examples
and then, discuss that. Postmodernist poetry also engenders anxiety and reflects desire
for change. Philip Larkin defied traditional beliefs,
as found in the modernist poetry as, I have no belief in tradition, or a common myth,
or causal allusions in poems, to other poems or poets. So, what he did was, a total turnabout;
this is therefore, this is the importance of Philip Larkin; one of the major and most
influential contemporary poets. So, his output includes majorly, The North Ship, in 1945,
The Less Deceived in 1955, The Whitsun Weddings in 1944. So, these poems reflect an ironic
humor, with which he accepts and sustains a sense of defeat; larger subject is the unlived
life of the English provinces. So, Charles Tomlinson, the famous British poet and translator,
he observed that, Larkin is more interested in the provincial life; the not so sophisticated
life of the British people. So, that is and we are just going to look at one of his more
famous poems. So, born in 1922, so, that is 1922 to 1985, that is Philip Larkin's dates,
he was educated in Oxford and his poetry emphasizes solitude, transience and provincial.
So, he was, he was a rebel in many respects, and when you read his poems of the provincial
life, they do not depict what you find in the works of Wordsworth or Coleridge; but,
they are extremely defined and angry pieces. His poetry is a mix of high language, you
know, high style, as well as slang and colloquialism. So, he mixes the two. Of course, and he, they
are underlined by deep feelings of anger and melancholy. One of his final collections of,
were poems was published in 1974, a decade before his death; it was called To the Sea,
and you must know that, one thing about Philip Larkin is that, he was, all through his life,
he was criticized for having bigoted views on race, gender and politics. So, To the Sea
reflects his engagement with public affairs, one, and also the spoilation of rural England;
as we were looking, just discussing earlier, that he was a writer of rural England, the
provinces, and his concern was the spoil, you know, the decay of the rural England.
They, in, To the Sea his collection, there is a poem called Posterity, which is extremely
anti-American and as well as anti-Semitic. So, and what I am trying to tell you is that,
he, he was concerned with a broad range of areas, broad range of topics and subject matters;
and, not always politically correct; not always making the popular choices. So, that is Philip
Larkin, and I am going to talk to you, about one of his very famous, and also, very short
poem called Ambulances. So, that will give you some idea, about what Philip Larkin was
all about. So, Ambulances and here it goes.
Closed like confessionals, they thread Loud noons of cities, giving back
None of the glances they absorb. Light glossy grey, arms on a plaque,
They come to rest at any kerb: All streets in time are visited.
Also notice that meters, so, it is like a b a b a b. So, of course, he is very conscious
of the rhyming pattern, but the, it is the idea. The ambulances, it is a very, you know,
every day kind of an object; not some very exalted subject, right. But to write a poem
on something, which is so commonplace. Ambulances, who would ever think of writing a poem about
ambulances? But then, ambulances symbolize something for the poet. What do they symbolize?
What do they stand for? Disease, sickness, maybe, even death. So, ambulances are compared
to; so, you find an example of a simile; closed like confessionals. What is a confessional?
You go to the church and confess your sins, confess your fears. So, what is a confessional
supposed to be? It is supposed to be private, secret, as well as sacred; something which
is inscrutable; it cannot be deciphered. So, that is what ambulances stand for. No one
knows what goes behind those closed doors. So,
Closed like confessionals, they thread Loud noon’s of cities
So, ambulances going all through the city and they stop it some, at some curb and take
the patient and drive away; but, it is to be noted that, all streets in time are visited.
So, it is not just he or she, but all of us. So, everyone’s time will come; that is the
idea. It is inevitable. So, ambulances are not, just what happened to othersl it happens
to, they happened to everyone. So, it is just a matter of time.
Then children strewn on steps or road, Or women coming from the shops
Past smells of different dinners, see A wild white face that overtops
Red stretcher-blankets momently As it is carried in and stowed
So, children strewn on a steps or roads, or woman coming from the shop; no one is immune
to, it can happen to anyone; ambulances can be required by anybody, ok.
Past smells of dinner different dinners, see a white, a wild white face.
Now, look at the contrast in colors in the next two, in these two lines; a wild white
face that overtops red stretcher blankets. So, wild white face, white here is the color
of death; you know, deathly pale, deathly white and red is suitable contrast. So, red
is a color of the blankets. So, death wrapped in red; this is, as it is carried in and is
stowed. And sense the solving emptiness
That lies just under all we do, And for a second get it whole,
So permanent and blank and true. The fastened doors recede. Poor soul,
They whisper at their own distress So, it is not like, somebody is going; that
the person who is dead, or who is hurt, or you know, who is sort of victim, it will happen
only to them; but, it is also, when people sympathize with the person who is being carried
away in an ambulance, it, they also sympathize for themselves; that is the idea. So, the
hollow, the general hollowness of life, life’s emptiness; this is the fate; this is going
this is something that is going to happen to all of us.
For borne away in deadened air May go the sudden shut of loss
Round something nearly at an end, And what cohered in it across
The years, the unique random blend Of families and fashions, there
At last begin to loosen. Far From the exchange of love to lie
Unreachable inside a room The traffic parts to let go by
Brings closer what is left to come, And dulls to distance all we are.
So, accepting the inevitability of death, without ever mentioning the word death. So,
that is the beauty of Philip Larkin. I mean, Ambulances is all about accepting that, death
is an integral part of life; it is an inevitable part of life. But the, he says so, without
once using the word death. So, this is a device that he uses. So, he never uses the word accident;
he never uses the word disease, or sickness, or victim, or body, or death. And, without
saying all these words, which are commonly, generally associated with ambulances, he,
you know, very firmly establishes his point that, you know death is random; death can
strike anyone; death is inevitable. So, that is Philip Larkin, one of the most
important poets of the postmodern era and that is his Ambulances. And, he has, you know,
when we were talking, when I was introducing the poet to you, I talked about the note of
anger, melancholy and despair, that that underscore all his poetry. So, this is one good example
of, you know, Philip Larkin’s style. Now, when I started, and when I was introducing
you the various styles of poems, I told you about odes. What is an ode? An ode is an exalted
form of poetry. So, traditionally, ode is used, when the subject of the poem is extremely
serious. But now, let me read you, read you a poem by Pablo Neruda, which is called Ode
to Clothes. Now, clothes, and ode is a direct address to the subject. So, a direct address
to something, as banal, as commonplace a subject, as clothes; something we, you know, one, something
to which one is so accustomed, and, which is an everyday object.
So, Ode to Clothes by Pablo Neruda. Every morning you wait,
clothes, over a chair So, that is the, you know, position of the
clothes; they wait for, for the poet, for the wearer to wear them. So, they are all,
you know, spread out on a chair. to fill yourself with
my vanity, my love, my hope, my body.
Barely risen from sleep,
I relinquish the water, enter your sleeves,
my legs look for the hollows of your legs,
and so embraced by your indefatigable faithfulness
I rise, to tread the grass, enter poetry,
consider through the windows, the things,
the men, the women, the deeds and the fights
go on forming me, go on making me face things
working my hands, opening my eyes,
using my mouth, and so,
clothes, I too go forming you,
extending your elbows, snapping your threads,
and so your life expands in the image of my life.
In the wind you billow and snap
as if you were my soul, at bad times
you cling to my bones,
vacant, for the night, darkness, sleep
populate with their phantoms Your wings and mine.
I wonder if one day
a bullet from the enemy
will leave you stained with my blood and then
you will die with me or one day
not quite so dramatic
but simple, you will fall ill,
clothes, with me,
grow old with me, with my body
and joined we will enter
The earth. Because of this
each day I greet you
with reverence and then you embrace me and I forget you,
because we are one and we will go on
facing the wind, in the night, the streets or the fight,
a single body, one day, one day, some day, still.
Now, the profound thoughts that are expressed, for a subject, which is so banal; which is
some, something, you know, some or something of so, everyday occurrence, that most of us
would not give a second thought to. Ok, but then, for the poet, clothes are very important;
clothes are not, clothes are him. So, it is like, without clothes, you are nothing; clothes
define you; clothes make you; clothes protect you; clothes are with you, forever, ok.
So, in sickness, or in happiness, or in death, if you are shot dead, then, they will get
stained along with you; if you are buried, they will be buried along. So, clothes form
a very important part; you know, almost like a second skin to a human being and that is
what the, the poet is trying to tell us. So, the idea here is that different kinds of poems.
So, we have, on one hand we have someone like Phillip Larkin, who talks about a subject
so serious as death, through ambulances; and then, you have someone like Pablo Neruda,
who contemplates the nature of life and death, a violent death or an ordinary death, through
the means of clothes and writing Ode to clothes. So, different writers, different styles and
different kinds of poems. I will read you another poem, which is written
by one of our more contemporary writers; that is, Adrienne Rich. She is an American poet,
and heavily influenced by poets like, W H Auden and W B Yeats. So, you know, not just
a feminist poet, just because she is a female, but the way she projects herself, is more
like a universal poet, who expresses common emotions and universal thoughts and ideas.
So, one poem, that is extremely striking and which I have always enjoyed, is called Amnesia.
So, I am going to read that out to you. I almost trust myself to know
When we’re getting to that scene Call it the snow-scene in Citizen Kane
The mother handing over her son The earliest American dream
Shot in a black-and-white Where every flake of snow
in incandescent with its own burden, adding-
up, always adding-up to the cold blur of the past
But first there is the picture of the past simple and pitiless as the deed
truly was the putting-away of a childish thing
Becoming a man means leaving Someone, or something—
still, why must the snow scene blot itself out
the flakes come down so fast so heavy, so unrevealing
over the something that gets left behind? Now, she, the point of reference is Orson
Welles’ movie Citizen Kane, regarded by many, as one of the best American films ever
made. And, Citizen Kane has a famous scene, where a mother hands over her child to a banker,
because the, the child has come into a great deal of wealth, and the child's father is
a no good. So, she fears that, he will squander away the son’s inheritance and therefore,
she gives the son to a banker, who is going to manage his wealth for the child, till he
grows up; tills he comes of an age. So, Amnesia. This is, you know, related to memory, forgetfulness,
but she begins so. I almost trust myself to know
when we are getting to that scene call it the snow scene in Citizen Kane
Since the handing over of the child to the banker happens when it is snowing very heavily
in the film, the, therefore, the snow scene in Citizen Kane. But then, what is snow? Snow
also symbolizes, coldness. So, perhaps, you know, sheer cold bloodedness on the part of
the mother, by which she handle, hands over the kid, to a total stranger. So, it creates
a very chilly effect; it is a chilling effect. So,
the mother handing over her son, the earliest American dreams
American dream, it could also refer to the famous American dream, everyone has the chance,
or opportunity, to get rich, or to become successful in America. So, that theme is also
integral to Citizen Kane. And also, movies are, play up to our ideas, and ideals of American
dream and Citizen Kane is one of the examples, one of the films where, where, you know, American
dream is interrogated. So, the movie is shot in black and white, and that is what she says,
Shot in a black-and-white Where every flake of snow
in incandescent with its own burden, adding-
up, always adding-up to the cold blur of the past
But first there is the picture of the past simple and pitiless as the deed
truly was the putting-away of a childish thing
And, what is that thing? The childish thing which is put away, rosebud. Citizen Kane is
famous for those opening shots of Orson Welles as he lies, as he is about to die, on his
deathbed. And, what are his famous last words? Rosebud. So, what is that rosebud? Rosebud,
for this boy, Charles Foster Kane, it symbolizes everything that was pure, innocent and joyous;
related to his childhood. So, memories of his childhood are related to this object;
his skating board, which he named rosebud. And, rosebud forms like, you know, a key to
the entire movie. Who was the Citizen Kane? Who was this person called Charles Foster
Kane? And, what, how do we understand him? And, what do these mysterious words mean?
Rosebud, which were on his lips, as he was dying and that is the mystery all about. So,
so, the putting away of a childish thing
becoming a man means leaving someone or something
So, this is important. You come of age, when you are willing to let go of someone; when
you are willing to forget something, which is so important to you; that means, you have
finally, come into your own. Someone, or something—
still, why must the snow scene blot itself out
the flakes come down so fast so heavy, so unrevealing
over the something that gets left behind? So, why, why do the, why does the director
do that? That is the question. Why, why does the skateboard get covered with thick snow,
with snowflakes and so fast and furiously. So, what is the need? So, just blot out, perhaps,
it is the construct of memory that is being talked about that, is being discussed here.
That, in order to get away from one life, from someone, from something, one has to completely
learn to obliterate, whatever we are leaving, whoever we are leaving behind. So, amnesia,
is an important part of becoming a man; to be able to forget, to be able to completely
obliterate something, is a very significant part of becoming successful, and perhaps,
that, that forms a crux of American dream. Adrienne Rich’s another poem and it is very
provocatively titled ***. So, There is a cop who is both prowler and father:
He comes from your block, grew up with your brothers,
Had certain ideals. You hardly know him in his boots and silver
badge, on horseback, one hand touching his gun.
You hardly know him but you have to get to know him;
He has access to machinery that could kill you.
He and his stallion clop like warlords among the trash,
his ideals stand in the air, a frozen cloud From between his unsmiling lips.
And so, when the time comes, you have to turn to him,
The maniac’s *** still greasing your thighs, Your mind whirling like crazy. You have to
confess To him, you are guilty of the crime
Of having been forced. And you see his blue eyes, the blue eyes of
all the family Whom you used to know, grow narrow and glisten,
His hand types out the details And he wants them all
But the hysteria in your voice pleases him best.
You hardly know him but now he thinks he knows you;
He has taken down your worst moment On a machine and filed it in a file.
He knows, or thinks he knows, how much you imagined;
He knows, or thinks he knows, what you secretly wanted.
He has access to machinery that could get you put away;
And if, in the sickening light of the precinct, And if, in the sickening light of the precinct,
Your details sound like a portrait of your confessor,
Will you swallow, will you deny them, will you lie your way home?
So, *** is acknowledged, as one of the most terrifying poems by, in, you know, in the
corpora of decent poetry. And here, I am not going to go much into the explanation of the
poem. But, it is a very direct poem, that you must have understood, and how she uses
such a powerful word, to convey, such, such a crime, and such, and the subsequent emotions,
that a woman goes through, having been ***. So, not just being ***, but also, is the,
it is not just the humiliation of being ***, but also the humiliation of confessing to
a cop, who is supposed to be the enforcer of, of the law; but here, he, he is a man
of; what he does, he humiliates you further, with his questions, and then, there is a hint
in his eye now, that perhaps, in he knows you, but and how does he know you and what
does he know about you now; that, you know, you are not such a good, good woman after
all; perhaps, you asked for this crime, to happen against you. Therefore, he is not very,
he is not, the cop in the poem is not a sympathetic listener and that is Adrienne’s very feministic
stand, when a woman is ***. So, she is blamed for the act and she does not have any sympathy,
even among those who have known her all her life.
So, the entire society condemns her and stands against her. It is her word against the, the
criminal, but it is usually the woman, who gets blamed for this. So, and of course, you
know, it is deliberately written, in a very free verse kind of a manner. We do not have
words which rhyme here, and is the subject matter of the poem, of the poem. It does not
ask for a definite meter or a rhyme. So, here I conclude, this talk about contemporary poems
and the different kinds of poems, the different styles of poems, that are written in, you
know, during the last few decades. Another important poet of this age, Ted Hughes,
1930 to 98, British poet, a contemporary of Philip Larkin. So, he has written a very famous,
gem of a poem, there I say, The Thought-Fox. I will read you the poem and then, let us
have some discussion over this. I imagine this midnight’s moment, sorry.
I imagine this midnight moment's forest; Something else is alive
Beside the clock's loneliness And this blank page where my fingers move.
Through the window I see no star: Something more near
though deeper within darkness Is entering the loneliness;
Cold, delicately as the dark snow A fox's nose touches twig, leaf;
Two eyes serve a movement, that now And again now, and now, and now
Sets neat prints into the snow Between trees, and warily a lame
Shadow lags by stump and in hollow Of a body that is bold to come
Across clearings, an eye, A widening deepening greenness,
Brilliantly, concentratedly, Coming about its own business
Till, with a sudden sharp hot stink of fox, It enters the dark hole of the head.
The window is starless still; the clock ticks, The page is printed.
Now, this is The Thought-fox. What Ted Hughes is doing here, is comparing the process of
creativity, you know, a writers thought; the way a poet thinks, and creates a work of art,
in this case a poem. So, what he goes through, while creating, or writing a poem, while creating
a work of art, it is the thought fox. Now, I imagine this midnight moments forest; night
is a metaphor. So, let us look at the key concepts for the
class today, Introduction to poetry. So, we have talked, already talked about different
kinds of poems, sonnets, ballads, idylls elegy, etcetera. We have also discussed certain influential
movements, poetic movements, in the history of English literature. And then, there are
certain stylistic devices. So, metaphor, simile, personification, allusion, these are stylistic
devices; we have a host of linguistic devices as well. But, we will have it in some other
class; for some other discussion. So, here, midnight, or night is a metaphor, for darkness
of mind. So, the poet is going through certain kind of, a block; not exactly a longish period
of creative block, by, or writers block, but some, you know, he is not able to write the
next line. So, therefore, that, that, that moment is compared to the darkness of a night,
midnight. And, forest; mind is compared to a forest,
you know; too many thoughts, too thick with ideas; too thick with, you know, concepts,
which he is unable to put to paper; something else is alive; there is a thought, which is
alive, which he is not able to express, to execute.
Beside the clock's loneliness And this blank page where my fingers move
So, these words give you the clue; it is not exactly the arrival, or not literally, the
arrival of a fox, in the middle of a forest that he is talking about; it is in the middle
of a night, perhaps, while the writer is stuck with writers block; the poets block and the
clock is ticking away; the page is still blank; he has not been able to do what he has set
out to do. Through the window I see no star
Again, star of creativity; star, which, you know, mean something to the poet; is a, some
kind of an indication, that creativity is at its full.
Something more near though deeper within darkness
Is entering the loneliness And then, observe the sensual images. We also
talk about, the tone, the images, as included in poem. So,
Cold, delicately as the dark snow A fox's nose touches twig, leaf;
Two eyes serve a movement, that now And again now, and now, and now
So, it is not literally, as I was telling you, a fox’s arrival; it is the thought.
So, therefore, the title, The Thought-fox. So, the fox arrives in the middle of the forest.
So, it is while everything is blank, the mind is blank, and the thought arrives; pressing
its nose against the mind’s window. And, then look at the repetition; writers use such
repetitions. And again now, and now, and now
Perhaps, to suggest a kind of emphasis, or to suggest the significance of these lines;
how you know, the arrival of this thought fox is so important.
And sets neat prints into the snow So, while the mind is getting cold, in the
middle of, the midnight, the thought fox presses its nose against the mind, and sets its print,
foot prints on this, so, leaves some mark. Between trees, and warily a lame
Shadow lags by stump and in hollow Of a body that is bold to come
Across clearings, an eye, A widening deepening greenness,
Brilliantly, concentratedly, Coming about its own business
Till, with a sudden sharp hot stink of fox, It enters the dark hole of the head.
The window is starless still; the clock ticks, The page is printed
Finally, the writer is able to get over his writers block and the thought, the thought,
the illusive thought, the thought that was troubling him so much, suddenly gets crystal
clear, and he is able to write what he wanted to; the page is printed. So, these beautiful
poems, I mean, people have written essays and scholarly articles on this particular
poem. So, it engenders a writers’ creative process; it is a very deep poem. So, it is
one of, while, what we were talking about at the beginning of the class, different kinds
of poem; embodying different concepts, different stylistic devices. So, we are no longer living
in those times, where poetry set to some fixed meters and rhymes and articulate something,
you know, very clear, something very easily comprehensible. Postmodernist poetry needs
plenty of reading between the lines and textual analysis. So, yes.
So, coming to the next assignment, is, I would like you to read a host of poems written by
couple of contemporary poets, dealing with animals. Ted Hughes has also written a poem
called The Crow. So, perhaps you would like to look at, how the so called animal poems,
encapsulate, what writers are trying to say. They include beautiful imagery, beautiful
use of metaphors and similes. I would like you to focus on that assignments. So, I will,
you know, write it out for you and send it to you soon.
So, from here, let us move on to the last poem that I wanted to discuss with you today,
and it is called Application for a Driving License. And, it is a poem written by Michael
Ondaatje, who is the English patient, we have done in this course. So, Michael Ondaatje’s
very short poem, Application for a Driving License.
Two birds loved in a flurry of red feathers
like a burst cottonball, continuing while I drove over them
I am a good driver, nothing shocks me. Now see, again, what is happening here? This
is a supreme example of postmodern poetry. The writer begins somewhere in the middle;
the poet begins somewhere in the middle; he is not getting in into, too much of, you know,
setting the tone, or establishing the background of the poem.
It is very clear, but is still, a extremely loaded with meaning.
Two birds loved It is, I mean, if you look at it, on, on its
surface, very textually, then, two birds are making love in the middle of a road.
in a flurry of red feathers like a burst of cotton ball
continuing while I drove over them So, all these three lines, in a flurry of
red feathers, you know, birds and then, suddenly their feathers turned red; why, because the
narrator, the writer, the speaker drove over them, and the feathers turn red; and they
burst, like a burst of cotton ball. You know, that life is so, the tiny lives are, so ephemeral;
so soft, they just burst. continuing while I drove over them.
So, I am a good driver, nothing shocks me. And, the title of the poem is, the poem is,
Application for a Driving License. This, I am, perhaps, it suggests the apathy people
have for human life, or for any kind of life. I am a good driver; it is not my fault; they
came in my way and I just drove over them. So, it does not really matter. So, poems like
these, poems like Ted Hughes’ The Thought-fox, poems like Sylvia Plath’s Daddy, so, all
these are the poems, that I would recommend that you read, understand and follow very
clearly; and then, we will be discussing more about how to write a paper or an assignment
on these very modern contemporary poems. So, after, in the next class, I will be talking
about certain American poems, special, with special reference to the inaugural poems;
inaugural, the Presidential inaugural poems; those poems, which are written at, you know,
the event of the inauguration of the US President. So, we, we will be discussing that, in the
next class. Thank you very much.