Skip to main content

Posts

GRANDMOTHER

Ray Young Bear (1950- ) if i were to see  her shape from a mile away i 'd know so quickly  that it would be her. the purple scarf and the plastic shopping bag. हजुरआमा  if  i   felt hands on my head i 'd know that those were her hands  warm and damp with the smell of roots. if i heard a voice coming from  a rock i ' d know  and her words would flow inside me  like the light of someone stirring ashes from a sleeping fire at night. Notes and References: stirring (v): moving slightly   Grandmother, written by American- Indian poet Ray Young Bear, is a recollection of poet's profound love for his grandmother. The poet draws the unique picture of his grandmother - all loving and all inspiring- through the use of images. The poet figure out cultural identity of American Indian or Mesquaki people. Metaphorically, the poem ‘Grandmother’ has connection with Mesquaki tribe and the identity of the poet. The poet also reveals the socio

TO HIS COY MISTRESS

Andrew Marvell , England (1621-1678) Marvell didn't become very popular until T. S. Eliot wrote an essay praising him for his ability to shift between high seriousness and humour. This poem was first published after Marvell's death, by his housekeeper. To His Coy Mistress  is divided into three stanzas. A narrator is an anonymous man speaking to an anonymous woman.   In the first stanza, the narrator tells the mistress—not a woman on the side but simply a lady—that if they had had more time and space, her " coyness " or teasing/shyness wouldn't be an issue. He goes on to describe how much he would compliment and admire her if time permitted. He would focus on every inch of her body until he got to the heart—(a metaphor for her sex organ and love.) In the second stanza, the narrator basically tells her, “ But we don't have time and we're about to get old and die .” He says that life is short but death is eternal and time is running out. In addition, the s

PIANO

David Herbert Lawrence, England (1885-1930) Background : D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930) was born on 11 September 1885 in Eastwood, a coal-mining village in  Nottingham-shire  England. He was the fourth child of a struggling coal miner who was a heavy drinker. His mother was a former schoolteacher, greatly superior in education to her husband. Lawrence's childhood was dominated by poverty and friction between his parents. He was educated at Nottingham High School, to which he had won a scholarship. He briefly became a teacher. Despite his hard background he grew up to become a writer that wrote about the relationships between men and women and between human beings and the natural world. He became one of the greatest figures in 20th-century English literature. In 1912 he met Frieda von Richthofen, a professor’s wife and fell in love and eloped [ran away] with her. As a result, he led a nomadic (mobile) or wandering existence. D. H Lawrence became a novelist,  story-writer , critic, poet

THE TELEGRAM ON THE TABLE - Parashu Pradhan

Parashu Pradhan, Nepal (1943-) (Translated By: Michael Hutt) Krishna had come in the city from the village. He worked as a guide for tourist. All the day he was busy explaining the entire history of the country to the tourist and answering their questions. He had a dream of going to America following a tourist girl. He always used to come late at night in his room from hotel being tired. A telegram had been lying on the table for weeks. There was a message that his wife had died previous day. But the message of his wife’s death did not touch him at all. The telegram should have made him weep. He should have felt regret. He should have fasted for some days. But he didn't do anything. The telegram should have affected him. But he was not sad and nothing touches him. He was happy dreaming of America. His living room was not that good. He paid high rent but there was no facility. If he could not get up early in the morning, he would not get water. He wanted to move somewhere else so t

Don't Cut Down The Trees, Brother Woodcutter

Balakrishna Sama (1902-1981 ) (Translated by Michael Hutt) I.                   Literal Comprehension Context: This poem has been written by Balakrishna Sama (1902-1981). He was a dramatist par excellence, a performing artist, painter, sculptor, poet, essayist, novelist and short story writer. In this poem, he has advocated of nature conservation. The speaker of the poem is trying to persuade the woodcutter not to cut down the trees. Therefore, he calls the woodcutter ‘brother’ and tries to establish emotional attachment with the trees using the phrase ‘dead mothers’. He requests the woodcutter not to cut down the trees because they provide us with the motherly love and care. They protect us from the sun and the rain, seat us on their laps, carry us in their arms and shoulders, give us fruits and flowers, and kiss our foreheads with leafy lips. They also weep for us, but they cannot speak and plead with us. In winter, we sit around the fire and enjoy the warmth inside our h

NEW YEAR

Parijat (1934-1993) Translated By: Padma Devkota  Parijat who was born in 1937 in the hill station of Darjeeling, India, a place known for its tea gardens, is a Nepali writer. Her real name was Bishnu Kumari Waiba (Waiba is a subgroup of Tamang) but she wrote under the pen name Parijat. Her most acclaimed publication is Siris Ko Phul (The Blue Mimosa), which has also been adapted in the literature curriculum of some colleges in some English-speaking countries. In 1965, she was awarded with the Madan Puraskar for the novel. Siris Ko Phul is one of the most important piece of work in the whole of Nepalese literature. She was elected a member of the Tribhuwan University. Parijat remained unmarried and continued to suffer physical setbacks. While she was contributing to literature, she also tried to support social causes and initiated attempts like Prisoners' Assistance Mission. She died in 1993. New Year is a popular poem by Parijat. It contrasts the expected

WHERE THE MIND IS WITHOUT FEAR

Rabindranath Tagore, India (1861-1941) 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 words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. "Where the mind is without fear" is a patriotic  (loyal/Inspired by love for your country)  poem, composed by Rabindranath Tagore, the great Bengali poet. This poem is based on idealism. The poet is inspired by the feeling of patriotism. He wished his country to be taken into the heaven of freedom where one feels fearlessness and honored. He wants to make his country as the place where truth exists and people get perfection of work, where