MID-SEMESTER REPORT

on
Studying Pre-Independence
BITS Pilani Indian English Poetry
Pilani Campus

By
Awaneesh Shukla
Introduction :

English poetry in India dates back to over 150 years.

Over the years, poets of different eras have utilised poetry as a

tool for social reform, struggle for freedom and propaganda
of patriotic sentiments.

English Poetry has been divided into different phases by various

critics on the basis of the major influences and different
periods in Indian history like colonization, decolonization etc.

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Objectives & Methodology

Considering the most influential three poets from each of the three
phases and analysing their poems:
1. This will give an idea of their style and theme.
2. How the poets evolved their writing style and content learning from
the previous generation of poets.
3. This will allow us to understand the background of Indian English
Poetry and identify the recurrent themes.
4. Pointing out the similarities and dissimilarities among the poems
from different phases.
5. What were the new elements that they introduced adding to the
expanse of English Poetry.
6. Getting information about their background to read the poem with
the implied context.

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Dawn Of English Poetry In India
(Early 19th century-1870s) :
Henry Louis Vivian Derozio
Poems: ‘The Harp Of India’ and ‘To My Native Land’
Analysis: Love of India, passion for social reform. From these poems
we may infer that Derozio was patriotic in his spirit and greatly felt
for the loss of Indian culture and identity at hands of the British. He
hoped to revive pride among people and make them realize the
value of their motherland and its vast culture.
Kasiprasad Ghose
Poems: ‘The Shair’s Farewell Song’ and ‘To a Young Hindu Widow’
Analysis: Extensive usage of poetic elements but tend to be prosaic.
His poems talk about nature and human emotions. Also, as is
expected, his poems are largely influenced by foreign poets like
P.B.Shelley, Wordsworth etc. as discussed earlier.

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Toru Dutt: The daughter of renowned Bengali poet G.C. Dutt. She
received her education from France and England. This explains her
writing in English and translating French works in English.
Poems: ‘Lakshman’ and ‘Lotus’
Analysis: mythology, Indian history and inner conflicts of a person. Not
in line with the other two poets.

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Poetry of The Independence Movement (Late 19th
century-1947):

Rabindranath Tagore :Primarily a Bengali writer. A leader of the

Brahmo Samaj; He also started an experimental school at
Shantiniketan where he tried his Upanishadic ideals of education.
He participated in the Indian nationalist movement.
Poems: ‘Where the Mind is Without Fear’ and ‘Leave This’
Analysis: Instilling hope and defining a vision for the country and
people. The importance of union of oneself with God to fulfil all
duties.

Sri Aurobindo Ghosh : Sri Aurobindo, one of the first Indian leaders to
openly call for complete Indian independence left politics to become
a spiritual philosopher, poet and Spiritual Master. He was a yogi and
developed his own philosophy of spiritual evolution and progress
which also reflected in his poems.
Poems: ‘The Blue Bird’ and ‘Invitation’
Analysis: Freedom, Wisdom and Happiness

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Sarojini Naidu :The most lyrical poetess of India.She made a
significant contribution to Indian English poetry.
She published four volumes of poetry :
1.The Golden Threshold appeared in 1905,
2.The Bird of Time in 1912
3. The Broken Wings in 1917.
4.The Feather of the Dawn in 1961.
Poems : ‘The Bird of Time’ and ‘The Gift Of India’
Analysis : love, common life of Indian people, beauty of Indian scenes
and sights, Indian traditions, philosophy of life and patriotic
sentiments of Indians.

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Post independence:

Nissim Ezekiel : Indian Jewish poet, actor, playwright, editor and art-
critic. Foundational figure in postcolonial India's literary history. The
Father of Modernity. Won the Sahitya Akademi award in 1983 and
the Padma Shri in 1988. He focused on making English poetry more
acceptable in India getting rid of its obscurity.
Poems: ‘Night Of The Scorpion’ and ‘Enterprise’
Analysis: Realism, scrutinizing beliefs and human tendencies. He
focused on making English poetry more acceptable in India getting
rid of its obscurity.

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A. K. Ramanujam : Wrote in many languages, studied abroad. Made
English poetry more accessible.
Poems : ‘A River’ and Snakes’
Analysis: the inner human struggle, family life and how a person living
abroad derives strength from going back to his roots and keeping his
identity intact.

Jayanta Mahapatra: The first Indian Poet to win Sahitya Akademi for
English Poetry. He was a physicist-poet and used uncommon
imagery with a unique style.
Poems: ‘Hunger’ and ‘A Summer Poem’
Analysis : Mahapatra concerns himself with life of people and their
constant struggles. His poems have themes of family relations, love,
nature and searching for oneself.

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Comparing the different phases :

 English Indian Poetry in its initial phase is often considered

substandard.

 Borrowing the language, style and elements from the colonisers, it

lacked originality. It was an exercise of introducing themes of
nationality and love for the country in a foreign language.

 The purpose of writing in English was to make the British aware of

the uprising among the elite class. They wrote about their angst at
being ruled by people who knew nothing of the Indian culture.

 So from the first phase we obtained:

i) Indigenous themes and
ii) Poetry in archaic English about the despondent state of people
in India at that time.
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 The next phase coincidentally has all the biggest names in Indian
English literature. Indian English poetry gained a place of its own.
Claiming worldwide fame as a result of their published poems.

 They wrote verses that roused people to take what was rightfully
theirs, unlike the preceding poets who wrote about the torment
and not its resolution.

 From this perspective we can conclude that the political scenario

and the uprising for independence gave the poets of the second
phase a more privileged position to write from. They could appeal to
a greater audience and took active part in the freedom struggle.

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 Post independence poetry : centered on innovating themes and
techniques. Through this practice, Indian lifestyle and social,
cultural norms earned a place in English Poetry. Giving up age
old themes of nationalism.

 Contribution of earlier poets: Saturated certain themes, allowing new

poets to explore newer subjects to write.

 Also notable is the rise of the voices of female poets post

independence e.g. Kamala Das, Monika Varma and Gauri
Deshpande. Who brought in the much needed feminine view on a
plethora of issues expanding the scope of poetry

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Conclusion:
Growth of Indian Poetry in English.
Indian English Poetry is one of the apt examples of the many things
borrowed from the west. This was then moulded and reformed to be
compatible with our culture and literature.
Over the years English Poets have won accolades over the world and
their contribution to Indian Literature is acknowledged through
awards like Sahitya Akademi award, Jnanpith Award etc.
Predicting where it is headed: Not a trusted profession yet. People
settling abroad, taking it up as a second language have achieved
feats just as any other native of that country. Making it a more
promising career.
From Derozio, Kasiprasad Ghose to Jayanta Mahapatra and Nissim
Ezekiel poetry has taken hundreds of structures, themes and
rhymes to give us a rich history of English poetry which is an ocean
of wisdom and intellect. A reading of these is must for every Indian
to have knowledge of their history and value their literature for its
richness.

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Thank you

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