The Lotus

-

The Lotus



Love came to Flora asking for a flower
That would of flowers be undisputed queen,
The lily and the rose, long, long had been
Rivals for that high honour. Bards of power
Had sung their claims. “The rose can never tower
Like the pale lily with her Juno mien”-
“But is the lily lovelier?” Thus between
Flower-factions rang the strife in Psyche’s bower.
  “Give me a flower delicious as the rose
And stately as the lily in her pride”-
“But of what colour?”- “Rose-red,” Love first chose,
Then prayed, -“No, lily-white,-or, both provide”;
  And Flora gave the lotus, “rose-red” dyed,
And “lily-white,”- the queenliest flower that blows.
~Toru Dutt

Toru Dutt was born on 4 March 1856 in Calcutta, she belongs to the rich and respectable family. First record of poetry comes through the collection of poems written by Dutt brothers, and one of the brother was the father of Toru Dutt. Toru has spent a year in France and then in England for her higher studies, and so the influence of both country can be seen in her poetry. Her poems are very lyrical and full of images, the poems are essentially romantic in the treatment of themes. She borrow images and themes from India , and formed poem on myths, legend and images.
The poem " The Lotus" is about how the flower came into existence, and there is something very Indian in the poem, and comes from English style of narration that she describes beautifully.
The poem consists of 14 lines,that is it is a sonnet that is also a Petrarchan Sonnet ,that organically divided into octave and sestet.
In first four lines,
The God of all existence, that is Love came to Flora who is the goddess of flowers asking for a flower, that would be the queen of all other without any doubt. And further the poetess talks about the dispute, that is between the Lily and the Rose, for the position of queen, such a great honour. Both the flowers have elegance and magnificence.
In the next four lines Dutt says,
Bards means different poets had claimed both the flower in their songs for this position. The rose can never come ahead of Lily, lily is very graceful as (the Greek God wife of Jupiter) Juno,but is lily lovelier arose a question. And thus, between the dispute of flower arose a controversy in Psyche's (love of God) arbour.
God of Love asks for a flower that is as delicious as Rose, here the word delicious is used beautifully and as pride and elegant as Lily. And so Flora decides to create a flower and she let Love decide the colour,
at first he chooses rose-red and then said no, lily-white, or it should be the mixture of both colours, and Flora creates a beautiful flower called Lotus, that is red-dyed and lily white and the queenliest (queen like) that blossoms.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Indian English Literature

-
Image
Indian English Literature Indo- Anglian literature is the term defined as the contribution of Indian writers in the literature in English language. The Indo-Anglian literature is not essentially different in kind from Indian literature, it is a part of it. With the consolidation of the British power in India, English the language of rulers also began to exercise  it's influence on the intellectuals of the country. And despite the fact that English is not their mother tongue many Indian writers in English were able to realise their creative effort through the medium of English. It may be said that there are three types of Indian writers in English. (1) Those who have acquired their entire education in English schools and Universities. (2) Indians who have settled abroad and are constantly in touch with the living, growing idiom of their country of adoption. (3) Indians who have acquired English as second language. Difference between Indo Anglian and Anglo-Indi...
Read more

Untouchable- Mulk Raj Anand, question-answers

-
 UNTOUCHABLE 1. Write critical appreciation of  Anand's "Untouchable". Ans- Mulk Raj Anand is one of the three greatest  Indian novelists writing novels in English, the other two being Raja Rao and R.K. Narayan. His literary career spans a period of more than thirty-six years. Untouchable, the first novel of Mulk Raj Anand was first published in 1935. Since it's publication,the novel has become immensely popular and it has been translated into more than twenty languages. Untouchable is not only the magnum opus  of Mulk Raj Anand but also the most popular,compact and well knit novel. Untouchable presents an account of a single day in Bakha's life, a scavenger boy of eighteen, and the central character in the novel. A number of things happen to Bakha in one day, all of which contribute slowly to the changes in his spirit. He goes into the town to sweep the gullies in exchange for food.He changes to jostle a little Hindu merchant , and is slapped and abu...
Read more

Untouchable : Summary

-
Image
                        UNTOUCHABLE Untouchable is not only the magnum opus of Mulk Raj Anand but also the most popular, compact, and well-knit novel. It is classic in limited sense and it was first published in 1935. At that time Anand was a writer without eminence and fame. The novel underwent several revisions. The book did not ap p eal the publishers si it was discarded by as many as nineteen publisher. The book was published on 1 May 1935. It's sale enhanced several times and it's growing popularity made Anand a celebrity. It has been translated into over twenty international languages.       Untouchable presents an account of a single day in Bakha's life, a scavenger boy of eighteen, and the central character in the novel. The novel starts with a description of the society of most exploited class of people on the outskirts of the to...
Read more