This blog is based on Classroom Activity in which I am going to write the question based on this poem Banaras Diary 17.
Banaras Diary 17 by Harish Minashru.
કાશીમાં આ હાથ છે કે ભડભડતી મશાલ એ ઝટ સમજાતું નથી : હું ગલ્લાંતલ્લાં કરું છું
આ તરફ ગડે મુરદોં કા યે કબરિસ્તાન ઓ તરફ જલે મુરદોં કા યે સમસાન બીચમેં જિન્દા મુરીદોંકા યે કબીરીસ્તાન
સૂફી કે સાહુ
ગૂગલ કે યાહુ
દાટું કે દાહું
નો ઈફ નો બટ વાત કર સીધી ને સટ જાહ્નવીને ‘જો-તો' પસંદ નથી
હું હિંમત એકઠી કરું છું કશુંક બોલવા માટે
મારી જીભનો કબ્જો લઈ લે છે કબીર ને હું બોલી ઊઠું છું:
જ્યાં તદાકાર સાતે સ્વર
અગર મગર નહીં
મગહર.
Poems analysis line by line with (Chatgpt)
1. કાશીમાં આ હાથ છે કે ભડભડતી મશાલ એ ઝટ સમજાતું નથી:
- In Varanasi, there's a hand holding a flickering torch that isn't easily understood.
2. હું ગલ્લાંતલ્લાં કરું છું
- I am mumbling to myself.
3. આ તરફ ગડે મુરદોં કા યે કબરિસ્તાન ઓ તરફ જલે મુરદોં કા યે સમસાન બીચમેં જિન્દા મુરીદોંકા યે કબીરીસ્તાન
- On one side, there are graves and cremation grounds, and in between, there are living beings and followers of Kabir.
4. સૂફી કે સાહુ
- Sufis or wise individuals.
5. ગૂગલ કે યાહુ
- Google or Yahoo.
6. દાટું કે દાહું
- Crossing or burning.
7. નો ઈફ નો બટ વાત કર સીધી ને સટ જાહ્નવીને ‘જો-તો' પસંદ નથી
- Speaking straightforwardly without ifs and buts, not choosing the 'if-then' for Jahanvi (a name).
8. હું હિંમત એકઠી કરું છું કશુંક બોલવા માટે
- I gather the courage to speak something.
9. મારી જીભનો કબ્જો લઈ લે છે કબીર ને હું બોલી ઊઠું છું:
- My tongue is restrained; I speak, waking up Kabir:
10. જ્યાં તદાકાર સાતે સ્વર
- Where there is harmony with sound,
11. અગર મગર નહીં
- Not here and there, not maybe,
12. મગહર.
- Only in Maghar (a place).
Questions of this poem :
Q.1 Why is the poet saying not choosing the 'if - then' for Jahanvi (a name) ?
Q.2 why he is saying Maghar ?
Poems Overall Explanation :
This is a poem celebrating the wonderful qualities of the city of Banaras. It highlights the lively culture, Spirituality, and the blend of old and new aspects that make Banaras Special.
This blog is a part of Thinking Activity on T.S.Elliot's Essay Tradition and the Individual Talent. In this blog I am going to write the answears to the questions given by Dilip Barad Sir with my understandings.
Introduction :
Tradition and the Individual Talent is his one of the best essay and was published in 1919.
Question 1:How would you like to explain Eliot's concept of Tradition? Do you agree with it? What do you understand by Historical Sense?
(Use these quotes to explain your understanding.) "The historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past but of its presence." This historical sense, which is a sense of the timeless as well as of the temporal, and of the timeless and of the temporal together, is what makes a writer traditional.
Answer:
T.S. Eliot has given a new definition of the word 'Tradition'. when we look at the word 'tradition' it reflects a negative tone. When we comment something that is tradition people we consider it as a bad or old beliefs or old way of looking, but Eliot says that though we use the word in negative context most but still we preserve our traditional values.
In this essay he says that having a tradition means a type of historical sense, looking back from the writings of Homer and other Greek writers to our contemporary world. He says that one should not follow anything blindly but one should know the history and major writings as a inspiration. He adds that any writer or poet can contribute a very little amount his writings to the huge pile of best works of all time. According to him poet should forget his individuality for the art sake.
By saying that "not only of the pastness of the past but of its presence" he implies that past is not a mere past but it has its significance to cotemporary world too, when one look at the past one should look at it with the context to the present. One should develop a perception which can look at the past with its significance in the present. Eliot argues that whatever any writer writes, it is related to historical or contemporary sense only it can' be out of that. He says that whatever literature is produced can be evaluate with comparative study of the traditional literature or any major writer of the past.
In the essay he also talks about the "historical sense" which is temporal and timeless. Through this he tries to give the quality of the historical sense, he says there are two major time that exist one present and second is when any historical event occurred, when we read any history we should look at its significance today's world by that historical sense exists in the past as well as in the present. For that he gives an example of WW1 and its effects on the people of Europe, so when one read the literature or history one should study the whole history and its effect on the European society.
Question 2 :What is the relationship between “tradition” and "individual talent,” according to the poet T. S. Eliot?
Explain: "Some can absorb knowledge; the more tardy must sweat for it. Shakespeare acquired more essential history from Plutarch than most men could from the whole British Museum".
Explain: "Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation are directed not upon the poet but upon the poetry."
Answer :
According to T.S Eliot, tradition has more significance than individual talent. For that he seems against the romantics like Wordsworth and Coleridge. He says that any writer must study history with great efforts. One should know all the major literary writer from "Homer" to the contemporaries of the present age. Then one writer would be able to produce any literary work.
He argues that individual has a very less significance in front of the literary works that are produced by successful writers, he says that, to create any work of art, artist must loose his personal identity. Any writer can only contribute few drops to the ocean of the literature. By tradition he means that the history and world literature, one must acquire that knowledge first then one can produce any work of art.
By saying that "Some can absorb knowledge...." he argues that the scholarly or gifted people can absorb the knowledge but a slow leaner must work hard to learn the history or literary work. He gives example of Shakespeare that although he was not a scholar nor he was well educated, he produced quality of literature. Eliot say that Shakespeare has observed his own age and that is the reason behind his success. But every individual is not that talented who can observe the surrounding, so one must work hard to study the literature and historical sense.
"Honest criticism and sensitive...." By saying that Eliot gives importance to the work of art not the artist. He argues that the traditional writers have already contributed so many autistic works to the literature so any new write can contribute very less amount of work to it. He gives a new way to looking into the literature that any work of art should be evaluated alone without any information about the author. When any poet writes his poem he should forget about his individual entity. And any poem should be evaluated without any biasness about the poet.
Question 3 :How would you like to explain Eliot's theory of depersonalization? You can explain this with the help of a chemical reaction in the presence of a catalyst agent, platinum.
Explain: "Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality."
Answer:
T.S. Eliot has given more importance to the poem than the poet, who has written it. While any artist produce create any new art he/she must forget about himself, then he can produce qualitative literature. For that he gives an example of the equation of sulfuric acid. When the sulfuric acid is made there is a catalyst named platinum that does not seen in the sulfuric acid. Same thing he compare with the artistic mind. When any literary writer produce the work one must be unbothered by the feelings and emotions. Like platinum becomes poet's mind should be unaffected from his creation.
"Poetry is not a turning..." By saying this Eliot tries to explain that poetry is not your first emotions that arises but when poet analyses those emotions and look deep into that and detatch himself from that emotions, then one can write poetry in a real sense. He says that this understanding of emotions that is escaping from what real person is and then one can express himself wholly.
Question: 4 Write two points in which one can write a critique of T.S. Eliot as a critic.
Answer:
1. T.S. Eliot gives more significamce to the traditional writer or well reader of them. He denies the Romantics' point of view. While one can question that Can't lay man produce any literature, who wants to just express his genuine feelings towards any emotions or experience.
2. Eliot does not give any importance to the individualism. While one does not care for individual then one tends to follow the mass, and we may become biased on certain idea when one reads few things. Then one may he not able to express his genuine feelings because already there is some definitely of that already exist.
This blog is a part of Thinking Activity and in which I am going to elucidate the understanding of the Zeitgeist of the 20th Century : From Modern Times to the Great Dictatators.
Introduction to the Film The Great Dictator:
'The Great Dictator' is a movie, released on October 15, 1940. It was an American anti-war political satire black comedy film written, directed, produced, and starring British comedian Charlie Chaplin. In this movie Chaplin satirizes the dictators of his contemporary time, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. In the movie Chaplin plays both leading roles: a ruthless fascist dictator and a persecuted Jewish barber.
The movie became very popular among the audience and also became Chaplin's highest grossing film commercially. Modern critics praised the movie, the film is considered as a best example of satirical work. When movie was released, the dark side of the Hitler was not seen by the common people, but somehow Chaplin saw the reality behind the curtain, and tried to show it through the cinema.
Let us discuss some of the frames in the movie and try to understand the concept behind the scenes.
In this scene, Chaplin imitates the Hitler's ways of delivering the speeches. In this scene he also tried to show that how he controls the audience through his hand gestures. In the background in the street, the speech is going on throughout the movie. During those days they used to distribute free radios to common people so they can easily spread their propaganda.
In two frames above there is a clear image that Chaplin wants to show that how politicians and public figures are too much camera conscious. There was a fake smile on his face and then as soon as the photo was clicked the behaviors is changed. In the movie he cleans his hands after carrying a baby in his hands. This shows the fakeness of these type of propaganda. In the same way we find our contemporary politicians clicks photos in such ways to show their fake innocence to the people.
Throughout the movie whoever meets Hynkel, one would speak "Hail Hynkle" and raise one's hand like the statue in the above picture is shown. It shows the that how these type of people want to make people slaves. This statue satirizes that even the statue has to respect the dictator. And if you want to think, do the hand gesture first. There is also a cross symbols which represent the symbol of Nazi party.
This pictures show how the Jews were being treated by the soldiers. Jews have to live out of the society which is called 'Ghetto', where these type of soldiers would come and do whatever they want. In above images taking fruits and vegetables from the shop forcefully, and when a woman protests against them, they throw tomatoes on her. We find similar type of situation in Indian context as well that how people have to face such consequences, people are considered as 'untouchables' and have to leave outside the society.
Soldiers write 'Jew' on the shop of people belong to that community, when a barber, the protagonist tries to erase it a soldier beats him brutally. This show the discrimination between different community and different behavior towards them. In contemporary society one can observe that how politicians used discrimination of caste, creed and religion to gain the vote. This fake propaganda still goes on in the 21st century as well and common people suffer through it.
Dictators and few politicians do not treat others in a right way, they believe that they are the slaves and they use them as a tool. As one can observe in the above frame that for gluing the letter he does not use his own tongue, he takes help of the soldiers. This also showcase the mentality of such dictators.
In above picture on can observe that painter and sculptor are making a portrait of Hynkle, but he does not have to time for that so these artist have to sit there waiting for him to come then he remains there for some time and then he would leave and again they have to wait. This shows the disrespect for art. This shows that when one gain enough power, one would stop thinking about the others, not even the artist.
This is a time in the movie, when soldiers come to arrest the barber to his home and he and the female protagonist hide in the room and then camera focuses on to the cage where two birds are there in the cage. These show that when this type of dictator would gain the power, people would have to leave in the cages.
A comic scene at the railway station when Napaloni arrives, and others were preparing for it. When camera men come, they tried to look more confident and they wear fake smiles on their faces. In the camera they seem very friendly but after that they tried to look bigger and better then each other like the children. And just to satisfy their ego they could kill thousands of soldiers in the battle. This show the reality of these type of the people.
This is the last scene of the movie, when the "great" Hynkle is exchanged with the Jew barber and barber delivers a speech. In the speech Chaplin tries to give his message directly to the society about equality, peace and freedom. This speech is the essence of the whole movie and after this movie this speech has become very famous.
Literary writers have the x-ray vision that they can see what is happening behind the curtain. Chaplin was one of them and he wonderfully shows the power of the true artist, who can show real path to the society. Even after his death his message remains alive in his literature which shows the reality to the people.
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