Nissin
Ezekiel (1924-2004) is a pioneer in modern Indian English poetry. His role as
translator, editor, playwright and reviewer has contributed significantly in
shaping modernist poetry in India. The modernist movement of 1950s and 60s was
known for its precise use of language, well crafted images, ironic stance, treatment
of sexuality and male-female relationship. Ezekiel is often described as father
of modernist movement and he writes introspective, ironic and humorous poems of
self exploration and self formation. He has brought out seven collections of
poetry; they are A Time to Change and
Other Poems (1952), Sixty Poems
(1953), The Unfinished Man (1960), The Exact Name (1965), Hymns in Darkness (1976), and the
Sahitya Akademy award-winning Latter-day
Psalms (1982).
Outline of the Poem
Philosophy
This
poem is taken from The Exact Name
(1965) and the poet speaks about a place he often goes. This is an involuntary
journey on which the poet has no control over.
This place is away from the everyday existence and offers him clear
vision over the chaotic physical world. Here, thoughts and ideas flow freely
and he says that the ‘mills of God’ are never slow. This may refer to the
pristine nature of the place which is not made impure by human intervention and
rationality. The creation and growth of the place follows the natural (divine)
rhythm. Ideas and thoughts are spontaneously generated.
In
the second stanza, the post continues to emphasise the pristine nature of the
landscape. Like language in its early stage, the landscape has not gained any
fixed form so that it can accommodate all forms of life. From this vantage
point, the poet is able to comment on the passage of time and how every
historic passion of the humans is reduced to a blink in the sad eye of time.
The poet is skeptical of the growth and progress of the species and the
evolution of the planet.
In
the third stanza, the poet narrates the degenerated condition of the present.
He traces the residues of the pristine landscape in the chaotic world that he lives
in. Instead of following the clarity of vision (light) offered by the ‘place’,
he joins the struggles of the living creatures to attain a formula of light. It
is crucial for a poet to give voice to the darker myths (emotions) of human
life than offering a formula of light (explanation to life) which is believed
to be offered by the philosophers. The poet realises the futility of offering
clear explanations to the complexities of human passions and miseries and
states that he too rejects the clarity of light which argues off the pangs of
existence. This statement hints at his poetic sensibility and deeper
understanding of the human nature. It also reveals that he prefers poetry to
philosophy.
In
the final stanza, the poet identifies the true nature of poetic language. He
says that the narration of sensual experiences (mundane language of senses)
also creates an interpretation of life which is different from the critical
explanation philosophy offers. These sensual experiences are so momentary and
transient that any argument against them will die of cold before the truth is
brought in.
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