LIST OF IMPORTANT POETIC DEVICES for CBSE XII

Topic Presentator : Manas Ranjan Baboo

1. SIMILE : Its a figure of speech where we do find the comparison between two distinctly different things by using "like & as" . Ex : My love is like red red rose.                                                                                                          : Indian soldiers are as brave as lions.                                                                                            : He is as big as an elephant
2. METAPHOR : It is a figure of speech unlike SIMILE where two distinctly different things are compared explicitly without the use of "like & as."  Ex : My love is red red rose.                                                                                                          : Indian soldiers are lions.                                                                                                                  : He is an elephant
3. PERSONIFICATION : In personification non-living things are given human attributes/human like qualities. Ex: Trees sprinting(means trees running) In my mother at sixty six trees are described as sprinting or running.                                                                                                                    Ex: Uncle's wedding band sits heavily on aunt's hand(My mother at sixty six). Here wedding band can not sit any here literally but it is personification of marital obligation and responsibilities.
4. HYPERBOLE
5. ANAPHORA
6. DICTION
7. SYNECDOCHE
8. TRANSFERED EPITHET
9. OXYMORON
10. IRONY
11. PARADOX
12. ENJAMBMENT
13. IMAGERY
14. IMAGE
15. REPETITION

A Thing of Beauty By John Keats

Topic Presentator : Manas Ranjan Baboo

This poem is a really interesting one. While reading this poem and its background  students will find themselves a part of the poem.The following is an excerpt from John Keats poem 'Endymion' a poetic romance.

About the poet : 

• JOHN KEATS : From- 31st October 1795 to 23rd February 1821
• He was an English romantic poet.
• Died of Tuberculosis at the age of 25.
• His reputation as a poet grew after his death.

Info : Endymion Poetry

• First published in 1818
• written Rhymic couplets in  'iambic pentameter' also known as 'heroic couplets'
• Endymion(poem) is divided into four books.
• Each book is approximately 1000 lines long.

Myth of  Endymion

When the plains below were parched, brown and dusty with the heat of summer, on Mount Latmus all was so still and cool, so fresh and green, that one  seemed to be in another world. The Mountain was the most beautiful of all at night, when the moon drove her chariot overhead, and flooded every tree and all the grassy slopes with the pale light.

 Endymion was a young shepherd who led his flocks high up on the sides of this mountain and let them browse on the rich pasturage along the margins of its snow-fed streams. He loved the pure mountain air and stillness of the higher slopes, which was broken by only the tinkle of his sheep and goats that were feeding; or when at night he leaned his head on a log or a mossy stone and slept with the flock.

Selene, the moon-goddess, loved to visit Mount Latmus; in fact the mountain belonged, in some sense, to her. It was her influence that made everything there so quiet and beautiful. One night, when she had stolen down from her place in the sky for a walk through one of the flowery meadows of Mount Latmus, she found Endymion there asleep.

The shepherd looked as beautiful as any flower on the mountain, or as the swans which were floating in the lake near by, with their heads tucked under their wings. If it had not been for his regular breathing, Selene would have believed that she stood looking at a marble statue. There at a little distance, lay his sheep and goats unguarded and liable to be attacked by wild beasts. Selene said"Oh, Endymion is a very careless shepherd. This is the effect of the air on Mount Latmus". Selene knew that it was the wonderful air of her mountains which had made the shepherd heedless, as well as beautiful therefore she stayed by his flock all night and watched it herself.

She came the next night and the next, and for many nights, to gaze at the sleeper, and to watch the unguarded flock. One morning when she returned to the sky, she looked so pale from her watching that Jupiter asked her where she had been, and she described the beautiful shepherd she had found on her mountains and confessed that she had been guarding his sheep.

Then she begged of Jupiter that since Endymion  was so very very beautiful he might always look as she had seen him in his sleep, instead of growing old as other mortal must. Jupiter answered, "even the Gods can not give to mortals everlasting youth and beauty without giving them also everlasting sleep; but Endymion shall sleep forever and be forever young."

So there in a cave, on Mount Latmus, Endymion sleeps on to this day; and his wonderful beauty has not faded in the smallest degree, but is a joy still to all who can climb those lofty heights.

Difficult Word and Meaning 

BOWER :  a pleasant shady place
MORROW : morning, tomorrow
WREATHING : arrange flowers into a bouquet/ covering to encircle
SPITE : ill will
DESPONDENCE : sad, gloomy and deprived of hope
COVERT :(cooling covert) shady place under a tree
GAINST  : against
BRAKE : fern, a wild plant
GRANDEUR : greatness
DOOM : death, last day of existence
BRINK : edge
INHUMAN : wild, brutal, cruel.
DEARTH : absence, death , extinction
PALL : cover, shroud, blanket
SPROUTING : growing
CLEAR RILLS : clear narrow rivers
GRANDEUR OF THE DOOMS :death of great people
MIGHTY DEAD : the great people who have died
ENDLESS FOUNTAIN : river that never dries up
IMMORTAL DRINK : mythological drink having the power to save from death.
POURING :flowing
HEAVENS BRINK : edge of the heaven

Poetic Contraction :
Spite : In spite
O'er : Over
Gainst : Against

Poetry/Actual text

A thing of beauty is joy forever
Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness; but will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, an health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence , of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o'er darkened ways
Made of our searching: yes, in spite of all, 
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall 
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Tees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake,
Rich with a springlike of fir musk rose blooms;
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead
all lovely tales that we have heard or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink.

Before entering into the poem's elaboration, lets focus on some stark realities and which we can relate to the poetry. Every single day in the morning while reading news paper we find it flooded with scary, creepy and criminal news. And we can't stop asking ourselves that why man has become so merciless? When we look around we find that we are surrounded by multi storied and massive buildings that is far far away from the cozy lap of nature. Now really ask yourself a question that where does this cruelty come from in men? and the answer is, as we are away from nature and its association we behave such.
The definition of beauty may very from person to person but one famous quote i would like to add here..."beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder."
Now one more question, Why we really need to get close with nature? The answer is very simple. Lets take an example of a mother and her child. Why a child is so close to her mother more than any other living being in this world, it is so because the child feels so safe and relaxing in the mothers lap. Exactly like that if you go to the cozy lap of nature, you would find it safe and relaxing.

Poetry Explanation:

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever
Its loveliness increases; it will never
pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health,
and quiet breathing."

All beautiful things gives us heavenly pleasure and joy, that may be good thoughts, scenic beauties, kind gesture, kind words, sweet faces and this joy doesn't fade away but over time its loveliness and its fascination increases.
In this poem John Keats basically speaks about nature and its wealth abundance that is beautiful. The majestic trees, the sun, the moon, the splendid streams, all of these captivate our mind and spirit, then we experience real amazement and divinity in their company as they fill our mind with peace and tranquility.
These beautiful and tranquil moments serve as a quiet bower and a pleasant shady place for us which not only provide shadow from the sun or rain but also from the ugly side of life. They are a retreat from sadness and misery as these moments fill our mind and heart with peace and joy, uplift our spirit, restores our good health, peaceful sleep of sweet dreams and make our life free from anxiety and stress. We experience quiet breathing when we are calm and restful. For a baby or small child mother's lap is bower. When that baby grows and faces the insecurities of life then the kind words and moral support of the family is the bower. But John Keats feels here that the moment spent in the cozy lap of nature is the real bower.

Poetry Explanation:

Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,

Therefore every morning or the next day we must wreath means we must contribute towards the environment. We must connect to mother earth, preserve, protect and respect nature, cherish its beauty and grandeur thus arranging and restoring it. So the poet is asking us that if the nature is giving wealth of good health and happiness, nourishing and healing us. Are we  wreathing that is decorating a flowery band to bind us to the earth? Flowery band is just a symbol through which the poet wants to remind us of our duties towards nature and natural world. The poet urges us to take steps and strengthen our bond with the cosmos, the nature, mother earth.

Spite of despondence , of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o'er darkened ways
Made of our searching: yes, in spite of all, 
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall 
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Tees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in;

In spite of all the pessimism, hopelessness and despair the mere sight of beautiful thing uplifts our spirit and removes the gloominess. "inhuman dearth of noble natures" refers to lack of good people, noble man in character. "Unhealthy and o'er darkened ways" refers to the trials and tribulations of life, selfish and jealous methods we adopt to achieve our goal. In spite of all the negative, darkness, gloominess and selfish pursuit when go in search of  some shape of beauty and when we find that moves away the pal from our dark spirit. And the shape of beauties are the sun, the moon, trees old and young.The green world where the simple sheep live in is  the shady boon not only for simple sheep but also for all living creatures those who come with a hope of getting shelter. Simple sheep and daffodils are shape of beauties. Jesus Christ was a shepherd and always surrounded by flocks, so here sheep refers to divine beauty.


Poetry Explanation:

and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake,
Rich with a springlike of fir musk rose blooms;
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead
all lovely tales that we have heard or read;

Clear rills are the clear narrow river that provide a cooling covert to  many organism, it quenches the thirst of numerous creatures providing them cooling covert. Especially in torturous hot summer season, it works as a boon, the shady boon. The forest brake is a wild plant(Small plant) which can also be a shady boon  for many small living organism, they can take shelter. The fair musk-rose is also pleasing both to the eyes and nose. It serves its purpose of giving good smell and beauty to the eyes, thus things of beauty can be found everywhere we move our eyes. "Grandeur of the dooms and Mighty dead" refers to our ancestor, our forefathers who have done great heroic deeds. They inspire us with their  life story. It can also be referred to martyrs. All lovely tales of great man and their heroic deeds are thing of beauties for us.

Poetry Explanation:


An endless fountain of immortal drink,

Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink.

The things of beauty are an endless fountain of immortal drink. "Immortal drink that comes from an endless fountain" refers to Gods grace from heaven which is never ending, and poured onto us every time. Also the pleasure that we get after watching these things of beauty which can have its impact on us even long after its occurrence in addition to that beauty is an unending source of motivation from which mankind can drink the elixir life.

Word and Phrase explanation :

Joy Forever : joy forever because this does not fade away but over a passage of time it's loveliness, it's charm,it's fascination increases.
Bower : its a pleasant shady place which provides shadow and saves us from the ugly side of the sun.
Quiet Breathing : We experience quiet breathing when we are calm and restful and we can get that from the bountiful beauty of nature.
Morrow : Morning, tomorrow( every morrow are we wreathing that is connecting ourselves intently with nature?)
Wreathing : Covering to encircle / Arranging flowers into a bouquet thus the making our nature beautiful.
Flowery band : flowery band is a symbol through which the poet wants us to remind of our duties towards nature and  natural world.
Spite of Despondence : sad, gloomy and deprived of all hope.
Inhuman : wild, brutal or cruel.
Dearth : Absence, death or extinction.
Noble natures : sensible soul or sensible men in the world with  decency.
Gloomy days : days of hopelessness
Unhealthy O'er darkened ways : selfish and corrupted ways to achieve our goal.
In spite of all : in spite of all the darkness, gloom and despair.
Shape of beauty : the form of beauty that lies in the nature .
Pall : cover, shroud and blanket.
Dark spirit : negativity
Sprouting a shady boon : providing a shady boon or providing shelter
Simple sheep : innocence and also indicates Jesus Christ
Clear rills : Clear narrow river that provides shelter to anyone who visits.
Cooling covert : this is also shady place
Gainst the  hot season : providing safety and relaxation from the hot summer season.
Mid forest brake : a wild plant which can be also a thing of beauty or bower.
Musk rose blooms : a wild rose that is found in forest.
Grandeur of the dooms : greatness of the ancestors
Mighty dead : those who are no more but they have done something heroic thus in our memory.
Endless fountain : unending source of motivation from which mankind can learn and make their lives sound.
Immortal drink ; Source of inspiration or God's grace
Heaven's brink : from the edge of the heaven or from heaven.

Poetic Devices : 
METAPHOR: Pall, Immortal Drink, Endless fountain, Wreathing flowery band, Bower
ALLITERATION : Noble natures, cooling covert, band to bind
IMAGERY : Flowery bands, shady boon, daffodils of green world, clear rills, cooling covert, endless fountain of immortal drink.
SYMBOLS : Simple sheep (refers to mankind and Christ was the shepherd who was taking care of the sheep)
TRANSFERRED EPITHET : Gloomy days; unhealthy and o'er darkened ways.
HYPERBOLE : Endless fountain
ENJAMBMENT : It will never pass into nothingness
(The practice of running lines of poetry from one to the next without using any kind of punctuation to indicate a stop)
ANAPHORA : "of noble.................of all the.."
(It is a rhetorical term for when a writer or speaker repeats the same beginning of a sentence)
ANTITHESIS : Old and young
(Antithesis means opposite and is used as a literary device to put two contrasting ideas together. This emphasizes the difference between the two ideas and adds interest to writing)

Picture Play :
Endymion

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Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich

Topic presentator : Manas Ranjan Baboo
Before starting I must tell all of you that this poem is my personal favorite and really something appealing to the society. Apart from studies, completing syllabus and scoring marks, this poem send really a strong message to the male dominated society.

About the Poet

• Adrienne Cecile Rich : 16th may, 1929 - 27th march, 2012
• She was an American poet, essayist and feminist.
• One of the most influential poets of the second half of the 20th century.
• She was credited with bringing the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse.
• "Diving into the Wreck" is one of her notable works.
• "A Change of World" is the first collection of her poetry writing.
• Her father inspired her a lot in writing poetry and she was much involved in her fathers library.
• Once she quoted, "The suppressed lesbian i had been carrying in me since adolescence began to stretch her limbs". Thus it is very clear that she had no problem at all declaring herself as Lesbian.

Feminism

Feminism is a range of political movements, ideologies and social movements that shares a common goal to define, establish and achieve political, economic personal and social equality of sexes.

Four Waves of Feminism

While talking of Feminism we must discuss about the four waves of Feminism.
First wave : 19th and early 20th century(1900s to 19500s), focusing on women's suffrage, property rights and political candidacy.
Second wave : 1960s to 1980s, focusing on reducing inequalities in sex, family, the work place, reproductive rights, de facto inequalities, and official legal inequalities.
Third wave : 1990 to 2008, focusing on embracing individualism and diversity.
Fourth wave : 2008 to present day, focusing on combating sexual harassment, assault and misogyny.

Poetry/Actual Text
Aunt Jennifers tigers prance across a screen,
Bright Topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

Aunt Jennifer's fingers fluttering trough her wool
Find even the Ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of uncles wedding band
Sit heavily upon Aunt Jennifers hand.

When aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.


Line by Line Explanation

First line of the first quatrain opens with the introduction of aunt jennifer. Here Aunt Jennifer is the symbol of women community.
Aunt Jennifer was needling/knitting/embroidering tigers on the tapestry.
It is mentioned that there were multiple tigers portrayed in aunt jennifers tapestry.
Tigers  are fearless, noble, assertive and powerful creatures.
Screen here refers to an imaginary world/fictional world that is imagined by the aunt. She went into the realm of  this world(world of fantasy) because she wanted to escape from the world she had been living in for years.
Bright Topaz connotes burning fire, eternal energy of sun. Here tigers are like bright topaz because of the contrasting black stripes on the glowing yellow body of the tigers.
Denizens means tigers are not just creatures or citizen rather they are proud citizens of the place or area they live in.
World of Green simply means forest where the tiger live but greenery also suggests vibrance, vitality of spring, rejuvenation and rebirth.
They do not fear means tigers do not fear.
Men beneath the tree indicates the male dominating society, patriarchal gaze or male chauvinism. It can also be treated as uncle.
Chivalric is a medieval knightly term. Here tigers are Chivalric because they are fearless and noble creatures. Knights were noble, gentle, courageous and powerful men, those who always respected women and such kind of respect was also expected by aunt Jennifer from the male dominated society.
The word Certainty is for Tigers unlike aunt jennifer who was oppressed.
Aunt Jennifers fingers fluttering because of the male dominance and she was shivering/trembling in addition to that she was in a mental trauma. She was haunted and daunted by male chauvinism.
Ivory needle was hard to pull for aunt jennifer because of subjugation. Ivory needle is a luxury material, it means it can be obtained in aristocratic families and this male dominance can be found in all classes of families. Ivory needle also refers indirectly to male dominance because Ivory is acquired from male elephants tusk not from female elephants.
It was hard to pull because she was feeble, enslaved, very weak,meek and subdued and this was all due to obligations of marital life.
The massive weight is because of expectation from the society and that burdens the aunt.
Uncle's wedding band is the symbol of over bearing heaviness of male chauvinism. With a simple wedding a woman becomes the property of males in the society. Although aunt jennifer is wearing the ring, it still belongs to uncle. It means aunt jennifer was the property of the uncle.
The wedding band sits heavily upon aunt's hand because of the unequal equation between men and women. Here we can find two voices i.e the inner-self and the voice of the society. Inner-self says that she wants to be free but society says that she must live with that burden.
Terrified hands will lie because it might bring the long awaited freedom for aunt jennifer by leaving the world, and she will lie relaxed but it is not possible in her case.
Aunt jennifer was still ringed with ordeal she was mastered by because she was encircled with the expectations of society. She was mastered by because she was mastered by the expectation of the society even after her demise,also she was submissive and burdened.
ordeals refers to hurdles and difficulties off the bad marriage.
Ultimately even after the death of aunt jennifer the tigers that she made on that tapestry will continue moving proud and unafraid.

SUMMARY(Stanza wise)
1st Stanza

First stanza begins with the introduction of Aunt Jennifer and she is the symbol of Women community here. Poet tells us that Aunt Jennifer was knitting or needling tigers on the tapestry or on the screen. The tiger she made on the tapestry were jumping with great pride. They were not jumping in real life rather on the tapestry which is the alternative imaginary world and there she wanted to live like tigers. The tigers are here compared with Bright Topaz having the brightness and unending power of sun. Tigers are fearless creature having a great strength but aunt Jennifer was complete contrast to that. In addition to that they are the denizens or proud citizen of the world of green or the forest. They live in the forest like kings with a great pride. They do not fear anyone in this world, not even the men beneath the tree. Men beneath the tree symbolizes the Male dominated society/Patriarchal gaze/Male chauvinism. Tigers are not afraid of anyone but Aunt Jennifer is. Tigers roam around the forest fearlessly and with grace. The way they tread, it has chivalric certainty. Chivalric certainty is a medieval knightly term, used for Knight and knights were noble people with great strength and courage but they respected women. Aunt Jennifer also wished for that kind of knightly respect but she never got it because of the dominance by the male of the society including her husband. Here Chivalric Certainty refers to firm conviction or determination that tigers had.
Second Stanza

Aunt Jennifer's fingers were fluttering because she had become weak due to marital obligation and responsibilities. Aunt Jennifer found even light ivory needle hard to pull because she was really oppressed, suppressed, subdued, haunted and daunted. Perhaps knowingly or unknowingly Adriene Rich has mentioned male objects like Tigers and Ivory to show the intensity of male dominance that she was facing. Ivory can generally be obtained by Aristocratic people because it is really costly and the victims of male oppression can be found in any class or any society. With a mere wedding ring now Aunt Jennifer is the property of the uncle and the ring has become massive in weight and also that sits heavily upon aunt hand. Here we can find the conflict between the two voices that is the inner voice of Aunt Jennifer and the voice of the society. Society wants aunt Jennifer to obey all the rules produced and formulated by the uncle or the males of the family but aunt wants  completely against that and follow her own thoughts.

Third Stanza

Third stanza starts with a creepy note of aunt Jennifer's death and poets is saying here that her hands  and her soul would be still in pain after her death. It suggests the intensity of pain and dominance that she was into. Death couldn't give her freedom from that bondage and she was still surrounded by the burden and  the obligation that she was facing previously. Here we can find a stark contrast between the creatures that she made and herself in terms of confidence, courage, vigor and fearlessness. The tigers will continue to thrive even after the death of aunt Jennifer. It also shows the never ending, torturous tradition and rituals of our society that will go on. Many aunt Jennifers will die but this process of torture and dominance will make its way farther and hunt women like aunt Jennifer, those who want themselves to be suppressed.

Finally poet gives here a message to the entire women community that 'you don't need to care for anyone if you are right. Just Be you...'

Difficult words and meanings
PRANCE : move with a high springy step.
SCREEN : tapestry(in this case)
TAPESTRY : a piece of thick textile fabric with pictures or designs formed by weaving colored weft threads or by embroidering on canvas used as a wall hanging or soft furnishing.
TOPAZ : a precious stone, typically colorless, yellow, or pale blue, consisting of an aluminium silicate that contains fluorine. (a dark yellow color)
DENIZENS : proud citizen(in this case)
PACE : walk, stride, march, tread.
SLEEK : elegant, graceful
CHIVALRIC : knightly, brave and noble
CERTAINTY : firm conviction
FLUTTERING : trembling, shaking
IVORY : tusks of an elephant
MASSIVE : heavy weight, cumbersome
WEDDING BAND : wedding ring
TERRIFIED : scared, afraid of
ORDEAL : hurdles, burdens
RINGED : surrounded by, encircled, amidst
MASTERED BY : affected by, enslaved
PANEL : tapestry, screen,canvas

POETIC/LITERARY DEVICES
Metaphor : Bright Topaz (Comparison with tigers and unending power of sun)
Alliteration : Fingers Fluttering
                    : Prancing Proud
                    : Chivalric Certainty
                    : Weight of wedding band
Symbols : Wedding band(symbol of male oppression, unhappy marriage, weight refers to the burden of gender expectation)
               : Aunt Jennifer (typical victim of male oppression, suffers loss of individuality)
               : Tigers (symbol of untamed free spirit, they stand in contrast to their creator's personality, they are fearless, confident and majestic, fearless of men)
Diction : Denizens and Chivalric
Hyperbole : massive weight of uncles wedding band
Contrast : Nervous aunt Jennifer and Confident tigers
              : Prancing and fluttering
Visual Imagery : Bright Topaz, World of green
Paradox : (Certainty) Fluttering fingers produce something that has certainty. It means Aunt jennifer has no certainty but tigers have.
Tone of the poem : positive and cheerful in the beginning but sad and creepy towards last part.
Irony : Tigers will continue to pace and prance freely but being the creator she remained terrified    even after the death.
Repetition : Prance
Rhyme Scheme : aa bb cc dd ee ff
Sibilance : Five 's' sound in the first line create a soft and sober beginning, suggesting confidence on the panel of aunt jennifer.
End Rhyme : Occurs at the end of the line.
Rhyming couplet : Rhymed pair of line
Anaphora : They............
                   They............
                    (Repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect is known as anaphora)
Enjabment : Finger fluttering..............hard to pull.(moving over from one line to another without  terminating punctuation mark)
Synecdoche : Terrified hands
Transferred Epithets : Terrified hands(Transfer of adjective from one noun to another)


Picture play :

Prance

Topaz

Tapestry

Chivalric

Ivory

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My Mother at Sixty Six By Kamala Das (CBSE XII)

Why it is important to know about the author? because it helps you to know in what condition the poet or the author has written the work of art and what purpose it servers towards the society.

Topic presentator : MANAS RANJAN BABOO

About the Poet : Kamala Das 

• Kamala Surayya was born on 31st march 1934 and died on 31st may 2009.
• Her pen name was "Madhavikutty" and "Kamala Das"
• She is known for open and honest treatment of female sexuality.
• She marked herself as an "Iconoclast" in her generation
• Her second book of poetry, "The Descendants" was even more explicit, urging women to.....
• "Gift him what makes you woman the scent of long hair,, the musk of sweat between the breasts, The warm shock of menstrual blood, and all your Endless female hungers...." -The looking glass
• the above statement clearly reveals how open minded she was while potraying female sensuality and thoughts.
• at the age of 42 she published a darling autobiography, "my story"(Malayalam)
• she was criticized for very open and honest writing.
• she was even told that writing so openly is like doing a strip tease.
• but she came up with a really interesting answer, "I will first strip my self of clothes and ornaments, then i will peel of my this light brown skin and shatter my bones, then you will see my beautiful soul."
• she is also regarded as mother of modern English poetry.
• she was converted to Islam at the age of 65.
• Till date "my story" is the best selling women autobiography.
• 'My story' is about the trials of her marriage and her painful self awakening as a woman.
• in "composition" she writes, "here is a girl with vast sexual hungers, a bitch after my own heart."

MY MOTHER AT SIXTY SIX(POEM TEXT)

Driving from my parent’s home to Cochin last Friday

morning, I saw my mother, beside me,

doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that of a 

corpse and realized with pain

that she was as old as she looked but soon

put that thought away, and looked out at Young

Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling

out of their homes, but after the airport’s

security check, standing a few yards

away, I looked again at her, wan, pale

as a late winter’s moon and felt that old

familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,

but all I said was, see you soon, Amma,

all I did was smile and smile and smile......

line by line explanation :

The poet here was driving from her parents home to Cochin airport and on the way what ever she experienced after watching her mother for a long time, she has mentioned n her emotional experience in the form of poetry.

Driving.............beside me.....

Here driving is not only driving, it is something more. here driving signifies as the metaphor of journey as experience

saw : here the act of seeing is the stationary movement as against the kinetic act of driving.

beside me :  this refers to the time, space and position as indicated in the poem when the poet was inside the car.

doze and open mouthed refers to the torpidity that old age has imposed on her, torpidity means sluggish, lethargic, inactive.

Open mouthed also connotes lack  of etiquette and circumstance, echoing that end is just about the corner. "she was as old she looked" means she realizes in a poignant moment that her mother now looked as old as she was. she was sad pitiful, and sorrowful.


with the word ashen, the poet tell us that death is affirmed, that thought of death is coupled with her countenance.

her ashen face reminded her her of a corpse both metaphorically and literally.

the hollowness of life and inevitability  of death is surrounded and echoed. what pains her more is that the idea of death, the fear of death.

the irony is that though she was beside her she seems to be already haunted with the thought of being distant to her in terms of age that is sixty six.

Young trees sprinting , the merry children .... it is a juxtapose against the  creepy idea of predestined death.

the act of seeing her off at the airport comes across as a metaphor of seeing her to death.

wan, pale refers to dry, faded, colorless and withered face and also dismal and somber feeling.

late winters moon  is calm and hazy with a dim luster or lusterless. late winters moon is the symbol of advancing age, winter season comes last in the seasons, so it also denotes the end of life.

old familiar ache and childhood fear means the fear that she had of losing her mother from the very childhood days. fear of separation or the pangs  of separation.

see you soon amma....tells her mother positively see you soon amma because separation always precedes reconciliation or reunion.

smile and smile smile........she endures all the pain and hardship without the display of feelings and complaint

SUMMARY

This poem is the outcome of Kamala Das's journey experience with her mother. She started her journey with her mother from her parental home to Cochin airport last Friday morning. Inside the car she saw her mother and she felt as if everything was seized for a moment and there were only two persons in the world i.e. herself and her mother. Her mother dozed(felt drowsy) and she was also open mouthed because of the sluggish, lethargic, inactive condition due to old age. Some other way 'open mouthed' also indicates that for her mother death is about the corner. When one is at the age of sixty six, one doesn't generally care for etiquette, thus she can remain open mouthed, in addition to that at such an age health also doesn't permit for certain things, so automatically their mouth remains open. After watching her mother for a while she started realizing that now her mother appears exactly to her age that is sixty six and she was sad, sorrowful and pitiful. With the word 'ashen' poet is  now more serious towards her mother with the solemn thought of losing her and that(approaching death) can be seen on her mother's face. What pains her more is the thought of death. The Irony here is that though her mother was by her side still she was haunted with the thought of being distant to her mother. In order to recover her mental state and to escape from the creepy idea of her mothers death, she looked outside the car. Outside the car she saw children bursting, playing merrily and trees sprinting and she managed to divert her mind for a while. Young trees 'sprinting' doesn't mean that trees were literally running behind the car but it is personified here giving the trees human like features.. Sprinting trees and children here symbolize youth and rejuvenation which might calm her anxiety and suppress her pang of separation from her mother. After driving for a while they finally reached at the airport and the poet again becomes emotional and the childhood fear of losing her mother haunts her again. When she looked at her mother's face at the airport from a distance, it seemed like 'late winter's moon. Late winters moon connotes more than one meaning. Winter is the end of seasons and late winter's moon is hazy/foggy. Thus it suggest the advancement towards death. And as late winter's moon is having little brightness, it also suggest the worsening health condition which might lead to death. Finally she summoned all her strength and said good by to her mother. She tells her mother positively 'see you soon' because separation always precedes reconciliation or reunion. At the end she endures all the pain and hardship without displaying feeling of complain. This poetry has a happy ending and with positive note, with a good deal of optimism poet affirms her mother that everything is alright and they are together. difficult words and meaning

Doze : drowsy
ashen : pale face
Corpse : dead body
sprinting : running
spilling : playing joyfully
wan, pale : dull, sickly

LITERARY DEVICES/POETIC DEVICES

SIMILE : like a late winters moon, her face ashen like, pale as a
PERSONIFICATION : sprinting trees
REPETITION :smile and smile and smile
JUXTAPOSITION :  life outside the car and death  inside the car.
IMAGES AND SYMBOLS :  trees sprinting and merry children (energy, young age, life, growth, optimism)
winters moon : refers to depression, sadness, death, pessimism.
metaphor : ashen face
imagery : young children spilling.