Critical appreciation of Derozio's poem "the Harp of India"

 

Critical Appreciation of Derozio’s poem “The Harp of India”   

                This poem “ The Harp of India” mourns India’s loss of freedom to the British and hopes it would regain its past glory.  The harp is a musical stringed instrument, that Derozio uses to represent as India’s loss of art and literature.  The harp is left unplayed, because its strings are broken.  Even when there is a breeze that touches the instrument, it has no motion.  The ultimate use of an instrument is lost, there is no sound from it.  The instrument has been used by several poets in the past.  But now, it lays there like a statue, abandoned in a desert.  Many poets have become famous, by using harp in the past, in their poems.  The fame still exists through their network (poem) like fresh flowers that bloom in the poet’s grave.  Derozio ends the poem exclaiming that the one with the skill should awaken the music and to choose him to do the job.   

                This is a petrarchan sonnet which contains 14 lines.  The first 8lines of this poem are octave and the next 6 lines are sestet.  This poem is written in the first person point of view.  The rhyme scheme in this poem “The harp of India” is abab babc dcdc bb.  The poem is straight forward simple and elegant.  The “harp” is the main symbol used in the poem.   The “harp” is the main symbol used in the poem.  The “hand” represents India’s poets, culture, tradition, art and literature.  The loss of these elements in India  India forms the outline of the poem.  There are two parts in the poem.  The octave describes the abandoned harp, a metaphor the loss of art and literature and sestet describes the poet’s art and how the fame exists even after the death of the artwork’s author. 

Political Backround:

                There is a political background to this poem.  It was written in the 19^th century and very much refelects colonization and how it reflects in India’s literary work.

                 “Why hang’st thou lonely you withered bough

                  Unstrung forever, must thou there remain”

The word “thou” refers to a harp.  The “unstrung” means that the harp has not been played, possibly because the strings are broken.  Should the harp remain like that?  The first 2 lines evoke a sense of sadness.  The harp refers to the art, that is not being used or created.  The poet asks if the culture of art should remain like this. 

Abandoned dumb:

                “Thy music once was sweet – who hears it now?

                Why doth the breeze sigh over thee in vain”

The music of the sounds produced by the harp was once very melodious.  But now, since nobody plays it, nobody hears the sounds any more.  Even the winds can stir music within harp is useless.  The harp is silenced, as it does not produce any music or sound.  That makes the harp close to being dead, as it deeats the purpose of an instrument.  It is abandoned dumb and cannot make any music. 

Ruined statue:

                “Like ruined monument on desert plain

                O! many a hand more worthy far than mine”

Thus the harp is like a ruined statue n a desert which is useless.  There are many poets better than a narrator.  The word “hand” refers to the other talented poets.  When the harp makes melodious music and entertains, it gives fame to the poets and entertains.  The word “wreath” suggests that the poets are dead and refers to the flowers on the poet’s grave. 

Flower compared to fame:

                The flowers still bloom on the poet’s graves.  “Flower” also can be compared to “fame”.  Even when the poet’s remain dead, the artwork, they produced is celebrated. 

                “May be by mortal wakened once again

                Harp of my country, but let me strike the strain”

Let the harp be played again, to revive art and literature again and let him i.e the narrator be the one to begin it. 

Literary devices:

                The major literary devices used is “The harp of India” are “personification”, “Simile” and “synecdoche”.  Throughout the poem, the “harp” is personified.  It is given such an importance, as if it is a living being.  It perhaps enhances the value of art in India.  Words like “thou” and “her” are used to personify the harp.  The simile used in this poem is “Like ruined monument on desert plain”.  This simile compares the broken harp to an abandoned statue in the desert.  One synecdoche used here is “hands” which refer to the “poets”. 

Themes of the poem:

                The themes of the poem concerned primarily “nationalism” and “patriotism”.  Derozio writes about the past glory of India and how the country that was once worshipped as a “deity” is chained down to the lowest depths now.  The word “fame entwine” refers to “the fame” for the immortal art works of those poets hae always honoured them i.e keep them famous throughout the eyes.  Thus, they have lived after their death, as the floweres still bloom on their graves.  At the end of the poem the poet says”Those hands are cold”.  “Cold hands” refers to “poets who are dead now”.  Bu he desires to revive their works and hopes that the lost glory of India will be back again. 

Figure of speech in the poem:

Then the most important simile used in this poem is :

                “Neglected, mute and desolate art thou

                Like ruined monument on desert plain”

Example for “personification in this poem is :

                “Why hang’st  thou lonely

                Must thou there remain

                Breeze sigh over thee

                Silence hath bound thee with her fatal chain”

The poet has used “synecdoche” in this poem.  It is a figure of speech in which a “part of a sentence” is able make the whole or vice versa.

The Synecdoche used in this poem are

                “Many a hand

                Those hands are cold”

Here the words “hand” and “hands” refer to the “dead poets” whose fame is still existing in this world.

Imagery in the poem:

                The most powerful and suggestive image of this poem is the “image of music”.  Once the music of India was sweet and melodious.  Now the “silence” has bound the whole country with her fatal chin.  So, the people of the nation are neglected, mute and desolate.  “Silence” is personified  as a lady who is chained.  The symbol of “ruined monument” and “desert plain” is also very interesting and worth nothing.  The ruined monument symbolises the last glory and grandeur of the nation, because of British rule.  

                Derozio further observes, that fame has also garlanded many a wreath for the nation.  The flowers on the grave of the minstrels of the nation are still blooming.  Here, the term “minstrels” suggests the men of honour and fame who used to play the harp of India, in order to produce harmonious music of eternal value.  They are now no more.  The word  “grave” is an example of the figure of speech “metonymy” which suggest the death of such great personalities.  Though these poets are no longer in existence, “the flowers” of their efforts for improving  the wretched condition of India are still blooming on their grave.  Through these beautiful uses of connotation, the poet is successful in infusing both the “feeling” and “form” together. 

Conclusion:

                In this poem, the poet has tried his best to make a fire relation between the past and the present and the relation between tradition and modernity.  He wants to describe the present with the help of the past.