Theme of the Poem:
The poem entitled 'The Gift of India' was written by the 'Nightingale of India’ Sarojini Naidu in 1915. It is a patriotic poem, which was included in her volume of poems ‘The Broken Wing'. In this poem, she captures the sacrifices of the one million of strong Indian army that fought under the British flag in far - off lands like Egypt, Belgium and Iran. Nearly, seventy thousands of them fell in the battlefields and an equal number were maimed. She pines for those who did not return home and bemoans the fact that the colonial authorities gave only perfunctory tribute to the Indian soldiers who fought with commendable valour and grit.
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| Poem The Gift of India—Theme, Summary and Critical Analysis |
This poem can, however, be read as an anti-war poem that brings forward the tragic aspects of wars. The horrid image of the soldiers lying dead in alien lands and the blood-tainted meadows bring forward a picture that is hard to praise. Mother India's lamentation for the loss of the Indian soldiers in wars can be seen as a reflection of every Indian mother lamenting the loss of her martyred son. In the end, she hopes for a world that would be free from the brutality of war - a world that would be modelled on peace and harmony, a world that will remember the contribution of the martyred Indian soldiers.
The theme of patriotism is the most evident theme in the poem. This theme of patriotism for the motherland runs in a lot of other poems by Sarojini Naidu. This poem is a tribute to the martyred Indian soldiers who gave up their lives in wars fought by the British during the First world War. Since the very beginning, this theme of patriotism is predominant. Mother India reminds the world of the priceless treasures that she has gifted the world. She has sent her sons to foreign lands to fight foreign wars. The Indian soldiers have fought in the battlefield with full vigour and enthusiasm. They have shed their blood and sweat to fight someone else's war, to protect the honour of their mother land. This poem brings forward the contributions of the brave soldiers of India in embodying the spirit of a brave country like India. The poem evokes a sense of grief at the loss of the Indian soldiers who fought valiantly in the First World War. However, a sense of pride overcomes the sense of despair as Mother India realizes the achievements of the soldiers. Sarojini Naidu tries to depict the pain of a mother whose son has been torn away from her bosom and buried in alien lands. In the poem, the poetess urges the world to pay respect and homage to the martyred soldiers for their heroism and patriotism so that their names can be immortalized in the history as the brave men who died to protect the honour of the country. The poem glorifies the sacrifices of the soldiers for their motherland and raises a sense of respect and appreciation in the readers for the bold and patriotic Indian soldiers.
Literature has glorified wars and war-heroes since a very long time. Many writers and poets have justified wars by praising and romanticizing the war heroes. For several years, people regarded war as manly endevaour.
This notion was, however, shattered in the beginning of the 20th century when the horrors of the First World War left its mark on the human civilization. The innumerable death, the damage and destruction of life and property, the brutality with which men killed each other and the new weapons and chemicals that were exposed to humanity, turned the gift of nature into a 'wasteland' where ashes were found in place of flowers and blood in place of holy water.
The poem also brings home the idea that war is horrible and destructive. It being the product of hatred only spreads hatred and ill-will. It takes a heavy toll of precious human lives. Thousands of Indian soldiers were killed during the World War I. They were fighting on alien lands for an alien cause. They laid down their lives fighting fearlessly. The sorrow and sufferings of Mother India can never be comprehended.
Summary of the Poem:
Stanza 1:
Addressing the British, Mother India asks them if there is anything which she has not showered upon them. She has not deprived them of any of her resources like the richest of garments, food or gold. She has never denied any form of sacrifice to the world that was needed for a better tomorrow. She has promptly given away the courageous sons of the nation to the eastern and western countries without any hesitation to honour her international commitments and to ensure harmony in the world. She talks of her brave sons who have readily accepted every challenge that came their way to cater to global commitments as a result of which they are lying buried in foreign. Mother India agreed to send the Indian soldiers to the land of chaos, death and destruction to protect the nation's integrity and prestige. She has given up the sons born out of her womb to the world for the sake of the country's esteem and commitments.
Stanza 2:
Mother India laments the death of the heroic soldiers who fought in the war with the utmost valour and zeal and are now lying buried in their graves in foreign lands like pearls in their shells. Over one million Indian troops from Britain's colonial empire had served the British Army in the First World War, out of which around seventy-five thousand soldiers died in foreign lands. Some of them are buried along the tranquil Persian sea while others are scattered like shells on the Egyptian sands. They are lying pale and colourless with hands that have been broken in the battlefield. There are other brave soldiers whose lifeless bodies lie scattered like flowers in the blood - tainted meadows of Flanders and France. The bleeding Indian soldiers chose not only to sacrifice their blood and sweat for their motherland but also to prove the fact that India has never backed out from its promised commitment. The selfless sacrifice of the Indian soldiers show that India has always lived up to its expectations proving its loyalty to its global allies.
Stanza 3:
Mother India asks rhetorical questions to express the fact that there is no possible way in which the world can measure the intensity of her grief. The world cannot possibly comprehend her grief and suffering that she had to face at the loss of her martyred sons. Even though she is torn by the grief in her heart, she is exhilarated by a sense of pride offered by the soldiers. Her pride in the heroism and spirit of her sons overwhelms her sense of despair and sorrow. She bears immeasurable pain and anguish in her heart at the thought of parting ways with her sons. However, she prays for a world in which there is no place for fights, hatred and terror and the thought of a better world in which peace and harmony is restored gives her hope. Here she is anticipating their victory which will put an end to the cruelties in the world. In the same time, she is saddened by the thought of the soldiers who are going to sacrifice their lives to bring glory to the country.
Stanza 4:
Mother India vehemently expresses her sense of pride in the achievements of the Indian soldiers. Even though she has suffered a lot, a hope for a better future in which peace is restored, gives her satisfaction. The poet ends on a note of optimism and hope. Mother India hopes that when the world of terror and hate shall cease, a new world will be formed in which peace and harmony would bring joy in people's lives. Mother India expects the world to respect and remember the soldiers who fought bravely in the wars and sacrificed their lives for a peaceful future. She also hopes that the contribution of the Indian soldiers will be recognized by the world. She wants people to pay their homage and gratitude to the soldiers so that they can be immortalized in the history of the world for their valour and heroism.
Critical Analysis of the Poem:
Introduction:
The poem entitled The Gift of India is a poem written in 1915 by the Indian poet freedom fighter and politician Sarojini Naidu. The poem is a tribute to the contribution of Indian soldiers in World War I. Over ten lakh Indian soldiers from the British Indian Empire served in the Allied forces in the First World War. A vast number of them sacrificed their lives. Indian troops fought in different locations of significance to the allied stronghold and had an important share in many of the battles throughout the course of the war. However, the contribution of the Indian soldiers is overlooked in the vast expanse of the war's history. These selfless sacrifices of the Indian soldiers for the western agitation are captured in Naidu's poem The Gift of India.
The poem not only concentrates on the theme of soldiers making their ultimate sacrifice for someone else's war, but also talks about the numerous benefits the foreign countries reaped from India. The poet regards these benefits as gifts given by India to the colonisers. The poem can be regarded as a kind of reminder or appeal to the allied forces to remember the Indian contribution to their victory.
Moral of the Poem:
The poetess brings to us the idea that war is horrible and destructive. It being the product of hatred only spreads hatred and ill- will, it takes a heavy toll of precious human lives. Thousands of Indian soldiers were killed during the World War I. They were fighting on alien lands for an alien cause. Another idea which the poetess brings to us, is that the sacrifices of brave people cannot and should not be forgotten. Brave soldiers who die fighting deserve to be honoured and remembered.
Pathos in the Poem:
The poetess expresses the deep sense of sadness and grief felt by all Indians at the brutal killings of Indian soldiers. No one can measure the tears of grief that the despair in her heart and the hope that comforts the anguish. She has a sad vision of the bloody flag wavering, proclaiming victory. The soldier died but they won a decisive victory for their masters.
"Can ye measure the grief of the tears I weep
Or compass the woe of the watch I keep?
Or the pride that thrills thro' my heart's despair
And the hope that comforts the anguish of prayer?
And the far sad glorious vision I see
Of the torn red banners of victory.”
Optimistic Attitude:
In the end, a note of optimism and hope overpowers the mood of the poem. The poetess anticipates a time when man would be free from the shackles of dominance and cruelty and live in a world where hatred will be overpowered by love. She urges the world to pay respect and homage to the martyred soldiers for their heroism so that their names can be immortalized in the history as the brave men who died to protect the honour of the country. She hopes that the brave soldiers would be remembered with gratitude for their valorous deeds and the coming generation would remember their sacrifices.
Form, Structure and Language:
The poem is an elegy written in lyrical vein. It consists of twenty-four lines. It has a simple and elegant rhyme scheme of aabbcc. Each of the stanzas has six lines, where the first two lines introduce either an idea or create a picture, the next two lines build up on them and the final two present a sort of small conclusion for the stanza. The poem as an entire piece has a subtle flow in it where mother India herself proclaims proudly her gifts to the west. The first stanza introduces the various gifts India has bestowed upon the colonisers, which include both its riches and people. The second stanza focuses more on the wistful state of martyred Indian soldiers. The third stanza talks of the grief those deaths have brought. And finally, the fourth stanza is a sort of appeal to honour the sacrifice of the Indian soldiers for the cause of war.
The poem personifies the country India as a mother, who sorrowfully yet proudly laments the loss of her sons for the British cause in the First World War. The words and phrases such as 'priceless treasures torn from my breast', 'sons of my stricken womb', and 'martyred sons' clearly establish the mother - son relationship.
The Use of Imagery:
The poetess has excelled in incorporating poetic imagery in her poems. In this poem too we find colour, auditory and visual imagery.
Colour Imagery:
The richness of material resources of India —snatched by British— is symbolized by ‘gold’ which is not only a metal but a colour symbolizing traditions. Also, the ‘pearl’ like Indian soldiers are dead, their brows have now turned pale, the beautiful coloured flowers have now withered away and the meadows of Flanders and France have turned ‘blood-brown’. The ‘red banners of victory’ bring suggestion of a victory at the cost of the blood of Indian soldiers. The colour Imagery of red is also prominent in the last line when mother India asks to remember the blood of her martyred sons.
Auditory Imagery:
The soldiers moving to the call of 'the drum-beats of the duty' is an example of auditory imagery.
Visual Imagery:
The image of the dead Indian soldiers 'gathered like pearls in their alien graves’ is a very pictorial representation of the ravages of wars.
The Use of Figures of Speech:
Similes:
The poetess has made use of judiciously selected and richly embellished similes to express the tender and proud feelings of a mother for her dead sons. In the poem, the soldiers have been likened to pearls. The simile compares their graves to oysters. The pride of the mother is exhibited in the comparison of the soldiers to pearls. They are also compared to flowers mown down accidently. The comparison brings out the tender feelings of the mother.
1. “Gathered like pearls in their graves.”
2."Scattered like shells on Egyptian sands.”
3. “They are strewn like blossoms mown down by chance.”
Oxymoron:
It is figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction. For instance:
"And the far sad glorious vision I see.”
Personification:
It is a figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstract ideas are invested with the attributes of living beings. The most evident example of personification in this poem is observed when the country India is given the emotions and attributes of a mother. The whole poem is narrated from the perspective of a mother who laments the loss of her sons but in the same time, is proud of their commitments. The entire poem is narrated in the first-person narrator. For example, she calls the Indian soldiers her 'priceless treasures' torn from her breast. Other instances of personifications are following:
1. "Remember the blood of my martyred sons.”
2. "Can ye measure the grief of the tears I weep.
Or compass the woe of the watch I keep?"
Metaphor:
Metaphor is a figure of speech in which a comparison between two different things is implied, but not clearly started. For instance, in this poem, the Indian soldiers are compared to 'priceless treasures.’
Alliteration:
Alliteration is the close repetition of consonant sounds in a sentence. For example:
1. “Silent they sleep---" ('s')
2. “Scattered like shells...” ('s')
3. “They lie with pale brows and brave, broken hands.” ('b')
Rhetorical Question:
Rhetorical question is a question asked in order to create a dramatic impact or make a point rather than to get an answer. An instance of rhetoric can be seen in the line:
"Can measure the grief of the tears I weep
Or compass the woe of the watch I keep?”