Introduction of the Poem:
The poem entitled “I Know Not How Thou Singest” is an extract from Rabindranath Tagore's Gitanjali. In the present poem, the poet calls his Creator, the Master Musician and His music pervades the universe transforming all its dissonances and incongruities into one Supreme Symphony. The poet is so overwhelmed by divine music that he desires to be one with God, but he cannot do so because he is badly entrapped in this world or Maya which is the endless music of God. The poet in his utter humility of helplessness pays glorious tribute to his Creator who is the Master Musician.
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| Tagore’s Poem 3, I Know Not How Thou Singest—A Critical Study |
Some Critical Points of the Poem:
1. God is regarded the Master Musician.
2. The whole world is illumined by the light of divine music.
3. The life - breath of God's music pervades the entire universe.
4. The sacred stream of divine music overcomes all impediments and rushes forward from one end of the world to the other.
5. The poet feels that he has been made captive in the endless network of the divine music of his lord.
6. The poet remains speechless and bows his head in gratitude while listening to the song of God.
Summary of the Poem:
Stanza 1:
I know not how thou singest, my master! I ever listen in silent amazement.
The light of thy music illumines the world. The life breath of thy music runs from sky to sky.
The holy stream of thy music breaks through all stony obstacles and rushes on.
Explanatory Word - Meanings:
1. I know ... my master= the poet does not know how the divine singer pours forth such beautiful songs into the world. Here the poet calls God Master Musician. 2. Thou = you. 3. Singest =sings 4. My master= the Creator of the world, God, Master Musician, etc. 5. Silent= with great attention. 6. Amazement = astonishment, perplexity. 7. The light ... the world= the whole world is illumined by the light of divine music. 8. Illumines= enlightens, brightens up, lights up. 9. World= the physical world in which the poet lives, Mayavi Sansar. 10. The life ... sky= the life - breath of God's music pervades the entire universe. 11. Life breath = air pervading the atmosphere which gives life to every living creature. 12. Sky to sky = pervades the whole universe. 13. The holy stream ... on= the sacred stream of divine music gets victory over all the obstacles and rushes forward from one end of the world to the other. 14. Holy = pious, sacred, free from sin, perfect devoted to God. Water is also regarded holy because like the light and the air, it is also a divine gift and is essential for the existence and survival of life. 15. Stream = the flowing water. 16. Breaks through = makes a way through obstacles and obstruction which try to restrict the flow or the current of water. 17. Stony = resembling stone, made of such strong material as stone. 18. Obstacles= something that stands in the way or obstructs progress; hindrance. 19. Rushes on= continue to flow despite impediments of all kinds.
Paraphrase:
The poet regards God the supreme and superb singer. He is greatly astonished when he hears the divine music. While hearing the divine music, he is engrossed in it completely i.e., he musters up his total attention to it. The whole world is illuminated by the light of His divine music. The whole sky is enlivened by the life breath of the divine melody. The sacred stream of divine music overcomes all the impediments and rushes from one end of the world to the other, from one corner of the universe to another.
Stanza 2:
My heart longs to join in thy song, but vainly struggles for a voice. I would speak, but speech breaks not into song, and I cry out baffled. Ah thou hast made my heart captive in the endless meshes of thy music, my master!
Explanatory Word - Meanings:
1. My heart ... song = the poet has heartily desire to imitate God and sing with Him. 2. Longs= pines, yearns, have keen desire. 3. Join = to imitate God's song. 4. But ... voice = poet is unable to fulfil his yearning to sing with God. He makes his utmost efforts, but his efforts prove meaning less. 5. Vainly=unsuccessfully. 6. Struggles = makes efforts. 7. For a voice= for singing song. 8. I would ... song = poet's voice fails him, and he cannot speak or sing. 9. I cry ... baffled = the poet cries out in extreme dismay and bewilderment. 10. Baffled = bewildered. 11. Ah ... my master! = the poet extremely desires to become one with God, but he cannot do so because he is entrapped in this world or Maya which is the endless music of God. 12. Captive = prisoner. 13. Endless meshes = eternal and infinite. 14. Mesh = net.
Paraphrase:
The poet is ever pining to sing with God who Master Musician. But all his efforts to sing with God are failure. When he tries to sing, his voice is choked and he cries out with a sense of failure and disappointment. He feels that he has been made a captive in the endless network of the divine music of his lord and master. The sweet harmony of God's music is constantly sounded through the universe, and the poet is held captive by it.
Critical Analysis of the Poem:
Introduction:
The poem No. 3, entitled "I Know Not How Thou Singest" is a beautiful devotional poem. In the present poem, the poet is so overwhelmed and overawed by divine music that despite his keen desire to share the divine music finds himself sadly unqualified for this. God's Maya has so baffled the poet that he does not know how to rescue himself from it. The poet, in his utter humility of helplessness and insignificance, pays glorious tribute to his Creator, who is the Master Musician. The poet sees this universe as a symphony in which all the jarring and discordant notes have been harmonized by the supreme skill of the Master Musician, God. Different manifestations of the divine music are responsible for everything that is present in the universe. The light, air and water are the manifestations of the same divine symphony. These manifestations are responsible for the creation and sustenance of all activities.
Thought - Content:
The poet knows that God is the superb musician. He listens to the sweet song of his Master with amazement. His music illuminates the universe. He enlivens it from sky to sky by the life - breath of His song. Like a holy stream, His music rushes on overcoming all obstacles in the way. Even the stones are moved by divine music. The poet yearns to join the divine music, but in want of a voice, he cannot give utterance to it. He wants to speak. Words fail him and he cannot express his feelings in a song. He cries out in utter confusion. The poet longs for becoming one with God but he has been entrapped in the endless network of the allurements of the world (Maya), which is the music of his Lord and Master.
Mythology and Conventions of Religion:
The poet is steeped in the mythology and conventions of religion. The poet views this world as the manifestation of God's music. The light of the divine music makes this physical world visible and it is divine music again which enlivens the sky. The poet means to say that all life under the sky is sustained through light, air and water. It is divine music which illumines the physical world and makes it visible. Next, this divine music manifests itself as air and makes the physical world alive and vibrant from the sky to the earth. According to the poet, all life that we see around us is only a manifestation of divine music. Still next, even the life sustaining water that appears as springs and streams is also a manifestation of that divine music which God plays and makes this universe visible, vivid and vibrant. The light, the air and the water, the manifestation of the divine music, cannot be hindered or annihilated by any obstacle. They overcome all obstructions and freely do their divine dispens. Throughout this poem, the poet views this world as the manifestation of God's Leela or Maya which is beyond human comprehension. The poet views God's divine music in all its manifestation in speechless adoration.
The Use of Imagery:
In Tagore's poetry we have direct images by means of picturesque and concrete fancies, visions and dreams, figurative images by means of metaphor and simile, symbol and personification, mythical or legendary images - images in which the tenors and vehicles reciprocate. For instance, in the present poem both the poet and God appear to be singers and both are related to music imagery:
“I know not how thou singest, my master!
I ever listen in silent amazement.
The light of thy music illumines the world. The life breath of thy music runs from sky to sky.
The holy stream of thy music breaks through all stony obstacles and rushes on.”
Style and Language:
Tagore's poems have no rhyme or metre. They are in ‘verse libre’ i.e., verse which has been freed from the bondage of metre. It is free verse the essence of which consists in the heightened moment of poetic expression forging out a music of its own - not the music associated with verse form based on the rhythm of metrical feet, but cadence which was bound to no counted syllables or even lines that rose and fell with the emotions and the flow of words. His language is simple and is close to the everyday language of man. There is hardly an unfamiliar word. Simplicity and sublimity run together in this poetry. He uses short words which are significant both for their sense and their sound. The use of archaisms thou and thy impart antique flavour to Tagore's diction and reveals the soul's ardent yearning for complete identification with God; for instance:
“I know not how thou singest, my master! ..... "
“The light of thy music illumines the world.”