Skip to main content

Analyze Jayanta Mahapatra's poem "Grass"’s closing lines, particularly the references to “familiar tormentors” and “scabs of my dark dread.” What do these symbols reveal about the speaker’s confrontation with their own fears and past experiences?

The closing lines of Jayanta Mahapatra's poem "Grass" are laden with powerful symbolism that encapsulates the speaker's ongoing struggle with their fears and past experiences. The references to "familiar tormentors" and "scabs of my dark dread" evoke a profound sense of unresolved pain and internal conflict, which the speaker must confront.

The phrase "familiar tormentors" suggests that the speaker is grappling with long-standing fears or traumatic memories that have plagued them over time. These tormentors are "familiar," indicating that the speaker has encountered them repeatedly, and they have become an inescapable part of their psyche. The use of the word "tormentors" implies that these memories or fears are not passive but actively cause distress, continuing to haunt the speaker.

The imagery of "scabs of my dark dread" further deepens this sense of ongoing inner turmoil. Scabs form over wounds as part of the healing process, but they also signify that the wounds are still present, albeit in a different stage of healing. The "dark dread" represents the deep-seated fears that the speaker carries, and the scabs suggest that while there may have been some attempts to heal or move past these fears, they are still raw and easily reopened. This image captures the fragile state of the speaker's emotional healing, where the slightest disturbance could cause the wounds to reopen, bringing the dread back to the surface.

Together, these symbols reveal the speaker's confrontation with their fears as an ongoing, painful process. The "familiar tormentors" and "scabs of my dark dread" indicate that the speaker is not yet free from the grip of their past, but rather is in a continuous struggle to manage and overcome these internal battles. The closing lines emphasize that the journey toward healing and resolution is fraught with difficulty, and the past remains a powerful, lingering force in the speaker's life.

In summary, the closing lines of "Grass" use the symbols of "familiar tormentors" and "scabs of my dark dread" to highlight the speaker's enduring confrontation with their fears and past experiences. These symbols reflect the deep, unresolved nature of the speaker's pain and the ongoing challenge of facing and potentially overcoming the darkness within.

References: Sarangi, J., & Jha, G. S. (2006). The Indian Imagination of Jayanta Mahapatra. Sarup & Sons.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Drop any query, suggestion or comment here.

Other Fat Writing

Popular posts from this blog

Kinds of Poetry: Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic

Introduction: Poetry is a form of literary expression that has captivated readers and listeners for centuries. It allows poets to convey their thoughts, emotions, and experiences in a condensed and artistic manner. While there are countless poetic forms and styles, poetry can be broadly categorized into three main kinds: Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic. Each of these kinds has distinct characteristics, purposes, and examples that showcase the rich diversity within the world of poetry. Kinds of poetry :  There are three great kinds of poetic writing: Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic. Narrative poetry: Narrative poetry tells a story with a plot, characters, and a setting. It  is one of the oldest and most straightforward forms of poetry. It tells a story, often in a chronological sequence, using poetic devices to create a vivid and engaging narrative. Some key points about narrative poetry include: Storytelling: Narrative poetry focuses on storytelling, using poetic language to c...
1 comment
Read more

Analysis of "Progress" by St. John Ervine as One Act Play

"Peace hath her victories No less renowned than war."- John Milton  (1608 - 1674)   Letters of State...Together with Several of his Poems ,  "To Oliver Cromwell" “Progress” by St. John Greer Ervine is a successful specimen of a one act play . It has not only a unity of theme (the abolition of war) the unities of time; place and action are also meticulously maintained. Thematically, “Progress”     is written against the background of the First World War in which thousands were butchered and many more became disabled for life. It left many mothers    childless and incredible number of widows and orphans. This insensible devastation has created diverse reactions in social thinking, and “Progress” by the Irish playwright St. John Greer Ervine is just the product of one of the strongest of these sentiments, namely the anti-war feeling of the post war modern age .  Through the basic conflict between two ideas- the point of view of ...
10 comments
Read more

Dr. West’s New Method of Teaching English :Its Merits and Demerits

                 D r. Michael Philip West (1888–1973) conducted an extensive research and experiments on the problems of teaching English as a foreign language in India at the time of British rule . Read More Teaching English The new method is the outcome of his research. It stood as a reaction against the Direct Method. Going into more details, when Dr. West came to visit rural Bengal students (1913- 19) en route teaching job at Teachers’ Training College  at Dhaka, West's conclusions about English learning issues in Bengal, India were as follows: 👉Students spent about 10 hours a week on English study with extremely poor results. 👉Only a minority reached the Matriculation class due to health or financial reasons. Read More  Teaching English 👉Even in the Matriculation class, students lacked real reading ability, speaking fluency, and writing proficiency in English. 👉A 1919 Calcutta University...
6 comments
Read more