Kakatiya University Warangal
II year Sem 4- Unit-1
Rabindranath Tagore
THE tame bird was in a cage, the free bird was in the forest.
They met when the time came, it was a decree of fate.
The free bird cries, "O my love, let us fly to the wood."The cage bird whispers, "Come hither, let us both live in the cage."
Says the free bird, "Among bars, where is there room to spread one's wings?"
"Alas," cries the caged bird, "I should not know where to sit perched in the sky."
The free bird cries, "My darling, sing the songs of the woodlands."
The cage bird sings, "Sit by my side, I'll teach you the speech of the learned."
The forest bird cries, "No, ah no! songs can never be taught."
The cage bird says, "Alas for me, I know not the songs of the woodlands."
Their love is intense with longing, but they never can fly wing to wing.
Through the bars of the cage they look, and vain is their wish to know each other.
They flutter their wings in yearning, and sing, "Come closer, my love!"
The free bird cries, "It cannot be, I fear the closed doors of the cage."
The cage bird whispers, "Alas, my wings are powerless and dead."
Rabindranath Tagore was born in Kolkata, Bengal, on May 7, 1861. He was popularly known as "Vishwa Kavi," or "the universal poet." He was a poet, musician, painter, playwright, novelist, and short story writer. He received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913, becoming the first Asian and the first non-European to receive the award. Tagore, in 1901, established Shantiniketan ("the abode of peace") School.
In the poem, the poet depicts two birds' perspectives and conditions. There are two birds: a tame bird in a cage and a free bird in the forest. The bird in the cage symbolises isolation and prison life, whereas the bird in the forest symbolises freedom. Both birds are ignorant of each other's world. They are happy in their own lives. The two birds, having grown in different worlds, are engaged in a conversation with each other. Each one expresses their wish to join or unite. But both are unwilling to leave their own world. They can't be together. Any one of the two birds should sacrifice to join.
The free bird tells the caged bird to come with it to fly in the free sky of the forest, but the caged bird invites the free bird to live in the cage with it. The free bird refuses its request, saying there is no room in the cage to spread its wings. Both birds try to convince each other by presenting their arguments. The free bird longs for open skies, while the caged bird fears the unknown outside. The free bird tells the cage bird to come out and be free to sing woodland songs. The cage bird replies, "Sit by my side; I'll teach you the speech of the learned," and also expresses sadness that it has not known the songs of the forest. They have strong feelings of love, but they cannot fly together. It is impossible for them to unite. They flap their wings with intense love. The free bird says that it cannot join cage bird as it fears the bars of the cage. The cage bird says with sadness that its wings are powerless and dead, so it can't fly. The last line suggests that freedom is valuable and that the free bird is in a better position than the caged bird.
No comments:
Post a Comment