LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 15:4 April 2015
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Nuances of Rhetoric in Rabindranath Tagore’s Where The Mind Is
Without Fear and Rudyard Kipling’s If

Dr. Arun Behera, Ph.D., PGDTE, DDE, PGDJ, AMSPI, M.A.
Ratul Sabui, II year B.Sc. (Hons.)

Abstract

It is a rare event when an author accomplishes the gargantuan task of retracing the pathways that had led to a particular composition. When such an endeavor is taken up by a member of the audience, its outcome is a mere conjecture. Moreover this task attains greater levels of difficulty when the names dealt with happen to be the pioneers of a genre. Rabindranath Tagore and Rudyard Kipling had little to distinguish them in terms of chronological or geographic location. Yet when we experience their works, we realize that they are separated by an ocean of difference which lies in their intent, style and tone. This work makes a daring attempt at unveiling the differences in styles between Tagore and Kipling through their respective masterpieces Where the Mind is without Fear1 and If2.

Key Words: Rhetoric, Style, Rhyme, Tone, Reflection, Understanding

Structure- Rhyme and Rhythm

If apparently is a composition that follows the dictates of rhyme but not of syllabic meters. Rudyard Kipling keeps varying the length of lines and thus gives very little opportunity to consider the presence of a metric rhythm. But on a careful and detailed observation, and on the careful insertion of catalexes, it is possible to infer a subtle interplay of penta-foot lines (some lines have six feet). But the presence of rhythm ends here. The feet keep varying between iambic and anapestic, giving us a totally inconclusive idea about the tone. It keeps the analyst guessing whether the tone is rising or falling. This can be classified as a ‘sprung rhythm’3- a term coined to define this form of staccato stresses. Kipling, though he belonged to an age where most poets sought liberation from traditional confines of rhyme and rhythm, decided to give a faint touch of rhythmic patterns to his work. This usage by Kipling attempts to justify his theme of materialistic and pragmatic thoughts that are meant to be rooted in social and worldly norms without being overtly ostensible.

Rabindranath Tagore, on the other hand, seeks complete liberation from the patterns of rhyme and metronome beats. This move is coherent with the aim of the composition, i.e. the emancipation from vices, both within and without, at various echelons of life and society. In his own words, “Religion can have no meaning in the enclosure of mere physical or material interest.”4 To imply this sense of freedom and material detachment, Tagore has resorted to free verse. Free verse has been a commonly used tool in the hands of metaphysical and confessional poets whose works seek to transcend the orthodox definitions of poetic verse.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dr. Arun Behera

Dr. Arun Behera, Ph.D., PGDTE, DDE, PGDJ, AMSPI, M.A.
Department of English
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning
Brindavan Campus
Kadugodi Post
Bangalore-560067
Karnataka
India
drbehera65@gmail.com

Ratul Sabui, II yearr B.Sc. (Hons.)
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning
Brindavan Campus
Kadugodi Post
Bangalore-560067
Karnataka
India
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