The Eastern world is
different from the Western, but it always has high esteem for the Westerns
because they produce great literary works. One of the admirers from Pakistan is
Taufiq Rafat, who adapts the principles of Ezra Pound and brilliantly exhibits
them in his works. There is a comparative analysis to examine a few
similarities between them. The comparison will justify the position of Ezra
Pound as a great poet and Taufiq Rafat as his great
follower.
Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound is one of
the spearheads of the imagist movement. He has an idea for
contemporary poetry, but he is discouraged by his country (America). It is
unprepared for a new and radical thing. Then, he leaves for Paris. It is the
center of arts as Florence used to be in the 19th century. He also joins the
group of modernists and internationalists.
They lay the foundation of a new movement to promote Imagism. Pound is one of the glowing figures among them. He promotes the notion of Imagism. He does not like the 1
the century tradition of poetry started by Romantics.
Pound writes the essay A Few Don’ts, in which he
describes imagism more than a simple word picture. He says an image presents an
intellectual and emotional complexity of the mind. It brings before the reader
a new way of considering. He also gives some ideas about poetry. He suggests
three principles to make the composition. The first is to treat the subject
directly. This treatment can either be subjective or objective.
The second is to avoid irrelevant words. These
words create a space between appearance and reality. The third is to acquire
rhythm that should not be from an outside source. His ideas are not only
accepted by Western writers but by some Eastern. One of the writers is Taufiq
Rafat from Pakistan. He is called Ezra Pound of Pakistan.
Taufiq Rafat
Rafat establishes pure Pakistani Idiom in English poetry. He strives to achieve a better understanding of English versification. He makes sure that the common words are convenient. They should not have offensiveness and indecency. He writes poetry that is free from resentment. He considers himself an ordinary person and tries to say things that mean something to him. His poetry covers aspects of everyday life. According to him, the job of a poet is to take an ordinary thing and raise it to a level of myth. He has complete control over the description of his thoughts and feelings.
He is a great humanitarian who loves to reveal life and
nature. His words express a simple life. They show human relationships and
spirits. They are the whispers of inward feelings. Rafat is against the
division of homeland and humanity, so he always suggests unity. He always
intends to change this ordinary world into a magical world that should consist
of utmost calmness.
Comparative Analysis
After the description of both poets, there is a
comparative analysis of their works. It will justify the similarity between
their styles and skills. The first comparison is between ‘In a Station of the
Metro’ and ‘Wedding in the Flood’. In the poem, ‘In a Station of the Metro’,
human life is summarized with Imagery. But this description goes beyond the
limits of standard Imagery. And the poem ‘Wedding in the Flood’ presents a
vivid image of Pakistani tradition and culture. It paints how the natural
disaster ruins the marriage procession. The marriage is not postponed but ends
with misfortunes.
The apparition of these faces in the crowd:
Petals, on a wet, black bough.
The above poem is ‘In a Station of the Metro by
Ezra Pound. It is one of the examples of Imagism. The poet shows two images in
only two lines consisting of fourteen well-chosen words. The first line of the
poem presents visual imagery. It describes his experience in a Metro Station in
Paris, where the different faces of the individuals are with an equation of
words. The second line contains visual imagery of black bough and tactile
imagery when its leaves are shown wet.
This kind of treatment of the words creates
visual and tactile effects. This poem is short but carries a deep meaning. On
the surface, this poem has two separate images: the crowd and the branch. The
poet is placing one image on top of the other so that a reader can see them as
a single image. Therefore, the faces in the crowd become beautiful, like flower
petals on a rainy day. The petals, meanwhile, become faces in a crowd. This new
combined image is the real "apparition” that floats before the reader’s
eyes like a ghost that lives in no particular time or place.
It is dark in the palankeen, thinks the bride,
and the roof is leaking. Even my feet are wet.
The above two lines are from the poem ‘Wedding
in the Flood’, by Taufiq Rafat. These lines show the utilization of imagery,
that Ezra Pound uses in his poem ‘In a Station of the Metro. In the first line
the words ‘dark in the palankeen’, and the second line ‘the roof is leaking’
are visual imagery. The words ‘feet are wet’ are both visual and tactile
imagery. For more proof about the similarity between both poets, there is
further evaluation of two different poems ‘A Girl’ by Ezra Pound and ‘This
Blade of Grass’ by Taufiq Rafat.
The tree has entered my hands,
The sap has ascended my arms,
The tree has grown in my breast-
Downward,
The branches grow out of me, like arms.
The above lines belong to the poem ‘A Girl’ by
Pound. The starting lines show how the girl takes a shape of a tree. She
develops sap and branches in herself and they are working like her arms and
veins. She obtains a complete system of a tree. This explanation about the girl
is visual imagery. The third line, ‘The tree has grown in my breast-‘, is
organic imagery. It represents the internal sensation of the girl.
This blade of grass, what is it?
It is myself, six feet under,
breaking the silence.
In a strong wind, I am like a dervish
bringing ecstasy to your doorstep.
The above lines are from Rafat’s poem ‘This
Blade of Grass’. The words, ‘This blade of grass’ produce visual imagery. In
the second line, the poet considers himself a blade of grass. This image is
also a kind of visual imagery. In the last line, the word ‘ecstasy’ is a kind
of organic imagery. The ‘ecstasy’ is happiness that is received at the doorstep
from a dervish.
Tree you are,
Moss you are,
You are violets with wind above them.
A child - so high - you are,
And all this is folly to the world.
The above lines are from the poem ‘A Girl’.
These lines are the source of visual imagery because they present a young girl
as a young tree; the mossy tree looks very young and seems tall. Further, there
is an image of violets, which seem very fragile even in the wind. The
representation of violets with wind is visual and tactile imagery. It makes a
reader feel the softness of flowers and the wind.
I am rough to the touch,
my edges are keen.
The above lines also belong to the poem ‘This
Blade of Grass’. In the first line, the words ‘rough to the touch’ and in the
second line ‘my edges are keen’ produce tactile imagery.
For more proof about the similarity between both
poets, there is further evaluation between two different poems, ‘The Return’ by
Ezra Pound and ‘Arrival of Monsoon’ by Taufiq Rafat.
See, they return; ah, see the tentative
Movements, and the slow feet,
The trouble in the pace and the uncertain
Wavering!
The above lines are from Pond’s poem ‘The
Return’ in which the words ‘feet’, ‘tentative movement’, ‘pace’, and ‘wavering’
examples of visual imagery. All these words show the manner of movement.
And drunk with motion, clothes on the washing line
Are raised above themselves; a flapping sheet
Turns a roof corner into a battlement.
The above lines belong to Rafat’s poem ‘Arrival
of Monsoon’ in which the words ‘drunk with motion’, ‘raised above themselves’
and ‘flapping sheet’ produce visual imagery.
Conclusion
Two poets are analyzed together to find similarities in their styles and techniques. One is Ezra Pound, a Western figure. His three poems are analyzed. One is ‘In a Station of the Metro’, which contains a very concise description of the station and the people of the modern world, the second is ‘A Girl’ that explains the feelings of a girl suffering from Apollo, and the third is "The Return", which is of a pagan god. The second poet is Taufiq Rafat, with the parallel ability, belongs to South Asia, Pakistan.
His three poems are analyzed and compared with Ezra Pond. His
first poem is ‘Wedding in the Flood’. His second poem is ‘This Blade of Grass’.
It is a very concise description of Sufism. The third poem is ‘Arrival of
Monsoon’. It is a vivid description of culture, tradition, and superstitions.
These are the common elements of the subcontinent. These elements still survive
in the rural parts of Pakistan and Hindustan. Both poets use several modern
techniques, but in this limited study, two poetic techniques, frequently
observed, are imagery and shortness.
