Nazrul's The Rebel was an epoch making work for Modern Bengali poetry. But it has not been quite clear in what sense Nazrul contributed in setting the trend of modern literature of Bengal. It is probably because Nazrul did not belong to any major stream of the literary world, and more than that, probably because it is not easy to discuss Nazrul's works within the stream of tradition or in the light of Western impact.
Earlier he was just considered as a rebel writer, whose impact was ruthless and fierce. The lines of his poem reveal his spirit:
I am the unutterable grief,
I am the trembling first touch of the virgin,
I am the throbbing tenderness of her first stolen kiss.
I am the fleeting glance of the veiled beloved,
I am her constant surreptitious gaze….
Here he shares the views of New Critics sense of poetry as a primordial, world creating form of language, the view that poetry enacts experience rather than constituting a discursive amount of experience. F. R. Leavis eschewed the New Critical sense of autonomy of the poem as a verbal icon or well- wrought urn, insisting always that there are no literary values; that criticism, like literature, is always a judgment of life. He preferred to speak of ‘practice in criticism’ rather than ‘practical criticism’. (22)
Being rebellious in nature, he has also used rebellious language in the poems for which he has been highly appreciated:
I am the burning volcano in the bosom of the earth,
I am the wild fire of the woods,
I am Hell’s mad terrific sea of wrath!
I ride on the wings of lightning with joy and profundity,
I scatter misery and fear all around,
I bring earth-quakes on this world!
I am the rebel eternal,
I raise my head beyond this world,
High, ever erect and alone!
The above stanza from his poem reveals the depth of his rebellious nature. It is so because of the circumstances and according to the need of the country. It was a time when India was under British rule and the people wanted to get rid of them. And there was also a need to inspire them and Nazrul tried his best to motivate and inspire the masses through his writings. His rebellious poem, Bidrohi, which was published in the magazine, “Bijli” (Thunder) in the year 1922, having a rebellious language and theme, became very popular among the masses. At that time Gandhiji started Non-cooperation movement to throw the British Empire from India and Nazrul’s poem, Bidrohi, coincided with the movement and so it was the reason for its popularity.
He seems to be agreeing with the views of Mathew Arnold in his famous book of criticism, The Study of Poetry. “Poetry”, according to Matthew Arnold, is a criticism of life under the conditions fixed for such a criticism by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty and this he interprets as the application of ideas___ grand ideas- to life.
In his poems Nazrul had portrayed rebellious attitude with beauty and sensitivity. In his writings, if he has shown destruction than he has also portrayed preservation. Inspired by the success of his poems, he published his first anthology of poems, Agniveena (Lyre of Fire) in 1922. The anthology was also a very big success. He also did his best in other genre of literature i.e. short stories, prose-work and essays. He published his first volume of short stories, the Byather Dan (Gift of Sorrow) and Yugbani, an anthology of essays in 1922.
Besides, being rebellious Nazrul was very much concerned about the social, economic and political system of the country, which is the reason of poverty and misery. He had a deep concern for his people and this is reflected in his poems. His poem Daridro (Pain or Poverty), shows his pain for the people of his country:
O poverty, thou hast made me great.
Thou hast made me honoured like Christ
With his crown of thorns. Thou hast given me
Courage to reveal all. To thee I owe
My insolent, naked eyes and sharp tongue.
Thy cursed has turned my violin to a sword…
O proud saint, thy terrible fire
Has rendered my heaven barren.
O my child, my darling one
I could not give thee even a drop of milk
No right have I to rejoice.
Poverty weeps within my doors forever
As my spouse and my child.
Who will play the flute.
This shows that his poems also had a social message and also his love for the people of his country and his sensitivity. He also had a great respect for the women and believed them to be equal to men. This was a revolutionary thought at that time, when women were considered as marginalized. He has shown his respect for the women in his poem, Nari (Women):
I don’t see any difference
Between a man and a woman
Whatever great or benevolent achievements
That are in this world
Half of that was by woman,
The other half by man.
This shows that he was a liberal man and not a gender-biased. His revolutionary thoughts and his respect for women is clearly depicted in one his poem, Barangana (Prostitute), in which he has created a storm in the society by addressing a prostitute as “mother”. He believed that every woman should be respected whether if she is a prostitute also because it is the circumstances which are responsible to make them prostitute. As no body is a born murderer so in the same way, no woman is born as prostitute. In the poem, he has assailed society’s negative notions of prostitute. He says:
Who calls you a prostitute, mother?
Who spits at you?
Perhaps you were suckled by someone
As chaste as Seeta…
And if the son of an unchaste mother is’illegitimate’
so is the son of an unchaste father.
So he was an advocator of the emancipation of women. Whether they are traditional or non-traditional, he has portrayed them in his writings very sincerely.
In his later- life, he transformed his attitude from rebellious attitude to religious themes. He completely changed his outlook and thinking. He made a fusion of Islamic devotional songs with the Bengali folk music. This was indeed a great achievement and was very much liked by his contemporaries. He also contributed to Hindu devotional music by composing Shama Sangeet, bhajans and kirtans, often merging Islamic and Hindu values. Nazrul's poetry and songs explored the philosophy of Islam and Hinduism.
Nazrul hated fanaticism and was a great advocator of Hindu-Muslim unity. He wanted people to be liberal in religion. He devoted many works to expound upon the principle of human equality, exploring the Qur'an and the life of Islam's prophet Muhammad. In 1920, Nazrul expressed his vision of religious harmony in an editorial in Joog Bani,
Come brother Hindu! Come Musalman! Come Buddhist!
Come Christian! Let us transcend all barriers, let us forsake
forever all smallness, all lies, all selfishness and let us call
brothers as brothers. We shall quarrel no more.
Poetry is understood by many writers and authors as an ‘expressive’ of the human soul. Mill has declared that ‘poetry, when it is really such, is truth; and fiction also, if it is good for anything, is truth: but they are different truths. The truth of poetry is to paint the human soul truly; the truth of fiction is to give a true picture of life. (67)
Earlier he was just considered as a rebel writer, whose impact was ruthless and fierce. The lines of his poem reveal his spirit:
I am the unutterable grief,
I am the trembling first touch of the virgin,
I am the throbbing tenderness of her first stolen kiss.
I am the fleeting glance of the veiled beloved,
I am her constant surreptitious gaze….
Here he shares the views of New Critics sense of poetry as a primordial, world creating form of language, the view that poetry enacts experience rather than constituting a discursive amount of experience. F. R. Leavis eschewed the New Critical sense of autonomy of the poem as a verbal icon or well- wrought urn, insisting always that there are no literary values; that criticism, like literature, is always a judgment of life. He preferred to speak of ‘practice in criticism’ rather than ‘practical criticism’. (22)
Being rebellious in nature, he has also used rebellious language in the poems for which he has been highly appreciated:
I am the burning volcano in the bosom of the earth,
I am the wild fire of the woods,
I am Hell’s mad terrific sea of wrath!
I ride on the wings of lightning with joy and profundity,
I scatter misery and fear all around,
I bring earth-quakes on this world!
I am the rebel eternal,
I raise my head beyond this world,
High, ever erect and alone!
The above stanza from his poem reveals the depth of his rebellious nature. It is so because of the circumstances and according to the need of the country. It was a time when India was under British rule and the people wanted to get rid of them. And there was also a need to inspire them and Nazrul tried his best to motivate and inspire the masses through his writings. His rebellious poem, Bidrohi, which was published in the magazine, “Bijli” (Thunder) in the year 1922, having a rebellious language and theme, became very popular among the masses. At that time Gandhiji started Non-cooperation movement to throw the British Empire from India and Nazrul’s poem, Bidrohi, coincided with the movement and so it was the reason for its popularity.
He seems to be agreeing with the views of Mathew Arnold in his famous book of criticism, The Study of Poetry. “Poetry”, according to Matthew Arnold, is a criticism of life under the conditions fixed for such a criticism by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty and this he interprets as the application of ideas___ grand ideas- to life.
In his poems Nazrul had portrayed rebellious attitude with beauty and sensitivity. In his writings, if he has shown destruction than he has also portrayed preservation. Inspired by the success of his poems, he published his first anthology of poems, Agniveena (Lyre of Fire) in 1922. The anthology was also a very big success. He also did his best in other genre of literature i.e. short stories, prose-work and essays. He published his first volume of short stories, the Byather Dan (Gift of Sorrow) and Yugbani, an anthology of essays in 1922.
Besides, being rebellious Nazrul was very much concerned about the social, economic and political system of the country, which is the reason of poverty and misery. He had a deep concern for his people and this is reflected in his poems. His poem Daridro (Pain or Poverty), shows his pain for the people of his country:
O poverty, thou hast made me great.
Thou hast made me honoured like Christ
With his crown of thorns. Thou hast given me
Courage to reveal all. To thee I owe
My insolent, naked eyes and sharp tongue.
Thy cursed has turned my violin to a sword…
O proud saint, thy terrible fire
Has rendered my heaven barren.
O my child, my darling one
I could not give thee even a drop of milk
No right have I to rejoice.
Poverty weeps within my doors forever
As my spouse and my child.
Who will play the flute.
This shows that his poems also had a social message and also his love for the people of his country and his sensitivity. He also had a great respect for the women and believed them to be equal to men. This was a revolutionary thought at that time, when women were considered as marginalized. He has shown his respect for the women in his poem, Nari (Women):
I don’t see any difference
Between a man and a woman
Whatever great or benevolent achievements
That are in this world
Half of that was by woman,
The other half by man.
This shows that he was a liberal man and not a gender-biased. His revolutionary thoughts and his respect for women is clearly depicted in one his poem, Barangana (Prostitute), in which he has created a storm in the society by addressing a prostitute as “mother”. He believed that every woman should be respected whether if she is a prostitute also because it is the circumstances which are responsible to make them prostitute. As no body is a born murderer so in the same way, no woman is born as prostitute. In the poem, he has assailed society’s negative notions of prostitute. He says:
Who calls you a prostitute, mother?
Who spits at you?
Perhaps you were suckled by someone
As chaste as Seeta…
And if the son of an unchaste mother is’illegitimate’
so is the son of an unchaste father.
So he was an advocator of the emancipation of women. Whether they are traditional or non-traditional, he has portrayed them in his writings very sincerely.
In his later- life, he transformed his attitude from rebellious attitude to religious themes. He completely changed his outlook and thinking. He made a fusion of Islamic devotional songs with the Bengali folk music. This was indeed a great achievement and was very much liked by his contemporaries. He also contributed to Hindu devotional music by composing Shama Sangeet, bhajans and kirtans, often merging Islamic and Hindu values. Nazrul's poetry and songs explored the philosophy of Islam and Hinduism.
Nazrul hated fanaticism and was a great advocator of Hindu-Muslim unity. He wanted people to be liberal in religion. He devoted many works to expound upon the principle of human equality, exploring the Qur'an and the life of Islam's prophet Muhammad. In 1920, Nazrul expressed his vision of religious harmony in an editorial in Joog Bani,
Come brother Hindu! Come Musalman! Come Buddhist!
Come Christian! Let us transcend all barriers, let us forsake
forever all smallness, all lies, all selfishness and let us call
brothers as brothers. We shall quarrel no more.
Poetry is understood by many writers and authors as an ‘expressive’ of the human soul. Mill has declared that ‘poetry, when it is really such, is truth; and fiction also, if it is good for anything, is truth: but they are different truths. The truth of poetry is to paint the human soul truly; the truth of fiction is to give a true picture of life. (67)
