Sri Aurobindo's Savitri
Topic started by Vishvesh Obla (@ 63.65.68.246) on Wed Jun 6 13:28:12 .
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.
I got a greeting today from a friend of mine with a quote he had found in one of those books of quotations. It said it was from Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri. I have read this poem in bits and pieces long time back, and I got curious to look into it again, being struck by the poetic construction of the passage. Thanks to Google, I could find the entire text of the poem in a minute.
Savitri is an epic which runs to about 24000 lines in twelve parts. It is written in blank verse, the iambic without rhyme, which is the ideal medium for a poem of this magnitude. He deals with the subject of a spiritual journey through the well-known legend of Savitri. Now apart from its spiritual significance, what struck me was the structure of the verse. I don’t know if this work has had any significant criticism as a poem apart from the lots of comments and articles by A’s disciples and followers. The blank verse is supposed to be capable of far subtler expressions as I have found in the versification of Shakespeare, Milton and even Keats (in his Hyperion). I was wondering if A was flat or if he was much cruder.
Her body of glory was expunged from heaven:
The rarity and wonder lived no more.
There was the common light of earthly day.
Affranchised from the respite of fatigue
Once more the rumour of the speed of Life
Pursued the cycles of her blinded quest.
All sprang to their unvarying daily acts;
The thousand peoples of the soil and tree
Obeyed the unforeseeing instant's urge,
And, leader here with his uncertain mind,
Alone who stares at the future's covered face
Man lifted up the burden of his fate.
There you find the movement, which is typically epic in style. But then there was something of another significance missing in it. Take, for instance, a stanza taken at random, from Keats’s Hyperion:
This passion lifted him upon his feet,
And made his hands to struggle in the air,
His Druid locks to shake and ooze with sweat,
His eyes to fever out, his voice to cease.
He stood, and heard not Thea’s sobbing deep;
A little time, and then again he snatch’d
Utterance thus.—“But cannot I create?
“Cannot I form? Cannot I fashion forth
Another world, another universe
“To overbear and crumble this to nought?
“Where is another chaos? Where?”—That word
Found way unto Olympus, and made quake
The rebel three.—Thea was startled up,
And in her bearing was a sort of hope,
As thus she quick-voic’d spake, yet full of awe.
There is a fluidity in Keats’s verse that is definitely not there in the former. I think that comes by a greater mastery of versification alone. Not to mention that Aurobindo Ghosh wasn’t as qualified in his study of English poetry as Keats was, but to show that greater poetry has something else which Savitri as a poem seemed to me to lack. Its subject matter is much loftier, no doubt. Its theme and expression was a greater experimentation of a spiritual journey goes without dispute. But still poetry, as I read it, is much more of a comprehensive experience of thought and feeling, which seemed to me a little less in balance in Savitri. Well, to read the whole work, seemed to me, could be possible only to his disciples. I would rather personally prefer his Life Divine or his books on Integral Yoga to know more of him than this massive work.
Responses:
- Old responses
- From: santosh (@ 209.137.67.8)
on: Mon Jul 30 12:56:24
Hi vish,
Thanks for ur nice replies. I do understand your point. You are right that the subject matter itself is alien to English poetry. I agree with you 100 % that such things could be better expressed in prose. There is one thing i have observed in our discussion on poetry. I can't disagree with most of your points though I am not fully convinced. Strange but real. Keep it going buddy.
Shard,
I think there is some misunderstanding somewhere. If it is so, let me clarify that I made a request to you if u can explain why you couldn't read Savitri. And I didn't trash vish. WHy would I trash a good friend who I admire ? I have seen you writing some sensible postings elsewhere and I thought u could have something worth listening to when u said that u don't like savitri too. No harm meant.
- From: shard (@ lan-202-144-125-38.maa.sify.net)
on: Tue Jul 31 01:23:50
Dear Santosh,
Actually my original comment was to erin who addressed his post to you. Then I guess there was this mighty cock-up. I am sorry for my rather hasty reply...i don't normally do it, but I was in a pretty foul mood that day.
However, I would like to reitierate that I would like to reserve my comments until after I have tried (?) to read Savitri again. But quite frankly Bhadralok mysticism bores me. Besides I have a feeling that Aurobindo was writing for a particular audience and that audience wasn't Indian. How about a western audience easily swayed by Eastern (mysticism).
But then no more... Ok...OK...I admit, I hate that silly fool and his ilk so there...it may be illogical but I can't help it. I tried so hard, even when I was dating an Ashram regular...but I just couldn't. I hope to see you guys in some other thread...I have nothing of value to give here.
- From: Vishvesh Obla (@ 63.65.68.246)
on: Wed Aug 1 10:49:09
Hi San,
Getting convinced in one’s understanding of poetry is a difficult thing, for it needs one thing very importantly which we easily overlook : introspection . It is not only with poetry but with many serious issues that we forget that we could be limited very much in our understanding. I have also seen in my discussions and class room sessions that it is often forgotten that Poetry has its own perspectives and that we confuse our understanding of it by our modern habits of looking it from so many other perspectives and bewildering literary theories to arrive at a hypothetical explanation. To read a poem and get convinced that this is what the poem means to me becomes a difficult task for these two reasons. And Savitri has the added trouble of one believing in matters like spirituality or not. If you believe it, you would rate it high (as you tend to do) and if you don’t, as Shard looks at it, it is unreadable. What it is really, do we care?…
- From: Vishvesh Obla (@ alb-66-24-214-34.nycap.rr.com)
on: Fri Jan 4 20:11:25
I read an interesting article today about Savitri at
http://www.tehelka.com/channels/commentary/2001/nov/18/com111801literary.htm
Apart from the writer's juvenile understanding of T.S.Eliot's scorn for Milton's versification, it was still interesting, for it threw some light as to why this monumental work didn't get into much critical attention by Indian writers themselves. He has identified a few valid points about this poem : that a reader has to plough through hundreds of lines desolate abstractions before lighting upon an intense poetic passage, and there are many of them scattered in the 24,000-word long poem of 12 books; and Perhaps what it needs is a creative editor who has the literary judgment to chip off lines to make it into a chiseled monument, without sacrificing the argument....
- From: Renu Ray (@ cpe0050ba50036b.cpe.net.cable.rogers.com)
on: Wed Mar 6 09:45:26
Sri Aurobindo's SAVITRI is being presented in dance drama by Renu Ray in Toronto'Canada,on April 7th at the Meadowale theatre,1350 Montevideo Rd. @6pm.Tickets are $25, $20 and $15.
For info call 905-477-7848 or 416 -821-6600.
- From: gnanam (@ 202.188.216.163)
on: Mon Apr 1 00:48:45
I wish someone could start the poem with som e explanation. I have tried to plough through but am not able to follow the deep meaning conveyed in it.
It is no doubt a simple story but what I would like to know is the great meaning.
Forget about its poetic style but could somone discuss it s content.
- From: Vidhi Sharma (@ ns.colmex.mx)
on: Tue Mar 4 18:20:33
I would like to understand Savitri myself! everytime I open the book, I get a different sensation, sensation that makes one very aware of her essence. what I could till now comprehend is that She holds a world of meanings and it depends on each one of us what we want to see in her. It is very difficult to explain it to anybody. What I can suggest is that before plunging into the lectures of Savitri, read Life Divine o get some idea of Sri Aurobindo´s philosophy. Vidhi
- From: priti (@ wc05.wlfdle.rnc.net.cable.rogers.com)
on: Wed Mar 5 13:18:03
please read the HOLY BIBLE (The Book of Saint John's Gospel Chapter1, 2, 3
- From: nileshgpatel2004 (@ 210-210-62-209.lan.sify.net)
on: Mon Mar 1 02:10:19
hi
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