Essay Questions

To which Biblical book is this collection of Indian poetry often compared?

This collection can very often be exclusively found under the alternative title Song Offerings. Gitanjali roughly translates into prayer offerings through songs. Because much of this work is comprised of a speaker engaged in a one-sided conversation that at times sounds like prayers to god and at other times sounds like an address to a lover, this work has often been compared to a similarly structured book found in the Old Testament of the Bible. Notably, that work of scripture is known either by the title Song of Solomon or simply Song of Songs. Both of these works have been interpreted secularly and spiritually. This interpretive flexibility is the result of the specific language used which sounds simultaneously like a conversation with god and a heartfelt romantic address to a person.

What is an example of the poet using symbolism and imagery to deliver a sustained critique of materialism?

This collection is very often described as an example of Indian mysticism in literature. The conventional portrait of a mystic is that of someone who has given up worldly possessions in an attempt to attain pure unity with god. Throughout the songs, imagery is used to symbolize the corrupt influence of materialism. For instance, song 60 is one of the most anthologized selections as it illustrates the incorruptible innocence of children. The speaker points out that adults "dive for pearls" whereas children "gather pebbles and scatter them again." The latter example illustrates how children are not only symbols of innocence, but as a period of life when it is easy to give up material accumulation.

What rhetorical device is impossible to miss in Songs 34 through 36 and what purpose does it serve?

Songs 34, 35, and 36 stand out on the page because of their structure. Each is a short stanza composed of short sentences. Some are only sentence fragments. What is most noteworthy about each of the poems, however, is that they quite aggressively utilize a poetic device known as anaphora. This is a term used to describe the effect of beginning successive lines with the same word or phrase. Song 34, for instance. is simply four lines that each commences with the phrase "Let only that little." Song 35 presents seven lines each beginning with the word "Where." The middle four of the six lines that make up Song 36 each have the speaker asking "Give me the strength" to do something different. Notably, each of these poems is a direct address to god. The repetition in the use of anaphora serves to emphasize that these are such direct addresses. The content that the repetition serves also emphasizes the spiritual longing and mysticism of the speaker.