Vijay Seshadri: Poetry Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

Vijay Seshadri: Poetry Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

Mountain - “Imaginary Number”

Vijay Seshadri observes, “The mountain that remains when the universe is destroyed/is not big and is not small.” The mountain is an emblem of a momentous, subtle fragment of life that overshadows corporal expiration.

Consciousness - “Imaginary Number”

Vijay Seshadri clarifies, “Consciousness observes and is appeased.” Consciousness is indescribable but it must be soothed for it to be congruous with the soul. The soul and consciousness are interwoven immortally.

“The square root of minus” - "Imaginary Number"

“The square root of minus” symbolizes a logical impracticality. Vijay Seshadri explicates, “The soul/like the square root of minus 1,/is an impossibility that has its uses.” The negation of 1 eradicates the prospect of deriving the precise square root which when squared would generate an outcome of minus 1. Equating the soul with “the square root of minus 1” exemplifies the density and the opacity of the soul.

“The Tree- Legged dog” - “Thunderstruck”

The ghost (speaker) in “Thunderstruck” perceives a “Tree-legged Dog.” The dog is illustrative of the deficiency in existence as dog customarily retain four limbs.

“Savage” - “Life of Savage”

Vijay Sheshadri writes, “Indeed it is to be remarked of my friend Savage that/the desolation of hopes not merely deferred/but by impracticability brutalized/little marred his genial spirit./How such a one, so circumstanced by parentage—” The Savage designates vicious despondency. Although the Savage is sociable, the wretchedness of his life which is partly correlated to his parents’ issues, disheartens him about life occasioning the adoption of Savage affinities.

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