Evelyn Shirley

"I Will Not Let You Go" by Rabindra Nath Tagore
The carriage waits at the door
It's now midday
The autumn sun is getting more and more intense
Midday gusts waft the dust across the deserted village path
An old beggar woman has spread her rags
Beneath the cool shade of the Bayan tree in tired slumber
On all sides stretches a sun flooded night void of speech or sound or sign
Only in my house is no trace of rest of sleep

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=27928

https://pixabay.com/en/banyan-tree-honolulu-hawaii-1049021/

The picture shown is a Bayan tree. The author mentions a Bayan tree in "tired slumber" in the poem, the Bayan tree drapes, looking tired.






Biographical Information:
Rabindra Tagore was born in India and his father was a religious reformer. In his early years, Rabindra studied in England. After his studies, he moved back to India. There he lived on a houseboat and became familiar with the villagers. The villagers inspired him to write about their lives and his sympathy for them. Between 1902 and 1907, his wife and two children passed away. Those losses sparked sadness in his writings. A few years later in 1913, he won the Nobel peace prize.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rabindranath-Tagore

Analyzing the Poem:
In the poem "I Will Not Let You Go," Rabindra observes the world around him and notices that life has a rhythm. Yet, he can not connect to the world around him. This paradox is reflected throughout the poem. In his home, there never seems to be any rest. The poet is under stress even as he notices the sense of calm around him. He watches as the world moves on each day. Yet he cannot move on. He has thoughts stuck in his mind that won't let him move on. As aspects of his day rest: "Bayan tree in tired slumber." When Rabindra mentioned the "sun flooded night void of speech or sound or sign" he is notices night fall and his surroundings rest. While his surroundings rest, he does not "only in my house is there no trace of rest or sleep." He observes the woman spreading her rags, and noticing everyones day to day routines. The way Rabindra wrote the poem is each line is a different part of what happens in the day. The begins with what happens in the morning, afternoon, and then the night. The tone of this poem is solemn. In the midst of day and night, his mind is on one matter. His mind is recklessly thinking and never sleeps. Rabindra went through heartbreak or loss of some sort and cant let go.





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