Week 9 | Closed Reading
Closed Reading- Ghalib
I chose Ghalib because I understood these poems more. It may be because they are shorter, but I felt more connected and understanding with these poems.
Now go and live in a place
I believe the speaker/narrator of this poem was in pain or depressed and they are isolating themselves from the world. It's like they are telling themselves that no body wants to be around them and if they die, they die and no one will really care. "If you die, no on to mourn you there"
My other thought was that they felt they were a burden and leaving to live somewhere by themselves will be better all around,
Be Merciful and Send to me
It seems the speaker is begging for his lover back. "I'm not some moment that has passed and can't come back again." (Ghalib 592) This line really stood out to me because I can relate to this poem. I think the speaker is realizing that he messed up and is trying to get his partner back but she isn't having it. The very last line, "that we two shall be one again" (592) seemed forceful almost. Like we WILL be one again, it doesn't seem like much of an option.
I've made my home next door to you
In the secular version, he (speaker) moved next door to try and get a girl to fall in love with him, he tries and tries but he fails. She makes him speak and act on this so called "love"
"Since you don't have the power of words, how can you tell what's in someone else's heart?" (Ghalib 592) Eventually he shows this love for her but ultimately she saw how he truly was with nothing being said.
In the Sacred version, he moves next door to God. I assume that he is speaking of God because throughout the poem "He, His, Him" are capitalized vs. In the secular version "she" is not. The ending for this poem is God sees his unfaithfulness to Him without a word being said.
In Was Essential
Ghalib is mourning Arif, who is his adopted child. I saw "a few more days" constantly throughout this poem. I think this means he would ask himself what it would be like if Arif didn't die. It is always a "what if" question. While reading this I keep thinking to myself, maybe he wishes he could be the one gone instead on Arif.
My Tongue begs for the power to speech
It is clear that this poem has to do with God. A majority of the stanzas end with "Your gift to us" which for me meant that mostly everything you have has been a gift from God. Which also makes me believe that Ghalib is in fact a religious man but even throughout his other poems it is known.
Petition: My Salary
This poem seemed very self explanatory. It has to do with this pay or salary. He goes on to tell his boss or employer that he needs to be paid month to month not in a period of six-months. "today, the world has no one like me - a poet of worth who speaks beautifully" (601) I actually connected this with our society today because all though there are many writers and poets a lot of them are looked over. I think he trying to say he was being underappreciated. He was a poet but he worked for someone that didn't pay him well.
I chose Ghalib because I understood these poems more. It may be because they are shorter, but I felt more connected and understanding with these poems.
Now go and live in a place
I believe the speaker/narrator of this poem was in pain or depressed and they are isolating themselves from the world. It's like they are telling themselves that no body wants to be around them and if they die, they die and no one will really care. "If you die, no on to mourn you there"
My other thought was that they felt they were a burden and leaving to live somewhere by themselves will be better all around,
Be Merciful and Send to me
It seems the speaker is begging for his lover back. "I'm not some moment that has passed and can't come back again." (Ghalib 592) This line really stood out to me because I can relate to this poem. I think the speaker is realizing that he messed up and is trying to get his partner back but she isn't having it. The very last line, "that we two shall be one again" (592) seemed forceful almost. Like we WILL be one again, it doesn't seem like much of an option.
I've made my home next door to you
In the secular version, he (speaker) moved next door to try and get a girl to fall in love with him, he tries and tries but he fails. She makes him speak and act on this so called "love"
"Since you don't have the power of words, how can you tell what's in someone else's heart?" (Ghalib 592) Eventually he shows this love for her but ultimately she saw how he truly was with nothing being said.
In the Sacred version, he moves next door to God. I assume that he is speaking of God because throughout the poem "He, His, Him" are capitalized vs. In the secular version "she" is not. The ending for this poem is God sees his unfaithfulness to Him without a word being said.
In Was Essential
Ghalib is mourning Arif, who is his adopted child. I saw "a few more days" constantly throughout this poem. I think this means he would ask himself what it would be like if Arif didn't die. It is always a "what if" question. While reading this I keep thinking to myself, maybe he wishes he could be the one gone instead on Arif.
My Tongue begs for the power to speech
It is clear that this poem has to do with God. A majority of the stanzas end with "Your gift to us" which for me meant that mostly everything you have has been a gift from God. Which also makes me believe that Ghalib is in fact a religious man but even throughout his other poems it is known.
Petition: My Salary
This poem seemed very self explanatory. It has to do with this pay or salary. He goes on to tell his boss or employer that he needs to be paid month to month not in a period of six-months. "today, the world has no one like me - a poet of worth who speaks beautifully" (601) I actually connected this with our society today because all though there are many writers and poets a lot of them are looked over. I think he trying to say he was being underappreciated. He was a poet but he worked for someone that didn't pay him well.
Hi Megan
ReplyDeleteI liked that you analyzed all of Ghalib instead of only one that you specifically liked. You seem to understand what the author was trying to portray in his poems. I think it would be nice if you went in a little more detail about his poem I would like to know what you kind of think about them.
Hi Megan,
ReplyDeleteI too wrote an analysis about Ghalib for week 9 because I really enjoyed his poems and felt a connection to them. I believe they elicited a lot of feelings from the reader, at least for me they did! I enjoyed your thoughts on each poem and I like the way you structured your analysis. Great job and I look forward to reading more of your thoughts!