We can say that language is a structure made up of sound symbols. Basically, it consists of only sounds and not meaning. This has to be clearly understood. It is we who have assimilated those sounds as it suited us and have created our meaning out of them. To denote man for example, in Tamil they say manidhan, in Urdu insan, and in Arabic, naas. In this way, to denote one thing we have as many words as there are languages in the world.
If you show a book to a child and say that it is a 'tree', even after growing up, whenever the word ‘tree' is pronounced or heard, only a book would appear in the mind of the child or the man who was that child. Just as man has created time from eternity for his convenience, he has also created meaning from sounds, semantics from phonetics.
Certain sound structures in a given language can create some established meanings. But we should not forget the fact that the same structures can and do create other meanings at different times, different climes and different cultures. The history of words, etymology, bears witness to this fact.
George Orwell in his article "Politics and the English Language" says that the word 'pacification' does not mean the act of pacifying but a political euphemism for genocide, looting, arson and annihilation of whole villages or towns carried out against all those considered anti-American. When such is the complex situation we are forced to live in, it is highly possible that the line of demarcation that separates any two different genres may vanish at any moment.
2
I do not fully agree with the view that Tamil literature, though thousands of years old, lacks serious and structured thinking about literary forms and language. Such meditations may belong to our times. Though they are comparatively modern, they are borrowed mostly from English critical tradition and for the most part prejudiced.
Tamil poetry is more than two thousand years old. It is not possible for any poet, to whatever period he may belong, to write timeless poetry without having some idea of what poetry is. I am using the word 'poetry' as a literary gene here.
None can say that the creation of rules of diction and conventions and the writing of verses or even epics according to those rules and conventions show only a half-baked curiosity. But unfortunately, our poets and prose writers did not attempt to give us a generalized or universalized theory or poetics, as was done in the West.
But Yappu, the Tamil traditional poetic diction of the past, could well be seen as a powerful and influential beginning in that direction. It acted as the definite dividing line between the language of poetry and that of prose until the time of the great Tamil poet Bharathi who pioneered Modern or New Poetry in Tamil.
Prose is of recent origin in Tamil. Though a few notes are available in the ancient classic of Tamil grammar Tolkappiyam, though Ilango Adigal, the epic poet, tried prose occasionally in his epic Silappadikaram, though the formulae for poetry and grammar were written in prose, and though the Christian missionaries wrote mainly in prose, it was versification which had the upper hand over prose in the past1. We can say that Tamil prose learned to walk only in this century. In the history of world literature, poetry has always been the predecessor of prose2.
3
Many a definition has been given to poetry by poets and critics. Wordsworth said that poetry was the spontaneous overflow of powerful emotions.3 Coleridge said that it is the best words in the best order. 4 T.S. Eliot thought that poetry comes from the language of the people representing its powers.5 Matthew Arnold said that poetry is a criticism of life.6 Ezra Pound said that the art of poetry is not simpler than the art of music.7 Paul Valerie said that poetry is language within language.8 Today we are happy to imagine that poetry is something written or printed on paper.
When we carefully look into the definitions given by poets and critics of the past, we understand that all attempts to define poetry inclined towards becoming an attempt to define poetic language. But in the explanations of the poets and critics of our time, the consciousness and concern about language is at its highest. Yet, all views are only partial. Poetry refuses to be contained within the grammar provided by structuralism or deconstruction. It thrives and survives, despite the definitions provided by time. Basuwayya's poem points to this:
Write you, your poem
And if you are not qualified
to do it:
do not ask me why
I have not written
your poem9.
But language and literary forms did change according to the understanding and definitions of their societies. If we compare a few lines from Kamban's epic with those of a modern poem, we can clearly understand this truth.
It is not the drudgery or monotony of old language that paved the way for changes in poetic language. None can succeed in effecting changes in literature on account of merely linguistic reforms. The reasons for changes in language have always been beyond the language.
It is relevant to note here what T.S.Eliot and Shelley said: If Wordsworth, who advocated the use of simple and plain language in literature, had thought that he was reforming English language, he was simply deceiving himself, said T.S.Eliot.10 The freedom given to women produced poems of lust, said Shelly.11
Even Bharathi was no exception to this. It is not simply due to the influence of Walt Whitman that Bharathi started writing prose-poems. He saw that the new form was more fitting and expressive of his new insights and philosophy and hence he chose and stuck to that form in his later days. It is not surprising to see that a poet who was yearning for political freedom chose the kind of style and language which quenched his thirst for freedom.12
A poet does not think of matter and manner separately. The form and content are decided simultaneously. In fact, all concern about language is nothing but a concern about ideas only. Though we can talk of poetic language and poetry as though they are two separate entities or two different compartments, they are in fact inseparable.13 An example from Nakulan's poem:
He was cross
ing the boundaries.
This is the beginning of the poem entitled Ellaigal (Boundaries). After eleven lines, the line is repeated, but with a difference:
He was crossing
the boundaries.14
This poem is from Nakulan's Coat-stand Poems. Ideologically, when you cross the boundaries of tradition, you have to break the connection between tradition or convention and yourself. The breaking becomes inevitable. To denote this, the poet breaks the sentence in the continuous tense at first. The unbroken line which comes the second time symbolizes the benefits of going beyond tradition. This poem makes clear that even a slight change in the form, the sentence or the structure will have its own impact and gains.
Turkey for the peacock, cat for the tiger
Ass for the horse, crow for the nightingale
And pundits for the poets.15
This poem by the modern poet Gnanakoothan from his collection Ethiredhir Ulagangal (Opposite Worlds) looks surrealistic and absurd. Though the poem is written in the traditional eight syllable format (in its original), it does not mean that the poet has regressed. Rather, he is deliberately using the traditional form for satire and sarcasm. The satire becomes intense not only by the use of the traditional form but also due to the deliberate alliteration. Brammarajan also comes under this list of modern poets who experiment with traditional forms with a purpose16.
4
Releasing itself from the clutches of Yappu, Puduk Kavidhai or Modern Tamil Poetry has grown with a simplicity characteristic of prose, from the writings of Bharathi, Pitchamurthi, and Basuwayya to Satyan. But still, it keeps the line of demarcation between itself and prose clear by special features such as the inseparability of form and content, concern for every word, images, symbols etc. When we talk of images and symbols in poetry, we should be cautious to see that they are used not just for adornment but for strengthening the poem. Ezra Pound said that it is better to give one meaningful image that may speak volumes than writing volumes after volumes.17
The sweep and slap
at the windows of memories --
the shower of fingers.
The wings of butterflies flutter --
the eyebrows of the beats
of the north.18
This is from the beautiful poem of Brammarajan's Viralgalin Mazhai (Rain of Fingers). One wonders if there can be another Tamil poem which can express the experience of the musical beats of Tabla in better images.
The thatched huts
that looked like
the pregnant stomach of the earth
lying supine
were all turned to ashes.19
These lines from Gnana Koothan's Keezh Venmani very effectively rams into our mind the image of the sufferings undergone by the innocent, pregnant, poor women burnt to death in Keezha Venmani village. In a poem of mine, I too used a modern image: ‘in my memory hanger.' Brammarajan used the image of ‘memory button' in a poem. That was a very modern and suitable image for our times. Memory simply becomes a button in the world which has become mechanical. Happiness or unhappiness could be triggered by simply pressing the memory button. I think that the image effectively points to that condition of ours, of course with a tinge of sarcasm.
Have you seen Kannamma?
I have seen only my Amma.
Even she
is not alive today.20
These lines from Nakulan recall the symbol of ideal beloved, Kannamma, from Bharathi. Kannamma is a symbol and embodiment of unconditional love. When Kannamma shrinks to just amma (mother), it adds the taste of irony. Pure or Platonic love has become so rare that it is as good as absent because even the mother who can be a symbol of such love and affection is no more!
Symbol and image are inseparable parts of a poem. They are born with the poem, we can say. Poems of the past were so full of symbols and images that Kalapriya, a modern Tamil poet, was driven to the extent of begging for a ‘naked' poem without images or symbols!
Sometimes, the poet makes out of necessity certain unusual collocations and expressions. They create various effects in the minds of the reader and help to further distance poetry from prose. One can think of Brammarajan's expressions like “blind legs”, “dogs of books”, and squeezing the flame” in this way.21
5
The language of poetry differs from that of prose not only with reference to diction, form, inseparability of matter from manner, symbol, image, simile, alliteration and the like but also in another important and subtle way. It is perhaps one of the chief reasons for the existence of the thin line of demarcation between poetry and prose.
The use of language can create two consequences. In one, language destroys itself. If I say, “come” to you, and if you understand what I mean by the word ‘come', then the word dies that moment itself. A word is dead, when it is said, to quote Emily Dickinson. When understanding happens, language become something non-linguistic. To make it more clear, when words are uttered in a conversation, they do not live after making the hearer understand their meaning or meanings. Its form does not survive the meaning. That is, language does not live beyond the point of understanding. As soon a word is uttered and understood, it dies with the satisfaction of having lived meaningfully.
When you nod your head or smile or frown in response to the uttered word of mine, I understand that my words have taken the form of your reactions now. They are no longer words now. They do not exist as words after being uttered. This is the character of the language of prose. It is born to die. The language found in dailies, weeklies, monthlies, annually published magazines and books and the language of short stories, novels, dramas and prosaic poems – all are of this type.
Prose is comparable to human walking. If legs are considered language, and if you are walking from your bedroom to the hall, there is a purpose and destination to your walking. When the purpose is served and destination reached, walking stops. Prose writings confine themselves to a title and they are appreciated as much as they do justice to the title. The merit of a prose piece is to the extent to which the idea is effectively conveyed. Once the idea is conveyed, its job as well as its life is over.
But poetry is language within a language. It is comparable to the dance. We create dance with the same legs which we use for walking, just as we use the same language with which we write prose and poetry. When we use our legs for dancing we give them an extra or secondary use. That is, we order the natural movements of the legs according to certain well-defined rules and create a new use for them; we create dance from that which is created for walking.
In this movement called dance, the legs do not go anywhere. There is no destination to be reached. The beginning is the end and the end, the beginning. It is an inner journey, if that can be described a journey at all. The walking man can create his own rules, conventions and procedure for the dance in tune with his imagination. This way, he can create innumerable dance movements and dance types.22
Poetry or the language of poetry is also like dancing. It is because of this quality that the words in a poem take on new and newer meanings ever widening in its semantic dimensions. Poetry thus explores the possibilities of language. But a poem need not be necessarily so. It all depends on the quality and nature of the poem.
The room looked empty
though in the locked trunk were found
the face created for bread-winning,
the much-beaten and stiffened smile,
the skull of the dead God,
the shirt worn by drawing lots
and the greeting from the one who loved.23
This poem Kaali Arai (Empty Room) by Sukumaran does not seem to me to be highly connotative. But still, it is very good in expressing dejection and depression.
The meaning of prose does not change irrespective of the number of times we read it. This is the nature of prose. And it is to the credit of prose that it does not change its meaning. But with regard to other forms of literature, this prosaic nature will bring down their merit.
Joseph James died at the age of 39, on January 5, 1960, the day next to that of Albert Camus's death in accident.24
Thus begins the novel J.J.Sila Kurippugal (J.J.Some Notes) by Sundara Ramaswamy. Though I have my own doubts regarding the purpose of reference to the death of Albert Camus by accident, this is a plain sentence which does not open many possibilities. Rather, it should not be multi-dimensional.
But all great literature defies not only time and space but also definitions. When language is used by a great creative writer, the boundary lines of forms like poetry and prose do disappear and the qualities of one are superimposed on another.
But we should not forget the difference between verse dramas and poetic plays. Plays with poetic possibilities are very rare in deed. But it has been made possible in short stories and novels. It is said that ten possible meanings have been given to Franz Kafka's novels. Ulysses and Finnagan's Wake of James Joyce are considered epic novels. In fact, they were written in a complex cultural and difficult language which remains a challenge even to poets.
“They were jung and freudened” is a sentence that appears in Finnagan's Wake. It tries to extend the meaning through the sound. It combines the name of the Psychologists Carl Gustav Jung and the sound in the word ‘young' and also makes a verb of the proper name of Freud.
Tamil prose has developed of late. And hence, once in a blue moon one finds a prose piece which goes beyond being prosaic, especially in experimental writings of a few. Putra by La.Sa.Ra, Naveenan Diary of Nakulan are of this type. In the latter novel, a particular sentence is deliberately repeated with changes in the subject like, “Oh friend, have you read Bharathi? Bharathi oh friend, have you read? Read oh friend, have you Bharathi?”25 These sentences attempt to convey a shift in meaning by a shift in the intonation effected by changing the subject.
We have already said that the language of prose is one which destroys itself. Short story, novel, essay and the like are brought under the head of ‘prose' only in that sense. But there are a few prose writings at least which attempt to go beyond the limitations. For example, Pudumaip Pithan employs a variety in his prose.
Of the recent novels, J.J.Sila Kurippugal of Sundara Ramaswamy is a noteworthy one. It has many sentences that are very difficult, if not impossible, to translate. The style of the novel has something of poetry in it. A sample:
J J is in a perennial restlessness. He goes on shaking the bars of the invisible cage that has descended on him. We see only the shaking but not the bars (page 89).26
In the same page, J J says, “Now and then suicides are necessary for me in order to live.” What are these if not poetic!
6
There is every possibility for the line of demarcation to disappear with regard to short story, drama and novel especially. But with essays, this opportunity is rare. But still it is not impossible.
As the true guru will not get angry for anything, it is possible for him to be present in all creations. Every creator, whenever he creates something new, becomes a new guru. The creator is continuously being born refuting guru after guru (page 32).
I have quoted from an article by Atmanaam published in Meetchi, a little magazine in Tamil (Issue 11, July 84), in a clear and simple prose. It shows not only another dimension of Atmanaam the poet but also that of prose. One could feel very intensely that this essay goes beyond the prosaic nature of prose.
When we say that this is a poem or that is an essay, it only means that we are trying to define or confine literature within the criteria set by us and our literary experiences. It is the purpose of this article to bring home the point that when a great literary work refuses to be confined within our criteria, we should be mature enough to appreciate it and be prepared to expand our own boundaries.
End Notes
1 The Contributions of European Scholars to Tamil. ed. K. Meenatchi Sundaram, University of Madras, 1974
2 Ibid.
3English Critical Texts. ed. D.J.Enright and Chickera, OUP, London, 1962.
4 Ibid.
5 The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism. T.S.Eliot, Faber & Faber, 1970.
6 English Critical Texts. ed. D.J.Enright and Chickera, OUP, London, 1962.
7 20th Century Literary Criticism : "A Retrospec" & "Poetry and Abstract Thought." Ed. David Lodge. Orient Longman, London, 1978
8 Ibid.
9 யாரோ ஒருவனுக்காக, பசுவய்யா (Poetry collection by Basuwayya).
10 The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism. T.S.Eliot, Faber & Faber, 1970.
11 English Critical Texts. ed. D.J.Enright and Chickera, OUP, London, 1962.
12 தமிழகம் தந்த மகாகவி, ed. சீனி விசுவநாதன், ஸ்ரீ புவனேஸ்வர் பதிப்பகம், 1978 : “வசன கவிதை”, நா வானமாமலை. (Article by N.Vanamamalai).
13 The Critical Sense, James Reeves, Heinemann, London, 1976.
14 கோட்ஸ்டாண்ட் கவிதைகள், நகுலன், 1981. (Poetry collection by Nakulan).
15 அன்று வேறு கிழமை, ஞானக்கூத்தன் (Poetry collection by Gnana Koothan).
16 ஞாபகச் சிற்பம், பிரம்மராஜன் (Poetry collection by Brammarajan).
17 English Critical Texts. ed. D.J.Enright and Chickera, OUP, London, 1962.
18 ஞாபகச் சிற்பம், பிரம்மராஜன் (Poetry collection by Brammarajan).
19 அன்று வேறு கிழமை, ஞானக்கூத்தன் (Poetry collection by Gnana Koothan).
20 அரும்பு (Arumby, Tamil literary monthly).
21 வலி உணரும் மனிதர்கள், பிரம்மராஜன் (Poetry collection by Brammarajan).
22 20th Century Literary Criticism : "A Retrospec" & "Poetry and Abstract Thought." Ed. David Lodge. Orient Longman, London, 1978.
23 கோடை காலக்குறிப்புகள், சுகுமாரன் (Poetry collection by Sukumaran).
24 ஜே ஜே சில குறிப்புகள், சுந்தர ராமசாமி (Novel by Sundara Ramaswamy).
25 நவீனன் டயரி, நகுலன் (Novel by Nakulan
26 ஜே ஜே சில குறிப்புகள், சுந்தர ராமசாமி (Novel by Sundara Ramaswamy).
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