CHAPTER

2
POETRY
Learning Objectives After comipletion of this chapter,you wil be able to
Know the
advantages of reading poetry.
Talk about the poem "View from a Grain of Sand" by Wislawa Szymborska
Taik about the poem "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night" by Dylan
Thomas
Talk about the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert
Frost

INTRODUCTION
Poetry is a form of literary work in rhythms that evokes meaning in addition to
prosaic ostensible meaning. Unlike prose in language with syntax and natural speech,
poetry is presented in certain patterns that resonates feelings. Poetry is a literary work
in verse writing of high quality, great beauty, a piece of art, with emotional sincerity or
intensity, a graceful expression showing imagination and deep feeling with beautiful and
elegant quality. It is a profound insight that enables a poet to idealize reality and to see
the things or situations in a particular way, to express his feelings of his own accord and
to represent them in such a way as to
delight the readers. It is the quality of a great
poetry through which the creeds and the system of human values are discussed that a
reader may ultimately be enlightened and rejoiced. Poetry is also a good source of
freeing
somebody from ignorance, misdeeds or evils while it inspires and encourages us; instills
in us noble thoughts by dealing very much with the ways we live in.
A poet is a possessor of unusual sensitivity or insight. He is able to
a beautiful, imaginative, creative and romantic way. The difference things in
express
between poet and
layman is multi-dimensional perceptions, high imaginations and
multicolored arc in the sky is just a rainbow to a layman but a profound insights. A
poet has
to receive sense
impressions about it to express his powerful feelings. Thegreater
art
capacity
of writing poems in a particular or the skill
language or form 1s a natural gift or it
ability by which a poet deals with the reality of life. may be acquired
 Study of poetry offers advantages of developing sensitivity, understanding others'
emotions and cognitions, fostering creativity, digging deeply into the process how things
are occurring in one's lives and to understand the cultural context of the writing

Sometimes question arises what is the advantage of studying poetry for business ana
commerce students. Business leaders live in multifaceted, dynamic environments. 1ner
challenge is to take that chaos and make it meaningful and understandable. Heading and
writing poetry can exercise that capacity, improving one's ability to better conceptuaize
n e world and
communicate it -through presentations or writing-to others.
and writing poetry also develops creativity. To Dana Gioia, business executive, "As [I
neau
rosej in business..I felt I had an enormous advantage over my colleagues because l naa
in imagination, in language and in literature." Poetry can also help
a background users

develop a more acute sense of empathy. Dana emphasizes that senior executives need not
Just quantitative skills but "qualitative and creative" skills and "ereative judgment," and
ding and writing poetry is a route to developing those capabilities. Indeed, poetry
may be an even better tool for developing creativity than conventional fiction. Creative

energy, emotional power, and communicative complexity of poetry relate directly to the
practical needs for innovation and problem solving. Complexity and flexibility of thinking
along with ability to empathize with and better understand the thoughts and feelings of
others is gained better through poetry.

1. VIEW FROM A GRAIN OF SAND

Wislawa Szymborska
We call ita grain ofsand,
but it calls itself neither grain nor sand.
It does just fine without a name,
whether general, particular,
permanent, passing,
incorrect, or apt.

Our glance, our touch mean nothing to it.

It doesn't feel itself seen and touched.
And that it fell on the windowsill
isonly our experience, not its.
For it, it is no different from falling on
anything else
with no assurance that it has finished falling
or that it is falling still.

The window has a

wonderful view of a lake,
but the view doesn't view
itself.
 23
It exists in this world
colorless, shapeless,
soundless, odorless, and painless.

The lake's floor exists floorlessly,

and its shore exists shorelessly.
Its water feels itself neither wet nor
dry
and iis waves to themselves are neither
singular nor plural.
They splash deaf to their own noise
on pebbles neither large nor small.

And all this beneatha sky by nature skyless

in which the sun sets without setting at all
and hides without hiding behind an unminding cloud.
The wind ruffles it, its only reason being
that it blows.

A second passes.
A second second.
A third.
But they're three seconds only for us.

Time has passed likea courier with urgent news.

But that's just our simile.
The character is invented, his haste is make-believe,
his news inhuman.

(trans Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh)

About the Poet:Wisawa Szyomborska

Maria Wisawa Anna Szymborska (2 July 1923- 1 February 2012) was a Polish
poet, essayist, translator and recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature. She was
awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize "for poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical
and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality and with that she
became international figure. Her work has been translated into English and many
European languages as well as into Arabic, Hebrew, Japanese and Chinese.
WisBawa Szymborska was born on 2 July 1923 in Prowent, Poland (now part of
Kornik Poland) to Wincenty and Anna (nee Hottermund) Szymborski. Her father was at
that time the steward of Count Zamovski a Polish patriot and charitable patron. After
 2.4 to Krakow
in 1931l
1924, her family moved to Torun and
the death of Count Zamoyski in
death in early 2012.
where she lived and worked until her
in underground
she continued her education
When World War II broke out in 1939, avoid bein
railroad employee and managed to
classes. Prom 1943, she worked as
a
inheritance. It w a s
labourer because of her Jewish
deported to Germany as a forced illustrations for an English-
artist began with
during this time that her career as an
Polishn
stories and occasional poems and
language textbook. She also began writing writing
soon became
involved in the local
literature before studying sociology. There she

scene, and met and was influenced by Czeslaw Milosz.

In
could not pursued her formal studies.
Due to poor financial circumstances, she
Their u n i o n was
married Adam Wlodek, whom she divorced in 1954.
1948, she poet an
as a secretary for
childless. Around the time of her marriage
she was working
was to be
educational biweekly magazine as well as an
illustrator. Her first book
meet socialist requirements".
published in 1949, but did not pass censorship as it "did not
Szymborska adhered to the
Like many other intellectuals in post-war Poland, however,
Her early work
People's Republic of Poland's official ideology early in her career.
official party line, Szymborska
supported socialist themes. Although initially close to the
renounced her earlier political
gradually grew estranged from socialist ideology and
work. In 1964, she opposed a Communist-backed protest to The Times against
translated French
independent intellectuals, demanding freedom of speech. She also
literature into Polish.
contradiction
Her works employed literary devices such as ironic precision, paradox,
and understatement to illuminate philosophical themes and obsessions. Many of her
poems feature war and terrorism. She continued writing poem till her death at the age
of 88 in 2012 at her home in Krakow.

Summary of Poem
"View with a Grain of Sand" is a poem of thirty-seven lines that have been grouped
into seven stanzas ranging from four to seven lines each. In both Polish and English,
the poem exhibits occasional irregular rhymes, although these are not the same lines in
both versions. (For example, the fourth stanza rhymes the second and fourth lines in
Polish and the first and second line in English.) Like much of Wisawa Szymborska's
poetry, the language in "View with a Grain of Sand sounds like everyday conversation.
It is a mystical and existential poem where the poet talks about sand, lake and beautiful
sky.
The speaker of the poem may be
Szymborska herself, although such an identification
does not affect the meaning
conveyed or the impression formed by the poem. This
speaker pictures a lake and its surroundings, beginning with a grain of sand
shore. She mentions that the sand is from the
complete in and of itself and that it is not affected
by people touching it, talking about
it,
Dertain solely to human consciousness and its dropping
or it on a windowsill; these
things
experiences.
Poetry
overlooks the lake but that has nothing
The speaker then considers the window that reminds its readers that
do with the lake itself except in human perception. The poem
to odors, and,
the individual mind, as do colors, sounds,
the "wonderful view" exists only in the same thing
goes on to say essentially
most strikingly, pain. Szymborska's speaker
about the lake, that it knows nothing
of the attributes people.
language. The poem is told from the
Szymborska writes with clear, straightforward and "our
of view of an anonymous speaker using
the familiar and inclusive "we"
point same scene together. As
with
The reader and speaker are experiencing the
and "us.
examines and undermines
"View with a Grain of Sand"
most of Szymborska's poems,
looks at the ordinary and taken for granted
common, everyday perceptions. Szymborska
and shows how they are astonishing as well.

Paraphrase
We call it a grain of sand,
but it calls itself neither grain nor sand.
It does just fine without a name,
whether general, particular,
permanent, passing,
incorrect, or apt.
or sand. It is quite fine
We call it grain of sand but it does not call itself either grain
a

name, an identity, which may be general, particular,

permanent or temporary,
without a
inapt or apt.
Our glance, our touch mean nothing to it.
It doesn't feel itself seen and touched.
And that it fell on the windowsill
is only our experience, not its.
For it, it is no different from falling on anything else
with no assurance that it has finished falling
or that it is falling still.
It attaches no importance to our glance or touch. Being seen or touched means
nothing to it. its falling on the windowstill is our experience not its. For a grain of sand it
matters little whether it falls on the windowstil or on anything else. Its falling is not the
end of its journey. It does not matter for it whether it has finished falling or is still
falling.
The window has a wonderful view of a lake,
but the view doesn't view
itself.
It exists in this world

colorless, shapeless,
s0undless, odorless, and painless.
 2.C Poetry
The window provides a wonderful view of a lake, but this view does not observe itself.
The view exists in this world
colourless, shapeless, soundless, odorless, and painless.
The lake's floor exists
floorlessly,
and its shore exists
shorelessly.
Its water feels
itself neither wet nor dry
and its waves to themselves are neither singular nor plural.
They splash deaf to their own noise
on
pebbles neither large nor smal.
The lake is very deep, in
part it is floorless and its shore exists shorelessly. Its water
is just water, it does not feel itself
either wet or dry. The waves of the lake
themselves, they are neither singular, nor just exist. To
on the shore
plural. These waves strike against the pebbles
producing a deaf airing sound. The stones are just stones, neither big or
small.

And all this beneath a sky nature

by skyless
in which the sun sets
without setting at all
and hides without
hiding behind an unminding cloud.
The wind ruffles it, its only reason being
that it blows.
And all this takes place beneath the
sky which in nature has
non-existent sky the sun appears to set but it does not set at all. noTheexistence. In this
hides itself behind cloud that does not sun sometimes
take notice of its
ruffles the cloud in such a way that it hiding. The wind blows and
disappears.
A second passes.
A second second.
Athird.
But they're three seconds only for us.
A second passes. Then
another second passes. And the third
passing of time is second passes. But this
only for us. There is no time consciousness in the
cosmic world.
Time has passed like a courier
with urgent news.
But that's just our simile.
The character is
invented, his haste is make-believe,
his news inhuman.
Time has passed like
courier giving us from time to time
a
just our comparison. The characters urgent news. But that is
appear on the
only a make-belief. His stage of life. Their hurry and
actions/achievements
value as everything changes in the flux of
are not human.
These have no
worry is
time. permanent
 09
Theme of Poem H 008 3
exist on their
The poem speaks about the picture of the objects of existence which
own whether we name them or name as naming is
convenience of our mind. These are
whether
completeto them selves. The poet mentions that the sand is complete in itself
These
we touch it not, talk about it or not. It is not affected by our description.
or
existence and
descriptions are the perceptions of the knower, otherwise it has unique
essence and exists without our description.
Then the poet talks about the deep lake with water which is neither singular
or

The waves of the

plural. Its water is just water, it does not feel itself either wet or dry.
a deaf
lake just exist. These waves strike against the pebbles on the shore and producing
there with
airing sound. The stones just stones, neither big or small. Similarly sky is
are
like a
sun and cloud and our experiences describe them accordingly. Time has passed
courier giving us news and characters appear on the stage of life. But there is nothing
that is of permanent value.
The poem reminds the reader that wonderful phenomena and experiences exist only
in individual mind. In order to grasp the beauty of Nature and other subtle experiences
we have to transform our perceptions and accordingly the world will appear to us. It is
the human consciousness that defines human and separates human from other human
and non-human beings, otherwise universal consciousness flows everywhere.
Insignificant can be significant that depends upon the frame of human mind. It is
because of illusion and gross ignorance, we cannot perceive the subtle beauty.

Critical Comments
The poem View with a Grain of Sand by Wislawa Szymborska is a poem with
existential and mystical message that in order to grasp the beauty of the world, we
should transform our perceptions in spiritua. way. It is human consciousness that
defines humans and separates humans from other beings. We have to be aware of that
every phenomenon is changing in the flux of time. Whether sand, lake or sky-these are
complete in themselves whether we touch them or describe them, it is all our human
consciousness. Otherwise they have unique existence and essence.
In order to grasp the beauty of Existence and other subtle experiences we have to
transform our perceptions and accordingly the world will appear to us. It is the human
consciousness that
defines human and separates human from other human and non
human beings, otherwise universal consciousness flows everywhere. Insignificant can be
significant that depends upon our consciousness. It is because of illusion and gross
gnorance; we cannot perceive the subtle beauty. Everything we experience in the world
is the projection and expression of our mind and consciousness.