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| Gitanjali: Song No. 2: When Thou Commandest Me—Summary and Critical Appreciation |
Summary of the Song No. 2 in Gitanjali:
Stanza.1:
Explanatory Word-Meanings:
1. When thou...to sing = the poet sings when God wills him to do so. 2. Commandest = bids, orders. 3. It seems...pride = under divine inspiration his heart puffs up with joy and pride. 4. Seems=appears. 5. I look...face = in such moments of ecstasy he stands face to face with his maker. 6. Tears...eyes = tears of ecstasy well up in the poet's eyes. 7. All that...sweet harmony = all the discordant, ugly, evil and wicked forces which envelop human soul transform into the harmony of sweet music. 8. Melts = transforms. 9. Sweet harmony = pleasant and melodious state of affairs. 10. My adoration spreads...the sea = the poet is lost in meditation and prayer and his soul endeavours to reach the infinite like a joyously singing bird which with its outspread wings soars higher in order to cross the vast sea.
Paraphrase:
According to the poet, God has blessed him with poetic gift, so he is divinely inspired. The poet says that when God enlightens him, he sings. Under divine inspiration, he harmoniously sings. When he is inspired, his heart breaks with pride and joy, and tears of joy pour out of his eyes. In such moments of inspiration, his soul is one with the divine, and he stands face to face with God, his Maker. There is much that is discordant, ugly, foul and wicked in the human soul, but music purifies the soul of that wickedness. The discordant or jarring elements are reduced to harmony, and peace descends on the human soul. Music has an ennobling and uplifting effect on the human soul. Mystic bliss results when one devotes one's talents to worship of God. In such moments the human soul rises high to become one with God, its maker. The human soul is likened to a bird with its wings out-spread, flying across the sea of eternity in its efforts to reach the divine.
Stanza.2:
Explanatory Word-Meanings:
Paraphrase:
The poet knows that God takes pleasure in his song, for harmony of discordant notes is the basis of a song, and such harmony is also the basis of God's creation. A musician brings order out of disorder, just as God Himself imposed law and order on chaos—a welter of warring elements—and in this way creation took place. This creation is the music of God. That is why it is only through music that the human soul can become one with the divine. The poet says with great humility that even in moments of such mystic inspiration, he does not have a full glimpse of Him. He only hopes to touch His feet with the out-spread wings of his soul. However, intoxicated with the ecstatic joy, resulting from his inspired singing, he forgets that he is the servant of God and not His equal. God is his lord and master, but in such moments of mystic ecstasy he begins to feel that he is the equal and friend of God, instead of being a mere humble devotee.
Critical Appreciation:
Introduction:
The song entitled When Thou Commandest Me is a beautiful poem which has been extracted from Tagore's collection of songs entitled Gitanjali. In this song, the poet emerges as a mystic longing and endeavoring to meet his lord and merge his identity into him. The song gives expression to the poet's most sincere and intense feelings of ecstasy, pride, admiration, gratitude and humility.
Thought-Content:
According to the poet, he sings because God wills him to do so. It is only under divine inspiration that he can sing. His heart is filled with ecstasy and pride and tears come to his eyes when he feels thus divinely favoured and inspired. Whatever has been coarse and cruel, all that is full of strife and discord gets dissolved into the harmony of sweet music. The base and selfish instincts are sublimated into love and devotion. The poet has become a worshipper and lover of God. His adoration spreads wings like a glad bird taking its flight across the sea. He wants to reach God through his songs. The human soul is compared to a bird with its wings out-spread, flying across the sea of eternity in its efforts to reach the divine.
The poet knows that God is pleased with his songs and it is only through singing that he can realise the divine presence in his life. Born aloft by the wings of his song: he can touch the divine feet which otherwise he could never hope to reach. When he feels the presence of the Divinity in his heart he is overwhelmed with ecstasy. He forgets that he is only a servant and calls God as his friend who is really his lord and master.
His Lyricism:
Tagore's lyrics have supreme beauty. They shine like smile. Some of them glisten like tears, some blush like the cheeks of a pride and some flash like lightning in the darkness of soul. Sarojini Naidu's dictum that his songs are the Lyre of Heaven is a true summary of Tagore's lyricism. Tagore as a supreme lyricist prays:
All that is harsh and dissonant in my life melts into one sweet harmony-and my adoration spreads wings like a glad bird on its flight across the sea. I know thou takest pleasure in my singing. I know that only as a singer I come before thy presence.
Drunk with the joy of singing. I forget myself and call thee friend who art my lord.
The Use of Images:
The poet expresses his visions, emotions and experiences through metaphor, simile, and personification and mythological or legendry images:
"All that is harsh and dissonant in my life melts into one sweet harmony-and my adoration spreads wings like a glad bird on its flight across the sea."
The poet reveals himself through images in which the tenors and vehicles reciprocate. For instance, the poet and God appear to be singers. Both are related to music imagery:
Poet's Emotions:
In utter humility and gratitude the poet confesses that he sings because of God's inspiration. This singular honour of divine inspiration makes the poet full of gratitude and he feels that his heart is incapable of harbouring such immense joy and may burst. Such feelings bring tears and joy to his eyes.
