Rohan Kalelkar
Fragments from Notes on the Book of Defeat
If an audience could be arranged
and also my safe return
this is what I'd tell the Sultan
This is what he'd learn:
O Sultan, my master, if my clothes
are ripped and torn
it is because your dogs with claws
are allowed to tear me.
And your informers every day are those
who dog my heels, each step
unavoidable as fate.
They interrogate my wife, at length,
and list each friend's name.
Your soldiers kick and beat me,
force me to eat from my shoes,
because I dare approach these walls
for an audience with you.
You have lost two wars
and no one tells you why.
Half your people have no tongues.
What good their unheard sigh?
The other half, within these walls,
run like rabbits and ants,
silently inside.
If I were given safety
from the Sultan's armed guards
I would say, O Sultan,
the reason you've lost wars twice
was because you've been walled in from
mankind's cause and voice.
and also my safe return
this is what I'd tell the Sultan
This is what he'd learn:
O Sultan, my master, if my clothes
are ripped and torn
it is because your dogs with claws
are allowed to tear me.
And your informers every day are those
who dog my heels, each step
unavoidable as fate.
They interrogate my wife, at length,
and list each friend's name.
Your soldiers kick and beat me,
force me to eat from my shoes,
because I dare approach these walls
for an audience with you.
You have lost two wars
and no one tells you why.
Half your people have no tongues.
What good their unheard sigh?
The other half, within these walls,
run like rabbits and ants,
silently inside.
If I were given safety
from the Sultan's armed guards
I would say, O Sultan,
the reason you've lost wars twice
was because you've been walled in from
mankind's cause and voice.
Website: https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/fragments-from-notes-on-the-book-of-defeat/
Author: Nizar Qabbani
Image:
This dog's facial expression seems to be somewhat powerful and mean. They symbolize the soldiers of the Syrian Sultan, or dictator, that torture innocent citizens.
Poet's Biography:
- Nizar Qabbani was a Syrian diplomat who at first wrote poems about love, but eventually expanded their horizons to include contemporary, political content.
- Qabbani was raised in an upper middle class, merchant family in Damascus, Syria.
- Because she did not intend to marry a man she did not love, Qabbani's sister killed herself; this incident influenced Qabbani to create poetry concerning women's issues in a conservative, Islamic society.
- Qabbani lived from 1923 to 1998, spanning Syria's independence from France, the Arab-Israeli War, and the Yom Kippur War.
- Qabbani studied law at the University of Damascus.
Website: https://mypoeticside.com/biographies/nizar-qabbani-biography
Analysis:
In "Fragments from Notes on the Book of Defeat," Nizar Qabbani is saying that the Syrian sultan, or autocrat uses his soldiers to terrorize people in the streets. In addition, he has chosen to ignore the concerns of his constituency. Qabbani spent his life as an expert on foreign relations and a writer. He wrote about women's rights, religion, relationships, and political issues of the Arab world. By writing that the sultan's "dogs with claws are allowed to tear me," he paints a vicious, angry picture of government soldiers. At the end of the poem, when Qabbani chides the sultan, "you've been walled in from mankind's cause and voice," he is conveying the message that a metaphorical war is preventing the dictator from listening and caring about issues that everyday people face. Simultaneously, claiming that the soldiers "force [the author] to eat from his shoes" is essentially making a statement about increased poverty due to the heinous acts of the Syrian regime.
Author: Nizar Qabbani
Image:
This dog's facial expression seems to be somewhat powerful and mean. They symbolize the soldiers of the Syrian Sultan, or dictator, that torture innocent citizens.
Poet's Biography:
- Nizar Qabbani was a Syrian diplomat who at first wrote poems about love, but eventually expanded their horizons to include contemporary, political content.
- Qabbani was raised in an upper middle class, merchant family in Damascus, Syria.
- Because she did not intend to marry a man she did not love, Qabbani's sister killed herself; this incident influenced Qabbani to create poetry concerning women's issues in a conservative, Islamic society.
- Qabbani lived from 1923 to 1998, spanning Syria's independence from France, the Arab-Israeli War, and the Yom Kippur War.
- Qabbani studied law at the University of Damascus.
Website: https://mypoeticside.com/biographies/nizar-qabbani-biography
Analysis:
In "Fragments from Notes on the Book of Defeat," Nizar Qabbani is saying that the Syrian sultan, or autocrat uses his soldiers to terrorize people in the streets. In addition, he has chosen to ignore the concerns of his constituency. Qabbani spent his life as an expert on foreign relations and a writer. He wrote about women's rights, religion, relationships, and political issues of the Arab world. By writing that the sultan's "dogs with claws are allowed to tear me," he paints a vicious, angry picture of government soldiers. At the end of the poem, when Qabbani chides the sultan, "you've been walled in from mankind's cause and voice," he is conveying the message that a metaphorical war is preventing the dictator from listening and caring about issues that everyday people face. Simultaneously, claiming that the soldiers "force [the author] to eat from his shoes" is essentially making a statement about increased poverty due to the heinous acts of the Syrian regime.
I agree with your statement along the lines of how your writer includes imagery in his poem. I love how you choose a writing who cared about the women in his community. Knowing he was of the middle class, was he influential in his community? He includes many metaphors in his poem; mostly about the harsh conditions in Syria. Is there a theme to this poem?
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement and analysis of the poem but I feel that the author is also taking about his experiences. The author is clearly trying to get across his experience of war and how he feels about it. I agree with your point that the author is trying to make reader understand to women's rights. I also agree that the author is trying to discuss religion and relationships in the Arab world. I also feel the author is trying to expose the Arab world and it's wrongs.
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