Literature-Critique

More documents

Recommendations

Info

12 restored in the place of materialism. It was an age of restoration of traditional Hindu mythologies and glorification of historical monarchs and legendary heroes. And in response to their Hindu nationalism, a counter Muslim nationalism too developed. Derozio’s alcoholism too was challenged by the writers of this epoch like Tekchand, Michael, Dinabandhu and Hutome. Rangalal Bandyopadhyay’s heroic poem Padmini Upakhyan (1858) marked the beginning of the age and it ended with the publication of Tagore’s lyrical work Manashi (1890). The poets of the era were much influenced by Western classics; in their works, they proclaimed bourgeois values like individualism, humanism and nationalism. The most promising and innovative genius among them was Michael Madhusudan Datta (1824-’73). He worked in several sections – epic, romance, sonnet, monologue, lyrical poem and drama. He first wrote in English, but later in Bangla and introduced blank verse in this language. His Meghnadbadh (1861) is an epic poem where he broke the tradition of Hindu myth by making the abhorred demon Ravana into the protagonist and Rama a brute villain. He imposed human qualities on mythic demons and wrote of human instincts and emotions in his poems. Michael’s poems give testimony that he was not a secularist like Derozio, rather he was remarkably influenced by the religious views prevalent in those days’ Bengali society. His verses also bear the mark of influence of the prose of that era. On the other hand, Bankim was the leading writer of the period in a number of genres – novel, philosophical essay and satire. His Kopalkundala (1866) and Krishnakanter Will (1878) are examples of supreme romantic novels. His writings sometimes offended Muslim sentiments but in fact he was a great patriot and attacked the British colonial rule in an implicit way. It is evident especially in his great novel Anandamath (1882). He, although wrote prose, was a sublime poet; his poetic prose bear an introspective outlook of life and beauty. He was the composer of the greatest national song of the age – “Bandey Mataram”. He was also the editor of Bangadarshan, the most famous literary journal of those days. The other writers of the era were influenced by these two genius authors’ thoughts and writing techniques. In poetry and drama, it was Michael’s reigning period and in fiction and no-fictional prose, it was the age of Bankim. In this context, it needs to be said the word ‘heroic’ is not always associated with warfare; in literature, it also refers to a high-flown and grand language. The writers of the age (especially Michael and Bankim) fulfilled these requirements. Besides, they were influenced by fatalistic ideas of antique Greek literature. Michael’s and Bankim’s heroes and heroines fall victim to their predestined fate; they had a likeness of drawing the pictures of man’s tragic fall. Even the romances of the age uphold heroism and awful consequences of their protagonists. The genre of epic was run on by Hemchandra Bandyopadhyay (1838-1903) and Nabinchandra Sen (1847-1909) who were deeply influenced by Michael’s poetic principles and Bankim’s nationalistic views. Hemchandra wrote Bitrashanghar Kabya (1875,’77) maintaining the tradition of poetic justice. Nabinchandra, influenced by Bankim’s Krishna-Charitra (1886), composed Raibatak (1887), Kurukshetra (1893) and Pravas (1896), an epic-trilogy in total commonly known as ‘the Mahabharata of the 19 th century’. And Kaikobad (1857-1951) and Ismail Hossain Siraji (1880-1931)
13 were two late representatives of this epic tradition. But all those ‘epic poets’, in merit, were far behind Michael. Krishnachandra Mazumder (1837-1907) wrote Sadbhab Shatak (1861) following Persian Rubaiyat. Dwijendranath Tagore (1840-1926), the eldest brother of Rabindranath, composed a romance poem in blank verse entitled Sapnaprayan (1875). Jagatbandhu Bhadra’s (1841-1906) Chucchundaribadh (1868) is a parody of Meghnadbadh; he satirized Michael’s epic style in this poem. Another satirist named Indranath Bandyopadhyay (1849-1911) wrote the mock-epic Bharat-Uddhar (1878). Biharilal Chakraborty (1835-’94), Surendranath Mazumder (1838-’78), Gobindachandra Das (1855-1918), Devendranath Sen (1858-1920) and Akshaykumar Baral (1860-1919) introduced lyrical poems in Bangla. Biharilal is called the ‘Morning Bird’ of Bangla lyrical poem. He became ideal to many young poets including Tagore. Saradamangal (1878) is his masterpiece. Even before Bankim, Tekchand Thakur wrote the first ever Bangla novel – Alaler Gharer Dulal (1858). But Hutome Pencha’s (pen-name of Kaliprasanna Simha) Naksha (1861-’62) is widely regarded as the best social document of the 19 th century. Mir Mosharraf Hossain (1847-1912) and Rameshchandra Datta (1848-1909) wrote historical novels following the model of Bankim. Maharastra Jibanprabhat (1878) and Rajput Jibansandha (1879) are two famous historical novels by Rameshchandra. Mosharraf narrated the story of assassination of Imam Hossain at the battle-field of Karbala in his prose-epic Bishad Shindhu (1885-’91). Taraknath Gangopadhyay (1843-’91) wrote a family-story entitled Swarnalata (1874) and Trailokyanath Mukhopadhyay (1847-1919) wrote humorous works. Bangla drama got its birth in this period. It will not be wrong to say that Shakespeare was the role model of the playwrights. However, they never achieved the great writer’s height. Michael composed several good tragedies and comedies. Besides, he also wrote a farce entitled Akei Ki Boley Sabhyata? (1860). And Dinabandhu Mitra (1830-’73) wrote a famous social play titled Nildarpan (1860) and a class farce entitled Sadhabar Ekadashi (1866). Nildarpan was a protest against the atrocities of the British tyrants of the 19 th century. Girishchandra Ghosh (1844-1912) wrote mythic, historical and social plays being influenced by Bankim’s nationalistic ideologies. His excelled not as a playwright but as an actor and director. Amritlal Basu (1853-1929) wrote satirical comedies. Sanjibchandra Chattopadhyay (1834-’89), elder brother of Bankim, wrote Palamou (1880-’82) – the first ever travelogue in Bangla. This time’s essay literature was centred on theological issues. Bankim, Devendranath Tagore (1817-1905), Rajendralal Mitra (1822-’91), Rajnarayan Basu (1826-’99), Bhudev Mukhopadhyay (1827-’94), Keshavchandra Sen (1838-’84) and Dwijendranath Tagore were the renowned essayists of the age. They mainly wrote on religion and philosophy. Devendranath preached philosophies of the Upanishadas. Bhudev wrote on social and family values.
Page 1 and 2: Bangla Literature: A Critical Overv
Page 3 and 4: 3 By that time, Buddhism was in the
Page 5 and 6: 5 not flourish here. Krittibas’s
Page 7 and 8: 7 Chaitanya’s era as the mystic f
Page 9 and 10: 9 slowly merging. Even after the Ba
Page 11: 11 ’85) and Piarichand Mitra (181
Page 15 and 16: 15 Panju Shah (1851?-1914) and Haso
Page 17 and 18: 17 Panchagram (1943), Hashuli Banke
Page 19 and 20: 19 Lalshalu (1948) achieved worldly
Page 21 and 22: 21 3 Great Bengali Writers Jayadeva
Page 23 and 24: 23 lovers’ pains. According to hi
Page 25 and 26: 25 This poem is a reflection of the
Page 27 and 28: 27 Bengali critics, his supremacy a
Page 29 and 30: 29 love with each other. A Pathan p
Page 31 and 32: 31 found in very few writers of the
Page 33 and 34: 33 catastrophe of another part of t
Page 35 and 36: 35 “Monihara” is the story of M
Page 37 and 38: 37 Saratchandra Chattopadhyay (1876
Page 39 and 40: 39 agitation against the injustice
Page 41 and 42: 41 Bishnu’s world-view is not con
Page 43 and 44: 43 nationalist movement. His moveme
Page 45 and 46: 45 Is free of weariness And that is
Page 47 and 48: 47 own queen. Thus he deprives the
Page 49 and 50: 49 Michael, Bankim, Dinabandhu, Kal
Page 51 and 52: 51 comprehension of the deep crises
Page 53 and 54: 53 As a fictionist, Elias was a goo
Page 55 and 56: 55 Literature is not for just enter
Page 57: 57 • Sen, Sukumar. Islami Bangla

Literature-Critique

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?