"The Lunatic"
Literal Comprehension: This poem "The Lunatic"
by Laxmi Prasad Devkota is his own translation of Nepali Poem
"Pagal". The person or speaker of the poem is mad who tells about his
uncommon activities just opposite from normal sane people. He sees the sound,
hears the sight and tastes the smell. He can see Helen in a rose. He works with sixth sense. He speaks such language
that world does not accept. There is one in subtracting one from one in his
maths. There is heart that melts and makes world of vapor. His dream world is
full of thorns not roses. People call him a mad while sitting in wintry sun,
listening cuckoo's song and weeping over people's death. He calls prostitutes
are dead bodies and ruler and leaders are real fools. The great king is beggar
for him. Other's heaven is his hell and others' god is his worse. When he sees
a number if injustices done upon powerless, innocent people by powerful, he is
much violent and turns to be like volcano. He/ takes himself really mad because
he can't hear thousands of such injustices and inequalities exist in this
society and the world ruled by fools.
Interpretation:
"The Lunatic" is an autobiographical poem by a famous Literary star Nepali
Literature late Laxmi Prasad Devkota. Looking to the then society full of
injustices he has pivoted through ideas and feeling in this poem. The speaker
has made a world of contrasts where oppositions are the desirable aspects by
which the poet wants to have a systematic and humane world. He has used a mask
of mad person but actually the so-called sane persons are mad and foolish. By
using his characters like confidence, imagination, abnormality, aggression,
rebellion he wants to break down all the vales of social injustices and
dominations. In violent and challenging tone the poet wants to demolish all
social, personal and any types of dominations. The skillful presentation of
sane and insane characters, activities and state the poet might be trying to
challenge to so-called civilized, high class and rulers who enjoy in
controlling others and looting the innocents. The poem is the best example of
political protest poem.
Critical Thinking: It is natural for us not to accept any type of injustice, domination and
inhuman behaviors. But the poet's senses of testing, smelling, hearing, sight
and seeing the sound are really mad like. Again, The poet has used mask to
criticize the ample of social personal injustices done in any name. How can a
person visualize sound, hear the sight and taste the smell? Can one work with
sixth sense? Though we can be disagree in some aspects of him, still we can't
deny what is his intention in the poem. The poem's thirst is to be rebellious
against any injustice is ever praiseworthy and ever convincing one. This depth
idea is hidden under the surface abnormality of Lunatic in this poem.
Assimilation:
After reading this persuasive poem I got the insight c f why people become
rebellious. What is the world and what is truth and how the innocent and honest
people are made Scapegoat by so-called civilized and powerful people. The poem
made me to remember the poem of famous poet Emily Dickenson "Much Madness
is Divinest Sense" The speaker has been called insane and sent to prison
because she doesn't accept what majority say. She is against injustice and
domination so she doesn't say. She is against injustice and domination so she
doesn't like to say white to black. If one doesn't do what group says then
he/she is called insane. Similarly, the speaker of this poem
"The
Lunatic" is taking side of truth and so-called sane are mad and he is really
sane. The poem also taught me that we should not accept any injustice by any
cost.
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