Death in Poetries of Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, James Shirley and Kanhayalal Dandriyal

Death in Poetries of Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, James Shirley and Kanhayalal Dandriyal

(Review Ritarit’ a Poem by Mahakavi Kanhaya Lal Dandriyal )

(Modern Garhwali Literature, Himalayan Literature, Indian Modern Literature, Modern Asian Literature )

Bhishma Kukreti

From the ages philosophers, scholars, scientists, doctors have been busy in explaining the Death from their experiences. Poets from the time poetry came in existence have been explaining death through their own interpretations

Kanhailal Dandriyal a great Poet of world literature created agreat poem Ritarit and indirectly explained

Great Poetess Emily Dickinson created a fine poetry on death but she shows death painless but the vision of death is very horrifying and frightening l in her classical poetry ‘ Dying’ as

I heard a fly buzz when I died;
The stillness round my form
Was like the stillness in the air
Between the heaves of storm.

The eyes beside had wrung them dry,
And breaths were gathering sure
For that last onset, when the king
Be witnessed in his power.

I willed my keepsakes, signed away
What portion of me I
Could make assignable,-and then
There interposed a fly,

With blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz,
Between the light and me;
And then the windows failed, and then
I could not see to see.

However, Great Poet (Mahakavi) Kanhaiyalal Dandriyal left the experiencing of death on the readers.

Famous playwright James Shirley in his famous poem ‘Death : The Leveler’ (which is part of his play) conceives or states that death is a great leveler that does not keep any difference between the king or poor . Asoka and Alexander on the earth but could not defy death which is inevitable and universal

THE glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against Fate;
Death lays his icy hand on kings:
Sceptre and Crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.

Some men with swords may reap the field,
And plant fresh laurels where they kill:
But their strong nerves at last must yield;
They tame but one another still:
Early or late
They stoop to fate,
And must give up their murmuring breath
When they, pale captives, creep to death.

The garlands wither on your brow,
Then boast no more your mighty deeds!
Upon Death's purple altar now
See where the victor-victim bleeds.
Your heads must come
To the cold tomb:
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.

Great poet Kanhaiyalal Dandriyal tells just the prediction of death for all living organisms in this earth in the poem Ritarit and don’t explain it

Great Playwright and poet William Shakespeare wrote a poem on death ‘ Fear No More’ part of is play Cymbeline . The poem is about praying peace for dead soul.

The first stanza of the poem Fear No More is as under :

Fear no more the heat o' the sun,

Nor the furious winter's rages;

Thou thy worldly task hast done,

Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages:

Golden lads and girls all must,

As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

Great Poet ( Mahakavi) shows the truth of death and makes it philosophical . Kanhaiya lal Dandriyal and Shirley agrees that death is same for pooer and wealthy persons, death is ame for lion and dear, death is same for cat and rat.

रिटारिट

पैलि त मि सिरफ़ सुणदो छयो

पर अब दयख़णु छौं

कि दुन्या रिटणि च

दुन्यअ चौछडि जून रिटणि च

जिकुड़ी चौछ्ड़ी गाणि रिटणि च

नेतौं चौछ्ड़ी नीति रिटणि च

भर्ती दफ्तरम फालतू रिटणा छिन

फूलूं फर म्वारी रिटणि च

पुंगड्यू ब्वारी रिटणि च

कीली फर बाछी रिटणि च

बजारुम पैसा रिटणु च

आंख्युं अगनै जैंगण रिटणि च

मि द्यख़णु छौं

रिटदी असहाय जिन्दगी तैं

रिटदा आस्था विश्वास तैं

हर प्राणी क चौछडि रिटदि मौत तैं

The style and phrase or examples provide by Dandriyal in this philosophical poem 'Ritarit 'are so simple that even a common man can understand the universality of death
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