The Camel’s Hump[M1]

 

Literature does the culture-work for a community. It gets messages of what is accepted and what is not accepted across to the masses in an enjoyable, therefore more long-lasting way. The message the poet seems to want to convey is the importance of hard work and self-discipline and the danger of overindulgence at both personal and public levels.  

“The Camel’s Hump” was composed by the British poet, short story writer and novelist Rudyard Kipling at the very height of the British Empire. At the time British thinking was said to have been dominated by what is known as Protestant Work Ethics which privileged simple living and hard work. Idleness was frowned upon. “Idle mind is the devil’s workshop” and “early to bed early to rise makes you healthy, wealthy and wise” were some of the most popular sayings of the time. 

During this period British naturalists, civil servants, businesspeople and explores were touring the empire and sending back various things and animals they found exotic. These entered private and public collections, museums and zoological and botanical gardens for the edification and entertainment of both the scientific community and the masses. London Zoo was home to many such “specimen” sent by British nationals scattered to the four corners of the world.  

The poem contains 7 stanzas composed of 32 lines rhyming abcb bbddb efgf hbaab ijkj lbaab bbaab. In the first stanza the poet juxtaposes the images of a camel’s hump and the potbelly of a person who had “too little to do.” The poetic persona opines that the camel’s hump is an “ugly lump”. Then he helpfully suggests that the reader may be able to see it in the Zoo, a reference to the celebrated London Zoo which housed a large menagerie of exotic animals from the distant corners of the world. In the 3^rd and 4^th lines he compares the ugly lump of the camel with the “uglier … hump” people get due to inactivity. The camel does not have a choice as he is born with the hump, whereas, people are at fault for their hump.

 

The Camel's hump is an ugly lump
Which well you may see at the Zoo;
But uglier yet is the hump we get
From having too little to do.       

In the second stanza, the poet tells us who was in danger of getting the uglier hump: both “[k]iddies and grownups” are at risk. The use of “Kiddies” to refer to children increases the sense of pathos. Then he includes himself among the numbers that are going to be affected by using the term “we”. He is at risk, too. The term “Cameelious” is an example of coinage. Kipling coins several words which add humorous tone to the poem. In the last line, the poet adds more details regarding the “uglier” hump: it is “black and blue”. Black and blue are the colours associated with pain and death. So, the hump would ultimately lead to pain and death.   

Kiddies and grown-ups too-oo-oo,
If we haven't enough to do-oo-oo,
We get the hump-
Cameelious hump-
The hump that is black and blue!

In the third stanza, the poet describes the day of a person who either has or is about to have a black and blue hump: We get up from our beds confused and angry, and as a result we have “snarly-yarly” voices. The rest of the day is, too, spent unpleasantly: we “shiver and scowl and we grunt and we growl/At our bath and our boots and our toys”. The terms “bath”, “boots” and “toys” are symbolic: “bath” can be a reference to people who are well-off and had time and the money for baths; “boots” can be a reference to the working class or soldiers; and “toys” could be a reference to children.      

We climb out of bed with a frouzly head,
And a snarly-yarly voice.
We shiver and scowl and we grunt and we growl
At our bath and our boots and our toys;

In the next stanza, the poet declares with certainty that there should be a place in the Zoo for him, too: “there ought to be a corner for me”. He is an oddity that should be put on display. Not stopping at that, he assures that there is a corner for the reader as well in an aside – the poet spends time at a desk writing and the reader is occupied reading poetry. Both occupations do not require much physical exertion! The use of the correlative conjunction “when” instead of “if”, underscores his certainty that it was only a matter of time before both the poet and the reader would end up in a corner of a zoo where they would be on display due to their black and blue Cameelious hump. 

And there ought to be a corner for me
(And I know' there is one for you)
When we get the hump-
Cameelious hump-
The hump that is black and blue!

In the fifth stanza, the poetic persona proposes the only certain cure for the disease: “not to sit still”. One has to exert oneself physically in order to prevent as well as to cure this dreadful disease. Interestingly, a writer discourages reading when he tells the reader not to “frowst with a book by the fire.” Instead he proposes that one has to take a hoe and a shovel and dig till one “gently perspire[d]”. He is not suggesting that he and the reader should work like a regular labourer sweating heavily. They should work hard enough to sweat “gently”.  

The cure for this ill is not to sit still,
Or frowst with a book by the fire;
But to take a large hoe and a shovel also,
And dig till you gently perspire;

In the penultimate stanza, the poet tells the reader how he would lose the dreadful hump. The sun, the wind and the Djinn of the Garden are the ones who would take away the “horrible hump”. The disappearance of the hump is made into a magical occurrence with the introduction of the term “Djinn”. The last line of this stanza is a repetition of the last line of the 4^th stanza.

And then you will find that the sun and the wind,
And the Djinn of the Garden too,
Have lifted the hump-
The horrible hump-
The hump that is black and blue!

The last stanza is almost a repetition of the second stanza. According to the poetic persona everyone who leads an inactive life is at the risk of getting the dreaded lumpy hump. 

I get it as well as you-oo-oo-
If I haven't enough to do-oo-oo!
We all get hump-
Cameelious hump-
Kiddies and grown-ups too!

Kipling offers social criticism through humour in this poem. In that sense, one might call the poem didactic. Kipling is pointing out that the empire had brought in so much wealth that people have forgotten the Protestant Work Ethics base on frugality, simple living and hard work that had made the British Empire possible. They have so much leisure which they spend on inactive pursuits such as writing and reading. Consequently, they develop humps – they become ugly and unhealthy.  The awful warning is that unless they shaped up they would find themselves in a corner of someone’s zoo locked up as curiosities for people to come and gawk at. A dreadful thought in deed! 

Questions:

1.      Kipling in “The Camel’s Hump” is illustrating the repercussions of lack of self-discipline in a humorous way. Discuss.

2.      “Humour” poems are not purely humourous. Do you agree? Take at least two of the poems in the syllabus and discus the above statement.   

 

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 [M1]Associated with ugliness, deformity

Richard Cory - Edwin Arlington Robinson1869-1935 (1897)

 

The title suggests that the poem is going to be about this person called Richard Cory. The name suggests wealth and privilege. In addition, the title also suggests that the poem is going to be a narrative of the life of this man called Richard Cory.  In a way when reading the poem, Richard Cory may remind one of the poet himself who lived as a misunderstood recluse most of his life. According to the scholar Robert Gilbert, “Robinson established a recognizable set of thematic and technical concerns: ‘themes of personal failure, artistic endeavor, materialism, and the inevitability of change,’ characterize much of his work.” “Richard Cory” deals with personal failure, social aspirations, appearance and reality and materialism. 

This narrative poem consists of four quatrains rhyming abab cdcd efef ghgh. The lines are of uniform length. Each quatrain is made of one sentence formed by two clauses. The first clause ends at the end of the second line in all four stanzas. The tone of the poem is reflective and melancholic. The poem is minimalistic. The poet relies predominantly on a series of visual images to convey his themes.

Whenever Richard Cory went downtown,   

We people [M1] on the pavement looked at him;

He was a gentleman from sole to crown,

Clean favored, and imperially slim.

The poem deals with the following themes:

1.     Appearance vs. reality

2.     The pressure of being on the limelight/ of maintaining status

3.     The gap between the rich and the poor

4.     Perception of happiness and dissatisfaction with the status quo - envy and blind pursuit of what is out of our reach leading to dissatisfaction

The poetic voice identifies himself with “people” – one of many. And he draws a distinctive line between “We people” and this extraordinary being called Richard Cory. The poetic voice remains anonymous – one of the hoi polloi. Richard Cory, for some unspecified reason, goes downtown; downtown is the busy dirty crowded heart of the business part of the town. In the late 19^th century USA, a man like Richard Cory would be quite out of place in a place like that. His is the kind whose businesses would be looked after by factors or lawyers. His role in life would be to be the patriarch of an influential wealthy family. However, the Civil War had put paid to such a lifestyle in most cases. Still many struggled to maintain appearances. Is Richard Cory one of those tragic souls?  

The poetic persona is narrating the events in retrospect. He and his fellow workers had witnessed Cory on his way downtown more than once: “Whenever Richard Cory went downtown,/We people on the pavement looked at him”. For them, he is taking a leisurely walk with none of the worries in their lives to bother him. Consequently, Cory becomes a center of attraction for them. They feel envious of his leisure. Out of their resentment and envy they observe him closely. They come to see certain things about him: “He was a gentleman from sole to crown,/ Clean favored, and imperially slim.” What Richard Cory was, was what they were not. So, they stare at him from their vantage point from the sidewalk as he passed them on his way downtown on the pavement.          

And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked;

But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

‘Good-morning,’ and he glittered when he walked.

The poetic persona adds more details to the rough outline of Richard Cory he has provided the reader in the first stanza. The man is “quietly arrayed” – he dresses tastefully in an understated way. He does not talk much – which is once again a mark of good breeding – but when he does “he was always human”. In the poetic persona’s circles, these are not the qualities that set a man apart and “fluttered pulses”. He is surprised by the impact Richard Cory has on “We people” – “But still he fluttered pulses” by merely greeting, he notes. Not only that Richard Cory “glittered when he walked” despite his non-macho behavior and understated dress. This seems to puzzle the poetic person. Probably in his circles a man had to dress rather loud and speak and act aggressively to attract attention – to be someone. Written by an American poet and set in an American town, Richard Cory implies royalty. Richard is the name of several kings which happen to contain the word rich. There are many other phrases such as “sole to crown,” “imperially slim,” and “schooled in every grace” suggesting royalty.

And he was rich - yes, richer than a king ---

And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything

To make us wish that we were in his place.

The list of Richard Cory’s attributes continues in the third stanza, too. The man is rich, according to “We people” – according to the general consensus he was “richer than a king”. The caesura at the end of the first line implies the pause taken by “We people” to imagine that kind of wealth Richard Cory at hand. Wealth and social graces do not go hand in hand in today’s society. But in Richard Cory’s world, wealth meant one had to possess “every [social] grace”. Richard Cory had been taught these social graces and he has learnt them “admirably”. In his background, breach of etiquette/social graces would result in Richard Cory being ostracized. Considering all these, Richard Cory comes across as paragon of all human virtues – someone almost everyone would aspire to emulate. The poetic persona frankly thinks so: “he was everything/ To make us wish that we were in his place.” This was not just the poetic persona’s idea. Others who were with him, too, shared the thought. One ominous note in the poem is that Richard Cory does not have a family or friends. If he had a family and friends, “We people” would have noted them. It seems despite his perfection he was all on his own. It could also be that his appearance was just that – an appearance and that he could not afford to have friends and family as they would see through his façade into the reality of Richard Cory – the man who is struggling to maintain a façade of his former glory.      

So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;

And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head.

The miracle of Richard Cory passes them by and they reluctantly go back to their work: “So on we worked” – the long vowel sounds and the phrase “so on” in the clause imply heaviness of their heart at being forced to return to their drudgery after the fine sight of Cory. The light they are waiting for could be a reference to an overturning of the system which would irradiate the gap between themselves and Richard Cory so that they could also be like him. It is not about bringing him down to their level but to moving up to his level. The last line of the second stanza aligns Richard Cory with light – he “glittered” when he walked like some divine being that had come down to earth from the sky. In the meantime, “We people” detested their current existence represented by “the bread” and yearned for “the meat” they went without. It must have been quite bewildering for them to learn that their nemesis had killed himself by putting “a bullet through his head.” The shocking event had taken place “one clam summer night” at his “home” – the time and the place are at odds with the horrific thing that had happened and thereby increases the shock generated by the act of suicide. Even in his death, Richard Cory had acted the gentleman he was. The question is why did Cory with so much going for him should kill himself? There is no clear indication as to why. However, the fact that he had often visited the business part of the town can be read as him being financially strained like many men of his class after the Civil War. “We people” saw only the outward appearance of Richard Cory and what he allowed them to see of his personality. They formed their opinion of him based on that – the portrait they had of him, therefore, is incomplete. The appearance of his situation and the reality are surely incompatible as implied by his decision to commit suicide. Richard Cory seems to have it all. The people of the town want to be just like him. In the end though, Richard Cory kills himself, showing the people of the town that looks can be deceiving. One of the themes of “Richard Cory”, therefore, is that wealth and status do not automatically translate to happiness. Richard Cory’s decision to end his life indicates the vast strain one has to bear in order to sustain an image.   

The situational irony of the poem is expressed by the bewildered-melancholic tone and the themes. Situational irony, occurs when the outcome of a situation is unexpected or a surprise. Richard Cory appears to be the perfect man. “We” want to be like him because his life appears to be perfect. In reality, however, Cory yearns for true happiness born out of human companionship and freedom from financial worries. The irony is that Cory who had it all kills himself because he is not happy.        

The poet begins six of the lines with “and” – anaphora – building a lofty picture of Richard Cory. Except Richard Cory everyone forgets that happiness is more important than anything else. By killing himself, Richard Cory shows that wealth and status do not mean a fulfilled life.

Questions:

1.      ‘The poem “Richard Cory” suggests that the belief ‘the rich are happy’ is a myth.’ Comment with close references to the poem.

a.      Agree –

                                                    i.     RC could be an individual or a representative characters

                                                  ii.     How does the poet prove that the rich are not always happy?

 

b.     Conclusion – as a character representing the upper class, RC’s situation illustrates

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 [M1]There is a clear demarcation or a dichotomy between RC and ‘We people’. What had made it so? How would that make ‘we’ feel about themselves and RC and vice versa? 

Evaluate “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” in relation to its depiction of social issues in the world.

 

The poem “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by the Nobel laureate American poetess Maya Angelou does not overtly depict social issues. However, the central metaphors used by Angelou – a caged bird and a free bird - can be read as her reading of race, gender, political and religious relations between the powerful and the powerless wherever they may be across the globe.

     At a surface level, the poem can be read as a narrative of a day of a bird in a cage and that of a “free” bird. At this point one may be forgiven for raising the question whether anyone was actually free. Turning back to the caged bird, its wings are clipped and the feet are shackled – thus, there is no hope for the bird of freedom. Interestingly, there is not much reference to the man or the woman that had locked up the bird in the cage. Looking at the cage bird, one evaluates one’s life in comparison to another’s life. Had the caged bird not seen the free bird enjoying its life, it probably would not have felt the way it did:

A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange sun’s rays
And dares to claim the sky.

However, it saw the free bird and the sight filled the caged bird with an impotent rage against its captivity. It expressed its rage against its captivity by stalking around the cage:

But a bird that stalks

down his narrow cage

can seldom see through

his bars of rage   

 

when that did not help, it started to sing “with a fearful trill” of the things it had never experienced due its captivity.   

          As pointed out in the introduction, though the poem does not speak directly about social issues, the central metaphors used by Angelou – a caged bird and a free bird - can be read as her reading of race, gender, political and religious relations between the powerful and the powerless. In that sense, the absent man, the cage, the caged bird, the sky and the free bird can be read as metaphorical representations of all oppressive manmade socio-political institutions such as government, religious institutions, education, and mass media (man); customs, norms, values, rules and regulations (cage), the oppressed man (the caged bird), a society free of oppressive socio-political institutions (sky), a person unoppressed by rules and regulations, etc. (free bird). The caged bird’s song stand for a cry against oppression as well as rallying call for the fellow oppressed. It also expresses the cage bird’s anger at being oppressed.

           Looking at the term “bars of rage”, such bars can be put up not only by the absent man but also by the bird (the oppressed). According to social theorists such as Althusar, people internalize norms and values as well as rules and regulations of a given society due to fear and shame. Consequently, they themselves restrict their own freedom. However, being forced to control their own freedom make them angry. William Blake in his famous poem “London” calls this process formation of “mind-forged manacles”. The bars imposed by both one’s society as well as one’s own mind had destroyed all the dreams the “caged bird” had and filled it with horror. Its pain is captured by the poetess succinctly in the penultimate stanza thus:      

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams

his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream

his wings are clipped and his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing

 

       The plight of the caged bird is not never-ending, the poetess warns in the final stanza. According to Angelou, the song of the oppressed was heard by those who dwell “on the distant hill”. Hills being places associated with rebellion, this could be read as a reference to future rebellions in response to oppression. Hence, the poem ends in a hopeful tone implying a better future for the oppressed.   

 

War is Kind – Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism.

Wars originate in the human mind – therefore, origins of all wars are internal; however, later they lead to external conflicts. Wars also form vicious cycles; one war invariably triggers several others.

The title “War is Kind” is paradoxical – people often resort to war for solutions to their problems. It is a play on the propaganda used by warring parties to justify war and to recruit young men as soldiers who would later become cannon fodder. Parties who recruit soldiers make war sound as the best and the most humane answer to the problem at hand.

                  Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind

Because your lover threw wild hands towards the sky

And the affrighted steed ran on alone[y1] 

Do not weep

War is kind [y2] 

The poem contains 5 stanzas which address a maiden, a babe, and a mother – the indirect victims of war. All the stanzas except the 3^rd have five lines each. The lines vary in length. There is no rhyme for there is no rhyme or reason, as they say, in something that is as destructive as war.

The first stanza is about a death of a cavalryman. A cavalryman usually comes from the upper strata of society. Therefore, the maiden who mourns his passing would also be from the same class. Hence, the poet is stating that victims of war covered all layers of society.

The imperative that appears in the first line “Do not weep … war is kind” is repeated 5 times with slight variations. The poet creates a visual image of a cavalryman who is throwing up his hands wildly towards the sky as if he were experiencing an overload of joy or sadness. However, it would have been the impact of a bullet to his heart or a similar serious injury that would have loosened his grip on the reins of his steed/horse and made him lose his seat. The poet does not tell that the soldier had been injured and dropped dead. The techniques used here are cinematic montage and euphemism. The cavalryman drops dead and the frightened horse runs on without the rider. War is unkind not only to the soldier but also to his horse and the maiden waiting for him at home.    

Hoarse, booming drums [y3] of the regiment

Little[y4]  souls who thirst for fight

These men were born [y5] to drill and die

The unexplained[y6]  glory flies above[y7]  them

Great is the battle god, great[y8]  and his kingdom

 

The drums have been playing for a long time; therefore, they are hoarse. The drums are personified. Drums are the most primitive form of musical instruments as well as one of the most ancient means of communication. Its effectiveness lies in its ability to appeal to ones emotions instead of reason. Here, the drums are calling young men to come out of wherever they were and join the regiments. What could be the message the drums had been delivering – come and join the battle, of course. They are war-drums. “Little souls” who crave battles to gain, strengthen, or maintain their power use war as a means to attain these objectives. The term “Little souls” is used as an antonym for “Great souls” who oppose war. The Little Souls justify their warmongering that causes death of the soldier by saying that “These men were born to drill and die.” The repetition of /d/ -alliteration – reminds the sound of guns being fired. This line is repeated in the penultimate stanza, probably as a sign of unchanging attitudes of those in positions of power. They recruit young men assuring them of glory: Dulce et decorum pro patria more. But the glory flies above them to feather the nests of those in power. The poet uses the word “great” twice with reference to the god of battle. The second “great” in retrospect sounds more of an insult. The run on line links the second stanza to the third while creating a paradox. The kingdom of the god of battle is actually a battle field covered with dead bodies.  

A field where a thousand corpses lie.

Do not weep babe, for war is kind

Because your father[y9]  tumbled[y10]  in the yellow[y11]  trenches[y12] 

Raged[y13]  at his breast, gulped and died.

Do not weep

War is kind.

 

On this battlefield one is presented with a picture of a baby surrounded by the dead. With the use of the word “tumbled” the poet creates a picture of two people at play. The trenches are yellow. What had made them yellow? Was it napalm? Was he raging at his breath because of his anger or because of the difficulty in breathing? 

Swift blazing flag of the regiment

Eagle[y14]  with crest of red and gold

These men were born to drill and die 

Point for them the virtue of slaughter [y15] 

Make plain to them the excellence of killing [y16] 

 

 

One must always keep the flag and the eagle upright. The number of soldiers who die in the service of the country is immaterial for those in power as long as the eagle – the symbol of power – is standing. Young men from working class backgrounds join armed forces – some because of propaganda and others because they don’t have any other jobs. Those in power treat them like worker bees who are destined to die in the service. The powerful call on the Ideological State Apparatus to brainwash young people into joining the armed forces. 

 

And a field where a thousand corpses[y17]  lie

Mother[y18]  whose heart hung humble as a button

On the bright splendid shroud [y19] of your son

Do not weep

War is kind

In the last stanza, the reader is presented with the horrifying picture of a mother holding on to a dead son. Her heart is pinned to his shroud “as a button” and would be buried with the body. It is the only medal the soldier is going to get. The sighing of the grief-stricken mother is signalled by the repetition of /h/ in “heart hung humble”.  The use of modifiers “bright splendid” to describe the shroud his body is going to get covered creates a powerful paradox.

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 [y1]Euphemism

 [y2]These lines form an ironic refrain

 [y3]Personification

 [y4]But in general they are often called heroes – larger than life characters – role models

 [y5]Is that the sum total of their existence? This line is repeated verbatim later on  

 [y6]“Dulcet et decorum pro patria more”? 

 [y7]So the glory is not theirs?

 [y8]Why GREAT twice

 [y9]Generations

 [y10]Like in a game.

 [y11]Colour of sickness and cowardice, chemicals used in battles?  

 [y12]WWI

 [y13]About what?

 [y14]Roman eagle?

 [y15]paradox

 [y16]paradox

 [y17]the young men are reduce to this

 [y18]it’s women who are left to mourn the dead men – this lead to a lot of social problems. In SL the male female ratio at marriageable rate among the Sinhalese is 1:13

 [y19]paradox