There is nothing to remember in me, Nothing I ever said with a grace, Nothing I did that you care to see, Nothing I was that deserves a place

CHAPTER II

NATURE OF ROBERT BROWNING'S DRAMATIC MONOLOGUES AND THAT OF DIVAKAR'S NATYACHHATAS

CHAPTER II

NATURE OF ROBERT BROWNING'S DRAMATIC MONOLOGUES AND THAT OF DIVAKAR'S NATYACHHATAS

Psychological Conflicts Presented in Browning's Monologues

Browning's monologues belong to the category of drama­

tic poetry and as such deal with dramatic situations. A dramatic situa­

tion presented in the monologue is unlike the dramatic situation present­

ed on the stage. In a play, the clash of personalities or forces creates a dramatic situation whereas in Browning's monologue, the situation is static, and the conflict presented in it is basically psychological.

What is truly dramatic, therefore, is the psychologi­

cal conflict presented in Browning's monologue. In his monologues, Browning exposes what is evil, sordid and selfish in human nature. The evil-doers in his monologues justify or defend their evil actions and while doing so, lay bare their evil purposes. In "Porphyria's Lover", for example, the lover who strangles Porphyria to death imagines that Porphyria felt no pain. Sludge in "Mr. Sludge, 'The Medium'" is a cheat vdio attempts to defend himself by saying "But what if our distinguished host, like Sludge/Bade God bear witness that he played no trick".

Browning's interest does not lie in action. In fact, there is no action worth mentioning in his monologues. His interest lies in the analysis of mind and motive. In many of his monologues, Browning seizes upon the psychological moments. The moment is extremely

2.3

important even from the speaker's point of view. In "The Last Ride Together", the speaker visualizes the moment when he would ride with his beloved. The speaker in "Christina" prizes the moment at which he got fascinated b^he Queen of Spain. He says, "Doubt you if, in some such moment / As she fixed me, she felt clearly".. Referring to the analysis of the psychological moments, Stopford Brooke in The Poetry of Robert Browning writes, "They are poems about love, not in its simpli­

cities, but in its subtle moments - moments that Browning loved to analyse. ..J

Many characters in Browning's monologues are confront­

ed with psychological dilemma. "Bifurcation" deals with the conflict between love and duty. The speaker in this monologue says, "Duty and love, one broadway, were the best - / who doubts? But one or other was to choose". In "Cleon", Browning pictures a moment of psychological tension. Cleon, in this monologue which is in the form of letter,express­

es his desire to have physical pleasure. However, he is unable to have it owing to old age. He writes:

In this, that every day my sense of joy Crows more acute, my soul (intensified By power and insight) more enlarged, more keen;

While every day hairs fall more and more, My hand shakes and the heavy years

increase -

Browning's "Andrea del Sarto" (called "The Faultless Painter") best illustrates the dramatic tension caused by the psycholo­

gical conflict. Andrea del Sarto who is a painter belonging to the

24^-

Florentine school speaks to his wife, Lucrezia softly and submissively.

He requests her to sit beside him and admires her beauty saying "Let my hand frame your face in your hair's gold / you beautiful Lucrezia that are mine". What causes the dramatic tension is the fact that Andrea feels admiration for her and covets for her company, eventhough he is aware of her involvement with her cousin. He speaks ironically about her infidelity:

My face, my moon, my everybody's moon Which everybody looks on and calls his, And, I suppose, is looked on by in turn, While she looks - on one's: very dear, no

less.

Andrea del Sarto seems to have summed up his courage to say that his wife did not give him inspiration, and so, his painting, though technically perfect, lacks divine vision which is found in the painting of Raphael. He also complains that she looked at art from a utilitarian point of view and encouraged him to paint pictures for money, when che signs of displeasure appear on his wife's face, he stops criticizing her and blames himself saying that the fault lay with him as he did not put his soul into his work. He is apologetic tcjher and requests her again and again to ^end the evening with him.

^Andrea feels fascination for his wife and at the same time, feels 'contempt for her. This makes for the dramatic tension.

Speakers and Listeners in Browning's Monologues

Browning, in his poem "One Word More", presents

%s

his views regarding the characters in his monologues. He writes:

Love, you saw me gather men and women, Live or dead or fashioned by my fancy, Enter each and all, and use their service, Speak f^om every mouth, the speech, a poem.

Hardly shall I tell my joys and sorrows, Hopes and fears, belief and disbelieving:

I am mine and yours - the rest be all men's, Karshish, Cleon, Norbert and the fifty.

As is made clear in "One Word More", the speaker in Browning's monologue is a person who is not Browning. This is an important feature of the dramatic monologue which is defined as a poem in the first person, spoken by someone who is not a poet. It can be noted that this feature lends objectivity to the monologue. Discuss­

ing the role of speakers in Browning's monologues, A. Allen Brockington in his Browning and The Twentieth Century writes, "The Stage on which the drama is set is the personality of the speaker. We watch the figures of the drama moving about on this stage. That is to say, they are seen through the medium of the Speaker's personality".2

The characters that appear as speakers in Browning's monologues are of different kinds. They are beggars, saints, lovers, artists, soldiers, statesmen, kings, queens, dukes, bishops, Jews, scoundrels. They belong to England, Italy, Germany, France, Greece and Rome. Some of them belong to the period of Renaissance, some to 'middle ages and a few to modern times.

Most of the speakers in Browning's monologues are

unknown individuals like Abt Vogler, Master Hugues, Galuppi. Though they are not insane, they are extremely complex personalities. Some of the speakers are self-centred, revengeful, jealous and potentially violent. The speaker in "Porphyria's Lover" is a lover who has killed his own beloved on the spur of the moment. The speaker in "The Labora­

tory" is a woman who is extremely jealous of her rival, Pauline and who has planned to kill her rival by giving her a lozenge mixed with poison. The slavish mentality of Andrea in "Andrea del Sarto" is revealed, when he unashamedly tells his wife that he is ready to clear the debts of her lover. The bishop in "Bishop Blougram's Apology" is a man who is to^n psychologically between belief and unbelief. Although he criticizes Gigadibs for his concept of unbelief and anti-institutio- nalism, he shows himself as a man wavering between skepticism and eclecticism. That makes his character complex. The Duke in "My Last Duchess" is c^uel enough to stop the smiles of his duchess and callous enough to suggest to the envoy that his master would not deny him a suitable dowry.

Some speakers in Browning's monologues are women, and most of them are presented as beloveds Even as beloveds, they are different from one another. In this connection, Stopford Brooke writes,,

"In women, he touched great variety and great individuality* two things each of which includes the other, and both of which were dear to his

imagination"."

In "A Woman's Last Word", the speaker who is a woman requests her lover not to have a quarrel. She is prepared to give her­

self to him by saying "I will speak thy speech, Love,/ Think thy

2. 7

thought The woman in "James Lee's Wife" is married to a man who does not love her. It appears that she strove hard to win back his

love, but it^as all in vain. She says:

There is nothing to remember in me, Nothing I ever said with a grace, Nothing I did that you care to see, Nothing I was that deserves a place

In your mind, now I leave you, set you free.

In "Any Wife to any Husband", the woman who is dying expects that her husband should be devoted to her. She appeals to him to say to his soul that she is his sbride and that no mishap can change the relation of love between them. Referring to his extra-marital love- affair, she asks her husband why he should have a poor imitation of love. In "The Laboratory", the woman's crooked plan of poisoning her rival is revealed in the following lines:

Soon, at the king's, a mere lozenge to give,

And Pauline should have just thirty minutes to live!

But to "ight apaslile and Elise, with her head And her breast and her arms and her hands

should drop dead!

Some speakers are Jews in Browning's monlogues. The Speaker in "Rabbi Ben Ezra", for instance, is a Jewish literate who states his own philo­

sophy regarding youth and old age. Jews as speakers appear in "Holy

Cross Day". At times, a question is raised why Jewish characters should

be presented by Browning in his monologues. An answer has been given

by Barnett in his article entitled "Browning's Jews and Shakes

Jew" included in Browning Studies. He writes, "In the incompleteness and perpetual hope of the Jews, Mr. Browning sees some feeling akin to that which inspires so muc-h of his own philosophy, - the brokenness of good here, and the promise of the perfection and completion of it in some future, whether Messianic or not".

The speaker in the monologue speaks from his own point of view, and the reader becomes conscious of the perception of the speaker, and for a moment, he seems to agree with his approach. In several of Browning's monologues, the speaker adheres to his or her specific views, right from the beginning of the speech. The Duke in

"My Last Duchess" has a sinister approach towards his duchess which is kept up till the end of the monologue. The lover in "Porphyri a's Lover" seems to regard his killing of his beloved as a normal act.

From the point of view of the Italian town-dweller who is a speaker in "Up at a Villa Down in the City", the sights and sounds of the city life are enjoyable. The reader shares these views for the time being.

Of course, the reader may have his own point of view which might be different, from that of the speaker, and that may lead to divided consciousness cn the part of the reader who is caught between the speaker's view and his own view or the poet's view. So, on the one hand, the reader may feel the pressure of the speaker's view, and on the other, the pressure of some other view which can neutralize the former view. In this context, Donald S. Hair in Browning's Experiments with Genre writes, "There are, then, two voices in the dramatic monolo­

gue, the speaxer's and the poet's. Each constantly merges in the other,

so that the re.-ader is forced to rely on his own powers of sympathy

and judgement when considering the meaning of the poem". 5

2-3

In some monologues, the speaker possesses two or more than two points of view. "A Grammarian's Funeral" embodies two view points. First is the view of the disciples of the grammarian who praise the grammarian for his scholarship. Another view which is implied in the monologue is that scholars must keep contact with life, and so, the life of the grammarian is meaningless as he did not do anything in his life except studying books. "Bishop Blougram's Apology" is characterized by continuously shifting points of views. The bishop admits that he is worldly and gross. Very soon, he rejects the charge.

He asserts that it is impossible to have an imperfect faith. Then, he describes the value of an imperfect faith. There is a similar shift­

ing of perspective in "Cleon" too. In the first section, Cleon appears as a poet-philosopher. In the second section, he appears as a rationa­

list who analyses his own condition. He explains the theory of progress and at the same time, seems to realize its futility.

The speaker who speaks in the first person assumes the presence of the auditor. So, the presence of the auditor is another important feature of the dramatic monologue. There can be a listener or more than one listener. If there are more than one listener, the speaker addresses them one after another. In "Women and Roses", the speaker addresses the rose, the spirit of past women and of the present women. In "A Light Woman", the speaker addresses the reader as well as himself.

In some monologues, the speaker and the listener enjoy equal position. In "Transcendentalism: A Poem in Twelve Books", the poet who is a speaker speaks to a fellow poet. The bishop in "Bishop

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30

Blougram's Apo'ogy" argues with Gigadibs who, too, is an enlightened person. The speaker in "The Last Ride Together" speaks to his beloved, and in "Any Wife to any Husband", the woman speaks to her husband.

In some monologues, the presence of the listeners is assumed. For instance, in "Christina", the speaker is a common man who assumes the presence of the listener who is a queen. In "A Grammarian's Funeral", the presence of the listener is hardly felt as there are no speakers.

Just in the beginning of some monologues, it is made clear who the listener is. For instance, "A Toccata of Galuppi's"

begins with '0 Galuppi, Baldassaro, this is very sad to find!" While reading some monologues, the presence of the listener is felt. But the reader does not know the identity of the listener until he reach­

es the last line or the last stanza. In the last stanza of "The Labor­

atory", it is made clear that the woman is speaking to an old man who is preparing poison. That the man with whom the Duke in "My Last Duchess" is speaking is an emissary is made clear only when the Duke says:

The Count, your master's known munificence Is ample warrant that no just pretence Of mine for dowry will be disallowed;

In some monologues, the listener remains passive, and the passive nature of the listener is brought out by the speaker. In

"The Last Ride Together", the speaker points out that the listener is silent. He says, "And yet - she has not spoken so long". The silent reactions of tne listeners in some monologues are important as they

intensify the dramatic effect. The speaker's comments reveal the listener's reaction. In "Confessions", the speaker refers to the listener's "buzzing" in his ears and repeats what he says to him:

What is he buzzing in my ears?

"Now that I come to die,

"Do I view the world as a vale of tears?"

Ah, reverend sir, not I!

Structure of Browning's Monologues

Some points regarding the structure of Browning's mono­

logues may be mentioned.

The opening of several of Browning's monologues indicat­

es that Browning plunges, at once, in the middle and exposes the situa­

tion in a dramatic way. In "Fra Lippo Lippi", the speaker introduces himself, just in the beginning, saying, "I am poor brother Lippo, by your leave!" "Dis aliter Visum; or Le Byron de nos Jours" begins with "Stop, let me have the truth of that!" "My Last D..>uchess" begins with "That's my last Duchess painted on the wall / looking as if she were alive". The opening of "'Mr. Sludge, 'The Medium'reveals that the speaker is caught in the act of cheating:

Now, don't, sir! Don't expose me! Just This once!

This was the first and only time, I'll swear, - Look at me, - see, I kneel, - the only time,

I swear, I ever' cheated, - yes, by the soul

Of Her who hears -(Your sainted mother, Sir!)

3 2.

In several of Browning's monologues, the ending is dramatic. At the end of "Andrea del Sarto", the speaker refers-' to the

"Cousin's whist'e" which indicates Andrea's complete defeat. At the end of his talk, the Duke in "My Last D'uchess" draws the listener's attention to the statue of Naptune taming a sea-horse indicating thereby that he himself is like Naptune. In some monologues, a twist comes at the end. The woman in "Dis aliter Visum; or Le Byron de n®s Jours"

speaks to a mar who was her friend ten years ago. The reality of the present is brought out at the end of the monologue, when she says, "Here comes my husbard from his whist". The speaker in "Memorabilia" tells the listener that he picked up an eagle feather and put it inside the breast, and after that, he leaves his narration incomplete by saying

"Well, I forget the rest".

The ending of some monologues is in the form of conclu­

sion. In "Confessions", the speaker concludes the speech by saying 1

"How sad and oad and mad it was - / But then, how it was sweet!" In the last stanza of "Rabbi Ben Ezra", the speaker sums up what he has already said:

So, take and use Th^/ork:

Amend what flaws may lurk,

What scrain o' the stuff, what warpings past the aim!

My times be in Thy hand!

Perfect the cup as planned!

Let age approve of youth, and death complete the same!

The ending of some monologues marks the departure of the characters.

"How it Strikes a Contemporary" ends with "Let's to the Prado and make the most of time". "Fra Lippo Lippi" ends with the following lines:

33

The street's hushed, and I know my own way back, Don't fear me! There's the grey beginning.

Zooks!

Without being a regular play, the monologue too possesses the climax. The climax does not suggest a solution to the problem that might have been presented in the monologue; it is not in the form of denotement either. The climax in some of his monologues gives a twist to what is already stated by the speaker. Sludge's explanation of his discovery regarding the spiritual experiments is the climax of "Mr. Sludge, 'The Medium'". At the end of this monologue, Sludge points out that although he is a thief, a deceiver of mankind, he is not a disbeliever in spirit­

ualism. Herein lies the climax.

A commen+ or a concluding remark in the monologue constitutes the climax of it. Robert Langbaum in his article "The Dramatic Element:

Truth as Perspective" included in the book Robert Browning, states that the most effective climax in the dramatic monologue is a dramatized restatement of what has already been said. In the following lines in

"The Bishop Orders his Tomb at Saint P.raxed's Church", what has already been stated is repeated, and it constitutes the climax:

That I may watch at leisure if he leers - Old Gandolf, at me, from his onion-stone, As still he envied me, so fair she was!

The Objective and the Subjective, the Lyrical and the Narrative Cle.me.n~fs • " 5 in Browning’s Monologues

Robert Browning has made a distinction between a subjective poet

34

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and an objective poet. In his "Essay on Shelley" (1852), Robert Browning writes, "Doubtless we accept gladly the biography of an objective poet, as the phrase now goes; one whose endeavour has been to reproduce things external (whether the phenomena of the scenic universe, or the manifest­

ed action of the human heart and brain) with an immediate reference, in every case, so the common eye and apprehension of his fellow men, assumed capable of receiving and profiting by this reproduction"J

Browning as a rronolocftst attempts to be objective by throwing himself A

into the lives of others and by choosing the unfamiliar characters of different nationalities and putting them against unusual backgrounds.

In this context, Stopford Brooke writes, "The voice we hear in them is rarely the voice of Browning; nor is the mind of their personages

O

his mind, save so far as :he is their creator".

Despite the objectivity embodied in the monologues, Browning's religious, philosophical, ethical, aesthetic ideas are repre­

sented in some of his monologues. Browning expresses his own philosoph­

ical ideas through Rabbi ben Ezra who is a speaker in "Rabbi ben Ezra".

He has also expressed his belief in after-life in his monologues such as "Prospice", "Evelyn Hope". Browning's ideas regarding art have been expressed in "Fra Lippo Lippi", "Master Hugues of Saxe Gotha", "Transce­

ndentalism: A Poem in Twelve Books!". Even though the dramatic monologue is regarded as an objective form , the subjective element can be found in it. In "Guardian Angel", the speaker is Browning himself, and he addresses his wife whom he calls an angel. At the end of the monologue, he addresses .his friend, Alfred Domett. Browning's "Prospice" is auto­

in

biographical nature. It was written shortly after the death of his wife

35

in 1861. At the end of "A Light Woman'^the poet addresses himself saying^

"And, Robert Browning, you writer of plays,/ Here's a subject made to your hand!" So itis clear that the subjective elements do appear in the dramatic monologue which is considered to be an objective form.

Of course, it is not so easy to separate the personal from the imperson­

al, the subjective from the objective.

Robert Browning's conception of the lyric as a form of poetry was different from the nineteenth century conception of it.

He regarded the lyric as a form in which one finds an impersonal expre­

ssion of sent'ment. By calling his poems dramatic lyrics, Browning seems to suggest that a lyrical note is there in his poems. The monologues in which the lyrical elements predominate over other elements are "Two in the Campagna", "Life in a Love", "The Lost Mistress". Despite the dominance of the lyrical elements, these poems are not pure lyrics as they contain the dramatic elements also. Besides, they have many other characteristics of the dramatic monologue.

Browning's monglogues contain the narrative elements too. Narratior is an indispensable part of the monologue. Since Browning intended to place the character in a particular situation and trace the course of events that led to the situation, he had to resort to narration. Some of his monologues in which the presence of the narrative elements is felt are "House", "Fears and Scruples", "Fra Lippo Lippi".

However, narration does not play a central role in Browning's monolo­

gues. In some monologues, it is too thin to be identified as narration.

36^-

Images and Figures of Speech in Browning's Monologues

Browning's use of unconventional images, similies, metaphors distinguish him from other poets. In "The Last Ride Together", the speaker says that his soul straightened itself out like a folded paper. The speakers in "Holy Cross Day" say that the Jews are huddled like frogs in a sieve. In "Bishop Blougram's Apology", there is an unconventional image of black and white squares suggesting that life is made of belief and unbelief. In "Rabbi Ben Ezra", there is a metaphor of a pitcher. In this poem, human life is regarded as a pitcher, and God is imagined to be a potter who moulds the destiny of human beings.

In "Dubiety", there is a quaint metaphor of "luxury's sofa-lap of leather".

In "Andrea deal Sarto", there is a symbolic use of colour words suggesting Andrea's capitulation. In "Appearance", the difference between past and present is symbolically suggested by the difference between the "poor room" and the "rich room". In "Abt Vogler", music itself is a symbolic expression of the Absolute. In "House", the delineation of the house that collapsed in the earthquake and the people's comments are symbolic of a violation of literary perivacy.

Some monologues such as "Popularity", "Lcve in a Life"

are allegories. In "Popularity", the speaker tells about the murex,

a kind of a sea-fish from which a fine dye is obtained. He points out

that the shells are crushed, and a blue dye is obtained, and the

merchants get a large profit by selling it, while the fishermen remain

poor. What is implied here is that a poet discovers something new, for

instance, a new style of writing, but he remains unhonoured. In "Love in a Life", the speaker who is a lover speaks about his search for his wife. In fact, ooth of them reside in the same great house which signi­

fies life. The perfume, the cornice-wreath that blossomed, the looking glass indicate her movements. But the lover cannot find her. When he enters the room, she seems to have gone out of it, and he has to explore many rooms and spend the whole day in her quest. The search for his wife is the search for love which is of a delusive nature.

"he repetition of words in some monologues helps to enhance the dramatic effect. In the following stanza in "Mesmerism", some words have been repeated:

'Now - now!' - the door is heard!

Hark, the stairs! and near - Nearer - and here -

'Now!1 and at call the third She enters without a word.

Another figure of speecl^jsed in Browning's monologues is alliteration. In the following stanza in "James Lee's wife", the use of this figure is made:

Cur fig-tree, that leaned for the saltness, has furled

Her five fingers,

Each leaf like a hand opened wide to the world Where there lingers

No glint of the gold, Summer sent for her sake:

How the vines writhe in rows, each impaled on its stake!

My heart shrivels up and my spirit shrinks curled.

38

Language and Versification

A significant feature of the dramatic monologue is the use of conversational mode. A. Allen Brockington writes, "The monologue became, in some sense, a conversation..." In some monologues, Browning g employs colloqu'al words as well as sounds. In the following stanza

in "Mr. Sludge, 'The Medium1" colloquial sounds are used:

Go tell, then! Who the devil cares What such a rowdy chooses to ...

Aie - aie - aie!

Please, sir! your thumbs are through my windpipe, sir!

Ch - cn!

Browning employs unpoetic words and expressions in several of his monologues. The use of unpoetic words makes the monologue prosaic. In this connection, Stopford Brook*, writes, "He loses the poet­

ic turn of the thing of which he writes, and what he produces is not better than rhythmical prose". In the following lines in "Up at a 10 Villa - Down in the City", the words used in everyday conversation are employed:

But bless you, it's dear - it's dear! fowls, Wine,at double the rate

They have clapped a new tax upon salt, and What oil pays passing the gate

Browning employs technical terms in some monologues.

In "A Toccata of Galuppi's" he uses the technical terms such as "lesser thirds", "suspension", "solution seventh". In the following lines in

33

"Master Hugues of Saxe Gotha", the technical features of music are depicted:

Straight must Third interpose, Volunteer needlessly help;

In strikes a Fourth, a Fifth thrusts in his nose, So the cry's open, the kennel's a-yelp,

Argument's hot to the close.

The diction Browning employes suits the subject-matter of the monologue. It indicates the trait of the personality of the individual presented in it. The absence of verbs in the following lines in "Fra Lippo Lippi" indicates the speaker's passiveness:

But all the play, the insight and the stre itch - Out of me, out of me! And wherefore out; .

The half-hearted questions such as "Will it? Tenderly?" "Must you go?", "What he? Why, who but Michel Agnolo?" in "Andrea del Sarto", reveal the speaker's fear and timidity. In "Bishop Blougram's Apology", the speaker's self-confidence is reflected in the questions such as

"What say you to the poets?", "Doubt proves right?", "When, through his journey, was the fool at ease?"

The obscure diction in some of Browning's monologues can be attributed to abrupt opening, breaks in the narrative, lack of necessary connections, use of dashes, ellipses and parentheses and use of Latin, Greek, French, German terms. The obscurity emerges also because of Browning's extensive use of historical details and his use of unfamiliar names and grotesque expressions. The following stanza

4-0

•f” "Popularity" is obscure owing to the metaphorical expression that is used in it:

Hobbs hints blue, - straight he turtle eats:

Nobbs prints blue, - claret crowns his cup:

Nokes outdares stokes in azure feats, - Both gorge. Who finished the murex up?

What porridge had John Keats?

The stanza-forms, the rhyme schemes, the metrical devic­

es Browning has employed in his monologues are in keeping with the mood and the temper of the speakers. The verbal devices he employs are also in accordance with the theme of the monologue. The irregularity of metre and rime in the following stanza in "A Pretty Woman" isin keeping with the feeling of contempt expressed in it:

Why, with beauty, needs there money be, Love with liking?

Crush the fly-king

Inhis gauze, because no honey bee?

In "A Grammarian's Funeral", the short lines indicate the halting foot­

steps of the disciples who carry the coffin. The long lines in "A Toccata of Galuppi's" suit the feeling of sadness expressed in it.

Several of Browning's monologues including "Andrea del Sarto", "The Bishop Orders his Tomb at St. Praxed's Church", "Cleon"

are in blank verse. The use of blank verse suits the argumentative spirit of the monologue. In some monologues, there are five-line stanzas,

fro 11 owing is the stanza in "Two in the Campagna" in which the last line introduced seems an afterthought:

4-1

Such life here, through such length of hours, Such miracles performed in play,

Such primal naked forms of flowers, Such letting nature have her way While heaven looks from its towers!

Use of Ellipses, Parentheses, Dashes in Browning's Monologues

In several of his monologues, Browning leaves some words and puts dashes indicating that some words are left out. In some monolo­

gues, he uses ellipses which, like dashes, serve as pauses. The follow­

ing are some instances:

Ay, and he swore ... or might it be Tom Paine?

("Mr. Sludge, 'The Medium'") It is a lie - their priests, their Pope

Their Saints, their ... all they fear or hope ("Confessional")

The dashes and the ellipses in some monologues perform the -unction of communicating the sub-conscious experience. . : fol lowing are the

lines in "The Bishop Orders his Tomb at Saint Praxed's Church" in which the impression of the flow of the bishop's feelings has been recorded by using dashes:

To death - ye wish it - God, ye wish it?

Stone -

Gritstone, a - crumble! Clammy squares which Sweat

Although the technique of stream of consciousness was unknown to Browning, he seems to have used linguistic signs like dots and dashes

in order t3ipicture the semi-conscious state of man. In this context,

V

Roma A. King in her book entitled The Bow and the Lyrfc: The Art of Robert Brownirq writes, "In using linguistic signs to express symbolic­

ally an area of experience not yet rendered totally conscious, Browning points towards the stream of consciousness technique cf twentieth- century literature".^

Browning makes an apt use of parenthesis in his monolo­

gues. What is put in parenthesis creates the impression that the speak­

er is speaking to himself. The Duke in "My Last Duchess" says, "This sort of trifling? Even had you skill / In speech - (which I have not) - to make your will". In "Andrea del Sarto", the speaker says, "Yet do much less, so much less, someone says / (I know his name, no matter) - So much less!" In "A Grammarian's Funeral", the parenthesis is employ­

ed to distinguish the suggestions and remarks from the song sung by the disciples:

(Here's the town-gate reached: there's the market place Gaping before us.)

Yea, this in him was the peculiar grace (Hearten our chorus!)

The Dramatic and the Lyrical Elements in Divakar's Natyachhatas

The word "Natyachhata" literally means the shade of the drama. The Natyachhatas in which dramatic situations are presented are " " WT *iei4) SiirHsHil " ("The Suicide of an Actor") and " ^

1 t *

("France! - Army! Josephine!"). The speakers in both the Natyachhatas art on the verge of death, and they let out cries of despair and disappointment. In many other Natyachhatas, the situations

*r3

are mostly undramatic. In fact, the situation presented in the Natya- chhata is a slice of experience or a day-today occurrence What is high­

lighted is not the situation, but a reaction to it, and the reaction produces the dramatic efffect as the manner in which the speaker reacts to the situation is dramatic. In the following extract from " W

SiieHsoui " ("The Suicide of an Actor"), the speaker speaks in a drama­

tic tone:

--- $crer

to

- Tnf

itt

I w, W9T ^

tiht

tarr

lrT| 5# W ^{t( — %}

3rTT%

^TJ

TTPV wfT

ft ftZTZ

mm ^rnt ftHwre snt | wr, wpfTrpr wfff mm

t

-

ST?W ¥F1

f

I ^TrT |W I

• *

*

(My Gcd! What a huge serpent! Encircle my body with yours! Go away! Even if you drag me backwards, I won't budge now. Thrust your fangs through my head right down to my toes. Go on! Thrust your fangs! No! I won't retreat! Shout! ...)

As for the lyrical element, it is found in some Natya-

chhatas such as " far# (ijufUl Jt t — ^PT f'Ft' ? " ("What a

fine Sight it is! - But heret’). Divakar exhibits his imaginative

faculty in the choice of his subjects and also in the use of words,

expressions ard figures of speech. "

44

-ilfuETlrffc? ^3^ ("Bubbles in Water") is extremely lyrical Natyachhata.

The speaker, who is watching the bubbles of water comments on them.

He refers to a bubble which is as big as a lemon. Another bubble is described as big as a rupee or the rising sun. The speaker imagines that the bubble that stops at the corner is having a crown of diamonds on head.

/ Following extracts from Divakar's Natyachhatas are extremely lyrical:

i TfFfk wkr

shwkt

hMiq* h'lfl ^IMrUli HlfN’IVdl - - KT

-- 3Tr*T# THHKHr HR#

f TTTfH H7T HHRTKT ^RTTJH — -- — ^RH

— <?

m

-

s

|

t

I

ttr_*3

wh : ^5% % I

_•

(” fa# tjt#h ki -- m wfr ? ") ("What a fine Sight it is! But here?")

(Behold! The bud just coming out of its adole­

scence - to lean its cheeks against those of her lover's - slowly blooming up to offer herself to her lover - and he, in return, is filled with tears of love - two of them coming out!)

4-5

^ I -=m I fa fir 3# | mfa ?

• » t’ wrft TT5T3TT 3^3 fa ? t#ST I HTT TfFTOFbW ^rfT

3TFRTT fl'cT-MI'HI — Mlfevi'd RT *? — =Rft VF^ftrT WlfaRtfr,

•i+cUH JUfarUI JMMItitufl, #PT 3# HjfcPT _{«s <o 7}

I

_* ^—

•qr ferinr ter ^it fa — ^itt ft? toi® — ^rifpr 3?Ffer§

m^fTT wm HTT I&px HIM 3# WT f (W SJSlfttft T|7T fa ?l^cT ? ) ("Cry not on such an auspicious Day!")

(Oh! My lord! Look at the beautiful rainbow over there!

What did you say? The gate of the Heaven is opened!

Really! And see the rose-coloured, golden and glossy wool on the body of the sheep - reflection of the evening Sun - being led by the old shepherd - this cloud - shedding tears of joy marching towards the gate with lazy steps!)

fa l m fa

j ?r

wwr

? --

m,

*n$?rr frf#

-

fafa

it fcnr Ttjcg)cr

fa l fa fam l mnmr

sNtppt WF&HT fal *(133131 ST^FT fam *T | — m TTTf3T 3T

3 3* *3fC?T 7F£ j ( %? #

*

'♦l°ini ? *) ("Which, then, is that Lamp?")

(Dear! Oh dear!! Are you coming quickly! This lamp is oozing black carbon everywhere! Oh Lamp! You may shower black carbon everywhere but not on my Shakespeare and Browning - not even a particle!!)

fo# -pr ijcpnf ip f ^I

^wt

^{, ^} inftw ant |

t to! tit SIF^RTTrT ft t^TW 2# I cUMT---fG?T

Tmm

WFT#ffT TJIf* 3TFR STMT 3# | f" ") ( "The large Serpent")

(What a beautiful rose! It is dancing joyously! Behold!

The lonely cloud is loitering in the sky enjoying the happy child-like pranks of this rose!)

Speakers and Listeners in Divakar's Natyachhatas

Like the speaker in the dramatic monologue, the speaker in the Natyachhata is a person other than the writer. Divakar as a writ­

er does not appear in any of his Natyachhatas. The speakers he chooses are ordinary men and women. None of them is a person of any distinc­

tion. The speakers who are from different walks of life represent different professions. Of course, Divakar is not interested in present­

ing them as persons representing varied professions. His interest lies in disclosing their whims or oddities.

It is also not Divakar's intention to portray characters.

What he wants to project is a trait of human mind. So, every speaker

in his Natyacnhatas is a symbol of a particular human tendency. He introduces non-human creatures like a serpent, a cat and inanimate objects like a kite or an orange as symbols.

Some speakers in Divakar's Natyachhatas symbolize hypo­

crisy. These speakers attempt to show that they are kind and generous.

Actually, they are selfish, greedy and mean-minded. The speaker in

" tfHHKI I wf iTisjurcf WTR II " ("He is just Seventy five!) speaks sympathetically about his cousin. His hypocrisy is understood, when he asks the listener whether it will be difficult for him to take possession of her estate. The speaker in " i TPTRWT I "

("Am I to tell you that?") pretends to be an impartial examiner, but his hypocrisy is revealed, when he says, " TTfT ^lt • "

("Slip on to me his exam. No, anyway!"). In "3^ %r*rffrRFT *Plt?T J-TFTW ("This is the Way of the World!"), the speaker who is a poet speaks to another poet admiring his poem in an exaggerated manner. He justifies his hypocrisy saying that we are bound to praise one another concealing our real views.

Most of the speakers in Divakar's Natyachhatas are talk­

ative people. The caretaker in " 3i#r, 3M *ii£l I " (“No Customer turned up today!") tells Kondabai that as soon as customers turn up, he w'll offer her the work of carrying firewood to the funeral ground. He also assures another listener, the money-lender that he would return his money by the next day. The potter in " ^ 't’TTT'SRr 1 31$

Tsui ? "("Why these Tears, 0 Potter?") talks freely and frankly about the tragic everts that have taken place in his life. The speaker in

" F*i<SM — ? " ("In this, at least-3") narrates the sorrowful

tB

events in detail.

The speaker in the Natyachhata has a specific approach which may be contrary to the reader's approach. In other words, the reader's view-point may conflict with the speaker's view-point, and like the reader of the dramatic monologue^ the reader of the Natyachhata might experience divided consciousness just for a moment. The speaker in " 3^

sttm

JTF1TT ^Tlft I " ("This is the Way of the World!") justifies flattery expressing his view that if/)ne does not flatter others one may create enemies. This is the speaker's view- point , and a sensible reder knows that flattery is not in good taste.

After having experienced divided consciousness for a moment, the reader rejects the speaker's view-point and turns to his own In some Natya- chhatas, the speaker's point of view agrees with the reader's point of view . The speaker in " W -R# J " ("For whose Death, Pity and Tears aretjot evoked!") expresses sorrow over the death of a widow who was a girl of sixteen . The speaker's sympathetic approach

is in agreement with the reader's sympathetic approach to the widow.

The listeners in Divakar*sNatyachhatas are indistinct figures. They do not have their own identity or individuality ^ The woman in " nis^ir! " ("Mrs. Cuckoo Sweei tongue ) scolds her own children who arc j1;st mute listeners . The mother in " UT# Hl£)

("Chingi is just a Month Old!") seems to be addressing the infant.

In " qsVjefcNfr " ("Wordsworth's Butterfly"'), the speaker talks to himself and also to a bug. The widow in "3TOTT^r ^

? ("Cry not on such an auspicious Day!") speaks to herself and

also addresses her husband who is dead.

In some Natyachhatas, the listeners are more than one, and the speaker addresses them one after another. The speaker in "

flglW

##

3Tlf

) " ("It is helpful in a way!") addresses his servant, and after that, he speaks to his acquaintance and in the midst of his talk, he gives orders to his servants. In " Trafae ifrrr ft l".

("This is my Direct Method!"), the speaker addresses his son rebuking him for his ooo.r performance in the examination, and after that, he addresses his acquaintance . In '

^"

^ " ("The Shop

a

of Sweetmeat Seller"), the stall-owner addresses his children and the

A

customer by turns.

S.K. Kanetkar, a noted Marathi poet, in his book entitl­

ed iH'Rfl' HldAUsdl (Marathi Natyachhata) points out that the speaker and the listener in Divakar's Natyachhatas are complementary to each other, and the relation between the speaker's speech and the listener's reaction to it is like the relation between the rays and their reflect- ion. In some Natyachhatas,the listener reacts to the speaker's speech

12

and prompts the speaker to express his views regarding certain matters.

The listener makes remarks or comments and puts questions to the speaker.

What is said by the listener is repeated by the speaker. Sometimes, the speaker just hints at what might have been spoken by the listener.

Most of the speakers make use of the expression " ?" ("What did you say?") The following are some instances of this technique:

i, wm ikd^d 1 arararar MN*wdl

uk

^-41 fa#

Tufa# sntrT ? (" w rerarcfa "J

("The Shop of a Sweetmeat Seller")

so

(What can I do for you, sir? You want figure candies?)

•---- wr nsrhr ? mm 41kdMi w

3

# ?

--- ( " WIT 3U%rTj" J

("Moths are flitting round the Lamp!") (What? You are fed up with your life?)

--- cff? wzm ih^K-fiwr %rrat *pp

gift in^qwr YWfT TRIRRTT ? (" 3T#T, 3W 3# ^Tfr 1'[)

("No Customer turned up today!")

(What? Are you angry with me, because you weren't called to carry firewood, yesterday?)

Structure of Divakar's Natyachhata

What is recorded in Divakar's Natyachhata is not a \ complete action. So,, the Natyachhata has no formal opening or ending.

It opens at a point which may not be the starting point, and it ends at a point which may not be an end of the event recorded in it.

71,0 nr.ern,',g of ccmc ^otyac.hhatas rove-is rh: s' i\/ ;t —s I ■. c-psns at a point ...hi'* 1- m:>y r'.:. .,c l:bc si-. J;-;q p.,-,',1. and i!. c.vjs

r. - point '.'hT;ch r,.-iy net be an end of the even* r::ended m 't.

The opening of some Natyachhatas reveals the situations presented in them. The caretaker who is a speaker in " sir k-wrkR 371# |" ("No Customer turned up today!") complains, just in the beginning, that he has no money even to buy wine. The cricketer in

"

w

I

"("Anything except my Bat!' ") complains that the

S 1

umpire has given a wrong decision. The student in " TH4H - ? "

("In this, at least?") requests that he should be allowed to appear for theexaninacion.

Some Natyachhatas begin vf?ith casual remarks made by the speakers and these remarks throw light on the situations presented in them. " " ("Psychologically") begins- with " •••• ,

^ ^TTF I — Sit, 211# *FFT 2PTPT%* t ? ---IT wtRT, MHItZII #T T~^7T 2#r fewlrfl Ml-'7

(Wai+j First of all, have you heard what you have to fetch? Right, three pans and one cigarette packet -"). The opening of this Natyachhata reveals that the speaker is in a mood of enjoying the holiday. The speaker in ^*' ip 2nt TTWl- " fit’s all Humbug!") says, just in the beginning, that he spent a lot of time in arguing over certain things.

The beginning indicates that he is in a mood of arguing with others.

In some Natyachhatas, a dramatic turn is given at the end. In " ## iprar 2?# | " ("The accursed Boy!"), the speaker speaks about a man who is a gambler, a drunkard and an opium-eater. At the end of his speech, the speaker calls that man’s unborn child as inauspi­

cious child and asserts that the child must have brought about its father's death. A sudden change in the speaker's attitude towards the drunkard is revealed at the end of the Natyachhata. The ending of " /

Tfarf ■*#?"( "What? Answerbooks stolen away?") is equally dramatic.

The teacher i^rnade aware of the fact that it was a dream in which he found the answerbooks miss'ng.

The climax in some Natyachhatas comes towards the end.

In " FPlfrfcr 2n# " ("The Souls in Heaven"), the climax occurs when

51

the speaker says, "

m

3TN#et ^FT, 3WTT fad I TTfa Rff 3RHTT farl ••"("Leave us alone! Even Gods go there, when they feel bored! What are incarnations otherwise?"). The callousness of the speak­

er in " w qiypgre ## ant J " ("It is helpful in a way!") reaches the highest point, when the speaker justifies his marriage with a small girl. In

" #r*>T M dw ^r£t‘ | "

("For whose Death, Pity and Tears are not evoked?"), the climax occurs, when the speaker makes a startling revelation saying that even the girl's mother must have been relieved by the death of her own daughter.

Sometimes, the climax is in the form of a restatement or a concluding remark. The following are some instances:

---- 3#r -pT # TF#---- --- ip Silt I--- ( " Silt TRI— ")

("It is all Humbug!")

(Heaven, Hell, even your talk of rebirth are all humbug! ')

zjt mh*jii3 fafafaft pit, fant ant I aipfafa I (" fasqijftfat wn" 4srt sntrT I ") ("The Moths are flitting round the Lamp")

(The life of these moths is filled with love and happiness whereas ours ...)

Language, Style and Figures of Speech

To Divakar, the content of the Natyachhata is of utmost importance. Yet, he pays adequate attention to the language. The expressions he employs in his Natyachhatas are relevant to the profess­

ion and the temperament of the speakers. The students who appear as speakers in his Natyachhatas speak like students using expressions which must have been fashionable in their world. The student in "

S3

" ("Not without Invitation!") says, 11 — m trFRT cTW ^ I HK-dMI ^TT WT 5lt ... Tlff^TrFT WrTTRR 3TT TfFR" 1%TT 3TI%, TfT WT tfKRT ift IFFT 3!M4lftl=IW --- "

("I bluntly refuse to come! If a teacher is so proud, if he is so adamant,I will never go - never without being invited!"). In some Natye*

chhatas, what is conveyed through speeches is more important than the language used in them. The potter in " SfiV I W T^rtf ? ("Why these Tears, 0 Potter?") and the caretaker in " snfr.iSPf

311# (No Customer turned up today!"), speak like the educated people. Referring to - M 3Ttr fJTTTWl 3ft Wt wt JWW ? " ("Why these Tears, C Potter?") Vi jay Tendulkar, a noted Marathi writer points out that if Divakar had given undue importance to the language of the speaker, the language would have overshadowed the content of the Natya- chhata.^

The speeches of women exemplify Divakar's skill in lend­

ing a realistic touch to his writing. The following is the extract from

" ’Nnfr iSIfI) dill T^Nr ? " ("Chingi is just a Month Old!") in which Divakar employs the exact words usually spoken by a mother, while consoling her child:

---WT <TT I TcTOTcRT W$! ^ 3TTOHT J iffST foTW 3TT%- M| — WT, WT / ^IrT 3# WT BRfT i W TIT ^RT TnfZmft # 3TRTT Tt WMI --- 3FT j ••• fiT^FT) ^RTT TTTT# 3nt, SF[ cf 3TO=fr --- ^TFT ••• ^TFT,

Ttmfr ...

(- Well, well. Don't be elated sdearly! Just showing off! See, how angry she is! You little brat, if you avoid talking with me, I will squeeze your cheek - like this - Eh! What's this? Iam talking so pleasantly, and you ... 0 hush ... hush my girl!)

Colloquialism is a significant feature of Divakar's Natyachhatas. In the following sentences, colloquial expressions are used:

ifeFnr fti#r ■pwrc# ^

uprarar«fl tar

uftht

I (" ft# ^rft (")

("You should not abuse Others!")

(These little scoundrels! As soon as they are hardly born, they sta^t swearing at others like elders!)

IT: 4# ^NfTT| (" 3fft ^THlrT JTFTrT / ")

("This is the Way of the World!") (What a nice poem!)

The occasional use of Hindi and English words lends a colloquial touch to Divakar's writing. The following are some instanc­

es:

s ft? nrqft taranj 3# I ' (" •-

m ife

(-- -Anything except my Bat!")i

(The bat is my darling!)

W f # \ j(" wm W ^rfteTT ft# ? ")

("What? Answerbooks stolen awayt) (Today, I am an Emperor!)

• • • 3#

("Wordsworth1s Butterfly")

ss

(01 Splendid! Beautiful!)

m TgK

— sffcT sffer ap- sntl —(" wi# g'wk ttrr fri")

("This is my Direct Method!")

(Everything is nonsense - useless!)

The fluctuation in the tone of the speaker is revealed by using appropriate w,!ords and expressions. In the beginning of "

("The large Serpent"), the speaker who is angry says, 11 ^FT t g ? w gr ft I*"

("Who are you? Get gone!"). At the end of the speech, the same speaker says softly, " 4t sfffrers TPfc 3Tlf

WTT,

— WT

wr w$t m ifr ? • • • "

("Basically, redoubt, I am hot-headed. But if someone caresses me, how can I be angry with him?"). The owner of the sweetmeat stall in " W jrrT«ir-

"The Shop of a Sweetmeat Seller") speaks softl^nd coaxingly t^he customers!. At the same time, he curses his children. The fluctua­

tion in his tone is indicated by using apt w~:ords and expressions:

tp

=

r

T

i

^ , in# TO'ir 3# ifir a# I artisrr I wiw w » • • «

3

# wrf ait w#, im wrrat # -=nft ? wr m g#w wirpr

gifT

^ttwiftt

ingg ^ ?

(So sweet is my job! But ah! What bother! You brats!

Be quiet or I fry, burn you in the furnace!)

The repetition of certain words in some Natyachhatas intensifies the dramatic effect. The following are some instances:

f " TFRTl -- fptrl

("France! - Army! Josephine!")

T*RTj tFRT

f

---- tRT/--- HT# ^RT I---

SG

(France! France! - Army! - My Army! -)

iff

ai<&m #ftt# 9#

im

J irtt

I ^

tft

fm l(" ## ")

("The /-otten Orange")

(Those oranges sitting majestically (in the stall) in the market are laughing at me‘/Laugh ... laugh to your heart's content!)

Occasionally Divakar employs onomatopoeic words. Some sentences in wnich these wor:ds are used are as follows:

---trr JMMM1I WIHT 93: 1TW 319 # SPiff 93753

ipp w] C" Tfimrf ")

("The large Serpent")

(- And if you touch this rose again, I will bite you forcefully!)

3T# 93931 ‘37TT 31T3 fcPPi* 3# c!39£ 9FT 993

9^RT j (" SIFT? I #[£ 3# ## ? ")

("Joy! Is it here?")

(Don't gnash your teeth hard and don't let the oily dirt spread everywhere!)

The image of the Sun symbolizing hope and vitality recurs in many of Divaka^s Natyachhatas The following are some instances:

---'t’lsl ef»^cfeNl 9P9 3i|nN IjtT ITRiT 3WTT, 9 9m T3T9OTT 1PF9T3 TffrRT^ 3!9#t TBTff 9T3F9 3PT# 915#

fat*9Rrs#' 919 99 9^3 ## 3#rT ? { " fo# T9%1 $919T fljW TOfr ?") ("What a fine Sight it is! But here?")

(- Sorre of the lotuses have just finished their poetry!

Some of them, after storing the sunlight for the whole of the day in their hearts, are engrossed in writing their poetry!)

---- JTHT 'tflST 'tawi #Ffr wfr ^cHOT ur

fi

L" 3TR? *£[£ 3# ? ")

("Joy! Is it here?")

(- 0 2lease! Somebody give me a Sunbeam for a ride and fun!)

W TJdfar -- TFT ^ dl Hi I 3TI3FRTRT —- SRlTcT---- WT

t fRTNt aiftrf % | (" *Rf/ -- ^RT 1 I'1)

("France! - Army! Josephine!")

( - Shattered one of the Suns - but ye madmen! Look, there are millions of Suns shining in the sky!)

" " ("The large Serpent")y " ("The rotten Orange"), " W^fT " ("The torn kite")," HT - j°

("Mew! Mew! Mew!") are not allegories in the true sense of the term.

In these Natyachhatas. the relationships of people, places, actions do not exactly correspond to the figurative relationships of the things symbolized . The speakers in them can be regarded as symbols of suffer­

ings and woes of human beings. In " HT4H^ TT? " ("The rotten Grange

^")}

grief of a man neglected by all is symbolically expressed. The torn

kite in " M<i«l " ("The torn kite") symbolizes a dreamer whose

dream gets shattered to pieces owing to the pulls and pressures of the

circumstances.

£8

Use of Dots, Dashes, Marks of Exclamation and Interrogation in Divakar's Natyachhatas

The dash in the Natyachhata emphasizes the word that precedes or follows it. In " " ("Psychologically"), the speaker says, " «rr* • Wtft IPT ? - ^nr* •frI("0.K. What more? more? Nothing! i).

Here, the dash, the dots, the marks of exclamation and interrogation are suggestive of the speaker's cautious way of trying to understand what the other has in mind.

Divakar's Natyachhatas abound in exclamatory sentences. In the following sentences, double marks of exclamation are used, and they help to enhance the dramatic effect:

wl fr ^rrl ^ wl sirfHsnfl ...

(" rTT- U> ")

("Dated 7th November")

(0! No! Don't^i/ire (on him) 0!

Mummy!, Mummy!, Mummy!!)

rH+M *PTMT - - - 3TFT1 3TRT

fTT*FT j |--- (" ■sroM ")

("The rotten Orange")

(Soon, the world will be on fire - fire of freedom of love!)

The interrogatory sentences in Divakar's Natyachhata create the illusion that the speaker is talking to somebody. The following

are some instants: '

t i ?(" ")

("The large Serpent") (Who are you?)

3T it , 3i% inr # ^R#r ? %rr ?pt fat

Wit 5Tt t ? --- (" W iSf^wfa ") ("The shop of a Sweetmeat Seller")

(Why sir, why are you quiet? Tell me quickly how many picturs have you decided to buy?)

--- 3iidid ? 3TF5f Hq'fi tt %t ?

("Mrs. Cuckoo Sweet-tongue") - (You came too early today?)

A rhetorical way of stating views enhances the dramatic effect. The following are some instants:

tt ? sflfar "gift wr 31% ti% frppr fat mm ? ( "

hh

^%* tt ")

("The rotten Orange")

(You call me unfortunate? Why? Do you think yourself to be very fortunate?)

t fanfant f^r ttt

3

# -^r ? 3mtT t ^prairt

3# t ? — (" faoiipfatl #T 3#W f)

("Moths are flitting round the Lamp!")

(That light house immersed in ^flames? - Can you see the lighthouse that looks like a timble?)

Comparison between Browning's "Before-After" and Divakar's

" ¥W — TT3 ('"Pant died - Rao climbed one up in the Scale")

A detailed examination of Browning's "Before-After"

and Divakar's " ^ -- TP " ("Pant died - Rao climbed one up in the Scale") can be undertaken with a view to studying the technique of the dramatic monologue and the Natyachhata.

In "Before", the speaker is a second for one of the duellists. He insists on fighting a duel. He is sure that the duel alone will settle their dispute. He argues that it is not possible to know who the offender is and who the injured is. According to the speaker, it is better for the offender to sin with courage than be a coward

feeling

having guilty^in Iris mind. The speaker suggests that the offender should accept the challenge of fighting a duel and should not have the feeling of guilt. Referring to the man who is offended, the speaker says that he must risk everything irrespective of whether he wins or loses. He also suggests that he should not indulge in making calculations rgarding

A

his chances of victory or defeat, and instead of resorting to the legal and technical terms, he should risk a fight. The speaker points out that the Christian principle of forgiveness is not applicable to the duel. He is sure that his friend will resist the wrong before he forgiv­

es him. The soeaker asserts that his friend will not allow evil to triumph as long as he is alive. At the end of "Before", the speaker announces:

Once more - Will the wronger, at this last of all.

Dare to say, "I did wrong", rising in his fall?

No? - Let go, then! Both the fighters to their places!

While I count three, step you back as many paces!

"After" which is a companion poem has to be regarded as the second part of the monologue. In "After", the speaker is a victor who has killed his rival in a duel and who is standing before his dead body. Instead of boasting about his\|/ictory, he speaks grimly about death.

He realizes tiat death is such a grim reality that it has nothing to do with wrong or vengeance. He perceives that everything comes to an end with death. Thus, he seems to have repented his fight with the rival.

He says:

Ha, what avails death to erase His offence, my disgrace?

I'would we were boys as of old In the field, by^fold:

His outrage, God's patience, man's scorn Were so easily borne!

" M — 7R ^ " ("Pant died - Rao climbed one up in the Scale") is Divakar's Natyachhata which is divided into two parts. It deals with the effect of death of the person on two different

4

families. In the first part, the speech of a small boy reveals the sufferings caused by the untimely death of his father. The small boy who is going out with the intention of bringing food from the people who might be charitable to him, consoles sister saying that he will come early. Replying to her innocent questions, he says that their father is living in God's House. Then, the boy addresses his mother who, too, starts crying. Ironically, he consoles her own mother saying

Cl

that she should not mind his going out to bring food.

In the second part of " TTH - TT3 " (,fPant died - Rao climbed one up in the Scale"), the speaker is Rao who is promoted to Pant's post after Pant's death. His speech reveals that he is in a happy mood. He offers sweetmeats to his family members and celebrates the occasion. He calls himself a lucky man as he has got promotion. He remarks casually that Pant died and he got his promotion.

He says that God has blessed him and hopes that his future would be happy.

following are the points of similarity and differen­

ce between Browning's "Before-After" and Divakar's " ^ ^ - TR ("Pant died - Rao climbed one up in the Scale").

1) In "Before-After", there is a marked contrast between the first speaker's approach and the second speaker's approach to the duel. The first speaker justifies the duel whereas the second speaker seems to have realized its futility. In Divakar's ^ - TT3 " ("Pant died - Rao climbed one up in the Scale"), there is a contrast between the family members who face hardships and the family members who rejoice. Ironically, the death of a person is the cause of joy in one family and the cause of sorrow in another family. What is highlighted in Divakar's Natyachhata is the irony of life.

2) The speaker in "Before" resorts to philosophy in support

of his argument. The speaker in "After" seems to have

realized the truth which is stated by him very sincerely. The speakers

in " iffT — m ^ " ("Pant died - Rao climbed one up

in the Scale") have nothing to prove, justify or support. They say what they feel.

3) The speaker in "Before" speaks metaphorically. He employs the metaphor of garden and "leopard-dog thing". Divakar does not employ any figures of speechv in " ^ — TR " ("Pant died - Rao cVmbed one up in the Scale").

4) The marks of interrogation and exclamation in "Before"

indicate the aggressive mood of the speaker:

All or nothing, stake it! Trusts he God or no?

Thus far and no further? further? be it so!

The marks of ''nterrogation and exclamation in the first part of " ^TW ^

— TM " ("Pant died - Rao climbed one up in the Scale") reveal the pathetic plight of the speaker:

art

sfpt

? #3" w j 1iWt, I

TTcfa WT ?

(What nonsense! Leave me alone!

You are acting like a madman! You weeping?)

5) Pathos is a prominent Rasa in the first part of " ^ ^ T-- TR " ("Pant died - Rao climbed one up in the Scale"). The most

significant feature of "Before-After" is the intellectual analysis of the situation.

REFERENCES

1

Stopford A. Brooke, The Poetry of Robert Browning, (London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd., 1902), p. 353.

C4-

2

A. Allen Brockington, Browning and The Twentieth Century, (London:

Oxford University Press, 1932), p. 122.

3

Stopford A-Brooke, Op. cit., p. 346.

4

Barnett, "Browning's Jews and Shakespeare's Jew", Browning Studi­

es ed. Edward Berdoe, (London: George Allen, Charing Cross Road, 1895), p. 266.

5

Donald S. Hair, Browning's Experiments with Genre, (Toronto:

Universit^f Toronto, 1972), p.104.

6

'Robert Langbaum, "The Dramatic Element: Truth as Perspective"

Robert Browning ed. Philip Drew , (London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1966), p. 149.

7

Robert Browning, "Essays on Shelley" quoted by Kenneth Allott in Browning ed. Kenneth Allott, (London: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 191.

8

Stopford A. Brooke, Supra, p.281-82.

9

A. Allen Brockington, Supra, p. 134.

10

Stopford A. Brooke, Supra, p. 45.

11

Roma A. King, The Bow and the Lyre: The Art of Robert Browning, (U.S.A.: Ann Arbor Paperbacks, The University of Michigan Press, 1964), p .66.

12

S.K. Kanetkar, Marathi Natyachhata, 1st ed. (Pune: M.S. Kanetkar, 1937), p. 7.

13

Vijay Tendulkar, ed. Divakaranchya Natyachhata, 5th ed. (Pune:

Continental Publication, 1968), p.17.

oOo