Silent, like the neck of a camel: The metaphysical conceits of Jibananda Das's poetry

The poet's use of unusual description is more than just imaginative instances of metaphor

The beauty of poetry is the scope it offers for the imagination. The unthinkable becomes alive through words, and the unimaginable animates in front of our mind's eye. One device to achieve this is the metaphysical conceit, one of poetry's most intriguing literary devices.

As TS Eliot puts it, the term means "the elaboration of a figure of speech to the farthest stage to which ingenuity can carry it". In more straightforward phrasing, a metaphysical conceit compares two seemingly unrelated subjects. For example, Andrew Marvel's comparison of love with vegetables. In "To His Coy Mistress", Marvel writes,

"My vegetable love should grow

Vaster than empires, and more slow."

In plainer prose, these strange and unusual comparisons sound odd. But they have specific literary significance. Metaphysical conceit uses far-fetched comparisons to manifest a unique idea. Here, Marvel uses the metaphor of vegetables to express how love can grow. He suggests that, with time and care, love, too, will blossom.

This device was quite popular with a group of poets from the 17th century called the metaphysical poets. They each used unique similes and metaphors to try and convey more profound ideas. Members of this group included John Donne, George Herbert, and Richard Crawshaw, who pursued rich connotations of comparison in their works.

Though these poets' works are well known in literary circles and widely recognised, the common use of metaphysical conceits in Bengali poetry is often overlooked.

The works of Lalon, for example, have drawn some attention for their use of the device. As one of Lalon's more popular songs says,

"How does the strange bird

Flit in and out of the cage?"

The imagery connects the human soul to a strange bird and the body to a cage. Not the most experimental of metaphors, perhaps, but this sensibility is regularly present in Bengali poetry.

However, the most vital use of the device is its fluent use in the poems of Jibanananda Das. In contrast to the often harsh juxtapositions of Western poetry, Das's words make even the starkest conceits sound natural. His gift for poetic turns of phrase camouflages his arresting comparisons. Take the following lines:

"When, like those dead deer, the love in my heart

Lay blended with blood and dust"

In their original Bangla, the lines have such a strong flow and diction, the disparity in subject between a dead deer and lost love goes unnoticed. It is this spontaneity that makes his verse a pleasure to read. Marvel's use of such conceit, in contrast, sounds more mechanical. The reader must stop and ponder the connection between love and vegetables to get its full meaning and emotion. In Das's poem, it comes naturally.

However, the metaphysical conceit is not just the juxtaposition of two unrelated objects for the sake of an unconventional metaphor. Metaphysical conceit also highlight a central concept or theme of the poem.

Consider "One Day, Eight Years Ago", one of Das's most popular poems. The 21st line reads:

"Silent, like the neck of a camel".

The simile is quite unusual, which clues us into its symbolic nature. The meaning of the phrase compliments the thematic idea of the poem. The popular opinion argues, as Sumita Chakraborty explains in Kabitar Antaranga Path, that the camel's neck represents the desolation of the desert. The desolation fits the theme of the poem – the silence of the dead.

Another example comes in "Banalata Sen". In the poem, Das writes:

"And raised her eyes, like a bird's nest—Banalata Sen from Natore."

The line resonates with those from Shakespeare's famous Sonnet 130: "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun", which uses the same device. The popular interpretations of the poem agree Das intends the bird's nest to reference home. Just as a bird's nest might give a tired fowl a place to rest, so do Banalata Sen's eyes grant the protagonist a place of belonging, safety, and comfort. Though indirect, the odd comparison illuminates the message of the poem.

These poems have been talked about and analysed for decades, but few categorise these turns of phrase as clear and beautiful examples of the metaphysical conceit. They think of them as similes, metaphors, or simply illustrative images. But there is more to them. The surrealistic touch of the words, the way they tie together seemingly unrelated concepts, and their thematic consistency deserve recognition for the brilliant use of the metaphysical conceits they are.

At times, literary criticism can feel like an autopsy. As if, by deconstructing literature to its essential elements, we lose some of the magic. But I hope that highlighting a few examples of Das's genius with the metaphysical conceit – which he used in hundreds of other cases to magnificent effect – will, instead, intensify the splendour of his poems. Keeping the idea in mind will allow us to engage even further with their startling and striking beauty.

This article is part of Stripe, bdnews24.com's special publication focusing on culture and society from a youth perspective.