Appreciation of the poem – The Sower

Appreciation of the poem – The Sower

The poem “The Sower” is a translated poem from French into English language. It is translated by Toru Dutt who is one of the founding figures of Indo-Anglian literature. She was a literary genius who blended three literary traditions – Indian, English and French. The original poet of these French poem is Victor Hugo. The title of the poem represents the central character of the poem, the Sower.

The poem is about the poet’s observation of the sower; his dedication, determination and selfless hard-work. The poet observes the painstaking dedication of the sower and has a deep feeling of reverence for him. The central idea of the poem revolves around all these actions of this sower.

The theme of the poem is dedication, perseverance and commitment and the poet’s admiration of the sower’s actions as Noble and selfless.

The poetic devices used in this poem are Alliteration, Antithesis, Personification etc. ‘Shadows run across the lands’ – in this line, The Shadows are given the animate quality of running.

This is a narrative poem. The special features of this poem are imagery and symbolism. Descriptive imagery is used in this poem. ‘Marches, he along the plane’ –  in this line the word ‘marches’ indicates movement and thus creates a visual image in the minds of the readers. The rhyme scheme of the poem is  abab.

The message of this poem is that we all should work selflessly with a positive attitude in life. The tone of the poem is full of optimism and is fresh and appealing.

I like the poem for its positive tone and vivid, pictorial imagery. The poem subtly highlights the value of commitment, determination, optimism and selflessness.

******