TU || Flax Golden Tales || Foul Levels of Interpretation Lesson 29

Level: B.A/ B.B.S || Lesson 29 Gaia (Shreedhar Lohani, Nepal 1944)

Words Meaning

Gaia = the Greek goddess of earth

Endures = bear

Searing = very hot

Withered = became dry

Devour = to eat greedy

Cavernous = very large

Crooked = dishonest

Gaunt = very weak

Mildew = very small fungus

Turbulence = disturbance

Cavernous = big

Summary

This poem ‘Gaia’ was composed by Nepali poet Shreedhar Lohani. The poet presents that the wind is very hot. The palm trees are withered. The rainfall isn’t good and systematic. It is destroying the earth surface too. The sea isn’t calm. The mountain peaks are not honest. Time isn’t favorable either. There is bad smell everywhere on the earth surface. That bad smell covers the whole place. Noise can be heard everywhere and hunger is spread all over the earth. But the Goddess of the earth – Gaia endures these unpleasant things peacefully. Though these destructive activities are causing damage to the earth.

Four Levels of Interpretation

1. Literal Comprehension

This poem ‘Gaia’ was composed by Nepali poet Shreedhar Lohani. The poet presents that the wind is very hot. The palm trees are withered. The rainfall isn’t good and systematic. It is destroying the earth surface too. The sea isn’t calm. The mountain peaks are not honest. Time isn’t favorable either. There is bad smell everywhere on the earth surface. That bad smell covers the whole place. Noise can be heard everywhere and hunger is spread all over the earth. But the Goddess of the earth – Gaia endures these unpleasant things peacefully. Though these destructive activities are causing damage to the earth.

2. Interpretation

The poet tries to show the enduring power of the earth. Though there are many disturbances in the earth, the earth never makes any reaction against our destructive activities but if these activities cross the limit and became unbearable, Gaia will react and there will be the end of the human civilization.

3. Critical Thinking

The poet has used many symbols and the poem has mythological reference as Gaia is the Greek Goddess. There is use of dashes. The words used in the poem are a bit complex. But it is difficult to agree with the poet when he talks about the Greek God Gaia. We don’t know whether Gaia bears the disturbance that human beings cause on the earth surface or not.

4. Assimilation

This poem made me alert about our industrial activities. People are destroying as well as making earth surface naked by their industrial activities. To some extent the earth will bear this but in long run if human beings keep on destroying natural resources, they will invite their own doom’s day and human civilization will end. Se, we human beings shouldn’t ruin the earth surface.

Possible questions

1. Write the gist of the poem ‘Gaia’.
2. Lohani says the smell mildew of shrouds the house. Which house might he have in mind here? Is it a real house or a metaphor for something else?

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