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  1. It is the assertion of one’s identity. The poem depicts the identity which the society gives to a person specially a woman. Here, Kamala Das discards everything which is given to her. She expresses the contradictions of a human life. Experiencing everything which the life has to offer, the speaker hRead more

    It is the assertion of one’s identity. The poem depicts the identity which the society gives to a person specially a woman. Here, Kamala Das discards everything which is given to her. She expresses the contradictions of a human life.

    Experiencing everything which the life has to offer, the speaker here finally declares that she doesn’t care what others perceive of her or want of her. She knows her contradictions as a sign of human. She identifies herself with everyone and yet says that she is who she is. She calls herself what she is.

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  1. Symbolism is the practice of investing things with symbolic meaning. Crows and Lions – It symbolises the different aspects of using a language. One may simply use it to chat or to roar for causes. Hungry haste of rivers- It symbolises the desire of a woman. Ocean’s tireless waiting – It symbolises tRead more

    Symbolism is the practice of investing things with symbolic meaning.

    1. Crows and Lions – It symbolises the different aspects of using a language. One may simply use it to chat or to roar for causes.
    2. Hungry haste of rivers– It symbolises the desire of a woman.
    3. Ocean’s tireless waiting – It symbolises the endlessness of a woman’s longing for love.

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  1. The major themes in the poetry of Kamala Das comes from her life which she lived as boldly as possible. She is a confessional poet which means her themes come from her private history. Love of a woman – Most of her poems show her disappointment which is common to all women regarding love. Her poetryRead more

    The major themes in the poetry of Kamala Das comes from her life which she lived as boldly as possible. She is a confessional poet which means her themes come from her private history.

    1. Love of a woman – Most of her poems show her disappointment which is common to all women regarding love. Her poetry expresses her longing as a woman which remains unfulfilled.
    2. Marriage – The poetry of Kamala Das deals with the subtle nuances and the major aspects of marriage. In a patriarchal society, women are the ones who suffer more in a marriage if it is one without love and respect. Her poems show the ranges of feelings one goes through in marriage.
    3. Womanliness – It is a major theme of Kamala Das as she celebrates her womanliness through poetry vividly. She depicts a crucial self-knowledge of a woman in all shades. Spirituality – Her poetry also deals with the spiritual concerns of an individual. Towards the end of her life, she converted to Islam which shows her constant search in spiritual domain. In her poems, Radha and Krishna also feature many times to symbolise her own aspirations.
    4. Social Issues – As a poet from Kerala, she was intensely aware of the social issues and the political mobilisation which resulted from them. She is quite sentimental about it. Many of her poems show her observations of poor and downtrodden and the ones who come from margin.

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  1. It is autobiographical. It is based on Kamala Das’s own life. The title itself says that she is introducing herself. Read summary of this poem

    It is autobiographical. It is based on Kamala Das’s own life. The title itself says that she is introducing herself.

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  1. The theme of the poem is one’s search for identity. First the thematic concerns begin from the speaker searching for political space and defining postcolonial crisis in India regarding language. Then the poem’s theme proceeds into the despair one faces as a woman since childhood, the role which sheRead more

    The theme of the poem is one’s search for identity. First the thematic concerns begin from the speaker searching for political space and defining postcolonial crisis in India regarding language.

    Then the poem’s theme proceeds into the despair one faces as a woman since childhood, the role which she is dictated by the society to play. The longing and loss of love is also a theme in the poem. It ends with the assertion of individual identity.

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