English First Additional Language



DecompositionI have a picture I took in Bombayof a beggar asleep on the pavement:grey-haired, wearing shorts and a dirty shirt,his shadow thrown aside like a blanket.His arms and legs could be cracks in the stone,routes for the ants' journeys, the flies' descents,Brain-washed by the sun into exhaustion,he lies veined into stone, a fossil man.Behind him there is a crowd passinglybemused by a pavement trickster and quiteindifferent to this very common sightof an old man asleep on the pavement.I thought it then a good compositionand glibly called it "The Man in the Street,"remarking how typical it was ofIndia that the man in the street lived there.His head in the posture of one weepinginto a pillow chides me now for mypresumption at attempting to composeart of his hunger and solitude.-by Zulfikar Ghose (Pakistan)Decomposition by Zulfikar GhoseThe title of this poem is satirical . The poet is critisising himself and those who make an art out of the suffering of others. He is writing about a photograph he took of an old thin beggar on the streets of Bombay. As a photographer he would look for a situation and organize it so that there is a good balance of component. When he saw the beggar sprawled on the pavement with thin bones that resemble the cracks in the pavement and the stillness that almost made him seem like a stone, a fossil, it seemed to him like a good composition. Ironically the beggar himself almost seemed to be decomposing as his physical condition was very poor. He was emaciated and malnourished. In taking the photograph and being rather flippant by calling it the man in the street the poet has subsequently realized his lack of sincerity and his indifference to the man as an individual rather as an interesting subject for a photograph. The details he had found ideal for the composition. The similarity between the man and the pavement, the ants crawling on his still limbs now make him feel guilty and ashamed as he has used the man's suffering for his own trivial hobby. He had overlooked the poverty stricken nature of the beggar's life and the harsh conditions in which he lived. In analyzing what he has done he's trying through his poem to show how his actions glossed over the real problem of the man as he the poet pursued his own interest. Like others in the street at the time he turned a *blind eye to the man's plight (* not see the man's suffering). Indeed, many of the crowd were more interested in the antics of a pavement trickster and preferred to be diverted and amused by him instead of addressing the problem of the beggar lying on the pavement. The crowd was also guilty of insensitivity possibly because this was such a common sight in the streets of Bombay and they had become desensitized to it. Another aspect of the photograph that pricks his conscience is the title he gave it. Ironically this man who was literally photographed in the street represents the sad life of thousands of others like him. In studying the poem look at the way he has described the beggar. There are many powerful images that convey the poor physical condition of the man such as “his shadow thrown aside like a blanket” suggesting not only that he is painfully thin but also that he has no covering or protection either.DecompositionZulfikar Ghose1935-PakistanI have a picture I took in Bombayof a beggar asleep on the pavement:Poem __________ by picture taken of beggar, asleep on the __________ of Bombay(Mumbai)Photograph - title - __________- decompositionCompostition - feature of visual art = __________ of all the elements int a __________ pleasing pattern or formDecomposition - __________ of these __________grey-haired, wearing shorts and a dirty shirt,his shadow thrown aside like a blanketHis arms and legs could be cracks in the stone,routes for the ants' journeys, the flies' descents,Brain-washed by the sun into exhaustion,he lies veined into stone, a fossil man.Description of __________Metaphor - looks like part of st __________one in pavementDressed shorts and __________ shirtMetaphor - fossil man - so old looks like __________ of stoneMetaphor - veined into stone - lookes as if he is part of __________, as if his __________ go into the stoneMetaphor - arms and legs r __________outes - like a road that can be followedsimile: shadow __________ aside like a blanketBehind him there is a crowd passinglybemused by a pavement trickster and quiteindifferent to this very common sightof an old man asleep on the pavementAmbiguous - bemused by pavement __________ or old man is the pavement trickster, you can't see him clearlyBemused - unable to think __________Beggers are so __________ no one sees them anymoreI thought it then a good compositionand glibly called it "The Man in the Street,"remarking how typical it was ofIndia that the man in the street lived there.Title: The man in the __________Then: implies poet feels __________ and embarrassedglibly: superficial, __________ attitude15-16: shows a flippant, __________ attitude.posture: __________ of bodyHis head in the posture of one weepinginto a pillow chides me now for mypresumption at attempting to composeart of his hunger and solitude.Point/Reason for poem - the __________ has buried his head in his __________ as if he is cryingPoet feels the beggar is __________ him for composing a picture out of his __________ of a fellow being.Regrets he made art out of the beggar's pain. The poem is a second piece of art made out of the same situation.The difference: in poem he admits his guilt and he feels penitencepresumption: arrogant behaviour towards anotherPun - decompositionThe photo is __________ not good anymore or the beggar is __________ decomposing on the pavement.QUESTIONS1. Comment on the significance of the title.2. Show how the imagery in the third stanza conveys the universality of the beggar's suffering.3. How does the poet's tone change in the poem?4. Can you suggest ways in which the structure of the poem contributes to the overall effect?SUGGESTED ANSWERS1. With the title word, "Decomposition" the poet satirises himself and all those who make art out of others' suffering. The photograph is the "composition" and the poem the "decomposition". The title also suggests that the poet may have torn up the photograph because of his shame at taking it. Finally, the word "decomposition" points to the fact that this old, emaciated man is dying and that soon his body will be decomposing. There is irony in the fact that the poem constitutes a second piece of art made out of the man's suffering.2. It is the comparison of the old man with the stones of the pavement that gives hissuffering universality. Stone is part of the earth's crust and is found everywhere. In the same way, there are suffering beggars everywhere. Stone is an enduring substance and by referring to the man as a "fossil" the poet extends the range of the suffering into the realm of time, implying that there has always been poverty and pain, and there will always be.3. In the first three stanzas the poet's tone is cool and objective and somewhat proud and arrogant - the tone of a man above and removed from the scene he is describing. In the fourth stanza, however, words are introduced that convey that the poet's tone is changing. It becomes introverted, self-analytical and self-critical with words Eke "then" and "glibly". In the last stanza the poet's tone becomes one of embarrassment and shame as he berates himself for making art out of another's pain.4. The poem is a composition. It has a clear form and structure. There are five stanzas, each with four lines, each line having ten syllables. However there is no clear metrical beat and hardly any rhyme - only the two middle lines rhyme, a rhyming couplet. It is as if the poet sets out to create a powerful composition, and then deliberately deprives the poem of some of the elements that would make it a really tight composition - thus supporting the theme of de-composition. It is in five parts — the traditional number of parts associated in literature with drama and tragedy.A composition consists of various elements composed, created, put together into a pleasing whole.1.Interpret the title on 2 levels.2.What is the poet's attitude to the photo? Quote:2.1initially2.2at the end of the poem3.Why does his attitude change?4.1Why do you think he describes the beggar as a fossil man in stanza 2?4.2Why does he refer to ants and flies in this stanza?5.1Why would the beggar seem to chide him for his presumption?5.2What was his presumption?5.3 What is the difference between his composition of the photo and his composition of the poem?DecompositionZulfikar Chose1. i. Decompose - take apart a composition i.e. analyse as here in photo (but re-composes it into a poem); ii. Rot2.1 Thought it was a good / typical photo of Indian circumstances; thought it was then a good composition2.2Now feels guilty that he created "art" out of someone's suffering: "chides me now"3.Now sees man almost weeping; distanced from scene, can feel guilt4.1Fossil - very old - beggars suffering and universal, for all time; embedded in society4.2Usually on garbage / rotting bodies - old man close to death, very low5.1Telling him he's wrong to capitalise on his suffering5.2 That he was free / allowed to use someone else's bad luck / suffering to his advantage5.3 Photo - tried to use his own advantagePoem - admits mistake be made, is sorry for being presumptious ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download