The Quest for Self in Nissim Ezekiel’s Poetry

G. Srilatha

Ezekiel’s poetry started emerging from the post independence era. This poetry is of self-examination, self-criticism, and introspection. To him life is a journey, a pilgrimage consisting of departures, ventures, and arrivals. His poetry shows the existence of an organic relationship between the writer and the place.

The quest for self in Ezekiel’s poetry is implied by journey metaphor. The central metaphor of his poems is that of a departure from the home; consequent desolation and the search for a new life, a look into the desired pattern of the future, as such the poem achieves an association of an initially secular departure from the home with a finally religious striving in the journey, the journey becomes a pilgrimage.

In enterprise, a group of people undertakes a journey moved by noble aspirations, but it all ends in frustration and failure. The poet is trying to find his self, his identity through the journey of life.

During the initial stage of the journey the pilgrims are unaware of the failures in life. Their minds are fit enough to face any dangers. But the innocence is lost and in the next stage of their journey differences arise “on how to cross a desert patch”. Intellectual opinions and arguments only lead to disintegration. In due course they forget their noble aspirations having lost their idealism.

The paradox is that the goal they reach - realm of nature seems to be as hostile for the alienated pilgrims as the city from which they try to escape. But their shame and torment lead to the realization, which the poet reveals in the last line of the poem.

‘Home is where we have gather grace’

The last line of the poem effectively hints at the truth that the grace of fulfillment lies in the identity of the self with the object world.

Poet, Lover, Bird watcher

In this poem parallelism is drawn between the poet, the lover, and the bird watcher. All the three have to wait patiently to crown success. There is close resemblance among them in their search for love, bird, and word. There is no action but patient waiting to reach the goal.

The patience of the bird watcher is rewarded when the bird is suddenly caught in the net; in Ezekiel’s poetry patience of the lover is rewarded when the woman is loved. Similarly if the poet waits till the moment of inspiration he achieves some noble utterances.

The best poet always waits for words from the Centre of stillness before they articulate their experience. One has to travel in silence to the heart’s dark floor, the primal rivers of one’s consciousness, so that one could achieve the climatic moment.

“In silence near the source or by a shore
remote and thorny like the heart’s dark floor”

Like the bird watcher the poetic self exercises a vigilant observation disturbing the silence of the situation as little as possible and let things happen and be recorded. Many times during this journey the poetic self courts follies and mistakes, sheds illusions only to hug new ones but learns from experience and forges ahead to an alluring goal.

Thus we see poetry for Ezekiel becomes the endless quest for identity and a metaphoric journey into the heart of existence. Quest essentially concerns how to live happily, calmly, ethically as an integrated human being.

To conclude I quote from Island where the poet is trying to find his way.

“I cannot leave the island,
I was born here and belong”.