The Thematic Warping and Woofing of God and Nature in the Tapestry of Tagore’s Gitanjali

Abstract

Tagore is a man of versatile genius—a painter, a dramatist, a short story writer, a teacher and primarily a poet—Tagore is primarily a poet. He himself explains “I am a poet and nothing else” (Tagore). He is a poet par excellence. He believes that art is the illumination of feelings. For Tagore, art was not for art’s sake. He strongly opined that, poetry elevates us to a higher world and interprets to us the lessons of nature and the mysteries of God. According to Tagore, the object of poetry is to elevate man’s soul from the worldly pursuits and to strike a harmonious chord and perfect communion between man, his immediate surroundings and the ultimate reality. He felt that there should be unity between the individual and the universe. Tagore felt that the purpose of poetry is to ennoble mankind and emancipate man’s soul from materialism which militates against the essential goodness of man. Poetry should aim at striking a harmonious balance between man and his relatedness to the universe. Tagore believed that, to achieve creative unity between man and the universe, what is required is emotion. He felt that emotions are essential for the creative writings especially poetry. Defining poetry, Tagore writes in ‘What is Art?’