The poem I choose to do a close reading on was “Petition: My Salary”.
I chose to write about this poem because I thought it was very powerful. Ghalib really flexes his muscle using words to defend himself and get his message across to Bahadur Shah Zafar, emperor of Mughal. In the poem, Ghalib is petitioning to get paid more frequently. When he wrote this poem, he was getting paid once every six months, rather than the normal once a month salary pay.
Ghalib’s poem has many powerful messages within it and justifies his claims using poetry. For example lines 10-14 read,
“But if you look at me,
You’ll see that I am
A prisoner of life, not death-
And six monthly paydays
Fall only twice a year. ”
In these lines, Ghalib is telling how his six month salary is only given to him twice a year. He compares his pay schedule to the practice among Muslims in India remembering the dead twice a year (600, footnote).
In the next few lines, he talks about how he has to continually pull out debt and borrow money to get by each month.
“All I do each month
Is take out debt,
With wrangles over interest
Repeated endlessly-
My money-lender has become
A partner
In one-third my earning”
In lines 15-21 above, he is telling the emperor that a third of his money takes a third of his money each pay period. Too get himself by in between his pay periods, he is constantly borrowing money and taking on more and more debt.
Lastly, he defends himself by writing,
“If you wish to hear
An epic of war,
My tongue’s a sharp sword;
If you convene an assembly,
My pen’s a cloud
That rains down pearls”
I interpret this line as him telling the emperor to call an assembly to hear his plea. “My tongue’s a sharp sword” means he will use his skill of powerful words and poetry to debate. And lastly, “my pen’s a cloud that rains down pearls” is Ghalib telling the emperor that his poetry is as good as pearls.
Of the poems in this section, this one was my favorite. The metaphors used in this poem make it very fun to read. When I first read over it, I missed the underlying meanings. However when I read it a second time around and went line by line, I really was able to appreciate his skill. Ghalib knee he had a strong talent to write poetry and he used this to his advantage when he went to the Emperor to petition for a monthly salary.
-Patrick
The Norton Anthology: World Literature, Vol E. Ghalib. Petition: My Salary. Pages 600-601.
Hi Patrick!
ReplyDeleteI like that you chose this poem and the way you broke up the quotes and then spoke about them. I wonder if you have done any research on how the Mongolians thought of pearls? Some times the metaphor could be even more interesting. I only ask because I know that many Asian cultures place a specific meaning to everything. Like stones, flowers, seasons, and numbers.
Hello Patrick!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your analysis of this poem. I agree, Ghalib was masterful in his crafting of this petition to the Emperor. I couldn't imagine being paid only once every six months, so I would say that this poem is easy to relate to. Also, I find his style very interesting because it sounds so personal and indeed at times is very personal. Great job breaking it down!
Hi Patrick! I agree, Ghalib use very powerful and cutting language to point out how much he's struggling without being payed well enough. I really liked how he calls himself a "prisoner of life, not death" because it subverts the typical fear of death that pointing out that to be trapped in poverty can feel worse than even dying. It really emphasizes how this isn't just a matter of money for frivolous things, it is life and death, he is suffering as he barely gets by with the money he has. Though it wasn't my favorite, I can easily see why it is yours.
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