Breezy April By Rabindranath Tagore

Introduction

Rabindranath Tagore is primarily a Bengali writer and is not commonly referred to as an Indian writer. His own English writings and their influence on India ‘s regional literature, however, take him out of Bengal and bring him recognition as an all-India writer. The main theme of his poetry is Nature. He is mindful that there is a need for harmony between nature and man.

He is also aware of nature’s eternal beauty. Nature is not only a storehouse of colour , form, scent and rhythm for him, but also the true symbol of emotional and intellectual reality. Tagore sees in nature a life-giving, defensive, yet unreliable feature, and the imagery he uses conveys the significance he finds in nature.

Breezy April

Breezy April, Vagrant April,
Rock me in your swing of music!
Thrill my branches with enchantment
Of your touch of sweet surprises.

In my idle dream by Wayside
You come startling me from slumber,
Wilful in your mood fantastic
Tease me with inconstant courting.

Breezy April, Vagrant April,
I live with my lonesome shadows.
I know all your fitful fancies
Language of your flitting footsteps.

All my secrets burst in blossoms
At your passing breath of whisper,
And my new leaves break in tumult
Of surrender of their kisses.

– Rabindranath Tagore

Summary / Paraphrase

The poem is addressed to the month April. The speaker in the poem makes a request to the month to rock him with its music. By the touch of the breeze, he gets thrilled. The breeze awakens him from his sleep. The mood of the breeze is fantastic. But the same time it courts and teases him.

Tagore assumes the persona of a tree that delights with the touch of the April breeze. As the tree speaks to the breeze, a series of images emerge.The tree feels the breeze in a number of ways and moods. Though he addresses the wind as ‘Vagrant April,’ he gets solace by its gentle rhythmic movement.

‘Rock me in your swing of music’

This line evoke the image of a mother rocking her baby to sleep with a gentle lullaby.

Tagore thus evokes a sequence of word images in which life and vivacity are given to the April breeze and shown as mother, fairy, spring spirit and lover. The essence of the April breeze, its quickly shifting moods, creativity, tenderness and action are thus wonderfully expressed in appropriate words. The idea of life in nature is therefore distinctly illuminated.

In the second stanza, the tree is seen as alive, its immutable life by the wayside. The term ‘life-dream’ conveys the impression that the tree has existed for a long time. The last few years was like a dream. It also indicates that life in the tree has become dead in the winter. The wind of April or the Zephyr is the harbinger of spring. It triggers all the powers of life inside the tree for the tree says,

‘You come startling me from slumber’

It is awakened from cold winter. Thus, the

breeze is seen as the spirit of spring ushering in a season of growth and new life.

“willful in your mood fantastic

Courting, teasing and inconsistent”

The April Breeze is visualized by the tree as a whimsical lover gently courting and teasing the beloved.

The poet says that he knows the whole fancies of breezy April. The language of the breeze using the movements of the leaves and the footsteps are familiar to the poet. With the blowing of the breeze, all the branches are filled with blossoms. They enjoy the breath and whisper of the breeze. The leaves surrender in front of the breeze with its kiss.

The image of the lover is more established before the conclusion of the poem. The tree lives a solitary life, its only friends are its shadows. He is well acquainted with the breeze and its shifting moods; his fitting dreams. The wind that blows through the leaves of the tree rustles them and produces a soft sound that is ‘leafy language.’ The breeze is again personified as a nimble-footed spirit at whose touch the tree blossoms. This evokes the picture of the beloved at a murmured endearment of the lover. The sudden moving of the leaves in the breeze gust is seen as a tumult and surrender to the gentle loving touch of the breeze.

Conceptual Vocabulary

Vagrant : wandering

Enchantment : magical spell

Startling : frightening

Slumber : sleep

Willful : deliberate

Courting : trying to gain love

Teasing : making fun of

Inconstant : not steady

Leafy : leaf like

Boughs : branches

Tumult : confusion

Short Questions

1. What is the request of the narrator to the breeze?

Ans: The narrator requests the breeze to thrill its branches with its surprising touch.He assumes that the touch of the breeze in the month of April has some magical power to rejuvenate branches.

2. To what is the poem addressed to?

Ans: The poem is an ode addressed to the breeze of the month April.

3. Describe Leafy Language?

Ans: The phrase refers to the sound made by the leaves when they are moved by the breeze. Poet brings the effect of personification by giving the right of communication to the leaves and wind.

4. “All my boughs break into blossom” explain?

Ans: With the gentle touch of the breeze, the entire boughs of the trees will have blossoms. It shows the power of the breeze to bring about changes in nature.

5. How does the breeze treat the narrator in the poem?

Ans: The breeze awakens him from the sleep. It courts and teases him at the same time.

6. How does the Breezy April make the leaves to surrender before it?

Ans: The leaves surrender in front of the Breezy April when it kisses them.

7. For which work did Tagore receive Nobel Prize?

Ans: Tagore received Nobel Prize for the work Gitanjali.

Paragraph Questions

1. Explain Breezy April as a romantic poem?

Ans: Rabindranath Tagore, one of the most known Indian poets in English is well influenced by the romantic poets like Shelly, Keats and Wordsworth. Breezy April clearly shows this influence in its theme, structure and treatment. The poem is an ode addressed to the breeze of the month April which is a feature we can see in the romantic poetry of Britain. The poem describes the magical power of the season and the breeze. He personifies the breeze as the breeze aspire the qualities of rejuvenation and communication. Apart from these factors, the poem is written in simple language which can be easily understood.

2. Describe the theme of Breezy April?

Ans: Tagore’s poem Breezy April is about the pompous effect of April on nature. The month April is accompanied by its breeze and the poet cannot imagine the month without the breeze. Nature receives the month by spreading its two hands. Nature entirely changes when April reaches on earth. April’s music has an enchanting power to create a new era. It awakes not only the narrator but also the entire things which have been touched by the wind. Nature courts and teases the narrator. The branches of the trees bloom with the coming of April. Leaves whisper each other by making gentle sound when they are moved in the breeze. The nature surrenders when the breeze touches it.

3. Describe the structure and rhythm of the poem?

Ans: Breezy April is an ode addressed to the breeze in the April. Ode is a lyric poem which is addressed to someone or something. It is a short poem consisting of love for nature. Tagore skillfully coordinates romanticism and April using symbolic and metaphoric language. The effect of winter upon North India is removed with healing touch of April. He uses pliant rhythm and free verse in this poem. The poem contains four quatrains which describes the nature of the poem. Along with that, the poem is written in the romantic style with the help of simple words which will catch the attention of the readers. The rejuvenating April is personified in the poem as a powerful being which can provide rebirth to the entire things upon the earth.

Essay Type Question

1.Explain Breezy April as an ode which is written for glorifying the power of nature.

Ans: Breezy April is an ode addressed to the breeze in the April. This ode portrays the power of the breeze in the month of April which can rejuvenate the entire nature. This short poem explains the love in the heart of Tagore for nature. Tagore combines romanticism and April using symbolic and metaphoric language. All the destructions made by the winter are reconstructed by the magical power of April. This romantic poem written in very simple language captures the attention of the readers. The rejuvenating April is personified in the poem as a powerful being which can provide rebirth to the entire things upon the earth.

The poem is addressed to the month April. The speaker in the poem makes a request to the month to rock him with its music. By the touch of the breeze, he gets thrilled. The breeze awakens him from his sleep. The mood of the breeze is fantastic. But the same time it courts and teases him. The poet says that he knows the whole fancies of breezy April. The language of the breeze using the movements of the leaves and the footsteps are familiar to the poet. With the blowing of the breeze, all the branches are filled with blossoms. They enjoy the breath and whisper of the breeze. The leaves surrender in front of the breeze with its kiss.

The poem describes the power of curing the wounds that nature itself possesses. The breeze has the ability to give the sweet surprise with the enchanted touch. That means the breeze absorbs all the destructions made by the cold weather. Like the romantic poets, Tagore loves the appearance of nature and its beauty along with the entire features. He incorporates all the sensual enjoyments the nature can provide at that time. Nature is provided a kind of spiritual power in this poem. He finds out harmony between the minds of human and nature.

Tagore’s poem Breezy April is about the pompous effect of April on nature. The month April is accompanied by its breeze and the poet cannot imagine the month without the breeze. Nature receives the month by spreading its two hands. Nature entirely changes when April reaches on earth. April’s music has an enchanting power to create a new era. It awakes not only the narrator but also the entire things which have been touched by the wind. Nature courts and teases the narrator. The branches of the trees bloom with the coming of April. Leaves whisper each other by making gentle sound when they are moved in the breeze. The nature surrenders when the breeze touches it.

Rabindranath Tagore, one of the most known Indian poets in English is well influenced by the romantic poets like Shelly, Keats and Wordsworth. Breezy April clearly shows this influence in its theme, structure and treatment. The poem is an ode addressed to the breeze of the month April which is a feature we can see in the romantic poetry of Britain. The poem describes the magical power of the season and the breeze. He personifies the breeze as the breeze aspires the qualities of rejuvenation and communication. Apart from these factors, the poem is written in simple language which can be easily understood.