1 R.C. Fernando, 70B, Kudugala, Ambatenna. Teacher Teacher of English English iteratue at at A!har College, College, A"urana, A"urana, Kand#. Kand#. $hone % 071&'()*&0. 17th +oember *01-. To To the Editor, Editor, unda# /bserer.
A detailed analysis of Keat’s sonnet “To the Nile” The oem To the +ile2 b# 3ohn 3ohn Keats Keats is a remar"able oem due to seeral reasons. For one thing, it is a oem about Rier +ile 4hich is situated far a4a# from England 4here Keats 4as born. econdl#, it is both about nature and the oet5s o4n imaginatie o4er. tudents 6nd this oem some4hat dicult because of the eleated language used b# the oet and the comle8ities of the onnet structure. 9o4eer, : beliee that this anal#sis 4ill hel the teachers as 4ell as students to surmount these diculties and areciate the real beaut# of the this gem of a sonnet. First of all 4e must understand that this oem is a sonnet 4ritten in the $etrarchan st#le 4hich contain an ocatae ;the 6rst eight lines< rh#ming abbaabba and a sestet;ne8t si8 lines< rh#ming cdcdcd. :n the :talian or the $etrarchan sonnet, there is usuall# a olta2 or a turn2 of the line of thought from the /ctae to the sestet. :n this sonnet also ine number ( mar"s a change of thought. The oet seems to hae a4a"ened from his reerie or da#=dreaming of the charms of the +ile and begins to re>ect on the natural beaut# of the rier. The oet addresses the +ile directl#, in the st#le of his great /des such as /de to Autumn or the /de on a ?recian @rn. @rn. /ne should also understand the historical and the geograhical geograhical imortance of the +ile Rier in order to understand this beautiful sonnet. 9istoricall#, 9istoricall#, rier +ile is said to be the cradle of one of the oldest ciili!ations ciili!ations in the 4orld the +ile alle# ciili!ation or the Eg#tian ciili!ation 4hich deeloed alongside the +ile Rier. ?eograhicall#, it is the longest rier in Africa as 4ell as in the 4orld. The +ile Rier has t4o branches. /ne is the hite +ile ;the longest branch< 4hich originates in the a"e ictoria and the other branch is the Blue +ile 4hich originates in the a"e Tana in Ethioia. Although shorter than the hite +ile, the Blue +ile contributes more than D) of the total olume of the +ile 4aters. The t4o branches meet in Khartoum, the caital of udan, and 6nall# ends in Cairo, Eg#t, 4here it >o4s into the editerranean ea b# forming a large, rich delta. The +ile can be be called an internation international al rier as it >o4s >o4s through through as much as as nine countries countries in Africa including Burundi, R4anda, Tan!ania, Congo etc. The annual >ooding of the +ile Rier had become a blessing in disguise for the Eg#tians, as it deosited the rich loam mud on the ban"s of the rier 4hich turned it into a fertile landscae, ideal for
* agriculture. agriculture. The building of the As4an Gam and seeral other dams across the +ile later heled to manage the >ooding to a great e8tent. The +ile Rier is also steeed steeed in m#tholog# m#tholog# 4ith 9ai being being its chief ?od 4ho is associated 4ith >ooding, thus bringing fertilit# and fruitfulness. /siris and his 4ife :sis are also 4orshied b# the Eg#tians. Keats being a loer of ?ree" m#tholog# ma# hae heard of the ?od +ilus, the ?ree" ?od of the +ile Rier and the trael agues of the English E8lorers such as 3ohn e"e 4ho undertoo" an e8edition to the interiors of the Gar" Continent as it 4as then called. 9aing said that, no4 : am going to anal#!e the oem line b# line so that #ou can get a better understanding understanding of the oem. The oet begins the sonnet 4ith the line on of the /ld oon=ountains AfricanH2 :n this line the oet ersoni6es the +ile as the son2 of the old African oon=ountains. :n other 4ords, The +ile originates from the oon ountains Iust li"e li"e the Rier aha4eli aha4eli originates originates from the the ri $ada $ada or the Adams Adams $ea" $ea" ountain. As : mentioned earlier, the t4o branches of the Rier +ile, the hite +ile and the Blue +ile are said to originate from the t4o la"es= a"e ictoria and a"e Tana in Ethioia. 9o4eer, these la"es are also, in turn, fed b# streams >o4ing from the mountains. Therefore, Therefore, it 4as dicult dicult to ascertain ascertain the true source source of the the +ile Rier although although it 4as historicall# historicall# associated 4ith the legendar# oon=ountains2 , so called ma# be due to their semi=circular semi=circular shae or because the# 4ere sno4=caed mountains. 9o4eer, the e8act origin of the +ile Rier remains uncertain as the t4o la"es are fed b# so man# tributaries. Jou might also 4onder 4hat oetic techniues are used in this articular line. /ne techniue is inersion 4here the 4ord order is changed or inerted. 9ere, the osition of the adIectie African2 has been inerted as it normall# comes before the head noun, in this case, oon=ountains. Another techniue is ersoni6cation. The rier is ersoni6ed as the son of the oon=ountains 4hich are li"e arents. The ne8t line line is Chief Chief of the $#ramid and Crocodile2. Crocodile2. h# is the +ile called the the Chief of the $#ramid and CrocodileL As #ou "no4 the ancient Eg#tians built #ramids as tombs for the $araohs ;their "ings< and ueens. These tombs 4ere made 4ith huge bloc"s of stones 4hich 4ere transorted through the +ile rier in barges to the #ramid sites. :t 4ould hae been imossible other4ise to transort these stone bloc"s through the rugged desert lands stretching into hundreds of miles. Thus it is right to call the +ile the Chief of the #ramids. +o4 to the crocodiles. $erhas #ou ma# be a4are that the Rier +ile is the home to the largest secies of crocodiles in the 4orld. Eseciall#, the ban"s of the +ile are teeming 4ith these huge crocodiles 4ho are also associated 4ith the ?od /siris legends. As such 4e cannot sa# that the oet has used e8aggeration or h#erbole in this line. 9o4eer, 9o4eer, the oet has used the techniue techniue of contrast here as the $#ramids $#ramids are non=liing things 4hile the crocodiles are liing things. :n the third line the oet sa#s 4e call thee fruitful and that er# 4hile2. The oet rightl# calls the +ile fruitful since it is the rier that sustains life in the +ile alle# not onl# b# roiding food from agriculture and 6shing but also b# roiding them 4ith a mode of transort and also b# sering as a la#ground for 4ater sorts. The +ile itself 4as considered as a s#mbol of fertilit#, as according to the Eg#tian m#tholog#, the manhood of the slain King /siris 4as suosed to be eaten b# a crocodile so that his 4ife 4ho 4as
' searching for the scattered bod# arts of the King could not resurrect him into life as that art 4as missing. :n this line, the oet uses an adIectie fruitful2 fruitful2 as a noun. Thee2 means an old term for #ou2. The third third line is a run=on run=on line meaning that it lin"s 4ith 4ith the fourth line 4hich reads reads as A A desert 6lls our seeing5s in4ard san2. 9ere the oet refers to his imagination 4hich 6lls 4ith a dersert. :magination is sometimes called the third e#e2 but here the oet calls it seeing5s in4ard san2. iterall# it means the inner dimension of our ision or imagination. Ta"en together this line means that our imagination is 6lled 4ith a desert 4hile 4e 4onder at the fruitfulness if the rier. Thus, fruitfulness and barrenness e8ist side b# side, another 4onder of nature. :n the ne8t line the oet sa#s +urse of the s4art nations since the 4orld began,2. :t means the rier +ile has nourished the dar" nations or the Africans since time immemorial. The +ile rier has gien life not onl# to one nation but to seeral countries through 4hich it >o4s. The ne8t line line starts 4ith 4ith a rhetorical rhetorical uestion. uestion. Art Art thou so fruitfulL2 fruitfulL2 This is is follo4ed b# b# another rhetorical uestion or dost thou beguileMuch men to honour thee, 4ho, 4orn 4ith toil,MRest for a sace Nt4i8t Cairo and GecanL2 9ere Keats ma# be referring to temles dedicated to /siris 4hich are scattered along the ban"s of the Rier. According to the legends, :sis, the 4ife of /siris, built those temles to enshrine arious arts of his slain bod# scattered along the +ile b# his brother eth 4ho murdered him. The oet in these lines 4onders 4hether the rier +ile has a certain magical charm that ma"es eole consider it as a hol# rier li"e the ?angese rier in :ndia 4hich is the most sacred rier to the 9indus. The oet also sees the Rier haing a rest bet4een Cairo and Gecan. Cairo is the lace 4here the rier ends and Gecan must be the lace 4here it begins. 9o4eer 4e get confused here since the 4ord Gecan in Eg#tian lore refers to a grou of constellations ;'- to be e8act< and thus meaning the rier is haing a rest bet4een land and s"# 4hich does not ma"e much sense. as Keats referring to the Geccan lateau in the central :ndia from 4hence begin riers such as +armada and TatiL Thus can it be a geograhical geograhical inaccurac#L : inite #ou to consider these uestions. uestions. Een the 4riters of the e boo" issued b# the +:E hae made the mista"e of identif#i identif#ing ng Geccan lateau as the source of the +ile Rier % a glaring mista"e indeed, since 4e lie in a 4orld far more adanced ;in terms of technolog# and "no4ledge< than that of Keats5. o far ;in the octae<, Keats has treated treated the +ile reerentl# or resectfull#. resectfull#. 9o4eer, from the line number ( 4hich starts the sestet, 4e can see a Oolta5 or a turn in the line of thought The oet5s attitude to the +ile Rier changes from one of reerence to a realistic one. / ma# dar" fancies errH The# surel# doP2 hat does this line meanL ell, literall# it means that fanc# or imagination can mislead us. This line reminds us of a similar line in /de to +ightingale b# Keats AdieuH the fanc# cannot cheat so 4ell As she is famNd to do, deceiing elf.
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9ere also Keats is being critical of his o4n habit of da#=dreaming or Onegatie caabilit#5 as he calls it. According to Keats, negatie caabilit# is O4hen man is caable of being in uncertainties. #steries, doubts, 4ithout an# irritable reaching after fact and reason.N 9o4eer, he also areciated realit# or Otruth5 as he calls it. This is atl# e8ressed in his O/de to the ?recian @rn5 4hen he sa#s, NBeaut# is truth, truth beaut#,Qthat is all Je Je "no4 on earth, earth, and all #e need to "no4.N "no4.N
Thus, the oet oet no4 begins to doubt his dar" fancies2 fancies2 or his romantic romantic imagination imagination 4hich too" him to the e8otic lands of ancient Eg#t of $#ramids, $haraohs and the great +ile steeed in legends. 9e no4 becomes more Odo4n=to=earth5 and begins to e8lore the Rier from an artistic or aesthetic oint of ie4. ie4. +e8t he sa#s NTis ignorance that ma"es a barren 4aste /f all be#ond itself5 9ere he ma# be 4ondering at his o4n ignorance or the ignorance of the Euroeans 4hose Odar" fancies5 about Africa consisted mainl# of ast deserts and giant #ramids. The oet has een as"ed as"ed Art Art thou so fruitfulL2 fruitfulL2 earlier. earlier. This obsession obsession 4ith desert, desert, according to Keats, is due to Oignorance5 as +ile alle# is surel# a fertile landscae, so fertile that it gae birth to the 6rst human ciili!ation. :n the last fe4 lines 4e can see the t#ical Keatsian language 4hich is sensuous and er# much alie to the beaut#, sounds and smells of nature. Thou dost bede4 bede4 ?reen rushes li"e our riers, and dost taste The leasant sunrise. ?reen ?reen isles hast hast thou too, And to the sea as hail# dost haste. The oet begins begins to see the Rier Rier in all its its reslendent reslendent beaut# in its maIestic Iourne# Iourne# to4ards the sea. 9e comares the +ile to our riers2 4hose green rushes or the lants 4ith long leaes are decorated 4ith de4 or dros of mist. This is a beautiful isual image that aeals to our e#es. The rier also tastes Oleasant sunrise5. This is a combination of isual and gustator# images. The rier also contains green isles2. The reetition of Ogreen5 roduces an eSect of lush greener# 4hich contrasts 4ith the reetition of Odesert5 in the octae. The sonnet aroria aroriatel# tel# ends 4ith the line And to the sea as hail# dost haste.
) : am temted to beliee that the 4ord Ohail#5 contains a un or 4ord la# since O9ai5 4as the ?od of the annual >ooding in Eg#tian Eg#tian m#tholog#. m#tholog#. The oem is 4ritten 4ritten in eleated eleated language and and it is rich in meaning desite desite the fact fact that Keats 4rote this oem in a friendl# sonnet cometition 4ith eigh 9unt and hell# on & Februar# Februar# 1D1D at 9untNs house in isson ?roe ? roe 4ith a 1) minute time limit. As a nature oem To the +ile2 ma"es us areciate the beaut# of a rier and its alue as a life giing source. e also learn ho4 the eole in ancient times 4orshied the rier as a ?od or a gift of nature. e also get some momentar# leasure b# loo"ing at the lush greener# and the beaut# of the rier in the morning. The oem thus hels us to areciate areciate the fertilit# and the beaut# of riers at a time 4hen the# are being increasingl# olluted due to industriali!ation.
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