Poetry Review - “Our Casuarina Tree” by Toru Dutt

 

Source: Magnolia Box

Introduction

Toru Dutt is one of the major Indo-Anglian poets who left behind a glorious legacy before she died at the age of 21. She was one of the first woman writers in the history of Indo-Anglian literature. Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan shows the most striking feature of her poetry- its lyricism. Her poetry is essentially about her race and her native land even if she was a converted Christian. 

The miscellaneous poems collected in Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan are autobiographical. One of the well-known poems is “Our Casuarina Tree”. The poem is divided into five stanzas, each stanza made of 11 lines. The rhyme scheme is abba cdcd we. It seems Toru was experimenting with this new scheme which became very successful. The very line scheme, ending rhyme, eye rhyme, and pair words make the poem musical. 

Summary

The poem is a fine blend of local touches, literary reminiscences, and descriptions of the actual tree. The opening image compares the larger creeper around the tree to a “huge Python”. This may seem dark but the image truly emphasizes the massive strength of the tree. Some readers believe the tree symbolizes the ancient and vulnerable culture of India while the creeper symbolizes the deadly influence of colonialism. 

Yet, the creeper adds some kind of beauty to the tree as it is called a “scarf” which has positive connotations. The tree has been made the center of a busy life as well as the sweet songs of birds that are unending. When Toru opens the window at dawn, she sees the tree early in the morning. 

When the shade of the tree falls across the water tank it makes the white water lilies in the tank look like “snow enmassed”. In a way, Toru treats the tree like a person that can tell her memories as if the tree could speak and tell all her stories. When the poet uses the word “lament” she personifies the tree. 

Symbolism

Memories: The poem “Our Casuarina Tree” is a beautiful symbolic poem. The poem begins with a poetic evocation of a Casuarina tree. In the poem, the tree stands as a symbolic representation of Toru’s memory. 

It was under this tree that Toru played with her brother and sister - Abju and Aru. The thought of the tree reminds her of her glorious past. Memories of a time when she along with her playmates played under the shade of the tree come crowding “in a vein of romantic yearning” for people and things that are no more:

“O sweet companions, loved with love intense,

For your sakes, shall the tree be ever dear?

Blent with your images, it shall arise 

In memory, till the hot tears blind mine eyes!”

Unconditional Love: When the poet was traveling over France and Italy she always remembered the tree. It sent her thoughts about her Homeland and the memories of her loved ones. There is a romantic strangeness that is inseparable from the visualization of the tree. The poet always gets struck by a third of remembrance. 

However, the tree cannot be interpreted as a symbol of the motherland because the last stanza of the poem marks its rich romantic feelings. At this stage, the poet attains the power of love overcoming negative forces like death, darkness, terror, and fear. 

These words and phrases like “trembling hope”, “love”, “death” and “the skeleton” is proof. By this, the poet means to say that a person of unconditional love and devotion never fears death. It records the poet's desire for the promised immortality of verse which ends with the line: “May Love defend the from Oblivion’s curse.” 

Happiness and Death: The Casuarina tree reminds Toru Dutt about her lost ones yet she does not express any desire to fade “far away” and “dissolve”. She does not wish for an “easeful” death. The tree is always there to support her and to remind her of the happiness that she did experience during the early days of her life. 

The poem even justifies the sadness of “hot tears” for Toru's childhood days. This poem is a combination of both the East and the West. She interpreted the soul of India to the West, thereby rendering inapplicable the well-known observation of Rudyard Kipling: 

“East is East and West is West 

And ne'er the twain shall meet.”

My Thoughts 

This poem has revealed a lot about the poet's feelings. Love is seen in different forms in the poem. First, it is the love for the tree. Then the tree became a symbol for her loved ones even though people associated with the tree were not alive. There is love for her siblings who are closely a part of the poetess's memory. 

She is in love with those memories which bind her with the tree. Also, it can be interpreted that Dutt's vision of love is one of nostalgia. The love of the past, especially one that is past us, causes both pain and sweet longing. The tree is a carousel that enables the poetess to visit these memories again and again. The vision of nostalgia from the television series,” Mad Men” goes on :

"Nostalgia - it's delicate but potent. Teddy told me that in Greek nostalgia literally means 'the pain from an old wound.' It’s a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone. This device isn’t a spaceship, it’s a time machine. It goes backward, and forwards… it takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It’s not called the wheel, it’s called the carousel. It lets us travel the way a child travels - around and around, and back home again, to a place where we know are loved."

Conclusion

The above quote captures the love Toru Dutt finds in the tree. The tree is a reminder of the love she experienced with others and that she is still able to love them. The poem in the end becomes more associated with the loved ones, “Who now in blessed sleep for aye repose” than the tree itself. With its mastery of phrase and rhythm and its music of sounds and ideas, this poem is great superb writing. 

It recaptures the past and those moments become immortal. Love, care, and eternity suggest it to be a romantic lyric. The poet has brought out the overflow of emotion with terms such as "dear", "sweet" and "love intense". These descriptions bring out the romantic presence in the poem. With her lyricism, Toru Dutt has made this poem a romantic lyric that relates to her memories, loved ones, and her past.

Written by Garima Jain