Enterprise by nissim ezekiel critical appreciation
Answers
How many of you have read T.S Eliot’s ‘The Journey of the Magi?’ While reading Enterprise, one may think of Eliot’s ‘The Journey of the Magi.’ Though that poem is different in approach but it is also about a very cold and tiring journey by three wise men in search of spiritual pacification. Enterprise is one of those wonderful poems published in Ezekiel’s collection of poems named ‘The Unfinished Man.’ It revolves around a metaphorical journey of man on this earth followed by hardships and failures which man is subjected to by the very nature of the earthly life that he leads.
Summary of Enterprise by Nissim Ezekiel
Stanza 1:
The poem, Enterprise, begins with a group of people which includes the poet himself (as it is clear from the use of ‘we’ in the sixth line) journeys to a holy place. At that time, their minds were full of ideas to reach their destination. Therefore, they started their journey with a lot of vigour and excitement, sure enough that they can easily overcome all the difficulties that they face. Inconveniences seemed insignificant to them. However, our real strength emerges when we face a crisis, isn’t it? Similarly, the travellers were full of enthusiasm and reached the second stage of their journey. During this second stage, they confronted the adverse natural difficulties, symbolizing the blazing Sun. But nothing could detain them from reaching their destination or take away their enthusiasm. Their passion to reach their destination was as hot as the blazing Sun above their heads. The heat of the sun is symbolic of Mother Nature being hostile towards human ambitions. The more the human beings aspire, the more the nature tries to
Ezekiel describes the account of a journey in the poem ‘Enterprise”. A section of people endeavour on a journey to acheive a specific goal. Their sheer initiative, and the thought of their objective leave them keyed up .They proceed on their expedition and the sun shines its scorching rays on them. Nevertheless, they render themselves immune to the stinging rays and put up an enduring front. The leader of the group believes that they have withstood the heat well. They take notes of whatever they see in the course of the journey. They observe the things they find around, and the commodities that the peasants sell and buy and witness the behavior of serpents and goats. Besides, they behold the sight of three cities where a sage has delivered his learned discourses.
The travelers fall into an argument over how to cross a desert. Owing to the differences, a person who wrote stylish prose and is supposed to be the best of the group forsakes the rest and goes his own way. The others are left with a sense of deprivation.
The travelers go through another ordeal as the travelers are attacked twice and they lose their way. At this juncture, many of the travelers leave the group and go on their own way. The poet asserts that on occasions like these he strived to seek solace in God, while the leader mentioned that they were near to the sea. Nevertheless, the travelers find themselves unmoved by anything they witness. They perceive nothing stimulating them anymore, and ignore the significance of the thunder. The thunder reminds us of Eliot’s “Wasteland”, where it signifies fertility and productivity. Further, they divorce themselves from even basic amenities such as soap. Some of the group are totally overcome with fatigue and they become too stressed to bear with the pressure of the journey any more.
Eventually, the travelers do reach their destination point. Nevertheless, when they do finally reach their target, they comprehend that their achievements have neither been far-fetched nor singular: ‘Home’ is the ultimate place that they have to discover grace.
The journey at once becomes a metaphor for life. In the rat race of competition, principles and ethics are quite often side-stepped. We live life to achieve some prescribed goal. However, as we carry on, we tend to become so obsessed with the target, that the means does not matter at all: the End is only the ends. Besides ,the poet echoes that in the race to be successful, people have lost the inner meaning of life, and live life only on the topographical or superficial level. The theme that is echoed in Farhan Akthar’s “Rock On”. People have forsaken the simple joys of life; they tend to ignore life’s basic experiences/teachings. The spiritual enigma of life is not a matter of concern for them. ‘Home’ or self-discovery resides within each individual. It is primarily subjective, and not objective.
Futhermore, for the better lot, the objective is intention. The journey itself is Destination for them.