summary of the poem an old woman
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In Arun Kolatkar's poem, "An Old Woman," the main theme is about keeping what is important in perspective—in this case, an old woman and her heritage—the land from which she comes.
Someone may be walking and a woman may grab ahold of his or her sleeve. For a price, she will take what seems to be a sightseer to a nearby shrine. The man will not interested: he has seen the shrine before. However, the woman will be insistent; the man may want to dismiss her because she is an oldwoman, and they cling and won't let go.
The man will turn, about to end their association, to put her in her place and demand that she leave, but she will look at him and explain that there is little else left for an old woman to do in the hills where she abides: how can she live? she seems to imply.
The shock the man receives is looking at the sky, perhaps as blue as the woman's eyes: but what stops him is the sense that her eyes are like bullet holes—this image is shocking and riveting, as is, perhaps, his enlightened perception of this woman and her connection to this old land.
The man will note that as he looks at the woman, and the cracks around her eyes, the cracks will seem to spread to the landscape around her: to the hills, the temples and even the sky. But he will see, as he watches, that even though the sky may fall and shatter around her, she is untouched: "shatterproof."
In the midst of the life that has reduced her to trying to earn some money as a guide for tourists, and seen only an old woman to the tourists—not worth their time and barely worth their notice—her resolve is strong. She is a part of the land, as old as it is: she is as immovable. She lives, the man will see, with what is made available to her.
It would seem, that in the face of the man's realization, he will feel as if he has been reduced to nothing more than his money, for he does not have that kind of connection to his land or hisheritage. And perhaps, in light of the trials and tribulations of life, he is really the unimportant one—beyond the small change in his pocket—but she stands, unbreakable and strong.
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An Old Woman Poem Summary
Write a critical analysis of the poem "An Old Woman" by Arun Kolatkar.
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CAROL-DAVIS eNotes educator | CERTIFIED EDUCATOR
Arun Kolatkar, an Indian poet, wrote in both Marathi and English. An exceptional graphic artist, he is considered as the premiere Indian poet.
Kaolatkar's poem "An Old Woman" follows a formal structure in three-line stanzas or triplets. The lines are short but always with a pattern of two stressed syllables. The final line of the poem varies with the single stress decisively bringing the poem to an abrupt stop. Most of the words are monosyllabic, giving the poem a staccato effect. The narration is third person. The old woman is referred to using third person personal pronouns, yet the poet uses second person to reference to the tourist. The "you" in the poem makes the reader feel as though he is the tourist. The poet's word choice and imagery are stark and realistic.
In the poem, the reader is given a glimpse into a moment in time for the tourist visiting the ancient land of India. The scenario is unforgettable as is the character that is thurst upon him. It is here he is accosted by an old beggar woman on the deserted hills of Jejuri.
Impoverished, and repeatedly referred to as "old," she is helpless to do anything other than what she does; however, she does not just beg. She offers a service, which in this situation, the tourist does not need. The old woman will not let him go. Eventually, he tires of her hold on him, so he turns to stop this disgraceful scene. When he actually looks at her face and into her eyes, he is able to see through the woman and into the hills and they become as one. Finally he is able to understand the old woman's plight.
And the hills crack,
And the Temple cracks
And the sky falls.
Nothing can change things for the old woman.
The poem is a meeting two cultures: the new world tourist and the ancient Indian woman. Symbolically, the tourist's initial lack of sympathy for the woman and her travails represents the world's view of the poverty stricken countries of the world: If you cannot see it, it is not there. The tourist intends to make her leave him alone but is reduced to small change in her hands when he see the hardships she has to endure.