why does the existence of the wolf almost turn into a myth in Daruwalla's poem?
Answers
This question has been taken from the poem named "Wolf" written by Keki N Daruwalia.
Here in this poem it had been stated that the child, whose reference had been given in this poem, used to be troubled at times.
To describe at his state of mind, the poet has used the reference of wolf. Here would has also further been correlated with myth.
It seems as if the wold is hovering over the consciousness of this young child. Also, the poet showed how he used to feel haunted because of cries of wolves while he would sleep at night, when he was himself a child.
Answer:
KEKI N. DARUWALLA:WOLF
The Explanation of the Poem WOLF
The poem begins with a vague image of a form, a figure or silhouette lurking in thedark, in the wilderness as though it were hiding under the cover of darkness. Thisform is that of a wolf that haunted the imagination and thoughts of the poet as achild. Thus, the imagined presence of a wolfoccupied the poet‟s mind as a child aswolves were known to be hunted down at night by men. This imaginary wolf prowlsin the dark with careful and calculated movements out in the dark and falls asleep ona bed of leaves, by resting its snout on its paws. The presence of the wolf (whether itis in the dark outside the poet‟s home or in the poet‟simagination) happens to stirup an amazing sense of wonder and bewilderment in him. The poet describes theradiating presence of the wolf to a lit fire and to an unknown or unknowable myth.The mysterious form of a wolf (in trouble) captures the mind of thechild in a very powerful way that it seeps („nudges‟) into the consciousnessof thechild. You may very well imagine how certain mysterious aspects create a deepimpression and reside in the crater of the mind in little children for a very long time.In the same way, the poet reminisces how as a child, he had been haunted by theringing cries of wolves at night. These cries were probably not the usual howling ofwolves but the painful ones when they were hunted down. It might have confusedthe child on how such a splendid animal as a wolf who had the freedom of prowlingaround its territoryand hunting its own food (“wind-sniffer, throat-catcher”) was nowa victim of the human world suffering the fate of the„hunted‟. Earlier, wolves werehunted not as much for game as for human security in the villages. Thepoet‟s villagehome was at the edge of a forest and perhaps, for this reason the cries of the wolveswere clearly audible to him as a child.In the days of his childhood, his mother would often narrate to him bed-time storiesof wolves, describing how the sensitive ears of the wolves would pick up signals orany movements in its territory at midnight, out in the cold when dewdrops fell in thesilence of the forest. You may perhaps know how animals are gifted with the sense ofsmell whether for their food or for their sense of security. The poet remembers howhis mother would tell him of wolves sniffing into his dreams and leaving in him asense of emptiness as she tries to put him to sleep. Those were the days of thepoet‟s
childhood but now there were no more wolves left in those forests as they were allkilled by ruthless men.