Blood Summary and Line by Line Explanation
CBSE Class 12 English (Elective) Poem 8 – Blood Summary, Explanation along with Difficult Word Meanings from Kaleidoscope Book Poetry
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CBSE Class 12 English (Elective) Poem 8 – Blood
Kamala Das
One of the greatest literary figures in Malayalam, Kamala Das was born in the year 1934 in Punnayurkulum, in South Malabar, Kerala. Her work in poetry and prose has given her a permanent place in modern Malayalam literature as well as in Indian writing in English. She is best known for her feminist writings and focus on womanhood.
She has been the recipient of such famous awards as the Poetry Award for the Asian PEN Anthology, the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for the best collection of short stories in Malayalam, and the Chaman Lal Award for fearless journalism.
The poem ‘Blood’ by Kamala Das reflects on the poet’s childhood memories and her relationship with her great-grandmother and their family home. It shows how the passing of time leads to a loss of heritage and the decay of the house.
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Blood Summary
The poet opens the poem by reflecting on her childhood, during which she and her brother played in the sand, drawing shapes of various birds and animals. One day, their great-grandmother informed them that the house they lived in was three hundred years old, but it was now crumbling before their eyes. The materials of the building have worsened over time, allowing rainwater to enter, which caused cracks and plaster to fall away. The tiles were coming loose from their positions. The windows emitted a prolonged, high-pitched wailing sound. Every night, rats emerged from their hiding spots and scurried past their doors. Their sacred space was inhabited by snake deities that were hidden from sight and overgrown with weeds. All the snake deities had fungus covering their heads. The poor condition of her sacred space caused her great-grandmother distress. She wiped away her tears upon witnessing the ruined state of their home. Seeing her great-grandmother’s sorrowful predicament, the poetess vowed that when she became old and prosperous, she would restore the dilapidated house. Upon hearing this, her great-grandmother caressed her cheeks and smiled. Her great-grandmother was an unpretentious woman whose spiritual existence, or ‘feasts’ of faith, centred solely around God, with little else in terms of religious customs or convictions, which made them feel monotonous. There was a lack of diversity in her spiritual experiences, as the singular focus was always on God. For her, God stood as the main focus of her spiritual journey, with other aspects of her faith acting as secondary. The additional religious practices or beliefs were merely supplementary to the primary focus, which was God.
The poetess reminisces about the time her great-grandmother shared her experience of riding an elephant from the sacred site of Siva to their home at about the age of ten or eleven. She recounted various items such as the jewel box and rich silk cloth adorned with raised patterns in gold and silver from the north, along with perfumes, oils, and sandalwood. She even spoke about her marriage to a prince who cherished her dearly for a brief year before succumbing to fever in her arms. She claimed that their bloodline was the oldest and, thus, the purest and finest. Compared to the genuine emotions of the impoverished, the blood of the newly wealthy is ‘thick,’ signifying it as impure and lacking in refinement.
The poetess’s great-grandmother passed away in her sixth year. She had grown weary of all the compromises in her life. Her suffering included arthritis, and her only solace was a harsh cough. The poetess gazed into the dull, weary eyes of her great-grandmother, wishing for her not to grieve over the state of their house. The poetess learned the bitter lessons of defeat and recognised that acquiring wealth is a challenging endeavour. The house is depicted as a person, kneeling on its elbows. Beneath the pale moonlight, the house appeared strange, eerie, and alive when the poetess’s great-grandmother was cremated over mango logs. The poetess continued to gaze at the house, observing the windows close as though they were shutting their eyes. The pillars of the ancient house weep in profound sorrow, expressing a palpable exhalation of sadness.
The poetess embarked on her journey to another town. She has departed from the home that housed the shrine, sand, plants, and an intensely violet Arabian Sea. The poetess was aware that the rats now roam boldly through the dimly lit hallways without any fear of their deceased great-grandmother. She acknowledged the presence of termites that had infiltrated her old home, constructing a peculiar tomb-like structure on the walls. The house and the great-grandmother, both symbols of the past, transform into totemic figures that represent the cultural heritage and family history that are gradually vanishing. In the stillness of night, the poetess could hear the sounds of its collapse. The noises of the roof falling and the windows lamenting. The poetess felt remorse for letting down their ancient house and seeks her great-grandmother’s forgiveness, expressing that she has uprooted her essence like a seed from fruit only to cast it into the flames. She experiences guilt for her actions, chastising herself as heartless and selfish. However, she defends her blood, which is thin, pure, and fine. The oldest blood in existence will always be remembered as it courses through all the gems, gold, perfumes, oils, and grand elephant rides. Despite the house’s decay, the poetess will forever cherish the family’s legacy of wealth, luxury, and traditions as long as the blood continues to flow in her veins.
Summary of the Poem Blood in Hindi
कवि उनके बचपन के बारे में सोचकर कविता की शुरुआत करते हैं, जिसके दौरान वे और उनके भाई रेत में खेलते थे, पक्षियों और जानवरों का चित्र बनाते थे। एक दिन, उनकी परदादी ने उन्हें बताया कि उन्होंने जो घर देखा वह तीन सौ साल पुराना था, लेकिन अब यह उनकी आंखों के सामने ढह रहा था। समय के साथ इमारत की सामग्री खराब हो गई है, जिससे बारिश का पानी अंदर घुस गया है, जिससे दरारें और प्लास्टर गिर गए हैं। टाइल्स अपनी स्थिति से ढीली आ रही हैं। खिड़की से एक लंबी, तेज आवाज में रोने की आवाज निकलती है। हर रात, चूहे अपने छिपने के स्थानों से बाहर निकलते हैं और अपने दरवाजे से गुजरते हैं। उनके पवित्र स्थान पर सांप देवताओं का निवास है जो दृष्टि से छिपे हुए हैं और खरपतवारों से भरे हुए हैं। सभी सर्प देवताओं के सिर पर कवक का आवरण होता है। उनके पवित्र स्थान की खराब स्थिति ने उनकी परदादी को परेशान कर दिया है। उनके घर की बर्बाद स्थिति को देखकर उन्होंने अपने आँसू पोंछ लिए। अपनी परदादी की दुखद दुर्दशा को देखकर, कवयित्री ने कसम खाई कि जब वह बूढ़ी और समृद्ध हो जाएगी, तो वह जीर्ण-शीर्ण घर को बहाल कर देगी। यह सुनकर, उनकी परदादी ने उनके गालों को सहलाया और मुस्कुरा दीं। उनकी परदादी एक सरल महिला थीं, जिनका आध्यात्मिक अस्तित्व, या विश्वास के ‘पर्व’, पूरी तरह से भगवान के इर्द-गिर्द केंद्रित थे, धार्मिक रीति-रिवाजों या विश्वासों के मामले में बहुत कम, जिससे वे नीरस महसूस करते थे। उनके आध्यात्मिक अनुभवों में विविधता की कमी थी, क्योंकि एकमात्र ध्यान हमेशा भगवान पर था। उनके लिए, भगवान उनकी आध्यात्मिक यात्रा के मुख्य केंद्र के रूप में खड़े थे, उनके विश्वास के अन्य पहलू गौण के रूप में कार्य कर रहे थे। अतिरिक्त धार्मिक प्रथाएं या विश्वास केवल प्राथमिक ध्यान के पूरक थे, जो कि भगवान थे।
कवयित्री उस समय के बारे में याद करती हैं जब उनकी परदादी ने लगभग दस या ग्यारह साल की उम्र में शिव के पवित्र स्थल से उनके घर तक हाथी की सवारी करने का अपना अनुभव साझा किया था। उन्होंने इत्र, तेल और चंदन के साथ-साथ उत्तर से सोने और चांदी के ऊंचे पैटर्न से सजाए गए रत्न बॉक्स और समृद्ध रेशम के कपड़े जैसी विभिन्न वस्तुओं का वर्णन किया। उसने एक राजकुमार के साथ अपनी शादी के बारे में भी बात की, जो उसकी बाहों में बुखार के आगे झुकने से पहले एक साल के लिए उसे बहुत प्यार करता था। उन्होंने दावा किया कि उनकी रक्तरेखा सबसे पुरानी है और इस प्रकार, सबसे शुद्ध और बेहतरीन है। गरीब लोगों की वास्तविक भावनाओं की तुलना में, नए अमीरों का खून ‘मोटा’ होता है, जो इसे अशुद्ध और परिष्करण की कमी के रूप में दर्शाता है।
कवयित्री की परदादी का उनके छठे वर्ष में निधन हो गया। वह अपने जीवन के सभी समझौतों से ऊब गई थी। उनकी पीड़ा में गठिया शामिल था, और उनकी एकमात्र सांत्वना एक कठोर खांसी थी। कवयित्री ने अपनी परदादी की नीरस, थकी हुई आँखों में देखा, यह कामना करते हुए कि वह अपने घर की स्थिति पर शोक न करे। कवयित्री ने हार के कड़वे सबक सीख लिए और स्वीकार किया कि धन प्राप्त करना एक चुनौतीपूर्ण प्रयास है। घर को कोहनी के बल घुटने टेकने वाले व्यक्ति के रूप में दर्शाया गया है। जब कवयित्री की परदादी का आम के लट्ठों पर अंतिम संस्कार किया गया तो चाँद की हल्की रोशनी के नीचे, घर अजीब, भयानक और जीवित लग रहा था। कवयित्री घर की ओर टकटकी लगाती रही, खिड़कियों को बंद देख रही थी जैसे कि वे अपनी आँखें बंद कर रहे हों। प्राचीन घर के स्तंभ गहरे दुख में रोते हैं, जो दुख की एक स्पष्ट सांस को व्यक्त करते हैं।
कवयित्री दूसरे शहर की अपनी यात्रा शुरू करती है। वह उस घर से चली गई है जहाँ मंदिर, रेत, पौधे और एक तीव्र बैंगनी अरब सागर था। कवयित्री को पता है कि चूहे अब अपनी दिवंगत परदादी के डर के बिना मंद रोशनी वाले दालानों में साहसपूर्वक घूमते हैं। वह दीमकों की उपस्थिति को स्वीकार करती है जो उसके पुराने घर में घुस गए हैं, दीवारों पर एक अजीब मकबरे जैसी संरचना का निर्माण कर रहे हैं। घर और परदादी, दोनों अतीत के प्रतीक, टोटेमिक आकृतियों में बदल जाते हैं जो सांस्कृतिक विरासत और पारिवारिक इतिहास का प्रतिनिधित्व करते हैं जो धीरे-धीरे गायब हो रहे हैं। रात की खामोशी में, कवयित्री इसके ढहने की आवाज़ सुन सकती है। छत गिरने की आवाज़ें और खिड़कियाँ विलाप कर रही हैं। कवयित्री अपने प्राचीन घर को नीचा दिखाने के लिए पश्चाताप महसूस करती है और अपनी परदादी से क्षमा मांगती है, यह व्यक्त करते हुए कि उसने अपने सार को फल से बीज की तरह केवल आग की लपटों में डालने के लिए उखाड़ा है। वह अपने कार्यों के लिए अपराधबोध का अनुभव करती है, खुद को निर्दयी और स्वार्थी बताती है। हालाँकि, वह अपने खून का बचाव करती है, जो पतला, शुद्ध और ठीक है। अस्तित्व में सबसे पुराना रक्त हमेशा याद रखा जाएगा क्योंकि यह सभी रत्नों, सोने, इत्र, तेलों और भव्य हाथियों की सवारी के माध्यम से प्रवाहित होता है। घर के क्षय के बावजूद, परिवार की संपत्ति, विलासिता और परंपराओं की विरासत को कवयित्री हमेशा संजोए रखेगी जब तक कि उसकी नसों में खून बहता रहेगा।
Theme of the Poem Blood
Death and Decay With Passage of Time
The poem uses strong decaying imagery to portray the crumbling of their old house and fading memories. It highlights how time affects both the physical world and their lives. The poem revolves around the theme of death and decay, which specifically includes the great-grandmother’s death as well as the decay of the house and the loss of memories.
Nostalgia and Pride
The poem expresses a deep longing for the past. The poetess feels nostalgic about her childhood memories and her connection to her great-grandmother and their ancestral home. The house’s decay and the great-grandmother’s death represent the unavoidable passage of time and the loss of heritage for them. The poem shows the great-grandmother’s pride in her lineage and blood, even in the face of loss and decay, taking this pride with her to the grave.
Heritage and Identity
Kamala Das uses blood as a symbol of personal and cultural identity. She suggests that their family background and shared experiences shape who they are and how different they are from the society they live in. The poem highlights the significance of family connections and common human experiences in forming their identities. When she mentions that her family has ‘the oldest blood’, it shows a link to history and continuity. The words used to describe the nobility of their blood are ‘thin’, ‘fine’ and ‘clear’. The blood of the new rich is described as ‘muddy as a ditch’ and ‘gruel’.
Class Conflicts
The poetess criticizes class differences in the poem ‘Blood’. According to her great-grandmother, the blood of the poor is thin, clear, and fine. This suggests that people in poor communities can love selflessly and genuinely. In contrast, those in wealthier communities often focus on material things, and true love and affection are often absent. Their relationships are driven by profit and loss.
Tradition Versus Modernity
In the poem, the poetess describes how her great-grandmother was deeply attached to her husband and died shortly after him. The lines “Fed on God for years/All her feasts were monotonous/For the only dish was always God/And the rest mere condiments” show that the traditional women often centered their lives around their husbands. This contrasts with modern views, where life continues beyond grief and loss. The poem also highlights the great-grandmother’s strong connection to materialistic grandeur i.e. 300-year-old ancestral house, which she cherished. Additionally, the poetess conveys the great-grandmother’s pride in her heritage, which she carried with her to the end. Yet, the poetess who represents modernity lives her life by letting go of her unfulfilled promises.
Blood: Poem Explanation with Word Meanings
Stanza:
When we were children
My brother and I
And always playing on the sands
Drawing birds and animals
Our great-grandmother said one day,
You see this house of ours
Now three hundred years old,
It’s falling to little bits
Before our very eyes
The walls are cracked and torn
And moistened by the rains,
The tiles have fallen here and there
The windows whine and groan
And every night
The rats come out of the holes
And scamper past our doors.
The snake shrine is dark with weeds
And all the snake-gods in the shrine
Have lichen on their hoods.
O it hurts me she cried,
Wiping a reddened eye
For I love this house, it hurts me much
To watch it die.
Word meanings
cracked: damaged and showing lines on the surface from having split without coming apart.
whine: a long, high-pitched complaining cry.
groan: make a deep inarticulate sound conveying pain
scamper: run with quick light steps in fear or excitement.
snake-shrine: representations of Naga or snake deities, hold significance in various cultures, particularly in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, symbolizing rebirth, transformation, and protection, with snakes seen as divine or semi-divine beings.
weeds: any wild plant that grows in an unwanted place, especially in a garden or field where it prevents the cultivated plants from growing freely.
lichen: a plantlike organism that typically forms a low crusty, leaflike, or branching growth on rocks, walls, and trees.
hoods: a covering for the head and neck with an opening for the face
Explanation of the above stanza—The poet begins the poem by recalling her childhood when she and her brother used to play on the sand by drawing birds and animals. One day, their great-grandmother told them that the house they see is three hundred years old, but now is falling apart before their eyes. The building material deteriorated with time for rainwater to seep in, eventually leading to cracks and crumbling of plaster. The tiles were falling out of their respective places. The window made a long, high-pitched complaining cry whenever they were opened or closed. Every night the rats came out of their hiding place and ran past the door of their room. Their holy place had snake deities that weren’t visible to the naked eye as they were covered with weeds. All the snake deities had fungus grown on the covering of their heads. The deteriorating state of her holy place had left her great-grandmother hurt. She wiped her tears to see the dilapidated state of her house.
Stanza:
When I grow old, I said,
And very very rich
I shall rebuild the fallen walls
And make new this ancient house.
My great-grandmother
Touched my cheeks and smiled.
She was really simple.
Fed on God for years
All her feasts were monotonous
For the only dish was always God
And the rest mere condiments.
Word meanings
she was really simple: suggests a lack of worldly distractions or complexities.
fed on God for years: a metaphor for the person’s spiritual sustenance, where their primary nourishment comes from their relationship or connection with God.
feast: a large meal, typically a celebratory one.
monotonous: dull
all her feasts were monotonous: a lack of variety in her spiritual experiences, as the only dish ‘focus’ was always God.
condiments: a substance such as salt, mustard, or pickle that is used to add flavour to food.
Explanation of the above stanza—Looking at her great-grandmother’s pitiful situation, the poetess said that when she grew old and rich, she would rebuild the old house. After hearing this, her great-grandmother touched her cheeks and smiled. Her grandmother was a simple woman whose spiritual life, or ‘feasts’ of faith, revolved solely around God, with little else in terms of religious practices or beliefs, making them feel repetitive. There is a lack of variety in her spiritual experiences, as the only focus (dish) was always God. For her, God was the central focus of her spiritual life, with other aspects of her faith being secondary. The other religious practices or beliefs were merely supplementary to the main focus, which was God.
Stanza:
She told us how she rode her elephant
When she was ten or eleven
Every Monday without fail
To the Siva shrine
And back to home again
And, told us of the jewel box
And the brocade from the north
And the perfumes and the oils
And the sandal for her breasts
And her marriage to a prince
Who loved her deeply for a lovely short year
And died of fever, in her arms
She told us
That we had the oldest blood
My brother and she and I
The oldest blood in the world
A blood thin and clear and fine
While in the veins of the always poor
And in the veins
Of the new-rich men
Flowed a blood thick as gruel
And muddy as a ditch.
Word meanings
brocade: a rich fabric woven with a raised pattern, typically with gold or silver thread.
new-rich men: individuals who have recently acquired wealth, often through means that are not necessarily traditional or ethical.
a blood thick as gruel: This is a metaphor. Gruel is a thick, often unappealing porridge, symbolising that the emotions and values of the new rich are heavy, unrefined, and lacking in purity.
gruel: something that lacks substance or significance
muddy as a ditch: the lack of purity. A ditch is a channel for dirty water, suggesting that the lives and actions of the new rich are tainted and morally questionable.
Explanation of the above stanza—The poetess reminiscences about the moment when her grandmother told her about riding the elephant from the holy place of Siva to home at the age of ten or eleven. She told them about various things like the jewel box and the rich silk cloth with raised patterns in gold and silver from the north, perfumes, oils and sandalwood for bosoms. She even told them about her marriage to a prince who loved her deeply for a lovely short year and died of fever in her arms. She told them that their blood is the oldest, which is purest and finest. In comparison to the pure and genuine emotions of the poor, the blood of the new rich men, i.e. impure and unrefined in emotions.
Stanza:
Finally, she lay dying
In her eighty-sixth year
A woman wearied by compromise
Her legs quilted with arthritis
And with only a hard cough
For comfort
I looked deep into her eyes
Her poor bleary eyes
And prayed that she would not grieve
So much about the house.
I had learnt by then
Most lessons of defeat,
Had found out that to grow rich
Was a difficult feat.
The house was crouching
On its elbows then,
It looked like that night in the pallid moon
So grotesque and alive.
When they burnt my great-grandmother
Over logs of the mango tree
I looked once at the house
And then again and again
For I thought I saw the windows close
Like the closing of the eyes
I thought I heard the pillars groan
And the dark rooms heave a sigh.
I set forth again
For other towns,
Left the house with the shrine
And the sands
And the flowering shrubs
And the wide rabid mouth of the Arabian Sea.
Word meanings
wearied: cause to become tired.
grieve: feel intense sorrow.
feat: an achievement that requires great courage, skill, or strength.
crouching: adopt a position where the knees are bent and the upper body is brought forward and down, typically to avoid detection or to defend oneself.
pallid: pale
grotesque: repulsively ugly or distorted.
groan: make a deep inarticulate sound conveying pain
set forth: begin a journey.
shrine: holy place
shrubs: woody plants
rabid: extremely violent
Explanation of the above stanza—The poetess’s grandmother died in her eighty-sixth year. She had grown tired of all the compromises in her life. She was suffering from arthritis. She only had the option of coughing hard for comfort. The poetess looked into the poor dull eyes of her grandmother and hoped that she wouldn’t grieve about her house. The poetess had learnt lessons on defeat and that to grow rich was hard to achieve. The house is personified as a human kneeling on its elbows. Under the pale moon, the house looked strange and frightening, when the poetess’s grandmother was burnt over the logs of the mango tree. The poetess looked again and again at the house as she saw the windows close as if the house was closing its eyes. The pillars of the old house cried in deep pain and the rooms expressed a deep audible exhalation of sadness. The poetess begins the journey in the other town. The poetess has left the house with the shrine, sand, plants and an extremely violent Arabian Sea.
* * *
Stanza:
I know the rats are running now
Across the darkened halls
They do not fear the dead
I know the white ants have reached my home
And have raised on walls
Strange totems of burial.
At night, in stillness,
From every town I live in
I hear the rattle of its death
The noise of rafters creaking
And the windows’ whine.
I have let you down
Old house, I seek forgiveness
O mother’s mother’s mother
I have plucked your soul
Like a pip from a fruit
And have flung it into your pyre
Call me callous
Call me selfish
But do not blame my blood
So thin, so clear, so fine
The oldest blood in the world
That remembers as it flows
All the gems and all the gold
And all the perfumes and the oils
And the stately
Elephant ride…
Word meanings
totems: a natural object or animal that is believed by a particular society to have spiritual significance and that is adopted by it as an emblem.
rattle: a rapid succession of short, sharp, sounds.
creaking: making a harsh, high-pitched sound when being moved or when pressure or weight is applied.
whine: a long, high-pitched complaining cry.
let you down: fail to support or help someone as they had hoped or expected.
mother’s mother’s mother: The repetition and alliteration serve to emphasize the concept of lineage and the extended family, making the phrase more memorable and impactful.
plucked your soul: to have your core essence or spirit forcibly removed or taken away, often in a way that leaves you feeling empty or lost.
pip: a small hard seed in a fruit.
pyre: a combustible heap for burning a dead body as a funeral rite
callous: showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others.
stately: impressive or grand in size, appearance, or manner.
Explanation of the above stanza—The poetess knew that then the rats were running fearlessly across the darkened halls of the house. They weren’t afraid of their dead grandmother. She knew that the termites had reached her old home and built a strange tomb-like structure on the walls. The house and the great-grandmother, as symbols of the past, become spiritual symbols, representing the cultural heritage and family history that were slowly disappearing. At night’s stillness, the poetess listened to the noises of its falling to death. The noises of the roof falling and windows crying. The poetess felt sorry for disappointing their old house for not saving it from being reduced to ruins and asked for her great-grandmother’s forgiveness as she knew her great-grandmother spirit was attached to her home, which she couldn’t save. She plucked her great-grandmother’s soul which is her home like a seed from the fruit only to be thrown into the fire of her great-grandmother’s corpse. She felt guilty for her actions as she blamed and called out to herself as heartless and selfish. Yet, she defended her blood which was thin, pure and fine. The oldest blood in the world will always be remembered as it flows through all the gems, gold, perfumes, oils, and stately Elephant ride. Despite the house decaying, the family’s history of wealth, luxury and traditions will always be remembered by the poetess as long as blood flows in her veins.
Blood Poetic Devices
Alliteration
In alliteration, consonant sounds in two or more closely-placed words or syllables are repeated to grasp the reader’s attention, making them focus on a particular line or section. Some of the instances the poetess uses alliteration in the poem ‘Blood’ are ‘When we were’, ‘windows whine’, ‘Siva shrine’ and ‘woman wearied’ and ‘mother’s mother’s mother’.
Assonance
Assonance is a figure of speech that is characterised by the use of words with similar vowel sounds. The poetess uses Assonance in instances like ‘When we were children’, ‘It’s falling to little bits’, ‘walls are cracked and’, ‘The tiles have fallen here and there’, ‘windows whine’, ‘come out of the holes’, ‘she rode her elephant’, ‘the rest mere condiments’, ‘When she was ten or eleven’, ‘loved her deeply’, ‘oldest blood in the world’, ‘quilted with arthritis’, ‘looked deep into her eyes’, ‘much about the house’, and ‘plucked your soul’.
Consonance
Consonance is the poetic device that uses words with similar consonant sounds in a sentence or a particular context. Kamala Das uses Consonance in instances like ‘three hundred years’, ‘It’s falling to little bits’, ‘Before our very’, ‘scamper past our doors’, ‘snake-gods in the shrine’, ‘Have lichen on their hoods’, ‘To watch it die’, ‘shall rebuild the fallen walls’, ‘brocade from the north’, ‘sandal for her breasts’, ‘her marriage to a prince’, ‘fever, in her arms’, ‘And muddy as a ditch’, ‘Finally she lay dying’, ‘hard cough For comfort’, ‘Her poor bleary’, ‘the house with the shrine’, ‘burnt my great grandmother’, ‘quilted with arthritis’, ‘the white ants have reached my home’, ‘At night, in stillness’, ‘the rattle of its death’ and ‘oldest blood in the world’.
Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not applicable. The ‘Fed on God for years’ is a metaphor for the person’s spiritual sustenance, where their primary nourishment comes from their relationship or connection with God.
Imagery
Imagery is a literary device that uses figurative language to evoke a sensory experience or to paint a picture for the reader with words. The poetess portrayed a safe and peaceful childhood through the imagery in the lines ‘And always playing on the sands/ Drawing birds and animals’. The decaying imagery of the house through the images of walls being ‘cracked and torn’ and ‘tiles have fallen here and there’. The rats ‘scamper past our doors’ and ‘the snake-gods in the shrine Have lichen on their hoods’. The imagery used to describe the house as a person ‘crouching on its elbows’, looked ‘grotesque’ and ‘alive’. With the ‘windows close Like the closing of the eyes’ and ‘pillars groan And the dark rooms heave a sigh’ on the death of her great-grandmother.
Personification
Personification is a poetic device that gives human qualities to animals, objects, or ideas. It is a type of metaphor that helps readers relate to abstract ideas. The poetess has personified windows crying on the decaying of the old house in the line ‘windows whine and groan’. The house is personified as ‘crouching on its elbows’, looked ‘grotesque’ and ‘alive’. The poetess saw ‘the windows close Like the closing of the eyes’ on the death of her great-grandmother. She even heard the ‘pillars groan And the dark rooms heave a sigh’. The poetess has also personified the sea near her great-grandmother’s house as ‘the wide rabid mouth of the Arabian Sea’.
Repetition
Repetition means the act of repeating something, whether it’s a word, phrase, idea, or sound. The poetess uses repetition in the lines like ‘very very rich’ and ‘mother’s mother’s mother’. The repetition of “so” in the line ‘So thin, so clear, so fine’ emphasises the unique and enduring nature of the blood that flows through her veins, connecting her to her ancestors and heritage. The repetition and alliteration in ‘mother’s mother’s mother’ serve to emphasise the concept of lineage and the extended family, making the phrase more memorable and impactful.
Anaphora
Anaphora is a specific type of repetition where the same word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences. The repetition of “And” at the beginning of each line of the listicle of great-grandmother’s grandeur emphasises the richness and abundance of the memories and experiences associated with her family’s heritage. The repetition of “Call me” in the line ‘Call me callous/ Call me selfish’ emphasises the poet’s willingness to accept blame for her actions, but she insists that her blood is not to blame for her shortcomings.
Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that compares two dissimilar things using “like” or “as”, creating vivid imagery and deeper meaning. The poetess has used similes in instances like ‘a blood thick as gruel/And muddy as a ditch’, ‘the windows close Like the closing of the eyes’ and ‘plucked your soul Like a pip from a fruit’.
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is the poetic device of creating or using words that include sounds similar to the noises the words refer to. Kamala Das has used many instances of onomatopoeia, some of them are ‘windows whine and groan’, ‘pillars groan’, ‘dark rooms heave a sigh’, ‘the rattle of its death’ and ‘rafters creaking’.
Symbolism
Symbolism is a literary device where characters, objects, actions, or ideas are ingrained or associated with a deeper meaning beyond the literal sense. The ‘condiments’ symbolises the other religious practices and beliefs. The ‘thick blood’ symbolises the blood of the new rich men, i.e. impure and unrefined in emotions and ‘thin blood’ symbolises pure and genuine emotions of the poor and the poetess’s lineage. The poetess’s great-grandmother and her old house are symbols of the past and become totemic figures, representing the cultural heritage and family history that are slowly disappearing.
Conclusion
The poem “Blood” by Kamala Das explores the themes of nostalgia, the passage of time, the fading of heritage, and the emotional weight of lost memories. This post is designed to help the students understand the poem better, providing explanations for difficult words to enhance comprehension. It also includes a summary of “Blood”, which will assist class 12 students in quickly reviewing the content.