Name: Sarah OmarM.phil: (English. Literature) Instructor : Ms. Saman Saif Term Paper Breaking Stones (Poem) Written by Nirala Hence. he was ridiculed and mocked at. Regarding his biography which is significant and influences his writings. Nirala was born on February 21st. 1896 in a Brahmin family of Midnapore in Bengal (originally from Unnao. he became an authority on various languages such as Bengali. Sanskrit. English. Since he was more or less a rebel. both in form and content.BREAKING STONES The poem „Breaking Stones‟ is written by Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala' who is considered one of the most significant poets of modern Hindi literature. Uttar Pradesh). Nirala took keen interest in Sanskrit from the very beginning. the society did not accept him easily. . through his natural intelligence and acquired knowledge. and Hindi. Besides the fact Nirala being a literary giant of the Hindu literature. he lived most of his in a Bohemian tradition. As a result. all this must have played a role in making him a victim of schizophrenia in his later life. He was a famous poet of Hindi Kavi Sammelan. In time.Even though being a student of Bengali. he introduced aesthetic sense. Sumitranandan Pant and MahadeviVarma . Moreover. (Nirala's Parimal and Anaamika) are considered as the original Chhayavaadi Hindi literature. He amalgamated Vedanta. across all divisions. Nirala pioneered the Chhayavaad movement along with Jaishankar Prasad. Nirala was unrecognized during his life time for his literary work. But today. he voiced his protest against exploitation in the society through his verses. nature. the same despised Nirala is one of the very few people in Hindi literature who are admired and respected by almost all. Nonetheless. nationalism. and was often unpublished due to its unconventional nature. The world of Hindi literature is remarkable for its ideological and aesthetic divisions. love for nature and progressive humanist ideals in his works. The sources of his themes include history. In fact. religion.On the literary front. love of nature. personal point of view and . Nirala died in Allahabad on 15th October 1961. mysticism. He initiated the use of blank verse in his poems. Puranas and contemporary social and political questions respectively. His style of poetry was revolutionary for his time. He wrote strongly against social injustice and exploitation in the society. The legendary Hindi poet Nirala observed a woman laboriously breaking stones under the hot sun. „Breaking Stones‟ was written from an incident that the poet experienced while walking through the lanes of Allahabad. “ It was the hottest . the title can be interpreted as focusing on the society‟s injustice on individuals especially the women who are taken for granted. The poem. The poem. in the summers of 1940s. the setting of the poem is harsh and unforgiving because in the lines mentioned in the poem. “Breaking Stones” is a poem which illustrated the scenario of a poet watching a young woman who is laboring on a road in Allahabad. On a deeper level. Moreover the title of the poem is significant which metaphorically connotates towards the harsh realities of life can turn a woman into stone. Subsequently. his thinking was influenced by Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Swami Vivekananda and in the literary field by Michael Mudhusudan Dutt and Rabindranath Tagore which led him to produce masterpieces of Hindi literature. Consequently.the freedom of form and content in writing which went on to become the chief tenets of Chhayawad. to figure the woman as a beautiful. “I am a woman . glaring . the sun glaring. yet here a woman is doing a man‟s job for the sake of survival and plays a vital role in the development of the society. accepts her circumstances .season. Moreover. the poet aesthecizes the spectacle of the woman breaking stones. and the scorching wind rose. with the air full of dust and sparks” depicts the toughest climate of the sub continent which contributes to their affliction or hardships. burning . fragile creature yet. spark” these sensuous images create a powerful impact on the speaker as well as the readers respectively by creating the ambiance of the harsh climate of the subcontinent. “ hottest. Such hardness of the stone metaphorically illustrates the harsh reality of the sub continental life the common people have to face. her existence in society which is portrayed in these lines. the words such as . scorching . Another significant point which is notable is the woman wishes to be acknowledged of her presence in other words. burning the earth like cotton.He contrasts the fragility of the woman with the stones which is depicted as the tough hardships a woman has to face. Subsequently. It can also be interpreted in another way that usually the men do the labor work. Hence. In comparison to the poem. the poem written by Kamla Daas “Annette” has the similar theme of feminism. The poem gains the sympathy of its readers for the woman . and stresses on the themes of social inequalities and the revolutionary tone that is implied. Beauty”. “I am a Woman” by Maya Angelou. the dashes and the commas represent the pauses in the poem like in the first line. “Breaking Stones”. “That wheat brown hair. Similarly. In the poem.These pauses are placed to emphasize on each and every word as well as to form a visual image in the reader‟s mind. the theme of feminity and sexuality prevails in both these poems respectively.breaking stones’. in these lines the beauty is connected to woman‟s feminity and sexuality that is highlighted in the poem. A significant point that is . “a woman breaking stones-. “Annette” the woman‟s beauty is focused upon as mentioned in the lines. Moreover. Furthermore. the same idea of acknowledging a woman‟s existence is present in the poem. also highlighted in both the poems is the post colonial element of the different labors that women performed to develop the society. . the poem highlights and gains the empathy of the readers through highlighting the hardships and the victimization of women in the society. Hence. „Breaking Stones‟ the woman is fossilized and loses her feminity and sexuality due to the harsh climatic conditions of the subcontinent as well as the hardships and injustice that the society inflicts on the individuals of the society especially the women . the poem. In short.