Toru Dutt's The Young Captive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8HZ8aMvwZU&t=5s 

The Young Captive

by   Toru Dutt

 

 

The budding shoot ripens unharmed by the scythe,
Without fear of the press, on vine branches lithe,
Through spring-tide the green clusters bloom.
Is't strange, then, that I in my life's morning hour,

Though troubles like clouds on the dark present lower,
Half-frighted shrink back from my doom ?
Let the stern-hearted stoic run boldly on death!
I - I weep and I hope; to the north wind's chill breath
I bend, - then erect is my form!
If days there are bitter, there are days also sweet,
Enjoyment unmixed where on earth may we meet?
What ocean has never a storm?
Illusions the fairest assuage half my pain,
The walls of a prison enclose me in vain,
The strong wings of hope bear me far;
So escapes from the net of the fowler the bird,
So darts he through ether, while his music is heard
Like showers of sweet sound from a star.
Comes Death unto me? I sleep tranquil and calm.
And Peace when I waken stands by with her balm.
Remorse is the offspring of crimes;
My welcome each morning smiles forth in all eyes,
My presence is here, to sad brows, a surprise
Which kindles to pleasure at times.
The end of my journey seemed so far to my view;
Of the elm-trees which border the long avenue,
The nearest are only past by;
At the banquet of life I have barely sat down.
My lips have but pressed the bright foaming crown
Of the wine in my cup bubbling high.
I am only in spring, - the harvest I'd see,
From season to season like the sun I would be
Intent on completing my round;
Shining bright in the garden, - its honour and queen;
As yet but the beams of the morning I've seen,
I wait for eve's stillness profound.
O Death, thou canst wait; leave, leave me to dream,
And strike at the hearts where Despair is supreme,
And Shame hails thy dart as a boon!
For me, Pales has arbours unknown to the throngs,
The world has delights, the Muses have songs,
I wish not to perish too soon.
A prisoner myself, broken-hearted and crushed,
From my heart to my lips all my sympathies rushed,
And my lyre from its slumbers awoke;
At these sorrows, these wishes, of a captive, I heard,
And to rhyme and to measure I married each word
As softly and simply she spoke.
Should this song of my prison hereafter inspire
Some student with leisure her name to inquire,
This answer at least may be given, -
That grace marked her figure, her action, her speech,
And such as lived near her, blameless might teach
That life is the best gift of heaven

Note: Captive: Aimée de Coigny, duchess of Fleury.

 

Glossary

Festooned

Decorated with ornaments

Angel-quire

An alternative spelling of "angel-choir"

Sower

A farmer; someone who scatters seed over land for planting (sowing)

Porchway

A porch; a covered and enclosed entrance to a building

Well-nigh

Almost

Furrow

A trench made in the ground by a plow, especially for planting seeds

August

Noble, impressive, and respected

Waif

An abandoned, neglected person, especially a young person who is thin and unhealthy

Contemned

Treated with contempt or scorn

Besmeared

To be smeared with or covered with something sticky or oily

Jeered

Mocked or taunted with loud cries

Drudge

A person who does lowly or hard work

Morn

Morning

Vocation

One's calling, chosen career, or job

Meed

A reward or payment that has been earned

Palpitating

Beating, shaking, or trembling

Lusty

Full of energy and vigor

Wakeful

Unable to or not needing to sleep

Press

A device to squeeze juice out of fruits, like a wine press

Spring-tide

A literary way of speaking about springtime

Half-frighted

Partly scared

Stoic

Someone who endures hardship without complaining or showing their pain

Assuage

Lessen the intensity of something unpleasant; satisfy a craving

Fowler

Someone who hunts and traps birds

Ether

The clear sky; the area beyond the clouds

Balm

A fragrant lotion or substance that is used to soothe

Boon

Something beneficial or helpful

Pales

An ancient Roman god of shepherds and livestock

Arbours

Shady area formed by a cover of plants; an archaic term for gardens or lawns

Throngs

The masses; large crowds of people

Lyre

A stringed instrument shaped like a small harp, used extensively in ancient Greece

Day-god

The sun

Oblique

Slanting, or at an angle

Tract

An area of an unspecified, but large, size

Nebo

A mountain in Jordan; it is from here that Moses viewed the Promised Land just before his death in Deuteronomy

Moses

An important prophet in Judaism and the Abrahamic religions who receives the Ten Commandments from the Abrahamic God

Pisgah

The summit of Mount Nebo, from where Moses views from the Promised Land

Gilead

A Biblical kingdom east of the Jordan River

Ephraim

A Biblical kingdom inhabited by the Tribe of Ephraim, located in the Center of Canaan

Manasseh

A Biblical kingdom inhabited by the Tribe of Manasseh, spanning the two banks of the Jordan River

Unvexed

Serene; free from disturbance

Judah

A Biblical kingdom, located in the south of Canaan

Vale

Valley

Naphtali

One of the sons of Jacob, who was allocated a share of land in the north of Canaan

Jericho

The first city of Canaan conquered by the Israelites in the Bible

Phogor

A mountain in Moab, where Balaam was guided by Balak in order to curse Israel

Mastic

A type of tree that produces aromatic resin

Segor

A Biblical city in the south of Canaan, where Lot and his daughters took refuge

Canaan

The promised land of the Israelites in the Bible

Hebrews

The Israelites; the descendants of Jacob in the Bible

Moab

The Biblical kingdom of the Moabites, located to the east of the Dead Sea

Israel

The land of the Jewish people; also a name for the Jewish people themselves; also a name for Jacob, a progenitor of the Jewish people

Centenarian

Someone who is 100 years old or older

Insensibly

Imperceptibly; subtly

Levi

One of the sons of Jacob; the grandfather of Moses

Cypress

A type of tree with small cones and small, scaly leaves

Lo

An exclamation used to show amazement or wonder

'Twixt

A contraction of "betwixt"; between

Courser

A type of war-horse; someone who hunts using superior eyesight

Curb

A type of bit used in horse riding

Rod

A tool or used to strike a horse and train it

Monut Horeb

The mountain at which Moses receives the Ten Commandments from God

Wonted

Usual or habitual

Redoubled

To become much more numerous

Furze

Gorse; a type of flowering plant

Heath

An area of uncultivated land, usually where heather and gorse grow

Weathercock

A weathervane shaped like a rooster

Firmament

The heavens or the sky, especially when conveying the sense that they are tangible

Lustre

A sheen or glow

Bough

The primary branch of a tree

Gambolled

To run and jump about playfully

Romulus and Remus

The twin brothers who were nourished by a she-wolf and whose story ultimately tells about the founding of Rome

Deluged

Flooded or soaked through

Bespattered

To be splashed all over with drops of liquid

Yoke

A crosspiece that is used to fasten two animals, usually oxen, together and tie them to an implement for labor

Pittance

A small or inadequate amount of money paid to someone

Denizen

Someone who lives in a certain place; an inhabitant

Cordillières

A chain of high mountains

Dun

Dull gray or brown

Eyrie

A large nest of a bird of prey put high in a tree or on a cliff

Pampas

Large, treeless plains in South America

Chili

Archaic spelling of "Chile"

Spectre

A ghost

The Cross of the South

A specific constellation in the night sky

Andes

A mountain range in South America

Amain

With full force or with great speed

Bivouac

A temporary camp without tents or coverings

Grape-shot

Cannon ammunition consisting of several metal balls fastened together

Hoar-frost

Frost resembling white hairs

Czar

Name given to the emperors of Russia before 1917

Accurst

Alternate spelling of accursed; hated or under a curse

Hannibal

A general of ancient Carthage, which fought ancient Rome in the Punic Wars

Atilla

A leader of the Huns known for his cruelty

Tumbril

A two-wheeled cart used to carry tools for an army, or to carry prisoners

Ney

Michel Ney, a french soldier and military commander under Napoleon

Cossacks

An ethnic group within Russia; during the Napoleonic Wars, they were some of the most feared soldiers

Dastard

A despicable or dishonorable person

Bondsman

One who assumes the responsibility of a bond; also an archaic term for slave or servant

Expiation

Making amends for having done wrong

Baugmaree

The name of Toru Dutt's garden home, which inspired the natural settings of many of her poems

Foliage

A collection of plants and their leaves

Tamarind

A tropical tree with edible fruit

Seemuls

The cotton tree; a deciduous tropical Asian tree with red flowers

Primeval

Part of the earliest history of the world; ancient

Flora

The Roman god in charge of the blooming of flowers

Juno mien

Having a face or attitude (mien) like Juno, queen of the Roman gods

Psyche

The Roman goddess of the soul; wife of Cupid, god of love

Bower

A shady area under trees

Whirring from the brake

Coming out of a thicket of tropical ferns

Poet-anchorite

A reclusive poet who has withdrawn from society

As erst at eventide

As long, long ago, during the evenings

Ilimitable

Unlimited; without end

Divers

Archaic spelling of "diverse"

Therewith

With the thing mentioned

Close-prest

Pressed closely

Darkling

Characterized by darkness

Casement

A window set on hinges that opens like a door

Kokilas

A koel; a type of Asian cuckoo bird

Casuarina

The she-oak tree; a tree that is extensive in India

Shingle beach

A beach covered in small-to-medium sized pebbles

Haply

By chance or by accident

Water-wraith

A phantom or ghost of the water

Fain

With pleasure; gladly

Borrowdale

A valley in the Lake District of England

Succour

Assistance given in a time of need or hardship

Environ him on all sides round

Surround him

Videhan Queen

Queen from the ancient kingdom of Videha in Northern India; a reference to Sita

Demonian

Of an evil spirit; demonic

Rakshases

Fierce, demonic creatures of Hindu and Buddhist mythology

Danavs

Universally evil beings in Hindu mythology

Weal

That which is best for someone or something

Loth

Reluctant or unwilling to do something

Sylvan

Of the forest or woods

Kuru

A royal family in the Mahabharata that ultimately loses a series of contests and battles to the Pandavas

Pandava

A royal family in the Mahabharata that ultimately is victorious in a series of contests and battles over the Kurus; they were supported by Krishna; like the Kurus, they were instructed in archery by Dronacharjya

Inurned

To place or bury something, especially in an urn

Saul

The sal-tree, often used in India for timber

Betel nut

The nut of the Areca palm tree

Neem

The Indian Lilac tree

Bulbuls

A family of birds related to the thrush

Mangoe-tope

A cluster or grove of mango trees

Champac

A type of magnolia tree known for its fragrant blossoms, often used in religious ceremonies

Bok

A type of tree, though it is unclear which is meant here; likely a beech or a hummingbird tree

Nagessur

A tree also known as the Indian rose chestnut

Sirish

A type of shade tree also known as Mountain Cedar Wattle

Peepul

One of the large fig tree species of India, often occupying a prominent place in the village

Morass

An area of boggy or swampy ground

Soothly; in sooth

Truthfully

Wishmo

Also called Bhishma; another important archer in the Mahabharata

Arjuna

One of five Pandava princes; the greatest archer of all in the Mahabharata and Dronacharjya’s star pupil, perhaps best known for being Krishna’s addressee in the Bhagavad Gita

Pelf

Money that is especially earned in a dishonest manner

 

Summary

The first stanza uses the metaphor of shoots and grapes—which continue to grow, despite their eventual death in being harvested—to shed light on the uniqueness of the young woman's fear of death.

In the second stanza, the young woman continues to express her fear of death, then suddenly pivots in line 9 to reflect a changed perspective, one that understands the world as a place of mixed joy and sadness, with one being impossible without the other. As part of this change in perspective, the young woman uses the metaphor of an ocean always being accompanied by storms to show that even the most beautiful and tranquil scenes are tainted sometimes by violence and chaos.

In the third stanza, the woman speaks of the vain hopes of freedom that keep her afloat, and she expresses this hope with the metaphor of a bird freeing a fowler.

In the fourth stanza, the young woman speaks of the peace that sleep brings, and her eventual dejection upon waking to find that she is imprisoned.

The next two stanzas express the young woman's lament that she will die in captivity and at a young age. In the fifth stanza, the woman uses the metaphor of life as a grand banquet at which she has barely feasted to suggest that her death will be premature. Similarly, in the sixth stanza, the woman compares life to a harvest, suggesting that she has only seen the early light of morning and now must wait for death in the form of evening.

In the seventh stanza—the last spoken by the woman—a direct address (an apostrophe) is given to Death, and the woman says that Death ought to wait to take her from this world, since there are still many places she would like to see.

The following stanzas follow a poet, the true speaker of the poem, who informs us that he composed this poem in response to hearing these words from the captive, whom he is imprisoned with. The final stanza shows the speaker refusing to tell us the young woman's name, but he does close by telling us of the woman's grace, her spirit, and the role he sees for himself and his poem in teaching an audience about the value of life.

This core narrative already raises interesting questions about the tense relationship between the speaker and the subject of the poem, the young woman. Are the words presented in the poem intended to be an exact rendition of the woman's laments in jail, or does the speaker-poet figure take liberties while rendering these laments in poetic form? Is the poem meant to represent the lyric outpouring of emotion, as is suggested throughout and in the penultimate stanza, or is it meant to convey a moral lesson, as is suggested in the last stanza? The poem does not offer much in terms of a definite answer, but such tension provides solid ground upon which to anchor different thematic interpretations of the text.

Besides this conceptual puzzle, however, there is much to interpret and analyze with respect to the poem's content. The woman's engagement of "the bird" who "escapes from the net of the fowler" and sings—as well as her comparison of the self to grapes, shoots, and a harvest—suggest that the woman yearns to be immersed in nature again and sees herself as deeply in touch with natural cycles and processes. Her description of life as a banquet conveys both a certain sense of entitlement and a view of life as procedural in the manner of a banquet, in which certain, well-defined steps follow others to create a cohesive ritual.

The presence of Pales, the Muses, and the lyre in the poem calls forth imagery of classical antiquity, which likely reflects the good education and socioeconomic comfort that the poet and the young woman enjoyed before being imprisoned. This emphasis on the young woman's grace and eloquence is made explicit in the last stanza, where future "student[s]" are mentioned. It is possible, then, that the poem is meant to be tragic not just in the sense that the title figure's life will be cut short, but also in the sense that she and the speaker have the shared experience of being targeted by revolutionaries for their wealth. The poem may thus be instructive in the sense that it teaches us to seize the day, but also in doing so conveys the lesson that even the best laid plans can be undone and that even the most privileged can fall.

"The Young Captive" is highly original and unique in terms of its narrative voice. Further, the outpouring of emotions described by the speaker-poet in the poem nicely mirrors Chénier's status as a forerunner of Romantic poetry. Still, however, this translation, like so many others by Toru Dutt, bears her distinct marks—an interest in the relationship between natural beauty and humanity, the relationship of the poet to the subject, the experience of loss at a young age, and the looming threat of death.