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MARXIST UTOPIA AND POLITICAL IDEALISM IN THE POETRY OF PABLO NERUDA AND FAIZ AHMAD FAIZ:
A COMPARATIVE STUDY
By
Mazhar Hayat
40-FLL/PHDENG/F09
Supervisor
Dr. Muhammad Safeer AwanAssistant Professor
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE
INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD
2014
ii
Marxist Utopia and Political Idealism in the Poetry of Pablo Neruda and Faiz Ahmad Faiz: A Comparative Study
By
Mazhar Hayat 40-FLL/PHDENG/F09
Supervisor
Dr. Muhammad Safeer AwanAssistant Professor
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
PhD in English
To
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE
INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD
2014
iii
Dedication
To my Beloved Wife
and
Children
Without whose unflinching support it would have been impossible for me to accomplish
my research
iv
Acceptance by the Viva Voce Committee
Title of the thesis: Marxist Utopia and Political Idealism in the Poetry of Pablo Neruda and Faiz Ahmad Faiz: A Comparative Study
Name of student: Mazhar Hayat
Registration No: 40-FLL/PHDENG/F09
Accepted by the Department of English, Faculty of Languages & Literature, International Islamic University, Islamabad, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctoral degree in English with specialization in Literature.
Viva Voce Committee
___________________________ Prof. Dr. Munawar Iqbal Ahmad
Dean Faculty of Languages & Literature
___________________________ Prof. Dr. Munawar Iqbal Ahmad
Chairman Department of English
___________________________ External Examiner
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shahbaz Arif
___________________________ External Examiner
Prof. Dr. Waseema Shehzad
___________________________ Dr. Muhammad Safeer Awan
Supervisor
January, 2014
v
ABSTRACT
Title: Marxist Utopia and Political Idealism in the Poetry of Pablo Neruda and Faiz Ahmad Faiz: A Comparative Study
Comparative literature in its pure, classical form has been on a steady decline since the rise of postcolonial studies that challenged its Eurocentricity and universalist claims. Contrary to the formalistic approach of the European comparatists, postcolonial comparative literary studies focus upon the nexus between aesthetics and politics contributing to the growing multiple perspective approach in the comparative studies field. Pablo Neruda and Faiz Ahmad Faiz are the two eminent, socially-committed, poets of the post-imperial age who have committed their art to lend intellectual authority to the political struggle of the forces of resistance against hegemonic orders to effect socio-political change and to create an exploitation-free world order. The two poets have projected their Marxist futuristic vision and political ideals in the wake of bourgeois hegemony in their respective postcolonial societies. These responses are deeply embedded in the specific philosophical, cultural, religious and literary traditions of their societies. The comparative study of Marxist utopia and political idealism in the poetry of Neruda and Faiz examines similarities of counter-hegemonic content and form – a logical outcome of shared political and historical conditions of their societies and specificities arising out of the influence of particular frames of reference in which the works of the two poets are produced. The theoretical framework of the study is Marxist literary theory which affirms political and neo-historicist readings of literature. I have also benefitted from certain aspects of postcolonial theory since it complements Marxist perspective on imperialism, nationalism, history and culture and ascribes to the politics of resistance. Research questions are based upon the basic tenets of literary Marxism which also evaluate the significance of Neruda and Faiz’s poetry in this age of corporate globalisation. Keeping in view the vast oeuvre of the two poets and the limitations of research in terms of time and space, I have delimited my study to the textual analysis of Neruda’s celebrated political work Canto General (General Song) translated into English by Jack Schmitt and the thematically and formally significant poems of Faiz translated into English by Victor Kiernan in Poems by Faiz and Daud Kamal and Khalid Hasan’s O City of Lights. The comparative study endorses the thesis statement highlighting ideological and formal similarities and specificities as the ideological commitments of the two poets are contextualised in their cultural backgrounds.
vi
DECLARATION
I, Mazhar Hayat Son of Bahadar Khan Registration No.40-FLL/PHDENG/F09 Discipline
English, PhD scholar at International Islamic University, Islamabad do hereby declare
that the thesis “Marxist Utopia and Political Idealism in the Poetry of Pablo Neruda and
Faiz Ahmad Faiz: A Comparative Study” submitted by me in partial fulfilment of PhD
Degree, is my original work, and has not been submitted or published earlier. I also
solemnly declare that it shall not in future, be submitted by me for obtaining any other
degree from this or any other university or institution.
I also understand that if evidence of plagiarism is found in my thesis at any stage,
even after the award of the degree, the work may be cancelled and the degree revoked.
____________________ Signatures of Deponent
Dated: January, 2014 MAZHAR HAYAT
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
All praise be to Allah Who blessed me with health and energy to carry out my
research work. I owe the debt of gratitude to my parents whose love and
extraordinary vision brought me into the realm of light and knowledge. I am deeply
indebted to my honourable teachers Dr. Naseem Akhtar Raja, Dr. Ayaz Afsar, Dr.
Muhammad Safeer Awan, and Dr. Fauzia Janjua whose knowledge and sympathy
during my coursework at International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) provided
me the required intellectual impetus to step into the demanding realm of academic
research.
My deep and eternal sense of gratitude for my supervisor Dr. Muhammad Safeer
Awan who imparted to me not only his vast understanding of this subject but also
helped me develop the basics of a fluent, coherent and well-knit write-up, leaving a
lasting impression on me with his outstanding teaching strategies and research
insights. I am also indebted to Prof. Dr. Munawar Iqbal Ahmad Gondal, Dean, FLL
and Chairman, Department of English, for his kind patronage. Gratitude is also due to
my colleagues at the department of English Literature, Govt. College University,
Faisalabad. My fellowship with Muhammad Saleem Dogar has been a constant
source of inspiration and fun. I am also thankful to my student and colleague Ms.
Saira Akhtar, Lecturer in English, Govt. College University, Faisalabad for extending
cooperation in helping me in searching material from various sources and in typing
my thesis.
Mazhar Hayat
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page No
Acceptance by the Viva Voce Committee iv Abstract v Declaration vi Acknowledgements vii Table of Contents viii
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
General Background of the Study Thesis Statement Research Questions Critical Framework and Research Method Significance of the Comparative Study Delimitation of the Study
1 17 17 18 23 26
Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 30
2.1 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.1.3 2.1.4 2.1.5 2.1.6 2.1.7 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.2.3.1 2.2.3.2 2.2.3.3 2.2.3.4 2.2.3.5 2.2.4 2.2.4.1 2.2.4.2 2.2.4.3 2.2.4.4 2.2.4.5
Review of Literature on Comparative Studies The Aims of Comparative Literature European and American Comparative Models Postcolonial Comparative Approach Comparative Literature and the Multiple Perspectives Comparative Literature and Multiculturalism Cultural Significance of Translation Studies Comparativism and the Tension between the Local and the Universal Elements in Literature Pablo Neruda’s Poetry Latin American Culture and the Literary Tradition of Socially-Committed Literature Disputation over the Political Role of Literature Transformation of Neruda from a Romanticist to a Marxist Pablo Neruda in Temuco – Detestation for Oppression Santiago Experience – A Period of Ambivalence Spanish Experience – A Turning Point New Intellectual Orientation Controversy Regarding Isla Negra Canto General (General Song) Circumstantial Political Poems of Neruda Socio-political and Historical Context of Canto General and the Theme of Betrayal The Poetics of Prophesy in Canto General Neruda – A Programmatic Optimist or a Poet of Multiple Identities The Critique of Global Capitalism in Canto General
30 31 32 34 35 36 40 40 42 43 49 50 50 52 55 57 58 59 60 62 63 67 68
ix
2.2.4.6 2.2.4.7 2.2.4.8 2.2.4.9 2.2.4.10 2.2.4.11 2.2.4.12 2.3 2.3.1 2.3.2 2.3.3 2.3.4 2.3.4.1 2.3.4.2 2.3.5 2.3.5.1 2.3.5.2 2.3.5.3 2.3.5.4 2.3.5.5 2.3.5.6 2.3.5.7 2.3.5.8
Harmony between Natural and Social Praxis in Canto General Historical Account of the Adamic Tradition in Canto General Structural and Thematic Significance of the Epic Pattern of Canto General Political Significance of Erotic (Romantic) Imagery in Canto General Repudiation of Canonised Linguistic Practices in Canto General Ekphrastic Experience in Canto General Future and Past Utopias in Canto General: A Dream or Praxis Poetry of Faiz Ahmad Faiz Ideological and Intellectual Development of Faiz in Pre-partition British India Progressives’ Pro-British Stance in Second World War – A Contradiction or Necessity Faiz’s Ideological and Artistic Stance in Post-Independence Era (Pakistan) Faiz’s Perspective on Politics, Culture and the Role of the Artist Bourgeois Politics and its Impact on the Indigenous Cultures Faiz’s Vision of Literature and the Artist Marxism of Faiz Faiz’s Scientific View of Marxism Islamic Socialistic Vision of Faiz Circumstantial Note in the Political Poetry of Faiz Blend of Love and Revolution in Faiz: Is It an Ambivalence? Tradition and Innovation in Faiz (the Lyrical and the Political): Eccentricity or Transformation Critique of Capitalism in Faiz Rejection of Bourgeois Discourse Is the Progressive Poetry of Faiz Dated?
70 73 77 78 79 81 83 86 86 90 91 96 96 100 105 105 106 108 111 113 116 118 120
Chapter 3 MARXISM AND LITERATURE: READING POLITICS IN THE LITERARY
127
3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8
Basic Tenets of Marxism Is Marxism a Euro-centric Revolutionary Movement or a World Historical Process? Marxism and Ideology Marxist and Culture Marxism and Pluralism Marxist / Dialectical Realism Utility of Marxism in the Age of Corporate Globalisation Marxist Literary Tradition in Post-colonial World
127 130 133 135 136 137 139 145
Chapter 4 PABLO NERUDA AND THE POLITICS AND THE POETICS OF LITERATURE
149
4.1 4.2 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.2.3
The Politics and the Poetics of Literature Salient Marxist / Political Features of the Poetry of Neruda Political Treatment of Nature Universality of the Poet’s Ideology Marxist Orientation of Neruda’s Bardic Tradition
149 152 152 152 153
x
4.2.4 4.3 4.4 4.4.1 4.4.2 4.4.3 4.4.4 4.5 4.5.1 4.5.2 4.5.3 4.5.4 4.5.5 4.6 4.6.1 4.6.2 4.6.3 4.6.4 4.6.5 4.6.6 4.6.7 4.6.8 4.6.9 4.7 4.7.1 4.7.2 4.7.3
Poetry of Rebellion Brief Summary of Canto General (General Song) Textual Analysis of Canto General (General Song) Dialectical Method of Neruda in Canto General History as a Class Conflict and Glorification of Pre-Columbian Utopia Spanish Invasion as an Intrusion upon Primeval Harmony Solidarity with the Forces of Political and Intellectual Resistance Neruda’s Critique of Capitalism and Latin American Frame of Reference Indictment of Latin American Oligarchy Indictment of Retrogressive Role of Catholic Church Indictment of Bourgeois Poets and Journalists Diatribe against Legal and Judicial System Indictment of North American Corporate Imperialism Counter-hegemonic Role of Poetic Tools (Thematic-Formal) in Canto General Theme of Betrayal and Perfidy Theme of Suffering Exaltation of Struggle and Sacrifice Theme of Counter-Culture Reassurance of Political Apocalypse Theme of Retribution Ideological Significance of Epic Form Ideological and the Essentialistic Orientation of the Imagery The Visual Component in Canto General Marxist Poetry of Neruda in the Age of Corporate Globalisation Dialectical Value of Neruda’s Poetry Multicultural and Ecological Appeal of Neruda’s Poetry Humanism in the Poetics of Neruda
154 155 157 157 158 163 168 176 179 182 184 186 187 192 192 195 198 199 200 203 204 206 209 211 213 213 215
Chapter 5 CONTEXTUALISING FAIZ’S ROMANCE AND REVOLUTION
219
5.1 5.2 5.2.1 5.2.2 5.2.3 5.2.4 5.2.5 5.3 5.3.1 5.3.2 5.3.3 5.3.4 5.4 5.4.1 5.4.2 5.4.3 5.5
Romance and Revolution in Faiz Salient Features of Faiz’s Marxist Poetry Universality of Faiz’s Ideological Art Rejection of Monolithic View of Marxism Rejection of Imperialistic Wars against Third World Rejection of Territorial Nationalism A Poet of Peace Textual Analysis Dialectical Method of Faiz History as a Perpetual Conflict Past and Future Utopias of Faiz and the Frame of Reference The Role of Dialectical Criticism in Literature Critique of Hegemonic Order and Frame of Reference in Faiz Indictment of the Ruling Troika in Pakistan Critique of Repressive State Apparatuses and Repressive Regimes Critique of the Retrogressive Role of Dogma Counter-hegemonic Role of Thematic and Formal Poetic Tools in Faiz
220 222 223 224 225 226 228 230 230 232 234 240 242 243 245 252 256
xi
5.5.1 5.5.2 5.5.3 5.5.4 5.5.5 5.5.6 5.5.7 5.6 5.6.1 5.6.2 5.6.3 5.6.4
Poetics of Mansur and Qais Pain and Exaltation and Wait and Change The Theme of Reassurance and Consolation Glorification of Socially-committed Writers Transformation of Urdu Ghazal into a Political Genre The Dialectical Role of Nature Imagery in Faiz The Poetic Tools of Invocation and Devotional Song The Relevance of Faiz in the Age of Capitalistic Triumphalism Humanistic and Ideological Value of the Poetry of Faiz Cultural Value of the Poetry of Faiz Dialectical View of the Poetry of Faiz Progressive/Revisionist Marxism of Faiz – as an Alternative to Neo-Liberalism
256 258 263 267 270 272 273 275 275 277 278 278
Chapter 6 COMPARISON AND CONCLUSION 283
6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5
Comparative Study of Dialectical Method in the Poetry of Neruda and Faiz Critique and Indictment of Capitalism in Neruda and Faiz Poetic Tools of Neruda and Faiz Relevance of the Poetry of Neruda and Faiz in the Wake of Corporate Globalisation Conclusion and Generalisation
285 291 297 306 309
Bibliography 313
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 General Background of the Study
There is no denying that the two thinkers who have left indelible mark on the study of
culture in general and literature in particular, even if they themselves were not
scholars of literature, were Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. The present study invokes
the idea of „Marxist Utopia‟ in the poetry of Pablo Neruda and Faiz Ahmad Faiz who
envisioned an exploitation-free world order. In a comparative mode, it examines and
determines similarities in content and form in the art of the two poets and peculiarities
arising out of specific frames of reference, historical, cultural and literary
backgrounds.
The term „utopia‟, that literally means “no place”, was first theorized by Plato
in his The Republic and was formally used by Sir Thomas Moore in his work Utopia.
It denotes an imaginary commonwealth free of all socio-political and economic ills.
Sir Augustine‟s City of God glorifies the Garden of Eden as a blissful city. In general,
the term utopia refers to all those fictional, philosophical and political works which
depict imaginary realms better than the real world.
Through its politics of emancipation and resistance, Marxism envisions an
exploitation-free world through social action. Propounded by Karl Marx, Marxist
ideology is a set of politico-historical and economic theories which is directed at
social change through class struggle. Marxism which is rooted in its dissatisfaction
with capitalism and its destructive impact on the homogenized, agrarian, western
2
societies and their unified Christian worldview, in the aftermath of the nineteenth
century Industrial Revolution, takes its inspiration from the collective strength of the
communal way of life and societies of the past, believed to have existed at the earliest
stage of mankind‟s history. Endorsing materialistic view of history, Marxists argue
that the existing bourgeois culture is the product of class struggle passing through
various stages of social history: primitive communism, slavery, feudalism and
capitalism. They challenge the entire super-structure of the capitalistic culture –
envisioned as a „dystopia‟ of injustice in George Orwell‟s 1984.1
„Bourgeois‟ critics reject Marxist futuristic design as a utopian dream which
cannot be realised. For instance, Marxist claim of absolute harmony between the
individual and society in a future communist world is an unrealistic claim. For them,
“Marx‟s dewy-eyed vision of the future reflects the absurd unreality of his politics as
a whole” (Eagleton, 2011, p. 64). Marxists claim that bourgeois criticism of Marxist
futuristic vision is based upon lack of proper understanding of the ideology. They
affirm that Marxism is a dialectical movement which aims to liberate the elements of
a new social order from the inherent contradictions of the existing culture. Marx
(2008) in The Civil War in France says that the proletariats “have no ideals to realize,
but to set free the elements of the new society with which the old collapsing bourgeois
society is itself pregnant” (p. 134). So, unlike poetic utopias it is more of a praxis: a
practical doctrine of social action which strives for self-realisation of the individual
who has been alienated from his real human self due to the division of labour under
capitalist economy. Furthermore, Marxism does not offer a future world order free of
all inequalities, sufferings, conflicts and rivalries. There is scarcely any evidence of
such a perfect society in the writings of Karl Marx. Marx did not approve of the ideas
which were not entrenched in historical reality. Marx and Engels in Communist
3
Manifesto reject Utopian socialism of Saint-Simon, Fourier, Owen and others for
lacking political strategy. Marx and Engels observed that the socialist and communist
systems of these writers were contextualized in the lamentations of the feudal
aristocracies of France and England during the early stages of bourgeois revolution. It
was a time when class antagonism was yet undeveloped. The utopian socialists
rejected class-based struggle and pleaded for a “universal asceticism and social
leveling in its crudest form” (Marx & Engels 2008, p. 78). However, Marx and Engels
approve of the critical element in the works of utopian socialists because “the
utopians attack every principle of existing society. Hence they are full of the most
valuable material for the enlightenment of the working class” (p. 80).
However, despite the materialistic nature of ideology, Marxism does not
altogether exclude all forms of idealism from its fold. It approves utopian vision
provided that it paves way for improvement in the socio-political system of the world.
Marxists argue that their political ideals are the goals which give a sense of direction
to work for the realisation of an oppression-free society. “Ideals are signposts, not
tangible entities. They point us the way to go. Those who scoff at socialist ideals
should remember that the free market can never be perfectly realised either” (Eagleton
2011, p. 87). Ernst Bloch, who is considered the greatest of modern utopian thinkers,
substantiates revolutionary utopia as an integral part of mankind‟s and nature‟s
orientation towards a socially and technologically improved future. Bloch in The
Principle of Hope (1996) and The Spirit of Utopia (2000) observes that the study of
history and culture establishes that people have always dreamed of a better world than
their own. Utopian dreams are consistently present in art forms i.e literature, music,
painting, architecture, medicine etc. He argues that the higher kind of utopia is the
revolutionary utopia which not only yearns for the end of human suffering but also
4
gives a road-map for social action against oppression and exploitation. Bloch in The
Principle of Hope (Vol.1) says:
Above all revolutionary interest, with knowledge of how bad the
world is, with acknowledgement of how good it could be if it were
otherwise, needs the waking dream of world improvement, keeps
hold of it in a wholly unheuristic, wholly realistic way in both its
theory and practice. (Bloch 1996, p. 95)
The author affirms that in a humanistic world where oppression and injustice have
been eliminated, there will always be a truly revolutionary force.
Evaluating the political role of utopian thinking, it seems pertinent to briefly
review the position of Fredric Jameson who is one of the leading Western Marxist
theorists of our age. Fredric Jameson in Archaeologies of the Future: The Desire
called Utopia and other Science Fictions observes that utopia has always been a
political subject whose political structure is marked for ambiguity. He argues that
during the period of the cold war, the term utopia became a synonym for Stalinism. It
was thought to be a programme which repudiated the myths of human frailty and the
original sin and expressed the will to achieve perfection of the imperfect system by
force. The author observes that in this age of post-communism, utopia seems to have
regained its position as a political slogan. In the absence of communist and socialist
parties alike and the cynicism about traditional vision of revolution, the cultural
minorities, the oppressed peasants and the unemployed masses are attracted towards
the political significance of the utopian thinking. In the words of Fredric Jameson:
Indeed, a whole new generation of the post-globalization Left –
one which subsumes remnants of the old Left and the New Left,
along with those of a radical wing of social democracy, and of
First World cultural minorities and Third World proletarianized
peasants and landless or structurally unemployable masses – has
more and more frequently been willing to adopt this slogan, in a
situation in which the discrediting of communist and socialist
parties alike, and the skepticism about traditional conceptions of
revolution, have cleared the discursive field. (Jameson2005, p. xii)
5
Marxists also substantiate their futuristic design by arguing that their prophesy
of Marxist millennium is closely modeled upon the scriptural cyclic vision of the
universe which commences from the Genesis leading eventually to the „Apocalypse‟.
They establish close affinities between Genesis and the earliest Communist society of
the world; between the Biblical apocalypse and the Marxist millennium. Biblical
apocalypse refers to the God‟s eventual act of the destruction of the existing evil
world in order to set up his own kingdom on the earth. This apocalypse will be
heralded by the sudden and violent happenings like floods or wars. Similarly, Marxist
revolution will be heralded by the proletariat resistance against the status quo leading
to the creation of an exploitation-free world. Reiterating the parallels between the
Biblical apocalypse and Marxist millennium, Frederic Jameson in Marxism and
Form: Twentieth-century Dialectical Theories of Literature says:
What Marxism shares with Christianity is primarily a historical
situation: for it now projects that claim to universality and that
attempt to establish a universal culture which characterized
Christianity in the declining years of the Roman Empire and at the
height of Middle Ages. It is therefore not at all surprising that its
intellectual instruments should bear a structural similarity to those
techniques – with which Christianity assimilated populations of
differing and wholly unrelated cultural backgrounds. (Jameson
1974, p. 117)
Bloch (2000) in The Spirit of Utopia also proclaims the alliance between messianism
and Marxism. This scriptural evidence lends moral support to Marxist perspective on
history.
To sum up, Marxist utopia (political idealism) does not hold out the pledge of
a perfect human society. It does not see an end to even hard labour. There is hardly
any evidence that Marx envisages a socialistic system without disease, accident, or
mischance. What Marxism promises is sufficiency for all through equitable
distribution of the surplus2.
6
Marxist utopia and political idealism of Neruda and Faiz is rooted in the
politics of emancipation from bourgeois dominance through proletariat intervention.
Their humanism is socialistic humanism with sympathy for the oppressed. They reject
western meta-narrative of progress which helps internalize the parameters of
bourgeois culture and economy and does not represent the sufferings and the miseries
of the oppressed and the marginalised. The two poets use counter-hegemonic devices
like the war of position, attrition, manipulation and counter-culture to legitimise the
political and ideological struggle of the forces of resistance against the forces of status
quo and look for contrapuntal patterns in official versions of history, culture and
politics. It is appropriate to explain the above-mentioned key counter-hegemonic
terms. Bourgeois hegemony refers to the dominance of ruling ideology whereas
counter-hegemony refers to the intellectual and ideological struggle of the progressive
forces to expose masked contradictions in the redoubts of the existing order. The war
of position refers to the poet‟s stance in the conflict between the forces of hegemony
and the forces of resistance. In the war of position, a progressive writer takes side
with the oppressed people and rejects bourgeois discourse. The war of attrition refers
to a sustained process of attacking the assumptions of bourgeois ideology.
Manipulation consists of disarticulation and rearticulation. Disarticulation as a
counter-hegemonic device stands for the process of decentering and demystifying
bourgeois centres of truth. Rearticulation refers to the process of rewriting existing
cultural and ideological assumptions from counter-hegemonic perspective. The device
of counter-culture points to the process of projection of past/indigenous cultural
heritages against bourgeois-sponsored representation of popular culture. The central
purpose of the strategy of counter-culture is to decolonize cultural and art forms of the
oppressed societies from the shackles of colonialism and bourgeois culture industry.
7
Pablo Neruda, the Nobel laureate whose real name was Neftali Ricardo Reyes
Basoalto, was born in Chile in 1904. His early poems were love poems and are still
very popular in Latin America. Commenting on the popularity of his poems, Adam
Feinstein says, “Nearly half a century before he won the Nobel Prize for literature in
1971, lovers everywhere wooed one another with verses from Neruda‟s Twenty Love
Poems” (2004, p.1). At the outset of his poetic career, the twentieth century modernist
literary movement in Latin America was at its peak. Latin American modernist poets
sought to purge the Spanish language of its stylistic excesses of the previous century.
They wanted to liberate their language from the influence of French and Spanish
literary traditions. Neruda was also opposed to obscure modes of expression and
evasive poetry. He selected “ode” to meditate and sing for earthly subject matters like
love, women and ordinary objects of nature. He was inclined towards anarchist / rebel
class poets and writers who were known for their disliking for bourgeois politics.
Later on, his experiences as Chilean Consul in Spain changed his artistic orientation.
In Spain, he watched the brutalities of the Fascists against Spanish peasantry. As
Neruda‟s conversion towards Marxist view of art and history is mainly indebted to the
influence of Spanish Civil War, he describes this influence in his Memoirs (2008) in
the following words:
I saw it. A million dead Spaniards. A million exiles. It seemed as if
that thorn covered with blood would never be plucked from the
conscience of mankind … and so the Spanish War, which changed
my poetry, began for me with a poet‟s disappearance [referring to
Garcia Lorca]. (p. 122)
Neruda‟s conversion to the cause of the exploited was further fortified during his visit
to the mines in the Northern desert of Chile where he observed the miseries of the
workers from close quarters. Under the influence of these experiences which were
anti-bourgeois, he abandoned subjectivism in art and committed his poetry to the
8
cause of the oppressed and the marginalised. In the words of Wilson, “The pain of the
exploited, illiterate others taught him how to overcome his selfishness. His new
version of love is C P patriotism” (2008, p. 189). Now, Neruda identifies himself as a
bard, singing for the people. He considers it obligatory on the poet to reject official
versions of history and review the past in terms of past sufferings in order to inform
the people about the narrative of wretchedness. He is critical of those artists who do
not provide artistic and intellectual support to the society in the times of crises. In his
Memoirs, the poet says:
Perhaps the poet has had the same obligation throughout history. It
has been poetry‟s distinction to go out in the street, to take part in
this or that combat. The poet didn‟t scare off when they said he
was a rebel. Poetry is rebellion. (2008, p. 29)
Major political works of Neruda include Espana en el Corazon (Spain in My
Heart, 1936), Canto General (General Song, 1950), Poesia Politica (Political Poetry,
1953), Las Uvas Y el Viento (Grapes and Wind,1954), Cancion de gesta (Song of
Protest, 1960) and Nixonicidio (Nixonicide, 1970). Since Canto General is the focus
of the present research, I deem it essential to introduce the work. Canto General is, of
course, Neruda‟s most extensive and highly celebrated volume of political poetry.
Published in 1950, the poem is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest poetic
accomplishments of the modern age. Epic in form, the poem is recognised as the
representative work of Neruda‟s Marxist vision of history, culture and art. In Canto
General, the poet affirms his cultural and political role to become, in the words of
Alastair Reid:
A voice, a voice for the dead past, for the stones themselves, for
the inanimate world of objects, for the natural world, for the
continent in all its myriad forms, and, above all, for those in the
present who lack a voice. (1990, p. 5)
9
The epic contains 15 sections, 231 poems and almost 15000 lines. The
immediate political circumstances surrounding the poet were the treachery of
Gonzalez Videla, the President of Chile who betrayed the Communist party after
winning victory in presidential election through its support. Dialectical in vision,
Canto General literally meaning “Song of All” establishes historical, natural and
cultural growth of Latin America through class struggle from pre-Spanish age up to
the present era. It also anticipates Marxist apocalypse as a result of continuous
conflict between the forces of tyranny and the redeemers. In rewriting the history of
his continent:
Not only does Neruda revise the history of the people, providing an
alternative history to that of the dominant culture, he also
restructures the relationship between the Bible and the political
history in a sort of pretext of liberation theology. And in so doing,
he attempts to shift the faith of the people from the Bible to an
active participation in a Marxist revolution. (Terry Dehay, 1993,
p. 47)
In contrast to the Spanish version of native culture in which the indigenous
population is represented as pre-social and pre-political (barbaric), Neruda glorifies
the pre-columbian, pre-imperialistic America for its purity, popular mass culture and
harmony with nature. This poetic glorification of pre-colonial America finds its
manifestation in the poem “A Lamp on Earth” in Canto General:
Before the wig and the dress coat
There were rivers, arterial rivers:
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 13)
The mood of the poem is one of the anger at treachery and the other of the
restoration of broken promises and the victory. The treachery refers to the
manipulation of history and culture of Latin America by the forces of dominance who
have kept the real owners of the continent under socio-political, cultural and
intellectual bondage. The restoration of broken promises refers to the materialization
10
of Marxist revolution via proletariat struggle. The outrage is directed against the
Spanish invasion and the conquest of the continent, the enemies of America, the Latin
American dictators, the aristocracy, the Catholic Church, the economic imperialism of
USA and its multi-national financial companies such as United Fruit Company,
Standard Oil Company etc and the specific individuals like Gonzalez. The following
excerpt from the poem “Gonzalez Videla, Chile‟s Traitor” in Canto General reflects
the anger at broken promises in Chilean politics:
In my country villainy presides.
Gonzalez Videla is the rat who shakes
His hair matted with manure and blood
On my land which he sold.
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 200)
The restoration of broken promises is expressed through the clarion call to the people
of Chile and the continent to rise against oppression and perfidy. In the above-
mentioned poem, the poet says:
My people, my people raise your destiny!
Break the bonds, open the walls that enclose you!
Crush the ferocious passage of the rat that governs
From the palace:
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 201)
In terms of colonial history, the poem presents the struggle of the oppressed and the
colonized against the oppressors and the Colonizers by appropriating the expropriated
history of America. Thus, the poem pays homage to the indigenous heroes who acted
as icons of resistance against Conquistadors (conquerors). The following lines from
the poem “Pedro de Validivia‟s Heart” (Canto General) best reflect the agony and the
anger of the indigenous warrior over the loss of peace and harmony after foreign
invasion:
11
Give me the homeland without thorns
Give me victorious peace
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p.86)
The basic purpose of Canto General is to educate the masses and to legitimise
the ideological struggle of the forces of resistance against the hegemonic order. The
epic structure of Canto General facilitates the poet to develop his counter-hegemonic
stance due to its encyclopedic scope. The association of the common people with the
natural world and the earth is common throughout Canto General. The epic is marked
for the strings of the images of vegetation, beasts, birds, rivers, and minerals etc
which depict the Caribbean world3 as natural, vibrant, beautiful and free in sharp
contrast to the oppressive environment created by the imperialists and their existing
coteries. Spanish and Portuguese invasion is depicted as destructive, plunderous and
antithetical to the pre-Columbian peace and harmony of America.
Marxist utopia of Neruda is rooted in Latin American cultural and spiritual
values. The poet invokes strong analogies between the religion of the continent and
Marxism in order to enhance moral scope of his political idealism. The poet believes
that for the new political doctrine to gain access, it must supplant or replace the old
sacred values and images. Most of all, the poet found intense support for his Marxist
Futuristic agenda in the Biblical pattern of history.
The encyclopedic, flexible format of the Bible presented Neruda
with the most appropriate model for his American epic, the
collective history of people spread over a vast geographic expanse
and with a diversity of backgrounds and values. (DeHay, n. d., p.
49)
Finally, it seems significant to acknowledge the role of Mexican proletariat painting
tradition on the art and ideology of the poet. Pablo Neruda was always haunted by the
artistic ambition of the proper representation of non-textual poetic referents. He
12
fulfilled this artistic ambition through the use of ekphrastic technique. Ekphrasis is a
literary description of a visual work of art. Ekphrastic technique refers to the blend of
the verbal and the visual art for the effective realisation of the temporal and spatial
representations in poetry. In Canto General, the ekphrastic technique in which visual
images which are mainly borrowed from the Mexican painting tradition help realise
visualization of spatial/non-textual representations in dealing with the vast expanse of
the cultural history of the continent.
Faiz Ahmad Faiz (1911-1984), Lenin Peace Prize winner, who was born in
Pakistan was committed to the cause of the poor since his early youth and did never
abandon his ideological commitment of creating an exploitation-free society. It is due
to his faith and practical concern for the cause of the oppressed that Dr. Muhammad
Ali Siddiqui in Faiz Ahmad Faiz: Dard aur Darmaan ka Shair (Faiz Ahmad Faiz:
Poet of Pain and Cure) envisions Faiz as “the poet of pain and cure: theory and
practice” (2011, p. 10). He grew up in a politically charged up environment in sub-
continent. The Communist Revolution in Russia (1918) occurred during the early
school days of Faiz. He admits that he was highly fascinated to listen to the political
achievements of Lenin4 through the conversation of the people of his hometown. Faiz
(1984) in an interview “Faiz by Faiz” says:
I heard people talking „Look‟, we have heard that in this country
called Russia, somebody called Lenin has overthrown the king and
has distributed the wealth of all the people among the workers.
Suppose you rob a banker and distribute his wealth, it would be a
great fun. (p. 6)
The second event was the Great Depression of 1920s5 which affected everyone and
particularly the countryside. The agricultural communities which were predominantly
Muslims were the worst-hit ones. It was during the same period that Faiz read the
Communist Manifesto. Later, he said of this experience, “I read the manifesto once
13
and the way ahead was illumined” (In Hasan, 2006, p. 07). He also studied Russian
classical literature which must be a considerable influence upon his view of art.
1930s was a period of frenzied political activism across the whole world. Anti-
Fascist movements in Europe and America influenced literary circles and resulted in
literature of social content. It was the same period when a number of young Indian
graduates of British universities returned to India. They had turned Marxists. Two of
them – Mahmud-u-Zaffar and Rasheed Jahan – who were friends of Faiz, introduced
him formally to Marxism. Mahmud-u-Zaffar‟s group of writers published the
magazine “Angare” (Ambers) in 1932. It was a collection of short stories by Sajjad
Zaheer, Rasheed Jahan and Mahmud-u-Zaffar and is acknowledged as the harbinger
of the progressive movement in India. During this period, the content of the Urdu
lyrical poetry became pre-dominantly political. Ali Madeeh Hashmi (2010) in “Ideals:
Theirs and Ours Faiz and the All India Progressive Writers‟ Association” says:
It can be said without a doubt that these events had a
transformative influence on Faiz‟s perception of himself as a poet
raising his consciousness to a new level and opening new vistas for
him in the world of literature. (p. 116)
The same Oxford graduates founded „All-India Progressive Writers‟ Association‟ in
1936 which was the first literary-cum-political movement of its kind in the sub-
continent. Faiz was among the founding members of this organisation. It was during
this period that Faiz wrote his first political poem “Mujh se Pehle si Mohabbat Mere
Mehboob na Maang” (Don‟t Ask for More Love) in which he abandoned his agony of
personal love and started addressing bigger issues such as hunger and miseries of the
Indian masses. The following excerpt from the above-mentioned poem reflects the
poet‟s rejection of self-centeredness:
Our world knows other torments than of love
And other happiness than a fond embrace.
(tr Kiernan, 1971, p. 65)
14
Faiz, who himself belonged to the middle class, does not agree with the view
that only those can sympathise with the oppressed who have personally experienced
poverty. The poet says, “The war between the Capitalist and the proletariat is not the
exclusive war of the proletariat; it is a battle challenging all of us” (In Malik, 1967, p.
653). Faiz actively participated in the liberation movement against British
Imperialism. But immediately after the liberation of the subcontinent from British Raj
and the creation of Pakistan, the poet realized that freedom from foreign rule did not
bring any qualitative change in the socio-political system. The following lines from
his famous poem “Subh-e-Azadi” (Dawn of Freedom) reflect the poet‟s
disillusionment with the march of freedom from imperial rule:
This stained light, this night-bitten dawn
This is not the dawn we yearned for.
(tr. Kamal & Hasan, 2006, p.102)
In post-independence period, Faiz embraced the cause of the powerless and
began to give his poetic responses to the glory of the struggle of the oppressed
masses. Dialectical in vision, Faiz glorifies the struggle of the toiling masses for
social, economic and political justice throughout the history. An excerpt from the
renowned poem of Faiz “Nisaar mein teri Galliyon pe” (Bury Me Under Your
Pavement) depicts history as a class conflict between forces of oppression and the
forces of resistance:
This war is old of tyrants and mankind
Their ways not new, nor ours.
(tr Kiernan, 1971, p. 187)
The poetry of Faiz is a critique of capitalistic culture. His political lyricism is in
reality disenchantment with bourgeois literary practices which alienates the writers
from the people. Reflecting upon the role of the artist today, Faiz in “What is the Role
of International Exchange in Cultural Development” says:
15
Developing societies of Asia today demand of their artists that this
allusion should end, that their artists should talk to them in their
own language, that he should hide and seek, laugh and weep, sing
and mourn in unison with them all. (n. d, p. 65)
However, Faiz‟s dejection with the existing scenario is not without hope for a
better future. He anticipates the final victory of the proletariat through struggle. He
has faith in masses whom he calls „comrades‟. He believes that the ordinary people
are capable of great deeds and they shall overcome oppression and exploitation. Faiz
expresses his faith in political apocalypse in his song “Sar-e-Maqtal” (At the Place of
Execution):
Companion, night‟s last hour cannot defeat us;
We shall see yet the flame it has choked down,
(tr Kiernan, 1971, p. 157)
Faiz uses peculiar poetic tools to express his ideological commitments to the
cause of the rejected. Except for a very small number of poems of his earliest
publication, the entire poetry of Faiz which comprises eight publications is political
and circumstantial. His publications are contextualized in his personal and national
historical surroundings. For instance, his Zindan-Nama (Poems from Prison
Thoughts) reflects his prison thoughts. He has also written poems to commemorate
and glorify the struggle and the sacrifices of the forces of liberation across the globe.
To legitimise proletariat ideological and political struggle for Marxist apocalypse,
Faiz like Neruda resorts to the Scriptures, folklores and the legends of pre-colonial
plural cultural heritage which glorify the struggle of the counter-hegemonic forces. He
also invokes the myth of the vice-regency of man from the Holy Quran to counter
bourgeois materialistic hierarchy.
Faiz uses Urdu romantic form to present his Marxist ideological content and is
envisioned as a poet of „romance and revolution‟ by Nosheen Tauqeer in “Faiz: Ishq-
16
o-Inqilaab Ka Shair” (Faiz: A Poet of Romance and Revolution) and by Dr
Mohammad Arif Hussain in “Romaan Aur Shairi” (Romance and Poetry). Faiz
romanticizes his Marxist vision which is contextualized in his concern for the miseries
of the poor. In his poetry, country and freedom are personified as a beautiful woman
and the masses are the lovers who dwell on her charm. He also utilises Urdu romantic
imagery to project a rosy picture of the socialistic future to enable the masses to
overcome their despondency arising out of the economic disparities in existing
bourgeois world. Commenting upon the political connotations of the Urdu romantic
diction, Izhar H. Kazmi (n.d) in “Faiz Ahmad Faiz: Poetic Expression and Socio-
political Change” says “In his (Faiz‟s) hands, the entire symbolism of Urdu poetry
assumed a much-wider world of meaning to the extent that most of the similes,
metaphors, epithets and symbols will never be the same again” (p. 361). Besides,
Marxist aesthetics of Faiz are based on supremacy of art, indigenous cultural and
literary traditions while remaining faithful to his political dogma. Similarly, Faiz‟s
selection of cultural tools of Popular Devotional Muslim Verse, Anthem and
Invocation to project his political idealism reflects the same principle of duality in
unity based on the interface between politics and culture, modernity and tradition.
Defending Faiz‟s balance between tradition (classical Urdu form) and modernity
(social realism), Salima Hashmi (n.d) in “The Hue of the Garment: Faiz Ahmad Faiz
and a New Idiom for the People” says:
It was a matter of taste as much as principle for him that
experimentation in the performing arts should be progressive, yet
not so stridently progressive that it was at odds with traditional
forms. (p. 153)
These poetic tools were used by the mystic poets of the sub-continent to propagate the
collective humanistic spirit of Islam against hegemonic order of the day. Furthermore,
the poetic attitude of Faiz was social, not hermetic; he was often to be found reciting
17
his verses in poetic symposia. So, the poetic tools of Popular Devotional Muslim
Verse, Anthem and Invocation suited his genius and reflected his socialistic vision.
To sum up, the poetry of Faiz is a song which reflects the agony of suffering
masses. It expresses unflinching faith in social praxis and political apocalypse but
does not neglect a recital of the regenerative power of love, beauty and culture. It is
also significant to point out that Faiz was also a distinguished literary critic and prose-
writer. He wrote a large number of articles on literary, critical and political issues. His
best known critical work in prose is “Meezan” (Weighing Scale).
1.2 Thesis Statement
By challenging ideological and repressive state apparatuses, both Pablo
Neruda and Faiz Ahmad Faiz have projected a Marxist political idealism in their
poetic responses to the postcolonial / post-independence situations of their respective
countries in order to celebrate proletariat struggle to effect socio-political change.
Their ideological poetic responses are contextualized in their specific frames of
reference, historical situations, and philosophical, religious, cultural and literary
backgrounds.
1.3 Research Questions
1- How far the two poets Pablo Neruda and Faiz Ahmad Faiz are similar in their
dialectical method to create a future political utopia by invoking such utopias in
the past in pre-colonial, pre-feudal cultures?
2- In what ways, similar or otherwise, the two poets expose latent contradictions
in the „ideological and repressive state apparatuses‟ of the capitalistic/bourgeois
hegemony?
18
3- What poetic tools (thematic and formal) the two poets use to legitimise the
intellectual and ideological struggle of the counter-hegemonic forces to
materialize an exploitation-free society?
4- To what extent the works of Neruda and Faiz with particular reference to the
theories of the later Marxist critics (revisionist Marxists) like Gramsci, Jameson,
Althusser, Adorno and others are relevant today to mount a critique of late-
capitalist, neo-imperialist world order in the guise of corporate globalization?
1.4 Critical Framework and Research Method
Keeping in view the nature and key terms of the present research, the most
appropriate theoretical framework is the Marxist Literary Theory as this theory in
particular reads and treats literature as an ideological construct, and advocates the
materialistic readings of all literature and looks for the contrapuntal patterns and
class-based struggle in the literary texts. Politics of emancipation through
intervention, Marxism legitimises dialectical criticism and the principle of change
against status quo. I have also benefitted from postcolonial theory which is also
known for its politics of resistance, culture and identity and as a challenge to the
indigenous colonialism that came to entrench itself in the wake of Independence in
most formerly colonized countries. Like Marxists, postcolonial theorists and writers
consider it necessary to re-appropriate the expropriated history of the oppressed and
the colonised in order to reconstruct a new world historical order for the marginalised.
Research methodology is the methodology of the textual analysis. It is an analytical
and comparative research based on the study of the content and form of the poetic
works of the two poets. For comparative study, postcolonial/non-western comparative
model is followed. This model rejects euro-centric assumptions of the universality of
19
text and the western literary canons. Comparative study across postcolonial texts
mainly focuses upon the political and pluralistic orientation of literature. It also
emphasises upon the counter-hegemonic theme of counter-culture and hence approves
Marxist multi-cultural approach against bourgeois neo-imperialism. This interactive
approach between Marxism and postcolonial theory is also designed to counter the
disputation which has crept into the discourses of the two theories due to the absence
of a serious dialogue over commonalities between them vis-à-vis imperialism,
territorial nationalism, subalternity, racism etc.
As far as research questions are concerned, they are based on the basic tenets
of Marxism and are also designed to analyse the interface between ideology and the
frame of reference because the poetic contents and forms of the two poets are
contextualized in their indigenous, cultural, religious and literary traditions.
The first research question deals with the comparative study of the dialectical
method of the two poets. The analysis is mainly based upon Georg Lukacs‟ Marxist
Aesthetic Theory illustrated in his essay “Realism in the Balance” (1938) and History
and Class Consciousness (1971). Dialectics is a way of thinking/method of
investigating reality which remains in a state of permanent flux both in the natural and
the social worlds. In terms of Marxist dialectics, the basis of this investigation is the
principle of identity/difference in conflict and the sublimation of this conflict into a
new order. Marxists assume that capitalism is marked for inherent contradictions
which reveal its transient nature. The most conspicuous contradictions of capitalism
are between capital and labour, between capitalists and workers in the class struggle,
between competition and cooperation and between use value and exchange value of
the commodity. These contradictions imply that the system is not stable and there is a
collision up ahead. The present form of capitalism is far greater complex and much
20
faster change is indispensable which makes dialectical reasoning inevitable. In the
words of Bertell Ollman, “Capitalism is completely and always dialectical, so that
Marxism will always be necessary to make sense of it and dialectics to make correct
sense of Marxism” (2008, p. 11). Lukacs maintains that the dialectical method is
pivotal for any convincing representation of reality. Realism based on dialectical
method helps approximate social and physical reality in a mediated literary form and
also suggests the possible ways of transformation of this reality. So, dialectics is as
crucial to literature as it is to any field of human enquiry. Without dialectical method,
the comprehension of reality will be distorted, isolated and fragmented. Lukacs
(1971) rejects bourgeois realism which is frozen in immediacy and tries to perpetuate
dominant ideology. He in History and Class Consciousness observes, “The social
situation of the bourgeois set a priori limits to its speculative thought or, to use our
own terminology, that the forms of middle class thought are dependent on the deep
inner logic of the content of middle class life” (p. 346). The realism of Lukacs so
conceived affirms the principle of constant change, historicises present as a part of
temporal process and legitimises proletariat struggle for transformation of society into
a future socialistic world order.
The second research question deals with the comparative study of the critique
of capitalism in the poetry of the two poets. The indictment of bourgeois system by
Neruda and Faiz is mainly directed at the hegemonic role of the ideological and
repressive state apparatuses of their societies. Antonio Gramsci‟s theory of Hegemony
and Counter-hegemony in his Prison Notes (1992) and Louis Althusser‟s concept of
Ideological and Repressive State Apparatuses (ISAs and RSAs) in Ideology and
Ideological State Apparatuses (1971) are used for textual analysis. Gramsci (1992)
argues that under the influence of the dominant ideology, citizens of the state
21
internalize norms, principles and ethics of the ruling elites so completely that they
believe their actions and ideas as the products of their own free will. “Our capacity to
think and act on the world is dependent on other people who are themselves also both
subject and object of history” (p. 346). Althusser (1971) in Lenin and Philosophy
defines Ideology as “the imaginary relationship of the subject to its real conditions of
existence” (p. 162). Althusser‟s concept of ISA refers to the process of ideologically
constructed system of the imaginary relationships of citizens and the state. The
concept of RSA refers to the process of seeking compliance for dominant ideology
through force. Ranajit Guha (1997) in Dominance without Hegemony: History and
Power in Colonial India endorses Gramsci‟s concept of hegemony through consent
rather than coercion. Contextualized in colonial India, Guha‟s work affirms that
British dominance was configured primarily by the liberal universalist colonial
discourse. For him, “Hegemony stands for a condition of Dominance such that, in the
organic composition of Dominance, Persuausion outweighs Coersion” (p. 23).
Gramsci and Althusser establish ruling ideology as an extrinsic incursion into the
consciousness of the subjects and affirm that dialectical reasoning helps drag the
citizens out of the prison house of ideology by exposing latent fractures in the
trenches of the hegemonic order. The interpretations of hegemony by the above-
mentioned theorists help analyse the two poets‟ critique of bourgeois hegemony in
their societies.
The third research question deals with the comparative study of poetic tools
(counter-hegemonic themes and forms) which the two poets have used to lend
intellectual authority to the proletariat struggle for Marxist revolution. In this respect,
John Charlcraft and Yaseen Noorani‟s Counter-hegemony in Colony and Post-colony
(2007) has been consulted because it provides a comprehensive understanding of the
22
role of counter-hegemonic devices like war of position, attrition, counter-culture etc
in disarticulating bourgeois world vision and in promoting the world-view of the
forces of resistance against ruling ideology.
One of the main concerns of the present comparative study is the influence of
the frame of reference on the poetic content and form of the two poets. Marxists and
postcolonial theorists observe that for the ideology to have value, it must be mediated
with the context. In this respect, Fredric Jameson‟s Marxism and Form: Twentieth-
Century Dialectical Theories of Literature (1974) provides a highly plausible
discussion on the interface between the ideology and the frame of reference. Jameson
discards monolithic view of Marxism in favour of a flexible and subtle interpretation
of the ideology which endorses diverse cultural and economic patterns of behaviour
and thought of various societies. This flexible view of theory adds to the cultural,
aesthetic and humanistic appeal of Marxism. Jameson says:
For it is perfectly consistent with the spirit of Marxism – with the
principle that thought reflects its concrete social situation – that there
should exist several different marxisms in the world of today, each
answering the specific needs and problems of its own socio-economic
system. (1974 p. xviii)
The last research question deals with the contemporary relevance of Marxist
poetry of the two poets in the wake of corporate globalisation and neo-imperialism.
The analysis is contextualized in the anti-globalisation perspective of the revisionist
Marxist intellectuals. Theodor W. Adorno‟s The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on
Mass Culture (2001), Gill Hubbard and David Miller‟s Arguments Against G8 (2005)
and Bertell Ollman and Tony Smith‟s Dialectics for the New Century (2008), Slavoj
Zizek‟s In Defense of Lost Causes (2008) and Terry Eagleton‟s Why Marx Was Right
(2011) offer plausible defence of dialectical criticism and Marxist agenda of social
justice in this post-communist era through contrapuntal reading of corporate
23
globalisation. These theorists have exposed materialistic motives of corporate
imperialism under the guise of neo-liberalism. They argue that capitalist bloc‟s policy
of trade liberalization has not led to any reduction in poverty and hunger in the third
world. It is a political manoeuvering to have direct access to the natural resources of
the poor nations. In the words of Hubbard and Miller, “The G8 have consistently
imposed a neoliberal economic model that benefits the rich and powerful at the
expense of the most destitute people in the world. This type of economics is
characterized by privatization, deregulation and trade liberalization” (2005, p. 3).
Furthermore, corporate globalisation is causing serious ecological imbalance. “A
reduction of 70 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions over this century is necessary to
prevent the worst effects of climate change” (p. 2). These contrapuntal readings of
neo-imperialism provide solid grounds for the analysis of the significance of socially-
committed literature of Neruda and Faiz in this unipolar world.
1.5 Significance of the Comparative Study
The significance of this comparative study of political poetry of Neruda and
Faiz cannot be over-emphasised in the wake of comparative field as a thriving
discipline in postcolonial literatures. It is also significant in the wake of paradigm
shift in comparative studies from the Euro-centric, uni-directional way of studying
texts to the multiple perspectives of approaching language and literature. The reasons
of the growing interest in comparative study of the works of postcolonial writers are
manifold. First, postcolonial comparatists aim to strengthen an autonomous literary
tradition which not only reflects ground realities of the third world societies but also
offers a counter-point to the western literary tradition‟s claim of superiority and
universality. Western comparatists who apply Euro-centric yardsticks to evaluate the
literary text do not include non-European texts in the domain of their comparative
24
study because they consider Asian, African and Latin American cultural and artistic
forms as inferior and hence invalid for comparison with their European counter-parts.
Second, postcolonial and Marxist theorists advocate materialistic reading of all
literatures and affirm politics of resistance, cultural and national identity. Postcolonial
comparatists identify contrapuntal patterns in the texts of indigenous writers to
legitimise counter-hegemonic perspective against bourgeois aesthetics and politics.
Third, postcolonial literature is pre-dominatingly Marxist literature which is based
upon the interface between the Marxist ideological assumptions and the indigenous
cultural and economic patterns of behaviour. Postcolonial/non-western comparatists
highlight multi-cultural approach of the progressive writers, hence establishing
cultural and humanistic value of political literature in this age of bourgeois
materialism.
Neruda and Faiz are the two eminent Marxist poets of the third
world/postcolonial world having profound intellectual, ideological and creative
similarities. In an interview, acknowledging the intellectual role of the two poets
Edward Said says:
In a world so long might is right, the powerful in the global politics
want the perpetuation of their control through handpicked cronies and
lackeys in different countries, we will need poets like Faiz and Neruda
to expose them and give us courage to fight against them” (in Bukhari
& Haq, https://huzaimaikram.wordpress.com)
Neruda was among prominent literary figures of Latin-American avant-gardist
movement who rejected literary and linguistic practices of the old world and sought to
liberate the artistic and cultural forms of the continent from foreign influences. Faiz
belonged to the All-India Progressive Writers‟ Association which rejected western
literary tradition‟s claim of superiority and universality. Faiz suggests that
postcolonial societies can benefit most from the literary and creative interaction with
25
each other because they share similar psychological and historical conditions. To add
to it, Neruda and Faiz reject Euro-centric view of aesthetics. They argue that
aesthetics vary from society to society. For them, literature must promote dialectical
consciousness yielding the masses an insight into the realities which the dominant
ideology hides from their view. In order to promote dialectical consciousness, both
the poets use counter-hegemonic themes and form and lend intellectual support to the
ideological and political struggle of the forces of resistance.
Both the poets reject bourgeois manipulated representation of mass cultures.
They affirm that world consists of various cultural zones having their own social and
economic patterns of behaviour. They do not endorse the validity of bourgeois
sponsored economic and political system for the whole world. The two poets reject
capitalistic propaganda that Marxist ideology is a utopian dream and has lost its
relevance in this age of capitalistic triumphalism. They also do not agree that Soviet
version of Communism is the only interpretation of Marxist ideology. The two poets
believe in diversified forms of Socialism with its claim of equitable distribution of
surplus which accommodates diverse cultural and economic heritages of various
societies. They affirm that dialectical in vision Marxism offers a practical social
action to materialise the ideals of social justice.
Furthermore, the two poets were contemporaries and friends. Both of them
underwent incarceration and exile for their political commitment. The main source of
their friendship was their internationalism based on the premises of communist
ideology. Christina Oesterheld argues that an interesting aspect of Faiz‟s poetic
practice is that his poetry struggles towards ending the inwardness of the literary
tradition of Urdu poetry. In this respect, Faiz was mainly influenced by the company
of Soviet and Communist poets like Mahmood Darwaish, Nazim Hikmat and Pablo
26
Neruda. The company of these writers in Moscow served as an inspiration and
provided new perspectives and patterns of writing to Faiz. Commenting on the
influence of Pablo Neruda on Faiz, Christina Oesterheld (2013) says, “The poem
“Intisaab”, for instance written over a span of several months partly in Moscow,
partly in Sochi, was inspired by Pablo Neruda” (http://pakistaniaat.org). Extensive
research work has been carried out on the poetic works of the two writers. The
researchers and the critics have analysed both the content and form of their poetry.
Fully fledged books are written on their works alongwith literary and research
articles. But excepting minor attempts locating ideological and artistic similarities,
considerable research work in comparative mode under Marxist theretical framework
between the two poets has not been carried out so far which justifies the need for
comparative study between the two.
Contextualized in the dynamics of postcolonial comparative discipline, current
study adds to the revisionist approach in comparative field which accommodates
multiple perspectives. It not only helps decolonize comparative field from the
hegemony of Eurocentric tradition but also establishes the significance of political
literature and dialectical criticism in this age of neo-Imperialism.
1.6 Delimitation of the Study
The current research is a comparative study of Marxist utopia and political
idealism in the poetry of Pablo Neruda and Faiz Ahmad Faiz. So the focuses of study
are those portions of the poetic works of the two writers which are predominantly
political and fully reflect their ideological commitments and political idealism.
Neruda was originally associated with Surrealistic Literary movement of Latin
America. But due to socio-political events in his homeland in particular and the world
in general, he began to abandon his surrealistic anarchism and drifted towards
27
communism. This radicalization of Neruda‟s surrealism led to his association with
French communist intellectuals like Eluard and Aragon. As a result, he wrote a great
deal of political poetry. His most famous collections of political poetry are Espana en
el Corazon (Spain in My Heart, 1936), Canto General (General Song, 1950), Cancion
de Gesta (Song of Protest, 1960), Extravagario (Extravagaria, 1958), and Nixonicidio
(Nixonicide, 1973). But, the focus of present study is Canto General which is
acknowledged as the most extensive and representative volume of Neruda‟s political
poetry. Written in an epic form, Canto General presents the historical, natural and
cultural history of Latin America. Marxist in vision, the poem presents the struggle of
the colonized and the exploited throughout the history of the continent and calls for
proletariat revolution. The English translation used for the study is that of Jack
Schmitt (1993). As far as Faiz is concerned, except for the few poems of his first
publication Naqsh-e-Faryadi (Remonstrance, 1941), the entire poetry of Faiz
including Dast-e-Saba (Fingers of the Wind, 1953), Zindan Nama (Prison Thought,
1966), Dast-e-Tah-e-Sung (Duress, 1965), Sar-e-Wadi-e-Sina (The Valley of Sinai,
1971), Sham-e-Shahr-e-Yaran (The Evening of the City of Friends,1977), Mere Dil
Mere Musafir (My Traveller, My Heart, 1981) and Ghubar-e-Ayyam (The Dust of
Passing Days, 1981-1984) is political poetry and is marked for its socialistic content.
Even his earlier poems which are apparently considered romantic poems reflect the
relationship between love and revolution. However, the study will mainly comprise
the poems included in Victor Kiernan‟s Poems by Faiz (1971) and Daud Kamal and
Khalid Hasan‟s O City of Lights (2006). These poems are widely acknowledged as the
representative poems of his ideological commitments. Kiernan‟s translation covers the
poems from first four collections of Faiz whereas O City of Lights also covers the
poems from the later collections of the poet.
28
In case of Faiz, there are a number of critical works and articles on Faiz which
are originally published in Urdu and are not available in English translated forms.
Therefore, in literature review and in-text citations of these works, I have translated
their titles and the given quotations in English. In bibliography, only the original Urdu
titles of these works are given in romanised English.
29
Notes
1- George Orwell: George Orwell was the famous 20th
century British novelist whose
writings are known for their anti-imperialist appeal. His most famous works are
Animal Farm and 1984.
2- Surplus: As a Marxist term surplus refers to the added value of a commodity which
is the contribution of the skill and labour of the worker.
3- Caribbean world: Caribbean world refers to the Latin American continent which is
situated on the North coast of the Caribbean Sea.
4- Lenin: Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian communist, political thinker and
revolutionary leader. His political and theoretical contributions to Marxism are known
as Leninism. He was the leading figure during Russian Revolutionary Movement.
5- Great depression of 1920s: Great depression of 1920s refers to the worldwide
economic freeze – recession of the 1920s
30
Chapter 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Keeping in view the key concerns of this study, this chapter is a thorough review of
the related critical literature in the following areas:
1- The study of ideological/political and literary Marxism
2- The study of literature as a comparative discipline
3- The review of the ideological and political readings of the poetry of Pablo
Neruda and Faiz Ahmad Faiz
The literature review of Marxism comprises the study of politico-economic principles
of Marxist philosophy upon which the tenets of literary Marxism are based. This topic
has been dealt with separately in chapter 3 entitled “Marxism and Literature: Reading
Politics in the Literary” which can be consulted for detail.
2.1 Review of Literature on Comparative Studies
Literary scholars locate the origins of the comparative studies in 19th
century
Europe in Germany and France. German writer Goethe is acknowledged to have
recognised the global dimensions of modernity. In the words of Ali Behdad and
Dominic Thomas, “Many scholars of comparative literature locate the genesis of the
discipline in Goethe‟s coining of the term „weltliteratur‟” (2011, p. 2). Edward Said
(1993) in Culture and Imperialism also argues that the early practitioners of
comparative discipline such as Robert Curtius and Erich Auerbach were inspired by
the intellectuals of pre-imperial Germany such as Goethe and Herder who realised the
31
transient nature of nationalism and recognised the global dimensions of literature. For
early comparatists, “The idea of comparative literature not only expressed universality
and the kind of understanding gained by philologists about language family, but also
symbolized the crisis-free serenity of an almost ideal realm” (Said, 1993, p. 45).
Moreover, David Damrosch (2006) in Rebirth of a Discipline: The Global Origin of
Comparative Literature argues that in addition to Germany and France, England and
culturally less developed country of Europe, Hungary also contributed to the genesis
of comparative field. He acknowledges Hungarian comparatists – Hugo Meltzl and
Samuel Brassai – as the pioneers of comparative literature as an academic discipline.
Damrosch says:
Comparative literature began to become an academic field in the
third quarter of 19th
century. Here, I would like to consider the
inaugural essay of the first journal of comparative literature, the
Acta Comparationis Litterarum Universaum, founded in 1877 by
the Hungarian comparatists Hugo Meltzl and Samuel Brassai. (p.
99)
Furthermore, French literary scholars Joseph Texte and Fernand Baldensperger are
also acknowledged as the major influence on the strength of the discipline.
2.1.1 The Aims of Comparative Literature
Comparative literature is generally understood as an investigation of
literatures from an international point of view to emphasise supranational
convergences among nations and people beyond territorial boundaries. In the words of
David Damrosch, “Reading world literature gives us the opportunity to expand our
literary and cultural horizons far beyond the boundaries of our own culture” (p. 46,
2009). For him, the comparative study of literature means „reading across time‟,
„reading across cultures‟ and „going global‟. So, comparative studies offer its readers
an unprecedented variety of literary pleasures and cultural experiences. Evaluating
vast scope, aims and the vital aspects of the comparative field, Susan Bassnett (1998)
32
in Comparative Literature argues that there is no writer in the history of literature
who can be studied in isolation. We can look for influences, source materials and
inspirations in works of his predecessors, contemporaries both within the national
frontiers and without. However, the above-mentioned views about the aims of
comparative literature are based upon idealistic approach towards the discipline which
insists on harmonies and mutual influences of literatures upon each other. Contrary to
this approach, the main pre-occupation of the European comparatists has been to
assert, on the one hand, western literary canon as the center and, on the other hand, to
assert their national and cultural superiority through their literatures and art form on
their European counterparts. Charles Bernheimer (2004) in his report on comparative
discipline admits that the “impulse to extend the horizon of literary studies that had
motivated post-war comparativism did not often reach beyond Europe and Europe‟s
high cultural lineage going back to the civilisations of classical antiquity” (p.40). In
order to evaluate the nature and progress of the comparative study, it is appropriate to
review various western models and postcolonial comparative model.
2.1.2 European and American Comparative Models
Bassnett in her work provides a comprehensive understanding of various
models of comparative study. The author explains that France in the nineteenth
century – a great colonial empire – was known for her pride in its language and
cultural heritage. The French comparatists were oriented towards the comparative
study of literatures in terms of cultural transfer from France to the rest of Europe or
vice versa. The basic concern of the comparatist was to locate French cultural
characteristics in its own text. The situation in Germany was altogether different. In
the nineteenth century, Germany was more of a loose confederation of small states
which were bound together through common language with no political center. So
33
unlike Britain and France, the comparative study in Germany was a search for roots,
origins and national identity.
In the twentieth century, the French model which was of course positivist in
approach, sought to narrow down the scope of comparative study. It was affirmed that
comparison should take place between two elements. The theory of languages as the
most vital basis for distinction between texts became widespread. So, French
comparative study becomes pre-dominatingly linguistic-based exercise. The German
model which was taken over by Hitler became increasingly chauvinistic and lost its
comparative value.
The English writers and the comparatists during the nineteenth century were
mainly concerned with the politics of imperialism. They dismissed Asian and African
cultures and their art forms as inferior and insignificant. They took the works of the
ancient Greeks and the works of Shakespeare, Spencer and Milton as models for
comparison against which the other texts were examined and found inferior both in
form and content. In the twentieth century, British model became less committed to
its European counterparts and became more inclined towards Anglo American literary
tradition.
In the twentieth century, parallel to the chauvinistic European models emerged
American model of comparative studies. The origin of American comparative
literature is mainly indebted to the flights of European intellectuals including such
distinguished scholars as Auerbach, Rene Wellek, Leo Spitzer, Claudio Guillen and
others from totalian regimes in Europe. Gayatri Spivak says, “One might say that US
comparative literature was founded on inter-Eeuropean hospitality, even as Area
Studies had been spawned by interregional vigilance” (2003, p. 8). Under the
inspiration of the myth of the melting pot, American model opted for interdisciplinary
34
approach towards various art forms as parts of the organic whole of the culture.
Language and politics based European boundaries of cultural and literary studies were
rejected in favour of universalism. However, the Euro-American models did not
practically approve of the comparative study of literature beyond European and
American frontiers.
2.1.3 Postcolonial Comparative Approach
Contrary to the Euro-centric formalistic approach of Euro-American
comparative models, the study of comparative literature in the postcolonial societies
focuses upon the issue of political and cultural orientation of literature and rejects the
formalist vision of universality and ahistoricity of literature. This widening of horizon
in the field is indebted to the historical processes of democratization, globalisation
and decolonization. Bassnett argues that Asian, African, and Latin-American
comparatists and critics are of the view that western tools of criticism and
comparative study do not suit the study of postcolonial text. In the third world
societies, aesthetics is directly linked with the political conditions of society and the
writers are widely believed to be the representatives of the oppressed and the
dispossessed section of the society. Comparative studies outside the western frontiers
should be carried out with indigenous literary parameters. Postcolonial creative genius
should not be judged by western cultural and literary yardsticks because they do not
match with the ground realities. “Comparative literature from this perspective is a
political activity, part of the process of reconstructing and reasserting cultural and
national identity in the postcolonial period” (Bassnett, 1998, p. 39). Furthermore, the
comparison of forms and content of the literary text across postcolonial writers
ensures new orientation not only about the function of literature but also about the
histories of the colonized nations. As postcolonial literature is predominatingly
35
socially-committed art, it also signifies the role of indigenous culture in asserting
plurality of the world cultural heritage in the wake of this era of globalization.
2.1.4 Comparative Literature and the Multiple Perspectives
Postmodernist sensibilities, theories and perspectives have brought about a
paradigm shift from the unidirectional orientation to the multiple perspectives
regarding the study of literatures. Ali Behdad and Dominic Thomas‟ A Companion to
Comparative Literature (2011) informs us the significance of multiple interpretations
of literature in this age of pluralism. The work deals with the intellectual and the
critical role of comparative literature and evaluates the relationship between theory
and literature: art forms and politics. It also examines the influence and the uses of
various theoretical frameworks and the interdisciplinary nature of comparative
studies. The work also signifies the role of various discourses in enriching the
comparative study i.e. historical, political, linguistic, psycho-analytical etc. Finally,
the authors discuss the issue of traditional focus of comparative discipline on
European languages and literary conventions and underscore the need of broadening
its scope by bringing into its fold non-western literary practices and conventions.
Keeping in view the fast expanding roles of comparative studies, the authors
point to the inherent tension around which the comparative literary tradition is
established. On the one hand comparative literature aspired to overcome the biases of
national cultures and identity and on the other hand the discipline was used to
establish European literary and cultural norms as the centre and the mark of reference
for literary and cultural traditions of the rest of the world. Pointing to this duality of
approach of the European comparatists, Edward Said says:
To speak of comparative literature, therefore, was to speak of
interaction of world literatures with one another but the field was
epistemologically organised as a sort of hierarchy, with Europe and
36
its Latin Christian literatures as its centre and top. (In Behdad &
Thomas, 2011, p. 7)
Due to the increasing influence of literary theory along with its various critical
frameworks such as postcolonialism, Marxism, post structuralism, feminism etc, the
focus of literary studies has shifted from Eurocentric approach to the issues of
historicity, culture and plurality of meanings. Comparative literature is becoming
more inclusive.
Rey Chow (n. d) in “In the Name of Comparative Literature” which is also part
of Bernheimer‟s collection, agrees with the need of paradigm shift in comparative
field but offers a counter-point to the over-simplification of the issue of replacing
Euro-centric texts with non-western ones. He argues that postcolonial languages and
literatures should be extensively taught and analysed in western comparative
discipline but non-western literary master pieces should not indulge in euro-centric
practice in the name of the other1. Euro-centric literary tradition is criticized for its
nation-state orientation of culture. Comparative study in Europe has focused on the
study of the literatures of a few strong nations at the cost of less powerful European
states. The author argues that we are also familiar with master nations and cultures in
Asian literatures. In western literary and cultural centres, Indian, Japanese and
Chinese cultural products occupy more space than less prominent cultures and
literatures of Taiwan, Tibet, and Vietnam etc. So, it is the job of the comparatists to
remain alive to the dangers of euro-centrism in non-western literatures.
2.1.5 Comparative Literature and Multiculturalism
Comparative literature has become more encompassing and inclusive in this
age of multiculturalism because without acknowledging cultural diversity the aim of
internationalism cannot be materialised. Bernheimer‟s Comparative Literature in the
37
Age of Multiculturalism (2004), which is a compilation of three reports to the
American Comparative Literature Association and responses to these reports, offers a
comprehensive understanding of the expanded role of comparative studies. It also
offers a counter point to the obsession of replacement of Euro-centrism with the non-
western perspective. Mary Louise Pratt‟s (1993) “Comparative Literature and Global
Citizenship” which is a response to Bernheimer‟s report identifies three main
historical processes which had expanded the intellectual boundaries of comparative
discipline. These processes are global citizenship, democratization of society and the
process of decolonization of literature, art forms and culture in postcolonial world.
Global citizenship refers to the process of increased inter-action between different
people, their cultural and material products based on fast expanding ways of
communication. This process has generated global consciousness. Democratization
refers to the expansion of opportunities like education to the people especially women
and coloured people in West who were traditionally excluded from intellectual class.
This process has posed challenges to the traditional gender and colour-based centres
of truth and binarities. Decolonization stands for the process of dialogue between the
third world and the west in accommodating former‟s perspective on history, culture,
nation, identity and race. The author argues that this expanded horizon and scope of
the comparative field does not in any way trivialize western literary tradition.
However, it sets aside conventional literary and cultural dominance of Europe. As a
result, comparatists and readers are more inclined to identifying the role of language
in creating subjectivity, in formulating contrapuntal patterns in texts, in disarticulating
assumptions of ruling ideology and rearticulating them with counterhegemonic forms.
They are also interested in a dialogue between resistance and tolerance to the existing
hegemonic order.
38
The author expresses his concern over the lack of initiative among European
comparatists to acknowledge the reality of extension in the domain of comparative
field due to extraordinary growth in Asian, African and Latin American literary
productions. He puts forward certain suggestions to the comparatists to materialise the
aim of internationalism in the existing literary scenario. First, comparative field
should abandon its commitment with monolingualism and should opt for
multilingualism. We need to accommodate people in the comparative fields who have
multilingual and multicultural background. Second, we need to study literary and
cultural formations relationally. Third, the comparatists require to relate the
indigenous literary and cultural forms with the universal perspective. Fourth, we need
to expunge the notion of foreignness while referring to non-European languages with
reference to their European counterparts.
It is the multicultural approach which ensures the continuity as well as the
expansion of the comparative field. Otherwise, the discipline seems to be a worn out
phenomenon which may lead to the death of the comparative paradigm. Gayatri
Chakraworty Spivak (2003) in Death of a Discipline affirms that comparative studies
must always cross borders. The author argues that ours is the age of demographic
shifts, globalism, media and cultural studies, diasporas, hybridization and labour
migrations. These shifts and processes have challenged the notion that “the world can
be divided into knowable, self-contained areas” (p. 3). She affirms that the
comparative studies should no more remain restricted to a care for language and
idiom. It must become interdisciplinary to ensure the production of more knowledge
in area studies. The comparatists should ork for the „depoliticisation‟ of the politics of
exclusion in favour of the politics of friendship. Spivak points out that one of the
major impediments in the way of global culture is the lack of communication across
39
the subaltern cultures of the world which can be streamlined through the discipline of
translation studies.
Extending the multiple perspectives further, Nele Bemong, Mirjam Truwant
and Pieter Vermeulen (2008) in Rethinking Europe – Literature and (Trans) National
Identity appreciate the revisionist perspective because it has contributed to the identity
of political and multi-cultural works. They argue that multi-cultural vision adds to the
comparative significance of Europe because uptil now Europe has been perceived in
terms of bigoted nationalism. Whereas from the angle of non-western „others‟, Europe
is seen as an imperialists society claiming racial, cultural and intellectual superiority.
These authors also allude to the risks of binarist thinking among the critics of euro-
centrism. They put forward certain suggestions to promote pluralistic consciousness.
They argue that non-western comparatists should realise that the aim of the earlier
western and later American comparatists was the same as it is today: cosmopolitanism
and internationalism. The postcolonial – nonwestern comparatists – who criticize non-
inclusive approach of European comparatists should not react in terms of
abandonment of the ideals of universalism. Instead, they should consider their
challenge as a solid hope of realizing international culture of tolerance. As far as
European comparatists are concerned, they ought to engage non-western multicultural
perspective because if Europeans do not abandon the policy of cultural and national
superiority and do not expand their intellectual frontiers to the rest of the world, it will
increase ethnic prejudice.
The review of the collection strengthens the notion of pluralistic approach. It
also points to the risks of binarist approach in postcolonial literatures.
40
2.1.6 Cultural Significance of Translation Studies
The emphasis upon political and cultural reading of literature has brought to
focus the cultural value of translation studies. In past, translation was relegated to a
seconday position in relation to the original text. Writers like Gayatri Spivak and
Anuradha Dingwaney argue that in colonial period, translation was viewed as a tool
for imperial domination because the colonised people had no voice of their own.
Anuradha Dingwaney (1995) says, “The processes of translation involved in making
another culture comprehensible entail varying degrees of violence, especially when
the culture being translated is constituted as that of the “other”” (p. 4).
However, under the postcolonial perception, the relationship of inequality
between the source and target text is rethought and rewritten. Translation is now
considered as an act of creative rewriting. A translator liberates the world from the
linguistic and cultural boundaries of source language and grants them a new life in the
cultural and linguistic milieu of the target language. Commenting on the creative role
of the translator, Bassnett (2005) says, “The translator is a force for good, a creative
artist who ensures the survival of writing across time and space, an intercultural
mediator and interpreter, a figure whose importance to the continuity and diffusion of
culture is immeasurable” (p. 4). So, the cultural role of translation is pivotal to the
literary aims of the accomplishment of the pluralistic society.
2.1.7 Comparativism and the Tension between the Local and the Universal
Elements in Literature
One of the major concerns of the comparatists has been the study of the
recurrent tensions between the local and the universal elements in literature. A
comparatist cannot fulfill his task of universalism by gaining specialisation in
literature of one nation. It is equally important to know that he also cannot operate in
41
the realm of abstract worldliness. Claudio Guillen (1993) in The Challenge of
Comparative Literature offers a plausible explanation of the subject. He identifies
four layers of tension which the writer/comparatist confronts. First is the tension
between the aesthetic value of the art and its social preoccupation. The second layer
of tension is the practical criticism of the particular text and the theoretical
assumptions behind the work. The third is the gap between an individual work and its
genre. Finally, there is the gap between the indigenous and the cosmopolitan. It is this
gap between the particular and the general which is the main concern of the
comparatists. The author says that the responses of the critic or the comparatist are
varied during his study of the text. Sometimes, a comparatist is struck by the writer‟s
kinship with the writers of the other nations. At other times he is absorbed in the
linguistic or cultural bonds of the work which supersede all other elements. Guillen
goes on to say that a comparatist should not take those writers as models for
comparative study whose art is fixed in a single socio-political milieu and does not
transcend ethnic and cultural boundaries of a particular frame of reference in which it
is produced.
The author emphasises that the main reason of the tension between locality
and the world is the historical approach of the comparative discipline. But with the
opening up of the oriental literatures for comparative study, a new dialogue
commences between the evolution and continuity. As our area of exploration is the
written literature, the historical method continues to reiterate differentiation. Themes,
forms, words and even emotions continue to change. It indicates that the boundaries
between the local and the universal are transitory and deceiving because what is
universal is mutation. The author affirms that the dialogue between the particular and
the general, the regional and the universal, the oriental and the occidental ensures
42
progress in comparative studies in advancing its aim of multiculturalism and
internationalism.
To sum up, the critical review of the comparative studies informs how did
Euro-centricity adversely affect the mission of the field. It also informs that the
paradigm shift from euro-centric formalism to the multiple perspectives based on
materialistic reading of the text offers new vistas for comparative studies. The review
establishes that the readiness to recognize non-western literature as part of
comparative domain and the acknowledgement of the political and cultural role of the
aesthetics anticipates a promising future of the discipline in materializing its
objectives. It also points out the risks of binarist behaviour in oriental literary tradition
and suggests ways to overcome such trends.
The review affirms the contemporary significance of the current comparative
research which deals with the comparative study of the Marxist literature of the
postcolonial writers – establishing the nexus between literature and politics. The
current research also highlights the dialogue between the local and the universal
element in literature. As the current comparative study is conducted on the basis of
English translation of the poetry of Neruda and Faiz, it also establishes the vital role
that translation study can play in moving towards planetary culture.
2.2 Pablo Neruda’s Poetry
In this section, Neruda‟s autobiography, biographies, research articles and
book-length studies on his works, particularly Canto General are critically reviewed.
The main concerns of the literature review on Pablo Neruda are:
43
1) The review of Latin American culture and the literary tradition of socially-
committed literature in order to contextualize Marxist poetry of Neruda in
Latin American, cultural and literary frame of reference.
2) The Review of personal, intellectual and socio-political conditions which
influenced and transformed Neruda – a subjective Romanticist into a Marxist
poet.
3) The review of Marxist utopian and counter-hegemonic nature of content
and form of Canto General. Furthermore, counter-criticism and counter-
arguments which are directed against Neruda and his ideological poetry are
also taken into account to broaden the scope of study.
2.2.1 Latin American Culture and the Literary Tradition of Socially-Committed
Literature
Latin American society is a postcolonial society which won freedom from
Spanish colonialism in the early nineteenth century. However, Latin American ruling
elites of post-independence period have retained colonial legacy of bourgeois
hegemony to maintain the economic and cultural dominance of the privileged classes.
Latin American culture is a heterogeneous culture having varied geographical
demographic, ethnic and economic compositions. The major common bond between
Latin American societies is the colonial heritage with its impact on cultural and
economic patterns of behaviour. John King‟s The Cambridge Companion to Modern
Latin American Culture (2004) – a compilation of different essays – and Walter D.
Mignolo‟s The Idea of Latin America (2005) provide a comprehensive understanding
of the cultural development of the continent from pre-Columbian America to the post-
independence era. Anthony McFarlane, one of the contributors of the book, in “Pre-
Columbian and Colonial Latin America” (2004) gives an account of the coinage of
44
the term „Latin America‟, the composition of various ethnic groups, the dynamics of
Latin American economy and the spiritual authority of the Catholic Church. He
explains that the term Latin America was coined in mid-nineteenth century by the
Spanish conquerors in order to distinguish Spanish and Portuguese led regions of
American continent from the Anglo-American world. The Latin American societies as
they exist today as independent states are composed of the Amerindians, the
Europeans and the Africans. The Amerindians are the descendants of the original
natives of the Americas. The Europeans who are called Iberians are the settlers who
came as colonisers and the Africans are the people who were forcibly taken to the
Americas by the colonisers as their slaves. Latin American economy which is pre-
dominatingly the economy of gold, silver and nitrate mines is controlled by European
and American sponsored multinational companies whereas the indigenous population
provides the manpower for mining whose hours of work and wages are determined by
the foreign investors. The agricultural sector is controlled by the feudal aristocracy.
The coining of the terms „Americas‟ and „Latin America‟ by the colonizers
had strong geo-political connotations. Until the 16th
century, America did not occupy
any place on the world map. The people and the land existed but they had names of
their own. Commenting on the geo-political significance of the inventions of the
terms, Mignolo (2005) says, “America, then, was never a continent waiting to be
discovered. Rather „America‟ as we know it was an invention forged in the process of
European colonial history and the consolidation and expansion of the Western world
view and institutions” (p. 2). This discursive strategy established the imperial
perspective of history and culture of the continent and left to posterity the perspective
of the colonised.
45
The Catholic Church which came to Latin America with Iberian conquest
retains its spiritual authority in post-independence era. Catholic Church supported the
imperialistic enterprise of Catholic monarchy of Spain due to the latter‟s claim of
converting pagan societies into Christianity. This policy of the church strengthened
ethnic divide between the Europeans and the natives because the European invaders
and settlers considered the non-Christian natives as social inferiors. Referring to this
role of the church, McFarlane claims that Catholic Church‟s emphasis on ethnic
divide between the Europeans and the Native Americans runs counter to the
fundamental principle of the equality of all human beings in Christianity regardless of
their caste, colour and creed.
This church-backed ethnic divide was replaced by racism in the 19th
century.
Racist thinking kept the settlers at the apex of the hierarchy because the Spanniards
and the Portuguese had the worlds and the power to classify other ethnic
communities. In the words of Mignolo, “Thus it happened that the European
Renaissance model of humanity became hegemonic and the Indian and African slaves
were considered second class human beings, if human beings at all” (2005, p. 16).
Vivian Schelling, another contributor of King‟s work, in “Popular Culture in
Latin America” (2004) evaluates the issue of renewed interest in indigenous mass
culture in this age of capitalism. Schelling, a cultural analyst, elaborates that Latin
American social hierarchy which is entrenched in ethnic divide has created two
parallel cultural patterns: high culture and popular culture. High culture is the culture
of the ruling elites which is institutionalized and enjoys official patronage whereas
popular culture is the culture of the subordinate sections of the society which is not
canonised and does not enjoy the approval of the hegemonic class.
46
The author goes on to suggest that the rigid nature of the high culture which
excludes cultural practices and art forms of the oppressed sections of the society from
its folds widens social division. As far as popular culture is concerned, it is rooted in
the daily life of the peasants and the city workers. It is also far removed from the
materialistic influences of the bourgeois culture. So, it has real aesthetic and social
value and significance for the lower sections of society from which it springs.
This Latin American culture of ethnic divide resulted in the emergence of two
distinct literary traditions. One is the Euro-centric tradition which follows Western
literary canons and does not include the everyday life of the native cultural inferiors.
The other is the literary tradition of socially-committed art which discards western
literary canons and themes and incorporates the perspective of the socially inferior
and sub-ordinate sections of society. William Rowe, another contributor of King‟s
anthology, in “Latin American Poetry” (2004) speaks about the irrelevance of the
poetic content and form which is borrowed from the literary tradition of the old world
and does not match with ground realities of the continent. Socially-committed artists
liberate language from the hegemonic / bourgeois discursive practices. William Rowe
(2004) says:
In Latin America this freeing of language also meant opening
poetry to what had previously been excluded: popular, regional and
ethnic cultures and the rhythms and intonation of every day speech
(p. 142).
The literary tradition of progressive art dates back to the nineteenth century.
Rosemary M. Canfield Reisman (2012) in Critical Survey of Poetry – Latin American
Poets gives a precise account of Latin American literary tradition. In the sixteenth
century, Latin American poetry comprised mainly of chronicles of Spanish soldiers
and missionaries regarding conquest, explorations and baptism of the land and its
47
inhabitants. The author narrates that in the sixteenth century Alonso De Ercilla was
the first poet who wrote an epic in which he described the military adventures
between the Spaniards and the natives. During the seventeenth century, Baroque
tradition2 dominated Latin American literary scene with its emphasis on classic
diction and tradition. The work further informs that during the first half of nineteenth
century, French influence dominated the creative work and the major themes of the
poetry were the romantic themes like love, God and motherland. However, during the
second half of the nineteenth century, Latin American writers particularly modernists
abandoned colonial legacy of conservative content and form. The prominent themes
of the modernists were capitalism, US cultural and economic imperialism and the loss
of Spanish colonies.
Reisman states that Jose Marti of Cuba is acknowledged as the first Latin
American poet who wrote for the artistic, political and economic autonomy of the
continent. He purified Latin American language from the undue influence of foreign
vocabulary and modes of expression and added local content and flavour into it.
Similarly, Ruben Dario of Mexico who wrote songs of hope and beauty in the wake of
the decadence of romantic values maintained his faith in the healing power of art and
literature and endorsed poetry of protest against socio-economic and historical
injustices. He also emphasised upon the humanistic and aesthetic role of art in the
face of dehumanizing imperialism. Drummond De Andrade of Brazil, who was an
innovator of stylistic devices, discovers provincial past in its psychological and
mythical dimensions as well as the values on which modern society is based.
Hernandez Jose from Argentina was one of the most popular voices regarding
regeneration of native cultures. He exhorted upon the incorporation of Argentina‟s
48
Gaucho values into the mainstream political and cultural life of modern industrial age
to secure national identity of the nations and the continent.
The author further informs that Mistral Gabriela of Chile occupied prominent
position in socially-committed literary tradition of the continent. Her fame rests
mainly in her artistic independence from the prevalent literary movements and for her
devotion to revitalize the native cultures of her continent. She used her art to express
solidarity with the oppressed. Next to Mistral, Paz Octavio of Mexico was another
powerful voice which influenced the cultural and literary dynamics of Latin American
society. He stood for diversity and plurality based on the blend of the indigenous and
the international cultural values. Like Paz, Alfonso Reyes of Mexico yearned for
inclusion of the parochial native cultural values into the socio-political life of
urbanized Mexico. In this line of Latin American literary tradition, Vallejo Cesar and
Pablo Neruda stand out as the most vocal voices searching for real language and
poetic content which could match Latin American landscape and reality. Vallejo‟s and
Neruda‟s conversion towards Marxism points to the nexus between the collectivist
ideals and the aesthetics. These writers refuse to entertain those currents in poetry
which do not include the everyday life works of the illiterate and the marginalised.
Neruda and Vallejo identify human beings by their common needs and common
bonds. These writers also use nature as a metaphor for resurrection in the social
world. To add to it, the regeneration of popular culture in literature aims to counter
the loss of that mode of living which is purely humanistic. The renewed interest in
popular cultures will help undo reification and commodification of the human beings
under capitalism.
49
2.2.2 Disputation over the Political Role of Literature
Latin-American writers who are united in rejecting foreign literary influences
to ascertain cultural autonomy of their continent are, however, divided over the
political role of literature. Those who oppose political poetry are of the view that
literature should not be used for political propaganda. A poet should not be a political
propagandist. The main exponents of this school of poetry are Octavio Paz, Ruben
Dario of Mexico and Hernandez Jose of Argentina. The other school of socially-
committed art which promotes the nexus between aesthetics and politics is the
Marxist poets. Its main exponents are Caesar Vallejo and Pablo Neruda. They are of
the view that poetry ought to motivate the oppressed and the marginalised for social
and political action in order to create a better world order. It seems an issue of
academic interest to highlight the division between socially-committed writers over
the issue of political poetry through a disputation which arose between Pablo Neruda
and Octavio Paz in 1943 regarding the role of poetry. This disputation between the
two poets has been narrated by Adam Feinstein (2004) in Pablo Neruda –A Passion
for Life. In 1943, during his stay in Mexico, Neruda gave an interview to the Mexican
magazine “Hoy (Today)” in which he passed provocative comments on Mexican
poetry. The poet said, “I consider that in [Mexican] poetry, there is a truly impressive
lack of direction or civic morality” (In Feinstein, 2004, p. 168). Paz in his response to
Neruda‟s provocative comments rejected the views of Neruda and did not endorse
poetry as a tool of political propaganda. Elaborating views of Paz on political poetry,
Jason Wilson (1986) says, “Paz was convinced of the inaptitude of political poetry.
Poetry he felt, was incapable of bringing about political change: better a text by Lenin
than a bad poem by Mayakovsky or Neruda” (p. 23). This disputation between
Neruda and Paz reflects two different perspectives among progressive writers
50
regarding the relationship between literature and politics. The Marxist writers and
theorists assert that genuine writers are those writers who challenge the assumptions
of the existing ideology and use their intellectual authority to legitimise the political
struggle of the forces of resistance for liberation from the existing exploitative culture.
The review of Latin American culture and the literary tradition of socially-
committed literature helps understand the frame of reference in which Neruda
produced his ideological poetic responses.
2.2.3 Transformation of Neruda from a Romanticist to a Marxist
Pablo Neruda‟s evolution from a Romanticist to a Marxist poet was the result
of various personal, intellectual and socio-political influences. The main sources of
the review of these influences are Pablo Neruda‟s Memoirs (2008), Volodia
Teitelboim‟s Neruda: An Intimate Biography (1991) and Adam Feinstein‟s Pablo
Neruda: A Passion for Life (2004).
2.2.3.1 Pablo Neruda in Temuco – Detestation for Oppression
Pablo Neruda who was born in Parral, grew up in Temuco. Temuco was the
farthest town of Southern Chile (Araucania). His father Jose del Carmen was a Rail-
road driver. He was a stern disciplinarian who did not appreciate poetic ambitions of
Neruda and wanted his son to do some useful job in life. Temuco had a troubled
history. Since Spanish invasion of Latin America, Araucania remained conspicuous
for hostilities between the Araucanians (native tribes) and the Spaniards (settlers).
Referring to the long bloody history of the region in colonial and post-independence
era, Neruda in his Memoirs (2008) explains that Araucanian Indians resisted Spanish
invasion for almost three centuries and finally they were forced to retreat into the
farthest regions of Araucania. But the European bourgeois settlers continued the
51
policy of suppression and eviction of the natives from their home soil in post-imperial
era.
Furthermore, the region was known for its intense cold, heavy rains and thick
forests which added to the miseries of the natives as well as provided them intimate
contact with nature. Neruda was fascinated by the heavy rains and the natural world
of the region. The Araucanian forest increased his sense of wonder for the objects of
nature. The jungle attracted Neruda for its birds, ferns, beetles, stones and animals.
Commenting on Neruda‟s deep interests in the world of nature, Feinstein (2004) says:
He was a quiet, peaceful child, who would sit in a corner reading
little books of stories…. He had an insatiable curiosity for little
things (strange stones, pieces of wood, insects). And he never lost
that curiosity (p. 12).
Besides his step mother, Trinidad who tended Neruda with affection and care,
one of the earlier influences on the poet in Temuco was his uncle, Orlando Mason.
Mason was a poet and a journalist who detested the Chileans‟ (settlers) enthusiasm for
killing native Indians as did the colonisers. His poetry was popular among Araucanian
Indians for defending the dispossessed against the oppressors, the weak against the
powerful. Mason condemned injustice and abuses and refused to conform to the ways
of the Temucan bourgeois. Teitelboim (1991) further informs that Orlando Mason
was the first poet and the first social reformer whom Neruda came across in his life.
As a child, Neruda idealized his uncle as a complete individual. He believed his uncle
to be a rebel to bourgeois culture and politics who condemned and denounced
injustice and abuses everywhere in all forms. He was scrupulous enough to name the
unjust regardless of their position in social hierarchy.
After Mason, the next most important influence on Neruda was the Chilean
poetess, Gabriela Mistral. She was the first Latin American poet to win Nobel Prize
for literature in 1945. Neruda regularly visited her to receive her comments on his
52
poems. The poetess appreciated his poetic genius and also opened up to him the world
of Russian literature. She gave him reading material regarding Dostoyevsky3,
Chekhov4 and Tolstoy
5 which he eagerly consumed. Russian literature taught him
how to write and how to look at social and natural world around him. Mistral‟s
socially-committed vision increased Neruda‟s concern for the rediscovery of native
cultures. The Chilean poetess‟ rejection of superstitions and the myths of superiority
of European blood strengthened Neruda‟s concern for social justice. Commenting
upon Mistral‟s influence on Neruda, Tietleboim says:
She used to offer a piece of advice, which he (Neruda) followed:
“Guard against strangle, and eliminate the slightest outbreak of
Xenophobia that appears in our people (1991, p. 229).
During Neruda‟s stay in Temuco, his writings remained autobiographical and
subjective reflecting the agonies of a sensitive soul in pursuits of love. His
melancholic disposition found solace in reflecting upon the phenomena of nature. His
meditations regarding natural objects ended his sense of alienation with the non-
human environment. However, it was the poetry of withdrawal, not of social action.
2.2.3.2 Santiago Experience –A Period of Ambivalence
During his stay in Santiago University, Neruda was known for his anarchist
views but he was equally averse to the politicization of literature. So, it was a period
of intellectual ambivalence. Santiago, the Chilean capital, was marked for political
activities particularly student and workers riots in 1920s. Chilean government decided
to crush these riots. In 1920, Students Federation Headquarters in Santiago were
destroyed as a result of official crackdown and a young student poet, Gomez Rojas,
who was tortured in custody, went mad and died in hospital. Pablo Neruda who had
already joined as a correspondent in Temuco for the student magazine “Claridad” was
extremely saddened to listen to such tragic incidents. This political turmoil stirred
53
within Neruda the political impulse and he decided to join Santiago University to take
part in students‟ political activities. Pablo Neruda reached Santiago in 1921 to enroll
for university education. Referring to Neruda‟s response to the political upheaval in
Santiago, Feinstein says, “His next stop would be university in Santiago, where he
would begin, he said, to feel repulsion towards the bourgeois, and to identify with
restless, dissatisfied people, artists and criminals” (2004, p. 24). The tragic fate of
Gomez Rojas inspired Neruda to write a poem “The Festival Song” for the Students
Federation Poetry Competition in 1921 which won him popular acclaim. This poem
reflects the seeds of genuine political impulse in Neruda. Neruda‟s interaction with
Alberto Rojas Gimenez, the chief editor of “Claridad”, brought him closer to
bohemian6 ways of life. Neruda started wearing less somberly dresses, indulged in
smoking and drinking. He used to spend nights in Santiago bars exchanging views on
literature with his new literary friends. The famous poetic collections of Santiago
period are Crepusculario (Book of Twilights, 1923) and Viente Poemas De Amor Y
Una Cancion Desesperada (Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, 1924). These
poetic collections are the poet‟s reflection upon the ambivalence of love. The poet
explores various roles of a woman. She is an object of sexual ecstasy, a bridge
between the lonely lover and the mysterious universe, a virtual physical presence as
well as an unapproachable entity. “Neruda‟s twenty one poems both celebrate carnal,
erotic love and lament its absence, leaving the poet lonely, in despair at his separation
and even abandonment by her” (Wilson, 2008, p. 48). The collections are conspicuous
for the unconventional treatment of love and women which did not exist in Latin
American poetry before Neruda. The poet is seen closer to the Surrealistic tradition7
in which dreams and baser instincts merge with lyrical descriptions. In prologue to his
54
novel The Inhabitant and his Hope (1926), Neruda associated himself with the
tradition of bohemian / rebel class poets. He says:
As a citizen, I am a peaceful man, enemy of laws, governments
and established institutions. I am disgusted by the bourgeois and I
like the life of restless and dissatisfied people, be they artists or
criminals (In Wilson, 2008, p. 52).
Santiago experience indicates that Neruda was a romantic outsider, a rebel, a non-
conformist.
Neruda‟s diplomatic missions in the East (Rangoon, Ceylon and Java) were
marked for the poet‟s disillusionment with British imperialism. He did not like
bureaucratic snobbery of the English colonisers who kept them apart from the
colonised and did not treat them as human beings with a shred of dignity. However,
his orientation did not become political. Even while the political scenario was
changing in his continent, Marxism was on its rise; Pablo Neruda kept himself at a
distance from communism. In a letter to Eandi in 1933, the poet defined his political
stance. The poet said that he was an anarchist and expressed his rebellious ideas in
trade union journal, “Claridad”. He is still an anarchist who does not trust
governmental laws, institutions and bourgeois politics. But he hates proletarian
literature. Systematic art can tempt only the inferior artists. While contemporary
literature was dominated by Marxist ideology, he prefers to write about dreams.
The poet‟s views denote two things: on the one hand he distanced himself
from politicizing art but on the other hand, he was not satisfied with his position as a
romantic outsider and a surrealist. There was a clear distrust of existing bourgeois
politics. The poet‟s views indicate that he has to take a stance on political matters and
has to redefine his artistic orientation.
55
2.2.3.3 Spanish Experience – A Turning Point
Neruda‟s conversion to Marxism took place in Spain. Adam Feinstein (2004)
in the chapter “Spanish Sorrow – the Turning Point” of his biography of the poet
elaborates that Neruda was appointed consul in Spain in 1934. Spain being the centre
of Spanish language and literary heritage provided the Chilean poet an opportunity to
interact with the intellectuals of world renown. He also gained access to a great
number of eager readers. Most prominent among his intellectual friends were
Federico Garcia Lorca8, Miguel Hernandez
9 and Rafael Alberti
10. Neruda‟s stay in
Spain was the most political period in the history of Spain in particular and the world
in general because it was the period of Spanish Civil War between the Republicans
and the Fascists. As he watched the brutalities perpetrated by the Fascists against
Spanish peasants and communist guerillas, he realised that Fascism was an enemy of
human civilisation and that the art must be used for the benefit of the people. While
Lorca was assassinated by the Fascists and Alberti and Hernandez were busy on the
front to inspire the freedom-fighters, Neruda campaigned for the cause of Spanish
Republic within and outside Spain. He delivered lectures, brought into his fold the
renowned French writers like Louis Aragon11
and Paul Eluard12
. In order to provide a
common forum for the intellectuals in support of the Republican cause, he established
the magazine “Poets of the World Defend the Spanish People”. Under the influence of
his Spanish and French intellectual friends who were Communists, Neruda embraced
Communism. He realised that contradictions of the existing bourgeois culture could
only be resolved through Marxism whose dialectical approach provided a clear road
map for social action for a better future world order.
The biographer further elaborates that the poet‟s Marxist vision of art, culture
and history was further strengthened by his interaction with Mexican muralists, his
56
visit to Columbia and Peru and his visit to Chilean copper and nitrate mines in
Pampas. During his visit to Mexico, Neruda became impressed by Mexican mural
painting tradition. It was here that Neruda met Diego Rivera13
and David Alfaro
Siqueiros14
and watched their epoch-making works of painting. These paintings
encompassed the history, geography, civil and intellectual controversies of the
continent. These paintings also cover the brutalities of the invaders who perpetrated
heinous crimes against the native population. This intellectual encounter of Neruda
with Mexican painters broadened his vision of Latin American history and added new
dimensions to his poetic genius.
During his visit to Columbia, Peru and Pampas in 1940s, Neruda observed the
miseries of the Latin-American workers under the monopoly of the multinational
corporations who had virtually established their own empires in this region of Chile.
These multinational companies including the American, the English and the Germans
had their own currencies, were not subject to Chilean laws and had given company
names to these viable regions of Chile in sheer violation of the sovereignty of the
country. Neruda also witnessed the miserable conditions of the mine workers with
their scarred faces. The poet also acquired the first-hand knowledge about the struggle
of Emilio Recabarren in this region for the rights of the poor workers. Recabarren,
who was the communist leader of Chile, challenged the financial and political
hegemony of the western and American corporations and advocated proletariat
struggle to liberate Chile from this neo-imperialism. Recabarren‟s struggle inspired
the workers of these regions to embrace socialistic vision for a future world order.
Recabarren‟s service for the oppressed workers was a considerable influence in
moulding the poetic genius of Neruda in service of the exploited sections of society.
57
2.2.3.4 New Intellectual Orientation
After his conversion to Marxism, Neruda realised that he had been writing
bitter and irrational poetry and that his new ideological and intellectual orientation
was a way of finding road to humanism which was non-existent in contemporary art
and literature. He also realised that illiteracy of Latin American people is the main
reason of the survival of bourgeois cultural heritage. This illiteracy is a stumbling
block in the way towards creation of a better world order. We can create readers by
speaking in their language, by addressing social realities, by abandoning our
subjectivism.
The poet‟s conversion towards Marxism brought shift in his theory of realism.
He rejected bourgeois realism because it demanded isolation of the poetic genius from
its socio-political and historical surroundings. In 1930s, the alternative to bourgeois
realism was socialist realism which was spear-headed by Soviet writers under the
patronage of official literary position of USSR. Socialist realists rejected writers‟
desire for absolute freedom and glorified socio-economic and cultural achievements
of Soviet Union under Stalin. Neruda, like his leftist contemporaries accepted socialist
realism in order to surpass bourgeois consciousness. But he did not sacrifice his
artistic freedom at the altar of official communist dogma. Greg Dawes (2003) in
Realism, Surrealism, Socialist Realism and Neruda’s “Guided Spontaneity” evaluates
Neruda‟s new stance on realism. He says that Pablo Neruda has accepted socialist
realism to the extent that it reflected more convincingly the psychological and socio-
economic conditions of the existing age than its avant-gardist counterpart and was
also clearly tied to the objectives of socialism. He disagrees with socialist realists
when they reject literary form and call attention only to the immediate socio-political
context. In this way, socialistic / proletarian literature becomes the literature of
58
agitation and loses its significance out of the particular context in which it is created.
Influenced by Lukacs‟ theory of Dialectical Realism, Neruda opts for dialectical
method. Dialectical Realism takes present as a part of temporal process and analyses
it by taking into account all the psychological, socio-political and economic forces of
the past which have moulded and shaped existing order and also suggests possible
ways of future regeneration from the existing exploitative culture. Dialectical method
which sees history as a perpetual class conflict endorses proletariat struggle for
Marxist revolution as a historical truth. Unlike socialist realism, dialectical approach
grants margin for the writer‟s spontaneity.
The study of the circumstances leading to Neruda‟s transformation from
Surrealism to Marxism and his shift from bourgeois realism to dialectical realism
indicates that the poet‟s intellectual transformation was the result of his inner
consciousness and the socio-political and historical conditions surrounding the artist.
The poet‟s shift to dialectical realism establishes that he upheld autonomy of literature
despite his affiliation with Marxism.
2.2.3.5 Controversy Regarding Isla Negra
Neruda purchased a grand house namely Isla Negra in 1939. This palatial
building is situated on a hill along the rocky seashore south-west of the capital city
Santiago, Chile. The poet was awarded Chile‟s national prize for literature in 1945. It
was the time when he had already been elected as a senator. He felt pride in his
double role as ideological writer and a parliamentarian. It was during this time that
controversy arose regarding the resources with which Neruda had purchased Isla
Negra – a costly house. He was even hooted as a thief. Neruda gave rebuttal of the
allegations and explained with documentary evidence that the money for the purchase
of the house came from royalty of his publications and the Public Employees Fund.
59
Defending his decision of buying Isla Negra, the poet argued that Isla Negra provided
him the peace and the environment which he needed to materialise his ambition of
rewriting political and cultural history of his continent. Amy De Paul and Luis Poirot
(1991) in “A Poet‟s Seafaring Fantasy” state that it was in Isla Negra that the poet
envisioned and started his grand epic. The authors further inform that before writing
in the morning, the poet used to contemplate the water – the ocean. According to
them, the poet establishes strong link between his most ambitious work Canto
General and the sea. In Neruda‟s poetry sea stands for power and creativity. Amy De
Paul and Luis Poirot substantiate their argument with Neruda‟s words:
The idea of a central poem that group historical incidents,
geographical conditions, the life and struggles of our people, came
to me as an urgent task. The wild coast of Isla Negra, with its
tumultuous ocean movements, permitted me to give myself over
with passion to the job of my new Canto. (p. 34)
The documentary evidence of the financial resources and the creative significance of
the house resolved the controversy which has questioned the integrity of the artist and
his ideological commitments.
After reviewing literature on Latin American culture and literary tradition, the
poet‟s navigation from subjective romanticism to Marxism and his shift from
bourgeois realism to dialectical criticism, the ground is prepared to narrow down the
study on political poetry of Neruda particularly Canto General which is Neruda‟s
major political work and is the focus of current research.
2.2.4 Canto General (General Song)
Canto General is considered the greatest political work of Pablo Neruda. The
central purpose of writing the epic was to establish harmony between the history, the
geography and the struggle of the people of the continent for liberation which was
missing in bourgeois text-book histories. However, like other political poems of
60
Neruda, Canto General is a circumstantial political poetry. In order to contextualize
and comprehend the historical and the immediate socio-political context/
circumstances of Canto General, it is appropriate to briefly introduce other
circumstantial political poems of the poet.
2.2.4.1 Circumstantial Political Poems of Neruda
Circumstantial political poetry is the poetry which is written in denunciation
or commemoration of a political situation or event from the perspective of the
oppressed and the marginalised. Marxist writers use the technique of circumstantial
poetry to present politico-historical events from the perspective of the proletariat in
order to legitimise contemporary counter-hegemonic struggle for Marxist revolution.
Janice-Marie Philips (1982) in “The Circumstantial Poetry of Pablo Neruda” gives a
catalogue of the circumstantial political poems of Neruda which he has written after
Spanish Civil War. His first acknowledged political publication is Spain in My Heart
(Espana en el Corazon) which was written in 1936 in commemoration of the Spanish
Civil War. In this poetic work, Neruda glorifies the heroic struggle of the Spanish
people against Fascism and also approves of the solidarity shown by the communists
for the Spanish peasantry and guerrillas. He pays homage to the Spanish Republic and
censures its enemies particularly Franco and his National Generals, the Catholic
Church and the Spanish aristocracy. The work also denounces the mindlessness of
war which results in destruction of human life, property and culture. The most
frequently used image of Pablo Neruda in this book refers to the workers, the
combating peasant guerrillas. Glorifying the struggle of the Spanish masses against
oppressors, Neruda repeatedly addresses them as comrades and brothers. In 1942, the
poet wrote and read in public his “Song to Stalingrad” which was followed by his
“New Song of Love to Stalingrad” in 1943. This song confirmed the poet‟s political
61
commitments with Marxism and Soviet Union under Stalin. In the Song, Neruda
glorified cultural, political and economic achievements of USSR under the leadership
of Joseph Stalin. However, this song provoked adverse criticism against the Chilean
poet because Stalin had perpetrated atrocities on those Soviet writers who had refused
to toe the official literary position of USSR.
Written in 1950, Canto General is acknowledged as the representative epic of
Neruda‟s Marxist political doctrines. The epic poem presents the historical, political
and cultural evolution of Latin America arising out of class struggle. Las Uvas Yel
Viento (The Grapes and the Wind) which was published in 1954 deals with Neruda‟s
travels during exile (1948 to 1953). In this book, there is persistent use of the images
of the wind and the grapes. The wind symbolizes liberty while the grapes stand for
peace. The poet praises Soviet Union, China and socialistic countries of east Europe
for being places of freedom and peace. Like Canto General (1950), Song of Protest
(1960) is another avowedly circumstantial political work which deals with Neruda‟s
popular theme of the struggle between the tyrants and the oppressed. In the poem,
United States of America stands for the forces of imperialism, oppression and
exploitation whereas the Caribbean people symbolize the struggle for freedom, justice
and peace. The poet commemorates Cuban Revolution under the leadership of Fidel
Castro.
The last of the series of circumstantial political poetry is Nixonicido
(Nixonicide) which was written in 1973. It was the time when the revolutionary
regime of Allenda in Chile was being destabilized by the U.S Imperialists under
Nixon government. In the poem, Chilean Revolution is the hero and the North
American imperialists are the villains.
62
This critical study of the circumstantial political poetry of Neruda establishes
Neruda‟s Marxist ideological commitments. He clearly identifies the communist
regimes as pro-masses and castigates capitalistic bloc and particularly USA as the
enemies of the freedom, love and peace. He uses his pen as a weapon to denounce
socio-economic injustice and oppression across the world.
2.2.4.2 Socio-political and Historical Context of Canto General and the Theme of
Betrayal
Canto General, the principal political work of the poet, was written at the
crucial period of modern history. It was the post-world war era when the alliance
between USA and USSR against Fascism had ceased to exist due to the sharp
ideological differences between the two super powers. Russia had started to support
the revolutionary political forces in the under-developed world to manage pro-masses
political changes through electoral process. The communist groups in Chile decided to
support Gonzalez Videla – the leader of radical party for presidential election. Neruda
campaigned for him throughout the country. After coming to power, Gonzalez
violated the promises made with the communists and conspired with USA to
safeguard his vested interests. Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria (1989) in “Neruda‟s
Canto General: The Poetics of Betrayal” says that it was in this atmosphere of
mistrust and betrayal that Canto General was written and published. The poem
locates similar betrayals throughout the history of America. It unearths the betrayal of
the natives of Latin America at the hands of the European invaders who promised
glory, culture and enlightenment but practised exploitation. Similar betrayals took
place at the time of political independence of Latin American Societies from the
colonial rule. The indigenous leaders perpetuated the manipulative system of the
foreign rulers and denied the people the much promised freedom, equality, rule of law
and democratic values. The poem also glorifies pre-columbian America in which man
63
was existing in complete harmony with Nature. It was more of a pre-lapsarian
paradise. Echevarria further points out that the existing mood of betrayal and distrust
is not without hope about future. The poet reassures restoration of promises through
proletariat victory against the evil doers and the enemies of mankind. This review of
the historical and the immediate socio-political context of the epic helps contextualise
the theme of betrayal and the restoration of promises in the long standing ideological
and political struggle between the oppressors and the redeemers.
Neruda‟s heroes are no longer the heroes of independence. With Neruda,
history of Latin America between Cuauhtemoc15
‟s resistance against Cortes16
and the
establishment of Chilean communist party by Recabarren and the rebellion of Prestes
in Brazil in the twentieth century is the narrative of violence, bloodshed, exploitation
and betrayal. Neruda rejects the myth of fame and glory behind colonization. In the
words of Brotherston, “Neruda establishes a bond from the first between European
invader and Indian victim in human want” (p. 199). The article satirizes the
treacherous role of Latin American dictators in surrendering their national resources
and pride to the multinational corporations like Standard Oil Co and the United Fruit
Co.
2.2.4.3 The Poetics of Prophesy in Canto General
Neruda‟s Canto General which accommodates futuristic design of Marxist
struggle does not end on a pessimistic note. Bourgeois hegemony of the continent
which is conspicuous for betrayal, exploitation and broken promises is sure to
generate proletariat revolt against the status quo which will ultimately lead to
socialistic revolution. As Marxism of Neruda is entrenched in Latin American cultural
and religious values, so his prophesy of Marxist millennium is closely modeled upon
the pattern of biblical apocalypse. Enrico Mario Santi (1982) in The Poetics of
64
Prophesy discusses in detail the prophetic nature of the poetry of Pablo Neruda
particularly his Canto General. The critic says that the poet establishes close affinities
between Marxist futuristic design and Biblical Doomsday to lend cultural and
spiritual support to the forces of resistance against bourgeois hegemony. Neruda‟s
Marxist vision not only retains the Biblical and literary tradition of prophecy but also
strengthens it by involving element of human struggle to achieve the ideals of
humanity. Like Biblical pattern, Karl Marx designs the world into two factions – the
oppressors and the oppressed. The exploited masses represent the forces of good who
will eventually defeat the exploiters. Canto General can befittingly be called a secular
and Romantic analogy of the Bible. The two opening sections of the poem are as
solemn in tone as those of the Scripture. Unlike many encyclopedic works of such
kind, Canto General has a well-structured sequence of continental history which is
marked for foreign invasions and corrupt political culture. The encyclopedic structure
of the narrative is fortified by “the presence of an active prophetic voice that
permeates all sections of the book and dramatizes the exposure of such a corrupt
society” (Santi, 1982, p.185). Like structure, the language of Canto General has close
affinities with that of the Bible. The book is also known for the explicit use of Biblical
commonplace. The description of the four Latin American rivers that flow through the
continent resembles the four rivers that flow out of the Garden of Paradise in Genesis.
Neruda wrote Canto General during his exile. He refers frequently to his
wandering or fugitive position. Exile is a prophetic attribute which symbolizes the
spiritual restlessness of the prophetic figure. It also stands for the arrival of the new
age in which the existing world order will be uprooted and replaced by the new
values. To add to it, if we compare the details given in Memoirs about the miseries of
the miners of Northern Chile with the section dealing with the same issue; we come to
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know that in both descriptions, Neruda projects himself as a diligent public servant
who is assigned the enormous task of alleviating the sufferings of the most wretched
sections of the society. His role is that of the redeemer. The theme of condemnation of
historical betrayals which runs throughout the epic establishes the role of the narrator
both as a scribe and as an exile. As a scribe, the poet locates social injustice in the
whole continent throughout the history and documents it. His exile is the punishment
he has to undergo by the oppressors for documenting social injustice. Contrary to the
much publicized narrative of progress and enlightenment, speaker‟s unearthing of
socio-economic exploitation set the dialectic pattern of the poem which helps him
predict apocalypse of socio-economic and political redemption through proletariat
struggle. The review of The Poetics of Prophecy establishes affinities between
scriptural apocalypse and Marxist revolution. It also establishes Marxist utopian
vision as an integral part of Biblical and Greco-Roman literary prophetic tradition.
This pattern points to the cultural influence upon Marxist ideological commitments of
Neruda.
This analogy between Marxist and Biblical apocalypse is also discussed by
Terry DeHay (n.d) in his article “Revisioning the Apocalypse”. According to Terry
DeHay, Neruda in Canto General brings to the people of his continent a revised
version of the cultural and political history of America. Quite interestingly, the Bible
which facilitated the European colonisers to invade and occupy Latin America, also
provided Neruda a model of history in which he located Marxist pattern of dialectics
and used it as a means to propagate his political doctrine of Marxist revolution.
Neruda also discerns similarities between Biblical model of universal culture under
the dominance of good and the Marxist claim of universal brotherhood through
victory of the oppressed. One of the primary reasons of borrowing Biblical cultural
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model by Neruda is the deep emotional and spiritual attachment of the Latin
American people with religion. Even those who do not practise Christian rituals in
their lives do acknowledge the moral authority of the religion particularly the poor
who look towards religion for solace which gives meanings to their otherwise chaotic
existence. So, the biblical model of narrative provides wider acceptability to the
Marxist doctrine of Neruda among the exploited sections of society. Furthermore, the
Biblical pattern of returning to the origin of the world in order to understand the
present with all its complexities and anticipating a future based on elimination of the
existing contradictions substantiates dialectical criticism of history by Neruda.
As the main theme of the poem is the regeneration of Latin America through
its peoples‟ struggle against the enemies of mankind; it seems quite logical to review
literature on one of the most important sections of the poem which is entitled as “The
Heights of Macchu Picchu”. This section is widely believed to be the main source of
the theme of resurrection of Latin America with its pre-columbian glory. The article
“The Heights of Macchu Picchu” provides excellent comments on the theme of the
poem. The persona of “Alturas de Macchu Picchu” is the pre-columbian native Indian
of Latin America who visits the ancient Inca fortress city of Macchu Picchu in Peru.
The city was built as a last desperate resort to escape the Spanish invasion. The
persona who visits the city alone contrasts the modern robot-like existence with the
enduring world order of nature. Throughout his walk along the streets of the ruined
city, the persona realises the futility and transitory nature of human goals and labour
both past and present. The destiny of human beings is their ultimate death and
extinction.
But, as the persona climbs on to the heights of the ancient Inca fortress-city, he
glances into the temporal past when this city was built. This is the moment of the
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epiphany. The spatial movement towards the peak of the fortress and the temporal
movement towards the time of its construction simultaneously bring home to the
persona the imprecision of human life and work and the permanence in the
consistently recurring cycle of nature. The article establishes link between the ancient
men, nature and their gods. The ancient workers contributed towards permanence in
the recurring cycle of nature through collective creation. This harmony between the
ancient man, nature and his gods is based on all-inclusive love. This collectivity based
on love inspires persona of the poem to revisit his modern habitation in order to
recuperate pre-columbian pluralistic harmony between man and nature and to
anticipate a future world order based on social justice and harmony.
The review of this article also adds strength to Neruda‟s Marxist optimism
about the future of mankind as he believes in the existence of exploitation-free past in
pre-colonial era where there existed harmony between the human and natural world.
2.2.4.4 Neruda – A Programmatic Optimist or a Poet of Multiple Identities
A number of critics of Neruda have labeled him as a programmatic optimist
who oversimplifies the complexities of life. Their criticism is based upon the
perception regarding the poet‟s futuristic hope about the people of his continent in his
Canto General. These critics also support their view on the basis of Neruda‟s
indictment of surrealistic poetic tradition in Canto General. Furthermore, the poet
also maintained this optimistic note in his later poetry by writing edible verses. Robert
Bly, an eminent critic of Neruda is conspicuous for this partisan judgement. Bly
(1967) in “Refusing to be Theocritus” has given exaggerated treatment to the poet‟s
sanguinary tone in rewriting cultural history of Latin America from Marxist
perspective.
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Contrary to this view, the artistic career of Pablo Neruda establishes the poet
as a moving talent. His transformation from a surrealist to a Marxist does not mean a
homogenized Neruda. Of course, after writing Canto General, the poet has kept his
vision and sympathies enlarged in a post-war diminishing world but it does not close
the chapter of Neruda‟s multiple identities. Extravagaria – a famous collection of the
poet which was published in 1958 offers multiple dimensions of the personality of the
poet. Ben Belitt (1972) in “The Moving Finger and the Unknown Neruda” explains
that it is customary that provincial readers and critics pass biased judgements against
the moving talents like Neruda. The critic says “the myopic proscription of Neruda
has gone on and has recently been imported into this country by anthologists and
translators by a kind of reverse imperialism which seeks to immobilize his diversity in
“simplified” versions for the common reader” (p. xvii). He further states that Neruda
always discarded positional poetry and did not like himself to be marked as a
stationary talent. The poet abandoned the sanguinary tone of Canto General in his
later poetry because he was branded as a programmatic optimist by his hostile critics.
He never relinquished his commitment to express loneliness, agony and the fear of
things. Belitt further informs that subsequently the poet even called himself dogmatic
for criticising surrealistic poets in Canto General. To sum up, despite his clear
ideological affiliations, Neruda remains a poet of multiple identities.
2.2.4.5 The Critique of Global Capitalism in Canto General
Marxist political apocalypse of Neruda is rooted in existing dystopia of
injustice. Proletariat revolution is the logical outcome of decay and defeat of
capitalism due to its inherent contradictions. Like Marxist intellectuals, Pablo Neruda
exposes cracks in the trenches of the bourgeois hegemony to legitimise proletariat
struggle against the status quo. Canto General allocates sufficient space for
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condemnation of the exploitative role of the local as well as foreign oppressors.
Influenced by Latin American context, the poem is conspicuous for its forceful
criticism of the exploitative role of the international corporations which work in
connivance with the indigenous rulers. This critique finds its forceful manifestation in
the section “Sand Betrayed” of the epic. Jeffrey Gray (2010) in United Fruit Co;
Canto General, and Neruda’s Critique of Capitalism discusses Neruda‟s critique of
capitalism with particular focus on US sponsored financial corporations. The author
points out that Canto General which encompasses Latin American history from anti-
colonial stance also offers a critique of neo-imperialism of the North. The poems such
as “United Fruit Company”, “Standard Oil Co.” and “Anaconda Copper Mining Co.”
are famous for their anti-neo-imperialist appeal. Similarly, the section “Sand
Betrayed” castigates the anti-national role of various Latin American dictators who
worked for the neo-imperialist corporations in return for money. Certain poems of this
section name even oppressive rulers such as Jorge Ubico of Guatemala, Martinez of
El Salvador and Trujillo of Dominican Republic etc for acting as mercenaries of the
North. In contrast to the textbook history, Neruda censures these local and foreign
exploiters as „vultures‟, „flies‟, „rodents‟ etc to highlight their greed for the resources,
treasures and wealth of Latin America. As Spanish invaders baptized Latin America
as christen continent; these modern imperialists baptized Latin American Soils as
“Banana Republics17
”. In United Fruit Co; the poet expresses his anger, sense of loss
and lamentation over the way, the Latin American produce was exported to the North.
He is equally dismayed over the indifference of the heartless capitalist system towards
exhaustion of the native work force and the collapse of Latin American culture. The
author informs that the language of the poem establishes Marxist principle of
alienation of the labourers from their humanness.
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The author of the article points out that the detailed account of various
indigenous groups such as Aztecs, Mayas, Guaranies and Mapuches etc is an attempt
to reach to the roots of Latin American Cultures which has been subdued under the
claim of European ancestry. Actually, the native Indians are taken for the exploited
proletariats of the world. In the article, the author also evaluates Neruda‟s vision of
the poets, writers and artists in the Industrial world. Neruda rejects for him the
classification of „the political poet‟. He asserts that political poets are those poets who
keep silent over the sufferings of the oppressed. Those who do not address the
feelings of the people, do not contact with the pressing realities of life are in reality
the political poets. Because of creating oblivion, such writers promote exploitative
culture. In this regard, Neruda is siding with Soviet view and hurls invectives on
Surrealists, and existentialists who abandoned the people of the twentieth century in
times of crisis when they were needed most. “In Neruda‟s view, the role of the
romantic poets – Keats, Goethe, or Hugo – had been lost with the emergence of the
industrial bourgeoisie” (Gray, 2010, p. 210). Seen in this perspective, the title Canto
General depicts Neruda‟s rejection of the Latin American intellectuals‟ indifference
towards the socio-political conditions of their continent in their efforts to project
Anglo-American ahistoricity of their art.
The article provides a precise appraisal of Canto General‟s critique of
capitalism. It extends solid guidance in analyzing the text in the light of the second
and fourth research questions. It also elucidates the poet‟s vision of functional role of
art.
2.2.4.6 Harmony between Natural and Social Praxis in Canto General
Pablo Neruda‟s nature poetry like his romantic poetry runs throughout his
poetic career. Conventional nature poetry deals with typical scenes and settings in
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natural landscape. The descriptions of nature poetry include descriptions of sun-set,
sea-storms, rolling hills, uninhabited forests and terrains. But the nature poetry of
Neruda is more encompassing. It deals with every object and element of nature
existing in man‟s physical environment and interprets it in relation with human world.
The world of Neruda‟s nature poetry includes seas, hills, deserts, woodlands, animals,
insects, vegetation, winds, rains and even urban landscape. His nature is comforting,
reassuring as well as terrifying.
Neruda‟s poetry, both nature and public, is marked for its emphasis on the
relationship between man and matter, between natural and social world. Despite
change in perspective from the romantic idealism to Socialistic realism, Neruda
remained essentially a materialist. Russell Salmon and Julia Lesage (1977) in “Stones
and Birds: Consistency and Change in the Poetry of Pablo Neruda” evaluates
Neruda‟s philosophy of dialectical materialism. Never static, poetry of Neruda affirms
perpetual motion (dialectic) both in social and material world. Language of his poetry
is always materialistic representing the physical world of objects. The poet says that
meditation on the forms and objects of matter liberates him from his alienation with
the environment and gives him a sustained sense of integration with the elements of
nature. As the socio-political canvas of his poetry broadens, Neruda penetrates deeper
into the material reality to locate meaningful relationship between matter and society.
He describes every object as it comes into being – from sea, stone, animals and birds
in flight to the poet thinking about dialectics in human and social world. This signifies
that the only constant factor is the change that occurs in the material and social
worlds. Russell and Julia say that in the Machhu Picchu poems, “Pablo Neruda
equates natural objects and things with human beings in dialectical unity” (p. 226).
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The poet says that individual and society complement each other. Man is the
product of society and in turn, gives form to society. Social-human world continues to
evolve. This dialectical approach of Neruda helps the reader grasp a complete view of
interdependence between human life and matter. Neruda as a socialist believes that
personal and social integrity can be achieved only through spiritual integrity.
Spiritually unified individual can work with physical vigour, strength and urgency to
promote a common cause. Spiritual and physical integrity can be evoked through the
awareness of meaningful connections between the human and the material world. The
flow and the flux of life is worked out through the conflict between forces of
destruction, disintegration and the forces of creation and growth. Quite paradoxically,
the constant flux in matter does not result in its extinction. Rock which is a recurrent
image in Neruda‟s poetry symbolizes the infinite purity and constancy of matter.
Despite certain changes in its form, the rock remains constant and unadulterated.
Neruda believes that forms in the physical objects and matter set forth in him the
essential energy and vigour to reflect solemnly upon the phenomenon of existence and
the place and position of man in the material world both in spatial and temporal terms.
Neruda‟s advocacy for social action which is based upon his view of history as
a perpetual conflict between classes for monopoly over means of production seeks its
inspiration from natural praxis. In his poetry and particularly in Canto General, he
establishes organic links between man and earth. He feels his primary obligation
towards environment, geography and the people. Frank Riess (1989) in “The Poet and
the Collectivity” locates certain thematic and formal patterns which facilitate the links
between the man, the earth and the poet. Realisation of Neruda‟s Marxist utopian
vision requires qualitative collective work and action. The men working in groups are
compared with sea, metals and light. The poet is persistent in highlighting the link
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between man and earth in their manner of working. For Neruda, man is the synthesis
of various forms of nature and so is the earth. Both are the sources of procreation.
Similarly, another recurrent pattern is the comparison between man and his physical
parts and between the continent and its parts including various objects of nature. This
pattern helps equate man and the continent. Equally significant is the equation
between man and the ocean. Both are taken as the symbols of creation.
The review of the two articles helps understand the thematic implications of
the material imagery in the poetry of Neruda. It also establishes that the poet‟s
dialectical realism and social praxis take inspiration from dialectics in nature.
2.2.4.7 Historical Account of the Adamic Tradition in Canto General
The myth of Adamic voice and the bardic tradition have been popular poetic
techniques among socially-committed poets of the New World. The most conspicuous
among them are Whitman, Mistrel Gabriel, Neruda and Walcott. The basic purpose of
these poetic techniques is to liberate America‟s from the discursive practices and
cultural norms of the old world which do not match with the ground realities of the
new world. One of the most important aspects of Neruda‟s poetry particularly the
political one is the myth of Adamic voice. The myth of Adamic voice is surely a
political issue. Don Bogen (1992) in “Canto General” provides a convincing analysis
of the above-mentioned myth and its implications. The article explains that the poets
such as Whitman and Neruda who aspired to assert and understand their Americas
through its native flora and fauna found it difficult to fulfill the task through the
languages of the Old world – English, Spanish, Portuguese etc. This motivated them
to resort to the myth of Adamic Voice. The myth refers to the Biblical narrative of
Adam naming the various creatures of the Garden of Eden and its flora and fauna
while language was not yet discovered. This Adamic role of the poets of the New
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World gave them social, cultural and political significance. Their voices are taken for
the most authentic voices of the Americas. The article goes on to analyse Neruda‟s
Canto General and The Elemental Odes with particular reference to the myth of
Adamic Voice. Canto General which is known for its Adamic and political overtones
not only describes the garden of Americas before colonization but also examines the
continent in colonial and the post-imperial periods. The main purpose of Neruda‟s
Adamic Voice is to express solidarity with those whom text book histories have
forgotten to mention.
The article elaborates that Canto General which deals with the issue of
universal oppression is marked for its fierce rhetoric whereas the Elemental Odes
which have equally viable political implications are light in tone. In Odes, Neruda
names basic elements rather than focusing on series of oppressive cycles in history.
The vision behind the Odes is of course political. The detailed description of various
food items and famous crops of the continent along with their capacity for mass
nutrition when seen in the backdrop of hunger and exploitation in the continent
establish Neruda‟s socialistic approach based on the vision of equitable distribution.
Furthermore, Neruda does not see the various food items as divine blessings; he sees
them as the products of human labour. The article also points to the sensuousness of
Neruda‟s poetry which is at its best in Canto General and Elemental Odes.
The author of the article also touches upon the poetic device of repetition and
simplification in Canto General. Neruda‟s detailed account of the villains and the
heroes which is obviously part of his narrative design sometimes does look
overwheening. Similarly, the issue of simplified version of history categorizing the
historical figures into the good and the bad ones is again political in design. However,
this stratification sometimes leads to the stereotypical portrayal of human figures. But
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this simplification was natural for socially-committed poet who had abandoned
Surrealistic techniques of surprise and obscurity in favour of the art which ought to be
accessible to those whose voice has seldom been raised in literary canon. The article
also refers to the relevance of Neruda‟s political poetry in the backdrop of the collapse
of Soviet Union. The author says that the fall of communism has not resolved the
issue of hunger and exploitation in the third world. In the words of Bogen, “Canto
General is an excellent corrective to the self-congratulatory versions of history we are
hearing these days. The odes take us back to the elemental facts behind history” (p.
33).
George B. Handley‟s (2007) New World Poetics which is a comparative study
of the bardic nature of the poetry of Whitman, Neruda and Walcott, highlights certain
important issues regarding the myth of Adamic voice and Bardic tradition. Whitman,
Neruda and Walcott who are known for their Adamic Voice, glorify the ancestral soul
of the new world. Their poetry affirms that despite the disastrous influence of colonial
experience, the new world has retained its natural beauty and cultural and humanistic
values. The book points to the fact that poetry of the three poets is marked for its
struggle to revisit the official versions of history under colonial impact. The New
World Poetics emphasises that their admiration and concern for the preservation of
the physical and the natural world is related to their struggle for social justice. In the
words of B. Handley, “Bioregionalism must be the foundation of just human
communities, since the roots of human fate are literally in the soil” (2007, p. 6). The
author emphasises that Whitman, Neruda and Walcott are among those poets of the
world who believe in the power of poetry to hold back the destruction of the world by
emphasizing upon ecological balance.
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The book tries to establish the relationship between ecology and literature in
American hemisphere through the works of the poets under discussion. It also
signifies the constructive role of nature in formulating and sustaining the New World
under colonial rule. Part 1 also glorifies the role of the bardic tradition in promoting
regenerative image of the natural world instead of highlighting the anguish over the
loss of native cultural heritage under imperial rule. The second part of the book deals
with the biocentric vision of human life in the light of the Adamic tradition of the
three poets. It particularly deals with Neruda‟s ambition to formulate Latin American
Culture in harmony with nature, not on the basis of text books history. It also deals
with the growing concern in New World poetics to do away with the habit of amnesia
regarding its pre-colonial cultural heritage. The three Adamic poets believe in
simultaneity between the Old and the New World. They consider colonial experience
as a passing moment whose disastrous impact can only be countered through
resurgence of natural world order. The book further castigates the state of oblivion in
members of the insulted and marginalised cultures. This state of oblivion can be
overcome by resorting to the history of the exploited through myths, ballads, legends
and folklores. Adamic poetic tradition places primary focus on the role of the poetic
imagination. The bardic poets search for metaphors and figures of speech which are at
once local as well as related to the regional cultures of the continent.
The review of New World Poetics helps understand the role of the politically-
oriented literature in revitalizing marginalised cultures of the New World which have
been suppressed under colonial and postcolonial autocratic rules. Recuperation of the
insulted cultures and landscape are essential to gain socio-political and economic
freedom and justice because indigenous cultures do not acknowledge social hierarchy
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based on materialistic considerations. The significance of the article cannot be over-
emphasised in the wake of globalisation.
2.2.4.8 Structural and Thematic Significance of the Epic Pattern of Canto
General
Throughout the literary history of Greaco-German civilisation, epic poetry has
always been used to propagate the world view of the hegemonic order. Of all the
literary genres, epic is considered the most befitting tool of propaganda. In order to
present Marxist version of cultural, political and geographical history of Latin
American continent in Canto General, Pablo Neruda has selected epic narrative
pattern. Rene de Costa (1982) in The Poetry of Pablo Neruda has evaluated the
validity and significance of the epic structure in Canto General. According to the
critic, the poem which is lengthy and complex is marked for structural and thematic
unity. The narrative moves from the past to present in a chronological order. To add
to it, the movement of the narrative is from the distant past to the real past; from the
general to the particular. The poet uses the technique of the multiple narrators which
gives choral dimension to the epic. When the poet narrates the moments of the heroic
resistance of the popular Latin American Leaders, he speaks through them. This
technique helps the poet to reject more effectively the received behaviours towards
the much publicized heroic nature of Spanish invasion. It also helps the poet to
establish impersonal and objective view of history. The 1st person narration at crucial
moments of the narrative helps achieve immediate and dramatic impact on the reader.
As the epic narrators present revised version of history, they compel the reader to
revisit his world view and to have a glance at the past from another perspective and so
to look at the present and into the future in a very different way from his current
perspective. As the basic purpose of the epic is to dismantle the false consciousness
created through particular discourse; the multiple voices and personae do achieve the
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shock effect which is required to endorse the perspective of the marginalised. The
critical study of the book verifies the poetic choice of the epic tradition and the
technique of the multiple narrators in propagating and legitimizing counter-
hegemonic point of view.
2.2.4.9 Political Significance of Erotic (Romantic) Imagery in Canto General
Pablo Neruda started his career as a love poet. Despite the shift in his
perspective from a subjective romanticist to a Marxist poet, Neruda continued to write
love poetry till his very end.
One of the significant aspects of Neruda‟s Love poetry is its less Romantic
mode and strong political implications. Though he has written extensively in praise of
the beloved; his love poetry no longer remains as an ode in praise of the beauty of a
particular individual. Jason Wilson (2008) in A Companion to Pablo Neruda:
Evaluating Neruda’s Poetry recounts the vast scope of the poet‟s love. The author
tells that Neruda always reiterated in his writings that Love was the primary theme of
his poetry and political ideals. The poet also advised the young poets to write poems
to their lovers because poetry commences as a communication between lovers. The
oral quality of Neruda‟s poetry has also been underpinned in the book. The oral
quality of his poetry affirms the need to voice his poems. “Voice enriches text,
emotionalises and humanizes it” (Wilson, 2008, p.1). The less romantic mode of
Neruda‟s poetry refers to his love poems which deal with parental love, love for the
land and the whole continent, love for geography, cultures and vegetation, love for the
poets of the New world, love for his countrymen and finally love for the proletariat
class of Latin America and the whole world. Neruda‟s love poems are also dedicated
to his communist party, to his ideological friends and comrades. At the end of Canto
General, Neruda bequeathed his books of poetry to his poetic successors of America.
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He also exhorted upon the future poets to glorify and idealize socially-committed
writers.
Wilson also touches upon the idea of converting Canto General de Chile into
Canto General. In Canto General de Chile, Neruda thought of expressing his love and
commitment for his motherland, its geography, its climate, its people and their
occupations. But the international scenario and his fascination for mural art of Mexico
compelled Neruda to think in terms of the whole Latin America. He realised that his
countrymen were no different from other Latin Americans. All the Latin Americans
suffered under the same colonial occupation. Their oppressors are the same and their
liberators are the same. Neruda was convinced that his planet was an exploited and
insulted entity. This view of the unity of the continent was in harmony with his
Marxist ideology as Marxism enjoins that the suffering class is one in its resistance to
the bourgeois hegemony and imperialism across the artificially created national
boundaries. Wilson further adds that Neruda‟s claim to Latin American unity also
stems from his conviction that nature does not approve of national frontiers.
Furthermore, the author affirms that Neruda‟s model for searching and discovering
Latin America beyond books was of course Whitman.
The review of Jason Wilson‟s book establishes patriotic and socialistic view of
Neruda‟s love. It also affirms that freedom from oppression cannot be materialised
without love for the soil.
2.2.4.10 Repudiation of Canonised Linguistic Practices in Canto General
With the change in Neruda‟s perspective about the role of poetry, he
abandoned bourgeois discursive practices and obscure modes of expression because
his new readers were mostly the illiterate people including factory workers, peasants
and small salaried class. He started using simple language and vocabulary which was
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intelligible for the common people and listened to the meek whispers of the oppressed
which is entirely missing in the canonised literature of the world. Roland Bleiker
(2010) in “Pablo Neruda and the Struggle for Political Memory” evaluates the pro-
masses political perspective of Neruda‟s poetry. The article mainly focuses on
Neruda‟s struggle to place himself outside the existing linguistic practices which
strengthen the dominant ideology. One of the primary concerns of Neruda in his
poetry is to counter the perception that poetry is a way of getting entry into the culture
of the aristocratic class, a source of distraction and entertainment for the privileged
people who have leisure to indulge in the realm of their fantasies. Neruda rejected the
view that poetry was a hymn to those beauties of life which only the rich could afford
to visualize and to materialise. Bleiker further elaborates that Neruda uses everyday
language to deal with the life of those beyond the protected existence of the privileged
ones. Commenting on the content of Neruda‟s poetry, Bleiker says, “By bringing
alive the dailiness of life, its rhythm and its ruptures, poetry must see beyond the
pleasant and the harmonious” (2010, p.1133). The article further affirms that for
Neruda, the primary function of the poetry is to preserve the societal memory. It
should be, as it has been in the past, a way of recuperating past and ensuring shifting
of the accumulated collective wisdom to the present and the future generations. It is
poetry which has transformed the historical events and struggles into the cultural
traditions. To do this, the poet requires the struggles and the events to be filtered out
of the personal domains in order to be placed into the public domain. It is in this way
that the poetry ensures preservation of an otherwise time-bound event and struggle
into a cultural tradition and myth of universal significance. The article quotes the
examples of the socially-oriented art of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Gogol18
and others
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which retain its appeal despite the departures of the authors and the non-existence of
the particular contexts.
Neruda believes that poetry is combative in purpose and has served this role
throughout its history. The poet should not feel shy if he is branded as subversive. To
be effective in its role to subvert status quo, poetry should be accessible. It should
arouse rebellion, resentment as well as admiration. His political poetry, during and
after the Spanish Civil War, is marked for simplicity and clarity as it deals with the
large public. For Neruda, the political poetry has to be oral poetry which is read aloud
everywhere in public. It should be read on battle fronts, in political meetings, at social
occasions etc. Neruda like dialectical practitioners of international politics affirms that
deeply entrenched political disputes can never be resolved through long existing ways
of thought. We need to abandon existing discourses in favour of fresh linguistic
approaches. We need to revisit our thinking habits. A new and fresh perspective
requires new language, a new discourse.
The study of the above-mentioned article establishes the view that to serve
their intellectual obligations in affecting socio-political change in society, the poets
need to revisit their old linguistic practices. The article also justifies Neruda‟s use of
everyday language in accomplishing his role as a social bard.
2.2.4.11 Ekphrastic Experience in Canto General
Pablo Neruda‟s intense liking for plastic arts is widely acknowledged. In this
respect the poet was mainly indebted to European avant-gardism which did not accept
the traditional barrier between arts. He was influenced by the idea of interaction
between verbal and visual modes of expression in poetry. He had intimate
relationships with European and Latin American painters particularly the Mexican
muralists. Hugo Mendez-Ramirez (1999) in Neruda’s Ekphrastic Experience: Mural
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Art and Canto General takes into account the poet‟s interest in Mexican mural art and
its influence upon Canto General. The work points out that the poet believes that our
world view is the product of interaction between the visual and the verbal modes of
representation. The author also indicates that it was most likely under the influence of
the mural tradition which is the oldest form of painting that Neruda selected epic
tradition which is the oldest form of verbal representation in order to dig deep into the
roots of his trade. It is also said that the Mexican mural tradition which was handed
down from the ancient art of Aztecs and Mayans to the modern painters of Latin
America was the main driving force behind Neruda‟s radical view of ancient cultures
against colonial legacy. Neruda realised that the complex messages (signifieds)
encoded in mural art could best be articulated through language (signifiers). It is quite
interesting to note that the first edition of Canto General was published in Mexico in
1950 which was accompanied by paintings of Rivera and Siqueiros. This placing of
paintings on the cover pages of the Canto General testifies to the ambition of Neruda
to the reader as viewer as well.
The book further informs that the revival of ancient mural tradition took place
in Mexico after Mexican Revolution. This revival of mural tradition restored the
image of indigenous Mexican culture and its people to the modern Mexican public.
This post-revolutionary mural tradition flourished under governmental patronage.
What is most important about Mexican painting tradition is its proletariat character
and pluralistic nature. The author further elaborates that the main theme of mural art
is the history of the continent which does away with colonial heritage by
rediscovering the suppressed cultures of the colonized Latin Americans. This tone of
the Mexican paintings is at the heart of Canto General which presents the conflict
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between those who enjoy privileges and those who suffer from hunger and
insufficiency.
The work further explains that it was under the influence of Mexican mural art
that Neruda‟s vision about his continent broadened and he decided to recover and
defend the past not only of Chile, Mexico or Peru but of the entire continent because
the mural tradition was conspicuous for its transcultural appeal. This version of
history projected by Neruda in his Canto General is of course indebted to the
Mexican art. Like the muralists, Neruda depicts historical present as continuation of
the colonial version of history of the continent which offers unfair pedestals and is
discriminatory in treatment. This version of history affords greater space for
Valdivia19
than Lautaro21
. So if the history of Latin America is the history of
domination since conquest, then the natives of the land act as fodder for this culture of
exploitation. The ideological parallel which is drawn between pre-columbian social
order and the Marxist political order in Canto General is fully manifested in mural
art.
The review of the book establishes strong ideological and formal links
between Canto General and the Mexican mural art. The study also provides important
information to facilitate textual analysis in the light of the third research question
particularly the formal poetic tools.
2.2.4.12 Future and Past Utopias in Canto General: A Dream or Praxis
Due to its futuristic design and its glorification of remote past, Marxism is
often termed as a utopian philosophy by its critics. Whereas Marxist theorists and
intellectuals claim that Marxist futuristic vision is no longer a fanciful idea. It is based
upon social action and aims to regenerate pre-imperial, pre-feudal pluralistic culture
which was based on mutual harmony and collectivity. Canto General, which idealises
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pre-Columbian Latin America and presents a highly optimistic vision of the continent
and the global society in future, contains certain mythical elements. Mark J. Mascia
(2001) in “Pablo Neruda and the Construction of Past and Future Utopia in the Canto
General” evaluates the issue of the mythical nature of past and future utopias in the
epic. Mascia points out certain seemingly clear instances of utopian element in the
poem. He says that in the very opening poem of the epic, the treatment of pre-
columbian society of Latin America in which pre-imperial civilisation is presented as
uncorrupted and innocent is mythical. He goes on to say that the ancient land and its
inhabitants lived in mutual harmony which was broken by the Spanish invader. This
vision of Latin American land and its people (Amer-Indians) lends utopian quality to
the pre-colonial Latin American tribes. In part IV of the epic, Neruda calls forth to all
the unknown heroes and the soldiers of the continent who took part in liberation
movements, to unite for a brighter future of Latin American society. This notion of
the poet that all the oppressed people are united under Marxist cause irrespective of
their cultural, geographical and psychological specificity is also mythical. The
underlined theme of the poem that the existing dystopia of injustice will finally be
replaced by Marxist revolution via proletariat struggle as a logical next phase of the
defeat of bourgeois hegemony is also over-optimistic. To add to it, Canto General‟s
treatment of Soviet Union under Stalin as proletariat‟s paradise is also fanciful
because it ignores totalitarian nature of Stalin regime.
The poet‟s use of the future tense which suggests the vision of a classless
society in future assigns mythical quality to Canto General with particular reference
to Latin America. The article indicates that Neruda‟s placing himself among the
masses as opposed to his earlier Surrealist self-absorption and the consistent use of
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Marxist vocabulary expressing his solidarity with the oppressed also adds to the
mythic voice of the work.
However, J. Mascia also presents the other side of the picture. He says that
despite certain seemingly mythical and utopian elements of Neruda‟s Marxist vision
of society in Canto General, his past and future utopias are rooted in history. They are
earthly utopias. The pre-Spanish continent and its inhabitants have existed. These
inhabitants are described in terms of their daily life routines.
The immediate background of the poem is the late 1930s when Latin America
including Chile had become a place of investment for American financial companies
and the Latin American people particularly working classes were being exploited by
the foreigners on their own motherland. The socialistic regimes which the poet has
glorified are historical, political and geographical entities which were created through
proletariat struggle. Of course, Stalin regime is known for its atrocities but it has the
credit to eliminate agricultural slavery in Russia. Stalin also introduced revolutionary
changes in the socio-political and economic life of the people of USSR. Neruda‟s
glorification of Stalin regime is certainly not based on the desire to establish
communist dictatorship. He wants existing dystopia to be overcome in order to
eliminate grief and pain from the world.
The critic finally defends the poet‟s fanciful treatment of his earthly utopias.
Mascia says that the mythical treatment of the pre-historic continent substantiates
Marxist vision of communist society in past. It also helps create analogy between pre-
colonial Latin America and the Garden of Paradise which acts as a foil to the dystopia
of injustice created by the advent and the occupation of this uncorrupted land by the
Spaniards. Furthermore, the poetic glorification of pre-imperial America is also
justified on the ground that the history of proletariat struggle in modern age has led to
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the establishment of socialist regimes but not the classless societies envisaged by
Marx. Finally, Neruda is not alone in having this dream of an ideal future; he is
accompanied by poets like Vicente, Vallejo, Luis Borges, and others etc.
To sum up, the article which identifies solid instances of the mythic voice in
Canto General also underscores the socio-political relevance of the poetic
glorification of Marxist utopian vision even after the collapse of communist states
across the globe. So, the existence of certain mythical accounts of the cultural and
political history of the continent provides inspiration for the proletariat social action
(praxis) for the regeneration of past utopias.
2.3 Poetry of Faiz Ahmad Faiz
In this section, the articles, editorials, interviews of Faiz and the critical
studies of his poetry are reviewed. The main concerns of the study are:
1) Ideological and intellectual development of Faiz in pre-partition India,
2) Faiz‟s stance on post-partition socio-political situation of Pakistan,
3) Faiz‟s views on imperialism and its impact on the cultures of the colonised
countries, on literature, the artist and the realistic literary tradition,
4) Marxist orientation of the content and form of the poetry of Faiz.
2.3.1 Ideological and Intellectual Development of Faiz in Pre-partition British
India
Faiz Ahmad Faiz, the son of a diplomat-turned-barrister, was born in British
India in 1911. The native town of the poet now forms part of Pakistan. Faiz received
his school and college education from his hometown. The poet‟s childhood is
conspicuous for his religious training, his exposure of poetic symposia and the
occurrence of October revolution in Russia. All these aspects of his early life are
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considered as having important influence upon his ideological and artistic self. Mirza
Zafar-ul-Hassan (n.d) in “Faiz on his Boyhood and Youth” narrates that Faiz received
Quranic education from Molvi Mohammad Ibrahim Sialkoti21
who was an eminent
scholar of his time. Sialkot which was also a hometown of Allama Iqbal, the poet of
the East was known for holding Poetic Symposia. Faiz who had an aptitude for
literature which is indicated by him in his autobiographical notes, used to participate
in these Poetic Symposia which motivated him to write poetry. To elucidate the issue
of the poet‟s early religious training, Khalid Hasan (1982) in “Faiz: A Personal
Memoir” says that during his self-exile in London, Faiz frequently talked about his
childhood memories and his learning of Quran, Hadith and Fiqah. He was well-versed
in major works of Islamic Jurisprudence. The poet had an exceptional command over
Islamic history. Hasan quotes Altaf Gohar‟s suggestion to Faiz in London, “Perhaps it
is time that you return to Pakistan and teach them Islam because enough heresy is
being committed in its name” (p. 26). This indicates that in later years Faiz‟s Islamic
interpretation of socialism was the result of his profound religious education received
during his early age. It also negates the obscurantists‟ charges of secularism on Faiz
due to his Marxist views.
In socio-political terms, 1920s was a period of critical awakening for the
people of the sub-continent. British rulers and their native cronies were celebrating
their victory in First World War whereas the Indian people had started freedom
movement and political parties were mounting pressure on the rulers to quit their
motherland. Faiz (1981) in “Faiz Looks Back” refers to the nationalistic campaigns of
Indian nationalist politicians like Moti Lal Nehru22
, Molana Muhammad Ali23
,
Shaukat Ali24
, Abulkalam Azad
25 and Baba Kharrak Singh
26 etc. He also points to the
people‟s growing interest in Russian revolution who expected similar type of
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rebellion in India against British rule. Faiz also hints at the Indian people‟s liking for
the reported alliance between Kamal Pasha27
and communist Russia against Western
imperialism. The poet further explains that it was during university education that he
came across Russian literature. He studied the works of Great Russian writers like
Pushkin28
, Gogol, Dostoyevsky, Turgenev29
, Tolstoy, Gorky30
, Sholokhov31
and
Chekov. These writers introduced him to the realm of pre-revolutionary Russia which
was moving towards its destruction. Though some of his friends like Khawaja
Khurshid Anwar32
introduced Faiz to revolutionary literature related to Karl Marx and
Lenin but he remained absorbed in Russian classics.
On the literary plane there was the tendency to take literature as a luxury
reading. It was more a way of having good time than facing up to the realities of life.
Literary criticism was confined to the discussion of the two approaches towards
literature: art for the sake of art approach and literature for the sake of life approach.
The literary scene was dominated by men like Hasrat Mohani33
, Josh34
, Akhtar
Sherani35
, Hafeez Jalandhari
36 and Syed Sajjad Haider Yildrim
37.
Faiz further argues that things changed in 1930s, the world-wide economic
depression affected all sections of society in India. Unemployment was at its peak.
Hungry peasants abandoned their land holdings and were running towards cities for
work. Wealthy families were reduced to a life of penury. This economic freeze
intensified people‟s consciousness about the disequilibrium between the life styles of
the capitalists and the workers, the peasants and the feudals and the rulers and the
ruled. It was during this crisis that peasants and workers started organizing them
politically. Now instead of raising voices for freedom from imperial rule people were
demanding socialism and socio-economic justice which was non-existent in bourgeois
culture and politics. It was the time when progressive writers‟ movement was formed.
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Its leading members were Syed Sajjad Zaheer38
, M. D. Taseer39
and Mulk Raj
Anand40
. Faiz who joined as lecturer in Amritsar in 1935 developed deep intellectual
ties with the progressives. It was here that he read Communist Manifest and
developed interest in Marxism. Literature for the sake of life approach was gaining
momentum. Faiz in another autobiographical note “Faiz on Faiz” (n.d.) explains that
he realised that a writer must not isolate himself from what was happening around
him. Subjective experiences of an individual are of little consequence if they do not
take into account collective human experiences of pain and pleasure. Some of the
poems in Naqsh-e-Firyadi (Remonstrance), Faiz‟s first collection of poems, indicate
this concern of the poet.
Faiz did not remain confined to the intellectual activities of the progressive
movement. He also participated in practical work to enlighten the illiterate people of
the sub-continent. Dr Ludmilla Vasilieva (2007) in Parwarish-e-Laohoqalam, Faiz:
Hayat Aur Takhleeqiat (Nurturing of the Tablet and the Pen, Faiz: Life and Works)
elaborates that Mehmud-u-Zaffar group of progressives did not remain confine only
to the intellectual pursuits. They practically propagated their progressive ideology and
took part in educational activities to enhance literacy rate of the masses in Amritsar.
Being member of this group, Faiz participated in public meetings in workers‟ slums
arranged by his progressive friends. He also performed teaching services in promoting
education among the adult workers and their children. He used to educate the workers
about the political situation in India as well as abroad. The author further informs that
Faiz used to teach significance of the liberation movement in sub-continent to the
illiterate people. He also explained the reasons of the miseries of the poor masses and
suggested to them the ways and means to improve socio-political conditions. The
miserable conditions of these slum-dwellers left deep imprints on his artistic self.
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Ludmilla says, “Faiz came across agony of love (gham-e-dil) in Lahore and watched
with his own eyes agony of the people (gham-e-jahan) in Amritsar” (p. 50). The poet
realised that the tribulations of life which the slum-dwellers have to endure are
inseparable from his personal grief.
The critical survey of the articles establishes that before economic depression
of 1930s the intellectual position of Faiz was non-political. The miseries of the people
of India during this crisis taught him to write for the people. His intellectual
interaction with the progressives left indelible influence on his ideological and artistic
vision.
2.3.2 Progressives’ Pro-British Stance in Second World War – A Contradiction
or Necessity
The Progressive writers were known for their anti-imperialistic ideology. They
dubbed western colonialism as an inhumane and exploitative enterprise. In 1930s,
these progressive writers had been writing against imperialism as well as Fascism. For
them, both the doctrines were the two facets of bourgeois politics. But in Second
World War, progressives supported British stance against Fascism. Faiz even joined
British army to fight against Nazism. In “Faiz Looks Back” (1981), Faiz touches upon
the controversy regarding pro-British stance of progressive writers during Second
World War. In Second World War, western imperialism and Fascism were at logger‟s
head. Progressive writers were facing the dilemma about their intellectual stance in
war. However, the Fascists resolved this confusion by attacking Soviet Union.
Progressives who idealized socialism and Soviet Marxist revolution took their
position against Fascism for its anti-socialistic policies and stance in war. So even in
their pro-British stance against Fascism, Indian progressive writers were mainly
inspired by their love for socialism. Quite ironically, their pro-British position in
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world war did not squeeze their anti-imperialist stance. The poet‟s explanation of
progressives‟ support for British forces seems logical in the particular socio-political
context because Fascism was also notorious for its hatred of socialism.
2.3.3 Faiz’s Ideological and Artistic Stance in Post-Independence Era (Pakistan)
Faiz like his intellectual friends (progressives) took active part in liberation
movement against British regime in the sub-continent. He thought that independence
from imperial rule would bring a meaningful change in the life of the people of the
sub-continent. But within a short span of time, it was realised that the people in power
in Pakistan did not chalk out a road-map to accomplish the objectives of the freedom
for which the masses had rendered sacrifices. Faiz (1949) in “Progress of a Dream”
expresses his dismay over the progress towards social justice. He justifies partition of
India into two halves to end vertical division which had isolated the two major
communities of India – the Muslims and the Hindus from each other because the
Hindus were the beneficiaries of this vertical division which was based on British-
Bania41
-alliance. He agreed with Quaid-e-Azam‟s vision that partition would result in
a peaceful co-existence between two neighbours. He criticizes the governments of
Pakistan and India for not properly handling the issue of minorities within their
jurisdiction. He also takes exceptions to the biased and autocratic attitude of India in
managing distribution of common assets.
In “Progress of a Dream” Faiz clearly defines the aspirations of a common
man which he attached with the dream of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the
sub-continent. For the common man, Pakistan stood for independence. It meant
freedom from alien rule, from the tyranny of bureaucracy and freedom from the
British-Bunia economic hegemony. Pakistan also meant freedom of thought,
expression and movement. It meant freedom from the dominance of minority elite
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culture. Pakistan also symbolized liberation from the bondage of ideological and
repressive state organs including the feudal grandee, the obscurantist mullah, the
censor and the intelligence agencies. Pakistan meant cultural, economic and social
growth of the common man. It meant construction of roads, hospitals, schools,
playgrounds, factories, theatres and concert-halls. But the dream of a common man is
yet unfulfilled. The men at the helm of affairs have no sense of direction to
accomplish the aspirations of the people of Pakistan. However, Faiz is optimistic
about the future of his nation. He affirms that despite individual failures the nation
will march ahead towards its destination. The review of the article establishes that the
vision of the common man regarding the dream of Pakistan was essentially a
socialistic one. He aspired for socio-economic justice in post-imperial era. The review
also helps rationalize the poetry of resistance of Faiz in post-independence era
because the ruling elites try to perpetuate the exploitative system of the colonisers.
Faiz remains steadfast in his commitments throughout his life. He went
through personal agonies, incarceration and self-exile but did not give up his struggle
for social justice. His articles such as “What Price Liberty” (1948), “We Demand”
(1949), “Coordinated Oppression” (1949) and “Retreat of Democracy” (1949) which
he had written shortly after freedom, express his concern for civil liberty, the freedom
of press, the rights of the common people and the autocratic behaviour of the rulers.
Alys Faiz – the British wife of Faiz who came to India in 1938 provides the
most intimate account of the political and intellectual life of Faiz in post-
independence era. Alys (1993) in Over My Shoulder discusses in detail the most
important events like Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case, Lenin Peace Prize and Faiz‟s exile
to Beirut and his contribution towards Afro-Asian Writers‟ Association etc to reflect
his deep attachment with his ideological and literary ideals. Alys tells that Faiz, along
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with certain important military officials, was arrested under a concocted Rawalpindi
Conspiracy case in 1951. Faiz who had joined propaganda front of British Army in
Second World War to mobilise progressive sections of society against Fascism, came
in contact with the progressive elements in military. Later on, in post-independence
era there was a large scale dissatisfaction about the performance of ruling class in
addressing the aspirations of the people. A group of progressive military officers
discussed the idea of a pro-communist military take-over in Pakistan. Faiz was also
present in the meeting. However, finally the suggestion was dismissed as impractical.
But the case was registered. All the accused including Faiz were tried by a tribunal
and were sentenced imprisonment. Faiz spent four years in jail. Alys affirms that Faiz
faced his incarceration with courage and determination and utilised his prison period
in reading and writing poetry. He used to recite his verses to the prisoners and kept up
their hope for freedom. Faiz was released in 1955. Pakistan faced first military coup
in 1958. Faiz was arrested and placed under preventive „detention‟ by the military
regime of Ayub. On his release from detention after several months, the first thing he
did was to write the script for the film Jago Huva Savera (Awake, the Morning is
Here). The script is a story of a poor community struggling against socio-economic
and political injustice and oppression.
Faiz was awarded Lenin Peace Prize in 1962 for his literary services. Alys
writes that there was an uproar in the Right-wing press in Pakistan. Faiz was branded
as “Surkha” (Leftist / Communist). “No term of abuse was left unsaid, no threat held
back – he should not be allowed to leave Pakistan to receive the prize in Moscow”
(Alys, 1993, p.75). After long deliberations, Faiz was permitted by the Pakistani
authorities to receive the prize. The poet, who had received mild heart attack before
his nomination before the Lenin Peace Prize, could not be persuaded not to travel on
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health grounds. He reached Moscow after a long arduous sea journey. During
Moscow ceremony, Faiz delivered his speech in Urdu in which he endorsed the
validity of socialism for its claim of equitable distribution of surplus capital. In his
address the poet emphasised that human wisdom, science and industry had become so
advanced that they could cater to the human and social needs of all the individuals
provided that they were used for the benefit of mankind, not for the destructive
purposes. And it was possible only when the socio-political and economic structure of
society was built on the principles of justice, equality, freedom and collective
prosperity, not on the basis of self-aggrandisement, monopoly and exploitation.
Immediately after his return from Moscow, Faiz along with Sibt-e-Hasan launched the
Urdu magazine “Lail o Nihar” (Night and Dawn) but had to close it down on the
pressure of the government for the magazine‟s leftist leanings. Afterwards Faiz
returned once again to his old interest in revival of mass culture which he developed
more vigorously in Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto42
‟s era as cultural advisor to the Prime
Minister.
The year of 1977 was a year of another military take-over in Pakistan. General
Zia-ul-Haq toppled the elected government of Z. A. Bhutto and imposed Martial Law.
Alys says that Faiz was extremely dismayed over the cramping condition in Pakistan
under Zia‟s military rule. It had virtually become impossible to maintain freedom of
expression in Pakistan. Faiz decided to avail the offer of the chief editorship of
“Lotus” – the official journal of Afro-Asian Writers‟ Association whose headquarters
were in Beirut. The poet preferred a pleasant exile instead of separation from his
literary pursuits. In Beirut, Faiz came in close contact with the Palestinian cause. Faiz
had profound admiration for Palestinians for their untiring struggle against Israel
occupation. Alys also describes in detail the proceedings of Afro-Asian Writers‟
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Association‟s meeting in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia in 1980. The
Association‟s declaration is a guideline for the socially-committed writers on the role
of literature in promoting socio-political consciousness among masses of the
oppressive societies. The declaration emphasises upon the aesthetic value of diverse
national, historical and cultural traditions. It means that the writers‟ ideological
aspirations must be contextualized in the particular frame of reference in which
literature is produced. That is how the cultural traditions of the oppressed societies
can be preserved in the face of pseudo-international culture of capitalistic bloc. The
declaration further affirms that the theme of peaceful co-existence between state and
societies with diverse socio-economic patterns is much-needed today when neo-
imperialistic forces are intensifying their struggle for materialistic acquisition under
the garb of globalisation.
As far as Afro-Asian writers are concerned, they must work in unison with all
the peace-loving people of the planet to strengthen ideological and political struggle
of the forces of resistance against social injustice, colonial oppression, militarism,
Zionism and all types of aggressive and reactionary ideologies which are threatening
human civilisation and its moral, social and spiritual heritage. The review of Over My
Shoulder with particular focus on Rawalpindi Conspiracy case, Lenin Peace Prize and
Afro-Asian Writers‟ Association helps define Faiz‟s standpoint on oppressive regimes
in Pakistan. The review also helps contextualize Faiz‟s poetry of resistance in the
particular socio-political conditions in post-independence era. It also elucidates his
position vis-à-vis reactionary ideologies like Zionism, and Fascism which are hostile
to the world peace.
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2.3.4 Faiz’s Perspective on Politics, Culture and the Role of the Artist
The entire poetry of Faiz is contextualised in the imperialistic and post-
imperialistic bourgeois political culture in sub-continent and Pakistan. Faiz does not
agree with the civilizing mission of western imperialism. He takes it as a bourgeois
enterprise whose objectives were to control the material resources of non-western
societies. The poet is of the view that the oppressive societies of post-imperial era can
gain true freedom by decolonizing their cultures. He discards Euro-centric view of
literature and emphasises that art and the artist must play their role in affecting socio-
political change in society.
2.3.4.1 Bourgeois Politics and its Impact on the Indigenous Cultures
Faiz‟s views on politics, imperialism and culture are influenced by his Marxist
ideological commitments. He was not affiliated with any particular political party or
organisation but he had a precise understanding of the dynamics of international
politics. He was aversed to bourgeois politics and its political institutions because it
protected the vested interests of the ruling minority. His politics encompasses all
those factors including religious or secular, literary or cultural, administrative or legal
and moral or economic which influenced socio-political life of the society. Ashfaq
Hussain (2011) in “Ay Shaam Meharban Ho” (O the Evening, Be Kind) elucidates
Faiz‟s definition of politics. The author says that Faiz refers to the two circles of
politics: one which covers the inner and outer selves of society; the other is that
limited circle which is related only to the constitutional, legal and the administrative
matters of society. Big majority of people believe in the limited circle of politics
which is more of a game or hobby of the elites of society to manage their monopoly
over the corridors of power. This circle of politics has nothing to do with the lives of
the common people. In the words of Hussain, “This circle (view) of politics has no
97
moral foundations and rather weakens the ideological frontiers of politics” (p. 319).
But quite contrary to this view of politics, the poetry of Faiz which has also become a
metaphor for humanism, struggle against tyranny, and for lyrification of the path of
truth, represents humanistic view of politics which requires struggle and sacrifice to
achieve political ideals.
Hussain further says that the poetry of Faiz deals with all those influences
whether external or internal which have adversely affected the humanistic approach of
politics. These factors include world wars, Fascism, Imperialism, indigenous
oppression – both military and civil dictatorships. Faiz‟s ideological politics bestowed
upon him the large heartedness to even look for better self in the rival and to inculcate
hope and courage in his beloved (the oppressed masses) about bright future. His
political ideals based on humanistic view of politics gave him insight to visualize the
coming dawn out of the inherent contradictions of the oppressive system. Faiz not
only professed his ideals rather he practiced them. He underwent imprisonment, exile
and also faced threats to his life but did not compromise on his socialistic ideals. He
advocated struggle against injustice and condemned oppression in all its
manifestations.
The review of the article indicates that the limited circle of politics pointed out
by Faiz refers to the bourgeois concept of politics in which political activity is a
means to protect the privileges of the hegemonic class whereas the circle that deals
with political reality in totality stands for socially-committed vision of politics in
which politics is a means to affect socio-political change in society in favour of the
oppressed.
Faiz defines culture as the entire ways of social existence of a given society
representing mass participation in all walks of life. He considers western colonial
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occupation of Asia and Africa as a form of cultural and economic aggression which
adversely affected the cultural and economic patterns of the behaviour of the
colonised societies. Faiz (n.d.) in “Shackles of Colonialism” explains the mechanism
which the colonisers used to suppress national and cultural identity of the native
societies of Asia, Africa and Latin America. He elaborates that externally imposed
rewards and punishments for a particular pattern of behaviour influenced the process
of the growth of cultural and national identity. In the colonised countries, the
colonisers attached positive incentives with the cultural values of the ruling class and
imposed severe punishments on those patterns of behaviour which did not serve the
interests of the hegemonic class. Now in postcolonial era the regeneration of pre-
imperial cultural heritage can be materialised by reversing the colonisers‟ mechanism
of rewards and punishments. Those acts and thoughts which identify an individual
with the colonisers should be discouraged and those acts which reflect individual‟s
disassociation with the imperial set of values should be rewarded.
Regarding the issue of cultural stagnation in postcolonial countries, Faiz says
that cultural stagnation in post-imperial era is due to the continuity of colonial cultural
legacy. Faiz (n.d) in “Cultural Problems in Under-developed Countries” analyses the
reasons of cultural stagnation in Asia, Africa and Latin-America. He says that despite
materialistic and scientific progress, cultural growth in the colonised societies under
imperial rule remained restricted to the small minority of the feudal class and
conscious efforts were made to keep the folk culture of these societies under check.
Instead of integration, division of societies on parochial lines was accentuated. The
colonized societies were neither provided common ideological and national
consciousness to integrate multiple cultural variants nor were educated to
accommodate two parallel cultural currents – social elite culture and plural culture.
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The imperial culture tried to strike down the progressive aspect of the culture of the
colonised and retained what was primitive and superstitious. After the departure of the
alien rulers, their political descendants who were beneficiaries of imperialism
continued the policy of their political masters in order to perpetuate the exploitative
structure which suited their vested interests. The solution of this cultural crisis is of
course political. What is required, is the elimination of the retrogressive influence
from our cultural norms. He considers it essential on the part of state to provide a
patronage for cultural proliferation. In the same article, Faiz says, “These problems
(major cultural problems) can be effectively solved only when the political revolution
of national liberation is followed by social revolution to complete national
independence” (In Majeed, 2011, p. 36).
Commenting on the nature of much publicized universal culture, Faiz (1949)
in “Towards a Planetary Culture”, conceptualises a planetary culture based upon
recognition of indigenous cultures. He appreciates socialist societies for promoting
plural cultural heritages to counter the bourgeois culture of elite minority. However,
he also appreciates colonialism for providing the colonised societies the advantage of
experiencing and living through the wealth of the culture of the whole world. For him,
the increasing consciousness among the societies of the world to replace the
exploitative imperialist culture with popular mass cultures is another optimistic sign
of creating an international culture rooted in respect for cultural diversities.
Literature has been the most powerful cultural tool of propaganda in the hands
of the colonisers to advance their imperialistic designs. They encouraged those
intellectuals of the colonised countries who followed Euro-centric literary norms of
writing. As a result, these writers produced literature which did not represent the
aspirations of the colonised people. Even after the departure of the imperial rulers,
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most of the postcolonial writers follow bourgeois literary pattern of behaviour and
thought. Faiz (n.d) in “Decolonising Literature” suggests the ways and means to seek
intellectual liberation from colonial, cultural and literary legacy. He claims that the
imperialistic powers adversely affected the languages and literatures of the occupied
nations in order to eliminate the latter‟s national and cultural identity. To decolonize
the literature of the colonized nations, Faiz evaluates the two extreme positions: 1) the
total rejection of the foreign language, 2) the total freedom of the writer. Rejectionists
argue for the total abolition of foreign linguistic and literary practices to end the
alienation of our intellectuals and writers from our people. The advocates of opposite
school of thought give choice to the writer to express himself in the language and the
literary form he considers most suitable to his genius and subject. However, Faiz
suggests the moderate policy of „gradualism‟. The policy of gradualism enjoins that
before rejecting the foreign language we need to extend the semantic base of our
languages and to expand the number of the readers. Faiz emphasises that Asian and
African literature should be taught at university level. He also suggests that our
publications trade requires reorientation. We need to promote local publishing houses
instead of looking towards western publishers. Furthermore, our writers should not
look towards west for „international‟ recognition. There are numerous countries in
Asia and Africa to certify a writer as international by providing him readership. Faiz
exhorts upon the Afro-Asian writers to play vital role in decolonizing their literature.
2.3.4.2 Faiz’s Vision of Literature and the Artist
Faiz does not believe in the cathartic role of art. He affirms that poetry came
into being as a purposive art. In an interview with Muzaffar Iqbal (1981) in “Faiz ka
Taraqi Pasand Tehreek par Izhar-e-Khayal” (Faiz‟s Conversation on Progressive
Movement), Faiz says that in the age of ignorance when man was superstitious and
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believed in gods and goddesses as well as in evil spirits, the poet was taken for a
shaman who could win favours of gods for his fellow beings and could frustrate the
evil designs of the evil spirits. The poet says that metaphysical forces of good and evil
exist today however they have taken on human dimensions. It is up to the poetry and
the poet to educate the people in order to differentiate between those human beings
who promote prosperity, justice and equality like benevolent ancient gods and those
who perpetrate cruelty and oppression and escalate war and violence like evil spirits.
The art must present the history from the angle of the forces of good which has been
ignored in the textbook histories of the forces of dominance. Faiz affirms that in this
struggle to uphold truth poets are not alone, they enjoy the support of the masses.
Faiz rejects the myth of the superiority of western literary tradition. A literary
tradition is actually the representation of the national disposition, contemporary
realities and culture. So, the literary tradition of a particular region cannot claim for
universality. Faiz considers it a tragedy of the people and the writers of the sub-
continent to have access only to the Anglo-American literary tradition which
promotes art for the art sake approach and has no relevance with our culture and
social circumstances. However, Faiz expresses optimism about the future of purposive
view of art in Pakistan. He says that since 1960s Pakistani writers and intellectuals
have been developing interaction with literature of postcolonial societies like Latin
America, Palestine and Africa. This literary interaction between the postcolonial
societies having similar historical and socio-political conditions is of much help to us.
This has resulted in broadening the horizon of our literary experiences and
perspective. The increasing number of translations of various national literatures has
added various new dimensions to our writers.
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In “Writers, Where do you Stand”, Faiz (n.d.) clearly defines the duties and
commitments of the writers of today. He says that a serious writer:-
i) must be committed to himself and his art. He must not abandon his
convictions out of intimidation or materialistic incentive. He must not tamper
with his experiences out of any expediency.
ii) must be committed to his country and nation. He must guide his people to
shun ignorance, narrow-mindedness and superstitions and to acquire
knowledge and hope.
iii) must be committed to the entire mankind of his age. He must guide his
readers to differentiate between the friends and the enemies of the people. He
must use his intellectual authority to expose cracks in the trenches of
exploitative system and to legitimise the struggle of the forces of counter-
hegemony for a just social order.
Focusing on the socio-political scenario of Pakistan, Faiz says that a serious
writer must openly denounce injustices of past and present in social, political and
creative affairs finally a serious writer must challenge all hegemonic exploitative and
imperialistic agencies in the world and glorify the lovers of freedom and mankind in
the east and the west.
Faiz believes that serious writers should remind the readers of the sufferings of
their forefathers under oppressive regimes in order to motivate the oppressed for
social actions. But he does not want the writers to promote pessimism among the
readers. In a panel interview (n.d) “Faiz Ahmad Faiz Se Bohat Si Batain” (Detailed
Conversation with Faiz Ahmad Faiz) with renowned Pakistani writers and critics –
Safdar Mir, Ishfaq Ahmad, Prof Jilani Kamran, Qateel Shifai, Farigh Bukhari, Ajmal
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Niazi and Dr Hasan Rizvi, Faiz presents a balanced view of progressive theory of art.
He says that a progressive writer should not promote escape from reality by projecting
non-realisable utopia. Escape from the cares and worries of life is unacceptable. The
artist must not promote pessimism. Resignation to the tribulations of life should not
be pleaded. A progressive writer presents both the beauties and the ugliness of the
objective as well as the subjective world. Over-specification of life in literature is not
valid. Of course, a writer of universal stature is the product of his age, geography,
class, climate, history and culture in which he is born and brought up but despite the
validity of the frame of reference, the genuine art must have its universal appeal. Faiz
rejects tendentious literature which loses its appeal because it is dated. The language
of the art should be intelligible for the ordinary people.
Faiz discards the myth of superiority of bourgeois realism because it is fixed
in existing reality and the immediate past of servility, inertia and degradation under
western colonialism. Bourgeois text depicts manipulated version of culture and
history which does not include the fulfillment and frustration of the marginalised and
the oppressed sections of society. Faiz‟s realism is dialectical realism which is based
on Marxist view of social totality. Dialectical realism of the poet is indebted to
dialectics in nature. Dr Ayub Mirza (2005) in Faiznamah evaluates Faiz‟s dialectical
view of universe. The author says that according to Faiz at the outset of our universe,
man could not understand the various phenomena of the world but he tried to interpret
the objective world in the light of his perception. Subsequently, as the interaction
between the individuals increased, society was formed. Then gradually, the classes of
society came into existence which gave birth to the class consciousness. Greeks were
the first to interpret their philosophy in terms of dialectics. Later on, Marx interpreted
history and class consciousness in terms of dialectical materialism. Defending
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Marxism against the charge of being materialistic, Faiz asserts that acknowledging the
influence of materialistic conditions on human consciousness and social relations is
entirely different from being a worshipper of matter. Instead, dialectical materialism
creates understanding and consciousness about human cultural, moral, economic and
ideological patterns of behavior because the entire structure of social norms and
values is based upon materialistically controlled relations.
Elaborating materialistically determined vision of social totality, Faiz (n.d.) in
“What is the Role of International Exchange” gives a precise description of his theory
of realism. He defines „three concentric circles of being‟ for the artist. The three
circles are the artist‟s individuality, his immediate frame of reference and the
contemporary world in which he is existing. Similarly, in temporal terms, the unit of
time incorporates past, present and future. Without the comprehension of three
concentric circles and the three dimensions of temporal process, an artist cannot
perceive truth in totality. The artist who comprehends these three circles of being and
the three dimensions of time can impart real truth to his audience; can modify their
awareness of truth as the audience sees reality only in its immediate context. Faiz
affirms that it is the obligation of the writers of postcolonial world to see their present
in terms of imperialist past and pre-colonial past of plural society. They should also
depict the present with its hopes and despairs. And then they should carve out future
on the basis of both past and present. Under imperial rule, the writer was alienated
from his real surroundings. He was compelled to use language, form and experiences
which no longer belonged to him and his community. He was more involved in the
issues of form and technique and did not locate the politics behind the Eurocentric
view of ahistoricity of the text. The newly liberated world of Asia, Africa and Latin
America exhorts upon its writers to speak the joys and sorrows of their own people, in
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their own language through their own landscape. He should stand with his people in
their struggle for social revolution to materialise their aspirations of an exploitation-
free society.
Faiz goes on to say that the role of the writers and the artists is much bigger
today than the past. While so many forces of evil and greed are at work to annihilate
cultural values acquired so arduously over the centuries and to extol cynicism; the
sorcerers are much needed to uphold the best in the world. It is obligatory on the
artists to work for peace in today‟s world of arsenals. The peace does not mean only
the prevention of war. Peace means happiness, justice and dignity of the individual.
2.3.5 Marxism of Faiz
Marxism of Faiz grew out of the sufferings of the people of the sub-continent.
Gradually, his concern for the oppressed gained international orientation. He did not
believe in any prescribed formula of Marxism. For him, the basis of Marxist ideology
is dialectical materialism and its validity lies in managing equitable distribution of
surplus capital.
2.3.5.1 Faiz’s Scientific View of Marxism
Faiz believes that for an ideology / political organisation to survive, it has to
accommodate the changes arising out of newly emerging socio-political realities.
Faiz‟s communism is not a dogmatic philosophy. It is actually a science which
continues to develop through the process of inclusions and exclusions. This scientific
basis of communist system is manifested in its various forms like Leninism and
Maoism. This diverse nature of communism is called „progressive critical
appreciation‟. The variants of Marxism are justified if their primary objective of even
distribution of capital remains unaltered. When revolution occurs in a country, every
individual including farmers, intellectuals and professionals has to give sacrifice. That
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is what has happened in countries like Russia and China where socialist revolutions
have occurred. In an interview with Ghulam Hassan Azhar (1976) entitled “Adeeb
Aur Asri Taqazay” (The Writer and the Demands of the Age), Faiz appreciates the
adjustments and amendments in the practical framework of the ideological
commitments subject to the materialistic and social conditions of a society. The
procedures of the distribution of national resources and the administrative strategies
are to be altered and adjusted according to the political conditions of the country.
Giving example of the two big Communist States, Russia and China, Faiz says that
both the countries share socialistic principles of economy and politics. Both the
countries are agreed upon the policy of supporting the oppressed everywhere in the
world. However, the implementation of the ideology varies according to the particular
frames of reference.
2.3.5.2 Islamic Socialistic Vision of Faiz
Faiz was a deeply religious person. His Marxist ideological commitments are
rooted in his Islamic beliefs of equality and social justice. Faiz disagrees with the
notion that Marxism is an anti-religious ideology. He also discards obscurantist
mullah43
‟s propaganda that socialism is an anti-Islamic dogma. He argues that at the
time of Bolshevik44
Revolution in Russia, Christian Church and the Pope were
supporting the bourgeois exploitative system. That is why, the revolutionaries rejected
retrogressive role of the Christian church and Pope. Faiz considers Islamic revolution
ushered in by the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) as the greatest social
revolution in the history of the world. Faiz affirms that religion is revealed upon the
prophets for the welfare of the masses. No religion approves of oppression,
exploitation and tyranny. He disapproves of priesthood in religion and its use to
protect the vested interests of the ruling elites. Religion does not prescribe status quo.
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Government-funded religious institutions and their clerics do not present true picture
of the religion; they are actually hired by the ruling elite to seek people‟s complicity
for the dominant ideology.
Fateh Muhammad Malik (2008) in Shairi Aur Siyasat (Poetry and Politics)
provides a comprehensive understanding of Faiz‟s Islamic socialistic vision. The
author narrates that Faiz was brought up in a religious atmosphere based upon golden
principles of tolerance and social justice of Islam. In his socialistic vision of Islam,
Faiz was mainly indebted to the religio-cum-political mystic movement in the sub-
continent. The mystic poets were the first to challenge the oppressive regime of their
time. They rejected materialistic incentives of the rulers and promoted pluralistic
cultural values of society. These mystics also tried to promote religious harmony
between various sects and dogmas. They also worked for Hindu Muslim unity in a
religiously divided society to motivate the depressed masses for socio-economic
justice irrespective of differences of creed. Faiz asserts that the Sufis (mystics) are the
real comrades. Faiz wrote at a time when the Indian Muslims were already attracted
towards socialistic values of Islam. Even the great Islamic scholars and jurists
welcomed communist revolution in Russia. The Muslims who migrated from India to
central Asia under the influence of Khalafat Movement in the second decade of
twentieth century, found hope of liberation from British Raj in Communist Revolution
of Russia. Inspired by this pro-socialistic environment, Faiz took Iqbal45
and Hasrat
Mohani as his ideals whose socialistic vision was neither secular nor deviant from
tradition nor in conflict with the Islamic beliefs.
This critical study of the poet‟s socialistic vision not only negates the
propaganda that Marxism is an anti-Islamic / anti-religious ideology but also projects
Marxism as a multicultural ideology.
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2.3.5.3 Circumstantial Note in the Political Poetry of Faiz
Socially-committed literature is predominantly circumstantial art.
Circumstantial political poetry commemorates national, historical and international
events of political significance; particularly those which signify resistance against
oppression. Faiz has written poems about national and international events of political
nature. He has lamented over the dominance of the forces of oppression in Pakistan.
He has glorified the victory of the forces of resistance against tyranny. Agha Nasir
(2009) in Ham Jitay Ji Masroof Rahay (Enough Time There Never Was) provides
sufficient information about the socio-political context in which most of the political
poems of Faiz are written. The political history of Pakistan has been overwhelmingly
dismal in post-independence era because there have been repeated military takeovers
in Pakistan. Due to these dictatorial regimes, democratic culture could not flourish
and the feudals and the capitalists have been manipulating their entry into
parliaments. The mood of Faiz‟s poems written on national events is pessimistic. In
the chapter “Yeh Dagh Dagh Ujala” (This Stained Light), Agha Nasir narrates that
national poems written by Faiz on „Independence Day‟ from 1947 to 1984 are eleven
in number which reflect the poet‟s sense of loss over the existing socio-political
scenario but also represent his hope about the future based on the continuous struggle
of the rejected ones. These poems cover national tragic events like the murder of the
first elected Prime Minister Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, the military take-overs, the
fall of Dhaka and the hanging of popularly elected Premier Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. In the
chapter “Tauq-o-Dar Ka Mausam” (This Hour of Chain and Gibbet), the author
mentions nine poems which Faiz had written during his imprisonment to inspire his
friends in prison and the masses in general in Pakistan. Faiz assures the readers that
this hour of fetters and gibbet holds the key to the coming spring in which masses will
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gain victory over oppressors. The most popular poems of this period are “Tarana”
(Anthem), “Nisar Main Teri Galyon Kay, Ay Watan” (Bury Me Under Your
Pavements), “Zindan Ki Ek Sham” (A Prison Nightfall) and “Zindan Ki Ek Subah”
(A Prison Daybreak). The chapter “Meray Dil, Meray Musafir” (My Heart, My
Traveller) deals with the poems written during the self-exile of Faiz during the
military regime of General Zia in which the right wing (establishment-cum-Mullah)
alliance was crushing progressive forces as anti-Islamic. The poems reflect Faiz‟s
unbounded love for his country. Living abroad among people, Faiz felt intensely
isolated for being away from his homeland.
The chapter “Phir Barq Firozan Hay” (Lightening Again) covers Afro-Asian
political situation with particular reference to the resistance movements against
European and indigenous imperialism. In Asia, resistance was more of a political
struggle whereas in Africa, it was an armed one. In Africa, nationalist leaders like
Walter Sisulu46
, Ahmed Bella47
and Nelson Mandela48
were offering resistance to the
oppressors and had to undergo trials, imprisonments, solitary confinements and even
assassinations. These Afro-Asian resistance movements were being supported by
socialist bloc. Faiz like his progressive compatriots spoke in favor of the freedom-
fighters against tyrannical regimes. Agha Nasir has particularly mentioned six poems
in which the poet has glorified the struggle and sacrifices of the African, Palestinian
and Iranian people for national liberation from foreign influence and rule. This
commemoration of heroic struggles against oppression aims to mobilise the oppressed
masses in Pakistan and everywhere in the world against socio-political and economic
injustice. The most conspicuous poems on Afro-Asian topic are “Sare-Wadie Seena”
(Valley of Sinai), “Falasteen kay Liay Do Nazmain” (Two Poems for Palestine),
“Bol” (Speak), “Ajao Mere Africa” (Africa Come Back), “Irani Tulaba kay Naam”
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(For Iranian Students) etc. The chapter “Ye Waqt Matam Ki Ghari He” (This is the
Moment to Mourn Time) deals with the poems written on political oppression during
military regime of General Zia. The author has pointed out eight poems which expose
deep agony of the poet over the injustices perpetrated by the dictatorial rule of Zia
against the public. The poems include “Aaj Ek Harf Ko Phir Dhondta Phirta Hay
Khayal” (I Look for a Word), “Ham To Majboor-e-Wafa Hain” (O Earth of My
Land), “Teen Awazain” (Three Voices), “Qawaali” (devotional Song), “Lao to Qatal
Namah” (Bring Death Warrant), “Phool Maslay Gae” (The Flowers Trampled Down).
Agha Nasir has arranged one chapter to discuss the political context of the
poems written on international events. The most famous poems belonging to this
category are “Ay Dil-e-Be-Taab, Thahr” (Oh Restless Heart, Wait), “Peking”,
“Sinkiang”, “Ham Jo Tareek Rahon Me Maray Gae” (An Elegy for the Rosenbergs).
The poems commemorate the struggle of the democratic and socialistic countries
against Fascism, Revolution in China and the sacrifice of the Rosenbergs for the sake
of mankind respectively. Faiz has also written poems in praise of Punjabi Farmers and
their miseries and exploitation at the hands of feudals and bureaucracy. Most famous
are “Lami Raat Si Dard Firaq Wali” (Long Night of Pain and Loneliness) and “Rabba
Sachaya” (Supplication). The first commemorates the land reforms of Bhutto era and
the second eulogises the defiance of the peasant against official interpretation of
dogma as he undergoes miseries within the folds of the existing system. In the words
of Agha Nasir, Faiz‟s “Supplication” is “his remonstrance in presence of his Rab
(Allah)” (2009, p. 274).
In this critical study, the role of the circumstantial poetry in Marxist literary
tradition is emphasised because the progressive writers use it to motivate the masses
to affect similar conditions in their own societies.
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2.3.5.4 Blend of Love and Revolution in Faiz: Is It an Ambivalence?
The poetry of Faiz is conspicuous for the theme of love and revolution. Why
does Faiz mix love and politics in his poetry? Various critics and readers of Faiz have
opined over the subject from different angles. Certain critics of Faiz consider this
blend of love and revolution as a reflection of the poet‟s ambivalent consciousness.
There are also those who reject this view and assert that the love for the beloved
strengthens the poet‟s bond with the masses. Faiz wrote at a time when the world was
involved in greater conflicts between forces of peace and freedom and the forces of
war and enslavement. He knew that the poetry which was needed today was of course
the revolutionary poetry. Prof Fateh Muhammad Malik (2008) in Faiz Ahmad Faiz:
Shairi aur Siyasat (Faiz Ahmad Faiz: Poetry and Politics) argues that the poetry of
Faiz is marked for conflict between two loves of the poet: the individual love and the
love for mankind. The ambivalence between the two loves reflects poet‟s state of
indecision about his artistic orientation. He is equally fascinated by the feminine
charm of his beloved and the sordid realities of life. He continues to oscillate between
his concern for the suffering humanity and his reunion with the beloved. This
ambivalence is the result of the poet‟s unfulfilled love and personal grief. However,
this ambivalence does not undermine the ideological significance of his art.
Those who do not agree with the perception of ambivalent consciousness in
Faiz argue that the poet‟s treatment of love is a radical departure from Urdu poetic
tradition in which the female beloved is adored as the goddess of beauty and sex who
is beyond the reach of earthly lovers. Elaborating Faiz‟s unconventional treatment of
the theme of love, Dr Safeer Awan (2011) in “Romance and Revolution: Faiz and the
Question of Postcolonial Intervention” affirms that Faiz does not elevate his beloved
to the domain of celestial beings. In his poetry, the lover is no longer a helpless adorer
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who only laments over the impossibility of reunion. Instead, he is a dynamic figure
who drags his beloved down to the earthly domain and forces her to share his concern
about the miseries of the poor masses. Accentuating the perspective of Faiz‟s social
commitment, Agha Shahid Ali says:
The beloved – an archetypal figure in Urdu poetry – can mean
friend, woman, God. Faiz not only tapped into these meanings but
extended them to include the Revolution… waiting for the
revolution can be as agonizing and intoxicating as waiting for
one‟s lovers. (1990, p. 132)
Dr Imdad Hussain (1989) in An Introduction to the Poetry of Faiz Ahmad Faiz
has also evaluated the theme of love and revolution in Faiz in a provocative and
original manner. The author says that the foundation of Faiz‟s advocacy for revolution
is his love for his fellow human beings. Faiz analyses the soul and the psyche of the
individual who has chosen the path of revolution to create a better world order based
on justice and fair play. Faiz penetrates deeper into the psyche of the revolutionary
individual. He talks of his elation and his despair; of his self-negation and the agony
which he feels over the sacrifices of his comrades. The poet sings of his solitude in
the prison walls and his optimism about the future. Faiz also celebrates the ultimate
commitment of the revolutionary self with the cause of the suffering humanity as well
as his fortitude in the face of sufferings for the cause of truth. The poet also glorifies
the commitment of the revolutionary self with beauty and life and his readiness to
receive martyrdom as a logical consequence of his struggle against cruelty and
oppression. This deep psychological analysis of the soul of the comrade establishes
the fact that the foundation of his commitment with revolution is based on his
unbounded love for the cause. Here, love does not act as a distracting force which
leads to oblivion, escape and self-absorption. Love, for Faiz, is a synonym of
commitment – commitment with the cause of the poor. Hence, love is an integrative
force which integrates the personal with the collective. Faiz borrowed this concept of
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integrative love from the Urdu and Persian poetic heritage in which love no longer
remains the biological urge of an individual but emerges as a world creative force.
The poet is fully convinced of the victory of the forces of love and revolution against
the forces of hatred, prejudice and greed.
This critical review of the mixture of love and revolution in Faiz establishes
that Faiz elevates the emotion of love to the level of an ideological and intellectual
commitment which is a pre-requisite for revolutionary struggle to change the world
according to the proletariat design in which the love for fellow beings and the
freedom of the individual replace oppression, greed and exploitation. So, the mixture
of love and revolution in Faiz enhances the intellectual appeal of his collective ideals.
2.3.5.5 Tradition and Innovation in Faiz (the Lyrical and the Political):
Eccentricity or Transformation
Faiz has used classical diction of Urdu poetic tradition to project his political
idealism. Literary dissidents of Faiz like Shams-ur-Rehman Farooqi have dubbed this
blend of the lyrical and the political as an eccentricity. For them, his adoration of
physical beauty was antithetical to the official socialistic formula in which love is
considered a bourgeois sentimentality. It does neither help maintain classical tradition
nor does it serve the poet‟s political agenda. However, a majority of critics and
readers of Faiz consider it a transformation of tradition to enable it to cope with the
existing socio-political realities. For them, the criticism of the dissidents of Faiz on
his romantic form is based on certain misconceptions. It reflects lack of awareness
about Muslim poetic tradition in which even Divine Love is romanticized in physical
terms. They affirm that this transformation of classical diction of love poetry into a
language of social realism has not been an abrupt process. Gobi Chand Narang (n.d.)
in “Tradition and Innovation in Faiz Ahmad Faiz” has analysed various stages of the
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growth of classical Urdu tradition from a romantic diction into a political discourse.
The critic says that the diction of Persian-Urdu literary tradition had basically come
into existence to poeticise the themes of love and the physical beauty of the beloved.
However, gradually through an evolutionary process of a few centuries, this classical
diction gained spiritual and mystic romantic orientations mainly under the influence
of mystic literary and socialistic tradition in the subcontinent. This mystic tradition
(spiritual-cum-political movement) introduced liberalism, tolerance, moderation and
love for the fellow human beings and rejected oppression in all its forms. As a result,
the romantic imagery which was earlier devoted to describe the beauty of the female
beloved and the pangs of separation was now being used to denote metaphysical
realities and to register mild protest against tyranny and socio-economic injustice. The
third phase of its growth was the first half of twentieth century when the element of
social realism got its way into the realm of poetic art. Major contribution of Faiz is
that he not only strengthened the socio-political theme in Urdu tradition but also
added socio-political dimension to the erotic diction which would have extinguished
if it had not been moulded according to the existing realities. The brief review of Dr
Narang‟s article helps understand the universal appeal of Faiz‟s poetry despite the fact
that much of his poetry was created out of particular socio-political conditions. As far
as the poetry of Faiz is concerned, it simultaneously appeals to the aesthetic sense of
the reader as well as his national and political consciousness.
Elaborating the ideological significance of the blend of the political and the
lyrical Dr Muhammad Arif Hussain (2010) in Faiz Ahmad Faiz: Romaan aur Shairi
(Faiz Ahmad Faiz: Romance and Poetry) elaborates that Faiz used erotic imagery to
substantiate his romantic vision of the primitive stage of mankind. Faiz, like Marxist
theorists, believes that the earliest stage of man was essentially a communist era. In
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his romantic approach in art, Faiz was much influenced by the English poets of the
early nineteenth century. Purely romantic view of life considers society, culture,
morality and state as inhibitions on the freedom of man. They stop him from the
fulfillment of his desires and ambitions. Faiz idealises a pre-bourgeois, pre-feudal
stage of human society and culture. Furthermore, the romantics believe that the beauty
of the universe is personified in human particularly female body. Dr. Arif elaborates
that Faiz was of course a romantic poet but his romance did not result in oblivion or
escape from the sordid realities of life. The author goes on to say that the greatest
virtues of man are his self-respect, dignity and freedom which he enjoyed during the
primitive era. Since the creation of society, state and bourgeois culture, man is being
denied his glory and freedom. Erotic imagery traditionally denotes natural innocence,
purity, freedom and glory of man. The use of romantic imagery by Faiz helps invoke
past utopia of justice, harmony and freedom against the existing dystopia of injustice.
Prof Sahr Ansari (2011) in Faiz Kay Aas Paas (Around Faiz) has also
evaluated the Marxist ideological connotations of the romantic form and content in
the poetry of Faiz. The critic says that in his romantic vision Faiz is indebted to
Allama Iqbal. Unlike the romanticism of his contemporaries Akhtar Sheerani, Josh
and Hafeez Jalendhari, romanticism of Iqbal and Faiz is much closer to the „western
romantic movement‟ particularly the English. Like English romantic poets, Iqbal and
Faiz take their poetic inspiration from the natural praxis and the perpetual changes
happening in the phenomenon of nature. Much of their imagery and metaphors are
borrowed from dialectics in nature.
Extending similarities between the English romantics and Iqbal and Faiz, Prof
Ansari goes on to say that one of the vital aspects of romanticism is its glorification of
the humanistic traditions and values of the past ages as it is manifested in Keats‟s
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Hellenism. Both Iqbal and Faiz create past utopias in their poetry to mobilise the
masses to strive for the regeneration of the past traditions and cultural heritages. To
add to it, in the poetry of the romantics like Byron and Shelley, there is an anticipation
of bright future. Similarly, in poetry of Iqbal and Faiz, romanticism leads to
revolution.
Despite his ideological commitments Faiz continued to believe in the
autonomy of art. Estelle Dryland (1993) in Faiz Ahmad Faiz –Urdu Poet of Social
Realism says that Faiz did not subscribe to any official formula about creative art.
Unlike many writers of his age who were overtly using art to propagate Leninist
approach, Faiz defended art against its vulgarization of form resulting from the
dictates of Soviet-sponsored communist policy. Furthermore, he was convinced of the
importance of the cultural impact upon art to enhance its appeal. Admitting his
ideology to the literary, cultural and religious traditions, Faiz demonstrated cultural
reaction against universal oppression.
2.3.5.6 Critique of Capitalism in Faiz
One of the major concerns of the poetry of Faiz is the indictment of bourgeois
culture and capitalism. This critique is part of the Marxist design in which exploitative
culture is depicted as the dystopia of injustice. The poetry of Faiz which is more of a
social praxis is based on certain assumptions about human beings, their cultural
values and the role of the progressive writers. A. Q. Lodhi (n. d.) in “Culture,
Literature and Social Praxis” analyses the poet‟s above-mentioned assumptions.
According to Lodhi, Faiz believes that every human being is born free. Human
society and individual can grow smoothly in a mutually cooperative environment.
Cooperation can be meaningful if the individuals have the right of self-determination
both in their individual and collective existence. But unfortunately in history, the
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masses have been manipulated by the hegemonic classes. Faiz castigates the role of
magic, religion, science, education and modern technologies in subjugating the
people. He is critical of the role of the feudals, priests, capitalists and military-cum-
civil bureaucracy in denying the masses their due dignity, freedom and equal
opportunities. In his poetry, Faiz has always advocated a sense of worthiness to the
masses. Faiz asserts that material relations in a society determine cultural values and
norms. In an exploitative system which has dominated the course of human history;
culture, art, and literature promote the values of the dominant class preaching
discipline and obedience to the will of the rulers. Bourgeois text establishes binarities.
Truth and falsehood are pre-determined and are not open to criticism, doubt and
rationalization. The bourgeois writers promote myths and superstitions among people
to seek their obedience to the existing culture.
The progressive writers on the other hand negate the myth of homogeneity of
culture and affirm plurality and diversity in culture. In this task of challenging the
assumptions of the ruling elites, the progressive writers must display courage and
determination in the face of victimization at the hands of the oppressive regimes. The
progressive writers break the shackles of form, and language and share the joys and
sorrows of the rejected masses and speak their voice through their language. The
genuine writers instill confidence and optimism among people and raise the
consciousness for collective action against their oppressors. In the words of Lodhi,
“Social praxis, consciousness, and freedom are moments in history which must occur
simultaneously. Faiz‟s poetry brings these moments together thereby releasing social
energy for collective struggle against oppression” (2011, p. 266). The review of the
article brings home to the reader Faiz‟s view of history as the narrative of dominance.
It highlights the regressive role of the ideological apparatuses in institutionalizing the
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oppression. The article evaluates the role of the progressive writers in mobilizing the
masses to struggle for the rediscovery of their true selves and to work for the
restoration of their self-respect and dignity.
2.3.5.7 Rejection of Bourgeois Discourse
Faiz‟s rejection of bourgeois discourse is the part of his technique of
disarticulation and re-articulation. Fateh Muhammad Malik (2008) in Shairi Aur
Siyasat (Poetry and Politics) analyses political discourse of Faiz. He contextualizes
Faiz‟s socialistic poetry in post-independence period. He says that Faiz was opposed
to the political hegemony of the influential feudal families of Pakistan and was fully
aware of the fact that this dominance of the feudal class was created through a
particular discourse. The poet repudiates the bourgeois discourse in which the
privileged class is depicted as the champion of national interests and the symbol of
national unity and sovereignty. He depicts the hegemonic class as villain which has
kept the country under bondage. Masses are the lovers who are struggling to liberate
their motherland from the clutches of the usurpers. In the poetry of Faiz, hatred and
love, venom and antidote, darkness and light are coexistent. Hatred, venom and
darkness stand for existing exploitative system whereas love, antidote and light
symbolise bright future. Dismayed over the existing scenario, Faiz is quite optimistic
about the future. His optimism is based on the continuity of struggle by the rejected
ones against the manipulators. Faiz‟s Marxist discourse shatters the myth of
invincibility of the existing culture and helps the masses overcome their despondency
under capitalism and motivates them for the creation of better world order.
The author also evaluates the validity of the use of the poetic tools of
Invocation by Faiz. The poetic tool of Invocation has been central to our literary
tradition from Mansoor Hallaj49
to Allama Iqbal in socially committed literature. The
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invocation is a collective ritual in Islam in which the believers invoke Divine
blessings. Faiz‟s use of the tool of Invocation imparts in his readers a sense of
collectivity regarding their socio-political aims.
One of the most consistent discursive practices in the poetry of Faiz is the use
of the plural pronoun „We‟. In bourgeois discourse in which the writer who believes
himself to be standing on the highest pedestal of morality and wisdom, uses first
person pronoun to seek unconditional complicity of the reader. Rejecting this
bourgeois linguistic practice, Faiz uses plural pronoun „We‟. Evaluating the use of the
plural pronoun in Faiz, Zahida Jabeen (n. d) in “Insaan…Faiz ka Bunyadi Maozoo”
(Man…the Fundamental Topic of Faiz) has affirmed that the use of „We‟ instead of
„I‟ stands for Faiz‟s collective consciousness. This collective consciousness is all-
inclusive. Faiz‟s love for mankind transcends all limitations of geography, culture,
language and dogma. His „We‟ includes all the oppressed people of the world where
oppressive regimes do not respect human dignity and freedom. The man who is the
theme of Faiz‟s poetry is the free man possessing self-respect and dignity. The
contemporary man whom Faiz discovers is the man who is suffering from socio-
economic injustice. He exists only as a unit of production and is alienated from his
human attributes. He is a helpless man who is the product of a particular discourse in
which the artist does not share his miseries. Faiz saw his grief in the woes of the
insulted ones and negated his personal self. He did not compromise on human dignity
and elevated the suffering beings in his poetry by glorifying their untiring struggle for
justice. The plural „We‟ is an act of solidarity of the poet with the marginalised
sections of society. In the words of Jabeen, “The philosophy of Faiz is a dirge, an
elegy, a lamentation and a healer of the common grief of the progeny of Adam and
the love for mankind” (In Mahay Nao, 2008, p. 366). To sum up, through the plural
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pronoun „We‟, Faiz takes him and the oppressed class out of the boundaries of the
existing discourse. This critical review not only helps understand the political
implications of the poet‟s rejection of the bourgeois discourse but also facilitates the
analysis of the formal poetic tools in the current research.
2.3.5.8 Is the Progressive Poetry of Faiz Dated?
One of the important issues of the current research is the relevance of the
progressive poetry of Faiz in this age of corporate imperialism. Certain dissidents of
Faiz have dubbed the poetry of Faiz as dated which has worn out its utility in this age
of the inevitability of capitalistic economy. Dr Zia-ul-Hassan (2012) in “Faiz Ki
Shairi Aur Hamara Ehed” (The Poetry of Faiz and Our Age) has enlisted certain vital
factors which have retained the relevance and popularity of the poetry of Faiz in this
era of globalisation. One of the primary reasons of its popularity is its aesthetic
appeal. The metaphorical language of the ideological poetry of Faiz enhances its
aesthetic appeal by lending it creative and imaginative quality. Secondly, the poetry of
Faiz is in tune with the issues of our contemporary world, our aspirations and our
dreams. Marxist ideology is the only hope to materialise the aspirations of the
oppressed people in this era of capitalistic hegemony. The champions of the
capitalistic world dragged the whole mankind into two world wars for the strength
and expansion of their system. Since 1979, the third undeclared world war is being
fought in Asia on various pretexts to conceal its real politico-economic motives. Dr
Hassan further argues that the poetry of Faiz also provides guidance and awareness to
the people of the oppressed world to identify their enemies whose only interest is self-
aggrandisement. The proletariats and the redeemers are trying to create socialistic
world order since the last century and the bourgeois class is creating hurdles through
its monopoly over natural resources and means of production through police,
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intelligence agencies, army, dollar, pounds and euro and through politics, religion and
science. As it will involve consistent struggle to defeat bourgeois system, so the
relevance of the counter-hegemonic message of the poetry of Faiz will remain intact.
Dr Hassan goes on to explain that the robust optimism in the poetry of Faiz is
not unjustified. If we have a glance over the history of mankind, we realise that it is
marked for incessant struggle against oppression. Man has immense capacity to
realise his ambitions. He wanted to fly, he invented aeroplanes and rocket. He disliked
slavery and repudiated it. When he became averse to monarchy, he struggled for
democracy and gained it. Women were treated as animals and domestic pets; they
achieved considerable recognition through struggle. Surely, mankind will eventually
succeed in establishing socialistic world order. It is on the basis of these factors that
the poetry of Faiz remains a highly valid phenomenon. In past, our religious clerics
used to condemn Faiz and other progressive writers as atheists and Russian agents and
now the same clerics quote the verses of Faiz to condemn American neo-imperialism.
Commenting on the increasing popularity of the poetry of Faiz, Dr Hassan says, “In
my analysis, after the death of Faiz, the number of his readers has increased manifold
and the influence of his poetry continues to grow unabated” (In Turabi, 2012, p. 170).
The review of the article brings home to us the solid grounds for futuristic reassurance
of the ideological poetry of Faiz in this age of corporate globalisation.
The critical study of the comparative literature and the poetry of Neruda and
Faiz provides sufficient insight to conduct the research on the given topic. It also
informs us about the significance of comparative study in postcolonial literature with
particular reference to the nexus between literature and politics.
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Notes
1-Other: The term other is part of colonial discourse. It refers to the oriental or non-
western societies which are considered inferior to Europe in social and cultural terms.
2-Baroque tradition: Baroque tradition refers to the European particularly Spanish
literary and artistic movement of 17th
and 18th
centuries which was known for its
stylistic embellishments.
3- Dostoyevsky: Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky was a 19th
century Russian
novelist, essayist, short story writer and philosopher. In the background of the trying
and troubled spiritual, political and social atmosphere of Russia, he explored complex
human psychology in his literary works. Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The
Gambler are his well-known works.
4- Chekhov: Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian writer and physician. He is
believed to have contributed to modern stream of consciousness technique. His most
renowned works include The Cherry Orchard and Three Sisters.
5-Tolstoy: Tolstoy was a 19th
century Russian novelist and short story writer. He is a
master of real fiction who won lasting repute by writing his famous novel War and
Peace.
6- Bohemian: The term bohemian stands for informal ways of life which violate the
socially approved behaviours and norms of living.
7-Surrealistic tradition: Surrealistic tradition refers to the 20th
century movement in art
and literature in which events and images that are not apparently interconnected are
arranged together in a strange way. The arrangement resembles a dream. The purpose
is to express the happenings deep in the mind (unconscious). Surrealism has been a
popular movement in Latin American literature.
8- Federico Garcia Lorca: Federico Garcia Lorca was a 20th
century Spanish Marxist
dramatist and poet. During Spanish civil war of 1930s, he supported Republican cause
against Spanish Fascists. He was assassinated by Fascist soldiers of General Franco.
His best known works are Bodas de Sangre (Blood Wedding), La Casa de Bernarda
Alba (The House of Bernarda Alba), Canciones (Songs) and Romancero Gitano (The
Gypsy Ballads).
9- Miguel Hernandez: Miguel Hernandez was a 20th
century Spanish Marxist
playwright and poet. During Spanish civil war, he supported communist guerrillas
against Fascist forces. Along with Alberti, he even joined Spanish peasants on war
front to inspire them for their cause. His famous works consist of Cancionero y
romancero de ausencia (Songs and Ballads of Absence), Love Ascended between Us
and Nanas de cebolla (Onion Lullaby).
10- Rafael Alberti: Rafael Alberti was a 20th
century Spanish Marxist poet and a
painter. His poetry is marked for its pictorial quality. During Spanish civil war he
stood for republican cause against Fascism. He even joined Spanish guerrillas on war
front and wrote patriotic poetry to inspire them. His famous works include Naming
the Dawn, For Federico García Lorca and The Dove.
11- Louis Aragon: Louis Aragon was a French poet, essayist and a novelist. He was
also a Marxist political activist. He is considered one of the powerful influences on
123
literary movement of Marxist / dialectical realism. His popular works are Le Crève-
Coeur (Heartbreak), La Diane française, Le Monde réel (The Real World), Holy
Week and Bonfire.
12- Paul Eluard: Paul Eluard was a 20th century French poet and a founding member
of Surrealistic movement in literature in Europe. Afterwards, he rejected surrealism
and became a Marxist. Liberté, Rendez-vous Allemand , Le Phenix and Poèmes
Politiques are his popular works.
13- Diego Rivera: Diego Rivera was a 20th
century Mexican muralist painter. His
paintings are known for the manifestations of Mexican indigenous culture. His
muralist art is considered to be one of the powerful influences on the Marxist poetry
and cultural orientation of Pablo Neruda.
14- David Alfaro Siqueiros: David Alfaro Siqueiros was a 20th
century Mexican
muralist. His mural art is known for its representation of Mexican native cultural
values. His muralist paintings are considered to be a shaping influence on the Marxist
ideology and cultural orientation of Pablo Neruda (Chilean poet).
15- Cuauhtemoc: Cuauhtemoc was the last Aztec ruler (Latin American) from 1520-
1521. He was captured by Hernan Cortes – the Spanish conqueror, after 80 days of
heroic resistance to the invaders. He was tortured but he did not reveal information
about the treasures of his land to the Spaniards. He was executed by Cortes in 1525.
16- Cortes: Herman Cortes was the 16th
century Spanish coloniser of Latin America.
He captured Aztec empire and large parts of Mexico. Cortes belonged to the class of
Spanish colonisers who launched the first phase of the Spanish occupation of the
Americas.
17- Banana Republics: The term was originally used for the tropical states of Latin
America whose economy was based upon the production of a single crop or fruit like
banana. In the 20th
century, US sponsored business corporations monopolised the
trade and the productions of these tropical states of Latin America. These corporations
also manipulated their politics causing political instability in the countries. Now the
term banana republic has become a disapproving term which refers to a poor and
politically unstable country depending upon foreign aid.
18- Gogol: Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a 19th
century Russian dramatist, novelist
and short story writer.He was famous for his romantic sensibility, satire on Russia‟s
political corruption and surrealist element in his literary works. His well-known
literary works are Dead Souls, The Overcoat and The Portrait.
19- Lautaro was the young Chilean military commander who took active part in the
four years Arucanian war to liberate Chile from the Spanish occupation. He was killed
by colonisers in 1557. His head was cut and was placed in the plaza of Santiago for
public display.
20- Pedro Valdivia: Pedro Valdivia was a Spanish conqueror. He was the first royal
governor of Chile. He led Spanish expedition of Chile in 1540. He founded Santiago
and Validia – the two cities of Chile.
21- Molvi Mohammad Ibrahim Sialkoti: Molvi Mohammad Ibrahim Sialkoti was a
highly revered great Islamic scholar of the twentieth century in Sialkot, Pakistan. Faiz
Ahmad Faiz received early Islamic Education from him. One of the best mosques in
124
Sialkot is named after him. His famous publications are Rasalat-o-bashriat, Siraj-um-
Muneera and Arbaeen Ibraheemi.
22- Moti Lal Nehru: Moti Lal Nehru was an Indian nationalist leader. He was a
prominent political figure in Indian National Congress – the biggest political party of
sub-continent during British rule. He was also the father of Jawahir Lal Nehru – the
first Prime Minister of India in post-independence era.
23, 24- Molana Muhammad Ali, Shaukat Ali: Molana Muhammad Ali Johar and
Shuakat Ali Johar were the two brothers known as Johar brothers. They were muslim
nationalist leaders of British India in the 20th
century. Johar brothers organised
Khilafat movement against British rulers during 1st World War as a protest against
anti-Turkish policy of the rulers.
25- Abulkalam Azad: Abul Kalam Azad was a nationalist leader of India during
British regime. He was a central leader of Indian National Congress. He was also a
renowned intellectual and writer.
26- Baba Kharrak Singh: He was a Sikh nationalist leader of Punjab during British
regime. He organised the people of Punjab particularly Sikh community against
British imperialism and participated in liberation movement of India.
27- Kamal Pasha: He was a Turkish leader who liberated his motherland from British
occupation after 1st World War. He abolished Usmania Khilafat of Turkish Empire
and founded modern Turkey.
28- Pushkin: Alexander Pushkin was a great Russian author and reformer of the19th
century. He is considered the father of modern Russian literature. The Tale of Tsar
Saltan, Boris Godunov, Eugene Onegin and The Gypsies are his famous works.
29- Turgenev: Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev was a 19th
century Russian short story
writer, novelist and playwright. He presented affectionate and real depiction of the
Russian peasantry and people in his writings. He was known to be a liberal between
the reactionary tsarist rule and the revolutionary spirit of radicalism in literary and
artistic circles in Russia. His famous works are A Sportsman‟s Sketches, Fathers and
Sons and Home of the Gentry.
30- Gorky: Maxim Gorky was a Russian novelist of the 20th
century. He is considered
as a founder of socialist realism in literature. The Mother, The Lower Depths, My
Childhood and The Life of Klim Samgin are his famous works.
31- Sholokhov:Mikhail Sholokhov was a Russian novelist of the 20th
century. He is
famous for his writing about life and fate of Don Cossacks during Russian Revolution
and Civil War. He won Nobel Prize in literature in 1695. His famous works
areQuietly Flows The Don, The Fate of a Man and Virgin Soil Upturned.
32- Khawaja Khurshid Anwar: Khurshid Anwar was a 20th
century revolutionary of
India and a member of Bhagat Singh Group. Bhagat Singh Group organised terrorist
attacks against British rule in Punjab, India. Later on, Khawaja Khurshid Anwar
dissociated himself from this group and developed interest in music.
33- Hasrat Mohani: Hasrat Mohani was a 20th
century Romantic poet of Urdu
language and a politician. He took active part in Independence Movement of India.
125
34- Josh: Josh Malehabadi was a famous Urdu poet in British India. He is reputed to
have a masterful command over Urdu. He was equally competent in the grammar and
rules of the Urdu language.
35- Akhtar Sherani: Akhtar Sherani was a romantic poet of Urdu in British India. He
was also a scholar and teacher of outstanding repute.
36- Hafeez Jalandhari: Hafeez Jalandhari was a renowned Urdu poet of the 20th
century. He is the author of national anthem of Pakistan. His greatest achievement is
the national anthem of Pakistan. He actively participated in Pakistan Movement and
even joined Kashmiri freedom-fighters in 1948 and got wounded. He wrote patriotic
songs during Indo-Pak war of 1965.
37- Syed Sajjad Haider Yildrim: Syed Sajjad Haider Yildrim was a great Urdu short
story, fiction writer of the 20th
century. He was known for his literary innovations and
radical views on many subjects. He also raised voice for women emancipation.
38- Sajjad Zaheer: Sajjad Zaheer was a renowned intellectual and a writer of India in
the 20th
century. He was one of the founding members of All India Progressive
Writers‟ Association Movement. This movement transformed Urdu romantic literary
tradition into the literature of social realism
39- M. D. Taseer: M. D. Taseer was a renowned teacher, intellectual and writer of
sub-continent. He was principal of Amritsar College (India) during 1930‟s and was
one of the founding members of All India Progressive Writers‟ Association.
40- Mulk Raj Anand: Mulk Raj Anand was Hindu intellectual and writer of British
India. He is acknowledged as one of the founding members of Indian Progressive
Writers‟ Movement.
41- Bunya: Bunya alludes to the dominance of British Hindu alliance in pre-partition
India. The term bunya stands for Hindu capitalists.
42- Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto: Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the founder of Pakistan Peoples
Party – the biggest political force in Pakistan since 1967. He was the first directly
elected Prime Minister of Pakistan who came to power after gaining sweeping victory
in West Pakistan in 1970 polls. He introduced industrial and agricultural reforms in
the country and was known for his socialistic policies. He is the author of 1973
constitution of Pakistan. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was deposed by General Zia-ul-Haq in a
military coup in 1977. He was hanged in 1979 by military regime of Zia-ul-Haq under
the charge of murder. He was also the father of Benazir Bhutto – the first woman
Prime Minister in the Muslim world.
43- Mullah: Mullah is a disapproving term which refers to a rigid and narrow-minded
Muslim cleric.
44- Bolshevik: The term is used for members of the Russian Social Democratic
Workers Party which formed the Communist party after seizing power in the Russian
Marxist Revolution of 1917.
45- Iqbal: Allama Iqbal was a great Muslim poet of sub-continent of the twentieth
century. He was a Pan-Islamist who advocated resurgence of Islamic values in his
poetry. It was he who first presented the demand of a separate homeland for the
Muslims of India.
126
46- Walter Sisulu: Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu was a 20th
century African anti-
apartheid activist.
47- Ahmed Ben Bella: Ahmed Ben Bella was a revolutionary leader and the first
President of Algeria. He played a significant role in liberation movement of Algeria
from imperial rule of France.
48- Nelson Mandela: Nelson Rolihlahla Mendela was a great political leader of South
Africa. His entire political struggle is conspicuous for resistance against apartheid
regime in South Africa. He spent almost three decades in jail. He won freedom of
South Africa from apartheid regime and became first President of democratic South
Africa. He died in 2013.
49- Mansoor al Hallaj: Mansoor al Hallaj was an Arab mystic who belonged to Iraq.
He was executed by the Muslim clerics of the day on the charge of possessing heretic
views.
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Chapter 3
MARXISM AND LITERATURE: READING POLITICS IN THE
LITERARY
The theoretical framework of the comparative study is Marxism. The study
incorporates a critical review of the fundamental principles of political and literary
Marxism and a brief overview of the contemporary progressive writers belonging to
the societies of Neruda and Faiz in order to contextualize the poetry of the two poets
in Marxist literary tradition of postcolonial literature.
3.1 Basic Tenets of Marxism
Marxism is primarily a set of lego-political and economic ideas which the Marxists
believe will enable them to interpret and change the existing exploitative culture into
a better world order. Marxism offers materialistic interpretation of the socio-political,
historical, economic and cultural aspects of society. “Marx had nothing but scorn for
the idea that there was something called History which had purposes and laws of
motion quite independent of human being” (Eagleton, 2007, p. 45). Karl Marx has
propounded the pillar principles of his ideology about history, culture, politics and
society in his works such as Communist Manifesto (2008), Theory of Surplus Value
(1963), Capital (1967) and German Ideology (1974). In Manifesto, Marx clearly
defines the fundamental principles of Marxism. He also explains in precise terms the
history of capitalism, its unlimited potential to generate surplus, its monopoly-
principle. He also warns of the dangers that capitalism poses to the world if working
class (proletariat) does not become organized. The salient features of Marxism are
dialectical materialism, the critique of capitalism and the advocacy of proletariat
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revolution. Marx borrowed his theory of dialectical materialism from Hegel‟s view of
dialectics. Bertell Ollman and Tony Smith (2008) in Introduction of Dialectics for the
New Century explain that Heraclitus is believed to be the pioneer of the theory of
dialectics in western philosophical tradition. “The cosmos was in endless flux, in
contrast to those for whom „true‟ reality was immutable” (Ollman & Smith 2008, p.
2). This perpetual flow/flux occurs at a certain pattern which is called dialectic. This
pattern consists of the cycle of thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis. It means nothing is
final and sacred. Ollman and Smith further inform that Socrates added intellectual
dynamism to Heraclitus‟ theory of dialectics. Aristotle compared dialectics with
rhetoric – an act of persuasion. For Kant, the dialectics refers to inconclusive dialogue
in which the interlocutors expose each other‟s contradictions. Ollman and Smith
further inform that Hegel‟s concept of dialectic is affirmative. It means that
contentions and disputations lead to reconciliation. Ideas and social formations
generate contradictions leading to the resolution. For Hegel, reality is spiritual. Marx
(1963) in Theory of Surplus Value argues that the ultimate reality is material and
history is the product of class struggle for possession of means of production. Marx
applies his dialectical method to investigate contradictions in the existing capitalistic
economy. He sees “capitalism as full of intersecting and overlapping contradictions”
(p. 218). He further informs that capitalism by virtue of its peculiar structure
continues to generate surplus but does not allow its equitable distribution. It is
socialism which can guarantee even distribution of the surplus. So, in Marxism class
conflict is the thesis. Existing capitalist global order with its inherent contradictions is
the anti-thesis and dialectical criticism with its propositions for a socialist form of
globalisation is the synthesis.
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The study of the Marxist principle of „the Critique of Capitalism‟ requires an
understanding of the concept of „base‟ and „superstructure‟. According to Marx and
Engels, the base of a society is its economy which determines its superstructure.
Superstructure refers to all those social, political, religious, ethical and aesthetic forms
which construct ideology to legitimize the hegemony of the ruling classes in society.
The hegemonic class that monopolizes the base constructs the superstructure in order
to seek complicity of the masses for the system. So the ruling class is at once the
material and the intellectual force of the society. Marx and Engels in The German
Ideology say:
Morality, religion, metaphysics, all the rest of ideology and their
corresponding forms of consciousness, thus no longer retain the
semblance of independence. They have no history, no development; it
is rather men who developing their material production and their
material intercourse, alter along with their real existence, their thinking
and the redoubts of their thinking. (1998, pp. 14-15)
Marx (1967) in Capital elaborates the profit-principle and the reification1 of
workers in capitalist economy. He says that capitalist economy projects the process of
production and exchange of goods in terms of money whereas this process of
production and exchange is primarily a social one. Under bourgeois dominance, the
capitalists compel the workers to produce goods on the terms and conditions
determined by the former. This exploitative system deprives the worker of the
benefits of the surplus value that he adds to the raw material through his skill. Marx
affirms that ordinary people produce commodities to sell them in order to buy more
commodities to satisfy their human and social needs. But capitalists do not consider
money as a means to buy goods to satisfy human needs; rather they are hankering
after money for its own sake. In order to accumulate more wealth in fewer hands,
capitalists extort more labour from the worker with lesser wages. This profit-oriented
approach generates class antagonism leading to the ultimate proletariat unity against
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the bourgeois. Furthermore, in Capital, Marx explains that proletariat class (working
class) incorporates in its folds all those workers whose working hours and wages are
determined by the capitalists. The author says that the capitalist promotes working
class to pursue his monetary interests. Capitalists manage workers‟ concentration in
factory areas. This concentration of working class in industrial slums provides the
workers an opportunity to organise themselves in political terms. Politically organised
proletariats aspire to transform their situation through political struggle. Commenting
on the irony of Marx‟s view of history, Eagleton says, “There is a dark humour in the
vision of the Capitalistic order giving birth to its own gravedigger” (2011, p. 164).
Commenting on the precision of the content of the Manifesto, David Harvey
in his Introduction of the Manifesto says:
Marx produced a brilliant synthesis of insights, a succinct
description, in immediately recognizable and the simplest terms, of
what capitalism was and still is fundamentally about, where it had
come from, what its potentialities were, and where it was likely to
go to in the absence of coherent opposition on the part of those who
created the wealth, the working class. (Harvey 2008, p. 11)
Those who control the means of production also manipulate the ideology of the
people.
3.2 Is Marxism a Euro-centric Revolutionary Movement or a World Historical
Process?
Marx and Engels, the propounders of Marxism, are often dubbed as euro-
centric philosophers who were known for their disliking for non-European peasantry
which they did not consider as a proletariat class. This perception has its roots in the
Europe-oriented marxological enterprise of the two philosophers. This biased view of
Marxism has also crept into the postcolonial and the post-modern discourses. The
primary reason of the charge of euro-centricism against communism is based upon
Marx and Engels‟ preoccupation and support for revolutionary movements in Europe
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in 1840s particularly England. They consider English working class as the model
proletariats. They are also accused of endorsing bourgeois-lead imperialistic
enterprises in non-European lands. August Nimtz (2002) in “The Euro-centric Marx
and Engels and Other Related Myths” refutes these charges and asserts that Marx and
Engels were the first revolutionaries who envisioned communism as a “world
historical” process and took the entire globe as the centre of their political activities.
After the failure of revolutionary movements in Western Europe, Marx and Engels
looked towards Russian peasantry as the revolutionary vanguard because since 1858,
revolutionary struggle in Russia had begun. Commenting on Marx and Engels‟
growing interest in Russian revolutionary movement, Nimtz says, for them, “The fate
of the revolutionary process in Western Europe was not only dependent now on
developments elsewhere but its own weight in that process had diminished” (p. 65).
Furthermore, the author also explains the reasons of Marx and Engels‟ support for
western imperialism and their subsequent disapproval of it. In 1847, Engels applauded
French occupation of Algeria considering it a step towards the spread of civilisation.
But in 1857, he reversed his position and condemned French colonial occupation and
supported Algerian resistance movement. He asserted that French colonial power had
lost its utility as a progressive force.
Karl Marx had initially supported British colonial rule in India. The
colonisers‟ policy of suppression of India‟s native industry and culture was
appreciated as a step towards social progress. But after Indian mutiny against British
rule, Marx and Engels supported anti-imperialist movement in the sub-continent.
They realised that it was up to the human feelings to witness and decide the effects of
a policy. Similarly, in case of New Mexico, Marx and Engels initially supported US
conquest of northern Mexico. They thought that US conquest would accelerate
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exploitation of California‟s gold mines. But, gradually they realised that US conquest
of Mexico was designed to safeguard the interests of the US slave holders. This
establishes that Marx and Engels‟ support for western imperialism was based on the
assumption that the enterprise was a progressive activity. They revised their policy as
it turned out to be a materialistic enterprise.
Marx‟ denunciation of pre-imperial non-western societies particularly India is
not more strident than his criticism of pre-industrial European feudal culture and its
absolutist monarchies. Aijaz Ahmed (2000), a renowned Marxist critic, in In Theory:
Classes, Nations, Literatures defends Marx against the charges of racism particularly
in Edward Said‟s Orientalism. Marx denounced pre-British Indian feudal system, its
village peasantry and its caste system as retrogressive and appreciated British
imperialism as an advancement upon feudal rigidities. Edward Said takes exception to
this criticism of Marx and dubs him a racist. Aijaz Ahmad contends that Said‟s
criticism of Marx is based on two journalistic dispatches on India which Marx wrote
for the New York Tribune in 1853. Marx conjectured that British colonialism which
was a capitalistic enterprise would help dismantle rigidities of feudal and caste system
in India. It would generate surplus extending its benefits to the deprived sections of
the feudal society. Marx‟ conjecture was based upon bourgeois colonial experience of
North America. Aijaz is of the opinion that this criticism of Marx should not be taken
as a theoretical framework; it is more of conjectural nature because subsequently
Marx revisited his earlier stance and condemned British Imperialism in India as a
counter-productive exercise. The critic further says that to label Marx as a racist on
the basis of his speculative submission about progressive view of colonialism is a
misplaced estimation of his philosophy.
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To sum up, Nimtz and Aijaz Ahmad‟s analyses of the charges of euro-
centricism against Marxism indicates that this criticism is based upon the lack of
awareness about facts regarding shift in Marx and Engels‟ stance after the failure of
revolutionary struggle in Europe in 1848. Their final support for anti-imperialist
movements in the colonised societies sets aside the biased perception and affirms
communism as a world historical process based on inter-dependence of revolutionary
movements across the globe.
3.3 Marxism and Ideology
Matter precedes consciouness. Marxists claim that it is our material conditions
that determine our consciousness. So, our ideology is the product of material
conditions and relations. Marx and Engels observe that our „ideological reflexes‟
spring from our real life process and hence are the echoes of this life process. In the
words of Marx and Engels, “The phantoms formed in the human brain are also,
necessarily, sublimates of their material life process which is empirically verifiable
and bound to material premises” (1998, p. 14). Italin philosopher Antonio Gramsci
(1992) in Prison Notes explains hegemony as the domination by the ruling elites on
the basis of ideology which seeks complicity of masses through consent, not through
force or coercion. He establishes three dimensions of hegemony which are
intellectual, moral and political. The first two forms of hegemony which are
intellectual and moral refer to the intellectual and moral leadership of a particular
class in civil society which earns active or passive consent of the subaltern allies. The
third dimension of hegemony is the political in which dominant ideology captures
political dominance by acquiring control of the state organs. In terms of political
hegemony, consent may be gained through force by eliminating or subjugating the
dissent. However, Gramsci prefers dominance through intellectual and moral
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leadership to dominance through force. Gramsci further affirms that the hegemonic
class manipulates the ideology through superstructure. Commenting on the nature of
the individual‟s identity, Gramsci says “Reality does not exist on its own, in and for
itself, but only in an historical relationship with the men who modify it” (1992, p.
346). But despite the materialistic nature of ideology, Gramsci believes in a margin of
autonomy of individual consciousness through which an individual can realize the
illusory nature of the hegemony and can resist it by taking position outside the iron
curtain of the dominant ideology. This is how the genuine artists can challenge the
assumptions of ideology by reflecting upon the circumstances surrounding the artist.
In the words of Lang and William, “Clearly social tendencies and structure are stated
to be integral to the very make up of human experience and a fortiori of works of arts”
(1972, p. 11).
Next to Gramsci, one of the most influential Marxist philosophers to opine on
the concept of ideology is Althusser. Althusser (1971) in Ideology and Ideological
State Apparatuses gives full account of his view of ideology in bourgeois culture. He
disapproves of conventional Marxist theories of ideology. He rejects the notion that
ideology is a set of conscious beliefs, nor does he approve it as false consciousness.
For him, ideology represents the „imaginary version‟ of the relationships of the people
to their real social conditions. Such imaginary forms of real social conditions are
essential to perpetuate the capitalist hegemony. Ideology is not an abstraction; it is
deeply ingrained in daily routine and rituals of our working conditions. We perceive
reality through particular ideological discourse and mistakenly believe ourselves as
free agents. It is through the ideological state apparatuses that dominant ideology
works and transforms the individuals into the subjects. Jameson calls these
apparatuses as „Strategies of containment‟. For Althusser, literature is also inseparable
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from the influence of the imaginary version of real social relations of the individuals
in a given ideological apparatus. Literature which is produced in a determinate
linguistic practice does not represent life and reality in its totality.
3.4 Marxism and Culture
Culture refers to the customs and beliefs, art forms and the patterns of thought
and behaviour of a society. So, culture is a repository of humanistic values. The true
end of culture is the suspension of reification of the individual and his realignment
with the diversities of actual life processes in society. The entanglement of culture
with commerce and economy under capitalism has deprived it of its humanistic role.
Horkheimer and Adorno (2002) in Dialectic of Enlightenment inform us about the
manipulative role of bourgeois culture industry in contaminating diverse cultural and
economic patterns of behaviour of various cultural zones of the world. The authors
say, “Culture today is infecting everything with sameness. Film, radio and magazines
form a system. Each branch of culture is unanimous within itself and all are
unanimous together” (p. 94). Adorno does not agree with the classical Marxist belief
that capitalism will eventually generate a liberal and free society. He emphasises that
due to its peculiar nature and objectives, capitalism does not have the potential to
accelerate cultural and political liberation of society. He argues that capitalism has
become more entrenched through its culture apparatuses which are popularizing
manipulated representation of mass cultures. The culture industry creates artificial
needs to accelerate consumerism. As it strives for consumers‟ society, it organises
leisure time of the individual in pursuing gratification of his desires which in turn
requires more production and more consumption of goods.
Culture industry achieves negative integration in liberal democratic societies
by enhancing the number of consumers. “The consumers are the workers and salaried
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employees, the farmers and petty bourgeois. Capitalist production hems them in so
tightly, in body and soul, that they unresistingly succumb to whatever is proffered to
them” (Horkheimer & Adorno, 2002, p. 106). In this way, it is equivalent to Fascism
which achieved negative political integration through force and repression. The
interests of bourgeois culture are best served through unification, reification and
domination rather than liberalisation.
Furthermore, criticism is an essential component of a genuine culture. But,
bourgeois society is becoming more and more uni-directional due to its profit
principle. The critic affirms that the critical thinkers and cultural analysts should
emphasise upon the value of ideologies in the face of technocratic rationality in this
age of neo-liberalism. As bourgeois culture industry is promoting integration and
reification, dialectical criticism must focus upon the internal structure of the society to
promote the logic of cultural autonomy and diversity.
3.5 Marxism and Pluralism
Marxist theorists reject euro-centric myths of universality of western culture.
Instead they promote multiculturalism. Revisionist Marxists even do not accept any
single interpretation of communist ideology. Jameson (1974) in his Marxism and
Form: Twentieth-Century Dialectical Theories of Literature liberates Marxism from
the official interpretation of the ideology by the Stalinists and their Soviet successors.
He approves of various manifestations of Marxist system prevalent in Socialistic bloc,
in China and in postcolonial societies.
There should exist several different marxisms in the world of
today, each answering the specific needs and problems of its own
socio-economic system: thus one corresponds to the post-
revolutionary industrial countries of the socialist bloc, another –a
kind of peasant Marxism –to China and Cuba and the countries of
the third world, while yet another tries to deal theoretically with
the unique questions raised by monopoly capitalism in the West.
(Jameson 1974, p. xviii)
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Being a cultural analyst, Jameson does not consider primitive communism
important only as a stage of history existing before the emergence of the division of
labour which set the human society on the way to pre-capitalist accumulation of
resources eventually leading to capitalism. He also does not consider primitive
communist state as a myth. He acknowledges it as an actual era and a form of life
which serves as an ideal model of social existence which can be used as a foil to the
later stages of human history of exploitation, reification and alienation.
3.6 Marxist / Dialectical Realism
Marxist aesthetics is derived from Marxist principle of dialectical materialism.
Marxists believe that economic, social and especially class relation affect every aspect
of the individual life ranging from his religious beliefs to cultural and artistic modes
of thought and behaviour. So from Marxist point of view, the role of genuine art is not
only to represent socio-cultural conditions truthfully but also to view reality in its
totality and also to seek to improve those conditions. Marxists reject bourgeois
interpretation of reality and its realistic tradition in literature because it only
represents reality in immediacy and does not view present in terms of temporality. In
bourgeois literary tradition, the reality of existence was believed to reside in the
subjective world of the poet which was expressed in a highly personalized set of signs
and symbols. This personalized world of the poet transcended the temporal and the
spatial limitations and had nothing to do with the immediate collective existence of
the social world around him. This segregation of existence of the individual and the
collective life was furthered in postcolonial societies where absolutism was replaced
by imperialism. The process of colonization unleashed the brutal forces of
exploitation and tyranny pushing the poets and writers further into their personal
world for solace and escape. The most powerful criticism of bourgeois realism comes
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from Georg Lukacs. His primary criticism of capitalism is its individualistic approach.
His approval for dialectical criticism is its concern for classes that make society.
Lukacs (1971) in History and Class Consciousness praises Marxism for its social
praxis as Marxism has for the first time acknowledged the existence of the proletariat
class into history. “When the proletariat proclaims the dissolution of the existing
social order,” Marx declares, “it does no more than disclose the secret of its own
existence, for it is the effective dissolution of that order” (In Lukacs, 1971, p. 3). In
his works like “Realism in Balance” (1938), “The Meaning of Contemporary
Realism” (1979) and The Historical Novel (1983), Lukacs rejects the modernist
experimental literature as individualistic and fragmented. His main reservation
regarding modernist writings is its ahistorical and static structure. He is equally
critical of the avant-gardist literature. The avant-gardists in their obsession to achieve
critical distance from the socio-political perspective of the individuals fail to depict
concrete and complicated reality. Luckas affirms that dialectical method analyses
present socio-political and economic conditions as a result of historical process
marked by class struggle and also evaluates the propositions through which present
can be transformed into a different and more viable future. Under capitalism, the
biased perception of history and reality is accelerated through the superstructure. In
order to understand the true reality beyond dominant ideology, we need to transcend
the temporal limits of immediacy. Without dialectical analysis, genuine reality cannot
be perceived. So, the true literature is Marxist literature.
Similarly, Fredric Jameson (1983) in The Political Unconscious elaborates the
function of the dialectical analysis in exposing the falsity of bourgeois ideology. He
says that bourgeois ideology is created through the discursive practices of all the
ideological apparatuses. The author argues that it is impossible for an individual
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worker to see through the bourgeois consciousness as the hegemonic class
monopolises and controls all the means and sources of propaganda. Dialectical
analysis aims to change the perception of the whole proletariat class, not the
individual worker. It is of course a painful experience because the individual subject
has been nurtured in that particular ideological construct. He lives and thinks through
a peculiar discourse. Dialectical analyst strikes the subject in order to establish the
view that the bourgeois ideology is an extrinsic incursion into his conscious
experience. Appreciating Jameson‟s view of dialectical criticism, C. Dowling in his
An Introduction to the Political Unconscious says:
The aim of Jameson‟s critical practice is to tear away the veil of
illusion from the social and cultural and historical process and
allow us to glimpse the eternal Necessity beyond and a freedom
that can be won from that necessity only when all mystification has
ceased to exist. (Dowling 1984, p. 56)
3.7 Utility of Marxism in the Age of Corporate Globalization
One of the vital socio-political and literary debates in our age of the unipolar
world of capitalistic triumphalism is the utility of Marxism. Neo-liberalists claim that
after the fall of USSR dialectical criticism has become irrelevant in post-industrial age
with increasing welfare role of the state. They consider Marxism as another form of
poetic utopia which illogically dreams of a future socialistic world order. They also
contend that Marxism reduces every aspect of human life such as art, literature,
religion, politics, law and cultural norms to economics. The bourgeois economists
also claim of the world wide prosperity. Furthermore, communism is under-rated for
its violent course of action to achieve its political designs.
Terry Eagleton (2011) in Why Marx Was Right establishes a Marxist critique
of the above-mentioned claims of the neo-liberalists. He argues that it is erroneous to
equate Marxist ideology only with Soviet model of communism. So, fall of Russian
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communism should not be taken for the failure of Marxism. The critic goes on to say
that the failure of communism in Russia took place mainly due to the economic and
cultural deadlock between the Soviet Union and the West. However, despite its
failures Russian communism has certain historical achievements to its credit. It
dragged its masses out of penury and ignorance and made them the citizens of an
advanced industrial society. Soviet Union also played vital role in liberating the world
from the menace of Fascism. It also inculcated ideological solidarity among its
citizens ensuring at the same time cultural diversity. To add to it, Soviet Union is
credited for helping dismantle colonial rule in various colonized postcolonial
societies. Furthermore, Marx was a fervent advocate of change who believed in
progressive and flexible view of socialism. Marx acknowledges world as an entity
consisting of various cultural zones and considers application of socialistic system
keeping in view the historical circumstances surrounding it. Eagleton states that per
statistics, during recent years of capitalistic globalization, wealth and resources are
more concentrated than ever before and labour class and unemployment has increased
manifold. So communism with its claim of equitable distribution of surplus remains a
valid alternative. The author says that the critics of Marxism over-react to its theory of
economic determinism. Of course, economics does influence the social relations and
the super-structure of society but Marx does not see any incompatibility in his
economic determinism and spiritual realm. Spiritual and moral growth cannot be
properly materialised without materialistic satisfaction. Eagleton further states that to
say that socialism is an enemy of individual freedom, is an unjustified cry. In the
absence of economic stability and equal opportunity, the slogans of liberty, political
and civil rights cannot be materialised. Unlike poetic utopias, socialism is a practical
philosophy which is based on inherent contradictions of capitalism. A man is a social
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being who requires his emotional satisfaction through social cooperation. Capitalism
considers individual as a unit of production which is antithetical to his gregarious
nature. This eventually motivates the people to reconsider their allegiance to the
system which is neither humane nor pluralistic in design.
Similarly, the charge that communism offers a violent course of action is again
a jaundiced view of the history. Eagleton claims that transformation from the feudal
culture to the capitalist one took place amid unprecedented violence. Capitalism with
its imperialistic agenda for more markets and raw material is notorious for promoting
the culture of slavery and oppression in colonies. Marxism is not all out for violent
methods to realize socialistic revolutions. Marx was even convinced that in countries
like England, America and Holland, socialistic agenda could be achieved through
peaceful ways, through parliament. According to Eagleton, Marx did not plead the
case for an all-powerful state in oppressive role. His advocacy for the powerful
administrative body was meant for shifting the advantages of the surplus toward the
poor. “The promise Marxism does hold out is to resolve the contradictions which
currently stop history proper from happening in all its freedom and diversity” (2011,
p. 91).
Stiglitz (2002) in Globalisation and its Discontents offers a counter-point to
the neo-liberalist claims of economic prosperity in this age of globalisation. He says
that contrary to the bourgeois claims of world-wide prosperity and increase in per
capita income, the economic facts and figures establish that the gap between the rich
and the poor has increased manifold. Unemployment has doubled than it was twenty
years ago. Commenting on the growing economic disparity in west, Stiglitz says,
“During the last two decades of the twentieth century, the number of those in the
world living on less than two dollars a day has increased by almost one hundred
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million” (2002, p. 5). With the cultural assault through media, bourgeois culture is
posing serious threat to the indigenous cultures of the various cultural zones of the
world. Under the pretext of globalization, plurality of cultures is endangered.
Commodification of human life is on the rise.
Another issue of vital interest today is the relevance of dialectics. Dialectics is
the basic principle upon which the entire premise of Marxist ideology is based.
Advocates of neo-liberalism claim that globalization of economy based on capitalistic
values has once for all established the assumption that capitalism is the future of the
world. Whereas Marxists assert that in recent times capitalism has become more
complex and more dialectical. Bertell Ollman and Tony Smith (2008) in Dialectics
for the New Century – an anthology of articles – provide a logical understanding and
justification of dialectics in our age. The authors explain that as an investigating
strategy, dialectical approach tries to „systematise‟ and „historicise‟ an organic whole
not only to see its futuristic shape but also to know it into its present form. They
inform that Marx narrates the various historical stages of the capital from the age of
slavery up to the current exploitative order.
The capitalistic drive for boundless extension of human power and unlimited
utilisation of environment and nature is a highly offensive approach to our „ecological
balance‟. The two great threats, today, to our existence are military and environmental
and both the threats are the outcome of capitalistic greed for money and monopoly
over resources. Referring to the future dangers to the world peace and existence, Ellen
Meiksins Wood in his “Capitalism and Human Emancipation” says:
It seems to me axiomatic that the expansionary, competitive and
exploitative logic of capitalistic accumulation in the context of
nation-state system, must, in the longer or shorter term, be
destabilizing, and that capitalism...is and will for the foreseeable
future remain the greatest threat to the world peace.
(In Eagleton, 2011, p. 236)
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John Bellamy Foster (2008) in “The Dialectics of Nature and Marxist Ecology”
argues that Marxism offers a defense of ecological balance by its emphasis on the
relation between natural dialectics and social praxis. Marxism believes in close
harmony and interlinks between human society and nature. Foster states that man
depends upon nature and matter for his physical needs and requires production out of
raw material for his survival and subsistence. Furthermore, the refinement and
cultivation of human senses is also a historical process which has been achieved
through close contact with nature. Referring to Marx‟s view of natural praxis, John B.
Foster says:
By actively and rationally sensing the world in wider and wider
dimensions, human beings are able historically to experience the
world as the objectification of their praxis – but only in so far as
they are able to emancipate the senses by overcoming alienation of
nature. (Foster 2008, p. 64)
As capitalistic bloc is hunting for more lands and resources outside their national
boundaries particularly in the postcolonial world, the world peace is endangered more
than ever. Noam Chomsky (2002) in “Globalisation and War” in chapter 1 of
Arguments Against G8 argues that future wars are likely to be fought over energy,
material resources and water in third world countries under the pretext of war on
terror. He further elaborates that after Second World War the western powers have
agreed not to fight against each other due to the fear of extinction by the use of
nuclear weapons. But to satisfy their instinct for savagery and material
aggrandisement, they have selected third world as the future battlefield.
Colin Leys (n.d) in “Democracy” – chapter 3 of Arguments Against G8 –
exposes the anti-democratic role of corporate globalisation. Through the involvement
of trans-national capital, multi-national corporations manipulate world politics and
protect their commercial interests against the risks of democratic decisions. People go
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to polls with the hope for popular decisions but contrary to their expectations, the
parliamentary legislations safeguard the interests of the multi-nationals. This situation
is resulting in people‟s disengagement and disillusionment with the political process.
But the authors do not end on a note of pessimism. They affirm that the rulers of the
planet who seem to us invincible, are actually afraid of the people and public opinion.
That is why they spend so much time and institutional energy in combating challenges
to their supremacy. Their intelligence services, main stream media, their lobbyists and
think tanks, their advertising and marketing and their civil and military bureaucracy
are frantically engaged in containing democracy, peace, progress and the rise of
counter-hegemonic perspective.
Slavoj Zizek – a leading Marxist theorist – also extenuates Bolshevik action
on the basis of geo-political and ecological crisis caused by global capitalism. He
(2008) in In Defense of Lost Causes argues that under the slogan of modernization,
world market and global economy, First world countries are providing cheap food
items to the Third world countries. This is devastating local agriculture of the under-
developed world. Unemployed peasants of the rural areas are joining the slum-
dwellers of the mega cities. It is estimated that urban population will soon outnumber
the rural population in the third world. These slum dwellers do not enjoy state
patronage. They are included in global economy as informal wage labourers who are
denied help and social security benefits. Bourgeois state power considers it more
viable not to regulate the lives of the slum dwellers. It allows them to vegetate in
order to increase the number of consumers of the cheap food imports of the first world
countries. For Zizek, the slum dwellers (proletariats) are better defined in geo-
political terms rather than in classical Marxist terms of economic exploitation. Slum-
dwellers‟ main defining feature is their exclusion from the legal space which deprives
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them from the inalienable rights of citizenship. The critic defines the slum-dwellers as
“the systemically generated “living dead” of global capitalism” (p. 425). This non-
integration of these contemporary proletarians pushes them into a situation where they
are forced to discover commonalities for being together. In the absence of any solace
from conventional ways of life, religious and cultural values, these slum-dwellers who
also include criminals and religious fundamentalists in their ranks find inspiration in
socialist ideology which gives them unity, recognition and a futuristic hope. Socialist
ideology motivates these dispossessed elements for social action to break the shackles
of geo-political and economic bondage.
3.8 Marxist Literary Tradition in Postcolonial World
Socially and politically oriented literature has played a vital role in speaking
for the oppressed everywhere in the world. Political literature has specially played
powerful role in reawakening the masses in postcolonial societies against foreign and
local oppression. Progressive writers have mobilised the masses by re-reading and re-
writing the history of their societies. This literature of resistance continues to promote
consciousness among the exploited ones to continue their struggle in post-
independence era to achieve qualitative change in the socio-political culture.
In the Spanish speaking world, Neruda is not the only writer to subscribe
social and political functions to poetry. Neruda, whose career as a political poet
started in Spain, changed his vision of art under the influence of Spanish progressive
writers like Garcia Lorca, Rafael Alberti and Miguel Hernandez. These writers were
supporting the cause of Spanish Republic against Fascism of General Franco.
Similarly French writers like Aragon, Eluard and Cesar Vallejo were also creating
politically oriented literature and joined Neruda in support of Spanish people. Poetry
of Aragon, Eluard and Cesar Vallejo reassures humanistic values in the face of
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growing capitalistic culture. In Latin American continent Neruda had close
intellectual affinities with Chilean writer, Gabriela Mistral and Mexican intellectuals
of Paz‟s generation. Gabriela Mistral, Paz and Neruda do not present Latin American
culture as an extension and a variation of Greco-Roman past but look at their
continent in terms of existing socio-political scenario. They assert that culture
emerges through earth not from college degrees. They are extremely critical of those
Latin Americans who boast of their racial superiority based on European parentage
and conceal their Asiatic blood. To add to it, Mexican muralists have also created
ideologically committed art. As Neruda‟s Canto General was published in Mexico the
contribution of muralists such as Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros is highly
considerable. These Mexican painters repudiate text-book version of the history of
colonial America. In Latin America popular culture which is preserved in its folklores
has always remained a significant element of cultural and literary history. Due to
colonial history of the continent, consistent efforts are made to popularise indigenous
culture as a tool of national identity. In works of revolutionary folklorists like Jose
Maria Arguetas and Mario De Andrade, we find an alternative version of social order
which is humanistic and harmonious as opposed to materialistic culture of capitalistic
economy. To sum up, Latin America has a rich history of socially and politically
committed literature.
Similarly, Faiz was not the first and the only one to speak of the oppressed and
to anticipate socialistic world order in postcolonial Asia. Hafiz had far earlier
anticipated the victory of the forces of peace in Persian poetry. In Palestine,
Mahmood Darvaish who was writing poetry of resistance asserted that aesthetics and
politics could not be separated from each other in societies where repression and
dispossession were ever present. Similarly, Egyptian writer Tawfiq-al-Hakim
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exhorted even upon the mightiest to submit to the rule of law and courageously
challenged the military regime to seek legitimacy for its rule. In Turkey, Nazim
Hikmat wrote poetry of resistance and revolt against injustice and tyranny.
Disillusioned by the insensitivities and indifference of the rulers towards the miseries
of the masses, he pleaded for social and political action against ruling elites. In Urdu
literature, it was in the first half of the nineteenth century that literature became a
public domain. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Deputy Nazir Ahmad, Munshi Prem Chand,
Hasrat Mohani, Maulana Altaf Hali, Allama Iqbal, and progressive writers
popularised literature among workers, farmers, clerks, womenfolk, teachers, students
and the underprivileged. Iqbal and Hali – the predecessors of Faiz – try to inspire the
Muslim community to regain its lost glory and they had Islamic caliphate to glorify.
The successors of Faiz in socially-committed poetic tradition of Urdu literature are
Josh, Makhdoom, Majaz, Sheikh Ayaz, Habib Jaleb, Ahmad Faraz, Kishwar Naheed
and Fahmeeda Riaz who got so much public acclaim that even the celebrity of the
glamour world paled into insignificance before these champions of the rights of the
oppressed class.
To sum up, the discussion about Marxist theoretical framework in the light of
the works of leading Marxist theorists and critics helps facilitate text-based analysis of
the poetry of Neruda and Faiz in the light of the research questions of the topic. The
brief overview of socially-committed poets of Latin-America and Asia lends
intellectual and literary authority to the ideological poetry of Neruda and Faiz.
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Notes:
1- Reification: The term reification refers to the materialistic approach of capitalist
economy in which workers are taken for objects or commodities. So reification stands
for the process of objectification/commodification of the worker in contrast to his
essential humanness
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Chapter 4
PABLO NERUDA AND THE POLITICS AND THE POETICS OF
LITERATURE
Pablo Neruda is an acclaimed advocate of socially-committed literature in the literary
history of Latin America whose progressive view of art has won international
recognition. Before proceeding to research questions-based analysis of the poetry of
Neruda, it is appropriate to explain the significance of the title of the chapter, the
salient features of the poet‟s Marxist view of literature and politics and a brief canto-
wise summary of the text of Canto General (General Song).
4.1 The Politics and the Poetics of Literature
Socially and politically committed literary tradition which is highly popular in
third world / postcolonial societies rejects euro-centric myths of ahistoricity and
universality of the literary text. The advocates of socially-committed art affirm that
aesthetics and politics cannot be separated from each other in oppressive and
exploitative cultures. The award of 2010 Nobel Prize for Literature to the
Peruvian/Spanish novelist Mario Vargas Llosa has once again emphasised what
theorists like Frederick Jameson, Edward Said and others have long been trying to
establish: that the writers (especially of creative/imaginative domain) have a social
and ideological responsibility to uphold the ideals of humanity and to play an active,
intellectual role to effect socio-political change. Neruda‟s poetics of literature is based
on his conviction that the writers must play their intellectual role in effecting socio-
political change in favour of the oppressed and the dispossessed. Pablo Neruda started
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his career as a „pure‟ poet who did not hold any particular political dogma. Of course,
from his early youth, he was opposed to the Spanish bourgeois settlers‟ policy of
ethnic division in Latin America in post-imperial period because this maltreatment of
the indigenous people was the continuation of colonial mindset. Spanish colonisers
and their descendant bourgeois settlers in Latin America considered native people as
social inferiors. Referring to Neruda‟s disapproval of this ethnic discrimination,
Duran and Safir say, “A young intellectual could hardly have reacted otherwise to the
socially stratified world of Chilean society, where the poor were very poor and the
rich could afford every luxury, including that of despising the poor” (1986, p. 75).
However, despite his disliking for the bourgeois settlers of his country, Neruda
kept his poetry away from politics. He did not use his verse to propagate any
economic or political philosophy. The nexus between aesthetics and politics occurred
in the poetry of Neruda in 1930s during his diplomatic mission in Spain during
Spanish Civil War where he watched brutalities of the Fascists against the Spanish
peasantry. It intensified his disliking for bourgeois politics. In striking contrast to the
Fascists‟ inhumanity, the poet was impressed by the humane stance of Soviet
Communist regime towards the Spanish peasants. Soviet Union provided all-out
assistance to the oppressed people of the Spain. Pablo Neruda was also influenced by
the pro-Republican stance of the Spanish communist intellectuals. He realised that
literature ought to be used in favour of the oppressed and the marginalised. Non-
political art does serve and strengthen the interests of the hegemonic class. He
abandoned subjective romanticism and committed his poetry to the cause of the
counter-hegemonic forces. He shifted his emphasis from the lyrical verse to the
politically-oriented poetry. His poetics became the poetics of unison between the
literary and the political.
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This poetics of the proletariat must affect the literary style of the poet as now
his readers were mainly the illiterate people. It was no longer possible for the poet to
write cryptically. Literary style was directly linked with political ideology. Neruda
asserts that bourgeois culture has created a false perception about the role and position
of the poet. “It has depicted the poet as a sort of blind fish swimming with magical
agility through the waters of mystery” (In Duran & Safir, 1986, p. 55). The motive
behind this false image of the writer was to isolate aesthetics from the socio-political
conditions of the society, to weaken the bond between the writer, the people and their
pre-bourgeois pluralistic cultural heritage. Neruda rejects bourgeois attributes of „A
Small God‟, „A Superman‟ and „A Magician‟ for the poet. He insists that the artist
belongs to the people. His voice is the voice of the masses. Referring to the proletariat
vision and tone of Neruda‟s poetry, Roland Bleiker says:
Neruda‟s voice was the voice of the working class, the voice of
peasants and factory workers, of ordinary people whose
perspectives are so often obliterated from the more grandiosely
perceived domain of global politics (Bleiker 2010, p. 1129).
Pablo Neruda admits that it was extremely difficult for him to give up his
hermetic style in favor of lucidity, precision and simplicity because the elitist style
was the source of status and privilege in social hierarchy. The elitist literary canon
despised what was indigenous, simple and folksy.
Neruda‟s poetics of everyday world revitalized his ties with his roots, his
family, his humble origins, his native region, its culture and his childhood friends. He
realigned himself with what was simply human. This return to the basics helped the
poet reject over-sophistication.it also helped him exclude obscure and abstract modes
of expression, displaced imagery from his literary canon. He returned to spontaneity,
originality, simplicity and clarity. After 1930s, Neruda never went back to the
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complex and obscure surrealist tradition which he had manifested in his “Residence
Cycle”. “Residence Cycle” is his poetic collections based on surrealistic art. Referring
to Neruda‟s rejection of surrealistic modes of expression in his political poetry,
Prashad says:
Neruda moved away from the deliberately surrealist obscurity of
his poetry and translated his passions and his visions into verses
legible to those who had not the luxury of an advanced education
(Prashad 2004 p. 4).
4.2 Salient Marxist / Political Features of the Poetry of Neruda
In order to facilitate the textual analysis of the epic Canto General in the light
of the research questions, it is viable to highlight Marxist features of the political
poetry of Neruda.
4.2.1 Political Treatment of Nature
In his new poetics of literature, Neruda‟s vision and treatment of nature is also
political. His concept of nature is all-inclusive. It incorporates the most forceful
elements as well as the trivial objects of the natural world. This all-embracing aspect
of nature is fully manifested in Neruda‟s “Elemental Odes”. The appreciation of the
grand and the trivial in natural world has social significance. It points to the need that
we feel for the objects of nature. Quite ironically, the proletariats of the world who are
the rightful heirs of these elements of nature are denied their share of the bounties of
nature.
4.2.2 Universality of the Poet’s Ideology
Neruda‟s concern for the oppressed and the marginalised was not confined to
his native land. He was opposed to oppression and inequity in all its forms
everywhere across the world. He condemns injustice either it occurred in Inca ancient
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civilisations, in Columbian America or it is occurring in present age in the form of
new imperialism of Europe and the North. In Xth poem of the Canto “The Heights of
Machhu Pichhu”, the poet exposes the misery and worthlessness of the poor people
under ancient civilisations of Latin America as well as today:
Stone upon stone, and man, where was he?
Air upon air, and man, where was he?
Time upon time, and man, where was he?
Were you too a broken shard
Of inconclusive man, of empty raptor,
Who on the streets today, on the trails,
On the dead autumn leaves keeps
Tearing away at the heart right upto the grave?
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, pp. 38-39)
Even his conversion to the cause of the poor took place in Europe, not in
Latin America. He admired and glorified socialistic revolutions either they took place
in Russia, China or in Mexico and Cuba. “Ode to Lenin” which was written in
celebration of Russian Revolution, “Song of Protest” in which the poet
commemorates Cuban Revolution under Fiedel Castro and “The Song of Stalin Grad”
are the most conspicuous instances of Neruda‟s poetic glorification of socialistic
societies of the world.
4.2.3 Marxist Orientation of Neruda’s Bardic Tradition
Neruda‟s identification with „Bardic Tradition‟ of the New World is reflective
of his ideological commitments. A bard is a social chronicler who sings national
patriotic and cultural songs and uses his art to eulogise and regenerate his social,
cultural and historical heritage preserved in folklores and popular art forms. Neruda
rejects minority culture of the social elites. As a cultural bard of his continent, the
poet commits his art to the glorification of indigenous cultures which are rooted in
pre-colonial civilizations of Latin-American continent. By doing so, Neruda creates
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awareness among the oppressed people about their past glory and heritage. The poets
and the intellectuals of the New World try to discard the discourse of the Old World
in order to seek cultural liberation of the continent from the shackles of colonialism.
They resort to the myth of Adamic voice. Neruda rejects bourgeois discourse which
the ruling elites both past and present, used to perpetuate capitalistic world view.
Instead of listening to the text book history, the poet meditates upon the
object/elements of the world of nature. In the poem “Bio-Bio”, he exhorts upon the
river Bio-Bio to reveal to him the truth:
So talk to me, Bio-Bio,
Yours are the words that
Roll off my tongue, you gave me
Language, the nocturnal song
Fused with rain and foliage.
You, when no one would heed a child
Told me about the dawning of the earth
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, pp 20-21)
This Adamic Voice of the poet motivates the people not to accept the existing
ideology uncritically and to revisit their received behaviour towards history and
politics. Commenting on Neruda‟s repudiation of imperial narrative, Rene de Costa
says “The result was an engaging demythification of the clichés of textbook national
histories with their panoply of exemplary bourgeois heroes” (1982, p. 108). So this
rebuttal of bourgeois representation of Latin American culture, geography and history
is Neruda‟s rejection of capitalistic globalization.
4.2.4 Poetry of Rebellion
Neruda‟s poetry is the poetry of rebellion. Rebellion can only be evoked by
challenging dominant belief system. The poet challenges bourgeois constructed myth
of the superiority of European blood over Asiatic origins. Since Columbian invasion
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of the continent, this myth has been propagated to marginalise the native population.
The poet also discards the false belief that the Latin American continent is ruled by
malevolent gods who devour their own progeny. Such ideological and discursive
practices have been used to promote inertia and resignation among the oppressed
people. Neruda in his Canto General negates bourgeois‟ metaphysics of presence and
the philosophy of transcendental signifiers1. He discards the pretence of the civilizing
mission behind western colonialism. In the poem “Now It‟s Cuba” Canto I, the poet
narrates the tale of plunder of Cuba at the hands of Narvaez-a Spanish conqueror who
was a rival of Cortes. The poet says:
Then there was blood and ash
Soon the palms stood alone.
Cuba, my love, they put you on the rack,
Cut your face,
Pried open your legs of pale gold,
Crushed your pomegranate,
Stabbed you with knives
Dismembered you, burned you.
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p.44)
This deconstruction of the dominant assumption of Spanish invasion as a civilizing
mission is inevitable for rebellion against status quo.
4.3 Brief Summary of Canto General (General Song)
To proceed with textual analysis, a brief canto-wise summary of the poem
Canto General is given to facilitate the reader. The poem consists of fifteen sections.
Each canto has a defined content. The first canto “A Lamp on Earth” presents the
creation of the continent. Nature is introduced in its virginal state before the existence
of man. This primeval garden consists of the landscape, animals, vegetation, flora and
fauna. After description of raw nature, the native man appears as a central figure who
is born out of nature‟s elements. The second Canto “The Heights of Macchu Picchu”
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describes the state of absolute harmony between man and the forces of nature. The
third section “The Conquistadors” takes us into the realms of history. It deals with the
Spanish invasion of the continent to fulfill the colonisers‟ rapacious designs. Canto
four, “The Liberators”, deals with heroic resistance offered by the Indian leaders to
the imperialists. The section five, “The Sand Betrayed”, deals with the contemporary
political conditions. It deals with the treacherous role of the South American
oligarchies which established their personal kingdoms by hijacking the freedom
movements against the foreign rule. The poet also describes the exploitative role of
the industrial forces. The sixth and the seventh sections, “America, I Do not Invoke
Your Name in Vain” and “Canto General of Chile” deal with the feeling of the poet
for his land on his return to Chile in 1930s after a long absence. The eighth section,
“The Earth‟s Name is Juan” brings forth the common man again who is the legitimate
owner of the man. Juan the worker has remained unattended in the textbook histories
of the continent. In section nine, “Let the Woodcutter Awaken”, the poet castigates
the hegemonic designs of the United States in present time. He also exhorts upon
North America to return to its past cultural heritage. The tenth section, “The
Fugitive”, deals with the account of the poet‟s experiences and sufferings during his
days of underground hiding and exile to escape political victimization at the hands of
Gonzalez regime. Section eleven, “The Flowers of Punitaqui”, once again expresses
the poet‟s patriotic feelings and his commitment with the cause of the oppressed.
Twelfth section, “The Rivers of Song”, pays homage to the socially committed poets
in the literary tradition of the Spanish language. In section thirteen, “New Year‟s
Chorale”, for the country in darkness. The poet warns the enemies of Chile both
internal and external and anticipates bright future of his motherland. In the second last
section, “The Great Ocean”, Nature poetry reappears to signify the return to the
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origins. The final section, “I Am”, once again returns to the autobiographical note
recounting the poet‟s life from 1904 and emphasizing upon his roots in his native
region in Chile. Commenting upon the scope of the poem, Roberto Gonzalez
Echevarria (1989) says “Neruda‟s poem is monumental, in the sense that it covers a
vast span of history and focuses on transcendental persons and deals as well as on the
humble masses” (p. 7).
4.4 Textual Analysis of Canto General (General Song)
After elaborating the title of the chapter, Marxist features of Neruda‟s poetry
and canto-wise summary of the epic, I proceed to analyse the text of Canto General in
the light of the research questions. Textual analysis comprises four parts. As there are
four research questions, each part deals with the text-based study of a single question
following the sequence of research questions given in the chapter of Introduction,
page no. 17.
PART I
4.4.1 Dialectical Method of Neruda in Canto General
The first research question deals with Neruda‟s dialectical method. The key
terms like “Dialectics” and “Dialectical realism” have been elaborated in the third
chapter of the thesis. The poet‟s dialectical method is the product of his Marxist
vision of history, politics and literature. He rejects bourgeois aesthetics which depicts
natural and social worlds as separate entities. The poet locates close affinities between
nature and man, between natural praxis and social praxis to substantiate his dialectical
view of society.
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Bourgeois realism brings forth poet‟s alienation from his surroundings.
Neruda emphasises that reflection upon forms and objects of nature reestablishes
man‟s link with his environment. This sense of integration between man and universe;
between macrocosm and the microcosm educates and mobilises the legitimate sons of
the soil to fight against existing dystopia of injustice in order to regain exploitation-
free social order where innocence and collectivity reigned supreme. “In Neruda‟s
poetry neither humans nor objects nor phenomena of nature can be understood as
separate individual units but only in their relation and interconnection” (Russell
Salman & Julia Lesage, 1977, p. 226).
4.4.2 History as a Class Conflict and Glorification of Pre-Columbian Utopia
Neruda‟s Canto General is celebrated as the representative poem of his
Marxist utopian doctrines. Contrary to the mechanistic and linear view of the western
metanarrative of progress towards cultural excellence, the epic poem presents
historical, political and cultural evolution of its continent as the product of bourgeois
struggle for materialistic dominance and a proletariat struggle for socio-political and
economic justice.
Neruda glorifies pre-Hispanic America as a utopia in which men were
benevolent and patronizing and worked in groups. The poet creates analogies between
pre-Columbian continent and the “Garden of Eden” as prescribed in the Genesis. In
the first section of the epic “A Lamp on Earth”, the poetic description of the trees,
flora and fauna closely resembles the catalogue of the vegetation in Biblical account
of the Eden. In the poems “Some Beasts and The Birds Arrive” and in the descriptions
of four legendary rivers of South American continent we find Biblical echo. As Bible
is the most popular scripture of the land so these Biblical references help establish a
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Marxist cultural model which has wider acceptability in the public. Dialectical in
method, the poet establishes pre-colonial Latin-American continent as utopia of
justice and as pre-lapsarian paradise to set it as a foil to the subsequent history of
European conquest and rape of the virginal land.
The opening lines of the poem “Amor America” set the entire plot of the
narrative based upon the principle of opposition:
Before the wig and the dress code
There were rivers, arterior rivers:
There were cordilleras, jagged waves where
The candor and the snow seemed immutable:
(tr. Schmitt , 1993, p. 13)
The world „before‟ which entails the „after‟ divides the continent into pre-
columbian utopia of equity and justice and the invaders‟ dystopia of injustice and
oppression. The „before‟ stands for American roots, its origin, its raw nature, its
environment, geography and its landscape. It also stands for its beasts, birds and
vegetation which are its eternal inheritance, culture and legacy. Quite interestingly,
this enumeration of pre-colonial American natural and cultural heritage is the personal
vision of the poet because “ In Neruda‟s portrait, nature predates not only civilized,
artificial and invading man, but also language, the vehicle of social organisation”
(Duran & Safir, 1986, p. 86). To add to it, nature exists on its own, independent of
Christian Jehovah to decree destruction of the forces of nature. In this way the poet
rejects colonial discourse aided and abated by the colonisers‟ interpretation of Bible.
To justify their occupation of America, Western colonisers used the Scripture as a
weapon to conceal their materialistic designs. They projected the „New world‟ as the
last abode of devil and deemed it their moral, cultural and religious duty to bring the
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untamed, mysterious and heathen world into the folds of Christian cultural and
humanistic values.
After depicting pre-colonial nature and raw continent as the Genesis minus
Jehovah, Neruda transcends the actual existing continent under bourgeois hegemony
to establish the Native American as natural and legitimate owner of the land. This
descendant of the earth appears for the first time in „Man‟ the last poem in the series
of the first section. He is described as:
The mineral grace was
Like a cup of clay,
Man made of stone and atmosphere,
Clean as earthen jugs, sonorous.
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p.24)
This real possessor of the land is described as springing from the earth and its raw
elements. Then the poet goes on to catalogue the native tribes of various regions of
Latin America including Mayas, Aztecs, Araucanians, Guarani, Incas etc.
According to the biblical truth, man makes pact with Jehovah to overcome
awesome and mysterious environment. Despite the absence of Divinity in the epic, the
poet establishes the pact between man and the surrounding environment. This pact is
established in the second canto “The Heights of Macchu Picchu”. Macchu Picchu is
an ancient Inca city in Peru. Built as a last resort to escape Spanish advancement, the
fortress city is considered one of the marvels of the world. Neruda visited this city in
1943. The persona of the journey towards the heights of the city is the poet himself.
As the poet climbs up to the height, he passes through an intense spiritual experience;
he voyages to the time of the construction of the city. The poet realises the
transitoriness of human existence and labour and the permanence in the recurrence of
the cycle of death and regeneration in the world of nature. In the words of Parini (n.d),
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“The poem describes a mythic journey, incorporating the poet‟s past and the past of a
continent, plunging into the depths of geological and cultural history to conjure a
present that teems with lively spirits” (www.questia.com). This realisation brings
home to the persona the knowledge of the forces of nature, man‟s place in his
environment and vision of human history and human future. This vision of man‟s
place in nature is expressed as such:
Rise up to be born with me, my brother.
Give me your hand from the deep
Zone of your disseminated sorrow
…………….
I have come to speak through your dead mouths.
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 41)
The relationship which is established through this experience in which the poet acts as
the mouth piece of the dead workers who constructed this marvel of the world is the
brotherhood between the ancient workers and the under-privileged of the present time.
Neruda‟s vision of vast brotherhood between the poor of today and the ancient
workers is part of Marxist design in which Marxist writers relate present proletariat
struggle with remote history and culture.
Fourth section “The Liberators” deals with the struggle and sacrifices of the
indigenous heroes who resisted Spanish invasion of Latin America. The Amer-Indian
leaders also resisted the indigenous dictators who established their kingdoms after
overthrowing central governments of the pioneers of Spanish rule. Indigenous heroes
of post-columbian era are equated with pre-Hispanic men of Nature. The liberators
are portrayed as peaceful, generous and reliable in contrast to the colonisers who are
depicted as greedy, unreliable and materialistic. These legitimate heirs of the land are
portrayed as arising out of the earth. They are composed of the constituents of their
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environment. In “San Martin” Canto IV, the poet describes the composition of the
sons of the soil. The poet says:
Today the sun and the moon, the great wind,
Mature your stock, your simple
Composition; your truth was
An earthen truth, a gritty mixture,
Stable as bread, a fresh sheet
Of clay and grian, pure Pampa
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 98)
The Amer-Indian has been depicted as natural, simple, pure and truthful.
In this section, the poet pays homage to the struggle, sacrifices and the
sufferings of the indigenous leaders. He glorifies the struggle of Cuauhtemoc, de las
Casas2, Lautaro, Tupac Amaru
3, O‟Higgins
4, San Martin
5, Sandino
6 and Recabarren
who fought to defend their land against illegitimate rule. In this catalogue of the
heroes, Recabarren of Chile and Las Casus, the Dominican priest, deserve special
mention. The poet pays tribute to Recabarren the communist leader for giving vent to
the grievances of the underprivileged through press and for uniting and organizing the
Chilean workers under the red flag of Chilean communist party. He designates
Recabarren the attributes of the pre-columbian Amerindian, thus paving way for the
realisation of future utopia having its origin in the remote past. Las Casus the
Dominican priest is the only Hispanic figure who is included in the list of redeemers.
Las Casus was an exception to his Spaniard type. He opposed slavery and exploitation
of the native Indians and became a legend in Latin-American folklores and mass
culture. Neruda in “Brother Bartolome de Las Casus” compares the priest with light
amidst bleak night of slavery and exploitation:
An ancient light shines forth, smooth
And hard as metal, like a buried star
Father Bartolome, thank you for this
Gift from a bleak midnight
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 75)
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The section ends with clarion call to the sons of the soil to continue to wage battle
against neo-imperialism as well as local oppression. In “The Day Will Come”, the
poet exhorts upon the masses to rise up: “Don‟t renounce the day bestowed on you/By
those who died struggling.” (tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 148)
In this poem says Mark J. Mascia (2001), “Neruda openly calls forth to all the
unnamed heroes of Latin American independence to forge a brighter future and reject
tyranny – a call replete with Marxist ideology” (p. 3).
4.4.3 Spanish Invasion as an Intrusion upon Primeval Harmony
The „wig‟ and the „dress code‟ (c.f. 4.4.2) which is the „after‟ stands for the
Hispanic conquerors who will intrude upon the primeval harmony. They are assigned
artificial appearance through false hair and man-made dressing to conceal the naked
reality of the body which is in conflict with the nature they intrude upon. This clash
between Spanish invaders and the virginal nature and its Amer-Indian heirs is worked
out in the following three cantos. The third canto “Conquistadores” brings the
narrative back to the actual history. It narrates the Spanish occupation of the poet‟s
land. Rejecting colonial discourse in which the imperialists are projected as explorers
and the harbingers of civilisation; Neruda presents them as rapists who spoiled the
virginal state of nature and its harmony. The opening lines of this section establish
Spaniard invasion of Latin American as a narrative of violence, bloodshed,
destruction and plunder:
The butchers raised the islands.
Guanahani was the first
In this story of martyrdom.
The children of clay…
They were bound and tortured
Burned and branded
Bitten and buried.
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 43)
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The poet catalogues Spanish conquerors from Cortes, Alvardo7 down to
Valdivia who ruled Latin America till the nineteenth century after Columbus‟
discovery of the New World in 1492. The persistent use of the imagery of butchers,
thieves, claws, knives, daggers, death and fangs verifies to the Marxist view of
materialistic nature of European colonial enterprise. In the words of Wilson, “He
(Neruda) ranges through Alvardo, Balboa8, a foot soldier, Quesada
9, Almagro
10,
Valdivia, cursing them all as [my green and naked land] is drenched in blood. He
brings this raped American past to the present, as if history constantly repeats itself.”
(2008, p. 188). This narrative of colonial violence and plunder of the land testifies to
the theme of perfidy. Marxists assert that western imperialism was an absolutely
economic enterprise to manipulate the treasures and the raw material of the primitive
land. Towards the conclusion of this section, the poet dedicates a poem to Ercilla, the
Spanish epic poet who in his epic “La Araucana" tells about the insurrection of the
Araucanians against the Spaniards and narrates the history of Chile. By bringing in
Ercilla who reveals to the poet the wisdom of the land, Neruda endorses Bardic
tradition that the poets are the real chroniclers of culture and history. He also prefers
to gain truth through poetic oral tradition rather than through historical accounts and
facts. The following quotation from the poem Ercilla reflects this conviction of the
poet: “Worthy man, sonorous Ercilla, I hear the pulsing/Water of your first dawn, a
frenzy of birds.” (tr Schmitt, 1993, p. 64)
Commenting on these lines, Wilson says “that by reading a poet, Neruda is
able to understand his land more deeply. There is magic and sound that the poet
passes on through reading his poems aloud” (2008, p.188).
In section V, “The Sand Betrayed” the poet‟s criticism is mainly directed
against certain oligarchic regimes of South America. The poet rejects textbook history
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in which Latin American dictators have been eulogized as symbols of national
integration, saviours of Christian culture and defenders of ideological frontiers of their
nations against communist ideological challenges. Neruda‟s version of the political
history of post-independence oligarchies is the version of betrayal, vested interests,
mercenary motives, oppression and exploitation. Independence from imperial rule
was just a replacement of foreign rulers by the local lackeys who suppressed native
cultures, permitted monopoly of North American monetary institutions in return for
personal aggrandisement. The poet catalogues all Latin American dictators as enemies
of Asiatic population who manipulated freedom movements and wasted the sacrifices
of the masses which they had rendered to liberate their lands from Hispanic
hegemony. In his rejection of oligarchic regimes, Neruda is deeply indebted to his
Chilean predecessor Gabriel Mistral.
He (Neruda) will emphasise her (Mistral) rejection of aristocratic
impulses and tendencies towards Europeanisation. She will honor
her country in its most profound and popular essence, turning her
poetry and her message into an expression of the nation‟s values
(Teitleboim, 1992, p. 278).
The catalogue of Latin American dictators includes Dr Francia, Rosas, Garcia
Moreno, Estrada11
, Gomez12
, Ubico13
, Machado14
, Melgarejo15
, Martinez16
and others.
The poet labels them as America‟s witches, tyrants, straps, wolves, rodents, hyenas,
infernal plunderers, vultures – denoting their rapacious nature. In his Memoirs,
Neruda says “In the fauna of our America, the great dictators have been giant saurian,
survivors of a colossal feudalism in pre-historical lands” (2008, p. 172). The three
most blood-thirsty dictators who are given comparatively expanded treatment are Dr
Francia, Rosas and Garcia Moreno. Dr Francia ruled Paraguay from 1814 to 1840.
While the country suffered from plague and pestilence, he sat on the easy chair. He
would not waste bullet to execute his victims. Execution took place through rifle
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butts. Dr Francia who was an agnost, banned higher education to spend money on
military equipment. He was averse to marriage and dispossessed Catholic Church of
its endowment. He nationalized lands to bring them under the direct use of army.
Rosas – the dictator of Argentina – ruled the country from 1829 to 1849. He was
notorious for his blood and iron policy. He has been highly controversial figure in the
political history of the continent. Neruda portrays him as a plunderer who brought
agony to the land as he was mainly responsible for Argentina‟s civil war between the
federalist and the Unitarians. Garcia Moreno was the dictator of Equador. He
professed to be a staunch supporter of Catholicism and established a theocratic
system. Neruda exposes his villainy under the garb of Christian piety. He was ruthless
and despotic and slaughtered Indian population whom he considered a threat to his
hegemonic designs. The poet personifies the despot as cruelty in the poem “Garcia
Moreno”:
But cruelty does not sleep
Cruelty with white moustachios
Struts with gloves and claws
Nails obscure hearts
To the dominian‟s iron gate.
(tr Schmitt, 1993, p. 155)
The last of this series of Latin American dictators is Chilean Gonzalez Videla.
The poet depicts him as the personification of villainy and betrayal. In the last poem
“Gonzalez Videla, Chile‟s Traitor (Epilogue) 1949” of the section V, the poet alludes
to his somersaults as he used the shoulders of the masses to gain power and
afterwards betrayed his political friends. He made crackdown on Chilean miners for
Lota strikes to express solidarity with the North (USA). Adam Feinstein in his
biography of Neruda narrates that Gonzalez turned against the Chilean communists
out of two motives. He crushed mine workers and communists to please United States
in order to strengthen his political position. He also did this to please the right-wing
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landowners of Chile who were the staunch critics of his government. To quote Adam
Feinstein “Gonzalez Videla also hoped that in turning against the communists, he
could find favour with – especially the landowners, to whom he guaranteed a
continuing moratorium on peasant unionization” (2004, p. 194). Lashing at the
mercenary designs of the Chilean dictator, the poet in the above-mentioned poem
says:
He twitches his rodent tail
Telling landowners and foreigners, the owners
Of Chile‟s sub-soil: “Drink all this
Nation‟s blood. I‟m the overseer
Of anguish”
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p.155)
Neruda in his Memoirs compares Gonzalez with two dictators – Melgarejo of
Bolivia and Lopez of Vanezuela. He attributes a shred of greatness to Melgarejo and
Lopez for their valiant battles against foreign rules but refuses to designate any
positive attribute to Gonzalez. For the poet, “The Chilean Judas was just an amateur
tyrant and on the Saurian scale would never be anything but a poisonous lizard”
(2005, p. 172). The main reason for the poet‟s enraged tone against Chilean dictator
was the magnitude of cruelties perpetrated on the Chilean miners. Some sources claim
that the dictator personally monitored the operation against the miners to execute his
perfidy with the nation. However, section V ends with clarion call for the people to
raise their destiny through rage, protest and rebellion against villainy.
In Cantos X and XI, “The Fugitive” and “The Flowers of Punitaqui”, the poet
brings in autobiographical element to express his solidarity with the Juans of his
motherland who are suffering under the corrupt regime of Gonzalez. The poet
declares the regime‟s victory as short-lived which is managed through hired guns and
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coins. The poet affirms that the Chilean dictator cannot suppress social praxis for long
as it springs from natural praxis. This faith in praxis is vividly expressed in part XI of
the Canto:
What can you do scoundrel, against the air?
What can you do scoundrel, against everything
That flowers and surges and is silent and watches
And awaits me and judges you
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 284)
4.4.4 Solidarity with the Forces of Political and Intellectual Resistance
Projecting history as a perpetual conflict between the forces of dominance and
exploitation and the forces of resistance and emancipation, the poet expresses his
solidarity with the marginalised. This solidarity of the poet with the forces of
emancipation and the common people springs from his faith in materialization of
future utopia via proletariat struggle. In Canto General, the poet‟s ideological creed of
liberation, perfidy and solidarity clarifies the enigma of the theme of independence
which has frustrated the predecessors of Neruda. Quite contrary to the version of
textbook histories, independence from Spanish rule did not bring in any meaningful
change in the life of people of the continent. Liberation movements resulted in
establishment of local oligarchic rules and the indigenous population remained as
deprived as it was under foreign rule. Neruda equates local oligarchies of the
continent with perfidy and calls upon the masses to strive for socialistic order. Robert
Brotherston (1975) in his article “Neruda‟s Canto General and the Great Song of
America” says, “With his creed of liberation, betrayal and solidarity, he (Neruda)
unquestioningly overcame the dilemma of „independence‟ that had thwarted his
predecessors” (p. 124).
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The process of solidarity with the forces of resistance is given a structured
treatment to suit the poet‟s Marxist narrative design/creed of liberation, betrayal and
solidarity. The themes of liberation and betrayal are treated in the first five cantos.
The creed of solidarity with the redeemers (proletariats) is clearly invoked in section
VI through section XII particularly in “Canto General of Chile”, “The Earth‟s Name
Is Juan”, “Let the Woodcutter Awaken” and “The Rivers of Song”. “Canto General of
Chile” describes the poet‟s love and nostalgia for his homeland as he returns to Chile
in 1930s after a long absence. On metaphorical level, the poet‟s nostalgia stands for
the alienation created by the chronies of imperialism between the beloved land and its
lovers (native Indians). The romantic picture of Chile that the poet presents in this
section runs counter to the existing dystopia. In the words of Santi:
Section VII, Canto General de Chile proposes an idyllic view of
Neruda‟s native country, though this is hardly the book‟s view of
Chile‟s political corruption under Gonzalez Videla (Santi 1982, p.
184).
This idyllic vision of the motherland is in line with Marxist Utopian vision of
communist society both past and future. In terms of solidarity with the masses, the
Canto glorifies corruption free Chile under its real heirs.
In Canto VIII “The Land is Called Juan”, the poet expresses solidarity with
common populace of the continent. He calls forth the Pueblo (common people) – the
heroes of the epic. Juan represents every man, every worker of the land who never
appears on the pages of bourgeois text. Here, he is the real possessor of the land, the
earth. He is immortalized as composing element of his self is the same earth, air, stone
and water which have formed nature. His individual sacrifice gives birth to more
Juans as after his burial under the soil, he is reborn. In this canto, the poet arranges a
series of biographies of Juans representing various professions. They are given
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individual names as well as are named after their professions which are deeply
entrenched in soil, geography and environment. They are both individuals and types.
They are the shoveler, the farmer, the shoemaker, the seaman, the people‟s poet, the
fisherman, the mine worker and the banana worker. They are Bolivians, Chileans,
Columbians, Costa Ricans. They transcend national boundaries and are part of the
brotherhood based on common blood, culture and loyalty towards the land. These
Juans narrate the stories of their miseries and sufferings under tyrants because they
believe that sufferings bring order and victory. They are of the firm view that the
perpetrators of cruelty upon the Juans must face retribution. The apocalypse is quite
near as the forces of dominance fail to annihilate fortitude of the oppressed. In order
to evoke due anger and revenge in comrades in his native land against oppression, the
poet names Sanchez, Ramirez, Alvarez and other Juans who are the victims of the
tyranny of Chilean dictator Gonzalez. He expresses solidarity with those who have
died for the sake of mankind. The following lines from “Catastrophe in Sewell” a
poem from the Canto testify to it:
And may your martyrdom help us
To build a severe nation
That will know how to flower and punish
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 253)
In order to strengthen this process of solidarity, the poet projects and exalts
socially-committed poets of his own continent as well as of the world, particularly the
Spanish speaking world. In Canto XII “The Rivers of Song” the poet pays rich
tributes to the politically committed writers and their emancipatory literature. He goes
on to affirm that the progressive writers have always stood for the cause of the
oppressed in the perpetual conflict between the enemies of the people and the
redeemers of mankind. They have even received martyrdom for the sake of truth. The
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poet considers progressive writers as social bards whose social and historical accounts
are more authentic than the official versions of history. In second part of the Canto,
the poet while admiring anti-Fascist role of the poetry of the Spanish poet Alberti
affirms that the knowledge of Spain, its geography, Flora and Fauna, and its cultural
and literary heritage which he possesses, owes it to Alberti. In his homage to the
poetry of Gonzalez Carbahlo of Rio De La Plata, Neruda uses the analogies of river,
honeycomb and the tree for the progressive art. Progressive poetry is like the river
that murmurs in the silence of the night. Night over here stands for oppression. It is
like honeycomb which preserves the best creation against the transitoriness of objects,
things and individuals. It is like tree that continues to grow. Progressive artists and
their art has been existing throughout the history of mankind to glorify the struggle of
the marginalised against oppression. An excerpt from third part of the Canto testifies
to this analogy:
Brother, you‟re the longest river on earth
Behind the Orb your solemn river voice resounds,
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 313)
The longest river stands for the oldest tradition of Bardic poetry. The poet in “To
Silvestre Revueltas, from Mexico, on His Death” which is dedicated to the Mexican
poet Silvestre Revueltas on his death, compares Mexican poet with the great tree in
the middle of the house of mankind. The tree in poetry of Neruda stands for the
concentric view of temporal process, it represents the resurrecting quality of nature;
provides shadow, protection and patronage. The poet says:
On this solemn day of parting you‟re the traveler,
But you no longer hear,
Your noble brow is absent and it‟s a though a
Great tree
Were missing in the middle of mankind‟s house –
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 315)
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After the departure of Silvestre Revueltas the house of mankind is deprived of that
patronage which his art provided transcending all geographical, racial, psychological,
racial and cultural barriers. The poet pledged to repeat and extend the deceased
Mexican poet‟s message of hope to the suffering masses. Neruda affirms that the
Mexican poet who was bard of the people has become part of eternity through
universality of his art.
Finally, in “Rivers of Song”, Neruda pays tribute to the noble actions of the
Spanish poet Hernandez during the most critical time of Spanish civil war. Miguel
Hernandez suffered long incarcerations under Fascists which resulted in his death in
imprisonment. Neruda left no stone unturned to save his friend but could not succeed.
He compares Hernandez with „nightingale and rifle‟. The imagery of nightingale
refers to his melodious songs of poetry and the image of rifle sands for the Spanish
poet‟s practical involvement on warfront to motivate Spanish Guerillas in their heroic
resistance against Fascists. The poet reassures the departed soul of the deceased poet
that his progressive ideology has spread through the nook and corner of the world.
Among his followers are the comrades under Mao Tse-Tung (Chinese communist
leader) and Stalin. They are in Prague, Hungary and everywhere to combat cruelty.
The poet says:
Miguel, far away from the Osuna prison, far
Away
From cruelty, Mao Tse Tung directs
Your poetry dismembered in combat
Toward our victory
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 317)
Neruda finally reassures the deceased poet to continue to disseminate his song. An
excerpt from the last part of the canto testifies this:
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Now the light
Approaches our dwelling.
Meguel from Spain, star
From razed lands, I wont forget you, dear friend,
I wont forget you, dear friend!
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p.317)
In order to motivate the marginalised people of his continent for socialistic
revolution, the poet glorifies Russian Communist regime under Stalin. He appreciates
pro-masses policies of the Soviet leader i.e his abolition of serfdom in Russia and the
distribution of land among landless peasants. He also celebrates Stalin‟s policy of
blood and iron towards the enemies of the people. An excerpt from the above-
mentioned poem substantiates this:
Stalin erects, cleans, builds, fortifies,
Preserves, ponders, projects, nourishes,
But he punishes too
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 253)
Certain dissidents of Neruda have dubbed him as a Stalinist who condones his
atrocities against comrades and intellectuals of his country. Such criticism is a biased
one. Neruda appreciated Stalin‟s industrial, economic and social reforms but he did
not endorse Stalin‟s persecution of the communists who had supported Spanish
peasants in Spanish Civil War.
The poet recounts the struggle and sacrifices of the Juans of his continent – the
unknown soldiers who took part in every battle for freedom. The poet says that the
real strength behind legendary figures and icons of resistance like Recabarren and
Tupac Amaru was the Juan. He provided both livelihood and fighting force to the
sons of the soil against the usurpers.
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Neruda‟s concern for the oppressed and his faith in return to roots and cultural
heritage is so pervasive and universal that he does not remain focused only on the
Juan of his own continent. He also turns towards the Juan of North America and the
comrades of the progressive societies. Quite contrary to the imperialistic role of
United States in current scenario, the poet seeks recuperation of Whitman‟s past
America which believed in prosperity through hard work. In the Canto “Let the
Woodcutter Awaken” the poet calls upon US citizens to call forth the spirit of their
forefathers who pioneered the struggle for prosperity, social justice and love for the
land. He glorifies the heroic struggle of Lincoln against slavery in his land and depicts
it as a foil to the hegemonic designs of modern capitalistic America. The poet uses
strings of images of the earth, woods, stones, roots to recover North‟s past heritage in
contrast to the modern technological advancement which is used to promote culture of
exploitation and merchandise. Neruda is extremely critical of the interventionist
policies of modern USA. He castigates American government and its State
Department for its interference in the internal affairs of Latin American countries
under the pretence of action against violation of human rights and civil liberties. The
poet asserts that the real motives behind interventionist policies are the mercenary
ones. Referring to US interference in Nicaragua, the poet says that intervention took
place to promote commercial interests of American financial corporations. Lines from
second part of the above-mentioned Canto refer to the hidden mercenary designs of
US in Ncaragua:
(There are bananas to defend there, not liberties,
And that is why Somosa suffices.)
(tr Schmitt, 1993, p. 261)
The poet warns America not to interfere in the internal affairs of Latin
American states and socialist countries like Bulgaria, Romania and China because US
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will face unprecedented resistance over there. In this way, the poet creates close
affinities between Abraham‟s America and the socialistic regimes including Stalin‟s
Russia. America‟s State Department dandies and manufacturers of steel and weaponry
are no longer part of Neruda‟s brotherhood. His audience is the US citizens who earn
their livelihood through hard work. Latin American Juan, US John and the Soviet
comrade belong to the poet‟s brotherhood because they are not the manufacturers of
hatred. The third poem of the Canto verifies this fraternity in the following lines:
My brother Juan sells shoes
Like your brother John
My sister Juana peels potatoes,
Like your cousin Jane,
And my blood‟s miner and mariner
Like your blood, Peter.
(tr. Schmitt, p. 266)
To sum up the analysis of Canto General in the light of the first research
question, it is established that Pablo Neruda‟s dialectical realism is entrenched in
dialectics in nature. The poet views reality from three angles: his subjective self, the
immediate historical context and the contemporary world. In terms of temporal
process, the poet historicises existing bourgeois culture as the result of conflict
between classes for dominance over means of production. He glorifies pre-Columbian
America as an exploitation free society, a past utopia marked for collectivity. The
poet visualizes rediscovery of this socialistic order in future through proletariat
struggle against existing dystopia of injustice.
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PART II
4.5 Neruda’s Critique of Bourgeois Imperialism and Latin American Frame of
Reference
The second question deals with the analysis of Canto General as a critique of
capitalism and bourgeois hegemony. The central purpose of the indictment of the
capitalistic culture of Latin America is to expose the masked contradictions in the
redoubts of the dominant ideology in order to provide intellectual authority to the
ideological struggle of the forces of resistance. The question also aims to determine
the influence of the particular frame of reference on poet‟s critique of hegemonic
class of his society. The poet utilises the technique of sustained assault on the
hegemonic structure and practices to re-articulate it with the perspective of the
oppressed and the marginalised. The poet‟s critique of bourgeois hegemony in Canto
General is mainly directed against feudal-cum-capitalistic aristocracy, Catholic
Church, oligarchic regimes, corporate imperialism of USA and its multinational
corporations, Funnel law, electoral process and bourgeois writers in Latin American
continent. All these institutions are the trenches of the existing bourgeois culture of
Latin America. In historical perspective the bourgeois culture which commences with
Columbian invasion of the continent extends up to the present age because even after
the withdrawal of the Spanish rule, the indigenous heirs of the imperialistic legacy
have perpetuated the social hierarchy established by the Spaniards on the myth of
superiority of European blood. As the epic moves on chronological pattern, the poet
narrates that how the pre-columbian culture of harmony between nature and man, of
social cooperation and collectivity was replaced by the imperialistic culture of greed,
plunder and suppression of the native values. Rejecting the myth of civilization as a
driving force behind imperial enterprise, Neruda establishes „hunger‟ as the motive
behind colonial expeditions into the heart of his continent. In the Canto III “The
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Conquistadors” the poet narrates that the Hispanic invading tribes such as Arias,
Reyes, Rojas, Maldonados were no longer the torch-bearers of light; they were the
„veterans of hunger‟. It was the fear of hunger which motivated the invaders to search
for new opportunity, new frontiers on the face of the earth. They were also afraid of
religious and political persecution in Europe. They were also wary of fatal plague in
their homeland. There were criminals among the invaders who were terrified by the
solitary confinement and the galleys in Europe. Among them were also the victims of
feudal atrocities. An excerpt from the poem “They Reach the Gulf of Mexico” of the
Canto III testifies to this hidden face of bourgeois expedition:
Hunger throws the dice
On the voyage, fills the sails:
“Onward, or I‟ll eat you, onward
Or its back
To the homeland, the monk, the judge and the Priest
The inquisitors, the inferno, the plague
Onward, onward, far from the louse
The feudal whip, the dungeon
The galleys full of excrement”.
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p.46)
In this account of the motives behind Spanish imperialism, the civilizing mission is
non-existent. Evaluating the incentives for the colonisers to conquer the „New World‟,
the historian McFarlane says:
Within a half century of Columbus‟s landing in America, settlers,
merchants, missionaries and crown functionaries had moved
beyond Spain‟s first bases in the Caribbean, fanning out over the
continental main lands in pursuit of lands to settle, precious metal
to plunder, subjects to rule and souls to convert. Incoming
Spaniards left a trail of destruction in their wake and, amidst the
ruin of Amer-Indian societies implanted their language and culture.
(2004, p. 10)
The mercenary nature of Spanish colonialism is personified in the figure of Cortes,
the Spanish conqueror of Mexican empire. Cortes betrayed Montezuma – the monarch
of Mexico who had come in person to receive Spaniards under Cortes‟ command. The
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Spaniards made the king their hostage and kept him in bondage till his death. On
many occasions Cortes and his soldiers used the Mexican monarch as a shield to
protect them from the attacks of the Mexican people. The Spaniards also extorted
enormous wealth and gold from the people in the name of their captive king. The lines
form the poem “Cortes” of the Canto III testify to this unscrupulous façade of the
bourgeois enterprise:
Cortes receives a dove,
He receives a pheasant, a zither
From the monarch‟s musicians
But he wants the chamber of gold
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p.47)
Alvarado, Ximenez, De Quesada, Almagro, Pizarro and Friar Luque – the Spanish
invaders were the extensions of Cortes‟ legacy of plunder, perfidy and opportunism.
Later on the successors of the legacy of aggrandisement fell upon each other. In “The
Wars” of the Canto III, the poet goes on to narrate the mutual rivalries among
Pizarros, Almagros, Castillos, Valverdes, Uriases and Beltranes. They betrayed each
other, stole one another‟s gold and women and murdered each other in corrals. This
enterprise of greed went on with hangings and strippings. The following line from
“The Wars” testifies to this culture of theft and bloodshed: “The tree of plunder fell
among stabbings and gangerine”. (tr Schmitt, 1993, p. 58)
The poet specifically directs his anger and hatred at Valdivia –the Spanish
conqueror of Chile who divided up the poet‟s motherland among thieves like Valdes,
Montero and Ines. He also narrates the horrifying details of Valdivia‟s acts of fire,
death, blood and executions. In the poem “The New Proprietors” of the Canto IV the
poet gives a catalogue of Spanish merchants like Biscayans, Errazuriz, Fernandez
Larrain, Eyzaguirre, Aldunate and others who replaced military adventurists and tried
to conceal the materialistic nature of the enterprise under the cloak of the ideology of
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„Holy Western Cultures‟. These traders of spirituality introduced feudalism, slavery,
commissaries and prostitution. An excerpt from the poem satirises this
institutionalisation of plunder, exploitation and oppression:
They were adjudged
Haciendas, whips, slaves,
Catechisms, commissaries,
Alms boxes, tenements, brothels,
And all this they called holy western culture
(tr Schmitt, 1993, p. 91)
This culture of plunder ushered in by the Spaniards continues unabated in
postcolonial era. Their progeny with yellow clay hijacked the liberation movements
and maintained capitalistic administration of law. Dr Francia, Rosas, Garcia Moreno,
Machado, Martinez, Malgarejo, Gomez, Gonzalez Videla and other dictators of Latin
American states are the witches and saurian of America who have suppressed the
resurrection of the sons of the soil through the imported machines and the repressive
state apparatuses like police and prisons.
4.5.1 Indictment of Latin American Oligarchy
The poet castigates the emergence of oligarchic culture which has fortified the
caste-system to protect the vested interests of newly rising bourgeois class. The
oligarchic regimes of Mexico, Chile, Bunes Aires, Uruguay, Equador and others who
united with each other to strengthen their elite class and to suppress the proletariats,
used the state organ of police to crush rebellion against the hierarchy. These
postcolonial oligarchies kept the masses in ignorance and did nothing to improve their
life style. The poet goes on to indict the bourgeois dominated parliaments which were
used by the oligarchies to enact discriminatory laws to safeguard the monetary and
socio-political interests of the dominant class. The poet takes exception to the
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promulgation of the most controversial and discriminatory „Funnel Law‟ in Chile. The
term „the Law of the Funnel‟ alludes to the principle of capitalistic administration of
the law which favours the bourgeois and ignores the working class. In the poem
“Promulgation of the Funnel Law” of the Canto V, the poet ridicules the pomp and
solemnity of the parliamentary proceedings in which the feudals, civil and military
bureaucracy and the lawyers enacted this one-sided law which bestowed all
priviledges on the rich and deprived the poor and closed all options for the evolution
of liberal trends to reduce the gulf between the classes. With the enforcement of the
Funnel Law, the social elites monopolised the resources and the means of production
and the poor were reserved for rigorous toil and labour. The following lines from the
poem testify to this discriminatory nature of the law:
It was passed.
For the rich, square meals.
Garbage for the poor.
Money for the rich.
For the poor, work.
(tr Schmitt, 1993, p. 163)
Referring to the rhetoric of Rodriguez De La Crota, the Senator of Chile who
defended Funnel law as the guardian of „obligatory hierarchy‟ and „the principles of
Christianity‟, the poet unveils the manipulative role of bourgeois discursive practices
in constructing the pro-capitalistic world view.
The poet is equally critical of the electoral system in bourgeois culture. He
exposes the unethical role of wealth in buying loyalties and conscience of the poor
voters in favour of the wealthy candidates under the democratic and egalitarian façade
of the capitalistic democracy. In theory, all the citizens enjoy equal political rights.
But in practice, under economic disequilibrium, the concept of socio-political equality
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becomes a farce. In the poem “Election in Chimboromgo 1947” in Canto V, the poet
highlights the role of the capital in managing victory of the elites. He narrates the
irony of the situation of how on the day of election, the peasants who were
predominatingly of Asiatic origin were manipulated to cast their votes in favour of the
candidate who bragged of his Spaniard blood and Christian patriotism. The dirty
barefooted peasants from Chimboromgo were brought to the polling stations on ox-
carts. The campaign agents of the candidates kept them under strict surveillance
during the polling process. They were also bribed before casting their votes. After the
peasants had performed their „partriotic duty‟ of casting their votes in favour of „the
Christian patriot‟, „the defender of law‟, they were served with „meat and wine‟ and
were forgotten. That is how the serfs of the nation elected their representatives to
fortify the ethnic divide by reserving the land, the best street, the university education,
the mansions and „Paris for the rich and the dandies‟ and the countryside without
schools and bread for the poor. The following lines from the poem verify to the farce
of political equality by narrating the arrival of the voters to the polling station:
Wet,
Dirty, hungry, barefoot,
The serfs from Chimborongo
Climb down from the ox-carts.
(tr. Schmitt , 1993, p. 165)
This description of the electoral system establishes the fact that the slogans of the
democratic freedom and political equality in bourgeois culture with its economic
disparities cannot be materialised. The bourgeois rhetoric of the winning senator of
Chimborongo elections exposes the hypocrisy of capitalistic culture when seen in the
light of the miserable conditions of the serfs. Referring to the reaction of the poet to
the rhetoric of the senator, Teitelboim says:
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Neruda viewed him (senator) as a mammoth that emerged hissing
from the pre-historic times, but such cave-dwellers with juicy bank
account had always considered the country to be their rightful
property. They were the only ones who counted; the rest were a
saleable commodity (Teitelboim 1992, p. 230).
4.5.2 Indictment of Retrogressive Role of Catholic Church
In his diatribe of the bourgeois culture of his continent, Neruda is extremely
critical of the retrogressive role of church in Latin America. Since Spanish invasion of
the continent, Catholic Church has supported the ethnic divide and the Spanish myth
of the cultural superiority of Europe. During the early period of the discovery of
American continent, the Spanish monarchy professed to baptise the pagan world of
Latin America in order to seek moral justification for its imperialistic designs in the
new world.
The Christian missionary demolished spiritual centres of the indigenous
people and replaced them with catholic churches. Even native religious and political
elites were forced to embrace Christianity in order to remove all considerable
obstacles in the way to acculturation of the continent to the wholly western ways.
Although Christianity upheld the principle of the equality of all human beings
irrespective of caste, colour and creed but the Catholic Church‟s stubborn tilt towards
superiority of Christian and western cultural values strengthened ethnic division. This
cultural prejudice of the church supported the colonisers in their drive for suppression
of native cultures and the economic exploitation of the Asiatic blood.
Neruda exposes the retrogressive role of the ecclesiastical hierarchy on all
important moments in the history of colonial and post-independence Latin America.
Quite contrary to the professed socialistic tenets of Christianity the clergy betrayed
the liberation movements by exploiting the people‟s reverence for dogma. Referring
to the people‟s rebellion in Socorro and Bogota against viceroyalty, state controlled
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food centres, privileges of the upper class, the poet describes that how did the masses
unite for their rights and marched on Bogota and its high-born. The arch-bishop
intervened in connivance with the colonisers and advised the people to surrender and
promised to fulfill their demands. This act of the clergy was meant to pacify the
people‟s sentiments. The following lines from the poem “Commoners from Socorro”
of the Canto IV endorse the arch-Bishop‟s perjury:
The commoners surrendered
Their arms. In Bogota
They feted the archbishop,
Celebrated his betrayal,
His perjury, in the perfidious mass
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 91)
After pacification of masses through archbishop the ruling elites executed the
liberators and violated the pledge.
In post-independence period the church supported the oligarchic culture and
bestowed divine sanction upon ethnic and cultural divide and pronounced hellish
curse and hatred for the rebels against social hierarchy. The clergy ordered the
burning of Bilbao‟s books. Bilbao was a Chilean sociologist who criticized ethnic
division. He was persecuted for liberal and humanistic philosophy. His writings were
condemned as diabolic and subversive by the church. Bilbao died in exile in Buenos
Aires. The clergy also supported repressive measures of the states to maintain ethnic
divide. This alliance of the oligarchies and the church pushed the dispossessed and the
marginalised into extreme penury. An excerpt from the poem “The Oligarchies” of
the Canto V testifies to this rigid and retrogressive role of the church in furthering the
gulf between the haves and have-nots:
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Everything was built upon the line
The archbishop baptized this wall
And pronounced incendiary anathemas
Against the rebel who disregarded
The caste wall.
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p 162)
While the urban centres were dominated by the Europeanised bourgeois, the
indigenous population was pushed into the interiors to live as serfs and peasants in the
estate of the feudals, without education and facilities.
The catholic church of Latin America also provided moral and spiritual
patronage to North America in executing his corporate imperialism in Latin America.
The Latin American oligarchies and their cronies like Dollar‟s lawyers were assisted
by the clergy in selling national resources, wealth and sovereignty to the multinational
business companies of USA. These companies purchased the technical expertise, the
social influence and patronage of the professional, social and religious elites of
southern America. The ecclesiastical hierarchy issued certificates of patriotism to the
local agents of American imperialism.
4.5.3 Indictment of Bourgeois Poets and Journalists
The diatribe of the poet is also reserved for bourgeois poets and the journalists
who endorsed social injustice, perfidy and oppression either by ignoring social
realities in their art or by hiding and distorting truth in return for official patronage. In
this way both these organs of ideological state apparatuses perpetuate bourgeois world
view by influencing public opinion. Neruda, like Whitman, rejects Euro-centric
literary tradition because it weakens the poetics of the new world which advocates the
rediscovery of America before the „wig and the dress code‟. The poet discards west-
sponsored theory of „art for the sake of art‟ which keeps the reader ignorant of the
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socio-historical conditions surrounding him as well as the comprehension of the
contemporary world. By separating aesthetics from politics, bourgeois writers create
false consciousness about the inevitability of the existing system. Exposing the
negative influence of colonial literary perspective on the creative mind of the New
World, Neruda says in a sarcastic tone that “the colonialism of the most brilliant
nations created centuries of silence; colonialism seems to stultify creativity” (In
Nolan, 1994, p. 33).
In the poem “Celestial Poets” of the Canto V, the poet questions the validity of
the intellectual pursuits of the existentialists, surrealists and the advocates of the pure
art amidst the reigns of anguish, agony and obscurity. He lashes at the avant-gardists
for bequeathing nothing other than creative stultification to the young poets of the
new world. The poet goes on to say that these avant-gardists did nothing for the real
heirs of the soil and sold their rubbish and promoted escapism by eulogizing
abstractions. These over-westernized intellectuals suppressed initiative and
confidence in our own judgment. The poet ridicules them as „celestial poets‟,
„intellectualists‟, „Rilkists‟, „surrealist butterflies‟, „mystificators‟. Instead of
reflecting on the miseries and pangs of the voiceless, these celestial poets served the
interests of the capitalists. An excerpt from „Celestial Poets‟ reflects the bourgeois
writers‟ apathy towards the suffering of the downtrodden lives:
You did nothing but flee:
You sold heaped detritus
Pursued celestial hair
Cowardly plants, broken finger nail
“Pure beauty”, “sortilege”,
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p.167)
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Commenting upon Neruda‟s diatribe of the celestial poets, Teitelboim says, “He
(Neruda) sat them in the chair of the accused, for having chosen to flee, to sell
rubbish, to search for blue hair to pursue “pure beauty” and “sorcerery”, all of which
were forms of evasion, in his opinion” (Teitelboim 1992, p. 324).
The poet is equally critical of the unscrupulous journalists who manipulate
public opinion in favour of the tyrants and the dictators. By using demagogic phrases
such as „Supreme Commander‟, „the Founding Father‟, „the Great Statesman‟, these
journalists play with the patriotic sentiments of the people. By equating the despots
with national freedom and sovereignty, these journalists hide the ugly face of the
oppressors under the cloak of nationalism. The poet calls these journalists as the
soldiers of fortune who are ready to serve their masters in return for money. Then are
the sliny clerks who are hired to paint the villainy as heroism and vice versa. These
soldiers of the fortunes are the turn coats who change their loyalties as soon as the
despot is in trouble and serve the new tyrant. By exposing the discursive nature of the
ideology and the unscrupulous behaviour of the bourgeois journalists, the poet exhorts
upon the masses not to give way to such demagogues.
4.5.4 Diatribe against Legal and Judicial System
The more diatribe is reserved for the legal and judicial organs of the bourgeois
superstructure. This is particularized in the anti-national role of the lawyers and the
judges who are more loyal to the US backed multinational business corporations
because of financial incentives. The Latin American native lawyer works in
connivance with the oligarchic regimes whom the poet disdainfully calls „managerial
caste‟. The ruling elites who are the cronies of the international corporations are no
longer sovereign regimes. The poet scornfully catalogues US engineers, economic
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experts, surveyors and calculators as the „advance guards‟ of the corporate
imperialism who come to bargain with the native rulers the plunder of the Latin
American natural resources. These advance guards of neo-imperialism purchase the
lawyer‟s services through „car and whiskey‟. He acts as a mediator between the local
and external stakeholders in this bargain of national plunder. He establishes a liaison
between his foreign benefactors and the ideological and repressive state organs of his
country. To strengthen the repressive system of the Latin American societies, the
lawyer propagates the necessity of more prisons and jails to secure order and the
peace in the motherland. This patrician dies in glory whereas the sons of the soil die
in ignorance and are forgotten because they are branded as „half-breeds‟, „primitives‟,
„little more than beasts‟ in the text-book histories. Depicting the greedy and rapacious
nature of the lawyers; the poet in his “The Dollar‟s Lawyers” of the Canto V says:
Wherever he smells riches he climbs
Mountains, crosses abysses,
With his codes prescriptions
For stealing our land.
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 172)
4.5.5 Indictment of North American Corporate Imperialism
The most poignant diatribe of the Canto General is reserved for North
American corporate imperialism in Latin American continent through the nexus of the
multinational corporations, indigenous aristocracy and political dynasties. The
business corporations which included „Standard Oil Co.‟, „Anaconda Copper Mining
Co.‟ and „United Fruit Company‟ represent US political and economic exploitation of
Latin America under the garb of corporate globalization. The political and economic
influence of these multinational companies in South America can be gauged by the
fact that United Fruit Company was so powerful till 1970 that it was exempted from
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all types of taxes in Latin American states wherever it was operational. It was no
longer subject to national laws of these states. The company had complete monopoly
over the production, marketing and exportation of the fruits and crops, particularly
sugar, banana and cocoa. Highlighting US commercial monopoly over Latin
American societies, Feinstein says “the US controlled 80 percent of Peru‟s oil
production through the International Petroleum Corporation, and close to 100 percent
of Peru‟s mineral output (2004, p. 175). The company had established its own railway
service, telecommunication system and shipping equipment. It had well-fortified
headquarters, enclaves and military bases in Latin America. Actively assisted by the
CIA, the company destabilized and even toppled Latin American governments which
did not work for the business interests of the company. Jeffrey Gray (2010) in his
article “United Fruit Co., Canto General and Neruda‟s Critique of Capitalism”, says
“the UFC even used local armies to depose governments it considered hostile to its
interests (as happened, with the aid of the CIA, in Guatemala in 1954)” (p. 203).
In their drive for monopoly over the major fruits, crops and vegetables, these
American business corporations were fully supported by Latin American oligarchies.
In connivance with these oligarchies, the multinational corporations exploited Latin
American countries‟ „national land use laws‟ and purchased large tracts of agricultural
lands in tropical areas of the continent which were highly suitable for the cultivation
of bananas. Through the policy of land acquisition and legalistic dispossession, these
corporations were able to get cheap labour as the native people became landless and
could easily be exploited. These tropical Latin American states which were dependent
upon single product like banana came to be known as Banana Republics. So the term
„Banana Republic‟ became a pejorative term for small and politically unstable Latin
American countries which were being governed by corrupt oligarchic regimes and
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were economically dependent upon a limited production monopolised by international
financial companies. Commenting on the mercenary role of the indigenous dictators
in promoting corporate imperialism in Latin America, Brotherston says:
The traitors are those who connived with these interests, middle
men who sell their lands and people for private gains, protected
diplomatically and if need be militarily by power that is foreign to
the extent that it wants only to exploit. (Brotherston 1975, p. 120)
Neruda who considers US sponsored corporations as the source of evil in his
continent discusses in detail the rapacious and exploitative nature of the entire
enterprise in Canto general. In the poem “Standard Oil Co.” of the Canto V, the poet
equates modern technology with the oppressors who deprived the subterranean estates
and natural resources of their natural peace and sovereignty which they enjoyed in the
earth‟s bowels. The poet goes on to say that the petroleum extracted through the
layers of the motherland long preserved over there was monolpolised by the
international corporation and the real possessor of the soil who worked very hard in
this process remained deprived of the financial benefits of this enterprise. These neo-
imperialists redefined the ideology and the social patterns of behaviour of the
colonised and pitted them against each other. An excerpt from the poem testifies to
this dollar‟s controlled version of ideology and interpretation of brothers and enemies:
Standard oil awakens them
Clothes them in uniform, designates
Which brother is the enemy
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 177)
The poet further tells that those who did not comply with „Standard oil ideology‟ had
to bear the brunt of the repressive organs of the dominant ideology. They were labeled
as subversives and were either assassinated, executed or imprisoned.
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To add to it, the poet further extends the theme of plunder and betrayal of the
continent by the international corporations in the poem “Anaconda Copper Mining
Co.” of Canto V. He equates the process of excavation with the loss of the virginity of
the earth. He also describes the miseries and sufferings of the Chilean workers during
the blasting of the surface of the earth who are being used as raw matter to achieve the
materialistic designs of the companies. The poet compares the company with „A
Coiled Snake‟, „Green Monster‟, and the „Great Serpent‟ to depict the entire
expedition as monstrous and devilish. He lashes at indigenous rulers for bargaining
with the external forces at the cost of their national interests.
The poem „United Fruit Co.‟ of Canto V represents at its worst the exploitative
nature of corporate imperialism in Latin America. The poem commences at an
ironical note when it narrates that at the time of creation, United Fruit Company
prevailed upon Jehova to gain monopoly over the tropical lands of Latin America
which are known for juicy fruits. The poet uses the simile of „sweet waste‟ for the
tropical regions of the continent. This simile is an extension of the most persistently
used imagery of the female body. Neruda, like Marxist and the postcolonial writers,
believes that the colonisers were like rapists who tried to feminize the conquered
lands. Seen in this context the sweet waste symbolizes the vulnerability of the
continent to the imperialistic designs. The poet also ridicules the hegemonic role of
the church as he says that the United Fruit Company rebaptised the Latin American
lands because corporate imperialism is a modern version of colonialism.
The poet goes on to describe the filthy role of the indigenous dictators whom
he compares with „flies‟. The greedy dictators like Ubico of Guatemala, Martinez of
El Salvador, Tacho of Nicaragua and Trugillo of Dominican Republic who
established their regimes in Banana Republics (Tropical Regions) were as attracted
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towards the juicy products of the tropics as flies are towards „blood and jam‟.
Through dollars diplomacy the United Fruit Company purchased the loyalties of these
dictators and plundered the treasures and the products of the continent. In the words
of Gray (n.d), “With the collusion of the dictators – the homegrown “blood-thirsty
flies” – the UFC is able to ravage the coffee and fruits of entire nations, spiriting away
their “submerged land‟s treasures…” (p. 205). The last stanza of the poem describes
the sufferings and deaths of the Indian workers in the process of shipping the products
for exportation to US cities. The deaths of the Indian workers are described in terms
of inanimated objects. Their dead bodies are compared with „nameless things‟ and
„fallen numbers‟. This language represents Neruda‟s indictment of capitalism with
particular reference to the process of alienation under bourgeois economy. In
capitalistic system, the workers are measured in terms of the units of production. They
are not treated as human beings which results in their alienation from their human
self. An excerpt from the poem testifies to this dehumanized condition of the workers:
A body roles down, a nameless
Thing, a fallen number,
A bunch of lifeless fruit
Dumped in the rubbish heap
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 179)
To sum up the analysis of the text of „Canto General‟ in the light of the second
question, it is established that the poet‟s indictment of capitalism encompasses the
entire super structure – its Ideological and Repressive State Apparatuses which help
establish hegemony of the ruling elites by constructing ideology of the individuals in
support of the system and in seeking uncritical complicity of the subjects. The poet
also indicts the exploitative role of the multi-national companies which are abetted by
the indigenous ideological and repressive organs of the bourgeois superstructure. By
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exposing latent cracks and contradictions in the redoubts of the dominant ideology,
the poet uses his artistic authority to verify the political struggle of the proletariat of
the land to replace this culture of plunder and manipulation by the culture of equity,
justice and brotherhood. To add to it, this critique of capitalism is entrenched in Latin
American history, culture and politics which testifies to the influence of the frame of
reference in which the poetry is produced. This contextualization of Marxist political
idealism in Latin American culture does not limit its scope but rather enhances its
aesthetic and political appeal as the socio-political and cultural conditions of the
oppressive societies are by and large the same.
PART III
4.6 Counter-hegemonic Role of Poetic Tools (Thematic-Formal) in Canto General
The third research question deals with the analysis of the poetic tools used by
the poet to effectively communicate his message in order to motivate the oppressed
people for political struggle to bring about socio-political change in society. The
analysis of these poetic tools comprises the study of the recurrent themes and
consistently used formal devices in Canto General. The consistent use of thematic
and formal tools seems to be the part of the poet‟s counter-hegemonic device of
manipulation. The most recurrent thematic tools are the theme of betrayal and perfidy,
the theme of suffering, the exaltation of resistance, recuperation of suppressed
cultures and reassurance of the day of reckoning.
4.6.1 Theme of Betrayal and Perfidy
The theme of betrayal and perfidy provides the plot of the entire narrative of
Canto General. This theme has strong political connotations. Rejecting colonial
version of history Neruda establishes Spanish invasion of Latin America as a
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materialistic enterprise. The poet asserts that the much-professed aim of baptizing the
pagan societies of the continent through holy western culture was an ideological
camouflage to conceal the economic motives of the imperialistic expedition. The very
opening lines of the epic introduce the theme of perfidy and broken promises as the
poet idealises pre-colonial culture of harmony between „man and nature‟. He also
glorifies pre-imperial culture of collectivity and self-sufficient economy based on
social needs. After the arrival of Spanish conquerors, this culture of harmony and
collectivity was replaced by the culture of greed, materialistic aggrandisement and
individualism. In contravention to the Christian democratic norms of equality of all
human beings, the imperialists promoted ethnic divide based on the myth of
superiority of European blood over Asiatic origins. This ethnic divide helped Spanish
bourgeois to establish its cultural hegemony over the native cultural norms and
practices. This imperialistic strategy of cultural imposition rather than cultural
interaction has been a typical practice of all European colonisers of Africa, Asia and
Latin America. The central purpose of this policy of cultural hegemony was to
suppress native pluralistic cultures because the native cultures were the primary
source of the national and cultural identities of the colonisesd societies. The
colonisers established a network of ideological and administrative institutions which
legitimised bourgeois monopoly over the means of production and legalized
capitalistic administration of law – favouring the rich and marginalizing the poor.
This Spanish policy of imperial embrace and the feminization of the colonies helped
the imperialists dispossess the native Indians of their rightful ownership of the soil.
This policy of betrayal was repeated at the time of liberation movements of the
continent against Iberian imperialism.
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Quite ironically, the native people of the continent who rendered sacrifices to
seek liberation from the alien rule were of Asiatic blood who aspired to achieve
qualitative change in their lives under home-rule whereas those who spear-headed the
freedom movements were of mixed ethnic origins – either born of Iberian and Indian
descent or Iberian and African descent who bragged of their European blood and
identified themselves with western cultures and ways of life rather than the
indigenous ways of doing things. The war of independence was more of a struggle for
power between Iberian royalty and Latin American aristocracy. In poet-independence
era, Latin American aristocracy established oligarchic regimes across the continent
and the native population remained as deprived as it was in pre-independence era.
Subsequently these oligarchic regimes accepted the hegemony of US corporate
imperialism in return for monetary gains and compromised on national sovereignty,
resources and wealth whose real owners were the toiling masses of the continent. This
treachery of Latin American dictators has been particularized in the perfidy of Chilean
president Gonzalez Videla. In “The Traitor” Canto V, the poet lashes at the treachery
of the Chilean president who came to power in Chile through the support of
communist party in 1940s and pledged to introduce drastic political reforms to
eliminate the economic and political influence of the multi-national companies and to
mitigate the miseries and sufferings of the Chilean minors. But after forming his
government, President Gonzalez violated the pact with the communist party due to the
political pressure of USA who had economic stakes in Nitrate and Copper mines of
Chile. He persecuted the workers and restored the privileges of Chilean landed
aristocracy. The poet says:
This man betrayed trampling
His promises and smiles,
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His scepter was made of filth
He danced on the poor
Affronted people‟s grief
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, pp. 197-98)
Referring to the politico-historical significance of the treachery of Chilean president,
the critic Roberto G. Echevarria (1989) in “Neruda‟s Canto General: The Poetics of
Betrayal” says, “Hence history can be „Gonalized‟ and all of the betrayals visited on
Latin America become incarnate in this mere „lizard‟” (p. 11). This narrative of the
series of betrayal in the history of Latin America helps develop critical consciousness
among the readers who can revisit their received behaviours towards bourgeois
version of colonial and postcolonial history.
4.6.2 Theme of Suffering
Another most recurrent theme of Canto General is the theme of suffering
which is organically linked with the subject of political betrayals in the history of
Latin America. Since Spanish Conquest, the native inhabitants of the land have
remained victims of economic and socio-political exploitation at the hands of Iberian
royalty during colonial period and oligarchic regimes in postcolonial era. As a bard,
Neruda considers it mandatory for the genuine writers to remind the readers of the
past sufferings of their forefathers under exploitative system. In Canto General he
reviews the history of his continent in terms of past sufferings. His narrative is the
narrative of the wretchedness, not the narrative of glory, progress and enlightenment.
The poet‟s review of past sufferings is pervasive and universal. He denounces
oppression and exploitation in all its forms. He exposes the miseries and sufferings of
the inhabitants of his continent under imperial rule, under oligarchic regimes in post-
independence era as well as under ancient Inca civilization. During his visit to the
ancient city of Macchu Picchu what interests Neruda most is the ancient workers,
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their miseries, and their dreams. He wants to know about the sufferings of the workers
which lie hidden under the magnificent fortress. The poet pledges to reveal the
sorrows and sufferings of the ancient workers in order to propose resurrection. In the
10th
poem of the Canto II, “Heights of Macchu Picchu”, the poet questions the
validity of human sufferings and sacrifices to build a magnificent fortress as a symbol
of glory of Inca Empire in the following lines:
Macchu Picchu, did you put
Stone upon stone and, at the base, tatters?
Coal upon coal and, at the bottom, tears?
Fire in gold and, within it, the trembling
Drop of red blood?
Bring me back the slave that you buried!
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 39)
The poet takes exception to the institution of slavery existing in Inca civilization. In
this way, the poet does not let the sacrifices of the Inca slaves go into forgetfulness.
The poet gives extensive treatment to the sufferings of the „children of clay‟
during Spanish invasion in the continent. During various military expeditions of the
invaders to subdue indigenous kingdoms, the popular literature and folklores narrate
stories of untold horror, torture and slaughter of the sons of the soil who resisted
imperialists and refused to divulge the information about the supposed existence of
enormous riches like gold in the continent. The story of the torture of Cuauhtemoc –
the Aztec ruler at the hands of the Spanish conqueror Cortes to reveal the secrets
about the hidden treasures is one such example of a long narrative, tortures, killings
and sufferings of the natives under the imperialists. The coloniser‟s inhumanity
towards the natives is depicted in various parts of the Canto III “Conquistadors”. The
invaders ravished the tribes, races, properties and even worshipping centres. One such
account is given in the poem “Alvarado”. The poem narrates the atrocities of the
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Spanish coloniser Alvarado and his soldiers during the conquest of Guatemala.
Alvarado personifies the callousness and barbarism of the Spaniards towards the
indigenous population. According to various historical accounts, Alvarado killed the
natives by hanging, setting them ablaze and by throwing them alive before dogs. An
excerpt from the poem testifies to this inhumanity of the Iberian coloniser:
The solemn river saw its children
Die or survive as slaves,
It saw race and reason, juvenile heads
Burning in the bonfires, beside the water
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 48)
In addition to the brutalities of Ximenez, Valdivia, and Almagro or other instances of
this inhumanity towards the real possessor of the land. The poet goes on to narrate the
sufferings of the masses under oligarchic regimes in postcolonial period. He exposes
the villainy and barbarism of Latin-American dictators who bargained with multi-
national companies in return for personal interests and surrendered to the hegemony
of North American corporate imperialism while inhabitants of the continent continued
to suffer. The conditions of the Amer-Indians continued to deteriorate whereas
dictators and international companies continued to export vegetables, fruits, grains
and precious metals to West and US cities. Latin-American dictators like Dr Francia,
Rosas, Garcia Moreno, Estrada, Ubico, Gomez, Machado, Matinez and Anaconda
Company, Standard Oil Company and United Fruit Company represent the worst kind
of political and economic oppression in the continent in post-independence era. The
poet also exposes the ruthless victimization of the progressive and patriotic forces of
the motherland at the hands of external and internal oppressors. The crackdown
against the Chilean communist party and its leader Recabarren by the Chilean dictator
Gonzalez and his external patrons is a notorious example of such victimization. In the
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poem “Recabarren” of the Canto IV, the poet narrates the victimization and suffering
of the communist party workers and miners of Chile. He describes the repressive
measures taken by Chilean regime at the behest of American investors against the
workers of copper and nitrate mines, against Recabarren and the progressive press. An
excerpt from the poem brings to focus the cruelties perpetrated on miners during the
workers‟ strikes by Gonzalez government:
They fired
With a hissing machine gun,
With rifles tacitly
Disposed upon the heaping
Piles of sleeping workers,
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 139)
To sum up, the purpose of this account of the suffering of the people and the
inhumanity of the oppressive regimes is to disarticulate and the bourgeois
metanarrative of peace, progress and enlightenment and to keep readers familiar with
the miseries of their forefathers to motivate them to raise rebellion against sufferings
and injustice.
4.6.3 Exaltation of Struggle and Sacrifice
The exaltation of struggle, resistance and martyrdom is another most persistent
theme of Canto General. In the perpetual conflict between the oppressors and the
redeemers, the poet exalts the forces of resistance. Quite contrary to the imperial
discourse in which Latin American freedom fighters are branded as rebels, Pablo
Neruda elevates them to heroic proportions. Marxist vision of socialistic world order
is essentially based upon human struggle. The exaltation of struggle and sacrifice
against the forces of darkness in history motivates the oppressed people to follow the
footsteps of the past redeemers. Narrating the history of his continent, the poet
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glorifies the armed resistance of his compatriots against the Hispanic imperialists.
Cuauhtemoc – the Aztec ruler, Caupolican – the chief of Mapuche people, the sons of
Araucania, Lautaro –the hero of the war of Arauco, Commoners from Socorro, Tupac
Amaru of Inca , O‟Higgins of Chile, San Martin of Argentina, Sandino – Nacaraguan
leader of resistance movement and others are depicted as icons of resistance and
sacrifice against the forces of tyranny and exploitation. The poet is also indebted to
the socially committed writers who have not only provided intellectual inspiration to
the down-troddens but also have rendered sacrifices for the cause of the truth. Ercilla
– the Spanish epic poet, Prestes from Brazil, Rafael Alberti and Hernandez of Spain,
Silvester of Mexico, Gonzalez Carbalho of Rio De Plata are the progressive writers
who are described as the rivers of song for their socially committed art (c.f. 4.4.4).
Appreciating the value of socially committed poetry, Neruda in his Memoirs says,
“Poetry without social value gives off sound, but it doesn‟t sing” (2008, p. 138). The
poet pays special tributes to the struggle, resistance and sacrifices of the communist
parties and proletariat Juans of his continent. Neruda‟s exultation for the struggle of
the oppressed is no longer limited to his own land. He glorifies the struggle and
victories of social movements everywhere in the world. The poet eulogises
communist revolutions of Russia and China and Soviet-backed revolutionary
movements in other parts of the world.
4.6.4 Theme of Counter-Culture
Return to roots and recuperation of suppressed cultures is another recurrent
theme of Canto General. This is part of Neruda‟s counter-hegemonic device of
counter-culture. Neruda who is a social bard believes that social justice can only be
established through regeneration of native cultures. Pre-columbian cultures of Latin
America which are based upon harmony between man and nature and collectivity do
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not acknowledge social hierarchy based on economic parameters. Throughout the
narrative of the poem, the poet continues to project the culture of the continent in
terms of its native environment, its flora and fauna, its geography, its soil and its Juan
who is made up of the same composing elements of nature. The poet also resorts to
the myths, legends, folklores and ballads in order to invoke suppressed cultures. The
harmony between man and his natural surroundings is consistently worked out
through the „Hombre –Tierra‟ (man-earth) equation. The poet also compares man and
his parts with the continent and its constituent parts. Similarly the collectivity of Juans
is emphasised through the equation between the manner of Juans and manner of sea,
metals and light.
This harmony between man and nature serves to establish a bond between
natural praxis and social praxis – hence establishing the inevitability of change which
is the basis of Marxist utopia. Neruda is convinced that if we do not return to our past,
our origin and our roots we are bound to endorse bourgeois injustice and exploitation
as irrevocable passage of history. Censuring the apathy of Latin Americans towards
their regional values, Neruda says:
Our ignorance or silence was not only a crime but the perpetuation
of the breach. Aristocratic cosmopolitanism had carried us to the
point of reverencing the past of the most distant peoples and had
blindfolded us and thus prevented us from discovering our own
treasures (In Handley, 2007, p. 225).
4.6.5 Reassurance of Political Apocalypse
This narrative of betrayal, perfidy, sufferings and martyrdom is not without
hope, optimism and reassurance about restoration of broken promises, salvation and
the bright future for the rejected ones. The poet believes in inevitability of the
political apocalypse through proletariat struggle, comradery, and vast brotherhood.
Apocalypse is a biblical term which hints at the eventual destruction of the world as
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part of the divine design. The term „Apocalypse‟ over here refers to the destruction of
the bourgeois exploitative culture through Marxist revolution. It will be a Doomsday
for the enemies of the mankind. The oppressors and the tyrants will be punished by
the redeemers. The persistent theme of Marxist prophetic vision of proletariat victory
and the punishment for the enemies of the people symbolizes linear progression
towards a utopian world order. Rewriting the cultural and political history of Latin
America, Pablo Neruda follows biblical cycle of history which commences from
genesis eventually culminating in apocalypse. The basic reason of the poet‟s
fascination for Biblical model of narrative and history is the close ideological
affinities between the Bible and Marxism regarding the oppressed people.
Commenting on similarities between Biblical and Marxist vision of history, Terry De
Hay says:
Neruda certainly viewed Marxism as a universal system that could
end the suffering of his people. And undoubtedly he recognised the
similarities between the apocalyptic patterns of the bible and that
of historical determinism (De Hay 1993, p. 53).
In the poem “The Day Will Come” of the Canto IV, the poet reassures the
final victory of the people against the existing oppression. His reassurance is based
upon the sacrifices of those who embraced martyrdom for ultimate redemption of the
suffering humanity. He calls upon the proletariats of his country, his continent and the
world to return to their roots, their cultural heritage of rendering sacrifices for the sake
of salvation of the rejected and the marginalised people. The poet eulogises every
hour of struggle of the redeemers against the enemies of the people. He exhorts upon
the communists and the combatant heirs of the persecuted land and its people to
continue to raise the standard of rebellion till final victory. The following lines from
“The Day Will Come” represent the poet‟s reassurance of the day bestowed upon the
suffering humanity:
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Descent to the mineral roots,
And in the desolate mettle‟s veins
Reach mankind‟s struggle on earth,
Beyond the martyrdom that mauls
The hands destined for the light.
Don‟t renounce the day bestowed on you
By those who died struggling
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p.148)
The words like martyrdom, light and bestowed in the above-mentioned lines are part
of biblical imagery which serves sermonic purpose. Alex Tuss and Betty Rogers
Youngkin state:
Neruda often uses Christian imagery to heighten a vital point much
as renaissance poets used the pagan myths bringing the textured
associations of an extended frame of reference into play without
implying the literal truth of its conceptual framework (Youngkin
1996, p. 309).
The poet also reiterates his faith in proletariat struggle in the poem “You Shall
Struggle” of the Canto XIII. While recounting the oppressive measures taken by the
Gonzalez regime against the progressive forces and the poet himself in Chile, he
retains his optimism about the bright future of the progressive forces. He reassures his
compatriots that the new year belongs to them. They should call forth the best of their
abilities to combat against tyranny. The poet affirms that despite the fact that he and
thousands of his compatriots have been blacklisted from the so-called electoral
process to manipulate the political system in favour of the stewards, the foremen and
the merchants but such measures wont deter them from their destiny. The following
lines from the poem testify to the poet‟s conviction in change through struggle:
But you‟ll struggle to change life
You‟ll struggle to scratch the spot
Of manure from the map, you‟ll doubtlessly
Struggle
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 335)
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4.6.6 Theme of Retribution
The poet‟s Marxist millennium is unforgiving towards the enemies of
mankind. The poet demands retribution for all those who have been instrumental in
causing agony and extermination to the people. He denounces the hegemonic class as
the assassins, the executioners and the traitors who have betrayed the masses, violated
the promises and perpetrated cruelties on the Juans. He singles out for retribution
every organ and every individual of the bourgeois state apparatuses. The poet rejects
any reconciliation with the privileged class. In his Marxist millennium, there is no
room for bourgeois ambassadors, lawyers, judges, merchants, celestial poets,
intellectuals, journalists, politicians, religious clerics and feudals. He demands their
trial for their crimes against people, the real possessors of the lands and its treasures.
An excerpt from the poem “The Enemies” of the Canto V verifies the theme of
retribution:
I don‟t want them to be ambassador,
Or at home, in peace:
I want to see them tried here
In this plaza, in this place.
I want punishment.
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p.190)
Without the punishment of the enemies of the people, broken promises cannot be
restored. Peace cannot prevail. Sufferings cannot be compensated. This theme of
punishment which is part of Neruda‟s Marxist prophetic vision helps the poet identify
the proletariat struggle with the interest of the whole mankind, thus establishing the
world into two factions. The capitalists are associated with the evil forces and the
working class with the forces of good. The perpetual conflict between the two factions
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would inevitably lead to the victory of the have-nots over the haves – hence
materializing the poet‟s Marxist millennium.
4.6.7 Ideological Significance of Epic Form
Neruda‟s choice of the formal poetic tools of Canto General is determined by
the thematic and ideological considerations of the poet. His choice of epic form and
structure does serve his political objectives. Epic tradition has always been used to
project a peculiar version of national, historical and political events. Classical epics
were designed to propagate the deeds of valour of national warriors to arouse artistic
feelings in citizens in times of national crisis. In medieval era, epics were used to
glorify the heroic deeds of Christian knights in Crusades against the infidels. During
centuries of colonial expansion from renaissance era to the modern age, epic pattern
has been used as a weapon to promote the colonisers‟ perspective by eulogizing the
adventurous journeys of the European conquerors into the Lands of the mysterious
continents. Neruda in his Canto General acts as chronicler of the continent. He
narrates indigenous version of continental history from pre-Hispanic times up to the
timing of the publication of the epic in 1950. The narrative account which starts from
pre-colonial period reaches its finale by paying tribute to the Communist struggle for
liberation of the oppressed in Latin America as well as across the globe. The epic with
its encyclopedic scope is the most suitable form for this vast historical account. To
add to it, the Biblical format of the epic also motivated Neruda in choosing the epic
structure. Elaborating the immense scope of the epic structure of the Scripture,
Northrop Frye (1973) defines “The epic form of the bible as an encyclopedic form; a
gigantic cycle from creation to apocalypse, within which is the heroic quest of
Messiah from incarnation to apotheosis” (p. 136). Besides, this historical account
penetrates into the future of the humanity anticipating Marxist apocalypse like the one
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envisaged in Bible. Such a vast expanse of pre-history, history proper and prophetic
vision on mankind‟s future cannot be accommodated in scattered poems.
Commenting on the thematic significance of the structure of Canto General, Enrico
Mario Santi says that:
Neruda was intent on showing the affinities of his Marxist vision
to prophesy can be gathered from the structure of Canto General.
While Neruda‟s preference for the book or volume of poems to
single or scattered texts is well-known, nowhere else in his work is
the idea of the book as unit so striking. (Santi 1982, p. 181)
The epic structure also serves to facilitate the oracular tone of the poet. The
term „Oracular Tone‟ is borrowed from the ancient Greek tradition of consulting the
Oracle – a place in the temple of Delphi from where the priests used to reveal Divine
Injunctions. This oracular tone is also the part of Biblical accounts and Marxist
Prophetic tradition. The oracular voice of the political poetry affirms that the purpose
of poetry is not confessional but missionary and prophetic, that it does not reveal but
persuade. In order to ply the reader ideologically to his prophetic tone, Neruda has
applied the technique of multiple narrators. Multiple narrative voices heighten the
oracular effect by reiterating the revisionist version of history of the continent. As
Canto General presents a revisionist version of cultural and political history of the
continent, it requires to alienate the reader from the received attitudes towards text-
book history. This alienation of the reader from the traditional versions of history can
best be achieved through sudden shifts in narrative voice which motivates the reader
to absorb new consciousness. For instance, the poet who is the principal narrator
suddenly shifts himself into the role of the listener when he is replaced by Lautaro as
narrator. Lautaro, the liberator describes through shocking imagery the killings of the
Spanish Coquistador. Valdevia at the hands of freedom-fighters – transforming the
Spanish victor into a victim of the people‟s due fury. Similarly, a score of other
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narrators like a miner from Bolivia, a worker‟s wife, an agrarian, a fisherman, a
shoemaker etc speaks and parades before the readers narrating their tragedies, their
poverty, exploitation and injustice under bourgeois system. These multiple voices,
says Costa, “Make the revisionist view seem accordingly to be less the opinion of one
person than the collective expression of the entire continent” (1982, p. 126). To add to
it, this multiple narrative voice which narrates and dramatises the collective
expressions establishes revisionist perspective of history as objectively and directly
represented version, not an arbitrary one.
4.6.8 Ideological and the Essentialistic Orientation of the Imagery
The imagery of Canto General is another important poetic tool which the poet
has used to achieve his political objectives. One of the main concerns of the poet is to
counter-balance the influence of bourgeois discourse to create critical consciousness
among the masses about the dominant ideology. Revisionist ideology is indispensable
for proletariat revolution. Throughout the narrative of Canto General, Neruda uses
strings of images to promote his themes of betrayal, perfidy, suffering, and sacrifice,
resistance, liberty and justice, recuperation of native cultures, anti-imperialism and
political apocalypse. The element of consistency in imagery strengthens the poetic
technique of essentialism. Essentialism refers to the discursive strategy of assigning
attributes and features to a particular group or class to highlight its similarities and to
conceal its differences. Essentialism, as a part of colonial discourse, projects the
colonisers as torch-bearers who came to the barbaric societies to accomplish the moral
responsibility of civilizing the backward societies as envisioned by Rudyard Kipling
in his „theory of White Man‟s Burden‟. Neruda uses the technique of essentialism as a
counter-hegemonic device to demolish imperial narrative.
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The opening lines of the epic set the mood of betrayal and perfidy. The
imagery of „the wig and the dress coat‟ which refers to the artificial dress of the
Spanish colonisers sets them as an invading force which is antithetical to the primeval
unity and naked glory of the continent. „The wig and the dress coat‟ seen in the light
of subsequent imagery also points to the hypocrisy of the imperialists who conceal
their mercenary motives under the cloak of the holy western culture. To project the
betrayal of the land by the enemies of the people, the poet associates all good things
in life with the Juan of the continent. He is associated with nature, landscape,
geography, minerals, metals, vegetable, fruits, crops, reptiles, birds and mammals and
is attributed to strength, vibrancy, collectivity and authenticity. The native Indian is
described in terms of the images of earth, air, water, stone, copper etc. the repetition
of these key images establishes the native Indians as the real descendants and the
owners of the land whereas the invaders and their indigenous heirs are assigned
negative attributes. They are described as butchers, murderous wind, plunderers,
bloodthirsty captains, grey hounds, ravens, blood-sucking flies, demons, thieves,
rotten jackals, bandits , serpents, villains, assassins, vultures, eagles, saurians, lizards,
scorpions, rats, thugs, witches, voracious hyenas, rodents, wolves, beggars, the
enemies, traitors etc. In “Rendezvous of Ravens” Canto III, the poet narrates the
proceeding of the peact between three imperialistic agents – Almagro, Pizzarro and
Friar Luke about the fate of Panama. He says:
The three thieves kneaded
The wafer with a crude smile
“Brothers” God has been divided
Among us, sustained the canon,
And the three butchers said “Amen”
Through purple teeth.
(tr Schmitt, 1993, p. 54)
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These packs of images have a common denominator – abuse and plunder. They
establish the imperialists and their local lackeys as rapacious, greedy and selfish
individualists whose sole ambition is to plunder the land. The repetition of key images
such as fire, ash, blood, tears, graves, pestilence, corpses etc. stands for the sufferings
and the sacrifices of the oppressed people under the rulers. The most recurrent images
of the wind and the sea symbolize freedom and liberty. Similarly, the image of tree
which is another most significant image represents regeneration of indigenous
cultures and the sons of the soil. Like tree, the imagery of woman serves to intensify
the regenerative role of the poetry of Neruda. His woman who symbolizes procreation
enriches the continent with the sons of the soil who in turn, guarantee the continuity
of struggle to liberate their motherland from the hegemony of the tyrants and the
oppressors. Highlighting the significance of the imagery of woman in Neruda‟a
poetry, Frank Menchaca (1988) in “A Language Full of Wars and Songs” says,
“Woman is the territory upon which the poet begins the painful cartography of his
existence. She is not only the way into life, a tunnel through to himself, she is what
lies on the other side, landscape, tierra, earth, all of life itself” (p. 303).
The theme of resistance and political apocalypse is embodied in the struggle of
the oppressed and the dispossessed of the land. The poet evokes the mood of
resistance through vast brotherhood by calling forth the redeemers as children of clay,
sons of the soil, the comrades, the brothers, the people, the Juans and the proletariat.
The political apocalypse is symbolized through the recurrence of the images of dawn,
morning, day, light, spring time, flowers, birth, life, and the sea.
To sum up, what is most specific about the imagery of Canto General is its
lucidity and precision. The poet has used simple and concrete images which make the
epic accessible to a wide audience. Above all, the poet like Whitman identifies
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himself with the continent its real descendants, its flora and fauna. As the historical
vision of the poet is absolutely simplistic, so is its imagery which helps draw an
implacably clear line between the oppressors and the redeemers. Commenting on this
simplistic division between the stars and the scoundrel, Duran and Safir say:
The heroes are too perfect, the common man, long suffering,
righteous, is elevated to Whitmanesque fashion to larger than life
virtue; the Spaniards, in contrast are presented as having no virtue
(Duran & Safir 1986, p.83).
4.6.9 The Visual Component in Canto General
Another important poetic tool of Canto General is the visual component of the
narrative. In this respect Neruda was mainly indebted to the Mexican muralist
tradition. The Mexican mural art which flourished more vigorously in post-
revolutionary Mexico under the leadership of President Lazaro Cardenes, not only
reflected the indigenous cultural forms of the society but also a model of a vibrant and
dynamic society striving for social justice and self-identity. Mexican cultural heritage,
its rich history and centuries old tradition of popular arts as represented in mural
painting left a profound impact upon the artistic vision of Neruda.
Furthermore, the ekphrastic discipline is closely associated with epic genre
both in terms of its origin and scope. In the words of Grant F. Scott:
Ekphrasis begins as a special aspect of the epic, as a type of featured
inset which nominally digresses from the primary narrative line.
Only later, with Ovid, does it become a separate endeavor
altogether, a form adopted as an end in itself (In Ramirez, 1999, p.
125).
Epic tradition, being vast in scope, requires symbolic representation because words
alone cannot represent reality. The ekphrastic technique helps the poet intensify his
artistic effect by converting “the visual representation into a verbal description and the
inversion of the verbal representation back into the visual object in the reception of
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the reader” (p. 41). For instance, „Man‟ the last poem of the first Canto which
describes the creation of mankind, delineates the image of Amer-Indian man which is
represented in the form of earthen vase in mural paintings of Siqueiros. This
interaction between the verbal and the visual components of the epic involves the
reader / viewer as a participant in creating meanings. To add to it, the description of
the birds and their flights in “The Birds Arrive” is another solid example of Fresco
technique. The poet says:
To toucan was a lovely
Box of shining fruit,
The humming bird preserved
The original sparks of dawn, and its minuscule bonefires
Burned in the still air
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 17)
This fresco technique intensifies the imaginative faculty of the reader due to its
pictorial quality. The reader feels to have transcended the temporal limitations
between present and the distant past of the pre-columbian America. He can visualize
the toucan in its true ancient beauty and harmony.
To conclude the analysis of the text in the light of the third question, it is
established that the poetic tools of the epic are politically oriented tools which are
used to re-appropriate the expropriated history of the continent and to develop critical
consciousness among the oppressed people to revisit their unconditional complicity to
the existing hegemony. Furthermore, these poetic tools are of course contextualized in
the socio-political, cultural and literary history of the new world yet are universal in
their appeal as the readers, the addressees and the audience of the Canto General are
the proletariats of the whole world. The arrangement and the interface of thematic and
formal tools which testifies to the technique of counter-hegemony establishes the
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intellectual authority of the poet in redefining existing social milieu. The consistent
use of the thematic and formal tools in the epic testifies to the poetic technique of
counter-hegemony. Manipulation which refers to the consistent and sustained artistic
effort to develop counter-point in order to replace the dominant perspective has been
utilised with success.
PART IV
4.7 Marxist Poetry of Neruda in the Age of Corporate Globalisation
The last research question deals with the relevance of the ideological poetry of
Neruda particularly in the light of the revisionist Marxism of Gramsci, Jameson,
Althusser, Adorno, Zizek, Gill Hubbard and others in mounting a critique of corporate
globalization. Globalization which dates back to the early nineteenth century seeks for
the emergence of an international culture and economic system under the hegemony
of multinational companies by replacing diverse cultural and economic patterns
existing in the world. The recent phase of globalization which is called corporate
globalization or corporate imperialism is marked for the financial hegemony of the
multinational corporations under the cloak of neo-liberalism. Neo-liberalism under the
pretext of trade liberalization rejects constraints on trade and financial speculation.
These multi-national financial institutions are no longer subjected to nation states‟
regulations. They even do not submit to their laws regarding workers‟ rights and
environmental standards. Referring to the hegemony of corporations under neo-
liberalism, Gill Hubbard and David Miller say:
Thus Neo-liberalism amounts to a direct attack on the abilities of
nation states to decide who owns and controls the resources that lie
within their geographical boundaries. Neo-liberalism also poses a
formidable challenge to trade unions and to the welfare state
because it is largely these bodies that have managed to offer at
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least some protection from the unfettered effects of corporate
profiteering. (2005, p. 8)
The international financial institutions like IMF, World Bank and World Trade
Organisation which are backed by Western Capitalist Bloc manage unhindered
financial flow in favour of the multi-national companies. They govern and regulate
the economic policies of the developing countries through the incentives of financial
aids for the social and economic uplift. As these multi-national corporations compete
with one another for more markets, more natural and human resources, this
competition leads to rivalries between countries by whom these companies are
sponsored. It is due to this ruthless competition that globlisation is characterized by
conflicts and wars between countries. This corporate imperialism is also in collusion
with natural environment due to its lust for materialistic aggrandisement.
Furthermore, international monetary institutions impose strict constraints on the
budgets of the poor countries, particularly on public spending in public and social
development. They even discourage the poor countries to hire the services of qualified
doctors, engineers, educationists and economists to combat diseases, illiteracy and
lack of economic management etc. They are even prevented from purchasing the
much-needed health facilities and medicines to combat fatal diseases like HIV and
AIDS.
In this economic and socio-political scenario, the critics of this late capitalism
argue that socialism with its aim of the equitable distribution of wealth is much
needed today because capital is more concentrated today in the hands of the few
financial agencies than the past. The socially committed poetry of Neruda which
speaks for the socio-political, economic and cultural identity of the people of his
continent and the oppressed of the whole world gains more prominence today.
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4.7.1 Dialectical Value of Neruda’s Poetry
Neruda‟s poetry is the poetry of resistance against bourgeois system. He wrote
at a time when the world was politically divided into two blocs: each having its
distinct socio-economic and cultural patterns of behavior. Today‟s world is a uni-
polar planet with neo-imperialism having its monopoly over the materialistic and the
spiritual domains alike. While all the ideological, administrative and technological
apparatuses are internalizing the bourgeois parameters of economy and culture, the
role of dialectical thinking has increased manifold. Neruda‟s diatribe which is directed
at the cultural, legal, religious and intellectual circles of his continent has not become
dated. These organs of bourgeois super-structure might have assumed different names
but their objective of the profit principle remains unaltered. So, Neruda‟s dialectical
criticism which decenters the myths of immutability and inevitability of capitalistic
culture and economy retains its appeal and has the potential and vision to motivate the
masses to struggle for their rights and identity.
4.7.2 Multicultural and Ecological Appeal of Neruda’s Poetry
Neruda‟s poetry is a cultural reaction not only to the bourgeois manipulated
version of international culture but also to the monolithic view of Marxism because it
prevents the emergence of indigenous progressive thought patterns. Neruda‟s Marxist
poetry does not subscribe to any official formula of Marxism. Of course, he eulogises
the pro-masses policies of the socialistic regimes of the world including Russia,
China, Cuba, East European Communist states and others. He also glorifies USSR
and Stalin for supporting progressive movements across the world and for combating
Fascism. However, he affirms that economic and socio-political injustice can only be
remedied through return to origins, roots and pre-imperial cultural heritages. In this
way, he seems much closer to the enlightened vision of Marxism of the revisionist
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Marxist like Jameson and Adorno. The poet‟s insistence on return to origins which is
also echoed in the works of Whitman, Walcott and Mistral Gabriel helps contain Neo-
liberalism‟s drive for materialistic aggrandisement.
Furthermore, the ideological poetry of Neruda gains much popularity in the
wake of bourgeois culture industry. Bourgeois culture industry is promoting the
production of goods on the basis of market value. It is creating the society of
consumers in which an individual is identified and measured only in terms of his
possession of the standardized items of bourgeois industry. Bourgeois culture presents
a calculated reproduction of the popular art forms. Collectivism which was the pillar
principle of pre-imperial pluralistic culture is reproduced in terms of the individual‟s
complicity with the demands of the consumers‟ society. In the words of Adorno:
The consumers are made to remain what they are: consumers, that
is why the culture industry is not the art of the consumer but rather
the projection of the will of those in control onto their victims
(2001, p. 185).
Neruda‟s technique of counter-culture counter-balances bourgeois strategy of
suppressing native traditions in order to destroy national and cultural identity of the
under-developed societies. The poet‟s glorification of harmony between man and
nature subscribes to his socialistic vision of economy in which production of goods is
determined by human and social needs. This perspective discourages undue
exploitation and conservation of landscape and natural resources under corporate
imperialism. In this way it acts as a check upon ecological imbalance caused by the
multi-nationals who go on utilizing the environment to fulfill their materialistic
designs.
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4.7.3 Humanism in the Poetics of Neruda
The poetics of Neruda is the poetics of humanism. It gains more prominence
in the wake of corporate imperialism because proletariat class no longer remains
confined to the classical view of the proletariats. Neo-imperialism is not only posing a
threat to the rights of the workers but also to the national sovereignty of the under-
developed world and their natural resources. The narrative of neo-liberalism has not
only converted human body into a mere instrument of production but also nature only
into an object of utility. It has denied nature and natural environment its position of
being a power in itself. Rejecting bourgeois drive for abundance, G. A. Cohen says,
“The promise of abundance is not an endless flow of goods but a sufficiency produced
with a minimum of unpleasant excursion” (1978, p. 307). Neruda‟s indictment of the
mercenary role of the oligarchy and the rulers who acted as accomplices to the neo-
imperialism of the North and his diatribe against the inhuman nature of bourgeois
electoral politics has strong contemporary relevance because multinational companies
and international monetary institutions are trying to gain access to the natural
resources of the postcolonial world through its so-called popular political leadership.
These international agencies control the policies of the political leaders of the third
world through funding their electoral campaigns. These hand-picked politicians are
promoted as nationalistic and patriotic leaders on media through talk shows, pre-paid
advertisements and through the columns and articles of the hired writers and the
columnists. Neruda in his Canto General pays tribute to the resistance, sufferings and
sacrifices of the unknown soldiers of history who suffered for the cause of truth
against falsehood. This glorification of the common people acts as a foil to the
unpatriotic activities of the elected political leadership of the underdeveloped world.
Of course, the frame of reference of Neruda‟s poetics is his Latin American continent
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but his poetry transcends all temporal, geographical and cultural barriers in its
humanistic content as it appeals alike to the oppressed mankind of the entire planet
having similar history.
To sum up the discussion regarding the relevance of the Marxist poetry of
Neruda in mounting critique of corporate globalization, it is established that in this era
of neo-liberalism and the economic hegemony of the multi-national business
corporations, dialectical reasoning is much needed today. Marxist criticism, which
promotes dialectical thinking to interpret existing monopoly capitalism in terms of its
past and future, offers an alternative system to build up an exploitation free socialistic
society. So the appeal and significance of socio-political function of the ideological
poetry of Neruda remains intact.
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Notes:
1- Metaphysics of presence and the philosophy of transcendental signifieds:
The terms are used by the French philosopher Derrida who propounded the literary
theory of deconstruction. Metaphysics of presence and the philosophy of
transcendental signifieds refer to the centuries-old assumptions which are considered
permanent and universal in the binarities of Western philosophy.
2- De las Casas: Bartolomé de las Casas was a Spanish social reformer, priest and
historian of the 16th
century. He wrote against slavery and the tyrannies of the
colonisers on the colonised. His famous works areHistoria de Las Indias and A Short
Account of the Destruction of the Indies.
3- Tupac Amaru was the last indigenous king of Inca Empire (Peru). He raised
standard of revolt against Spanish occupation, was captured and executed in 1572.
4- O‟Higgins: Bernardo O‟Higgins was the Chilean freedom-fighter of the 19th
century. He liberated Chile from colonial rule in the Chilean war of independence. He
is acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of Chile.
5- San Martin: San Martin was the Argentinian general of the 19th
century. A fellow
member of Lautaro Lodge, San Martin enjoyed a power base in Santiago. He assisted
O‟Higgins in Chilean war of independence. While O‟Higgins became supreme
dictator of independent Chile, San Martin continued his struggle for the liberation of
the rest of the Latin America from Spanish rule.
6- Sandino: Augusto Cesar Sandino was Nicaraguan revolutionary leader of the 20th
century who resisted US military invasion of his country between 1927 – 1933. He is
acknowledged as the symbol of resistance against foreign occupation throughout
Latin America. He was assassinated by General Somoza Garcia –the military dictator
of Nacaragua in 1934. Sandino had seized power after withdrawal of US troops from
Nicaragua.
7- Alvardo: Petro de Alvarado was Cortes‟ second-in-command during his
expeditions of Aztec empire and Mexico. A brave soldier, Alvarado was known for
his cruelty towards the colonised. He indulged in the mass murders of the native
population of Mexico in the name of subjugation.
8- Balboa: Balboa was a Spanish explorer, conqueror and governor. He is best known
for having crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the
first European to lead an expedition to have seen or reached the Pacific from the New
World.
9- Quesada: Ximenez De Quesada was a 16th
century Spanish explorer. He conquered
Columbia and was known for his obsession with the jewels of the Latin American
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continent. He executed Zipa – the ruler of Columbia. He is considered to be a possible
model of Spanish novelist Cervantes‟ Don Quixote.
10- Almagro: Almagro was the conqueror of Peru. He torchered its population and
plundered its resources.
11- Estrada: Estrada was the 19th
century dictator of Guatemala. Diminutive in size,
he was notorious for cruelty and indifference towards the miseries of his people.
12- Gomez: Gomez was the 19th
century dictator of Venezuela (Central America). He
was known for unscrupulous methods of torture and killing of his opponents. He used
to manage the murders of his opponents at night time.
13- Jorge Ubico: He was the military dictator of Guatemala between 1931 to 1944. He
idealized French dictator Napolean Bonaparte and was nicknamed as the little
Napolean of the tropics. He was a close associate of USA. During his rule, United
Fruit Co. of America flourished its business in Guatemala.
14- Machado: Machado: Machado was Cuban dictator of the 19th
century. He was a
close ally of USA who kept his country under subjugation with the help of American
manufactured weapons. He harboured hegemonic designs towards Mexico and
mortgaged the resources of his country with USA.
15- Melgarejo: Mariano Melgarejo was the dictator of Bolivia between 1864 to 1871.
He suppressed opposition and usurped the traditional rights of the native population.
He promoted the commercial interests of Bolivian mining elites.
16- Martinez: Martinez was the 20th
century dictator of El Salvador. He was the
closest ally of USA. He executed 20000 peasants of his country in order to promote
the commercial interests of US backed business corporations in the region.
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Chapter 5
CONTEXTUALISING FAIZ’S ROMANCE AND REVOLUTION
Faiz Ahmad Faiz is widely acclaimed as the champion of the purposive and political
view of art. He was among those founding members of „All India Progressive
Writers‟ Association‟ who stood for their ideological commitment with the cause of
the oppressed people of the world. He had to suffer at the hands of the oppressive
regimes but did not abandon his sympathy for the rejected and continued to educate
and mobilise the masses through his art for political struggle to gain their economic
and political rights. Commenting on his intellectual and political struggle for the
rights of the people, I. A. Rehman (1984) in “There‟s No Concord To Haven” says,
“As far as Faiz is concerned, he has never any doubt about the vision of a society of
free and equal men nor about his uninterrupted pursuit of this ideal” (p. 74). Faiz saw
the miseries of the ordinary people both in pre-independence and post-independence
period and realized that freedom from British Raj did not bring about any qualitative
change in the life of common man. In his poem “Subh-e-Azadi” (Dawn of Freedom),
Faiz expresses his dismay over the continuity of status quo in post-independence era.
The poet says:
The night is as oppressive as ever
The time for the liberation of heart and mind
Has not come as yet.
Continue your arduous journey
This is not your destination.
(tr. Daud Kamal, 2006, p. 104)
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The poet realised that freedom from foreign imperialism was meaningless without
social emancipation. Reiterating this stance of Faiz, Prof. Mumtaz Hussain says, “War
in pre-independence period was a war against British imperialism and Fascism and
the war in post-independence period is a war for social liberation” (In Malik, 2008,
p.74). Before proceeding upon research questions-based analysis of the poetry of Faiz,
it is appropriate to explain the title of the chapter and to highlight the salient features
of his Marxist vision to contextualize the discussion in the main stream of his political
idealism.
5.1 Romance and Revolution in Faiz
During the age of Faiz, two schools of thought dominated the literary world:
the aesthetic approach and the purposive view of art. The aesthetic approach (art for
art sake) was mainly concerned with the form of art and evaluated art in terms of its
aesthetic value and did not address the issues of contemporary socio-political realities
surrounding the artist. The purposive view of art (art for life sake) rejected the
aesthetic view of art based on self-centred approach of the artist and considered it
obligatory on the writer to depict social reality. Faiz, who stood for the purposive
view of art, also acknowledged romantic aspect of his socialist realism. Commenting
on the link between realism and romanticism, Faiz says:
This perception of reality would inevitably demand not merely a
representational view of the present but also an imaginative view
of the past and some foreseeing of the future, in Ghalib‟s phrase
„to be a nightingale of a garden yet unborn‟. And this would
inevitably add a romantic dimension to the realism of the writer.
(In Mirza, 2005, p. 38)
The term „Romance‟ in the poetry of Faiz denotes four things: it refers to the
use of romantic form of Urdu-Persian tradition; it also stands for the imaginative view
and lyrical glorification of his ideology; refers to the poet‟s unflinching faith and deep
intellectual and emotional attachment with his ideology; and it also points to the
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poet‟s expression of his unrequited love. The basic reason of the use of the romantic
form was to keep his political content covert and veiled in order to avoid vulgarization
of his art as Faiz was committed to maintain the aesthetic value of his poetry
independent of its content.
Besides, Faiz does not believe in separation of aesthetics from politics. In the
words of Hafeez Malik, Faiz developed a “unique technique of double entendre in his
fascinating verses which telescoped love and politics in a distinguishable duality-in-
unity” (1967, p. 660). Furthermore, his commitment with his political idealism is not
an extrinsic phenomenon. It is a call from within. The poet‟s concern for the victims
of injustice is more of an end in itself. It is a consolation and self-fulfillment. The poet
idealizes victory of his political ideals because it will bring qualitative change in the
life of the oppressed but his personal devotion does not require any materialistic
reward. He romanticizes struggle irrespective of its outcome. Either he wants to defeat
the forces of oppression or is sure to receive martyrdom. Despite strong political
implications of his poetry, Faiz did not abandon the expression of his unrequited
personal love rather he used it for greater objectives. Dissidents of Faiz claim that
after writing the poem, “Mujh Se Pehli Si Mohabbat Mere Mehboob na Maang” (Do
not Ask, 1935), the chapter of individual romance and love was closed forever. It is a
mistaken view of the fact. In reality, now the domain of love extended from the love
of individual to the love of the mankind. Expressing this extension of love from the
individual to the collective consciousness, the poet in the above-mentioned poem
says:
If I could only make you mine
Destiny would, forever, be in my hands.
Of course, it was never like this.
This was just a hope, a dream.
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Now I know
There are afflictions
Which have nothing to do with desire,
Raptures
Which have nothing to do with love
(tr. Daud Kamal, 2006, p. 164)
It means that for Faiz, love for individual and love for mankind are indivisible and
interdependent. He felt that his love could only flourish in a peaceful, just and
egalitarian culture. It taught him a sense of sharing others‟ joys and sorrows. It
inspired sacrifice and selflessness. He could discern between love and infatuation. In
case of genuine love, self-fulfillment occurs only through the satisfaction of the social
instinct whereas infatuation promotes stupor and self-indulgence.
The term „Revolution‟ stands for Faiz‟s advocacy of socialistic revolution
based on his Marxist political ideals to materialize the dream of exploitation-free
world. So romance and revolution of Faiz is contextualized in poeticisation of his
concern for the miseries of the oppressed and the glory of their struggle for a better
future. The phrase, „Romance and Revolution‟ taken as a whole, refers to the balance
and moderation which Faiz maintained in his art when intellectuals and writers were
preferring criticism of life to the glorification of life, materialism to metaphysics,
realism to romance and collectivism to individualism. They were preferring masses to
the elites, revolution to reform and content to form. Experimentation replaced
tradition and subjectivism gave way to objectivity.
5.2 Salient Features of Faiz’s Marxist Poetry
The political and literary ideals of Faiz are rooted in Marxist vision of history,
society, and culture. The salient features of Faiz‟s political poetry are given as under.
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5.2.1 Universality of Faiz’s Ideological Art
Faiz did not confine himself to the cause of the oppressed in his homeland
only. His most cherished value was love for the fellow human beings. Faiz, like other
progressives was internationalist in his ideological commitments. He glorifies truth
and denounces falsehood in all its manifestations. The poet admires the forces of
resistance and change against hegemonic order transcending all racial and cultural
prejudices. He expressed the voice of his conscience with courage over the issues of
international political significance. Faiz‟s poem “Ham Jo Tareek Rahon Me Maray
Gae” (An Elegy for the Rosenbergs) is a solid example of universality of his
ideological and artistic vision. Written in 1954, the poem glorifies the sacrifice of
German-born American Scientists. These scientists were accused of leaking
information regarding American Nuclear Energy programme to the Soviet Union.
They were accused under the charge of treason by the US government. The celebrated
poem of Faiz deals with the ethical aspect of the scientists‟ act of sharing information
with the people outside USA. The poet raises the question whether it is a crime to
share an invention or discovery of common human interest with someone outside
national borders. Actually, the trial of American Scientists took place at a time when
anti-Soviet feelings were at its climax in America. In the 1950s, under the influence of
anti-Soviet propaganda of the American Senator McCarthy, most of the US citizens
including intellectuals were under total surveillance against any kind of sympathy for
the socialist cause on the US soil.
Paying tribute to the sacrifice of the American scientists, Faiz depicts them as
the benefactors of the whole mankind whose martyrdom will continue to inspire the
purveyors of hope and truth. The poet says:
But from the spot where we fell
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Others will set out, carrying our banner
For we have shortened their journey
Softened the pain they would have suffered
Made the world of gift of our love
We who fell by the wayside.
(tr. Khalid Hasan, 2006, p. 194)
Expressing his international vision Faiz says:
As a poet or artist, even though I run no state and command no
power, I am entitled …that I am my brother‟s keeper and my
brother is the whole of mankind. (In Adeeb Khalid, n.d, p. 264)
5.2.2 Rejection of Monolithic View of Marxism
The political content of the poetry of Faiz does neither denote affiliation with
any political party nor with any particular political individual. But it also does not
mean to deny the poet‟s extensive knowledge of politics. Despite his Marxist Leninist
orientations, Faiz did not subordinate his art to the official Communist ideological
framework. He kept himself at a distance from the restrictions of Communist dogma
and capitalized upon all the historical, religious, cultural and literary traditions of his
society which helped depict the conscience of the suffering humanity. He is political
in a way that his poetics is the poetics of emancipation. In his poem “Rabba Sachya”
(Supplication) Faiz clearly rejects Marxist monolithic view of economic equality and
pleads for the principle of sufficiency for all. The poet says:
Who cares for
Wealth or power. All we want
Is honourable bread
And something
To cover our nakedness
(tr Daud Kamal, 2006, p. 180)
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5.2.3 Rejection of Imperialistic Wars against Third World
Faiz rejected imperialistic wars against Third World societies. He supported
through his verse and prose the victims of imperialistic aggression, tyranny,
exploitation and occupation either they were Palestinians under Israeli occupation,
Lebanese under Seige or Algerians under France. In the poem “Falasteeni Shohda Jo
Pardais Me Kam Ai” (For the Palestinian Martyrs), Faiz admires the sacrifices of the
Palestinian freedom-fighters who have received martyrdom during resistance against
the occupying Israeli forces. The poet is of the view that the sacrifices of the
Palestinian freedom-fighters boost the courage of the expatriated Palestinians who are
searching for identity and space in foreign lands. The sacrifice of a single freedom-
fifgter gives birth to many other Palestinian freedom-fighters. The poet says:
Far away on the indifferent highways
Of foreign lands
Or on the unfamiliar streets
Of alien cities,
Whenever I unfurl
The banner of my blood,
There flutters the flag of Palestine.
One Palestine has been destroyed
By my enemies
But my agony has given birth to innumerable Palestines
(tr. Daud Kamal, 2006, p. 162)
In another poem “Aik Naghma Karbala-e-Beirut Kay Liay” (The Massacre of
Beirut), Faiz commemorates the beauty of Beirut and the valiant courage of Labanese
against Israeli occupation. He says:
Every single destroyed house, every single ruin
Is more magnificent than the legendary palace of Dara.
Every single fighter is more valiant than Alexander.
Every single girl is more alluring Lyla.
(tr. Daud Kamal, 2006, p. 160)
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To add to it in the poem “Ajao Mere Africa” (Africa Come Back), Faiz anticipates the
rising African resistance movement against French imperialism. He affirms that the
Africans have started to shake the shackles of foreign bondage. African drum-beats
and the dances symbolize emergence of armed resistance against foreign occupation.
The poet says:
Come back for I have lifted my forehead from the dust;
Come back for I have stripped away the bark of sorrow from
My eyes;
Come back for I have shaken away my pain.
(tr. Khalid Hassan, 2006, p. 254)
“Come back” is a clarion call to the pre-imperial Africa of drum beats and marshall
dances.
5.2.4 Rejection of Territorial Nationalism
Faiz rejected the twentieth century nationalism as an alternative to socialistic
struggle against local and foreign oppression. Nationalism demands more sacrifices
from the ordinary people who are already suffering from socio-economic and political
injustice. It seeks complicity from masses in the name of patriotism as interpreted by
the hegemonic class. Elaborating Faiz‟s rejection of nationalism, Fayyaz says:
These movements (nationalism) are bound to urge people,
particularly people without any adequate means of subsistence, to
sacrifice more and more of their rights, to maintain and defend the
status quo, to accept uncritically in the name of nationhood more
and more mystiques of politics. (n.d, p. 215)
Due to his rejection of divisive ideology of territorial nationalism, Faiz has been
labeled as unpatriotic by a number of his dissidents. Such charges are leveled by those
who believe in narrow and partisan interpretations of nationalism and cannot
transcend territorial boundaries to see larger and broader human issues and
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predicaments. Appreciating internationalist perspective of the poet, Muhammad
Safeer Awan says:
Faiz, with his cosmopolitan vision, was able to rise above the
parochialism of bourgeois ideology. His Marxist understanding of
history and links with many global resistance figures provided him
the opportunity to rise above the narrow divisions of national
boundaries. (2011, p. 4)
Humanistic stance of Faiz on Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971 is a clear message of
his rejection of jingoistic nationalism which brings out nothing but bloodshed. He
took these wars in terms of huge loss of precious lives and asserted that neither side
would be the beneficiary of these wars, particularly Pakistan. He shocked his patriotic
friends by refusing to write war songs. Instead the poet wrote elegies like “Black-out”
and “Sipahi ka Marsiyah” (An Elegy for a Fallen Soldier). He also wrote the poems
like “Hazar kro Mere Tan Se” (The Festival of Bloodshed) and “Teh bah Teh Dil ki
Kadoorat” (The Dust of Hatred in My Eyes) in which the poet pleaded the viewpoint
of Bangladesh1.
In the poem “Black out” which he wrote at the outbreak of 1965 war, Faiz
compares black out with mindlessness and loss of vision. He compares war hysteria
with lethal poison. He wants an end of hostilities and restoration of peace. The poet
says:
And my heart
That a lethal poison has ravaged
Again finds peace and rest.
For I want to set out again
With new eyes, a new heart
To sing about your beauty
And to write about love.
(tr. Khalid Hasan, 2006, p. 260)
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In “Sipahi Ka Marsiyah” (Elegy for a Soldier), Faiz expresses sense of loss and grief
over the deaths of the soldiers through the lamentations of their grief-stricken
mothers. The poet says:
But why are you sleeping so quietly
Upon the dusty earth?
Wake up, son,
My obstinate son,
Wake up
(tr. Khalid Hasan, 2006, p. 270)
Faiz also shared the anxiety and concern of Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi
Intellectuals over Indian nuclear explosion of 1974. He always stood for disarmament.
5.2.5 A Poet of Peace
Faiz is a poet of peace and for him “struggle for peace and struggle for
freedom are synonyms. They are two aspects of one reality” (Hussain, 1989, p. 123).
Faiz‟s poetry of protest and resistance is essentially the poetry of struggle for freedom
and peace and knows no compromise on self-respect and dignity of the common
people. Faiz does not strive for peace only in his country but is an apostle of peace for
the whole world. His philosophy of peace transcends all distinctions based on
religion, nation and culture. Faiz protests against war anywhere in the world if it is not
the war for peace and emancipation of the oppressed. He opposed the forces of
aggression and war throughout his career.
According to Faiz, the most civilized and peaceful way of struggle for
freedom is the faculty of speech. In his poem “Bol” (Speak) which was written during
the Second World War when protest was banned and political liberties were curtailed
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in the name of war-time needs, Faiz expresses his commitment with the artistic right
of speech against cruelty and injustice in these words:
Speak, for your lips are free;
Speak, your tongue is still yours,
Your upright body is yours –
Speak, your life is still yours.
(tr. Kiernan, 1971, p. 87)
The political context does not restrict the scope of the poem. In the words of Ralph
Russell, “The poem „Bol‟ remains a spirited call to all free men, in any country and
any age, to speak out boldly what free men have a duty to say, even though they risk
imprisonment if they do so” (1992, p. 233).
Faiz‟s vision of peace is directly linked with his optimism about the future of
mankind. He was never unmindful of the fact that those who are the beneficiaries of
the existing system will certainly hinder and repress the struggle of the dispossessed
to achieve freedom and peace. He could visualize that the march towards social and
economic freedom was a highly complex and demanding task which required
sustained and patient effort. Appreciating Faiz‟s consciousness of the arduous nature
of the struggle of the poor against the privileged ones, Khalid Sohail (2011) in “Faiz:
In Search of Freedom” says, “He (Faiz) was also in tune with the historical changes of
society and that is why he believed that people struggling for freedom should be
patient. He knew that sometimes it takes generations to achieve certain freedoms” (p.
65). It is for the struggling masses that Faiz wrote a number of poems reassuring the
disinherited and the homeless of their final victory against injustice and oppression.
Unlike N. M. Rashid2 who is pessimistic about the future of mankind and believes
that collective suicide is the only panacea of all human ills, Faiz has no doubt about
the bright future of the masses. His poem “Chand Roz Aur Meri Jan” (A Few Days
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More) is one such example of the poetry of reassurance consolation and optimism. An
excerpt from the poem testifies to the mood of hope and optimisms:
Only a few days, dear one, a few days more.
Here in oppression‟s shadows condemned to breathe,
……………………………………………………..
Yes, but to tyranny not many hours are left now;
Patience, few hours of complaint are left us to bear.
(tr. Kiernan, 1971. P.79)
The mood of hope and optimism in this poem reminds us of the similar hope of the
coming light of the day in the poetry of Zaheer Kashmiri, a renowned progressive
writer of Pakistan and a contemporary of Faiz. In his self-assured tone the poet claims
that he is the lantern of the last moment of the night. The light of the day is about to
usher.
After elaborating the title and the salient features of Faiz‟s Marxist vision, I
proceed to the textual analysis of his poetry in the light of the research questions.
5.3 Textual Analysis
Research questions-based analysis of the poetry of Faiz comprises four parts.
As there are four research questions, each part deals with the text-based study of a
single question in line with the sequence of research questions given in the chapter of
Introduction, page no. 17.
PART I
5.3.1 Dialectical Method of Faiz
The first question deals with the dialectical method in the poetry of Faiz.
Dialectical method has been elaborated in the third chapter, pp. 137-38. The main
concerns of this question are the dialectical method/realism of Faiz, the poet‟s view of
history as a perpetual conflict between classes for monopoly over means of
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production and the role of the artist and his vision of a future socialistic world order
based on past utopia.
Being dialectical in approach, Faiz rejects bourgeois aesthetics which
considers the worlds both physical and human as immutable and that the art provides
only the escapist entertainment to man. The poet‟s glorification of praxis in nature,
the landscape, the natural cycle of seasons and the binary opposition of „night and
dawn‟ which reflect regeneration from decay, establishes his faith in social praxis
because the poet draws strong analogies between material and social worlds. He
considers natural world as a macrocosm and the social world its microcosm. He
advocated critical consciousness and glorified the constancy of motion in natural and
the human world to motivate the masses for struggle to achieve their dream of a better
future. His is Socialist realism which aspires to critically comprehend the various
dynamics of social totality. His dialectical realism includes understanding of
individual thoughts and feelings in terms of the social relations, the class struggle for
monopoly of means of production and the profit principle etc. The poet historicises
present to establish it as part of the temporal process. Faiz sees existing exploitative
system as an antithesis of a utopian order in past where there was social harmony and
cooperation among the people. He is convinced of the similar socialistic society in
future via struggle of the masses. Faiz‟s view of good poetry strengthens dialectical
realism. In an interview with Shafi Aqeel titled “What Faiz Said” (Jo Faiz Ne Kaha”),
Faiz identifies
Three elements which determine the quality and worth of the art.
The three elements are: i) subjectivism ii) external social realities
surrounding the poet iii) universality based on the perception of the
contemporary situation. External social realities surrounding the
poet need to be studied through awareness of the past and
universality refers to the futuristic vision based on the
understanding of past and present world (1984, p. 105).
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5.3.2 History as a Perpetual Conflict
Faiz projects history as a perpetual conflict between the forces of good and the
forces of evil, between the oppressors and the oppressed and glorifies the sacrifices of
the purveyors of hope. He continues to expose the inherent contradictions of the
dominant system which is the result of the prolonged oppression ranging from
slavery, feudalism to the current exploitative system. Under normal socio-political
conditions as they once existed in primitive communist era, human relations must be
built on the principles of social, economic and political justice. People must work for
their collective welfare. The capital produced should be shared equitably whereas
history tells that ordinary people are denied their share out of the collective labour.
They live in pain, hunger and destitution. This concern for injustice with the
oppressed which is reflected throughout Faiz‟s poetry is dialectical. It not only
disillusions the masses from the hegemonic class but also motivates them for
collective action against tyranny. In the poem “Nisar Main Teri Galyon Kay” (To the
Streets of My Land), Faiz has summed up his dialectical view of human history in the
following words:
But man has always fought oppression
The oppressor‟s ways haven‟t changed
Nor the ways of those of fight back
Our flowers have always bloomed through fire
Oppression never wins, and we never lose
(tr. Khalid Hasan, 2006, p. 204)
Faiz has also encapsulated his dialectical vision of history in his speech on the eve of
Lenin Peace Prize in Moscow in the following words:
There has always been a struggle between people who believe in
progress and the evolution of the human beings and people who
want to prevent progress and evolution. The struggle between
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people who want humanity to progress and those who want it to
regress has been going on for centuries and is even present in our
time. (In Sohail, 2011, p. 54)
Faiz believes that existing bourgeois culture is the product of class struggle in
which capitalistic class has acquired dominance over means of production. Faiz does
not agree with capitalistic propaganda in favour of uneven distribution of material
resources as an imperative of economy. He considers human beings as basically
benign and does not acknowledge human nature as unchangeable in its formation. For
him, the existing socio-economic injustice is the result of the manipulation of wealth
and comforts by the few. He is critical of the role of intellectuals and the dogma in
promoting capitalistic world view. He urges the intellectuals and the writers to help
the oppressed come out of their misery by exposing contradictions of the dominant
ideology and the system surrounding them.
Faiz challenges oppression as a global issue perpetrated against the suppressed
classes. Their potential, intelligence, vision and labour are exploited by those who
regulate their wages. Hence, majority is subjected to the will of minority. Faiz
believes that art must be committed to forge collective will of the masses to
materialise their dream of a dignified life. An excerpt from the poem “Raqeeb Se” (To
the Rival) depicts the plight of the humiliated who are reified as objects / unit of
production and are pushed into helplessness by those who have monopolised the
resources and determine their hours of work and wages:
Where ever now the friendless crouch and wail
Till in their eyes the trickling tears grow cold
Are where the vultures hovering on broad pinions
Snatches the morsel from their feeble hold
(tr Kiernan, 1971, p.69)
The metaphor of vulture refers to the exploitative and greedy ruling elites who are so
materialistic and selfish that they do not grant the poor even their bare subsistence
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level of existence. They do not acknowledge their basic human needs. The above
mentioned excerpt points to the gulf that exists between the hegemonic class and the
working class. It also points to the non-existence of humanistic values in capitalistic
culture.
5.3.3 Past and Future Utopias of Faiz and their Frame of Reference
Faiz like Marxists believes in past utopia of justice, harmony and collectivity
against the existing dystopia of injustice. Marxist doctrine which is chronologically
rooted in its dissatisfaction with the 19th
century western capitalism and its
imperialistic agenda, glorifies pre-feudal/pre-colonial pluralistic cultural and social
patterns which reflected the aspirations of the masses. Faiz equates the pre-imperial
plural cultural heritage of the sub-continent with primitive communist stage of social
history as envisaged by Karl Marx. It is this belief in the existence of primitive
communist society in past, what Marxists claim, establishes future Marxist utopia as
realizable. Elucidating the cultural growth in sub-continent between the 16th
and 19th
centuries, Faiz asserts that there flourished two distinct cultural patterns of socio-
political behavior: imperial culture and the popular mass culture. The imperial culture
“stood for social elitism, racial exclusiveness, doctrinaire religion, political
absolutism, and total alienation from their new homeland and its culture. The other
school (mass culture) propagated social egalitarianism, humanistic mysticism, racial
and national integration and total identification with the land” (2011, p. 27). Faiz
romanticizes the latter „integrationist‟ culture which is reflected in the folk literature
of Sultan Baho3, Waris Shah
4, Sachal Sar Mast
5, Bulleh Shah
6, Shah Latif
7, Ameer
Khusroo8 and other mystic poets of sub-continent. Appreciating universal and
integrationist role of mysticism and mystic poetic tradition, AnneMarie Schimmel
says, “The Sufi is no longer Arab, Hindu, Turk, or Peshawari; eventually Hallaj and
235
the judge who condemned him, the lover and the theologian, are seen as nothing but
different manifestations of the one divine reality” (2006, p. 386).
Faiz invokes legends both heroic and mystical in pre-colonial past in his
society irrespective of caste, colour and creed. Faiz‟s utopia both past and future does
not incorporate within its folds the exploitative feudals and capitalists and their
religious cronies. The protest and struggle of the forces of redemption is sure to
intimidate and unnerve the tyrants because silence over injustice strengthens forces of
evil. Faiz is not alone to emphasise upon struggle and sacrifice to reach destination.
We find its echo in the poetry of Urdu poet Majrooh Sultan Puri who uses the similes
of the reign of darkness and the siege of the enemies for the oppressive regimes. The
persona of Majrooh Sultan Puri who is a captive to the reign of terror says that
someone is calling him from the siege of the enemies. He should see from the heights
of gallows to ensure whether it is the entourage of the morning.
The historical utopia of Faiz is rooted in and accentuated by the scriptural
truths of the vice-regency of man and the decree of the Doomsday as ordained in the
Holy Quran. In the poetry of Faiz, the consolation about the victory of proletariat and
the day of reckoning – a kind of future utopia is in reality the future regeneration of
the pre-lapsarian era under the vice-regency of man as ordained in the Holy Quran.
The myth of vice-regency of man which finds its classic manifestation in Faiz‟s poem
“Rabba Sachaya” (Supplication) refers to the scriptural injunctions in which God
proclaimed man as „Lord of the Universe‟ with bounties of nature at his service. The
poet says:
God-
You had promised
Earth‟s vicegerency to man.
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Grace abounding
And dignity.
(tr. Kamal & Hasan, 2006, p.180)
The persona of the poem who belongs to the oppressed class not only laments
over the loss of that utopia in post-lapsarian world but also protests with his creator
over his indifference to the plight of his successor in this dystopia of injustice. He
categorises and denounces the coercive role of repressive state apparatuses like police,
revenue and civil administration in forcing complicity from the oppressed people. The
persona of the poem rejects bourgeois made socio-political hierarchy. He questions
the validity of concentration of wealth in few hands and laments over the loss of
human dignity and self-respect. He no longer aspires for wealth and mansions which
symbolize Mannon‟s worship of money but asserts availability of means which fulfill
his genuine and human social needs. He is even ready to defy God, in case he
continues to subscribe to the false consciousness of bourgeois class. An excerpt from
the same poem reflects the process of radical transformation from a true believer into
a skeptic under circumstances of socio-economic injustice:
If you (God) accept our plea
We‟ll do
Whatever you say.
If not we‟ll look for another God
(tr. Daud Kamal, 2006, p. 180)
Similarly, Faiz‟s belief in future utopia is also inscribed in the Holy Quran in
the promise of the Day of Judgment where the innocent (oppressed) will be rewarded
and the evil doers will be penalized. Faiz‟s unflinching faith in the day of reckoning is
best expressed in his poem “Hum Dekhain Gay” (We shall See). The poet says:
237
We shall live to see,
So it is writ
We shall live to see
…………………….
When the earth will dance
Beneath the feet of the once enslaved;
And heavens‟ll shake with thunder
Over the heads of tyrants.
(tr. Khalid Hasan, 2006, p. 230)
In his oracular voice, the poet glorifies the affinity between his ideological
commitments and the socialistic spirit of Islam. The picture of the day of reckoning in
the poem is closely modeled on the divine design of the Doomsday when mountains
will be blowing like the wisps of cotton. In the poem, the mountains of oppression
stand for repressive regimes which will be dashed to the ground by the revolutionary
forces.
The poem provides inspiration to the oppressed by exposing to them the
manipulative and cunning role of the super-structure of feudal-cum-capitalistic
regimes and motivates them to materialise the Islamic concept of equity of man
transcending all materialistic, economic socio-political and racial barriers.
As the socialistic vision grew broader and he became deeply involved in the
Palestinian and African resistance movements, the use of Quranic vocabulary
increased manifold in his poetry. It seemed that the child in Faiz who was imparted
religious education by Molvi Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti and Molvi Mir Hassan Sialkoti had
resurrected. In this way, his Marxism was an extension, not deviation from his
religious training. In his earlier political poetry, Faiz kept his tone mild and used
words such as „Princess of City of Life‟ for God but in later collections like Sar-e-
Waadi-e-Sina (The Valley of Sinai) and Sham-e-Shahr-e-Yaran (The Evening of the
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City of Friends), he persistently used Quranic vocabulary for Divine Powers. His God
is no longer the God of the valley but is the God (Rab) whose vice-regent on earth is
the man – the farmer, the worker and the dispossessed. Commenting upon the Faiz‟s
perspective of Marxism, says Malik:
Not only the Quranic imagery but also the whole Quranic verses
are interspersed in his later poems. In poems like „Meri Arj Suno‟
(Listen to My Request) and „Yabqa Wajho Raabiq‟ Marxist and
monotheistic humanism are united and in poems like „Mere Dard
Ko Jo Zuban Mile‟ (If My Suffering Found a Tongue), one finds
the reflection of Iqbal‟s philosophy of ego. (2008, pp. 105-06)
This reminds us of Iqbal‟s poem “Lenin in Presence of God”. Written in the political
context of Arab-Israel War, the poem is a clarion call to all the lovers of God and
truth to assemble and rise up against tyranny and falsehood. Faiz exhorts upon the
lovers of freedom across the world to give rebuttal to the centuries-old custom of
submission to the will of the rulers. In Malik‟s words, “This injunction of refusal is
reminiscent of Iqbal‟s rejection of monarchy and refusal of priesthood” (p. 180). The
most consistently created analogy between Marxist revolution and the Islamic belief
in reward and punishment on The Day of Judgment again verifies the deep influence
of Islamic teachings on the political doctrines of Faiz.
A similar mood of reassurance about „eternal justice‟, „reward and
punishment‟ is reiterated by Faiz in another poem “Tarana” (Anthem). He invokes
analogy between the eventual victory of the proletariat and the Doomsday where the
oppressed will be raised to the place of honour and the oppressors will be chastised.
This assurance of the apocalypse sets the mood of the whole poem. The poet
anticipates the imminent fall of the thrones and the crowns. He uses the metaphor of
rivers-in-flood for the popular uprising which will smash all the means of oppression
which are symbolized by chains and dungeons in the poem. The poet exhorts upon the
masses to leave no stone unturned as their destination is ahead of them. They are to
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render sacrifices to achieve social emancipation and to bring the oppressors to justice.
He motivates the oppressed to break their silence and speak against cruelty and
injustice. An excerpt from the “Tarana” (Anthem) reflects the poet‟s sentiment for
popular uprising against oppression:
Oh! People of the dust, rise
The time has come when thrones and crown
Will be tossed in the air,
And chains and prisons smashed.
(tr. Kiernan, 1971, pp.54-55)
Islam is a democratic and socialistic religion which does not approve of
theocracy. Faiz who is the poet of peace and of the people substantiates his Marxist
idealism of defeating oppression via masses through the analogy of the Prophet‟s act
of purification of the House of God from the idols. The idols represent the tyrants and
the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him)‟s act of smashing those idols reflects
the will of God as executed by his true worshipper. Faiz asserts that the acts of
cleansing the world from the false gods will continue to occur as it has been a part and
parcel of human history. Furthermore, the poet refers to the revolutionary stance of
the Arab mystic Mansoor Hallaj who proclaimed the sovereignty of the people as the
will of God and challenged the hegemony of the ruling elites. Faiz‟s future utopia is in
reality the materialization of Mansoor‟s ideology of the sovereignty of the masses.
The poem “Hum Dekhain Gay” (We shall See) which was written immediately after
Islamic Revolution of Iran represents Faiz‟s conviction of similar victories of the
people against thrones throughout the world particularly the postcolonial societies. An
excerpt from the poem testifies to the conviction of the poet:
We, the rejects of the earth,
Will be raised to a place of honour.
All crowns‟ll be tossed in the air,
All thrones‟ll be smashed
(tr. Kamal & Hasan, 2006, p. 230)
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The poet is also seen clearly establishing Slavoj Zizek‟s point that the wretched of the
earth will be the absolute beneficiaries of the collapse of the existing hegemonic
order. The similar mood of imminence and inevitability of the apocalypse is found in
the poetry of Sahir Ludhianvi, a contemporary Urdu poet of Faiz. The poet proclaims
that the sky will dance and the earth will sing to celebrate the arrival of the dawn.
Dawn symbolizes the end of the reign of darkness and the beginning of the era of
social emancipation.
Faiz‟s view of history is universal and pervasive. He not only glorifies the
heroic struggle of Prophet Ibrahim, Shabbir9 and Mansur Al-Hallaj in past but
continues to refer to the conflicts between the tyrants and the freedom fighters in the
current era anywhere across the globe in order to inspire the humiliated people of the
society. His poems like “Africa Come Back”, “For the Iranian Students”, and “An
Elegy of the Rosenbergs” are substantial evidence of the continuity of the centuries-
old conflict between the forces of falsehood and the forces of liberation. Commenting
on the universality of the dialectical appeal in “An Elegy for The Rosenbergs”, Major
Ishaaq, a co-accused with Faiz in Rawalpindi conspiracy case says that:
The universality of this poem is strange. It has transcended the
limitations of space and time to unite the martyrs of every country.
This poem seems to repeat the slogan of the blood-stained
freedom-fighters of Karbala10
, Palasi11
, Suranga Puttam12
, Jhansi13
,
Stalingrad14
, Malaya15
, Kenya16
, Morocco17
, Tehran, Karachi and
Dhaka. (In Jabeen, 2008, p. 361)
5.3.4 The Role of Dialectical Criticism in Literature
Emphasizing the role of dialectical realism in literature, Faiz asserts that the
true artist is one who makes the suffering people realize their true self and inspires
them to act collectively and defiantly against those who are responsible for their
miseries. A progressive artist is a worshipper of human potential who does not keep
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the masses in a state of stupor and ignorance and tries to bring them out of the
uncritical acceptance of hegemonic ideology by making them believe in human
dignity irrespective of their materialistic conditions. In his famous poem “Dogs”, Faiz
addresses the humiliated ones as „stray street dogs‟ whose existence is worthless and
miserable, who are condemned to live like beggars and whose lot is only to suffer.
They are insulted and forced to live on garbage and trash. Their oppressors keep them
divided by giving them incentives in personal capacities. But if someone makes them
realise that their miserable plight is not the work of Divine design rather they are
deprived of their due dignity and rights by those who have monopolized means of
production, the same worthless creatures can create commotion in the world by
turning the tables against their oppressors:
If these oppressed creatures lifted their heads,
Mankind would forget all its insolence;
(tr. Kiernan, 1971, p. 85)
In terms of dialectics, two issues are raised in the poem, which are indictment of the
existing capitalistic system and the emancipatory function of literature. The
metaphors of the „arrogant man‟ and „Masters‟ stand for the oppressors while the
metaphor of „someone‟ stands for the socially-committed writers.
To sum up, the study of poetry of Faiz‟s dialectical method, it is established
that Faiz presents history as a perpetual conflict between classes for mastery over
resources. His Marxist‟s vision of future utopia is rooted in the pre-imperial, pre-
feudal pluralistic culture of the sub-continent and the Quranic Injunctions. As a
progressive writer, he comprehends reality on the basis of three concentring circles of
being: subjectivism, immediate socio-historical surroundings and the contemporary
world.
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PART II
5.4 Critique of Hegemonic Order and Frame of Reference in Faiz
The second research question deals with the indictment of capitalist hegemony
in Faiz‟s emancipatory literature. It also deals with the influence of the frame of
reference on the poet‟s ideology. Faiz rejects existing bourgeois culture as non-
reflective of the aspirations of the ordinary people. He links culture with means of
production. As means of production are monopolised by the ruling elites, so the
existing culture reflects the will of the minority. Culture representing the will of the
people and their genuine values and norms can only be guaranteed in egalitarian
society where there is equitable distribution of resources. Reflecting upon falsities of
existing elite culture in sub-continent as continuation of colonial rules, Faiz in
“Problems of Cultural Planning in Asia” says:
Prolonged colonial subjection subverted the native cultural patterns
of our old society and the imperialist rulers sought to replace them
by their own cultural imports. Everything „native‟ by way of
culture and the arts was held up to contempt and ridicule and their
western counterparts held up as the only models fit for imitation.
(1974, p. 41)
Socially-committed literature exposes inherent contradictions of the existing
system to develop critical consciousness in masses so that they reconsider their
unconditional complicity to the socio-political and economic norms of the hegemonic
class. It is essential to help the masses realise that the existing system is neither
permanent nor immutable.
Faiz whose critique of capitalism is conditioned by the particular socio-
political culture of Pakistan clearly identifies the manipulative and repressive role of
the ideological and the repressive state apparatuses to break the „prison-house‟ of
false consciousness. The particular frame of reference in which Faiz‟s poetic response
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is produced enhances its emancipatory appeal for the masses of his country. However,
it does not limit its scope. During independence movement, the masses of North
Western provinces of the sub-continent took active part in liberation movement
against the British Raj with the hope that freedom from the imperial masters will
bring qualitative change in their lives. They will no longer be taken for units of
production. Freedom will help restore their human dignity and socio-political and
economic injustice will come to an end. But quite unfortunately, the post-
independence era in Pakistan proved just an extension of the imperialistic exploitative
system. The elite class promoted by the British regime to serve its political interests
captured power and the poor people remained as deprived as they were during the
imperialistic rule.
5.4.1 Indictment of the Ruling Troika in Pakistan
Immediately after the Independence, the civil and military bureaucracy, feudal
and capitalistic hierarchy and the religious clerics formed an alliance to manipulate
power structure of the country (Pakistan). Since they had monopoly over the
materialistic resources, military and civil administration and religious ideology of the
people, they established culture, social values and politico-legal structure in such a
way as to serve their vested interests and promoted a consciousness among the masses
that their survival and existence was based on their complicity with the existing
system and ideology. Faiz, being a Marxist, considers uneven distribution of surplus
as the main justification for the validity of Socialistic world order. The peasants and
the workers who generate surplus value out of their labour and skill are denied their
due share and live in hunger and poverty. For him, this is illogical and inhuman that
one who grows crops out of his sweat and blood and transforms raw material into a
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finished product remains in misery and one who manipulates wealth and capital gets
the whole materialistic reward.
Faiz is extremely critical of materialistic nature of bourgeois culture in which
reification of the proletariat takes place. In his famous poem, “Mujh Se Pehli Si
Mohabbat Mere Mehboob na Maang” (Do not Ask), the poet gives vent to his feelings
of pain and agony over the misery, disease and hunger in the world which is booming
under the much publicized façade of growth, prosperity and enlightenment. The poet
indirectly castigates bourgeois historians and writers who have painted a rosy picture
of human history. They have established history as a march towards social
emancipation, economic prosperity and intellectual freedom. The poet says that the
path of history is highly enigmatic because the dominant class has interspersed the
centuries held oppressions with „silk‟ and „gold cloth‟ to conceal its materialistic
designs. Rejecting this myth of glory and progress, Faiz unmasks the greater
magnitude of human sufferings. Numerous people die of hunger and disease daily
because they can neither afford bare subsistence level of existence nor medical
treatment. The fruits of the so-called progress are enjoyed only by the priviledged
class. In the poem the imagery of „layers of dust‟ oozing puss and decaying flesh
helps evoke the dehumanizing environment created by bourgeois culture which
promotes the culture of exchange value – pushing the proletariats into the abject
poverty. An excerpt from the poem reflects the helplessness of the poor in capitalistic
society where wealth is concentrated in few words:
On the dark loom of century
Woven into silk, damask, and gold cloth
Is the oppressive enigma of our lives Everywhere – in the alleys and bazars –
Human flesh is being sold –
Throbbing between layers of duct – bathed in blood.
(tr. Daud Kamal, 2006, p. 164)
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Similarly in “Mauzoo-e-Sukhan” (Poetry‟s Theme) which belongs to the same
earliest phase of his poetry, when Faiz was facing a conflict between his socialistic
consciousness and his romantic self, the poet questions the dichotomy of existence
between the life styles of the bourgeois and the proletariat in urban centres and
between the feudal aristocracy and peasantry in rural areas. On the one hand, there is
hustle and bustle of life in cities alongwith luxury and comforts and on the other hand,
there is the issue of daily livelihood and the wish for death to escape the miseries of
life. Similarly, in rural areas, the fields are full of crops with abundance of grains, but
the farmers who grow these crops are starving. An excerpt from the poem depicts this
dichotomy of existence in our exploitative system:
The multitudinous creatures of these glittering cities
Why do they keep living only in desire of death?
These lovely fields, whose bloom is bursting out,
Why does only hunger keep growing in them?
(tr. Kiernan, 1971, p. 93)
This dichotomy of existence and life style is in total contrast to the creative principle
of life and unless this gap is reduced, the dream of a Socialistic world cannot be
materialised.
5.4.2 Critique of Repressive State Apparatuses and Repressive Regimes
Faiz clearly locates the oppressive and the manipulative role of state
apparatuses peculiar to Pakistani political culture and the postcolonial societies at
large. Throughout the history of Pakistan, both the political and the military regimes
have always been averse to the growth of popular mass culture. In our culture, Civil
administration, Police and Revenue department whose constitutional role is to serve
the people, to provide them security of employment and life and to protect their
fundamental rights, act as a tool in the hands of the regimes to seek complicity of the
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of the people for the hegemonic class. Sub-divisional Revenue Officer, Police Station
House Officer and Village Revenue Collector act as metaphors of State repression.
“Rabba Sachaya” (Supplication) depicts the wretchedness of the common man in
front of the State officials who use force and coercion to gain submission to the will
of the ruling elites. The poet says:
Writhing
In our bones
Like trapped animals –
Hunger and humiliation
Our daily lot.
(tr. Kamal & Hasan, 2006, p. 180)
The actual condition of the poverty-stricken individual under oppressive system is in
total contrast to „the myth of vice-regency of man on earth‟. The imagery of the
„trapped animal‟ depicts the hopelessness and the helplessness of the oppressed under
the selfish and self-aggrandised world of Capitalism.
The poet extends the theme of exploitation and oppression in our socio-
political culture with more intensity and vigour in poems like “Ye Fasl Umeedon ki,
Hamdam” (This Crop of Hope) and “Intasaab” (Dedication). Of course the landscape,
the physical setting and the frame of reference of these poems is West Pakistan and
pre-dominatingly Punjab but the content represents the exploitative culture of the
postcolonial societies which deprives the peasants and the workers of the fruit of their
labour. In the “Ye Fasl Umeedon ki, Hamdam” (This Crop of Hope), the poet
describes the futile labour and toil which the peasant endures to bring fertility to the
barren and salinity-hit lands of the country. He works from dawn to dusk with the
hope of a better crop but of no use. This emphasis on the hard work of the peasant
indirectly exposes the indifference of the power corridors and the feudals towards the
plight of the peasant. The entire imagery and the metaphors of the poem are related to
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the untiring labour of the farmer in the face of the dehumanising role of the state and
the feudals. This state of affairs raises serious concerns about the avowed objectives
of the freedom from imperial rule. The concept of welfare state reflecting the
aspirations of the oppressed class seems only a fantasy. Rather the socio-political and
economic injustice at the hands of one‟s own compatriots is more painful and
disappointing. In the words of Dr Balooch, the poem under discussion “tells the whole
story of decaying plants and crops, the futility of labour and hope of livelihood of the
farmer in salinity-hit fields and deserts of Punjab” (2011, p. 51). An excerpt from the
poem testifies to the miseries of the farmer without patronizing role of the state
organs:
This crop of our hopes,
Will once again be laid to waste;
All our work through night and day,
Will once again have turn out to be vain.
(tr. Kamal & Hasan, 2006, p. 66)
Furthermore, the State and the hegemonic class has not only deviated from
extending helping hand to the poor village folk but also intensified the imperial
culture of exploitation, oppression and self-aggrandisement. In terms of history, the
territory, which now constitutes Pakistan, has always been a source of attraction for
foreign invaders due to its fertile land. The imperialists have kept this land and its
inhabitants in bondage. But quite ironically, this oppression, plunder and injustice has
increased manifold in post-independence era. The peasant, who is the son of the soil
and manages bread and butter for the whole community, lives in extreme poverty.
Despite being the real vice-regent of earth, he faces plunder of socio-political and
administrative hierarchy. He does not enjoy the right of ownership of land which he
and his forefathers have been cultivating since decades and centuries. The legal rights
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of the land are reserved for the Feudal who rarely visits the lands and lives a life of
luxury in urban centres. Since the feudal class is the author of the cultural values and
ethics; so it is the fundamental obligation of the Peasant to obey and submit to the
authority of his master. His life, resources, honour and belongings are at the will of
his Tribal chief. The feudals not only depend upon ideological training of the
peasants, they also use force and repression both government al and personal. They
provide political patronage to the state officials, the criminals and the dacoits and use
them to maintain their hegemony, political supremacy and economic exploitation in
their Fiefdoms and constituencies. Even today, the Houses, the drawing rooms and the
compounds of the feudals are run by the human labour and the materialistic
belongings of their peasants who submit to the will of their masters by ideology and
more by force and coercion. Faiz in his poem “Intasaab” (Dedication) has aptly
depicted the helplessness, misery and exploitation of the poor. He expresses his
solidarity with the clerks, post men, coach men, railway workers and all those who do
not determine their wages and the hours of their work. The poet says:
Let me write a song for this day!
This day and the anguish of this day
For this wilderness of yellowing leaves –it is my homeland
For this carnival of suffering –which is my homeland,
Let me write of the little lives of office worker
Of the railmen
And the tonga-walahs
And of the postmen
Let me write of the poor innocent they call workers.
(tr. Shoaib Hashmi, 2011, p. 19)
For Faiz, freedom and dignity of the individual is the foundation of a truly
humanistic culture. His Marxist political doctrine is rooted in its respect for individual
freedom, human dignity and voice of the conscience. The people of the sub-continent
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and the people of Pakistan gave tremendous sacrifices for freedom from the colonial
regime. They aspired for a life of justice, equal opportunities and self-respect. But as
the political and economic descendants of the imperial bourgeois class dominated the
politics and the economy of the newly born country, the hopes for a better future of
the struggling masses were thwarted. Pakistan has a troubled political history
oscillating between civil and military regimes. In its 65 years of life, this country has
experienced four military takeovers. Even the democratic governments of Pakistan
have never been true representatives of the oppressed class. Rather they have always
served the vested interests of the urban and rural aristocracy. Since the theme of
Faiz‟s poetry is freedom and dignity of man, he has always rejected tyranny,
oppression and usurpation of the basic rights of the masses. In the preface to Sarvat
Rahman‟s 100 Poems by Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Dehra Dun (1979) says, “Faiz was soon
disillusioned by the lack of progress in democracy and social justice in Pakistan, and
he used both poems and ghazals for covert and overt criticism of the oppressors of the
people” (p. 15).
The first most oppressive turn in the history of Pakistan was the imposition of
first Martial Law by General Ayub Khan19
which destroyed the hopes of gradual
qualitative change in the life of the masses through democracy. Faiz considers
military dictatorship as the worst form of socio-political and economic oppression. In
military and civil bureaucracy, ideological and repressive state apparatuses are
utilised to promote personality worship and personal loyalty. Fundamental political
rights are usurped. Ethnicity, provincialism and religious sectarianism are incited in
order to practice „divide and rule‟. Democratic process is retarded and progressive
writers are put in solitary confinement. The intellectuals become easy targets for „The
executioner‟s hand‟. This unscrupulous hand of the murderer and the mercenary can
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be checked only through unprecedented faith, courage, love for freedom and sacrifice.
Faiz in his famous poem “Aj Bazar Mein Pa-Bajaulan Chalo” (Today Come in Fetters
to the Marketplace), which he had written at the time of the first military takeover,
gives vent to his feelings of protest, defiance and sacrifice for the sake of the
oppressed. He affirms his conviction that only the devotees of the goddess of freedom
can counter extreme repression and absolution. An excerpt from the poem depicts the
extreme rage, sorrow and regret of the poet over his unhappy moment of national
history:
The wet eye, the stormy spirits are not enough,
The accusation of secret love is not enough:
Today come in fetters to the marketplace,
Come waving hands, come exulting, dancing,
(tr. Kiernan, 1971, p. 231
The quoted lines of the poem point to the gravity of the political catastrophe and the
extremity of the reaction and resistance to overcome it.
The reaction of the poet was equally defiant against the military regime of
General Zia19
who imposed Martial Law after toppling the first popularly elected
Prime Minister of the country in 1977. This military regime resulted in the revival of
the hegemony of bureaucracy, religious clerics, capitalistic and feudal class whose
influence was sizably curtailed during Bhutto era in which common man had felt
himself to be the part of the system with a voice of his own. The military regime
imposed repressive laws banning all types of political activities. Freedom of press
became non-existent. The process of nationalization was reversed and the rights of the
workers were adversely affected. The dismissed Prime Minister was finally hanged
though a judicial process that had little credibility or legitimacy. The military regime
of Zia was backed by the USA and many European countries who considered Bhutto
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regime as an obstacle to their capitalistic agenda in the third world as Bhutto was
known for his socialistic stance and had tried to unite Afro-Asian countries
particularly the Islamic world. Faiz as a poet of the oppressed saw the fulfillment of
the aspirations of the masses of Pakistan and the postcolonial world through popularly
elected leadership which could withstand the economic and political pressure of the
Capitalistic bloc whereas the military rulers who did not enjoy the popular support of
the people looked towards foreign powers who enjoy influence over the policies of
the developing countries through their financial and military supremacy. The military
regime of Zia revived the culture of twenty two richest families of Pakistan which was
initiated and promoted by the Ayub‟s military era and was checked and marginalised
by the socialistic policies of the democratic government of Bhutto. The regressive role
of the religious class increased manifold during Zia era. Faiz was among those very
few writers who questioned and challenged the anti-people policies of the military
regime and expressed his protest and resistance while most of the writers either
become silent or were following the official interpretation of patriotism, democracy
and fundamental rights. Faiz wrote a number of poems to evoke the bleak picture of
the oppressive military regime which resulted in political chaos, economic
exploitation of the poor, suppression of the right of speech, writing and free
movement. The military rulers misinterpreted the religious ideology. They equated the
survival of Islamic ideology with the continuity of the exploitative system. In his
famous poem “Aaj Ik Harf Ko Phir Dhoondta Phirta Ha Khayal” (I Look for a Word),
Faiz depicts the military rule of General Zia as an antithesis to all norms of culture
and aesthetics. There is nothing like the beauty of fellow feelings, no words of solace,
not even the feelings of venom or revenge to motivate for actions. The whole society
seems to be in a state of apathy with no sense of orientation about future. There is
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absolute stasis. The poet exposes the lack of aesthetics, the death of artistic glory, the
intellectual stagnation and the loss of idealism under oppression. An excerpt from the
poem substantiates the aura of apathy under tyranny:
Like the raiment of the wandering lover
In tatters lies the mystery that every instrument holds
Every note is now severed from the symphony.
A disembodied voice looks for the singer;
(tr. Kamal & Hasan, 2006, p. 272)
The same mood of apathy, inactivity and purposelessness under tyranny and
exploitation is expressed by the poet in another famous poem,“Ye Waqt Matam Ki
Ghari Hay” (This is the Moment to Mourn Time). Through highly metaphorical
language of the poem, the poet evokes the theme of loneliness in the city of strangers
with no destination.
5.4.3 Critique of the Retrogressive Role of Dogma
One of the central concerns of Faiz in his critique of Capitalism is the
hypocritical behaviour of the ruling elites and their social and religious dogmas. The
hegemonic class uses all means to manipulate power to serve their profit grabbing
instincts. To perpetuate their supremacy, the social elites adopt revisionist version of
Islam which, in the words of Dr. Hussain, “neither Allama Iqbal nor the Quaid-e-
Azam (much less the Holy Prophet) would have approved” (1989, p. 37). The troika
of the military, civil bureaucracy and the self-serving religious clerics provides
ideological and moral justifications for the perpetuation of the exploitative system.
As he grew more aware of the manipulating role of the ideological and
repressive state organs, Faiz realised that in the history of class struggle for monopoly
over means of production, dogma has supported the forces of oppression and status
quo. The religious clerics preached resignation instead of resistance to the will of
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hegemonic class which is in contravention to the true spirit if faith. True dogma
promotes revolution through human action whereas the conservative religious leaders
promote ignorance, inaction and apathy. Faiz discards both social elitism and
doctrinaire religion and advocates socialistic and egalitarian spirit of religion.
In his famous series of poems “Teen Awazain” (Three Voices), Faiz castigates
the regressive role of dogma in class struggle. He does not agree with the
interpretation of the scripture in which complicity to the will of tyrant is preached. In
“Zalim” (Tyrant), the oppressor rejoices over the death of hope, humanistic values
and the voice of resistance. He is sure to have manipulated ideology in his favour. He
claims that there is no „Ibrahim‟ to challenge the hegemony of „Nimrod‟. Ibrahim was
the Prophet of God who challenged the hegemonies of Nimrod – the tyrant of the day.
Nimrod threw the prophet into the fire. As a Divine marvel, the fire was transformed
into the flowers. The tyrant brags of having reversed the value. The pious will no
longer defy the falsehood. The voice of conscience is suppressed. The devotion to the
cause of truth is crushed. The following lines from the poem underpin not only the
physical victory of the forces of evil against the icons of resistance but also establish
the culture of protest, rebellion and sacrifice in past against cruelty and injustice. It
also establishes divine blessings for the apostles of truth.
I have strangled every aspiration
No more will the rose bend with blossoms.
The spring will wreath in the fire of Nimrod
……………
I owe allegiance to a new creed
(tr. Kamal & Hasan, 2006, p.154)
In “Mazloom” (Victim), the second poem of the series the persona who
belongs to the oppressed class laments over the perpetuation of pain, agony and fear
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in the life of the poor people. He is bewildered over the miserable plight and the
oppressed and questions the validity of this fate of the suffering humanity. He
disagrees with the assumptions of the dominant ideology which endorses uneven
distribution of wealth. The tone of the poem is sarcastic. The victim ridicules
bourgeois sponsored interpretation of religious injunctions in which cruelty and
injustice perpetrated by the ruling elites and the tyrants are projected as part of the
Divine design. Such interpretations of the Scriptures run counter to the Divine
attributes of eternal justice, infinite mercy and compassion. He is also critical of the
religious clerics who teach resignation and submission to oppression whereas the
cardinal principles of true dogma advocate resistance and struggle against tyranny. So
the victim raises the contradiction in what God has enjoined and what retrogressive
religious authorities have interpreted and exposes the falseness of the dominant
ideology constructed under the alliance of politico-religious aristocracy in oppressive
societies. The poem is a classic example of dialectical thinking. An excerpt from the
poem testifies to the contradictions the dominant morality:
They say that cruelty pleases you
And injustice is not possible without your consent.
If this is true, should I deny you justice?
Should I listen to them
Or should I believe in you?
(tr. Kamal & Hasan, 2006, p. 156)
The same disenchantment with the hypocrisy of the retrogressive clerics is expressed
by Allama Iqbal, a great predecessor and a major influence on Faiz‟s dialectical
vision. In order to liberate his Muslim community from the social and intellectual
sterility covering a long period of five centuries, Iqbal in his Baal-e-Jibreel (The
Wings of Gabriel) strives to purify the „House of God‟ from its false heirs:
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Why these curtains draped between the creator and his creatures
Drive out of my church these elders of the church!
I am really displeased with these slabs of precious marble.
Build me another sanctuary of humble clay.
(In Majeed, 2011, p. 166)
The priesthood, the worldly and the luxurious ways of life of the „obscurantist
Mullah‟ are rejected in favour of simplicity, austerity and humility.
In “Nida-e-Ghaib” (Voice from the Unknown), the last poem of this series, the
poet reiterates the Islamic principle of eternal justice as an envisaged by the victim.
The poet warns the tyrants and the dictators of their catastrophic end at the hands of
the oppressed who will eventually raise standards of revolt against cruelties. Their
wrath and vengeance will not listen to any appeal for mercy. The poet who represents
the voice of God says with a clarion call that good and bad deeds will be rewarded
and punished over here. He rejects official version of dogma which pleads for
compensation in the hereafter world. The poet creates analogy between his Marxist
belief of the final victory of the oppressed through proletariat revolution and the
apocalypse as enshrined in the Holy Quran. This also affirms Faiz‟s vision of future
utopia rooted in dialectical view of history. An excerpt from the poem testifies to the
note of the victim against tyranny:
Patrons and influential friends will be of no use
Reward and punishment will be dispensed here
Here will be hell and paradise.
Here and now will be The Day of Judgment
(tr. Kamal & Hasan, 2006, p.158)
This textual analysis of the poetry of Faiz in the light of the second research
question establishes the assumption that the critique of capitalism in the poetry of Faiz
is conditioned by the socio-political environment of his country, its historical
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conditions, landscape, its folklores, particular ideological and repressive state
apparatuses, etc. However, the particular frame of reference does not limit its appeal
and scope. As the postcolonial societies of Asia, Africa and Latin-America have long
suffered under alien rules and after the departure of the imperialists, their indigenous
political heirs have promoted the same culture of oppression and suppression. This
critique of capitalism by Faiz is equally valid for the oppressed people of the world.
PART III
5.5 Counter-hegemonic Role of Thematic and Formal Poetic Tools in Faiz
The third research question deals with the thematic and formal poetic tools
that Faiz has used to mobilise the masses for socialistic revolution. It also deals with
the influence of the particular frame of reference on the poetic tools of the poet. My
first concern is the analysis of the thematic tools of the political poetry of Faiz. The
major themes are the poetics of Mansur and Qais, „pain and exaltation‟, „wait and
change‟, „the glorification of struggle and sacrifice‟ and reassurance of the
Doomsday.
5.5.1 Poetics of Mansur and Qais
Agha K. Saeed (n.d) envisions the poetry of Faiz as the poetry of Mansur and
Qais in “Faiz: A Poet of Mansur and Qais”. His poetry is a configuration of three
Traditions – Mysticism, Love and Urdu literary tradition. He derives his poetic
inspiration, content and form and above all the purpose and meanings of his existence
and station in life from this configuration. Mysticism which is primarily a spiritual
movement does possess vital socio-political significance. Launched by Hussain Ibn
Mansur Hallaj – a famous Arab Sufi, this tradition has been a well-entrenched
spiritual and politico-intellectual movement in the Subcontinent. Like Mansur Hallaj
and Al-Junaid20
, the Sufi poets of the subcontinent rendered unrelenting criticism of
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the hegemonic class of the day for its self-aggrandizing practices. They rejected all
materialistic incentives to suppress the voice of their conscience and asserted that
sanctity and super-natural charisma was not the prerogative of any specific individual
and that even a plebian can possess the knowledge of truth. They promoted plural
culture representing the aspirations of the ordinary people based on self-respect and
dignity of the individual irrespective of distinctions based on inheritance and birth.
The tradition of Love symbolized by Ranjha (Qais) 21
in Punjab runs parallel
to the mystic tradition. Both the traditions demand from their devotees selflessness
and sacrifice to materialise their ideals. Both the traditions glorified the ordinary man
and romanticized the marvels of love. Ranjha who symbolizes the emancipation of
heart and soul of the common man achieves this elevation through the agency of love.
The difference between the lover and the mystic is that the former seeks truth through
the physical realm (physical beauty of the beloved) whereas the Sufi is capable of
looking at the spiritual realm of which the physical realm is the imitation. However,
every Sufi is at first a lover and through meditation discovers the harmony between
the physical and the ideal realm; between the beauty and the truth.
In the poem, “Ghazal” (The Gamble of Love), the poet extends the poetics of
Mansur and Qais which he had adopted in “Mujh Se Pehli Si Mohabbat Mere
Mehboob na Maang” (Do not Ask). His concern and commitment with the down-
trodden supersedes his self-indulgence and inspires him to relish the taste of
alienation from his beloved for the sake of the poor. He is convinced that aesthetics
can not be separated from life. An excerpt from the poem “Ghazal” (The Gamble of
Love) gives vent to this transformation:
Life has alienated me
From the memory of love
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More enticing than you
Is the suffering of this world.
(tr. Kamal & Hasan, 2006, p.80)
Life over here stands for the world of cares and worries. It refers to the agony of the
oppressed people who do not enjoy the fruits of their labour and are manipulated. The
poet‟s brief interlude of union and rejoice with his beloved cannot subdue his inner
turmoil over the injustice around him. This turmoil is enticing because Faiz
romanticizes pain as a pre-requisite for true understanding of the meanings of life and
existence. The poet does not acknowledge his union with his beloved as an act of
infinite mercy of the creator unless divine power showers its blessings on the rejected
ones who find courage to defy tyranny. However, Faiz continues to acknowledge the
role of his individual love in igniting and enlarging his sympathies for the rejected. He
relates his individual love to the love for life in its painful manifestations. In the poem
“Raqeeb Se” (To the Rival), Faiz affirms his faith that his subjective love taught him
the meanings of life and profound consciousness about the distresses of the needy.
I learned of misery, helplessness, despair,
I learned to be the friend of suffering creatures.
(tr. Kiernan, 1971, p. 69)
Commenting on the convergence of the three traditions in the poetry of Faiz, Agha
Saeed says, “Faiz thinks through the mind of a revolutionary; feels with the heart of a
lover; speaks the language of a poet; and is in constant consultation with the Sufi‟s
conscience” (In Sohail & Hussain, 2011, p. 371).
5.5.2 Pain and Exaltation, Wait and Change
In Faiz, „pain and exaltation‟ and „wait and change‟ are mutually
interchangeable terms. Pain is always followed by exaltation which points to its
transitory nature. Wait also establishes the status quo as impermanent. The feelings of
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pains are evoked by reminding the readers of the sufferings of their forefathers, of the
rejected ones and the sufferings under the existing exploitative system. The mood of
celebration is generated by glorifying resistance movements. The circumstantial
poems which deal the political condition at home produce the feeling of pain and
agony because under the British regime as well as in post-independence period no
meaningful change has occurred in the life style of poor people whereas exaltation
comes mainly from the glorification of resistance movements across the world
particularly in postcolonial societies. Like Shelley, Faiz‟s dismal eyes are
simultaneously looking around at the miseries of his age and are anxiously waiting for
the arrival of a new age which will be free of the pains and miseries of the past and
the present. In the words of Prof Salamat, “Unlike the pain of Hardy and Fanni which
is pessimistic, the pain and grief in the poetry of Faiz is beautiful, mysterious and
soothing, is full of aesthetic pleasure” (2011, p. 219).
“Khuda Woh Waqt na La‟ay” (God Never Send), the very first poem of Faiz,
introduces the theme of wait. The lover, who is suffering from the pangs of loneliness,
sleeplessness and wait, prays for the peace and tranquility of his beloved. The poet
says:
God never send a time a time when you too mourn -
When you too find life-easing sleep forsworn,
When joy has spent with you its long bright hour
And left the cup of your existence sour;
(tr. Kiernan. 1971, p. 51)
Later on, this theme of wait takes on political dimensions and becomes a
metaphor of optimism and hope about the bright future of the oppressed humanity.
This transformation is associated with Faiz‟s poem “Tanhai” (Solitude). Apparently,
the mood of the poem is absolutely grim and dismal. The lovers seem to have given
way to despair as his wait for reunion with his beloved looks fruitless. Gradually this
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mood of despair becomes the mood of rejection and defiance. The poet is no longer
interested in personal reunion. He has closed the doors of his heart for subjective
romance. He is more anxious to pursue the higher objectives of life. In the light of this
transformation, the following lines of the poem express renunciation of subjectivism:
Lock up your slumberless doors, dear heart!
For, now no one will ever come again
(tr. Kamal & Hasan, 2006, p. 150)
This point of view is further accentuated in the poems “Mere Nadeem” (My Nadeem)
and “Aaj Ki Raat” (Tonight). In these poems, the avenues of „love and romance‟ no
longer remain poetic inspirations. “Mere Nadeem” (My Nadeem) is actually a sign of
interrogation for the poet. The poet questions the whereabouts of the romantic
feelings and emotions which used to inspire him. In the words of Prof Salamat, “The
poem “My Nadeem” is the point where Faiz becomes more of a poet of man than to
be the poet of love” (2011, p. 227).
As ideologically oriented perspective supersedes romantic subjectivism, the
theme of wait gains more momentum in his poetry. The wait implies flow of time and
anticipates end of status quo. Faiz‟s critique of the existing culture aims at
demolishing the bourgeois myth of immutable reality. The theme of wait helps
establish present reality as part of temporal process having a future. In the context of
the existing oppressive system, the wait reassures change and an end of the miseries
of the oppressed people. In the famous poem “Chand Roz Aur Meri Jan” (A Few
Days More) which was written during British regime in India in the wake of the
regimes repressive measures against political movements, the poet assures of the
salvation. He exhorts upon the masses to wait for some time to outlive the legacy of
bondage which they have inherited from their forefathers. The poet is extremely
conscious of the checks and restrictions on the freedom of action, speech and thought
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but he is convinced that the patience, perseverance and endurance of the oppressed
will surely outrun the injustice, cruelty and tyranny. In the above-mentioned poem,
the poet says:
Life is like the tattered coat of a beggar
To which, every day, a new rag of pain is added
But the epoch of cruelty is coming to an end.
Be patient a little longer –
Our salvation is at hand
(tr. Daud Kamal, 2006, p. 134)
This optimism of Faiz reminds us of the famous poetic line “If winter comes, can
spring be far behind!” of the English romantic poet Shelley who was an iconoclast of
his age.
This mood of futuristic exaltation is also expressed by Faiz in his poem “Ay
Dil-e-Be-Taab, Thahr” (Oh Restless Heart, Wait). The poem was written in the
perspective of Second World War. In this war, the western Imperialistic powers and
the Soviet Union had joined hands against the danger of German and Italian Fascism.
The intellectuals and comrades all over the world also supported this war against
Fascism. They declared it as „peoples war‟. But after victory against the German
menace, the western bloc started „cold war‟ with Socialistic bloc which disappointed
the progressive circles. In this moment of anxiety among intellectuals, Faiz promoted
hope and optimism. The poet who considers every obstacle as a surest signal of
accelerated struggle rejoices over the coming dawn and advises the reader to wait for
some time because the false consciousness of the imperialistic culture is still having
its impact upon the thinking of the people. Let the rebellion brim up to the full. This
custom to submit to the hegemonic class will cease to exist. An excerpt from the
poem testifies to this upcoming mood of change:
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But let true heaven-born madness fill
Our mad men, wine our wineshops – soon
Fate‟s empire shall be overthrown
And tyranny of custom fade,
Let the linked chain clank now, clank as it will
(tr. Kiernan, 1971, p. 107)
The theme of pain and exaltation is equally conspicuous in the poetry of post-
independence era. The national history of Pakistan is marked for deviation from the
objectives of demand for a separate homeland for Muslims in sub-continent. The
promised popular democratic culture could not flourish in Pakistan. The alien rulers
were replaced by their descendant social elites who tried to perpetuate the hegemony
of the minority culture. Faiz was among those intellectuals who realised the futility of
struggle in the absence of any qualitative change in the life of the masses. Faiz has
written almost eleven poems on Pakistan Day and Freedom Day. “Subh-e-Azadi”
(Dawn of Freedom), “August 52”, “Ye Fasl Umedon ki, Hamdam” (This Crop of
Hope), “August 55” and “The Day of Celebration” which were written during
turbulent period of political and constitutional history of Pakistan and personal life of
the poet are an excellent blend of pessimism and exaltation. The poems, “Dawn of
Freedom”, “This Crop of Hope” and “August 55” reflect the poet‟s sense of loss over
political and constitutional crisis and increasing influence of bureaucracy. In “Subh-e-
Azadi” (Dawn of Freedom), the poet expresses his disillusionment with the pace of
progress in post-independence era. He says:
This stained light, this night-bitten dawn
This is not the dawn we yearned for
This is not the dawn for which we set out hoping that in the sky‟s wilderness
We would reach the final destination of the stars
(tr. Khalid Hasan, 2006, p.102)
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If the dawn of freedom offers lamentation, “The Day of Celebration” rejoices
the promulgation of the constitution of 1956 which promised protection of the rights
of the people. Similarly, the poem “Prayer” which was written in 1967 at a time when
General Ayub was celebrating ten years of his military regime, reflects the conviction
of Faiz about the eventual uprising of the masses against oppression. The futuristic
hope about the defiance of the masses was based on the existing political scenario of
revolt reflected in popular movement led by Bhashani22
and Mujeeb-ur-Rehman23
in
East Pakistan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Asghar Khan24
in West Pakistan against the
celebrations of Ayub regime. Similarly, Faiz kept up hope, courage and optimism in
the days of his own imprisonment in Rawalpindi conspiracy case. He continued to
inspire his co-prisoners as well as the masses outside. He rejoices over the presence of
coming freedom during his confinement because he believes in constancy of change
in natural and social phenomenon. His poems “Tauq-o-Dar Ka Mausam” (This Hour
of Chain and Gibbet), “Zindan Ki Ek Sham” (A Prison Nightfall) and “Zindan Ki Ek
Subah” (A Prison Daybreak) express his inbounded love for his country and his faith
in the incessant struggle of the toiling masses against the heavy odds.
5.5.3 The Theme of Reassurance and Consolation
The poems of Faiz which are marked for total grimness of mood are not
without reassurance and consolation. When the poet does not find solid political
reasons to rejoice, he advises „patience‟. This mood of patience is conspicuous in the
national poems written during the regime of General Zia who not only misused the
Islamic ideology in support of his regime but also crushed his political opponents. In
the poems like “Ham To Majboor-e-Wafa Hain” (O Earth of My Land), “Ye Waqt
Matam Ki Ghari He” (This is the Moment to Mourn Time), “Teen Awazain” (Three
Voices), “Qawaali” (Popular Devotional Muslim Verse), the poet offers reassurance
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and consolation through commitment with ideology, self-realisation, Divine Justice,
sacrifice, patience and fortitude in the face of oppression. In “O Earth of My Land”
Faiz expresses his commitment to render every kind of sacrifice to liberate
motherland from oppression. He says:
How much blood do you need,
O Earth of My Land,
To make your sallow cheeks glow with life?
How many sighs will cool your heart?
How many tears‟ll turn your deserts into garden
(tr. Khalid Hassan, 2006, p.234)
Robust optimism of Faiz in the face of pain and misery is essentially based on
the glory of human struggle and sacrifice, scriptural truth, and historical evidence.
Faiz‟s faith in change via masses is rooted in the history of perpetual battle between
the forces of good and evil, between those who aspire for worldly riches and those
who yearn for society based on fair play. For Faiz, receiving martyrdom for the sake
of truth is true heroism. Paying tribute to the glory of struggle against injustice, Faiz
uses „hands‟ as the symbol of resistance and struggle. It is actually through the use of
hands that man conquered his surroundings and the world of nature. Referring the
symbolic nature of hands in the poetry of Faiz, says Dr Hussain:
In fact it is the use of these very hands which helped primitive man
in prehistoric times to fight for his survival against the hostile
environment, and man‟s hands still constitute a major factor in his
progress in later history – hands coupled with brain (1989, p. 25).
The poems “Siyasi Leader Ke Nam” (To A Political Leader) and “Shorish-e-Barbat-
o-Nay” (Lyre and Flute), provide excellent instances of the imagery of hands as the
source of resistance. Faiz asserts that the wealth of the workers and the peasants lies
in their hands. It is these hands that assure hope and survival to the oppressed.
Throughout the history of strength between the kings, priests and dictators and the
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colonized, it is by hands that the rejected have resisted the dominance of the oppressor
and have sometimes been mutilated. In “Siyasi Leader Ke Nam” (To a Political
Leader), Faiz says:
The people‟s hands have been your coat of nail
Your wealth, what else has lent you strength, but they?
You do not desire the victory of darkness, but
You desire that these hands be cut off,
(tr Kiernan, 1971, p. 103)
Similarly, in “Shorish-e-Barabt-o-Nay” (Lyre and Flute), the poet while
presenting a debate between two voices that of hope and despair depicts hands as a
symbol of hope. As long as hands possess the strength, as long as there is sincerity of
heart and as long as the mind is strong, the mankind will continue to wage struggle
against tyranny. The people will transform the rattling of the chains and the iron
collars into the sweet music of flute and lyre. However, romance and commitment
with ideology is what inspires hands and minds for great deeds. Faiz uses the
metaphors of Love and Infatuation which lead the devotees of emancipation to
undergo sufferings and to sacrifice their lives to achieve freedom. The sacrifices of
Ibrahim, Shabbir and Mansur who acted as icons of resistance against tyranny of the
day are universal metaphors of struggle, resistance and sacrifice in poetry of Faiz. The
circumstantial poems commemorating and glorifying the sacrifices of the freedom-
fighters, and the leaders of resistance movements across the globe not only verify the
enlarged sympathies of the poet for the oppressed but also the universal appeal of the
struggle and sacrifice anywhere and everywhere in the world. Most conspicuous
instances of such poems are “Ajao Mere Africa” (Africa Come Back), “Irani Talaba
kay Naam” (For the Iranian Students), “Hum Dekhain Gay” (We shall See), “Ham Jo
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Tareek Rahon Mein Maray Gay” (An Elegy for the Rosenbergs), “Peking” and
“Sinkiang” etc.
“Irani Talaba kay Naam” (For the Iranian Students) was written by Faiz while
he was in Hyderabad Jail. 1950s was the decade of change in Middle East.
Monarchies were being replaced by military dictatorships. Western powers were
involved in these changes. However, the Egyptians and the Iranians frustrated western
powers in their imperialistic designs. Egyptians fought against Britain and France and
nationalized Suez Canal25
. In Iran, under the kingship of Raza Khan, “The Anglo-
Persian Oil Company” had monopoly over Iranian oil fields. The Iranian nationalist
leader Dr Musadaq launched movement against the monopoly of a foreign company
over the national wealth of Iran. Dr Musadaq succeeded in banishing Iranian King and
nationalized oil fields. However, Western bloc continued conspiracy and finally
toppled Musadaq Government. But Iranian people came on roads and protested
against this coup dette. People‟s protest was crushed through ruthless force. Those
who embraced martyrdom included a great number of students. In the above-
mentioned poem, Faiz pays tribute to the glorious sacrifice of the young Iranian
students who gave their lives for the sake of national sovereignty and freedom. The
poet says:
O wayfarer from a far land,
These our youth, these boys
Are the pearls of that light
The buds of that fire,
Whose sweetness and warmth
Have made a garden bloom
In the night of oppression
(tr. Khalid Hassan, 2006, p. 200)
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“Sar-e-Wadi-e-Sina” (The Valley of Sinai) was written in the context of 1956
Arab-Israel War. The bone of contention was „Suez Canal‟. Britain and France
pressurized Egyptian nationalist leader Gamal Abdel Nasser26
to accede to the terms
agreed between west and the former King of Egypt about the possession of Suez
Canal. But when Egyptian leader nationalized Suez Canal; the western powers
brought into action their paramilitary forces. Israel also occupied certain territories of
Egypt. Due to Egyptian efforts, Arab countries came closer to each other under the
banner of „Arab Nationalism‟. Soviet Union supported Egypt against Franco-British
and Israel alliance. This alliance of Arab nationalists and the Socialistic bloc resulted
in retreat of western bloc from Egyptian lands. Inspired by this nationalistic stance of
Arabian countries, Faiz wrote the above-mentioned poem in commemoration of the
resistance and defiance of the once marginalised and oppressed nation of Arabs.
Similarly, the poem “Hum Dekhain Gay” (We shall See) was written in the backdrop
of Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979 in which Iranian nation under the leadership of
Imam Khamini27
toppled the century-old regime of Pehlwi family29
.
To add to it, Faiz wrote more political poems, such as “Peking”, and
“Sinkiang” which commemorate the Communist Revolution in China in 1949. The
intense appeal of the two poems for progressive people in Pakistan lies in the fact that
both the countries share similar experiences under colonial rules, enjoying long-
standing commercial, cultural and political ties with each other.
5.5.4 Glorification of Socially-committed Writers
To strive for social emancipation, the writers ought to speak truth. Faiz pays
growing tributes to the socially committed writers who protect and preserve the heroic
struggles and sacrifices of the legendary figures in the annals of history and speak
truth even to the distaste of the power corridors. It is the genuine writers and artists
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who keep on resisting the official manipulations and the distortions of historical
truths. The poet boasts of this revolutionary role of the writers in his poem “Qita”
(Whilst We Breathe). He claims that it is due to the existing artists that the „crowned
monarchs‟, „robed grandiose‟ and „the gowned priests‟ are still abashed disconcerted
and embarrassed in their „street of ecstasy‟. They are ill at ease in their worldly
pursuits, merry making and power politics. Faiz goes on to say that credit goes to the
poet and the folklorists to keep alive the tradition of the spiritual love personified by
the „God-crazed Mansoor‟ and the tradition of romance symbolized by the „love-
crazed Majnun‟. It is again the writers who preserve the aesthetic and social values of
mankind which are represented in the poem through the metaphors of „tilted cap‟ and
„gay-flowered coat‟. In “Whilst We Breathe” the poet says:
While we breathe, still in the street of Rapture robed
Grandee, gowned preacher, crowned king, stand abashed;
Through us God crazed Mansoor, love crazed Majnoo
And tilted cap and gay flowered coat, live on.
(tr. Kiernan . 1971, p. 159)
Faiz is equally conscious of the human limitations of the artists and the writers
who undergo trials and tribulations for their artistic and ideological commitments. He
himself had to undergo through imprisonment, solitary confinement and exile for his
ideological commitments and Marxist political doctrines. He emphasizes upon the
intellectuals not to give way to the feelings of loneliness, boredom and depression in
times of personal trials. Rather they should transform their pains into cathartic art and
identify the miseries of the poor through their personal sufferings. In his famous poem
“Shair Log” (We the Poets), Faiz clearly identifies the trials and tribulations through
which the genuine writers have passed throughout the history. To speak truth in the
face of oppressors and the hegemonic class, the progressive writers have sacrificed
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materialistic advantages. To stand with the dejected and to reflect their deprivation,
the writers have been imprisoned and even martyred. They do not gloss over the
sufferings of the masses but rather:
We are the blood-stained mirror
Of a blood-stained world –
Humanity‟s eternal suffering heart –
We are the warriors –
The riders of dawn
(tr. Kamal & Hasan, 2006, p. 148)
The mood of the poem further reflects the criticism of the poet against those writers
who toe the line of the ruling elites and are materialistically rewarded whereas the
progressive writers represent the injured face of the mankind and promote critical
consciousness in masses; are not afraid of taunts and contempt of the rich and remain
steadfast in their intellectual obligations. Faiz himself suffered a lot for the sake of his
socially committed art and utilised his personal pains to recognize the sufferings of
people. Sohail (2011) in his article evaluates the impact of the imprisonment on Faiz
in the following words, “He (Faiz) absorbed all the feelings of imprisonment
including indifference, boredom, longing and loneliness in his personality and
transformed his pains into poems and love-letters” (p. 69).
Written during imprisonment, Faiz‟s poem “If Ink and Pen” is a classic
example of literature of consolation and reassurance for the revolutionary writers in
times of solitary confinements:
If ink and pen are snatched from me, shall I
Who have dipped my fingers in my heart‟s blood complain –
Or if they seal my tongue, when I have made
A mouth of every round link of my chain?
(tr. Kiernan, 1971, p. 117)
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Genuine writers under duress do not surrender to the coercion and remain steadfast in
their commitment with the cause of the rejected ones.
5.5.5 Transformation of Urdu Ghazal into a Political Genre
In order to effectively project his ideological and political idealism, Faiz uses
various formal poetic tools. In this respect he is mainly indebted to Persian Urdu
literary and cultural tradition. One of the major achievements of Faiz as an artist and
as a progressive writer is to transform Urdu Ghazal alongwith its romantic content
into a socially-committed poetry. Faiz did not opt for new experiments in form and
diction. He has created new symbols and added new romantic orientations to the old
form and has affirmed that our traditional form was capable of fulfilling the modern
creative tasks. As Zaidi says, “its (ghazal‟s) flexibility and maneuverability have been
tested in varying situations and it has acquired a multi-facetedness” (1993, p. 364). To
add to it, Faiz‟s symbolic use of erotic imagery in his political poetry is based on his
belief that man is the prime creation and embodies beauty in its perfection. That is
why, to describe the beauty of any natural object, Faiz uses the analogy of female
beauty. So the political poetry of Faiz is love poetry but in a different way. If the
object of love in the romantic poetry of Faiz is the woman then the object of love in
political poetry is country and the insulted masses for whom he uses the analogy of
Laila. His political poems with their erotic imagery and form do not orbit around a
single female body but around the motherland and its devotees who are the stage
centre of his ultimate love. This analogy of Laila in the possession of the rivals also
alludes to the imagery of feminization of the colonies by the imperialists in
postcolonial literature. The motherland of Faiz has been feminized twice, first by the
British imperialists and later by the indigenous descendants of colonialism. What is
most specific about Faiz is that while he introduced freshness, vitality and hope into
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the classical Urdu tradition, he kept intact its conventional mood of melancholy with
which the Urdu reader is at home since centuries and which depicts the agony of the
poet over the existing exploitative culture.
It is a well-known fact that in romantic poetry, the base of meanings is the
Semantic triangle of the lover, the beloved and the villain. The relationship of the
lover and the beloved is that of thesis whereas the presence of the villain is the
element of antithesis which creates the tension and enhances the significance of the
relationship between the lover and the beloved. Quite interestingly, this triangular
structure of meanings exists in the romantic poetry, in mystic literature as well as in
socially and politically committed art. Faiz, who infused political meanings into this
semantic triangle, also retained its romantic and spiritual flavour.
In poetry of Faiz, Lover, Drinker and Freedom-fighter represent the forces of
resistance and revolution whereas Villain, Ombudsman and Ruler stand for the
hegemonic class, capitalists, civil and military bureaucracy. Beloved represents the
homeland which is at present under the occupation of the forces of tyranny. The poem
“Nisar Main Teri Galyon Kay, Ay Watan” (Bury Me Under Your Pavements)
provides the most conspicuous interplay of the triangular imagery of lover, beloved
and villain. The poet says:
Your name still cried by a rash zealot few
In flames the itching hand of tyranny;
Villains are judges and usurpers both –
Who is our advocates, where shall we seek justice
(tr. Kiernan, 1971, p. 185)
The romantic imagery of the political poem does not mitigate the intensity of the
ideological massages yet keeps the double flavouy of the art in tact.
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To add to it, romance and infatuation symbolize revolutionary spirit whereas
alienation, wisdom, cage, and Prison denote oppressive system, pragmatism and
Ideological and Repressive State Apparatuses respectively. Reunion, wine (wine
house), beauty and truth act as metaphors for revolution, means of revolutionary
thinking, and socio-political justice respectively. Nightingale and Garden personify
the progressive writer and the political mission. Due to its wider acceptability among
readers of Urdu literature this romantic (sensuous) imagery brings home to the reader
the level of commitment which is required to materialise future utopia of exploitation-
free society and helps create that aesthetic environment which motivates the readers/
masses to regain their beloved homeland which is at present besieged by the
worshippers of money and power. The aesthetic appeal of the sensuous imagery of
Faiz does paly the most coveted role of the recuperation of the sensuous life of the
individual because as Marx believes that “even our physical senses have become
commodified under capitalism, as the body converted into a mere abstract instrument
of production, is unable to savour its own sensuous life” (In Eagleton, 2011, pp. 230-
31).
5.5.6 The Dialectical Role of Nature Imagery in Faiz
The use of the imagery of Night and Dawn, Autumn and Spring is consistent
in the poetry of Faiz. Night and Autumn stand for the existing oppression and socio-
political injustice whereas dawn and spring symbolize hope, and optimism about
future and socialistic world order. This sequence is quite meaningful. As night and
autumn stand for misery, pain, sense of deprivation and incarceration, the existence of
dawn and spring denotes relief from the existing agony reassuring the oppressed to
endure the pain in anticipation of coming tranquility. Similarly, the use of natural
colors in the poetry of Faiz is marked for its thematic value. The black color which
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typifies pitch darkness also serves to enhance the brightness of the morning. The red
rays of dawn imply the arrival of socialism through human sacrifices conveying the
connotations of blood. Images of dawn and spring always appear with their antonyms.
Dawn and spring are persistently preceded by night and autumn. The poem “August
1952” provides an apt use of nature imagery in its dialectical role. The poet says:
At last half-promise of a spring has come –
Some flowers tear open their green cloaks and bloom
…….. ……… ……….
Night‟s shadows hold their ground but some faint streaks
Of day show, spreading each a rosy plum.
(tr. Kiernan, 1971, p. 178)
5.5.7 The Poetic Tools of Invocation and Devotional Song
One of the most favorite poetic tools of Persian-Urdu literary tradition is the
tool of Invocation. Man is a social being who has intense craving for love and
fellowship. In this silent universe, man looks forward to an answer to his ambitions
and aspirations. When he indulges in an act of conversation with his Creator, he
achieves a rapport between his individualistic existence and the enormous world
around him. This act of prayer inculcates in man a commonality of bond with the
whole mankind. In Islam, invocation is the essence of our prayers. In the words of
Iqbal, “In Islam, prayer and Dua are linked with a collective spiritual activity because
the spirit and the essence of Islamic rituals are purely socialistic” (In Malik, 2008, p.
184). Faiz like his predecessors and contemporaries has used the Islamic religious tool
of Invocation to serve his socialistic poetic aims. Faiz‟s poem “Dua” (Invocation)
reflects the consciousness of the poet about the cultural influences on the ideological
commitments of the artist. In the poem “Invocation”, the poet prays to his God to
bestow strength upon the humiliated and the oppressed sections of society to rise up
against the exploitative forces to materialise the myth of the vice-regency of man on
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earth as ordained by God. The poet alongwith the rejected prays for the rediscovery of
truth. He prays for the victims of false consciousness to question the validity and
oppression of the many by the few. He preaches revolt and resistance to the down-
troddens against the perpetrators of cruelty and injustice. An excerpt from the poem
testifies to this message of intellectual and political revolt for the oppressed ones:
Let‟s pray that those who follow false gods
Find the courage to defy and the strength to question;
Let those who wait for the sword to fall on their bowed heads
Find the strength to jerk aside the executional hands
(tr. Kamal & Hasan, 2006, p. 274)
Quite similar to the tool of Invocation is the poetic tool of Popular Devotional Muslim
Verse. Popular Devotional Muslim Verse is a song which is sung in unison, by way of
payer. Faiz borrowed this form from the traditional mystic practice of teaching Islam
in the subcontinent in Hindu society in which rhythmical devotional songs were much
in practice. However, this rhythmical song has always been condemned as an un-
Islamic practice by the orthodox mullahs. The mood of Faiz‟s Popular Devotional
Muslim Verses is at once that of sorrow and jubilation. The sorrowful element
represents poetic lamentation over the plight of the poor under the existing system and
the jubilation anticipates the futuristic hope of socialistic change. Faiz‟s famous
poems which are classed as Devotional Songs/Anthem are “On the Martyr‟s Field”,
“Do not See over There” etc. These rhythmical songs when sung inspire trance among
devotees and excite them to move for their established aims. Faiz also uses the
musical device of Geet which is a part of Hindu culture. Appreciating Faiz‟s personal
love for rhythm and music, Dr Hussain says, “He (Faiz) is temperamentally so
musical (having had training in music) that he speaks even of revolution in a
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symphonic manner giving the impression that poetry and revolution have a kinship
with music” (1989, p. 115).
PART IV
5.6 The Relevance of Faiz in the Age of Capitalistic Triumphalism
The fourth research question deals with the issue of the contemporary
relevance of the poetry of Faiz in today‟s unipolar world of capitalistic triumphalism.
This unipolar world strives to replace various cultural and economic systems of the
world into an inter-connected economy under the influence of multinational
companies. The advocates of this capitalistic culture claim that the end of the „Cold
War‟ and the disintegration of the communist bloc have endorsed the validity of
social stratification based on the principles of capitalistic economy. They also
announce the end of ideology and dialectical thinking. So, the progressive literature
which advocates the politics of resistance against bourgeois ideology has outworn its
utility.
5.6.1 Humanistic and Ideological Value of the Poetry of Faiz
The progressive poetry of Faiz which envisions Marxism as a redemptive
ideology against the existing socio-economic and political ills retains its humanistic
and ideological appeal in this age of corporate imperialism. Faiz rejects oppression in
all its forms whether it is in the form of dogmatism, military terror or in the form of
economic and political oppression. Faiz sees the world in terms of two classes: the
oppressors and the oppressed. The existing unipolar world has endorsed the view that
the capitalist of the world form a single community because their interests are
materialistic which supersede geographical, spatial, temporal and cultural borders.
Similarly, the oppressed of the world are also a community because they do not
determine their hours of work and their wages. They do not get their share out of the
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surplus they generate. The magnitude of their miseries may vary but they cannot
fulfill their needs independently. Ours is the age of intellectual, ideological and
materialistic oppression under capitalism. In terms of current national scenario, the
homeland of Faiz is passing through the most critical phase of its national history.
There is an acute sense of political passivity. The influence of the anti-masses
military-cum-civil bureaucracy has increased manifold. Pakistan is a victim of
religious extremism. Economic freeze has resulted in unprecedented unemployment.
Multinational companies have acquired considerable control over economy and
market. Military terror exists in the form of American led Drone attacks on the
Northern areas of Pakistan. Under the influence of corporate imperialism, we are
unable to determine our social needs; they are being determined by the donors on the
basis of profit principle. In the words of Terry Eagleton, “Under capitalism we are
deprived of the power to decide whether we want to produce more hospitals or more
breakfast cereals. Under socialism, this freedom would be regularly exercised” (2011,
p. 25).
In this atmosphere of socio-economic manipulation, religious extremism,
political impotence and loss of faith in change, the socially-committed poetry of Faiz
which glorifies human urge for freedom from bondage and teaches resistance to the
status quo, offers hope and optimism against existing dystopia. It teaches effort not
resignation. Faiz‟s Marxist utopian vision is not a far cry; it gives a political plan for
social action through which oppressive and exploitative system can be replaced by an
egalitarian system in which every individual enjoys a sizeable amount of freedom,
comfort, recognition and self-respect. Faiz‟s critique of capitalism and its ideological
and repressive state apparatuses and his poetic glorification of the struggle and
sacrifices of the forces of good both in past and present against oppression is a
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literature of higher educative value to mount a genuine criticism of the late-capitalist,
neo-imperialist world order.
5.6.2 Cultural Value of the Poetry of Faiz
Faiz‟s poetry retains its appeal as a cultural reaction in the wake of
technocratic neo-liberalism. The advocates of corporate imperialism consider diverse
cultural and economic patterns as an obstacle to their global materialistic interests.
Indigenous cultural patterns of behaviour which are born out of interaction between
men and their environment act as symbols of national identity and offer a sense of
shared belonging to the members of that cultural community. The ideals of national
freedom and autonomy are in reality based on common cultural heritage. Faiz
believes that the resources and wealth of a particular region belongs to its cultural
community which has the privilege to utilise these resources in order to satisfy its
human, social and cultural needs. Referring to the redemptive role of indigenous
culture, Faiz in “The Quest for Identity in Culture” says, “If there is one thematic
thread which runs through the history of cultural substance it is the refusal of our
people to permanently accept injustice” (1976, p. 30). Throughout his poetry, Faiz
persistently invokes themes, legends, myths and historical personages from his
indigenous culture and traditions. He is the poet of revolution yet his form and diction
are entrenched in Urdu poetic tradition. He does neither believe in blindly copying the
tradition nor in absolute novelty. He is of the view that cultural heritage should be
reconciled with the existing realities. Faiz‟s romantic treatment of his revolutionary
subject matter to motivate his readers to free their beloved homeland and its cultural
assets from the borrowed set of economic and cultural values which are imposed upon
us by the alien masters and their local successors offers a rebuttal to the bourgeois
strategy of the containment of true art and cultural forms.
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5.6.3 Dialectical Value of the Poetry of Faiz
As poetry of Faiz gains more prominence in our age as the economic disparity
between the classes, societies and nations is growing alarmingly in this uni-polar
world, the role of the dialectical thinkers has increased manifold. The basic reason of
the growing inequality is the bourgeois principle of the uneven distribution of capital
which is being supported by the liberal democracies. Electronic media is also
supporting this parameter of bourgeois economy as vital for the economic growth. In
this age of technocratic capitalism where alternative system which defends workers‟
rights against individual‟s commodifications has ceased to exist, the voice and
criticism of the dialectical thinkers is much needed. Faiz exposes materialistic nature
of bourgeois economy. He advocates the economic principle of sufficiency for all
through local enterprise. He glorifies human respect and dignity against reification.
So, dialectical criticism of Faiz which offers counter-point to the neo-imperialists
remains more valid today than it was in the bi-polar world.
5.6.4 Progressive / Revisionist Marxism of Faiz – as an Alternative to Neo-
Liberalism
Faiz rejects monolithic view of the ideology. He does not agree with the view
that Russian model of communist state is the only acceptable version of the system.
Faiz accepts those tenets of Marxism which are acceptable to his religious and
cultural values. His Marxism which is rooted in humanism endorses all those cultural
patterns which give preference to the social needs rather than the capital value of the
goods (c.f. 5.2.2). His God is no longer the benefactor of the enemies of the masses.
The myth of Vice-regency of man which Faiz promotes in his poetry is not the
prerogative of the bourgeois class. This scriptural truth demolishes man made social
stratification based on material consideration and provides spiritual strength to the
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deprived people to work for the recovery of their rightful position: paving way for
humanistic culture.
To conclude the discussion on the contemporary relevance of Faiz, it is
estimated that humanistic value of the poetry of Faiz has increased manifold in this
age of capitalistic triumphalism. It gains more prominence as a voice of the oppressed
due to non-existence of left-wing political forces. It also retains its appeal as a cultural
bard. While bourgeois culture is creating a society of consumers to achieve negative
integration, Faiz‟s endorsement of indigenous cultural patterns of behavior can help
conceptualise a true planetary culture. Poetry of Faiz also remains valid for its
dialectical criticism. In this age of corporate imperialism, the gap between the rich
and the poor has increased alarmingly. While capitalistic administration of economy
has been established, the dialectical literature of Faiz is much needed today than
before. Furthermore, globalization is posing a threat to ecological balance, natural
environment, national sovereignty of post-colonial societies and workers‟ rights.
Faiz‟s emphasis upon the socialistic principle of sufficiency for all should rightly be
acknowledged. Finally, futuristic hope in Faiz is what can motivate the oppressed and
the insulted to strive for a better future.
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Notes:
1- Bangladesh: Bangladesh is an independent country in the Sub-continent since
1971. It was a part of Pakistan since 1947. Separation between Pakistan and
Bangladesh took place as a result of a Civil War in Bangladesh in 1971.
2-N.M. Rashid: N.M. Rashid is a Pakistani Urdu poet of the 20th
century. He is known
for his poetry with pessimistic themes.
3- Sultan Baho: Sultan Baho is acknowledged as the first great mystic poet of the
Sub-continent during the 17th
century. He belonged to Jhang, Punjab (Pakistan). He
preached love, tolerance and meditation to the masses and was known for the use of
rustic imagery which the illiterate people could easily understand.
4- Waris Shah: He was a renowned the 18th
century Punjabi mystic poet. He is
popular for his folklore „Heer Ranjha.‟
5- Sachal Sar Mast: Sachal Sar Mast was a versatile Sindhi mystic of the 18th
century.
He used to express his feelings fearlessly. He is acknowledged as the “poet of seven
languages” due to his poetic works in Sindhi, Saraiki, Arabic, Punjabi, Urdu, Persian
and Balochi language. He based his folk tales on female heroines like Sassi, Sohni,
Marvi and Noori of the tales of his predecessors. His famous themes are loyalty and
fidelity.
6- Bulleh Shah: Bulleh Shah of the 18th
century is acknowledged as the greatest
mystical poet of Punjab (India). Like his contemporaries, Shah Waliullah, Mir Dard,
Shah Abdul Latif in Sindh, he saw the political crises of the subcontinent after the
death of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. He found peace in the inner world of love. He sang
mystical songs to console himself and his friends in these times of socio-political
afflictions. He is surnamed the Rumi of the Punjab due to the highest quality of his
poetry.
7- Shah Latif: Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai was a mystic poet of Sindh. He was a
predecessor of Sachal Sar Mast.
8- Ameer Khusroo: He was a 12th
century musicologist, mystic, writer and
philosopher during Mughal Empire.
9- Shabbir: is the title of Hazrat Imam Hussain (a.s), the younger grandson of the
Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Imam Hussain defied Yazid, the monarch of the day
and was slain along with his followers and family members in Karbala, a desert in
Iraq.
10- Karbala: Karbala is a place in Iraq. It is mainly known as a battlefield where
Hazrat Imam Hussain, the younger grandson of the Prophet (P.B.U.H) alongwith his
family members, was slain by the forces of Yazeed, the caliph of Islamic empire in
the 7th
century. Imam Hussain preferred martyrdom to submission to the rule of
Yazeed who was known for heretic tendencies. Commemorations are held by millions
of Shias annually to remember it. Karbala is considered sacred by Shias.
11- Palasi: a place in Bengal. It is mainly known as the historical battlefield in which
Nawab Sirajud Daula, the ruler of Bengal fought a battle against the British forces in
the 19th
century. The Nawab was eventually slain by the English forces.
281
12- Suranga Puttam: Saranga Puttam was a fortress in the Indian state of Masoor in
the 19th
century. It was a place where Muslim nationalist ruler of Masoor, Tipu Sultan
fought a heroic battle against British forces and received martyrdom.
13- Jhansi: Jhansi is a state situated in the North central part of India. Its main fame
rests in the person of the queen of Jhansi who was a leading figure in Indian mutiny of
1857 against British East India Company.
14- Stalingrad: Stalingrad is named after Stalin, It is a Russian city. It was the main
battlefield between Hitler‟s forces and Soviet Army in 2nd
World War. it is also
famous for its cemetery in which are buried the Russian soldiers who died in 2nd
world war defending their motherland against Fascists.
15- Malaya: Malaya was a British colony till it gained freedom from British Raj after
armed struggle as a result of liberation movement in 1959. Now it is called Malaysia.
16- Kenya: Kenya is an African country which was named after the mountain Kenya,
the second highest mountain in Africa. It was a British colony till 1963 when it got
independence from British imperialism as a result of armed struggle between the
colonisers and freedom-fighters.
17- Morocco: Formerly a French colony, Morocco is a Muslim country of Africa with
an authoritarian rule. Its legal system is based upon a combination of French and
Islamic law. In 1960s, a political uprising occurred against King Hussein II which was
suppressed. This uprising is known for sacrifices and martyrdom received by the
forces of resistance against authoritarianism.
18- General Ayub: General Ayub Khan was the first military dictator of Pakistan who
imposed Martial Law in 1958.
19- General Zia: General Zia-ul-Haq was a military dictator of Pakistan. He deposed
the democratic government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the first popular elected Prime
Minister of Pakistan in 1977. He abrogated constitution of 1973. He died in the air
crash in 1988. His death resulted in the revival of democracy.
20- Al-Junaid: Al-Junaid was an Arab mystic and a follower of Mansur Hallaj.
21- Ranjha: Ranjha is a renowned romantic character in Punjabi folklore. He was the
son of a landlord of Sargodha district of Punjab (India) in the 16th
century. He fell in
love with Heer, the daughter of the ruler of Jhang. Lovers used to meet each other in
fields. Heer was first imprisoned and then married to a Rajput by her father. But the
lovers managed to escape. After passing through tribulations, the luckless lovers died
in desert. The romantic tale of “Heer-Ranjha” written by Waris Shah is considered its
classical form among many other versions of the story.
22- 23- Bhashani, Mujeeb-ur-Rehman: Bhashani and Mujeeb-ur-Rehman were the
political leaders of East Pakistan who led popular movement against General Ayub‟s
martial law. East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971 after its separation from
Pakistan.
282
24- Asghar Khan: Asghar Khan was a political leader of West Pakistan who led a
popular movement against General Ayub. West Pakistan is now known as Pakistan
after separation of its Eastern wing in 1971.
25- Suez Canal: Suez Canal is situated in Egypt. It was excavated jointly by the
British and French governments which connects Mediterranean Sea with the Arabian
Sea.
26- Gamal Abdel Nasser: He was a great leader of Egypt. He was known for his
nationalist stance and resisted British and French efforts to dominate naval activities
in Suez canal. He also nationalised it.
27- Imam Khamini: Imam Khamini was the spiritual and political leader of
revolutionary forces of Iran who toppled Pehlwi regime of King Raza Shah in 1979.
He introduced reforms in the country and hanged hundreds of Iranian military officers
of Pehlwi regime.
28- Pehlwi family: Pehlwi family was the royal family of Iran whose century old
power was overthrown by the Islamic revolution led by Imam Khamini.
283
Chapter 6
COMPARISON AND CONCLUSON
Pablo Neruda and Faiz Ahmad Faiz are the most eminent Marxist poets of the
twentieth century postcolonial world whose poetry retains its appeal and popularity
among the masses due to its ideological commitment with the cause of the proletariat
for the creation of an exploitation-free society. The two poets did not commence their
artistic career as Marxist writers. Teitleboim (2004), in his biography of Neruda, notes
that the poet who professed to be Bohemian in ways expressed intense hatred for the
proletarisation of art in the early 1930s. Similarly, Faiz who grew up during the age
that was highly pro-active political period in the history of the Sub-continent
remained indifferent to the political environment surrounding him till the 1930s.
Meanwhile, the art which the two poets produced was conspicuous for subjectivism.
However, the 1930s is known as „the Red Decade‟ due to the rise of
communist movements in the advanced industrial countries as well as in countries like
India, due mainly to the success of communist Russian revolution. The socio-political
and intellectual environment surrounding Neruda and Faiz in the 1930s convinced the
writers to abandon subjective romanticism in favour of the purposive art for the sake
of life. In the light of this functional view of literature, both the poets redefined and
remodeled their poetic content and form according to the Marxist ideological and
critical consciousness because Marxism which had become a ray of hope in the
oppressive societies as a redemptive political system, had also emerged as a
formidable challenge to the historical, socio-political, economic, cultural and literary
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assumptions of the bourgeois hegemony. Under the influence of the new artistic and
ideological orientations, Neruda and Faiz repudiated Euro-centric myths of
superiority, universality and ahistoricity of western literary tradition and affirmed the
nexus between aesthetics and politics. Neruda, even before embracing Marxist
political and literary doctrines, took active part in Latin-American avant-gardist
literary movement in liberating the form and content of the poetry of his continent
from the dominance of western literary tradition which did not address the ground
realities of the land and its people. Faiz also does not agree with the notion of the
superiority of western literary norms. He emphasised upon the writers of the sub-
continent to liberate their critical consciousness from the undue influence of the
Anglo-American formalistic tradition and advocates a literary interaction between the
literatures of the postcolonial societies because these societies have similar historical
and cultural experiences. The ideological poetry of Neruda and Faiz has been
analysed in the light of the four research questions in separate chapters in order to
establish grounds for comparison. This analysis identifies profound similarities in
content and form of their poetry. It also establishes the influence of the particular
frames of reference on the poetic responses of the two poets to the socio-political
conditions of their societies.
The comparative study comprises four parts because it is based on textual
analysis of the poetry of Pablo Neruda and Faiz Ahmad Faiz in the light of four
research questions. In certain cases cross referencing (c.f.) is used to avoid undue
repetition.
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PART I
6.1 Comparative Study of Dialectical Method in the Poetry of Neruda and Faiz
Rejecting bourgeois vision of aesthetics and politics, Neruda and Faiz affirm
social dialectics. Frozen in immediacy, bourgeois text tries to perpetuate existing
reality in order to serve the vested interests of the dominant ideology. The two poets,
who uphold the principle of constant flux in nature and society, historicise present as
a part of temporal process and analyse the process of evolution which has transformed
pluralistic societies of the pre-imperial, pre-feudal past into the existing monopoly
capitalism and suggest possible ways of future regenerations. Their realism is
dialectical realism which incorporates past, present and future as integral units of
temporality. Neruda and Faiz acknowledge three concentric circles of the personality
of the artist. These three concentric circles of the artistic being are his personal self,
his nation and country and the contemporary world to which he belongs. It means that
a genuine artist experiences and apprehends past, present and future from the
perspective of his self, his community and the entire human society of his age. Both
the poets emphasise that in postcolonial societies where there is continuation of
imperialistic exploitative system, it is obligatory upon the writers to view and
interpret existing culture in terms of three integral units of temporality and in terms of
three concentric circles of the being of the artist in order to promote critical
consciousness among the masses regarding history, culture and politics.
Social dialectics of Neruda and Faiz seeks inspiration from praxis in the
natural world. Both the poets emphasise irrevocable relationship between man and
matter, between natural and social worlds. Neruda‟s Canto General which is
acknowledged as one of the greatest political poems of our age is conspicuous for its
extensive treatment and description of physical environment. In his poetry, Neruda
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meditates upon physical objects, landscape and animal world encompassing their
origin, decay and rebirth which liberates the poet and the reader from his sense of
alienation from the physical environment and helps integrate nature and society: the
macrocosm and the microcosm. The leading principle of constant change in the
macrocosm (nature) lends intellectual authority to the ideological and political
struggle of the forces of social change against the forces of status quo. In the poem
“Orinoco”, Neruda meditates upon the timeless flow of the river Orinoco which
reveals to him the principle of perpetual motion in natural and social worlds. The poet
says:
Orinoco, on your banks
Of that timeless hour,
Let me as then go naked,
Let me enter your baptismal darkness,
Scarlet-coloured Orinoco,
Let me immerse my hands that return
To your maternity, to your flux,
River of races, land of roots
(tr Schmitt, 1993, p.20)
Similarly, the consistent use of the theme of cyclic change in nature (from
decay to regeneration) symbolized in autumn and spring in the poetry of Faiz
rationalises proletariat struggle for change. In the poem “Touq-o-Daar ka Mausam”
(The Hour of Chain and Gibbet), Faiz expresses his faith in cyclic view of natural and
social existence which culminates in the inevitability of spring and regeneration. The
poet says:
At your command the cage, but not the garden‟s
Red rose-fire, when its radiant hour begins;
No noose can catch the dawn-wind‟s whirling feet,
The spring‟s bright hour falls prisoner to no net.
Others will see, if I do not, that hour
Of singing nightingale and splendid flower.
(tr. Kiernan, 1971, p. 155)
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The poet affirms that natural and social praxis cannot be withheld for long. He is so
immersed in the joy of being part of the temporality and flux that he would not mind
his individual departure before the victory of the forces of change.
Neruda and Faiz reject bourgeois meta-narrative of enlightenment and
progress and present history as a perpetual conflict between classes for monopoly
over means of production. Both the writers endorse Marxist version of historical
materialism and affirm that the earliest stage of mankind was essentially a communist
society where men lived in complete harmony with nature and worked in collectivity
to satisfy their genuine human and social needs. It was a society where goods were
produced for their use-value, not for their capital-value. Subsequently, this utopian
order was replaced by the culture of personal enterprise and power politics first by the
feudals and later on by the capitalists. Rewriting the political, cultural and
geographical history of Latin-American continent, Neruda locates this past communist
utopia in pre-Columbian America and its pluralistic culture. At present, he finds its
manifestations in socialistic regimes in various parts of the world. In Canto General,
the poet narrates how did this utopia of justice was replaced by the dystopia of
injustice after Spanish invasion of his land. The poet establishes that the history of
colonization of Latin-American continent is the narrative of plunder, genocide,
oppression and suppression of indigenous cultures. In the poem “They Reach the Gulf
of Mexico (1519)” Canto III, the poet compares the Spanish colonisers with the
murderous wind. He says:
The murderous wind takes wing to Veracruz
In Veracruz the horses are put ashore
The ships are packed with claws
And red beards from Castile.
Arias, Reyes, Rogas, Maldonas,
The foundlings of Castilian abandonment,
Veterans of hunger in winter
And of lice in the roadside
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p.45)
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Arias, Reyes, Rogas and Maldonas – the Spanish tribes were the mercenaries with
materialistic designs.
As far as Faiz is concerned, he locates utopia of justice in the pre-lapsarian era
of man‟s history as enunciated in Islamic Scripture through the myth of vice-regency
of man on the earth (c.f. 5.3.2). In terms of history-proper of his land, the poet
identifies this utopia in pre-imperial, pre-feudal, pluralistic culture of the sub-
continent which is preserved in the folk literature of the mystic tradition of India. This
past cultural heritage rejects bourgeois social elitism, dogmatism and economic-cum-
political absolutism.
Neruda and Faiz anticipate Marxist political apocalypse through proletariat
intervention. It will be a day of retribution and reward where oppressors will be
punished and the insulted will be raised to the place of honour. Restoration of broken
promises will also take place through Marxist millennium. This prophecy of future
utopia is of course rooted in dialectical thinking of the two poets as a logical sequence
of the defeat of capitalism. But they also take inspiration from the Doomsday
enshrined in their Holy Scriptures. Neruda equates his Marxist millennium with
Biblical apocalypse and repudiates Catholic Church‟s interpretation of dogma which
preaches resignation to oppression. In “The Victorious People” Canto V, the poet
anticipates victory of the people in oracular tone. He says:
My heart‟s in this struggle
My people will overcome. All the people
Will overcome, one by one.
These sorrows
Will be wrung like handkerchief until
All the tears shed on the desert‟s
Galleries, on graves, on the steps
Of human martyrdom, are squeezed dry.
But the victorious time‟s nearby.
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Let hatred reign so that punishment‟s
Hands won‟t tremble.
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 199)
This analogy between Marxism and Christianity enhances moral authority of the
poet‟s message for political struggle against status quo because the oppressed people
of his continent have deep attachment with Christianity.
Similarly, Faiz‟s future utopia is deeply entrenched in his Islamic socialistic
vision. He equates his political apocalypse with the Day of Judgement as enshrined in
the Holy Quran. This day will herald the fall of the idols of oppression. In “Nida-e-
Ghaib” (Voice from the Unknown) the poet says:
Warn all those in authority
To hold fast to their book of deeds
When the masses surge into the streets
Crime for vengeance,
All appeal for mercy
All blubbering excuses –
Will be spurned aside.
(tr. Daud Kamal, 2006, 159)
Oracular in tone, the poet represents the voice of God enshrined in Holy Quran to
warn the oppressors to face the fury of the oppressed.
Marxist utopia and political idealism of Neruda and Faiz does not refer to the
search for the impossibility. Futuristic vision of the two poets does not anticipate a
world order free of all imperfections, hardships and labour. It also does not preach
distraction from the socio-political obligations of the present. It actually envisions a
future society free of exploitation, reification and commodification of the individual
via people‟s struggle. For instance, Neruda‟s portrayal of the alienation of the Latin
American workers under corporate imperialism in “United Fruit Co.” and his critique
of the discriminatory administration of law in “Promulgation of the Funnel Law”
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allude to his yearning for the restoration of the workers‟ human dignity and social
equality. Similarly, the peasant in Faiz‟s “Supplication” who protests against the
oppressive role of the ideological and repressive state apparatuses does not demand
affluence and palatial residence. He only pleads for a life of dignity and self-
sufficiency on the basis of hard work. Furthermore, past and future utopias of the two
poets are rooted in history, geography, culture and religion. In historical terms, past
utopias of Neruda and Faiz are earthly utopias having known-geographies and known-
people. Similarly, their future utopias which are in reality the regenerations of the
pluralistic societies of the past are not a search for the inauthentic and the fanciful.
The visions of future socialistic world orders of the two poets do not find their origins
only in people‟s miseries under bourgeois culture but also in collective strength
displayed in the earliest communist societies. What is actually utopian and mythical is
the treatment and the poetic glorification of the means and the ends of the utopias.
Both the poets believe that mythical and fanciful presentation of past and future
societies is essential to drag the masses out of their inaction under exploitative culture.
In their account of the perpetual class conflict and the war of position, the two
poets take sides with the oppressed and the marginalised. They resort to the technique
of disarticulation to repudiate bourgeois assumptions and discourse. They deconstruct
bourgeois transcendental signifiers and the centres of truth and replace them with the
perspective of the deprived which is missing in the textbook histories. In their lyrical
glorification of the perpetual struggle between the forces of good and evil, the
hegemonic forces are condemned as the enemies of mankind, the purveyors of despair
whereas the exploited masses and the forces of resistance are eulogized as the
purveyors of hope and the redeemers of mankind. They take exception to the art of the
bourgeois intellectuals which promotes escapism, indifference and inertia in the face
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of the sordid realities of life. It is through this intellectual patronage of the forces of
resistance that the much needed dialectical thinking can be strengthened. Seen in
particular frames of reference, Pablo Neruda discards bourgeois discourse in which
Spanish colonisers and their bourgeois descendants are projected as the torch-bearers
whereas the native population is condemned as barbaric. In Canto General, the
colonisers and their indigenous successors from Cortes up to Gonzalez of Chile are
condemned as a band of individualists whose motives have been materialistic.
Whereas the indigenous freedom-fighters are presented as heroes who suffered and
even received martyrdom for the liberation of their motherland (c.f 4.4.2). Faiz aligns
the oppressors of the past and present with Nimrud and the infidels of Mecca who
defiled the holy sanctuary of Ka‟aba with idols. He equates the forces of redemption,
resistance and sacrifice with the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), the Prophet Muhammad,
Shabbir (Imam Hussain – the younger grand-son of the Prophet Muhammad) and the
Arab mystic Mansoor Hallaj who defied hegemonic orders of their times and faced
oppression and torture (c.f 5.4.3).
PART II
6.2 Critique and Indictment of Capitalism in Neruda and Faiz
The next point of comparison is the critique of capitalism in the poetry of
Neruda and Faiz. This critique of capitalism is part of Marxist political and literary
design. The critique of bourgeois culture which exposes the materialistic and
inhumane nature of the capitalistic enterprise is presented as an anti-thesis to the past
utopia of collective strength. Neruda and Faiz who endorse Marxist view of economic
determinism affirm that existing bourgeois hegemony is based upon its monopoly
over economy which provides the base for the entire super-structure of the dominant
social order. Bourgeois super-structure which consists of the cultural and
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administrative organs of the state not only constructs but also sustains the ideological,
cultural and materialistic dominance of the ruling elites. Both the poets consider it
obligatory upon the progressive writers to expose the cracks and inherent
contradictions in the ideology of the hegemonic order. The two poets opt for the
technique of sustained assault on the ideological and discursive practices of the
dominant culture. Their diatribe is reserved against the entire super-structure but the
particular contexts determine the magnitude and the degree of intensity of the
indictment against particular apparatuses. Neruda, whose indictment of Latin
American hegemonic order is directed against all its cultural and administrative
organs, takes exception to the manipulative role of Catholic Church, bourgeois
intellectuals, legal and judicial system and multinational corporations. In his diatribe
against the Catholic Church, the poet castigates catholic dogma for its endorsement of
ethnic divide based upon the myth of the superiority of European blood. The poet
asserts that dogma‟s endorsement of ethnic divide runs counter to the Christian tenets
of equality of men.
Besides church, Neruda is more brusque in his criticism of bourgeois
intellectuals, surrealists and avant-gardists, who promoted European literary themes
and conventions without contextualizing them and did not provide intellectual
leadership to the counter-hegemonic forces in their society. These bourgeois writers
dealt with the realm of the fantastic and practised obscurity while the people of the
continent suffered under alien and indigenous oppressors (c.f. 4.5.3). Similarly, the
poet is exceptionally critical of the discriminatory role of the law and judiciary. He
lashes at the legal and judicial system for manipulating capitalistic administration of
law benefitting the rich and depriving the poor. In this diatribe, the poet‟s disapproval
of bourgeois capitalization of legal apparatuses exposes latent contradictions,
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fractures and insufficiency in the existing power structures and paves way for
reworking of a judicious order (c.f. 4.5.4).
Neruda‟s critique of capitalism is conspicuous for its outright assault on
multinational corporations. He castigates the nexus between multinationals and their
local agents in Latin America. This nexus excludes from its fold the native people
who are the main stakeholders in the utilization of the natural resources of the land.
Neruda‟s criticism of the multinationals and their inhumane bourgeois enterprise
lends intellectual authority to the indigenous struggle for the elimination of foreign
economic dominance. The poet who is the social bard of his people associates the
creation of a judicious, humanistic social order with return to the origins and the roots.
In this way, he repudiates the manipulated representation of mass culture under
bourgeois system whose primary purpose is to expand the society of consumers. The
poet is equally critical of the repressive role of law-enforcing agencies like police,
administration and prisons. Neruda‟s exception to the exploitative role of
multinational companies like UFC, Anaconda etc. is contextualised in the economic
hegemony of corporate imperialism of the US in the Latin American continent. In the
poem “United Fruit Co.” Canto V, Neruda lashes at the exploitative role of the
multinational corporations. He also satirizes the regressive role of dogma. The poet
says:
When the trumpet blared everything
On earth was prepared
And Jehovah distributed the world
To Coca Cola inc; Anaconda,
Ford Motors and other entities:
United Fruits inc.
Reserved for itself the juiciest
The central seaboard of my land
America‟s sweet waste.
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It repabtised its lands
The “Banana Republic”.
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 179)
Like Neruda, Faiz who repudiates the manipulative nature of bourgeois super-
structure in all its forms takes exception to the more ruthless function of certain
ideological and repressive state organs in his society. In view of the peculiar socio-
political conditions of his society, Faiz‟s indictment is directed more against the
ruling troika of religious clerics, military-cum-civil bureaucracy and right wing
oligarchy of the feudals and capitalists. He rejects manipulated representation of Islam
by the religious clerics who teach determinism and resignation instead of choice and
free-will. Furthermore, dogma‟s endorsement of the existing hierarchy runs counter to
the Islamic principle of equality of men irrespective of their caste, colour, creed and
materialistic position. This attack of the poet on the bourgeois interpretation of
Islamic ideology, which runs short of humanistic principles of Islam, weakens the
relationship of respect between dogma and intelligence and popularises mystic
interpretation of religion which rejects claims of superiority in social hierarchy based
on materialistic possessions. The mystic tradition of sub-continent which had its
historical and spiritual links with Arab mystic tradition of Mansoor Hallaj defied
hegemonic orders of the day and rejected materialistic incentives and royal patronage.
These Sufis glorified man in terms of his moral and spiritual wealth.
Faiz‟s critique is also largely directed against military and civil establishment
because Pakistan like most of the postcolonial countries of Asia, Africa and Latin-
America has faced successive military take-overs and has been virtually controlled by
the establishment. Military rulers who run administration in connivance with civil
bureaucracy patronize feudal-cum-capitalist oligarchy. This nexus which sanctions
continuation of imperial minority culture persists in suppressing indigenous
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integrationist culture by denying popular representation in existing cultural milieu. In
oppressive societies like Pakistan, civil administration and police are utilised by the
ruling class to seek unconditional complicity of the masses to the policies of the ruling
ideology. Police and Revenue department are notorious for political victimization and
witch-hunting. Civil bureaucracy discourages genuine political culture and resorts to
repressive measures to crush resistance to the will of the rulers. In the poem
“Intisaab” (Dedication) Faiz takes exception to the oppressive role of the repressive
state organ and the mighty feudals who deprive the farmers and the peasants of their
belongings, the fruit of their labour and their dignity and honour. The poet says:
Let me write of the farmer
This Lord whose fief was a few animal – stolen
Who knows when
This heir who once had a daughter – carried off
Who knows where
This chief whose turban is a tattered rag
Beneath the feet of the mighty
(tr. Shoaib Hashmi, 2011, p. 21)
Provincialism, sectarianism and ethnicity are encouraged to keep intact the policy of
divide and rule. By attacking the repressive role of establishment, the poet plays his
intellectual role in popularizing public sentiment against bureaucratic snobbery. Faiz‟s
indictment of the Establishment and its repressive state organs is conditioned by the
peculiar socio-political conditions of the Sub-continent.
Like Neruda, Faiz takes exception to the pro-establishment role of bourgeois
writers. He emphasises that postcolonial writers must share the sorrows and joys of
the people. He criticizes imperialists and their indigenous lackeys in creating gulf
between the writers and the masses through official reward and patronage. Faiz
asserts that the writers must promote dialectical thinking in order to establish
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imperialism and its postcolonial legacy as a phase in history. They should also expose
latent contradictions between the professed aims of liberation movements and the
practical perpetuation of imperial mindset and policies in post-imperial era. They
ought to highlight socialistic values of dogma in order to affect qualitative change in
the life of the masses. They must glorify individual‟s self-respect and dignity of
labour in the wake of reification and commodification of individual in existing social
order.
To conclude the comparative study of the critique of capitalism in Neruda and
Faiz, it is established that both the poets expose the entire superstructure of the
capitalistic system. By exposing inherent fractures and instabilities in the redoubts of
the dominant ideology, they point to the vulnerability of the system. Of course, the
particular frames of reference in which these poetic responses are produced determine
the intensity and magnitude of diatribe against various state apparatuses. As far as the
tone and manner of the diatribe of the two poets is concerned, Pablo Neruda is more
brusque and less cryptic than Faiz in his denunciation of the bourgeois system. The
most plausible reason of Neruda‟s curt tone is the poet‟s anger at the direct political
and economic intervention of the North in the internal affairs of the continent and the
mercenary role of the local dictators and oligarchic rules. The basic reason of the mild
and cryptic tone of Faiz is the influence of the Urdu-Persian lyrical tradition in which
the profound inner grief and indignation are expressed in mild way to keep slow pinch
of the pain intact.
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PART III
6.3 Poetic Tools of Neruda and Faiz
The next point of comparison is the poetic tools in the poetry of Pablo Neruda
and Faiz Ahmad Faiz. The two poets have used counter-hegemonic thematic and
formal tools to project their political ideals. In order to create new collective will, the
two poets revisit received behaviours towards history, culture and politics. They make
consistent use of various thematic and formal tools which reflect the perspective of
the oppressed and the colonised which has been deliberately excluded from the
official versions of history. One of the most persistent themes in the poetry of Neruda
and Faiz is the theme of betrayal and broken promises. Contextualized in Marxist
view of history, the theme of betrayal refers to the two historical betrayals. First
betrayal took place when postcolonial societies were colonised by the western
imperialists on the pretext of efficacy. The colonisers camouflaged their economic
motives in the name of theory of White Man‟s Burden1. Second perfidy took place at
the time of liberation movements. The masses were promised freedom from socio-
political and economic oppression but in post-independence period the national
leaders established oligarchic culture and no qualitative changed occurred in the lives
of the down-trodden. Pablo Neruda in “The Oligarchies” Canto V exposes the
treachery of the Latin American leaders of Liberation Movement who established
oligarchies in post-independence era. The poet says:
No, the flags had not yet dried
The soldiers had not yet slept
When freedom changed clothes
And was turned into a Hacienda
A caste system emerged from
The newly sown lands, a quadrille
Of Nouveaus riches with coats of arm,
With police and with prison
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 161)
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Similarly, Faiz in “Azadi-e-Subah” (Dawn of Freedom) refers to the betrayal in post-
independence era and exposes the disparity between the ideal and the outcome of the
freedom movement. In ironical tone the poet says:
They say that darkness has been severed from light
They say that the gold has been reached
But the predicament of the grief-stricken
Has radically changed –
Ecstacy of union is allowed
And the torment of separation forbidden
(tr Daud Kamal, 2006, p. 103)
At the end of the poem, the poet exhorts upon the masses to continue their struggle for
real freedom.
The two poets also reject territorial nationalism because it demands sacrifices
from the people without any reward in terms of socio-economic justice. Neruda and
Faiz claim that broken promises can only be fulfilled through proletariat victory.
Their concern for the oppressed is international which transcends all territorial,
psychological, cultural and racial considerations.
The poetry of Neruda and Faiz is also conspicuous as a narrative of past
sufferings and struggles. Both the writers affirm that the forces of hegemony and
counter-hegemony, of oppression and resistance exist simultaneously. Bourgeois
intellectuals promote submission to the ruling ideology. For them, resistance against
the forces of status quo is subversion; whereas the progressive writers consider it
obligatory to highlight the perpetual struggle and sacrifices of the forces of resistance
against oppression and exploitation. Neruda and Faiz continue to remind the
struggling masses of the legacy of pains and sufferings of their forefathers in order to
contextualize their struggle for liberation from tyranny and coercion in the perpetual
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battle between the oppressors and the oppressed. For them, freedom and self-respect
of the individual is a pre-requisite for the formation of a truly humanistic social order.
Neruda in Canto General continues to remind his compatriots of the sufferings of
their forefathers under oppressors. In the poem “Alvarado” Canto III, he presents a
formidable picture of people‟s sufferings under colonisers. The poet says:
Alvarado fell upon the huts
With claws and knives, we razed
The patrimony of the goldsmith
Ravished the nuptial rose of the tribe,
Assaulted races, properties, religions –
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 48)
People‟s miseries under Alvarado symbolize their suffereings under imperial and
local reigns.
Similarly, Faiz who is an exponent of international peace links it with
proletariat struggle against oppression. In his exaltation of the counter-hegemonic
forces, he is inspired by the legendary struggle and sacrifices of the Prophets, mystics,
revolutionary leaders and intellectuals which enhances the spiritual, intellectual and
political appeal of his message.
Political poetry of Neruda and Faiz is circumstantial poetry which is marked
for its mood of jubilation as well as lamentation. The two poets celebrate moments of
political victory of the progressive forces everywhere in the world. They express their
sense of loss over national and international political events in which the forces of
dominance hold sway over the forces of redemption. The mood of the poet in Canto
General is that of indignation over the treachery of Chilean President Gonzalez and
the growing influence of corporate imperialism of the North in Latin America.
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However, Neruda expresses his jubilation at the occurrence of Cuban and Mexican
revolutions. He pays glowing tributes to Recabarren – the Communist leader of Chile
– for organizing proletariat forces throughout the continent. As far as Faiz is
concerned, he reflects mood of despair over national tragedies in the form of
successive military take-overs, but expresses jubilations over moments of victory of
democratic forces such as promulgation of the first democratic constitution of
Pakistan (1956) and victory of the popular forces like PPP (Pakistan Peoples Party) in
the first direct elections of 1970 in the history of the country. He also rejoices at the
struggle and sacrifice of Rosenbergs and Iranian students against hegemonic orders of
their societies and glorifies the armed resistance of the Palestinians and the African
freedom-fighters against the usurpers and oppressors. This mood of rejoice of the poet
at international events is a psychological effort to drag his countrymen out of despair
due to the grim political situation at home. To add to it, the theme of wait and change
in the poetry of the two poets is closely linked with their mood of rejoice and
futuristic political hope. Wait is a temporary phase which anticipates change. Their
emphasis upon wait offers consolation and hope against existing pessimism. The
mood of celebration and lamentation in the poetry of Neruda and Faiz which is
contextualized in the history and culture of the societies of the two poets, appeals to
the oppressed of the whole world alike as they have been living under similar
psychological and historical conditions in their countries.
Return to origins and roots is another recurrent thematic tool in the poetry of
Neruda and Faiz. This is part of counter-hegemonic technique of counter-culture. This
call for the recuperation of native/indigenous cultures aims to restore the national and
cultural identity of the oppressed and the colonised nations and societies. Neruda‟s
cultural proto-type is the Latin American Juan whose composing elements are those
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of the Mother Nature. He works in collectivity in fields, mines and on sea-coasts. He
provides work force as well as soldierly in the battlefields for the liberation of his
motherland from foreign and local oppressors. In “The Earth‟s Name is Juan” Canto
VIII, Neruda gives graphic picture of the collective attributes of the Juan – Latin
American prototype. The poet says:
Juan followed upon the liberators
Working, fishing and fighting,
In his carpentry work or in his damp mine.
His hands have ploughed the earth and measured
The roads.
His bones are every where,
But he is alive. He returned from the earth. He
Was born.
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 253)
The prototype of Faiz is the farmer of the Punjab, the factory and railway
workers, the clerks and the destitute mothers who work from dawn to dusk to earn
their livelihood and to contribute to the progress of their country. In “Intisaab”
(Dedication) faiz pays tributes to the dispossessed, the disinherited and the deprived.
These downtroddens are his prototypes of real humanity. Exalting the struggle of the
mothers, the poet says:
Let me write of the Mothers
Whose children sob in the night
And cradled in tired, toiling arms
Will not tell their woes.
(tr. Shoaib Hashmi, 2011, p. 21)
Despite geographical and cultural specificities, Neruda‟s Juans and Faiz‟s destitutes
share the bond of humanity. Both believe in dignity of human labour, in giving sweat
and blood to address the material needs of society. Their sympathies are enlarged.
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Their humanity includes in its folds all the marginalised people of the world
regardless of their cultural, geographical and racial distinctions.
Similarly, the two poets use certain formal tools to strengthen the political
content of their poetry. They select their formal tools keeping in view the ideological
and cultural value of their art and the nature of their audience. Neruda, who started as
a surrealist, adopted cryptic and obscure modes of expression to deal with what was
happening deep in the mind. With the change in his ideology, his audience changed
and his readers were now pre-dominatingly the less educated and illiterate masses. He
abandoned obscure modes of expression. His language became highly accessible to
the ordinary readers. He also utilised ekphrastic technique – a combination of the
verbal and the visual components of communication to make his poetry more
accessible and understandable for the ordinary readers (c.f 2.2.4.11). As far as Faiz is
concerned, he maintained Urdu poetic diction. Classical Urdu diction which was
primarily meant for romantic themes, had gained social orientation at the hands of
mystic poetic tradition of the sub-continent. It gained momentum under the influence
of social realism of Hali, Iqbal and Hasrat Mohani. Faiz added clear political
orientation to the romantic discourse of classical diction (c.f. 5.5.5). To popularise his
classical diction, Faiz took advantage of the literary tradition of poetic symposia in
sub-continent. He used to recite his poetry in poetic gatherings. His recitational tone
and style popularised the classical diction among masses. Seen in comparative terms,
Pablo Neruda was more revolutionary in abandoning bourgeois modes of expression
whereas Faiz seemed tilted towards evolutionary approach in transforming existing
modes of expression into a socially-committed language. The reason of retaining
classical diction was to maintain the literary tradition of Urdu diction and to maintain
the relative autonomy of art. Despite his purposive view of art, Faiz preferred to
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present his political convictions in a veiled manner in order to keep intact the aesthetic
appeal of his art even for the non-political readers.
The choice of particular genre by the two poets is politically and culturally
conditioned decision. Neruda selected epic genre for rewriting cultural, geographical
and political history of the continent. In Western literary tradition, epic has been used
as a tool of propaganda by the hegemonic forces to establish their worldview. Neruda
selected epic structure for his Canto General mainly for two reasons. First, the
encyclopedic nature of the epic facilitated his Marxist account of the vast expanse of
continental history ranging from pre-Columbian era up to the contemporary period.
Second, the epic pattern facilitates the oracular voice of his prophetic poetry due to its
emphatic and persuasive tone and style. Furthermore, epic structure facilitates the
poet‟s technique of multiple narration due to its vast magnitude. The technique of
multiple narrators heightens the persuasive function of the oracular voice because
multiple narrative voices in Canto General add to the collective will of the revisionist
version of the history of the continent motivating the readers to accommodate new
consciousness (c.f. 4.6.7).
Faiz‟s selection of the genre of classical Urdu ghazal is influenced by the
centuries-old literary tradition of the pessimistic content of poetry which suits his
narrative of past and present sufferings of the masses under tyranny and exploitation.
When Faiz started his career, the socio-political landscape of his country was
absolutely grim and remains the same even in post-Independence era. To present
sordid realities of life under exploitative regimes, the poet considered it fit to use
classical genre and added into it futuristic hope in accordance with his Marxist design.
Furthermore, Faiz also uses poetic-cum-cultural tools of Anthem, Popular Devotional
Muslim Verse and Prayer. These tools have been used by the mystic poets of the sub-
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continent to propagate socialistic and counter-hegemonic spirit of Islam. Anthem – a
rousing song – has been universally acknowledged as a tool to arouse popular
sentiments in favour of a collective cause (c.f. 5.5.7). The use of these tools by Faiz
represents the collective spirit of his ideology and art and lends cultural and spiritual
support to the proletariat voice of the poet. While Neruda uses the technique of
multiple narratives, Faiz uses plural pronoun „we‟ to express his solidarity with the
cause of the poor.
Both the poets have made extensive use of natural and erotic imagery to
strengthen the political content of their poetry. Contextualized in socio-political
conditions of Latin-America, the natural imagery of Neruda lends vibrancy, strength
and vitality to the native population which is the real owner of the land and its
resources. The Latin-American Juan is associated with natural landscape, geography,
flora and fauna, reptiles and birds of the continent. He is defined and described in
terms of the constituent elements of the environment and is free of the vices of
bourgeois urban culture (c.f. 4.4.2). He follows the natural rhythm and cyclic view of
earth and life and ensures struggle against forces of status quo. The recurrent images
of dawn, light, spring, birth, wind and sea etc. symbolize regeneration, freedom and
inevitability of change. The poet uses the imagery of female body to represent Latin
American lands‟ vulnerability to the materialistic designs of the invaders and their
local mercenaries. It also symbolizes procreative ability. The poet also establishes
analogy between the woman, earth and tree for their recuperative value. Woman is not
only the way of bringing man to life but also the entire landscape on which he carves
out the map of his existence. Like tree, the woman who symbolizes pro-creation
enriches the mother earth with the sons of the soil, the children of clay to provide
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work force and soldierly to ensure continuity of struggle and resistance against the
forces of occupation and exploitation (c.f. 4.6.8).
Similarly, Faiz makes consistent use of the natural imagery reflecting
perpetual flow in the material environment. The persistent use of the imagery of night
and dawn in Faiz represents regular flow of temporal process and negates bourgeois
concept of immutability of existing system. The imagery of autumn and spring
represents the natural cycle of life in which death and decay are followed by
regeneration and recuperation. The morning breeze in the poetry of Faiz represents
liberty and freedom (c.f. 5.5.6). The romantic imagery in the poetry of Faiz
establishes love as an integrating force which does not alienate a lover from his
surroundings due to the pangs of separation from his beloved. Rather it creates a bond
between the lover and the suffering human beings. The pangs of romantic love do not
teach self-affliction and self-absorption but enlarge his sympathies for the afflicted
masses. Faiz equates female beloved with motherland. The lovers are the insulted
masses who are ready to embrace martyrdom to liberate their beloved from the
occupation of the usurpers, villains and oppressors.
In comparative terms, the range of natural imagery and the emphasis on
organic link between natural praxis and social dialectics is more pervasive and
encompassing and concentrated in Canto General than in the poetry of Faiz. The most
plausible reason and the source of the wide range of Neruda‟s natural imagery was his
childhood exposure of the world of nature during long train journeys of Neruda along
with his father into the Araucanian region. Furthermore, Neruda‟s deep interest in
natural dialectics seems to be the particular geographical conditions of his land and of
course the epic dimensions of his poetry in which he has re-written the history of his
continent from the perspective of the colonised. It is also the result of the poet‟s
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meditative disposition who used to reflect upon the social relevance of natural praxis.
As far as the use of romantic imagery is concerned, it is more prominent in the poetry
of Faiz than Neruda‟s. Despite its clear political overtones, erotic imagery in Faiz is
conspicuous for its romantic note. Whereas Neruda‟s imagery of the female body is
distinguished for its less romantic note. Faiz‟s erotic imagery inspires men‟s love for
women but also enlarges its scope.
PART IV
6.4 Relevance of the Poetry of Neruda and Faiz in the Wake of Corporate
Globalisation
The final point of comparison is the contemporary relevance of the Marxist
poetry of Neruda and Faiz with particular reference to the theories of later / revisionist
Marxist theorists and critics in this age of corporate globalization. Ours is the age of
economic monopoly of the multinationals. Corporate imperialism has become well-
entrenched through its culture industry. It is posing serious threat to the diverse
cultural and economic systems of the world, workers‟ rights, trade unions, sovereignty
of nation-states and the world peace due to its agenda of monopoly over natural
resources of the entire planet. Bourgeois drive for utilization of physical environment
for its profit principles is causing serious ecological imbalance.
Being social and cultural bards, Neruda and Faiz glorify their native pluralistic
cultural heritages and reject the bourgeois manipulated representation of international
culture. In this way, the Marxist poetry of Neruda and Faiz not only offers a
humanistic counter-point to the capitalistic society of consumers but also checks
bourgeois cultural industry‟s efforts to create false and artificial needs to serve the
materialistic interests of the capitalists. The two poets‟ endorsement of diverse
cultural patterns and thoughts of various societies offers an indictment of the
307
bourgeois strategy of containment of true arts and cultural forms. It helps maintain the
sovereignty and ownership of natural resources by the nation states and their
inhabitants which may check escalation of conflicts between the rich and the poor
nations and the growing ecological imbalance.
The progressive poetry of Neruda and Faiz which discards the monolithic
view of Marxism offers a counter-point to the bourgeois claim that after the
disintegration of USSR, political and literary Marxism has become an outmoded
ideology. Economic facts and figures reveal that in this age of neo-imperialism, the
rate of poverty has increased. The inequality between the life styles of the haves and
have-nots and the economic disparity between the capitalist bloc and the postcolonial
world of Africa, Asia and Latin-America is growing unabated. In this era of more
exploitation, more disparity and more insecurity than before, the significance of the
dialectical reasoning of Neruda and Faiz with its futuristic hope cannot be over-
emphasised.
In comparative terms, the main popularity of Neruda‟s poetry lies in its
critique of contemporary corporate globalisation and the poet‟s lyrical glorification of
the natural world, landscape, flora and fauna of his continent. The reason is that North
American financial corporations had gained monopoly over major crops, fruits,
vegetables, gold and copper mines and the oil fields of Latin America. Lead by profit
principle, these companies were exporting resources and wealth of the continent to
European and North American markets. They were unduly extracting precious metals
and natural resources from the layer of the earth causing ecological imbalance. In
“United Fruit Co.”, the poet narrates a moving tale of the extortion, usurpation and
exportation of Latin American resources to west and Niorth America. The poet says:
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Among the blood thirsty flies
The Fruit Co. disembarks
Ravaging coffee and fruits
For its ships that spirit away
Our submerged lands, treasures
Like serving trays
(tr. Schmitt, 1993, p. 179)
Neruda‟s poetry also retains its appeal due to its concern for workers‟ rights as he had
personally watched the miseries of Chilean miners and their sufferings at the hands of
Gonzalez regime.
As far as Faiz is concerned, the main reason of the contemporary appeal and
relevance of his poetry is his glorification of individual self-respect, dignity of human
struggle and labour. He admires human hands which guarantee respectable livelihood.
In “Shorish-e-Barbat-o-Nay” (Lyre and Flute), the poet affirms that his hands and his
warm blood guarantee his self-respect, dignity and honour. The poet says:
While these hands keep their virtue and while warm blood is
Still pulsing through veins
While honour holds her place in our souls and reason is sovereign in our brains
(tr. Kiernan, 1971, p. 145)
Above all, the relevance of the poetry of Faiz lies in its message of peace
which is much needed today. The poet argues that the struggle against injustice is a
pre-requisite for peace. Peace and tyranny can never co-exist. For Faiz, the interest of
mankind is indivisible and it is best served through struggle for the dissemination of
joy and for self-realisation in this age of reification and commodification of the
individual. Faiz never approved of hostilities between nations and countries. He
refused to write patriotic songs during Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971. Instead he
wrote elegies on behalf of the mothers of the deceased soldiers.
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6.5 Conclusion and Generalisation
To conclude the comparative study of Marxist utopia and political idealism in
the poetry of Pablo Neruda and Faiz Ahmad Faiz, it is established that the comparison
identifies profound similarities of content and form in the art of the two poets who
belong to two different continents with different geographical, cultural and religious
backgrounds. The rationale behind profound ideological similarities in the poetry of
Neruda and Faiz is the similar historical experiences of their societies as mother lands
of both the poets have been subjected to foreign and local oppression in imperial and
post-imperial eras. Upholding functional view of art, the two poets visualize the hope
of an exploitation free social order in Marxist political apocalypse which is in reality
the regeneration of past utopias (pre-imperial pluralistic cultural heritages). The
similarities of form in the poetry of Neruda and Faiz are of course ideologically
oriented.
However, despite these profound similarities of content and form, the study
identifies specificities arising out of particular contexts and peculiar frames of
reference in which these poetic responses are produced. Marxist political idealism of
Neruda and Faiz is contextualized in the historical, cultural, religious and literary
traditions of their respective societies. These specificities cannot be taken for the
points of divergences. They do not marginalise the scope of the poetry of the two
poets. Rather they affirm Marxist position that the art must reflect the immediate
socio-political and historical circumstances surrounding the artist in order to enhance
its aesthetic and intellectual authority. The culture specific formal devices and
techniques help appropriate and popularise political idealism among the forces of
resistance in their mother lands. This interface between ideology and the particular
frames of reference, globalism and diverse cultural heritages establishes ideological
310
nexus between the counter-hegemonic forces of various societies particularly the
postcolonial world. It also liberates socialism from the shackles of the monolithic
fabric of Marxist thinking. The contextualization of the ideological art of Neruda and
Faiz in the cultural values of their societies enhances humanistic appeal of Marxism in
the face of materialistic and dehumanising nature of corporate imperialism.
The comparative study of the poetry of Neruda and Faiz which accentuates
paradigm shift from unidirectional approach to pluralism in the domain of
comparative discipline, helps draw generalizations about literary consciousness of the
writers of the oppressed societies because both the poets are acknowledged as the
representatives of politically and socially committed intellectual and ideological
forces against ruling ideologies in societies of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Rejecting Euro-centric myths of universality and ahistoricity of the text, Neruda and
Faiz‟s conversion towards Marxist political and literary canon represents conviction
of the progressive writers of the three continents that Euro-centric literary tradition
does not match with the ground reality of the postcolonial societies. It also affirms
that aesthetics and politics cannot be separated from each other and that the writers
must speak for the rights of the defenceless, the oppressed and the insulted.
Furthermore, the multicultural approach of Neruda and Faiz represents the Marxist
and postcolonial repudiation of the centrality of western cultural norms which still
enjoy the official patronage of the ruling elites in third world societies. The
intellectuals and the progressive writers of the once colonised societies believe that
intellectual, cultural and political liberation can only be achieved by repudiating Euro-
centric literary canon and elite culture which is an extension of colonial legacy.
The current research will hopefully accelerate comparative studies in
postcolonial / oriental literatures in order to substantiate intellectual struggle for
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literary and critical autonomy. It will also motivate the researchers in the comparative
field to focus on the political reading of the text in order to strengthen the poetics and
politics of literature as a literary norm. More comparative studies in future will
explore more avenues to endorse the nexus between the collectivist ideals and
aesthetics in the postcolonial world.
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Notes:
1- The phrase „White Man‟s Burden‟ was used by Rudyard Kipling (English Poet) in
his poem of the same title. The phrase projects white man as essentially civilized and
qualifies western imperialism as a civilizing mission.
313
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