Selected Poems

by Tagore, Rabindranath (Author); Radice, William (Translator); Radice, William (Editor)

• ISBN13: 9780140449884
• ISBN10: 0140449884
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-09-27
• Publisher: Penguin Classics

Summary

The poems of Rabindranath Tagore are among the most haunting and tender in Indian and world literature, expressing a profound and passionate human yearning. His ceaselessly inventive works deal with such subjects as the interplay between God and mortals, the eternal and the transient, and the paradox of an endlessly changing universe that is in tune with unchanging harmonies. Poems such as Earth” and In the Eyes of a Peacock” present a picture of natural processes unaffected by human concerns, while others, as in Recovery—14,” convey the poet’s bewilderment about his place in the world. And exuberant works such as New Rain” and Grandfather’s Holiday” describe Tagore’s sheer joy at the glories of nature or simply in watching a grandchild play.

Author Biography

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-û1941), one of India-'s greatest and most prolific writers of the twentieth century, was awarded the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature.
William Radice is a poet, scholar, and translator of Bengali, who has written or edited nearly thirty books. He has translated Tagore-'s short stories and his novel The Home and the World for Penguin Classics.

Table of Contents

Preface to the 2005 Edition	7	(3)
Further Reading	10	(4)
Chronology	14	(3)
Introduction	17	(28)
1882--1913
Brahma, Visnu, Siva	45	(2)
Bride	47	(2)
Unending Love	49	(1)
The Meghaduta	50	(3)
The Golden Boat	53	(1)
Broken Song	53	(2)
A Half-acre of Land	55	(2)
Day's End	57	(1)
On the Edge of the Sea	58	(3)
Love's Question	61	(1)
Snatched by the Gods	62	(4)
New Rain	66	(2)
The Hero	68	(1)
Death-wedding	69	(2)
Arrival	71	(1)
Highest Price	72	(5)
1914--1936
The Conch	77	(1)
Shah-Jahan	78	(3)
Gift	81	(2)
Deception	83	(3)
Grandfather's Holiday	86	(1)
Palm-tree	87	(1)
The Wakening of Siva	88	(3)
Guest	91	(1)
In Praise of Trees	91	(2)
Last Honey	93	(1)
Sea-maiden	94	(2)
Question	96	(1)
Flute-music	96	(2)
Unyielding	98	(1)
Earth	99	(3)
Africa	102	(5)
1937--1941
The Borderland -- 9	107	(1)
The Borderland -- 10	107	(1)
Leaving Home	108	(1)
In the Eyes of a Peacock	109	(2)
New Birth	111	(1)
Flying Man	112	(1)
Railway Station	113	(2)
Freedom-bound	115	(1)
Yaksa	116	(1)
Last Tryst	117	(1)
Injury	118	(1)
The Sick-bed -- 6	119	(2)
The Sick-bed -- 21	121	(1)
Recovery -- 10	121	(2)
Recovery -- 14	123	(1)
On My Birthday -- 20	124	(3)
Notes	127	(53)
Appendix A	180	(3)
Appendix B	183	(4)
Glossary	187