Critical analysis of Kamala Das poem An Introduction || Literary Foundation ||

The poem An Introduction (1965) is an autobiographical poem by Kamala Das (1934-2009). She was an iconoclast and one who introduced confessional elements in Indian English poetry. This poem was published in her first volume of poetry Summer in Culcatta in 1965. Her other works are- The Descendent (1967), The Old Play House, and Another Poems (1984). She is essentially known for her bold and frank expression. An acute obsession of love and confessional modes are important features of her poetry. 

As per M.H Abrams-

                "confessional poetry designates a type of narrative 

                  and lyric verse, which deals with the facts and 

                  intimates the mental and physical experiences of poet's 

                  own life".

Because of her confessional modes, she is classified with the other confessional writer of America such as- Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, and Anne Saxton.

The poem An Introduction reveals the poet's life, her linguistics acquirement, her physical growth, her sad experience of married life, her belonging, her love for another man, and her eventual frustration. It triggers the process of introspection and self-discovery in the minds of writers. It also expresses the poet's craving for love and sense of frustration and deprivation. The poem is a brilliant example of the poet's confessionalism where she unfolds her entire self with frankness.

The poem An Introduction is written in free verse in a single stanza. The lines have no uniform length and range from three to eleven. It has no matrical pattern or rhyme scheme. However, the style allows to make use of sporadic use of rhyme scheme. Literary devices such as- enjambment, alliteration, anaphora, and allusion are used. Alliterations are at the beginning of the poem for instance- in lines one, four, five, fourteen, fifteen, eighteen, thirty-six, etc. Anaphora is expressed through the repetition of the pronouns 'I' for her identity and 'It' for her language. There are several examples of allusion: she refers to some specific places and names of politicians that need to research. She also uses ellipsis- " Then... I wore a shirt."

At the very outset of the poem, the poet (Kamala Das)  reveals her knowledge- 

                   "I don't know politics but I know

                     the names Of those in power, and

                     can repeat them like Days of weeks

                    or names of months, beginning with Nehru."

as this poem was written after India's independence, the poet tries to show the reality of the political arena. Here, she shows that the political area was crowded with men and there was no place for women. The only work that Women can do is to remember the names of politicians like days and months.

She proudly announces her identity as she was born in Malabar, Kerala. She is an Indian and has a brown complexion. In comparison with men she tries to be boastful and said she can speak three languages. However, she was fond of English and writes in it. Her choice of writing has caught the attention of her critics, friends, and cousins who advised her not to write in English. The poet wants them to stay away and let her write in the language she likes.

She said that language is a common property and the language she speaks becomes hers. She takes complete possession of the language in which she writes. The poet accepts all its distortions and queerness as her only.-

                    "The language I speak becomes 

                      mine its distortions its queerness,

                     All mine, mine alone".

Kamala Das compares her language to human beings-

                    "It is as human as I am human"
and emphatically asks questions to her critics and friends-
                     "Do not you see"

She said that it voices my joys, my longings, and my hopes. It is natural just like cawing to a crow and roaring to a lion. It is a language of an aware mind.

Kamala Das shifts the focus of the reader from her language acquaintances to her personal life. When she craves for love, in her adolescents, and does not know what else to ask. Her parents, without knowing her sentiment, tie her in a nuptial knot. Her desire for love was crushed in marital rape. Her husband sees her as an object and fulfills her sexual desire. This experience traumatizes and devastated her badly. She gets frightened because of such kind of treatment in a patriarchal society where a woman has to work as per per-established norms.

Because of her wretched experience of marriage, she hates her womanliness. She tries to overcome this pitiable condition. She adores her brother's trousers and gets her hair cut. After seeing such bold steps by the poet, her critic, friends, and cousin advised her-
                   "Dress in sarees, be girl, be wife,

                     they said. Be embroiderer, be cook".

But do not live your life as per your wish. 

She was asked to choose a name-

                    "Be Amy, or be Kamla. Or, 

                     better still be Madhavikutty".

choose a role but neither play a pretending game nor sit on the wall and peep through the lace window. By acting as a male she seems to them that someone who lost his or her connection form reality. She was also asked not to cry when jilted in love.

However, in her desire for love, she meets a man and loves him, but does not call him by any name instead calls him as- 

                       "He is every man who wants 

                        a woman, just as I am as every

                        woman seeks love". 

Here, she represents all women through herself.

When she asks everyone about their identity. The only answer she got is "I". The "I" is the male ego that sticks to the male personality like- a "Sword in its sheath". Further, she said that it is "I" who drink lonely, drinks at twelve night, in hotels of a strange town, make love, and feels ashamed.

She, in the end, reveals her role and declares-

                   " I am sinner, I am saint.

                      I am the beloved, and the betrayed, 

                      I have no joys that are not yours, no   

                      Aches which are not yours. I too 

                     call myself I." 

The poet identifies herself as "I".  She feels sinner because she has a lot of relationships, and sometimes feels pious because she was in search of true love. In the course of finding true love, she has both joyful and painful experiences that make her feel as  "beloved, and betrayed". Since there were no differences regarding pleasure and pain between her and men. So, in that way, she also declares herself as "I". This is how at the end of the poem she asserts her identity.