Selected Poems of Tagore (Gitanjali and The Ferryman)

Author: Zhong Lei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: A classic work that brought Tagore the Nobel Prize, captivating the world with its beautiful melodies, soft colors, and novel rhythms. American Imagist poet Ezra Pound, upon reading Gitanjali, exclaimed: "All one hundred poems in the collection could be sung. The melody and lyrics are perfectly integrated. It seems that Eastern music excels in this aspect. What's noteworthy is the brilliance of the impromptu, concise phrases. Sometimes, in lines like 'Morning holds a golden basket in its right hand,' we seem to glimpse the profound tranquility of the ancient Greeks. We suddenly discover our new Greece. It's as if the sense of serenity returns to Europe before the Renaissance, making me feel that a quiet presence has come to our mechanical clamor." You elevate my life, and in your eyes, it is a joy. This fragile cup, you constantly empty it and fill it with new life. A small reed flute, you carry it over mountains and hills, blowing melodies that are never repeated from its pipes. Your immortal caress with both hands melts my small heart into boundless joy, expressing tunes that cannot be expressed in words. Your infinite gifts pour so obsessively into my small hands. Time has long passed, yet you still pour, and my hands always have space to be filled.
From the selected poems in this book, we can deeply feel how this great Indian poet loves his country with its long-standing and excellent culture, loves the peaceful and democratic laborers in the country, and loves the magnificent and beautiful mountains and rivers. Between the lines of these poems, we see Indian women with lanterns and jars, their scarves fluttering; Indian workers and farmers sweating hard in the fields and on the roads; Indian musicians playing lutes and flutes in gardens and ferry crossings; Indian children jumping and laughing along the coast with the waves; and the thunderous rain and lush flowers in tropical regions. We seem to hear the dense raindrops and smell the rich fragrance of the flowers.