The Lunatic LaxmiPrasadDevkota

The Lunatic

Laxmi PrasadDevkota, Nepal

(1909-1959)

b. Write the summary of the poem "The Lunatic".

A famous Nepali Literary star Laxmi Prasad Devkota, has composed this poem "The Lunatic". It is the translation of his Nepal poem "Pagal" in 1956. The poet has used a mask of an insane person to show a contrast with the world people and his thinking. In the first stanza he says he is insane (mad) and this is his thinking.

The speaker tells about different contrasts in a second stanza with unusual habits. He can see sound and hear picture and taste a smell. He touches such things that world people don't believe them. He sees flower in the stone. He speaks such strange language, which is not written and spoken and all his words are never understood by anyone.

In the third stanza, the speaker makes many contrasts. Other sense with five sense organs he speaks. One minus one is equal to one and he works with heart while other work with mind. He enjoys in poetry while sane people do in prose. If they freeze he melts because he has world of vapor. With all such contrasts he says a vein is loose in his brain so he is insane.

In the fourth stanza the persona of the poet says he is called crazy when he is talking wintry sun heat. When he is sad at the death of people and weeps people call him mad. Seeing dead body he realizes Buddha's Philosophy still he is called mad. In listening a melodious song of cookoo he is referred to mental hospital and he is tasted if he is mad by pinching on his skin. He still a accepts that he is an insane

In the fifth stanza, the speaker focuses on stronger contrasts that wine is blood, prostitutes are corpse they don't have affection. King of other is beggar to him because he is high ambitious. The highly respected people are fools to him. Other's gold is his iron and the clever people are innocent to him. All the progress is his not progress because all are fools in his eyes. Such is his plight and such is his evaluation. What people value, believe and proud on are meaningless to the speaker.

In the sixth stanza, the speaker has become more aggressive. Blind leaders lead the world society/society where truth is not counted. Foolish and cheater have covered all high Honest, true and good people are always sidelined. The speaker sympathizes the weak minds and thinking of so called intellectual people of modern world.

In the last stanza, the speaker is very much violent and challenging towards the flatterers who disturb people from getting true rights and freedom. Political leaders are like prostitutes because they can be sold in money. With black money common people are controlled from getting human rights. False news is published in the media. When the speaker like honest people read them feeling comes to challenge and fight against them. He is much angrier when innocent people are forced to take poison and accept guilt of wrong deeds. When innocent and honest person is corrupted and cheated by so-called clever inhumanly his anger grows up. When he sees tiger punching upon the innocent dear,big fish to small, strong blow occurs from inside of him. There is no inhumanly. His brain burns like a forest fire he becomes too much cruel and become a child of tempest explosion of volcano. His mind is not proper, this is his condition.

c. Write the four level of interacting with the text "The Lunatic"

Literal Comprehension: This poem "The Lunatic" by LaxmiPrasadDevkota is his own translation of Nepali Poem "Pagal". The person or speaker of the poem is mad who tells about his uncommon activities just opposite from normal sane people. He sees the sound, hears the sight and tastes the smell. He can see Helen in a rose. He works with sixth sense. He speaks such language that world does not accept. There is one in subtracting one from one in his math. There is heart that melts and makes world of vapor. His dream world is full of thorns not roses. People call him a mad while sitting in wintry sun, listening cuckoo's song and weeping over people's death. He calls prostitutes are dead bodies and ruler and leaders are real fools. The great king is beggar for him. Other's heaven is his hell and others' god is his worse. When he sees a number if injustices done upon powerless, innocent people by powerful, he is much violent and turns to be like volcano. He/ takes himself really mad because he can't hear thousands of such injustices and inequalities exist in this society and the world ruled by fools.

Interpretation: "The Lunatic" is an autobiographical poem by a famous Literary star Nepali Literature late Laxmi Prasad Devkota. Looking to the then society full of injustices he has pivoted through ideas and feeling in this poem. The speaker has made a world of contrasts where oppositions are the desirable aspects by which the poet wants to have a systematic and humane world. He has used a mask of mad person but actually the so-called sane persons are mad and foolish. By using his characters like confidence, imagination, abnormality, aggression, rebellion he wants to break down all the vales of social injustices and dominations. In violent and challenging tone the poet wants to demolish all social, personal and any types of dominations. The skillful presentation of sane and insane characters, activities and state the poet might be trying to challenge to so-called civilized, high class and rulers who enjoy in controlling others and looting the innocents. The poem is the best example of political protest poem.

Critical Thinking: It is natural for us not to accept any type of injustice, domination and inhuman behaviors. But the poet's senses of testing, smelling, hearing, sight and seeing the sound are really mad like. Again, the poet has used mask to criticize the ample of social personal injustices done in any name. How can a person visualize sound, hear the sight and taste the smell? Can one work with sixth sense? Though we can be disagree in some aspects of him, still we can't deny what is his intention in the poem. The poem's thirst is to be rebellious against any injustice is ever praiseworthy and ever convincing one. This depth idea is hidden under the surface abnormality of Lunatic in this poem.

Assimilation: After reading this persuasive poem I got the insight c f why people become rebellious. What is the world and what is truth and how the innocent and honest people are made Scapegoat by so-called civilized and powerful people. The poem made me to remember the poem of famous poet Emily Dickenson "Much Madness is Divinest Sense" The speaker has been called insane and sent to prison because she doesn't accept what majority say. She is against injustice and domination so she doesn't say. She is against injustice and domination so she doesn't like to say white to black. If one doesn't do what group says then he/she is called insane. Similarly, the speaker of this poem "The Lunatic" is taking side of truth and so-called sane are mad and he is really sane. The poem also taught me that we should not accept any injustice by any cost.

d. The poet's method in "The Lunatic" capitalizes on the contrasts between the world of Lunatic and sane people. What are some of these contrasts and how they bring out the irony of the poem?

The real massage of the poet in this poem is based on the contrasts. Mainly, there is contrast between the world of sane and the sane people with better characters and personalities ironically. He says Lunatic persona gets experiences that a sane can't. Here lunatic sees the sound, hears the picture and tastes the small but that can't be done by sane person. Lunatic touches things that normal person can't what Lunatic speaks that language never be spoken, written or used. Normal person sees nothing in a stone besides stone. A lunatic can see flower in the stone and can talk with bird on it. Lunatic feels the heavenly beauty is smiling to him. He works with sixth sense that normal person works with five senses. Insane works with heart while sane does with brain. Others freeze but Lunatic melts and becomes vapor. All these contrasts show that actually lunatic is not lunatic but these so called sane people are mad. Using the mask of Lunatic the poet has dug out the bases of all social, personal, injustices, inhumanity and inequalities of societies and convention.