영역 본 『기딴잘리』에 나타난 인도낭만주의의 특성 -R. 타고르 시의 발전단계를 중심으로-

Abstract

With the publication of the English version of Gitanjali Rabindranath Tagore became the first Asian poet to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. The English version Gitanjali was not a separate poetic work but a collection of his relatively short lyrics selected from his Bengali poetic works already published from 1896 to 1912 and translated directly by the poet himself. This paper, therefore, seeks to focus on the nature of the English version Gitanjali through its critical appraisal in the evolutionary context of Tagore’s earlier Bengali poetic works examined in relation to the historical and literary background of his time. The time of Tagore was the period of Indian Renaissance based on the modern awareness. Tagore was a very fervent young leader who stood in the frontline of the movement of Indian Renaissance. This was time when the need for modern literature as an expression of the new consciousness had gained currency in the literary circles and as a response some romantic trends had become prevalent, where in Tagore’s early poems also seemed to have played a crucial role. Tagore’s literary evolution over the span of three decades from the publication of his Sandhya‐Sangeet(Songs of Evening) in 1882 to the publication of the English version Gitanjali in 1912 can be broadly divided into two stages: the first stage from 1882 to 1900 and the second stage covering the subsequent period from 1901 to 1912. Romanticism in India was largely characterized by an explicit emphasis on the individuality, an intense and thrilled emotion, a desire of modern man for self‐extension in the expression of the Finite’s pursuit for the Infinite, a strong negation of the feudal mind set and attitude towards woman, a rich and intimate depiction of nature, a mysterious curiosity about nature and communion with it, a vivid cultural nationalism reflecting in the form of new interpretation of Indian culture with modern viewpoint, and above all a persistent spirit of struggle, and an all pervasive humanity which predominated the poetry of the first stage. The second stage, in contrast to the first, reflects the predominance of devotional lyrics in the poetry. Although representation of the intense emotion and portrayal of the new type of woman were no more found as his thought had turned to the spiritual world but some other major features of his romanticism such as the depiction of nature as a mysterious being and bliss of union with it, continuous manifestation of his awareness of reality expressed in his lyrics of petitions, reinterpretation of Indian culture as a Neo Vedanta thought, humanity transcending the boundaries of nations can be traced in the poetry of the second stage. The English version Gitanjnali can be considered as the outcome of the devotional lyrics which were predominant in his poetry since 1901. The Finite’s union with the Infinite through Bhakti path was stressed in the English version Gitanjali, which can be regarded as the consummate expression of the desire of modern man for self‐extension derived from the individual consciousness. The English version Gitanjali can also be taken as good example of modern reinterpretation of Indian culture which displayed a sense of the modern awareness in presenting the concept of God as originated from the Vedanta thought and seen pervasive in the Bhakti path. It can, therefore, be reasonably argued that the English version Gitanjali is indeed a representative work of the cultural resurgence of the period. Different forms of romanticisms with many variations had happened at different times and in different parts of the world. The English version Gitanjnali emerges as a poetic work of Indian romanticism steeped in mysticism. This critical appraisal is fairly able to establish why an understanding of the poetic world of Tagore is a necessary prelude to understand the modern Indian poetry on the one hand, and to understand the prevalent contemporary anti‐feudal and anti‐imperialistic tendency of the new educated elite class in the Indian society on the other. The poet of English version Gitanjnali, as evaluated and seen here, emerges as a representative romantic poet of the large scenario of Indian romanticism, which was a poetic expression of an ardent desire of the freedom not only from the yoke of feudalism but also from the oppression of imperialism.