2.5. Father Returning Home - Appreciation of the poem

 2.5. Father Returning Home

Appreciation of the poem -

About the poet -

        This poem is written by a famous poet Dilip Chitre. He was a bilingual poet and translator with remarkable work in Marathi and English. He was also painter, film-maker and a columnist for magazine. He received the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award both for poetry as well as for his well-known translation work 'Says Tuka', popular abhangas by Sant Tukaram.

About the title -

        The title clearly depicts the journey of a father towards his home and his daily routine. The activities and loneliness of the father is depicted in this poem.

About the poem -

        This poem is taken from 'Travelling in a Cage'. It draws a portrait of a suburban commuter. It depicts his dull, monotonous, exhausting and equally pitiable daily routine. It describes a forced alienation at home, which is reflected through the stale food and lack of sharing.

Language and style - 

        The poem is in free verse. The poet did not use any rhyming words in this poem. The language is very simple and easy to understand. The poet used many words like stale, sullen, dimmed etc. to create the real picture of the real situation of the father.

Poetic Devices -

            There is no rhyme scheme because the poem is in free verse. The figures of speech used in this poem are alliteration, personification, repetition etc.

Special features - 

         The poet used different imagery to describe the pain and misery lurking in the old man's soul as he travels in the local train. A wonderful image is used to describe his getting down from the train: Like a word dropped from a long sentence.

Message/ Moral -

        Father returning home is a dramatic monologue, the voice of a son detailing the scenes from the life of his father. The poem focuses on a man's isolation from the materialistic man-made world.

My opinion about the poem - 

        This poem clearly presents a picture of a modern society. The loneliness and indifference of a father move me a lot. I feel pity and sympathy for him. I like this poem very much.