Musical
Singing they went
Those troops of youth
Looking so smart
In their green
-brown uniforms
Happy they were
As they drummed with their hands
And sang their songs
And beat their boots in rhythm
The truck trundled to the north
Was it their youth
That brought the mist to my eyes?
Was it the unbroken melody
That left me uneasy?
I could not wipe off a picture
That sprang before me and spread
As the long convoy passed
And the music in it faded
A long line of caged parrots
I saw one day in a pet shop:
The green was fading from their feathers
I knew their days were numbered
I wanted to buy them all
And let them fly
Back to the greenwood to sing all day
The trucks trundled to the north
I pressed my eyelids
Down over the smarting eyes
The gods protect you
I thought
And also, those you meet
Smart they looked
Those troops of youths
In their green
-brown uniforms.
Happy they seemed
As they drummed their hands
And sang their songs
Their voices drowned the noises
In the street
The trucks trundled to the north
Author Kamala Wijeratne
Summary & Analysis
Subject-matter: a convoy of soldiers going to north
Main Theme: Young lives of soldiers are wasted in vain.
Sub-themes: War destroys the values of life. War is futile and vain.
TECHNIQUES:
Appropriate words and phrases:
troops of youth
smart
drummed
green-brown uniforms
trundled
long convoy
caged parrots
Comparison
metaphor:
caged parrots
Repetition:
And sang their songs
And beat their boots in rhythm
Implication:
their days were numbered
Language:
The language is simple and figurative.
It is powerful and expressive.
INTRODUCTION
In “Musical” Kamala Wijeratne feels sorry about the young soldiers going to the war front in the north. In this poem she feels some anxiety about the young soldiers whose lives are doomed. It is true that the poet talks about war. She talks about the uncertainty of the soldiers going to the war front but she also depicts the fact that happiness lasts for a short time. The loud music of the soldiers fades gradually. It also tells us that youthfulness is not permanent.
SPECIMEN APPRECIATION
Compare and contrast Kamala Wijeratne’s three poems, “A Soldier’s Wife Weeps,” “Musical” and “Monuments”
Kamala Wijeratne in her three poems, “A Soldier’s Wife Weeps,” “Musical” and “Monuments” talks about the aftermath of the civil war that existed between two ethnic groups in Sri Lanka. In “A Soldier’s Wife Weeps,” she describes the pathetic situation a bereaved wife is put into and her mentality after her husband’s death. In “Musical” she feels sorry about the young soldiers going to the war front in the north and in “Monuments,” she talks about the young soldiers who died untimely in the civil war. The three poems commonly discuss the bad effects of war. The three of them speak of the heroes who sacrificed their lives at war. In the first poem we also lament over the death of the soldier who untimely died and in the second we feel some anxiety about the young soldiers whose lives are doomed. In the third poem we commemorate the young soldiers who died in the prime of their life.
Nevertheless, the three poems are based on different themes. The first poem not only talks about the bad effects of war but also highlights the situation a widowed wife is put into, and her mentality. The woman has nostalgic feelings of a past her husband and she enjoyed together. At the same time, we can see a very important theme; that is the Sinhalese people’s belief in omens. At the end the omens were proved to be true.
In “Musical’, it is true that the poet talks about war. She talks about the uncertainty of the soldiers going to the war front but she also depicts the fact that happiness lasts for a short time. The loud music of the soldiers fades gradually. It also tells us that youthfulness is not permanent. “Monuments” discusses how parents lost their young children at war. The
monuments built by their kin and kith prove it but it also reminds us of our ancient culture and the agricultural economy, how our ancestors cultivated the land and celebrated the national festivals performing the hereditary rights.
So, it is evident that Kamala Wijeratne is concerned over the aftermath of the civil war that was going on for a long time in Sri Lanka. Yet, it is proved that she does not merely talk about war but uses the theme of war to discuss other social issues and facts. It seems that she talks to the very core of the reader’s heart.