Palanquin Bearers by Sarojini Naidu

Palanquin Bearers

by Sarojini Naidu

Lightly, O lightly we bear her along,
She sways like a flower in the wind of our song;
She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream,
She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream.
Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.

Softly, O softly we bear her along,

She hangs like a star in the dew of our song;
She springs like a beam on the brow of the tide,
She falls like a tear from the eyes of a bride.
Lightly, O lightly we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.

Sarojni Naidu

Sarojni Naidu was a political activist and a great poet from India.  She was a prominent figure in India’s freedom struggle.   She was from a Bengali family in Hyderabad. She received her education from madras, London and Cambridge. She was a great follower of Gandhiji and his
ideas of Swaraj.  She was married to Govindarajulu Naidu. She was the first woman to hold the office of Governor in the Dominion of India.  Her works includes Children’s poems and other serious themes such as patriotism, romance and tragedy.  She died on 2 March due to cardiac arrest.

Summary

The poem says about the palanquin bearers who carry the royal bride in palanquin.  They sing a song while carrying her.  The songs says about the bride. The poetess compares the bride to flower which swaying in the breeze.  She glides like a stream with froth.  She floats like a laugh of the dreamy lips.  They carry her happily and express their happiness.  They carry her as a pearl
of a string.  They move with palanquin gently with happiness.  She hangs like a star in the dew.  She is like a ray of light seen on the top of a tide.  She is like a tear which falls down from the bride’s eyes.

Detail Analysis

“Lightly, O lightly we bear her along,
She sways like a flower in the wind of our song;

The poetess starts the pretty song with “lightly, O lightly.”  The repetition of the word “lightly” emphasizes the softness of the palanquin with the bride to the palanquin bearers.  For the bearers carrying the bride in the palanquin doesn’t make them uncomfortable.  They enjoy their work.  They are not tired and they are rhythmic in their movement.  They give the impression as they are floating not walking on the ground.  In this few lines the poetess Sarojini Naidu gives a good
effect by using various comparison and metaphors. She compares the bride to a flower. She is sways like a flower in the wind.  The poetess says the bride may make a slight body movement due to the movement of the palanquin as the bearers walk on the ground. The song of the bearers is compared to the wind. So all the movements give a good musical effects to the poem.

She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream,
She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream”

In these lines the bride is compares to a bird.  As the palanquin moves like a waves and the lady touches the foam of the stream while moving over them.  The stream does not says the way the wave moves but it says the swiftness of the bearers who carry it.  The bride smiles.  But the speaker says her laugh is from the lips of a dream.  The bride may dream and smiles.  Her happiness is shown in the song of the bearers.

“Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string”

These two lines begin with a repletion of the word “gaily”.  The happy mind of the bearers is described here.  They are showing their happiness with their song.  The speaker says about their movement as if they are gliding with wind.  They sing to get away from their tired journey.  They hold the bride as they carry a pearl on a string.  They may
consider her as precious as pearl.  The string could be taken as the palanquin and its poles on all four sides and those who carry the bride.  They take care of her as precious as pearls.

 

Softly, O softly we bear her along,
She hangs like a star in the dew of our song;

Again the word “O softly” repeats twice to emphasize the slow movement of the palanquin bearers.  The bride is a bright star.  Their song is like a dew.  The dew is compare to their song, because the slow rhythmic movement of the palanquin bearers shakes the palanquin so smoothly and it moves the bride in the same smoothness.  The description is quite interesting to imagine the bride with her smiling face moving into her future.

She springs like a beam on the brow of the tide,

She falls like a tear from the eyes of a bride.

She becomes the beam and ray of light.  The palanquin moves like a ship on the tide.  For the bearers she is precious like a ship and the bride appears like a light beam in her wedding dress. They carry her with great joy and could not feel the weight of the bride.  In the next line the poetess brings out the mental state of the bride.  She feels sad as well as joy.  She is happy to go into her future. But leaving the parents makes her sad. Tears drop from her eyes. The tear falling from the eyes of the bride conveys the message of her sadness due to her separation from her parents.   

“Lightly, O lightly we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.”

The song of the palanquin bearers continues with the last two lines with the same happiness and same meaning comparing the bride to the pearl on a string.  They feel happy to carry the bride with same rhythm from the start to the end.

Literary Devices

The poem is full of descriptions.  The bride in the poem is compared to various objects to express her beauty, worth and her mental state.  Variety of similies are used bring out the happiness of the bride and the palanquin bearers.  They too feel happy to carry the bride and their song expresses their happiness. The use of Naidu’s language give great joy to the readers and they enjoy the culture of India, where the bride would be treated as a precious pearl of a string in that happy occasion.

The poem consists two stanzas each with six lines.  The poem is written from the point of the palanquin bearers.  The use of repetition brings musicality and lyrical quality for the readers.  The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDD, for example “along” and “song” same type of rhyme is followed in “Sing” and “string” with less imperfection. But they don’t lack the musically quality.

Repetition occurs very often in the poem.  The first line is repeated in the fifth line. 

Anaphora is a word used to refer back to a word to avoid repetition such as the pronouns he, she and it.  This occurs in the second, third and fourth lines.

Simile is in great use.  For example the poetess compares the lady to a flower, bird and laugh.

Metaphor is used in “The wind of our song”. “Pearl on a string” and “dew of the song”.

Alliteration is used in “She Sways”, “She skims”, “Gaily, O gaily we glide”, “She springs”, etc.

Imagery   the Poetess make use of few visual imagery.

Themes it is a theme of nature goes with the background of Indian culture. The poem starts with Indian background and ends with the same.  There transformation is in the theme is the bride’s feelings for her future is expressed by her smile and the separation from her family is shown in her tears.

 

Questions & Answers

What is the poem “Palanquin Bearers” about?

It is about carrying the newly wedded bride in palanquin in a traditional way.

 Why is the bride referred to as “a pearl on a string”?

She is very precious to the family she was born into and to the family she is going live.

What is the meaning of “Palanquin Bearers”?

A covered box used to carry a single passenger.  In India it is a traditional wedding ceremony in which the bride is carried by the palanquin by four or six bearers.

In which year the “Palanquin Bearers” was published?

It appears in Sarojini Naidu’s collection “The Golden Threshold”.

Who sang the poem the “Palanquin Bearers”?

The song is sung by the Palanquin Bearers while carrying the bride.

 

What is the tone of the poem “Palanquin Bearers”?

The tone is cheerful at the beginning but the poem ends with a sad note saying the mental state of the bride as she is dropping tears to show her sadness due to her separation from her family.

 

What is the mood of “Palanquin Bearers”?

The song is sung with great happiness by the cheerful Bearers.

 

Why do the palanquin bearers carry the bride lightly?

They are not supposed to make the bride tired. 

 

Why do the palanquin bearers sing?

They sing songs to make the journey very interesting.

 

How do palanquin bearers carry the bride?

They carry lightly, preciously and as a pearl of a string.

 

Who is being carried in the palanquin?

A newly married bride.

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