For Friday: Islamic
Poets, Part II: Tukaram (pp.1601-1605)
Note:
This is your last set of reading questions! Enjoy!
Answer
TWO of the following one last time…
1.
Whereas the earlier poems seem to speak of faith from the perspective of an
all-knowing sage, Tukaram’s poems are from the perspective of a simple man who
doesn’t completely “get it.” What
questions and doubts does he raise that many normal people can relate to in the
face of the divine? What are his
concerns, fears, and hopes?
2.
As a peasant and farmer, Tukaram naturally drew his ideas and metaphors from
the natural world around him. Where do
we see this in a specific poem or two?
How does he find the ‘divine’ in the mundane? Or, how does he transform something a farmer would see day in
and day out into a spiritual lesson?
3.
Similar to Kabir, Tukaram has little tolerance for religious hypocrisy and
self-serving morality. In the poem “The
Rich Farmer,” why are the rich man’s actions acceptable in society and yet so
evil in practice? What can the poet see
that perhaps his society cannot (or simply ignores)?
4.
Many of these poems seem full of despair, as he asks God to “run me over,” or
simply to “put an end to it.” How does
he explain this attitude, and why might it be a deeply religious one (in a
certain sense)?
Dr. Grasso - I am trying to turn in my final exam paper and the school email system says it is currently down. I want to email it to you from my outside email, but that goes to your junk folder so......check your junk!!! Please :) {Julia}
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