Gitanjali · Question
How does Gitanjali develop the theme of Poverty and Humility?
Answer
Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore develops Poverty and Humility across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
Spiritual wealth is found in simplicity and humility; the poet embraces poverty as a dowry and finds God among the poorest, lowliest, and lost, rejecting material pride and finery.
The poet sits like a beggar maid, drawing her skirt over her face, embodying humility and poverty of spirit.
The 'healthful dust of the earth' and the 'great fair of common human life' are valued over the isolating luxury of princely robes.
The imagery of the beggar at his own door and the rejection of desire's unclean gifts underscores humility.
Evidence in the book
- III
The poet sits like a beggar maid, drawing her skirt over her face, embodying humility and poverty of spirit.
- VIII
The 'healthful dust of the earth' and the 'great fair of common human life' are valued over the isolating luxury of princely robes.
- IX
The imagery of the beggar at his own door and the rejection of desire's unclean gifts underscores humility.
- The Footstool of the Divine
The divine is found among the poorest, lowliest, and lost, and pride cannot approach that depth.
- XXXVI
The prayer begins with a plea to strike at the root of penury in the heart and includes a resolve never to disown the poor.
- XLI
The poet embraces poverty as her dowry, sitting like a beggar maid, drawing her skirt over her face in humility and shame.
- XLIX
The poet sings in a corner of a humble cottage, and the Divine chooses this simple setting over the grand hall, highlighting the value of humility.
- The Beggar's Gift
The poet's beggarly state and the divine's request highlight the virtue of giving from one's poverty.
