I REALLY NEED HELP
Read the poem.
The Pardah Nashin
by Sarojini Naidu
Sarojini Naidu was an Indian poet and activist. Known as the "Nightingale of India," she advocated for India's independence, social welfare, and equal rights. The Pardah is a religious and social practice of seclusion in some Hindu or Muslim communities of South Asia. Women are either physically separated from males using separate buildings, screens, walls, or curtains, or they may be concealed by loose clothing and veils.
Her life is a revolving dream
Of languid and sequestered ease;
Her girdles and her fillets gleam
Like changing fires on sunset seas;
Her raiment is like morning mist,
Shot opal, gold and amethyst.
From thieving light of eyes impure,
From coveting sun or wind's caress,
Her days are guarded and secure
Behind her carven lattices,
Like jewels in a turbaned crest,
Like secrets in a lover's breast.
But though no hand unsanctioned dares
Unveil the mysteries of her grace,
Time lifts the curtain unawares,
And Sorrow looks into her face . . .
Who shall prevent the subtle years,
Or shield a woman's eyes from tears?
Why does the author contrast the beauty of the woman in the poem in the first stanza with the sorrow she feels in the final stanza?
The contrast shows what happens to the beauty of a woman over time and emphasizes the need for a pardah to shield women from that onslaught.
The poem presents traditional views on the role of women and of the social practice of seclusion and contrasts this expectation with the oppression and despair that this practice creates.
This contrast expresses the speaker’s sadness over changes in her culture; the first stanza represents her understanding of her culture as a child. The final stanza expresses her sadness now that time as passed and that culture has changed.
The poem expresses the speaker’s view that women must feel safe and protected in order to be successful and empowered; the woman's sorrow is caused when the pardah is removed.
