TO INDIA-MY NATIVE LAND

HENRY LOUIS VIVIAN DEROZIO

PROF.SUSAN SANNY
Henry Louis Vivian Derozio
• Was known as a fiery teacher and
poet and also assistant headmaster of
Hindu College, Calcutta .
• It was Derozio who had inspired a
group of young people into the spirit
of Renaissance and it was this young
group who had pioneered
the Renaissance Movement in
Bengal.
• Although he was of Anglo-Indian
origin he was filled with a patriotic
spirit for Bengal.
• Derozio criticized the social practices
and religious beliefs of
orthodox Hinduism.
 Poem
• My country! In thy days of glory past -a
• A beauteous halo circled round thy brow -b
• and worshipped as a deity thou wast— a
• Where is thy glory, where the reverence now? -b
• Thy eagle pinion is chained down at last, -a
• And grovelling in the lowly dust art thou, -b Rhyme scheme
• Thy minstrel hath no wreath to weave for thee -c
• Save the sad story of thy misery! -c -abababcc (octave)
• Well—let me dive into the depths of time -d -dedeff (sestet)
• And bring from out the ages, that have rolled -e
• A few small fragments of these wrecks sublime -d
• Which human eye may never more behold -e
• And let the guerdon of my labour be, -f
• My fallen country! One kind wish for thee! -f
- Henry Louis Vivian Derozio
‘To India – My Native Land’ by Derozio was published in
1838.
It appeared in his poetry collection, “The Fakeer of
Jungheera: A Metrical Tale and Other Poems”.
Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was the fountainhead of the
“Young Bengal” movement in Bengal, a part of undivided
India.
The members of that group aimed to trigger the youth.
The youths at that time were the future catalysts of the
freedom struggle.
Hence, the poet thought to first educate the younger
generation and they would spread the message to
others.
This poem might have been written to alert the youth of
the need of the hour.
 MAIN POINTS
• Glorious past –rich cultural
heritage
• Once worshipped and held in
reverence
• The glory vanished under the
foreign rule
• Refers to the sad story of his
country
• Poet wants to depict the true
story of India’s past
• The reward for his service is a
kind wish from the country
Meanings
‘To India – My Native Land’ by Derozio presents
• India as a deity- In ancient times, she was as beautiful as a
goddess(The poet says, “A beauteous halo circled round thy brow”)
• When the poet was writing this poem, India was suffering from
British domination. The poet could neither visualize the “glory” of
her past nor her “reverence”.
• Like a chained eagle, she was grounded. In such a condition, the poet
tried to compose this verse as a piece of consolation to his groveling
motherland. Through this poem -He wished to recollect her lost glory
and celebrate it through his poem.
 Literary Devices
• To India – My Native Land’ by Derozio is a poem rich in the use of literary devices.
• in the first line of the poem, Derozio uses an apostrophe(Apostrophe, in poetry, is a figure of
speech in which a character or speaker addresses someone who is absent) as he invokes the spirit
of his motherland in the poem.
• The poet uses “brow” to signify the head of the deity which is in the poem, his motherland. It is
the use of synecdoche(Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a “part” of something is used to
represent its “whole.”)
• The poet uses personification ( is a literary device that refers to the projection of human
characteristics onto inanimate objects in order to create imagery)to compare India to a goddess.
• Likewise, in the third line, there is an inversion.(Anastrophe is also known as inversion, which is a
literary technique in which a writer changes the normal order of words.)
• In the fourth line, the poet asks a rhetorical question. ( is a question that’s asked for effect, not
because someone is expecting a genuine answer to it.)
• A metaphor is used to describe an object, person, situation or action in a way that helps a reader
understand it, without using "like" or "as". The poet resorts to the metaphor of “eagle”. He
compares India to an eagle, chained down by the colonial rulers. There is another metaphor of the
sea in the phrase, “depths of time”. “Small fragments” of the “wrecks” is another instance where
Derozio uses a metaphor.
• In the last line, the poet again uses an apostrophe.
My country! In thy days of glory past
A beauteous halo circled round thy brow
and worshipped as a deity thou wast—
Where is thy glory, where the reverence now?(Line 1-4)
• ‘To India – My Native Land’ by Derozio, presents India, the poet’s motherland,
as a deity.
• Derozio looks back to ancient history when India was glorious in every field, be
it arts, science, or architecture. It was a period when India was famous for
advanced civilization and rich cultural tradition. Learned men from all over the
world visited India to enrich themselves and also their own cultures. The poet
refers to that time when India was worshipped worldwide like a goddess.
• When the poet was writing this poem, India was under British rule. English East
India Company and the British government ransacked India for their country’s
benefits. Hence the condition of India worsened day by day. At the time of
Derozio, her state of affairs was so poor that he couldn’t find anything plausible
in her. It made the poet sad. So he asks himself, “Where is that glory, where
that reverence now?”
Thy eagle pinion is chained down at last,
And grovelling in the lowly dust art thou,
Thy minstrel hath no wreath to weave for thee
Save the sad story of thy misery!
• In the second section of the octave, the poet sees India as an eagle, the
monarch of the birds. In the previous section, he has compared it to a
goddess, having a beautiful halo or aura circling her forehead.
• Such a shift in comparison signifies that the poet is now focusing on the
worldly aspects of his country. The poet visualizes that the country’s
wings are clipped. That’s why it is grovelling in the dust. It signifies that
the British rulers had closed all the channels of improvement in India.
• By “Thy minstrel”, the poet refers to himself. He says that he has no
flowers to weave a “wreath” or garland for her motherland. It is a
reference to the scarcity of resources in his country due to the “drainage
of wealth”. He has only the “sad story” of his motherland -to compose
an elegy in condolence.
Well—let me dive into the depths of time
And bring from out the ages, that have rolled
A few small fragments of these wrecks sublime
Which human eye may never more behold
And let the guerdon of my labour be,
My fallen country! One kind wish for thee!

• In the sestet, Derozio voices his resolution to save the country from all kinds
of deprivation and deterioration. He wants to dive into the depths of history.
There he can find the long-lost history of the country. The glorious past of the
country contains the materials for future improvement. The British rulers tried
to demean it for colonizing the minds of the Indians. Destroying confidence in
native culture and history, colonizers can control the colonized for a long time.
The poet stands strongly against that.
• Through this poem, Derozio expresses his aim to spread historical
consciousness among Indians. He resorts to his motherland to wish him luck.
If he succeeds, he wants nothing in return from his country.
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