Prose Poems of Bharathi in Tamil Poetic Tradition

Abstract

Prose Poems are a type of poems which are not bound by prosody. Barathiyar has been the pioneer of this type of poetry in Tamil. Influenced by Sanskrit and Vedi hymns, he patterned his poetry on vedic mantra to write about objects of nature. Unbound by prosody, and characterized by a form which least resembles conventional poetry, they were composed in prose language which atypically carried the feeling brimful. It is to be noted that these prose poems are replete with imagery, symbolism, contrast, and irony which are usually deemed as effecting poetic element in New Poetry. In a time when there was not much understanding of such subtleties as this, Barathy has been thought to be the pioneer of this type of poetry. In this context of obscurity, this study analyses the aspects & causal circumstances of this genre. The study employs descriptive methodology, and comparison where relevant & necessary, especially when attributes of prose poems are discussed alongside to those of New Poetry. The study emphasizes that, just as Barathy disregarded prosody when writing prose poetry, poets of New Poetry too ignored the prosody. The study underlines the fact that, these poetic strategies are crucial only to New Poetry compared to Prose Poetry.