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Ghalib’s Poetic Techniques

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Ghalib uses repetition to highlight certain unique messages that every couplet has. Almost all of the poet’s couplets use some form of repetition to emphasize particular messages. The notable examples of repeated word use include Couplet 2’s “hopes … hopes … faithfulness … faithfulness,” Couplet 3’s “committed … committed,” Couplet 6’s “humans to be human,” and Couplet 10’s “finger … fingernail” (Ghalib 594 – 596). The second couplet discusses faithfulness and the poet’s emphasis on “hopes” is rooted in how one cannot know for sure if a partner is faithful – but how one can only hope. The third couplet addresses the consequence of sin and “committed” is repeated to underscore the severity of sinful acts in the societal scope. In the sixth couplet Ghalib uses “human” to convey how people can do great things but also have their vices – implying how humans are wondrous but not perfect whatsoever. The tenth couplet has finger repeat in order to contrast how fingers with henna may be beautiful but in the end fingers can also also result in great physical or emotional pains. Ghalib intentionally repeats select words in his couplets to reinforce his main concepts and make them the source of contrast as well. For example, couplet 3 talks about consequence vs. reward and couplet 6 talks about difficulty and simplicity. The poet takes an interesting, yet effective, approach in conveying his couplets’ expanded themes.

In “Petition: My Salary”, Ghalib uses correlative word association in order to make messages resonate with readers. While doing this, Ghalib also uses strong contrast to emphasize the main points he makes. To elaborate, Ghalib elevates himself and adds reader sympathy to his position by writing “My pen’s a cloud; that rains down pearls” to show that his writing is more valuable than his debtors can appreciate (Ghalib 601 Lines 30-31). To contrast this, Ghalib uses negative connotations against the creditor saying how “I’m [Ghalib] am your slave; and I wander naked” and that his creditors do not treat him fairly (Ghaib 601 Lines 36-37). By using words with positive association, Ghalib advocates for his own poetic talents and positioning against his creditors. On the other hand, Ghalib’s words with negative connotation are used to communicate to readers how his debts make him feel as low as someone who is a slave or is naked.

Dickinson – An Alien in Her Own Society

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Dickinson in her short poems makes her feelings and messages more abstract without making them less powerful. In the prelude to the collection of poems, the biography states how Dickinson was a very introverted figure and kept to herself. In 435, a glimpse of her personality is expressed through her thoughts on social behavior. The poet makes a stark and ironic contrast by writing “Assent – and you are sane -; Demur – you’re straightaway dangerous” (Lines 6-7 484 Dickinson). In this written form, those who welcome social norms and duties are the “sane” or inferring into modern ramifications; normal. Those who do not conform are seen as a threat and, even though they may just be expressing their ways, people are punished so, or poetically “…handled with a Chain) (Line 8 484). In this poem, Dickinson is expressing her feelings of being alienated and how not living up to societal expectations is punishable. While she may be describing the struggle of others, Dickinson’s preference to be alone and society’s view upon that is likely to be the subject of 435.
In another of her poems, 449, Dickinson approaches different themes such as death and beauty. For example, the poem ends with an emphatic pair of lines, “Moss had reached our lips; And covered up – our names -“ (Lines 11-12 Dickinson 485). The dashes that Dickinson wrote around “our names” highlights the significance of a lost legacy. The “Moss” in this poem alludes to how death supersedes mortality and eventually consumes all. To pair with the darkness of the poem, Dickinson highlights the theme of beauty. The poem begins with “I died for Beauty” and another reference to “Beauty” is made in line 6. Dickinson’s writing about Beauty in the first parts of the poem but not the end highlights how beauty is temporary and is not forever, just like how everything – even names – are not forever.

Cleante and Elmire: Characters of True Wit and Reason

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Through Acts 4 and 5, Cleante continues to display his character as the voice of reason in the play. While being the voice of reason, Cleante illustrates virtuous and enlightened qualities such as moderation, patience, and non-violence. The men in this play so far have not painted themselves as members of the enlightened French nobility. In one case Tartuffe is a pathological liar seeking profit and lust at any cost. Damis, Orgon’s son, throws huge fits of temper and rage without much consideration. Lastly, Orgon goes without much saying that he takes the extreme on any situation and does not often think through big decisions such as marrying off his daughter and signing away his estate. In fact, Cleante talks to Orgon about how why he can “…not be rational?” and that he “…never manage[s] to take the middle course” (Moliere 85). To throw out the word rational, the author, Moliere, is trying to communicate to his readers that rationality may be lost on even the most wealthy and powerful. In addition, Cleante questions Orgon’s ability to find the middle course. To align classical ideals and Enlightenment ideals, the “middle course” was seen as virtuous in the eyes of Aristotle and the prominent Western thinkers of the 17th and 18th centuries. With Orgon, Damis, and Tartuffe repeatedly embarrassing their own characters throughout the play, the reader is supposed to view Cleante’s words as wisdom and take his ideas and wishes seriously.

One pleasant surprise in the later half of the play was the emergence of Elmire’s character and intelligence. Playing a more dormant role in the first half, Elmire comes through in the end as being the primary character that foils Tartuffe’s grand scheme to rob the family. For one, Elmire expresses her intellectual capabilities by forcing Orgon to witness Tartuffe’s heinous acts live and by telling him to “Stay till the end, and be convinced completely” until Tartuffe uncovered his own façade (Moliere 80). Elmire, whether it was because she was Orgon’s wife or purely smarter in approach than any other character, was the only one who can persuade Orgon to steer away from his opinion. While other characters tried their approaches, they were too docile, critical, and/or impatient. Elmire through her grand plot against Tartuffe stood out as a model Enlightenment woman. Elmire was loyal to Orgon through the whole play and expressed admirable moderation, but when push came to shove, she came through as a hero who used wit to expose Tartuffe’s scheme. Elmire presents to the reader how even though some women may have had limited roles in the Enlightenment era (or in general), women have the capability to think through situations and persuade men to realize their wrong doings. In this case, she exposed Tartuffe as a liar and Orgon as corruptible and gullible. While Elmire’s character may have been downplayed throughout the play, her impact has been nothing but monumental.