This Dog - Rabindranath Tagore - Poetry

About the Author

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) is honored by titles such as Gurudev, Kabigum, and Biswakabi. He was a person of wide learn- ing and knowledge who had expertise in many fields like music, literature, painting, philosophy, and religion. In 1913, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his renowned collection of poems, Gitanjali. Tagore began writing poetry when he was 8 years old and published his first collection of poems at the age of 16. There are about 50 collections of poems written by him in Bengali along with numerous novels, short stories, and philosophical writings. Many of these have been translated into English by Tagore himself. He was invited by the Western nations for lectures on topics related to Art, Philosophy, and Religion. He was humanist and supported independence from Britain.

He introduced new styles of prose and verse and promoted the use of colloquial language in Bengali literature. He founded the Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal and introduced his own system of education. Many of his songs have been set to music by himself. Notable among these are the national anthems of India and Bangladesh.

Rabindranath Tagore

Summary

Rabindranath Tagore is honored by titles such as "Gurudev, kabiguru, and Biswakabi'. He was a Bengali polymath. As a poet, novelist, and musician playwright, he reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As an author of 'Gitanjali' he became Asia's first Nobel laureate by winning the 1913 Nobel prize in literature Tagore began writing poetry when he was 8- years old and published his first collection of poems at the age of 16. There are about 50- Collections of poems written by him in Bengali along with numerous novels, and short stories. and philosophical writings. Many of these have been translated into English by Tagore himself. He founded the visa- Bharati university in West Bengal and introduced his own system of education. Many of his songs have been set to music by himself. No- table among these are the national anthems of India and Bangladesh. Rabindranath Tagore's" This Dog" is a poem originally written in Bengali and trans-created by kumud Biswas. It was written in the later years of Tagore's life. During the final years of his life, Tagore used to take breakfast at Shantiniketan every morning, sitting in the era- dah. The poem is based on the experience he had every day when a stray dog Used to come to him and very patiently at his feet.

The dog shared Tagore's breakfast which consisted of a few slices of bread and a cup of tea. The dog did not touch the bread if it was not buttered Tagore and this dog became great friends. If the dog was not present for the breakfast, Tagore asked his attendants to search and bring the dog to him. The poem opens with the description of everyday activity when the poet and a dog sit together and the dog wants the speaker to touch its head. When the poet touches the dog, it becomes happy because the Speaker has given recognition to its company. The dog is described to be very attached to the speaker. The dog and the poet like each other's company.

The poet says that the dog is the only animal that has seen the whole man beyond his good or bad qualities. The dog loves its master for the sake of pure love only. It has no other feelings other than love and loyalty. The quality of our loyalty is unique in this animal. It can Sacrifice its life for a human being. The whole life of a faithful dog is offered to the master unconditionally. The dog acts. purely by instinct that is an inborn quality present in it. The dog can understand the feeling and motivations of the humans automatically. The dog cannot un- derstand humans Communication but the poet says that the dog shows him his status. The dog has shown the master deserves ultimate loyalty. From ancient times the relationship between human beings and dogs is known worldwide. Tagore was well known for his loving attitude towards nature and animals.

The poet does not refer to the dog as my dog" but only" this dog", which means that the dog is a Stray dog and not a domestic animal regularly living in the poet's house. However, the relationship between this dog and the human being is a special one. The dog comes and quietly sits with the poet, it wants recognition from him, and in return, it will show its love and happiness. The poet under- stands this need of the animal, so he touches the dog every time they are together, This is a mutual relationship between them. While the human being gives love and recognition to the dog in return the dog offers its whole being. This devotion is instinctive and automatic. The dog has thus made the human being a higher animal but it cannot communicate the feeling verbally, The poet can understand it quite easily through the dog's behavior. In this way, the poem explores the relationship between a human being and an animal-like dog. For the dog, the human being is either a friend or an enemy. It can easily recognize the enemy but when it gives the status of a friend the friend is always in the position of master.

The dog devotes its entire life to the human being. In a way, the poet explores the relationship between human beings and the animal-like dog. This is an example of the highest loyalty and purest love. Tagore could understand the greater secrets of nature. He could realize what the dumb creatures were feeling. This experience is very masterfully presented in this poem.

Short Answer type Question

Q.1:-What activity is described in the opening part of the poem?

Ans:- The poem," This Dog" is a poem written by Rabindranath Tagore originally in Bengali, and the poem was trans-created by Kumar Biswas. It is the 14th poem in Tagore's collection Arogya (1940). It has universal appeal and charm. It was written in the later years of Tagore's life. Due- in the final years of his life Tagore used to take breakfast at Shantiniketan every morning, sitting on the verandah. The poem is based on the experience he had every day when a stray dog used to Come to him and sit very patiently at his feet. The dog shared Tagore's breakfast which consisted of a few slices of bread and a cup of tea. Every day when Tagore is sitting in the verandah for breakfast he came there and sits patiently to get the slices of bread and some tea. But if the bread was not buttered the dog did not touch it. Tagore and this dog became great friends. If the dog was not present for the breakfast Tagore asked his Servants to search and bring the dog to him. The poem opens with a description of everyday activity.

Every morning, the speaker and a dog sit together and the dog wants the speaker to touch its head. When the speaker, as usual, touches the dog, It becomes happy because the speaker has given recognition to its company. The dog is described to be very attached to the speaker. It is implied that both the dog and the human being (the poet) like each other. company. The relationship between this dog and the human being is a special one. The dog comes and quietly sits with the poet, it wants recognition from him, and in return, it will show its love and happiness.

The poet understands this need of the animal, so he invariably touches the dog every time they are together. This is a mutual relationship. In this way, the poem explores the relationship between a human being and an animal-like dog.

Q.2:- What happens when the speaker and the dog sit together?

Ans:- Rabindranath Tagore's "This Dog" is a poem originally written in Bengali and trans-created by kumud Biswas. It is the 14th poem in Tagore's collection Arogya (1940). It has universal appeal and charm. It was written in the later years of Tagore's life. During the final years of his life, Tagore used to take breakfast at Shantiniketan every morning, sitting on the verandah. The poem is based on the experience ha had every day when a stray dog used to him and sit very patiently at his feet. The dog Shared Tagore's breakfast which consisted of a few slices of bread and a cup of tea. The dog did not touch the bread if it was not buttered Tagore and this dog become great friends, If the dog was not present for the break-fast, Tagore asked his attendants to search and bring the dog to him. The poem explores the relationship between the human being and an animal-like dog. The relationship between human beings and dogs is age-old.

The present poem captures the essence of this relationship. Tagore was well known for his loving attitude towards nature and animals. The poem opens with a description of everyday activity. Every morning, the speaker and a dog sit together and the dog wants the speaker to touch its head. When the speaker, as usual, touches the dog it becomes happy because the speaker has given recognition to its company. The dog is described to be very attached to the Speaker. It is implied that both the dog and the human being (the poet) like each other's Company. The poet says that the dog is the only animal that has seen the whole man beyond his good or bad qualities. The dog loves its master for the sake of pure love only. It has no other feelings other than love and loyalty. Through its devotion and loyalty, the dog reveals a world that is full of life.

The dog has a deep devotion to its master; it can sacrifice its life for a human being. When the speaker and the dog sit together, the dog wants to touch its head. It wants recognition from him and in return, it will show its love and happiness. The poet understands this need of the animal, So he invariably touches the dog every time. they are together. While the human being gives love and recognition to the dog, in return the dog offers its whole being. The devotion is instinctive and automatic. It makes the human being a higher animal but it Cannot communicate the feeling verbally. The Poet can understand it quite easily through the dog's behavior. In this way, the poem explores the relationship between a human being and an animal-like dog.

Long Answer type Question

Q. 1:- Illustrate how the poem explores the relationship between the dog and the human being.

Ans:- The poem "This Dog", is written by Rabindranath Tagore, who is honored by titles such as "Gurudev, kabiguru, and Biswa Kabi". He was a Bengali writer, poet, dramatist, artist, and playwriter. He reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As the author of "Gitanjali", he became Asia's first Nobel laureate by winning the 1913 Nobel prize in Literature. Rabindranath Tagore's poem, "This Dog" is originally written in Bengali and trans-created by Kumud Biswas. It has universal appeal and charm. It was written in the later years of Tagore's life. During the final years of his life, Tagore used to take breakfast at Shantiniketan every morning, sitting on the verandah.

The poem is based on the experience he had every day when a stray dog used to come to him and sit very patiently at his feet. The dog shared Tagore's breakfast which consisted of a few slices of bread and a cup of tea. The dog did not touch the bread if it was not buttered. It shows the close relationship between the poet and the dog. If the dog was not present there for the breakfast. Tagore asked his attendants to search and bring the dog to him. The relationship between human beings and dogs is from ancient times. Tagore was well known for his loving attitude towards nature and animals. The poet does not refer to the dog as "my dog" but only " this dog", which means that the dog is a stray dog and not a domestic animal regularly living in the poet's house.

The poem opens with a description of everyday activity. Every morning, the speaker and a dog sit together and the dog wants the speaker to touch its head. When the speaker, as usual, touches the dog it becomes happy because the speaker has given recognition to its company. The dog is described to be very attached to the speaker. It is implied that both the dog and the human being (the poet) like each other's company. The poet says that the dog is the only animal that has seen the whole man beyond his good or bad. qualities. The dog loves its master for the sake of pure love only. It has no other feeling other than love and Loyalty. The dog has a deep devotion to its master it can sacrifice its life for the human beings. The whole life of the faithful dog is offered to the master unconditionally. The dog can understand the feeling and motivations of humans automatically. "The dog cannot communicate what it understands but the poet says that the dog has shown him his status. The dog has shown that the master deserves ultimate loyalty. This relationship has elevated the human being to a higher level. The poet explores the relationship between the dog and the human being as a special one.

The poet expresses how the dog comes and quietly sits with the poet. it wants recognition from him and in return, it will show its love and happiness. The poet understands this need of the animal, so he invariably touches the dog every time they are together. While the human being gives love and recognition to the dog. m return the dog offers its whole being. This devotion is instinctive and automatic. It makes the human being aware of his highest Status. The dog has thus made the human being a higher animal but it cannot communicate the feeling verbally. The poet can understand it quite easily through the dog's behavior. In this way, the poem explores the relationship between a human being and an animal-like dog. For the dog, the human being is either a friend or an enemy. It can easily recognize the enemy, but when it gives the status of a friend, the friend is always in the position of a master. The dog devotes its entire life to the human being. In a way, the poet explores the relationship between the human being and the dog in this poem.

Q. 2:- Examine the theme of mutual love between animals and human beings as expressed in this poem.

Ans:- The poem This Dog" is a poem written by Rabindranath Tagore. The poem is originally written in Bengali and translated into English by Kumud Biswas. The poem was written in the later years of Tagore's life. During the final years of his life, Tagore used to take breakfast at Shantiniketan every morning, sitting on the verandah. The poem is based on the experience he had every day when a stray dog used to come to him and sit very patiently at his feet. The dog shared Tagore's breakfast which consisted of a few slices of bread and a cup of tea. The dog "did not touch the bread if it was not buttered, Tagore and this dog became great friends. If the dog was not present for the breakfast, Tagore asked his attendants to search and bring the dog to him. The poem explores the relationship between the human being and the animal-like dog".

The poem opens with the description of an everyday activity in the poet's life. Every morning, the poet and the dog sit together at the time of breakfast. When the dog came it wants the poet to touch its head. When the poet touches the dog, it becomes happy because the speaker has given recognition to its company. The dog is described to be very attached to the speaker. The poet says that the dog is the only animal that has seen the whole man his good or bad qualities. The dog loves its master for the sake of pure love only. It has no other feeling other than love and loyalty. The quality of loyalty is unique in this animal. Through its devotion and loyalty, the dog reveals a world that is full of life. The dog has a deep devotion to its master; it can sacrifice its life for a human being.

The whole life of a faithful dog is offered to the master unconditionally. The dog can understand the feeling and motivations of humans automatically. The dog cannot communicate what it understands but the poet says that the dog has Shown him his status. This relationship has elevated the human being to a higher level. The poet shows the old age relationship between human beings and dogs through the poem. Thus, the poet refers to the dog as "This dog" but not "my dog", which means that the dog is a stray dog and not a domestic animal regularly living in the poet's house. The dog comes and quietly sits with the poet, it wants recognition from him, and in return, it will show its love and happiness.

The poet understands this need of the animal so he invariably touches the dog every time they are together. This is the mutual relationship between the poet and the dog In this way, the poem explores the relationship between a human being and an animal-like dog. For the dog, the human being is either a friend or an enemy. It can easily recognize the enemy, but when it gives the status of a friend. the friend is always in the position of a master. The dog devotes its entire life to the human being.

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