3.2.1: Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949)
The Golden Threshold Indian Postcolonialism Sarojini Naidu was born Sarojini Chattapadhyay. She received her education from the University of Madras at King's College, London. She would go on to study at Girton College, Cambridge. During her time in England, she became familiar with the suffragist movement, and she continued her political interests in India. She became the first women to be president of the Indian National Congress and appointed Indian state governor. She was a political activist, feminist, and poet. Her writing was very influential an attracted many leading intellectuals to her salon in Bombay. She went on to become a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1914. The Golden Threshold (1905) was the first of three volumes of poetry she published. Due to the musical quality of her work, which critics have compared to Walt Whitman and the Song of Solomon, she has been given the title the Nightingale of India. Consider while reading:
- What magical elements are present in Naidu's work? What is the effect of those elements in the poetry?
- How is Naidu's work similar to Walt Whitman's work?
- Describe the musical qualities you find in Naidu's work.
- How does the prosody of the poem reinforce her meaning?
Written by Laura Ng