INTRODUCTION
Pre-Independence Indian English Poetry: Origins, and Predominant Themes and Styles The emergence of Indian writing in English has a long history which dates back to the colonial times when English used to be the language of British rulers and a few aristocratic Indians who were deeply enthralled by this language of their subjugators. Makarand Paranjape in Indian Poetry in English mentions the two preconditions that were to be met before Indians could write poetry in En¬glish: “First, the English language had to be sufficiently Indianized to be able to express the reality of the Indian situation; secondly, Indians had to be sufficiently Anglicized to use the English language to express themselves” (1). The first of these two conditions, the Indianization of the En¬glish language, began much before the second, the Anglicization of the Indians. With the opening up of trade after Vasco da Gama’s arrival at Calicut in Kerala in 1498, several Indian words found their way into Portuguese and then into English. It was almost another century before Thomas Stephens, a Jesuit priest,was the first En¬glishman to dwell in India in 1579.1 By the time of Father Stephens landed in Goa, a considerable body of Indo-Portuguese words was already …show more content…
In¬dian poetry in English began in Bengal, the province in which the British first gained a stronghold. In addition, this poetry was largely an urban phenomenon, centred in Calcutta (now Kolkata). In fact, for the first fifty years, it was confined entirely to a few Bengali fam¬ilies who were residents of the city. Then, gradually it moved to other urban centres such as Madras (now Chennai) and Bombay (now Mumbai); even today, In¬dian poetry in English remains largely urban. Moreover, because English was an elite language in India, Indian poets in English came from the upper classes and
Pre-Independence Indian English Poetry: Origins, and Predominant Themes and Styles The emergence of Indian writing in English has a long history which dates back to the colonial times when English used to be the language of British rulers and a few aristocratic Indians who were deeply enthralled by this language of their subjugators. Makarand Paranjape in Indian Poetry in English mentions the two preconditions that were to be met before Indians could write poetry in En¬glish: “First, the English language had to be sufficiently Indianized to be able to express the reality of the Indian situation; secondly, Indians had to be sufficiently Anglicized to use the English language to express themselves” (1). The first of these two conditions, the Indianization of the En¬glish language, began much before the second, the Anglicization of the Indians. With the opening up of trade after Vasco da Gama’s arrival at Calicut in Kerala in 1498, several Indian words found their way into Portuguese and then into English. It was almost another century before Thomas Stephens, a Jesuit priest,was the first En¬glishman to dwell in India in 1579.1 By the time of Father Stephens landed in Goa, a considerable body of Indo-Portuguese words was already …show more content…
In¬dian poetry in English began in Bengal, the province in which the British first gained a stronghold. In addition, this poetry was largely an urban phenomenon, centred in Calcutta (now Kolkata). In fact, for the first fifty years, it was confined entirely to a few Bengali fam¬ilies who were residents of the city. Then, gradually it moved to other urban centres such as Madras (now Chennai) and Bombay (now Mumbai); even today, In¬dian poetry in English remains largely urban. Moreover, because English was an elite language in India, Indian poets in English came from the upper classes and