Introduction
O.N.V Kurup’s Earthen Pots is a beautiful poem which highlights uncertainty, lack of identity and substandard treatment of common folks in life. Poet has used a earthen pots as symbol for common poor people whose life don’t have a particular direction.
Central Idea
Poem describes plight of earthen pots who don’t know when and who will take them. They have an uncertain future. It is a symbolic poem where earthen pots are indicating towards life of common poor people. Hence the main idea of the poem is to highlight camaraderie, loss, uncertainty, lack of identity, death and salvation in the life of common people.
Themes
- Life of simple common man – Poem shows us issues and concerns of common people. It has reflected that through conversation of earthen pots. Common man doesn’t have a certain direction in the life. They don’t have any idea regarding their future. Even their identity is non existent, they are considered part of the crowd. Finally one day they leave this world leaving behind few sorrowful people.
- Distinction between rich and poor – Poem also has an important theme in the form of distinction between rich and poor people. Rich people don’t care about earthen pots they even don’t look towards them and use ‘golden goblets’ instead. Although an earthen pot is also equally useful like golden utensil. This instance has shown mentality of rich people towards poor ones. Rich ones don’t even want to be in contact of poor people.
- Death – Death is ultimate reality of life. Poem highlights that poor people has so much uncertainty in life that death becomes even bigger surprise. They don’t have any idea when anyone of them leaves the rest sorrowful. Poem presents this thing through earthen pots. Earthen pots don’t know when an unknown buyer comes and takes one of them with him and leaves rest with ‘intense sense of loss’.
Figure of speech
- Assonance – ‘Empty Earthen’ has repetition of vowel sound /e/ hence it’s a case of assonance.
- Alliteration – ‘Golden Goblets’ has repetition of consonant sound /g/ at the starting of the words hence it’s alliteration.
- Personification – Poem has personified ‘Earthen pots’ where they are presented like persons talking to each other.
Existential Nihilism
Existential nihilism depicts meaningless life. The first stanza of the poem shows existential nihilism. The earthen pots don’t know for how long they are in that Potter’s yard. They are just staring at each other. They even don’t feel that they are touching each other. This condition of pots shows existential nihilism in the poem.
Fatalism
Fatalism is the concept in which fate is considered predetermined. In the poem fate of pots is already determined. They will be taken by some unknown buyers. It is their destiny to get separated. It also symbolizes that ultimate reality of the life i.e. death is predetermined and it will come to all but poor people’s life is more prone to it.
Structure and Rhyme scheme
Poem has four stanzas but there is no rhyme scheme. Poem doesn’t have any particular meter or rhythm too. Hence it’s pertinent to say that it is written in Free verse.
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