please explain me the bangle sellers poem line by line including figures of speech
The Bangle Sellers is a poet written by Indian poet and politician Sarojini Naidu. The poem explores the life of Indian women, the Indian culture and traditions revolving around women. The poem revolves around bangles, which is an important ornament for ’embellishment’ of women in Indian Society. In the poem, the bangle sellers are at the temple fair and they shout out to the people passing by to have a look at their bangles. They urge them to buy bangles for their daughters and wives.
Stanza 1
The Bangle sellers are introduced at the start of the poem. They are present at the temple fair to make a trade for their bangles. These peddlers enumerate the qualities of their product by using adjectives like delicate, bright, rainbow-tinted circles of light.
They urge the onlookers to buy them for their daughters and wives. The sellers are represented in one voice to emphasize that they all have the same goal and purpose.
Stanza 2
The second stanza showcases different kinds of bangles the sellers have. Some of these bangles are for young unmarried maiden’s wrist. They are coloured silver and blue resembling the mountain mist.
Others are pink and light red in colour akin to tender flower buds blossoming near a woodland stream. There are also some green coloured bangles, glowing fresh and pure new-born leaves. This represents the fact that in Indian society, different coloured bangles are worn by women in different phases of their life. The complete stanza depicts the youthful stage in a woman’s life.
Stanza 3
Now the sellers point to the bangles are coloured like ‘fields of sunlit corn‘. They are fit for a grown woman on her bridal morning. Other bangles are bright red just like the flame of the marriage fire (Hindu bridal ceremony). The red bangles indicate her heart’s desire and passion for her new life as a bride and wife. It points to the transition that a woman makes from a maiden daughter to a wife.
Stanza 4
In the final stanza, the Bangle Sellers talk about bangles that are purple and gold-flecked grey. These are perfect for middle-aged women who have ‘journeyed through life’ and raised their children and a family.
These women have fulfilled their household duties with pride and commitment and showed devotion to their God with sincere prayers alongside their husbands. The poet extols the qualities of a good wife and mother.
Some of the Figures of Speech:
Simile:
A simile is a figure of speech where one thing is directly compared to another using prepositions like ‘as’ and ‘like’.
- Silver and blue as the mountain mist,
- Some are flushed like the buds that dream
- Some are like fields of sunlit corn,
- Some like the flame of her marriage fire,
- Tinkling, luminous, tender, and clear,
- Like her bridal laughter and bridal tear.
Metaphor
A metaphor is an indirect comparison of two different things where there is a point of similarity.
Rainbow-tinted circles of light
Here, the bangles are compared to a circle of light glowing with different colours.
Consonance
Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in neighbouring words.
Or, rich with the hue of his heart’s desire
Some are meet for a maiden’s wrist
These can also be taken as examples of alliteration (repetition of consonant sound at the beginning of nearby words) which is a type of consonance.