Summary of the Poem Obituary
Obituary Meaning
Main Summary of the Poem Obituary
The poem Obituary begins with the death of the poet’s father. After his death, the poet realises that his father left many behind. Some are useless things like old papers. But few memories and rituals are there, to be a great memory to be with him forever. The second half of the poem describes the cremation of the father and how the rituals were done according to their faith. The poet at last talks about an obituary in a local paper that was left by the poet’s father. His search for it and other things of his deceased father. The poem concludes with the importance of the rituals which are inherited from the father and become the best part of life.
Who is the Writer of the Poem Obituary?
Attipate Krishnaswami Ramanujan [A.K.Ramanujan], an Indian poet well known to Indian literature. He has written both in English and Kannada. He was born in Mysore City on 16th March 1929. Ramanujan was very much interested in English, Kannada and Sanskrit languages. He received his education at Marimallappa’s High School. Due to his father’s advice, he changed his major from science to English during his college. He became a great scholar at Indiana University in1959 – 62. He did his PhD in linguistics from Indiana University. He is a poet, professor, philologist and playwright. In 1976, he was honoured with the Padma Shri award by the Government of India. In 1983 he was given a MacArthur Prize Fellowship. His works reflect his views on the cultures of the east and west. His works are well known for their motivation and for cultural views. He died on 13th July 1993 at the age of 64 in the United States.
Detailed Analysis
Stanza 1
The poet begins the poem 'Obituary' with the death of his father. The poet could observe the remains of his father. His father left him nothing for the family. The problems appear to him like the dust on the table of papers, debts and unmarried daughters and bedwetting grandchildren. As the eldest son the speaker has to take the responsibilities of the family. A different incident has been shared here, the grandson was named after a toss of a coin. The speaker sees even the normal things to be unusual. For he needs to focus on the duties to his family. He must take care of the small child and arrange the marriage for his unmarried sisters. It may be he takes things to his heart and shares in the first stanza. The expressions bring the situation of a typical Indian family.
Stanza 2
In the second stanza, the speaker continues to describe the things the father left behind. He says about the house that was leaning on a coconut tree in the yard, it is the view of the poet. The family has inherited an old house from the father. The house is in a bad condition. That too needs to be fixed. The poet indirectly says that his father is short-tempered by the lines” the burning type” he has never been a kind father to the family members, symbolically pointing out that his hot-tempered father received complete perfect burning as they say religious cremation. The poet expresses his dissatisfaction over his father’s rude behaviour and sees the cremation as punishment that he deserves.
Stanza 3
The poet continues from the previous and says that he burnt both sides. But the coin which is kept on his eye didn’t burn. The poet relates their religious rituals with the coin. It is a religious tradition to keep a coin on a dead person’s eyes before the burial or cremation. He points out that the coin is left behind among the ashes. The coin didn’t change colour whereas several spinal discs burnt to coal.
Stanza 4
The speaker continues to describe the tradition which follows after the cremation. The children, especially the sons of the demised father would perform certain rituals. The remains of the dead father would be collected and would be thrown into a tributary near the railway station by the sons. The poet is not in a mind to do or follow the rituals as the father did not live as a good example for the family members. The speaker speaks the reality of life with clarity. He says they don’t prefer a memorial stone or pillar for their father as they think that his name and two dates of birth and death would do nothing useful to the father. The poet feels nothing could be done in memory of his late father as he doesn’t deserve. Thus he expresses his anguish over his irresponsible father.
Stanza 5
Again in this stanza, the poet expresses his dissatisfaction. Two dates of his father’s birth and death have nothing to do with him as he didn’t do anything on his own. He was born after the Caesarian in a Brahmin area. He is Brahmin by birth. He died due to heart failure in the fruit market. The poet’s view is that even his father an educated, could not save himself. This stanza brings out the importance of the communities in India. The differences between the upper class and lower class are being brushed with dignity. The poet looks at his father’s death as an ordinary one as he didn’t show anything to be proud of. He brings out the father’s incapability and irresponsibility towards his family.
Stanza 6
The sixth stanza gives a twist to the readers. It relates us to the title of the poem “Obituary” the poet is informed about two lines about his father in an inside column of a Madras newspaper. He also hears that it was sold in bundles four weeks later to the street hawkers (a person who tries to sell things by calling at people's homes or standing in the street). The poet’s reaction to this is quite different. He is anxious to find out the two lines in the new paper. Perhaps he wants to know “how what and why”
Stanza 7
The description continues, the street hawkers in turn sell the papers to the small groceries. They use the papers to pack the things for the customers. The poet buys salt, coriander and jiggery in cones made of newspapers and he usually reads the bits and pieces of the newspapers. The poet shows the normal ordinary life of everyone in that place.
Stanza 8
The 8th stanza gives a conclusion with a criticism. The poet buys more things lately in order to find the two lines obituary for his father as he didn’t leave anything except these two lines for him. He shows his embarrassment by saying that his father has changed his mother into a widow and she has to remain in sorrow forever, then every year they are supposed to celebrate the death anniversary of the father with many religious rituals. The poet disliked following the rituals for his father as he left nothing except a burden on the speaker.
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Poetic Devices In the Poem
Imagery
He gives visual images in “hei burned properly at the cremation”, “failure in the fruit market” “changed mother” the speaker says the father’s death has taken the mother into another stage as a widow and he frowns indirectly at the people who would look at her with a difference. “Paper cones” is an ordinary scene that happens in grocery stores. “Some burned to coal” father’s body has been cremated. The sons are supposed to collect the bones which are burnt as coal to throw into the river as per the ritual.” Father, when he passed on, left dust
on a table of papers, left debts and daughters” the whole first stanza gives a picture of the agony of the speaker who feels his father has left him nothing except a burden on him.
Enjambment
Run-on lines are used by the poet to create the emotional transition. He expresses his disappointments. “he burned properly at the cremation” in the second stanza and ““as before, easily” in the third is a good example.
“Exactly four weeks later to street hawkers” of six stanzas continues in the seventh as “who sell it in turn”
Irony
To pick gingerly” as the Hindu priest told them to collect the bones carefully. The dead bones with dust over it were collected carefully to throw into Holy River as per the ritual. “Changed the mother” father’s death made the mother a widow and she has remained silent thereafter.
Society doesn’t accept them as a part of their cultural rituals. She is going to be in the dark forever. “Annual ritual” explains the customs for the dead every year. This is celebrated in the memory of the father who is not alive. “Someone told me he got two lines in an inside column of a Madras newspaper” the son didn’t have any idea about the two lines of his father in the newspaper as he knew about his father.
Main Themes of the Poem Obituary
In this poem, the death of the father is expressed by the son. The speaker’s view is different about the loss of his father. The relationship between the father and the son is not healthy. Now death has separated him from his father too far. The responsibilities of the father are well brought out here. The father didn’t complete his duties. Debts, unmarried daughters are like dust on the table to the poet now. There are many for the speaker. Now he has to take the family burden. The more he thinks the more he becomes aggressive towards his father.
Customs and rituals are described with the upper class (Brahmin tag). “Cremation of the body”,” throwing the bones into the holy tributary”. Such common Hindu customs are done to bring peace to the dead soul. The speaker is not pleased to follow any of the customs as he could not accept his father as a good responsible person. He is not a good example for his family. He earned the hatred of the speaker.
The poet loses his peace as he has to take responsibility for the family. The Tone is a complete contrast. The poet is supposed to express his sadness at the death of his father. But he expresses his dissatisfaction and depression as he has to undertake the entire responsibilities of the family. No particular rhyme scheme is followed but Ramanujan makes use of half-rhymes. “Papers” and “daughters”, “on” and “are a few examples of his skilful rhyming pattern. “E” sound is repeated in “gingerly”, “priest” and “east”.
Thus the poem “Obituary” by A.K.Ramanujan explores the aftermath of his father’s death. The relationship between the father and his family is not healthy. His sudden death affected the family and the eldest son, the poet and the speaker took the responsibility with dissatisfaction. He reflects on his death honestly and expresses his various emotions. He is torn between his duties to the family and his unhappiness over the death of the hot-tempered and irresponsible father.
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