Rabindranath Tagore is a highly esteemed Bengali artist who wrote poetry and plays, painted, and composed music. In 1913 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature primarily based on his best-known collection of verse titled Gitanjali. The Selected Poems of Rabindranath Tagore is a compendium of poems that spans the writer's career from 1882-1941. The selections present a broad overview of Tagore's most intense themes and obsessions, revealing his mystical side as well as more autobiographical material.
The poems of Tagore are, as should be expected, steeped in the history and religion of Hinduism and India. As a result, references and allusions to figures that are well-known in the poet's native land may be complete mysteries to others. The very first selection is titled after three Hindu gods that multitudes may recognize by name, but know little else about. "Brahmā, Visnu, Śiva" is a perfect example of the mystical poetry of Tagore, but is also notable as an example of his use of imagery and metaphor to convey spirituality not dependent upon adhering to any one particular faith:
"At the start of Creation
There was dark without origin,
At the breaking of Creation
There is fire without end."
Creation myths are rampant throughout all religions, and most are such that this descriptive passage could be easily reapplied to any other faith. Such is the secret power of even Tagore's most distinctly Indian-centric works. On the other hand, a narrative work like "The Hero" is unquestionably more universal. On the surface, it is at first an exciting adventure tale of a young man protecting his mother from various threats. Only at the end is it revealed that the entire thing has been a story within a story told by a slight young man not believed destined for any such heroism.
Many of the poems in this collection lean toward this type rather than the mystical. "In the Eyes of a Peacock" is, for instance, a more relatable tale of a sweet moment between a grandfather and his favorite granddaughter. That it seems to be autobiographical in origin as a result of the speaker being a writer very much like the poet himself does little to lessen the universality of its theme of generational connectivity.
This is by no means to suggest that this collection of poetry is particularly accessible, especially for those who do not like poetry in the first place. Most of the verse contained within is densely packed with symbolism and imagery and does require some work at figuring out meaning. Ultimately, this collection of the poems of a Nobel Laureate serves most effectively as an introduction to the style and themes of Tagore. The book is analogous to a greatest hits collection of a prolific musical artist with whom one is not familiar. If one does not enjoy a greatest hits collection, then likely they will not find much to enjoy about the artist's complete discography. If one reads the poems in this collection of Tagore and enjoys it then it is likely they will enjoy discovering his entire body of work. If the book is put aside halfway though, then it is safe to assume that the more idiosyncratic verse of Tagore can go unread without regret.
