Attempt a structuralist reading of the poem

SMALL TOWNS AND THE RIVER

The poem ‘Small Towns and The River’ is taken from the collection of the poems ‘River Poem’
by Mamang Dai , which is published in 2004 . In the poem the poetess has depicted her
hometown and the beliefs of ‘Adi’ community of north east India. Through the seven stanzas of
the poem she tries to aware her reader about the prosperity of small towns on the cost of the
destruction of the natural elements in the vicinity. The North -East region of India has been a site
of political tensions for a long time. These tensions exist between the states and the central
government as well as between the natives and the migrants from other parts of India. The
violent clashes between the insurgents and the army also led to massive bloodshed. This is
conveyed in the poem by the line: “Just the other day someone died.” This expression makes it
appear as if such deaths due to insurgency are very common and happen almost every day. This
is how the poetess conveys the intensity of people’s suffering. The expression “dreadful silence”
refers to the curfews after such clashes.

‘Small Towns and The River’ contains some important themes such as mortality, life vs death,
eternity, nature, and spirituality. The theme of mortality haunts the poet the most. Through the
symbol of “small towns”, the poet introduces this theme. Moreover, the theme of life vs death is
integral to the poetic reflection on mortality. The imagery used to depict this theme can be found
in the “wreath of tuberoses” and the river that remains constant throughout the poem. In the
poem, the river symbolically depicts nature and its permanence. Apart from that, the poet resorts
to the cozy bosom of spirituality for recovering from grief. The hope of the afterlife gives the
poet peace of mind.

This poem mainly deals with the life and death of human being. The Poet uses the various kind
of imagery to describes her deepest feelings about her hometown . From the very beginning of
the poem we can find the imagery of sorrowfulness of the people and the town as well. The poet
says that small towns always remind her of death. She says that her hometown remains calm and
peaceful among the trees. It may be summer season or winter season, there will not be any
change in the appearance of the village. The dust is flying and the winds are howling among the
trees. 

Then the poet says Life is not permanent and death is inevitable for every living being. The
tradition, ritual, custom are permanent in our society; but not the life. The poet uses the imagery
of the river to compare the life of the people. The river is permanent but the life of human being
is temporary. The river knows everything about the town and the frequent deaths of people of
this town. Images of explorers are also used here who explore the fish and stars. The stage of the
childhood is the most important part of an individual. The beginning stage of life, the childhood
is like the purity of the soul at the dawn. The small towns tensed about the future. The sight of
sun in the golden east helps the poet with new and positive kind of energy. The poet emphasizes
on the meaning and importance of everyone’s life. Without life we can’t be a lively spirit of this
universe. We can sense the thoughts of eternity and spirituality in the poem. The poet believes in
the concept of afterlife. The rhythm of harmony makes our mind peacefulness. We can mainly
find the natural aspects in the poem. The concept of the afterlife and having God as a guide
pacifies the poet amidst the death-ridden thoughts which constantly cause pain to her soul.

‘Small Towns and The River’ consists of four stanzas each having an irregular line-count. The
overall poem doesn’t contain any specific rhyme scheme. But, the rhythm of the poem isn’t
monotonous at all. The flow depends on the intricacy of internal rhyming. In short the poem is
written in Free verse . Moreover, there are a few instances where the poet uses slant rhymes.
Apart from that, the metrical scheme of the poem is also irregular. As the syllable count differs
in each line, it is hard to frame the lyric in a specific meter. For reference, the first line begins
with a spondee followed by iambic feet. And, in most of the cases, the poet uses the iambic
meter accompanied by the anapestic meter.

Mamang Dai begins the poem with a paradox. Poets generally associate the idea of death with
small towns or any such habitations. In this stanza, there is personification. Here, the poet
personifies her “hometown”, “dust”, and “wind”. Moving forward, in “dreadful silence” there
is a personal metaphor. Apart from that, the lines of the second stanza, as well as the other
stanzas, mostly get connected by the use of enjambment. However, in “sad wreath of
tuberoses”, the poet uses pathetic fallacy. Along with that, there is an epigram in “Life and
death, life and death,/ only the rituals are permanent.” In the third stanza, there is a simile in
the comparison between the river to a “torrent of grief”. In “torrent of grief” there is a
metaphor.

There is a refrain, “The river has a soul” at the beginning of the fifth stanza. Moreover, in “mist
on the mountaintops”, there is alliteration. Here, the “m” sound gets repeated. In the following
stanza, there is metonymy in “golden east”. And the “house of the sun” contains
a circumlocution or periphrasis. However, the last two lines contain another paradox. The
meaning of these two lines depends on the idea present in the previous sections of the poem.