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Assignment

Critical analysis of Kingfisher

“Kingfisher “ is a jewel by Daud kamal. He makes use of visual and natural imagery,i.eRiver, trees
and plants. The word Kingfisher has been personified in this poem. Basically Kingfisher is often a
brightly coloured bird with a large head and long sharp beak, typically diving for fish from a
perch . Many of the tropical kinds live in forests and feed on terrestrial prey such as insects and
lizards

Daud kamal is well known for his representation of natural and personal life. He was impressed
by the natural beauty of his native city Abbottabad, a city of khyber pakhtunkhwaa. Rivers, trees,
mountains, greenery are the source of happiness and genuine relief for the poet . He feels
relaxed in the company of nature. That’s why he has embellished his poetry well with natural
imagery.

In the first stanza of the poem, poet tells about a bird,Kingfisher. Kingfisher is basically a bird who
lives on the banks of rivers and steams . It eats fish from water. He has a long veal which is used
to catch fish. In the first stanza, the poet personifies the beak of Kingfisher with April which
pierces the water of river so gently that it easily can catch the fish . Daud kamal shows excellent
mastery in using literary devices. He personifies the unreal subjects in such way that they exhibit
liveliness.The poet is using visual imagery presenting nature in these lines.The poet asks his lover
about the whole process of catching fish by Kingfisher that it seems showing resemblance with
their love .He claims that it is an image of their love. Then announces this process as murder.

In next stanza, presenting another visual imagery , poet says that clouds detach themselves from
trees . The poet tries to convey a symbolic message through these lines. He says clouds travel in
the high above sky while trees stay at one place all the time .So poets says if we want to be
successful and achieve glorious heights of success , we must have to leave the company of those
who do not want to move on .

And the future will be bright and changed for those who make their journey straight towards sky.
Our dreams grow under the mighty waves of water .He says that stars start shining intensely and
all these events tell us about our reality that who and what we are . The poet says when we take
a step towards our journey , the whole nature starts praising us.

Theme of nature is very common in all his poems because he was raised in Abbottabad ,a city of
kpk surrounded by beautiful manifestations of nature. With reference to this poem he talks
about starry sky, sparkling waters , clouds and trees. Kingfisher displays his emotions and
consciousness of identity. He relates images of nature to the individuals situation in postcolonial
World, which has disintegrated and undermined the real spirit of identity. The technique of
fragmentation is used in this poem .

Use of imagery is at the heart of Daud kamal’s wrting style.

The title of the poem Kingfisher is used to personify those people who have mighty powers
i.e.kings.River is also personified and represented as a symbol of resistance equally suffering
from torment the way people are chaotic and anguished.

The poem KingFisher by Daud Kamal is a beautiful and poetic exploration of the Kingfisher bird.