The Literature Student

Sleepless I Kept the Night's Vigil : Malayalam Explanation   Al-Khansa 7th century tribeswoman who lived in Arabian Peninsula one of the most influential poets of the pre Islamic and early Islamic periods finest author of Arabic elegies wrote about the death of two brothers- Muawiyah and Sakhr collected poetry of Al Khansa- the  Diwan -  reflects the pagan fatalism of the tribes of pre Islamic Arabia Sleepless I Kept the Night's Vigil  Sleepless I kept the night vigil, Eyes khol-blackened ruts. I watched the stars, though no watchman, Me, wrapped in wragged robes. For I had heard news- and no news for joy- Word of you: 'Here is Sakhr, hurled to the ground, skirted by stones.' Go then, to God's care, You whose heart quickened at wrong, You like the spear-tip Whose bright shape lit the night, You, bitterly resolved, free-born, and the son of the free- Go! I will weep for you So long as the ring-dove wails And stars brighten The road for the traveller. And I will not m...

Women Like Me : Malayalam Explanation   Maram al Massri Syrian writer, living in Paris is considered one of the most renowned and captivating feminine voices of her generation in Arabic famous work: A Red Cherry on a White Tiled Floor (1997) her poetry vividly encapsulates the frailty of human condition in a brutal society Women Like Me {poem} Women like me do not know how to speak. A word remains in their throats like a thorn they choose to swallow. Women like me know nothing except weeping, impossible weeping suddenly pouring like a severed artery. Women like me receive blows and do not dare return them. They shake with anger, they subdue it. Like lions in cages, women like me dream . . . of freedom . . . Detailed Analysis  The poem reflects the inner turmoil and oppression experienced by women who are denied a voice, forced into silence, and subjected to suffering. It articulates the speaker’s emotional state through vivid imagery and metaphors, representing a collective ex...