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Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was an Indian of
Indo-Portuguese origin. His father was Portuguese
and his mother, Indian. He was born in 1809 when
India was under the British rule. Derozio was
greatly inspired with love for the country of his
birth. Perhaps his contacts with other
contemporary Indian nationalistic writers (like
Raja Rammohan Roy) influenced his attitude.
Though he died of cholera at the early age of 22 in
1831, Derozio's verses reflect maturity and a
sensible understanding of the need to love one's
own country. There is no doubt that Derozio wrote
for instilling patriotic fervour amongst the youth.
All his writings seem to promote a spirit that is
truly 'Indian'. Amongst the better known of his
poems is the narrative ‘The Faqueer of Jungheera’.
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Derozio's love for his country is expressed in
his sonnets The Harp of India and To India—
My Native Land. His poems, Evening In
August, The Faqueer of Jungheera, The Eclipse
and Song of the Indian Girls give ample
evidence of his nationalist thought and poetic
talents. His poems have elements of English
romantic poetry, but are Indian in content,
theme and imagery
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Why hang'st thou lonely on yon withered bough?
Unstrung for ever, must thou there remain;
Thy music once was sweet — who hears it now?
Why doth the breeze sigh over thee in vain?
Silence hath bound thee with her fatal chain;
Neglected, mute, and desolate art thou,
Like ruined monument on desert plain:
O! many a hand more worthy far than mine
Once thy harmonious chords to sweetness gave,
And many a wreath for them did Fame entwine
Of flowers still blooming on the minstrel's grave:
Those hands are cold — but if thy notes divine
May be by mortal wakened once again, Harp of
my country, let me strike the strain!
-
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Signposts
1. The withered condition of the harp.
2. Why is it in this condition?
3. Previous patriots' contribution.
4. Poet's desire to play the harp.
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hang'st: hangs.
yon: that.
withered: dried up and dead.
bough: branch.
Unstrung: untuned.
fatal: deadly; resulting in death.
Neglected: ignored.
mute: dumb; silent.
desolate: deserted; lonely.
desert plain: vast area of sandy
wasteland.
harmonious: melodious.
chords: musical notes in harmony.
wreath: a circular band of flowers.
entwine: to twist or wind something in or around something
else.
blooming: blossoming.
minstrel: poet.
cold: lifeless.
divine: heavenly.
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The sonnet is Petrarchan in form and it illustrates
Derozio’s concept of poetic creation. Like the
nineteenth century romantic poets, he finds in
poetry a process of recollection, a wild tour of
imagination, an enchanting look at the past, a
passionate love for Nature, and a powerful
invocation of the Muse. Sweet madness; delicious
frenzy and strains of fire stand for spontaneous
overflow of powerful feelings. References to
Himalay and Arabian sea are topographically
native. Immortal harpings: this expression
stands for the tradition of poetry.
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The first two lines contain a very
beautiful use of personification. The nation has
been personified as a withered bough. The poet
says:
Why hang’st thou lonely on you withered
bough?
Unstrung for ever, must thou there remain
The poet laments over the fact that the rich
tradition of India lies neglected and is mute
like an unstrung harp on the withered bough of
a leafless tree.
Withered flower on a withered bough
 The poet imagines the wretched and miserable
condition of India to a withered bough.
 Our country has a rich past.
 India was an evergreen flower blooming and
blossoming on an ever-green bough. But
during the British rule, people had to lead a life
of slavery even worse than beast.
 So, here the metaphor is very apt and
suggestive..
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The poet mentions only one bough of the tree
which is withered. By this connotation he
seems to say that the people of India are slave
to the British rule only physically, not
spiritually.
Only the bough is withered, not the root and
stem.
The soil beneath the root ( the age-old culture
and civilization) is still fertile and nourishing.
“Silence hath bound thee with her fatal chain:
Neglected, mute and desolate art thou.
Like ruined monument on a desert plain”
 ruined monument’symbolises the lost glory
and grandeur of nation. Our past was very
grand and golden like a great monument
.
Several men in the past before him have played the
music of the harp and in return the harmonious
chords of harp have produced sweetness.
•Sweetness/ fame has also garlanded many a wreath
for the nation.
•The flowers on the grave of the minstrels of the
nation are still blooming.
[Here, the term ‘minstrel’ suggests the man
of honour and fame who kept on playing the harp
of India in order to produce harmonious music of
eternal values. They are now no more].
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The poet is of the opinion that the music of the
harp is eternal. It can never be destroyed. He
asks the permission of the harp so that he may
strike the strain