W.B Yeats has used many visual and sound images in the poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” to express his heart-felt desire to stay close to nature. Pick out those images from the poem and explain them.

The poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” is a collage of visual and sound images which are expressive of the poet W.B. Yeats’ yearning to stay close to nature. ‘Small cabin….of clay and wattles’ ‘nine bean-rows’, ‘honey-bee’, ‘bee-loud glade’, ‘midnight’s all a glimmer’, ‘moon a purple glow’, and ‘lake water lapping’ are the prominent visual images in the poem. These visually appealing images are used to reflect the peaceful, soothing natural ambience of the place of Innisfree. The palette of sound images includes ‘linnet’s wings’, ‘cricket sings’ and ‘lake water lapping with low sounds’. These sound images are carefully chosen to reflect the musical ambience of Innisfree.   

Why is the place of Innisfree special or close to the poet W.B. Yeats’ heart in the poem?

The place of Innisfree is close to W.B. Yeats’ heart for several reasons – natural beauty, pleasant environment, soothing ambience and peaceful surrounding. Innisfree is amidst natural artifices. The place appeals to the poet’s heart since it is very close to nature. Days and nights are cozy there. The place is abuzz with the music of crickets and linnets. Silence and peacefulness are nearly synonymous. A place that is free of noise is supposed to be peaceful. However, the silent and placid ambience of Innisfree is eloquent with the music of linnets and crickets. Such music is pleasant to the poet in the place far from the madding crowd.                  

Why I like Chandara the protagonist in Punishment by Rabindranath Tagore

Chandara is the protagonist in the story “Punishment” written by Rabindranath Tagore. In most of his short stories, dramas and novels, the protagonist is a female character. For instance, Ratan in “The Postmaster”, Nirupama in “Dena Paona”, and Binodini in “Chokher Bali” are a few to name among the most famous protagonists created by the Bard of Bengal. In the story “Punishment”, the plot of the story revolves around Chandara and her intentional acceptance of punishment.

The character of Chandara is an embodiment of self esteem, a true characteristic of human beings. In rural backwaters, women depend on their men in all aspects. They take their duty for husbands and children as the only reason to live on. Unlike those rural women, Chandara is conscious of her existence as an independent being. 

She does not let her husband control her. She does not hesitate to quarrel with husband’s sister-in-law; she does not mind the unjust restrictions imposed on her by her husband; she does not forget her own self in service to her husband and his family. To her utter astonishment, Chandara realizes that she does not mean anything to Chidam, when the latter accuses her of the murder in order to save his elder brother from the clutches of law. 

When the police arrest her and present her in court for trial, she does not beg her husband or the judge for her life. For her self-respect, she chooses death sentence from the judge over the humiliation of being with Chidam who does not value her. She embraces her fate with resilience and in silence. It bears out to her strength of character, an identity of Rabindranath Tagore’s most women characters. This is what makes me like Chandara, the life and soul of the story “Punishment.”