The Lunatic summary by Laxmi Prasad Devkota | The Lunatic question answer

The Lunatic summary and question answer by Laxmi Prasad Devkota 

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About the poem The Lunatic

“The Lunatic” is the poet's own translation of his poem "Pagal." In this poem, the poet wears the persona of a lunatic as if it were a mask. Each stanza brings out a different aspect of the speaker's character: confidence, abnormality, imagination, sensitivity, rebellion, aggression, anger, and awful majesty. Above all, this poem is at once a very modern expression of the deepest personal feelings of the poet and surgical exposure of the hollowness of the so-called intellectual aspirants of the time and may be of any time. Ultimately, the poem philosophically reflects upon the life of the thinking individual in a society swayed by unimaginative self-seeking people. Furthermore, the many allusions to mythical and legendary persons reveal the dignity of life which can laugh at corruption and death.

About the poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota

Laxmi Prasad Devkota ( 1909-1959 ), popularly acclaimed as Mahakavi (great poet), is the most acclaimed and loved poet of Nepal. His early poems were influenced by the English Romantic Movement and his later poems speak with a powerful modern voice. He has experimented with all literary genres and has produced more than forty books. He is chiefly known for his epics, short and long poems, and essays. His best-known poems include Muna Madan (1935), a folk epic; Shakuntala (1945), a classical epic; Savitri Satyavan (1940 ), a verse play; and Laxmi Nibandha Sangraha (1945), an anthology of essays. His poems have been published in several volumes. His essays are noted for their depth of thought and power of language. His subjects range from the native Kunjini (1945) to the classical Greek Promithas (1951). His poems have been translated into many languages of Nepal and the world."

A detailed summary of the poem “The Lunatic”

As a romantic poet, in his autobiographical poem, The Lunatic, Devkota highly praises the simplicity, natural and rustic life as well as he presents himself as an imaginative and creative man. Similarly, he gives more emphasis on the heart or feeling rather than the mind. The features of romanticism can be found in the poem, The Lunatic.

In the poem 'The Lunatic", the poet calls himself as a lunatic persona. He is different from sane (ordinary people) people because he can see or visualize sound, hear the scene (sight), and taste the sweet smell. Not only this much, but he can also see flowers in the stone and also understands the bird's language. Likewise, for him, dreams and imagination are real because he can interpret them meaningfully. On a winter night, he can see heaven in the sky. He is quite a sensible man, so he feels sad seeing weak and dying people. He also believes in the existence of the soul. Due to the sixth sense, the speaker is different from sane (ordinary people) people. For him, one minus one is always one as our individual soul after our death fuses with the cosmic soul and again becomes one. Because of these perceptions of the poet, he is called a lunatic and sent to the Ranchi (mental hospital).

He is so angry with upper-class people who mostly exploit lower-class people to fulfill their desire. To maintain their superiority, they invite their relatives and offer a wine party. But for the speaker, what the upper-class drink is the blood of poor people. He is also angry with prostitutes who sell bodies for money. For him, they are dead women though they are alive. He thinks that poor people are richer than the king and emperor because they do not have unlimited wishes and desires. He also hates leaders who are like him, blind leaders, because they are made by people but they hate humanity. He rather praises the poor and ordinary people.

He criticizes those leaders who hate the poor and helpless people. He has a humanitarian outlook for needy people. He criticizes the flatterer who controls other people’s thoughts by their false ideas. He attacks both types of people i.e. man hatter and flatterer want to bring a complete change in society because he is so frustrated and unhappy with the existing world which is so corrupted and vile due to the evil people handle over the innocent people.

The Lunatic by Laxmi Prasad Devkota [question answer]

Explain why the poet takes the persona of a lunatic. Does a mad person actually see sounds and hear sights? How do your account for such paradoxical statements? What are the differences between a conventional lunatic and the lunatic of the poem?

Ans: The poet contrasts the lunatic persona with the world of sane and even with conventional lunatic. For him, the world of lunatic persona is so creative and imaginative. He can perceive many things which sane people cannot because they are bound to sense organs and due to their inability to perceive such things, they say other lunatic men.

The lunatic persona, sitting on the earth, can see the hidden mystery of heaven, can hear scenes, see sounds, and even can understand the bird's language. Ordinary men indeed use their minds to understand them but a lunatic persona uses his heart and can easily understand them. In this regard, we can say that he uses the sixth sense where ordinary men are constrained by 5 senses.

The lunatic persona is also different from a conventional lunatic. The conventional mad man cannot give logic and reasoning to prove his thought but the lunatic persona of the poem is aware of his thought and pays attention to his thought. He gives logic, and reason using reliable examples.

 In another poem "To a Beautiful Prostitute," Devkota uses the phrase "into a higher reason gone astray." Does this phrase describe the lunatic persona of the poem?

Ans: Yes, this phrase describes the lunatic persona of the poem because for him prostitutes are dead in life. They sell their body for the sake of money. The reason, logic in corrupted Nepal has become hollow. So, they are like ashes of astray.

What does the poet mean by "I have denounced Alexander the Great"? Explain the similarity between the lunatic and the Greek philosopher Diogenes, who had also ignored Alexander?

Ans: Yes, both of them have similarities because like the Greek philosopher, Diogenes, the lunatic persona also thinks that Alexander the Great was also poor because he could not move freely due to the terror and threat of his enemies though he was an ancient powerful Macedonian ruler and one of history's greatest military minds who as King of Macedonia and Persia, established the largest empire in the ancient world.

Is it natural for the tiger to pounce upon the innocent deer and for the bigger fish to swallow the smaller fish? Why is the lunatic disturbed by what is natural?

Ans: It is natural for the tiger to pounce upon the innocent deer and for the bigger fish to swallow the smaller fish. "Deer" and “the small fish" symbolize the poor, innocent, and helpless people who are exploited. The lunatic persona cannot bear any injustice. So, the lunatic persona protests against it.

"Your highly learned men are my big fools." Explain this statement. Is the lunatic person also arrogant?

Ans: It is said that practical knowledge is better than bookish knowledge. so, he may think that if highly educated people lack practical knowledge, they are also fooled.

Who is Dadhichi? Why is his strength "terrible"? To whom? In one short paragraph tell the story of Dadhichi and the war between the gods and demons.

Ans: Dadhichi, is a central character in Hinduism. Dadhichi is a Rishi who played a role in the conflict between the Devas and Asuras. Dadhichi is renowned for sacrificing his life so that god, Indra could wield the weapon " Bajra " made from Dadhichi's bones. The Devas were initially driven out from Swarga, or heaven, by the powerful Asura Vritra. Vritra was granted a boon to be unharmed by any forged weapons, including divine weaponry. The Devas required a powerful weapon to fight.

By making use of the Bajra, made from the sage Dadhichi's bones, Indra, the ruler of the Devas, defeated the Asura and gained heaven. The poet's method is one of the contrasts between the world of lunatic and sane people. What are some of these contrasts and how do they bring out the irony of the poem?

Ans: Truly, Devkota's method in the poem " The Lunatic " capitalizes on the contrasts between the world of lunatic and sane people. The world of lunatics is so creative and imaginative. He can sense many things of paradise sitting on the earth. A lunatic man has six sense organs while a sane man lacks so and confines within his five senses. The lunatic persona can hear scenes, see sound, taste smell, and can understand birds and animal languages. He is guided by heart but not by mind. The lunatic persona distorts moral law and does not follow the norms and values of society. He has his own rules and also tries to prove unreal ideas as the real ones.

In the poem "The Lunatic", explain the term "iconoclast of ugliness". 

Ans: The term "iconoclast of ugliness" means here a rebel who wants to finish the dark side of life, political unrest, and corruption. The poet is so rebellious in the poem. According to the poetic persona, this world is run by blind people. Here, blind people stand for the rulers or political leaders. He criticizes those leaders who hate poor, helpless people. He also criticizes the flatterer who controls other people's thoughts by their false ideas. He attacks both types of people i.e., man hatter and flatterer want to bring a complete change in the society because he is so frustrated and unhappy with the existing society which is for him so corrupted due to the bad people handling innocent people.

"Mine is a badge of thorns", says the lunatic persona. What does he mean by this phrase? Do you see any biblical connotation here?

Ans: The speaker thinks that gold and wealth are ordinary. So, says that gold is iron. For him, thorns and gold are similar because both of them are valueless. If you have gold, you will have fear of robbing I think in the Bible, thorns are connoted to the crucification of Jesus Christ.

Can you prove that "one minus one is always one"

Ans: The line from the Upanishad says if you take away everything from a perfect, it is not diminished; it remains full. If you take absolute from absolute, what remains is absolute. But in practical life, this does not apply. Here one minus one is always zero. So, most people ignore the teachings of the Upanishad, and think it is a sign of abnormality to say ' one minus one is still one

What is the tone of the poem 'The Lunatic'?

Ans: The tone of the poem is revolutionary and satiric.

Examine the binary division of prose and poetry. Is "liquid” the opposite of "strong"? Does poetry include abnormal visions?

Ans: I think that to write poetry, feeling, emotion and imagination are essential while logic and reason make the writing prose. Feeling and emotion flow in the poem as liquid moves on the surface. Devkota highly praises simplicity, originality, and rustic life as well as he also presents himself as a highly imaginative and creative man. Yes, poetry includes abnormal visions because it gives more emphasis on imagination and feeling rather than the mind.

Who is "the bird that steals the celestial fire"? Could this bird refer to Prometheus? Can you think of any other interpretations?

Ans: This bird refers to Prometheus. According to Bible, Prometheus is Titan who challenged the god and stole the fire from heaven for the sake of the welfare of human beings. Another interpretation can be: like Prometheus or the bird, we should steal our freedom, and right to live from the Rana.

Choose one key image from the poem and explain its significance. Discuss.

Ans: There is not only one key image however deep and interesting key image that I found about the sixth sense. Due to the sixth sense, the speaker is different from sane (ordinary people) people because he can see or visualize sound, hear the scene (sight), and taste the sweet smell. Not only this, but he can also see flowers in the stone and also understands the bird's language.

Lunacy exists at the personal, social, and cosmic levels. Do you agree? Why?

Ans: Good, bad, lunatic, mad, normal, abnormal, etc. is decided by the majority of sane people. A person himself or herself cannot say a lunatic or a mad but the majority of sane people make them. So I agree with the statement that lunacy exists at the personal. social and cosmic levels. Normal people’s life is full of sadness, anger, and fear, Lunatic people have excessive feelings and ideas within their mind. Lunacy can make it difficult for an individual to carry out everyday tasks.

When society categorizes as a lunatic, that is the social level. Sometimes, the whole society behaves the man abnormally. Cosmic lunacy is related to universal lunacy. It exists in the entire universe. Such lunacy can damage the earth and its environment by doing a competition on a nuclear weapon. In this regard, lunacy exists at the personal, social, and cosmic levels.

Discuss "The Lunatic" as a political protest.

Ans: The Lunatic " is a political protest poem that shows the Devkota's anger upon political unrest and the corrupted nature of leaders or rulers. In the poem, he is so rebellious and attacks upper-class people and leaders. Not only this, but he also shows another dark side of his time.

To show the dark sides of that time, he pretends himself as a mad man. He is so angry with his time upper-class people, Ranas who would exploit lower-class people to fulfill their desire. To maintain their superiority, they would invite their relatives and friends and would give wine parties. But for him, what the upper class would drink was the blood of poor people. He admires poor men but he hates the king, emperor, the flatterers, and the leaders who are for him the real cause of degrading the society and nation.

Particularly, this poem, "Lunatic ' was published in the 1950s during which time the condition of politics was vulnerable, and unrest and the whole country was also in the process of a transitional phase from Rana's dictatorship to the democratic world of freedom. It is said that in the 1950s, Rana's atrocity tremendously reached in peak and many innocent people were brutally killed, hung, or punished. There was everywhere unrest and chaotic situation. In fact, Devkota writing this poem wants to criticize or attack that time’s bad rulers, leaders, and bad system. In specific, through this poem, he expresses his anger upon Rana's rule which was full of oppressive to the ordinary people.

Based on the poem ‘The Lunatic’, do you see the human race as suicidal?

Ans: Yes, I see the human race as suicidal. In ancient times, people became superstitious, they would commit suicide to please god and to grow crops more. Such suicidal even can be seen in the Hindu holy book in which Dadhichi, sacrificed his life so that Indra could make a weapon "Bajra" made from Dadhichi's bones. By the use of the Bajra, Indra, the ruler of the Devas defeated the Asura.

Yes, I see the human race as suicidal. In ancient times, people became superstitious, they would commit suicide to please god and to grow crops more. Such suicidal even can be seen in the Hindu holy book in which Dadhichi, sacrificed his life so that Indra could make a weapon Bajra made from Dadhichi's bones. By the use of the Bajra, Indra, the ruler of the Devas defeated the Asura.