BSc BA ADP English Notes Poem Tartary (Walter De La Mare) Important Questions

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Question 1: Discuss the Poem Tartary by Walter De La Mare as a Romantic poem

Answer: Tartary has all the features of a romantic poem. It is about an imaginary land somewhere in the East. The imagined land is replete with romance, adventure, natural beauty, thrill, and mystery. The land is beautiful, rich, fertile, and full of unheard and unseen delights.

This makes the whole atmosphere romantic. The rich variety of exotic colors is pleasant. The use of imagery is effective and colorful. The poet believes that the scenic beauty of nature and enchanting sounds are a precious treasure of delight and wonder of man.

The use of imagery is effective and colorful. The poet has given good proof of his fondness for nature like Wordsworth. This poem is similar to Coleridge's poem Kubla Khan. Colors and sounds evoke everyone.

Unlike monarchs of the modern world, he hates luxuries and valuable vehicles run through mechanical devices and shows his preference for carriage drawn by seven Zebras. 

In this fertile land, there will be every blessing of God. This land of Tartary would be a heavenly place on earth, with its beautiful hills and valleys, its trembling lakes with cool, crystal, and clear water, and even flowering rivers. 

Its trembling stars, fragrant breeze of the early morning, a cluster of trees, and beautiful birds sing sweet songs making it a land of charming delights. The poet has beautifully created a romantic atmosphere with the help of effective use of imagery.

Like a true romantic,  Walter De La Mare escapes into an ideal world, where every thing is waiting for his order. He imagines himself to be the master of that glorious land called Tartary. In this way, he tries to satisfy his unfulfilled desires of real life.  

Question 2: How does the poet takes us in the realm of imagination in the poem Tartary?

Answer: Walter  De La Mare takes the reader into the realm of imagination through colorful images and diction. He has used romantic kind of imagery in this poem to create a soothing impact on the minds of the readers. 

Almost all the images like ivory bed , beaten gold throne, flaunting peacocks, slanting fishes, sweet music, zebra-driven carriage, etc, are very fanciful images. But the most fanciful image is the magical evening in his palace.

The sound of the trumpets, the yellow and red lights of the lamp, the melodious music harp, flute and mandolin, etc, create a romantic atmosphere. The yellow lights like yellow honey give sweetness to the surroundings while red lights like red wine that intoxicated us.

The picture of a gorgeously dressed up king moving about in pleasing yellow and red lights, with music filling the atmosphere is most romantic and fanciful. There are many other fanciful words in the poem. The first image is sitting on a throne of pure gold.

The second image is when the poet wishes to sleep on a bed made of ivory. The third image is related to the eating meal in the light of lamps and the fourth fanciful image is the wearing of a dress made of costly beads. We can say that the poem is replete with fanciful images.