This poem was written in 1963 by Mufti Jamilulddin Ahmed when he was doing his M.A English from the university of Karachi. In this poem Mufti has described the selfishness, unawareness and unconscious state of man. Man is totally unconscious about his purpose of life. Man has forgotten his purpose of life and run after the temporary beneficial things. Mufti has criticized on modern man that he has become materialistic, selfish and forget about his real purpose of life.
What is the significance of the title?
Oblivion means state of being unconscious or state of being unawareness. Man can not know in which situation he is being going. What he wants to do he is unaware about that.
First Stanza:
The speaker of the poem talks about the selfishness or unawareness of modern man. In the first stanza he has metaphorically compared the human life with waterless deserts and says that as waterless deserts do not help or provide anything to the travelers of the tribes likewise human has become selfish or materialistic he does not help anyone in the time of need. He says that modern man has become so much materialistic that he does not help anyone. He expresses that humans are connected with each other in the particular ring of earth but still they are still confined to materialistic things. They have become just selfish and don’t help others. Here the theme of pessimism can be excavated that modern man has become selfish and hopless.
2nd Stanza:
In this stanza the speaker of the poem says that human soul is present in his conscience. He says that right place of man’s soul is his heart or conscience but the outer body or upper structure of man’s body is like a joke. Here he is indirectly criticizing the modern man and modern society that modern man just focuses in making himself beautiful to attiring others. He says that modern man is making his appearance beautiful for the sake of others to look beautiful, his merely purpose is to showoff but when the time or point comes to his conscience he doesn’t care about it. Modern man is accustomed by particular things which has temporary effect or has less importance in his life. He further criticizes the modern man and says that he has become too much materialistic and confined himself in the four walls and never went out to look at nature. He does not bother about what does nature talk about and what is happening in his surrounding. Modern man is just busy in accumulating wealth by hook or crook. He doesn’t look at the things or mountains, lakes, trees etc. what the mystery has been hidden behind. Theme of foolishness can be taken here when he talks that man’s body is just an ornament of joker. Man has forgotten his inner body or conscience and purpose of life that for what purpose he has been sent to this world.
3rd Stanza:
In this stanza the speaker of the poem insists that man has infinite of fears in him. He has a lot desires but these desires are not consistent. He says that modern man has no particular aim of life. He says that when man sleeps he has some aim or desires to be completed in the next morning when he wakes up it fades away and creates something new to be completed. He says that man desires are temporary and like those flowers which bloom in the morning and died in the evening. Theme of spirituality can be excavated here that modern man is far away from spirituality he does not curious to know about the mysteries of nature and has just confined himself in fatal fence.
In this stanza the speaker of the poem is addressing to his beloved and says that may he feels her pretended love, which is merely an illusion. Here the speaker is talking about modern time love that this love merely deception. He has criticized the modern man and says his love has also become fake due to his materialistic approach.
5th Stanza:
In this stanza the speaker of the poem has metaphorically compared spring season as happiness and says that happiness in our lives have no longer stay. Autumn is metaphorically taking as sadness which is playing with happiness. Here the speaker of the poem gives an example to explain how the happiness is temporary in modern man’s life. He gives the example of friends who gather in hotel and having some meal and gossips. He says that this happiness is temporary it stays only until the bill is not paid. After the bill has paid everyone moves toward his home. The speaker of the poet has criticized that modern man has become too much materialistic. He says that there are a lots of difficulties(sadness) which the modern man faces in his daily life. Even he has little time to enjoy happiness. Here the speaker is talking about mortality of human and those hurdles which a man faces during his life. Theme of mortality lies in this stanza.
6th Stanza:
In this stanza the speaker talks about the meaninglessness of man’s life. He says that modern man’s life has become purposeless. If there is no purpose in life so no aim is to be completed or achieved. what the modern man is doing he does not have any particular aim to be achieved, his dreams and aims have become purposeless. He says that when man has no aim in his life than the unconscious strife has also become vanished from his life.
7th Stanza:
In the last stanza the speaker of the poem says that neither you know nor I, that what we are. He says that man has never tried to know what he is or what his purpose of life is. Here he has taken Shakespeare quote from the play Midnights Summer Dream “what fools these mortals be” means who are these human, who are wandering here and there and don’t have any particular aim to be achieved. He says that man did not know ever for what purpose he brought to life. What was his aim he didn’t know. Here the speaker of the poem has described the crux of his poem what is the purpose of oblivion. He says that man is unaware and unconscious about his purpose of life and becomes so much materialistic. He has no particular aim of life.
Literary Devices
The form of the poem is didactic. Didactic means that poem in which truth has been described which has no hidden meanings and portrays what happens in realistic manner.
Rhyming scheme of the poem is ABAB except the fifth stanza in which AAAA pattern has been followed.
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