Methods of Cultural Studies: Identity, Everyday Life, Cultural Intermediaries

Topic: Methods of Cultural Studies:

Identity, Everyday Life,

Cultural Intermediaries

 Name: Baraiya Saryu D.

Subject: The Cultural Studies (Paper-VIII)

Roll no: 27

Study: MA

Year: Semester – II

Guided By: Dr. D. Baradsir

Submitted To: Department of English

University: MKBU

Introduction:

          

      Cultural Studies is an academic field of critical theory and literary criticism. It was introduced very firstly by British institutes. It was started to take in consideration from 1964. So we can say that it is very new theory in comparison of many other theories. After that it was approved and accepted in world wide. In Western society rise of popular culture is after 1960s. And critics linked development of Cultural Studies with rise of popular culture. And because this is new theory in literary criticism it is still expanding in the field of literature and criticism. Influence of T.V., music, internet and other cultural states popular culture brought among people and chiefly among youth. The tone of this early version of Cultural Studies was set by students of British New Left.  But there are two names, which played most important role in this field and those two names are Raymond Williams and Richard Hoggart. They both are from working class background and they dragged their own cultural interpretations and because of it they realized that their culture had no role in the literary studies at any university like Cambridge or Oxford. It was starting of new movement for cultural identity: race based, gay, feminist, and so on. The aim of this movement was to politicize specific identities. The work of Raymond Williams influenced the projects and approaches of the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies in the 1970s. This approach is purely Marxist approach in nature. It modified theoretical imminent from post structuralism to develop Cultural Studies. So as a result, about Cultural Studies, we can say that Cultural Studies focuses on mass or we can call it popular culture. Culture is produced. Culture is about power. 

          Cultural Studies acclimatize many methods of analysis from various disciplines like, media studies, discourse analysis, cultural anthropology, popular culture studies and audience study. Most of these methods are heavily influenced and informed by the theories. They are also used for political reading of any text or to observe different features of culture. We can include generation gender-, race-, sexuality-related several interpretations as result of observation and close reading of text or any literary work. These interpretations may be false or true but they reveal the repressive or dominating structures of society. All cultural forms are connected to markets, society, patrons, humans and many more. Cultural Studies firmly believes that a person cannot ‘read’ cultural objects only within the aesthetic empire. As an example if we focus on a single novel then we cannot only study just novel but we have to focus on history of that novel, background and even in practicality we have to focus on the publishing industry, its profit, the society of reviewers, the studious field of literary criticism, the politics of awards and the hype and publicity system that ‘sells’ the book. So we can say that we are not just buying a book or a novel but we buy an entire enterprise. As general Cultural Studies is the analysis of a culture’s system of meaning production and consumption. Methods are tools of Cultural Studies that we see in detail.   

Identity:

          In general and literal meaning Identity means a name or a person – the mask or appearance one presents to the world – by which one is known. But Identity has different and contextual meaning as tool of Cultural Studies.

‘The Identity of a person is, for Cultural Studies, dependent upon the roles played by that person, the signs that designate that person and it is constituted through experience, and representation is a significant part of experience.’

It means what a person’s position, function, job and responsibility in society it is known as that person’s Identity as per Cultural Studies. Cultural Studies believes that personal experiences also make the connection between different structures in society. As par it we are not in control of our self or our life but we are in control of structure of society and ideology. We use to think that we are free but experiences make us realize that we are not free representatives but in reality we are victim of ideological regimes and discursive that treats us as consumers alone. Most of the times we have not power of alternatives but we use to live in that type of daydream that we have some power and control within us. These signs are part of discourse. As an example we can say that girls assimilate qualities of the ‘feminine’ because they are brought up in the discourse of femininity.

This is the culture, which creates ‘femininity’ and ‘masculinity’ in children. Their roles in society are decided by society itself.

‘Identity is the consequence of representation and the effect of discourse. And it is based on the location within a system of relationship and discourses.’

          In Cultural Studies Identity is socially produced but its theme is related with agency. In words of critic we can say that Identity is mainly question of agency. But here we have to clarify our vision about agency first that what we can conceder as agency in Cultural Studies? Agency is the capacity and power to mold and determine one’s action or accomplishment and life and existence. Agency is also production of society. An individual’s ability to act or to perform is limited by the context in which he or she lives. According to this main argument some questions can be raise.

¨     Who are the empowered agents in any culture?

¨     Who determines the limits of an individual’s freedom?

¨     What are the consequences of an individual’s action in any culture?

Here we can able to open up the relations between identity, representation and agency. Representation is the generation of meaning and constitutes identity. Identity influences the degree of agency one possesses or not possesses. Agency is therefore the consequence of representation.

          Discourses and representations control an individual and its identity, agency and actions. Discourses are structures of power that produce particular and certain identities. So here need of self analysis. We have to analysis structures of power because that influences images, representation and meaning and these structures finally determine individual lives and actions and it is very crucial for any culture or society to see which class or groups determines the discourses.

ü  Identity is socially constructed or legitimized.

ü  Identity is constructed through representation.

ü  This identity determines the degree of agency we possess in a given social system.

Everyday Life:

         

          Contemporary Cultural Studies gives more focus to Everyday Life and conceder it as very serious meter and even in Everyday Life it focuses on metropolises. It seems like Cultural Studies only interested in metropolitan culture and its life. A metropolis is a site that is multi-layered and disputed. Everyday life is about the practices of the routine. It is mainly about

¨     lifestyle

¨     consumption

¨     social interactions or relations

          The culture of anywhere can reflect in that particular society and social life. That society and social life is constructed by cultural artefacts used by the people, even as the cultural artefacts are themselves produced and consumed by society and social life of people. And if we want to study ‘cultural artefacts’ then it can be only studied through the analysis of everyday life. What is crucial about everyday life is, it is accounts for subjectivity in the people’s responses, and responses and experiences are always subjective because that is fact that the people respond emotionally to things most of the times, and this is a central part of their Identity. Sociological studies often ignored this fact. Here one more thing is that, Everyday life is specific to location and cultures and no one can ignore this truth. As an example we can never compare or assume London’s everyday life after observing Mumbai’s everyday life because they both are totally different in location, atmosphere, culture, food, clothing, public transport, and many basic necessary things. They both have difference in their basic structure.  Cultural artefacts or events must be different for different location. So Cultural Studies is must be conscious about this thing.

         

          Main part of everyday life is experience. Experience is the cornerstone of everyday life or we can say that Experience is everyday life. How a person experienced traffic, food, clothing, social relations, public transport, the sense of communication, the wisdom and sensation of community, entertainment constitute, everyday culture it makes him or her about particular everyday life. Cultural Studies must be analyzing relation between experience of everyday life and reality so it can be shift from experience to reality. Cultural Studies underscore the textual or linguistic aspects of experience.  But experience is expressed through language so how people express, what express, how they speak with others and told their stories about experience. When a person hears to another one, he decodes his language and cultural codes between them. Language and representation are therefore integral to the experience and construction of reality. If experience and everyday life are that much important, then it is important to see how these experiences of everyday life converts into language, image and representation.

          ‘Cultural Studies’ interest in everyday life proceeds from what Raymond Williams (1981) called “lived culture”, where culture is produced through everyday living: the food people eat, the fashions they adopt, the entertainment they prefer or the festivals they celebrate.’

So Cultural Studies believes that people leading their everyday life and produce their culture themselves. Culture is the end result of experiences and responses. And Cultural Studies tries to investigate this process of making culture. This process is linked to relationship of power. But also think of two questions particularly.

¨     Who has access to specific forms of culture in everyday life?

¨     What are the legitimate forms of cultural acceptable in everyday life?

Lifestyle and utilization of culture artefacts in everyday life go together as per Cultural Studies. There is a certain ideology in every person who works as per its conditioning. This ideology emphasizes freedom, pleasure and entertainment over duties and work. So, cultural studies consumerism is itself a new form of identity.

          Everyday life is a site of struggle over meaning. So meaning are much superior and in power in everyday life. If we see it commonly then we can easily recognized that a common people must be put stress on particular meaning of a work. So we can find many people who use to wear only khadi because it has its patriotic meaning and it can be related with our national father Mahatma Gandhi. So khadi has particular and certain meaning for a person and so he or she accepts it in their life and so it becomes a culture and takes place in Cultural studies. Everyday life generates multiple identities. Cultural Studies sees identity in metropolises as increasingly linked to consumption and life style. And now in 21^st century, in metropolitan social, economical life is getting faster and global in virtual world. Today, metropolitan everyday life across the world is simultaneously local and global so no more pure local and global life differentiate and so, Everyday life is become hybrid of the local and the global. Even where local ethnic chic is marketed it is a part of a global consumer market. In everyday life we have to play so many roles in different situation and in different context. So because of it we can say that everyday life gives us multiple identities because identity means a role played by a person in his or her life. So how many roles we played in our life like friend, philosopher, guide, brother, sister, teacher, student and etc…. that many identities we get in our life. But here another question is this:

What does a hybrid everyday life mean:

¨     It means our experience are now restricted to one race or culture.

¨     Our identities are dawn from multiple, global sources.

¨     Our values are themselves inspired by global cultures.

          The global cultural artefact is indigenized, given a local flavor with the help of everyday life. So we can say that it becomes very simple truth for Cultural Studies. We can never say that everyday life is dominated or taken over by global culture. Everyday life means re-invention of global cultural artefacts. . The consumer is not only passive receiver of global life and global culture. He or she can modify what he or she receives to suit his or her own purpose and engaged with the global cultures in a native way, often productively re-doing the global to fit in with an Indian cultural system.

¨     Global products are actively transformed and given new meaning by the local audience or consumer.

¨     The Consumer has a degree of power to choose the product and re-inscribe its meaning.

¨     The individual is engaged in a project of self-realization and identity creation through the adoption of a lifestyle.

¨     The consumer asserts agency in this process.

Cultural Intermediaries:

          Pierre Bourdieu was the French cultural theorist and he was the person, who introduced this term ‘Cultural Intermediaries’. He uses this term in his book on the sociology of taste and distinction. Cultural intermediaries are those that mediate between the production of cultural product or event and its consumers (customers).

          Marketing companies, advertising agencies, magazines and etc... are best examples of ‘Cultural intermediaries’. They built a particular image for a particular product or a film and suggest certain values of it and sell that product to the consumer. They built a link between the production and consumption of culture, and so a link between culture and the economy. These intermediaries are take place between these two departments.

There function is representation: presenting the cultural object in such a way that a desire for the same is created in the consumer, who then buys the object.

          Let us see with example of Hindi films. On the production side there are the film-making company, director, producer, financier and the stars. Then on other side, means on the consumption side there are audience. But here is a question that does the audience come to the film immediately means without any intermediaries?? And very simple and certain answer we can get is ‘NO’.  In now days no one is going to watch a single movie without some knowledge about it in mind. So from where this knowledge they get? And the answer is from intermediaries. And this is happens in metropolitan for sure. Various TV channels shows ‘the making….’ programs. Many papers and magazines cover initial stories about that particular movie and the star. Channel like ETC shows review on the first day of movie. Before release there is usually the film’s music that arrives in market and widely publicized. Music CDs brings more promotional material. Film stars coming in different serials and reality shows for promotion of their movie and during that time they talk about upcoming movie and forth coming movie, too. So what these activities done? Can it connect us with film or its production? What they get from these activities? They achieve a link.

So we can say that Advertising and marketing are key moments in the process where culture products are sold. So, Cultural intermediaries are services professions that enable the cultural product to be sold-metaphorically and literally-to the consumer.

‘The creation of “symbolic” value – that is representations – is as central to a cultural process as production and consumption.’

        It can be possible that cultural intermediaries have no or little knowledge of the actual processes of cultural production. As an example a column writer of film magazine does not need to know about production process, casting process or same kind of other process about the film. As it is the film’s advertising company does not need to know financial, social, structural background of the film. Their work is to sell that movie and for which they prepared promotional material and trailers. That is enough for them. That is the same work done by cultural intermediaries.  They have very little to do with production of product. They just have to sell the product and that is the main and real work of culture intermediaries. They are experts to the production and consumption of culture and though their contribution is central to the production and consumption of culture. We can consider fan clubs in cultural intermediaries, too. They also are doing the same. They also are marketing their favorite star’s film. They generate interest among their group about some particular, forthcoming film. They performed ‘extra-cultural’ for their favorites. They create an ‘aura’ around a star and help to sell a film. And of course, they also double as consumers when they go in masses to watch ‘their’ star’s film.

          Cultural Studies is interested in the role played by such makers of representation that generates interests and makers for cultural products. The cultural intermediaries not only make incoming for production side, but also for itself. There is thus an economy of these two sides in-between them. Cultural Studies asks about it that:

¨        What exactly is the relationship of the cultural intermediaries to the product being sold?

¨        Does the intermediary really influence audience reaction?

At last main points about cultural intermediaries are:

ü  Cultural intermediaries generate an interest in the cultural product.

ü  They may have an influence on consumption patterns.

ü  They mediate between the production and consumption of cultural product.

Conclusion:

       Thus, Cultural studies does interpretations of signs and uses many methods as tools. Here I try to discuss three tools or we can call it three methods of Cultural Studies. These three methods Identity, Everyday life, and Cultural Intermediaries plays vital role in study of Cultural Studies. What a person’s role in society and what a role person played in society that we studied in Identity. What kind of life a person live that we studied in Everyday life. Core part of that pint is every location’s everyday life is different from each other and that everyday life is the only culture of that particular place then we can say that with constructing his or her personal life a person can construct his or her own culture. And so on a common people is a consumer and what link the people with literary product that is known as Cultural Intermediaries.  Cultural Intermediaries are the only link for consumer and product. They don't have any connection with production of any particular or any product.    

                                                                                                                       (3,078)

     

I.A. Richards: Figurative language Other Poems and Film Lyrics

Topic: I.A. Richards:

Figurative language

            Other Poems and Film Lyrics

Name: Baraiya Saryu D.

Subject: Literary Theory & Criticism-2

              (Paper-VII)

Roll no: 27

Study: MA

Year: Semester – II

Guided By: Dr. D. Baradsir

Submitted To: Department of English

University: MKBU

Introduction:

       Ivor Armstrong Richards was a well known critic and rhetorician. He is one of those modern critics of modern era who have exercised considerable influence on both side of the Atlantic. He is well known for his theory of new criticism and even we can call it pioneer of the New Criticism. T. S. Eliot also gave his contribution in this theory. But here I am also drawing reader’s attention towards a fact that very sharply they differ from each other in some certain and particular points. But at his point I think I. A. Richards may be right because many other new critics like, John Crown Ransom, Kenneth Bruke, R. P. Blackmur, William Empson, Cleanth Brooks, Robert Penn Warren differ with him but then even repeatedly acknowledgement to him, in their theories and practice. Our other critic, like Coleridge, who was wide read and learned, I. A. Richards was also a man of wide read and learning. But Coleridge has limitation that he was only man of literature. Then I. A. Richards has no such limitations. He was not only man of literature but he was also man of philosophy, psychology, aesthetics, the fine arts, and the broad principles of the various sciences. He has used all his learning for compounding of an astonishingly innovative and fresh, original poetics. Poetics means a theory of poetry and with all his scholarship, I. A. Richards developed a new poetics.

Richards’ Life and Work:

       

        I.A. Richards was born in 1893. He was done his schooling in Cambridge in 1912. Because of his study and education he was appointed in Cambridge as a professor of English  Literature. He done fabulous job as teacher and even as a critic, too. So we can say that it was beginning of a long and renowned career as critic and teacher both. He taught in Cambridge and Harvard both. So that experience of that two benchmarks collages in his life influenced him very much and that was clearly reflected in his literary works and criticism in both the countries. His first work was written in collaboration with C. K. Ogdon. That work was published in 1922. After in next year, in 1923 he published another work. It is also in collaboration with the same write, C. K. Ogdon and it was named as, ‘The Meaning of Meaning’. His most famous work is ‘The Principles of Literary Criticism’ and it was published in 1924. Most of the critics of English literature say about it that Richards puts his best of best in this work, and which was at once hailed as a high original work likely to give an entirely new direction to critical history. After it he wrote ‘The Practical Criticism’ in 1929. This work presents him as an unrivalled advocate and practitioner of practical criticism. This work contains test of the new theories propounded by him, and also simplify and illuminates his theories. His some other works are like:

v Science and Poetry

v Coleridge on Imagination

v Mencius of the Mind

v The Philosophy of Rhetoric

v The Speculative Instruments

        Richards was path shower of figurative language and practical criticism. He said about it that author and title should be removed from any literary work while studying it. So it is making real sense of that literary work or takes a reader in any other direction from writer’s point of view. He clearly said that a reader should focus only on language of literary work nothing else. So his theory is known as Practical criticism and it can be done with the help of language only. He gives three important objectives about The Practical Criticism:

v To Introduce a new kind of documentation:

With this theory of criticism a person can relate any old work or any work of literature with his or her contemporary time, place and situation. A reader has no burden of past or identity of an author with him. So every work can get real and right judgment with the help of this theory and Figurative Language. With this theory a reader can get total different interpretation and though he does not know about author then he or she was not ban with any prejudices about author in his or her mind and because of it he or she can introduce a new text of literature from any literary work.

v   To provide new technique:

This theory is for those readers who wants or wish to find something new and innovative from literary work and what they actually feel about poetry and really that poetry is good or bad as per their point of view.

v  To prepare the way for educational methods:

This is something new and innovative in the field of literature and it is scope of development of thinking, studying and developing discrimination and it gives new way of understanding any work of literature from what we use to hear, read and understand because of prejudices.

    

     Richards constructs this theory on the base of like or dislike of reader and he uses two approaches for this theory.

v Pragmatic: Basically pragmatic means to deal with cause but Richards uses it in different way. He concedes it as knowledge.

v Empirical: This theory basically follows practicality. So this approach is based on practical observation and experiments. It is not based on theoretical things but practicality is base of this theory and approach.

  

His approaches gave new path to literary criticism. He believes that this theory in near to reality because it is with proves on the base of language which is in front of reader. It is better than impressionistic and intuitive criticism. It is more factual and scientific than any other criticism. In this criticism hi gives importance to words only. He believes that:

“Poet writes communicate, and language is the means of that communication. Language is made of words, and hence a study of words is all important if we are to understand the meaning of a work of art. Words carry four kinds of meaning: Sense, Feelings, Tone and Intention.”

He believes that language of poem is purely emotive and writer uses this type of language to generate feelings among readers. But with it he also tries to convey that a reader must avoid intuitive and over-literal reading of literary work. Words of literary work have their oven emotive feelings, meanings, sense, tone and intentions and writer uses those emotions very successfully and vigorously.          

          But with this he also said that rhyme and metre is also important in poetry because meaning of word, rhyme and metre can never be separated; they form together a single system. They are purely related with each other. Therefore, a prose-paraphrase or an over-literal reading can never convey the total meaning of a poem.  

v Source of Misunderstanding in poetry:

      This is the main part of figurative language which was discussed by I. A. Richards that poetry is the biggest source of misunderstanding and most of the time people use to misunderstand poetry. Because they can never reach to the intention of an author and so they interpret literary work as per their understanding. As everyone knows that every literary work has a loop hole in it which can become a cause of work’s deconstruction. But that loop hole also becomes rezone of misunderstanding of work, too. If person don’t know about author’s background, history and intention about poem then there are sent percent chances of misunderstanding in poetry. It can be possible that what a person understand from a poem that was never can be purpose of poet. But main point is close reading of text. Near study of text must be needed and language of poetry always helps reader to interpret itself. Let us see some examples:

विद्रोह

आज घर में घुसा
तो वहां अजब दृश्य था
सुनिये- मेरे बिस्तर ने कहा-
यह रहा मेरा इस्तीफ़ा
मैं अपने कपास के भीतर
वापस जाना चाहता हूं

उधर कुर्सी और मेज़ का
एक संयुक्त मोर्चा था
दोनों तड़पकर बोले-
जी- अब बहुत हो चुका
आपको सहते-सहते
हमें बेतरह याद आ रहे हैं
हमारे पेड़
और उनके भीतर का वह
ज़िंदा द्रव
जिसकी हत्या कर दी है
आपने

उधर आलमारी में बंद
किताबें चिल्ला रही थीं
खोल दो-हमें खोल दो
हम जाना चाहती हैं अपने
बांस के जंगल
और मिलना चाहती हैं
अपने बिच्छुओं के डंक
और सांपों के चुंबन से

पर सबसे अधिक नाराज़ थी
वह शॉल
जिसे अभी कुछ दिन पहले कुल्लू से ख़रीद लाया था
बोली- साहब!
आप तो बड़े साहब निकले
मेरा दुम्बा भेड़ा मुझे कब से
पुकार रहा है
और आप हैं कि अपनी देह
की क़ैद में
लपेटे हुए हैं मुझे

उधर टी.वी. और फोन का
बुरा हाल था
ज़ोर-ज़ोर से कुछ कह रहे थे
वे
पर उनकी भाषा
मेरी समझ से परे थी
-कि तभी
नल से टपकता पानी तड़पा-
अब तो हद हो गई साहब!
अगर सुन सकें तो सुन
लीजिए
इन बूंदों की आवाज़-
कि अब हम
यानी आपके सारे के सारे
क़ैदी
आदमी की जेल से
मुक्त होना चाहते हैं
अब जा कहां रहे हैं

मेरा दरवाज़ा कड़का
जब मैं बाहर निकल रहा था.

          This is a Hindi poem written by Kedar Nath Sinh. A person should have to done close reading of this text. Title of this poem is so interested, ‘Vidroh’. From title a person can assume that something is not easy and someone is apposed someone in this text. So first person singular is the narrator if this poem and something is wrong going with narrator it is very first interpretation from this title. Or it can also be said that narrator himself apposed someone or something in this poem so now with close reading of this text a person can give his or her own interpretations about it. When a person enters in his home his bed gives it resignation to him because it wants to back with its cotton. Table and chair are also on strike cause of same reason. They want to go back with their wood. They also said that woods and trees are killed by human. Books are also wants to run away from shelf and cupboard because they want to meet their insect friends. Sholl is also very frustrated because it wants to go back to its crowd of ship. It feels like restricted with human. Even water is so irritated with narrator and so in fear narrator tries to run away from his house and then door closed and said to him that now you cannot go outside. A person has to stay as prisoner because door does not want to open for him.

          This is totally impossible thing that all these dead things can speak in such a language with humans in this tone but writer uses it as symbol. In figures of speech we can say that writer uses personification but it is sent percent perfect poem for now days. Human thinks that he is the only owner of earth and so for his own usages and needs he tries to hold and control nature in his hand. Nature gives us lot things but in return what we give to it?? That is the main theme and question of this poem. Its languages suggest it. And it also shows fear for human’s future also. In last line door was angry with human and refused to open. It shows that when the nature will get mad then humans cannot do anything with it. Earthquakes, Tsunamis can be conceder as anger of nature. Nature wants to be free from prison of human. Nature feels like prisoner with a human or human made it prisoner. We have no care for nature and it is the main and central idea of this poem. But this interpretation can be a person’s personal interpretation. There is no surety about this interpretation that it is right or not.  If we will not respect nature the once nature will done something very wrong it can be hidden agenda of author in this poetry.

Sadda Haq

Tum logon ki, iss duniya mein
Har kadam pe, insaan galat
Main sahi samaj ke jo bhi kahoon
Tum kehte ho galat, main galat hoon phir kaun sahi (phir kaun sahi)
Marzi se jeene ki bhi main
Kya tum sabko arzi doon
Matlab ki tum sabka mujhpe
Mujhse bhi zyada haq hai
Saadda haq, aithe rakh

Saadda haq, aithe rakh
Na na na ..
Saadda haq, aithe rakh

Hey inn gadaaron mein ya udhaaron mein
Tum mere jeenay ki aadat ka kyun gott rahe dum
Besaleeqa main, uss gali ka main
Na jis mein haya, na jis mein sharam
Mann bole ke ras mein jeenay ka harjaana duniya dushman
Sab begaana inhe aag lagaana
Mann bole mann bole, mann se jeena ya marr jaana

Saadda haq, aithe rakh
Na na na ..

O eco-friendly, nature ke rakshak, main bhi hoon nature
Rivaazon se, samaajhon se kyon
Tu kaate mujhe, kyun baante mujhse iss tarah
Kyun sach ka sabak sikhaaye, jab sach sunn bhi na paaye
Sach koi bole toh tu niyam kanoon bataaye
Tera darr, tera pyaar, teri waah, tu hi rakh (rakh saali)
Saadda haq, aithe rakh
Aithe aithe rakh
Saadda haq, aithe rakh

          This is a song from movie ‘Rockstar’. If we try to study it as another poem then we can also find some precious symbols in it. At starting narrator asks to society that why always a real and alive person is wrong all the time and who had power is the only winner of the society.He asks question to the society that his life and he wants to live it as per his understanding, following, likes and dislikes and etc…. but then even society restricted him to done this thing so now he has to take permission to the society to live his life. It is very painful for him that we can understand from words of poetry. Then narrator, who narrates this poem, wants freedom in his life. So after close reading of this poem I can say that a person wants freedom in his life. It means he talks about social rules, regulation and restrictions. Still our society is rigid and because of it many people have to suffer lot. So as per my interpretations based on words as per figurative language. Narrator says that now everyone knows that nature is in danger because of pollution and population but a human being itself also creation of God. As we know we can never create nature and it is always created by God. So we also believe that human is creation of God so we are also a part of nature. So we try to save nature in form of air, water, trees and earth but had we ever care for real living and existing human being?? A human is also part of nature but no one cares about this nature named human. Narrator uses word ‘eco-friendly’ as satire for society. After it he said first society taught me to speak truth but truth is bitter most of the time and so now society has no strength to hear that bitter truth and so now if any one tries to speak truth then society gives him a long list of rules, regulation and restrictions. So even he said against society that he does not want society’s praise for him but as it is he also does not want restrictions of society in his life and on his life.       

The Professor

Remember me? I am Professor Sheth.
Once I taught you geography. Now
I am retired, though my health is good. 
My wife died some years back.
By God's grace, all my children
Are well settled in life.
One is Sales Manager,
One is Bank Manager,
Both have cars.
Other also doing well, though not so well.
Every family must have black sheep.
Sarala and Tarala are married,
Their husbands are very nice boys.
You won't believe but I have eleven grandchildren.
How many issues you have? Three? 
That is good. These are days of family planning.
I am not against. We have to change with times.
Whole world is changing. In India also
We are keeping up. Our progress is progressing.
Old values are going, new values are coming.
Everything is happening with leaps and bounds.
I am going out rarely, now and then
Only, this is price of old age
But my health is O.K. Usual aches and pains.
No diabetes, no blood pressure, no heart attack.
This is because of sound habits in youth.
How is your health keeping? 
Nicely? I am happy for that.
This year I am sixty-nine
and hope to score a century.
You were so thin, like stick,
Now you are man of weight and consequence.
That is good joke.
If you are coming again this side by chance,
Visit please my humble residence also.
I am living just on opposite house's backside.

          This seems very house hold type of poem but if a person can read it with emotions then a person can realize pain of father in this poem. He has four children. Four of them are settled in their own life and so now they have no time for their alone father because narrator’s wife id dead and he has not a single person to shear his feelings and so he request to reader to meet him for some time, to meet but where?? Behind his son’s house, where he lives in a small cottage. It means he does not stay with his son. Pain of old age and reason of old age home is shown in this poem by poet. He also talks about change in life and country also.   

Conclusion:

          In very simple words and language we can describe figurative language as close study of words and only text without any background, history, writer, but just as an individual text and interpret in our own understanding. It can lead a reader to misunderstanding too but then even it can never be wrong because not a single thing, single interpretation in poetry can be wrong because every poetry has numbers of interpretations because a work of art has numbers of interpretations. Interpretations are based on mind, mentality, background, brought up, and society of reader. It may be leads reader to misreading of poetry but then even can be originality of literary work without any prejudices. It is not justly based on assumptions but it s based on words, emotions, intention and scientific methods. 

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