Question

In "We Both Live in the Same Village," the speaker uses depictions of the natural world to symbolize his feelings for Ranjana and their relationship. How does this symbolism emphasize the affection the speaker feels for Ranjana? How does the symbolism explain their proximity? Cite evidence from the text to support your response.

Answer 1

The speaker in "We Both Live in the Same Village" depicts sights and sounds of the natural world to emphasize the affection he feels for Ranjana:

We both live in the same village and that is our one piece of joy.

The yellow bird sings in their tree and makes my heart dance with gladness.

Her pair of pet lambs come to graze near the shade of our garden.

If they stray into our barley field I take them up in my arms.

The speaker associates his love for her with the yellow bird that sings and makes his heart "dance with gladness." He expresses his tenderness toward her by mentioning how he cares for her lost lambs. He expresses his affection again when he describes how he is connected to her through the stars and the rain:

The stars that smile on their cottage send us the same twinkling look.

The rain that floods their tank makes glad our Kadam forest.

Even though the speaker and Ranjana live in the same village, he is aware of the distance between them, and he describes this distance in terms of the natural world. He says "only one field" separates them, and they are so close that the honey bees can fly from his grove into Ranjana’s grove.

Step-by-step explanation:

PLATO ANSWER

Answer 2

Rabindranath Tagore works with symbolism through out the entirety of his poem, "We Both Live in the Same Village". He describes that feelings that a common villager has for Ranjana, by symbolizing them with depictions of the natural world.

For example, when "The yellow birds sing on their tree", the villager experiences happiness. When he writes that "her pair of pet lambs come to graze near the shade of our garden", he is describing how much pride and joy the villager has to be connected in some way to Ranjana.

Tagore also uses the symbolism to explain how these two people inhabit the same city, and how that proximity fuels the love of the villager for the girl. "The stars that smile on their cottage send us the same twinkling look." This exemplifies how both individuals are proximate to each other, the stars are looking at them at the same time because they live in the same village.