A. K. Ramanujan: A Leading Indo-Anglican Poet

Abstract

Ramanujan is one of the prominent Indo-Anglican Poets. Some critics consider him to be one of the three great Indo-Anglican poets, the other two being Nissim Ezekiel and Kamala Das. Ramanujan’s poetry is largely autobiographical and thought-provoking. The themes Ramanujan considers in his poetry are limited in scope, but some other passages of his poetry largely compensate for that inadequacy. Inversely important as a theme in Ramanujan’s poetry is his Hindu heritage. Ramanujan has shown a sharp and intense textual sensitivity in his poetry. Ramanujan is one of the most competent and professed craftsmen in Indo-Anglican poetry. Among the silent features of Ramanujan’s poetry is its cerebral literalism. His poetry abounds in boons of world and expression. Ramanujan generally writes in free verse without the importance of punctuation, but he does relatively frequently introduce rhyme and assonance into his poems. Another striking point of Ramanujan’s poetry is the ascendance in it of irony. Irony too is a device that is employed by nearly every Indo-Anglican poet, but Ramanujan makes use of this device in nearly every poem. Ramanujan’s poetry contains distinctive and distinguishable imagery from the imagery of other Indo-Anglican Poets.