Clerihew and Bengali Literary Rhyme/ ক্লেরিহিউ ও বাংলা ছড়া-কবিতা

Abstract

In English, Clerihew refers to a four-line biographical poem consisting of two couplets and is arranged like this - aabb. Like many other forms of poetry, it is also a particular form, which Bengali literature imported from the London-based poet Edmund Clerihew Bentley (1875-1956). In Bengali literature, the poets who have carried forward Clerihews progress and victory are discussed here in my essay. First comes the name of the king of Bengali rhyme Annada Shankar Ray. Although his clerihews are not exactly biographical, some of the poet's significant remarks flash like lightning in some of his four lined rhymes.

Then we’ll see how Clerihew succeeded in the hands of eminent Bengali poet Sankha Ghosh. Just as he did not write much Clerihew, he did not always adhere to the traditional format of Clerihew. Somewhere he denied the four lines boundary; he did not even follow the guidelines of putting personal name or place-name in the first line.

          Bhabani Prasad Majumdar and Apurba Dutta, two famous poet of the time, are among the few poets who have popularized the tradition of Bengali folk rhymes very successfully. Bhabani Prasad gifted us a large number of funny Clerihews. Bhabani Prasad sometimes crossed the fence of one quartet and gave us many clerihews with two or four or five quartets. This type of work has been called ‘Extended Clerihew’ by some Western critics. Clerihew has repeatedly sparked like a weapon in the hands of the conscientious poet Bhabani Prasad Majumdar.

          Thus beginning his journey by the hand of a schoolboy, Clerihew has once occupied a seat of honor in the world literature. It has variation both in form and type, subject matter and view. From biographical verse in quatrains to several quatrains of humor and various light-hearted themes, Clerihew is used as their medium of expression. And thus begins his successful journey from a point to the circle. I have elaborated the matter in my present essay.