ABSTRACT
The past decade has witnessed an increasing revival of scholarly and general interest in Rabindranath Tagore and his writings. Several new translations of some of his Bengali works have recently been published. l Among those who have worked on Tagore's poetry, William Radice, Martin Klimpchen and Ketaki Kushari Dyson have been most successful. Their translations possess great literary merit, and have done a lot to revive interest in Tagore.2 In 1985 a bibliography was published which includes most books and articles written by and on Tagore.3 In 1990 the Tagore Centre in London has printed an interesting compilation of articles on and by Tagore that have appeared in British newspapers and magazines between 1912 and 1941.4 In England, as well as in India, a number of authors has recently taken stock of Tagore's significance for contemporary times. Their contributions resulted in two collections of studies. One was published in India in 1988,5 the other in England in 1989.6
These publications show a deep concern for Tagore's popularity in the West at the present time, and highlight the fact that Tagore's fame rests mainly on his poetry. But the significance of certain sources of inspiration behind his poetry (as indeed behind much of his other work as well) and the way these are reflected in his poetic imagery has not been developed nor explored in these publications. Regarding his early religious lyrical poetry, we will try to take a closer look at one of the sources of his inspiration, the manner in which it is symbolized and the role poetry is made to play in conveying the inspiration to an audience.
