# This blog is based on thinking task given in online classroom discussion.
"LOCKDOWN"
Lockdown poem was written by poet laureate Simon Armitage. First published in the Guardian on March 21, 2020. This poem refers to the Corona virus pandemic from two perspectives. One refers to Derbyshire's "plague village" Eyam, which was self-isolated in 1665–66 to prevent the spread of "black death". In the second part, the poet refers to Meghdutam by Kalidas. Here, Armitage, in his poem, tries to connect the dots between the Corona virus pandemic and similar things that happened in the distant past.
This poem arouses two questions to discuss with!
Q - What is your first reaction to this poem? Are you able to connect your lockdown experience with this poem?
Ans
This poem will take us back to our experience during pandemic time with reference to Eyam. Our lives became limited at that time, and we could not meet people or socialize with anyone. A poem makes you relive the struggles and hardships of pandemic time. We had been captivated in our own house by the shackles of Corona. We can connect the very first line of the poem to infected fleas with the contagious Corona virus, and to limit the spread of it, we had to practice anti-socialism and maintain social distance, which could be difficult for most of us because humans are social animals. This practice of anti-social behavior led many people to depression and anxiety at the time of the pandemic. We had to quarantine, and in the Eyam there was an unseen quarantine line in the form of a village boundary stone that separated the two starcross lovers Emmott and Rowland from meeting, and this had a tragic end as Emmott died soon after the community spread was over.
The poet alludes to Kalidas' Meghdutam in the second part of his poem. This is seen as a man-made calamity, as the Corona virus was man-made, not a natural calamity. Yaksha was banished to meet with his wife and send a cloud as a messenger to his lost wife. Clouds would pass over the amazing landscape and scenery of India. In this part, Armitage gives a description of the aesthetics of Kalidas, and then, slowly and wisely, Cloud goes on to give the message.
By reading this poem, one is sure to relive the experience of the Corona virus pandemic, as I felt it by reading it.
Q - if you are Chinese or African , would you be happy with concluding message which is speaker is deriving or interpreting from this poem?
Ans
At the end poet derived the message of unity. That all humankind in times like the Corona virus pandemic should forget the boundaries of the world and help each other. In the later part of the poem, it refers to Kalidas's Meghdutam, which strongly represents the culture of India, which is "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam," which means that the whole world is one family and we should live as one in sheer harmony. Rabindranath Tagore's poem Gitanjali also comes in support of this.
I would be happy if I were Chinese or African, because it's not just about the East or West parts of the world but the world as a whole.
Reference
Lockdown - Simon Armitage writes poem about corona virus outbreak by The Guardian.
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