Poetry, a creation of the poet who creates ‘new things’ out of ‘nothing’ and makes the ‘absent’- present, according to Classical Greek thought, is not produced predominantly from man’s thought and craftsmanship but primarily by the gift of divine power. It was the Muses, daughters of Zeus, who inspired the poet as Plato points out in Ion, “The Muse first of all inspires men herself. For all good poets compose their beautiful poems not by ART, but because they are INSPIRED and POSESSED”, (The Making of Literature, 27). Poetry was considered a ‘gift of God’ as it was believed that poet could only compose poetry as a result of divine inspiration or influence. Plato denounces poetry and dismissed poets from his ideal state in ‘The Republics’ on the grounds that poets are irrational and that poetry is ‘mimetic’.
The life of Mizo poets, gospel hymn writers in particular, and the manner of their composition coincide with the Greek thought to a certain degree. R.L. Kamlala remarks that his songs were ‘entrusted to him’ by God and that a ‘divine power’ has communed with him (R.L Kamlala Kut Chhuak, xxxiii, xl). Patea, Siamliana, Chawngkhupa and many Gospel composers were reluctant to use ‘my composition’ when referring to their songs, and they repeatedly claimed that their songs were ‘gifts from above’ as they believed that their songs were ‘given to them’ by God.
The twenty first century Mizo poetry, upon reaching a new world and a new chapter, have witnessed the predominance of confessional poetry over songs composed under divine inspiration. The main reason behind this is the poets’ employment of their poems as a tool to express themselves and to convey their true feelings and emotions, dreams and imaginations, joys and wonders, frustrations and vexations. One of the Mizo modern poets Vankhama considers that poetry writing is a shameful activity due to the fact that writers have constantly exposed their inner thoughts to others. However, the idea differs strongly from the view of contemporary Mizo poets who deduce that this direct expression of one’s personal feelings and thought is an art as well as a comfort and healing agent for the spirit. As Sir Phillip Sydney points out, “…her world is brazen, the poets only delivers a golden”, several contemporary Mizo poets have transformed the colour of their melancholic life from grey to golden, and they have created a new life and a world of their own through art. In this way, Sydney’s argument about the poet as a creator works well with contemporary Mizo poets.
Contemporary Mizo poets are more concerned with giving satisfaction through the expression of innermost thoughts and feelings without any inhibition rather than giving pleasure and instruction, the purpose of poetry as claimed by Classical critics. The predominant purpose of Contemporary poetry is to give peace of mind through beauty. The beauty of nature does not satiate Contemporary poets as in the case of Romantic poets. The beauty of the setting sun and the clear blue sky of monsoon are still beautiful; the old jhumland and the good old days still are as fascinating as in olden days. However, the concept of beauty, the object of fascination, the passions and cravings have changed considerably for those who are gazing at the world from their virtual world. It is indeed inevitable considering that their life and the world around them have changed radically. This nevertheless, does not contradict Mathew Arnold’s concept of poetry as ‘a criticism of life’ because the way poetry is viewed and examined and the manner human life is observed and explored now are so distinct from those of former times.
Free verse is gaining prominence over the past few years as contemporary Mizo poets unburden themselves by not adhering strictly to set rules and principles. They tend to use short and direct language to display thought provoking ideas than to follow the pattern of long narrative poems like Epic and Ode. Brevity and directness have become important characteristics of modern composition, and we may well presume that the use and arrangement of prose in asystematic way is a more common form of composition than the employment of artful rhetoric and beautiful poetical words. Some poems are even embellished with foreign languages. It maybe propounded that they have been incorporating the various progress and developments that are taking place in their daily lives.
As we step into the 21st Century, the passion for poetry writing has increased tremendously among the Mizo youths who invariably use tools of social media such as facebook, whatsapp, instagram, youtube or the like to broadcast their poems. Many Mizo young writers have published a collection of their poems; one of the young poets have already published two volumes of poetry whereas another young poet published three volumes of her poems, which is in fact a great achievement and development. Yet, the majority has so far failed to notice the silent ‘Green Revolution’ that is taking place involuntarily in Mizo society. As such, examining and exploring contemporary poetry is a new challenge for scholars, and for those who involve in literary studies as well.
