Whose mind is the poet referring to in "Where the Mind Is Without Fear", and what does he say about it?
Rabindranath Tagore 's poem "Where the Mind Is Without Fear" was written at the turn of the twentieth century, when India was under British rule. The poem takes the form of a prayer, where the speaker is an Indian citizen asking God to make his country free. For Tagore's speaker,...
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true freedom is a mind without fear of oppression.
It's also an India where, as the speaker says in the first line, "the head is held high" and men and women are treated with dignity. In his vision, "knowledge is free," too; the speaker longs for the day when education isn't solely reserved for the wealthy, as it was at the time Tagore wrote the poem.
The mind in Tagore's poem, therefore, isn't the mind of just one person; it's the mind of India. The speaker wants a better future not just for himself, but for all of India, and he believes the only way to achieve that is for the people of India to come together and stand up for themselves against British tyranny. As the final line of the poem makes clear, the poem is part prayer and part call to arms:
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Further Reading
What effect does the poem "Where the Mind Is Without Fear" have on readers?
Rabindranath Tagore's "Where the Mind is Without Fear" motivates and inspires readers to better their country and live with both pride and dignity.
The British rule in India during the end of the 19th century left many of the people of India feeling belittled and reduced. Their country had been essentially taken from them. Their pride was broken.
Tagore's poem is a call for honor. Statements such as
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
encourage the people of India to literally hold their heads high and to be proud of their nation and of the knowledge that they have carried through many generations.
Tagore also calls to "Father," presumably God. He prays that his country "awake[s]" into "that heaven of freedom." Tagore wants the people of India to feel free, and to have their pride restored. His calls to a higher power appeal to religious people, while his calls to "tireless striving" appeal to hard-working individuals who will work restlessly until they achieve their intentions.
Tagore clearly believes in his country and in the knowledge of his people. His poem demonstrates that despite the attempts by the British rule to belittle the people of India, the Indian citizens must continue to hold their heads high and allow their knowledge to lead their country to greatness.
Why is the poem titled "Where the Mind is Without Fear"?
I believe that part of the rationale behind the title is to describe a world that is transcendent. The driving theme throughout the poem is to articulate a world that is beyond what is in front of the speaker. The speaker attempts to illuminate a world of truth and beauty. This process is concluded in the ending when he speaks of this vision for more than simply his own state of being, but does so in the name of country and community. In attempting to bring forth this vision for both individual and collective notions of the good, Tagore believes that it might pose a challenge to start to actively create such a world. The steps needed to bring this existence into reality can only be accomplished if fear is shed and if one is committed to this.