Balachandra Rajan (24 March 1920 – 23 January 2009) was an Indian diplomat and a scholar of poetry and

poetics Poetics is the study or theory of poetry, specifically the study or theory of device, structure, form, type, and effect with regards to poetry, though usage of the term can also refer to literature broadly. Poetics is distinguished from hermeneu ...

Life and career

Focusing particularly on the poetry of

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

, Rajan was Professor Emeritus of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

and Rajan was Fellow of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

from 1944 to 1948, but left England to return to his native India, where he served in the Indian Foreign Service until 1961. During that period he served on the Indian Delegation to the United Nations, working extensively with

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

and

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

, and chairing an international anti-

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

effort. He served as Chairman of the UNICEF Executive Board from 1955 to 1956. Leaving his diplomatic career to return to academe, Rajan taught at the University of Delhi before emigrating to Canada to take up a position at the University of Western Ontario. Rajan's scholarly work covered a wide range of

English poetry This article focuses on poetry from the United Kingdom written in the English language. The article does not cover poetry from other countries where the English language is spoken, including the Republic of Ireland after December 1922. The earl ...

, but returned frequently to Milton and particularly to Milton's ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...

''. His work cannot be easily assigned to any critical methodology; he was a scholar of poetics in many forms and from many approaches. His 1947 book ''Paradise Lost and the Seventeenth Century Reader'' is primarily a response to Milton's apparent interest in

Arianism Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...

, considered a

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

, and argues for a distinction between private and public meaning in Milton's poetry. The book was influential for

William Empson Sir William Empson (27 September 1906 – 15 April 1984) was an English literary critic and poet, widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, a practice fundamental to New Criticism. His best-known work is his firs ...

, particularly Empson's critique of strictly theological readings of ''Paradise Lost'', ''Milton's God''. Later essays explore what Rajan calls "

generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

multeity" in ''Paradise Lost''. In addition to his work on Milton, Rajan's later criticism addresses issues of meaning,

intention An intention is a mental state in which a person commits themselves to a course of action. Having the plan to visit the zoo tomorrow is an example of an intention. The action plan is the ''content'' of the intention while the commitment is the ...

, and context in a broad array of writers including

Spenser Spenser is an alternative spelling of the British surname Spencer. It may refer to: Geographical places with the name Spenser: * Spenser Mountains, a range in the northern part of South Island, New Zealand People with the surname Spenser: * Dav ...

Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

, Marvell,

Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tub ...

, and Macaulay. Rajan considered '

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

cannot report the event, it must be the event.' Rajan also wrote two novels. ''The Dark Dancer'' is a sobering study of the conflicts of the Partition; ''Too Long in the West'', on the other hand, is a more light-hearted satire (perhaps influenced by

Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

's ''Farewell, My Friend'') about a girl's return to her home village after an emancipating education in New York. Rajan's daughter is the scholar and literary theorist

Tilottama Rajan Tilottama Rajan (born 1951) is a Canadian scholar and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Western Ontario. She is Canada Research Chair and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Rajan is known for her research on Romantic li ...

, who also teaches at Western.

Critical Works

*''Paradise Lost and the Seventeenth Century Reader''. London: Chatto and Windus, 1947. Reprinted Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1967. *''W.B.Yeats: A Critical Introduction''. London: Hutchinson University Library, 1965. *''The Lofty Rhyme: A Study of Milton's Major Poetry''. London: Routledge, 1970. *''The Overwhelming Question: A Study of the Poetry of T.S. Eliot''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1976. *''The Form of the Unfinished: English Poetics from Spenser to Pound''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985. *''Under Western Eyes: India from Milton to Macaulay''. Durham: Duke University Press, 1999. *''Milton and the Climate of Reading: Essays''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006.

Fiction

*''The Dark Dancer''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1958. *''Too Long in the West''. New York: Atheneum, 1962.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajan, Balachandra 1920 births 2009 deaths Indian literary critics Indian male novelists St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Academic staff of the University of Western Ontario 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian male writers Indian officials of the United Nations Chairmen and presidents of UNICEF Indian expatriates in the United Kingdom Indian expatriates in the United States Indian expatriates in Canada