Pictorial Journey of a Pandemic Poem 'Lockdown'

 "Lockdown," written by Simon Armitage and initially published in The Guardian on March 21, 2020, reflects on the coronavirus pandemic. The poem draws parallels to the historical self-isolation of Eyam, a "plague village" in Derbyshire during the Great Plague of London in 1665. Additionally, it references the Sanskrit poem "Meghadūta" by Kālidāsa, where a cloud conveys a message from an exile to his faraway wife. The poem serves as a contemporary response to the challenges posed by the pandemic, drawing on historical and literary allusions to convey its message.

Simon Armitage's poem, "Lockdown," reflects on the coronavirus pandemic by drawing parallels with the 17th-century bubonic plague in Eyam. The poem also takes inspiration from the Sanskrit epic, Meghadūta, by Kālidāsa. Armitage mentions Eyam's boundary stone, where quarantined villagers put money in holes for supplies, filling them with vinegar to cleanse coins. The poem tells of a romance between a girl in Eyam and a boy from outside, who communicated from a distance. Additionally, Armitage was influenced by a Meghadūta scene where an exile reassures his wife via a passing cloud. He sees a lesson in patience, trust, and slowing down amidst our hectic lives, believing that poetry, inherently consoling, encourages contemplation and consideration of language, others, and the world.

1. What is your first reaction to this poem? Are you able to connect your Lockdown experience with this poem?

This poem is connecting two different geographical area with different references. By the glass painting of the plague we can surely connect it with lockdown time. The numbers of death was not real that we know and by that boundry stone is much more like iron sheets which were putting outside the affected house. The idea of meghdutam like the narrator is the cloud which is describing everything during epidemic we had lots of examples, how animals feel free and polution level was decreased. So in a way, nature also observed such scenery during epidemic. With the example of star-cross lover and river between them we had boundaries in our house like whosoever affected at that time we had imaginary river between us. 

2.If you are Chinese or African, would you be happy with the concluding message which the speaker is deriving or interpreting from this poem? 

"The air

hypnotically see-through, rare,

the journey a ponderous one at times, long and slow

but necessarily so."

If I am Chinese or African or Japanese, When I look at the concluding part of the poem there is a single messege of the "Vasudhev Kutumbkam". With the reference of Rudyard Kipling's "The Ballad of East and West" let us take example. When this poem is discussed people only focus upon first line,"Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet." In the very next line we can find contrast of first line,"But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth! "

In addition, Kipling said that there is no boundaries between the world. We can look it through two ways. First if we took last stanza in literary sense, then it is universal and I am happy with its ending. On the other hand if I belongs to other countries like above mentioned I felt that if any literature has rich test than and than it will be used as references. 

For example, Indian Sanskrit literature and English literature have great value. But what about our own literature, as African or any other European we also have our own literature and folktales. As in if I am Japanese even we had Kanto earthquake in 1923 and we have stories of star-cross lovers Vega and Altair. 

However, most of the time commonwealth countries are being marginalized and ignored by such kind of poet laureate. Their literature is not taken as references of poem though universality is everywhere.  There is Existence of North and South. Equally they are part of the world, they contribute in literature too. 

But as the last line is, "the journey a ponderous one at times, long and slow,but necessarily so. This journey is slow of accepting other European countries as a part of the world apart from wealthy countries. Though concluding messege is effectively reflecting universality and humanity spirit.