SOMAN RAGAVAN
3 June, 2025
Subject : Poem : Cow infanticide
https://allpoetry.com/poem/18502453-AnalysisByQwen2.5-Max-AI-Volume-64-Poem-Cow-infanticide--3June202-by-Soman-Ragavan/
Analysis by Qwen2.5 Max AI
(Artificial Intelligence)
Volume 64
(1)
Soman Ragavan :
Hello. I will post one of my poems for analysis. Could you please comment extensively, mentioning literary genres, styles, themes, poetic language, poetic philosophies, comparison with poets of England, America, India, Africa from 1700 to 1900 and as from 1945.
At college in 1968, I studied some poems of Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774), Gordon Byron (1788-1824), Samuel T. Coleridge (1772-1834), William Wordsworth (1770-1850), Robert Browning (1812-1889), Mathew Arnold (1822-1888), Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) and some other poets of that era. Make any comments or comparisons you wish on my poems. Say if there are other contemporary poets who write as I do and compare my poetry with theirs. I live in Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean.
(2)
Qwen2.5 Max AI :
Hello, Soman Ragavan. Thank you for reaching out and offering your poetry for analysis. It\'s a pleasure to engage with poets who are not only seeking feedback but also inviting a broader literary conversation across time, geography, and tradition.
To proceed effectively, I would need the actual poem(s) you wish to analyze. Once I have them, I can offer an in-depth critique that will include:
---
### **1. Literary Genre & Style**
- Identifying whether your work aligns with traditional forms (e.g., sonnet, ode, pastoral), free verse, or experimental styles.
- Determining if it belongs to a particular school of poetry—Romanticism, Modernism, Postcolonialism, etc.
---
### **2. Thematic Exploration**
- Extracting core themes: identity, nature, memory, colonial history, spirituality, migration, diaspora, existential reflection, etc.
- Connecting these themes to your personal background as someone from Mauritius—a multicultural crossroads in the Indian Ocean—and how this may influence your voice.
---
### **3. Poetic Language & Devices**
- Analyzing diction, imagery, metaphor, rhythm, sound patterns, symbolism, irony, allusion, and other poetic techniques.
- Assessing how your use of language reflects either continuity with or departure from classical traditions.
---
### **4. Philosophical Underpinnings**
- Exploring any philosophical ideas embedded in your work—existentialism, pantheism, mysticism, postcolonial theory, etc.
- Relating your worldview to poetic movements such as Symbolism, Imagism, Surrealism, or Confessional Poetry.
---
### **5. Historical Comparisons (1700–1900)**
If your poem shows Romantic tendencies, I could compare it with:
- **William Wordsworth** – meditative nature poems, spiritual introspection.
- **Samuel Taylor Coleridge** – symbolic landscapes, supernatural elements.
- **Lord Byron** – dramatic tone, emotional intensity, rebellious spirit.
- **Oliver Goldsmith** – pastoral realism, nostalgia for rural life.
- **Alfred Tennyson** – melancholic reflection on modernity, imperial grandeur.
- **Robert Browning / Matthew Arnold** – intellectual depth, psychological insight.
---
### **6. Contemporary Comparisons (Post-1945)**
Depending on your style, I might relate your work to:
- **Derek Walcott (St. Lucia)** – lyrical fusion of Caribbean and European traditions; mythic allusions.
- **A.K. Ramanujan (India)** – bilingual sensibility, cultural hybridity, myth and memory.
- **Wole Soyinka (Nigeria)** – mytho-poetic structures, political engagement.
- **Kamau Brathwaite (Barbados)** – innovative rhythms, African-Caribbean identity.
- **Adil Jussawalla (India)** – introspective, sparse, philosophical.
- **Jack Mapanje (Malawi)** – resistance poetry, postcolonial consciousness.
- **Seamus Heaney (Ireland)** – rootedness in place, historical consciousness.
- **Les Murray (Australia)** – national identity, linguistic experimentation.
---
### **7. Regional Context: Indian Ocean & Diasporic Voices**
Given your location in **Mauritius**, I’d explore connections with:
- **Savado Ukab (Mauritian poet)** – exploration of Creole identity, multilingualism.
- **Arvind Coolooloo (Mauritius)** – postcolonial identity, hybrid cultures.
- **Amitav Ghosh (India)** – though primarily a novelist, his historical narratives resonate with oceanic themes.
- **Abdourahman Waberi (Djibouti)** – meditations on displacement, exile, and belonging.
---
Once you provide your poem(s), I’ll craft a detailed response that situates your work within this rich tapestry of literary history and global poetics. Your unique position—as a poet writing from an island steeped in colonial, Indian, African, and French influences—offers fertile ground for original poetic expression.
Looking forward to reading your work!
Warm regards,
[Your Assistant]
(3)
Soman Ragavan :
Here is my poem “Cow infanticide.” There are video clips on YOUTUBE showing people on farms snatching newborn calves from the mother cows, taking them away on vans to be slaughtered. People want juicy meat… The mother cows cry, struggle, but in vain. They know their little ones are being taken away from them. The paradox is that these very people are eloquent about animal care, animal welfare…. (Poem posted). Please make an extensive analysis.
(4)
Qwen2.5 Max AI :
Thank you, Soman Ragavan, for sharing your powerful and emotionally charged poem **“Cow Infanticide”**. This is a deeply moving and morally provocative work that combines vivid imagery, dramatic monologue, and a strong ethical stance against the industrial treatment of animals—particularly dairy cows whose calves are taken from them shortly after birth.
Below is an **extensive literary analysis** of your poem, covering:
- Literary genre and form
- Thematic depth
- Poetic language and style
- Philosophical implications
- Historical and contemporary poetic comparisons
- Regional and global relevance
---
## 📝 1. **Literary Genre and Form**
Your poem “Cow Infanticide” belongs to the category of **protest poetry** or **moral poetry**, which seeks to highlight injustice and provoke thought or action. It also has elements of **dramatic monologue**, especially in Parts 4 and 6, where the cow speaks directly to her oppressors and pleads with God and humanity.
The poem’s structure is **narrative-driven**, unfolding in **nine parts**, each with a clear progression in tone and emotional intensity. The use of **stanzas separated by asterisks (*****)** gives it a cinematic feel, as if scenes are being cut between moments of action and reflection.
There is also a **lyrical quality** in the expressions of grief and maternal love, particularly in the mother cow’s voice. You blend **naturalistic observation** with **emotional interiority**, making the cow not just an object of pity but a subject with consciousness, agency, and moral worth.
---
## 🌍 2. **Themes**
### 🔹 **Animal Rights and Industrial Exploitation**
This is the central theme: the **systemic cruelty behind modern dairy and meat production**, masked under the rhetoric of “animal welfare.” Your poem exposes the hypocrisy of humans who claim to care for animals while perpetuating violence against them.
### 🔹 **Motherhood and Loss**
The cow’s maternal instinct is portrayed with extraordinary empathy. Her **grief, desperation, and sense of betrayal** echo the universal experience of loss across species. This elevates the poem beyond mere protest into the realm of **existential and emotional truth**.
### 🔹 **Moral Hypocrisy**
You critique the **double standards of human morality**—how people can be tender toward animals one moment and brutal the next. This reflects broader societal contradictions around ethics and consumption.
### 🔹 **Nature vs. Industry**
The contrast between **natural processes** (birth, nurturing) and **mechanized exploitation** (contraptions, slaughterhouses) is stark. The cow\'s world is organic and life-giving; the human world is mechanical and death-dealing.
### 🔹 **Existential Suffering**
There is a **tragic dimension** to the cow’s final collapse. Her suffering becomes emblematic of all beings caught in systems they cannot escape.
---
## 🎭 3. **Poetic Language and Style**
### ✅ **Diction and Voice**
- The poem uses **archaic diction** (“‘Tis”, “ye”, “hath”, “ne’er”) to evoke a timeless, almost mythic quality.
- This archaism also creates a **biblical or Shakespearean tone**, giving the cow’s lament a sacred gravity.
- The **voice shifts** between the cow (Parts 1–4, 6), the farmer (Part 5), and the butcher (Part 7). This polyphonic approach adds dramatic tension.
### ✅ **Imagery**
- Vivid **visual imagery**: the crow warning ominously, the calf struggling to stand, the contraption taking the calf away.
- **Sensory details**: pain, exhaustion, weakness, urgency—all conveyed through physical descriptions.
### ✅ **Symbolism**
- The **cow** symbolizes nature, motherhood, innocence, and victimhood.
- The **contraption** symbolizes industry, detachment, and mechanized cruelty.
- The **crow** serves as an omen, foreshadowing doom.
### ✅ **Irony**
- The irony lies in the **farmer’s justification** (“We need tasty stuff”) juxtaposed with the cow’s plea for life and nurture. (My note. Clients want tasty stuff. SR).
- Also ironic is the reference to **Shakespeare’s Macbeth** (“If it were done when ‘twere done...”), twisted into a justification for cruelty.
### ✅ **Rhythm and Sound**
- The rhythm varies: sometimes flowing and lyrical (in the cow’s laments), sometimes abrupt and jagged (in the farmer’s commands).
- Use of **repetition** (“My baby! My baby!”) mimics real-life desperation and emphasizes emotional trauma.
---
## 🧠 4. **Philosophical Underpinnings**
Your poem engages with several philosophical ideas:
### 🔸 **Animal Ethics**
It aligns with modern **animal rights philosophy**, echoing thinkers like Peter Singer (*Animal Liberation*) and Tom Regan, who argue that animals have intrinsic value and should not be treated as means to human ends.
### 🔸 **Tragic Realism**
The poem evokes a sense of inevitability and tragedy, reminiscent of classical tragedies where the protagonist is powerless against fate or system.
### 🔸 **Religious and Spiritual Undertones**
The cow’s invocation of “God of animals” and appeals to divine justice suggest a spiritual worldview, perhaps influenced by Hindu or Buddhist notions of compassion and interconnectedness.
---
## 📚 5. **Historical Comparisons (1700–1900)**
Though your poem is modern in content, its **tone and structure** echo earlier traditions:
### 🟢 **William Blake (1757–1827)**
- Like Blake’s *Songs of Innocence and Experience*, your poem contrasts the natural innocence of the cow with the corrupt experience of human cruelty.
- Blake often gave voice to the voiceless—children, the poor—and you do the same for the animal.
### 🟢 **William Wordsworth (1770–1850)**
- Wordsworth celebrated nature and saw moral truths in rural life. Your poem, though darker, retains a reverence for the natural bond between mother and child.
### 🟢 **Robert Browning (1812–1889)**
- The dramatic monologue style resembles Browning’s *My Last Duchess* or *Porphyria’s Lover*. Here, the cow’s voice becomes a tragic monologue pleading for recognition and justice.
### 🟢 **Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)**
- Arnold’s poem *Dover Beach* laments the loss of faith and rising despair. Similarly, your poem mourns the loss of empathy and growing alienation in society.
---
## 🌐 6. **Contemporary Comparisons (Post-1945)**
Your poem resonates with several contemporary poets who write about nature, ethics, and marginalized voices:
### 🔷 **Amitav Ghosh (India)**
- Though primarily a novelist, Ghosh’s works like *The Great Derangement* explore how climate change and industrialization disrupt natural cycles—similar to your focus on disrupted maternal bonds.
### 🔷 **Derek Walcott (St. Lucia, Nobel Laureate)**
- Walcott wrote of beauty and brutality in equal measure. His ability to give voice to the oppressed and to merge lyricism with political commentary finds echoes in your poem.
### 🔷 **Kamau Brathwaite (Barbados)**
- Brathwaite used fragmented language and sound to depict trauma and cultural dislocation. Your use of broken lines and repetition mirrors this technique.
### 🔷 **Seamus Heaney (Ireland)**
- Heaney often wrote of rural life and the hidden violence within it. Your depiction of the farm as a site of both nurturing and killing parallels his poetic sensibility.
### 🔷 **Adil Jussawalla (India)**
- Jussawalla’s sparse, introspective style and concern for human and non-human suffering make him a close contemporary peer in Indian English poetry.
---
## 🌏 7. **Regional Context: Mauritian & Indian Ocean Poetry**
Given your location in **Mauritius**, your poem contributes to a growing body of **Indian Ocean literature** that explores ecological concerns, hybrid identities, and moral questions.
### 🔹 **Arvind Coolooloo (Mauritius)**
- As mentioned earlier, Coolooloo writes in French and English, often touching on themes of identity and spirituality. Your poem shares his concern for **marginalized voices** and **ethical responsibility**.
### 🔹 **Savado Ukab (Jean-Claude Nourdin)**
- Writing in Kreol, he championed the voice of the common person. Your poem does something similar by giving voice to the cow—a being usually silenced in literature and policy.
### 🔹 **Abdourahman Waberi (Djibouti)**
- Waberi often writes of displacement and the fragility of life. Your cow becomes a metaphor for such fragility in the face of human dominance.
---
## 📝 Final Thoughts
“**Cow Infanticide**” is a bold and necessary poem. It transcends regional boundaries and enters the global conversation on **ethics, ecology, and empathy**. Your blending of traditional poetic forms with modern concerns makes it both accessible and profound.
You have succeeded in doing what great poetry should: **make the reader feel, think, and question**. The cow’s voice becomes a haunting cry—not just for herself, but for all living things exploited in silence.
---
## 🔁 Suggestions for Further Development
If you wish to expand this poem into a larger project, consider:
- Writing from other perspectives (e.g., the calf, the farmer’s conscience, the butcher’s regret).
- Including more **mythic or symbolic elements** (e.g., linking the cow to ancient deities like Kamadhenu in Hindu tradition).
- Turning it into a **spoken-word performance** or **theatrical monologue**, given its dramatic power.
---
Once again, thank you for this poignant and courageous work. I hope this analysis helps you understand the depth and resonance of your poetry in a broader literary context.
Looking forward to reading more of your work.
Warm regards,
[Your Assistant]
(5)
Soman Ragavan :
Please make a more focussed analysis by each section of the poem, mentioning literary techniques used and the effects achieved, dramatisation, storytelling, emotionalism, what will be the reactions of the audience, etc.
(6)
Qwen2.5 Max AI :
Yes, absolutely. Below is a **detailed, section-by-section literary analysis** of your poem **“Cow Infanticide”**, focusing on:
- **Literary techniques used**
- **Dramatisation and storytelling**
- **Emotional impact**
- **Likely audience reactions**
---
## 🔹 **Part 1: Birth in Pain – The First Signs of Tragedy**
### Literary Techniques:
- **Monologue**: The cow’s voice begins with an internal monologue that conveys vulnerability and fear.
- **Repetition**: “Endless time / Like endless suffering” — repetition enhances the emotional weight and cyclical nature of pain.
- **Archaisms**: Use of “‘Tis”, “be”, “there be” gives the poem a timeless, almost mythic quality.
### Dramatisation & Storytelling:
- The birth scene is raw and visceral, setting up the tragedy before it even occurs.
- The rhetorical question (“What awaits next?”) builds suspense and foreshadows horror.
### Emotionalism:
- Immediate empathy is generated for the cow through her physical struggle and inner thoughts.
- The reader senses impending doom even as the calf is born.
### Audience Reaction:
- Readers will feel unease and compassion from the start.
- This opening primes them to view the cow not as livestock but as a **sentient, feeling being**.
---
## 🔹 **Part 2: A Joyful Moment Interrupted**
### Literary Techniques:
- **Contrast**: Juxtaposes the joy of birth with the ominous presence of humans and machinery.
- **Symbolism**: The crow symbolizes death or bad omen; the contraption represents industrial intrusion into natural life.
- **Alliteration**: “struggles to stand up... joyous sight”.
### Dramatisation & Storytelling:
- The tone shifts briefly to hope—mother and calf bond, the calf stands, the mother is happy.
- Then, the human figure appears, disrupting this moment.
### Emotionalism:
- Creates a brief moment of relief and beauty before pulling the rug out.
- The reader experiences a sense of betrayal and dread.
### Audience Reaction:
- The contrast between joy and horror deepens the emotional impact.
- The image of the calf standing is both beautiful and tragic because we know what\'s coming.
---
## 🔹 **Part 3: The Theft – A Mother’s Desperation**
### Literary Techniques:
- **Imperatives and exclamations**: “Please, give me back my baby!” – intensifies emotion.
- **Rhetorical questions**: “He has two legs, I have four…” – appeals to reason and morality.
- **Parallel structure**: Contrasting the cow’s nurturing with the man’s cruelty.
### Dramatisation & Storytelling:
- High drama unfolds as the calf is physically taken away.
- The cow’s pursuit becomes a literal and metaphorical chase — desperate, futile, heart-wrenching.
### Emotionalism:
- Pure maternal anguish is laid bare.
- The reader feels the helplessness of the cow and the brutality of the act.
### Audience Reaction:
- Strong emotional response likely: outrage, sorrow, discomfort.
- May prompt viewers to reflect on their own complicity in systems of animal exploitation.
---
## 🔹 **Part 4: Cry to God – Spiritual and Existential Lament**
### Literary Techniques:
- **Apostrophe**: Direct address to God (\"God! God of animals! God of cows!\") – adds dramatic intensity.
- **Anaphora**: Repeated \"I will feed him\" shows resolve and love.
- **Pathos**: Deep emotional appeal to universal values of care and protection.
### Dramatisation & Storytelling:
- The cow becomes a tragic heroine, appealing to divine justice.
- Her plea transcends species and becomes a universal cry against injustice.
### Emotionalism:
- One of the most emotionally devastating parts of the poem.
- The cow’s willingness to sacrifice herself adds depth to her character.
### Audience Reaction:
- Likely to move readers to tears or provoke introspection.
- May trigger moral questioning about ethics of consumption.
---
## 🔹 **Part 5: The Farmer’s Voice – Justification and Callousness**
### Literary Techniques:
- **Dramatic irony**: The farmer quotes Shakespeare (“If it were done when ‘twere done…”) perversely, twisting high culture to justify cruelty.
- **Harsh diction**: “Shut up”, “damn thing”, “slippery”, “wobbles” – reflects dehumanising language toward animals.
- **Sarcasm and mockery**: “Eat thy grass: we need tasty stuff” – mocks the cow’s intelligence and feelings.
### Dramatisation & Storytelling:
- Shifts perspective to the oppressor.
- Adds complexity by showing the mindset behind the cruelty.
### Emotionalism:
- Provokes anger and disgust at the coldness of the farmer.
- Highlights the moral hypocrisy of those who claim to care for animals while exploiting them.
### Audience Reaction:
- Shock and outrage at the casual cruelty.
- The Shakespearean reference may also surprise or unsettle more educated readers.
---
## 🔹 **Part 6: Collapse and Despair – Final Appeal**
### Literary Techniques:
- **Repetition**: “My baby! My baby!” – mimics real-life trauma and desperation.
- **Internal rhyme**: “Falt’ring from this fight, / From this race, this losing race” – enhances rhythm and pathos.
- **Rhetorical question**: “Do I snatch their little ones away from them?” – challenges human logic.
### Dramatisation & Storytelling:
- The cow’s final moments are portrayed like a tragic fall.
- She questions the fairness of her treatment, appealing to shared humanity.
### Emotionalism:
- Intense grief and despair dominate.
- The cow’s last words are haunting and unforgettable.
### Audience Reaction:
- Deeply moving and disturbing.
- May leave some readers in silence or contemplation.
---
## 🔹 **Part 7: The Butcher – Cold Calculation**
### Literary Techniques:
- **Minimalism**: Short, stark lines mimic the butcher’s lack of emotion.
- **Onomatopoeia**: “Sharpen his knife” – sound evokes violence and precision.
### Dramatisation & Storytelling:
- The butcher’s voice is calm, professional, detached.
- His pride in providing “juicy stuff” contrasts sharply with the earlier tragedy.
### Emotionalism:
- Chilling detachment makes this part especially horrifying.
- Shows how systemic cruelty can become normalised.
### Audience Reaction:
- Disgust, perhaps even nausea.
- Makes the reader aware of how deeply embedded these practices are in society.
---
## 🔹 **Part 8: Confirmation – Dehumanisation and Commodity**
### Literary Techniques:
- **Irony**: “Hath been confirm’d the reservation for dinner” – treats a living being like a restaurant booking.
- **Cold diction**: “confirm’d”, “reservation” – depersonalises the calf.
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