Enterprise by Nissim Ezekiel

‘Enterprise’, a poem by Nissim Ezekiel, has manifold layers on its actual meaning.
Readers can interpret the poem in their own way. It being a well-written piece of art, welcomes
various critical appreciations. Apart from the meaning of the text, the essence of Indianness is
there in the poem. These elements make it so dear to the Indian readers. The language used in the
poem isn’t so tough that one cannot understand the meaning after reading it for the first time.

Form and Structure of Enterprise

‘Enterprise’ by Nissim Ezekiel has a specific structure and rhyme scheme. The poet
himself is the sole speaker in the poem. So readers can say it is a lyric poem. There are specific
instances where the poet uses a first-person narrative technique to describe the journey.

The poem is 30 lines long. There are a total of 6 stanzas in the poem each containing 5
lines. The rhyme scheme is ABABA and it continues throughout the poem without any break.

Summary of Enterprise

‘Enterprise’ by Nissim Ezekiel is an allegorical poem describing the journey of life and
the poet’s realization at different stages of his journey.

In ‘Enterprise’ the poet, Nissim Ezekiel talks about going on a pilgrimage. He is not
alone in the journey. There are other pilgrims too in that group. They have set out to reach a
destination that is unknown to the readers. It is not disclosed even at the end of the poem. There
is a hint in the poem that the place is somewhere near the sea. The poet divides their journey into
some stages. In each stage, the path they have chosen is not that smooth. They have to face some
difficulties in order to reach their goal. Some members leave the group for their difference of
opinion. One such person is an intellectual and prose writer.

The situation worsens when they are close to their destination. But the ending is
paradoxical. Even after suffering from hardships to reach their coveted goal, they feel dejected
after reaching there. At last, the poet paradoxically remarks, “Home is where we have to gather
grace.”

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Literary Devices in Enterprise

The first line is an example of sarcasm. The poet says that their journey isn’t an ordinary
one. It was like a pilgrimage for the group. It is meant to bring a sense of humor at the same time
a smell of irony in the poem. There are some other instances where the poet uses the same
literary device. Such lines are, “We stood it very well, I thought”, “On how to cross a desert
patch” and “…I tried to pray”.

In the last line of the first stanza, the sun is personified. In the second stanza, “The way of
serpents and of goats” is a metaphor. “Serpents” is a metonym of mischievous persons with
whom the poet met during the enterprise. In the 4th stanza, readers can find another metonymy in
the word “section”. Here “section” stands for the persons in the poet’s group. In the line “he
smelt the sea”, the poet uses another metonymy. Here the sea symbolizes the sea breeze.

In the last stanza, Ezekiel invests the abstract idea “trip” with the ability to blacken their face. It
is definitely a use of personification. The last two lines of the poem contain a deep meaning
which seems absurd to the readers at this juncture of the poem. Here the poet uses a literary
device which is called epigram in the art of rhetoric.

Analysis of Enterprise

Stanzas One and Two - It started as a pilgrimage (…) Three cities where a sage had taught

In the first stanza of ‘Enterprise’, Nissim Ezekiel says that their journey began as a
pilgrimage. At the beginning of the journey, the poet’s mind was in an exalted state and all the
burden of his life seemed nothing in comparison to his endeavor. At the second stage of the
journey, the poet faced some difficulties but he wasn’t in the mood of leaving the journey in the
middle.

In the second stanza, the poet makes it clear that he was alone on the journey. He was in a
group of people who had the same goal in their minds. During the journey, the poet took a
descriptive note of his surroundings. He came across different people in his way and he
especially mentions a sage whom he saw preaching his lessons in three cities. After reading this
stanza it becomes clear that the poet was much focused on the surroundings instead of thinking
about his aim.

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Stanzas Three and Four - But when the differences arose (…) Our leader said he smelt the sea

Later in their enterprise, some differences of opinion arose among the team members “on
how to cross a desert patch”. The matter was trivial but it made an intellectual of the group leave
the journey. The poet says that the person was skilled in prose writing and was the best among
the group.

The way was not smooth for the poet and his group. They faced difficulties from both
sides. In the next phase of the journey, they were attacked twice and had lost their way. Some
members of the group were so distressed that they couldn’t carry on the journey and they left. In
such a condition the poet resorted to praying for gathering some hope.

Stanzas Five and Six - We noticed nothing as we went, (…) Home is where we have to gather
grace.

There is a use of enjambment between stanza 4 and 5. So readers have to begin from the
last line of the previous stanza to understand the whole meaning. In this stanza, the poet says that
the leader of the group had gotten a hint of their destination which was near a sea. They didn’t
find any such thing on their way. It brought more frustration in the poet’s mind and he was just
left with a little ray of hope. In the course of their journey, they couldn’t even fulfill their basic
needs. Here the poet sarcastically remarks that they were “Deprived of common needs like
soap.”

At last, when they reached the place in their “broken” and “bent” state, they felt
unsatisfied. The long and arduous journey seemed meaningless. They realized that their feat was
“neither great nor rare”. At the end of the poem, Ezekiel ironically remarks, “Home is where we
have to gather grace.”

It becomes clear to the readers that this poem isn’t about a mere journey. It is the story of
our life. After reading the poem readers can understand that chasing the dream is more
meaningful than attaining the result. Our dream is not unique but the path we follow and the
experiences we get are unique. In this way, the poet presents his idea of an enterprise to the
readers.