# XCVIII explained — Gitanjali

> Chapter companion for Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore.

## What happens

The poet surrenders completely to the divine, acknowledging that his pride will be broken, his heart will sing through pain, and he will receive utter death at the divine's feet.

## Themes in this chapter

### Surrender and Egolessness

The poet's pride goes to the wall, his life bursts its bonds, and he receives utter death at the divine's feet.

### Death and Immortality

The poet speaks of 'utter death' as a gift received at the divine's feet, implying a transcendent end.

## Character check-ins

### The Poet

The speaker who vows to offer trophies of defeat and accepts total dissolution.

### The Divine

The silent summoner from the blue sky, the recipient of the poet's surrender.

## Key lines

> I will deck thee with trophies, garlands of my defeat.

I will honor you with the symbols of my own failures.

_The poet reframes defeat as an offering to the divine._

> my empty heart will sob out in music like a hollow reed, and the stone will melt in tears.

My desolate heart will produce sorrowful music, and even the hardest things will be moved to weep.

_Imagery of transformation through pain and surrender._

> From the blue sky an eye shall gaze upon me and summon me in silence.

A silent, watchful presence from heaven will call to me without words.

_The divine summons the poet in a quiet, inevitable way._

> Nothing will be left for me, nothing whatever, and utter death shall I receive at thy feet.

I will be left with absolutely nothing, and I will accept complete annihilation at your feet.

_Total renunciation and acceptance of death as a gift._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/gitanjali_se/chapters/xcviii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/gitanjali_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/gitanjali_se/chapters