Summary and Analysis of the

Enterprise by Nissim Ezekiel

Nissim Ezekiel is one of the prolific Indian writers in English of the 20th century. He was
playwright, editor, critic and poet. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for his
Poetry collection, Latter-Day Psalms. He was also awarded the Padma Shree by the
Government of India in 1988. He is often called the Father of Modern Indian English
Poetry. Ezekiels poetry has different themes and styles. His poems are a depiction of
his craftsmanship, restraint and intellectual approach to everyday life.
How many of you have read T.S Eliots The Journey of the Magi? While reading
Enterprise, one may think of Eliots The Journey of the Magi. Though that poem is
different in approach but it is also about a very cold and tiring journey by three wise men
in search of spiritual pacification. Enterprise is one of those wonderful poems published
in Ezekiels collection of poems named The Unfinished Man. It revolves around a
metaphorical journey of man on this earth followed by hardships and failures which man
is subjected to by the very nature of the earthly life that he leads.
Summarization:
Stanza:
The poem, Enterprise, begins with a group of people which includes the poet himself
(as it is clear from the use of we in the sixth line) journeys to a holy place. At that time,
their minds were full of ideas to reach their destination. Therefore, they started their
journey with a lot of vigour and excitement, sure enough that they can easily overcome
all the difficulties that they face. Inconveniences seemed insignificant to them. However,
our real strength emerges when we face a crisis, isnt it? Similarly, the travellers were
full of enthusiasm and reached the second stage of their journey. During this second
stage, they confronted the adverse natural difficulties, symbolizing the blazing Sun. But
nothing could detain them from reaching their destination or take away their
enthusiasm. Their passion to reach their destination was as hot as the blazing Sun
above their heads. The heat of the sun is symbolic of Mother Nature being hostile
towards human ambitions. The more the human beings aspire, the more the nature tries
to put up a hindrance to beat them down.
Stanza 2:
The group of the travelers continues their journey, experiencing the difficulties put in
their way. Carried away by the unrestrained excitement, the pilgrims kept a record of the
events that they witnessed- goods being bought and sold by the peasants and the ways
of serpents and goats. The travelers passed through three cities where a sage has
taught. But they were unconcerned about what e taught or what his message was.
Stanza 3:
The third stanza talks about the differences that cropped up among the members which
made a hole in their unity as they continued their journey. As they reached a desert,
differences arose among on the question of how to cross the challenging landscape.
One of the members, an excellent prose writer, left the enterprise. He was considered
the most intelligent among the lot. Therefore, a shadow of discord fell onto their
enterprise and continued to grow as one of the members parted from the group.

Stanza 4:
The poet describes the hindrances that follow the enterprise. In the next stage of their
journey, the travelers are attacked twice and while saving themselves they lose their
ways and forget the noble ambitions which had motivated them to come so far. The
enterprise slowly breaks into two. Some of the members, claiming their freedom, quit
the journey and went their own ways. The poet feels helpless and upset at the breaking
of the enterprise, looking at the disorganized lot of pilgrims, the only thing he could do
was to pray. And why do you think we pray? The answer is that the act of praying
implies seeking the help of a divine personality when human efforts go in vain.
Stanza 5:
There is still an assurance from the leader of the group. He assures them that the sea
or the destination was at hand. It seems that they members have lost their enthusiasm
and hope as they see nothing noticeable as they move forward. The pilgrims have now
turned into a crowd of aimless wanderers instead of being bounded by a well-focused
goal like before. They were not bothered about the roar of the thunder; some of them
were too exhausted to stand erect.
Stanza 6:
The final stanza of Enterprise is a relief to the readers, as the poet tells us that they did
reach their destination in total disorder- exhausted and frustrated- and without any
sense of satisfaction. Instead of bringing a sense of fulfillment and achievement, the
journey had only brought them frustration. They now started to doubt the importance of
their journey; they began to find it futile and meaningless. They found nothing heroic in
their achievements. They had a belief that their journey would be unparalleled and that
its success would give them a place in history. So was it disillusionment? They later
realized that such a journey was already undertaken by others before them and would
be repeated in the near futile. This gave them a sense of disillusionment and they felt
the journey was futile. In the end, they feel that staying back home would have been
better than venturing out on such a dangerous journey with disastrous consequences.
There might be a question that may come to our minds. That was the journey really a
fruitful one or was it as the members think, meaningless? What are your views?
For a better understanding of the poem, the critical appreciation is discussed below.
Critical Appreciation of the Enterprise:
Form and Structure:
The poem Enterprise is written in a conventional form. The poem consists of six
stanzas, each having five lines. The pattern is iambic tetrameter, with rhyming scheme
ababa that is the first line rhymes with the third and fifth, while the second rhymes with
the fourth.
Use of Verbal Antithesis:
The poem has used verbal antithesis to achieve a balance. Antithesis is a contrast or
opposition in the meanings of contiguous phrases, lines or stanzas. In this poem, verbal
antithesis is not only found in the entire poem but in the same stanza and in the same
lines. Some of the examples are listed below:
*The initial activities of the pilgrims are juxtaposed with those in the final stage as the
pilgrims turn into a straggling crowd of little hope.
*The exalted minds of the pilgrims are turned into darkened faces.

*in the beginning the pilgrims found themselves as the burdens light but at the end of
the poem they are broken in spirit and bent down physically.
Symbolism:
Enterprise is a symbolic poem. Symbolism refers to the use of symbols to represent
ideas or facts. The various symbols used in Enterprise are listed below:
*Pilgrimage in the poem symbolizes life.
*The crowd of pilgrims symbolizes a group of men, who undertake to achieve common
goal which begins with excitement and hope but ends with disillusionment and
frustration.
*The Sun is the symbol of hostility of nature towards human aspirations and ambitions.
*A desert patch is symbolic of the challenges and hardships which the group faces or
the differences that rise among them.
* A shadow falls on us and grows is symbolic of the differences in opinion that leads to
a discord in the enterprise and consequently, a member leaves the group and the
disharmony grows.
* A straggling crowd of little hope symbolizes a group of people who had a well focused
goal and during the course of their journey loses their zeal and becomes a crowd of
aimless and frustrated wanderers.
* Thunder is symbolic of mans inner voice.
* Home symbolizes remaining rooted to the soil or remaining true to oneself.
Allegory:
Allegory can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning. The poem Enterprise is
allegorical in nature. The group of men all set for the journey, enthusiastic and full of
vigour set out for the spiritual quest. They face hardships, difficulties yet they do not lose
their aspirations. But during the second stage of their journey, disharmony and
differences in opinions among the members arises and soon a conflict breaks out which
results in disunity. The final stanza raises a question, Was the journey worth all the
struggles? The journey here is a metaphor of life. The poem is a stark depiction of the
condition of men on this earth who are subjected to such failures, hardships and
disillusionment during their course of journey of life.
Epigrammatic:
An epigram is a brief, sharp, witty and polished saying giving expression to a striking
thought. It is used to convey the poets message in the poem.
Home is where we have to gather grace is epigrammatic. Here, the poet wants to
convey the message that in the journey of life, home is symbolic of ones inner self
which must be accepted and faced and not shirked away. This is the only sane and
balanced way of life that man should accept.

Nissim Ezekiels Enterprise as an

allegory for the journey of life.
Nissim Ezekiel is one of the prolific Indian writers in English of the 20th century. He was
playwright, editor, critic and poet. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for his

Poetry collection, Latter-Day Psalms. He was also awarded the Padma Shree by the
Government of India in 1988. He is often called the Father of Modern Indian English
Poetry. Ezekiels poetry has different themes and styles. His poems are a depiction of
his craftsmanship, restraint and intellectual approach to everyday life.
Allegory can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning. The poem Enterprise is
allegorical in nature. The group of men all set for the journey, enthusiastic and full of
vigour set out for the spiritual quest. They face hardships, difficulties yet they do not lose
their aspirations. But during the second stage of their journey, disharmony and
differences in opinions among the members arises and soon a conflict breaks out which
results in disunity. The poem Enterprise treats journey as a metaphor for life. The first
stage of life describes the journey of boyhood and youthful years when man is not
aware of the frustrations and failures. At this stage, he takes life with lot of vigour and
determination. He is full of vitality and noble ideas that to him all difficulties look
insignificant.
In the second stage man faces a lot of obstacles as symbolized by the blazing Sun. He
keeps a note of the mundane activities that are going around him and the behaviour of
goats and snakes- signifying both good and evil. He takes down note of both significant
and petty issues, holy and mundane, human as well as non-human. The reference to
serpents signify how ill-equipped a man is when he starts his journey of life. At this
stage, man indulges in pursuits that take away his energy and he misses the deeper
meaning of life.
In the next stage, we find man forming his own views and convictions. At times he
becomes selfish towards the views and needs of others. Consequently, differences and
conflicts arises between him and his fellow mates and associates. So during this middle
age, he loses his friends and is deserted by them.
In the following stage, man feels completely lost the direction and goal of his life. He,
therefore, seeks divine assistance and blessings. He feels that he has reached a dead
end. But he does not realize the follies and indulges in trivial matters like the
materialistic necessities of life than seeking the true meaning of life. This is symbolized
by thunder in the poem.
In the final stage, he finds himself tired and frustrated without any sense of
entertainment or fulfillment. He does not know his purpose of life. He questions himself
whether his journey was a significant or an insignificant one. This is symbolized by the
words grace and home.
Therefore, the poem raises a question that Was the journey worth all the struggles?
The journey, here, is a metaphor of life. The poem is a stark depiction of the condition of
men on this earth who are subjected to such failures, hardships and disillusionment
during their course of journey of life.

Symbolism in Nissim Ezekiels

Enterprise
Nissim Ezekiel is one of the prolific Indian writers in English of the 20th century. He was
playwright, editor, critic and poet. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for his
Poetry collection, Latter-Day Psalms. He was also awarded the Padma Shree by the
Government of India in 1988. He is often called the Father of Modern Indian English
Poetry. Ezekiels poetry has different themes and styles. His poems are a depiction of
his craftsmanship, restraint and intellectual approach to everyday life. It revolves around
a metaphorical journey of man on this earth followed by hardships and failures which
man is subjected to by the very nature of the earthly life that he leads.
The poem Enterprise is written in a conventional form. The poem consists of six
stanzas, each having five lines. The poet has used verbal antithesis to achieve a
balance. Antithesis is a contrast or opposition in the meanings of contiguous phrases,
lines or stanzas.
Enterprise is a symbolic poem. Symbolism refers to the use of symbols to represent
ideas or facts. The various symbols used in Enterprise are listed below:
*Pilgrimage in the poem symbolizes life.
*The crowd of pilgrims symbolizes a group of men, who undertake to achieve common
goal which begins with excitement and hope but ends with disillusionment and
frustration.
*The Sun is the symbol of hostility of nature towards human aspirations and ambitions.
*A desert patch is symbolic of the challenges and hardships which the group faces or
the differences that rise among them.
* A shadow falls on us and grows is symbolic of the differences in opinion that leads to
a discord in the enterprise and consequently, a member leaves the group and the
disharmony grows.
* A straggling crowd of little hope symbolizes a group of people who had a well focused
goal and during the course of their journey loses their zeal and becomes a crowd of
aimless and frustrated wanderers.
* Thunder is symbolic of mans inner voice.
* Home symbolizes remaining rooted to the soil or remaining true to oneself.
. The poem Enterprise is allegorical in nature. The group of men all set for the journey,
enthusiastic and full of vigour set out for the spiritual quest. They face hardships,
difficulties yet they do not lose their aspirations. But during the second stage of their
journey, disharmony and differences in opinions among the members arises and soon a

conflict breaks out which results in disunity. The journey here is a metaphor of life. The
poem is a stark depiction of the condition of men on this earth who are subjected to
such failures, hardships and disillusionment during their course of journey of life.