"LEAVING HOME This is an analysis of Leaving Home, a poem by Rabindranath Tagore translated byWilliam Radice. It is an interesting piece of poetry that depicts many aspects of life in aparticular social setting. Among the many instances this poem is about are daily toils andstruggles of a typical man in that social class. While economical in figurative language, the poetportrays vividly what constitutes the life of a typical man, a proper representative of a lowincome class of the society. This has been achieved in plain and simple language. First, the irregularity in alignment of its lines is in itself symbolic of how uncertain life isat times. Coupled with this uncertainty, one is never sure of what they will face the next moment.This man is unsure of what experience he will have in the alien land where he is heading. Theduty to toil for a living is merciless. It is the driving force behind this man to travel to a land ofuncertainty. One is obliged to sacrifice their sleep comfort, the warmth of divan e.t.c. to rise upin the wee hours of the morning knowing how enormous their life’s responsibility is, to eke outtheir living in whatever manner. The setting in the man’s house i.e. broken arm easy chair, awooden cupboard filled with worm eaten ledger books, spattered old mirror and so on is anindication of discordant life full of frustrations. While one would think he ordered the taxi manto pick him up at the hour, this man is yet unwilling to rise up since he had not enough sleep.This he however had to discard due to what life demands of him. The consequence of failing toact at this opportune time is what he dreads. The “cruel fate” that leads him to “uncertainty” could be partly due to his inherent duty asa family man to provide for his family or the nature of his employment. The journey he embarkson may be unclear but one is quick to make of a very demanding duty that he cannot evade.Leaving home is never an easy thing for a person to do. The title of the poem is significant ofthis cruelty. As the taxi snakes its way through the empty streets, the man’s imagination of howcomfortable others are in their sleep aggravates his painful feelings on the desolation of his life.It is an indication of what pure struggle in life is made of. The poem articulates how unequal a society can be. The suffering class is depicted in thiscase to be where this man belongs. The unfairness of life to some in society and the ruthlessnessin enduring toils that is never fruitful. "