The Mosquito (poem) D. H. Lawrence DH Lawrence

 The Mosquito             (poem )           D. H. Lawrence

‘The Mosquito’ as a hilarious poem where DH Lawrence is at his playful best. The poem ‘The Mosquito’ is taken from DH Lawrence’s collection of poems titled “Birds, Beasts and Flowers”. It is written in free verse which adds the beauty and elegance of the poem. This poem is the best example for his effective visualization of the animal world. In the poem the speaker describes his meeting with a mosquito and he addresses the tiny creature as ‘Monsieur” which shows the poet’s respect for this silly creature. He considers man a humble member of this animal world. The poet uses such words as “phantom”, sorcerer, “Ghoul”, “heron”, “pointed fiend” and “Winged Victory” to describe the superhuman qualities of this “nothingness”, semi-transparent, frail animal called mosquito. The poet contemptuously calls the mosquito ‘a dull clot of air’.  The poet attributes many human and supernatural qualities to this small creature. Therefore the poem is a “pathetic fallacy”. Pathetic fallacy is a figure of speech which ascribes many human qualities and emotions to animals and inanimate objects in nature.

Mosquito is always considered as a hateful tiny creature that no one likes because it is a nuisance to us in our sleep. But in this poem, DH Lawrence raises this tiny, silly creature to the level of a superhuman being which has more capabilities than man. The theme of the poem is the conflict between Nature and Culture. The poet describes the movements of the mosquito and how the tiny creature uses his dirty magical power to put human mind on an anaesthesia and silently and skilfully sucks human blood which is a ‘forbidden liquor’ for the mosquito. In a playful manner the poet speaks about the action of the mosquito. Its centre of gravity is lifted upwards and settles on the poet’ hand. The mosquito stands on its high thin legs. The poet remembers a woman in Venice called the mosquito “Winged Victory”. On hearing it, the mosquito turns to its tail and smiles at the poet. The poet wonders why this tiny, semi-transparent creature is so wicked and cruel. It flies faster than heron and moves like a clot of air.

The poet calls mosquito a sorcerer because it can move around man silently and invisibly. He also calls it a winged Ghoul watching its victims reading their thoughts. He again calls it ‘a pointed fiend.’ He challenges the mosquito to play with him hide-and-seek game. The mosquito flies in circles and disappears when the poet tries to catch it. The blood is forbidden liquor for the mosquito because the mosquito stealthily sucks the poet’s blood by giving anaesthesia to the poet by means of its dirty magical power. The mosquito is under intoxication of the blood for some time in silence. Finally the mosquito flies away from the poet after sounding the bugle of victory. The mosquito disappears like a blood drop far away. There is a big stain on his hand where the mosquito has sucked his blood. DH Lawrence has composed this poem in free verse. Long lines describe the movements of the mosquito and the short lines show the thoughts and feelings of the poet.

1.Why does the narrator describe human blood as “forbidden liquor”? In the poem titled “The Mosquito”, the narrator plays ‘sly game of bluff’ It is a kind of hide and seek game. The mosquito tried to suck the blood of the narrator and the narrator tried his best to kill the mosquito. But the tiniest creature very skilfully evades his all attempts and finally sucks the narrator’s blood from his skull even without his knowledge and permission. After having sucked the blood, the mosquito sounded a bugle. It was a victory song of the mosquito. Thus the narrator is defeated by the mosquito in the sly game. But when the blood was sucked, the mosquito is intoxicated like a drunkard. This is why the narrator calls it ‘forbidden liquor”.                Kjt/-06-12-2018