Gitanjali (Song Offerings) is a collection of poems by Rabindranath Tagore, translated by the author from Bengali into English prose, with an introduction by W. B. Yeats. These devotional songs explore longing for the divine, nature, and the human soul, blending simplicity and mystical feeling. It is worth listening to for its gentle spiritual tone and lyrical reflections.
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Cover of the original edition (Project Gutenberg, public domain).
Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
Gitanjali
Song Offerings
by Rabindranath Tagore
A collection of prose translations made by the author from the original Bengali
With an introduction by
W. B. YEATS
TO
WILLIAM ROTHENSTEIN
INTRODUCTION
A few days ago I said to a distinguished Bengali doctor of medicine,
“I know no German, yet if a translation of a German poet had moved me, I would go to the British Museum and find books in English that would tell me something of his life, and of the history of his thought.
But though these prose translations from Rabindranath Tagore have stirred my blood as nothing has for years, I shall not know anything of his life, and of the movements of thought that have made them possible, if some Indian traveller will not tell me.” It seemed to him natural that I should be moved, for he said, “I read Rabindranath every day, to read one line of his is to forget all the troubles of the world.” I said, “An Englishman living in London in the reign of
Richard the Second had he been shown translations from Petrarch or from Dante, would have found no books to answer his questions, but would have questioned some Florentine banker or Lombard merchant as I question you. For all I know, so abundant and simple is this poetry, the new renaissance has been born in your country and I shall never know of it except by hearsay.” He answered, “We have other poets, but none that are his equal; we call this the epoch of
Rabindranath. No poet seems to me as famous in Europe as he is among us. He is as great in music as in poetry, and his songs are sung from the west of India into Burma wherever Bengali is spoken. He was already famous at nineteen when he wrote his first novel; and plays when he was but little older, are still played in Calcutta. I so much admire the completeness of his life; when he was very young he wrote
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