The Green Eye of the Yellow God
Encyclopedia
The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God is a 1911 poem by J. Milton Hayes
that is a famous example of the genre of "dramatic monologue
", which was a music hall
staple in the early twentieth century. The piece was written for and performed by actor and monologist
Bransby Williams
.
The poem is influenced by the ballad
s of Rudyard Kipling
and was often parodied
, most famously by Billy Bennett as The Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog.
The opening lines are still very well known:
It is set in Nepal
("to the north of Kathmandu"), during the British Raj
and tells the tale of a wild young officer known as "Mad Carew", who steals the "green eye" of a "yellow god" (presumably an emerald
in a gold
statue) in order to impress his beloved. He is wounded in the course of the robbery, and later murdered, presumably by a devotee of the god for the theft, who returns the jewel to the idol (though the idol is still "one-eyed" after the events of the poem).
In his book My Brother Evelyn and Other Profiles, Waugh gives Hayes's account of the writing of the poem:
Either Hayes or Waugh was inaccurate in the conflation of Nepal with India. While Britain achieved a brief colonial control of India, it never did so over Nepal. As such, the political and military agreements between the two countries were quite different. Any British officer in Nepal at the time would have been part of the Brigade of Gurkas
rather than part of the British Raj.
J. Milton Hayes
John Milton Hayes , better known as J. Milton Hayes, was an English actor and poet, best known for his 1911 dramatic monologue The Green Eye of the Yellow God, much parodied by his contemporary Stanley Holloway and later by The Goon Show. He also wrote and performed many other monologues...
that is a famous example of the genre of "dramatic monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
", which was a music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
staple in the early twentieth century. The piece was written for and performed by actor and monologist
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
Bransby Williams
Bransby Williams
Bransby Williams was a British actor, comedian and monologist. He became known as "The Irving of the Music Halls".-Early years:...
.
The poem is influenced by the ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s of Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
and was often parodied
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
, most famously by Billy Bennett as The Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog.
The opening lines are still very well known:
- There’s a one-eyed yellow idol to the north of Kathmandu,
- There’s a little marble cross below the town;
- There’s a broken-hearted woman tends the grave of Mad Carew,
- And the Yellow God forever gazes down.
It is set in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
("to the north of Kathmandu"), during the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
and tells the tale of a wild young officer known as "Mad Carew", who steals the "green eye" of a "yellow god" (presumably an emerald
Emerald
Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...
in a gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
statue) in order to impress his beloved. He is wounded in the course of the robbery, and later murdered, presumably by a devotee of the god for the theft, who returns the jewel to the idol (though the idol is still "one-eyed" after the events of the poem).
In his book My Brother Evelyn and Other Profiles, Waugh gives Hayes's account of the writing of the poem:
- "I wrote The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God in five hours, but I had it all planned out. It isn't poetry and it does not pretend to be, but it does what it sets out to do. It appeals to the imagination from the start: those colours, green and yellow, create an atmosphere. Then India, everyone has his own idea of India. Don't tell the public too much. Strike chords. It is no use describing a house; the reader will fix the scene in some spot he knows himself. All you've got to say is 'India' and a man sees something. Then play on his susceptibilities."
- "His name was Mad Carew. You've got the whole man there. The public will fill in the picture for you. And then the mystery. Leave enough unsaid to make paterfamilias pat himself on the back. 'I've spotted it, he can't fool me. I'm up to that dodge. I know where he went.' No need to explain. Then that final ending where you began. It carries people back. You've got a compact whole. 'A broken-hearted woman tends the grave of Mad Carew' They'll weave a whole story round that woman's life. Every man's a novelist at heart. We all tell ourselves stories. That's what you've got to play on."
Either Hayes or Waugh was inaccurate in the conflation of Nepal with India. While Britain achieved a brief colonial control of India, it never did so over Nepal. As such, the political and military agreements between the two countries were quite different. Any British officer in Nepal at the time would have been part of the Brigade of Gurkas
Gurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
rather than part of the British Raj.