Discuss thoughts on Nissim Ezekiel as a poet.

I think that you can make a fairly strong argument as to
how Ezekiel represents one of the modern voices of Indian English poetry.  Ezekiel seeks
to bring together the domains of the English speaking world in India and the Indian
experience that brings out what it means to be Indian.  Both opposing polarities find a
home in his poetry.  We can see this in "Night of the Scorpion."  The rationalist father
is brought together with the traditional mysticism of the villagers.  Both forms of
expression are futile in the face of the scorpion's poison.  In this light, we can see
how Ezekiel's poem speaks to different, sometimes even opposing, forms of expression in
a common end.  The rural/ urban, the medical/ religious, the Indian/ English are all
examples of the dichotomies played with in Ezekiel's poetry, representative of how he
sees India and its expression in his work.