Edgar Allan Poe

Q: What motivates the narrator to kill the old man? How does Edgar Allan Poe develop the theme of insanity in his short story “The Tell-Tale Heart”?

Answer: Edgar Allan Poe is one of the greatest short story writers in the history of American literature. Many of his stories deal with psychological pictures of insanity and madness. They also deal with the dark side of the human psyche that reveals the victory of evil over good. This is especially true in the story “The Tell-Tale Heart”

We are introduced here to two most important characters. One is the narrator of the story and other is the old man. Both are unnamed here. They stand here opposite to each other. Actually they are not hostile to each other, but the narrator could not develop a liking or feeling for the old man because of his vulture like evil eye. The narrator was always haunted day and night by that evil eye. He was horribly afraid of the eye. There was no reason other than this eye behind it. He loved the man that man had brought no harm to him nor given him insult. He had no lure for his gold. Whenever the evil eye fell upon him, his blood ran cold. A terrible fear caught his mind. It frequently visited his memory and so it was intolerable to him. He was so obsessed by the fear of the evil eye that he could not help becoming desperate and planning to kill the old man. So to get rid of the pale blue evil eye he made up his mind to take the old man’s life. This is something extraordinary and the reader’s attention is turned to something sensational and dramatic. Then he sneaked into his room with a lantern, moved towards the man whose eyes were closed as he was sleeping. He was cautious enough not to awaken him, for seven nights he turned the latch of the door put his head in and undid the lantern but found his vulture like evil eyes closed. So, he could not kill him. It was his vulture eye, which made his life unbearable.  He found his eye open on the eighth night and he took his revenge on that evil eye by putting him to death. After the incident there was a small outcry and a neighbour reported this sound of crying to the police. After being informed of the matter, three policemen came to search the house. The narrator told them that it was nothing but a small cry that he experienced in dream and the old man went to his country house. He took them all over the house and finally to the old man’s chamber. All things were safe and placed orderly. The police officers then took their seats there and the narrator placed his seat on the very spot under which the dead body of the old man was placed. They sat there and started talking familiar things. He wanted them to leave the place soon. At that time he heard the heart beats of the old man who was already dead. The narrator then got pale. The sound grew louder and louder and the narrator thought that the three policemen also heard the same. He thought they were mocking and laughing at him. He talked more to get rid of the feeling, but it gradually become more distinct. The sound made strong echo in his ears. Actually none but only he heard that noise. This sound reaches the ears of the guilty man but not the visitors. The narrator could not bear it. Finding no other alternative, he finally confessed his guilt. When the policemen could not find anything wrong, under the great psychological pressure, the killer admitted that he had committed the murder. The narrator becomes a victim of sound hallucination. Actually there was no sound but the sound of heartbeats that he hears is nothing but the presentation of his guilty conscience. Here the heartbeats are symbolically presented. They stand for the prick of conscience. His guilty mind was then seized with the prick of conscience. He could no longer tolerate the pricking and was being haunted by the guilty experience. Even his suspicious mind was afraid of the police. He then under psychological pressure cried out and told that he had done the heinous and gruesome crime. So it was not merely a tale of conscience, but also a psychological pressure under which the mind of a guilty man oscillates to and from and finally exposes his real nature and admits his guilt.

 

W. Somerset Maugham

Q: Comment on Maugham’s philosophy of life as presented in his short story “The Ant and the Grasshopper” or Compare and contrast the character of George with that of Tom.

Answer: As a great short story writer of the 19^th century of English literature, W. Somerset Maugham enjoyed tremendous popularity during his long literary career. In his long literary life he wrote a great number of literary pieces in different forms. Among them short stories are remarkable works and bear testimony to his artistic capacity. He is regarded as a master of short story. Of the stories “The Ant and The Grasshopper” deserves special mention in this regard. Maugham has presented two interesting characters here. They are brothers but they differ from each other in their nature and attitude to life. Of them George Ramsay is elder and Tom Ramsay was younger. The former was fifty but looks like sixty. On the other hand, the later was forty-six but looks only thirty-five. In the story Ramsay is the ant and saves the money for future by working hard, and Tom Ramsay is the grasshopper, who never saved anything for future but wanted to enjoy luxurious life. In order to serve his own purpose, he did not hesitate to exploit his brother and take money from his friends. He found it amusing to spend money in luxuries. He maintained a hedonistic attitude to life. He used to engage himself in gambling, racing, philandering with the beautiful girls, dancing and eating in most costly restaurants. He dressed tastefully and beautifully. On the other hand George Ramsay was always serious and punctual in the performance of his duties and responsibilities. He was never late in reaching his office and never left his place earlier. He was a good father and a good husband too. He was honest, hardworking and worthy. He was always anxious about his brother’s future. He always tried to protect their family image and prestige. As a respectable lawyer he always aimed at taking good care of his brother, Tom. But at one stage his brother went out of his control. He was the black sheep of the family and thus unscrupulous and dishonest Tom becomes an object of great trouble to George Ramsay. But the irony of fate is that at the end of his career he lived a modest living by modest income. But the idle, dishonest, worthless and rogue Tom married an old lady who left him a large property after her death. Tom got a house in London and another in country. The life long hard work, commonsense and wisdom did not pay George properly and richly. Rather his scapegrace brother earned a lot by dint of his crafty and calculated marriage. We are thus brought to conclusion that Maugham has presented the reality of life in this modern world. Honesty, wisdom, industry and commonsense are not always paid properly in this modern world. Through the difference of these two characters, Maugham has shown the hard labour of George like the ant, who paid only modestly whereas the singing grasshopper enjoyed his life, through by crafty means, luxuriously.

Joseph Addison

Q: Give an account of Sir Roger as a good churchman or Depict the character sir “Sir Roger de Coverly”

Answer: Sir Roger de Coverly was first introduced by Steele in the second issue of “The Spectator” as an old-fashioned country gentleman. Addison has drawn Sir Roger as a country churchman in his essays. Often the author is invited by him and allowed to live without any interference. Addison portrays Sir Roger as polite gentleman and draws the picture of a clergyman of the age very competently. Sir Roger is sober and sane to everyone. His presence at home makes even his servant happy and he never fails to give due heed to his old dog. He takes care of the persons as well as their affairs. His humorous nature attracts everybody towards him. Sir Roger has been presented as an ideal Tory clergyman in the essay “Sir Roger at Church”. According to Addison, Sunday is the day to clear away all the rust of the week and so it should be the day for the parishioners for congregation and conversation.  He is a good clergyman and decorates the church with texts of his liking. He pays due attention to the regularity of attendance of the parishioners to the church. Sir Roger maintains a very good order in the congregation at the church. Though he himself sometime dozes in the congregation, he will not spare anybody if he is caught in napping. Sometime he lengthens out a verse in singing out psalm and repeats “Amen” three to four time at the end of a single prayer. He counts every head to find out if anyone is missing. The parishioners did not find anything wrong or ridiculous in his behavior, though he may be odd to his manner. He is a good humorist with virtues but has at the same time imperfections. Which makes him a real human being. “Sir Roger at Church” gives us a picture of a clergyman with some learning and good sense. He does not like to show off his learning. He is amiable, and has got a sociable temper. To show off his learning he hardly uses Greek and Latin. If he asks for anything, it is for his parishioners. He has a clear voice and when he delivers the printed sermons his clear voice is of great help to him. Sir Roger’s clergyman discourses like a graceful actor. He also settles the lawsuits in the perish.

 In those days the difference between the clergyman and squire created a very detrimental effect to ordinary people. But we find here a very satisfactory relationship between Sir Roger and the Chaplin. Addison portrays Sir Roger as an ideal clergyman and suggests that the clergyman in eighteenth century were very proud, unaccommodating and eager to show them off as a learned people. Though some of them could compose sermons, they are not generally graceful personalities.

Sir Roger is unlike them, though he is sometime funny and comical, he is a graceful personality.

Here Addison gives the picture of the clergyman, he really likes.

George Orwell

Q: Discuss the reactions of the different classes of people about the shooting of the elephant

Answer: The essay “Shooting an Elephant” is based on Orwell’s personal experience. It was written in the early period of writing when he was employed in Moulmein in lower Burma as a sub-divisional police officer. The period was very critical from the political point of view. It was the hey-day of the British imperialism and its power and influence over the world were unchallenged. As a young writer he was critical of the imperialistic exploration and of the way it adopted to maintain its imperialism. In this autobiographical essay, George Orwell has described an incident of shooting an elephant against his will. This description is vivid and rich in psychological elements. Being compelled by the situation position as a servant of imperialism, he shot the elephant only to save his image as a superior man to the natives. The elephant is a big animal. It is worth of a huge cost. So, the shooting of the elephant created a mixed reaction among the local Europeans and the natives. The owner of the elephant was furious but he could not do anything, as he was Indian. Besides, law was on the side of the author. He had done no wrong as a mad elephant had to be killed like a mad dog when anyone or its owner fails to control it. But, of course there was an endless discussion about the shooting of the elephant. The Europeans living in Moulmein were divided in their opinions. The older people considered his action right, but the younger men did not support the shooting of the elephant. They argued that it was a shame to shot an elephant for killing a coolie, because an elephant was more valuable than a coolie. So, to shoot an elephant for killing such a negligible coolie is an act of shame. But nobody could understand the author’s reaction. He was glad that the elephant had killed a coolie because it put him legally in the right side and it gave him a sufficient pretext for killing the elephant.

Towards the end of the end of the story, we came to know the real motive of the author. Orwell wondered whether anyone of them could understand that he killed the elephant only to avoid looking a fool. In his voice-

“I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool”

The author was able to tackle the situation legally.
======================================================

Q: Give an account of Orwell’s attitude towards imperialism and colonial rule in “Shooting an Elephant” or Discuss the evils of imperialism pointed out by George Orwell in his essay “Shooting an Elephant”

Answer: George Orwell, pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blair, British novelist, essayist, and critic, whose brilliant reporting and political conscience fashioned an impassioned picture of his life and times. A writer of remarkable clarity, Orwell claimed that fine prose should be transparent, “like a window-pane.” In his essays “Shooting an Elephant” and “Politics and the English Language,” he asserted that dishonest politics and slipshod language are inseparably connected evils. His essays provide models of what he preached. Orwell felt impelled to write on political themes to counter the totalitarian tendencies that he felt threatened his age. Such concerns prompted the two satirical novels for which he is best known, Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).

OPTIONAL- [From 1922 to 1927 Orwell served with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma (now Myanmar). This was the period that decisively transformed his outlook. Orwell gradually came to detest his role as a representative of a colonial government and to identify himself with the subject people. In England on leave in 1927 he decided to quit the Imperial Police, to take up writing and to speak out against the domination of any person over another. ] Some European spread the tentacles of their rule in different parts of the world. The British Raj was established even in Asia and Africa dividing the population in two classes-the ruler and the ruled, that is, the oppressor and the oppressed.  “Shooting an Elephant” is one of the popular essays of Orwell. It chiefly deals with the autobiographical elements and the personal experiences of Orwell as a sub divisional police officer in Moulmein in lower Burma. So he could acquire direct knowledge of imperialism and colonial rules in the east. He became a part of it and got a clear picture of the imperial by products. He came to realize that-“Imperialism is an evil thing” which affected adversely the moral balance between the ruler and the ruled. The current essay is very much critical of the colonial rule and imperialism. It clearly depicts Orwell’s anti imperialistic attitude. He faced bitter enmity and opposition from the natives of Burma and came to realize that, they belonged to two different camps. Hardly there was any meeting point for the two. He disliked the tyranny exerted on the Burmese by a few British rulers. Though the white rulers oppressed the natives, the natives did not have the guts to beat or kill the whites. But there was a strong hatred towards the rulers and an anti white feeling prevailed among the natives. They tried to tease their master or laugh at them. When a European lady went through the bazaar alone somebody would probably spit betel juice over her dress. Once on the football field the author fell down being tricked by a native. They enjoyed the fun treating him as a laughing stock. Orwell made an ironic confession that he had to kill an innocent elephant against his will only to save the face of the white rulers. During his stay in Burma in the capacity of a police officer. Once a domestic elephant broke away from the house of its owner and caused havoc in locality. People thought that the elephant had gone mad and so demanded that it should be killed. The writer was informed and by the time he reached there the elephant had came out of its “must” form and went to nearby field to graze. The author rushed there with his riffle. A crowd of hundred Burmese followed him to enjoy the fun of killing the animal. Looking at the elephant Orwell understood that the elephant was normal. He did not feel like shooting the elephant. But the natives at his back expected him to shoot the elephant. He had to think over the situation seriously. In that situation, he felt the elephant alive, the natives would start laughing and jeering at him. Perhaps they also think that he was afraid of killing an elephant. And suddenly he realized that, he have to shoot the elephant after all. The shooting an elephant is a part of his personal experience and there is an ethical point of view. In the words of Orwell it is “the futility of the white man’s dominion in the east”. Being a part of the ruling class, he could not lower the colonial rules to the natives. He thought, “A sahib has got to act like a sahib”. So he had to kill the elephant to uphold the superiority, knowing it well that, it was wrong. The last sentence of the essay suggests the truth: “ I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool”. He hated the British Raj fro oppressing and tyrannical rule. He hated the foolish jeering natives also. It was an ordeal for him to be placed in such a situation. Such contradictory feelings compelled him to resign his job and go back to England. According to him, the imperialistic rule was evil and it was totally futile in his eyes.

Francis Bacon

Q: Discuss Bacon’s prose style with reference to “Of Studies”

Answer: Sir Francis Bacon, English philosopher and statesman, one of the pioneers of modern scientific thought. Widely considered the most influential and versatile English writer of the 17th century, Sir Francis Bacon addressed a broad range of topics in his works, including ethics, philosophy, science, law, and history. He also enjoyed a long political career. There is no denying of the fact that, the essays written by Francis Bacon are the fruit of his experience and knowledge about human life. He is most remarkable for his terseness. The most economic in the use of words, characterizes his essays. As a matter of fact, brevity is the soul of wit. The essay “Of Studies” is the finest example of bacon’s capacity to write things excellently both in ideas and style. This essay is one of the finest essays ever written in English. This essay is written in the simple and ordinary language for the edification of Renaissance Youth. The images that are visualized in the essay “Of Studies” are taken from day to day life. The essay is short and to the point, utmost it does not confuse its readers. Bacon has shown his delicate choice of diction and idioms in his essay “Of Studies”. It is a wonderful illustration of Bacon’s terse style. Within a short space he has put a world of ideas. Every sentence is pregnant with serious as well as significant meaning. Bacon is the master of condensed style. He has proved this quality in this essay better than elsewhere in his writings. This essay gives us a number of sound and maxim and a number of sentences that we can use as quotation whenever occasion demands. Many of the sentences of this essay, indeed cling to our memory without any mental efforts. The very opening sentence, “Studies serve for delight, for ornament and for ability” is a superb example of Bacon’s power of compressing ideas. In this sentence, he has used only nine words, but the idea he expressed is vast. Likewise “Crafty men condemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them”.  In the terse style we find abundance of precept and the precept is sound and practical. For instance “Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider”. The very purpose of studies and their misuse has have been put in this sentence very compactly and convincingly. The similes are quite appropriate and original. Bacon says, “Distilled books are like common distilled waters, flashy things”. Another simile is found in the comparison between the efforts of various physical exercises on bodily diseases and the effect of different studies on mental defects. Latin quotations as found in this essay adds the importance and weight to the essay.

He divided the subjects of the books and performed a classification of books with simple, clear and yet to be the sweetest lines in English literature “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and few to be chewed and digested”. That means all books should not receive equal attention of the learned readers.

Next the essayist makes it clear what benefit we derive from reading- “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; writing an exact man”. He describes the purpose of study. Only reading cannot be of utmost importance. It should be combined with discourse and writing. Bacon points out that difference subject’s benefit in different ways. So it is necessary for men to acquire knowledge of different subjects.

Thus bacon is too deeply engrossed in serious matters of life. His essay contains counsels of the shrewd man of the world. They are based on his personal experiences and observation of men and manners. And this essay “Of Studies” is a direct fruit of his expertise.

O’ Henry

Q: Justify the title “Hearts and Hands” Or Discuss the use of irony used in the short story “Hearts and Hands”

Answer: O’ Henry is one of the popular short story writer of America. His 300 short stories bring him record achievement as short story writer. His contribution to the 20^th century American literature is unique. He is widely known for his capacity to create ironic situation within short space. The story “Hearts and Hands” deals with how two-handcuffed man befooled a beautiful young woman to avoid some embarrassing situation. The story begins in a simple way, but the entire situation turns ironic as Miss Fairchild is deliberately misguided and duped. Irony is at center of the story. In a compartment of a train Miss Fairchild met Easton accidentally. She recognized Mr. Easton as her old friend from among the passengers. She was very glad to see him first, but she immediately become shocked at the discovery that her friend was in handcuff. Easton was also utterly embarrassed. Both of them at that time found themselves in an awkward position. Just at that time Easton’s companion comes to his rescue. He indirectly introduced Easton as the marshal. He then told that he was taken to Leavenworth prison. Miss Fairchild then felt relieved and happy to think that her old friend was leading an adventurous and prosperous life. She than started talking in a free and frank manner and at one stage she become emotional and amorous. The situation is ironic here and the pretty woman couldn’t realize what went wrong with Easton. Rather she became happy to know his marshal ship and felt romantic. It is ironical that the woman could not understand the truth behind his going to prison. She became close to him and told about herself. In this way the situation was taking another turn. So they realized that before the cat came out the bag. They should take leave of the compartment and go out of sight of the young woman. Otherwise they would be exposed and their identity would come to light. The lady wished that Easton would come back soon from Leavenworth and meet her again. But he was then taken to the smoker by his companion (the real marshal) to get rid of the odd situation. Their hearts were going to very close position. But then come the climax. The right hand of the officer should be handcuffed with the left hand of the marshal or the officer. But it was contrary in the case of Easton and his companion marshal. The right hand of the Easton was handcuffed with the left hand of the marshal. A passenger could understand that and the story thus took a surprise turn. This is the irony what appears is not true, rather the contrary is true.

The story thus unexpectedly comes to an end. We come to the identity of the Easton from the passenger. We see the irony in the story when the two hearts were coming close to each other; the hands prevented the man and the woman from becoming more intimate. Here romantic hopes turns into frustration and funny situation takes pathetic turn.  Thus the title of the story is appropriate.

Anita Desai

Q: Discuss Anita Desai’s treatment of child psychology in her short story “Games at Twilight”

Answer: Anita Desai, a living legendary Indian authoress has created an outstanding short story “Games at Twilight”. It is a beautiful short story of child psychology. The background of the story is essentially Indian. Ravi is the full-fledged character around whom the story is woven. Through the character of Ravi we can realize the strange of working of a child’s mind. He is at the center. Literally the story depicts some Indian children’s game and unravels the psychology of a child’s world. The character of Ravi is the symbol of all children’s mind. It is said that the trend of a child’s mind is strange and unpredictable at a times. Since Anita Desai has a comprehensive heart, she can dive deep into the mind of children and bring out the secrets unknown to us. Ravi is a young kid and takes active part in the game ”Hide and seek” and takes it quite seriously. In the matter of games, children’s are too much enthusiastic. They do not want to be defeated and at any cost they try to snatch and win victory. For this they are ready to suffer anything, which they will not tolerate in their usual time. Ravi enters into a horrible dark shed only to win victory. He jubilates at his prospect of victory. He is scared but determined not to give up. So he sits there with a strong will of being accepted as the “Champion” instead of being dissuaded. Triumph to him is the only goal and that he must achieve. Nothing can prevent him from that mission. The spider or the insect cannot make him afraid. He is ready to face every eventuality for victory. He is engaged in keen competition with Raghu. He has never been able to defeat him in any other games, as he is physically better equipped. Now he has got a chance and he will not miss it. He tolerates all sorts of disadvantage. Yet he does not came out the shed which is as dark as grave. This time he will overcome Raghu and taste the success. Children like him are always serious to win and bent upon achieving victory at any cost. Ravi at last feels his insufficiency and so howls like an animal. When his long expected come, he found himself neglected, unimportant and insignificant. This is a serious blow to him. This is a crushing defeat to him. Everybody forgot him and began to play different game without thinking anything about him. Nothing could console him. He cries out in pain and suffering. This sense of being forgotten is intolerable to him. Even his mother fails to control him. He is now reckless and released himself from his mother’s arms and goes to the children who were playing then. The writer with an abundance of feeling has been able to hold up a mirror to child psychology. Ravi cannot understand why his playmates have forgotten him. We the elder’s too feel his pain. He could not bear the ignominy, humiliation of being vanished from the memory of his playmates. This caused in him an ache and pain in his heart, as he lay down full length on the dump grass being frustrated. According to the authoress- “He would not follow them, he would not be included in this funereal game. He had wanted victory and triumph- not a funeral”. He cried no more as he was silence by a terrible sense of his insignificance. The game of hide and seek exposes the psychological aspects of Ravi’s heart. He has expected much out of the game, but it deals a rude and unbearable shock to him.

In conclusion, we should agree that the writer has accurately described the different aspects of child’s mind in the story as we find in Tolstoy who has unchallenged power to express the secrets of child.

Ted Hughes

Q: Describe the nature and character of the pike fish in the poem “Pike” or any question.

Answer: Ted Hughes is one of the most outstanding poets of the past modern age of the England. He became the poet laureate of England in 1984. Right from his boyhood he became interested in animal and birds. His interest in animal remained throughout his life and as a result, he acquired the excellent power of writing a great number of animal poems. He was so interested in animals that people humorously called him a zoo laureate. The present poem pike is an excellent example of animal poem. The nature and character of pike fish has been brought to a focus here. In the beginning of the poem, the poet gives us the idea of the violent and deadly nature of the pike fish. The pike may be of different sizes but their nature and character is the same. The color of the pike is unique it is a mixture of green and golden colors. Parts of their body is perfectly uniform, they swim in the surface of the water among the flies. Though they are small to human eye, they pose that they are very large in their own kingdom or world. They live in pond under the lily leaves and sometime dip in the water and look upwards. They are fierce and destructive in nature. They become killer from the very beginning of their birth. Even a newly born pike has the nature of doing harm to other pikes. Their jaws have the shape of a hooked clamp. They can bite and kill smaller pikes. The smaller or weaker pikes are always under the threat or at the mercy of the strongest pikes. So the poet rightly says “A life subdued to its instrument”. The poet then tells us about the fierce and destructive nature of the pikes from his own experience. Once, he and his friend kept three pikes in a glass jar with waters and weeds. One day to his surprise he found that, there was only two pikes left in the jar. Finally only one pike was left in the jar. The fact is that, the strongest pike had killed and eaten the other two pikes and thus satisfied its hunger level. Its nature is best reflected in the line “And indeed they spare nobody”. On another occasion, the poet and his friends found that a pike fish mercilessly killed another pike and plunged its teeth into the throat of other pike. However, there was an expression of a furious killer in the eyes of the dead pike fish. Thus the poets own experience gives us the idea and destructive nature of the pike fish and creates horrible sense in the minds of lookers.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Q: Discuss Tennyson as a representative of Victorian Age

Answer: Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), English poet, one of the great representative figures of the Victorian Age. His writing encompasses many poetic styles and includes some of the finest idyllic poetry in the language. For nearly half of a century, he was not only a man and a poet; he was also a voice, the voice of a whole people of England. He is, perhaps, the most representative literary man of the Victorian Age. The Victorian Age was an age of action. It glorified the English life throughout the world by the message of the philosophy of action. The desire of unknown and unseen has led the Victorian young men to go to every nock and corner of the world in search of new knowledge and experience. The current poem “Ulysses” was first published in 1842. It was written soon after the death of Arthur Hallam who had been a very good friend of Tennyson. The poet was deeply shocked at his friend’s death. But he soon felt “about the need for going forward and braving the struggle of life”. The poem resulted from this feeling. However, Tennyson in this poem changed his passion into the Victorian passion for knowledge, for adventure, for exploration of the yet unexplored areas. The poem is based on Greek mythology. Ulysses, whom the Greek called Odysseus, was the king of Ithaca in Greece. He fought against the Trojans and defeated them. After the Trojan War he returned home as victorious warrior and soon he realized he became old, his wife Penelope became old too. His son, Telemachus grew up as a young man and who had been ruling the kingdom with great interest. But Ulysses lost attraction for it. His wife, son and kingdom appear dull to him. Life without adventures appears equal to self killing, it is clear in his voice- “How dull it is to pause, to make an end, to rust unfurnished, not to shine in use!” So he decided to out for a new adventure. He is a hero with insatiable thirst for knowledge even in his old age; he does not want to pass his time in idleness. He likes to spend time in action and thus his heroic spirit yearned for more knowledge and adventures. Ulysses has been presented here as an epitome of Victorian spirit of life. His heart always longs for new knowledge and experience. He has setup a tradition for travelling always with a hungry heart. He says- “I cannot rest from travel; I will drink life to the lees”.  Tennyson uses this spirit of Ulysses to represent the Victorian philosophy of life. The Victorian period is well known for enrichment of knowledge, expansion of empire and growth of economy. The age had a throbbing spirit. The mythical Ulysses in this poem adequately reflects this spirit. Victorian people, like Ulysses, believed in action, not in only living. They infact thrived in action-in geographical and philosophical explorations. In this poem Tennyson successfully captured the spirit of his period using the mythical hero as his mouthpiece

William Butler Yeats

Q: How does W.B Yeats make a contrast between the perpetual youth of the swans and the growing age of the poet?

Answer: William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), Irish poet and dramatist, and Nobel laureate, who was a leader of the Irish Renaissance and one of the foremost writers of the 20th century. Apart from being a great poet, W.B Yeats was also a renowned playwright of Ireland. In “The Wild Swan at Coole” Yeats presents his anguish of aging. This problem has been suggested through comparison and contrast between the poet and the swans in a lake at Coole Park in Lady Gregory’s estate. This Irish poet deals with a contrast between man and nature, between wild swans at Coole and himself and between morality and immortality in this poem. This poem is taken from the volume of the poem entitled “The Wild Swan at Coole”. The poet uses the swans as a symbol of the changeless pattern of the nature. He uses them as a kind of ‘luminous elusive image’. This poem presents the change in the life of the poet between 1897and 1916. He first stayed at the Coole Park in 1897 and then again in 1916 he visited the park. During his second visit after nineteen years, he felt that he became old and many things around him changed or underwent to a change. During his first visit at the park he saw 59 swans in their merry time of the youth. He also saw the natural scenery in its autumnal beauty. Likewise the poet was in a romantic mood with all the merry time of his youth. He was then more romantic almost like the swans, but with the passage of time after 19 years everything has changed, the poet has become old. He is now burdened with the hard realities of life. He has gathered bitter experience and become very sad for the painful love stories in his past life. He has lost the romantic joy of youth. He becomes sadder to look at the happy and lively swans. They are still free from the hard realities of life. The burden of aging has not touched them. They are still not bowed down by bitter realities. Wherever they move, the same romantic passion goes with them. This scene of the joyous swan leads the poet to think about himself. He becomes gloomy. He recalls that when he visited this place nineteen years ago he was as joyous as these swans. His feelings are now crushed. He is now deprived of time when he was as joyous as the swans and the sweet love with whom he was fallen and wanted to fall. In his voice- “I have looked upon those brilliant creatures, And now my heart is sore. All’s changed since I, hearing at twilight, The first time on this shore, The bell-beat of their wings above my head, Trod with a litter head”. Towards the end of the poem, the poet universalizes his theme and immortalizes the youthful joy of the swans. Just as John Keats nightingale goes singing from generations to generations, so also Yeats swans will go on enjoying the same romantic spirit. A swan may die; another swan will come to play the same romantic game in this world. Symbolically the poet upholds the immortality of the swans and his arrival again someday after his death to find the delightful swans.

William Shakespear

Q: What is sonnet? What are the elements of a sonnet in Shakespeare’s “Sonnet XVIII”?

Answer: Sonnet, lyric poem of 14 lines with a formal rhyme scheme, expressing different aspects of a single thought, mood, or feeling, sometimes resolved or summed up in the last lines of the poem. It is short poem with 14 lines, usually ten-syllable rhyming lines, divided into two, three, or four sections.

There are many rhyming patterns for sonnets, and they are usually written in iambic pentameter. The two main forms of the sonnet are the Petrarchan, or Italian, and the English, or Shakespearean.

The Shakespearean sonnet named after William Shakespeare, is one of the three types of sonnets, the other two types being Petrarchan or Italian and Spenserian. The Petrarchan sonnet named after the 14^th century Italian poet, Petrarch, has two parts: an octave, the first eight lines, and the sestet, the last six lines. The rhyme scheme of a Petrarchan octave is abba abba and that of a sestet is either cd cd cd or cde cde. The Spenserian sonnet is named after an English poet, Edmund Spenser. Its rhyme scheme is abab bcbc cdcd ee. The Shakespearean sonnet rhymes as abab cdcd efef gg. The sonnet in the question is a Shakespearean sonnet. It has all the common elements of a sonnet as well as the particular elements of a Shakespearean sonnet. The sound it produces has the pattern of music. So it is a lyric because a lyric has to be musical. It has fourteen lines. Each of its lines has five feet or metres. Each foot has an accented and an unaccented syllable. It can be explained in the following lines-

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate.

The regular beat of unaccented and unaccented syllables in each foot of the lines imparts to them internal rhythm. Similarly, the sounds at the end of the lines are intricately woven by using the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg. This also adds to music. So it is a short lyric poem of fourteen iambic pentameter lines. As the rhyme scheme indicates, a Shakespearean sonnet is divided into three quatrains followed by a couplet. The fourteen lines of “Sonnet XIII” are also arranged in three quatrains and a couplet. The beauty of the friend concerned has been introduced through a comparison in the first four lines. In the second and third quatrains the idea has been developed through contrast. The concluding two lines make a comment on what has already been said about the friend’s immortal beauty.

It may, therefore, be concluded that “Sonnet XIII” bears all the marks of a Shakespearean sonnet. It is, in fact, one of the well-known sonnets of a long sequence of 154 sonnets composed by the Shakespeare.

=============================================

Q: How does Shakespeare glorify/immortalizes his friend in “Sonnet XVII”?

Answer: English author William Shakespeare ranks as perhaps the most famous writer in the history of English literature. Shakespeare earned recognition from his late 16th- and early 17th-century contemporaries writing plays, but may have looked to poetry for enduring fame. His poetic efforts include a series of 154 sonnets, in which he developed the Shakespearian sonnet as a new poetic form, arranged with three quatrains and a couplet. Sonnet 18 comes from The Sonnets of Shakespeare

The 154 sonnets describe the devotion of a character, often identified as the poet himself, to a young man whose beauty and virtue he praises and to a mysterious and faithless dark lady with whom the poet is infatuated. The sonnets are prized for their exploration of love in all its aspects. Sonnet 18, which begins “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” ranks among the most famous love poems of all time.

It is especially remarkable because it is a turning point in the theme of immortality of his friend. It is the theme of poetry’s power to conquer time. In this sonnet, the poet undermined time and glorified poetry over time. Time destroys everything and death brings an end to all human beings. But poet’s friend’s beauty is now glorified and immortalized in the lines of this sonnet and so poet’s friend will live till the existence of mankind. The poet has a robust optimism that his poetry will survive the decay of time and his friend will live in the lines of his sonnet. The lines shall give life to his friend. The poet uses images to present the excellence and greatness of his friend’s beauty; the poet’s use of imagery in this poem is quite appropriate to the theme of the poem. In the beginning the poet poses a question, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” In Britain, a day of the summer is famous for its bright sunshine, beauty and charm. Finding the beauty of a summer’s day insufficient, the poet then corrects it and says that his friend has a more lovely and more temperate nature. All beautiful things on earth are subject to change and they lose their beauty. They lose beauty, sometimes accidentally sometimes naturally by the law of the universe. In comparison with the nature’s beauty, his friend’s beauty is more lasting. He uses the image of “the darling buds of May” which is shaken by the rough winds and so it cannot last. But his friend’s beauty is compared to eternal summer, which shall never fade. Not only time but also death shall fail to destroy his beauty because it is inscribed in the lines of the sonnet. [Death will never be able to defeat him and enjoy proudly its win because the speaker has sheltered him in the immortal lines of this poem.] Thus the poet immortalizes his friend by writing the following lines in the sonnet –

“So long as men can breath or eyes can see

So long lives this and this gives life to thee”. The concluding couplet rounds up the idea of the fair youth’s deathless beauty. The speaker very confidently says that the youth will continue to live with the same charming beauty as long as human beings are on the surface of the earth. This sonnet is a great tribute to the beauty of his friend. It stands supreme among those sonnets that deals with poet’s feeling and love for his friend. It aims at universal quest of love and beauty. 

Thomas Hardy

Q: Write a critical appreciation of the poem “In Time of ‘The Breaking of Nations’ ”

Or discuss “In Time of ‘The Breaking of The Nations’ “ as an anti war poem.

Answer: Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), English writer known for his fiction as well as his poetry. Hardy examined the joys and predicaments of ordinary people who experience the usual problems of frustrated love, thwarted ambition, and unrealized hopes. Although these men and women could have lived anywhere in the world at any time, Hardy’s fiction generally concentrated on country and village life in his particular corner of southwest England. As a writer Hardy has never escaped from the serious issues of religion, morality, ethics and social rules. He has exposed the hollowness of wars in his poem “ In Time of ‘The Breaking of Nations’ “. In this poem he criticized the contemporary history of wars and dynasties, which stage and manipulate war. Hardy’s criticism of war is unequivocal though it is profoundly philosophical. The present poem is direct fruit of his actual experience about the Franco-Prussian war in 1870 and the bloodier 1^st world war in 1914. So this poem is the reflection of the poet’s reaction to the outbreak of a war among the nations. The poem has a simple meaning from upper level or outwardly, but inwardly in has a deeper meaning. Through the use of images of a farmer who walks slowly and silently with his tired body behind his tired horse, the poet shows the fundamental human activities in the agricultural field. They are engaged in breaking the clods into smaller pieces. He also offers a picture of a couple in their natural action of merry making. This picture is a universal and permanent, which goes on all ages. We find a striking contrast between the lovemaking activity of a couple and the large destructive world of war. The history of the world of war will come to an end but the love story of young couple will go on forever for the sake of human race. On the other hand, in a critical tone, the poet says that the history of royal families and their activities will come and go and meet their end today or tomorrow, but the typical human activities, symbolized by the agricultural occupation and lovemaking activities will never stop. The royal families, their activities and wars are not essential for human life, but the fundamental human activities are a part and parcel of human race or history. Being inspired with ill motive, jealousy and avarice, nations are engaged in wars in different ages in order to cause damages to lives and properties. The temporary nature of dynasties and wars in contrasted with the fundamental activities of human beings. Like the flow of river, the flow of life never stops though the imperialists impose wars on common life. Agriculture, lovemaking and procreation are the visible symbols of the endless flow of man’s life. Wars and dynasties, on the other hand, are destructive, negative and dehumanizing. Man’s bare existence is an adequate proof that man is greater and longer lasting than the meaningless stories of wars. This poem has a markedly anti war tone. It points at the fact that the emotions and sentiments involved in wars; nation building and nation breaking are irrelevant in the continuing human saga of life. Thus the poem shows the poet’s hatred towards war and upholds his advocacy in favour of the world brotherhood. The poet has thus become cosmopolitan

William Wordsworth

Q: How does “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” reflect Wordsworth’s poetic theory?

Answer: William Wordsworth is a well-known poet of the romantic period. According to Wordsworth- poetry is the “Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings … recollected in tranquility”. In reaction to the prevailing tradition of neo classical poetry he professed spontaneity and preferred it to artificial rules. He loved nature and believed in natures healing power. His beliefs and practice later on came to known as romanticism. “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” reflects the main features his poetic theory. This poem is a direct fruit of his experience and observation. Once the poet and his sister Dorothy saw a great number of daffodils closed to the waterside while passing through woods. The poet stored up the beautiful scene of the daffodils and 2 years later composed the poem recollecting it. When the poet came across a host of golden daffodils, they were weaving and fluttering in the gentle breeze. The poet mentioned it in his poem using following lines- “A host of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.” They stretched in a never-ending line beneath the tree by the side of the water. The looked like innumerable stars shinning constantly in the sky from the Milky Way. They were dancing out of joy and surpassed the waves of the lake in glee. The poet was seized with an ecstasy delight as he gazed and gazed at them and couldn’t resist to write-“ In such a jocund company; I gazed—and gazed—but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought.” At that moment he could not think what a great pleasure that scene had brought for him. In fact the scene remained imprinted in his memory. Whenever the poet lay down in his couch either in a vacant or pensive mood, that beautiful scene flashed before his mind and he derived the same pleasure from it as he had enjoyed when he actually had seen it. The poet took it to be the bliss of solitude. Wordsworth is a genuine lover of nature and finds great joy and delight in the ordinary things of nature. We understand that, his heart started dancing with the “ Sprightly dance of daffodils”. This active participation in the joy of nature bears a deeper significance. It shows a spiritual communion between the speaker and the daffodils. This recognition of the spiritual correspondence between a man and nature establishes the fact that, the speaker is in love with nature. This treatment of nature is an important feature of romanticism. The poem shows healing influence of nature. Beliefs in nature’s healing power is another aspect of Wordsworth’s poetic creed. In this poem the speaker experienced a happy sight of the daffodils two years ago. Afterwards whenever he becomes gloomy, the happy sight returns to his mind. It relieves him from his pensive mood. It is another trait of romanticism.

Therefore, love of nature, belief in nature’s healing power and spontaneity are the main features of the romanticism found in this poem. Thus it bears the main feature of Wordsworth’s theory of poetic creation and the poem is a best example of what Wordsworth believes.

============================================================

Q: Comment on Wordsworth’s treatment of nature in the poem “I Wander Lonely as a Cloud”.

Answer: William Wordsworth (1770-1850), English poet, one of the most accomplished and influential of England's romantic poets, whose theories and style created a new tradition in poetry. He was, in fact, the initiator of the revival of romanticism that sought primitive originality in reaction to neo-classical artificiality. Nature provided that originality. Wordsworth took this issue of romanticism very seriously. To him nature was a living being, a friend and healer. In “I Wander Lonely as a Cloud” he presents nature manifestation of his theories about nature and poetry. Here nature spontaneously makes communion with a human soul. Needless to mention that, this treatment of nature is highly subjective. “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is an excellent work on Wordsworth’s doctrine about nature. Love of nature is an important feature of his poetic theory. In this poem he uses the daffodils as a symbol of nature. The poet, while roaming about aimlessly two years back, saw a great number of daffodils. The flowers offered a great joyous sight. It seemed that, in pleasant wind the golden daffodils were dancing in joy. The heart of a poet was influenced by the joy of the daffodils. His heart started sharing the joyous movement of the flowers. The poet was unexceptionally charmed at the sight of the daffodils. He kept looking at the beauty of the lively daffodils for a long time, not only to feed his eyes but also to feed his heart that responded positively. His heart started dancing with the “sprightly dance” of the daffodils. Afterwards, whenever the poet was in a vacant or pensive mood, these daffodils appeared before his mind’s eye and he got the same pleasure that he got when he actually had seen them. So, for Wordsworth, nature is a living being which is capable of making spiritual communion with man. The poem also reflects Wordsworth’s belief in nature’s healing power. The beauty of the daffodils had a healing influence upon his mind. Because in his pensive mood, the happy sight of the daffodils returns to his mind and it relieves him of his pensive mood. In other words, the poem shows the healing influence of nature.  In his words-

“ For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,                                      

They flashed upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,                                      

And dances with the daffodils “. In “I Wander Lonely as a cloud” Wordsworthian poetic theory, which is- “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings . . . recollected in tranquility” has been practically enacted. The speaker’s past experience of the daffodils has been recollected in the creation of the poem. The past experience of a natural scene and its spontaneous recreation in a poem is absolutely subjective. As has been detailed, in “ I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud ” the color, diction and figure of speech of the poem successfully create a happy mood that makes the speaker happy. Moreover, Wordsworth identifies nature as a living spirit that has healing power. Further, nature here reflects his theory of spontaneity.

=======================================================