Saturday 31 October 2015

Methodology of Literature ( Calicut University Syllabus)

Methodology of Literature 2015    

The Queer Theory or Lesbian/Gay Criticism
The Queer Theory is a cultural theory developed in the 1990s. which is related to gay(homosexual) sexuality and gay readership. Lesbian/Gay criticism is meant to serve the interests of sex and sexuality of a marginalized community. It has social and political considerations also. Queer Theory helps the members of the community, who are involved in homosexual (gay/lesbian) sexuality and remove their fear and prejudices and bring them back to the mainstream of society.  There are two branches of lesbian theory.  They are ‘Lesbian Feminism and the ‘Queer Theory. Lesbian Feminism is originated from Feminism in 1980s. Feminism cannot put up with Lesbian feminism because of the lesbian difference, such as cultural, racial and sexual differences. The Queer Theory supports experimental methods of sexuality such as sadism, masochism, and sadomasochism. They are different from heterosexuality and homosexuality. The idea is heterosexuality is natural and homosexuality is rejected as ‘the Other’. Lesbian/gay criticism supports Virginia Woolf, Victoria Sackvelle West, Dorothy Richardson and other writers who write about lesbian/gay instances in mainstream literature. It brings to light homosexual instances of mainstream literature, as in war poetry and the portrayal of soldiers bathing in public and the sight of naked dead bodies are often homo-erotic.

Subaltern
The term ‘subaltern’ means ‘from below’. Subaltern studies means ‘history from below- the downtrodden, the tribals in the Indian context. These are the post colonial studies made by Homi Bhabha and Edward Said. In his key essay titled ‘Signs taken for Wonders’ Homi Bhabha speaks about the ‘English Book’, which is the Bible. The Bible functioned as a sign of colonial power. The school of Subaltern studies was founded by Ranajit Guha, a Marxist intellectual from Bengal who was influenced by the Chinese Cultural Revolution. These post-colonial writers and historians have produced provocative research on the history of colonial India which include low caste and tribal peasant insurgency, middle class (bourseosie leadership and their ideologies of Indian nationalism, prison life, politics of liquor and interpretations of ‘bondage’.

Dalit Literature in India – A Critical Study.
The word ‘Dalit’ means ‘oppressed’ or ‘broken’. ‘Dalit’ is a Marathi word means ‘depressed classes’. In the 1970s ‘Dalit Panthers expanded to Scheduled tribes, poor peasants, women and all the  economically, politically and religiously oppressed and exploited people. Dalit is not a caste but a symbol of change and revolution.

The basic aim of Dalit literature is the liberation of Dalits. Dalit’s struggle against casteist tradition started in the 11th century when in Kannada state, Chennai, a cobbler and a Vachana poet challenged the upper classes for eating the Sacred cow. The Dalit youths started a movement called Little Magazine and drew inspiration from the blacks in North America. Poems, short stories and autobiographies were written in the Dalit Literature and was dignified. The important writers were Maheswata Devi, Namdeo Deshal, Daya Pwar and others. Dalit literature questioned the mainstream literary theories and the
                                                                        - 2 -
upper caste ideologies. Dalit literature is experience based. This “anubhava” is more convincing and better than the “anumana” of the upper caste mainstream literature. The contribution of Dalit literature was remarkable. Dalit writers often used the terms like Shame, anger, sorrow and hope in their literature. Dalit literature grew in Maharashtra  owing to the legacy of Mahatma Phule and B. Ambedkar.  It raised the literacy level of the Dalit and caused great change in Indian society. It encouraged self confidence and pride in Dalit people and helped them to write their biographies, explaining their suffering and prepared them to demand their rights and helped their mobilization. It stirred up thinking in Dalit intellectural. In Tamil Nadu the literary movement developed in the 1990s.

Post Colonial Criticism
Post Colonial criticism developed in the 1990s. The great writers of this criticism are Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, Gayatri Spivak and Bill Ashcroft. Post colonial theory is a method of interpreting, reading and critically evaluating the cultural practices of colonialism. Post colonial critics question the authority of Western literature because it is often silent about colonialism and imperialism. The Western literature supports only White, Eurocentric ideas. There are two stages of Post colonial criticism. In the first stage, post colonialism criticizes the Western portrayal of colonial countries for its prejudices and limitations. In the second stage, the post colonial writers speak of themselves and their society.
Much before the pot colonial criticism of Edward Said and Homibhabha appeared, the ideas of resistance, cultural nationalism and nativism arose in the context of anti-colonial struggle in Asia, Africa and South America. But the anti-colonial struggle in India was much different from other colonized nations in Asia, Africa, South America and other places.Gandhi’s method of struggle was “Satyagraha” which was based on the principle of non-violence. Gandhi knew that the spirit of India lies in the villages and therefore he took an anti-industrial stand. Gandhiji wanted to save the interests of the peasant class and agricultural workers. France Fanon calls this form of struggle as “cultural nationalism”. Gandhiji’s major contribution to post-colonial struggle is the moral superiority of both the individual and the culture against the colonial ruler – the British government. Gandhiji believed in the assimilation of all cultures and asserted Indian secularism.
Fratz Omar Fanon an Afro-Caribbean psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary and writer whose books are influential in the fields of Post colonial studies, critical theory and Marxism. His works titled “The Wretched of the Earth” and “Black Skins, White Masks” deeply influenced the ani-colonial struggle. Fanon was deeply interested in the psychological effects of colonialism both on the colonizer and the colonized. He argued that the colonization destroyed the soul of the depressed and the suffering natives because the white people treated these natives as mere animalized things. So the natives think of themselves as very dirty, pagan and primitive and evil human beings and began to hate their own culture and religion. This is what happened even in India. Thus the natives are forced to accept western religion, values, culture and language and puts on white masks. He cannot become fully ‘white’ and at the same time he cannot expel the whites from his country.

                                                                     
Cultural Materialism
Cultural materialism is politicized form of historiography. It treats all literary texts part of historical material. The term cultural materialism was given importance by Jonathan Dollimore and Alan Sinfield. They define cultural materialism as a critical method. Cultural materialism takes its principles from Structuralism, Post Structuralism, Marxist and Feminist ideas and other modern methods of critical study.
The difference between Marxist criticism and Cultural materialism is that cultural materialism considers the present as well as the past in the study of literary text, but Marxism considers only the past. Cultural materialism stands for political optimism whereas New Historicism represents political pessimism. Cultural materialism is the British while New Historicism is American.

New Historicism
New Historicism is American counterpart of Cultural materialism which is British. New Historicism was coined by Steven Greenblatt. New Historicism deals with the historical, social, economic contexts of a literary text. New historicism differs from old historicism. Old historicism treated the literary text as the object of value and the historical background was only of a subsidiary interest. There was no equality between the literary text and the historical background. On the other hand New historicism gives equal importance to both the literary text and the historical background. New historicism accepts Derrida’s view that there is nothing outside the text. New Historicism stands for political pessimism and says that history is not background to texts; but it is the foreground.
Marxist criticism
Marxism is a school of thought that has political, economic, social, literary and other bearings. It stands for a classless society and common ownership of property. It is based on materialist philosophy.
The Marxist view of society has two bases, an economic base and a cultural superstructure. The first is the means of production, distribution and exchange. The second is the world of philosophy, art, religion, law and others. But the second base is formed and determined through the first base. Marx and Engels did not develop any theory of literature. Marxist criticism is that a writer’s class is reflected in his work. It is not inspiration, or genius, that creates great art, but one’s social context. This is mirrored from the content and style of one’s work.

Post modernism    Postmodernism is a theory and practice, which has become popular in literature and the arts since 1980s.  Postmodernism accepts most of the features of modernism such as fragmented forms of writing, random use of non-literary things and use of parody and so on. Postmodernism developed after the Second World War. There are certain differences between modernism and post modernism. The modernist is sad and desperate at the state of affairs and has a tone of lament and pessimism. On the other hand, the post modernist is glad about it, as the fragmented state of things means joy and liberation. Post modernism does not differentiate between ‘high class’ and ‘low class’art. But modernists did this difference.

                                                                        
The present sense of postmodernism came to be received from Jean-Francois Lyotard’s “The postmodern condition: A report on Knowledge’ and also Lyotard’s essay “Answering the Question: What is Post modernism”. Lyotard defines postmodernism as a refusal to believe metanarratives or Grand narratives (or supernarratives). He says that mini narratives or small stories explain post modernism.
Samuel Becket’s “Waiting For Godot” is a typical example for a postmodernist work.

Ecocriticism
Ecocriticism is the study of literature and environment from an interdisciplinary point of view where all sciences come together to analyze the environment and make possible solution for the correction of the environmental situation.
Ecocritics consider other disciplines, such as history, philosophy, ethics and psychology can be contributors to ecocriticism.
Joseph Meeker’s “The Comody of Survival” published in 1974 says that environmental crisis is caused mainly by a cultural tradition in the West. They separated human culture from nature. He says “making love not war” is superior ecological value. We must love and protect our nature because human being is an integral part of Nature. If Nature is destroyed, human race is also be perished.
Camilo Gomides has offered an operational definition of ecocriticism. He defines ecocriticism as the field of enquiry that  analyzes and promotes works of art which raise moral questions about human interactions with Nature, while also motivating audiences to live within a limit that will be binding over generations.

Ecofeminism
Ecofeminism says that the values and beliefs of patriarchal society have resulted in the exploitation of women and nature. The patriarchal society ignores women’s work, knowledge and the immediate location in nature, where the women’s relationship with the environment is more intimate than that of a man’s relationship with Nature.
The spiritualist part of ecofeminism turned to native American religions, goddess worship in Hinduism and other native cultures.
The materialist ecofeminists think that the spiritualist group are spoiling the ecofeminist dealing with social conditions and political decisions that encourage environment exploitation, encourage lavish consumerism, and fail to check military spending.

Vandana Shiva’s book titled “Staying Alive” has become a text for ecologists and ecofeminists. Vandana Shiva the great ecofeminist says that India has always encouraged an environment friendly culture.

Kjt/26-10-2015

Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth (brief notes)

Write short notes of any four tragedies of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare’s four tragedies have been briefly given in this essay. They are Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Othello, the Moor of Venice, ‘King Lear’ and Macbeth, William Shakespeare, the greatest of the English playwrights and poets was born in the year 1564 at Stratford upon Avon in English. At nineteen he married Anne Hathaway, a woman eight years his senior. Shakespeare composed his greatest tragedies such as Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet and Othello during the eight years from 1601 to 1608.

In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare describes the tragic story of the prince of Denmark whose father the King of Denmark is brutally murdered by the king’s brother and uncle of Hamlet and young Hamlet had to confront with a lot of obstacle which led to the tragedy of the unfortunate prince Hamlet.  Prince Hamlet is depressed having been summoned to Denmark urgently from his school in Germany to attend his father’s funeral, and he is shocked to find his mother Gertrude already remarried. The queen has wed Hamlet’s uncle Claudius, the dead king’s brother!  To Hamlet, the marriage is “foul incest”. Worse all, Claudius has had himself crowned King of Denmark. It is a violation of the rule of inheritance which says Prince Hamlet is his father’s heir to the throne. Hamlet suspects foul play. In the dead of night the ghost of Hamlet’s father visits the castle of Elsinore and confirms Hamlet’s suspicions. The ghost tells Hamlet that he is unable to rest in peace because he was murdered by his brother Claudius, the present king of Denmark. The ghost requests his son Hamlet to avenge his murder but to spare Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, to let Heaven decide her fate.

Hamlet pretends to be made and this madness is a kind of mask for him to observe the intrigues in the castle of Ellsinore.  In order to test the ghost’s sincerity,  Hamlet has arranged to stage a play “The Mousetrap” in which the scenes of the murder as described by the ghost of his father has been added. It is a tremendous success. The guilt of Claudius is well reflected on the king’s face. Hamlet resolves to kill his uncle Claudius. But as Hamlet observes “conscience doth make cowards of us all”.  In his reluctance, Hamlet actually causes six ancillary deaths. The first death is Polonius whom Hamlet stabs through a wall hanging as the old man spies on Hamlet and his mother Gertrude in the queen’ chamber. Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius is gone mad and drowns in the river singing sad love songs cursing the fate of a spurned lover Hamlet. Her brother Laertes falls next. In the duel, Laertes drops his poisoned sword. Hamlet retrieves the sword and cuts Laerts. The lethal poison kills Laertes. Before he dies Laerts tells Hamlet that he was also wounded by the same sword and he would also die soon. Gertrude, believing that Hamlet’s hitting Laertes means her son is winning the fencing match, has drunk a toast to her son from the poisoned cup Claudius had made for Hamlet. Thus the queen dies. Hamlet stabs Claudius with the poisoned sword and then pours the last of the poisoned wine down the throat of the King Claudius.

The duration of the events of the play Othello is only for three days. The theme of the play is the jealousy of Othello, the moor of Venice on the chastity of Desdemona who is far younger and beautiful than the black-skinned Othello who is the military Captain of the Duke of Venice. Desdemona, the only daughter of Brabantio, a senator of Venice is in love with the middle aged Othello and eloped in the night. Iago who wants to take revenge upon Othello for promoting his junior Cassio as his lieutenant, becomes the villain of the play.Brabantio complains to the Duke of Venice, but Desdemona tells the Duke she loves Othello as her husband. Brabantio tells Othello “Look to Desdemona, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see. She has deceived her father, and may thee”. The seeds of suspicion fell on the mind of the Moor. Soon after their wedding, they go to Cyprus. The honeymoon night is disturbed by the skilful maneuvering of Iago and his assistant Roderigo, a good for nothing young Venetian who loves Desdemona and is encouraged by Iago to come to Cyprus. Iago wants money from Roderigo in return for the chance to meet Desdemona. Roderigo is a day-dreamer and a rich fool who comes to the sea-port town, Cyprus with Iago. Every time young Roderigo comes to Iago with a bag full of money and persuades Iago to give him a chance to fall in love with Desdemona. For Iago, Roderigo is a goldmine. Iago succeeds in the dismissal of Cassio by Othello and Iago steps into the shoes of Cassio. Soon Iago has achieved another score by making Othello believe that Desdemona is in love with Cassio because he is very young and handsome Venetian. Iago also makes believe Othello that Desdemona does not love the black skinned old aged Othello and he blindly believes whatever Iago said about Desdemona. On the third day of their honeymoon night, Othello smothers Desdemona to death.

Shakespeare has borrowed the story of the play King Lear from a very ancient folk-lore of the same title and improvising the theme to suit English Nationalism. King Lear decided to divide his British kingdom among his three daughters Goneril, Regan and Cordelia according to their degree of love for him. Goneril and Regan vie each other in flattering the old king and he was pleased. But Cordelia said that her love for her father was just as a child loves its father, no less no more. The furious old king divided his kingdom between the two daughters and Cordelia was reduced to a beggar. The king of France is ready to marry her and Cordelia becomes the queen of France. King Lear has decided to live with the daughters Goneril and Regan every month alternately. When he lived with Goneril for a week, the old king saw the wolfish mind of his daughters and soon he is kicked out of their homes and reduced to the level of a beggar wandering in the heath in cold night, facing violent wind, lightning and thunder. The fool alone follows him as his confident, and shadow every where.  Cordelia comes to England with a French army and in the war the king and Cordelia are taken as prisoners of war. Cordelia is killed, the king dies of broken heart. Goneril and Regan want to marry one man Edmund and Goneril poisons Regan to death. Goneril commits suicide. There is a subplot in the play King Lear. It is the story of the earl of Gloster and his two sons Edgar and the bastard son Edmond. Gloster’s two eyes are plucked out on the advice of Edmond by Cornwall, the husband of Regan and while the blind old man is walking along the way he says                               “ As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods,
                                       They kill us for their sport”.  

In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare shows his skill as a great poet and philosopher. In Hamlet and Macbeth, Shakespare uses supernatural elements. In Hamlet, the ghost of the murdered king of Denmark visits his son Hamlet and reveals the secret of his death and asks him to avenge the murder. In the play Macbeth, three witches appear on the heath when Macbeth and Banquo return home after having won the battle of the day. The witches make prophecies to Macbeth that he will become the thane of Glamis, thane of Cawdor and the King of Scotland. Thus the seeds of ambition have been sown in the mind of Macbeth and they began to grow in time with the help of his wife Lady Macbeth, better known as the ‘Fourth witch’. Macbeth murders Duncan the king of Scotland when he stays at the palace of Macbeth as his guest. Thus Macbeth becomes the king and Lady Macbeth the queen of Scotland. Since then Macbeth and Lady Macbeth lost peace of mind and sleep. Macbeth orders the murder of Banquo and his son Fleance, but Fleance escapes. The ghost of Banqo appears in the banquet of the King Macbeth. He goes to witches again and they assure him that until unless the Birnam wood walks to Dunsnane hills, he cannot be defeated. They also tell him that no man, who is born of woman can kill him. On this assurance Macbeth orders the family of Macduff murdered. When he finds that the witches deceived him, Macbeth is not afraid and the brave soldier fights alone to death. The somnambulism of Lady Macbeth and the appearance of ghost of Banqo and the dagger scene have made the play a sublime tragedy.

Kjt/16-02-2015

Macbeth (play) by William Shakespeare

Macbeth                                                                        William Shakespeare

1) The Supernatural element in the play “Macbeth”
2) The part played by the witches in the play “Macbeth”
3) “Macbeth” as a Shakespearean tragedy
4) The Character of Macbeth

Among William Shakespeare’s four tragedies such as Macbeth, King Lear, Othello and Hamlet, Macbeth is the shortest and the most beautiful and sublime tragedy. Macbeth is a man of noble character. He is called ‘Bellona’s bridegroom’, valiant cousin, bold and fearless. In the war, the Scottish army under the inspring leadership of General Macbeth crushed the enemies and won victory for Scotland. Grateful Duncan, the king of Scotland showered praises honours on Macbeth and he is promoted to the Thane of Cawdor. As a general, he is successful, as a husband, he shines better than any other Shakespearean heroes. His love for Lady Macbeth leads him to evil ways. It is a blind love.

 The most important feature of ‘Macbeth’ is the effective introduction of supernatural element. The three witches in the Ist scene of  First Act encourages the unbridled ambition of Macbeth. They predict that Macbeth will become the Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. This leads him to murder Duncan, helped by Lady Macbeth. The witches gives sweet words into the ambitious ears of Macbeth and flatter him with false prophecies which has double meanings. Thus the witches are the evil forces in the play. Lady Macbeth may be considered the fourth ‘witch’ because it is she as the beloved wife plays an important role in the fall of the great General Macbeth. General Banquo is a foil to Macbeth, warns the hero of the deceitful ways of the witches. He says, “ …But’tis strange, and often times, to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths/Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s / In deepest consequence”. But the overambitious Macbeth ignores this warning and murders Duncan and fulfills his great ambition. Macbeth becomes the king of Scotland and Lady Macbeth becomes the queen.
 But alas, “Nought’s had, all’s spent” Lady Macbeth painfully tells these depressing words. They lost peace of mind. They lost sleep for ever because they killed Duncan in his sleep. Retribution or Nemesis, the poetic aspect of justice is seen in Shakespearean tragedies, especially in ‘Macbeth’. After Duncan, he kills Banqo and the family of Macduff. Finally Macbeth fights bravely to death. We don’t hate Macbeth, but feels sympathy for this tragic hero. He is essentially a human being, a great poet-philosopher. In the beginning, he tries to withdraw from the deed of murder of Duncan, and his guilty conscience asks him not to murder Duncan, because he is his guest, his king and he should be protector of the precious life of the king. But Lady Macbeth provokes him to commit the murder.
 Shakespeare does not strictly follow the Aristotelian concept of ‘tragic hero’ and as a result we don’t feel pity and fear but ‘Macbeth’ is a sublime tragedy. The conflict in Shakespearean tragedies is external and internal. Macbeth suffers from conflict of external circumstances and also mental conflict. The dagger scene and ghost scene are examples. In the banquet, when the ghost of Banquo appears, only Macbeth feels the presence of Banquo and is terrified. The dagger scene appears in the IInd Act of the play. Macbeth is alone sitting and waiting for the bell of Lady Macbeth to murder Duncan. He sees the dagger coming to him with blood dropping from its blade. It reflects Macbeth’s mental conflict. He does not want to murder Duncan. But his over-ambitious mind and the force of Lady Macbeth leads him to the bed chamber of Duncan and murders the king. But soon  after the murder, his mind is full of guilt and he says that he cannot make prayers and he hears a voice crying “Macbeth has murdered sleeping Duncan, therefore Macbeth will never sleep and never get peace of mind. Yes we feel pity for the tragic hero Macbeth when he is killed by Macduff in the war. Misfortune after misfortune follows Macbeth till the end, the death of Lady Macbeth and the running away of his soldiers and lords to the side of Malcom  and the prophecies made by the witches one by one failed him,. The Great Brinam wood came to Dunsinane hill and Macduff who had no natural birth from a woman, confronted Macbeth in the battle and declared that he was not born of a woman shocked Macbeth and killed him. Macbeth fought bravely till his last breath, it was a heroic end, making the play a sublime tragedy.

  1. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,
Hover through the fog and filthy air”
The three witches appear in the opening Act of the play ‘Macbeth” and sings these lines together. They are the devils and the enemy of humanity. So they attract ambitious people like Macbeth with some ‘trifles’ and finally trap them eternal hell. The witches are not interested in Banquo who is a very religious man. The witches live in dirty places like the marshes. They say that whatever is good for them is bad for human being. They always travel through fog and filthy air. Their prophecies have been fair to Macbeth and he always depend on these prophecies and committed many murders. Only in the end did Macbeth know that the fair was really foul.

  1. “So foul and fair a day I have not seen”
This is the first sentence spoken by Macbeth, the tragic hero of the play of the same title. After having defeated Macdonald and the Norweyen king in the battle, both Macbeth and Banquo reached a heath where the three witches have been waiting for them. Macbeth tells Banquo that the day is a combination of good and bad. The good thing is that Macbeth fought bravely in the battle and won the war for his king Duncan. Thus Macbeth has proved that he is not only a great General of Scotland but a great patriot and many honours and praises will certainly shower upon him by the King and the people of Scotland. The bad thing may be the life and death fight in the war and the bloodshed. There is an inner meaning to it. The day is a turning point in the life of Macbeth, because he will meet the three witches and this lead to the fulfillment of his ambition, he will become the king of Scotland and the bad thing is that he will murder the king and many people and thereby he will become slave of the devil.

  1. “Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell:
Though all thing foul would wear the brows of grace,
Yet grace must still look so.”  - Explain
Malcolm, the elder son of Duncan says these words to Macduff in the IVth Act of the play when Macduff visits Malcolm in England. Macduff asks Malcolm to get an English army to fight against Macbeth and regain the kingship of Scotland to Malcolm. At first Malcolm thinks of Macduff as a spy sent by Macbeth and tells Macduff that he is more wicked than Macbeth. Macduff is helpless and confused and repeats the honest words that he is not treacherous. Finally Malcolm learns that Macduff is the greatest patriot of Scotland and tells him that ‘angels are bright still’. It means that good and honest people are always good and honest because Malcolm is the son of gracious Duncan and his mother always spent her time in prayer and meditation. According to the Bible, the first group of Angels created by God had fallen to hell. However angels are heavenly and bright and holy.

  1. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red” – Explain
These words are said by Macbeth to himself, soon after the murder of Duncan by him. Lady Macbeth has gone to the bed-chamber to keep the dagger with the sleeping guards in the room. Macbeth expresses horror at the sight of his blood stained hand says that if he washes his hands in the ocean, the ocean will be made red by his sinful hands. Such is the horror Macbeth has committed when he murdered his King who has come to his house as his guest.

  1. “Here’s the smell of blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand”  - Explain
These are the words of Lady Macbeth in her sleep-walking scene. She has been suffering from ‘somnambulism’ on account severe strain and guilt her mind received from the murder of Duncan who looked like her father when he was sleeping. She encouraged her husband to commit the murder and they became king and queen of Scotland, but they lost sleep and peace of mind. At night Lady Macbeth walks for a long time holding a lighted candle, keeping awake with open eyes while in deep sleep. She feels that her hands still carry the smell of Duncan’s blood and even the best perfumes of Arabia cannot wipe out the smell. It means she has committed the most hellish sin and she has no escape from the punishment. Soon after the murder of Duncan, she had said that “a little water clears us of this deed/ How easy it then”.

  1. “Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee:
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still”   - Explain
Just before murdering Duncan, Macbeth sits alone thinking. He is in deep tension. Macbeth is haunted by inner conflict. Duncan has showered praises and rewards to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. He is so kind hearted that he has come to stay in the castle of Macbeth to honour both of them. In such a situation, Macbeth, the man is confused and wants to withdraw from the decision of killing the king. But his over-ambition and the force of his wife Lady Macbeth ask him to commit the murder. His inner conflict appears to him in the form of the apparition of a dagger comes to him dropping blood from its blade and guides him to the chamber of the king.

For question & answers please study “COMPREHENSION” (Page 215 to 233)

Kjt/18-01-2015

A Doll's House (Play) by Henrik Ibsen - IInd part notes

Comment on the dramatic significance of the Christmas tree and the Tarantella dance in the play ‘A Doll’s House’
Henrik Ibsen’s famous play ‘A Doll’s House’ portrays a woman’s assertion of her independence and individuality by breaking off her family bonds. Nora Helmer is the protagonist of the play. She is treated as a doll by her self-righteous husband Torvald Helmer. In the Ist Act of the play Nora comes home after shopping for the Christmas and is brought home a Christmas Tree. This tree is set on the middle of the room and she makes a lot of decorations on the tree. The tree with its ornaments is a symbol of family happiness and security. While she is doing decorations on the branches of the tree, Nils Krogstad comes to her and threatens to write a letter to her husband enclosing the bond in which she fraudulently put the signature of her late father if she does not force her husband to reinstate him in his job in the bank. Poor Nora is desperate and lost interest in decorating the Christmas tree. She asks her maid to put away the Christmas tree. In the IInd Act we find the tree stripped of its ornaments with burnt down candle ends on its branches and standing in the corner of the piano. Thus the tree shows the loss of happiness and family security of Nora Helmer.

Another important symbol of the pain and sorrow of Nora is her Tarantella dance. She learned this dance from Capri in Italy when Nora took her husband to Italy for the medical treatment. The term tarantella is the name of a poisonous spider. Tarantella is a famous music for a fast whirling Italian drama usually performed by a single couple. Once upon a time this dance was supposed to be a ritualistic performance as a remedy for spider bite. In the play ’A Doll’s House’ tarantella is a music played by Torvald Helmer on the piano and according to the tune of the music, his wife Nora dances. When she is doing the rehearsal, she insists that her husband must give her coaching for two days up to the last minute and he must not open a single letter in these two days. He also is forbidden to open the letter box during these days. Torvald agrees to these conditions. Nora is afraid that at any moment Nil Krogstad comes and drops the letter in the box and the letter will ruin her family life for ever. In the rehearsal, both Torvald and Dr.Rank, the family friend of both Nora and her husband attend. But she dances so violently that both men were afraid that she went mad. In fact the violent tarantella dance that she performed in the rehearsal shows the desperate feelings and anxieties of Nora.  
In the IIIrd  Act of the play, the fancy dress ball ‘Tarantella is staged upstairs of their residence. Nora danced as a little Capri maiden, the poor fisher woman. The tarantella dance performed by Nora is a tremendous success. The audience admired the beauty and skill of Nora in her fancy dress ball. As soon as the dance is over, Torvald forcibly took Nora out of the hall. As soon as the fancy dress ball is over, both Nora and her husband has engaged in heated argument and in the end Nora goes out of her husband’s home for good.

Kjt/09-02-2015

A Doll's House (realistic play) by Henrik Ibsen

A Doll’s House                                                                                               Henrik Ibsen

1. “A Doll’s House” fell like bomb into contemporary life” – Explain
2. How far Nora’s life a representation of social reality?
3. Justify the title of the play “A Doll’s House”

A Doll’s House is a realistic drama written by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in the year 1879. His plays attacked the age-worn values of male dominated society. He discarded outmoded dramatic techniques such as soliloquies and monologues.  The theme of the play is individual freedom and emancipation of self.  Nora, the protagonist of the play is the wife of Torwald Helmer and they have been married for the last eight years and have three children. Doll’s House is not only a realistic play but also a problem play. Ibsen in this play deals with a social problem.  It is the status of a woman in relation to her husband and home. Ibsen shows the pathetic situation of Nora being treated by her husband as mere doll or child who doesn’t know anything and she is called the squirrel, the skylark, doll, spendthrift etc. She is nothing but a doll for her husband.

When the curtain rises, Nora is seen on stage telling innocent lies in a child-like manner. Helmer treats her like an irresponsible child, a possession, anything except a woman. But underneath surface of Nora’s mind, there is lurking a strong protest against the male domination with its age old laws, religion and social customs, all trying to crush the individuality, freedom and dignity of woman. Her father, and later her husband, with the help of these social laws, tried to crush Nora with advises and advises. On many occasions Nora wanted to run away from her father to their maid servants. Both of them tried to keep “true realities of life” from her and made her ignorant of her reasonable rights and obligations. From the First Act onwards, the gradual growth of Nora is seen and it reaches its climax in the IIIrd Act when she goes out of Helmer’s home and children, slamming the door against the worn-out male-dominated ideas, laws and social customs.
Nora’s father committed forgery while working as a government employee. Torvald Helmer was appointed to examine the documents of Nora’s father. It was during this verification of the documents that Torvald met and fell in love with Nora and married her. Nora made supreme sacrifice in order to save the precious life of her husband. She borrowed money from Nils Krogstad for the medical treatment of her husband in Italy. When Helmer was seriously ill, doctors advised her to make a trip to Italy and stay there for his treatment.. During this period, Nora’s father was on death-bed but she could not go to him. Not desiring to trouble her father at such a time for a loan and knowing fully well Helmer would never agree to take a loan himself, Nora secretly borrowed the loan without Helmer’s consent. Nora signs her father’s name on the back of the promissory note (bond) made by Nils Krogstad. Nora put the date of signature as 2nd of Ocober, whereas her father died on 29th September.  This is the forgery Nora has committed in the bond.
When Nils Krogstad is sacked from his job at the bank by Torvald Helmer, he tries to blackmail Nora in order to get back the job in the bank. Nora tries her best to get back the job for Nil Krogstad, but fails. The job is given to Mrs.Linde.

Nora made many sacrifices in her life with Torvald Helmer. Whenever Nora is given money for household expenses, such as new dresses, home needs, Nora never spends more than half of it and bought simple, cheaper, but good quality things. She also did a lot of copying work. She locked up and sat writing every evening quite late at night. Thus she saved every penny and paid the loan in  installments.

In the concluding scene Nora questions the foolish male-dominated religious ideas, spiritual laws, the legal system and the social views about man-woman relationships. In the male-dominated society, laws are made by men for their own selfish interests. Nora has committed a forgery and she admits it and she is proud of it because she has committed the forgery for the love of her husband, to save his precious life. But her husband tells on her face that she has committed a crime, a sin and woman’s duty is to look after the needs of her husband and children. She has no duty to herself. Therefore Torvald Helmer accuses her of a cheat and she has no right to bring up her children, because she has committed a forgery.

Nils Krogstad is dismissed from the Savings Bank by Torvald as soon as he becomes the manager of the bank.  In retaliation, Krogstad writes a letter to Torvald Helmer revealing the forgery committed by his wife Nora. Torvald reads the letter and is angry with Nora and tells her that she is a cheat and dishonest and not fit for bringing up their three children. At that moment Nora finds the real face of Torvald because his masked face if fallen and she learns that he is a hypocrite and has no love for her. Meanwhile another letter comes from Nils Krogstad with the forged promissory note (bond) and canceling all revengeful action against Nora. This made Torvald happy and forgives Nora for her sin and tells her that she is once again his ‘skylark’, squirrel etc.’ But Nora tells him that she had expected a wonderful thing from Torvald that he would certainly take up the blame of the forgery on his shoulder and tell that world that he asked her to commit the forgery for him and therefore he was guilty one and not Nora. But the wonderful thing did not happen. So Nora goes out of Torvald’s home slamming the door against the male dominated social laws and customs.

The play “A Doll’s House” has dropped a bomb in the male-dominated society all over the world. Social life in the cities began to change fast ever since the publication of this play and woman has gradually attained equal social status with man in all field of life.

The role and character of Mrs.Linde
Mrs.Linde is the best friend of Nora who calls her pet name Christine. Christine comes to the to get a job and she meets Nora. Christine and Nils Krogstad are childhood friends and they fell in love with each other. But Christine had to look after her ailing mother and two younger brothers and she needed money for them. Being highly practical minded, Christine consented to marry a rich business man. Krogstad is  jilted by Christine and he gets married to another woman. But fate was cruel to her. Her mother died and the younger brothers ran away from her one by one. Soon her husband died and also his business ruined and Mrs.Linde becomes penniless and childless. A sense of loneliness seizes her and she finds life meaningless. So three years after the death of her husband, she has come down to city to meet her old friend Nora. She urgently wants a job to burry her loneliness and sorrow. Torvald Helmer gives Krogstad’s job in the bank to Nora’s friend. Now Nora tells her friend her dreadful secret to Christine and Christine promises to help Nora. She meets Krogstand and and both of them learned the truth that they are ‘shipwrecked’ man and woman. Krogstad is a widower and Christine is a widow. She is willing to marry andglad to look after Krogstad’s children. Thus Christine transformed Krogstand to a reformed character. Krogstand is thrilled with joy and promises to undo his mistake to Nora. He writes a letter to Torvald enclosing the forged bond and canceling all revengeful action against Nora. This made Torvald happy and tells Nora that she is once again his ‘skylark and ‘squirrel’ to him. Thus Mrs.Linde has played an important role in averting the crisis that faces the Helmer family.

The role and character of Krogstad
Krogstad is introduced in the Ist Act of the play “A Doll’s House” as a villain. According to Dr.Rank, the family friend of Torvald Helmer, Nils Krogstad is suffering from ‘a diseased moral character’. Krogstad is a lawyer and a widower with ‘several children’. His married life was very unhappy. Christine and Nils Krogstad are childhood friends and fell in love with eacher. But Krogstad is jilted by Christine and she married a rich business man and thus she became Mrs.Linde. This is why Krogstad married another woman and they had children. But Christine’s husband died and she is childless and penniless. By the time Krogstad also became a widower. Nora borrowed a huge amount from Krogstad for the medical treatment of her husband. But commited forgery by putting her father’s signature. The date of signature is 2nd October whereas her father died as early as 29th September.  Krogstad was dismissed from the Bank by Nora’s husband Torvald Helmer and the post was given to Nora’s friend Mrs.Linde who needed a job urgently to burry her loneliness and sorrow. Krogstand  comes to Nora and threatens her that if he does not get back the job in the bank, he will file a case in the court for forgery. Nora tries her best to persuade her husband not to dismiss Krogstad  from his post in the bank, but Torvald was adamant. Torvald tells Nora that while working in the Bank, Krogstad committed forgery and somehow he was excused from the punishment but he neither confessed his guilt nor underwent punishment. This is why Torvald dismissed Krogstad.. As soon as he receives the dismissal order, Krogstad sends a letter to Torvald revealing the forgery committed by his wife. But Mrs. Linde helps Nora and she meets Krogstad. Mrs Linde is willing to marry Krogtad and is glad to look after his children. Krogstad is transformed into reformed character. The villain turns a hero and Nora and Torvald are saved from legal action and humiliation. Krogstad sends a letter to Torvald enclosing the forged bond, and canceling all revengeful acts against Nora.
Kjt/29-12-2014


Longing (poem) by Matthew Arnold

Longing                                                                                                      Matthew Arnold

Matthew Arnold is a great poet and critic in English literature. His poem “Longing” is a typical love poem expressing the lover’s intense longing for the presence of his belove. With the fire of love burning in his heart, the lover asks her to come to him in his dreams at night so that he can wipe out all his worries and miseries of day time.
“Longing” is one of the best lyric poems written by Matthew Arnold and the theme revolves round an ardent lover’s dream about his beloved. The true note of the poem is sadness. It is pensive melancholy essentially romantic in origin. In this short poem, the speaker gives expression to the passionate longing of his heart. The poet calls his lady love to come to him in his dream at night so that all his sufferings and sorrow and pain will be vanished and he will be refreshed again. He considers her as an angel from a heavenly place and her charming smile relaxes him and relieved him from all miseries of day time. Throughout the day he has been waiting with a burning desire for her presence in his dream at night. Now he wants his dream to be converted to reality. He wants her real presence and combs his hair and to kiss him passionately and asks him “My love, why are you suffering?” The poem ends with the ardent longing of the speaker that his dream girl must be real to him and gives him spiritual comfort.  

his heart.



When We Two Parted (poem) by Lord Byron

When We Two Parted                                                                                       Lord Byron

The poem “When We Two Parted” is a lyric, each stanza having the rhyme scheme ‘ababcdcd’.  The poem is written by Lord Byron in melancholy tone. Although the poet is a jilted lover, he does not show any feeling of hatred towards his lady love. The poet is very sad, but has no intention to take revenge upon her, although she betrayed him.
Their relationship was based on ‘platonic love’ because the poet says that ‘her vows are all broken’ which shows that they were united by means of vows (ideal love) and not by physical sex. Similarly the phrase ’half-broken hearted” indicates that their love was not perfect because the lady was not sad or broken hearted.
In the poem “When We Two Parted” Byron tells us how he was betrayed by the infidelity of his beloved. When they parted, she kissed him, but it was, in his view, a cold kiss that shows the end of their relationship. She had a secret affair with another man and thus she broke all the vows between the poet and herself.. Others told the speaker about her bad reputation and it was a shame to him. On hearing about her infidelity, he was shocked because he had such deep love for her. It was a death bell to his ear. He asks ”why she became so dear to him?” He cannot forget her; such was his love for her. In the end of the poem the speaker says that if the poet meets her after a long period of absence, he may greet her in silence and tears, for, although she has betrayed him, she is still the goddess of love in his heart.


Sonnet 116 by William Shakespare

Sonnet 116                                                                                       William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare, the greatest English poet and dramatist was born at Stratford-upon-Avon in England. He has written 36 plays and 154 sonnets in his short span of life. This sonnet is about true love. A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines in rigid metrical pattern and rhyme scheme. The poet uses a metaphor – a beacon or guiding star to bring out the nature of ‘true love’.
The poet says that he does not wish to put obstacles to the marriage of true lovers. True love is always unchangeable and un-removable. It is an ever-fixed mark. If one loves another, and the love is genuine, no one can destroy their love for each other. The poet compares true love to a light house giving light to the mariners at sea in ancient times. Similarly in every human life which is a voyage in the violent sea of the world, love acts as the beacon or guiding star giving happiness and purpose of life. True love is so precious that one cannot calculate its value. Again true love is ever lasting. It is not a fool of Time which destroys every thing in the world. Time is personified as a destroyer with a sickle in his hand and he makes ugly and old the beautiful rosy lipped girls and handsome young boys and finally they are all killed by Time. But time cannot destroy true and it lasts till the end of the world.

In the end of the sonnet Shakespeare declares that if any one disproves his statement of true love, he will stop writing and he can say that one man has ever loved.
Tonight I can Write the Saddest Lines                                                         Pablo Neruda

  1. Examine the uniqueness of “Tonight I can Write the Saddest Lines” as a confessional love poem.
  2. Compare the treatment of the theme of parting in “Tonight I can Write the Saddest Lines” with that of “When We Two Parted” and “Valediction Forbidding Mourning”
Pablo Neruda is the great poet of Chile. He was a communist and a revolutionary poet. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. ‘Tonight I can Write the Saddest Lines’ is one of the most celebrated and original of the poems of Neruda. It is a monologue written in a confessional mood, lamenting the loss of love of a jilted lover. The lover contemplates the natural world, the night, the stars, the wind, everything that reminds him of his lost love. The night and the darkness match his sad mood. The lover confesses that tonight he is writing the saddest lines and thereby he is ritually killing his lady love with his pen which becomes his mighty sword!

The poet uses nature image and symbolism to express the lost love.  Words such as “The night is shattered and the blue stars shiver in the distance”. The lover says “ my heart looks for her”.;  at the same time he says” she loved me, sometimes. This tone is repeated in an opposite style “ I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too”. Thus he confesses that their love was not genuine or sincere. But he again confesses that her love gave him maximum pleasure. This is why even when she left him to become another man’s wife, he says “ My sight searches for her, My heart looks for her, My voice tried to find the wind to touch her hearing”. But the beauty of their love reaches when the lover confesses “Love is short, but forgetting so long”. Thus the love poem reaches universal level. Pablo Neruda gives all of us our love poem which we hug to our heart with great satisfaction and whisper every line of it in our solitude. This is genuine love poem meant for every human being who is born to love and be loved!

Let us compare this love poem with “When We Two Parted”. It is a love poem written by Lord Byron. The speaker calls to mind how his heart used to swell with joy in the company of his lady love. Soon the lover comes to know that the reputation of his lady love is lost because she had an affair with another man and the public knew it. It was a rude shock to the lover and they were separated silently and in tears. The whole poem is a recollection of his past lost love for her. . When she became a subject of gossip, the lover
did not know how to face her. The loss of her good name was stronger than the loss of her love for him. There is one similarity between the two poems. The love is very short but forgetting is very, very long.


John Donne’s poem “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning” is also a love poem addressed by the poet to his wife. It is metaphysical poem and love is elevated to spiritual, ideal level. In the poem love compared to the peaceful death of a good man, the expansion of pure gold and stiff but twin compasses. The startling images and hyperboles and other shocking ideas distinguish this poem from the other two love poems. But common man loves Pablo Neruda’s love poem “Tonight I can write the Saddest Lines” because of its familiar day today images and ideas.
Ode on a Grecian Urn                                                                                        John Keats
John Keats is one of the greatest of the Romantic poets in English literature. He died at the age of twenty six of tuberculosis.  The Grecian Urn symbolizes Art. The poet teaches us through the Grecian Urn that art is immortal and the Beauty is Truth, and Truth Beauty.  The poem is addressed to the Grecian Urn and the poet praises lavishly the beauty of the vase. He says that the Grecian Urn is the “unravished bride of  quietness. It is the foster child of silence and Time. Time is the great destroyer of everything in the world, but has preserved the Grecian Urn’s beauty. This is why the poet calls the Urn the foster child of Time. It is very interesting to note that the urn which contains the human ashes is changed by the poet into the symbol of immortality and eternal beauty.

The charming village life of Greece engraved on the Vase tells us a story more sweetly than any poem written by human beings. The poet says that it is a “leaf-fringed legend”. He imagines that the story happened in the beautiful valleys of Tempe or Arcady in Greece. There are three rustic scenes engraved on the Grecian Urn. Young and beautiful maidens are running, musicians are playing on musical instruments and singing beautiful songs and a priest is leading a heifer to the altar of sacrifice. A little town by river or seashore or mountain side with citadel is emptied of its people. They might have gone to the altar to see the sacrifice of the holy heifer by the priest.

Now the poet describes the three pastoral scenes one by one. A young and handsome musician is playing on pipes and other musical instruments and also singing songs. He is standing under green trees. The poet cannot hear the music. So he says “Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter” because the silent music enters poet’s soul and spirit. The poet says that the young musician is singing for ever and the trees always enjoy spring season. Their leaves are neither dropped nor the young man, ever becomes old.
The second scene is about a bold lover trying to kiss his lady love. He cannot kiss her, but he is not sad because she ever young and beautiful, standing beside him. They enjoy life and are ever happier than human beings in reality. Thus the poet makes a contrast between the mortal human life and the immortality of Art. In real life every individual is suffering from misery, poverty, illness and sorrow. Happiness comes to them once in a blue moon like a guest. Finally they die in pain and agony.

Finally the poet speaks about the third scene engraved on the Grecian Urn. A mysterious priest is leading a heifer to an altar in the jungle. The young holy cow is decorated with silk garlands. Near by there is a little town built on the river side or sea shore or a mountain side. But the town is emptied of its residents. All the people have gone to see the sacrifice. They will never come back to the town.
 In concluding the poem, Keats tells the Grecian Urn (Attic shape) that the Urn silently laughs at all human beings because human beings are short lived and mortals. They suffer hunger, pain poverty illness and sorrow. The Grecian Urn is the friend of us and tells us silently “Beauty is truth, truth beauty”. This is John Keats’ philosophy of beauty. Beauty and Truth are the two sides of a coin. They are identical. Art immortalizes beauty, which brings pleasure to man and consoles the spirit of man.

 Kjt/16-11-2014

Riders to the Sea (one act play) by J.M. Synge

Riders to the Sea

                                                                                            John Millington Synge (J.M. Synge)
Answer the following questions in not more than three sentences.
1.      What did Nora bring home from the young priest?
Nora brought home a bundle which contained a shirt and a stocking that belonged to a drowned man.  The village priest had given the bundle to Nora to verify if the clothes belonged to her missing brother Michael. The priest told her that the bundle belonged to a drowned man whose dead body had been found in Donegal and given a decent burial there.
2.      How does Cathleen deceive her mother Maurya?
Maurya had seen Cathleen climbing up to the turf-loft and Cathleen told her mother that she had been burning a cake at the fire for Bartley. But she was actually hiding the bundle of clothes on the turf-loft. The young priest had given Nora that bundle which belonged to a drowned man whose body had been found in Donegal.
What are the reasons that Maurya gives for keeping Bartley back from going to the horse-fair in Connemara?
3. Maurya had lost her husband, father-in-law and five sons. Her youngest son Bartley is going to the horse-fair in Connemara. She requests Bartley not to sail for Connemara because the weather is very bad and the sea is violent. Secondly, if Michael’s dead body is brought home, there is no one to make a coffin for him.
4.      What story is told Cathleen about the recovery of Michael’s clothes in Donegal?
Nora tells her sister Cathleen that two smugglers were carrying whisky in their boat by the black-looking rock on the Irish coast, the oar of one of them struck a dead body, which was floating. They picked up the dead body, which is supposed to be Michael’s.
5.      How does Nora confirm that the shirt and the stocking in the bundle belonged to Michael?
Nora had knitted her brother, Michael’s pair of stockings. So she examined the number of stitching that she had put in them and found them correct. Similarly the shirt is of the same quality of Michael’s old shirt. Thus Nora confirms that the shirt and stockings belonged to Michael’s.
6.      What was the fearfullest thing that Maurya had seen?Bring out its dramatic significance
The dreadfullest thing  that Maurya had seen was the ghost of her dead son Michael chasing her youngest son Bartley on a grey pony. The poor fisherfolk of Aran had a superstitious belief that if a living man is chased by a ghost, he would die soon.
7. “I ‘ll have no call now to be going down and getting Holy Water in the dark night after Samhain and I won’t care what way the sea is when the other women will be keening” Why does Maurya say so?
With the death of her last son  Bartley, there was no male member left in the family. Now she is free from all burdens of life. She becomes a living dead person who has no feeling left and she does not care fore anything life. The sea can do her no more harm.
8. How did Bartley die?
Bartley was going to the horse-fair in Connemara. While he was crossing the sea, the grey pony knocked him down to the violent sea and he was drowned.
Why is the neighbour surprised at Maurya’s forgetting to purchase nails for the coffin?
The neighbour is surprised because Maurya has seen many coffins made for her menfolk such as her husband, father-in-law and her five sons. So it is surprising that Maurya forgot to buy nails for her sixth son Bartley.
9. What does Maurya mean when she says Michael has a clean burial in the far north?
Maurya has seen the tragic deaths of her husband, father-in-law and six sons. So now she bows her head to the inevitable fate-death without any complaint. She accepts the deaths of her two sons Michael and Bartley without any complaint. Therefore Maurya says that it is enough that Michael had a clean burial in Donegal.
10.“What more can we want than that? No man at all can be living for ever, and we must be satisfied” – what is the dramatic significance of these lines?
The final effect of ‘Riders to the Sea’ is sublime and not depressing. Maurya is the tragic heroine of the play and they are the concluding utterance, which bring the play to a sublime end because it expresses a sense of relief. Man is a helpless creature in the hands of death. Death closes all. So Maurya heaves a sigh of relief that everything is over with death. She has lost her husband, father-in-law and six healthy, young sons in the sea.
11.What do the red mare and grey pony represent in the play “Riders to the Sea”?
The red mare and grey pony are symbolic representations. Red colour represents strength and virility and grey stands for death. It should be remembered that Bartley who was riding the red mare was knocked down to the sea by the grey pony that was following Bartley.
Write short notes on the following:
1.       Supernatural elements in “Riders to the Sea”
Riders to the Sea is a one act play written by J.M. Synge who is a great Irish writer. He spent five summers in the Aran Islands, which excited his interest in the durablity and humour of the Aran peasant folk.  Riders to the Sea is a very simple but powerful one act play about a mother who loses her sixth son to the sea. As the characters are rude peasants, supernaturalism is natural to them. It is penetrated into the spirit of the drama. The very title “Riders to the Sea” reflects supernatural elements.  There are only two riders in the play.  They are Bartley and his “ghost” brother Michael. Maurya, their mother has seen the horrible sight. She had seen Michael riding on a grey pony behind Bartley.  Synge has created a world of spectre and spirit by weaving the ghost horse and Samhain into the plot of the play. Samhain is the Celtic festival of the departing Sun, which is held on November 1st. It is the feast of the Dead in Pagan and Christian times.
Nora tells Cathleen that there were two men and they were rowing and the oar of one of them caught the body of Michael, which was floating near the cliffs in the North. Black cliffs represent some place of darkness through which the spirits of the dead pass into Hades. Murya’s youngest son Bartley was riding on a red mare while the ghost of her dead son(Michael) was following on a grey poney. It is the superstitious belief among the poor fisherfolk of Ireland that red colour stands for strength and virility and grey colour for death. The springwell and the food that Maurya prepared for Bartley also reflect the supernatural element in the play. Maurya tried her best to stop Bartley from going to Connemara crossing the sea because she had seen a star at the tip of the rising moon.
Drafted and typed by K.J. Thomas for his students at Prathibha College, Karivarakundu on 20th August 2006..





Remarks on the English by the Indian Kings (essay) by Joseph Addison

Remarks on the English by the Indian Kings
Joseph Addison

Joseph Addison and Richard Steele are the pioneers of English essays. First they started the paper “The Tatler”. After that they began “The Spectator”. Richard Steele was more original, imaginative and sensitive, while Joseph Addison shows charm of style, restraint in expression and elegance in his essays. More over Joseph Addison’s essays show the genial intimacy between the writer and the reader. Later writers like Charles Lamb and Hazlitt followed the style of Addison. Joseph Addison was a keen observer of men and mnners and had a fine sense of humour. In the essay titled “Remarks on the English by the Indian Kings”, he laughs at the false pride of his countrymen about the customs, manners and dresses of their nation. The author imagines that four Indian kings have visited England and he used to accompany them during their visit. After that he was eager to learn their opinion about his country and his people. So he asked one of his friends to contact their landlord, an upholsterer and learn about their manners and conversation. The upholsterer gave Addison’s friend a bundle of papers, which belonged to the King Sa Ga Yean Qua Rash Tow. The papers were translated into English.

The remark of the Indian King about the Church of St Paul in London is very interesting. They thought that the church was created with the earth and produced on the same day with the sun and the moon. The church was on the top of hill. It was a huge rock. The workers used many tools and instruments and made beautiful vaults and caverns and huge pillars are made out of the rock. The pillars looked like huge trees with branches of leaves. When the work was begun, there was some religion among the people and they used to come there to worship. Every seventh day of the week, they come here to worship. But when the king visited these holy houses, he found people had no interest in worship and prayer. A man in black dress was standing above the rest and spoke something. But people did not listen to his sermon and they were talking. Some of them were sleeping.

The Queen of England appointed two men to attend the Indian kings. They acted as interpreters. Soon the kings learned that these two English men were bitter enemies to each other. One interpreter said that England was infested with a dangerous animal called Whigs. They support parliamentary democracy and they don’t like kings.  The other interpreter told the Indian kings that there are some dangerous animals in England. They are called Tories. They don’t like foreigners. Whigs and Tories are two political parties of England. The Whigs support parliamentary democracy while Tories support kingship. Later Whigs changed their name to Liberal party and Tories changed into Conservative party.
The Indian kings learned that English men are very cunning and skillful in handicraft works. Most of the young men are very lazy because they were carried in “little covered rooms” by a couple of porters. Their dress is very uncivilized because they wear the dress upto the neck and bind their bodies with a bundle of dresses. These English people wear huge wigs on their heads and proudly walk along the road. On the other hand the kings decorated their heads with colourful feathers.

The Indian kings were invited to one of their public parks where entertainment was going on. The Indian kings wanted to watch hunting of animals. But they saw a lot of people sitting in a candle lighted room and watching some entertainment.

The Indian kings watched the English women from a distance and they could not talk to them. These women grow their hair long and tie it up in a knot and they use a covering so that other cannot enjoy their beautiful hair. The women look like angels and would be more beautiful than the sun if they did not use the black mark on the face. The spot of the black mark is changed from day to day.

Addison concludes from these observations that people always disapprove of the customs, manners and dresses of other nations because they are not familiar with such strange customs and manners and dresses. People of every nation should know that their customs and manners also have some drawbacks and defects. We should not criticize the customs, manners, dresses and other habits of other nations only because they are not familiar to us.

1.  “On the most rising part of the town there stands a huge house, big enough to contain the whole nation of which I am king”        - 1st & 2nd paragraph of the essay.
2. “ But as for those underneath him, instead of paying their worship to the deity of the place, they were, most of them bowing and curtseying to one another and a considerable number of them fast asleep” – 1st &  2nd paragraph
3.  “Our other interpreter used to talk very much of a kid of animal called a Tory, that was a great monster as the Whig”   -   1st and 3rd paragraph
4. “Instead of those beautiful feathers with which w adorn our heads, they often buy up a monstrous bush of hair, which covers their heads and falls down in a large fleece below the middle of their backs” – 1st & 4th paragraph.
5.  “The women look like angels, and would be more beautiful than the sun, were it not for little black spots that are apt to break out in their faces, and sometimes rise in very 

Refund (one act play) by Percival Wilde

Refund (One act play)

Percival Wilde


Refund is a beautiful one act play written by Percival Wilde.  It is the story of a former student Wasserkopf.  After an interval of eighteen years, Wasserkopf come back to his school to get back his tuition fees.  He says that he did not get good education and that was why he failed in life.  He was fired from his last job and he thought that  he learned nothing.   Then his old classmate Lederer advised him to go to school and get back his tuition fees. The principal and teachers were shocked at this. If Wasserkopf were paid back his tuition fees, the next day, all former students would come and demand their tuition fees.  So the principal and teachers decided not to refund the tuition fees. They decided to conduct a re-examination and Wassserkopf should not be failed in any subject.  Whatever his answers must be proved correct and he should pass the exam.  Thus the exam is conducted and Waxsserkopf passed every subject with the highest marks. Finally he is kicked out of the school.  The play is a hilarious comedy.


2. The Mathematics Master designed the examination.  He advised the Principal and other teachers that they should prevent Wasserkopf  from failing because he would demand the refund of the tuition fees. So whatever his answers, the teacher must prove that his answers are correct.  They all agreed to this proposal.

3. In the re-examination, the Mathematics Master requested Wasserkopf  to sit on the chair, but Wasserkopf angrily said “to hell with a seat” and he would stand.  But the Mathematics Master said that the answer was excellent.  Wasserkopf meant that he did not like written examination and he liked oral exam. Secondly his physical condition was good.  Therefore Wasserkopf passed the Physical Culture subject with the highest marks.

4. In the re-examination, the History Master asked Wasserkopf how long the thirty years war lasted.  Wasserkopf answered that the thirty years war lasted seven meters. The Master said that the answer was excellent because Wasserkopf  made a lot of researches on the subject based on Einstein’s Relativity Theory.  So a year is represented as a meter and seven years are seven meters. But actual warfare took place only for less than twelve hours in a day.  Thus thirty years war lasted seven meters. The answer is excellent and
Wasserkopf passed the exams.

5. The Principal and Masters proved every foolish answer of Wasserkopf as correct and they passed Wasserkopf in the re-examination. They kicked Wasserkopf out of the school

Questions.
1.  Why does Wasserkopf demand a refund of his tuition fees?     1st paragraph
2.  How does Wasserkopf get the idea of refund?                              1st paragraph
3.  How does the Mathematics Master design the exam?                2nd paragraph
4.  “To hell with a seat, I shall stand”- How does the Mathematics Master interpret Wasserkopf's refusal to occupy a seat?                                             3rd paragraph
5.      How, according to the History Master, thirty years can be thirty meters?

         4th paragraph