ALL THE CREDITS GO ONLY TO ROHANA C FERNANDO SIR.
ALL IS HIS NOTES
Raymond Wilson: Two´s Company
They said the house was haunted , but
he laughed at them and said, ‚Tut, tut!
I never heard such tittle-tattle
as ghosts that groan and chains that rattle;
And just to prove I’m in the right,
please leave me here to spend the night.‘
They winked absurdly, tried to smother
their ignorant laughter, nudged each other,
and left him just as dusk was falling
with a hunchback moon and screech owls calling. —
Not that this troubled him one bit;
in fact, he was quite glad of it,
knowing it’s every sane man’s mission
to contradict all superstition.
he laughed at them and said, ‚Tut, tut!
I never heard such tittle-tattle
as ghosts that groan and chains that rattle;
And just to prove I’m in the right,
please leave me here to spend the night.‘
They winked absurdly, tried to smother
their ignorant laughter, nudged each other,
and left him just as dusk was falling
with a hunchback moon and screech owls calling. —
Not that this troubled him one bit;
in fact, he was quite glad of it,
knowing it’s every sane man’s mission
to contradict all superstition.
But what is that? Outside it seemed
as if chains rattled, someone screamed!
Come, come, it’s merely nerves, he’s certain
(but just the same, he draws the curtain).
The stroke of twelve — but there’s no clock!
He shuts the door and turns the lock
(of course he knows that no-one’s there,
but no harm’s done by taking care!);
someone’s outside — the silly joker,
(he may as well pick up the poker!)
That noise again! He checks the doors,
shutters the windows, makes a pause
to seek the safest place to hide —
(the cupboard’s strong — he creeps inside).
‚Not that there’s anything to fear‘
he tells himself, when at his ear
a voice breathes softly, ‚How do you do!
I am the ghost. Pray who are you?´
as if chains rattled, someone screamed!
Come, come, it’s merely nerves, he’s certain
(but just the same, he draws the curtain).
The stroke of twelve — but there’s no clock!
He shuts the door and turns the lock
(of course he knows that no-one’s there,
but no harm’s done by taking care!);
someone’s outside — the silly joker,
(he may as well pick up the poker!)
That noise again! He checks the doors,
shutters the windows, makes a pause
to seek the safest place to hide —
(the cupboard’s strong — he creeps inside).
‚Not that there’s anything to fear‘
he tells himself, when at his ear
a voice breathes softly, ‚How do you do!
I am the ghost. Pray who are you?´
Dr. Raymond Wilson is a well-known author who has written five books, including Ohiyesa: Charles Eastman, Santee Sioux. He is the editor of Natives Americans in the Twentieth Century and Indian Lives: Essays on Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Native American Leaders. Dr. Wilson has published over 50 essays, articles, or chapters in books, encyclopedias, and dictionaries and has published over 15 articles in professional journals. Additionally, he has more than 185 book reviews in scholarly journals and many presentations at scholarly conferences.
Dr. Wilson is Professor of History and former chair of the Department of History at Hays University, Kansas. He received the fourth President’s Distinguished Scholar Award. He joined the faculty in 1979. Dr. Wilson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fort Lewis College, a Master of Arts degree from the University of Nebraska, Omaha, and a Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico. A native of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, Dr. Wilson, and his wife, call Hays home.
He is a member of several professional organizations and has been accorded numerous honors and awards. In 2002, he received the Fort Hays State University Pilot Award for outstanding teaching and is listed in the International Directory of Distinguished Leadership and in Who’s Who Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian.
As one of the most renowned authorities on the writings of Charles Eastman, Dr. Wilson wrote the foreword to The Essential Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa).
An Analysis of the poem “Two’s Company”
The poem satirizes people who are 100 percent sure that there are no such things as ghosts. The persona in the poem is such a person. The humor comes from the contrast between what ‘he’ says at the bginning and what he says and does later.
Our ‘hero’ has decided to spend the night in a haunted house just to prove to his friends that there are no such things as ghosts. But as night falls, strange things happen which frighten him. The way he tries to convince himself that there are no ghosts, while at the same time taking care to protect himself is very funny:
Come, come, it’s merely nerves, he’s certain
(But just the same he draws the curtain.)
There are many instances of this which show that as night falls he gets more and more frightened; so much so, that he hides himself inside a cupboard:
To seek the safest place to hide-
(The cupboard’s strong – he creeps inside.)
Even then he tells himself that there is nothing to fear. But to his great shock, the ghost who was also ‘living’ inside the cupboard, speaks politely in his ear, introducing itself. The ghost’s polite tone evokes humor:
….How do you do?
I am a ghost. Pray who are you?
This certainly contributes to the humor as normally we do not expect such politeness from a ghost.
The poet creates a frightening atmosphere that increases the tension and the fear in the mind of the persona in the poem.
and left him just as dusk was falling
with a hunchback moon and screech owls calling. —
with a hunchback moon and screech owls calling. —
… But what is that? Outside it seemed
as if chains rattled, someone screamed!
as if chains rattled, someone screamed!
The comedy of the situation arises from the rising fear of the self-assured protaganist who doesn’t believe in ghosts and his final encounter with the ghost whom he finds in the same cupboard he wanted to hide himself. The surprise also adds to the humor. The sub-title of the poem which says ‘The sad story of a man who didn’t believe in shosts’ is also humorous as it turns out to be a comedy in the end.
The use of the rhyming couplets give a quick movement to the poem in tune with the dramatic situation presented by the poet. It also highlights the comic quality of the poem. This poem also reminds me of another humours poem about ghosts called ‘Colonel Frazerkerly’ where the protagonist really outsmarts the ghost.
The Huntsman by Edward Lowbury
Kagwa hunted the lion,
Through bush and forest went his spear.
One day he found the skull of a man
And said to it, “How did you come here?”
The skull opened its mouth and said,
‘Talking brought me here.’
Kagwa hurried home;
Went to the king’s chair and spoke:
‘In the forest I found a talking skull.’
The king was silent. Then he said slowly,
‘Never since I was born of my mother
Have I seen or heard of a skull which spoke.’
The king called out his guards:
‘ Two of you now go with him
And find this talking skull;
But if his tale is a lie
And the skull speaks no word,
This Kagwa himself must die’
They rode into the forest;
For days and nights they found nothing.
At last they saw the skull; Kagwa
Said to it, “How did you come here?”
The skull said nothing. Kagwa implored,
But the skull said nothing.
The guards said, ‘Kneel down.’
They killed him with sword and spear.
Then the skull opened it’s mouth;
‘Huntsman, how did you come here?’
And the dead man answered,
‘Talking brought me here.’
"The Huntsman" has been composed by the modern English poet Edward Lowbury. It is based on an African folklore which explains the uncertainty of human life. The poem is an evidence of imaginative richness and psychological insight of the poet. It is also full of suspense mystery and supernatural. The poet tells us the mysterious story of a famous hunter Kagwa, who was fond of talking.
He lost his life due to talking needlessly. Kagwa used to hunt loin in the forest. One day when he was wandering in the forest he came across the skull of a dead man. Kagwa was surprised to see that skull and asked what had brought it there. The skull opened its mouth and told that talking had brought it there. But he failed to understand the meaning of these words.
Kagwa was a simple fellow and could not conceal this unusual discovery. Immediately, he went to the king and told him this unbelievable incident. The king suspected the truth of his story but sent two guards with him. He instructed them if his story proved false the hunter must be put to death. They explore the forest for many days and nights. At last they found the skull. The hunter asked it the same question again but the skull remained silent. Kagwa requested the skull gain and again to speak and save his life but the skull did not answer. The king's men promptly killed the hunter there and punished him for his talkative tongue. At that moment the skull openedits mouth and asked Kagwa how he had come there. The dead man answered "Talking brought me here'.
The general atmosphere of the poem is gloomy and fearful. The presence of a talking skull and the killing of the hunter terrify us. The message in the poem is that one should be very careful when talking to others and especially to men of authority.
Short Biography of Alexander Kushner
Alexander Kushner - Russian poet. The author of more than 30 books of poetry and numerous articles on classical and modern Russian poetry, collected in two books.
Born September 14, 1936 in Leningrad. The father of the future poet Lieutenant-Colonel C. S. Kushner (1911-1980) was a naval engineer.
A. Kushner studied at the philological faculty of the Pedagogical Institute. A. Herzen. In 1959-1969, taught in the school of English language and literature. Since the late 1960s moved on to professional literary career. In 1993, signed a Letter of 42".
A member of the bot of the USSR (1965), the Russian PEN center (1987). CH. the editor of the Library of the poet" (1992; 1995 - "New library of the poet"). Member of the editorial boards W crystals "Star", "Counterpoint" (1998), the virtual W-La "Art-Petersburg" (since 1996).
Married to the poet Elena Puspadewi. The only son of Eugene and his family live in Israel.
In poetry follows the principles laid down by acmeists and family on the poetics of the authors (I. Annenskii to Boris Pasternak): description of the objective world, of life and involvement in world culture (citing). Kushner alien formal experimentation, innovation: blank verse, free verse, the creation of new words.
I. Brodsky made a General assessment of the creativity of the poet: "Alexander Kushner is one of the best lyric poets of the twentieth century, and his name is destined to stand among the names dear to the heart of anyone whose native language is Russian".
Verses Kouchner characteristic modesty, proximity to prose; the skill of the poet is revealed only at a leisurely reading of these passages is in accordance with the fact, as he Kushner reveals the world around us.
Book of poems by A. Kushner was published in translation in English, Dutch, Italian. Poems have been translated into German, French, Japanese, Hebrew, Czech and Bulgarian.
Upside-Down
Once there lived an Upside-Down
Who was the talk of all the town.
If he was told to turn to right
He turned to left out of spite.
If he went sailing in a boat
No one could make him understand
Why he seem to be afloat
And what had happened to the land.
He read his letters backside-fore,
And wrote his letters backside-fore.
So if a “ton” was to be read
He read it “not,” the dunder-head!
All his life he was afraid
To cross a bridge. He’d always wade
(Unless the water was too deep
Or the embankment was too steep.)
He went into a restaurant;
The waiter said, “What do you want?”
He said, “I’d like a pair of socks
With clocks on them, and in a box.”
The circus came to town one day;
Of course he went without delay.
And everyone said Upside-Down
Was funnier than the circus clown.
Just yesterday the postman brought
A letter to him from his aunt:
“Shall I read it? P’raps I ought,
P’raps I will, p’raps I can’t.”
An Analysis of the poem “Upside-Down” by Alexander Kushner
The poem “Upside-Down” is a humorous poem by Alexander Kushner who has published 15 collections of poetry as well as two prose works. He is also known as one of the best lyrical poets of the 20th century.
The central character of the poem is an eccentric person called “Upside-Down”. As the name suggests, he acts in a very absurd manner, making everything upside down.
The poem contains some of his ‘upside-down’ acts which naturally evokes humour. No one could make him understand the reality and act in a rational manner. (“All his life he was afraid to cross a bridge). Sometimes he is depicted as being very unsure of himself and his abilities:
“Shall I read it…p’raps I can’t.”
Due to his crazy deeds, Upside-Down has become a laughing stock in his society. He also appears to be a social ‘misfit’ or one who does not fit into the society although he is not an anti-social character.
Even though the poet presents Upside-Down as an absurd and eccentric character, he also appears to sympathise with him to a certain extent. In other words, he also conveys a sense of loneliness or alienation caused by Upside-Down’s inability to conform to the social norms.
The last two lines of the poem seem to suggest that unless one conforms to society, he will not be accepted or recognized by the society:
‘You must behave as others do
If they’re to have respect for you’
The two lines, however, seem to be ambigous in that the poet may be giving an advice or he may be ironical of his advice. In other words, if a person does not follow the social norms and behave ‘as others do’ he will not be accepted by the society as the society always looks askance at anything which is unconventional even if it is something positive.
The poem has a simple rhyme scheme and an easy-moving rhythm which befits its light-hearted tone.The use of direct speech at certain places also makes the poem interesting. The humour arises mainly from the unpredictability and the absurdity of Upside-Down’s behaviour.
The Clown’s Wife
About my husband, the clown,
what could I say?
On stage, he’s a different person.
Up there he’s a king on a throne,
but at home you should hear him moan.
The moment he walks through that door
without that red nose and them funny clothes,
he seems to have the world on his shoulder.
I do me best to cheer him up, poor soul.
I juggle with eggs, I turn cartwheels,
I tell jokes, I do me latest card trick,
I even have a borrow of his red nose.
But he doesn’t say exactly how he feels,
doesn’t say what’s bothering him inside.
Just sits there saying almost to himself:
‘O life, ah life,
what would I do without this clown of a wife?’
Johnson Agard
Notes pending...
Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957), pseudonym for Lucila Godoy y Alcayaga, was born in Vicuña, Chile. The daughter of a dilettante poet, she began to write poetry as a village schoolteacher after a passionate romance with a railway employee who committed suicide. She taught elementary and secondary school for many years until her poetry made her famous. She played an important role in the educational systems of Mexico and Chile, was active in cultural committees of the League of Nations, and was Chilean consul in Naples, Madrid, and Lisbon. She held honorary degrees from the Universities of Florence and Guatemala and was an honorary member of various cultural societies in Chile as well as in the United States, Spain, and Cuba. She taught Spanish literature in the United States at Columbia University, Middlebury College, Vassar College, and at the University of Puerto Rico.
The love poems in memory of the dead, Sonetos de la muerte (1914), made her known throughout Latin America, but her first great collection of poems,Desolación [Despair], was not published until 1922. In 1924 appearedTernura [Tenderness], a volume of poetry dominated by the theme of childhood; the same theme, linked with that of maternity, plays a significant role in Tala, poems published in 1938. Her complete poetry was published in 1958.
Poem: “Fear” by Gabriela Mistral (translated by Doris Dana)
I don’t want them to turn
my little girl into a swallow.
She would fly far away into the sky
and never fly again to my straw bed,
or she would nest in the eaves
where I could not comb her hair.
I don’t want them to turn
my little girl into a swallow.
I don’t want them to make
my little girl a princess.
In tiny golden slippers
how could she play on the meadow?
And when night came, no longer
would she sleep at my side.
I don’t want them to make
my little girl a princess.
And even less do I want them
one day to make her queen.
They would put her on a throne
where I could not go to see her.
And when nighttime came
I could never rock her …
I don’t want them to make
my little girl a queen!
Central to the poem "Fear" by Gabriela Mistral is a mother's anxiety about losing her child. This is, in part, a selfish fear as the mother worries that the child will become like a swallow and metaphorically "fly off" to be with others, teachers, classmates, friends, and not her. That the mother is a poor person rooted to one place is evidenced in this metaphor that depicts the child like a bird escaping her sight. Also the mother worries that the child will leave her little "straw bed" and become "a princess." for if she becomes a princess, then the metaphorical "they" may make her a queen; with their royal obligations, the princess and queen will not be able to be together. Here, then, is also the expression of fear for the daughter as life's obligations and pitfalls meet her.
Through the use of metaphor and repetition, the mother expresses her fear of her daughter's growing up and leaving her and encountering potential harm. She combs the girl's hair and does other physical things that she may keep the child close as long as she can.
"Father And Son" by Cat Stevens
[Father]
It's not time to make a change
Just relax, take it easy
You're still young, that's your fault
There's so much you have to know
Find a girl, settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy
I was once like you are now, and I know that it's not easy
To be calm when you've found something going on
But take your time, think a lot
Why, think of everything you've got
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not
[Son]
How can I try to explain, when I do he turns away again
It's always been the same, same old story
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away
I know I have to go
[Father]
It's not time to make a change
Just sit down, take it slowly
You're still young, that's your fault
There's so much you have to go through
Find a girl, settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy
[Son]
All the times that I cried, keeping all the things I knew inside
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it
If they were right, I'd agree, but it's them they know not me
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away
I know I have to go
It's not time to make a change
Just relax, take it easy
You're still young, that's your fault
There's so much you have to know
Find a girl, settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy
I was once like you are now, and I know that it's not easy
To be calm when you've found something going on
But take your time, think a lot
Why, think of everything you've got
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not
[Son]
How can I try to explain, when I do he turns away again
It's always been the same, same old story
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away
I know I have to go
[Father]
It's not time to make a change
Just sit down, take it slowly
You're still young, that's your fault
There's so much you have to go through
Find a girl, settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy
[Son]
All the times that I cried, keeping all the things I knew inside
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it
If they were right, I'd agree, but it's them they know not me
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away
I know I have to go
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Father and Son.docx
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"Father and Son" is a popular song written and performed by English singer-songwriter Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam) on his 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman. The song frames an exchange between a father not understanding a son's desire to break away and shape a new life, and the son who cannot really explain himself but knows that it is time for him to seek his own destiny. Stevens sings in a deeper register for the father's lines, while using a higher one for those of the son. Additionally, there are backing vocals provided by Stevens' guitarist and friend Alun Davies beginning mid-song, singing an unusual chorus of simple words and sentences such as "No" and "Why must you go and make this decision alone?"
Cat Stevens originally wrote "Father and Son" as part of a proposed musical project with actor Nigel Hawthorne called Revolussia, that was set during the Russian Revolution; the song was about a boy who wanted to join the revolution against the wishes of his father. The musical project faded away with the onset of more than a year-long period of recuperation after a sudden bout of tuberculosis and a collapsed lung; the result of too much fast living after first achieving fame. But "Father and Son" remained, now in a broader context that reflected not just the societal conflict of Stevens' time, but also captured the impulses of older and younger generations in general.
Interviewed soon after the release of "Father and Son", Stevens was asked if the song was autobiographical. Responding to the interviewer from Disc, he said, "I’ve never really understood my father, but he always let me do whatever I wanted—he let me go. 'Father And Son' is for those people who can’t break loose." "Father and Son" received substantial airplay on progressive rock and album-oriented rock radio formats, and played a key role in establishing Stevens as a new voice worthy of attention. In 1970 it was only put on the B-side of Stevens' single "Moon Shadow" (Island Records).
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Stevens has said he is aware that "Father And Son" and several other songs mean a great deal to a large number of fans.
"Some people think that I was taking the son’s side," its composer explained. "But how could I have sung the father’s side if I couldn’t have understood it, too? I was listening to that song recently and I heard one line and realized that that was my father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father speaking."
By 2007, Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam) recorded the song again in "Yusuf's Cafe Sessions" of 2007 on DVD again with Alun Davies, and a small band playing acoustic instruments. The performance was presented in a video with two close camera shots of his wife and daughter, holding his infant grandchild, as if to make the point that this song really is timeless.
The Camel's Hump
How the Camel got his Hump > |
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THE Camel's hump is an ugly lump Which well you may see at the Zoo; But uglier yet is the hump we get From having too little to do. Kiddies and grown-ups too-oo-oo, If we haven't enough to do-oo-oo, We get the hump— Cameelious hump— The hump that is black and blue! We climb out of bed with a frouzly head, And a snarly-yarly voice. We shiver and scowl and we grunt and we growl At our bath and our boots and our toys; And there ought to be a corner for me (And I know' there is one for you) When we get the hump— Cameelious hump— The hump that is black and blue! The cure for this ill is not to sit still, Or frowst with a book by the fire; But to take a large hoe and a shovel also, And dig till you gently perspire; And then you will find that the sun and the wind, And the Djinn of the Garden too, Have lifted the hump— The horrible hump— The hump that is black and blue! I get it as well as you-oo-oo If I haven't enough to do-oo-oo! We all get hump— Cameelious hump—
Kiddies and grown-ups too!
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Rudyard Kipling was an English author famous for an array of works like.docx
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The Story of How the Camel Got his Hump - A summary
This poem goes with the story, How the Camel Got his Hump, one of Rudyard Kipling’s Just So stories. Rudyard Kipling, born in Bombay, lived 1865 – 18 January 1936. He was an English short-story writer, poet, and novelist. Kipling , who received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1907, has a huge and fascinating writer’s history. Here is a summary of the story:
In the beginning of time, when the world is new, there is a Camel. The Camel is very lazy and he sits in the middle of the Howling Dessert, eating prickles and milkweeds. When anyone speaks to the Camel he responds with, “Humph”.
On Monday, the Horse comes and asks the Camel to help trot. The Camel replies, “Humph”. The Horse goes away and tells the Man. On Tuesday, the Dog comes and asks the Camel to help fetch and carry. The Camel responds, “Humph”. The Dog goes away and tells the Man. On Wednesday, the Ox comes and asks the Camel to help plough. The Camel states, “Humph”. The Ox goes away and tells the Man. At the end of the day, the Man calls the Three animals together. The Man says that since the Camel will not work, they will have to do extra work to make up for him. This makes the Three very angry, and they talk and complain about the Camel.
In rolls a Djinn, the man in charge of All Deserts, and he confers with the Three. They ask if it is alright for someone to be so lazy and not work. The Djinn, of course, says it is not.
The Djinn heads to the middle of the desert where the Camel is ogling his reflection. The Djinn asks the Camel why he is not doing any work and the Camel responds, “Humph”. The Djinn tells the Camel that since he has chosen not to work, he has given the Three extra work. The Camel says, “Humph”. The Djinn warns the Camel that if he says ‘humph’ again, something bad may happen. As soon as the Camel responds with “humph” again, and a huge hump grows on the back of the Camel!
The Djinn tells the Camel that is his very own hump, brought on by his selfishness and lack of activity. The Djinn says the Camel has to work, and the Camel asks how can he work with a giant hump on his back. The Djinn explains that the hump will hold enough fuel for him to be able to work for three days without eating.
The Camel goes to join the Three, and from that day always has a hump. The Camel has yet to catch up with the work he missed in the beginning of time, and he has not yet learned how to behave.
Camel’s Hump by Rudyard Kipling Analysis
Rudyard Kipling was an English author famous for an array of works like 'Just So Stories' and 'The Jungle Book.' He received the 1907 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in 1865 in Bombay, India, where his father was a Professor at the Bombay School of Art. He became a very popular writer of poetry and short stories and was also the authekor of some novels. One of his greatest poems is “If” which is a very inspirational poem written as a series of advises by a father to his son. He also wrote many sotries and poems for children.
The origin of the poem:
The Camel’s Hump”, derives from one of the Children’s stories he wrote called, “How the Camel Got his Hump” In this story Kipling speaks of the time long ago when animals just began to work for men. Many animals including horses, dogs and oxen went to work for men but the camel did not wish to do this and went to live in the middle of the desert to avoid it. On three successive days the horse, the dog and the ox came to the desert to ask the camel to come and work for men. But on each occasion the camel refused to go saying, “Hum.” At the end of the third day, man called the three animals – the horse, the dog and the ox and said, “That Hump thing in the desert refuses to work and therefore the three of you have to work double time.” The angry animals then met the Djinn ( a spirit) and complained to him about the camel’s refusal to work. The Djinn then ordered the camel to go and work for three days for man, but again he only said, “Hump”, and did not go to work. Then for the second time the Djinn ordered him to go to work and again he refused saying, “Hump” But this time the Djinn used his magical powers to punish the camel; he punished him by puffing up his back into a hump. Then the Djinn ordered him to go and work for man and from that day to this the camel has a hump and works for man.
The hump in the poem “The Camel’s Hump”, is a metaphor for a uncooperative, sullen, and lazy state of mind. There is a moral in it like in many of Kipling’s poems.
Comment on the Poem:
The poem is written using very simple language and a swinging rhythm which appeals to children. This appeal is enhanced by the use of internal rhymes in verses in 1,3, 5 and 6 as can be seen in the 1st line: “The Camel’s hump is an ugly lump” Hump” and “lump’ rhyme and the 2nd and 4th lines too rhyme. In verse 2 and verse 7 there is a refrain like quality. This comes from the lengthening of the vowel sounds, at the end of the 1st two lines – ‘too-oo-oo’/’you-oo-oo,’ and ‘do-oo-oo.’ This makes it easier to chant or to sing. The poem also has many lines which are repeated: ‘Camelilious himp-‘.’The hump that is black and blue!’ All this makes it attractive to children.
It is obviously a children’s poem, but everyone can bejefit from the moral contained in it – that sulky unwillingness to join in constructive work, results in the person who refuses to work becoming unpleasant and unattractive.
Questions and Answers:
1. Would you class this poem as one written for children?
Though it is primarily meant for children, it is a poem that adults can read with profit and enjoyment.
2. Name the main metaphor used in the poem.
The Camel’s hump is a metaphor for selfishness and laziness.
The Earthen Goblet
by Harindranath Chattopadyaya
O silent goblet! Red from head to heel,
How did you feel
When you were being twirled
Upon the potter's wheel
Before the potter gave you to the world!
'I felt a conscious impulse in my clay
To break away
From the great potter's hand
That burned so warm,
I felt a vast
Feeling of sorrow to be cast
Into my present form.
'Before that fatal hour
That saw me captive on the potter's wheel
And cast into his crimson goblet sleep,
I used to feel
The fragrant friendship of a little flower
Whose root was in my bosom buried deep.'
'The potter has drawn out the living breath of me
And given me a form which is death of me,
My past unshapely natural stage was best
With just one flower flaming through my breast.'
Harindranath Chattopadhyay was born on April 2, 1898 and died on June 23, 1990. He was an Indian English poet, an actor, and he was a member of the 1st Lok Sabha from Vijayawada constituency. He was the younger brother of Sarojini Naidu. He is famous for poems like Noon and Shaper Shaped. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1973. The memorable song Rail Daddi sung by Ashok Kumar in the film Aashirwad is his creation.
Chattopadhyay's poetry usually deals with nature and natural way of life. The poem is written as a dialogue between the poet and the goblet. He wants to know how the goblet felt when it was taken from the earth and shaped into a goblet. The answer of the goblet which forms the next three stanzas of the poem is tinged with a sense of sadness and helplessness.
"I felt a conscious impulse in my clay, to break away"
The goblet likes its former life with nature:
"With just one flower flaming through my breast"
These lines evoke the warm and beautiful relationship between the goblet and the flower. The warmth of this relationship is further emphasized by the alliteration of "f" sound in:
"Fragrant friendship"
and the alliteration in:
"My bosom buried deep".
The poet draws a contrast between the former life of the goblet with nature.
Big Match 1983
Glimpsing the headlines in the newspapers,
tourists scuttle for cover, cancel their options
on rooms with views of temple and holy mountain.
‘Flash point in Paradise.’ ‘Racial pot boils over.’
And even the gone away boy
who had hoped to find lost roots, lost lovers,
lost talent even, out among the palms,
makes timely return giving thanks
that Toronto is quite romantic enough for his purposes.
Powerless this time to shelter or to share
we strive to be objective, try to trace
the match that lit this sacrificial fire
the steps by which we reached this ravaged place.
We talk of ‘Forty Eight ‘and ‘Fifty Six’,
of freedom and the treacherous politics
of language; see the first sparks of this hate
fanned into flame in Nineteen Fifty Eight,
yet find no comfort in our neat solution,
no calm abstraction, and no absolution.
The game’s in other hands in any case.
These fires ring factory, and hovel,
and Big Match fever, flaring high and fast,
has both sides in its grip and promises
dizzier scores than any at the oval.
In a tall house dim with old books and pictures
calm hands quit the clamouring telephone.
‘It’s a strange life we’re leading here just now,
not a dull moment. No one can complain
of boredom, that’s for sure. Up all night keeping watch,
and then as curfew ends and your brave lands
dash out at dawn to start another day
of fun, and games, and general jollity,
I send Padmini and the girls to a neighbor’s house.
Who, me? - Oh I’m doing fine. I always was
a drinking man you know and nowadays
I’m stepping up my intake quite a bit,
the general idea being that when those torches
come within fifty feet of this house don’t you see
it won’t be my books that go up first, but me.’
A pause. Then, steady and every bit as clear
as though we are neighbors still as we had been
In Fifty Eight. ‘Thanks, by the way for ringing.
There’s nothing you can do to help us but
it’s good to know some lines haven’t yet been cut.’
Out of the palmyrah fences of Jaffna bristle a hundred guns.
Shopfronts in the Pettah, landmarks of our childhood
Curl like old photographs in the flames.
Blood on their khaki uniforms, three boys lie dying;
a crowd looks silently the other way.
Near the wheels of his smashed bicycle
at the corner of Duplication Road a child lies dead
and two policemen look the other way
as a stout man, sweating with fear, falls to his knees
beneath a bo-tree in a shower of sticks and stones
flung by his neighbor’s hands.
The joys of childhood, friendships of our youth
ravaged by pieties and politics
screaming across our screens her agony
at last exposed, Sri Lanka burns alive.
Yasmin Goonaratne
Download the note at the end.
An Analysis of the Poem “Big Match 1983”
In the poem Big Match, 1983;Yasmine Gooneratne has registered her sorrow over the violent communal clashes which completely disrupted the diligently built cultural poetics of the multiracial and multicultural country. The violence of July 1983 was a moment of ignominy in the history of Sri Lanka for the ruling Sinhalese majority conducted an officially sanctioned pogrom against the Tamil minority. Even after the harrowing effects of the aftermath of the Second World War, humanity has failed to learn the importance of compassion and humanism. Though Sri Lanka had a rich cultural heritage, the discrepancy prevailing in society has ransacked the edifice of the cultural mosaic of a multi racial community.
Sri Lanka was granted freedom as a consequence of the struggle for independence in India. Indians forged with a single consciousness as a nation forgetting their inherent differences of language, religion and creed to gain freedom from the British but unfortunately there was no nationalistic credo among the Sri Lankans for freedom was granted to them. After their Independence from the British rule in 1948, the Tamil minority wanted their privileged position to continue but the Sinhalese majority wanted to tilt the balance to their advantage. This created a chasm between the two racial communities which resulted in sporadic outbreak of violence. In 1956 Sinhalese was made the official language which distressed the sentiments of Tamil populace. Racial sentiments became a poignant weapon in the hands of the power mongering politicians. In the 1970s the Tamil United Liberation Front clamored for a separate state called Elam.
Their radical ideologies, legitimization of terrorism, international involvement resulted in ethnic conflict which seems to be endemic. Of the Tamils, less than a half live in the North of Sri Lanka; the majority live among the Sinhalese. The Tamil minority enjoys a much better position in Sri Lanka than most minorities in other countries, and also, partly because of favored treatment ensuing from the classical colonial policy of “divide and rule” during a century and a half of British occupation, they became, in the words of Sri Lanka’s leading historian, K.M de Silva “a minority with a majority complex.” (Goonetilleke 450)
The violence of July 1983 created a sudden upheaval in the social constructs of Sri Lanka; suddenly multitudes were driven out of the country as refugees. The pathos is that the violence was targeted particularly against the Tamils, the ethnic minority. The commercial institutions belonging to the Tamils were selected and targeted. Suddenly Tamils in Sri Lanka were made paupers who had to flee to save their lives forgetting their heritage and the legacy of their fore fathers.
Media has sensationalized and commercialized the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka for most of the newspapers Sri Lankan Cultural Poetics: Yasmin Gooneratne’s the Big Match 125 worldwide carried the horrific racial conflicts as the headlines. ‘Flash point in Paradise.’ ‘Racial pot boils over.’(4) Journalism has lost its ethical base: instead of creating an awakening about the need of brother hood, it converted racial conflict into best selling news item. The ethnic conflict is worldwide problems for most of the nations have become multiracial due to immigration. The solution to this conflict remains a nightmare for we have accepted the concept of universal brotherhood as a theoretical proposition but we have failed when it comes to practical implementation.
The ethnic crisis or racial problems are a watershed in the history of human civilization. Most affluent people affected by the racial violence left Sri Lanka for the Western countries for a better livelihood. The civil war in Sri Lanka created the largest Tamil diaspora in the world. Though they left their native country with bitter feelings and suffered from a sense of alienation. They hoped to reinstate new roots in the adopted country but when the civil war turned tumultuous they thanked their fortune for being alive.
And even the gone away boy
who had hoped to find lost roots, lost lovers,
lost talent even, out among the palms, makes timely return giving thanks
that Toronto is quiet romantic enough
for his purpose.(5-10)
The powerless citizens of Sri Lanka are in an absurd situation wherein they have to be objective and practical amidst irrevocable calamity. The innocent people who lost their kindred, friends, and property can never be offered any comfort or consolation. Though they are aware that any solution, abstraction or absolution is impossible to redeem them from their predicament, they sit back and analyse the root cause for their long malady. Yasmine Gooneratne revokes the past historical actuality that started the communal violence and converted the country into a sacrificial pyre.
Their independence from colonial rule never gave them an opportunity to merge various sects with patriotic feeling. In 1956 when Sinhalese was made the official language the sentiments of the Tamil were hurt which led to the radical view of their political ideology; “see the first sparks of this hate/fanned into flame in Nineteen Fifty Eight” (17-18). The malice and ill will continued to spread like fire and resulted in the “Big Match fever” – the incident of 1983 when an attempt was made to annihilate the Tamil minority from the country.
The local people live in constant fear and their situation is traumatic. Every day ends with curfew and dawn starts with new game of violence. They keep vigil night and day to safeguard their lives. Lack of security and lack of faith in humanity turns them desperate and addicted to alcohol. The situation turns them paranoiac for they are tugging at the threshold of death. Amidst the chaos of nihilism there still lurks a ray of hope that humanism would bloom. The Sinhalese and Tamils continue their friendship in spite of the politically incited hatred. as though we are neighbours still as we had been in ‘Fifty Eight,’
‘Thanks, by the way, for ringing.
There’s nothing you can do to help us, but
it’s good to know some lines haven’t yet been cut.’(42-45)
Jaffna, once a land of beautiful landscape has been turned into a battle ground. The poetess laments that“…landmarks of our childhood / curl like old photographs in the flames” (48-49). Young boys instead of empowering the nation by useful enterprise lay down their precious life for political doctrines. The sight of dead bodies strewn on the streets had become a common sight in the violence prone area. They have no time to spare, to stand and stare at the deceased for their life is at stake.
The joys of childhood, friendships of youth
ravaged by pieties and politics,
screaming across our screens, her agony
at last exposed, Sri Lanka burns alive.(57-60)
CONCLUSIONS
Gross human rights violation, radical power politics, legitimized terrorism ravaged the nation to shreds. The agony and anguish of the nation was exposed to the world through the poignant literary works. In spite of international involvement, peaceful co existence remains a farfetched dream. With the expectation that her poetry might act as a panacea for the troubles insinuated by separatist mentality and would bring peace to the war ravaged country.
Richard Cory
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich—yes, richer than a king—
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
About the Poet:
On December 22, 1869, Edwin Arlington Robinson was born in Head Tide, Maine (the same year as W. B. Yeats). His family moved to Gardiner, Maine, in 1870, which renamed “Tilbury Town," became the backdrop for many of Robinson’s poems. Robinson described his childhood as stark and unhappy; he once wrote in a letter to Amy Lowellthat he remembered wondering why he had been born at the age of six. After high school, Robinson spent two years studying at Harvard University as a special student and his first poems were published in the Harvard Advocate.
Robinson privately printed and released his first volume of poetry, The Torrent and the Night Before, in 1896 at his own expense; this collection was extensively revised and published in 1897 as The Children of the Night. Unable to make a living by writing, he got a job as an inspector for the New York City subway system. In 1902 he published Captain Craig and Other Poems. This work received little attention until President Theodore Roosevelt wrote a magazine article praising it and Robinson. Roosevelt also offered Robinson a sinecure in a U.S. Customs House, a job he held from 1905 to 1910. Robinson dedicated his next work, The Town Down the River (1910), to Roosevelt.
Robinson’s first major success was The Man Against the Sky (1916). He also composed a trilogy based on Arthurian legends: Merlin (1917), Lancelot (1920), and Tristram (1927), which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1928. Robinson was also awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his Collected Poems (1921) in 1922 and The Man Who Died Twice (1924) in 1925. For the last twenty-five years of his life, Robinson spent his summers at the MacDowell Colony of artists and musicians in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Robinson never married and led a notoriously solitary lifestyle. He died in New York City on April 6, 1935.
Type of Work
Richard Cory" is a short dramatic poem about a man whose outward appearance belies his inner turmoil. The tragedy in the poem reflects in its spirit the tragedies in Edwin Arlington Robinson's own life: Both of his brothers died young, his family suffered financial failures, and Robinson himself endured hardship before his poetry gained recognition—thanks in part to praise from an influential reader of them, Theodore Roosevelt.
Robinson published the poem himself in 1897 as part of a poetry collection called Children of the Night. The poem is a favorite of students and teachers because of the questions it poses about the the title character.
Robinson published the poem himself in 1897 as part of a poetry collection called Children of the Night. The poem is a favorite of students and teachers because of the questions it poses about the the title character.
Setting
Although the poem mentions no specific locale, readers of Robinson’s poetry know that Richard Cory lives in fictional Tilbury Town, a community modeled on Robinson’s hometown of Gardiner, Maine. Gardiner is on the Kennebec River in southwestern Maine a few miles south of the state capital, Augusta. Robinson used Tilbury Town as the setting of many of his poems, including the highly popular Miniver Cheevy, although his poems seldom mention the town by name.
Text of the Poem
Whenever Richard Cory went downtown,
We people on the pavement1 looked at him;
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,2
Clean favored, and imperially slim..............................4
We people on the pavement1 looked at him;
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,2
Clean favored, and imperially slim..............................4
And he was always quietly arrayed,3
And he was always human4 when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good-morning," and he glittered5 when he walked. .....8
And he was always human4 when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good-morning," and he glittered5 when he walked. .....8
And he was rich—yes, richer than a king—
And admirably schooled in every grace; In fine,6 we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place................12
And admirably schooled in every grace; In fine,6 we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place................12
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head............16
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head............16
Notes
1 pavement: Sidewalk.
2 sole: Bottom of a shoe; also, soul
3.crown: This word has a double meaning: (1) top of the head; (2) crown worn by a king.
4.imperially: In the manner of a ruler, such as an emperor or king
5.quietly arrayed: Dressed in fine but conservative attire.
6.human: Down to earth; not condescending.
7.glittered: Reflected light from his jewelry, shiny buttons, etc.
8.In fine: In summary, in short.
9.light: better day, better life
2 sole: Bottom of a shoe; also, soul
3.crown: This word has a double meaning: (1) top of the head; (2) crown worn by a king.
4.imperially: In the manner of a ruler, such as an emperor or king
5.quietly arrayed: Dressed in fine but conservative attire.
6.human: Down to earth; not condescending.
7.glittered: Reflected light from his jewelry, shiny buttons, etc.
8.In fine: In summary, in short.
9.light: better day, better life
Title Meaning
The name Richard Cory appears to allude to England’s King Richard I (born, 1157; died, 1199). Here’s why: Richard I, a descendant of the French Normans who conquered England in 1066, earned the byname Richard Coeur de Lion (Richard the Lion-Hearted) for his valiant fighting in the Crusades. Arlington chose Richard Cory as the name of the character in his poem for two reasons: (1) because Richard Cory has kingly characteristics and (2) because the name resembles the first two words of King Richard I’s French byname, Richard Coeur–hence, Richard Coeury, or Cory. That Richard Cory has the characteristics of a king is subtly hinted at in the poem. For example, in line 3, we learn that Cory is a “gentleman from sole to crown." Here, crown not only refers to the top of his head but also to a crown worn by a king. In line 4, we learn that Cory is “imperially slim." The word imperially means “having the qualities of a sovereign ruler." We also discover that Richard Cory “glittered" (line 8), that he was “richer than a king" (line 9), and that he was “admirably schooled in every grace" (line 10). Finally, we have a hint that Richard Cory is being compared to an Englishman because of the use of the word pavement in line 2. Pavement is a British term for sidewalk.
Narrators (Speakers)
As the poem indicates with the pronoun “we," the people of the town are the poem's speakers. Obviously, they are working-class citizens who have little of material value and sometimes can’t afford meat to put on their tables (line Line 2, Stanza 4). They admire Richard Cory because of his possessions and his elegant demeanor. But they also envy him because he seems to have everything. They wish that they could take his place—until that fateful evening when Richard takes his own life.
End Rhyme
In each stanza of "Richard Cory," the final syllable of the first line rhymes with the final syllable of the third, and the final syllable of the second line rhymes with the final syllable of the fourth. The first stanza illustrates the pattern.
Whenever Richard Cory went downtown,
We people on the pavement looked at him;
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
We people on the pavement looked at him;
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
Internal Rhyme
Robinson also used internal rhyme in "Richard Cory." Following are examples.
Whenever Richard Cory went downtown (line 1)
To make us wish that we were in his place (line 12)
Went home and put a bullet through his head (line 16)
To make us wish that we were in his place (line 12)
Went home and put a bullet through his head (line 16)
Meter
Most of the lines in the poem are in iambic pentameter. Lines 1-3 demonstrate this pattern:
.......1..............2...............3................4................5
When EV..|..er RICH..|..ard COR..|..y WENT..|..down TOWN,
When EV..|..er RICH..|..ard COR..|..y WENT..|..down TOWN,
.......1.............2..............3.....................4..................5
We PEO..|..ple ON..|..the PAVE..|..ment LOOKED..|..at HIM;
We PEO..|..ple ON..|..the PAVE..|..ment LOOKED..|..at HIM;
.......1.............2..............3................4...................5
He WAS..|..a GEN..|..tle MAN..|..from SOLE..|..to CROWN,
He WAS..|..a GEN..|..tle MAN..|..from SOLE..|..to CROWN,
.......1................2................3...........4............5
Clean FA..|..vored AND..|..im PER..|..i AL..|..ly SLIM
Clean FA..|..vored AND..|..im PER..|..i AL..|..ly SLIM
Themes
Three themes stand out in this poem:
1. Appearances are deceiving—or, put another way, you can’t tell a book by its cover.
2. Money can’t buy happiness.
3. You can’t judge people by what they have, but only by what they are.
2. Money can’t buy happiness.
3. You can’t judge people by what they have, but only by what they are.
It turns out that beneath his veneer of wealth and respectability, Richard Cory is a deeply disturbed, very unhappy man. Even though he has everything in one sense, he has nothing in another. He is an emotional pauper.
Why Does Richard Cory Kill Himself?
The poem does not answer this question. But, of course, the reader may freely speculate. Perhaps, because he has everything, he has nothing to do and feels useless. Or could it be that he lacks the one thing that others in the town have: a caring family? Maybe he is in bad health or has suffered a financial reversal. What is your view?
Figures of Speech
Following are examples of figures of speech in the poem. (For definitions of figures of speech, Alliteration
Whenever Richard Cory went downtown (line 1) people on the pavement (line 2) wish that we were in his place (line 12) we worked, and waited
Anaphora
And he was always quietly arrayed, And he was always human when he talked (lines 5-6)
Metaphor
So on we worked, and waited for the light Comparison of light to improved life or better times
Study Questions and Essay Topics
· Why does Richard Cory kill himself? The poem does not answer this question. But of course the reader may freely speculate on it. Perhaps, because he has everything, he has nothing to do and feels useless. Or it could be that he lacks the one thing that others in the town have: a caring family? Maybe he is in bad health or has suffered a financial reversal. What is your opinion?
· Write an essay that compares and contrasts Richard Cory with Miniver Cheevy, the subject of another Robinson poem. To access the "Miniver Cheevy" study guide,
· It has been speculated that Robinson modeled Richard Cory after his brother, Herman. Read a short biography of Robinson, then tell your class whether you believe Herman was in fact the model for the title character. Explain your answer.
· Write an essay based on the theme of the poem.
Once Upon a Time
Once upon a time, son,
they used to laugh with their hearts
and laugh with their eyes:
but now they only laugh with their teeth,
while their ice-block-cold eyes
search behind my shadow.
they used to laugh with their hearts
and laugh with their eyes:
but now they only laugh with their teeth,
while their ice-block-cold eyes
search behind my shadow.
There was a time indeed
they used to shake hands with their hearts:
but that’s gone, son.
Now they shake hands without hearts
while their left hands search
my empty pockets.
they used to shake hands with their hearts:
but that’s gone, son.
Now they shake hands without hearts
while their left hands search
my empty pockets.
‘Feel at home!’ ‘Come again’:
they say, and when I come
again and feel
at home, once, twice,
there will be no thrice-
for then I find doors shut on me.
they say, and when I come
again and feel
at home, once, twice,
there will be no thrice-
for then I find doors shut on me.
So I have learned many things, son.
I have learned to wear many faces
like dresses – homeface,
officeface, streetface, hostface,
cocktailface, with all their conforming smiles
like a fixed portrait smile.
I have learned to wear many faces
like dresses – homeface,
officeface, streetface, hostface,
cocktailface, with all their conforming smiles
like a fixed portrait smile.
And I have learned too
to laugh with only my teeth
and shake hands without my heart.
I have also learned to say,’Goodbye’,
when I mean ‘Good-riddance’:
to say ‘Glad to meet you’,
without being glad; and to say ‘It’s been
nice talking to you’, after being bored.
to laugh with only my teeth
and shake hands without my heart.
I have also learned to say,’Goodbye’,
when I mean ‘Good-riddance’:
to say ‘Glad to meet you’,
without being glad; and to say ‘It’s been
nice talking to you’, after being bored.
But believe me, son.
I want to be what I used to be
when I was like you. I want
to unlearn all these muting things.
Most of all, I want to relearn
how to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror
shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs!
I want to be what I used to be
when I was like you. I want
to unlearn all these muting things.
Most of all, I want to relearn
how to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror
shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs!
So show me, son,
how to laugh; show me how
I used to laugh and smile
once upon a time when I was like you.
how to laugh; show me how
I used to laugh and smile
once upon a time when I was like you.
Gabriel Okara
About the Poet: Gabriel Imomotimi Gbaingbain Okara (born April 21, 1921 in Bumodi, Nigeria) is a Nigerian poet and novelist who may be pronounced as highly original and uninfluenced by other poets. He has been extremely successful in apprehending the moods, sights and sounds of Africa. His poems show great sensitivity, perceptive judgements and a tremendous energy. Okara also shows a concern on the topic of what happens when the ancient culture of Africa is faced with modern western culture.
Once Upon a Time Summary by Gabriel Okara
The poem “Once Upon A Time” written by Gabriel Okara illustrates the changes a father has seen in him throughout his life which have been influenced by the way society has changed.
In the first stanza, at the start of the poem Okara writes “they used to laugh with their hearts and… eyes; but now they only laugh with their teeth while their ice-block cold eyes search behind my shadow.” This phrase illustrates the change in the way people act showing that their laughs used to be genuine and heartfelt however now their attitudes have changed. The description of “laugh with their teeth” illustrates someone showing false interest. The dark imagery “ice-block cold eyes” which follows shows that there is no emotion or feeling in the action.
In the next stanza Okara describes how “they used to shake hands with their hearts” implying that the actions were genuine and were also symbolic of good intentions however “Now they shake hands without hearts while their left hands search my empty pockets.” This phrase illustrates that all good intentions have gone and how now it is every man for him. Everybody is only focusing on their own personal gain. The use of a metaphor emphasises how there is a lack of trust as everybody is trying to use each other.
Brief Note on the Poem:
Gabriel Okara’s Once Upon A Time is about the artificiality of relationships and manners prevailing in the present day world. The past, according to the poet, is better than the present; because there were love, sincerity and faithfulness in the past. Now that in the present, everything has changed. Hence the poet wants to relive the past.
Once upon a time, the people used to laugh with their hearts and eyes. That is, there was genuineness in what they said and did. But in the present, there is only outward ‘teeth laugh’ without understanding the speaker’s real self. The eyes are described as ‘ice block – cold’. The people have become money minded and naturally develop their relationships with the rich. Even when shaking hands with others, they are very artificial and hence mechanical.
Guests are no longer welcome these days. They are given a warm reception only once. If they visit their friends or relatives thrice or more number of days, the doors are shut on them. In this material and artificial world, the poet has learnt many things – especially wearing many faces like putting on many dresses. One has to have ‘home face’, ‘office face’, ‘cocktail face’ and so on. All are fixed just like the portrait smile. As this is the way of the world, the poet – cum – speaker has also learnt laughter with teeth; the art of saying‘goodbye’ when he means ‘Good riddance’; ‘Glad to meet you’ when he is not glad; and ‘Nice talking to you’ when bored.
The poet wants to be like his son with all the exemplary conduct. He himself becomes the victim of the present showing ‘the fangs of a snake’. Towards the end of the poem, the poet appeals to his son to show him how to smile wholeheartedly. Desire to relive the past is nothing but a yearning for the innocence, faithfulness and sincerity. The poem is written as though a father were talking to his son.
Breakfast
Breakfast
He poured the coffee
Into the cup
He poured the milk
Into the cup of coffee
He added the sugar
To the coffee and milk
He stirred it
With a teaspoon
He drank the coffee
And put back the cup
Without speaking to me
He lit a cigarette
He blew some rings
With the smoke
He flicked the ashes
Into the ashtray
Without speaking to me
Without looking at me
He got up
He put his hat
On his head
He put on
His raincoat
Because it was raining
He went out
Into the rain
Without a word
Without looking at me
And I
I took my head
In my hands
And I wept
Into the cup
He poured the milk
Into the cup of coffee
He added the sugar
To the coffee and milk
He stirred it
With a teaspoon
He drank the coffee
And put back the cup
Without speaking to me
He lit a cigarette
He blew some rings
With the smoke
He flicked the ashes
Into the ashtray
Without speaking to me
Without looking at me
He got up
He put his hat
On his head
He put on
His raincoat
Because it was raining
He went out
Into the rain
Without a word
Without looking at me
And I
I took my head
In my hands
And I wept
Jacques Prévert
Jacques Prévert, France's most widely read poet since Victor Hugo, was born in Paris in 1900. He left school in 1915 and worked at various jobs until 1920 when he served in the military in Lorraine and with the French occupation forces in Turkey.
In 1925 he began to associate with the surrealists, including André Breton and Louis Aragon. "Expelled" from this group by Breton in 1930, because of his "occupation or character", he responded with a savage satirical attack on Breton, "Death of a Gentleman". His first poems were published in the same year, and in 1931 there appeared his first major success: "Attempt to Describe a Dinner of Heads in Paris - France", subsequently published in Paroles.
In the 1930s he worked with a theatre company, the "October Group", linked to the Communist Party though not always reflecting the Party's views. In 1933 he attended the International Workers' Theatre Olympiad in Moscow for the première of his play, "The Battle of Fontenoy". In the same years he began writing film scripts, his first film ("It's In The Bag") appearing in 1932.
Paroles, Prévert's first collection of poetry, appeared late in 1945. Patched together by René Bertelé from forgotten newspapers and reviews, cabaret songs, and scribblings from the backs of envelopes and the paper tablecloths of cafés, Paroles is widely considered Prévert's best work. By the mid-1960s more than a million copies of it and other collections of his poems were in print.
Jacques Prévert died of lung cancer in 1977. Two further poetry collections, Soleil de nuit (1980) and La cinquième saison (1984) were published posthumously.
An Analysis of the Poem:
In a modern city like Hong Kong or Paris, breakfast is something everyone takes before leaving for work. Some take it at home. Some take it at a neighborhood restaurant. Some take it at the office. Some take more. Some take less. And some even do not need any breakfast. But for those who do, breakfast has become a daily ritual. What can we write about a perfectly ordinary breakfast. Let’s see what Jacques Prevert (1900-1977), a Parisien poet and film script writer has to say
In this poem, he deliberately describes an action which has just happened to give it a sense of its proximity to the present. He repeats a verb “put” and uses it in all the possible senses of that verb. He uses the present perfect tense, a tense to emphasize the recency of the action and its close relation to the present to increase the sense of its immediacy.
Not only does he repeat the verb. He also repeats almost exactly the form of his short sentences. He keeps exactly the same sentence structure. As in all literary writing, the repetition serves only one purpose: to build up the energy and the force of the contrast when that repetition is broken, more or less like adding heat to the water in the kettle being boiled, until it reaches the boiling point and turns into steam, something entirely different
The repetitive structure of the sentence may serve another purpose. It may be intended also to emphasize the perfect ordinariness of the action described. It gives a sense of the monotony, the boredom, the dreariness of routine. He describes the action of the man slowly, step by step
The poet does not use any adjectives. He does not use any adverb. He merely recites the facts. He does not use any emotive or emotional words. On the face of it, there is no emotion. There is no excitement. There is no joy. Ostensibly, there is no sorrow. There is no hope. Ostensibly, there is no despair. There is merely a series of actions. There is no sound. There is no sense of touch. There is no description of smell. There is no description of taste. There is no nothing except a relentless factual and apparently objective description. He presents. He does not summarize. He does not give his personal opinion on what happens. He lets what he presents speak for themselves
The effect of the poem relies precisely on this lack of color, this lack of surprise. It describes the action of the man through a pair of eyes. The only time any surprise, if it can be so called, is the description that the man does not look upon the observer and that he does not talk to the observer, which subtly suggests what the observer was expecting
Is the observer a man? Is the observer a woman? Is the observer a child? Is the observer a father? Is the observer a mother? Is the relation between the observer and the observed wife and husband or merely lovers. We do not know
What is most surprising is that all the sentences are about positive actions except for three phrases, “without talking”and “without looking”,”without a word”. The observer might just as well not have existed as far as the man is concerned. The observer has become invisible! Hence the last sentence, in which the observer cried because not of action but the absence of any action to acknowledge the observer’s existence! The Chinese have a saying, “there is no sorrow greater than a heart which has died.”. This is what apparently the poet is trying to describe! The boredom of the man is skilfully brought out without any adjective. It is shown by his action: he’d rather spend the time blowing rings with his cigarette smoke than look at the observer or even say a single word to the observer. The emotion of loss of any hope, of disappointment, of despair is concretely described and objectified by the lack of emotional response from the drinker of the morning coffee. He does not even look at the observer! That is the ultimate denial of the existence of the observer.
I am sure that in a dysfunctional family where the love has gone out of the marriage, what this poem portrays may be the description of a perfectly “normal” morning. It is a morning without love. The relationship between the observer and the observed stopped at observation despite the fact that the two are apparently in close physical proximity to one another
We do not know where the lack of drama took place. It could be at the dining room of the typical family or even inside a neighborhood a restaurant into which the two of them may have stepped before the man left for work or for some other purpose. The lack of any specificity may be intended to convey the feeling that it is something which could happen to any couple or at any place and on any perfectly “ordinary” morning. The scenario might probably have occurred in winter with a dull and dreary grey sky and light drizzle because France has what has been described as a Mediterranean type of climate with light rain in winter and little or no rain in summer
Is Prévert suggesting that what is described is that condition of one particular family. Or is he suggesting that that may well be a universal condition of more than a few modern French families? The extraordinary is embodied in the description of the ordinary. The emotion of desolation and despair is emphasized by an absence: the conspicuous absence of another emotion which the observer expected but did not find: love. Yet throughout the whole poem, the word has never been used at all. Prévert here uses a technique which all paper cutting artists and what all Taoists know: you can convey a presence by an absence: by cutting out instead of leaving in. You can make use of “emptiness” to create a “concreteness”: here the concreteness or solidity of the powerful emotion of despair. He describes what occurs inside the human heart by delineating objectively its external manifestation: the silent sobbing of the observer!
"Terrorist, He's Watching Poem Analysis
Well-known in her native Poland, Wisława Szymborska received international recognition when she won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996. In awarding the prize, the Academy praised her “poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality.” Collections of her poems that have been translated into English includePeople on a Bridge (1990), View with a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems (1995), andMonologue of a Dog (2005).
Readers of Szymborska’s poetry have often noted its wit, irony, and deceptive simplicity. Her poetry examines domestic details and occasions, playing these against the backdrop of history. In the poem “The End and the Beginning,” Szymborska writes, “After every war / someone’s got to tidy up.”
In the New York Times Book Review, Stanislaw Baranczak wrote, “The typical lyrical situation on which a Szymborska poem is founded is the confrontation between the directly stated or implied opinion on an issue and the question that raises doubt about its validity. The opinion not only reflects some widely shared belief or is representative of some widespread mind-set, but also, as a rule, has a certain doctrinaire ring to it: the philosophy behind it is usually speculative, anti-empirical, prone to hasty generalizations, collectivist, dogmatic and intolerant.”
Szymborska lived most of her life in Krakow; she studied Polish literature and society at Jagiellonian University and worked as an editor and columnist. A selection of her reviews was published in English under the title Nonrequired Reading: Prose Pieces (2002). She received the Polish PEN Club prize, the Goethe Prize, and the Herder Prize.
Readers of Szymborska’s poetry have often noted its wit, irony, and deceptive simplicity. Her poetry examines domestic details and occasions, playing these against the backdrop of history. In the poem “The End and the Beginning,” Szymborska writes, “After every war / someone’s got to tidy up.”
In the New York Times Book Review, Stanislaw Baranczak wrote, “The typical lyrical situation on which a Szymborska poem is founded is the confrontation between the directly stated or implied opinion on an issue and the question that raises doubt about its validity. The opinion not only reflects some widely shared belief or is representative of some widespread mind-set, but also, as a rule, has a certain doctrinaire ring to it: the philosophy behind it is usually speculative, anti-empirical, prone to hasty generalizations, collectivist, dogmatic and intolerant.”
Szymborska lived most of her life in Krakow; she studied Polish literature and society at Jagiellonian University and worked as an editor and columnist. A selection of her reviews was published in English under the title Nonrequired Reading: Prose Pieces (2002). She received the Polish PEN Club prize, the Goethe Prize, and the Herder Prize.
Discussion of the Poem:
"Terrorist, He's Watching" by Wislawa Szymborska explores the anticipation of a real life terrorist bombing. The poem is narrated from a third person omnipresent point of view, in a very matter-of-fact tone. The scene described shows various customers entering and exiting the bar in the minutes leading up to the bombs detonation. A few of them that are close to death get away, and one man even escapes and the re-enters the bar, seconds before it turns into a fiery explosion.
The author's purpose in this work is that of creative statement. The poem is mostly about the fragility of life and destiny. The work is not so much about the terrorists, as one would think at first read, it is about the bomb. More importantly, the poem is about the explosion and what that entails for life following it. Szymborska is not necessarily trying to influence the reader's beliefs or values directly, but the author is trying to get the reader to realize how precious life is, and how even the smallest of decisions can change everything. The phrase: "The girl's gone. Was she that dumb, did she go in or not, we'll see when they carry them out", really brings the idea home how fragile life is. The way the author uses words like "fat" and "bald" to describe the customers, shows how the author wants to portray the normality of the customers.
The way the author uses the countdown technique makes the work more suspenseful. This, in-turn, causes the pace of the poem to quicken as a relatively larger amount of time is covered in these number of lines. Furthermore, the way the narrator describes the scene so matter-of-factly makes the work seem heartless. However, the description of each customer contradicts this, because the narrator seems genuinely concerned about each one. This creates a nice contrasting effect which almost forces the reader to decide how he or she feels about it. The phrase: "and what a view - just like in the movies:", makes the reader able to picture the scene.
You can download this note from the link at the end.
I know why the caged bird sings By Maya Angelou
A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange suns rays
And dares to claim the sky.
But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage
Can seldom see through his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
And the trade winds soft through
The sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.
But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams
His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings with
A fearful trill of things unknown
But longed for still and his
Tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.
Maya Angelou (Marguerite Ann Johnson) was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928 to Bailey Johnson, a door attendant, a naval dietitian, and Vivian Baxter Johnson, a nurse, a real estate agent and later a merchant marine. Angelou’s brother, Bailey Johnson Jr., gave her the nickname “Maya”.
Maya Angelou is an American poet, memoirist, actress, Angelou is known for her series of six autobiographies starting with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which was nominated for a National Book Award and called her magnum opus. Her volume of poetry, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘Fore I Diiie was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Angelou recited her poem, “On the Pulse of Morning” at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993. She has been highly honored for her body of work, including being awarded over 30 honorary degrees.
In March 2008, Angelou stated that she plans to spend part of the year studying at the Unity Church. Angelou became involved in American presidential politics in 2008 by placing her public support behind Senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party presidential nominee, despite her good friend Winfrey’s public support of Barack Obama.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a 1969 autobiography about the early years of author Maya Angelou’s life. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings begins when three-year-old Angelou and her older brother are sent to Stamps, Arkansas to live with their grandmother and ends when Angelou becomes a mother at age sixteen.
The American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968) refers to the reform movements in the United States aimed at abolishing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring suffrage in Southern states. In 1966, the emergence of the Black Power Movement, which lasted roughly from 1966 to 1975, enlarged the aims of the Civil Rights Movement to include racial dignity, economic and political self-sufficiency, and freedom from White domination. Many of those who were most active in the Civil Rights Movement, with organizations such as SNCC, CORE and SCLC, prefer the term of Southern Freedom Movement because the struggle was about far more than just civil rights under law; it was also about fundamental issues of freedom, respect, dignity, and economic and social equality
Noted legislative achievements during this phase of the Civil Rights Movement were passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964, that banned discrimination in employment practices and public accommodations; the Voting Rights Act of 1965, that restored and protected voting rights; the Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965, that dramatically opened entry to the America to immigrants other than traditional European groups; and the Civil Rights Act of 1968, that banned discrimination in the sale or rental of housing.
Maya Angelou’s racially centered poetry has a very powerful tone. Maya poem “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is about the repression of the African American race, she uses her coming-of-age story to illustrate the ways in which racism and trauma can be overcome by a strong character and a love of literature. As a young black woman growing up in the South, and later in war time San Francisco, Maya Angelou faced racism from whites and poor treatment from many men.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings written at the end of American Civil Rights movement, the poet was inspired by the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a leader in the American civil rights movement. A Baptist minister, he became a civil rights activist early in his career. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.
The structural elements of poems include the line, couplet, strophe and stanza. Poets combine the use of language and a specific structure to create imaginative and expressive work. The forms of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings poem is described as a lyric that write in combine Quintets and Quatrains stanzas. As lyric form categories, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a short poem expressing personal thoughts and feelings. It is meditative for a single speaker speaks it about his feelings for a person, object, event or idea.
Lines are arranged into groups known in poetry as stanzas. The types of rhyme that are used usually depend on the tone of the verse. In the rhyming I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings poem, each stanza follows the rhyming scheme of AAAB, as in the third and sixth stanza. The flexibility of the first two lines in the stanza following a rhyming scheme symbolizes the imprisonment of the bird. Each stanza follows the rhyming scheme of AAAB (thrill, hill, shrill, freedom). The rigidity of the first three lines in following a rhyming scheme signifies the captivity of the bird. However, the last phrase of each stanza breaks off from the rhyme with the last word being far from the original rhyme: “trill, still, hill, freedom.
Metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one object or idea is applied to another, thereby suggesting a likeness or analogy between them. Maya Angelou’s touching poem revolves around the theme of freedom. On the subject of freedom, Maya Angelou impressively uses effective metaphors, choice words that resemble her people, themes, diction, rhythm scheme, imagery, and paradoxes that bring out within Maya and the reader feelings that represent thriving anger and injustice. “Bars of rage” is a metaphor that represents the imprisonment of innocent slaves throughout history.
The poem of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is told about the heroic of the perfect and good leader to guide the minority black race for out from suffer and lead them to get the acknowledgement of the same right for the majority white people, caged in this poem refers to the majority. In the first couplet, tell about the free and charismatic person leader that comes for their hope. The savior comes from the majority people, which proved on the free bird that spread his wings freely that can come and go easily to break the majority rules.
Second couplet is talk about the savior vision to rise up of minority level into as same as the majority have. He supports the fear people and invites them together with dare and no fearless to challenge the authority for their roles. With all of his power and his ability, he led the minority to sound of freedom from the authority tyranny. In the third couplet is figure out the reaction of the majority for the impact of the minority people. They begin calculated and little dares of the minority fight that shows on the caged bird sing in fearful and they realize if their regime will not longer and changing for the new world and role. For this condition is used by the black people to rise their movements and courage them fight into the majority acknowledgements to realize their existence as the freedom people and have the same right to them.
In the forth couplet tell about the death of the savior on his great name and left the spirit to continue his fight. This is kind of the sadness words from the black people for them lovely leader and put his name as the basic of their spirit to reach their dream as a freedom people. For the fifth couplet is response of the white people, they such as have a fresh air to continue their dream to spread their intimidation and terror more. Than in the last couplet telling the never-ending fight for the black people until they reach the glorious dream and push the white people to recognize black people level and their freedom.
War is Kind by Stephan Crane
War Is Kind
Stephen Crane, 1871 - 1900
Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment
Little souls who thirst for fight,
These men were born to drill and die
The unexplained glory flies above them
Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom--
A field where a thousand corpses lie.
Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Swift, blazing flag of the regiment
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die
Point for them the virtue of slaughter
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.
Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
A detailed analysis of the poem "War is Kind" by Stephen Crane prescribed for the O/L English Literature Syllabus by R.C.Fernando
War is kind by Stephen Crane echoes Wilfred Owen's poem on the WW1 "Dulcet Decorum est" which also brings out the savagery of war in graphic details of a soldier dying an agonizing death after inhaling poison gas released by the enemy. Both poets had first hand experience of war; Owen as a soldier who fought in the front and Crane as a war reporter.
Crane's poem of five stanzas takes us right into the heart of the battle field with soldiers crying and dying all around. Especially, the indented second and fourth stanzas captures the cruelty of war in sharply focused scenes of dying soldiers. Stanzas one, three and five, on the other hand, are about two women and a baby who have lost their loved ones in war. The first stanza is about a woman who has lost her lover, the second stanza about the loss of a father and third about the death of a son. In each of these stanzas, the poet seems to console the mourners in in a tongue in cheek manner.
The poem opens in tone of consolation: "Do not weep maiden.." which is immediately followed by the cutting lines: "for is kind". This is both ironic and sarcastic. Next, the poet presents to us the graphic image of a man who throws his hands wildly at the sky. If not for the verb "throw", it might remind us of somebody praying to God. The man on horseback must have been shot and after loosing control, he fell down and the scared horse ran alone. The frantic gesture of the dying soldier brings home the gritty reality of war with a shocking effect.
The second stanza begins with the "hoarse, booming drums of the regiment" with its deafening onomatopoeic effect. Those days drums were used to herald the advancing troops,may be to boost their morale. The next two lines bring out sad fate of the soldiers who are engaged in war:
Little souls who thirst for fight,
These men were born to drill and die.
Instead of glorifying the soldiers, as in patriotic poems such as Rupert Brook's "The Soldier", the poet, in this poem refers to them as "little souls". The poet's tone here is sympathetic and it contrasts with the traditional image of the soldier as a tough dare-devil type of man. The next line with its strong alliteration of "d" sound in "drill and die" suggest the dispensable nature of their doomed lives. In other words, they serve as pawns in the hands of the rulers with vested interests. The next line carries ironic overtones:
The unexplained glory flies above them
Glory is personified as an unreachable and fleeting phenomenon as the soldiers would never experience the so called "glory" while they live. The contrast between the ideal and the real nature of war is nowhere so evident as in the following lines:
Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom—
A field where a thousand corpses lie.
The first line with its strong alliteration of "g" sound suggests the pomp and greatness of war especially with the allusion the Mars, the Roman God of War or the "battle-god". However, the next line creates a totally different scenario of corpse-strewn landscape, which reminds us of a similar scene in Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade:
"Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred"
The 3rd stanza is addressed to a baby whose father had died in war:
Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
The way the soldier dies here is no less horrible than the death of the soldier in the first stanza. The first world war was mainly an underground warfare as soldiers were fighting from trenches. The conditions of the trenches were appalling and many soldiers died of diseases rather than from war. The "yellow trenches" bring out the unhealthy conditions of the trenches. The excruciating pain suffered by the dying soldier is conveyed through the verbs "raged" and "gulped". This gruesome scene brings out the cruelty of war in no uncertain terms. These lines also echoes Dulcet Decorum Est:
"He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning".
This is immediately followed by the sharply ironic lines "Do not weep/War is kind".
The next stanza takes us to the battle field again:
Swift, blazing flag of the regiment,
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die.
Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.
The regimental flag with its golden crest seems to symbolizes the spirit de corps and heroism of war. The next line, however, conveys the stark reality of war as, according to the poet, the soldiers are just born to "drill and die". This sudden fall from the sublime to the banal is called bathos or anti-climax. The next two lines with "virtue of slaughter" and "excellence of killing" are also laden with heavy irony. The ghostly panorama of "a field where thousand corpses lie" again highlights the grim reality of war.
The final stanza with the image of a mother mourning his dead son provides an appropriate conclusion to the poem:
Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
The heavy alliteration of the "h" sound in the first line creates sense of heaviness of heart felt by the mother. The simile "humble as a button" is somewhat surprising and it links with the "shroud" in the next line. It is "bright and splendid", thus suggestive of a ceremonial funeral. In other words, the soldier is glorified after his death as one who laid down his life for the country and against this aura of glorification, mother's love has become insignificant like "a button".
The poem ends with the cutting lines:
"Do not weep
War is kind"
which runs like an ironic refrain throughout the poem.
Like most poems about war, this poem too brings out the cruelty of war and its miserable aftermath in telling imagery. The ironic style used in the poem reminds us of other war poems of the genre such as "blowing in the wind", "Dulcet decorum est" etc.
Man has been going off to war for ages. They leave their wives and mothers to win honor, valor and glory on the battlefield. Most of the time they come home as heroes. They come home to their mothers and wives. Then there are those who come home in a box, never to see their loved ones again. People seem to forget that fact a lot. In Stephen Crane’s poem “Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.” He employs the help of irony, imagery, and refrain to show how war is depicted in glorious ways so that everyone forgets the pain it causes.
Crane’s poem practically drips with irony to drive his point home, that war cause pain that people forget about. He uses lines such as “Your lover threw wild hands toward the sky.” He tries to remind you that war steals the hearts of men from their lovers and the pain of them leaving intensifies when they learn that they have died. He reminds us of fathers, “ragged at his breast, gulped, and died,” who left their families behind to grieve and pray for them. These are two things that people experience every day and other people forget about because war has been spruced up in such a way that people forget about all that pain. He says it all in one irony drenched line, “war is kind.”
Another device that the poet uses is imagery to show how war is glorified and depicted in such a way that it creates a shroud over the horror and terribleness of war. He almost paints a picture in your head of a “swift, blazing flag of the regiment,” and the “eagle with the crest of red and gold.” It’s almost like your their on the field wait to go to war. You hear the “hoarse, booming drums of the regiment,” calling you into a bloody fight. But amongst all of this the pain has been washed away like a bloodstain on uniform.
The last device that is used is refrain. Crane masterfully uses it to bring imagery and irony together to make this poem a very powerful and moving one. His first line is almost the definition of irony “Do not weep maiden, war is kind.” It makes the reader wonder how war can be kind. He repeats words from that line three more time in his poem. And it’s always right after he says something about the pain war causes. Then he describes war in an almost beautiful way. He sneaks in “these men who were born to drill and die” and “a field were a thousand corpses lie,” to shatter the images of war being wonderful to bring it back to the reality that war is terrible thing.
With the clever usage of irony, imagery, and refrain Crane has moved all the misconceptions of war away to reveal the gaping wound it leaves of people’s lives. The agony of seeing their loved ones going off to some place to die and kill for a cause they might not believe in. In fact I hope this poem will help people understand the true horrors of war and not what books and movies tell them.
A Line by Line Analysis of the Poem Eagle by Tennyson Plus a Sinhala Translation of the same plus a Video
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
An Analysis of the Poem:
This poem reminds me about a recent incident where a group of men in our country had skinned an eagle alive and even posted the gory picture of the same in the facebook. The shocked public wanted the police to arrest the culprits which they did and later they were produced before the court and were punished.
The poem Eagle by Tennyson is an amazingly powerful poem although it consists of just two stanzas. The poem is about a lone eagle perched atop a steep rock in the sea.
Eagles are large, powerful birds of prey. They have large, hooked beaks and have excellent eyesight. They also have powerful talons which help them catch prey. Eagles build their nests on high cliffs or in tall trees. There are over 60 different species of eagle in the world.
The poem consists of two stanzas, each consisting of three rhyming lines of iambic pentameter. This type of three rhyming lines is called triplets (couplets being more common).
In the first stanza, the poet describes the bird who is perched high up in rock with a sense of admiration. The bird holds tightly to the rock with his iron like talons and stands still against the gusty wind that sweeps against him. He appears close to the sun than to the earth due to the majestic height of his position. He is circled by the blue sky.
In the second stanza the poet describes the sea as it appears to the bird. The huge rolling waves of the sea are reduced to wrinkles from that great height. In the last line the bird ‘falls’ like a thunderbolt to the sea below in an awesome climax.
Now let’s look at the poem more closely and analyse it line-by-line as usual.
The poem begins with a superb close-up.
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Just like our previous poem (A Bird came down the Walk), the poet tries to humanize the bird using the words “he” and “hands”. Even the verb “clasps” has connotations of warmth and friendship as when we shake hands with others. However, here it refers to the tenacious grip of the bird in his effort to balance himself on the rock which is exposed to the unrelenting blasts of wind. “Crooked” means ugly and deformed and it creates an unpleasant picture in our minds. The harsh alliteration of “cr” sound heightens that effect.
The second line associates the bird with the realm of the sky:
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Suddenly, the close-up changes into a long shot like in a film. Now we see the bird against the sky, at a superior height. The phrase ‘lonely lands’ seems to suggest the eagle’s domination of the sky. The prominent assonance of the “o” sound further accentuates the sense of loneliness and distance. The alliteration of “l” sounds contributes to the musical quality of the line.
The third line of the first stanza further describes the sky:
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.
The words “azure world” refers to the sky of the color of ocean blue. The bird is circled or “ring’d” by the blue sky. The passive action of “stands” which rhymes with “hands” and “lands” creates an effect of stillness or inertness. This is like a still shot in cinema. The caesura or the comma before “he” further heightens this stillness.
The second stanza begins with a bird’s eye-view of the sea which appears to be crawling beneath the towering cliff:
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
The waves of the sea look like wrinkles of a cloth or skin from that great height. The rolling of the waves is diminished to ‘crawling’. The word “crawls” also reminds us about the reptiles who are eaten by eagles. In addition the word “wrinkled” reminds us of an old person while “crawls” reminds us of a baby. Taken together, it might be suggestive of the life cycle of the humans or the nature.
The next line takes us back to the eagle who appears to be poised for action:
He watches from his mountain walls,
It is not clear what he “watches” from that great height. Eagle is a bird with a sharp vision and he may be watching some prey (a fish for example) far below. The word also builds up some tension as it prepares him for action. The words “mountain walls” suggest the sharp incline of the rock and its inaccessibility.
The last line brings the poem to a superb climax:
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
Finally, the eagle dives of the cliff and swoops downward in a straight line in a graceful movement. It is an effortless action which depends on the gravitational acceleration. The word ‘thunderbolt’ suggests the speed with which a thunderbolt strikes and thus the swiftness of the eagle. It also suggests Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning and storms in the Norse mythology. The bird may be diving at its prey which has very little chance of escape given the lightening speed at which bird descends on him.
It is notoriously difficult to pin point the themes of this poem as it lends itself to multifarious meanings. However, one of the themes may be the superiority of animals over man who prides himself as the most intelligent being on the earth. It might also carry themes such as freedom, fate, power of nature etc.
Alfred Lord Tennyson is considered to be the greatest of the Victorian poets and he is well known for the craftsmanship in poetry. His greatest poem is In Memoriam which was dedicated to his friend Arthur Hallam whose death left the poet heartbroken.
Translation of the Poem Eagle by Tennyson (Prescribed for G.C.E. O/L English Literature)
රාජාලියා
බදමින් උසැති ගිරිකුල ගොරහැඩි දෑතින් අසලින් තෙදැති හිරු මඩලද පාලු බිමින් නිසලව සිටී ඔහු වටකර නිල් ගුවනින්
රැලි වැටුණු සිඳු ඈත බඩගාන ලෙස පෙනෙත කඳු පවුර මත සිටින උකුසු නෙත යොමු කරත සැන අකුණු පහර ලෙස ගොදුර වෙත ඔහු පතිත
Translated by R.C. Fernando. (Copyright)
Original Poem
The Eagle
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
POEM
THOU fair-hair'd angel of the evening,
Now, whilst the sun rests on the mountains, light
Thy bright torch of love; thy radiant crown
Put on, and smile upon our evening bed!
Smile on our loves, and while thou drawest the
Blue curtains of the sky, scatter thy silver dew
On every flower that shuts its sweet eyes
In timely sleep. Let thy west wind sleep on
The lake; speak silence with thy glimmering eyes,
And wash the dusk with silver. Soon, full soon,
Dost thou withdraw; then the wolf rages wide,
And then the lion glares through the dun forest:
The fleeces of our flocks are cover'd with
Thy sacred dew: protect them with thine influence!
THE POET
William Blake
William Blake was born on November 28, 1757, in London, England. He was an artist and poet and received his education at the Royal Academy of Art’s Schools of Design. He died on August 12, 1827, in London, England. William Blake is an influential figure from the Romantic Age. His paintings and writings have inspired uncountable people throughout the ages
William Blake Artwork
INTRODUCTION
It is a sonnet
To the evening star is an ode to the venus
IT is a sonnet by a romantic poet Willam Blake .
It is an address to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility.
The poet or the speaker in this poem is calling upon ‘Her’ to protect all of us against the evils of night and more importantly, inspire the oppressed force of day time.
He addresses ‘Her’ as a ‘fair-haired angel of the evening’ who can light torch of love brightly at night to remove darkness and can put on glowing crown and smile upon the evening bed of humankind.
He further says that the goddess Venus makes the fine morning and scatters the silver dew on every flower that shuts its silver eyes having timely sleep
Finally, he maintains that the wolf rages and the lion glares at night in darkness which are the emblems of evils; therefore, he requests to protect all the humankind against them covering by its sacred dew as done by the warm clothes.
Blake describes, in a very elegant way, how lovely the evening star is. The wolf is his symbol for the night; it has a grey fur, and has an affinity with the dark, the night. The lion, with a golden fur, is a symbol for the glorious morning; the lion glares through the dun forest means as much as the morning breaks through.Secondly, assonance, consonance and alliteration within the poem will be dealt with.
SUMMARY
In “To the Evening Star”, Blake maintains his Sketches theme of the daily cycle as metaphor to innocence and experience.
Specifically here, the speaker calls upon the “fair-hair’d angel of the evening” to protect him (all of us) against the evils of the night, and more importantly, inspire “whilst the sun rests” all that is oppressed during daytime.
The star represents the transcendent moments of struggle between oppositions.
It is a “bright torch” while all else is dark, presenting a juxtaposition thus transcendent symbol. In reality, the star is most likely the planet Venus, the Goddess of love and beauty, and helps build Blake’s motif of eroticism and desires that must remain hidden under the light of the omniscient day (notice the bed is “our” and not “mine” indicating it is a shared domain).
The speaker is beckoning Venus to bless the bed (some argue a bridal bed, although there is very little evidence elsewhere to support such notion) and to “smile on [their] love.”
But Venus cries “tears of dew” as she herself is aware of humankind’s fallen state on earth where sexual creativeness operates in a real of dangerous passions symbolized by savage beasts (the wolf and the lion).
Again we have a struggle of opposites here, this time symbolized through predator and prey that further builds up Blake’s theme of the cyclic and dialectic nature of the universe in which we live.
The speaker is young (as Blake himself was at the time) and his frustration between these opposing forces is placed on the table to deal with: youth and age, tyrant and slave, day and night, male and female, predatory and prey.
MEANING OF THE POEM
Fair haired angel(Venus) of the evening(evening star),While the sun is starting to rest on the mountains , Rekindle the shining torch of love and wear your Radiant Crown , and bless our(other people and himself) resting bed(earth)!Smile on the ones we love may it be relatives or lovers , And while you draw the blue curtain(the blueish sky), scatter your silver dew(blessing in the form of a liquid in this case)on almost every flower that closes its eyes(petals of flower) in order to obtain calm and sleep. Command the west wind* to calm down and not destroy the floral beauty of the forest. Command silence and order in the forest through your beautiful and glimmering(shining) eyes. Paint the curtain(sky) with silver(stars and moon) so that their light reaches us and protects us. I know you will withdraw(leave) soon and when you do the dangers of the night(dangerous beasts, wild animals, thieves and robbers) will thrive. The wolf will howl in pleasure and the lion will pensively stare at a flock of sheep planning to attack... I pray you(Venus), let the sprinkled dew(blessing) cover the flocks of sheep(fleece is the wool of sheep) and protect them through it.
ANALYSIS
In this poem, Blake is expressing the idea that stars bring peace and guidance to people during the normally forbidding night.
Blake uses anastrophes to directly address the star. For example, Blake urges the star to "smile upon our evening beds." This anastrophe brings about a romantic and soothing essence to the poem and shows Blake's belief that the star is able to turn the dark night into a calm and dreamy situation.
Blake uses another anastrophe in the ninth line of the poem, begging the star to "wash the dusk with silver.“
Blake also uses metaphors to compare the star to a "fair-haired angel." This metaphor is used to express the shining star as a beautiful goddess who watches over the people during the dark night.
Blake also calls the star a bright torch of love, which brings about a radiant and heroic quality to the star.
The wolf is his symbol for the night; it has a grey fur, and has an affinity with the dark, the night. The lion, with a golden fur, is a symbol for the glorious morning; the lion glares through the dun forest means as much as the morning breaks through.Secondly, assonance, consonance and alliteration within the poem will be dealt with.
The schemes on the pages attached will help explain why assonance, consonance and alliteration are that important. The first scheme is about alliteration with the vowel ‘t’. Important is that lines 4, 7, 10 and 13 have no alliteration with ‘t’. If you divide the 14 lines in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet; then there can be found that there is always one line in a stanza that has no alliteration, and, odd enough, this is respectively the last line, the penultimate line, the second and the first line.
There are three major considerations to be taken from “The Evening Star
One is the theme of pastoral simplicity It is in the last two lines that the speaker appeals to God for the first time, recognizing his inferiority and potential impotence when it comes to protecting his flock from the fall of grace.
The second is political entrapment. Again, the speaker knows that it is during night, when Venus’s “radiant crown” holds the power to put an end to all of daytime’s rules (change the color of the sky, put the flowers to sleep, calm the wind). Alas, the excitement and bliss of the unencumbered will “soon withdraw,” and just as in man’s law-abiding society, the force of opposition governs all of Blake’s inhibitions
Lastly is sexual desire. The speaker here is simply looking for any excuse, any blessing, to act upon his primitive desire to mate with the opposite sex. Knowing an appeal to reason, religion, and God is out of the question; he turns to nighttime’s nature queen in hopes for approval.
Blake wrote this poem to possibly show the huge effect nature has on one's everyday life. For example, without the star, the night would be dark and forbidding. However, the star make the night beautiful, peaceful and romantic.
He also goes further to show how nature even can protect our fragile lives. He claims that the star protects people from the violent lion and wolf lurking in the forest. Blake also expresses the innocence of nature.
He tells the flowers to "shut its sweet eyes", which also brings about a non-threatening tone to the poem. In To the Evening Star, Blake successfully show how all the elements of nature can come together to create a beautiful, perfect situation. For example, the star shines brightly, the lake reflects the light, and the wind gently blows. These three actions come together to produce a beautiful scenery which many humans take advantage of every night.
POETIC DEVICES USED IN THE POEM
METAPHOR
Angel of the evening
blue curtains of the sky
Torch of love
PERONIFICATION
The sun rests
Smile upon our evening bed
Let thy west wind sleep on
Speak slience with thy glimmering eyes
REPETITON
Silver soon full soon
ALLITERATION
SKY SCATTER THY SILVER DEW
SYMBOL
Wolf :- night
Lion :- morning time
Dun :- darkness
Flocks :- innocent of people
DEIFICATION (Means attributing divine quality to something)
Thy sacerd dew
Protect them with thine inflences
ASSONANCE
Whilst the sun rests on the mountains light.
INTENAL RHYMIMING
Light thy bright torch of love
smile on our loves and while thou drawest
blue curtains of the sky scatter thy silver dew
THE END
Alfred Edward Housman was born in Fockbury, Worcestershire, England, on March 26, 1859, the eldest of seven children. A year after his birth, Housman’s family moved to nearby Bromsgrove, where the poet grew up and had his early education. In 1877, he attended St. John’s College, Oxford and received first class honours in classical moderations.
Housman became distracted, however, when he fell in love with his heterosexual roommate Moses Jackson. He unexpectedly failed his final exams, but managed to pass the final year and later took a position as clerk in the Patent Office in London for ten years.
During this time he studied Greek and Roman classics intensively, and in 1892 was appointed professor of Latin at University College, London. In 1911 he became professor of Latin at Trinity College, Cambridge, a post he held until his death. As a classicist, Housman gained renown for his editions of the Roman poets Juvenal, Lucan, and Manilius, as well as his meticulous and intelligent commentaries and his disdain for the unscholarly.
Housman only published two volumes of poetry during his life: A Shropshire Lad (1896) and Last Poems (1922). The majority of the poems in A Shropshire Lad, his cycle of 63 poems, were written after the death of Adalbert Jackson, Housman’s friend and companion, in 1892. These poems center around themes of pastoral beauty, unrequited love, fleeting youth, grief, death, and the patriotism of the common soldier. After the manuscript had been turned down by several publishers, Housman decided to publish it at his own expense, much to the surprise of his colleagues and students.
While A Shropshire Lad was slow to gain in popularity, the advent of war, first in the Boer War and then in World War I, gave the book widespread appeal due to its nostalgic depiction of brave English soldiers. Several composers created musical settings for Housman’s work, deepening his popularity.
Housman continued to focus on his teaching, but in the early 1920s, when his old friend Moses Jackson was dying, Housman chose to assemble his best unpublished poems so that Jackson might read them. These later poems, most of them written before 1910, exhibit a range of subject and form much greater than the talents displayed in A Shropshire Lad. When Last Poems was published in 1922, it was an immediate success.
A third volume, More Poems, was released posthumously in 1936 by his brother, Laurence, as was an edition of Housman’s Complete Poems (1939).
Despite acclaim as a scholar and a poet in his lifetime, Housman lived as a recluse, rejecting honors and avoiding the public eye. He died on April 30, 1936, in Cambridge
"Farewell to barn and stack and tree,
Farewell to Severn shore.
Terence, look your last at me,
For I come home no more.
"The sun burns on the half-mown hill,
By now the blood is dried;
And Maurice amongst the hay lies still
And my knife is in his side."
"My mother thinks us long away;
'Tis time the field were mown.
She had two sons at rising day,
To-night she'll be alone."
"And here's a bloody hand to shake,
And oh, man, here's good-bye;
We'll sweat no more on scythe and rake,
My bloody hands and I."
"I wish you strength to bring you pride,
And a love to keep you clean,
And I wish you luck, come Lammastide,
At racing on the green."
"Long for me the rick will wait,
And long will wait the fold,
And long will stand the empty plate,
And dinner will be cold."
Terence, look your last at me,
For I come home no more.
"The sun burns on the half-mown hill,
By now the blood is dried;
And Maurice amongst the hay lies still
And my knife is in his side."
"My mother thinks us long away;
'Tis time the field were mown.
She had two sons at rising day,
To-night she'll be alone."
"And here's a bloody hand to shake,
And oh, man, here's good-bye;
We'll sweat no more on scythe and rake,
My bloody hands and I."
"I wish you strength to bring you pride,
And a love to keep you clean,
And I wish you luck, come Lammastide,
At racing on the green."
"Long for me the rick will wait,
And long will wait the fold,
And long will stand the empty plate,
And dinner will be cold."
An Analysis of the Poem “Barn Stack and Tree”
The poem is from a whole book that Housman, the author, originally called "Poems of Terence Hearsay." Terence is the fictional speaker of most of the poems. He's an average person who lives on a farm in rural Shropshire and tells us stories (mostly very dark and depessing ones) about his own life and his neighbors.
The poet presents the incident in a typical ballad style which gives a dramatic effect to the situation. The poem is about a murder and the short dialogues and the repetition make it full of suspense and dramatic typical of Ballads.The murderer addresses the speaker who is called ‘Terence’. The reason for the murder is not clear. The poem seem to the climax of a fatal love affair involving 3 people. It is clear that the speaker or the man who committed the murder is shocked and in total despair. He decides to flee forever with the hope of not coming back. “ look your last at me, for I come home no more”. Terence or the friend of this unfortunate man tells us the story. So we can also call it a poem of confession.
Like all created worlds this one needs its myths, Housman very soon goes about providing them. 'Farewell to barn and stack and tree', which has Terence confronted by a man who has killed his brother, is actually a transformation of the story Cain and Abel. The unnamed Cain figure in the poem is, like his original, a "tiller of the ground", though we don't know if his victim Maurice kept the sheep (incidentally, though it may be unintended, there is certainly some irony in the note to the next poem in the book, which explains: "Hanging in chains was called keeping sheep by moonlight"). It is sometimes presumed by critics that the murderer in the poem is going to take his own life (or knows that the law will do it for him, since the next poem happens to be about a hanged man), but nothing in the poems actually tells us that. What lines like "She had two sons at rising day, / To-night she'll be alone" actually suggest, if one thinks, is the wanderings of Cain, the exile from the homeland. The difference between Housman's version of the myth and that in the Bible, is that his is a secularized rereading of it. The murderer answers to the sympathetic ear of Terence, not to the damning voice of the Lord.
The recognition of the parallel with the Biblical story emphasizes again Housman's underlying theme of the growth from innocence to discovery, for the poem clearly employs a myth which is a part of the archetypal pattern of loss of innocence, and the Eden-like setting, from which the youth is forced by his sin to leave, offers still another parallel with the creation myth.
An Analysis of the Poem 'A Bird came down the Walk' by Emily Dickinson plus a Sinhala Translation of the poem and a Video
A Bird, came down the Walk -
He did not know I saw -
He bit an Angle Worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw,
And then, he drank a Dew
From a convenient Grass -
And then hopped sidewise to the Wall
To let a Beetle pass -
He glanced with rapid eyes,
That hurried all abroad -
They looked like frightened Beads, I thought,
He stirred his Velvet Head. -
Like one in danger, Cautious,
I offered him a Crumb,
And he unrolled his feathers,
And rowed him softer Home -
Than Oars divide the Ocean,
Too silver for a seam,
Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon,
Leap, plashless as they swim.
A Bird came down the Walk— He did not know I saw— He bit an Angleworm in halves And ate the fellow, raw, And then he drank a Dew From a convenient Grass— And then hopped sidewise to the Wall To let a Beetle pass— He glanced with rapid eyes That hurried all around— They looked like frightened Beads, I thought— He stirred his Velvet Head Like one in danger, Cautious, I offered him a Crumb And he unrolled his feathers And rowed him softer home— Than Oars divide the Ocean, Too silver for a seam— Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon Leap, plashless as they swim.Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1830, into a prominent, but not wealthy, family. She was an introvert, meaning she kept to herself most of the time and rarely went outside of her home. However, she was gifted with a powerful imagination and intelligence and she had written more than 1800 poems. Her poetry is marked by acute observation and rich imagination.
This poem is based on a very ordinary incident. A bird eats a worm and flies away refusing a crumb offered by the poet who turns this apparently commonplace incident into a poetic masterpiece with her rich imagination.
The poem begins with the line:”A bird came down the Walk-“. Do you find anything unusual in this line? Well, to me, it strikes rather odd. For one thing, we normally say ‘a bird flied down’. It seems the poet wanted to attribute some human quality to the bird. This is further reinforced by the word “Walk”. A walk, as a noun, refers to a route or lane used for leisurely walking. It is similar to a jogging track used by people for jogging or walking. Thus, the bird is compared to a person who is having a lesurely walk in the evening. This creates slight humour which contrast sharply with the tension created by the third and fourth lines where the bird “bit an Angleworm in halves/And ate the fellow, raw.” Further, the bird’s apparently ‘civilized’ behaviour contrasts sharply with his ‘wild’ behaviour in eating the Angleworm ‘raw’. The word “raw” gets an additional weight because it rhymes with the word “saw” in the second line. Whether it is ‘civilized’ or ‘wild’, this natural behavior of the bird who is so far unaffected by the presence of the speaker as the poet says “He did not know I saw-“. Further, the word “fellow” contributes to the playful tone. Obviously, the poet is not ‘shoked’ by the bird’s act. In fact, he presents the nature as it is, both its beauty and wildness, as an observer. The poet may be also suggesting the cruelty hidden behind the façade of civility in the society in this stanza. The rhyming pattern abcb continues in the subsequent stanzas.
Now let’s look at the first two lines of the second stanza:
And then he drank a Dew
From a convenient Grass—
The bird’s human-like quality is further emphasized in these two lines. Normally we, humans, take pride in the fact that we are superior to all other species of animals. However, the poet seems to suggest in these lines that animals are no less superior to humans, in their own way. The use of the indefinite article ‘a’ also deserves our attention here. Normally we expect ‘a drop of dew’ in the first line. However, the use of ‘a Dew’ together with the alliteration of the‘d’ sound seem to enhance the poise and refinement of the bird. The sparkling beauty of the dew also symbolizes the beauty of the pristine nature unspoilt by industrialization. In the next line the poet uses an unusual phrase: ‘a convenient Grass’. The word ‘Grass’ (again ‘a’ glass) rhymes strongly with ‘glass’ which suggests an echo-pun on glass. This creates a picture of a person drinking from a glass. Further, the bird finds his food and drinks easily, may be more easily than humans. These lines also remind me about another poem by D.H. Lawrence. In this poem called ‘Snake’, Lawrence, the narrator is mesmerized by the graceful behavior of the snake. This is how he describes the way the snake drank water from his water trough:
He sipped with his straight mouth,
Softly drank through his straight gums, into his slack long body,
Silently.
The soft alliteration of the‘s’ sound together with the slow, graceful rhythm creates a tantalizing effect.
This graceful behaviour of the bird in our poem is further highlighted in the next two lines:
And then hopped sidewise to the Wall
To let a Beetle pass—
Here, the bird gets aside to let a beetle pass- a very courteous movement indeed! Our bird seems to know his manners! Doesn’t this suggest that animals have their own ‘etiquette’? Surely, the poet seems to be marvel ing at the beauty and gracefulness of the untamed nature in these lines. Further, in these two stanzas, the poet seems to anthropomorphize the bird. In other words she attributes human qualities to the bird.
You might also wonder why the poet has used dashes in these lines. The poem is written in iambic trimeter in the first three lines and iambic tetra meter in the third line in every stanza except the last stanza and the dashes are occasionally used to break the rhythm. This breaking of the rhythm suggests that the bird is uneasy and even unsteady in the ground as its natural habitat is the sky.
In the third stanza, the poet describes the bird’s frightened behavior after eating the worm:
He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all around—
They looked like frightened Beads, I thought—
He stirred his Velvet Head
The bird’s glancing around with rapid, frightened eyes suggests both caution and fear. As some critics suggest, it is because the bird feels guilty and he is afraid of the consequences of his ‘cruel’ act. I don’t agree with this idea because it is quite natural for a bird to eat a worm. Surely we don’t expect them to buy sausages from a supermarket? Rather, it may be a fear common to all animals since they are constantly exposed to various dangers, especially from predators. In the famous Novel ‘Village in the Jungle’ (of Beddegama), Leonard Woolf says:
‘For the rule of the jungle is first fear, and then hunger and thirst. There is fear everywhere…’
Even human beings are afflicted with three main types of fear, according to Rathana Sutta: ‘sambutam tividham bhayam’.
The poet cmpares the bird’s eyes to ‘frightened bead’. The poet personifies the bead in this line. A bead with its tiny hole and rolling motion is a stunning image to describe bird’s eyes as it is light and lustrous. However, it also suggests a certain hard quality in the bird. This contrasts sharply with the ‘velvet head’ which suggests certain fluffiness and beauty.
The Fourth stanza opens with the line:
Like one in danger, Cautious,
We are tempted to ask ‘what is the danger?’and the reason for his being ‘cautious’. Well, as I mentioned before, a bird’s natural domain is the sky and thus, he tends to behave rather clumsilly and nervously in the ground. As such, the above line aptly describes his behaviour in the ground. The next line marks the turning point in the poem:
I offered him a Crumb,
So far, the poet was just observing the bird as a passive onlooker. But now she intervenes in the action and offers him a crumb. The poet’s action may be also symbolic. It might symbolize man’s intervention with nature and perhaps, his attempt to tame the nature. The action of offering a crumb is also suggestive of the man’s condescending attitude towards animals. However, instead of eating the crumb, the bird takes flight immediately:
And he unrolled his feathers,
And rowed him softer Home –
The bird contemptuously rejects the crumb and begins to fly towards home. The bird’s action might symbolize man’s futile attempt to tame the nature. These two lines also begin a series of spectacular images used to describe the bird’s flight. Once in the sky, the bird begins to appear in all its glory and splendour as it is his natural domain. The smooth actions of ‘rolling’ and ‘rowing’ together with the assonance of the ‘o’ sound contribute to the fluidity of the movement. The bird takes off into the sky with so much ebullience ‘like a duck takes to water’, as the saying goes.
The last stanza is the most memorable one in the poem. The poet savours image after image of exquisite beauty which describe the breathtaking flight of the bird:
Than Oars divide the Ocean,
Too silver for a seam,
Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon,
Leap, plashless as they swim.
In the first line, the bird’s feathers are compared to the oars which are used to propel a boat forward. The movement of oars creates hardly any disturbance in the water; likewise, the bird’s wings too do not make any disturbance or impact on the sky; Its flight is ‘seamless’. It does not leave any mark in the sky just like oars which do not leave any ‘seam’ or mark on the water. The comparison between the ocean and the sky is quite striking. The bird’s flight may also symbolize perfect harmony in nature. The assonance of the ‘o’ sound in the first line and the alliteration of the‘s’ sound in the second line also contribute to the lyrical beauty of the lines. The word ‘silver’ has the connotations of gracefulness and glamour in addition to beauty.
In the next two lines, the bird’s flight is compared to another scene of breathtaking beauty: that of butterflies fluttering in the banks of a river. First he compared to bird’s flight to an inanimate object (oars) and now he compares them to an animate thing (butterflies). The poet makes an implied comparison between the butterflies and fish when she says ‘they swim’. It again suggests the smoothness and the gracefulness of the bird’s flight through the sky. ‘Plashless’, a rather uncommon word, means smooth or fluid.
Through this poem, the poet seems to highlight the both the beauty and the danger of the untamed nature. Another famous poem called ‘A narrow Fellow in the Grass’ also deals with a similar theme.
Hope you have enjoyed my analysis. As you can see, appreciating a poem doesn’t mean just explaining the poem and giving a note covering its theme and techniques only. Instead, we must pay close attention to the words used by the poet and how he has organized them create a particular effect and how it contributes to the overall meaning. In short, a poem should be treated as a living thing with a soul.
A Translation of the Poem:
විහඟකු ආවයි පාර දිගේයා
දුටුවේ නැත ඔහු මා ළඟ සිටියා
විකුවා පණුවෙක් ඔහු දෙකඩ වන ලෙසින්
ගිල දැම්මා හාදයාව අමු අමුවෙයා
ඉක්බිති ඔහු බීවානේ පිනි බිඳුවක්
අසල පිහිටි තණපත කෙලවර රැඳුණු
පසෙකට වෙලා බිත්තිය දෙසටම පනිමින්
ඉඩ සැලසුවා යන්නට කුරුමිනියාට
යුහුසුළු දෙනෙත් කරකවමින් ඔහු බැලුවා
ඒ මේ අත හාත්පසම පිරික්සමින්
තැතිගත් පබළු ලෙස ඒ නෙත් මට පෙනුනා
විල්ලුද හිස සෙලෙව්වා ඔහු මා දුටුවා
ලෙසින් කෙනෙකු අනතුර ගැන ඉව වැටුණු
පිරිනැමුවා ඔහු හට පොඩි පාන් කැබැල්ලක්
තටු විහිදා පැන නැංගා අහස කරා
පැද යනවා විමන කරා මා දුටුවා
නිසයුරු දෙබෑ කරනා ලෙස හබල් වලින්
නැතිවෙයි ලකුණු මං බබලන රිදී තලෙන්
මද්දහනේ ගං වෙරළේ සමනලු මෙන්
පනිමින් පිහිනමින් ඔබ මොබ කොමල ලෙසින්
A detailed analysis of Keat’s sonnet “To the Nile” by R.C. Fernando, Teacher of English Literatue at Azhar College, Akurana, Kandy. Phone - 0714395240
I thought of providing a detailed analysis of the Poem “To the Nile” by John Keats which is prescribed for the O/L Literature new syllabus, as it is a poem students usually find difficult and for which there are hardly any explanatory notes available either in the internet or other sources. You might feel that my analysis is ridiculously long for such a short poem. However, I believe that this will help the teachers as well as students to read beyond the lines and appreciate the real beauty of the this gem of a sonnet.
First of all we must understand that this poem is a sonnet written in the Petrarchan style which contain an ocatave (the first eight lines) rhyming abbaabba and a sestet(next six lines) rhyming cdcdcd. In the Italian or the Petrarchan sonnet, there is usually a “volta” or a “turn” of the line of thought from the Octave to the sestet. In this sonnet also Line number 9 marks a change of thought. The poet seems to have awakened from his reverie or day-dreaming of the charms of the Nile and begins to reflect on the natural beauty of the river. The poet addresses the Nile directly, in the style of his great Odes such as Ode to Autumn or the Ode on a Grecian Urn.
One should also understand the historical and the geographical importance of the Nile River in order to understand this beautiful sonnet. Historically, river Nile is said to be the cradle of one of the oldest civilizations in the world: the Nile valley civilization or the Egyptian civilization which developed alongside the Nile River. Geographically, it is the longest river in Africa as well as in the world. The Nile River has two branches. One is the White Nile (the longest branch) which originates in the Lake Victoria and the other branch is the Blue Nile which originates in the Lake Tana in Ethiopia. Although shorter than the White Nile, the Blue Nile contributes more than 85% of the total volume of the Nile waters. The two branches meet in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, and finally ends in Cairo, Egypt, where it flows into the Mediterranean Sea by forming a large, rich delta. The Nile can be called an international river as it flows through as much as nine countries in Africa including Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Congo etc. The annual flooding of the Nile River had become a blessing in disguise for the Egyptians, as it deposited the rich loam mud on the banks of the river which turned it into a fertile landscape, ideal for agriculture. The building of the Aswan Dam and several other dams across the Nile later helped to manage the flooding to a great extent.
The Nile River is also steeped in mythology with Hapi being its chief God who is associated with flooding, thus bringing fertility and fruitfulness. Osiris and his wife Isis are also worshipped by the Egyptians. Keats being a lover of Greek mythology may have heard of the God Nilus, the Greek God of the Nile River and the travel agues of the English Explorers such as John Speke who undertook an expedition to the interiors of the Dark Continent as it was then called.
Having said that, now I am going to analyze the poem line by line so that you can get a better understanding of the poem. The poet begins the sonnet with the line “Son of the Old Moon-Mountains African!” In this line the poet personifies the Nile as the “son” of the old African Moon-Mountains. In other words, The Nile originates from the Moon Mountains just like the River Mahaweli originates from the Sri Pada or the Adams Peak Mountain. As I mentioned earlier, the two branches of the River Nile, the White Nile and the Blue Nile are said to originate from the two lakes- Lake Victoria and Lake Tana in Ethiopia. However, these lakes are also, in turn, fed by streams flowing from the mountains. Therefore, it was difficult to ascertain the true source of the Nile River although it was historically associated with the legendary “Moon-Mountains” , so called may be due to their semi-circular shape or because they were snow-capped mountains. However, the exact origin of the Nile River remains uncertain as the two lakes are fed by so many tributaries. You might also wonder what poetic techniques are used in this particular line. One technique is inversion where the word order is changed or inverted. Here, the position of the adjective “African” has been inverted as it normally comes before the head noun, in this case, Moon-Mountains. Another technique is personification. The river is personified as the son of the Moon-Mountains which are like parents.
The next line is “Chief of the Pyramid and Crocodile”. Why is the Nile called the Chief of the Pyramid and Crocodile? As you know the ancient Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for the Paraohs (their kings) and queens. These tombs were made with huge blocks of stones which were transported through the Nile river in barges to the pyramid sites. It would have been impossible otherwise to transport these stone blocks through the rugged desert lands stretching into hundreds of miles. Thus it is right to call the Nile the Chief of the pyramids. Now to the crocodiles. Perhaps you may be aware that the River Nile is the home to the largest species of crocodiles in the world. Especially, the banks of the Nile are teeming with these huge crocodiles who are also associated with the God Osiris legends. As such we cannot say that the poet has used exaggeration or hyperbole in this line. However, the poet has used the technique of contrast here as the Pyramids are non-living things while the crocodiles are living things.
In the third line the poet says “we call thee fruitful and that very while”. The poet rightly calls the Nile fruitful since it is the river that sustains life in the Nile Valley not only by providing food from agriculture and fishing but also by providing them with a mode of transport and also by serving as a playground for water sports. The Nile itself was considered as a symbol of fertility, as according to the Egyptian mythology, the manhood of the slain King Osiris was supposed to be eaten by a crocodile so that his wife who was searching for the scattered body parts of the King could not resurrect him into life as that part was missing. In this line, the poet uses an adjective “fruitful” as a noun. “Thee” means an old term for “you”.
The third line is a run-on line meaning that it links with the fourth line which reads as “A desert fills our seeing’s inward span”. Here the poet refers to his imagination which fills with a dersert. Imagination is sometimes called the “third eye” but here the poet calls it “seeing’s inward span”. Literally it means the inner dimension of our vision or imagination. Taken together this line means that our imagination is filled with a desert while we wonder at the fruitfulness if the river. Thus, fruitfulness and barrenness exist side by side, another wonder of nature.
In the next line the poet says “Nurse of the swart nations since the world began,”. It means the river Nile has nourished the dark nations or the Africans since time immemorial. The Nile river has given life not only to one nation but to several countries through which it flows.
The next line starts with a rhetorical question. “Art thou so fruitful?” This is followed by another rhetorical question: “or dost thou beguile/Such men to honour thee, who, worn with toil,/Rest for a space 'twixt Cairo and Decan?” Here Keats may be referring to temples dedicated to Osiris which are scattered along the banks of the River. According to the legends, Isis, the wife of Osiris, built those temples to enshrine various parts of his slain body scattered along the Nile by his brother Seth who murdered him. The poet in these lines wonders whether the river Nile has a certain magical charm that makes people consider it as a holy river like the Gangese river in India which is the most sacred river to the Hindus. The poet also sees the River having a rest between Cairo and Decan. Cairo is the place where the river ends and Decan must be the place where it begins. However we get confused here since the word Decan in Egyptian lore refers to a group of constellations (36 to be exact) and thus meaning the river is having a rest between land and sky which does not make much sense. Was Keats referring to the Deccan plateau in the central India from whence begin rivers such as Narmada and Tapti? Thus can it be a geographical inaccuracy? I invite you to consider these questions. Even the writers of the e book issued by the NIE have made the mistake of identifying Deccan plateau as the source of the Nile River – a glaring mistake indeed, since we live in a world far more advanced (in terms of technology and knowledge) than that of Keats’.
So far (in the octave), Keats has treated the Nile reverently or respectfully. However, from the line number 9 which starts the sestet, we can see a ‘volta’ or a turn in the line of thought: The poet’s attitude to the Nile River changes from one of reverence to a realistic one.
“O may dark fancies err! They surely do;”
What does this line mean? Well, literally it means that fancy or imagination can mislead us. This line reminds us of a similar line in Ode to Nightingale by Keats:
Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well
As she is fam'd to do, deceiving elf.
Here also Keats is being critical of his own habit of day-dreaming or ‘negative capability’ as he calls it.
According to Keats, negative capability is ‘when man is capable of being in uncertainties. Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.' However, he also appreciated reality or ‘truth’ as he calls it. This is aptly expressed in his ‘Ode to the Grecian Urn’ when he says,
'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.'
Thus, the poet now begins to doubt his “dark fancies” or his romantic imagination which took him to the exotic lands of ancient Egypt of Pyramids, Pharaohs and the great Nile steeped in legends. He now becomes more ‘down-to-earth’ and begins to explore the River from an artistic or aesthetic point of view. Next he says :
'Tis ignorance that makes a barren waste
Of all beyond itself…’
Of all beyond itself…’
Here he may be wondering at his own ignorance or the ignorance of the Europeans whose ‘dark fancies’ about Africa consisted mainly of vast deserts and giant pyramids. The poet has even asked “Art thou so fruitful?” earlier. This obsession with desert, according to Keats, is due to ‘ignorance’ as Nile valley is surely a fertile landscape, so fertile that it gave birth to the first human civilization.
In the last few lines we can see the typical Keatsian language which is sensuous and very much alive to the beauty, sounds and smells of nature.
Thou dost bedew
Green rushes like our rivers, and dost taste
The pleasant sunrise. Green isles hast thou too,
And to the sea as happily dost haste.
Green rushes like our rivers, and dost taste
The pleasant sunrise. Green isles hast thou too,
And to the sea as happily dost haste.
The poet begins to see the River in all its resplendent beauty in its majestic journey towards the sea. He compares the Nile to “our rivers” whose green rushes or the plants with long leaves are decorated with dew or drops of mist. This is a beautiful visual image that appeals to our eyes. The river also tastes ‘pleasant sunrise’. This is a combination of visual and gustatory images. The river also contains “green isles”. The repetition of ‘green’ produces an effect of lush greenery which contrasts with the repetition of ‘desert’ in the octave.
The sonnet appropriately ends with the line:
And to the sea as happily dost haste.
I am tempted to believe that the word ‘happily’ contains a pun or word play since ‘Hapi’ was the God of the annual flooding in Egyptian mythology.
The poem is written in elevated language and it is rich in meaning despite the fact that Keats wrote this poem in a friendly sonnet competition with Leigh Hunt and Shelly on 4 February 1818 at Hunt's house in Lisson Grove with a 15 minute time limit.
As a nature poem “To the Nile” makes us appreciate the beauty of a river and its value as a life giving source. We also learn how the people in ancient times worshipped the river as a God or a gift of nature. We also get some momentary pleasure by looking at the lush greenery and the beauty of the river in the morning. The poem thus helps us to appreciate the fertility and the beauty of rivers at a time when they are being increasingly polluted due to industrialization.
A paraphrase of the poem:
Son of the old African Moon mountains
Chief of pyramids and crocodiles!
We call you fruitful and at the same time
A desert comes to our mind
Feeder of the dark nations since the world began
Are you really fruitfull? Or do you charm
Such people to honour you,who, tired with hard work
Rest for a while between Cairo and Deccan?
Oh our vague notions may be wrong! They must be;
It is ignorance that makes useless waste of
All except itself. You do sprinkle dew
On green rush leaves like our rivers, and taste
The pleasant sunrise. You have green islands too
And hurry towards the sea happily.
A translation the poem "To the Nile" by Keats
(Prescribed for O/L English Literature) by RCF
(Prescribed for O/L English Literature) by RCF
නයිල් වෙත
අප්රිකානු සඳගිරින් උපන් පුතුනුවනි
පිරමිඩ සහ කිඹුලන්ගේ අධිපතිතුමනි!
අපි ඔබට සශ්රිුක යයි කියමු. එසැනෙකින්
පිරෙයි වැලි කතරින් මනෝමය චිත්රරය අපගේ
ජීවනාලියයි නුඹ කළු මිනිසුන්ගේ උපන්දා සිට ලොව සශ්රිකද නුඹ ඔතරම්ම? නැතිනම් වශී කළාද
ඔබ ඔවුන් බුහුමන් ලැබීමට, විඩාවට පත් ඒ මිනිසුන්
කෛරෝ සහ ඩෙකෑන් අතර මඳකට ගිම් නිවනාතුර.
හිතලුවක්ද එය අපැහැදිලි? එසේමැයි එය
මොහඳුරයි නිසරු පුස්සක් කරන්නේ එය හැරෙන්නට සියලු දෙය.සරසයි නුඹ පිනි බිඳුවලින්
කොළ පැහැ බට පඳුරු අපේ ගංගා මෙන්, රසද බලයි
රමණීය හිරු උදාවෙහි, ඇත කොළ පැහැති දුපත්ද ඇදෙන්නී නුඹ සයුර කරා හනි හනිකට සොම්නසින්.
පිරමිඩ සහ කිඹුලන්ගේ අධිපතිතුමනි!
අපි ඔබට සශ්රිුක යයි කියමු. එසැනෙකින්
පිරෙයි වැලි කතරින් මනෝමය චිත්රරය අපගේ
ජීවනාලියයි නුඹ කළු මිනිසුන්ගේ උපන්දා සිට ලොව සශ්රිකද නුඹ ඔතරම්ම? නැතිනම් වශී කළාද
ඔබ ඔවුන් බුහුමන් ලැබීමට, විඩාවට පත් ඒ මිනිසුන්
කෛරෝ සහ ඩෙකෑන් අතර මඳකට ගිම් නිවනාතුර.
හිතලුවක්ද එය අපැහැදිලි? එසේමැයි එය
මොහඳුරයි නිසරු පුස්සක් කරන්නේ එය හැරෙන්නට සියලු දෙය.සරසයි නුඹ පිනි බිඳුවලින්
කොළ පැහැ බට පඳුරු අපේ ගංගා මෙන්, රසද බලයි
රමණීය හිරු උදාවෙහි, ඇත කොළ පැහැති දුපත්ද ඇදෙන්නී නුඹ සයුර කරා හනි හනිකට සොම්නසින්.
Translated by R.C. Fernando
Here is the original poem:
To the Nile
Son of the old Moon-mountains African!
Chief of the Pyramid and Crocodile!
We call thee fruitful, and that very while
A desert fills our seeing's inward span:
Nurse of swart nations since the world began,
Art thou so fruitful? or dost thou beguile
Such men to honour thee, who, worn with toil,
Rest for a space 'twixt Cairo and Decan?
O may dark fancies err! They surely do;
'Tis ignorance that makes a barren waste
Of all beyond itself. Thou dost bedew
Green rushes like our rivers, and dost taste
The pleasant sunrise. Green isles hast thou too,
And to the sea as happily dost haste.
Chief of the Pyramid and Crocodile!
We call thee fruitful, and that very while
A desert fills our seeing's inward span:
Nurse of swart nations since the world began,
Art thou so fruitful? or dost thou beguile
Such men to honour thee, who, worn with toil,
Rest for a space 'twixt Cairo and Decan?
O may dark fancies err! They surely do;
'Tis ignorance that makes a barren waste
Of all beyond itself. Thou dost bedew
Green rushes like our rivers, and dost taste
The pleasant sunrise. Green isles hast thou too,
And to the sea as happily dost haste.
A Brief Discussion of the Play "The Bear" by Anton Chekov
First Impression
The Boor or The Bear is an interesting one–act play. It is a play about the fickleness of feelings and commitment. It tells about how faithful a woman, even her husband had died, she was still faithful, and how irritated she was, after knowing that her husband had betrayed her, but she didn’t change, she still loved her husband very much by imprisoning herself in her house and receiving no one. Her faithful and personality made one man, Mr. Smirnov, finally fell in love with her, even it had been a confrontation, duel, and insulting each other. The main problem is she couldn’t pay her husband debt but Mr. Smirnov wanted her to pay, because he needed the many. This problem seems like a door open Mrs. Popov’s new life after about seven month imprisoning her herself. This play explores the ironies of life. It could happen today to life of any body.
The Fact of the Play
Mrs. Popov was a widow grieving a lot because of her husband death. She had been imprisoning herself for about seven months after her husband death and receiving no one. She had no spirit of life. It was showed from her saying “My life is over. He lies in his grave, and I have buried myself within these four walls. We are both dead.” She had proved her faithful even her husband betrayed her. Mr. Smirnov, proprietor of a country estate, a farmer, came asking for money that her husband had loaned because he had bought oats. Mrs. Popov and Mr. Smirnov had a duel after insulting each other. It seems that they looked like a dog and cat, which couldn’t be together. But, unpredictable Mr. Smirnov said that he loved her.
Exposition and Antecedent action
The story started by appearance of Mrs. Popov and her servant, Luka, it was stated “A well-furnished reception-room in MRS. POPOV'S home. MRS. POPOV is discovered in deep mourning, sitting upon a sofa, gazing steadfastly at a photograph. LUKA is also present.” It showed that Mrs. Popov was grieving. And her servant tried to rise her spirit of life; “It isn't right, ma'am. You're wearing yourself out! The maid and the cook have gone looking for berries; everything that breathes is enjoying life; even the cat knows how to be happy-slips about the courtyard and catches birds--but you hide yourself here in the house as though you were in a cloister. Yes, truly, by actual reckoning you haven't left this house for a whole year.” The next statement of Luka answer the cause of her grieving, “There you are again! It's too awful to listen to, so it is! Nikolai Michailovitch is dead; it was the will of the Lord, and the Lord has given him eternal peace. You have grieved over it and that ought to be enough.”
The Setting
In the beginning of the story the author stated the setting clearly, “A well-furnished reception-room in MRS. POPOV'S home. MRS. POPOV is discovered in deep mourning, sitting upon a sofa, gazing steadfastly at a photograph. LUKA is also present.” Then the entire story set in Mrs. Popov house, in the reception room, in the dining room and at the garden. Setting is much less consequence in this story. The Greek convention of the unities of place and time reduce the significance of setting in Antigone. The action occurred in one place, in Mrs. Popov’s house, within one day.
The plot
The plot or the structure of action which this one-act play has is closed plot, where in here with its definite resolution of conflict. And the drama seems happy ending.
The story began with a conversation between Mrs. Popov and her servant. This is the exposition. Luka, they talk about her grieving because of her husband death. She had been imprisoning herself since her husband death and receiving no one.
Then she had to meet Mr. Smirnov who asked her to pay her husband loan. This is the complication appeared, she couldn’t pay him because she hadn’t any money in hand. She could pay it the following two days. But Mr. Smirnov couldn’t receive it. He wanted the money directly at that time, because he needed it to pay interest of a bank. But Mrs. Popov had nothing to do. Mr. Smirnov didn’t want to leave; consequently, she started to feel disturbed, while she was in grief and not interesting in talking about money matter. But Mr. Smirnov was mad, he could not receive it that because she was in grief, she didn’t care about this problem, while he needed the money very much to pay interest tomorrow, he was being pursued by the bank. He told her his problems and especially the problem with women and then he stared to throw off on women, he said he said “I am not speaking of present company, but of women in general; from the tiniest to the greatest, they are conceited, hypocritical, chattering, odious, deceitful from top to toe; vain, petty, cruel with a maddening logic ……… have you ever in your life seen a woman who was really true and faithful? Never! Only the old and the deformed are true and faithful. It's easier to find a cat with horns or a white woodcock, than a faithful woman.”
Then the crisis started to appear with a conflict when they were insulting each other. Mrs. Popov could not receive what he talked about women. She told her how she was irritated because her husband had betrayed her, but she still love her husband very much, she could not forget about him and she was still in grief after seven months imprisoning her herself and receive no one, she explain “Men true and faithful! So long as we have gone thus far, I may as well say that of all the men I have known, my husband was the best; I loved him passionately with all my soul, as only a young, sensible woman may love; I gave him my youth, my happiness, my fortune, my life. I worshipped him like a heathen. And what happened? This best of men betrayed me in every possible way. After his death I found his desk filled with love-letters. While he was alive he left me alone for months--it is horrible even to think about it--he made love to other women in my very presence, he wasted my money and made fun of my feelings--and in spite of everything I trusted him and was true to him. And more than that: he is dead and I am still true to him. I have buried myself within these four walls and I shall wear this mourning to my grave.” Mrs. Popov was really mad, many times she wanted him to leave her house, but he would just if she paid him the money. They were insulting each other and starting to use bad language.
Then, this is the crisis, Mrs. Popov and Mr. Smirnov in a duel with guns, pistols. He was surprised he had never met a woman like her. After Mrs. Popov took the pistols she wanted them to move to the garden and have a duel there. But then suddenly he didn’t want to fight. It was because he liked her.
Then the falling action happened with a surprised statement of Mr. Smirnov that he loved her. She couldn’t understand how came, she didn’t believe it after all what had happened; they were confronting, insulting, and even dueling. But he tried to make her sure “I love you as I have never loved before. Twelve women I jilted, nine jilted me, but not one of them all have I loved as I love you. I am conquered, lost; I lie at your feet like a fool and beg for your hand. Shame and disgrace! For five years I haven't been in love; I thanked the Lord for it, and now I am caught, like a carriage tongue in another carriage. I beg for your hand! Yes or no? Will you?--Good!” Mrs. Popov had a conflict inside she was confused she wanted him to leave but would she let him go.
Finally she couldn’t avoid Mr. Smirnov kiss and the story ended.
Characters
HELENA IVANOVNA POPOV, Mrs. Popov, was a grieving widow because of her husband death. She was a faithful woman that even her husband had betrayed her she was still true and faithful. She was a pretty woman as her servant, Luka, said “Oh, my dear, dear ma'am, young and pretty as you are, if you'd only let your spirits live--! Beauty can't last forever. When ten short years are over, you'll be glad enough to go out a bit and meet the officers--and then it'll be too late.”
GRIGORI STEPANOVITCH SMIRNOV, proprietor of a country estate, Mr. Smirnov was a farmer, he stated his self “I'm too tender-hearted with them. But…” and there is some of Mr. Smirnov saying about himself, “Ugh, a fine figure! No use denying that. Dust, dirty boots, unwashed, uncombed, straw on my vest--the lady probably took me for a highwayman.” He was a frank man, even Mrs. Popov considered him as a Boor and vulgar man. But I think Mr. Smirnov was honest and expressive.
LUKA, servant of Mrs. Popov was an obedient man. He was kind and gentle, he suggested the best for Mrs. Popov.
A gardener, a Coachman, and several workmen were as obedient as Luka.
The Brief Summary
Mrs. Popov was a widow grieving a lot because of her husband death. She had been imprisoning herself for about seven months after her husband death and receiving no one. Then suddenly a man, Mr. Smirnov, came asking for money that her husband had loaned and he needed the money very much. But Mrs. Popov couldn’t pay at that day; she could pay the following two days. That made them, Mrs. Popov and Mr. Smirnov, had a confrontation and then insulted each other. Then they changed the conversation about their own problem in their insulting, about a faithful of a man or a woman. They started to be angry then she took guns, pistols, they had a duel. But they didn’t fight, because he told her that he like her. That was hard to believe. And the story ended in contrasting point Mr. Smirnov fell in love with Mrs. Popov.
Summary of The Drama
1.Twilight Crane, a contemporary Japanese play by Junji Kinoshita, begins when a group of children arrive at the isolated country hut of Yohyo, a peasant. They are regular visitors because Yohyo’s wife Tsu will good-naturedly play with them and sing, even now in the snowy winter. They wake the sleeping Yohyo, and though he grouches at them, he comes out to play when they cannot find Tsu because she has gone out. When she does return, Yohyo lovingly persuades her to join him with the children.
Conflict arrives with the appearance of the remaining two characters who are men from the village: Sodo, who hopes to persuade Yohyo to let him broker the fine cloth Tsu weaves, and Unzu, who is Sodo’s sidekick, and previously has purchased this fine cloth. They barge right into the unoccupied house and only apologize when Tsu finds them. They question her about the fantastic cloth—could it be the famed semba ori (made from 1000 feathers plucked from a live crane), but she appears not to understand, and flutters, birdlike, away.
Sodo and Unzu want Yohyo to make Tsu weave more cloth, but he has noticed that every time she weaves she becomes thinner. They wonder at his luck in getting Tsu as his wife and find that she arrived at his door one night and has been loving wife since then. Sodo recalls to himself a folktale about a man helping a crane once. The crane became the man’s wife in gratitude. Could this folktale be happening in real life?
Because of Sodo’s promise of more money than he has ever imagined and travel to Tokyo, Yohyo persuades Tsu to weave more cloth, even though he had promised she would not need to do so. She knows she is losing her simple husband to the greedy villagers. She agrees to weave again, and reminds Yohyo he must NEVER look in on her while she is weaving.
Sodo and Unzu have been hiding nearby. When they see Tsu has gone to her weaving, they rush to fine Yohyo. Sodo intentionally breaks the “no look” rule and peeps into the weaving room where he sees a crane weaving in place of Tsu. Unzu and then Yohyo also peek.
When Tsu emerges very thin and weak, she has made not one, but two beautiful pieces of cloth. She knows he has broken the “no look” promise also. She tells him she has lost most all her feathers and now has just barely enough to allow her to fly back. She asks him to keep one piece of cloth because she has made it for him with her heart (not for material gain). Tsu disappears from the stage just as the children come once again to play. One of them sees a crane flying away in the distance.
II. Historical/Literary Context
Twilight Crane’s author Junji Kinoshita (1914–2006) bases this example of contemporary Japanese theatre on the Japanese folk tale “The Crane Wife.” Yuzuru (Japanese title) was first presented in 1949. Due to increased wartime censorship, he had departed from more traditional historical/contemporary themes and began to develop a new genre of folk plays. Yuzuru is arguably his most prominent (Kinoshita). Actress Yasue Yamamoto performed the lead role in 1949 when Twilight Crane was first produced. Both she and Kinoshita received national awards, and in 1952 when the play was again performed, accolades increased, which was also a boon to her company Budo no Kai, for which he also became a leader (reader). Others would adapt the script into opera and Noh play (Keene 483). (See Huffman chapter 6 for additional background on Japanese history of this time period.)
Later, Kinoshita and Twilight Crane would come under fire due to his leftist ideology. In the early 1980’s a school textbook company which had been planning to use the play for an elementary level text succumbed to political pressure to remove the selection--due to both the selection itself and the author’s reputation. Opponents of the play inclusion objected to its “anticapitalist” theme. Only due to press articles and public protest did the censorship not take place (Nobuyoshi).
After the wartime era Kinoshita returned to historical and contemporary themes including war guilt and humanity being held accountable for its actions. He continued as a playwright until the late 1970’s. Additionally he is well known as a translator of Shakespeare and other western playwrights and as a theatre essayist. Finally, he is a famed student of the Japanese language itself (Kinoshita).
III. Discussion Questions and Answers
QUESTIONS
1. What references/foreshadowing are present in the children’s games in the opening scene?
Eiderdown cover/quilt from song (reference to down used for human covering); bird in a cage game (later Tsu physically is the bird that is trapped)
2. Compare/contrast the characters of Sodo and Unzo.
Compare-Both characters are greedy and want to take advantage of Yohyo’s simplemindedness; in fact, Unzo already had made money from the first piece of cloth. Contrast-Sodo is the leader of the two, with bigger plans. Sodo is also derogatory from his first appearance, calling Yohyo stupid (139), he is the first to peep in on Tsu weaving, and he derides Unzu for having compassion for Yohyo at the end. Unzu is more a reflection of a “negative Yohyo” — a bumbling fool.
3. Why has Tsu come to be wife to Yohyo?
When Tsu was a crane Yohyo found her wounded by an arrow. He removed the arrow and let her fly away. She arrived out of gratitude. She believes he is different from other men because of his kindness to her.
4. Why does Tsu make the first cloth?
Tsu makes the first cloth to provide income sufficient so that Yohyo does not need to struggle to survive.
5. Explain what sempra ori is and how it is made.
Sempra ori is a rare, fine cloth made from crane feathers. It is made by plucking 1000 feathers from a live crane and weaving them on a loom into the cloth.
6. Identify multiple descriptions/comments of Tsu in human form that suggest her animal form.
p.140-”looking at him with her head on one side like a bird” and “with a fluttering movement”;
p. 141-”she looked just like a bird ;
p. 157-”I have used all my feathers…”;
p. 158-”I can no longer remain a human being.”
7. On one hand, Tsu speaks the language of the men. Yet, she also comments that she does not understand the words of “terrible” men. How can this be?
Tsu understands everyday language and the language, words and actions of love; she does not comprehend the greediness of humans, taking more than they need. She does, however, sense the evilness of what she does not understand.
8. In the play, Sodo is the only character aware of the folktale upon which the play is based. Find evidence to support this statement. Why is the ignorance of Yohyo and Unzu significant?
Sodo is the character that mentions the story first on p. 141 after he has noticed the presence of a feather in the weaving room when he enters it the first time. He mentions the story to Unzu. Unzu is so unnerved that Sodo then lies to Unzu and tells him there is really no such story. This provides exposition for the reader, but does not enlighten the other male characters. As for Yohyo, he spends all night and day looking for Tsu AFTER he has seen the crane weaving the cloth.
9. How does Yohyo change after he sells the first cloth?
At first Yohyo is happy to have sold the cloth; he has been a hard worker, and having money now he can rest in his hut; he only desires more money after Sodo and Unzu persuade him he needs more. Then he goes to Tsu for more even though he has promised not to request cloth. He wants money to travel to the capital. Due to peer pressure from Sodo and Unzu, he is infected with their greed.
10. Which characters provide comic relief? Identify examples.
Unzu—when he is scared by the folktale crane story Sodo tells; when he almost (Sodo stops him) tells Yohyo the true value of the cloth Yohyo—when he doesn’t “order” Tsu to make cloth, but meanders around the request; when he verbally argues with himself whether to look at the crane in the weaving room.
11. Why does Yohyo break his promise not to ever look in on her while she is weaving?
After Sodo and Unzu peek, Unzu announces there is a crane in the room. This wonder is too great for Yohyo to resist.
12. Why does Tsu want Yohyo to remain in the country hut with her, avoiding Sodo and Unzu-- and the capital?
Tsu hopes that if she can just keep Yohyo away from people like Sodo and Unzu, who represent corrupt society (on several levels), they will remain happy together.
13. Would it make any difference if Yohyo were rich instead of being a peasant? Explain why or why not.
Answers will vary. Some students may believe so; others will point out that flaws in human nature allow for greed, or the fact that the isolation Tsu craves is not realistic.
14. Tsu agrees to make one more cloth, but actually presents Yohyo with TWO. Explain her initial reason for agreeing to weave another piece. At what point do you think she decided to make the second, and why would she make this decision?
Answers may vary. Tsu originally decides to make another cloth to make Yohyo happy and keep him with her; at the end she presents him with two, one for him to keep, which she may have decided to make after she found he had peeked into the room.
15. What is the significance of the children returning to play in the final scene?
The children’s reappearance brings the cycle of the play back to the beginning and emphasizes the loss of the happiness, love and inner beauty of Tsu.
16. Will Yohyo sell Sodo the final cloths Tsu has woven? Why or why not?
Answers will vary. Students may argue that Yohyo again will be persuaded by the others, (even though we do see sadness in Unzu); others may argue he will keep one as Tsu had requested; idealists may believe he has “learned his lesson” and will keep both.
17. Does Yohyo ever realize who Tsu is? Explain.
Answers will vary. Yohyo does not understand what has happened at the end of the play. The play takes place over a short amount of time. Students may argue he will understand when he has a chance to think. Others may see him as needing someone to explain, or never really knowing.
18. Explain a major theme of The Twilight Crane.
Possible themes: man’s greed destroys nature; man’s greed destroys happiness/natural balance; society corrupts the individual; wild animals cannot thrive in captivity; capitalism corrupts society; and there may be others.
*19. What political and social factors would be present in Japan during WWII that would prompt the author Junji Kinoshita to turn to folktales for inspiration as opposed to the historical or contemporary ideas he had used previously?
Adapting a folktale would be considered a “safe” or culturally acceptable topic at this time. Promoting a political stance, historic or contemporary, would be dangerous in the war climate unless it rubber stamped official government ideology. Since Kinoshita’s personal political beliefs did not mimic Japan’s, his prudent or self-preservation choice was to select a nonpolitical subject.
*20. This play was almost censored from a Japanese elementary school text in the early 1980’s due to political concerns. Modern Japan is a capitalist society; some politicians viewed the play as Marxist. Use your knowledge from World Studies class to infer the controversy regarding this censorship issue. Some Japanese politicians saw the play as a condemnation of Japan’s capitalist society because the author was known to have leftist (Marxist) leanings (Alvis).
*21. How had Japan’s political and economic climate changed so significantly between the WWII era and the 1980’s that the subject of a folktale went from being considered politically “safe” to igniting the censorship controversy of the 1980’s?
Japan had moved cataclysmically through the frenzy of world war, atomic disaster, reconstruction, and an eventual embracing of capitalism. Its fear of socialism and/or Communism was increased by the proximity of North Korea and the USSR.
*22. Review the definition of the term allegory. The Twilight Crane could be read as a “destruction of innocence” allegory on a couple different levels. Select ONE of the following to show your understanding of the term.
• *Explain how The Twilight Crane could be viewed is as a political allegory regarding censorship in question 20.
• Compare to the Bible’s Garden of Eden story. Be sure to include which characters from the play would represent which biblical characters.
o Allegory—a story or poem where the characters, settings and/or events stand for other people, events, situations or ideas. An allegory has at least two meanings: the literal one from the surface story and symbolic one, used to teach a moral or lesson.
o *Political allegory—This would be the ‘capitalism corrupts society’ theme: due to the capitalist greed of Sodo and Unzu, Yohyo is corrupted and so loses his blissful life with Tsu in which they had communally lived happily together. (See Nuboyosh citation for related activity. This article would be an excellent addition for discussion with upper level classes.)
o Eden allegory—Yohyo loses his Eden/paradise/Tsu when he allows Evil (Sodo/Unzu) to tempt him to break the on e rule Tsu has while weaving. When he does, he loses her/paradise forever.
*23.What is the significance to Japanese culture that this folktale uses a crane as the specific type of bird to become the woman character in the story?
In Japanese culture the crane is a well-known symbol of honor and loyalty. Tsu represents an honorable and loyal wife in that she loves and cares for her husband, acquiesces to his wishes when he reneges on his promise, and even provides for his future living needs when she must leave him again for the animal world.
*denotes question linked to social studies-cultural, political, or economic forces.
Lahor Attack - A Note
It was a moment of enormous pride for Sri Lanka when Kumar Sangakkara delivered the Eleventh 2011 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey lecture on July 4, 2011 at Lords,touching on the history, culture, role of cricket and the opportunities for cricket in a country liberated from the clutches of terrorism. It gave a huge uplift for Sri Lanka at a time when its international image was being sullied by groups with a political agenda.
Sangakarra starts his speech by telling his audience about the history of Sri Lanka and her people. He is proud of his country's heritage: close-knit families, strong communities, and an exceptionally hospitable culture. He describes how the game first provides an opportunity for affluent Sri Lankans of all races, castes and religious beliefs to come together to indulge a shared passion. When the game is opened to the masses, it solidifies the place of this very English game in Sri Lankan hearts.
Commenting on the Lahore Attack, Sangakkara begins by saying that he had never experienced war directly before:
This was an experience that I could not relate to. I had great sympathy and compassion for them, but had no real experience with which I could draw parallels.
Then he goes on to recount the attack in a vivid and dramatic style:
Not thirty seconds had passed when we heard what sounded like fire crackers going off. Suddenly a shout came from the front: "Get down they are shooting at the bus."
His description of the reaction of the players creates a sense of immediacy and high drama:
Tharanga Paranvithana, on his debut tour, is also next to me. He stands up, bullets flying all around him, shouting "I have been hit" as he holds his blood-soaked chest. He collapsed onto his seat, apparently unconscious.
He displays his sportsmanship and their ability to face emergencies which they have learned through the game of cricket when he says:
There was no insane panic. There was absolute clarity and awareness of what was happening at that moment.
It is with a sense of relief that he says how they survived the attack:
We all sit in the dressing room and talk. Talk about what happened. Within minutes there is laughter and the jokes have started to flow. We have for the first time been a target of violence. We had survived.
Their sportsmanship is again displayed when he says:
We were shot at, grenades were thrown at us, we were injured and yet we were not cowed. We were not down and out. "We are Sri Lankan,"
Sangakkara had displayed many qualities of a good leader in this incident such as tactfulness, patience, sense of responsibility etc:
Our emotions held true to our role as unofficial ambassadors.
He also displays humbleness, the greatest quality of a leader, when he reflects on what a soldier had said about dying "in action":
How can this man value his life less than mine? His sincerity was overwhelming. I felt humbled.
Sangakkara's speech about the Lahore attack thus makes us experience the real nature of terrorism while highlighting some sterling qualities of Sangakkara as a leader and a sportsman and, above all, as a Sri Lankan.
Sangakarra firmly believes that cricket has provided an avenue for Sri Lankans to overcome the brutality of war, torture and persecution. He is adamant that his people can become a peaceful and a proud nation, healing itself from within, and taking its long awaited place on the world stage with confidence and courage.
The Nightingale and the Rose by Oscar Wilde - Analysis
1. This is a fairy tale. Fairy tales are stories in which fairies play a part or which contain other supernatural or magical elements such as imaginary persons, animals, and inanimate objects. These stories are of course primarily meant for children, but the best fairy tales such as those by Hans Andersen, are also eagerly read by older people who are interested in their deeper meaning.
2. The plot of the story is very simple. A young student thought that he was madly in love with the professor's daughter. He felt miserable because he could not find a single red rose in the whole garden to give to his love, and he knew that without the rose she would not agree to dance with him in the ball to be given by the prince the next day. The Nightingale overheard this and was deeply touched by what she believed was the expression of the young man's true love. So she decided to help the young man, but she was told that the only way to get a red rose in this cold winter was for her to build it out of her music and her heart's blood. The Nightingale of course also valued her life, but she was ready to lay down her own life for the happiness of the young couple. She therefore did what she was told to do. The next morning, the most beautiful red rose appeared, but the Nightingale was found dead under the rose-tree. Not knowing what it had cost to produce the rose, the student thought that he was very lucky to find this flower and he immediately plucked it and ran to the professor's daughter. The professor's daughter, however, turned him down because she had already agreed to dance with the Chamberlain's nephew who had given her precious stones. The student was very angry, so he threw the rose away and returned to his reading.
This is a touching story of love, but not the love between the young student and the professor's daughter, because neither of them understood what true love is. The girl was interested only in power and money, and the young man, in what he considered practical. The only person who understood love, treasured love, and was ready to sacrifice her life for love was the Nightingale. For her love is eternal music, love is the most precious thing: even more precious than life itself, and true love is always in the giving rather than in the taking.
The story however, contains some veiled comments on life. In fact, as is often the case, the author is very much an actor in this little drama. Like Hans Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling" in which the author's childhood was clearly reflected, in this story, there are also things that remind us of the author's life. Oscar Wilde advocated the idea of art for art's sake, and for this he was much criticized. So what the student said about the Nightingale's music ("It has form, but no feelings") could be viewed as a sarcastic response to the author's critics. Wilde seemed to be saying here that he was like the Nightingale, singing song after song, producing love and beauty with blood from his heart, and yet the world was too stupid to understand and appreciate him.
3. Fairy tales have a few interesting features:
1) The frequent use of personification
This is self-evident because it is the very definition of fairy tales. In this story, the rose-trees, the lizard, the daisy, the butterfly, the oak, the moon, and of course the Nightingale are all personified.
2) The symbolic meaning given to words
The rose of course is the symbol of love, but many things mentioned in the text also stand for something, including the lizard, daisy, and butterfly, which the author used on more than one occasions to stand for certain character types.
3) The vivid, simple narration, which is typical of the oral tradition of fairy tales
4) The repetitive pattern used
A typical fairy tale would often have a sequence of three episodes or three steps or three people. It might go something like this: Once upon a time, there were three sisters. The first was ugly, and the second was stupid, but the third was both pretty and clever. They would then marry three men. The first two were invariably obscenely rich whereas the third was always poor. Then they were for some reason sent to look for some treasure. The first two failed and the third succeeded, but he only succeeded in his third attempt after overcoming many difficulties...
Let the students discuss whether the same pattern is followed in this text.
Detailed Study of the Text
Part One
1. From her nest... the Nightingale... looked out through the leaves and wondered.
The bird is here personified, hence the capitalization. The Red Rose, the Lizard, etc. are capitalized for the same reason.
2. "Ah, I have read all that the wise men have written... my life is made wretched.
Notice the sarcastic tone of the author when he had the Student refer to the "wise men". As a champion for "art for art's sake", the author argues that one should not paint or write for financial , political or religious reasons. He therefore keeps poking fun at the Student, the professor, the dusty heavy books, logic, philosophy, intellect, and metaphysics. Many people however reject this view. They do not believe it possible to have such a thing as art for art's sake. "Art for art's sake," said Somerset Maugham, "makes no more sense than gin for gin's sake. " The artist's works, being part of his human activities, must be guided by his sense of moral responsibility, by what he conceives to be true, good and beautiful.
for want of: for the lack of
e.g. For want of a better word, let's call it Me-firstism. (As I can't think of a better word, let's call it Me-firstism.)
For want of something better to do she decided to try gardening. (As she could not find anything more interesting to do, she decided to try gardening.)
3. "Here at last is a true lover," said the Nightingale. "Night after night have I sung of him, and now I see him."
Notice the inverted order.
sing of him: to sing about him
lover: a person who loves. In modern English, it is often used to mean "mistress".
4. "The Prince gives a ball tomorrow night, ... and my love will be there. "
give a ball: to give a dancing party
Notice the use of the present indefinite tense for expressing the future. Notice also the use of "give" in the sense of "organize" in the following: to give a reception; to give a banquet, to give a cocktail party; to give a press conference; to give a dance.
"Ball" here refers to a large formal occasion at which people dance.
my love: my sweetheart. The word "love" here is used as a term of endearment as in:
My love is like a red, red rose.
Newly sprung in spring.
—Robert Burns (1759—1796)
5. "... so I shall sit lonely and my heart will break."
"Lonely" here is an adjective, used as a subject complement, or as part of the complex subject.
6. emeralds and opals
different kinds of gems or precious stones including ruby, diamond, emerald, sapphire, opal, jade
7. "The musicians will play upon their stringed instruments, ... and my love will dance to the sound of the harp and the violin. "
stringed instruments: Musical instruments can be divided into stringed instruments,
percussion, instruments and wind instruments.
dance to the sound of the harp: dance according to the sound of the harp, e. g.
The snake would then dance to the music.
The soldiers marched through the square to the drumbeat.
8. "But with me she will not dance, for I have no red rose to give her," and he flung himself down on the grass,...
for: When used as a conjunction, it means "because", but it is now considered quite formal, and it is not as strong as "because", therefore in adverbial clauses of reason, "because" is always used. Like "and" and "but", "for" is used in coordinate clauses. flung himself down on the grass: threw himself down on the grass
9. ... fluttering about
flying by a quick, light flapping of the wings
10. ... and the little Lizard, who was something of a cynic, laughed outright.
something of a cynic: a cynic without fully deserving the name, e. g.
He is something of an economist among us because his grandfather used to own a little store.
She is something of a dentist in our village although the method she uses is quite crude.
cynic; a cynical person; a person who believes that everybody is motivated by selfishness
laughed outright: laughed out loud; burst out laughing
11. But the Nightingale understood the Student's sorrow and sat silent in the oak-tree.
sat silent: "Silent" here is again part of the complex subject.
in the Oak-tree: Notice the use of "in" instead of "on" here. The use of "in" suggests that it is a large tree for a little bird like the Nightingale.
Part two
12. Suddenly she spread her brown wings for flight, and soared into the air.
night: noun of "to fly". It can also be used as the noun of "flee". soar: to fly upward quickly
13. grass-plot
The word "plot" can mean many things in different contexts. Make students check in the dictionary and decide which suits the context here. (Here it means a small piece of ground used for a special purpose.)
14. "Give me a red rose, ... and I will sing you my sweetest song."
Refresh students' memory of the use of "and" here which means "as a result of this". More examples:
One step forward, and he would fall down the cliff.
Come late again, and you are fired.
Give it one little push, and it will collapse.
"Sweet" could refer to taste, smell, or sound. Ask students to translate the following phrases into Chinese: sweet air; sweet song; sweet music; sweet wine; sweet flowers; sweet cake; sweet smile; sweet temper; sweet lady; sweet water.
15. "My roses are yellow, .. .as yellow as the hair of the mermaiden, and yellower than the daffodil that blooms in the meadow. "
mermaiden (also mermaid): a fabled creature of the sea with the head and upper body of a woman and the tail of a fish
blooms in the meadow: bears flowers in the meadow
Bloom, when used as a noun, usually refers to the flower of plants admired mainly for their flowers.
The roses are in full bloom now.
The sun shone bright and the meadows were in bloom.
Compare with "blossom" which usually refers to the flower of fruit trees.
16. "... and redder than the great fans of coral ."
Notice the metaphorical use of the word "fan", which refers to anything resembling a fan.
More examples: The mouth of a river; the foot of the page; the northern face of the mountain; the limbs of a tree; the eye of a needle; the nose of a plane; an arm of the sea; the tail of a comet; the teeth of a saw
17. "But the winter has chilled my veins, and the frost has nipped my buds, and the storm has broken my branches, and I shall have no roses at all this year."
chill: to freeze; to numb; to lower the temperature
chilly (adj.): cold
nip the buds: to stop the growth of the buds
nip it in the bud: to prevent sth. from becoming a problem by stopping it as soon as it starts, e.g.
Their policy was to throw the first person who dared to protest openly into prison so as to nip it in the bud.
You must take immediate action and nip it in the bud. Otherwise this economic slowdown could easily snowball into a serious recession.
Notice the use of "and" again in this sentence. The first two "and"s mean "also" or "in addition to" whereas the last "and" means "as a result".
18. "One red rose is all that I want, ...only one red rose! Is there no way by which I can get it?"
When used as the object of the verb or preposition of the relative clause, the relative pronoun "that" is usually left out, especially in informal English. Notice that when the relative pronoun is the object of a preposition and the preposition is placed before the relative pronoun as often the case in formal style, only "which" is used, and not "that". More examples:
There near the beautiful pond, he built himself a little cabin in which he lived for three years.
The importance of agriculture is something on which we all seem to agree.
19. "If you want a red rose, .. .you must build it out of music by moonlight, and •tain it with your own heart's blood. "
out of music: using music as the material, e. g.
This chair is made out of hardwood.
You can't build a big house out of sand.
We can't produce anything out of nothing.
stain: color; to dye; to tarnish
1. "... what is the heart of a bird compared to the heart of a man?"
Another example of a rhetorical question—a question in form, but a statement in meaning. This sentence means: The heart of a bird is nothing compared to the heart of a man. In other words, for the Nightingale, the Student's love is much more important than her life.
21. ... swept over the garden...
...moved quickly over the garden...
Observe how the word "sweep" and its derivatives are used in the following:
A new broom always sweeps the room clean, (proverb) A terrible storm swept across the whole city.
The general's eyes swept over the soldiers and gave the order to attack.
You can't say they are all corrupt. That's too sweeping. There might be a few exceptions.
22. "Be happy, ... you shall have your red rose."
The modal verb "shall" is used here to convey a solemn promise. It is used to say that something will definitely happen. Notice that this usage is considered formal and old-fashioned.
23. The Student looked up from the grass, and listened, but he could not understand what the Nightingale was saying to him.
Why couldn't the Student understand what the Nightingale was saying to him? Obviously, it was not because he could not understand bird language, but rather because he could not understand true love.
24. ... and her voice was like water bubbling from a silver jar.
"Water bubbling" is used here as the complex object of the preposition "like".
25. "She has form ... she is all style without any sincerity."
"Form" is the design, pattern, or structure as opposed to the substance. In music, it refers to such things as melody, rhythm, and harmony.
Notice the irony when the Student say) that the Nightingale has no feelings. His comments on the Nightingale's music remind us of what people said about Oscar Wilde's views on art. Notice the use of "all" in the sentence "It's all style". It means "apart from style, there ii nothing else". More examples:
He is as strong as a horse. He is all muscle.
Don't listen to him. It's all stuff and nonsense.
He was all hot air. A lot of beautiful words, but completely meaningless.
The second time she saw him she was all smile because she knew the man had power.
26. ... and after a time, he fell asleep.
In modern English we would say "after some time" or "after a moment". Notice the irony in how the Student could fall asleep so quickly.
Part three
27. And on the topmost spray of the Rose-tree there blossomed a marvelous rose,...
"Spray" here means a small branch bearing buds, flowers or berries.
Notice that the subject of this sentence is "rose" and the predicate is the intransitive verb "blossomed”
28. a delicate flush of pink
When used to refer to color, "delicate" means "soft, subdued, or faint".
29. ...a fierce pang of pain shot through her.
a pang: a sudden sharp pain shoot through: to pass through swiftly
30. ... the Love that is perfected by Death, of the Love that dies not in the tomb.
... the love that grows and grows until they die, and of the love that will live in eternity. "... the love that dies not in the tomb" is old-fashioned. In modern English, it should be "... the love that does not die in the tomb".
31. the girdle of petals
girdle: a belt or something like a belt worn at the waist. Here it means a band of red color round the middle of the petals.
32. .. .a film came over her eyes.
film: a thin covering or coating
33. ...lingered on in the sky.
.. tried to delay the departure? stayed in the sky, reluctant to leave or move on
34. .. .trembled all over with ecstasy,... (HEB ) ecstasy; intense delight all over: everywhere or all parts of one's body, e. g.
He was sweating all over. / She was shuddering all over. / I was aching all over.
35. .. .for she was lying dead in the long grass,...
Notice the use of "in" rather than "on" to emphasize the tallness and thickness of the grass.
Part four
36. "... it will not go with my dress,"
go with my dress: to match my dress; to be harmonious with my dress
Another example; This furniture does not go with the color of these walls.
37. the Chamberlain
The official who manages the household of the king. Here, it refers to a high-ranking official in general.
38. "Well, upon my word, you are very ungrateful,"...
Notice the irony. The Student accused the girl of being ungrateful without realizing that he was no better.
39. "In fact it is quite unpractical, and as in this age ... I shall go back to Philosophy. "
Notice the different uses of the word "as" in this paragraph. It means "because" here, and in the previous sentence, it means "when" or "while".
unpractical: also "impractical"
Lumber Room by Saki - A Discussion
In this famous short story the author vividly describes interesting childhood of the little boy whose name is Nicholas. It covers about the one day of the Nicholas life, the day when he was in disgrace. On this day Nicholas was at home with his aunt and he realized his dream and scrape in the unknown land, in the lumber-room. Nicholas saw many beautiful things there. His imagination painted the great pictures in his mind. But his aunt began to search for him, and he went out of the lumber-room. But for all life Nicholas remembered those amazing things.
The text under analysis is written by an outstanding British novelist and a short – story writer Hector Munro. He was born in 1870 and died in 1916.Also he is better known for his pseudonym Saki. Owing to the death of his mother and his father’s absence abroad he was brought up during his childhood, with his elder brother and sister by a grandmother and two aunts. It seems probable that their stern and unsympathetic methods account for Munro’s strong dislike of anything that smacks of the conventional and the self-righteous. He satirized things that he hated. H. H. Munro is best known for his humorous and very interesting short stories. He often used black humour language in his stories. It is a form of humor that regards human suffering as absurd rather than pitiable, or that considers human existence as ironic and pointless but somehow comic. He used it in order to deride the human vices and to show inefficiency of actions of moralistic, hypocritical persons. Munro was killed on the French front during the First World War. His sister in her Biography of Saki writes: “One of Munro’s aunts, Augusta, was a woman of ungovernable temper, of fierce likes and dislikes, imperious, and moral coward, possessing no brains worth speaking of, and a primitive disposition.” Naturally the last person who should have been in charge of children. The character of the aunt in the Lumber – Room is Aunt Augusta to the life.
The text tells us a story about a small boy Nicholas, who was brought up by his tyrannical and ungoverned aunt Augusta. He was "in disgrace" as he had refused to eat his wholesome bread-and-milk that morning. When children were taken to Jagborough sands Nicholas made some attempts to get into the gooseberry garden. As a matter of fact, he had no intention of trying to get into the gooseberry garden, but it was extremely convenient for him that his aunt should believe that he had unsympathetic. Soon his aunt tried to look for the boy and slipped into the rain-water tank. She asked Nicholas to fetch a ladder but the boy pretended not to understand her, he said that she was the Evil One. After this accident they both kept silent and everyone has been shipped in their thoughts.
The theme of the text is about the conflict between two generations: a little boy Nickolas and his aunt.
The whole story can be divided into 2 parts: the Child's world and the Adult' s world. The first part of the plot is the Adult’s world which is dull, unimaginative and misunderstanding. The Adult’s world is full of warped priorities. Adults become obsessed with insignificant trivialities, like the Aunt that is obsessed about punishing and nitpicking on the children. Her methods of bringing up are rather military and religious. She puts punishment and withholding of enjoyment as more important than getting to know and molding the lives of the children. She keeps all the beautiful and creative things of the house locked away in a lumber-room so as not to spoil them but in doing so, the purpose of the objects which is to beauty the house, is lost, leaving the house dull and colourless. The second part of the plot describes the Child’s world. It is full of fun and imagination. Nickolas is very imaginative. He imagines the whole story behind the tapestry while the aunt comes out with boring stories and ideas like about circus or going to the beach. She tries to convince Nickolas about fun of a trip to the beach but lacks the imagination to sound convincing.
The story is narrated in the 3d person. The third person point of view is impersonal which fits the impersonal atmosphere of the household. The text is full of different stylistic devices.
The extract may be divided into 4 logically complete parts:
The exposition, in which we learn about little Nicholas, his cousins and his strict aunt. Nicholas got into his aunt’s disgrace. So his cousins were to be taken to Jagborough sands that afternoon and he was to stay at home. The aunt was absolutely sure that the boy was determined to get into the gooseberry garden because “I have told him he is not to”.
The complication, when Nicholas got into an unknown land of lumber-room. Forbidden fruit is sweet and truly the lumber-room is described as a storehouse of unimagined treasure. Every single item brings life and imagination to Nicholas and is symbolic of what the adult of real world lacks. He often pictured to himself what the lumber-room was like, since that was the region that was so carefully sealed from youthful eyes. The tapestry brings to life imagination and fantasy within Nicholas, the interesting pots and candlesticks bring an aesthetic quality, visual beauty which stirs up his creative mind; and lastly a large square book full of coloured pictures of birds.
The climax of the text. While the boy was admiring the colouring of a mandarin duck, the voice of his aunt came from the gooseberry garden. She got slipped into the rain-water tank and couldn’t go out. She demanded from the boy to bring her a ladder, but he said her voice didn’t sound like his aunt’s. “You may be the Evil One tempting me to be disobedient” – said a little boy desiring the Justice must be done. The Aunt tasted the fruit of her own punishment on the children. She is accused of falling from grace, of lying to Nicholas about jam and thus termed the Evil One. She feels what it is like to be condemned.
The denouncement. The Aunt who is furious about what happened maintained the frozen muteness of one who has suffered undignified and unmerited detention in a rain-water tank for thirty-five minutes. Nicholas was also silent, in the absorption of an enchanting picture of a hunter and a stag. The ending of the story reveals the author’s social comment about the differences between the world of the child and adult. Though the aunt is furious, Nicholas is thinking about the hunter tricking the hounds by using the stag as a bait. It shows a great gap of indifference between the aunt and Nicholas.
In this text there are many stylistic devises, such as:
1. Epithets (frivolous ground, considerable obstinacy, trivial gardening operation, unauthorized intrusion, grim chuckle, alleged frog, unknown land, stale delight, mere material pleasure, bare and cheerless, thickly growing vegetation)
2. Irony (Aunt's condescending tone in describing Nicholas’ prank: disgrace, sin, fell from grace. The author is obviously using the Aunt’s own word choice to reveal her self-righteous attitude) , (trip to Jagborough which is meant to spite Nicholas fails. Instead of being a punishment for the child, it became a treat for him whereas it became a torture to those who went. The Aunt’s conception of “the paradise”. The real paradise is the Lumber-room not the garden. This reveals the irony that the ideal world of an adult is dull and boring to that of a child.)
The vocabulary is employed by the author in keeping with the subject-matter. So he frequently uses military and religious words.
Sonali Deraniyagala is a Sri Lankan who studied, worked, married and lived in England. An economist by profession, she married Steve Lissonburgh – a research professor and had two sons – Vickram and Malli. In 2004 the Lissonburghs came to Sri Lanka on holiday. On 26th December they were caught in the devastating tsunami which swept over southern part of Sri Lanka. They were in a hotel in Yala which was overrun by the fateful tidal wave. Sonali lost her husband, her two young sons and her parents. She was herself badly injured but survived. For a long time, she could not accept the truth of her loss and attempted several times to kill herself. But her watchful relations prevented her from harming herself. After about three years, she went to her home in London where objects used by her husband and sons and memory persuaded her to accept the truth of her loss. Sonali now lives in New York and works as a visiting lecturer at the University of Colombia. Wave is her memoir, recording the events of the fateful December 26th. It brings back her pain and agony. It is a living testimony of the horror of the tsunami and of human suffering and endurance.
The extract takes the reader from the sudden, unexpected awesome sighting of the tsunami to the moment of her consciousness after the vehicle in which she and others were trying to flee overturned and she was left battered and alone. What she witnessed at the beginning was the ‘white curl of a big wave’. The narrative is a second by second observation and report of the horror created by an undersea quake near the Achan Island close to Indonesia which killed 230,000 people.
THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER - AN ANALYSIS OF THE NOVEL
Twain's popular novel chronicles the adventures of two young boys, a Prince and a Pauper, who exchange roles and stations in life. Each boy has strong misconception's of what the other boys life is like and series of educational and entertaining adventures play out as the boys grow more comfortable in both their real and assumed roles in life. Mark Twain's Prince and the Pauper is a popular story and a classic from American Literature.
1. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As one of America's first and foremost realists and humorists, Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910) usually wrote of things he knew about from firsthand experience. Two of his best-known novels typify this trait: in his Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Twain immortalized the sleepy little town of Hannibal, Missouri (the fictional St. Petersburg), as well as the steamboats which passed through it daily; likewise, in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (written after The Prince and the Pauper), the various characters are based on types which Twain encountered both in his hometown and while working as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River. And even though The Prince and the Pauper is not based on personal experience (it is set in sixteenth-century England), Twain uses the experiences of two young boys gradually losing their innocence, as he did in both Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.
Twain's father was a lawyer, but he was never quite successful, and so he dabbled in land speculation, hoping to become wealthy someday. Although his family was not wealthy, he apparently had a happy childhood. Twain's father died when he was twelve years old and for the next ten years, he was an apprentice printer both in Hannibal and in New York City. Hoping to find his fortune, he conceived a wild scheme of getting rich in South America. Twain had once been a riverboat pilot for four years and during those times, he became familiar with all of the towns along the Mississippi River.
When the Civil War began, Twain's allegiance tended to be somewhat southern due to his regional heritage, but his brother Orion convinced him to go West on an expedition, a trip which became the subject of a later work, Roughing It. Even though some of his letters and accounts about traveling in frontier America had been published earlier, Twain actually launched his literary career with the short story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, published in 1865. Then, after the acclaim of Roughing It , Twain gave up his career as a journalist-reporter and began writing seriously. His fame as an American writer was immediate, especially after the publication of Innocents Abroad, a book that is still one of his most popular works. The satire that Twain uses to expose the so-called sophistication of the Old World, in contrast to old-fashioned Yankee common sense, is similar to that found ten years later in The Prince and the Pauper. But it is his novels and stories concerning the Mississippi River and the values of the people who lived along its length that have made Twain one of America's best and favorite storytellers. The humor he found there, along with its way of life, has continued to fascinate readers and embodies an almost mythic sense of what it meant to be a young American in the latter part of the nineteenth century.
After Twain turned fifty, however, his fortunes reversed themselves; his health began to fail and he faced bankruptcy; in addition, his wife became a semi-invalid, one daughter developed epilepsy, and his oldest daughter died of meningitis. Yet Twain survived. He became a critic and essayist, and he became more popular as a satirist than as a humorist. The body of work he left behind is immense and varied-poetry, sketches, journalistic pieces, political essays, novels, and short stories — all a testament to the diverse talent and energy which used the folklore of frontier America to create authentic American masterpieces of enduring value.
2. CHARACTERS AND CHARACTERIZATION
Tom Canty
He is a son of a drunkard and is unlike his father in nature and behavior. Born a pauper, he dreams of becoming a prince. Though driven to the streets by John Canty, he hates to extend his hand to beg. Instead, he loves to read and, under the tutelage of a kind old priest, even learns Latin. Tom's dream of becoming a prince comes true when he exchanges roles with Edward Tudor.
Edward Tudor
- He is the "prince" of the novel. Edward, the Prince of Wales and the son of Henry VIII, learns about the lives of his people when he exchanges roles with Tom. In the novel, Edward travels from the security of Westminster to the dingy confines of a prison cell. As he progresses in his journey, he transforms himself from an innocent and impulsive child-prince to a mature and enlightened young man ready to wisely rule a country. As a prince, Edward is pampered and protected. His father, Henry VIII, showers him with affection, and the palace staff who attend to all his needs and wants.
John Canty
- The unloving and harsh father of Tom Canty. He keeps his son in tow solely so that young Tom can beg money for him. He is a ruffian and a drunkard who begs and steals for a living and mistreats his wife and children.
Miles Hendon
- The dispossessed heir to the Hendon estate and Edward's good friend, guide, and protector in his adventures. He is the protector and champion of the otherwise friendless Edward. He is handsome, chivalrous, just, and capable.
King Henry VIII
- The loving father of Edward, Prince of Wales; he is anxious to see his son installed as the heir apparent before it is discovered that the prince is mad.
Bet, Nan, and Mother Canty
- The sisters and mother of Tom Canty, who try to protect him from John Canty's brutality.
Father Andrew
- The good, retired priest who teaches Tom how to read and write and also teaches him a bit of Latin, a talent which he later uses at court.
The Lady Jane Grey, the Lady Elizabeth, and the Lady Mary
- Half-sisters to Edward, Prince of Wales. At various times, they are kind or sarcastic to Tom Canty, who they believe to be the real prince.
The Lord Hertford and the Lord St. John
- Two lords of the realm in charge of overseeing the welfare of the Prince of Wales.
Hugo
- A ruffian vagabond member of the troop which holds the prince captive; later, he is beaten by the prince in a contest of skill.
Hugh Hendon
- Miles's brother who usurps Miles's rightful place in the family and also marries the woman Miles loves. He pretends not to recognize Miles. He is also responsible for Miles' and the young prince's being imprisoned.
Blake Andrews
- The old retainer of Miles Hendon's father; he comes to jail and explains the various events that have transpired since Miles Hendon has been away.
Sir Humphrey Marlow (deceased)
- An old friend of Miles's father, Miles hopes that the old fellow will help him regain his rightful position as a recognized member of the Hendon family.
Humphrey Marlow
- A young boy who is hired to take the prince's whippings. He is helpful and a very over bearing friend for because he helps young Tom Canty adapt to his role as prince.
The Hermit
- A mad old man who takes young Edward in and pretends to be kind to him; however, when he hears that Edward is the son of Henry VIII, the hermit is almost successful at killing the lad.
1. SYNOPSIS
The novel opens with the announcement of the birth of Tom Canty, a pauper, and Edward Tudor, the Prince of Wales. The two boys grow up in different surroundings and are unaware of each other's existence. Tom lives in Offal Court, one of the poorest localities of London, where his drunken father forces him to beg in the streets. However, he finds time to learn Latin and read the books of Father Andrew. The old legends and histories he reads haunt his mind, and he starts visualizing himself as the prince. One day, after wandering about the streets, he walks towards the royal palace. The guards, catching him gaping through the gates, accost him, but the prince comes to the boy's rescue. He takes Tom to his chambers and inquires about his family. When Tom expresses a desire to wear princely clothes, he and the boy exchange their clothes. The striking resemblance between them surprises the two boys. Then, on an impulse, Edward storms out of his room to punish the sentinel who had behaved rudely with Tom. The guard mistakes him for Tom and pushes him out of the gate. The prince is thus thrown into the harsh world outside.
Edward experiences exhaustion and hunger as he walks through the streets of London. When he reaches Offal Court. John Canty apprehends him and, mistaking him for his son, gives him a beating. Father Andrew comes to rescue the boy from Canty's onslaughts and is struck by Canty. When Canty learns that Father Andrew is dying from his blow, he flees London with Edward in his grasp. It is the eve of a long procession down the Thames and ceremony at the Guildhall in honor of Tom, however, and, in the confusion, Edward escapes. Edward heads for the Guildhall, which he reaches as Tom is being honored there. The guards and crowds jeer him when he calls himself the prince and are about to attack him when Miles Hendon appears on the scene and rescues him.
In the meantime, the courtiers believe that Tom is Edward, and when the boy tries asserts his true identity, they dub him as mad. Tom is then taken to meet Henry VIII. When the boy fails to recognize the king, Henry VIII also expresses doubts about the sanity of the boy and advises him to relax his mind. Tom is thus forced to play the part of the prince. Slowly, he gets acquainted with the norms of the palace and reconciles himself to his situation. After the king's death, he feels the burden of responsibility on his head, but starts playing his role in earnest. He gives orders for the release of Duke of Norfolk, whom his father had condemned to death, and pardons several prisoners. The public appreciates his benevolent acts and cheer his wisdom and mercy.
Miles Hendon does not believe Edward's declaration that he is the prince, but takes pity on the boy, who he believes to be mad. He takes Edward to his lodgings, planning to bring him home to his father's estate, to which he is returning after a long absence. While he is out, however, John Canty and his associates kidnap Edward.
Edward is made to live among vagabonds and ruffians. He deplores their behavior, but learns that many of these petty criminals are the victims of the unjust and harsh laws of England. One day, he is sent to beg with Hugo, a young member of the band. When Hugo tries to cheat a passerby out of his money, Edward exposes his deceit and makes his escape. That night he takes shelter in the barn of a peasant. The next morning, he is found by the peasant family. Although the children believe Edward, the mother does not; she asks him numerous questions and has him perform various household chores in order to test his identity. When John Canty approaches the house, Edward escapes, and next takes shelter in the house of a mad hermit. The hermit tries to kill the boy, but before he can lay hands on him, John Canty and Hugo arrive and carry him away. Once again Edward is thrown in the company of thieves and beggars.
1. ANALYSIS
1. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
1. Hyperbole
- England had so longed for him, and hoped for him, and prayed God for him, that, now that he was really come, the people went nearly mad for joy.
- Go thy way in peace; and if it return to thee at any time, forget me not, but fetch me a storm.”
- Immediately came a succession of thundering knocks upon the cabin door.
- The storm of cheers and laughter that swept the place was something wonderful to hear.
- A faint tinge appeared for a moment in the lady’s cheek, and she dropped her eyes to the floor.
- ...and beseech God to take away the stone that was in her breast and give her a human heart.
1. Personification
- By day, London was a sight to see, with gay banners waving from every balcony and housetop, and splendid pageants marching along.
- When the nuts were all gone, he stumbled upon some inviting books in a closet, among them one about the etiquette of the English court.
- The boy stood unconfused in the midst of all those surprised and questioning eyes, and answered with princely dignity.
- The King’s face lit up with a fierce joy.
- The winds sighed around lonely place, the mysterious voices of the nights floated by out f the distances.
- It was a poor apartment, with a shabby bed and some odds and ends of old furniture in it, and was vaguely lighted by a couple of sickly candles.
- In his dream he reached his sordid home all out of breath, but with eyes dancing with grateful enthusiasm; cast four of his pennies into his mother’s lap and cried out.
- The room was filled with courtiers clothed in purple mantles—the mourning colour—and with noble servants of the monarch.
- Conversation followed; not in the thieves’ dialect of the song, for that was only used in talk when unfriendly ears might be listening.
- The response came with such a thunder gust from the motley crew that the crazy building vibrated to the sound.
- Now and then came the complaining howl of a dog over viewless expanses of field and forest; all sounds were remote.
- “Oh, thou fox hearted slave, I see it all! Thou’st writ the lying letter!”
- Gentle and beautiful young girls, with beaming eyes and fresh complexions, who may possibly put on their jewelled coronets awkwardly when the great time comes.
- His slightest movement showers a dancing radiance all around him.
- By-and-by, when he came to himself out of his musings, he discovered that the town was far behind him and that the day was growing old.
1. Onomatopoeia
- “The King dropped into inarticulate mumblings...”
- Now the air was heavy with the hush of suspense and expectancy.
- A groan from the King interrupted the lord at this point.
- A sounding blow upon the Prince’s shoulder from Canty’s broad palm sent him staggering into goodwife Canty’s arms.
- As soon as the snoring of the head of the house and his mother showed that they were asleep, the young girls crept to where the Prince lay.
- He growled these words to the rest of the family.
- The ceaseless flash and boom of artillery.
- A low buzz of admiration swept through the assemblage.
- He noted a murmurous sound, the sullen beating of rain upon the roof.
- Startled occasionally by the soft rustling of the dry leaves overhead.
- They seemed not to be real sounds, but only the moaning and complaining ghosts of departed ones.
- On the floor and on the platform a deafening buzz of frantic conversation burst forth.
- Soon there was a general buzz along the corridors.
- The massed world on the river burst into a mighty roar of welcome.
- The night wind was rising; it swept by in fitful gusts that made the old barn quake and rattle, then its forces died down at intervals, and went mourning and wailing around corners and projections.
- The speech of this fantastic figure was received with an explosion of jeers and laughter.
1. Simile
- When he at length emerged from this master’s hands, he was a gracious figure and as pretty as a girl.
- The shivering King made for the blankets, with as good speed as the darkness would allow.
- “...was wedged in among a crowd of people who were watching with deep interest certain hurrying gangs of workmen who streamed in and out of Westminster Abbey, busy as ants: they were making the last preparation for the royal coronation.”
- “If thou do but touch him, thou animated offal, I will spit thee like a goose!” said Hendon.
- Then he cuddled himself up to the calf’s back, drew the covers up over himself and his friend, and in a minute or two was as warm and comfortable as he had ever been in the downy couches of the regal palace of Westminster.
- The distant city lay in a luminous glow... above it rose many a slender spire into the sky, in crusted with sparkling lights wherefore in their remoteness they seemed like jewelled lances thrust aloft.
- ...and in aspect and attitude he resembled nothing so much as grizzly monstrous spider, gloating over some hapless insect that lay abound and helpless in his web.
- Why I know this old hall, these pictures of my ancestors, and all these things that are about us, as a child knoweth its own nursery.
- The shining pageant still went winding like a radiant and interminable serpent down the crooked lanes of the quaint old city.
1. Metaphor
- And Hugh, younger than I, a mean spirit, covetous, treacherous, vicious, underhanded—a reptile.
1. STYLE OF WRITING
1. Point of View
- Third Person Omniscient
1. SYMBOLS
The Great Seal
- The Great Seal that Edward hides quickly before he and Tom exchange clothes represents his princely office. In addition, it is the factor that verifies his identity as he is the only one who has known where the seal is.
Clothes
- Twain satirizes the adage, "Clothes make the man" as Tom and Edward are automatically re-identified after they exchange clothes, no matter what they say or do. This identification on such superficiality is clearly indicative of Twain's cynicism of society. Clothes, too, provide people social roles and all that accompanies these roles.
1. TONE
- His tone was rather strict and rude; he deemed it “unbecoming and unfitting for anyone educated” to have a contrarian view.
1. MOOD
- The prevailing mood of the novel is serious, as the story is set in sixteenth-century England, under the reign of the autocratic ruler, Henry VIII. However, Mark Twain lightens the atmosphere of the novel considerably with his masterstrokes of irony, creating humorous scenes and eccentric characters to amuse and entertain readers.
1. THEMES
1. Clothes can be deceiving
- The protagonists of the novel fail to establish their identities and are instead recognized only through the images they present. Tom Canty is accepted as a prince because he looks like one, while Edward Tudor is thought to be a pauper, since he is dressed in rags.
1. Clothes and manners do not make the man; but, when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance
- Mark Twain firmly believed that environment was responsible for the behavior of a person and that with the progress of time individuals and society changed for the better.
Edward is born a prince and Tom a pauper. However, when they are forced by circumstances to reverse their roles, they behave accordingly. Edward learns to lead the life of a pauper, and Tom molds himself to the life of a prince. Environment, slowly and steadily, determines their attitudes and behavior. Edward develops a moral sense through suffering, while Tom loses a similar moral sense through luxury. In the end, they both learned that there is more to life than clothes, prosperity, honor and merit.
1. Do not judge a book by its cover
- Can a cliché pertain to real life and one's identity? In The Prince in the Pauper one's identity was extremely important. The Prince displayed how rags could not prove him a king, the pauper showed how wearing fine garments held him in a high position, and from these two examples expressions can be formed to speculate relations between each other and the main theme of this novel. How clothes make the man, how appearance can be deceiving is the expression that was shown throughout the story. We must bear in mind that what we see on them with our bare eyes may not conclude their personality. Sometimes, what lies beneath is greater that you never expect of it.
AN ANALYSIS OF NARAYAN’S VENDOR OF SWEETS
Themes:
There are two main themes in Vendor of Sweets: One is the father-son conflict which can be generalized as a conflict between the east and west or between good and evil. The other theme is man’s quest for identity and self-renewal. The protagonist Jagan is a sweet-vendor by profession, follower of the Gita in thinking and talker of Gandian principles but he indulges in double dealing in matters of money, and also cheats sales-tax authorities. He comes to realize that money is evil when his son, Mali, comes back to India with a Korean girl, Grace and asks for money for his business. Jagan finds new life or a new birth in his retirement, when he surrenders his business to his cousin. His fragile Gandhian self-regard collapses before his much-loved son’s strange actions; and after Mali ends up disastrously in prison as a result of driving drunk around Malgudi, Jagan has no option but a Hindu-style renunciation of the world, bewilderment and retreat to a simpler life. But even here his ideal of Sanyasa is not serious as he still holds the purse string.
Settings:
Mulgudi, Narayan’s famous Indian township provides the backdrop for this novel with its interesting mixture of the traditional and colonial heritage.The love and marriage, their devotion to God .and their celebration of the festivals make the Malgudians come alive. The simplicity of the vendor and the naivety of his customers is touching when they spend half an hour discussing politics., before asking for sweet meats and their price.
Characters:
Jagan and his son Mali are the main characters and two other minor characters are Jagan’s cousin and the KoreanAmerican girl, Grace. Jagan looks a typical travesty of Mahatma Gandhi dressed in khadi clothes but crazy over money, he cheats the salestax authorities with no scruples and spoils Mali by giving money. Mali, mediocre degenerate usual youth longs to have western way of life like American studies possession of foreign gadgets, consumption of meat, wine and free sex. Jagan represents the superficial aspects of the East and Mali the weaker aspects of the West. A college drop out, Mali attracted by the West contracts relationship with a foreign girl, Grace. Mali rejects his Indian past and tries to imitate Western life. His driving in a drunken state brings him to jail. Jagan-Grace relationship proves that East–West synthesis is also possible. Grace, the unmarried, casteless, foreign girl, has concern and solicitude for Jagan in her attempt to be a good Hindu daughter-in-law. She learns diligently the Indian way of life and maintains the house clean. Jagan on his part understands her predicament brought by the misdeeds of his son. What prevents Grace from settling down in India is not any error on her part, but her money gets exhausted and Mali would have nothing to do with her. Jagan is willing to get her an air ticket if that would be of help to her. Earlier he ignored the ostracisation by his relatives for bringing a foreign lady into the household. But Jagan is not without his weaknesses. He follows Gandhism but cheats income tax people consoling himself that Gandhi did not mention anything about income tax. He reads Gita but cares for caste.
Point of View:
In The Vendor of Sweets , Narayan adopts the selective third person point of view. It is the father–son relationship or the conflict of two generations which plays the dominant role in developing the action and shaping the narrative. The experiences and events in the life of both the father and the son, therefore, occupy equal importance in the novel, Narayan, however, focalises the story from the point of view of the father. All the events and happenings in the novel are described as seen through the eyes and mind of Jagan . To provide the full view of Jagan’s life and character, Narayan uses “flash on”and flash back techniques.
Socio-cultural Context:
The Western Influence :
As western modernity enters Malgudi , its own indigenous values are corroded. Presence of an Insurance company in The Dark Room, , the studio on the bank of river Sarayu in Mr.Sampath, and story writing machine brought by Mali in The Vendor of Sweets indicate that Malgudi is already growing as a civilized commercial centre. Change is not only spatial and temporal but also cultural and social . Mali lives with Grace, an American-Korean even when they are not married. The orthodox Hindu society of Mulgudi, ostracises Jagan for being a Gandhian and punishes Mali for anti-social behavior in the end.
Bringing Tony Home
Tissa Abeysekera
0.1 Introduction
‘Bringing Tony Home’ is an intimate Sri Lankan novel. One of the first things that you might notice about this novel is its visually charged nature. Like a movie, the moments in the novel evoke powerful visuals – images of a bygone era, images of nature and images of colourful people. This might not be a surprise to you, considering the fact that the author is a well-known film director in Sri Lanka.
The novel is structured in three parts. As if to suggest the three different time periods of the narrator’s life: his adult life as a film-maker, his teenage years as a restless stubborn and adventurous kid, and finally his life as a young adult. The fragmentation of the novel acts as a brilliant foil to the changes that take place in the beautiful environment of the narrator.
0.2 Themes
The central concern in the novel is the sincere affection between the narrator and his faithful dog Tony. This gentle peaceful relationship between the boy and his dog suffers a shocking spilt due to the adverse economic situation in the family. Neither the boy nor the dog knows how to endtheir seven-year strong relationship as the family leaves their home and moves into a much more moderate and restricted surroundings. This inability of both parties to come to terms with that separation triggers off the story.
Amidst this conflict of love between a human and animal the novel gives us a visually-charged insight into the gentle peaceful past era of Sri Lanka when people’s lives were unsophisticated and slow paced: Salaka Poth or the Hal Poth were equivalent to the national identity cards; buses were not crowded and did not run in a hurry; suburban Sri Lanka was alive with awe inspiring trees and waterways; people welcomed strangers to their houses.
The novel also explores relationship between children and parents. The mother is empathetic kind and sensitive. The father is distant and at times insensitive. The narrator knows that he needs to learn to live amidst such opposite tendencies. The dog Tony too seemed aware of the differences in human personalities and seemed to have created his own way of living amidst such differences. The final running away of the dog might sound sad and ungrateful – but Tony,we could assume from the novel, knew what he was doing. The novel also explores the deep nostalgia we human beings have for our own past. It suggests that possibly we might never have given up our past. Like an image from an old movie, or a passage from a novel or a verse form an old poem, the past is embedded deep in our psyche and all it takes is one visual, thought or a sound to unleash those memories. The novel also makes us realize that as human beings we are still unable to deal with partings.
The narrator in the novel avoids parting as much as possible. When the family gets into the bus to go to their new house, he avoids eye contact with Tony who is eager to get in to the bus himself. When he meets another dog like Tony many years later, he runs away after feeding the dog. Even Tony does not know how to part – he runs away from home when his best friend isfast asleep. The novel thus brings all of us into equal grounds – both animal and human.
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