THE ARTICLES

In the world of grammar, the articles are playing a major role. It has been taught to us and we teach our students the same. Many of us had struggled ourselves over this topic. All the students, right from VI standard (probably) till I year of their under graduate degree, need to know this as they are in need of scoring a good mark. Whoever the students are, they must come over the subject English. In this case we, the teachers and the professors, should know how to teach it in more comprehensible manner. The points we teach must be ever registered in the minds of the students since it is our service/ duty.

Here some pieces of short cuts are disclosed to develop the confidence level of students on the topic “The Articles”. This methods will 100% work out with the students who are from Tamilnadu.

The Articles are: ‘a’, ‘an’, and ‘the’. To determine articles, students are used to blindly taught if any one letters from so called vowels (A, E, I, O, U) is placed in the beginning of the nouns.

In this, ‘a’ and ‘an’ are called as indefinite articles whereas ‘the’ is known as definite article.

Sometimes there would be some confusions like “what is definite article”? and “what is indefinite article”? I am not going to detail it rather, give you some tips.

1.      ‘a’ and ‘an’ – First set

2.      ‘the’ –  Second set.

The former is termed as an “INDEFINITE” starts with a letter ‘I’ which is a vowel and ‘an’ fits with this so it would be an indefinite article and latter ‘the’ will be definitely “DEFINITE” article (the word definite contains no vowel letter).

Next confusion is where to use ‘a’, ‘an’, and ‘the’.

First you should know the meaning of the letters and word – ‘a’ and ‘an’.

A

   ]   --- Meaning is “One” – Singular.

An

The terms used by ‘a’ and ‘an’ if used second time that should be used by ‘the’ even though they are singular.

For example: an ant (first use)- the ant (in second use)

                                                  the ants (ants are plural here)

                    An article – the articles (articles are plural here).

 

Let me explain the usage of ‘an’ then you yourselves can understand about ‘a’ and ‘the’ by eliminating method.

When we struggle in English language, there is nothing wrong in taking tips from our mother tongue (Tamil) for better understanding. We see vowel (A, E, I, O, U) in a word to find a proper article. For example: an ant, an ice-cream, an umbrella. All the underlined letters are vowels, but when we follow this method for the words like European, University, we may fail. To avoid this let us give a look in Tamil vowels. 12 vowels in Tamil are அ,ஆ,இ,ஈ,உ,ஊ,எ,ஏ,ஐ,ஒ,ஓ,ஔ.

When you find some words, first pronounce it. If that word starts with any of the sounds of above tamil vowels, blindly you can put ‘an’ in front of that particular word.

For example:

v  Ice – ஐஸ்- so an ice,

v  Umbrella – அம்பரெல்லா- so an umbrella,

v  MLA – எம்எல்ஏ – so an MLA, and

v  Honest- ஆநெஸ்ட்- so an honest.  

Note: The words above given are pronounced in tamil vowels.

but if the same words come in plural, use ‘the’ instead of ‘an’. If singulars are not with the sounds of the tamil vowels then you can use ‘a’.

 Therefore, these are the easiest ways to teach articles to the students by assisting Tamil vowels and it is one of the important ways to remember it forever.

 

 

Theories in Literature- Part II

Post Colonial Criticism

                Post Colonial criticism developed in the 1990s. The great writers of this criticism are Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, Gayatri Spivak and Bill Ashcroft. Post colonial theory is a method of interpreting, reading and critically evaluating the cultural practices of colonialism. Post colonial critics question the authority of Western literature because it is often silent about colonialism and imperialism. The Western literature supports only White, Eurocentric ideas. There are two stages of Post colonial criticism. In the first stage, post colonialism criticizes the Western portrayal of colonial countries for its prejudices and limitations. In the second stage, the post colonial writers speak of themselves and their society.

             Much before the pot colonial criticism of Edward Said and Homibhabha appeared, the ideas of resistance, cultural nationalism and nativism arose in the context of anti-colonial struggle in Asia, Africa and South America. But the anti-colonial struggle in India was much different from other colonized nations in Asia, Africa, South America and other places.

               Gandhi’s method of struggle was “Satyagraha” which was based on the principle of non-violence. Gandhi knew that the spirit of India lies in the villages and therefore he took an anti-industrial stand. Gandhiji wanted to save the interests of the peasant class and agricultural workers. France Fanon calls this form of struggle as “cultural nationalism”. Gandhiji’s major contribution to post-colonial struggle is the moral superiority of both the individual and the culture against the colonial ruler – the British government. Gandhiji believed in the assimilation of all cultures and asserted Indian secularism.

Fratz Omar Fanon an Afro-Caribbean psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary and writer whose books are influential in the fields of Post colonial studies, critical theory and Marxism. His works titled “The Wretched of the Earth” and “Black Skins, White Masks” deeply influenced the ani-colonial struggle.

                 Fanon was deeply interested in the psychological effects of colonialism both on the colonizer and the colonized. He argued that the colonization destroyed the soul of the depressed and the suffering natives because the white people treated these natives as mere animalized things. So the natives think of themselves as very dirty, pagan and primitive and evil human beings and began to hate their own culture and religion. This is what happened even in India. Thus the natives are forced to accept western religion, values, culture and language and puts on white masks. He cannot become fully ‘white’ and at the same time he cannot expel the whites from his country.

                                                                     

Cultural Materialism

              Cultural materialism is politicized form of historiography. It treats all literary texts part of historical material. The term cultural materialism was given importance by Jonathan Dollimore and Alan Sinfield. They define cultural materialism as a critical method. Cultural materialism takes its principles from Structuralism, Post Structuralism, Marxist and Feminist ideas and other modern methods of critical study.

            The difference between Marxist criticism and Cultural materialism is that cultural materialism considers the present as well as the past in the study of literary text, but Marxism considers only the past. Cultural materialism stands for political optimism whereas New Historicism represents political pessimism. Cultural materialism is the British while New Historicism is American.

New Historicism

             New Historicism is American counterpart of Cultural materialism which is British. New Historicism was coined by Steven Greenblatt. New Historicism deals with the historical, social, economic contexts of a literary text. New historicism differs from old historicism. Old historicism treated the literary text as the object of value and the historical background was only of a subsidiary interest. There was no equality between the literary text and the historical background. On the other hand New historicism gives equal importance to both the literary text and the historical background. New historicism accepts Derrida’s view that there is nothing outside the text. New Historicism stands for political pessimism and says that history is not background to texts; but it is the foreground.

Marxist criticism

             Marxism is a school of thought that has political, economic, social, literary and other bearings. It stands for a classless society and common ownership of property. It is based on materialist philosophy.

             The Marxist view of society has two bases, an economic base and a cultural superstructure. The first is the means of production, distribution and exchange. The second is the world of philosophy, art, religion, law and others. But the second base is formed and determined through the first base. Marx and Engels did not develop any theory of literature. Marxist criticism is that a writer’s class is reflected in his work. It is not inspiration, or genius, that creates great art, but one’s social context. This is mirrored from the content and style of one’s work.

Post modernism    

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

                                                                        

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

              Samuel Becket’s “Waiting For Godot” is a typical example for a postmodernist work.

Ecocriticism

              Ecocriticism is the study of literature and environment from an interdisciplinary point of view where all sciences come together to analyze the environment and make possible solution for the correction of the environmental situation.

Ecocritics consider other disciplines, such as history, philosophy, ethics and psychology can be contributors to ecocriticism.

              Joseph Meeker’s “The Comedy of Survival” published in 1974 says that environmental crisis is caused mainly by a cultural tradition in the West. They separated human culture from nature. He says “making love not war” is superior ecological value. We must love and protect our nature because human being is an integral part of Nature. If Nature is destroyed, human race is also be perished.

Camilo Gomides has offered an operational definition of ecocriticism. He defines ecocriticism as the field of enquiry that  analyzes and promotes works of art which raise moral questions about human interactions with Nature, while also motivating audiences to live within a limit that will be binding over generations.

Ecofeminism

              Ecofeminism says that the values and beliefs of patriarchal society have resulted in the exploitation of women and nature. The patriarchal society ignores women’s work, knowledge and the immediate location in nature, where the women’s relationship with the environment is more intimate than that of a man’s relationship with Nature.

The spiritualist part of ecofeminism turned to native American religions, goddess worship in Hinduism and other native cultures.

             The materialist ecofeminists think that the spiritualist group are spoiling the ecofeminist dealing with social conditions and political decisions that encourage environment exploitation, encourage lavish consumerism, and fail to check military spending.

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

Thank you,

Dr. K. J. Thomas.

Theories in Literature- Part I

The Queer Theory or Lesbian/ Gay Criticism

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

Subaltern

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

Dalit Literature in India – A Critical Study.

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

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

TRICKS TO REMEMBER “THE UNIVERSITY WITS"

               Elizabethan age is known for its evoking of new kinds of dramatic style, structure, and its omission of the strict rules of the ancient traditions and rules (three unities). In history, first time, it has begot the great dramatists who have been shaking the literary world till now. Here we have University Wits, William Shakespeare, and Ben Jonson as playwrights and among them William Shakespeare is known for his wonderful creative power but he has just walked on the road with good pace which is perfectly paved by the University Wits. Without them, one cannot think about him. Maximum of his works have their source from their works. For this, he is vehemently criticized by Robert Greene.                 

      According to Robert Greene, Shakespeare is just a crow who beautifies itself by the feathers of other beautiful birds.

           If a question is asked about the names of University Wits, definitely our mind starts to think over it and finally we will say three or more.  Here I have made an easy shortcut to understand and memorize this. I believe that you are not going to forget them till your departure from this earth if you really love literature. I challenge within 1 minute I can make you to memorize this. Be ready for the challenge.

 

Lily(1) is Peeled(2) by a Kid(3) in front of a Lodge(4) and the colors of the lodge are Greene(5) and Ash(6) which is owned by Marlowe(7).  That’s it.

1.      John Lyly

2.      George Peele

3.      Thomas Kyd

4.      Thomas Lodge

5.      Robert Greene

6.      Thomas Nashe

7.      Christopher Marlowe

Among them, Thomas Kyd is not admitted in any of the universities (Oxford and Cambridge). You may think why he is called as University Wit, because he wrote like them. This is the reason why he is called as so.

Wits from Oxford University:

Lily is peeled in front of a Lodge.

1. John Lyly
2. George Peele
3. Thomas Lodge

Sometimes Thomas Middleton is included here as he was an Oxford university ward.

Wits from Cambridge University:

1. Robert Greene
2. Thomas Nashe
3. Christopher Marlowe

So I hope that you have well understood this concept. In the next blog, we will learn the establishment of Elizabethan Theaters in correct Chronological order as it is need for NET/SET/JRF examinations.  Thank you.

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF THE ELIZABETHAN THEATRES

               Kindly note this point before to start: This is not about full history of Elizabethan Theatres. Here I am going to give only tips to arrange all Elizabethan theatres in perfect chronological order. Before start this kindly by heart this Statement –

THE CAPTAIN ROBERT SAVED GOOD FOOD.(too important).

           Elizabethan Theatres, also called as Renaissance Theatre, were given importance from 1562 till 1642.  But they were not fully developed until 1570s. So the plays were enacted by rolling/ wandering players. All these actors were patronized by some Lords, Patrons etc…The important theatre owner is James Burbage. His son Richard Burbage is a colleague of our Shakespeare.

           First let us give a look at the patrons. First patron is Lord Stranger (Name itself is a Stranger) and is followed by Lord Chamberlain and Kings Men. Those who acted under these patronages used to be called as their men. For example: Lord Stranger’s Men, Lord Chamberlain’s Men etc…

          Lord Stranger’s Men

                   ↓becomes

Lord Chamberlain’s Men(George Carey)

                ↓becomes

King’s Men (King James)

Here we have a concept of Chronological order of Elizabethan Theatres. Already you have come across the statement “THE CAPTAIN ROBERT SAVED GOOD FOOD”. Now look at the each word’s first letters, and then you will get “TCRSGF”

T – THE THEATRE (1576)

C – CURTAIN THEATRE (1577)

R – ROSE THEATRE (1587)

S – SWAN THEATRE (1595)

G – GLOBE THEATRE (1599)

F – FORTUNE THEATRE (1600)

Questions may be asked in NET exams to arrange the theatres in chronological order. So this method will help you to solve this.

Some important things about the theatres are:

• The Theatre’s plays were performed by Lord Chamberlain’s men.
• Shakespeare was associated with Lord Chamberlain’s men in the most of his career.
• He is closely associated with The Globe Theatre.
• The first play performed in The Globe Theatre is Julius Caesar (1599).
• Last written play of Shakespeare is The Tempest and last Performed play is Henry VIII.
• Henry VIII is collaborated with Fletcher this is why it is not considered as his last play.

MELTING STONE- M. Anburaj

 

On a dull morning devoid of remembering the time for the college, Shan who is a fair and a lethargic gentle man of a Politician had been resting in the nook of the room embraced the pillow and the blanket. Shan had to be waked up by one, though he used to come to the college by bike. So it was an obligation of Dave, who is an intellectual and fun maker of the gang, to wake him up over a phone.

Even though he was not waked up, he himself would reach the college late as it was unbearable for him being at home. Nandh, rather opposite to Dave in character, used to reach the college bus stop just ten minutes before Dave reached it just as Saka and Savan, good entertainers and always seek for tobacco, accustomed to come together at time. They are all at the edge of their college’s duration.

In college, their group is always unique. Their behavior attracts all other troops in the same. Some pupils who don’t like this would strangle them by saying the matters wrong way up to the Professors.

Their uniqueness is understood at the time of examinations. They themselves sit and read from what they understood when others read with girl students. Pass or fail they had a habit of independent reading. They are not just like other friends as each one of them is well known by their parents.

In this course, there was betrothal of Shan’s sister. Everyone attended and was invited by his father without the invitation as he considered everyone as the part of his family. His father ordered them to arrive before two days of the marriage. With abundant of happiness they start their preparation by packing luggage with enough dress, plunder the good amount of money from parent etc. Especially Dave took much of the same which was not really in need of and slept.

On the day of marriage, the entire guests were mesmerized by their enjoyment. They captured some photos and had a great chat with each and every guest. Saka and Savan got much sweat and tired of doing all such things. They wanted to relax themselves. So they forced Shan furtively to get them hard drinks. They did not want Dave and Nandh to know about this.

At this juncture, to buy some snacks Dave and Nandh planned off the departmental store which was bit far from there. As Saka and Savan refused to go along with them to complete their mission, Dave and Nandh went alone.

They bid a bye and set off. After walking around twenty minutes, they found there were six incessant railway tracks to encounter with. Railway tracks are always accustomed with plants like thorn plants, thrush, bushes etc… Unfortunately Dave hit against a thorn and bent to remove it as it went in deep where as Nandh off to cross. After a few seconds, Nandh crossed the first two tracks and about to reach the third. At the blink of eyes, the third is filled with a train so he was collapsed and tried to bound the track. All of a sudden all the tracks were encountered with trains. Everyone was shocked who stood over there including Dave.

Dave could not even stand. He was stuck with multiple of thoughts which would happen to him after this. He was responsible for this as he promised Nandh’s parent that he would bring him back to the home safely.

Dave got back his life after recognizing that Nandh had stood on the opposite plat form. He started to scold him fervently by addressing Nandh’s whole ancestors since he was in wrath. Nandh was tongue tied. He was not able counter him so he waited for a while until Dave completes. At last Nandh asked Dave why was he scolding him, and said nothing was there to blame. Dave was asked to stop scolding and was requested to collect the scattered dead body. Stunned Dave did not comprehend what he was telling. He turned and found some of the people gather near a vanished body and lost the picture of Nandh on the plat form as it was not Nandh, the spirit of him who spoke with Dave. He was thinking that should have not happened to Nandh. Panicked Dave walked towards the corpse. Suddenly Dave woke up and was distracted from his bad nightmare. He found himself to be fully sweated. He wept for a while and was unable to realize why he had that sort of dream.

Next day, he did not disclose this to anyone. He realized the holiness of friendship because he did not even shed a tear when his beloved grandmother expired but he was sobbing like anything when he had just a bad nightmare about his friend. His hard heart was started to melt. Dave owed himself that he should create more bond and care to his friends.

On the day of marriage, all of them went and rejoiced every moment. Dave found nothing what he witnessed in his dream. He went for a meal with a great smile and relaxing sigh.

THE BLUE BOUQUET- OCTAVIO PAZ

INTRODUCTION:

          Octavio Paz Lozano was a Mexican poet, writer, and diplomat who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990. His grandfather’s library, equipped with classics from both Mexican and European literature, had a great influence on him and it took him to writing at a very young age. His work which is primarily in Spanish has been translated into several other languages. Paz traveled to India in 1962 when he was appointed as a Mexican Ambassador to India.

SETTLEMENT OF A NARRATOR:

           The unmanned narrator of the story “The Blue Bouquet” has been living in a boarding house which was owned by one-eyed taciturn fellow and it is supposed to be located in midst of the trees or forest. One day he wakes up with sweat as hot steam comes from the red brick pavement. He finds grey winged butterfly encircling the entire room as well as around yellow light. This yellow light image discloses the fact that it should be night time. He jumps from the hammock and walks towards the little window to get fresh air and inhales the country air as well. 

          Then he returns to the center of the room and drinks enough water and wets his towel. After cleaning his body by wet towel, he gets dressed up himself. He comes down by staircase and hits against the house owner, and owner asks him in a hoarse voice where he is about to go. He replies him just to talk a walk as it is too hot but he is not allowed.

JOURNEY OF THE NARRATOR:   

           House owner stopped him as it was a dangerous place and time to go out but he shrugged his shoulders and muttered “back soon” and plunged into the darkness. He was not able to anything except the black colour (night). He started to walk along the cobblestone street (a road paved by kind of bricks). He lit a cigarette as he was in need of light but immediately the Moon appeared from behind a black cloud. It was so bright and he felt that he is blind. Having seen this image, he again walked there he realized the type of air. He breathed the air of Tamarinds. The night started to give its sound through leaves and insects. They gave a word. He puzzled what kind of syllable that word had got, to whom it was spoken and who spoke the word. He threw the cigarette and walked a long time.

MEETING WITH AN UNKNOWN:

            After crossing the garden street, he could hear someone coming out of a doorway. He turned around and found nothing. He hurried and heard the shuffle of sandals on the hot stone. He did not want to turn back as he thought it would be an ill omen. That shadow getting close to him with every step he made. He tried to run but he was stopped vehemently and he felt the point of knife at his back. He could not defend himself. He was helpless. He heard a sweet voice which said “Don’t move mister, or I will stick it in”.

         

   He was terrified as he was at the edge of his life. Without turning back, he asked him what he wanted; he replied that he wanted his eyes. He was shocked a minute and asked what he would be going to do with his eyes. Instead of that he desired to give all the money which he had possessed then but the unknown refused and he was very firm to take out his eyes. He said he wanted his blue eyes to decorate “Blue Bouquet” to present his lady love. Narrator said that he did not have blue eyes and had only brown eyes but the unknown man was not willing to let narrator to go.

TERRIFIC MOMENT OF THE NARRATOR:

            The unknown man forced him to turn back. He was found as a small and fragile man when the narrator turned back. The unknown man covered his face with his left hand and holds a country knife in a right hand. His knife was reflected in moonlight. He was asked the narrator to show his face as it was too dark. The narrators lit a match stick and hold it closely towards his face. The unknown stood up in tiptoe and tried to see his face but he could not see it clearly as the flame burnt the narrator’s fingers. So he dropped it.    

            The narrator asked the unknown whether he had seen his eyes. But he replied that it was not so much clear. So he asked him to light another one. As soon as the narrator lit a match, he was grabbed his sleeve and ordered him to knelt down. The unknown peeped into his eyes and found it was brown. Again the flame burnt his flesh. All of a sudden the unknown let the narrator to go and the unknown vanished. The narrator searched him but could not find. He ran for an hour and reached his boarding house where he found his house owner sitting in the same place (chair). He just got inside the house without making any note of what had really happened. In the very next day, the narrator left the town.

CONCLUSION:

         This story deals with themes of fear, uncertainty, conflict and maniacal love. It makes the readers to ponder about the absurdity of love and also on the uncertainty and fear looming in their everyday lives. Paz has employed the element of mystery very effectively  in this story.

HART-LEAP WELL- WILLIAM WORDSWORTH (WORDS WORTH)

          William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 - 23 April 1850) was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English Literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads (1798). His notable works are Lyrical Ballads, Poems In Two Volumes (1807), The Excursion (1814), The Prelude (1850), I Wandered Lonely As A cloud (1802). His poem “HART-LEAP WELL” (1800), is told in the form of a ballad. Merriam-Webster defines ballads as “a kind of a poem or song that tells a story”, the first part of the poem is of a knight named Sir Walter and his hunt for a hart (deer). The second part of the poem is told by a shepherd who conveys a different perspective of the hunt. A shepherd’s job, defined by Merriam-Webster, is “to guide someone or something”, in this case they guide the reader through the story. They are similar to minstrels, who also guide their audiences through their stories but are known for being more entertaining in their story telling.

         Hart-Leap Well is a small spring of watery about five miles from Richmond in Yorkshire, and near the side of the road which leads from Richmond to Askrigg. Its name is derived from a remarkable chase, the memory of which is preserved by the monuments spoken of in the second part of the following poem, which monuments do now exist as he has described.

         In the beginning of the poem the knight rides down from the Wensley moor, and as soon as he reaches the vassel’s door, he cries aloud for another horse, and he gets another horse. Sir Walter who himself is the knight sits on the horse and goes away. He rides the horse as fast as how a Falcon bird flies. Suddenly, he finds that it is a herd of deer, among them he chooses one and follows it, for which he calls out for three dogs who are Blanch, Swift, and Music along with them he chases that one deer whom he focused on. It was not an Earthly chase. All others who went with Walter disappear because of tiredness. Sir Walter and the hart alone remain.

        Now the knight explains his successful victory on how he chased the deer and killed it. The deer was running in the mountain but he could not guess how far it went. At last the hart dies but Sir Walter refuses to say how it died. There was no one with him, no follower, no dog, no man, nor a boy, so he himself dismounted from the horse and found that hart as his “dump partner” it could not speak or listen because of its pain even foam started to pouring out from its mouth, and it died.

       The hart was lying stretched with its nostril touching a spring which was beneath a hill. His deep groaning made the water in the spring to tremble. Now he is in ecstasy for the repose on seeing all four sides of his surrounding and gazes upon that Darling Spot and decides to build a house in the place where the hoof-marks of the deer was left, and then he cries aloud that the human beings will know about his victory over killing this deer. He decides to build a pleasure house which is surrounded by trees and he builds it in such a way that it will be useful for the people who come there. He thinks that this place must have an identity so that it will be spoken by the people who come there, so he names that place as “HART-LEAP WELL”. To make the place even more greater he builds three pillars which is made of rough-hewn stone. During summer he would come with his paramour to enjoy the holidays with the dancers and minstrel’s song.

        In the following lines he mentions some strong belief which was derived from the Holy Bible, that the house which is built on a hill can never be destroyed until the hill is destroyed.

                    Till the foundations of the mountains fail

                    My mansion with its arbour shall endure;--

                    The joy of them who till the fields of swale,

                    And them who dwell among the woods of Ure! (73-76)

 So then he keeps a stone as an identity mark and then he goes home. And soon he fulfils all his ideas which he had explained in the former stanzas. His house is compared to the sylvan land, where the trees fully cover the whole house without even leaving sun light and moon light to pass through. So whenever summer comes he goes there and enjoys with his paramour. On one day he dies there and his dead body is buried there. And now the poet speaks about another tale which gives the picturesque view of the calamity of the fertile land.

          From the second part of this poem, Wordsworth himself tells his experience. When he walks through that way he happens to see the three aspens at the three corners of a square and one among them is very near to the well. He wishes to look into the area deeply, so that he makes stop his horse. He sees three pillars standing in a line where they are fully covered by darkness and the trees become grey in colour which symbolises it is emotionless.

          In the following lines, the poet expresses the thought of nature which is about to decay the place. Because, Nature itself is willing to destroy that place because one of its members has been tortured and buried there.

                      I looked upon the hill both far and near,

                     More doleful place did never eye survey;

                     It seemed as if the spring-time came not here,

                     And Nature here were willing to decay. (123-126)

         He looks upon the hill from both far and near but he finds the dullness only in that particular area where the spring season has never visited.

         And then, the poet meets a shepherd and asks him about that place. The Shepherd says that it was a jolly place once, but now it is turned to be a cursed place, and it is suffering, and lifeless stumps of aspen wood, an old mansion, and only dust and waste remained there. The spring water was never been tasted by neither a dog nor a heifer a horse nor a sheep, because it is fully filled with the groaning voice of the hart still. Shepherd said that some people believe that some murder would have place taken there. All these climate changes are occurred only because of the soul of that unhappy hart. He said, no one could describe that thirteen hours race between the knight and the hart but one can feel for the reason why the hart ran and died in that particular place. The hart might have been born, and brought up with all the members of its family, it might have loved that place very much, may be because of this reason it hold its life in its hand till it reaches there. He said that during April all birds come to this place, but after this not even a single bird visited that particular area with their morning carol song and even the sun and the moon never visited that place, because that place is been cursed to the extreme. All the beauty of that land such as trees, stones, and fountain left that place.

          According to the reader’s point of view, that place is cursed not only by death and burial of the hart, the knight is considered as the main cause to that calamity. The sun, the moon, the spring season, and the birds have a good conscience to mourn for its part and at the same time they take revenge by not visiting that place “Hart-Leap Well”. That is not a cursed place by nature, but the knight himself made the place to be cursed.

          Now the poet replies to the shepherd that the hart is not only observed by the nature alone, but it has also gained the sympathy from the divine. Its death is regarded as the great mourning to all. He said that there is reason for nature to leave that place because it symbolically gives a precaution that it would decay the entire place if injustice that happened to the hart is repeated any other parts of nature.

          Thus, he concludes by giving the message in the following lines :

                          One lesson, shepherd, Let us two divide,

                         Taught both by what she shows, and what conceals;

                         Never to blend our pleasure or our pride

                         With sorrow of the meanest thing that feels (187-190)

         By explaining to the shepherd the poet indirectly passes the message to the human beings that everything which is given by nature or hidden by nature, will never give loss to any of our pleasure or pride. Because of their own pleasure and pride human beings take the lives of other living things. Whenever humans take the life of the meanest thing, if the try to feel the pain of it they could never ever take its life

 

 

 

 

THE SONG OF THE WHALE- KIT WRIGHT

       

     

              Kit Wright was born in 1944 in England and is the author of more than twenty-five books, for both adult and children. His books of poetry include “The bear Looked Over the Mountain” (1977), which won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and the Alice Hunt Bartlett Award, and Short Afternoons (1989), which won the Hawthornden Prize and was joint winner of the Heinemann Award.

            These are the facts of Whale that they are the largest animals in the world and need to breathe air. They cannot sleep for very long because they have to remember to go to the surface for air as needed. Whale Males are not easy to identify. The only predator that whales have to content with are humans. They are not bothered by any other creatures in the water. However, the changes to their food source, hunting by humans, and even pollution to the waters that they live in can affect their abilities to survive which is why they continue to try to adopt to the environment that they are in. Humans killed at least 2.8 million whales in the 20^th century.

In this poem, Kit Wright depicts the mass killing of whales and the senseless usage of its organs. In the very first line of this poem, “Heaving mountain in the sea,” (1), the poet compares Whale to “Heaving mountain ranges” which is located in the sea. This mountain is heaving for protecting its life from humans. The poet reveals that he regrets this attitude of man. At every point, he worships the whale with words like “great, mountain”....

            In these lines of the second stanza, “Great whale, Crying for your life, / Crying for your kind, I knew” (4-5), the poet mentions the word “Great” which is suitable for the “God” and the “King.” Here though it is great, it cannot save its life and is crying for its generation which is deceased. “Lipstick for our painted faces, / Polish for our shoes ” (8-9), from the above lines he discloses the work which is done by the humans after its death. Man uses its organs to produce “Lipstick” and “Shoe Polish.” From the head till the foot, they want to polish everything. Kit talks about the usage of whale’s organs twice in this poem. Humans only use the dead organs to build their personality. They are thinking that they are giving everlasting life to whales because of using the organs. Lipsticks are made up of Whale’s and Pig’s organs, face creams, and oil are prepared by Shark’s livers, and shoes also made up of animal’s skins. Thus, the humans are wearing and applying on face and body with different kinds of corpses by believing that are making them charming.

            In the next stanza, the poet depicts the Whale as mountain which has the capacity to dive in sea. He discloses that he can experience the voice of whale to summon the birds for help. Whale can listen to the high notes of birds and is listening eagerly their songs. So humans want them to shut their mouth permanently.

Here, the reader feels that the poet symbolically reveals the message which about destruction of the world. If a mountain is diving on land, everything will be no more. Similarly if whale is diving on the Earth, the same will happen. But it never crosses its boundary. So the poet contrasts the humans who never know their boundary where as the whales know.

             In every stanza, the poet reveals that he is the soul mate of Whale, by saying that he can hear its voice. Here, he can listen to its mourning voice. It is lamenting for its kind. But he draws that the people will never let the world to live. If it lives, no profit will come to them because they are very much used to gain profit from one’s death.

            In these lines, “we’ll never let you be. / Instead of life we choose” (23-24), the poet enlightens humans’ money minded mentality that they will choose and make lipsticks, and shoe polishes instead of giving importance to life of creatures.

THE BOY WHO BROKE THE BANK – RUSKIN BOND

Introduction:

        Ruskin Bond (born 19 May 1934) is an Indian author of British descent. The Indian Council for Child Education has recognized his role in the growth of children’s literature in India. He was awarded the Sahitya Academy Award in 1992 for his novel “Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra”.

        In this story “The Boy who Broke the Bank”, Nathu, a central character and is working as Sweeper in Pipal Nagar bank which is owned by Seth Govind Ram. Nathu belonged to middle class family and still he has not been paid his payment from the manager of the bank. How this news spreads and what are the consequences caused by this news is the story.

Help becomes rumor:

          Seth Govind Ram owns a bank at Pipalngar town. The bank is financially very sound and has won the trust of the depositors. Nathu is a sweeper in the bank. One day, while sweeping the steps of the bank, he grumbles about the irregular payment of his salary by the bank authorities. Sitaram, the washer man’s son learns about Nathu’s complaints and tries to get him a new job. His customer named Mrs. Srivastava needed a sweeper. On hearing the fact not properly, Mrs. Srivastava gossiped that the bank was not able to give the salary to the boy.

       Mrs. Srivastava tells her friend Mrs. Bushan that the bank hasn’t been paying salaries to its employees. Mrs. Bhushan adds her own share of color to the news and tells her husband Mr. Bhushan. She tells him about the poor condition of the bank by saying Seth Govind Ram’s bank cannot pay its employers.

        Mr. Bhushan reveals this talk to Mr.Kishore who owns a photographic shop and Mr. Kishore feels happy after hearing this as he does not have any account in the bank but he informs his neighborhood Deepchand who is having a barber shop. He says to Deepchand that “The Pipal Nagar bank is about to collapse and also suggested him if he had account in that bank than get it as soon as possible.”

Shocking of a Barber:

        Deepchand, a barber, was shaving an old gentle man and was shocked and out of the shock he cuts the right ear of his customer. The customer was in pain because of two reasons, out of that one was that Deepchand cut his ear and he was worried about the bank as soon as he heard. He rushes out to the merchant shop to dial the number of Seth Govind Ram but Seth Govind ram was not at his home. He was in holidays and in Kashmir. Deepchand was informed by the old gentle man when came to know about Seth Govind Ram’s status.

        One incident adds more humor in the situation. The beggar namely old Ganpath when heard this news, he started leaping to his feet. This sight surprised everyone because no one had ever seen Ganpath was walking on his foot with the speed. He started running and the great surprise is he had been begging to the village people for so many years so he had thousand rupees in savings.

        Now everyone started gathering in front of the bank and started hurling on the glass windows of the bank. The manager pleased to the village people to come on the next day and stated that the bank has enough amounts to pay them but they did not stop and damaged the most parts of the bank. Nathu arrives to the bank on the next day and finds everything demolished and his last dialogues are “Who would have thought the bank would collapse!” but still he is waiting for his salary believing that it would be paid so soon and  started to curse the customers of the bank who made it damaged.

Conclusion: 

        Through the story “The Boy Who Broke the Bank” Ruskin bond tries to convey the appropriate way of listening and at the sometime he teaches the best way to cultivate listening skill. The message which he wants to deliver through this story is ‘Listening is the begging of the understanding.’  If the manager had listened to the problem of Nathu, the entire mess would have never happened.

Moschus Moschiferus- Alec Derwent Hope

          Alec Derwent Hope, Australia’s most widely honored poet, was born in Cooma, New South Wales, on July 21, 1907, the son of a Presbyterian minister. In 1911, the Hope moved to Capbell town in the Macquaise valley and island of Tasmania. In his early year, Hope was educated at home and then attended a member f secondary schools. In 1924, he was admitted to the university of Sidney, Where he read English and Philosophy and graduated in 1928, winning a scholarship to university college, Oxford, to study English. His first book was, The Wandering islands which appeared in 1955 when he was 48.

         Through this poem titled “Moschus Moschiferus” Hope discloses the hunting of moschiferus and how humans entrap it. Moschus Moschiferus is Siberian musk deer that makes up Moschus, the only extant genus of the family moschidae. Musk deer live mainly in forested and alpine shrub habitats in the mountain Southern Asia, notably the Himalayas. The musk gland is found only in adult males it lies in a sac located between the genitals and the Umbilicus, and its secretions almost likely used to attract mates.

        In this poem, Hope reveals a great danger which put the deer to death that is “Divine Music.”  In the very beginning of the poem, he tells about the habitats of Kastura deer, most archaic of deer which is found in the high jungle where the border of Assam meets Tibet. The poet portraits the suffering of deer which is been in herds just to extract the musk from its body.In those forests where these tiny creatures live the hunters find it so difficult to find these creatures, so they used new techniques to trap them. 

       

The hunters then set into the forest splitting into groups of two or three members carrying a bow but except one who holds a slender flute. All these hunters start their work, some of the hunters whose are also the archers choose a tree for themselves and climb upon it and beneath the tree sits the piper with his slender flute. So they wait until all their traces pass away. They melt into the leaves and calmly watch their camrade play. In these lines, “Through those vast listening woods a tremulous skein/Of melody weavers delicate and shrill:”,(17-18).

        The author brings out the situation the woods. After the music is played by the piper, that from the word “listening woods” the poet comes to say that trees are living creatures that have life but it response to the music. Immediately on hearing the music the deer starts dancing according to music. Here one can see the tempting strength of the music played by the piper. Soon the music turns into a tune of lamentation and makes the deer sad. Now the poet expresses the concentration of  hunters  who are focused on getting their kill. They hold their breath for not diverting the deer and the piper plats the flute without pause until the trace of noon grows tense. In these lines, “The little musk deer slips into the glade/Led by an ecstasy that conquers fear”(27-28), the poet reveals the glory of music that makes the deer to conquer its fear. 

Immediately the deer falls on the net and get trapped and the archer injects the poisoned the shaft into it. 

       As soon as the deer is injected in faints and in these lines, “Then, as the victim shudders, leaps and falls, / The music soars to a delicious peak,”(33-34), the poet discloses that the reward given to hunters by music only. They climb down from the trees and count the preys and the collect the musk glands from the deer and abandon the place for the carcasses to rot away. Each year a ‘Hundred Thousands’ of deer are killed in this way, in order to get their musk which is used to make many man-made products. Rich scents and perfumes are made exported world wide for a large amount of money.

1.         According to the reader, the deer have been killed for human purpose while they were alive. After death, their spirits in the form of fragrance of musk are being captured. So the deer even after death gives fragrance, it not only gives fragrance it makes its enemies into a good fragrant person. In this poem, hunters have used two types of traps one is visible which is the net and another which is invisible is “Music”. This poem is dedicated to Divine Cecilia by the poet who could not tolerate the turmoil of nature. 
2.        According to the reader the theme is “Nature against Nature”, in that how natural product like the slender flute, bow, shaft etc... are used to trap the deer which is also a part of nature.
3.    It is highly chronicle that Hope has added the dedication to St.Cecilia, the patron saint of music, in order to highlight the fact that how divine music is used to serve deadly ends.

Death of a Bird- keki N. Daruwalla

             Keki N. Daruwalla was born in Lahore in January, 1937 in British India. After taking his master’s degree in English Literature from Punjab University he joined the Indian Police Service, his first book of poem Under Orion was published in 1970 and his Apparition in April published in 1971. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1984. Daruwalla is known for his bitter, satiric tone and as one who writes from his experience of violence of the brutal nature of man encountered in the police department.     

           The Himalayan Monal, Lophophorus impejanus, also known as the Impeyan Monal, Impeyan Pheasant, and Danphe, is a bird in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. The species was named as Phasianus Impejanus by John Latham after Lady Mary Impey who first kept them in captivity. It is the national bird of Nepal where it is, known as the Danphe, and is mentioned frequently in Nepali songs. It is also the state bird of Uttarakhand, India.

             The poet begins the poem with the whereabouts of the bird which are in a fierce love towards each other. Here the colour of female bird is brown whereas the male’s colour is not been described. Here, a man with his lover goes on a rocky mountainous range and he shoots a bird with his gun. As soon as he shoots the male bird gets the bullet and it gradually falls down, it is almost in a dying position. Here, the poet reveals about the humans cruel that when the bird is suffering for its life, they stand aside and watch it suffer and die. And then they tuck the bird inside their rucksack and with bold stains they walk. On seeing them to pulse the male bird inside their bag, the female bird starts to burst out in tears.

            The female rose, in terror crying!

            With bird-blood on our hands we walked,

and as the skies broke into rags

of mist, why did our footsteps drag? (11-4)

Here the reader feels that the poet reveals the “Unity of Nature” on hearing the crying sound of the bird even clouds showing their anger towards them and the sand is stopping them from going from that place by dragging their footsteps.

As they got afraid, they rush up their pony by hitting it to vanish from the peak to the bottom of the mountain which is thousand feet below in to the river. The scream of the pony makes them even more discomfort. They forgot the way to reach their place. Its starts to become dark they can hear the sound of bear and jackals howling which make them even more scare. He shoots with his gun but each time he misses his aim. The jackals come next to them and sniffle. So they get frightened and joint their hands and get into a cave which is encircled by pine and the couple spends the night where they make love. But they troubled by a sense of guilt. And they wake up to the final kill but their mind is full of extreme guilt and they can only hear pony’s scream and could feel the monal’s wing in the prowling bears in the fire-light-rim.

Finally, both of them slept and both dreamt of a similar dream. It was the dream of their wrong doings to all those species which were hurt by them which made the man to feel so guilty as he could not bear his inner voice he broke his gun into two. That very moment a bird falls dead at his feet shrieking with pain. It is the Queen monal and the lady feels accursed: “For though the bird was near dead / Its eyes flared terror like bits of dripping meat” (73-4). Almost aligned to the curse inherited by the Ancient Mariner this pair of lovers is left without retribution, (sumathy, 46).

According to the reader the man hears all those voices of the animals and the climate of the entire surrounding is been changed. This made him understand the unity of nature where one specie cries for another when it is in pain. All these happenings made the cruel man to change a kind hearted person.     

“I broke my gun in two across the back” (67), from these lines the reader compares this poem with “Hunter’s poem”, the man there throws his gun into the bay to show his guilt for killing the male goose, but here, in this poem the man breaks his gun into two and throws away. Here the man keeps a check only for his hunting because the gun which he threw in the bay could be used by another person, but there, this man keeps a full stop for the entire hunting with that gun because that broken gun could not be used again by anyone.