Studies in English Language and Literature

Today, let us discuss about a few single word expressions or one word substitutions in a nutshell: Agoraphobia: the fear of being in an open place Altruist: one who is very unselfish by nature Amnesia: one kind of forgetfulness Amnesty: a usual pardon for offenders Antagonist: the opponent to a protagonist Anthology: a collection of poems Anthropology: the study of birds Apiculture: the science of keeping bees Atheist: who believes that there is no God Author: who writes a book Autobiography: an account of one’s own life written by oneself Bacon: the meat of the backside of a hog Bibliography: a list of the source materials mentioned which are consulted in a writing Biblioklept: a person who steals books Bibliophile: one who loves books Biography: an account of one’s life written by someone else Bovine: related to cows, bulls, oxen, buffaloes etc. Bursar: one who is a treasurer in a college or in a university Canine: related to dogs Cannibal: one...

Today, we shall learn, in a nutshell, the basic differences between a homonym and a homophone . Homonyms When two or more words have the same spelling as well as the same pronunciation, although they are different in meaning as well as in origin, those words are called to be homonyms . Examples: Can you hear the screeching sound of the bats ? [Here, the word ‘bat’ (‘bats’ in plural) refers to one kind of living being. Bats are mammals.] Hold your cricket bat properly. [Here, the word ‘bat’ means equipment for sports.] This bag is very light ; so, we can carry it easily. [Here, the word ‘light’ refers to something lightweight or not heavy.] The sun gives us light , warmth and life. [Here, the word ‘light’ refers to the sunbeams that illuminate the world.] Homophones When two or more words have the same pronunciation, though they are different in spelling, meaning and origin, those words are known to be homophones . Examples: Add two spoons of sugar to the food. ...

  Today, in our discussion, we shall learn about Countable Nouns and Uncountable Nouns. As we see, the root word of these two words—‘Countable’ and ‘Uncountable’—‘count’. Hence, those nouns that we can count in number (like 1, 2, 3 etc.) are called Countable Nouns. Again, those nouns that we cannot count are called Uncountable Nouns. Why not look at the following examples? Examples of Countable Nouns: man, boy, sheep, ship, egg, star, sheet of paper, grain of sand, a bottle of water, an act of kindness, a glass of milk, a drop of water, etc. Examples of Uncountable Nouns: rice, sand, water, honesty, modesty, dust, milk, paper, some egg, etc. Let’s take a glance at the following sentences: 1.      Add two eggs to this batter. ( Countable ) There is some egg on your frock. ( Uncountable ) 2.      Give me some water , please. ( Uncountable ) Little drops of water make the mighty ocean. ( Countable ) 3.      We...

  William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy of five acts. Now, we are going to have a detailed discussion of the Opening Scene or the Introductory Scene or Act 1, Scene 1 of the mentioned play. First and foremost, we must admit the unique depiction of the three weird sisters or the three witches in a deserted place. In other words, it may be said that it was a heath. There were thunder and lightning that added to the eeriness of the three sisters. In the light of this discussion, it has to be mentioned that they were determined to meet one another in the same, in that weird weather again: “In thunder, lightning, or in rain”. So, the First Witch completed her dialogue. Right then, the Second Weird Sister proposed to re-meet just after the ‘hurlyburly’ gets over. In this connection, she added to re-meet just when “the battle’s lost and won”. Thereafter, the Third Witch suggested that they should talk again before the sun goes down. Finally, they had decided that the venue of the...

  We all have come across a great number of poetic forms till date. However, there are various names that sometimes sound tongue twisting also. So, today, why don’t we discuss about sonnet in detail? Hailing from Italy, sonnet is actually a form of poetry or verse. Apart from that, we must know that such a form of poetry is usually a poem having fourteen lines. Moreover, it must be noted that each line of a sonnet generally consists of five iambic feet.  Anyway, a Volta must be there in a sonnet to create a turning point . Anyway, a Volta must be there in a sonnet to create a turning point . That is to say, for instance, in a sonnet, the first eight lines may have questions only, but the rest of the poem answers them all. Likewise, we get a turning point somewhere in between the octet and the sestet in a sonnet normally. Now, what is an iambic foot? We need to know that first of all. When an unaccented or unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed or an accented one, ...

In ‘Rajmohan’s Wife’, the debut novel in English by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, we find that the characterisation of Rajmohan, like the other character portrayals, has been depicted very skilfully and subtly by the novelist with his stroke of master craftsmanship. The more we go through the novel, the more we do come to know about the much-discussed character of Rajmohan, who was indeed the undeserving and worthless husband of Matangini. He represents immorality, corruption, dishonesty, orthodoxy, brutality, worthlessness, lack of integrity of character, profaneness, propensity to torment his wife and so on and so forth. In course of the novel, we, slowly but surely, come to explore that this character lacked conscience and discretion. Broadly speaking, Matangini and Rajmohan had an unhappy conjugal life. It is worthy to be noted that he was tyrannical, dictatorial, jealous and unloving to his wife. Matangini had to spend every day with lots of pain, pangs, suffering and misery due...