Studies in English Language and Literature

The word 'lyric' has its origin to an ancient string instrument known as lyre. People used to play on lyres and sing. Now let us discuss what lyric poetry is. Suffused with personal emotions and feelings, it is a formal kind of poetry. Usually spoken from the vantage point of the first person, that is, “I”, this poem is stuffed with musical musings. That is to say, after going through a lyric poem, we can feel its beats and musicality with ease. Now let us have a general overview of one of the chief practitioners of this genre. William Wordsworth, one of the chief exponents of lyric poetry, put his lyrical skills so dexterously. His The Lyrical Ballads is one of the finest examples. Now you may ask what a ballad is. A ballad is a poem that tells a story usually in the form of quatrains.  So long we have discussed about lyrical poetry and its general overview. Now we will discuss about Wordsworth as a lyrical poet in a nutshell. For example, in I wandered Lonely as a Cloud...

John Donne's The Good-Morrow : Critical appreciation OR Substance OR Metaphysical love poem John Donne's The Good-Morrow  is a Metaphysical love poem. The term 'meta' means 'beyond' and 'physical' means 'bodily'. That is to say, 'metaphysical' means 'beyond physical'. However, Dr. Samuel Johnson named this school of poets to be metaphysical because of their use of conceits that are seeming strange to the conventional world. That is to say, according to Dr. Johnson, these poets belonged out of the physical or the real world. Anyway, he termed them derogatorily. Let us now have a cursory glance at the poem The Good-Morrow . The speaker persona in the poem, at the outset, expresses utmost astonishment thinking that their previous 'pleasures' were no love at all. They were actually immature in the game of love. That is why the speaker utters the word 'wean'd'. 'Weaning' refers to the act of making a child h...

The following is a letter to the Editor of a daily newspaper about frequent power cuts and its effects on the students. Write your name Write your complete address Give the date of composing the letter To The Editor Write the name of the newspaper Write the city of its publication Subject:  Frequent power cuts and its effects on students Dear Sir / Madam, I would be very much obliged if you kindly allow me a little space in the columns of your newspaper to ventilate my views on frequent power cuts and its evil effect on the students. We, the inhabitants of the mentioned locality, have been facing the problems of frequent power cuts for a long time. Actually, the worst victims to this problem are none other than the students. Their studies are getting hampered, in spite of everybody's knowing the fact that they are the future of the world. Since it has become a regular incident, it requires an end right now without further delay. I, therefore, would humbly requ...

Yes, we must admit that Macbeth, in the psycho-analytical five-act tragedy Macbeth , was out and out a corrupt man stuffed with over ambition and desire to commit regicide. However, we cannot ignore the fact that Lady Macbeth was no less in being a heinous criminal. Some of the critics have compared her with Clytemnestra, Medea etc. Some of the thinkers call her to be the fourth witch. She was, later on, plagued with somnambulism or sleepwalking. Apart from that, she used to speak in her sleepwalk. That is to say, we may utter that she was plagued to be a somniloquist as well. She constantly used to wash off blood from her hands in sleep, although they were totally clean then. Actually, this gesture had a long root in her past activities. Her brutal, monstrous and murderous activities made her do so later on. She was no less ambitious than Macbeth himself. She has justly been called to be the fourth witch in the play. We come across Lady Macbeth's ailment in Act V,  Scene i of the ...

  A psycho-analytical five-act tragedy named Macbeth  by William Shakespeare evinces how in Act I, Scene iii, the three witch sisters hail and greet Macbeth. The first witch said, "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!" The second witch then uttered, "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!" Thereafter, the last or the final exclamation or hail came from the lips of the third witch: "All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be King hereafter." From these three prophecies, Macbeth could easily accept the first one, because the Thane of Glamis was no more. However, the Thane of Cawdor was still alive. Actually, Macbeth had over ambition deeply rooted and seeded in his mind. Unless and until we have something in our heart, that thing can never be raked up to the surface level. Macbeth, on one hand, feared the third prophecy, because he knew that it would be a foul play on his part to achieve that. On the other hand, he could not avoid the ambition ...

Your name Your address Contact No. Email id Date To The Editor Name of the newspaper City of publication Subject: Terrorism Dear Sir/ Madam, Could you please lend me a little space in your editorial column to ventilate my views in protest against increasing terrorism? I shall be highly obliged if you kindly do so. I feel too much worried regarding this issue that has become the order of the day nowadays. Terrorism is increasing day after day, month after month and year after year. But what is the use of such slaughter? We call ourselves to be 'human beings', but are we so, for sure? There lies a beast within each of us under our humanitarian disguise. Nothing but self-realization and philanthropy can change this terror-stricken world into a peaceful place for dwelling. The more we fight or take revenge, the more will terrorism arise. We better cut this notion from the very root of our mentality. Only then will we be able to behold a new dawn of a new earth and of a better tomor...

Comment on the role and function of the Fool in King Lear ./ Character of the Fool in King Lear . Ans. While going through the play King Lear by William Shakespeare, we come across a character called the Fool. Broadly speaking, the Fool is not at all a fool, but an intelligent jester in King Lear’s court. His purpose is to crack practical jokes. Then why did Shakespeare introduce a comic character in a tragedy? It is so because the Fool is to serve the act of comic relief. Moreover, he is to act as a choral figure to represent sanity, honesty, morality and conscience. In King Lear , the Fool was a ‘licenced’ jester of the king. Again, we must note that the Fool is full of practical wisdom, utter sanity and intense brilliance. He followed the king outside in the stormy night. In other words, wherever there was the king, there was the Fool. We may indirectly call him to be the king’s alter self. The Fool shattered the vanity of the upstart Kent into pieces. Somet...

The Blackfriars Theatre was set up to retrieve the idea of the private theatre in London. It was the brainchild of James Burbage. It was hoped that it would not be worsened by the climate and that it would attract a small audience paying good prices. Unlike the public theatre, it was to be acted in open air. This kind of private theatre was not to rely upon a larger audience paying their puny fares. Burbage acquired the dining hall at Blackfriars Monastery and changed it into a playhouse. Needless to mention, the area where the theatre was set up was a fashionable residential one. Moreover, the people who lived there raised objection in fear that the area would be turned into a bear garden of noise and hullabaloo and that it would spoil the peace of the neighbourhood. The residents appealed to the Privy Council to decree that the building could not be used for performing the plays. The venture was halted for the time being, but the performance began later.  Each pu...

Sender's complete address Date of writing My dear friend,      I have not heard from you for a long time. Hope, you are well. By the grace of God, we all are hale and hearty too. Recently, I came to know that you are feeling depressed. Hence, I would like to motivate you in this regard.       You are well aware of life's ups and downs, my friend. Nobody in this world can have complete weal or total woe. Hence, we all must receive the equal share. Do never feel frustrated. Let's look at the bright side of things. As and when we feel optimistic, life itself will become positive as well. Remember, what our teacher told us, "Derive positivism even from the negative things." Therefore, whenever you come to realise that you are going to feel demotivated, just pen down your thoughts and feelings in your diary. It will give you relief from your mental burden. Moreover, be brave enough to welcome every opportunity in life ...

Theme of Alienation/ Rootlessness/ Major themes/ Character of Mr. Biswas For sure, A House for Mr. Biswas is a psychological study of an alienated man, Mr. Biswas, in his search for identity, in his efforts to find out a house for himself with the surroundings. One may opine that the basic problem of this alienated man lies in a kind of intense desire to have his mental world uninterrupted and also in his desire that others will be conscious of it. It is said by Naipaul that Mr. Biswas had no money or position. That he was of ill temper is evident from his throwing of food out of the windows on to a passerby’s head, referring to Mrs. Tulsi as old “she fox”, kicking his pregnant wife on the belly etc. The most significant account of his progression lies in his attempt at the pledge made earlier to his mother living shabbily in a room of her sister Tara’s hut. With his journalistic skill he got his final achievement – the Sikkim Street ho...

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio’s love for India whispered into his ears to pay a homage to the land with the aid of his poem,  To India, My Native Land .  He is the first poet of Modern India to express his fiercely intense patriotism in poetry.  To India, My Native Land is a magnificent sonnet that depicts his pure patriotism. This sonnet also delineates his utmost will to emancipate India from the British bondage. In this patriotic poem, the speaker persona recalls India's past glory before the era of British bondage. She was suffused with name and fame, only glory but no worry during those days. She was over brimmed with cultural and spiritual richness at that time. Anyway, after the British reign, such abstracts went away in the twinkling of an eye. She became bereft of all such richness. In this poem, we come across rhetorical questions. Again, the image of eagle in this poem symbolise the royalty of the land in the then times. Dust  epitomis...

In Derek Walcott’s play Dream on Monkey Mountain , we come across the character of Corporal Lestrade as well as the character of Makak. Makak is an older black man. He is the protagonist of the play. He used to live alone on the Monkey Mountain. There is a search for one’s own identity in the play. The play opens in a small West Indian jail. In the play, t he action occurs in  real as well as in imagined locations. The most real place is the jail. Again, on the other hand, Makak is a dreamer and full of human emotions to some extent. On a country road, Makak heals a sick man. This act throws ample light to his sense of humanity.  The play has been given manifold interpretations. by many critics. Some of the interpreters have compared Makak to Christ, while the others have stressed on his name meaning ‘monkey’. The play depicts African myths and customs. Corporal Lestrade was pretty oppressing. He cannot accept his lack of identity. Since he is a Mulat...

Question: Discuss Donne’s  The Anniversary  as a metaphysical love poem. / Write a critical appreciation of  The Anniversary . / Attempt a critical analysis of the poem. Answer: At the outset, let us have a clear concept of metaphysical love poem.  A metaphysical love poem is distinguished by the preponderance of the intellectual over the emotional element, and it is expected to make use of some conceits that are brilliant. In John Donne’s metaphysical poem named The Anniversary , we find that all these conditions are fructified complacently.  The poem gives an account of a couple celebrating their first year in a relationship. The fundamental conceit of the entire poem is the metaphor of royalty. Simultaneously, imagery of divinity and death permeate the poem. The vital interest lies in the manner in which Donne uses royal imagery to convey the thought of a love.  The opening lines imminently proclaim that not only Kings, but also ...

Question: The Prince by Machiavelli is a handbook of an ambitious Renaissance man. – Discuss. / Machiavelli’s The Prince is pragmatic; it is a practical and amoral handbook for the modern politicians. – Discuss. / Discuss the value of The Prince as a handbook for modern political rulers. / Point out the modernity in Machiavelli’s discourses on the eligibility of an efficient ruler or prince. Answer : Machiavelli, the Italian statesman and dramatist, is widely known as “the first realist in politics”. Niccolo Machiavelli's  The Prince is a treatise on politics and it is based upon his first-hand experience as an emissary of the Florentine Republic to the courts of Europe. In fact, Machiavelli added a dimension to one of the major philosophical and political issues of his time, especially the relationship between public deeds and private morality. His book gives us a detailed picture of the true nature of power, no matter in what age or by whom it is ex...

Examine Keats’ treatment of brightness and fulfilment in To Autumn . Ans. To Autumn  records the poet’s meditations on maturity. It encapsulates his efforts to achieve it issuing into a disciplined poetic art. The complete maturity exemplifies Keatsian virtues of sensuousness and pictorial beauty, felicity of diction, perfectness of form and splendid vividness of imagery. This impersonal  ode celebrated the season of autumn as a time of natural fulfilment and as a part of the living process of nature. The season of ripeness and abundance is a reminder of the mortality of things, a herald to the approaching desolation of winter.  In Stanza I, we come to know autumn as a ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’. The sun matures the earth, ripening the grapes, the apples, the gourds and the hazelnuts etc.  Stanza II describes the imagery of arrested motion. It echoes the upcoming winter. The reaper is the messenger of death so, ‘the last drop ...

       Discuss sensuousness and pictorial qualities in Keats’ poetry with reference to Ode to a Nightingale and To Autumn . A thorough study of Keats’ poems like Ode to a Nightingale and To Autumn   justifies how Keats lived for ‘a life of sensations’. Opening up with a keen sensation of agony,   Ode to a Nightingale soon gives place to ‘a drowsy numbness. Keats’ poetry excels in vividly sensuous images in the lines full of sensuousness and the visual picture of a drinking vessel. In the closing stanza of   Ode to Autumn , a fantastic reconstruction of the dying autumnal twilight suggests the magnificent perfection of Keats’ poetic sensibility. Ode to a Nightingale   seems to be suffused with pictures, mostly visual, but occasionally manifested with the aural, the tactile and the olfactory portraits. To Autumn   is also full of sensuous pictures. Stanza I depicts the fruits of autumn. Stanza II of the ode a...

Question: Examine Shelley’s imagery in relation to his theme in Ode to the West Wind . The term ‘imagery’ refers to a collection of images to signify the objects and qualities of sense perception, whether by literal description, by allusion or in the analogies used in its similes and metaphors.  Perhaps the most beautifully imaginative of the English Romantic poets was Shelley. He was particularly excellent in his ability to convey sensations in terms of imagery, predominantly visual. he was a poet of profound idealism and prophetic passion. Shelley invariably aspired to the infinite and the eternal. The method in many of Shelley’s poetry was to find in natural objects symbols for his emotional and imaginative patterns. In Ode to the West Wind , Shelley found, in the central and pervading image of the all-powerful West Wind, a dualistic role of destruction and preservation. At the very outset of  the poem, the West Wind is presented as an enormously powerful agency....

Some explanations from Eliot’s The Waste Land with reference to context   I sat upon the shore Fishing, with the arid plain behind me Shall I at least set my lands in order? Answer : This excerpt has been taken from the last section of T.S. Eliot’s poem The Waste Land . The excerpt reminds is of the speaker persona’s fishing experience in a nasty canal in lines 189 – 192 of the same poem. We are reminded of the Fisher King in the Grail Legends and the Arthurian Romances. The speaker is surrounded by an ‘arid plain’ or a ‘waste land’ where there is no symptom of rebirth and regeneration. The European civilisation, in the wake of World War I, became as ‘arid’ and shattered as a wasteland where there is no question of life and hope. Everything is shallow and numb. The utmost crisis led to nothingness, disillusionment etc. the speaker wonders and questions himself whether he will ever be able to “set” his “lands in order”. Here the poet has ...