Studies in English Language and Literature

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...