Studies in English Language and Literature

  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...

  “If music be the food of love, play on…” Explain/ Elucidate/ Comment The given excerpt has been taken from William Shakespeare’s five-act comedy Twelfth Night or What You Will . This expression occurs in the opening line of the play. That is to say, it has been extracted from Act 1 Scene 1 of the said comedy. These words have been uttered by Orsino, the Duke of Illyria, to Curio, one of the two male attendants of the Duke, the other one being Valentine. It is known to all that the purpose of our taking food is to keep ourselves alive. Yes, food keeps us alive by nourishing our entire physical process. It provides us with lots of energy alongside quenching our hunger. Similarly, we need some nourishment for our mental process as well. How can that be done? Broadly speaking, it can be done by taking in “the food of love”, that is, “music”. We all know that “love” and “music” are associated with each other in some way or the other. Moreover, it is distinctly discernible that ...

  We come across the character called Malvolio in William Shakespeare’s five-act comedy Twelfth Night or What You Will . Malvolio is the main character in the subplot of this comedy. Broadly speaking, he venerates his dreams, though they are usually melancholic or gloomy by nature and in character. In course of the play, we come to find that Orsino, the Duke of Illyria, dreams of Olivia’s hand. In this connection, we must note that Malvolio, the steward to Olivia, also, dreams the same as the Duke. However, it has to be mentioned that both of them are ensnared due to their own mistakes. Yes, they mistakenly confuse dreams to be real. Malvolio has been alleged of being too sick of loving himself. Most conspicuously, this remark has been made by none other than Olivia. As we see, he is self-obsessed through and through. Apart from that, Malvolio is an advocate of untrue puritanism. He is usually too serious to bear with the revelry of Sir Toby Belch and of his comrades. He finds M...

  Explain the following in your own words: Reade not to Contradict, and Confute; Nor to Beleeve and Take for granted; Nor to Finde Talk and Discourse; But to weigh and Consider. This excerpt has been taken from Francis Bacon’s essay ‘Of Studies’. These words have been spoken in the reference of discussing the various aspects of studies by the essayist. We all need to study, but the point is that the purposes of study are not the same. However, in this regard, Bacon leads us to the actual direction. We must not read for the sake of contradiction or to ‘confute’. That is to say, the purpose of study is neither to dispute nor to become a faultfinder. We are forbidden to nurture our censorious attitude always. Again, the purpose of study is neither to believe everything nor to take things for granted without applying our consideration. That is to say, we are not supposed to be credulous as well. Moreover, it should also be kept in mind that study is not meant for conversation a...