Lit.Guruji

The Lion and the Jewel  The Lion and the Jewel is  a play written by Wole Soyinka. It was first performed at the Royal Court theatre, London in the year 1959. Themes in this play are vanity, gender role and modernity versus tradition. The play is set in the village of Ilujinle, Nigeria. Sidi, the 'Jewel' in this play is a beautiful young girl. She carries a pail of water past the school. Lakunle, the Maths teacher works in this school. He is a man with modern thoughts. He speaks to Sidi and rebukes her for carrying water on her head. Lakunle loves Sidi and he wishes to marry her. He refuses to pay her bride-price which is against the African tradition. His modern ideas are disliked by Sidi. Sidi is ready to marry him if he readily gives her the bridal-price. Sidi is informed about a photographer who visited the village some years ago. He has entered the village with the magazine that bore the images of the villagers and village. In the Magazine Sidi occupies a cen

Swan Song  Swan Song is written by Anton Chekov. 'Swan song' refers to the final performance given before death or retirement. The protagonist in this one-act play is Vasili Svietlovidoff. He expresses his feelings and emotions to Nikita Ivanich, a prompter.      Svietlovidoff is a 68 yrs old comedian. He has forty five years of experience in acting field. Old age has reduced his eagerness and strength in acting. This makes him feel tired and worthless. He feels isolated and lonely. He realises the fact that not even a single person is there to comfort him as he has grown old.        Vasili Svietlovidoff is reminded of his past life. As  a comedian he has gained great fame and applause from audience. He cherishes the memory of his lover. At the same time he feels lonely because his lover has rejected to marry a comedian.      He compare himself with squeezed lemon and broken bottle. He thinks he is losing his acting ability and can’t live with truth that how he is g

  Uncle Podger Hangs a Picture.  Jerome. K. Jerome is a humourist and Journalist. His short story "Uncle Podger Hangs a Picture" is an extract from Three Men in a Boat. In this story Uncle Podger tries to hang a picture. The author mocks at the patriarch through this insane incident. He is an observer of humans and their flaws.             Uncle Podger is a comic figure. He is unable to fix  a picture on the wall.  He calls for Will to get the hammer and Tom to get the rule. He struggles to hang the picture and drops it down. He cuts for himself and screams for his handkerchief.            Unable to find his handkerchief he shouts. "Six of you! And you can't find a coat". After a great roar he discovers his coat. He forgets his hammer and other instruments. He drops the string and loses his balance. He falls on a piano which produces a sweet music.  Uncle Podger blames Aunt Maria to be responsible for creating lot of fuss. Finally he hangs the pictur

Shakespeare Sonnet  William Shakespeare is the father of English drama. He has written 154 sonnets. prominent playwrights and poets of the sixteenth century. He wrote many famous plays and sonnets. Shakespeare sonnet 18, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” is one of his fine creation.  It was written in the year 1590s and published in 1609.  He addresses his sonnets to two different persons. One is believed to be a male beloved and the other is a dark lady. SONNET 18 SUMMARY In sonnet 18 the poet compares the young man to Summer Day. He is baffled about his comparison and tells that his beloved is beautiful than Summer Day. His friend is more lovely and temperate than the harsh summer.  During summer season the sun shines  brightly, and is too hot. The pleasant weather does not stay. Similarly, the sunshine is sometimes very faint, and the weather gets cold. Describing the flaws in summer season the speaker reflects on the nature of beauty in general. Beauty is d