Lit.Guruji

                         Tragedy   Tragedy deals with the darker side of life. Its aim is to inspire awe and pity. A tragic ends with death or unhappy ending. Greek tragedy deals with the fate characters of high birth or King or Princes. Eg.King Lear, Othello. The falling of a king or the ruin of a great family was more impressive for spectators.  In ancient Greece the tragic hero wore high - heeled boots called buskin to make him tall and majestic. The fall of a king or ruin of a great family is more impressive for the spectators. In later period tragedies dealt with low life Eg. Hardy's novel D'ubervilles.  The atmosphere of tragedy is sombre and serious. Tragedy according to Aristotle "purges the emotions through pity and terror". Shakespeare's tragedy begins happily and ends unhappily. Tragedy aims at giving pleasure. It purifies mind, feelings. For Greek the purpose of tragedy was to evoke Catharsis.  Tragedy can be classified into two ways with r

CHANGING THEIR SKIES Stories from Africa The Rubbish Dump STEVE CHIMOMBO A storyfrom Malawi, retold by Jennifer Bassett Rubbish is a problem in the rich world. There is too much of it, and people don't know what to do with it. In places like Africa there is less rubbish, because people have less to throw away. An airport rubbish dump is a strange place, a meeting point for rubbish that has travelled a long way. It is aiso a meeting point for Joey and Mazambezi.. . Joey sat on the ground, playing with a small toy car. The car was made out of bits and pieces - lots of old wire, pieces of cardboard, sticks, and the tops of baby-food cans for wheels. Joey was working hard, his hands busily pulling and pushing pieces of wire which were not in the right places. After a mment, he put the car down with a pleased little grunt, and began to sing: The white man is wise He made the aeroplane It's nothing else But determination. His high voice filled the air for a few minutes. T

THE MADMAN By Chinua Achebe (First Published in the The Insider (Nwankwo-Ifejika), Enugu, 1971 He was drawn to markets and straight roads. Not any tiny neighbourhood market where a handful of garrulous women might gather at sunset to gossip and buy Ogili for the evening's soup, but a huge, engulfing bazaar beckoning people familiar and strange from far and near. And not any dusty, old footpath beginning in this village, and ending in that stream, but broad, black, mysterious highways without beginning or end. After much wandering he had discovered two such markets linked together by such a highway; and so ended his wandering. One market was Afo, the other Eke. The two days between them suited him very well: before setting out for Eke he had ample time to wind up his business properly at Afo. He passed the night there putting right again his hut after a day of defilement by two fat-bottomed market women who said it was their market-stall. At first he had put up a

ON BEING TIDY  Text   A ny careful observer of my habits would know that I am on the eve of an adventure—a holiday, or a bankruptcy, or a fire, or a voluntary liquidation (whatever that may be), or an elopement, or a duel, or a conspiracy, or—in short, of something out of the normal, something romantic or dangerous, pleasurable or painful, interrupting the calm current of my affairs. Being the end of July, he would probably say: That fellow is on the brink of the holiday fever. He has all the symptoms of the epidemic. Observe his negligent, abstracted manner. Notice his slackness about business—how he just comes and looks in and goes out as though he were a visitor paying a call, or a person who had been left a fortune and didn't care twopence what happened. Observe his clothes, how they are burgeoning into unaccustomed gaiety, even levity. Is not his hat set on at just a shade of a sporting angle? Does not his stick twirl with a hint of irresponsible emotions? Is t

       Sir Roger De Coverley's Sunday Sir Roger De Coverley's Sunday is an essay from The Spectator written by Joseph Addison. This essay explores Sir Roger's participation and strict discipline maintained by him on Sundays to keep the church morally good and religious. Sir Roger is a fictional  character created by Addison. He is a good church man and has beautified his church with   several quotations from the holy Bible . He gave the church goers a hassock and a common prayer book. He employed an itinerant.  Sir Roger was the master of the church. He maintained strict discipline and good decorum in the church. He did not allow anyone to sleep during the sermon. He waked the dozing people.  Sir Roger had an eccentric nature. During the prayer  Sir Roger also joined the crowd to sing Psalms. But Roger did not sing along with the crowd.  He said ‘Amen’ three or four times. When the crowd was kneeling for prayer Sir Roger stood up to count the number of people p

                   Bookshop Memories                                               -George Orwell Bookshop Memories is written by George Orwell in the year 1936. In this essay he shares his experience working as an assistant in a second-hand bookshop.  Orwell begins the essay by breaking down the fantasy of second-hand bookstore as a "paradise where charming old gentlemen browse eternally."  He reveals the truth concealed behind a second-hand bookshop.  Orwell describes the nature of bookshop customers - first edition snobs, oriental students, vague minded women and "the kind of people who would be a nuisance anywhere but have special opportunities in a bookshop". Orwell talks about two types of "pest" who "haunt" such bookshops.  I) Decayed Person - Attempt to sell worthless books . II) Paranoiacs - Orders large number of books but has no intention to purchase it.  The shop had various sidelines including second - hand typewriters,

Satire Satire is unpolished verse. The main aim of satire is to ridicule folly or vice. It provokes laughter and keeps the reader in good humour. Swift’s Gulliver’s Travel and Pope’s Rape of the Lock are satires. According to Dryden the true end of satire is the “amendment of vices by correction”. Some of the famous satires in English poetry are Dryden’s – Mac Flecknoe Butler’s – Hudibras Pope’s – Dunciad In Mac Flecknoe, Dryden attacks Shadwell, a former friend turned enemy. Essentials of a Good Satire Satire is an attack on social evil or folly or a person or a group of persons. It is intended to mock at or ridicule not to abuse. It hates sin and not the sinner. Pope’s satires are “waspish, venomous, malignant”. Satire should be forceful and outspoken. Subjects of the satire Each ages had its vices and follies to ridicule. The satire mirrors out the contemporary follies and foibles. For eg. During 14 th century Chaucer and Langland attacked corru

Ballad Ballad is a short story in verse. It is one of the oldest form in literature. A ballad is sung from village to village with the accompaniment of a harp or a fiddle, by strolling singers or bands of singers. The subjects dealt are adventure,  family disaster, feud, love and war, and life. The story is tragic and fierce with supernatural elements. I) The poem is written in Ballad Measure (abcb). II) The tale opens abruptly without any introduction. III) The Ballad is impersonal in treatment. The writer’s identity or personality is never revealed. IV) The same lines are repeated from stanza to stanza as a refrain. Kinds of Ballad I)  Ballad of Growth or Authentic Ballad:  It is a   Ballad of unknown authorship. This type of ballad is primitive in existence and has grown naturally. Eg: Chevy Chase, The Wife of Usher’s Well. II)   Ballad of Art or Literary Ballad: This kind of ballad as Hudson says is the " literary development of the traditional fo

Idyll Idyll derives from the Greek word meaning "a little picture". Idyll in poetry is associated with  a) relative brevity   b) pictorial effect. The poet presents a picture in a few words. Idyll aim at visual presentation of its theme. Eg: 1 . L' Allegero  - Milton (picture of happy life) 2. Line Written in March - William Wordsworth (a spring scene in England). 3. As You Like it - Shakespeare (Pastoral scene) Idyll is an imaginative rendering of a picturesque scene or experience. It is the poetic colouring. The language is carefully choosen to give a pictorial impression. It may be direct or straight forward but creates a image in readers mind. Greek poet Theocritus idylls differed in theme. Town and country life, poet's experiences and themes were the themes. Half of his idylls are pastoral in form and deals with shepherds life in ancient Silicy. Roman poet Virgil adopted the same form in his Eclogues. English Idyll generally followed

Beau Tibb his Character and family Beau Tibb his Character and family is an extract from The Citizens of the World written by  Oliver Goldsmith. He is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet. These letters are written in the perspective of Lien Chi Altangi, a Chinese philosopher living in London. Goldsmith's essays are humorous. Rickett writes , "He was a poet of talent, a prose man  of genius, a prose man, moreover, of distinctive and original genius". Beau Tibbs is a character in Goldsmith's "Citizen of the World," noted for his finery, vanity, and poverty”. He is an elderly man concerned about his dress. Mr. Tibbs is a poor man but he concealed his poverty.  The writer remarks, “Heaven has made him poor”.  He has an eccentric and ridiculous nature. Beau Tibbs is perfect in the art of flattery. His looks were pale, thin and sharp. He wore a broad black ribbon round his neck and in his bosom a buckle studded with glass. He wore a newly wa

Epic Epic is a long tale written in the form of a verse. In Greek Iliad and Odyssey are two great epics of Homer. In Epic mighty warriors and princes are the leading figure. They have endowed with superhuman qualities. ·        Supernatural and magical elements are present. ·        The language is exalted and noble. Conventions of the epic A) The epic starts with an invocation (prayer) to God. The theme of the poem is stated at the beginning (proposition). ·        Eg. Milton’s Paradise Lost ·        Virgil’s Aeneid ·        Homer’s Iliad. B) The Epic employs certain poetic devices like Homeric Epithet and Homeric Simile. 1.      Homeric Epithet – a term or phrase quite lengthy applied to a person repeatedly. Eg. In Tennyson’s Morte D’ Arthur   “faint Homeric echoes” occurs. 2.      Homeric Simile – comparison between two similar objects. Eg. In Arnold’s Sohrab and Rustum, Rustum is unaware his own son lying in a deadly state. This is compared to an eagle unaware abo

Elegy Elegy is a mourning poem lamenting for the dead. Death became a predominant theme for an Elegy. It was written in the elegiac measure, a couplet composed of a dactylic hexameter followed by dactylic pentameter. Poem written in this metre is ranked as elegy. At modern times theme is given utmost importance and not metre. Elegiac measure is not followed in English verse. The theme of elegy is mournful and sad. Elegy is less spontaneous than the lyric. Dr. Johnson remarked “Where there is leisure for fiction there is little grief”. Examples for Elegy Milton’s Lycidas – mourns at the death of Edward King. Tennyson’s In Memoriam – laments at the death of Arthur Henry Hallam. Shelley’s Adonias – death of Keats The Pastoral Elegy A new kind of elegy was introduced in English poetry. In this kind the poet represented himself as a Shepherd bewailing the loss of a companion. Milton’s Lycidas and Mathew Arnold’s Thyrisis are pastoral elegies. Theocritus poems I

Sonnet The word Sonnet is derived from the Italian word Sonnetto which means little sound or music. It is a fourteen lined poem expressing a single thought or feeling. Italian Sonnet The Italian Sonnet is also known as Petrarchan Sonnet. It is named after the Italian poet Petrarca. This Sonnet consists of Octave (8lines) and Sestet (6lines) . The rhyme scheme is abba abba, cde cde or cdc dcd. 1.     The octave may be divided into two stanzas called quatrains. 2.     The sestet may be divided into two of three lines each called tercets. 3.     At the end of octave there is a pause or caesura. 4.     Caesura is followed by volta , a turn in thought. The English Sonnet English Sonnet was introduced by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey during the 16 th century. English Sonnet is named after Shakespeare.        English sonnets have three quatrains with the rhyming scheme ab ab, cd cd, ef ef, gg. As it in a quatrain form there is no caesur

                         Summer Wood " Summer Wood " is a poem written by Sarojini Naidu. This poem is an extract  from her book “The Broken Wings”. She is a naturalist. She communicates her aversion for the artificiality of human life in the modern society. The poet has become tired about luxury and comfort. She no longer desire  to exist under the “ painted roofs ” and " soft and silken floor ".  She craves for  "summer-houses with over-hanging canopies of bright-red Gulmohars" .  The poet is tired of honour, fame and conflict and she aspires to "fly where cassia-woods are breaking into flame". She desires to enter the forest along with her lover to rest in peace.  “O let us fling all care away, and lie alone and dream".  Both of them are lying under the tangled boughs of tamarind, molsari and neem. The poet wishes  to play on carved flutes to awaken the slumbering serpents among the thick banyan roots. She longs to walk wit

                                   Ode   Ode is of Greek origin. It is a serious and calm composition. Ode is longer than a lyric. it is in the form of an address. It is also used to commemorate an important public ocassion. The subject matter for a ode is highly exalted and elevated in tone. The poet is serious about the choice of his subject. For example Ode on the intimation of Immortality written by William Wordsworth.  Odes expression is expected to be deep, elaborate and impressive. Ode is addressed directly to the object.  Eg : Shelley's addresses west wind as " O Wild west wind" in his "Ode to the West Wind". Keats addresses the Grecian Urn as " Thou still unravished bride of quietness". Ode commemerates the death of a distinguished person as in Tennyson's " Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington". Types of Ode The Dorian or Pindaric Ode The Greek Ode Dorian is named after the district and dialect. The term Pi

                                    Lyric Lyric or melic is a short poem sung with the help of a lyre. The term "Lyric" originated from the greek word "Iyre". Lyre is a musical instrument. The two main characteristics of a lyric are,                   I) Expresses a single emotion of the poet.                   II) It is a musical composition. A lyric is the expression of the the poets personal  feelings or thoughts. It is a subjective poem. Lyric is brief but the emotion is intense.  Edgar Allan Poe declared that " a long lyric is not possible". There are few long lyric like,                      Ode to the West Wind                     The Raven  Lyric is the purest form of poetry. It appeals more to our heart than to our intellect. Great writers of lyrical poems are Edgar Allan Poe, William Wordsworth, Shakespeare and Robert Frost. Lyric poem is divided into three parts corresponding to the three moods. I)The first part states the emotion.

                         Once upon a time                                     - Gabriel Okara Once upon a time is a poem written by Gabriel Okara. He is a Nigerian poet and novelist. In this poem the poet compares the mentality of the Africans before and after colonialism. In this poem a father expresses his nostalgic feeling for the past to his son. He desires to live in the past because their was love, care, hospitality and compassion. But in the present world people lack those things.             Once upon a time, son            they used to laugh with their hearts                ..............................             but now they only laugh with their teeth At modern times people greet eachother without warmth. They shake hands while their  " ice - block cold eyes" search behind his financial status. The poet describes their eyes using a metaphor "ice - block cold eyes" inorder to show how modern people fail to understand and respect human heart

              Ceremonies and Respects                                         - Francis Bacon. Francis Bacon is a British poet, essayist and a philosopher. He is known as “the Father of English Essays”. His essay Ceremonies and Respects was published in the "Essays of Counsels, Civil and Moral” in 1597. In this essay Bacon talks about the greatness of possessing great virtue. Bacon commences the essay stating "a real man should possess great virtue". He compares greatness with stone which needs polish to glow. Similarly a man should shape himself to become more virtuous.   He further  quotes, “ light gains make heavy purses” . The small virtues possessed by a man is highly commendable and praiseworthy.  But great virtues are occasional as festivals celebrated with ceremonies. The reputation gained for little virtue is like perpetual letters of commendatory to have good forms of behaviour ( Queen Isabella says). To achieve great virtue one must not igno

                     Nature as Monster                                         -Margaret Atwood Margaret Atwood is a Canadian writer. She is famous for her work The Survival . In Survival,  Atwood has written a chapter named  'Nature as a Monster'. In this chapter she depicts the hostility of Nature towards mankind. Atwood decries nature to be deadly and alive. In Canada the most dominating season is Winter. During this season the landscape is veiled with Snow and Ice. William Wilfred Campbell in his poem Winter's Lake describes Canada as a land of death "Out in a world of death for the Northward lying".  In this chapter Atwood talks about the pre-conceived notion of the migrants. The double-minded notion  is Canada is a land of vastness, richness, fertility, plentiness and filled with scenic beauty. With this idea the  immigrants migrated to Canada with great expectations and dream. But in reality the land is cruel and deadly.  After discovering the

As You like it as a Pastoral Play As you Like It is a pastoral play written by William Shakespeare. It was written in the year 1599. This play is based on a work entitled Rosalinde written by Thomas Lodge. The play is a pastoral comedy. Pastoral refers to the life of the shepherds and shepherdess. The play begins in France and later shifts  to the Forest of Arden. The setting of the Forest of Arden is entirely pastoral, a space populated by shepherds. The Forest of Arden represents the country life and an escape from corruption while the Duke's court represents corrupted city life. Rosalind's father, Duke Senior, has been banished by his own brother, Duke Frederick. Frederick is the villain in this play. Although he banishes Rosalind's father, he allows her to stay because she is so close to Celia. However, his patience runs out, and he decides to banish Rosalind as well.  Rosalind and her cousin Celia, daughter of Duke Frederick escape into the forest and fin

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