Short Questions on Geoffrey Chaucer and Sir Thomas Malory




Geoffrey Chaucer

Q When was Geoffrey Chaucer born?

Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1343 or 1344.

Q Which famous work is Chaucer best known for?

Chaucer is best known for his work "The Canterbury Tales."

Q In which language did Chaucer primarily write?

Chaucer primarily wrote in Middle English.

Q Who is the narrator of "The Canterbury Tales"?

The narrator of "The Canterbury Tales" is Chaucer himself, presenting as a character in the story.

Q What is the frame story of "The Canterbury Tales"?

"The Canterbury Tales" is framed as a pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury.

Q Which character is known for his humorous anecdotes in "The Canterbury Tales"?

The character known for his humorous anecdotes is the Miller.

Q Which literary form did Chaucer popularize in English literature?

Chaucer popularized the use of the iambic pentameter and heroic couplets in English poetry.

Q Who is the main character in Chaucer's poem "Troilus and Criseyde"?

The main characters in "Troilus and Criseyde" are Troilus, a Trojan prince, and Criseyde, a daughter of the Trojan priest.

Q Which influential noblewoman was Chaucer associated with?

Chaucer was associated with the Countess of Pembroke, Katherine Swynford.

Q When did Chaucer pass away?

Geoffrey Chaucer passed away in 1400.

Q What is Geoffrey Chaucer's most famous work?

Chaucer's most famous work is "The Canterbury Tales."

Q What position did Chaucer hold in the English government?

Chaucer held various positions, including customs officer, justice of the peace, and member of Parliament.

Q Which language did Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" help popularize?

"The Canterbury Tales" helped popularize the English language.

Q Which pilgrimage is the focus of "The Canterbury Tales"?

"The Canterbury Tales" revolves around a pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury.

Q How many tales were originally planned for "The Canterbury Tales"?

Chaucer planned for each pilgrim to tell four stories, resulting in a total of 120 tales. However, he only completed 24.

Q Give examples of nonalliterative verse romances of Geoffrey Chaucer?

 Two important nonalliterative verse romances of Geoffrey Chaucer are Troilus and Criseyde (1385?), a tale of the fatal course of a noble love and The Knight's Tale (1382?.

Q. What are the source of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde and The Knight's Tale?

Troilus and Criseyde is laid in Homeric Troy and is based on Il filostrato, a romance by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio;
The Knight's Tale is also based on Boccaccio.

Q Give examples of Geoffrey Chaucer’s French works.

Geoffrey Chaucer
 Chaucer translates French works or writes under French influence several secular vision poems of a semiallegorical nature. Such as ,The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, The Parliament of Fowls etc.

Q. How many tales are there in The Canterbury Tales?

The Canterbury Tales consists of 24 stories or parts of stories mostly in verse in almost all the medieval genres.

Q. Who is the teller of The Canterbury Tales?

 The Tales are recounted by Chaucer through the mouths of a group of pilgrims bound for Canterbury Cathedral, who were representative of most of the classes of medieval England.

Q What is Rhyme Royal? Comment on its use by Chaucer.

The Rhyme Royal Stanza  form of  using verses with seven lines of iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme ababbcc. the name was given such Because the form was used by James I of Scotland. In practice this stanza can be constructed either as a terza rima and two couplets (a-b-a, b-b, c-c) or a quatrain and tercet (a-b-a-b, b-c-c). This allows for good deal of variety especially when the form is used in long narrative poems.
 Chaucer first used the Rhyme Royal stanza in his long poems – Troilus and Criseyde and Parliament of Fowls. He also used it for The Canterbury Tales in the Man of Law’s Tale, The Prioress Tale and the Clerks Tale and in a number of shorter lyrics.

Q. What are the subject matters of these tales?

These narratives cover the panorama of life and living. They concern a host of subjects: religious innocence, married chastity, villainous hypocrisy, female volubility—all illumined by great humor. With extraordinary artistry the stories are made to characterize their tellers.

Q Who is called “father of English poetry”?

Chaucer (1342-1400) was nicknamed as the “father of English poetry.” Chaucer wrote in the London dialect of English that later became the “literary standard.” He essentially set the course for subsequent English poets as well as he aspired to write an English poetry that could hold its own on this world stage, and he succeeded.

Sir Thomas Malory

Q When was Sir Thomas Malory born?

Sir Thomas Malory was born around 1415.

Q What is Sir Thomas Malory's most famous work?

Sir Thomas Malory's most famous work is "Le Morte d'Arthur."

Q What is the main subject matter of "Le Morte d'Arthur"?

"Le Morte d'Arthur" is a compilation of Arthurian legends and the story of King Arthur and his knights.

Q Which knight is the central figure in "Le Morte d'Arthur"?

King Arthur is the central figure in "Le Morte d'Arthur."

Q What is the significance of the Holy Grail in Malory's work?

The Holy Grail is a central element in the Arthurian legend and symbolizes spiritual purity and divine grace.

Q Which knight is known for his affair with Queen Guinevere in Malory's work?

Sir Lancelot is known for his affair with Queen Guinevere.

Q Which famous sword does Arthur obtain in "Le Morte d'Arthur"?

Arthur obtains the sword Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake.

Q What happens to Arthur at the end of "Le Morte d'Arthur"?

Arthur is mortally wounded in a battle with his son Mordred and is taken to the mystical island of Avalon to be healed.

Q Did Malory write any other works besides "Le Morte d'Arthur"?

No, "Le Morte d'Arthur" is the only known work attributed to Sir Thomas Malory.

Q When did Sir Thomas Malory pass away?

The exact date of Malory's death is uncertain, but it is believed to be around 1471.

Q What is Sir Thomas Malory's most famous work?

Malory's most famous work is "Le Morte d'Arthur."

Q What is the approximate date of the compilation of "Le Morte d'Arthur"?

"Le Morte d'Arthur" was likely compiled around 1469-1470.

Q Who is the legendary wizard featured in "Le Morte d'Arthur"?

The legendary wizard Merlin is prominently featured in "Le Morte d'Arthur."

Q What is the importance of the Round Table in Arthurian legend?

The Round Table symbolizes equality and unity among King Arthur's knights in their quest for justice and chivalry.

Q Who is King Arthur's queen in Malory's work?

King Arthur's queen is Queen Guinevere.

Q. Who composed Le morte d’Arthur and what is the theme of it?

Sir Thomas Malory carried on the tradition of Arthurian romance in his great work, Le morte d'Arthur (The Death of Arthur, 1469-1470). He loosely tied together stories of various knights of the Round Table, but most memorably of Arthur himself, of Galahad, and of the guilty love of Lancelot and Arthur's queen, Guinevere. 


Some Tricky Questions from WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S "MACBETH"




Macbeth's psychological state of Mind

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a study of the evil that is in every human heart, and of one man’s downfall as he willfully gives way to its temptations. To answer such tricky question,  Shakespeare depicts the tragedy of a man torn between an amoral will and a powerfully moral intellect.Returning from battle, Macbeth is greeted by three witches, who tell him that he will one day become king. As a reward for his military successes, he then receives the title of Thane of Cawdor from King Duncan, confirming part of the witches’ prophecy. Once Macbeth arrives back at his estate, Lady Macbeth spurs her husband’s ambition forward, and together they hatch a plan to kill the king and thereby hasten Macbeth’s accession to the throne. In Act 2, Scene ii, Lady Macbeth is waiting while her husband carries out the murder. When he enters in disarray, the murder weapons still in his bloodstained hands, she takes it upon herself to frame Duncan’s grooms for the killing, and to ensure that her husband’s guilt is concealed. Again, Macbeth knows his actions are wrong but enacts his fearful deeds anyway, led on in part by the excitement of his own wrongdoing.

Power & Ambition

"Thou wouldst be great;
    Art not without ambition, but without
    The illness should attend it,"
In interpreting Macbeth's murder of Duncan, there have been psychoanalytic interpretations that include emasculation, incestuous, or even  Oedipal fears. Certainly, the spirits that seem to make Macbeth potent,  actually make him impotent, according to critic Copp Eli Kahn.  This  paradoxical motif runs the entirety of "Macbeth," and is evident in Macbeth's  defeat of Macdonwald and his murder of Duncan as perverting the natural order  of inheritance.

"There's no art / To find the mind's construction in the face."

Shakespeare must have conceived of Macbeth as a personality caught up between the old and the new world-views and ethos—the conventional one and the Renaissance one. The former defined man’s place on earth in terms of the biblical world-view presented in the first chapter of the Bible Genesis, which necessarily linked it to the concept of Great Chain of Being, and accordingly dictated the codes of conduct. The later yet to come out fully, on the other, was trying to supplant the old ones with the new and pseudo-scientific one, which was slowly but surely encouraging man to think beyond the traditional framework towards the direction of fullest use of the human potentials. The audience/readers feel sympathetic to Macbeth, not because he possesses the high stature of a tragic hero described by Aristotle. They understand that he is a villain and criminal, but at the same time they also share his “vaulting ambition”, which collides head-on with the ethical parameters in the play. 
The play has been presented not only against this backdrop, but also against another situation, which much attention has not been paid to. Actually the play starts at the crucial juncture of Scottish history: the king Duncan has grown old and feeble and sensing this, the rebels and the king of Norway the kingdom attacked. Macbeth along with others must have been conscious of this opportunity as ambitious persons always look forward to. Much has been said and written about his association with the Witches, and even if we ignore them, we hear an echo of the Witches’ words from him on his first appearance on the stage:

“So foul and fair day I have never seen”
We may presume that the grand success in the battles with Duncan’s enemy whetted his ambition before his actual meeting with the Witches. And when he learns from them that “”, he gets greatly moved. His excitement at the “strange intelligence” from the Witches begins to transform into a potent ambition very soon at the fulfilment of the two prophecies as he is greeted by Ross:
“Glamis, and thane of Cawdor!
The Greatest is behind.”
Right from this moment Macbeth begins to feel a split in his personality created by the great pulls of morality on the one hand, and terrible anticipation of the royal reality:
“...why do I yield to that suggestion
Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair...”
Of course, Macbeth demonstrates his good sense when he comments on the prospect of his kingship:
“...Present fears
Are less than horrible imaginings.”

Here it must be pointed out that the king does not act prudently in throwing out the proposal of holding communal feast at Macbeth’s castle in such a fluid condition in which a faithful man like the Thane of Cawdor betrayed his trust. This creates an unthinkable opportunity, which Macbeth must have thought a satanic one, if not providential, to seize upon, and his ambition begins to take the shape of a potent plan even before the hot-headed intervention of Lady Macbeth. In securing the Scottish throne, Macbeth deadens his moral intelligence to the point where he becomes capable of increasingly murderous  behavior, although he never becomes the monster the moral world sees. At all times he feels the pull of his humanity. Yet for Macbeth there is no redemption, only the sharp descent into a bleak pessimism.

Moral Effects

As Macbeth gets alienated from nature and faces the ordeal of the absence of divine grace, he does not learns from the prick of conscience. On the contrary he goes on to affirm his authority in a wrong way, and here again his authority gets snubbed by the intervention of Banquo’s ghost. It must be pointed out here that right from the Banquet Scene, Lady Macbeth’s powers also begin disintegrate and she cannot provide the same amount of support. However, while Lady Macbeth slowly shrinks from the external reality and recoils in her own personality, the opposite happens with Macbeth, who undergoes a total transformation of personality and becomes more and more dependent on the Witches. He becomes a tyrannical, treacherous and suspicious ruler. He emerges as a confirmed villain when he gets the wife and the child of Macduff killed. All these killings cannot be ascribed to the impact of the prophecies of the Witches.


REF:
1. Shakespearean tragedy : lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth : Bradley, A. C. (Andrew Cecil), 1851-1935 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/shakespeareantra1905brad

Short Questions From Middle English Alliterative Poems :William Langland’s "The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman" and "The Pearl"




"The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman":

Q What is the vision that William experiences in the poem?

William has a dream or vision that guides him on a spiritual and moral journey.

Q What does Piers the Plowman represent in the poem?

Piers the Plowman represents the ideal of a just and virtuous everyman.

Q What is the role of Lady Holy Church in the poem?

Lady Holy Church represents the institution of the Church and its power and influence.

Q How does the poem criticize societal corruption?

The poem criticizes corruption through characters like False and the Seven Deadly Sins.

Q What is the poem's stance on poverty and social inequality?

The poem advocates for compassion towards the poor and condemns the disparities between the rich and the needy.

Q. What is the common rhyme scheme of Old and Middle English alliterative poems? Give an example.

 Ans: Old and Middle English alliterative poems are commonly written in form of four-stress lines. Of these poems, William Langland’s The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman, better known as Piers Plowman, is the most significant.

Q. What is the theme of William Langland’s The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman ?

Ans: in the form of dream visions William Langland’s The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman protests the plight of the poor, the avarice of the powerful, and the sinfulness of all people. The emphasis, however, is placed on a Christian vision of the life of activity, of the life of unity with God, and of the synthesis of these two under the rule of a purified church.

Q.Which best Italian poet’s work is compared to William Langland’s The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman ?

Ans: William Langland’s The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman bears comparison with the other great Christian visionary poem, La divina commedia (The Divine Comedy), by Dante. For both, the watchwords are heavenly love and love operative in this world.

"The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman":

Q Who is the author of "The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman"?

The author of "The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman" is William Langland.

Q What is the main character's occupation in the poem?

The main character, Piers the Plowman, is a humble farmer.

Q What is the primary theme of "The Vision of Piers Plowman"?

The primary theme of the poem is the pursuit of a virtuous life and the struggles of society.

Q What allegorical figures appear in the poem?

Allegorical figures such as Lady Holy Church, Lady Reason, and Piers the Plowman himself appear in the poem.

Q What social issues does the poem critique?

The poem critiques corruption, greed, and the societal disparities of medieval England.
"The Pearl":

Q Who is the author of "The Pearl"?

The author of "The Pearl" is unknown.

Q What is the main subject matter of "The Pearl"?

"The Pearl" is a poem about grief and consolation after the loss of a beloved daughter.

Q What is the significance of the pearl in the poem?

The pearl symbolizes purity, perfection, and the preciousness of the lost daughter.

Q What literary form does "The Pearl" follow?

"The Pearl" follows the form of an elegy, a poetic lament for the dead.

Q What religious themes are present in "The Pearl"?

Religious themes of divine grace, redemption, and the afterlife are central to the poem.

Q. Give an example of shorter alliterative vision poem of Middle English?

Ans:  The Pearl, written in about 1370, is shorter alliterative vision poem.

Q. How is The Pearl deliver elegiac note?

Ans: More ecstatic tone, artistic in style, The Pearl is an elegy for the death of a small girl. The poem describes the exalted state of childlike innocence in heaven and the need for all souls to become as children to enter the pearly gates of the New Jerusalem.

Q. Does the poem The Pearl ends in optimism?

Ans: The Pearl is an elegy for the death of a small girl. However the girl is the Christian symbol of innocence, heaven and love. Optimistically, thus, the work ends with an impressive vision of heaven, from which the dreamer awakes.

 Q What is the setting of "The Pearl"?

"The Pearl" is set in a beautiful garden, which symbolizes paradise.

Q What is the narrative structure of "The Pearl"?

"The Pearl" follows a dialogue between the grieving father and a heavenly guide.

Q How does the father find consolation in the poem?

The father finds solace and peace through a spiritual encounter and the understanding of God's will.

Q What does the pearl reveal to the father?

The pearl reveals the divine order and the father's daughter's exalted position in heaven.

Q How does "The Pearl" explore the tension between earthly life and the afterlife?

The poem explores the tension by contrasting the father's grief with the eternal beauty and joy of the daughter's existence in heaven.

Practical Criticism : Series of Experiments by the Cambridge Critic I.A. Richards




“It is a perfectly possible means of overcoming chaos.”
I. A. Richards 
Science and Poetry

Exploring the Reader's Role: I.A. Richards' Experimental Approach to Criticism

Reader's Conditioning: Insights from I.A. Richards' Practical Criticism Experiments

Practical Criticism is a series of experiments conducted by the Cambridge critic I.A. Richards. These experiments aimed to examine and analyze the process of reading and understanding literature. Richards believed that the meaning of a poem or any piece of literature lies not only in the intention of the author but also in the response of the reader.

In fact, practical criticism began in the 1920s with a series of experiments by the Cambridge critic I. A. Richards (English literary critic, semanticist, and educator). With the British psychologist and educator Charles Kay Ogden, Richards wrote The Meaning of Meaning (1923), a modern study of semantics viewed from a historical and critical standpoint. Principles of Literary Criticism (1924), Science and Poetry (1926), and especially, Practical Criticism (1929) changed radically the way English is studied and taught. In Practical Criticism  he described experiments revealing that even highly educated people are conditioned by their education, by handed-down opinion, and by other social and circumstantial elements in their aesthetic responses. Other writers have commented on the conditioning effects of tradition, fashion, and other social pressures, noting, for example, that in the early 18th century the plays of William Shakespeare were viewed as barbarous and Gothic art as vulgar. 

Revolutionizing Literary Analysis: I.A. Richards' Practical Criticism and the Birth of New Criticism

Thus , Richards emphasized the importance of close textual reading and warned against the dangers of sentimentality, generalizations, and lazy, careless reading. His work led to the New Criticism, which shaped literary analysis for much of the 20th century. The findings of the Practical Criticism experiments influenced the development of the New Criticism movement, which emerged in the mid-20th century. New Critics, like Richards, emphasized close reading and formal analysis of texts, focusing on the text itself rather than external factors. His other writings include Coleridge on Imagination (1934), a study of the famous poet's theory of the imaginative faculty; Basic English and Its Uses (1943), which proposed that the entire world adopt 850 English words to facilitate worldwide communication; The Screens and Other Poems (1960); So Much Nearer (1968), a book of essays; and Internal Colloquies (1973), a collection of poems and plays. These series of experiments opened the new horizon of understanding. 

Reader's Influence: An Experimental Exploration of Literary Interpretation

In these experiments, Richards presented anonymous poems and literary works to a group of readers without revealing the names of the authors or any contextual information. The readers were then asked to interpret and evaluate the texts solely based on their own responses and without any preconceived notions.

Richards was interested in studying the different ways in which readers interpreted and understood the same piece of literature. He analyzed the readers' responses and examined the various factors that influenced their interpretations, such as personal experiences, cultural background, and emotional states.

The purpose of Practical Criticism was to highlight the importance of the reader's role in the process of literary interpretation. Richards argued that readers bring their own subjective experiences and perspectives to the act of reading, which significantly shapes their understanding and appreciation of a text. Through these experiments, Richards aimed to challenge traditional literary criticism that focused solely on the author's intentions or the historical and cultural context of a work. He emphasized the significance of the reader's engagement with the text and the fluidity of meaning in literature.

Power of Close Analysis: I.A. Richards' Experimental Journey into Stripped Contexts

I. A. Richards
 He gave poems to students without any information about the author, period or explanatory commentary and asked students to respond to poems that were thus completely stripped of their context. In  Practical Criticism (1929) he reported on and analyzed the results of his experiments. The objective of his work was to encourage students to concentrate on 'the words on the page', rather than relying on preconceived or received beliefs about a text. For Richards this form of close analysis of anonymous poems was ultimately intended to have psychological benefits for the students: by responding to all the currents of emotion and meaning in the poems and passages of prose which they read the students were to achieve what Richards called an 'organized response'. This meant that they would clarify the various currents of thought in the poem and achieve a corresponding clarification of their own emotions.

Conclusion

Overall, Practical Criticism by I.A. Richards contributed to a shift in literary criticism, emphasizing the reader's role and subjective response as essential elements in understanding and evaluating literature. Practical Criticism focuses on the text and text alone. Because of this exclusively textual orientation, it was an ideal programme for teasing out all the opposites- thought versus feeling, seriousness versus high spirits, resignation versus anger and so on, and for Richards,  these were reconciled  and transcended in poetry often through the use of irony. It spread the idea that the best poems created a vulnerable harmony out of conflicting perspectives and emotions. This view later develops into New Criticism in the 1940s and 1950s in the United States and becomes a major mode of criticism there.


References

Practical Criticism A Study Of Literary Judgement I. A. Richards : I.A. Richards : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/wxpO_practical-criticism-a-study-of-literary-judgement-i.-a.-richards

I A Richard’s Concept of Two Uses of Language



The disjunction of art from matter-of-fact disciplines is central to Richardsian criticism. The tendency of many writers was to reject or to subordinate one to the other. Richards hoped to find some common area between science and art in psychology, some third term capable of relating one to the other. Principles of Literary Criticism represented the most concentrated endeavour to forge this relation. A more profitable approach proved to be his methodology of contexts.

I A Richard

So, I. A. Richards, a prominent literary critic and linguist, proposed the concept of two uses of language in his influential book "Principles of Literary Criticism." In the chapter titled "The Two uses of Language," Richards argues that language has two main functions: conveying information and creating experiences. In a chapter on ‘The Two uses of Language’, Richards distinguishes two kinds of causation that leads for ‘mental events’. The first kind is the result of stimuli affecting the mind through the senses immediately. The second kind of causation lies in the mind itself, its particular needs and its degree of relevant receptiveness. The interaction of these two kinds of of causation determines the character of the mental event.

Main features of New Criticism and Challenging Concept by Later Critics and Theorists




New Criticism is an approach to literature which was developed by a group of American critics, most of who taught at southern universities during the years following the First World War. The New Critics wanted to avoid impressionistic criticism, which risked being shallow and arbitrary, and social/ historical approaches which might easily be subsumed by other disciplines. Thus, they attempted to systematize the study of literature, to develop an approach which was centered on the rigorous study of the text itself. They were given their name by John Crowe Ransom, who describes the new American formalists in The New Criticism (1941).

Seven Types of Ambiguity




Exploring Multifaceted Meanings: An Analysis of Ambiguity in William Empson's "Seven Types of Ambiguity"

William Empson studied under I. A. Richards at Cambridge and became one of the most influential literary critics and important poets of his generation. Empson's ideas in seminal works like Seven Types of Ambiguity and The Structure of Complex Words shaped the course of critical thinking far beyond the 1930's. In Seven Types of Ambiguity William Empson views Texts containing moments in which meaning is not clear, when interpretation is questioned.  It was one of the most influential critical conceptions of the 20th century and was a key foundation work in the formation of the New Criticism school. The book is organized around seven types of ambiguity that Empson finds in the poetry he criticizes. The book explores the various forms and manifestations of ambiguity in poetry and language. Empson reads poetry as an exploration of conflicts within the author.

Empson's central thesis suggests that ambiguity is not simply a flaw or obstacle to be avoided, but rather a rich and integral aspect of language that allows for multiple interpretations and layers of meaning. He identifies seven distinct types of ambiguity that can be found in literary works:

The ambiguity of metaphor: The first type of ambiguity is the metaphor, that is, when two things are said to be alike which have different properties. This concept is similar to that of metaphysical conceit. Metaphorical language often relies on associations and comparisons that can be interpreted in multiple ways. This type of ambiguity arises from the diverse meanings and imagery suggested by metaphors.

The ambiguity of grammatical structure: This type of ambiguity arises from the multiple possible interpretations of a sentence's syntax or grammatical structure. Words or phrases can be read in different ways, leading to different meanings.

The ambiguity of verbal meaning: Words can have multiple meanings or connotations, and this type of ambiguity emerges from the various interpretations that arise from the use of specific words.

The ambiguity of logical structure: This type of ambiguity occurs when there are several possible logical relationships between different parts of a text. It involves analyzing the connections and implications between ideas or statements.

The ambiguity of conventional meaning: Language is shaped by cultural and societal conventions, and this type of ambiguity arises when words or phrases have different meanings or connotations in different contexts or communities.

William Empson
The ambiguity of tone: Ambiguity can stem from the uncertain or dual emotional or tonal quality conveyed by a text. It involves deciphering the intended emotional resonance or atmosphere of a literary work.

The ambiguity of perspective: Ambiguity can also emerge from differing points of view or perspectives presented within a text. The author may intentionally leave room for multiple interpretations by offering various subjective viewpoints.

Empson's exploration of these seven types of ambiguity offers readers and literary scholars a framework for analyzing and appreciating the complex and multifaceted nature of language and literature. By embracing ambiguity, Empson suggests that readers can engage more deeply with texts, uncovering new layers of meaning and exploring the inherent richness of language.


References

Seven Types of Ambiguity : Empson, William : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/seventypesofambi0000emps_d3n4

Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Definition of Primary Imagination", "Secondary Imagination", "Willing suspension of Disbelief", "Organic Wholeness of a Poem" and "Fancy"


Coleridge's Insights into Imagination, Reader Engagement, and Poetic Integrity

Samuel Taylor  Coleridge  on a trip the European continent lost his early sympathy with political radicalism and became interested in German philosophy, especially the 18th-century idealism of Immanuel Kant and the 17th-century mystical writings of Jakob Boehme, and in the literary criticism of the 18th-century dramatist G. E. Lessing. These studies made Coleridge the most influential English interpreter of German romanticism.

  Coleridge returned to England in 1806. Between 1808 and 1819 he gave his famous series of lectures on literature and philosophy; the lectures on Shakespeare were partly responsible for a renewed interest in the playwright. Endowed with an intellect of the first order, and an imagination at once delicate and splendid, Coleridge planned to compose  various epic poems, and a complete system of philosophy, in which all knowledge was to be co-ordinated. However, he fell far sort of his target. He has, however, left enough poetry of such excellence as to place him in the first rank of English poets, and enough philosophic, critical, and theological matter to constitute him one of the principal intellectually formative forces of his time. His knowledge of philosophy, science, theology, and literature was alike wide and deep, and his powers of conversation, or rather monologue, were almost unique.

Major Critical works: The evolution of fundamentally new critical principles in literature is the main achievement of Coleridge's Biographia literaria (1817). Coleridge also wrote a large amount of practical criticism, much of which helped to elevate the reputations of Renaissance dramatists and poets neglected in the 18th century. 

Biographia Literaria,  Lectures on Shakespeare

Samuel Taylor  Coleridge
According to Coleridge, Imagination has two forms primary and secondary.
In the 13th chapter of Biographia Literaria,  Coleridge talks of fancy and imagination.

Primary imagination

According to Coleridge, the primary imagination refers to the inherent and innate ability of the mind to perceive and form mental images. It is the creative faculty that allows us to combine sensory experiences and impressions into meaningful concepts and ideas. It is through the primary imagination that we are able to make sense of the world around us and create new mental representations.

It is merely the power of receiving impressions of the external world through the senses, it perceives objects both in their parts and as a whole. It is an involuntary act of the mind: the human mind receives impressions and sensations from the outside world unconsciously and involuntarily it imposes some sort of order on those impressions, reduces them to shape and size, so that the mind is able to form a clear image of the outside world. It is in this way that clear and coherent perception becomes possible.

Secondary Imagination

Coleridge defined the secondary imagination as a higher level of imaginative power that goes beyond the mere perception and representation of reality. It involves the transformative ability to generate new and original ideas, images, and narratives. The secondary imagination enables poets and artists to transcend the limitations of ordinary perception and create imaginative works that evoke emotions, provoke thoughts, and offer new perspectives.

The primary imagination is universal and is possessed by all. The Secondary imagination makes artistic creation possible. It requires an effort of the will and conscious effort. It works upon what is perceived by the primary imagination: its raw material is the sensations and impressions supplied to it by the primary imagination. It selects and orders the raw material, and reshapes and remodels it into objects of beauty. It is ‘ensemplastic’ and it ‘dissolves, diffuses, dissipates, in order to create’. The Secondary Imagination is at the root of all poetic activity. It is the power which harmonizes and reconciles opposites, and Coleridge calls it a magical synthetic power. It fuses the various faculties of the soul-the subjective with the objective, the human mind with external nature, the spiritual with the physical or material.

The primary and secondary imaginations do not differ from each other in kind. The difference is only of degree. The SI is more active, more as a result of volition, more conscious and more voluntary than the primary one.

Willing suspension of disbelief

During the perusal of a poem or the witnessing of a play, there is neither belief nor disbelief, but a mere suspension of disbelief. The concept of the "willing suspension of disbelief" refers to the reader's or audience's acceptance and temporary setting aside of their skepticism or critical judgment while engaging with a work of fiction. Coleridge argued that in order to fully appreciate and engage with imaginative literature, the reader must be willing to suspend their disbelief in the fantastical or improbable elements presented in the text. This allows the reader to enter into the world of the narrative and experience it more fully.

Organic wholeness of a poem

Coleridge established that the poem is an organic whole, and that its form is determined by its content and is essential to that content. Thus metre and rhyme are not merely ‘pleasure super-added’, not something superfluous which can be dispensed with, not mere decoration, but essential to that pleasure which is true poetic pleasure. Coleridge emphasized the importance of the organic unity or wholeness of a poem. He believed that a great poem should possess a unified structure, where each part contributes to the overall coherence and meaning of the work. According to Coleridge, the various elements of a poem, such as its themes, imagery, language, and form, should work together harmoniously to create a complete and interconnected artistic expression.

Fancy

Imagination and fancy differ in kind. Fancy is not a creative power at all, but is a mechanical process which receives the elementary images  which come to it ready made, and without altering these, fancy reassembles them  into a different order from that in which it was received. It only combines what it perceives into beautiful shapes, but does not fuse and unify. It is a kind of memory that arbitrarily brings together images, and even when brought together, these images continue to retain their separate and individual properties. They receive no colouring and or modification from the mind.


References

Biographia literaria : Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 1772-1834 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/biographialitera19071cole

Old English Poetry "WANDERER" and "SEAFARER": Key Points to Remember



Old English lyrics are so difficult that most students treat them as prose. This article is specifically meant for beginners who want to have a basic knowledge of the language and understand the basic English scriptures. It is not meant for scholars or those who want to pursue higher studies in this language. To be accurate, clear, and simple, with the purpose of understanding the four books of Old English poetry existing still today seem to have been written about the year 1000.

T. S. Eliot’s influence upon Modern Literary Criticism: Impersonality of Poetry


"No poet, no artist of any sort, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists."-
T. S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)

The Impersonal Aesthetic in "Tradition and the Individual Talent": T.S. Eliot's Impact on Modern Literary Criticism

Challenging Subjectivity: Eliot's Impersonality in Poetry

T.S. Eliot, one of the most influential poets of the 20th century, made significant contributions to modern literary criticism, particularly in regard to the concept of impersonality in poetry. Eliot's views on impersonality challenged traditional notions of the poet as a highly subjective and individualistic figure, and instead emphasized the poet's ability to transcend personal emotions and experiences in order to achieve a more universal and objective artistic expression.

In his seminal essay "Tradition and the Individual Talent," published in 1919, Eliot argued that the poet's personal experiences and emotions should not dominate the creative process. He believed that poetry should strive to achieve an impersonal and objective tone, distancing itself from the subjective and often egotistical aspects of the poet's own life. According to Eliot, the poet should detach himself from his own emotions and strive to present a more universal and timeless truth through his work.

Surrendering to Tradition: Eliot's Impersonality and the Dialogues of Poetry

The poet must continually surrender himself to something which is more valuable than himself that is tradition. In the beginning, his self, his individuality may assert itself, but as his powers mature there will be a greater extinction of personality. His emotions and passions must be depersonalized, and he must be as objective as a scientist, and understand that his personality is merely a medium. He must forget personal joys and sorrows and devote himself completely in acquiring a sense of tradition. That is why, Eliot says that honest criticism is not directed at the poet but upon the poetry.

T. S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)

Eliot's notion of impersonality in poetry was influenced by his belief in the importance of tradition and the collective cultural heritage. He emphasized the poet's responsibility to engage with and build upon the works of past writers, rather than simply indulging in self-expression. For Eliot, poetry was a continuous dialogue between past and present, and the poet's task was to contribute to this ongoing conversation by drawing on the accumulated wisdom and artistic achievements of previous generations.

The Poet's Mind as a Catalytic Agent: Eliot's Theory of Impersonality in Poetry

In the second part of the essay, Eliot develops the theory of impersonality of poetry. He compares the mind of the poet to a catalytic agent. It is necessary for combination of emotions and experiences to take place, but it itself does not undergo any change during the process. In case of a young and immature poet, his personal emotions and experiences may find some expression in his composition, but the more perfect the poet, the more completely separate in him will be the man who suffers and the mind which creates.

Eliot rejects romantic subjectivity. He compares the poet’s mind to a receptacle in which there are stored numberless emotions, feelings etc, which remain there in an unorganized and chaotic form till “all such particles unite to form a new compound together.” Poetry is thus organization rather than inspiration. Next, he says the greatness of a poem does not depend upon the intensity of the emotions but upon the intensity of the process of poetic composition.

The Poet's Paradox: Emotion and Escape in T.S. Eliot's Theory of Poetry

The emotion of poetry is different from personal emotions of the poet. His personal emotions may be simple or crude but the emotion of his poetry may be complex and refined. He further says that a poet may express emotions which he has never personally experienced.

Consequently, we must believe that "emotion recollected in tranquility" is an inexact formula. For it is neither emotion, nor recollection, nor, tranquility. It is a concentration, and a new thing resulting from the concentration. There is a great deal, in the writing of poetry, which must be conscious and deliberate. In fact, the bad poet is usually unconscious where he ought to be conscious and conscious where he ought to be unconscious. Both errors tend to make him "personal.” Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things.
Eliot's emphasis on impersonality had a profound impact on modern literary criticism. It challenged the romantic notion of the poet as a solitary genius driven by personal inspiration, and instead highlighted the poet's role as a craftsman and a transmitter of cultural values. This perspective influenced subsequent generations of poets and critics, who sought to distance themselves from self-indulgent and confessional modes of expression in favor of a more objective and intellectually rigorous approach to writing and analyzing poetry.
Furthermore, Eliot's ideas on impersonality helped shape the development of New Criticism, a prominent literary critical movement of the mid-20th century. New Critics, such as Cleanth Brooks and John Crowe Ransom, emphasized close reading of the text and the exploration of its formal elements, detached from the author's personal intentions or biographical context. This approach aligned with Eliot's call for objective analysis and the focus on the text itself rather than the poet's subjective experiences.

Conclusion

In conclusion, T.S. Eliot's influence upon modern literary criticism, particularly regarding the impersonality of poetry, cannot be overstated. His ideas challenged traditional notions of the poet as a purely subjective and self-expressive figure, emphasizing instead the importance of tradition, objectivity, and the transcendent power of poetry. Eliot's views continue to resonate in contemporary literary criticism, shaping the ways in which we understand and appreciate poetry today.
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References

After strange gods : a primer of modern heresy : Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/afterstrangegods0000elio

T. S. Eliot: a collection of criticism : Wagner-Martin, Linda, comp : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/tseliotcollectio0000wagn

T. S. Eliot’s influence upon Modern Literary Criticism: Defining “Tradition and the Individual Talent”


"Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality."-
T. S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)

“Tradition and the Individual Talent”: Redefining Poetic Creation: T.S. Eliot's Impact on Modern Literary Criticism

 The Poet's Evolution: T.S. Eliot's Redefinition of Creativity in "Tradition and the Individual Talent"

T.S. Eliot, one of the most prominent literary figures of the 20th century, left an indelible mark on modern literary criticism with his groundbreaking essay "Tradition and the Individual Talent." Published in 1919, this influential piece revolutionized the way we perceive and evaluate poetry, challenging traditional notions of the poet as a solitary genius driven solely by personal inspiration. Through his essay, Eliot introduced the concept of "Tradition" and emphasized the significance of the collective cultural heritage in shaping poetic creation.

"Tradition and the Individual Talent" presents a radical departure from the romantic idea of the poet as an autonomous and original creator. Eliot proposes that poetry is not an isolated act of self-expression but a continuous dialogue with the past. He argues that the poet's work is informed by the entire history of literature, and that great poets are those who successfully engage with and build upon the works of their predecessors.

The Interdependence of Present and Past: T.S. Eliot's Notion of Tradition in Literary Criticism

T. S. Eliot questions the habit of praising a poet especially for those elements in his work which are most ‘individual’, and differentiate him from others. He argues that the best, even the most individual parts of a poet’s work may be those most alive with the influence of his poetic ancestors. No poet or artist is significant in isolation. The whole of past literature will be ‘in the bones’ of the poet, with the true historic sense which recognizes the presence as well as the ‘pastness’ of the past. Eliot’s sense of the interdependence of present and the past is something which he believed the poet must cultivate. Tradition can be obtained only by those who have a historical sense. This sense of tradition implies recognition of the continuity of literature, a critical judgment as to which writers of the past continue to be significant in the present, and a knowledge of these writers obtained through painstaking effort. A writer with the sense of tradition is fully conscious of his own generation, of his place in the present but he is also acutely conscious of his relationship with the writers of the past. In short, tradition represents the accumulated wisdom of and experience of the ages and so its knowledge is essential for really great and noble achievements.
                                                       
The relationship between the past and the present is not one sided; it is a reciprocal relationship. The past directs the present, and is itself modified and altered by the present. When a new work of art is created, if it is really new and original, the whole literary tradition is modified, though ever so slightly.

Meaning of Eliot’s remark that a poet is concerned not only with the pastness of the past but with its presence

T. S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)
The historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence; the historical sense compels a man to write not merely with his own generation in his bones, but with a feeling that the whole of the literature of Europe from Homer and within it the whole of the literature of his own country has a simultaneous existence and composes a simultaneous order. This historical sense, which is a sense of the timeless as well as of the temporal and of the timeless and of the temporal together, is what makes a writer traditional. And it is at the same time what makes a writer most acutely conscious of his place in time, of his contemporaneity.

The work of a poet in the present must be compared and contrasted with the works of the past, but this judgment is not to determine good or bad. The comparison is made for the purposes of analysis and for forming a better understanding of the new. Moreover this comparison is reciprocal; the past helps to understand the present and the present throws light on the past. It is by comparison alone that we can sift the traditional from individual elements in a given work of art.

Navigating Tradition: Critical Engagement and the Poet's Historical Sense

The sense of tradition does not mean that the poet should try to know the past as a whole, without discrimination. The past must be critically examined and only the significant should be acquired. Neither should a poet be content merely to know the ages and poets he likes. To know the tradition, the poet must judge critically what the main trends are and what are not. The poet must possess the critical gift in ample measure and must understand that the great works of art never lose their significance; there may be refinement but no development.

Central to Eliot's thesis is the notion that the individual talent of the poet is intertwined with the broader tradition to which they belong. He asserts that the poet's "historical sense," their awareness of literary heritage, is crucial for creating meaningful and enduring poetry. The poet must not only be well-versed in the works of past writers, but also actively contribute to the ongoing literary conversation by adding their unique perspective and insights.

Transcending Subjectivity: Eliot's Call for Depersonalization in Poetry

Eliot challenges the romantic belief that poetry is primarily an expression of personal emotions and experiences. Instead, he advocates for a more objective and impersonal approach to poetry, one that transcends the poet's individual feelings and focuses on expressing universal truths. According to Eliot, the poet must detach themselves from their own emotions and achieve a state of depersonalization, allowing the voice of tradition to speak through their work.

Eliot's Impact on Literary Analysis: Shifting Focus to the Text and Formalism

Furthermore, Eliot's essay revolutionized the way we analyze and interpret poetry. He called for a shift in critical focus from the poet's biographical context to the text itself. Eliot argued that the poet's personal intentions and experiences should not overshadow the objective analysis of the poem's form, structure, and language. This perspective laid the foundation for the development of New Criticism, a prominent critical movement of the mid-20th century, which emphasized close reading and formal analysis of the text.

Eliot's ideas in "Tradition and the Individual Talent" had a profound impact on subsequent generations of poets and critics. His call for the poet's engagement with tradition and the rejection of self-indulgent modes of expression resonated throughout the literary world. Poets, inspired by Eliot's essay, sought to create works that went beyond the subjective and embraced a more timeless and universal quality.

Moreover, Eliot's emphasis on the importance of tradition and objective analysis influenced the field of literary criticism itself. Critics, such as Cleanth Brooks and John Crowe Ransom, aligned with Eliot's views and championed a more rigorous and formalistic approach to the study of literature. They advocated for the separation of the poet's personal life from the analysis of their work, focusing on the intrinsic qualities of the text.

Conclusion

In conclusion, T.S. Eliot's essay "Tradition and the Individual Talent" exerted a profound influence on modern literary criticism. By redefining the role of the poet within the context of tradition and advocating for an impersonal approach to poetry, Eliot challenged the romantic notion of the poet as an autonomous genius. His ideas continue to shape our understanding and evaluation of poetry, emphasizing the interplay between the individual talent and the collective heritage. Eliot's work remains a cornerstone in the study of literature, serving as a guiding light for subsequent generations of poets and critics alike
In brief the sense of tradition means:

a)recognition of the continuity of literature, b) critical judgment as to which writers of the past continue to be significant in the present, c) knowledge of these writers through painstaking effort. Tradition represents the accumulated wisdom and experience of ages and so its knowledge is essential for great and noble achievements.

References

After strange gods : a primer of modern heresy : Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/afterstrangegods0000elio

T. S. Eliot: a collection of criticism : Wagner-Martin, Linda, comp : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/tseliotcollectio0000wagn

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