Epic as a form of Art is Dead : A Critique on R. J. Rees's English Literature: An Introduction for foreign students (Chapter Epic )


A Critique on R. J. Rees's English Literature: An Introduction for foreign students : chapter Epic 

R. J. Rees in his English Literature: An Introduction for foreign students has passed the verdict that ‘the epic as a form of literature is now dead’. This orbiter dictum is quite justifiable considering the fact that no modern writer (barring the exception of James Joyce, whose Ulysses can justifiably claim epical stature) embarks upon this form today. This does not however, mean that great epics like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey or Virgil’s Aenied or Dante’s The Devina Commedia are no longer read with interest. But it must also be as certain that serious epics of the part have lost popular appeal among modern readers and that their interest today has been narrowed to the limited sphere of the academia. 

Characteristics of Primary (folk) and Secondary (literary) Epic


 An epic has been generally described as a long narrative poem, on a grand scale, about the deeds of warriors and heroes, kings and Gods. It is  majestic both in theme and style. It is a polygonal heroic story incorporating myth, legend, folktale, religion, and historical events of national or universal significance, involving action of broad sweep and grandeur.. Epics are mostly of national significance in the sense that they embody the history and aspirations of a nation in a lofty or grandiose manner. An epic is a cultural mirror with a fixed ideological stance, often reflecting the best and the noblest principles of a nation’s ethos.

        Basically there are two kinds of epic – a) Primary – also known as Oral or Primitive FOLK EPICS

and b) Secondary – also known as literary. The first belongs to the oral tradition and is thus composed orally and recited. The secondary epic is a literary work of art.

The Two Worlds: Nature in William Wordsworth’s ‘Tintern Abbey’ and Supernatural in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s ‘Christabel’


An Introduction
 William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge were the high priest of romanticism and it is by their joint efforts that the 19th century becomes the periods of change and new birth in literature. It is the romantic revival --- a movement in the literature, characterized by reliance on the imagination and subjectivity of approach, freedom of thought and expression, and an idealization of nature. The great achievement of theirs is Lyrical Ballads that brought about a new line of poetic thought. The preface to the second edition of Lyrical Ballads (1800) was of prime importance as a manifesto of literary romanticism. Here, the two poets affirmed the importance of feeling and imagination to poetic creation and disclaimed conventional literary forms and subjects. Thus, as romantic literature everywhere developed, imagination was praised over reason, emotions over logic, and intuition over science—making way for a vast body of literature of great sensibility and passion. 

Francis Bacon - Pragmatic Essayist and Renaissance man


  • Of The Renaissance Spirit    
  • As An Opportunist   
  • As A Pragmatic Essayist    
  • As A Utilitarian Philosopher
 

FRANCIS BACON  , LORD VERULAM, AND VISCOUNT ST. ALBAN'S (1561-1626)  the man is the product of Renaissance. Man’s glory, generous or tense, his opportunities of mind and body, his eyes rolling across the subtle and magnificence of the world his joy in learning, discovering, weighing – creating all these as it existed in Bacon’s mind, Essays (counsels: Civil and Moral) exhibits a practical value in life. Bacon’s essays are counsels and are designed for the practical benefits of man and not for his emotional or imaginative development. This utilitarian attitude is most evident in his 59 essays. 

The Theme and Style of Aldous Leonard Huxley 's Essay, "Tragedy and The Whole Truth"


Introduction

Aldous Leonard Huxley(1894–1963)'s "Tragedy and The Whole Truth" is an essay of literary criticism. With lucid, crystal clear statements his criticism at the literature and its truthfulness is expressed here. As a critique it is analyzing detailed, learned and brilliant exposition. The artistic revelation of the essence of literature – the truth, the whole truth interwoven the subject of interest in this piece. It examines the nature of tragedy, exploring its impact on human existence and the pursuit of truth. Through his unique writing style and thought-provoking insights, Huxley offers readers a profound exploration of the human condition, illuminating the complex interplay between tragedy and the search for a deeper understanding of reality. Let us study the piece through the following points. 



 The Super Truth

Aldous Leonard Huxley draws a distinction between tragedy and novel in his essay. Tragedy is limited in its scope and range. The novel has much wider writer aims at emotional intensity. A novelist writes in a discursive manner. So the wholly truthful kind of literature like "Tom Jones" is all embracing and all-inclusive. Huxley refers to an incident in Homer’s "Odyssey". The description of the best and the bravest of the hero’s companions cruelly devoured by the monster Scylla reveals the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Instead of dropping sentimental tears, life flows on here: "Later, the danger passed, Odysseus and his men went ashore for the night, and, on the Sicilian beach, prepared their supper—prepared it, says Homer ‘expertly.’ The Twelfth Book of the Odyssey concludes with these words: ‘When they had satisfied their thirst and hunger, they thought of their dear companions and wept, and in the midst of their tears sleep came gently upon them.’"

Huxley explains the meaning of truth in literature. According to him the whole truth contains the experiences, recorded in a piece of literature, which correspond fairly closely with actual experiences or with potential experiences. The whole truth is a kind of super truth. He suggests that this higher truth lies beyond the limitations of individual perspectives and is accessible through the transcendence of personal desires and attachments. Huxley argues that by embracing this Super Truth, individuals can gain a more comprehensive understanding of reality and ultimately achieve a sense of spiritual fulfillment.

An Opposition to I.A.Richards and Further

I. A. Richards ("Principles of Literary Criticism") considers a good tragedy proof against irony and irrelevance. It can absorb anything into itself and still remain tragedy. The capacity to absorb untragic and anti-tragic is a touchstone of tragic merit. Huxley does not agree with this viewpoint of I. A. Richards. He asserts that the tragedies of Shakespeare reveal the use of irony. They also contain a cynicism. It is terrifying. But this cynicism is always heroic idealism, which is turned neatly inside out. The irony seems to be a kind of photographic negative of heroic romance.

Huxley thinks that the whole truth is not compatible with tragedy. No tragedy reveals the whole truth. We should not expect the whole truth where a writer has produced the tragic effect. Tragedy is something separate from ‘the whole truth’. Tragedy is chemically pure. Its chemical purity performs its function of catharsis so effectively. Tragedy refines emotional life and corrects it. Tragedy is valuable and significant. Thus adds, "The introduction of such a scene would change the whole quality of the play; treated in this Odyssean style, Macbeth would cease to be a tragedy."

Writings, which tell the whole truth, produce a different effect upon the mind. Such writings overflow the limits of tragedy. Tragedy is an arbitrarily isolated eddy on the surface of a vast river that flows around, beneath and to either side river, and not only that particular eddy. Tragedy is chemically pure but the whole truthful literature is chemically impure as it contains many more ingredients than tragedy. The effects of the whole truthful literature are more lasting. Modern literature has shown tendency to embrace ‘the whole truth’. The writer thinks that there is simultaneous existence of tragedy and wholly truthful literature as human spirit requires these lands of art.

While Richards emphasizes the importance of experiencing tragedy for its cathartic effects, Huxley challenges this notion by suggesting that tragedy can lead to a deeper understanding of the world, transcending the mere release of emotions. He contends that tragedy has the potential to reveal profound truths about the human condition and the nature of existence. Huxley suggests that tragedy, when properly understood, can awaken individuals to the complexities and contradictions of life. He explores the idea that tragedy can serve as a catalyst for intellectual growth and a deeper engagement with reality. Huxley's perspective challenges the conventional understanding of tragedy as solely a means of emotional release, offering a broader and more intellectual interpretation of its significance.

Style-Natural, Flowing and Elegant

Aldous Leonard Huxley's writing style in his essay "Tragedy and The Whole Truth" is delightful and masterly characterized by charm and vigour. It is remarkably lucid, simple and serene. It's style is natural, flowing and elegant. As a verbal craftsman Huxley is admirable for his love of craftsmanship as his medium of words used with imagination. With his choice of words, apt phrasal uses his is the brilliant exposition of ideas. It shows intellectual liberty and astonishing learning. The style is witty and polished with full of clarity. There is nothing vague, cloudy or cryptic. The style is further figurative. With the quality of eloquence, sincerity and condensed statements the essay becomes in concise, almost epigrammatic in style. His use of vivid imagery and descriptive language adds depth and richness to his arguments, enhancing the overall aesthetic quality of his writing. Huxley's style captivates the reader, drawing them into his intellectual exploration with its seamless and graceful execution. His is the combination of grave and gay in this essay.

To Quote a Few of the Memorable Lines of His

 “Turning back from his post in the bows, Odysseus was in time to see them lifted, struggling, into the air, to hear their screams, the desperate repetition of his own name. The survivors could only look on, helplessly, while Scylla ‘at the mouth of her cave devoured them, still screaming, still stretching out their hands to me in the frightful struggle.’"

   “Tragedy is something that is separated out from the Whole Truth, distilled from it, so to speak, as an essence is distilled from the living flower.”

“Shakespeare’s ironies and cynicisms serve to deepen his tragic world, but not to widen it. If they had widened it, as the Homeric irrelevancies widened out the universe of the Odyssey—why, then, the world of Shakespearean tragedy would automatically have ceased to exist."

Conclusion

"Tragedy and the Whole Truth" is a beautiful expression on the nature of truth in artistic literature. It is a critique on well-knit exposition and eloquent style. Huxley invites readers to delve into the complexities of tragedy and its relationship with truth. His ability to seamlessly navigate intricate concepts while maintaining clarity and precision is a testament to his mastery as a writer. Huxley's exploration of tragedy challenges conventional notions, emphasizing its potential to reveal deeper insights into the human condition. By engaging readers with his eloquent and captivating writing, Huxley leaves a lasting impression and encourages contemplation on the profound interplay between tragedy and the quest for truth.

References

1. Principles of Literary Criticism | work by Richards. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Principles-of-Literary-Criticism
2. Tragedy and the Whole Truth | VQR Online. (1931, January 1). Tragedy and the Whole Truth | VQR Online. https://www.vqronline.org/essay/tragedy-and-whole-truth

Place of Mother tongue in the Teaching of English as a Second Language L2



T
here is a conflicting view on the place of mother tongue in the teaching of English. The supporters of Translation Method strongly advocate the use of mother tongue in the teaching of English. On the other hand, the followers of the Direct Method insist on the “inhibition of the mother tongue” in teaching this language. H. Champion holds that the mother tongue may be used in the learning stage, but never in the practice stage. He also remarks, “But where he is satisfied that he is unable to explain the meaning of a new language form by the method of direct illustration or by verbal explanation in English he should not hesitate to use the mother tongue”. Thompson & Wyatt said that “the teacher should make the best use of the pupils knowledge and study of the vernacular”. A severe training in the use of the mother tongue is not rival, but a necessary preliminary to training in the use of English .

 Let us carefully consider how the mother tongue can be used in teaching English. It can assist the teaching of English directly and indirectly.

Precursors of Romantic Poetry: James Thomson, William Collins, Thomas Gray, William Cowper



With the publication of Lyrical Ballads in 1798, literally the Romantic Movement started in England. However, the simplicity of diction, love of nature, attachment to human emotions, traits of super naturalism which are the basic features of Coleridge and Wordsworth’s poetry, can have its stress another fifty years back. In the poetry of James Thomson, William Collins, Thomas Grey, William Cowper etc. we have the fervent of early romantics. Let us discuss them under the following heads.


Memorable Lines From "The Essays" by Francis Bacon


       
OF TRUTH

“Certainly, it is heaven upon earth, to
have a man's mind move in charity, rest in providence, and turn upon the poles
of truth.”

“To pass from theological, and philosophical truth, to the truth of civil
business; it will be acknowledged, even by those that practise it not, that
clear, and round dealing, is the honor of man's nature; and that mixture of
falsehoods, is like alloy in coin of gold and silver, which may make the metal
work the better, but it embaseth it.”

Critical Analysis of Bacon's "Of Discourse"


 " A good continued speech, without a good speech of interlocution, shows slowness: and a good reply or second speech, without a good settled speech, showeth shallowness and weakness."-Of Discourse

 There can be no doubt about Bacon’s greatness as an essayist or a prose artist. The essay Of Discourse clearly demonstrates Bacon’s powers and talents. Of Discourse is the second group of Bacon’s Essays that describe man in his intellectual and moral relations with others. Of Discourse is an essay on perfect oratory. Bacon has given a combative study between the traits and characteristics, virtues and vices etc of different modes of discourse.

MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS ANSWERS FROM HISTORY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE


1.     To which centuries do Robert Greene and Graham Greene belong?


Ans. Robert Greene belongs to the second half of the sixteenth century (1558-1592).
          And Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) belongs to the earlier twentieth century.

2.     Can you name the authors of Hudibras and Erewhon?

Ans. Hudibras was written by Samuel Bulter (1612-80) and Erewhon was written by another Samuel Butlar (1835-1902).Read More A to Z (Objective Questions)

3.     Name two greatest elegies in English along with the names of the poet?

Ans. Lycidas and In Memoriam are two greatest elegies in English literature. The former was written by John Milton and the later by Alfred Tennyson.

4.     Who are the author of Pamela and Pride and Prejudice? Which of these two is epistolary novel?

Ans. Pamela, a novel published under the authorship of Richards and Pride and Prejudice was written by Jane Austen.
          Pamela is the epistolary novel.

Andrew Undershaft’s Religion of Money and Gun Powder (Major Barbara) is George Bernard Shaw's Own Reflection of Socialism


In an altercation in the 2nd act of Major Barbara  Andrew Undershaft explains his philosophy thus:
 
Undershaft: Only that there are two things necessary to salvation.
Cusins: Ah, the church catechism……………
U: The two things are
C: Baptism and
U: No. Money and gunpowder.
C: Excuse me: is there any place in your religion for honour, justice, truth, love, mercy and so forth?
U: Yes: They are the graces and luxuries of a rich, strong and safe life.

This is the trumpeted ‘Gospel’ of Andrew Undershaft, often taken to be Shavian mouth piece in the play. In the ‘Preface’ to Major Barbara, Shaw explains in details this religion of money and gunpowder and hails Andrew Undershaft as a ‘Saint’. Under the section entitled ‘the Gospel of St. Andrew Undershaft’, Shaw writes:

“In the millionaire Undershaft, I have represented a man who has becomes intellectually and spiritually as well as practically conscious of the irresistible natural truth ……………… that our first duty, to which every other consideration should be sacrifice – is not to be poor”.

Short Questions From William Somerset Maugham's ‘The Lotus Eater’


 Q what is the Greek mythological story associated with the title The Lotus Eater’?

Ans: In Greek mythology, Odyssey IX, 84.  the Lotophagi ("lotus-eaters") were a race of people on an island dominated by lotus plants. The lotus flowers were the primary foodstuff of the island and it caused the people to sleep in peaceful apathy. When Odysseus and his men landed on the island of the lotus-eaters, they began doing as the natives did, eating the lotus flowers. This caused them to sleep and stop caring about ever going home. Finally, Odysseus managed to rescue himself from the apathy and set sail.
                                                                       
Q.What is the theme of William Somerset Maugham's ‘The Lotus Eater’?

Ans: Somerset Maugham’s The Lotus Eater  is set in 1913 and is of a man Thomas Wilson who comes to the island of Capri in Italy for a holiday. He is so enchanted with the place he gives up his job at London and decides to live the rest of his life without any cares in Capri.like a mythical lotus eater he settles a life of oblivion.

Critical Commentary on The Invocation in "Paradise Lost" Book-I


It is the epic convention to begin the poem with an invocation to the divine spirit to aid the poet in his great motivation of writing Poetry.Read More Poetry Homer thus begins his Iliad:

          ‘Achilles wrath, to Greece the direful spring 

          Of Woes unnumbered, Heavenly Goddess sing!’

 In Odyssey the Muse is again addressed to depict or to sing the wandering of Odysseus. Virgil too begins his Aeneid with the words: “Arms and the man I sing….”. Such epical canon is also employed by Milton too in his Paradise Lost where the first 26 lines constitute the part of invocation in which a pious address is made to the Muse and states his theme of the Poem.

Qualities of A Tragic Hero in Tragic Drama : Aristotelian Model from Poetics


Aristotle defined tragedy, as an imitation of action which is exalted and ‘serious’, evoking the twin emotions of ‘pity and fear’ of which there is a ‘Cathersis’ that is affected at the end. Read More Drama While defining tragedy thus in his treatise on the art of poetry named poetics, Aristotle realized that the tragic action requires a central agent to be carried out. This agent or the conveyor of the tragic action is the tragic hero. (In this context it should be mentioned that in poetics which deals with the art of poetry, by the word ‘Poetry’ Aristotle meant imaginative literature as a whole.)

Analysis of J. M. Synge’s "Riders to the Sea" as a One Act Tragedy


Herman Ould defines one act play as, “it may be neat, compact and rigid; but it may also be wayward, expansive and flexible. So long as it does not conflict with the fundamental principles of drama, it may venture into a hundred different directions and exploit almost as many themes as the ingenuity and inventiveness of the author can suggest”. Such rules are never fixed and may change its degree of intensity. Sometimes the setting or impression or character does play vital roles in one act play. For example, W.W. Jacob’s “The Monkey’s Paw” or Galsworthy’s “The Little Man” or J. M. Synge’s “Riders To the Sea” are characteristically so different yet great one act plays. Let’s focus our discussions on J. M. Synge’s “Riders To the Sea” as a one act play and discuss its natural setting, plot construction, characterization and overall impressions on life. 



Main Features of Old English Language


Old English, a variant of West Germanic, was spoken by Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. In Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), completed in A.D. 731, the Northumbrian cleric Bede reported that the Germanic settlers of Anglo-Saxon England came from "three very powerful Germanic tribes, the Saxons, the Angles and the Jutes." According to tradition, the Jutes were the first to arrive, in 449. Settling in Britain, the invaders drove the indigenous Celtic-speaking peoples, notably the Britons, to the north and west. As time went on, Old English evolved further from the original Continental form, and regional dialects developed.

Analysis of JOHN KEATS' "Ode to a Nightingale" : A Commentary on Art and Life


Keatsian Romanticism stresses strong emotion and the individual imagination as the ultimate critical and moral authority. His ‘Ode to a Nightingale’ is one of the finest achievements of such motifs. It is a ‘richly meditative ode’ as Prof Hereford calls it. The whole poem is built on the “thought of the contrast between the Joy, beauty and apparent permanence of the bird song and the sorrow and transience of beauty and joy in human life”. He had heard the “still sad music of humanity”. Read More Romantic Period The song fills him with a desire to escape from the hard reality of life into the world of love and beauty, into the world of visions and passions, into the world of the blessed. The nightingale’s song in the poem symbolizes the beauty of nature and art.

Charles Lamb's Prose Style in Reference to His "Essays of Elia"


Charles Lamb occupies a unique place in the history of the English prose by virtue of his unique style. Though critics have more or less been unanimous in labeling Lamb’s style as ‘imitative’ of the Elizabethan prose writer like Browne, Burton, Fuller, it is not his imitativeness that strikes the modern readers, but his ability to stamp upon the old Elizabethan style with his mark of personality that lends a pleasing quietness to his style with versatility and insight, with humour and spontaneity. Read More Essay No doubt, there are many points in which Lamb imitates the Elizabethan writer – for example, in his use of words in the obsolete or Elizabethan senses, his fondness for alliteration, his use of compound words, his formation of adjectives from the proper names, his frequent use of Latinism. However, he is unique by the virtue of his telling stories bearing his personality as forever sweet memories, the quality as one of “Elia's” distinctive hallmarks, along with his fondness for the obscure and other idiosyncrasies.

Syllabus for SSC Exam For English Teacher Recruitment: Pass Category & Hons/P.G.Category( West Bengal, India)




New Pattern of SSC Exam Consist of One/Two Paper/s:


Pass Category:(for classes VI to VIII) only TET( Paper II)
H/ PG Category:(for classes VI to VIII)TET & Subject( Paper I)
H/ PG Category:(for classes IX to XII) only Subject( Paper I)
Paper II

TET( Paper II) for Pass Category Or TET Paper For Qualifying to Paper I (Subject Paper) H/ PG Category:(for classes VI to VIII)TET & Subject( Paper I)

‘Aesthetic Autobiography’ -- Satisfactory Description of the Genre of James Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young"


A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical novel about the education of a young Irishman, Stephen Daedalus, whose background has much in common with Joyce’s. However, in determining the genre of A Portrait readers and critics both face a lengthy debate. In terms of its critical reception A Portrait has had its share of detractors and its admirers. As far as its autobiographical elements are concerned A Portrait can be seen both as a ‘Bildungsroman’ which describes the youthful development of the central character and as ‘aesthetic autobiography’ or ‘kunstlerroman’. We will now carryout our discussions on Joyce’s portrayal of Stephen and see how he keeps varying his distance from Stephen but never does so drastically.

Difference Between Shakespeare’s Romantic Comedy and Comedy of Manner


The essence of a Romantic comedy especially the Shakespearean kind lies primarily in the explorations of the depths of the lover’s hearts, their emotions, their feelings, their joyous outbursts and their momentary agonies. The way Shakespeare sounded the depths of passion in Viola and Olivia, in Hermia and Lysander, in Rosalind and Orlando, shows that the purpose of the Romantic Comedies is to explore in depth love, a deep attribute of the heart, as a value guiding human lives. This fathoming the depth of cordial emotions is absent in a comedy of manners. In a comedy of manners love is a portrayal, but the purpose of the playwright is not to try and analyze the guiding spirit of this steadfast passion called love in the form of intrigues, just as a game of the two sexes presented only on the superficial social plane. Millamant and Mirabell are not Violas and Rosalinds; the former take love as an intrigue, the latter are deeply swayed by it.

Short Questions From The Victorian Age (1830-90)


Historical &  Literary events 

1833 – Oxford Movement started
1848 – R B founded
1850 – In Memoriam by Tennyson
1859 – Idylls of The King by Tennyson
1855 – Men and Women by Browning
1842 – Dramatic lyrics by Browning
1847-48 – Vanity Fair - Thackeray
1859 – On The Origin of The species – Charles Darwin
1879 – A Doll’s house – Ibsen
1865,1888 – Essays in Criticism  -M. Arnold

Rulers

1831-1837  William IV
1837-1901  Queen Victoria


Authors

1795-1818 Thomas Carlyle
1809-1892 Alfred Tennyson
1812-1889 Robert Browning
1812-1870 Charles Dickens
1819-1880 George Eliot
1822-1888 Matthew Arnold
1828-1882 D. G. Rossetti
1840-1928 Thomas Hardy

  • Who was Christina Rossetti’s brother? To which movement did he belong?
Ans. Dante Gabriel Rossetti is the brother of Christina Rossetti.
    He belonged to the pre-Raphaelite movement.   
  • Name the period, which starts in 1837 and ends in 1901?
Ans. The period, which starts in 1837 and ends in 1901 is the Victorian period.
  •   Who were Elia and Boz?
Ans. Elia is the pen name of Charles Lamb and Boz is of Charles Dickens.

  •     What important events occurred in the 1840s in England?

Ans. Chimney Sweep act was actuated in 1840 in England.
  •     Name two novels by Meredith (1828-1909)?

Ans. The Ordeal of Richard Feveral (1859) and The Egoist (1879) are the two novels by Meredith.
  •     Name two books published in 1859-

Ans. Darwin’s Origin of Species and Meredith’s The Ordeal of Richard Feverel (Novel) were published in 1859.
  •     Mention two Victorian essayists dealing with social and moral themes.

Ans. Thomas Carlyle is by far the richest & profoundest. His essays are critical, biographical, historical,  social and political.

    T. B. Macaulay (Edinburgh Review), John Ruskin Matthew Arnold, Walter Pater are other great   artists.
  •     What is Oxford movement? Who was the leader of the movement?

Ans. The Oxford movement was essentially a religious movement started to reform the English church,   the clergy and theology. Keble’s sermons and poems started the reformatory movement. However, its   greatest champion was Henry Newman.
  •     Name an autobiographical novel of Charles Dickens.

Ans. David Copperfield (1849).
  •     Who is the author of ‘Vanity Fair’?
Ans. Thackeray (1811-63): publication 1847.
  •     In which town was Thackeray born? (1811-63)
Ans. Calcutta (1811).
  •     Name two Pre-Raphaelite poets.
Ans. In 1848 D.G.Rossetti along with the English artists Hunt, Ford Maddox Brown and the painter        Millais formed the pre-Raphaelite brotherhood to replace the academic style of painting by a return of    simplicity, truthful and the spirit of devotion and these came to be attributes of the Italian artists and       painters before the time of Raphael (1483-1520).
  •     Name the poem in which Mrs. Barrett Browning expressed her ardent love for her husband?
Ans. Sonnets From The Portuguese by Mrs. Browning records her ardent love for her husband, Robert Browning. The sonnet sequence was published in 1847, a year’s later of her marriage.
  •     Name the major work by Carlyle other than Sartor Resartus.
Ans. Caryle’s historical work The French Revolution (1837) contains a perfect pen portrait of the time     and struggle. Among his translation works, Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship is popular.Farther his essays on Scott and Burns are critically appraised.
  •     What is the source of Keats’ poem Lamia?
Ans. Keats’ Lamia (1819) is an allegorical poem .The story line is taken from Burton’s The Anatomy of   Melancholy depicting a beautiful enchanter. Here is Keatsian pictorial richness but the allegory is quite   confused. It is also a nature of a fable as Dryden uses and the heroic couplet is mastery here.
  •     Who succeeded Wordsworth as poet laureate?
Ans. Alfred Tennyson (1850-1892).
  •     Which sovereign of England ruled the country for more than sixty years?
Ans. The reign of Queen Victoria (1830-1990), commonly known as Victorian age produced intellectual  horizons, noble Endeavour and bright aspiration in England. The age is recognized for its miscellaneous activities.

  •    What is an epistolary novel? Give two examples.
Ans. The word ‘epistle’ means letters. Thus, the epistolary novel is the novel of which the plot develops  through the medium of letters written by the various characters. These letters express their thought and views. Hardly, in this novel any face to face dialogue.

    Richardson wrote Pamela and Clarisa Harlowe in this style.
  •     Name the epoch-making book written by Charles Darwin and give the year of its publication.
Ans. On the Origin of Species (1859) is the epoch-making work by Charles Darwin. It is the discussion   on the theory of evolution and foothold of modern biological science.
  •     In which year was the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood formed? Name at least two members of the   group?
Ans. A group of painter-poets led by D.G.Rossetti founded the Pre Raphaelite School of poetry. Other  poets of this school were Christina Rossetti, Swinburne, and William Morris. They wrote highly sensuous, pictorial and symbolical poems, which could be painted with equal effort and effect.
  •     When did the Oxford movement take place? Name a leader of the movement?
Ans. Despite the scientific progress in Victorian period, it is seen the revival of the old Roman Catholic    religion. The Oxford movement represents this revival. The leaders of this movement attack Puritanism  and the Church of England. Notable leaders are Newman, Keble, and Morris etc. This movement is also known as Tractarianism.
  •     At least mention three literary movements in the Victorian period?
Ans. The Victorian period is rich in literary outputs. The three movements – Oxford movement, Aesthetic movement and Pre Raphaelite movement affected the literature of this period a great deal.
                       
Objectives
The Oxford movement – the revival of Roman Catholicism.
    (Leaders – Henry John Newman)
Aesthetic movement – glorification of art and artistic values in prose and criticism.
    (Leaders – Walter Horatio Pater, Ruskin & Oscar Wilde)
Pre-Raphaelite movement – glorification of art and artistic values in poetry.
    (Leaders – D.G. Rossetti, Morris, Swinburne)

  •     What do you mean by PRB?
Ans. The initial PRB stands for pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. At first the brotherhood exhibited together  anonymously, signing all their paintings with the monogram P.R.B. when their identity and youth were    discovered in 1850, their works were harshly criticized for its disregard of academic ideals of beauty but also for its apparent irreverence in treating religious themes with an uncompromising realism.     Nevertheless, the leading art critic John Ruskin defended them and their art.
  •     Name a novel written by Charles Dickens in the background of the French Revolution.
In addition, name an industrial novel written by the same author.

Ans. Dickens’ A Tale of Two cities is written in the background of French Revolution. His Hard Times is an idustrial novel depicting mechanical, insipid and materialistic society.
  •     Give a name of Pre-Raphaelite magazine.
Ans. The Germ, a periodical edited by W.M.Rossetti of which the first issue appeared on Jan 1.1850.     The Germ was the representative of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood but survived only four issues, the    last appearing on April 30, 1850. The last two issues of the journal were renamed Art and Poetry.         The Germ published the poems of the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood and is believed to have inspired       William Morris’s Oxford and Cambridge Magazine (1856), which continued the Pre Raphaelite movements.
  •     What is the source of Fra lippo Lippi or Andrea del Satro.
Ans. These two poems by Robert Browning are based on the actual artists of Italy, Filippo di Tomasso   Lippi (1406-1469) and Andrea del Satro. Browning adopted his characters from Giorgeo Vasari’s book   The Lives of The Most excellent Italian Architects, Paintero and Sculptors.

. Novels (Dickens)            Theme
Oliver Twist        Boarding School
Nicholas Nickleby        Work houses
Hard Times                New manufacturing system
Black House                Court of Chancery
A Tale of two cities        War
  •     What is the full name of Oscar Wilde? Give any name of his novel.

Ans. The full name of Oscar Wilde is Oscar Fingal O’ Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854-1900). This Irish born  author wrote a celebrated novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891). 


Ardhendu De  

Significance of Shelter Scene in George Barnard Shaw's "Major Barbara"


   The Salvation Army is used throughout the drama, Major Barbara, not only as contemporary touchstones that help establish setting, but also as a way of revealing the George Bernard Shaw’s interests, emotions, and personalities. Chief among these is the Shavian philosophy which reflects Shaw’s design landscape of society, and also showcases the divide between religion and money. Read More George Bernard Shaw His reaction to them is respectful and even political—but he does not really burden us the theory without explanation. The meaning of the classic ‘Shelter Scene’ which takes place in the ‘Salvation Army Shelter’, is our emotional dilemmas, the mismatched romance of reality and false beliefs on money and religious practices.

Scandinavian Influence upon the English Language


Introduction:

Aside from Greek, Latin and French, only Scandinavian, the language of the people of whom the Anglo Saxons called ‘Danes’ has made a really substantial contribution to the  English  vocabulary. Read More Philology The Scandinavian (Scandinavia, today’s Norway, Sweden and Denmark: Scandinavian invaders are known as Vikings; This Viking Age, which took place roughly from the 8th to the 11th centuries when Norse seafarers and settlers from what is now Scandinavia (Norway, Denmark, and Sweden) came to England.) colonization of the British Isles had a considerable effect on the English language and vocabulary, as well as culture. The Scandinavians, originating from Denmark, Norway and Sweden, were once neighbours of the Anglo-Saxons and shared the same ancestors, thus being closely related to them in language and culture. This meant that the Scandinavian languages and Old English were mutually intelligible to a certain extent. Read More PhilologyThis made it easy for the Scandinavians to borrow words from Old English, and vice versa. The similarity between old  English and the language of the Scandinavian invaders makes it at times very difficult to decide whether a given word in Modern English is a native or a borrowed word. Read More Philology 

Straight to the Point:

The Scandinavian influence upon the English language is profound. It is estimated that about 45% of the commoner words and 25% of the general lexis in the present day English lexicon are a result of the language contact between Old English and Old Norse during the period of Scandinavian invasions and settlement in the eighth and ninth centuries.Read More Philology

Enormous similarity is found between these two languages in nouns like ‘man’, ‘wife’, ‘father’, ‘folk’, ‘mother’, ‘house’, ‘life’, ‘winter’, ‘summer’; verbs like ‘will’, ‘can’, ‘meet’, ‘come’, ‘bring’, ‘hear’, ‘see’, ‘think’, ‘smile’, ‘ride’, ‘spin’; and adjectives and adverbs like ‘full’, ‘wise’, ‘better’, ‘best’, ‘mine’, ‘over’ and ‘under’. In addition, very interesting to note that when we work with Scandinavian loan words, the word ‘loan’ itself seems to declare its descent from the Scandinavian.

Reviving Old Words and Adds Meanings: 

Scandinavian influence gave a fresh lease of life to obsolete native words. For instance, the preposition ‘till’ is found only once or twice in Old English texts belonging to the pre Scandinavian Period, but after that, it becomes common in Old English. Read More Philology
         
Further, some native words lost their original meaning the moment they encountered their Scandinavian counterpart. Read More Philology For example, the word ‘dream’ originally meaning joy changes its meaning into ‘an experience of viewing images in sleep’, the meaning is derived from Scandinavian sources. Similarly, ‘bread’ changes its meaning from ‘fragment’ to ‘an item of food’.

Place Names: 

There exist a large number of places that bear Scandinavian names. More than 600 places in English have names ending in - by which is a clear evidence of Scandinavian influence. Numerous examples can be cited: Grimsby, Whit by, Derby, Rugby etc. (the Danish word –‘by’ means town or farm) Names like Althorp, Bishopsthorpe, Linthrope contain the Scandinavian word ‘thorp’ which means village. Read More Philology  Similarly we have Applethwaite, Braithwaite, Langthwaite, thwaite meaning an isolated piece of land’ while Brimtoft, Eastoft, and Nortoft ending in ‘toft ’meaning a piece of ground. Such examples can easily be multiplied.  

Loanwords:

 Old Norse contributed a substantial number of loanwords to English. Many everyday words like "sky," "egg," "knife," "window," and "husband" have their origins in Old Norse. These loanwords enriched the English vocabulary and are still in use today. Read More Philology 

In the earlier period of borrowing, the number of Scandinavian words that appear in Old  English is small due to the hostile relations of the invaders with the  English people. Gradually, with the case of tension, we find a number of words relating to law or social and administrative system entering in the English language. Read More Philology  The ‘law’ itself is of Scandinavian origin. The words like nioing (criminal), mall (action of law), wapentake (an administrative district), husting (assembly), stefnan (summon) etc sojourned a while only to be replaced by French words after the Norman Conquest.

With the proper settling down of the Scandinavians in England, Scandinavian words entered the  English language in large numbers. Read More Philology But unlike the case of Latin, where borrowings were usually learned, the Scandinavian borrowings were in the realm of daily give-and-take transactions.

Here is a specimen of common words in  English that owe their origin to the language of the Scandinavians: bank, birth, bull, dirt, egg, gap, kid, link, race, skirt, sister, window, low, meek, rotten, shy, tight, weak, bait, crawl, dig, gape, kindle, lift, screech, thrust, they, their, then, aloft, athwart and many more. Or like
Nouns: sky, egg, law, leg, knife, window, die, skin
Verbs: call, take, give, die, get, eat
Adjectives: loose, ugly, happy, glad
Pronouns: they, their, them
Prepositions: from, to, till
Conjunctions: though, both
Adverbs: aye, ill

Grammar and Syntax: 

In the case of grammar, many of the pronominal forms like ‘they’, ‘them’, ‘their’ etc are of the Scandinavian origin. The use of the pronouns "they," "their," and "them" instead of the Old English pronouns "hi," "hira," and "him" is due to Scandinavian influence. The use of ‘shall’ ,’will’ , prepositional use of ‘to’ ‘fro’, use of relative clause with out any pronoun are due to Scandinavian influence. Old Norse had a significant impact on word order in English sentences. For example, the placement of adjectives before nouns (e.g., "sky-blue" or "dead-end") is thought to have been influenced by Norse.

Idioms and Phrases, Pronunciation & Dialects:

 Some idiomatic expressions and phrases in English have their roots in Norse culture and language. For instance, "take the bull by the horns" is thought to have originated from Norse bullfighting. The pronunciation was also influenced by Old Norse. Read More PhilologyFor instance, the "sk" sound in words like "sky" and "skirt" reflects Old Norse influence. Again, in areas of England where Norse settlement was prominent, such as the Danelaw region, the Scandinavian influence on dialects and accents is still noticeable today.

Conclusion: 

It's important to note that this linguistic influence was not a one-way street. As the Vikings settled in England, they also adopted elements of the Old English language and culture, leading to a fusion of the two languages over time.Read More Philology

The impact of Scandinavian languages on English is a testament to the dynamic nature of language and how it evolves through contact with other cultures. Today, English is a rich and diverse language that has been shaped by a wide range of influences, including the Scandinavian legacy from the Viking Age. Even though the Scandinavian loans abound in  English this is not fair to say that the magnitude of loans affected the native style of  English. Read More Philology It is worthwhile to point out that the very Englishness of English remains unaltered even at the face of abundance of Scandinavian loans in  English.


References

History of the English language : Lounsbury, Thomas R., 1838-1915 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/historyofenglish00loun_0

Review: A History of English Literature * Alexander Michael: A History of English Literature. (2002, July 1). Forum for Modern Language Studies, 38(3), 352–352. https://doi.org/10.1093/fmls/38.3.352

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