AD's English Literature

I n a lively, witty and conversational style G. B. Shaw in his essay (a transcript of a radio talk and was recorded in 1927. The talk was broadcast over Manhattan's radio station WNEW)   ‘Spoken English and Broken English’ gives some instruction to a foreign student of the English Language in regard to speaking English when he travels in the British Commonwealth or in America or when he meets a native of those countries or it may be that he is himself a native but that he speaks in a provincial or cockney dialect of which he is a little ashamed, or which perhaps prevents him from obtaining some employment which is open to those only who speak in correct English. Read More Teaching English The essay   is divided into three sections. The first part rightly stresses that there is no single model of correct speech in English. Whether he is a foreigner or native, the first thing that he must remember is that there is no such thing as ideally correct English. Shaw discusses not...

"Part of the problem with Ireland is that everything is named after someone. In Dublin, there is a railway station called Sydney Parade, and for many years, I thought Sydney Parade was one of the leaders in the 1916 Rising." Joseph O'Connor  (1963 - ) Irish writer. Referring to the nationalist Easter Rising (Easter Rebellion) of 1916. The Secret World of the Irish Male ,  "The Write Stuff: Irish Writers and Writing" Though Irelandwas a part of the British Isles, like Wales and Scotland , the Irish people considered themselves as different and were contemptuous of British Suzerainty. Eventually, by the late 19th century the Irish had lost faith in political solutions to Ireland’s problems and turned to cultural nationalism instead. They revolted against British exploitation and ruthless suppression of Irish national aspirations, in spite of Irish representation in British parliament. The British overlords, domineering...

“ The cheapness of writing paper is, of course, the reason why women have succeeded as writers before they have succeeded in other professions” __ Virginia Woolf’s ‘Professions for Women’   Virginia Woolf’s ‘Professions for Women’ originally presented as a paper to the Women’s Service League dwells on Woolf’s own professional experiences of female sensibility . Although she is speaking primarily of her own experiences, she feels that women in all professions face the same kind of difficulties and those women starting new courses face greater obstacles than the rest. Here, Woolf shows how it is difficult for women to come out of the age-old-prejudices that prevail in the society and also within women themselves. In this essay, she explores the challenges faced by women in pursuing a professional career. While writing the review she discovers that if she were going to review books she has to fight with a certain phantom. Read More Essay Many of the actual barriers pr...

R obert Frost based the theme of The Road Not Taken on classical comedies of our ‘choices’ and conveys complex theories of life. The poem, Frost’s finest, depends for its appeal on the mistaken identities of two sets of twins both separated in their forestry ways. The comedy ends cynically with the reunion of both sets of twins, after a bewildering series of confusions - watchful waiting. In fact, Frost makes his poem more complex when it comes that making a choice is itself the dilemma. We can well remind the famous crossroad puzzle of the Cast Away and can redeem  The Road Not Taken as an autobiography of everyman. Like that of Tagore’s verse, ‘nadir e par kahe ccharea niswas, o parete sarba suhk amar biswas’( this side of the river says that the other side is more happy) It is a very simple looking poem with profound nuances and begins in delight and ends in wisdom. As there of course is some confusion about what Frost really meant. However, we would ...