AD's English Literature

"Discussion in class, which means letting twenty young blockheads and two cocky neurotics discuss something that neither their teacher nor they know." Vladimir Nabokov  (1899 - 1977) Russian-born U.S. novelist, poet, and critic. Maximizing Success in Distance Learning: Key Strategies and Tips Distance learning  offers a flexible approach to education, allowing students to engage with materials at their own pace and convenience. Unlike traditional classrooms where a lecturer delivers content, distance learning relies on structured study materials known as Selected Topic Texts. Here, the focus shifts from passive listening to active engagement, as students read, process, and apply information independently. To make the most out of distance learning, here are some practical strategies to follow: Thoroughly Review the Distance Learning Guide : Begin by carefully reading your Distance Learning Guide. This is often your first assignment and serves as a roadmap ...

A Set of 26 Objective Questions & Answers UGC NET ENGLISH QUESTION BANK A. ‘Amor Vincit Omnia’ in Chaucer’s The Prologue means Love conquers all: “It was almoost a spanne brood, I trowe; For, hardily, she was nat undergrowe. Ful fetis was hir cloke, as I was war; Of smal coral aboute hir arm she bar A paire of bedes, gauded al with greene, And theron heeng a brooch of gold ful sheene, On which ther was first writen a crowned A, And after, Amor vincit omnia.” B. The renaissance started in Italy and later came into England via France. (European history from 1440- 1540)

" Digital India is an initiative by the Government of India to ensure that Government services are made available to citizens electronically by improving online infrastructure and by increasing Internet connectivity. ” –Wikipedia The Digital India Initiative opens up new opportunities in education but also highlights challenges, particularly in teaching English. For teachers, incorporating technology effectively depends on a strong understanding of both their students' backgrounds and the available tools. This integration requires not only improved access to technology but also teacher training and support to navigate these changes. Here’s how we can address this complex environment while fostering a digital culture in English language education: 1. Understand Students’ Backgrounds: Students come from diverse backgrounds with varying levels of access to technology, especially in rural and remote areas. Here are key questions to consider: Place of Birth & Home Situation : ...

A Set of 26 Objective Questions & Answers UGC NET ENGLISH QUESTION BANK                                                                  A.   Match the items in the List – I with items in List – II according to the code given below: List – I (years) List – II (incidents) i   1066 1. Henry’s son Edward defeated the rebel factions and restored his father to power. ii 1215 2. William Duke of Normandy invaded in 1066 and defeated Harold in the famous battle of Hastings. Iii 1264 3. The Magna Carta agreement signed. Iv. 1267 4. The outbreak of the second Barons war. Codes: i ii iii ...

"So let us love, dear Love, like as we ought, Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught." Edmund Spenser 1552? - 1599 English poet. Amoretti T he tradition of writing a sequence of many sonnets, based also on the Petrarchan model, was initiated in English by Sir Philip Sidney in Astrophel and Stella 1580, a prolonged argument by the speaker, Astrophel, aimed at overcoming his mistress's indifference and chastity. Other important sequence of the period, Amoretti 1595 by English writer Edmund Spenser, employs similar arguments, though it ends with the possibility that the lovers will unite and eventually marry. Spenser’s Sonnet 57 and Sonnet 67 is an argument by the speaker aimed at overcoming his mistress's indifference and chastity. But both the sonnets are differently modeled. While Sonnet No. 57 uses war metaphor, Sonnet No. 67 uses the hunting one. Spenser’s Sonnet 57 continues the ongoing struggle the speaker suffers in dealing with an unresponsive beloved. ...

‘T h o u art indeed Just, Lord’ is one of the most widely known sonnets of Gerard Manley Hopkins . It shows, on the one hand, the deep faith of the poet, and holds, on the other, some of his pleadings and complaints. It is also rich in autobiographical elements. It further shows the technical skill of Hopkins.

  C r i t i c s   (i.e. Prof. L Abercrombie) have divided the novels of  Thomas Hardy  into two forms: the dramatic and the epic. In a dramatic novel there are a number important characters and the action arises out of the conflict of these actions.    Epic   Novel  is the story of a single person. There is no sub-plot as in dramatic novel. The main interest centres round- the career of the hero or heroines. However, the entire action of the epic revolves round the life and fortune of the single heroic individual. It is the story of his rise and fall, of the vicissitudes that he faces in the course of his or her life. Conflict there is, but it does not arise out of the characters. It is rather an impersonal conflict between the dominant individual the one hand, Fate or environment, on the other. Thus the  Epic   Novels  in Hardy always create the impression of vast colossal forces ranged automated individual and pounding him to atom...

“ If we must die, let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursed lot. If we must die, 0 let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed In vain; then even the monsters we defy Shall be constrained to honour us though dead! 0 kinsmen1 We must meet the common foe! Though far outnumbered let us show us brave, And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow! What though before us lies the open grave? Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!  ” -  Claude McKay’s militant sonnet If We Must Die (1919) Harlem Renaissance , the burst of creativity among African American writers and artists in the 1920s and early 1930s that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. Variously known as the New Negro movement, the New Negro Renaissance, and the Negro Renaissance, the movement emerged toward the en...

Mulk Raj Anand ’s story,   The Lost Child  narrates how a little boy was lost in the crowd of a village fair. It tells us how on his way to the fair he was attracted by various things such as toys, sweetmeat, balloons and birds, butterflies and flowers. But what attracted him most was the roundabout. It made him forget his parents and everything else in the world. Thus he lagged far behind his parents and got lost in the crowd of the fair. Here, Anand  deals with the child psychology in a sensitive way without shying away from its reality. We too have grown up as an accepted part of our multicultural neighborhood in the world.    Anand ’s at his strongest when writing about the Child’s classic confrontational relationship with his world without parents. Young adult readers will be able to identify with  the lost child ’s struggle to live within his family’s ambit while trying to discover his own world outside. On the day of the...

M algudi Days fits neatly into R.K Narayan 's literary evolution. According to the author himself, each of his stories displays a greater simplicity of plot and language, even as they develop a greater complexity of meaning to exhibit the domain of India. By the time Narayan wrote Malgudi Days the crowded action of his early fantasies was replaced by introspections of Indianness     stripped to its essence and resonant with meaning. Engine Trouble by R.K Narayan is truly an Indian story of unlucky draw. The meaning is developed through the characters, especially the narrator, who may be Narayan's own unflattering self-portrait. Like Narayan , the narrator is a middle class man struggling to rise above his origins. Although the narrator wants to adapt to the dominant middle class culture, he remains profoundly attached to his own family sentiment. Narayan has a love for describing carnivals, fairs, and the expo. Story after story we find in his Mal...