Despite of Learning Mother Tongue Prioritized In the System of Education, English L2 Occupy the Most Important Place in the Learning System


“There are many who understand Greek and Latin, and yet are ignorant of their Mother Tongue.”
John Dryden (1631 - 1700)
English poet, playwright, and literary critic.
Sylvae (translation of Horace's Odes)

The system of learning English or any other foreign language after learning the mother tongue is justified or not is much debated.  The controversial subject needs to be cleared on the sequence of learning mother tongue and foreign language in more psychological analysis.  Although many century linguists strove to make their own mother dialects the basis for a standard language, attempts were also made to work out a general   tongue. Literature, however, languished in dominant language until the late   century, when signs of a marginalized language literary revival developed—in reaction to the dominant language, which had become rivaling, control over other languages.

Musical and Lyrical Elements in Rabindranath Tagore’s “Gitanjali” (Song Offerings)


Rabindranath Tagore once declared that his own country would best remember him for his songs, and indeed he is seen by an over whelming majority of his countryman not merely as a poet  but doubled with a singer. The essentially musical charter of the lyrics in Gitanjali was clearly indicated by the title which Tagore gave to the English version Songs Offerings. The pieces included in it were prose renderings of a selection of poems from the Bengali Gitanjali, Naividya, kheya, Gitimalya –all titles which reveal the song –like character of the poems. The accent in all these anthologies is as much on the music as on the poetry. As K.R.S Iyengar says; “the stillness is suddenly disturbed by a dance of rhythm; the ear is charmed and enraptured, there is a quick passage through the doors of sensibility and the chords reach the soul’s sanctuary at last.” This is evident even is the translation, though many feel that Tagore defies translation into English even when the attempt is made by the author himself. 

Rustic Characters of Thomas Hardy are the Son of Soils and Full of Life in "The Return of the Native" as if Descendants of Shakespeare’s Rustic Characters


 The peasants in the novels of Hardy may be regarded as the chorus. We meet these rustic characters in "The Return of the Native "(Fairway, Christian, Grandfer Cantle, and the rest), "Far from the Madding Crowd" (Joseph Poorgrass, Henry Fray, Billy Smalibury, Jan Coggan), and so on. They cannot be compared with the central figures in the drama, because they are placed in the story to provide a chorus. They always appear in a group, seldom separately. They are not full-length portraits. 

Moreover, they are drawn in a different convention. Here Hardy is in the straight tradition from Shakespeare. These rustic characters are the direct descendants of Bottom and Dogberry and the rustics who gather in response to Falstaff’s call to arms at the house of Justice Shallow, and are made up of a few strongly marked, deliberately caricatured personal idiosyncrasies. Rich fragments of rusticity, they are as entertaining as any of the classic comic characters of Fielding or Goldsmith. But, unlike theirs and like Shakespeare’s, they can also stir serious emotion. Mrs. Cuxsom’s account of a death has the same pathos and eloquence as Dame Quickly’s account of Falstaff’s death.


Response to the Military Heroism in G. B. Shaw’s “Arms and the Man”


Military Heroism regards a soldier as a superhuman being above the ordinary weaknesses, moved entirely by noble impulses Patriotism and self sacrifice, utter disregard of life, and strive for honour and honour only—these are the traits of Military Heroism. Military Heroism is the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in literary works such as great epics or poems. Survival in the Face of Mass Destruction of War is in fact the goal in being a soldier and that there is s no such unified political or national response to the Military Heroism.

Shaw thinks that this view is the view of home sweet home who have never been to the battle front. In reality, a soldier is a man like any other man. War is his profession. A true soldier is not anxious to fling away his life, but he adopts all means to save it. The hero Bluntschli climbs a waterpipe and enters a lady’s bed-room in order to save his life. He does no jump to the mouth of the cannon like Sergius who, he say, should be court-martialled for this act of tomfoolery.



A true hero is a coward at heart as much as any of us. Even Sergius who displays heroic bravado in the beginning ultimately exclaims—“Soldiering is the coward’s act of attacking mercilessly when you are strong and keeping out of harm ’s way when you are weak. That is the whole secret of successful fighting. Get your opponent at a disadvantage never, never fight on equal terms”.

However, we do read about people taking Military Heroism with being sure about water, food, and comfort. Since the war destroys real families, resources and homes, the soldiers of war are forced to come together and make a new kind of reality. Shaw’s ideas might seem fantastically unreal or cynically unnatural. But Shaw asserts that competent military authority will bear testimony to these unromantic facts. The so-called Military Heroism is the invention of civilians; it lives in imagination only.

Ardhendu De

The Teaching of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: How the Caesar and the Brutus of Shakespeare Differed from the Caesar and the Brutus of History?


  Introduction:

 Teachers of English should be on intimate terms with the masterpieces they are expected to teach. They ought to have a clear idea of the action of the play, and mental pictures of the various scenes and characters. They should be familiar with the fine lines; should be able to quote what is worthwhile; and should appreciate the diction, the wealth of allusion, and the various other literary qualities that combine to produce style. These things come through careful and loving study of a masterpiece and this is also true for the teaching of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. In fact, since its first production, Julius Caesar has enjoyed immense and enduring popularity. The play forms part of the repertoire of most Shakespearean stock companies. A notable production, with the actors in modern dress, was directed by Orson Welles for the Work Projects Administration (WPA) in 1937. There have been several motion picture productions of Julius Caesar as well as a number of television presentations. Teaching of such a classic really needs a scholastic approach from a teacher’s perspective.

Rasa School of Thought in Indian Poetics: Aphorism of Bharatamuni and Other Sages


 “From the conjunction of Vibhãvas, Anubhãvas and Vyabhicaribhãvas Rasa are produced.”- 
Bharatamuni’s Natyasastra

 The principle of Rasa is the very kernel of Indian Poetics. Rasa is the essence of literature. The outlines of the nature of poetry appeared in Bharatamuni’s Natyasastra. Bharata says, “From the conjunction of Vibhãvas, Anubhãvas and Vyabhicaribhãvas Rasa are produced.” Just as persons, mentally peaceful, while eating food mixed with various kinds of condiments taste and derive pleasure and the like, so also spectators with calm minds taste the Sthyibhãvas spiced with various kinds of emotions enacted and combined with verbal, physical and Sãttvika acting and derive pleasure. Bharata’s aphoristic statement “Vibhavanubhavayabhicarisamayogidrasanishpattih” has been discussed at length by good many scholars. Of these Bhattalollata, Srisankuta, Bhattanayaka and Abhinavagupta deserve special mention. They will be discussed separately in this short critical essay.


How Does Divine Human Form Relate To The Theme Of William Blake's "The Divine Image"?



William Blake was one of the greatest poets of the Romantic age and a protest against oppression which also becomes an aspect of Blake’s religious faith. His The Divine Image   glorifies the innocence of human being as in the grand design of God.


The poem The Divine Image   is from Songs of Innocence and is written in the ballad metre. It expresses Blake’s faith in man as being an embodiment of all the divine qualities. This being so, the poet feels that man must love his fellow-beings just as he loves God, Love for man alone, believed Blake  could bring man closer to God and create paradise on earth.

Critical Appreciation of Robert Frost’s Poem “Birches”


The poem ‘Birches’ was first published in the Atlantic Monthly in August 1915. In this poem we come across the poet’s desire to withdraw from the world as also his love of the earth as symbolized by the boy’s game of swinging birches.

Frost’s central subject is humanity. His poetry lives with particular aliveness because it expresses living people. Other poets have written about people. But Robert frost’s poems are of the people; they work, and they walk about, and converse, and tell their tales with the freedom of common speech. “Birches” is among Frost best-known piece and has acquired wide popularity. What places the poem on a distinctly high level of appeal is the true and broad humanity running throughout the poem. In the background of the swinging birches, the imaginary boy’s behaviour and utterances acquire a philosophical depth and wisdom. The central thought of this poem is that the poet dreams of becoming a swinger o birches once again in his life as he was during his boyhood. Since the poet is weary of considerations that his life involves, he wants to become a swinger of birches at least for the time being but it does not mean that he wanted to escape from his life on earth. It is not the feeling of escapism that forms the central thought of “Birches” but love for the earth. Although the poet may like to withdraw from the cares and anxieties of the life on the earth, he cannot entertain the idea of relinquishing the earth forever. Frost was no mystic and perhaps no poem is more expressive of his thought than Birches .Elizabeth Jennings has pointed out, ‘in Birches he declares “Earth the right place for love,” and goes on to describe his own preponderance for the immediate tangible world, and his ability to manage without too much consideration of transcendental things.
“Climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more.
But dipped its top and set me down again.”

The way in which the theme is rendered is dramatic. The sudden shifts in the imagery and the warmth of the humanly element in it give the poem a dramatic force and intensity. However the poem cannot be describe as a dramatic monologue, despite the dramatic the theme is treated here in elaborate canvas. “Birches” is one of those poems in which we find a sustained movement of sense, feeling and rhythm from beginning to end. Brower has rightly remarked about “Birches” and “The Census-Taker” ‘Frost offers a sure standard of achieved form in poetry of talk in an extended nature lyric Birch or in a country walker’s narrative like “The Census-Taker”.’ The evolution of feeling and reflection in these poems is carried forward unerringly through masterly variation of blank verse rhythm. Both poems start from vivid perceptions of natural or at least country things and both dramatize a person discovering new meanings or new puzzles in that situation.” The poem “Birches” begins in the tune of easy conversation.
“When I see birches bend to left and right
 Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.”

Some critics like Alvarez deny Frost the title of “nature poet” and would regard him as rural or country poet. Undoubtedly Robert Frost’s poetry has an agrarian bias to is the poetry of a countryman for the countryman. “He is a country poet, whose business is to live with nature rather than through it.” He wishes to carry us off to agrarian world from the choking modern city. He is essentially a poet of pastures and plains, mountains and rivers, woods and gardens, groves and bowers, fruits and flowers, seeds and birds. To him “Wood are lovely, dark and deep and Earth’s the right place for love:
“I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.
l’dlike to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more
But dipped its top and set me down again.”

Frost has a tendency to philosophize but is free from didacticism. It has been explained by Lewis in these words, “He is a serious moralist as well as a serious artist But his peculiar intimacy with nature prevents him from being openly didactic: He teaches, like nature, in parables: sometimes merely presenting a picture, a mood, a narrative, and leaving you to draw your own conclusions, never permitting himself more than the tender, humorous sort of comment we find at the end of ‘Birches’:
“ I’d likoe to get away from earth a while
And then come back to it and begin over.
may no fate wilfully misunderstand me
And half grand what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth’s the right place for love
I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.”

The language used is usually simple and clear. Some of its lines have epigrammatic force and terseness. The poem is remarkable for the poet’s mastery over blank verse too. The poem is written in a very simple and clear language and conversational style. Some of its line shaves epigrammatic force and terseness.

The poem consists of a series of beautiful pictures of nature and of man, and each sketch is hit off in a few happy touches, and is complete in itself. The swinging of the birches tossed by the ice-storms, and looked on at by a boy, in the early hours of the day, till
“the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells.
Shattering and avalanching ont he snow-crust-
Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away
You’d think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.”

makes a genuine appeal. It is a striking picture of nature and of man rendered in terms of prominent imagery, an imagery that combines both fact and fancy. The second picture in the poem is that of the trees with “their trunks arching in the woods”. The ruffled atmosphere of the swinging birches is compared here to -
“girls on hands and knees that throw their hair.
Before them over their heads to dry in the sun.”

There is a striking between the images, arching trees and the girls in disheveled hair, and each image renders the other more prominent. In the main the poem seems to be narrative or descriptive in intent. The philosophical statement at the end of the poem serves as finale to a series of picture which are significant for their shrewd turns.”

C.D. Lewis makes the following comment on its rhythm - the upward and downward movement of the rhythm fully reflects the going upto and coming down of the swinger of birches. But when the poet moralizes the rhythm becomes slow.”

About the imagery of the poem Prof. Saxena writes “The crystal ice becomes heaps of broken glass which is compared to the inner dome of heaven. The arched trees are transformed into girls on hands and knees - the girls who throw their hair before them over their heads to dry in the sun. The country boy ‘whose only play was what he found himself’, riding and subduing his father’s birches becomes the mature poet. One has just to quote a few lines to show the vividness and power of Frost’s imagery:
“Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust
Such heaps of broken glass away
You’d think the inner dome of heaven had fallen”

Frost does not see the country with the eyes of the carefree vagabond or the city stick romantic who finds it as charming and refreshing as a new mistress. He has for it rather the understanding, slightly quizzical look a man given the wife of him bosom.

It is no spirit of nature which sends Frost’s rain or wind; he neither sees in the natural world the pervading spirit Wordsworth saw.... the mountain is not a personality as it is for Wordsworth in the “Prelude” and in other poems” Frost did not idealize or glorify the objects of nature. He saw them as things with which and on which man acts in course of the daily work of gaining a livelihood. He rarely makes his lessen or his philosophy of nature as overt and obvious as Wordsworthian simplicity of style in his descriptions of Nature. In his poem Birches, we find Frost’s capacity for minute description and accurate description at their best and the opening lines of the poem are a characteristic example of the same. He gives here a smile, concrete description of the “habits” of birches and the changes wrought upon them by wind and ice storms. Young boys who swing on them.
“When I see briches bend to heft and right
Across the linesof straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.
But swinging does’t bend them down to stay.
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain They click upon themselves
As the breezae rises, and turned many-coloured
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells”

Frost’s accuracy of description is, accompanied by delicacy of feeling aid imagination.. In the words of Untermever, “Birches”, one of Robert Frost’s most widely quoted poems, beautifully illustrates the poet’s power, the power to blend observation and imagination. He begins in tone of easy conversation:
“When I see briches bend to left and right
Across the lines of starighter darker trees…”

and them, without warning or change of tone, the reader is arrested by a whimsical image, and the fact turns into a fancy. “I like to think some boy’s been swinging them. Fact and fancy play together throughout the poem. The crystal ice becomes heaps of broken glass. “You’d think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.” The arched trees are transformed into girls on hands and knees “That how their hair before them over their heads to dry in the sun.” The country boy, whose only play was what he found himself, “riding and subduing his father’s birches, becomes the mature poet who announces:
“Earth’s the right place for love;
I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.”

Though Frost is regarded preeminently as a poet of nature, man holds a more important place in his poetry than nature. Forst himself was conscious of the fact when he said, ‘I guess I’m not a nature poet have written two poems without a human being in them.” Contrasting Frost’s attitude towards nature with that of Wordsworth's Murion Montgomery has rightly pointed out, From the publication of "A Boy’s Will down" to the present time Frost has indicated a realization that man can serve important part of this Universe.

Ardhendu De

Better Understanding the English Classroom from Being a Student


 When students walk into classroom, they should feel that they have entered a place of and for learning; an English classroom specifically; classroom in particular. But the classroom is not only physical but also mental. Establish a clutter-free and organized room. Ensure that desks, tables and shelving are used, mainly, for one purpose. Exercise books, textbooks, novels, paper, pens, dictionaries and worksheets should have a specific place; preferably labeled. Class displays should be current and well presented. How is the English classroom different from others?


Nature of Acting and Theatrical Elements in Classical Greek Theatre



1. The Evolution of Theater Acting:

Theater encompasses various elements, such as actors, audience, text, costumes, scenery, lights, sound, and props, which collaboratively contribute to the production. This article delves into the roles of masks, costumes, and symbolic elements in classical Greek theatre, shedding light on their profound significance. Acting in classical theatre was highly stylized. Speeches were rendered in a declamatory manner. This was essentially because theatre was an open door affair, and the audience was quite large in number. The nature of the performance environment placed considerable task on the voice. According to Oscar G. Brockett, the Greeks “judged actors above all by the beauty of vocal tone and ability to adapt to manner of speaking to mood and character”.

 2. The Evolution of Theater: From Rituals to Theatrical Spectacles:

Euripides
(480?-406? bc)
In the realm of theater, the significance of voice projection led to a heightened focus on comprehensive voice training and exercises. However, due to the sheer size of the audiences, acting veered away from realism and leaned towards exaggeration. Realistic movements, gestures, and mannerisms often failed to reach the multitude of spectators. To combat this challenge, actors resorted to enhancing their bodies and height through padding, high-heeled shoes, and artificial hairstyles. This intriguing evolution of theater can be traced back to ancient myths, rituals, and ceremonial dances performed by masked dancers during fertility rites and other important life passages. The origins of theater can be found in early societies that enacted symbolic representations of life, death, and rebirth, crucial to the well-being of their village tribes. These performances incorporated elements such as imitation, costumes, masks, makeup, gesture, dance, music, and pantomime. Over time, these ceremonial practices were transformed into formalized dramatic festivals, spreading both westward from Greece and eastward from India.

3. Masks in Classical Greek Theatre:


Masks held a pivotal position in classical Greek theatre, primarily serving a symbolic purpose rather than aiming for realism. While masks conveyed subtle emotional nuances, their usage followed conventionalized patterns. Tragic masks instilled horror, intensifying the portrayal of tragic characters, while comic masks exaggerated the attributes of the characters they represented. The chorus masks symbolically embodied animals and birds. Additionally, masks were designed to enhance the actors' height, making them more visible to the audience. Furthermore, masks facilitated role changes and enabled male actors to portray female characters, as the presence of female actresses was prohibited on the Greek stage.

4. Costumes and Symbolism:


Aeschylus (525?-456 bc)
Costumes worn by actors in classical Greek theatre drew inspiration from modified contemporary Athenian fashion. Tragic actors donned beautiful garments, reflecting the aristocratic tendencies inherent in tragic performances. Conversely, during poignant moments, tragic characters wore torn dresses, visually conveying their anguish. These observations are evident from the statements made by actors in the works of Sophocles and Euripides. According to Oscar Brockett, both actors and the chorus would often wear a tunic (chiton), accompanied by either a short cloak (chlamys) or a long one (himation).

Apart from the masks and the costumes, tragic actors also wore high heeled thick booths called kothornoi and an exaggerated hair known asonkus. The purpose of these was to enhance the actors’ height for easy visibility.

Comic actors wore the dresses of the lowborn and these costumes were made funny by having them ill-fitted, too short and very tight. The essence was to emphasize comic nudity, as Brockett would say. Sexual attributes were equally emphasized through costumes. For example, male characters, excluding the chorus wore phalluses to emphasize the fertility aim of the dionysiac festival.

5. Symbolic Properties:


Symbolic properties played a crucial role in establishing the identities of both actors and the chorus. A king wielded a scepter, a warrior brandished a spear, a suppliant carried a branch, and a herald donned a wreath, among other examples. These symbolic props enriched the performances, providing visual cues to the characters' roles and statuses.
Euripides (480?-406? bc)

6. Significance and Functions of the Chorus in Classical Greek Theatre:

The chorus played a crucial role in classical Greek theatre, serving various functions and contributing to the overall dramatic experience. This article explores the significance of the chorus through organized bullet points:

6.1. Composition and Evolution:

The chorus consisted of Athenian men who stood on the stage, providing commentary on incidents and characters, as well as engaging in dancing and singing during interludes.
Originally, the chorus comprised fifty members, but over time, as more characters were introduced, the number was reduced, sometimes even dwindling to twelve.

However, in the 4th century B.C., the chorus began to lose its prominence, and in certain plays by Euripides, it became non-existent.

6.2. Functions of the Chorus in 5th Century B.C.:

6.2.1. Providing Ethical and Social Background:
In some plays, the chorus supplied the ethical and social context, exemplified in works like "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles and "The Oresteian Trilogy" by Aeschylus.
6.2.2.Assuming Character Roles:
The chorus occasionally played specific characters in the plays, offering advice, expressing opinions, and adding depth to the narrative.
6.2.3.Establishing Mood:
The chorus contributed to creating the desired mood of the performance, enhancing the overall atmosphere and emotional impact on the audience.
6.2.4.Rhythm and Pause:
Through their movements and interactions, the chorus helped establish rhythm and pauses in the performance, allowing the audience time for reflection and contemplation.
6.2.5.Representing the Audience:
The chorus acted as the ideal spectators, reacting to the play in a manner that mirrored how the audience would have responded. Their responses amplified the audience's engagement and connection to the production.
6.2.6.Enriching Performances with Songs and Dances:
Songs and dances performed by the chorus added vibrant elements to the theatrical experience, heightening the dramatic effect and captivating the audience.

6.3. Importance of Chorus Training:

Greek theatre placed great emphasis on dance, and the quality of the chorus's performance was of utmost importance.
Playwrights were assigned choruses eleven months before the actual performance, allowing ample time for training.
Chorus training was rigorous and time-consuming, reflecting the Greeks' dedication to ensuring exceptional dance performances.

7. Conventions of Classical Greek Theatre

Classical Greek theatre adhered to several conventions that shaped its practice and performances. Here are the key conventions presented in an organized manner:

7.1. Exclusion of Women from the Stage:

Due to the sacred nature of the Dionysian festival, women were prohibited from appearing on the Greek stage.
Consequently, roles originally intended for female characters were played by young men, who disguised themselves by wearing masks and feminine attire.
7.2. Use of Offstage Violence:

Violent actions such as killings, stabbings, and deaths occurred offstage.
The results of these violent acts were revealed to the audience on stage using a device called the ekkyklema, which showcased the aftermath of the violent events.
7.3. Sources of Subject Matter:
The subject matter of plays was drawn from historical events and popular myths.
This selection allowed plays to focus on critical moments rather than starting from the beginning, employing a narrative technique known as the late point of attack.
7.4. Limitation on Number of Actors:
Only three actors were permitted to perform on stage simultaneously.
These actors played multiple roles, showcasing their versatility and skill in portraying various characters.
7.5. Masked Performances:
Both actors and the chorus wore masks throughout the performances.
Masks served multiple purposes, including differentiating characters, amplifying expressions, and enhancing visibility for the audience.

8. Theatre-going Culture in Classical Greek Period

Theatre-going during the classical Greek period was not only a matter of civic obligation but also a source of great enthusiasm for the Athenian citizens. The City Dionysia festival, the most significant Athenian celebration, brought about public holidays for the entire six-day duration of the festival. Every healthy citizen, regardless of gender or status, was expected to attend the theatre.

Theatre-goers would arrive early in the morning, eager to secure the best seats. Fully prepared for the day, they would bring food and wine to sustain themselves throughout the performances. The absence of modern distractions like cinema halls, magazines, or videos allowed the theatre to hold a prominent place in their attention and leisure time.

Audience members expressed their opinions openly and spontaneously, openly critiquing poor performances with catcalls and boos, while lavishing applause upon exceptional actors. The Athenian audience held their gods in high regard, leading them to vehemently reject playwrights, such as Euripides, who portrayed the gods in an unfavorable light. Playwrights were seen as religious ministers, molding the national mind and character through their works.

Recognizing the sacred role of theatre, the city-state provided financial support for play productions. Playwrights seeking production approval applied to the state magistrate, the archon, who assigned the chorus and the choragus responsible for funding and training the chorus. Wealthy individuals known as choragoi acted as financial benefactors, similar to modern-day "Angels" supporting Broadway productions.

The state covered the payment of actors and winning playwrights through public funds. The dramatic contests were fiercely competitive, with judges appointed by the state awarding prizes. Each playwright was required to submit four plays, consisting of three tragic plays and one satyr.

9. Conclusion

In conclusion, classical Greek theatre was characterized by masked actors, the use of symbolic props, and the chorus playing various roles. The emphasis on civic obligation, sacredness, and competition contributed to the unique nature of acting and theatrical elements in this era.



References:
 1. 206 Classical Greek Theatre, Classical Drama and Theatre. (n.d.). 206 Classical Greek Theatre, Classical Drama and Theatre. Retrieved January 12, 2017, from https://www.usu.edu/markdamen/clasdram/chapters/061gkthea.htm

2.Theatre of ancient Greece - Wikipedia. (2007, January 22). Theatre of Ancient Greece - Wikipedia. Retrieved January 23, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_ancient_Greece

3. G., O. (n.d.). Oscar G. Brockett. Department of Theatre and Dance - the University of Texas at Austin. https://theatredance.utexas.edu/emeritus/brockett-oscar-g


An Analysis of John Keats’s "On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer"


Keats is one of the major poets of the Romantic Revival of the early 19th century. Along with Byron and Shelley he forms the trio of the younger romantic poets. Keats was greatly fascinated by classical literature comprising the poetry of Homer and Virgil. His emotional reacting to Homer’s poetry is conveyed in his early sonnet ‘On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer’. However, despite his love of Greek lore and his interest in classical literature, Keats is thoroughly a romantic poet. Keats developed his own romantic theory of poetry and expressed it in his poem ‘Sleep and Poetry’, just as Wordsworth and Coleridge had formulated their romantic theory of poetry in the preface to ‘Lyrical Ballads’ about two decades ago.


No poet could have owed his education more completely to the English poets than did John Keats. His knowledge of Latin was slight--he knew no Greek, and even the classical stories which he loved and constantly used, came to him almost entirely through the medium of Elizabethan translations and allusions. In this connexion it is interesting to read his first fine sonnet, in which he celebrates his introduction to the greatest of Greek poets in the translation of the rugged and forcible Elizabethan, George Chapman: -- Keats's noble sonnet “On first looking into Chapman's Homer " shows the impression made by this translation on one possessed of the finest poetic susceptibilities.

John Keats
George Chapman, the translator of Homer's Iliad, was a contemporary of Shakespeare's.  'On First Looking into Chapman's Homer,' Keats compares reading translations of poetry to awe-inspiring experiences such as an astronomer discovering a new planet or explorers first seeing the Pacific Ocean.  One evening in October 1816 Keats read the works of Homer in the translation of the Elizabethan poet George Chapman. He did this in the company of Charles Cowden Clarke, son of his former master and his lifelong friend. That Keats had a monumental experience is clear from “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer”


Somewhat like a true Petrarchan sonnet (Petrarchan rhymes scheme generally rhythm of iambic pentameter: abba abba cdcdcd) this poem also clearly divides the treatment of the theme between the octave and the sestet. In the octave Keats sets the background while the sestet describes the effect on him of his experience.

In the first half of the octave Keats speaks of his wide study of Western literature, which he characterizes as “realms of gold”. Keats’s metaphor gives us an insight into his attitude towards literature. The ‘goodly states’ and ‘Kingdoms’ are the poet’s territories they have marked out as their own in the infinite area of the English or Western languages. However, these territories are held by poets not insolently as Kingdoms are held but as a sign of their loyalty towards Apollo, the ancient classical god of poetry. This is a sign of Keat’s literary piety for we know that Keats like Shelley was not a Christian poet:
“Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.”

The second half of the octave extends the metaphor of the kingdom of poetry to tell us that Keats had heard about Homer’s epics although he had never read them. Homer is traditionally recognized as the first epic poet of Europe just like Valmiki and Vyasa were of India. They can be considered pure and original because they did not borrow their images from other poets. Homer knew and understood human nature dispassionately. His understanding was clear and unclouded by doubts, distractions and fears. Besides, 1-Iorner was the monarch of poets deserving the exalted title of ‘serene’. It is at the end of the octave that Keats tells us about the cause of his translocation i.e. his reading (with Charles Cowden Clarke) of Homer in Chapman’s translocation. The octave structurally is not divided from the sestet as it ends in a colon:
“Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne;
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:”

Having told us about the background of his poem in the octave Keats turns to communicate his enjoyment of Homer to us in the sestet. This is done through two unforgettable images. The first of these is that of a professional astronomer into sc sight a new planet has moved in. The second is that of a discoverer such as Herman Cortez who conquered Mexico for Spain and became the first western adventurer to enter Mexico City. Historically, however, it was Vasco Nunez de Balbao who was the first European in 1513 to stand upon the peak of Darien in ma. It is significant that Keats does not name any astronomer such as Galileo had discovered new satellites of the planet Jupiter. It would be in keeping with Keats’s piety to infer that in referring to ‘some watcher of the skies’ he is making use of the primitive figure of speech of periphrasis. If the images help Keats in communicating his peculiar feeling or flavour of the sense or meaning the rhythm of verse gives further density by suggesting the right tone and unfolding the intention while reemphasizing his meaning or sense, and feeling:
“Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He star'd at the Pacific- and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild surmise-
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.”

Keats has been called a poet of the senses. The abstract idea of the discovery of a planet gives joy that is cerebral but the sight of the seascape from the peak in is more sensual and akin to Keats’s character. The choice of Keats’s imagery in this sonnet and marrying it to the appropriate rhythm clinches the success of the poem. ‘On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer’ has, no wonder, become a felicitous record of Keats’s unforgettable personal experiences of an encounter with the father of European poetry that was Homer.


Ardhendu De

"A River" by A.K. Ramanujan: Multiple Layers of Meaning and is a Commentary on the Indifference


"A River" by A. K. Ramanujan is a tour de force of impressive potency and insightful philosophy and yet a poem characterized by its graceful lucidity and finely honed criticism. Through the poem the poet raises the question of an artist’s commitment to the society. A.K. Ramanujan develops the theme very well, with excellent pacing, through very solid use of imagery. This poem is a pretty melancholic but it's presented well, cohesive, thought provoking piece. The river, which is a symbol of life and fertility, becomes a destructive force. The poets, both old and new, are indifferent to the sufferings and havoc wrought by the river. The emotional sterility matches with the dryness and the river has water enough to be poetic once a year as a reporter witnesses the scene. The river mentioned is the Vaigai, famed in Tamil legends and puranas. A. K. Ramanujan in "A River" presents these ideas in an unsentimental manner.

In "A River", the narrator talks of the river Vaikai flowing through the ancient city of Madurai. Madurai has been sketched by the narrator who is visiting, as ‘A city of temples and poets’. The above lines satirize and debunk the traditional romantic view of the river Vaikai in Madurai, by the ancient poets. He is derisive too, of the new poets who have no wit but to blindly copy their predecessors.

In this poem, the poet has compared and contrasted the mind-set of the old poets and those of the new poets to human misery. Both the poets are apathetic to human sorrow and suffering. Their poetry does not mirror the miseries of the human beings; on the other hand they are concerned with the themes that are far away from the stark reality before them. They write about the beauty of the river in full flood completely ignoring the devastation and human tragedy wreaked by this beastly force.

In this poem, the poet refers to the river Vaikai which flows through the city of Madurai. Madurai, reputed for its rich cultural and spiritual heritage, is a well known city in Tamil Nadu. In the poem "A River" the poet presents two strikingly contrasting pictures of the river: a vivid picture of the river in the summer season and the river in its full flow when the floods arrive with devastating fury.

In the summer, the river is almost barren and arid. Only a very thin stream of water flows revealing the sand ribs on the bed of the river. There is also the picture of the river in the monsoon season, flooded and with its immense destructive power yet startlingly beautiful in its majestic flow.

Both the old and the new poets have celebrated the beauty of the flooded river but they were not alive to or sympathetic with human suffering caused by the monstrous flood.

This is an ironic reference to Madurai as a seat of Tamilian culture, which according to him is in a state of decadence. He observes that the poets, past and present only speak of the river during the rains and floods. A description follows, of the river in summer.

It turns to a dry trickle, uncovering ‘sand ribs’. He details the underbelly of the river that stays hidden. Visible now, are the bits of straw and women’s hair that chokes the rusty gates of the dam and the bridges that are plastered over with ‘patches of repair’.

The narrator remarks wryly that the poets who sang and they, who now imitate them, see only the symbolism of vitality when the river is in flood. With a few stark images, the poet completes the picture of the river and its complexities which have been glossed over and ignored. Yet not to stress the merely the grim, unlovely angle, the poet brings alive the beauty too, which lies open in the summer. This has been lost on the sensibilities of the past poets:
the wet stones glistening like sleepy
crocodiles, the dry ones
shaven water-buffaloes lounging in the sun…. (13-15)
Using vivid similes, he refers to a lack of imagination of the old poets who ‘only sang of the floods’.

In stanza two, the poet speaks of the river in flood in the rains.  He was there once and saw what happened. The river in spate destroys everything in its wake from live-stock to houses to human life. This happens once a year and has been continuing for years in the same pattern.

He notes the casual approach of the of the towns people. Anxiously they talk of the rising level of water and enumerate mechanically the ‘precise’ number of steps as the water brims over the bathing places.
The river carries off:
‘three village houses,
one pregnant woman
and a couple of cows
named Gopi and Brinda as usual.’

These are itemized, mentioned cursorily as in a list—three, one, two. The early poets and their successors tick off the losses as mere statistics, unheeding of the destruction, suffering and human pain left in the wake of the flood. Their aim, according to the speaker, is simply to record a sensational event to arrest the momentary attention of the people. He finds this attitude shocking and callous.

Between the village houses and Gopi and Brinda, the two cows is remarked one pregnant woman. No one knows what her name is and she is glossed over peremptorily. Yet the poet imagines that she may have drowned with not one life in her but two—‘twins in her’ which kicked at blank walls even before birth.

The poet-visitor, a modern poet probably Ramanujan himself, visits Madurai when the Vaikai is in flood. He was extremely shaken by the dismal scene of utter destruction caused by the river to life and property all around. He is even more stunned by the insensitive attitude and the complete unconcern of the city poets, both old and new, towards this tragic situation of human suffering and fatality. He was distraught that they ‘sang only of the floods’ when they should have rather tried to alleviate the people of their miserable state. Being a realist himself, he takes a dig at these city poets for dodging reality and attempting to flee into a made-up world of fantasy and fancy.

Continuing with the analysis of "A River" by Ramanujan, the poets deemed it enough to versify and exalt the river only when it flooded once a year. While they sang of the river as a creative force giving birth to new life, the paradox of the pregnant woman who drowned with twins in her eludes them. Embracing only the glory of the floods, they fail to realize its more complex repercussions on human life. The narrator gives us a more complete impression of the river as destroyer as well as preserver. He is sarcastic about the poets of yore who sees only the floods to write about and that too merely once a year.
‘the river has water enough
to be poetic
about only once a year’

Humor is presented in the names of the cows and the colored diapers of the twins to help tell them apart. Yet this too, is an attack on the orthodoxy of Hinduism. While cows are given names, no one knows who the pregnant woman is nor are they concerned. Human sacrifices were performed to appease the gods because of droughts in Tamil Nadu, and the drowned twin babies may be a reference to such cruel and orthodox rituals.

"A River" illustrates many significant features of Ramanujan’s poetry, such as his adept linking of the past and the present so as to introduce the idea of continuity, his effortless depiction of the typical Indian surroundings. The use of wit, irony and humour, and dramatic imagery is distinctive of his style. This is an unusual poem with many layers of meaning and is a commentary on the indifference of the old and modern poets to the ravages caused by the river in flood and the pain and suffering caused to humans.

updated. 
Reference
1. A. K. Ramanujan | Poetry Foundation. (n.d.). Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/a-k-ramanujan
2. A. K. Ramanujan - Wikipedia. (2017, August 27). A. K. Ramanujan - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._K._Ramanujan

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