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Showing posts from May, 2019

William Wordsworth

                    William Wordsworth is the father of the whole of shebang of British Romanticism. In fact, the beginning of British Romanticism as a literary movement is usually traced back to Wordsworth publication of collection of poems Lyrical Ballads in 1798, which he co-authored by with his friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He revolutionized writing of poetry. He was one of the first poet to try to make poetry accessible to the common man, to write in a language that was part of "everyday" speech. Lot of Romantic themes- like nature and emotion - first find expression in Wordsworth poetry.                     He wrote the book Lyrical Ballads that kick-started the Romantic movement in England. Wordsworth defines poetry as the " spontaneous overflow of emotion....recollected in tranquility ". There's lot of emotion, for sure- and lots of trees and flowers.                    In his second collection of poetry i.e; Poems (1807) he develop the Romantic

Myth of Success

                    Today the success myth or the American dream is considered to be the instant business success of those who merciless, ruthless, unkind but lucky Miller points out the flaw with a merely economic interpretation of American dream as business success alone. Myths shape modern national identities. American identity has long been tied to the American Dream; the idea that anybody can be successful if they try hard enough. America is the country where the values of Capitalism, Free Enterprise, Big Business are seen at their most rewarding and their most destructive.Willy Loman in " Death of Salesman " experiences both the aspects. Although he is a victim of a system he is its devoted adherent.                      The growth of a large business is merely a survival of the fittest. The American Beauty rose can be produced in the splendor  and fragrance, which bring cheer to its beholder only by sacrificing the early buds, which grow up around it. This is not an

Absurdity

                    The term absurdity is loosely applied to those dramatists and the production of those works which shred a pessimistic vision of humanity struggling vainly to find a purpose and to control its fate. Humankind in this view is left feeling hopeless, bewildered and anxious. The absurdists playwrights like Samuel Beckett, Eugene Lonesco, Jean Genet, Arthur Adamov, Harold Pinter, therefore, did away with most of the logical structures of traditional theater. In Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" plot is eliminated, and a timeless, circular quality emerges as two lost creatures, usually played as tramps, spend their days waiting- but without any certainty of whom they are waiting for or of whether he, or it, will ever come.                     Language in an absurdists play is often dislocated, full of cliches, pun, repetitions, and non sequiturs. The rediculou s, purposeless behavior and talk give the plays a sometimes dazzling comic surface, but there is an un

Problem Play

                    Problem play, type of drama that developed in the 19th century to deal with controversial social issues in a realistic manner to expose social ills, and to stimulate thought and discussion on the part of the audience. This play deals with the subject of prostitution, business ethics, illigitimacy and female anticipation. The problem play reached its maturity in the works of the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen whose works had artistic merit as well as topical relevance. The play is carried forward in English literature by Pinero, Henry Arthur Jones, Glasworthy, Granville Barker and Shaw.                      The term "Problem Play" was coined by Sydney Grundy. Shaw defined problem play as " the presentation in parable of the conflict between man's will and environment ". The problem play was the presentation of a contemporary questions through realistic technique. It is supposed to have arisen out of the sentimental drama of the 18th cent

Quest for identity

                    One of the most pervasive theme in American Literature is " the search for identity ". Our earliest authors celebrated literary characters who are separated from family, ancestory and the past to head west. This was also a celebration of the serving of our European ties as we tried to create a national "American" identity. Later, it became a celebration of the westward movement and the explorers who left their families and ancestral pasts to pursue their dreams out west. Studies have demonstrated that Americans, more than even before, are researching their ancestral connections as they sense that our national identity and values have changed significantly during their own lifetime. They want- indeed, desperately need - to be more grounded in a continuance of ancestral connections.                      The quest for identity has been present in the novels, short stories and drama of the American writer since the 18th century. The novel " De

Non-Teleological Thinking

                    There is no meaning to life. Life has no inherent meaning. The meanings of our lives are chosen by what we feel and experience or are assigned to us by others. The ends of our existence cannot be foreseen and will not be limited by such things as destiny. These are the ideas and philosophies of those who believe life to be non- teleological. Teleos is a goal, teleological is goal- directed, non-teleological is non- goal directed. Teleology is the philosophical attempt to describe things in terms of their apparent purpose, directive principle or goal.                    A famous literary example of a non-teleology is a man named John Steinbeck. Throughout his life Steinbeck  experimented with Darwinism, transcendentalism, realism, socialism, naturalism, and Josm. Each of these ways of thinking show up in Steinbeck's philosophy and therefore his work cannot be classified specifically. For instance, we do not use a knife to cut the objects because the blade is sh

The Great Depression

                    The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized World, lasting from 1929-1939. It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. By 1933, when the Great Depression reached its lowest point, some 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half the country's banks had failed.                      Throughout the 1920's, the U.S. economy expanded  rapidly, and the nation's total wealth more than doubled between the 1920 and 1929, a period dubbed " the Roaring Twenties ". As consumer spending slowed and unsold goods began to pile up, depression started. On October 24, 1929, as nervous investors began selling over priced shares on masses the stock market crash  that some have feared happened at last. A record 12.9 millions shares were traded that day known as " Black Thursday ". Five days later on October 29 or &quo

Corporate Sector

                    A Corporate Sector is a section of society consisting of Companies/ Industries/ Business Houses. They are the industrial development side of our society. They contribute to National Income Generation, Infrastructural Growth and Development of the Economy.                      The Corporate Sector has an important role to play in generation and diffusion in technology in years to come. This can be a major driver of change in Indian agriculture. However, technological advancement alone, without access to markets, is not sufficient to bring about a revolutionary change. We have to accept fact that the technological infusion in Indian agriculture has been triggered by the private sector, though Government of India is also increasing its investments in biotechnology. There is a structural transformation in Agri-system with the Corporate Sector at the front end in organised food processing and retailing, as well as at the back end as input service providers through an

Dust Bowls

                      The Dust Bowls was caused by several economic and cultural factors, including federal land policies, changes in regional weather, farm economics and other cultural factors. After the Civil War, a series of federal land acts coaxed pioneers westward by incetivizing farming in the Great Plains.                       The Dust Bowl, also known as " The Dirty Thirties ", started in 1930 and lasted for about a decade, but its long term economic impacts on the region lingered much longer. Severe drought hit the Midwest and Southern Great plains in 1930. Massive dust storm began in 1931. A series of drought years followed, further exacerbating the environmental disaster.                     During the Dust Bowl period, severe dust storms, often called " Black Blizzards " swept the Great Plains. Some of these carried Great Plains topsoil as far east as Washington D.C. and New York city, and coated ships in the Atlantic Ocean with dust.Some people dev

'The Old Man and theSea' as a tragedy

                        The criteria or tests of a Tragedy                         While the critics disagree as to whether The Old Man and the Sea is a tragedy or not it should not be difficult for the average reader to settle the problem. Because the average reader is not to be led by subtleties or by abstruse considerations. If we apply the age old tests to this novel, we shall certainly conclude that it is a tragedy. A tragedy is a tale of exceptional suffering leading generally but not always to the death of the chief protagonist or the hero. The hero is generally possessed of certain admirable qualities but he is not perfect: in fact he suffers from a fault or flaw which precipitates its downfall although this downfall is brought about by certain other causes too- the villainy of human beings, chance, accident or the working of an arbitrary fate. The admirable qualities of the hero must include an exceptional capacity to suffer, or the power of endurance much above that of

Plot in 'The Old Man and the Sea'

                           Introduction                      "The Old Man and the Sea" was written by Ernest Hemingway. Ernest Hemingway has been an international literary celebrity for more than a quarter of  a century whenever people needs books and in a good many places where people did not read of all the very name of Hemingway was a legend. It was a name associated with war and courage with love and violence with beauty and death. Hemingway was aware of the danger of celebrity the fact that success all too often destroyer the very talent statement is a capsule definition of what he and other writers in United States and abroad were trying to achieve during the First World War period.                      "The Old Man and the Sea" appeared in 1952, and this novel was written by Ernest Hemingway. In a sense,' The Old Man and the Sea' is capsulated Hemingway that is in its poetic brevity. It is the stilled essence of the writer's most profound be

Robert Frost as a nature poet

                    Every poet has its own styles and so thus Frost.Even a person who reads one of Frost's poems just for pleasure may notice the high amount of elements of nature in his poems. Frost has so often written about the rural landscape and wildlife that at first anyone reading his poetry thinks he is surely a nature poet. Some of the poems which he had vividly described the nature are "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening", "Nothing", "Gold can stay", "Mowing", etc. Briefly, Frost's  poems seem simple at the very first beginning but once you begin analyzing them, many deep psychological meanings appear. With this in mind, Frost may be considered as a pastoral poet as he uses nature as a vehicle to arrive in human beings .                      In his poem "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening", Frost has described about a man on a journey who has to go on it although he is admired by the beauty of nature whe

Symbolism in "the Old Man and the Sea"

                       Masterful writers use literary devices and techniques in a unique way to exemplify their mastery in writing. In  American literature, Ernest Hemingway's novel "The Old Man and the Sea" is a worthy symbolic novel which conveys the ability of the author to employ symbols to give literary value of the text. This work aims at showing the interest of Hemingway for symbols and his intention to represent themes behind the use of symbols in The old Man and the Sea. Among the major literary devices, symbols grab the attention of the readers, because of its ability to board the thinking capacity of the people. Thus, symbols stand for different interpretations and meanings.                         Hemingway definitely used symbolism in his books. He mentioned how each item in 'The Old man the Sea' has two levels: the literal and the deeper meaning.      The investigation of symbolism in 'the Old Man the Sea'                        The S

Code Hero

                       Critics have succeeded in dividing Hemingway's major characters into two  categories - the Hemingway hero and the code hero. Earl Rovit calls them "T he Tyro " and " The Tutor ". The Hemingway hero is either a young boy or a young man and is learning to live in the world where there is a chaos, violence, uncertainty and anxiety. Whereas the Hemingway hero is young and inexperienced, lost and confused in the valueless world, the code hero is usually an older man who has become what he had to become. He has realized the potential and known the area of his operation. He is usually a professional, a bull-fighter, a fisherman, a veteran soldier or a prize fighter. He is sure to excel in the area of his choice and does not easily step out of that. He possesses immense resources of courage and endurance. Since he has known how to excel he also knows how to face defeat with dignity.                           In Hemingway's novels and short s

Lost Generation

                       The term Lost Generation was coined by Gertrude Stein to refer to a group of American literary notables who lived in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s. Seeking the bohemian lifestyle and rejecting the values of American materialism, a number of intellectual poets, artists and writers fled to France in the post World War I years. Speaking to Ernest Hemingway, Stein said, " you are all lost generation. " The term stuck and the mystique surrounding these individuals continues to fascinate us. Full of youthful idealism, these individuals sought the meaning of life, drank excessively, had love affairs and created some of the finest American literature to date. There were many literary artists involved in the groups known as the Lost Generation. The three best known are F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and John Passer . Other usually included among the list are; Sherwood Anderson T.S. Eliot, Willian Pierce, Henry Miller, C.S. Lewis, George Burns, William

Skimming and Scanning

                      There are different types of Reading skills used while approaching reading materials.Skimming and Scanning are the two strategies for speed reading.They are used for different purposes , and they are not meant to be used all the time. They are at the fast end of the speed reading range ,while studying is at the slow end. People who know how to skim and scan are flexible readers.                         Skimming is one of the tools we can use to read more in less time. Skimming refers to looking only for the general or main ideas, and works best with non-fictional (or factual) material. the real purpose of skimming the text is to know what the text is about. By skimming one can get general superficial idea  of the context of the text . Skimming takes place while reading allows to look for details in details in addition to the main ideas. Skimming can also help to make decisions about where to place greatest focus when we have limited time for reading.          

Kothari Commission Report on English

              Earlier Kothari Commission was known as Indian Education Commission(1964-1966) which was set up by the Government of India on 14th July 1964 under the chairmanship of Daulat Singh Kothari ,then chairman of the University Grant Commission (UGC) .It was the sixth commission in India Post Independence and the first commission with comprehensive terms of reference on education.The commission had submitted its report on 29th June 1966 with 17 recommendations. Its recommendation were accommodated in India's first National Policy on Education in 1968.                  Among the 17 recommendations ,according to Kothari Commission Report the 3rd recommendation i.e; Development of Languages has 5 subdivisions from which B and E i.e; Three Language Formula and International Languages are mentioned with the guidelines of English in education.                  In (B), the Three Language Formula was earlier designed by CABE(Central Advisory Board of Education) in 1961