English Notes

Forms of Poems                   = What  is Poetry . Poetry is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, the prosaic ostensible meaning.                    =What is an aubade ? Aubade is a love poem welcoming or lamenting the arrival of the dawn. One of the finest aubades in literature occurs in Act II, Scene III, in Shakespeare's play Cymbeline. It begins with the famous words, "Hark, hark! The lark at heaven's gate sings". Donne's " The Sun Rising " is also an aubade.                       =What is a ballad ? ...

John Milton’s poem “ On His Blindness ” is a well known autobiographical sonnet. It is written in the style of Petrarchan sonnet. Petrarchan sonnets consist of 14 lines: the first 8 lines (octave) introduce a problem and the remaining 6 lines (sestet) find a solution. The poem differs from the Petrarchan sonnet in its theme and construction. Generally Petrarchan sonnets deal with love where as this poem deals with spiritual/ physical pain of the writer. The poem is written in the first person narration, where the poet laments about his loss of sight. Milton lost his eyesight in 1652 when he was 44 years old. He wrote this poem in 1655 when he completely lost his eye sight.           The poem begins with a subordinate class ‘When’ which leaves the readers in suspense.  The poet talks about his blindness. He has become blind in the middle of his life. He has to live in the dark and wide world for the rest of his life. He feels tha...

Othello is one of the best plays of William Shakespeare. In this play of Shakespeare, there is a big sexual mystery between characters. Here, I am going to deal it with full space. Before Othello begins, Roderigo has been pursuing Desdemona, a Venetian noblewoman. One night, he hears from his soldier friend, Iago, that Desdemona has secretly married his General, the Moorish Othello. Iago bears a grudge against Othello for overlooking Iago for a lieutenant position. Instead, Othello chose Michael Cassio, leaving Iago only at the low rank of ensign. Iago urges Roderigo to continue his pursuit of Desdemona. He knows Senator Brabantio, Desdemona's father, will dislike having Othello as a son-in-law. So late at night, Iago and Roderigo wake Brabantio and tell him the news of Desdemona. Brabantio angrily summons the militia to arrest Othello. At that moment, officers arrive to summon Brabantio to an urgent meeting of the Senate. The Senate is concerned about the imminent threat of a Tu...

The Rape of the Lock is a mock-heroic narrative poem of Alexander Pope. He is one of the best poets in the world of English literature across the world. This is totally his experience of life. It is one of the most commonly cited examples of high burlesque, it was first published anonymously in Lintot's Miscellaneous Poems and Translations in two cantos (334 lines); a revised edition "Written by Mr. Pope" followed in March 1714 as a five-canto version (794 lines) accompanied by six engravings. Pope boasted that this sold more than three thousand copies in its first four days. The final form of the poem appeared in 1717 with the addition of Clarissa's speech on good humour. The poem was much translated and contributed to the growing popularity of mock-heroic in Europe. Belinda sails down the Thames to Hampton Court attended by sylphs; a copperplate engraving by Anna Maria Werner (1744) In the beginning of this mock-epic, Pope declares that a "dire offence...

The Youth And Age; it is a beautiful poem, written by S T Coleridge. He was in the association of romantic school during his precious phase of life. He wrote a number of poems in his literary career;Youth And Age is one of them. This poem has been described into two consecutive parts, firstly this poem has been written on the basis of romantic experiences of life. During this period, people want to involve in delightful situations. The life span of human beings in this phase is very happy and prosperous. Many poets and scholars have described this age with a great hope of happiness. The poet said that this is the time of enjoyment and this is also the best phase of life to perform duties with the pure affection. Again the poet said that this is the age to establish the friendship and love with the physical entities of the world.    He said that love looks like a flower and friendship looks like a tree which gives us shadows, shelter, fruits, woods and medicine to re...

It is a common phenomenon around us that it has been tied up all living creatures in the world. There are many more examples as well as definitions at different levels by human understandings. Mostly, it has been described metaphorically or simply by different poets, critics and philosophers too. They say, " Love is the way to transfer the inner feelings each- other with great happiness. Moreover,it is the way to get full peace of mind. I think, it's a force of human nature and in other sense,it is also our requirements of life. Apart from all these different definitions, it has very wide area to define. Since Aristotle to till date, mostly, philosophers define it in different formats but still this chapter is not closed. This is the fact that it is very small and simple in shape but very enormous in meaning. I think, two or three definitions are very comfortable for us to understand, it's not enough. But the fact is that, love has been generated by our requirements, i...

The Guide is a story of Raju's romance, his greed for money,his sin and repentance. It is also the story of Every man's growth from the ordinary to the extraordinary, from the railway guide to the spiritual guide  the story is divided into two parts, firstly,traces the growth of Raju as a child and a young man who fell in love with an unhappy women who had insatiable hunger to be a dancer. This part of the story closes with Raju imprisonment.  Secondly,shows Raju's growth into a Swami after his release from the jail. Here, I am going to explain the second part of the story. As we know that Raju is a transformational character, once a tourist guide, a jail bird and a lover of Rosie. After jail, he has started leading a lonely life on the bank of a river near Mangla village. He is sitting there cross legged beside an ancient shrine. The sun is setting fast beyond the hills at a distance. A man called velan from Mangala village across the river is before him. Velan has com...