The Plastic Godbox - by Ambai

 About the Author:

C.S. Lakshmi (Ambai ) (1944-) was born in Coimbatore in 1944. She is a distinguished fiction writer in Tamil. Her works are characterized by her passionate espousal of the cause of women, humour, a lucid and profound style and a touch of realism. She is the only Tamil writer to have been included in the “Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature” edited by Amit Chaudhuri. She received a doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1970  and now she is the Director of Sound and Picture Archives for Research for Women (SPARROW) in Mumbai. Many of her stories have been translated into English. The Library of Congress holds five of her writings in its collection. She is a current member of the University of Michigan’s Global Feminism Project. She considers herself a feminist and lived a life without any compromise in gender related issues.

Introduction:

In her short story, “The Plastic Godbox”, Ambai describes a mother who strives to make kids live better life in this world. The sacrifice she makes for her children are innumerable. In fact, nothing can come close to the love that a mother feels for her children. “God could not be everywhere and so he invented mother” these words are apt to the mother character who is portrayed by Ambai in this short fiction.

Amma:

 Everyday it had been an habitual action fo Amma of keeping some rice on the window sill and calling out for the crows in Telugu. Inspite of Dhanam’s father’s transfers to various lands, she communicated with the birds in the particular language. According to Appa’s request, Amma had to board a flight to America to visit her daughter, Bharathi, Dhanam’s elder sister who is now a divorcee.

Bharathi’s letter:

After her reaching, Bharathi got a call from airline authorities ordering for pickles on contract as they had tasted what her mother had brought during custom checking. She also heard from her neighbours that mother had prepared ‘palkova’ with saffrons for the pregnant women. Still it was a mystery to Bharathi why mother had brought ‘kumkumapoo’ and also still not asked any question about Bharathi’s husband or her divorcee life. Even after going there Amma was keeping food fro crows but squirrels had come to taste her food regularly. As it was summer she could see her mother’s excitement to prepare ‘vadams’. Such an active mother she was. She could see her speaking politics, cooking, caring and many other worldly matters. What a life the mother meant for herself.

Once they had to visit her friend Thilaga’s house. Thilaga’s mother had been her Amma’s friend. It was quite natural they became close in their conversation. Thilaga asked Amma if she does regular pooja and rituals even after coming abroad. Amma replied that she had a plastic box in which she carried her idols of her favourite Gods and pooja materials wherever she went. After her returning, Bharathi felt for her mother and the sweet memories of her childhood days at their own house with her bother Dhinakaran and sister Dhanam.

Dhanam’s letter:

Now it was the turn of Dhanam to take care of her mother. After their father’s demise, Amma was staying with her three children in turn. At Dhanam’s house there was not much work for Amma as Dhanam’s husband took care of his own cooking and did not disturb anybody. He had his own culinary skill and Dhanam felt that it was her husband’s freedom where she cannot interfere. But Amma could not understand what was the so called freedom. Dhanam and Bharathi planned to pledge their jewels and get back their own house which was coming for  sale. They also asked their brother, Dhinakaran to support Amma financially every month, for they felt that Amma needed a big space for her to do pooja and to live a life on her own terms. It was also decided that the Dhanam should visit her now and then to confirm about her good health. Even Dhanam’s daughter wanted to spend more time with her grandmother listening to her. While Dhanam was writing all these she saw her mother as usual rocking in her chair looking at the parrots chirping and flying in the garden trees.

Conclusion:

Now the plastic box was filled with many pooja items and Amma was not able to carry it in that small box. She needed a better container as well. She needed a room for herself. The uncomplaining mother’s dream was going to become true and that was the return gift of her children to her mother for her unconditional love.

The Mirror - by Sylvia Plath

 About the Author:

Sylvia Plath (1932 -1963) is a famous woman poet who talks about feminism and the psyche of women. Her father was a German and died when she was only nine. This had a great impact on her life both as a woman and as a poet. She studied at Cambridge and there she met and married a famous poet Ted Hughes in her 24. She gave two children to him and then got divorced from him due to her nervous tension. Soon after the divorce, she committed suicide in 1963. Among the important collections of her poetry books, “The Colossus” (1960), ‘Crossing the Water” (1960), and “Ariel” (1965) are worth mentioning.

The mirror, an image of the poet:

Sylvia Plath is a sensitive poet.  She holds that the great poet is absolutely impersonal, disinterested and dispassionate. He does not have any likes and dislikes. He merely reflects the society around him as it is. To convey this point Sylvia Plath uses the analogies of the mirror and the lake. The mirror reflects whatsoever and whomsoever is before it. It does not mix up anything of its own. Great poetry is similar to the mirror. It neither adds nor detracts anything. The great poet neither likes nor dislikes. He merely mirrors. Mostly the mirror reflects the speckles on the wall in front of it. The speckle is a symbol of the disfigurement and disintegration of modern society.

The pond, an image of the poet:

Sylvia Plath uses the analogy of the lake to describe the workings of the poetic mind. Like the mirror, lake water also reflects things as they are. A woman drowns her little girl and her old mother and finally herself in the lake. These tragic happenings stand for the large-scale destruction going on in modern society. The drowning of the little child betokens the wiping out of potentialities. The drowning of the old woman stands for the destructions of capabilities. The poem thus, presents a very bleak picture of modern life.

A Shadow - by R. K. Narayan

 About the Author:

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan (1906-2001) popularly known as R.K. Narayan was a renowned Indian writer in English. He was born in Madras, and educated at Mysore. He served as a teacher for sometime and thereafter turned into a serious writer. In his first novel, “Swami and Friends”, he created the imaginary small town called Malgudi. His novel “The Guide” received Sahitya Akademi Award in 1960. He has published many novels and numerous short stories.

Introduction:

“A Shadow” is a story of a little boy, Sambu who lives in a village with his own mother. He waits eagerly for the screening of a film, which features his father who is no more now. It is a tender and emotional story where Sambu, demands to see his father’s performance on the screen. He wants to see his father moving and dancing on the screen which may make him feel that as if his father is alive. Hence he wants to see the movie daily.

The film, “Kumari”:

The scene of the movie is very much like in Sambu’s home. In  the movie, Kumari, the fourteen year old daughter does not want to marry but wants to continue her studies. The father asks the girl questions about her school work, and is pleased when she gets them right. The father asks her arithmetic to which she accurately answers. Then his father is delighted. Sambu recalls how he once committed mistake in solving the problem when his father asked him to solve the arithmetic problem.

Sambu’s happiness:

Actually, Sambu is highly delighted as if his father has come back to life. Sambu is trying to feel the presence of his dead father through his performance in the movie, “Kumari”. The shadow of his father makes him happy. He feels the presence of his father.

His mother’s memories:

He repeatedly asks his mother to see the picture. However, she explains that she could not tolerate to see her husband again moving and speaking around on the screen. Sambu explains her that it is better to see his father on the screen than seeing him on the photograph. Hence his mother agree to watch the movie with Sambu. At last, he takes his mother to the last show. Seeing Sambu’s father reading newspaper in the movie, she recalls the last breath that her husband breathed when he was reading newspaper at the home. This memory kindles her emotions and she faints. On seeing her, Sambu takes her back home, because he loves his mother much than he loves his father. As a small child, Sambu could not understand the emotions of his mother, yet he loves her very much.

Conclusion:

The story captures the joy and pain experienced by a little boy and his mother when they see the dead man of the house moving and dancing on the screen. In this story, we can see the emotions, feelings, innocence and sentiments of a child who is deprived of his father’s love.

The Romance of a Busy Broker - by O' Henry

 About the Author:

O’ Henry is an American short-story writer. He discusses the failings of modern life style in his short stories. His stories always have surprise and unexpected endings. He wrote about average people living in New York city. He has used many literary elements such as characterization. Situation irony, symbolism and foreshadowing in his short stories.

Introduction:

 In “The Romance of a Busy Broker”, a broker forgets his marriage on the previous evening. We have the ridiculous spectacles of the man proposing marriage to his own wife.

Harvey Maxwell’s busy schedule:

Harvey is a New York broker. He deals in stocks and bonds, loans, shares and securities. Once he enters his office, he forgets his private life and plunges into his business. He works like a high powered machine going at full speed. He goes through a mountain of papers. He has always the right word and the right decision to satisfy customers. He is ‘prompt as clockwork’.

Miss Leslie:

Miss Leslie is Harvey’s secretary. She has all the graces required of a secretary. She is modestly dressed. On the day, she accompanies Harvey, she lingers around Harvey. The latter does not know the reason for her deviation from her routine. She asks Pitcher, the personal clerk in the office, whether Harvey is going to appoint any lady secretary in her place. a lady applicant does turn up. But Harvey unceremoniously sends her away. He says that he is perfectly satisfied with the performance of Leslie and does not want to appoint anybody in her place.

What happens during lunch break:

Harvey becomes very restless. He steps into Leslie’s room and tells her abruptly that he wants her to marry him. He says that he does not have the time to pay court to her and prepare the ground in the usual way. He is immersed so much in business that he had forgotten his own wife. Leslie is taken aback. Tears trickle down her cheeks. Yet, she smiles cheerfully. She embraces Harvey and tells him that they married each other on the previous evening in the little church around the corner. Thus the story ends with a surprise in O’ Henry’s style.

Conclusion:

Truth is stranger than fiction. Such things do happen in America. Thank God, Harvey does not in his forgetfulness, proposes marriage to some other woman.

The Paradox of Our Time - by Dalai Lama

 About the Author:

Dalai Lama are important monks of the Gelug School, the newest School of Tibetan Buddhism which was formerly headed by the Gandem Tripas. The Dalai Lama title was created by Altan Khan, the prince of Shunyi, granted by Ming Dynasty, in 1578. The 14^th Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyasto who is author of this poem.

Introduction:

The paradox of our time is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; we have big roadways but narrow views; we spend more money but gain less happiness; we have big houses but small families live in; we have more degrees but less sense; we have more knowledge but less judgement; we have more experts but less solutions to the problems and we have more medicine but less people are benefited.

Less or More:

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much and pray too seldom and hate too often.

Do’s and Don’t’s:

We have learned how to make a living, but not a life. We have added years to life not life to years. We have been all the way to the moon and back but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbours. We have conquered outer space but not inner space. We have done larger things, but not better things. we have cleaned the air, but polluted the soul.  We have split the atom but not our prejudice. We write more but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We are too rush, but no patience to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and do less.

Facts and Truth:

These are the times of fast foods, and slow digestion. Today, men are rich but with small characters and they try to concentrate on earning steep profits but forget to maintain good relationship. There are the days of two incomes but more divorce. The houses are fancier but these are broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies and pills that do everything from cheer, but they are meant for slow killing. There are the days which show only showy things but inside them is found nothing. When this thought is carried through technology, you may have chance of sharing this insight or deleting it.

 Conclusion:

Thus in this poem, Dalai Lama talks about how the modern man fails to love his kith and kin and spends most of his time with machines, how he fails to establish relationship with other, how he leads materialistic life, how he pollutes his soul, how he baits his life to earn nothing but money, and how he fails to understand the cosmos. He also gives the choice of choosing his resentment on modern man and his life style when it reaches him through technology.

 

The Power of Prayer - by A.P. J. Abdul Kalam

 About the Author:

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (1931-2015), the former President of India and a distinguished scientist was born on 15^th October 1931 at Rameswaram in Tamilnadu. Kalam specialized in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology (IIT, Madras). He was the Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development. He took up the responsibility of developing indigenous guided missiles. He became President of India on 25^th July 2002.  “Wings of Fire”, “India 2020 – A Vision for the New Millennium”, “My Journey” and “Ignited Minds” are the famous books written by him.

 Introduction:                                                                                     

The article “The Power of Prayer” is an extract from Kalam’s autobiography, “The Wings of Fire”. In this chapter, Kalam recollects his childhood days and speaks about his parents and birth place. He proudly pays tribute to his parents and God for the present life he enjoys. Kalam’s early religious impressions were very vague. It is from a child’s perception. But later he gets matured enough to understand that ‘God is one and all’.

Kalam’s birth and parentage:

Abdul Kalam was born in the island town of Rameswaram. He was born into a middle class family. His father, Jainulabdeen was neither very rich nor well educated. But he was a wise and generous man. He was a true spiritual human being. His mother Ashiamma was a kind and pious woman. Her family was given the title “Bahadur” by the British Government. The influence of the good-natured parents made the child, Kalam to come out as a great lovable personality in life. Kalam’s family lived in a large pucca house which is the ancestral one. It is found on the Mosque Stree in Rameswaram.

Kalam’s childhood days:

Kalam records in his autobiography about his appearance as a little boy. Kalam was small and short in  stature and had undistinguished looks. His father, the most humble man avoided all inessentials, comforts and luxuries. But Kalam was provided with all the necessities like food, medicine, and clothes.

Amicable nature of Hindus and Muslims:

Kalam lived in an area where Muslims were the majority. There were a few Hindu families also in that locality. The Hindus lived amicable with their Muslim neighbours. The Hindsu came to the mosque with water in vessels. They got this water blessed by the prayers of Kalam’s father. Then this was given to invalids at home. The Hindu priest, Pakshi Lakshmanan Sastry and Kalam’s father were close friends. They often discussed spiritual matters.

The importance of prayer:

Kalam’s father influenced the boy Kalam on spiritual matters. Even when Kalam chanted prayers with his father in the mosque, he did not have the faintest idea of the meaning of the Arabic prayers. But he was convinced that they reached God. Kalam used to asked his father about the relevance of prayer. His father told him that  there were nothing mysterious about prayer. According to him prayer made possible a communion the spirit between people. Prayer transcends one’s body and becomes a part of cosmos. It knows no division of wealth, age, caste or creed, he told Kalam. He often told Kalam about simple truths of life in down-to-earth. He firmly said that every human being “is a specific element within the whole of the manifest divine being”. Hence, Kalam understands that every individual is born with a divine power in him. A man should give wings to this power and fill the world with the glow of its goodness. Anything that is done by a man is the expression of God’s will. He believes that what he ahs achieved in the field of science is the result of God’s intention.

Conclusion:

Kalam in his autobiography praises and thanks his parents for the formation of his character. He sincerely glorifies God, for having chosen him to achieve great tasks. The chapter reflects Kalam’s simplicity and submissiveness.

 

What Kind of Peace do We Want? by John F. Kennedy

 About the Author:

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), was one of the most distinguished Presidents of USA. He was born on 29^th May 1917 in Boston, Massachusetts. His father Joseph Kennedy was a successful businessman and politician. John Kennedy graduated from Harvard University and in 1943, he joined the American Navy. When the Second World War ended he joined politics as a Democrat and was elected to the House of Representative for three terms. In the Presidential Election, he won in 1960 and became the President of America. “Why England Slept” and “Profile in Courage” are his most popular books. It was most unfortunate that he was assassinated on 23^rd November 1963.

Introduction:

The speech “What Kind of Peace do We Want?” was delivered by John F. Kennedy, the former President of the United States of America, at the American University on June 10, 1963. On the occasion, he talked about the most important topic on earth: World Peace.

The Kind of peace Kennedy hopes for:

While answering the question he has raised, Kennedy defines the kind of peace he hopes for in very simple terms. The popular diplomat hopes for “genuine peace. The kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children – not merely peace of Americans but peace for all men and women – not merely peace in our time, but peace for all time”.

The violent face of Modern War:

Kennedy gives the reason for talking about the necessity of universal peace. Peace is necessitated by the expansion of war on a very large scale. Modern nuclear weapons are far more destructive than the weapons used in the Second World War. The modern deadly weapons when wielded on nations, it will not only poison wind, water, soil and seed but also adversely affect generations yet unborn , cautions Kennedy. Millions of dollars are spent every year on modernizing weapons. The acquisition of such stockpiles will only destroy and never create.

Attitude of people towards peace:

Kennedy talks of the negative attitude of some people who think that peace is impossible to attain. Kennedy remarks that such an attitude is a dangerous, defeatist belief. Some others think in terms of universal peace and goodwill. This is only a wild dream. Kennedy’s concept of peace is based on a gradual evolution and effective agreements. He further reveals the truth that there is no single key or magic formula to peace. It is a process, a way of solving problem.

The process in attaining genuine peace:

Kennedy suggests the course in which we can attain genuine peace. First of all, he says perseverance is absolutely necessary in trying to establish peace. Set backs are bound to occur. At times, conflicts between nations are sure to break out. But they should learn to tolerate one another. Instead of making much of differences, we should increase our common interests. What is common among us is that we all inhabit the same world, breathe the same air, and share the same concern for one children, says Kennedy.

Conclusion:

In his inspiring speech, Kennedy appealed to the hopes of Americans. The reality of enmity between nations and the dangerous arms race between super powers and rightly pointed out in his speech. The suggestions put forward by Kennedy towards attaining world peace are a matter of concern for nations.

Shakespeare as a Sonneteer

Introduction:

A sonnet is a form of a poem which specifically has fourteen lines and a structured form. It was popularized in Italy where it originates; hence the Italian or Petrachan sonnet, named after Petrarch due to his expert and extensive use of this form. The Elizabethan or Shakespearean sonnet is so named because it was formed and became distinct from the Italian sonnet during the Elizabethan era and Shakespeare was its most prolific and famous user in writing about love. Shakespearean or Elizabethan sonnets are divided into three quatrains (four lines each) and a rhyming couplet at the end with a recognizable rhythm created by the rhyme scheme and the five stressed syllables per line (iambic pentameter).

Discussion:

In making use of the form of the sonnet, Shakespeare is credited with having penned 154 sonnets, with almost all of them following the Shakespearean format. Each sonnet largely presents an idea in each of the four line stanzas and the rhyming couplet completes the picture.

The apparent sequence which Shakespeare's sonnets follow has been the subject of much discussion and debate among critics but the first 126 sonnets are addressed to a young man although most of the time this is not explicitly expressed and the latter section is about Shakespeare's relationship with a woman with only the last two sonnets being adaptations of classical verse. There is no known autobiographical element to these sonnets although some critics have gone to great pains to find a connection other than his instinctive ability to create beauty and question the definitions of it from his surroundings

Shakespeare’s sonnets have enjoyed extravagant praise for their transcendent beauty and exquisite verbal melody. They have been criticised also particularly for their inanity and structural faults.  The themes are passionate love, aching jealousy, musings on the human fate, a meditation on the passage of time on earth etc. But according to the theme treated in  the sonnets they can also be divided into many subgroups like “marriage,” “friendship,” “love,” “self-love,” “the ravages of time,” “immortality and death,” “lust,” “professional rivalry,” etc. However, the most dominant themes are Shakespeare’s devotion to his patron-cum-friend, his hopeless passion for his mistress and the betrayal of both his friendship and his friend and his love by the mistress respectively.

Critical appreciation:

Sonnet 1:

Shakespeare begins his sonnets by introducing four of his most important themes — immortality, time, procreation, and selfishness — which are interrelated in this first sonnet both thematically and through the use of images associated with business or commerce.

The sonnet's first four lines relate all of these important themes. Individually, each of these four lines addresses a separate issue. Line 1 concerns procreation, especially in the phrase "we desire increase"; line 2 hints at immortality in the phrase "might never die"; line 3 presents the theme of time's unceasing progress; and line 4 combines all three concerns: A "tender heir" represents immortality for parents, who will grow old and die. According to the poet, procreating ensures that our names will be carried on by our children. If we do not have children, however, our names will die with our death.

But, this idea apparently has been rejected by the young man, whom the poet addresses as "thou," in lines 5–12. Interested only in his selfish desires, the youth is the embodiment of narcissism, a destructively excessive love of oneself. The poet makes clear that the youth's self-love is unhealthy, not only for himself but for the entire world. Because the young man does not share himself with the world by having a child to carry on his beauty, he creates "a famine where abundance lies" and cruelly hurts himself. The "bud" in line 11 is as an image which underscores the immaturity of the young man, who is only a bud, still imperfect because he has not fully bloomed.

The final couplet — the last two lines — reinforces the injustice of the youth's not sharing his beauty with the world. The "famine" that he creates for himself is furthered in the phrase "To eat the world's due," as though the youth has the responsibility and the world has the right to expect the young man to father a child. Throughout the sonnets, Shakespeare draws his imagery from everyday life in the world around him. In Sonnet 1, he writes of love in terms of commercial usury, the practice of charging exorbitant interest on money lent using the apt imagery.  

Sonnet 2:

This sonnet continues the argument and plea from Sonnet 1, this time through the imagery of military, winter, and commerce. Time again is the great enemy, besieging the youth's brow, digging trenches — wrinkles — in his face, and ravaging his good looks. Beauty is considered as a treasure that decays  or may natural increase through the act of marrying and having children.

The poet attempts to scare the young man into marrying and having children by showing him his future. When the youth is forty years old, he will be nothing but a "tottered weed" and  "of small worth held" because he will be alone and childless. The only thing the young man will have to look back on is his self-absorbed "lusty days," because he created nothing especially no children. This barrenness of old age is symbolized in the sonnet's last line, "And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold,".

Again drawing on business imagery, in sonnet 2, the poet acknowledges that all he seeks is for the young man to have a child, who would immortalize the youth's beauty. The poet does not call the act of love "increase," as he did in Sonnet 1, but "use," meaning investment, the opposite of "niggarding" from Sonnet 1. In line 8, he speaks of "thriftless praise," or unprofitable praise — the term "thrift" during Shakespeare's lifetime had various meanings, including profit and increase, which also recalls Sonnet 1.

Sonnet 3:

Drawing on farming imagery, in this sonnet, the poet focuses entirely on the young man's future, with both positive and negative outcomes. However, the starting point for these possible futures is "Now," when the youth should "form another," that is, father a child.

The sonnet begins with the image of a mirror — "Look in thy glass" — and is repeated in the phrase "Thou art thy mother's glass." Continuity between past, present, and future is established when the poet refers to the young man's mother, who sees her own image in her son and what she was like during her youth, "the lovely April of her prime," a phrase that recalls the images of spring in Sonnet 1. Likewise, the young man can experience a satisfying old age, a "golden time," through his own children.

The negative scenario, ‘in which the young man does not procreate’, is symbolized in the poet's many references to death. In lines 7 and 8, the poet questions how the young man can be so selfish that he would jeopardize his own immortality. The reference to death in line 14 stylistically mirrors the death imagery in the final couplets of the preceding sonnets, including the phrases "the grave and thee" in Sonnet 1 and "thou feel'st it cold" in Sonnet 2.

Sonnet 4:

The themes of narcissism and usury are most developed in this sonnet, with its references to wills and testaments. The terms "unthrifty," "legacy," "bequest," and "free" imply that nature's generosity should be matched by those who benefit from it. The poet, who calls the youth a "beauteous niggard," or a miser of his good looks, claims that his young friend abuses the many gifts of beauty nature has given him and thus is a "profitless usurer," a business term that recalls the three previous sonnets.

In this sonnet with a series of questions and statements, the poet lectures about the wise use of nature, which liberally lends its gifts to those who are equally generous in perpetuating nature by having children. But the youth's hoarding contrasts to nature's bountifulness. Lines 7 and 8 express this contrast in terms of usury: "Profitless usurer, why dost thou use / So great a sum of sums, yet canst not live?" The term use here means both invest and use up. Similarly, "live" means both to gain immortality and to make a living.

The inevitable conclusion is that if the youth does not properly use his beauty, he will die childless and doom himself to oblivion, but if he fathers a child, he will be remembered. The final couplet presents these contrasting possibilities. Line 13 uses familiar death imagery to express the negative result of dying childless: "Thy unused beauty must be tombed with thee." However, line 14 suggests that should the young man use his beauty to have a child, an "executor to be," his beauty will be enhanced because he will have used it as nature intended

Sonnet 5:

In this sonnet, the poet compares nature's four seasons with the stages of the young man's life. Although the seasons are cyclical, his life is linear, and hours become tyrants that oppress him because he cannot escape time's grasp. Time might "frame / Thy lovely gaze where every eye doth dwell," meaning that everyone notices the youth's beauty, but time's "never-resting" progress ensures that this beauty will eventually fade.

In an extended metaphor, the poet argues that because flowers provide perfume to console people during the winter, it is natural for the youth to have a child to console him during his old age. Without perfume from summer's flowers, people would not remember previous summers during the long, hard winters; childless, the young man will grow old alone and have nothing to remind him of his younger days.

Winter, an image of old age, is regarded with horror: "Sap checked with frost and lusty leaves quite gone, / Beauty o'er snowed and bareness everywhere." The "lusty leaves" imagery recalls the "lusty days" from Sonnet 2 and reemphasizes the barrenness of the youth's old age, in which he will look back longingly on his younger days but have nothing to remember them by. However, in the final couplet, the poet evokes a comforting tone, suggesting that immortality is attainable for the young man, just as it is for summer's flowers when they are transformed into perfume, if only the young man would father a child.

Sonnet 6:

Sonnet 6 continues the winter imagery from the previous sonnet and furthers the procreation theme. Winter, symbolizing old age, and summer, symbolizing youth, are diametrically opposed.

The poet begs the young man not to die childless — "ere thou be distill'd" — without first making "sweet some vial." Here, "distill'd" recalls the summer flowers from Sonnet 5; "vial," referring to the bottle in which perfume is kept, is an image for a woman whom the young man will sexually love, but "vial" can also refer to the child of that sexual union. Ten children, the poet declares, will generate ten times the image of their father and ten times the happiness of only one child.

The poet strongly condemns the young man's narcissism in this sonnet by linking it with death. "Self-killed" refers both to the youth's hoarding his beauty by not passing it on to a child, and to his inevitably dying alone if he continues his narcissistic behavior. The poet argues that procreation ensures life after death; losing your identity in death does not necessarily mean the loss of life so long as you have procreated. Lines 5 and 6 make this concept clear.  Once you recognize the wealth of beauty by loving another person, you must use this knowledge of love if it is to increase and not decay.

Sonnet 6 is notable for the ingenious multiplying of conceits and especially for the concluding pun on a legal will in the final couplet: "Be not self-willed, for thou art much too fair / To be death's conquest and make worms thine heir." Here, as earlier in the sonnet, the poet juxtaposes the themes of narcissism and death. The worms that destroy the young man's dead body will be his only heirs should he die without begetting a child is a metaphysical conceit.

Sonnet 7:

In this sonnet, the poet compares human life to the passage of the sun from sunrise to sunset. The sun's rising in the morning symbolizes the young man's youthful years: Just as we watch the "sacred majesty" of the ever-higher sun, so too does the poet view the youth. The sun's highest point in the sky resembles "strong youth in his middle age." However, after the sun reaches it apex, its only direction is down. This downward movement represents "feeble age" in the youth, and what is worse than mere physical appearance is that the people who looked in awe at the youth's beauty will "look another way" when he has become old. In death, he will not be remembered.

As usual, the poet argues that the only way for the youth to ensure that he is remembered after he dies is to have a child, making it clear that this child should be a son. Two possible reasons why the poet wants the young man to have a son and not a daughter are that, first, a son would carry on the youth's last name, whereas traditionally a daughter would assume the last name of her husband, and second, the word "son" is a play on the word "sun" — it is not coincidental that in this sonnet, which incorporates the image of the sun, the poet makes clear for the first time that the young man's child should be a son.

Sonnet 8:

In this sonnet, the poet compares a single musical note to the young man and a chord made up of many notes to a family. The marriage of sounds in a chord symbolizes the union of father, mother, and child.

The first twelve lines elaborate a comparison between music and the youth, who, should he marry and have a child, would then be the very embodiment of harmony. But music, "the true concord of well-tuned sounds," scolds him because he remains single — a single note, not a chord. By refusing to marry, the youth destroys the harmony that he should make as part of an ensemble, a family. Just as the strings of a lute when struck simultaneously produce one sound, which is actually made up of many sounds, so the family is a unit comprised of single members who function best — and most naturally — when working in tandem with one another

Sonnet 9:

The poet imagines that the young man objects to the bliss of marriage on the grounds that he might die young anyway or that he might die and leave a bereaved widow and an orphaned child. To these arguments, the poet replies that should the young man marry, have a child, and then die, at least his widow will be consoled by the child whom the young man fathered; in this way, his image will not be destroyed with his death. Furthermore, by not marrying, the young man makes the whole world his widow.

Shakespeare continues the business of imagery so prevalent in this sonnet also as in the previous sonnets. The concept of love is not entirely distinguished from commercial wealth, for Shakespeare relates those who traffic in love to the world at large. When an unthrifty person makes ill use of his inherited wealth, only those among whom he squanders it benefit. The paradox lies in the fact that the hoarding of love's beauty is the surest way of squandering it: Such consuming self-love unnaturally turns life inward, a waste felt by all.

Sonnet 10:

Sonnet 10 repeats and extends the argument of Sonnet 9, with the added suggestion that the youth really loves no one. Clearly, the poet does not seriously believe the young man to be incapable of affection, for then there would be no point in the poet's trying to maintain a relationship with him. However, underneath the mock-serious tone is that the youth's self-love wastes himself. Narcissism means infatuation with one's own appearance, but the youth's absorption with his own image is really an attachment to nobody. He therefore loses the power of returning the creative force of love in a relationship. The poet considers the youth's unwillingness to marry is a form of homicide against his potential progeny, which he suggested in Sonnet 9. In Sonnet 10, the poet creates the image of marriage as a house with a roof falling in decay that the youth should seek to repair, but the poet uses the house imagery less to indicate marriage than to suggest the youth's beauty would reside in his offspring: "Make thee another self for love of me,/ That beauty still may live in thine or thee."

Conclusion:

From every point of view and in every sense these sonnets show the poetic genius of the writer. The variety of themes, the lyrical appeal, the striking images and picture, the wealth of conceits, the felicity of the language and the melody of the verse, all are the richest poetic treasures of English literature and herald that Shakespeare is one of the famous sonneteers.  

Karma (Kushwant Singh)

 About the Author:

Kushwant Singh is a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. He was born on 2^nd February 1915 at Hadali, which is now in Pakistan. Singh completed his Bachelor’s degree in the Government College, Lahore and thereafter he went to London to study Law in King’s College. A significant post-colonial writer, Kushwant Singh is known for his clear-cut secularism and humour. He was awarded with the most prestigious awards of Indian such as Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. He was the editor of several journals and newspapers, including “The Illustrated Weekly” and “Hindustan Times.” He was also a Member of Rajya Sabha from 1980-1986. Some important novels written by him are  “Train to Pakistan”, “I shall not Hear the Nightingale” and “Delhi: A Novel”. His autobiography, “Truth, Love and A Little Malice” records his views on sex, wine, and women and on life, religion and country. He passed away in 2014.

Introduction:    

Kushwant Singh’s short stories are mostly set in Indian atmosphere. They are both humorous and ironical. The story, “Karma” is based on the Indian philosophy that ‘out action decide our fate.’

The proud aristocrat Sir Mohan Lal:

Sir Mohan Lal was waiting in the first class retiring room at the railway station. He looked handsome in his western dress. He disliked speaking his mother-tongue, Hindustani. Mohan Lal spoke English like Oxford scholars. So he felt very proud about himself and looked down at his wife other Indians who did not know to speak English like him. Outside the waiting room, his wife, Lachmi was sitting on a steel trunk. She was wearing a dirty white sari with a red border. She was a typical native woman. Lachmi called a coolie to carry her luggage. The coolie asked her whether she was travelling alone. Lachmi said that her husband who was a barrister was also travelling in the same train. He always travelled in first class compartment so that he could meet many Englishmen in the train. She said that as she could not talk English, she had to travel in the ladies’ compartment. As soon as the train arrived, Lachmi managed to find a seat in the ladies’ compartment.

 

Mohan Lal’s imitation of English manners:

The arrival of the train  did not disturb Mohan Lal. He thought that excitement and hurry were the marks of ill-breeding. He got u and moved into his first class compartment without any hurry or excitement. He sat by the window and took out a copy of “The Times.” His Balliol tie, The Times, scotch and the English cigarettes were proofs of his western style. He could never forget the glorious life that he had lived in England for five years. This made his to dislike his own country people. He criticized the manners and attitudes of his fellowmen (Indians) thinking that they are illiterate.

Arrival of English men and Lal’s excitement:

Now Mohan Lal felt lonely in the compartment. Suddenly he saw two English soldiers on the platform looking into the compartment for space. Mohan Lal was happy enough to invite them, though they had reservation in the second class compartment. Mohan Lal wanted to have conversation with them during the journey.

The fate of Sir Mohan Lal:

The drunken soldiers, Bill and Jim entered into the first class compartment. Sir Mohan Lal was happy to invite them. But they showed no respect for Mohan Lal, because Mohan Lal is an Indian. They shouted at him and ordered him to get out of the compartment. But Mohan Lal protested and argued in King’s English. On the other hand, the soldiers did not bother about his refined English and started throwing Mohan Lal’s luggage on the platform and finally they pushed Mohan Lal out of the compartment. Mohan Lal fell on the platform and could not do anything against the soldiers. However, his wife, Lachmi without knowing all these things comfortably sitting in the ladies unreserved compartment chewed betel leaves and spat the saliva through the window.

Conclusion:

The proud Mohan Lal did not give respect to his wife and in turn he was not respected by the British soldiers. According to Indian philosophy it is Sir Mohan Lal’s ‘karma’ which was back to him and brought him  shame and insult.

Uncle Podger Hangs a Picture (Jerome K Jerome)

 

Bring out the humour in the story, “Uncle Podger Hangs a Picture”

About the Author:

Jerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humourist, best known for the comic travelogue, “Three Men in a Boat” published in 1887. He was born in Staffordshire, England. His other works include the essay collection, “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow” and “Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow. His “Three Men on the Bummel” is also one of his famous novels.

 Introduction:

The episode, “Uncle Podger Hangs a Picture” is an extract from Jerome K. Jerome’s “Three Men in Boat.” The episode is a hilarious comedy. Uncle Podger projects himself as a man of tall trades but proves a master of none. The way he commends the whole family members for the simple work of hanging a picture on the wall is highly amusing.

Uncle Podger takes up the task:

Uncle Podeger decided to hang a picture on the wall. The picture had come from the frame-maker’s and was in dining room waiting to be hung on the wall. When Aunt Podger wanted someone to do it, Uncle Podger came forward voluntarily and assured her that he would do it himself and she need not to worry about it. There started the comedy.

The involvement of the whole family:

Uncle Podger began the work by taking off his coat and getting ready for the job. At first, he sent the girl out for buying six pence nails. Then he sent the boy to inform the girl about the size of the nails. Thereafter, Podger asked Will to get him his hammer. He told Tom to look for the ruler. Then he told them that he needed the step-ladder and the kitchen chair too. Jim was dispatched to Mr. Goggles, the friend of Podger to bring him spirit level. Before borrowing he was told to pay Mr. Goggle due respect. Maria was advised to remain available there to hold the light. The girl was sent to get a string. Tom was asked to lift the picture. The whole house was involved in executing Uncle Podger’s orders.

The mismanagement of Uncle Podger:

Uncle Podger began doing things clumsily. He lifted up the picture but dropped it carelessly. Trying to pick up the pieces of glass, he cut himself. He and his family search for his coat because in the coat pocket he had kept the handkerchief. The family members could not find his coat anywhere in the house because he was sitting on the coat. Some time after, new glass had been got and fixed. Uncle Podger started his work again. All the family members stood around him to help him. Two persons held the chair. A third helped Podger on it and held him there. A fourth handed him a nail and a fifth passed him the hammer. Uncle Podger took hold of the nail first but dropped it. He asked all the members to search for it. The nail was found but this time the hammer was lost.

The picture fixed at midnight:

When the hammer was found, the mark he had made on the wall was lost. Now one by one, all the family members informed him about different points as mark and this created confusion. Finally, Podger decided to make yet another measurement and this time he leaned too much and fell on the piano. This created a bang sound from the piano. Now Aunt Podger got angry and informed Uncle Podger that she would make arrangements to go and spend a week with her mother, if he liked to hang picture next time. Uncle Podger remarked that women were in the habit of making fuss about little things. In the final attempt, Uncle Podger spoilt the plaster on the wall. Then he flattened his nose against the wall once before being successful in hanging the picture out the midnight time. But the picture itself hung crooked and insecure. All the members of the family were tried. Then Podger stepped out heavily down the chair. But he was proud to say that some people called in a man to do a little thing like that.

Conclusion:

Uncle Podger’s attempts and the problems faced by the family members while Podger was trying to hang the picture on the wall create a hilarious comedy. The self-centered Podger commends the whole family for a very simple task shows that Jerome’s humour is fully evident in this episode.

 

 

 

 

 

"Shakespeare" by Matthew Arnold

 Matthew Arnold- Matthew Arnold was born in Laleham, Middlesex on 24th December 1822 and is widely known for his essays and poetry. Arnold’s poetry tackled psychological themes like those of Sylvia Plath’s works and his poetic excellence was constituted in the transparency of expression.

Shakespeare- “Shakespeare” is Arnold’s one of the most read and favoured sonnet. William Shakespeare, a major literary figure and the greatest dramatist in the world of English Literature, had already established himself as a critics’ favourite poet, before the beginning of Arnold’s poetic career. Matthew Arnold being impressed by Shakespeare’s artistic abilities wrote this famous sonnet in his honour.

 

Setting of Shakespeare-

The poem is composed in the form of a sonnet as a means to honour Shakespeare who was known for his sonnets and plays. Though the poem does not follow the regular rhyme scheme and is definitely not composed similar to Shakespeare’s sonnet, the irregular rhyme gives the poem the setting of a natural speech. The poem cannot be associated with a specific physical location and the poem is set in the form of thoughts full of praise for the great Shakespeare.

Summary of “Shakespeare”:

Arnold begins by praising the great Shakespeare from the very first word of his sonnet, “others”. He is quick in distinguishing Shakespeare from the rest and acknowledging his uniqueness, he says, other poets and artists can be questioned regarding their works and they too are eager to answer those who might try to understand their work. But Shakespeare differs from all the others since he is “free” and so is his “art”. The critics do question his work but instead of answering them, Shakespeare replies with a smile continuing his “art still”, giving every person a chance to form their own interpretation of his work, finding their own meaning among the multiple edges and variations a single art piece of his is filled with.  

The poet says that Shakespeare’s knowledge is “out-topping”, beyond the reach of mortals and unquestionable. He compares Shakespeare’s artistic abilities and knowledge to that of a mountain top covered with clouds, meeting the sky, the ordinary being able to see and appreciate the unapproachable from far. This comparison can also be seen as the differences being pointed out between “others” and Shakespeare. This difference is further highlighted when speaker says that Shakespeare is like the mountain whose feet meet the seas while his crown reaches the “heavens”, the sky. The mere mortals including the “others” are just provided with the glimpses of the “cloudy border”, that is just a few indistinct parts of his art. Here, Arnold is praising the vastness of Shakespeare’s works. The poet then praises Shakespeare’s majestic abilities, when he says that Shakespeare’s imaginative abilities rise like stars and shine alongside sun’s beaming rays, just like the lofty mountain.

Shakespeare was self educated and a self made man. The poet is in awe of his abilities and mentions the significance of Shakespeare’s self taught education, his own experiences being his only guidance. And then the poet says that despite this fact, Shakespeare, a God like creature, walked on earth, never completely understood by his fellow men but for the poet, it was for the best. Arnold here is critical of Shakespeare’s works being questioned and his worthy art not being appreciated enough.  The poet says that the human beings have to endure all the sorrows of life and all the grief. Yet, Shakespeare being taught from his own grief has the majestic ability to remain detached from personal views and his works portray the common and relatable aspects of every human being and thus, his work can be seen as a victory over all the pain human kind has suffered.

Poetic Devices in “Shakespeare”:

Repetition: “We ask and ask—Thou smilest and art still”; “Making the heaven of heavens his dwelling-place”
Alliteration: “And thou, who didst the stars and sunbeams know”; “Self-school’d, self-scann’d, self-honour’d, self-secure”

Metaphor: In “for the loftiest hill”, Shakespeare and his art has been compared with the mountain top.

Personification: Mountain has been personified as an extraordinary figure

Tone of “Shakespeare”:

The poem is set in a calm tone of a natural speech and is strong enough to convey the poet’s praises of Shakespeare.

Conclusion- This poem is a brilliant and skillful composition by Matthew Arnold which reminds the readers of the unquestionable greatness and uniqueness of Shakespeare.