Centre For External Degree and Professional Learning (CEDPL)

Introduction to
Literature &
Literary Appreciation

Mrs. K.R.Fathima Seefa

Published by
Centre for External Degrees and
Professional Learning
South Eastern University of Sri Lanka
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 Introduction To Literature and Literary Appreciation

Introduction to Literature
&
Literary Appreciation

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 Centre For External Degree and Professional Learning (CEDPL)

The South Eastern University of Sri Lanka

University Park,
Oluvil
Sri Lanka 32360

First published in 2023 ISBN

© 2023 South Eastern University of Sri Lanka

All rights reserved. No part of this course book be produced or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electric or mechanical,
including photocopying and recording or from any information stored in
a retrieval system, without permission in writing from both the author of
this course book and South Eastern University of Sri Lanka.

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 Introduction To Literature and Literary Appreciation

Acknowledgement

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the almighty God for

giving me the strength to undertake this task. I express my deep sense of
appreciation to every single person who helped me with this work. My
profound gratitude goes to the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka for
publishing this book. I hope this book will provide a comprehensive
analysis of the course content.

Mrs. K.R.Fathima Seefa

Lecturer (prob.) in English
Department of Languages
Faculty of Arts & Culture
South Eastern University of Sri Lanka

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Contents

Introduction to course .......................................................................... 01

Chapter - 1 ............................................................................................. 05
1.1. What is Literature? ................................................................... 09
1.2. Poetry and its types. .................................................................. 10
1.2.1. Lyric........................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.2.2. Sonnet .....................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.2.3. Ballad ..................................................................................... 13

1.2.4. Elegy ...................................................................................... 15

1.2.5. Epic ........................................................................................ 16

1.3. Short story .................................................................................. 18

1.4. Literary devices/ literary techniques / figures of speech ....... 19

Chapter – 2 Poetry ................................................................................ 25

2.1. Poetry (Medieval to Renaissance) ............................................ 30
2.1.1. Demon Lover ..........................Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.1.2. Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day- William

Shakespeare………………………………………………………..38

2.1.3. Sweetest Love I Do Not Goe- John Donne . Error! Bookmark

not defined.3

2.2. Poetry (Romantic Poetry) ......................................................... 52

2.2.1 Daffodils- William Wordsworth ............................................ 52

2.2.2. The Solitary Reaper- William Wordsworth........................... 60

2.2.3. The Chimney Sweeper- William Blake ................................. 64

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 Introduction To Literature and Literary Appreciation

Chapter – 03 Short Story ..................................................................... 71

3.1. Nightingale and the Rose ............................................................ .76
3.1.1. About the author .................................................................... 76

3.1.2. Criticism of the story ............................................................. 77

3.1.3. Characterization ..................................................................... 79

3.2. Gift of the Magi ......................................................................... 83

3.2.1. About the author .................................................................... 83

3.2.2. Criticism of the story……………………………………..... 84

3.2.3. Characterization- ................................................................... 89

3.3. An Astrologer’s Day .................................................................. 90

3.3.1. About the author .................................................................... 90

3.3.2. Criticism of the story ..............Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.3.3. Characterization. .................................................................... 96

Chapter – 04 Drama ............................................................................. 98

4.1. The Tempest- William Shakespeare ................................... ..101
4.1.1. About the author .................................................................. 101

4.1.2. Criticism of the play ............................................................ 105

Chapter – 05 Novel.............................................................................. 107

5.1. Great Expectations…………………………………………...110
5.1.1. About the author .................................................................. 111

5.1.2. Victorian Era........................................................................ 111

5.1.3. Criticism of the novel .......................................................... 114

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Introduction to the course

ENM 10013 Introduction to Literature

and Literary Appreciation
Introduction:
This course introduces students to the genres of literature and engages
them to close reading of selected texts. It also develops the critical skills
they need to read, appreciate and interpret poetry and short stories. It
provides various ideologies of the literary genres which act as a
foundation to understand literature. The course covers literary forms,
literary terms, literary movements and the key techniques of poetry and
short story. The course also considers a wide range of poetic modes and
how they vary according to the writer, his milieu and the historical
context.

Course Objectives:
1. To provide a background knowledge (socio-political and cultural
milieu of the respective literary work) necessary to study English
literature.
2. To develop the ability to respond to the common or culturally
specific themes of texts.
3. To generate an understanding of literary techniques employed in
different genres of literary texts.
4. To gain a wider perspective on the human values through the
study of literary texts.

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 Introduction To Literature and Literary Appreciation

5. To develop the ability to compare different literary texts.

6. To develop the critical thinking of the learner through various
reading and writing tasks of selected literary works.

Learning Outcomes:
After successful completion of the course the student will be able to:
1. Appreciate literary texts focusing on common or culturally specific
themes in literature by writers of different races, genders and ethnic
backgrounds.
2. Apply the knowledge on literary techniques when analysing poetry,
short stories, drama and novel.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of human values and morals through
the study of literary texts.
4. Compare different literary texts in terms of ideas and uniqueness of
texts.
5. Critically respond to different literary texts adopting reasonable
interpretation and to support that interpretation with evidence.

Methods of Evaluation:

Semester-End written examination - 60 marks

Continuous Assessments - 40 marks
Total - 100 marks

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Semester Examination:
Duration of the semester question paper will be three hours. Students are
required to answer five questions out of eight.

Course Content:
1. Introduction - Literary forms: poetry
(lyric, sonnet, ballad, elegy,
epic…), short story, drama
and novel. Literary
techniques.

2. Poetry (Medieval to Renaissance)

• Anonymous - Demon lover

• William Shakespeare - Shall I compare thee to a
Summer’s day (sonnet 18)
• John Donne - Sweetest love I do not goe.

3. Poetry (Romantic poetry)

• William Wordsworth - Daffodils
- The Solitary Reaper
• William Blake - The Chimney Sweeper
(Song of Innocence and
Song of Experience)
4. Short Story

• Oscar Wilde - The Nightingale and the Rose

• O. Henry - The Gift of the Magi

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 Introduction To Literature and Literary Appreciation

• R.K. Narayan - An Astrologer’s Day

5. Drama
Any drama by William Shakespeare

6. Novel
Any novel by a Victorian writer

Recommended Readings:

1. Abrams, M.H, Harpham.G. (2014). A Glossary of Literary

Terms, 11th ed, Cengage Learning.
2. Hudson, H. W. (1999). An Outline History of English Literature.
Atlantic Publishers & Dist.
3. Hunter, A. (2007). The Cambridge Introduction to the Short Story
in English. Cambridge University Press.
4. Corson, H. (1889). An introduction to the Study of Shakespeare.
Boston, D.C.Heath & Co Publisher.
5. Babb, H.S. (1967). Jane Austen’s novels : The Fabric of
Dialogue. Ohio University Press.

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Chapter - 1

Introduction

Contents
Chapter - 1 ......................……………05Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.1. What is Literature? ................................................................ 09

1.2 Poetry and its types. ............................................................... 10

1.2.1 Lyric........................................................................................ 10

1.2.2 Sonnet ..................................................................................... 11

1.2.3. Ballad ..................................................................................... 13

1.2.4. Elegy ...................................................................................... 15

1.2.5. Epic ........................................................................................ 16

1.3. Short story ............................................................................... 18

1.4. Literary devices/ literary techniques / figures of speech .... 19

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 Introduction To Literature and Literary Appreciation

About this chapter

This chapter provides a comprehensive background about literature,
poetry, different types of poetry and literary techniques. Understanding the
concept of literature is important for the students, since many students do
not have adequate exposure to literature. Moreover, the poetry prescribed
for this course belong to different poetic forms. Thus this introduction will
be helpful for students to analyse poetry and short stories effectively.

Aim of the chapter

This chapter aims to give a general background of English literature
which will enable the students to appreciate poetry and short story
prescribed in this course.

Intended learning Outcomes

At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
• Define literature and key literary terms
• Analyse different types of poetry
• Identify the characteristics and elements of a short story.
• Identify and explain literary techniques.

Chapter Summary
This chapter analyses definition of literature and poetry. It gives a brief
account of lyric, sonnet, Ballad, Elegy, Epic and Short story with
examples. Moreover a detailed analysis of literary techniques with
relevant examples have also been provided in this chapter.

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Review questions
1. What do you understand by the term “literature’?
2. Write short notes for the following.
a. Lyric
b. Ballad
c. Sonnet
d. Epic
e. Elegy
3. Write a descriptive note on the characteristics and elements of the
short story.
4. Discuss the literary techniques with relevant examples

Key terms
Literature, poetry, lyric, sonnet, Ballad, Elegy, Epic, Short story, Literary
techniques.

References
1. Abrams, M.H and Harpham G. (2014). A Glossary of Literary
Terms. 11th ed, Cengage Learning.

2. WWW.Worldclasslearning.com

3. https://english.edurite.com/literary-response/imagery.html

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Recommended readings

1. Abrams, M.H and Harpham G. (2014). A Glossary of Literary

Terms. 11th ed, Cengage Learning.

2. http://acip.sd79.bc.ca/vocab_sheets/short_story_terms.pdf

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1.1. What is Literature?

The word “literature” is derived from the Latin term “literature /
litteratura” which means “learning, a writing, grammar”. When we
attempt to define what literature is, there are ample definitions available.
According to the 11th edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary literature is “writings having excellence of form or expression
and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest.” Literature is
basically a body of writing that includes poetry, short story, drama and
novels.

Literature is what mirrors our life. For instance, when we read a piece of
literature, we will be able to identify ourselves with the imaginary
characters appear in a particular writing. For some people literature gives
immense pleasure and the ability to appreciate things in a positive way
whereas some literary works are written for the purpose of reforming the
society by inculcating moral values or to critique something or to
strengthen certain cultural values. Thus, literature immensely contributes
to the society by enabling the readers to approach everything critically
and with an open mind.

1.2. Poetry and its types

The term poetry is derived from the Greek term “Poiesis” which means “to
make or create”. The writer who writes poetry is called as the “poet”. Poet
uses his imagination to create poems. Poetry is often associated not only
with specialised language but with a very dense use of such specialised
language. Poems usually try to express their meaning in much less space
than, say, a novel or even a short story. Alexander Pope once explained

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that he preferred to write poetry even when he wrote about philosophy

because it enabled him to express himself more briefly (Pope, Preface to
An Essay on Man, 1734). “Poetry tends to make more concentrated use of
formal elements, it displays a tendency for structural, phonological,
morphological and syntactic over structuring” (Scott, 1904). It means that
poetry uses elements such as sound patterns, verse and metre, rhetorical
devices, style, stanza form or imagery more frequently than other types of
text. However, it is to be noted that not all poems use all these elements.

In terms of the difference in structure, style and form, we can classify

poems into many types.

1.2.1 Lyric

A lyric is any fairly short poem, consisting of the utterance by a single

speaker, who expresses a state of mind or a process of perception,
thought, and feeling. Many lyric speakers are represented as musing in
solitude. Lyric is meant to be sung; therefore, it is melodic and emotional
as opposed to narrative.

In the original Greek, "lyric" signified a song rendered to the

accompaniment of a lyre. In some current usages, lyric still retains the
sense of a poem written to be set to music; the hymn, for example, is a
lyric on a religious subject that is intended to be sung. Shakespeare’s
sonnets are best examples of lyric. In the Romantic period, lyric became
quintessentially poetic mode. Lyric is uttered in first person.

The speaker is a conventional period-figure, such as the long-suffering

suitor in the Petrarchan sonnet, or the courtly, witty lover of the Cavalier
poems. Within a lyric, the process of observation, thought, memory, and

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feeling may be organized in a variety of ways. For example, in "love

lyrics" the speaker may simply express an enamoured state of mind in an
ordered form, as in Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How do I love thee?”;
or may deploy an argument to take advantage of fleeting youth and
opportunity (Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress," or Shakespeare's
first seventeen sonnets addressed to a male youth); or may express a cool
response to an importunate lover (Christina Rossetti's "No, thank you,
John"). In other kinds of lyrics the speaker manifests and justifies a
particular disposition and set of values (John Milton's "L'Allegro" and "II
Penseroso"); or expresses a sustained process of observation and
meditation in the attempt to resolve an emotional problem (Wordsworth's
"Ode: Intimations of Immortality," Arnold's "Dover Beach")

1.2.2 Sonnet

The term “sonnet” was derived from Italian word “sonnetto” which
means “a shortest lyric”. It is a lyric poem consisting of a single stanza of
fourteen iambic pentameter lines linked by an intricate rhyme scheme.
There are three major types of sonnets

a). The Italian or Petrarchan sonnet

It is named after the fourteenth century Italian poet Petrarch. It consists

of two main parts: an octave (eight lines) rhyming abbaabba followed by
a sestet (six lines) rhyming cdecde. The octave is divided into 2 quatrains
(quatrain= four lines) and sestet is divided into two tercets (tercet= three
lines). Petrarch's sonnets were first imitated in England.
Emma Lazarus’s “The New Colossus” is a Petrarchan sonnet. The rhyme
pattern of the Petrarchan sonnet has a statement of problem, situation, or
incident in the octave, with a resolution in the sestet.

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b). The English sonnet / Shakespearian sonnet

The Earl of Surrey and other English experimenters in the sixteenth

century also developed a stanza form called the English sonnet, or else
the Shakespearean sonnet, because Shakespeare was the greatest
practitioner. This sonnet consists of three quatrains and a concluding
couplet: abab cdcd efef gg. The couplet gives the resolution. Sonnets
written by the English poet William Shakespeare are the examples for
this type of sonnet.

c). The Spenserian Sonnet

This sonnet type was introduced by Spencer. This sonnet is similar to

Shakespearian sonnet, but the difference is that Spenser linked each
quatrain to the next by a continuing rhyme: abab bebe cdcd ee.
That is, he reduced the 7 rhymes into five and joined the quatrain. John
Donne shifted from the hitherto standard subject, sexual love, to a variety
of religious themes in his Holy Sonnets, written early in the seventeenth
century; and Milton, in the latter part of that century, expanded the range
of the sonnet to other matters of serious concern.

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1.2.3. Ballad

A short definition of the popular ballad (known also as the folk ballad or
traditional ballad) Ballad is a song, transmitted orally, which tells a story.
Ballads are thus the narrative species of folk songs, which originate, and
are communicated orally, among illiterate or only partly literate people.
The initial version of a ballad was composed by a single author, but he or
she is unknown.

Structure of ballad

a) The most common stanza form—called the ballad stanza—is a

quatrain in alternate four- and three-stress lines; usually only the
second- and fourth-lines rhyme.
b) The first stanza of this ballad also exemplifies the conventionally
abrupt opening- there is no preliminary explanation or
descriptions.
c) Usually uses third-person narration
d) Setting is minimised and more weightage is given to action.
e) Sharp transition.
f) It is in the form of dialogue.
g) Language and syntax is very simple.
h) It is commonly in question-and-answer format- Parallelism
i) Theme is often tragic.
j) Events lead quickly to crisis.
k) Many ballads employ set formulas such as:

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(1) Stock descriptive phrases like "blood-red wine" and "milk-white

steed,"
(2) A refrain (repeated line /phrase) in each stanza ("Edward," "Lord
Randall")
(3) Incremental repetition, in which a line or stanza is repeated, but with
an ("Lord Randall," "Child Waters"). (See oral formulaic poetry.)

There are three types of ballads:

a). Traditional Ballad:

Traditional ballad is a short narrative song older in origin and transmitted

orally among illiterate or semi-illiterate people. The authors of traditional
ballads are unknown/ anonymous. Although many traditional ballads
probably originated in the later Middle Ages, they were not collected and
printed until the eighteenth century,

b). Broadside Ballad

A broadside ballad is a ballad that was printed on one side of a single

sheet (called a "broadside"), dealt with a current event or person or issue,
and was sung to a well-known tune. Beginning with the sixteenth
century, these broadsides were hawked in the streets or at county fairs in
Great Britain. It was a source of entertainment for urban rather than rural
population.

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c). Literary Ballad

Literary ballads are written by educated poets in imitation of the form

and style of the traditional ballads. From the time of Wordsworth, the
ballads became an accepted and reputable part of the genre system of
English poetry. In 1798 Wordsworth and Coleridge published a
collaborative volume called “Lyrical Ballad”. Since that time the ballad
genre has been a significant part of the mainstream of English poetry.

1.2.4. Elegy

In Greek and Roman literature, "elegy" denoted any poem written in

elegiac meter (alternating hexameter and pentameter lines). The term was
also used to refer to the subject matter of change and loss frequently
expressed in the elegiac verse form, especially in complaints about love.
Elegy is a lament, in that many of them emphasize mutability and loss. In
the present usage: elegy is a formal and sustained lament in verse for the
death of a particular person, usually ending in a consolation. The
medieval poems such as ‘The Pearl and Chaucer's Book of the Duchess”
(elegies in the mode of dream allegory); Alfred, Lord Tennyson's In
Memoriam (1850), On the death of Arthur Hallam; and W. H. Auden's In
Memory of W. B. Yeats (1940) are good examples of elegy.

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1.2.5. Epic

Epic is a heroic poem that has the following characteristics:

a) It is a long verse narrative on a serious subject.

b) Often told in a formal and elevated style.
c) It is centred on a heroic or quasi-divine figure on whose actions
determines the fate of a tribe or a nation.
d) The hero is a figure of great national or even cosmic importance.
e) The setting of the poem is ample in scale, and may be worldwide, or
even larger.
f) The action involves superhuman deeds in battle in which great
actions of gods and other supernatural beings are included.
g) An epic poem is a ceremonial performance and is narrated in a
ceremonial style.
h) It deliberately distanced from ordinary speech and proportioned to
the grandeur and formality of the heroic subject and architecture.

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Types of epics

i. Traditional epics / folk epics / primary epics-

Traditional epics were written versions of what had originally
been oral poems about a tribal or national hero during a warlike
age.
E.g. Iliad and Odyssey (Greek literature). Beowulf

ii. Literary epics-

These epics were composed by individual poetic craftsmen in
deliberate imitation of the traditional form.
E.g Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667) is a literary epic which was
written in imitation of Virgil's Latin poem the Aeneid.

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1.3. Short story / short fiction

A short story is a brief work of prose fiction. The short story is like a novel in
all the aspects, but it is short. Short story is “a narrative which can be read at
one sitting of from half an hour to two hours and is limited to "a certain
unique or single effect" to which every detail is subordinate ‘(Review of
Nathaniel Hawthorne's Twice Told Tales, 1842). According to the dictionary
definition “A short story is an invented prose narrative shorter than a novel
usually dealing with a few characters and aiming at unity of effect and often
concentrating on the creation of mood rather than plot’.

Characteristics of short stories

a) It has only one or few incidents.

b) Has a single plot.
c) Has a single setting (place where the story is set)
d) There are limited number of characters
e) It covers a short period of time.

Elements of short story

Exposition- the introduction of setting, situation and main characters.

Complication - the event of the story that introduces the Conflict.

Rising action (crisis) - the decisive moment for the protagonist and their
commitment to a course of action.

Climax- the point of highest interest in terms of the conflict and the point of
the story with the most action.

Resolution- the point of the story when the conflict is resolved and moral.

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1.4. Literary devices/ literary techniques / figures of Speech

1. Alliteration - the repetition of an initial consonant sound.

E.g.- Sally sells seashells

2. Allusion - the act of alluding is to make indirect reference. It is a

technique that stimulates different ideas using only couple of words.kj

E.g. “Expendable as jews”- in the poem “A far cry from Africa” this line
alludes to the holocaust in Germany.

3. Anaphora- the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning

of successive clauses or verses.

E.g. “I came, I saw, I conquer” – Julier Caesar

4. Anti-climax- refers to the figure of speech in which statements

gradually descend in order of emphasis.

E.g. She is a great writer, a good humourist.

5. Assonance- identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in

neighbouring words.

E.g. “The crumbling thunder of seas”

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6. Ellipsis - refers to the omission of a word or words. It refers to

constructions in which words are left out of a sentence but the sentence can
still be understood.

E.g., My aunt waited until Eliza sighed and then said:

“Ah, well, he’s gone to a better world.”

Eliza sighed again and bowed her head in assent. My aunt fingered the stem
of her wine-glass before sipping a little.
“Did he…peacefully?” she asked.
-James Joyce “The Sisters”.

(Here “die” is understood by ellipsis)

7. Euphemism- the substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered

offensively explicit.

E.g. Going to the other side for death.

8. Hyperbole- the use of exaggerated terms for the purpose of emphasis or

heightened effect.

E.g. “I’ll love you dear, I’ll love you / Till China and Africa meet”

9. Irony- the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning.

E.g., “Water, water, everywhere,

And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink”.

(The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Coleridge).

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10. Metaphor - is implied comparison between two unlike things that

actually have something important in common.

E.g. 1. Moon face.

2. “Thy eternal summer shall not fade”

- Shall I Compare Thee by William Shakespeare-.

(Here the poet compares his lover/ friend with fairness of summer)

11. Simile- Comparison between two fundamentally dissimilar things

that have certain qualities in common. Unlike metaphors, simile is
formed with words such as “like” and “as”.

E.g. He fights like a lion.

12. Metonymy- A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is

substituted for another with which it is closely associated.

E.g Crown (for the power of king)

13. Onomatopoeia- the use of words that imitate the sounds associated
with the objects or actions they refer to.

E.g. Clap, Buzz

14. Oxymoron- a figure of speech in which contradictory terms appear

side by side.

E.g. Dark light

Living dead.

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15. Paradox - A statement that appears to contradict itself.

E.g. “My heart leaps up when I behold / A rainbow in the sky: / So was it
when my life began; / So is it now I am a man; / So be it when I shall grow
old, / Or let me die! / The Child is father of the Man.”

-My Heart Leaps Up by William Wordsworth-

16. Personification- A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or

abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities

E.g., “A host of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”

-I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth-

17. Pun- a play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word
and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.

E.g. “When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done for I have more.
That at my death Thy Son / Shall shine as he shines now, and
And having done that, Thou hast done;
I fear no more.”

-A Hymn to God the Father by John Donne-

(In this stanza the poet plays on the word “Done”. The word “Done” means
done as well as Donne. Similarly, the word “more” is an example for pun as
it means more and the name of Jhon Donne’s wife, Anne More)

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18. Imagery: means to use figurative language to represent objects,

actions and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical five senses.
Imagery draws on the five senses, namely the details of taste, touch,
sight, smell, and sound.

a) Visual imagery - This form helps in evoking the sight of a particular

image explained. Visual imagery appeals to the sense of sight and plays
the largest role in imagery in literature. It describes what a scene or
character looks like.

E.g. The night was black as ever, but bright stars lit up the sky.

b) Auditory Imagery - It is used to represent sound. Auditory imagery

describes specific sounds that are happening within the story. Words
such as “bang!” “achoo!” “cacaw!” all work to describe sounds that most
people are familiar with.

E.g. The rumbling sound of clouds, indicated start of monsoon.

c) Olfactory Imagery- Olfactory imagery describes a particular scent. It

is related to the nose, that is, smell. Thus, it helps to conjure up smells to
the reader.

E.g. I was awakened by the strong smell of a freshly brewed coffee.

d) Gustatory Imagery- Gustatory imagery pertains to the sense of taste.

It helps evoke the sense of taste in one's mind.

E.g. Jason took one look at the cupcake in front of him and couldn’t
wait another second.

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e) Tactile Imagery- Tactile imagery appeals to the sense of touch. Sense of

touch is represented with the use of tactile imagery.

E, g. Sarah placed her bare hand on the cold snow.

f) Organic Imagery - Organic imagery is the most difficult form of

imagery to write, because it deals with creating a specific feeling or
emotion within the reader. Phrases that make the reader feel nostalgic, sad,
fearful, elated, even lost are all extremely effective organic imagery.
Internal sensation: hunger, thirst, fatigue, fear.

E.g. 'It's when I'm weary of considerations, And life is too much like a
pathless wood.' Birches by Robert Frost

g) Kinaesthetic Imagery- kinaesthetic imagery deals with the movement

or action of objects or people. It is a broad term that is used to describe
various emotions. It includes sense of touch, movement, feeling and
temperature, internal emotions and physical interactions.

E.g. The birds flapped their wings in excitement.

(Adapted from WWW.Worldclasslearning.com)

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Chapter - 2

Poetry

Contents
Chapter – 2 Poetry ................................................................................ 25

2.1. Poetry (Medieval to Renaissance) ........30Error! Bookmark not

defined.

2.1.1. Demon Lover- Anonymous 30Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.1.2. Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day- William

Shakespeare ..................................................................................... 38

2.1.3. Sweetest Love I Do Not Goe- John Donne ........................... 43

2.2 Poetry (Romantic Poetry) ...................................................... 52

2.2.1. Daffodils- William Wordsworth ............................................ 52

2.2.2. The Solitary Reaper- William Wordsworth........................... 60

2.2.3. The Chimney Sweeper- William Blake ................................. 64

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About the chapter

This chapter provides a comprehensive analysis of nine poems written
during different literary periods/ literary movements including medieval
era, Elizabethan Era, Metaphysical Movement, Cavalier Movement,
Romantic Movement, Modern Era and Sri Lankan poetry. A detailed
account of each poem is given in this chapter.

Aim of the chapter

This chapter aims to provide an in-depth analysis of poetry by
contextualizing it in the socio-political and economic background of the
poets. Thus, it will enable students to appreciate each poem critically.

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this chapter, you should be able to;

• Explain the summary and message of different poems.

• Analyze the impact of the socio-political milieu in the thematic
concern.
• Demonstrate the structure, style, mood, setting, tone, rhyme,
metre etc.
• Identify the literary techniques employed in each poem.
• Compare different poems to show the similarities and differences
in the themes and ideas.

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Chapter Summary
This chapter provides a critical analysis of each poem by giving an
account of the biography of the poet, background to the literary period in
which it was written, detailed summary of the poem, analysis of the
poem, theme analysis and literary techniques employed in the poem.

Review questions

1. Illustrate the literary techniques employed in Shakespeare’s

sonnet ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day”.
2. “William Blake’s poetry offers a critique on the society”. Discuss
this statement with reference to any two poem of William Blake.
3. Examine the metaphysical elements in Donne’s poetry with close
reference to ‘Song- Sweetest Love I Do Not Goe’.
4. Analyse ‘Demon Lover’ as a ballad?
5. “William Wordsworth shows the bond between human and
nature in ‘I Wandered lonely as a Cloud”. Comment on this
statement with reference to the poem.

Key terms
William Shakespeare, John Donne, William Wordsworth,
William Blake, Robert Herrick, W.H.Auden, Anne Ranasinghe,
Jean Arasanayagam

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References

1. Bose, C. (2013). "Generating Happiness through Nature by

Romantic poets", Research Journal of English Language and
Literature (RJELAL), vol.1. No.3.

2. Gbeatty. (2016). "Why does Shakespeare compare the young

man to a summer's day in Sonnet 18?" eNotes.

3. Grierson, H.J.C. (ed). (1921). Metaphysical Lyrics and Poems

of the Seventeenth Century. Oxford.

4. Shakespeare, William. “Sonnet 18”. Ed. Amanda Mabillard.

Shakespeare Online. 12 Nov. 2008. Retrieved from
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/18detail.html

5. Skelton, R. (1960). The Cavalier Poets. London: Longmans,

Green & Co.

6. SparkNotes Editors. (2002). SparkNote on Wordsworth’s

Poetry.

Recommended Readings

1. Fernando, H. (1998). Critical Notes on A/L poems. A

Denuma Publications.

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2. Fernando, D & Wijesinhe, R. (1992). Studying Literature for

Students of English, Colombo, English Association of Sri
Lanka, Student Readers project.

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2.1. 1. THE DEMON LOVER

-Author Unknown-

"Oh, where have you been, my long, long love,

this seven years and more?"
"Oh, I've come to seek my former vows
Ye granted me before."

"Oh, do not speak of your former vows,

For they will breed sad strife;
Oh, do not speak of your former vows,
For I have become a wife."

He turned him right and round about,,

And the tear blinded his ee:
"I would never have trodden on this ground
If it had not been for thee."

"If I was to leave my husband dear,

And my two babes also,
Oh, what have you to take me to,
If with you I should go?"

"I have seven ships upon the sea---

The eighth brought me to land---
With four-and-twenty bold mariners,
And music on every hand."

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She has taken up her two little babes,

Kissed them on cheek and chin:
"Oh, fare ye well, my own two babes,
For I'll never see you again."

She set her foot upon the ship---

No mariners could she behold;
But the sails were of the teffeta,
And the masts of the beaten gold.

She had not sailed a league, a league,

A league but barely three,
When dismal grew his countenance,
And drumlie grew his ee.

They had not sailed a league, a league,

A league but barely three,
Until she espied his cloven foot,
And she wept right bitterly.

"Oh, hold your tongue of your weeping," said he,

"Of your weeping now let me be;
I will show you how the lilies grow
On the banks of Italy."

"Oh, what hills are yon, yon pleasant hills,

That the sun shines sweetly on?"
"Oh, yon are the hills of heaven," he said,,

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"Where you will never win."

"Oh, whaten a mountain is yon," she said,

"So dreary with frost and snow?"
"Oh, yon is the mountain of hell," he cried,
"Where you and I will go."

He struck the top-mast with his hand,

The fore-mast with his knee;
And he broke that gallant ship in twain,
And sank her in the sea.

Background to the poem

The Demon lover is a ballad written during the medieval era (Middle
Ages) spanning for long years from 1066 to 1485. Since ballads are
orally transmitted, the poet was anonymous and the exact date in which it
was written or published was also unknown. However this ballad
belonged to medieval era.

Scholars called this era as the ‘dark ages’ due to the absence of
significant development in many fields including literature. At the
backdrop of socio-political events, religion (Catholicicm) played a major
role in the lives of the people. During this era every person was
unquestioningly believed in God; Heaven and hell; sin and merit. Thus
the literature produced in this era was essentially propagating the
Christian values and ideals.

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The main forms of literary works produced were drama and folk ballads.
These works depicted Christian morals by dramatizing between good and
bad deeds, heaven and hell.

In terms of women, the society gave less priority to women. The role of a
woman was limited to serving God and be obedient to her husband. There
were many superstitious believes associated with the woman who betrayed
her husband. Thus, the ballad ‘The demon lover’ acts as a cautionary tale
that warns humans who are easily tempted by worldly desires and warns a
woman who is insincere to her husband by showing the danger of the
punishment one is ought to get if they engage in sinful activities.

Criticism of the poem

It is a conventional folk ballad which tells a tragic story of a woman who is

killed by her lover, who returns after seven years. It is a ballad based on
superstitious belief about demons among ancient English people.

In terms of the structure, this poem is divided into 13 stanzas consisting of 4

lines each (quatrains). It has many ballad elements. (Refer to the first
chapter of this book for a detailed note on ballad elements)

In this ballad some stanzas are in the form of dialogue while other stanzas
are in narrative form. Though the opening of the ballad is abrupt, the readers
can comprehend the past and present situation of the man and woman using
few words. Thus, this ballad is noted for its brevity and economy of words.
Moreover, the dialogues are well written and the conversation show logical
development. There is a conflict entering the story when he gets to know
that she is married.

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From this point onwards he seems to be dominating and she seems to

argue with him. At this point obviously the sympathy of the readers lies
on the woman.

This ballad is noted for the portrayal of woman and the medieval
beliefs. The author depicted the woman as a complex character, that is,
she is treated as a bad character as well as a good character in the poem.
In the beginning of the poem, when her lover seeks her promise of
marriage after seven years, her reply vividly portrays her helplessness.
Readers sympathize with her. Perhaps she is forced to become the wife
of another man, that is why she is pleading him not to remind her about
her past.

"Oh, do not speak of your former vows,

For they will breed sad strife;
Oh, do not speak of your former vows,
For I have become a wife.

In addition, when she says she has become a wife, it shows her loyalty
towards her husband. Nevertheless, it is interesting how the author
shatters the image of the woman in the following stanzas where she is
portrayed as completely a bad woman who is greedy and materialistic.
In fact, in the medieval era, woman was treated as a cause of
temptation. Even in the Bible Eve is blamed for tempting Adam to eat
from the forbidden tree. Thus, a woman is treated as a source of
temptation.

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The materialistic nature of woman is depicted when she says:

If I was to leave my husband dear,

And my two babes also,
Oh, what have you to take me to,
If with you I should go?"

Thus, the character of woman is complex because she is given both positive
and negative traits. Similarly, there is complexity embedded in the character
of the lover because at the beginning, when he comes back to her with the
intention of seeking her promise his sincerity is shown. Further when he
says, "I would never have trodden on this ground / if it had not been for
thee", his helplessness is depicted. But later when he transforms into a
demon, his evilness comes to surface. Thus, it is difficult for the readers to
take the side of any character because there is no black and white portrayal
of characters.

When the man and woman sail into the sea, she sees pleasant hill as well as
dark hill. This image of the hills would have been created by the demon
using magic to surprise and terrify her. He continues to give her
psychological torture one after the other. The woman is extremely in a
pathetic state: she neither has her husband nor her lover. She is being
punished for her insincerity. In this way, this ballad could be a cautionary
tale that warns an insincere woman by demonstrating the punishment for
insincerity and temptation.

The ballad clearly portrays the danger of temptation. Initially when the man
asks her to come with him, she rejects it thinking about her present situation
and commitment. However, when he tells her about his riches “I have seven
ships upon the sea--- The eighth brought me to land--- With four-and-twenty
bold mariners”, she is tempted by his riches.
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Thus, the reason for her downfall is temptation. At the end she loses
everything and her life because of temptation. According to the Christian
beliefs temptation is considered as the root cause for major sins. Thus this
ballad shows the consequences of temptation.

Moreover, the woman is punished for being insincere or cheating her

husband. During the medieval era the only role of a woman is to be obedient
to her husband. There were many superstitious beliefs saying that if woman
was insincere to her husband she would be tortured by demon and go to hell.
This belief is vividly captured in the ballad as the woman eventually enters
hell as a punishment for disobeying her husband. Thus, the insincere woman
is punished at the end. Hence this ballad is a cautionary tale.

In this ballad we can see the portrayal of medieval beliefs. They believed
that if any woman was insincere to her husband she would end up in hell
after being tortured by the demon. Though these beliefs are superstitious,
people in the medieval era believed it and used it in order to warn insincere
women. Since the medieval culture had a strong faith in Christianity, the
concept of heaven and hell is used in this ballad.

In addition, this ballad deals with the concept of love. The man and woman
were lovers before seven years. Due to some circumstances the woman is
married to another man betraying her promise to wait for him. After she gets
married, she would have forgotten her former lover. The man comes after
seven long years with the intention of marrying her. Upon hearing the
information that she is married, he feels cheated. From these observations it
is evident that the concept of love is complex because we do not know
whether their love is pure or sincere or fake. If the woman’s love towards
the man is genuine then she should have waited for him without marrying
another man. If the man sincerely loves her then he should not have left her.

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If the woman sincerely loves her husband, she should not have given
priority to anything over her husband. Thus love portrayed in this ballad is
complex and always associated with unkept promises.

In terms of the techniques, this ballad has followed all the conventions of a
folk ballad: abrupt opening, dialogue and narrative forms, simple
language, tragic theme, musical elements etc.

• Rhyme: There are stanzas with rhyming schemes and rhyme less stanzas as
well.

• Repetition / refrain: Oh, do not speak of your former vows,

For they will breed sad strife;
Oh, do not speak of your former vows,
For I have become a wife.

• Irony: the reason why she goes with the man is for his riches. Eventually
she does not get any riches but the opposite of what she expects happens.

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2.1.2. Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s day (sonnet 18)

-William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616)-

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to Time thou grow’st.
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

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About William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare who is a renowned poet, playwright and essayist, is

the father of English literature. He was born on 23rd of April 1564 in
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. He lived during Renaissance-
specifically, during the Elizabethan Era and first part of Jacobean era. He
wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets. Among these 154 sonnets the majority
of the sonnets (1-126) are addressed to a young man, with whom the poet
has an intense romantic relationship. Many of the remaining sonnets in
the young man sequence focus on the power of poetry and pure love to
defeat death and "all oblivious enmity" (55.9).

The sonnets (127-154) are addressed to a promiscuous and scheming

woman known to modern readers as the dark lady. Sonnet 18 prescribed
for this course, belongs to the first category.

His sonnets were published in 1609 but scholars stated that they do not
know as to when each sonnet was composed, however they unanimously
agreed that these sonnets were written for private readership and not
meant to be published.

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Elizabethan Era (1558-1603)

The reign of Queen Elizabeth I is considered as Elizabethen Era. It was

named as the “Golden Era’ of English literature because art and literature
flourished, especially poetry and theatre. She granted favours to famous
dramatists in order to encourage them. Since her rule was characterised
by optimism and patriotism, literature produced during this time was also
based on optimism and patriotism. It was during this era Shakespeare
lived and produced his much-appreciated works. Shakespeare praised the
queen in his works as ‘Fair Vestal”

Criticism of the poem

(Refer to chapter 1 for a detailed note on sonnet). Sonnet 18 by William

Shakespeare is a lyric which has 14 lines in iambic pentameter. These 14
lines are divided into 3 quatrains and one couplet. This sonnet is
addressed to his friend, a young man with whom Shakespeare shares
romantic relationship. This sonnet specifically celebrates the beauty of
his beloved friend and focuses on the power of art to immortalise a
mortal human being.

The poet compares his friend to summer season. One may question as to
why he is comparing his friend to summer season. The answer to which
is given by a scholar Gbeatty, “Summer is hot. It is a time of passion,
warm breezes, and flourishing flowers. It is a time for fun, and often for
weddings. The first reason Shakespeare compares the person he loves to
summer is to link him to this time of great beauty, great heat, and great
passion.

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The second reason Shakespeare compares this person to summer is

because summer fades. When it starts, it seems endless, like youth (and
youthful beauty). But all too quickly, summer's heat fades, as does the
beauty of youth. The comparison takes advantage of both the positives
and negatives of summer” (2016). He compares his friend to summer to
show that his beloved is more beautiful and milder than summer.

The poet used first person “I” which shows the closeness between the
friend and the poet. He compares the beauty of his friend to summer
season, yet he says that summer will fade but his friend will outlive the
time because of art. The couplet eternalizes his friend saying that his
friend will live until the last man lives on earth. This prophesy is indeed
true because we, the readers give life to his friend by remembering him
through reading this sonnet.

Moreover, the poem celebrates love and beauty. The relationship

between the poet and his friend is immense to the extent where the poet
says that he wants his friend to be eternal / immortal. Death is a certain
phenomenon, but the poet wants his friend to outlive death. The friend
may literally die one day, but he will be immortal as long as people can
remember him. One can remember him only by reading these lines of the
sonnet. Thus, art has the potential to overpower mortality.

Techniques:

• Personification- Sun is personified as the “eye of heaven”

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• Imagery- imagery throughout is simple and unaffected, “darling

buds of May”, “too hot the eye of heaven shines”, “his gold
complexion dimm'd’;.

• Language- every line is its own self-contained clause—almost

every line ends with some punctuation, which effects a pause.
The word “shall” is used thrice in the sonnet. However every
time it is used, the tone differs.

1st line - uncertainty the poet feels

9th line - there is the sense of some kind of definite promise
11th line - conveys the idea of a command for death to remain silent.

• End rhyme- It has the regular end rhyme of abab cdcd efef gg.
“Day/may, temperate/date”

• Internal rhyme- “winds / buds”

• Assonance- Rough/buds, shake/May, hot/heaven, eye/shines,

often/gold/complexion, fair from fair, sometimes/declines,
chance/nature/changing, nature/course.

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2.1.3. Song: Sweetest love, I do not go

-John Donne-

Sweetest love, I do not go,

For weariness of thee,
Nor in hope the world can show
A fitter love for me;
But since that I
Must die at last, 'tis best
To use myself in jest
Thus by feign'd deaths to die.

Yesternight the sun went hence,

And yet is here today;
He hath no desire nor sense,
Nor half so short a way:
Then fear not me,
But believe that I shall make
Speedier journeys, since I take
More wings and spurs than he.

O how feeble is man's power,

That if good fortune fall,
Cannot add another hour,
Nor a lost hour recall!
But come bad chance,
And we join to'it our strength,

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And we teach it art and length,

Itself o'er us to'advance.

When thou sigh'st, thou sigh'st not wind,

But sigh'st my soul away;
When thou weep'st, unkindly kind,
My life's blood doth decay.
It cannot be
That thou lov'st me, as thou say'st,
If in thine my life thou waste,
That art the best of me.

Let not thy divining heart

Forethink me any ill;
Destiny may take thy part,
And may thy fears fulfil;
But think that we
Are but turn'd aside to sleep;
They who one another keep
Alive, ne'er parted be.

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About John Donne

John Donne was born in 1572 in London, England. He is known as the

founder of the Metaphysical Poets. Donne entered the world during a
period of theological and political unrest for both England and France;
the Catholics were persecuted in England. Born into a Roman Catholic
family, Donne’s personal relationship with religion was tumultuous.
Donne wrote most of his love lyrics, erotic verse, and some sacred poems
in the 1590s, creating two major volumes of work: Satires and Songs and
Sonnets. In 1601, Donne secretly married Anne More, the sixteen-year-
old niece of Lady Egerton. Donne’s father-in-law disapproved of the
marriage. As punishment, he did not provide a dowry for the couple and
had Donne briefly imprisoned. This left the couple isolated and
dependent on friends, relatives, and patrons. Donne suffered social and
financial instability in the years following his marriage. Since there was
political turmoil between Catholics and Protestants, people lived in fear
as life was not certain. He wrote variety of poems ranging from religious
poetry, love poetry, satires, sermons and elegies etc. This poem was
categorized under love poetry written in 1611.

Metaphysical poetry

The phrase ‘metaphysical poetry’ “has been inspired by a philosophical

conception of the universe and of the role assigned to the human spirit in
the great drama of existence” (Grierson, 1921). That is to say that it is
concerned with the fundamental problems of the nature of the universe,
and man’s function or place in life. The Metaphysical poets, who wrote
during the first three-quarters of the 17th century, were led by John
Donne. Metaphysical poets reflected the intellectual and spiritual crisis of

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their age. (Refer to the history of 17th century England to know more
information about intellectual and spiritual crisis).

Features of Metaphysical poetry

• The metaphysical poet was expected to be a man of ‘wit’

displaying not only his sensitivity, but also his knowledge and
cleverness.
• Wit- In those days wit was the ability to make up unusual
metaphors and images and arrange them in an unexpected way so
as to surprise the reader.
• The poet was expected to give reference to the intellectual
excitement of the age: reference to religious debate, astrology,
alchemy, sea-discovery and philosophy.
• It uses the words and the rhythms which common people were
using in their speech around him.
• Most of the poems are dramatic monologues.

• Metaphysical poetry is just as the element of drama. The dramatic

quality is immediately apparent in the opening lines: most poems
begin introducing the reader right in the middle of the poet’s
argument.

Elements of Metaphysical poetry

• Conceit / Extended metaphor – Striking metaphor created by the

combination of two dissimilar things.
• Original and startling images

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• Wit
• Argumentative tone
• Intellectual style- Reference to alchemy, astrology, discovery and
philosophy etc.
• Realistic and rational in approach
• Hyperbole
• Conversation tone (colloquial language)

Criticism of the poem

This poem was written in 1611 by John Donne for his wife, Anne Moore.
The opening lines indicate that some kind of conversation would have
taken place between the husband and wife before, and this is the middle
of the conversation. Because the first stanza reads like a response to a
question. May be the husband would have told the wife that he is going
to go on a journey for some days and as a response to this, she would
have started to mourn over his departure.

This poem opens as his response to convince his wife that he will return
soon, using wit and logical argument. In the second stanza he uses ‘sun’
as a metaphor to say his desire to return. This is a conceit or extended
metaphor which compares the two unlikely things as likely: sun with the
husband, to show the possibility of the husband returning faster than the
sun. One may think that there is no relationship between the sun and the
husband, but the way Donne brings in the comparison is a testimony to
his wit and intelligence.

The third stanza deals with the philosophy of life- larger problem of
humans, this is a bitter truth. This indicates the powerlessness and
weakness of human beings. This stanza deviates from the first two

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stanzas and last two stanzas because it deals with the universal truth. The
first two stanzas give assurances that he will return soon in order to
convince his wife. The fourth and fifth stanza give warning to his wife
depicting the harm she could cause him by being sad over his departure.
This shows that the negative reactions of his wife will cause pain in him
though he is away. Thus, it demonstrates the deep love between the
husband and wife.

The last stanza is rich in meaning. He says that she should never think
that something bad may happen to him, if she does, destiny may fulfil her
fears by really putting him in danger or even making him die. The
context in which this poem was written to understand this statement.
17the century England was very chaotic as there was religious tension
between Catholics and Protestants, as a result of which there was massive
destruction. People lived in fear as there was no assurance for life;
anybody can be killed anytime.

In addition, there was no means of communication (telephone / social

media etc) if someone leaves home, his family cannot assure his return,
thus during his absence they are in continuous fears until they see him by
their eyes. At this backdrop one could imagine the situation of the
speaker’s wife is the poem. He gives a solution to his wife to bear his
absence; she should think his absence as sleeping together in bed while
each other is turned the other side, meaning that though she does not see
him she knows he is there. Thus, the poem ends in positive note.

Death is a central theme in most of Donne’s poetry. Given the context in

which Donne lived, death was a certainty that could happen to anybody
at any time due to religious turmoil. He says his temporary departure is a
pretence of death that will prepare her for his permanent separation-

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death. “But since that I Must die at last, 'tis best /To use myself in jest /
Thus by feign'd deaths to die“. His preoccupation with death shows the
intense of his fear about losing life and also his reflection on death is
associated with religious pondering, that is to say that thinking about
death will help people lead a sin-free life.

Powerlessness of human is another theme depicted in the poem. In the

third stanza Donne talks about man’s inability to control happiness and
sadness; “O how feeble is man's power “. If one is happy at a time we
cannot maintain the happiness for another hour but we do not think about
it anymore and rejoice it. But when a misfortune befalls man, he keeps
on thinking about it even after sadness disappears. Similarly in the last
stanza he talks about destiny. It is a religious belief that everything is pre-
destined, so humans have no power to control anything. Donne being
brought up in Catholic faith seemed to have strong belief in destiny, this
belief is reflected in this poem as well.

By remembering death, destiny and powerlessness of humans, he

expresses strong religious sentiments in this poem.

Jhon Donne is the poet who did not follow the traditional way of writing
poetry rather he was experimenting with new ideas in his poetry.
Accordingly, the concept of love depicted in his poetry is totally
contradictory to courtly love depicted by William Shakespeare.
Traditional poets treat love as something divine and keep the lover on
pedestal. They used exaggerated and unrealistic comparison to please the
lover. They compared a woman’s eyes to sun, lips to roses, face to moon,
voice to music etc. Donne deviated from this kind of treatment of love.
For him love is more than mere union of body. Love is all about union of
souls. Thus he talks about spiritual love. He tries to please his lover

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through wit, realistic comparison and logical arguments as opposed to the

traditional view of love. In this poem he talks about the love between
two souls. He says he is within her and if she mourns about his departure,
his soul sighs away. This shows the depth of his love. Thus, he says that
love is not a matter of lust but it is a matter of spirituality.

Literary techniques

• It is a lyric of five stanzas.

• Rhyming scheme- regular rhyming scheme ababcddc

• Symbols – “Wings and spurs” stand for love and joy Donne has
for his wife.

“Blood” symbolizes life and passion.

• Conceit- The speaker is compared to the sun. This is an unusual

comparison. This description of the sun shows his knowledge
about old astronomy that sun revolves around the earth.

• Hyperbole- when his wife sighs his soul goes away and When
his wife weeps his blood decays

When thou sigh'st, thousigh'st not wind,

But sigh'st my soul away;
When thou weep'st, unkindly kind,
My life's blood doth decay.

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• Tone- Passionate and intense

• Logical argument- he convinces his wife by using logic and

reason.
• Wit- his arguments are witty. “Must die at last, 'tis best To use
myself in jest Thus, by feign'd deaths to

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2.2. Romantic poetry

2.2.1 Daffodils (I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud )

-William Wordsworth-

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

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In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

About William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was born in England in 1770. Wordsworth was

influenced by radicals such as William Godwin. He helped found the
Romantic Movement in English literature at the end of 18th century.
Wordsworth met Samuel Taylor Coleridge (a romantic poet) and together
worked on Lyrical Ballads (1798). The volume contained poems such as
Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and Wordsworth's "Tintern
Abbey," and helped Romanticism take hold in English poetry. He also
showed his affinity for nature with the famous poem "I Wandered Lonely
as a Cloud." He became England's poet laureate in 1843, a role he held
until his death in 1850.

Introduction to Romantic Era.

Romantic Movement spread from 1780 – 1832. In terms of size, it was

very small. Therefore, some critics say that Romantic era cannot be
called an “era” and the right wording is “Romantic Movement”.

Romantics are the writers / poets who share romantic sensibility and
similar mind set. William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Tylor
Coleridge, Lord Byron, P.B.Shelley and John Keats are the prominent
romantic poets. Romanticism is always associated with poetry but in
reality, romanticism influenced fiction, music, and art as well. Romantics
always emphasized on the importance of “return to nature”.

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Romantics are also called as nature poets because nature is an integral

part of Romanticism. The role of nature is viewed in two ways: Return to
Nature- this is the idea that one should go and live with nature; Re-turn to
nature- this is the idea that one should be conscious about nature (nature
also connotes simplicity) and should be simple in all aspects. Romantics
saw God in nature. For the romantics God is someone, who is in nature.
The ordinary view of God is that God is always superior, this is the belief
proposed by institutionalized Christianity. But for the romantics, creation
is superior.

Romantics were rebels because they were not conforming to the rules of
the society. They gave more emphasis to individual rather than society.
They draw attention to individual pleasures and interest rather than rigid
social norms that curtail individual freedom. Romantics thought
themselves as ‘seers’- they see something others do not see. They have
the capacity to see extraordinary things from ordinary things.

This ability to see extra ordinary things from ordinary things needs
imagination / creative thinking. They cast an unusual colouring to the
usual thing by imagination. For an ordinary human being a flower is just
a flower but for a romantic flower includes many things.

In order to have a better understanding about the features of Romantic

era, understanding the characteristics of the era before the emergence of
Romantic Movement is indispensable. Chronologically Romantic era
emerged after Augustan Era. In terms of literature, Romantic era was the
opposite of Augustan era. (Refer to the features and background of
Augustan era, to know more about it).

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It was the time of Industrial Revolution. This revolution changed

Agrarian society into industrial society. When the society was agrarian,
they were happy as they lived a communal life and had more time to
enjoy nature. Once the industries emerged life became highly
mechanical. Every human was working almost the entire day, they hardly
had time to be with their families. As a result, people started to feel
emptiness in life, which led to alienation and many psychological
problems. Romantics felt the need to change the society. Thus, they
emphasized on the importance of returning to nature. They found nature
as the only solution or solace for the people caught up in an
industrialized society.

Moreover, French Revolution also had an impact on the origin of

Romantic Movement. Romantics were highly fascinated by the French
Revolution, they adored the three ideals of French Revolution: Liberty,
Fraternity and Equality. However French Revolution ended in blood
bath, contrary to its initial ideals. As a result, Romantics rejected these
ideals. They also rejected Enlightenment values and embraced passion
and emotion. They embraced irrationality, they talk about things that are
irrational.

During this period ‘philosophy of Utilitarianism” was proposed by

Jeremy Benthem. This is an economic philosophy which talks about
one’s ability to work as a human for the maximization for the profit. This
philosophy divided people into two as useful (men) and useless (old
people, children, and mad men) people. They discarded useless people
saying that they do not contribute to the maximization of profit. In this
juncture Romantics brought a new philosophy of life rejecting
Utilitarianism.

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They wrote poems prioritizing the so called, useless people describing

about the use of having such people and their role in the society. Thus,
their aim was to create a congenial society for humans by mingling with
nature.

Criticism of the poem

The poem ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’ was first published in 1807. It

was written as a lyric poem to capture the bewitching beauty of the
wildflowers and express a deeper feeling and emotions of the poet. It has
become an eternal classic for describing the nature and its scenic beauty.
This poem simply shows the bond between man and nature. The poet
shows how nature is truly living just as man is living and that nature is
worthy of companion of man.

The poem opens where the poet ‘wanders lonely as a cloud’. The poet
compares himself to the cloud. This comparison is very significant
because the cloud moves here and there without any aim, similarly the
poet walks here and there aimlessly.

This is a simple poem and one of the loveliest and most famous in the
Wordsworth canon, which revisits the familiar subjects of nature and
memory. He emphasizes on the benefits of return to nature. The plot is
extremely simple, depicting the poet’s wandering and his discovery of a
field of daffodils by a lake, the memory of which pleases him and
comforts him when he is lonely, bored, or restless.

Nature is always beneficial to humans. In this poem nature has the

healing power to console a heart that is in ‘pensive mood’.

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Nature is like a friend to human ‘jocund company’. The poet feels

immense pleasure when being with nature. The poet says when he saw ‘a
host of golden daffodils’ he was very happy. When he was at home,
sitting in a chair, he was very sad ‘pensive mood’. Thus, it shows that
nature has the power to make a human happy. He tries to convey the idea
that life without nature will be miserable because the industrialized
society made humans as machines, as a result of which people lived a
solitary life. Thus returning to nature is the only solace for humans.

Wordsworth praised the power of the human mind. Using memory and
imagination, individuals could overcome difficulty and pain. For
instance, the speaker was in pensive mood, the memory of the daffodils
which he saw once helped him to forget about his sadness and emptiness
in life. If he did not remember the sight of golden daffodils, he would
continue to be sad, because for the industrialized man life was full of
sorrow as he was alienated from communal life. Wordsworth explained
the relationship between the mind and poetry. Poetry is “emotion
recollected in tranquility”—that is, the mind transforms the raw emotion
of experience into poetry capable of giving pleasure.

The entire poem describes the beauty of the daffodils. Each word used by
Wordsworth is very rich so as to appeal to our sense of sight. When we
read the poem, we have the feeling that we are directly witnessing the
host of daffodils. Thus, through the description of the beauty of nature, it
is evident that Wordsworth is a genius romantic whose poems are very
appealing even after several years.

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Techniques

• The four six-line stanzas of this poem follow a quatrain-couplet

rhyme scheme: ABABCC. Each line is metered in iambic
tetrameter.

• Simile: “I wandered lonely as a cloud.” He compares his

loneliness with a single cloud. “Continues as the stars that shine.”
Here Wordsworth compares the endless row of daffodils with
countless stars.

• Personification: The poet has personified “daffodils” in the third

line of the poem such as, “When all at once I saw a crowd.” The
crowd shows the number of daffodils. “Tossing their heads and
sprightly dance.” It shows that the Daffodils are humans that can
dance. “In a jocund company.” Here he considered the daffodils
as his buoyant company.

• Alliteration: the repetition of the consonant /g/ “I gazed and

gazed” and the use of /w/ sound in, “What wealth the show to me
had brought.”

• Assonance: the use of /a/ sound in “Ten thousand I saw at a

glance” and /e/ sound in “They stretched in never-ending.”

• Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds

such as the sound of /t/ in “what wealth the show to me had
brought” and /n/ sound in “in vacant or in pensive.”

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• Metaphor: Wordsworth has used one metaphor in this poem in

the last stanza as “They flash upon that inward eye.” Here
“inward eye” represents the sweet memory of daffodils.

• Imagery: Visual imagery- Wordsworth has used images

appealing to the sense of sight such as “lonely as a cloud”, “a
crowd”, “never-ending line”, ”milky way” and “jocund
company.” These descriptions help the reader to imagine or feel
the same joy felt by the speaker.

• Parallelism: It is the use of components in a sentence that is

similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter such as,
“beside the lake, beneath the trees.”

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2.2.2 The Solitary Reaper

-William Wordsworth-

Behold her, single in the field,

Yon solitary Highland Lass!

Reaping and singing by herself;

Stop here, or gently pass!

Alone she cuts and binds the grain,

And sings a melancholy strain;

O listen! for the Vale profound

Is overflowing with the sound.

No Nightingale did ever chaunt

More welcome notes to weary bands

Of travellers in some shady haunt,

Among Arabian sands:

A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard

In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,

Breaking the silence of the seas

Among the farthest Hebrides.

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Will no one tell me what she sings?—

Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow

For old, unhappy, far-off things,

And battles long ago:

Or is it some more humble lay,

Familiar matter of to-day?

Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,

That has been, and may be again?

Whate’er the theme, the Maiden sang

As if her song could have no ending;

I saw her singing at her work,

And o’er the sickle bending;—

I listened, motionless and still;

And, as I mounted up the hill,

The music in my heart I bore

Long after it was heard no more.

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Criticism of the poem

“The Solitary Reaper” is the poet’s response to a Highland lass who

harvests alone in the field singing a melancholic song to herself. The poet
is strongly moved but he does not say why he is moved. In the first
stanza the speaker comes across a beautiful girl alone in the fields. She is
“Reaping and singing by herself". Usually reaping is a communal and
joyful activity but here the girl is reaping lone. This loneliness in reaping
is mysterious so it makes him think about mystery in life. He tells the
reader not to interrupt her and then mentions that the valley is full of
song. This stanza also portrays the predominant theme in romantic
poetry; loneliness. During the aftermath of industrial revolution people
lost communal life as a result they were alienated. Nature acts as a solace
for this loneliness. Here both the woman as well as the traveller is alone.
Women always have a symbolic significance in Wordsworth’s poems as
they stand for love and associated with nature.

In the second stanza he compares a list of beautiful things that cannot be

equal to the singing of the girl. He brings in a list of images which
represent the beauty of nature, he compares her song with the song of
nightingale, singing of the cuckoo in spring and song that delights weary
travellers in Arabia. In the third stanza the speaker admits that though he
can listen to the song he cannot understand what she sings, therefore he
could only guess what she might have been singing. In the final stanza he
says despite his ability to understand song, the song was pleasing to the
ears and it remains in his heart forever. (Marzooq, 2014)

As mentioned earlier, romantic poetry captures the life of ordinary and

marginalized people. In this poem he talks about a reaping woman who
belongs to lower class. He pours out his individual feelings about the

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singing of the woman. For romantics individual pleasure is more

important than satisfying society. He enjoys the song and is emotionally
moved by the music though he cannot understand what she sings. It is in
ballad form which appreciates the beauty and companionship of nature.
In addition, it is a testimony to the poet’s imagination and the power of
human mind; memory.

Literary techniques

• Form - Literary ballad written in first person and can be

classified as pastoral- a literary work describing a scene from
country life.
• Metaphor - the singing of the reaper is compared to the singing
of cuckoo and nightingale.
• Imagery-
✓ Visual imagery- “Reaping and singing by herself;”
“I mounted up the hill,”

✓ Auditory imagery-“Alone she cuts and binds the grain,

And sings a melancholy strain;”
• Alliteration - “Sings a melancholy strain”
“No Nightingale”
• Assonance - O listen! for the Vale profound Is overflowing with.

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2.2.3 The Chimney Sweeper (Song of innocence)

-William Blake-

When my mother died I was very young,

And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!"
So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head

That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved, so I said,
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."

And so he was quiet, & that very night,

As Tom was a-sleeping he had such a sight!
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, & Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black;

And by came an Angel who had a bright key,

And he opened the coffins & set them all free;
Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run,
And wash in a river and shine in the Sun.

Then naked & white, all their bags left behind,

They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind.
And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father & never want joy.

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And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark

And got with our bags & our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm;
So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.

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The Chimney Sweeper (from Song of experience)

-William Blake-

A little black thing among the snow,

Crying "weep! 'weep!" in notes of woe!
"Where are thy father and mother? say?"
"They are both gone up to the church to pray.

Because I was happy upon the heath,

And smil'd among the winter's snow,
They clothed me in the clothes of death,
And taught me to sing the notes of woe.

And because I am happy and dance and sing,

They think they have done me no injury,
And are gone to praise God and his Priest and King,
Who make up a heaven of our misery."

About William Blake

Blake was born in London on November 28, 1757. He was also

considered as a romantic poet, as he shared the same sensibilities like
Wordsworth. Blake’s first printed work, Poetical Sketches (1783), is a
collection of apprentice verse, mostly imitating classical models. He
published his most popular collection, Songs of Innocence, in 1789 and

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followed it, in 1794, with Songs of Experience. Blake was a

nonconformist who associated with some of the leading radical thinkers
of his day, such as Thomas Paine and Mary Wollstonecraft. He
privileged imagination over reason in the creation of both his poetry and
images. Blake believed that his poetry could be read and understood by
common people. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who had been lent a copy of
Songs of Innocence and of Experience, considered Blake a “man of
Genius”.

Criticism of the poems

During 1780s and 1790s influence of American Revolution and French

Revolution spread to Europe. It was during this time he published his
most popular collection, Songs of Innocence, in 1789 and followed it, in
1794, with Songs of Experience. Since he was associated with political
radicals, the poetry published in this collection express more radical
thoughts openly criticising the short comings of the era.
“Songs of Innocence’ consists of poems which capture a strange, simple
beauty both in their themes and their language and verse form and
rhythm. It is a volume of lovely poems, depicting an enjoyable and
innocent world with its evils and sufferings. On the whole, the poems in
this collection are short and lyrical and are indeed ‘happy songs’.
On the other hand, ‘Songs of Experience’ was a much mature work. It
showed the sufferings of the miserable. It marked the poet’s progress in
his outlook on life. To him, experience had brought a fuller sense of the
power of evil, and of the great misery and pain of the people’s life. In
this collection he expresses a deeper and more penetrating observation of
reality. There are many poems in “Songs of Experience” that are

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pervaded with an atmosphere of intense sorrow and sadness. Many of the

poems in “The Songs of Innocence” (1789) are rewritten or revised in the
“Songs of Experience”, with the result that joyful atmosphere or the
harmonious ending is in each case changed into a bitter mood or a sad
story.
In both collections there are poems entitled ‘The Chimney
Sweeper’, but the tone and atmosphere are entirely different. (Zhan,
2013). These poems offer a social criticism of the 18th century England
and show the miseries of the common people. Many poems in the two
collections contradict each other. They have the
same titles but are opposite in meanings. The contrast is of great
significance. It marks a progress in the poet’s outlook on life.

This poem portrays the pathetic condition of the child labours in the 18th
century. As mentioned above Industrial Revolution which led to
urbanization contributed to intensify class division where those who
owned capital dominated those who did not. The condition of the
working class was pathetic, because not only the adults but also the
children (mostly orphans) were employed by the upper class to do works
which was beyond their capacity (coal mining, chimney sweeping etc).

As a result, child mortality rate was high due to dangerous working

conditions and the upper class did not bother about it. This shows the
cruelty of the capitalist. Thus, William Blake exposes the cruelty of the
upper class for exploiting children at a tender age by revealing the
pitiable condition of the child labours.

Generally, children are not given voice to talk about social injustice.

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However, Blake, being a romantic, gave voice to the children. He used

child speaker perhaps “addressing matters from an innocent minor’s
perspective makes themes on social injustice easier and more
sympathetic. For the artist, it can be like holding up the proverbial mirror
to society. It also shows his intention to write a plausible narrative
depicting real life conditions” (McClared, 2008)

The first stanza evokes the sympathy of the readers. The mother of the
speaker died when the speaker was very young. Adding to the tragic tone
the father ‘sold’ the child when the child could not even pronounce the
word ‘sweep’ instead says ‘weep!’. Perhaps the child was around 3-4
years when he was sold. He did not go to school to learn. ‘He did not go
to an orphanage where someone might care for him. The pathos
established through these autobiographical facts helps to drive the
sympathetic mood of what follows. Hearing his piteous voice brings
readers emotionally closer to the boy.’ (McClare, 2008). The last line ‘in
soot I sleep’ creates a piteous visual imagery which heightened the
emotions of the readers.

Tom Dacre’s head is shaved and he cries with his head “that curled like
lamb’s back”. Here “lamb” has Christian connotation because Jesus was
referred as sacrificial lamb. Similarly, Tom Dacre is a sacrifice to the
corrupt society. Just like the hair is shaved, their innocence, childhood
and playfulness are also taken away. When Tom Dacre is sad about
losing his hair, the speaker consoled him saying “soot cannot spoil your
white hair”. This also heightened the sympathy of the readers by showing
the extreme innocence of the children despite their suffering.
“Coffins” is a metaphor for the soot that traps them in enslavement.

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Dream is a representation of their reality.

According to Blake, Tom Dacre’s innocence keeps him oppressed and

enslaved into a corrupt society. He believed that injustice he endured was
okay as long as he would be in peace in heaven. This mind set made
many children vulnerable to the continuous abuse of child labour. They
were taught that they would have joy in heaven, so they should obey the
rules and sweep cheerfully. Only through death they could be free.
In addition, Blake wanted to show the magnitude of the abuse these
children faced. He describes how the blind obedience of children to the
church and government oppressed them. They were the powerless who
were oppressed and exploited by the powerful for their advantage.
(Gradesfixer,2014).

Blake criticises the society for creating poverty as a result of which there
are chimney sweepers; criticises the religion for justifying the
exploitation. He attacks the industrial society for turning a blind eye
towards these social evils

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Chapter – 03

Short Story
contents
Chapter – 03 .......................................................................................... 71
3.1. Nightingale and the Rose ........................................................... 76

3.1.1. About the author .................................................................... 76

3.1.2. Criticism of the story ............................................................. 77

3.1.3. Characterization ..................................................................... 79

3.2. Gift of the Magi .......................................................................... 83

3.2.1. About the author .................................................................... 83

3.2.2. Criticism of the story- ............................................................ 84

3.2.3. Characterization……………………………...……...…........89

3.3 An Astrologer’s Day .................................................................... 90

3.3.1. About the author .................................................................... 90

3.3.2. Criticism of the story…………………………………….….91

3.3.3. Characterization…………………………………………….96

About the chapter

This chapter provides a comprehensive analysis of every short story
written in different socio-political context. It gives a detailed account of
the elements of the short story. It is to be noted that the analysis of short
story is slightly different from poetry.

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Aim of the chapter

This chapter aims to provide an in-depth analysis of short story by
contextualizing it in the socio-political and economic background of the
authors. Thus, it will enable students to appreciate each short story
critically using different techniques.

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this chapter, you should be able to;

• Understand explain the summary and message of different short

stories
• Analyse the impact of the socio-political milieu in the thematic
concern.
• Demonstrate the structure, setting, plot, mood and themes of the
stories
• Identify the literary techniques employed in the stories.
• Compare the different short stories to show the similarities and
differences in the themes and ideas.

Chapter summary
This chapter provides a critical analysis of each short story by giving an
account of the biography of the author, the socio-political context in
which it was written, summary of the short story, analysis of the short
story, characterization, theme analysis and literary techniques employed
in the short story.

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Review questions
1. Illustrate the effectiveness of the literary techniques employed in
O. Henry’s short story “Gift of the Magi”.
2. “The short story ‘Nightingale and the Rose’ by Oscar Wilde is a
fairy tale dealing with adult issues”. Discuss this statement with
reference to the short story.
3. Explore the concept of love in any TWO short stories of your
choice.
4. Write a character sketch of Della in the short story ‘Gift of the
Magi’.
5. Analyse the themes of “An Astrologer’s Day” by R.K.Narayan.

Key terms
Short story, plot, Theme, Oscar Wilde, O.Henry, R.K.Narayan, Vijita
Fernando, H.H.Munro.

References

1. Archana, B.A. (2014). "Critical Appreciation of the Short Story

‘An Astrologer’s Day’." Web. 15 Dec. 2014. <https://baarchana.
wordpress.Com/2011/ 07/05/critical-appreciation-of-an-
astrologers-day-by-r-k-narayan/Critical Appreciation of the short
story ‘An Astrologer’s Day’>.

2. Bhadra. S. (2015). “Short Story Analysis – An Astrologer’s Day”.

Web.

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3. Course Hero. (2017, October 3). The Gift of the Magi Study
Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved September 9, 2021, from
https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Gift-of-the-Magi/

4. Gibson, B. (2006). “Beastly Humans: Ambivalence, Dependent

Dissidence, and Metamorphosis in the Fiction of Saki”. Alberta:
University of Alberta.

5. Goonetilake, D.C.R.A. (1984). Sri Lanka. Research article:

volume 9, issue II.

6. McManus, D. (2017). "An Astrologer's Day by R.K. Narayan."

The Sitting Bee. The Sitting Bee, 26 Aug. 2017. Web.

7. Obeysekere, R. (1989). South Asian Women Writers: Another

Approach to Feminism, Princeton University.

8. Patel, R. (2015). “The Dichotomy of Indian Astrology in Light of

R.K.Narayan’s An Astrologer’s Day”. Research Scholar: An
International Refereed e-Journal of Literary Explorations.
Volume 3, Issue II p 372 -376.

9. Saifee, Rukshana (2013). “Critical Analysis of the Nightingale

and the Rose by Oscar Wilde”. International Journal of
Mathematical Archive- 4 (5 ) p 98-99.

10. Sarashita, S. “A Critical Analysis of O’ Henry’s ‘The Gift of the

Magi”. Binus University. Accessed on 09th. sep.2021.

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Recommended Readings
English GCE A/L. Grade 13. Teachers’ Instructional Manual. National
Institute Of, Education.

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3.1. Nightingale and the Rose

-Oscar Wilde

(The full short story can be downloaded at

http://pinkmonkey.com/dl/library1/rose.pdf)

3.1.1. About the author

Oscar Wilde, in full Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in
1854, Dublin, Ireland. He is a poet, writer, and an essayist. His works are
noted for using Irish wit. He is known for his prominent novel, The
Picture of Dorian Gray (1891). He was a spokesman for the late 19th-
century Aesthetic movement in England, which advocated art for art’s
sake. Earlier the concept bout art was that art should teach morals to
human beings. But this Aesthetic movement refuted this conception of
art and advocated that the aim of art is not to teach morals but to give
pleasure. In 1888 he published a short story collection titled “The Happy
prince and Other Tales”, which reveals his gift for romantic allegory in
the form of the fairy tale. “Nightingale and the Rose” is taken from this
short story collection.

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3.1.2. Criticism of the story

‘The Nightingale and the Rose’ is a response to Hans Christian

Andersen’s “The Nightingale,” is in the first. Wilde admired the way
Andersen used his fairy tales to critique society—something Wilde
himself would do in his own tales. Wilde shows complexity of love, he
seems to critique the false love or infatuation of youth in the society.
Throughout the story, the author sheds a negative picture of the boy and
the professor’s daughter by elevating the level of the Nightingale for its
sacrifice for love.

He strongly advocates the fact that sacrifices often go unappreciated or

unacknowledged and warns that one should not sacrifice for something
or someone who does not worth it. In this short story the Nightingale’s
sacrifice goes unappreciated, in fact nobody knows that the nightingale
sacrificed its life to make the true love successful. Probably the reason
why he emphasizes on unappreciated sacrifice, is partly due to his
personal experience as a writer. Oscar Wilde is an advocate of
Aestheticism, meaning that ‘art should be for art’s sake’ (art should be
enjoyed and it does not have to teach moral). His most prominent works
were banned saying that it was immoral and controversial. As a writer he
would have sacrificed many things to produce one piece of art, if it was
rejected, what is the point of sacrifice? According to some critics this can
also be an interpretation to the short story.

Further the story has two setting: the student’s garden and the doorway of
the professor’s daughter’s house, where the setting is made important.
The boy searches for a red rose all over the garden.

Similarly, the Nightingale searches for a red rose in and outside the
garden, but both fail in finding a red rose. But at doorway of the girl, rose

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is given, and the readers find that all the searches for the red rose have
been made useless in the doorway.

The author portrays two angles of love: selfish and selfless / altruistic
love. The boy and the professor’s daughter represent selfish love whereas
the nightingale is the epitome of selfless love. The boy is concerned
about dancing with the girl. He does not take any effort to prove his love
to the girl. Similarly, the girl is easily swayed by materialism. She does
not know the value of true love, when the boy brings her the rose, she
does not think how he gets the rose in the winter season, rather she
simply worries about the fact that it would not match the colour of her
dress. That’s why she says that “everybody knows that jewels cost far
more than flowers”. In fact, if someone else gives more material things,
she would even change her mind to betray prince’s nephew. On the
contrary Nightingale does not merely say love is true, rather it goes one
step further to the extent of killing its own self for the boy’s love. The
Nightingale says, “Yet Love is better than Life, and what is the heart of a
bird compared to the heart of a man?'.

Oscar Wilde has handled the effectiveness of the story through the usage
of multiple techniques and fairy tale elements. Generally, fairy tales are
meant for children, but this short story deals with more adult themes.
Since this short story fulfils the characteristics of fairy tale, it is a fairy
tale.

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The following are the characteristics of a fairy tale:

a) The frequent use of personification.

b) The symbolic meaning given to words.
c) The vivid, simple narration, which is typical of the oral tradition
of fairy tales.
d) Supernatural elements
e) Exhibition of universal truth.
f) Magical environment (fantasy)

3.1.3. Characterization

The boy

He seems to be in love with the girl. He is pre-occupied with the idea of

dancing with the girl. He wants a rose; he searches everywhere but he
does not find one. Rather than taking any other step to find a rose, he
simply sits and laments. This shows that he does not take efforts. When
he finds the rose, he does not even have a second thought as to how this
rose appears suddenly.

We do not know whether he is really in love with the girl or not.

However, one point is very clear that if at all he loves the girl, his love is
selfish to a certain extent. When the girl rejects him, he becomes angry
and simply throws the rose in the gutter and turns to reading. This shows
that he is not very much in love with the girl, because if he truly loves the
girl, he would, not have simply let her go, rather he would try to
convince her to love him. He is an effortless, lazy person, who wants to
achieve something without hard working.

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Moreover, he has always been thinking about dancing with her rather
than getting her consent that she loves him. “'She said that she would
dance with me if I brought her red roses”.

“If I bring her a red rose, she will dance with me till dawn. If I bring her
a red rose, I shall hold her in my arms, and she will lean her head upon
my shoulder, and her hand will be clasped in mine…”. Perhaps this is a
kind of infatuation, not love.

Nightingale

This is a bird which sacrifices its own life in order, to make the boy
successful in his love. The nightingale is the only bird which seems to
have understood the true love. The bird obviously has no relationship
with the boy, yet it decides to sacrifice its life for the sake of the boy
because it knows the value of love; “Surely Love is a wonderful thing. It
is more precious than emeralds, and dearer than fine opals. Pearls and
pomegranates cannot buy it, nor is it set forth in the marketplace. it may
not be purchased of the merchants, 'or can it be weighed out in the
balance for gold”.

Moreover, the process of building the red rose is very painful: “you must
build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it with your own heart's-
blood. You must sing to me with your breast against a thorn. All night
long you must sing to me, and the thorn must pierce your heart, and your
lifeblood must flow into my veins, and become mine”. The bird tolerates
the pain with much happiness thinking that it is sacrificing its life for a
valuable cause- love. Thus, Nightingale is the embodiment of selfless
love.

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Professor’s daughter

She is the person who is the root cause of the conflict in the story, had
she not asked for a red rose, the poor Nightingale would not have died.
She appears to be swayed by materialism; ‘… the Chamberlain's nephew
has sent me some real jewels, and everybody knows that jewels cost far
more than flowers”.

From the beginning of the story, it is evident that the girl is not in love
with the boy. If she loves him truly, she might not have expected
anything from him, because true love does not expect, but give.
According to my interpretation, the girl might have asked him to bring a
red rose in order, to avoid him, because she must know that during the
winter season, one can hardly find a red rose, therefore she can easily
reject him saying that he does not fulfil her wish for a red rose.

Further the story shows the fickle / inconsistent nature of the girl. When
the boy comes with the red rose, she says, “I am afraid it will not go with
my dress,' she answered, 'and, besides, the Chamberlain's nephew has
sent me some real jewels, and everybody knows that jewels cost far more
than flowers”. She has betrayed her promise to the boy that she would,
dance with him if he brings red rose. She must have waited for the boy,
but she did not. She prefers jewel over flower, without knowing the story
behind the flower. Thus, she is the embodiment of selfishness.

Thus, the author has vividly distinguished the true and deep love with
passionless, immature love through the characters of the nightingale and
the student respectively. Further the story has turned out well with its
plot, setting, fairy tale features and multiple techniques with the depiction
of true love.

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Techniques

• Personification - Nightingale, butterfly and lizards are given

human qualities as they engage in conversation. Nightingale is
personified throughout the story. She is given more dialogues
rather than the boy and the girl.

• Irony - the sacrifice of the bird is not recognized by the man and
the boy’s love does not worth the sacrifice.

• Symbolism -
Red rose - Nightingale’s pure love
Pearls - Materialism

• Oxymoron - “Love that is perfected by death”

• Foreshadowing - “What is the heart of the bird compared to the

heart of the man?”- It implies the upcoming sacrifice of the bird.

• Point of view - third person, unknown narrator.

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3.2. Gift of the Magi

-O. Henry-

(The full story can be downloaded at

https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/1-
the_gift_of_the_magi_0.pdf)

3.2.1. About the author

William Sydney porker is the original name of the American short story
writer O.Henry.he was born in 1862 in America. During the initial period
of his career, he was an unsuccessful writer whose works were flopped
consequently. He was not consistent in any job he did: he worked in a
drugstore, on ranch, in a bank, and on newspaper staff. He was
imprisoned for his past misdeed and embezzlement of bank fund. After
the release, established himself as a successful professional writer under
the pseudonym, O.Henry. His short stories are known for his wit,
wordplay, warm characterization, and surprise ending. Gift of the Magi
was published in 1905 and received much recognition.

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3.2.2. Criticism of the story

The short story is about a young married couple Jim and Della, who
dream of giving a best gift to each other despite their poverty. Della buys
watch fob for her husband by selling her only possession ‘hair’ whereas
Jim buys a set of fancy combs for his wife by selling his only possession,
a valuable watch given by his grandfather. This story is indeed an
epitome of true love.

In this story there are two conflicts: external and internal conflict. The
couple’s struggle for money is the external conflict. Internal conflicts
occurs when Della is in dilemma to let go of her valuable possession, her
hair.

Della Young and Jim Young have gender roles typical of the early 1900s
in America. Jim works outside the home and is the sole source of income
for the couple. Della has the traditional role of the housewife. She is the
"mistress of the home," shops, and cooks. Della is eager to please her
husband. Not only does she have dinner ready to cook when her husband
comes home, she pretties up her hair for her husband and greets him
affectionately when he enters. Jim is also eager to please his wife. He has
taken on the role of the financial provider and the protector. When they
discover they have each given away their most valuable possessions in
order, to buy each other gifts they cannot use, he tries to shield Della
from being upset. The narrator also reveals O. Henry's gender biases.
Della is prone to emotional outbursts and anxiety. For example, she has a
good cry when she realizes she only has $1.87 saved up. She does not let
her control her emotions, whereas Jim is portrayed as calm character who
is capable of keeping his emotions in check.

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The entire story is woven around love and sacrifice. Della sacrifices her
only valuable possession, her hair, in order, to buy gift for her husband
for the Christmas. Similarly, Jim sacrifices his only valuable possession,
his gold watch, to buy a gift for Della. Thus, both their sacrifices bears
testimony to their true love on each other, which transcends all the
material gains.

In addition, the story portrays true, selfless, and unconditional love. Both
Jim and Della go to the extent of sacrificing their only valuable
possession despite poverty, shows how much they love each other. At the
end they come to know that the gifts they bought can no longer be used
by them: Della does not have the need for comb as she lost her hair.
Similarly, Jim cannot use the watch fob as he sold the watch. Yet they
realize their unconditional love towards each other.

The author offers a redefinition of poverty and wealth. Generally,

poverty is associated with having financial difficulty whereas wealth
means happiness. In this story the young married couple are very poor
that they wear old clothes in the Christmas eve. Despite their poverty
they want to give a most valuable gift to each other even at the expense
of their only valuable possession. Here though they are poor in
materialistic possession, they are the wealthiest persons in heart. O.Henry
seems to suggest that real poverty is not about having lack of money
rather it is about being poor in heart (being stingy, not being happy). The
real wealth is not about having money rather it’s about having happiness
in heart.

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Techniques

• Point of view- third person narrator

• Allusion- An allusion is an indirect reference to something

outside the story. Allusions often reference a historical, literary,
or biblical figure.

In "The Gift of the Magi" there are three biblical allusions and a
possible historical allusion.

• Biblical allusion –

1. The narrator mentions the Queen of Sheba, suggesting her treasures

and possessions (gold, precious stones, and rare spices) would have paled
in comparison to Della's hair. She is a biblical figure.

2. King Solomon, another biblical figure, was a mighty king who rules
the entire world. The narrator suggests that Jim’s gold watch is more
valuable than King Solomon’s possessions.

3. The magi mentioned at the end of the story are also biblical figures.
According to the biblical New Testament, on the day Christ was born
three wise men, or magi, saw a great star in the East. They had been
waiting for this star because they believed it would appear when a savior
came to Earth. The three magi—Balthasar, Gaspar, and Melchior—
followed the star to Bethlehem so they could give gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh to the baby Jesus. In many cultures, they are an
essential part of Christmas.

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• Historical allusion -

Madame Sofronie, the woman who bought Della's hair, may be a

reference to a historical figure. Sofronie of Cioara was an 18th-century
monk who led a movement to help peasants in Transylvania. However,
while the monk was interested in helping the poor, Madame is interested
only in her own commercial profits. O. Henry liked to contrast two
seemingly incongruous ideas in his stories. He may be doing that here to
illustrate the theme of materialism versus spirituality.

• Symbols -

The Magi - symbolizes wisdom. It suggests that Della's and Jim's

sacrificial gifts transcend material value to reinforce the spiritual value of
their love for each other. Such working-class people may lack physical
possessions, but they do not necessarily lack spiritual values. Common,
everyday people—such as the young couple in the story—can be as wise
as the magi.

Della’s hair - it symbolizes her feminine beauty and sensuality. She

clearly considers it her most prized possession. It is very long, hanging
down past her knees.

Jim’s gold watch - it symbolizes prosperity and success. Just as many

people today wear Rolexes and other expensive watches as a symbol of
their success, many men wore gold watches in the past to show they were
prosperous.

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• Suspense - till the end of the story the readers and Della do not
know where did Jim get money to buy a set of fancy combs for
Della. The author maintains the suspense. At last, we find that he
sold his gold watch.

• Irony - Jim and Della bought each other gifts that they cannot use
despite their sacrifices.

• Dramatic irony - it is the type of irony in which readers know

something that the characters do not know. In the story we, the
readers know that Della buys a watch for Jim by selling her hair
whereas Jim does not know anything about this. Similarly, Della
does not know about Jim’s gift, but the readers know.

• Situational irony - it is the irony where characters encounter a

situation opposite of what they expect. The ending of the story is
the example for this type of irony. When Della gives him the
watch fob, she expected a situation in which Jim will be elated
but he bewildered when he saw the gift.

• Exaggeration - Della’s hair is compared to queen sheba’s

possession.

Jim’s watch is compared to King Solomon’s possessions.

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3.2.3. Characterization

Della and Jim are the major characters and Madam Soforonie is a minor
character. Della is the major character since she is the one who appears
from the beginning until the end of the story. It seems that the beginning
of the story is telling about Della’s confusion to buy present for Jim, her
husband until she finally did a sacrifice in order, to be able to buy a nice
present. Meanwhile, Jim can be also said that he is major character as he
is another person who has a relationship with Della, the first major
character. Jim also has interactions with Della that create a good flow of
the story. Besides, there is actually one minor character. She is Madame
Sofronie, the woman who bought Della’s hair for $20. The reason why
she is the minor character is that she only appeared in the middle of the
story for a moment.

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3.3. An Astrologer’s Day

- R.K.Narayan

(The full story can be downloaded at

http://www.collaborativelearning.org/astrologersday.pdf)

3.3.1. About the author

R.K. Narayan, in full Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan, original name

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayanswami, (born October 10, 1906,
Madras [Chennai], India—died May 13, 2001, Madras), one of the finest
Indian authors of his generation writing in English. Narayan typically
portrays the peculiarities of human relationships and the ironies of Indian
daily life, in which modern urban existence clashes with ancient
tradition. His style is graceful, marked by genial humour, elegance, and
simplicity. The short story “An Astrologer’s Day” by R. K. Narayan was
originally published in Hindi, the piece, along with twenty-nine other
short stories by Narayan, was first published in English in 1947.

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3.3.2. Criticism of the story

An Astrologer's Day is a story that is based on falsehoods. It is a lie that

the so-called astrologer can determine the future, read palms, or see into
the past. He is merely a man with enough common sense to know what
people want to hear. It is his own sordid past that has brought him to this
somewhat sordid profession.

The story begins by describing a day in the life of an astrologer. As

opposed to astronomers who are scientists by training and study the
physical properties of the universe, astrologers follow the pseudo-science
of predicting the future based on the speculative motions of the stars,
moons, and other planets.

Being the only astrologer at the place, it was not difficult to find clients
for him, he was a saviour. Everything went well for sometimes. There
was no challenge. He did not have any rival. He could earn his bread
without any trouble. It is our common experience that in our ancient
country miracle workers, sadhus, snake-charmers, astrologers, quacks
etc. do not starve. Narayan’s description of the astrologer really creates
an impression of a holy man with special powers which enables him to
provide satisfactory solution to the problems of the common man (Patel,
Ramesh.B, 2015)

The narrator who is not a qualified profession astrologer manages to

cheat simple hearted, trusting clients whose individual problems are
usually related to money, marriage, or health. Bogus practitioners of such
arts take disadvantage of illiterate people who are in extreme need of
permanent solution of their problems.

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Through the astrologer Narayan gave a sharp and satiric commentary on

the superstitions which flooded Indian life of his time though these
fortune tellers are present everywhere but here in India they garner
through their deceptive appearances a lot of respect. (Patel, Ramesh.B,
2015).

The story ends with a great relief for both of its only two characters.
Though the victim could not take an eye for an eye, he was consoled that
nature gave the assailant death he badly deserved. The astrologer is
unburdened himself from his past sin of murdering a person in his silly
youngster age under the intoxication of wine. He fabricated the story to
keep any possible threat or danger to his life away. It has been attributed:

This story goes on to show how past can actually affect the present and
future of one’s life. The astrologer had committed a folly by getting into
a quarrel when he was a drunk youngster, the result of which changed his
entire path of life. (Archana, 2014).

The author explores the theme of fear and how far a man might go in
order, to overcome fear. The astrologer has left his village due to the fact,
that he was afraid that he had killed somebody (Guru Nayak). The
astrologer is not only afraid of what he felt he might have done but he
was also conscious that if he stayed in the village he would be charged
with murder and in turn lose his freedom. Which is interesting as the
astrologer spends his nights helping people gain some sort of control or
freedom within their lives. However, it may be worth knowing that the
astrologer is somewhat of a charlatan and in reality, he doesn’t know
very much about the stars. His job is a means to an end. He stays on the
street at night in order, to feed his family.

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However, people still come to the astrologer looking for information that
might help them with their lives. Which may suggest that each customer
is somewhat desperate. Desperate enough to believe what the astrologer
is telling them. When the reality is the astrologer is formulating an
opinion based on the information each customer gives him.

Narayan also explores the theme of guilt. The astrologer has spent his
time in the city believing that he has killed Guru and the weight of this
on his conscious forced the astrologer to abandon his village. If anything,
it was the guilt that the astrologer felt along with the fear of going to
prison for murder that drove the astrologer out of his village. It is also
interesting that the astrologer has the appearance of an astrologer or
someone who might know what the stars have in store for an individual.
This could be important as it is most likely that the astrologer has
changed his appearance and his persona when he arrived in the city. The
young man that he had been, disappeared. The innocence of his
childhood was lost after the incident with Guru. The astrologer in order
to make a living and to succeed in the city had to change who he was.
Something that he successfully managed to do. So successful is the
astrologer at changing his appearance that not even Guru was able to
recognise him. It is as though the astrologer has all the tools of the trade
something that is noticeable from the opening paragraph of the story.

The astrologer feels relieved that Guru is not dead as it lifts a great
weight from the astrologer’s shoulders. How relaxed the astrologer is; is
noticeable by the way that he explains his story to his wife. It is in a
casual manner. Which may be important as again there is a sense that the
astrologer feels more relaxed about his life.

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So relaxed in fact that he manages to stretch himself on the pyol. Where

once the astrologer had been driven by fear this is no longer the case. His
life can begin again knowing that he is not a murderer. At last, the
astrologer can feel free even if he doesn’t know what the stars have in
store for him. The darkness that was inside the astrologer has
disappeared. No longer is he tied down by his past and the mistake that
he thought he had made. At the end of the story there is not only a sense
of relief but also a sense of freedom. The shackles the astrologer had
imposed on his mind are gone.

Humans believe in astrology as they need an answer for the causes of

their problems. The astrologer predicts the future of his clients using his
astrology but he himself does not know what will happen to him the next
minute. If he is a true astrologer, he does not have the necessity to be in
fear of being found guilty for, the murder he once did. Guru Nayak asks
the whereabouts of the man who tried to kill him to the very same man,
the astrologer. In addition, the astrologer ends up as an astrologer without
knowing anything about astrology. The clients come to seek the advice of
the astrologer who does not have any idea about their problems and tells
them the answer for their questions, drawing in formation from the
answer they give. All these ironies show that human life is ironic in
nature.

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Techniques

• Point of view - third person narrator

• Symbolism - the whole description of the astrologer starting from

his dressing sense to the setting up of his workplace, the cowrie
shells, the paraphernalia, etc. provides the reader a certain kind of
symbolism which sets the mood for the reader at the very
beginning.

• Imagery - throughout the story starting from the description of

the astrologer, the setting, and his house, we can see imagery.

• Suspense - there is definitely an element of suspense in the whole

setup and when the client comes into the picture this aspect goes
up and exponentially increases as the story inches towards the
end.

• Surprise Ending - the very fact that the astrologer was the person,
who left the client to be dead, provides for a very astonishing
revelation. This surprise ending makes the reader to crave for
more.

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• Irony - here again the whole picture of spirituality, asceticism,

astrological predictions comes into play, the very fact that such pious
activities are carried out in busy market lanes where day to day
businesses are carried out makes quite a few eyebrows to get raised
and worry about the real underpinnings of these businesses.

• Satire - the major portion of the story seems to be a satire, R K

Narayan has explained how innocent, gullible people are fooled by
such crooked, conniving, and smart professionals who can take
advantage of any, and all beliefs to make quick bucks and
materialistic gains to suffice their needs. This satire has been done in
a very effective way in this short story.

3.3.3. Characterization

The astrologer and Guru Nayak are the major characters in the story. The
astrologer is a married man who has a daughter. He is described as the
person who ends up in the astrology in order, to escape the punishment of
his past misdeed. His appearance also suits his profession. Despite not
having professional training in astrology, he has the logical thinking and
“had a working analysis of mankind’s troubles: marriage, money and the
tangle of human ties. Long practice had sharpened his perception…. He
charged three pies per question, never opened his mouth till the other had
spoken for at least ten minutes, which provided him enough stuff for a
dozen answers and advices”.

This shows the strategy he uses in his job. Accordingly, astrology is just
a matter of guesses and speculations.

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Moreover, he is described as a person who always lives in fear as he is

guilty of a murdering his villager, Guru Nayak. In terms of his
background, he was born in a poor family whose main livelihood was on
agriculture. Even as an astrologer he is in poverty. Moreover, he cheats
Guru Nayak with his astrology. Guru Nayak is the villager whom the
astrologer had quarrels with, and the end of the fight, thinking that Guru
Nayak died, he simply threw him in the well. From the conversation
between the astrologer and Guru Nayak it is evident that astrology is
based on falsehood and coincidences rather than on truth. Guru Nayak
represents many people who trust astrology as divine guidance to solve
their problems. In this story the author tries to show the falsehood of
astrology.

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Chapter – 04 Drama

Drama
contents
Chapter – 04 .......................................................................................... 98
4.1. The Tempest- William Shakespeare ....................................... 101

4.1.1. What is a drama? ................................................................. 101

4.1.2. Criticism of the drama ......................................................... 105

About the chapter

This chapter provides an analysis of a popular Shakespeare’s drama
written during the Elizabethan period. It gives a detailed account of the
history of drama in English literature.

Aim of the chapter

This chapter aims to provide a brief analysis of the drama by
contextualizing it in the socio-political and economic background of the
Elizabethan era. Thus, it will enable students to critically appreciate the
drama

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this chapter, you should be able to;

• Understand explain the summary and message of the drama

• Analyse the impact of the socio-political milieu in the thematic
concern.

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• Demonstrate the structure, setting, plot, mood and themes of the

drama
• Identify the dramatic techniques employed in the drama.

Chapter summary
This chapter provides a critical analysis of the drama by locating it in the
socio-political context in which it was written, summary of the drama,
analysis of the drama, characterization, an analysis of the thematic pre-
occupations and dramatic techniques employed in the drama.

Review questions
1. Illustrate the effectiveness of the dramatic techniques employed in
the play ‘The Tempest’ by William Shakespeare.
2. “Prospero is both hero and villain”. Discuss this statement with
reference to the play.
3. Explore the complexity of power relations as portrayed in the play.
4. Critically analyse the character of Caliban in the play.
5. Discuss the comic and tragic elements in the play.

Key terms
Drama, plot, Theme, tragedy, Shakespeare, dramatic techniques

References

1. Adelman, J. (1992). Suffocating Mothers: Fantasies Of Maternal

Origin In Shakespeare's Plays, Hamlet To The Tempest. Routledge.

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2. Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Peocock Books. 2006. Print.

3. Paul, Rajinder. The Tempset. Rama Brothers India Pvt. Ltd. 2007.
Print.
4. Skura, Meredith Anne. “Discourse and the Individul”: The Case of
Colonialism in The Tempest. Shakespeare Quarterly 40 (1989)
5. https://www.britannia.com/biography/williamshakespeare-literary-
criticism
6. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/tragicomedy
7. https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/whydoes-tempest-by-
shakespeare-considered-153181

Recommended Readings
English GCE A/L. Grade 13. Teachers’ Instructional Manual. National
Institute Of, Education.

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4.1. The Tempest

- William Shakespeare

(The PDF of the drama can be downloaded a

https://www.sindhicollege.com/pdf/e_books/The-Tempest.pdf )

4.1.1 William Shakespeare and his plays

William Shakespeare who is a renowned poet, playwright and essayist, is

the father of English literature. He was born on 23rd of April 1564 in
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. He lived during Renaissance-
specifically, during the Elizabethan Era and first part of Jacobean era. He
wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets. Among these 154 sonnets the majority
of the sonnets (1-126) are addressed to a young man, with whom the poet
has an intense romantic relationship. Many of the remaining sonnets in
the young man sequence focus on the power of poetry and pure love to
defeat death and "all oblivious enmity" (55.9).

William Shakespeare was writing during Renaissance. The word

renaissance means ‘rebirth’ of society. There were advancements in
science, literature, medicine, drama, exploration, trade, religion, art,
philosophy and inventions. The printing press helped literary scholars to
publish their work.

During the Renaissance, England was in the pinnacle of theoretical

revolution and Shakespeare was one of the greatest writers. He has
written 38 plays and 154 sonnets. His plays are divided into comedies,
tragedies and history plays.

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Comedies- Unlike tragedy, comedy did not originate in traditional myths

and legends, but based on the creative imagination of the writer. The
main theme of early Greek comedy was political and social satire.
Shakespeare deviated from this tradition and he placed his focus on
family matters, relationships and complications for love. We can see
these elements predominantly almost in every comedy of Shakespeare.
So this differentiates his comedies from other comedies. Today usually
we use the five- act structure to analyze classical and Elizabethan
dramas. It is a structure which was developed by a German playwright
called Gustav Freytag.

Shakespeare’s plays are specially known to have followed the above

structure. But he has deviated from this structure in writing “The
Tempest”. Though Shakespeare follows traditional patterns of writing
into some extent, he usually did modifications and changings in those
patterns, as he is an innovator. He usually came out with new elements in
his writings and this play can be introduced as a play in which
Shakespeare did some changes in its plot structure.

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All's Well That Ends Well, As You Like It, Comedy of Errors, Love's
Labour's Lost, Measure for Measure, Merchant of Venice, Merry Wives
of Windsor, Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado about Nothing,
Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Two Gentlemen of
Verona, Winter's Tale.

All his comedies follow the same structure-

• A greater emphasis on situations than characters

• A struggle of young lovers to overcome difficulty, often
presented by elders
• Separation and re-unification
• Deception among characters
• A clever servant
• Disputes between characters, often within a family
• Multiple, intertwining plots
• Use of all styles of comedy
• Happy ending

History plays

Henry IV, Part II, Henry IV, Part II, Henry V, Henry VI, Part I, Henry
VI, Part II, Henry VI, Part III, Henry VIII, King John, Pericles, Richard
II, Richard III.

History plays have the following features-

• The events are presented as they are.

• The plays are not concerned about the spiritual significance of life
but the failure of the materialism.
• History plays include humour, patriotism and his political views.

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Tragedies

Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Cymbeline, Hamlet, Julius Caesar,

King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Timon of Athens, Titus
Andronicus, Troilus and Cressida.

Characteristics of tragedy-

• Tragedy is concerned primarily with one person – The tragic hero

• Presence of abnormal conditions of the mind and supernatural
elements.
• Much of the plot seems to hinge on chance or accident.
• Portrays temptations of human nature.
• Brings out a moral order, usually the conflict between good and
evil.

Tragic hero

A tragic hero is a character that represents the consequences that come

from possessing one or more personal flaws or being doomed by a
particular fate. Traditionally, the purpose of tragic hero as a literary
device is to evoke pity and/or fear in an audience through the
protagonist’s flaw and consequential downfall.

A male character of noble birth who experiences a reversal of fortune due

to a tragic flaw. In addition, the realization of this flaw
evokes sympathy from an audience. His character is considered to be the
combination of greatness and weakness. A tragic hero should be a good
and noble person of high stature. Their noble characteristics make them
compelling while their stature ensures their decisions are far-reaching.

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Every tragic hero must have a tragic flaw. In classic literature, this was
typically their pride. While pride could be a good thing, excessive pride
proves to be fatal to their character. Tragic heroes typically suffer from
horrible bad luck or a bad choice, and their handling of that luck leads to
suffering. They also suffer and are tortured inwardly by their conscience.
Typically, but not always, tragic heroes die. If they don’t die, they
experience great suffering.

4.1.2 Criticism of the play

The Tempest is a prominent Shakesperean play which challenges

categorization. It is considered a tragic comedy as it has features of
comedy and tragedy.

The play opens with a shipwreck on an enchanted isle where the usurped
Duke of Milan, Prospero, and his lovely daughter, Miranda, have been
living for 12 years. Prospero has become a master magician, and Miranda
has grown into a charming maiden. Prospero, with the aide of his sprite
Ariel, has conjured a violent storm to cause the shipwreck. All those
aboard the ship—Alonso, the King of Naples, his brother Sebastian,
Alonso’s son Ferdinand, Alonso’s counselor Gonzalo, and Prospero’s
brother Antonio—jump overboard for fear of dying in the storm.
Miranda, having watched the storm wrack the ship, is assured by her
father that it was all a magical illusion. He relates the tale of their journey
to the isle—how his brother Antonio teamed with Alonso to overthrow
him. After several conflicts and multiple plots taking place, the royal
party is brought, spellbound, to Prospero where he forgives them for the
injuries of the past. He reveals the supposed-dead Ferdinand and his own
daughter, Miranda—both safe, playing chess and newly engaged. As
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father and son reunite, Prospero frees Ariel and returns the island to
Caliban’s control. Stephano and Trinculo repent their scheming, and
Alonso restores Prospero’s dukedom. All board the ship to return to Italy.
Prospero renounces his magical powers and requests that Ariel provide
calm seas for the voyage home.

Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' represented the emblem of colonialism,

racism, and social hierarchy. Prospero's superlative attitudes have created
the prevalent touch of suppression over the native people in the play The
Tempest. He was the man to supress the inhabitants in the strange land
which he has been occupied illegally. Most of the characters in this play
remained in a civilized way, although perfectly all of them were not
civilized. Several times Prospero was referred as a tyrannical figure who
was responsible about the concept of colonialism, racism and illustrated
the ideas of social hierarchy. In the Renaissance world this social
hierarchy has paved the way of rigidity, extreme political attitudes, God
of higher class society. Prospero showed him as the true representator of
Elizabethan social higher class. Hence the suppressive conquest has
arrived over the lives of African, Asian and North American regions
during the 16 th century which was known as Shakespearean era. Later
on, this process came to be known as colonialism, racism and the phase
of social hierarchy. As a whole the effort of this paper is to unfold the
character of Prospero to present the British colonization over the inferior
peoples in a strange native land (Haq 2016).

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Chapter – 05

Novel
contents
Chapter – 05 ........................................................................................ 107
5.1. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens ................................... 110

5.1.1. About the author .................................................................. 111

5.1.2. Victorian Era........................................................................ 111

5.1.3. Criticism of the novel .......................................................... 114

About the chapter

This chapter provides an analysis of a highly celebrated novel written by
Charles Dickens during the Victorian era. It gives a detailed account of
the history of the period.

Aim of the chapter

This chapter aims to provide a brief analysis of the novel by
contextualizing it in the socio-political and economic background of the
Victorian era. Thus, it will enable students to critically appreciate the
novel.

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this chapter, you should be able to;

• Understand explain the summary and message of the novel.

• Analyse the impact of the socio-political milieu in the thematic
concerns.

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• Demonstrate the structure, setting, plot, mood and themes of the

novel.
• Identify the different literary techniques employed in the novel.

Chapter summary
This chapter provides a critical analysis of the novel by locating it in the
socio-political context in which it was written, summary of the novel,
criticism of the novel including the impacts of social class and other
major thematic pre-occupations of the novel

Review questions
1. “The Victorians’ insistence on social class has a great impact on
Pip’s love towards Estella”. Discuss this statement with reference
to the novel.
2. Explore the notion of love in ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles
Dickens.
3. Write a character sketch of Pip in the novel ‘Great Expectations’ by
Charles Dickens.
4. Analyse the themes of ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens.
5. What do you make of Dickens' characterization of the convict who
accosts Pip on the marshes? Is he a purely sinister character or are
we given the sense that he has some redeeming qualities?

Key terms
Novel, plot, Themes, Victorian era, Charles Dickens, literary techniques

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References

Great Expectations. (2020). In Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Great-
Expectations-novel-by-Dickens

http://www.sparknotes.com>characters

http://www.gradesaver.com/Great.Exp

Reynolds, C. W. (2015). Desiring Estella in Great Expectations:

Understanding Pip’s Fantasy. Retrieved from
http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/ge/reynolds.html

Robey, A., et. al. (2007) Modern Literary Theory. Second Edition.
London: B.T. Batsford Ltd.

Schlicke, P. (1999). Oxford Reader's Companion to Dickens. Oxford:

OUP

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5.1. Great Expectations

- Charles Dickens

(The PDF of the novel can be downloaded

https://www.defence.lk/upload/ebooks/Great%20Expectations.pdf)

5.1.1. About the author

Charles Dickens was born on February 7,1812 in Land port, Hampshire,

England. His father’s name was John Dickens while mother’s name was
Elizabeth Dickens. He was the 2nd of eight children. His mother had
been in service to Lord Crew, and his father was born with an
unprivileged socio-economic background. His father was poor but was
eager to climb the social ladder. Dicken’s childhood was unpleasant as
there were a lot of moves and financial crises. Since his parents had no
money to send him to school, he was sent to work in a shoe polish
factory, where he worked twelve hour days. He taught himself shorthand
as a teenager and became a court reporter. This enabled him to resume
his education. Soon he was able to launch his career as journalist. After
several odd jobs, he entered into writing. From there, Dickens launched
his lifelong career as a novelist. He wrote 15 novels: The Pick Wick
Papers, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, A Christmas Carol, David
Copperfield, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, A Tale of Two Cities and Great
Expectations.

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5.1.2. Victorian Era

The period between 1837 and 1901 is known as the “Victorian age”,
named so after the Queen Victoria. It was a time of prosperity, imperial
expansion, and great political reform. (Yuan yuan & Rao, 2018).

This period also witnessed the impact of Industrial Revolution. The

agrarian based economy was replaced by Capitalist economy. Those who
owned capital (Capitalist) were in control of the industries and were
merciless when treating the workers. During 1800s Industrial Revolution
spread throughout Britain. The use of steam powered machines led to the
massive increase in the number of factories. So people started shifting
from rural areas to towns in search of jobs. The living condition of the
workers was pathetic as they worked for twelve hours or more per day
for a meagre wage. Leaving everything in the village, they did not have
much to do but working. Due to the hard work they had to do, they got
addicted to intoxicating drugs. Thus drinking and abuse were frequent in
the family lives of working class people.

Besides male workers there was a demand for female and child labourers,
because they were cheap. Females had to engage in difficult jobs and
paid very less because they were females. In addition child labour and
poverty were bound together during this period. Factories hired children
to work in the factories as children were small and cheap. Thus one third
of the workers were children between the age of seven and fifteen. Some
children mostly the boys had to work in the coal mines. Many did trap
jobs and had to sit all day in a hole and wait for the coal wagons while
some worked as coal bearers, which was a very difficult task for children.
Other children mostly the girls had to work in the cotton mills. In return
for their hard labour they were given food and place to sleep. Due to the

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hard labour, child mortality rate was high to the extent where some
children even died while falling into the machines. In 1819 and 1833
government passed acts making it illegal for children under nine years to
work, fixed the working hours as 12 and ensured the safety of children.
Subsequently in 1870 parliament gave approval to construct schools in
every village and town and made it compulsory for children aged 5 to 10
to receive primary education.

The condition of women during Victorian era was pathetic. Irrespective

of the class difference, all women were expected to adhere to the
“Feminine ideal”. Feminine ideal: Women were considered weak and
fragile therefore they were expected to be chaste and subservient to men.
Women who fit in to this, were highly accepted by the society and those
who failed to fit in were severely criticised and even ostracised by the
society after being labelled as “mad woman”. Women were expected to
confine to the “private sphere – house” and working women were not
even considered as women because women going for work was
considered as a taboo. Law treated them as children. They did not have
voting rights nor did they sue. In fact a woman could not even have a
bank account on her name and she could not even inherit property.

Women were expected to be pure and religious in terms of social life and
sexuality. A woman’s obedience to her husband was considered to be a
religious duty failing which she would not only be punished by the
husband or society but also by God. Moreover a woman was expected to
be a virgin before marriage and remain chaste to her husband whereas
any improper sexual behaviour of a man was not even considered as an
offence by the society. This vividly portrays the peak of double standard
in the Victorian society.

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Marriage was used as a tool to keep women in a subordinate position and

to justify all the atrocities committed yt he patriarchy under the guise of
protecting women. The concept of marriage during this era, when
thinking about it now, was hilarious and the brutal for women. Marriages
for Victorian women became contracts where it was extremely difficult
or impossible for the women to get out of it as divorce was considered as
a social taboo. Women could not own properties, therefore a woman’s
inheritance was written under her husband’s name upon marriage.

Women had to endure all the hardships in marriage life: extreme control
or cruelty of husbands, sexual abuse or violence and betrayal. Victorian
society placed high value on “honour, duty moral and sexual propriety”.
In addition women were expected to be the icon of femininity- “Angel in
the house” with good manners, restraint, moral uprightness, purity,
devotion and selflessness. However the society was highly hypocritical
because these moral codes were applicable only to women and men were
always saved from any blame only for the reason they were males.
Women were expected to be subservient to men by remaining chaste and
comply to his sexual desires whether she like it or not. On the other hand,
a man was allowed to have sexual relationship with any number of
women. His infidelity could not be questioned because he was a man. A
wi.e should endure his infidelity without saying anything because
questioning the husband was against propriety.

Any woman who failed to conform to the societal expectations and the
feminine ideal, was considered as a “Fallen woman”. This category of
women also include prostitutes, rape victims, unmarried mothers, the
insane and a rebellious woman. If a woman irrespective of class
difference rebelled against the injustice caused to her by any means, then

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she would be ostracised by the society after being labelled as mad

woman.

5.1.3. Criticism of the novel

This novel was published in 1861 in weekly instalments to a magazine

and as a novel in 3 volumes in November 1862.

This novel was set in early Victorian England. It was a time when great
social changes were sweeping the nation. The Industrial Revolution of
the late 18 and early19 centuries had transformed the social landscape.
Although social class was no longer entirely dependent on the
circumstances of one’s birth, the divisions between the rich and the poor
remained nearly as wide as ever. The theme of self-knowledge is
explored in the novel. Many readers and historians suggested that Pip has
a touch of Dicken’s in him, making the fictional book feel almost
autobiographical.

Structurally, the novel is a narration by a mature and retrospective Pip. It

is divided into three distinct stages, “stage of Pip’s expectations”. These
chapters trace Pip’s progress from child to adolescent and young adult.
This is a journey of acceptance of his true place in the society. Industrial
Revolution began during this period. It was during late 1700s and early
1800s in Britain. Society in England was like a prison. There were child
labors. This was the time people saw mechanization.

During this period, the society was highly classed and there were three
types of social classes:

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Working Class/Lower Class

The Industrial Revolution had taken what many would consider to be

medium class and left them without jobs. This quickly made them into
lower class as there were very few jobs that they are capable of finding.
The worst thing in poor class is they needed children to help work.
Children were separated from parents and forced working in harsh
working conditions. Child labour was a terrible problem. If the father got
sick or died the family was often kicked to streets where they would live
in some place like public housing where streets were dangerous. Often
many families would crowd into a single room for simply some place to
lay their head.

Middle Class

This class had a very successful life time. By today’s standard, this
wouldn’t be middle class it would be upper class. They were very
wealthy business owners, shop keepers, doctors, clerks etc. 15% of the
English population belonged to this class. Only men provided income.
Children were able to go school until they’ve reached the ages of about
12 and 14 of age. They admired hard work and responsibility. Men in
middle class didn’t marry until the ages of 27-30 because they had to
become financially stable in order to get married.

Upper Class

This class consisted of the King, the Queen, Aristocrats, Nobles , Dukes ,
Viscounts and other wealthy families working in Victorian courts. Nature
of their work was such that it held them in a powerful position giving
authority, better living condition and other facilities. They had taken a
keen interest in industrial section. They did not work as other classes

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because for centuries together their families had been gathering enough
money for each generation to live a luxurious life. The men in this class
are either called “gentle man or lad”.

The novel is set in a limited geography between a small village at the

edge of North Kent Marshes, a market town in which Satis House is
located, and the greater city of London. The protagonist, Pip, grows up in
Marsh village. Eventually he becomes a frequent visitor to Satis House,
located in the market town. Upon inheriting a good deal of money, he
moves to London, where Pip is taught to be a gentleman. Throughout the
novel, Pip travels between these three locations in pursuit of his great
expectations.

This novel falls under the category of a bildungsroman. It is a literary

genre that focuses on the mental and physical growth of the protagonist
from his childhood to adulthood in which character changes are
extremely important. This novel as a bildungsroman depicts the personal
growth and the development of Pip who is an orphan living with his
sister’s family. In addition, Dickens uses the first person narration in
Great Expectation. This helps the readers to see the things from Pip’s
perspective, and it gives a realistic touch to the story. This narrative style
is very effective at conveying emotions and feelings of protagonist. Auto
biographic novel is a genre where writer uses his own biography for his
novel’s character.

Moreover, some critics observe that Dickens makes it an autobiography

by making Pip resembling him with some changes on it. Dickens himself
was a working class boy who tries to climb up the social ladder through
his education. Similarly Pip tries to climb up the social ladder and aspires
to become a gentleman.

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In terms of themes, ambition and self- improvement, social class, the

driving power of love and generosity are major themes, which are
inevitably connected to one another. Dickens vividly illustrates the ideas
of ambition and self-improvement throughout the story. Pip is an idealist,
whenever he can conceive of something to have better. He wishes to be
well developed gentleman as well as good wealth person. This
psychological mechanism encourages much of Pip’s self-improvement.
self-improvement is the main idea of the novel’s title because he has
great expectations about his future.

Ambition and self-improvement take three aspects in the novel- moral,

social and educational. Initially Pip is extremely hard on himself when he
acts immorally and he has powerful guilt that makes him to act better in
the future. Pip’s love affair with Estella makes him become a member of
her social class and encouraged by Mrs.Joe and Pumblchook. This
illustrates the class system of the Victorian era. Thirdly Pip desires
educational improvement. This willingness is deeply attached to his
social ambition and longing to marry Estella because a complete
education is a basic need of being a gentleman. As long as he is an
ignorant country boy, he has no hope of social advancement. Pip learns
that social and educational improvement are irrelevant to one’s real
worth and that conscience and great affection are to be valued above
eradication and social standing.

In fact this novel propagates strong morals which value simplicity,

affection, loyalty and conscience as the supreme qualities over social
superiority, wealth and class.

Furthermore, social class is one of the important themes in the novel.

Charles Dickens portrays the class system of Victorian England

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throughout the novel “Great Expectation”. He gives a cross-section of the

Victorian society by portraying characters ranging from the most
sneaking criminals (Magwitch) to the poor farmers of the march country
(Joy and Biddy) to the middle class (plumblechook) to the very rich
Miss.Havisham. Pip realizes that wealth and class are less important than
affection, loyalty and inner worth.

Charles Dickens teases the desires of the Victorian rising middle class
toward acceptance by aristocracy. It represents Miss.Havisham and her
greedy family. Herbert Pocket and his mother, who is reading books on
family titles and coats of arms. Pumblechook and Estella are also the
object of Satire as they represent the haughtiness and arrogance of the
aristocracy.

Another major theme in the novel is love. In fact, Pip’s great expectation
in life was to get the love of Estella and the entire novel is woven around
Pip’s efforts to marry Estella and whether he is successful in getting
Estella’s hand in marriage. Hence, love drives Dickens’s story. It shapes
Pip’s life from his childhood, Pip was impressed by the beautiful young
lady Estella, whom, he falls in love with, at first sight. She is the ward of
the wealthy, eccentric and proud Miss. Havisham. Since Pip meets
Estella, his only dream is to win Estella’s love towards him.

Literary techniques

A) Personification: -

Assigning of human attributes to non- human-beings.

Ex:-“……the day came creeping on halting and whimpering and

shivering and wrapped in patches of clouds and rags of mist…”

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In this line Dicken personify the day by giving if human attributes.

B) Hyperbole-

Ex:- “ As to forming any plan for the future, I could as soon have formed
on elephant”

Here writer exaggerate the things and events for giving interest to the
readers…

C) Satire:-

Expressing the society’s problems through human and ridicule.

Ex;- good Saturday night live sketch can criticize corrupt politicians in a
thoughtful yet hilarious way

D) Irony :-

Dickens uses many ironies in this novel. He uses verbal and situational
ironies to catch up the ideas in a ironical way.

Verbal irony

He gives some action and things with verbal irony.

Ex1- Mrs.Joe’s name as “Tickler” for the device which she uses for
punishing Pip to discipline him. “Tickled frame” is ironic since Pip is
more than tickled by that tickler for harsh punishment. Ticking is an
action which causes laughing but here ironically Dicken uses it for
punishing device.

Ex2- Satis house is also another verbal irony used by Dicken. The word
Satis come from the Latin word which means “enough”. Ironically it

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suggests that house where people satisfied and contented with life. But
here the Satis house is opposite to it. It is ironically used by Dicken to
expose the Satis house and Havisham life.

Situational irony

Dicken uses situational irony, where both reader and the character in the
story are unaware of some realities.

Ex- *Estella, the ultimate, turns out to be the daughter of a gypsy and
convict.

*Mathew Pocket, a hapless father who has no time for his own kids, but
writes advice books on parenting.

E) Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is a literary device of giving hints or clues to the readers

what will happen next. Dicken uses foreshadowing to make the readers
interest in the novel. Some major plots twist in different ways and they
are foreshadowed in the novel.

Great Expectation is a great Victorian novel which is full of drama twists

and turns. It is not surprising, but it is foreshadowing the incidents that
comes early in the novel.

Foreshadowing and Magwitch: -

In the novel in very first Dicken introduces the character Pip’s convict.
Later at the pub. Pip sees a strange man stirring his drink with the very
file Pip stole for the convict. And a man gives Pip money. This incident
foreshadows the fact that the convict from the marches will be the Pip’s
benefactor at the end of the novel. It is clear in chapter 4 where

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Magwitch visits Pip in London and announced him, he is the benefactor

of Pip.

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