English Language, Literature and Creative Writing Blog

  Kalidasa’s best known Sanskrit play Abhijñâna Shahakuntalâ , which tells the tale of a young girl raised in a hermitage by a sage and who is actually, the daughter of an extremely learned sage Vishwamitra and a celestial dancer Menaka. King Duhsanta is hunting in the forest near the hermitage where Shakuntala lives with the hermit Kanva, raised as his daughter, after being abandoned by Vishwamitra and Menaka for various reasons. He comes to the hermitage unadorned as a commoner and falls in love with Shakunatala.   Shakuntala and the King get married in the hermitage and she is with child. He has to leave for his Kingdom but he gives Shakuntala his signet ring as a token of his love for her. However, as fate would have it, Shakuntala is lost in the thought of the King while, Durvasa Rishi a learned saint with an extreme temper is calling out to Shakuntala. She obviously does not hear him and irritated by her lack of response, he curses her saying: You who do not notice m...

1. "If I am to be a beggar, it shall never make me a rascal, or induce me to disavow my principles." - Vicar (Chapter 2)   Here, we notice that even adverse circumstances do not change his views. His sense of right and wrong does not falter.                   2.  "The nakedness of the indigent world may be cloathed from the trimmings of the vain." - Vicar (Chapter 4)   In chapter 4, 5 and 6, theme of divergence between appearance and reality is shown. Here, lies a moral that so many people ( like Squire Thornhill) disguise their real selves behind a pleasant exterior. 3. "The beast retires to its shelter, and the bird flies to its nest; but helpless man can only find refuge from his fellow creature." - Vicar (Chaper 6)   Hospitality is one of the first Christian duties.   4. In chapter 8, Goldsmith expresses his literary views through Mr. Burchell. 5. In chapter 18, elements of Picaresque novels are seen for t...

 Some verbs like  appear, be, become, feel, get, go, grow, look, prove, remain, seem, smell, sound, stay, taste, turn. are often followed by adjectives instead of adverbs. In these sentences the adjective describes the subject of the sentence and not the verb which is why an adverb is not possible. Look at these examples: Sarah seemed tired. (not tiredly) Peter seemed angry The wine tastes fine. The signal is low. Peter grew tired of listening. The food all went bad. She remained calm. Thus, sense verbs take adjectives.  We say, "It sounds good." (not well) Potatoes taste strange/sweet/sour  In this sentence, the adjectives indicate that the flavour of potatoes is considered strange/sweet/sour

 Some of my students have brought forth very significant observations from the novel 1.  "That Virtue which requires to be ever guarded, is scarce worth the centinel/sentinel."   (CHAPTER 5) - The Vicar warns his family about Squire Thornhill but his warnings have no effect on them. It is then, that the Vicar realises that he should no longer interfere, his efforts are only being ignored.   2. " I armed her against the censure of the world"   (CHAPTER 22) The Vicar tries to give strength to his daughter Olivia, who was betrayed by Squire Thornhill. The Vicar faces the reality that now the society will disapprove of his daughter and instead of taking this as an attack on his reputation, he prepares hi daughter for the life ahead.    3. Through Vicar, Oliver Goldsmith shows his political philosophy in  CHAPTER 20.   4.  "When lovely woman stoops to folly and finds too late that men betray, what charm can sooth her mela...

  Pantheism is a doctrine of religious philosophy widely used by a group of poets and literary figures who think that God is everywhere in natural. Pantheism is the view that the Universe (Nature) and God are identical. Pantheists thus do not believe in a personal, anthropomorphic or creator god. The word derives from the Ancient Greek: pan meaning ‘all’ and theos meaning ‘God’.     As such, pantheism denotes the idea that ‘God’ is best seen as a process of relating to the Universe. Although there are divergences within pantheism, the central ideas found in almost all versions are the Cosmos as an all-encompassing unity and the sacredness of Nature (Mander 2012).   From the classical to modern periods, it has been used in powerful literature by many literary scholars. Eagle (1970) defines it as ‘the doctrine that God and the universe are identical’ and so according to him ‘God is everything, and everything is God’ (implying a denial of the personality and tra...

   Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions:   1. Rohit is going............the ladder. 2. We walked...............the lake. 3. The fly stopped...............the desk for a moment. 4. I went..........the chemist's shop just now, but I did not notice if it was open. 5. She now lives........455, Urban Estate. 6. How can the buses possibly run.......with all these traffic jams? 7. I last saw Sangita on Monday. Haven’t you seen her.........then? 8. Shall we have a cup of coffee........we are waiting? 9. The fire alarm rang...............yesterday’s meeting. 10. Well, let me have it ..........Wednesday of next week, please. 11. You can keep the book........ you have finished. 12. Do you approve...this plan in general? 13. Why can’t you look at the problem.............my point of view? 14. The accident caused some damage .....the car. 15. The cause........the accident is still unknown. 16. She is annoyed............him.   Ans...

  Picaresque refers to fiction that follows the adventures of a rogue character, a picaro who rambles along, relating the shady details of his everyday experiences in autobiographical form. The picaro's tales often come across with humour, although tragedy of circumstances usually travels with the storytelling. Although he's a rascal, the picaresque hero can be quite likable in the realism he portrays. You can find picaresque prose among many authors, including Henry Fielding (Joseph Andrews), Francois Voltaire (Candide), Lord Byron (Don Juan), and J.D. Salinger (Catcher in the Rye). Thomas Nash is credited with writing the first picaresque novel in English (1594):  The Unfortunate Traveller, or the Life of Jack Wilton. The picaresque novel (Spanish: "picaresca," from "pícaro," for "rogue"or "rascal") is a popular genre of novel, usually a first –person narrative thatdepicts the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who drift...