Saturday, 7 October 2017

ADDRESS TO ALL THE CRIMINALS


What I am going to talk about right now will surely be helping Indian police. I am sure all of us are very proud of India. Its culture. Its piousness. Its unity in diversity. It is also referred to as a land of god. And not just one but many. I doubt if the population census of Gods in India takes place, it might outnumber the population of its citizens: p

Everyone has assigned themselves one God each. But some prefer to pray all others too. Dude this is complete lack of trust in the one God you chose. So forget that you will be protected by any one. With every coming festival there is a new murti in our house temples. If it is done to show respect and equality to all the Gods whether male or female, why do then the living human beings not given respect and equality despite their caste, colour, gender, ……   . It has been years since this debate of everyone is equal and brother and sister. But still when it comes to inter-caste marriage or girls being out at 6pm, the answer is always NO. kabadi vala’s even today are called with names such as – abee, oo, oyee, and many more. There identity is being completely denied. When a girl is out at night, she is asked – don’t you know you should not go out, it is not safe. The point is when you clearly know because of whom it is not safe outside, then why do not you restrict and work upon the ones who are creating the unsafe situations for girls. While praying Goddess Saraswati, kali and Druga; we give the responsibility of our protection in the hands of a female authority. Then why are the real living female population considered not capable to make decisions and protect themselves. Why is there so much concern of female protection, are males all shielded from every danger? Do men never fall or die? If you want to protect, then protect human kind.

For this concept of protection we have various ways out in Indian society. Rakshabandhan for the protection of sisters and karvachauth for the protection of husbands. In a way almost the entire population is covered. Those who do not have sisters do struggle hard and manage to find one (at times more than one as they are so deliberate to protect. Clearly the danger is high). And the ones who are not yet a husband to somebody, do happen to be somebody’s love interest and have them to pray for his long age. Whereas girls are still molested, raped, kidnapped. Men are still dying at a very early age.
So ladies and gentlemen the only point I wanted to make is that, clearly neither rakhi’s nor fast’s are working at all. Next time a girl feels unsafe outside or inside home, the person responsible is the brother. Not the one who will make her unsafe. Similarly when a death of a husband occurs, the cause should be the wife. Because it is her prayer which did not work.

Thursday, 3 August 2017

The Romantic Age (1798-1824)


Like many other literary movements, it developed in reaction to the dominant style of the preceding period.
Imagination became the source of knowledge.

The romantic age is marked by three important historical events:

·         The American revolution (1775-1783)

·         The French revolution(1789-1799)

·         The Napoleonic war(1796-1815)

The beginning of romantic age is marked by the publication of “lyrical ballads” by words worth and Coleridge. It can be termed as one of the most fruitful period in English literature.

Romantics opposed classical school. They used simple and natural diction. Their work shifted from artificial town life to the life in the woods. It was the age of poetry.

All the poets of the time had different views on all the subjects unlike neo- classical poets.

Major poets of the time were: Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley and Keats.

“Poet is a creator like god. Objects are brought to life by poets” said- Coleridge

“Poetry is the expression of imagination” said- Shelley

Romantic poetry for present-day readers has become almost synonymous with “nature poetry.”  Romantic poems habitually endow the landscape with human life, passion, and expressiveness.  Wordsworth’s aim was to shatter the lethargy of custom to renew our sense of wonder in the everyday.  Coleridge, by contrast, achieved wonder by the frank violation of natural laws, impressing upon readers a sense of occult powers and unknown modes of being.  The pervasiveness of nature poetry in the period can be linked to the idealization of the natural scene as a site where the individual could find freedom from social laws.

It is also termed as the romantic revival, because all these characteristics- the liberty of the writer to choose the theme and form of his literary production, the importance give to imagination and human emotions, and a broad and catholic outlook on life in all its manifestations in towns, villages, mountains, rivers, etc. belonged to the literature of the Elizabethan age which can be called the first romantic age.

The poets of this age were classified into three groups:

1. The lake school- words worth, Coleridge, Southey
2. The scoot group- Cambell, Moore
3. Byron, Shelley, Keats


Wednesday, 19 July 2017

18th century Literature


18th century is the longest period in English literature history. It has has number of events happening at that time.

Three major events took place in 18th century:

1.       American revolution      

2.       French revolution

3.       Industrial revolution ( age of enlightenment)

Among all the three revolutions Industrial revolution holds the maximum importance in the characterisation of this century.  The Eighteenth Century in England is called by different names such as: the Classical Age or the Augustan Age in literature and also called the Age of Good Sense or the Age of Reason.


The Eighteenth Century is called the Classical Age in English literature on account of three reasons:

In the first place, the term ‘classic’, refers in general, applies to writers of the highest rank in any nation. This term was first applied to the works of the great Greek and Roman writers, like Homer and Virgil. As the writers of the eighteenth century in England tried to follow the simple and noble methods of the great ancient writers, they began to be called Classical writers.

 In the second place, in every national literature there is a period when a large number of writers produce works of great merit; such a period is often called the Classical Period or Age. For example, the reign of Augustus is called the Classical Age of Rome; and the Age of Dante is called the Classical Age of Italian literature. As during the eighteenth century in England there was an abundance of literary productions, the critics named it the Classical Age in English literature.

 In the third place, during this period the English writers rebelled against the exaggerated and fantastic style of writing prevalent during the Elizabethan and Puritan ages, and they demanded that poetry, drama and prose should follow exact rules. In this they were influenced by French writers, especially by Boileau and Rapin, who insisted on precise methods of writing poetry, and who professed to have discovered their rules in the classics of Horace and Aristotle.


As the term Classical Age is, therefore, too dignified for writers of the eighteenth century in England, who imitated only the outward trapping of the ancient classical writers, and could not get at their inner spirit, this age is preferably called the Augustan Age. This term was chosen by the writers of the eighteenth century themselves, who saw in Pope, Addison, Swift, Johnson and Burke the modern parallels to Horace, Virgil, Cicero, and other brilliant writers who made Roman literature famous during the reign of Emperor Augustus.


The eighteenth century is also called the Age of Reason or the Age of Good Sense, because the people thought that they could stand on their own legs and be guided in the conduct of their affairs by the light of their own reason unclouded by respect for Ancient precedent. They began to think that undue respect for authority of the Ancients was a great source of error, and therefore in every matter man should apply his own reason and common sense. Every man becomes his own philosopher. In 18th century not many people went to church.


In the previous ages which we have dealt with, it were the poetical works which were given prominence. Now, for the first time in the history of English literature, prose occupies the front position. As it was the age of social, political religious and literary controversies in which the prominent writers took an active part, and a large number of pamphlets, journals and magazines were brought out in order to cater to the growing need of the masses who had begun to read and take interest in these controversial matters, poetry was considered inadequate for such a task, and hence there was a rapid development of prose.

The two main characteristics of the Restoration period—Realism and Precision—were carried to further perfection during the eighteenth century. They are found in their excellent form in the poetry of Pope, who perfected the heroic couplet, and in the prose of Addison who developed it into a clear, precise and elegant form of expression.
 Another characteristic of this age was the development of satire as a form of literature, which resulted from the unfortunate union of politics with literature. The wings and the Tories—members of two important political parties which were constantly contending to control the government of the country—used and rewarded the writers for satirising their enemies and undermining their reputation. Moreover, as a satire is concerned mainly with finding fault with the opponents.
  Another important feature of this age was the origin and development of the novel. This new literary form, which gained great popularity in the succeeding ages, and which at present holds the prominent place, was fed and nourished by great masters like Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Smollet and others who laid its secure foundations. The realism of the age and the development of an excellent prose style greatly helped in the evolution of the novel during the eighteenth century. Also first English dictionary by Samuel jhonsons came in 1755.

Saturday, 8 July 2017

I Did Not Ask For It.




Knock knock.
It has been talked about day after day.
But this time I hope you actually hear.
Knock knock, it is about rape.
Since the days of nursery I am draped in fragile pink. The choice was never mien, but this is how it was meant to be.
Oooh pretty little girl keep your hands off the mud and those current carrying wires. Ooooh pretty little girl did you get hurt?
Yes I was hurt.
Why did you not think, if the pretty girl who was no more little, was hurt, when you ripped off her dress and thrust inside her without any rest.
You return, thinking it was your right.
The pink colour choice was never mien, then how can I expect you to ask me if I wanted to join.
The rapes have been happening, and the people have convinced themselves that it was she who asked for it.
Did her walk, her talk, her short skirt, her visible breast, her red lipstick, her open hair, her clothes layers, her curvy waist ask for being raped?
Oooooh pretty girl. You in full sleeves clothes, hair in braid and flat chest have also been raped.

Friday, 7 July 2017

Destiny of Draupadi


Draupadi – the princess of panchala, the uninvited child, did not have the conventional upbringing. Though everybody in the palace including her father and Dhai Ma tried their best to teach her the tasks, a girl is expected to be efficient in. Her brother, Dhri was a constant support to her. Dhri talked to her about the matters, others would never have. Soon the time arrived when Draupadi was to be married. Unlike other girls she was given the chance to select her better half, in the swayamvar being organised by her father. The final decision was though left to the fate, as only few could complete the task at the swayamvar.

Draupadi from the time of her birth was being prepared for the situations which were to come in her life ahead. While she was being acquainted with the kings, who were to come to her swayamvar; she was hoplessely attracted to the portrait of karna (the king of Anga, the chariot son). Seeing such desires in the eyes of Draupadi for karna, infuriated Krishna. Draupadi says:

                                            “ Heat rose to my face. Did Krishna want to be one of my suitors? I’d never thought of that possibility. All these years he’d been to me as the air I breathed—indispensable and unconsidered. But today I sensed that there was more to him than the jesting self he’d chosen, until now, to reveal to me. This new Krishna, his eyes stern with anger, his voice like an arrow—I was certain he could pass the swayamvar test if he wished it.

How would it be to have him as my husband? An uneasiness rose in me as I turned the thought around in my mind. I loved him— but not in that way.”



Later she was shown the portraits of pandva brothers. Draupadi had no say in the decisions of her life. It was all destined. Moreover everybody around made sure that her decisions move her towards her predefined destiny. Draupadi says:

          How I longed to speak to Dhai Ma of that other, forbidden name: Karna.

Draupadi’s eyes always searched for karna, even after marrying to the five pandvas. She left no opportunity to have a look at him. Though such feelings were never reciprocated by karna. Draupadi favoured Arjun the most among five pandavs but carried more affection for Karna. Though this affection for Karna was never made public. We could say that the destiny presented her Arjun but her choice would have been Karna, if she was given a chance to decide.




Resourse: the pallace of illusion by Chitra Lekha and Banerjee Divakaruni

Monday, 26 June 2017

The Restoration Period (1660-1700)


·         In 1660, when Charles II came to the throne, there was complete repudiation of the puritan ideals and the way of living. In English literature the period from 1660 to 1700 is called the period of restoration, because monarchy was restored in England, and Charles II, the son of Charles I who had been defeated and beheaded, came back to England from his exile in France and became the king.

·         All restraints and discipline were thrown to the winds, and a wave of licentiousness and frivolity swept the country. Charles II and his followers who had enjoyed a gay life in France during their exile, did their best to introduce that type of foppery and looseness in England also. Instead of having Shakespeare and the Elizabethans as their models, and the poets and dramatists of the restoration period began to imitate French writers and especially their vices.

·         No major work was produced. But then was introduced realism and a tendency to preciseness.

·         In the beginning realism took an ugly shape, because the writers painted the real pictures of the corrupt society and court. They were more concerned with the vices rather that with the virtues. The result was a coarse and inferior type of literature. Later this tendency to realism became more wholesome, and the writers tried to portray realistically human life as they found it- it is good as well as bad side, it internal as well as external shape.

·         The restoration writers, under the influence of French writers gave emphasis to reasoning rather than romantic fancy, and evolved and exact precise way of writing, consisting of short, clear-cut sentences without any unnecessary word.

·         The royal society also known as Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge. It was set up in 1660 in Britain. The group was basically formed for scientific studies. Scholars like Einstein and Newton and were part of this group.

·         Comedy of manners. This genre of comedy flourished in restoration period in England. It is a play, novel, or film that gives a satirical portrayal of behaviour in a particular social group. The writers use satiric tone and witty dialogues, to show baselessness of a particular class or society (generally used for upper-class).

·         In tragedy, the restoration period specialised in heroic tragedy, which dealt with themes of epic magnitude. The heroes and heroines possessed superhuman qualities. The purpose of this tragedy was didactic- to inculcate virtues in the shape of bravery and conjugal love. It was written in the ‘heroic couplet’ in accordance with the heroic convention derived from France that ‘ heroic metre’ should be used in such plays.in it declamation took the place of natural dialogue. Moreover, it was characterised by bombast on the observations of life, there was no realistic characterisation, and it inevitably ended happily and virtue was always rewarded.

Tuesday, 20 June 2017

Could You Please Adjust?


A while ago, I happened to talk to one of my school friend. Somewhere in our conversation, we started to talk about- how our entire life is a compromise. Pause the work you are doing, for few seconds and think about yourself and people around you. Do not be surprised to find, that everybody you can think of is compromising on something or the other. Whereas, a bit more civilised society calls compromise with another name that is- “adjusting”. Turn around and you will see, people adjusting in their family, with their spouse, in a job, with their siblings or for a seat in metro. The one who adjusts or compromise is equated to be a kinder being. Those who dare to say “no” or take a stand for themselves are likely to be termed rude, selfish, manner less…..  …and much more.
The reason why there are so many molestation cases, which go unreported is because of the reason that we are trained to adjust, compromise and be quite. We are brought up under the belief that whatsoever an elder does is for our good. Therefore we should listen to them and adjust. A very well-known phrase goes something like this- “jo bde krte hain, aapke bhle ke liye krte hain”. It is because of this notion that we tend to confuse love with anger or any other bad intents of elders (some elders).
Never, by never I mean not even once in your life time should you compromise with yourself. Say “no” to what you do not agree to. Leave the job, which does not serve your passion or does not make you happy. Move out of a relationship, where you are not respected. Refuse to laugh on the jokes, which you do not find funny. Say when you are annoyed. Shout when you are happy. Cry loud whenever you do. Let you true emotions out. Stop thinking about what people will think of you. Because people do not think, they judge and then they forget it all after a while.

 I will never compromise with me.

Monday, 19 June 2017

The Puritan Age or The Age of Milton (1600-1660)


·         Broadly speaking, the puritan movement in literature may be considered as the second and greater renaissance, marked by the rebirth of the moral nature of man which followed the intellectual awakening of Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

·         The puritan movement stood for liberty of the people from the shackles of the despotic ruler as well as the introduction of morality and high ideals in politics.

·         Though during the restoration period the puritans began to be looked down upon as narrow- minded, gloomy dogmatists, who were against all sort of recreations and amusements, in fact they were not so. Moreover though they were profoundly religious, they did not form a separate religious sect. it would be great travesty of facts if we call Milton and Cromwell, who fought for liberty of the people against the tyrannical rule of Charles I, as narrow minded fanatics. They were real champions of liberty and stood for toleration.

·         Charles I was defeated and beheaded in 1649 and puritanism came out triumphant with the establishment of the commonwealth under Cromwell, severe laws were passed. Many simple mode of recreation and amusement were banned, and an austere standard of living was imposed on unwilling people. They are the same puritans who fought for liberty and justice, and who through self-discipline and austere way of living overthrew despotism and made the life and property of the people of England safe from the tyranny of the rulers.

·         There were no fixed literary standards, imitations of older poets and exaggeration of the ‘metaphysical’ poets replaced the original, dignified and highly imaginative compositions of the Elizabethan writers. The literary achievements of this so- called gloomy age are not of high order, but it had the honour of producing on solitary master of verse whose work would shed lustre on any age or people – john Milton (his Paradise lost), who was the noblest and indomitable representative of the puritan spirit to which he gave most lofty and enduring expression.

·         Poetry then was distinguished in three forms:

1.       Poetry of school of Spenser

2.       Poetry of metaphysical poets

3.       Poetry of cavaliers poets



·         Drama in puritan age decayed. Theatres were closed by the puritan in 1642, it died a natural death. (Opened after 18 years)

·         This period was rich in prose. Bacon, Burton, Milton, Sir Thomas Browne, Jeremy Tayler and Clarendon, all of them were great prose writers of their time. Also the art of biography, autobiography, diary and journal came into being along with prose writing.

·         Francis bacon (1561- 1628) belongs to both Elizabethan and Jacobean period.


Sunday, 18 June 2017

The Renaissance Period (1500 - 1600) [part – II]


·         Drama was the main feature of the Elizabethan age. The second period of the Elizabethan drama was dominated by the “University of Wit’s”, a professional set of literary men. The style was heroic. The chief aim was to achieve strong and sounding lines. Of this little constellation, Marlowe was the central sun, and round him revolved as minor stars, Lyly, Green, Peele, lodge and Nash.


·         Christopher Marlowe (1564- 1593)

In 1587 his first play “Tamburlaine” was published. In this play Marlowe dramatized the exploits of the Scythian shepherd who rose to be “the terror of the world”, and “the scourge of god”. Tamburlaine was succeeded by the tragic history of doctor Faustus, in which Marlowe gave an old medieval legend a romantic setting. The story of the scholar who sells his soul to the devil for worldly enjoyment and unlimited power, is presented in a most fascinating manner. In “the Jew of Malta”, he raised the subject- matter of the drama to a higher level. He introduced heroes who were men of great strength and vitality, possessing the renaissance characteristic of insatiable spirit of adventure. He gave coherence, unity, beauty and dignity and poetic glow to the drama. In fact, he did the pioneering work on which Shakespeare built the grand edifice. Thus he has been rightly called “the father of English poetry”.


·         Another important feature of the age were Elizabethan sonnets. They were broadly divided into three categories: Petrarchan sonnets, Shakespearean sonnets and Spenserian sonnets.

Thursday, 15 June 2017

The Renaissance Period (1500-1600) [ part-1]


·         This age is also known as Elizabethan period or the age of Shakespeare.

·         Renaissance means the revival of learning, and it denote in its broadest sense the gradual enlightenment of the human mind after the darkness of the Middle Ages.

·         Along with the revival of learning, new discoveries took place in several other fields. Vascoda Gama circumnavigated the earth; Columbus discovered America; Copernicus discovered the solar system and prepared the way for Galileo. Books were printed, and philosophy, sciences, and art were systematised. Men sought for new lands and gold and the fountain of youth- that was the new spirit, which awoke in Europe with the revival of learning.

·         The major concept of emphasise, during the period was, “humanism”, - which means man’s concern with himself as an object of contemplation. This movement was started in Italy by Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio in the 14th century, and from there it spread to other countries of Europe. It had a number of subordinate trends:
  •          The rediscovery of classical antiquity, and particularly of ancient Greece. Europe had forgotten the liberal tone of old Greek world and its spirit of democracy and human dignity. The first English man who wrote under the influence of Greek studies was Sir Thomas more. His “utopia”, written in Latin, was suggested by Plato’s “republic”. Sir Philip Sidney in his “defence of poesie” accepted and advocated the critical rules of the ancient Greeks.

  • *      The discovery of external universe, and its significance for man. But more important than this was that the writers directed their gaze inwards, and became deeply interested in the problems of human personality. In the medieval morality plays, the characters are mostly personifications: friendship, charity, sloth, wickedness and the like. But now during the Elizabethan period, under the influence of humanism, the emphasis was laid on the qualities which distinguished one human being from another, and give an individuality and uniqueness. Moreover, the revealing of the writers own mind became full of interest. This tendency led to the rise of a new literary form- “the essay”, which was used successfully by bacon. In drama Marlowe probed down into the deep recesses of the human passions. His heroes, Tamburlaine, Dr. Faustus and Barabbas, the Jew of Malta, are possessed of uncontrolled ambitions. Shakespeare, a more consummate artist, carried humanism to perfection. His genius, fed by the spirit of the renaissance, enabled him to see life whole, and to present it in all its aspects.

  • *      Humanism was enhanced sensitiveness to formal beauty, and the cultivation of the aesthetic sense. It showed itself in a new ideal of social conduct, that of the courtier. An Italian diplomat and man of letters, Castiglione wrote a treatise entitled “cortigiano” (the courtier) where he sketched the pattern of gentlemanly behaviour and manners upon which the conduct of such men as Sir Philip Sidney and Sir Walter Raleigh was modelled. This cult of elegance in prose writing produced the ornate style called “euphuism” by lily.

  • *      Another aspect of humanism was that men came to be regarded as responsible for their own actions, as Casius says to Brutus in Julius Caesar:  “the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”

Instead of looking up to some higher authority, as was done in the Middle Ages, during the renaissance period guidance was to be found from within. Lyly wrote his romance of Euphues not merely as an excuse in a new kind of prose, but with the serious purpose of inculcating righteousness of living, based on self- control. Sidney wrote his arcadia in the form of fiction in order to expound an ideal of moral excellence. Spenser wrote faerie queen, with a view “to fashion a gentleman or noble person in virtuous and gentle disposition”
Though we do not look for direct moral teaching in Shakespeare, nevertheless, we find underlying his work the same profoundly moral attitude.





NOTE:  Rest other features of the age will be talked about in the next blog.

Sunday, 11 June 2017

Middle English or Anglo- Norman Period (1100- 1500)


The age was called Anglo- Norman period as The Normans, who were residing in Normandy (France) defeated the Anglo-Saxon king at the battle of hasting (1066) and conquered England. Apart from this there were other important event which took place during the time period.

·         Wycliffe’s bible

·         Hundred years of war

·         Black death

·         Peasant revolt



These events will be discussed below in detail.



 The Wycliffe Bible
John Wycliffe (1329–1384) was an Oxford professor and theologian who became concerned with the growing power, corruption, and wealth that he observed in the papacy and in the Roman Catholic Church. Wycliffe (also spelled Wyclif or Wiclif) began speaking and writing against the church’s errors, teaching that salvation was only available through the suffering of Christ, not the power of the church.
Wycliffe was convinced that the English people needed a Bible that they could understand in their own language. In 1380, he completed the first English translation of the New Testament, and two years later the entire Bible was completed.  Approximately 60 years before the invention of the printing press, the Wycliffe Bible was published and copied by hand.
The Catholic Church condemned the Wycliffe Bible. Anyone caught reading it was subject to heavy fines. Some of Wycliffe’s supporters were burned at the stake with the Wycliffe Bible hung around their necks. However, the prohibition seems to have only made people more interested in reading the banned book. Not only did the English people become more interested in the Bible, but their desire for literacy also increased.

Today, the Wycliffe translation of the Bible is readily available online both in Middle and Modern English. Wycliffe Bible Translators, an organization dedicated to translating the Bible into the language of every people group on earth, continues the work that Wycliffe began almost 750 years ago.



HUNDERED YEARS OF WAR

The name the Hundred Years’ War has been used by historians since the beginning of the nineteenth century to describe the long conflict that pitted the kings and kingdoms of France and England against each other from 1337 to 1453. Two factors lay at the origin of the conflict: first, the status of the duchy of Guyenne (or Aquitaine)-though it belonged to the kings of England, it remained a fief of the French crown, and the kings of England wanted independent possession; second, as the closest relatives of the last direct Capetian king (Charles IV, who had died in 1328), the kings of England from 1337 claimed the crown of France.
The root causes of the conflict can be found in the demographic, economic, and social crises of 14th-century Europe. The outbreak of war was motivated by a gradual rise in tension between the kings of France and England about Guyenne, Flanders, and Scotland. The Hundred Years' War is commonly divided into three phases separated by truces: the Edwardian Era War (1337–1360); the Caroline War (1369–1389); and the Lancastrian War (1415–1453).
The Caroline War was the second phase of the Hundred Years' War between France and England, following the Edwardian War. It was so-named after Charles V of France, who resumed the war nine years after the Treaty of Brétigny.




Understanding the Black Death
Today, this grim sequence of events is terrifying but comprehensible. In the middle of the 14th century, however, there seemed to be no rational explanation for it. No one knew exactly how the Black Death was transmitted from one patient to another–according to one doctor, for example, “instantaneous death occurs when the aerial spirit escaping from the eyes of the sick man strikes the healthy person standing near and looking at the sick”–and no one knew how to prevent or treat it. Physicians relied on crude and unsophisticated techniques such as bloodletting and boil-lancing (practices that were dangerous as well as unsanitary) and superstitious practices such as burning aromatic herbs and bathing in rosewater or vinegar The Black Death arrived in Europe by sea in October 1347 when 12 Genoese trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after a long journey through the Black Sea. The people who gathered on the docks to greet the ships were met with a horrifying surprise: Most of the sailors aboard the ships were dead, and those who were still alive were gravely ill. They were overcome with fever, unable to keep food down and delirious from pain. Strangest of all, they were covered in mysterious black boils that oozed blood and pus and gave their illness its name: the “Black Death.” The Sicilian authorities hastily ordered the fleet of “death ships” out of the harbour, but it was too late: Over the next five years, the mysterious Black Death would kill more than 20 million people in Europe–almost one-third of the continent’s population.

Meanwhile, in a panic, healthy people did all they could to avoid the sick. Doctors refused to see patients; priests refused to administer last rites. Shopkeepers closed stores. Many people fled the cities for the countryside, but even there they could not escape the disease: It affected cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens as well as people. In fact, so many sheep died that one of the consequences of the Black Death was a European wool shortage. And many people, desperate to save themselves, even abandoned their sick and dying loved ones.

God’s Punishment?
Because they did not understand the biology of the disease, many people believed that the Black Death was a kind of divine punishment–retribution for sins against God such as greed, blasphemy, heresy, fornication and worldliness. By this logic, the only way to overcome the plague was to win God’s forgiveness. Some people believed that the way to do this was to purge their communities of heretics and other troublemakers–so, for example, many thousands of Jews were massacred in 1348 and 1349. (Thousands more fled to the sparsely populated regions of Eastern Europe, where they could be relatively safe from the rampaging mobs in the cities.)



The peasant’s revolt:
The Peasants' Revolt started in Essex on 30 May 1381, when a tax collector tried, for the third time in four years, to levy a Poll Tax. The war against France was going badly, the government's reputation was damaged, and the tax was 'the last straw'.

The peasants were not just protesting against the government. Since the Black Death, poor people had become increasingly angry that they were still serfs. They were demanding that all men should be free and equal, for less harsh laws, and a fairer distribution of wealth.

When the Black Death swept Europe in 1348-1351 it left about 30% of the population dead. This greatly affected the English peasants because there was a labour shortage and food was scarce. Even some thirty years later, life had not returned to normal -the settled and structured country life of the Middle Ages was disrupted, and discontent was rife amongst the poor.

Historians have identified a number of factors which caused the Peasants' Revolt:
  • Three hundred years after the Norman Conquest, peasants were still villains who belonged to their lords under what some people think of as the feudal system.
  • The Black Death (1348 - 1350) had killed many people. This meant there was a shortage of workers and wages went up. Parliament passed the Statute of Labourers (1351), which set a maximum wage and said that people would be punished with prison if they refused to work for that wage. This meant poor people stayed poor.
  • After 1369, the war against France began to go badly. This would have made people despise the government.
  • In 1377 Richard II – a boy of 10 – became king and his uncle, John of Gaunt, ran the country. This meant that the government was weak.
  • John of Gaunt introduced a Poll Tax to pay for the war against France. The Poll Tax had to be paid by everyone over the age of 15 no matter how much money they earned. In March 1381, the government demanded the third Poll Tax in four years. When people avoided paying this, Parliament appointed commissioners to make them pay.


The Result of the Peasants Revolt

·         Parliament gave up trying to control the wages the landowners paid their peasants.

·         The hated poll tax was never raised again.

·         The Lords treated the peasants with much more respect. They made more of them free men i.e. they were not owned as part of the land. This benefited in the end, as free men always work much harder.

·         This marked the breakdown of the feudal system, which had worked well during the early Middle Ages, but was now becoming outdated as attitudes were beginning to change.





The miracle and morality plays were another important features of the middle ages:

Bible stories, theme- the struggle between the power of good and evil for the mastery of the soul of the man. In these moral plays the protagonist is always an abstraction; he is mankind, the human race, the pride of life, and there is an attempt to compass the whole scope of man’s experience and temptations in life, as there had been a corresponding effort in the miracle plays to embrace the complete range of sacred history, the life of Christ, and the redemption of the world.




CHAUCER (1340?  …. 1400)

Father of English poetry.

He made fresh beginning in English literature. He disregarded altogether the old English tradition. His education as a poet was two-fold. Part of it came from French and Italian literature, but part of it came from life.

His work- “Canterbury tales”, which is a collection of stories related by the pilgrims on their way to the shrine of Thomas becket at Canterbury. These pilgrims represent different sections of contemporary English society, and in the description of the most prominent of these people in the prologue Chaucer’s powers are shown at their very highest. All the characters are individualized, yet thoroughly typical quality gives unique value to Chaucer’s picture of men and manners in the England of his time. Also, by drawing finished and various portraits in verse, he showed the way to the novelists to portray characters.

Chaucer removed poetry from the region of the metaphysics and theology, and made it hold as “it were the mirror up to nature”. He thus brought back the old classical principle of the direct imitation of nature.

After Chaucer there was a decline in English poetry for about one hundred years. The years from 1400 to the renaissance were a period bereft of literature, there were only a few minor poets, the imitators and successors of Chaucer, who are called the English and Scottish Chaucerian’s who wrote during this period. The main cause of the decline of literature during this period was that no writer of genius was born during those long years. Chaucer’s successors were Occleve, Lydgate, Hawes, Skelton Henryson, Dunbar and Douglas. They all did little but copy him, and they represent on era of mediocrity in English literature that continues up to the time of the renaissance.

Monday, 5 June 2017

TIMELINE





English literature is divided into number of ages or centuries. As a student of english literature, it becomes important for you to know these ages, for effective study of the subject. These ages have been dividedd on the basis of time or on the most popular trend of that time period. Some of the ages are also termed on the ruler/ king of the time period.
The division of history is something like the this :

  • Middle english/ Anglo-norman period  -  1100-1500
  • The Renaissance Period  -  1500-1600
  • 7th century is divided in two parts:
                  1.  The Puritan Age or Age of Milton   -   1600-1660
                              this is further divided into two:

                               Jacobean period (James I)                                   Caroline period ( Charles I)
                                    ( 1603-1625)                                                             (1625-1649)
                         
                    2.  The Restoration period or the Age of Dryden   -   1660-1700

  • 18th century
  • The Romantic age   -   1798-1824
  • The Victorian age   -   1832-1900
  • Modern literature   - 1900-1961
  • Post - modern literature
 Detailed discussion about each age individually will be taken up later.

Saturday, 3 June 2017

First Few Words




Hello,

I am an English literature student. In Last three years books have shown me the world around the globe and taken me to time in past and to future time also. My journey with book has taught me that books are the best way to travel places as well as time.

 Worth of words has often been neglected but words arranged in a meaningful way can do wonders. I am glad that I realised the importance of the gift I have been blessed with i.e., language. Why not use it to its best? Creating this blog is my small attempt to give what I have learned.

Majorly I will be writing about literature related topics, which indirectly will cover up all latest social and other issues. Some of my personal writings will also be included. I will also try and bring other new writers work so that a different view would be available.

Fair, genuine and unbiased comments and reviews will always be a welcome.

I am hoping to communicate well with all my readers through words.

Shaved LEGS.

It is 3:00am and I am reminded of my instrumental music teacher from 9 th standard.  My school had morning assemblies every morning till 10...