English

Biyani's Think Tank

Concept based notes

Poetry and Drama

English
BA-III

Ms Abeer Mathur Ms Aditi Bhardwaj

Deptt. of Arts Biyani Girls College, Jaipur

English Published by :

Think Tanks Biyani Group of Colleges

Concept & Copyright :

Biyani Shikshan Samiti

Sector-3, Vidhyadhar Nagar, Jaipur-302 023 (Rajasthan) Ph : 0141-2338371, 2338591-95 Fax : 0141-2338007 E-mail : acad@biyanicolleges.org Website :www.gurukpo.com; www.biyanicolleges.org

Edition : 2012

While every effort is taken to avoid errors or omissions in this Publication, any mistake or omission that may have crept in is not intentional. It may be taken note of that neither the publisher nor the author will be responsible for any damage or loss of any kind arising to anyone in any manner on account of such errors and omissions.

Leaser Type Setted by : Biyani College Printing Department

Preface

am glad to present this book, especially designed to serve the needs of the

students. The book has been written keeping in mind the general weakness in understanding the fundamental concepts of the topics. The book is self-explanatory and adopts the Teach Yourself style. It is based on question -answer pattern. The language of book is quite easy and understandable based on scientific approach. Any further improvement in the contents of the book by making corrections, omission and inclusion is keen to be achieved based on suggestions from the readers for which the author shall be obliged. I acknowledge special thanks to Mr. Rajeev Biyani, Chairman & Dr. Sanjay Biyani, Director (Acad.) Biyani Group of Colleges, who are the backbones and main concept provider and also have been constant source of motivation throughout this endeavour. They played an active role in coordinating the various stages of this endeavour and spearheaded the publishing work. I look forward to receiving valuable suggestions from professors of various educational institutions, other faculty members and students for improvement of the quality of the book. The reader may feel free to send in their comments and suggestions to the under mentioned address. Author

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My Last Duchess
Q.1. Reference To Context : My Last Duchess 1.That piece a wonder, now: Fr Pandolf's hands Worked busily a day, and there she stands. Will 't please you sit and look at her? I said 'Fr Pandolf' by design, for never read Strangers like you that pictured countenance, The depth and passion of its earnest glance Ans. Explanation- Robert Browning has written here about two things ; a)an emphasis on the mastery of the artist, Fra Pandolfs who made the image of a dead women look so real and b) an introduction to the Dukes subtle, mocking tone with the phrases piece of wonder and busily a day. These words seem full of hatred and envy for both woman and artist. "My Last Duchess" is a famous dramatic monologue by Robert Browning. Here, Browning accomplishes two things: a) an emphasis on the mastery of THE use of the word you informs the reader that there is an immediate addressee within the fictional poem .The reader might begin to think the Duke was jealous of the man who was involved with his wife but who, ultimately create not a masterpiece but just a portion of one. It should be noted that Fra Pandolf is an imaginary, not historical, figure. Duke asks him to sit and gaze upon picture of the dead woman. Q.2. Write the critical appreciation of Brownings poem My Last Duchess. Ans.- Murder,mystery,intrique All these three words described Robert Browning's poem, "My Last Duchess." From the speakers's indirect allusions to the death of his wife the reader might easily think that the speaker committed a vengeful crime out of jealousy. His flowery speech confuses and disguises any possible motives, however, and the mystery is left unsolved. Based on the poem's style, structure, and historical references, it becomes evident thateven if the speaker did not directly kill his wife, he certainly had something to hide. The style and structure of this poem play a significant role in the effect of the poem. As is typical of Browning's poems, "My Last Duchess" is written as a dramatic monologue: one speaker relates the entire poem as if to another person present with him. This format suits this poem particularly well because the

speaker, taken to be the Duke of Ferrara, comes across as being very controlling, especially in conversation. For example, he seems jealous that he was not able to monopolize his former duchess' smiles for himself. He also seems to direct the actions of the person he is addressing with comments such as "Will't please you rise?" and "Nay, we'll go / Together down, sir". Browning uses many techniques, including a simple rhyme scheme, enjambment, and caesura to convey various characteristics and qualities about the speaker and the situation. Browning uses an AA BB rhyme scheme, which is very common to ballads and songs. It also enhances the irony of the speaker's later comment that he does not have "skill / In speech".The enjambed lines indicate the control that the speaker is exerting on the conversation and give the feeling that the speaker is rushing through parts of the poem. When the Duke is speaking of the death of his wife, for example, the lines running over suggest that he is nervous about the subject. The caesuras also suggest to the reader that he is hiding something or that he is pausing to think. When discussing the poem's content, there are many things we know for certain and many others that are questionable. We know that the Duchess died suspiciously and that the Duke is in the process of looking for a new wife. He is speaking to a messenger about a painting of his now deceased wife. The Duke, of course, is casting himself in a favorable light and is presenting his best side. He wants to make it look as if his wife was cheating on him and was unfaithful to him. He is very controlling, and could not control her and her smiles. This smile was what the Duke likes the most about the painting of the Duchess--he feels that the painter accurately captured the smile and the vivacity of the Duchess. Now that the Duke owns this painting and has placed it behind a curtain, he can at last control who is graced with her smile. When the Duchess was alive, the Duke could not control her smile and love for life and he considered her unfaithful. It is thought that he poisoned her because of these suspicions. Other aspects of the Duke that remain unclear include his true character. As mentioned, he is presenting his best side, but through his speech the reader sees how he is very jealous and controlling, which leads one to believe that he may have many dishonorable qualities. Another ambiguous quality about the

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Duke is his historical character. The poem clearly references the historical Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara (a city in northeast Italy), whose first wife died suspiciously within two years of their marriage. We know that Browning's Duke has a 900-year-old name of which he is very proud, and, based on his collection of paintings and sculptures, that he was an patron of the arts. Both facts correspond with information known about the historical Duke. However, the poem omits some important information. Browning does not refer to the Duchess in the painting as being a member of the royal de Medici family. Historical sources indicate that Alfonso's first wife was Lucretia de Medici, the daughter of two very important and powerful Italian monarchs. The poem is based on the fact that she died within two years of the Duke's ascension to the throne. Although sources indicate that she died suspiciously, it was never proven that the Duke had anything to do with her death. Q.3. Reference To context : Dover Beach The sea is calm to-night. The tide is full, the moon lies fair Upon the straits; on the French coast the light Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand; Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay. Come to the window. Sweet is the night- air ! Ans. The water reflects the image of the moon. A strait is a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water. In this poem, straits refers to the Strait of Dover, which connects the English Channel on the south to the North Sea on the north. The distance between the port cities of Dover, England, and Calais, France, is about twenty-one miles via the Strait of Dover. Light Gleams and is gone -this clause establishes a sense of rhythm in that the light blinks on and off. In addition, the clause foreshadows the message of later lines--that the light of faith in God and religion, once strong, now flickers. Whether an observer at Dover can actually see a light at Calais depends on the height of the lighthouse and the altitude at which the observer sees the light (because of the curvature of the earth), on the brightness of the light, and on the weather conditions. There are white cliffs, composed of chalk, a limestone that easily erodes. Like the

light from France, they glimmer, further developing the theme of a weakening of the light of faith. The fact that they easily erode supports the theme. Q.4. Critically analyze the poem Dover Beach. Ans. Dover Beach" is a poem with the mournful tone of an elegy and the personal intensity of a dramatic monologue.. Because the meter and rhyme vary from line to line, the poem is said to be in free verse--that is, it is unencumbered by the structures of traditional versification. Alliteration Examples: to-night, tide; full, fair; gleams, gone; coast, cliff (first stanza)) Arnold's "Dover Beach" presents the reader with a virtual journey through time. Lamenting the transition from an age of certainty into an era of erosion of traditions - Modernism - is the backbone of all four stanzas of the poem, brought together in our imagination by the nostalgic image of the sea. "Misery", "sadness" and "melancholy" reign most of the poem, yet the author chooses to conclude it with an emotional appeal for honesty: "Ah, love, let us be true/ to one another" - as it is the only true certainty left as the world around collapses under "struggle" and "fight". The poet's attitude towards the subject of the poem is revealed through key words, which are also references to a number of themes in the poem. The most obvious one of these is "the sea" with its nostalgic nature and ability to represent time and timelessness simultaneously. "Sadness", "misery", "melancholy", "pain" accompany this effect and reveal the overall sense of regret and helplessness the author feels before the powers of time and inevitable change. The tone of the piece is determined by the constant presence of "melancholy" and "misery" in the poem that stretch on into the distance with a "long withdrawing roar..." The calmness of the narrative voice with which the piece is set to work ("the sea is calm to-night./ The tide is full, the moon lies fair.") is essential for the descriptive nature of the first stanza. Yet, later on its role is to emphasize the negativity in the tone of the poem: "But now I only hear /Its melancholy...", "Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow /of human misery..." The end of the piece, however, implies that the alteration of the things around us is something inevitable. The tone changes in the last verse of the poem in the sense that it now not simply resents mutability, but is also a tone pleading with the reader to realise nothing is as stable and reliable as one perceives it, not to take the world for

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granted, and to stay "true/ to one another". The fundamental issues of the poem are not only obvious in its conclusion. The theme of Time is being discussed in the second verse, where Sophocles - an essential historic figure - is referred to. The mentioning of England and France at the beginning of the first verse can also be considered a historic reference and therefore - part of the theme of Time as history is a natural subject of it. Time here is represented by the image of the sea - with its vastness evoking powerful admiration. The theme of mutability follows closely because of the sea's unreliable nature. It is presented as something inevitable and insecure and, in its turn, leads onto the theme of humans staying true and honest to one another this involving love for each other - as the only way to remain together, "for the world, which seems/ to lie before us like a land of dreams/ Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light." The structure of the poem gives the immediate impression of being inconsistent and built upon no particular rules. There are four verses, none of which are alike, with no particular rhythm or rhyme pattern. Yet its tremendous effect on the reader is wittily based upon the impression of sharing the author's thoughts as we read - it seems easy to identify with the subject matter just as the latter synchronise with the sea's waves. The verses lead onto one another by theme although they appear to be quite unconventionally structured. Thus the end of the first stanza - occupied with sadness - brings on the "misery" of stanza two; then the image of sea and insecurity of the end of the second verse invites the beginning of the following and ending verse. The unity of the poem is in this way complete and its impact on the reader stretches far beyond the lines Q.5. Write a short note about the rhyme scheme and theme of Hopkins poem-Sea And The Skylark. Ans. Rhyme Scheme of Hopkins Poem-Its a regular Petrarchan sonnet, rhyming abbaabbacdcdcd with clearly marked division between octave and sestet with unusually each section being again divided into half,into to quatrains or or two sestets as the case may be. In the octave, Hopkins compares two ancient sounds; that of the sea, and that of a songbird, the skylark, one of whose favourite haunts is sand dunes. The first quatrain deals with the sea Hopkins is walking along the shore near the North Wales town of Rhyl, some six or seven miles from the college. Rhyl was then an up-and-coming tourist resort on account of its wide

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sandy beach. Walking westwards, he would have the sea on his right hand. He remarks particularly on the contrasting sounds of the high and the low tide. Q.6. A Prayer For My Daughter-summary. Ans. Yeats prays that his infant daughter will be protected from life's storms. His mind pictures his daughter in the future as a young woman embodying the values that he cherishes. She rises as a civilized creature from an uncivilized environment. He wants her to have beauty, but not so much as to make others obsessed with her or create vanity within herself. He doesn't want her to have a marriage that provides materially, but leaves her with a peculiar,foolish mate or dull life. He wants her to learn that love can be earned with kindness by those less beautiful. He wants her to be stable and private developing normally according to her age, sex, and season in life. (A linnet is a common finch having plummage that varies according to age, sex, and season.) He wants her to not tease or quarrel for entertainment. He wants her to be rooted in the same social class of her family. He reviews his past loves determining that love can turn to hate, and he wants his daughter to be free of hate which will tear her down. He thinks that an intellectual hate is the worst having seen his lovely woman turn into an opinionated angry blowing wind. He does not want this to happen to his daughter. He wants her to have no opinions unless they coincide with his opinions. He wants her to have a quiet nature, no hatred, and positive selfesteem. He believes that she can withstand all the scowls and storms in life and obtain happiness with these traits. He wants her husband to be of the same social class following the same ceremonies and customs as his daughter. Q.7. The use of imagery in T.S Eliots poem Preludes. Ans. In T.S. Eliots poem Preludes he portrays the world as a dark and depressing with no future. His Imagery is sharp and clear and he exercises many techniques. He uses literal imagery, which is a clear description of what something is, so it can pictured it in the mind. His word choice is a big factor in that he uses words that bring a certain picture to the mind, he also describes humans by their body parts or their presence. His unique syntax and use of rhythm also heighten the effects of his poetry. His attitude towards this world is summed up in the last two stanzas. Eliots imagery achieves its effect through his use of literal imagery, word choice, descriptions of the human influence, syntax, and rhythm. His attitude is one of total indifference, towards this world.

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Eliot uses literal imagery in Preludes. He doesnt use vague or hard to picture images. Since it is impossible to picture to picture tasting desire, he would never use, From what I have tasted of desire which is from Robert Frosts poem Fire and Ice. He uses descriptions like the faint stale smells of beer . This image clearly brings a smell to your mind. His word choice is a big part of this. He uses words that bring clear pictures to the mind. He doesn't use vague or hard to picture images.T.S.Eliot wrote about a world that is solemn and hopeless. He creates such strong emotions in readers that they can feel the hopelessness of the world, through his imagery. His imagery makes the poem and should not be over looked. Q.8. Kalidas, Bhavabhuti and Bhartrahari -is their poetry always worthy when its old? Ans. Kalidasa, Indias greatest Sanskrit poet and dramatist. In spite of the celebrity of his name, the time when he flourished always has been an unsettled question, although most scholars nowadays favor the middle of the 4th and early 5th centuries A.D., during the reigns of Chandragupta II Vikramaaditya and his successor Kumaaragupta. Undetermined also is the place of Kaalidaasas principal literary activity, as the frequent and minute geographic allusions in his works suggest that he traveled extensively. Numerous works have been attributed to his authorship. Most of them, however, are either by lesser poets bearing the same name or by others of some intrinsic worth, whose works simply chanced to be associated with Kaalidasas name their own names having long before ceased to be remembered. Only seven are generally considered genuine. Works of Kalidasa: One of the earliest play that he wrote was the Malavikaagnimitra ( Malavikaa and Agnimitra). Abhigyanashakuntala ( Shakuntala Recognized by the Token Ring), is the work by which Kaalidasa is best known not only in India but throughout the world. Bhavabhuti is one of the most illustrious poets of ancient India who, according to many critics, ranks next only to Kalidasa as a great dramatist. If Bhasa or Kalidasa lived in an age when, probably, literary activity was still in its initial stages with regard to classical Sanskrit literature, by the time Bhavabhuti appeared on the literary scene, literary traditions were laid on firm foundations. Bhartrahari- A Sanskrit poet, philosopher and grammarian lived in the later half of the fifth century. Vakiyapadiya is his major work on the philosophy of

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language. He wrote three collections of poetry, each containing 100 verses. His poetry reflects themes such as the wisdom of the world, love and renunciation. Selected text of his poemof what use is the poets poem, Of what use is the bowmans dart, Unless anothers senses reel When it sticks quivering in the heart? Scoundrels without the wit to fit A word or two of verse together Are daunted not a whit to sit In judgement on the abstruse poetry of another. Such men will listen with attentive mind, Alert to see how many faults they find. And if they are vexed because they fail to grasp the sense Of works conceived for readers of intelligence, They naturally do not blame their foolishness: A girl whos less than perfect always blames the dress. Q.9. The term `Indo-Anglian is usually set within a literary context: to do with literature written in English by Indians. The poet has split the label into its constituent parts and explored the nuances of each as well as where such labels lead. From the poem draw out illustrations of what it is that makes the poet indo and what makes him anglian? Or is there more to the poet than just these two classifications? If yes , what are these additional characteristics which resist the convenient classification of Inglo-Anglian? ANS. The poem written by Syed Ammanuddin is a part of ever-on-going discussion on whether an Indian should write in English when he/she has the wealth of his own mother tongue available. Other poems in this genre include Kamala Das s An Introduction and Nissim Ezekiels Backround , Casually amongst others.This issue was addressed by Mahesh Dattani, the playwright, who, when asked why he did not write in his own language instead of in English, retorted that was what he did. In an impassioned outburst Syed Amanuddin perhaps underscores the identity-

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crisis that haunts all Indian English poets they call me indo-anglian the mistaken misinformed folk n class me with a small group of writers cloistering me crippling me i would rather roam with kalidasa n kabir or go on a spiritual journey with dante meditate with khayyam on the mathematics of existence or sing with ghalib the anguish of love or drown with li po kissing the moon's reflection in the river they call me indo-anglian it's true i write in english dream in the language of shakespeare n keats but I am not an anglo my friend i am a POET i have lived forty centuries under various names i am now amanuddin Amanuddin consciously avoids using capitals for proper nouns and pronouns as well as in the words beginning each new line. The only word that is highlighted with capital letters is the word "POET" thereby prioritizing the focus of the poem. Cultural pluralism is addressed by the poet with celebratory exuberance. In the case of all these poets however certain common culture specific determinants categorize them as a minority group, who have received their education in English medium schools. Indo-Anglian poetry of the post-seventies period therefore represents and addresses the problematics that a class specific medium of creative writing generates. Cynicism about the threat of a commercialized society of profit and loss, debit and credit is expressed by Ezekiel in a sonnet appropriately titled "Warning II" where words like sell, customers, shrewd, cheat , money, counterfeiters , cops, whores, job and "how much" repeated thrice, signal cultural transition.

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Q.10. The images used in the poem are mainly cruel and harsh inviting condemnation for the activity of the critic. Identify them and see how they contribute? Ans. Dealing with change: R. Parthsarthys poem Homecoming portrays a picture of his native state, Tamil Nadu as he returns from his sojourn abroad. He perceives a marked change in his native language. He comprehends that it was his lack of familiarity with the native language that rendered the language alien to his perception. His persistent use of the foreign tongue dispossessed him of his inherently rich native language. His association with English appears to be like imprisonment as he wrestles with English chains. His mother tongue is emblematic of his rich Dravidian heritage that he cherishes. In his chains, that disable him to move freely, he falters, he stumbles. He also stumbles as he has lost his ground. His native language is now relegated to other concerns. At the time of Thiruvalluvar, the language was an insignia of rich cultural heritage. He senses that the language has begun to deteriorate as it is adulterated, and declines owing to the lack of use. The language proves to be an effervescent medium with the savant Nammalvar who handled it as it were a bull held by its horns. She penned several devotional songs that were par excellence, and therefore favorites with the masses. In the present situation, the language is like a dead animal, infested with fleas at Kodambakkam. This figure of speech enhances the theme of stagnation and decay. Death of the Past: There appears to be no redemption from this predicament. The present poets do not look for the richness of past literature for inspiration. Rather, they look up to foreign writers as idols. Genuine models thrive in their own roots, and native speakers must therefore refrain from imitating alien culture. The poet travels down the memory lane of his childhood when his grandfather used to narrate to him the celebrated poem Nalayira Divya Prabandham before going to bed. The poets grandfather used to pinch him when he wavered in his attention. The grandfather was sincerely determined to instill in him the literary and cultural values through his rendition of the classic. After the grandfathers death, they held a ceremony where all the relatives were reunited. Cousins arrived in overcrowded buses. They recognized each other eventually. They witnessed the rituals as they sat on the steps of a choultry. He

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reflects how they did not dwell in the inside of the culture; they were half -way out. The surroundings had not much to offer other than uneventful and undistinguished scenes. Rites and rituals seemed to lose their luster. They were served food sparingly: rice and pickle in the evening. The poet then records his encounter with a tall woman and her three children. He identifies his childhood friend Sundari, an agile girl climbing tamarind trees. She is forty years now; the poet senses the lack of emotions towards her at this juncture. The memory of her is fresh, but they can no longer relate or communicate with each other as time has changed everything over the years. Similar is his relation with his mother tongue. His childhood friend stands who is no longer familiar to him stands as a symbol to his feelings towards his native tongue. Q.11. Write about Agyeya as a revolunalist who promoted Hindi as a growing language. Ans. Agyeya's works like those of great writers opened up manifold dimensions of reality. Agyeya , who had striven to make Hindi a vibrant, volatile and growing language, argued that a language could not be an artificial creation. He played a vital role in popularising the language. Studies have been done on the influence of Tagore on the celebrated Hindi poet Agyeya. Agyeya is often referred to as an initiator in the Experimental School (Prayogwaad) in Hindi literature and his wrote in all forms of writings novels, poems, travelogues, short stories and editorials. Many believe that after Tagore, Agyeya stands out among writers in Indian languages who had excelled in all forms of writings. Agyeya, like Tagore was a practitioner in many genres; poetry, novel, short story, travelogue, essay, criticism and journalism. He loved to experiment with ideas and form and developed a knife sharp Sanskrit laced Hindi for his fiction and poetry. Perhaps the most engaging part of his vast oeuvre were the fascinating accounts of his travels through the length and breadth of undivided India as well as Europe and Asian countries. The spirit of adventure combined with a penetrating analysis of the art and literature in context of culture and history of each region was best described by the word"yayavar"

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(intuitive traveler)which he coined. Few lines from his poem Hiroshima are: Instant of a sun's rise and set. Vision-annihilating flare one compressed noon. And then? It was not human shadows that lengthened, paled, and died; It was men suddenly become as mist, then gone. The shadows stay: Burned on rocks, stones of these vacant streets. A sun conjured by men converted men to air, to nothing; White shadows singed on the black rock give back Man's witness to himself. In this poem he beautifully and very differently describes sunset that most of the other poets do in one or the same way. Q.11. How Daya Pawar reinforce Dalit communitys sense of being let down in his poems? Ans. Dalit is the literature of the Untouchables of Maharashtra, of those who are looked down upon even by other workers. Dalit is Marathi for 'the spurned'. The term was first used for the Untouchables in 1930. It is a comprehensive expression which now includes Harijans (such as Mahars), Mangs, Mallas, Chambhars and Pulayas. Dalit is a protest literature against all forms of exploitation based on class, race, caste or occupation. The Dalits are treated worse than animals. Their presence is usually banned from upper-class localities. Even then they are bound to hang clay pots from their necks so that they may not pollute the streets of the privileged by their spittle. They carry brooms tied to their bodies so that while passing through such 'upper lanes' they can wipe away their footprints. The Dalit are also burning with a desire for revenge. Their anger is reflected in 'You Wrote From Los Angeles' and The City , by Daya Pawar. In Oh Great Poet he talks about various topics,the title of the poem is addressed to Valmiki, author of the Ramayana.By placing lower caste background and the atrocities suffered by his community and his people as counter to the praise of Ramarajaya, Daya Pawar raises the issue of

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what it is to be a great poet. Q.12. Write about the symbolism used in Girish Karnads Tughlaq. Ans. The play Tughlaq is itself symbolic. It is not only historical but can be seen as a symbol of the contemporary political situation in India. Tughlaq reflects the chaos, disillusionment and prevailing corruption in independent India. The Indian governments policies are echoed by those of Tughlaq. U.R. Anantha Moorthy comments, It is a play of the sixties, and reflects as no other play perhaps does the political mood of disillusionment which followed the Nehru era of idealism in the country. Girish Karnad in Tughlaq deals with the life of the medieval Indian ruler, Muhammad Bin Tughlaq. The author skillfully picturises the life and reign of Tughlaq through his intensive use of symbols. Girish Karnad in Intro duction to Three plays remarks: Muhammad the mad the Sultan ended his career in blood sheds and political chaos. In a sense, the play reflected the slow disillusionment my generation felt with the new politics of independent India, the gradual erosion of the ethical norms that had guided the movement for independence, and the coming to terms with cynicism and real politics.In the play, the symbols have a myriad of origin as well as forms. He used symbols to represent universal thoughts and emotions. His use of various symbols in the play such as Chess, Aziz and Aazam, Prayer, Python, Daulatabad, Rose and birds like Vulture add greater emotional and associative significance. Chess: Tughlaq is a skillful chess prayer. He plays the game of chess not as a pastime but as a means of solving complicated problems. Muhammad says, I have just solved the most famous problem in chess. Even al-Adli and as-Sarakhi said it was insoluble. And its so simple-(Tughlaq ). The game of chess symbolizes Tughlaqs high manipulative skill of dealing with political rivals and opponents. Tughlaq considers his critics and enemies merely as pawns of chess which he can use at his will. Tughlaq well plays the chess of politics and solves the problem created by Ain-ul-Mulk and Sheikh Imam-ud-din. He uses Sheikh Imam-ud-din as his pawn to solve the problems of Ain-ul-Mulk. Ain-ul-Mulk, the friend of Tughlaq revolts against him and is marching towards Delhi. Sheikh by his constant speech enlightens the people and is inciting rebellion against Tughlaq in Kanpur. Sheikh Imam-ud-din resembles Tughlaq in appearance. Tughlaq crafts a

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plan. He invites Sheikh to Delhi and cunningly sends him to Ainul-Mulk as his envoy of peace in the royal robes. The dress makes them look alike. In the battlefield, Sheikh is killed. Thus Tughlaq craftly overthrows the fighter of Islam. Ani-ul-Mulk is pardoned and is made the governor of Avadh. The chess symbol symbolizes that the whole kingdom is as complicated and full of problems as the game of chess. P. Bayapa Reddy remarks: At the macro level, the game of chess is an ordinary game, which is popular in India. It also symbolizes a political game in which the most intelligent and clever politician is check mated by an ordinary washerman. Through this symbolist technique, the playwright hassucceeded in creating the right political atmosphere. Aziz and Aazam: The criminals like Aziz and Aazam symbolize unprincipled and opportunistic exploits of people. They exploit the liberal ideas and policies and the welfare activities of thegovernment. They lack humanity and utilizes every chance to earn money. Aziz, the dhobi, disguises as Brahmin Vishnu Prasad and wins the case against the Sultan himself. To Aziz politics is a profitable profession. Aziz remarks to Aazam: My dear fellow, thats where our future is politics! Its a beautiful world-wealth, success, position, power- and yet its full of brainless people, people with not an idea in their head. ( Tughlaq ). He murders Ghiyasud-din Abbasid and in the guise of the saint, appears before the sultan to bless him and purify. Daulatabad. Aziz the wily timeserver appears to represent all those who took advantage of Sultans visionary schemes and fooled him. The corrupt people like Aziz and Aazam symbolize who took bribes and undue favours from the king. Prayer: Prayer symbolizes the fact that the life of Tugfhlaq is full of corruption. The Amirs, some courtiers, Sheikhs, led by Ratan Singh and Shihab-ud-din conspire to kill the Sultan at the time of prayer. The plan is exposed by Ratansingh to Sultan and Shihab-ud-din is cunningly killed by Sultan. U.R. Anantha moorthy mentions, The use of prayer for murder is reminiscent of what Tughlaq himself did to kill his father. That prayer, which is most dear to Tughlaq, is symbolic of the fact that his life is corrupted at its very source. Sultan is fanatic about prayer. He realizes the futility of prayer and prohibits prayer in his kingdom. The ban is

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revoked only after five years when Ghiyas-ud-din Abbasid comes to Daulatabad to bless the Sultan. Prayer is exploited as an instrument of murder. The word prayer has lost its relevance in the play. In the words of P. Bayapa Reddy:At the micro level, prayer symbolizes the religious idealism of Tughlaq. At the macro level, it connects mans unconscious need for divine protection and guidance in an hour of anguish. In the beginning, prayer is made compulsory but later it is revived. It is reduced to a mockery when the Sultans life is threatened at the time of prayer. Python: The fort has a long and dark passage coiled like an enormous hungry python inside itsbelly. The python kills its prey by twisting itself round and crushing it. Similarly, any living creature enters the fort is crushed and swallowed. When the young man pries about the fort the old man says, yes, its a long passage, a big passage, coiled like an enormous hollow python inside the belly of the fort. (Tughlaq) . The python symbolizes Tughlaqs cunning and crooked tricks with which he traps those who rebel against him. The python symbolizes increasing fierceness, brutality, blood thirstiness and inhuman nature of Tughlaq. The python is symbolic of complete degeneration of the personality of Tughlaq. Vulture: The frustration mood of Tughlaq is symbolized by vultures. It is symbolic that vultures in the form of rebels thrust their beaks into the flesh of Muhammad and has made him to lose all his peace. Mohammad in dejection mood says, Dont you see- This patient, racked with fever and crazed by the fear of the enveloping vultures, cant be separated from me ?... (Tughlaq). The vultures also symbolize Tughlaqs ideas, ambitions, and desire of revenge. They do not allow him any peace day and night. He is known as a mad emperor. Daulatabad: Daulatabad city is a Hindu city. Tughlaq wants to flourish Muslim culture there. It is asymbol of Hindu-Muslim Unity. It throws light on the mistrust that is emerging amongst theHindus and Muslims in Tughlaqs rule. The old man feels as he is trapped in an eagles nest(Tughlaq ). It shows the collapsed life of the people. It symbolizes the rash and uncalculated decisions of Tughlaq. Rose: Sultan is a learned man. He is so deeply influenced by the beautiful poems of

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Sheikh Sadi of Persia. He plans a beautiful rose garden. Later on, the garden is heaped only with the counterfeit coins minted in his kingdom. When Muhammad tells his step-mother about the decision of heaping the counterfeit coins in the rose garden, it can be noted: STEP-MOTHER: Whats wrong with you: You spent years planning that rose garden, and nowMUHAMMAD: Now I dont need a rose garden I built it because I wanted to make for myself an image of Sadis poems. I wanted every rose in it to be a poem. I wanted every thorn in it to prick and quicken the senses. But dont need these airy trppings now ; The rose garden the king envisages is the garden of ideals which has dried by towards the end. P.Bayapa Reddy remarks: The rose is a symbol of the aesthetic and poetic susceptibilities of Tughlaq. It later on becomes a symbol of the withering away of all the dreams and ideas of Tughlaq.It is not only historical but can be seen as a symbol of the contemporary political situation in India. Tughlaq reflects the chaos, disillusionment and prevailing corruption in independent India. The Indian governments policies are echoed by those of Tughlaq. Conclusion: Girish Karnad has used relevant symbols in an effective way to enrich its beauty. It helps to understand the theme in a realistic way. Q.13. Write about the woman centric theme of Mahesh Dattanis play Tara. PURGING THE PERPETRATORS OF PATRIARCHYForgive me, Tara. forgive me, for making it my tragedy". The line brings forth the leitmotif of Mahesh Dattani's two-act drama, Tara to the fore. A self-confession by Dan alias Chandan is a testament of rank practices of male-chauvinism which runs through the play. He is broken in spirit and contrite and offers an apology on behalf of the callous system represented by individuals of both the sexes for making his own tragedy by being inexorably, if not inexcusably, cruel to a little girl child. He has to bear brunt of the somebody's wrong-doing! Tara and Chandan were Siamese children. Tara's future is foredoomed by virtue of her gender. They are joined at the hip and have to be separated surgically. They have got only three legs and one of them has to forgo the leg . Though the girl has bright chances, she is denied of the leg against the better judgement of everybody as their mindsets - the doctor, the parents - are plagued by the

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parochial logic of patriarchy that male-child will better their lives. Her mother, Bharathi, knows the travails of a physically handicapped girl. She knows the hardships a girl child might face in the event of her physical deformity thrusts upon her and knows that the leg legitimately belongs to the girl child. But she has not not the temerity to stand out and cry hoarse: " This is unpardonably wrong; let the better one has better prospects of survival". She says: ``It`s all right while she is young .It`s all very cute and comfortable when she makes witty remarks .But let her grow up .Yes ,Chandan the world will tolerate you. The world will accept you- but not her! Oh! The pain is going to feel when she sees herself at eighteen or twenty .Thirty is unthinkable and what about forty and fifty! Oh, God ! The girl is precocious but her physical handicap keeps on denting a scar, the lesion on her mind throughout her little life. Given the opportunities, she can outshine everybody as her name denotes. But she cannot as she has the destined life of stunted and dwarfed growth. Even the alter ego of the girl, he brother Chandan, now a playwright, cannot exorcise the baneful past . His very survival stands out conspicuously symbolizing the gross injustice meted out to the "othered" - the girl-child though he is not a party either in the perpetration or perpetuation of the patriarchal practices. Chandan is unlike the stereotyping of Man who endures pain as an undeserved punishment; woman accepts it as a natural heritage. Therefore, the history is her story, pathetic and cathertic. As you probe it stark reality slaps in your face that men monopolize most of the so-called sensible thinking patterns depriving women of their rightful share of opportunities for incompetence.Who should be brought to the scaffolds? The accountability of the society at large apart, some are quick to say it is Bharathi letting others impinge on the legitimate rights of the girl-child to live happily. But Bharathi is a hapless victim as evidenced at the outset - complacently confining to Home - "a cave" while the menfolk are out on the prowl on the hunting mission. A prisoner to the past as she is, she cannot act out on her own since the deadweight of tradition is too much with her. It is "a system of systematic discrimination against and oppression of women", assert the gender-feminists. Words are not suffice to descant upon the barbarities committed against the womenfolk - mothers,daughters, wives. The play seeks to purge the scum layered in the mind in many-folds. It effects catharsis like a typical Aristotlean tragedy cleansing us, our souls.

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Case study for all prescribed poems: When revising, reduce the text of the poem to the most important facts and build up your knowledge from this base. Break the text down into characters or themes and learn them separately, with quotations. Have a detailed analysis prepared for the most important passages. Make sure you know the message which the author is trying to convey and what they are trying to achieve with the text. Group poems by theme beforehand and look for similarities and differences. Learn what the rhyme schemes and rhythms are in advance- and what effect they have- instead of trying to work it out in the exam In the exam, refer often to the author and original text. Include your opinion briefly, as it will make you sound more assured. Case Study of all the essays and texts prescribed: Ask yourself questions about what you're reading; for example, why has the writer/essayist included this? Read the text as many times as possible; each time you do, you will gain a deeper understanding and notice new layers of meaning. Work on your vocabulary- it will help you phrase your meaning more exactly . Retell the story; analyze every point you make, explaining how it's relevant to the question.

Case Study of TUGHLAQ: Mohammad Bin Tughlaq who ruled from Delhi in the fourteenth century was a man of many dimensions .A well-read scholar of the arts, theology, and philosophy, a brilliant calligraphist, a mystic,as well as a poet, it is the madness that earned him the epithet Mad Muhammad that Karnad

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explores in the play.Using history and myth in equal measure,Karnad delves into the psyche of Muhammad to understand and interpret the rationale behind his whimsical actions. Operating at both symbolic and metaphoric levels, the action of the play is closely paralleled with contemporary political and social events. Case Study of TARA: Identity Crisis Dattani sees Tara as a play about the gendered self, about coming to terms with the feminine side of oneself in a world that always favours male members of the society . This play raises a few questions of discrimination, i.e. religious prejudice, gender discrimination. This play is not only deals with gender issues and the treatment of girl child in a male dominated society, but also this deal with gender biases and prejudices which still affect the lives of several girl-children even amongst educated, urban families. Tara is a play in two acts. It sets in London with, Chandan, a dramatist who is remembering his childhood days in the company of his sister Tara. He wants to write a story about his childhood but he has to write Taras story. The play revolves around two twins. The play reveals a conflict between Indian families. and their traditional patriarchal mentality which has always favored a boy child to a girl child. Chandan wants to twist his grief into drama by writing about his sisters childhood. Even after their unjust and manipulated partition, which is made against the law of nature, they are emotionally united. They share the same agony, which Chandan tries to describe by writing autobiographical drama. The root problem of discriminatory treatment being meted out to girls lies in the status of women in society. Dattani has presented the strange reality of women playing a secondary role to man. Male are seen as the providers and the role of the girls are neglected. This dirty practice is still present in some part of India. The drama also suggests supremacy of Patel when he insists that proper division should be made in the gender roles. Taras parents are educated even then they had made such discrimination. Bharatis father can also be considered responsible for this catastrophe. Bharati had been influenced by her fathers decision Bharati is scared about the prospect of her daughter; she says: Its all right while she is young. It is all very cute and comfortable when she makes witty remarks. But let her grow up. Yes, Chandan the world will tolerate you. The world will accept you- but not her! Oh! .when she sees herself at eighteen or twenty, thirty is unthinkable and what about forty and fifty! Oh God! (349). She also tries to show her love by the act of donating kidney to Tara, which ultimately

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turns useless. Dattani establishes that mother and daughter relationship proves secondary to the orders of patriarchy. Mr. Patel represents of male prejudice and domination.. He holds the supreme position in decision making of the family. Bharati has to follow his desiion. She has to accept whatever is given to her. She had favoured Chandan at the time of operation. Patel makes Bharati responsible for everything and gets an escape from his responsibilities. Doctor represents supreme position in the play. He operates the twins, but he has done an unjust operation under the pressure of Bharatis father ,Patel . Dr. Thakkar, the god-like, life giver, he knows the reality. Tara was deprived of the leg,. Dattani appropriately shows that in this society it is an annoyance to be a girl. In India the male of the species is considered and treated as the first sex. This reflect worldwide phenomenon. Dattani highlights the real face of our political leader. He managed doctor is another part of corruption. Manipulation for monetory consideration or at times due to political influence has ceased to surprise many. There is a gross negligence of child patients in India. Tara realizes the real story of her physical disability during her life time. She made responsible to her mother .she cannot accept the truth. Even though she is more intelligent, and she is discouraged from the beginning of day of her life. Parents had not given proper support to Tara. This made her lose interest in life. Further, she refuses to go to college. It is significant that discrimination with Tara continues, even after her death. Chandan, who was fascinated in writing a story about his own tragedy,. Dan apologizes to Tara for doing this, Forgive me, Tara .Forgive me for making it my tragedy. (380). Mahesh Dattani revealed the issue of gender discrimination in this play. The social norms, economic values and cultural elements have been answerable for the inequality against the girl child. Tara is a victim of this social system, which controls the minds and actions of the people. In Indian society, woman is variously presented as a mother, wife, daughter and sister even goddess. Manusmruti and Dharma shastras have laid down specific rules for the conduct of women. The women were treated to secondary position in all walks of life. The literacy rate of women has improved. Now a day, they are given secondary status in household, offices, social and public places. Women are exploited and harassed in Indian society. Woman is subject to violence and harassment everywhere. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Poems from SRINGS OF GOLD PART III edited by Jasbir Jain :PRELUDES T.S Eliot and Helen Hennessy Vendler - The Waste Land:

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And Other Poems : T.S ELIOT Craig Raine (lives and legacies) OUP : Poems from TEXTS AND THEIR WORLDS I edited by Anna Kurian Foundation Books( 2005). :Tughlaq (Paperback) Oxford University Press (2012) With an introduction by U.N Ananthamurty and an essay from Aparna Dharwadker :Tara,Orient Blackswan publications (1995) 61 pages KEYWORDS: MY LAST DUCHESS- Robert Browning "ranked / [his] gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name / With anybody's gift"-It seems the duchess cared about her husband and often showed him that look of joy and love, but he feels that the duchess doesnt show any joy by receiving a gift from a high ranked Duke. "E'en then would be some stooping; and I choose / Never to stoop"-He does not request, nor even demand, that she alter her behavior because the she never bent down . A PRAYER FOR MY DAUGHTER : William Butler Yeats Cradlehood and Coverlid Annes vulnerability and innocence is symbolized here . And half-hid- Anne is barely protected by the frail coverlid. sleeps on-Anne is ignorant. under the cradle-hood-which hides Anne, so she is protected. The roof-levelling wind- strong wind representing frightening, turbulent forces Great gloom-Frightening, precarious the storm is howling-threatening external forces one bare hill here it may represent Roberts death I have walked and prayed for this young child an hour.- The weather reflects the threatening forces he fears. Imaginingthe future years had come/Dancing to a frenzied drum. Annes life will pass in chaos. Dancing to a frenzied drum - It indicates the passing years in Annes life which are represented by drum-beats (which have rhythm and tempo) which also symbolize violence and chaos. It is a violent and chaotic time. The drum is frenzied because of the danger and chaos around Anne. Furthermore, Yeats is excited (hence frenzied) for

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her to grow up. scream Onomatopoeia strangers eye distraught- attracts and saddens one who is attracted . Helen being chosen found life flat and dull / And later had much trouble from a fool. -As she was greatly admired and revered for her beauty, life was boring with little strife. Fine women eat/ A crazy salad with their meat. -Meat is substantial; salad is not. Meat represents a fine lady who can be said to be substantial, having numerous qualities; the crazy salad is their dreadful mate, who is devoid of many qualities. They can have more, but choose worse. Whereby the Horn of Plenty is undone. - The Horn of Plenty was a horn given by Zeus to his caretaker. The possessor of this Horn would be granted his wishes. This is because Maud Gonne squandered her gifts of intellect, grace and beauty and the benefits she could command by marrying John McBride. She could obtain what she desired with these gifts similar to the Horn of Plenty and wasted the aforementioned gifts on McBride. As the Horn of Plenty could bring victuals, John McBride is symbolized as an unsubstantial salad. Maud Gonne wasted her supposed power; she could have done better for herself, instead she made the wrong choice or desire. Helen, Queen a beautiful cultured woman or Maud Gonne. crazy salad an inferior spouse. Hearts are not had as a gift but hearts are earned.- Love is not inspired by mere physical beauty; it is earned by good efforts. by those who are not entirely beautiful -who are kind and helpful and those who have loved women madly. Yet many, tat have played the fool/ For beautys very self. One may not be loved by a beautiful woman. -In stupidity these people made a fool of themselves by hopelessly loving beautiful women and thought it was reciprocated. has charm made wise.- He becomes wise by realizing the goodness of loving a good woman. PRELUDES- T.S ELIOT The burnt-out ends of smoky days- poet is here is referring to the enormous amount of air pollution that has been released into the air as a result of industrialization and the surroundings of the urban cities using imagery.

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"His soul stretched tight across the skies That fade behind a city block -Some men want to live more freely to be able to see the sky, yet cannot due to the limitations of modern life. In other words perhaps this final stanza is referring to the cravings of men who want to lead free life. 'Of faint stale smell of bear-the reader here may think that there is the arrival of hope, but this is not to be. . There is no re-birth, and there is not much true consciousness for the people of this city. Having spent the night imbibing one consciousness-altering substance, which can still be smelt faintly from the street. 'muddy feet' Feet are now pressing for another, to the 'early coffee stands.' You tossed a blanket from bed- There is finally an uncovering, but what is being uncovered is unclear and dirty. '...thousand sordid images.../that flickered against the ceiling'- The soul is dirty and unclear, insubstantial yet squalid. It is hidden by its grime and at the same time by its flickering transience. Is Poetry Always Worthy when its Old? Daunted not a whit- to laugh at someone or something in a way which shows you think they are ridiculous or of no value. abstruse difficult to understand Dont call me Indo Anglian: Hotchpotch- a confused mixture of different things Nullity- lack OTHER LINKS: http://books.google.co.in/books?id=6lV0LXRMlwMC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepag e&q&f=false Texts and their worlds http://www.bartleby.com/198/3.html- Preludes http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15530 - A Prayer For My Daughter http://books.google.co.in/books?id=tKaqHxCd4AC&printsec=frontcover&dq=tara+mahesh+dattani&hl=en&sa=X&ei=maqUJ-DG4isrAfd-YCYCg&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAA TARA http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Z3_WuQAACAAJ&dq=tughlaq++girish&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0GeqUKjzA4OzrAesvICICA&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA Tughlaq : Girish Karnad