English Literature

In the 18th century, an emotional sensitiveness found an expression in literature and gradually merged into the larger and deeper imaginative life of the Romantic Revival. It was Mathew Arnold who summed up the 18th century in English Literature as 'the age of prose and reason, our excellent and indispensable 18th century. The 18th century literature was the product of reason and intelligence playing upon the surface of life. It was commonly critical didactic and satirical. It produced poetry of argument and criticism of politics and personalities, and was couched in the heroic couplet which in the long run was bound to grow monotonous. As for the general social tone of the age "manners were coarse, politics scandalously corrupt, and the general tone of society brutal." But we must not think that the 18th century was without excellence and values of its own. In the words of W.J. Long, "The literature of the reign of Queen Anne was the better mind of England when...

Life without electricity is unimaginable in the present decade of 21 st century. Machines drive the ways of our daily life. Machines from a handy gadget to a massive appliance need electricity. Electricity fuels all sorts of gadgets and gizmos directly or indirectly to ensure their proper functioning.  Life comes to a standstill without electricity in cities and towns. In cities, modern household gadgets like washing machine, refrigerator, home theater system, air conditioner, kitchen appliances like oven, hand blender, mixer, drinking water purifier; official gadgets like computers, printers, scanners, internet devices run on electricity. Mobiles phones, digital cameras, iPods and laptops are integral parts of our city lifestyle. Batteries of phones, laptops, cameras need to be charged with electricity from time to time.  Cellphone and Internet are two major mediums of communication in the present time. If supply of electricity is cut off for a few hours, communication is d...

Describe the two roads which Robert Frost had once come across  Once the poet Robert Frost on the way of his journey, halted at a point where the road was divided into two. One of the roads was much trodden and therefore, it was rough. The other road was hardly trodden by anyone and so, it looked fair and was covered with green grass. To the poet the less trodden path was more luring than the much trodden one.   Which of the two roads did Robert Frost choose? Why?  The poet Robert Frost chose the road which was less trodden and covered with grass. Initially, the poet was full of doubts about that less trodden path because it might not be safe to walk on a less trusted path. The next moment he thought that he should take this road to reach his destination and it might make a difference in his life. The poet had the confidence and courage to meet the challenge of treading the path which was hardly walked on by any traveler. Indifferent to the fate and the future consequ...

Synopsis of �The Road Not Taken� by Robert Frost Once Robert Frost was confronted with a situation which required him to make a choice during his journey to a destination. At times in life, making a choice or decision is an uphill task, if there is more than one option and all the options seem to be luring. The poet had to choose one of the two roads in order to reach his destination. After a little toing and froing, he decided to choose the road which as less travelled and therefore, covered with grass. Initially, he had doubt if he would be able to reach his goal and come back safely. Then, he desired to go different from the common run of mill, and gathered courage to take the challenge of treading the less trodden path. In later life, the poet Robert Frost had no regrets for his decision. His choice made all the difference in his life. If he walked down the much travelled road, he would have to share the fate of the common lot. His choice was influenced by none but his mind and ...

Ernest Hemingway�s portrayal of Frederic Henry in  A Farewell to Arms  is one of the triumphs in the sphere of characterization. Henry is made to live truly and we get the feeling that we have really met the man. He is drawn not only from external traits but also from the inside domain of his personality. In other words, his inner nature, the working of his mind, his thoughts and ruminations, the negative and positive aspects of his personality, his reactions to people and things�these are skillfully analyses. What Hemingway gives us is a realistic and convincing hero.       At the very beginning of the novel we become acquainted with some of the basic facts of Henry�s life and character. We learn that he is rootless, that he has a stepmother somewhere in America, that he has quarreled so much with the family that hardly he had any communication with them. He manner he spends his life shows his complete lack of purpose. He was a disinter...

In the fourteenth century the Papacy met with a series of misfortunes, of which the English kings were not slow to avail themselves. The temporal over lordship of the Pope was definitely repudiated. Nor was this all. He lost also the important advantage of being able to fill the bishopries with his own nominees. By these and other measures the Parliaments of Edward III and his successors began that process of separation from Rome which the work of Henry VIII completed. Such then, briefly, are the main political and social tendencies of the time of which Chaucer and Langland lived and wrote-a transitional age, with the old Feudalism slowly losing its pristine vigor and utility, with a great Church rich in its traditions of intellectual and moral guidance, exhibiting signs of decadence and enfeeblement; yet with no clear ideals as yet, or only dimly limned ideals, as to what form of social reconstruction was to take their place.

The title seems irrelevant, if judged on the surface. It is because the owl is neither a character in the poem nor related to the basic theme of the poem, which is the necessity of �food, fire and rest�. However, the title is symbolically significant. In the poem, the owl stands for the poet�s conscience and the owl�s cry symbolizes the poet�s inner voice. The owl�s cry brings a dramatic twist in the poem. It throws focus on the heart-rending suffering of soldiers and the poor through the poet�s feelings for them. The owl�s cry reveals the humanitarian trait of the poet�s character. It also helps establish the fact that the human conscience is a great teacher. So undeniably the title of the poem �The Owl� is apt and relevant to the core.     Click here for more English literature study notes