poem : A prayer for my Daughter by W.B.Yeats

PRAYER FOR MY DAUGHTER

A prayer for my Daughter 

In the beginning, Yeats talks about the storm having commenced brewing in the seas. Between his newly born daughter and the sea, there stand a bare hill and Gregory’s woods which might not thwart the storm from reaching the helpless infant. The father is naturally worried as he sense the gale striking the tower and the undersides of the bridges. To his mind, the stormpresages the future of her daughter having arrived with a rage, mounting from the seeming innocence of the sea. As a father the poet wishes beauty for her daughter but not such voluptuousness that would engross others to distraction or make her vain.

 He does not want her daughter to be bereft of kindness nor does he want her to fail in choosing the person with whom she will be friendly. The father shudders at the thought of her daughter’s turning to be another Helen of troy who couldn’t help being unfaithful as she was so beautiful. Some lovely women like the queen who had not had her father imposing useful restrains upon her, chose an ordinary smith with warped legs, instead of marrying a handsome yet virtuous man matching her handsome looks and social standing. It is strange how exquisitely beautiful women often choose ‘a crazy salad’ to go with their meat.

His daughter should realize that she should be deserving of winning human hearts. She should not be like those crafty women who employ their advantage. It is true that men fall head over heels for stunning females but it is really the compassion of the women which they get enamored by in the end. The father in the poem is keen that her daughter should be like a tree giving succor and shade to people when she grows up and her feelings should be like the sweet song of the linnet that spread joy for the sake of doing so. It is very likely that she will sometimes desire something intensely in a wrong spirit or engage in some strife at times but let them be transient and not very serious. Let her be like an evergreen tree; let her send her roots into the depth of her good convictions standing at the same place.

The poet is sorry that his running after the people he liked or the kind of gorgeousness that he was infatuated with, could not satiate him as he wanted and that he is weary of all the barrenness that has enveloped him now. He seems to get momentarily confused as to what could be the right sort of beauty. He has however no hatred toward anyone as he is absolutely sure that it is the worst kind of wickedness that could poison his life. He wants her daughter also to learn this truth before she allows her to be ruled by the negative force of hatred because such a mindset will save her from inviting harsh criticism or abuses beings showered upon her to practicing intellectual dislike which the poet considers to be the worst of problem in a human being.

He recollects coming in close contact with a-beautiful and accomplished women who had to give away everything by being strongly biased. The truth rings clearly in the poet’s mind that removing all hatred from one’s mind, the soul not only regains its innocence but also embarks on the journal of delighting in itself. Since the spirit of the soul is the will of god, he fervently prays that his daughter should be able to discover her soul and be happy in the face of any storm or disapproval. And finally, as a father, he hopes that she will be engaged to a man who has foe ever steered away from detestation and arrogance which is so common everywhere, let the house of her husband be comfortable and secure but not at the expense of anyone.            

Poem : Friendship by Henry David Thoreau

 Friendship 

Friendship by Henry David Thoreau is a nice well rhyming poem. Henry has conveyed his feelings emotions and sentiments by the way of this poem. He has beautiful described love through friendship. According to him love are both on the same level and are synonymous to each other. The poet has analyzed friendship from its roots and found out they are equal and there is no difference between the two. Love and friendship both are equally important in a relationship.

Love is the greatest feelings in the world. Love is the base of every relationship. No feeling is superior to love in life. A person with love in his heart, can win anyone and anything in his life. Love can be seen in many relationship such as two couples, between parents and their children bosses and employee. But love is incomplete without friendship in any relationship there has to be a certain percentage of friendship in order to make a successful relationship.

Friendship is a gift you give to yourself. A true friend is a God’s blessing. A person is nowhere without friends. Friends are the most important and crucial part of our life. A person or any relative who treat you like a friends is someone with whom you are comfortable. You can easily share your joy or pain with your friends. They are your backbone you need them in every part of your life. A true friends, loves you unconditionally, support s you. Here the poet tries to correlate love and friendship. Love and friendship goes hand in hand.

In his attempt to determine the limit of friendship, he immersed himself in the ocean of friendship. His deep exploration made him realize that the roots of friendship are intertwined, inseparable, undetermined intertwined roots of friendship indicate, there are no set rule to start your friendship with someone in order to have a successful friendship. Friendship laid on the ground of love will always be successful. But when friendship is laid on the base of selfishness lies or because of any interest may lead of separation of friends. End of friendship means end of love. If there is no friendship and vice versa.

True friendship laid on the ground of love is described as inseparable. Just like no time or age can separate love between two people, similarly true friendships never dies. Two true friends can never be separated from each other because, they are always alive in each other’s heart no matter how far they are from each other. Thus we see by the way of this poem, the poet tries to explain how deep friendship can be. It tells how a man be no where without his friend. Love cinncts every individual just like friendship. Love is not weak or feeble the supply of love is unlimited. When you share your feeling.      

Modernist poem Activity

The modernist period in English literature occupied the year from shortly after beginning of the twentieth century through roughly 1965. In broad terms, the period was marked by sudden and unexpected breaks with the traditional ways of viewing and interacting with the world. In the world of art, generally speaking, modernism was the beginning of the distinction between “high” art and “low” art.

20th Century English Poetry Characteristics

#Diverse Variety of Themes

Poetry today can be written on almost any subject. The modern poets inspirations from railway trains, tramcars, telephones and things of commonplace interest. Modern poets have not accepted the theory of great subjects for poetic composition.

#Realism

The poetry of the 20th century is marked with a note of realism. Realism in modern poetry was the product of a reaction against the pseudo-romanticism of the last century over and above the influence of science

#Pessimism

There is a note of pessimism and disillusionment in modern poetry. The modern poet has realized the pettiness of human life and the tragedy and suffering of the poor have made him gloomy and sad.

#Romantic Elements

In spite of the dominance of realism, in modern poetry, the spirit of romance continues to rule the minds of certain poets like Yeats, E. Thomas, Masefield etc. The works of these poets have the fact that the spirit of romance is as old as the life itself. Walter De Le Mare’s poetry is full of true romantic spirit bordering on supernaturalism. With him, the ghosts and fairies of the old world have come into their own in the 20th century.

#Nature

Nature attracts the modern poet no less than the poets of the earlier ages. But for the modern poet, nature is not a mystic. He does not find any spiritual meaning in nature. He feels jolly at the sight of nature’s loveliness. He gives a clear picture of birds, clouds landscapes, sea and countryside in his poetry. Masefield, Robert Bridges, Edmund Blunden etc are the great poets of nature in modern poetry.

 Analysis of small poems and identify "Modernist" symbols, imagery and metaphors.

1) 'The Embankment'- T.E.Hulme

“Once, in finesse of fiddles found I ecstasy, 

 flash of gold heels on the hard pavement. 

Now see I 

That warmth’s the very stuff of poesy. 

Oh, God, make small 

The old star-eaten blanket of the sky, 

That I may fold it round me and in comfort lie”.

This poem about the homeless people sleeping rough  and fallen gentleman reflect on his past and how he found pleasure in worldly social activities . In this poem we saw many metaphor, symbol and imagery like ‘flash of god heels’ , ‘star-eaten blanket’.  

   2)Darkness- by Joseph Campbell

        I stop to watch a star shine in the boghole –

A star no longer, but a silver ribbon of light.

I look at it, and pass on.

In this poem we saw the title is a symbol. Darkenss is symbol of blackness, symbol of absence of light and darkness. Metaphor in this poem is silver ribbon.  

3) Image- by Edward Storer

                                                  "Forsaken lovers,

Burning to a chaste white moon

upon strange pyres of loneliness and drought".

Meaning of image is a representation of the external form of a person or thing in art. And in this poem the metaphor is ‘forsaken lover’ And the symbol is ‘white moon’.  Moon is a symbol of love and in the starting of poem we see a word ‘love’ so white moon is a symbol of the love.

4) "In a station of the metro" by Ezra Pound

  "The apparition of these faces in a crowd,

  Petals in wet, black bough

The poem on the sight of the crowd of commuters at the Paris metro station. The title is symbol of modernism. 

5)The pool- by Hilda Dolittle

        "Are you alive?

I touched you

you quiver trembling like a sea fish

I cover you with my net

What are you banded one?

The title pool is symbol of the water. After read the title of poem we say that the poem related the water and the  title reflect the whole poem.

6) "Insouciance"- By Richard Aldington

"In and out of the dreary trenches

Trudging cheerily under the stars

I make for myself little poems

Delicate as a flock of dovesin 

Thy fly away like white-winged Doves.

7)"Morning at the window"- T.S.Eliot

                        

                         They are rattling breakfast plates in basement kitchens,

      And along the trampled edges of the street

         I am aware of the damp souls of housemaids

The brown waves of fog toss up to me 

Sprouting despondently at area gates.

And tear from a passer-by with muddy skirts

Twisted faces from the bottom of the street,

An aimless smile that hovers in the air

And vanishes along the level of the roofs.

The poem present a series of miniature observations about modern urban life. Like sound of dirty plates being rattled in basement kitchen. Many images in this poem there are ‘damp soul’, ‘twisted face’, ‘muddy skirts’.

8) "The Red wheelbarrow- William c

                                                     'so much depends

                                                      Upon barrow

                                                      a red wheel

                                                          water

                                                      glazed with rain

                                                         chickens.'

                                                 beside the white

wheelbarrow meaning as par Cambridge dictionary, ‘a large, open container for moving things in with a wheel at the front and two handles at the back used especially in the garden.

9) "Anecdote of the jar- wallace stevens

            I placed a jar in Tennessee,   

And round it was, upon a hill.   

It made the slovenly wilderness   

Surround that hill.

The wilderness rose up to it,

And sprawled around, no longer wild.   

The jar was round upon the ground   

And tall and of a port in air.

It took dominion everywhere.   

The jar was gray and bare.

It did not give of bird or bush,   

Like nothing else in Tennessee.

10) "I (A- E.E.Cummings

                "A leaf falls with loneliness"

The word loneliness is symbol of the sadness, sorrow, gloom.   

                    

Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness centers around Marlow, an introspective sailor, and his journey up the Congo River to meet Kurtz, reputed to be an idealistic man of great abilities. Marlow takes a job as a riverboat captain with the Company, a Belgian concern organized to trade in the Congo. As he travels to Africa and then up the Congo, Marlow encounters widespread inefficiency and brutality in the Company’s stations. The native inhabitants of the region have been forced into the Company’s service, and they suffer terribly from overwork and ill treatment at the hands of the Company’s agents. The cruelty and squalor of imperial enterprise contrasts sharply with the impassive and majestic jungle that surrounds the white man’s settlements, making them appear to be tiny islands amidst a vast darkness.

Theme & Motifs :-

#Theme

ü The Hypocrisy of Imperialism

Heart of Darkness Explore the issues Surrounding imperialism Iin complicated ways. As Marlow travels from the Outer station to the central station and finally up the river to the inner station, he encounter scenes of torture, cruelty and near-slavery. At the very least, the incidental scenery of the book offers a harsh picture of colonial enterprise. The impetus behind Marlow’s adventures too. Has to do with the hypocrisy inherent in the rhetoric used to justify imperialism. The men who work for the company describe what they do as “trade”, and their treatment of native African Is part of a benevolent project of “civilization”. Kurtz on the other hand, is open about the fact that he does not trade but rather takes ivory by force, and he describes his own treatment of the natives with the words “suppression” and “extermination”. He does not hide the fact that he rules through violence and intimidation. His perverse honesty leads to his downfall, as his success threatens to expose the evil practices behind European activity in Africa.

ü Madness as a Result of imperialism

Madness is closely linked to imperialism in this book. Africa is responsible for mental disintegration as well as physical illness. Madness has two primary function. First it serves as an ironic device to engage the reader’s sympathies. Kurtz, Marlow is told from the beginning id mad. However, as Marlow and the reader, begin to form a more  complete picture of Kurtz, it becomes apparent that his madness is only relative, that in the context of the company insanity is difficult to define. Thus, both Marlow and the reader begin to sympathize with Kurtz and view the company with suspicion. Madness also functions to establish the necessity of social fictions. Although social mores and explanatory justification ae shown throughout Heart of Darkness to be utterly false and even leading to evil, they are nevertheless necessary for both group harmony and individual security.

ü The Absurdity of evil

This novella is, above all an exploration of hypocrisy, ambiguity and moral confusion. It explodes the idea of the proverbial choice between the lesser of two evils. As the idealistic Marlow is forced to align himself with either the hypocritical and malicious colonial bureaucracy or the openly malevolent, rule defying Kurtz, it becomes increasingly clear that to try judge either alternatives is an act of folly how can moral standards or social values be relevant in judging evil? Is there such things as  insanity in a world that has already gone insane? The number of ridiculous situations Marlow witnesses act as reflections of the larger issue: at one station, for instance, he sees a man trying to carry water in a bucket with a large hole in it.

#Motifs:-

ü Observation and Eavesdropping

Marlow gains a great deal of information by watching the world around him and by overhearing others’ conversations, as when he listens from the deck of the wrecked steamer to the manager of the central station and his uncle discussing Kurtz and the Russian trader. This phenomenon speaks to the impossibility of direct communication between individuals information must come as the result of chance observation and thus they must be taken in the context of their utterance. Another good example of this is Marlow’s conversation with the brickmaker, during which Marlow is able to figure out a good deal more than simply what the man has to say.

ü Interiors and Exterior

Comparisons between interior and exteriors pervade Heart of Darkness. As the narrator states at the beginning of the text, Marlow is more interested in surfaces, in the surrounding aura of a thing rather than in any hidden nugget of meaning deep within the thing  itself. This inverts the usual hierarchy of meaning: normally one seeks the deep message or hidden truth. The priority placed on observations demonstrates that penetrating to the interior of an idea or a person is impossible in this world.

 hierarchy of meaning: normally one seeks the deep message or hidden truth. The priority placed on observations demonstrates that penetrating to the interior of an idea or a person is impossible in this world.

ü Darkness

Darkness is important enough conceptually to be part of the book’s title. However, it is difficult to discern exactly what it might mean, given that absolutely everything in the book is clocked in darkness. Africa, England and Brussels are all described as gloomy and somehow dark, even if the sun is shining brightly. Darkness is the inability to see this may sound simple, but as a description of the human condition it has profound implications failing to see another human being means failing to understand that individual and failing to establish any sort of simpathytic communication with him or her.

Thinking Activity of Sense Of an Ending

 The Sense of an Ending is a 2011 novel. Ambiguity  by British author Julian Barnes. The Sense of an Ending is narrated by  retired friends for life. When past catches up with Tony, he reflects on the paths he and his friends have taken. In October 2011, the novel awarded the Man Booker Prize. This blog is part of the thinking activity.

#About Author

Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. Barnes won the Man Booker Prize for his book The Sense of an Ending (2011), and three of his earlier books had been shortlisted for the Booker Prize: Flaubert's Parrot (1984), England, England (1998), and Arthur & George (2005). He has also written crime fiction under the pseudonym Dan Kavanagh.^[1] In addition to novels, Barnes has published collections of essays and short stories.

In 2004 he became a Commandeur of L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His honours also include the Somerset Maugham Award and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize.

  

  # “History is that certainly produced at the point where the imperfection of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation”. How far can you agree with this definition of Adrian? Justify you answer with  reference to your reading of “The Sense of an Ending”.

  “History is that certainly produced at the point where the imperfection of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation” Adrian give this definition. The whole novel based on the history and memory. In his school days I his class he say this thing about history. Adrian commit suicide. Tony got one later by the lawyer’s.  I agree with the Adrian’s definition. Because the history told by the person with not such a proof about the history. The history was not in the written form. If anybody write it was reliable thing. The thing said by the people is change the meaning when we listen. People can’t remember full information they forget something about that. So the information is lake some point so it was unreliable. In history memory of imperfection we see.

# The Sense of an Ending as a Postmodernist novel.

   

The novel has the characteristics of modern text. The characteristics of the postmodern text is intertextuality, juxtaposition, fragmentation, discontinuity, inability to face the real world and ambiguity. Juxtaposition this characteristic we see in character of the Tony. When tony get a photocopy he feel guilty. Because when in the first part talk about veronica and Adrians relationship he feel bad because he writing about their relationship. With time changing view of change in man or way of looking things change. In the novel we see the Ambiguity. In the end of the novel can’t solve the mystery of the reason of Adrian’s Suicide, veronica’s mother dislikes her so much to destroy her love relationship. The ambiguity see in this thing.

#’It is not about what we ‘do’, it is about how we ‘remember’ what we have done?’. Illustrate with reference to the novel ‘The Sense of an Ending’.

The quote ‘It is not about what we ‘do’, it is about how we ‘remember’ what we have done?’. This quote related the character of Tony. Remember the thing is very important because the many time the remember the thing help as a proof. Memory  is important because many time we see that or think about that we solve many thing. We learn from that.

Workshop on Quality and Authenticity of Web Resources

the present time authenticity of the resource is important. In web resource also important because we have to know about the who is the author of the article or the material in web. In article or the online material the name of author prove the authenticity of the web resources. In every resources in about us the all the information in that written. The rubric help to scholar, researcher to know about the quality of the resources. Workshop on quality and authenticity of web resources 19/11/2019.


In this workshop we learn the how evaluate the resourc authentic or not. We learn that all the resource are authentic after know about the all thing than the read the resources. Here I take three website. lit charts,  gradesaver and the guardian.

Lit charts

Authoritative - 3
Educational value - 3
Intent-3
Originality - 2
Quality - 2
Lit charts is a web resources. It  written by Ben and Justin. They are founders of the lit charts. In this resources the quality is good and education value is reliable.

Gradesaver

Authoritative - 3
Educational value - 3
Intent-3
Originality - 3
Quality - 3
Gradesaver is another good source which includes in good resource. Gradesaver founded by Nick and Olivia in 1991. In this web resources the material in good content and the quality is good if the resources. It give the good information.

Reflective blog on Workshop of Cultural Study by Kalyani Vallath ma'am

One day work shop in department of English, MKBU. The workshop on the " cultural studies". Dr.  Kalyani Vallath came and give a information about the cultural studies. She came from the kerla. The work shop on the 27th December 2019. Throughout the day ma'am deal with this topic with full energy. The session start at  9:00 am and the complete at 5:30 pm. The session is fruitful and the knowledgeable.

The session start with the basic information of the cultural studies. Cultural studies emerge from the Marxism. Then the how culture relate the society community and the religion. And then talk about the major "Influence of of the cultural studies". First one is Frankfurt school.

*Frankfurt school
Frankfurt school is the major influence of the cultural studies. In the Frankfurt school  major figure are max Harkheimer, Thador Adarno, Erich fromm, Herbert Marcuse,  Walter Benjamin and Leo Lowenthal are the major figure of the Frankfurt school. In that the major ideas and the practice of the cultural studies. The method of Dialectic two mathod under that the method. One is struggle of opposite and the Dialectic of enlightenment. Than the talk about the cultural industry. In that the new left repressive of Desublimation.  In that German is the father of the New left.  Many other countries in the new left.

Center for contemporary cultural studies the another topic of the cultural studies. It said that the cultural studies is revolution. New approach of culture pioneered by Haggart and William in 1950s and 60s.  In that the many major figure are Richard Haggart, E. P. Thompson, Raymond Williams. Richard Haggart came from the working background and the Haggart's influence in that time. The E. P. Thompson was British historian and a new left scholar. He said that class is relationship. Raymond William give three types of the structure of the culture.
1. Dominant Culture
2. Residual Culture
3. Emergent Culture

*Cultural Materialism

Cultural materialism a method of criticism rooted in Marxism. In the cultural materialism Jonathan Dollimare and Alan snifield In political Shakespeare. Stuart Hall is major figure of the cultural materialism. He give the four model of communication. 1.Production, 2. Circulation, 3. Use and 4. Reproduction. He give type of encoding and decoding communication model in 1973. Major influence in the cultural studies are Louis althusser, Antonio Gramsi, Roland Barthes and the Michael foucault these are the major figure of the cultural studies. The full day I enjoyed the lecture and Lot many things u learn.