II BA English Literature - Victorian Age - Reg

Literature students are always a cut above the rest when it comes to a comprehensive understanding of life and love. They do have a profound and passionate sense of intuition and feeling which they make use of to the fullest, in their enjoyment and appreciation of Literature, which helps them out in their tryst with creativity. My II BA literature students are not far behind when it comes to justifying the above theory. I thought i would

Association Inaugural..:

The activities of The English Association for the academic year 2011-2012 were inaugurated by Dr.Arul Kumaran, Professor, University of Saskatchewan, on 09 August 2011. The International Journal of the Department of English, "Eclectic Representations" was released by him on the occasion. More details follow...

'She' - Lakshmi Kannan - Poem Summary

Introduction

The “She” of the poem has no name and no distinct identity, and yet she is such a common feature of every household in India that she comes through to us without any difficulty. In a patriarchal milieu woman is regarded as a nonentity and consequently no attempt is made to give her a distinct identity. Although on the surface she has a look of well-being, she experiences great distress deep within.

In each of the three sections of the poem, Lakshmi Kannan presents elaborate description of the external attributes/circumstances of the woman’s existence against the background of which a peep into her inner life is provided.

Woman’s Lack of Self-expression in a Patriarchal Society

In the opening section, the poet delineates a woman who is elegantly and tastefully dressed, creating a vision of a modern woman who wears tight-fitting clothes that smack of western culture. There is about her an aura of confidence as she glibly pronounces “value judgements.” But beneath this suave and self-assured appearance there lurks a person who is tense and insecure (“tight and spring-tense”). Both before and after marriage, in most upper and upper middle class families, girls enjoy the luxury of expensive clothes and the benefit of liberal education, but their inner, authentic voice remains unarticulated. Lack of self-expression leads to dissatisfaction and even depression.

Business English Certificate Training - Reg

Students who have registered themselves for the BEC Training - III, are asked to collect their challans from the English Dept. Staff Room between 1.30 and 2 pm on all working days. Classes will not be held this week (16 - 20 Aug) because of the I CIA tests. Classes restart on Monday, 22 August 2011.
With Warm Regards, 

The Co-ordinators, BEC Training,
Dept of English, MCC

"Hatred" Wislawa Szymborska - Critical Appreciation

About the Poet: 

Relatively little known beyond her native Poland, Wislawa Szymborska won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996. Her preoccupation with the actualities of everyday existence, sardonic and funny at times, is tempered by her imagination which is startling and amusing. “Wislawa Szymborska is not only one of the finest poets living today, but also one of the most readable,” says Charles Simic. Her poetry will always be remembered for its wit and wonder. 

An Appreciation of “Hatred”

Hatred is a strong feeling of dislike and it must be eschewed if we are to live in harmony with others. Like envy, hatred fascinates and bewitches us and readily captures our imagination. The Biblical statement condemning hatred is proverbial: “better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.” Hatred, like anger, is a poison tree which we would do without in our orchards.

Adopting a tone of mock adulation, Wislawa Szymborska talks about hatred – its growth, method of operation and the havoc wrought by it. The poem has a conversational ease but beneath it lurks a serious purpose – to expose the evils of hatred.

In the opening stanza hatred is personified and endowed with positive qualities of firm resolve and the wherewithal to achieve the goal. Hatred, which is as old as man himself, is visualized as a hunter (predator) who keeps himself in perfect condition, and with ruthless efficiency tracks us down and pounces upon us, getting past all obstacles. The word “pounces” is significant as it suggests an animal pouncing on its unsuspecting quarry.

Unlike other feelings hatred constantly recharges and renews itself and in that sense it never seems to age. 

Fostered by reasons that it has created, hatred requires no external agency/provocation to sustain it. The emotion of hatred is virtually awake all the time and sleeplessness does not devitalize it, instead it provides it (hatred) with nourishment. The idea is, that hatred is such an all-consuming passion that one is constantly finding reasons to hate. To be more precise, hatred is a reason unto itself and like Satan it never sleeps.

However, it best thrives by fomenting feelings of religious intolerance and narrow nationalism. What probably begins as a fight for justice is soon vitiated by hatred which becomes the governing principle and gains momentum. Everywhere there is the cry of “Hatred. Hatred.” There is in this chant an “erotic ecstasy” and hatred acquires an ugly aspect. (Animosity between India and Pakistan is founded on religious bigotry, and nationalism was one of the causes of the outbreak of the two World Wars.)

In a tone of mock appreciation the poet goes on to suggest that when compared with hatred feelings of compassion and brotherhood are feeble and unexciting and lack the mass appeal that hatred has. In other words, brotherhood and compassion that promote human welfare finish a poor second to hatred that has perfected the art of drawing crowds – the unthinking rabble swayed not by reason but by passion-rousing rhetoric. Hatred is so convincing that it provides no scope for doubt (and this is because it appeals to emotion and not to intellect).

for the complete free notes by Prof. Rajani and Prof. V. Rajagopalan, email this blogger at rufusmcc@gmail.com

Happy Friendship Day...!

Great Quotes on Friendship (obviously from the www!!!)

"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow...
Don't walk behind me, I may not lead...
Walk beside me and be my friend!"

and here is another one... 

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." 

Well, Friendship Day is all about showing your dearest friends how much they mean to you. This special day falls on the first Sunday of August every year. In 2011, Friendship Day falls on August 7th. So don't forget to celebrate it with your dearest friends. 

Now, as i discuss the friendship of Jane and Helen Burns with my II Literature students, i also wish all my students a very Happy Friendship Day. Like how Jane's temperament undergoes a transformation under the positive influence of Helen Burns, who helps develop Jane's intellectual ambitions and aspirations to a great degree, may your friends inspire and encourage you to achieve greattt milestones in your life.

 

I take this lovely opportunity to thank all my friends, who are an inseparable part of my life, for making my life more meaningful. 

Without you (friends) where would i be???

Regards, 

Rufus