'For new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition'

Bob Dylan  | On Gentleness

When Dillon, aka Dylan - Bob Dylan’s name was announced as the Winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize, there were a host of bouquets and brickbats as well! We were one of the firsts to give a beauteous bouquet to Bob on this, our past post!

The reasons are more than meets the eye! 

Well, Dylan for one, openly rebelled against existing pop music conventions, and even on the folk front, he had sought to create quite a stir and a sensation when he brandished electric instruments in his folk concert, a sheer disregard for the rule of the land as concerns folk! 

One reason why his studio album Bringing It All Back Home alienated him from some of his pals in the folk music community!

His protest songs, especially ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ made him to be categorized as a protest singer, and a politically charged artist with an agenda!

When Dylan premiered 'Blowin' in the Wind', 16 April 1962

In fact he assumed world-wide fame, laudations and celebrity status with this amazing number, that posed a volley of intense rhetorical questions dealing with freedom, war and peace.

Such was the rage and such the craze on the release of this single album on 16 April 1962, that Dylan, from thence on, was seen as a saviour of the oppressed! 

It is no little wonder then that, ‘Blowin' in the Wind’ has always been described as an anthem of the civil rights movement! 

The song also prompted the renowned Civil Rights activist and singer Mavis Staples to remark, ‘I just could not understand how a young white man could write something that captured the frustration and aspirations of black people so powerfully’.

Such was the threat, and suchmuch the hazard it posed to those in power, who oppressed and suppressed the ‘voiceless’ beyond measure!

‘Masters of War’, is yet another protest song, such an impeccable song, filled with anti-war rhetoric. The song also lays claim to being one of the most angriest anti-war songs ever to be composed on the planet!

When the JFK regimen in the US was keen on a military action in Vietnam, Dylan pens this number that literally rips apart a motley group of bureaucrats who were like the harbingers of death, orchestrating wars from behind their desks, and provoking young soldiers to wield their guns and go on a killing spree! 

These bureaucrats, to Dylan, are like ‘Judas of old’ who keep spreading a grand lie again and again, by propagating a Cold War which was not there in the first place, until it went on to assume flesh and blood.

What a way with words he’s got when he stands up, as a gentleman, tall and bold, against the atrocities of ‘man over man’ [‘violence of beast on beast’ as Walcott woulda put it!] perpetrated behind the desks with such Judas-like cunning!

Here goes the number for y’all -

Masters of War

Come you masters of war

You that build all the guns

You that build the death planes

You that build the big bombs

You that hide behind walls

You that hide behind desks

I just want you to know

I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin’

But build to destroy

You play with my world

Like it’s your little toy

You put a gun in my hand

And you hide from my eyes

And you turn and run farther

When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old

You lie and deceive

A world war can be won

You want me to believe

But I see through your eyes

And I see through your brain

Like I see through the water

That runs down my drain

You fasten the triggers

For the others to fire

Then you set back and watch

When the death count gets higher

You hide in your mansion

As young people’s blood

Flows out of their bodies

And is buried in the mud

You’ve thrown the worst fear

That can ever be hurled

Fear to bring children

Into the world

For threatening my baby

Unborn and unnamed

You ain’t worth the blood

That runs in your veins

How much do I know

To talk out of turn

You might say that I’m young

You might say I’m unlearned

But there’s one thing I know

Though I’m younger than you

Even Jesus would never

Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question

Is your money that good

Will it buy you forgiveness

Do you think that it could

I think you will find

When your death takes its toll

All the money you made

Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die

And your death’ll come soon

I will follow your casket

In the pale afternoon

How much truth there is to these intense lines that flow from a paroxysm of pain on the poet! No wonder his songs were intense socio-political commentaries with a ‘float like a butterfly, sting like a bee’ impact to their lines!

Let me now proceed to highlight one last song that I felt deserved a pertinent mention! 

The song is titled, ‘The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll’. 

It was written by Dylan based on an incident that had affected him greatly. It gives a factual description of the shocking murder of a 51-year-old African-American barmaid, Hattie Carroll, a mother of ten children and several grandchildren, at the hands of a white and wealthy young man from a white tobacco farming family. 

The whole nation was shocked and enraged when the young white and wealthy man walked away with just a ‘six month’ sentence from the ‘noble’, ‘able’ ‘graceful’ ‘honourable’ and ‘gentle’ judges.

To do a quick take on the US Justice system from our own times would sure merit this post. Rajat Gupta, one of the first Indian corporate honchos who made it to the top most echelons of the US corporate world, when he was convicted and sentenced to prison by the US law courts!

Rajat Gupta observes in the Prefatorial to his memoir titled, Mind Without Fear [which we’ve discussed earlier on, over here, on this past post of ours!]

Says Rajat Gupta about the US Courts of Law - 

The judge went out of his way to block any reference to my character and to the aspects of my work that mattered most to me. The prosecutors were skillful in manipulating the press. And I missed that opportunity to tell my own story, and to let the jury, and the public, see who I am directly. For that, I take full responsibility. This book is that story.

Coming back to the case at hand, 

Well, Dylan quite couldn’t come to terms with the shocking miscarriage of justice by the Courts! Hence this song! This song with such a sting!

Me thought of giving y’all the song, to feel the import of the lines, and to magnify Dylan, Bob Dylan, on this, his immense social responsibility, as a song writer, when any many of his ilk were busy doling out romantic chart busters by the day and hogging the limelight at the billboards! 

Thanks to Dylan, we still speak about the 51-year old Hattie Carroll.

That’s where Dylan clearly outlines for us all, the role, the relevance and the transformative power of poetry to society, subtly hinting that, a pop song could be both a means of social commentary, and as a vehicle of protest that doubles up as a form of self-expression (poetry) as well!

So here goes the song –

William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll

With a cane that he twirled around his diamond ring finger

At a Baltimore hotel society gathering

And the cops were called in and his weapon took from him

As they rode him in custody down to the station

And booked William Zanzinger for first-degree murder

But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears

Take the rag away from your face

Now ain't the time for your tears

William Zanzinger, who at twenty-four years

Owns a tobacco farm of six hundred acres

With rich wealthy parents who provide and protect him

And high office relations in the politics of Maryland

Reacted to his deed with a shrug of his shoulders

And swear words and sneering, and his tongue it was snarling

In a matter of minutes, on bail was out walking

But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize fears

Take the rag away from your face

Now ain't the time for your tears

Hattie Carroll was a maid in the kitchen

She was fifty-one years old and gave birth to ten children

Who carried the dishes and took out the garbage

And never sat once at the head of the table

And didn't even talk to the people at the table

Who just cleaned up all the food from the table

And emptied the ashtrays on a whole other level

Got killed by a blow, lay slain by a cane

That sailed through the air and came down through the room

Doomed and determined to destroy all the gentle

And she never done nothing to William Zanzinger

And you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears

Take the rag away from your face

Now ain't the time for your tears

In the courtroom of honor, the judge pounded his gavel

To show that all's equal and that the courts are on the level

And that the strings in the books ain't pulled and persuaded

And that even the nobles get properly handled

Once that the cops have chased after and caught 'em

And that the ladder of law has no top and no bottom

Stared at the person who killed for no reason

Who just happened to be feelin' that way without warnin'

And he spoke through his cloak, most deep and distinguished

And handed out strongly, for penalty and repentance

William Zanzinger with a six-month sentence

Oh, but you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears

Bury the rag deep in your face

For now's the time for your tears

Just take some time to observe his intense lines on the rule of the land and the rule of law. Also take even more time to observe carefully the last lines of each stanza, and how they taper off to a bold acme towards the end!

The song greatly impacted me with its take on gentleness! Dylan subtly contrasts the ‘gentlemanly’ high brow behaviour of the wealthy pig Zanzinger with the real life gentle and graceful Hattie, who ‘carried the dishes and took out the garbage, and never sat once at the head of the table, and didn't even talk to the people at the table, who just cleaned up all the food from the table’! 

Then he proceeds to say, that the cane of Zanzinger sailed through the air and came down through the room determined to destroy the gentle Hattie, who never harmed the wealthy Zanzinger in any way whatsoever!

Clifton and Anne, Dylanologists, ;-) in their article titled, ‘Bob Dylan and Religion’, have an enlightening observation on this count! 

Say they –

In one of the song’s most beautiful lines, associating Hattie Carroll with the ancient poor and forsaken so often remembered by Isaiah or Jeremiah, Dylan speaks of her death as betokening the destruction of “all the gentle,” drawing the irony from the last word with its Latinate origin as a term referring to the well-born. 

By this clever inversion, a technique Dylan borrowed straight from the prophets, the well-born have destroyed their claim to gentleness and passed judgment on themselves, even if the corrupt judge won’t do the same; and if any gentleness remains, in the way of virtue, it has been passed on to the servant class.

Her death, therefore, to Dylan signals the destruction of ‘all the gentle’ or the ‘noble’ or the ‘highbrow’ or the ‘elite’! 

Moreover, it also helps in a paradigm shift – a shift of core values of gentleness – once the forte of the wealthy and the rich – to the so-called working class, referred to here as the ‘servant class’ by Dylan for that much-needed emphasis!

It would do a world of good to sum up this little post on Dylan, Bob Dylan with his own sweet lines -

Come you ladies and you gentlemen, listen to my song,

I’ll sing it to you right but you may think it’s wrong,

It may make you mad, but I mean no harm!

No wonder, he like Ali, Mohammed Ali, floats like a butterfly, and stings like a bee!

The topping on the cake would be from a book I consider so precious and so dear, gifted to me by my sweet cousin! It’s titled, Why Dylan Matters, by Richard F. Thomas, another Dylanologist of the highest order! ;-)

When talking about Dylan’s fan base, Richard F. Thomas here remarks –

Bob Dylan may not say anything to his audience, but he is curious about who’s out there; he’s taking it all in. “What are you seeing from the stage?” Robert Love asked him:

Definitely not a sea of conformity. People I cannot categorize easily. I see a guy dressed up in a suit and tie next to a guy in blue jeans. I see another guy in a sport coat next to another guy wearing a T-shirt. 

I see a woman sometimes in evening gowns, and I see punk-looking girls. I can see there’s a difference in character, and it has nothing to do with age. 

I went to an Elton John show; there must have been at least three generations of people there. But they were all the same. Even the little kids. They looked just like their grandparents. It was strange.

This inclusivity, this variety, this multicultural ambience, was, is, and will continue to be his forte and his sure reward too!

Well folks, now you woulda sure known the devil and his angels who woulda opposed tooth and nail the conferring of the grandest prize in Literature – the Nobel – on Dylan - Bob Dylan! Now go ahead and read the first two paragraphs once again. ;-)

Thank you ladies and gentlemen!

To be continued…

images: Michael Ochs/Gettyimages, Maria Zlatani

Wilson’s subjects are rendered like “the great fictional characters of literature”

James Wood | On Romanticized Gentlemen

‘What is history, but a fable agreed upon?’, said Napoleon!

‘What is truth, but a lie agreed upon’, said Nietzsche!

‘Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter’, said Achebe.

‘There is no power relation without the correlative constitution of a field of knowledge’, said Foucault.

Putting two and two together, we get the broader picture - that all history is written by the victor and power has its sway and its way in the history of the hunt!

As such, some people, although they might have been in reality, goody goody gentlemen could have been, quite possibly demonized by the power-knowledge correlative that circulates in society, while at the same time, some who had committed crimes against humanity might have been canonized as gentlemen! And at other times, some people, just because they wielded power, were quite possibly ‘romanticized’ as gentlemen, for mass appeal of the highest order!

Edmund Wilson, is one such historian, writer and critic who falls in the latter category of having ‘romanticized’ people as gentlemen, says Wood! James Wood!

Well, Wood, James Wood is one of the foremost literary critics of our times! And in this, his book titled, The Fun Stuff And Other Essays, [which we had already glimpsed once, in this past post] speaks to this romanticizing of Lenin as a gentleman!

And this shocker of a critique he does after having read through Edmund Wilson’s book titled, To the Finland Station: A Study in the Writing and Acting of History, published in the year 1940.

Says James Wood,

Wilson had come under the tutelage of the historian Max Eastman, for whom the culprit was Marx’s mysticism, and for whom Lenin was a hero. This explains the romanticizing, at the end of Wilson’s book, of Lenin, who is portrayed as ‘the gentlest and most selfless of men, a lover of Beethoven and War and Peace who once, Wilson moistly reports, refused to shoot a fox because he thought it “beautiful.” A pity then, wrote Nabokov tartly, that Russia was homely’.

Upon this subtle yet scathing critique of Lenin, Vladimir Lenin, I was so tempted to go for the book to get to read for myself and to ascertain where things stand! Well, Wood, James Wood may be right or may be wrong. Same here with me, when I give out my stance on these two chapters! May be right or may be wrong! [I just read through from Part 3 of this book, Chapters one through six!]

Well, I personally felt that Edmund Wilson was writing more like an obsessive, ‘fan’atic fan of Lenin, than as an historian! So his perspectives are highly personal. He foregrounds Lenin at the expense of demeaning or ‘backgrounding’ someone else! And in this, he triumphs high-o-high! Take for example, the chapter headings of chapters five and six where he says,

‘Trotsky identifies history with himself’, whereas ‘Lenin identifies himself with history’!

Paavam! Trotsky then becomes more sinned against than sinning! Alley!

One reason why, Wood, James Wood towards the end of this article, says with such cynical oops critical acumen -

Rereading Edmund Wilson, one’s admiration for him both expands and contracts. His literary portraiture is remarkable, and lastingly fine. Meyer Schapiro once remarked that Wilson’s subjects are rendered like “the great fictional characters of literature”, and it is true that Wilson extends to Marx, to Chapman, to Dickens, to Holmes, to Ulysses Grant, to his father, a kind of negative capability that he never truly summoned in his own fiction: [Acho! Deivameyyy!] he is willing to give these men the benefit of the doubt, to leave them in a dapple of ambiguity rather than drag them out into any prematurely decisive light of judgment! [Emphasis added] ;-)

How can I ever thank the most chellamest person on this planet who gifted me this amazing delightful read, almost a year back, in November 2018, and that explains this post and its import for us all!

To be continued…

image: amazondotcom

'Following a particularly heinous insinuation against his employer, my father brought the car to an abrupt halt'

Kazuo Ishiguro | The Remains of the Day

In continuation of our little literary takes on gracefulness and gentleness, shall we turn our attention next to Japanese-born British author Kazuo Ishiguro who again has some wonderful takes on the subject.

The renowned Eliotian phrase, ‘The what might have beens of life’ would sure augur well with his Booker prize winning 1989 novel titled, The Remains of the Day. Most of the characters in this highly intriguing novel, go into counterfactual mode, and think about how things could have turned out differently. Be it the protagonist Mr. Stevens, the head butler of Darlington Hall, or his father William Stevens, or the butler’s romantic interest Miss Kenton, each has a pining for the counterfactual, for their own personal reasons!

But nay! Counterfactuals and reminiscences are not for our takes here on this particular post. This one’s for an amazing character in the novel who endears himself to us because of his gracefulness and gentleness all through!

Stevens the butler and protagonist to the novel, wants to be always dignified, gentle and graceful in his demeanour and code of conduct towards Lord Darlington, his master and employer! Though Stevens intuitively believed that Darlington was being used by the Nazis to serve their hidden agenda, he had an unswerving loyalty and trust on his master that he did not even warn him on this aspect.

Stevens here takes after his father [Stevens Senior] who was always known for his loyalty towards his master. The gentleman that he was, Stevens Senior had eschewed gossip, vain and frivolous talk all through his life!

There’s one particular incident, when he [Stevens Senior!] had to chauffeur around three gentlemen. These three ‘gentlemen of repute’ were found all the time gossiping and indulging in vain talk all through their ride in the car, and things became worse when the trio began speaking ill of Steven’s own employer!

Here goes just excerpts from off this particular scene from the novel that serves such an amazing piece of character study! Every line has a subtle take on the quality of a ‘gentleman’! Shall we then, together now,  proceed to read from Kazuo's Remains of the Day! 

Well, here we go - 

One afternoon, Mr Charles to his shame and regret had allowed himself to become inebriated in the company of two fellow guests - gentlemen I shall merely call Mr Smith and Mr Jones since they are likely to be still remembered in certain circles.

After an hour or so of drinking, these two gentlemen decided they wished to go for an afternoon drive around the local villages - a motor car around this time still being something of a novelty.

They persuaded Mr Charles to accompany them, and since the chauffeur was on leave at that point, enlisted my father to drive the car.

Once they had set off, Mr Smith and Mr Jones, for all their being well into their middle years, proceeded to behave like schoolboys, singing coarse songs and making even coarser comments on all they saw from the window.

Furthermore, these gentlemen had noticed on the local map three villages in the vicinity called Morphy, Saltash and Brigoon. Now I am not entirely sure these were the exact names, but the point was they reminded Mr Smith and Mr Jones of the music hall act, Murphy, Saltman and Brigid the Cat, of which you may have heard. Upon noticing this curious coincidence, the gentlemen then gained an ambition to visit the three villages in question – in honour, as it were, of the music hall artistes.

'Lucky Jim is the most popular antihero of our time!' - Anthony Burgess

Kingsley Amis | Lucky Jim and his yardsticks for gentleness

Kingsley Amis would be next in our confabs, in this, our little series on gracefulness and gentleness.

Amis was part of the popular ‘angry young men collective’, a group of middle-class writers of the 1950s who were quite disenchanted with traditional British society and its priggish ideals.

When Amis was enlisted for military duty during the second World War, he pokes fun of these priggish ideals and ‘high brow’ standards that were by default, a part of Oxford’s charm and popularity! This is evidenced from the words of the army personnel while taking him on board, ‘An Oxford man was likely to be enough of a ‘gentleman’ to do all right as an officer’. Something that he gave first expression to, in his maiden novel, Lucky Jim!

His first novel titled, Lucky Jim, published in the year 1954, then went on to become his mouthpiece of sorts.

Lucky Jim is about a lower-middle class young man – Jim Dixon, who becomes a professor in medieval history! Jim is surrounded by despicable ‘high brow’ colleagues from the higher echelons of society, who have such high airs on them, and whom he loathes and despises very much.

In fact, the spark for writing this novel happened, after Amis had met up with the faculty members at Leicester University, which he had attended, in the year 1946. ‘‘Someone ought to do something about that lot’, he had then decided, and that’s how he had started working on his Lucky Jim! And howww!

Amis dedicated the book to Philip Larkin, who had played a pivotal role in shaping up the novel and its main character Jim!

Anthony Burgess has given glowing tributes to ‘Lucky Jim’, calling him ‘the most popular antihero of our time’.

'He had a spirit all rough and fierce, and that could not be tamed to lazy rest'

On Nobility and Grace | The Story of Oroonoko

Taking a leaf from one of our past posts on Oroonoko, let’s now move on to delve into qualities of gracefulness and gentleness as reflected in Oroonoko.

Oroonoko: or, the Royal Slave is a novella by Aphra Behn, and Behn, as we know, is one of the first ever woman writers, who also went on to become a huge role model for a generation of women writers. She wrote under the pseudonym Astrea!

Oroonoko, then, is a story about a royal prince from Africa, separated from his lady love Imoinda, as part of a vested plot, and is then forced into slavery by an English sea captain.

As a black, Oroonoko enjoyed great respect and attention from the English colonizers because of his unusual physical beauty, his royal bearing, his endearing manners, his gentleness, and his graceful social etiquette.

What interests the reader about this novella is that, genuine grace, gentleness and refinement, is not a matter of colour or religion or caste or race, but on how one is brought up - rightly trained, with proper care!

Although Oroonoko is black and now a slave, yet, it becomes quite impossible for him to hide his royal identity and graceful mannerisms for long!

Prompts me to quote yet this once from Count Baldassare Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier, where he calls attention to this fact – 

And so it is with men, who if rightly trained are nearly always like those from whom they spring, and often better; but if there be no one to give them proper care, they become like savages and never reach perfection.

'Some men are endowed at birth with such graces that they seem not to have been born, but rather as if some god had formed them with his very hands and adorned them'

On Gracefulness | from Pages Past!

Manners maketh a person, as the wonderful adage of yore, goes!

In memory of Professor George Thomas Kuzhivelil, who was always known for his virtuous life, his integrity and his graceful manners, this little series intends to focus on a few instances from literatures of the past, - from off sages, pages and ages of the past - literary allusions that throw light on what it takes to be a graceful person endowed with good manners. 

Shall we then, start off from the Renaissance downwards, on this, our brief sojourn, dear ladies and gentlemen!

Well, conduct books pertaining to public decency, propriety, good taste and decorum, [which today goes by the term social etiquette,] were a rage and sensation during the Renaissance in England.

These books on social grooming then, were considered much important for the all-round development of a person, giving them an over-all personality as such!

Tells us how the concept of a gentleman or gentlewoman received such prominence and such great focus in these times of yore, in centuries past!

In this regard, Count Baldassare Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier is an amazing treatise written way back during the Renaissance times, in the year 1528, that sought to prescribe the virtues of an ideal courtier and the graceful qualities that he was required to cultivate on himself.

Qualities of nobility, gentleness and public decency are discussed through means of imagined conversations that happen all through this longyyy book of ages past!

The treatise also has wonderful takes on the responsibilities of a good government and finally, contain some expostulations on the true nature of love, that are, by today’s standards, kinda sexist and scandalous, but nevertheless have such aesthetic merit on them!

The Translator's Preface to the English version of the book, [originally written in Italian] has some memorable lines of merit from the translator himself –

Here goes -

The popularity long enjoyed by this old book, the place that it holds in Italian literature, and the fact that it is almost inaccessible to English readers, seem to furnish sufficient reason for a new translation.

The art of the Italian Renaissance delights us by its delicate and gentle beauty, and yet we know that life during this period was often gross and violent. To understand this, we must remember that art is more the expression of the ideal than of the actual, and that men's ideals are loftier than their practice. Castiglione gives utterance to the finest aspirations of his time.

His pages will lack interest only when mankind ceases to be interesting to man, and will reward study so long as the past shall continue to instruct the present and the future.

'I read a book and found real peace was always inside me'

Professor George Thomas Kuzhivelil | A Tribute 

Remembering Professor George Thomas, a wonderful friend, a noble soul and a committed teacher, who passed away this same day, last year.

When I was informed of the tragic news by a common friend, about the sudden mishap and his subsequent death, last year this very day and time, I couldn’t believe the news at all! It was being flashed across new channels the whole day! Indeed such was the deep shock and dismay on this sudden departure of such a loving, gentle and dynamic, 45-year old Professor of English, George Thomas Kuzhivelil to the teaching fraternity at large. [The news item here.]

This post is more of a personal tribute to such an amazing literary being. Hence this post may not have wider academic import as such. I’ve shared a few snapshots from off the hundreds of emails we’ve exchanged all along! And a couple of snaps too, in sweet recollections of our camaraderie and our literary walks down memory lane!

That was a foretoken of what’s in store in this heartfelt tribute to a noble soul!

'Nicknames can be terrible! I remember at one time I was called “Beany.” I can’t remember why, now, but I remember it made me mad'

Robert Anderson | Tea and Sympathy

Apropos to our little series on realism, we have now pit-stopped on an intriguing spot of sorts, tailing with gusto, onto psychological realism!

Indeed, there were quite a few of Laurents’s ilk and Wilder’s stamp who rebelled – kit and caboodle – against the superficial realism practised hitherto on stage. On this connect, then, psychological realism proved their biggest gun and greatest weapon to exact retribution for these ‘superficial’ onslaughts on stage.

And as we’ve discussed earlier on, psychological realism is essentially character-driven! One reason why psychological realism focuses on an individual character, and tells us, ‘why they do, what they do’, by seeking to give us all a peek into their inner lives and struggles. Most of such plays, hence seek to portray the individual vis-à-vis their society!

Psychological realism, has strategies galore on this count!

By seeking to highlight the ‘inner conflict’ within their characters, playwrights sought to be passionate advocates for individual liberty and individual freedom, which was, by all means, at cross purposes with the stifling strictures and muggy norms of the society and religion of their times.

In that spirit, psychological realism made a subtle but eloquent plea for ethical relativism, which promoted a non-judgmental, prejudice-free and non-discriminatory inclusivity towards individuals.

For the sheer joy of reading!

Today, 20 November, happens to be a red-letter day for a little flock – a little flock of readers!

For the vibrant readies of a kutty little reading community that was formed on this day, two years ago, in 2017,  with the avowed aim of sharing anything that we read, with fellow readers of all hues!

'Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?'

Thornton Wilder | Our Town

Amongst a host of well-meaning playwrights of his day and age, who raved and revelled on ‘realism mode’ to their craft, Thornton Wilder sought to charter course on a different terrain altogether. ‘When the rest of my generation went to Paris, I went to Rome!’ once admitted Wilder himself, on his ‘I took the road less travelled’ enterprise!

Speaks volumes to his commitment and zeal for innovation and experimentation on stage. And for a reason at that!

Well! One particular aspect of theatre that he detested to the core was the superficial realism on stage – which he sincerely felt - had gotten itself in the way of connecting with his audience! Hence Wilder’s plays offer us all a peek into all kinds of experimental staging, that was quite new to the American playgoing public! And by breaking free from the confines and the strictures of realism, Wilder sought to break bounds and step into the expressionistic and symbolic modes to help connect with his audience much better!

‘The candle is a symbol of resilience and a strong inner spirit’.

The Candle and the Mirror | Class Activity

Edith Wharton once famously remarked, ‘There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it’.

Candles are indeed delightful sources of light. We light a candle to dispel the darkness around us. As such, we are all wonderful candles, in our own sweet little ways, having the ability innate within us to dispel the darkness around us, in our very own sweet, kutty little ways, however small they may be!

'Memory is biased. None of us is a Proust, existing in a corked roomful of memories'

Arthur Laurents | Psychological Realism

Thus far we have deliberated on Realism in theatre, within the rubrics of ‘Art for Truth’s Sake’ that seeks to emphasise on a greater fidelity of real life both to texts and to their staging as well!

Realism takes under its wings some of its associated genres that include Naturalism, Social Comedy, Social Realism and their related ilk!

Realism hence focuses on ‘real life’ situations, real people in real life-situations, who have to grapple with real-life’s daily problems. In short, realism on stage, seeks to focus on ‘what people do’ and ‘why they do’ it, in a given context, and thereby holding a mirror up to the audience themselves, by telling them all, ‘Look, this is exactly what you guys experience in your daily lives. This play is just another slice off your lives!’ they seem to say!

At the same time, there is yet another realism that became prominent in theatre during the first half of the twentieth century - psychological realism.

'To the Western farmer the very word “seeding” is a poem'

Hamlin Garland & His Veritism | Samples from his Short Stories

In this last part to Garland’s greatness, me thought of presenting some wonderful snatches from the legendary writer’s short stories, titled, Prairie Folks.

This work is special for many reasons. It proves a study in realism, in picturesque detailing, and in ingrained factualities of the highest order! Added, Garland’s use of language proves the show-stopper! It helps throw much-o-much light on the people of the Midwestern region, their lives, their work routines, their foibles, their idiosyncrasies etc.

Added, each story begins with a descriptive poem that foregrounds what’s in store for us, in such cryptic ways! Some of the stories border on pathos, while an equal number are replete with such unalloyed humour of sorts! Moreover, his opening lines to each of them are so cute and so charming! Finally, this short story collection is an exemplification or an ensample to his credo and his conviction, much of which he discusses in such detail in his manifesto on art criticism!

'A man must be moved by something higher than money, by something higher than hope of praise; he must have a sleepless love in his heart urging him to re-create in the image the life he has loved'

The Theory of the Veritist | Hamlin Garland

In the last past post, we’d just stepped into the pearly gates of Hamlin’s heaven. Now let’s get into the labyrinthine meadows and meandering pathways that lead us by default, into the garden of spices ensconced within Hamlin’s pearly gates!

As we’ve stated earlier on, the best wine is served the last! Ain’t it? And here you are served! Come thou literary soul, partake of the choicest of wines from off the cellars of Hamlin’s heaven! Right here! right now!!

Eternity is yours! Entirely!!

Indeed, restating one sentence from our past post yet again: Hamlin proves a real invigorating read, enriching our sensibilities, fine-tuning our literary focus, rejuvenating our literary hearts and pervading our literary souls to the core!

This post would then be in continuation of Hamlin and his charm! Here he speaks extensively on his delightful theory of art – that he calls Veritism!

'Cheer up brothers, as we go, O’er the mountains, westward ho - '

Hamlin Garland | Veritism vs Realism

Hamlin Garland would be our next pit stop on this, our kutty little sojourn into the realm of realism!

Garland literally hypnotises me to the core! – For lack of a better word – And his  spell on me has been of such immense intensity!

And this, his sway and his charm are for you to read, to feel, to experience and to relish, albeit over a cuppa! ;-)

You’d sure have such enormous joy and satisfaction on reading through his manifesto, I promise ya!

On a personal note, should I confess, I’d never never read such pure, unalloyed freshness in art criticism in a long long time! And at times, I couldn’t hold back the tears of delight that rolled out of my pavapetta eyes while parsing my way through his amazing world of words and his astounding way with words! Such is the power of contamination that Hamlin wields over any of his avid, ardent and enthusiastic reader!

Well, a little note to serve an intro on Garland – Hamlin Garland – for us all, before we plunge headlong into his garden of spices! And as the good ol’ adage goes, the best wine is serve the last! So patience ladies and gentlemen! ;-)

Garland - Hamlin Garland - was literally, a jack of all genres! In fact, his foray into theatre began on his friendship with the great Herne – James A Herne! Like Herne, then, he also wrote drama criticism that set the tone and the tenor for realism in theatre of his day and for ours as well!

Garland also excelled in writing short stories - stories that brought out with such realistic touches to them, the hard and laborious life of the farmers of his region.

His most popular play titled, Under the Wheel, published in 1890, also proves an intense defence of the rural farmer, by arguing for tax reforms that would aid the small farmer, and alleviate his miserable living conditions.

'Bronson arranged his characters for the eye, his story for the judgment, and his speeches for the ear!'

Howard’s Realism | Art for Sincerity’s Sake!

Bronson Howard comes next in line in our deliberations on realism in American drama.

Well, Bronson Howard has a string of firsts to his credit, that merits a firsty-fiesty highlight right at the start to this Bronson-post!

Howard – Bronson Howard – happens to be the first playwright ever to typecast the wealthy American businessman in his plays.

Howard – Bronson Howard – also takes credit for being the first American playwright to theorise on the playwriting process. This apart, he is also the first playwright to have his themes, his settings and his characters that were uniquely American in every way!

Howard’s melodrama in the backdrop of the Civil War titled, Shenandoah, happens to be his most famous play. And much akin to Herne and Howells, Howard also has his manifesto so beautifully spelled out!

Titled, The Autobiography of a Play, this manifesto was originally delivered as a lecture, by Howard at Harvard! [to the Shakespeare Club of Harvard University!]