Fakeer of Jungheera as a love story

Topic: The Fakeer of Jungheera as a love story

Paper: 4

Paper name: Indian writing in English

Name: Bhatt Urvi P.

Roll no.: 35

Class: sem-1

Year: 2013-14

Submitted to: MKBU

Q-  The Fakeer of Jungheera as a Love story:

A-

·         Introduction:

         The Fakeer of Jungheera by Henry Louis Vivian Derozio. He was born on 18 April, 1809 and living only 22 years. He died on 1831. He was a teacher and a poet.

               Derozeo was an Indian poet and assistant headmaster of Hindu College, Kolkata, a radical thinker and one of the first Indian educators to disseminate Western learning science among the young men of Bengal.

                      Long after his death due to Cholera, his influence lived on among his former students. Who came to be knows as young Bengal and many of whom became prominent in social reform, law and journalism.

                Derozio wrote wonderful poems in English. ‘The Fakeer of Jungheera ‘ is one of the most significant landmark in the history of patriotic poetry in India. In his days Bengal faced many problems of caste and creed. The reassessment and inclusion of Derozio in the canon of Indian writing in English has to do with many factors. Like communism, religious aspects, colonial aspects.

                 In ‘The Fakeer of Jungheera ‘ Derozio mixed the tantric, Hindu, mythological, Islamic and Christian tradition. He got the idea about writing the poem of spiritual love from Baital Pachisi. As the story goes, if king Vikram remains steadfast in his love for his queen, he can resurrect her and once more both can find happiness together. The dauntless fortitude and courage that the king exemplifies by passing through the horrible ordeal in the graveyard leading to his triumph, inspires conclusion to the tragic death of the Fakeer in the arms of his beloved Nuleeni. If the Nuleeni can gain be resurrected in the arms of the Fakeer if she can pass through the horrors and temptation of life.

                  Fakeer and Nuleeni are star-crossed lover’s life Romeo and Juliet. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet were the children of two enemies whose love brought the tragic end. Here, in ‘The Fakeer of Jungheera ‘, Fakeer is the follower of Islam. Fakeer means saint- a person who has renounced the world but here he loves a lady Nuleeni, who is married and also an upper caste female. Nuleeni was married to a Brahmin. Her husband dies in an early youth.

              Nuleeni, the beloved of Fakeer never loved her husband. In the day of Henry Derozio, Indian subcontinent was caught by many evils like ‘Sati- pratha ’, killing girl child by boiling the still born baby in the hot pot of milk etc. Nuleeni belonged to a conservative Hindu society in the nineteenth century. She pure and beautiful. She doesn't want to end her life behind a person whom she never loved.

                    Nuleeni was brought to be the spot where her husband is to be cremated. Women were singing songs praising sati. They sang of going to die on the funeral pyre of her husband and escapes with the bandit Fakeer to his cave in Jungheera to a life from death. She escaped death but she starts a life of forbidden love though frightened by violent social norms. She believes that her lover’s courage and her unfailing love will finally, make them victorious. Her fair and beautiful face brightens the dark social setting of the poem and mitigates the bold audacity of the Fakeer who snatches her from the midst of a group of mourning upper caste Hindu at the funeral.

“O! For the speed of swiftest hound

   At once into her arms to bound!

   O! for the speed of sunny beam,

   Or eagle’s wing, or airy dream,

   Or lightning glance of rapid eye

   From younger rocky height to fly.”

           In the intense bond of love Nuleeni’s lover comes and takes her to his abode. They forgot their caste discrimination. Fakeer fought that the people at funeral and took Nuleeni with him. Nuleeni left all the relations of behind and got united with her lover. They did not know that they were challenging the ancient and so called norms of the society. They took the risk to escape and elope with each other rejecting the social order. Fakeer with great courage snatched his beloved from the people of upper class. The upper class people had the authority in Bengal. How can they bear the insult? How can they tolerate the weaker sect running away in this way?

               Henry Derozio here, through this poem is opposing the evils of the Bengal’s society. Indian society was divided into upper and lower caste religious division caste and creed and many superstitious beliefs. The people were orthodox. Derozio wanted them to come up leaving the dark sides of the characteristics aside. He was criticized due to his preaching. The youth supported whereas superstitious people tried to block them.

               The brave rebellion of the lover draws our attention towards the inequality of Indian subcontinent. One can say that this poems marks an important steep in the use of social themes in literary texts endorsing a syncretistic tradition quite popular in the nineteenth century Bengal. Instead of belaboring upon the misery of slavery, Henry Derozio embarked upon a mission of resolving some of the inherent evils of Hindu society especially the practice of widow sitting alive on the pyre.

                   Derozio opens the first canto with the wind wandering gently like young spirits.

“The sun lit steam in dimples breaks,

   As when a child from slumber wakes,

  Sweet smiling on its mother-there,

  Like heavenly hope o’er mortal care”

                Second stanza the sad theme is established where a woman has to become sati.

                 In fifth stanza a group of people protected by soldiers is depicted. In the next one Hindu women sing songs of sacrifice as Nuleeni is to die but later on we come to know that she runs away with Fakeer. Up to stanza 14 we are not told the name of our heroine. In stanza 14 Derozio juxtaposed against the Christian image of an external soul highlight the syncretism aspect of the poet’s imagination. In the next stanza the poet prophesies the tragic future of two lover and weave images of angles.

“And this good angels weaves for me,

  The wreath of immorality!”

             Here, the poet mixes Hindu and Christian religion.

                 In stanza 25, we are introduced to Nuleeni’s lover, Fakeer who looks as if is a warrior:

“His dusky brow, his raven hari,

 His limbs or strength, his mortial air.”

                 Nuleeni dreamt him and one is in his embrace-

“I dread and now before my view,

 My dream, my golden dream is true!”

              She worships him as deity and to him she is him she is his goddess.

“Henceforth I turn my willing knee

From Alla, Prophet, heaven to thee!”

                 Derozio sees love between a Hindu and a Muslim as transcending religious categories in colonial Bengal lays the ground for the inevitable conflict that ensues in second canto.

                  The second canto begins with the soft gurgling of fountains like the flute of Krishna as sumps are lit in mosques. In the second stanza the poet introduces the popular belief that loves for woman can lead a god-fearing young person away from worship. There are many mythical examples of saints who were distracted by ‘Apsaras’ from heaven.

                 Stanza 7 reveals the affronted father of Nuleeni who wants to avenge the insult on Fakeer. The father requests Shah Shuja may be the ruler or landlord of the place to supply him force to teach a lesson to Fakeer.

“A thousand of his bravest band,

The stars of Muslim Chivalry,

At princely Shoojah”s high command,

As though it were some god’s decree,

Attend Nuleeni’s injured size

With all the vault of martial fire.”

          Now the poet takes twist. He talks about the ups and down of life. He talks about how man proposes but god disposes-

“Life moves inconstant,

Like the rippling rill,

Hope’s and the moon’s rays,

quiver o’er them still!”

            The army arrives at the abode of Fakeer and Nuleeni Instead of running away he decides to fight back-

“A drawing conquest must my band achieve,

And’ is my promise, ere other chiefs,

Shall be selected for thy love’s relief,

Once more lead them to their prey alone,

Then quit for ever, and be all thins own.”

          Nuleeni’s fear comes true and Fakeer’s life is lost while fighting Nuleeni cradles him in her arms and dies together with him.

“An unseen hand with a glittering lance,

Checked the chieftain’s fierce advance,

And forth the blood from his bosom streamed,

And quenched hope’s latest ray as it beamed!”

                  And thus comes the end of the tragic love story Nuleeni dies with the person whom she loved. She becomes a free agent to choose her destiny. In ancient time, in our country, women were allowed to choose their life partners on their own. We have the example s from our great books as Rukmani, Parvati, Draupadi, Kunti, Gandhari, Sanyagita. These women chose their husbands on their own. Our ancient culture was glorious but the invasions Foreign ruined our past culture.

                        The secular and universal ideas that Derozio exposes in his poetry do not go well with the separatist and divisional politics of modern India. These are some of the revisionist consequences of modernity. However, the ‘modes of social life that emerged in the early nineteenth century in response to modernity in India now take us beyond modernity’ into the information age. If India must shine it must do so within its own traditions and Derozio occupies a central place in it. The poet through the impossible and bold story of love-affairs between Hindu upper class widow and a Muslim lower class. Fakeer reflected and criticized the evils of Indian society.

              

Coleridge as a critic

Topic: Coleridge as a critic

Paper: 3

Paper name: Literary theory and criticism

Name: Bhatt Urvi P.

Roll no.: 35

Class: sem-1

Year: 2013-14

Submitted to: MKBU

Que.: Coleridge as a critic.

Ans.: ●       Introduction:

          Samuel Taylor Coleridge [1772-1834] was a great poet, but he is also a great critic. He is one of the greatest of poet-critics that England has ever produced. He was a genius and when he inspired, and when the mood was upon him, he could create works of the highest order, but he was incapable of sustained and persistent labour.

          Stray’s remarks on literature and literary theory are scattered all over his prose works as, The Friend, Table Talks, Letters, Aids to Reflections, Confessions of an Inquiring spirit, Animal Poteau and Sibylline Leaves. But the bulk of his literary criticism, all that is most worthwhile in it is contained in his

(1)     Biographia Literaria and

(2)     Lectures on Shakespeare and other poets.

          Activity of the ‘poet’s’ mind, and a ‘poem’ is merely one of the forms of us expression, a verbal expression of that activity, and poetic activity is basically an activity of the imagination. As David Daiches points out. ‘Poetry’ for Coleridge is a wider category than that of “poem”, that is poetry is a kind of activity which can be engaged in by painters or philosophers or scientists and is not confined to those who employ metrical language, or even to those who employ language of any kind. Poetry, in this larger sense brings, “the whole soul of man”, into activity, with each faculty playing its proper part according to its ‘relative worth and dignity’. This takes place whenever the “secondary imagination” comes into operation. Whenever the synthesizing the integrating, powers of the secondary imagination is at work, bringing all aspects of a subject into a completion unity, then poetry in this larger sense results.

●       Coleridge’s Criticism:

→      Themes of poetry

→      Rustic Language

→      Poetic Diction

●       Rustic Language:

          As regards the second statement of words worth, Coleridge objects to the view that the best part of language is derived from the objects with which the rustic hourly communicates. First, communication with an object implies reflection on it, and the richness of vocabulary arises from such reflection, now the rural conditions of life do not require any reflection, hence the vocabulary of the rustics is poor. They can express only the barest facts of nature, and not the ideas and thoughts – universal laws – which result from reflection on such facts. Secondly, the best part of man’s language does not result merely from communication with nature, but from education, from the mind’s dwelling on noble thoughts and ideals of the master minds o humanity. Whatever noble and poetic phrases, words and arrangement of words, the rustics use, are derived not from nature, but from repeated listening to The Bible and to the sermons of noble and inspired preachers.

●       Poetic Diction:

          Coming then to detailed consideration of words worth’s theory of poetic diction he takes up his statements, one by one; and demonstrates that his views are not justified. Words worth asserts that the language of poetry is, “a selection of the real language of men or the very language of men, and that there was no essential difference between the language of prose and that of poetry”, Coleridge, retorts that, ‘every man’s language’, “varies according to the extent of his knowledge, the activity of his faculties and the depth or quickness of his feelings. “Every man’s language has, first its individual peculiarities, secondly, the properties common to the class to which he belongs, and thirdly, words and phrases of universal use. “No two men of the same class or of different classes speak alike, although both use words and phrases common to them all, because in the one case their natures are different, and in the one case their nature are different, and in the other their classes are different.” This applies as much to the language of rustics to that of townsmen in both cases. The language varies form person to person, class to class, and place to place.

          Wordsworth and Coleridge in their lyrical Ballads discussed the following points: People and supernatural characters or romantics, imaginations, poetic truth and man’s inner world and human interest. According to Coleridge there are two main points of poetry:

(1)     The power of exciting the sympathy of the reader by a faithful adherence to the truth of nature.

(2)     The power of giving the interest of novelty by the modifying colors of imagination.

          Words worth tried to focus on the charms of novelty to things of everyday directing the human mind to the loveliness and wonders of the world.  According to Coleridge there are two types of poetry:

(1)     Nature Poetry

(2)     Supernatural Poetry

          In which the incidents and people were to be the part of supernatural. Coleridge says that subject of the poem, people and other objects should be chosen from ordinary life. It should be taken from the rustic and the village life. In lyrical: ballads it was written that the persons and characters which are supernatural or at least romantic. Thus our interest should transfer from our inward nature to human interest. According to Coleridge the language of poetry should be the language of real life. A poem contains the same elements as a prose composition. It is distinguished from prose by meter or rhyme. In this sense it is the lowest sense of poem. A particular type of pleasure is derived from the sounds and all compositions that have this charm may be entitled as a poem. A difference of object and content also distinguishes them. The immediate purpose may be the communication of truth either absolute truth as science or facts experienced and recorded as in history. Pleasure and that of the highest and the most permanent kind may result from the allayment of the end. In other words the communication of pleasure may be the immediate purpose and the truth either moral or intellectual ought to be the ultimate and. The communication of pleasure may be the immediate: object of a work not metrically composed. It is quite possible that the highest type of pleasure can be communicated by a novel then can it be called a poem? In this case the final definition is:

          “A poem is that species of composition which is opposed to works of science by proposing for its immediate object pleasure not truth, and from all other species. It is discriminated by proposing to itself such delight from the whole, as is compatible with a distinct gratification from each component part.”

          As a result the reader should be carried forward by the pleasurable activity of mind excited by the attractions of the journey itself. The reader should be carried forward not merely or chiefly by the mechanical impulse of curiosity or by a restless desire to arrive at the final solution.

          Now Coleridge talks about the pleasure that you derived from the poetry and says that the poet described in ideal perfection brings the whole soul of man into activity.

          Coleridge differs with words worth’s theory based on assumption that his words had been rightly interpreted that the proper diction for poetry in general consists all together in a language taken with due acceptations. According to words worth’s, language should be taken from the mouth of man.

          Coleridge agrees with words worth that in rustic life human soul can prosper fully but he believes that every man is not likely to include by a country life. Coleridge accepts the principle of Aristotle that the poetry is essentially ideal and that it avoids all accidents and feels completely individualistic in rank and characters who represent a class. Coleridge says that a rustic language purified from all provincialism and written as per rules of grammar than there is no difference from rustic and the language of any other learned or refined man. Coleridge says that the literal knowledge of an educated rustic person will provide a very scanty / limited vocabulary. The few things and modes of action requisite for his bodily convenience that alone would be individualized whereas all the rest of nature would be expressed by a small number of confused general terms. The nature of a man’s world, where he is strongly affected by joy, grief of anger, must necessarily depend on the quality of the general truth, conceptions, and images and of the words expressing them which are already stored in the mind of a man. Words worth truly says that poetry always implies passion means all excited state of the feelings and faculty so there is an essential difference between the language of prose and of metrical composition. Thus, Coleridge in the end gives the above statement that there should be difference between the language of prose and poetry.

          At the end of his notes on Shakespeare, he has a passage, full of power and meaning, incidentally, referring to the same, thought: ‘There are three powers.’

(1)     Wit which discovers partial likeness hidden in general diversity.

(2)     Subtlety which discovers the diversity, concealed in general apparent sameness.

(3)     Profundity which discovers an essential unity under all the semblance of difference. Give a subtle man fancy and he is a wit, to a deep man imagination and he is a philosopher.

          Add again pleasurable sensibility in the interesting in morals, the impressive in form, and the harmonious in sound and you have the poet. But combine all, wit subtlety, and fancy, with profundity imagination, and moral and physical susceptibility of all pleasurable and let the object of action be man universal; and we shall have – Orash prophecy! Say, rather we have – a Shakespeare! Let’s come back to our topic that is poet and prose. Pleasure may be the immediate object of a work not metrically composed as it is in novels and romances. Worse then the more super addition of meter, with or without rhyme entitle these to the name of poems? The answer is that we cannot call them poems because in the first place metrical form would not be suitable to its language and content and, secondly, due to its length all parts would not require equal attention and therefore would not equally contribute, to the total pleasure. ‘A poem, defines Coleridge,’

          “is that species of composition, which is opposed to works of science, by proposing for its immediate object pleasure not truth, and from all other species, it is discriminated by proposing to itself such delight from the whole, as is compatible with a distinct gratification from each component part.”

          A ‘legitimate’ poem is one which the parts mutually support and explain each other and harmonize with the known influences of metrical arrangement. We cannot give the praise of a just poem, firstly, to a series of striking lines or distiches which, absorbing enough in themselves, make a separate whole and do not harmonize with the rest of the composition and secondly, to an un-sustained composition from which the reader collects rapidly the general result, un-attracted by the component parts. Like the motion of a serpent, which the eruption made the emblem of intellectual power, or like the path of sound through the air, at every step he pauses and half recedes, and from the re-progressive movement collects the force which again carries him onward. In the long poem all the parts cannot be equally gratifying. Therefore Coleridge says,

          “A poem of any length neither can be nor ought to be, all poetry size does not decide the quality. It doesn't determine prose or poem too.”

●       Conclusion:

          To conclude, we may say in his own words, he endeavored ‘to establish the principles of writing rather than to furnish rules about how to pass judgment on, what had been written by others.’

          Thus, Coleridge is the first English critic who based his literary criticism on philosophical principles. While a critic before him has been content to turn a poem inside out and to discourse on its merits and deaneries; Coleridge busied himself with the basic question of, ‘how it came to be there at all.’ He was more interested in the creative process that made it, what it was, then in the finished product.

Critical analysis of Gulliver's Travels

Topic: Critical analysis of Gulliver’s Travels

Paper: 2

Paper name: The Neo-Classical Literature

Name: Bhatt Urvi P.

Roll no.: 35

Class: sem-1

Year: 2013-14

Submitted to: MKBU

Que.: Critical Analysis of Gulliver’s Travels.

Ans.: ●       Introduction:

          Swift came of an English family which settled Dublin of Ireland. He was born in Dublin on the 30^th November, 1667. He was left in the care of an uncle of his by his mother who returned to England. His uncle gave him the best education available in Ireland. At college, swift was often at war with the authorities, and he was not of a very studious turn of mind, but he got success in getting his degree in 1685. He was dominated by pessimism. He is the master of the concrete world, he knows how to utilize the concrete world. The concrete facts of experience as well as the ideas, the sentiments, and the shades of meaning find expression in the most simple vigorous and straight forward prose. A great variety of tone is achieved. The language is flexible to the theme. Gulliver’s Travels is the famous of all the works of swift. The full title of swift’s famous work is:

          “Travels into Several Remote of the world in four parts by Lemuel Gulliver, First a surgeon, and then a captain of several ships.”

          Gulliver’s Travel’s was the culmination of swift’s literary achievement his magnum opus. It was begun in 1720 and finally published in 1726. It is at once a delightful, fantastic story of adventure for children, a political allegory and a serious satire on human nature, on contemporary politics, social institutions, religious controversies and on the manners and morals of the age. The book is written in the form of a travelogue. The hero and narrator of the story is Lemuel Gulliver, an English Physician who opts to travel as a ship’s surgeon when he is unable to take care of his family on his meager income. Gulliver is endowed with a keen, almost journalistic sense of reportage, and a desire to travel. The book is made up of four parts, each dealing with the persona’s experiences in a different fantasy land.

          The travelogue, a popular genre of writing in the eighteenth century, chronicles the experiences and adventures of a traveler. It is generally written from the first person point of view giving immediacy to the experiences narrated. It is also a literary genre which the author manipulates to suit his purposes in the text. Gulliver’s Travels is a fictional travelogue containing factual elements related to travel by sea.

          The term ‘utopia’ has come to be synonymous with an ideal world or an ideal society. ‘Dystopia’ was conceived of as the opposite of utopia and obviously describing an unpleasant, nightmarish world.

          Gulliver’s Travels can be read from the perspective of Utopian / dystopian fiction as Lemuel Gulliver journeys from one imaginary island community to another. He examines the social and political structures in Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa and in the land of the Houyhnhnms. It serves swift’s satirical purpose that the communities are far from idea and given to excesses of every kind. The land of the Houyhnhnms seems almost utopian but here again, swift exposes a world where Reason prevails in its perfection but is devoid of individuality of personal identity and therefore leaves much to be desired.

          Characters are central to the plot of any story, and especially longer fiction. They are influenced by the events in the story just as the events are structured by characters. Characterization is defined as the art of creating characters which seem close to real life and have a role to play in the development of the novel.

          A ‘Flat character’ is often a type, a static, two - dimensional character, without much individuality, or even development. A ‘round character’ on the other hand is dynamic, three - dimensional and exhibits a certain degree of complexity.

          It is a little difficult to talk of Gulliver as a full-fledged character in Gulliver’s Travels. He is closer to being Swift’s mouthpiece or the ‘persona’ refers to a first person narrator, the ‘I’ of the narrative. It is Gulliver who narrates his experiences throughout the four parts of the novel.

          Gulliver informs the reader that after each voyage he found his wife and children in good health. He does not give us any other details concerning his personal life in England. Gulliver’s disgust with England and its government extends to the entire human race it is in part-IV that the reader is convinced that Gulliver is Swift’s mouthpiece.

          At the end of the novel, it is difficult to say if Gulliver is an eighteenth century allegorical figure or a rounded and complex character. His growth and development in the course of the narrative is restricted to the change in his attitude towards his fellow human beings although he arrives at some kind of self-awareness towards the end of the text, the awareness being that he is a yahoo. Gulliver might also be an allegorical representation of humanity in general.

●       Four Voyages in Brief:

          The book is divided into four parts which describes Gulliver’s Voyage to different countries.

PART-I     :         Describes Gulliver’s voyage to a country
          known as Lilliput and his experiences in
          that country.

PART-II    :         Describes his voyage to Brobdingnay and
          his experience.

PART-III  :         Deals with his voyage to some countries
          like Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubdubrib,
          Luggnagg, and Japan.

PART-IV  :         Tells about his voyage to the country of
          Houyhnhnms and the yahoos.

●       The Voyage to Lilliput in Part-I:

          In this part, religious and political divisions are humorously mingled. The foolish is exposed with the help of quarrels between the High-Heels and the Low-Heels and between the Big-Endians and the Little-Endians. Where blood of thousands of people has been shed. When the emperor’s heels are described as lower than those of anybody else at the court, the reference is to the preference shown by king George-I to the Whigs. Many other illusions may also be traced. In addition to all this, some of Gulliver’s remarks on the institutions of Lilliput serve as useful comments upon the legal policy of his own country, England, for instance, when he mentions that the Lilliputians treated fraud as a great crime then stealing and alludes to their policy in rewarding merits as well as punishing vice.

●       The Voyage to Brobdingnag in Part-II:

          In this part of the novel, swift shows us the people of immense stature. These people are gifted with a sound and cool judgement, look at the principles and politics of Europe. Here, satire has general nature. Some particular references to political events: and no circumstances are mentioned. Which are not applicable to all places, while Lilliput was a land inhabited by pigmies or dwarfs, Brobdingnag is the land of giants or of persons of an immense stature.

●       The Voyage to Laputa in Part-III:

          In this part, the abuses of science are the aim of satire. Swift’s target here are the projects – who leaving their common sense behind them, wander into the vast regions of speculative philosophy. It is noticeable here that the satire is not aimed at true science but its hazards.

●       The Voyage to the land of the Houyhnhnms and the yahoos in Part-IV:

          In this part the satire is intense. This voyage represents mankind in a satire is too exaggerated. The author succeeded in portraying the disgusting yahoos. The Houyhnhnms are devoid of all those tender passions and affections without which life become a burden. The Houyhnhnms do not appeal to us as models of perfection.

          Every satirist is a reformer, as satire always aims at correcting human follies and human vices. Swift had focused attention upon the follies and vices of all mankind of his time. Being pessimist Gulliver could not boar the vices in mankind. With the help of fictional illusion he decided to expose the vices of mankind without leaving a single vice untouched. He presents almost all the vices prevailing in the mankind satirically. Gulliver’s Travels is a great satirical masterpiece up to today.

          Gulliver’s Travels is one of the greatest works of satire which is in the form of Travel book. On one hand it’s just a comic book or travelogue for children but on the other hand it satirizes human vices. In those days this book became very popular. People enjoyed his adventurous journey to different lands. Swift’s real purpose, however, in writing the novel seems to rebuke mankind for its follies, absurdities and evil ways.

●       Swift – a master of satire:

          A satire many roughly and briefly be defined as a humorous or witty exposure. A satire can be defined as a means by which the author can expose the reality of individuals communities, or all mankind by employing irony, mockery, ridicule, sarcasm, and even invective as the weapon’s of attack. Swift uses all the above means to succeed in satirizing. He uses irony in double way. He is a master or corrosive as well as comic satire. His comic satire makes us laugh. Corrosive satire is serious and creates hatred. This corrosive type of satire is fully developed in book-IV of Gulliver’s Travels. The first part is rich in comic fictional illusion.

●       Satire used for Moral Purpose:

          Satire of all types always aims to reform. Swift aims at amending a correcting his readers but he is doubtful whether he would reach his goal or not. Swift in his ‘Letter to Alexander Pope’ wrote that his purpose in writing, the book was to vox the world rather than divert it! Actually he desired to shock his readers into a realization of their faults and failings. According to swift “man is not a ‘rational animal’ though man is certainly capable of becoming rational.” In this way one can say that the author’s object in writing the book is to make people realize their irrationality and to encourage them to develop their rational faculty and guide by it. Thus, it can be said that swift had a moral or ethical aim in writing this fiction.

●       The satire full of Allegories:

          In an allegory a person or institution is not attacked directly but they are attacked indirectly. ‘Animal Farm’ of George Orwell is one of the best examples of effective writing. In this book in part-I the character of Flimnap, the Treasurer in Lilliput, is a satirical portrayal of Sir Robert Walpole who was the Prime Minister of England from 1715 to 1716 and again from 1721 to 1742. Dancing on a tightly tied rope allegorized Walpole’s skill in parliamentary tactics and political intrigue. Same way, Reldresal represents Lord Carteret who was appointed by Walpole to the office of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Further ‘One of the king’s cushions’ talks about of king’s George’s mistresses who helped to restore Walpole to favor after his full in 1717. The conflict between High-Heels and Law-Heels represents the conflict between the two main parties of England i.e. Whig and Tory. The quarrel between Big-Endians and the Little-Endians symbolizes the quarrels between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants. The incidents of extinguishing a fire in queen’s apartment and the queens reaction is an example of Queen Anne’s description of annoyance with swift for writing ‘A Tale of a Tube’, another book which attacked religious abuses but the queen misinterpreted it as an attack on religion. The pigmies of Lilliput and the giants of Brobdingnag depict human beings. First reduced to a small scale, as if seen through a magnifying glass. Symbols of animals are given in part-IV. In this part, yahoos symbolize mankind without any good qualities, while the Houyhnhnms [the horses] show human beings with their good qualities. They were perfect and had no bad qualities at all.

●       Conclusion:

          Gulliver’s Travels has been an outstanding book by the author. This novel interweaves many aspects. It is political Allegory as it deals with many political allegories. It is the novel Adventurous novel. The novel deals with travel. From beginning to end it is travelogue. The novel depicts funny or comic elements and thus can be called comic novel. The novel satirizes on human vices so it can be called satirical work of art. It short, the novel is quiet successful in presenting what the author wanted. A reader can enjoy the novel reading even from any one angle.

Major scenes in Hamlet

Topic: Major scenes in Hamlet

Paper: 1

Paper name: The Renaissance Literature

Name: Bhatt Urvi P.

Roll no.: 35

Class: sem-1

Year: 2013-14

Submitted to: MKBU

Que.: Major scenes in ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare.

Ans.: ●       Introduction:

          William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 at Stafford–on–Avon in Warwickshire. He was a poet and dramatist. He wrote many Sonnets, Comedies, and Tragedies etc. His famous tragedies are Othello, Macbeth, and Hamlet etc. It is believed that his female characters are very powerful. They take their own decisions. They are respected characters. ‘Hamlet’ is the name as well as the character of the tragic play ‘Hamlet’. It’s a famous play by Shakespeare.

●       Story Outline:

          Hamlet is the protagonist of the play. His father died of poisoning by his uncle. His uncle becomes the king of Denmark and also marries Hamlet’s mother soon after his father’s death. Ghost is seen by the two soldiers. Hamlet is told and the secret behind his father’s death is revealed. The Ghost tells him to take revenge. Being an intellectual he wants to find proud before taking revenge. He delays taking the revenge of his father’s death. On the other side king suspects his madness and decides to send abroad. His made plans to kill Hamlet but he is saved. Later on Hamlet’s beloved dies, before Ophelia dies, his father – both died accidentally. Laertes Ophelia’s brother fights duel with Hamlet. Laertes dies, and then Hamlet’s mother dies, then dies his uncle and in the end dies Hamlet. The things go wrong because of Hamlet’s delay in taking revenge.

●       Scenes in Hamlet:

          ‘Hamlet’ has many memorable scenes. Some of the finest scenes are the Ghost scene. The nunnery scene, the play scene, the prayer scene, the closest scene etc. Let’s see the scenes one by one with their importance as far as the drama is concerned.

●       Ghost Scene:

          Most of the Shakespeare’s tragedies have supernatural elements to create the proper effect. This scene is set up in the beginning. It has the narrow stage platform of Elsinore Castle which is on the top of the hill. The Ghost of the previous king of Denmark appears at the midnight. During this hours people are asleep but the guards are awake. The guard sees him and tries to stop and question the king but they didn't get response. They decided to inform about three incident to the son of the late king, Hamlet. When Hamlet hears he decides to go to the place and find out the reality. He goes to the place there he finds his father’s ghost whom he talks but the ghost made sign to go behind him when Hamlet did so he revealed the reality of his death. He shocked Hamlet by informing that he was poisoned by his brother Claudius. He tells him to take revenge. Dark and terrifying scene is set up on the stage that makes audience heart to feel horrifies. This scene is very important as the consequence of the drama is considered.

          The Ghost appears second time also when Hamlet and his mother talks. The Ghost reminds Hamlet to take revenge of his death and not to harm his mother.

●       The Nunnery Scene:

          Ophelia thought that, Hamlet has gone mad because she stopped meeting him. Polonius, her father and the king, Claudius decides to test Hamlet with the help of Ophelia. Ophelia is not aware of their real cause. She is considerate. She wants Hamlet to get well. Ophelia is projected doing prayer when Hamlet enters the place. Hamlet is not aware of the presence of Ophelia. When he sees him, he greets her saying, “Nymph, in the orisons be all my sins remembered.”

          The stage arrangement is such that audience could see the king and Polonius. Hamlet was not to be told about their presence according to the plan. He thought that, Ophelia deceived him by participating in the plan as Hamlet saw both of them. He insulted Ophelia brutally in this scene. Ophelia is humiliated and could not understand why she was treated in this way by Hamlet. She felt defoliated. This scene digs valley between the two lovers of misunderstanding. A lovely innocent and saintly girl’s innocence is sacrificed.

●       The scene of Hamlet’s Soliloquy ‘To Be or not to Be’:

          Hamlet worried whether to continue to exist or not, whether it was more noble to suffer the slings and arrows of unbearable situations. He thought whether he should live or not live. He thought who would carry or not live. He thought who would carry this load, sweating and granting under the burden of a weary life if it weren't for the dread of the after life – that unexplored country from whose border no travel returns?

          “But that the dread of something after death, the undiscovered country from whose bourn. No traveler returns, puzzles the will and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of?” It’s one of the best scene delineating the philosophy of life.

●       The Play Scene:

          Hamlet is a scholar and an intellectual person. He wants to check his uncle’s misdeed. He is eagerly waiting to know whether his uncle feels guilt about the killing of his own brother. This side the kingdom wants Hamlet to get well. Gertrude was anxious for his well-being. The news comes to Hamlet about the arrival of the term who would perform. Hamlet meets them and tells them to perform the play in the way he wants. They agreed to give the performance accordingly Hamlet, Claudius with Queen Gertrude, Courtiers, Ophelia, Horatio and others are to watch the play. The stage is well equipped. In the center on one side king and queen sit on the other side, Horatio, Ophelia sit. Horatio is to watch the gesture and expression on the king. Hamlet as a stage manager, is seen standing in the middle with the precedence of madman, Hamlet does mischief with Ophelia so that he may dissect Claudius changing facial expression. The scene in the play shows the killing of one brother by another. Claudius could not tolerate the scene. He gets up and goes out. Behind him Queen, Polonius and Courtiers also left. Hamlet could realize that his uncle is guilty. As far as the revenge tragedy is concerned this play is of great significance. Hamlet wanted proof he got it. Yet, he doesn't take revenge. He should have taken.

●       The Prayer Scene:

          Hamlet, the tragic hero of the play goes to kill his uncle to revenge of his father’s murder. He held his sword out. When enters the room he finds his uncle praying God. Though he could not act mercilessly. He thought that if he kills him while doing prayer he would directly enter heaven. Previously, he showed the weakness in his character of lack of determination. Once more he exhibits the same. It this scene the king is shown kneeling down. After his soliloquy and before he rises, Hamlet enters the audience chamber. He sees the king at prayer, draws his sword to the seaboard. He missed once more chance to revenge. In Javerchand Meghani’s books we find many revenge stories but no one can be such weak as the character of Hamlet. He seems very kind to kill anybody. He takes time in thinking and taking actions.

●       Bedchamber Scene / Closet Scene:

          In the Globe theater of Shakespeare’s time the bedchamber of queen was arrange in such a way where males were usually not allowed to go or if they are in the chamber they are usually not shown. Hamlet meets his mother. He rebukes his mother for marrying quickly in this scene. He interferes in the personal matters of his mother’s life Polonius is shown watching them outside the glass chamber. Queen Gertrude is sorry for his behavior  The Ghost of the dead king appears. He reminds him to take revenge for his death. Hamlet suspects his uncle, Claudius listening them behind the curtains.  He immediately rushes out opening the door, without looking at the person he kill Polonius. This scene shows the craziness and haste of Hamlet. Hamlet thought Polonius to be Claudius. After knowing what he has done, he again goes to the chamber of queen Gertrude. They talked for a while. He told Gertrude not to reveal that Hamlet is not mad to the king. Gertrude loved her son. She told the king that Hamlet does this in madness. This scene shows a mother’s love for her son. We have scene a mother’s sacrifice for her child in many Indian legends.

●       Scene of Ophelia’s Madness:

          Ophelia was Hamlet’s beloved. She goes mad after her father’s death and Hamlet’s insult. She was left alone to suffer. She made garland from flowers and sang songs. Her mental condition led her to madness. One day she was found drowned in the stream in the midst's of garlands.

●      Laertes’s anger and motives to revenge his father’s murder:

          Laertes was in France when his father died. When he returned he was told about the way his father died and Hamlet’s role in killing his father. After some time his sister died too. So he wanted to revenge Hamlet for the death of his father and sister.

●       The Graveyard Scene:

          The scene is one of the important scenes of the play. It shows the naked reality of life which is death. Hamlet’s philosophy is noteworthy. This scene deals with two diggers talking about the burial of Ophelia. They discuss whether she should be given Christian burial or not. One says that she may not be given is it was not sure whether she died naturally or ended her life intentionally. The other says she was gentle woman and should be given the Christian burial. At this time one goes to bus liquor and the other keep digging Ophelia’s grave. He keeps singing joyful songs of youth while digging. There is black humor in this scene. Now, Laertes, the king, the queen, courtiers and a Doctor of Divinity enters with Ophelia’s open coffin in the graveyard. Learning of Ophelia’s death Hamlet could not control himself and mourns his beloved’s death. Hamlet and Laertes starts fight, both jump in the pit of coffin, both are stopped by the attendants. This scene develops the future events in the play. One can predict the duel between Laertes and Hamlet and the vicious king would get benefit. Ophelia’s death weakens Hamlet. His love for her is reveled here. He gains the sympathy of audience through scene. Ophelia is mourned by the audience too. Also audience’s hearts are full of pity for her pate as well as her brother.

●       The Fight Scene:

          The graveyard scene sowed the seeds of the fight scene. Claudius wants to clear his way and throw Hamlet out of his way. Laertes anger was the best weapon for his. The fight was arranged between Laertes and Hamlet. Laertes and Claudius decided to kill Hamlet with the help of poisoned weapon. The king, the queen, Horatio and the Courtiers gathered to watch this scene. Both of them fight. Laertes is injured. He smashed the poisoned sword is exchanged the same poisoned sword is smashed to Laertes. They both forgive each other. Laertes dies. Hamlet wins. In joy and celebrating mood the queen drinks poisoned wine which was placed there by Claudius for Hamlet as a plan if he doesn't die by injury he would die of drinking wine. Queen before dying reveal the plan. Hamlet could not see his mother’s death and kills Claudius. This scene brings a end to the lives of important characters. First dies Laertes revealing the king’s plan to Hamlet, then dies the queen. Next Claudius is killed. The last person to dies is Hamlet as the poison is spread in his body.

●       Conclusion:

          The important scenes are unforgettable. They make the plan and the character memorable. There is a deep philosophy of life behind these scenes. They are the mirrors of the characters. The scenes inspire lives. They bring out the reality of one’s life but ‘The show must go on.’