Thinking Activity- Transcendentalism

 This blog is written in response to the thinking activity given by Trivedi Megha Ma’am on the topic of Transcendentalism at the Department of English, MKBU.

Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism is a philosophical and literary movement that began in the early 19th century in the United States. The movement was led by Philosophers and Writers, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller, and it had a significant impact on American literature, culture, and politics. It emphasizes the innate goodness of people and nature, the importance of self-reliance and individualism, and the pursuit of a higher spiritual understanding. Transcendentalists believe that knowledge can be attained not just through reason and the senses, but also through intuition and a direct connection to the divine.

Transcendentalism is a complex movement that incorporates elements of philosophy, religion, and literature. It was largely a reaction against the rationalism and materialism of the Enlightenment, as well as the religious orthodoxy of the time. Transcendentalists believed that people and nature are inherently good and that society and institutions often stifle individual potential and obscure the spiritual truths of the universe.

Some key ideas of transcendentalism include:

• Self-reliance: Transcendentalists believed that individuals should trust their own intuition and inner guidance rather than rely on external authority or tradition.
• Nature: Transcendentalists saw nature as a source of inspiration and spiritual revelation, and many, like Thoreau, advocated for a simpler, more natural lifestyle.
• Nonconformity: Transcendentalists rejected societal conventions and encouraged individuals to think for themselves and forge their own paths in life.
• Idealism: Transcendentalists believed that the material world is a mere shadow of a higher, more perfect reality.
• Reform: Transcendentalists were actively involved in various reforms, including abolition, women's rights, and education reform.

Understanding the core values of transcendentalism through movie

The secret life of Walter Mitty

“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.”

The movie was released on 3 January 2014. It was directed and acted by Ben Stiller and it was Adapted from the short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber.

The movie Follows Walter Mitty, a negative asset manager of a magazine publishing company. He is assigned the task to develop the negative of the cover photo of the magazine's last issue. He loses the negative and to find it again he goes on the journey that changes his life.

Walter Mitty is a person that is not so famous among his colleagues, he doesn't have experienced or achieved anything that makes him famous or an interesting individual. 

Though in the movie we see that he lives in his own fantasy world, sometimes he holds back his feelings and emotions because of his introvertness. He is a very hardworking person but all his hard work goes unrecognized and without admiration. He likes his colleague Cheryl Melhoff but is hesitant to tell  her. Most of the time whatever he wants to do, he does it in his imagination.

The movie shows that when his father dies, he gives up his passion of Skating and various interests and starts working at a pizza company. He loses his free spirit and lives only in imaginations. He works hard for his family. He also forgets about his father's present to him on his birthday, a travel diary to write an account of his travel journey. But he becomes so busy earning that he forgets to travel and explore. He becomes trapped in his daily life.

When the challenge occurs to get back the lost negative and to impress Cheryl, he makes up his mind to go on the journey, the journey that leads him to travel Iceland, Greenland, Afghanistan and Himalaya.

Through the travelling journey he does some adventurous things like boarding a helicopter with a drunk pilot, jumping into ocean water from the helicopter, skating on board for miles, and seeing a mountain leopard. 

The journey was not just about getting a negative of a photo but through that journey he also does self discovery. He gains self-confidence. He becomes sure of himself and achieves his self importance. Walter comes out of his stereotypical daily life and finds new meaning in life. The nature filled places throughout the movie makes it a spiritual journey. 

In the company where Walter works have a motto and also can be seen in the wallet gifted to Walter and that is,

 “To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.”

This quote is seen so many times in various scenes and various places throughout the movie as the main theme of the movie. The quote connects the movie to the core values of the Transcendentalism as it also indicates to find meaning in life and go beyond conventional social system and believing in spirituality of the natural and real world and the individuality.

At the end of the film Walter Mitty understands his value as an individual and gains lost meaning of life, self- confidence and importance.

Thinking Activity- Indian Poetics

This blog is written in response to the thinking activity given by Dr. Dilip Barad Sir on Indian Poetics at the department of English, MKBU.

At the department of English, we had a series of expert lectures from Vinod Joshi sir organized by Dr. Dilip Barad sir. The lecture series covered topics of Indian poetics, various Schools and their masters.

I am going to describe some of the topics and information that I understood from those lectures.

The first thing we learned was about object and experience

“ Literature is the expression of emotions.”

There are two things: object and expressions 

The language is applied and imposed on us and To express something we uses three things and that are ભાષા, ચેષ્ઠા and પ્રતિક્રિયા (speech, body language and expressions). We chose the medium of language to express ourselves and we shape our way of expression through the language. 

Bharata in his Natyashastra has done “Ras Mimansa”

श्रृंगारकरूणवीररौद्रहास्यभयानका।

बीभत्साद्भूतशांतश्च नवनाट्येरसास्मृता।।

There are nine types of RAS that can be felt though any work of art or literature.

शृङ्गारः: Romance

हास्यं Laughter

रौद्रं Fury

कारुण्यं Compassion

बीभत्सं Disgust

भयानकं Horror

वीरं Heroism

अद्भुतं Wonder

शान्तम peace

Those rasas are achieved by the three parts and they are,

विभावानुभावव्यभिचारीसंयोगाद्रसनिष्पत्ति:- नाट्यशास्त्र,

Through Vibhav (concept), Anubhav (experience) and Sanchari Bhav (communicability), any artist or writer tries to do Sainyog that gives Ras-nishpatti that means aesthetic pleasure or Poetic Justice.

વિભાવ - it is the object that brings the emotions (in drama it’s Characters)

અનુભાવ- it means the expressions or the experience that audience feels

વ્યભિચારી (સંચારીભાવ)- it’s the state when the audience feels various emotions, but those emotions are temporary.

સૈયોગ- the medium that brings all the above three at one place or combines them.

For Ras-nishpatti some masters of literature have given various arguments like,

Bhatt Lollat says that Ras does not already exist in any work but it is produced through the work.

Shri Shankuk says that Rasa does not exist or can be created but only assumed.

Bhatt Nayak says that Rasa is not assumed but it can be normalized. It can be  felt through the performer if the performer or actor involves him or herself in an act or art. 

Abhinavgupta says that Rasa can only be felt if all three, the artist or writer, actors and the audience fully involve themselves in the act then only they can get the Ras-nishpatti.

Dhvani Theory

शब्दार्थों सहितो काव्यम।

Anandvardhan said that in poetry the words and meaning are considered as one.

मुख्यार्थबाधे तद्योगे रूढ़ितोऽथ प्रयोजनति्।

अन्योऽर्थों लक्ष्यते यत् सा लक्षणारोपिता क्रिया॥

Acharya Mammat says that in Dhvani the word does not mean its literal meaning but it means something that is commonly accepted by all people.

वागर्थाविव सम्पृक्तौ वागर्थ प्रतिपत्तये |

We have to imply those meanings as if that is the literal meaning.

To understand this sir gave an example of song,

तुम ने किसी की जान को जाते हुए देखा है वो देखो मुझसे रूठकर, मेरी जान जा रही है|

According to Anandvardhan the Dhvani is of three type

वस्तु ध्वनि  in which the word means the literal meaning and does not have any implied meaning.

अलंकार ध्वनि  it does not use the literal meaning and has an alternative meaning.

रस ध्वनि  in this, the meaning is more effective and glorified.

According to Mammat there is also three types

व्यंजना  it does have straight meaning 

अविधा does provide a meaning but does not mean literally, we have to imply another meaning.

लक्षणा it means something different then what words are sued in it.

In a simple way we can say that in Dhvani it brings the beauty out of the words that can never be achieved from literal meanings.

Vakrokti Theory

Acharya Kountak has given the theory of Vakrokti in his book ‘Vakrokti vijay’. 

The word ‘Vakrokti’ means the person who is different from others. The word is formed from two words ‘Vakra’ that means twisted and ‘Ukti’ means speech. That means the word ‘Vakrokti’ means something that is different from its meaning.

शब्दार्थौ सहितौ वक्र कवि व्यापार शालिनी।

बन्धे व्यवस्थितौ काव्यं तद्विदाह्राद कारिणी।

This Shlok suggests that only the skilled poet can use the language effectively that can bring the beauty in his work through the skillful use of literary devices such as Vakrokti.

Vakrokti is divided in six types,

વર્ણવિન્યાસ વક્રતા -it brings beauty through the ‘varna’ (alphabets)

પદપૂર્વાર્ધ વક્રતા -it tries to bring beauty through the first letters of the words

પદપરાર્ધ વક્રતા- it tries to bring unique meaning through the last letters of the words.

વાક્ય વક્રતા -it gives the whole new meaning through the whole sentence.

પ્રકરણ વક્રતા -it tries to give beauty through a chapter of any work of literature,

પ્રબંધ વક્રતા- it involves the whole work of art or literature that gives a meaning to the whole work.

Theory of Alankar 

‘Alankar’ means ornaments, that helps to improve the beauty in persons and in same way the alankar helps to improve the beauty of literary works.

There are main two types of Alankar

શબ્દાલંકાર- it tries to bring beauty through the use of words and alphabets.

In this are included,

વર્ણનુપ્રાસ

શબનુપ્રાસ

યમક 

અર્થાલંકાર - it tries to bring beauty through the meaning.

This includes,

રૂપક

ઉપંમાં

ઉંપ્રેક્ષા

વ્યજસ્તુતી

વ્યતિરેક

અતિશયોક્તિ 

અનન્વય 

Theory of 'Riti'

The school of Riti is led by Acharya Vamana and he gives the thought of ‘Riti’, that means the style. The style of any literary work and it is considered as personal. Every writer has a different and personal style of writing.

Vamana has given three ‘Riti’(style)

વૈદર્ભી શૈલી (it was used by Kalidas)

પાંચાલી શૈલી (it was used by Dandi)

ગૌંડી શૈલી 

According to Acharya Vamana the ‘Riti’ is the device that makes difference in every literary work and makes a different identity among others.

 

Comedy of Menace- The Birthday Party

This blog is written in response to the thinking activity given by Yesha Bhatt ma’am on the Comedy of Menace at the Department of English, MKBU.

The Birthday party (1968)

The Birthday Party is a 1968 British drama neo noir directed by William Friedkin and starring Robert Shaw. It is based on the 1957 play The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter. The screenplay for the film was written by Pinter as well. The film, and the play, are considered examples of "comedy of menace", a genre associated with Pinter.

The movie tries to follow the play of Pinter and the characteristics of The Comedy of menace.

The movie begins with the scene of streetlight getting off as the day rises. The boarding house of Mag and Petey comes into frame and we start getting into the notion of absurdity and menace.

The Menace is somewhat, ‘threatening quality, tone or atmosphere’. Where comedy is produced from incongruity, the bizarre, the out-of-place, menace is often produced from nothing. The longer nothing happens, the more anticipated something happening, the greater the tension, anxiety and fear. These kinds of characteristics of drama are the signature style of Pinter’s works.

The protagonist of the movie is Stanly, who lives as a boarder into the boarding house of Mag and Petey. He seems to be lazy and is afraid of stepping out of the house as something is frightening him. 

The suspicious duo of McCann and Goldbeg arrive at the boarding house of Mag to stay and with Mag and a young lady called Lulu they arrange a Birthday party for Stanly which is quite confusing because Stanley denies that it’s not his birthday and all the people are strangers who do not know him quite well.

'The Birthday party' is a very mysterious event in the movie where characters play the game of Blindfold and all the movements and scenes with constantly light getting off and on and the atmosphere of horror that creates is of level of madness or bizarreness. 

The duo of McCann and Goldberg tries to pursue Stanly for unknown reason and at the end of the movie they seem to pursue him with them and they take Stanly with them and for some reason that movement feels frightening and weird.

The Plot of the movie

The movie basically tries to follow the original play of Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party. The movie completely takes place in the boarding house of Mag and Petey. There are some scenes outside but for a very short time without any characters. The movie for its limited locations looks like a play performance. 

If we see this movie as Comedy of menace than there are several things to note like

The actions of various characters like McCann and Goldberg, the behavior of Mag and Stanley makes the movie's atmosphere horrific and mysterious.

The character of Stanley is always afraid and never leaves the house. That's why it seems that he is in fear of something or his past life.

The characters of McCann and Goldberg seem to be involved in some kind of criminal activity or working with some ‘Organization”. They want to take Stanly with them and that was their agenda behind coming to the boarding house of Mag. They interrogate Stanley but what they askes does not make any sense.

Various elements like the actions of Mag, Stanley's reaction to the birthday party, McCann and Goldberg’s conversation and interrogation of Stanley seems to make comedy but it more creates absurdity and weirdness for viewers.

Elements of absurdity in the movie.

The first thing that catches eyes is the messy environment of the house of Mag. the cornflakes that get out from the plate and unhygienic kitchen.

The second is the appearance of Stanley and his arrogant behavior toward his landlady Mag and his fear from outsiders and world out from the house.

Then there is the habit of McCann to cut newspapers into pieces. He is obsessed with his activity and also seems to not fully understand the motive of Goldberg.

Another thing that catches eyes is the scene where McCann and Goldberg interrogate Stanley. They do not come from any authority and the way they interrogate and ask questions that do not have any meaning are completely absurd.

Difference between Play and movie adaptation. 

The movie and play both are different forms of visual art. In the play, the story is told through dialogue and stage action, while in the film, the story is told through a combination of dialogue, visuals, and camera work. So, when the medium is changed there are lots of differences.

The movie provides more space than a play where the setting is just a room. In the movie the creators have more freedom  because the play is set in a single room of the boarding house, while the film expands the setting to show the exterior of the boarding house and the surrounding area. This gives the film a greater sense of place and provides a more detailed visual representation of the boarding house.

The movie stays true to its original material and does not change, alter or reimagine any scene but the creators have not included some scene that makes the story lang or does not have much to put into the story like the scene in which Lulu and Goldberg get into argument.

Overall the movie is largely true to the original source of Pinter's play ‘The Birthday Party. It does have some changes but it’s because the Medium of presentation is changed from play to movie.

Flipped Learning Activity- Existentialism

 This blog is written as response to the task given by Dr. Dilip Barad sir  on the 20th century movement called The Existentialism as part of Flipped Learning activity at The Department of English, MKBU.

In this task to understand Existentialism we were given several video resources, by watching those videos we have to understand the movement of Existentialism.

Thought that I liked the most

From those 10 videos on Existentialism i liked some thoughts and those are,

From video 1,

“It's only after realizing the absurdity of life or living in despair that you can fully devote yourself to God and understand him and this can not be preached or achieved by being a part of the herd or community.”

From video 2,

“Seeking what is true is not seeking what is desirable.”

Video that I liked the most

There were a total of 10 videos to watch and understand about existentialism in which the first six videos were from the same channel and had very good knowledge and infographics that helped a lot to understand the concept and movement of Existentialism.

The seventh video from the Academy of idea channel was the video that I liked the most because that video covered most of the arias of existentialism and related concepts like,

• The Beginning of Existentialism (19th century, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche)
• Prominent time (20th century, Sartre, Camus, Heidegger, Kafka)
• Concerts of Existentialism (The Human Condition)
• Divine perspective (all-encompassing systems, immortality) & Human Perspective 
• Aristotle’s Essence theory
• Nihilism & Existentialism
• Nietzsche’s thought, Become Who You Are.

The video also gives thoughts like,

“Existentialism is an attitude that recognizes the unresolvable confusion of the human world, yet resists the all-too- human temptation to resolve the confusion by grasping toward whatever appears or can be made to appear firm or familiar…The existential attitude begins with a disoriented individual facing a confused world that he cannot accept.”

Robert Solomon- 

From Hegel to Existentialism.

'Existentialism stresses that what we need most is not a divine perspective of the human conditions but a human perspective.'

'When we come to fully accept that the only existence we can be certain of is a temporal one, the shock of such a realization can help us give strength to stop living in conformity with the masses and instead take control of our own lives and live by standards and values of our own choosing.'

The last thought of the video from Nietzsche,

The Learning outcome:

It was great to use those 10 videos for learning about Existentialism. Those videos make all the concepts about the present movement of The Existentialism very clear.

Through the first six videos we learn about Existentialism and Existentialists with the help of the narrator and the infographic and the very eye catchy videos. Those videos are very interesting and make it easy to understand;.

The seventh video seems like a sum up video for the previous six videos and not just sum up but also contains more than just simple explanation but also from various thoughts from various Existentialists and philosophers.

The Eighth video is about how five year old children will take absurdism and Existentialism.

The ninth video in which the speaker provided his own experience of using Existentialist Philosophy into his routine life. It  provides the practical use of Existentialism in daily life and how we can take all those gloomy philosophical thoughts and hard knowledge into our day to day life.

Questions,

1. What Emil Cioran means when he says, “At twenty we rage against the heavens and the filth they hide; then we grow tired of it. The tragic attitude suits only an extended and ridiculous puberty.”?
2. How Existentialism differs from Nihilism (that talks about meaninglessness) and Transcendentalism (that talks about Individual)?
3. What Hermann  Hesse means by “all suicides have the responsibility of fighting against the temptation of suicide.”?
4. Why Camus consider the outcome of Existentialism as the Philosophical Suicide?
5. Why do Existentialists fight against Nihilism? (video 6)

Thinking Activity- The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald

This blog is written in response to the thinking activity given by Dr. Dilip Barad sir on The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald at the Department of English, MKBU.

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a novel written 1925 by the American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald. The novel is set in the Jazz Age also known as The Roaring 20s. The setting of the novel is Long Island near New York. The story of the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.

For the deeper understanding of this novel in that regard we had the film- screening of the movie ‘The Great Gatsby” that was released in the year 2013 that was directed by  Baz Luhrmann and the leading actors were  Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan.

How did the film capture the Jazz Age, the Roaring Twenties, the Flappers & the Prohibition Act of America in the 1920s?

The movie captures the Jazz age and the roaring twenties through the parties of Jay Gatsby where uninvited people from all places of New York come to enjoy the Dance, music and alcohol. The songs like “A little party never killed nobody” and “Back to back”  are fitting in the movie.

The flapper culture is also represented by the characters of Jordan Baker and Daisy. Jordan is a famous golfer and a young lady who is very careless and a person who lives in the moment, for Daisy also goes the same but with only one difference that she is married. Daisy and Jordan are also the ladies who have a rich lifestyle, carefree attitude and also no relevance to the economy or politics of America or the World.

The Prohibition Act of America in the 1920s, that put a ban on the access of alcohol but it gave way to criminal activities and illegal smuggling of liquor. The bootleggers smuggled liqueurs and made huge profits from it. The protagonist of the novel Jay Gatsby is also one of those persons who made money from the illegal bootlegging of alcohol who is aligned with persons like Meyer Wolfsheim and formed a syndicate type of system to do their illegal businesses that we can understand through the constant phone calls received by Jay Gatsby. Some critics said that Al Capone was the real life inspiration for the character of Gatsby who was also involved in bootlegging and made several millions of dollars a year in his involvement in his criminal activities.

How did the film help in understanding the symbolic significance of 'The Valley of Ashes', 'The Eyes of Dr. T J Eckleburg' and 'The Green Light'?

 'The Green Light'

“He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been at the end of a dock.” - Nick Carraway

The movie starts with Jay Gatsby on his dock watching the Green light across the river where Daisy, the love of his life, lives with her husband Tom Buchanan. The Green light throughout the story is presented as a symbol of Hope and ambition. The dream of Gatsby that was almost complete. The dream was to get back to Daisy. That was the only reason for every action of Gatsby and his ultimate goal and destination. The Destination seems to close as he can see it but also very much at a distance and like a mirage that was chased by him.

Nick Carraway says in the movie for the Green Light that,

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter - tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther... And one fine morning - So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

 'The Valley of Ashes'

The Valley of Ashes is a large dumping place of industrial ashes and is located between West Egg and New York. The Valley of Ashes is represented as the ugly side of industrial development and the Wasteland created by the fast- forward moving world. The Valley of Ashes is created by social decay created by those rich mannered people of high class society who do not see anything further than their pleasure. 

The Valley of Ashes also represents the vulnerability of the working class people represented  by characters of George Wilson and his wife Myrtle. They are left to live in the dirt and become victims of lies and deceit of people like Tom Buchanan.

 'The Eyes of Dr. T J Eckleberg' 

"But above the grey land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic—their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose. " -narration of Nick Carraway

The Eyes of Dr. T J Eckleburg’ is a Business hoarding in the middle of The Valley of ashes. In that advertising billboard there are two bright eyes that seem to watch everything that happens and everyone who passes by. The Eyes of T J Eckleburg is almost like the eyes of God who judges and observes every good and worse happenings.

George Wilson says while pointing to the Billboard that,

 "God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing."

 The Eyes have only meaning because the characters like George Wilson put meanings in it otherwise the Eyes also represents the meaninglessness and despair of the world.

On the other hand it is also a representation of the industrialism that in the middle of the Valley of ashes where the poor hard working people who are losing the vision of equality, are being manipulated, who are driven by the vision of those rich people are making meaning into that hoarding that is also a part of a business propaganda.

Thinking Activity- Eliot's 'Tradition and Individual Talent.

This blog is written in response to the thinking activity given on Eliot’s essay ‘Tradition and Individual Talent’ by Dr. Dilip Barad sir at the Department of English, MKBU.

T.S. Eliot 

T.S. Eliot (1888 - 1965) was an American-born British poet, playwright, and literary critic. He is considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, and is often regarded as one of the founders of modernism. He is best known for his poem The Waste Land, which is considered a masterpiece of modernist poetry. His other major works include 'The Four Quartets', 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock', and 'Murder in the Cathedral'.

Eliot was also a noted critic, writing extensively on literature, drama, and religion. He is considered one of the most important literary critics of the twentieth century, and his essays, such as The Metaphysical Poets and Tradition and the Individual Talent, have had a major impact on the development of literary theory. Eliot also wrote extensively on philosophy, particularly on the nature of belief and faith, and his works helped to introduce and popularize such concepts as the objective correlative and the concept of the "dissociation of sensibility". Eliot's critical works have had a lasting influence on the way we approach literature and art.

T. S. Eliot's essay, 'Tradition and individual talent'

Eliot's essay, "Tradition and Individual Talent," examines the relationship between literary tradition and the artistic worth of individual works of literature. Eliot argues that each poet must be aware of the literary tradition in which he or she is writing and that the poet's individual talent must be seen as an extension of that tradition. He argues that individual works of literature must be judged in reference to the historical context in which it was created, and that the poet must be aware of the tradition in order to create something truly unique. Eliot concludes by asserting that the poet must strive to surpass the tradition in order to create something original and meaningful.

Eliot's concept of Tradition and  Historical Sense 

What Traditions generally means is, the handing down of information, beliefs, or customs from one generation to another.

If we want to say it in an easy term, ‘At a particular place over a period of time, people believe in certain principles and beliefs and carry out their way of life.’

Countries and nations try to preserve their tradition and as an essential part of their nation they want to hand it over to the newer generations.

When Eliot talks about Tradition he is talking about it in positive manner and emphasizes on the term “The Historical Sense” and he writes in his Essay that,

"The historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence"

“This historical sense, which is a sense of the timeless as well as of the temporal and of the timeless and of the temporal together, is what makes a writer traditional.” 

Here in the historical sense he is talking about understanding the past writers and poets and adding up to what they have given to literature and society. 

“The writer writes with history in his bones.”

 The historical sense does not compel man to write merely with his own generation in his bones but with a feeling that the whole of the literature of his own country has as simultaneous existence and composes a simultaneous order. 

No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists. It's not about actual dead people but what they left for us in  the name of literary tradition or the literature of them. Those artist must understand the past writers and surrender and sacrifice herself to the past artist. 

For Eliot tradition has a three fold significance. Firstly tradition can not be inherited and involves a great deal of labour and hardwork and erudition. Secondly, it involves the historical sense which involves appreciation not only of the pastness of the past but also of its presence. Thirdly, the historical sense enable a writer to write not only with his own generation in mind but with a feeling that the whole of the literature form Homer down to the literature of his own country forms a continuous literary tradition.

“No author makes sense all by himself”

By this Eliot does not mean that you have to completely devote to the past but to get and develop The Historical sense. To get that historical sense writers and artist have to go through the past artists and masters of literature, they have to understand the tradition, but that also does not means to read and know everything for that Eliot says,

"Some can absorb knowledge, the more tardy must sweat for it. Shakespeare acquired more essential history from Plutarch than most men could from the whole British Museum".

 This is a very interesting quote in which Eliot is suggesting that the historical sense is not something that comes very easily.  While some people can absorb knowledge easily, others must work hard to acquire it. He uses the example of Shakespeare, who was able to gain more essential historical knowledge from Plutarch's writings than most people could from the entire British Museum. Eliot is emphasising the importance of individual talent in the acquisition of knowledge, and how even those who must work hard to acquire knowledge can still achieve great success. He is also implying that the greatest artists can access knowledge and insight through their own unique perspectives, which in turn can help them create great works of art. In this way, Eliot is making a powerful statement about the importance of individual talent and creativity in the acquisition of knowledge.

Eliot's theory of depersonalization with example of SO3 and H2O  chemical reaction in presence of catalyst agent, Platinum.

The business of the poet is not to find new emotions, but to use the ordinary ones and in working them up into poetry to express feelings  which are not in actual emotions at all, and emotions which he has never experienced will serve his turn as well as those familiar to him. Consequently we must believe that “emotions recalled in tranquillity” is an intext formula, for it is neither emotions nor recollection, nor without distortion of meaning, tranquillity. It is a concentration and a new thing resulting from the concentration. 

Lets understand it though the scientific experiment of SO3 and H2O.

The process in which the SO3 and H2O combines and forms H2SO4 only in presence of platinum in the same way the poet's presence works for the literature. This combination takes place only if the Platinum is present, nevertheless the newly formed acid contains no trace of platinum and the platinum itself is apparently unaffected and has remained inert, neutral and unchanged.

“The mind of the poet is the shred of platinum. It may partly or exclusively operate upon the experience of the man himself but the more perfect the artist the more completely separate in him will be the man who suffers and the mind which creates.”

Through this Eliot says that a poet has to make himself aloof from what he creates. He has to hide his personality and the emotions and suffering that he feels and totally pour his mind into what he creates. He has to surrender himself to the tradition and completely separate himself from his creative self. Art and artists should be separated.

Thinking Activity- Robert Frost's Poems

 This blog is written in response to the thinking activity on the Poems of Robert Frost given by Megha Ma’am at the Department of English, MKBU.

Robert Frost (1874–1963)

Robert Frost was born on March 26, 1874, in San Francisco. His father was  William Prescott Frost Jr. and his mother, Isabelle Moodie. He studied at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire in 1892 and, later, at Harvard University, though he never earned a formal degree.

Frost tried his hand in various jobs  after leaving school, working as a teacher, cobbler, and editor of the Lawrence Sentinel. His first published poem, “My Butterfly,” appeared on November 8, 1894 in the New York newspaper The Independent.

Robert Frost Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New England in the early 20th century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes.

Robert Frost wrote more than 100 poems in his literary career and had mastered blank verse. The main theme of Robert Frost’s  poetry was Self-Knowledge Through Nature.The Natural figures prominently throughout Frost's poetry usually include a moment of interaction or encounter between a human speaker and a natural subject or phenomenon.

Various Achievements of Robert Frost:

• Pulitzer Prize for Poetry:(Four Pulitzer prize)- 
• 1924 for New Hampshire: A Poem With Notes and Grace Notes
• 1931 for Collected Poems
• 1937 for A Further Range
• 1943 for A Witness Tree
• American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Poetry- 1939
• Robert Frost Medal- 1941
• United States Poet Laureate- 1958
• Congressional Gold Medal- 1960(for his poetical works.)
• Bollingen Prize- 1963

Writing Style of Frost

• His poems were simple and with clarity.

• His poetry had Conversational tone. 

•     exp. The Death of the Hired Man.

• He used the poetic concept of Onomatopoeia.

• His  poetry was narrative and dramatic.

• He wrote mostly in Blank verse, and also he liked the rhyme  scheme of ABAB and ABAC.

Robert Frost's famous Poems :

• The Wood-Pile
• Tree at My Window
• Desert Places
• Mending Wall
• A Time to Talk
• To Earthward
• Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
• The Freedom of the Moon
• Birches
• The Road Not Taken
• The Death of the Hired Man
• Out, Out 
• The Runaway

(1)Out, out..

Out, Out— is a narrative poem written by Robert Frost, published in 1916. The poem describes a tragic event in which a young boy is killed in a freak accident while working with a buzz saw.

The poem begins with a description of the boy cutting wood with a buzz saw. The speaker notes that the boy is working late into the evening, and that he is tired and wants to rest. The speaker then describes the moment of the accident, in which the buzz saw cuts into the boy's hand and the boy "leaps" away from it. The speaker notes that the boy's sister cries out in terror, and the poem ends with the narrator's reflections on the tragedy of the boy's death.

The poem is written in a conversational tone, with the narrator speaking directly to the reader. This creates an intimate connection between the narrator and the reader, which helps to emphasize the tragedy of the boy's death. Frost uses vivid imagery to portray the horror of the accident. He also employs a metaphor to describe the buzz saw as a "devilish" force that ruthlessly causes the boy's death.

The poem is written in Blank Verse and is a type of narrative poem that tells a tragic story. The poem also makes use of symbolism, as the buzz saw is a symbol for the dangers of industrialization and the exploitation of children. The poem is also a commentary on the fragility of life, and the suddenness with which death can come. The tragedy of the poem is heightened by the fact that the boy's death is caused by a careless accident, making it seem even more senseless and wasteful.

The title of the poem is an allusion to William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth. The way the poem goes is like "Out, out, brief candle ..." in the Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow soliloquy. Macbeth is shocked to hear of his wife's death and comments on the brevity of life. It refers to how unpredictable and fragile life is.

It is in the next section of 'Out, Out—' that the climax of the poem takes shape. The sister comes to stand beside her brother and tell him that it's time to stop work and come in and have supper. As if reacting to the sister's words, the saw jumps and cuts the boy's handoff.

Imagery is used all over the poem “Out, Out.” Frost's use of symbolism in the poem is significant because of Frost's writing style. When the dead boy's friends, neighbors, and family “were not the one dead, turned to their affairs” (line 39) symbolizes that most people, once dead, are forgotten in time.

(2)The Death of the Hired Man

The Death of the Hired Man is a poem by Robert Frost that tells the story of a hired man, Silas, who returns to his home after a long absence. The poem begins with a description of the hired man's return, and it quickly becomes clear that the family is not happy about his return. The poem then moves into a discussion of the family's feelings and memories of Silas, and how they are conflicted between welcoming him back and wanting to send him away. The poem ends with a description of Silas' death and the family's realization that they are now responsible for his burial.

The poem is an exploration of the conflicting emotions of love, loyalty, and obligation that can exist within a family. Frost uses a tone of sadness and regret to explore these emotions and to suggest that sometimes the best thing to do is to accept the inevitable. The poem also suggests that death is a part of life, and that its permanence can cause us to reflect on our actions and relationships.

The poem employs a number of poetic devices to express its themes. These include imagery, symbolism, and alliteration. The imagery of the hired man's return is used to create a sense of sadness and helplessness, while the symbolism of the hired man's death is used to suggest the permanence of death and the need to accept it. Finally, the alliteration of "hired man," "home," and "heart" suggest a connection between the hired man and the family, and emphasize the importance of their relationship.

Ultimately, The Death of the Hired Man is a poem that uses a variety of poetic techniques to explore the themes of love, loyalty, and obligation. Through its imagery, symbolism, and alliteration, Frost is able to effectively express the conflicting emotions of the family, and to suggest that death is a part of life that must be accepted.