Notes, Guide and Study material
The Playboy of the Western World as folk drama The plays of John Millington Synge (1871-1909) are filled with the humour, sorrows, and dreams of the country folk of the Aran Islands and the western Irish coastlands. In The Playboy of the Western World, his most famous play, “we have a popular imagination that is … Read more
Briefly discuss the character portrayal of Cleopatra in “All for Love” In Dryden’s All for love, the governing passion of Cleopatra is her love for Antony. She lives only for the sake of Antony and Antony alone. Power, authority, pomp and show- these do not matter to her at all. By virtue of her passion … Read more
Discuss “The Scholar Gipsy” as a Criticism of Life Matthew Arnold is one of the representative poets of Victorian poetry. His poetry presents a vivid picture of Victorian life and society faithfully. Poetry is an expression of life; it cannot overlook life and is regarded as a faithful representation of the society in which it … Read more
Critical appreciation of “The Scholar Gipsy” by Matthew Arnold “The Scholar Gipsy”, based on the legend of the Scholar Gipsy as found in Glanvil’s Vanity of Dogmatizing, is regarded as the best and the most characteristic poem of Matthew Arnold. It is expressive of his wistful melancholy, his disappointment at the loss of faith, his … Read more
Samson, the central figure in the play, Samson Agonistes may justly be described as a tragic hero as he fully corresponds to Aristotle’s conception of a tragic hero. He was a great man once illustrious and prosperous; and he has now fallen from his high estate is a consequence of one fatal flaw i.e, Lust … Read more
Autobiographical elements in Samson Agonistes One of the most conspicuous features of the play, Samson Agonistes, is that it shows the profound influence which Milton’s personal experiences in life exerted upon the writing of this play. But this does not mean that we should completely identify Samson with Milton. But it is obviously clear that … Read more
Discuss “The Scholar Gipsy” as a pastoral elegy Elegy may be defined as a poem or a song expressing sorrow or lament. It is primarily a lyric pervaded merely by a tone of pensive sadness and dealing with a theme of mournful nature. The ‘pastoral elegy’ is one of the types of elegy. In it, … Read more
Examine Christabel as an allegory. Discuss the problem of evil in Christabel An allegory is a prose or verse in which the objects, events, or people are presented symbolically so that the story conveys a meaning other than deeper than the actual incident or characters described. Christabel is a gossamer, dreamy story. It is “an … Read more
Consider “On the Castle of Chillon” as a poem on freedom Byron is a romantic poet with deep love and honour for freedom. His poem “On the Castle of Chillon” is a glorification of freedom. Here he presents freedom as an uncrushable spirit. The poem deals with liberty as a noble patriotic feeling which cannot … Read more
Discuss the use of imagery in the poem “To a skylark” An image is a literal and concrete representation of a sensory experience or of an object that can be known by one or more of the senses. The image is one of the distinctive elements of the “language of art”, the means by which … Read more