Friday 30 December 2022

Themes Unit - 4 - African poems

 


This blog contains the interpretation of themes of various African poems in the syllabus of MA - Department of English, M. K. Bhavnagar University.

Kindly click on the links to read more.


Poem 1 - Vulture

Aamena Rangwala

Bhavna Sosa

Dhruvita Dhameliya

Hinaba Sarvaiya

Hirva pandya

Janvi Nakum

Jheel Barad

Nidhi Dave

Nilay Rathod


Poem 2 - You Laughed, and laughed, and Laughed

Aamena Rangwala

Emisha Ravani

Hirva Pandya

Janvi Nakum

Mayuri Pandya

Vachchlata Joshi


Poem 3 - The Piano and The Drums

Bhavna Sosa

Dhruvita Dhameliya

Emisha Ravani

Hinaba Sarvaiya

Jheel Barad

Nidhi Dave


Poem - 4 Live Burial

Mayuri Pandya

Nehalba Gohil

Nilay Rathod

Vachchlata Joshi


Poem - 5 - To the Negro-American Soldiers



Monday 14 November 2022

Academic Writing - Answer writing at university level

 



This presentation contains the ideal structure of the essay-type answer and how students can improve their answer-writing skills. Along with this, the presentation also includes some tips to improve writing and reading.


                     

Sunday 6 November 2022

The Home and The World - Rabindranath Tagore

 The Home and the World (in the original Bengali, ঘরে বাইরে Ghôre Baire or Ghare Baire, lit. "At home and outside") is a 1916 novel by Rabindranath Tagore.[1][2] The book illustrates the battle Tagore had with himself, between the ideas of Western culture and revolution against the Western culture. These two ideas are portrayed in two of the main characters, Nikhilesh, who is rational and opposes violence, and Sandip, who will let nothing stand in his way from reaching his goals. These two opposing ideals are very important in understanding the history of the Bengal region and its contemporary problems. (Wikipedia)



Saturday 1 October 2022

The Curse or Karna - T. P. Kailasam

 


Tyagraj Paramasiva Iyer Kailasam (Kannada: ತ್ಯಾಗರಾಜ ಪರಮಶಿವ ಐಯ್ಯರ್ ಕೈಲಾಸಂ, 1884–1946), was a playwright and prominent writer of Kannada literature. His contribution to Kannada theatrical comedy earned him the title Prahasana Prapitamaha, "the father of humorous plays" and later he was also called "Kannadakke Obbane Kailasam" meaning "One and Only Kailasam for Kannada". (Wikipedia)

The Curse or Karna is about the life and struggle of Karna (A character in Mahabharat). Go through the PowerPoint presentation for more details. 


Thursday 1 September 2022

Victorian Era - Romantic Era - QB



This blog contains key aspects of the Romantic and Victorian eras.



For more details about the Romantic era - Click here

For more details about the Victorian era - Click here


Wednesday 24 August 2022

Flipped Learning: Three Prose Writers, the New Poets, and Conclusion: Indian Writing in English (K R S Iyengar)

 

Flipped Learning: Three Prose Writers, the New Poets, and Conclusion: Indian Writing in English (K R S Iyengar)

 


 

Steps to follow:

1. Read the given material on Three Prose Writers, The New Poets, and The Conclusion.

2. To check your understanding  take the Quiz on each topic

3. Attempt some questions given in the task. You can answer these questions in your blog and can submit the link in Google classroom. (For the blog writing: Include all three tasks in one blog, write an introduction about all topics (divide your blog Task-wise), mention all questions (Task 1, Task 2, and Task 3, and answer any two (per task))

 

Task 1: Three Prose Writers

1. To read about the ‘Three Prose Writers’Click here

2. To appear in the quiz Click here

3. Answer the questions given below (Any two)

- 1 Write a note on S. Radhakrishnan’s perspective on Hinduism.

- 2 The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian is ‘more of a national than personal history.’ Explain.

- 3 According to Radhakrishnan, what is the function of philosophy?

- 4 “Change is easy, and as dangerous as it is easy, but stagnation is no less dangerous.”        Write a note on Raghunathan’s views of change.

- 5 Write a note on Raghunathan’s views of Indian Culture.

 

Task 2: The New Poets

1. To read about ‘The New Poets’ Click here

2. To appear in the quiz – Click here

3. Answer the questions given below (Any two)

- 1 “An Indo-Anglian poet strives for self-expression in English.” Explain.

- 2 Write a note on how Kaikini differs from other Indian poets in his poems.

- 3 Write about Suhrawardy’s views about the changing Indian urban culture. (Ref. The Indian Tragedy by Suhrawardy)

- 4 Write a critical note on the poems by Nissim Ezekiel


Task 3: The Conclusion

1. To read about ‘The Conclusion’ – Click here

2. Answer the questions given below (Any two)

- 1 Write a note on the changing trends in Post-Independence Indian Writing in English.

- 2 “India is not a country”, says Raja Rao, “India is an idea, a metaphysic.” Explain with examples.

- 3 How do the writers of Post-Independence Indian Writing in English try to project the image of ‘Mother India’ or "national identity" in their writings? Explain with examples.

- 4 How is the quality of “Indianness'' projected by writers of Post-Independence Indian Writing in English? Explain with some examples.

- 5 What were the reasons that writers of Post-Independence Indian Writing in English preferred to write in English rather than their mother tongue? Explain with some examples.

 

 

 

 

 


Friday 12 August 2022

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

 Frankenstein  - Mary Shelley



Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when she was 20. Her name first appeared in the second edition, which was published in Paris in 1821.

Shelley travelled through Europe in 1815, moving along the river Rhine in Germany, and stopping in Gernsheim, 17 kilometres (11 mi) away from Frankenstein Castle, where, two centuries before, an alchemist had engaged in experiments. She then journeyed to the region of Geneva, Switzerland, where much of the story takes place. Galvanism and occult ideas were topics of conversation for her companions, particularly for her lover and future husband Percy B. Shelley. In 1816 Mary, Percy and Lord Byron had a competition to see who could write the best horror story. After thinking for days, Shelley was inspired to write Frankenstein after imagining a scientist who created life and was horrified by what he had made.

Though Frankenstein is infused with elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement, Brian Aldiss has argued for regarding it as the first true science-fiction story. 


         

Thursday 21 July 2022

Question bank of The Romantic Period

 

Solved questions bank of The Romantic period:

 


The Romantic Age: Click here

Romantic Poets: Click here

Works of Romantic poets: Click here

 

Jane Austen and Walter Scott: Click here

 

Lord Byron: Click here

Poems by Byron: Click here other works Byronic hero

 

Shelley: Click here

Poems by Shelley: click here

 

Keats: Click here

Poems by Keats: Click here

 

Wordsworth: Click here Some facts

Poems by Wordsworth: Tintern Abbey Ode to Duty To the Skylark Intimations of Immortality To a Daisy

Lyrical Ballads

 

Coleridge: Click here

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Lectures on Shakespeare: Click here

 

Charles Lamb: Click here Essays on Elia

De Quincey: Click here

Landor: Click here Some works

 

 

Thursday 14 July 2022

Life of Pi - Film screening

 


Life of Pi is a 2012 adventure-drama film directed and produced by Ang Lee and written by David Magee. Based on Yann Martel's 2001 novel of the same name, it stars Suraj SharmaIrrfan KhanRafe SpallTabu and Adil Hussain in lead roles. The storyline revolves around two survivors of a shipwreck. One is a sixteen-year-old Indian boy named Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) and the other is a ferocious Bengal tiger named Richard Parker that are on a lifeboat stranded in the Pacific Ocean for 227 days.

The film began development shortly after the release of the book and would see directors M. Night ShyamalanAlfonso Cuarón and Jean-Pierre Jeunet involved at various stages before the hiring of Lee. Filming was split between IndiaTaiwan and Montreal in 2011, with Rhythm & Hues Studios (R&H) handling the visual effects work. The film had its worldwide premiere as the opening film of the 50th New York Film Festival at both the Walter Reade Theater and Alice Tully Hall in New York City on September 28, 2012. (Wikipedia)



Film screening of Life of pi – (Some notes)

 

Pre-viewing task:

  • Go through the text
  • Get some knowledge about Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver’s Travels
  • Metafiction - (a Self-consciousness literary style in which the narrator or characters are aware that they are part of a work of fiction)

 

While viewing task:

  • Observe the beginning scene
  • Naming of Pi and Tiger (Swimming pool, Pi, hunter, ‘Thirsty’)
  • Thirsty Pi (Curiosity regarding religion and spirituality)
  • Discussion on ‘hidden lotus’
  • Ocean as symbol (archetype – balance of life – regeneration)
  • Scenes of Pi and Richard Parker (the struggle)
  • An island (shape of a human – Day and night)
  • The goodbye scene (giving up an addiction)
  • Story within a story (Pi explains the journey to others)

 

Post-viewing task:

  • Share your views (movie review)
  • Which version of the story is more appealing?
  • What is the significance of ‘Tiger’?
  • What is the significance of ‘Island’?
  • What is the difference between spirituality and religion and what is the significance of doubt in it?

Wednesday 29 June 2022

The Wretched of the Earth - Frantz Fanon

 

 

This blog contains an overview of the Frantz Fanon’s most important book The Wretched of the Earth (1961)



The Wretched of the Earth (FrenchLes Damnés de la Terre) is a 1961 book by the psychiatrist Frantz Fanon, in which the author provides a psychological and psychiatric analysis of the dehumanizing effects of colonization upon the individual and the nation, and discusses the broader social, cultural, and political implications of establishing a social movement for the decolonization of a person and of a people. The French-language title derives from the opening lyrics of "The Internationale". (Wikipedia)

Here I have embedded a PowerPoint presentation containing an explanation of the text.