Dryden's Essay on Drametic Poesy

Dryden's essay on Drametic Poesy :


1) Do you find any difference between Aristotle's definition of tragedy and Dryden's definition of play?


Yes there is huge difference between Aristotle's definition of tragedy and Dryden's definition of the play. Aristotle gives the definition in a very conservative manner. he says that "tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious and also having magnitude complete in itself...." and he ended his definition with the word 'catharsis'. Whereas Dryden gives the definition of the play in a wider sense. he added two new words in the definition that is just and live. He says that a play must represent just and lively image of human nature. And he ended his definition with the word 'delight'. he added that onlookers will feel good if we ended our play with delight and instruction of mankind. In this way Dryden moves further from Aristotle's ways of thinking and thus differentiate his work of art.


2) If you are supposed to give your personal predilection, would you be on the side of the Ancient or the Modern? Please give reasons.


f I suppose to give my personal predilection, I would like to be on the side of modern, because ancients have followed the rules and disciplines, and moderns have not only followed or imitated them but also have given something new with the help of new inventions in that era like in science and changes in the social world. Ancient used to write in different kind of boundaries like unities and as per the Greek tradition some scenes were not allowed to perform on stage. So the freedom of action is not there.


3)Do you think that the arguments presented in favour of the French plays and against English plays are appropriate?


I think arguments are presented in the favour of English plays. The plots of French plays are barren while English ones are copious to further the same action. The English plays have numbers of plots with the main plot and audience is important because of that in English plays, there are all types of themes.



4) What would be your preference so far as poetic or prosaic dialogues are concerned in the play?


I would like to go with poetic dialogues in the play. There are two critics who argued in terms of rhymes and blank verse. Crites favors blank verse style of writing whereas Neander favors rhyme. Crites says that rhyme makes the play unnatural, if someone use rhymes then the naturality of dialogues goes out. But what Neander says that if we choose appropriate word at appropriate place, then there is no point of unnaturality. Same thing what I feel that to use rhyme makes the play more beautiful and live. It affects the reader's soul if we used appropriate rhyme. So the poetic dialogues are more capable to make readers active and live than the prosaic dialogues which sometimes bored a lot.

Coleridge

Introduction

:

Biographia Literaria includes some of the most important English writing on poetic theory. Some of it is a response to ideas of poetry advanced by his close friend and collaborator WILLIAM WORDSWORTH first in the 1800 preface to their joint publication LYRICAL BALLADS and then in the preface to Wordsworth’s Collected Poems (1815). Referring to the latter, Coleridge says he wants in Biographia Literaria to make clear ‘on what points I coincide with the opinions in that preface, and in what points I altogether differ’.

Coleridge :

“Poetry of the highest kind may exist without meter and even without rhyme and was contradistinguish object of mind :”

According to Coleridge, poem and prose can not be distinguish from rhyme or meter but he said ultimate and immediate can make them different. The immediate aim of of prose is to show truth and the immediate aim of poetry is to give aesthetic pleasure.The ultimate aim of prose is to show fact while ultimate aim of poetry is to show truth.

Poem:
In poem i can observe that if one person create hos own Creation  he included his feelings that's call poem.
Prose:
Prose means , "written or spoken language in its ordinary form without metrical structure."


ELEMENTS OF PROSE AND POEM
POEM.                                        PROSE

METRE.                                      METRE
RHYME.                                     RHYME
DICTION
THEME
HARMONIZE

THENATURE OF POEM

 VERBAL EXPRESSION OF ACTIVITY

POEM SHOULD BE PLEASUREBLE

POEM DEFINED AS A SPECIES OFCOMPOSITION

    THE NATUREOF PROSE
I. IMMEDIATE PURPOSE TO GIVE TRUTH:
   
  "IT Must be one ,the parts of which mutually supports and explain each other; allinthier proportion harmonizingwith , and supporting the purpose and known influences of metrical arrangement."


According to Coleridge :

“Poetry of the highest kind may exist without meter and even without rhyme and was contradistinguish object of mind :”

The main different between poem and poetry is ..
For it is a distinction resulting from the poetic genius itself, which sustains and modifies the images, thought, and emotion of the poet's own mind.Thus the difference between poem and poetry is not given in clear terms.This distinction between poetry and poem is not clear, to defining poetry proceeds to enumerate the characteristics of the imagination.

Thank you

Wordsworth

Introduction

:

The basic difference between poetic creed of classicism and Romanticism :
 •  Classical writers were believed in intellectual but the Romantics writers were believed in  imagination.
  •  Romantic writers Were not believed any kind of restrictions but they believed in liberty and Freedom of emotions and imagination but classical writers believed in restrictions.
•  Classical poets were followed classical masters like Plato , Aristotle,  Socrates but Romantics poets were followed medieval poets and writers.


Why does Wordsworth say 'What' is poet? rather than Who is poet?                              
  Answer: Wordsworth say what is poet rather than who is poet because he focus upon the role of poet.   Wordsworth said that "Poet is a man who speaking to man, endued with more lively sensible who has greater knowledge of human nature, and a more comprehensive soul,

What is a poetic Diction?  Which poetic Diction is suggested by Wordsworth in his preface?

Answer :  By watching second video we come to know that what is poetic diction. It is a choice of words, use of language, poet's own different and  unique style of writing and  conman man can understand easily.


What is a poetry?

 Wordsworth gives definition of poetry  :

    " Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings it takes origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity. "
Answer :   poet is the most comprehensive soul and far better human being than ordinary people, So poetry gives happiness and it related with human emotions and recollecting nature and recollection in tranquillity.

 Discuss ' Daffodils' I wondered lonely as a cloud with reference to Wordsworth poetic creed.

 Answer :  Wordsworth 's definition of poetry is related to one of his famous poem " Daffodils" (1804). 'Daffodils' is the best example of Wordsworth's definition of poetry “poetry is a spontaneous overflow of a powerful feeling, recollected in tranquility". We all see the beauty of nature by our different point of views  but we cannot recollect and express that delight in tranquility.  so, we can call Wordsworth as nature poet, by recalling his memory and sensibility and by observing the nature, Wordsworth wrote his poetry.

Post truth

Post Truth


When we talk about the POST-TRUTH its hide real situation and it is not presents the reality of the society .The people also live in some kind of   assumption  that is is  truth. The truth means something exist in the society but the POST-TRUTH is retelling the truth which canbe truth or not. We see in the media tht how they hide the reality of people so people is live in some kind of ignorance but in the real life but it is not truth.


Truth is always about that exist or we can say the facts which are there. On the other hand post truth is ‘‘created truth’. the famous  phrase about truth is ‘’universal truth’’. But POST-TRUTH is an individual truth , which one believes and when that person convince others to accept the same belief by force or in a very polite way, and if people accept that as something  ‘real’ or ‘true’, it is not.

“POST- TRUTH” era is an era which changes the perception of truth by implying that “truth is not one” but it differs person to person. The  term is related with the idea of ‘many truths’ and all want their truths should be accepted by society.in the era of POST-TRUTH all answers are true because all have different opinions with their own right side.
Example can be the molestation of girls. There is a problem in the psyche of those males who molest girls. But some political leaders and other citizens have implied that the reason is short cloths of girls for this kind of molestation. This was repeated  by most of people in india and that’s why it was widely accepted also.

The term ‘’post truth’’ is designed to elicit a sense of moral superiority in those who still support the globalist agenda. It is consistent with the elitist character of the globalist, whose rhetorical sr ategy has been to praise its supporters as ‘enlighten’ and condemn its opponents as stupid and evil.

Thank you

Assignment 4 : Write a critical note on 'Ganghi - an invisible hero' in Kanthapura?

Name : Makwana Vijay K.
Course name : M.A English
Semester : 1
Roll no : 46
Enrolment no : 2069108420180035
Email : vijaykm7777@gmail.com
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University
Batch year : 2017-18
Submitted to : department of English Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji
Paper no : 4 "Indian Writing In English- Pre Indepandence"
Topic : Write a critical note on 'Ganghi - an invisible hero' in Kanthapura?


Introduction :
Raja Rao (8 November 1908 – 8 July 2006) was an Indian writer of English-language novels and short stories, whose works are deeply rooted in Metaphysics. The Serpent and the Rope (1960), a semi-autobiographical novel recounting a search for spiritual truth in Europe and India, established him as one of the finest Indian prose stylists and won him the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1964. For the entire body of his work, Rao was awarded the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1988. Rao's wide-ranging body of work, spanning a number of genres, is seen as a varied and significant contribution to Indian English literature.
His Famous Works :
Kanthapura (1938)
The Serpent and the rope (1960)
On the Ganga Chat (1989)
The Great Indian Way : A life of Mahatma Gandhi (1998)
The Chess master (1988)


Gandhi - an invisible hero of Kanthapura :
Kanthapura is the first novel of Raja Rao written in 1938 A.D. It describes the period in which the struggle against foreign government was dominating the political scenario in India.At that time Non-Cooperation Movement was in vogue. Congress under the leadership of Gandhi was leading the movement.
Raja Rao supported the ideas of Gandhi thus Kanthapura as a political novel is totally influenced by the principles of Gandhi. In the beginning of the novel, we come to know about the structure of village.We find that the village of Kanthapura is caste-ridden village and the quarters of people are separated on the basis of casteism.
The casteism is so prevalent in Kanthapura that if a Brahmin visits a Pariah’s house, he has to go to Kashi for purification.Moorthy, the protagonist of the novel, who is a Brahmin, gives up his studies after being influenced by the Gandhian Philosophy by going through different pamphlets and newspapers.
Hence we don’t see Gandhi in actual but his ideology and principles in the novel and Moorthy is the avatar of Gandhi.Moorthy after adopting the Gandhian Ideology gives up his studies in the city and returns back to his village. He gives up foreign clothes and goods and wears hand-woven Khaddar.He encourages the people of his village to use native things and become independent of foreign goods.
In order to encourage the concept of ‘Swaraj’ or ‘home rule’ he visits each house and distributes free Charkhas so that every person of his village may become a part of the struggle.He explains the Gandhian principles and encourages them to follow the same. Like Gandhi, Moorthy believes in non-violence. He asks people to make their struggle non-violent. They should love their enemies even if the later may hate them or even act violently.
Moorthy asks the people to speak the truth and remain loyal to Congress. He proves his words when after being sentenced jail, he refuses to release on bail. He tells the lawyer that if he held the weapon of truth firmly no power on earth will be able to harm him. In spite of the threats of ex-communication from Batta, he takes active part in the struggle against untouchability and visits a Pariah’s house where he is treated as God.But this should also be noted that he feels extreme discomfort and fife there and on returning back, he takes a religious bath for purification.


He accept untouchability in spite of his struggle against it. Gandhi believed that women help is crucial for the struggle, hence he tried to get the support of women as well.
Similarly, Moorthy seeks the help of Kanchamma, a rich educated widow of his village. Kanchamma fully supports Moorthy as well as Gandhian Ideology. When Moorthy is behind the bars, she establishes Women’s Volunteer Corps. The women after being influenced by her words, take active part in the struggle. They are molested, raped and even beaten but they don’tloose hope.
Hence it is the Gandhian Ideology which makes the plot of the novel to develop and not Gandhi himself. As Gandhi influences the politics at national level, Moorthy becomes the Gandhi of Kanthapura and does the same things. Kanthapura is a mini-nation with a Gandhi of itself i.e. Moorthy.
The theme of kanthapura may be summed up as  `Gandhi and our village ‘ but the style of narration makes the books more a Gandhi purana than a piece of mere fiction Gandhi is the invisible God moorthy. is the visible avatar.
The reigu of the rodnmen is asuric rule and it is reristed by the devdas  the satyagrahis . the charucters sharply divide into two camps.the rulers cand their supporters on the one hand and the satyagrahis cand their sympathizers on the other. There are various other divisions too
Orthodoxy is pitted against reform exploitation against sufferance the planter against the  coolies and  the corrupt official against the self –respecting villagers but there lines grow hazu when the main issue between the bureaucracy and the satuagrahis is joined for now most peppie are on one or the othere side of the burricader it is 1930 Gandhi marcher with his select band of followers to the salt pans at Dandi to break the salt laws suddenly the entire country is engayed in passive resistance of `alien’authority.
Raja Rao has but the story into mouth of a grandmother although the  feminine touches and mannerisms, the seemingly effortless rotation of the fongue the meandering sentences and  paragaphs are characteristic of the narrator there is nevertheless consummate `art’ in all this riot of artlessness there is carefully `selection’ behind the apparent abundance details  and there Is an adroit polarization in the plot less grandmother’s tale moorthy is Gandhi ‘s man the statyaegrahis the leader of the nov –violent movement in kanthapura there is at the other extrecne is the symbol of appression the soulless bureauracy made visiby repulsive but the villagers are unafraid.



What is a policaeman before a Gandhi’s man tell me does a boar stand before a clephant?

There  is than bhatta the symbol of usury and false orth doxy and low cunning .there is range gowda the symbol of sense and stolidity, a sort of Sardar patel to moorthy the village mahatma the river –himavarthy is herseif a presence and the goddess kenahamma of the hill is a presence too the protectress of the people the guardian of kanthapura. And beyond the hill is the Arabian sea. And for beyond it the land from which the red men have com in kanthapura there is a brahimin street a potters quarter a pariah quarte how absurdly true of the typical indian village just beyond the village lies the skeffinglon coffee estate the symbol of the impact of industrialization on the traditional community life at kanthapura.

In but a few pages of nervous description life in the coffee estate is vivified in anands  two leaves and a bud are here just glanced at in hurry ,suggesting mush in title  as impossible nightmare. The people of kanthapure  wear tell –tale nick names. Waterfall  venkamma  nouse Akamai temple  rangappa coffee planter Ramayana, patwari Nanjudia gold brangie somanna , cardamom field Ramachandra and there is of course corner –horuse moorthy who goes through life as ``A  noble cow ,quiet generous serene deference and Brahmanism a very prince……’’ Already ,when the story begins ,Gandhi is a legendary figure to the villages and hair kaftans jayarmacher jumbles with splendid unconcern traditional mythology and contemporaneous politics.

Gandhi is save himself in human shape he is engaged in slaying the serpent of foreign rule kaliya. Bhajans and Harikirthans mix religion and politics freely and often purposefully ,the reading of a discipline as the revernt reading  of the Gita and hand spinning is elevated into a daily ritual like puja.

The walls of orthodoxy are suddenly breached. Revolutionspirits of the Gandhi an revolution at kanthapura are Rangamma range gouda and the girly Radha. In the end it truly becomes a mass movement the villages comprising men and professions and the laborers of the coffee Estate readily meeting the onslaught of the bureaucracy.

= class structure
[1]    Untouchability
[2]   Structure of the village
[3]   Superstitions among people
[4]    Exploitation due to class
[5]    Caste and creed
[6]   Class discrimination.
[7]   Society and discrimination.
We see all the structure in deeply


[1]Untouchability :
Kanthapura has narrow structure. In the village have people of many castes. They lived  peacefully. In this village upper class people otherwise they were casted out from that particular. If a person goes to pariah’s house. He would have to take bath and go kasha for purification purpose.

[2] Structure of the village :
In the village house were the symbols of status. There were less government servants in this village those who were there got respect. There was the house of past master He lived in two storied building polarity had glass paned windows Besides there, this village has pariah quarter. ``A potter’s weaver’s and sudra quarter and Brahmin”

[3]  Superstitions among people :
In this village people are religious minded. They lack education they believe in superstitions. People accepted Hinduism. When a policemen `Khan’ comes to the village for their welfare it was very difficult for him to get a room to live their lives were  surrounded of many superstitions.

[4]  Exploitation due to class :
The  condition of the village was such that upper class exploited the lower class people. The  whole description of working laborers is touching. Remaining hungry of half hungry poorly nourished they had to work very hard.

[5]  Caste and creed :
The small village symbolically depicts the country’s condition ,during the time of freedom struggle ,people of all castes unanimously united themselves to fight against the country’s enemy.
Educated people were influenced by Gandhi and became his followers they cast away the social norms of caste.

[6]  Class  discrimination :
Wealthy people ruled the village Bhatt who cams in village with nothing became prosperous. He himself married teenage girl. He got dowry too. when moorthy goes to pariah’s house for some work, people  started back biting and the never reached his mother. His mother old marimba worries a lot she tells her some not is break social norms.

[7] Society  and  discrimination :
When moorthy visited pariahs family,he was well treated but villagers started speated but villagers to be out caste. People especially orthodox women were against him.
Raja Rao kanthapara has reconstructions of his own village harihalli or Hariharapara is the miniature of India. This book gives us social political religious and mythical scenario of 1930 s kanthapura deals with the condition of india village during the struggle for independence.

In “ kanthapura’’ tales within tales are found like cabbage peels tales froms mythoiogy becomes pust of their life that frequenty leaves their conversation with them.morthy and seen becomes rama and brother laxman need a sita to make the picture complete.
According to a critic “there are no exact points of correspondence in those analogies but them leave an immediate impact on the illierater indian villagers and explain to them the political situation of indi

Work cites :
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raja_Rao#/issues
https://www.articlesjar.com/gandhian-ideology-kanthapura/
file:///sdcard/UCDownloads/Ashadodiya's%20assignment%20Analysis%20of%20Kanthapura.mht

Assignment 3 : A GLOSSARY OF LITERARY TERMS

Name : Makwana Vijay K.
Course name : M.A English
Semester : 1
Roll no : 46
Email : vijaykm7777@gmail.com
Enrolment no : 2069108420180035
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University
Batch year : 2017-18
Submitted to : department of English Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji
Paper no : 3 "Literary Theory and Criticism"
Topic : A glossary of selected literary terms(discuss all the terms).

 A GLOSSARY OF LITERARY TERMS

Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds used especially in poetry to emphasize and link words as well as to create pleasing, musical sounds. Example—the fair breeze blew, the white foam flew. Ex: Poetry.

Allusion: A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art to enrich the reading experience by adding meaning. Ex: The character make the adventure in his life.

Characterization: Techniques a writer uses to create and develop a character by what:

• he/she does or says,

• other characters say about him/her, or how they react to him/her

• the author reveals directly or through a narrator.

Dialect: Speech that reflects pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar typical of a geographical region.

Flashback: Interruption of the chronological (time) order to present something that occurred before the beginning of the story. Ex: The end of the story that hero shown the reality of the story.

Figurative Language: Language that has meaning beyond the literal meaning; also known as “figures of speech.”

• Simile: comparison of two things using the words “like” or “as,” e.g. “Her smile was as cold as ice.”

• Metaphor comparison of two things essentially different but with some commonalities; does not use “like” or “as,” e.g. “Her smile was ice.”

• Hyperbole: a purposeful exaggeration for emphasis or humor.

• Personification: human qualities attributed to an animal, object, or idea, e.g. “The wind exhaled.”

Free Verse: Poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme. Poets who write in free verse try to reproduce the natural rhythms of spoken language.

Foreshadowing: Important hints that an author drops to prepare the reader for what is to come, and help the reader anticipate the outcome.

Imagery: Words or phrases that appeal to the reader’s senses.

Humor: The quality of a literary or informative work that makes the character and/or situations seem funny, amusing, or ludicrous. Ex: The character create the funny situation that the spectacles weren't feel boring.

Irony: A technique that involves surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions or contrasts. Verbal irony occurs when words are used to suggest the opposite of their usual meaning. An irony of situation is when an event occurs that directly contradicts expectations.

Onomatopoeia: The use of words that imitate sounds. Examples would be hiss, buzz, swish, and crunch.

Point of View: Perspective from which the story is told

• First-person: narrator is a character in the story; uses “I,” “we,” etc.

• Third-person: narrator outside the story; uses “he,” “she,” “they”

• Third-person limited: narrator tells only what one character perceives

• Third-person omniscient: narrator can see into the minds of all characters.

Satire: Writing that comments humorously on human flaws, ideas, social customs, or institutions in order to change them.

Style: The distinctive way that a writer uses language including such factors as word choice, sentence length, arrangement, and complexity, and the use of figurative language and imagery.

Suspense: A feeling of excitement, curiosity, or expectation about what will happen.

Symbol: Person, place, or thing that represents something beyond itself, most often something concrete or tangible that represents an abstract idea.

LITERARY FORMS

Autobiography: A writer’s story of his or herown life.

Biography: A writer’s account of some other person’s life.

Comedy: Writing that deals with life in a humorous way, often poking fun atpeople’s mistakes.

Drama: Also called a play, this writing form uses dialogue to share its message and is meant to be performed in front of an audience.

Essay: A short piece of nonfiction that expresses the writer’s opinion or shares information about a subject.

Fable: A short story that often uses talking animals as the main characters and teaches an explicit moral or lesson.

Fantasy: A story set in an imaginary world in which the characters usually have supernatural powers or abilities.

Folktale: A story originally passed from one generation to another by word of mouth only. The characters are usually all good or all bad and in the end are rewarded or punished as they deserve.

Historical Fiction: A made-up story that is based on a real time and place in history, so fact is mixed with fiction.

Myth: A traditional story intended to explain some mystery of nature, religious doctrine, or cultural belief. The gods and goddesses of mythology have supernatural powers, but the human characters usually do not.

Novel: A book-length, fictional prose story. Because of its length, a novel’s characters and plot are usually more developed than those of a short story.

Poetry: A literary work that uses concise, colorful, often rhythmic language to express ideas or emotions. Examples: ballad, blank verse, free verse, elegy, limerick, sonnet.

Prose: A literary work that uses the familiar spoken form of language, sentence after sentence. Realistic Fiction: Writing that attempts to show life as it really is.

 on real or imaginary scientific developments and often set in the future.

Short Story: Shorter than a novel, this piece of literature can usually be read in one sitting. Because of its length, it has only a few characters and focuses on one problem or conflict.

Tall Tale: A humorous, exaggerated story often based on the life of a real person. The exaggerations build until the character can accomplish impossible things.

LITERARY ELEMENTS

Action: Everythat happens in a story.

Antagonist: The person or force that works against the hero of the story. 

Character: One of the people (or animals) in a story.

Climax: The high point in the action of a story.

Conflict: A problem or struggle between two opposing forces in a story. There are four basic 

conflicts:

• Person Against Person: A problem between characters.

• Person Against Self: A problem within a character’s own mind.

• Person Against Society: A problem between a character and society, school, the law, or some tradition.

• Person Against Nature: A problem between a character and some element of nature-a blizzard, a hurricane, a mountain climb, etc.

Dialogue: The conversations that characters have with one another.

Exposition: The part of the story, usually near the beginning, in which the characters are introduced, the background is explained, and the setting is described.

Falling Action: The action and dialogue following the climax that lead the reader into the story’s end.

Mood: The feeling a piece of literature is intended to create in a reader.

Moral: The lesson a story teaches.

Narrator: The person or character who actually tells the story, filling in the background information and bridging the gaps between dialogue. (See Point of View.)

Plot: The action that makes up the story, following a plan called the plot line.

Plot line: The planned action or series of events in a story. There are five parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

Protagonist: The main character in a story, often a good or heroic type.

Resolution: The part of the story in which the problems are solved and the action comes to a satisfying end.

Rising Action: The central part of the story during which various problems arise after a conflict is introduced.

Setting: The place and the time frame in which a story takes place.

Style: The distinctive way that a writer uses language including such factors as word choice, sentence length, arrangement, and complexity, and the use of figurative language and imagery.

Theme: The message about life or human nature that is “the focus” in the story that the writer tells.

TADDITIONAL VOCABULARY
Article: A complete piece of writing, as a report or essay, that is part of a newspaper, magazine, or book.
Atlas: A book of maps.
Encyclopedia: A book that contains information on many subjects; or comprehensive information in a particular field of knowledge; usually arranged alphabetically.
Fiction: A literary work whose content is based on the imagination and not on fact.
Glossary: An alphabetical listing of difficult, technical, or foreign terms with definitions or translation; usually found at the end of a book.
Index: An alphabetical listing that gives page numbers or books where information can be found.
Mystery: A novel, story, or play involving a crime or secret activity and its gradual solution.
Nonfiction: True writing, based on factualinformation.
Perio dical: Another word for magazine.
Reference: A type of book that provides information arranged for easy access.
Series: Several books related in subject, or dealing with the same characters. Table of Contents: The part of a book which lists the chapters or contents within the book.

Work cited :
http://www.ode.state.or.us/teachlearn/subjects/elarts/reading/resources/readingglossary.pdf

Assignment 2 : Critical approach of "Gulliver's Travels".

Name : Makwana Vijay K.
Course name : M.A English
Semester : 1
Roll no : 46
Enrolment no : 2069108420180035
Email : vijaykm7777@gmail.com
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University
Batch year : 2017-18
Submitted to : department of English Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji
Paper no : 2 "The Neo-Classcal Literature"
Topic : Critical approach of "Gulliver's Travels".


Introduction About the author :

Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1667 and came of age at the height of the Glorious Revolution, in which James II, a Roman Catholic, was forced to abdicate in favour of William of Orange, a Protestant. Although he was a great literary figure even in his time, we know very little about his private life. For example, we are not even sure if he married. He became an influential member of the British government but he never achieved the position in the Church of England that he felt he deserved. He was, he felt, banished to the deanship of St. Patrick’s and when his party fell from power with the accession of George I, his period in the political limelight came to an end. Swift died in a mental institution, finally struck down by an illness which had probably been with him for a long time. But he wasn’t mad when he wrote Gulliver’s Travels, a brilliant satire on politics and society, and a timeless book for children.

Summary :

In each of the three stories in this book, the hero, Lemuel Gulliver, embarks on a voyage, but, as in the Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor on which the stories may in part have been based, some calamity befalls him. First, Gulliver arrives in Lilliput, where he finds himself a giant, held prisoner by tiny men. They are initially afraid of him, but he gradually wins their trust and eventually helps them in their war against Blefuscu. The second land he visits is called Brobdingnag, a land of giants. Gulliver, now a tiny person, has to work as a freak in a show at first but is then rescued by the Queen and has long talks with the King.
Gulliver finally ends up in the land of the Houyhnhnms, peaceful horses who have created a perfect society, except for the presence of monkey-like Yahoos. Although Gulliver looks like a well-kempt Yahoo, he wants to be a Houyhnhnm. Finally, he has to leave because he does not fit into this society.

Gulliver Travels is based on 4 voyages :

1. The voyage of Lilliput
2. The voyage of Brobdingnag
3. The voyage of Laputa
4. The voyage of Houyhnhnms

1 : A Voyage to Lilliput :
"A Voyage to Lilliput," is the most famous section of Gulliver's Travels. Lured by the prospect of adventure and easy money, Lemuel Gulliver signs up as a "surgeon," or ship's doctor, for a voyage through the East Indies in Asia. Unfortunately for Gulliver, he is shipwrecked. He swims to an unfamiliar shore and, exhausted by his efforts, goes to sleep. When he awakes, he finds himself tied up by a crowd of extremely tiny and well-armed people. Gulliver is taken prisoner, shipped to the capital, and presented to the Emperor. A cross between court pet and circus attraction, Gulliver makes friends with many of the courtiers and learns about the history, society, politics, and economy of Lilliput. For many years, Lilliput has been at war with its sister island Blefuscu over whether to break soft-boiled eggs at the big or little end. This clash parodies the French-English and Catholic-Protestant conflicts of Swift's time, and many of the characters in this section correspond to actual political figures of the day.

2: A Voyage to Brobdingnag :
Gulliver is only home two months when he sets out on Part II, "A Voyage to Brobdingnag." After encountering a terrible storm, Gulliver's ship puts in to another unfamiliar shore for much-needed food and water. He goes ashore with the landing party but is abandoned by the crew when they discover there are giants living there. Gulliver is captured by a farmer, who displays him as a circus wonder at local fairs. The farmer's daughter, Glumdalclitch, teaches Gulliver to speak the language and the two become good friends. Eventually, the farmer sells Gulliver to the Queen of Brobdingnag, who allows Glumdalclitch to join the court as Gulliver's keeper.

Once at court, Gulliver has a series of violent, physical misadventures because of his size. Once, he is taken into the country and allowed to walk around a meadow on his own. Poor Gulliver has not yet learned the limits of his size in Brobdingnag, however. As he reports, "There was a Cowdung in the Path, and I must needs try my Activity by attempting to leap over it. I took a Run, but unfortunately jumped short, and found my self just in the Middle up to my Knees." Gulliver spends most of his time discussing history, politics, philosophy, and economics with the King. The King frequently dismays Gulliver by displaying his "ignorance," that is, finding certain aspects of Gulliver's England repulsive. When Gulliver offers to teach him about gunpowder so he can rule over his subjects with force, for example, the King rejects him in horror. In the end, Gulliver is carried off by a giant bird and dropped into the sea, where he is rescued again by an English ship. Disoriented by the size of things on shipboard and then in England, Gulliver takes some time to adjust to people of his own size. Eventually he gets used to other English people again and resolves to stay at home for the rest of his life.

3: A Voyage to Laputa :
Gulliver is unable to keep his resolution. He is tempted by the prospect of easy money yet againand embarks on Part III, "A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnag, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan." Gulliver's misfortunes begin when he and his crew are seized by pirates, who abandon him alone on a deserted island. In despair, Gulliver begins to make the best of his bad lot when he is astonished to see a giant floating island appear in the sky. The inhabitants carry him up to them and make him welcome on the island, which they call Laputa. The Laputans control a nonfloating island named Balnibarbi and live entirely by the rules of science and mathematics: even their bread and meat are carved into geometric shapes. The men are so consumed in thought that they have servants, called flappers, to bring them out of a trance into conversation. Women, who are excluded from these activities and entirely ignored by the men, frequently try to escape to Balnibarbi. After some persuasion, Gulliver is allowed to descend to Balnibarbi, where he witnesses the destructive effects of not enough practical thinking on agriculture, economics, education, and architecture.
Gulliver visits the Grand Academy, Swift's parody of London's Royal Society. There he meets men devoting their lives to absurd experiments such as extracting sunlight from cucumbers and turning human waste into its original components. Gulliver proceeds from Balnibarbi to Luggnag via the island of Glubbdubdrib, which is run by magic. There the governor raises several historical leaders and philosophers from the dead, giving Gulliver a chance to wonder at the corruption and brutishness of these supposedly great men. In Luggnag, Gulliver hears of a race of people called Struldbruggs, who live forever. Gulliver imagines what he would do if he were a Struldbrugg, but when he meets them he realizes that eternal life does not necessarily mean eternal youth. The Struldbruggs actually have both infinite age and infinite infirmity, and they are miserable, senile people.

4 : A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhms :
Gulliver's last voyage, Part IV, is called "A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhms" (pronounced whin-hims). Part IV examines less what humanity creates, such as science or gunpowder or government, and more what humanity is. Appropriately, Gulliver is left on an alien shore by a mutiny, a betrayal and abandonment that sets in motion the wheels of Gulliver's detachment from his own people. He encounters two types of inhabitants: the rational Houyhnhms and the vicious, crude Yahoos. The Houyhnhms are talking horses who have established a society based on reason rather than emotion, while the Yahoos are hairy humanoids who are used by the Houyhnhms as slaves. As usual, Gullive


In the beginning of the story, Gulliver explains to the reader a bit about his background, why he was on these journeys to begin with, and where he finds himself at the beginning of his tale. The story begins with Gulliver recounting how he was shipwrecked the land of Lilliput. He awakens to find himself tied down and held captive by a tiny race of people. To the inhabitants of Lilliput, Gulliver is something of a giant. He could not move, because he was tied down, but he notices a a race of tiny people moving about him. These people take all of his possessions for inspection, for they are in awe and fear of his great size. They feed him, and soon untie him but still keep him in confinement. While in his confinement, he is visited by the emperor who likes Gulliver. Gulliver learns there language and the customs of the people of Lilliput. In this book Swift, by describing the ludicrous system that Lilliput's government fashions in, is satirizing the English system of governing. He uses parallels that seem absurd at first glance but make more senses when looked at carefully.
When Gulliver reaches the land of Brobdinag, he finds himself in the exact opposite situation that he was in when in Lilliput. In Brobdinag, it is Gulliver who is the tiny person, and the inhabitants of that land who appear to be giants. Gulliver expects these "giants to be monsters", but soon finds that they are a peaceful race of people, who live in a sort of peace-loving land. Swift was playing on all people's fear of being frightened by those who appear different looking or more powerful.

Critical view of Gulliver's Travels :
In recounting third journey, Gulliver visits the land of Laputa. The stories that are contained within are a satire on specific figures and policies of the British government of the period in which Swift lived. This is probably, out of all of the parts of this story that are commonly read today, the least widely read. This is because most people today do not know of whom Swift is referring to.
When Gulliver reaches the land of the Houyhnhnms, we read a very fine story that we can still relate to today. There is a distinction made between the two type of people Gulliver encounters in this land. The Yahoos, who are considered to be uncivilized Neanderthals, and the Houyhnhnms, who Gulliver's considers to be civilized. Gulliver contends that the Houyhnhnms are civilized because they are similar to him, the people remind him of English people, and they have the most complex language he has run across in his travels. We also read in this part of his travels of a war between the Big-Endians and the Little-Endians, who are at war with one another over which end of a hard boiled egg should be cracked on. Swift is satirizing the futility of wars over things like religion.
Gulliver soon returns home in wonder over his journeys to these lands. Swift did a excellent job of hiding a biting criticism of the government and society in which he lived. He did this by making the characters in the story so fantastic and foreign to the reader that the story could only be a fairy tale, written for children. The actions of the people he runs across are so absurd, and Gulliver seems so innocent, that at first read many people didn't even get what Swift was trying to say. There were, however, people who knew Swift's intentions from the start, and got all of the symbols in the story.
It has been said that Dean Jonathan Swift hated humanity but loved the individual. His hatred is brought out in this caustic political and social satire aimed at the English people, humanity in general, and the Whigs in particular. By means of a disarming simplicity of style and of careful attention to detail in order to heighten the effect of the narrative, Swift produced one of the outstanding pieces of satire in world literature.
Swift created the character of Lemuel Gulliver as his narrator for Gulliver’s Travels, he developed a personality with many qualities admired by an  eighteenth century audience and still admired by many readers. Gulliver is a decent sort of person: hopeful, simple, fairly direct, and full of good will. He is a scientist, a trained doctor, and, as any good scientist should, he loves detail. His literal-minded attitude makes him a keen observer of the world around him. Furthermore, he is, like another famous novel character of the eighteenth century—Robinson Crusoe—encouragingly resourceful in emergencies.
The novel is a satire, and Gulliver is a mask for Swift the satirist. In fact, Swift does not share Gulliver’s rationalistic, scientific responses to the world or Gulliver’s beliefs in progress and in the perfectibility of humanity. Swift, on the contrary, believed that such values were dangerous, and that to put such complete faith in the material world, as scientific Gulliver did, was folly. Gulliver is a product of his age, and he is intended as a character to demonstrate the weakness underlying the values of the Enlightenment—the failure to recognize the power of the irrational.
Despite Gulliver’s apparent congeniality in the opening chapters of the novel, Swift makes it clear that Gulliver has serious shortcomings, including blind spots about human nature, his own included. Book 3, the least readable section of Gulliver’s Travels, is in some ways the most revealing part of the book. In it Gulliver complains, for example, that the wives of the scientists he is observing run away with the servants. The fact is that Gulliver—himself a scientist—gives little thought to the well-being of his own wife. In the eleven years covered in Gulliver’s travel book, Swift’s narrator spends a total of seven months and ten days with his wife.
Gulliver, too, is caught up in Swift’s web of satire in Gulliver’s Travels. Satire as a literary form tends to be ironic; the author says one thing but means another. Consequently, readers can assume that much of what Gulliver observes as good and much of what he thinks and does are not what Swift thinks.
As a type of the eighteenth century, Gulliver exhibits its major values: belief in rationality, in the perfectibility of humanity, in the idea of progress, and in the Lockean philosophy of the human mind as a tabula rasa, or blank slate, at the time of birth, controlled and developed entirely by the differing strokes and impressions made on it by the environment. Swift, in contrast to Gulliver, hated the abstraction that accompanied rational thinking; he abhorred the rejection of the past that resulted from a rationalistic faith in the new and improved; and he cast strong doubts on humanity’s ability to gain knowledge through reason and logic.
The world Gulliver discovers during his travels is significant in Swift’s satire. The Lilliputians, averaging not quite six inches in height, display the pettiness and the smallness Swift detected in much that motivates human institutions such as church and state. It is petty religious problems that lead to continual war in Lilliput. The Brobdingnagians continue the satire in part 2 by exaggerating human grossness through their enlarged size.

Conclusion :
Gulliver's Travels is a story of journey of Lemuel Gulliver. The whole story partly divided into 4 voyages they are 1 Lilliput, 2 Brobdingnag, 3 Laputa, 4 Houyhnhnms. Every voyage discribed the social life, it's aspects, human emotion, vertue, action, kindness and other aspects of social and people life.

Work cites :
https://www.enotes.com/topics/gullivers-travels-jonathan-swift/critical-essays/critical-evaluation
http://mural.uv.es/mafranch/critic.htm
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g/gullivers-travels/critical-essays/swifts-satire-in-gullivers-travels