English Literature & Theology

  Shakespeare's Sonnet 29, often referred to as "When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes," explores themes of despair, self-worth, and the transformative power of love. The sonnet begins with the speaker expressing a sense of disgrace and isolation. He feels abandoned by both luck ("fortune") and the judgment of others ("men's eyes"). In this state of despair, the speaker wishes he possessed the qualities and successes that others have, and he envies those who are more highly regarded. However, a significant shift occurs in the poem's second part. The speaker's mood transforms when he contemplates the thought of a particular person, presumably a beloved. The memory or presence of this person becomes a source of solace and brings about a profound change in the speaker's emotional state. The sonnet concludes on a positive note, emphasizing that the speaker's change in fortune is due to the redemptive power of love. Desp...

    "The Pulley" is a metaphysical poem written by the 17th-century English poet George Herbert. It explores themes of human desire, God's providence, and the relationship between earthly and spiritual desires.   The poem begins with the idea that God, in His wisdom, decided to give various gifts to mankind. These gifts include strength, beauty, wisdom, honor, pleasure, and riches. However, God also withheld one gift, which is rest or contentment. The poem suggests that God did not give humans rest intentionally. Instead, He reserved it because if He had given it, humans would become complacent and forget about God. Herbert uses the metaphor of a "pulley" to convey this idea. A pulley is a simple machine that allows heavy objects to be lifted with less effort. In the poem, the idea is that God's withholding of rest is like a pulley that draws humanity toward Him. The lack of contentment on Earth compels people to seek spiritual fulfillment and ultimately...

    Sonnet 2 is one of 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is a procreation sonnet within the Fair Youth sequence. ‘When forty winters shall besiege thy brow’ by William Shakespeare addresses the need to have children as a way of guaranteeing one’s legacy and beauty. The speaker addresses the Fair Youth, informing him that in short order he’s going to lose his beauty and his face is going to look like a plowed field. Once this happens he’ll be ashamed and unable to maintain his reputation. The only remedy for this is if the young man has a child to whom he can bestow his beauty. Then, he will have a valid excuse for his wrinkles. Plus, it will be as though he is himself reborn. This poem is the second of Shakespeare’s procreation sonnets. Continuing where Sonnet 1 left off, the speaker continues to make an attempt to convince the young man to reproduce. The transience of beauty and the continuation of blood are important themes ...

  Avarice is a poem composed by George Herbert, who is a metaphysical poet. This poem is about money. Here, money means gold. The process whereby metal is transferred from its 'cave or grot' and hammered into coins and then there is a process by which money is hammered with man's face.   According to George Herbert money is given a face, a stamp, a right to command the labor of men and the production of the earth. We make money both physically and through our consent- we turn it into something that has value. When we possess money, we think that we are wealthy, but as Herbert points out in his ironic last line, the value of money is perpetual and our possession of it is ephemeral. Money in Herbert's vision is only valued as an expression of man's intentions- his earthly desires. Herbert of course believes that fallen man can never achieve any happiness- money is thus a source of woe and bane of bliss because it is created by man and not by God. Man, money and ...

  The poem "A Red, Red Rose" by Robert Burns is a romantic and evocative piece of literature that compares the speaker's love to a beautiful, vibrant red rose.   The speaker begins the poem by comparing his love to a "red, red rose" and emphasizes its freshness and beauty. He declares that his love is as sweet as the melody of a "tuneless choir" and that it will endure until the seas run dry. Further the speaker states that his love is as constant as the sun, even in distant lands. He promises to return to his beloved, no matter how far he may roam.   The speaker expresses his willingness to go through hardships and challenges for the sake of his love. He uses the image of crossing "the seas between us" as a metaphor for enduring separation and distance. The poem's central theme is the enduring and timeless nature of the speaker's love, which is compared to the beauty and constancy of a red rose. It conveys a sense of deep affec...

  "The World Is Too Much with Us" is a sonnet written by the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth. It was published in 1807 as part of a collection of his poetry. The poem expresses Wordsworth's frustration with the materialism and lack of connection to nature he observed in society during the early 19th century.     The poem begins with the speaker lamenting that the world is overwhelming and that people are too preoccupied with materialistic pursuits. He expresses his disillusionment with the modern world, which he sees as being obsessed with consumerism and disconnected from nature and spirituality. The speaker longs for a closer connection to nature, specifically the natural world, and the forces of the universe. He mentions the sea, the winds that howl, and the moon as sources of inspiration and spiritual connection. Wordsworth suggests that people have lost touch with their true nature and have become slaves to material possessions and empty desires. He ...

  Fidelity is a psychologically moving poem by William Wordsworth which expresses the undying love of a pet dog. In the poem ‘Fidelity’, William Wordsworth sensitively immortalizes this inexpressible affection of a pet dog, Foxie. Foxie, the pet dog, remains by the side of Charles Gough, an aspiring artist, who accidentally falls off a rocky mountainous ridge and dies. Charles Gough, who was 21 years old, had gone to the very scenic Lake District for some inspiration. During the Romantic era in England, many young and idealistic artists and poets visited the beautiful Lake District region in Northwestern England. Charles in the same way when he was going through a treacherous mountainous region, he fell to his death.   His faithful and affectionate little dog Foxie remained by his side for 3 long months until a shepherd spotted them.   William Wordsworth was deeply moved by this incident and pays tribute to the love and devotion of the pet dog.   In the poe...

  "The Man He Killed" was written by the British Victorian poet and novelist Thomas Hardy and first published in 1902. This poem is a dramatic monologue, the poem's speaker recounts having to kill a man in war with whom he had found himself "face to face." Talking casually throughout, the speaker discusses how this man could easily have been his friend, someone he might have, under different circumstances, had a drink with in an "ancient inn." Struggling to find a good reason for shooting the man, the speaker says it was "just so"—it was just what happens during war. The poem thus highlights the senselessness and wasteful tragedy of human conflict and is specifically thought to have been inspired by the events of the Boer War in South Africa. “The Man He Killed” is a dramatic monologue in which the speaker talks about the time he shot and killed a man during a war. Reflecting on the experience, the speaker notes how arbitrary it all see...

  Rabindranath Tagore’s poem “Freedom” is an impassioned address to his motherland, India. This piece explores the importance of freedom in its entirety. It speaks vividly of the oppression and torture that his motherland faced during the colonial era. Tagore portrays the suffering of his countrymen by personifying the country. He projects it as a woman who is bogged down by the burden of shame and subjugation. Through this poem, the poet expresses his idea of the complete freedom of Indians on both internal and external levels. He wants a country where people are not only free from enslavement but also able to think freely. “Freedom” begins with a direct address to the poet’s motherland. Tagore’s persona wants to see his country free from fear of oppression. The burden of shameful servitude bends her head and breaks her back. It blinds her to future clarion calls. He wants to see his countrymen without the shackles of ignorance or slavery that keep them in darkness. In this ...

  “Refugee Blues” was written by the British poet W. H. Auden. First published in 1939, on the eve of World War II, the poem meditates on the plight of Jewish refugees who were forced to flee Nazi Germany but unable to find refuge elsewhere.   The poem concerns the plight of Jewish refugees in Europe in the 1930s. Forced to flee persecution and violence in Nazi Germany, many Jews were unable to secure asylum in countries like England or the United States because they kept tight quotas on the number of Jewish immigrants admitted each year. Such Jews were trapped between countries—unable to find a safe refuge yet terrified of returning home. As the poem does so, it raises broader questions about isolation, loneliness, and exile. It depicts the trauma and pain of being forced to leave home—and of being unable to find a place of safety and security in a violent and uncertain world.   Throughout “Refugee Blues,” the speaker’s mood is bleak and mournful. The poem begins...

  ‘The Cold Within’ by James Patrick Kinney is a beautiful poem that talks about the human passivity that holds one back from helping others. The cold is not outside but in the hearts that Kinney thought is the sole cause of all the human sufferings. ‘The Cold Within’ by James Patrick Kinney presents the story of six men having six different personalities. Coincidentally, they were trapped in the bleak and bitterly cold weather. They all had one stick and refused to give any for burning the fire to keep them warm. The first man, a racist lad, refused to give his as there was a black man in the group. Whereas, the black man, vengeful and also a racist, thought to keep his stick “to spite the white”. The second man in the group, being a sectarian, didn’t give his as there was none from his community. The third man, a poor in tattered clothes, naturally for the hatred towards the rich kept his stick back. In contrast, the rich man thought not to give his stick as he didn’t lik...

  “The Wagon of shoes” by  Abraham Sutzkever   , one of the holocaust shoe poems captures the most poignant moment in the modern history of the world when a dictator sought to recognise the natural order of human existence on the basis of his own crazed notions of race. The wagon filled with shoes represents the people who once wore them but have been spirited away, leaving the shoes discarded with good deal of life still left in them. The poet begins by describing the movement of a wagon. He says that the wheels of a wagon are being pulled continuously by a group of people. At first he cannot understand what is being brought on the wagon. Then he can see that shoes are being carried here. The shoes are all thumping and moving. He wonders about the owners of those shoes. Whom do these shoes belong to? Next, the poet compares the wagon to a 'khupa' or a wedding canopy. In the glow of the evening, the wagon bears a mesmerizing look because the shoes piled on t...

  Sports is not only about winning medals. They are also about learning the values of cooperation, sharing, competing and complementing. In this poem ‘Nine Gold Medals’, the poet, David Roth has presented the idea of empathy and how human values are as important as the spirit of competition.  This poem is based on a true event that occurred during the Special Olympics of 1976. The “linked arms race” incident took place in the Olympics for differently-abled persons held in Spokane, Washington. ‘Nine Gold Medals’ by David Roth talks about nine athletes who had come from different countries to run the hundred-yard dash event in the Special Olympics. They trained hard for the event, and eventually, the day arrived. Spectators filled the blocks, and they observed those nine athletes warming up for the dash. With the sound of the gun, the race began. But, one of them stumbled and fell. Interestingly, the contestants came forward to help the youngest of them all. In the end...

  The simple poem with a profound meaning, ‘On Killing a Tree’, has been written by Gieve Patel, a famous Indian poet and playwright. He was born in Mumbai, and has completed all of his education from Mumbai. The poet through this poem ironically conveys a profound message to the readers on saving trees. He ironically conveys a message that we should not cut trees. He says that trees are living beings just like human beings or any other form of life. The poet, Gieve Patel, has effectively used irony and has successfully conveyed his intended message to the readers. In the poem, he meticulously explains all the effective steps to completely finish off a tree, but implies just the opposite.   He means to say that trees are very important part of our life. They are living beings just like any other form of life, we should not destroy them. Indirectly, he persuades the readers not to destroy trees and equates it with “killing” a human being.   The poem starts by stati...

  "Ode to Solitude“ or “The quiet life”   is a poem written by Alexander Pope, when he was only 12 years old.   This "Ode" praises people who live simple and solitary lives, arguing that the happiest people are self-sufficient and unconcerned with the opinions or recognition of others. The poem celebrates the joys and virtues of solitude, suggesting that moments of seclusion and introspection can be valuable and enriching.   Celebration of Solitude: The poem begins by praising the benefits of solitude. It suggests that solitude can offer a respite from the chaos and distractions of the world, allowing one to find peace and tranquility.   Self-Reflection: Pope emphasizes the importance of self-reflection during moments of solitude. He suggests that in solitude, one can engage in introspection and contemplation, gaining insights into oneself and the world.   Nature's Beauty: The poem also explores the beauty of nature and the pleasure of bei...

  The Man-eater of Malgudi is one of the most impressive novels of R.K. Narayan. In it, all the three important aspects of a novel namely plot, theme, and characterization have been successfully carried out. Round a somewhat, unusual story, the writer has a woman a highly serious ethical and spiritual thematic pattern. The choice of a taxidermist as the central character of the novel is in itself rather unusual. It is on the surface the story of a simple innocent and passive Natraj falling a victim to the crookedness and mischief of a deceitful, cunning, ungrateful and even inhuman Vasu.     Natraj runs a press and leads a peaceful life with his wife and his only child Babu. He is too good to think of doing any harm to anyone. He is also extremely generous, benevolent, and kind. But his peaceful and harmonious domestic as well as the profession is infringed by a wayward notorious and ungrateful taxidermist Vasu.   He enters the press of Natraj as a custom...

  The owner of a small printing press that is located in Malgudi, Nataraj is a father and a husband who is very much concerned with family affairs. At the beginning of the novel, Nataraj is a man who is obsessed with power. He enjoys his position as boss, so much so that he separates his press with a blue curtain, assuring that his customers will not see him lowered to a handyman position beneath Sastri. The blue curtain maintains his ego. Nataraj's blue curtain, as well as his ego, is slowly cast aside, and by the end of the book, Nataraj has lost the curtain and his ego. It is this change in character that qualifies the press owner as the only round character in The Man-eater of Malgudi.   Natraj is a prosperous seasoned printer of Malgudi. He has a small, cosy, warm world which there is his loving wife, his pretty son Babu, his dear friends, the poet sen and his sincere assistant, Sastri, a semi-scholar. He is some what timid hen pecked, religious, simple, gentle, mod...

  The plot revolves around the life of an Indian printer named Nataraj, who lives in a huge ancestral house in Malgudi, a fictional town in South India. He leads a contented lifestyle, with a circle of friends, including a poet, a journalist named Sen, and his sole employee, Sastri. One day, Vasu, a taxidermist, arrives in Malgudi in search of the wildlife in the nearby Mempi hills. Arriving at Nataraj's printing press, the first encounter between the two, he demands the printing of 500 visiting cards. Although Nataraj is unsure whether Vasu is a friend or an enemy, he dislikes his company due to his brazen behaviour.   Vasu is a bully, compared to a Rakshasa (a demon) by Nataraj and Sastri. Vasu takes up residence in the attic of Nataraj's press, convincing Nataraj that he will stay there as a self-invited guest for only a few days until he finds somewhere else to stay. Unknown to Nataraj, Vasu sees the place as very suitable for his activities as a taxidermist, and plans...

  1)    Explain the character of Vasu in the novel “Man Eater Of Malgudi”.   "Man-eater of Malgudi" is a novel written by R.K. Narayan, and it features the character Vasu as the central figure. Vasu is a complex and enigmatic character who plays a significant role in the narrative. Here is a character sketch of Vasu:     Name: Vasu.   Occupation: Taxidermist   Physical Appearance: Vasu is described as a tall and imposing figure. He has a well-groomed beard and a commanding presence. His physicality reflects strength and dominance.   Personality Traits:   1.Dominant and Authoritarian: Vasu is characterized by his authoritative and domineering nature. He is not one to tolerate dissent or opposition and often imposes his will on others.   2. Manipulative: Vasu is highly manipulative. He uses his charm and intelligence to exploit situations and people for his own benefit. His manipulative nature becomes more ev...