The pen is mightier than the sword. When society becomes so callous as to forget the collective well being of humanity and tyranny reigns, inflicting violence; physical, emotional and intellectual, can personal expression survive? Personal expression has to address the pressing problems of the day and Literature with social obligation will emerge. A writer cannot…
A dissertation in English Literature is no easy matter as it involves a dedicated study of at least 2 to 3 years. The theory part, the collection of material, the discussion with your guide and your writing skills will decide the quality and coherence of the dissertation. The first thing is to select a topic…
I believe an examiner looks for evidence of first hand reading of the author or the text in question when you attempt long answers on such writers as you have mentioned. The next thing is to have your own point of view about the author or the text’s significance. A good background reading of the work and the literary criticism pertaining to that is required if your answer is for a PG or a higher level exam like UGC NET or UPSC ICS. Questions can differ, based on summative assessment of the text like Summarize Milton’s Heroic Argument in the Paradise Lost or critical assessment
Ranking works of art is always a difficult task and novels is not exempted since everyone has his or her favorites. My list will be Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, I Claudius by Robert Graves, To Kill a…
A feeling of mystery, excitement and remoteness away from everyday life is one of the descriptions for the word Romantic. The Romantic imagination is the vision of the poet to see the world from an entirely different perspective: The faculty which has been blunted by the coldness of reason is sought to be recaptured by…
Though not unputdownable, Mansfield Park has the stamp and class of Jane Austen. Like all other Austen novels, the principal events concern the fortunes of a family;Mr Bertrand’s four children and his niece Fanny Price. Fanny Price stands out from all the other characters. She is sensible and intelligent,compassionate and caring. She is pretty,though in…
The President of the Immortals has finally ended his game with Tess: Where could one find such poignant lines if not in Hardy. It is not hard to see that Hardy’s heart goes all out to his protagonist heroine. But what is the inner core? What is it that Hardy has so beautifully and historically(In…
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. For the sheer fun of reading,great narrative, gripping story line, vivid characterization, enthralling twists in the plot and in the end the feeling of peace and tranquility that reigns in the heart about what life really is all about, about what riches and wealth cannot give, this novel has to…
There is no great difference in reading a novel whether you read it as a general reader or as a student of Literature as long as you are reading it and enjoying the experience. But once you read it consciously, in the sense of reading from a literary point of view, then the reading part…
Is there something called perfection about anything? When the world around is constantly evolving and Language and Literature which are the mirror to this world are forever dynamic, perfection is a distant dream. Rather assuming such a state is itself a fallacy. A real student will rather apply to the task with sincerity and dedication.