In my Plus 2 Advanced English course, we had a one act play titled ‘The Little Man ‘written by John Galsworthy. It is a play about the Universality of the little man who is far taller than all the other characters in the play. What he lacks in terms of physical attributes is more than…
Coming to the different forms of narrative, one has to look closely at an epic convention called ‘Medias res.’ In the Iliad Homer plunges directly into the action in the middle of the Trojan War. More famously in ‘Paradise Lost’ Milton takes us directly to Satan ruminating and wallowing in Hell with his comrades. The…
Plot is the way in which a story is narrated. The domain of the plot belongs entirely to the craft of the novelist where as the story belongs to the imagination of the novelist. To generate interest and also to sustain it, the novelist has to make use of this device, as a story told…
People say he is the most read author after William Shakespeare. One reads a short story expecting a twist in the tale, a sudden change in the plot, an unexpected turn of events etc, as in O.Henry, Saki or Guy De Maupassant. Sometimes the short story is an exploration of character, a delineation of a…
I remember a book by G.K.Chesterton that I had read in fragments. I couldn’t complete it because of the untidiness of the book and the small typeset that strained my eyes. I was extremely impressed by the small bits that I read. Chesterton describes his travels on horseback across the English country side. He is the most carefree traveler who lets place and time take care of all his needs.
I was deeply enchanted after reading Nelson Mandela’s ‘Long walk to Freedom.’ What I found most interesting was the question the author poses to himself; Should an individual live for his family or the society; a question obviously confronted by many great freedom fighters. Mandela’s life belongs to the category of saints and apostles for…
Irony penetrates the structure of the novel Pride and Prejudice. The irony of Jane Austen is very subtle and we can understand it only when we understand the emphasis and the tone of her language. The very opening sentence of the novel is a fine specimen of verbal irony. “It is a truth universally acknowledged…
A close reading of Jane Eyre as a novel of conscience, independence, moral resolve, deprivation and the sustaining presence of nature.
Romantic poetry or poetry by the Romantic poets will have had a lasting impact in the formative years of every poet. After the formative phase is over, a writer may evolve a poetic voice of one’s own or adopt a more contemporary or impacting narrative poetic form in line with their preference. But who has…
Thank you for posing the question, as it has helped me arrange a few thoughts about both the writers. When you read the works of Tolstoy you get a feeling that you are listening to the words of a saint. Tolstoy's work can be compared to a mighty ocean or a pinnacle of glory beckoning…