An enthralling and riveting work. It is a biography which does justice not just to Charlotte but also to the sisters, Haworth in Keighley, Bradford, and the rest of the West Yorkshire countryside. So much of the personal character; their behaviour, the world view of the Bronte sisters was shaped by the natural scene around…
If you have not read it, please read Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose: the explosive mystery staggered in a metaphysical plot which is again an esoteric mix of history, philosophy, theology, religion and all that belongs to the medieval and unknown is gasping and breathtaking. The detection unleashed by the inquisitor William is…
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
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…
The only artist who ranks along side William Shakespeare in the galaxy of literary greats is none other than Fyodor Dosteyevsky. It is not difficult to answer this question because it is Brothers Karamazov. Constructed around a family of four brothers, all sons of Fyodor Karamazov: Alexei, the sensualist and emotional giant, Ivan, the rationalist…
Florentino Ariza’s declaration of love to Fermina Daza in Love in the time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. She is the woman he has loved passionately for more than two score years. He would do anything to be with her. For her he has remained celibate. When her husband dies his passion is revived…
There can be no exact classification because the genres seem to merge or converge at times. Taking Shakespeare as a starting point one could say we have Tragedy; Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear: Comedy; Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night’s dream, As you like it and others, Tragi-comedy, The Tempest, History; Richard the second, Roman…
My thoughts about Crime and Punishment and Brothers Karamazov resurface as I read Dostoyevsky’s Notes from the Underground. Human nature revels in his novels; revels in the candid display of monstrosity and hideousness, subterfuge and all embracing love. As a critic has remarked Dostoyevsky’s characters possess a dialogic imagination. They are very near to the…
One of the best books I have read in a long time is Orhan Pamuk’s My name is Red; a fantastic read. How do we describe a book where art and reality seem to seamlessly merge into one another? As I read the novel I was under a spell. I was carried away by the…
Krishnamohan · Following MA in English (language), SV University (Graduated 1990) What are the best Russian novels? The Russians are the preeminent masters at writing fiction. The list is long and there are many contenders. Tolstoy and Dostoevsky will most certainly make it to the top. War and Peace, Anna Karenina, Brothers Karamazov, Crime and…