English Literature

Sarojini Naidu was born in an illustrious Bengali Brahmin family in Hyderabad on 13th of February 1879. Her family originally belonged to Brahmangaon, a village in East Bengal. It is now in Bangladesh. Sarojini received her early education in Hyderabad. At the age of twelve, she passed matriculation from Madras University. At the age of thirteen, she composed a long narrative poem Lady of the Lake. In the age of sixteen, she went to England for further studies in 1895. First of all she studied in King’s College of London and after that she went to Griton College, Cambridge.
In England Sarojini attracted the attention of Sir, Edmund Gosse and Arthur Symons. They were renowned poets, critics and biographers. Under the guidance of these two great authors, Sarojini embarked upon her career as a poet.
Sarojini suffered a nervous breakdown in England in 1898. Due to this she returned back India without any formal degree. She was married to Dr. Govinda Rajalu Naidu. After her marriage she sett…

Before Jawahar Lal Nehru, English prose was not a powerful genre of Indo-Anglican literature. There was hardly any standard prose in existence. It was Nehru who enhanced the popularity of English prose by writing some popular books. His writings are marked with a unique style. It is lucid, spontaneous and suggestive. It has poetic richness.

 Nehru was a great journalist. He was always in favour of the freedom of press. He always stood in favour of a free and fearless press. He condemned yellow journalism. Though Nehru worked as a journalist for a long time, his prose became very sublime and penetrating. Even his extempore remarks are worthy of attention . At the same time Nehru was a great orator. He always spoke in a cultured tone. In this context he is compared with Churchill.

 Nehru was a great letter writer too. One can find much freshness and charm in his letters. In these letters Nehru used the conversational style. Here we do not come across a pedant but a great conversational…

Sarojini Naidu is one of the greatest Indo-Anglican poets. She is called the nightingale of India. She is remembered as a poetess for the 'Golden Threshold', 'The Bird of Time' and 'The Broken Wing'. Her poetry is conspicuous for the vivid presentation of Indian atmosphere. Her poetry shows the influence of English Romantic poets. Despite her interest in the presentation of Indian atmosphere, Naidu shows no awareness for depicting contemporary reality. 'The Lotus' is a beautiful sonnet by Sarojini Naidu. It has been taken from the collection of poems entitled 'The Broken Wing'. In our country 'The Lotus' is associated with Lakshmi, Saraswati, Brahma and Vishnu. Thus it is treated as a symbol of knowledge, beauty, creation and purity. In the present poem 'The Lotus' has been used as a metaphor for the Mahatma Gandhi who is an epitome of sublimity of thought and action. The poet dedicates this poem to Mahatma Gandhi. Here she highli…

'A Cooking Egg' is a fantastic poem by Eliot. Eliot is one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century. This poem is a dramatic monologue. Here the poet reviews his past and contrasts it with the present and the future. 'A Cooking Egg' appeared in 1920. Its title is highly significant. A cooking egg is an egg, which has grown old and stale but can still be used for cooking. Like such an egg the poet has also grown old and lost the freshness of youth. In short, the title is appropriate. 'A cooking Egg' is a well-knit poem in quatrains but it has an internal structure too. It has three parts. The first part presents a scene. The second part looks to the future and the third to the past. In short, the first part presents his reality, the second his realised hopes and the third bewails their fulfillment. The first scene of the poem takes place in Pipit's room. She is sitting silently opposite the speaker. He recollects that Pipit was the partner of his childhoo…

Shaw is a very great dramatist of England. His 'Arms and the Man' is a pleasant play. It is both amusing and thought provoking. It makes us laugh and it makes us think. Its title is suitable. It conveys the main theme of the play. The plot of the play deals with arms and war. Moreover, the romantic illusions of love and war are shattered here through discussion and action. In this play Shaw shows that the man is always greater than the machine. The title of this play justifies this idea. Thus it is highly appropriate. This title is taken from Dryden's translation of Virgil's Aeneid. Aeneid is an epic in which arms and war are glorified. But Shaw has reversed this order in his play. According to him man should not fight war to gain glory and humour. Man should try to live; soldiers should try to save their lives. In fact, 'Arms and the Man' is a drama of ideas. Its plot revolves round war. It deals with men and their arms. Act I constitutes the Exposition of the …

Anita Desai is a reputed Indo Anglican woman novelist. In her novels the focus is on the inner climate. They deal with the cultural displacement of the protagonists. Her protagonists are acutely aware of their nothingness in the modern set up. They feel that they are not worth anything in society. Their sense of futility is extremely appalling. Desai's 'Bye Bye Blackbird' is a fine novel. It presents the theme of alienation and East- West clash. It is a study of human relationships also. This third novel of Desai deals with the travels of Indian immigrants in England. It describes the emotional trauma and disturbances experienced by Indian immigrants in England. The major theme of 'Bye Bye Blackbird' is alienation. All the three major characters- Dev, Sarah and Adit suffer from alienation. Dev is a young man who comes to London to study economics. He stays there with Adit and Sarah. He is not happy to see the humiliation of Indians at the hands of Britishers. Due to …

Macbeth is one of the greatest tragedies of William Shakespeare. It is called the tragedy of ambition and fate. In this play there are some significant scenes. They have their dramatic significance. Among them ' Sleep Walking Scene' is one of the most memorable and remarkable scene. This important scene occurs at the beginning of Act 5. Scene 1 of this act is the famous sleep walking scene. Here we find that Lady Macbeth is walking in sleep. She has become mad. In her madness she accepts her guilt. She is full of darkness. She needs light even in the day. 'Sleep Walking Scene' opens in an anteroom of the castle of Dunsinane. A doctor has been called in as a result of Lady Macbeth's sleep walking. When the doctor is talking to the waiting woman, Lady Macbeth enters. She is walking in sleep. She has a burning candle in her hand. Her eyes are open. She is rubbing her hands together as if she wants to wash something out of them: " Out, damned spot! I say! - One; two…