English Literature

INTRODUCTION: W. B.Yeats is a towering and unique figure in the annals of English poetry. He holds a singular position as a symbolist in the history of English literature. It is he who is popular as the chief exponent of the symbolist movement in England . At their best his symbols are highly evocative and suggestive. BRIEF HISTORY OF SYMBOLIST MOVEMENT: To analyze and evaluate Yeats's symbolism it would be better to define symbolism and to mention the brief history of symbolist movement. A symbol is something that stands for something else. The symbolist movement was started in France as a reaction against naturalism. The representative symbolists were- Baudlair, Verlain and Mallarme. In England these symbolists were admired and imitated by many poets. In this context W. B. Yeats may be called as the champion. YEATS'S SYMBOLS: W. B. Yeats has used different types of symbols in his poetry. They were carefully woven into the pattern of the poem. He u...

The drama before Shakespeare found its full flowering with the dramatists called the University Wits . These dramatists were well-educated scholars. They wrote in the closing years of the 16th century. This name was given to them because they were nearly all educated at Oxford or Cambridge University. Wit was the synonym for scholar. All the contributors of University Wits have several features in common. They had stormy careers. All of them were actively associated with the theatre. They were usually actors as well as dramatists. They understood the requirements of the stage and felt the pulse of the audience. They often worked in collaboration with each other. Their stored material was also common. With these dramatists English drama acquired the highest point of glory. In many ways they developed English drama. Christopher Marlowe was most shining star among the University Wits. Others were Lyly, Peele, Greene, Lodge, Nashe and Kyd. John Lyly: As a dramatist Lyly occupies a p...

  INTRODUCTION: Essay is short composition in prose. It discusses, either formally or informally, one or more topics. This term was first applied to a Montaign's volumn of informal pieces. This volumn was published in 1580. Seventeen years later, Francis Bacon used the English word' essay' to describe his brief philosophic discourses. With the development of periodical, the essay became a popular form. Addison , Steel, Lamb, Hazlitt and Pater made it their major concern. CHARACTERISTICS : The literary essay has some important characteristics. It is a prose composition of moderate length. It is incomplete and it is not exhaustive. It is personal in nature. It is unsystematic and it lacks finish. According to Bacon 'a good essay must have a grain of salt within it'. It should be attractive and charming. It should have a touch of humour also. On the basis of its chief characteristics, the essay may be of the following types: [1] The Personal ...

        In almost all the countries drama has been cradled by religion. This is true about England too. Drama is deeply rooted in the religious instincts of man. The ancient Greek drama never lost its kinship with religion. Thus in Europe the cradle of the drama rested on the alter. It was difficult to understand the services of the church. It is because they were in Latin. So they illustrated the Gospel stories by a series of pictures. Later on these pictures were replaced by the performers. They acted the stories in dumb show. The mysteries and miracles : The next step of the development came when the actors spoke. These early plays were called mystery plays or miracle plays. They came into being in the 14th century. The mystery plays were the dramatic representations of the stories from the Bible. Even in the 10th century these mystery plays existed. These plays were performed by the priests in the church. These plays became popular and the...

Hareshwar   'Waiting for Godot' is a beautiful play of Samuel Beckett. It is known for the richness of its themes. Firstly, it seems that this play is about nothingness. This nothingness is very mysterious in itself. In fact, the play is not about waiting for certain Godot. But it about man's endless wait for Christ or for death. In short, it deals with the purposelessness and meaninglessness of human life. Some critics are of the view that waiting is the major theme of this play. It is the waiting for Christ for man's redemption. Some others are of the view that it is the waiting for death that relieves from misery and suffering. When we analyse the play, we find a similarity between God and Godot. We come to know that the tramps are afraid of Godot. When Estragon proposes that they might drop Godot, Vladimir replies that he would punish them if they do that. Thus the action of waiting for Godot becomes applicable to all Christianity. The tree w...

William Congreve is the best and finest writer of the comedy of manners. We may say that he has invented a new art of comedy. His ' The Way of the World' is considered as a work of art and as a pure comedy of manners. It is the apotheosis of the comedy of manners. It is a remarkable demonstration of Congreve's technical skill as a playwright. Here we find an ironic commentary on the ways of society of the time.The comedy of manners is a genuine reflection of the temper of the upper classes of the nation. It deals the external details of life, the fashion of the time, its manners, its speech and its interest. The dramatists confine themselves to the drawing rooms, the coffee houses, the clubs, the gambling centers, the streets and gardens of London. The characters represent the people of fashion. The plots of comedy of manners are mainly love intrigues. They are remarkable for neat, precise, witty, balanced and lucid prose style. 'The Way of the World' has all the...

  W.H. Auden, Stephen Spender, Cecil Day Lewis and Louis Mac Neice are known as oxford poets. These poets are called the four Musketeers of the Oxford Movement. These poets were Oxford graduates. They had been great friends when they were undergraduates. In the beginning Michael Roberts organised these poets. Later on the leadership passed to W.H. Auden.             The poetry of Oxford poets is intellectual and unemotional. These poets took interest in political and economic affairs. They thought that Marxism was the only source to end all the evils of the man's life. They abominated bourgeois society. They affirmed their faith in revolution. According to them revolution would bring about a new order and new values. The new world order would be communistic. The Oxford poets also show the influence of Freud. Their poetical technique was greatly influenced by Imagism, French, Symbolisms and Hopkins-...

  INTRODUCTION: The Elizabethan period was the period of glory and triumph in the life and literature of the English people. It is known as the Renaissance or the Shakespearean age. It is called the golden age in the history of England . This age is the first great age of drama and the second great age of poetry. The peace and the prosperity, the Renaissance and the reformation, the liberty and stability, the discoveries and exploration etc. are the chief characteristics of the age THE RENAISSANCE AND THE REFORMATION: In the Elizabethan age there were two potent forces– the Renaissance and the reformation. Both the forces blended and co-operated each other. These two movements produced a great uplifting of the spirit. The renaissance aroused the intellect and aesthetic faculties and the Reformation awakened the spiritual nature. THE NEW LEARNING: In the Elizabethan age England felt the full effect of the revival of learning. The general atm...