As a part of literature student, it is necessary to organize our answer with the own perception. so Today, we would like to go into the two poems of 20th century.
* The second coming
* On being asked for a war poem
first, Let me give some brief Introduction of the poet.
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, dramatist, prose writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. A pillar of the Irish literary establishment, he helped to found the Abbey Theatre, and in his later years served two terms as a Senator of the Irish Free State.
* The second coming
by W.B Yeats
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
According to summary of poem through the Lit chart.
"The Second Coming" is one of W.B. Yeats's most famous poems. Written in 1919 soon after the end of World War I, it describes a deeply mysterious and powerful alternative to the Christian idea of the Second Coming—Jesus's prophesied return to the Earth as a savior announcing the Kingdom of Heaven. The poem's first stanza describes a world of chaos, confusion, and pain. The second, longer stanza imagines the speaker receiving a vision of the future, but this vision replaces Jesus's heroic return with what seems to be the arrival of a grotesque beast. With its distinct imagery and vivid description of society's collapse, "The Second Coming" is also one of Yeats's most quoted poems.
My point of View about this poem.....
if, we can see this Title as The second coming is more significant for us when first I got that the second coming means it will be about the world war but second coming means that
The Prophesied return of Christ to Earth at the Last Judgement.
let us see the stanza wise summary of the poem.....
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Stanza 1..so In the first stanza poet talks about that the world, about the movement.
Also, symbolize falcon cannot here the falconer means that There is problem of communication also there are several kind of problems of chaos, pity, and pain. The conviction of people is died.
Stanza 2
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
second stanza is telling that the second coming means that the Jeasus will come to prevention of problems that we have suffered at the time. The main important point is to be the what's Spirituas Mundi.
It means that the man's head and Lion's body. so we can interpret this poem through the idea of the people are worthless because in the world we were thirsty for human's blood. so The people have chaos also the poet is used to say that we have developed civilization but all is an useless.
"On being asked for a war poem "
by W.B Yeats
I think it better that in times like these
A poet's mouth be silent, for in truth
We have no gift to set a statesman right;
He has had enough of meddling who can please
A young girl in the indolence of her youth,
Or an old man upon a winter’s night.
The main difficulty in summarizing
"On being asked for a War Poem" by William Butler Yeats is that the poem is so short. As it is only six lines long, your summary may need to be substantially longer than the poem itself.
The first piece of information you should include in the summary is the historical background. The poem was written in 1915 in answer to a request from Henry James that Yeats write a poem about World War I, which had begun in 1914, and in which the English were suffering massive casualties as they were exposed to the horrors of trench warfare.
Yeats responds by declining to write about the war, saying that giving advice to politicians isn't really the point of poetry, and then suggests that he writes not for political causes but for people such as old men and young women, who have leisure to read poetry for itself.
My point of view about this poem....
we can summarize this six lines poem that the poet is not giving his own idea and he says that my mouth is shut down right now to say . The point is that it is not about politicians issue that what they are doing towards as a political reader but it is about the one girl and one old man. Also, poem has only six lines with the Rhymes like..
Bob Dylan, original name Robert Allen Zimmerman, (born May 24, 1941, Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.), American folksinger who moved from folk to rock music in the 1960s, infusing the lyrics of rock and roll, theretofore concerned mostly with boy-girl romantic innuendo, with the intellectualism of classic literature and poetry. Hailed as the Shakespeare of his generation, Dylan sold tens of millions of albums, wrote more than 500 songs recorded by more than 2,000 artists, performed all over the world, and set the standard for lyric writing. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016. (See Editor’s Note: About the author.)
Robert Frost, in full Robert Lee Frost, (born March 26, 1874,
San Francisco, California, U.S.—died January 29, 1963, Boston, Massachusetts), American poet who was much admired for his depictions of the rural life of New England, his command of American colloquial speech, and his realistic verse portraying ordinary people in everyday situations.
The Life of Robert Frost
Frost’s father, William Prescott Frost, Jr., was a journalist with ambitions of establishing a career in California, and in 1873 he and his wife moved to San Francisco. Her husband’s untimely death from tuberculosis in 1885 prompted Isabelle Moodie Frost to take her two children, Robert and Jeanie, to Lawrence, Massachusetts, where they were taken in by the children’s paternal grandparents. While their mother taught at a variety of schools in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, Robert and Jeanie grew up in Lawrence, and Robert graduated from high school in 1892. A top student in his class, he shared valedictorian honour with Elinor White, with whom he had already fallen in love.
Q.1.) Which song of Bob Dylan has made an impact on you? Why? Can you find a song similar to the same theme in other language?
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Yes, and how many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
And how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
And how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Answer about my own language to interpret this Lyrics.
I have chosen this song because it's all about peace, war and freedom. Also this song has double meaning of that American flag & The friend. The point is that the idea of Bob Dylan is describe that the war through the idea of that how the situation of the people. when people are facing the so many problems , also the lyrics through the Bob Dylan has raised his questions.
2.) Which poem of Robert Frost has made an impact on you? Why?
1.) Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep
Here is my second poem that I most like to interpret as a thinking activity task assigned by mam. who is our professor of english department.
so let me do it. so in this poem poet Robert Frost is wandering by the horse, also he visited some of the places like some one houses near by the snowy evening. However it depicts the some of the nature things which all are related with our life. The woods is on the center of the poem.
Breath is a play written by Samuel Beckett in the 1969. It considered as a smallest play ever written. It is only about 30 second play. It also considered as experimental play. This play can be interpretated many ways. The play consider as absurd play.
what is the meaning of breath?
Breath means both life and death. In life it consider as the symbol of action. Sometimes person so much habituated of breathing. Person doesn't realise. it's actually importance for live life. The play reflects the reality of human life. It reflects meaningless and Existentialism. Meaningless in the sense that people has no any purpose of living life. We live life just waiting for death. Breathing help us to reach ultimately death. So Breath is the symbol of Bridge between life and death.
Today's our task is assigned by Dilip sir. who is professor of Maharaja krishnkumarsinhji Bhavnagar university. Also, we are student of literature with the studying in English department. so all students have task that make any different video of that and try related with Samuel Beckett's breath.
Let's see the my video and try to connect with the Topic.
here my 32 seconds video of that connection with the Beckett's Breath. So The start up with the some animals are going on the path of that what they all are doing everyday' s life. but the theory of Existentialism is all about the philosophy of life also the life is all about the absurdity and meaningless. so The start up of the video is that sheep is working like absurdity of the life also the The breath is nothingness and there is not any significant that which we can Understand from the play.
However, I have taken horror lyrics from the Vidmate. So The point is that there is no existence of horror type of the things, which we are believing because we are the people of easily understand the unknown things that we never seen in our life.
If I will give one example of that some serial. which were coming in the T.V show Like Aahat, Anamika and Darr sabko lagata hai etc. we can say that The serial is like that it's all about the amusement. The idea of person is that there are so many people who are just keep trust on meaningless things.
when we can see my play so there is some toy. so toy is just the part of life related with human's life but it's always control by human being. so These things are about meaningless of life , which depended on human's life.
As a word, it is nonsense. As a movement, however, Dada art proved to be one of the revolutionary movements in the early twentieth century. Initially conceived by a loose band of avant-garde modernists in the prelude to World War I but adopted more fully in its wake, the Dadaist celebrated luck in place of logic and irrationality instead of calculated intent.
*Origin of Dadaism*
The central premise behind the Dada art movement (Dada is a colloquial French term for a hobby horse) was a response to the modern age. Reacting against the rise of capitalist culture, the war, and the concurrent degradation of art, artists in the early 1910s began to explore new art, or an “anti-art”, as described by Marcel Duchamp. They wanted to contemplate the definition of art, and to do so they experimented with the laws of chance and with the found object. Theirs was an art form underpinned by humor and clever turns, but at its very foundation, the Dadaists were asking a very serious question about the role of art in the modern age. This question became even more pertinent as the reach of Dada art spread – by 1915 its ideals had been adopted by artists in New York, Paris, and beyond – and as the world was plunged into the atrocities of World War I.
Examples of Famous Dada Artworks
The movement has brought many famous artworks. Here are a selected few examples of dadaism artworks:
It’s all about spirituality. Transcendentalism is a philosophy that began in the mid-19th century and whose founding members included Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. It centers around the belief that spirituality cannot be achieved through reason and rationalism, but instead through self-reflection and intuition.In other words, transcendentalists believe spirituality isn’t something you can explain; it’s something you feel. A transcendentalist would argue that going for a walk in a beautiful place would be a much more spiritual experience than reading a religious text.
The transcendentalism movement arose as a result of a reaction to Unitarianism as well as the Age of Reason. Both centered on reason as the main source of knowledge, but transcendentalists rejected that notion. Some of the transcendentalist beliefs are:
Humans are inherently good
Society and its institutions such as organized religion and politics are corrupting. Instead of being part of them, humans should strive to be independent and self-reliant
Spirituality should come from the self, not organized religion
Insight and experience are more important than logic
Nature is beautiful, should be deeply appreciated, and shouldn’t be altered by humans
**Major Transcendentalist Values**
The transcendentalist movement encompassed many beliefs, but these all fit into their three main values of individualism, idealism, and the divinity of nature.
*Individualism
Perhaps the most important transcendentalist value was the importance of the individual. They saw the individual as pure, and they believed that society and its institutions corrupted this purity. Transcendentalists highly valued the concept of thinking for oneself and believed people were best when they were independent and could think for themselves. Only then could individuals come together and form ideal communities.
*Idealism
The focus on idealism comes from Romanticism, a slightly earlier movement. Instead of valuing logic and learned knowledge as many educated people at the time did, transcendentalists placed great importance on imagination, intuition and creativity. They saw the values of the Age of Reason as controlling and confining, and they wanted to bring back a more “ideal” and enjoyable way of living.
*Divinity of Nature
Transcendentalists didn’t believe in organized religion, but they were very spiritual. Instead of believing in the divinity of religious figures, they saw nature as sacred and divine. They believed it was crucial for humans to have a close relationship with nature, the same way religious leaders preach about the importance of having a close relationship with God. Transcendentalists saw nature as perfect as it was; humans shouldn’t try to change or improve it.
Q.1 Transcendentalists talks about Individual’s relation with Nature. What is Nature for you? Share your views.
Basically, if we can ask to any person. what is nature according to you so must be answer will that nature is like trees, hill, river, sky and mountain but these are the only part of nature but according to me nature is piece of mind means we can get relax from the nature also nature through so many ideas comes to in our mind. Nature has different kind of aspects of life. also, it gives different kind of meaning of the life.
Q.2 Transcendentalism is an American Philosophy that influenced American Literature at length. Can you find any Indian/Regional literature or Philosophy came up with such similar thought?
Transcendentalism was a religious, literary, and political movement that evolved from New England Unitarianism in the 1820s and 1830s. An important expression of Romanticism in the United States, it is principally associated with the work of essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson; journalist and feminist theorist Margaret Fuller; Unitarian minister and antislavery advocate Theodore Parker; and essayist, naturalist, and political theorist Henry David Thoreau. In their initial phase, the transcendentalists extended the Unitarian theological rebellion against Puritan Calvinism, moving toward a post-Christian spirituality that held each man and woman capable of spiritual development and fulfillment. They developed literary as well as theological forms of expression, making perhaps a stronger impact on American literary and artistic culture than they did on American religion.
The heritage of India he has found many religion books and religion stories. Along with it many new religions have also been found. In which Hinduism, Muslimism, Christianity, Jainism, Buddhism etc., many religions have become a community in India. Most people in India believe in religion and spirituality. Even in modern times we see this in large numbers. Religious sentiments are more prevalent among Indians. So they have more faith in religion. It has a high proportion of people who believe in Krishna and Rama in particular. Indian literature includes all these religion books. It deals with the existentialism of man.
With two world wars, the 20th century, not surprisingly, saw a profusion of anti-war books. Joseph Heller, Norman Mailer, Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway, Erich Maria Remarque, Irène Némirovsky — to name a handful — wrote on the devastating impact of conflict. In Heller’s absurd war novel, Catch 22, American bombardier John Yossarian justifies to himself that his bombing missions over Italy are at odds with his intention to “live forever or die in the attempt”. But if Heller’s satire is about fear, Ernest Hemingway’s chilling, boots on the ground novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, is about love and loss, life and death. When it was published in October 1940, The New York Times hailed it as the “most moving document” on the Spanish civil war and the “first major novel of the Second World War.”
Character analysis.....
Robert Jordan
An American volunteer for the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War and the protagonist of For Whom the Bell Tolls. Robert Jordan is pragmatic, very good at what he does, and never lets his emotions interfere with his work. He appreciates physical pleasures like smelling pine trees, drinking absinthe, and having sex. At the same time, he is conflicted about his role within the war and within the larger world. Interior dialogues in which he argues with himself about these conflicts constitute a significant part of the novel. Over the course of the novel, he gradually resolves these tensions and learns to integrate his rational, thinking side with his intuitive, feeling side.
Pablo
The leader of the guerrilla camp. Pablo is an individualist who feels responsible only to himself. Hemingway often compares him to a bull, a boar, and other burly, stubborn, and unpleasant animals. Pablo used to be a great fighter and a great man but has now started drinking and has “gone bad,” as many characters remark. Tired of the war and attached to his horses, Pablo is ready to betray the Republican cause at the start of the novel.
Pablo’s part-gypsy “woman.” Pilar means “pillar” in Spanish, and indeed, the fiercely patriotic, stocky, and steadfast Pilar is—if not the absolute leader—the support center of the guerrilla group. Pilar keeps the hearth, fights in battle, mothers Robert Jordan, and bullies Pablo and Rafael. She has an intuitive, mystical connection to deeper truths about the working of the world.
A young woman with Pablo’s band who falls in love with Robert Jordan. The victim of rape at the hands of Fascists who took over her town, Maria is frequently described by means of earth imagery. Hemingway compares her movements to a colt’s, and Robert Jordan affectionately calls her “Rabbit.”
An old, trustworthy guerrilla fighter. For Robert Jordan, Anselmo represents all that is good about Spaniards. He lives close to the land, is loyal, follows directions, and stays where he is told. He likes to hunt but has not developed a taste for the kill and hates killing people. Anselmo has stopped praying ever since the Communists banned organized religion but admits that he misses it.
Agustín
A trustworthy and high-spirited guerrilla fighter. Agustín, who mans the machine gun, curses frequently and is secretly in love with Maria.
Fernando
A guerrilla fighter in his mid-thirties. Short and with a lazy eye, Fernando is dignified and literal-minded, embraces bureaucracy, and is easily offended by vulgarities. These factors, combined with his lack of a sense of humor, make Fernando the frequent target of Pilar’s jokes.
Primitivo
An elderly guerrilla fighter. Despite his gray hair and broken nose, Primitivo has not learned the cynicism needed for survival in the war. His name, which means “primitive,” evokes his idealism as well as the basic, earthy lifestyle of all the guerrilleros.
Rafael
A gypsy member of the guerrilla band. Frequently described as well-meaning but “worthless,” Rafael proves his worthlessness by leaving his lookout post at a crucial moment. He is a foil for the trustworthy Anselmo, who does not leave his post on the previous night despite the cold and the snow. Rafael has few loyalties and does not believe in political causes.
**Hemingway’s use of Language**
*For Whom the Bell Tolls
English sprinkled with Spanish words and phrases. Many sections, especially dialogue and interior monologue, are written as though they have been translated word-for-word from Spanish to English and retain the structure and cadence of the Spanish language.
**The Old Man and The Sea**
*Hemingway’s use of Narrative Technique
*For Whom the Bell Tolls
*The Old Man and The Sea
The point of view used in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man And The Sea is omniscient third person as the narrator is able to tell what and how the main characters think. In this way, a reader may obtain more subjective view from the narrator. As mentioned in the summary (click here to read), the old man is the main character of the story. The distance between the narrator and the old man helps create the solitude felt by the latter. What is more noteworthy is that though the old man is called Santiago, this Christian name appears only four times throughout the story.
The reason for the narrator to call him constantly the old man has probably something to do with his dignity. On three occasions, the name Santiago is said to be called by the boy Manolin. On the first two occasions, the boy attempts to persuade the old man to take him to the adventurous sail. For the third time, his name appeared when he is fighting alone with the marlin. His left hand is injured after the battle. The sun is soon set, and he tried to give solace to himself while recalling the moment he had beaten a man in arm wrestling. Then comes the comment of the narrator:
For Hemingway, point of view is important. ‘For Whom Bell Tolls’ presents the narrative through an omniscient point of view that continually shifts back and forth between the characters. In this way, Hemingway can effectively chronicle the effect of the war on the men and women involved. The narrator shifts from Anselmo’s struggles in the snow during his watch to Pilar’s story about Pablo’s execution of Fascists and El Sordo’s lonely death to help readers more clearly visualize their experiences.
His use of language — Short words, straightforward sentence structures, vivid descriptions, and factual details combine to create an almost transparent medium for his engaging and realistic stories. Yet without calling attention to itself, the language also resonates with complex emotions and larger and larger meanings — displaying the writer's skill in his use of such subtle techniques as sophisticated patterns; repeated images, allusions, and themes; repeated sounds, rhythms, words, and sentence structures; indirect revelation of historical fact; and blended narrative modes.
