English Notes Latest Questions

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  1. Poonam Sharma
    Poonam Sharma literarian

    In the first stanza of the poem Obituary, the poet, AK Ramanujan is talking about the problems which arose immediately after the death of his father. According to him, after his (father's) death, there was nothing left in the house except for dust on a table of papers. In addition, he was indebted tRead more

    In the first stanza of the poem Obituary, the poet, AK Ramanujan is talking about the problems which arose immediately after the death of his father. According to him, after his (father’s) death, there was nothing left in the house except for dust on a table of papers.

    In addition, he was indebted to a number of people and hence a lot of debt was left behind by him for the poet to pay. He also left his daughters (probably unmarried). Hence the responsibility of his sisters were on the poet.

    And finally the poet says that his father left a young child who is bedwetting i.e. so young that he urinates on the bed and who is given the surname of his grandfather. In the first stanza, we find the picture of a patriarchal society and its problems when the head i.e. male member dies. No one is earning for livelihood and all the responsibilities fall on the poet

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    The short story A Letter to God is about the innocence of a poor farmer who becomes a victim of natural calamity. The author in this short story throws light on two important things: Blind-faith Lencho being uneducated has too much belief in God. For him God is on earth and one can easily have a disRead more

    The short story A Letter to God is about the innocence of a poor farmer who becomes a victim of natural calamity. The author in this short story throws light on two important things:

    Blind-faith

    Lencho being uneducated has too much belief in God. For him God is on earth and one can easily have a discussion with Him or even can ask for help. Hence he writes a letter to Him seeking His help.

    The employees are moved by the innocence of Lencho and thus collect money for him so that him belief in God may remain firm. The irony of the story is that he takes the postmen as thieves as he thinks that they have stolen his money. Thus blind-faith is a dangerous thing

    Corruption

    We have discussed above that Lencho is uneducated. However the poet highlights how common corruption is in the society that even illiterate and innocent people like Lencho are also well aware of this social evil.

    Read the detailed summary of A Letter to God

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Othello ends on a gruesome note where the tragic hero Othello murders his beloved Desdemona after being manipulated by Iago and driven by his jealous rage. Iago kills his own wife Emilia in order to defend his innocence but he is taken prisoner for his misdoings. Othello takes his own life after leaRead more

    Othello ends on a gruesome note where the tragic hero Othello murders his beloved Desdemona after being manipulated by Iago and driven by his jealous rage. Iago kills his own wife Emilia in order to defend his innocence but he is taken prisoner for his misdoings.

    Othello takes his own life after learning of Iago’s plot and Cassio is left as the leading man. Ludovico gives the ending message saying that he will convey what had transpired to the state.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Othello and Desdemona love each other immensely and scale many obstacles like racial difference and social stigma to get married to each other. However, the trouble begins to stir soon after. Othello is sent to Cyprus and Desdemona decides to accompany him. In Cyprus, the two barely connect as war tRead more

    Othello and Desdemona love each other immensely and scale many obstacles like racial difference and social stigma to get married to each other. However, the trouble begins to stir soon after.

    Othello is sent to Cyprus and Desdemona decides to accompany him. In Cyprus, the two barely connect as war times makes it difficult for them ti be intimate. This distance is exploited by Iago to drive a wedge of suspicion and mistrust between the two which eventually augurs the downfall of their love.

    Driven by jealousy and rage Othello ends up killing Desdemona who dies pleading for innocence. Their love ends in tragic ruins.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Iago is enraged when Othello selects Cassio as his lieutenant instead of him. He decides to plot for their demise and utter ruin. He manages to beguile Othello into believing that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona. Othello punishes Cassio by dishonouring him and ends up murdering Desdemona.Read more

    Iago is enraged when Othello selects Cassio as his lieutenant instead of him. He decides to plot for their demise and utter ruin. He manages to beguile Othello into believing that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona.

    Othello punishes Cassio by dishonouring him and ends up murdering Desdemona. Iago even uses Rodrigo and Emilia as pawn in his scheme of subterfuge and conspiracy.

    In the end, he finds his own ruin when Emilia exposes his plot and he gets apprehended for his crimes.

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  1. Poonam Sharma
    Poonam Sharma literarian

    There are mainly three themes which I find in the poem. 1. Celebration of Youth - The poet describes the benefit of being young. According to him, a young person can do anything. He is courageous, lavish, pleasure-seeking, passionate, brave and adventurous unlike the old man who is weak, lame, joyleRead more

    There are mainly three themes which I find in the poem.

    1. Celebration of Youth – The poet describes the benefit of being young. According to him, a young person can do anything. He is courageous, lavish, pleasure-seeking, passionate, brave and adventurous unlike the old man who is weak, lame, joyless, cautious and prefers rest.

    2. Generation Gap – The second important theme in the poem is that of differences that arise between the parents and their children. Both have different perspectives of seeing the thing. However the old try to force the young to live their life as per the wishes of the former which creates sharp differences between the two.

    3. Love is Young – In a patriarchal society, a male is always dominant. Whether he may be old or young, full of love or loveless, smart or ugly, he has the authority to choose a girl for himself while the latter doesn’t have any such rights. In the poem, the poet depicts that a girls desires young lover because only a young person can fall in love. Thus the poem can also be a critique of patriarchal society.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Handkerchief in Othello is the most significant object of interest. It belonged to Othello’s mother and he gifts it to Desdemona as an proof of his love and devotion. Iago knows that and asks his wife Emilia to steal it and then plants it on Cassio. Thus, the white handkerchief becomes the proof ofRead more

    Handkerchief in Othello is the most significant object of interest. It belonged to Othello’s mother and he gifts it to Desdemona as an proof of his love and devotion.

    Iago knows that and asks his wife Emilia to steal it and then plants it on Cassio. Thus, the white handkerchief becomes the proof of Desdemona’s chastity and fidelity.

    When Othello learns that she had lost it and believes that she gave it to Cassio who handed it to a prostitute he visited, it breaks Othello’s resolve and trust. It becomes the evidence of Desdemona’s ultimate betrayal.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    The handkerchief is an object of immense emotional value to Othello as it is one of the last vestige of his mother. He presents it to Desdemona to show his love and devotion to her. The white colour and red embroidery on it, represent the chastity of a virgin blood. Therefore as long as she kept itRead more

    The handkerchief is an object of immense emotional value to Othello as it is one of the last vestige of his mother. He presents it to Desdemona to show his love and devotion to her.

    The white colour and red embroidery on it, represent the chastity of a virgin blood. Therefore as long as she kept it with her, symbolically she remained loyal and chaste, at least in the eyes of Othello.

    When Emilia steals it on Iago’s behest and then Iago gives it to a prostitute to claim it as a gift from Cassio, it signifies the ultimate betrayal and humiliation for Othello. This leads his anger and jealousy overboard and he ends up smothering his wife to death.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    In Othello, black and white are represented by Othello and Desdemona. While Desdemona is pearl white and represents purity, innocence, beauty and virginity, Othello is considered uncultured, primitive, fear, anger and inferiority. These motifs are used profusely by Iago and other character like BrabRead more

    In Othello, black and white are represented by Othello and Desdemona. While Desdemona is pearl white and represents purity, innocence, beauty and virginity, Othello is considered uncultured, primitive, fear, anger and inferiority.

    These motifs are used profusely by Iago and other character like Brabantio, Rodrigo etc. In other instance and quite unconventionally, Shakespeare represents evil Iago with white ethnicity and virtuous Othello with black skin and Moorish ethnicity.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Animal imagery is used by Iago to derogate Othello as bestial when considering him as a mate for Desdemona. He uses it also to crudely describe the false affair between Cassio and Desdemona. Under Iago’s tutelage Rodrigo also uses such imagery describing Iago himself as inhuman dog. Even heartbrokenRead more

    Animal imagery is used by Iago to derogate Othello as bestial when considering him as a mate for Desdemona. He uses it also to crudely describe the false affair between Cassio and Desdemona.

    Under Iago’s tutelage Rodrigo also uses such imagery describing Iago himself as inhuman dog. Even heartbroken Othello uses it describe tears of women as crocodile tears, a sign of his distrust in Desdemona’s truthfulness.

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