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  1. Poonam Sharma
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    Poonam Sharma literarian

    On a snowy afternoon, Jo decided to go out and dig paths in the snow for Beth to walk in when the sun came out. The garden separates The Marches’ house which is an old and brown looking rather exposed and damaged that has lost its summer charm from Mr. Laurance’s luxurious mansion that yet seemed aRead more

    On a snowy afternoon, Jo decided to go out and dig paths in the snow for Beth to walk in when the sun came out. The garden separates The Marches’ house which is an old and brown looking rather exposed and damaged that has lost its summer charm from Mr. Laurance’s luxurious mansion that yet seemed a lonely, lifeless sort of house with an old gentleman, his grandson and lots of servants as no children would be seen playing in their lawn nor any glimpse of warm smiling faces.

    Jo had long wanted to be friends with the Laurance boy only if she knew how to. For a long time, Jo had not seen Laurie and thought he must have gone away, when one day she spotted a brown face at an upper window, looking down into their garden, where Beth and Amy were snow-balling one another.

     Jo felt pity for the young boy and decides to throw a snowball on his window to grab his attention. Laurie admitted that he’s been sick with a cold, and he invited Jo to come over. While Jo went back to her house to inform her mother, Laurie on the other hand was super excited to have company for the first time and rushed to get ready and make his place tidy as Jo called him “a little gentleman “even when the place was spotless already.

     Jo arrives with an armful of offerings for Laurie that is love from her mother, blanc-mange (a type of custard) from Meg and Beth’s kittens as she thought they would be comforting. The kittens were just what he was missing which made him forget his shyness and became friends at once.

    Jo uncovered Meg’s blanc-mange which was surrounded by green leaves and scarlet flowers from Amy’s pet geranium for Laurie to have while having tea which would help him recover his sore throat. Laurie liked Jo’s company and wanted to talk to her more about her sisters which amusingly he already knew their names as he would often peep through their window to see them enjoy with each other as he did not have a mother or siblings. 

    Jo saw the loneliness and hunger for love and happiness in his eyes, she knew how rich she was in that matter and gladly shared it with Laurie and assured him that they would never draw the curtains and offered him to come over instead of peeping through his window as they will all make sure to keep him entertained with their company.

    Laurie’s Grandpa would allow him to go over to their place only if Jo’s mother asked him to, he is a kind old man who lives among his books, remains unbothered by the outside world, and lets Laurie do pretty much everything he wants to but is scared to let Laurie be bothered by strangers. Mrs. Brooke who is Laurie’s tutor doesn’t stay at his house which leaves him with no option but to spend time by himself.

    Jo feels bad for Laurie which makes him turn red but he is not offended by being accused of being shy as Jo had so much goodwill in her that he couldn’t get angry at her. Laurie changes the subject by asking if she liked her school and wanted to ask another but stopped as it wasn’t good manners to ask too many questions about people’s business.

    Seeing Laurie’s decency, she didn’t mind laughing about her Aunt March so she gave him a lively description of the fussy old lady, her fat dog, the parrot that talked Spanish, and the library where she enjoyed. Laurie loved the conversation and laughed so hard that even the servants peeped to see what the matter was. 

    Jo found that the love for books is one common interest that they both have and Laurie has read even more than her. He took her to his grandpa’s library which she admired and gave her a tour of the house. Jo pretended that she was not afraid of anything but deep down Laurie’s grandpa can be an exception as when he arrived, she admitted that she might be “a little bit afraid of him”. 

    Laurie went away when Jo diverted herself in her way and when the door opened which she didn’t notice, without turning said decidedly “I’m sure now that I shouldn’t be afraid of him, for he’s got kind eyes, though his mouth is grim, and he looks as if he had a tremendous will of his own. He isn’t as handsome as my grandfather, but I like him.” Turns out that it was Laurie’s grandpa standing behind her. Jo’s heart began to beat uncomfortably fast yet she managed to please the old gentleman with her conversation.

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  1. Poonam Sharma
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    Poonam Sharma literarian

    Following poetic devices/literary devices have been used in the poem All the World's a Stage: Simile- A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two things. Examples- “creeping like snail”, “Sighing like furnace”, “bearded like the pard” Metaphor- A metaphor directly refers to one thing bRead more

    Following poetic devices/literary devices have been used in the poem All the World’s a Stage:

    1. Simile- A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two things. Examples- “creeping like snail”, “Sighing like furnace”, “bearded like the pard”
    2. Metaphor- A metaphor directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. Examples- “All the world’s a stage”, “all the men and women merely players”
    3. Alliteration- It is the occurrence of the same sound at the beginning of closely connected words. Examples- “his shrunk shank”, “quick in quarrel”
    4. Symbolism– Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities. Here, “stage” is used as a symbol for the world, “players” is the symbol for men and women, and “acts” symbolises ages.

    Short Summary of the Poem All the World’s a Stage

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  1. Athar
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    Athar

    Hamid, a four year boy is the hero or protagonist of the short story Idgah. He lives with his grandmother Amina. Hamid recently lost his parents; However, his grandmother told him that his father had left to earn money, and his mother went to Allah to bring him a beautiful gift. This makes Hamid hopRead more

    Hamid, a four year boy is the hero or protagonist of the short story Idgah. He lives with his grandmother Amina. Hamid recently lost his parents; However, his grandmother told him that his father had left to earn money, and his mother went to Allah to bring him a beautiful gift. This makes Hamid hopeful. Although Amina is concerned about her poverty and the happiness of her grandchildren, Hamid is a happy and active girl.

    The story begins on the morning of Eid al-Fitr, Hamid and the other boys from the village go to Eid al-Fitr. Hamid was extremely poor with his friends, wearing threadbare clothes, and seemed very hungry, since Eddie’s vacation was only three years old. Other kids spend their pocket money on attractions, candy, and beautiful clay toys, and Hamid will scoff at him when he thinks this is a waste of money for temporary happiness. When his friends were having fun, he overcame the temptation, went to the hardware store to buy a pair of tongs and remembered that his grandmother burned her finger while making kebabs.

    When they returned to the village, Hamid’s friends mocked him for buying his toys, complimenting the advantages of his toys over his tweezers. Hamid presented several ingenious arguments to refute. Soon after, his friends were more fascinated by the pliers than their own toys and even offered to trade their items for their own, but Hamid refused. When Hamid gave the tongs to his grandmother, the story ended on a poignant note. At first, she blamed him for buying things instead of buying things to eat or drink at the market, until Hamid reminded her of how he burned his fingers every day. She burst into tears and blessed him for his kindness.

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  1. Poonam Sharma
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    Poonam Sharma literarian

    Following figures of speech have been used in the poem Lines Written in Early Spring: Alliteration- It is the occurrence of the same sound at the beginning of closely connected words. Examples- “What Man has made of Man”, “Their thoughts” Personification- Personification is a figure of speech in whiRead more

    Following figures of speech have been used in the poem Lines Written in Early Spring:

    1. Alliteration- It is the occurrence of the same sound at the beginning of closely connected words. Examples- “What Man has made of Man”, “Their thoughts”
    2. Personification– Personification is a figure of speech in which an idea or thing is given human attributes and/or feelings or is spoken of as if it were human. Examples- “every flower/ Enjoys the air it breathes”, “budding twigs spread out their fan/ To catch the breezy air”, “Nature’s holy plan”, “To her fair works did Nature link”
    3. Enjambment– It is the continuation of a sentence to multiple lines. Many of the sentences in this poem span multiple lines and are therefore of this nature.
    4. Imagery– Imagery refers to the elements of a poem that engage a reader’s senses. The poet uses imagery through his descriptions of nature in this poem.

    Lines Written in Early Spring Stanza Wise Summary

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  1. Poonam Sharma
    Poonam Sharma literarian

    Anaphora: An anaphora is a technique where several phrases (or verses in a poem) begin with the same word or words. e.g. “They growl at that and they growl at this; They growl at the rain and they growl at the sun;” Epithet: An epithet is an adjective or phrase expressing a quality or attribute regaRead more

    1. Anaphora: An anaphora is a technique where several phrases (or verses in a poem) begin with the same word or words. e.g. “They growl at that and they growl at this; They growl at the rain and they growl at the sun;”
    1. Epithet: An epithet is an adjective or phrase expressing a quality or attribute regarded as characteristic of the person or the thing mentioned. e.g. grumble family, complaining street
    2. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in successive or nearby words. E.g. High- Humble, They’d- They’d, Growl- Grumble, Long- Learn, Smile- Song.
    3. The rhyming scheme is ‘aabb’.
    4. Contrast: Contrast means opposite and noticeable difference. It usually shows up in pairs. Eg. “The weather is always too hot or cold”.

    The Grumble Family Poem Summary

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  1. Poonam Sharma
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    Poonam Sharma literarian

    Alliteration- It is the occurrence of the same sound at the beginning of closely connected words. Examples- “So show me, son”, “But believe me” Simile- A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two things. Examples- “with all their conforming smiles/ Like a fixed portrait smile”, “ShowsRead more

    1. Alliteration- It is the occurrence of the same sound at the beginning of closely connected words. Examples- “So show me, son”, “But believe me”
    2. Simile- A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two things. Examples- “with all their conforming smiles/ Like a fixed portrait smile”, “Shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs”
    3. Enjambment– It is the continuation of a sentence to multiple lines. Many of the sentences in this poem span multiple lines and are therefore of this nature.
    4. Metaphor- A metaphor directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. Example- “ice-block-cold eyes”.

    Once Upon A Time by Gabriel Okara Poem Summary

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  1. Poonam Sharma
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    Poonam Sharma literarian

    Following poetic devices/literary devices have been used in the poem The House on Elm Street: Personification: representation of a thing or abstraction as a person or by the human form Example: “It sat alone”, “At night the house seems to be alive”, “It plays with your mind.”, “Beside the house sitsRead more

    Following poetic devices/literary devices have been used in the poem The House on Elm Street:

    1. Personification: representation of a thing or abstraction as a person or by the human form Example: “It sat alone”, “At night the house seems to be alive”, “It plays with your mind.”, “Beside the house sits a tree”
    2. Metaphor/ Synecdoche: a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else. Example: “But at the same time, it is bare to the bone”
    3. Hyperbole: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. Example: “And inside you can tell it has a ton of space”
    4. Onomatopoeia: a word that sounds like the common sound of the object it is describing. Example: “Lights Flicker on and off”
    5. Paradox: a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true. Example: “It just sits there, never getting small or ever-growing tall.”
    6. Rhetorical Questions: a question asked to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer. Example: “How could this be?” “What happened inside that house?”
    7. Alliteration: Alliteration is when two or more words that start with the same sound are used repeatedly in a phrase or a sentence. e.g. “bare to the bone”, “be a bit brighter”, “spring, summer”.

    The House on Elm Street Poem by Nadia Bush Summary in English

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  1. Poonam Sharma
    Poonam Sharma literarian

    Alliteration: Alliteration is when two or more words that start with the same sound are used repeatedly in a phrase or a sentence. ... For example, 'tasty tacos' is considered an alliteration, but 'thirty typist' is not, because 'th' and 'ty' don't sound the same. Alliteration is a type of repetitioRead more

    1. Alliteration: Alliteration is when two or more words that start with the same sound are used repeatedly in a phrase or a sentence. … For example, ‘tasty tacos’ is considered an alliteration, but ‘thirty typist’ is not, because ‘th’ and ‘ty’ don’t sound the same. Alliteration is a type of repetition- a repetition of sounds. There are many usages of alliterations in the poem such as ‘ happy heart’. The effect of this is that even though the two words are very positive, the alliteration helps it by adding more effect into it as the two h sounds make the words much more pleasing to the ear and help us grasp a better view of it
    2. There are points that two words with opposite meanings are put next to each other such a Youth and Age. This is done as the two are put together to show a better contrast between the two concepts. 
    3. The rhyming scheme of the poem is “abbaabba cddcee”
    4. The language used here is quite simple. Soothing and soft words are used such as friendship, smooth, sought, and soul. This emphasizes the fact that the journey of life is an enjoyable one and is best to accept what it has to offer rather than go against it.
    5. Anaphora: An anaphora is a rhetorical device in which a word or expression is repeated at the beginning of a number of sentences, clauses, or phrases. A well-known example of this may be found in the speech given by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons on June 4th, 1940: “We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air…”. The poet used anaphora at the beginning of some neighboring lines however the same word not is repeated. 
    6. The form of the poem might be a sonnet with iambic pentameter or an irregular meter.
    7. The poem is written more of a speech than a poem judging by how it is structured and how each line flows into one another. For example:“So let the way wind up the hill or down, O’er rough or smooth, the journey will be joy:”

    Life Poem by Henry Van Dyke Summary & Line by Line Explanation

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  1. Poonam Sharma
    Poonam Sharma literarian

    The character of Hamid is pure and selfless. Despite the fact that he had three paisas to buy anything he wanted to, he chooses to buy a gift for his grandmother who is responsible for his upbringing. Hamid’s selflessness stands out throughout the story. He’s caring and generous towards others and eRead more

    The character of Hamid is pure and selfless. Despite the fact that he had three paisas to buy anything he wanted to, he chooses to buy a gift for his grandmother who is responsible for his upbringing. Hamid’s selflessness stands out throughout the story. He’s caring and generous towards others and especially towards his grandmother. He doesn’t complain of the poverty and neither does he complain when the other children are buying gifts. He’s thoughtful and considerate of his situation which his grandmother need no tell him directly. 

    Idgah Story in English Summary

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  1. Poonam Sharma
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    Poonam Sharma literarian

    Following poetic devices have been used in the poem The Comet:   Antithesis: It is a figure of speech in which opposite words or ideas are used in the same sentence. Example-Never stopping day or night Alliteration: It is the occurrence of the same sound at the beginning of adjacent or closelyRead more

    Following poetic devices have been used in the poem The Comet:

     

    1. Antithesis: It is a figure of speech in which opposite words or ideas are used in the same sentence. Example-Never stopping day or night
    2. Alliteration: It is the occurrence of the same sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. e.g. “a comet in full flight”, “vapour from the force”, “come too close to earth”, “Scientists say”.
    3. Repetition: it is the repetition of words/phrases/sentences for poetic effect. e.g. the phrase “comet in full flight” is repeated in the poem.

    The Comet Poem Summary & Line by Line Explanation

     

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