English Notes Latest Questions

In: ,
  1. Amelia mazumder
    Amelia mazumder

    The cold corridors at the beginning of the short story denotes the coldness within Miss Meadows. Miss Meadows has already read the letter and her cold feelings and bitter emotional turmoil is reverberated in the surroundings. The school corridors are cold, symbolizing Miss Meadows cold heart which iRead more

    The cold corridors at the beginning of the short story denotes the coldness within Miss Meadows. Miss Meadows has already read the letter and her cold feelings and bitter emotional turmoil is reverberated in the surroundings. The school corridors are cold, symbolizing Miss Meadows cold heart which is because she read that her fiancé wishes to call off their engagement.

    Read summary of The Singing Lesson

    See less
    • 0
In: ,
  1. Amelia mazumder
    Amelia mazumder
    This answer was edited.

    Miss Meadows was engaged to a man called Basil. But one day, she received a letter from him saying that the engagement was broken off. Miss Meadows was unable to believe as she had no idea what went wrong. She was dejected and sad and that affected her classes. She was so upset that she was unable tRead more

    Miss Meadows was engaged to a man called Basil. But one day, she received a letter from him saying that the engagement was broken off. Miss Meadows was unable to believe as she had no idea what went wrong. She was dejected and sad and that affected her classes. She was so upset that she was unable to concentrate on her classes properly. She made her students sing a dreary song, which reflected her inner sadness.

    Read summary of The Singing Lesson

    See less
    • 0
In: ,
  1. Amelia mazumder
    Best Answer
    Amelia mazumder
    This answer was edited.

    The letter from her fiancé, Basil, torments Miss Meadows as she takes her class. She cannot get over the fact that Basil has called off their engagement as he thought their marriage would be nothing but a mistake. Throughout the lesson, her mind gets stuck on the letter. Read summary of The SingingRead more

    The letter from her fiancé, Basil, torments Miss Meadows as she takes her class. She cannot get over the fact that Basil has called off their engagement as he thought their marriage would be nothing but a mistake. Throughout the lesson, her mind gets stuck on the letter.

    Read summary of The Singing Lesson

    See less
    • 1
In: ,
  1. Amelia mazumder
    Amelia mazumder
    This answer was edited.

    Mary Beazley motioned towards rather than handed her mistress a beautiful yellow chrysanthemum. But instead of taking it up and tucking it in her belt as she usually did, Miss Meadows totally ignored her chrysanthemum and made no reply to her greeting. Read summary of The Singing Lesson

    Mary Beazley motioned towards rather than handed her mistress a beautiful yellow chrysanthemum. But instead of taking it up and tucking it in her belt as she usually did, Miss Meadows totally ignored her chrysanthemum and made no reply to her greeting.

    Read summary of The Singing Lesson

    See less
    • 0
In: ,
  1. Amelia mazumder
    Amelia mazumder
    This answer was edited.

    The story opened on a fine autumn morning when Miss Meadows was on her way to the hall to teach her students. She was already not in a good mood, “cold sharp despair-buried deep in her heart”, as her mind was unable to leave the contents of the letter. The letter came from her fiancé, Basil, who hadRead more

    The story opened on a fine autumn morning when Miss Meadows was on her way to the hall to teach her students. She was already not in a good mood, “cold sharp despair-buried deep in her heart”, as her mind was unable to leave the contents of the letter. The letter came from her fiancé, Basil, who had written to call off the wedding. The letter pierced Miss Meadows’ heart as she went over the contents again and again. The letter said that Basil thought their marriage would be a mistake and he didn’t want to live with that regret. Such a letter was enough to send anyone into grief. Soon Miss Meadows made her way to the music hall where forms four, five and six had assembled for their lesson. She turned towards the class and told them “page fourteen, please, and mark the accents well.” The so-called music peace was “A Lament” and it seemed to aptly suit the mood of their teacher, though it was not known to the students. As the music echoed in the hall, Miss Meadows continued being lost in the letter. She tried in vain to recollect what went wrong in their relationship. This was so sudden that she was unable to believe it. She kept recalling the contents of the letter which said that he was not a marrying man yet he had once confessed to her that one way or the other he had gotten fond of her. She then focused on her students and told them it was not the proper way to do it. She asked them to put expression to the song by feeling the sadness, grief and sorrow. While she was thinking this, a door opened and a little girl in blue walked up to her saying the headmistress, Miss Wyatt, wanted to see Miss Meadows. She rushed to the headmistress’s room who informed her that she had a telegram for her. Basil had written it to say that she should ignore the last letter as he had been mad enough to write it. Miss Meadows couldn’t control her happiness at the prospect of such good news and left for the hall. Only this time her walk was of joy and happiness. When she entered the music hall again, she made it a point to ask the students to sing another song. The song, which they sang at the end, was indeed not a lament but a joyful song, “page thirty two.” It talked about flowers and fruits and ribbons and Miss Meadows asked her students to feel the happiness through the song and express it out.

    Read summary of The Singing Lesson

    See less
    • 2
In: ,
  1. Amelia mazumder
    Amelia mazumder
    This answer was edited.

    The theme of desperation is quite prominent throughout the story. Miss Meadows undergoes emotional turmoil, despair and sadness when she receives the letter from her fiancé, telling her that the marriage would be a mistake. She is miserable on reading that and the misery is reflected through the musRead more

    The theme of desperation is quite prominent throughout the story. Miss Meadows undergoes emotional turmoil, despair and sadness when she receives the letter from her fiancé, telling her that the marriage would be a mistake. She is miserable on reading that and the misery is reflected through the music. “With despair- cold, sharp despair- buried deep in her heart like a knife.” When she goes to take a class, she asks the students to sing a lament, which is lamenting her inner grief and sorrow. She is desperate to get married as she no longer wants to live as a spinster. She believes it to be a miracle to get engaged to someone like Basil at thirty years and now when he wants to call off the wedding, she is upset and dejected. She tries to recall what went wrong but is unable to. She is desperate to get married to Basil and didn’t even care whether he loves her or not.

    Read summary of The Singing Lesson

    See less
    • 0
In: ,
  1. Amelia mazumder
    Amelia mazumder
    This answer was edited.

    The title of the story as “The Singing Lesson” is aptly justified. The story takes place in one singing lesson. Miss Meadows, initially enters the class on a sad and dejected note, her mind still stuck in the contents of the letter. Her students suffered under her as they did not know the reason ofRead more

    The title of the story as “The Singing Lesson” is aptly justified. The story takes place in one singing lesson. Miss Meadows, initially enters the class on a sad and dejected note, her mind still stuck in the contents of the letter. Her students suffered under her as they did not know the reason of her sadness. But once she received the happy news, her mood brightened. She is so happy that the sad song changes into a positive one. The singing lesson reflects her inner conflict throughout the story.

    Read summary of The Singing Lesson

    See less
    • 2