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

    Kubla Khan written by ST Coleridge is all about imaginations. To explain the romantic elements in the poem, we must know that the preceding age i.e. the Neoclassical Age was considered to be the age of reason. Imaginations were replaced by reality. The Romantics totally rejected the rationality andRead more

    Kubla Khan written by ST Coleridge is all about imaginations. To explain the romantic elements in the poem, we must know that the preceding age i.e. the Neoclassical Age was considered to be the age of reason. Imaginations were replaced by reality.

    The Romantics totally rejected the rationality and logic in literature and particularly in poetry. They rather focused on imaginations and creativity and for that nature was the only solution. Hence they took up the maxims “Art for the art’s sake” and “Return back to nature“.

    Kubla Khan as a Romantic Poem is all about the nature and its appreciation. The poem consists of four stanzas and after each stanza, the level of imaginations and creativity goes deeper and ultimately, there is the willing suspension of disbelief.

    In the first stanza, the poet appreciates the man-made beauty of City of Xanadu. In the next stanza, he moves to the beauty of divine creativity. In the third stanza, he creates and artefact by combining the Creativity of Kubla Khan and that of Nature- an act of pure imaginations.

    In the final stanza, he talks about “a damsel with dulcimer” who is an African. Her music is quite charming. The poet says that by combining all the creativities (in imaginations) he will drink “the milk of paradise”.

    Thus the poem is full of imaginations and what the poet experiences is because of his willing suspension of disbelief.

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

    The poem The Gift of India by Sarojini Naidu is written for the Indian soldiers who fought for the British in World War 1. The speaker here is the India or Mother India who is personified as the mother of all those children. As mother, India tells the world that she has never denied anything to themRead more

    The poem The Gift of India by Sarojini Naidu is written for the Indian soldiers who fought for the British in World War 1. The speaker here is the India or Mother India who is personified as the mother of all those children.

    As mother, India tells the world that she has never denied anything to them. She even gave her priceless sons to them which were though inseparable from her.

    She weeps for the loss inflicted on her by the world. Her sons were made to fight on foreign lands who died there and were buried in groups. Thus the victory is nothing for her because she is seeing beyond it i.e. the blood and the pain of the soldiers.

    She also feels proud that she has given birth to such brave and courageous sons who fought fearlessly and sacrificed their lives.

    In the end she says that when peace will be restored and everything will be normal, her sons, their contributions and sacrifices will be remembered by the people.

    Read the summary of the poem here.

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

    Problem play takes up important issues of the society using the way of conversation between the characters or actors in the play before the audience. These characters express different ideas which clash with each other. These clashing ideas help the audience and the readers to understand the issue aRead more

    Problem play takes up important issues of the society using the way of conversation between the characters or actors in the play before the audience. These characters express different ideas which clash with each other. These clashing ideas help the audience and the readers to understand the issue and reach a solution on their own.

    In Pygmalion by GB Shaw, Professor Henry Higgins makes Cockney speaking flower girl Eliza Doolittle to master English. He succeeds in doing so within six months. Eliza succeeds in learning English and can speak it fluently. However, the rise in her standard because of her language now becomes a problem for her.

    She develops the feeling of love for Professor Higgins but the latter remains cold to it. She can neither live with him nor she can go back to flower-selling business. Having no choice she has to marry Freddy, a poor and petty man.

    This is what a person who is poor and uneducated feels when he suddenly becomes rich and literate. Hence it is a problem play. The playwright leaves it to the audience to decide what Eliza should have done.

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

    The poet laments the pitiful plight of the Indians and in a way unveils the state of people were now downtrodden. They were in the clutches of the cruel British rule. Tagore expresses his vision of the characteristics of a glorious country. In a way, this is his Utopia. He dwells on the theme of notRead more

    The poet laments the pitiful plight of the Indians and in a way unveils the state of people were now downtrodden. They were in the clutches of the cruel British rule. Tagore expresses his vision of the characteristics of a glorious country. In a way, this is his Utopia.

    He dwells on the theme of not only political freedom but also spiritual freedom, freedom of mind, speech, beliefs, practices and thought. He wants to bring forth the uselessness of blind faith and strong comments on the role of logical reasoning in the prosperity of our country.

    In this poem written in pre-independence days, the poet skilfully writes about blissful heaven where people of his country will be free from prejudices and not fragmented by narrow walls.

    He sketches a moving picture of the nation he would like India to be a nation within the fold of brotherhood, a nation having no apprehensions and no fear of oppression. The poem is a reflection of the poet’s utmost faith in God to whom he pleads to guide his countrymen.

    Read the summary here.

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

    Romanticism emerged as an important movement in English Literature with the publication of Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth in 1798 AD. It was a direct attack on Neoclassical Age and particularly the Industrial Revolution which resulted in mass migration to urban areas. This mass migration ledRead more

    Romanticism emerged as an important movement in English Literature with the publication of Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth in 1798 AD. It was a direct attack on Neoclassical Age and particularly the Industrial Revolution which resulted in mass migration to urban areas.

    This mass migration led to a number of problems like poverty, unemployment, low wages, diseases, deaths etc. Romanticism’s main slogans were “Return back to nature” and “Art for the art’s sake”.

    The Romantic literature helped the society to appreciate the beauty of nature and take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city-life.

    Imagination was the primary source of literature of that time, The works like Kubla Khan by ST ColeridgeHappy Insensibility by John Keats etc are the products of pure imagination and revolve around nature and its beauty. The Romantics brought to light the suffering of the people to light through their works.

    In addition the writers of the age also quested for God. Coleridge’s “willing suspension of disbelief” made to people to give up their rationality and live in the world of imaginations.

    Read about:

    1. Features of Romantic Poetry
    2. Features of Romantic Prose
    3. Romantic Criticism
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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Charles Dickens is one of the significant novelist of the Victorian Age. Most of his novels were published in the newspapers and magazines in the form of series or episodes. This is why each unit of any of his novels is a complete story in itself. Being born in middle class, his novels reflect the lRead more

    Charles Dickens is one of the significant novelist of the Victorian Age. Most of his novels were published in the newspapers and magazines in the form of series or episodes. This is why each unit of any of his novels is a complete story in itself. Being born in middle class, his novels reflect the life style of his society.

    His novels can be categorised intro:

    1. Comics
    2. Histories
    3. Sentimental Fictions
    4. Social Fictions

    Following are the main features that make Charles Dickens as one of the prominent novelist of his time.

    • Autobiographical Nature; Most of his novels like “Great Expectations“, “A Tale of Two Cities”, “Oliver Twist” have ample of autobiographical elements that reflect the life history of the novelist.
    • Adventure: Adventure is of the primary feature of most of his novels. e.g. In Great Expectations, Pip leads an adventurous life. A number of situations arise a sense of fear, excitement and compassion among the audience and readers.
    • Humour: Comic elements are present in most of his plays. His first novel Pickwick Papers is considered to be the one of the best humorous novels in English Language.
    • Satire: The social novels of Charles Dickens have satirical elements. These novels depict the real picture of Victorian society and also the influence of industrial revolution.
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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    The poem The Express by Stephen Spender is an example of new romantic poetry which is quite different from the traditional Romanticism. In the poem, rather than going back to nature (as Romantics like Wordsworth or Keats did), the poet appreciates the running of an Express Train which is the symbolRead more

    The poem The Express by Stephen Spender is an example of new romantic poetry which is quite different from the traditional Romanticism. In the poem, rather than going back to nature (as Romantics like Wordsworth or Keats did), the poet appreciates the running of an Express Train which is the symbol of Industrial Revolution.

    The poet begins with train’s leaving the station like a queen and moves through villages where fields, houses and graveyards surround the track. The train here is presented as joyful and happy which is again a direct attack on Romanticism which presented Industrial Revolution calling it the root cause of all the miseries.

    Read the summary of the poem here.

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

    In Final Solutions by Mahesh Dattani, Ramanik is a secular minded person who believes in communal harmony among different communities. In past his father and grandfather had burnt the shop of a muslim family and began their own business on that place. Ramanik tries to reparate for the blunders doneRead more

    In Final Solutions by Mahesh Dattani, Ramanik is a secular minded person who believes in communal harmony among different communities. In past his father and grandfather had burnt the shop of a muslim family and began their own business on that place.

    Ramanik tries to reparate for the blunders done by his forefather. When Babban and Javed enter his house, he tries to protect them from Hindu Mob. He is abused by the people of his community for giving shelter to Muslims. Even stones are thrown at his house. However he does not let them do any harm to Babban and Javed.

    Javed remains quite harsh to Ramanik and even scolds him for what his community is doing. However, Ramanik remains calm and quiet and even offers him job in his shop. The sense of guilt does not vanish away from his mind and ultimately in the end he hates his shop and drops the idea of visiting it again.

    Read the summary of play here.

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