Mir Afzal The Rape of the Lock About the Poem Alexander Pope, the dominant poetic figure among the Augustans, reflects the social tone of the urban literary world of his day. Born of Catholic parents, he was denied a formal education both in schools and the universities. Therefore he was a completely self taught genius. He chose … Read more
A Song for St.Cecilia’s Day Summary John Dryden wrote ‘A Song for St.Cecilia’s Day’ for performance with orchestra, to celebrate the festival of St. Cecilia’s Day (Nov. 22) in 1687. St. Cecila was a pious Christian lady who sacrificed her life in Rome in the year 230 AD. She is the patron saint of music. … Read more
Robert Browning is a well known English poet. He has written a large number of poems. All of his poems are in the form of drama. They narrate the story. The Pied Piper is a legendary tale of a magical man who rid the town of Hamelin of its rats. Hamelin is on the River Weser in Germany. In 1284, Hamelin was overrun with rats. A man promised the townspeople a solution. He played a musical pipe to draw the rats into the Weser. Browning wrote this poem for small children.
The story ‘The Rattrap‘ gives a psychological insight into human nature. The world around us is rampant with traps and dungeons waiting for our one slip. The author points out how greed for material things is trapping human beings. The short story upholds the belief that the inherent goodness of a human being can be awakened by love and understanding. It brings to the focus the notion that the universe is a rattrap. Riches, joys, shelter and food are all lucrative bait traps.
Trains By Humayun Kabir Introduction: Life is a kind of journey where a person feels excited as well as tired. The poem ‘Trains’ expresses this idea convincingly. In the poem, the poet is imaginatively engaged in observing the trains which move tediously towards their destiny without rest. He wonders where the trains come from and … Read more
Summary / Paraphrase “You Are Old, Father William†is a poem by Lewis Carroll written in a question-and-answer format. In the poem, there are two voices: that of a father and his son exchanging conflicting views. The son asks the father many questions about his odd behaviour in his old age. The father replies to … Read more
Setting Setting refers to the place and time where the events take place. Setting in a narrative always involves two things: time and place. In some stories, the setting is plainly stated for the reader; in others, we have to use clues to make an educated guess about the time/or place of the story. Time … Read more
A short story is prose, which is distinct from longer narratives such as epic, novels, and romance. It is essentially concerned with a single effect conveyed in a single episode or scene and involves a limited number of characters. A short story can have even one character and in more avant-garde examples, there need not be even a plot or a character.
Five Elements of Fiction: A story has fi ve basic but important elements. These fi ve components are: Plot, Setting, Character, Point of View, Theme. These essential elements keep the story running smoothly and allow the action to develop in a logical way that the reader can follow. I. Plot The action that takes place … Read more
Analysing Short Stories / Novels A short story is defined as a brief work of prose fiction and can be analyzed similarly as a novel. Historically, the genesis of short stories can be found in the Bible. Some famous stories include the accounts of Cain and Abel, the Prodigal Son, Ruth, and Judith. A few … Read more
Summary of The Shield of Achilles The Shield of Achilles is a wonderful poem. It is the title poem of the 1955 volume of poems entitled The Shield of Achilles. This is a very late poem in in the career of Wystan Hugh Auden. He is remembered as one of the greatest of 20th century … Read more
Introduction “In Memory of W.B. Yeats†was written by Auden in February 1939 in Memory of William Butler Yeats after his death in Roquebrune (Southern France) on January 29, 1939. This poem follows the traditional elegiac form. An elegy in literature is a poem that expresses mourning and grief, especially as a funeral song or … Read more