Muhammad Umar Farooq

M.A English (Section A) 1st

Semester

Prose
Assignment No 1
Q 1. Discuss Bacon as a child of renaissance with reference to his essays.

Ans. Bacon was one of the most typical and representative figures of renaissance.
He has a love for classical learning and natural beauty which are the qualities of
renaissance. Bacons life, character, habit and works, more especially the essays
reflect a number of features which was the spirit of renaissance.

Bacons philosophy is worldly; his essays are mines of worldly wisdom and are
considered for a young man seeking worldly advancement. They are full of
quotations from the ancient masters. They are all heavy with learning.
Sometimes even in a single sentence we find a large number of classical allusions
and references. In Bacons essays we find the Machiavellian approach to life, to
achieve success in life by using fair and foul means. This is an important
characteristic of renaissance age.

The renaissance was the time of exploration and regional conquests. This
aspect of renaissance is reflected in Bacons political essays. In the essays Of
Empire and Of true greatness of Kingdoms and Estates he points out the
various dangers that kings in the time faced. He gives useful advice to the kings
concern in their dealings with their neighbours, their wives, children, their clergy
and their nobles etc. He tells us that the greatness of a country is not by the
territory or population but the military power.

Bacons love of learning is portrayed in his essays. This love of learning is an

important quality of renaissance age. In his essay Of Studies he emphasizes the
advantages of reading. He says about the love of learning:

I have taken all the knowledge to be my province

Another feature of renaissance that is reflected in some of Bacons essays is his

love of beauty and the sensuousness. His essay Of Garden shows him as a lover
of natural beauty and an ardent love of sensuous beauty as he says:

And because the breath of flowers is far sweeter in the air than in the
hand.
 Another important characteristic of the Renaissance is the striking use of figure
of speech that is clear in Bacons essays. The metaphors and similes taken from
different spheres of knowledge and experience reflect the popular taste of the
age. We have a glimpse of his metaphors and similes in the following sentences
from his essays:

A mixture of lie doth ever add pleasure(Of Truth)

Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark.( Of Death)

The essay that highly explains Bacon as a renaissance thinker is Of Studies.

In this essay Bacon points out the utility and method of study and enumerates the
practical benefits to be derived from the study of different subjects. Bacon
provides certain rules for study. Firstly are to be weighed and considered. Again
books are to be read according to their importance in parts, without much care,
wholly with careful attention. The essay Of Studies consists of epigrammatic
sentences. Some of them have become so famous that they are on the lips of
even those men who have never heard the name of Bacon. Bacon says:

Some books are to be tasted, other to be swallowed, and some few to be

chewed and digested.

Crafty men condemn studies; simple men admire them; and wise men use
them.

In his essays Bacon shows a keen awareness of several branches of learning. He

is also a typical renaissance thinker in his emphasis on ethics and morality.
Renaissance age was accompanied with the great spirit of humanism. Bacons
essays are proper study of humanism and all of his essays have man as their
subject matter.

Bacon represents the intellectual modernity so closely associated with the

renaissance. In all matters Bacon was every inch a modern. He was thus the child
of his age.
Q 2: Bacon described his essays as Dispersed Meditations, as brief notes set
down rather significantly than curiously. Elucidate.

Ans : Francis Bacons essays show the example of Dispersed Meditations. He was
a busy man of the world. He was a keen and intelligent observer of man and his
life. Bacon was fully justified in describing his essays as dispersed meditations. He
means by the word essay certain brief notes set down rather significantly than
curiously. He regarded the essay as a receptacle for detached thoughts. Many of
his essays do indeed resemble note book jottings. One gets a good idea from
observation or from some book and quickly notes it down briefly, so as not to
forget it. .

Some of his essays, especially the earlier ones, are strings of sentences that
read like maxims. These sentences are not linked by any development of ideas.
There is of course no digression from the central subject. Almost every essay is a
miscellaneous collection of ideas relating to a particular subject.

Of course, Bacon does not stray away from the subject that he places before
himself. There is no digression in his essays, nothing irrelevent or unrelated to the
theme. But we cannot describe his essays as well-knit compositions because there
are no tight connections between the various ideas and the ideas do not seem to
flow from one another. We cannot claim that an essay by Bacon is a structural
unity. Ideas have been put together in his essays almost at random. And what is
more remarkable is that in the interests of brevity and condensation of thought,
even conjunctions and other logical connections are sometimes left out.

In Of Studies we find various ideas regarding study. The author gives us ideas
about the uses and abuses of reading books, ways of reading and so on. But we
do not find any connection between the ideas. He jumps from one topic to
another topic very abruptly, although the main topic study remains unchanged.
This essay begins with the statement that studies serve for delight, for ornament
and for ability. Next he says that it is not good to spend too much time on studies
or take too much from books for ornamentation of speech. He passes on to tell us
that study is perfected by experience. Then he states that Crafty men condemn
studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them and so on.
 Dispersed ideas are also found in the essay Of Truth. Here also we see that
the central idea is about truth, although he gives various ideas regarding truth
and truthfulness in dispersed way. At first Bacon tells the readers about the
people who do not care for truth. Certain people find great pleasure in changing
their opinions frequently because they desire ultimate freedom to act and think,
which would not be possible if they had to believe in a fixed principle. Here Bacon
says;

Certainly there be that delight in giddiness and count it a bondage to fix a belief;
affecting free will in thinking as well as acting. Then he proceeds, very abruptly,
to examine the tendency of human beings to feel more pleased by lies than by
truth. Then he jumps to the fact that the harm that is done by lies that sinks into
the minds of people and settles down there. Next he speaks about the values of
truth, which can be realized by those who have experienced and understood it.
We have once again a collection of terse sentences reading like maxims in Of
Marriage and Single Life. Here Bacon gives the advantages and disadvantages of
either state of life.

Abruptly, he goes on to chaste women being proud of their chastity and sober
men being faithful husbands. Then he says that a husband who is respected by his
wife for his wisdom will commend her loyalty as well. At the end of the essay
Bacon points out that bad husbands often have good wives.

In summing up it can be said that Bacons essays are full of dispersed

meditations. The ideas that come one after another do not have much harmony
between them. Actually his writings are full of aphorism for which the sentences
of his essays seem not related with one another. And all these things are seen in
his various essays
Q 3. Gullivers Travels was unique in its day; it was not written to woo or
entertain. It was an indictment, and it was most popular among those who
were indicted that is, politicians, scientists, philosophers and English men in
general. Swift was roasting people, and they were eager for the banquet.
Discuss Gullivers Travels as a political satire in the light of the statement given
above.

Ans. Jonathan Swift was one of the great satirists of his age and Gullivers
Travels is truly the apex of his art. The greatness of the work lies in the authors
proficient application of profound and biting satires. As a satire, the main purpose
of Gullivers Travels is to show certain shortcomings in 18th century English
society. Swift criticizes a world of mathematical and philosophical efforts that
does little or nothing to improve the lives of people. Besides this, Gulliver
describes the political structure and customs of Lilliput. It is easy to notice satire
on British on British government in many cases. For example, the fact that the
officials are chosen by their skill of rope-dancing seems to be ridiculous. In order
to get a powerful position in society, people are completely ready to literally jump
through hoops. The two political parties being differentiated by the height of their
heels point out how little difference there was between Whig and Tory. Swift
leaves the reader to perceive the satire and to interpret it himself. This clearly
reflects the British system of political appointments and shows that it is more
important to be cunning and clever than well-qualified to achieve a better
government position. Swifts political satire is a weapon against the political
conflict in this time. Through the exaggerations, he satirizes the contemporary
political condition as well as the politicians. By satirizing, he wants to bring into
account the human stupidity, barbarism and conceit. With each voyage, the
treatment of humanity becomes more inhuman in this time.

Gulliver introduces to the Kings Englands society and political system and
embellishes the truth. He describes how great England is, how judicious the
politics is and how just the law is. However, he could barely defend himself facing
the Kings question. Besides the comparison between the King liberal governance
and rule under England bourgeois class reveals corruption of its politics. On the
other hand, the ruling class of the country of the Houyhnhnms are horse-like
beings of reason, justice and honesty, whereas the ruled class yahoos, are
heinous, greedy and pugnacious creatures. The contrast between the
Houyhnhnms and the yahoos is extreme. The horses are clean and sweet-
smelling. Their diet is temperate and vegetarian. The yahoos , on the other hand,
are humen in form and feature. They are omnivorous but seem to prefer meat
and garbage.

In the voyage to Laputa, the main focus of social criticism is on intellectuals,

such as scholars, philosophers, and scientists, who often get lost in theoretical
abstractions and conceptions to the exclusion of the more pragmatic aspects of
life. Many critics feel Swift was satirizing the strange experiments of the scientists
of the Royal Society. The Laputians excel at theoretical mathematics, but they
cant build houses where the walls are straight and the corners are square.
Instead, they constantly worry about when the sun will burn out and whether a
comet will collide with the earth. The satire in Voyage 3 attacks both the
deficiency of common sense and the consequences of corrupt judgment.

The vast number of the people of his country, Swift says, live wild, begging,
robbing, stealing, cheating, pimping, forging, whoring and so on. The prime
minister, according to Swift, is a person wholly free from joy and grief, love and
hatred, pity and anger and he is a person with a violent desire for wealth power
and titles and with no inclination ever to tell the truth about any matter.

Q 4. The lucidity and the charm of his style depend upon the clarity of his
thought. Discuss the statement with a special focus on Russells Conquest of
Happiness.

Ans. Russell is regarded as one of the greatest prose-writers of 20th century.

He wrote on a variety of subjects relating to human life with a great writing skill.
Clarity, simplicity, fluency and harmony are the salient features of his style. He
skillfully expresses unity of thought along with his unity of style. Russells
expression of his ideas with lucidity is a result of clear reasoning and sincerity of
his aim. His great work The conquest of happiness is systematically planned and
a remarkable hallmark in the world of prose. The author knows what he wants to
convey and there is brilliancy in his expression. It is definitely a helpful book,
which guides us in family ties, full of wisdom and practical ideas. It is indeed good
reading as literature. Even though he advocated freedom in all aspects of life, at
the same he suggests how love and sacrifice frames its own restriction for a happy
life. He says; Man is artificer of his own
happiness. Dealing with several diverse subjects in his book, Unpopular essays
related to philosophy, politics, intellectual rubbish, eminent men etc. We find the
clarity and grace of expression, which is combined successfully with his
intellectual brilliance has made his many expositions of philosophical thought for
the layman with a joy to read his writings. Bertrand Russell, logically, by training a
mathematician and a philosopher, and besides a master of prose as well,
endowed with the gift of supreme lucidity. His writings are always extremely
lucid. A very important feature of Russells style is the unity of thought. The
discipline of logic and mathematics taught him the principle of unity of thought.
Like a mathematical premise, his arguments start from a well-affirmed basic
assumption and then he proceeds step by step to the logical conclusion of his
arguments. A fine coherence exists in his arguments. Each argument is related to
the preceding one like the anxious of Euclid. So the conclusion drawn is the logical
outcome of his arguments. The clarity of thought and neatness of expression
were the two things, out of which, he developed an impressive and charming
style, which left lasting impression on the readers mind. While writing on a
subject, Russell adopts a systematic method for a successful production. About
his own method of writing, he says while writing Conquest of Happiness:
If I were to write upon some rather difficult topic, the best plan is to think about
is with very great interest------ the great intensity of which I am capable----- for a
few hours or days, and at the end of that time give orders, so to speak, that the
work is to proceed under ground. After some months, I return consciously to the
topic and find that the work has been done. Before I had discovered this
technique, I used to spend the intervening months worrying because I was making
no progress, I arrived at the solution none the sooner for this worry and the
intervening months were wasted, whereas now I can devote to other pursuits.
Russells ideal scientific use enables him to make an exact and perfect use of
words. He uses words, which are rich, pure, clear and transparent. There is no
difficulty to understand . If some obscurity occurs somewhere he clarifies it in the
following sentences. He avoids excessive use of words. His words are small in
number but rich in meaning. He avoids empty rhetoric, and produces a charm of
writing with modest use of words.
Moreover, he usually uses lengthy and elaborate sentences to maintain his unity
of thought. He is fully aware of this aspect of his style and therefore does not let
the length of sentence harm the fluency of writing. From beginning to the end, his
thoughts go steadily, and with pleasant rhythm and coherence. There is not
dullness, but sweetness in his writing, relished by the readers. The readers agree
to that his writings are delightful, whatever may be his place in philosophy, his
literary writings certainly deserve a place in any anthology of English prose. Thus
he can be rightly called one of the greatest writers of English prose.

Q 5. Critically evaluate Bacons essay Of Studies.

Ans. Of Studies is one of the most popular essays presented by Bacon. In this
essay Bacon speaks as a lifelong student. He expresses that studies serve for
delight, for ornament and for ability. For delight, Bacon means ones personal,
private education; for ornament he means the great benefit of studies in
conversation between two and among the people. Studies for ability lead one to
judgment in business and related pursuits. From Bacons perspective, men with
skilled experience can carry out plans and understand particular circumstances,
but men who study are better able to understand important political matters and
know how to deal with problem according to their severity.

Bacon encourages studies but at the same time, he warns that too much
studying lead to laziness; if one uses ones knowledge too often in conversation
with others, one is showing off; and to be guided solely by ones studies one
becomes a scholar rather than a practical person. Bacons argument about the
value of studies is that studies are wonderful only if influenced by experience
because a persons natural abilities are enhanced by studies, but studies without
experience, lead to confusion in dealing with the outside world.

From Bacons point of view, dishonest persons condemn education; stupid

men admire it, but wise men use education as their real world experience and
teach not their own use but which is wisdom without them, and above them won
by observation.

He warns the educated man not to use his education for argument aimlessly with
others. Moreover, he advises them not to amuse that education always leads to
the correct understanding and not to use education merely to focus on
conversation with others. The aim of reading and acquiring knowledge must not
be aggressively refute others views. Studying should enable us to weigh facts and
analyze them rationally. Bacon says;

Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be

chewed and digested, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read
but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and
attention.

He also says that if a man writes very little, he must have a enough memory to
compensate for what he is not writing. If he cannot converse properly, he must
possess the quality of great wit. If he reads very little, he will have to be able to
pretend that he knows more than the people know.

History makes man wise, mathematics makes him cunning and intellectually
sharp.

Studies perform various functions. It dispels boredom of lonely hours and enables
a person to take a balanced view of life. Further, Bacon believes that there is no
problem that cannot be fixed by appropriate study-just as the physical exercise
cures physical illness. Every defect in thinking can be cured by a form of studies.
Bacon rightly describes the great advantages of reading, writing and conversation.