M.M. Publications Ltd.

,
P.B. No. 226, Kottayam,
Pin - 686 001. Kerala, India.
Tel: 0481 - 2563721 - 22-23,
Fax: ++91- 481 - 2564393
Email: subscription@mmp.in • November2010 • Volume:5 • No:2
childrensdivision@mmp.in

NEW DELHI: M.M. Publications Ltd.. Great Writers of the World

68/6,1 st Floor,Tolstoy lane, Janpath,
New Delhi -110 001. Tel: 23752781/ 23326372 Ever since letters were i nvented,
MUMBAI: Malayala Manorama,
A-404 Marathon Innova, A Wing 4th Floor,
Man tried to put down his feelings
Off. Ganpat Rao Kadam Marg, Opp. Peninsula and impressions of the world. This
Corporate Park, Lower Parel (West),
Mumbai- 400013. Tel: 022 - 24911693 / was how the first seeds of literature
24900523 /24901331 /24912381
KOLKATA: Malayala Manorama,
were sown. They sprouted, and g rew
No. 43/2 -B, Suhasini Ganguli Sarani, 1st Floor, to become an integral part of h uman
Kolkata - 700 025. Tel: 033 - 24556995,
24555962 Fax : ++ 9-Q33 - 24556995 culture and h istory.
PATNA: �alayala Manorama,
608, JagatTradeCentre, Frazar Road,
The medium of writing evolved
Patna-8oo 001. Tel: 0612 - 2233809 from rock carvjngs and clay tablets,
HYDERABAD: Malayala Manorama,
C/o Dr. B.C. Mathur 8-2-629/1/B, Road No.12, through papyrus scrolls and palm
Banjara Hills, Hyderabad - 500 034.
Tel: 040 - 23314168, 23324692
leaves, to paper and printing on a
Fax: 040 - 23322970 mass scale. The content of writing
BANGALORE: Malayala Manorama,
No. 132, KanthaCourt, 3rd Floor, changed too, to encompass many
Lal Baugh Road, Bangalore - 560 027.
Tel: 22247735 /36 different forms and styles.
CHENNAI: Malayala Manorama,
2nd Floor, # 748, Anna Salai,Chennai-600 002.
World literature is vast as well as
Tel: 28542607 (Circulation-Direct), diverse. Thousands of writers have
28542601 to 06 (Board line)
Fax:++ 91-044 - 28542611, i8004252607 (Toll free) lived and contributed to the devel­
COIMBATORE: Malayala Manorama,
101, Sunshine Buildings, 1056, Avinashi Road,
opment of culture, across the world'
Opp. Nilgiri 5uper Market,Coimbatore - 641018. and through the centuries. Many
Tel: 2241911 /2245470 Fax: 2245367
LUCKNOW: Malayala Manorama, have been forgotten. Some have
B-1657, Indira Nagar, Lucknow-226 016.
Tel: 0522-2341576
stood the test of time and are still re­
CHANDIGARH: Malayala Manorama, membered i n reverence. This issue of
H No. 1824,Top Floor, Sector 22-B,
Chandigarh -160 022. Tel: 0172 - 2724699 Manorama Tell Me Why presents to
Mob: 09417310727
BHOPAL: Malayala Manorama, Plot No.161,
you some of these great writers from
Gopal Bhawan, Zone 1, M.P. Nagar, Bhopal. the history of literature.
Tel. 0755 - 2557937
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Obviously, this is not a complete
Malayala Manorama, P.B. No. 160,
Thampanocx East, Thiruvananthapuram- 695 001.
list, and many names had to be left
Tel: 2328198 Fax:++91 - 471 - 2327886 out for lack of space. We have not in­
COCHIN: P.B. No. 5008,
Malayala Manorama Bldgs, Panampilly Nagar,
eachin - 682 036, Kerala.
--
cluded l iving writers either, since
Tel: 0484- 2316285 Fax:++91- 484 - 2315745
they will be fea'
FROM THE HOUSE OF MAGIC POT, MANORAMA YEAI
,AND THE MALAYALA MANORAMA DAILY

-. .
 Why Is Aeso p popularwith c hildren all ov er
theworld7
You must have heard and read many of
Aesop's fables, l ike The Fox a nd the Grapes' and
The Tortoise and the Hare.' But do you know
who Aesop was? He was a Greek slave who lived
about 2,500 years ago. He was a great storyteller,
and his master delighted in hearing his tales. In
fact, it was his learning and his wit that earned
him his freedom.
After he was free, Aesop travelled to several
countries, and met many wise men with whom
he held long discussions. Once he was asked by
the king to distribute a large sum of gold
amongst the citizens of Delphi. However, he
found them to be very greedy and unworthy of
such a gift, and so he sent the money back to the
king. This enraged the citizens of Delphi, and
they had him publicly executed like a criminal.
This was a sad end for such a great man. But it
is said that the Gods punished the citizens of
Delphi for their crime. Cala mity after calamity
befe l l them u ntil they were forced to repent
having killed Aesop. Thus the phrase 'the blood
of Aesop' cam e to mean that the deeds of those
who do wron g will surely be punis hed.
Aesop never wrote any of his stories down. How­
ever, many years after his death, people started
to write down his fab les. Over the centuries,
Aesop' s fabl es have been translated into a lmost
every lan gua ge in the world. His stories remai n
popul ar to thi.s day b�ca u se each o ne teaches us
a moral i n an Interesting and uni que way.
Tel l Me Why
4
 Why Is Hesiod said to be 'a hater of
women'?
Hesiod lived in Greece during the eighth
century B.C. His two most important con­
tributions are 'Works and Days', and the
'Theogony'. I n 'Works and Days', Hesiod
divided time into five ages. The first is the
Golden Age, ruled by (ronos, when people
lived extremely long lives 'without sorrow
of heart'. The second is the Silver Age,
ruled by Zeus. The third is the Bronze Age,
an epoch of war, the fourth is the Heroic
Age, which was the time of the Trojan War.
The fifth and last age, is the Iron Age which
is the corrupt present. The 'Theogony'
presents the descent of the gods, and is
one of the key documents for Greek my­
thology.
Hesiod is regarded as a hater of women
for his description of Pandora, the first
woman. According to his story, before
Pandora, mankind led a happy existence,
free from illness and suffering. However,
Pandora changed all that. Although she
was very beautiful, her curiosity unleashed
sickness and evil into the world. So accord­
ing to Hesiod, women
are responsible for all
the suffering in the
world. Obviously, he
had a deep seated ha­
tred for women!

1 00 Great Writers 5
 who were the go d­
desses of the Arts,
appeared to Hesiod
in a mist. This mysti­
cal experience im­
pelled Hesiod to
write epic poetry.
The reason for
Hesiod's writing of
the 'Works and
Days' was a dispute
between him and
his brother Perses
over the distribu­
tion of his father's
land. After Hesiod
Greek currency note portraying lost a lawsuit to his
the epic poet Hesiod brother Perses, he
left his homeland
Why was Hesiod a great a uthor of the and moved to
Greek classical era? Naupactus. Accord­
Hesiod was a Greek epic poet who flour­ ing to the legend
ished in Boeotia around 700 B.C. He, along­ about his death, he
side Homer, was the most respected of the
old Greek poets. His epic poem 'Theogony'
describes the origins of the gods, and his
'Works and Days' deals with subjects like
farming, morality and country life. He was
also the author of a large number of lost or
fragments of poems.
Hesiod probably l ived shortly after Hom­
er, i n a village called Ascra. He worked as a
shepherd in the mountains, and then, as a
peasant on a hard land when his father
d ied. While tending his flock, the Muses,

6 Tel l Me Why
 Why is Sappho important amongst a n­
cient Greek poets
Sappho is the most famous of the ancient
Greek women poets. She lived on the island
of Lesbos, and taught young women there.
She is thought to have been born around 6 1 0
B.C., and to have d ied in about 570.
Sappho wrote her poems primari ly as a
tribute to the private world of women, some­
thing which was very rare i n Greek literature.
Therefore, the poems provide us with a valu­
able and remarkable glimpse i nto the l ives
and aspirations of Greek g i rls. Sappho wrote
moving lyric poetry. A poetic meter was
named in honour of her. She wrote odes to
the goddesses, especially Aphrodite, and
sang joyfully ofthe beautiful deity. I n fact, her
poems are like g raceful gifts to this golden
goddess of love.
Sappho also wrote about herself, her wom­
en's community, and her times. Her writing
about her times was very different from her
contemporary male writers, whose poetry
was more political. Thus, Sappho's impor­
tance l ies in that she gave us a woman's point
of view at a time when men dominated the Statue of
Sappho
literary world.

was murdered by the sons of about his experiences through

his host in Oeneon. Later, his
bones were brought to Or­
chomenus where a monument
was erected in the marketplace
in his honour.
Hesiod's works are very im­
portant because he spoke
1 00 Great Writers
his poetry. He lived during the
Classical Era of Greece, which
was an exciting period when
Greek civilization flourished in
all its glory. Hesiod's works give
us a meaningful insight i nto
this momentous era.
7
 g
A modern Greek theatre roup performing
one ofthe great plays ofAeschylus; Aeschylus (shown in inset)

Why did Aeschylus' work dance around a sacred object.

become a part of the history
of Greek drama?
Aeschyl us was born in 525
B.C. in the city of Eleusis, and is
often called the 'Father ofTrag­
edy'. He is also considered to be
the person who practically in­
vented drama as we know it to­
day.
When Aeschylus first began
writing, the theatre had only
just begun to evolve. A chorus
danced and exchanged dia­
logue with a single actor, who
portrayed one or more charac­
ters by using masks. Most of the
action took place i n the circular
dancing area or 'orchestra',
which still remained from the
old days when drama had been
nothing more than a circular
8 Tel l Me Why
It was a huge leap for drama
when Aeschyl us i ntroduced
the second actor. He also at­
tempted to i nvolve the chorus
directly in the action of the play.
Although Aeschylus is said to
have written over ninety plays,
only seven have survived. He
directed many of his own pro­
ductions, and one of his plays
'The Persians' contains the first
ghost scene in d rama!
Legend has it that Aeschylus
met his death when an eagle
mistook his bald head for a rock
and dropped a tortoise on it!
Whatever the cause of his
death, his life laid the ground­
work for drama to flourish, and
his works have become a part
of the history of Greek dram a.
 Why is it said that Sophocles restruc­ Poet of
tured Greek drama? Athletics
Sophocles came from a rich family that P indar was the
lived in Colon us, a small town near Ath­ great lyric poet
ens. As an adult, Sophocles was active i n of ancient Greece,
Athenian politics. Sophocles took part i n who is believed
many drama competitions. I n his first to have lived be­
competition, Sophocles took first prize­ tween 518 to 438
defeating none other than Aeschylus B.C. He gained
h imself! More than 1 20 plays were to fol­ fame for his po­
low. He would go on to win eighteen first ems that cele­
prizes, and he would never fai l to take at brate triumphs in
least second. various Hellenic
One of the g reat innovators of the thea­ athletic games.
His poems are
tre, he was the first to add a third actor.
noted for their
He also abolished the trilogic form. Ae­
complexity, rich
schylus, for example, had used three
metaphors, and
tragedies to tell a single story. Sophocles
intensely emo­
chose to make each tragedy a complete
tional language.
entity in itself. As a result, he had to pack In fact, Pindar's
a II of his action i nto the shorter form, and name will, forev­
this clearly of­ er, be connected
fered g reater withthelsthmian,
dramatic pos­ Pythian,Nemean,
sibilities. Many and Olympic
a uthorities also Games. Did you
credit him with know that the
the i nvention 2004 Olympic
of scene-paint­ medals present­
ing. Sadly, of ed on one side
Sophocles' the eternal flame,
more than 1 20 framed by a verse
plays, only sev­ by Pindar, along
en have sur­ with the logo of
vived i n their the Athens
entirety. Games?

100 Great Writers 9

 Euripides
Euripides was an an­
'
cient writer of Greek
tragedy - the third of a
trio that included So­
phocles and Aeschylus.
Euripides wrote about
women and mythologi­
cal themes like Medea
and Helen of Troy. He
enhanced the impor­
tance of intrigue in
tragedy. Euripides also
created the love-drama,
and is considered to A Greek painting ofAgamemnon
have had a significant based on the Trojan War
influence on the Greek
creation of New Come­ Which are the famous plays of
dy. Euripides was the Sophocles?
most popular of the Sophocles' most famous plays are
three great tragedians 'Antigone', 'Oedipus Rex', and 'Oedi­
for generations after pus at (olonus'. 'Antigone' tells the
his death. story of Antigone, the daughter of
Oedipus. 'Oedipus Rex' is mainly
a bout fate, and how men do not
control their own fate, no matter
how much they try. It's about ac­
cepting that there a re things that
are beyond your control. 'Oedipus
at (olonus' tells the story of what
hflppened to Oedipus after he left
Thebes.
Sophocles' other famous works
are 'Ajax', The Women of Trachis',
'Philoctetes' and 'Electra'. 'Ajax'
Euripides chronicles the fate of the warrior
Ajax after the events of the I l iad, but
10 Tel l Me Why
before the end of Aristophanes
the Trojan War. The Aristophanes was the greatest
'Women of Trachiniae' comic writer of his day. His literary
is an Athenian tragedy, activities covered a period of
while Philoctetes takes place forty years. During that time,
d u ri ng the Trojan War. It de­ his sharp wit targeted
scribes the attempt by Neop­ prominent men, political
trends, and social foibles.
tolemus and Odysseus to bring
Of the forty plays
the disabled Philoctetes with the m
known to be genuine
to Troy. Finally, 'Electra' is set in the
products of his gen­
city of A rgos a
ius, eleven remain
few yea rs after
for posterity. But
the Trojan War. It these easily prove
is based around that for wit, rol-
the character of licking humour,
Electra, and the invention, and
vengeance that she skill in the use
and her brother take of language,
on their mother and Aristophanes
stepfather for the mur­ has never
der of their father, Ag- been sur-
amemnon. passed.
Sophocles' plays are
Marble Statue of full of the
Sophocles spirit of
Athens i n the
classical period. He sees men - and some­
times women - as powerful, rational,
creative beings, the masters of the
world around them, and the proud
creations of the gods. Sophocles also
remembers the terrors of war, which
can sometimes overcome men and
women. He pleads, in his plays, for the tri­
umph of reason over wild emotion and an­
ger.
1 00 G reat Writers 11
 Why is Homer regarded as one of
the greatest' of Greek poets7 Homer,
I presume...
Homer lived around 700 B.C i n Greece.
We don't know where exactly in Greece
he lived. People said he was blind, but
we don't know that for sure either. When
Homer was born, the Greeks had j ust re­
cently learned how to use the alphabet
from the Phoenicians. Homer used the al­
phabet to write down two long epic po­
ems called the 'Iliad' and the 'Odyssey'.
The I liad and the Odyssey contai n i n­
compa ra ble tales of the Trojan War,
brave Achilles, U lysses and Penelope,
the Sirens, the Cyclops, the beautiful
Helen of Troy, and the angry gods. They
a re perhaps the most i nfluential works two poems, written
in the historyofWestern literature. These nearly three thousand
years ago, have cap­
A Wall Painting based on the tured the hearts of
Trojan War generations through­
out the world.
Homer didn't make
up these stories, or
even the words, him­
self. Poets or bards had
been going around
Greece telling these
stories for hundreds of
years. But Homer wrote
them down, polished
them, and gave them
their final form, and
therein l ies his g reat­
ness.

12 Tell Me Why
 Philemon
Philemon was a poet of the
Athenian New Comedy. Hewas
noted for his neatly contrived
plots, vivid description, dra­
matic surprises, and moraliz­
ing. By 328 B.C., he was produc­
ing plays in Athens, where he
eventually became a citizen.
Of the 97 comedies he wrote,
some 60 titles survive in Greek
fragments and Latin adapta­
tions. Philemon was a contem­
porary and rival of Menander,
whom he is said to have van­
quished in poetical contests.

Why is Menan der consid- as well as the manners and

ered a social writer? characteristics of ordinary peo-
Menander is the most famous pie were at the heart of his sto­
writer of what is described as ries. His characters spoke in the
Athenian new comedy. U n l i ke contemporary dialect, and con­
the classical writers who wrote cerned themselves not with the
mythical plots or political com- great myths of the past, but
mentary, Menanderwas a social rather, with the everyday affairs
writer. He chose aspects of daily of the people of Athens.
life as topics for his plays with By the end of his career, Me-
happy endings and themes. nander had written more than
Menander wrote about stern 1 00 plays and had won eight
fathers, young lovers, crafty victories at Athenian dramatic
slaves, and other people who festivals. Menander's plays
were part of the social fabric of were held i n high esteem in the
Greece in those days. The every- literature of Western Europe for
day l ife of his countrymen, over 800 years. At some
---�
point, however, his
I'll make a manuscripts were
comedy out of your
sorrows!
lost or destroyed,
and what we now
know of the poet is
based primari ly on ancient re­
ports, a few manuscripts which
have been recovered in the last
hundred years, and adaptations
by the Roma n playwrights.
1 00 Great Writers 13
 Why are th.e poems of Ovid remarka­
ble?
Ovid was from a rich family that l ived
near Rome. Ovid's ful l name was Publius
Ovidius Naso. His father wanted him to
become a lawyer, but Ovid decided to be a
poet. He published his first book of poetry
a bout 1 8 B.C., when he was 25 years old. It
was called the 'Amores', or Love Poems.
This book was remarkable, because in those
days, people were not a llowed to write
a bout love outside of marriage, and Ovid
did just that.
Ovid's second book was also remarkable,
but in a different way. He wrote the Meta­
morphoses, or the Changes, which he pub­
lished probably about 8 B.C., when he was
35 years old. This is a long poem tel ling lots
of short stories a bout the changes in the
world from the time of creation to the
death of Julius Caesar. It tells nearly
every story from Greek mythology
that we know - in fact, many Greek
stories are known today mainly
because they are i n the Metamor­
phoses.
Ovid also wrote another book of po­
ems, the 'Ars Amatoria' - the Art of
Love. These poems gave advice to
rich Roman men and women about
love. However, his poems, though
popular, offended those i n power,
and he was banished to a village on
the shores of the Black Sea. He died
there, a sad and lonely man.

Plutarch
Why dowe say that Plutarch
was one of the leading think­
ers of h is times?
Pluta rch lived a long and
fruitful life with his wife and
family in the little Greek town of
Chaeronea. For many years, he
served as one of the two priests
at the temple of Apollo at Del­
phi - the site of the famous Del­
phic oracle - twenty miles from
his home. Through his writings
and lectures, Plutarch became
a celebrity in the Roman Empire,
yet he continued to reside
where he was born, and actively
participated in local affairs,
even serving as mayor.
Plutarch's most important
work is 'Lives of the Noble
Greeks and Romans', which is a
100 G reat Writers
series of biographies of famous
men that illustrates their com­
mon moral virtues or failings.
The 'Parallel Lives', as they are
also called, contain 23 pairs of
biographies, each pai r contain­
ing one Greek life and one Ro­
man life;aswell asfour un paired
single lives. Plutarch was inter­
ested in exploring the influence
of character - good or bad - on
the lives and destinies of fa­
mous men. His essays and his
lectures established him as a
leading thinker in the Roman
Empire's golden age. Later on,
at the beginning of the Italian
Renaissance, it was the redis­
covery of Plutarch's 'Lives' that
stimulated popular interest in
the classics.
Oh God!
Who'll write my
biography..?
 Why is Virgil called a leg­
end?
Virgil (70-19 B.C.) was a poet
who lived during the civil wars
in Rome, and during the reign
of the Roman Emperor Augus­
tus,just before the birth of Jesus
Christ. He is regarded as the
greatest Roman poet, and is
known for his epic, 'The Aeneid'.
It was written in around 29 B.C.,
and was inspired by Homer's epic
poems, the Iliad and Odyssey.
Between 42 and 37 B.C., Virgil
composed pastoral poems
reading the Aeneid to the
emperor Augustus
16
known as 'Ecologues' or 'rustic
poems' and he spent years on
the 'Georgics' which dealt with
'
farming and presented a towns­
man's view of the country.
It was Augustus Caesar, the
Roman Emperor who pressed
Virgil to write of the glory of
Rome under his rule. So, from
30 to 1 9 B.C., Virgil devoted his
time to writing 'The Aeneid',
the national epic of Rome. It is a
long poem i n twelve books, like
the Iliad or the Odyssey. The
hero is Aeneas who was a Trojan
who was supposed to have es-
Tel l Me Why
 Why is Kalldasa hailed as
the greatest of ancient Indian
writers?
Kalidasa was India's g reatest
Sanskrit poet
and d ramatist
who lived dur­
ing the fifth cen­
tury. His most fa­
mous works are
thedramas'Abhi­
j nanashaku nta­
lam' or The Rec­
ognition of Afamous painting of
S h a ku ntala, Raja Ravi Varma, based on
'Vi kra morvashi- Abhijnanashakuntalam
yam' or Urvashi Won by Valour
and 'Malavikagnimitram' or of his ignorance and coarse­
Malavika and Agnimitra. He also ness. A devoted worshipper of
wrote the epic poems 'Raghuvan­ the goddess Kali - his name
sham' and 'Kumarasambhavam' means l iterally Kal i's slave - Kali­
and the lyric 'Meghadutam'. dasa is said to have called upon
According to legend, Kalidasa his goddess for help and was
was so handsome that he caught rewarded with a sudden and
the attention of a princess who extraordina ry gift of wit. He is
married him. However, as leg­ then said to have become the
end has it, Kalidasa had g rown most brilliant of the 'nine gems'
up without much education, at the court of the fabulous king
and the princess was ashamed Vikramaditya of Ujjain.

caped from Troy when the valia nt fighting Trojans the an­
G reeks captured it during the cestors of the Romans. The Ae­
Trojan War. lt i s the story of how neid achieved the status of a
Aeneas and his men travelled classic even be�
from Troy to Italy to found the ished, makin& ��
city of Rome. This makes the his own life�
100 G reat Writers
 Bhavabuti
Bhava bhuti was
an eighth century
scholar of India
noted for his plays
and poetry, written
in Sanskrit. He is
best known as the
author of three
plays. The first is
' M a h a v i rac h a r i ­
tam' orthe 'Exploits
of the Great Hero',
which gives in sev­
en acts the main in­
cidents in the
Ramayana upto the
defeat of Ravana
and the coronation
ofRama.Hissecond
great work is 'Mala­
timadhavam',
which is a domestic
drama in 10 acts
and the third is 'Ut­
tararamacharitam'
which deals with
Why did Vishn u Sharma write the
Rama's later life.
Panchatantra?
Bhavabuti's plays
are noted for their
You must be fam iliar with the Pan­
suspense and vivid
chatantra fables, but did you know
c h aracte riza t i o n that they were written a round 200
and they rival the B.C. by a great H indu scholar called
outstanding plays Vishnu Sharma? He was asked by
of the great writer Amarasakti, the ruler of a South Indian
Kalidasa. kingdom to teach his three sons poli­
tics and diplomacy. But unfortunately,
18 Tel l Me Why
the princes were
not interested in
learning at all! Vish­ Chanakya - A
nu Sharma quickly Man of Foresight
realized that it Chanakya, also
would not be easy known as Kautilya or
to teach them Vishnugupta, was a teacher
through conven­ of political science at the Tak­
tional methods. He shashila University and later
had to find a more theprimeministerofthe emperor
creative way of Chandragupta Maurya. He is re­
teaching them, and garded as one of the earliest known
political thinkers, economists, and
he hit upon the idea
king-makers. His vision was to create
of writing short sto­
an Indian Empire by uniting the nu­
ries that contained
merous kingdoms of the Indian sub­
a lesson. This col­
continent so that they could fight to­
lection of stories is
gether against Alexander the Great.
the Panchatantra. His foresight and wide knowledge,
The Panchatantra coupled with his shrewd politics helped
is the oldest collec­ to found the mighty Mauryan Empire in
tion of I ndian fables. India. He compiled his political ideas
The word 'Pancha­ into the 'Arthashastra', one of the
tantra' means 'the world's earliest treatises on political
five books'. The col­ thought and social or­
lection isalso known der. His ideas remain
as a 'Nitishastra' popular to this day
which means book in India.
of wise conduct in
life. The moral and
philosophical
themes of these
stories of Vishnush­
arma have stood
the test of time and
hold true even in
the modern age.
1 00 Great Writers 19

Is Veda Vyasa consId­
ered to be immortal?
The 'Mahabharata' is one of
How did Ratna kara become
Valmiki?
The g reat sage Valmiki has
the distinction of being the au­
thor ofthe holy epic 'Ramayana',
consisting of 24,000 verses. He
is also believed to be the author
of 'Yoga Vasistha', a text that
elaborates on a range of philo­
sophical issues. But did you
know that Valmiki's real name
was Ratnakara, and that he was
a robber before he became a
sage?
Maharishi Valmiki was born
as Ratnakara. He was the son of .
the sage Prachetasa. At a very
you ng age, Ratnakara went i nto
the forest and got lost. A h unter,
who was passing by, saw Rat­
naka ra and took him u nder his
own care. U nder his father's
20
the g reatest marvels in the l it­
erature of the world. Veda Vyasa
was the sage who gave the
world this storehouse of real­
ism, wisdom, and compassion.
He is also the author of the
Brahma Sutras, and is consid­
ered an i ncarnation of Lord
Vishnu h imself.
Veda Vyasa was a genius by
birth. He performed rigorous
penance and practiced austerity
guidance, Ratnakara turned out
to be an excellent hunter. Later,
he started robbing people be­
cause he found it impossible to
feed his large fam ily.
One day, Ratnakara tried to
rob the g reat sage Narada.
However, Narada was a d ivine
Tell Me Why
i n the Himalayas in order to re­
"
alize the Supreme Truth that he
explained in the Vedas and U p­
anishads. There is a very i nter­
esting event associated with
the writing of the Mahabharata.
Veda Vyasa needed to concen­
trate on the composing, and he
needed someone to write it
down as he recited the verses. It
was Ganesha, who agreed to do
so.
sage, and he made Ratnakara
understand that robbing and
killing was wrong. He advised
Ratnakara that by chanting
Lord Rama's name, he could
wash away all his sins. Ratnakara
at once started chanting the
name of the Lord without stop­
ping even for food or to sleep.
He went on and on with his
chanting, and as days turned
i nto years, his bodywas covered
by an anthill. Still he did not
stop his chanting! Finally,
Narada appeared again, re­
moved the anthi l l and blessed
Ratnakara, declaring that Rat­
nakara would become famous
as a great sage called Valmiki,
as he was reborn from an a nt
hill or 'Valmika'.
Valmiki had the g reat good
100 Great Writers
The Mahabharata is the long­
est epic in the world, longer
than the Odyssey and Iliad put
together! It is the narrative that
contains all narratives. A verse
from the epic reads, 'What is
found here may be found else­
where. What is not found here
will not be found elsewhere'. Is
it any wonder that the Mahab­
harata - and Veda Vyasa - are
considered to be immortal ?
fortune t o receive Lord Rama,
his wife Sita, and brother Laksh­
mana at his ashram. Later,
Narada visited him again and
related the story of Rama to
him. Valmiki then had a vision
in which Lord Brahma h imself
asked him to write the Ramaya­
na, and thus, a g reat and sacred
epic was born.
21
 Why is Geoffrey When he g rew up, Chaucer worked in the
Chaucer some­ government, helping out various rich men
times called 'The and kings. For a while, he was in the English
Father of English a rmy. He travelled to Italy many times on
Literature' ? government business, and became famil­
Geoffrey Chaucer iar with Italian poetry and stories.
was an English au­ The first thing that ,
thor, philosopher, Chaucer wrote that we
d iplomat, and poet. know about is 'The Book
He was the son of a of the Duchess', which
prosperous wine he wrote when he was
merchant. Little is a bout thirty years old.
known of his early But the most famous
education, but his stories Chaucer wrote
works show that he a re 'The Canterbury
could read French, Tales'. The idea of the
Latin, and Ita l ian. Canterbury Tales is that
..
a g roup of people are
travelling together to A painting of
Canterburyon a pilgrim­ Geoffrey
Chaucer as a
age to pray at the shrine pilgrim
of St.Thomas Becket.
These people agree that to pass the time
they will each tel l a story. There a re 24 sto­
ries altogether in The Canterbury tales. The
stories a re by turns bawdy, comical, and
pious.
Cha ucer was among the first to use Eng­
lish to create a great work of poetry, i n an
age when languages like Latin and French
were typically favoured for poetry and
stories. Because of this, he is sometimes
called 'The Father of English Literature'.
22 Tel l Me Why
 Ot no no Yaka oc
Otomo no Yakamochi was a Japanese statesman and poet who
Iivedfrom618t078SAD.Hewasoneofthecompilersof'Man'yoshu',
which was one of the first poetry anthologies created in Japanese
history. Born in the prestigious Otomo family, Yamamochi served
as a Kokushi or provincial governor while creating many waka
poems. Waka poems are a special type of Japanese verse. He was
the most prolific and prominent writer of his time, and is counted
as one of the thirty six poetry immortals of Japan.

I got Margery Kem pe was born i n

an old autobi­
ography!
Why is Margery Kempe's
book special amongst English
biographies?
Margery Kempe is famous for
her mystic and spiritual beliefs­
and for her autobiography, 'The
Book of Margery Kempe' which
has great significance because
it is the earliest known autobi­
ography in English. In her book,
Kempe portrays herself as a n
honest a n d devoted h uman
being.
100 G reat Writers
Lynn, a town i n Norfolk, Eng­
land. Though she grew up in a
wealthy family, Mary Kempe
was never given a chance to be
educated. Her mysticism began
a s a child. She married merchant
John Kempe i n the yea r of 1 393,
and had fourteen children.
When Margery was in her twen­
ties, it is believed that she began
to have visions in which she
talked to Jesus, Mary, and the
saints. Margery Kempe dedicat­
ed herself to the Lord, and she
became so i nvolved with reli­
gion that she set out on a long
pilgrimage that ended up in
Jerusalem.
The book discusses every as­
pect of Margery's life - from her
marriage, religious conversion,
and many pilgrimages. It is,
without dou bt, one of the most
astonishing documents of late
medieval English life.
23
 Why is it said that
Dante's \Yorks were
inspired by a lady?
Dante was an Italian
Florentine poet. His
greatest work, 'La Divi­
na Com media' or The
Divine Comedy, is con­
sidered the greatest l it­
erary masterpiece pro­
duced in Europe in the
Medieval Period, and
the basis of the modern
Italian language.
Dante was nearly nine
years old when he first
set eyes on Beatrice
Portinari, in a gathering
A painting of the Italian poet Dante
at her father's palace in
Florence. She was a few
months younger than especially amongst the upper classes.
Dante, and dressed i n a So, at the age of 21, Dante was married
crimson dress. She cap­ off to Gemma and Beatrice married a
tivated him completely. year later too. She died three years after
For the next nine years that, at the tender age of 24. Dante was
he remained madly in devastated. He remained devoted to
love with her, but only Beatrice for the rest of his life, and she
from a distance. It was was his principal inspiration for much
only in 1283, when he of his well known work, such as 'La Vita
was 18, that she spoke Nuova' or The New Life as well as The
to him as they passed Divine Comedy.
each other in the Dante was one of the first great poets
street. to write in the ordinary language of the
In 13th century Flor­ people, and he used the local dialect to
ence, arranged mar­ write one of the most beautiful poems
riages were the norm, ever created.
24 Tell Me Why
 Why do we say that Boccac­
cio had a great influence 0
wo d lit rat
Giovanni Boccaccio was an
Italian writer, humanist, and
one of the founders of the Ren­
aissance. l n one of his works, he
relates that, in his seventh year,
before he had ever seen a book
of poetry, he began to write
verse in his childish fashion, and
earned for himself amongst his
friends the name of 'the poet'!
Boccaccio became a great
scholar of the classics, and a
great writertoo. He wrote a bout
actual people and their real lives.
Some of his stories are love sto-
Giovanni Boccaccio monument
in Italy
100 Great Writers
ries, some of them are horror
stories or ghost stories, and
some are funny, but a l l of them
are the kinds of things that
might happen to real people.
Boccaccio's most famous
work is undoubtedly the
'Decameron' which is a lot of
short stories strung together.
There are a hundred tales in the
Decameron, which Boccaccio
published in 1 37 1 , when he was
58 years old. Centering mostly
on relationships between peo­
ple, these stories give us valua­
ble glimpses i nto medieval life.
Many later writers,
including Chaucer
were inspired by
Decameron, be­
cause of the com­
pelling way i n
wh i c h these stories
 his life were his meeting and friendship
with Li Po, and the civil war, which opened
his eyes to the sufferings of the common
people.
Du Fu's early poetry celebrated the
beauty ofthe natural world, and bemoaned
the passage oftime. He soon began to write
bitingly of war-as in 'The Ballad ofthe Army
Carts', a poem about conscription-and with
h idden satire-as in 'The Beautiful Woman',
which speaks of the lUxury of the court. Of
his poetic writing, nearly fifteen hundred
poems have been preserved over the ages.
He has been called the 'Poet-Historian'and
the 'Poet-Sage' by Chinese critics.
Du Fu's strengths were his strong sense
Why does Du F u of history, his moral principles, and his
remain alive in t h e technical excellence. Above a l l, it was Du
hearts o f the Chi­ Fu's compassion, for himself, and for others
nese to this day? that has kept him alive in the hearts of the
Du Fu was a Chinese to this day.
prominent Chinese Why is Ferdowsi considered to be a
poet of the Tang great Persian poet?
dynasty. He re­ The Persians - or modern day I ranians­
ceived a traditional regard Ferdowsi as the greatest of their
Confucian educa­ poets. He was the author of'Shahnamah' or
tion. Du Fu spent the 'Book of Kings', which is the Persian na­
much of his life tional epic. It is one of the great classics of
travelling, and dur­ the world, and tells heroic tales of ancient
ing his travels, he Persia. The contents and the poet's style in
won renown as a describing the events take the reader back
poet. He also met in time to another world that had been
other poets of the shrouded in the mists of mystery and antiq­
time who influ­ uity. Ferdowsi worked for thirty years to
enced him. The ma­ finish this masterpiece.
jor turning points in An i mportant feature of this work is that
26 Tel l Me Why
 It is the history of Iran's glorious past, pre­
served for all time in sonorous and majestic
verse. Though written about 1 ,000 years
ago, this work is as intelligible to the aver­
age, modern I ranian, as it was in the times
in which it was written.
Why is Marie de France famous?
Marie de France was the first female
French poet who wrote for the Norman­
ruled British court in the 1 2th century. She is
one of those authors whose work is well
known but whose life remains largely a
mystery. Marie wrote i n a dialect that is
during the period found i n Nor­
that Arabic lan­ mandy on the
guage was known border of the
as the main lan­ f l e- d e - F ra n ce .
guage of science H e r name i s
and literature, Fer­ known from a
dowsi, however, line i n one of her
used only Persian in published works
his masterpiece. As which translates
Ferdowsi himself as 'My name is
says 'Persian lan­ Marie, I am from Marie de France
guage is revived by France'.
this work'. Her written works include 1 2 'Breton lais',
For nearly a thou­ which is a short lyric or narrative poem.
sand years, the Per­ Marie also wrote the 'Ysopet' fables, and the
sians have contin­ 'Legend of the Purgatory of St. Patrick.' One
ued to read and to of her works is dedicated to a 'King Henry',
listen to recitations the other to a 'Count William'. Marie de
from his master­ France, creator of verse narratives on roman­
piece in which the tic and magical themes, was without doubt,
Persian national one of the most popular of authors with the
epic found its final nobles of the court- and her popularity with
and enduring form. the ladies of the court was even greater!
1 00 G reat Writers 27
 How does Laura inspire
Petrarch's poetry'
Francesco Petrarch was born
shortly after 1300. He lived
through the harshest bouts of
the plague, and lost nearly eve­
ryone he knew to it. His mother
and father had died in his early
years but his son, his grandson,
numerous friends, and a woman
named Laura who was his inspi­
ration, all died as victims of the
disease.
Statue ofFrancesco Petrarch
28
Laura was the love of
Petrarch's life. But who she was
has remained a bit of a mystery.
It is believed that she was the
daughter of a Knight and that
Petrarch fel l in love with her at
first sight. But being already
married, she turned down all
his advances. However, Petrarch
would be haunted by her
beauty for the rest of his life.
She died at the age of 38 in the
year 1348, on April 6, Good Fri­
day, exactly 21 years to the very
hour that Petrarch first saw her.
His work '(anzoniere' is a series
of poems mostly a bout Laura
and his love for her. However,
some believe that Laura did not
exist at a l l, and that the 'laura' of
Petrarch's writings is play on
the name 'Iaurel'- the leaves
which Petrarch was honoured
with for being the poet laure­
ate.
Petrarch was a passionate
writer, and his writings would
go on to i nfluence countless
other writers. In fact, centuries
later, Shakespeare would study
his works and copy his sonnets.
He was the greatest scholar of
his age, but his passion was for
antiquity, and he once con­
fessed that he disliked the age
in which he lived!
Tel l Me Why
 l
·1
Why is. 0 ar, Imru alQays
Jl
ayyam regarded ibn Hujir
sa eat scbolar7 Imru alQays
Omar Khayyam was the most
lived in a time that distinguished
did not make life poet from the
Arabia of pre Is­
easy for learned
lamic times. He
men, unless they
was the young­
had the support of a
est son of the
ruler at one of the
last king of an
many courts. How­
ancient tribe.
ever, Omar Khayyam His father ban­
was an outstanding ished him twice
Persian poet, mathematician, and astrono­ from his court,
mer who died in AD 1 1 23. Khayyam did write and he spent
several works including 'Problems of Arith­ this time wan­
metic', a book on music, and one on algebra dering in the
before he was 25 years old. In fact, one of his desert, compos­
books is considered a masterpiece i n algebra. ing poetry. He
Khayyam also worked on compiling astro­ wrote beautiful
nomical tables and contributed to calendar love poems,
reform in 1 079. Khayyam measured the and is believed
length of the year as 365.242 1 9858 1 56 days! to have invent­
I n addition to these achievements, Omar ed the classical
Khayyam was also a great phi losopher and Arabic ode. He
physician. is also consid­
Outside the world of mathematics, Omar ered the great­
Khayyam is best known for nearly 600 'Ru­ est poet of the
baiyat', or quatrains (short fou r line poems), 'Mu'allaqat',
which is a col­
that form the 'Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam'.
lection of seven
The major theme in this book is the fragility
pre-Islamic Ara­
of human life, and many of his Rubaiyat got
bic odes, each
worldwide acclaim. His Rubaiyat are viewed
considered to
as meditations on the mysteries of existence
be its author's
and celebrations of world ly pleasures. best piece.

1 00 G reat Writers 29
 1 2th century whose home was in Ganja,
the capital of Arran in Transcaucasian Az­
erbaijan. He lived in a n age of both politi­
cal instability and intense intellectua l ac­
tivity, which his poems reflect. However,
little is known about his life, his relations
with his patrons, or the precise dates of
his works. N izami Ganjavi was married
three times, and in his poems, he laments
the death of each of his wives, and gives
advice to his son Muhammad.
Nizami is best known for his five long
narrative poems, of which the 'Haft
Paykar', completed in 1197, is his ac­
knowledged masterpiece. He will always
Statue ofNizami
be remembered for being the first poet in
Ganjavi
Eastern literature to describe women as
Why is Nizami having high human qualities. He proved
Ganj avi remem- that women can participate i n many fields
bered to this day? on equal terms with men, and according
Nizami Ganjavi was to him, only a hardworking man is worthy
a classical poet of the of respect and love!

Yoshida Kenko
Yoshida Kenko, who started his career as a Japanese court of­
ficial, also emerged as a celebrated poet. At the age of 41, he be­
came a Zen Buddhist monk. Kenko's Essays contain 243 sections

jJ
of various lengths. In Kenko's writ-
ings, we see the Buddhist ideals of
�
naturalness, humility, simplicity, and
meditation worked out in relation to
daily affairs. Kenko wrote on a wide
.\ r. �.>
range of subjects, from ardent love, �7l�'ME:�--6-.f�c.�
�-

social etiquette, house design, drunk- �P

enness, to the brief span of life.

30 Tel l Me Why
 Why is Shakespeare consid­
ered the uncrowned king of
English literature?
Who has not heard of William
Shakespeare? He was an Eng­
lish poet, dramatist and actor,
and considered by many to be
the uncrowned king of English
l iterature. Nothing is known for
certai n about Shakespeare's
early years. There a re stories
that he joined a theatrical com­
pany, or that he worked as a
schoolteacher. Whatever the
case, Shakespeare had become
known as a dramatist and a n
actor i n London by 1592. Some
of his early works include 'Titus
Andronicus', and 'The Two Gen­
tleman of Verona'.
Shakespeare published his
first work i n 1593, which was
the narrative poem Ven us and
Adonis. Later, he earned great
praise for his sonnets. A sonnet
is a type of poem that has three
four-line sections with a pair of
lines at the end, all fol lowing a
special rhyming scheme.
He worked with a group as a
dramatist, an actor, and a part­
owner for many years. I n 1599,
the company built the Globe, a
1 00 G reat Writers
theatre near London. Shake­
speare wrote some of his great­
est tragic and comic works
around this time. He created
Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and
Macbeth, as wel l as Twelfth
Night, and Measure for Measure
here. Shakespeare's works were
so popular that even Queen
Elizabeth I of England
had them performed
for her. Despite hav­
ing been written hun­
dreds of years ago,
Shakespeare's work
remains popular be­
cause of his engaging
characters,interesting
plots, and a rtful dialogues.
Shakespeare is credited with
39 plays, including Romeo and
Juliet, and Julius Caesar. He also
wrote 154 sonnets, and several
major poems, some of which
are considered to be the most
brilliant pieces of English litera­
ture ever written. His writings
have been translated i nto more
languages than those of any
other author, and his plays and
poems have been read by peo­
ple all overtheworld forgenera­
tions.
31
 The Renaissance
Renaissance means rebirth. The Renaissance Era is gener­
ally regarded as the revival of art and literature under the
influence of classical models in the 14th_16th centuries. It
was a period of artistic freedom that began in Florence, Ita­
ly. During the period, new printing techniques, music, and
musical ideas reached the people.

What was Shakespeare's English language more than

influence on English language any other writer in the world.
and literature? He created over 2,000 new
William Shakespeare is one of words a nd phrases. They i ncl ude
the greatest poets and play­ - schoolboy, shooting star, pup­
wrights of the world. He py-dog, football, bandit, partner,
changed the way downstairs, up­
plays were written stairs, leapfrog, alli­
by creating new gator, and mimic.
styles of writing. His He introduced new
stories combine phrases, experi­
conflicts with which mented with dif­
both kings and ferent kinds of
peasants could verse, and intro­
identify. His plots duced new poeti­
mirror the everyday cal and grammati­
lives of people, and cal structures.
encourage the au­ Above all, his quo­
dience to choose tations have stood
good over evil. He William Shakespeare the test of time,
-blended common and many words
issues into histories, serious­ and phrases from his works
'
ness into comedies, and hu- have become a part ofour every
mour into tragedies. This was a day speech.
revolutionary concept in Shake­ William Shakespeare's works
speare's time. sometimes appear to have a
Shakespeare influenced the language of its own. While most

32 Tel l Me Why

English speakers can boast of a
4000-word vocabulary, Shake­
speare's vocabulary spanned
over 29,000 words. In fact,
Shakespeare coined many of
the terms that are now used in
everyday speech. Words like
'amazement','gloomy', 'zany',
and 'equivocal' were first used by
none other than Shakespeare.
Why is there a controversy
about William S h a kespeare?
Some people have suggested
that Shakespeare didn't really
write 'his' plays. The idea that in
fact, someone else wrote Shake­
speare's plays has been around
for hundreds of years, and has
become known as the 'author­
ship controversy'. People have
a rgued that Shakespeare was a
simple country boy who could
not possibly have written in
such detail about life in court.
Moreover, in his hometown of
Stratford, no one seems to have
known that Shakespeare was a
1 00 G reat Writers
writer at all - and none of his
plays seemed to have been put
on in Stratford during his life,
which seems rather odd.
Finally when he died, Shake­
speare didn't leave any letters
or diaries that referred to his
writing career at all. No one has
ever found any early drafts of a
play, or indeed any play of his
writings either.
So then, who did write his
plays? Many names have been
suggested, including Queen
Elizabeth I, Christopher Mar­
lowe, the Earl of Oxford, Roger
Man ners and the Ea rl of Rutla nd.
But remember, these are just
doubts raised by a few people.
To the world at large, William
Shakespeare was undoubtedly,
one of the giants of English lit­
erature.
Stratjord- Upon-Avon, the birth­
place ofShakespeare
33
 What was Christopher Marlowe's great­ Shakespeare
est contribution to English literature? and Plutarch
Christopher Marlowe was born in Canter­ Plutarch had a
bury in 1 564, the same year as his great rival tremendous in­
William Shakespeare. Marlowe was a short­ fluence on the
tempered man, quickto anger, and to make writings of Wil­
enemies. He spent two weeks in Newgate liam Shake­
jail in 1589, charged with murder, though speare. This is
��;;:;::;;:;:;:
;:;: ==:;:;:;;;;;:;::;;;:;::;
;:;: ;;:;::;
;:;: ;;:;::;
;:;: " ;:;: he was later ac­ especially true in
quitted. the case of 'Ju­
Marlowe's dra­ lius Caesar', and
'Antony and
matic career
Cleopatra' •
spanned only six
Shakespeare
short years. In that
based these
time, he wrote The
plays on what he
Jew of Malta', The had read from
Tragical History of Plutarch's 'Lives
Doctor Faustus', of Noble Gre­
'The Queen of cians and Ro­
Carthage','Edward mans'. Though
1 1', and 'The Mas­ he based the
sacre at Paris'. His events in these
work ranged from plays mostly on
A stone monument of
William Shakespeare tragedy to histori- Plutarch's biog­
_______ cal drama. He also raphy, he also
wrote popular poetry such as 'Hero and Le­ made additions
ander', and 'The Passionate Shepherd'. to Plutarch's sto­
His greatest contribution to English thea­ ry for his own
tre was his influential use of blank verse in dramatic pur­
writing his dramatic works. Blank verse is poses. We can
' say that he
verse in which the lines do not rhyme as
they do in conventional poetry. However, sometimes gave
the lines a re set to a regular beat or metre. a twist to history
Marlowe was the first to use blank verse in in order to de­
velop character
drama, but William Shakespeare soon fol­
and theme.
lowed his example to great acclaim.
34 Tel l Me Why
 Why is Ben Johnson also got him into
renowned? trouble with the au­
Ben Jonson was a thorities.
poet, essayist and Ben Jonson was
playwright. In 1 598, also a great writer
Jonson wrote what of masques, which
is considered his fi rst involved music and
great play, 'Every dancing, singing and
Man in His Humour'. acting, and elabo­
Ben Jonson rate stage settings.
Did you know that
Shakespeare acted in In 1 6 1 6, Ben Jonson
one of jonson's plays in 1 6 1 6? was appointed Poet Laureate
His plays were comedies that which was a prestigious posi­
had eccentric characters in them, tion with a substantial pay. He
and were very popular. Jonson is generally regarded as the
presented a tragedy, too, in second most important dram­
1 603, titled 'Sejanus'. However, atist after William Shakespeare
the play was u n popular, and it during the reign of James I.

Why is Thomas Wyatt's n a m e associated �

with sonnets?
Thomas Wyatt was a member of the cou rt
circle of Henry VII I . He was popular and ad­
mired for his attractive appearance and ski l l
i n music, languages, and a rms. He served on
a number of diplomatic m issions and was
knighted in 1537, but his real fame was as a
poet. None of Wyatt's poems were published
during his lifetime, excepting a few poems in
a collection called 'The Court of Venus'.
Wyatt, along with Surrey, was the fi rst to
introduce the sonnet into English. Did you
know that Wyatt and another poet Surrey
share the title "father of the English sonnet?"

1 00 Great Writers 35
 Why is Ihara Saikaku fa­
mous in Japan?
Why is Matsuo Basho re­
Ihara Saikaku was a poet garded as the master of
and novelist and one of the haiku poetry?
most brilliant figures of the Matsuo Basho was a
1 7th century revival of Japa­
Japanese poet and writer
nese litera­
who lived in the 1 7th century.
ture. Saikaku
He took his pen name Basho
began his
from his 'basho-an', which
literary ca-
was a hut made of plantain
reer as a
leaves, to where he would go
haikai poet.
A haikai is a to write his poems in peace.
comic linked Born of a wealthy fami-
Japa nese
verse form. Matsuo Basho
Saikaku as­
tonished his
contem po­
raries with
his skill at
composing sequences of
thousands of stanzas in a sin­
gle sitting.
His writing captures the
way of the townspeople,
which was slowly replacing
the ways of the warriors.
At the age of 40, Saikaku
published his fi rst work
of fiction, 'The Life of an
Amorous Man', which was a
great success. This was fol­
lowed by about two dozen
books during the last decade
of his life.
36
 Why is William Tyndale called 'the a r­
.
Iy, Basho was a c hitect of the English language?'
Samurai, or war­ William Tyndale was a preacher and
rior, until the age scholar who trans­
of 20, at which lated the Bible into
time he devoted an early form of
modern English. He
himself to his po­
was skilled in eight
etry.
languages-Hebrew,
Basho was the
Greek, Latin,
main figure in
Spanish, French,
the development
Italian, English, and
of haiku, which
German! Both the
is a short three
king and the Church
line poem con­ William Tyndale were again st his
sisting of 1 7 syl­ idea of a Bible trans­
lables. He is con­ lation, and he had to leave the country.
sidered to have The printing of the English New
written the most Testament was begun at Cologne in 1 525.
perfect exam­ Tyndale was the fi rst to use Gutenberg'S
ples of this form movable-type press for printing the scrip­
of poetry. His po­ tures in English.
etry explores the The commentaries in his translation pro­
beauties of na­ moted views that were opposed by the
ture, and is in­ Church. Tyndale's translation was banned,
fluenced by Zen and Tyndale himself was burned at the
Buddh ism. stake in 1 536. He was a true scholar and is
Basho's most called the 'ar­
famous work chitect of the
was 'Oku no English lan­
Hosomichi' guage' as so
(Narrow Road to many of the
the Deep North). phrases that he
This was pub­ invented are
lished in 1 702 af­ stil l in our lan­
ter his death. guage today
1 00 G reat Writers 37
 Why was Thomas More execut­
ed?
Thomas More was a successful law­
yer and scholar who wrote a popular
book called 'Utopia', a bout an imag­
inary world that was perfect in eve­
ry way. HenryVl 1 i a ppointed him to
many high posts and missions, and
finally, made him Lord Chancellor in
1 529. However, he resigned in 1 532,
Thomas Campion when he disagreed with Henry's
opinions regarding marriage and
Thomas Campion the supremacy of the Pope.
Thomas Campion
was a physician, a com­ Thomas More
poser, and a poet. His
first published works
were five songs, which
appeared in 1591, and
his first collection of
poems, was published
in Latin in 1595. By
1597, Campion had
focused his attention
almost completely on
writing the words and
music for songs. The
lyrics in his works are
distinguished by their
fine musical quality.
Campion died on March
1, 1620, in London,
probably of the plague.
He never married and
died with only twenty­
three pounds to his
name!

38 Tel l Me Why
 Thomas More plays and farces. Sad ly, 'Ralph
spent the rest Roister Doister,' was not pub­
of his life in wr­ lished until after the author's
iting, mostly death.
in defense of
the Church. I n
1 534, he re­
fused to ac­
cept the King
as the Head of
the Church of England and was
confined to the tower. Fifteen
months later, he was tried and
convicted of treason. He told
the court that he could not go
against his conscience, and
told his judges that he hoped
they would meet again in
heaven! He was beheaded on John Skelton
July 6, 1 535.
Why is Nicholas Udall asso­ John Skelton
ciated with English comedy? John Skelton's birth and
Nicholas Udall, an English rank are unknown, yet he
schoolmaster, was a translator, rose to become one of the
playwright and author. closest advisors of King
Udall's play 'Ralph Roister Henry VII. He made fun of the
Doister' is regarded as the fi rst Catholic Church, but the king
complete English comedy. appointed him to its clergy.
The play is distinguished by He was praised as the most
its elements of native English gifted poet in England, yet
h umour. It is about a brag­ soon after his death, he was
gart soldier-hero who is final­ almost entirely forgotten.
ly shown to be a coward. The Only in the twentieth century
play was remarkable because it was Skelton rediscovered,
marks the emergence of come­ after nearly 500 years!
dy from the medieval morality
1 00 G reat Writers 39
 What were the
Earl of Surrey's con­
tributions to poet-

Henry Howard,
Earl of Surrey was
a mighty soldier. I n
1 537, he fell out of
favour at the court.
He was imprisoned
in Windsor, and
his famous poem
'Prisoned in Windsor'
in which he recal l s
his boyhood days in
Windsor, was written
in the same year. He
was later released, Earl of Surrey - a painting
and came back into
favour. But by 1 546, was executed on January 1 9, 1 547 on
he had fallen out of Tower Hill.
favour again, and Surrey's works consist primarily of son­
nets and poems. Along with Sir Thomas
Wyatt, he was responsible for bringing
the sonnet from Italy into English poetry
in his translations of Virgil. Surrey was also
the fi rst English poet to publish in blank
verse. Most of his poetry was published
posthumously in 1 557, ten years after his
death.
s Shakespeare h n ked to George
5 0 g e'
George Gascoigne was a soldier and
poet and was the most versatile writ­
er belonging to the fi rst half of the reign
of Queen Elizabeth I. He translated from
40 Tel l Me Why
Ariosto, the prose come­
dy 'Gli-Suppositi' under the ti­
tle of The Supposes'. It is the
fi rst comedy written in English
prose.
He also translated from
the Italian the prose tale
of 'J e ro n i m i ' ,
which was per­
haps the fi rst
novel print­
ed in English.
He wrote the
mock heroic
poem of Dan­
Bartholom­
ew, and wrote George
three acts Gascoigne
of 'Jocasta',the
fi rst adaptation of a Greek trag­
edy performed on the English
stage. George also prepared
masques for Queen Elizabeth
and the The Steel Glass', the
fi rst extensive English satire.
Perhaps his g reatest trib­
ute is the fact that William
Shakespeare used George's
comedy 'The Supposes' as a
source for his play 'The Taming
of the Shrew.'
What was Jo n Lyly's contri­
bution to Engl s h Lite ature?
John Lyly was the fi rst English
writer who wrote several com­
edies. He produced no few-
1 00 Great Writers
er than nine pieces. He be­
came famous with the publi­
cation of the prose romance
'Euphues' or 'The Anatomy of
Wit.' He also wrote a sequel,
and he started a writing style
known as Euphuism, from the
word 'Euphues' which means
'graceful' in Greece. This style
has two distinct features. The
sentences a re very elaborate,
and there are plenty of prov­
erbs, similes and incidents
from history adorning the
prose. He also wrote several
prose comedies for children.
Lyly had a strong influence
on other writers of his time, in­
cluding William Shakespeare
whose 'Hamlet', 'Love's Labour
Lost' and 'Much Ado about
Nothing' a l l show the im­
pact that Lyly had on him.
41

Edmond Spenser
Which work was Edmond
Spenser's masterpiece?
Born around 1 552 , Edmund
Spenser was known as 'the
prince of poets'. His master­
piece is undoubtedly 'The
Faerie Queen', a romantic epic.
enced the other writers of his
time. Generations of readers
�
students, and scholars have ad
mired him for his unbounded
imagination, his immense clas­
sical and religious learning, his
keen understanding of mora l
a n d political philosophy, and
ultimately, his abilityto delight.
Why is Miguel Cervantes'
work the origi n of the word
.
UIXO IC '
Miguel Cervantes was a nov­
elist, playwright, and poet and
the creator of Don Quixote, the
most famous figure in Spanish
literature. As a child, Cervantes
led an adventurous life, trav­
elling around Spain with his
father, who sold medicines.
When he g rew up, he went to
Italy and joined a Spanish reg-

fI
Since Spenser was not born
into a wealthy family, he need­
ed a patron to provide for his
support while he worked. Pa­
trons expect that the artists
they supported to write flat­
tering words. This was cer­
tainly the case with Spenser's
work, 'The Faerie Queen',
which flatters Elizabeth I. In this
work, Spenser presents his ide­
as of what constitutes an ideal
England. Spenser g reatly influ-

42
iment in Naples. He yvas once
captured by pirates, and spent
five years as a slave until his
family could raise enough mon­
ey to pay his ransom.His fi rst
play was based on his experi­
ences as a captive. He suffered
bankruptcy and was impris­
oned at least twice. However,
it is generally believed that
Cervantes was honest, but
a victim of circumstances.
His greatest work is 'Don
Quixote' that he wrote while
in prison. His idea was to give a
picture of real life and manners
and to express himself in clear
language, in simple words and
everyday forms of speech. The
book gives a panoramic view
of the 1 7th century Spanish so­
ciety. The central characters
MigueZ Cervantes
are an elderly, idealistic knight,
who sets out on his old horse
to seek adventure, and a ma­ man reading beside the road
terialistic squire Sancho Panza, and laughing so much that
who accompanies his master the tears were rolling down
from one failure to another. his cheeks. The king said, 'That
In fact, the book inspired the man is either crazy or he is
word 'quixotic' which means reading Don Quixote!" Is it any
'foolishly impractical though wonder that the book's been
inspired by high ideals.' around for four hundred years,
The book was a g reat suc­ and has inspired virtually eve­
cess. According to a story, King ry literary movement from the
Philip III of Spa i n once saw a eighteenth-century onwards?
1 00 G reat Writers 43
 returned home safely, and
even composed an epic poem
during his six month voyage.
Lope was the fi rst Spanish
dramatist to make his living as
a playwright. He wrote romanc­
es, verse histories of recent
events, verse biographies of
saints, prose tales, and poems.
Most of Lope's plays revolve
around the conflicting claims of
love and honour. His most pop­
Lope de Vega
ular work is 'The Sheep Well'.
Why is Calderon famous
Why was Lope de Vega con­ as a Spanish dramatist?
sidered to be a prodigy? Pedro Calderon was a dram­
Lope de Vega was a prolific atist and poet who succeed­
playwright, pioneer of Spanish ed Lope de Vega as the great­
drama. He was the author of as est Spanish playwright of the
many as 1 800 comedies and Golden Age. He wrote his fi rst
several hundred shorter dra­ play when he was only thir-
matic pieces, of which about
500 have been printed. His l ife
was as dramatic as his plays.
As a chi ld, Lope was con­
sidered to be a prodigy. He
started to compose verses at
an early age, before he could
use a pen. At the age of ten
he started to translate po- ,
ems from Latin, and at twelve
Lope wrote his fi rst play!
He joined the Spanish
Armada, but escaped the fate
of many of his fellow soldiers
Pedro Calderon
in the war against Britain. He
44 Tel l Me Why
teen. Calderon was stil l very
·
young when he was commis­
sioned by Philip IV to write
a series of plays for the roy-
a l theatre in the Buen Retiro.
Calderon's early plays had been
of a secular natu re. However,
his later dramas were deeply
religious in theme and treat­
ment. In fact, many commen­
tators think that Calderon was
at his best as a writer of 'autos,'
which are religious plays that
resemble the English Mystery
plays of the Middle Ages.
Calderon's works are mark­
ed by intense devotion to
the church, absolute loyal­
ty to the king, and a high­
ly developed sense of hon­
our. Probably the best known
of his dramatic works is the
secular play, 'Life is a Dream'.
1 00 G reat Writers
Francisco de Quevedo
Francisco de Quevedo
was a writer of the Spanish
Golden Age. Quevedo's
style relied on the use
of wit and elaborate
metaphors. It reflected
of his own somewhat
cynical attitude towards
literature as a whole.
Quevedo was fiercely
distrustful of complicated
literature, and he
attempted to introduce a
style of poetry that was,
for his time, remarkably
clean and concise. A
gifted novelist as well,
Quevedo was notorious
as a master satirist, and
he used his considerable
talent for mockery to
make fun of other writers.
45

Francois Villon
Why was the poet Francois
Villon different from other
writers of his day?
Francois Villon was a poet
and scholar who led the life of
a criminal. He killed a priest in
1 455, then joined a criminal
organization and became in­
volved in robbery, theft, and
brawling. I mprisoned sever­
al times, he received a death
sentence in 1 462, which­
was changed to banishment.
His works were published af­
ter his death and they were in
the form of bequests to friends
and acquaintances. His famo­
us work 'The Testament' re­
views his life with great emo­
tional and poetic depth.

Why did one of Moliere's comic plays have a tragic end?

Moliere, whose real name lung ailment while performing
was Jean Baptiste Poquelin, the play and died. a truly trag­
composed twelve of the most ic end to a comic playwright!
famous full-length comedies of
all time. He was also the lead­
ing French comic actor and
stage director in the 1 7th centu­
ry. Moliere established comedy
as a serious, flexible art form.
Moliere's troupe was given
a permanent theatre in Paris
by King Louis XIV. From that
time onwards, His plays at­
tacked human weaknesses
such as snobbishness, hypoc­
risy and meanness. On Feb 1 7,
1 673, Moliere collapsed of a

46 I Me y
 the 1 8th century verse. Besides
poems, Milton published pam­
phlets defending civil and re­
ligious rights. I n 1 65 1 , Milton
became blind. However, blind­
ness helped him to stimulate his
verbal richness. Milton's mas­
terpiece is 'Paradise Lost ,' which
tells the biblical story of Adam
and Eve, who were tempted
by Satan into disobeying God.
It is an extremely long poem,
How did John Donne's po­ and amazingly, it was com­
etry reflect his life? posed entirely in Milton's head,
John Donne trained as a law­ and dictated to members of his
yer, but his fi rst job was as a family. This epic poem in blank
government official. He secret­ verse was divided into twelve
ly married his employer's niece, books, and M ilton declared
and his earliest poems a re some that his aim in writing it was to
of the most passionate love po­ justify the ways of God to men.
ems ever written. Later on, he
became a priest, and his poet­
ry changed too. He now dealt
mostly with religious themes.
His most famous poem,
'Death be not Proud' re­
mains one of the all time clas­
sics of English Literature.
Why is 'Paradise Lost' one of
the greatest a mongst English
poems?
John Milton was one of the
g reatest of English poets. His
powerful prose and the elo­
q uence of his poetry had an im­
John Milton
mense influence, especially on
' 00 G reat Writers 47

How did Francois
Rabelais make his
reade s laugh'
Francois Rabelais
was a Franciscan
monk, humanist, and
physician, whose com­
ic novels 'Garga ntua'
a n d ' Pa nt a g r u e l ' a re
a mong the most hila r­
ious classics of world
literature. These books
describe the adven­
tures of a giant father
and son, both of whom
have enormous a ppe­
tites. Rabelais made
his readers laugh by
having his rude but
funny giants travel in
a world ful l of g reed,
stupidity, violence,
and grotesque jokes.
Rabelais mixed i n
h is books elements
from different narra-
48
tive forms, and peppered them with
broad popular humour. With h is flood
of outrageous ideas and anecdotes,
Rabelais emphasized the physical joys
of life - food, d rink, and bodily func­
tions- and mocked asceticism and op­
pressive religious and political forces. I n
fact, though Rabelais constantly made
his readers laugh, his books are also im­
portant, because they brought to light
and attacked the worst political, educa­
tional and political abuses of his time.
Why is Thomas Nashe's 'The
U nfortunate Traveller' called a pica­
resque novel '
Thomas Nashe belonged to a circle of
writers who came to London during the
reign of Queen Elizabeth I and wrote
for the stage and the press. Using the
pen name 'Pasquil' Nashe wrote sever­
al pamphlets, and was also involved in
several literary controversies.
Francois Rabelais
Tel l Me Why

I n 1 592 Nashe wrote 'Pierce
Pennilesse', a short book
about a writer so sick of being
broke he decides to try a new
patron - the Devil. It was an in­
stant hit. I n 1 593, he was jailed
by the London authorities for
criticizing them in a religious
pamphlet, 'Christ's Tears'. Four
years later, Nashe co-wrote a
play called The Isle of Dogs.' It
caused such uproar that all
the theatres were closed and
Nashe himself had to clear out
of London, barely escaping ar­
rest.
During his career, Nashe
tried different types of writing,
and his novel The U nfortunate
Traveller' is thought to have
been the fi rst picaresque nov­
el. A picaresque novel was an
early form of novel which was a
fi rst person account of the ad­
ventures of a rogue as he drifts
from place to place. Nashe
wrote about the wild over­
seas adventures of a young­
ster called Jack Wilton. Nashe
1 00 Great Writers
Thomas Kyd
Thomas Kyd was one
of the most important of
the English Elizabethan
dramatists who preced­
ed Shakespeare. Kyd's best
known play, 'Th e Spanish
Tragedy', was the most pop­
u lar and influential trag­
edy of Elizabethan times.
In its day, 'The Spanish
Tragedy' was even more
popu lar than Shakespeare's
plays, a n d it continued to
be performed throughout
the Elizabethan period. The
only other play which can be
attributed to Kyd with cer­
tainty is 'Cornelia', which h e
adapted from a French play
by Robert Garnier.
is admired for his fi re and inde­
pendence, and his new way of
handling words. Nashe,s live­
ly style survived him and has
had a big effect on subsequent
writers.
49
 Why is Joh n Fletcher considered a
great comedy playwright?
John Fletcher came from a family which
has given many d istinguished names
to English literature. He collaborated
with Francis Beaumont and other drama­
tists on comedies and tragedies between
a bout 1 606 and 1 625. Fletcher seems to
John Webster
have preferred comedy and this is cer­
Joh n Webster tainly what he is best-known for.
John Webster was The first of the plays that Fletcher wrote
to be the last of the in collaboration with Francis Beaumont
great Elizabethan was 'The Woman-Hater' but their most
playwrights. It was famous play was the uproariously-fun­
mankind's anguish ny 'Knight of the Burning Pestle'. They
a n d evil which cap­ even made fun of the audience, espe­
tured h is i magina­ cially people who liked to sit on the stage
tion. But his verse and i nterfere with the play. After the im­
is poetry of the mense success of this play, Beaumont
highest order, a n d and Fletcher never looked back. It was
holds its o w n with a sad day for English
the best poets of theatre when Francis
the period. H i s most Beaumont died pre­
famous works are maturely of a fever in
'The White Devil' 1 6 1 6.
and 'The D u chess Fletcher's fi rst re­
of Malfi'. After 'The corded sole-author­
Duchess of Malfi' ship play was 'The
Webster lapsed Faithful Shepherdess',
into mostly sec­ and he continued
ond-rate work. H e to write plays on his
John Fletcher own. These included
died i n t h e 1 630's,
and after his death, a historical tragedy, comedies, a political
Elizabethan thea­ drama and a tragedy. His plays a re fast­
tre began to de­ moving, well-constructed, and, in the
cline. <;ase of the comedies, still funny.
50 Tel l Me Why

Virginia Woolf
Why is Virginia Woolf cred­
ited with re-inventing the
novel?
The English novelist, crit­
ic, and essayist Virginia Woolf
ranks as one of Engla nd's most
distinguished writers of the
middle part of the twentieth
century. Her novels can per­
haps best be described as i m­
pressionistic, which is a liter­
ary style which attempts to i n­
spire impressions rather than
recreating reality. I n 1 9 1 7, for
amusement, she and her hus­
band Leonard Woolf founded
1 00 Great Writers
H ogarth Press by setting
and hand printing on an old
press 'Two Stories' by 'L. and V.
Woolf.' The volume was a suc­
cess, and over the years they
published many i mportant
books.
Hogarth Press published the
best and most original work
that came to its attention, and
the Woolfs as publishers fa­
voured young and unknown
writers. Virginia Woolf herself
was the author of about fif­
teen books. The last, 'A Writer's
Diary', was published in 1 953 af­
ter her death. Her most famous
works are 'Mrs. Dalloway', 'To
the Lighthouse', and 'Jacob's
Room' as well as 'The Voyage
Out,' and 'Night Out.' Virginia
a lso wrote experimental nov­
els and is credited with re-in­
venting the novel. She was
also a cham­
pion of wom­
en's rights as
is seen from
her essay
'A Room of
One's Own.' � -----:--;.�__.......
 Why is H.G.Wells known as
a writer of science fiction?
'
Herbert George Wells was
not only an author; he was
also a sociologist, journalist,
and a historian. He was a fan­
tastic and very descriptive writ­
er, and gained fame as an au­
thor of science fiction, though as 'The World Set Free,' 'The
he wrote on other themes like Soul of a Bishop,' 'The Secret
politics and history also. Some Places of the Heart' and many
of H.G. Wells' most famous more.
books are 'War of the Worlds' In one of his books, 'War of
and 'The Time Machine.' He the Worlds,' H.G. Wells writes
wrote many other books, such about Martians attacking Earth.

minology- it is the river man's

Mark Twain
How did Mark Twain's love
for the Mississippi enrich
English Literature?
Mark Twain is one of the aI/­
time g reat American a uthors.
Twain was raised in Hannibal,
Missouri and as a young man
held a series of jobs. His 'pen
name', Mark Twain, was taken
from Mississippi riverboat ter-
52
term for water two fathoms
deep. Twai n's love of this g reat
river inspired him and shines
throug h a l l his works. His real
name was Samuel Langhorne
Clemens. His humorous tales of
human nature, especially 'The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer'
and 'Huckleberry Finn' remain
standard texts in high school
and college literature classes.
Through these two most pop­
ular and loved novels, Twain
captured his boyhood esca-
I n a nother book, 'The Time
Machine,' the main charac­
ter builds a time machine, in
which he could travel into
the future. Wells' books made
people interested in science
and space. In his time not
many people believed in the
sort of technology used in his
books. The people who were
a live then would probably
be amazed at our technol­
ogy now. Wells' books were
somewhat like predictions,
and therein lies his g reatness.
pades along the Mississippi
River. The stories a re full
of adventure and humour.
I n his own day, Twain was a
tremendously popular fig­
ure and a celebrated pub­
lic speaker who toured wide­
ly. Other Twain classics in­
clude 'Life on the Mississippi',
'A Connecticut Yankee in
King Arthu r's Court', and the
short story 'The Celebrated
Jumping Frog of Calaveras
County'. He is also known for
his travel book 'The Innocents
Abroad.' Considered the great­
est humourist i n American l it­
erature, Twain's varied works
include novels, short stories,
and essays.
1 00 Great Writers
Who wrote Dracula?
Do you l i ke horror stories?
Well, one of the g reatest hor­
ror stories was written by
Bram Stoker, the author of
the classic 1 897 vampire nov­
el Dracula.
Abraham 'Bram' Stoker was
a sickly child, and his mother
told him a lot of horror stories
which may have influenced
his later writings. Stoker later
became an outstanding ath­
lete. He was in the civil serv­
ice for 1 0 years and the man­
ager of actor Henry I rving for
27 years, writing letters for his
employer and accompa nying
him on tours. During this pe­
riod, he wrote many fantastic
stories and novels, cementing
his fame with Dracula. Stoker's
tale made vampires famous,
and his Count 'Dracula' be­
came the model for the popu­
lar movie Draculas of the 20th

Edith Wharton
What was Edith Wharton's
contribution to English
era u re?
Edith Wha rton was an
American a uthor, best-known
for her stories and novels a bout
u pper class people. She was
born into a wealthy and socia l­
ly promi nent fam ily, and was
a n unusual child. She learned
to read by herself.
Her early writi ngs did not
dea l with New York high so­
ciety, but with u rban pover­
ty. Ghost stories a lso attract­
ed her. Wharton had a lifelong
passion for travel, and wrote
travel books as wel l.
Wharton fi rst gai ned success
with her book 'The House of
Mirth', a story of a beautiful but
poor woman, Lily Bart, trying to
survive in the pitiless New York
City. This work was followed
by severa l other novels set in
Ne-w York. Through her hero-
54
ines, Wharton draws a reveal­
ing picture of socia l behaviour
inside the doors of upper-class
America. Among Wharton's
most fa mous novels is 'The
Age of I n nocence', which was
fil med in 1 993.
Why was Robert Lewis
Stevenson called 'tusitala'?
Robert Louis Stevenson was
a Scottish essayist, novelist,
and poet. He prepared for a ca­
reer in law, but never practiced.
His i m mensely popular novels
'Treasure Island', 'Kidnapped',
'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' and
'The Master of Ballantrae' were
written over the course of a
few years. 'A Ch ild's Garden
of Verses', which he wrote i n
1 885 is o n e o f t h e most infl u­
ential children's works of the
1 9th century.
Stevenson's popularity is
based primarily on the exciting
Robert Louis Stevenson
 P. B. Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major
English romantic poets widely considered
to be among the finest lyric poets in the
English language and the husband of Mary
Shelley. He combined powerful poetic
gifts with a questioning mind and made an
emotional and passionate appeal for the
social improvement of society. His greatest
works were 'Prometheus Unbound', 'To a
Skylark', and 'Adonais.' He drowned while
sailing off the Italian coast.

Mary SheUey
Mary Shelley was an English romantic
novelist, biographer, and editor who is
best known as the writer of 'Frankenstein'.
When she was just nineteen she visited
the poet Lord Byron with her lover Percy
Shelley- and she wrote the story after
Byron dared his guests to write ghost
stories. Mary wrote a really scary tale
about a scientist who created a monster
out of body parts, and the monster was
so terrifying that Mary and Frankenstein
became immortal!

subject matter of his adventure

novels and stories of the fa ntastic.
Treasure Island' is a swiftly paced
story of a search for buried gold.
Having suffered from tu berculo­
sis for much of his l ife, Stevenson
spent many years travelling in
search of a climate that would
suit his illness. He finally settled
1 00 G reat Writers
in Sa moa, where he died i n
1 894, a n d was bu ried. He
was cal led 'tusital.a! -b� the
local peookiv.- OPCrlll'iP .OF>
was sucb'/a '((lr-e-at stOrvt�l�
er - ancf{ttJ¢ �OJ$l ':W � i�ala,'
mea ns 'IS,to � e ler . irt tR�if
l
languag�
 Why was Bernard S h aw so George Bernard Shaw was
controversial? a su perstar playwright and
sha rp-tong ued literary per­
sonal ity of the early 20th cen­
tury. After moving to London
in 1 876, he worked for years
as a m usic and art critic, wrote
book and theatre reviews, and
was a n active member of the
Fabian Society, which was a
socialist pol itical organization.
I n his fi rst play, 'Widowers'
Houses' he emphasized social
and economic issues instead
of roma nce. In fact, many of his
plays forced the spectator to
face u npleasant facts. He also
George Bernard Shaw
wrote comedies like 'Major

Which a uthor has a after it! However,

football team named Scott did n't even
claim credit for the
Walter Scott was a 'Waverley' novels,
famous novelist of the u ntil several years
early 1 9th century, and after they were
a pioneer i n the art of fi rst publ ished.
the historical novel. His fi rst suc­
It was the success of cesses were large­
'Waverley', that estab­ ly in the realm of
lished Scott in the ca­ Scottish history.
reer of a novelist. This Then at a critical
historical novel was point of his career,
so popular that a rail­ Scott turned to
way station and foot­ English history for
ball team was named Walter Scott his subject matter.
56 Tel l Me Why
Barbara' and 'Doctor's Dilem ma.' His comic mas­
terpiece was 'Pygma lion', which was a sharp criti­
cism of the rigid British class system of the day
and a comment on women's i ndependence,
packaged as a romantic comedy
Shaw's s u bjects offended many playgoers and
critics, especially i n the early years. He considered
wa r a tragic waste of young lives and he wrote
a series of antiwar a rticles after the outbreak of
World Wa r I that tu rned public opinion against
him. He was treated as an outcast, and there was
even ta l k of trying h i m for treason. However af­
ter the War was over, he regained his reputation,
and became an i nternational celebrity. He d ied at
the ripe old age of 94 after fa lling off a ladder.

George Orwell
George Orwell was a British novelist,
essayist, and critic. He served for five
years in the Burmese police, and
also lived for some time as a tramp
and dishwasher! His most famous
book was 'Animal Farm' in which he
attacked the Russian Revolution.
His other famous book 'Nineteen
Eighty Four', describes the horrors of
dictatorship.

George Orwell

He began with 'Iva n hoe' which

was a complicated romance
set in 1 2th century Eng land, novels set in the period of the
and then wrote three other Crusades.
1 00 Great Writers 57
 Don't fear!
I'm ypur
Why did D. H. Lawrence
masterpiece t avel extensively.
D. H. Lawrencewas a n English
novel ist, storywriter, critic,
poet and painter and one of
the g reat figures in 20th century
English literature. Lawrence's
childhood was domi nated by
poverty and friction between
Why is 'Moby Dick' consid­ his parents.
ered H erman M elville's mas­ The appearance of his fi rst
terpiece? novel 'The White Peacock'
Moby Dick is now consid­ launched Lawrence into a writ­
ered one of the g reat novels ing career. Lawrence's nov­
in the English language and el 'Sons and Lovers' appeared
has secured Herman Melvil le's in 1 9 1 3 and was based on his
place among America's g reat­ child hood. Lawrence's best
est writers.
'Moby Dick' is the story of a
whaling voyage. The plot cen­
tres around the ca pta in of a
wha ling ship, Ahab, and his
obsession with a huge whale
Moby Dick, that had bitten off
his leg i n a previous encou nter.
Strangely enough, the book
was publ ished to unfavour­
a ble reviews, and its author,
Herman Melville, was su bse­
quently unable to make a liv­
ing as a writer. He wrote j ust
three more novels after 'Moby­
Dick' and then retired from lit­
era ry life, worki ng as a
officer, writing poems, a nn"t<>I "
.
.

la, and a few short stories.

 with his poems but soon be­
came known as a gifted short
story writer. He glorified the
British Empire and the com­
mon soldier
in many of his Thank God
you don't see
w o r ks . ' K i m '
wel l
(published i n
1 90 1 ) is wide­
ly considered
his best nov­
el. Kipling
was the fi rst
D. H. Lawrence
Englishman
known work is 'Lady Chatterly's to receive the
Lover', fi rst published privately Nobel Prize for
in Florence in 1 928. Literature.
He d ied in France of tu bercu­ Kipling had poor eyesig ht,
losis. which proved a blessing in dis­
Why did Rudyard Kipling's guise. He had hoped to enter
poor eyesight prove a bless­ the a rmy, but his mediocre re­
ing in disguise? su lts as a student dashed these
You must have seen or heard hopes- and the mi litary's loss
a bout the movie 'J ungle Book' proved to be literature's gain!
with its famous characters like
Mowgli, Baloo and Bag heera.
But did you know that it is
based on a book written by a
great English writer, Rudyard
Kipling?
Rudyard Kipl ing was born
in Bom bay, but educated in
England. In 1 882 he retu rned
to India, where he worked for
Anglo-Indian newspapers.
Ki pling enjoyed early success Rudyard Kipling
1 00 G reat Writers 59

James Joyce
Why was James Joyce re­
garded as an innovator in
20th century writing?
Ja mes Joyce was an I rish writ­
er and poet who was known
for his experimental use of lan­
guage. He used many techni-
I
cal innovations in
H is most fa mous works
were 'U lysses' and 'Fi n nega n 's
Wa ke', 'Dubli ners' and 'Portrait
of the a rtist as a Young Man'.
During his career Joyce suf­
f�red from rejections from pub­
lishers, suppression by censors,
attacks by critics, and misun­
derstanding by readers.
Why did Henry James write
such detailed descriptions?
Henry Ja mes was an Amer
ican-born writer, gifted with
talents in literatu re, psychol­
ogy, and philosophy. James
wrote 20 novels, 1 1 2 stories, 1 2
pl ��s and a n u mber of litera ry
.
crrtlClsms.
He wrote his first novel
'Watch and Ward' while he was
travel ling through Venice and
Paris.
Later Ja mes moved to

eww �YTY?
England and wrote novels that
:o s e.
his works i ncluding
p o rt r a y e d
i nvented words I
A m e rica n s
puns and ill usions,
I i v i n g
and also complex
a broad .
and sym bolic par­
He aimed
allels d rawn from
to create
mythology, history
c h a racters
and literature. He
that were
was a rebel, and his
so lifelike
writing was often
that read­
strange and fa ntas­
ers would
tic. Henry James
feel that
60 Tel l Me Why
 h u nter and deep sea fisher­
I' l l name my new man. He kil led hi mself with a
book "The Old Man
shotg u n i n 1 96 1 .
and the Sea"
H e publ ished his fi rst books,
cal led Th ree Stories and Ten
Poem s' in 1 923, and 'In Our
time' i n 1 924. H is mil itary ex­
periences were reflected in
'--..-'<;;::;;:;;'F o r Whom the Bell Tolls' and
in several other stories. He set­
tled near Havana, Cu ba, where
they were real people. As a he wrote 'The Old Man and
result, he wrote long descrip­ the Sea' for which he won a
tions that also made his books Pul itzer Prize, and the Nobel
very long! Prize for Literature. The book is
Why did Ernest Heming a bout an aged fi sherman who
way's writings reflect his ad­ is trying to catch a huge fish.
venturous life? His love for bullfighting is re­
Earnest Hemi ngway is one of flected in his book 'Death i n
the greatest American writers t h e Afternoon.' I n short, h i s life
of all time. In 1 91 6, Hemingway was a colou rful and adventur­
began his writing career as a ous one- and a l l the colour and
reporter. Six months later, he adventu re is captured in his
joi ned the Ambulance Corps writi ngs.
in World Wa r I and worked as
an ambulance driver on the
Italian front, picking up human
remai ns. I n J u ly 1 9 1 8, he was
seriously wounded by a mortar
shell that left shrapnel in both
of his legs. Hemingway partici­
pated in the Spanish Civil War
and in the World War I I, by tak­
ing part in the D-day i nvasion
of France. He loved bull fig ht­
ing and was also a big game Ernest Hemingway

1 00 Great Writers 61
 Why did Nathaniel Haw­
thorne wr-ite about witch­
craft?
Nathaniel Hawthorne was a n
American novel ist a nd short­
story writer. He is best known
for the novel The Scarlet
Letter', set in colonial New
England, which is considered
to be one of the best America n
novels, and The House of the
Seven Ga bles,' wh ich is the sto­
ry of a fa mily that lives u nder a
cu rse for generations.
Hawthorne's fa mily had been
involved in rel igious persecu­
tion for generations, a nd one of
his ancestors was a judge who
had ordered the execution of
in nocent peo­
A bracadebra! pie for being
witches. As a
you ng man,
Nathaniel had
been fascinat­
ed and deeply
moved by the
fa mily story
that this an­
cestor was
cu rsed by one
of the convicted witches. This
greatly troubled Hawthorne,
and he wrote a bout the ha rsh
attitude of the early American
people towa rds witchcraft.
62
Why is Thomas Hardy con­
sidered immortal?
Thomas Hardy is one of the
immorta ls of English literature.
He wrote from his personal
knowledge and experience,
and his stories were set in loca­
tions that were fa miliar to h i m .
Hardy started b y writing po­
etry, but later, he switched to
writing novels. At fi rst, he pub­
lished a nonymously, but when
people became i nterested i n
his works, he began to use h i s
own name.
Hardy's novels were pub­
lished in serial form in maga­
zines that were popu lar both in
England and America. His fi rst
popu lar novel was 'U nder the
Greenwood Tree', published i n
1 872. The next great novel, 'Far
from the Madding Crowd' was
a huge success and other pop­
ular novels fol-
lowed in q u ick
succession.
After a long
and high­
ly successful
life, Thomas
Hardy died on
January 1 1,
1 928, at the
age of 87. His
ashes were
Tel l Me Why
 George El iot was one of the
lead ing writers of the Victorian
era. Mary Anne Evans's trans­
formation i nto the fiction writ­
er George Eliot began in 1 856,
when she decided to try her
hand at writing novels. Her
fi rst novel 'Adam Bede', was
a success and it was followed
by two more popular novels
'The Mill on the Floss' and 'Silas
Marner'.
Mary Anne Evans lived a con­
troversial and u nconventional
Thomas Hardy
life that has been the subject
buried i n Poets' Corner at of much schola rly debate, and
Westminster Abbey. His works the study of many biographers.
wi ll live on forever. Her works sta nd on their own
Why did Mary Anne Evans making her one of the best of
write under the name George the Victorian writers.
Eliot?
Did you know that the fa­
mous writer George Eliot was
actually a lady named Mary
Anne Eva ns? She used a male
pen name, she said, to ensure
that her works were taken se­
riou sly, for in those days it was
believed that women cou ld
write only light hearted ro­
mances. She chose 'George'
as her fi rst name as it was the
name of her lifelong compan­
ion, George Lewes, and 'El iot'
because 'it was a good mouth
Mary Anne Evans
fi l ling word'!
1 00 G reat Writers 63
 Why is 'Madame Bovary' tude, sometimes taking a week
considered Gustave to complete one page. He was
Flaubert' s masterpiece? never satisfied with what he
Flaubert was French novelist had composed, and violent­
of the realist school. He aban­ ly tormented his brain for the
doned his law studies at age 22 best turn of a phrase, the most
for a life of writ­ absolutely final adjective. His
ing. As a writ­ other novels i nclude the exot­
er, Flaubert was ic 'Salammbo', 'A Sentimental
a perfectionist, Education', The Temptation
and he believed of Saint Anthony' and Trois
that a novelist Contes'. But there is no doubt
should notjudge, at all that 'Madame Bovary'
teach, or explain, was his masterpiece.
but remain neu­ Why were the novels of
tra l. Flaubert Charles Dickens so popular?
is known best Charles Dickens was one of
for his sensa­ the most influential and g reat­
tional 'Madame est writers of the Victorian era.
Bovary'. Written i n 1 857, i t i s From 1 837 till
a classic tale o f romance and 1 841 , Charles
retribution. The novel created took to writ­
a storm, and its subject mat­ ing nov­
ter and realistic treatment out­ els, but his
raged French society. Flaubert novels were
was brought before the court­ published i n
and acquitted- on charges of small parts
\
obscenity instead of
'Madame Bovary' remains at one time.
one of the most frequent­ He wrote
ly taught works of French lit­ novels like
erature both in France, and in 'Oliver Twist', CharlesDickens
universities across the world. 'Nicholas
The novel took five years to N ickelby', and The Old
complete. During this time, Curiosity Shop'. From 1 84 1
Flaubert worked in sullen soli- t o 1 860, Charles wrote a few
64 Tel l Me Why
more novels, which were
very much based on his per­
sonal experience. 'David
Copperfield', 'Bleak House', 'A
Tale of Two Cities", and 'Great
Expectations', are among his
famous works during that pe­
riod. Because his novels were
published in instalments in pe­
riodicals, many more people
could afford to read them, as
periodicals were not as expen­
sive as books. Moreover, each
instalment would end with
a hook that kept his readers
wondering what was coming
next, thus ensuring the sales of
the next instalment!
Dickens also took part in pro­
tests and campaigns against
social i njustice, hypocrisy in
the society and wrote stories,
pamphlets, and plays in this
context. Although Dickens's
main profession was as a nov­
elist, he continued his journal­
istic work until the end of his
life
Dickens had the rare gift of
being able to capture the im­
agination of the audience. His
powers of observation were
amazing, and he had a rare
wit. His characters were un­
forgettable, and his command
of the language incredible.
1 00 G reat Writers
Dickens was a sympathizer of
the poor, the suffering, and the
oppressed and when he died,
one of England's greatest writ­
ers was lost to the world.
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe was an
observant reporter, histo­
rian, humorist, and grand
story teller. He is best
known as the author of the
famous book 'Robinson
Crusoe.' It is the story
of a shipwrecked sailor
who is washed ashore
on a deserted island. He
spends 28 years on this
remote tropical island enc
ountering natives, cap­
tives, and mutineers be­
fore being rescued. The
story is written in a simple
narrative style, and is
considered to be one of
the most widely published
books in history.
65

Lewis Carroll
Which famous children's
author was also a brilliant
mathematician?
Have you heard of the maths
teacher who wrote children's
novels? Lewis Carroll did
just that. While working as a
maths lecturer at Christchurch,
Oxford, he wrote novels for
children. He also wrote brilliant
mathematical works!
'Lewis Carroll' was the pen
name adopted by Charles
Lutwidge Dodgson. Carroll
was very shy, and hid his
hands continually in a pair of
grey-and-black gloves. He was
troubled by a stammer, but
he got along well with chil­
dren. During a picnic in 1 862,
Carroll told a long story to a
girl named Alice Liddell. His fa­
mous book, Alice's Adventures
66
in Wonderland,' was born out of
this tale. Alice, a seven year old
girl is the heroine of this story.
She dreams that she plunges
down a rabbit hole. She meets
such strange creatures as the
Cheshire cat, the Mad Hatter,
the March Hare and the King
and queen of hearts. The inci­
dents in this novel are illogical
and have a dream like quality.
This story is continued in the
novel, 'Through the Looking
Glass,' which is even more fa­
mous. Lewis Carroll delighted
his friends with games, puz­
zles and riddles and some of
his novels have puzzled gener­
ations of readers.
Ripley's Five Books
ou may be familiar with
Robert L. Ripley's 'Believe
it or Not'. Once an author
asked him. "What five
books would you take
along if you were forced
to spend five years in
exile on a desert island?"
Ripley replied. " I will ta­
ke the Bible, The Good
Earth by Pearl S. Buck,
Les Miserables by Victor
Hugo, Outline of History
by H.G. Wells, and Believe
it or Not!"
Tel l Me Why
 Why are the Bronte sisters famous? Famous
The Bronte sisters led a strange and trou­ Pen Names
bled life. They lost their mother at an early I nstead of their
age, and two of their sisters died while they real names,
were in school. They l ived in a cold house by some writers
the Parish g raveyard. Yet Charlotte, Emily, used pen
and Anne Bronte wrote some of the finest names. Here
novels in the English are some fa­
language. mous pen
A simple present names. Their
from their father, a real names are
box of toy soldiers, in brackets:
Boz (Charles
changed the course
Dickens), Lewis
of their life. Char­
Carroll (Charles
lotte seized a toy
Lutwidge
soldierand declared Dodgson),
him to be her hero. George Eliot
This sparked their (Mary Ann
imagination, and Evans), Maxim
they began to Gorki (Aleksei
write. Peshkov), Knut
In 1 846, the three Hamsun (Knut
Bronte Sisters sisters published a Pedersen),
collection of poems O.Henry (WiI­
at their own expense. Just two copies were liam Sydney
sold. This failure did not defeat them. Each Porter), George
one started writing a novel, but all the three Orwell (Eric
novels were later rejected by publishers. Fi­ Arthur Blair),
nally in 1 847, Charlotte Bronte's novel, 'Jane Saki (Hector
Eyre,' was published. It became an immedi­ Hugh Munro),
ate success. The same year saw the publica­ Mark Twain
tion of Emily Bronte's novel 'Wuthering (Samuel Lang­
Heights' and Anne Bronte's, 'Agnes Grey'. horne Clem­
Curiously, all the three Bronte sisters wrote ens), Voltaire
under male pen names! Thus the Bronte sis­ (Francois Marie
ters made literary history. Arouet).

1 00 Great Writers 67
 the world of children with her books. She
was the eldest of three children. Her father
Thomas Ca rey Blyton pa i nted, wrote poetry,
played the piano, and was a photographer
too. Enid Blyton was brought up to be a
musician. Her family thought her writing
was a waste of time!
I n 1 91 7, her first published poem a p­
peared in Nash's Magazine. She edited
'Sunny Stories', a new magazine for chil­
Enid Blyton dren. Many of her stories, plays, and songs
were well received.
Why is Enid Blyton's first full-length children's adven­
Blyton a legend in ture book, The Secret Island' was published
children's litera­ in 1 938. This was a fast moving story woven
ture? around loveable characters. This led to such
Enid Blyton lit up series as The Famous Five', The Secret

Why is it said that Jane frequently featured in h e r nov­

Austen's novels mark the els. Romanticism also gave im­
transition in English litera­ portance to inspiration. Jane
ture from neoclassicism to Austen's novels were brilliantly
romanticism ? witty and beautifully struc­
Jane Austen, the noted Eng­ tured.
lish novelist made Unlike most other
romanticism fash­ writers, Jane Austen
ionable. I n romanti­ had a happy child­
cism, the a uthor's hood. She was the
feelings, tastes, and seventh child of Rev­
opinions find their erend George Austen
way into the writing. and his wife Cassan­
This is called subjec­ dra. She was born in
tivity. For instance, Hampshire, England.
Jane Austen loved Jane Austen At the age of fou r­
dancing, and it is teen, she wrote her
68 Tel l Me Why
Seven', 'The Adventure Series',
Somerset Maugham's
'The Mystery Series' and the 'Bar­ Best Ten
ney' mystery books. Her works
celebrate good food, the spirit of The world
friendshi p, and honesty. famous
Blyton could write 1 0,OOO words writer
a day! In 1 940, Somerset
eleven books Maugham
were pub­ (in picture)
lished in her selected
name.Blyton's the following as the 1 0
books have best novels of the world:
sold over 60 1 . War and Peace (1 866)
million cop­ by Leo Tolstoy
ies! 2. Pere Goriot (1 834)
by Honore de Balzac
3. Tom Jones (1 749)
by Henry Fielding
4. Pride and Prejudice
first novel, 'Love and Friendship'. I n ( 1 81 3) by Jane Austen
her early twenties, Jane Austen 5. The Red and the Black
wrote three novels. They were later ( 1 83 1 ) by Stendhal
re-worked and published as 'Sense 6. Wuthering Heights
and Sensibility', 'Pride and Preju­ (1 848) by Emily Bronte
dice,' and 'Northanger Abbey'.
7. Madame Bovary ( 1 857)
'Sense and Sensibility' and 'Pride
by Gustave Flaubert
and Prejudice' were published in
1 8 1 1 and 1 8 1 3 respectively. 'Mans­ 8. David Copperfield
field Park' came out i n 1 81 4, and (1 849-1 850) by
'Emma', in 1 8 1 6. Jane Austen died at Charles Dickens
the age of forty one. Northanger 9. The Brothers Karama­
Abbey was published in 1 8 1 8, the zov (1 880) by Fyodor
year after her death. None of the Dostoevsky
books published in her l ifetime had 1 0. Moby Dick ( 1 85 1 )
her name on them - they were de­ by Herman Melville
scribed as being written 'By a Lady'!
1 00 Great Writers 69
 Why is Dosto- based on his experi­
evsky regi!rded as ence in Siberia.
the father of Rus­ Dostoevsky's fic­
sian realism and the tion is notable for its
master of psycho­ deep and i ntense
logical realism? understanding of
First things first. human psychology.
Realism refers to the In his novel 'Crime
representation of and Punishment',
things in a way that the young Raskolnik­
is true to life. Fyodor Fyodor Dostoevsky ov murders a pawn­
Dostoevsky was a broker, and under­
master of realism. His life reads goes mental suffering. I n his
l i ke a story. Dostoevsky was novel, 'The Idiot', Dostoevsky
born in Moscow, Russia, to criticised materialism, the ten­
Mikhai l Dostoevsky, an army dency to consider belongings,
surgeon, and Maria Nechaeva. and physical comfort as more
His father was an alcoholic, and important than spiritual values.
his family lived i n fear. His best 'The Brothers Karamazov' was
friend was murdered when Dostoevsky's last novel. Love,
Dostoevsky was nine years old. hate and the search for God
In 1 846, he published 'Poor were the subjects of this novel.
Folk'. This book launched his It is the first ma- f

1�C<
writing career. jor work i n psy-
However, Dostoevsky started chological real-
attending meetings of a g roup ism. In spite of
which was i nterested in reform­ poor physical
ing Russian society. He was health and epi­
thrown i nto prison, and sen­ leptic attacks,
tenced to death. M in utes befor,e D o s t o e v s k y
his execution, hewas pardoned, went on to be­
and his sentence reduced to come the father
five years of hard labour in Sibe­ of Russian real­
ria. 'The H ouse of the Dead' ism, and master
published in 1 862 was a fic­ of psychologi­
tional accou nt of prison life cal realism.
70 Tel l Me Why
 Why is Best Sellers
James Feni­ Do you know which are the
more Cooper best selling books of all time?
considered to be 'The Bible,' comes first and 'Quota­
the first true A meri- tions from the Works of Mao Tse-
can novelist? tung' comes second in
A bad ly written novel this list.
sparked off James Cooper's writ-
ing career. After reading the novel, he he published 'A Le
boasted to his wife that he could write tter to His Country­
better than that. His wife challenged him men', which criti­
to prove it. Thus, the gentleman farmer cized American cul­
who had inherited a mountain of debt, ture. American news­
unexpectedly turned into a successful papers made him out
writer. to be a villain! James
However, Cooper's first book, 'Precau­
tion', was a failure. His second, The Spy'
published in 1 82 1 became an instant suc­
cess. It was published both in the u.s and
Europe. Most of his novels tell the tale of
American settlers and their conflict with
the native Red Indians. His love for the
wild was reflected in his works. Cooper
was prolific. He produced book after book.
His 'Leatherstocking Tales' were well
loved. These featured the adventures of
Natty Bumppo, the resourceful American James Fenimore
settler. As a mark of respect to his dead Cooper
mother, he took Fenimore as his middle
name. Fenimore Cooper,
Cooper came from a wealthy family the first true Ameri­
which founded Cooperstown, New York, can novelist died on
but it had fallen on bad days. His famous September 1 4, 1 85 1
novel, The Last ofthe Mohicans', published at his home, one day
in 1 826, has discontinuation of both a way short of his sixty sec­
of life and a family line as its theme. I n 1 834, ond birthday.
1 00 Great Writers 71

Why does Alexander Dumas
enjoy a special place among
French writers?
Alexander Dumas, the great
French writer, never wrote a
complete novel by himself! He
would come up with the plot,
characters, and often some of
the important passages, but
the main writing was done by a
changing g roup of assistants!
He is famous for creating the
characters of 0' Artagan, Athos,
Aramisand Porth os in 'The Three
Musketeers'. A musket is a gun
with a long barrel. Further ad­
ventures of the musketeers fol­
lowed in 'Twenty Years After',
and 'The Vicomtede Bragelone'.
His other famous creation was
'The Count of Monte Cristo'. He
also wrote many plays and sto­
ries.
Why is 'Gulliver's Travels'
known as Jonathan Swift's
the masterpiece?
Imagine being trapped in a
land of tiny people. In 'Gulliver's
Travels', Gulliver is washed on
to the shore of Lilliput, follow­
ing a shipwreck. For the tiny
people of Lilliput, Gulliver is a
giant. Then he lands up in Brob­
dingnag, a land of giants. There
he is seen as tiny, and is even
put into a bird cage!

Washington Irving
Have you heard about the fictional character, 'Rip Van
Winkle'? He slept for so many years that when he got up his
clothes had grown out of fashion! Well, Washington Irving
created Rip Van Winkle. He appears in I rving's most famous
work, 'The Sketch Book', published in 1 8 1 9. Washington Irv­
ing was also the first American to make a living solely out of
writing.
2 Tel l Me Wh
 Gulliver escapes, and arrives at a country
BEST SELLERS
of gentle talking horses. The genuine affec­
BORN IN PRISONS
tion they have for each other moves Gulliver
so much so that he longs to stay with them.
ome best sellers
'Gulliver's Travels' is the masterpiece of
came from pris­
Jonathan Swift, the English-Irish author. Try
ons. Authors
to get a copy of Gulliver's Travels. You are wrote them while
sure to enjoy it! they were in jail.
Why are the books of Victor Hugo still Here are some Ex­
ular. amples: ( The au­
Victor Hugo's funeral was a national event thor's name is
attended by two mil lion people. His charac­ given in brackets)
ters live on one hundred and thirty two • Henriade
years after his death. Jean Val Jean, the hero (Voltaire)
of 'Les Miserables' is labelled a criminal for • Pilgrim's
life because he stole a loaf of bread. The Progress
novel throws light on the social conditions (John Bunyan )
in Hugo's France. Hugo wrote this novel • Don Quixote
while in exile. The hunchbacked bell ringer (Miguel De
Quasimodo, and his tragic love for Esmer­ Cervantes)
alda, the beautiful gypsy girl are portrayed . Hymn to the
in his novel 'Notre-Dame de Paris'. It was pub­ Pillory
lished in 1 83 1 .with this novel, Hugo gained (Daniel Defoe)
• Glimpses of
lasting fame. In 1 841 , Victor Hugo was elected
to the prestigious Academie Francaise. Vic­ World History
tor Hugo also pub­ (Jawaharlal
Nehru)
lishedseveralvolumes
. The Gentle
of lyric poetry.
Grafter
(O.Henry )
• History of the
World (Sir
Walter Raleigh)
• De Profundis
and Apologia
Victor Hugo (Oscar Wilde)

1 00 Great Writers 73
 Why is Sherlock Holmes
an immort�1 character?
Say the word detective, and
the image of Sherlock Holmes
springs to the mind. He was so
life-like that readers forgot
that they were reading about
a character in a book. They
even send mail to his fictional Conan Doyle
address in Baker Street! Sher­
lock Holmes was a quiet and intelligent
character, but his creator Arthur Conan Why is
Doyle got tired of him. He wanted to Maxim Gorky
write 'serious' novels. So in one of his known as a
later books, he killed him off. There was a 'writer of the
public outcry, and Doyle was forced to people'?
bring Holmes back from the dead. Hol­ Maxim Gorky
mes formed a memorable partnership was a Russian he­
along with his unintelligent associate ro. He was deeply
Dr. Watson. moved by the
Holmes first a ppeared in Doyle's story, wretched condi­
'A Study in Scarlet'. It was published as a tions of his coun­
serial i n Strand Magazine. Holmes ap­ trymen. He did a
peared in 'The Sign of the Four' ( 1 889), variety of difficult
'Adventures' ( 1 89 1 ) and 'The Hound of jobs to make
the Baskervilles' ( 1 902). Collected Hol­ ends meet. When
mes stories appeared in 'Adventures of Gorky toured Rus­
Sherlock Holmes'. It ran i nto five vol­ sia, the sufferings
umes. More than 1 75 films have been of its people
made on Sherlock Holmes. melted his heart,
Arthur Conan Doyle was Scottish by and a revolution­
birth and a doctor by profession. He be­ ary was born. He
lieved in g hosts, and played first class joined the Com­
cricket. He also displayed his detective munist Party. In
talent, in just the same manner of Sher­ 1 905, he was ar­
lock Holmes! rested by the
74 Tel l Me Why
\ Reference Books
The authors Norris and Ross McWhirter are responsible for
the internationally popular Guinness book of World Records.
The following are their great reference books:
• Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Guide to Reference Books (American Library Association)

• The World Almanac

• Year Book of International Organizations
• Oxford English Dictionary
• National Geographic Society Atlas
• Urich's International Periodical Directory
• World of Learning (Europa, 2 vols.)
• U.N Statistical Yearbook
• 1 ,000,000 de Decimales de Pi (Guilloud et Bouyer)
• Dictionary of National Biography
• Halsbury's Laws of England

Czarist government, and exiled. 1 91 7 was

the year of the October Revolution. Fol­
lowing the revolution, Gorky was made
head of the propaganda department i n
Russia.
Gorky means 'the bitter one' in Russian.
Maxim Gorky is the pen name of Aleksei
Peshkov. Gorky was a literary genius.
'Mother', his most famous novel has been
translated into all the leading languages
of the world. His novels, plays and autobi­
ographies describe the woes of the Rus­ Maxim Gorky
sians in the pre-revolutionary days. His
other well known literary works are 'Lower hero of the October
Depths,' and 'My Childhood and Reminis­ Revolution. Gorky
cences'. Gorky occupied a place of hon­ breathed his last in
our in the hearts of his countrymen as a 1 93 1 .
1 00 Great Writers 75
 Why is it said that
of Weimar. Goethe
unsuccessful love af­
supported freedom
fairs made the great
and progress, but
riter Goethe'
believed that aris­
A tragedy that
tocracy had an im­
does not kill you
portant role to play
makes you stronger.
in society. Young
The writer in Johann
readers criticized
Wolfgang Goethe
him for his views on
was mou lded by sev­
aristocracy.
eral unsuccessful love af-
'Faust' was Goethe's dra­
fairs. Failed love features
matic masterpiece. It first a p­
prominently in his writings. His
peared in 1 808. This drama be­
first major work, 'The Sorrows
came his passion, and heworked
of Young Werther,' appeared in
on it for more than thirty years.
1 774. Werther's hopeless love
It is based on a play by English
for Lotte Buff, the wife of a close
dramatistChristopherMarlowe.
friend ends in mental break­
It tells the chilling tale of Faust,
down and suicide. Young read­
the man who sold his soul to
ers identified with this novel.
the devil. The second part of
Emotions and local colour are
'Faust' appeared in 1 838. The
highlighted in this novel.
play brought Goethe interna­
'The Sorrows of Young Wer­
tional success, and had a great
ther' is among the most influ­
infl uence on modern drama.
ential texts of German romanti­
cism. Goethe's second novel,
'Wilhelm Meister's Apprentice­
ship' also revolves around failed
love and the feeling of being
alone i n the world. Like Werther, '-
\

Wilhelm suffers a tragic blow in

love but he gives himself up to
work and becomes a playwright
and an actor.
Goethe was an administrator
in the court of Duke Karl August
76 Tel l Me Why
 Goethe on Kalidasa
"Wouldst thou the young year's blossom and the fruit of its
decline,
And all by which the soul is charmed, enraptured, feasted,
fed?
Wouldst thou the heaven and earth itself in one sole name
combine,
I name thee, 'Shakuntala', and all at once is said". - These are the
much quoted words in which Goethe praised India's great poet Ka­
lidasa and his legendary work Abhijnanashakuntalam'.
I

Why is Friedrich set to music by Ludwig

Schiller known to be
a great German po­
et?
Friedrich Von
Schiller's passion for
writing was labelled
as foolish by his fa­
ther. Schiller was fo­
rced to join his father 's
regiment in the army. He
continued to write, and was al­
most arrested for neglecting his
duties! The conflict with his fa­
ther found its way into Schiller's
writing. In Schiller's first play,
The Robbers', Karl Moor, a no­
ble outlaw violently rejects his
father in his search for justice. It
waswarmlygreeted in Germany
and England. The play 'Don
Carlos,' also depicts a conflict
between a father and a son.
Schiller gained lasting fame as
a poet. His 'Ode to Joy,' was later
1 00 Great Writers
Van Beethoven. It is
currently the anthem
of the European Un­
ion.
Schiller also wrote
historical plays such
as 'Mary Stuart,' and
the dramatic trilogy,
Wallenstein'. His mag-
nificent control and beauti­
ful use of the German language
inspired generations of poets,
writers and readers.
My dad is
my inspiration ..
77
 How did Hans Christian rights to his books.
Andersen become a writ­ During the late 1 840's, An­
er? dersen wrote some of his best
Have you read the fai ry fairy tales - these include 'The
tale of 'The Ugly Duckling', Nightingale', 'The Ugly Duck­
the one in which the ugly ling', 'The Snow Queen,' and
duckling turns into a beauti­ 'The Story of a Mother'. I n
ful swan ? It was written by these tales, common people
Hans Christian Andersen, took on the role of heroes.
and his life was similar to They were portrayed as intel­
that fai ry tale. His father was ligent, hard working, and
a poor Danish shoemaker. brave. The popularity of his
His paternal g randmother fai ry tales lives on, and they
was a gardener in Greyfriars have been translated into
Hospital. Andersen listened every major language. By the
to the traditional stories of time of his death i n 1 875, An­
Denmark told by the old dersen was considered to be a
women in the spinning national monument!
rooms of the hospital.
Andersen set out to be an
actor but failed. He wrote
three novels between 1 835
and 1 83 7 - 'The Improvisa­
tor', 'O.T' and 'Only a Fiddler'.
His novels were popular.
However, his fame rests on
his fairy tales. The first vol­
ume of his fai ry tales was
published in 1 835. He was
treated as an equal by Victor
Hugoand Alexandre Dumas,
famous writers in their own
right. I n Germany, he was so
popular that German pub­
Hans Christian
lishing companies engaged Andersen
in bidding wars over the
78 Tel l Me Why
 Why is Georg Buchner's 'Danton's
Death' considered a masterpiece of
German literature?
Have you heard of the French revolu­
tion? It began i n France i n 1 789. King
Louis XVI was overthrown, and a short
lived republic was established. 'Dan­
ton's Death,' is a complex historical
drama based on the French Revolution.
It d isplays many levels of meaning in
the study of the F rench Revolution and
the purpose of h istory. It was written by
Georg Buchner i n 1 835, and is consid­
ered to be a masterpiece of German l it­
erature.
Georg Buchner was born in the Ger­
man village of Goddelau to Ernst Karl
Georg Buchner Buchner, a physician, and Caroline.
When he was three, the family moved
to Darmstadt.
Buchnerwas sympathetictothe social
misery of the peasant class. His writings
had a note of sadness in them. They fo­
cus on the conflict between the ideals
of human freedom and the circum­
stances of h istory. Buchner is consid­
ered to be a genius, who was gifted with
a complex poetic vision. Apart from
'Danton's Death' , all of Buchner's works
were published after his death. The
Georg Buchner prize for literature cre­
ated by the city of Darmstadt in 1 923 is
one of the most coveted German liter­
ary awards.

1 00 Great Writers 79
 Why is Ivan Turgenev considered to
be a great Russian writer?
The pen is mightier than the sword,
and Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev proved it
with his writing. In 'A Hunter's Sketches',
he criticized the established social cus­
tom of serfdom. The peasants or 'serfs'
were equivalent to slaves. It is believed
that Tsar Aleksander II read Hunter's
Sketches. The book melted his heart, and
he set the serfs free!
Turgenev published his first story, Ivan Turgenev
'Khor and Kal i n ich,' i n 1 847. He travel led
in Europe, and developed friendships with the famous writers,
Flaubert and Zola. His novel, 'Fathers and Sons,' angered society.
It deals with N i h ilism. N i hilism believes that existing social sys­
tems must be totally destroyed but it offered no other alternative.

Why have Ibsen's plays been

widely accepted in the world of lit­
erature?
Henrik I bsen's play, 'A Doll's House,'
created a sensation. In A Doll's House,
Nora, the mother of three children is
treated like a doll by her husband. She
leaves herfamilyto fulfil herselfspiritu­
ally. I bsen threw light on the thoughts
and the complexities of the individual.
His work was more focused on charac­
ter than on plot. 'Peter Gynt' tells the
story of Peter's immoral life and his
fantastical journey through the world. wife who sacrifices
Ibsen's most controversial play was herself to the mar­
'Ghosts' - the story of an a lcoholic's riage becauseofsocial

80 Tel l Me Why
The hosti le reception to his novel
forced Turgenev to leave Russia and
settle in Paris.
His novels 'Rudin' ( 1 856), 'A Nest of
Gentlemen' (1 859) and 'On the Eve'
(1 860) were based on social and po­
litical issues. By the 1 870's, Turgenev
\
was recognized as one of the world's \ Antonio 0 as
leading writers. Turgenev also wrote a
number of plays. 'A Month i n the
Country' is noted for i nnovations in
\
\ 'My land has
palm trees,
where the night­
dramatic style. I n the play, 'A Provincial ingale sings'...
Lady', he pokes fu n at the beliefs of the this is the first
country aristocrats. Turgenev was a line of 'Song of
g reat Russian writer whose fame Exile', Brazil's
spread throughout the world. He died best known po­
i n 1 883. em. It was
penned by An­
tonio Goncalves
conventions. Dias (pictured
above) in 1 843.
Henrik I bsen was born in Skein,
Dias wrote on
Norway, to a wealthy merchant fam­
nature, and the
i ly. However, his father suffered fi­
glorification of
nancial losses and was unable to give the native peo­
I bsen a good education. Ibsen devel­ ple. He cele­
oped a deep distrust for society, and brates Brazil in
this is reflected in his poetry col­
his plays. I bsen's lections, Pri­
plays have been meiros Cantos
universally praised, and Ultimos
and he is among Cantos.Antonio
the most i nfluen­ Dias is regarded
tial playwrights i n as the national
the development poet of Brazil.
of modern drama.

1 00 Great Writers 81
 were recorded by Tolstoy - like a painter
adding small brushstrokes to create a life­
like painting. 'War and Peace,' is his mas­
terpiece. The 'War' i n the title refers to Na­
poleon's wars from 1 805 to 1 820. In the
novel, Tolstoy rejects the theory that g reat
men make history.
Tolstoy's 'Anna Karenina' tells the tale of
the aristocratic Anna, and her love affair
Leo Tolstoy with a dashing a rmy officer. The Death of
Ivan l Iyich,' and The Kreutzer Sonata,' are
Why do critics his later novellas.
say that Tolstoy's Tolstoy shared with Mahatma Gandhi, a
writing reveals 're­ belief in passive resistance towards evil -
al life'? the principle which the I ndian I ndepend­
If life could write ence movement successfully employed.
its own story, it Leo Tolstoy was born in 1 828. His mother
would write like Tol­ died when he was two, and his father when
stoy. Even the he was nine. Raised by relatives, Leo Tol­
minute details of his stoy went on to become a great Russian
characters' l ives novelist - a writer of the 'real life'.

Why is Emile Zola Emile Zola, the g reat French novelist and
considered a great critic had a dream. He wanted to be a pub­
writer? lished author. To that end, he started work­
ing in a publishing house and published
works of fiction. But his early works went
unnoticed. Then in 1 865, he published
'Claude's Confession' - a scandalous auto­
biographical work. It caught the notice of
his employers and they gave him notice to
quit. Though he lost his job, Zola gained
attention as an emerging author.
'Therese Raquin', his second novel was a
modest success. He fol lowed it with a series
82 Tel l Me Why
of twenty works known together as the
'Rougon-Macquart cycle.' It revolves around
the life of a family living u nder Napoleon. Katherine
Zola's style of writing was based on the Mansfield
accurate depiction of detail. This is called Katherine
'naturalism.' Zola is the founder of the 'natu­ Mansfield
ralist movement.' The Drunkard,' which was was the first
important
published in 1 877 made him famous.
Why do we consider Balzac one of the writer to
emerge from
creators of realism in French literature?
New Zea­
Honore de Ba lzac was neglected by his land. Virgin­
mother and, spent his early yea rs in board­ ia Woolf, the
ing school. In 1 81 9, Balzac rented a shabby great writer,
room in Paris and began to write. considered
Balzac spent up to 1 6 hours a day writing. her as a seri­
He wrote on blue paper aided by large cups ous rival. 'In
ofTurkish coffee. By 1 822, Balzac had written a German
several novels and plays u nder various pen­ Pension/
names. All his writings were ignored but was her first
Balzac contin ued to put pen to paper. complete
In 1 833, Balzac collected all of his novels, volume of
linked them together as a series, and pub­ short stories.
lished them under the title, The Human Her stories
Comedy'. It included his well known works, question tra­
'Father Goriot', 'The ditional ide­
Peasants' and 'Lost as about so­
Ill usions'. This col­ cial class,
lection of 90 novels family life,
portrayed more and mar­
than 2000 life like riage. They
exerted a
characters. His cha­
lasting influ­
racterswere lifelike.
ence on
Hence Balzac is re­
modern
garded as a he crea­ short story
tor of realism in writers.
French literature.
1 00 Great Writers 83
 What makes Dusk', a collection
Anton Che t<hov a of short stories, and
world famous completed his first
writer? play, 'Ivanov'. The
Anton Pavlovich Seagull', a tragic
Chekhov began to tale of love was his
write while study­ first great success
ing medicine in in theatre.
Moscow U niversi­ Chekhov pre-
ty. His family was sented life as it was.
neck deep in debt, Anton Chekhov His new descriptive
and desperately technique led to
needed the money Chekhov the development of modern­
got from writing. His first story ism and influenced later gen­
appeared in 1 880 in the comic erations of writers. His last play,
magazine, 'Fragments'. Chek­ The Cherry Orchard,' was a
hov fine-tuned his descriptive huge success. 'Uncle Vanya',
technique d u ring his five years The Three Sisters' are among
at 'Fragments'. his most famous works. Chek­
Chekhov g raduated in 1 884, hov died in 1 904.
and began to practice medi­ Why is Tagore's 'Gitanjali'
cine. 'New Time', one of Russia's famous?
most prestigious news papers, Likea diamond, Rabindranath
began to publish his work. I n Tagore's genius had many fac­
1 887, Chekhov bagged the es. He was a national poet, a
coveted Push kin prize for 'At leading political figure, a paint-

Samuel Joseph Agnon

Samuel Joseph Agnon was the greatest writer of modern He­
brew fiction. Born in Buczacz; which is now in Poland, he left
home for Palestine in 1 907. His folk-epic, 'The Bridal Canopy,' is a
modern Hebrew classic. Agnon's greatest novel is 'The Day Be­
fore Yesterday' which is set in the second wave of Jewish emigra­
tion to Palestine. Samuel Joseph Agnon won the Nobel Prize for
literature in 1 965.

84 Tel l Me Why

Einstein and Tagore
er, and an educational vision­
ary. He was also a novelist. He
wrote and composed I ndia's
national anthem. Rabindranath
Tagore's works are a heady mix­
ture of politics, po­
etry, and spi ritual ity.
Tagore established
Shanti N i ketan - a
school 'where the
mind is without
fear'. It blossomed
into a meeting place
for national and in­
ternational scholars
of music, pai nting,
singing, and languages.
Tagore's union with natu re is
the cornerstone of his poetry.
'Gitanjali,' is a collection of his
religious and spiritual poetry. It
takes a new look at the relation­
ship between Nature and God.
In 1 9 1 3, Tagore was awarded
the Nobel Prize for Literature
for his English translation of
'Gitanjali.'
Which famous German au­
thor won the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1 9461
Herman Hesse was a German
writer, but was deeply infl u­
enced by Eastern thought.
'Siddhartha,' is his most popular
novel. I n his novel 'Demian', a
young man is torn between a
life of pleasure and an orderly
middle class life. Herman
H esse won the Nobel Prize in
1 946. He is one of the popu lar
writers of the German speaking
world.

N i kos Kazantzakis
I n 1 955, Nikos Kazantzakis was thrown out of
the Greek Orthodox Church and his novel 'The
Last Temptation of Christ,' was banned.
'lorba the Greek', 'Askitki and Odyssey: a
Modern Sequel' are his other well known
works. Kazantzakis is better known as a philoso­
pher than as a writer.

1 00 Great Writers 85
 Why did Kafka often deal with domes­
tic conflicts in his writing?
Have you heard of the word Kafkaesque?
It refers to the Czech novelist Franz Kafka, or
to the nig htmarish fictional world he creat­
ed. Franz Kafka's childhood was spent in
fear of his father. So, Kafka's novels deal
with the conflict between father and son. I n
some novels, h i s characters plead i n no­
cence before the powerful.
'The Metamorphosis,' is his best known ideas. 'The Trial,' re­
story. In it, Gregor Samsa, a salesman wakes volves around the
up one day and finds that he has changed physica l and mental
into a giant, ugly insect! This is the most suffering of Josef K.,
important work in 'modernism'. 'Modern­ who is arrested
ism' breaks away from traditional forms and without reason. 'The

Who wrote the popular N eruda was appointed as the

Spanish poetry collection,
'Twenty Love Poems and a
Song of Despair' at the age of
twenty?
Pablo Neruda was a writer
and a roaming politician. In
1 924, Neruda published 'Twenty
Love Poems and a Song of De­
spair'. lt is one of the most popu­
lar poetry col lections in the
Spanish speaking world. Strik- '
ing images and a sense of con­
nection with the natural in hu­
man love sets it apart. Neruda's
love poetry is original and vi­
brant.
Chilean ambassador to the
Burmese capital of Rangoon.
He was deeply moved by the
hardships of the workers i n the
n itrate mines ofChile. He served
as a senator, and was once a
candidate in the Chilean presi­
dential elections.
Neruda changed his writing
style repeatedly. His collection,
'Residence on Earth,' is written
in a style which came to be
known as 'Nerudaism.' It is fil led
with leaps of thought without
reason, peculiar use of lan­
guage, and powerful images

86 Tel l Me Why
Castle,' is one of his most
important works. Kafka's
novels capture the
strangeness of modern
l ife and the feeling of be­
ing cut off from people
and the world.
Kafka's genius was not
recognized in his lifetime.
He asked his friend and
fellow writer Max Brod to
destroy all his writings
after his death. Luckily,
Brod disobeyed his frien­
d's last wish and the wo­
rld discovered a genius.
presented without ex­
planation. He used this
style to represent the
complexity of the hu­
man m i n d a nd modern
life. He won the Nobel
Prizf for
"'v;"Literature i n
7{
1 9 .�"
1 00 G reat Writers
Which famous author refu.ed
to accept the Nobel Prize for Lit­
.ratur In 1 9631
Have you ever said no to a prize?
Well, Jean-Paul Sartre said no to
the biggest prize of them all - the
Nobel Prize! He believed that the
Nobel Prize represented traditional
middleclass values, which went
against his beliefs. Sartre was an
existentialist. Ex­
istentialists be­
lieved in the su­
preme i mpor­
tance of human
freedom.
Sartrewas born
in Paris in 1 905.
Sartre's life and
his works were
i nfluenced by his friend Simone de
Beauvoir, the French philosopher,
a nd writer a nd other existentia lists.
'La Nausee' was his first novel. 'Be­
ing and Nothingness', his nonfic­
tion work, lays down the fou nda­
tions of his philosophy. His play,
'No Exit' presents three characters
trapped in a room with no way out.
They come to believe that 'hell is
other people'. Sartre was plagued
by blindness in the final years of his
life, but he succeeded in opening
the eyes of the world to his phi­
losophy.
87
 Why is Samuel Beckett regarded
as a great playwright?
Samuel Beckett studied in the
school which taught the great writer
Oscar Wilde -
the Portora
Royal School in
Ireland. Beckett
came from a n
Anglo-Irish
family, but he
wrote mostly
in French. He
worked as a
Samuel Beckett in a
lecturer in Paris Paris Cafe
from 1 928 to
1 930, where the great writer James
Joyce became his lifelong friend. He
acted as one of Joyce's assistants
while he was writing 'Finnegan's
Wake'.
'Whoroscope', published in 1 930,
is his first poem. While working as a
lecturer in Trinity College, Beckett
wrote a series of stories about the
life of a Dublin intellectual. These
were later formed into the collection
'More Pricks than Kicks'. Beckett quit
his job, and embarked on a career as
a freelance writer. In 1 932, he pub­
lished his first novel, 'Dream of Fair
to Middling Women'. It was drawn
largely from his own experiences.
'Waiting for Godot', 'Endgame',
'Krapp's Last Tape' and 'Happy Days'
are among his major plays.
88
How did Albert Camus
attract readers?
Albert Camus was at the
height of his popularity
when he died. His life be­
gan in poverty in Algeria.
The experience of poverty
and the fear of death were
reflected in his Algerian
essays collected in the
'Wrong Side and the Right
Side', 'Nupitals and Sum­
mer'.
Camus realized that the
human mind had no ca­
pacity to understand
death. Therefore, a l l things
in life become meaning-
Albert Camus
less. This was the basis of
his doctrine of the absurd
or u n reasonable. His novel,
'The Stranger,' deals with
a lienation - the feeling of
being cut off from people
and the world. 'The Myth
Tel l Me Why
 Patrick White
Patrick White is considered to be the most original Aus­
tralian novelist. 'Happy Valley', 'The Tree of Man', 'Riders in
the Chariot', 'A Fringe of Leaves
and Voss' are among his ma­
jor novels. He won the
Nobel Prize for Litera­
ture in 1 973.

of Sisyph us', 'Cross Purpose',

'Caligula', 'The Plague' are
among his most famous works.
Albert Camus was awarded the
Nobel Prize for Literature, and
came to be known as the lead­
ing voice for morality in litera­
ture.
How was Saramago influ­
enced by h i s g randfather?
Saramago is the most famous
nickname in the writing world.
Saramago was a wild radish
eaten in Azi n haga, Portugal by
the very poor. Jose Saramago
was born to poor, landless farm­
ers in Azin haga. Young Sara­
mago was very much attached
to his grandparents. Years later,
he began to write to preserve
the memories of his g randpar­
ents. At 54, a jobless Saramago
took up novel writing as a ful l
time career.
Saramago's novels share
some similarities with the magic
realism of some Latin American
1 00 Great Writers
Jose Saramago receiving his
Nobel Prize
novels - a technique in which
realistic description is com­
bined with elements of dream
or fantasy. In his novel 'The
Stone Raft', Portugal breaks off
from Europe and floats south
on the ocean. 'Blindness/ is his
most widely read book in the
English speaking world. It tells
the tale of a mysterious blind­
ness that strikes people in an
unnamed country. I n 1 998, Sar­
amago was awarded the Nobel
Prize for Literature.
89
 Julio Cortazar
Julio Cortatar was a writer who played the jazz trumpet. He
was born in Brussels to Argentinian parents. 'Bestario', a book of
stories was his first major success. His novel 'Rayuela' won Corta­
zar many followers round the world.

covered in Dante's poetry, a lifelong

source of inspiration.
In 1 91 4, Eliot moved to London,
where he met the writer Ezra Pound.
Pound played godfather to Eliot. The
Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,' a p­
peared in the magazine, 'Poetry', on
Pound's recommendation. Modern
poetry begins with the third line of
T. S. Eliot 'Prufrock'. Eliot's 'The Wasteland', a
poem of more than four hundred lines,
Why is T.S. Eliot fa­ became the most famous example of
mous? modern poetry. The poem painted a
Thomas Stearns Eliot picture of an ugly society sadly lacking
had poetry in his blood. in spiritua l values.
His mother Charlotte The Cocktail Party', a drama in verse,
Eliot was a poetess with was seen by more than a million peo­
more than a drop of tal­ ple in Eliot's lifetime. He also wrote a
ent. At Harvard, he dis- number of poems on cats!

Octavio Paz
Octavio Paz was born in 1 9 1 4 in Mexico City,and
was a poet and essayist. The revolution of the
word was the revolution of the world for Paz. 'The
Labyrinth of Solitude' is his fundamental study of
Mexican identity. In 1 962, Paz was appointed
Mexican Ambassador to India. His stay in India Octavia Paz
gave birth to 'The Grammarian Monkey and East
Slope'. Paz believed poetry to be the secret religion of the mod­
ern age. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1 990.
90 Tel l Me Why
 Goldoni
Goldoni was the
great reformer of
Italian comedy.
He freed Italian
drama from the
tradition of come­
dy made up on the
spur of the mo­
ment.
Why is Jack London fa­
mous?
I n 1 897, Jack London sailed
into the Klondike gold rush in
Canada. A gold rush is the rapid
migration of people to an area
where gold is suddenly discov­
ered. Jack London's famous
novel The Cal l ofthe Wild,' is set
in the Klondike gold rush. His
novel, The Sea-Wolf,' was made
into the first ful l length Ameri­
can movie. He was one of the
first writers to build a large for­
tune from his fiction a lone. Jack
London wrote a lot of commer­
cial magazine fiction, the first
writer to do so. Sometimes, he
purchased plots for his works
from other writers!
Why did William Words­
worth's poems cause a sensa­
tion?
William Wordsworth's words
were worth their weight in gold.
1 00 G reat Writers
'He was the nearest of all writers
to Shakespeare and Milton, and
yet i n a style perfectly u n bor­
rowed and his own', wrote his
friend and fellow poet Coleridge.
His i ntense love for nature lights
up his poems. Wordsworth
sensed the spirit that lives in na­
ture. The perfect use of language,
the freshness of his thought, and
his magnificent imagination
made his poems sensational.
Yet they were simple.
In 1 798, Wordsworth pub­
lished his first collection of po­
ems, 'Lyrical Ballads', together
with Coleridge. This collection
marks the birth of the Romantic
school in English poetry. I n
1 843, he was appointed Poet
La u reate on the death of Robert
Southey, another Lakeland po­
et. 'Daffodils,' is one of his most
famous poems.
Novalis
Novalis, the fa­
mous German au­
thor and philoso­
pher is often known
as the prophet of
romanticism. 'We
are near awakening
when we dream
that we dream',
wrote Novalis.
91
 Why is Ezra Pound known as 'th e
et's poet'?
Pound, a restless rebel, is one of the
founders of modern poetry. Born in
Idaho in the U.S, he went to London,
and worked as the secretary of the
great poet, W.B Yeats. For a time he
was a n imagist. Imagists believed in
the use of fresh language and a true
understanding of nature. Pound's
short poem, 'In a Station of the Metro'
is an imagist masterpiece. Pound­
helped T.5 Eliot and
James Joyce to
publish their works
in the magazines,
Egoist and Poetry.
In 1 9 1 4, he married
the artist Dorothy
Shakespeare. Dur­
ing that period, he
wrote one of his
most popular po­
ems, 'Homage to
Sextus Propertius'.
'Cat h ay', his Eng - Ezra Pound
lish translation of ______
n S a 1 MIII
'On Liberty,' is one of the
smallest of the world's great
books. It was written by the Brit­
ish philosopher John Stuart Mill
in 1 859. It deals with the power
that society can exert on the in-
dividual.
Chinese works is among
the most beautiful of his
writings. 'Cantos,' is
Pound's major poetic
work. It was first pub­
lished in ten sections, and
later, as a single volume
collection. It revolves
a round the poet's quest
for worldly wisdom. His
'ABC of Reading' estab­
lished the modernist po­
etic technique. Pound is
known as the poet's poet
for his influence on twen­
tieth century poetry. He
published over 70 books,
and translated Japanese
plays and Chinese poetry.
According to Pound,
g reat literature is simply
language charged with
meaning to the utmost
possible degree.
Which American poet
was named the 'nun of
Amherst'?
Emily Dickinson was
born in Amherst, U .5.A.
Her mother suffered from
dipression. She dressed
in white, and spent most
of her time shut up in her
room. She never married.
Though she wrote over
 James Baldwin
J ames Baldwin was a Black American writ­
er. He gained fame with his first novel, 'Go
Tell it on the Mountain'. 'Giovanni's Room',
'The Fire Next Time', 'If Beale Street could
Talk' and IJust Above my Head,' are his other
important novels.

her nouns randomly. She also

1 800 poems, only seven were
published in her lifetime. Emily
Dickinson was born in Amherst,
U.s.A. Her mother suffered from
depression.
Dickinson began writing po­
ems in the trad itiona I style. After
years of practice, she started
experimenting with her writ­
ing. Her poems dealt not only
with death, faith and deathless­
ness, but also with nature,
home, and the power and limits
of language. Dickinson tailored
manyofher poems into packets
with needle and thread.
The writer Thomas Higginson
was her friend. She sent him
four poems. 'The Famous Safe
i n their Alabaster Chambers,'
was one of them. After Dickin­
son's death in 1 886, her sister
Lavina brought out her poems.
In her poetry, she frequently
used dashes and capitalized
used off-rhymes, broken
rhythm, and strange compa ri­
sons. The nun of Amherst
changed the face of poetry for­
ever.
Which famous English poet
etched his poems on copper
plates?
'Tiger, tiger burning bright, in
the forests of the night'. These
are the first lines of William
Blake's poem, 'Tiger'. Blake et­
ched his poems on copper
plates and in the minds of his
readers.
Ah! I found
a poem on this
plate!
 Harold Why is O. Henry
Pinter known as 'the mas­
Harold Pinter ter of surprise end­
(1 930-2008) ings'?
was a great William Sydney
English play­ Porter was accused
wright, actor, of stealing money
and director. from a bank, and
His plays are was thrown into pris-
associated on. There, he started O. Henry
with the to write short stories.
'Theatre of He took the pen name, O. Henry, the name
the Absurd', of his favourite warden.
and are typi­
'Cabbages and Kings,' was O.Henry's first
cally marked
col lection of short stories. 'The Ransom of
by a sense of
Red Chief,' is a typical O. Henry story. It tells
menace. Pin-
ter was a the tale of two kidnappers who kidnap a
master of dia- boy, find that he is a real nuisance, and fi­
10gue. 'The nally pay the boy's father to take him back!
Birthday Par­ O. Henry was a master of surprise endings.
ty', 'The Care­ He wrote about the common folk and his
taker', and humorous, energetic style was influenced
'Party Time', by Mark Twain and Ambrose Bierce. In his
'Monologue lifetime, O. Henry published ten collections
and No Man's of over six hundred short stories.
Land', 'The Why is Oscar Wilde considered as a
Homecom­ great writer?
ing' are some "1 have nothing to declare except my gen­
of his notable ius", said Oscar Wilde. A genius he was, yet au­
plays. thority hunted him. His behaviour was judged
"1 write be­ to be indecent, and he wasthrown into prison.
cause I want Interestingly,Wilde began life in the lap of
to write", lUXUry. His mother was a poet, and she
said Harold opened his eyes to the wonders of poetry.
Pinter. While studying in Oxford, Wilde became a
leading light of The Aestheticism movement.
94 Tel l Me Why
'Art for art's sake/ was their motto. They
were known for shocking dialogue and
strange way of dressing. Wilde's sensa­
tional lifestyle was parodied on the stage.
His fi rst col lection ofverse is titled, 'Poems'.
Wilde's only novel The Picture of Dorian
Gray', published in 1 891 , made him fa­
mous. Wilde is also regarded as a master
playwright. The Importance of being Ear­ Alfred
nest/ is considered to be his best play. 'An Tennyson
Ideal Husband', 'A Wom­ Alfred, Lord
an of no Importance' are Tennyson was
among his other impor­ a great lyrical
tant plays. Oscar Wilde poet. He had a
died in 1 900. gift for writing
Why is Robert musical lines of
Browning known as great beauty in
the 'master of dra­ simple and
matic monologue'? graceful lan­
Great writers are guage. 'Tears',
g reat readers too. I n his 'Idle Tears',
Oscar Wilde teens, Browning dis- 'The Lady of
covered Shel ley,who Shallot', 'Idylls
of the King,'
had a lasting influence on his poetry. Some
and 'Ulysess,'
of Browning's best known lyrics appeared
are among his
in his collection 'Bells and Pomegranates'.
great poems.
Browning's greatest work is The Ring He contributed
and the Book'. It has ten different descrip­ popular phras­
tions, each from a different viewpoint, of es to the Eng­
the same m u rder. Browning is the master lish language
of dramatic monologue as evidenced by such as "My
his poem The Last Duchess'. The words strength is as
reveal not only setting and action, but the the strength of
speaker's character as well. Browning ten, �ecause.
used sudden openings, irregular rhythms , my heart is
and ordinary language. pure".
1 00 Great Writers
 How did Agatha Why is John Keats
Christie become a regarded as a great
well known writer writer?
of detective sto­ "A thing of beauty
ries? is a joyforever", wrote
Hercule Poi rot was the English poetJohn
the Belgian detective Keats. He lived for
with the egg shaped only twenty-five
head created by Ag­ Agatha Christie years, but the beauty
atha Christie. He he created l ives on.
solved cases by using his brain. Keats was often scorned by crit­
Miss Marple was Christie's an­ ics in his lifetime because he
other famous fictional detec­ came from a humble back­
tive. Shewas a spinster-atypical g round.
English character. Unlike Poi rot, Keats's first book of poems
she used her feminine sense to appeared i n 1 81 7. It was not
solve crimes. Miss Marple fea­ very original. 'The Eve of St.
tured in seventeen novels, the Agnes,' was his first descriptive
first being 'Murder at the Vicar­ poem that was, in every sense,
age' and the last, 'Sleeping his own creation. Today, John
Murder'. M iss Marple is believed Keats is known primarily for his
to be based on Christie's own odes. I n 'Ode to a Nightingale',
grandmother! he is tempted to reject harsh
In 56 years, Agatha reality and find es­
Christie wrote 66 de­ cape in the beauty of
tective novels. Her the nightingale's
play,'The Mousetrap,' song. 'The Ode to
is London's longest Autumn' was per­
running play. 'The haps his g reatest
Murder of Roger Ack­ work.
royd', 'Murder on the Why is Khalil Gi­
Orient Express', bran famous all
'Death on the N ile,' over the world?
and 'Ten Little Nig­ Gibran's poetry is
gers,' are among her frequently read at
lohn Keats
best known works. foreign weddings.
96 Tel l Me Why
Gibran was Lebanese by birth,
but his works infl uenced
American popular culture. 'The
Prophef, his most famous
book, has been a best seller
from the 1 920's. Spirituality is
much more precious than ma­
terial wealth - that is the mes­
sage of The Prophet'.
When Gibra n's mother took
her children to the United
States, his father remained in
Lebanon to water the family's
walnut g rove.
Gibran's first
works were in
Arabic. They
were central
to the devel­
opment of
modern Ara­
bic literature.
Gibran wrote
Khalil Gibran for New York's
Arabic
first
newspaper 'AI Magar'.
From 1 9 1 8 onwards, Gibran
wrote mostly in English. The
Madman' is a slim volume offa­
bles that fall somewhere be­
tween poetry and prose. He
revolutionized the language of
poetry in the twenties and the
thirties. His style, a combination
of beauty and spirituality came
to be known as 'Gibranism'.
1 00 Great Writers
It is our policy to correct errors,
andpresent differing views and
clarifications about the contents
in previous issues. Please send in
yourjeedback,mentioning the
title and page number.
Dr. N.5. Narayanan Nair, re­
tired Professor of Ayurveda
College,Thiruvananthapuram,
Kerala has made some imor­
tant additions to our August
issue, STORY OF FI RSTS. He
quotes detailed descriptions
from Ayurvedic classics l ike
'AshtangaHridaya', 'Charaka
Samhita', and 'Susrutha Sam­
hita' a bout many objects that
were mentioned in our issue.
For example, tables a re men­
tioned in Ayurvedic texts, so
a re various surgical instru­
ments like scissors, scal pel,
etc. He writes that the Asavas
and Arishtas mentioned i n
t h e Ayurvedic texts are self
fermented alcohol, just like
wine. For footwear, 'paduka'
is the term used in Ayurvada.
'Mahanasa' is the word used
for kitchen, and there a re
mentions a bout different
types of cooking in Ayurveda.
Thankyou Dr. Narayanan Nair.
- Editor
97
 Aren't there many little things you have wondered about, but didn't know whom to
ask? Send us your questions, and we will give you the fascinating reasons behind the
incredible mysteries of life,
�
.;
ai�
\.J .
A �
. · .,

.
_

Why does frozen food keep well?

You might have noticed fro- in it will get frozen, hence the
zen food, or food items that food is saved from decompos­
kept in freezers remain intact, ing.
or unspoiled for a long period Moderndiscoveries have ena­
oftime. Do you know the secret bled sub-zero temperatures to
behind this? It is because the be obtained by cooling air to
freezing of the water inside the about -3000(! The temperature
food forces the bacteria, which in the freezing compartment of
cause it to decom pose, into in- a domestic refrigerator is about
activity. -4°C, and that of a deep-freezer
Bacteria are microscopic or- a bout -1 5°C.
ganisms, or forms of life which
W
- h-
e-
r-
e-d-
o
occur in air, water and soil all
w e get frozen
over the world. They flourish food ?
and m u ltiply particularly wher­
ever organic matter is present.
Most fresh food contains 75 to
90 per cent of water, which is
ideal for the bacteria to flourish,
and this results in the quick de­
composing of food. If we cool
the food several degrees below
zero deg ree celsius, the water
as well as the bacteria present
MANORAMA TELL M E WHY - 100 GREAT WR ITERS
-

Editor: Ammu Mathew Editor-in-Charge: N.M. Mohanan'

-

Printed and Published by y , Sajeev George . on behalf of M.M. Publications Ltd.

P.B. No. 226. Kottayam - 686 001 at M, M, Publications Ltd. P.B . No, 226, Kottayam - 686 001
and Malayala Manorama Press, Kottayam - 686 039 and published from
M . M . Publications Ltd, P.B, No. 226. Kottayam - 686 00 1 ,
-

, Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act