Question : Discuss the aptness of the title "Birches" by  Robert Frost. 
       Answer : The title of the poem  "Birches" is quite apt and suggestive. Originally, the poem was
called  "Swinging Birches", a title that was inspired by Frost's childhood experiences of swinging on
birches, which was a popular game for children in rural areas of New England during that time.
     Birches are smooth barked, slander - branched forest trees. Robert Frost has used vivid imagery 
to describe a natural scene and different appearances of birches in summer and winter. The focus
remains on 'birches' as trees, the branches of which can go up and down in a swinging motion. 
     As the poem progresses we feel that birches in the poem have symbolic importance. Birches do
not remain mere trees. The poet uses birches as central metaphor for the main theme of his
poem. 
    He uses his imagination to bring out the symbolic meaning of  the poem. He moves from
description to reflection.
    The branches of birches swing up and down. Going up in the air while birch swinging becomes a
symbol of escaping from harsh realities of the world into the world of fancy. It is also a symbol of
higher  human ideal and aspiration.  Whereas downward movement or coming back on the ground
with the birch means accepting the harsh reality as it is and doing all earthly duties. 
    The desire for climbing up a tree and thus  "getting away from earth" is a kind of desire for an
escape from life,  and this desire is felt by the speaker when he is 
         "weary of consideration./
        And life is too much like a pathless wood."
       Here the poet has compared the difficulties and hardship of life to the difficulties of walking
through a  "pathless wood" where one can easily lose one's direction.
      But there is also the desire to  "come back" to earth and this desire is important. The speaker
wants to get away from the struggles and stress of life  not by dying but by climbing a birch tree,
tipping its branches towards heaven and then returning to earth. 
    The poet prudently wants to have it both ways. He would like to get away from earth and then
get back to it -  
     "I' d like to get away from earth awhile/ 
     And then come back to it and begin over. "
     The speaker wants to be able to return to the innocence and beauty of nature, to let nature
refresh him and then to return to the everyday rigours of life earth. 
    The poet makes it clear that as in birch swinging, going up and coming down are both desirable.
Man must attain a balance between his work on earth and his spiritual aspirations. 
     The poet has also used the "birch" trees to contemplate about the conflict between reality and
imagination  - the contrary pulls between truth and imagination, earth and heaven, control and
abandon and flight and return. For all this contemplation the "birches" seems to be an appropriate
vehicle to describe his feelings, as well as to use it as the title of the  poem. 
  Question : All of us desire escape from the world but there are limits imposed by the real world.
Discuss this Statement  with reference to the poem  "Birches".
 Answer : Robert Lee Frost in his famous poem, " Birches" has depicted the theme of the limits
imposed on man for his existence, by the real world with all its hardships and still allowing for the
world of fantasy. 
     There is a need for limits imposed by real world, on man for being in the world and existing as a
person. The borders of the world define a person and place for him or her in the real world, just as
the birch trees are bent back towards the earth by the ice - storm.
       Limits are necessary to define one's personality. Like a tree which reaches great heights but
remains grounded in the earth through its roots, so does a man needs limits to remain grounded.
The removal of limits would leave one's personality groundless, with no way to define oneself.
     Thus, in the "Birches", one finds people or forces imposing limits : both the boy and the ice -
storm bend the birches.  Here the poet brings the theme of escapism by saying - 
   " I should prefer to have some boy bend them / 
    As he went out and in to fetch the cows...."
    The boy who is supposed to be the swinger of birches and reason for their bending has the
freedom from the limits of time and natural world but he is just as alienated from it as he is from
other people.
    Also there are some limits imposed on his acts. Climbing trees requires as much care as it is
required to fill a cup beyond its brim. 
   "Climbing carefully / 
   With the same pains you use to fill a cup / 
    Up to the brim ........."
    Frost has used several  elements in the poem which indicate the theme of escapism like - harsh
ice storms, broken glasses, the inner dome of heaven being fallen. His desire to move upward i.e.,
to escape the rigours of life seems to be defeated by the limits imposed by the real  world. 
     The limits of real world which drags the tree down and places the narrator back to the earth or
we can say - the real world. 
    "I'd like to get away from earth awhile /
    And then come back to it and begin over "
    Here the narrator, in any way does not want to displace the real world completely, instead, he
wants to exist along the arch of the birch tree i.e., the curved path between two opposite poles. 
     So the poet suggests - 
  "Earth's the right place for love /
   I don't know where it is likely to go better"
   Without limits there can be no love  or any other human emotion. It is this real world that
provides the limits and love and makes his poetry possible.
Question : Discuss how has Robert Frost presented nature in the poem   "Birches". 
 Answer : Robert Frost has presented a vivid description of nature in " Birches", by means of playful
swinging of birches by a rural boy. 
     The poem tells about the poet's encounter with those beautiful trees. It illustrates how he
associates two different ideas as a cause of bent branches of those beautiful trees. The beautiful
bends in the branches remind him of his beautiful past days. Also he imagines how natural
calamities can transform the actual appearances of the objects. He desires to be a swinger of
birches as he was in his childhood.      
  •   Beauty of Nature as a Source of  Delight
   At first, Frost presents nature as a source of delight. At the beginning the speaker sees  "birches
bend to left and right" and  imagines that a young boy has been swinging on them during play. But
the very first moment, he overrules his imaginative, pleasing picture with the harsher truth of
nature. He remembers that branches of birches  remain bent down for long, not by their swinging
by the boys, but with the weight of the ice. 
     "But swinging doesn't bend them down to stay / 
      As ice - storms do."
When it stops raining birches are covered with ice. On a sunny winter morning the ice on these
branches begins to shine and reflect seven colors of the rainbow as the sunlight passes through the
ice.  This beauty doesn't last long as the ice upon the branches starts to break into pieces due to
the heat of the sun. He further says - 
     "Soon the sun's  warmth makes them shed crystal shells"
  Here the breaking ice has been compared to shattering crystals and glass that falls like an
avalanche.
    The small pieces of ice thrown on the earth appear to be the broken glass as if  "the inner dome
of heaven had fallen".
    In this metaphor, the snow crystals have been compared to bits of broken glass because of their
transparency and their sharpness. 
     The poet, in another visual image describes how the branches of birches sometimes come down
to the level of dry fern growing on the earth, though the branches are not broken. They keep their
leaves trailing on the ground like the girls sitting on their hands and  knees, hanging down their
hair, in front of them to dry the hair in the sun.
   " Like girls on hands and knees that thrown their hair/ 
     Before them over their heads  to dry in the sun."   
      • Ambiguity in Nature    
      In the poem "Birches" Robert Frost has used the ambiguity in nature to describe the ambiguity
he  finds in human experience. The poet has juxtaposed the positive and negative images of the
boy's playing on the tree.
     At first he presents the riding and swinging on the birches, as an innocent play of rural boys
which is quite harmless but soon it gains a darker note when the speaker  describes the ultimate
damage done to the birches by the boys. He says - 
    "One by one he subdued his father's trees
    By riding them down over and over again
      Until he took the stiffness out of them, 
     And not one but hung limp, not one was left
      For him to conquer "    
    •  Need to Subdue Nature 
    The above lines are also suggestive of the theme of conquest of nature. The boy's need to
subdue and conquer the birch trees points to the destructive side of human nature.  
     The speaker presents the two totally opposite images - the boy's  conquest on the birches and
his own fond memories of playing on the trees. Although both these images turn to the swinging
on the trees as a form of escape from the limits of the real world .  
 The speaker further says - 
    "So was I once myself a swinger of birches/
       And so I dream of going back to be "
   The poet longs to be   "a swinger of birches" again.
   • Nature as a means for Solace and  Source of Wisdom 
     The poet   presents nature as a means of solace. He recalls his childhood as a swinger of birches
where he would find peace and happiness close to nature, while swinging the birches. But now as
an adult he compares his life as a pathless wood
    "And life is too much like a pathless wood"
      The poet uses harsh images of nature to suggest the difficulties and the weariness of an adult
life. He longs to return to the innocence and beauty of nature.
      "I'd like to get away from earth awhile/ 
      And then come back to it and begin over "
     He wants to swing on the trees, not to conquer them as the boy does, but to have an
opportunity to reach up towards the heaven.
    Here the poet uses symbol of riding of birches as an escape from the limits of the real  world and
to reach up to higher level of existence.
   Although he longs to escape from the hardship of life and climb towards the heaven but he has
learnt the importance of maintaining balance between reality and imagination.
    He knows the wisdom of escaping from the harsh realities of the world for some time for
rejuvenation and then the wisdom of coming back on the earth to do his earthly duties. He would
like to experience both the worlds, climbing  "Towards heaven, till the tree could bear no
more" then dipping him down back to earth. 
    Birches go up and then come down. This natural phenomenon is the source of wisdom that
extremes are always bad. We can not remain up for ever in the world of imagination we will have
to come down to the real world, however bad and harsh it is.
     He wants to exist in the real world with all its hardships and go back to refresh him to enable
him return to the everyday grind of life on the earth.
CROSSING THE BAR
Question :  Why do you think the poet has used the word "pilot" to refer the God in the poem
'Crossing the Bar'? Give reasons to support your answer. 
Answer : The poem 'Crossing the Bar' by Alfred Lord Tennyson, describes a voyage across the sand
bar at the harbour's entrance into the sea. But the poem has a deeper meaning.
       Here the poet has used the metaphor of a ship sailing into the sea to represent the journey of
life and the 'sand bar'- a geographical boundary of sand between harbour and ocean, refers to a
spiritual boundary, one that separates the temporal world and the limitless regions beyond.
       A ship is scheduled to sail on a long voyage at sunset when the evening star (Venus) has risen in
the sky. After a formal  announcement, the "one clear call", the ship would sail out of the harbour,
across the sand bar into the vast ocean.
      Allegorically, the poem describes the final journey of a man towards death. "
Sunset" and "evening star" are the metaphor used to describe the speaker's old age, as the end of
the day represent the end of his life. Similarly "Twilight"  and " evening bell" are also the metaphor
used to represent his last moment of life and death knell which is the signal his upcoming death.
   "And after that the dark "
   Where "dark"    refers to his death.
 The poet hopes that -
"And may there be no moaning of the bar " 
and also -
" And may there be no sadness of farewell ",
      Means the speaker hopes for a painless and smooth death. He is also calm and has an accepting
attitude towards death as he hopes for a cheerful departure, one with " no sadness of farewell
" when he embarks on a new journey.
       The poet hopes for a departure that would be without much noise , so he wishes for a tide, that
is  " too full for sound and foam" ,would help him to reach his final destination. The speaker
wishes that feelings of death will be so overwhelming that all the other feelings will be numbed and
death will come to him as returning "home". 
     The speaker is trying to diminish the horror of death by drawing attention to the fact that dying
is merely a part of the cycle of birth and death. The going out in the sea is not just death but is a
return home to " boundless deep" from which all mortals come.
     The allegorical meaning of "Crossing the Bar" is the act of dying. The speaker wishes to cross
the  bar cheerfully with "no sadness of farewell" as the journey into death would lead him far
beyond the limits of "Time and Place" and make it possible for him to see the "Pilot" of his ship.
         The physical world that we inhabit is referred to as the "bourne of Time and Place". The poet
knows that the flood will take him far from the limits of Time and Place and he hopes to see his
pilot i.e. God face to face when he has crossed the bar.
       Here the "flood" is referred to one's faith, the high tide of faith will drown the dangerous sand
bar and help him sail away.
    The use of the term Pilot is of great importance. The Pilot is a qualified mariner who steers the
ship up to the final destination.
The idea of God being the Pilot of one's  ship is a recurrent  theme in Christianity. In Seafaring
Britain, the Pilot was also a person who  detected the deceptive sand bars and guided the sailors to
a safer route towards the sea.
     "Pilot" here refers to God as He is the one who guides the destiny of human beings through
every thick and thin.
      The Pilot, in the poet's own words refers to "the Divine Presence" - God, a great power that
controls and guides human life.
Question: What is allegorical significance of the poem "Crossing the Bar" by Alfred, Lord
Tennyson ?
Answer: In Literature, allegory is a story that uses symbolic objects characters or figures to express
an idea or truth to teach a lesson. It upon interpretation reveals a deeper often moral meaning.
      "Crossing the Bar" , written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, at a first glance appears to be an objective
poem, in which the poet tells about a voyage in which a ship is going to cross  a sandbar at the
entrance of a harbour. But actually it has a literal as well as allegorical meaning. The poem is
famous for its allegorical aspect where it reveals a much deeper meaning.
        The voyage is a metaphor for the final journey of man. "Crossing the Bar" is Tennyson's most
famous metaphorical meditation on Death.
     Where "Bar" or sandbar is metaphor used for the demarcation between the harbour and the
open ocean, as the barrier between life and death. Thus Crossing the Bar  is the act of passing
beyond life, or it can be said that it signifies meeting death.
        The poem begins with the description of a ship that is about to sail on a long voyage
at "sunset"when the "evening star" is visible in the sky.  Here the setting of the Sun and
appearance of evening star are symbolic of old age of the speaker and his impending death.
       Tennyson was about eighty years old and was recovering from a serious illness when he wrote
this poem. He could sense his upcoming death and this was his meditation on Death .
      The ship will set to leave the harbour after " one clear call" which is the formal announcement
of its departure.
    Allegorically the poet says that as the Sun is setting and the day ends his time in this world or we
can say his life in this world is also ending. He can hear the clear call of death which is the signal for
the speaker that his death is nearing. The speaker further says -
"And may there be no moaning of the bar,"
    Here the Bar has been personified and given the human quality of moaning. When the waves
crash against the sand bar a  forlorn or gloomy sound is produced. The speaker wishes when his
ship would cross the Bar,there would be no gloomy or moaning sound on the sand bar. Here he
hopes for a gentle crossing out of the harbour, without any turbulence or " moaning of the bar." 
Allegorically he hopes for a painless or smooth death as he wants to move gently from life to death,
without any pain and fear.
       In the second stanza of the poem, the speaker hopes for a tide that is "Too full for sound and
foam" that it is so full that it can not contain any more sound and foam  and while "moving" it
appears to be  "asleep".
      The speaker hopes that this tide will help his ship to cross that that sand bar smoothly and
without turbulence. Allegorically the speaker wants his end to  come quietly and without any
turmoil.
    The speaker further says as the tide has come out of this "boundless deep" sea and returns back
to its " home"  again. Similarly his soul will return back to eternity. Thus the speaker finds comfort
in the fact that his journey, is both a departure and a homecoming. It is suggestive of the fact that
journey from life to death is merely a part of a cycle of birth and death , which every human being
has to go through.
    In the third stanza, the speaker on the journey is at the point of "Twilight" and hear an  "evening
bell". After twilight there will be nothing but darkness which implying his impending death. The"
"evening bell" appears like death knell that is sounded when somebody dies. The speaker wishes
for no   "sadness of farewell"    when he sets out on his final journey.
     " And may there be no sadness of farewell ,
     when I embark "
      In the last stanza of the poem, the flood or sea, would enable the ship to cross the Bar and
finally enter the boundless ocean. It is a reference to the final departure that will carry him far
beyond the limits of "Time and Place" i.e. to eternity.  It is suggestive that there is a place beyond
our time and space where he hopes to go after his death. This establishes the poet's belief in
afterlife.
     The speaker further says -
"I hope to see my pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar".
        In above lines the speaker shows his happiness that after crossing the bar ,he would be able to
see the " Pilot" of his ship,face to face. By capitalising  "Pilot" , Tennyson has equated the Pilot
with God, but God in the guise of a specially qualified and skilled mariner.
    Just like a hip which is controlled by a skilled mariner, after crossing the Bar means after his
death , his soul may be taken far from the limits of the time and space of this world i.e. to eternity.
He is quite confident that he will be able to see the God face to face,  whose nature he could only
infer while on earth.
   Here the poet compares his dying to the departure of a ship on a voyage into the "boundless
deep" sea, he feels no fear and no reluctance at the prospect of leaving life. He has completely
surrendered his will to the force which will carry him far away, in the hope to meet the God.m
 The Singing Lesson
Question:   Describe the narrative technique in 'The Singing Lesson’. /
Comment on the use of interior monologue in 'The Singing Lesson'.
Answer: The short story "The Singing Lesson" is written in the third person and the narrator seems
to be peeping into the protagonist' consciousness. The narrative style makes use of interior
monologue which reflects Mansfield's unique talent for realistically capturing a moment in time.
Interior Monologue
Interior monologue is a device often used by the modernist in dramatic fiction to exhibit the
thoughts passing through the mind of the protagonist.
     In the story, Mansfield is careful to concentrate on Miss Meadows' internal struggle rather than
the perception of others. Basil's letter acts as an intrusion upon Miss Meadows' mind-set and
through the use of internal monologue, her thoughts are revealed though actions around her
continue. 
     The structure of the short story supports the protagonists' inner struggle as the narrative shifts
between what Miss Meadows is thinking versus what she is doing and how quickly the two come
into conflict.
    All her inner turmoil is the after effect of a letter from her fiancé Basil who called off the
marriage. This induced a stormy gust of emotional turbulence in her. This continuously reflected in
her behaviour with her students at school.
      Although she is deeply injured emotionally from the letter, but still she is combative to not to
disclose her inner existential crisis. Such monologue is the stream of thoughts that constantly
comes out in her expression. 
     While on the other hand, Miss Meadows is instructing the girls to sing  "A Lament" without
feeling and expression, on the other hand, she is wondering what could have possessed Basil to
write such a letter.
      The thought of the letter persistently ailed her mind
"......I am not a marring man....."
Now she instructed her students to sing with expression and imagination. She wanted the girls to
find out the exact feelings behind the lyrics. She asked them to "make that Drear sound as if a cold
wind were blowing through it".
 She sang it so awfully that Mary Beazley, “wriggled her spine ".
    The music and her inner turmoil run parallel to each other. While singing “Fast! Ah too fast”, the
narrative immediately shifts to Miss Meadows' mind which is preoccupied with the fact that
the "idea of settling down" fills Basil with "disgust". She perceived that she was fed up with
everything as felt very sad. 
    We can feel to what extent she is persistently preoccupied and the words of the letter flash
across her mind. This is how Mansfield has employed the use of third person narrative voice along
with interior monologue.
Question: Discuss various themes in the story"The Singing Lesson "by Katherine Mansfield.
Answer:  In " the Singing Lesson" by Katherine Mansfield, the author has explored the theme of  - 
Despair and dejection, sadness, Appearance versus Reality, Reliance and Appearance, Desperation
and Happiness and  music.
 Theme of  Despair and Dejection -
One of the most important themes of the story is that of despair and dejection. Indeed, from the
opening line of the story it becomes clear to the reader that Mansfield is exploring the theme of
despair - as Mansfield opens the story with line - 
"With despair - cold, sharp despair - buried deep in her heart like a knife."
   This line is very significant as it not only sets the tone for the story but it also makes reader to get
a sense of how deeply affected Miss Meadows is after she has read Basil's letter.
       Further Miss Meadows "trod the cold corridors" while she headed towards the music hall. The
cold corridors that she trod upon reflected her cold, despaired self. Her sadness was in stark
contrast to the "gleeful excitement" of the girls in the school.
Miss Meadows' utter hopelessness :
After reading Basil's letter which told her that he would not be able to marry her, rendered Miss
Meadows completely hopeless and dejected. She felt as if she were "bleeding to death".
     She was so troubled from inside and sad that she ignored the yellow chrysanthemum given to
her by Mary Beazley.
A Lament : 
Her  despair and dejection is also noticeable by the choice of song that Miss Meadows told the girls
to sing - a lament. As the girls are singing the song, which was so mournful that " every note was a
sigh, a sob, a groan of awful mournfulness",reflected her torn inner self and low spirits.
    The directions that she gave to the girls to use their expression and imagination while singing
frightened them. Her instructions to "make that Drear sound as if a cold wind were blowing
through it" and "then on the word 'Away', they must begin to die .....to fade......"  reflected her
inner anguish.
Theme of Appearance and Reality
Although the theme of Appearance versus Reality is not reflected at the first glance and story
appears to be about a music teacher in all girls school. But Mansfield bring out another important
theme - 
In work environment :
The teachers outwardly appear to be quite friendly and cordial to each other, but there are rivalries
among the faculty. This is evident from the exchange between the Science Mistress and Miss
Meadows.
      The Science Mistress greeted Miss Meadows in "her sweet affected drawl". She said Miss
Meadows looked frozen with " a mocking light"in her "blue eyes". Miss Meadows gave a  "quick
grimace" in response.
       Miss Meadows was worried that she would have to disappear when the news of her broken
engagement became  public. She believed "she could never face the Science Mistress".
Her relationship with Basil -
Miss Meadows is a thirty years old spinster - past marriageable age forma lady in those times.  She
was surprised when Basil, five years younger, proposed to her. When people came to know about
her engagement with Basil, a man five years younger to her , they were surprised. " The Science
Mistress would not believe it at first." Even Miss Meadows herself considered it a miracle.
The theme of Reliance and Appearance 
Mansfield also appears to be exploring the theme of reliance and appearance. The reader is aware
that Miss Meadows is  older than Basil - as the author quotes -"she was thirty Basil was twenty
five."
She wanted to get married to Basil, not for love or companionship but to be accepted in society. At
the time the story was written, thirty  would have been viewed upon as old , when it came to a
woman getting married.
     Miss Meadows was aware that in case they could not solemnise their marriage, she might not
get another opportunity to marry  and as such is reliant on him to marry her. She relied on the
prospective matrimony for the appearance of normalcy since being an old spinster was frowned
upon.
      Thus Basil's letter that he would not be able to her, tore her apart. She felt hopeless and sad
and felt as if she were bleeding to death. 
"......bleeding to death, pierced to the heart, to the heart by such letter -".
She was desperate to get married to Basil for her honour and grace, not for love or affection. She
was not concerned by how much ( or little) Basil loved her, as she reflected - " I don't mind how
much it is. Love me as little as you like."
     She was ready to settle for a man who might not love her at all. She was so terrified at the idea
of not getting married that she even considered to leave the school. She also decided not to face
the Science Mistress or the girls ever if the news of her being single again came out.
      The institution of marriage seems weak in the story. It was through a letter that Basil broke off
his relationship with her and reestablished it through a telegram. The idea of marrying and settling
down filled him with  disgust.
       On the other hand, Miss Meadows was desperate to marry him, no matter what. As soon as she
received the telegram from Basil that he was not calling off their marriage, she got excited and
happy.
"She couldn't take her eyes off the telegram."
    The fact that Basil would still be marrying her was much more important to her than the fact that
he might not love her. Miss Meadows was more concerned about how would she appear to other.
The theme of Desperation -
   Mansfield has also explored the theme of desperation in "The Singing Lesson". The relationship
between Basil and Miss Meadows was not constructed on the grounds of Love, affection and
companionship. Miss Meadows was well aware of this fact and still she was desperate to marry
him.
       She was not concerned by how much (or little) Basil may love her, Mansfield tells the reader
through Miss Meadows thoughts - " I don't mind how much it is. Love me as little as you like."
       This line clearly indicates that Miss Meadows didn't care how little Basil loves her but it also
suggests that she was ready to marry such man who may not love her at all.
       This suggests that Miss Meadows was desperate to get married at any cost. As she feared how
she will be perceived by others, should she remain single.
         When she got the telegram from Basil and the engagement resumed, Miss Meadows became
happy. This again suggests her desperation for marriage with Basil.
The theme of Music - 
Music is the central idea of the short story"the Singing Lesson ". Music is the main theme of the
story around which all the drama takes place. Miss Meadows is a music teacher. She is broken
inside due to her broken relationship with her fiance. Although she did not want to express her
feelings to others but music became the instrument through which her pain, despair and inner
turmoil revealed to the reader.
    She allowed her inner turmoil to influence her choice of song while she was teaching. She picked
up " A lament " as the first song. She instructed her students to "sing it" "without expression". The
song was so mournful that - " the willow trees outside " "lost half their leaves". The environment
responded to the sad music.   
    Even her students were so connected with the music that they began to feel her agony and pain.
They " began to feel positively frightened ". 
 
      As the sad music went on the class, the melancholy in Miss Meadows' mind was accelerated,
she asked her students to " take it with expression "with making the "Drear sound as if a cold
wind were blowing through it."
       The depressing mood of the teacher transmitted to the students by means of  music. The music
itself became successively depressing and the students instinctively picked up the mood of their
teacher as a result. Here the music served as an emotional outlet for Miss Meadows without her
divulging her private thoughts. 
    After the receipt of Basil's telegram, Miss Meadows!was overwhelmed with joy and hope then
the song she chose was a happy one. The music is now "warm, joyful and eager".  
   Music sets the mood of the story. The despair increased in intensity and then began to fade
with " voices began to die, to fade, to whisper..... to vanish."
    Music stopped ,the door opened Miss Meadows was called for a telegram. The telegram changed
her mood. After a brief interval the music was played again but this time it became "warm, joyful
and eager".

Question: State the three characteristic traits of the protagonist of the story "The Singing
Lesson".
Answer : Miss Meadows was a thirty year - old singing teacher at a girl's School who was engaged
to Basil.
 Physical Appearance -
Katherine Mansfield did not give any account of physical appearance of Miss Meadows in the story.
The only description provided is that she was wearing a cap and gown and carrying a little baton
and trod the cold corridors that led to the music hall. 
 Popular Teacher - 
Miss Meadows appears to be a popular teacher as is evident from the yellow chrysanthemum that
her student Mary Beazley brought for her. The child was devastated when the teacher ignored her
gift.
" what was Mary's horror when Miss Meadows totally ignored the chrysanthemum made no
reply to her greeting".
     Also the students seemed happy to be in her class "with bobbing pink faces and
hands" and "music books outspread".
 Jealous and despiteful - 
Miss Meadows used to feel jealous of the Science Mistress and hated her for her cheerfulness, her
beauty and charm. The day when the action in the story took place, Miss Meadows hated her for
her sweetness, as she thought - 
" you would not have been surprised to see a bee caught in the tangles of that yellow hair".
Here she pointed on her fake sweetness.
    Miss Meadows resented the Science Mistress, she grimly replied to her greetings that was
made "in her sweet affected drawl". She was filled with so much resentment for the Science
Mistress as if she was hugging a sharp, wicked knife in her heart. She even stared at her with eyes
full of hatred.
 A Stereotypical school Teacher -
Miss Meadows is a stereotypical teacher in an all girls' school of that time. 
     She used to teach music and carried a small 'baton ' in her hands.
    The 'baton' a sign of her power, was used to conduct music as well as her class. When she
entered into the hall that day she planted the brass music stand in front of her and " gave two
sharp taps with her baton for silence."
     The baton was a symbol of her authority and control.
Her student were deeply Influenced with Miss Meadows so they reflected her moods instinctively.
When she felt heart broken , she chose the song to play was - A Lament. In a cold, dictating  voice
she asked the girls to open page fourteen and to sing the depressing song. The students
instinctively pick upon Miss Meadows' emotions to become angry and afraid. 
  On the other hand, when she received Basil's telegram, she became ecstatic as if she were on "the
wings of hope, of love and of joy". As a reflection of her happy and excited mood she started
teaching them a gleeful song.
 Impressionable - 
The term impressionable is used to describe the person who easily gets Influenced or swayed by
situations.
  The protagonist of the story, Miss Meadows was no different. On receiving Basil's letter she was
heartbroken. She resented her colleague, the  Science Mistress - 
" Miss Meadows hugging the knife, stared in hatred at the Science Mistress ".
      She allowed her inner turmoil to influence the choice of song for her class. Basil's opinion that
their marriage would be a mistake influenced her so much that she spreading her despair, ignored
the chrysanthemum given to her by her favourite student Mary Beazley. 
     However, when she received a telegram from Basil saying that his letter was a mistake, she
instantly became happy as if she were on the wings of hope, love and joy. The song she chose then
reflected her happiness, and it was then that she finally picked up the yellow chrysanthemum.
 Insecure -
 Miss Meadows seemed to be very insecure about her position in society at large. She was a thirty
year old spinster - past marriageable age for a lady in those tomes. She wanted to get married to
Basil, not for love or companionship but to be accepted in society. She was not concerned by how
much (or little) Basil loved her, as she reflected - " I don't mind how much it is. Love me as little as
you like."
When Basil sent the letter to call off their upcoming marriage, the thoughts that troubled her most
were that she would never be able to "face the Science Mistress or the girls after it got known."
    People had already been surprised enough at her engagement. Thus to escape public
embarrassment, she thought of disappearing somewhere.
Question  : Katherine Mansfield through "The Singing Lesson" reveals that the point of grief
affects everyone and not just the person directly involved. Discuss.
Answer : "The Singing Lesson" written by Katherine Mansfield, reveals the powerful influence of
grief over each and every person - directly or indirectly involved.
      Miss Meadows, the protagonist of the story was filled with grief, pain, despair and agony on
reading her fiance's letter calling off their wedding.
 "With despair - cold, sharp despair - buried deep in her heart like a wicked knife....."
    Miss Meadows came to school in a troublesome mood contrasting the happy and joyous mood
of the girls.   
     The chirping and bubbling of young girls filled the "gleeful excitement" and happiness in the
atmosphere. On the other hand the outer cold corridor reflects the inner coldness and indifference
of Miss Meadows towards the happiness of little girls.
     Mary Beazley, her favourite student as a part of her daily ritual, offered   Miss Meadows a yellow
Chrysanthemum but Miss Meadows was too frustrated and anguished to accept it, but she ignored
it and asked her students to begin at page fourteen "A Lament". Mary became disheartened and
shocked.
     Feeling tormented and heart broken Miss Meadows chose a tragic song for the singing lesson.
" Every note was a sigh, a sob, a groan of awful mournfulness."
        With the song, Miss Meadows recalled the words written on the letter. Her feeling of pain,
agony and hopelessness became stronger with every line of the song.  At the same time,the
girls' "gleeful excitement"  had vanished into thin air.
         Miss Meadows' strange and stony voice made the young girls to feel "positively
frightened". Miss Meadows then asked the girls to infuse their song with as much expression as
they could.
         Her broken engagement tortured her deep inside her heart, this pain was reflected when she
sang a line of the song. She sounded so awful to Mary that it " wriggled her spine ".
      While she was instructing the girls to sing the song with expression, her inner self was
preoccupied with Basil's letter. The fact that the idea of settling down filled Basil with " disgust
" made her sad.”
    Some younger girls even began to cry when Miss Meadows asked them to repeat and add more
expression to the song.
 She was then called up by the headmistress, Miss Wyatt. When Miss Meadows left for Miss
Wyatt's  room, the children " were too subdued to do anything else."
     Miss Meadows then received a telegram from Basil saying -
"Pay no attention to letter, must have been mad, bought hat - stand to day - Basil."
    After reading the telegram she became ecstatic as if she were
" on the wings of hope, of love and of joy."
           Miss Meadows sped back to the music hall in a happy and gleeful mood. It was then that she
picked up the yellow chrysanthemum and she held it "to her lips to hide her smile."
      This transformation of Miss Meadows, from despair to delight affected the girls too. Her change
in mood reflects in her choice of song - she then asked the girls to sing a happy dong from "page
thirty two". 
   She not only asked the girls to be cheerful, but herself sang with a voice - "full , deep, glowing
with expression." 
    Thus Miss Meadows' sadness and happiness not only influenced her but also her students. 
Question : Katherine Mansfield has successfully depicted the inner turmoil of Miss Meadows in
the story "The Singing Lesson". Discuss.
Answer : In 'The Singing Lesson', Katherine Mansfield has successfully depicted the inner turmoil of
Miss Meadows.
     In the story the protagonist Miss Meadows is deeply hurt and saddened by the letter of her
fiance which indicated her broken engagement. Although she was very much disturbed but she
tried hard to not to show her emotions and internal struggle in public. But all her efforts regarding
this went in vain, she unconsciously revealed herself through her encounter with the Science
Mistress and her students.
       Her gesture and body language told enough about her despair and pain as - " with despair -
cold,sharp despair - buried deep in her heart like a wicked knife...."
     Although she looked calm from outside but the pain inside her heart is acute, sharp and cold like
a knife. The pain caused by her broken relationship anguished her deeply. The coldness of her inner
self made the surrounding atmosphere icy cold in that autumn morning.
        Her internal  agitation is exposed when the Science Mistress wished her good morning. She
hated the Science Mistress for her charm, beauty and fake sweetness. Her resentful reply exposed
her turbulent emotional state of mind.
           When Miss Meadows reached the music hall, she was filled with anguish. She "gave two
sharp taps with her baton for silence."
      Her mannerism told the girls that she was upset. She was quite indifferent towards the
happiness of young girls. She remained apathetic to Mary Beazley, who used to greet her with a
beautiful chrysanthemum. At that moment her mind was preoccupied in the letter "that I am not a
marrying  man and the idea of settling down fills me with nothing but - " 
      Miss Meadows ignored Mary Beazely and she did not thanked her but coldly asked the girls to
open page fourteen to sing ' A Lament'.
          Her choice of song clearly showed her sadness and inner turmoil. Although Basil loved her but
the thought of marrying her filled him with "regret". Miss Meadows saw he had written "
disgust" first and had crossed it out and wrote, "regret". If he ever loved her, he would have the
decency to make sure she would not be able to read this      " disgust" towards her.
       She instructed her students to sing without expression and the result was indeed tragic. "Every
note was a sigh,a sob, a groan of awful mournfulness."
      The sadness of the song even deepened the intensity of her gloom.
     Both the music and her turmoil run parallel to each other. She wondered what forced Basil to
write such a harsh letter. while she was instructing the girls to sing the song with expression her
inner self was preoccupied with Basil's letter. Miss Meadows was thirty and Basil, twenty five;  their
engagement had thus already been a surprise for people. She was not troubled by the fact that
Basil did not love her with his full heart. She says - 
"I don't mind how much it is. Love me as little as you like."
   What worried her was that, in case, they could not solemnised their marriage, she would have to
leave the school and would have to go somewhere away from the Science Mistress to avoid
embarrassment.
      Later, to her utter surprise, she got a telegram from Basil informing her that the letter was a
mistake and he was ready to marry her. She instantly became happy as if she were "on the wings
of hope, of love, of joy". 
       The song that she chose then reflected her happiness and it was then that she finally picked up
the yellow chrysanthemum.
Question : What role does music played in the short story, 'The Singing Lesson' by Katherine
Mansfield.
Answer:  Music is the central theme of Katherine Mansfield's "The Singing Lesson". The main
protagonist - Miss Meadows is a music teacher in a girl's school, her love for music is reflected
throughout the story.
            Having received a letter from her fiance, stating that their engagement was off, Miss
Meadows enters in her music class with great despair, pain and sadness. She allowed her inner
turmoil to influence her choice of song while she was teaching. She picks up 'A lament' as the first
song. She instructed her students to " sing it" "without expression".The song was so mournful
that " The willow trees outside " "lost half their leaves".
        The environment responded to the sad music. Even the students " began to feel positively
frightened. "
      Then as melancholy in Miss Meadows mind rises, she asks her students to "take it with
expression"with making  "Drear sound as if a cold wind were blowing through it."
       As a reflection of the teacher's mood the music becomes successively depressing. The music
and her turmoil run parallel to each other.
     She wondered if their engagement were off, then she would have never be able to "face the
Science Mistress or the girls after it got known". People had already been surprised enough at her
engagement with a man five years younger to her. She was in disgrace.
       Beckoning the girls with her baton, the music sped up. The students instinctively picked up the
mood of their teacher as a result.
" The older girls were crimson; some of tje younger ones began to cry."
    But Miss Meadows stood before them with her mind miles away begging Basil to let her remain
in his life.
 "I don't mind how much it is. Love me as little as you like".
       She was not concerned by how much or little Basil loved her. She was desperate to get married
to him for honour and grace and position in society.
      The music serves as an emotional outlet for Miss Meadows' without her divulging her private
thoughts.
         After the receipt ot Basil's telegram, Miss Meadows is "on the wings of hope; of love, of
joy"and the song she chooses is a happy one. The music is now "warm, joyful and eager".
      Music sets the mood of the story. The despair increases in intensity and then begins to fade
with " voices began to die,to fade, to whisper ....to vanish ....."
       Music stops, the door opens and the mistress's messenger enters. After a brief interlude, the
mood changes and music becomes "warm, joyful and eager".
Question : How has Katherine Mansfield used symbols to depict Miss Meadows' emotional state
in the story "The Singing Lesson'.
Answer: Katherine Mansfield is known for her evocative  use of images and symbols in her short
stories. Her use of images and symbols was sharp, suggestive and new with seeming forced or
written to some preconceived formula. 
       In " The Singing Lesson ", the story revolves around Miss Meadows' changing moods during a
singing lesson in her classroom. The story begins with the symbolic setting of cold corridors, which
lead Miss Meadows down to the music hall. The cold corridors here are symbolic of the protagonist
's  coldness and despair that is - 
" buried deep in her heart like a wicked knife". 
  The imagery of the knife, cold and sharp suggests death or immense pain.
       Some of the other symbols are - 
Baton:  
   Miss Meadows physical description is not given in the story except that she wore a cap, a gown
and carried a little baton in her hand. The baton is the symbol of her power, authority and control
with which she asks the girls to song accordingly. She used the baton and  "gave two sharp taps
with her baton for silence." 
Songs : 
   Miss Meadows' choice of songs and their lyrics are symbolic of her mood and feelings. She allows
her inner turmoil to influence not only her song choices but the interpretation of the song, a
lament.
      She picked up a lament - as the first song. The song was symbolic of her dejected inner self and
reflected her low spirits. Its lyrics that roses of pleasure fade quickly and autumn soon changes into
winter are reflective of her weakening relationship with her fiance - Basil.
 The second song which she chooses after reading Basil's telegram is symbolic of her happiness.
This congratulating song is a reflection of her transformation from despair to delight. She joyfully
broke off - 
    She even sang along with the girls which symbolise her return to happiness in voice "  full, deep,
glowing with expressions".
Chrysanthemum : 
The chrysanthemum flower is regarded as symbol of optimism and joy. It is an autumn flower
and seen as a symbol of sun. Hence when Miss Meadows filled!with coldness and despair walked
down to the music hall, she could not appreciate it and thus ignored it.
        Towards the end of the story, when she returned to her class with a good mood that Basil was
ready to marry her, she picked up the chrysanthemum herself
"to hide her smile " with the flower. She was filled with happiness and sunshine, she picked up the
joy symbolising flower.
Question : How appropriate is the title of the short story, "The Singing Lesson" ?
Answer: The title"The Singing Lesson " is apt and suggestive. In fact, the title has two connotations
1. The activity of teaching music to the student and
2. The lesson that is singing itself, as if it were alive. Literally, the story is about a music teacher,
Miss Meadows who is a music teacher in a girls' school.
       Therefore, music is central idea of the story. Miss Meadows, a spinster music teacher,
experiences harrowing gloom and unspoken mental anguish due to a split in her relationship with
her fiance 'Basil'.
      As the opening line of the story suggests -
"With despair - cold, sharp despair - buried deep in her heart like a wicked knife ......."
   The line suggests that Miss Meadows was filled with despair,while she was going to the music hall
to take class.
    The story revolves around the particular singing lesson class and the protagonist's activity in the
class shows the changes in human behaviour brought by particular events of life.
      Miss Meadows picks up "A Lament" for the class'  first song. The lyrics of the song are symbolic
of her heartbroken, torn self caused by her fiance's letter telling her that he would not be able to
marry her. Thus she allowed her troubled state to influence the choice of song for her class. The
song's "every note was a sigh, a sob, a groan of awful mournfulness" which truly reflects Miss
Meadows inner turmoil.
     She instructs her students not to feel any emotion while singing and as a result, their voices are
lifeless.
    She even ignores the yellow chrysanthemum given to her by her student Mary Beazley.  As a
reflection of her mood, the music continues to trod along and the students instinctively pick up on
Miss Meadows' emotions to become angry and afraid.
      In the story"The  Singing Lesson " the music serves as Miss Meadows' inner emotional outlet
without having disclosed her private thoughts. The lesson she teaches her students is like an iced
fragment that transmits the impression of a certain moment, like an impressionist painting. A class
of singing lesson reflects the inner consciousness of Miss Meadows as if  it were a monologue
expressing the mental anguish and utter torment of her soul.
     While the class was in progress, Miss Meadows got a telegram from Basil informing her that the
letter was a mistake; now he was able to marry her -
"Pay no attention to letter , must have been mad, bought hat -stand today - Basil."
  On getting the good news over the telegram she gets carried away by rosy hopes of life. Now she
is no longer melancholic and hopeless.
    She returns to her classroom and changes the topic of the lesson. Her choice of music undergoes
a change in conformity with her changed mood. Now she urges the girls to put in emotion in full
throated ease in her characteristic  manner. She sings a happier song, allowing her own voice to
sing loudest, symbolising her return to happiness.
   Thus, the music lesson itself appears if it were alive. Its lyrics and style of singing change with the
situation. Sometimes, life follows the music and at other times, music is played according to life.
   In this story, the latter seems to be applicable and thus makes the title appropriate.
 DOVER BEACH
Question : Describe the crisis of faith during the Victorian Era with reference to Matthew Arnold's
poem"Dover Beach ".
Answer : The Victorian Era is regarded as the era of change and growth. With the onset of
industrial Revolution, the pillar of faith supporting society was perceived as crumbling under the
weight of scientific theories such as Darwinism and Lamarckism etc.
        With the growth of science and technology, the idea of realism also entered into the society.
People thought that science and technology had made them superior over nature and they began
to doubt the existence of God.
Loss of Faith
           Before the time of machineries, people had faith in God. This faith gave people hope and
modesty under the mighty existence of God. But all the hope and modesty disappeared with the
Industrial Revolution. Matthew Arnold, laments in the poem "Dover Beach " for the lack of
spirituality and loss of faith.
        Arnold has used the metaphor of "sea" to demonstrate the loss of faith among people during
Victorian Age. The poem begins with the description of the natural beauty of Dover Beach, where
the sea is calm, suggesting a world that is peaceful, harmonious and filled with joy.  There is no
thoughts, emotions or doubts but only images that are quiet. But a discordant note  is seen from
the fourth line "On the French coast the light gleams and is gone".
Suggesting the flickering of faith in God by flickering of light.
     The crisis of faith is furthered in the poem when Arnold  talks about the 
" melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,/ retreating ......."
These lines give a feeling of lost hope, abandoned faith and a longing to return to the olden days.
Sorrow Caused by loss of Faith
       Matthew Arnold was deeply troubled by the loss of faith. He referred the ancient Greek
playwright, Sophocles, who long ago heard the eternal note of sadness on the Aegeon Sea, which
brought to his mind human misery.
  ".....brought/ Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow /                                                            Of human
misery"
Here a comparison has been drawn between human  misery and the sea ebbing and flowing.
     Arnold not only compares the human misery with the sea, but also he used the metaphor
of "Sea"for the faith in God. He says - 
" The Sea of Faith 
   Was once, too, at the full and round earth's shore...."
The human faith in God was once so strong and protective "like the folds of a bright girdle". It was
suggestive that the sea of faith in God was strong and protective for the people from all the doubt
and despair just like a girdle of sea wraps itself around the continents and islands of the world.
      The poet is  troubled by the fact that the " Sea of Faith " has receded. It was once at its "flow
" but now is at its "ebb". He further says that he could only hear the " melancholy, long
withdrawing roar ", which suggested that the sad sound of retreating waves on the shore, sounded
like the death throes of  Christian era.
        Poet further says that the faith in God and religion had provided a relief from the sufferings
and doubts about the existence, has now been removed by the development of science. This led
man to question about the faith and ultimately decline it. This decline has caused the human mind
to remain uncovered and unprotected like " naked shingles ", remained after retreating of waves
from the shore. It brings to mind a dreary feeling of helplessness as though the mind is left stripped
and bare on the vast and dreary edges of unknown land.
      The most bitter expression of the poet's view about loss of faith is presented in the last stanza.
He says  that the world which appears to have variety, beauty and freshness is in reality a place
which has 
" ...neither joy, nor love, nor light/
  Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain."
    The world without the faith in God and religion, is like a darkling plain,  unreal and deceptive. It is
like a battlefield at night where soldiers run after shadows and fire at them , unable to tell friend
from foe. 
   This suggests that due to decline in faith, humanity stands on the brink of chaos, surrounded in
encroaching darkness by destructive forces and therefore unable to distinguish between the friend
and foe. However the only solace that the poet finds in this crisis is love.
      Thus, the poem "Dover Beach" is suggestive of the crisis of faith during the Victorian Era and
waning power of religion to give unity and meaning to human life.
Question  : Discuss "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold as a dramatic monologue.
Answer : A poem is said to be dramatic when there is at least two people in its setting as if it is a
drama or play. It is said to be monologue when only one person speaks, addressing another, who
remains silent throughout the poem.
    In this sense Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold is a dramatic monologue because the speaker is
addressing a companion who is a part of the scene but does not answer back.
   In first stanza, the speaker is the mouthpiece of the poet, Matthew Arnold, but not the poet
himself. The imagined character or the speaker is presumably a lover, standing at the window and
describing the beauty of the seashore to his companion - 
   "Come to the window, sweet is the night - air!"
Later the speaker says to his companion -
    "Listen! You hear the grating roar."
Finally, the speaker specified that he is speaking to his beloved by addressing her as 'love'
   "Ah, love , let us be true 
       To one another !"
In a dramatic monologue, the action is internal, i.e. the development occurs in the speaker's mind.
The seascape begins to remind him of his uncertain place in the universe. He becomes
philosophical and contemplative. He contemplates about the loss of faith in God and religion due
to development in science and technology.
    The speaker expresses his frustration and hopelessness of the modern chaotic world and
compares!the passing of faith to the ebb and flow of the tide. 
  He believes - 
  "The Sea of Faith
     Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore"
Means,   "The  Sea of Faith"  once full and strong, protecting the people from doubt and despair,
was like the sea wrapping  itself round the continents of the world. Now this "sea of Faith" has
receded and the speaker can only hear its - 
   " its melancholy, long withdrawing roar" suggestive of the death throes of the Christian era. He
further says that as the sea of faith is receding, leaving behind only the cold drear night wind,
whistling over the desolate beach and "naked shingles". It is suggestive  of the fact that as the faith
in God is gradually fading away, leaving men's minds bare or naked with only sadness.
     The speaker compares this world without faith in God with a darkling plain, where there is no
joy, no love, no hope, no light, no peace and even no help for pain, as he says - the world has 
   " neither joy, nor love, nor light
     Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain."
   His growing pessimism is shown by the phrase "darkling plain" a plain
growing darker with the time. He compares the men struggling in the world
with armies strict on a plain at night and the soldiers are ignorant as to what
they are fighting for and why? 
   Arnold believes that amidst all this sufferings only love can provide some
comfort. So he urges his beloved to "be true to one another".
    In this dark world without any feelings and emotions, only love can give
meaning to one's life. The human romantic love is powerful enough to make
this loss of faith bearable and compensate its  darkness with the light of love.
Question  : How is the theme of loss of faith in God and religion shown in
"Dover Beach" ?
Answer : Dover Beach is one of the most famous poems of Matthew Arnold
where he expresses his regret and dissatisfaction at the loss of faith in God
and spiritual degradation of the society. The strong religious and spiritual
faith of earlier times was beginning to vanish with the advent of science and
technology that induced doubt and questions in people's mind. 
       The poem begins with the beautiful description of Nature, where the sea
is calm and quiet, the tide is full and  " the moon lies fair " on the every
corner of this beautiful landscape. 
     The romantic and calm mood was suddenly disappeared and the
saddening tone of flickering of faith in God was presented by the line ".......
the light gleams and is gone".
     With the advent of science and technology, the traditional religious beliefs
were questioned by the people and the existence of God and the whole
Christian scheme of things was cast in doubt. Arnold who was deeply
religious, lamented the dying of the light of faith, as symbolised by the light
he sees on  Dover Beach, which gleams for a moment and fades away the
next moment.
     The poet explains  the gradual loss of man's faith in a grand and suggestive
similie. The poet has compared faith in religion to a sea that surrounds the
world - The sea has its full tide and then ebbs away with the mournful music
over the pebbles, it brings the eternal note of sadness which makes the
speaker depressed. 
      The speaker further says -
     " The Sea of Faith/
     Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's  shore ".
   Means, the faith in this world, once covered the whole earth like sea, it was
at its fullest as the tide is now. Faith covered the world " like the folds of a
bright girdle ". It is suggestive of the fact that the faith once used to be
strong and protected people from doubt and despair just like the sea wraps
itself around the continents of the world. 
    However, the " Sea of Faith " has receded. It was once at its "flow" but
now it is at its "ebb"
    "Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar"
Suggested to Arnold the death throes of the Christian era.
     Due to the advancement of Science and technology, modern men tend to
believe in science more than in God. The poet is so distressed by the fact that
he compares the society without the faith in God and religion with
the "naked shingles", after the tide ebbs away from shore. 
     When the faith pulls away, it leaves nothing behind but sadness. It brings
to mind a dreary feeling of helplessness, as though the mind is left stripped
and bare on the vast and dreary edges of an unknown land. 
    At this stage, the speaker found that the only thing which can provide
comfort to his distressful heart is love.  So he urges his companion - 
     " Ah, love, let us be true
      To one another !"
      He urges his companion to be true to each other and with their pure love
they can bare this harsh reality of world. 
      This world which apparently looks real, new, beautiful, true, various but
actually it has - 
  " neither joy, nor love, nor light / 
    Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain. "
      The world is swallowed by darkness. It is unreal and deceptive. The world
is like a battlefield at night where soldiers run after shadows and fire them,
unable to tell friend from foe. But the only solace that the speaker finds in
this crisis is love. Love is the only feeling that can save humanity when there
is lack of faith in God and religion. 
 THE STORY OF AN HOUR
Question :'The story of an hour ' does not trace Louise's repression , but her reaction to her
husband's death says it all. Discuss.
Answer:  Repression happens when a person's thoughts, feelings or desires are being understated
or subdued. Women in the nineteenth century were often victims of repression . They were
supposed to be demure, gentle and passive - which often went against women's personal wills 
           Kate Chopin is acknowledged for her feminist view in modern literature. Her stories often
revolves around the daring women with unconventional thoughts.
         In "The Story of an Hour" Chopin portrays a woman - Louise Mallard who is confined in a
repressive marriage. In the entire story , Chopin did not trace Louise's repression directly, but her
reaction to the news of her husband's death disclosed it all. 
     The protagonist of the story Louise Mallard is known in the beginning of the story only as a wife,
but as she learned of her husband's, she became "Louise", a woman aware of her own desires,
enjoying the prospect of being free from the confines of marriage.
       Very little is known about Mr. and Mrs. Mallard' s relationship. Even Louise is unsure whether
or not they had been happily married: "And yet she had loved him sometimes. Often she had not.
What did it matter!" 
The conventions of marriage overshadow the specifics of a husband wife relationship. This society's
concern was more important than the couple's personal relationship.
    Marriage was a means of social control - that means marriage helped keep women in check and
secure men's social and political power.
      Marriage in Louise Mallard's case has very little love. She sees her marriage as a life long bond in
which she feels trapped , which reader see when she confesses that she loved her husband
only "sometimes". 
    When Mrs. Mallard got the news of her husband's death , she cried dramatically rather than
feeling numb, as she knew many other women would. Her violent reaction immediately shows that
she was an emotional and demonstrative woman. 
         Chopin also described Louise as a young woman "with a fair , calm face, whose lines bespoke
repression and even a certain strength."  Not only her reaction but her expression, permanently
fixed on her face, also shows her repression. 
      When she was alone in her room she felt that " There was something coming to her and she
was waiting for it , fearfully." Her fear here shows lack of confidence that whether could she be
able to hold the freedom for which she was longed.
     As she had recognized that thing approaching to possess her, "she was striving to beat it back
with her will as powerless as her two slender hands would have been". The prolong repression
made her will so powerless that she could not even beat her thoughts back with her own will.
    When she abandoned herself a little whisper came out of her lips and " she said it over and over
under her breath - free, free, free !"
    Her repeatation of the word "free" indicates that it was freedom, that she always yearned for. 
      This sense of freedom and independence brought her new life and filled her with confidence
and vitality. 
" Her pulse beat fast and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body." 
       She started to imagine her future life without her husband, without any sorrow and regret. 
 The bitter moment of her husband's death made her to see " a long procession of years to come
that would belong to her absolutely." She began to think that " she would live for herself". As till
then she was living for her husband, according to his will. But now there would be no powerful will
that will bend her will. She could take her own decisions.
      She confessed that she loved him "sometimes" but this "possession of self assertion" is much
more valuable than her love for her husband or his love for her . She kept whispering
hysterically "Free! Body and soul free!"
       In the story Mrs.Mallard was suffering from heart trouble, which indicates the extent of her
oppression in her marriage . Here " Heart - trouble"  suggests the trouble in physical and emotional
state, a problem with in her body as well as in her relationship. 
     Within the hour - followed by the news of her husband's death as Louise discovered her new
identity and self assertion , her heart trouble also disappeared. 
     Ironically, as Brently Mallard  walked into her life again, her "heart trouble"  reappeared and
this time it was so acute that it killed her. 

 Question : Discuss the appropriateness of the title of Kate Chopin short story 'The story of an
Hour'.
Answer: The title of the story 'The story of an Hour' is appropriate and significant as it reveals the
life changing events of Mrs. Mallard's life that took place in just one hour.
    Chopin explores the entire range of Mrs. Mallard  emotions, anxieties and feelings and psyche
from the moment she hears of her husband's death to his eventual reappearance.
    It is the story of the hour following the news of her husband's death, that Mrs. Mallard revealed
her lost freedom, self assertion and her own self. Within this one hour, she felt what she has never
felt before. This particular one hour gives her what she always yearned for - freedom. Those
specific sixty minutes transformed her from a weak woman to a strong woman who has her own
will and control over her life. This extended her vision of her life.
     At the beginning of the story, Mrs. Mallard is given the news that her husband is dead in a
railroad accident.
      At this news Louise Mallard cried "at once, with sudden, wild abandonment". When she was
alone in her room, she thought about her life without her husband. She realised that
" there was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully ".
         On recognising it, she tried to suppress the feeling as she was bound to the social norms. But
the feeling was so strong that it could not be suppressed by her powerless will.
 " When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said
it over and over under her breath: " free, free,free!" 
   She thought about the new life, free from the domination of her controlling husband.
     The bitter moment of her husband's death made her see "a long procession of years to come
that would belong to her absolutely." 
       She recognised her identity and self assertion, she became "Louise" a woman aware of her own
desires, from the confines of marriage.
      "She would live for herself". There would be no one who will bend her will and impose his "
private will" upon her.
      This fact enlighten her innerself. Although she loved him sometimes but her love for her
husband and his love for her is is meaningless when compared to her "self assertion which she
suddenly recognised as the strongest impulse of her being !" 
     She kept whispering  "Free ! Body and soul free!" 
  This possession of self assertion transformed her into a new woman full of life and confidence.
    The force was such a strong force that when she realised that her husband was alive, she
immediately collapsed. Louise actually could not bear to abandon her new found freedom and
return to life with her husband , where she would be required to bend her will to his.
      The title is both apt and suggestive - in one hour, her freedom has been won and lost.
     "The story of an Hour" is the story of numerous women who silently bear the domination and
entrapment in their marriage but whose escapes could be short - lived at best.
       In this one hour, Mrs. Mallard learns to carry "herself unwittingly like a goddess of
Victory" and at the end of the same hour, her hopes are shattered with her husband's return.
      She has become a subservient wife. The one hour, thus becomes most important time in her
life, as it not only built her dreams, gave her freedom, self confidence and control over her life but
rendered her devastated. Her husband's return destroyed her dreams and finally killed her.

Question : Do you think that the short story by Kate Chopin "The Story of an
Hour" is symbolic of modern feminism? Give reasons to support your
answer.
Answer : Feminism is a movement carried out at social, cultural and political
levels to establish and provide equal rights and protection for social equality
of gender.
      Kate Chopin is acknowledged for initiating the modern feminist
movement in late nineteenth century. Her stories were revolved around the
lives of sensitive and daring women of late nineteenth century. She tries to
capture the hardships and struggle of women and this way their condition
and status in society. She is considered far ahead of her time due to her
radical views against the patriarchal society.
     Chopin portrayed women as oppressed and maltreated by the society.
Women were dominated by their husbands and forced to live the life
controlled by their husbands. Husband's were independent and like rulers
while wives were considered as slaves. In a marriage, wives were treated as
inferior, with no free will and had to act upon their husbands orders.
   In "The story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin the protagonist Louise Mallard is
portrayed as s typical American wife at the beginning of the story but after
getting the news of her husband's death in an accident, she behaved
differently because she felt free and independent from the constraints.
        Chopin deconstructed the view of a typical wife by portraying Louise
Mallard's different response to her husband's death.
     The story shows how married women were not happy in their married life
and were dependent upon their husbands. This reflects how women were
struggling hard to find their identity. The story perfectly depicts the feelings
of a wife in the late nineteenth century.
     'The Story of an Hour' is a story of a woman who was suffering from heart
disease. The woman - Mrs. Mallard was confined in an unhappy marriage and
unable to free herself  from her relationship with Brently Mallard, she
endured it.
      At the news of her husband's death, though she cried "at once with
sudden , wild abandonment" but not for a moment she wanted him back.
    The main character is known in the beginning of the story only as a wife -
Mrs. Mallard as she didn't have her own identity, she was known as Mrs.
Mallard. As soon as she learned of Brently's death , she became "Louise" , a
woman aware of her own desires, who had control over her life.
       When Mrs. Mallard was alone in her room, she felt that
"There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it fearfully
". She was so repressed in her marriage that the thought of being free made
her fearful.
     Soon she recognised it but scared to admit it. She quickly found peace , joy
and relaxed while she kept whispering " free, free, free!" .
     The bitter moment of her husband's death helped her see  " a long
procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. " 
      She was looking forward to the years of independent freedom and are yet
to come. And she welcomed them.
      In those coming years " she would live for herself ". She has lived a life
that has given her limitations.
       She has forced herself to submit to the will of her husband because
society expects such behaviour. But with her husband's death " there would
be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistance ",which believed
in imposing a private will upon other one .
     The sense of freedom brought her self assertion and a new identity.
Although she had loved him sometimes but this love is meaningless when
compared to her self assertion and newly found  freedom.
       When Louise felt free from the shadow of her husband she appear a
totally different woman " she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of
Victory". 
    This way the freedom brought her to independence and self confidence
which led her to discover her true identity as a woman.
    It was such a strong force that when she realised  that her husband was
alive, she immediately collapsed. Chopin suggests that Louise  could not bear
to abandon her new found freedom and return to life with her husband
where she would be required to bend her will to his.