Avanthi degree & P.

G college
Barkathpura Hyd.
1st Semester 2022-23
English summaries

UNIT 1:
In the Bazaars of Hyderabad.- Sarojini Naidu
SUMMARY:
In the Bazaars of Hyderabad is a vibrant, colourful poem describing the
bazaars of Hyderabad. This poem was written during the British rule
when Indians were asked to boycott foreign products and buy goods
from traditional Indian bazaars.
And as for the context, the poem was written as a part of the Swadeshi
Movement. During that freedom movement the Indians decided to
boycott European merchandise and use the Indian products instead.
Through the poem In The Bazaars of Hyderabad Sarojini wanted to
convey the message that India is rich in tradition and they don’t need
the foreign products. So, she goes on to give a picture of a bazaar
where traditional Indian products are ruling.

The poem is in the form of questions and answers. The poet asks the
questions and the merchants answer them. Through this technique she
make the picture of the bazaar visible to us.
The poem contains five stanzas of six lines each. It follows a unique
rhyme scheme where the second, fourth and sixth lines in each stanza
are rhyming. The third and fifth lines are also rhyming. The last stanza is
a slight exception though. So the general scheme is ABCBCB.

What do you sell O ye merchants?

..................Daggers with handles of jade.

The poem begins with the poet’s question to the merchants about what
they are selling. She sees that the goods are displayed nicely to attract
the buyers. The merchants reply that they are selling crimson (deep
red) and silver coloured turbans, purple brocade tunics, mirrors with
amber-frame and daggers with handles made of jade (a green stone).

What do you weigh, O ye vendors?

Saffron and lentil and rice.
What do you grind, O ye maidens?
..............Chessmen and ivory dice.

The poet then visits the vendors, the maidens and the pedlars
(salesmen). She asks the vendors what they are weighing for sale. The
vendors reply that they are weighing saffron, lentil and rice. The poet
then asks the maiden girls what they are grinding. the reply comes that
they are grinding sandalwood, henna and spices. And now the pedlars
are asked what they are calling as their trade cry. They say that they are
selling chessmen and dice made from ivory for the game of chess.

What do you make, O ye goldsmiths?

...........Scabbards of gold for the king.

The poet now goes up to the goldsmiths and asks them what they are
making. They are making wristlet, anklet and ring to adorn us and bells
to be tied to the feet of blue pigeons. And the bells are as thin and
lightweight as the wings of a dragonfly. They are also making golden
girdles for the dancers and golden sheaths for keeping the king’s
swords.

What do you cry, O ye, fruitmen?

..............for aeons to come.

The poet in the poem In The Bazaars of Hyderabad now asks the fruit
sellers what fruits are they selling. They answer that there are citron,
pomegranate and plum. Now as the poet asks the musicians what
instruments they are play, they reply that they are playing on sitar,
sarangi and drum. After that poet goes to the magicians and asks them
what they are chanting. The reply comes,he is chanting the spells to
bring in aeons (a divine power) who would help him perform his
magical tricks.
What do you weave, ...............?
.................... the sleep of the dead.

In the last stanza of the poem the poet asks the flower girls what they
are weaving with the azure (deep blue) and red tassels (strands of
flower). The flower girls are making garlands for the bride and the
groom and to adorn their bed for the wedding night. They are also
making sheets of newly brought white flowers for use on the dead
man’s grave for fragrance.
Thus the poet Sarojini Naidu represents an Indian market to give us a
sense of the rich Indian heritage. This poem was her protest against the
European products and an appreciation of our own goods.

The Eyes Are Not Here-Ruskin Bond

The story is set in a very straightforward and engaging manner.

Everything takes place in the railway compartment, and the month of
October is chosen to highlight Mussoorie’s beauty. It is teeming with
ironic twists and turns. The narrator’s efforts to conceal his blindness
contain genuine hilarity. However, when he learns that the girl is also
blind, his humour takes an ironic turn. It demonstrates Ruskin Bond’s
pity for the blind, their difficulties, and their loneliness. Bond
concentrates on universal human experiences through the unique
perspective of the blind narrator.
The Eyes Are Not Here is a marvellous short story written by Ruskin
Bond and was first published in Contemporary Indian English Stories.
The narrator of this story, a blind man with sensitive eyes to light and
darkness, was travelling by train to Dehradun when he met and chatted
with a female. The narrator discovers the girl’s blindness only after she
has departed and another passenger has entered the compartment.
This story describes traveling experience in life in a light-hearted and
simple style. The blind narrator is not self-pitying. He is very matter-of-
fact about his disability. This is what makes them so touching. The
reader is struck by the pathos of the incident. The narrative ends with
an unexpected and startling revelation.
The story gives us a glimpse of the world as experienced by a visually
challenged person. We are reminded of Helen Keller and her story
about how she overcame her handicap through will and courage.
Ruskin Bond born on 19 May 1934 in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, and
raised in Shimla, Jamnagar, Dehradun, and Mussoorie is a noted Indian
writer of fiction in English. He spent four years as a young man on the
Channel Island and in London. He was awarded the ‘Sahitya Academy
award in 1992 and the Padmashri in 1999.

The most of Bond’s writings are heavily influenced by the social life of
the hill stations near the foothills of the Himalayas, where he spent his
youth. His debut work, “The Room On the Roof,” was written at the age
of seventeen and published at the age of twenty-one.

It was somewhat inspired by his experiences in Dehra, specifically in his

modest rented roof room, and by his companions. In 1957, he was
awarded the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize for “Room On the
Roof.” He has since published over 300 short stories, essays, and
novellas (including Vagrants in the Valley, The Blue Umbrella, and A
Flight of Pigeons) as well as over 30 children’s books. Additionally, he
authored two books of autobiography. Scenes from a Writer’s Life,
which chronicles his formative years in Anglo-India, and The Lamp is Lit,
a compilation of essays and journal entries.

Outline of the Story

It is an excellent short story written by Ruskin Bond, who employs the

first person narrative approach. Everything is recounted here by a blind
individual. His eyes are completely blind to everything but light and
dark. He meets a girl while on his way to Dehradun by rail. He initiates
conversation and develops an interest in her gradually. To captivate the
girl, he deftly conceals his blindness. However, the exchange is brief. As
the train approaches her final stop, the girl bids him farewell. A male
passenger enters the cubicle shortly after she departs. The narrator
learns of the girl’s total blindness from that man. The storyteller is
taken aback by the reveal. He has fooled himself, he believes. This is an
ironic turn of events that contributes to the story’s attractiveness in the
conclusion.
The narrator is alone in the compartment. A girl enters the
compartment at that station. Her parents bid her farewell and counsel
her on her safety, directing her on where to store her possessions, not
to lean out the window, and to avoid strangers. In this passage, the
narrator unexpectedly discloses that he is blind. Once the train departs
from the platform, the narrator approaches the girl and inquires about
her trip to Dehradun. She is taken aback by the voice, as she had
assumed she was alone in the cabin. The girl informed him that she
would be travelling to Saharanpur to meet her aunt. The narrator
speaks about Mussoorie, the destination he was on his way to,
describing the area’s beauty in October (the month in which the storey
takes place).

Throughout the conversation, the narrator maintains the conscious

pretence of having an excellent vision. Though he is generally
circumspect in his word choice, he recalls at one point that he came
dangerously close to giving up due to some sloppy remarks. Following
some more fascinating conversation, the narrator boldly informs her
that she has an fascinating face. She cheerfully responds that it was a
wonderful diversion from the frequently repeated comment, “You have
a pretty face.” Soon, the girl’s train arrives at her destination, and she
bids farewell. The author then overhears a disturbance near the
carriage’s door and an apology from a man.
The man then enters and apologizes to the narrator for not being as
beautiful as the last travel companion. When the narrator asks how the
girl’s hair was worn, the other person says that he only saw her eyes,
which were beautiful but useless to her because she was blind. The
man asks the narrator if he had noticed it too. The story wraps up with
the narrator resuming his game of posing as a person with sight.

UNIT 2:
IF - RUDYARD KIPLING
Kipling was awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907.
He also remains the youngest recipient of the award to this date.He
wrote stories and poems of British soldiers in India and stories for
children. In the poem If, Kipling provides a guide for how to live an
honourable and successful life. The principles presented still apply
today. In India, a framed copy of the If poem was placed on the wall in
the cabins of the officer cadets at the National Defense Academy. The
poem presents the way that the officers should conduct their lives.

The poem If uses figurative language. Figurative language uses words

and phrases that are not meant to be taken for real in a literal way. It
uses a phrase that describes something by comparing it to some other
thing or as a symbol of some action. This is known as a metaphor.
The poem is in the good rhyme scheme. It has good sound effects and
fine imagery. The tone of the poem centers on human qualities. The
mood is one of joy and optimism. There are no overly affectionate
words, yet the message of the poet comes from the emotional tie to a
child’s welfare. The speaker wants his child to do well in life. By using
the second-person point of view, the reader feels that the poet is
speaking directly to him. The language used is so simple that readers
can easily understand. There are a lot of symbols and figures of speech,
especially personification. Dreams assume the human role to control
our lives. Success is personified as a triumph. Failure is personified as a
disaster.
“If” is a didactic poem, a work to teach. It gives instruction in
developing several specific traits of a successful leader. Kipling provides
this instruction not by specifying specific features, but by offering
detailed illustrations of the complex actions that a man should or
should not take to match those features. The poem is about moral
lessons and behaviour. It includes advice from a father to a son on how
to grow up to be a better person and a true man. He reminds his son
that he will be a man if he can hang on to his beliefs and not be
manipulated by others. If he takes his advice, he will have a life that is
satisfying and enriching.
Central idea: The key idea of the poem is that success comes through
self-control and a true sense of the values of life. Peril lies in extremes.
A man must not lose heart due to suspicions or opposition, but he must
make every effort to see the grounds for both. He must not be deceived
into thinking either victory or final disaster; he must use every one of
them wisely— and move on. He has to hold on to the golden mean in
all situations. If he does, he’ll own the world, and even better, he’ll
reach the highest status of manhood for his personal reward.
The first stanza of the poem illustrates self-confidence and expresses
that in being confident; the reader must have the courage to face
unpopularity and disagreement. Nonetheless, this stanza also advises
against a self-confidence that does not allow alternative views to be
considered. By exhorting the reader to disregard both doubt and
allowance for doubt (lines 3 and 4), Kipling creates a paradox (the
combination of mutually opposing ideas which, although apparently
contradictory, serve to make a point in their contradiction) that is
characteristic of the tone of the whole poem.
Line 5 recommends patience, line 6 advises honesty and line 7 advises
moral fortitude. Such three lines, along with the poem’s first four lines,
share a common thread: they offer guidance in maintaining right
behaviour in the face of unrighteousness. In line 8, however, Kipling is
swift to validate his advice, telling the reader “yet don’t look too good,
nor talk too wise.” That is, a person must avoid smugness when acting
righteously.
The poem encourages the reader to be patient, frank, truthful,
trustworthy and humble. He would have to face criticism, resistance,
lies, and hate. When people blame him, he shouldn’t lose his faith. He
must be optimistic and trust in himself, but he must do his utmost to
accept their reservations. In these this, he must maintain his integrity,
his beliefs and his principles, but he must not look too good or smart.
This poem encourages one to dream, but it advises not to make one’s
master wishes. He’s supposed to dream, but he shouldn’t make his
mind his target. Performance and loss should be treated similarly. He
should still be hopeful as he sees the fruits of his hard work ruined. He
needs to build them up with confidence.
In the final stanza, the poet instructs him to keep talking to the masses.
He can, at the same time, uphold his virtue. The poet tells him to walk
with the Kings without lacking the human touch. Both men ought to be
able to rely on his assistance. Without any pause, he should forgive
persons. If he can do all these things, so the world, and all that is
therein, will be his own.
On Saying Please - A.G. Gardiner
Introduction: This essay by A.G. Gardiner explores the issue of
politeness as an extremely important and indispensable feature of civil
society. Politeness, he argues, is that which keeps the social life of
civilised man well oiled and friction-free. A good temper gives rise to
naturally pleasant behaviour that radiates pleasantness all around.
Conversely, bad temper breeds uncouth behaviour that poisons the
stream of life. Both good and bad behaviour are highly infectious. The
problem is that good behaviour cannot be enforced by the law. This is
so because the manifestation of good behaviour depends on the tone
of one’s voice, the cast of one’s lips, the expression on one’s face – and
such things that the law can never regulate. Finally, Gardiner argues
that one may get the sweetest revenge against boorish individuals by
being excessively polite towards them.
The essay begins with the author recounting an incident of a lift
attendant who threw a passenger out of his lift. The problem was that
the passenger, rather rudely, demanded to be taken to the top floor.
The liftman wanted a more polite request prefaced with the word
‘please’. Since the passenger refuses to use the word, the liftman threw
the passenger out of the lift. Commenting on the incident, Gardiner
points out that the action of the liftman cannot be condoned. He thinks
so because impoliteness is not considered to be a legally punishable
offence. Should a person use violence against a robber who has entered
his house, or against anyone who has assaulted him, the law will side
with him. This is so because both robbery and assault are forbidden by
the law. However, there can be no law against rude behaviour.
Gardiner feels that, although we may feel sympathetic towards the
liftman, we must agree that the law is right in not giving us the freedom
to use violence against people whose manners or expression we do not
like. For if we were given such liberty, our hands would be always busy
hitting people and the drains of the city would run blood all the time.
The author says that the only penalty one has to pay for being rude or
arrogant is that people will call him a rude fellow. The law, on the other
hand, will protect rather than punish him. The legal system does not
impose any restriction on manners, just as it does not impose any
restrictions on one’s personal appearance. The hurting of a person’s
‘feeling’ is not considered a case where the person who inflicts the hurt
must be made to pay for damages. The law has no provision for
defending people from moral or intellectual damages inflicted by
uncouth people.
Despite this, however, Gardiner asserts that such damages are in no
way negligible. The rude person’s behaviour towards the liftman must
have seemed to the latter as an insult to his social position. This must
hurt more than a kick on his shins because he may get the law to act
against the one who has kicked him and, in any case, the pain of a kick
soon passes away. The wound caused to one’s self-respect, on the
other hand, does not heal easily. Gardiner imagines how the liftman
must have brooded over the insult day and how, upon returning home,
he must have given vent to his anger upon his wife in the evening. Bad
manners easily infect people who come across them. The author gives
an example from a play, The Rivals, by Sheridan to illustrate the point.
In the play, Sir Antony Absolute bullies his son who gets annoyed and
passes on his annoyance to his personal servant who, in turn, goes and
kicks one of the lower servants in the household. Trying to trace the
root of the lift passenger’s rude behaviour, Gardiner guesses that the
problem might have begun with a housemaid who had been rude to
the cook who, as a result, might have been rude to his mistress who, in
consequence, might have passed on her annoyance to her husband
who ultimately passed on his annoyance by being rude to the liftman.
Bad manners, in his opinion, are highly contagious and poison our life in
general than the entire list of legally recognised crimes. If a woman is
boxed by an otherwise gentle husband, there are many more who
suffer in silence from bad temper. Yet the law cannot do anything in
this regard. No Decalogue could make a list of all the harm inflicted by
manners, moods, facial expressions and the like. Nor can these be
dictated by any law.
Although everybody must necessarily support the law in the case of the
liftman, people will paradoxically feel sympathy for him. Just because
the law cannot compel us to use expressions such as ‘please’ does not
mean that we can do away with customs that are more sacred than
even the law. One such custom of civilised man is to acknowledge
service. Gardiner says that words like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ are the
small coins we pay on our journey through life as civilised human
beings living in a civil society. These courtesies allow us to live in a
society without friction. Besides, these words help to keep cooperation
between human beings on a level of friendliness and goodwill, instead
of dividing us into superiors who order and inferiors who are ordered
about. The author says that only a very vulgar person will order for a
service which he can have by merely asking. This is so because, whereas
a request will provide the service with goodwill, an order might provide
the service – but only with resentment.
Gardiner then goes on a state that he wishes to hold up the example of
a friend of his whom he calls ‘the polite conductor’. He hastens to add
that by calling a particular conductor polite, he does not mean to imply
that all other conductors are impolite. In fact, he says, given the difficult
nature of their jobs, most conductors go about their work in a very
good-natured manner. There are, of course, exceptions.
Gardiner tells us about his first interaction with the polite conductor. It
happens one day when he boards the bus without realising that he has
left home without any money in his pocket. This being an experience
common to most people, the author feels that the reader will know the
feeling such a situation evokes. One feels either like a fool or a crook.
One almost expects the conductor to look at him suspiciously and imply
that this is a common trick played by crooks and be asked to get off the
bus. Even if the conductor believes him and is kind, he is still left with
the necessity of going back home for his wallet, wasting a lot of time,
and not being able to do what he had set out to do.
Finding no coins at all in his pockets, Gardiner tells the conductor that
he must go back home to fetch some money. At this, the conductor
tells him that he does not need to get off. When the author told him
the destination the conductor handed him the ticket, but when the
former wanted to know where he should send the money, the cheerful
reply he got was that he was bound to meet the latter someday on
some bus.
Soon after it so happened that the same conductor accidentally
stepped on the author’s toe, causing him much pain. The cheerful
conductor was quick to apologise, saying that he had got those heavy
boots on because his toes were often trodden on, yet, ironically, he
himself was now stepping on people’s toes. When he asked Gardiner if
he were hurt the latter reassured him that he was not – even though in
point of fact he was what is illustrated here is the effect of politeness
and how good behaviour evinces good behaviour. From that incident
onwards the author begins to take note of the polite conductor and his
actions. He seems to have a limitless supply of patience and goodwill
towards his passengers. As caring as a son to the elderly and as a father
to children, he goes out of his way to make passengers comfortable. Be
it by letting people on the top know that there are seats lower down
when it rains, or by cracking jokes with young people to make them
laugh, or to set down a blind person up on the footpath and safely on
his way, the polite conductor always exuded such good-temper and
kindliness that Gardiner says that a journey with him taught one what
natural courtesy and good manners were.
Gardiner then goes on to show us the benefit of such behaviour. The
polite conductor never had any difficulty in doing his work. Just as
rudeness begets rudeness, likewise a sunny disposition begets
pleasantness in others. The poet Keats had claimed that he always felt
cheerful when the weather was sunny, and, says Gardiner, cheerful
people come to us like the blessing of sunny weather. Consequently,
the atmosphere inside this particular conductor’s bus was always
pleasant. His politeness, his readiness to accommodate, his pleasant
manner of conducting himself resulted in making his passengers happy,
which, in turn, made his own work easy. That is why Gardiner points
out that his politeness was not a waste but a very good investment.
He feels that just as William Wordsworth, the English romantic poet,
could learn lessons from the humble leech gatherer and the lonely
moor, ordinary people too could learn from a man who elevated his
modest job through good temper and kindness.
There is a general feeling that the World War has taken away from
man’s daily life the use of civility that had made life sweet earlier.
Gardiner asserts that those civilities must be restored to make life with
one another easier. This cannot be done with the help of policemen or
the law – which are necessary for creatures like man who are far from
perfect. Whereas the law can only protect us from physical injury, the
liftman’s way of retaliating against rudeness with physical violence too
is ineffectual.
Gardiner suggests that if rudeness were to be replied to with excessive
politeness, sweet revenge might be had while retaining one’s moral
superiority. He calls it the victory over oneself – the only victory that
matters to end the piece, he recounts the story of the witty Lord
Chesterfield for the edification of the liftman. There was a time when
the streets of the city were very muddy and the only way of keeping
one’s shoes clean was by walking as close as possible to the wall, where
a very narrow strip of ground was a little higher than the rest of the
road. Here Chesterfield came face to face with an uncouth fellow who
refused to step into the mud to allow Chesterfield to pass. “I never give
way to a scoundrel’, is what he said. Immediately Chesterfield stepped
into the mud with a bow saying, “I always do”. Gardiner hopes that the
liftman will understand that this revenge was much better than
throwing the fellow into the mud.
UNIT 3:
Ulysses - Alfred Lord Tennyson
Introduction:
Ulysses is an oft-quoted poem written in blank verse by Alfred Lord
Tennyson in 1833 and was published with his Poems in 1842. He takes
up the hero from Homer’s Odyssey and the medieval hero of Dante’s
Inferno and reworks on it to create a hero with an insatiable thirst for
knowledge. Ulysses makes this speech shortly after returning to Ithaca
where he finds his wife aged and a rocky island which he is supposed to
rule. The poem also describes Tennyson’s personal journey after the
death of his dearest friend. He talks about the inevitable hour in
everyone’s life and takes a strong resolution to move on though his
friend is no more alive. The poem also did have contemporary
relevance. It talks about the desire to reach beyond the limits of human
thought.
Ulysses is a dramatic monologue where Ulysses is speaking to his fellow
mariners about his present situation and his attitude and ambition
towards his life. He says that he does not want to waste his talents and
time by ruling the ignorant masses of Ithaca whose only aim in life is to
“hoard and sleep and feed” and is never able to understand his real
value.
He proclaims the fact that he “cannot rest from travel”. He wants to live
life to its fullest, wants to enjoy life to its last drop. He has always
enjoyed his life. He has also had many setbacks in life which he had to
endure patiently. He had experiences which he had enjoyed and
suffered greatly both on land and sea and he considered himself as a
symbol for adventure. He has a place wherever he went. His travels
have exposed him to various people, manners, states, attitudes,
climates and governments. But he feels that the more he travelled, the
more untraveled world is left behind him.
Ulysses does not want to stay in one place, bored. He always wanted to
shine in use and not to gather rust without doing anything at all. He
feels that the purpose of life is not just to breathe but engage in worthy
activities, to explore the new worlds, to amass more knowledge. He
wanted heaps of life to enjoy and experience life to its fullest. His spirit
always yearns to acquire and amass more and more knowledge and to
“follow knowledge like a sinking star”.
Ulysses now talks about his son Telemachus who is so keen and
responsible to rule the subjects of Ithaca. He will be his heir and rule
Ithaca for the rest of his life. He is well equipped with the tactics to deal
with the masses in Ithaca. He is always dutiful to pay homage to the
household gods. Ulysses praises his son’s abilities as an administrator
and his sincerity in ruling the country and devotion to gods.
In the final stanza, he encourages his mariners to move on in life.
Though their bodies have grown old their minds and spirits are still
strong enough to explore the unexplored lands. Though they are not
able to fight with gods as the used to do in their salad days, their spirits
have the potential to seek newer worlds. Before the “eternal silence”
takes its hold on them they would like to do some work of noble note
by making use of their old age. Perhaps they will reach the happy isles
where they meet great Achilles. They are strong in will “to strive, to
seek, to find and not to yield”.

Analysis of the Poem:

Ulysses was the king of the island of Ithaca. Soon after the Trojan War,
he sailed for his own Kingdom and met several adventures on his way
back home. At last, he reached Ithaca, where he ruled over his people
for three years. Ulysses expresses the lofty ambition of man’s eternal
quest for knowledge. Tennyson himself said, “There is more about
myself in Ulysses which was written under the sense of loss and all that
had gone by.”
After a long absence from his, kingdom Ulysses has returned home. He
has been ruling over the people of his kingdom, Ithaca for quite some
time. But he soon becomes tired of his life and embarked on a voyage.
He already successfully has completed so many adventurous voyages
and now he feels allured to undertake more voyage. So, he desires to
set sail again to have a fresh experience of life. Ulysses has travelled far
and wide and he has a lot of experience of many adventurous voyages.
But the more he has travelled and gathered experiences, the greater
has become his hunger for undertaking a voyage to discover new
regions and to have more knowledge and experience. He considers his
present state of life as dull and useless and wishes to set sail again to
have fresh adventures and knowledge.
The area of knowledge is vast and varied. It is infinite, but human life is
short. Ulysses has grown old and he has only a few more years to live.
That is why he would like to have more experiences and knowledge. He
is so determined to sail for a voyage, and for this, he wants to hand
over the responsibility of his kingdom to his son Telemachus who is
wise and kind-hearted. Telemachus is a spirited young man and Ulysses
believes that Telemachus would be able to discharge his royal duties
with satisfaction to all, and would also be dutiful to his mother. Keeping
this in mind, Ulysses is now free to leave his kingdom.
For the purpose of undertaking the voyage, Ulysses requested his old
mariners to accompany him. In quest of new regions and experiences,
Ulysses is firm in carrying out his voyage beyond the Western Horizon.
He with his company would travel to have more and more experience
till their last breath of life. Beyond the Western horizon, Ulysses hopes
to reach the land of Happy Isles where he hopes to meet Achilles, one
of the great Greek heroes of the Trojan War. Ulysses is determined “to
strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield till the end of his life.” Thus,
Ulysses wants to travel to have adventures and experience.
Tennyson was one of the most accomplished poetic artists, who
combined the observations of a scientist with the sensibility of an artist.
He tried to reconcile the conflicting claims of science and religion. As a
poet, his mastery of metre and language shows that he continued the
tradition of Spenser and Keats in English poetry. Tennyson’s blank verse
is inexpressibly finer in quality than any attempted by the poets of the
Romantic Revival.

Seeing People Off - Max Beerbohm

Sir Henry Beerbohm (1872-1956) was an English writer and caricaturist

popular for hi witty essays and amusing caricatures. He also worked as
drama critic, and a radio broadcaster, People were attracted to
Beerbohm for his charming conversation and arousing anecdotes. He
parodies of famous people-both written and drawn-brilliantly captured
the absurdities and affectations of his subjects with a gentle humour
free of malice Beerbohm's essay 'Seeing People Off' is about the art of
seeing off and difficulties associated with sending people off. In the
essay, Beerbohm explains the futility of the process of seeing off people
when they leave on a journey

Henry Beerbohm feels that he is not good at seeing off people at a

portor frin station. For him, to send a friend off is one of the most
difficult things in the world. Beerbohm opines that when a friend is
going on a longish journey, and will be absent for a longish hime, that
we tum up at the railway station. The dearer the friend, and the longer
the journey, and the longer the likely absence, the earlier do we turn
up, and the more lamentably do we fail. He laments that the process of
'seeing off' or 'sending off cannot match our deep feelings towards the
person who is travelling. The limitation of sering off also fails in
matching the seriousness of departing of a friend to a longer distance.
It has become a formality or farce. Therefore, Beerbohm considers the
limitations of the sing off are a failure.

Instead, Beerbohm prefers to make the farewell quite worthy in a

room, of, even on a door-step. For him, leave-taking is an ideal one whe
it ends in a private place where the friends can express their genuine
feeling sorrow, without any awkwardness, no restraint on their side. In
the contrast, even after their yesterday's part, when the same friends
tum up at the railway station next day, they gaze at each other as dumb
animals ging at human beings. They try to make conversations' and are
fed up with waiting eagerly for the train guard to blow his whistle and
put an end to the force their impatient wait Therefore, Beerbohm
considers the act of 'seeing people off' is tedious one and not worth in
doing it.
When Beerbohm turns up at Euston railway station to see off a friend,
he happens to see Hubert le Ros, a not-so-successful stage actor in
London. Beerbohm says that despite being a good actor, le Ros never
found success on the London stage. The author now notices much
difference between le Ros' previous and present circumstances.
According to Beerbohm, Le Ros was an excellent actor, and a man of
sober habit. One thing about Le Ros that surprises the author is that he
has changed a lot since the author saw him seven or eight years before.
Le Ros used to work for the Strand, a London theatre, but with less
success. The author recalls that when Le Rose was not employed, he
borrowed from the author a half-a- crown (a British coin worth 25
pence). The author feels that Le Ros was then a magnetic and attractive
actor. However, his magnetism had never made him successful on the
London stage. His fallure remains a mystery to the author. As the result,
Le Ros has gone into oblivion, and the author also forgot him for a
while.
However, in the due course of their interaction, the author comes to
know that La Ros is now a successful employee as a 'seer-off' working
with the 'Anglo-American Social Bureau' (AASB) which supplies a long-
felt want of friends' or 'seers-off' to the visiting Americans who do not
have friends in England. In the course of his argument, le Ro explains
that the thousands of Americans annually pass through England. Many
hundreds of them have no English friends. In the old days, they used to
bring letters of introduction But the English are so inhospitable that
these letters are hardly worth the paper they are written on
According to Le Ros, many Americans cannot afford to keep friends in
England. But they can all afford to be seen off. The fee is only five
pounds (twenty-five dollars) for a single traveller; and eight pounds
(forty dollars) for a party of two or more. They send the in to the
Bureau, giving the date of their departure, and a description by which
the seer can identify them on the platform. And then, they are
affectionately seen off. Therefore, the AASB supplies a long-felt want of
'friends' or 'seers-off'. Moreover, Americans are s sociable people, and
most of them have plenty of money to spend. The AASB supplies them
with English friends. Fifty per cent of the fees is paid over to the
'friends' or 'seers off. The other fifty is retained by the AASB. Le Ros is
an employee in the Bureau and ac as a seer-off to the visiting
Americans. He wishes to be the Director of the Bureau, is earning a lot
of money in the business. Though he was not successful as a 'stage
actor earlier, he is now successfully acting as a 'seer-off'. Le Rose
returns the half-a-crown the he has borrowed the author. Moreover, he
is now looking prosperous and solid due to making money for acting as
a 'seer-off'.
Le Ros also claims that it (acting as a seer-off to a visiting American) is a
great pleasure in itself. Le Ros is acting as a seer-off with a lot feeling.
Moreover, he gets saked out of his work for the AASB. He quotes
French philosopher Denis Diderot who says You can't act without
feeling'. Le Ros also claims that his work is worth, since it prevents the
people from feeling "out of it"; it earns them the respect of the guard;
it saves them from being despised by their fellow passengers. It gives
them a footing for the whole voyage in the contrast, Beerbohm laments
that it was unbearable experience of coming to the platform to see off
a friend in an artificial manner. Therefore, the Author feels envied Le
Ros. Than the author requests Le Ros to teach him the art of seeing off
or acting with feelings. Such request is the direct result of his envying Le
Ros' success as a seer-off and his own failure in the art of sending off
people.

UNIT -4
On His Having Arrived At The Age of Twenty- three- John Milton
John Milton is one of the most celebrated writers of the English
language.Despite the fact that his works are very few, he is viewed as
the best essayist in English writing. In John Milton’ s works we can see
the issues of the English society and his own as well. Such a sonnet is ”
On His Having Arrived At the Age of Twenty- Three” since it shows the
worries that Milton had about his career when he was young and still
hadn’t choosen his own way in life. In this beautiful work of his we
don’t see a celebration of a birthday but a problem that the young
gentleman faces as time passes by.
The poet uses various metaphors and images so as to give a
progressively clear picture of his problem, and at the end he gives an
answer for this problem.
This poem is an example of the true Petrarchan form of sonnet. A
sonnet is a short poem of fourteen lines expressing one single thought
or emotion at time. It is also called an Italian or Petrarchan sonnet
because it was Originated in Italy in the 14th century by the poet
Francesco Petrarch. This form of sonnet is divided into two parts i.e. the
octave ( Stanza of 8 lines )and the sestet ( Stanza of 6 lines ). The first
part makes a statement or raise a quest. While the second part shows
an answer to it. The rhyme scheme of Petrarchan sonnet is ( abba abba
cde dce). John Milton’s poem is a true example of this Petrarchan form
of a sonnet.
In the first part the poet questions the decision of God to bring his
manhood so hastily but in the second part, he realizes that he should
not have any doubt or regret in the decision of God.
Thus, John Milton introduces a problem and gives a solution to this
same problem. In fact, this problem is relevant even today, when young
people have to decide on a career. Also as time goes by people ask
them more often what they have done in their life. The figurative
language that the author uses contributes a lot for the building of the
image of the problem in the poem.
The metaphors and the symbol of time make the poem a really good
piece of literature, which discuses problems that we have even
today.Milton uses the sonnet form to produces a personal utterance
that combines divinity of tone, flexibility of movement and mystery of
structure.
This poem has been written as the true Petrarchan form of a sonnet. It
is a striking example of the Renaissance ethos and Reformation zeal. It
is an assertion of faith in God and wish to be guided by the divine will.
The poem On His Being Arrived at the Age of Twenty- three is a
devotional sonnet written in an autobiographical form and contains the
poet’s reflections on his late maturing. The dominating passion of his
life is ‘ to justify the ways of God to man’ and write in praise of God.
In this poem, the poet blames Time for stealing away his youth without
ripening his poetic talent. He regrets that time is a thief which has
stolen his twenty three years in a hurry. He has not got enough
opportunity to ripen his poetic talent. He feels that he has not attended
maturity yet.
Though his outer appearance shows that he has arrived at manhood yet
there is inward immaturity in him. He feels that if he had got some
more time to bring maturity in himself he would have been very happy.
But then he realises that it is the discussion of God for him and he
ought not to have any regrets against it. He believes that whatever God
does is only justified for us. There is no conflict between man’s desire
and God’s will. He asserts his complete faith in God and wishes to be
guided by the divine will.

Shyness My Shield - Mahatma Gandhi:         

This essay was extracted from Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography “The

story of My experiments with Truth”.This essay tells about the initial
fear of Gandhiji to deliver a public speech when he was a student . It
gives different anecdotes of Gandhi’s repeated attempts and failures to
deliver a public speech while he was in England.   Finally the essay says
that Gandhiji’s shyness became his shield.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi  was a renowned freedom activist and
an authoritative or powerful political leader who had played an
important role in India's struggle for Independence against the British
rule of India. He was born on 2 October, 1869 in Porbandar, Gujarat. His
father’s name was Karamchand Gandhi and his mother’s name was
Putlibai.He was also considered as the father of the country. No doubt,
he had also improved the lives of India's poor people. His birthday is
celebrated every year as Gandhi Jayanti. 
Shyness, My Shield” is an essay written by Mahatma Gandhi. This essay
was extracted from Gandhiji’s autobiography “The story of My
experiments with Truth”. It gives different anecdotes of Gandhi’s
repeated attempts and failures to deliver a public speech while he was
in England.

    When Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi was studying Law in

England he used to fear to deliver a public speech. He became a
member of the Vegetarian Society. When there were differences
between Mr. Hills, the Chairman of the society and Dr. Hills, the
supporter of family planning methods, Gandhi tried to speak for the
first time in the public. But he failed to deliver a speech. Someone else
had to read his speech. 

      In a meeting held at Ventnor, Gandhiji tried to read a written

speech. But he failed in this second attempt also. His vision blurred and
he could not go forward. 

       Gandhiji’s last effort to make a public speech in England was on

the eve of his departure for home (India).  When he gave a dinner to his
friends in the Holborne Restaurant,  he tried to deliver a public speech.
He started with a humorous anecdote. But, he failed to make an
impression. So, he suddenly sat thanking the guests. Thus, Gandhiji
could not learn the art of public speaking while he was in England.
When Gandhiji went to South Africa only, he could learn delivering
public speeches. He still had the fear in him. 

       However, Gandhiji felt that his silence did not become a

disadvantage. It actually helped him to develop his personality by
sticking to truth. His shyness taught him the economy of words. He
learnt controlling his thoughts. Gandhiji never uttered a thoughtless
word in his life. He also felt that silence was part of the spiritual
discipline of a supporter of truth. Gandhiji finally said that unnecessary
talk was so much waste of time. He said that his shyness had been his
shield. It had helped him in his judgment of truth.