English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

This is going to hurt just a little bit

Ogden Nash

Introduction

The poem “This is Going to Hurt Just a Little Bit” is a witty pictorial depiction of the poet’s
experience while in the dentist’s chair. The poem looks at an unpleasant experience from
an unusual perspective.

Title

The title of the poem This is Going to Hurt Just a Little Bit indicates the theme and topic of
the poem. The unpleasant experience when we sit in a dentist chair begins with the doctor
giving us a warning about the little bit of physical pain which he creates in us.

The title is suggestive of the humor embedded in the poem. This is an indication that the
poet treats an unpleasant experience in an unusual perspective. Hence the title is apt and
appropriate.

Summary

Short summary - The poet rants * at a certain dentist or at all the dentists. He blames these
dentists for their unfeeling professionalism. He finds them making patients revisit their
clinics for repeated follow-ups. It is the patient who undergoes pain and that pain is
unbearable.

Stanza I – IV

The poem is a wordplay of exaggerations and puns while the poet describes the horrors of
visiting a dentist. The least favorite thing is to sit in a dentist’s chair with his mouth open.
Each time he hopes it is the last time and he will not have to return to this terrible position.

Tortures are mental and physical but a trip to the dentist exceeds both these tortures. He is
unable to compose himself and the anxiety makes him claw his own palms. He humorously
adds that him digging his palm alters some aspect of his life, either his mortality or his love
life. It is utterly awkward and mortifying for him to be in a position as such.

Stanza V – VII

With all the instruments the dentist is using, the poet compares his mouth to a road being
worked on. He is terrified of the fact that dentists use a mirror. He wonders what calamity
will befall if the dentist gets confused between left and right as the image gets inverted in
mirrors. He even compares the dentist to a bear.

Stanza VIII & IX

English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision
Finally, the dentist says that he is done, but that’s a false hope because then he coats the
mouth with something that puts a shine on a horse’s hoof. The dentist then crushes all
hope and joy of the patient by asking him to visit again in three months.

Ironically, people go to dentists to maintain their teeth so that they won’t have to visit the
dentist! If anything, it is a tedious cycle.

Themes, message, tone, poetic devices and title.

Theme

The poem’s theme is humor. The poet uses humor as a defense mechanism to tackle his
fear of sitting in a dental chair.

Message

The poet’s message is obvious. We are forced to go to the dentist and undergo the painful
and embarrassing situations in his chair. But we have to suffer the same with an attitude
which eases the tension and which makes it lighter.

Tone

Light and humorous. But the subject and theme have depth.

Poetic devices

- The poem abounds in many poetic devices like figures of speech, consonance,
rhyme and rhythm. The poet creates comic effect with the use of deliberately
misspelled words. The words ‘hopen’, ‘monce’ add to the humour of the poem.
- Moreover the words are thus used to rhyme with the ending words in the previous
lines. Thus the poetic technique of consonance is employed throughout the poem.
- The graphic presentation of the experience is made more vivid with the help of
visual images. There is simile in the comparison of the mouth with a section of road
that is being worked on.
- There is exaggeration in the line which refers to the serious alterations made in the
lines in the palm due to the pain. Another example for exaggeration is in the line ‘he
then coats your mouth from cellar to roof’.
- Metaphor is used when the dentist is compared with a bear.
- When the poet calls Fate, fate is personified.
- The poet says that Man has to go to the dentist quite often not to keep his teeth in
good condition. But he has to keep his teeth in good condition so that he won’t have
to go to the dentist. Here there is irony.
- Humor is the most important technique the poet has used. The line ‘Because some
tortures are physical and some are mental/But the one that is both is dental’ is the
most humorous line. All the poetic devices add to the humor which in turn makes
the poem a wonderful read.
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

Ozymandias
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Summary

The speaker of the poem meets a traveler who came from an ancient land. The traveler
describes two large stone legs of a statue, which lack a torso to connect them and which
stand upright in the desert. Near the legs, half-buried in sand, is the broken face of the
statue. The statue's facial expression—a frown and a wrinkled lip—form a commanding,
haughty sneer. The expression shows that the sculptor understood the emotions of the
person the statue is based on, and now those emotions live on, carved forever on
inanimate stone. In making the face, the sculptor’s skilled hands mocked up a perfect
recreation of those feelings and of the heart that fed those feelings (and, in the process, so
perfectly conveyed the subject’s cruelty that the statue itself seems to be mocking its
subject). The traveler next describes the words inscribed on the pedestal of the statue,
which say: "My name is Ozymandias, the King who rules over even other Kings. Behold
what I have built, all you who think of yourselves as powerful, and despair at the
magnificence and superiority of my accomplishments." There is nothing else in the area.
Surrounding the remnants of the large statue is a never-ending and barren desert, with
empty and flat sands stretching into the distance.

Themes

The Transience of Power

The inscription stands in ironic contrast to the decrepit reality of the statue, however, underscoring
the ultimate transience of political power. The poem implicitly critiques such power through its
suggestion that both great rulers and their kingdoms will fall to the sands of time.

The Power of Art

“Ozymandias” famously describes a ruined statue of an ancient king in an empty desert. Although
the king’s statue boastfully commands onlookers to “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair,”
there are no works left to examine: the king’s cities, empire, and power have all disappeared over
time. Yet even as the poem insists that “nothing beside” the shattered statue and its pedestal
remains, there is one thing that actually has withstood the centuries: art. The skillful rendering of the
statue itself and the words carved alongside it have survived long after Ozymandias and his
kingdom turned to dust, and through this Shelley’s poem positions art as perhaps the most enduring
tool in preserving humanity’s legacy.

Man Versus Nature

The statue the poem describes has very likely become a “colossal Wreck” precisely because of the
relentless forces of sand and wind erosion in the desert. This combined with the fact that “lone and
level sands” have taken over everything that once surrounded the statue suggests nature as an
unstoppable force to which human beings are ultimately subservient.
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

Literary Devices

Symbols

- Sand
In the poem, sand is a symbol of nature’s power and also of time itself. The sand has
eroded and buried the statue and all of Ozymandias’s works, a reminder that nature
can destroy all human achievements, no matter how substantial. Because it
destroyed the statue over time, and because of the idea of sand in an hourglass,
sand also represents time itself, which has similarly worn down and eventually
buried Ozymandias's empire.

- The Statue
It is a physical representation of the might of human political institutions, such as
Ozymandias’s empire; this is the symbolic purpose for which Ozymandias himself
had the statue built. It represents how comparatively fragile human political
institutions actually are in the face of both time and nature’s might..

Metaphor: There is one extended metaphor used in the poem. The statue of Ozymandias
metaphorically represents power, legacy, and command. It clarifies the meanings of the
object and makes it clear that once the king was mighty and all-powerful. It also shows
that the sand has eroded the actual shape of the statue, representing the destructive
power of time.

Personification: He has used personification twice in the poem. The fifth line “And wrinkled
lip, and sneer of cold command,” refers to the broken head of the statue. However, the
lifeless statue Ozymandias is referred to as a real person. The second example is in the
sixth line of the poem where “Tell that its sculptor well those passions read” shows as if the
statue is commanding the sculptor how to carve or express his emotions.

Imagery: Two vast and trunk-less legs, shattered face, wrinkled lip and desert. These
images help readers visualize the status of the broken statue.

Alliteration:Use of /c/ in “cold command”, the sound of /b/ in “boundless and bear” and
the sound of /l/ in “lone and level.

Assonance: Sounds of /a/ in “stand and sand” and sound of /e/ in “well and read.”

Irony: Ozymandias’s description presents him as a mighty, great and fierce king but in
reality, there is nothing but a broken, lifeless statue.

Consonance: /s/ in “Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown”.

English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

Sredni Vashtar
Saki

Summary

Conradin, a young boy of ten, has a deadly disease. He lives with his cousin and guardian,
Mrs De Ropp, whom he dislikes. He likes to spend his time in the garden shed among the
two living companions he likes: a hen and a ferret. The latter has become more than a pet:
Conradin has made him the basis of his own personal religion, and he worships the ferret
as a god, giving it the name ‘Sredni Vashtar’ and bringing it offerings of stolen nutmeg. The
shed has become his own private church.

But Mrs De Ropp thinks Conradin has been spending too much time in the shed, so she
sells the hen. Conradin knows that the ferret, his god, will be next, so he prays to Sredni
Vashtar to help him, without literally stating what he wishes for – though it involves Sredni
Vashtar bringing ‘death’ to his enemies. Sure enough, when Mrs De Ropp goes into the
shed to fetch the ferret, she is killed by Sredi Vashtar, who emerges from the shed with
‘dark wet stains around the fur of jaws and throat’ – his victim’s blood. The ferret drinks
some water from the brook, and then disappears out of the garden. Conradin nonchalantly
toasts some bread and eats it with lots of butter, while the maid discovers the dead body of
Mrs De Ropp and the visitors to the house (presumably neighbors, relatives, and officials)
wonder how they will break the news of his guardian’s death to ‘the poor child’.

Analysis
Soon Mrs De Ropp realizes that Conradin spends a lot of time in the shed. The hen is
discovered and sold. Conradin’s hatred for his guardian now becomes pathological and he
fervently prays to his god for one special wish. The guardian is aware that something more
remains hidden inside the shed and goes in to investigate. The boy has no hope
nevertheless prays fervently to his god. He eagerly watches the entrance to the tool shed.
The maid goes in to summon the mistress to tea but comes out screaming.
There are shouts, crying and panic. But Conradin is composed and butters his toast calmly.
His wish has come true – the ferret has killed Mrs De Ropp.
A short story is by its very nature concise but that is not to say it is always simple. The title
goes a long way in telling something about the story. In Sredni Vashtar, the central
character is ten year old Conradin but it is the eponymous ferret that takes the story
forward. Conradin can’t do much by way of action considering he is just a child and one
who is terminally ill but the caged ferret is the instrument to bring Conradin’s wishes to
fruition.
There is also the novelty value of the words Sredni Vashtar. It is difficult to understand how
the ten year old could have thought of such a name for his animal god but it does arouse
the curiosity of the reader. Finally, Sredni Vashtar is a symbol for all the diverse themes that
this story touches upon.
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

Main Themes

The main themes of Sredni Vashtar are imagination and reality, interpersonal relationships and
religion.

The boy, Conradin almost exclusively lives in his imagination as he is not permitted to do anything
that would normally appeal to a boy of ten. The orchard and garden are out of bounds as are the
interesting rooms in the house. An array of windows open out to the garden and one of them might
open suddenly with his cousin calling out to him to desist from doing whatever young boys do.

The boy hates his guardian and lavishes all his love on the Houdan hen. The guardian then has the
hen taken away. The boy channelizes all his hatred and prays to his god, which is a caged ferret, to
help him. In the child’s mind, this god, Sredni Vashtar is capable of annihilating its enemies. Conradin
almost willings the ferret to attack Mrs De Ropp.

Mrs De Ropp singularly lacks all understanding of a child’s mind. The orphan boy has only five years
left to live in this world but instead of bringing in some joy and fun into his life she ensures that it is
dull and drab. So unhappy is the child, he almost loses his will to live for those five years even.
Conradin is denied the simple pleasure of eating toast with his tea on the pretext that “it was bad for
him”.

Religion too appears as a theme in Sredni Vashtar. The formal religion that Mrs De Ropp follows
leaves Conradin dissatisfied so he seeks solace in the one that he fashions for himself, presided over
by the blood thirsty Sredni Vashtar. When full of despair and thirsting for revenge he prays to it, the
ferret god does not forsake the boy.

Characters
Sredni Vashtar has only two characters – Mrs De Ropp and Conradin, the ten year old
protagonist of the story.

Conradin

Conradin is a ten year old orphan who is entrusted to the care of Mrs De Ropp. Suffering
from some terminal illness, Conradin has been given less than five more years to live. To
Conradin, Mrs De Ropp stands for “three – fifths of the world that are necessary and
disagreeable and real”. All that he is left with is his imagination. That is what lets him live.
Without his imagination, Conradin would have died long ago.
Conradin is checked at every turn by his guardian; while she is always polite, she goes out
of her way to deny him the simple pleasures that would bring joy and satisfaction. Conradin
hates her with a ferocity that is frightening.
A few paragraphs into the story, the reader sympathizes with the absence of love in his life;
he has nothing to love either. It is easy to understand why he lavishes so much affection on
the hen and the ferret god whom he fears too as it has sharp white fangs. It is when his
beloved hen is taken away from him that Conradin becomes obsessed with the idea of
revenge and prays to Sredni Vashtar to kill his guardian.
Conradin seems to grow before our eyes once Mrs De Ropp is killed. Till then he was a
normal child in conflict with a cruel world outside. There is something sinister and
frightening about the nonchalant way in which he butters his toast when all around him is
panic and fear.
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

Mrs De Ropp

Mrs De Ropp is Conradin’s guardian. She is not too pleased with the idea of having to care
for the boy; at any rate she has no ideas on keeping a dying child happy and pleased. She
does not actively dislike Conradin but she also does not mind taking away from him all that
gives him pleasure. She does not let him go into the orchard claiming that the fruit on the
trees were too rare and precious to be plucked by him. Toast with tea is banned for the
vague excuse of being “bad for him”.
For a time the presence of the tool shed and its attraction for Conradin escapes her
attention. Once she is aware of the presence of his beloved pet, the Houdan hen, she has it
taken away. Still not satisfied, she sails forth to investigate why the tool shed attracts the
boy so. The caged ferret resents her intrusion and kills her. If she had let the boy be, there
is no doubt she would have survived.

Plot

Conradin is a ten year old boy who is under the care of his guardian, Mrs De Ropp. He
suffers from a terminal illness and has but five more years to live. Mrs De Ropp does not
relish her responsibility of caring for Conradin. She cares little for keeping Conradin happy.
He has no one to love him and no object to love. He has only his imagination to fall back on
and he peoples his life with phantom characters. The neglected tool-shed in a corner of
the garden becomes a refuge when the real world turns too oppressive. In it he keeps his
most cherished possessions – a Houdan hen and a caged ferret. While he lavishes his love
on the hen, he fears the ferret and its sharp fangs.
This fear makes him invest notions of great power in the ferret and it turns into a God with
the outlandish name Sredni Vashtar. Conradin conducts strange rituals to please the god
who he thinks will make his wishes come true.
When Mrs De Ropp becomes aware of the presence of the hen, it is taken away. Conradin’s
hatred for his guardian finds a focus now and he prays for it to take revenge. Mrs De Ropp
realizes that Conradin spends an inordinate time inside the shed and goes to investigate.
The next we know is that the ferret has escaped from the cage and killed her. Conradin is
pleased at this outcome.

Metaphors

Saki was himself subjected to cruelty by a sadistic aunt during his childhood. Many of his
stories have cruel and uncaring adults and suffering young children. For Conradin, the tool
shed is a haven to which he can escape when life becomes too oppressive outside. His
guardian denies him simple pleasures in the name of doing him good. In the shed he has
hidden two living things, a hen and a caged ferret. While he loves the hen, he worships the
ferret as a god as it symbolizes power.
There are several things the boy longs for but cannot attain. He suffers from a dreadful
illness that is sure to kill him soon. The cousin keeps even the mediocre fruits in the garden
out of his reach. Hot buttered toast which is denied to him becomes a symbol for the
freedom that is denied to him. In the end when Mrs De Ropp is dead and he is free, he
helps himself to hot buttered toast.
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

Language

Saki wrote stories that were deceptively simple. He does not use complicated metaphors or
unnecessary sentences. Everything is pared down to the minimum. The only thing exotic here
is the title. Sometimes the things that Saki leaves unsaid are more eloquent. For example,
after the hen is taken away and Conradin appears distraught, the guardian offers him toast.
He refuses to have it. “I thought you liked toast”, she says. “Sometimes” replies Conradin. That
one word expresses so much.
- No complicated metaphors or unnecessary sentences. Unsaid words means more-
Example (For example, after the hen is taken away and Conradin appears distraught,
the guardian offers him toast. He refuses to have it. “I thought you liked toast”, she
says. “Sometimes” replies Conradin. That one word expresses so much.)

- (Later, when he fervently prays to Sredni Vashtar, he asks for “one thing” without
specifying what it is. Gods are supposed to know everything. Only at the end do we
know that he had prayed for Mrs De Ropp’s death.)
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

Ming’s Biggest Prey

Patricia Highsmith

Summary

Ming gets picked by Elaine from a pet shop and then his good fortune begins. He has a
pampered existence till the arrival of Teddie on the scene as Elaine’s boy friend. Teddie
hates Ming because Elaine dotes on it. Ming hates and fears Teddie because he knows that
Teddie may harm him. They have had a few run-ins already. Elaine and Teddie aren’t
friendly all the time; frequently Ming hears them argue; Ming knows from the tone of their
voices. Teddie ill-treats Ming when Elaine isn’t around. Once he nearly throws it overboard
when sailing on Elaine’s boat.

Elaine’s timely arrival saves Ming. One night Ming sees Teddie stealing Elaine’s diamond
necklace. Later, he narrowly misses being grabbed by Teddie. When the opportunity is
right (Teddie is slightly drunk and unsteady on his feet), Ming ambushes him. Teddie falls
off the terrace to his death. Elaine calls for the ambulance and Teddie is removed to the
hospital. The diamond necklace which is found in his pocket is returned to Elaine. When
she is home, Elaine expresses her gratitude to Ming.

Relevance of the Title

Ming, the cat, is the protagonist of the story and Teddie is his biggest prey. Till now, Ming
had caught only birds and mice, but now he has managed to kill a man using his perfect
sense of timing, taking his prey by surprise.

Themes

Connection, jealousy, conflict, trust, acceptance, vulnerability and independence.

Connection - Ming and Elaine on several occasions in the story show each other affection.
Also Elaine never forgets Ming while she is with Teddie. It is as though both Elaine and
Ming have an unspoken connection. A connection which does not exist between any of the
other characters in the story. It may also be a case that Teddie is jealous of Ming’s
connection with Elaine. This may be the reason as to why there is a conflict between
Teddie and Ming with neither trusting nor liking the other. How Teddie feels about Ming is
noticeable when he attempts to push him overboard. Though Ming has done nothing to
provoke Teddie. Teddie wants to kill Ming. What is also noticeable in the story is that Ming
has a comfortable life with very little or no pressure. It is possible that Teddie too is looking
for the same kind of life with Elaine and as such considers Ming to be a threat. It is as
though Teddie is vying for the same type of comforts with Elaine that Ming has.
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

Jealousy and Conflict - It also appears to be a case that Elaine is subsiding Teddie. Teddie
does after all rob Elaine’s necklace which may suggest firstly that he cannot be trusted and
secondly that he either does not have an income that will support him, or he has no income
at all. The fact that Teddie tells Elaine that he assumed Ming was in the cabin. Even though
he put Ming on the deck would further suggest that Teddie can’t be trusted. He lies with
ease. Something that should raise suspicions with the reader. Though some critics might
suggest that Ming wants all of Elaine’s attention and affections. This may not necessarily be
the case. Ming throughout the story accepts that there are other people in Elaine’s life.
Though he may not like it. He accepts it and does nothing to deter Elaine from having a
relationship with anybody. Including Teddie.

Vulnerability - There is also a vulnerable side to Ming which is interesting. On several

occasions some of the local boys have tried to rob him and on one particular occasion a
boy managed to put Ming in a sack before Elaine discovered what was happening. This
vulnerability may be important as it shows how dependent Ming is on Elaine. His life would
be totally different if it was not for the support given to him by Elaine. In reality Ming does
not have the independence needed to survive on his own. Which may mirror Teddie’s
position in life. He too may lack the independence needed to survive on his own and this
may be the reason as to why he steals from Elaine. Teddie and Ming are both dependent
on Elaine. It might also be a case that Elaine’s relationship with Teddie is only temporary. It
may not last. Something that is clearer to the reader by the fact that both Elaine and Teddie
quarrel on the boat. Similarly Teddie is referred to as the ‘man’ on several occasions in the
story which may further suggest that he is only a temporary fixture. If anything the reader
suspects that it is Elaine who is dictating the course of the relationship.

Acceptance - The end of the story is also interesting particularly the lack of concern that
Ming has when it comes to Teddie dying. It is as though the main threat in Ming’s life has
been removed. Though the reader does not expect Ming to have any sympathy for Teddie
it is a surprise at just how comfortable Ming is about Teddie’s death. After he struggles with
Teddie. Ming returns to Elaine’s bed. Symbolically this may be important as Highsmith
could be suggesting that there is only one man in Elaine’s life and that man is Ming. It is
also interesting that Elaine is remarkably calm when she returns home. After placing her
necklace back in her jewellery box she lies beside Ming and calls out his name. It may be a
case that Elaine has put the jigsaw together and realises that Teddie had robbed the
necklace from her. Any sympathy that Elaine might have had for Teddie has dissolved.
There is no sense of grief. Just as Ming accepted quickly that Teddie was dead. So too does
Elaine. Her focus is back on Ming and they are together again. Something that the reader
suspects pleases Ming. He has had to endure attacks from Teddie because of Teddie’s
dislike for him. Now he can relax again knowing that he is the only man in Elaine’s life. That
is for the time being.
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

Characters

Ming
Ming is a consummate cat. He is hedonistic right from the start, enjoying life to the fullest,
being fed the choicest morsels by Elaine and Concha. He is aloof like all cats are and does
not like it when his life is disturbed by people. Ming likes only one human, Elaine. He is a
good judge of character; he knows that Teddie is up to no good. Ming has razor sharp
reflexes; he can sense danger before it reaches him. Does Ming plan the attack knowing
that Teddie is tipsy and unsteady on his feet or does he make an opportunistic attack?
More likely it is the first.

Teddie
Teddie was never in love with Elaine. He was out to have a good time with Elaine, sailing
the White Lark and having fun at parties. He was just a charming thief. He was also jealous
of Ming who seemed to receive the bulk of his mistress’s love. Ming did not argue with
Elaine unlike Teddie.

Teddie was not sure he would find favor with Elaine. When opportunity presented itself, he
stole Elaine’s diamond (presumably) necklace. When the opportunity presented, Ming
charged at Teddie and his ensuing fall killed him. We need not waste our sympathies on
Teddie. He tried his best to kill Ming for less honorable reasons.

Plot
Ming is the cat that belongs to Elaine and Teddie is her current boyfriend. Teddie and Ming
detest each other and one tries to outsmart the other. Teddie tries to throw Ming overboard
from the boat; he is saved when Elaine unexpectedly arrives on the deck. One night Ming
surprises Teddie when he is stealing Elaine’s diamond necklace. Later that night, Ming
notices that Teddie is slightly drunk and unsteady on his feet.

Elaine isn’t around and he tries to grab Ming. But Ming is smart; he waits for his chance and
charges Teddie. He loses his balance and falls off the terrace and dies. At the hospital,
Elaine is given the diamond necklace that Teddie had in his pocket. She realizes that Ming
has tried to help her.

Language
The reader is the omniscient presence in this story. Only the reader and Ming know exactly
what has happened in the story and both cannot talk. The reader follows the characters
around like an invisible presence. Highsmith is a master of a vibrant prose that conveys the
danger that lurks for Ming. The story is written by a cat-lover, that’s for sure.
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

A Psalm of Life
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Summary

‘A Psalm of Life‘ by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow describes the purpose of life, and how one should
handle the sorrow and struggles along the way.

The poem begins with the speaker contradicting a listener who wants to explain life to him as a
matter of number and figures. The rest of the poem is dedicated to the speaker trying to prove this
unknown person wrong. He describes the way in which he believes that no matter what death
brings, the soul will never be destroyed. Because of this, it is important to do all one can in life to
make one’s situation, and that of others, better.

The speaker comes to the conclusion that he, and the listener, must be prepared at any time for
death, strife, or any trouble thrown at them. They must face life, and make the best of every day.

Stanza Analysis

Stanzas Analysis

Stanza 1 Tell me not, in mournful numbers, - The speaker of ‘A Psalm of Life’ begins by asking something of
Life is but an empty dream! his listener. He is close to the point of begging, desperate that his
For the soul is dead that slumbers, worst fears (which will be revealed as the poem continues) are
And things are not what they seem. not confirmed.

He is asking his listener at this point to “not” tell him that “Life is
but an empty dream.” He does not want this person to break
down the statistics, facts, and “numbers” of life, in an attempt to
make sense of it. The speaker does not see, nor does he want to
understand the world in that way.

In the second half of the quatrain, and for the majority of the
poem hereafter, the speaker is attempting to fight back against
the idea that life can be broken down into flat, emotionless,
numerics. He states that a “soul is dead” that is able to think of
the world in this way. The person who analyzes the world so
carefully (and in this particular manner) is making a mistake.

Stanza 2 Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
The narrator continues on with what reads as a desperate
attempt to contradict what he was afraid of in the first stanza. He
exclaims for any to hear that “Life is real!” And it is “earnest!” He is
enthusiastically supportive of the idea that life is worth living and
that it is worth something real. He believes that there is a reason
to be alive other than getting to the grave.
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision
Stanza 3 Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day
Stanza 4 Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and
brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
Stanza 5 In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Stanza Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
6 Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,— act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!
Stanza 7 Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Stanza Footprints, that perhaps another,
8 Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Stanza Let us, then, be up and doing,
9 With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait
He elaborates on this belief when he describes the ending of life
as belonging solely to the body, and not to the soul. When the
words, “Dust thou art, to dust returnest” were spoken, he says,
they were not in reference to “the soul.”
The speaker continues his discussion of the purpose or point of
life, He does not believe, nor will he even consider, the possibility
that life is made to suffer through. Additionally, he knows that
“enjoyment” is not one’s predetermined destiny. There will be
both of these emotions along the way, but the greatest purpose
of life is “to act,” with the intent of furthering oneself and those
around one.
The narrator is confident in his beliefs and knows how to live his
own life.
In the fourth stanza of ‘A Psalm of Life’, the narrator speaks about
what life can seem to be. He understands that too many “Art is
long,” there is much of it to see and not enough time to see it in.
This is an irreconcilable problem and there’s nothing one can do
about it.
One must be “stout and brave” and following the beating drums
of life to the grave. One does not have to go to their death
without having accomplished anything though.
The speaker expands on the idea that one must make something
of one’s life while it is possible to. He compares the days of life to
the breadth of a battlefield. It is in this field one must not act like
“driven cattle,” who are pushed around by others but as a “hero”
who is battling his way through “strife.”
The sixth quatrain of ‘A Psalm of Life’ speaks on how one must
regard the past and future. The past must remain where it is,
along with it’s dead. It should not influence one any more than is
necessary. The “living Present” is what is important because this
is where one’s “Heart” is, along with “God” watching down from
“o’erhead.”
After having addressed all the parts of life the speaker turns to
his own inspirations and who believes should influence the
listener. He reminds all who hear him that there have been many
great men on this planet and that their lives should “remind us”
that “We can” also have “lives sublime.” It is possible, when death
finally comes, to leave a legacy that is worth something.
The legacy that the speaker describes is shown as “footprints”
that are forever on the “sands of time.” One’s life will become one
of those that other’s take comfort in. A “brother,” many years from
now, might see those footprints and “take heart again” that he has
a future, even when things seem darkest.
In the final stanza, the speaker makes a concluding statement,
directed at the listener. He asks that they “be up,” and prepared
for “any fate.” He is ready, at least mentally and emotionally, to
embrace what life will throw at him and he hopes the listener he
has been arguing with will follow along. They will stand up to the
world and “learn to labor and wait” for all the things worth waiting
for. Life and death will proceed onwards and the narrator will be
there, ready for anything.
 English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

Analysis

As a Presentation of Life - In this poem, the poet presents a highly optimistic view of life. The
young speaker of the poem gives the psalmist advice to the readers on how they should lead their
lives. To him, life is not a dull, dumb or empty dream but offers immense opportunities to fulfill our
dreams. We can achieve our goals by utilizing time and working hard. He negates the teachings that
lead us to a pessimistic outlook of life. With his arguments, he tries to show the power and potential
of life. He states that we should not spend life waiting for death. Rather, we should work diligently
and devotedly to leave our name in the world. What enchants the readers is the message that life
has an end and that we should leave our mark on the infinite flow of time through our hard work.

Themes

Carpe Diem

The major theme of the poem is Carpe Diem which is Latin for ‘seize the day. Longfellow thinks that
the present holds the key to fulfilling our transient life and making it worth something. According to
him, we will get nothing by involving ourselves with our past or present. The best way to lead one’s
life is to fill our days with as much productive activity as possible without wasting our time in
merriment or meager sorrows. The poet asserts fervently in the poem that if we work on our present
and develop ourselves and our soul through it, we will defeat Death.

Youth
This is a poem for young people searching for meaning in their lives. It is a poem for people not yet
willing to be complacent, passive, or grimly await death. It is for people who are ready to act and to
achieve, to strive and fail and learn from their mistakes. Bleak dogma, conservatism, and pessimism
have no place here; life is more than "an empty dream." Young people must expend physical and
mental energy to accomplish things while they are on this earth, and must seek to leave a legacy to be
proud of. The poem represents the youthful, enthusiastic spirit of the United States in an era of
profound flux and change.

Action
While Longfellow does advocate using the mind, he wants it to be done in an active way. One should
avoid being complacent or passive, or letting oneself devolve into grief or pessimism due to the fact
that life is short. Instead, it is important to train the mind to be positive and the heart to be stout. There
is much to accomplish before death even though it is not easy to navigate the battlefield of life.
Working and thinking and striving bring meaning and allow the soul to endure beyond the sublunary
life.

Religion
This is not an irreligious poem, but Longfellow's young man is expressing his discontent with the
stodgy, bleak biblical platitudes that urge individuals to focus solely on the afterlife. He does not think
that life is empty and that all is worthless because it eventually turns to dust; rather, he counters the
psalmist that the soul is eternal and that what one does during life matters. His is an optimistic
Protestantism, not the rigid Puritanism of the 17th century.

Ephemerality of Life
The young man does not shy away from this obvious fact—life is indeed short and will be over before
we know it. Every beat of our heart takes us closer to the grave, and the present quickly fades into the
past. However, acknowledging that life is ephemeral allows us to make of it what we want
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

Symbols

The Heart

- A heart is traditionally a symbol of human emotions. Often, it stands in contrast to the mind,
which is a representation of logic and rationality. In "A Psalm of Life," hearts symbolize the
great passions of human beings, including courage, sincerity, and earnestness.
- Hearts are explicitly mentioned four times throughout the poem. In line 15-17, the speaker
acknowledges the mortality of hearts which are "beating / Funeral marches to the grave."
Nevertheless, in all these instances, the speaker is clear that living in the present requires
living with "heart." Living with "heart," or living wholeheartedly with a spirit of courage,
sincerity, and earnestness, can inspire others to "take heart again." Thus, living with heart
enriches the soul and brings individuals closer to a state of the "sublime," and, consequently,
closer to a state of grace.
- Additionally, the speaker of the poem is described as "The Heart of the Young Man." Here,
the young man can be taken as symbolizing vitality and passion. By combining this
symbolism with that of a heart, then, the poem ramps up its symbolic intensity from the
get-go: affirming that this will be a poem about life, passion, and earnestness.

Footprints

- Footprints are traces left behind by those who have passed over a particular place.
Footprints are usually ephemeral, particular footprints left in the "sands." These footprints in
the sands will soon be washed away by the tide or swept away by the wind. In "A Psalm of
Life," footprints symbolize the legacy the individuals leave behind after they die.
- While footprints may be ephemeral, the footprints in the poem are pressed into the "sands
of time" itself—that is, human history. Thus, great people are able to affect the fabric of time,
and so contain a kind of power. In other words, people who live great lives leave a lasting
mark on history.
- Moreover, these footprints can inspire others who are "forlorn and shipwrecked" in life. Those
who are "shipwrecked" in the ocean can see footprints on the sand and "take heart again" at
the sight of others who have survived and made it to land. Therefore, living in the present
has the power to leave behind an inspirational legacy that can affect many others to come.

Field of Battle
- A battlefield is a site of conflict. As such, it presents a constant threat and tests the courage
of those who are present. In "A Psalm of Life," the world and life itself are compared to a
"field of battle." Therefore, human individuals exist within the conflict of a battlefield, which
symbolizes the challenges of life and the bravery required to overcome them.
- In line 20, the speaker acknowledges that individuals can go through this battlefield like
"dumb, driven cattle." These individuals who are like "cattle" never face the conflict of life
head-on. Rather, they experience the conflict passively, and therefore, the speaker implies,
uncourageously. In contrast, individuals can become "a hero in the strife." A "hero" is an
inspirational figure who has great courage and vision. In order to live as a hero amidst the
battlefield of the world, an individual must live in the present. Only then can individuals truly
live and experience the world.
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

Setting
- The setting of "A Psalm of Life" is the earth, more specifically the word of human affairs. In
particular, the poem excludes the afterlife in any form—whether Heaven or Hell. The poem,
after all, is concerned with living in the present, in the mortal world.
The poem goes on to describe this world as one of "battle" and conflict. Life, the poem
suggests, is only a "bivouac"and thus a temporary camp without permanent shelter.
Nevertheless, its impermanence and conflict does not make it less important or worse than
the afterlife. Rather, these features add a sense of urgency to the necessity of living in the
present and seizing every moment.

- The poem also metaphorically describes life as a "solemn main," an expansive ocean that
people have often been shipwrecked on. This description, along with imagery of "Footprints
on the sands of time," emphasizes how most of the poem's setting is figurative, rather than
literal. The images that the speaker conjures up could metaphorically apply to any human
life, anywhere in time or space.

Literary Devices

- Allusions: Allusion is an indirect reference of a person, place, thing or idea of a historical,

cultural, political or literary significance. Longfellow has used this device in the opening line
of the poem such as, “Tell me not, in mournful numbers.” Here the numbers refer to the
chapters and sections of the Bible.

- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound
of /e/ in “Lives of great men all remind us” and the sound of /i/ in “Still achieving, still
pursuing”.

- Imagery: Imagery is used to make the readers perceive things with their five senses. Henry
has used visual imagery to conjure mental images such as, “In the world’s broad field of
battle” and “Footprints on the sands of time”.

- Personification: Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate subjects. He has

personified the soul in the last line of the second stanza, “Was not spoken of the soul” as if
the soul is human and it can speak.

- Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the poem. Henry has repeated
the word “life” to emphasize his feelings about life in the fifth line where it is stated as, “Life is
real! Life is earnest.”

- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the
sound of /r/ in “A forlorn and shipwrecked brother.”
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision
-

- Paradox: A paradox is a statement that may seem contradictory yet can be true, or at least
makes sense. He has used this device in the fourth line where it is stated as, “And things are
not what they seem.” Here he talks about appearances versus reality.

- Parallelism: Parallelism is the use of components in a sentence grammatically the same or

similar in their construction, sound, meaning, or meter. This device is used in the second
stanza where “Life is real” is paralleling “Life is earnest!” and again in the final stanza where
“Still achieving” is paralleling “still pursuing”.

- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the
sound of /n/ in “Not enjoyment, and not sorrow”.
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen

- Jane Austen (1775-1817), one of England’s foremost novelists, was never publicly
acknowledged as a writer during her lifetime.

- Austen was born on December 16, 1775, at Steventon Rectory in Hampshire, the seventh
child of a country clergyman and his wife, George and Cassandra Austen. Her closest friend
was her only sister, Cassandra, almost three years her senior.

- Jane Austen was primarily educated at home, benefiting from her father’s extensive library
and the schoolroom atmosphere created by Mr. Austen’s live-in pupils.

- Though she lived a quiet life, she had unusual access to the greater world, primarily through
her brothers. Francis (Frank) and Charles, officers in the Royal Navy, served on ships around
the world and saw action in the Napoleonic Wars. Henry, who eventually became a
clergyman like his father and his brother James, was an officer in the militia and later a
banker. Austen visited Henry in London, where she attended the theater, art exhibitions, and
social events and also corrected proofs of her novels. Her brother Edward was adopted by
wealthy cousins, the Knights, becoming their heir and later taking their name. On extended
visits to Godmersham, Edward’s estate in Kent, Austen and her sister took part in the
privileged life of the landed gentry, which is reflected in all her fiction.

- As a child Austen began writing comic stories, now referred to as the Juvenilia. Her first
mature work, composed when she was about 19, was a novella, Lady Susan, written in
epistolary form (as a series of letters). This early fiction was preserved by her family but was
not published until long after her death.

- In her early twenties Austen wrote the novels that later became Sense and Sensibility (first
called “Elinor and Marianne”) and Pride and Prejudice (originally “First Impressions”). Her
father sent a letter offering the manuscript of “First Impressions” to a publisher soon after it
was finished in 1797, but his offer was rejected by return post.

- Austen continued writing, revising “Elinor and Marianne” and completing a novel called
“Susan” (later to become Northanger Abbey). In 1803 Austen sold “Susan” for £10 to a
publisher, who promised early publication, but the manuscript languished in his archives
until it was repurchased a year before Austen’s death for the price the publisher had paid
her.

- When Austen was 25 years old, her father retired, and she and Cassandra moved with their
parents to Bath, residing first at 4 Sydney Place. During the five years she lived in Bath
(1801-1806), Austen began one novel, The Watsons, which she never completed. After Mr.
Austen’s death, Austen’s brothers contributed funds to assist their sisters and widowed
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision
mother. Mrs. Austen and her daughters set up housekeeping with their close friend Martha
Lloyd. Together they moved to Southampton in 1806 and economized by sharing a house
with Frank and his family.

- During a brief period of strength early in 1817, Austen began the fragment later called
Sanditon, but by March she was too ill to work. On April 27, 1817, she wrote her will, naming
Cassandra as her heir. In May she and Cassandra moved to 8 College Street in Winchester to
be near her doctor. Austen died in the early hours of July 18, 1817, and a few days later was
buried in Winchester Cathedral. She was 41 years old. Interestingly, her gravestone, which is
visited by hundreds of admirers each year, does not even mention that she was an author.

- Persuasion and Northanger Abbey were published together in December 1817 with a
“Biographical Notice” written by Henry, in which Jane Austen was, for the first time in one of
her novels, identified as the author of Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield
Park, and Emma.

- Jane Austen wrote six novels that continue to captivate readers almost 200 years after her
death:

● Sense and Sensibility

● Pride and Prejudice
● Mansfield Park
● Emma
● Northanger Abbey
● Persuasion

- These novels, as well as her juvenilia and unfinished works, are available in numerous
modern print and ebook editions. Her collected letters, which are also a source of
entertainment and biographical information, are available in print in Jane Austen's Letters,
edited by Deirdre Le Faye (Oxford University Press, 2011).
English Literature- Grade 8 - Revision

Writing Style of Jane Austen

A mixture of romanticism and neoclassicism, the writing style of Jane Austen defines her as a new
personality who finds herself in the middle of the transition of both periods. On the one hand, it
encourages her to demonstrate passion and imagination, and on the other, it forces her to
demonstrate her pragmatism. Some of the features of her writing style in terms of word choice,
syntax, figurative language, rhythm, rhetoric, and theme are as follows.

Jane Austen’s Word Choice

Regarding diction or word choice, Jane Austen is highly scrupulous. She uses every word carefully
and selectively. She also weighs down the use of different words in different sentences or within the
same sentence to show variety in thoughts and construction. That is why there is a smooth flow in
her writings that readers normally do not find in other writers. She even shows her skills in using
archaic diction at times but it is limited to a few words, no more. The flow in her writing and word
choice could be assessed from the introductory paragraph of her novel, Pride and Prejudice. Just
note the use of truth, fortune and wife in the same sentence and in the last sentence “Mr. Bennet
made no answer” which she could have written “Mr. Bennet did not answer.” The use of this diction
marks her writing style.

Jane Austen’s Figurative Language

Jane Austen’s writing style in literary pieces marks the use of burlesque, irony, and realism. However,
she also uses different literary devices, poetic devices, and sound devices sparingly when the
situation arises and the context becomes appropriate. Interestingly, her expertise lies in irony and
free indirect speech coupled with parody. This passage from Pride and Prejudice shows her skill in
using different images and describing a person.

Jane Austen’s Rhetorical Patterns

Regarding rhetorical patterns, Jane Austen uses different techniques. On the one hand, she uses a
third-person narrator, and on the other hand, she puts characters into contrast and comparison as
her novel, Pride and Prejudice, shows it amply through Wickham, Lydia, and Mr. Bingley, and Mr.
Bennet. She also uses logos, pathos, and even Kairos to make her readers reach her point so that
they could trust her narratives. Yet, she creates laughter when using rhetorical devices such as
repetition and exclamation, as the character of Mr. Bennet shows when he talks to Mrs. Bennet and
others.

Jane Austen’s Themes

Jane Austen is a writer of varied interests and varied talents. She has touched on every other theme
that she could have thought oF in her society such as education and reading through Mr. Bennet and
Elizabeth as well as Mr. Darcy, morality through Mr. Darcy and his sisters, religion, and gender
through both of them, and feminism through Elizabeth and Mrs. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. She
has also touched on the same themes in Emma and The Mansfield Park. Occasionally, she touches
upon colonialism, the political situation of the country, and class differences, but they are merely
sub-themes under the major category of marriages and love stories.