VMOU - B.A. English -2020-21 - EG -01 - Poetry and Drama

 

VMOU

B.A. English -2020-21

EG -01

Poetry and Drama

Max Marks: 30

Note: The Question paper is divided into three sections A, B, and C. Write Answer as per the given instruction.

Section-A

(Very Short Answer Type Questions)

Note: Answer all questions. As per the nature of the question you delimit your answer in one word, one sentence or maximum up to 30 words. Each question carries 1 mark.

                                                    6x1=06

1.                

i) What is a couplet?

-        A couplet is a literary device that features two successive rhyming lines in a verse and has the same meter to form a complete thought.

ii)  What metaphor has been used in the poem ‘Let me not to the marriage of true minds’?

-        The poet compares love to "a star to every wandering bark." This is a metaphor in which love is compared to the North Star or a constellation that is used by sailors to guide their ships, or "barks."

iii) What is Petrarchan sonnet?

-        Petrarchan sonnet is a kind of sonnet, consisting of an octave with the rhyme pattern, abbaabba, followed by a sestet with the rhyme pattern, cdecde or cdcdcd.

iv) What does The Good Morrow poem explore successfully?

- The Good-Morrow’ by John Donne is a sonnet, that explores the state of perfect love, in which a speaker and his lover exist

v) What is Donne’s realism?

- Donne's treatment of love-poems is realistic, because he knows the weakness of the flesh, pleasures of sex, the joy of secret meetings.

vi) Why did Antonio and Bassanio go to Shylock?

-        They wanted to borrow money from Shylock, because Bassanio wanted to go to Belmont to woo beautiful Portia.

 

Section-B

(Short Answer Questions)

Note: Answer any 4 questions. Each answer should not exceed 100 words. Each question carries 3 marks.

4x3=12

2.               What message does Pope wishes to give through his poem ‘Essay on Man’?

-        ‘An Essay on Man’ poem looks at man's relation to the universe, in order to present the concept of harmony, that is referred to throughout the poem. Pope explains that human beings cannot come to fully understand their purpose in life by using only their mental faculties. We must not attempt to become godlike. The poet uses the harmony described between humanity and the cosmos to illustrate, how humans can achieve harmony within themselves. Pope reinforces the idea, that humans cannot fully understand God, but he also claims, that self-love and reason can help man understand himself.

 

3.               Throw light on the style of Dryden’s poetry in reference to ‘A song for St. Cecila’s Day’.

-        "A Song for St. Cecilia's Day" is written in 1687. It is in a form of lyric poetry. The poem is an ode in praise of St. Cecilia, a patron saint of music. St. Cecilia represented one's devotion and love for God in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The poetic style of this ode, and the subject, both revolve around music. In the poem, Dryden associates certain "passions" with specific instruments. This gives the poem an orchestral background. The lyricism of the poem fits with the rhythm of an upbeat song, emphasizing the praise that Dryden gives St. Cecilia, and the praise that St. Cecilia gave to God during her wedding.

 

4.               Discuss Symbolism with reference to Blake’s The Chimney Sweeper’.

-        William Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper” embraces symbolism and irony in order to convey the poem’s theme. Tom Dacre’s hair serves as a conventional symbol; his head is described as “curled like a lamb’s back.” The lamb is typically associated with innocence and purity; the shaving of his head seems to symbolize the loss of these things due to the hard labor of chimney sweeping. Tom’s dream is supposed to be a glimpse into the afterlife of the chimney sweepers; the coffins of black are a conventional symbol for death. The chimney sweepers symbolize life and its toils, while the soot symbolizes sin. Blake uses the conventional symbolism of white to stand for heavenly purity.

 

5.               Throw light on Religious and Political Quarrels of restoration period.

-        During this period gravity, spiritual zeal moral earnestness and decorum in all things, were thrown to winds. The natural instincts that were suppressed during the Puritan period came to violent excesses. The Restoration encouraged a levity that often became immoral and indecent. Corruption was rampant in all walks of life. While London was burning and the people were suffering the King and his nobles kept up their revels.

This era also witnessed the rise of two political parties - the Whigs and the Tories. The Whigs sought to limit the royal power in the interests of the people and the Parliament. The Tories supported the “Divine Right” theory of the king, and strove to restrain the growing power of the people in the interest of the hereditary rulers.

 

6.               State the differences between Puritan and Elizabethan literature.

-        There are three main characteristics in which Puritan literature differs from the Elizabethan age :(1) Elizabethans had a marked unity in spirit, resulting from the patriotism of all classes and their devotion to a queen who sought first the nation’s welfare. Under the Stuarts all this was changed. The kings were the open enemies of all the people; the country was divided by the struggle for political and religious liberty. (2) Elizabethan literature is generally inspiring; it throbs with youth and hope and vitality. That which follows speaks of age and sadness. (3) Elizabethan literature is intensely romantic; the romance springs from the heart of youth, and believes all things even impossible. In the literature of the Puritan period, one looks in vain for romantic ardor.

 

Section ‘C’

(Long Answer Questions)

Note: Answer any two questions. You have to delimit each answer maximum up to 400 words. Each question carries 06 marks.

7.               Discuss Donne as a poet of love with special reference to the poem ‘The Good Morrow’.

-        John Donne, the poet of the metaphysical school of poetry broke away from the Petrarchan tradition of love poetry by making it more realistic. ‘The Good Morrow’ is his most celebrated love poem, in which he sheds light upon the strength, beauty and immortality of true love which can only be achieved, when the body and soul are not divorced but in perfect harmony. The poem begins in the morning with the consciousness, which leads to spiritual awakening through physical union.

The love, which the couple in the poem shares, compels the poet to question all his past encounters with beauties, which took place before he met his life partner. His idea of beauty which was so far abstract has been concretized after falling in love. Love is shown as an experience that can actualize the abstract entity of human desire.

The second stanza opens in the manner of an aubade – “And now Good Morrow to our waking souls”. The physical act of waking up has been compared to spiritual awakening which the lovers experienced only because of their act of physical union in the preceding night. Thus, Donne crumbles the binarization of physical and platonic by proving that the way to spiritual love is through the material fulfillment and not by dismissing the latter which is a very anti-Petrarchan thought.

‘The Good Morrow’ talks about the unparalleled bliss which the lovers revel in. This love which arises out of perfect mutuality of feelings is very strong because it has overcome all fears, doubts and hesitations – “watch one another not out of fear”.

In the poem, the lovers are shown to enjoy a unique experience which blinds them to the world around them not because it is contemptible but because the lovers are encapsulated in their “little room” which is their alternate universe. Donne’s love renders a totality of experience which conquers the vastness of physical space.

The poem is based on mutual surrender which does not demand the sacrifice of individuality or identity – “Let use possess one world, each hath one and is one”. By “true plain hearts” the poet wants to tell us that their love is authentic and rich but yet not intricate and complex. It is devoid of all extremes. In the poem, ‘The Good Morrow’ mortal passion gives way to a divine experience, which is achieved due to authenticity, mutuality and intensity of the bonds of true love.

 

8.               Write the significance of Epitaph in the poem ‘Elegy written in a Country Churchyard’.

-        In the Epitaph, Thomas Gray speaks of earth as a place which holds people for the time being that they are going through this grand cycle of what is called life.

The Epitaph shows the lot, about how people are being brought up and brought down in a dark sort of way.  Someone’s personal epitaph is just a place, where their head rests and Even “Fair Science frowned” on the aspects of the person’s life and now the incapacity that they have toward this world.  Their one and only sole purpose in this world is to waste space in the earth and rot away for eternity.

Gray speaks of god and how there are certain things around that are only now known as “frailties” of what used to be life.  Gray speaks out against the way this person was treated in society which is symbolic of how people are being treated as a whole and the hollowness and shallowness of people in the world.  Now the person is dead, there is no other help that you could give him.  “Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere” was how the man lived, and although his soul was a true one, he was still a marked man, and now he is only marked with a stone that protrudes from the ground known as The Epitaph.

God is a part of life which Gray despises.  He goes against the idea of a belief in one immortal being who rules over people and casts judgments and leaves some people for broke.  “The bosom of his father and his god” were those that were unhelpful in the dead man’s life, because he ended up just as everyone else will, dead, it is just that he was not blessed with as much life.  Gray probably knew someone who died at a young age and it had a traumatizing effect on him, then he turned to writing of dark and dreary times and those of the epitaphs and of graveyards and the beliefs of gods and how they relate to life and death. Thomas Gray’s Epitaph shows the way that we treat moral and social problems and help to alert us of another and how faulty our beliefs towards the juxtaposition between life and death are in our society.

 

9.               Write a detail summary of ‘The Merchant of Venice’ in your own words with suitable examples from the text.

-        In Venice, a merchant named Antonio worries that his ships are overdue. His friend, Bassanio asks Antonio for a loan, so that he can pursue the wealthy Portia, who lives in Belmont. Antonio cannot afford the loan. Instead, he sends Bassanio to borrow the money on the security of Antonio's expected shipments.

At Belmont, Portia and her maid, Nerissa, discuss the suitors who have come in response to Portia's father's strange will. The will says Portia may only marry a man who chooses the correct casket made from three possible options: gold, silver, and lead. Much to Portia's distress, all her suitors are unsatisfactory. However, she does fondly remember a time when Bassanio came to Belmont, and that leaves her with some hope. 

Bassanio approaches Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, about the loan. Shylock holds a grudge against Antonio. Still, he offers Bassanio the loan. Instead of charging interest, seemingly as a kind of joke, he asks for a pound of Antonio's flesh, if the loan isn't repaid within three months. The bond is agreed to and Bassanio prepares to leave for Belmont with his friend Gratiano.

Meanwhile, one of Shylock's servants, Launcelot and Shylock's daughter, Jessica longs to leave home. Launcelot takes a letter to Lorenzo that contains plans for Lorenzo and Jessica to elope that night. When Shylock goes out, Jessica escapes to elope, taking gold and jewels with her. The following day, Bassanio sets sail for Belmont, while Shylock rages over the loss of his daughter and the treasures she has stolen.

In Belmont, Portia’s suitors choose the golden casket and the silver and are unsuccessful. Bassanio arrives and Portia eagerly goes to greet him.

In Belmont, Bassanio chooses the lead casket, and he wins Portia. His friend Gratiano asks for Portia's maid Nerissa to be his wife. Portia gives her ring to Bassanio, making him promise never to give it to another. As Lorenzo and Jessica come to Belmont, news arrives that Antonio's ships have been lost at sea, and he is now bankrupt. They are also told Shylock insists on the fulfilment of his bond and has had Antonio arrested. Bassanio and Gratiano leave in haste to help Antonio. Portia and Nerissa resolve to follow afterwards, disguised as lawyers.

In the court in Venice, Shylock demands his pound of flesh. The Duke seeks legal advice from the lawyer "Balthazar," who is Portia in disguise. Portia pleads for Shylock to have mercy on Antonio. Bassanio offers his wife's money, but Shylock refuses to accept. Antonio's death is only prevented as Balthazar explains the bond is for flesh but not for a single drop of blood. So, Shylock cannot collect the pound of flesh.

For threatening the life of a Venetian, Shylock forfeits his goods to Antonio and Bassanio. Antonio refuses his share of compensation and asks for it to be given to Lorenzo and Jessica. He also demands that Shylock becomes a Christian. Broken, Shylock leaves the court. Bassanio and Gratiano thank the lawyers, who ask for their rings as legal fees.

Portia and Nerissa return home at night to find Lorenzo and Jessica enjoying the peace of Belmont. When their husbands arrive, Portia and Nerissa scold them for giving away their rings to other women. Before long, they reveal themselves as the lawyers from the trial. Antonio receives news that his ships have returned safely after all. The play ends as the three couples prepare to celebrate their marriages.

 

10.          What are the themes discussed in all the four epistles of the poem ‘Essay on Man.

-        The main theme of the poem is "to vindicate the ways of God to Man." This is similar to Milton's claim in Paradise Lost that he will "justify the ways of God to man."

In the Epistle 1, the speaker states that man may ask why, if God is good, God formed man to be so weak and blind. He answers this question by stating, that one should not only consider why one is weaker than God but also why so many things are weaker than he. Man should not wish for all the wisdom of God.

A central theme of the poem is that the universe has an order. As part of the order, all God's creatures are put on Earth for a purpose. Man may not always be able to see the order because only God truly understands it.

God has also given, man, passions—ideas or talents about which they are passionate. These can be used to benefit his fellow man. God merely sets the events in motion, mounting the storm so that man may sail in the wind thus created.

One of the main themes of the poem is the philosophy, called Leibnizian optimism, that this is the best of all possible worlds. This theme makes its first appearance in Epistle 1, where the speaker states that man will question why he is weak, little, and blind. The speaker assures the reader that everyone has their place in the grand scheme of things. People just don't understand it, much as they don't understand why an oak is stronger than a weed, but "wisdom infinite must form the best."

In Epistle 2 the speaker urges his reader not to presume to be second-guess God, but to study mankind instead. This means man should only question what is in his control. People may question God, but that is because they don't see the whole picture, as God does. God gives different creatures different gifts, but God can see the whole.

Epistle 3 looks at the theme from the perspective of maintaining balance in systems: in nature, where "parts relate to whole"; in love and family life; and in societies. Humans must love themselves and others to gain God's blessing, as God "bade [ordered] self-love and social be the same."

In Epistle 4 the speaker addresses the concern that bounties are not distributed equally. Some may have more money, more health, more talents. Thus, nature links man to God. Man cannot know his place in this vast chain, so he must trust in God.