THINKING ACTIVITY ON WORDS WORTH PREFACE TO LYRICAL BALLADS

 Introduction:

Preface to the Lyrical Ballads, written by William Wordsworth, is a landmark essay in the history of English Literature. Considered to be the Romantic Manifesto on poetry and society, the Preface is a work that is crucial to our understanding of the progress of Romantic literary thought, originating in 18th century Europe, which has been immortalised in our view of poetry and how we think of it today.

Historical Background

The Preface to the Lyrical Ballads first appeared in the 2nd edition of the poetry collection Lyrical Ballads (1801) and later expanded in the 3rd edition (1802). 

 The Backdrop of the Neoclassicals – Neoclassical works were known for their adherence to rules and regulations of satire and their strict definitions of what is poetry. Their language was far from what people used in daily conversations and they spoke of extraordinary subjects. Neoclassicism was followed by Romanticism.

Rise of Romanticism – Romanticism is different from romanticism (notice the capital ‘R’ vs. the lower-case ‘r’) Romanticism was a movement which sought to break away from old norms and beliefs by revolutionising the way people thought about society in 18th century Europe.

Main ideas of preface to lyrical ballad

Wordsworth’s relation to Nature/Countryside Wordsworth is celebrated as the nature poet because of his beautiful descriptions of nature and rural/countryside areas. However, to reduce his work to just an imitation of trees and flowers would be immature.

Admiration of  nature by wordsworth 

Wordsworth admired nature/countryside not only because it looked beautiful, but because of the simplicity and beauty that nature/countryside provided allowed people to be in touch with their soul and experience true beauty in life. Wordsworth believed that the city life made the masses dull and stagnant – it had reduced them to overworked machines who failed to appreciate the simple beauty of life. He called this state of mental stagnancy a savage torpor.

Who is poet as per Wordsworth 

For Wordsworth, a poet is simply “a man speaking to men” – a fellow human just like all of us trying to communicate his perception and experience of truth and beauty. However, the poet differs from regular people because of his higher sensitivity to the happenings around him and a deeper connection with his own feelings, moods and emotions as they arise in response to these outer happenings.

Concept/Definition  of poetry as per wordsworth:

Wordsworth famously defined poetry as “a spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings which are recollected in tranquillity”. Simply speaking, the highly sensitive poet is able to experience the beauty of ordinary life, capture his own emotions as they arise and is finally able to sit in a calm, peaceful space to use his imagination to recollect these emotions and finally write about them.

What should be language of poem as per Wordsworth?

Wordsworth believed that the “real language of men” – ordinary daily language – should be used to write poetry. However, Wordsworth refined this common language to a purer form without losing the essence of its simplicity.

THINKING ACTIVITY ON DRAYDEN ESSAY ON DRAMATIC POESY

 Introduction:

In this blog I have shared my understanding of  dryden essay on dramatic posey. First of all I wrote about why dryden is known as the father of English criticism.and several  other questions.

 Dryden:Father of English criticism

Here in our part we have a talking session on the  dryden  dramatic  poesy. In the session the speaker talks about what is meant by father, so a father means one who originally propagates in a particularly sustained manner  before drying. There is a Philip Sidney  English tradition. 

Dryden has quite more after Aristotle dryden has given readers a very formed definition of a play besides dramatic poetry. He has quite a few other preface  and critical writing which gives the position of father of  criticism to dryden.

How dryden is neo classical critic?

He is a neoclassical  critic because  he is influenced by classical critics like Aristotle. Dryden is showing how he is Influenced by Aristotle  with his definition  of tragedy. Definition can be broken up in three parts

(1)A lively image of human nature.

(2)Representing  passion and humour

(3)for delight and instruction  of mankind

In the definition of dryden there is a word image. Image doesn't  seem to be bothered to dry. Because dryden thought that if it is just.and here  the readers got the second important  word just. In the word just image  the readers and viewers might not be interested, so dryden put here the third word  lively. So the readers got full words like Just lively image.

How dryden  differs from the classical tradition

So it can be argued that Aristotle ended his definition  with the tharpatic word  catharsis  when the definition  of dryden ends with delight and instruction of mankind. So by that point dryden became different from the classical critic or Poets of  classical tradition. 

Two prime questions whether dryden is critic or a poet?

 In the  next part speakers talks about 

  two prime questions: Dryden as a poet and Dryden as a critic. And the second question is why Dryden chose Dramatic poetry as the title of his critical work. There are two types of writer..

 Mixture of classicism and Romanticism 

Some are conservative and blind imitators of Horace and Aristotle

Some are looking for the french influence

Dryden who not only takes the good things from neoclassical but also from Elizabethans also. So in this we can see a mixture of classicism and Romanticism.

Definition  of drama as per dryden:

In the third part the speaker  talks about  giving a wider explanation of the definition of Drama given by Dryden. His way of define definition is very descriptive and in a very easy manner 

"It is a just and lively image of human nature, representing passions  and humours, and the changes of fortune to which it is subject, for the delight and instruction of mankind.”

Here he used the word just and lively image means it is not merely imitation or artificial image but it is natural image. The re-presentation means not only an imitation or copy but a lively image and liveliness is also presented, where passions and humour are part of life. Last two words are more important…

"Delight and instruction"

 Concept of ancient and modern:

In the later part there is an  argument about who is superior, ancient or modern. Dryden justifies solid native English but not disrespecting ancients. Here some of the dilemmas like should we follow only ancients or disrespect him. Do we need to go on our own or do we need to follow them? Do we need to build something and can we go against them...so prove this point there are four characters..

Crites(Sir Robert Howard) who is in favour of the ancients and said they established three units which are used by French artists as well as English playwrights like Ben jonson. So they are influenced by ancients.

Eugenius (Charles Seckville) He tries to make both polls together and stand on the boundary of moderns. Who favours moderns over ancients. Moderns are better because they are standing on the shoulder of the ancients so they look far away than ancients.

Lisideius (Sir Charles Seadly) According to Lisideius French drama is superior to English drama because they are closer to classical tradition of writing like separation of comedy and tragedy.

So after giving these three arguments Neander tries to prove his own point that  English drama is better than the Ancients. Which is based on reality tragicomedy which we can see in our day to day life mixture of  passions and humours.

Argument  of dryden :use and avoidance  of rhyme

  Dryden's argument to use and avoid Rhyme. There is debate between Crites and Dryden himself as Neander. There is a neoclassical way of writing, heroic couplets are used and writing in verse, where Dryden himself is a part of this tradition. So Dryden mouthpiece Neander supports writing serious plays in verse.  Crites make the argument that it is artificiality to use rhyme to portray  just and live images and quite hilarious to one's scold his servant in rhyme and party in rhyme.This takes away naturalness. There is a  drydenargument when we talk about his famous play "All for Love" is not in verse. So here Dryden's argument proved weak. He further said that use of rhyme increases Grandeur, grandeur of word, thought and action. So in his argument we can find two counterpoints.

 Arguement of crites and Nender:

Last part is the arguments between Crites and Neander on the question of whether it is advisable to use rhyme or blank verse or not.

Concept of rhyme:

Rhyme is unnatural through the use of it one cannot carry just and lively image of human nature. Neander makes the argument that literature is a sensual phenomenon, so it appeals to the sense of reason and sense of listening too. It is all about choosing appropriate words in the appropriate place, if natural words are in a natural place then there is Neander's last conclusion is that Dryden speaks Drama in general and Tragedy in particular. Particularly tragedy is a serious form of art so seriousness should be maintained and for that use of noble rhyme is important. It is very difficult to use noble rhymes for everyone, so if you have this literacy and craftsmanship then you can achieve that height and go for nobel literature.

Conclusion

Neander's last conclusion is that Dryden speaks Drama in general and Tragedy in particular. Particularly tragedy is a serious form of art so seriousness should be maintained and for that use of noble rhyme is important. It is very difficult to use noble rhymes for everyone, so if you have this literacy and craftsmanship then you can achieve that height and go for nobel literature.

So in this video Neander speaks of the ideas of Dryden that rhyme and blank verse should be used in Drama.

THINKING ACTIVITY ON ARISTOTLE POETICS

This blog is  part of the thinking activity on the poetics of Aristotle. In this blog I have shared my understanding  of the poetics of Aristotle. In the beginning  of poetics  there was a reader who came across objections  of Plato against  poets & poetry.

           Alfred  north whitehead  all subsequent  philosophy  is merely a footnote to Plato.

             As per Plato poetry is inspirational  and not rational. Poetry written in the state of frenzy,  which is not a very good state of mind.it leads to arousal  of emotions which is not appropriate  and harmful.it includes certain wrong.for example gods are depicted in a derogatory manner. Which does not really inspire the devotees of God. Here the reader can take an example of a famous text of Plato iron.  It is also said about hypocrisy. Plato also said that a poet is not a proper person,  who can disseminate  this type of knowledge. It is dangerous  to follow the poet who spread such inaccuracies there by the soul of the period.

      So,  the reader might have a question about what Plato thinks about the poet?What kind of appropriate action  arises from the poet?

          So, according  to Plato the Poets are imitators, they are possessed,  the Poets are liars, to prove his argument  he give two reasons 

(1)Gods are represented in a false manner.Poets are representing  gods as lesser than human beings, light than human  beings.

(2)The ultimate  real world  is an unchanging  world,poets bring change in this unchanging  world. These actions of Poets are  unpardonable  for Plato. 

Aristotle defence of poets:in the poetics Aristotle argues with Plato, in his argument  he defends the Poets. 

As per Aristotle  poetry is not all about copying it is all about making.the word poet comes from the Greek word poien which means to making.as per Aristotle  poetry shows a reality in very useful way.if  Plato  the Poets that they were reprints wrongly, and this wrong representation  is a negative influence. It is also true that poetry represents action, they represent people of animation.  Poetry is a kind of universal  worthy action also represented  in poetry.poetry is not all about to criticise or to satire on someone. It is also dealing with a good man.

Concept of poetry history

Here as an example the readers take examples  of poetry and history, as a reader knows that history always deals  with the questions of what has been, when poetry represents universals and what should be opposed to be.

Concept of catharsis :

In the poetics by Aristotle  he also talks about tragedy and poetry leads the text or poetry towards catharsis 

Now  readers might have a question: what is catharsis?

 So, catharsis  does not mean   exclusion of imaginative emotions . The catharsis means the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.

 Catharsis is a very  important  and final part for Aristotle  because by using this concept he can counter argue with his guru Plato.

The importance  of plato Aristotle  in the tradition  of western literary criticism :

Readers might have questioned that in the poetics there are both Plato Aristotle have argued but who is the most important  figure in western literary criticism. So in the western  literary criticism both have the same importance. Because Plato's argument was socio,philosophical,  moral and political discourse. When Aristotle scooped  out the literature  and  put it on a pedestal and  showed that literature justified its existence. 

 So, by reading this description the reader must know that Aristotle  is the founder and initiator  of the western literary  criticism.

Concept  of mimesis:

In the poetics there is a new term applied by Aristotle  so readers might have a question  : what is mimesis ?

A mimesis  is a critical and philosophical term that carries a wide range of meanings. Which  include imitation,representation

Mimicry, nonsensuous, similarity 

 The act of presentation  and expressions as well.

           Mimesis  means making  leads to the Greek term mathesis,that is understanding, knowing. This term  of making and knowing leads us to  our understanding. As an example, nowadays the schools give  several activities to the children. By that type of activity the person can judge the understanding  of students. Likewise the  term of mathesis deals with the understanding , knowledge of readers.

 What isAristotle point of view about  poets?

Plato says that the Poets are liars,  but Aristotle defends  them and he says  that  poets are not liars. They can recreate the poems or any other works through perception and intuition  of outer reality.

 

What is tragedy as per Aristotle?

In the poetics by Aristotle  he also  tries to define the definition of tragedy according to his view point.

Tragedy,” says Aristotle, “is an imitation [mimēsis] of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude…through pity and fear affecting the proper purgation [catharsis] of these emotions.” Ambiguous means may be employed, Aristotle maintains in contrast to Plato, to a virtuous and purifying end.

Importance  of plot:

Aristotle argues that, among the six formative elements, the plot is the most important element. ... The plot is the underlying principle of tragedy'. By plot Aristotle means the arrangement of incidents. Incidents mean action, and tragedy is an imitation of actions, both internal and external.

Why is the plot important  in the tragedy ?

As Aristotle says that plot is the soul of tragedy so why is plot more important  in tragedy than character?

Aristotle says that  plot is the structure of the play and around. Which the material parts are laid  by the help of plot.here it can be also said that through the story  line of  or a plot Aristotle  can also create  a paradox.

 Here the plot is important because the man of action presents the soul of a tragedy. Nowadays also  the script or we can say the plot  of a movie is more important than the character. The script or plot is also important  for the writers as well as actors nowadays.so the readers  can observe  that the plot  got more importance than the characters from the time of Aristotle and it remains as important  nowadays also.

Concept of tragic hero:

In the poetics Aristotle  also tries  to define the  concept of tragic hero according to his view. So  as per Aristotle a tragic hero means hero doesn't  know how circumstances slowly see for him how  they went against him.

A tragic hero neither out right Saint an utterly hopeless wicked criminal but a representative of human beings in its innovative  capacity. A hero tries to become a superhero. 

 By this point Aristotle  made a point again deferring Plato.  Here Aristotle  argues that being is more  important.

THINKING ACTIVITY ON ROMANTIC POETS TO A DAISY _WORDSWORTH

This is our thinking activity. Which is  given us in  ourclass  realted .it is realted to romantic Poets life&work so in my part there is poem by wordsworth to a daisy here I want to share something about TO A DAISY by  Wordsworth  it is one of my favorite poem. As a reader you all know that wordsworth is a poet of nature so here he also remembering the nature while writing this poem.DAISY is a symbol of nature.

 ABOUT POET:

:William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads (1798).

 ANALYSIS OF TO A DAISY

 the poem  “To the Daisy ( Here’) Wordsworth is discussing the greater significance the daisy is to man kind then the material world could ever be. Throughout the poem he is referring to objects and events that people get caught up in in the new and exciting commercial world of the 1800’s.  When referring to these things he is making the clear distinction that the peace of mind and soul the daisy in itself brings has a greater impact on man then the commercial world ever could.

The first stanza introduces Wordsworth’s reflection of the world as referring to it as “With little here to do or see/ Of things that in the great world be, / Sweet Daisy!” The here Wordsworth is referring to in these lines in the commercial world. These lines show that Wordsworth is one of few that is not caught up in the hustle and bustle of the day-to-day world but instead actually rejects it. Wordsworth does not find the industrial world to be nears as “worthy” as the daisy. Where Wordsworth find a place of love is in “Thou unassuming Common-place/ Of Nature, with that homely face.” Wordsworth recognizes he is more often then not by himself in this feeling that nature brings more of a sense of comfort and peace then the industrial world the majority is infatuated with.

Wordsworth reflects in stanza two that he often finds him self at peace with his mind while being exposed to nature, stating, “Oft do I sit by the at ease, / And weave a web of similes.” Wordsworth finds ease and tranquility in embracing this daisy’s beauty. He favors being in the presence of the daisy, he feels as though his mind is at a place where he can make comparisons and play on words about the real world. In the presence of the daisy his mind is free to wonder in “humor or in blame.”  Meaning that while he is submerged in the daisy beauty he can enjoy the game his mind plays, contemplate the daisy beauty in comparisons to other objects of beauty or shame in the world. This stanza is a clear reflection of him and the effect the daisy’s beauty has on him.

In stanza three Wordsworth makes comparisons between a nun and maiden as well as a queen of lavish and a peasant. In comparing the two cases he brings about the ideas of temptation and appeal.  He states, “A Queen in crown of rubies drest, / A Starveling in a scanty vest, / Are all, as seems to suit the best, / Thy appellations.” In this comparison Wordsworth is hinting at what in the commercial world is so unappealing to him. The focus of the world is material. No one wants to be a peasant due to their scanty dress everyone strives to be the queen with rubies. The focus is on material rather then the beauty and simplicity they can offer and teach us.

Stanza four focuses on describing the daisy. Wordsworth refers to it as, “A little Cyclops, with one eye / Staring to threaten and defy.” Wordsworth is clearly referring to the flowers physical appearance. He compares this small innocent flower to a Cyclops. This is how Wordsworth expresses his feeling about the flower. He feels as though this daisy represents status and power in the world. Being the reader of the poem this line in particularly intriguing. I really enjoy the metaphor comparing the daisy’s power in the world to that of a Cyclops. The daisy is further described as losing its “shape” as a Cyclops vanishing into that of fairytale means. Wordsworth states, “ The shape will vanish, and behold! / A silver Shield with boss of gold, / That spreads itself, some Faery bold/ In fight to cover.” Here the way Wordsworth views the initial shape of the flower changes. The flower beholds that powerful presence of a Cyclops to a knight. Which instead of defying fights to give off its light fairytale essence.

In stanza five the daisy is being compared to a heavenly star. The flower in unique from a star in that, “Yet like a star, with glittering crest, / Self-poised in the air thou seem’st to rest; / May peace come never to its nest, / Who shall reprove thee!” The star and the daisy are alike in that they both have a breath taking appearance, but unlike the daisy the star does not give of the same peaceful essence. The star can never compete with the daisy in regards to what the daisy brings its viewer, making the daisy that much more powerful then a star.

In the final stanza Wordsworth closes the poetry with making the statement that nothing else can bring him to the same place of happiness as this daisy can, “That breath’st with me in sun and air, / My heart with gladness, and a share/ Of they meek nature.”  In these lines Wordsworth expresses his feeling that nothing else in the world (from the sun or air) brings him to a place of happiness or peace then the daisy. The feelings Wordsworth articulates about the beauty of the flower reminds me a lot of Elaine Scarry’s idea that “Beauty is lifesaving.” Wordsworth describes this flower almost as an escape from the industrial world. Being with this flower and in nature he feels as though his sanity and peace of mind to write and ponder about nature and life is preserved.

Below is a daisy whose beauty sparked a number of feelings in Wordsworth that are reflected in his many odes to the daisy.

THINKING ACTIVITY ON PAMELA VIRTUE REWARDED

Samuel Richardson, (baptized Aug. 19, 1689, Mackworth, near Derby, Derbyshire, Eng.—died July 4, 1761, Parson’s Green, near London), English novelist who expanded the dramatic possibilities of the novel by his invention and use of the letter form (“epistolary novel”). His major novels were Pamela (1740) and Clarissa (1747–48).

About novel

Pamela, in full Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded, novel in epistolary style by Samuel Richardson, published in 1740 and based on a story about a servant and the man who, failing to seduce her, marries her.

Pamela Andrews is a 15-year-old servant. On the death of her mistress, her mistress’s son, “Mr. B,” begins a series of stratagems designed to seduce her. These failing, he abducts her and ultimately threatens to rape her. Pamela resists, and soon afterward Mr. B offers marriage—an outcome that Richardson presents as a reward for her virtue. The second half of the novel shows Pamela winning over those who had disapproved of the misalliance.

Pamela is often credited with being the first English novel. Although the validity of this claim depends on the definition of the term novel, Richardson was clearly innovative in his concentration on a single action.

Characters in pamela:

Pamela

Mr B.

Lady B

Mrs Jewkes

Mr. Williams

Symbols in pamela:

Sexuality 

is used in the novel as a symbol for sexuality. She is not shy and chaste as Pamela is described to be and uses her sexuality as a weapon against men and as a device to get what she wants from life. She doesn’t wait around for faith to provide her with what she needs and rather choses to take matters into her own hand. She admits her sexual desires and this makes her have more power over Squire Bobby than he has over her.

Manipulation

The idea of manipulation appears as a recurrent motif in the novel. It is clear from the beginning that everyone tries to get something from another person and in order to do this they manipulate one another. There is no limit regarding the lengths to which some characters are willing to go in order to get what they want and it is clear that the world that the characters inhabit is a cruel world where everyone has to look out for 

Themes in pamela

Gender :is one of the main themes in this novel, and Pamela's own gender in particular plays a key role in this tale. Pamela's gender was not as significant when her master had been a woman, Mr. B's mother. ... Gender also plays a key role not only because Pamela is female, but because of the incident when Mr B. tries to seduce her.

THINKING ACTIVITY ON JUDE THE OBSECURE

This is the activity of my class. In this task our professor gave us a task about the experience  of a classmate after watching some  scenes of Jude the obscure. So I start sharing my experience here,In this blog.

Thomas Hardy was born June 2, 1840, in Higher Bockhampton in Dorset, a rural region of southwestern England that was to become the focus of his fiction. The child of a builder, Hardy was apprenticed at the age of sixteen to John Hicks, an architect who lived in the city of Dorchester. The location would later serve as the model for Hardy’s fictional Casterbridge. Although he gave serious thought to attending university and entering the church, a struggle he would dramatize in his novel Jude the Obscure, declining religious faith and lack of money led Hardy to pursue a career in writing instead. He spent nearly a dozen years toiling in obscurity and producing unsuccessful novels and poetry. Far from the Madding Crowd, published in 1874, was the author’s first critical and financial success. Finally able to support himself as a writer, Hardy married Emma Lavinia Gifford later that year.

About the novel:

Jude the Obscure is the last novel written by Hardy. It marks his attainment of the heights of his art, and reveals the deepest recesses of his pessimism which, unlike in his other novels, remains unrelieved by even the slightest hope or joy. It was Hardy's frank treatment of sex in this novel that aroused a storm of protest among his readers who had inhibitions caused by the Victorian notion of prudery and sexual  morality

This storm swept Hardy off his feet in the field of novel-writing, and he turned him towards that of poetry. Unlike other major novels, which are set against a rural life.

When we study this text , we have seen some scenes for better understanding. First scene is of childhood ofjude&his curiosity  to get education in Oxford  University. Here is an image of the scene

Second scene is about Jude question to his teacher  philtoson. After this scene Phillotson  goes out of town for his job.

Then there is the scene of pig butchering,  scene of rabbits, so there are many scenes which can help the readers as well as the audience to understand  the concept of text.

The last scene of the text is little father  attempt  suiside&also he killed other two children  of sue&Jude. This scene suggests the maturity of a little father. After this scene sue&Jude feel guilty.

In the text it is also seen that the character of sue bridehead was more modern rather than the woman of society of that time, so to understand the character  of sue the concept of pink movie was given to us.there are several  scenes of pink movie, which is shown in the class. 

The scenes of the pink movie are related to the character of Sue Bridehead, as well as the beliefs of  today's society. By the character of the Sue bridehead readers can consider that Hardy is the bitterest critic towards society of that time.

My own experience:My own experience  after watching  this movie is there is readers as well as society of that time criticise  alot the character  of sue bridehead  as well as Thomas Hardy also.but according  to my prospective  the female character like Sue get criticise in this 21st century also.if you are female  with some type of "DAAG" the society doesn't  accept you they will not allow  you  to stay in the society.some readers says that this is feminist point of view, but this is no truth at all, this is bitterest  truth of our modern society.

        In our society the female  character is always judged by her character. When the boys make mistakes the people of the society forgive him easily, By saying he is a boy. Boy should not be punished by the society,as well he doesn't  face the judgement of society also.There is a contemporary  character of ANUPAMA  this character is also supported  by our character sue bridehead.  In this serial it is shown that the female character ANUPAMA  got not much pride because of her character, which we can say Character with "DAAG" so my meaning is that we canb not accept women with the DAAG in contemporary  society also.

This is my point of view regarding the situation of today's  society. So the reader can consider that Hardy is bitterest critic of today's  society