Z... is for Zen

When I read, it takes me to a beautiful meditative state. Even when I'm studying, rather than reading, I still don't need to make too much of an effort. I'm trying to achieve that with writing too. Sometimes, it works, I get engrossed in what I'm writing and the result is always close to my heart - special. It is this state of calm, quiet, serene peace that draws me to literature.
Every book is like a new friend that takes me on a journey through time, through emotions, and introduces me to feelings I never felt before. This feeling is like an addiction, the more I learn to lose myself, the more I'm drawn into it, with no intention of coming back. When I read Orkney, it was as if someone had been dunking my head in cold water. But even that was pleasurable. Zen, as I have have learnt, is never too far away.
With this, the A-to-Z Challenge comes to an end and I have only one wish for you, may you find your Zen.

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This is the twenty-sixth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration, Ode, Papillion(ed), Quatrain, Romanticism, Shakespeare, Tone, University, Victorian Literature, Wilde's Wit, Xenophobia, Yeats

Y... is for Yeats

You will LOVE this poem. Enjoy!

Lake Isle of Innisfree

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

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This is the twenty-fifth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration, Ode, Papillion(ed), Quatrain, Romanticism, Shakespeare, Tone, University, Victorian Literature, Wilde's Wit, Xenophobia

X... is for Xenophobia

Two of the novels I'm required to read are British fiction from the time when 'the sun never set on the British empire'. This was the time when the British colonised so much of the world. The British left India with many good things. To be fair, most of it we have managed to destroy since our independence. It won't be long before we lose our cultures and don't adopt any other better culture! Anyway, that's a rant for another day.
So these two novels, namely Heart of Darkness and A Passage to India are set in the British colonies in Africa and India, respectively. The amount of racism and xenophobia is astounding. Here are the British, trying to control and rule through hate. Of course, it is all fiction, but these tales were inspired by the authors' experiences and that's quite something. That might have been one of the reasons for their failure, trying to bring everyone under the system that they believed was right. It should have been propagated with a little more love, but I can imagine how tortured they must have been in the heat! It's 41 degree Celsius here today! 

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This is the twenty-fourth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration, Ode, Papillion(ed), Quatrain, Romanticism, Shakespeare, Tone, University, Victorian Literature, Wilde's Wit

W... is for Wilde's Wit

I believe sarcasm and wit make for excellent reading. I'm not much of a fan of humour, but I make up for that by reading wit. Oscar Wilde is my absolute favourite in this domain. I read The Picture of Dorian Gray first when I was fourteen and then again at twenty and it remains, to this day, one of my favourite books. With a very dark, Faust-esque theme, it is very hard to pick which side is correct and which wrong.
A cousin passed on The Complete Works of Wilde to me because it was an unwanted present and I have revisited many of his brilliant works over the years. Unfortunately, I'm not reading any of him for my course because he's from The Republic of Ireland and so, technically, not British. Here are 40 of his best quotes! 

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This is the twenty-third post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration, Ode, Papillion(ed), Quatrain, Romanticism, Shakespeare, Tone, University, Victorian Literature

V... is for Victorian Literature

I spoke of the lofty thoughts and ideals of Romanticism earlier. This period was followed by the reign of Queen Victoria in Britain, from 1838 to 1901 and this period produced some very significant literary works that I'm required to study. While poetry was the most important form with the Romantics, the novel, as we now know it, became the leading literary genre in the Victorian times. Some of the noteworthy novelists of this period include Dickens, Eliot, the Bronte sisters, and Hardy. There were some great poets too - Browning, Yeats, and Tennyson.
From wiki, I have, "Victorian novels tend to be idealised portraits of difficult lives in which hard work, perseverance, love and luck win out in the end; virtue would be rewarded and wrongdoers are suitably punished. They tended to be of an improving nature with a central moral lesson at heart. While this formula was the basis for much of earlier Victorian fiction, the situation became more complex as the century progressed. There was a struggle to conquer the flaws of human beings with great virtues. It was a principle that those who struggle to attain morality would most probably achieve positive results in the end if not tortured by natural circumstances or evil vices."
Though this period produced a vast array of works, their common themes made them cluster together as the kind of things the reader at the time wished to read. My personal favourite is Dickens, I have read all of his novels barring a couple, and there is something about the way he writes that draws me to the novels.

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This is the twenty-second post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration, Ode, Papillion(ed), Quatrain, Romanticism, Shakespeare, Tone, University

U... is for University

I went to a terribly crappy high school, every one hated me. I was only there for four - five years and it sucked. What was awful too was that I didn't really want t learn anything much - maybe it was teenage angst, maybe it was a crappy place, what ever! But I have always enjoyed University.
I have been lucky to have attended two very beautiful Unis in places with great natural beauty and while I may not have enjoyed every single module ever, I have worked hard for those. Now that I'm learning through correspondence, it is a strange new experience. I find it very hard to maintain self-discipline and make myself work towards a new goal every day, but I'm working on it. My exams are in June so I really need to up my game now soon. Fingers crossed! But I do like Uni, just as I liked middle school!
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This is the twenty-first post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration, Ode, Papillion(ed), Quatrain, Romanticism, Shakespeare, Tone

T... is for Tone

A large part of how we speak a language and how it sounds is guided by the tone. Languages in which the change of a tone can signify a change in the meaning of an utterance are called intonation languages. The basic tones are the rising tone and the falling tone. While there are words which can be spoken in different tones to indicate different things, there are also groups of words, or phrases, which are tonal.
On utterance of a word, the tonic syllable is the most important because that is when there is a change in the pitch of the voice speaking it. The pitch movement can have different directions and rise and fall are two of those. In a rising tone, the pitch of the voice goes from low to high from the tonic syllable. It is marked above the syllable with a (/) and indicates a question or the idea that the utterance is incomplete. In a falling tone, the pitch of the voice goes from high to low from the tonic syllable. It is marked above the syllable with a (\) and indicates a sense of finality and that the utterance is finished.
The most important role of intonation may well be grammar. While rising tone indicates a question or an exclamation, falling tone indicates a statement. Apart from that, intonations help people understand which the important parts of an utterance are, for they are the phrases often stressed on. Finally, tones indicate emotions. Perhaps, this is where speaking takes and edge over writing, because when an utterance is spoken, its accompanying tones convey so much more than just the speech. Attitudinal nuances are brought to the fore. Anger, pain, dismay, friendliness, resignation, hope are all emotions expressed most vehemently by the intonations of a language. 

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This is the twentieth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration, Ode, Papillion(ed), Quatrain, Romanticism, Shakespeare

S... is for Shakespeare

Tomorrow is Shakespeare's birthday. I have read a lot of him in school, most notably Julius Caesar and Tempest. This time, I'm having to read Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He was the reason I learnt to read plays, and his plays were the reason I learnt to like them. During my UK stay, I didn't get a chance to visit Stratford, unfortunately, but someday. I did go to the RSC-managed Shakespeare's Globe, built to replicate the original building at the original site. I took a guided tour and highly recommend it for the next time you're in London!
I do like the way he writes. While some of his themes are most definitely outdated and bizarre, I really enjoy the dialogues. The plotting and planning, the soliloquies, the proclamation of love - all of them, I find them entertaining and well written. Having said that, I think it is important for one to be initially 'taught' how to read Shakespeare, and then left on one's own to figure out the rest of his vast body of work. I would think it rather difficult to truly understand and enjoy his works if I weren't taught it. Anyway, Happy Birthday to him. He has already achieved immortality through his works...

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This is the nineteenth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration, Ode, Papillion(ed), Quatrain, Romanticism

R... is for Romanticism

What an immensely rich body of work the Romanticism movement gave us. The 18th century poets, dramatists, theatre-artists, playwrights, authors, everyone gave us a tremendous plethora of intrigue, love, hate, awe, insanity... it was also a revolt against the aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature.
It became important to feel fully and well, and to express this feeling in no uncertain terms. Lofty thoughts and ideals formed the pillar of this movement, both uplifting and humbling, all at the same time. Thought was secondary to emotion, and it was this emotion that took precedence over all else. It gave us beautiful things.
Some of the most noted Romantics include William Blake, Byron, Coleridge, Keats, Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Robert Southey, Wordsworth. Just Imagine!

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This is the eighteenth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration, Ode, Papillion(ed), Quatrain

Q... is for Quatrain

A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines. One of the quatrains I had to study was the heroic stanza or elegiac stanza (iambic pentameter, rhyming ABAB or AABB; from Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard")
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea,
The plowman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.

From Wikipedia, I found that "The Ruba'i form of rhymed quatrain was favored by Omar Khayyám, among others. This work was a major inspiration for Edward FitzGerald's Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, written in Persian. The ruba'i was a particularly widespread verse form: the form rubaiyat reflects the plural."

Come, fill the Cup, and in the fire of Spring
Your Winter garment of Repentance fling:
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To flutter—and the Bird is on the Wing.
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This is the seventeenth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration, Ode, Papillion(ed)

P... is for Papillion(ed)

A Post from 23/08/2010

On Friday evenings, the parking lot and the place where the buses are parked are a battle zone. People, having put in more hours of work during the week than they’d like to, are always rushing pell-mell as if this is the last weekend they’ll ever get to live. It is almost amusing, how they barely glance at the people to who they wave goodbye every other day of the week.

Everyone’s got something else or the other on their minds. Last Friday, however, a very faith-filled thing happened. There was a man walking towards the buses in front of me. I didn’t notice him until he slowed down, veered off-course and stooped to pick something up.

It was a dying butterfly, the symbol of frailty. It was a tiny quivering mass in his large palm. The man then proceeded to slowly meander through the umpteen people, diagonally cutting through the parking lot (yes, I followed him) and placed the butterfly on the rain-drenched grass under a white-flowered tree. Fitting, I’d say, for something so beautiful. No one else noticed, no one stopped to save a dying butterfly from being trampled upon.

We have become too busy these days. But that butterfly did well to be found by him, and he was made a better man by that act. I get to hold on to faith. Kudos to the butterfly-man!

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This is the sixteenth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration, Ode

O... is for Ode

Poems that are dedicated to things and people and love are so beautiful, aren't they? They fill me with joy and a deeper understanding of the things we often miss...
From Ode to Autumn, these lines
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the mossed cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'erbrimmed their clammy cells.

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This is the fifteenth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration

N... is for Narration

Narration is everything! Isn't it? Think about it, when you begin reading a book and there is a host of different characters, the author has the option of telling the story through one or many voices. This directs how the story is told, what the voice sounds like, and to a large extent even determines the tone of the novel. What could be a happy ending from the point of view of one of the characters could be a very tragic, or at the very least, a disappointing end for another.
Sometimes, multiple narrators annoy me. Wuthering Heights and My Name is Red, for example, failed me because too many people were speaking one by one and there wasn't a single point from which to approach the story. However, I make an exception for Treasure Island, what a tale! Dual narrations are good, though. Look at Gone Girl, look at Kafka on the Shore, both lovely examples of fabulous books. And then there's the autobiographical, the way Ralph tells the story in Coral Island, the voice of Dr Watson in Sherlock Holmes novels is unparalleled. No one tells a tale like they do. I also like the withheld information mystery, like the name of the second Mrs de Winter in Rebecca and the professor's young wife in Orkney. What kind of narratives do you like?

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This is the fourteenth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry

M... is for Metaphysical Poets

One of my biggest takeaways from this course is the knowledge of Metaphysical poets and their poetry. According to Wikipedia, "The metaphysical poets is a term coined by the poet and critic Samuel Johnson to describe a loose group of English lyric poets of the 17th century, whose work was characterized by the inventive use of conceits, and by speculation about topics such as love or religion. These poets were not formally affiliated; most of them did not even know each other or read each others work."
How amazing it is to imagine that there have been times when one's work would not have been inspired by another. I, for my part, cannot quite fathom how one creates a genre, how one starts to write without a precedent. John Donne, George Herbert, Henry Vaughan, Andrew Marvell, and Richard Crashaw were the centrepieces of this kind of poetry. Making love could be the bite of a flea, the soul could be a drop of dew and such other metaphors seem blasphemous even today, let alone in the 17th century. Back then, these parallels would be unheard of! I'll leave you with a few lines of Donne's 'Elegy XVIII: Love’s Progress':

Her swelling lips; to which when we are come,
We anchor there, and think ourselves at home,
For they seem all: there sirens’ songs, and there
Wise Delphic oracles do fill the ear;
There in a creek where chosen pearls do swell,
The remora, her cleaving tongue doth dwell.
These, and the glorious promontory, her chin
O’erpast; and the strait Hellespont between
The Sestos and Abydos of her breasts,
(Not of two lovers, but two loves the nests)
Succeeds a boundless sea, but that thine eye
Some island moles may scattered there descry;
And sailing towards her India, in that way
Shall at her fair Atlantic navel stay;
Though thence the current be thy pilot made,
Yet ere thou be where thou wouldst be embayed,
Thou shalt upon another forest set,
Where some do shipwreck, and no further get.
When thou art there, consider what this chase
Misspent by thy beginning at the face.

Thoughts ;) ?

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This is the thirteenth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language

L... is for Language

One of the modules I'm required to take is called Aspects of Language. It deals with what language is, why it came into being, and what is it used for. Though we all may know the answers to these questions, it is very interesting to analyze them properly. For instance, I had to study about the similarities and differences between animal and human language and I want to share it with you here, because it is interesting to know.
The most traditional way of understanding human language is by comparing and contrasting it with animal language, if at all it may be termed so.

Sound signals – both humans and animals use sound signals to convey emotions. But humans have developed a way to transfer language onto other mediums like written and seen.
Arbitrariness – when animals communicate an emotion, they generally assume a pose or attitude to go with it. Attackers spit and growl, the prey makes helpless noises. When humans communicate, there is usually no correlation between the emotion and the word being used to describe it. When one proclaims joy, one doesn’t need to jump around! The symbols used are thus arbitrary. This is also the reason why there are multiple words for the same thing, ie, synonyms.
Learning – while birds that aren’t taught will sing, babies that aren’t taught language will babble unintelligently. If a fawn is threatened by a predator, it will instantly cry out the sound for help, but a threatened child will not be able to should ‘Help!’ However, a child that has been taught the symbolism will. Thus, while both humans and animals CAN learn, humans can only learn when taught. Animals seem to be born with knowledge of their language.
Displacement – Humans can describe things which are not around them, by means of language, this is displacement. We can talk of danger as an experience, but animals will only cry danger when there is danger in their vicinity. Thus the ability to converse through the boundaries of time and space is an important distinguishing characteristic.
Creativity and breadth – Human language is vast! While animals are endowed with the most basic vocabulary to survive, humans have limitless options with language. It is this that sets them apart in the animal kingdom, the ability to use language as luxury.
Duality – Animals use sounds in isolation or simple combinations. Humans have a more complicated way. Sounds and words are on one level but how they are struck together to form meaningful sentences is another level. This depends on grammar and structure of different languages.
Structure – Because of the framework of grammar, words can be rearranged to form sentences with the same meaning. A chunk of words can be rearranged differently, and this is unique to human languages.

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This is the twelfth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats

K... is for Keats

I don't have much for K, but I'll leave you with a poem by Keats.
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A Galloway Song

Ah! ken ye what I met the day
Out oure the Mountains
A coming down by craggi[e]s grey
An mossie fountains --
A[h] goud hair'd Marie yeve I pray
Ane minute's guessing --
For that I met upon the way
Is past expressing.
As I stood where a rocky brig
A torrent crosses
I spied upon a misty rig
A troup o' Horses --
And as they trotted down the glen
I sped to meet them
To see if I might know the Men
To stop and greet them.
First Willie on his sleek mare came
At canting gallop --
His long hair rustled like a flame
On board a shallop.
Then came his brother Rab and then
Young Peggy's Mither
And Peggy too -- adown the glen
They went togither --
I saw her wrappit in her hood
Fra wind and raining --
Her cheek was flush wi' timid blood
'Twixt growth and waning --
She turn'd her dazed head full oft
For there her Brithers
Came riding with her Bridegroom soft
And mony ithers.
Young Tam came up an' eyed me quick
With reddened cheek --
Braw Tam was daffed like a chick --
He coud na speak --
Ah Marie they are all gane hame
Through blustering weather
An' every heart is full on flame
Ah! Marie they are all gone hame
Fra happy wedding,
Whilst I -- Ah is it not a shame?
Sad tears am shedding.

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This is the eleventh post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling

J... is for Journalling

One of the best ways to study a theoretical subject is by journalling. The art of taking down personal notes date-wise and cross-referencing them by topic is very valuable. Doing a Masters is not only about studying large volumes of text, it is also about knowing how to study. I usually write things out a lot. I find it easier to remember things when they are written down. I also find it easy to memorise passages, names of critics etc, when I have written them down once or twice.
I tend to number pages of my notes and make tables of contents. I don't use highlighters or sticky-notes though. When we were growing up, they didn't really exist and I never learnt how to use them to optimise my work. And I find them distracting. So I stick to good old pens of different colours, pencils, the likes.
Do you miss studying in the old fashioned way?

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This is the tenth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation

I... is for Interpretation

Interpreting something that one reads is a representation of what one is. How a text is perceived is to a large extent the reader's personality. For instance, a lot of my avid reader female friends are massive fans of Darcy, Heathcliff, and Rhett. What is it about these men that attracts young women, I wonder. I am personally not attracted to any of them. So what is it that draws one? What is the individual's interpretation of a plot? Of dialogues? What do writers want to convey when they write a particular statement in a particular way?
How does one ever know? Which critics are right? It is so strange that the study of literature involves the reading of those people who have read texts widely and have offered their own thorough opinion. I find it strange because every person is entitled to his/her own opinion. Why should I have to conform or quote? Why can't I be a critic!? What's your take on the interpretation of novels, poems, and plays?

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This is the ninth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour

H... is for Humour

I have a thing for darker themes and plots; humour doesn't really appeal to me. I understand that it is an important part of any story and its presence is sometimes not optional. But I don't know how to read books or plays that are pure humour. Does one approach them with a light heart and a mood to laugh?
Fairly recently, I reviewed a book whose genre can be described as humour. Read my review here. I enjoyed it quite a lot, but I would never have picked it up on my own. Do you read humourous books? Is laughter the best medicine? Which ones would you recommend?  

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This is the eighth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction

G... is for Gothic Fiction

I'm a big fan of gothic themes. I enjoy reading such novels immensely. One of the finest examples of gothic novels, in my opinion is Rebecca. What a tale! The second Mrs de Winter, nameless, faceless is constantly living under the shadow of the former Mrs de Winter, Rebecca. The primary gothic features are presented by Mrs Danvers, Rebecca's nanny and later housekeeper, whose sole aim in life is to preserve her child's presence, and to this end, she makes life at Manderley, dark, very dark.
Another stunning example of such a novel I read in recent times is Orkney, by Amy Sackville. This book has touched me in ways I have not thought possible. I was swept away by the passion in the story, terrified by its darkness, and it has refused to leave my head, even after a year after I read it. Read my review here.
For poems, Plath and Donne are magicians!
Oh, and do read both these books!

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This is the seventh post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust

F... is for Faust

About three years ago, I went to the Delhi World Book Fair with no TBR list. I walked around with no aim, picking up books that caught my fancy, ones that I'd heard were good, ones that looked like they'd be good etc. Good times... and I was earning at the time, so I splurged! One of the books that I bought and later read was Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. I knew that it had something to do with Satan, and I really liked the name of the author.
I wasn't disappointed. Faust is the tale of a very learned young scholar, who sells his soul to the Devil and makes a pact with his advocate for years and years of power. In the degree that I'm currently studying towards, I'm required to read The Tragic History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe, same plot. Both texts I have thoroughly enjoyed. There is something truly wonderful and sinister about making a pact with the Devil himself, and I really think that each one of us should be put through that test. No, I'm not religious, but I do like the symbolism of it. And I thoroughly believe that all the so-called enlightened will fail the test.
Anyway, you must read one or both of these works about Faust, they are filled with intrigue and excitement. I have loved the characters and dark dark plot. As one would expect, the ending is tragic. Goethe's Faust is also filled with beautiful and lyrical poetry and is an excellent mix of prose and poetry, great for those who aren't comfortable with a body of work that is complete poetry, like Milton's Paradise Lost.

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This is the sixth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh

E... is for Edinburgh

What a disaster! I was away yesterday and this post was scheduled. :( Anyway, here it is now.
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Many of you here don't know me personally. Actually, profession-wise, I'm an Engineer. I have a Masters in Electronics engineering, and while I'm not a complete geek, I like to think that I have a decent analytical brain. I also love Literature and pick up new languages fast, maybe something to do with a good left brain. I got my Masters degree from The University of Edinburgh and it was that time I spent in Scotland that my passion for Literature really picked up. It was also during that time that I decided I was going to study Literature properly, and give my passion a voice.

Edinburgh is a very literary city. There are immense resources for writers, some brilliant book/writing clubs, and endless inspiration. Of course, it helps that nature is predominant in Scotland and very motivating to artists, musicians, and poets. It also helps that Edinburgh itself can also be a very dark and brooding city, with its bloodied past, scary haunting history, and intriguing city-upon-city structure.
Organisations like the Scottish Book Trust and the Scottish Poetry Library promote reading, writing, and generally, the culture of staying associated with good book and good authors. Edinburgh has been a massive inspiration to my literary side, and for that I will always be grateful, and I wrote about that here.

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This is the fifth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama

D... is for Drama

Reading drama is very different from reading novels, you don't need me to tell you that. When I was much younger, I hated drama with a passion. I could never understand why dialogues have to be so difficult to understand (that's what I thought at the time). In fact, I'm not good with a lot of dialogues at length, I get muddled, that's a reason why I never read too many of Agatha Christie's novels. They tend to have long conversations and I get confused about who's saying what!
This was until I had to read 'Julius Caesar' in school, when I was 13 followed by 'Tempest' when I was 15. We had Oxford University Press annotated Shakespeare editions. And we had a very meticulous teach, who wasn't life changing or brilliant, but disciplined. The combination of the two meant that we were taught to read Shakespeare and understand him using the annotations on the side. We were required to enact them too, and I was Cassius. I have enjoyed drama ever since! It is always different and they is so much fun in imagining oneself in a character's shoes. This time around, for MA, I need to read a variety of playwrights, and they're all exciting, moving, and brilliant in their own right. Have you read any of these? What have you thought of it (them)?

The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Hamlet
Alchemist by Ben Jonson
The Playboy of the Western World
Pygmalion
Murder in the Cathedral
Waiting for Godot
Look Back in Anger

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This is the fourth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis

C... is for Critical Analysis

I have read for as long as I can remember. We are a family of bookworms on my Mum's side, Mum, Gran, Greatgran, all are avid readers. Also, because I'm an only child, Mum set me with books whenever she had work to do and I was being a pest. However, at the time, until I was much older, I never analysed texts critically, I didn't know what that meant. Last year, however, I took a MOOC on Coursera called 'English Composition I: Achieving Expertise'. It was conducted by Duke University and I learnt quite a bit from it. Although it was aimed at writing, it also taught us how to read critically. This proved to be a boon when I had to submit a 20,000 word dissertation for my Masters in Edinburgh.
Reading critically is the first step to being a good writer. It isn't enough to read and understand. It is important to look at undertones, if any, and link various parts of the text to a set of themes that are usually revealed right at the onset. Character analyses are far easier, because writers tend to pan them out in a way to create a succinct image in the readers' minds. But theme-wise breakdown of a play or novel is quite challenging.
Added to that, is the task of sifting through piles of what crappy critics think the author meant to say. For example, I was reading a criticism of Wuthering Heights where the critic claimed that Mr Lockwood's progression from his landlord's living room, to kitchen, to guest bedroom reflects the opening of various layers of the plot! What rubbish, I say! Isn't that how guests enter people's homes every day!? What has that got anything to do with layers or whatever...
Anyway, critical thinking comes with experience and practice. I'm trying to cultivate it little-by-little.

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This is the third post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature

B... is for British Literature

Right at the onset, I would like to say that I'm quite overwhelmed by the lovely comments I got on my post yesterday. It is a beautiful feeling to read them. I'm having a busy day today (my cousin is coming and I'll see him after two years!) but I'll read more blogs tomorrow.
So, like I said, my first year modules for school are all about British literature. And while I've never been one to think of a person's nationality while I read his/her works, I was quite surprised. I have read many of the poets, playwrights, and novelists on my course without thinking that they were British, but they were! So many of them! While it is natural that this should all be happening in the country that gave the world the language itself, but it is still wonderful that they can read, write, and enjoy in their mother tongue.
I've always expressed myself best in English. A rigorous secondary school education coupled with an inherent love for the language ensured that English became my first language. So I would never know what it is like to enjoy studying in a language that is fairly alien, but friends tell me that it is a chore. Anyway, point being that I'm glad the British gave us this wealth of Literature and that I finally got around to studying it. Another happy coincidence is that the course creators have included Sylvia Plath, who was married to an Englishman. I do like her works.
In case, you're wondering, for second year, we were given optional modules to choose from Indian, Canadian, Australian, and American Literature. I chose American (Hemingway, Twain, Fitzgerald, Capote sigh) and Australian (because I have NO idea what it contains!).

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This is the second post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism

A... is for Archaism

As the immortal song goes "Let's start at the very beginning / A very good place to start"...
By a series of chance encounters, coincidences, and timing clashes, I'm studying towards a Masters in Literature. Finally, I say! It has been a long time coming, this chance meeting with Literature. But it is here now, and how!
My modules include largely British literature, it is where 'English' began, where it took form, and went through all of its many recognisable phases. I am reading a lot of archaic literature, as a result. Derived from the Ancient Greek: archaîos means 'from the beginning or ancient'. It is the use of a form of speech or writing that is no longer current.
Chaucer, for instance, I'm losing hope with. I don't think I will ever enjoy him. But Donne, I love. "Wuthering Heights' I'm reading for the first time, but 'Great Expectations' is like meeting an old friend who I know page by page. But my newest experience has been the study of the Structure of language itself. Asking the questions of 'What is language?', 'Why do we need it?', 'How to understand and construct criticism?' etc, have been proving to be wonderful exercises.
Archaism and its ideas which seem hardly relevant in today's modern world is an integral part of learning the language. It is imperative to understand where what we read today comes from. However outdated and illogical characters and plots seem, they provide a succinct glimpse of life and times of their inception.
I will leave you with this poem by Donne, considered very outrageous upon its publication, for what it suggests.

The Flea

Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is;
It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;
Thou know’st that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead,
    Yet this enjoys before it woo,
    And pampered swells with one blood made of two,
    And this, alas, is more than we would do.

Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, nay more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our mariage bed, and marriage temple is;
Though parents grudge, and you, w'are met,
And cloistered in these living walls of jet.
    Though use make you apt to kill me,
    Let not to that, self-murder added be,
    And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.

Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail, in blood of innocence?
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it sucked from thee?
Yet thou triumph’st, and say'st that thou
Find’st not thy self, nor me the weaker now;
    ’Tis true; then learn how false, fears be:
    Just so much honor, when thou yield’st to me,
    Will waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee.
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This is the first post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.