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 It is the use of a form of speech or writing that is no longer current.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 However outdated and illogical characters and plots seem, they provide a succinct glimpse of life and times of their inception.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.

A is for Aye!

Oh yes, that's the word all Scots use. Okay, a bit of background. I come from India, in particular, Bengal. Now, Bengal has had a very heavy British influence, and so, as compared to the rest of India, people in Bengal know wayyyy more about British people, their ways and customs and things. Now when you move to a different country for the first time in your life, you hear things about it, what it's like, what the people, the country, the weather is like, what they sound like, and such other things. I did too.
And then, when I got to Scotland, I was amazed! Everything seemed to match with what I'd heard, except for the people. They were friendly, and laughed loudly, helpful, very very enthusiastic and welcoming, absolutely adorable, and highly unlike what I'd assumed they would be like, quiet and reserved. I asked for directions, 'Aye' they'd say, and proceed to walk me to where I needed to go. 'I didn't think you people here were like this!' 'Aye, they'd say, we know! That's what the English are like!'
Scotland, good people, is very very different from England. People are warm, unlike the weather, which never is. They are also slow, in a good way, in the way they get to know someone, in how they drive, in how they repeat themselves because their accent is so different, but not how they drink ;)
Aye, they say to everything :D

The first time I was lost, in Bonnyrigg. The bus guy gave me a guided tour on

the way back to my place about 5 miles away, and didn't charge me a ticket

A

A is for 'Atticus'. 
If you've read Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird', you'll know for sure who I'm talking about. Atticus is a fictional character, a lawyer in a small town of Alabama. He defends a black man who is accused of raping a white girl. In the process, his kids, Scout and Jem, are subjected to much ridicule and insult by the community, close-knit and rascist. The black is convicted and unpleasant incidents follow. The book is notmeant to be a balm, it is a strong voice of protest against injustice. But, the character of Atticus is strong, upright, 'one-shot', and enigmatic.
The novel won a 'Pulitzer'. Book Magazine's list The 100 Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900 lists Atticus Finch as the 7th best fictional character of the 20th Century and his portayal by Gregory Peck in the movie is supposed to be 'the greatest hero in american film.'
This book is a must read for all sections of society in all lands. It is a modern day tale of the eternal fight of the commoner for justice, and the fight of good against evil. Social workers, lawyers, human rights activists have all drawn immense inspiration from Atticus, and on a personal level, so have I.

From the movie, Atticus with daughter Scout.

PS: This is the first post for the A-to-Z April Challenge, yay! (http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/)