Thinking Activity on Figurative Language

I.A Richards who along with T.S Eliot consider as the pioneer of new criticism gave an idea of close reading of text and also verbal analysis of text. He also gave the theory of practical criticism. So here I tried to analyze my own "Ghazal" which  one lover addressed his beloved. 

               " Jamal-ae-Do Jahan"

            (Beauty of Universe)

ए मेरी नूर-ए-मुजस्सम,

मेरी बेजान जिन्दगी की गुल-ए-तबस्सुम.

मेरे नफ्ज की फजिलत है तु, 

तु ही सूबह की हसीन इनायत.

हूकुमत है तेरी मेरे दिल पर ए मल्लिका-ए-जन्नत,

जैसे बिल्कीस की सुलैमान पर.

गुलाबी लब तेरे जैसे जाम-ए-कौसर,

कत्ल करता हुस्न तेरा जैसे मैदाने महेशर.

गुल-ए-रुखसार तेरा, जैसे रवानी में उठता भंवर,

सुर्ख अंधेरी रातो में जैसे निकलता कोइ कमर.

सियाह पर्दे में उठती ये मदहोश निगाहे,

तन्हा रात में तुंलु होते हुए चांद सितारे.

                                     ~ Abulhasan 

Here, we will discuss one by one couplet in detail.

"ए मेरी नूर-ए-मुजस्सम,

मेरी बेजान जिन्दगी की गुल-ए-तबस्सुम".

(नूर-ए-मुजस्सम-enlightened body, गुल-ए-तबस्सुम-smile)

In this couplet poet praising the beauty of lover's beloved with beautiful words. Lover says that his beloved body is like enlightened and bright, in next line he says that his beloved smile make his dead looking body alive

.

"मेरे नफ्ज की फजिलत है तु, 

तु ही सूबह की हसीन इनायत."

(नफ्ज-Soul, इनायत-grace)

In this second couplet again lover praising his beloved and says that his beloved is superiority of her lover's self or soul, means his beloved make her lover's soul immortal. In second line lover says that his beloved is like a morning grace or bless of the God.

"हूकुमत है तेरी मेरे दिल पर ए मल्लिका-ए-जन्नत,

जैसे बिल्कीस की सुलैमान पर."

In this couplet lover used mythical couple of Quranic story about bilqis, the Queen of Yemen and Sulayman, the King or prophet of Israel who loves beautifully each other. So here lover compare the relationship between Royal couple and theirs own.

"गुलाबी लब तेरे जैसे जाम-ए-कौसर,

कत्ल करता हुस्न तेरा जैसे मैदाने महेशर."

In these lines poet use metaphoric language. In the Islam people's belief that after the death, Prophet Muhammad drinks the water of the fountain and river of Paradise to his followers. So here lover says that his beloved pink lips are like water of paradise and pleased his thirstiness with lips kiss of his beloved.

 In the second line lover again connect his beloved beauty with the Quranic events. In the day of judgement. The God and his prophets, Angels all supreme power will be assembled in one beautiful field called "मैदाने महेशर".

 So, here lover feel wonder that how beautiful that day will be to see Almighty God. Further lover compare his beloved with that blessed day in the sense that looking at Supreme power and look at his beloved is wonder for him.

"गुल-ए-रुखसार तेरा, जैसे रवानी में उठता भंवर,

सुर्ख अंधेरी रातो में जैसे निकलता कोइ कमर."

(गुल-ए-रुखसार-Cheeks dipmle, कमर-moon)

Furthermore, lover describes his beloved beauty with natural elements like with Night, Ocean, Moon. In the first line lover compare the cheeks dimple of her beloved with the whirlpool of flowing Ocean. In another line he says that for him, his beloved is like a rising Moon in his darkened life.

"सियाह पर्दे में उठती ये मदहोश निगाहे,

तन्हा रात में तुंलु होते हुए चांद सितारे." 

(सियाह- dark, तुंलु- rising)

Lastly, in the final couplet of this Ghazal. Lover continuing his beloved praises with different metaphoric words. In the first line of this couplet he says about the beautiful eyes of his beloved that her raising eyes in veiled black scarf, it is like Stars and Moon raising in darkened and lonely night.

Here, we have seen that poet used much connotative words than denotative. As per I.A.Richard that there are two types of sense in metaphor, one is scientific and other is emotive. Then, if we look on  the words of this Ghazal some may have questions like.

1) Women have not pinked colored lips and also how can one pleased his thirst from lips. 

2) Poet also used the word "मदहोश निगाहे" means drunken eyes, some may have question that how can an eye become a drunken.

3) Poet connect his beloved cheeks dimple with the whirlpool of ocean that far fetched metaphor make misunderstanding .

According to I.A Richards that there are many types of metaphor that we can use in literary work. And we have to look at its emotive not at scientific. Here some metaphors which are used by poet that "जाम-ए-कौसर", "मैदाने महेशर", "कमर" this all have emotive or connotative words. 

To conclude, figurative language is a study of close reading, at first reading without any knowledge about any work we can not come to exact meaning of literature. It shows that to understand literary work one must have the knowledge of language, emotive sense, historical sense, social Sense also, because  writer writes satirical works also. After looking this things we can say that without all the sense they can't able to understand proper meaning of literary works.

A Voyage to Pirambet

                                   
                                                   Report writing on trekking to Piram island

On 23rd December 2017 Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University arranged an adventurous trekking camp to Piram island. our journey started with a cup of tea with the professors of  University at 7'o clock at Shamaldas college gate. After take little breakfast and too much waiting of vehicle, one Eicher comes with alarming horn like ship, all students feel wonder and have a little fun to listen this kind of funny horn. Our journey to the vehicle started with noises and jokes, after half an hour we reached at Gogha port there we are thrilled to see beautiful boats and ships. We all students departed in three group for boat riding then, me and my classmates start a voyage to Piram island under the captainship of Dr. Dilip Barad and Dr.Dilipsinh Gohil. 

Journey through ocean always exciting as well as adventurous. This is my first landmark voyage with memorable moments, we all students enjoyed boat riding with too much photo shooting. Distance between Ghogha port to Piram island is around 5km, we all students and professors have much enjoyed a little but remarkable voyage.

After an hour coastal journey, finally we climbed beautiful 'Piram' island. The situation very ridiculous when students jumping from crossing the boat and fall in the water. After arrival on the island all students and professors are going towards one small temple and there trekking guide Vasudevsinh Sarvaiya talk abut the history of this island that seven hundreds years ago around 1309 to 1347 King Mokhdaji Gohil ruled on this beautiful island, Piram island was the first capital of Bhavnagar state. This island also witnessed of battle between king Mokhdaji Gohil and Sultan of Delhi Muhammed Tughlaq.

Furthermore, we have seen the destroyed wall of Mokhdaji's castle but in present time there is no any colony or population.

"अब तो खंडहर भी नही कहता के कभी इमारते बुलंद थी"

Although, the beauty of Pirambet is great, Vasudevsinh also talk about the geography and about various insect like Crabs, Lobster, white Snake, Dolphin all are living around this wonderful island. This is such a natural sight which I ever seen.

After that informative and knowledgeable speeches by trekking guide Vasudevsinh and convener of Board of  Sports Dr.Dilip Barad, then we all moved to the light house. On the way to lighthouse we have seen wonderful rocks and destroyed wall of castle then finally we reached at lighthouse where we can see the real beauty of entire Piram island from the pick of lighthouse and we grab knowledge about Fresnel lense, the function of this lense is, when this lamp reflect on such kind of glass around the pick of lighthouse so with the help of this lamp seamen or sailor can easily see far from 30 km or more to know their direction.

Beautiful view from the pick of lighthouse

Fresnel Lense

After the visit of lighthouse we moved to wonderful mud trekking under the tree of mangroves. It was great experience to walk in the knee deep mud, we all have great fun with Vasudevsihn and Dilip Barad during the trekking in this kind of surface .It is such a great natural sight with combination of different landscape like forest of mangroves, mud ground, tough field and ocean.

After this memorable mud trekking all students and professors feel much hungry and moved to take lunch, lunch box fully overloaded.

Slowly and steadily this camp going towards the end, although, after took lunch all students rest a while and play kabaddi and many other games, then Vasudevsinh bring us to sea shore to see beautiful stone with variety of colors and designs also we have seen one rared ocean insect lobster.

Thus, at 4'o clock all students and professors return to boats to Ghogha, while returning to Ghogha we are very lucky to see passenger ship Ghogha to Dahej at Ro Ro ferry. Thus, we enjoyed the beautiful and remarkable nature of Piram island, unique experience of mud trekking and adventurous of voyages.  Finally we come at Ghogha and remembering Piram island but when we listen to alarming sound of Eicher's horn, all students rushed to the vehicle happily and finally we reached at Bhavnagar around 6 in the evening. It was such a greatest and uniqe trekking in the natural sight.

Frankenstein: Thinking Activity

1) What are some major differences between movie and the novel Frankenstein?

> Kenneth Branagh's 1994 filmatic adaption of marry Shelly's Romantic novel 'Frankenstein' contains many elements not seem in the original novel. While both the novel and the film open in similar ways, the move does tend to allot the women of the film more power than the novel.

A) Victor's reaction to his mother's death is far more emotionally harrowing in the movie than the text. Shelley's version shows Elizabeth to be far more affected by Caroline's death than Victor. Victor's obsession with the women in his life is far more evident in the film.

B) Branagh seems to wish to highlight the relationship between Elizabeth and Victor far more than Victor and his creature. Given that love has always been a theme important to movie, Branagh brought the love between Victor and Elizabeth to the front of the novel instead of leaving it hidden as Shelley did.

C) One more different that at the end of the novel, Monster run away after the death of his maker, Victor. in the original text, whereas in the movie Branagh shown that Monster die with his creator Victor.

2) Did this movie help you in understanding the plot of the novel?

> Yes, this movie very faithful to give us overall idea about plot construction of the novel. Somewhere Kenneth Branagh tried to make some changes in the plot, we can understand that Branagh leaves out some parts of the story because in about two hours the film director must hold on the attention and the expectation of the spectators with special effect, violence and horror.

3) Who do you think is real Monster?

> As we all know that real monster in the novel is Victor, the maker of creature. Marry Shelley analyzes vital issues in her novel in terms of being able to use science and knowledge for the good of people and not for the satisfaction of personal ambition without even being able to take responsibility for that.

  As the novel goes. the reader realizes that the real monstrous action are made by Victor Frankenstein, first he rejects his own creature, then he simply fees to forget what has happened, then his brother dies as the revenge of the monster and he lets and innocents girls die taking responsibility for this death. Eventually, he loses his best friend and his wife and dies himself. So, we can say that the real monster in the novel is not the creature but the creator himself who dared to undermine the laws of nature and play God.

4) From where Marry Shelley get the idea for the novel Frankenstein?

> In the preface to the 1831 edition of the novel, Shelley wrote that the idea first came to her in the summer of 1816, where she stayed in a manor on Lake Geneva with her future husband Percy Bysshy Shelley and the writer Lord Byron and John Polidory. Byron suggested that each of them write a ghost story. Days passed, but Shelley produced nothing but that "blank incapability of invention which is the greatest misery of authorship".

  Then late one night, after a conversation about the possibility of using electricity to reanimate cadavers, the story came to her in a waking dream in which she saw a "hideous phantasm of a man" being animated by the working of some powerful engine, When Shelley opened her eyes, she saw moonlight entering her room through the shutter, and a story was born.

5) Do you think the search for the knowledge is dangerous and destructive? 

> The danger of knowledge the book Frankenstein is about a man's life that is ruined by his thirst for knowledge. Marry Shelley portrays the quest for knowledge as dangerous. She believes that it leads to self destruction, whether it is minimal of serve. Shelley shows three types of destruction in three characters; Victor, Monster and Walton.

  We can see in novel that Victor dreams about the possibility of creating life using electricity and body parts from dead men. After a long time studying and doing research Victor tell us that after days and night of incredible labor and fatigue led him towards tragic end. The monster also learning experiences and knowledge ultimately leads to failure and anger. Walton also states in his letter that he is lonely and need of a friend because of the demands of his chosen path to fame. 

6) What are some myths used by Marry Shelley in the Frankenstein?

>  There are three types of myths used in the Frankenstein.

     Paradise Lost

     Myth of  Narcissus and

     The myth of Prometheus

7) Write about the narratology of Frankenstein:

>  Narratology, in literary theory, is the study of narrative structure. The nature of the narrative in Frankenstein is inseparably linked to its structure, which combines three different narrative strands;    

• Captain Walton
• Victor Frankenstein
• The Monster
  

    >  Captain Walton writes to his sister Margaret Saville about his adventures, which the readers looks in upon in a typical epistolary novel manner. 

    > Victor recounts his story to Walton, who takes notes and sends them to his sister.

   

   > Then the Monster tells Victor about his or its adventures, which Victor recounts to Walton.

T.S.Eliot Thinking Activity

                                   

                                                     Online Thinking Activity on New Criticism

1) How would you like to explain Eliot's concept of tradition? Do you agree with it?

>Yes, I am agree with the concept of tradition given by Eliot in his essay in which he points out that tradition is matter of much wider significance it can not be inherited and you must obtain it by great labour. We can know what is good and useful or bad by labour.

2) What do you understand by historical sense?

> "The historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence".

   "This historical sense, which is a sense of the timeless as well as of the temporal and of the timeless and of the temporal together, is what makes a writer traditional".

A historical sense is not just sense of history as a past but it is also an understanding of the present, the present is the unfolding of the past, As a writer one can must have the historical sense.

3) What is the relationship between "Tradition" and "Individual Talent" according to the poet T.S.Eliot?

> According to T.S.Eliot, Individual talent is a part of tradition, They are like two sides of one coin. A writer while writing his work not only considers literature of his time but also the classical. Individual talent is a part of tradition as like a brick and building.

4) Explain. ''Some can absorb knowledge, the more tardy must sweat for it. Shakespeare acquired more essential  history from Plutarch than most men could from the whole British museum".

> Eliot wants to say about this quote that all writers have absorb knowledge through the wide reading of whole tradition of his own nation like Shakespeare that he was not highly educated person but he had knowledge about his surrounding and history.

5) "Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation is directed not upon the poet but upon the poetry"

> In this line, he tried to explain that the honest criticism and the appreciation by any critic is of the work art and not of the writer. If we like any work of art it is the quality of that work we like not the poet's personality. E.g now a days people Criticise Tajmahal as a  creation of cruel ruler in other words, we can not judge it in terms of history or personality of maker, but we must see its art of creation.

6) How would you like to explain Eliot's theory of depersonalization? You can explain with the help of chemical reaction in presence of catalyst agent, platinum.

> T.S.Eliot gives an example of chemical process to explain his theory of depersonalization to create Sulphur dioxide, platinum is used as a catalyst, but when it is prepared we do not see platinum any more in the solution. Similarly, to create poetry, poet's mind works as a catalyst but we do not see his mind in his poetry.

7) Explain. "Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality"

> In this quote Eliot does not deny personality or emotion to the poet only, he must depersonalize his emotions there should be an extinction of his personality. This impersonality can be achieved  only when poet surrenders himself completely to the work that is to be done.

8) Write two points on which one can write critique on T.S.Eliot as a critic; 

  A) "Tradition is a matter of much wider significance, it can't be inherited and if you want it you must obtain it by great labour".

 B) "Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation is directed not upon the poet but upon the poetry".

Mathew Arnold- The Study of Poetry

                                                     Mathew Arnold- Thinking Activity

                                

                         

1.Write about the idea of Matthew Arnold which you found interesting and relevant in our times. 

           Yes, I'm agree with his views of detachment and disinterestedness, because it is relevant in today's life, literature should be free from all the prejudice either historical or personal. Critic has to give his views without partiality. E.g we should note look at Tajmahal in terms of history or personally that it was built by a cruel ruler, but we should see it as a world heritage building, symbol of love and art of creation.

         Secondly, I agree with Arnold's definition of poetry that the 'poetry is criticism of life' because poetry represent the idea of poets' mind and also a poet represents his life through poetry like Wordsworth writes his experience with nature and with people in his poetry. One another example of Mirza Ghalib,  we can see his Sher or Shayri represent his whole life and also we can see his different aspect of life in his poetry. So, we can say that poetry is criticism of poets' life.

  2. Write about on idea of Mathew Arnold which you found irrelevant or out of date in our time 

               According to me, Arnold's ' Touchstone Method' is quite inappropriate in present time. It is much complicated to judge different age's literature, I think literature may be written on different society or on different ages, but after that the society or situation may change so writer also change their imagination on society or the situation whom they belong. Every writer have their different interpretation and imagination so we can not judge the poets' greatness with small passages or rows.

 We can see Plato's age and his interpretation that morality is necessary in poetry then Aristotle come with new idea after Plato's age, Aristotle believe that  morality is necessary in work but aesthetic delight is more important, after Aristotle's era we have seen the interpretation of Coleridge on poetry that, poetry's function is to give pleasure. Hence, we can say that every writers or poets have their different interpretation or imagination on work therefore we can not compare any one work with other to decide who is best.