Paper :- 2 Assignment- Neo classical literature

Name : Vaghasiya Alisha S. Class: M.A. (semester -1) Roll No. 1   Paper : 2 ( Neo Classical  literature) Topic :Major writers of the Neo Classical age Submitted to: Department of English M.K. Bhavnagar University.    ‘Major writers of the Neo-Classical Age’ ·      Introduction Neo-Classical age is considered as a very remarkable age of English literature. In this age literature proceeds in many forms like prose, poetry, drama, novel and many others. And in creating this wonderful form of literature there is immense contribution of many great writers. Some very important of them are describe as under. Ø   Prose writers v     Jonathan Swift  (1667-1745)                     Biography Swift was born in Dublin in 1667. His father died before swift’s birth so the boy was thrown upon the charity of an uncle, who paid for his education in Ireland. Much of his distemper was due to purely physical causes, for he suffered from an affection of the ear that ultimately touched his brain and caused insanity. In 1686, at the age of nineteen, he left trinity college. An embittered man , he spent the last thirty years of his life in gloom, and largely in retirement. His last years were passed in silence and, at the very end lunacy. His poetry Swift would have been among the first to smile at any claim being advanced for him on the score of his being a great poet, though he always longed to excel in poetry, yet in bulk his verse is considerable. His poems were to a large extent recreations, add verses to his friends. In his poems he is as a rule lighter of touch and more placeable in humour  than he is in his prose. His favourite metre is the octosyllabic couplet, which he handles with dexterity. His prose His first noteworthy book was the Batttle of the books, published in 1704. The theme of the work is well known one, being the dispute between ancient and modern authors. Swift gives the theme a half allegorical, mock –heroic setting, in which books in a library at length literally contend with one another. A Tale  of a Tub also published in 1704, though it was written as early as 1696, is regarded by many as swift’s best work. It certainly reveals his power at its highest. It is a religious allegory. A Tale of a Tub is full of wit and brilliant in its imaginative power and the incisiveness of its thought. From a literary point of view, the next important period of life was from 1710, several of them were written for The Examiner, a Tory journal of which he was given charge, and the best known are The conduct of Allies (1711) and Some Remarks on the Barrier Treaty (1712). And The Public Spirit of the Whigs (1714). To this period also belongs journal to Stella, which is a kind of informal private log book. His other important work are The Drapier’s Letters(1724) , which gives him population. Then followed some miscellaneous political work, aimed at the improvement of the lot of the oppressed and poverty stricken irish. And then longest and his most famous book The Gulliver’s Travels (written between 1720 and 1725 and published in 1726). The  style  of swift is best  is not mannered or laboured , clean, powerful, and tireless, ease without being slovenly and as clear as summer noonday. Swift is greatest English dramatist. He restrict himself to general rather than personal attacks, and his work has a cosmic , elemental force, which is irresistible and, at times, almost frightening. His directions of humanity shows a powerful mind relentlessly and fearlessly probing into follies and hypocricy, but he is never merely distructive. Joseph Addison    (1672-1719) · HIS LIFE Educated at the charter house, Addison went to Oxford. He  early made his mark as a serious and accomplished scholar. In  1704 it is said that the instigation of the  leaders of the whigs, he wrote the poem The Camoaign, praising war policy of the whigs in general. This poem brought him fame and fortune. He obtained many appointments and pensions, married a dowager countess and became a secretary of state. Two years later  he died, at the early age of forty-seven. His poetry In his Latin verses Addison attained early distinction. These verses were highly praised at a time for proficiency in such a medium was of some significance. Then his campaign in 1704 gave him reputation as one of the major poets of the age. It is written in Heroic couplet. His other poetical works worthy of notice are hymns which are melodious, scholarly and full of cheerful piety. The one that begins ‘The Spacious Firmament on High’ is among the best. His Drama­ In 1773 he produced the tragedy of Cato. It shows that Addison , whatever his other qualities may be , is no dramatist. It is written in laborious blank verse, in which wooden character devlaim long, dull speeches. But it caught the ear of the political parties. Addison also attempted an Opera Rosamond (1707), which was a failure and the prose comedy  ‘The Drummer’ (1715) adds nothing to his reputation. His Prose Addison started writing with his school and college friend Steele in ‘The Tatler’ and ‘The Spectator. In The Spectator Addison rapidly became the dominating spirit, wrote  274 essays out of a complete total of 555. In march 1713 Addison assisted Steele with ‘The Guardian’ which Steele began. Addison wrote nearly   4  hundred essays , which are of nearly uniform length, excellence of style and the wide diversity of subject, they are faithful reflection to the life. His aim was to point out those vices which are too trivial for a chastened of the law. Literary criticism of a mild and curious kind , found a prominent place in his essays. some times he adopted the allegory as a means of throwing his ideas vividly before his readers, and so we have a popular ‘The Vision of a Mirza’ and the political allegory of Public Credit.       Sir Richard Steele  (1672-1729) His Drama He wrote some prose comedies, the best of which are ‘The Funeral’(1701) ·      ‘The Lying Loner’(1703) ·      ‘The Tender Husband’(1705)  and ·      ‘The Conscious Lovers’(1722) His essays it is as a miscellaneous essayist that Steele finds his place in literature. He started ‘The Tatler’ in 1709 and ‘The Spectator’ in 1711, and several other periodicals such as Ø ‘The Guardian’ (1713) Ø ‘The English Man’ (1713) Ø ‘The Reader’ (1714) and Ø ‘The Plebeian’ (1719) The aim of Steele’s essays was frankly didactic, he desired to bring about a reformation of contemporary society manners and is notable for his consistent advocacy of womanly virtue and the ideal of gentleman of courtesy, chivalry and good taste. His essay on children are charming and he is full of human sympathy. In versatility and in originality he is at least Addison’s equal. His humour is broader. His pathos is more attractive and more humane. He is incapable of irony. Daniel Defoe Ø    Biography Much of Defoe’s life is still undetermined. He was born in London in the year 1660.   He altered his original surname foe to Defoe. He became a soldier, and then took journalism.   As a young man, Daniel Defoe was a great traveller and went all over Europe. his career had ups and downs and he was also put into prison several times. When he was nearly sixty, Defoe started writing novels. He was considered to be founder of English novels. Ø    His prose His work can be divided into two greater groups. 1 Political Writing Like most of the other writer of his time Defoe turned out a mass of political tracts and pamphlets. Many of them appeared in his own journal ‘The Review’ which issued in 1704. His ‘The Shortest Way with the Dissenters’ (1702) brought upon him official wrath, and caused him to be fined, imprisoned and pilloried.  The best known of this class is ‘The True-born Englishman (1701). In all his propaganda Defoe in vigorous and acute and he has a fair command of irony and invective. 2 His fiction his work in fiction were all produced in the later part of his life, at almost Incredible speed. First came v‘Robinson Crusoe’ (1719) v‘Duncan Campbell’(1720) v‘Memoirs of cavellier’(1720) \ v‘Captain Singleton’(1720) all this books appeared in 1720, in 1722 appeared v‘Moll Flanders’ v‘A  journal to the plague year’ v‘Colonel Jacque’  then v‘Roxana’ (1724) and v‘A New Voyage round the World’ This great body of fiction has grave defect, largely due to the immense speed with which it was produced. The general plan of the snovel in each also loose and unequal. At its best in finest part in Robinson Crusoe, his writing has a realm that is rarely approached by the most ardent of modern realists. This is achieved by Defoe’s grasp of details and his unerring sense of their supreme literary value, a swift and resolute narrative method and a plain and matter of fact style that inevitable lays incredulity asleep. To this development of the novel Defoe’s contribution is priceless. Poetry Alexander Pope   (1688-1744) His life Pope was brn in London, the only son of a considerable city tradesman. From his birth two conditions were influence very deeply the career of the future poet , first he was puny and delicate and secondly, he was baptized into  the roman catholic faith. His bodily infirmity, which amounted almost deformity, caused him to be privately educated. Pope’s religious faith, though he was never excessively devout as a roman catholic , closed to him all the careers , professional and political , in which a man of keen intelligence might have been expected to succeed. From his earliest youth we find him passionately desirous of making his name as an author. His early verses , admirably attuned to the ear of the age, brought him recognition and applause. His translation of homer brought him wealth and from that point he nrver looked back .he became the dominating poetical personality of the day. In 1719 he removed to his house at Twickenham. It remained his home till “that long disease , his life” was finished in 1744. His poetry Pope’s earliest important work was his Pastorals. These poems almost certainly written before he was eighteen, were published in 1709. The characters and scenery, based as they are on Classical models, lack vigorous and    reality. but the work is important as an experiment in verse technique. Pope has already choose  his medium , the Heroic couplet , which is here handled  with great metrical skill, variation of speed and tone and delicacy of touch. The rich discriptions are perhaps over loaded with epithet. And the diction is often artificial . we give a specimen of his earliest number. And yet my numbers please the rural throng,Rough satyrs dance, and pan applauds the song;The nymph, forsaking ev’ry cave and spring,Their early fruit, and milk white turtled bring,Each am’rous nymph prefers her gift in vain,On you their gifts are all bestowed again,For you the swains the fairest flow’rs design,And in one garland all their beauties joined,Accept the wreath which you deserve alone,In whom all beauties are compri’d in one.                                                    Summer: the second pastoral In 1711 appeared ‘An Essay on Criticism’ also written in heroic couplet . the poem professes to set  forth the gospel of wit  and nature  as it applies to the  literature of the age. There is no attempt at originality of thought , pope’s aim being  merely  to restate the code of the ancients. This he does with  a conscious  and epi-grammatic neatness which has given his remarks the permanence of proverbs. I give below four well-known examples. ü A Little Learning is a Dangerous thing! ü And snatch a grace beyond the reach of art ü TO err is Human, to Forgive, divine ü True wit is nature to advantage  dressed; What of was though , but ne’er so well expressed.            Windsor Forest (1713) is another pastoral in the familiar meter.                     In 1712 was published  the first version of  ‘The Rape Of the Lock’ one of the most brilliant poems in the language. It is in mock-heroic strain, and its effectiveness  was greatly increased when , in 1714 pope added  the machinery  of the sylph to the original version. For the most part, this satire is gentle and good humoured , though occasionally the half-line of couplet give us a foretaste of the most incisive tones of the later pope.            Then pope translated Iliad , the Iliad  was followed in 1725 and 1726 by the Oddyssey.            Between 1731 and 1735 pope pope published a series of philosophical poems, including §  ‘TO Lord Bathrust’ §  ‘Of the use of Riches’ §  ‘Of the knowledge and characters of men’ §  ‘Of the character of women’ and most famous of all §  “An Essay on Man”, in which he discussed man’s place in the universe. The years 1733 to1737 marks pope’s last important period of production. In them appeared his ‘Imitations of Horace’, in using the latin satirist as his model. His famous prologue “Prologue to the Satirists”, better known by it’s other title, “Epistle to dr. Arbuthnot” (1735) contains some of his most brilliant  and finished work. The style shows the ultimate development of pope’s couplet in its ease, naturalness and versatility.         Both in subjects and in style his poems are limited. They take people of their own social class, and they deal with their common  interests and aspirations. Pope rarely dips below the surface, and when he does so he is not at his best. With regards to his style we have seen that it is almost wholly restricted to the heroic couplet, used in narrative and didactive  subject.         Within these limits his work is powerful and effective. The wit is keen, the satire burns like acid, and his zeal is unshakable.                    Above all he was a great artist. A study of his technique shows a meticulous sense of the exact word in the exact place.           Pope’s use of the heroic couplet marks a great change from Dryden. The couplet is tighter and more compressed. THUS, we can Thus say that Alexander Pope was truly was one very important figure of the Neo-Classical age. vConclusion Thus, Swift, Addison, Steele, Defoe, Pope and many other writer gave their immense contribution to English literature

Paper :- 4 Assignment - Indian writing in english

Name: Vaghasiya Alisha S.

Roll No: 1

M.A.

Sem- 1

Paper: -4) Indian Writing in English

Assignment Topic:

Explain what is Perspectivism? Or

How and why do you think T.P.Kailasam’s perspective differs from the myth of Mahabharata with reference to the Purpose.

Submitted to: Department of English, M.K. Bhavnagar University,(Gujarat, India)

ANSWER:- Nietzsche’s Perspectivism

Perspectivism ( German: perspektivismus) is the term coined by Friedrich Nietzsche in developing the philosophical view (touched upon as far back as Plato’s rendition of Protagoras) that all ideations take place from particular perspectives. This means that there are many possible conceptual schemes, or perspectives in which judgment of truth or values can be made. This is often taken to imply that no way of seeing the world be taken as definitively ‘true’ but does not necessarily entail  that all perspectives are equally valid.           

     Perspectivism rejects objective metaphysics as impossible, claiming that no evaluation of objectivity can transcend cultural formation or subjective designation. Therefore, there are no objective facts  nor any knowledge of a thing-in-itself. Truth is separated from any particular vantage point, and so there are no ethical or epistemological absolutes. Rules are constantly reassessed according to the circumstances of individual perspectives. ‘truth’ is thus created by integrating different vantage points together.People always adopt perspective by default whether they are aware of it or not. And the concept of one’s existence are defined by the circumstances surrounding that individual Truth is made by and for individuals and peoples. This view differs from many types of relativism which consider the truth of a particular proposition of something that altogether cannot be evaluated with respect to an ‘absolute truth’  without taking into consideration culture and context.

          

      In the opening section of the book, Nietzsche, repeatedly refers to ‘perspectives’. In preface he says that perceptivity is the  fundamental condition of all life. He refers to the belief in the opposition of the values and the value of truth as foreground evaluations, temporary perspectives.The term perspective comes from the language of vision. we literally see things from and with particular perspectives. Our eyes are located at a particular space, from which something are visible and others are not, e.g. –the top of the table, but not its underneath. A scene looks different from different perspectives- from high up, we can see further and things looks smaller, from below  things ‘loom’ over us and we cannot see very far.                The idea of a perspective has a rich metaphorical life. Important of our projects, when someone seems to overreact emotionally, we tell them to ‘ get thing in perspective’- what has happened is nit important as they seems to think, they need to see the bigger picture or take the lower view. In emotional overreaction, the immediate experience ( which is near) dominates the person. This relates Nietzsche’s  talk of foreground evaluations. We talk what is near to us( in the foreground) as the standard by which we interpret the world.         

       Nietzsche talks about ‘perspective’ when he is relating beliefs to our values. He uses the word interpretation to mean a belief about something as if it is like this or that. An interpretation is an understanding of a world from a particular perspective, and so interpretations, like perspectives, relate back to our values.( different perspectives are defined by different values, differences in belief are not themselves enough. Two people with different religious belief, for instance, may occupy the same perspective I their belief reflects the same underlying set of values.                 So Nietzsche is saying that philosophical  belief about truth and goodness are part of a particular perspective on the world, a short  sighted, distorting perspective. One of its most important distortions is that it denies that it is a perspective, that its truths are unconditional, that it represents  the world as it truly is. But philosophers are wrong to think that it is possible to represent or hold belief about the world that are value free, objective, disinterested.This applies even to sense perception, which we might expect to be most responsive to how the world is. First we find world easier, argues Nietzsche, to reproduce an image we are familiar with than to remember what is new and different in our sense impression. We are averse to new things, and so already, our experience of the world is dominated by an emotion. Familiar emotions- what we fear or love will affect what we see.

Nietzsche’s concept of Truth:-  

According to Nietzsche there is not any universal definition of

truth. So he says: “there are no truths”. Nietzsche points that an individual tries to ‘çreat’ truth . so truth exist in an individuals perspective only. An individual’s perspective depends upon his or her personal subjective experience. So when a writer writes he or she creates a truth from his or her own individual perspective. That’s why there are  possibilities that the ‘created truth is biased’. Because of contradictory perspective one can not rely on the truth/ reality which is shown. It can be deceptive.

      

      How can one who believes that one’s conception of truth depends on the perspective from which one writes also posit anything resembling a universal truth?

        

  Given this idea that there is no truth outside of a perspective, a transcendent truth, how can a philosopher make any claim that all which are valid outside his personal perspective?

          In beyond good and evil, Nietzsche begins with a chapter entitled “On the Prejudices of Philosophers”. Almost immediately he begins to tear into the lack of integrity on the part of traditional philosophers who present their ideas as the product of pure reason. Nietzsche declaims, “they pose as having discovered and attained their real opinions through the self evaluation of a cold, pure, divinely unperturbed dialectic. While what happens at bottom is a prejudice, a notion, an inspiration, generally a desire of the heart sifted and made abstract, is defended by them with reasons sought after the event. 

Truth is not attainable. True reality is always hidden.

      

   If we are doomed to always view the world from our own point of view, then one can never know an absolute truth. Nietzsche states that in light of perspectivism the very idea of an absolute truth is unintelligible. So there can be no absolute truth to be known.

          Nietzsche perceives that a person cannot act while examining his action with an uncertain eye. A person must believe his or her actions  to be the true. And just ways to act even if this belief is a lie in the will to power, he writes his idea as ‘truth’ is the kind of error without which a certain being could nit live. To see that this certain kind of being to which he is referring is definitely humanity. One need only look to beyond good and evil, where he says that for the purpose of preserving beings such as ourselves,  such judgment must believed to be true. Although they might be of course still be false judgment. Therefore, we human need to act as if we are certain of what we are doing even though we cannot be certain.

‘The Purpose’

-T.P. Kailasam

T.P. Kailasam (1884-1946), dramatist, poet, and short story writer In Kannada and English, specialized In geology and went to London for further studies. He returned to Mysore state where he served the Geological Department for a brief while. He sought to educate the sympathies and challenge in prejudices of his audience. His five English plays are based on The Ramayana and The Mahabharata.

       

   the Purpose, written over a period of six years, is a tragedy in two acts, the main characters are Eklavya, Arjuna  and Drona. the central idea is that the aim of learner finally determines his proficiency. Behind the mighty characters of the play looms an unseen power, with its own purposes hidden even from the great Bheeshma.

                Kailasam has brought his theme from the Indian Epics and he says that

                “ these scenes and words you’ll see and hear

I’ve seen and heard before;

as King or priest, poltroon or peer,

somewhere…….some when of yore”

                Kailasam’s play have a uniform technical excellence for this, C.R. Reddy  has said,

                “ greater than any writer i have known is Kailasam in dramatic technique”. Kailasam tried to high light something which in original myth was neglected. The playwright has made change in original myth and gave it a totally new form.

                His English plays are his small but significant effort to perceive and convey an original pattern of reinterpretation of traditional myth. For this purpose he looked afresh into some of the fringe characters from the Mahabharata. He attempted to bring into limelight marginalized of fringe character such as Eklavya.

                Kailasam’s uniqueness lies not merely in evoking our sympathies for Eklavya but also in elevating them to the level of tragic heroes who were masculine, skilful and capable of achievement. In addition, Kailasam attempted to reveal in these heroes the features that the colonizers believe they possess and which accounted for their superiority over Indians.

                The Purpose highlights Eklavya’s  ambition to become the greatest archer in the world in order to protect his fawns from the wolves, just as it highlights the questionable motivation of other heroic characters  in their shabby treatment of the low born hero. There ‘purposes’ of Kailasam can be linked to the broader purpose of the nationalistic movement of India to rewrite India’s past as a foundation of the nationalistic feeling, movement and sense of self.    

                He investigates his characters beyond the roles assigned to them by the authorized versions of the great epics, and he transforms them from passive victims to active participants, thus fitting them into western definitions of ‘masculinity’.

‘THE PURPOSE’ by T. P. Kailasam is a drama in two acts, the story is based on Adiparva from the Mahabharata.

The story moves around Eklavya and Arjuna and their purpose behind learning archery. Both h want to learn archery from the great Dronacharya.

Now if we try to evaluate the story of the play The Purpose by comparing it with the story of Mahabharata, then we will find a vast different in both the things.

In ‘Mahabharata’, Arjuna is drawn as a heroic character possessing super human quality. He is drawn as noble, kind, warrior, committed to his duty kind of person. We cannot imagine him doing any bad things. About Arjuna we have very good image in our mind. He is the greatest archer in the world. This is the myth we heard from our childhood, so we cannot imagine this ideal character committing any wrong things.

                But Kailasam challenges this myth and makes an attempt to present this myth in a totally different way, with his own perspective. In the play ‘The Purpose’  Kailasam has drawn Eklavya a marginalized character in Mahabharata as a hero of the play, whereas Arjuna is drawn as not  good character . in the play Arjuna’s intention behind learning archery was not noble. He wanted to learn only because he wanted to became greatest archer in the world. This was the only his limited ambition. We cannot imagine a character like him thinking so selfishly but in this play it is not so. In contrast to this Eklavya, is a nishadha boy wanted to learn archery not for his personal ambition but he wanted to protect/ save animals. His intention was noble. He has no personal aspirations. He behaves like a real hero. And at some extent, playwright has shown him greater than Guru Dronacharya also. Eklavya is drawn here as a fast learner, noble and greater kind of character in comparison to Arjuna.

This all are the things when Kailasam’s perspective differs from the myth of Mahabharata.

                Arjuna and Eklavya both wanted to learn archery. Dronacharya teaches archery to Arjuna  but cannot accept Eklavya’s proposal because of his promise to Arjuna. Both of them have difference purpose behind to learn archery. Arjuna wanted to became the greatest archer in the world, and Eklavya explains that he wants to learn archery to save lives of innocent animals. Arjuna’s purpose behind learning archery is self- centered while Eklavya’s purpose is noble. This is the point where the perspective of writer differs.

                Rejected by Guru Drona, Eklavya leaves the Ashrama but with the firm decision to learn archery. Eklavya put guru Drona’s idol and because of his hard work and gurubhakti, becomes the great archer.

In the 2^nd act Eklavya is far ahead than Arjuna in archery. In anger Arjuna says that he will tell everyone that guru Drona has not kept his vow. To save his Guruji, from social criticism Eklavya gives willingly his thumb to Drona as GURUDAKSHINA.

                This is the change made by Kailasam. Here the perspective differs.

The behavior of Arjuna is unexpected in this play. It is my personal ambition to become greatest archer in the world- Arjuna. But how can a prince have personal ambition??? He must be patriotic, think about other. And more than that Arjuna says “ I have trouble” , at that time Drona says you usually have problem in learning, and your aim is wrong. This has double meaning. Now this Arjuna is different from Mahabharata. In the play he is a self obsessed child. His understanding is very limited. Whereas Eklavya learns after even watching behind the tree. Eklavya says that this boy Partha will never improve, he still making mistakes.

All this things shows the upliftment of the character of Eklavya. Thus the Kailasam has highlighted the character of Eklavya. Arjuna is portrayed as anti hero. Eklavya is nobler than Arjuna.

So the story told by MAHARSHI VED VYAS

, in the Mahabharata is conflicting with the story told by T. P. Kailasam in the Purpose.

In the Purpose T.P. Kailasam’s Eklavya is greater than Arjuna. Though Eklavya is a Nishadha boy, his purpose in learning archery is for the betterment of others. In actuality  it is the duty of the prince, but the prince the Arjuna is selfish.

The reader are looking at the story from different perspectives and that are of the writers. Both the writers have created truths in their individual perspectives. Their individual perspective are contradictory.

                The Mahabharata is a story of a princes and in the purpose Kailasam has given voice to marginalizes. 

Ø CONCLUSION

Ø  According to Nietzsche there is not any universal definition  of truth. So the readers can’t rely on the contradictory perspectives for to attain truth because what the writer have written in their subjective experiences and the reality presented by them is complex.

                 We cannot prove Ved Vyasa right and Kailasam wrong or vice versa. So the reality presented by the writer is just their individual perspective not the truth.