Macbeth - William Shakespeare : Five different scenes including the opening one are five pillars in the structure of the play.

Introduction

"Macbeth" written by William Shakespeare is a great tragedy on historical theme. The opening scene of the play is very significant and necessary for this play. Beside this, the four other scenes known as  Dagger scene, Porter scene, Banquet scene and Sleep-walking scene are so adhering to this tragedy that without these scenes the drama would remain incomplete and  would be termed as a poor-structured  tragic composition. Before the discussion about the importance of these scenes we first locate the particular place and point where the said scenes occur.

 'Opening Scene' as the name suggests occurs  at the first of the play and it is the Sc. I of Act - I. Next the 'Dagger Scene' is arranged in Act - II , Sc. - I. The third one, the 'Porter Scene' is included in Sc - III of Act - II.One finds the 'Banquet Scene' in Act - III, Sc. - IV. The Act-V, Sc. - I of  "Macbeth" starts with the famous 'Sleep-walking Scene.'

'Opening Scene' : 

 

"Macbeth" starts with the popular 'Opening Scene' which introduces us to three witches who assemble in a  heath amidst the lightning and thunder. The second witch speaks in a very enigmatic way that they would again meet "When the battle's lost and won" and the third witch mentions the name of Macbeth. Besides all the witches jointly say: "Fair is foul and foul is fair." Though  the  volume of the scene is very short and very few words are uttered by the witches, the scene demands grave importance. 

According to some critics the play  "Macbeth" gains no dramatic effect by this scene. It may be regarded as poor and pointless by some critics, but the great poet Coleridge said that the opening scene of "Macbeth" strikes the key note of the whole play and thus he defended the scene. None can deny that this scene with the appearance  of the witches prepares the mind of the readers that some ominous is going to happen in the play. One thing is clear that the  witches are deliberately waiting for Macbeth as 'Evil' waits for the most unfortunate person. The epigrammatic utterance  "Fair is foul and foul is fair" indicates the 'reversal of values' and also throws some light on the character of Macbeth at the very outset of the play.

So this scene is of immense importance and its necessity is admitted for the fulfillment of the play.

'Dagger Scene'

The foregrounding  of the dark and evil atmosphere in the opening scene is strengthened in the dagger scene. When alone , Macbeth visualizes  a dagger hovering in front of him and the handle is towards his hand. He tries to clutch the dagger but it escapes him. After keen watch Macbeth realizes that the dagger is tangible and it is just like the dagger kept in his scabbard. His tension and terror increase when he discovers the drops of blood on the blade and handle of the dagger. Various dreadful thoughts dawn in Macbeth's mind and he vents his mind in his soliloquy. 

This dagger scene is very important as it reveals the inner working of the mind of Macbeth. Actually Macbeth's guilty mind creates a hallucination in the form of a dagger. As he is not a born criminal, it indicates his moral agitation. The dagger besmeared with blood is the external manifestation of the murderous design of Macbeth.The devilish character of this  valiant hero is , to some extent, revealed 

by the dagger scene.

'Porter Scene' 

In the porter scene the intoxicated porter thinks himself the janitor of the Hell Gate. He is going to be tired as there is continuous knocking at the door and the sinners enter this 'dungeon horrible' one by one.

A farmer, an equivocator and an English tailor are granted the hell for some sinful acts.

The porter scene is of immense importance.It serves as the comic relief as it removes the tension and  heaviness in the minds of the audience and prepares the minds for further actions to come. This scene provides some time between the exit of Macbeth in the previous scene and the entrance in the present scene after changing his dress and washing the spots of blood. The porter scent indicates that Macbeth has turned his castle into a hell after the murder of the king Duncan. 

'Banquet Scene'

The coronation banquet is ready and all the dignified guests are waiting in the great hall. The murderers appointed by Macbeth inform the latter that Banquo is murdered but Fleance, Banquo's son is escaped. When Macbeth utters Banquo's name , he with great horror and amazement discovers that the ghost of Banquo  is installed on seat reserved for Macbeth. He , thoroughly unnerved, addresses the ghost : " Thou canst not say I did it." Macbeth vents his rambling mind. With the reappearance of the ghost he loses his total control on himself. However, the intervention of Lady Macbeth somehow manages the situation but much thing is divulged. 

The ghost of Banquo appears only to Macbeth, nobody else, not even Lady Macbeth.The ghost is nothing but the personification of Macbeth's sense of guilt. Macbeth being unnerved exposed the secret of Bunquo's murder and proves that he is not a confirmed murderer. This banquet scene throws some light on the character of Lady Macbeth, on her cleverness and presence of mind.She vents some encouraging words to her husband, explains the cause of the abnormal behaviour of Macbeth and takes the charge of the situation with her extraordinary skill.  

'Sleep-walking Scene.'

The sleep-walking scene opens with a Doctor of physic and a Gentle woman talking about the somnambulism of Lady Macbeth. After the murder of the king she is mentally disturbed and is found walking in the room in her sleep during night. The lady appears with a taper and speaks about the murder of Duncan, Banquo and Lady Macduff. She takes paper, writes on it , seals it and keeps it. She washes her hands to remove the smell of blood. The Doctor comes to know all the misdeed done by Macbeth and his wife.

This scene is too much expository. This scene exposes the guilt of the two - Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It reveals the fact that Lady Macbeth is after all a lady with all weakness of a woman, though she has projected masculine  mettle. This scene proves that Lady Macbeth is not a born criminal and she can not be called the 'fourth witch' of the play "Macbeth"

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Malgudi Days : R.K.Narayan : The secret of the friendship in the short story entitled “Leela’s Friend” and the story in brief.

 

Introduction: 

‘Malgudi Days’  is the title of a short story collection written by  R.K.Narayan. Where is Malgudi ? The writer himself says that it is imaginary and not to be found in any map. Malgudi is not a small town in North India, it is found in different  parts of the world as the characteristic of Malgudi seems universal. However, Malgudi is town having some landmarks which recur in different short stories and novel of  R.K.Narayan. “Leela’s Friend” is a short story concerning with a very common subject matter of our day to day life.

 

The story in brief : 

Mr. Sivasanker, the representative of  South Indian typical middle class family, is thinking about the servant problem standing on the veranda . Sidda appears suddenly as God-sent and offers to be the servant. He is now jobless as his former master, a doctor, has left the town. Mr. Sivasanker calls his wife for taking decision and they delay a bit to finalise Sidda’s assignment. Meanwhile,  Leela, five-year-old girl of  Mr. Sivasanker comes out , looks at Sidda and declares her choice. Sidda’s  job as servant in Mr. Sivasanker’s house is now confirmed by Leela’s request. Two meals a day and four rupees a month Sidda would get as remuneration for household chores, washing clothes, gardening and looking after Leela.

Whenever Leela would cry : “Sidda, come and paly.”, the latter leaves the work at hand and responds  to the little madam. They play throwing ball, Sidda throws the ball into the sky as Leela commands. Sidda changes the place and proves  that the moon knows Sidda as the moon also changes its place  following  them. Sidda says : “I have asked it to follow us about”. Leela acts as a teacher and teaches the old student Sidda. After dinner when Leela is on her bed , Sidda sits on the floor near the bed and says incomparable stories about animals in forest, gods in heaven and strange magicians . Sidda gradually becomes a good friend of this little girl who spends most of her time with this servant .

One day Leela goes with Sidda for fetching some sugar from a shop. After their returning it is found that Leela’s gold necklace is missing. All responsibility of this missing seems to go to Sidda who  is rebuffed  and threatened of police. Sidda becomes mute like an animal and leaves the house stealthily .  Mr. Sivasanker informs the police who captures Sidda from his haunt few days later. When Sidda is brought in Mr. Sivasanker’s home, Leela, seeing his old best friend , becomes glad measurelessly .She does know the meaning of  thief  and stealing and  also the value of a gold necklace. Sidda, who declares that he has not taken the necklace, is silent and embarrassed for the abuse hurled towards him by the police. Ultimately, he  is taken to the police custody. Leela  becomes desperate and cries bitterly. Few days later, the  gold chain is found in the tamarind pot in the kitchen. The Police Inspector will be informed tomorrow but no Sidda again. Here ends the story.  

 

The secret of friendship between Leela and Sidda :

A good friend is a rare gift, as if, a gift from heaven. To become a true friend of a child is not very easy and it requires some perfect soft skill. It is a relationship of mutual affection and intense attachment. The basis of friendship between Leela and Sidda is obviously not sociological, it is out and out mental or psychological. A child is the denizen of the land of innocence. Leela’s mind naturally searches a mate of the same field which is fulfilled by Sidda who is endowed with innocence like a child. A child of five like Leela knows nothing about honesty, loyalty, sympathy, responsibility, dutifulness and the like qualities which help in developing friendship. She knows only love and affection of Sidda, she gets his company whenever and wherever she demands. On the other hand, Sidda knows how to become the friend of a child , a girl like Leela. He has developed a mutual understanding and he equally enjoys Leela’s company which is not possible by the acting of a servant. Sidda is gifted with some soft skills by which he can study Leela’s mind, can understand Leela’s necessity, can realize Leela’s feeling and can cater Leela’s demand. It may not be termed as trust but reliability that Leela finds in Sidda and she easily puts herself in the care of this person Sidda coming from outside of her house.

Is Sidda trained in nursery matters ? There is no mention of it in the story, he is merely a servant who works for two square meals. Actually, Sidda’s company anyhow makes Leela supremely happy. He takes Leela to some wonderland and plays with her in the field of imagination. He throws the ball up and when it comes down, he says that the ball touches the moon and a part of moon is sticking on the ball. When Leela enquires it he intelligently says that it evaporates very soon and goes back to the moon. Sidda firmly says that the moon know him and then plays the trick which is applied by the adults before the children in all times. Now he stands with Leela near the rose plant and the moon is here, now he takes Leela to the backyard and the moon is there. Leela claps her hands and cries in wonder. Actually, the basis of friendship between Leela and Sidda is the mutual enjoyment through continuous attachment and  mutual love built from unalloyed innocence.  The credit of this friendship is not only of Sidda, Leela is equally endowed with this soft skill at such little age and fifty percent of the credit goes to her. All children are not equally gifted with same good qualities. Sidda offers himself to be good friend and it is Leela who acknowledges him as a good one with her own affable and genial nature.  

Summary and theme of the poem “Because I could not stop for Death” written by Emily Dickinson

 About the poetess : 

Emily Dickinson was one of the eminent women writers, a famous poetess, of the nineteenth century America. The three prominent themes – love , death and immortality – recur in majority of her poems. Her poems are unique in theme and her way of life was  incomparable. Strangely enough, in her youth she accepted the sequestered life, a total recluse, and she never returned to her father’s home. Like a priestess she dressed in white clothes, almost stopped receiving any visitors and even put an end of her relationship with the church .

 

 

 

 Stanza – I ( Line 1 to 4 )

 

Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.

Summary : In the first stanza the poet has expressed her relationship with death and the way of her acceptance of it. Death is presented as a gentleman who has stopped for the poet with all generosity and so the poet is ready for going with him.  Death here is like a gentleman suitor taking his lady for a trip in his carriage. Immortality also accompanies them.

 

Stanza – II ( Line 5 to 8 )

We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –
 

Summary : Death the gentleman has no hurry. The poet is ready to give up her labour and leisure ,  that means all the wealth in this world, gross enjoyment and mundane interests and wants to bid farewell to this world. She is charmed by the civility of death.

 

Stanza – III ( Line 9 to 12 )

 

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –

 

Summary : The carriage moves smoothly with the poet and very soon passes  the school. They have a glimpse of the children who are playing joyfully in the open place. Soon the chariot passes the fields of grain which are gazing at the carriage, as if, sending them off. They also pass the setting Sun.

 

Stanza – IV ( Line 13 to16 )

 

Or rather – He passed Us –
The Dews drew quivering and Chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle –

Summary : The poet says that the Sun passes them i.e. the poet is now out of the bourne  of this world. Now she feels chill cold of the dews, the quivering sensation. It is because of her thin and fine dress, for  Gossamer, Tippet and Tulle.

 

Stanza – V ( Line 17 to 20 )

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –
The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground –

 

Summary : Now the poet has arrived to the destination with death and they pause before a house which looks like just a mound on the earth. Naturally, the roof of the house is not visible and the cornice is in the ground.

 

Stanza – VI ( Line 21 to 24 )

 

Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity –

 

Summary : The poet says that centuries have elapsed here but she feels such a vast time is shorter than a day. It is the house of eternity . The poet now can remember that the horse’s heads were towards the eternity when the journey was started.  

Theme of the poem :

The poem  “Because I could not stop for Death” of Emily Dickinson deals with death and immortality. Death is a fearful term to human beings, it is a painful realization and the very sound of it creates a macabre sensation in mind. But in this poem the poet looks at death from  different angle. Death is very common matter and known to every  sensible person as it is witnessed in the very life of men. Death is not something alien, it is rather a part of human life.  Death is the most true incident in the scheme of life which is limited to time and place. It is uncertain,but the most certain i.e. death must come but no one knows when it would come. However, the poet is not at all afraid of death, not the least anxious for its approach. She rather welcomes death as the great benefactor in her life , the 'welcome relief ' from all cares, anxiety and tension. Only death can take one to a finer world beyond this temporal existence , a world devoid of frets and fever, trials and tribulations, of every day life. This greater  world is the world of 'Eternity'. So the poet has given up her all labour and leisure of this world and she is ready to accompany death in his chariot, as if, for a pleasure trip with the gentleman suitor. Death is portrayed as the most perfect and solemn guide of human being on the way of 'Eternity'. This theme is reminiscent of a famous expression of the  Nobel Laureate R.N.Tagore : " Maran re tunhun mama shyama saman" (in Bengali). The English rendering is : " O Death, thou art equal to the great lord Krishna". The supreme achievement of our life is the lap of God (Lord Krishna), the celestial refuge, and it is possible only through 'Death'.

The poetess of recluse has established a firm relationship with death in her life time and for this she can visualize the scene after her death. She would be covered with gossamer and tippet which are common funeral dress of women. She can feel the afterlife in the grave, the quivering and chill sensation. These are insignificant to her, as she is going to eternal world to live for thousands years, not like the inconsiderable few years in this temporal world. Mr. Death is a gentleman who shows all civility before the poet and who is not in a hurry.Such a treatment of death with the poet is indicative of the magnanimity of death and the magnificence of the other world. The world of 'Eternity' is not bound by time and for this the poet has corrected her and says : "Or rather - he passed us -"(stanza iv). It is the Sun who passes the poet accompanying death, not the poet passes the Sun ("We passed  the setting sun") .

Three images presented by the poet in the third stanza augment the thematic value of this poem.These are the playing of the school children, the field of gazing grain and the setting sun. If we consider the literal meaning of it, the three images indicate the natural route of the funeral procession, first come the school of the children which is  generally situated at the end of the village, then come agricultural field from where the grains silently witness the last journey and then comes the crematorium or the graveyard, the place where darkness,like the time after setting the sun, starts. In another perspective these three images seem to represent the three stages of life -  the childhood, the prime (youth and maturity) and the old age. The meaning is that we can attain death only covering these three stages of life and set pace for eternity. The playing of children 'At recess in the ring-' manifestly indicate the measureless enjoyment in the stage of innocence of childhood. Field of grain stands for maturity and  the completeness in life which one attains in grown up stage. The setting sun obviously symbolizes the old age, the period of twilight in human life, the starting point of darkness. However, the calm acceptance of death with all serenity and optimism by the poet is the main theme of the poem and universal message to the readers to come.

“The Garden” - Andrew Marvell : Transcription of poet’s voice / Summary of the poem.

 

Summary of the poem.

 

Stanza – I ( Line 1 to 8)

 

How vainly men themselves amaze

To win the palm, the oak, or bays,

And their uncessant labours see

Crown’d from some single herb or tree,

Whose short and narrow verged shade

Does prudently their toils upbraid;

While all flow’rs and all trees do close

To weave the garlands of repose.

 

Summary : Men in general who do not know the grandeur of the garden make meaningless attempt  to win the crown of the leaves of palm or oak or bays trees, they try endlessly for achieving a ‘single herb or tree’. A short and thin shade of a tree justly mocks their perseverance, while all flowers and trees jointly weave the ‘garlands of repose’, i.e. they form some pleasant shade that provides people rest and serenity which are far better than those leafy crown. 

 Note : Crown of palm leaves was  traditionally awarded  to a distinct warrior, of oak leaves for civic achievement and of laurel leaves to the great poet. 

 

Stanza – II ( Line 9 to 16)

 

Fair Quiet, have I found thee here,

And Innocence, thy sister dear!

Mistaken long, I sought you then

In busy companies of men;

Your sacred plants, if here below,

Only among the plants will grow.

Society is all but rude,

To this delicious solitude.

 

Summary : The poet who has found  Fair Quiet and her dear sister Innocence in the garden, has mistakenly endeavoured to find them amidst the busy human beings. If their plants grow on the earth, they grow only among the plants of the garden.(It means that quietness and innocence are adequately found in the garden.)The  solitude of the garden is delicious and charming , but society is by far rude.

 

Stanza – III ( Line 17 to 24)

 

No white nor red was ever seen

So am’rous as this lovely green.

Fond lovers, cruel as their flame,

Cut in these trees their mistress’ name;

Little, alas, they know or heed

How far these beauties hers exceed!

Fair trees! wheres’e’er your barks I wound,

No name shall but your own be found.

 

Summary : The lovely green colour(of trees and plants of the garden) is said to be more amorous than white colour(of lady’s complexion) and red colour (of the lips of the beloveds).The lovers and their flames of love are called cruel because the lovers , being excited by the flames of love, try to immortalize their beloveds’ names cutting the bark of the trees. Unfortunately, they are not aware and careful of the fact that the beauty of the garden definitely exceeds the beauty of their sweethearts. In an apostrophe, the poet says he would crave the name of the trees as his sweetheart, cutting the bark of the tree, if he at all does it.

 

Stanza – IV (Line 25 to 32)

 

When we have run our passion’s heat,

Love hither makes his best retreat.

The gods, that mortal beauty chase,

Still in a tree did end their race:

Apollo hunted Daphne so,

Only that she might laurel grow;

And Pan did after Syrinx speed,

Not as a nymph, but for a reed.

 

Summary : When one’s passion are  exhausted and love runs its course, one takes rest in the shade of the garden  for refreshment. We know, when the gods chase the fair women  on the earth, their chase ends in a tree as the woman is transformed into a tree. For instance, the nymph ‘Daphne’ is  transformed into a laurel tree when Apollo runs after ‘Daphne’. ‘Syrinx’ is chased by the god Pan and she is transformed into a reed. Naturally, the Gods have to hold the trees to satisfy their passion.    

 

Stanza – V (Line 33 to 40)

 

What wond’rous life in this I lead!

Ripe apples drop about my head;

The luscious clusters of the vine

Upon my mouth do crush their wine;

The nectarine and curious peach

Into my hands themselves do reach;

Stumbling on melons as I pass,

Ensnar’d with flow’rs, I fall on grass.

 

Summary : The poet confirms that he enjoys a pleasant time in the garden, full of wonder. The ripe apples hang so low that they touch poet’s head. Bunches of vines come close contact to his mouth  and they are, as if,  ready to crush the wine into poet’s mouth. Nectarines and peaches come to poet’s hands of their own accord. The melons are so plentiful that the poet stumbles on them off  and on. Being tempted by  the beautiful flowers, the poet sinks into the soft bed of  green grasses.

 

Stanza – VI (Line 41 to 48)

 

Meanwhile the mind, from pleasure less,

Withdraws into its happiness;

The mind, that ocean where each kind

Does straight its own resemblance find,

Yet it creates, transcending these,

Far other worlds, and other seas;

Annihilating all that’s made

To a green thought in a green shade.

 

Summary : Poet’s mind can not be confined in the pleasure of lesser kind, the pleasure found in the earthly things and for this his  mind withdraws itself  from the body and sails to  a new land of happiness which originates from the mind itself. The mind is like an ocean , an aquatic sphere, where each creature living on land has a counterpart. But this new created ocean  and lands in mind are different from the land and ocean of reality, minds creation surpasses the real ones. Mind annihilates the lesser ones and creates green thoughts in the shade of the garden.   

 

Stanza – VII (Line 49 to 56)

 

Here at the fountain’s sliding foot,

Or at some fruit tree’s mossy root,

Casting the body’s vest aside,

My soul into the boughs does glide;

There like a bird it sits and sings,

Then whets, and combs its silver wings;

And, till prepar’d for longer flight,

Waves in its plumes the various light.

 

Summary : Near the slithery fountain or close to a tree the lower part of which is covered with moss, poet’s soul discards poet’s body ,goes on the branches of the tree, sits like a bird and starts singing merrily. Here like a bird, poet’s soul whets  and combs the wings  preparing for a longer flight and weaving various lights.

 

Stanza – VIII (Line 57 to 64)

 

Such was that happy garden-state,

While man there walk’d without a mate;

After a place so pure and sweet,

What other help could yet be meet!

But ’twas beyond a mortal’s share

To wander solitary there:

Two paradises ’twere in one

To live in paradise alone.

 

Summary : This pleasant state of the garden is like that of the Eden, the garden of paradise where the first man Adam walked happily when he was  without a mate or companion. In such a pure and sweet place no mate or friend could be fit or appropriate. But the mortal being is not allowed to roam happily is the garden of paradise. If allowed the poet would have enjoyed the happiness of two paradises : first, the paradise having celestial light and the second is the paradise of being alone.

 

Stanza – IX (Line 65 to 72)

How well the skillful gard’ner drew

Of flow’rs and herbs this dial new,

Where from above the milder sun

Does through a fragrant zodiac run;

And as it works, th’ industrious bee

Computes its time as well as we.

How could such sweet and wholesome hours

Be reckon’d but with herbs and flow’rs!

 

Summary : Skillful is the gardener who grows  flowers and plants in a particular manner which collectively serves as a new ‘sun-dial’. The rays of the sun falls on the ‘sun-dial’ through the green leaves of big trees and it may be compared  to the ‘Zodiac’. The busy and industrious bees calculate the time like human beings by consulting this ‘sun-dial’. A fortunate person  who passes the sweet and refreshing hours in the garden, has no equipment to calculate time except the ‘sun-dial’  formed by both  plants and flowers.

 

 

 

“The Listeners” by Walter de la Mare – Summery and Critical discussion.

Introductory  words :

 The publication of the poem “The Listeners” appeared as a magic in Walter de la Mare’s literary career, because the reading public could listen Mare’s  voice after its publication in 1912 and the poet comes to limelight. In this poem the poet has created a mysterious atmosphere and at the same time has told about the story of human beings. The opening line “Is there anybody there ?” is the eternal question of man in this earthly stage of life.

Summery of the poem:

In a moonlit night an unknown traveler comes on the back of a horse to a deserted house in a forest.      He knocks at the moonlit door and calls aloud: “Is there anybody there ?” The horse starts munching the grasses of the ‘forest’s ferny floor’ and  a bird suddenly flies out of the turret just above the traveler’s head. No response comes from the inmates of the house and the man again knocks and makes the same query. Nobody comes to open the door, none peeps through the window to identify the traveler. He stands ‘perplexed and still’. He starts feeling that a host of bodiless listeners stand on the dark stair and listen his call silently. An uncanny feeling seizes his mind  and he feels that the very silence is the response to his call. With nervous hand he knocks the door for the third time and calls even louder and leaves his message : “Tell them I came and no one answered/That I kept my word.” His words are echoed through the silence of the empty haunted house, but the phantom listeners make no stir and make no answer. The traveler rides on his horse and gallops away . The phantom dwellers listen the sound of the hoofs and silence gradually occupies the entire area. 

Supernatural Aspect :

There is an enchanting story in this poem of Walter de la Mare “The Listeners”. The poet has created a supernatural atmosphere with some word play and some suggestive strokes. The poet has kept everything in vague  that makes the mind of the reader curious . Fusillade of questions comes to the reader’s mind. Who is the traveler ? Where is the house situated?   Why is the house  deserted now?  What has happened to the inmates of the house? Why has the traveler come ? Why nobody responds ? A state of  imprecision pervades everything. This vagueness brings about a nebulous  atmosphere. The expressions like “forest’s ferny floor” and “leaf –fringed sill” prove that nobody dwells in the house now  and for this the front yard is covered with weeds like fern and the creepers occupy the sills of the window. It certifies the misty nature of the place. Above all, the sudden flight of the bird over the traveler’s head and the playing of light and shade through the big trees in the moonlit forest augment the eeriness of the atmosphere.

Central Theme :

The subject matter of the poem “The Listeners” hears like an uncanny story but the theme is not so common and simple. The poem provides us with a philosophical  idea, the very nature of human world. Beyond this human world there is the world of the dead which is called the other world. The dim house where the traveler has come represents the other world. The denizens of this living world sometimes come to the door of other world and knocks at the door. He tries to make a communication ,but in vein. The dwellers of that world also gather at a certain place, perhaps ready to communicate but no communication  is possible. Actually, a man wants to communicate with the dead world during his life time, desirous to probe the reality and to know everything of the dead world. But that is not possible as a fine barrier named ‘death’ stands between living world  and other world. The world of the dead is so near but it seems to be a far land.  The knock at the door in this poem may be interpreted as the knock at one’s heart. The nature of man is to  knock at the door of other’s  heart with some desired purpose but it seems unintelligible like a world  full of darkness, like the haunted house.

Symbol and image :

 The poem “The Listeners” is replete with some symbol and image. The deserted house is the symbol of the other world full of darkness. The traveler is the representative of human beings. The closed door symbolizes death. The silence stands for the coldness and quietness of the dead world.

Meaning of title:

In this poem the phantom dwellers stand on the dark stair, they listen every call of the traveler, they enjoy the disturbance in the silence but they make no response. Actually, they listen only , their duty is only to listen. So they are merely listeners. It may be that they are desirous to answer to the traveler’s call, but they have no power to respond as their duty is only to listen. It may be indicative that the denizens of the other world can listen everything of this living world, and they are merely listeners. The function of the listeners is adherence to the title of the poem. 

Father –son relationship between God and man is highlighted in the poem “The Pulley” written by George Herbert.

 George  Herbert was out and out a religious poet  of early seventeenth century. Right from his childhood Herbert’s mind was moulded in the righteous  atmosphere under the guidance of his pious mother. Later he became  a priest of the church of England and naturally his religious faith developed and heightened to a great extent. George  Herbert was Donne’s follower and he alone among Donne’s followers composed religious poems only, metaphysical verse concentrating on religious subject.

 

“The Pulley” ,  a short poem consisting of  four stanzas only ,five lines each, is written on religious theme. The poem projects the relationship between God and man, the father –son relationship obviously. God  is the supreme creator and man is the creation, man is soul and God is the absolute soul. God is all mindful and careful during the creation of man. He never wants any separation from man because both God and man would be losers if the link between them is detruncated. The thinking of God during the creation of human beings is the subject matter of this poem and the outcome of that thinking basically controls the life of this supreme creation namely man.   

 

God is the supreme father and man is his  beloved son. God keeps measureless love and grace for man that is proved during his creation. At that moment God was ready with the “glass of blessings”, with all choicest gifts of this universe, not to give man but pour on him. First of all the treasure of ‘strength’  God gave to man, then all the priceless treasures like ‘beauty’, ‘wisdom’, ‘honour’, ‘pleasure’ and so on flowed one by one to man. How lucky man was ! God was not at all parsimonious in bestowing the heavenly benedictions . Like a scrupulous loving father God kept the treasure of “Rest” at the bottom of the “glass of blessings”. No, it was not God’d  niggardliness, it was God’s deliberate plan. God kept the “Rest” at the bottom so that man could see it, could realize its existence, but could not touch it easily, in a word could hardly achieve the “Rest” in his mundane existence. If rest becomes unachievable in worldly state, there must have some ‘weariness’ and ‘restlessness’ on man’s part. What would be God’s purpose to push man towards ‘restlessness’ ?  

 

  The maxim that “God is good” is perpetual. The ‘absolute soul’ (paramatma) does not want any separation from ‘soul’(atma) . God  thought if “Rest” was attained so easily, man would indulge in enjoying “Rest”. Being contented man would forget all other benedictions endowed to him and  forget his creator also. Man would be loser, and God would  not be less loser. If man suffers from restlessness, man must remember God, must come to him for a respite, for removing his state of restlessness. If man surrenders himself to God, if soul (atma) mingles with ‘absolute soul’ (paramatma), the life of man on this world would become meaningful. The aura of God would protect all other gifts like ‘strength’, ‘beauty’, ‘wisdom’, ‘honour’, ‘pleasure’ etc. In such a state all these treasures would remain uncorrupted. Here one discovers the replica of a wise father in God. A wise father always gives choicest gifts to his son, but never gives all the money and wealth owned by him. If father gives his all to his son the latter would feel no necessity of his father and naturally would forget him very soon and easily. The earthly existence of man is surrounded by all the negatives forces like profaneness, darkness of mind and lowliness of character. When ‘restlessness’ would draw man to God, man would gradually become purer,  bathing in divine light. Man with mortal sins can not go back to his original home, the heaven. God with the device named “restlessness” draw man to him for the preparation for having “Rest”  that is not attainable in his mundane existence.

 

A pulley is a wheel, a sort of device to raise a weight easily from the bottom. The ‘lacking of rest’ or the ‘state of restlessness’ is equated to such a device (pulley) that would be used for lifting man from the bottom by the grace of God. If such a pulley is not arranged by supreme father (Param Pita), man would surely follow a downward movement,  the way of damnation. The benign father God wants otherwise, he wants his son  (man) to be soaked with  spiritual sap and divine light , to be enlightened , to glorify his father’s name . For this such an arrangement is made by God. “The Pulley” reminds us the story of ‘Pandora’, the first mortal woman,  who was given by Jupiter a wonderful box , “Pandora’s Box”, containing all benedictions packed. When the box was opened all the blessings slipped out , but not the blessing of ‘Hope’ as it was kept at the bottom in the box. So, the mortal being man lives with all hope that never finds ulence (maturation) in man’s life.

 

 

 

 

Ref: University (NSOU) study guide. 

The simple but unique symbols in “The Tyger” of William Blake bear spiritual message.

The social conscious poet William Blake is a mystic poet also and he feels the spiritual presence , the presence of God, in every  simple object of  the nature – in this Earth, in air, in water, everywhere. It is Blake who can find a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower. Quite naturally, the lamb, the child and God are the replica of one another in Blake’s vision. The tiger, the most fearful animal of  the dark forest, appears to be a wonderful creature to Blake who finds a ‘fearful symmetry’ in the form of the tiger. The awe-inspiring figure of the tiger has made Blake visionary and he vents such words which lead us to a mystic and  spiritual land.

“The Tyger” is taken from The  “Songs of Experience” of William Blake. Experience is such a state that may easily lead one to the way of corruption,  where innocence finds no room.  God has created the fierce  animal tiger, in a particular time, for a particular purpose. Actually the tiger is the symbol for the wrath of God, that was keenly necessary in time of the spiritual crisis in society. We know that God is full of mercy, full of grace , full of grandeur ; but any  time if situation demands, God may be full of anger , manifestation of wrath, lord of destruction. Why would  God destroy something which he has so gladly created ? Actually he destroys the evil part of anything, not the thing created by him. God can not tolerate any type of degeneration and depreciation of religion. When  aversion to religion  becomes a part of  human beings,  a crisis  is inevitable. Like a strict and methodical father God projects his wrath to make everything in tune. The tiger  is the manifestation of that wrath by which God wants to revert those degenerated and fallen multitude. The  fierce force embodied in tiger is necessary to break the  citadel of corruption, the bond of experience. The tiger may be thought as the spiritual revolt. At this point one may  cite the manifestation of God in the shape of ‘Nrisingha’ (Face of lion on human body) as found in the Hindu mythology. When the oppression of Hiranyakashipu (a demon) crossed all boundary  ‘Nrisingha Avtar’ of God (Hari) manifested and killed the father of Pralhad (a steadfast devotee of Hari) with sharp claws and teeth of the lion. The creation of the tiger has some similarity with such  manifestation  of God’s destructive appearance.

 A prominent symbolic implication is found in the expression of “the forests of the night” that stands for ‘ignorance’.  A major part of society, numberless people of the earth, grapple in the darkness of ignorance,  are covered with superstition. Forest is a fine hiding place and night symbolizes   ‘darkness’ , Quite naturally, in the darkness of the forest one may lose the path and reach nowhere. This darkness is nothing but the darkness of man’s mind where righteousness finds no place. The ‘forest’ stands for the world of experience, such a world where man deliberately conceals the errors and dims the light. ‘Fire’ is a strong and meaningful symbol  in the poem ‘The Tyger’. The fire stands for wrath as in “Faerie Queen” Spenser wrote “wrath is fire”. The repeated  use of ‘fire’ suggests that the purpose of ‘wrath’ is to consume the errors. The stubborn beliefs can not be removed by  the mild and polite of instructions, fire is the only thing that can consume all the evils of society. Fire can purify the dross of the mind and society and establish   a new pattern of life.

To conclude, the symbol of “ Songs of  experience” automatically brings the reference of the symbol  of innocence, the lamb. God has created ‘the tiger’ only to make the place of the lamb ,the manifestation of God, permanent.Though the tiger is the wrath of God , it is for removing the religious crisis and   establishing a field of spiritualism.