English Literature

INTRODUCTION:    Hazlitt is a shining name in the history of English literature. He earned wide acclaim as an essayist. His contribution to the English essay is noteworthy. HAZLITT'S STYLE:  Hazlitt was a great prose writer and stylist. He wrote with convictions which were deep and firm. He wrote with an aim to communicate with his readers. Although he did not strain after any particular style, he had a style of his own. It is called the familiar style. FAMILIAR STYLE:   Hazlitt cultivated a personal style which is called personal style. Hazlitt himself describes the features of his style. This style is free from affectation or vulgarity. It rejects all that is loose and unconnected. It does not use the most fashionable word but the best word in common use. The words are not thrown together in any random combination. It has the essence of conversation. In short, Hazlitt's style is natural yet admirably calculated for effect and communication. It has precisi...

William Hazlitt is one of the greatest English essayists. He is classified as a romantic essayist. He was a prolific writer. He was eager to inquire into human life with all its variety. He wrote of a vast range of topics. He was keenly interested in a vast variety of things-books of all kinds, politics, sports, stage etc. He conveyed his enjoyment and observation to the readers through his essays.            Hazlitt's essays are grave in nature. They are very serious and thought provoking. They show his philosophic bent of mind. A large number of his essays are on abstract ideas such as Egotism, Reason, Imagination, and the fear of Death etc. He is more interested in the idea than in the essay as a form. He does not indulge in moralizing. In his hands essay became a means of self-expression. His essays are autobiographical in nature. He puts himself as the centre of his essay. He often glides into the past. He weaves the texture of ...

  Introduction:-   Addison  is one of the greatest English essayist. His literary reputation rests upon the essays from the spectator and the Tatler. As an essayist he earned wide acclaim. Social Criticism: -   Addison  was a great social critic and reformer. His essays are faithful reflection of the life of the time. In 'The Spectator' he appears as a consummate painter of contemporary life and manners. He aimed at social reformation. As a social reformer he attacked the coarser vices of his time. He directed his essays against gambling, drinking, indecency, Cruelty and many other evil practices. Major Themes:   Addison  wrote nearly four hundred essays. They deal with wide diversity of subject.  They deal with typical subjects like fashion, drunkenness, Jealousy, Prayer etc. Politics and religion are also touched. He was the reconciler of hostile parties and the founder of public opinion. He was the enemy of all-excess. He always advocated moder...

  Introduction:   Charles Lamb is one of the greatest essayists of English literature. He brought perfection to the art of essay writing. He is known as an essayist of style. His style and his humour and pathos made him the prince among English essayists. Prose Style:  Lamb's prose style is inimitable. His style is the expression of his personality. It is a mixture of many styles. In this context, no other essayist can stand a match to him. There is an indefinable charm in the study of Lamb. He is playful and yet he has a curious felicity. Lamb's style is a unique style unsurpassed in its effectiveness. It is noticeable for its immense variety. He writes differently on different themes. No amount of study will stale their infinite variety. By virtue of his essays Lamb holds a unique place in the development of the essay. In short, his essays are as fresh as ever. Important Features:   Lamb writes in a natural and original way. He can mould and adapt his style to all ...

Charles Lamb is a shining star in the sky of English essay. He is called the prince among English essayists. His essays are the finest in English prose. He brought to prose the finest qualities of Romanticism. Lamb's readers appreciate him for his wisdom, for his humanity, for his genial humour, for his profound pathos, for his sweet temperament and for his style. BEGINNING: Born in a lower class family, Lamb came in contact with Cole ridge. He started his career as a poet but could not succeed. He acquired immortal recognition as an essayist. From 1820 to 1833, essay writing was his main occupation. He wrote under the pseudonym of Elia. His first essay appeared in the London Magazine in 1820. The first volume of his essays was published in 1823 as Essays Of Elia and the second as the Last Essays Of Elia in 1833. Each essay of Lamb is a little wonder. Here we find a fine combination of wit, fancy, anecdote and reflection. According to Cazamian, he is above all an artist. PERS...

INTRODUCTION: Bacon, the father of English essay, is the first great English essayist who enjoys a glorious reputation. He remains for the sheer mass and weight of genius. His essays introduce a new form of composition into English literature. THREE EDIIONS OF BACON'S ESSAYS: Bacon sponsored this new literary form in English with the publication of his ten essays in 1597. It grew to thirty-eight in the edition of 1612. The number reached fifty-eight in the final issue of 1625. These essays are the results of his direct observations of men and matters. DISPERSED MEDITATIONS: Bacon charged his essays with the serious spirit and stately manners of Seneca. For him his essays were dispersed meditations and receptacle for detached thoughts. He is practical under the influence of Machiavelli. Utilitarianism is obvious in his essays. He shrewdly instructs how to lead a successful life. That's why his essays are called counsels civil and moral. BACON AND MONTAIGNE: Bacon borrowed ...

The period of 1780-1837 is known as the Age of Romanticism or Romantic Revival. It is often called the golden period of English poetry. Wordsworth can be safely called forerunner of this epoch-making period. Romantic Revival means the re-birth of Romanticism in English poetry. During the 18th century the classical school of poetry had been predominant. Thompson, Blake and Gray re-acted against the classical school. All these poets tried to rise above the fixed literary conventions and artificial laws. They upheld that the poet should write as he pleases. He should allow his fancy to roam. The French Revolution influenced poets like Wordsworth and Coleridge. They gave a deathblow to classicism by publishing Lyrical Ballads in 1798. This book was the official manifesto of the new poetry - The Romantic School of Poetry. Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, Byron, and Coleridge are the important poets of this school. Romantic poets asserted their individuality in their poetry. Wonder was re...

Marlowe is a great dramatist. He is called the man of Renaissance. He holds a unique place in the realm of English literature. He is a great innovator of techniques. He has put a new life in the blank verse. His mighty lines are as famous as the pyramids of Egypt are. Dr. Faustus is Marlowe's masterpiece. It has been composed in blank verse. It deals with the dramatization of the medieval legend of Dr. Faustus . He was a necromancer of the 16th century. Marlowe has taken this legendary character as the principal character of this play. He has added to it the note of hunger for infinite power. This is the major theme of this drama. Its plot or structure is loose and weak. But the interest and appeal of the play depends upon its unity of the character. Dr. Faustus himself is a living play with living acts, scenes, incidents and episodes. In the play Dr. Faustus is fond of study. He wavers among many subjects. But at last he decides to study magic and necromancy to gain powe...

INTRODUCTION:   Eugene  O' Neill is one of the greatest dramatists of  America . As a dramatist, he earned wide acclaim. His contribution to the American drama is notable, remarkable and memorable. The bulk of his output is fairly large. Being a tireless experimenter, he experimented with a variety of dramatic forms and modes. In order to communicate inner reality he used expressionistic techniques in his plays. 'The Hairy Ape' is one of them. Due to the many merits of these play O' Neill enjoyed wide popularity. This play is a piece of social satire and propaganda. It deals with man's quest for identity. It is a study in disintegration of the modern civilization.   MAJOR THEMES:   'The Hairy Ape' deals with man's struggle with himself and his effort to find for himself the place to which he belongs. The play is a tragedy of a man who is out of place or land. The wealthy people and the capitalist regard the workers as beasts. But the fa...

INTRODUCTION:   Eugene  O' Neill is one of the greatest dramatist of  America . As a dramatist, he earned wide acclaim. His contribution to the American drama is notable, remarkable and  memorable. The bulk of his output is fairly large. He employed expressionistic technique in some of his plays like 'The Hairy Ape' and 'The Emperor Jones'. EXPRESSIONISM:   Expressionism is a dramatic technique. Through this technique a playwright tries to depict inner reality. It is a revolt against naturalism or realism that expressed only the surface reality. The father of this technique was Strindberg. It was imported from  Germany  to  America . Under this technique the emphasis shifts from the external to the inner reality. There is a deeper and deeper probing of the subconscious . Action is increasingly internalised. What  goes on within the soul becomes more important. Here, there is a concentration on the stream of consciousnes...

INTRODUCTION:  Robert Frost is one of the greatest American poets. He received more honours than any other contemporary literary figure in America. Four times he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. He was given honorary degrees by more than forty colleges and universities. SIMPLICITY AND CLARITY:  Frost has won worldwide fame and recognition and has already established himself as a classic. The first thing that strikes the eye is the extreme simplicity of his poetry. He writes on the simplest themes in the most easy and simple manner. Due to this simplicity he is appreciated by the readers. They admire him and go to him again and again without any trouble. But a careful reading of his poems reveals that he is extraordinary, subtle and intricate. They have a rich texture and there we find layers within the layers of meaning. SUGGESTIVENESS:  Frost is a great artist with words. His words are carefully chosen both with reference to their sense and their ...

  INTRODUCTION:  Robert Frost is one of the greatest of American poets. He received more honours than any other contemporary literary figure in  America . Four times he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. He was given honorary   degrees by more than forty colleges and universities.  AS A POET:  Frost has won worldwide fame and recognition as a poet. The first thing that strikes the eye is the extreme simplicity of his poetry. He writes on the simplest themes in the most easy and simple manner. Due to this he is   appreciated by the readers. They go to him again and again without any trouble. A careful reading of his poems reveals that he is extraordinary, subtle and   intricate. They have a rich texture. There we find layers within the layers of meaning. He makes extensive use of symbols to convey profound truths. In this respect he can be compared with Eliot, Yeats, Pound and Auden.   TREATMENT OF RURAL LIFE:  Frost is a great pa...