Assignment Code: BEGC-110 / TMA / 2021 -22

Course Code: BEGC-110

Assignment Name: British Literature: 19th Century

Year: 2021 – 2022 (July 2021 and January 2022 Sessions)

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Answer All Questions

Section A

Q.I Explain with reference to context the following lines: 4 x 5 = 20

Q1. (i) “Come, my friends ‘Tis not too late to seek a newer world Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die”

Ans) Ulysses appears to be speaking to his companions, at least at this point in the poem. He tells them what he's been teaching us all along: it's never too late to explore new territories.

The ship's trace or mark in the water is referred to as a "furrow." He instructs his men to "smite" or strike it with oars.

"Mission" can refer to either "destiny," as in "sailing is my life's purpose," or "intention," as in "I aim to sail as far as I can."

The "baths / Of all the western stars" aren't a spot where the stars take a bath. It relates to the Greeks' belief in an outer ocean or river that ringed the (flat) earth and into which the stars plunged.

To sail beyond the "baths," Ulysses implies he wants to go really, really far away — beyond the known universe's horizon – till he dies.

The "happy isles" refers to the Islands of the Blessed, a site where legendary Greek warriors such as Achilles might live out their lives in continuous summer. We may call it Heaven.

Ulysses is aware that he and his companions may perish, yet he is unconcerned. They could even get to visit their old pal Achilles in the "Happy Isles" if they die.

Q1. (ii) I was ever a fighter, so—one fight more, The best and the last! I would hate that death bandaged my eyes and forbore, And bade me creep past.

Ans) It's a poem that claims that a brave person's final moments will be the happiest of their lives, as the anguish fades, the light shines, and they see their loved ones once more. Here's my attempt at a simplified English translation (Browning was known for being enigmatic even in his own time):

I was always a fighter, and now I am facing my best and last fight.

I don't want Death to put bandages over my eyes and stand back while I crawl past him. No, let me taste all of Death's worst, just like the heroes of old, my equals. Allow me to pay the price for my entire joyful life, a price of agony, darkness, and cold, right now. At the very end, the worst will transform into the best. The voices I hear, the storms, will fade into tranquilly with no agony, then a light, and I shall see and hold you, my darling, once more. And God will take care of the rest.

Q1. (iii) Yes! in the sea of life enisled, With echoing straits between us thrown, Dotting the shoreless watery wild, We mortal millions live alone….

Ans) Matthew Arnold is the author of this poem. 'To Marguerite' could be a reference to the poet's unfulfilled love engagement. Iambic tetrameter is used in this poem. The basic premise of "To Marguerite—Continued" is straightforward: Every human being lives in isolation, as if he or she were a distinct island. The poem's core metaphor is introduced in the opening stanza: Life is an endless sea, and we are all individual islands inside it. Humans are aware of their predicament, “feeling” and “knowing” that they are different from other people. Despite this, the delightful sounds of birds singing, which travel between the islands, pull these islands closer together. The speaker conveys his need for connection, which he believes is lacking in current society. He claims that we were once one - that all of the "islands" were once a single "continent." He longs for the sea between the islands to recede so that the landforms might once again meet.

Q1. (iv) Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?) With swift, slow; sweet, sour; a dazzle, dim; He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change: Praise him.

Ans) Surprisingly, they both start with the same letter: "fickle" refers to something that changes frequently, while "freckled" refers to spots or dots. In some situations, "fickle" can be a negative trait in someone who changes their mind too frequently, yet in nature, fickleness brings up new things to wonder at. The speaker expresses his secret surprise at how all of these items came to have their "pied beauty" in parentheses.

The speaker is baffled as to how one thing can be "freckled" with two opposing features. Consider a slice of sugary lemon cake, which is sweet and sour at the same time. Hopkins would be overjoyed at the sight of that slice of cake. How did they do it?

The speaker claims that God is the "parent" of all of these lovely things, yet his own beauty remains constant. Even while the world he created evolves and flows, God, according to Christian belief, stays the same. The poem's conclusion returns to the poem's introduction and the concept of praise and glory.

Section B

Q. II Answer the following questions in about 300 words each: 4 x 5 =20

Q1. How does the novel A Tale of Two Cities end and with what effect ?

Ans) Charles Dickens' classic historical masterpiece A Tale of Two Cities is set amid the dramatic upheaval of the French Revolution. The most famous and arguably most popular of his works, it condenses a complex event into the scale of a family history, with a cast of characters that includes a bloodthirsty ogress and an antihero as realistically damaged as any in modern fiction.

Sydney Carton, along with many other French prisoners, is executed at the guillotine at the end of the storey. Despite the fact that Carton does not give a goodbye address, Dickens concludes the novel by speculating on what he might have said. Carton may imagine a future in which those he loves honour and preserve his memory with this possible goodbye speech: “I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants.” The visionary speech brings closure and hope to an otherwise dismal conclusion. Carton has had a tough and lonely existence, and he dies under similar circumstances. Similarly, the French Revolution is inflicting damage while showing no evidence of making any progress. Carton's prediction of a future in which his sacrifice will allow those "for whom I lay down my life [to be] peaceful, useful, successful, and happy," as well as the restoration of peace and order in France, gives the storey a hopeful ending rather than a shattering defeat.

Climax

During a judicial hearing, Defarge reads aloud a letter he discovered, which Manette penned while imprisoned in the Bastille and indicts Darnay as a member of Evrémonde's vicious aristocratic family. In this pivotal scene, it becomes evident that Madame Defarge's irrational hatred of Darnay can only result in death—his or hers.

Q2. Draw a character sketch of Lucetta in Hardy’s novel. A Mayor of Casterbridge.

Ans) In the burlesque show, Lucetta Templeman is scandalised, which leads to her demise. She dies terribly, confessing her youthful mistakes to Farfrae on her deathbed. She has a compassionate heart for those who are grieving. When she comes across Eliza-beth in her grief, she is immediately drawn to her. She can't stand it when lovers are separated. Farfrae is ecstatic when two lovers are allowed to work together. “On my part,” says the speaker. Lucetta's personality.

Despite being warned about the possible implications, Lucetta continues to love whomever she wants and in whatever way she wants. Her character, however, lacks the audacity and conviction of purpose that would elevate her to the status of "the solitary, doomed, and self-destructive individualist."

Sketch the character of Lucetta

Lucetta is a very fickle person. She is a typical voluptuous-tasting girl who is helpless and neurotic. She is a ruthless and ambitious woman. She uses every trick in the book to get her object, whether it's nefarious or legal. She discreetly marries Farfrae after choosing him as her lover, putting to rest the commitments she made to Henchard during her Jersey days. Her changeable mindedness has made her frantic, and she is worried when Henchard threatens to reveal her fast. For the purpose of resolving this issue. She uses womanly weapons such as tears and anguish to get him to return her letters. She's been a frivolous, giddy-headed, brilliant, witty, and passionate girl her entire life. She lacks love fidelity and moral convictions. She despises the character and has no regard for romance or a never-ending round of pleasures.

But it's strange that, despite all of her failings, we don't find ourselves repelled by her. We are hesitant to pass severe judgement on her. There is nothing good about her and everything negative about her. We are aware of her flaws, yet we manage to ignore or overlook them. Lucetta's personality.

Q3. Critically analyse the poem ‘Break Break, Break’ by Tennyson.

Ans) Alfred Lord Tennyson's elegy on the death of his friend Arthur Hallam is called Break, Break, Break. The author imagines himself standing near a cliff on the coast, addressing the sea waves that are continually pounding the rocks.

The poem appears simple and straightforward on the surface, and the sentiment is clear: the speaker wishes he could give voice to his sorrowful thoughts and memories, to move and talk like the sea and those around him. The poem's main point of interest is a series of parallels between the poet's internal and outward worlds.

In the opening verse, for example, the speaker appears frustrated that the sea may continue to move and make noise while he is unable to express himself. He lacks the sea's thunderous scream and its ability to release its energy. The word "break" is repeated several times to indicate the waves' never-ending motion, each wave reminding him of what he lacks.

Tennyson describes similar distance between himself and the joyous folks playing or singing where they are in the second stanza. They have joy and fulfilment in their lives, whether they are together or apart, but he does not.

The poet envisions the "stately ships" heading to their "shelter under the hill" in the third verse, either to port or past the horizon. In any case, they appear to be satisfied with their destination. The mounded grave, on the other hand, is not a pleasant place to be. There is no longer any movement; there is no longer any hand to touch, no longer any voice to hear. The speaker is once again lost in his own thoughts, his memories of the grieved figure obscuring what he sees around him.

The speaker returns to the crashing of waves on the jagged cliffs in the fourth stanza. The waves reappear, each time crashing onto a wall of rock. There is no return of the dead for him, only the repeated sorrow of loss. “The poet's knowledge of the futility of action brings the reader's attention to the fact that the sea's action is, ostensibly, futile as well—for all its efforts, it can no more go beyond the rocks than the poet can restore the past,” Sopher argues. Despite this, both the water and the speaker go on with their pointless yet repeated activities, as if they have no other option.

While the sentiment could simply refer to the end of a love connection, it sounds more devastating if the speaker has no prospect of seeing the one who has gone missing return. There would be no way to relate the "hill" to a mounded grave without a death, the "silent" voice would be more difficult to understand, and the "day that is dead" would be a poorer metaphor.

Q4. In your opinion, what is the theme of ‘Dover Beach’?

Ans) The main themes in “Dover Beach” are religious uncertainty, human continuity, and the consolations of love.

Religious Uncertainty

The poem expresses a unique sense of unhappiness and perplexity that evolved throughout the Victorian era, when science and the Enlightenment began to erode the nearly universal Christian faith in the country. The speaker laments the loss of the "Sea of Faith," which previously wrapped itself around the nation, metaphorically protecting it from the "clash" that today appears to be the outcome of human insecurity and ignorance. The poem's "ignorant army" reflect people who no longer have the "certitude" they once did: they argue with one other but have no true direction. They're only fighting each other in the metaphorical dark with no genuine goals.

Human Continuity

By referring to the Greek dramatist Sophocles hearing the same note of "misery" on the Aegean many thousands of years ago, Arnold underscores the continuity of the human predicament. Arnold is implying that people have always been the same at heart: they yearn for certainty and suffer greatly if they do not get it, and they will constantly endeavour to find some type of assurance and prospect of joy in their life. The sea is used to illustrate this continuity in a metaphorical sense. It suggests a link between the speaker and the ancients through its endlessness, repeating movement, and similarity. The sea can be protecting, as when people are full of faith, or it can be a barrier between people, shutting them off from one another.

The Consolations of Love

Despite the larger-scale isolation Arnold describes—that of groups of people, "ignorant armies," rather than individuals—his speaker appears to find and profess consolation in the existence of love. Part of the poem may have been composed during or shortly after Arnold's honeymoon in 1851, however the exact dates are unknown. Regardless, the poem's feeling of another person, as seen by the imperative "Listen!" and individual address to "you" in the first stanza, provides a witness for Arnold's speaker, someone to bear his descriptions of what he feels and sees. Even in the ruins of contemporaneous Britain's faith failures, this love serves as an individual solace.

Section C

Q. III Answer the following questions in about 600 words each: 4 x 15 = 60

Q1. What is the significance of the title of Dickens’ novel A Tale of Two Cities?

Ans) The title "A Tale of Two Cities" suggests that Dickens' storey is about the influence of the French Revolution on people in both France and England. The Revolution had receded by the time Dickens wrote his novel in 1859, but it was still fresh in the English cultural consciousness. It's a storey set half in London and partly in Paris, and the title is a device for constructing a veiled comparison between the lives of the two nations at the pivotal period of the French Revolution, implying the prospect of a revolution in Britain as well. The storey begins in 1755, when the young French surgeon Dr. Manette is arbitrarily detained at the Bastille, and ends in 1794, when Sydney Carton's martyrdom saves the life of Charles Darnay, who is safely transported across the Channel with his beloved wife, kid, and father-in-law.

The novel provides interesting glimpses into the state of life in the two cities—London and Paris—behind the storey of love and hatred. The sights are, of course, bleak in both locations. London is depicted as a poorly paved, poorly lit metropolis with inadequate sanitation and a high rate of thievery on the streets. The country's criminal law was highly bad and inequitable, with people being executed for both serious and minor offences. As a result, the English used to have a pitiful existence.

Dickens' depiction of French life is more vivid than that of England since he was researching the causes of the French Revolution at the time. The court's complacency and inefficiency, the nobility's diabolical vices, and the swelling tide of common unrest are all well-depicted. The freed Bastille prisoner, the shoemaker we meet in the First Book, is a living monument to aristocratic tyranny, and the common unrest centred in Defarge's wine shop is a precursor to the Revolution. The two chapters "Monseigneur in Town" and "Monseigneur in the Country" paint a vivid picture of the aristocracy's inhumanity in France. The complete poverty of the common population immediately draws attention in contrast to their inhumanely affluent existence. Dickens' work clearly proves that such prejudice was the cause of the Revolution.

Books II and III depict the French Revolution from the beginning to the Reign of Terror. After the King's assassination, a new age begins. The entire country was gripped by a burning fever. The September Massacre, the perpetual sending of men to the guillotine without proper trial, the revelry in bloodshed, the feast of unreason, and the flow of emotional stupidity as they affect the lives of commoners like Lucy and her associates are all depicted by Dickens in a succinct but vivid manner. Thus, through the medium of A Tale of Two Cities, we have a tale of two nations in a single compass.

Q2. Henchard’s downfall comes about as a result of his own character. Discuss.

Ans) Michael Henchard's life has been a succession of awful misfortunes that have led to his demise. However, determining whether or not Michael Henchard is to blame for his own demise, and to what extent, requires a great deal of thought before a decision can be made. Before making this decision, other considerations must be considered, such as whether it was Henchard's fault or whether he could have prevented the accident. The only way to know if Henchard is entirely to blame for his own demise is to examine each calamity that occurs in the storey and assess whether or not he could have avoided it. The tale begins with Michael Henchard travelling with his wife and daughter and stopping for supper at a furmity tent. Michael made the decision right immediately that he wanted rum in his furmity. When she retrieved a bottle from under the table, slily measured out a quantity of its contents, and tipped the same into the man's furmity, he winked at her and passed up his basin in response to her nod.

"Well, I lost my wife about nineteen years ago - through no fault of my own..." Henchard's admission that he did anything wrong demonstrates that he has regained his integrity. The spectator sees Henchard's bright side emerge by him being entirely honest with his business partner. Henchard's demise is inextricably linked to his romance with Farfrae. Hardy mentions Henchard's fondness for Farfrae. This is done to make Henchard's downfall appear more dramatic than it would be if he hadn't been so involved and close to Farfrae. Susan meets Henchard at the 'ring,' an amphitheatre at Castorbridge that Hardy described as "...seldom had place in the amphitheatre, that of happy lovers." Despite the fact that Susan and Henchard are no longer friends, Henchard is sensitive to her and opens their talk in an unusual manner. "I'm no longer a drinker." Henchard is attempting to persuade Susan that he regrets what he did, and by telling her that he now feels accountable for his actions, he is demonstrating a positive side to himself.

Hardy's efforts to establish Michael Henchard's personality at the start of the storey are quite successful. Henchard's demise has been steadily worsening throughout the tale. The descriptive language utilised at the start of the work is remarkable. From the first page, I had a positive opinion of Henchard. When he arrives to the furmity tent, the bad part of him begins to emerge. Hardy demonstrates that Henchard has plummeted socially and financially by chapter 31. He's forced to move in with Joshua Jopp and refuses to see anyone. "He had gotten a shocking fillip downwards on a social level, and having previously lost business buoyancy due to hasty transactions, the velocity of his slide in both aspects grew quickened by the hour." Farfrae and EJ make the decision to marry. Henchard attends with integrity, but EJ can't forgive him for what he did and walks away from him. As a wedding present, he bought a goldfinch, which Hardy uses as a symbol of Henchard's existence. Some people may have differing viewpoints on why Henchard's situation deteriorated. Some may attribute it to chance. Others may believe Henchard is solely to blame for everything that has occurred.

Q3. Discuss the Silent features of the Victorian Age as reflected in the works of the writers in your course.

Ans) The Victorian era, as well as Victorian Literature, are terms used to describe the period. The Victorian Era is defined as the period from 1837 to 1901 when literature was published. It was written during Queen Victoria's reign. Queen Victoria was the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. His reign spanned the years 1837 to 1901. Victorian Age / Literature refers to the literature produced during this period. For nearly 64 years, Queen Victoria ruled. She must have been around 18 years old when she became Queen of England.

The moniker Victoria age/era was given to this period. With the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, this period came to an end. Romanticism came before it, and the Edwardian Era came after it. There was a period of poetry during the "romantic" period when more poetry style was composed. There was also an era of play genre during the “Shakespeare” period. Similarly, there was a period of novel style throughout the Victorian era.

Child labour expanded dramatically throughout the Victorian era as a result of the Industrial Revolution. Because the owners of the industry began forcing children to work. As a result, children are denied access to school. Children should not be robbed of education as a result of the Industrial Revolution, according to a VICTORIAN WRITER. Because children are our society's future. As a result, Victoria literature is also known as Children Literature, because the novels and poems of the time are primarily about children. This work was quite realistic at the time. It portrayed society as a mirror.

The beginnings of the growth of the middle class. Apart from that, colonialism and the industrial revolution are two major themes in this period's novels. Imperialism, in addition to the industrial revolution, was a major topic. Imperialism is a theme that recurs throughout his narrative. They don't have access to publishers. Because women's novels and poems were not seen as trustworthy at the time. That is why she adopts a male moniker.

The Most Popular Author of the Victorian Era is Charles Dickens. He used to write about the disadvantaged in society and how they are exploited. How can they manage to live such a terrible existence? His debut novel, The Pickwick Papers, was a huge success. Apart from that, significant Victorian writers include William Makepeace Thackeray, the Bronte sisters, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Joseph Conrad.

Q4. Critically analyse Rossetti’s poem ‘Goblin Market’.

Ans) Goblin Market, according to Christina Rossetti, was written on the spur of the moment. She also referred to it as a children's poetry, which it most likely was because, like her romantic forefathers, she regarded childhood as a period of unprecedented intensity and experience. Indeed, William Wordsworth's Nutting, a sexualized coming-of-age poetry in which intensity of love for nature climaxes in an unanticipated sexuality that reverses into a sense of remorse and loss, can be claimed to be the inspiration for Goblin Market.

Obviously, the poem is about sexuality, and it appears that the sexuality in the poem is centred on same-sex eroticism. The poem is proto-Freudian in its depiction of fear, loss, anxiety, and sin in the backdrop of two sisters (Lizzie and Laura) having an experience of desire waking. As Freud predicted, the stages of sexual desire progress from generalised friendship to intense and intensely singular sexual self-discovery; from same-sex, half-individual sexual interplay between sisters who are not one person but not quite two; and finally, to a more "mature" sexuality that can lead to the venerated states of marriage and motherhood. All of these stages pique Rossetti's curiosity, and he recognises their persistence as they progress.

The metaphorical and literal readings of the poem would correlate to two attitudes toward the storey it tells: the adult's and the child's, respectively. For a child, sexuality is a threat of death, genuine death, the complete transformation indicated by sexuality and the beginning of maturity. Of course, this isn't true death from our perspective, but it is from the perspective of the child. The onset of sexuality coincides with the recognition of mortality. When we reach the age of sexual awareness, we also reach the age of understanding that we shall die. This is why Adam and Eve are introduced to both sex and death through the tree of knowledge. The goblin men in "Goblin Market" represent both.

Much of this is obvious by the poem's conclusion: those days were wonderful, even in their intensity and terror. The fears of mothers are different: they are less severe, but they are much more profound. It's worth noting that the moms speak to their children about their personal experiences, which are detailed in the poem. In the same way as Laura's tales about the haunting glen and the goblin men are tales for children, the poem is a children's poem. The children are strengthened in the face of impending loss by the knowledge that their moms overcame it by being faithful to their own sisterhood—that is, a childhood friendship that lasts beyond childhood.

However, it would be a mistake to assume that the poem is solely about sexuality. It deals with all aspects of childhood arousal, from sexuality to nature to language. However, it would be a mistake to assume that the poem is solely about sexuality. It deals with all aspects of childhood arousal, from sexuality to nature to language. Although “Goblin Market” is a children's rhyme, it is sung by the goblin men, who are the unavoidable symbols of old age and death. If there is a compensation, it is joy, love, tenderness, and terror for future generations of children, and the poem's half-happy ending allows us to rethink the richness of the world through the eyes of children who still feel it.