Author’s Background and Writing

Plot

Setting

Themes, Motifs, Symbols

Character Analysis

Narrative Techniques/Style

Plot

The story is set in one summer afternoon .The setting of the story is introduced from the perspective of a looking glass hung in the hall, with the writer relating the temptation to look into it to things like open cheque book or letters.

From the reflection of the mirror, one could see a stretch that leads to a garden outside. The empty interior of the house is later described as having lights,shadows,curtains blowing, all these compared to some animals and plants in the wild. The picture however created is that of a setting where nothing remains constant: Nothing stayed the same for two seconds together.

The outside of the house is also reflected through the looking glass, where everything remains stationary, except ‘a perpetual sighing and ceasing sound ‘probably coming from the sole occupant of the house. After a moment of suspence, the protagonist of, the story, one called Isabella Tyson is introduced. She is a rich spinster in her fifties to sixties .She is often compared to the flowers she is going to pick from her garden, the convolvulus, a crawling plant.

Isabella is however a woman with a rather deep past, which are contained in the load of letters in her drawers. Her face is described as ‘mask-like indifference’..The description of Isabella is briefly interrupted by the entrance of a postman who brings more letters. The letters are set again the hard, indelible marble-topped table, which casts a sort of deep secret and indelibility on the power of the  letters.

Suddenly, a realization comes to her and she begins to see the need to learn to face her fears, past and fake identity. This is presented through her next action: …raising the scissors that were tied to her waist to cut some dead flower, some overgrown branch. The effect of this action becomes almost immediate. For example, ‘she snipped the spray of traveller’s joy  and it fell to the ground.As it fell,surely some light came in too. She looks up at the sky to depict her helplessness and surrender and cry for help. She also begins to think outside herself, but about showing love to her friends. Isabella also realizes the need for her die symbolically-‘she must die herself and all the futility and evanescence of things’.

She eventually comes back to confront her fears in form of the mirror. This time round, something dramatic happens: she became larger and larger in the looking-glass, more and more completely the person whose mind one had been trying to penetrate. From this point, there is a kind of conformity with the image in the looking mirror as against the former situation of dual personality. Instead of being scared of what to see in the mirror, she is now comfortably reconciled with it. Instead of being subsumed by the larger than life personality of the mirror, the looking glass began to pure over her a light that seemed to fix her; that seemed like some acid to bite off the unessential and superficial and to leave only the truth. The obvious consequence of this is that all the superficiality in her, symbolically represented by clouds, dress, basket, diamond begin to drop from her life. For the first time, she could stand naked before the mirror because she had dealt with her past and there is no more shame or fear to confront her inner personality. Thus, the inner conflict triggered from the beginning of the story is finally resolved.

Setting

The story’s setting is one of the tools used to narrate it as it is vividly portrayed and described at every point in time to reflect the main character, Isabella Tyson. This description starts from the minute detail  of the looking glasses to depths of the sofa in the drawing-room to the entire room and then the garden with beautiful plants and flowers that lay outside the house..All these coupled with the brightness of a summer afternoon cast a serene, clement atmosphere. This view is quickly debunked with the detail sparseness and emptiness of the house despite its exquisiteness and opulence.

When the protagonist is finally introduced in the fourth , one can see the correlation between her and the setting. For example the sparseness of her abode aptly describes her lonely state. The beauty of her garden is a contrast to her emptiness which she thinks she could cover up and present a façade of happiness. However, the confusion in her personality is often compared to the nature of the crawling plant, convolvulus. The looking mirror equally forms a dominant part of the story as it is through it that almost all features in the story are seen. While the mirror accurately presents the beautiful garden setting, this is not the case with Isabella, as distortion is what is presented, until later in the story where self assessment and personality -reconciliation have taken place. 

Themes, Motifs, Symbols

Superficiality/Vanity-The story first presents a perfect situation both in the aesthetic outlook of the interior of the house and even the garden. These prepare us for the introduction of the main character, Isabella Tyson whose life is riddled with superficiality and pretense .She surrounds herself with attractive things as a façade for her emptiness. Not until she is ready to face the reality of her situation is she delivered. By the end of the story, she is ready to strip herself of her artificiality by being unashamedly naked before the looking mirror. At this point, all the material things around her make no sense as she discovers who she really is.

Self –Realization/Change/Rebirth-This concern is a tool used by Woolf to resolve the inner conflict of Isabella. Not until she is ready to honestly deal with her past is she able to see a change come upon her life. She obviously has a past symbolized by the filled drawers and letter. They represent a past life of scandals and disappointments and other vices which hold her bound. She honestly decides to have a change and this symbolically starts with the pruning process of some flowers in the garden, and then, not  until she is ready to face the mirror  honestly, stops living in self delusion of deceiving herself of seeing what she wants to see, but to be ready to see herself in her true state, is she able to see her new, better self. Though the sight is unpalatable-‘Look, as she stood there, old and angular, veined and lined, with her high nose and her wrinkled neck…’ she is on the path of change and rebirth.

Bondage/Self-imprisonment –The situation the protagonist, Isabella finds herself is one that is self-inflicted and as such, she is a woman in bondage. Despite all the façade of comfort, happiness and peace, she is a troubled woman living in bondage as she is bound to her past and even to herself. She is so consumed by love for self that she does not want to let go of her ego. Due to this, she begins a life of self delusion because each time she goes to the mirror and be corrected or told what is needful to make her a better person, she sees what she wants to see. It takes a step of self realization to free herself from this bondage. She decides to come out of her shell, confront her fears and past and go through  a painful process of being naked before all to be liberated.

Motifs

Looking Glass-Represents the reality against which the personality of Isabella is tested. The mirror only presents  and directly reflects what it confronts and it does not lie.However,a person may be deluded to such an extent to only see what he wants to see. Such is the case of Isabella in the story.

Drawers/ Letters-These are memories and secrets of the past which is locked away somewhere. The main impression given about letters is that of a thing that is so indelible that it takes more than ordinary action to move it-they lay with a new reality…as if it would have needed a chisel to dislodge them from the table’. However, the only thing that could erase such debilitating memories is honest self assessment and realization.

Flowers/ Convolvulus –These and other crawling plants in the garden reflect the state of Isabella’s personality. Though they possess beauty they are tangled, crawling plants that symbolize the complex life of Isabella. It only takes her proactive action of pruning to free herself.

Character Analysis-

Isabella Tyson.

The main character in the story is Isabella Tyson, a wealthy upper class lady that lives alone in a big country home. Her introduction in the story is marked by a vivid description of her abode, both inside and outside in the garden.

She is a woman of high taste from the description of her exquisite furnishings acquired from exotic places all over the world. It is her perpetual sighing and ceasing sound that heralds the state of her mind and personality. She is a woman with a lot of mystery surrounding her past. The only evidence of this are the letters kept in her drawers. What the content of this letter is is not known to the reader, though a little insight could be gained into her background. Isabella is a spinster but must had a lot of relationships that have ended badly. This must have probably caused bitterness, disappointment in her and as a result has decided to recline into her own self, where egoism becomes the norm. This must have also warranted her going into a psychological state of self –delusion. This is the reason she sees only what she wants to see in the mirror.

However, at a point of self-realization, she sees the need to confront her fears and past and it is at this point that she is symbolically merged with her estranged personality, making her whole again.

Narrative Techniques/Style

The story characteristically employs to some extent the modernist style, often associated with Woolf writings; Stream of Consciousness. Narration is done almost incoherently and the thoughts of the characters are presented in their raw, pure form. The only departure from the stream of consciousness style is that, to a large extent, there is some level of coherence in the plot .The narration begins from the minute details to the larger picture, from the setting to the eventual revelation of the character.

The omniscient narrator while detailed in description, yet lets the readers know that a lot of his narration is based on mere speculation and guesses. He rightly describes his role in the narration: since one was the only person in the drawing room, like one of those naturalists… lie watching the shyest animals. This observatory tone is obvious in the story and phrasing of his language. ‘There must be the truth; there must be a wall’. This pattern of narration employs no dialogue even as  the postman comes with the letters. However, there is the use of inner dialogue by Isabella as it is from this perspective and the body language of Isabella that the narrator is able to describe her personality.

The setting of the story is also a tool effectively used by the writer in the following ways: A sort of foreshadowing takes place, because the setting and descriptions of the rooms and even the garden reflect the personality of Isabella. For example the sparseness of the ‘quiet old country room’ depicts the loneliness of the protagonist, while the beautiful flowers and plants in the garden reflect ironically, the façade of happiness that Isabella presents.

Suspence and mystery are also put to effective use in the story. Isabella is introduced later in the story and even what the readers get to know about her are built on speculations and guess-work. This makes her an interesting and enigmatic character. Even where any information is presented it is not detailed. We don t know for example the detail of the kind of relationship she is entangled in.However,in unraveling the personality of Isabella, Woolf seizes the opportunity to achieve the climax of the story, when she is finally able to confront her past and fears with the merging of her personality with that of the looking-mirror.

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 Author’s Background and Writing

Plot

Setting

Themes, Motifs, Symbols

Character Analysis

Narrative Techniques/Style

Author’s Background and Writing

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer. He was born in 1804 in  Salem , Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne , the only judge involved in the Salem witch trials  who never repented of his actions. Nathaniel later added a “w” to make his name “Hawthorne”, in order to hide this relation. He entered Bowdoin College in 1821, was elected to Phi BetaB Kappa  in 1824, and graduated in 1825.

Hawthorne published his first work, a novel titled Fanshawe , in 1828; he later tried to suppress it, feeling it was not equal to the standard of his later work. He published several short stories in various periodicals which he collected in 1837 as Twice Told Tales . The next year, he became engaged to Sophia Peabody . He worked at a Custom House  and joined Brook Farm,   transcendentalist community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse  in Concord Massachusetts , later moving to Salem, the Berkshires  , then to The Wayside in Concord.The Scarlet Letter  was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment took Hawthorne and family to Europe before their return to The Wayside in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, and was survived by his wife and their three children.

Much of Hawthorne’s writing centres on New England, many works featuring moral allegories  with a Puritan inspiration. His fiction works are considered part of the Romantic Movement  and, more specifically, Dark romanticism . His themes often centre on the inherent evil and sin of humanity, and his works often have moral messages and deep psychological complexity. His published works include novels, short stories, and a biography of his friend, Franklin Pierce .

Hawthorne’s works belong to romanticism  or, more specifically, dark romanticism, cautionary tales that suggest that guilt, sin, and evil are the most inherent natural qualities of humanity. Many of his works are inspired by Puritan New England  , combining historical romance loaded with symbolism and deep psychological themes, bordering on surrealism. His depictions of the past are a version of historical fiction used only as a vehicle to express common themes of ancestral sin, guilt and retribution. His later writings also reflect his negative view of the Transcendalism   movement.

Hawthorne was predominantly a short story writer in his early career. Upon publishing Twice-Told Tales, however, he noted, “I do not think much of them“, and he expected little response from the public. His four major romances   were written between 1850 and 1860:The Scarlet Letter (1850), The House of the Seven Gables  (1851), The Blithedale Romance (1852) and The Marble Faun  (1860). Another novel-length romance, Fanshawe was published anonymously in 1828. Hawthorne defined a romance as being radically different from a novel by not being concerned with the possible or probable course of ordinary experience. In the preface to The House of the Seven Gables, Hawthorne describes his romance-writing as using “atmospherical medium as to bring out or mellow the lights and deepen and enrich the shadows of the picture.”

Plot

The story is set in a period when there a thin line between reality and illusion. This is where the characters in the story decide to meet for an appointment. The younger lady is ‘graceful in form and fair of feature, though pale and troubled. ‘This is in contrast with the other older lady who is ‘ancient and meanly dressed…of ill-favored aspect… so withered, shrunken and decrepit’. The setting is an abstract location somewhere between the celestial and the terrestrial worlds, where the characters are invisible to ordinary human eyes. There are three symbolic hills and in their midst is a hollow basin sometime in October when the grass is brown. There is also a decaying tree trunk beside a murky pool, that used to be a meeting point for witches. The appointment between the two is at the instance of the younger lady who has a problem which she thinks the other woman would be able to solve. She states her problem thus:

I am a stranger in this land, as you know…but I have left behind me with

whom my fate was intimately bound, and from whom I am cut –off forever.

There is a weight in my bosom that I cannot away with, and I have come hither

to inquire of their welfare.

The fair lady from inception appears to have succumbed to self-delusion and deception as she thinks she is still on earth when she says, ‘I will do your bidding though I die’. The witch goes into action almost immediately as she lifts her hood and instructs the woman to draw near and lay her forehead on her knees. She hesitated, but when she thinks of the weight of her problem, she complies and the hood is drawn over her own head too ‘so that she is in darkness’’. When the older woman begins to recite her incantation, the woman is filled with fear. She now begins to hear other strange voices mingling with the incantation of the witch. As the ‘prayer’ subsides, the lady could now discern a conversation between an old man and a woman in chamber, where the windows are being rattled by a breeze, vibration of a clock, crackling of fire and the kindling of embers. All these are so vivid to the lady. The two old people are in a sorrowful state, as they lament of their daughter who is a ‘wanderer’ and has brought so much dishonor to her family. They also alluded to other woes that have befallen them. Shortly after, their voices melt away and the lady regains her consciousness.

The witch instructs the lady to lay her head on her knees once again for another round of spiritual exploration. She begins by murmuring and reciting the incantation, but this time round there is ‘singing of sweet female voices’ intermingled with wild roar of laughter, groaning and sobbing, ending later in a funeral hymn. In the midst of all these, a man’ cry of woes is heard.-‘He spoke of woman’s perfidy, of a wife who had broken her holiest vows, of a home and heart made desolate. ‘

The lady later regains her consciousness, after which she is encouraged to lay her head on the witch’s knees for the third round of spiritual exploration. She starts her ranting, but this time round in the midst of the milieu of noise, there arises the ‘knolling of a bell like the death-bell knolling dolefully from ivy –mantled tower. ‘Another image comes of a procession going for funeral with a coffin being led by a priest. In the background is the murmuring and whispering of discontent concerning a daughter ‘who has wrung the aged hearts of her parents… the wife who has betrayed the trusting fondness of her husband,- the mother who had sinned against natural affection, and left her child to die. The noise soon fades away. By the time the old woman tries to wake the lady, ‘she lifted not her head’; she is dead’ and in a mocking derision devilish triumph, the witch chuckles: ‘Here has been a sweet hour’s sport!’

Setting

In the mould of a Dark Romanticism, the story, The Hollow of the Three Hills has the common features of abstract or indistinct setting, in terms of time and substance .Aptly, the story is set in ‘those strange old times’. Even the time is still indistinct-‘at an appointed hour and space’. The location is equally surreal and one could only conclude that it is a sphere between the celestial and terrestrial world. However, some level of realism is brought into the story with the physical description of three little hills, the hollow basin, decayed log of wood and the stagnant green purid pool. All these help to confer an air of mystery round the story.

Though the lady still lives in delusion when she claims, ‘whence I came from matters not’, the reader is given the impression of a concrete place. However, the witch tries to make her realize her current state when she says ‘Who is there… that can bring thee news from the ends of the Earth’.

Later in the story, most experiences and episodes are taken from a soul-travel or a trance. This is a world where experiences of the woman’ former life and relatives are brought to her in a form of mixture between reality and illusion, abstraction and concreteness. To further concretize this experience, the writer applies a lot of auditory imagery.

In all, the settings in the story leave quite a lot to the imagination of the reader.

Themes, Motifs, Symbols

Triumph of Evil Over Good –This is one of the salient features of Dark Romanticism, where characters are often presented as being ever prone to sin, guilt and delusion. The fair lady in the story supposedly symbolizes the goodness of humanity, but due to some mistakes in her past, which she does not have control over, she decides to seek help, not to physically correct her mistakes, but to assuage her sense of guilt and as a result, she visits somebody who she thinks is able to solve her problem; the witch in the story. Ironically ,the fair lady subsumes herself under the authority of the witch who makes her lay her head on her knees and from here, there is a symbolic transfer of virtue as she lays her head on her laps. Instead of having her sense of guilt assuaged or even have a sense of assurance of her past mistakes rectified, she is further made more guilty and worried. She is worse off than when she visits the witch and by the end of the story, as she has rightly foreshadows ‘I will do your bidding though I die’, she loses her life and soul.

Deception-The fair lady in the story succumbs to deception when she feels the witch could solve her problem of regaining assurance of the state of her relatives. She is taken through a web of delusions of being shown some visions of her past, which may only be a phantom, woven by the witch. The irony is that instead of having her problems solved, they are compounded. Her so –called conjured relatives from her father to her husband are still full of sorrow due to her betrayal. From the first trance to the last one, the lady is somehow hypnotized until the end of the story, where she pays the supreme prize with her life. The writer also uses language to convey this sense of deception. In the midst of the stark evil in the story, there are always glimpses of something positive and beautiful, all these to create a false sense of beauty and security. There is the, ‘chill beauty of an autumnal sunset…now gliding the three hill –tops…’ In the second trance, ‘All these noises deepened and became substantial to the listener’s ear, till she could distinguish every soft and dreamy accent of the love songs…’

Witchcraft/Supernatural/Death-One of the enhancing styles cum theme of the story is the influence of the supernatural and witchcraft. These aptly symbolize the power of evil. From the eerie and surreal setting to the incantations recited by the witch to invoke the past of the fair lady, elements of the magical are explored. This theme is also implied in the use of language where most descriptions employ stark, dark imagery such as – ‘’As the old withered woman spoke, a on smile glimmered on her countenance, like lamplight on the wall of a sepulchre’’.The trance that the witch takes the other woman into is magical, frightening and evil.Symbolically,the third trance  presents a procession of mourners carrying a coffin, which foreshadows this time round, not her physical death, but her spiritual death having sold her soul to the agent of the devil, the witch.

Guilt/ Worldly Cares/Worries-This theme captures the motive of the fair lady’s visit to the witch. In her former life, she has probably defiled the love of her relatives and now remorseful , she wants to see how she could make a remedy. This guilt is so strong that she resorts to the power of an evil power. She probably has her sense of guilt temporarily assuaged from her attitude after the three trance experiences but ironically, she is left more worried and emotionally shattered. By the third trance it is as if she is now under a spell which continues to propel her to know more which in the end, leads to the loss of her soul.

 Motifs

Three hills-Symbolic representations of the spiritual 3 as a number. Note that the fair woman is taken through a 3-phase trance.

Hollow basin-

Bell and coffin-A foreshadowing effect of the fair lady’s eventual spiritual death.

Character Analysis

There are two main symbolic characters. The older woman, who is a witch, represents the forces of evil. This is evident from her scary physical description-‘an ancient and meanly dressed woman, of ill-favoured aspect, and so withered, shrunken and decrepit’…withered hag’…withered crone. She leads the lady on, in deception by assuring her of solution to her problem though in a clever manner. From her statement to the fair lady, she does not expressly promise her anything: ‘.And who is there by this green pool, that can bring thee news from the ends of the Earth?…Not from my lips mayst thou hear these tidings, yet,be thou bold, and the daylight shall not pass away from yonder hill-top, before thy wish be granted.’ She takes the other woman through a 3-trance experience. All along, she has a hidden agenda, which is achieved when she has the last laugh at the end of the story, with the sarcastic statement: ‘Here has been a sweet hour’s sport! Said the withered crone, chuckling to herself.’

The other fair woman is described thus: ‘graceful in form and fair of feature, though pale and troubled and smitten with an untimely blight in what should have been the fullest bloom of her years. She represents virtue. She is driven by a strong sense of guilt to the witch, caused by many mistakes in her past. She also is driven by naivety. This is evident from her lack of self-realization when she says: ‘I am a stranger in this land. ‘She obviously lives in delusion of where she is and even the ambiguity of her request which is to ‘inquire of their welfare reflects her naivety. As it is the case among many mortals, she is anxious and worried about what she does not seem to have control over. She is so consumed by this worry that she loses her sense of reasoning: ‘She hesitated a moment, but the anxiety, that had long been kindling, burned fiercely up within her’. Her gullibility is further shown when without question, willingly submits to the wish of the witch  by submitting to her in obeisance- ‘she laid her forehead on the old woman’s knees’. From this point, the consequence becomes obvious.’… and the latter drew a cloak about the lady’s face, so that she was in darkness’. It must be noted that, it is her compassionate side that drives her into seeking a way to correct her past. Some people are important in her life; her parents who feel feel that she has brought dishonor to them and would therefore bring’ their gray heads to the grave. ‘There is also the husband who feels she has ‘broken her holiest vows’. Her gullibility gets the best of her, when having delved into this awkward spiritual exercise; she finds it difficult to extricate herself until the end of the story when she loses her soul.

Narrative Techniques/Style.

The story employs the traditional omniscient narrative technique, where the narrator has the ample opportunity to delve into every area of the characters’consciousness.The story relies much on the dramatic description of the setting and the characters to create the desired effects. The strength of the narration is mostly achieved through the vivid, dramatic and mysterious setting and atmosphere created.  Dialogue is used sparingly between the witch and the lady. This leaves room for a lot to the imagination of the reader. Rather, most situations are conveyed through the experiences of the characters, especially the trances. In the mould of Dark Romanticism, time is made instinct to create a mysterious effect and aptly so, in the spiritual realm, time as viewed in the physical is intangible and immaterial. Even physical locations are left to the imagination of the readers, somewhere between the celestial and the terrestrial realms. However, there is minimal foreshadowing, for example, the scene of the funeral procession is a pointer to the eventual spiritual demise of the lady. What could be called the twist or climax in the story is achieved at the end when the lady is betrayed by the witch.

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[OR]

A  CONSIDERATION

[A REFLECTION] ON MY EIGHTY-SIXTH BIRTHDAY

Well, World, you have kept faith with me,

Kept faith with me;

Upon the whole you have proved to be

Much as you said you were.

                         Since as a child I used to lie                               5

Upon the leaze and watch the sky,

Never, I own, expected I

That life would all be fair.

‘Twas then you said, and since have said,

                                  Times since have said,                          10

In that mysterious voice you shed

From clouds and hills around:

‘Many have loved me desperately,

Many with smooth serenity,

              While some have shown contempt of me            15

Till they dropped underground.

‘I do not promise overmuch,

Child; overmuch;

Just neutral-tinted haps and such,’

                        You said to minds like mine.                      20

Wise warning for your credit’s sake!

Which I for one failed not to take,

COMMENT CLOSELY ON THE FOLLOWING POEM, PAYING PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO WAYS IN WHICH IT EXPRESSES A VIEW OF HUMAN LIFE.

‘He Never Expected Much’ falls under the anthology of Hardy poems that could be categorized as autobiographical, being an offshoot of his personal and growing-up process, thereby making it to a large extent quite philosophical. It chronicles the life of a child with a lot of dreams and aspirations. As an adult he realizes the reality of the fairness of life. With this philosophy even to his old age, he has been able to be happy and to keep his sanity in a turbulent world of uncertainty.

With a rather simple language, the poem is able to employ apostrophe, which portrays life itself as an entity. Thus, ‘World,’ ‘Life’ is always addressing the persona throughout the poem. The same light tone of a conversation between two friends is applied by the persona in addressing ‘Life’. This creates a cordial atmosphere in the poem simply because the persona himself has lived his life in conformity and harmony with ‘Life’. However, there are times when rich imagery is employed to convey the omnipotence and mystery of Life. This is replicated in, ‘…you shed from clouds and hills around’, to show how Life itself is reflected in nature which speaks to man everyday reminding him of his mortality. The mysterious nature of Life is also captured in ‘Just neutral –tinted haps and such’’, to show the difficulty in defining nature. The image of a neutral colour here depicts Life as something that cannot be defined and quite unpredictable.

Life could also be defined from the repetition applied in the poem. The repetition of ‘kept faith with me’ in the opening of the poem asserts the feeling of satisfaction on the way Life has treated him. However in the second stanza, have said is also repeated to confirm the enduring message that Life has always echoed to all men. Apart from the repetition, all the lines are mostly accentuated by end-stops except lines 3, 5, 7, which reflect the freedom and liveliness associated with childhood. However for other lines, there is the conformity with the general reflective and serious tone of the poem

The poem uses a casual tone of a conversation between two friends, though one party ( Life) is older. Thus, one could see a father-son relationship kind of tone implied here. This is even confirmed with the use of Child in reference to the poet-persona in the last stanza. A sense of harmony is created because, the persona has probably conducted his life according to the dictates of this father-figure. However for those those choose to disobey the dictate of nature-cum Life, the tone could be stern as found in, ‘Wise warning for your credit’s sake!’

In terms of diction, the language is mostly monosyllabic to confirm the simplicity of the poem and to depict nature such as clouds and hills around. There is also an element of this in the nature-colour description, ‘neutral-tinted’. All these are to give the effect of Life depicted in the poem as being synonymous with nature. Man therefore has Life everywhere to teach him the fairness of life.

Hardy is able to maintain some amount of unity among all the devices used in the poem, as they are used to portray how fair Life could be. However, one obvious technique  is the conversational tone of the poem, which presents Life as both complacent and yet stern.

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That earth can offer to declining man,

Brings hope with it, and forward-looking thoughts.

Question: Considering this statement, how far does this reflect your view and role of Eppie in the novel?

George Eliot is one Victorian era writer that is influenced by William Wordsworth in her writings, especially his view on the redeeming power of childhood. This is probably the role given by Eliot to Eppie in the novel. Ironically, the abandoned child of Godfrey embodies all the traits of a redemptive figure, not only for Silas Marner, but also the plot of the story.

Eppie’s essence could be appreciated when looked out from the perspective of Silas’ gold -obsessed life. Having been betrayed by his religion and best friends, Silas now takes solace in physical and emotional escapism. He leaves Lantern Yard for Raveloe to start a new life, this time round not with his immediate community , but what he considers the sweat of his labour;gold.He   is so consumed by them that ‘he handled them, he counted them till their form and colour were like the satisfaction of a thirst to him. However in a divine orchestration, the gold is stolen and Silas is left open and vulnerable. It is in the midst of this vacuum that the baby, Eppie crawls into Silas’ abode having been attracted by a lantern light. From this point, a new chapter begins in the life of Silas Marner.Eppie literally replaces the lost gold and he is taught to appreciate human relationship. Though there is the challenge of raising a toddler, which Silas is not prepared for, yet, something within him is rejuvenated. The neighbours especially,Mrs.Winthtrop uses the opportunity of this child to gain entrance into Silas’ reclusive enclave. Through this, she eventually introduces a different kind of religion to Silas and his lost hope and faith in humanity are restored. Thanks to the coming of Eppie.

However for Godfrey, Eppie becomes a contrasting ‘benefit’. Through Eppie’s abandonment, the depth of Godfrey’s depravity is made obvious. It is only a selfish man that would only think about his immediate gratification to abandon his own blood in her hour of need. Many years later, Godfrey having been jolted by the possibility of being exposed due to the exhumation of Dunsey, is forced to confess. This revelation of being the biological of Eppie however becomes Godfrey’s albatross. He could not successfully claim her now and as a form of poetic justice, he is rejected and consigned to a life of childlessness.

Eppie is the second character that would form a link between Silas Marner and the Cass family after Dunsey, who steals from Silas earlier in the story.Godfrey, knows her daughter is with Silas, who ignorantly takes her in and nurtures her as his own daughter. It is however later in the novel that Godfrey is forced to stake a claim on her, but at this point, it has become too late. Coincidentally and ironically, Dunsey walks into Silas’ life to steal from him earlier in the story, while Eppie walks into the same life to give it meaning. Eppie therefore would inevitably connect the two families inevitably.

Eppie is equally an agent used by the writer to show the triumph of relationship over materialism. In staking his claim for Eppie, Godfrey who is still imbued with the upper class arrogance presents his argument that Silas may not eventually be able to materially cater for Eppie. He cleverly argues that by not releasing her to him, he Silas is unwittingly blocking her chance to enjoy the benefit of the lifestyle of the upper class.Eppie however settles the whole rift by taking the side of Silas, who though humble has sacrificed much for her. This decision presents the triumph of relationship, family and love over materialism, the hallmark of the aristocratic, Victorian, industrializing society.

In resolving the conflicts in the novel, George Eliot is able to use Eppie as one of the agents of inflicting poetic justice on Godfrey.He is rejected in his latter years by his own biological child and the prospect of his wife, Nancy giving him a child is almost impossible. Thus, he is consigned to a life of childlessness, an apt punishment for his past mistakes. However for Silas, it is the opposite. Though Eppie is not his biological daughter, Silas now has a child he could call his own. In addition, what he loses in material substance of gold is ironically restored to him. In Eppie’s marriage to Aaron, Silas takes the glory and the story has a fairytale happy ending.

It is not coincidental that George Eliot often depicts Eppie in her teen years as an epitome of nature at its rarest beauty. She enjoys the company of flowers and exploring the beauty of the countryside, the habit which begins to rub on Silas himself. Even during her wedding, she would rather go for something flowery and nature-like as the novel describes it-‘She had thought, though with a feeling of renunciation, that the perfection of a wedding-dress would be white cotton, with the tiniest pink spring’. She symbolizes the sunshine in Silas’ life and while the adults in the story allow themselves to be agents of envy, covetousness and selfishness, it is a child that becomes the vanguard of nature, love, family and relationship.

Related posts:

1. MODEL ESSAY ON GEORGE ELIOT’S SILAS MARNER.*
2. MODEL ESSAY ON SILAS MARNER.*
3. MODEL ESSAY ON GEORGE ELIOT’S SILAS MARNER.(1)*

‘Ah, you’re fine and strong, aren’t you?’ said Silas, while Eppie shook her aching arms and laughed. ‘Come,come,let us go and sit down on the bank against the stile there, and have no more lifting. You might hurt yourself child. You’d need have somebody to work for you- and my arm isn’t over strong.’

                Silas uttered the last sentence slowly, as if it implied more than met the ear; and Eppie, when they sat down on the bank, nestled close to his side, and, taking hold caressingly of the arm that was not over strong, held it on her lap, while Silas puffed again dutifully at the pipe, which occupied his other arm.An ash in the hedgerow behind made a fretted screen from the sun, and threw happy playful shadows all about them.

                ‘Father,’ said Eppie, very gently, after they had been sitting in silence a little while, ‘if I was to be married ought I to be married with my mother’s ring?

                Silas gave an almost imperceptible start, though the question fell in with the under-current of thought in his  own mind, and then said, in a subdued tone, ‘Why, Eppie ,have you been-a-thinking on it?’

                ‘Only this last week, father,’ said Eppie, ingenuously, ‘since Aaron talked to me about it’.

                ‘And what did he say?’ said Silas, still in the same subdued way, as if he were anxious lest he should fall into the slightest tone that was for Eppie’s good.

                ‘He said he would like to be married, because he was a-going in four-and –twenty, and had got a deal of gardening work, now Mr. Mott’s given up; and he goes twice a-week regular to Mr. Cass’s and once to Mr. Osgood’s and they’re going to take him on at the Rectory’.

                ‘And who is it as he’s wanting to marry?’ said Silas, with a rather a sad smile.

                ‘Why, me,to be sure,daddy,’said Eppie ,with dimpling laughter, kissing her father’s cheek; ‘as if he’d want to marry somebody else!’

                ‘And you mean to have him, do you? Said Silas.

                ‘Yes, some time,’ said Eppie, ‘I don’t know when. Everybody’s married sometime, Aaron says. But I told him that wasn’t true: for, I said, look at father – he‘s never been married.’

                ‘No, child,’ said Silas, ‘your father was a lone man till you was sent to him’.

                ‘But you’ll never be lone again, father,’ said Eppie, tenderly. ‘That was what Aaron said – ‘ ‘ I could never think o’ taking you away from Master Marner,Eppie.’’ And I said ‘’It ‘u be no use if you did, Aaron.’’ And he wants us all to live together, so as you needn’t work a bit,father,only what’s for your own pleasure; and he’d be as good as a son to you- that was what he said.’

                And should you like that, Eppie? Said Silas, looking at her.

MODEL ESSAY

This extract marks one of the highlights of a space of sixteen years since Silas Marner arrives in Raveloe.Eppie has grown into a beautiful sixteen year old damsel and Silas to a large extent has established himself as a responsible citizen, respected by his neighbours for having overcome the travail of his loss and has single-handedly raised a daughter,Eppie,the pride of Raveloe.This scene is one of the quality times together for father and daughter,  as they stroll to explore and enjoy nature.Incidentally,the rich dialogue, language and tone here to a large extent shed more light on the relationship between father and daughter.

The setting of the extract aptly captures a romantic atmosphere akin to one between two lovers. This time round, it is set in a flower-laden open field, where nature is at its best. To further accentuate the seamless love between father and daughter, Eliot captures the comely atmosphere thus:  ‘‘An ash in the hedgerow behind made a fretted screen from the sun, and threw happy playful shadows all about them’’.The literary effect of this background is that of friendliness, love and openness.

The extract opens with a sarcastic and rhetorical question of how strong and fine Eppie has been, which is uttered in an amusing and caring tone, marked by the usual affectionate ‘child’.This is the relaxed atmosphere that pervades their relationship which is more than a typical father-daughter one, but one that has the semblance of two lovers; this time round, two lovers with platonic love between them. One marked feature of this is the body language of the two friends. There is ‘taking care caressingly of the arm’’ in the earlier second paragraph and ‘’ kissing her father’s cheek’’ found towards the end of the extract.

It is the concern of Silas for his daughter that prompts the topic of the man Eppie would spend her future with. It is obvious that they both care for each other. Thus, in a tone laden with concern, Silas is worried about the future life of his daughter without him, while Eppie is also thinking of Silas as a feeble old man, who would need somebody to care for him. This is  the subject-matter of this extract.

The language of the extract is also marked by many questions with varying motives. The first question is the one asked by Eppie on whether she would marry with her mother’s ring. This sets Silas thinking if   Eppie is probably missing her mother, thereby casting doubt on his effectiveness as a father. He uses a question to convey this. This question is later followed by Silas’ concern in a rather sarcastic tone, ‘‘And you mean to have, do you?’’ ‘Incidentally, the extract ends with Eppie’s parting question, ‘’And should you like that?’’This is a reference to whether Silas would gladly live with them (Eppie and Aaron) as a married couple. All these questions one way or the other depict the concern the two characters have for each other, especially a future without each other. The tone here is filled with so much anxiety, which reflects their caring attitude, a reflection of the strength of their relationship

However, there is intermittent interjection of a few reminiscences. The first is a reference to Eppie’s mother’s ring, which casts some doubt on the ability of Silas as a father. This elicits a ‘subdued’ tone from Silas Marner.The second reference is to the reason why Silas is not married. This is replied with the same subdued tone from Silas.The sad memories of his betrayal in Lantern Yard must have been brought back.It appears as if Silas has already shared these so-called secrets with his daughter and as such, a relationship with no secret is presented. This somehow contrasts with the moral cowardice often exhibited by Godfrey who lives a delicate life built on morbid secrets.

Generally, the dialogue between father and daughter is done in a chatty, comfortable manner, sometimes dilating between sad reminiscence and vivacity. This extract is probably one of those parts in the entire novel where the normally reserved Silas uses a variety of long sentences. Here, they come mostly in form of probing questions,which Eppie most times tries to answer.Epppie equally has her own fair share of questions. However, the lively Eppie has more share of sentences in the extract. The dialogue to a large extent is open, confidential and without any inhibition and all these depict a relationship that is more than the father-daughter one, but that of two adult- friends.

In the same vein, the tone equally follows the trend of the dialogue. Where questions are asked by any of the characters, they are to probe the feelings of the other party and to empathize. The tone here is usually subdued and pitiful. There are also times when the tone expresses anxiety, especially when one considers the sensitivity of the subject matter in the extract. The news of Eppie wanting to get married so soon comes as a little shock to Silas, though he appears to have been ruminating over it for some time, but the suddenness of the news appears rather discomforting to Silas.For once, he begins to contemplate a life where father and daughter would be separated. However, by the end of the extract, through probing questions and answers, with a tone laced with compassion and understanding, Eppie is able to reassure his father that she has put him into consideration in her future marital plan.

One could claim that this extract to a large extent presents a quintessential father-daughter relationship between Silas and Eppie. With this kind of solid relationship built on trust and mutual love, the readers are kept in suspense of  what the response of Eppie would be, when Godfrey finally comes to make his claim on her.

Related posts:

1. MODEL ESSAY ON GEORGE ELIOT’S SILAS MARNER.(1)*
2. LITERARY ESSAY ON GEORGE ELIOT’S SILAS MARNER *
3. THEMES EXPLORED IN CHAPTER 1-3 OF GEORGE ELIOT SILAS MARNER.*

Nothing at that moment could be much more to Dunsey  than the bright fire on the brick hearth: he walked in and seated himself by it at once. There was something in front of the fire, too, that would have been inviting to a hungry man, if it had been in a different stage of cooking. It was a small bit of pork suspected from the kettle-hanger by a string passed through a large door-key, in a way known to primitive housekeepers unpossessed of jacks. But the port had been hung at the farthest extremity of the hanger, apparently to prevent the roasting from proceeding too rapidly during the owner’s absence. The old staring simpleton had hot

Meat for his supper, then? Thought Dunstan. People had always said he lived on mouldy bread, on purpose to check his appetite. But where could he be at this time, and on such an evening, leaving his supper in this time, and his door unfastened? Dunstan’s own recent difficulty in making his way suggested to him that the weaver had perhaps gone outside his cottage to fetch in fuel, or for some such brief purpose, and had slipped into the stone-pit. That was an interesting idea to Dunstan, carrying consequences of entire novelty. If the weaver was dead, who had a right to his money? Who would know where his money was hidden? Who would know that anybody had come to take it away? He went no farther into the subtleties of evidence: the pressing question, ‘where is the money?’ now took entire possession of him as to make him quite forget that the weaver’s death was not a certainty. A dull mind, once arriving at an inference that flatters a desire, is rarely able to retain the impression that the notion from which the inference started was purely problematic. And Dunstan’s mind was as dull as the mind of a possible felon usually is. There were only three hiding-places where he had ever heard of cottagers’ hoards being found: the thatch, the bed, and a hole in the floor. Marner’s cottage had no thatch; and Dunstan’s first act, after a train of thought made rapid by the stimulus of cupidity, was to go up to the bed; but while he did so, his eyes travelled eagerly over the floor, where the bricks, distinct in the fire-light, were discernible under the sprinkling of sand. But not everywhere; for there was one spot, and one only, which was quite covered with sand, and sand showing the marks of fingers, which had apparently been careful to spread it over a given space. It was near the treddles of the loom. In an instant Dunstan darted to that spot, swept away the sand with his whip, and inserting the thin end of the hook between the bricks, found that they were loose. In haste he bricks, found that they were loose. In haste he lifted up two bricks, and saw what he had no doubt was the object of.

MODEL ESSAY.

Dunstan, the ‘black-sheep’of the Cass household, has just lost Wildfire,Godfrey’s horse in a controversial manner.Coincidentally,the thought he has always exercised concerning taking possession of Silas’ gold becomes a reality now, as he could not imagine the reaction of his brother, who he has definitely pushed to the wall. In this extract, having been encouraged by a glimpse of a light from Silas’s cottage, he is encouraged to move and take possession of Silas’ gold. It must be noted that this episode to a large extent sets in motion a twist in Silas’ travails, leaving a dramatic impact on the plot of the story.

The fire or the hearth represents the physical centre of the household and symbolizes the comfort of family life. It is of note that it is Silas’fire that attracts Dunsey in the this extract and would also be instrumental to the location of the gold right under the ground. This incident eventually lead to Silas’ misfortune in terms of his impending loss of his gold. The same fire would also draw Eppie into his household. Though Silas is without human relation or relationship and has deliberately decided to become a recluse, there is still something within or around him that would always draw people to him. This confirms the inevitability of human relations. This is what the fire symbolizes in the extract.

Dunsey’s entrance into Silas’ cottage also sheds more light on his austere and miserly life style .Dunsey could not but express the general sentiment of the people of Raveloe that Silas feeds on mouldy bread on purpose to check his appetite. This is not the case, but only confirms the prejudicial and myopic mindset of the people. To a large extent, one could catch a glimpse of the plight of the writer (Mary Ann) who equally suffers some amount of prejudice predicated on the judgmental values of a Victorian society.

A foreshadowing effect is also implied in the Silas’door being ‘unfastened’. Logically, he is accustomed to the fact that since there has been no threat to his gold in the past, the likelihood of his gold being stolen is remote. This is ironically a contrast to a lifestyle that is not open as he shields himself from any contact with his fellow humans. This however prepares us for a change in Silas’ life when the door to his life would be open to allow access .Still on the foreshadowing effect is Dunstan’s wish that Silas slips into the Stone-pit, which is a fate that awaits him himself in the nearest future.

The portrayal of the Dunsey to a large extent makes this extract very significant. He as a character, is the typical black sheep of the family and represents the Achilles heel  of a dignifying family such as that of Squire Cass.Despite being imbued with class and wealth where everything is perfect superficially, it only takes a character like Dunsey to show that despite all the façade of propriety, the upper class equally shares in the vices often associated with poverty-stricken folks. His action here would among other factors prepare us for the inevitable rapport that destiny would foster between Silas Marner and the Cass in future. The impending loss of Silas’ gold also highlights the height  of the upper class’s depravity which Dunsey represents in the story.

The power of materialism or gold which is a central theme in the novel is strongly implied in the extract. It is the root of all the vices in the novel.Godfrey wants to pay the money owed his greedy father and ultimately decides to sell  his horse, which is killed and then Dunsey is strongly motivated to rob Silas.Silas’s story is equally pathetic as he has come to fill the vacuum of loss of trust or humanity with his love for gold. This would of course raise a lot of questions in the mind of the readers. Would Dunsey succeed in stealing the gold or would he be apprehended? What would be fate of Silas if he should lose his soul; his gold? All these would definitely set in motion a new twist to the story with ultimate suspense in the mind of the readers.

Related posts:

1. MODEL ESSAY ON GEORGE ELIOT’S SILAS MARNER.(1)*
2. THEMES EXPLORED IN CHAPTER 1-3 OF GEORGE ELIOT SILAS MARNER.*
3. LITERARY ESSAY ON GEORGE ELIOT’S SILAS MARNER *

GEORGE ELIOT

Queen Victoria made the rules; George Eliot broke them all…

George Eliot was born on the 22^nd of November, 1819.The writer’s actual name though changed several times was Mary Ann Evans. She was the daughter of Robert Evans and his second wife, Christiana Pearson Evans. She was the youngest of five children. She was however closer to her full siblings, Isaac and Christy, rather than her half siblings, Robert and Fanny. She idolized Isaac, but soon they would grow apart due to irreconcilable differences.

Robert Evans was very fond of her youngest daughter and as she as well reciprocated the gesture. He was a strict father, but loved her nevertheless. He worked for the Newdigate family as a land agent and builder.Hence; they lived quite a comfortable life. He was a strong Christian and he made sure it was the same for all his children.

Mary Ann went of to boarding school when she was just five. It was here that she discovered her love for books especially writing. She learnt to also play the piano,learnt new languages and wrote poems and short stories. A semblance of this characteristics could be found in her later work, Scenes of Clerical Life (1858).

When she returned home, the father hired tutors for her to further encourage her since she did well in school. He realized her plain looks, so he believed she might as well exploit her intelligence to make headway in life. Unfortunately, the mother passed on in1836 which left her devastated.

Unlike most girls who cared about vanities of fashion especially cloths and boys and being a sound home maker, Mary Ann believed there was more to life than that. She began to question the Victorian lifestyle and norm and sadly her Christian faith. This was dangerous for any girl her age. Coincidentally, she was not endowed with that comeliness that would make her attractive to most men, so the idea of finding a husband was becoming remote and coupled with her rebellion again Christian faith, she becomes  totally reprehensible. In her late teens, Mary Ann stopped going to church, claiming that the doctrine was harsh. This decision devastated her father and people who observed this emerging trait in her .They came to the decision that she has become a heretic.

With this new vista into the intellectual world, Mary Ann’s social circle widened to include non-religious figures such as Thomas Carlyle, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Sir Walter Scott. She continued to study foreign languages one of which was French. This culminated in her translation of Life of  Jesus in 1848.

When her father passed on in 1849, Mary was ridden with grief. To get over it, she travelled to Italy and Switzerland. She moved again to London with hopes of becoming a journalist. She changed her name to Marian Evans and quickly rose in the ranks of the world of journalism. She was young, free and now famous. She made friends with great minds such as Charles Dickens and Wilkie Colliins. However  she was quite unhappy because she had not been in a suitable relationship with men. She later fell in love with Chapman, her editor and owner of Westminster Review. Sadly, he did not reciprocate her love. It was after this that she met a man she would consider to be her soul-mate, George Henry Lewes.

GEORGE LEWES

When she met Lewes, he was already married to Ann Jervis with his five children.However, their love blossomed and they ran away together. Though they were never officially married, she still referred to herself as Mrs. Marian Evans Lewes .It was when they started living together (1852) that she had the inspiration to start writing again. However, considering the fact that she is a woman and was often branded a home-wrecker and a harlot, she decided to write under a pseudonym, George Eliot-George, from her husband and Eliot decided upon, based on what she thought was fitting.

Her following books were Adam Beade(1859) which was an instant success, Mill on the Floss(1860),Silas Marner (1861),Ramola (1863),Felix Holt,the Radical (1866),Middlemarch(1871-72) and Daniel Deronda(1876.)

Mary’s works was sharp, cunning and brimming with intellectual power. During Victorian Era, the literature has been found to be unrealistic. The simplistic plot is such that the good person is rewarded, the bad character punished. The women folk too were not accorded much respect and were mostly expected to write on topics such as Cooking, Embroidery. Mary Ann knew this and decided to be taken seriously. Considering her past escapades especially her relationship with Lewes, she decided to take the safest route which is to change her name. The success of her works has been attributed to their realism. There wasn’t always the beautiful heroine who would end up with the handsome, rich gentlemen. They were raw stories that made people feel like they could relate to what is happening in the book.

Since realizing her plain looks, Mary Ann believed in the beauty of the heart and the honour of the soul. She felt that people shouldn’t be treated with disrespect because they were different. This philosophy is what guided the writing of the greatest books in history.

Later, her real name was discovered and there was obvious backlash. There were a lot of supports coming in as well. She became one of the richest women in London.Unfortunately, shortly after, her very inspiration in the person of Henry Lewes died in 1878 due to a long term disease. She was devastated and never wrote another novel .

After months of grieving and isolation, she allowed her banker and very long-term friend, John Walter Cross to visit. They had tea and through unexplainable chemistry between them, he asked for her hand in marriage. At first she refused, considering the age gap between them and having just lost George, but she finally accepted. They were married in May 1880 and she reverted her birth name, but removing ‘e’ at the end, making it Mary Ann.

She reconciled with her brother, Isaac and everything was fine. During the honeymoon in Venice however, John attempted suicide by jumping out of a window. They never spoke of it again, but when revealed, many thought the idea of sleeping with her drove him mad.

Alas, she contracted an illness and a pain in her lower abdomen and passed away on the 22^nd of December, 1880.She was not buried in Westminster Abbey like she requested, but next to George and famous literary figures like William Blake.

Related posts:

1. LITERARY ESSAY ON GEORGE ELIOT’S SILAS MARNER *
2. THEMES EXPLORED IN CHAPTER 1-3 OF GEORGE ELIOT SILAS MARNER.*
3. MODEL ESSAY ON GEORGE ELIOT’S SILAS MARNER.(1)*

Just like blocks,literary devices come handy to build your essay!

COMMON LITERARY TERMS

A

Absurd, Theatre of the Absurd-A style of writing that mirrors the confusion, illogicality, inharmony of the 21^st Century world  as reflected on the stage with caricature-like characters and disjointed plot.E.g, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot .

Accent-The effect of the emphasis placed on a syllable in a word.

Auditory imagery- Figurative way of appealing to one’s sense of hearing in a poem.Eg. The voice like the rough flow of huge waterfalls.

Aesthetics-The philosophy of taste or appreciation of beauty.

Alienation Effect-Is the effect in a play intended to remind the spectators that what being watched on stage is not real.

Allegory-is a device in which characters or events represent or symbolize ideas and concepts.  A reason for this is that allegory has an immense power of illustrating complex ideas and concepts in a practical and concrete way. This device is common in Christian religious literature where   Satan symbolizes evil and God symbolizes good.E.g Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan

Alliteration-Repetition of the same initial consonant sound.E.g. Around the house the flakes fly faster.

Allusion-Referring to characters and events in mythology (classical allusion), history (classical allusion), bible (biblical allusion).Eg.Bowing ‘New Sabbath’ or ‘Mount Ephraim’. (Biblical allusion)

Alternate rhyme-When the end of two lines are alternated, usually in abab, rhyme scheme pattern.

Ambiguity-A style of giving double interpretation to a word.

Anachronism-A mistake in dating or timing or placing an event in wrong historical setting.Eg.Imagine a reference to a computer in a Shakespearean play!

Analogy-A comparison not necessarily using simile or metaphor.Eg.There is an analogy of the morally loose lifestyle of the Romans and Americans of today.

Anti climax-A false climax or weak repetition with the objective of extending or stretching excitement.

Antagonist-character in conflict with hero: a major character in a book, play, or movie whose values or behaviour are in conflict with those of the protagonist or hero.

Aphorism-A solemn, concise observation or statement.Eg power is mightier than the sword.

Apostrophe –An address or appeal to a person or inanimate object that is incapable of replying.E.g.Thou sun, why thou smite me?

Art for Art’s sake-The belief that a work of art be judged solely for its aesthetic value rather than for any economic interest.

Aside-A long speech where a character expresses his thoughts aloud on stage with other characters present, but could not hear him.

Autobiography-An account of one’s life written by oneself as distinct from Biography (written by another person).

Assonance-Repetition of vowel sounds, especially when found between words and syllables.Eg. Wet is the pet of the rent.

Augustan-Having to do with the period, early part of 19^th century, when writers attempt to copy and imitate the grandeur associated with the reign of Augustus Ceasar.

B

Ballad-A narrative poem, folk in origin, anonymous, simple and direct with historical, romantic, tragic or supernatural setting.

Bathos-A writing that descends from being serious to something, funny or anti-climatic.

Blank verse-An unrhymed verse in English.

Biography-An account of somebody’s life story written by another person.

Burlesque-A form of mocking or satirizing of a serious matter or style by imitating in an incongruous or odd way.

C

Caesura-A pause usually marked by a comma, semi-colon, colon,hyphen or dash in the middle of a line in of verse.

Cast-The actors or other performers in a drama, dance or other artistic production.

Caricature-An exaggerated or unrealistic portrayal of a character that is easily recognizable.

Catastrophe-The change producing the final event in a play, usually the decisive misfortune in a tragedy.

Catharsis-Based on the principle that a play is an imitation of real life and as such the audience should be purged of some feelings (usually defined as pity and fear) that takes place at the end of a tragedy.

Characterization-The way or manner of portraying characters.

Chorus-An innovation  of the Greek drama, where a body of performers recite or chant verses commenting on events as they unfold. In modern drama, the chorus is often represented as a narrator.

Chanson-a poem of varied metrical forms or a French satirical cabaret song of the 20^th century or song

Comedy of Manners-Another name for Comedy of Errors.A satiric play which mirrors the lifestyle of some Victorian personalities.

Comic Relief-An interlude in the midst of a serious play meant to make the audience laugh or feel relaxed.

Cliché-An over-used phrase mostly found in verbal communication.Eg.At the same time, last but not the least.

Climax-The peak or turning point in a story.

Comedy-A play of entertaining kind representing persons or situations in real life presented in a comical manner.

Conceit-Elaborate, extended comparison between apparently unrelated objects particularly in Metaphysical Poetry.

Context-The background or setting from which a story is told.

Couplet-The matching of same sound at the end of the last two lines of a poem.

D

Dactyll-A foot containing one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed.

Diction-The study of the choice and arrangement of words in a work of art.

Denouement-The unraveling or resolution of the plot of play or novel at the end.

Deus Ex Machina-A practice in some classical plays, where a god is let down on to the stage to bring about resolution at the end of a play.

Dialect-The form of a major language, could be a substandard one spoken in a particular region.

Didactic-Having to do with the moral lesson found in a work of art.

Dialogue-The words spoken by characters in a book, movie,or play or a section of a work that contains spoken words.

Dirge-A song of mourning or lamentation, especially one about death or intended for a funeral.

Dramatic Irony-A situation where the audience know more than the characters on stage.

E

Elegy-A mournful song sung during burial or composed in memory of somebody.

Elements-The four elements which are adjudged to affect the affairs of men namely earth, air, fire and water.

End-Stop-An abrupt stop or pause at the end of a line of a verse.

Enjambement-Continuation of the sense or meaning from one line of verse to the next without pause.

Epic-A long, narrative poem, rendered in elevated language chronicling the heroic exploits of heroes.

Epigram-A brief, pointed and often witty statement, found in all forms of literature.Eg. “No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.”(Groucho Marx)

Epitaph- A writing on a tombstone.

Epistle-A long letter didactic in purpose.

Epilogue-Short section at the end of a book or a literary work, sometimes detailing the fate of its characters or a concluding speech in a theatre that an actor addresses to the audience.

Eulogy-A composition written in praise of a person or thing.

Euphemism-Saying something harsh in a pleasant manner.E.g He was given the order to erase the criminal (Erase means to kill).

Evocative-Calling out or invoking certain feelings and memories.

Exposition-The unraveling of the plot .

F

Fable-A short story devised to convey a useful moral lesson, often using animals that act symbolically like human beings.

Farce-A play that sets out to provoke laughter by employing funny characters in absurd situations.

Feminist criticism-The literary and critical theory that explores the bias in favour of the male gender in literature and which approaches all literature from a feminist viewpoint.

Figures of speech-Expressions which have deeper meaning than their literal sense.

Foot-A unit usually marked as a syllable in a poem.

Folktale-A story or legend passed down orally from one generation to the next, thus becoming part of a community’s tradition or oral history.

Free verse-A poem with no regular rhyme or rhythm.

Flashback-A scene or event from the past that appears in a narrative out of chronological order ,to fill information or explain something in the present.

Foreshadowing-An event, situation or information which gives a hint about a later event.

G

Genre-The three main divisions of English literature, namely prose, prose and drama.

Gothic-A style of writing that explores horrific, ghostly setting and situations. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte employs gothic literature for example.

Grotesque-A form of art that mixes the realistic and the one that appeals to fantasy.

H

Hero/heroine-The principal person in a literary work

Heroic couplet-A kind of poem, usually mock-heroic with two ends of verses rhyming sound-wise.

Humour- An element of something or content meant to cause amusement and excitement in a work of art.

Hyperbole-Exaggeration in art to create an effect.

Hubris-A flaw in character that would eventually lead to the downfall of a character.

I

Imagery-Literary comparison of using something concrete to explain an abstract idea.

Intrigue-Sometimes used in reference to the plot of a play or novel.

Irony-A form of satire or ridicule where the opposite meaning is implied.

Interlude-A short play, piece of music or other entertainment during a break in the performance of a long work.

L

Litotes-Saying something unpleasant in a mild manner.Eg.She is on the big side (When you mean ,she is a fat person.)

Legend-A story passed one from time immemorial, which is supposed to be a history of a people, but with whose historical validity could not be proven.

Lyric-A verse meant to be sung as a song especially with a lyre. A short poem with personal, passionate feelings, and song-like.

Lullaby-A kind of soothing song meant to make a baby sleep.

Lineation-arrangement of lines in verse form.

Literati-A body of imaginative men and women of letters.

Limerick-A five –line humorous poem, with a peculiar rhythm and lewd subject.

M

Malapropism-A derivation from Mrs.Malaprop,a character from Sheridan’s The Rivals. There is muddled use of long or complex words in the wrong place or context.

Medieval-Another name for the period, the Middle Ages or a period between Dark Ages and the Renaissance,10^th-15^th century.

Meiosis-Understatement-A kind of irony in which a negative understatement is employed for emphasis.Eg.

Melodrama-A play written to appeal to popular taste, marked by exciting incidents, with definable characters and a happy ending.

Metaphor-A kind of imagery where direct comparison is made.Eg. She is the pillar of the class.

Metaphysics-The study of the world beyond the physical or terrestrial.

Metaplesis-a figurative expression in which a statement is made and then withdrawn.

Metre-The poetic rhythm division into regular feet.

Metonymy-A figure of speech, which is a form of symbolism where an attribute of something is used to represent for the thing itself

Mimetic-Imitation of sort

Mime-Use of gestures to communicate in drama.

Muses-The goddesses often ascribed as the inspiration for writers.

Myth-A traditional story expressing the religious beliefs  of a people especially its origin. The Greek mythology of stories of Hercules, Zeus is very common.

Mythology-A group of myths that belong to a particular people or culture and deals with ancestors ,heroes, gods ,history and other supernatural beings and happenings.

Motivation-Explanation of the behaviour of characters especially the motive for their actions.

Monologue-The words spoken by an a actor, usually spoken to oneself.

Motif-A theme in a story, especially one that can be represented by a visible object.

N

Narrative Poem-A poem that is long and usually tells a story.

Narrative Technique-The approach a narrator decides to tell his story

Nemesis-Is the Greek goddess of revenge or retribution .In literature generally, the word refers to the principle of poetic justice where evil is justly rewarded.

Neologism-A word uniquely coined by a writer to create an effect. The word may negate the principle of grammar etc.

Novel-A prose fiction with substantial length, which elaborately explores various themes.

Novella-A fictional prose work that is longer than a short story, but shorter than a novel.

O

Opera-A dramatic work, where music is a dominant part of performance, with actors singing rather than reciting their lines.

Olfactory imagery-An appeal to readers’ sense of smell in a literary work.

Omniscient narrator-A narrator in a novel who knows and sees all that is happening in the plot of the novel.

Ode-A lyric poem, long poem, expressing exalted emotion usually celebrating a thing.

Onomatopoeia-Poetic imitation of the actual sound of an object in a poem.Eg.bang,bang,bang.

Oxymoron-Words of opposite meanings are yoked or joined together to create an effect.Eg. agony favour.

P

Panegyric-Usually a kind of poetry composed  to eulogize or praise a personality.

Pantheism-The belief that God is everything and that God and the universe are one. A belief popularized by Romantic poets which often associates the attribute of God with that of nature.

Pantheon-The whole body of gods considered as a unit.

Parable-Usually an allegory in form of a short narrative through which a moral lesson is conveyed.Eg the parable of the Prodigal Son in the Bible.

Paradox-A statement contrary to general opinion which on a first look appears foolish, but which when given a second look contains some truth.E.g Child is the father of man.

Parody-A humorous imitation of a serious work.e

Paralellism-Juxtapostions of words or phrases in a poem to create an effect of contrast.

Pastoral-Literature that deals with country life, usually describing the idyllic life of shepherds who fall in love and pass time singing and playing songs. As You Like it by Shakespeare is based on this kind of life.

Pathos-Moments in literature when a strong feeling of pity and sorrow is invoked.

Periphrasis-An elegant way of calling a word by another name. This is often found in the Mock Heroic poems.

Persona-A character in a poem especially his voice as distinct from that of  the poet.

Personification-Giving human attributes to inanimate objects.E.g .Be happy when fortune smiles on you.

Picaresque-A type of prose fiction with a simple plot divided into separate episodes that features the adventures of a roguish hero.

Plot-The manner in which events are arranged in a story.

Poetic licence-The right of poets to manipulate language and established truths for the sake of art. For example, there is an instance where Shakespeare ascribes coastline to a country that is landlocked.

Polysyndeton-Repetition of conjunctions in the use of multiple conjunctions or coordinate clauses in close succession.E.g. The bad news caused her to weep and cry and wail.

Prose-A work distinct from having poetic content, being easy to understand, language wise.

Protagonist-The main hero/character round which the story is built.

Prologue-An opening speech rendered at the beginning of a play to give some direction.

Pun-An act of playing with words.E.g Your sole is as good as your soul.

Premiere-The first public perform or showing of a work usually to sample a selected people’s critical opinion.

Q

Quatrain-A stanza of four lines.

R

Realism-A philosophy opposed to Idealism. The acceptance or representation of things as they are.

Refrain-Recurring phrase or line, usually at the end of a stanza often found in poems and hymns.

Renaissance-Literally means. ‘rebirth’. The period reckoned as the greatest in history of European art and culture.

Rhetoric-The formal art of speech making.

Rhetorical Question-A question asked for effect that neither expects nor requires an answer.

Romance-A Medieval verse tale of the kind written in a Romance language, recounting the adventures of a knightly hero and expressing the ideals of the Chivalry.

Rounded Character-A character that undergoes changes in the course of the story. Contrast to a flat character.

Romanticism-A kind of poetry that the celebrates nature, passionate feelings, emotion and imagination over reason.

S

Satire-A work of art that exposes human vice and folly to laughter and ridicule in a light,amusing,savage,bitter tone.E.g. Gulliver Travels by Jonathan Swift and The Beautiful Ones Are not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah.

Sarcasm-A biting statement meant to mock, usually applied in a satiric work.

Simile-Direct comparison of a concrete and abstract object using as or like.E.g my love like the sweetness of dash rose.

Slapstick-broad, coarse, physical comedy.

Setting-The background, whether physical or abstract through which a work is presented.

Soliloquy-A long speech in which a character expresses his thoughts out loud on stage, usually when alone.

Sonnet-A 14-line poem with a complex rhyme scheme and structure.

Simile-Direct comparison using as or like.

Stanza-A group of lines in a poem divided off from the others. A stanza is the correct term for what is often referred to as a verse of poetry.

Stoicism-A Roman philosophy which preaches calmness, self control in the face of provocation or pain (opposite of Epicureanism)

Symbolism-Use of symbol, similar to an image in that it stands for something else, but unlike an image is not merely descriptive.Universally,colour white could symbolize peace, while black could stand for evil.

Synecdoche-A figure of speech in which part is used to represent the whole.

Sub-plot-A secondary plot or storyline in a book or play, which often provides either comic relief from main plot or a different way of looking at the themes and interests of the main plot.

Stress-An emphasis placed on a particular syllable at the expense of another.

Subject matter-The total sum of what a literary work is about.

Suspense-A feeling of tense excitement, expectation about how the next part of a novel or play would turn out to be.

Stylistics-An approach of poetry employing basic language tools such as grammar etc.

Stream of Consciousness: The attempt in writing to recreate the actual flow ,pattern and sense of thoughts as they pass through a person’s head in real life or to describe experience as it is actually felt by a person as it is taking place. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941),James Joyce(1882-1941)are two well-known exponents of this style.

School-A term that refers to a group of authors who share certain characteristics in their works usually as classified by critics.E.g Romantic writers, Theatre of the Absurd etc.

Spondee-A unit of poetic rhythm measured as a metrical foot of two long or stressed syllables.

T

Tone-The feeling and attitude of the writer derived from his work.

Theme-The central idea or ideas examined or explored by the writer in the course of a book.

Tragicomedy-A mixture of tragedy and comedy.

Tragedy-A play with the following features: A tragic hero with a flaw who dies at the end of the story, multiple deaths, a play that exhibits pity and agony.

Tragic hero-The protagonist of a story who has a flaw that would eventually lead to his downfall.

Tactile imagery-Figurative expression that relates to touch.

Tragic Flaw-A character fault in the protagonist of a story.

Trilogy-A set or group /series of three related story or poem.

Travelogue-A record of a writer’s experiences during his journeys.

V

Visuals imagery-

W

Wit-A clever use of language.

X

Z

Zeugma-A verb that refers to two part of an expression.

No related posts.

AFTERWARDS

When the present has latched its postern behind my

tremulous stay,

And the May month flaps its glad green leaves like

wings,

Delicate-filmed as-spun silk, will the neighbours say,

“He was a man who used o notice such things”?

If it be in the dusk when, like an eyelid’s soundless blink,

The dewfall-hawk comes crossing the shades to alight

Upon the wind-warped upland thorn, a gazer may think,

“To him this must have been a familiar sight.”

If I pass during some nocturnal blackness, mothy and

warm,

When the hedgehog travels furtively over the lawn,

One may say, “He strove that such innocent creatures

Should come to no harm,

But he could do little for them; and how he is gone.”

If, when hearing that I have been stilled at last, they stand

 at the door,

Watching the full-starred heavens that winter sees,

Will this thought rise on those who will meet my face no

more,

“He was one who had an eye for such mysteries”?

And will any say when my bell of quittance is heard in the

 gloom,

And a crossing breeze cuts a purse in its outrollings,

Till they rise again, as they were a new bell’s boom,

“He hears it not now, but used to notice such things”?

The poem presents the view of the persona’s neighbours after his death, especially his attention to details such as nature. The first stanza personifies death as ‘present’, closing  the gate after the persona, an indication of his death . The season is spring and is marked by its attendant beauty of delicate –filmed…spun silk. The stanza ends with the rhetorical question of whether; he was such a man who loves nature to have observed the beauty of spring.

The second stanza takes a look at another time when the persona could have passed on; in the dusk, a time marked by nocturnal activities of a hawk. The concluding question of the previous stanza is asked again. Had the dead persona been observant enough to notice these nocturnal activities? The same trend is followed in the third stanza where the persona could have passed on at night, with the attendant movement of another nocturnal animal, the hedgehog. The concluding statement in the stanza does not come as a question, but as an affirmative statement, that though the persona makes some efforts to protect vulnerable animals such as the hedgehog, but did not do enough. The forth stanza presents the passage of the persona in winter time, with its attendant harshness. The question here is, if the persona is positive enough to be able to appreciate beauty in the midst of adversity that winter represents. The poem ends on a conclusive note of the passage of the poet marked by ‘bell of quittance’. The concluding question re-echoes the ones already raised in the body of the poem, if the persona is observant of nature around him.

One marked feature of the language of the poem is the opening word of the stanzas.’ when’ in the first stanza and it sets the tone of certainty of death. However in the following stanzas, ‘If’ is used to indicate that the poem is just a supposition of the eventuality of death. In the concluding stanza, the finality of tone is set by the word ‘And’.

Significant is also the rich imagery employed by the poet. ‘Death’ is aptly qualified as ‘Present’ to portray the ever present nature of death, which is a theme in the poem. The beauty of nature is well captured in the poet’s portrayal of spring.

The freedom and the newness of the season is like ‘new-spun silk’. Suddenness and brevity of life is also well captured with the movement of some animals in the poem. The swiftness of the dewfall-hawk is compared to eyelid’s soundless blink. Even winter and night that are often associated with death or something negative  are portrayed by the poet as having their inherent beauty. Night in stanza three is ‘mothy and warm’ and winter is filled with a lot of ‘mysteries’. The poet also uses some imagery to capture the fragile state of the persona even when alive. The furtive movement of the hedgehog and the ‘tremulous stay’ of the persona are all pointers to this.

The language uses monologue as it is the case in most Hardy works. Being an inspired work from the poet, it is conveyed in a subjective and personal language. However there is effective use of litotes to convey brevity and suddenness. Examples are found in expressions such as ‘bell of quittance’and ‘I have been stilled ‘.

The use of rhetorical questions at the end of most stanzas helps to restate the essence of the poem, although they appear to be repetitive. This repetitiveness helps to lay emphasis on what the poet considers the real priority of life. The rhyme scheme of stanzas 1,2 and the concluding fifth stanza have regular rhyme scheme of abab.Incidentally, these are stanzas that show the beautiful side of nature. Stanzas 3 and 4 that deal with winter and night have irregular rhyme schemes. Ample use of end-stops help to slow down the tempo of the poem, making it rather meditative.

The subject-matter of the poem which is the legacy after one’s death casts a mournful tone on the poem. Though it is an issue about death, the poet attempts to create a cheering mood through the scenes created and the diction. The manner the beauty of nature in spring, and even winter is portrayed all help to lighten the tone of the poem.

Quite a lot of the concerns are cleverly woven round the devices in the poem. Appreciation of nature is aptly captured as the poet describes some features of spring and the green leaves that are portrayed as a bird and yet a new-spun silk. The furtiveness of a hedgehog is contrasted with the speed of a hawk. Even the almost insipient sound of the breeze, all help to create the diversity of nature which man is too busy to appreciate.

Closely related to this theme is that of legacy. The poem attempts to make the reader understand that no one would be appreciated for a legacy of material wealth or even the so-called important priorities of life, but things humans consider trivial such as  how a dewfall hawk flies and how a’ soundless  blink’  is achieved are all important. One’s attitude to nature would be the hallmark of one’s achievement on earth.

Brevity of life is also a major theme in the poem. In the third stanza of the poem, the persona strove, but he could do little for them. The poet uses passage of time to portray this. All the agents of nature in the poem such as animals, seasons are shown to always be in motion, thus depicting the passage of time, with its attendant human life following the same trend.

‘Afterwards’ is one of the poems of Hardy where there is unity in terms of application of concerns, tone and language. This is probably to send the didactic message that there is unity in nature, which man must appreciate, while still alive to bequeath and enduring  legacy .

Related posts:

1. MODEL ESSAY ON HARDY’S THE GOING.*
2. MODEL ESSAY ON THOMAS HARDY’S ”CHURCH ROMANCE.

LEONTES:

Thou, traitor, has set on thy wife to this.

My child! Away with’t .Even thou, that has

A heart so tender o’er it, take it hence,

And see it instantly consum’d with fire;

Even thou, and none but thou. Take it up straight.

Within this hour bring me word ‘tis done,

And by good testimony, or l’ll seize thy life,

With what thou else call’st thine.If thou refuse,

And wilt encounter with my wrath, say so;

The bastard brains with these my proper hands

Shall I dash out.Go, take it to the fire;

For thou set’st on thy wife.

ANTIGONUS:

I did not, sir.

These lords, my noble fellows, if t please,

Can clear me in’t

LORDS:

We can. My royal liege,

He is not guilty of her coming hither.

LEONTES:

You’re liars all.

1 LORD:

Beseech your Highness, give us better credit.

We have always truly served you; and beseech

So to esteem of us; and on our knees we beg,

As recompense of our dear services

Past and to come, that you do change this purpose,

Which being so horrible, so bloody, must

Lead on to some foul issue. We all kneel.

LEONTES:

I am a feather for each wind that blows.

Shall I live on to see this bastard kneel

And call me father? Better burn it now

Than curse it then. But be it; let it live.

It shall not neither. (To Antigonus) You, sir,

Come you hither.

You that have been so tenderly officious

With Lady Margery, you midwife there,

To save this bastard’s life-for ‘tis a bastard,

So sure as this beard’s grey-what will you adventure

To save this brat’s life?

ANTIGONUS:

Anything, my lord,

That my ability may undergo,

And nobleness imposes. At least, thus much:

I’ll pawn the little blood which I have left

To save the innocent-anything possible.

LEONTES:

It shall be possible. Swear by this sword

Thou wilt perform my bidding.

ANTIGONUS:

I will, my lord.

LEONTES:

Mark, and perform it-seest thou? For the fail

Of any point in’t shall not only be

Death to thyself, but to thy lewd-tongu’d wife,

Whom for this time we pardon. We enjoin thee,

As thou art liegeman to us, that thou carry

This female bastard hence; and that thou bear it

To some remote and desert place, quite out

Of our dominions; and that there thou leave it,

Without more mercy, to it own protection

And favour of the climate. As by strange fortune

It came to us, I do in justice charge thee,

On thy soul’s peril and thy body‘s torture,

That thou commend it strangely to some place

Where chance may nurse or end it. Take it up.

ANTIGONUS:

I swear to do this, thou a present death

Had been more merciful. Come on, poor babe.

Some powerful spirit instruct the kites and ravens

To be thy nurses! Wolves and bears, they say,

Casting their savageness aside, have done

Like offices of pity.Sir, be prosperous

In more than this deed does require! And blessing

Against this cruelty fight on thy side,

Poor thing, condemned to loss!

LEONTES: (Exit with the child)

Another’s issue

Act 2,Scene 3

MODEL ESSAY

WITH CLOSE ATTENTION TO DETAIL, DISCUSS SHAKESPEARE’S PRESENTATION OF LEONTES AT THIS POINT IN THE PLAY.

The suspicion of Leontes concerning his wife, Hermione having an immoral affair with his fellow king-friend, Polixenes reaches its climax with Hermione giving birth to  a baby girl.Expectedly,the sight of an innocent child that  should  elicit forgiveness and love from Leontes, gets him more infuriated and he immediately commands his loyal aide,Antigonus to get the baby killed through burning. Later, he changes his mind, probably thinking being burnt by fire would be instantaneous, he decides that the child be left exposed to ‘the favour of the climate’. More than in any part in the play, extract presents the king in his worst moral state.

Leontes’s impulsive nature is further established from falsely accusing his beloved wife without any concrete evidence, but purely basing his suspicion on mere whim and  to falsely accuse Antigonus of instigating his wife to provoke him in this extract.Incidentally,there is no other place in the play where Antigonus and his wife sit to have a conversation not to talk of planning anything. All along in the play, all the conclusions made by Leontes are all based on false premises. He also quickly comes to the conclusion that the baby too is a product of adultery between Hermione and Polixene.What all these accusations do to Leontes is to present him as a human so consumed by jealousy and as a results gets deluded almost to the point of insanity.

Though Leontes later rediscovers himself and repents of all his past errors, one of the lowest points of his depravity is his command that the new born baby be killed. He may have a legitimate grouse against the responsible adults, what could warrant such heartlessness displayed towards an innocent child, who incidentally is later found to be his own child is not made so obvious .Leontes combines this depravity with a hot temper which blinds him to any sense of reason. He further shows his vindictive nature as he could still not forgive Paulina for being audacious to confront him with the child. He forgives her for the moment, but hopes to punish for it in future.

This extract also reveals the danger of autocratic monarchy, especially where the king has so much power and if not reasonable enough, could dispel such power to harm others with any reason.Leontes’ power -drunkenness is such that the king is filled with so much pride and even the voice of reason from his Lords would not affect his reasoning. He gets to a point where he even becomes paranoid and could not just trust anybody. When the Lords support Antigonus’ claim that he is not in alliance with his wife, the king would still not believe. Even when Leontes commands Antigonus to take the baby away to be killed, he still could not trust him to carry out the instruction, until he makes him swear an oath.

One strange twist in the portrayal of Leontes is why he would rather accuse Antigonus rather than ascribe the crime of the presentation of the baby to Paulina. Strangely, too, Paulina appears to get away with what would have amounted to a crime of treason.Leontes seems to put to practice the masculine world of the Elizabethan period, where woman are not reckoned  with, to warrant being given a reply by a king. To him women are a sort of a second class citizen unworthy of his time. Thus Antigonus bears all the brunt.Leontes not seeing the female gender as being worthy of attention probably explains why he treats his own wife with so much ignominy.

By the end of the extract, Leontes appears set on destroying every relationship he has built over the years. He is now estranged from his trusted wife of many years. Even his Lords are now against him, not to talk of the enmity he has created with his friend, King Polixenes.

Related posts:

1. DISCUSS THE ROLE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF CAMILLO IN THE WINTER’S TALE*
2. MODEL ESSAY ON SHAKESPEARE’S WINTER’S TALE*
3. MODEL ESSAY ON SHAKESPEARE’S WINTER’S TALE(EXTRACT BASED QUESTION.)*