Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

DOCTOR FAUSTUS

                   -Christopher Marlowe

         

          Doctor Faustus is the story of a great scholar who decides a little magical mojo will cure his ennui. He has to sign his soul over to the devil in order to get that mojo working'. Marlowe was writing, a Protestant church reformer named John Calvin had developed a theory about human salvation called Predestination. This theory said that each human being was fated from the beginning of his or her life to be damned or saved. It raised questions about exactly how much control a person had over his or her own salvation.

          Faustus grapples with this same question at the beginning of the play, and eventually arrives at the shaky conclusion that he's damned no matter what he does. The way he handles this belief is the subject of the rest of the play. All along characters like the Good Angel and the Old Man try to convince Faustus that he does have a choice; they insist that he can repent and turn to God again. Are they right? That's a question only you can answer, because Marlowe is annoyingly coy.

          Doctor Faustus, a respected German scholar, is bored with the traditional types of knowledge available to him. He wants more than logic, medicine, law, and religion. He wants magic. His friends, Valdes and Cornelius, begin to teach him magic, which he uses to summon a devil named Mephistopheles. Faustus tells Mephistopheles to return to his master, Lucifer, with an offer of his soul in exchange for twenty-four years of having Mephistopheles and all his knowledge of magic at his beck and call. Mephistopheles returns to Faustus with a contract for his soul, which Faustus signs in his own blood. As soon as he signs the contract, words appear on his arm, which give him doubts about what he has just done. Mephistopheles calms Faustus' doubts by giving him valuable gifts and a book of spells to learn.

                   Later, Mephistopheles answers all Faustus' questions about the nature of the world, and refuses to answer only when Faustus wants to know who created the universe. This sets off yet another series of doubts in Faustus, but Mephistopheles and Lucifer quiet those doubts by bringing in the seven deadly sins in human form to dance for Faustus.

                   Mephistopheles then takes Faustus on a wild chariot ride through the heavens, landing in Rome, where Faustus torments Pope Adrian for his passing judgment on a rival pope by making himself invisible, stealing Pope Adrian's food and smacking his ears. He becomes famous for this and is invited to visit the German Emperor, Charles V, who is the enemy of Pope Adrian. Faustus impresses the emperor by conjuring up an image of Alexander the Great. One of the emperors' knights’ sneers at Faustus' magical powers and Faustus punishes him by making antlers sprout from his head. Meanwhile, Robin, the clown of Faustus' servant, Wagner, has picked up some magic on his own and, with a stable hand named Rafe, uses his new magical skills to get free booze, and even summons Mephistopheles, who threatens to turn them both into animals. Their misadventures add to the comic relief of the play.

                   Faustus travels to England, where he sells an enchanted horse to a horse dealer. When the man rides his new horse over water, it turns into a bale of straw. The Duke of Vanholt hears about this and invites Faustus to visit him and his wife, the duchess. The horse dealer shows up, along with Robin and Rafe, vowing to get even. Faustus casts a spell of silence on them so they cannot speak of his wrongs, and sends them on their way, which amuses the Duke and Duchess of Vanholt.

                    As the end of his contract approaches, Faustus begins to dread his impending doom, and has Mephistopheles call up Helen of Troy so that he might impress a group of his colleagues. An old man urges Faustus to repent and turn back to God, but he sends Mephistopheles to torment the old man, and drive him away. Faustus then summons up Helen again so that he might immerse himself in her ancient beauty. But time grows short. Faustus, filled with dread, confesses his misdeeds to a group of his colleagues, who vow to pray for him.

                   On the final night of his life, Faustus is overcome by fear and remorse. He begs for mercy, but it is too late. The clock strikes midnight and a group of devils enter Faustus' study to claim his soul. The next morning, his colleagues find his body torn limb from limb, and decide to give him a proper burial.

HAMLET by William Shakespeare

HAMLET

          -William Shakespeare

                   Hamlet is the first tragedy in Shakespeare's series of great tragedies which is believed to be published in between 1601 and 1603. This play is one of his successful, perfect and best plays ever known. Hamlet centers on the problems arising from love, death, and betrayal, without offering the audience a decisive and positive resolution to these complications for Hamlet himself is ambiguous and the answers to these problems are complex. In Shakespearean tragedies, the characters are presented with abnormal state of mind. But Shakespeare does not allow this abnormal state to be dominant action. It provokes the suffering to the protagonist. The supernatural elements in the dramas of Shakespeare are subservient to the main action. It provokes the protagonist to do certain actions. Shakespeare links the supernatural elements with the natural. Hamartia leads the downfall of the characters in Shakespearean plays. Hamartia is a kind of force that is already inherited in characters which works as a spiritual force. And it ultimately leads to destruction. The use of this force makes the Shakespearean tragedy different from the Greek tragedies.

                   Shakespearean Hamlet can be studied as a Revenge play influenced by Seneca, the father of this genre. Shakespeare has revived the Senecan tragedy, in this sense, it is a Renaissance play. Here, Shakespeare uses the scene of violence, killing, murdering and bloodshed as Seneca used in his tragedy to satisfy the need of Elizabethan audiences. This revival made it Renaissance play. As a Renaissance character, Hamlet is suffering from the hangover between the medieval belief of superstition and reason, the belief of Renaissance. But, as a Renaissance student, he doubts on the appearance of the ghost. Hanging on the verge of scientific and superstitious belief is one of the features of Renaissance man. He doubts on the ghosts and thinks that it may be devil attempts to lure him to the crime. As a Renaissance character, Hamlet feels deeply and watches others to see what their feelings are. As a student of psychology, he experiments the crime through the similar story that matches to his father's killing. He wants to take revenge against his uncle when the crime is identified. And man centered philosophy of the Renaissance could be seen in the figure of Hamlet.

                   Prince Hamlet is depressed. Having been summoned home to Denmark from school in Germany to attend his father's funeral, he is shocked to find his mother Gertrude already remarried. The Queen has wed Hamlet's Uncle Claudius, the dead king's brother. To Hamlet, the marriage is "foul incest." Worse still, Claudius has had himself crowned King despite the fact that Hamlet was his father's heir to the throne. Hamlet suspects foul play.

                   When his father's ghost visits the castle, Hamlet's suspicions are confirmed. The Ghost complains that he is unable to rest in peace because he was murdered. Claudius, says the Ghost, poured poison in King Hamlet's ear while the old king napped. Unable to confess and find salvation, King Hamlet is now consigned, for a time, to spend his days in Purgatory and walk the earth by night. He entreats Hamlet to avenge his death, but to spare Gertrude, to let Heaven decide her fate.

                   Hamlet vows to affect madness — puts "an antic disposition on" — to wear a mask that will enable him to observe the interactions in the castle, but finds him more confused than ever. In his persistent confusion, he questions the Ghost's trustworthiness. What if the Ghost is not a true spirit, but rather an agent of the devil sent to tempt him? What if killing Claudius results in Hamlet's having to relive his memories for all eternity? Hamlet agonizes over what he perceives as his cowardice because he cannot stop himself from thinking. Words immobilize Hamlet, but the world he lives in prizes action.

                   In order to test the Ghost's sincerity, Hamlet enlists the help of a troupe of players who perform a play called The Murder of Gonzaga to which Hamlet has added scenes that recreate the murder the Ghost described. Hamlet calls the revised play The Mousetrap, and the ploy proves a success. As Hamlet had hoped, Claudius' reaction to the staged murder reveals the King to be conscience-stricken. Claudius leaves the room because he cannot breathe, and his vision is dimmed for want of light. Convinced now that Claudius is a villain, Hamlet resolves to kill him. But, as Hamlet observes, "conscience doth make cowards of us all."

                   In his continued reluctance to dispatch Claudius, Hamlet actually causes six ancillary deaths. The first death belongs to Polonius, whom Hamlet stabs through a wall-hanging as the old man spies on Hamlet and Gertrude in the Queen's private chamber. Claudius punishes Hamlet for Polonius' death by exiling him to England. He has brought Hamlet's school chums Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to Denmark from Germany to spy on his nephew, and now he instructs them to deliver Hamlet into the English king's hands for execution. Hamlet discovers the plot and arranges for the hanging of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern instead. Ophelia, distraught over her father's death and Hamlet's behavior, drowns while singing sad love songs bemoaning the fate of a spurned lover. Her brother, Laertes, falls next.

                   Laertes, returned to Denmark from France to avenge his father's death, witnesses Ophelia's descent into madness. After her funeral, where he and Hamlet come to blows over which of them loved Ophelia best, Laertes vows to punish Hamlet for her death as well.

                   Unencumbered by words, Laertes plots with Claudius to kill Hamlet. In the midst of the sword fight, however, Laertes drops his poisoned sword. Hamlet retrieves the sword and cuts Laertes. The lethal poison kills Laertes. Before he dies, Laertes tells Hamlet that because Hamlet has already been cut with the same sword, he too will shortly die. Horatio diverts Hamlet's attention from Laertes for a moment by pointing out that "The Queen falls."Gertrude, believing that Hamlet's hitting Laertes means her son is winning the fencing match, has drunk a toast to her son from the poisoned cup Claudius had intended for Hamlet. The Queen dies.

                   As Laertes lies dying, he confesses to Hamlet his part in the plot and explains that Gertrude's death lies on Claudius' head. Finally enraged, Hamlet stabs Claudius with the poisoned sword and then pours the last of the poisoned wine down the King's throat. Before he dies, Hamlet declares that the throne should now pass to Prince Fortinbras of Norway, and he implores his true friend Horatio to accurately explain the events that have led to the bloodbath at Elsinore. With his last breath, he releases himself from the prison of his words: "The rest is silence."

                   The play ends as Prince Fortinbras, in his first act as King of Denmark, orders a funeral with full military honors for slain Prince Hamlet.

THE EAGLE by Alfred Tennyson

THE EAGLE

                        -Alfred Tennyson

                        This imagery poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson originates from his experiences while traveling as a young man in the Pyrenees.  The poem was written before Tennyson was respected as one of the great poets of his time. The poet uses alliteration, personification, and a simile to enhance the reader’s experience of watching the bird.  A very short poem but a great example of literary devices---this is Tennyson’s “The Eagle.”

                        The poem begins by using alliteration to emphasize the stark and oddly shaped talons of the eagle: clasps, crap, crooked, and close. The bird holds on to a rock with his oddly shaped claws. This would indicate that the eagle is high on a rocky mountain ledge.

                        The mountainous rock appears high up seeming to touch the sun. The place where the observer finds himself is far away from civilization: the lonely lands. The loneliness may also be a commentary on the life of the eagle as a solitary bird that lives and travels alone. The eagle magnificently stands surrounded by the bluest sky.  

The observer must also be high enough to look down where he sees the water is moving and appears almost like it has wrinkles [both personification and a metaphor]. The water does not rush but rather crawls.  The eagle also looks down from his lofty mountain rock and watches the water.  He may be searching for a fish that is too close to the surface. Suddenly, just like a thunderbolt of lightning from the sky, he falls or soars into the sky [The perfect simile for the king of the skies].

                        The author encapsulates this tiny segment of nature: a majestic eagle diving from his lofty throne.  Tennyson’s youthful image is forever memorialized with complete exactness. 

COMPENSATION by R.W. Emerson

COMPENSATION

                   -R.W. Emerson

                   The poem ‘‘Compensation’’ written by R. Emerson. Poem stands with the idea of

                  ‘Balance in Imbalance’.

                   Poet describes balance and imbalance in human beings. When poet seemed people on the surface level he finds out that there is no equality but when he goes into deep and find out that there is equality in human beings.

                   He proved that with the philosophical way rather he applied ‘‘Buddhist Philosophy’’ to prove his argument that every human being is unique and no one is superior or inferior. This uniqueness makes all human beings equal otherwise there is no equality among people. Because everyone have their own unique personality rather talent through which they becomes different and that is why they are unique.

    On the other side when someone wants to be equal to someone it’s suggest that they are not happy with their position and also wants to be equal to that person’s position. Every person has their own talent which others do not have. So, poet’s aim is to be composed rather satisfied with what you have. And if people want to be happy, be giver or Datta.

       As T. S. Eliot talked about in ‘‘The Waste Land’’ that what is more important-

   What have we? Or

   What have we given?

    So, the important thing is what we have given. One has to be sacrifice. Because it is only the medium through which one should be happy and one should feel‘‘Shantih, Shantih, Shantih’’. So, the Indian philosophy of ‘KARMA’ is very applicable here.

LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCY by John Keats

LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCY

                                    -John Keats

                                    "La Belle Dame sans Merci" is a ballad, a medieval genre revived by the romantic poets. Keats uses the so-called ballad stanza, a quatrain in alternating iambic tetrameter and trimester lines. The shortening of the fourth line in each stanza of Keats' poem makes the stanza seem a self-contained unit, gives the ballad a deliberate and slow movement, and is pleasing to the ear. Keats uses a number of the stylistic characteristics of the ballad, such as simplicity of language, repetition, and absence of details; like some of the old ballads, it deals with the supernatural. Keats' economical manner of telling a story in "La Belle Dame sans Merci" is the direct opposite of his lavish manner in The Eve of St. Agnes. Part of the fascination exerted by the poem comes from Keats' use of understatement.

                                    Keats sets his simple story of love and death in a bleak wintry landscape that is appropriate to it: "The sedge has withered from the lake / and no birds sing!" The repetition of these two lines, with minor variations, as the concluding lines of the poem emphasizes the fate of the unfortunate knight and neatly encloses the poem in a frame by bringing it back to its beginning. In keeping with the ballad tradition, Keats does not identify his questioner, or the knight, or the destructively beautiful lady. What Keats does not include in his poem contributes as much to it in arousing the reader's imagination as what he puts into it. La belle dame sans mercy, the beautiful lady without pity, is a femme fatale, a Circe like figure who attracts lovers only to destroy them by her supernatural powers. She destroys because it is her nature to destroy. Keats could have found patterns for his "faery's child" in folk mythology, classical literature, Renaissance poetry, or the medieval ballad. With a few skillful touches, he creates a woman who is at once beautiful, erotically attractive, fascinating, and deadly.

                                    Some readers see the poem as Keats' personal rebellion against the pains of love. In his letters and in some of his poems, he reveals that he did experience the pains, as well as the pleasures, of love and that he resented the pains, particularly the loss of freedom that came with falling in love. However, the ballad is a very objective form, and it may be best to read "La Belle Dame sans Merci" as pure story and no more. How Keats felt about his love for Fanny Browne we can discover in the several poems he addressed to her, as well as in his letters.

A BABY RUNNING BAREFOOT by D.H. Lawrence

A BABY RUNNING BAREFOOT.

                                                -D.H. Lawrence

                        D. H. Lawrence was a playwright, essayist, literary critic and a painter. He wrote works such as “Sons and Lowers”, “Woman in Law”, “The Rainbow”, and “The Fox”, etc. Many of his colleagues describe him as photographer. He was a visionary thinker and he in true sense represents modernism in English Literature.

                         In the first line the poet talks about “the barefoot” of baby who runs across the grass. When baby runs barefooted it is the sight which soothes your eyes.

                         He compares baby’s Play with the song of robin. Robin’s song attracts its listeners in the same way the sight of baby running barefooted attracts all watchers.

                         The poet has compared the grass with cup of flower and baby’s white feet with two white butterflies. Poet charmed by the playing of baby.

He compared his childhood with innocent baby’s playing. Thus, in this poem the poet describes not only beauty of the baby but her childlike innocence.

                        D. H. Lawrence much talked by the people because of his controversial writing. But this poem is totally different from that. So, maybe he tries to relief himself from the politics of society. Maybe that’s why he wrote this poem.

ALL MY SONS by Arthur Miller

ALL MY SONS

                        -Arthur Miller

                        Miller began writing plays as an undergraduate. By 1946, his All My Sons was a success (his first major work), and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Author. Miller concerned himself with the mind-set of the American family-man and –woman: those whose job was to provide, materially, for their families, but who often found that life was more difficult than the mere accumulation of wealth. All My Sons, like many of Miller’s plays, is an attempt to sift through the values common to American families after the Second World War, in order to determine what “the good life” truly meant in an age of rising economic circumstances.

                        All my sons’ is one of the best plays by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was his first commercial successful play. His plays basically express moral, social, and political ideas.

All my sons’ very significant and attractive title, it directly appeals the curiosity of the reader. The title is very appropriate. The play is divided in to three acts. The play falls under the genre of modern tragedy.

                     The story is of a businessman named Joe Keller and his family. He has a business of making cylinder head for air force, but it happened once that when he was out of his business plant, at the same time there was war going on so army needs very high numbers of cylinder heads.  It so happened that his partner Steve Devers informed him on phone that by mistake some cylinders were creaked. Instead of stop him from sending it to army. Joe suggest to make repairs on those cylinder and send it to army, Steve did so and as a result of that twenty one innocent pilots were died in the plan which used those cylinder. The play opens after three years of this incident.