A Journal to Stella | Stella’s Birthday by Jonathan Swift | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. A Journal to Stella was a series of 65 letters written by Jonathan Swift during the period 1710-1713. He wrote these letters for Esther Johnson, the young, eight-year-old daughter of the widowed maid of Sir William Temple’s sister. Swift was appointed as an assistant by William Temple and he was given the charge of tutoring Esther whom he used to call Stella. Jonathan Swift developed a strong lifelong attachment to Stella. In these letters, Jonathan Swift often wrote his views on eminent people as well as reflective, often humorous descriptions of important incidences and personalities along with warm, affectionate personal messages. A Journal to Stella is a detailed commentary on Swift's experiences in London in the last years of Queen Anne's reign, It was believed that Jonathan Swift was in love with Stella and wished to marry her but avoided it because while he was just 14 years old, Esther was only 8 years old. The two maintained a close but ambiguous relationship for the rest of Esther's life who died in 1728.

Swift used to write a poem to celebrate Stella’s birthday on March 13, every year. He wrote the first poem in 1713 and in 1727, he wrote the last such poem for celebrating her birthday.

Structure of Stella’s Birthday, 1727:

The poem is written in iambic tetrameter with 88 lines composed in 44 rhyming couplets. The poem is rather long with 6 stanzas of varied lengths (14,4,16,32,23,). Swift wrote it in epistle form though it appears like a sonnet. Swift deliberately avoided using imagery as he was addressing the ill health and troubles of Stella during her last days however, he used metaphors in one or two instances. Swift says that Virtues in Stella’s life were like “nutriment that feeds the mind.” Swift also used personification of ‘Virtue’ by equating virtue to the Roman god Janus the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings, having two heads, one looking forward and one backward.

Summary of On Stella’s Birthday, 1727:

The poem offers the genuine friendly concern of Jonathan Swift for his close friend Esther who was terminally ill at that time. Swift continues to ignore the probable death of Stella while trying to infuse the poem with merrier, celebratory thoughts as he wishes Stella to cherish her birthday, he does accept the likelihood of her death at the end of the poem. The poem is a tribute to Stella in which Swift expresses how important she was to him. He says that she brought him joy and sorrow, ups and downs and she remained as an inspiring figure in his heart that will always remain there even if death sets them apart.

Stanza 1 (Lines 1-14)

Swift begins the poem by acknowledging Stella’s ill health and his own aging troubles yet asserts that it is the day to celebrate her birthday and they should cherish it with utmost excitement. He says that they should “not think on our approaching ills,” and should avoid the “talk of spectacles and pills” as their ailments and worries can be discussed later sometime or tomorrow. The poet says that reason suggests that despite their declining, decaying days, they should cherish the immense beauty of very few days remaining of their life.

Stanza 2 (Lines 15-18)

In these lines, Swift accepts that neither he, nor Stella is in such an age where they could dream and plan for the future as they are already at a stable stage of life and are declining, but even this decay of health and life has its own beauty and they do have all the beauty and tastes of the past that they cherished together. The poet requests Stella not to dwell on present miseries but rather to take comfort from having lived an unblemished life. In line 18, he urges Stella to “look with joy on what is past.”

Stanza 3 (Lines 19-34)

In these lines, the poet questions if the dreams and plans of the past that they had for a comfortable and cherishable future were all false? Were those hopes nothing more than the ‘contrivances’ of the vice that atheists say religious people use to proselytize? He further says that even if it is true, the message of sages cannot be wrong and virtue always offers its reward. Although Swift seeks throughout the poem to cheer his ailing friend by recalling her past acts of generosity and compassion, he also attempts to assuage his own pain at the possibility that she is dying.

Stanza 4 (Lines 35-66)

Swift expresses the importance Stella always had in his life. He asserts that Stella lives a meaningful well-spent life and asks her if she is not content with her past. He appreciates her and says that she always remained ready to help the needy and could save the ‘despairing wretches from the grave.’ he mentions how Stella always supported him and stood with him in highs and lows.

Your gen'rous boldness to defend

An innocent and absent friend;

Then Swift brings the metaphor comparing virtues as nutrients for the mind. He says,

Does not the body thrive and grow / By food of twenty years ago?

And, had it not been still supplied,v / It must a thousand times have died.

Then who with reason can maintain / That no effects of food remain?

Swift says that true virtue has a permanence that remains forever. He asserts that Stella was a lady of integrity and virtues not only nourish the person with virtues but also everyone else who comes in contact with that person and thus, Stella’s virtues nourished him too. In these lines, Swift shows his pain in losing a friend whom he considered a marvelous human being

Stanza 5 (Lines 67-78)

In these lines, Stanza again beseeches Stella not to worry about her current miseries. The poet gently encourages her not to dwell on the bleakness of the future but rather to derive satisfaction from a lifetime of virtuous achievement. He compares Virtues with Janus, the Roman god, and thus uses personification. He suggests that virtues are divine like Roman god Janus with two faces. One of the faces is for looking back at Stella’s colorful and happy past which will continue to make Stella feel content, and the other takes Stella forward toward fate with courage.

For Virtue, in her daily race,

Like Janus, bears a double face;

Looks back with joy where she has gone

And therefore goes with courage on:

She at your sickly couch will wait,

And guide you to a better state.

Stanza 6 (Lines 79-88)

Swift continued to encourage Stella to forget about her ill health and troubles but in the last stanza, he concedes that she is going to die and he is very sad about the situation. He tells her to have pity on her pitied friends who, like himself, will suffer most from losing her: “O then, whatever Heav’n intends,/ Take pity on your pitying friends!/ Nor let your ills affect your mind,/ To fancy they can be unkind.” He asserts that not of Stella’s friends, especially him, is unkind as all of them are worried and concerned for her. In the last lines, he says that he would gladly take Stella’s position if given a chance to face death while gifting his remaining life for Stella. He further says that if such a sacrifice is possible, it will still be much lesser than what she has done for her. He says that he owes Stella’s care so much that if he is alive for this moment, it is only because of her.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

The Snowman by Wallace Stevens | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Snowman is a philosophical poem written by Wallace Stevens that was first published in Poetry magazine in 1921 and then incorporated into his influential poetry collection Harmonium published in 1923. It is a short poem consisting of 15 lines composed in five tercets or stanzas of three lines. The poem is written in free verse. Most of the lines are written in iambic though the meter varies. The poem has internal rhymes and slant rhymes to maintain the flow. The poem uses imagery, metaphor, metonymy, anaphora, repetition, enjambment, alliteration, and epigram.

Themes of The Snowman:

It is a philosophical poem that challenges the very concept of reality versus perspectivism; objectivity and subjectivism. The poet explains the necessity of objectively observing a cold winter landscape or anything in the world. He stresses that to observe reality, one must be free of all biases, perspectives, and prior conceptions. But once a person is free of all these biases, he will find nothingness. Then the poet questions if it is possible to get rid of all perspectives? He suggests that everything is subjective – there can be no objective experience of the world. Thus, we can adjust our own perception to have a better illusion or subjective reality of the circumstances. Another important theme of the poem is natural unity, or oneness, or non-duality. If a person can get rid of all possible perspectives, he will observe nothingness and that nothingness lies in oneness with nature, there won’t be anything, any difference if one can perceive things just like nature. Yet again, it will be a perception.

Summary of The Snowman:

Stanza 1

One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;

The poem begins with ‘One’ as a substitute for ‘I’ or ‘He’ which suggests that it is not about an individual’s experience rather, it talks about everyone. And that everyone is the snowman. The poet is talking about hypothetical winter and a hypothetical snowman to explain deeper meanings of reality. ‘One must’, makes it imperative, necessary condition for a person to ‘have a mind of winter’ to actually understand the reality of frost and the boughs of the pine trees laden with snow. ‘Mind of winter’ is a metaphor that suggests the serenity and detachment of an impartial calm mind. To understand reality, one must one’s mind must be immune to the dramas, emotions, and chaos of the world. To have the mind of winter, one must not be affected or frightened by it.

Stanza 2

And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter

The poet continues to explain the snowman and says that not only the mind must be serene and calm before one may understand reality, one must be in this calm state for a long time with no disturbing memories of chaos. The poet uses cold as a metonym for serenity, and peacefulness. One must be cold or serene for long to be like junipers, the shrub whose leaves always remain green irrespective of how cold it is. Just like Junipers remain unaffected by winter, one must have the ‘mind of winter’ for a long to face the reality.

Stanza 3

Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,

In the third stanza, the poet further explains the meaning of having a ‘mind of winter’ or being cold. The poet has used enjambment in the first line. A calm and peaceful mind remains unaffected by the warmth of the sun and the harshness of the cold wind alike. Neither excitement nor a sorrowful shock can affect a serene mind. Only if one is in such a balanced state of mind then only they can one cherish the cold, sunny, January day, and not think of “any misery” in the sounds made by the wind or that of a few leaves. If a mind is not peaceful, then the warm memories of the past may make them feel difficult, or, they will be disturbed by the harsh wind flowing and making harrowing sounds. One must be unaffected by pleasure and pain alike. One's mind must be empty of their own human perceptions if they have to experience the reality of nature. If one doesn’t have the mind of winter, they won’t be able to avoid ‘any misery’ in the wind or in their own life in general to affect their perception of reality.

Stanza 4

Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place

In this stanza, the poet further explains the ‘sound of the wind’ that must not be personified. It is the sound of land, it cannot be miser or harsh. The poet suggests that personification should be avoided. Instead of giving false human emotions of the natural world, one must get rid of their own human perceptions and be like nature with the ‘mind of winter’ to avoid any mistake in observation. One must not project human misery onto the sounds of the world, but must observe it for what it is, that of “the sound of the land.” The ‘One’ is the snowman who can be anyone.

Stanza 5

For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.

In the last stanza, the poet clarifies what it takes to be a snowman, a snowman can be anyone, who can realize reality as it is, without any falsehood or artificiality. One must have a detached mind, free from the influences of society, and emotional and mental trauma, to observe the world and see the nothingness in the landscape around them for what it is, nothing.

As it is clear, the poem isn’t about the winter season or the snowman, rather it is about the reality of what one observes. The poet raises questions about how we perceive the world and if, what we perceive, is actually true. The poet suggests that to understand the truth of the world, one must be free of personal experiences, perceptions, and societal influences.

Such a person will be able to listen to the sound of the land for what it is. They will listen to the sound of the cold wind with the ‘mind of winter’ without maligning it with emotional language to color those sounds and then they will be able to realize what it is, it is nothing that can affect them. The observer beholds "nothing" in the final stanza because that is what remains without the human perceptions that we bring to the world. Thus, whatever we feel, we see, is the creation of our own human mind. Once we get rid of this habit of personification, then only will we be able to see the reality and that is nothingness. However, there is the paradox because how devoid of personal experiences one can be? The possibility of perceiving reality free from our individual subjectivity is impossible and even if one perceives reality sans any prior experience, any influence, it will again be a mere perception.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

The Chessmaster and His Moves by Raja Rao | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Raja Rao was an Indian-American writer who served as a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas, Austin from 1966 to 1983. He taught courses like Marxism to Gandhism, Mahayana Buddhism, Indian philosophy: The Upanishads, and Indian philosophy: The Metaphysical Basics of the Male and Female Principle. Raja Rao continued to explore similar realms in his novels which unfold his deeper concerns for man's spiritual existence on earth and sets his characters on a metaphysical quest for the Absolute. One such novel was The Chessmaster and His Moves which was published in the year 1988. It is a metaphysical novel. The Chessmaster mentioned in the title symbolizes the creator Brahma while the world is a board of Chess (a game that originated in India). His Moves symbolize the divine play that directs our lives. We as human beings are the pieces of the Chessboard that involve pawns, bishops, knights, kings, queens, and others. The narrator of the novel is a highly meditative person who in one instance says: “The stars, played games with us and behind the stars – He, the Chessmaster, rubbing his head in glee, he played for you, making you think he played for you, making you think he played for himself who is he anyway?”Again the narrator; gives the concept of the Chessmaster: “The Chessmaster’s moves, are so to say, subtle, magnanimous, sure. His hand is on your shoulder, not to tell you where to move, but to show the nature of the essential movement, and the movement itself is the play”

Characters of The Chessmaster and His Moves:

Sivaraman Shashtri is the protagonist of the novel. He is an Indian student of mathematics who falls in love with a Rajput princess Jayalakshmi during his teenage. However, he went off to France to study mathematics. Siva is a brilliant but spiritually shallow mathematician who tries to make a balance between European culture and Indian culture and to do so, he explores the relationship between Indian maths and Western maths along with exploring the similarities between Indian spirituality and Western religions. Jayalakshmi is an intelligent young woman who is a good match for Sivaraman but the two fail to marry. Surendra Singh is another childhood friend of Sivaraman and Jayalakshmi who too belongs to a royal family. The two royal families arrange their marriage but Jayalakshmi is not at all interested in Surendra Singh and they are not a happy couple. Uma Ramachandran is the married elder sister of Sivaraman who is unable to conceive a child and is very disturbed about it. Sivaraman is too much in love with Jayalakshmi but develops a relationship with

Suzanne Chantereux, a French actress apparently cured herself of tuberculosis with the help of yoga and meditation. She had a mentally retarded child who died at a young age. She is very much interested in the Indian philosophies of Advaita and Buddhism. This interest brings her closure to Sivaraman and they develop a romantic relationship. However, Suzzane wishes to use Indian philosophies to find peace and comfort in the materialistic world while Sivaraman pursues Moksha, freedom from the materialistic world. Jeanne Pierre is a friend of Sivaraman in France who is also researching mathematics. Mireille is the wife of Jeanne Pierre who develops an extramarital affair with Sivaraman. Despite his varied romantic flings with other women, Sivaraman continues to crave Jayalakshmi. Michel is a Jew, a Rabbi living in France who befriends Shivaraman.

Summary of The Chessmaster and His Moves:

Sivaraman is studying in France for his doctorate in mathematics. He is deeply influenced by Indian philosophies and so is mesmerized by Western ideas. Most often, he tries to balance the two different cultures by exploring the similarities and relations between Western mathematics and Indian mathematics. He would further try to explore relationships between Western philosophies and Indian philosophies. Despite his intellectual inclinations, he is spiritually hollow and yearns for his childhood love Jayalakshmi who is already married to one of his friends Surendra Singh. Meanwhile, he meets Suzanne Chantereux, a vivacious French actress interested in Indian culture and philosophies. Sivarama learns that Suzzane suffered from tuberculosis but she recuperated with the help of Yoga and meditation. Suzzane seeks solace and happiness through Indian ways of meditation as she is trying to cope with her loss of a young child who recently dies. However, her search for happiness is materialistic, and she fails to understand the concepts of non-dualism. Sivaraman develops a physical relationship with her and soon they create a strong romantic bond. However, Sivaraman is still dependent on Jayalakshmi for emotional fulfillment who is a close friend. Suzzane eventually starts pushing Sivaraman for marriage and a stable relationship while Sivaraman cannot think of marriage with anyone else but Jayalakshmi who is already married. Thus, Sivaraman starts maintaining distance from Suzanne.

Meanwhile, Sivaraman’s sister Uma visits him in France. She is facing troubles in conceiving a child and thus she seeks medical help in France. Sivaraman tries to find a balance between Indian medical practices and Western medical ideas. During the same time, Siavaraman develops a physical relationship with Mireille who is married to his friend Jeanne Pierre. During all these three relationships with Jayalakshi, Suzzane, and Mirielle, Sivaraman’s quest is for self-realization leading to a merging with Brahma the creator. However, Sivaraman continues to fail in finding peace within himself. Jayalakshmi to visits France for her medical treatment and when Sivaraman meets her, he fails to find any peace with her too. During his conversation with Jayalakshmi, he comes to know that her husband Surendra Singh is only interested in money and she has little interest in him but, for cultural and religious reasons, has to stay married to him. Furthermore, he realizes that Jayalakshmi is much more spiritually awakened and calm within herself. He realizes that the way to find solace is to search the shoonya within himself. He realizes that Shoonya is the Nirguna Bahman, neither good, nor evil, neither masculine nor feminine, devoid of any attributes and any conflicts. He realizes that his aim should be to be devoid of any dualities which denote lower order of reality. He remembers one of the sayings of his spiritual Guru “And I now know, in discrimination is wisdom, and knowledge, light that can see this light. There all doubts and all the jungle of the mind end. Pure as the Himalayan snow and unshakable, it tells us how, the Ganga is nothing but the snow melted by the sun and the wisdom not the stream, river, or sea (which it will reach), but just water; waves are nothing but water. So is the sea.” Ultimately, Sivaraman continues his path of self-realization as he strives for avoiding dualities and contradictions. During this phase, he meets Michel a Rabbi living in France. The two develop a deep friendship and often engage in debates while analyzing the nature of reality. Sivaraman realizes that all his earlier efforts in searching for balance in different cultures through Mathematics, religion, or philosophies were misplaced because this balance rests in the areas beyond the personal, the sensual, the mathematical, and towards the true universality of the Absolute. Sivaraman used to struggle to perceive the necessary abolition of contradiction, the movement beyond the tension of flesh and spirit, illusion and reality, immediate and eternal but now, he clearly sees the nonduality. The dialogue with Michael, the Rabbi, revolves around certain major themes invoked by Raja Rao's terms dual, non-dual, dissolution, zero, truth, and God and introduces the most important theme in The Chessmaster. Michelle and Sivaram try to explore the reasons for The Holocaust (the killing of millions of Jews by the Nazis in the 1930s and 1940s) and an attempt to expiate it during their discourse.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of Indian English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

The Battle of The Books by Jonathan Swift | Context, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Battle of The Books is a mock-heroic written by Jonathan Swift that was first published in 1704. It is a light-hearted satire to ridicule the contemporary modern authors of Swift’s era while he defended the classicist Ancient writers. Jonathan Swift was the assistant of Sir William Temple who wrote "An Essay upon the Ancient and Modern Learning" in 1692. This essay by Temple raised the debate of Ancient versus Modern in which Temple favored Ancient writers and concluded that the Moderns had, in fact, very little to add to the store of knowledge that had been inherited from the classical past. Temple used the metaphor of dwarf and giant in his essay and suggested that modern man was just a dwarf standing upon the "shoulders of giants," that is, the modern man saw farther because he begins with the observations and learning of the ancients. Temple’s essay was opposed by Richard Bentley, the classicist librarian of the Royal Library and critic William Wotton too published his own essay opposing William Temple’s debate in favor of the Ancients. Richard Bentley was highly knowledgeable and the proponents of the Ancients avoided opposing his essay through scholarly arguments thus, they employed witty satires. Jonathan Swift was not involved in this debate but William Temple was his major patron and thus, he too wrote a light-hearted satire in a mock-heroic style to offer his support in favor of the Ancient writers.

The side of Moderns includes Francis Bacon, Ben Jonson, John Dryden, Aphra Behn, and Abraham Cowley while the Ancient warriors include Holmer, Horace, Virgil, Plato, Aristotle, and others.

Summary of The Battle of The Books:

Jonathan Swift clarifies the purpose of this satire with the beginning note of the book which says that the work is about the “famous dispute … about ancient and modern learning.” The battle of the books is staged in the King’s Corner of St. James Library. The author satirically says that he is trying to give an impartial account of the battle fought between the Ancients and the Modems in the regal library, as a result of the mismanagement of the librarian, Bentley, who showed undue favor to the Moderns.

In the Preface of the book, Swift explains the nature of satire. He says that most people enjoy satire because they often fail to see themselves in the satire while they relate it to others. However, even if someone sees himself in the satire and gets offended, Swift says that it won’t be a problem because anger weakens the counterargument. He further says that weak satires apply “wit without knowledge,” while strong ones have depth.

The whole book can be divided into five major incidences. While four of the incidences involve the battle between the books and their Ancient and Modern authors, there is an allegory of the spiders and the bees in between.

First Incidence: The author says that the main argument began because of pride and want. The dispute between the Ancients and Moderns is about the right to live on the highest peak of Parnassus hill. He says that during times of scarcity, people often fight like dogs to secure resources but when there is plenty, they live peacefully. He then explains the nature of the dispute.

The Parnassus hill has two peaks. While the Ancients are living on the highest peak, the Moderns are situated on the lower peak. Because of their lower peak, they are jealous of the Ancients who think they are superior beings. However, the moderns are increasing in numbers. They send an emissary to the Ancients with a message that says that the Ancients should step down to a lower position otherwise the Moderns would use shovels and level the said hill as low as they would deem proper. The Ancients were surprised by this ‘insolence’ of amateur authors. They rejected the offer and said that instead of trying to lower their peak, the Moderns should work for raising the height of their own peak. The Ancients offer proper assistance for the Moderns in raising the height of their peak but the Moderns reject the offer as they know that they can easily outnumber the Ancients.

The hostility between Ancients and Moderns soon reaches the St. James Library where the Ancient and Modern books engage in argument and make opposing camps within the library. In one camp, there are books of Plato, Homer, Virgil, and others, in the other camp, works of Descartes, Dryden, Hobbes, Aquinas, and others make their team. Richard Bentley, the Royal librarian openly shows his support for the Moderns while he is hostile against the Ancients. William Temple thus decides to organize the defense of the Ancients.

Second Incidence: The second incidence involves an allegory of the spider and the bee. Swift describes a dusty spider web as a huge fortress of a well-fed, strong spider who is the best in architecture and mathematics. The spider decorates its mansion “in the modern style.” One day, a bee accidentally enters the web. The spider mocks the bee and shows off its architectural skills with pride. The bee struggles to get free and offers a counterargument of “long search, much study, true judgment, and distinction of things.” At last, the bee manages to come out of the web but in the process, the web is broken. The spider gets furious and rebukes the bee as a ‘universal plunderer’ for being insolent and impudent. While all the books are eagerly listening to the arguments of the spider and the bee, the works of Aesop turn towards the Ancients and join their side, alleging that the arguments of the spider and the bee is a good allegory for the Moderns and Ancients. The spider boasts “of his native stock and great genius,” particularly in architecture and mathematics, while the bee and the Ancients are content “to pretend to nothing of our own beyond our wings and our voice” and “whatever [else] we have got has been by infinite labor and search, and ranging through every corner of nature.” 

Third Incidence: As the Moderns reject the proposal of the Ancients to raise the height of their own peak, they engage in a battle. The side of the Ancients includes Homer, Pindar, Virgil, Herodotus, Lucan, Euclid, Plato, Aristotle, Livy, and William Temple. The Moderns are represented by Milton, Tasso, Dryden, Withers, Cowley, Descartes, Harvey Denham, Gondibert, and a host of others. The reflection inspires the books too to begin the battle and they retreat to opposite sides of the library to choose their leaders and make their strategy. The Moderns are greater in number and they have several ugly weapons and several heavy but untrained fighters including Thomas Aquinas who is “without either arms, courage, or discipline,” on the battlefield.

The epic poets Milton and Tasso lead the horseriders of Moderns while Holmer is the horse rider of the Ancients who kills five Moderns one after another. His victims are Gondibert, Denham, Wedey, Perrault, and Fontenelle. Another Ancient horse rider is Pindar who kills Oldham, Aphra Behn, and Cowley. Aristotle is the main archer of the Ancients who flings an arrow at Bacon but hits Descartes, Swift is implying that Aristotle’s work is superior to that of Descartes but perhaps not to Bacon’s. Virgil is rather a slow fighter who is failing to manage his heavy armor made of gold. As Virgil faces Dryden, Dryden shows his unwillingness to a trial of strength. Dryden says that Virgil is like a father figure to him and he won’t fight against him. He rather offers an amicable exchange of armor as a sign of amity between the two. Virgil willingly accepts the proposal and Dryden takes off Virgil's Golden armor in exchange for his rusty armor. Similarly, The Roman poet Lucan and the Modern epic poet Blackmore agree to exchange gifts and fight no more.

Fourth Incidence: The fourth incidence happens before the Commencement of the war as the scene changes to the Milky Way. Fate alerts Jove (Jupiter) about the impending battle. Jove calls a meeting of all gods to discuss the matter. Momus takes the side of the Moderns while Pallas (Athena) shows favor for the Ancients. Jove himself remains undecided and consults the book of Fate and learns what will happen regarding the battle, but he tells nobody.

Momun takes the help of the goddess of criticism to assist the Moderns. Goddess of criticism is more than happy to assist him because Wotton, a major fighter of the Modernists is her own son. She takes the help of her parents' Pride, and Ignorance and engages her siblings, Opinion, and Noise in the battle. The goddess of Criticism goes to the Library and disguises herself as Bentley to have a word with Wotton. She encourages Wotton and offers him two assistants namely Dullness and Ill-manners.

Fifth Incidence: Inspired by the goddess of Criticism and assisted by Dullness and Ill-manners, Wotton attacks William Temple, a fighter of the Ancients who looks more like Moderns. Meanwhile, Apollo has made up his mind to side with the Ancients. He calls upon Christian Boyle to take revenge against Wotton. As Wotton sees Boyle charging towards him, he gets frightened and runs away. As Boyle chases Wotton, he sees Bentley too and confronts them alone. As Boyle fights against Bentley and Wotton, divine Pallas offers him her lance. Boyle takes the lance and kills both Bentley and Wotton in a single stroke. As the two men fall, their bodies get intertwined, almost indistinguishable from one another, like a pair of skewered woodcocks. The account of the battle ends here with a clear victory of the Ancients.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

Thirteen Ways of Looking at A Blackbird by Wallace Stevens | Themes, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Thirteen Ways of Looking at A Blackbird is an abstract metaphysical poem by Wallace Stevens that was first published in 1917 and then added to his poetry collection Harmonium published in 1923.

Structure of Thirteen Ways of Looking at A Blackbird:

The poem is written in imitation of the haiku style. Haiku or Hokku is a Japanese verse form most often composed, in English versions, of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. A haiku often features an image, or a pair of images, meant to depict the essence of a specific moment in time. The poem doesn’t offer different ideas about a similar image of a Blackbird, rather it offers different sensations for the same sight. The poem has 13 sections or cantos and while all of them appear to be imitating Haiku style, none of them is truly a haiku. The poet used simile, imagery, and metaphor to offer different sensations for the minimal sketches he draws in these thirteen cantos. The poem is modernist and follows the pattern of cubism. In Cubist literature, the subjects are analyzed, broken up, and reassembled in an abstract form—instead of expressing objects from a single perspective, the author depicts the subject from multiple perspectives to represent the subject in a greater context. Wallace expresses the seemingly common and ordinary blackbird in a way that makes it anything but ordinary because at a given instant, perception alters—depending on the physical environment—the action of the bird and the effect on the mind of the perceiver. While reading the poem, the reader would normally stress over the phrase ‘to be’ to understand it.

Themes:

The major theme of the poem is Subjectivity versus Reality. The poet suggests that there is no single correct way of seeing the world. Instead, the poem implies that reality is subjective and can be defined by whoever's looking at it. In the first canto, the poet plays with the word ‘eye,’ depicting it as ‘I’ the pronoun depicting Individual. Through this ‘I’ people perceive things in the world, not just the blackbird, but anything in general. The true essence of the reality of the blackbird or any other thing is altered by the perception of ‘I’ from person to person and it differs in different situations too. The author suggests that truth is not one singular entity—but a whole range of possibilities, all held in a kind of irresolvable tension. It may appear like the quantum theory that suggests that unless observed things remain in a state of superimposition and take a definite shape only when they are observed. Thus, the reality is dependent on the observer and hence, it is subjective and there is no singular, true reality.

Another theme of the poem is death. The blackbird, a raven represents death, it is no ordinary bird or crow. It outlasts all other creatures., in the snow, stands in as a muse for the speaker, and appears in several different forms. The bird is made up of more than its simple physiology. It contains beauty, innuendos, and eccentricities which separate it from other creatures.

Summary of Thirteen Ways to Look at A Blackbird:

It is a circular poem that begins in a barren snow desert surrounded by over twenty mountains, then moves towards human society, and then returns to the sparse snowy terrain as if completing the circle of life. The poet depicts a blackbird or different blackbirds in all thirteen cantos, but the blackbird isn’t the subject of all these cantos.

Canto I

Among twenty snowy mountains,

The only moving thing

Was the eye of the blackbird.

The first stanza contains contrast, exaggeration, and imagery. It is a tercet of 8, 6, and 7 syllables. The poet depicts a small blackbird in a large white expanse of snowy terrain surrounded by twenty mountains. There is a Juxtaposition of Thirteen in the title and ‘Twenty’ mountains. Thirteen is a prime number indivisible by any other than one and itself while 20 is an even number clearly divisible by 2, 4, 5, or 10, along with 1 and 20 itself. There is a contrast between the blackbird and the white snow. The bird appears as a tiny black spot on a huge white background. Again the eye of the blackbird is mostly white except for the little black pupil of the blackbird’s eye. Thus, the poet imagines a picture within the picture or all white with a tiny black spot. The poet uses exaggeration to suggest that the only moving thing in the scene is the black pupil of the blackbird. The bird doesn’t move nor shake its neck but its pupil does move. Imagine a tiny black spot moving in a whole white background surrounded by blackness which is again situated in an all-white expanse. It is difficult to imagine that nothing else moves.

Canto 2

I was of three minds,
Like a tree
In which there are three blackbirds.

The poet uses first person narrative to relate with the bird and uses a simile “like a tree” which suggests the tree of life. The poet is depicting an old memory and thus uses the past tense. The poet was in three minds (rather than two minds). While the blackbird was keenly observing the snowy terrain, the poet was observing the blackbird and he could imagine the bird in three ways. The first appears ‘to be’ a tiny black spot surrounded by a huge white expanse of snow, and the second appears ‘to be’ a tiny white speck of eye surrounded by the whole black body of the blackbird. The third appears ‘to be’ a further small black spot in the larger white expanse of the eye of the blackbird.

Wallace simply played with the expression of ‘being in two minds’ and expressed that he could see three possibilities, three birds, each bird representing a different state of mind.

Canto 3

The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds.
It was a small part of the pantomime.

This is complete with no rhyming scheme but employs alliteration and assonance. The scene has been changed, everything is moving with the winds and the bird is also flying in a peculiar whirling motion. The whole appears like a Pantomime, a drama with no dialogue with expressions presented through motion. The blackbird is a part of the pantomime. The season has also been changed and it appears to be autumn, a time of high winds, blown leaves, and uncontrollable birds.

Canto 4

A man and a woman
Are one.
A man and a woman and a blackbird
Are one.

In this stanza, the poet offers a completely alienated viewpoint. He offers a viewpoint of non-dualism and suggests that there is no difference between a man and a woman, both are the same, or one, both are living, and so is the blackbird. There is no distinction other than the three, man, woman, and the bird is alive, representing one force of life. It can also be interpreted as a man and a woman copulating and while they are sharing intimacy, the blackbird observes them and sensually becomes one with them.

Canto 5

I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendoes,
The blackbird whistling
Or just after.

The poet is ‘two minds’ now. He listens to the whistling sound of the blackbird and he cannot decide whether should he appreciate the ‘inflection’ of the musical sound as the blackbird sings, or should he cherish the silence just after the whistle, offering innuendoes or instructions while the whistle still lingers in the ear of the listener.

Canto 6

Icicles filled the long window / With barbaric glass.
The shadow of the blackbird / Crossed it, to and fro.
The mood / Traced in the shadow / An indecipherable cause.

Canto 6 is a seven lines stanza with a full rhyme in lines 1, 4, and 6 (window, to and fro, and shadow) and lines 2, 7, and 3, 5 in slant rhyme (glass, cause), blackbird, mood). The blackbird began from a snowy barren land surrounded by ice-capped mountains and then it flew and is now in human society as it sits near a glass window of a house. It is cold outside while the poet sees through the glass of the window. He observes flakes of ice on the old glass window and while he is not able to see the blackbird, he sees the shadow of the bird on the glass. And then the poet explains what these varied scenes and situations are, these are his moods, his sensations that are influencing the shadow of the blackbird but the poet cannot understand that influence.

These lines can also be interpreted as the blackbird flies to and fro, casting its shadow on the glass window, the poet fails to decipher the mood of the blackbird, what is causing it to hop here and there. The poet knows that it is the shadow of the moving blackbird but some other observer may fail to interpret the moving shadow and would wonder what is causing the moving shadow.

Canto 7

O thin men of Haddam, / Why do you imagine golden birds?
Do you not see how the blackbird / Walks around the feet / Of the women about you?

Canto 7 is 5 lines long in which Stevens names a place, Haddam. He expresses another viewpoint of the shadow of the blackbird on the window. Some thin men from Haddam observe the moving shadow and they imagine it to be caused by a moving golden bird which shows their richness and extravagance. They imagine of some exotic things while blackbirds are so common in the area. However, their perception is too materialistic.

Canto 8

I know noble accents / And lucid, inescapable rhythms;
But I know, too, / That the blackbird is involved / In what I know.

Again a five-line verse with first-person narrative and caesurae in lines 2, and 3.

The poet says that he knows a lot of beautiful and pleasurable things that are liked. He knows the accent of the high noble class and he is aware of enchanting light (lucid) rhythms. But he says that all these pleasurable things remind him of the blackbird.

Canto 9

When the blackbird flew out of sight,
It marked the edge
Of one of many circles.

The blackbird doesn’t stay for long and flies away afar, out of sight. Wallace uses Juxtaposition again. The poet says that all that he knows is based on his observation of the blackbird and when it flies away, it marks ‘the edge’ of his life. As the blackbird flies away, the expanse of his knowledge also continues to increase and marks a new boundary to it while he is at the center. There can be infinite circles with the same center, and the blackbird marks one out of them. The juxtaposition is between the edge of a circle and the edge of one’s own life. Each person or creature has his or her own horizon at a particular moment, so the horizon that the blackbird reaches is only one of many. The circles of the poet and reader may differ as they are subjective.

Canto 10

At the sight of blackbirds
Flying in a green light,
Even the bawds of euphony
Would cry out sharply.

In these lines, the poet suggests that the blackbird can influence everybody and even a heartless much less sensitive bawd, or the madam of a brothel will feel the pain of the blackbird’s whistle and will start crying.

Also, the poet compares the natural whistle song of the blackbird with the euphony (highly pleasing sound) of artificial, professional pleasure providers and suggests that the blackbird’s whistle is much more impressive.

Canto 11

He rode over Connecticut / In a glass coach.
Once, a fear pierced him, / In that he mistook
The shadow of his equipage / For blackbirds.

In this section, the poet informs about the progress of an unknown man from his home state of Connecticut as he traveled in his ‘glass coach’ a carriage made of glass windows ridden by horses. As the man saw the shadow of his own carrier, he was frightened as he mistook the shadow for the shadow of the blackbird. Why would a man fear blackbirds? Either the poet is making fun of this man, or he is suggesting that the blackbird isn’t a mere bird, but is a symbol of a much greater force, the force of life that takes it forwards, the force of death.

Canto 12

The river is moving. / The blackbird must be flying.

In the only canto in which the poet uses the present tense. In this section the poet suggests that there must be some entanglement between the river and the blackbird, if the river is moving, the bird must also be flying. The river is the river of life that continues to flow from mountains to the sea and back again.

A moving river also suggests the melting of ice. The poem begins in cold frozen terrain and the movement began in autumn. Now as spring approaches, the ice is melting and rivers are moving. It must be the time for the blackbird to migrate and hence, the poet is sure that the blackbird is flying.

Canto 13

It was evening all afternoon. / It was snowing
And it was going to snow. / The blackbird sat / In the cedar-limbs.

The poet again brings the image of the past and describes the blackbird when he saw it during the winter. He cannot see the blackbird right now because it is springtime and the blackbird has migrated away. The poet describes the day when it was heavily snowing continuously from afternoon to evening when he saw the blackbird sitting in the cedar limb, a common place where the poet often observed the bird sitting.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

The Serpent and The Rope by Raja Rao | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hell and welcome to the Discourse. The Serpent and The Rope is a metaphysical novel written by Raja Rao that was published in 1960 and won the Sahitya Academy Award in 1964. The serpent in the title refers to illusions and desires while the rope refers to reality. The major themes of the novel are concepts of existence, reality, and fulfillment of one's desires and capabilities. The novel depicts a clash between the non-dualistic Vedantic philosophy of Adi Shankaracharya and the western dualist ideas of Cathars. Another important theme of the novel is the problems of immigrants and immigration. The novel has been written in an autobiographical style and it is a semi-autobiographical story of Raja Rao.

Characters of The Serpent and The Rope:

Rama Swami is the protagonist of the novel. Rama is a young Brahmin boy from India who lost his mother during his childhood and his father married a widow, a much younger girl whom Rama Swami calls Little Mother or Choti Maa. He is a student of philosophy who goes to France to do his research work on the subject of Albigensian heresy. His topic of research is the Jainist or Buddhist background of the Cathars. His Saroja is Rama’s half-sister. She is the daughter of Little Mother from her first marriage. Rama likes Saroja and he has more than a fraternal interest in her. Saroja too respects Rama and listens to him. Madeline is a French girl also involved in research on Catharis and Buddhism. She is very interested in Indian philosophies, especially in Buddhism. Rama and Madeline become friends and then they marry. Initially, their married life is very satisfying and blissful but gradually, they start feeling differences. Despite all the respect for Indology, Madeline doesn’t respect various Indian deities the way Rama does. Rama is more interested in the Vedantic philosophy of non-dualism while Madeline believes in the Dualism of Cathars. Gradually, these philosophical, cultural, and psychological differences become the reason for the rift between the two. Krishna is the son of Rama and Madeline who dies at an early age. Catherine is Madeline’s cousin, the daughter of Uncle Charles who married Georges, a young Russian refugee. Both Catherine and Georges like Rama and respect him as a close friend and relative. Subramanyam Sastri is a young suitor for Saroja whom Saroja doesn’t like much. Professor Venkatraman is a friend of Rama whom he visits in Benaras during his tour. Pratap Singh is a student of Professor Venkatraman who is married to Savithri. Savithri is a young girl interested in communism and since Pratap Singh belongs to a landlord family, she doesn’t like him and doesn’t consider him her husband.

Summary of The Serpent and The Rope:

The novel begins as Rama Swamy returns to India to attend the last rites of his father who recently died. His father was a great scholar and Rama himself is a philosophy researcher working in France. He lost his mother at a very early age and then his father remarried Catherine a widow who was still young. Rama calls her Little Mother. After his father’s death, he takes responsibility for the family which includes his stepmother, step-sister Saroja, and an infant step-brother. Saroja is the daughter of Little Mother from her first marriage. Rama has been infatuated with Saroja for a long but being her step-brother, he keeps his desires under control. The family travel to Benaras to perform the last rites of his father. During the journey, Rama describes how he visited France to complete his research on Cathars and Indian philosophies and how he met a beautiful young French girl Madeline there. Madeline and Rama fell in love and they married. Their marriage was very warm, full of emotions and sexual escapades but after the death of their first son Krishna during his infancy, the two started drifting away. Madeline has great respect for Indian philosophies and she tries her best to become a true Hindu wife of Rama completely devoted to her.

However, Rama feels that there is a basic philosophical difference between the two. Rama believes in Non-dualism and considers himself as Purusha, the creator, and Madeline as Prakriti, the medium. He believes that man and woman are not two different entities but they are two different phases of the same entities and for creation, Prakriti must become a subject of Purusha. Madeline on the other hand believes in the Dualism of Cathars and believes that man and woman are two different entities altogether. While Rama is inclined toward Hindu philosophies and deities, Madeline is more interested in Buddhism. Despite these subtle differences in opinion, Rama and Madeline respect each other. Yet, Rama suffers loneliness especially when he sees that Madeline often fails to pay similar respect to some of the customs that are too dear for him as a Brahmin man while for her, those are mere superstitions. During his tour to Benaras, he explores his philosophical routes. He explains his experience of Benaras as “Benares is eternal. There the dead do not die, nor do the living live. The dead comes down to play on the bank of the Ganges and the living who move about, and even offer rice - balls to the means, live in the illusion of a vast night and a bright city.”

He feels that the great Himalayas and surrounding planes explain the eternal truth of the cycle of life and death while the Ganga teaches humanity.

At Benras, Rama and his family stay at Professor Venkatraman’s house who introduces him to Pratap Singh, one of his students. Pratap Singh is the son of a Zamindar who was loyal to the British government. He recently engaged to a beautiful young woman Savithri who is still studying at the University of Cambridge. However, Savithri doesn’t want to marry him because it is against her wishes. Savithri is a staunch communist. Pratap Singh asks for Rama’s help in solving his philosophical argument with Savithri. Rama meets Savithri and during their discussion, he feels a strong attachment to her.

After performing the funeral ceremony of his father at Allahabad Rama and his family members return to their home city. Rama is feeling healthier in India while he often suffered ill health in France. He is ailing from some lung disease because his body is not adapted to the cold weather of France. Yet, he has to return to France. His mother gives him a couple of toe rings as a gift for Madeline. After returning to France, Rama, and Madeline try their best to rejuvenate their relationship. Soon Madeline becomes pregnant again. However, Rama is still not convinced about their relationship and doesn’t offer the toe rings to Madeline that he got from Little Mother. Madeline used to be a very sensitive girl but she was inspired by the spiritual nature of Indian philosophies and tried her best to become a true devoted Hindu wife of Rama. But gradually, she started feeling more interested in the renunciation of Buddhism.

Meanwhile, Savithri visits Rama’s house in France where she went for an educational trip. This further complicates Rama’s relationship with Madeline because he finds himself strongly infatuated with Savithri though he is already married. Rama decides to go to London to complete his research, but his main motive is to spend some more time with Savithri who studies at Cambridge. During his days in London, Rama receives a letter from Pratap Singh informing him that Savithri has fallen in love with a Muslim guy. Rama decides to meet Savithri. He talks with Savithri about a varied topic including language, literature, Nazism, Communism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Savithri is immensely impressed by him.

Meanwhile, Rama has to return to India to attend his step-sister’s marriage. His Little Mother has arranged the engagement of his foster sister Saroja with Subramanyam Shashtri who is a well-educated good mannered man. However, Saroja isn’t willing to marry him because she doesn’t love him. Little Mother insists Rama talk to Saroja because she is convinced that Saroja will lead a happy married life with Subramanyam Shashtri. Rama discusses the matter with Saroja and explains that every girl has to marry at the proper age and she should marry Subhramanyam happily because he is a good man, respectful and affectionate to Saroja.

Suddenly he falls further ill and starts vomiting blood. He decides to return to France for proper medical treatment but is forced to stay at the house of Captain Shyam Sunder in Bombay for one week because of his health. During his stay, he seduces Shyam Sunder’s wife Lakshmi, and makes a physical relationship with her without any feeling of guilt. He receives a message that Madeline gave birth to a stillborn child. He also receives the news that Savithri agreed to marry Pratap Singh and now she and Pratap Singh are married. He returns to France to mend his relationship with his wife Madeline but finds that she has completely adopted the life of a Buddhist monk. Madeline is still very respectful and friendly to Rama but she has completely prohibited any physical touch with him. Rama realizes that their relationship is over and decides to file for divorce and goes to London. In London, his health further deteriorates and he is admitted to the hospital. Savithri visits her at the hospital and he expresses his feelings toward her by offering her the toe rings that his mother gave him. Savithri accepts the toe-rings and both of them accept that they must part ways and that fate has led them in separate directions. They acknowledge that love is about rejoicing in one another’s happiness. He asks Savithri to promise him that she would return to India and become Pratap's good wife.

As he recovers, he returns to France for the proceedings of the divorce with Madeline. Catherine and Georges appear as witnesses for Ram for the amicable divorce of him and Mandeline at friendly terms and then Rama bid goodbye to Catherine, Georges, Uncle Charles, and Madeline and returns to India as he realizes that the completeness and comfort he has been looking in relationships with Saroja, Madeline, Savithri or Lakshmi cannot be attained through these earthly relationships as the answer to his philosophical quest lies in the journey to seek out his Guru and that all of the trials and tribulations of his life have led him to this realization.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of Indian English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!