Three Years She Grew in Sun and Shower by William Wordsworth | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘Three Years She Grew in Sun and Shower’ is the longest of the Lucy poems written by William Wordsworth. He composed the poem in 1798 and it was published in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads in 1798. This poem is different from the other four Lucy poems as the poet personified Nature itself describes Lucy in the poem. In addition, it is the only poem that describes Lucy in much detail. Most of the other Lucy poems present her as more of a phantom or a shadow, focusing on the speaker's grief at losing her. But this poem describes Lucy's grace, wisdom, cheer, and calm by picturing her as Nature's child. The poem's tone is reflective and nostalgic, emphasizing the beauty of innocence and the bittersweet nature of growth and loss. The themes of innocence, nature and humanity, mortality and grief, and life cycle are woven throughout the poem. Wordsworth lost his daughter Catherine who died of Polio. Lucy is a symbol of his daughter in this poem.

Structure of ‘Three Years She Grew in Sun and Shower’:

The poem consists of seven six-line stanzas or sestets with a rhyming scheme of AABCCB. The stanzas imitate the extended rhyming scheme of ballad stanzas. The poet used iambs in all the lines. Two iambic tetrameter lines alternated with an iambic trimeter line. The poem’s speaker is the same lover of Lucy who mourned her death in other poems. In this poem, however, the speaker claims that Nature—personified as a proper noun—spoke up about Lucy. The poet used Personification, Imagery, Symbolism, Alliteration, Metaphor, Repetition, Contrast, and Enjambment in the poem.

Nature is personified as a mighty but affectionate deity, the poem suggests that the natural world can be a guide, a teacher, and a parent—and that human beings might hope to model themselves on nature's example. Nature is often described as nurturing and caring for Lucy, suggesting that elements like the sun and showers actively contribute to her growth. This highlights the deep connection between Lucy and her environment.

Summary of Three Years She Grew in Sun and Shower:

Stanza 1 Lines 1-6

“Three years she grew in sun and shower,

Then Nature said, "A lovelier flower

On earth was never sown;

This Child I to myself will take;

She shall be mine, and I will make

A Lady of my own.”

The speaker begins the poem by describing a lively young three-year-old, playing in the sun or in the rain. But she was too lovely for the earth, or so Nature decided. The speaker suggests that Nature has taken the child for herself because she was too beautiful for the earth. Nature is personified and quoted as finding the girl so beautiful that it decided to take her and make her its own. Nature is quoted as comparing the girl to a flower, just as flowers also need sun and rain to thrive. It claims that she is so beautiful that it wishes to “take” her. The description of a “child” portrays the girl in an innocent light. Nature decided to “take” the girl and groom her into a lovely “Lady” of its own creation. The poet used alliteration in the first line (sun and shower) while the girl is compared to ‘a lovelier flower,’ a metaphor. Sun symbolizes joy, life, and growth while the Shower represents sorrow, challenges, and nurturing elements of life.

Stanza 2 Lines 7-12

"Myself will to my darling be

Both law and impulse: and with me

The Girl, in rock and plain,

In earth and heaven, in glade and bower,

Shall feel an overseeing power

To kindle or restrain.”

The speaker continues to express and quote nature. Personified Nature continues to explain how it plans to nurture the growing girl. It will be her guide, setting rules for her and allowing her to indulge in impulses as well. The girl will be closely connected to all things in nature, living among them in harmony. Nature will further have the power to oversee the girl’s actions and choose when her decisions and desires should be kindled and when they should be restrained. The poet depicts nature as a parent or teacher, representing the typical aspect of Romantic literature, suggesting that nature can educate us by showing us how to live. Nature says that he will guide the girl in “both law and impulse,” indicating that it will guide the girl through her impulses while also helping her curb them to follow the laws, or rules, of life.

Stanza 3 Lines 13-18

"She shall be sportive as the fawn

That wild with glee across the lawn

Or up the mountain springs;

And hers shall be the breathing balm,

And hers the silence and the calm

Of mute insensate things.”

In the third stanza, the speaker continues to quote nature who depicts her as a free nonchalant girl.  Nature says that although it will keep a close eye on her, it will also allow her to express herself and embrace her vitality in full. She will be as “sportive” as a fawn, leaping across the meadows. She will have the energy and the drive to climb mountains. At the same time, her energy and movement are contrasted with silence and calm. Nature’s mention of “breathing balm” implies that she will also learn the importance of slowing down, breathing, and finding calm after going on adventures. Muteness will be good for her spirit and is necessary to exist happily in nature. Despite her vitality, she is capable of being tamed. As in the previous stanzas, natural elements are contrasted (earth/heaven, sun/shower) but also shown to be in harmony. All these elements coexist and together encompass life.

Stanza 4 Lines 19-24

"The floating clouds their state shall lend

To her; for her the willow bend;

Nor shall she fail to see

Even in the motions of the Storm

Grace that shall mould the Maiden's form

By silent sympathy.”

 Nature describes the girl in a peaceful setting. The clouds are depicted as pillows offering her rest and comfort, and the willow tree offers her shade. The girl is the speaker’s muse. She is intertwined with nature, depicted as resting calmly in the clouds or finding shade under a willow. She is as vital and inspirational as all the elements of nature to the Romantic poet. The “storm” may represent the trials of life, inferring that the woman will learn to handle conflicts gracefully and come out the other side with her dignity intact. By weathering such storms, she will grow into a young maiden and will no longer be a little girl. Thus, life experience will help her mature and show “silent sympathy,” or compassion, to those around her. Alternatively, the storm may serve as a metaphor for the poet’s creative process. Nature imagines that she should never “fail to see” the “silent sympathy” he feels for her.

Stanza 5 Lines 25-30

“To stars of midnight shall be dear
To her; and she shall lean her ear
In many a secret place
Where rivulets dance their wayward round
And beauty born of murmuring sound
shall pass into her face”

Nature imagines the maiden in a celestial light as she is described as communing with the stars. suggesting that somehow she may be linked to the afterlife. She is depicted as being so in tune with Nature that she is privy to its every rhythm—from the glow of the stars to the movement of the rivulets. The reference to rivulets, or running water, also evokes an image of purity. Nature claims that the maiden will “lean her ear,” or listen closely, in secret places where such clear and beautiful water dances. The sound the water makes is like a murmur, allowing the maiden to have a conversation with it. Her closeness to the water’s beauty will allow her to soak up that loveliness herself, once again putting her in harmony with nature. The speaker imagines that she is enjoying her existence as she moves about in the night, being loved by the stars and all the heavenly beings.

Stanza 6 Lines 31-36

“And vital feelings of delight
shall rear her form to stately height
her virgin bosom swell;
such thoughts to Lucy I will give
While she and I together live
Here in this happy dell”

In this stanza, the speaker expresses his own feelings. The speaker expresses his belief that although Lucy is no longer alive in earthly terms, she will still experience “vital feelings of delight” as she grows up into her “stately height” and into maturity. The imagery of her rearing her form “to stately height” and of “her virgin bosom swell[ing]” reveals his belief that wherever she is, wherever Nature has taken her, she will continue to grow up there, with all feelings of life and vitality. Nature has ‘taken’ her and now as an ideal maiden, she lives a larger-than-life life together with Nature.

Stanza 7 Lines 37-42

“Thus Nature spake- the work was done
How soon my Lucy’s race was run!
She died, and left to me
This heath, this calm, and quiet scene;
The memory of what has been,
And never more will be.”

In the final stanza, the speaker concludes nature’s monologue depicting Lucy. Nature expressed his desire for Lucy and decided to ‘take’ her and groom her. Now, the Nature’s work is done. However, Nature is not calm as he announces the death of Lucy. Nature cries out that Lucy’s “race”—her life—was run too soon, telling the reader that she died young. Once she died, she left the speaker the natural environment she once inhabited, as well as the memory of all she was and experienced, but will never be or feel again.

The speaker and nature can find no joy in being in the very spot where Lucy lived. He is haunted by the memory of what “has been”—whether they be his own experiences or hers. Whatever good may have once existed in that place will never exist again.

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!

I Traveled Among Unknown Men by William Wordsworth| Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘I Traveled Among the Unknown Men’ is the third poem in the series of The Lucy Poems by William Wordsworth, which he wrote in 1801. The poem was scheduled to be published in the Lyrical Ballads 1802 edition but it was first published in Poems, In Two Volumes in 1807. While the poem's main character is the poet’s dedicated love for Lucy and his sadness after her demise, the address to England is unique among the Lucy poems, which are otherwise addressed to an unknown audience. As a parallel to his love for Lucy, the speaker's love of England becomes one of the poem’s central themes. In a way, this is a love poem to England. Having spent time abroad, the speaker vows to commit to England. The speaker’s love of country represents an important theme. England is also important to the speaker as the home of Lucy, the beloved muse figure.

Structure of ‘I Traveled Among Unknown Men’:

It is a lyrical ballad comprised of four Quatrains or four-line stanzas with a rhyming scheme ABAB. The poet used alternating iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter for the poem. The poet used Apostrophe, Assonance, Repetition, Imagery, Symbolism, Irony, and Metaphor in this poem. The Tone and Mood of the poem are reflective and melancholic.

Themes of ‘I Traveled Among Unknown Men’:

Nostalgia and Longing

This poem’s speaker, alienated and lonely after a journey abroad, comes home to England with a deep sense of relief. He’s delighted to be in his native country again not just because he loves its familiar landscapes, but also because Lucy, a woman he adored, lived and died there. 

Grief and Memory:

After returning to England, the poet finds little peace as his past memories of the places Lucy once roamed, and his grief engulfs him. The dead, this poem suggests, become part of the world in more ways than one. Just as Lucy’s body has gone back into the English soil, her memory has become part of the English atmosphere. For this speaker, consolingly, England will always have a bit of Lucy in it.

Summary of ‘I Traveled Among Unknown Men’:

Stanza 1 Lines 1-4

“I travelled among unknown men,

In lands beyond the sea;

Nor, England! did I know till then

What love I bore to thee. “

The poet begins by describing his travels among “unknown men, / In lands beyond the sea.” The "unknown men" symbolize the unfamiliar experiences and encounters that, while intriguing, cannot replace the profound connection to one's homeland. This contrast highlights the speaker's isolation in foreign lands. In the third line, the poet uses Apostrophe, addressing England. An apostrophe is a figure of speech in which a character addresses someone who is absent, dead, inanimate, or an object. The poet used ‘know’ again, to suggest that after being away he now has a better understanding of his appreciation, desire, and reliance on his homeland. The speaker concludes the stanza by stating that he did not realize his love for England until he traveled to other places.

Stanza 2 Lines 5-8

“'Tis past, that melancholy dream!

Nor will I quit thy shore

A second time; for still I seem

To love thee more and more.”

The poet goes on to describe his voyage as a melancholy dream, marking an abrupt shift in tone. He claims that his travels occurred in the past, and he does not intend to leave the shores of England a second time. He does not wish to leave again as he still feels he loves England more and more as time goes by. The speaker reiterates their remorse for leaving England as an affirmation that they’ll never “quit thy shore / A second time.”

Stanza 3 Lines 9-12

“Among thy mountains did I feel

The joy of my desire;

And she I cherished turned her wheel

Beside an English fire.”
The poet offers more detail about why England is so special for him. He specifies that he was happy in the mountains of the country where he felt the joy of his “desire.” In the second half of the stanza, it becomes clear that the object of his desire was a woman who would turn a wheel—perhaps a spinning wheel—beside the fireplace. The poem’s tone becomes nostalgic once again.

Th woman is Lucy, spinning a wheel by an “English fire.” The suggestion here is that the speaker can only find poetic inspiration when at home in England. The symbol of the spinning wheel is important. The image of Lucy spinning wool into thread evokes an ancient metaphor. In Greek mythology, a person’s life story took the form of a thread, spun and cut by the goddesses of fate. In British usage, “yarn” serves as a synonym for story. Thus, Lucy controls the thread of the speaker’s poetic output. Lucy is his poetic muse.
Stanza 4 Lines 13-16

“Thy mornings showed, thy nights concealed,

The bowers where Lucy played;

And thine too is the last green field

That Lucy's eyes surveyed.”

The poet continues to address England directly, describing the passage of time, but the subject of his expression is his unrequited love for Lucy. He explains how the morning light revealed Lucy’s cottage, while the nights concealed it. He emphasizes that Lucy played there, evoking a sense of joy in her life. He concludes the stanza and the poem by saying that England’s green fields are also the last place that Lucy saw, insinuating that she passed away there. The past tense of “played” and “surveyed” hint at the possibility that Lucy is no longer among the living. The poet ends with
a bittersweet tone that England’s green field—a symbol of life and beauty—was the last sight Lucy surveyed. His beloved therefore died looking at the vibrant countryside around her that ironically symbolized vitality. The poet’s two objects of love—Lucy and England—are intertwined. Her final gaze on England before her death seals this connection.

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!

She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways by William Wordsworth | Structure Summary Analysis

She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways by William Wordsworth | Structure Summary Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. “She dwelt among the untrodden ways” is one of the most famous Lucy Poems by William Wordsworth that was first published in the poetical collection Lyrical Ballads in 1800. William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge collaborated to produce this poetic collection that established the Romantic ideals of emotion, nature, and individual experience. The Lucy Poems are a series of five poems written by William Wordsworth between 1798 and 1801. They revolve around the character of Lucy, who is often interpreted as a representation of an idealized woman or nature. The poems are characterized by their exploration of themes such as love, loss, and the beauty of nature.

Structure of She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways

She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways is the second poem of the Lucy series which describes Lucy’s solitary existence and her beauty. The poem highlights the contrast between her isolation and the admiration she inspires. Lucy is a character by Wordsworth who symbolizes beauty, solitude, and the transient nature of existence. The poem consists of Three Quatrains (four-line stanzas) with a rhyming scheme of ABAB in each stanza. The poem describes the loss and grievance of the poet in a mourning tone after Lucy’s death and thus it is an elegiac poem. The poem is a romantic ballad. The tone of the poem is nostalgic and melancholic. The poet conveys a sense of admiration for Lucy while also expressing sorrow for her absence. The mood shifts from admiration of Lucy to profound sadness.

The poet used Imagery, Symbolism, Personification, Metaphor, Contrast, and Enjambment in the poem. The contrast between Lucy’s serene, isolated existence and the outside world emphasizes her uniqueness and the beauty found in solitude.

Themes of She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways:

Isolation and Solitude:

The poem describes Lucy who used to live in solitude near the source of the River Dove. The poem emphasizes her separation from society. This solitude is both a source of beauty and a precursor to loss.

Beauty and Innocence:

The poem celebrates Lucy’s beauty, portraying her as an ethereal figure. The poem suggests that true beauty is often found in isolation and simplicity.

Transience and Loss:

As the poem proceeds the mood changes to mourning. Lucy’s existence, while beautiful, is fleeting, highlighting the inevitability of loss and the emotional impact it carries.

Summary of She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways:

Stanza 1 Lines 1-4

“She dwelt among the untrodden ways

Beside the springs of Dove,

A Maid whom there were none to praise

And very few to love:”
The poet begins by describing the locus amoenus (an idealized place) where this beautiful girl named Lucy lived. It is a remote place where few people ever go. The speaker emphasizes that she lived by the springs of Dove—an actual location in England. Despite the peaceful description of her surroundings, the speaker reveals that she was never praised and was unloved—a lonely figure. Lucy is alone, and there is no one to praise her and to love her (A Maid whom there were none to praise/ And very few to love”). The first line, which also serves as the title of the poem, suggests that Lucy lived both physically and spiritually unrevealed and distant. She is a maiden girl, The word “springs” also suggests purity, casting the maiden in a virtuous light. The poet begins with imagery, “Untrodden ways” which evokes a sense of wilderness and seclusion.

The transition between Line 1 and Line 2 suggests Enjambment. The poet uses ‘dwelt’ suggesting that he is talking of the past.

Stanza 2 Lines 5-8

“A violet by a mossy stone

Half hidden from the eye!

—Fair as a star, when only one

Is shining in the sky.”

In the second stanza, the poet describes the beauty of nature of that place and compares he beauty of nature to the grace of Lucy. She is likened to “A violet by a mossy stone/ Half hidden from the eye” and to a fair star “when only one/Is shining in the sky.” This suggests that she is rare and precious. The second stanza suggests that the poet was in love with her whom very few people noticed. Somehow, he managed to notice her when others failed to do so. The mention of the violet by a mossy stone also implies that, like a small flower obscured from view by a mossy rock, the maiden also went unnoticed. In this stanza, the poet personifies natural beauty as Lucy.

The poet used imagery and symbolism in this stanza. “A violet by a mossy stone” symbolizes her delicacy and purity.

Stanza 3 Lines 9-12

“She lived unknown, and few could know

When Lucy ceased to be;

But she is in her grave, and, oh,

The difference to me!”

In the third stanza, the poet again emphasizes that the maiden lived unrecognized. Due to her solitude, few people could possibly know when she ceased to exist. For the first time, the speaker reveals that the maiden in question is Lucy and that she is no longer alive. This sad fact tortures the speaker, who implies throughout the poem that he loved her. Lucy’s death is expressed with great sadness: “But she is in her grave, and, oh”. But while she remained unknown and died unknown, no one noticed her demise, but it was a great difference to the poet.

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!

Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known by William Wordsworth | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known’ is the first of the Lucy Poems by William Wordsworth that was published in the poetic collection “Lyrical Ballads, with a few other Poems” in 1798. The collection also contained poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Lyrical Ballads is the beginning of the Romantic movement in English literature.

The Lucy Poems are a series of five poems by Wordsworth that he wrote between 1798 and 1801. The other four poems of the series include "She dwelt among the untrodden ways", "I travelled among unknown men", "Three years she grew in sun and shower", and "A slumber did my spirit seal". Four poems of the series (except “I traveled among unknown men”) were published in the second edition of Lyrical Ballads in 1800.

The “Lucy Poems” convey the unrequited love of the speaker for a woman named Lucy. Wordsworth never revealed the identity of Lucy. She is only mentioned and never appears as a speaker. Wordsworth portrays her as a young maiden who lived an unremarkable and isolated life near the River Dove in the English Midlands. She carries a quiet grace, but might well be seen frolicking with glee. Although blessed with beauty, she never had many suitors due to the distance she kept between herself and others. She died young, and though her passing went unnoticed and unremarked by many, it forever and profoundly changed the life of the speaker—one who loved her from afar. Wordsworth did not intend to present them as a group or in a particular sequence. However, in 1831, literary critic Thomas Powell recognized the works as a collection unified by a common theme. Wordsworth had lost his brother and father and he was worried about his sister. It is believed that Lucy represents his sister, or she could simply be his poetic muse.

In the poem ‘Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known’ the poet discusses the strange thoughts which he suffered once. The poet was traveling on his horse to meet his beautiful beloved Lucy on a moonlit night. As he continued to look at the moon all the way, the moon was gradually sinking. When he came nearer to Lucy’s cottage, the moon suddenly dropped behind the cottage and it brought to his mind the fearful thought of Lucy’s death.

Structure and Themes of Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known:

The poem is written in the form of a simple ballad. It contains 7 quatrains with an ABAB rhyme scheme. The rhythm and rhyme scheme of the poem makes it almost like a nursery rhyme. The meter alternates between a tetrameter and a trimeter, so each four-beat line is followed by a three-beat line. The first and third lines of the stanza have four accented syllables, and the second and fourth lines have only three.

The poet used imagery, symbolism, simile, metaphor, assonance, and consonance. The poem's major themes include love, the natural world, and death. The poet’s unrequited longing for Lucy and the tension between fantasy and reality are the central themes of the poem.

Summary of Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known:

Stanza 1 Lines 1-4

“Strange fits of passion have I known:

And I will dare to tell,

But in the lover’s ear alone,

What once to me befell.”

In the opening stanza, the poet reveals that he once experienced ‘strange fits of passion’. He admits that these passionate thoughts were too personal and he has no courage to tell anyone except his lover alone. This may imply that the fits he experienced are of intense love full of sexual feelings. Certainly, these fits are passionate and the poet longs for his lover. He longs to whisper into her ear and tell her of his deepest feelings and of these strange fits of passion that he experiences.

However, these fits of passion may not be of sexual nature. The poet may also mean that he will not share these strange fits of passion with anyone but a lover who understands such passion. He believes only a person who has been in love will be able to understand this emotion better and hence, he wishes to whisper his strange fits of passion that affected him once. The poet suggests that none other than the lovers can understand this poem well.

Stanza 2 Lines 5-8

“When she I loved looked every day
Fresh as a rose in June,
I to her cottage bent my way,
Beneath an evening-moon.”

In the second stanza, the poet begins expressing his strange fits. He begins describing his beloved using a Simile as he compares the similarity between the beauty of the poet’s lover to the rose in June. The comparison suggests that Lucy is young and perhaps, the poet is describing his young teenage passionate love. He says that once he made a journey (bent my way) to his lover’s cottage on a moonlit evening. The poet uses visual imagery to create a beautiful scene where the speaker is going to meet his love.

Stanz 3 Lines 9-12

“Upon the moon I fixed my eye,
All over the wide lea;
With quickening pace my horse drew nigh
Those paths so dear to me.”

The poet continues using imagery while describing his journey to his lover’s cottage. He was continuously looking at the moon while traveling through the wide grassland (lea) as the light of the moon fell all over the meadow. In anticipation of a lovely meet, the poet drew closer to his beloved’s house with increasing speed. The pathways were dear and known to him, for they led to his dear beloved’s house.

Stanza 4 Lines 13-16

“And now we reached the orchard-plot;
And, as we climbed the hill,
The sinking moon to Lucy’s cot
Came near, and nearer still.”

The poet builds the scenery using imagery. Soon he reached a fruit garden (orchard plot) in the way and then he and his horse began climbing a hill. His beloved cottage (cot) was visible to him. Here, the poet mentions his beloved’s name is Lucy. As he and his horse climbed up the hill, he noticed that the moon appeared to come nearer as it appeared to go down and hide behind Lucy’s cot. The expression “near and nearer still” suggests that his beloved’s cottage was far away and the journey wasn’t easy, yet he was hopeful and passionate, believing that every difficult journey has a beautiful destination. Meanwhile, the moon continued to go down to the horizon seeming to be sinking right on Lucy’s cottage, which suggests that the poet had traveled all night and it was too late.

In this stanza, the poet also uses Metaphor, comparing the sinking moon to the journey that is about to come to an end because the distance of reaching Lucy’s house is shorter and shorter.

Stanza 5 Lines 17-20

“In one of those sweet dreams I slept,
Kind Nature’s gentlest boon!
And all the while my eye I kept
On the descending moon.”

The poet says that the journey towards his beloved is like a sweet dream. “All the while” he kept his eyes on the descending moon. He felt very much like he was in a dream. The light of the moon, the ride, and the feeling of love are all coming together to make the speaker feel that he is living in a dream. He describes the dream as the kindest gift of nature (Nature’s gentlest boon). It was a beautiful and amazing night to be to him. He felt nature was kind to him and that night was a blessing to him as he was going to meet his beloved. He began dreaming about the sweet things that would happen when he would finally meet Lucy. However, his eyes were fixed on the descending moon, and noticed that the brilliant moonlight was fading.

Stanza 6 Lines 21-24

“My horse moved on; hoof after hoof
He raised, and never stopped:
When down behind the cottage roof,
At once, the bright moon dropped.”

The poet’s horse continued to plod forward as he reached closer and closer to his beloved’s cottage. While he was still dreaming of the sweet things that would happen when he met his beloved, the moon disappeared behind the roof of Lucy’s cottage. The poet now had no moonlight to guide him.

Stanza 7 Lines 25-28

“What fond and wayward thoughts will slide
Into a Lover’s head!
“O mercy!” to myself I cried,
“If Lucy should be dead!””

Now it was dark as the moon had sunk behind Lucy’s cot. The sweet dreams of the poet began to disappear and a dark melancholy engulfed his mind. A wayward foolish thought disturbed him and it was really terrible. He cries out within his head, “O mercy!” and he thinks about the terrible possibility that “Lucy should be dead”. His sweet dreams appeared to turn into a nightmare. He feels an overwhelming fear of losing the person most dear to him. Somehow at the back of his mind, he believed that the moon was directly connected to the life of Lucy. And here ends the poem.

One may interpret that Lucy might have already been dead and the poem is about the poet’s journey to his lover’s house while he unconsciously forgot that she already died.

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!

Euphues the Anatomy of Wit and His England by John Lyly | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. John Lyly is often credited for writing the very first novel of English literature titled Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit, published on 2 December 1578. He again wrote a sequel to this didactic romance by the title Euphues and His England which was entered in the Stationer’s Register on 25 July 1579 and was published in 1580.

These were the prose romances written by John Lyly, one of the Universal Wits who were the prominent authors before the Shakespearean age.

Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit was the first work of its kind that gave shape to the Elizabethan style of the 1580s. John Lyly used an overly ornated style of writing appended by rhetoric that was taught in the Tudor grammar schools and universities during that period. The titular character of the novel is Euphues which became the root word of Euphuism, a writing style that became popular during that period. Euphuism is a style of writing in which more elaborative and ornate words are used in place of simple, easier words. Paradoxes, antithesis, elaborate similes, alliteration, rhetorical questions, and clever word rhyming make the prose more interesting. Euphuism signifies the use of paradoxical and self-correcting language, while its spokespersons express a great deal of self-doubt and contradiction.

Euphues is a Greek word that means ‘Gracefully Witty.’ Roger Ascham first used it in his work The Schoolmaster published in 1570. The Schoolmaster was a treatise on the right order of teaching and pleaded for gentleness and persuasion instead of coercion and punishment in schools. Ascham described Euphues as a student who is apt by the goodness of his wit and active by the willingness to learn. John Lyly used the name Euphues for his titular character.

Lyly’s work is based on a romantic plot but Euphues in the novel writes several letters on a variety of topics including love, morality, and education. Thus, Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit can also be considered as an epistolatory novel. John Lyly used an impressively ornate style of writing in these novels. Some of the very popular quotes from Eupheus, the Anatomy of Wit include-

“It is far more seemly to have thy Studie full of Bookes, than thy Purse full of money,” and

“Is it not far better to abhor sins by the remembrance of others' faults, than by repentance of thine own follies?”

Some quotes from Eupheus and His England are--

“The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war.”

“In misery, it is great comfort to have a companion.”

“As the best wine doth make the sharpest vinegar, so the deepest love turneth to the deadliest hate.” and,

“All is fair in love and war.”

Characters of Eupheus, the Anatomy of Wit:

Euphues is the main character of the novel. He is a student belonging to a noble family of Athens. He looks handsome and rich. He is highly intelligent and witty but he is not a good person and he often lies. Instead of making good use of his intelligence, he uses his wit to lead a life of wickedness. He is excessively obsessed with pleasure and lives like a Casanova. Philatus is a young man from Naples who is a close friend of Euphues. Philatus is a kind and intelligent person who loves a girl named Lucilla. Philatus blindly trusts Euphues but later learns that his trust in Eupheus was misplaced. Lucilla is the daughter of a wealthy nobleman in Italy. She is a beautiful but fickle-minded person. Don Ferado is the wealthy nobleman and father of Lucilla. Eubulus is an old gentleman of Athens who likes Euphues but is worried by his nature and activities. He tries to guide him to the right path by the wisdom of his experience and advises him to work on his character traits instead of devoting himself to pleasure. However, Euphues ignores his advice. Curio is another character, a young but poor man, a man of "little wealth and less wit,” whom Lucilla finally marries.

Summary of Eupheus, the Anatomy of Wit and His England:

The story of Euphues is a romantic comedy. Euphues is a young Athenian man belonging to a noble family from Athens. His family is based in England. Though he is intelligent and witty, he spent his childhood in frivolous activities. He often uses his many gifts for wrongdoings, choosing to chase hedonistic pleasure rather than uphold virtue. As a result, he has turned into a Bohemian Casanova, spending sumptuous money and ample time in chasing girls and various art forms. Euphues decides to go on travel and reaches Naples, Italy. He meets many people who try to lead him into a life of gluttony and non-productivity. Euphues is cautious about their intentions, however, and escapes their sphere of influence.

Then he meets an old man named Eubulus. The wise old man examines Euphues’s behavior and is impressed by his intelligence and wit but is saddened by Euphues' wicked use of his many gifts. He advises him, by the wisdom of his experience, to work on his character traits instead of devoting himself to pleasure. However, Euphues ignores his advice, rather, he offers witty counterarguments against this advice with various rhetorical questions and parallel structure ("this is true and that is true"). Eubulus realizes that he cannot outsmart Euphues and goes away.

After some time, Euphues meets another young and attractive man named Philatus. Euphues realizes that Philatus is a kind and intelligent man and both swear eternal friendship. Philatus believes that Euphues is a good man and a good friend and trusts him with all his heart. However, both of them are vociferously dedicated to their point of view. The two of them become very close friends. Philatus decides to introduce Euphues to his family members. He takes him to meet Lucilla who is the beautiful daughter of a wealthy and powerful nobleman named Don Ferado.

Lucilla is Philatus’s fiancee and both of them have plans to get married soon. However, when Euphues sees Lucilla, he feels that she is the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. He feels a strong infatuation towards Lucilla and thinks about flirting with her. He contemplates the risks of creating this potential love triangle between him, his close friend Philatus, and Lucilla and decides to pursue her. Lucilla is a fickle-minded girl who is not convinced about her affair with Philatus. When Euphues pursues her, she readily accepts his advances. This breaks Philatus who feels betrayed by both, his friend and fiancee. However, Lucilla proves to be much more fickle than Euphues had thought. Euphues begins feeling true love for Lucilla but she leaves him for another young man named Curio, a man of ‘little wealth and less wit.’ Despite being a poor man with not so much intelligence, Lucilla decides to marry him. After the disastrous love affair between Euphues, his best friend Philautus, and Lucilla, Euphues learns about love, life, and morality. Euphues, heartbroken, goes back to Philautus with sincere apologies, then returns to England and denounces philandering and begins advocating a celibate life of prayer and study. After reaching England, Euphues writes a number of letters advising about behavior, morality, loyalty, and love.

In the second novel, Euphues and His England, Philatus forgives the treachery of Euphues and decides to visit him in England. The two friends, now reconciled, decide to visit Canterbury where they meet a young beautiful pastoral girl named Fidus. Philatus soon falls in love with Fidus but she loves someone else. Euphues now acts like a wise advisor for Philatus and tries to soothe him. Philatus listens to Euphues and decides to woo another beautiful girl and succeeds in that. He returns to Naples with his love.

Seeing Philatus happy, Euphues decides to leave England. He eulogizes England and the women of England while trying to soothe his melancholic heart as he still has not recovered from the heartbreak he suffered in Naples.

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 Strange Case of Billy Biswas by Arun Joshi | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Strange Case of Billy Biswas is the second novel by Indian author Arun Joshi, published in 1972. The story again explores the themes of self-existentialism, alienation, morality, and individual freedom. The protagonist of the novel is Billy Biswas and his case is strange because he does not fit into the accepted norm of the 'civilized' society Billy finds himself motivated enough to rebel and break its shackles to join a world that is far removed from the everyday reality of his former world. He leaves the modern civilized world to enjoy the nascent lifestyle of tribals in the jungle. He is dragged by the mysterious world of the tribal society. The effort to bring Billy back to civilization by arresting him only leads to his tragic end. It is a metaphoric novel depicting a so-called civilized world with its hollowness against the uncivilized tribal world with its simplicity.

Characters of The Strange Case of Billy Biswas:

Billy Biswas (Bimal Biswas) is the main character of the novel. He belongs to a rich Indian Bengali family. His grandfather was the Prime Minister of a famous Princely State in Orissa. After Indian independence, his father became the ambassador to a European country and after that, he became a judge of the Supreme Court of India. Billy’s childhood was spent in Delhi. Since his childhood, he has been a lonely person with a brilliant mind and an obsessive attraction toward nature and a primitive lifestyle. He fails to connect with the modern, evolving, materialistic world and prefers to delve more into the primitive ways of living. At the age of 15, his father sends him to study in America. His father wishes him to become an engineer. However, Billy declines engineering and prefers studying Anthropology which satiates his desire to know more about primitive lifestyles. He deeply studies and researches tribal attitudes and customs. Gradually, his attraction towards primitive ways continues to increase. He suffers hallucinations and begins to develop a split personality in which he sees himself as a lonely primitive man living in an alien world. Romi Sahai (Romesh Sahai) is the narrator of the story. He is a close friend of Billy whom he met in Harlem, America. Romi shares a room with Billy in America. After returning to India, Romi becomes a Collector in Indian Administrative Services. He continues his friendship with Billy who becomes a professor of Anthropology at Delhi University. Romi tries to help Billy in every way possible. Tuula Lindgren is a 30-year-old Swedish woman who came to America for advanced training in psychiatric social work. She comes in contact with Billy and becomes his close friend. She recognizes the split personality of Billy and tries to help him against the hallucinations he suffers. She says that although every human being faces these alienating feelings and hallucinations in a very mild form, Billy feels them quite strongly. She advises him to suppress such feelings of alienation. Meena Chatterjee is a beautiful and sophisticated modern Indian girl whose father is a retired civil servant. Billy marries her but finds that Meena is much more materialistic than he could bear. While Meena truly loves Billy and tries to understand him, she fails to cope with his obsessive attraction to tribal ways of living. Rima Kaul is a young girl who praises Billy’s work in Anthropology. Billy gets attracted to her because he feels that Rima could understand him better than Meena. However, Billy realizes that Rima is sympathetic towards him yet, she can’t understand him. He begins feeling that his affair with Rima is corrupting his soul. He breaks off with her and suddenly disappears. After leaving the civilized modern society, Billy begins living in the tribal region of Stpura forests where he marries Bilasia, a tribal girl. Dhunia is a tribal man of the same tribal community where Billy lives. Billy helped Dhunia in curing his ill grandson. Situ is Romi’s wife who suffers from a chronic migraine. Billy uses tribal medicines to cure her.

Summary of The Strange Case of Billy Biswas:

Billy Biswas was a brilliant but eccentric person since his childhood. He experiences strange hallucinations since childhood that continue to gain strength as he grows old. At the age of fourteen, he went to Bhubaneswar and visited Konark. Along with his uncle’s chauffeur, he went to the tribal people. The chauffeur wanted to enjoy life, but Billy sat there and saw the tribe dance, drink, sing, and make love. Billy felt a strange familiarity with those tribal people. He felt that only tribal peoples had the answer to his questions. His father was a reputed judge of the Supreme Court of India. He had been an ambassador of a European country before. Billy’s grandfather had been a successful courtier of the princely state of Orissa. Billy’s father wishes similar social and materialistic success for his son and hence sends him to the U.S. to study and become an Engineer.

Billy comes to Harlem, America to study but instead of opting for Engineering, he opts to study anthropology. He deeply studies tribal attitudes and customs. In America, he meets Romi who came for education. Romi becomes Billy’s close friend and roommate. One day, Romi and Billy visit a music party with their friends and during the party, Billy suddenly begins beating the bongo drums. He plays a pair of bongo drums at a feverish pitch for nearly a quarter of an hour. Through his music, Romi and others feel the fascinating pull that holds everyone by its absolute vitality. It awakens latent primitive urges in the audience. Romi notices that Billy became the center of attraction for the whole party, he remains aloof and alienated as if he was alone. Billy informs him that he often has hallucinations. Romi introduces Billy to a Swedish woman named Tuula Lindgren who came to the U.S. for advanced training in psychiatric social work. Tuula is a Swedish girl yet her values are centered on the vitalizing force of their life which brings her close to Billy. She is strongly interested in India. She observes the spiritual degeneration in society objectively and knows how to encounter this utter confusion. Billy tries to come out of alienation by participating in life with Tuula and Romi. When Billy tells her about his hallucinations, she says that a great primitive force is disturbing Billy’s psyche. She says that though everyone suffers such hallucinations mildly, Billy is experiencing it at a much stronger level. Tuula advises Billy and Romi to suppress those feelings and hallucinations.

After the death of his father, Romi returns to India and becomes a Collector in Indian Administrative services. Billy too returns and becomes a professor of Anthropology at Delhi University. His family arranges his marriage with Meena Chatterjee, the sophisticated, educated, and very beautiful daughter of a retired civil servant. Meena is a beautiful woman with a caring and joyous attitude. She tries to become a dutiful loyal wife but her temperament doesn’t match with Billy’s. While Meena loves the modern materialistic life of Delhi, Billy doesn‟t find the phony, consumerism-ridden world of Delhi much different from the American materialistic society. Billy does not enjoy his role and finds it difficult to get used to the workings of his job and place. He begins going on undeclared trips and vacations to the mountains and jungles. He undertakes numerous expeditions for investigations among primitive communities in hills and forests. Despite Meena’s efforts, their marriage deteriorates. Meanwhile, Billy meets a young woman Reema Kaul who is interested in Billy’s work. Reema is highly impressed by Billy’s knowledge of anthropology. They develop an affair. Billy feels that he could get that feeling of togetherness from Reema that he couldn’t attain with Meena. However, soon he realizes that while Reema is sympathetic towards him, she doesn’t understand his inner feelings. He feels cheated and he feels that he is also cheating. This inner guilt forces him to break up his relationship with Reema.

Romi meets Billy nearly after three years and finds that Billy has completely changed. He is no more, as optimistic and energetic as he used to be as if he is suffering immensely.

Meena contacts Romi and asks for his help in resolving the issues of her marital life with Billy. However, before Romi can talk to Billy, he decides to go away and disappear. He leaves the world of civilized men and reaches the world where he is not culturally uprooted and socially self-estranged. Soon after the disappearance of Billy, an enormous search is launched by the police. But they can not discover Billy and in the end, declares that he is killed by a tiger. But Romi, who is posted as a Collector in a district of Central India, has not given up hopes of tracing him back. He continues to search for Billy.

After ten years, Romi goes on a tour of interior villages destroyed by a terrible drought. During his tour, he sees a strange man in lion-cloth and when he approaches him, Romi realizes that he is none other than Billy himself. Billy tells him about his life after his disappearance. He says that he needed to search for the true purpose of his life that he had found in the valleys of the Satpura mountains with the tribal people. He is, now, living by the side of a white cliff called Chandtola which is according to him the place of some supernatural forces. He seemed to be in secret communication with the forces of nature and knew the course of events to come.

Romi talks about Billy with other people in the area. An old man named Dhunia informs him that Billy lives with his wife Bilasaia at the foot of a nearby mountain. He says that Billy has magical powers and he helps people by curing them against various diseases. Dhunia informs how Billy cured his grandson when he was about to die. Romi meets Billy again and tells him about his wife Situ who has been suffering a chronic migraines for some time. Billy visits Romi’s wife and uses some indigenous medicines to cure her. He asks Romi not to tell anyone his whereabouts. However, Romi’s wife Situ insists that Romi must tell who was the person who cured her. Romi tells her about Billy and how he found him after ten years. Situ fails to keep the secret. She shares the information about Billy with Meena. When Meena comes to know that Billy is still alive, she again tries to bring him back. Billy’s father insists the police send a search team and bring Billy back.

However, Billy doesn’t cooperate and the local tribal people take a stand with him against the police. In that confusion, a police constable fires a shot at a tribal man but that tribal man is Bill who dies.

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 Foreigner by Arun Joshi | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Arun Joshi was an Indian English writer who won the Sahitya Academy Award in 1982 for his novel The Last Labyrinth. He was born on July 7 1939 and died in 1993. His father was the Vice Chancellor of Benaras Hindu University. His first novel was The Foreigner which was published in 1968. The novel tells the story of a young man facing problems of alienation, an identity crisis, a sense of void, and an existential dilemma. The story's protagonist is Sindi Oberoi. The story revolves around his loneliness and feelings of anguish and anxiety born of his estrangement from his environment, tradition, and true self.

The story is told in a series of flashbacks and appears highly autobiographical by the protagonist. While the main theme of the novel is alienation and existential crisis faced by the protagonist, it also highlights the difference between the Western and Eastern cultures, Marxism, socio-economic classes, and discrimination against women, and delves into the deeper discussion of nonattachment, suffering, fear of commitment, and the concept of Karma yoga.

Characters of The Foreigner:

Sindi Oberoi (Surinder) is the main character. He is a young man with a sad lonely past. Since childhood, he remained alone and uprooted from any sense of family, culture, and society. He learned from his experience that detachment from human emotions and committed social relationships is a way to avoid sadness. However, he learns that his non-commital attitude and detachment cause more harm than good and he seeks a better way of living. He is an Indian born in Kenya. His mother was an English woman while his father was an Indian businessman in Kenya. His parents passed away when he was just four years old. He was raised by one of his uncles in Kenya who too died away when he was still growing. He goes to London for his education and then he moves to Scotland to work as a librarian in a village. Later, he moved to Boston, America for further studies and to complete his Ph.D. Frank Sinatra is a Japanese girl whom he meets and befriends in London.

Anna is a minor artist working in London with whom Sindi develops an affair. Kathy is an English housewife who develops an extra-marital affair with Sindi. Baburao Khemka is an Indian student in Boston who has become a close friend of Sindi. He is the son of an overprotective Delhi tycoon. Being a young man, Babu is very interested in girls however, his father is strictly against inter-caste and inter-religious marriages. June Blyth is an American girl studying with Sindi and Babu. She befriends Babu and develops a love affair with Sindi. While June wishes to marry Sindi, he does not believe in marriage but in women hunting. He believes that marriage is ‘more often a lust for possession than anything else.’ Sindi also learns that Babu is very much interested in marrying June. He pushes June to marry Babu who is unaware of the affair between Sindi and June. Mr. Khemka is Babu’s father. He is a greedy man who is only interested in making money. Sheila is Babu’s younger sister. Karl is another American friend of Sindi and Babu. His stepmother has extra-marital relationships with other men. After his father’s death, she tries to seduce Karl and thus, Karl leaves the house. Mr. Ghosh is a worker at Mr. Khemka’s factory who continues to study and becomes an Income Tax officer. He doesn’t like Mr. Khemka’s discriminatory and abusive attitude towards lower workers and raids on his factory after becoming an income tax officer. Muthu is a common man and leader of the workers working at Mr. Khemka’s factory.

Summary of The Foreigner:

The story is narrated from Sindi’s point of view and describes the gradual evolution of Sindi Oberoi from a negative philosophy of detachment to a positive aspect. The story begins at a morgue where Sindi is called to identify the dead body of his friend Baburao Khemka who committed suicide.

Sindi is an Indian student pursuing a Ph.D in Boston, America. His father was an Indian businessman working in Kenya and his mother was an English woman. His parents died when he was only four, and he was brought up by his uncle in Kenya. He was educated in East Africa, London, and America. He was denied parental love at a very childhood age. So, he did not feel any kind of love or affection towards his parents. Sindi had felt some kind of security when his uncle was alive. But after his death, the security was destroyed. He grew up as a parentless child who missed the childhood affection and care of parents enabling the tender child to establish a meaningful relationship with the external world. To him, the memory of his parents is “the story of those strangers whose only reality was a couple of wrinkled and cracked photographs.” He grows into a wayward man and finally becomes a wanderer, alien to his own culture. He finds no longer any security and his sense of being an outsider remains to be static. This is why the novel is titled ‘The Foreigner’ because Sindi, wherever he goes, finds himself alien to others. Sindi begins feeling that emotional attachment is the main cause of people’s misery and sadness and favors detachment which leads him to his irresponsible behavior.

After the death of his uncle, he goes to London for studies. He decides to become an Engineer and joins London University. However, he finds that classroom lectures aren’t providing him the knowledge about life and his own problems. Thus, he decides to work outside the University to gain some knowledge about life in general. He begins working as a dishwasher in a local Soho Club where he meets Anna, an amateur artist. He develops an intimate relationship with Anna, however, he intends to avoid involving at an emotional level. Anna, on the other hand, wishes to have a family. Sindi realizes that getting involved with a married woman would be better as such a woman won’t ask for marriage and thus, he develops an illicit relationship with Kathy, a married woman working at the Saho club. Kathy too enjoys Sindi’s company but after some months, she begins feeling guilty about cheating on her husband and declines to continue with Sindi. Sindi fails to accept this and considers it his loss. Being raised in Western culture, Sindi feels nothing wrong or taboo about premarital or post-marital sexual relationships.

After his graduation, he leaves London and goes to Scotland where he begins working at the library of a small village. He meets the local priest of the village and discusses Christian ethics and morality with him at length. After some months, he decides to go to America to pursue his post-graduation. He gets admission to Boston University where he meets June Blyth, a young American girl studying at the same university. June and Sindi develop a love relationship but Sindi again tries to avoid emotional attachment. June wishes to marry him but he doesn’t want to commit to any such relationship. Sindi also befriends Babu Khemka, an Indian student who also loves June and wishes to marry her. June befriends Babu and Sindi feels a feeling of jealousy about this. He questions himself and wonders if he too is possessive about June. He decides to remain detached and pushes June to marry Babu while Babu is unaware of the relationship between Sindi and June. Babu is a typical Indian male who values virginity before marriage and the sanctity of marriage.

After their marriage, June becomes pregnant. Meanwhile, Babu realizes that June and Sindi were romantically involved before his marriage to June. He also notices that even after his marriage, June and Sindi have maintained their relationship to some level. This breaks Babu emotionally and he commits suicide. Sindi is heartbroken by this incident as June also blames him for the death of Babu. June and her unborn child also die during the delivery and Sindi begins questioning himself about his idea of detachment. He feels guilty and decides to go to Delhi and meet the family of Babu.

He meets Babu’s sister Shiela and her father Mr. Khemka who lives in a huge bungalow. Sindi begins working at Mr. Khemka’s factory and notices that Mr. Khemka is a greedy and corrupt businessman who treats his workers very badly. He meets. Mr. Ghosh works as a clerk at the factory. Sindi befriends Muthu, the leader of the factory workers. Sindi realizes that the poor workers of Khemka’s factory are working and living in drastic conditions while Mr. Khemka’s family enjoys a lavish lifestyle. He tries to improve the situation of workers and gains their trust. Mr. Ghosh is a bright student who prepares for administrative services and succeeds. He becomes an Income Tax officer. He decides to raid Mr. Khemka’s factory as revenge for the ill-treatment he faced as his worker. Meanwhile, Sheila develops a friendly relationship with Sindi. Sindi discusses Babu’s death with her. Shiela says that she or her father never approved of his marriage to June. She strongly opposes the idea of premarital sex and favors Indian girls who maintain their virginity till their marriages. Sindi says, “So you think one of these Marwari girls is really superior merely

because of a silly membrane between her legs?” Gradually, Sheila begins trusting Sindi.

Mr. Ghosh finds financial irregularities in Mr. Khemka’s business and Mr. Khemka is imprisoned for embezzlement. In his absence, it becomes difficult for Sheila to manage the business. She asks for Sindi’s help but Sindi begins feeling detached again and wonders if he should run away from the responsibility of managing the factory, factory workers, and Babu’s family. He decides to go away but while he prepares to go, Muthu meets him and tells him how hopeful factory workers are. They believe that Sindi will manage the factory well and will help them improve their condition too. Sindi realizes that staying and facing the problems might be a better option than running away from the responsibilities. For the first time, he feels that while detachment is important, involving in the world’s affairs too is equally important and true emancipation is in remaining detached while fulfilling all the worldly responsibilities. He realizes that this is what Karma Yoga says and this is what he must follow. He decides to stay in Delhi and help Sheila in managing the business.

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!