The Passionate Shepherd to His Love by Christopher Marlowe | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘The Passionate Shepherd to His Love’ is a poem by Christopher Marlowe in the early 1590s. The poem's speaker urges his beloved, who presumably dwells in an urban environment, to join him in a life in the countryside. The poem was published posthumously in around 1600. is a lyric poem that draws on the Classical tradition of pastoral poetry, which is used to create an idealized vision of rural life within the context of personal emotion. The Greek poet Theocritis, in the third century B.C.E. is considered to be the first pastoralist poet.

To seduce his lover, the speaker of Marlowe’s poem describes a rural life full of intense sensual pleasure—but unpolluted by sin or sorrow. The poem was published around 1600 and soon got the attention of many other poets and literary critics. The poem doesn’t provide any information about the gender of the speaker’s “love.” It can be assumed that like Marlowe’s other homoerotic works, including Edward II, and Hero and Leander, which also contain long homoerotic passages, this poem may also have a similar undercurrent of homoeroticism. However, most of Marlowe’s readers assume the shepherd’s “love” is female. Sir Walter Raleigh replied to Marlowe's shepherd with the poem "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" (1600) with romantic realism countering romantic idealism; his Nymph reminds the shepherd that time will wither all the material gifts he offers, and his pastoral ideal will not last.

Structure of The Passionate Shepherd to His Love:

Marlowe wrote this poem with six four-line stanzas of rhyming couplets written in an iambic tetrameter rhythm (four feet of two syllables with the stress on the second syllable). The poem is written in rhyming couplets, with two couplets to a stanza. Its rhymes are serial. In general, each couplet introduces a new rhyme, so the poem is rhymed AABB, CCDD, EEFF, GGHH, IIJJ, and KKAA. The tone of the poem appears to be seductive.

Marlowe made good use of Imagery in the poem. The speaker creates in the readers' mind a picture of a delightful and varied landscape, filled with rivers and the song of numerous birds; of thousands of flowers that can be used in a variety of ways to adorn the beloved – a cap, embroidered petticoats, a belt.

Apart from that, the poet used Symbolism, Personification, Apostrophe, Alliteration, Hyperbole, Enjambment, Repetition, and Allusion. The speaker of the poem is a shepherd but like most other pastoral poems, the speaker doesn’t discuss the hardship of a shepherd’s real life, he spends much of the poem articulating erotic desire, using euphemism and metaphor to disguise it. It can be said that the speaker isn’t really a shepherd, rather, he is a lover who takes on a shepherd’s disguise to create some distance between himself and his ‘love’.

Summary of A Passionate Shepherd to His Love:

Stanza 1 Lines 1-4

“Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove,
That Valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields.”

The speaker begins by inviting his love to come with him and "pleasures prove." It can be suggested as a mild sexual tone, however, the tone is naive and innocent. The speaker suggests that the entire geography of the countryside of England "Valleys, groves, hills and fields/Woods or steepy mountains" will prove to contain pleasures of all kinds for the lovers. The speaker passionately calls his lover to come and live with him, assuming that his lover, upon hearing his request, will leave whatever life she is living behind, and come and “be [his] love” in the countryside. Thus, the speaker continues to describe to her what her life will be if she agrees. He says that the entire beautiful world will yield passion and love for them, the two lovers.

Stanza 2 Lines 5-8

“And we will sit upon the Rocks,
Seeing the Shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow Rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing Madrigals.”

In the second stanza, the speaker contrasts the urban entertainment with the pastoral ones. He describes how their life will be if his lover leaves her urban life to be with him in the countryside. They will have their entertainment not in a theater or a banquet but they will sit upon the rocks by the river. They will watch shepherds feeding their flocks, or listening to waterfalls and the songs of birds. The speaker himself is a shepherd as he suggests, but it appears he will have enough leisure time to entertain his lover while other shepherds continue their work.

Here, the speaker may also be suggesting that since now the two lovers will be devoted to each other, they will have time to observe the details of their lives and thus, they would be able to observe and appreciate his life as a shepherd while enjoying the natural environment of the beautiful countryside. The songs of the birds will be like “Madrigals,” or harmonious pieces of music written for theaters. The birds are being personified.

Stanza 3 Lines 9-12

“And I will make thee beds of Roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of Myrtle;”

The speaker continues to offer more enticements in the hope that his lover will join him in the countryside. He describes how he will “make [her] a bed of Roses.” He will fill her life with flowers by creating for her a “kirtle” or an outer gown, and a “cap,” which will all be “Embroidered…with the leaves of Myrtle,” a common flowering shrub. These are sartorial delights the Shepherd will make for his lady love.

Stanza 4 Lines 13-16

“A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty Lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;”

The speaker is confidently hopeful that his love will join him in the countryside and describes how he will prepare for her when she arrives. She will need clothing, so he will spin for her a “gown made of the finest wool” from the lambs that they will tend together. The speaker knows what his lover would like and he promises to offer best of it. He does not neglect her feet and states that she will also have “Fair lined slippers” that she can wear when it gets cold. The buckles on her shoes will be made of the “purest gold.” 

Stanza 5 Lines 17-20

“A belt of straw and Ivy buds,
With Coral clasps and Amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me, and be my love.”

The speaker continues to offer more precious gifts for her lover. She will have a belt made “of straw and Ivy buds.” It will also feature “Coral clasps and Amber studs.” It is clear that the speaker knows what entices her lover’s heart and promises her to provide everything she could wish for. However, it is difficult to imagine how a poor shepherd who tends sheep and goats will the gold buckles, the coral clasps, Ivy buds, and the amber studs. This increasingly fanciful list of gifts could only come from a member of the noble gentry or a merchant in a town.

He already mentioned that if his lover comes by his side, they will idly sit on the rocks enjoying the scenery and observing the day-to-day lives of shepherds.

This is another trait of the pastoral poetry. While the poem celebrates the delights of rural life, the poet, the speaker, and the reader are assumed to be noble, they are not supposed to do the hard work and experience the real hardship of a shepherd’s life.

Stanza 6 Lines 21-24

“The Shepherds’ Swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May-morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me, and be my love.”

In the last stanza, the speaker suggests that if his lover accepts her offer and comes to live with him in the countryside, all will be happy. He describes if she comes to live with him, the “Shepherds’ Swains,” or his comrades, will “dance and sing.” All people will “delight” in the fact that they are finally together as they should be. In the last couplet, the speaker repeats his offer and asks that if “these delights” move “thy mind” then she should come “live with [him] and be [his] love.

Symbolism in The Passionate Shepherd to His Love:

The shepherd in the poem is more of the symbol of the speaker, who is a lover. The shepherd is a symbol of the poet himself, a mask that the poet uses to express his desires.

Another symbol is Myrtle. Myrtle is a flowering plant that is often mentioned in Greek and Roman poetry and mythology. Myrtle is a sacred plant to Aphrodite, the goddess of desire and love.

In Line 14, the speaker mentions Lambs, which again is a symbol of purity and innocence. His call for his lover may appear seductive, but it is innocent and pure. In the 17^th line, the speaker mentions Ivy's buds. Ivy again is a symbol for marriage between a man and a woman.

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 Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Cask of Amontillado is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe in the November 1846 issue of Godey’s Lady’s Book, an American women’s magazine published from 1830 to 1898. The story employs a first-person point of view, creating an intimate and unreliable narration that enhances the suspense and psychological depth.

The story is often considered the best short story written by Poe. It is a masterful exploration of revenge, pride, and the darker aspects of human nature. The story is very simple but has a lot of verbal and dramatic ironies that increase the reader's interest.

Characters of The Cask of Amontillado:

Montresor is the main character and the narrator of the story. He is a cunning and vengeful individual who seeks to punish Fortunato for an unspecified insult. He exhibits traits of intelligence and manipulation. He mentions that he is telling about an incident that happened some fifty years ago, suggesting that a somewhat older Montresor was never discovered and has not greatly changed his opinion that the crime was justified. Montresor’s reason for revenge remains ambiguous and unclear throughout the story, and it could be a case of mad violence. He is narrating the story to someone with whom he trusts. Fortunato is Montresor’s unsuspecting victim, his friend who has insulted Montresor in some way. It is not clear how wrong Fortunato was or if he deserved the kind of vengeance he suffered. He is a wine connoisseur who is prideful and intoxicated by his own expertise. He represents the folly of arrogance as he blindly trusts Montresor.

Luchesi is a minor character mentioned in the story. He is a rival wine connoisseur to Fortunato, used by Montresor to provoke Fortunato's jealousy and tempt him to taste the wine in his family’s vaults. Fortunato repeatedly insults Luchesi for his lack of intellect but fails to notice any ill-intentions of Montresor and appears even more of a dupable fool.

Summary of The Cask of Amontillado:

The story takes place during the carnival season in an unnamed Italian city. Montresor explains to an unknown audience that someone named Fortunato has injured him repeatedly and has recently insulted him. He says that he can stand no more and vows revenge upon Fortunato. He mentions that has never let Fortunato know of his hatred because he wants to fulfill his vow without placing himself at risk. He also says that his vengeance would not be complete if Fortunato were to retaliate or if Fortunato died without knowing Montresor to be his murderer. Thus, he attempts a perfectly planned murder.

It was the carnival season and much of frivolity and celebrations were going on. One evening, Montresor finds Fortunato in a drunken state. Fortunato is dressed in a jester's outfit, suggesting that he is enjoying the carnival. Montresor approaches and greets Fortunato saying, he was lucky to find him. He obsequiously asks his opinion on a newly acquired cask of Amontillado. He says that he has recently bought a sample of sherry and wishes Fortunato to confirm that it is Amontillado, a rare, precious wine. Montresor knows that Fortunato loves rare wines and tantalizes him with the rare liquor. However, he notices that Fortunato is already drunk, so he tempts him more. He says that perhaps Fortunato might be too busy and that Montresor might have Luchesi taste it instead. This instigates Fortunato who doesn’t like Luchesi much. He insults Luchesi's skill with wines and insists on accompanying Montresor to the vaults to taste the Amontillado. Montresor says that it might not be good for Fortunato because his vaults are quite damp and full of nitre that may cause cold. Fortunato insists on having a chance to taste the rare wine. Montresor then puts on a mask of black silk and cloaks himself and leads Fortunato to his home.

Previously, Montresor told all his servants that he would be late at night and had told them to leave and join the carnival. Thus, when Montresor brings Fortunato to this home, there is no one to see them. He tells him that he has kept the rare wine safe in his vaults back behind the catacombs of his ancestors. He takes two torches and, handing one to Fortunato, leads Fortunato into the Montresor catacombs.

The passageway was damp and full of nitre (Potassium Nitrate). Fortunato was already suffering cold and nitre could have increased his allergic symptoms. Fortunato begins coughing heavily. Montresor shows false concern and offers some Madoc wine to help him. This seeming act of concern and sympathy too was a trick to keep the victim alive long enough to get him to the niche where he will be buried alive. He wonders that ill-health may prompt Fortunato to decline the offer of tasting Amontillado and hence, he again mentions Luchesi to tempt him more. He offers to call bring Luchesi as Fortunato is unwell. Fortunato feels insulted, he abuses Luchesi again and insists on continuing. Fortunato drinks Madoc to the dead, and Montresor drinks to Fortunato's long life.

Fortunato observes the vastness of Montesor’s vaults and Montresor replies that the Montresors were a large family. 

Fortunato says that he has forgotten what Montresor's coat of arms looks like. Montesor feels blatantly insulted again as if Fortunato is depreciating the reputation of his family. Montresor belongs to an established family. His house had once been noble and respected but has fallen slightly in status. Fortunato, as his name suggests, has been blessed with good fortune and wealth and Montresor feels he is mocking him. He calmly answers that his family's coat of arms has on it "a huge human foot d'or [foot of gold], in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel" and that the family motto is "Nemo me impune lacessit" (No one attacks me with impunity). The motto and the coat of arms of Montresor’s family suggest that they are historically known for their acts of revenge. As they walk deeper into the catacombs, Fortunato remains drunk and the bells on his costume jingle.

Fortunato finishes the bottle of Madoc and throws it peculiarly. Montresor notices it and asks why he threw the bottle this way. Fortunato again makes a jibe and mentions that Montresor is not good enough to be a Freemason and that is why he doesn’t know the gesture. Montresor again feels offended and claims that he is now a Freemason. Fortunato laughs and says that while he has a trowel in his cloak, Montresor doesn’t have that insignia.

Montresor takes him deeper into the vault where Fortunato sees a small crypt lined with human remains. He notices a small gap in the granite wall. He tries to look into the crypt but because of the strong smell of nitre and dampness, he fails to see. Montresor says that he has kept the Amontillado in the crypt and again asks if he should bring Luchesi to taste. This further instigates Fortunato and he drunkenly walks forth into the gap. Montresor quickly acts and chains him to the granite wall.

Being drunk, Fortunato is almost unaware of what is happening. Montresor mocks Fortunato and asks him again if he is well. Fortunato asks him about Amontillado and Montresor says that he will bring it soon. Then he reveals a pile of building stone and mortar that has been hidden by bones. Montresor then begins to wall up the gap, with Fortunato inside.

Fortunato, being drunk, feels as if Montresor is playing some game. Montresor lays the first tier of the wall before Fortunato revives with a moan from his drunken state. He quickly raises three more tiers of bricks. Fortunato begins feeling the danger and hastily shakes his chain. Montresor continues to raise layers of stone while enjoying the sound of the shaking of chains. By midnight, Montresor almost completes the wall with just one stone to be added to immure Fortunato in the wall. (Immure means to enclose someone in a closed space against their will until their death, or to bury someone alive). Before setting the last stone, Montresor takes the torch and looks up in the gap. He notices that Fortunato is now fully aware of what is happening. Fortunato weakly asks Montresor to end the joke and free him. Montresor mocks him and sets the last stone. He stays there to listen if Fortunato has something to say, but he hears nothing but the jingling of bells of Fortunato’s jester costume. Montresor feels a bit sick but he says that it might be because of dampening and nitre. He readjusts the pile of bones to hide the new wall and comes out.

He mentions that the catacomb remained undisturbed for the next fifty years. Montresor ends his tale by wishing Fortunato a peaceful rest.

Irony in “The Cask of Amontillado”

Verbal Irony - The name "Fortunato" translates to "fortunate" in Italian, which is ironic given his fate. He is anything but fortunate as he meets his demise. Montresor toasts Fortunato's long life while planning his murder. This juxtaposition highlights the deceit behind Montresor’s words.

Situational Irony - The story takes place during a festive carnival, a time of joy and celebration, contrasting sharply with the dark act of murder that occurs in the catacombs. Furthermore, Fortunato is confident in his wine expertise and believes he is in control, yet he is ultimately led to his death by Montresor's cunning.

Dramatic Irony – Fortunato’s dress of Jester with jingling bells is an irony against what he has to suffer. While he is already suffering from cough and Montresor continues to warn him about dampness and nitre in his family’s catacombs, he disregards this advice as Montresor tempts him by mentioning he could bring Luchesi to taste the wine.

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

A Poison Tree by William Blake | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. A Poison Tree is a powerful poem by William Blake, included in his "Songs of Experience" collection, published in 1794. The poem explores anger, resentment, and the destructive nature of unexpressed emotions. The speaker of the poem discusses two different approaches to anger. In the first part, openly discussing anger is depicted as a means to overcome it.

In contrast, the second part highlights the risks associated with suppressing anger. The poem employs an extended metaphor, portraying the speaker's anger as a tree that grows and produces poisonous apples. When the speaker's adversary consumes one of these apples, it leads to their demise. Overall, the poem is often seen as an allegory illustrating the perils of bottling up emotions, demonstrating how this behavior can create a cycle of negativity and potentially lead to violence.

The original title of the poem was supposed to be ‘Christian Forbearance’ which suggests that it is a religious theme. The poem serves as a critique of the Church's approach to emotional expression. The poet suggests that this ‘Christian Forbearance,’ that is, the suppression of anger, only brings destruction.

Structure of A Poison Tree:

The poem consists of four quatrains, following a consistent AABB rhyme scheme that adds to its nursery rhyme-like lyrical quality. A Poison Tree is generally regarded as a ballad. Each quatrain contains two rhyming couplets. However, one may divide the entire poem in two parts, the first is the opening couplet while the second part of the poem consists of the remaining fourteen lines. In the opening couplet, the speaker simply expresses his anger and while doing so, simply puts an end to it. In the second part, the speaker discusses how anger grows when it is suppressed. This second part includes the extended metaphor of a poison tree.  Vivid imagery is employed to depict the growth of the "poison tree," emphasizing the natural progression of unchecked emotions. Blake used alternating Trochaic Trimeter followed by  Iambic Trimeter in the poem. Thus, odd-numbered lines (1,3,5..) are in trochaic trimeter, while the even-numbered lines (2,4,6…) are in iambic trimeter.

While the first three stanzas are presented in the past tense, the poet uses the change of tense in the final stanza moving from past to present. Blake used Anaphora, Enjambment, Sibilance, Imagery, Allusion, Symbolism, Personification, Irony, Contrast, and Extended Metaphor in the poem.

Summary of A Poison Tree:

Stanza 1 Lines 1-4

“I was angry with my friend;

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe:

I told it not, my wrath did grow. ”

The opening two lines presents the first scenario where the speaker suggests what happened when he was angry with a friend. He discussed it and expressed, and that calmed it, his ‘wrath did end’. Even though he was hurt and he knew that his friend did injustice to him, he tried his best to forget the past and end the feeling of vengeance in his heart. The speaker was angry with his friend, someone with whom the speaker is familiar and, ostensibly, already likes. This may suggest that friendship is necessary for free expression and open communication.

However, the next two lines present the other scenario and the beginning of the second part of the poem. The speaker says that he was angry with an enemy, someone whom he didn’t consider his friend. He wasn’t able to communicate his anger, and he had to suppress it. Thus, it wasn’t resolved.

While we can trust our friends with our true feelings and be honest with them, a foe is someone who – almost by definition – we cannot be so honest with.

This also means that being honest and open is a prerequisite of developing friendship. The very act of the speaker revealing his anger can be seen as making the other person a friend. He chose one, but remained aloof to the other, whom he considered a foe. The two different people could be totally strangers to the speaker. To whom he expressed, became his friend, and to whom, he failed to express and was forced to hide his true feelings, anger, became his foe.

‘Angry’ is the only disyllabic word in the first stanza while all others are monosyllabic, and it is the only word that has been repeated. draws attention to the concept of anger, introducing it as a key theme within the poem​. Blake used binary opposites ‘friend’ and ‘foe’ in the first and third lines, “friend”​ and ​“foe”​are the ​antithesis​ of each other and so are ​“end”​and ​“grow”. The two different approaches to Anger suggest Contrast.

Stanza 2 Lines 5-8

“And I waterd it in fears, 
Night & morning with my tears: 
And I sunned it with smiles, 
And with soft deceitful wiles.”

The poet continues to expand the second scenario. While he suppressed his anger, it remained in his heart, and he continued to nurture the hatred with his fears, spending hours together, crying for the ill that has been caused to him by his enemy. Blake introduces his extended metaphor in this stanza, likening his anger to a tree that he ‘watered’ with fear and resentment. He confesses that he nurtured his anger with his sarcastic smiles, imagining ill and cursing his enemy to go through the same or worse sufferings that he has been through. These sarcastic ‘false’ smiles acted like sunlight helping a tree to grow: by bottling up his anger he made it worse, and by putting on ‘soft deceitful wiles’ (i.e. tricks and cover-ups to hide his true feelings), his anger continued to grow and morphed into something more devious: the need for vengeance.

The speaker confesses his double-facedness, He is smiling at his enemy while all the while he is (inwardly and secretly) plotting his revenge. He did so because he wished to suppress and hide his anger, not to reveal it, and appear friendly to a foe. The intended meaning is that suppressed anger and hatred start to eat away at oneself: hatred always turns inward, corrupting into self-hatred.

While the speaker secretly wished to hurt his foe, and take revenge, he was self-harming. In the final line, the poet claims that the shady strategies (hiding anger) caused the tree to grow in his head. The stanza began with ‘And’ which suggests “Anaphora.’
Stanza 3 Lines 9-12

“And it grew both day and night.
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine.
And he knew that it was mine.”

The speaker continues with the extended metaphor and says that the tree continued to develop day and night until it became a fully grown tree with a bright apple. Here, "Bright Apple" illustrates something that invites his enemy to try it. However, misleading tricks like lying and hatred caused this dazzling apple to mature and become a threat to the enemy. The poet used Allusion in this stanza, the bright apple alludes to the fruit of Tree of Knowledge that was forbidden by God in the Garden of Eden.

That dazzling apple was a trap employed by the speaker to have his vengeance against his foe. The bright apple, did attract the foe. However, like the speaker, his foe too was not able to express his own feelings. So, he didn’t try to approach the speaker openly and ask about the dazzling ‘bright apple.’

Stanza 4 Lines 13-16

“And into my garden stole.
When the night had veild the pole;
In the morning glad I see;
My foe outstretchd beneath the tree.”

Since the foe of the speaker was unable to express and demand truth about the ‘bright apple’ directly from the speaker, he decided to enter the garden secretly, he got trapped. One night, he sneaked into the speaker’s garden and ate the apple from this tree.

The speaker turns to present tense as he visits his garden in the morning. There he is; his enemy, dead under the tree of his hatred. He bit the poisoned apple of his vengeance. He is murdered.

The suggestion is that since the speaker was unable to express and vent out his anger, it harmed and corrupted both, his foe and himself. The speaker and his foe are deluded: the speaker because he seems unaware that he has diminished himself by his actions, and the foe because he little realized that the apple he stole was poisoned.

The tree symbolizes the internalization of anger, while the apples represent the consequences of that anger when it is finally released or acted upon.

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!

Morning Song by Sylvia Plath

 Morning Song by Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath's "Morning Song" is a poignant poem that explores themes of motherhood, identity, and the complexities of love. It is about the transformative experience of becoming a mother.

'Morning Song' is a six-stanza, free-verse poem. Each stanza is an unrhymed tercet, for a total of 18 lines. There is no concrete rhyming scheme or meter.

The poem captures the feelings of a new mother as she reflects on her experiences and emotions. Rather than the mother instantly feeling a deep-rooted attachment to the newborn child, Plath depicts a mother who sees the child as more of an object than a person.

In the first line of ‘Morning Song’, the baby is compared to a “fat gold watch.” This is a very unusual description to connect to a child.

However, the whole poem is about time. The newborn has her own time. Of course, the implication here is that the watch must eventually wind down, and stop; her child will ultimately die. The baby is on her own life course now, and it is different from the life course of the mother.

In the second verse, she describes the child as a “New/ statue./ In a drafty museum”. A new statue that will receive its own stains, chips, and cracks. Mother, father, and midwife become mere “walls”, eclipsed by the new life that has just become the most important thing in the world.

In the next stanza, she clarifies it. “I’m no more your mother/ Than the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own/ Slow effacement at the wind’s hand”.

The poet is poignantly aware that her child is a separate entity, and she sees her own mortality reflected in that life.

She realizes that now when she is a mother, she is no more a girl. She describes how she stumbled from bed at the baby’s cry. Then she describes herself as “cow-heavy and floral/ In my Victorian nightgown”. This is an unglamorous, dowdy, and functional description. The mother herself is no more important, the sole purpose of her existence now being to nurture and preserve the child.

She then describes the child as “a cat”, something that is actually alive. This shows that the mother’s feelings are gradually developing for the child. She has yet not granted a human label for the child, yet, the child is alive, not merely a ‘watch’ or ‘statue’.

In the last stanza, the mother describes the child beginning its own, separate journey of life. It tries its “handful of notes”, the “clear vowels” rising “like balloons”. The mother acknowledges that the child has her own independent voice, will tell her own story, and build her own future. The mother cannot control it, the change that is destined to happen, but she can assist.

The poem suggests that the motherly love and devotion is a gradual process. The mother needs time to develop full maternal feelings.

The City and The River by Arun Joshi | Characters, Summary, Analysis

The City and The River by Arun Joshi | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. "The City and the River" is a notable work by Arun Joshi, an Indian author known for exploring existential themes and the complexities of human relationships. Arun Joshi has been acclaimed as a psychological and philosophical novelist who has made a unique contribution to Indian English fiction. He wrote five novels — The Foreigner (1968), The Strange Case of Billy Biswas (1971), The Apprentice (1974), The Last Labyrinth (1981) which won the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award, The City and The River (1990) and a collection of short stories, The Survivor (1975).

The City and The River was his last novel and it is different from his other novels because it is an overtly political allegory and satire and focuses on the predicament and quest of not one individual but that of the entire country. The novel focuses on the battle between the victimized citizens and the corrupt, power-hungry rulers. The novel is, in fact, a satire or commentary on the Emergency, applied by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi during 1974-75, which is indeed a black spot in a Democratic country like India. Joshi replicates the actual segment of the Emergency in the form of a parable with the multi-layered conceptions of social identity, ambition, freedom, tyranny, corruption, anxiety, murder, bloodshed, spiritual vision, and so on. On the other hand, the novel also raises questions about modernism against nature, and the issue of environmental deterioration.

Characters of The City and The River:

Great Yogeeshwara is a sage residing in the Himalayas, who sends one of his disciples named The Nameless One to a new developing city at the banks of a river as its teacher and astrologer. Before his departure, the great sage describes the past of the city to his disciples. Grand Master is the ruler of a highly modern and powerful city on the banks of the river. He is a corrupt, cynical, tyrannical ruler. The Grand Master's Council is full of power-hungry sycophants. The Astrologer is the prime councilor of the Grand Master. He is also the prime teacher of the city. The Master of Rallies is a young man who initially belonged to the boatmen community. He had been a brilliant student who always wished to be a boatman but his parents insisted he pursue higher education and become a member of the ruler community. However, the middle class and the upper-class community consider him an alien. The Headman is an experienced woman and the leader of the boatmen community. The Boatmen are the lower class of citizenry who lived on the banks of the river for the ages. While they are part of the city administration, they insist their allegiance is only towards the river whom they consider their lively divine mother. Dharma is a police inspector of the city. He belongs to the middle class who lives in a bricked quarter along with his father. Dharma is a headstrong middle-class man who values competence and honesty, however, he finds that such morals have no place in the higher-class echelon. Shailaja is his fiancee. Shailaja’s brother is a mystical revolutionary who tries to help the boatmen when they suffer persecution. Vasu is a brave journalist who raised questions against the Grand Master and his council and faces the ire of the administration. Bhumiputra, or Bhoma is the young iconoclast teacher of the boatmen who gathers the boatmen to resist the tyranny of the Grand Master. Though he is a rebel, he adheres to the philosophy of non-violence and sacrifice. The Professor is the teacher of Bhoma. He works for the administration but he opposes the ills and corruption of the system. He represents the intellectual class who tries to bring awareness among the masses against the ills of administration. The River is the protagonist of the novel and it represents nature, while the City is the antagonist which represents corruption, pollution, political and social ills of the rich, ruling class. The story suggests that ultimately, nature will bring an equilibrium to end the tyranny, evil, pollution, and corruption of the rich, ruling class.

Summary of The City and The River:

The novel begins as the Great Sage Yogeeshwara summons his disciple The Nameless One and asks him to prepare for a journey. He tells him that now when he is grown up and well-educated, he must go to the uprising City at the banks of the river originating from the mountain where they reside.

The Nameless One is unaware of the city and his own past. The Great Sage tells him that he must be the teacher of the City and guide the people of the city in a righteous Dharmic manner. Then he begins telling the history of the City where The Nameless One is asked to go and serve as the Teacher.

The Great City on the banks of the Great River was ruled by a tyrannical Grand Master. He lived in a white-domed palace atop the picturesque Seven Hills. On these hills stood the splendid mansions and offices of the self-serving sycophant ruling elite. Next in rank came the docile brick people living in brick colonies. Lowest of all were the despised mud-people. The most rebellious of them were the boatmen who bowed to the River alone and refused to salute the Grand Master. Though there was no king of the city, the Grand Master was the most powerful and rich industrialist and politician who handled the administration of the entire city.

The Grand Master was aware of an ancient prophecy according to which, a new king would rise to rule the City. His prime councilor, the Astrologer informed him that according to his studies of stars, the time for the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy was about to come. The Grand Master was already a greedy, totalitarian, and corrupt administrator but this information further ignited the greed of him to be the supreme ruler, the king of the city to whom everyone must bow. The Grand Master and his Astrologer announced the set of three draconian laws, - one, all citizens are to owe complete allegiance to the Grand Master; second, to ensure wealth for all, there shall be only one child to a mother; third, those disobeying the Grand Master are to be ruthlessly punished. (The second law was a reference to the forced sterilization drive (Nasbandi Campaign) initiated by Sanjay Gandhi in 1976 to control the Population).

These laws created a rift between the ruler and the ruled. However, most of the upper class was sycophant and submissive to the Grand Master and the middle class hardly had any tooth to disobey. Yet, some people registered their opposition to the Triple Laws. The Professor, the police inspector Dharma, his fiancee Shailaja, and journalist Vasu were among them. The lower class vehemently tried to oppose these draconian laws and thus, the Grand Master announced the fearsome Era of Ultimate Greatness (reference to Emergency). Police forces were used to intimidate the masses. Even the despised mud-people began bowing down to the Grand Master and vowed their complete allegiance, but the boatmen refused to do so, they considered the holy river their mother and Goddess. Although they are sub-marginalized, bourgeois, or lower-class people, they are satisfied with their condition, since they are completely devoid of any psychological problem, ennui, frustration, or mental conflicts. They preferred to remain free and valued their autonomy.

The Astrologer tried to make a peaceful deal between the administration and the boatmen community. He addressed the boatmen community and said that God sent the Grand Master to serve the people.  To protect the city he must be the king and every citizen must vow their allegiance to the king considering him the father and guardian of the citizenry. The Headman, a woman, head of boatmen, argued firmly on the matter of her allegiance and said, “We have no quarrel with the Grand Master and we have no quarrel with you. If it is a matter of allegiance, our allegiance is only to the river and cannot be shared, that is all that I want to say.”

This strong-headed refusal further angered the Grand Master who was not prepared for any resistance. He foolishly decided to reprimand the boatmen community and apply force (police and army) against them. The boatmen were poor people with their bows and arrows. They couldn’t face the guns and tanks of the army. The situation became so drastic that even the boatmen began to sway and submit to the tyranny to save their lives. However, the Headman maintained her allegiance to the river and every boatman followed her. There is resistance from the poor and middle-class citizens, mostly in the form of non-violent civil disobedience.  Bhumiputra, or Bhoma began gathering the boatmen and other mud-people and announced civil disobedience against the tyrannical administration. The Grand Master was not ready for this. He declared that Bhumiputra was a traitor against the city and must be imprisoned. It became difficult for Bhoma to save himself, he had to hide from the police and the army.

As governmental tyranny reaches its acme, freedom of expression is taken away. The Professor, the representative of the intellectual class, thought of an alternate means to broadcast the truth about the administration and the rebel leader Master Bhoma. His initiative named 'The Lottery Stall’ was supported by some selfless, fearless citizens including Dharma and Shailaja. The ingenious Lottery Stall enterprise was crushed, but Bhoma’s parable was told among millions, and the ruling class was ridiculed. The Grand Master then enforced a 'dragnet' - a cluster of self-multiplying laws suggesting limitless tyranny. Brutality was unleashed upon commoners.

The shattered and dilapidated boatmen decided to disagree with the Headmen and take the oath of loyalty to the Grand Master. At such a desperate time, Bhoma returned from his hideout and addressed the boatmen about the transience of despots and exhorted them to overcome their fear of the Grand Master. He said, "What does your soul care if a man is powerful and a man commands the guns? Guns cannot kill you, my brothers and sisters. ....If you choose the death of your soul above the death of your body, then no one...can help you." His words invigorated the boatmen who were ready to sacrifice their bodies to protect the reverence of their mother River and their souls.

This re-energized opposition from the boatmen prompted the Grand Master. One night, when the boatmen and other mud people were sleeping, the police force of the Grand Master raided them and killed two hundred boatmen in the hall when they were sleeping. This angered the remaining rebels who vowed to take revenge. Bhoma tried to calm them and said they must remain non-violent. He knew that violence ultimately leads toward the destruction of humanity, but the Headwoman disagreed. She wanted to take revenge for the humiliation and killing of their brethren. Hence, the boatmen began the route of violent opposition.

The Grand Master declared mass imprisonment. Many of the common people were imprisoned and kept in drastic conditions in the Gold Mines, an underground jail facility. The Professor and Bhoma too were arrested and so was the Headman. The Professor and Headman were old enough to fail against the drastic jail rule and perished. The Heaman was forcibly blinded by pushing hot iron rods in her eyes. The professor opposed this brutality and went on fast until death, and died. After their death, Bhoma became the main leader of the rebels and the boatmen. However, he was an adherent of non-violence.

In the absence of an able leader, the resistance from boatmen weakened. A new Supreme Council was secretly instituted. It crowned the Grand Master as King and the City was transformed into an absolute dynastic dictatorship of the elite. All democratic practices were abolished.
The Great Sage of the Mountain realized what was coming, so he sent a Hermit to visit the City. The remaining boatmen gathered and announced war against the new king. But their bows and arrows were no match to the guns and tanks. The army burnt them alive and threw their bodies in the river.

The new council decided to celebrate the coronation of the new King.

On the pedestal, the King’s son announced Bhoma and his associates as traitors and killed them. The mother River couldn’t bear all this and she got alive.

Most of the boatmen were killed by the time the Hermit from the Mountain reached the city. He found the child of a dead boatman and anointed him as the next teacher of the city. At the same time, a raft rose from the river bed and took the child and the city's horoscope to the Mountains where Yogeeshwara lived. The River was violent and flooded the City. The Seven Hills crumbled. The King and his family perished along with all the sycophants. It rained for seven days and seven nights and the City disappeared. On the eighth day, the sun rose over a boundless ocean.

It took time for the land to rise again, and humans began to gather at the place to build a new city. Meanwhile, the boatman’s child was groomed and taught by the Great Sage. That child was called The Nameless One.

Yogeeshwara informs him that he is the same child who came from the drowned city and tells him to help the people to establish the city again. He exhorts The Nameless One to remain righteous and keep striving for the victory of good over evil.

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!

10 Most Important Classic Novellas in English Literature!

When we think of classic literature, we generally envision dense, forbidding tomes that take weeks, if not months, to complete. However, not all masterpieces demand such a substantial time commitment. Some of the most deep and enduring pieces of literature are unexpectedly short but powerful. These books, despite their modest length, leave a lasting impression, conveying powerful themes and telling fascinating stories in just a few pages. Here are 10 classic books that, while brief, will stick with you long after you've finished reading them.

1^st  "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka ~~ 100 Pages

• Explores themes of alienation and identity.

• Follows Gregor Samsa, who wakes up transformed into a giant insect.

2^nd “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck ~~ 107 pages

Explores the themes of friendship and loneliness, disability and discrimination, and the fragility of hope during the Great Depression.

Follows George Milton and Lennie Small, who dream of owning their own piece of land. The narrative follows their struggles for survival and their friendship in a harsh world.

3^rd "Animal Farm" by George Orwell ~~ 112 Pages

A satirical allegoric tale about the rise of totalitarianism.

Uses farm animals to represent the Russian Revolution and its aftermath.

4^th "The Stranger" by Albert Camus ~~ 123 Pages

Addresses existentialism, alienation, and absurdism.

• Centers on Meursault, whose indifferent reaction to life leads to profound consequences.

5^th  "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway ~~ 160 Pages

A story of endurance and struggle against nature.

• Chronicles an old fisherman’s battle with a giant marlin in the Gulf steam.

6^th “Breakfast at Tiffany's” by Truman Capote ~~ 160 Pages

Explores the themes of identity and self-exploration, love and relationships, while contrasting Materialism vs Authenticity. Holly Golightly, a young woman in her twenties who is living in a New York City brownstone. The story is narrated by an unnamed writer who becomes fascinated by Holly, his eccentric neighbor.

7^th "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James ~~ 122 Pages

A psychological horror story that delves into ambiguity and perception.

• Involves a governess and her eerie experiences with children in a remote estate.

8^th "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad ~~ 160 Pages

• A journey into the Congo River basin, exploring imperialism and human nature.

• Presents a critique of European colonialism.

9^th "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson ~~ 128 Pages

A gothic novella that explores the duality of human nature through the relationship between the kind Dr. Jekyll and his sinister alter ego, Mr. Hyde.

10^th "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck

A tale about a poor pearl diver who finds a magnificent pearl, leading to greed, tragedy, and a moral lesson about wealth and happiness.