Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey’ often abbreviated as Tintern Abbey is a long blank verse poem by William Wordsworth that was written in 1798 and was published in the poetic collection Lyrical Ballads during the same year. Lyrical Ballads was a joint project of William Wordsworth and his friend and colleague Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The poem consists of 162 lines and it is set on the banks of the Wye River which William Wordsworth revisited on July 13, 1798. He had visited the Wye Valley earlier some five years ago and at that time he was alone, and a troubled person. In 1798, he was much more mature and was working with Coleridge for the publication of Lyrical Ballads. He revisited the site with his sister Dorothy Williams whom he addresses in the poem as ‘friend.’ “Tintern Abbey” was included as the final poem in Lyrical Ballads, first edition in 1798. While the poem is popular by the title ‘Tintern Abbey’, that building is not mentioned anywhere in the poem (except for the title). 

Structure of Tintern Abbey:

The poem consists of 162 lines set in five stanzas. The first stanza is 22 lines long. The second stanza comprises lines 23-50 (28 lines). The third stanza is from lines 50-59 (9 lines). The fourth stanza has 54 lines (60-113). The last stanza has 49 lines (114-162). These lines are written in Blank verse, in unrhymed iambic pentameter. There are five sets of beats per line. The first beat is unstressed, followed by one stressed. Though there is no rhyming scheme to the poem, the poet used slant rhymes and the regular use of assonance and consonance also offers the poem a lyrical quality.

The poet also used symbolism, imagery, alliteration, analogy, personification, allusion, apostrophe, simile, litote, and juxtaposition in the poem.

The blank verse for the poem allowed the speaker to offer it as a conversational poem as he addresses his ‘friend’ (sister) in the final stanza. However, in the previous stanza, the speaker uses the blank verse to offer the poem as a dramatic monologue. In addition, the speaker begins the poem with elements of an ode. Thus, the blank verse allows the poet to present this poem as an ode, a dramatic monologue, and a conversational poem. While the speaker of the poem remains unnamed, it is safe to assume that the speaker is Wordsworth himself, and he addresses his sister Dorothy in the final stanza who visited the Wye River valley with Wordsworth. The speaker tells of the power of nature to guide one’s life and morality.

There are some variations of meter in the poem.  Stanzas 1, 2, and 4 all end with a line that is metrically incomplete in its pentameter; the pentameter is then "completed" in the following line and the following stanza.

Summary of Tintern Abbey

Stanza 1 Lines 1-8

“Five years have past; five summers, with the length

Of five long winters! and again I hear

These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs

With a soft inland murmur.—Once again

Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,

That on a wild secluded scene impress

Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect

The landscape with the quiet of the sky.”

The full title of the poem is “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour, July 13, 1798,” which establishes that the poem is set on a specific landscape, a few miles away from the building Tintern Abbey. The title also establishes that the speaker or the poet is revisiting the site after some time. The title also establishes the date of writing of the poem as July 13, 1798.

In the first line, the speaker specifies that he is revisiting the site after five years. After long five years, he cherishes the beautiful landscape in the valley of River Wye again. The poet used Anaphora and repetition of ‘Five’ to stress that he visited the site before and deeply missed it. Enjambment has been used in line 4, ( -- Once again), to stress that he is revisiting the site.

The poet uses Imagery and romanticizes the sound of flowing water as if it is coming from somewhere farther, away and appears as a “soft inland murmur.” The peaceful environment and the natural ‘soft inland murmurs’ appear perfect for the speaker to cherish the ‘deep seclusion’ as if to meditate and become a part of nature itself. The speaker creates an auditory image of the River Wye as a quiet, constant accompaniment to the visually stimulating scenery around him. The alliteration of the “s” sound (“steep,” “secluded scene,” “seclusion,” and “sky”) is used to evoke a sense of whispering and murmuring.

Lines 9-18

“The day is come when I again repose

Here, under this dark sycamore, and view

These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts,

Which at this season, with their unripe fruits,

Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves'

Mid groves and copses. Once again I see

These hedge-rows, hardly hedge-rows, little lines

Of sportive wood run wild: these pastoral farms,

Green to the very door; and wreaths of smoke

Sent up, in silence, from among the trees!”

In these lines, the poet further describes the scenic beauty of the place that he is cherishing after five years. He says that while he was away, he waited to revisit here and finally, the day has come when he is again witnessing the green, peaceful, scene of the landscape. He mentions the dark sycamore, a huge Eurasian maple tree under which he used to rest in the past. He is again there, observing the large plots of land around it. There are cottages and orchards. It is a period when the fruits in the orchard are unripe and green. Everything appears green though some clouds of smoke appear coming out from deep in the forest trees.

Lines 19-22

“With some uncertain notice, as might seem

Of vagrant dwellers in the houseless woods,

Or of some Hermit's cave, where by his fire

The Hermit sits alone.”

The speaker wonders who is burning the fire in the wood, from where the smoke is coming. He imagines, through two metaphors, that the smoke rises from the fire of “vagrant dwellers” and the fire of a “hermit’s cave.”

Now when he visited the place again after five years, there are some factors he is not sure about. Some things have changed. He further guesses that it might be some Hermit’s cave from where the smoke is coming out. The homeless vagrant or the hermit is sitting alone in seclusion and the speaker envies him for his pleasure. By imagining the hermit’s cave, the speaker suggests that even the smoke rises from a sacred, natural source. The first stanza ends with an aberration as Line 22 is metrically incomplete. The poet completes the iambic pentameter in the first line of the second stanza.

Stanza 2

Lines 23-31

“These beauteous forms,

Through a long absence, have not been to me

As is a landscape to a blind man's eye:

But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din

Of towns and cities, I have owed to them,

In hours of weariness, sensations sweet,

Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart;

And passing even into my purer mind

With tranquil restoration:—feelings too”

The speaker mentions that though he has not been here in the valley of Wye River, he actually never forgot the tranquility and refreshing effect of nature of the landscape. He spent these five years away from the valley in various towns and bigger cities where whenever he was alone, tired, and perplexed in his room, he remembered the sweet memories of this place and it offered him a ‘sweet sensation.’ Here Wordsworth mentions the same theme he explained in another poem ‘Daffodils’ and says that even when he was away, he realized the importance and worth of the memories of the refreshing scenic nature of the landscape and it helped him in his sad and lonely moments.

He uses a Simile to say that his ‘long absence’ from the valley have not been to him “As is a landscape to a blind man’s eye.” The speaker has not completely forgotten it or been blinded to it. 

Lines 32-50

“Of unremembered pleasure: such, perhaps,

As have no slight or trivial influence

On that best portion of a good man's life,

His little, nameless, unremembered, acts

Of kindness and of love. Nor less, I trust,

To them I may have owed another gift,

Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood,

In which the burthen of the mystery,

In which the heavy and the weary weight

Of all this unintelligible world,

Is lightened:—that serene and blessed mood,

In which the affections gently lead us on,—

Until, the breath of this corporeal frame

And even the motion of our human blood

Almost suspended, we are laid asleep

In body, and become a living soul:

While with an eye made quiet by the power

Of harmony, and the deep power of joy,

We see into the life of things.”

Here the poet uses Litote, an understatement of the affirmative which uses the negative of the contrary. The speaker says, “no trivial influence,” which means that, to the contrary, nature had a significant influence during his time in the city. The speaker also says that his the best parts of his life were not moments of great heroism, but they were the small, seemingly insignificant actions barely remembered, characterized by “kindness and of love.” He says that these memories helped him in becoming a good man. These memories inspired him to be kind, helpful, and gentle. These memories improve him as a good human. The speaker addresses nature and says that the ‘beauteous nature’ offered him a greater gift of ‘blessed mood’ that not only unburdens his troubled mind during his tough periods in the city, but also helps to alleviate the weight of the world. Juxtaposition has been used to suggest that a ‘blessed mood’ can achieve calmness and alleviate “burthen,” “heavy and weary weight,” and “unintelligible,” situations.

Stanza 3 Lines 51-59

“If this

Be but a vain belief, yet, oh! how oft—

In darkness and amid the many shapes

Of joyless daylight; when the fretful stir

Unprofitable, and the fever of the world,

Have hung upon the beatings of my heart—

How oft, in spirit, have I turned to thee,

O sylvan Wye! thou wanderer thro' the woods,

How often has my spirit turned to thee!”

In the third stanza, the speaker mentions that all his belief in the beauty and strength of nature of the Wye River valley could be a false idea, “but a vain belief.” However, he offers the counterpoint that if it had been the case, if his belief is wrong, then why in his toughest times, when in “darkness” and surrounded by “joyless daylight,” or days that bring the speaker no joy even though they should, he has “turned to thee /  O sylvan Wye!” ‘Sylvan’ means wooded. The speaker personifies the river as a “wanderer” of the woods and thanks it for all the times the thought of it has provided a sort of refuge for the speaker. The repetition of ‘how oft’ and its variant ‘how often’ emphasizes how frequently the speaker has turned to nature for refreshment and consolation to revitalize himself and face the burdens of city life.

Stanza 4 Lines 60-68

“And now, with gleams of half-extinguished thought,

With many recognitions dim and faint,

And somewhat of a sad perplexity,

The picture of the mind revives again:

While here I stand, not only with the sense

Of present pleasure, but with pleasing thoughts

That in this moment there is life and food

For future years. And so I dare to hope,”

The speaker begins the fourth stanza reminiscing about the past when he was in Wye River Valley five years ago. He mentions his past was perplexed, sad, and vigorless but now he is mature, better, improved, and pleased. He also says that now when he is here again, he envisions and hopes that the future will also be pleasant. He says that this visit will again provide him with sweet invigorating memories that will help him face the tough dull moments of loneliness and frustration. He says that by visiting the landscape, his mind is reviving again.

Lines 69-78

“Though changed, no doubt, from what I was when first

I came among these hills; when like a roe

I bounded o'er the mountains, by the sides

Of the deep rivers, and the lonely streams,

Wherever nature led: more like a man

Flying from something that he dreads, than one

Who sought the thing he loved. For nature then

(The coarser pleasures of my boyish days

And their glad animal movements all gone by)

To me was all in all.—I cannot paint”

In these lines, the speaker romanticizes his childhood memories and suggests how he felt when he was here during his childhood in the landscape. He uses Simile to suggest he was like a ‘roe’ a small deer, “bounded” through the mountains and rivers with relentless, youthful energy. He says that the decisions he took five years ago were not like those of a free spirit deeply in love with nature. But he rather felt more like a man escaping from something “he dreads.” His priorities were different and he was seeking to solve his troubles. He says that he cannot exactly describe how he was back then.

Lines 79-88

“What then I was. The sounding cataract

Haunted me like a passion: the tall rock,

The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood,

Their colours and their forms, were then to me

An appetite; a feeling and a love,

That had no need of a remoter charm,

By thought supplied, nor any interest

Unborrowed from the eye.—That time is past,

And all its aching joys are now no more,

And all its dizzy raptures. Not for this”

The speaker continues to explain how he felt five years ago when he was a troubled youth daring to face the challenges of life. He uses metaphors and romanticized language to express the anguish he felt at that time.  As a child, nature was awe-inspiring for the speaker—the cataract, the mountains, and the woods “haunted [him] like a passion.” Cataract means a large, strong waterfall.

The overwhelming colors and shapes were like “a feeling and a love,” suggesting that he and nature were connected on an instinctive level. He exactly knew the source of the cataract, the colors and forms of the mountain, and ‘the deep and gloomy wood,’ and he didn’t add any myth or fairytale to it. He was wholly in love with nature. He remembers the joys, and how it created in him a “dizzy rapture.” That time is sadly, “past.” The speaker can look back on his passionate, emotional connection with nature and how sad he was when he had to leave the landscape. However, he does not yearn to return to that stage in his life. His previous relationship with nature was chaotic and passionate but it is more mature now.

Lines 89-98

“Faint I, nor mourn nor murmur; other gifts

Have followed; for such loss, I would believe,

Abundant recompense. For I have learned

To look on nature, not as in the hour

Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes

The still sad music of humanity,

Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power

To chasten and subdue.—And I have felt

A presence that disturbs me with the joy

Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime”
The speaker remembers how he felt as a child when he witnessed the grandeur of nature. He enjoyed those days but he doesn’t wish to return to the same phase or ‘mourn’ and complaint about the passing of that phase.

He is in the same landscape now and though he doesn’t feel the same of nature as he did in his ‘thoughtless youth,’ but now he can understand the deeper meaning of the greater gifts of nature that he discerns now when he is wiser, and mature. Unlike in the past, his relationship with nature is no more chaotic and passionate, rather it appears more sensible, sublime, and intricate. He now has ‘ample power’ to ‘chasten’ and ‘subdue’ his passion for nature.

He feels the divinity of Nature in the world that surrounds him. The narrator can take the memory of this “presence” and carry it within him. 

Lines 99-108

“Of something far more deeply interfused,

Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,

And the round ocean and the living air,

And the blue sky, and in the mind of man:

A motion and a spirit, that impels

All thinking things, all objects of all thought,

And rolls through all things. Therefore am I still

A lover of the meadows and the woods

And mountains; and of all that we behold

From this green earth; of all the mighty world”

In these lines, the speaker further elaborates on the divinity of nature that he feels in the valley of River Wye. He says that this new feeling about nature is far more powerful and superior to what he had during his passionate childhood. He is mature now. The divine “presence” that he feels is like “the light of setting suns” and as powerful as “the round ocean,” air, and sky to the “mind of a man.” It is beyond comprehension and therefore, unfading and undeterred by modernity. The speaker says that though his feelings and understanding of the mountains, meadows, and woods have changed now, he still is a lover of nature. His tone is now reverential towards nature as if nature is God. The speaker mentions that now when he is mature enough, he can feel and understand something he failed to recognize in his youth: a presence that pervades all of nature. With this more philosophical understanding of nature, the speaker imagines that this seemingly divine force inhabits and passes through the ocean, the air, the sky, and “the mind of man.”

Lines 109-114

“Of eye, and ear,—both what they half create,

And what perceive; well pleased to recognise

In nature and the language of the sense

The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse,

The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul

Of all my moral being.”

In these lines, the speaker uses Metaphors to liken nature to an ‘anchor,’ ‘nurse,’ ‘guide,’ and ‘guardian’ of his heart, soul, and moral being. The nature serves the purpose of helping the speaker understand the difference between right and wrong. The speaker is thrilled to feel that now when he is mature, he can recognize how nature guides him toward the betterment of his conscious. In all the above four stanzas, the speaker continued his speech, presenting the poem as a dramatic monologue.

Stanza 5 Lines 115-124

“Nor perchance,

If I were not thus taught, should I the more

Suffer my genial spirits to decay:

For thou art with me here upon the banks

Of this fair river; thou my dearest Friend,

My dear, dear Friend; and in thy voice I catch

The language of my former heart, and read

My former pleasures in the shooting lights

Of thy wild eyes. Oh! yet a little while

May I behold in thee what I was once,”

In the fifth stanza, it becomes clear that the speaker is not alone. Nor is the poem his monologue, rather he is in conversation with someone whom he addresses as ‘My dear friend.’ It also becomes clear that the speaker is Wordsworth himself and he is in conversation with his sister. She is to him as close as another person can be and he felt the need to explain to her how he has come to be the way that he is. As she speaks to him, he says that in her voice, he sees how he used to be and remembers his “former pleasures” as he looks into her “wild eyes.” He feels as if his sister is feeling the same grandeur of nature that he used to feel when he was younger. Now he is mature.

Lines 125-138

“My dear, dear Sister! and this prayer I make,

Knowing that Nature never did betray

The heart that loved her; 'tis her privilege,

Through all the years of this our life, to lead

From joy to joy: for she can so inform

The mind that is within us, so impress

With quietness and beauty, and so feed

With lofty thoughts, that neither evil tongues,

Rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men,

Nor greetings where no kindness is, nor all

The dreary intercourse of daily life,

Shall e'er prevail against us, or disturb

Our cheerful faith, that all which we behold

Is full of blessings. Therefore let the moon”

In these lines, the speaker addresses his companion as ‘dear Sister,’ making it clear she is Dorothy Wordsworth. He observes the same passionate love for nature in her eyes and he cherishes it nostalgically, as he remembers how he felt five years ago. However, he wishes to offer the same mature insight to his sister too, and thus utters a prayer hoping she may also find the same sense of tranquility, divinity, and serenity in nature as he does. He denounces the modern, urban culture that gives rise to selfish, skeptical men. He claims that nature will “prevail” against the “dreary intercourse of daily life.” He hopes that nature will guide her too to understand the good and bad. The poet used alliteration of hissing ‘s’ sound ‘Rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men,’ to denounce the modern selfish men. He further encourages his sister to let her heart and soul be guarded by nature as it is without risk. It cannot break her heart or shatter her faith. Nature will, through the years of one's life, lead a devotee from “joy to joy” and “impress” upon one “quietness and beauty.” Her life, he states, will be full of “lofty thoughts” that carry one above the “sneers” of the modern world.

Lines 39-150

“Shine on thee in thy solitary walk;

And let the misty mountain-winds be free

To blow against thee: and, in after years,

When these wild ecstasies shall be matured

Into a sober pleasure; when thy mind

Shall be a mansion for all lovely forms,

Thy memory be as a dwelling-place

For all sweet sounds and harmonies; oh! Then,

If solitude, or fear, or pain, or grief,

Should be thy portion, with what healing thoughts

Of tender joy wilt thou remember me,

And these my exhortations! Nor, perchance—“

In these lines, the speaker addresses his sister and suggests that if she wishes to experience the same divine connection with nature that he feels, she should not resist the charm of nature. He encourages her to enjoy the moonshine and let the mountain wind enthrall her. He says that though she is experiencing similar ‘wild ecstasies’ he used to feel as a child, these will change into ‘sober pleasure,’ when she is mature enough. He asks her to capture the memories of this ‘sober pleasure’ of being this close to nature in her mind. This will help her handle the solitude, fear, pain, or grief if she faces such things in the future. These memories and his exhortation, his appeal to cherish nature keep the memories safe will help her future struggles.

Lines 151-158

“If I should be where I no more can hear

Thy voice, nor catch from thy wild eyes these gleams

Of past existence—wilt thou then forget

That on the banks of this delightful stream

We stood together; and that I, so long

A worshipper of Nature, hither came

Unwearied in that service: rather say

With warmer love—oh! with far deeper zeal”

In these lines, the speaker considers a time in the future when he will be no longer close to his sister. He says that in the future if he dies or moves somewhere where “I no more can hear / Thy voice,” then also she will remember that she once stood on the banks of Wye River with her brother. He says that this place and these memories are important because he came here as an ardent worshiper of nature. In the future, if her sister ever needs guidance, refreshment, protection, against the dreary daily life, this place will embrace her with ‘warmer love’ and guide her with ‘deeper zeal’ towards the goodness of life and nature.

Lines 159-164

“Of holier love. Nor wilt thou then forget,

That after many wanderings, many years

Of absence, these steep woods and lofty cliffs,

And this green pastoral landscape, were to me

More dear, both for themselves and for thy sake!”

The speaker ends the poem as he contemplates his experience on the River Wye with his sister. He understands that with time, she will mature and her youthful passions will diminish. Nevertheless, he prays that she may fondly recall this moment together and draw inspiration from nature’s capacity to physically, emotionally, and mentally enliven and uplift her.

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

It is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free by William Wordsworth | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. 'It is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free' is a sonnet by William Wordsworth, the nineteenth poem in the section Miscellaneous Sonnets published in the collection Poems, In Two Volumes in 1807. Wordsworth wrote the sonnet in 1802.

William Wordsworth visited France in 1791 where he met Annette Vallon and fell in love with her. Together, they had a child named Carolina Vallon. Because of the uneasy relationship between France and Britain, Wordsworth had to return and then he married Mary Hutchinson.

In 1802, he revisited France with Mary Hutchinson, and his sister Dorothy Williams to meet Annette and Carolina. Caroline was 9 years old then. It was the first time Wordsworth saw his daughter. Wordsworth was strolling with his daughter when he thought of this sonnet. The poem expresses his deep love for the child in significant spiritual terms.

Structure of It is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free:

'It is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free' is a sonnet with 14 lines written in Iambic Pentameter with unstressed-stressed syllable pairs. There are variations as the first foot of Lines 3 and 6 is Torchee (stressed-unstressed). These lines are divided into two stanzas, the first is an Octave (with 8 lines) and the second stanza is a Sestet (with six lines). The transition from Octave to Sestet brings a thematic shift (Volta). In the beginning Octave, the speaker celebrates the majestic and mesmerizing natural beauty around him that appears divine and spiritually enthralling to him. In line 6, the speaker addresses someone untouched by the majesty of nature. In the Sestet, the speaker suggests how children remain unaffected by the mesmerizing beauty of nature while any adult feels awe. He says that Children are a part of the divinity and God is always with them. The speaker sees this child (and perhaps children in general) as more in tune with God and nature than the speaker is.

The Octave follows a rhyme scheme of ABBA ABBA, and the Sestet follows a rhyme scheme of CDEDEC.

The speaker remains unidentified and unnamed but one may presume that the speaker is Wordsworth himself, addressing his daughter Caroline as ‘dear child.’

The poet used Personification, Simile, Alliteration, Allusion, Assonance, Enjambment, Paradox, and Caesura in the poem.

Summary of It is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free:

Octave’s (1^st quatrain) Lines 1-4

“It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,

The holy time is quiet as a Nun

Breathless with adoration; the broad sun

Is sinking down in its tranquillity;”
The speaker begins by describing a calm, beautiful evening. The speaker observes the sunset from a beach along the sea. He describes that the sun is setting peacefully as the sky hangs over the sea. Though described as calm and free, the description suggests a certain tension. The beauty is awe-striking, mesmerizing, divine, and influential. In the second line, the poet uses Simile, comparing the period like "a Nun / Breathless with adoration." 

The speaker describes the moment as a ‘holy time’ and the atmosphere as a woman worshiping so intensely that she is breathless and perfectly calm. The Personification of ‘holy time’ suggests that the speaker himself is awestruck by the beauty and peace of the atmosphere in those moments.

In lines 2-3 the poet used Enjambment (continuation of a sentence across a line break).

Octave’s (2^nd quatrain) Lines 5-8

“The gentleness of heaven broods o’er the Sea;

Listen! the mighty Being is awake,

And doth with his eternal motion make

A sound like thunder—everlastingly.”
The speaker mentions that the ‘gentleness of heaven’ spreads all around covering the sea. The whole atmosphere, the world as far as he could see appears divine to him during the ‘holy time.’ In the sixth line, the speaker addresses someone who turns out to be a young girl. He tells her to listen, that "the mighty Being is awake" and making a "sound like thunder" that lasts forever. The child is walking beside him on the beach, and she is also observing the same divine atmosphere and the mesmerizing scene. However, he notices that she is not as awe-struck as dumbfounded and mesmerized as he finds himself. The child couldn’t understand what he meant when he addressed her to listen to “the mighty Being.’ The mighty Being could be the Christian God or the personification of Nature itself. Reference to the ‘eternal motion’ shows immortality; nature will survive where man does not.

Sestet Lines 9-14

Dear child! dear Girl! that walkest with me here,

“If thou appear untouched by solemn thought,

Thy nature is not therefore less divine:

Thou liest in Abraham’s bosom all the year;

And worshipp’st at the Temple’s inner shrine,

God being with thee when we know it not.”
In the Sestet, the poet introduces the Paradox of the poem. He already mentioned that he is awestruck by the divine beauty of the evening, however, the child walking beside him remains untouched. One may assume that the poet may be the most divine, not the child. However, the speaker clarifies that the truth is just the opposite.

The speaker says that the child walking beside him that even though she isn't affected by the solemn ideas of divinity he has when he comes face to face with nature, she is no less divine. In fact, she "liest in Abraham's bosom all year," because God is with her even when she is unaware of Him. She is closest to nature, and the divine, not the speaker because she is a part of Nature or the Divine. And thus, she isn’t awestruck, it is so normal for her, while it is not the case with the adult speaker. The poet suggests a constant connection between children and the natural world, between children and the divine, that Wordsworth believed adults lose as they grow older.

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!

Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Titus Andronicus is one of the earliest plays by William Shakespeare, and he wrote it around 1588-1593. It was his first revenge tragedy play. It was first performed sometime between 1590 and 1594. The play was a success as revenge tragedies were praised during that period. Some other important revenge tragedies of the same period include Thomas Kyd’s ‘The Spanish Tragedy’, and Christopher Marlowe’s Tambourline Parts I &II. However, Titus Andronicus was rejected and neglected in the 17th century like other revenge tragedies. In 1687, Edward Ravenscroft criticized the play as "rather a heap of rubbish than a structure." In 1765, Samuel Johnson criticized the play and said, "The barbarity of the spectacles, and the general massacre which are here exhibited, can scarcely be conceived tolerable to any audience.” T.S. Eliot (1927) called it "one of the stupidest and most uninspired plays ever written."

However, the play was recently revived when Peter Brooke and Deborah Wagner staged the play in the late twentieth century. A film adaptation titled Titus was also released by Julie Taymor in 1999. It is a 5 Act play based on the themes of Revenge, Violent Justice, Children, Grief, and otherness. Another important theme is Primogeniture vs Merit. Who should be the emperor, the elder son of the late emperor, or the most suitable meritorious person in the kingdom?

Characters of Titus Andronicus:

Titus Andronicus (or Titus) is a triumphant Roman general who declines to be the Roman emperor after defeating the Goths in favor of Saturninus. He is very faithful to Rome and the emperor. However, Saturninus begins to suspect him and his followers ruin his family. By the end of the play, Titus loses 24 out of his 25 sons. Saturninus is the eldest son of the late Roman emperor. He is a corrupt, entitled, weak-willed emperor. He lusts for Titus’ daughter Lavinia and wishes to marry her but Lavinia is betrothed to Bassianus, his younger brother. When he fails to win Lavinia, he takes the captured Goth queen, Tamora, instead, thus elevating her and her violent companions to positions of power. Tamora is the fallen queen of the Goths. Titus sacrifices her eldest son Alarbus during the war and keeps Tamora and her two other sons along with her servant Aaron as war prisoners. Saturninus chose to marry her and she became the empress of Rome with a vengeance against Titus in her heart. Chiron and Demetrius are Tamora’s sadistic, dangerous, and violent sons. Lavinia is Titus’ daughter. She loves Bassianus and elopes with him thus enraging Saturninus to whom she was promised by her father. Bassianus is killed and Lavinia is raped and mutilated by Chiron and Demetrius. Later on, Titus himself kills the daughter. Mutius is her elder brother who defends her and Bassianus after she elopes. Enraged Titus kills him. Martius, Publius, Quintus, and many other of his sons are fraudulently charged and murdered by Saturninus and Tamora’s men. Lucius is a war hero and the only son of Titus who survives till the last and is elected as the new emperor by the public. Aaron is a moor servant of Tamora and her secret lover who helps Tamora to take her revenge against Titus. Marcus is Titus’ brother a rich and lofty administrator and tribune of Rome who loses all his wealth as Titus’s family falls.

Summary of Titus Andronicus:

Act 1

The play begins with the heated debate between Saturninus and his younger brother Bassianus in front of the council of Rome. After the emperor’s death, Saturninus claims his right to empery for being the eldest son. However, Bassianus says that Saturninus is unfit for the position and that he, the more honorable son, should succeed their father. Marcus Andronicus enters the council and announces that his brother Titus has returned after defeating the war and the people of Rome, out of their love and respect for Titus have selected him as the new emperor to honor him for his victory against the Barbarian Goths. Saturninus and Bassianus both realize that they cannot compete with Titus and thus, they dismiss their supporters. Soon, Titus and his eldest son Lucius arrive with war prisoners, Alarbus, Demetrius, and Chiron, along with their mother Tamora, the defeated queen of Goths. Though Titus is victorious, he appears tired and grief-stricken. He lost 21 of his 25 sons during the war.

Lucius announces that Tamora’s eldest son Alarbus should be sacrificed to appease the Roman Gods and to avenge the death of Roman soldiers. Tamora falls on her knees and begs Titus to let her son live. However, Titus reminds her how brutal a killer her son was and orders the sacrificial proceedings. Tamora, Demetrius, and Chiron swear vengeance and shout that Romans are much more barbaric than Goths.

Lavinia arrives to greet her father. She has been betrothed to Bassianus whom she loves. Marcus again announces that by the will of the Roman people, Titus has been chosen as the new emperor. However, Titus rejects the proposal, saying that he is too old and feeble to accept the responsibility. Saturninus rises to the opportunity and claims his right to empery again. Even before Bassianus could object, Titus offered his support to Saturninus and Saturninus became the new emperor. Immediately after that, Saturninus announces that he will take Lavinia as his wife. While Titus accepts the proposal thinking of his daughter’s future as the empress of Rome, Lavinia is shocked. Saturninus then looks at Tamora and finds her enticingly attractive. He announces that Tamora will be treated much better in Rome than she ever was as the queen of the Goths. Bassianus feels the pain of losing his right to the throne but decides to object to Saturninus robbing him of Lavinia and ceases her and claims she is rightfully his. All the living brothers of Lavinia support her and Bassianus as they are already betrothed. Titus considers it an act of treason. Enraged he runs against his sons with his sword. In the turmoil, Mutius, one of his younger sons is killed by him while Lavinia flees with Bassianus. Saturninus blames Titus for letting his daughter run away and immediately announces that he will marry Tamora and make her the queen of Rome.

After consummating his marriage with Tamora, Saturninus realizes that Bassianus and Titus may create hurdles in letting him take control of the council. Thus, he asks his men to pursue them. However, Tamora asks him to forgive Bassianus and Titus while whispering in his ears, that she will massacre them all to take revenge for her sacrificed son Alarbus. Saturninus agrees and forgives Bassianus and Titus.

Act 2

A hunt is arranged to celebrate the emperor's marriage. Aaron, the moor slave of Tamora, and her secret lover, plans to take advantage of Tamora’s newly acquired power as the empress of Rome. Demetrius and Chiron arrive at his quarter while fighting over who deserves Lavinia. Both of them are lasciviously infatuated with beautiful Lavinia and are determined to pursue Bassianus and rob his newlywed wife. Aaron suggests that they could both rape Lavinia during the hunt and the brother laugh and agree to the suggestion.

On the hunt, Titus and his remaining sons join the emperor and go deep in the forest. Bassianus and Lavinia decide to return and visit Tamora’s quarter to bid farewell.

Finding secluded time with Aaron, Tamora entices him for sex with her. However, he is not interested. At the same time, Lavinia and Bassianus enter her quarter. They witness her lascivious act and mock her for lusting after a black slave. Bassianus threatens to tell Saturninus of all that he witnessed. Demetrius and Chiron enter the quarter at the same time and fatally stab Bassianus. Tamora decides to kill Lavinia herself but her sons stop her and say that they want to rape her first. Tamora allows them to have fun. Lavinia begs her to save her from being raped, rather she must kill her. Tamora says that when she begged for her son’s life, Titus mocked her, and this is her revenge. Chiron and Demetrius throw Bassianus’ body near a tree where Aaron already hid a bag full of gold. Then they drag Lavinia to rape her.

Aaron brings Quintus and Martius, two of Titus’ sons near the tree and then blames them for murdering Bassianus for the bag full of gold. Finding the bag of gold near his brother’s dead body, Saturninus is convinced that Titus’s sons murdered him and orders them to be executed without a trial, despite Titus' pleas.

Meanwhile, Demetrius and Chiron rape Lavinia, but they do not want her to tell anyone about what they did. They think of murdering her but then opt for a more sadistic way to keep her shut. They cut her tongue so that she may not speak a word and then chop off her hands so that she may not even write the names of her tormentors. And then they leave her in the forest.

Act 3

Titus pleads to the people of Rome who gather to see the execution of Martius and Quintus for killing Bassianus. Nobody hears his pleas. Lucius, the war hero arrives and informs his father that he has been banished from the Roman army. Titus says that he should be happy to be banished from such an unjust place as Rome. Marcus arrives with Lavinia, telling Titus about her dilapidated situation. Titus weeps seeing his daughter and wonders how could he help her or how could he take revenge, it is impossible to know who tormented her.

Aaron arrives at the scene and declares that Saturninus has agreed to spare his sons if Titus, Lucius, and Marcus chop off one of their hands and present it to the Emperor as a token of their devotion. All three agree. Marcus and Lucius run to find an axe to chop one of their hands while Aaron gives a sword to Titus who immediately cuts off his left hand. At the same time, two soldiers appear with the severed head of Martius and Quintus who were already executed. Marcus and Lucius collapse on the floor while Lavinia tries to pick the heads of her murdered brothers. Titus begins to laugh like a madman and declares he will take revenge. He asks Lavinia to pick his chopped hand in her teeth while he and Marcus pick a head each. Lucius goes away, declaring, he will raise an army against Rome.

Titus, Marcus, and Lavinia reach the forest where they sit down under a tree to take some food. Marcus kills a fly troubling them. Titus reprimands him and says that any killing is unjust. Marcus says that the fly reminded him of Aaron. Enraged, Titus swats the dead creature again. The only motive of his life is to take revenge, he announces.

Act 4

Lavinia chases Lucius’ son who is reading a book. The child gets horrified by seeing Lavinia’s mutilated condition and runs away. Titus asks Lavinia why she is chasing the boy and Lavinia indicates towards the book Metamorphosis by Ovid, that the child was reading. Then she manages to turn the pages to the story of the rape of Philomel. Titus realizes that his daughter was raped. Marcus notices that she cannot speak nor she can write but then brings a branch of a tree and tells her to write the names of the perpetrators on the sand using her teeth. She writes the names of Demetrius and Chiron. Marcus and Titus vow to take revenge against Demetrius, and Chiron.

Titus orders Lucius to send the best weapons of the Titus family wrapped in the words of Horace as a gift for Demetrius and Chiron. When Aaron sees the present, he realizes that Titus knows what they did to her daughter and Bassianus. Meanwhile, Tamora gives birth to a child. The midwife sends the nurse to take the newlyborn child to Aaron. It is a black child, proof of Aaron’s affair with Tamora, and evidence of treason against Saturninus and Rome. The nurse gives the child to Aaron and tells him to kill the child. Aaron kills the nurse instead. When Chiron and Demetrius intervene, he tells them that he will safeguard the child at all costs. He then orders them to send the midwife to him so that he may kill her too and then there will be no witness to the birth of Tamora and his child. He also instructs them to buy a newly born white child from a trader he knows so that Saturninus may groom that child as his own. After killing the midwife, Aaron takes the young child to the Goths where he can live safely.

Titus and Marcus convince their friends and relatives to shoot arrows with letters wrapped around them in the Roman court to spread the message that the Emperor did injustice and now they seek justice in the court of Roman gods. When Saturninus learns that he is being called unjust, he gets furious. At the same time, a messenger brings the news that Lucius has raised an army with Goths and they are marching towards Rome. Saturninus is horrified as he knows that the people and soldiers of Rome love Lucius more than him and they will side with Lucius. Tamora tries to calm him and claims that she will solve the problem.

Act 5

Lucius has gathered a big army of Goths and his friends from Rome just outside the boundaries of Rome. He declares that the people of Rome wish to dethrone the unjust king. A leader of Goths too declares his allegiance to Lucius and vows revenge against Tamora who did much more harm to the Goths than the Romans did. Some Goth soldiers bring Aaron with a black child and inform them that the child is an adulterous son of Aaron and Tamora. Lucius declares the execution of Aaron and the child. Aaron pleads that if his son is allowed to live, he will confess all his crimes. Lucius agrees and Aaron confesses how he planned Bassinius’ murder and Lavinia’s rape and how he incited Titus to chop his hand while he already knew that his sons were dead. He confesses his adulterous relationship with Tamora and many more heinous crimes. Lucius orders to gag him and let him die a slow death while protecting the newly born child.

Saturninus sends a messenger to Lucius with a request for a meeting and peaceful resolution of their differences. Lucius agrees to the meeting.

Tamora decides to visit Titus at his adobe in disguise so that she may get a chance to murder him and Lucius. Demetrius and Chiron accompany her. She takes the disguise of the Goddess of Revenge while Demetrius and Chiron are disguised as Rape and Murder. Titus recognizes them but doesn’t let them know. He entertains them and asks Marcus to follow everything that the goddess of Revenge asks him to do. Marcus plays along. Tamora asks Titus to bring his son to her and Titus agrees to do so. He pleads with the goddess of Revenge to help him take revenge against Demetrius and Chiron. The goddess assures him that she will help.

Titus then says that he will make sure that Lucius is there in the evening for the dinner to which he invites the goddess of revenge too. Tamora promises to be there. As she prepares to leave, Titus asks her to let Rape and Murder help him in preparing for the night. Demetrius and Chiron agree, hoping to continue the disguise. As soon as Tamora leaves, one of the kinsmen of Titus gags and binds Demetrius and Chiron. Lavinia arrives with a basin and Titus tells the rapists that he will murder them and make pies of their blood and flesh that will be served in the dinner arranged for the night. He then cuts their throats.

In the evening, Marcus and Lucius meet the Emperor and the queen and bring them to the parley for dinner. Titus, dressed in a cook’s dress serves the food to all of them. Marcus brings Lavinia who too sits with them. Titus then asks Marcus about the tale of Virginius and his daughter, who was violated and then slain. Saturninus agrees that Virginius was right to kill his daughter because she had been raped. Titus then kills Lavinia by cutting her throat. Saturninus is appalled by seeing this. He asks why would Titus do such a horrifying act. Titus says, she couldn’t speak, couldn’t eat, couldn’t write, she could hardly stand by her own. Her life was just pain and ignominy and he rescued her from that pain. Titus then tells him how Chiron and Demetrius murdered her daughter’s husband, raped her, and mutilated her and how Tamora witnessed all that bestiality. Tamora gets frightened and asks where are Demetrius and Chiron as she left them with Titus. Titus says that she is eating the pies made of her sons’ flesh and blood and then cuts her throat. Saturninus stabs Titus in retaliation and Lucius slays him down.

After the death of Titus, Lucius and Marcus appear in the Roman court and explain how Titus Andronicus and his family were betrayed and tormented. He informs how Tamora and Aaron cheated Saturninus and Rome. The Romans agree that Titus’ revenge was justified and pray for Lucius to be the leader of Rome. Lucius is unanimously elected the next emperor of Rome. He orders Aaron to be buried chest-deep in the sand and be left to die of starvation. He orders proper funeral rites for Titus and Saturninus but orders that Tamora’s dead will be left on the seashore to be eaten by wild birds and beasts as she lives a life of a beast.

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 Homecoming by Arun Joshi | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Homecoming is a short story by Arun Joshi published in his short story collection titled ‘The Survivor’ in 1975. The story is about an unnamed soldier, a lieutenant in the Indian army who returns from the Bangladesh Liberation War to his hometown in India. It describes the failure of a soldier, a war survivor, to establish meaningful contacts with others, a failure that results in a painful loneliness experience. The story explores the hypocrisy and ignorance of the self-proclaimed intellectual elites of our society. The story is about the psychological effects of war and violence on individual soldiers. The psyche suffers during combat challenges. It can be tough when it is time to return home and start adapting to civilian life. Then the soldier may be disturbed by dreams about the war and may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, which affects veterans.

Arun Joshi explores this post-traumatic stress disorder of the individual returning from the war front and the indifference of the society that remains largely peacefully, away; in a contrasting manner. The story is told from a third-person point of view with an omniscient narrative style.

Characters of the story:

None of the characters have been named in the story. There is a young army officer who just returned from the battleground of the Bangladesh Liberation Movement that resulted in the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971. He is a survivor, a winner of the war. He was awarded with the Veer Chakra. He was recruited as a lieutenant in the Indian army just a year ago and it was the first battle he faced. Many of his colleagues were lost during the war, which was a hard experience for him. His fiance is a young girl looking forward to marrying him and having a family. He loved his fiance and was very keen to marry her before he joined the army. But now he has doubts in his mind. His mother is a caring woman and his father is a responsible businessman with a busy schedule. All of them are cheerful at his return but none of them can understand his trauma, his feelings, and his psyche that has been largely disturbed by the violence that he witnessed on the battlefield. He used to be close to his sister who understood him. But since his return, he feels that his sister too has changed and he couldn’t express his feelings to her.

One of his former classmates who was keen on literature, has become a renowned poet. He meets him and other members of the elite class at a party.

Summary of The Homecoming:

The story begins as a young soldier, a lieutenant of the Indian army returns to his home city. He was posted on the Eastern Front in Dinajpur, Bangladesh. The war was over, and he was awarded the Veer Chakra for his services and bravery. He is a newly recruited officer and it was his first experience of the battleground. The memories of his friends from the battalion still linger in his mind. Nine had died on the very first night. 

As the train reaches the station, he sees his fiance, with his mother who receives him. They had been worried for him but now he is back, they seem all happy. His fiance wore an emerald sari and she appeared pretty. He always loved her and was so keen to marry her before the war began.

She asked him if he was was bad and he answered he wished not so many of his men were killed. His fiance discusses the details that she had heard on T.V. and radio news, she told him she was so eager for him to return. He found it hard to connect with her feelings. She said that she was worried for him and kept indoors and hence, she might have gained some weight but now she will follow a diet to get to her normal figure. His mother interrupted and said that diet often leads to anemia, and that may cause problems during the pregnancy. It becomes clear that the soldier’s family is keen on his marriage.

However, he fails to understand all this. He remembers the hunger of the soldiers stuck in the battleground. He remembered the situation of relief camps after the ceasefire. He had been a supervisor of such a relief camp where many poor people who lost their homes and family members during the war were admitted. There were many survivors but the ration was limited. Their hunger was bigger and food was less. The older and weaker people could not stand in lines and compete to get their ration, he saw many of them dying out of hunger. Here, his fiance and mother are talking about dieting and anemia. The battleground has changed something in him. He still remembers the scene of the hockey field strewn with the skeletons of boys. He had never seen a dead body before that.

He belongs to a rich family. His father, a successful businessman, opposed him joining the Army, but he had a wish to serve his nation. Now he wonders what was the meaning of one man's marriage; one man's life. He had been wondering what life was all about. Who, he had been thinking, could possibly be running the world. Such thoughts filled his head with confusion as he sat about or played cards or went out with his father for a game of golf.

He realized that no one could understand his feelings. His sister, who used to understand him well, too appears a stranger to him now. One day, her sister insisted on attending a party. There were many of his childhood friends. The sons and daughters of rich businessmen. He had known them since his childhood but failed to recognize them. They were wearing stylish modern clothes and goggles with awkward hairstyles and some of them had beards. Some girls were in pantsuits while many of them were without bras. All of them were smoking and drinking alcohol. He too was offered a cigarette but he politely refused. He was caught up in an artillery barrage during the war and had to suffer a lot of sulfur dioxide. The army doctor instructed him to avoid smoking for some time. But he took some drink.

He observes that everyone is keenly discussing the war that just ended. They discuss how horrifyingly the TV and radio news have offered the war reports. The TV news has declared that it was a genocide. The rich brats in the party discuss if it really was genocide or if the TV reports are exaggerations. One of his former classmates, who now is a poet, says that it is undeniable that many cruel things have been done during the war, but it certainly wasn’t a genocide. The others agree with him. However, the soldier notices that none of them actually know the big terms they are using in their discussion. Some of them turned to him and asked him how it really was during the war. They asked what happened after the tanks the artillery and the aero-planes destroyed the enemy? The lieutenant informed them that it wasn’t the case, the enemy was still there and our soldiers, he included, had to face them hand to hand. None of them actually believed such a horrifying description of the war.

After the dinner, the poet recited a nice poem about the war and praised the bravery of our soldiers. He talked of Golden Bengal bleeding under a violet sky. The lieutenant said it was a good poem, but at heart, he felt hurt. He realizes that none of them actually understood the severeness and dangers of war. They thought that soldiers were safe enough while fighting the enemy. He remembers that was not the case, he remembers how he and his colleagues and friends, faced death every moment of the war, many of them were lost. He further talked about his experience in Bangladesh. He said he once visited an abandoned village during the war. There was no alive, just a dead child stuck on a bayonet before every hut. In another instance, his battalion raided a girls' school where the girl students were forcibly raped by the enemy soldiers, they succeeded in rescuing some girls, but many died.

He remembers how six young soldiers of his Unit were asked to go in the dark of the night to blast the bridge that could help the enemy. The soldiers knew it was a suicidal attempt and there were bleak chances of their returning alive, they were pensive and afraid, but they did the job. He remembers how as a lieutenant he was forced to take a decision to march his men to intercept a convoy head-on. Many of his men died within minutes, yet, he succeeded in destroying the convoy and returned safe. He was awarded the Veer Chakra for the same act. One of his subedar, while fighting the enemy soldier got stuck in his own bayonet. He killed the enemy soldier but sacrificed his own life too. After the war, the lieutenant went to meet his family in his village, he was a poor man. His widowed wife was very young in his 20s. He had two kids. She cried and begged for his help, wondering how she would feed her kids now. He tried to help her by recommending the name of the dead Subedar for an award and monetary help. He doesn’t know if the widow got any. He wonders how that girl of 20 with two kids will survive her life alone as society won’t allow her to remarry. Now when he sees civilians talking about the war in such a light manner, he wonders what will happen if the next war happens right in the city center. He thought of leaving the army, but he realized that wouldn’t solve the problem. How will he make sure that no other Subedar will be killed by his own Bayonet during the war? He left the party and returned home. Nothing changed the next morning. His sister was preparing for another party, his mother was insisting he marry soon, his father asked him to leave the army and join his business, and he wondered if he ever would be able to settle with them, his soul was troubled, alone, searching the meaning of life and how to end the wars.

 

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 Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Two Gentlemen of Verona is one of the earliest plays by William Shakespeare that he wrote around 1594 and the play was probably first performed in 1598. The primary source for the plot of the play is considered to be the Spanish romance titled  La Diana Enamorada by Jorge de Montemayor which was published in 1559 and was translated in English in 1582. Other sources include Thomas Elyot’s story of Titus and Gissipus told in The Book of the Governor (1531), Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, and John Lyly’s Eupheus: Anatomy of Wit (1578).

The play deals with the themes of friendship, fidelity, the transformative power of lust, and the inconstancy of mercurial characters. It is a comedy and while The Two Gentlemen of Verona is considered the weakest play by the bard, the value of this play lies most in Shakespeare's first versions of characters who appear later in his more mature plays. It was the first English play that presents a woman disguised as a man (cross-dressing). It was an innovative idea because female actors weren’t allowed to perform on the stage and often male actors used to perform the female roles. However, this was the first play that required a male actor, performing a female role, to cross-dress and appear as a male again. The play follows a Five-Act structure.

Characters of The Two Gentlemen of Verona :

Valentine is the main character or the first gentleman in the play. He is a close friend of Proteus. He is an adventurous man who "after honor hunts" rather than after love. Valentine goes on an adventure in Milan where he falls in love with Silvia, the daughter of the Duke of Milan. However, Silvia’s father doesn’t like Valentine much and when he comes to know that Silvia is planning to elope, he banishes Valentine from Milan. Valentine is forced to go into the forest where he becomes the leader of the outlaws.

Proteus is the other gentleman from Verona who is more romantic than adventurous. He is in love with Julia and wishes to marry her. But his father Antonio asks him to go and join Valentine in Milan. Before leaving, he exchanges rings with Julia. In Milan, he encounters Silvia and forgets his love for Julia. His lust for Silvia forces him to betray his friend Valentine. He deserts Julia, plots to have Valentine banished, and tries to rape Silvia. When Valentine confronts him to save Silvia, he accepts his fault and offers a genuine apology. Seeing his seemingly genuine remorse, Valentine and Julia forgive him.

Julia is a decent girl from Verona who is pursued by Proteus. While she resists her feelings for Proteus, she admits her love for him just before Proteus’ father asks him to leave for Milan. To keep track of Proteus, she decides to follow him and observes him debasing himself out of love for another woman. She tries to bring him back and helps him by disguising herself as his page boy Sebastian to stay closer to him.

Silvia is the daughter of the Duke of Milan. She is a beautiful and high-spirited girl whom many gentlemen wish to marry. However, she falls in love with Valentine whom her father rejects. She plans to elope with him but Proteus makes sure that her plan is foiled. Later on, Proteus tries to force himself on her but Valentine saves her. His bravery in saving Silvia impresses the Duke who agrees to their marriage.

The Duke of Milan is a caring father and strong-handed administrator who wishes Silvia to marry the most suitable man. Thurio is a wealthy rival gentleman to Valentine whom the Duke prefers. However, Thurio proves to be a fool and coward in the end. Elgamour is another suitor of Silvia who is sympathetic towards her and helps her escape from Milan to be with Valentine. Speed is Valentine’s servant who enjoys teasing his master. Launce is Proteus’ servant who takes great pleasure in aggravating his master. Lucetta is Julia’s maid girl who encourages her to accept Proteus’ love proposal. Crab is a pet dog of Proteus whom he loves.

Summary of The Two Gentlemen of Verona:

Act 1:

The play begins as Proteus bids farewell to Valentine who is going to Milan for an adventure. Valentine encourages Proteus to travel with him but Proteus is love-stricken with a young girl named Julia and doesn’t wish to go until he succeeds in marrying her. Valentine chides him and says that traveling will help him gain worldliness. Proteus says that Valentine is doing enough adventure for both of them. As Valentine leaves, Proteus laments that his love for Julia has turned him into a useless person. When he meets his servant Speed, he asks him if he delivered his letter to Julia. Speed continues to tease him rather than answering back but later admits that he delivered his love letter to Julia. However, she wants Julia to whom he actually gave the letter. She was Lucetta, Julia’s maid girl disguised as Julia.

When Julia comes to know that Lucetta has accepted the letter from Proteus, she frowns at her and tears away the letter. Lucetta however encourages her to accept her feelings for Proteus who is a fine gentleman.

Proteus soon gets a letter from Julia who accepts his love. While he is reading the letter, he hears Antonio, his father approaching him. Antonio asks him about the letter. Proteus lies and says that it is a letter from Valentine who is asking him to join in Milan. Antonio too wishes Proteus to go and assist Valentine in his adventurous journey. Proteus finds it hard to deny his father and accepts going on the travel.

Act 2:

In Milan, Valentine meets and falls in love with Silvia, the daughter of the Duke of Milan. Silvia too loves him and they have exchanged love letters to express their acceptance. However, Silvia’s father prefers, Thurio, a wealthy merchant from Milan as a suitor for Silvia.

Proteus leaves Verona after exchanging rings with Julia to ascertain his love for her. He is worried about his pet dog Crab and decides to take it with him. Launce tells him that he thinks Crab is the most ill-behaved and sour animal on earth.

When Proteus reaches Milan, Valentine is overjoyed. He tells Proteus how he fell in love with Silvia. Proteus is a bit amazed to know that a girl could make Valentine fall in love. When he sees Silvia, he finds her very attractive and lusts for her. He decides to do anything to win Silvia and marry her. Valentine, meanwhile shares his plan to elope with Silvia with him.

Proteus decides to betray Valentine by informing the Duke about their plan to elope at night. He hopes that by doing so, he will win the Duke’s favor while Valentine will be banned and ultimately, he will win Silvia’s love.

In Verona, Julia is too pensive and worried about Proteus. She asks Lucetta’s help in going to Milan. Lucetta warns him that the journey can be dangerous. She also shows her concern about the veracity of Proteus’ love. However, Julia insists and says that she will disguise herself as a high-class page boy to avoid any possible danger. Lucetta finally agrees to help her disguise as a page boy and go to Milan.

Act 3:

Proteus meets the Duke and informs him about Valentine’s plan to elope with Silvia but asks him not to tell the source of information to anybody. The Duke gets angry and decides to confront Valentine. He goes to him and says that he is infatuated with a woman and wants to win her love but doesn’t know how to. He asks for Valentine’s help. Valentine feels something fishy but plays along out of politeness. He advises the Duke to keep a rope ladder in the pocket of his coat so that he may climb up the wall to meet the woman at her window whenever he gets a chance.

The Duke says that Valentine must have such a rope ladder and insists on checking the pockets of Valentine’s coat. While doing so, he finds a letter in Valentine's pocket that details his love for Silvia and his plan to run away with her. The Duke gets furious and banishes Valentine out of Milan.

Launce appears at the stage and announces that his master is a treacherous man. He meets Speed and tells him that he too has fallen in love with a lady who knows how to fetch milk and brew beer. She is toothless, drinks a lot, and has illegitimate children.

The Duke asks Proteus to help Thurio win Silvia’s love. Proteus feigns sadness at betraying his friend but the Duke says that it was the right thing to do. Proteus meets Thurio and tells him to assemble a band of musicians to serenade Silvia that night and impress her. However, he plans to foil Thurio’s attempt and win Silvia’s approval for himself.

Act 4

Valentine is forced to leave Milan and go into the forest where he encounters a gang of outlaws. The outlaws ask him why was he banished. Instead of saying that he was banished for trying to elope with the Duke’s daughter, he falsely claims that he murdered a man. The outlaws are impressed by him and ask him to be their gang leader, otherwise, they will kill him because now he knows their whereabouts. Valentine agrees to be the leader but asserts that he and the other men of the gang will never harm women. The outlaws agree.

Meanwhile, Julia reaches Milan and sees that Proteus has completely forgotten her while he pursues Silvia. She is disheartened but decides to enlist as Proteus’ page boy to get a chance to be near him. In the evening, Proteus and Thurio arrange a band of musicians under the window of Silvia. However, Proteus makes Thurio go away while claiming that he will plead his love to Silvia for him. When Silvia arrives, Proteus begins trying to woo her. Silvia gets annoyed and blames him for betraying his friend Valentine and his love Julia. Proteus claims that Julia is dead. Julia, who is disguised as his page boy, overhears him but fails to resist his fraud.

Silvia was hoping to get help from Proteus to meet Valentine but now she is convinced that Proteus will never help her. Thus, she asks Sir Eglamour to help her run away from Milan to meet Valentine. Eglamour himself wishes to marry her but respects her feelings for Valentine and decides to help her.

Launce appears again and informs how he smuggled Crab into the Duke’s dining chamber to give it to Silvia as a gift from Proteus but Crab peed on the floor. When the Duke noticed, he ordered to kill the dog. But Launce protected the dog by accepting the blame on himself and said that it was he who urinated on the floor. The servants beat Launce instead of Crab, the dog.

Proteus asks Sebastian the page boy to deliver a ring as a gift to Silvia. Sebastian notices that it is the same ring that she (Julia) gave to Proteus. With a heavy heart, she follows the order of Proteus. When she meets, Silvia and offers the ring, Silvia again accuses Proteus of treachery and disloyalty against Valentine and Julia without realizing that Sebastian is Julia in disguise. Sebastian praises Silvia for her respect towards Julia’s true love for Proteus.

Act 5

Sebastian returns to Proteus who asks him if Silvia accepted his love and the ring. Meanwhile, Silvia runs away with Eglamour to meet Valentine in the forest. The Duke announces that his daughter is missing and takes Proteus, Thurio, and Sebastian with him to search for Silvia.

In the forest, the outlaws confront Eglamour and Silvia. Eglamour runs away leaving Silvia alone. However, the outlaws have vowed never to harm any woman. Meanwhile, Proteus too reaches there and pretends as if he saved Silvia.

Proteus asks Silvia to accept his love for saving her from the outlaws. Silvia angrily retorts that she would prefer eaten by a lion alive than accept Proteus as her lover. The leader of the outlaws was hearing all this from a distance. Proteus gets angry at the continuous rebuttal of his love by Silvia and threatens to rape her. Valentine appears at the same time and confronts Proteus and saves Silvia against the sexual assault. When Proteus recognizes the leader of the outlaws as Valentine, he feels guilt and remorse and begs forgiveness. Valentine, moved by his genuine apology, forgives Proteus and rather offers to sacrifice his love for Silvia in favor of Proteus. When Sebastian hears this, he faints and falls. Proteus lifts him up and asks what happened. Sebastian says that he just forgot to give the ring to Silvia and takes two rings out of his pocket When Proteus sees the ring he gave to Julia while asserting his true love for her, he feels remorse and says, "O heaven, were man/But constant, he were perfect. That one error/Fills him with faults, makes him run through all th'sins;/Inconstancy falls off ere it begins," claiming that his inconstancy and infidelity made him do all the sins and asks for forgiveness.

Sebastian then reveals that she is Julia herself and Proteus decides to marry her.

Meanwhile, the Duke arrives with Thurio who claims Silvia for himself. Valentine takes his sword out and confronts Thurio for a duel. Thurio out of cowardice decides to run away, giving up his claim for Silvia. The Duke notices all this and praises Valentine for his bravery and gives his nod for his marriage with Silvia. Valentine asks the Duke to offer the outlaws a chance to rehabilitate in the city and the Duke decides to offer mercy to the outlaws. The play ends with the Duke announcing that Proteus and Julia and Valentine and Silvia will be married on the same day.

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!