The Starry Night by Anne Sexton | Structure, Summary, Analysis

 

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘The Starry Night’ is an Ekphrastic poem by Anne Sexton, a poetic response, or reinterpretation of a visual artwork of the famous Dutch Post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh’s famous painting by the same title. Van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night’ is one of the most recognizable paintings in Western art, and Anne Sexton’s ‘The Starry Night’ is one of her most impressive poems published in the poetic collection ‘All My Pretty Ones’ in 1962.

Numerous poems, songs, and lyrics are written with inspiration from paintings, sculptures, or photographs. An ekphrastic poem can immortalize a work of art adding a new perspective. Some other significant ‘Ekphrastic poems’ include ‘The Disquieting Muses’ by Sylvia Plath, ‘Mourning Picture’ by Adrienne Rich, and ‘Musée des Beaux Arts’ by W. H. Auden.

It should be noted that both Anne Sexton and Vincent Willem Van Gogh suffered mental illnesses and instability. Vincent Gogh committed suicide when he was 37 years old.

Anne Sexton was a confessional poet and this poem deals with Sexton's own struggles: she often wrote about her feelings of alienation and her difficulties with her mental health. In ‘The Starry Nights’, Anne Sexton reinterprets Van Gogh’s art and his mental illness. Like Anne Sexton, he suffered from bipolar disorder.

The poem deals with the inevitability of death and invites death to devour the speaker in the beautiful starry night, emphasizing the power of art. "The Starry Night" begins with an epigraph: a quotation from one of the painter Vincent Van Gogh's many letters to his beloved brother Theo. This suggests that the poem is meant to respond both to Van Gogh's beloved painting and the feelings that Van Gogh recorded in his visual art and his writings. The speaker of the poem is unknown but it can be suggested that the speaker is either Van Gogh himself, immersed in painting a real-life starry night and longing for freedom from his pain. Or, the speaker could be a later art-lover, looking at Van Gogh's painting and feeling what Van Gogh felt, that is, Anne Sexton herself.

Structure of The Starry Night:

‘The Starry Night’ is a three-stanza poem, divided into two sets of six lines and one final quintain, or set of five lines. It is an ekphrastic poem, describing and responding to a work of visual art. It uses turbulent free verse to reflect both, the wild, rushing brushstrokes of Van Gogh's painting and the speaker's own inner turmoil. Though the poem has no specific rhyme scheme or metrical pattern in the stanzas, the lines are ornamented with half-rhymes (eye, and iron) and full-rhymes (eye, and die). The poet has used enjambment, metaphor, personification, alliteration, caesura, imagery, simile, repetition, and refrain in the poem.

Summary of The Starry Night:

The poet used an epigraph before the text of the poem which says –

“That does not keep me from having a terrible need of—shall I say the word—religion. Then I go out at night to paint the stars. Vincent Van Gogh in a letter to his brother”

Anne Sexton cites a letter Van Gogh wrote to his brother, Theo, about his painting practice and religious attitudes. By doing so, she establishes a connection between the two artists, the poet and the painter, the religion of whom is art.

Stanza 1 Lines 1-6

“The town does not exist

except where one black-haired tree slips

up like a drowned woman into the hot sky.

The town is silent. The night boils with eleven stars.   

Oh starry starry night! This is how

I want to die.”

The poet begins with a hook as the speaker describes the picture by Van Gogh, saying, ‘The town does not exist.’ The speaker describes the mental impression of the painting. The speaker mentions that there is a “black-haired tree” in the foreground and then she uses a simile ‘like a drowned woman” that slips up “into the hot sky.” The speaker interprets the tree as a woman’s black hair waving upwards as if she is drowning in the starlit sky. The brush strokes Van Gogh used to create the black tree on the left-hand side of the image are described as hair-like as if a drowned woman’s hair was floating around underwater. The town remains silent and the night boils down with “eleven stars”, which are overwhelming, doing more than enough to light the evening. By using “boils,” the speaker evokes a feeling of heat as if it is about to reach its breaking point and spillover as if the speaker is about to lose his or her mental balance.

The stanza ends with a refrain, ‘I want to die’ which the poet repeats in the next stanza too which suggests that death is clearly on the speaker’s mind. It should be noted that both Van Gogh and Sexton committed suicide.

Stanza 2 Lines 7-12

“It moves. They are all alive.

Even the moon bulges in its orange irons   

to push children, like a god, from its eye.

The old unseen serpent swallows up the stars.   

Oh starry starry night! This is how   

I want to die:”

In these lines, the speaker begins with personification, suggesting that the eleven stars are ‘alive,’ as they move. The speaker describes the painting as if it is lively, and moves. Even the moon in the painting moves as  it “bulges in its orange irons.” The speaker describes the moon chained in hot iron chains appearing orange. Though the moon wishes to run away, it is chained. The poet uses metaphor to depict the painting’s liveliness. In the next line, the speaker uses simile again to depict the moon ‘like a god’ or titan while personifying the small stars like the children of the moon being pushed around through its staring "eye." In the next line, the speaker animates the sky, depicting it as the ‘old unseen serpent’ willing to devour the stars. The serpent brings the concept of religion, suggesting that the picture is the playground of both good and evil. In the next two lines, the speaker uses the same refrain again, suggesting her willingness to be devoured by the sky in the same way it is devouring the stars, the speaker says, ‘I want to die.’

Stanza 3 Lines 13-17

“into that rushing beast of the night,   

sucked up by that great dragon, to split   

from my life with no flag,

no belly,

no cry.”

In the third stanza, the speaker elaborates on how he or she wishes to die. The speaker wishes to be swallowed by this “rushing beast of the night”. They can get relief from their worldly pains when the “great dragon” sucks them, leaving no trace of their body. They don’t even want anybody to hear their last cry.

Imagine a black hole devouring the little eleven stars drawn by Van Gogh. The speaker imagines the black serpent devouring her too leaving no trace of him or her. Being one with the ‘great dragon’ while fulfilling the voracious dragon, the speaker wishes to lose all their desires, hunger (belly), and frustrations (cry).

Throughout the poem, the speaker continues to use metaphors suggesting the wild, vibrant, voracious energy that can devour the eleven stars and the speaker. The starry night doesn't sparkle or twinkle or glitter: it "boils with eleven stars," so "hot" it could burn. The moon is like a Titan chained in orange hot iron bars, trying to push away as it bulges. There's nothing comfortable, peaceful, or consoling about this sky depicted in the picture, and the poem. The speaker describes the night as an "old unseen serpent," a "rushing beast," and a "great dragon" that might "swallow up" not just the stars, but the watching speaker, and that is what the speaker wishes for.

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

Mrs. Sen’s by Jhumpa Lahiri | Characters, Summary, Analysis

 

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Mrs. Sen’s is the title of the sixth story from the story collection ‘Interpreter of Maladies’ by Jhumpa Lahiri which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2000. The story is about a lonely 11-year-old American boy and a lonely Indian woman, an immigrant from India whose husband works as a mathematics professor at a university in New England, America. The story touches on the themes of loneliness, assimilation, cultural differences, and differences between expectations and realities. Back at home, the Indian woman’s family believes she is leading a life of glamour and luxury in America while facing opposite situations. Her flat at the University of America is shabby and nowhere near the luxuries of her home in India. She realizes that her husband’s financial condition in America is no match to what they were used to in India. Furthermore, she suffers from loneliness and lack of social connection in the new place especially because she is treated as an alien in the new country.

Characters of Mrs. Sen’s:

Mrs. Sen is the main character of the story. She is a lonely woman, about 30 years old, who desperately misses Calcutta, her home. Her husband took a job as a professor in a New England town. Life is very different for her there. Her husband is often busy with his university work. She refuses to learn to drive because it scares her, but the refusal also limits her experiences in her new country. She becomes a babysitter for Eliot, who comes to her house after school. The two share an unspoken loneliness. Eliot is the other main character. He is an 11-year-old who knows how to do everything himself. He just needs a babysitter to watch him "in case of an emergency." Eliot lives with his single mother in a beach house. After the tourist season is over, the weather grows colder, and the town becomes more desolate. His mother worries that he needs company and thus, she arranges for him to be watched by Mrs. Sen, who is just as lonely as Eliot. Eliot is a precocious child.  He is perceptive to the pain felt by both women, his mother, and Mrs. Sen. Eliot’s mother is a single parent, either divorced or separated from her husband. She is a working lady, struggling to keep her life intact. Her struggle and frustration appear through Eliot who notices that she skips her dinner and drinks too much wine and isolates herself. Mr. Sen is Mrs. Sen’s husband. He is a professor of Mathematics who moved from Calcutta to teach at a university in New England. He knows the struggles of Mrs. Sen and her loneliness but doesn’t care much as he is too busy with his work at the university.

Summary of Mrs. Sen’s:

Eliot is an 11-year-old boy who lives at a beach house with his mother in New England. His mother is a single parent who needs to commute to a distant office to work. She tries babysitters for Eliot but one of them is a vegan who refuses to prepare meat for Eliot and the other is an alcoholic. His mother then notices Mrs. Sen’s advertisement at Supermarket who is willing to serve as a babysitter at her home. Eliot’s mom prefers to have Eliot looked after at their house, but she makes an exception for Mrs. Sen since Mrs. Sen cannot drive.

Eliot and his mother go to meet Mr. and Mrs. Sen at their shabby university apartment. Mrs. Sen wears a sari and traditional Indian makeup, and she and Mr. Sen take off their shoes and wear flip-flops indoors. Mrs. Sen offers tea and biscuits to Eliot’s mother but she refuses. Rather she begins questioning Mr. Sen and Mrs. Sen to ascertain that her son will remain safe. She doesn’t approve of the apartment complex and notices the low quality of the lobby furniture and uneven paint. However, her main concern is that Mrs. Sen cannot drive, because she works 50 miles away and his father doesn’t live nearby. Mr. Sen tells her though that he's teaching Mrs. Sen how to drive and she should be ready to go by December. Eliot’s mother notices that Mr. Sen’s house is rather empty. Mrs. Sen clarifies that they have all their riches back in India. She also clarifies why she doesn’t know how to drive because, in India, where the Sens have all of their stuff, they have a chauffeur. Eliot notices that at the mention of India, Mrs. Sen becomes distracted and upset.

Eliot’s mother is wary of Mrs. Sen and her weird-looking dresses, the Indian saris. However, she has no other option and thus she agrees to the arrangement. On the other hand, Eliot finds her beautiful. He likes her colorful sari. He rather feels his mother’s clothes are gloomy and unattractive.

Eliot begins going to Mrs. Sen’s apartment after school. Eliot doesn’t mind because the neighborhood he lives in does not have any other children for him to play with. Eliot learns to take off his shoes upon entering Mrs. Sen’s apartment. As Eliot spends his days at Mrs. Sen's, he starts to like it there. His small beach house is cold in September whereas Mrs. Sen's house is warm. The boy takes an active interest in watching Mrs. Sen’s culinary preparations, as she chops ingredients for the evening meal. He notices the special blade Mrs. Sen uses. Mrs. Sen notices his curiosity but doesn’t allow him to go near the blade, afraid for his safety. As Mrs. Sen talks about her days back in India, Eliot notices that she is nostalgic for her native country. One evening, she tells Eliot that when she lived in India, she would prepare food with a community of women for celebrations—but in the U.S., she’s lonely. She says that it often becomes difficult to sleep back in India because of the chattering of the neighboring women. But here in the U.S., she finds it difficult to sleep because of too much silence. While Mrs. Sen is handling chicken meat in the kitchen, she asks Eliot if anyone would come by to check on them if she starts to scream. Eliot tells her that they might but just to complain about the noise. Mrs. Sen tells Eliot that in India people would come by to check. Eliot thinks of how uneventful his life is with his mother, and how when he asks her to go somewhere she refuses and secludes herself from him. He learns that Mrs. Sen is deeply unsatisfied with her life in America and he also notices his own loneliness.  Mrs. Sen asks Eliot whether, if she started screaming, anyone would come. At home, people would come running at the slightest commotion to share joy or grief. Eliot remembers a party that was thrown by a neighbor; he and his mother were not invited. Eliot says that someone might call to complain. He understands that “home” to Mrs. Sen means India and not the house they’re presently in. In India, which Mrs. Sen keeps referring to as "home," all she has to do is yell and the whole neighborhood will come rushing over to share the good or bad news.

Mrs. Sen tells Eliot about Bindi, the red dot she applies to her forehead with powder, which is custom for Indian women who are married. The dot symbolizes that she is married. When Eliot’s mother comes to pick him up, Mrs. Sen hides all evidence of food preparation. Eliot’s mother seems uncomfortable in the apartment, and she tries to refuse the food that Mrs. Sen offers her. When she and Eliot get home, she always drinks wine and orders pizza for dinner.

Eliot notices that every afternoon, Mrs. Sen arrives early to wait for Eliot at the bus stop. He finds it unusual and feels that in some ways, Mrs. Sen is more responsible than his own mother who would often keep her secluded, away from him.  Mrs. Sen practices driving each day with Eliot in the car. Mrs. Sen prefers to have Eliot in the car with her because driving scares her. She’s nervous and distracted while driving, and she’s too afraid to drive on the main road with other cars. One day a letter informs her that her sister has given birth to a baby girl. Mrs. Sen is thrilled by this news, but sad that the girl will be three years old by the time she first sees her. She hugs Eliot and reads it excitedly, reminiscing about her home and family members in India. She gives Eliot updates on family members and grieves that she will not be able to see them for another three years because of Mr. Sen’s work schedule. Mrs. Sen asks if Eliot misses his mother these afternoons. The thought hadn’t occurred to him. She says he is wise – he already tastes the way things must be, that people are distant from each other. She suggests that there is no escape from loneliness. Eliot seems to agree.

Mrs. Sen mentions that she loves fish but she doesn’t like the packed fish sold in the supermarket. She mentions how she used to get fresh fish back in Calcutta. She tells Eliot that, in India, people eat fish twice a day and it frustrates her to live near the coast without access to fresh fish. She likes to reserve fish at a market near the beach, which Mr. Sen picks up for her. One day, though, Mr. Sen tells Mrs. Sen that he won’t have time to get the fish anymore because he needs to hold office hours. Mrs. Sen is upset, and she confides in Eliot about how unhappy she is in America. She leads Eliot into her bedroom to display to him her large collection of saris, none of which she now wears. Her family thinks that she must be happy and rich here, but she isn’t. Later that evening, Mr. Sen relents and drives Mrs. Sen and Eliot to get the fish.

In November, Eliot notices that Mrs. Sen is sad and depressed. She paces the apartment and plays a series of audiotapes. She tells Eliot she has learned by letter that her grandfather is dead. A week later, Mr. Sen arranges an expedition to the beach, and the group buys lots of fish at the market. After they visit the market, they enjoy baskets of clam cakes at a take-out restaurant and walk for a while along the beach. They take some photos. Mr. Sen tells her to drive home and it is a disaster. She goes too slowly, becomes distracted by the radio, and finally pulls over to the side of the road. She hates driving and refuses to drive again.

Mrs. Sen learns the bus route and begins to take Eliot to the shore herself. On the bus, Mrs. Sen notices that there are a bunch of seniors because the bus stops at a nursing home. So that prompts her to ask Eliot whether or not he would place his mother in a nursing home. Eliot says maybe, but that he'd visit her every day. Mrs. Sen denies this possibility: “You say that now, but you will see […] you will miss one day, and another, and then she will have to drag herself onto a bus just to get herself a bag of lozenges.” She suggests that distance and practicalities prevent people from connecting in the long term and, this is why loneliness is often permanent. A passenger on the bus notices the smell of fish and complains about it. Mrs. Sen is confronted and embarrassed by the bus driver.

A few days later, when the next fish arrives, Mrs. Sen tells Eliot to put on his shoes. They pile into the car and Mrs. Sen attempts to merge onto the main road. Mrs. Sen gets Eliot and herself into a minor car accident.  Mr. Sen arrives at the spot and takes care of the police officer and then he talks to Eliot, but ignores Mrs. Sen, showing his frustration at her. Although the damage is insignificant, After returning home, Mrs. Sen is very upset. She just totally shuts down. She goes into her room, shuts the door, and lets Mr. Sen explain to Eliot's mom what happened. When Eliot's mother returns that evening, Mr. Sen apologizes for his wife and returns the past month's babysitting money. Eliot can hear Mrs. Sen crying in the other room. Eliot’s mom tells him that she is relieved he will not have to go to Mrs. Sen’s anymore and that he can watch himself after school. When she asks Eliot if he is okay, he stares out at the gray waves and says he is fine.

The gray waves outside show his inner turmoil, but he knows he has no other way but to face the gloominess of loneliness, just like Mrs. Sen will have to.

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!

Preface to Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth, Romantic Criticism | Context, Summary, Analysis

 

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Lyrical Ballads, published in 1798, is a landmark collection of poems by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge that is often credited with launching the Romantic movement in English literature. The Romantic Period began roughly around 1798 and lasted until 1837. The collection's preface, primarily written by Wordsworth, is a seminal statement of Romantic poetic theory. It outlines the poets' aims, which included using everyday language, focusing on the lives and feelings of ordinary people, and finding beauty and meaning in the natural world. The poems themselves showcase this approach, moving away from the polished formality of Augustan poetry toward a more natural and expressive style. Wordsworth's contributions focus on simple subjects and common experiences, exploring themes of nature, memory, and emotion. Coleridge's contributions tend to be more supernatural or fantastical, showcasing his interest in the supernatural and the imagination. The first edition of Lyrical Ballads was published anonymously in 1798. Wordsworth added his name to the title page of the second edition in 1800, after the book's success. He also included a preface in the second edition, titled "The Advertisement", in which he explained the poets' intentions and their revolutionary approach to poetry. ‘The Advertisement’ was then published as ‘Preface to Lyrical Ballads’ with two new definitions in the later edition of Lyrical Ballads in 1802.

Wordsworth saw Augustan poetry, with its emphasis on reason, order, and wit, as artificial and detached from genuine human emotion and experience. He criticized its formal constraints, its focus on polished diction and heroic subjects, and its lack of connection to the natural world and the lives of ordinary people. He famously championed a more natural and spontaneous style, advocating for the use of everyday language and the portrayal of common people and their experiences. In his Preface to Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth articulated his belief that poetry should arise from genuine emotion and should focus on the everyday experiences of ordinary people. This contrasted sharply with the Augustan emphasis on artificiality, formality, and the portrayal of idealized heroes. He found Augustan poetry to lack emotional depth and authenticity, favoring instead the artificiality of wit and cleverness over the power of direct emotional expression. He particularly criticized the use of elevated language and elaborate metaphors that he felt distanced the reader from the poem's meaning and emotional impact. Wordsworth's rejection of Augustan poetic conventions was a pivotal moment in the development of Romantic poetry, establishing a new direction for poetic expression that emphasized emotion, imagination, and the beauty of the natural world. In poetry in the Augustan age, or the Neo-classical age, the focus of poetic diction was mainly on rationality, it was mechanical, impersonal, and artificial. Contrastingly, Romanticism developed as a spontaneous movement where the emphasis was on spontaneity and originality.

Importance of Preface to Lyrical Ballads:

The Preface to Lyrical Ballads is not merely an introduction to a collection of poems; it is a powerful and influential statement of literary theory that continues to shape our understanding of poetry and its role in society. In this essay, William Wordsworth stresses four pertaining questions; ‘What is Poetry?’, ‘What are the Characteristics of a Good Poet?, ‘What is the Value of Poetry in the current modern and scientific world?’, and ‘What is Poetic Diction?’

Wordsworth’s Views

Wordsworth begins by explaining that the first edition of Lyrical Ballads was published as a sort of experiment to test the public reception of poems that use “the real language of men in a state of vivid sensation.” The experiment was successful, better than Wordsworth was expecting, and many were pleased with the poems. Then he acknowledges that his friend (Samuel Taylor Coleridge) supplied several poems in the collection, including Rime of the Ancient Mariner. He then relates that he and his friends wish to start a new type of poetry, poetry of the sort seen in Lyrical Ballads. 

What is Poetry?

According to Wordsworth, “All good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility.” He emphasizes the role of a rational mind where the emotions, that a poet goes through are thought over repeatedly and continuously, and they are delivered, only when they are ripe enough to be delivered. The idea is not to release raw emotions out to the world, the idea is to “recollect emotions in tranquility.” In a way, Wordsworth incorporates the rationality of the Augustan age while emphasizing the need for originality. He is clubbing the two together by saying that a perfect combination of poetry has emotions thought over radically, and rationally, over a period, and then reproduced in tranquility. He says that ‘Poetry is not about craftsmanship or artistry, it is about genuine and sincere feelings.” In the Augustan age, the stress was on the elevated language, on how to beautify the language of poetry to make it stand out above the rest. But according to Wordsworth, even if poetry is written in simple language, it should express genuine and sincere feelings and that is what will make good poetry.

He argues that poetry arises from intense feeling, not from conscious effort or artificial contrivance. This was William Wordsworth's own practice of writing a poem. According to him, “Such poetry touches the deepest cause of human heart.” A poet can experience the beauty of ordinary life and capture those feelings. He sits in a peaceful place and recollects those powerful feelings that he experienced. He contemplates, thinks over them, and finally, with the help of his imagination he writes a beautiful poem.

Characteristics of a Good Poet

Wordsworth defines three characteristics of a perfect poet. Some of his ideas match Philip Sidney’s ‘Apology of Poetry’ also known as ‘Defense of Poetry’ in which Sir Philip Sidney discussed poetry and the role of the poet.

According to Wordsworth, ‘A poet should be exceptionally sensitive’, in the sense not only to what happens to him but also what happens around him. He feels not only what he is suffering but also what others are suffering. A good poet has a more comprehensive soul than other human beings. This allows him not only to feel what happens to him but also to feel what happens to other human beings. He can empathize and feel the pain or happiness of others.

Secondly, A good poet is ‘a man speaking to men.’ This reiterates Philip Sidney’s idea who stated that a poet is a great man who can take care of society. Wordsworth says that a good poet’s poetry is not of self-indulgence but has a social responsibility to teach and correct men’s feelings. According to Wordsworth, a poet does not write poems for self-indulgence but to uplift and enlighten other human beings. Wordsworth said that every great poet is a teacher. Philip Sidney mentioned that poetry is a medium to ‘teach and delight.’

The third Characteristic of a poet is that he should have an extraordinarily strong Imagination so that he is affected by things even if they are not present around him. Even if something is happening away from him, he should have a strong imagination so that he can imagine the suffering, pain, or happiness of those people, and as a result, he can produce effective poetry. William Wordsworth believed that imagination is what makes poetry beautiful.

Value of Poetry

In the Preface, Wordsworth mentions, ‘The end of poetry is to produce excitement in co-existence with an overbalance of pleasure.’ The objective of poetry, according to Wordsworth, is ‘accurate reflection.’ He focuses on the language of poetry because it adds to the universal function of poetry. Even though it was the period of the Industrial Revolution, Wordsworth didn’t limit the importance of poetry, rather he says that science and poetry should go hand in hand to maintain a balance. Wordsworth says that poetry humanizes the readers. The universal function of poetry is to make human beings more sensitive and humane. Poetry does not merely provide pleasure but also teaches moral and philosophical values to the readers. In this materialistic age, the Mechanical and Industrial age, poetry is very much needed so that human beings do not become extremely materialistic. According to Wordsworth, every great poet is a teacher. Poetry can refine and regenerate mankind. Poetry is the fruit and flower of human knowledge. Poetry is the image of man and nature. William Wordsworth said that every poet has a social responsibility to strengthen and promote human culture through his poetry.

Poetic Diction

The idea of poetic diction or the ‘theory of poetic diction’ by Wordsworth is the most important part of the Preface. He says that poetic style needs to be organic, it should not be prescriptive, such that there remains a correlation between language and form. He attacks the elevated language used by Augustan poets ( such as John Dryden, and Alexander Pope) because they stuck to stylistic devices and figures of speech. Most of their focus was on making their poetry sound better rather than becoming better. It should be noted that Wordsworth was not against the use of similes, metaphors, and figures of speech in a poem. But he stressed that figures of speech should be very organic to the poem. They should not be added as mere ornaments.

Secondly, Wordsworth rejected the stagnant poetic diction, both in theory and in practice. He stresses the use of the real language of men which he termed as ‘rustic language,’ language that is most natural and not artificial. According to Wordsworth, ‘elevated language’ was the language of elites, the kings and aristocrats that he rejected. The common men didn’t have access to such elevated language and thus, they were not able to connect to such poetry. Wordsworth wished to reduce this gap between the common men and poetry.

William Wordsworth considered ‘meter’ to be a superficial addition to poetry. According to him, poetic meters did not conform to the organic style of poetry. ‘Metrical composition worked like a charm only to beautify poetry.’ Wordsworth says that there cannot be any essential difference between the language of poem and prose. It may appear ironic that William Wordsworth’s magnum opus, his autobiographical work ‘The Prelude’ published in fourteen chapters is written in Blank Verse. Now Blank Verse may not involve any rhyme but it is essentially iambic pentameter.

Wordsworth also stresses word selection. According to him, a poet cannot use every word that is used in the language of men or ‘rustic language.’ A poet has to be selective and choose the words that will add to the beauty of poetry. He emphasizes the need to select certain qualifiers while advocating the use of the real language of men.

Coleridge’s criticism of Wordsworth’s Preface:

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, while collaborating with William Wordsworth on the Lyrical Ballads, offered significant critiques of Wordsworth's Preface. He criticized Wordsworth’s views in his critical work The Biographia Literaria. Wordsworth championed the use of everyday language in poetry, arguing against the artificial diction prevalent in neoclassical poetry. Coleridge, while agreeing with some aspects, believed Wordsworth's emphasis on the "language really used by men" was too restrictive and overgeneralized. He felt it didn't account for the varied uses of language and the potential of poetic diction to elevate and enhance expression. Coleridge also noted that Wordsworth's focus on common language and themes risked neglecting the role of imagination and the supernatural, elements Coleridge considered crucial to poetry. Essentially, Coleridge argued for a more nuanced approach, acknowledging the value of everyday language but not at the expense of poetic license and imaginative expression. He believed that great poetry could incorporate both common speech and elevated language, depending on the subject matter and the poet's intent. 

The debate between them highlights the complexities of defining poetic language and the diverse approaches within the Romantic movement itself.

Coleridge says that Wordsworth was wrong when he said that there cannot be any difference between the language of poetry and prose. He says that in poetry words are arranged in a very different way than the arrangement in prose. For example, in prose, we can say, ‘She went to the park.’ In poetry, we can say, ‘To the park, she went.’ This should make it clear that the language of poetry is very different from that of prose.

Coleridge also suggested that Wordsworth’s theory of poetic diction is very different from Wordsworth’s own practice. He said that Wordsworth wrote in a language that is lofty, impassioned, and very sustained. It is very different from the language of common men and rustics. According to Coleridge, the language of a man varies based on his knowledge and his emotions. No two people can speak the exact, same language. Thus, Wordsworth’s insistence on using the language of real common men makes very little sense.

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!

Sexy by Jhumpa Lahiri | Characters, Summary, Analysis

 

Sexy by Jhumpa Lahiri | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘Sexy’ is the title of the fifth short story by Jhumpa Lahiri from her short-story collection Interpreter of Maladies, published in 1999. The story collection was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2000. The story is about an American girl Miranda and her growth as she emotionally matures from an impressionable naivete to a more adult and insightful woman. The story also touches on the issue of gender tropes and how exoticism and cultural differences may cause confusion and attraction. The story also highlights marital infidelity and male control. The story is told from a third-person limited omniscient point of view, focusing on the experiences of Miranda.

Characters of Sexy:

Miranda is the main character of the story. She is a 22-year-old girl who just completed college. She recently shifted from Michigan to Boston alone to live in a place where no one knows her. During her childhood, she lived in an Indian neighborhood and was fearful of an idol of Maa Kali that she saw in her neighbor’s home. As an adult, she finds the exoticism of Indians attractive. She meets Dev, a much older, married Indian man, and begins an affair with him, hoping to feel more like a mature woman. However, soon she realizes that the affair isn’t probable as Dev holds all the power and decides how much he can give to her while he begins appearing to be the most important person in her life. Laxmi is an Indian-American young woman, friend, and colleague of Miranda working at a public radio station. Laxmi is married and settled despite being only a few years older than Miranda. She informs Miranda about her cousin whose husband is having multiple affairs and how it is affecting her cousin’s and her son’s life. Dev is an elegant, smooth, and masculine Indian American. He impresses Miranda with his smooth talk and maturity. He is married but finds nothing wrong in having an extra-marital affair with Miranda as his mistress. However, he condescends and doesn’t think of her as anything more than a mistress. Rohin is the son of Laxmi’s cousin. He is a child with little knowledge of the adult world but a keen mind.  He is smart and precocious, and he insists on getting his way. He has watched his mother's sadness and anger following his father's departure, and his observations about love appear wise to Miranda.

Summary of Sexy:

The story begins as Laxmi confides her cousin’s troubles to Miranda, her friend and colleague working at a local radio station. Laxmi and Miranda have their working cubicles next to each other. Lakshmi tells her that her cousin is distraught because her husband is having an extra-marital affair and has left their home. Laxmi is worried that while her cousin is depressed, she will find it difficult to take care of her son, Rohin. Laxmi informs how her cousin’s husband met an English girl, half his age during his flight from Delhi to Montreal and decided to get off the plane in London. He is staying in London with that girl while her cousin is helpless. Laxmi worries that her nephew is unable to attend school while her cousin is ill. However, she claims that everything will be fine as her nephew is quite intelligent.

Miranda listens to her and sympathizes with her cousin’s situation. However, she contemplates, she is also having an affair with a married man, twice her age. His name is Dev and he too is of Indian descent. Like Laxmi, Dev is also a Bengali. Miranda used to believe that Bengali is a religion but one day, Dev mentioned that it is a region in India while pointing out the map of West Bengal in a copy of The Economist that he brought with him.

She remembers the first time she met Dev at a makeup counter in a department store in Boston. She was testing some fragrance cards while he was buying toiletries for a woman. He must be twice her age, in her forties, she guessed. He appeared rich, suave, and attractive. Dev too noticed her. They met again at the exit door and Dev introduced himself, commenting that part of her name is Indian (“Mira”). Miranda asked him about the creams he had purchased. He answered that those toiletries are for his wife who will be leaving for India for a few weeks. Dev informed her that he works in investment banking, and lives in the suburbs.

In his wife’s absence, Dev continued to meet Miranda and was attentive. He stayed in Miranda’s apartment every night and returned to his home in the early hours, in time for his wife’s morning calls from India. Miranda found that Dev was way different from the boys she had dated before. Dev is the first man she has dated who is thoughtful, romantic, and chivalrous. His maturity and sense of authority attracted her. Dev told Miranda that he admires her for moving to Boston and away from everything familiar in her life, he said he knows what it’s like to be lonely, and Miranda felt that Dev understands her. 

Dev continued to lavish Miranda with attention and affection. She began romanticizing him and wished to put her and Dev’s picture in her working cubicle just like Laxmi has of herself and her husband at the Taj Mahal. She wished to tell about Dev to Laxmi, her only friend in Boston but couldn’t because Laxmi was already preoccupied by the troubles of her cousin. Dev takes Miranda to his favorite places in Boston, including the Mapparium – a domed building with a room that looks like you are standing inside a globe, with glowing stained glass panels that look like the outside of a globe. Miranda notices London on the maps (where Laxmi’s cousin’s husband is) and wonders which city in India Dev’s wife is in. Dev’s voice echoes alluringly as he shows her details of the world. The acoustics make each sound feel as if a whisper in her ear. He stands across the room from her and whispers into the corner of a wall. She feels his voice under her skin. She says “Hi,” and he responds, “You’re sexy.”

That was the first time someone told she was sexy. It was alluring and exhilarating. Miranda found herself living in a fantasy. She went to the same departmental store where she first met Dev and bought clothes she thought a mistress should have – seamed stockings, black heels, a black slip, and a silver cocktail dress. She accepted herself as the mistress of Dev.

At work, Laxmi tells Miranda that Laxmi’s cousin’s husband has been unfaithful before. Laxmi’s cousin is willing to take her husband back if he returns to keep her family together for the sake of her son. Laxmi says that she would have a different reaction if she were in a similar position: “Not me. If my husband so much as looked at another woman I’d change the locks.” Miranda just nods in agreement, thinking that Dev’s wife is coming home tomorrow. The same day, Miranda had to have dinner with Dev. She decides to wear the same dress she recently bought from the Departmental store. But Dev appeared at Miranda’s flat in gym clothes, having told his wife he was out running. The lingerie remained unworn at the back of her drawer. Miranda began noticing that now Dev had little time for her. The affair continued, but only on Sundays.

Miranda remembers the Dixits, an Indian family who moved into her neighborhood when she was a child. Her peers would make fun of their names and frown upon their differences. Once, the Dixits invited Miranda to celebrate their daughter’s birthday. Miranda went over to their house and was so frightened by a painting of the fierce goddess Kali, that she never returned. Now, Miranda is ashamed of her behavior. She tries to learn more about Bengalis. Once she asked Dev about his wife, and what she looked like? Dev answered that she looks like an actress, Madhuri Dixit. Miranda felt a pang of jealousy. She didn’t know who Madhuri Dixit was. She tried to be more Indian than she could, to impress Dev. Once she tried to taste the snack Laxmi often does but the grocer told her it’s too spicy for her. In between Sundays, Miranda misses Dev and spends a lot of time thinking about him and preparing for his visits.

Laxmi’s cousin is asked for a divorce by her husband. In response, Laxmi invites the cousin and her young son to visit for the weekend. Laxmi and her cousin drop the little boy at Miranda’s apartment on Saturday morning so that Miranda can watch him while Laxmi and her cousin have a spa day. Miranda notices that the little boy is disturbed and sad. His name is Rohin.
Rohin asks her to quiz him on world capitals, as he is having a competition with another student to memorize them all. He announces he will win. Rohin reveals that he knows that his mother is sad and that his father left because he fell in love with another woman. Rohin notices the dress of the mistress Miranda bought for herself and insists Miranda put on the dress. Miranda never got a chance to wear the dress since Dev had no time for her, except Sundays. She decided to wear the dress. When Rohin sees her in that dress, he tells her, “You’re sexy.” Miranda asks him to tell her what he thinks the word “sexy” means, and Rohin tells her that it means “loving someone you don’t know.” His answer strikes Miranda. Rohin sleeps after a while and Miranda cries, thinking of the boy’s mother and her own affair.

When Rohin wakes up, he sees the issue of the Economist. He asks who Devjit Mitra is. Miranda doesn’t know what to say. The next time Dev calls, she tells him not to come. She asks him what he said to her in the Mapparium, but he answers incorrectly.  Miranda understands that she is drawn to Dev for his surface value and also that Dev does not love Miranda for who she is. Even without the dress, she is simply a mistress – not a woman. That Dev can’t remember what he told her at the Mapparium is the death knell for the affair. The following Sunday, it snows. Gradually, the affair ends. Miranda walks into the city to visit the places that they went to together. The Mapparium is closed, however, so she sits on a bench by herself and gazes at the sky.

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!

I. A. Richards | Principles of Literary Criticism | Practical Criticism | New Criticism

 

I. A. Richards, whose full name is Ivor Armstrong Richards, was a prominent English educator, literary critic, poet, and rhetorician. He was born on February 26, 1893, in Sandbach, England, and died on: September 7, 1979, at 86 in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Attended Magdalene College and the University of Cambridge. I. A. Richards is known for his work on practical criticism (coined by him), which involves analyzing poetry and literature based on the text itself. His work on literary theory became a significant milestone in developing New Criticism. This movement emphasized close reading and the analysis of texts without considering external factors such as authorial intent or historical context. His experimental pedagogical approach led to the idea of critical reading without contexts that influenced and inspired the proponents of New Criticism.

I. A. Richards is known for four of his groundbreaking books.

1) Meaning of Meaning ( C. K Ogden & IA Richards)

The Meaning of Meaning is a significant work co-authored by I. A. Richards and C. K. Ogden, first published in 1923. This book explores the intricate relationship between language, thought, and symbolism. The authors aimed to investigate how language influences thought and the nature of meaning itself. They sought to understand the psychological aspects of language and how words convey meaning. The book delves into semantics (Semantic Theory), the study of meaning in language, and how it relates to human understanding. Richards and Ogden also discussed the role of symbols (Symbolism) in communication and how they can represent complex ideas and emotions. I. A. Richards and Ogden drew insights from contemporary psychological research (stressing on influence of Psychology) to address linguistic problems, particularly the meaning of words and phrases. I. A. Richards continued to explore more about the meaning of words and gave his idea of four kinds of meaning in his book Practical Criticism.

2) The Principles of Literary Criticism

The Principles of Literary Criticism is a foundational work by I. A. Richards, first published in 1924. This book is significant in the field of literary criticism and has influenced various aspects of literary theory and analysis. In this book, Richards argues that literary criticism is fundamentally a branch of psychology. He explores how literature affects the minds and emotions of readers, emphasizing the psychological states induced by artistic experiences. He develops the idea and distinction between scientific language and emotive language, highlighting how literature communicates feelings and experiences differently than scientific discourse. In the book, Richards emphasizes that understanding literature requires an active engagement from the reader, who interprets and derives meaning from the text. The book includes a detailed examination of how rhythm and meter in poetry influence the reader's emotional response, thus, highlighting the technical aspects of the text. He emphasized that effective critical work required a closer aesthetic interpretation of the literary text as an object. To enhance Interpretive Criticism, he provided theories of metaphor, value, and tone, of stock response, incipient action, and pseudo-statement; and of ambiguity. His books The Principles of Literary Criticism, and Practical Criticism, along with William Empson’s Seven Types of Ambiguity became the founding texts for the development of the methodology of the New Criticism.

3) Practical Criticism (A Study of Literary Judgment)

Practical Criticism is a significant work by I. A. Richards, first published in 1929. The subtitle of the book is A Study of Literary Judgment. This book is pivotal in the field of literary criticism and introduces a method that emphasizes the close reading of texts. In the book, Richards argues that poetry and literature should be analyzed based on the text itself, rather than the author's intentions or historical context. He believes that the reader's experience and interpretation are central to understanding a work. The book presents a systematic approach to literary analysis, where Richards conducted experiments with students. He provided them with poems without any context or information about the authors, encouraging them to focus solely on the text and their personal responses. When the students submitted their work, he was astonished by the Poor Quality of the students’ Stock Responses. Stock responses are habitual or automatic responses that are based on the reader’s beliefs or feelings, rather than the work itself. Suppose a student is reading a work of Charles Dickens, even without going through the text of the book, the student will emphasize that the book deals with the poor economic condition of middle-class people, as it is the most common theme in most of his works. This is a stock response based on the idea or belief of the reader about Charles Dickens.

In Practical Criticism, Richards presents the idea of four types of meaning in literature, namely, Referential Meaning (Sense); the literal meaning of the words, Emotive Meaning (Feelings); the feelings and emotions evoked by the text, Value Meaning (Tone); the significance or worth of the text in a broader context, and Symbolic Meaning (Intention); the deeper, often abstract meanings that can be derived from the text.

4) The Philosophy of Rhetoric

The Philosophy of Rhetoric is a significant work by I. A. Richards, first published in 1936. In this book, Richards explores the nature and function of rhetoric, redefining it in a way that emphasizes its role in communication and understanding. Richards defines rhetoric as the study of misunderstanding and its remedies. He argues that much of human communication is fraught with misunderstandings, and rhetoric can help clarify and resolve these issues. The work is not just theoretical; it also offers practical insights into how rhetoric can be applied in everyday communication, education, and even the arts.

Concepts Given by I. A. Richards

Four Kinds of Meaning by I. A. Richards

Richards proposed four kinds of meaning in his 1929 book Practical Criticism: A Study of Literary Judgment. He believed that the total meaning of a word is a combination of the given four factors – Sense, Feeling, Tone, and Intention.

He says that the first thing that comes into our mind whenever we are analyzing or reading a particular work is what it means, or what is the meaning of the text presented to us. He says whether we speak, write, listen, or read, the total meaning of a word is a blend of four kinds of meaning, which are Sense, Feeling, Tone, and Intention. 'Sense' is what we speak to convey to our listeners, it is the Referential meaning. 'Feeling' is the attitude towards what we convey to our listeners, it offers the ‘Emotive meaning’ of the word or text. It offers our biases or preferences towards the referential text. For example, a female may talk emotively about feminism and this preference will be expressed in the way she uses language. The speaker also has an attitude towards the listener which is Tone. We all choose or arrange our words according to the audience listening. The way we talk about a subject with our parents is different from the way we talk about the same subject with our friends. Tone offers the Value meaning of the words or text. The fourth kind of meaning of the text is the ‘Intention’ of the speaker which can be conscious or unconscious. The speaker speaks for a purpose that modifies his entire speech. It offers the Symbolic meaning. For example, Politicians always have an agenda to push forward which they do through their speeches. Intention or the Symbolic meaning offers a deeper meaning of the text.

In any speech or text, these four kinds of meaning play different roles. In a scientific report or text, we may find Sense as a dominant factor, while in a speech of a politician, Intention may prove to be the dominant factor offering the total meaning.

He also discussed the differences between scientific and emotive uses of language. 

Two Uses of Language (The Principles of Literary Criticism)

I. A. Richards believed that language has two main uses:

Scientific or Referential

Used to make statements that can be verified as true or false. This use of language requires undistorted references and an absence of fiction. Suppose someone states that the sun rises in the east, it is verifiable as true, but if someone says that the sun rises in the west, it is verifiable as false. In other words, scientific language is used in the real world. Suppose someone goes to market to buy vegetables and asks the rate of cauliflower, the vendor says that it is Rs20 per piece. It is scientific language, it is verifiable, it is either true or false.

Emotive or poetic

Used to make statements that evoke emotions and attitudes.  Emotive language is often used in poetry and other literary works. Emotive language is used to produce certain emotional effects and certain attitudes in those to whom it is addressed. For example, the word "fire" has a scientific reference to a fact in the real world, but in poetry, the phrase "heart on fire" evokes the emotion of excitement.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the concepts of Literary theories and Criticism. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

Young by Anne Sexton | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘Young’ is a poem by Anne Sexton published in 1962 in her second poetry collection All My Pretty Ones. Sexton is associated with the Confessional style of poetry, also attributed to Robert Lowell and Sylvia Plath, among others. Prominent themes of her work include her most intimate thoughts regarding extramarital affairs, mental health, suicide, and depression. The poem portrays the turmoil that most people experience during their teenage years. Sexton has used vivid imagery, raw emotions, and a hauntingly beautiful style to explore the innermost thoughts and feelings of a young girl struggling to find her place in the world. The poem's speaker is ‘I,’ a teenage girl who reflects on a past summer night and then it becomes the norm of her life. The poem appears more fictional than factual as the poet added various fairytale elements in the poem. The speaker is not necessarily the poet herself. However, Sexton was criticized for her excessive use of personal narrative.

The poem's main theme is the struggle to find one's identity. The speaker is at a crossroads in her life and is uncertain about who she is and who she wants to be. The poem also touches on the issue of the loss of innocence. The speaker is acutely aware of the changes happening around her, and she struggles to come to terms with them. She is no longer a child, and she is beginning to see the world differently. She is grappling with the harsh realities of life, and she is mourning the loss of her innocence. 

Structure of Young:

The poem is a single-stanza free verse poem of 23 lines. The poem is a single, long sentence, with clauses paused by an astute use of commas. The poet used vivid imagery, synecdoche, alliteration, metaphor, personification, assonance, consonance, and enjambment. Twelve out of a total of twenty-three lines are enjambed. It is a reflective poem as a teenager with a dreamy, surreal tone. There is no fixed meter though the poet predominantly used iambs. It is a single sentence 23-line free verse poem with no rhyming scheme though one can find slanting rhymes at the end of the lines.

Summary of Young:

Lines 1-4

“A thousand doors ago
when I was a lonely kid
in a big house with four
garages and it was summer”

The first line of the poem is a synecdoche. ‘A thousand doors ago’ suggests viewing the speaker’s life a long time ago. However, the speaker is not merely indicating the passage of time, rather, she is offering a view of her life through various of her decisions, and situations she faced that created a barrier between her childhood and her adolescence as she is growing old. The door also represents the speaker’s house, where she was supposed to be loved, protected, and taken care of.

The speaker reflects on her childhood, she was a lonely kid in a big house with four garages. It suggests that the speaker lived in an affluent family. Generally, kids remain busy with their school work but it was summer and a summer break is often marked as a time of idle play. The speaker mentions the wealth and extravagance of her home but also expresses her loneliness. The ‘door’ is a metaphor, a thing you open and close, that is locked and unlocked and lets you enter a new space, beyond the threshold.

Lines 5-12

“as long as I could remember,
I lay on the lawn at night,
clover wrinkling under me,
the wise stars bedding over me,
my mother’s window a funnel
of yellow heat running out,
my father’s window, half shut,
an eye where sleepers pass,”

The speaker expresses her loneliness in a daunting manner, suggesting the earth and sky as cosmic powers that are burying her. These lines express the changes she was facing due to puberty, her childlike body was leaving her. She remembers a night when she was lying on the lawn, all alone. Neither her mother, nor father were looking at her, and she felt lonely. Her parents had different rooms where they were. This suggests a strife between her parents. Despite their wealth, her parents were not a happy couple and this is why they had such an arrangement. The girl looks at her mother’s room through a window and describes it as a ‘funnel of yellow heat,’ which suggests that her mother still was a source of love, care, and inspiration for her, though it was dimming away, ‘running out’. Her relationship with her mother is running down a drain. She describes the window of her father’s room rather gloomily, ‘half shut,’ suggesting she was disappointed with her father. The girl is growing and she understands that the relationship between her parents is not harmonious.

‘Lay on the Lawn,’ is an example of alliteration. The sound of ‘o’, and ‘l’ has been repeated suggesting assonance and consonance.

Lines 13-20

“and the boards of the house
were smooth and white as wax
and probably a million leaves
sailed on their strange stalks
as the crickets ticked together
and I, in my brand new body,
which was not a woman’s yet,
told the stars my questions”

In these lines, the speaker expresses her exasperation as she sees her house and the married life of her parents on the verge of meltdown and expresses the ‘boards of the house’ are ‘white as wax’. She vividly remembers that it was autumn as leaves were falling and crickets were singing the songs of nature. To change is the rule of nature and she too was undergoing a change, her body was changing. She was going through the phase of puberty as if she was getting a ‘brand new body’. Despite the changes, she wasn’t mature enough, she was still a teenage girl, not a grown-up woman. She was lonely, exasperated, bewildered, not only because of the changes she was going through but also because there was no one to soothe her. Her own parents were going through marital troubles and were on the verge of a breakup. The child was leaving, and the adult was taking its place. She had so many questions, and stars were there to answer.

It should be noted that the speaker is outside her home. Her child-like body represents her home, which is crumbling, dying, and being buried in between the sky and the earth. It is melting away, she is going through the changes of puberty, and getting a new body or adulthood. This new body is ‘not a woman’s yet.’

Lines 21-23

“and thought God could really see
the heat and the painted light,
elbows, knees, dreams, goodnight.”

Going through the changes, the girl had many questions, and no one to answer but stars. She believed the omnipotent, all-seeing, all-knowing god would answer her questions and soothe her troubled, bewildered soul. The narrator recalls a transitional time of life, on the border between childhood and adulthood. This change is presented in physical, and bodily terms, stressing that she has not yet become biologically mature. Interestingly, there is no looking ahead to what the results of this might be. Since her parents were not careful enough to soothe her and be with her, she believed God, and the cosmic powers, the stars, the sky, and the earth would help her out. She expressed her belief in the past tense, which suggests that she no longer holds that belief. In the last line, the speaker expresses the changes in her body that she is facing, the changes in her psyche, and her dreams, and then she sleeps.

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