Howl by Allen Ginsberg | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. "Howl" is a seminal ‘free verse’ poem by Allen Ginsberg, published in 1956. It is considered one of the most important works in American literature and a defining piece of the Beat Generation. The poem consists of three sections, each addressing different themes and subjects. Overall, the poem is an outcry against society and its treatment of non-conformists.

As the title suggests, it is not a regular poem, rather it is an expression of grief, rage, and sometimes exultation. The free-verse structure allows the poet to describe the characters and their experiences he wishes to talk about. The poem begins with the line “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked,” which suggests that it is largely an elegy or lament. The poet describes the sufferings of his friends and colleagues (members of the Beat Generation) and tries to make the reader understand their pain and sympathize with them.

Structure of Howl:

The poem is written in free verse, and it has no finite structure. Ginsberg wrote 112 lines set in three sections. The lines are long and look more like paragraphs than stanzas. 

The first section contains 78 long lines often written without punctuation and with a repetitive refrain: "who" which introduces various characters and their experiences. This section depicts the lives of individuals marginalized by society while exploring the themes of themes of madness, addiction, and societal rejection. This section is set in New York City as the poet mentions the geography and features of the city extensively. The speaker also mentions other cities including Birmingham, Baltimore, and Chicago, and he also mentions Canada, Mexico, and Africa, especially Tangier, where Ginsberg’s friend William S. Burroughs spent some time.

The second section contains lines from 79 to 93. These are again long free-verse lines with no strict meter or rhyming scheme. This section has a more analytical tone, critiquing societal norms. In this section, the speaker focuses on the detrimental effects of capitalism and conformity while highlighting the struggles of artists and intellectuals against societal pressures.

The third section is from lines 94-112. It is set in Rockland and mentions Rockland Psychiatric Center, a mental hospital. It is a shorter section and presents a more lyrical quality. The speaker employs a direct and personal tone, reflecting Ginsberg's experiences. He specifically addresses Carl Solomon, a minor poet and friend of Ginsberg, who was hospitalized in Rockland. In this section, the speaker celebrates spiritual awakening and the quest for truth while emphasizing love, connection, and the transformative power of art.

The poet used Anaphora, Alliteration, Repetition, Hyperbole, Symbolism, Imagery, and Enjambment in the poem. The speaker of the poem is Ginsberg himself and he makes it clear in the third part. Ginsberg explains his experiences in this poem but many of the incidents are fictionalized. Ginsberg was never hospitalized in the Rockland Mental Hospital nor was his friend Carl Solomon whom he addresses in the third section. Solomon was admitted to New York State Psychiatric Institute where Ginsberg first met him in a waiting room.

Summary of Howl:

Section 1 Lines 1-78

The poet asserts that the “best minds of [his] generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked.” The speaker makes a reference to his friend Carl Solomon and his other friends of the Beat Generation and how they suffered. The poet criticizes the militaristic, dominant culture of America during that time which "destroyed" this generation, drove them into "madness," and left them vulnerable and "hysterical." (1-2)

Often they succumbed to addiction, poverty, and madness. In the third line, he refers to his friends as “angelheaded hipsters.” Most of the poets of the Beat Generation were interested in jazz, African-American culture, and drug use. Ginsberg mentions William Blake, one of his favorite poets as his friend and informs him that his friends are studying in their small-town schools. He complains about how his friends were kicked out of schools and universities for not conforming to the rules and writing things that were considered ‘obscene.’ He alludes to his own expulsion from Colombia University for writing a negative message about the university president on his dorm room window. He returned to the University and graduated in 1948. The speaker says that such expulsion has scared his friends of the authority that has abused them and left them as outcasts.  This is both a physical hardship that has left them poor and unable to honestly earn a living because of their political beliefs and artistic calling, and it is a mental hardship. These people are angry and hysterical because of the culture that suppresses them. However, he mentions them as ‘angelheaded hipsters’ suggesting that these people represent a certain kind of salvation and a struggle for freedom against oppression for the rest of America. He mentions how these ‘best minds’ attended the best universities in America but faced conflict with the established literary norms and intellectual culture, and thus were often ridiculed. He mentions that due to the rise of corporate and industrial culture, many people are living in cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. This urban culture has provided materialistic success to the American middle class but this urban culture also acts like a prison that can entrap the mind and ultimately destroy the individual. The city allows the poet to contemplate things like jazz, poetry, and art with a community of people who see the world in the same way.  Yet, the city is also a destructive force full of injustice.  Ginsberg and his friends repeatedly saw instances of such injustice as police and authorities kept close watch on their activities and used any instance possible to make arrests or charge them with crimes.

Since these Beat artists were unfairly targeted and oppressed, most of them had to go underground, in the world of drugs, violence, and sex. These oppressed young men lived in "waking nightmares" of "drugs...alcohol and cock and endless balls, / incomparable blind streets of shuddering cloud..." (22-24). The speaker asserts that these young men and poets were not destroyed by their licentious use of drugs and homosexuality, but they were destroyed because they were forced to hide and suppress these acts, and when they were caught, they were persecuted in a destructive and unjustified manner. Many of them were sent to an asylum where his friends talked for hours, discussing philosophy and nonsense. They scream they vomit, they whisper, and they return to important memories of the “shocks” experienced in hospitals. This alludes to electric shock treatment, which is discussed more clearly in the third section. The speaker asserts that his friends are smart people who studied history, literature, religion, and a lot more who are now considered mad. He says that these people were interested in exploring different people and cultures and thus they often traveled. He contemplated

Many of the figures described in this section suffer from mental illness, reflecting the broader theme of the chaos and fragmentation of contemporary life. Ginsberg portrays their struggles as emblematic of a society that fails to understand or support them. The poet critiques the materialism, conformity, and hypocrisy of American society during the 1950s. He highlights how society stifles creativity and individuality. Ginsberg employs vivid imagery and symbolic language to illustrate the experiences of those he writes about, including references to drug use, sexual liberation, and the search for meaning. The section is rich with cultural references, including nods to jazz, literature, and the Beat Generation, emphasizing the interconnectedness of art and the human experience.  The tone is both mournful and defiant, as Ginsberg expresses empathy for the suffering of his peers while also challenging the status quo.

Section 2 Lines 79-93

The speaker begins the 2^nd section by mentioning the death of Ginsberg’s friend Bill Cannastra. He was a friend of Ginsberg’s from his New York days. One evening, while riding the subway train, Bill, attempting a humorous stunt, accidentally fell out of the window of the train they were on. He was dragged behind the train and killed. The speaker says that Bill’s death signifies the increasing power of the evil Moloch - the power to destroy and drive one to insane acts. This part is set in San Francisco. Ginsberg describes Moloch as the monster that preys on The Lambs (referring to the poem The Lamb by William Blake in Songs of Innocence.) The Lambs here refer to the “best minds” and “angel-headed hipsters” who were Ginsberg’s friends.

The speaker describes the economic hardships of those who do not have the luxuries and lives of wealthier people. Moloch, representing the values of materialism, and capitalism, has the power to give to certain persons and to take away from others. Moloch becomes a “heavy judger of men!” Ginsberg describes such values to be abhorrent and destructive to society. The speaker describes Moloch as “the crossbone soulless jail- / house and Congress of sorrows! Moloch whose buildings are judg- / ment! Moloch the vast stone of war! Moloch the stunned govern- / ments!” He criticizes the authoritative government which destroys individuality in favor of collectivism. The speaker suggests that the United States government, a body ultimately “of the people” and “by the people” does not collect the people’s hopes and ambitions as much as it collects their sorrows and inability to advance. He also describes Moloch as the soulless dominance of industry and corporate power. The poet also touches on themes of war, violence, and their impact on the human psyche. He mourns the loss of innocence and the devastation caused by conflict.

The speaker describes the struggles of the ‘best minds’ with government policies, society’s hostility to sex, specifically homosexuality, capitalism, and the political structure of the country. Capitalism, violence, and the unaccepting nature of American society broke their backs. The speaker claims that Industry and capitalism are not just symbols of American values. They are the deities of American culture. The attainment of wealth is a religious pursuit. It is a devotion of the American people. Moloch’s soul is “electricity and banks,” two of the cornerstones of industry and business. Ginsberg writes that Moloch’s “poverty is the specter of genius!” Capitalist society forces the innocent brilliance of the best minds to cease to exist.

Instead of succumbing to societal pressure and accepting defeat, the best minds chose to leave but that choice drove them to insanity.

Section 3 Lines 94-112

The third section begins with a direct address to Carl Solomon, a friend of Ginsberg. Ginsberg wants Solomon to know that he is “with you in Rockland!” This was the literal case for a time when Ginsberg was voluntarily admitted to the institution where Solomon lived, but it is meant here as more of a symbolic gesture. The speaker says that it is not just him who is standing with Solomon, but all of those who have been unfairly and unjustly destroyed and driven mad by the strictures and conformity of society and government concerned with nothing but its own survival and profit. It should be noted that neither Carl Solomon nor Ginsberg were ever admitted to the Rockland Psychiatric Institute. They met in the New York Psychiatric Institute.

The speaker describes how brilliant and creative Solomon was but admits that Solomon has been truly driven from a normal life. His “faculties of the skull no longer admit the worms of the senses”. He laughs at “invisible humor” and he cries to the nurses and doctors that he is “losing the game of / the actual pingpong of the abyss.” 

He then criticizes the unjust treatment of patients in the mental institutions of America. Referring to Carl Solomon, the speaker says that “the soul is innocent and / immortal it should never die ungodly in an armed madhouse.” The speaker describes insanity as actually genius and a system that seeks to lock up such genius is inhuman. To let Solomon’s “soul” die in an “armed madhouse” is to lose one of the world’s “best minds.” He criticizes the inhuman treatment of insane people in these hospitals and describes how they are forced to suffer shock therapy. The speaker says that it is torture and it did more to drive Solomon insane than it did to cure him.

The speaker mentions that Solomon also suffered hallucinations and paranoia. He tells Solomon that he’s with him in Rockland, where together they wake up electrified “out of the coma” by our “souls’ airplanes.” It’s in these lines that Ginsberg imagines a future in which the oppressed have the power to stand up against the society that has imposed this horrifying confinement upon them. In the future, in which the hospital becomes a war zone, the patients or the “skinny legions” are set free and can fight back. In the final lines, the speaker mentions that “I’m with you in Rockland” is meant as a symbolic cry. Ginsberg is actually in his “cottage in the Western / night” and Carl Solomon’s appearance in the poem has been a part of his dreams. Ginsberg leaves the reader to decide if the poem is a real description of events or if it is really just Ginsberg’s literary dream of a generation broken by a society that refuses to accept its deviance.

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

The Only American from Our Village by Arun Joshi | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Only American from Our Village is a poignant and heart-wrenching short story by Arun Joshi, published in his short story collection The Survivor and Other Stories in 1975. It is a story about a father who sacrifices his own comforts to provide his son with the best education and career. The son becomes successful in America but forgets his cultural roots and responsibilities to his father. The story critiques materialism and delves into themes of pride, arrogance, identity, isolation, and belonging. The story is narrated by an unnamed narrator in the third person from the omniscient point of view.

Characters of The Only American from Our Village:

Doctor Khanna is an Indian-born physicist in America working at the University of Wisconsin. He is a brilliant physicist and scientist who is known for his ground-breaking result-oriented research. He is the son of a poor middle-class Indian man who worked hard to provide good education and better opportunities to his son. After leaving India, Dr. Khanna completely devotes himself to his materialistic pursuit of money making and achieving higher and higher success. He has a strong desire to put his past behind him and focus on what he considers to be a world of opportunity, He prefers life in America, a place where he is recognized for his achievements and gets the merit that he thinks is owed to him. He marries an American girl Joanne against his father’s wishes with whom he has two sons.

Kundan Lal is Doctor Khanna’s father who is very proud of his son’s achievements. He was a brilliant student but couldn’t get enough opportunities and to fulfill his responsibilities towards his family, he compromised with his own career and aspirations. His wife died years ago and after his son left for America, he remained alone and isolated in his village. He wishes that his son would return to India and work for his nation but when he decides to stay and settle in America, he accepts his decision and rejoices that his son is the only American from his village. Radhey Mohan is an elderly man a childhood friend of Kundan Lal. He meets Dr. Khanna during his visit to India and informs him how close he was to his late father Kundan Lal. Radhey Shyam has a fatherly feeling towards Dr. Khanna and he talks to him without any malice or harshness. However, ridden by his own guilt of not attending to his ill father during his ending days, Dr. Khanna feels uneasy when Rahdey Mohan approaches him.

Summary of The Only American from Our Village:

 Dr. Khanna is the most outstanding immigrant physicist at the University of Wisconsin, America. He is a very intelligent and fine physicist, who pursued his dreams of money and achievements. He left his father on his own in India and settled in America where he married an American girl Joanne against his father’s wish. He enjoys a happy and successful life with his wife with whom he has two sons. As time passes by, he forgets his father and motherland. But now, he is invited to a physics meeting in Delhi, India. He left India fifteen years ago and never thought of returning back. But he realizes that he will get too many accolades and praise and thus, he decides to make a week-long trip to India along with his wife and sons. Dr. Khanna’s tour is a success by all accounts. He is welcomed by an official of the Council of Scientific Research. He delivers some lectures at various seminars and conferences, meets the President and the Prime Minister of India, and is offered great respect. His wife and children are “worshipped” by his relatives for whom they have brought “Gillette razors, pop records, and a mass of one-dollar neckties.” Though advanced, these gifts are of little use to his relatives due to their cultural differences. His middle-class relatives still strive for the things necessary for their lives while Doctor Khanna is leading a lavish materialistic lifestyle, chasing his American dream.

At the fag end of his successful visit after his “final talk, at a college in his former hometown”, he meets an old man, Mr. Radhey Mohan, who sells court papers in front of the District Courts and who out of the fraternity and old relations comes shuffling along and insists on “shaking Dr. Khanna’s hands.”  Mr. Radhey Mohan introduces himself to Dr. Khanna as a childhood friend of his late father Kundan Lal. Dr Khanna, due to the lack of human values, looks “puzzled” at the meeting. Mr. Radhey Mohan is a simple villager but has sharp eyes on the matters of life and society. He tells Dr. Khanna: “Your father and I were very close to each other, like brothers”. His way of talking, “slant of the lips”, “glint in the eye” and his father’s “accent” makes Dr. Khanna “uncomfortable”. Dr. Khanna tries to avoid him but Mr. Radhey Mohan does not let him go.

Mr. Radhey Mohan further tells about his friendship with his father. He tells him that his father and he have gone to the same school. They sat at the same desk. He says that when he was a schoolboy, he had carved the two names on the two sides of the school bench where he and Dr. Khanna’s father Kundan Lal used to sit. He informs that before his death, Kundan Lal and he went and looked for the desk and they found the desk was still there and so were their names. He informs that he could not pass matriculation while Dr Khanna’s father, a brilliant and studious student, stood third in the state, had his name on the Honours Board, and won a scholarship for his further education. Being poor, Dr. Khanna’s father had to get an education by winning scholarships. But, he made a mark as a brilliant student not only in school but also in college, and “if he had made a mark he did not let it get to his head” and he was “always the same” with the old man. He says that despite being a brilliant student, Kundan Lal was humble. It reveals his human values. He was also a man of high morals as he was unaware of “the dancing girls of Lahore” and “such things” despite getting an education in the same city. He loved his mother very much: “When his mother died, he cried a lot” Soon after his graduation, he took a job. Over time, he retired. He looked old, older than his years, but he was happy and very proud of his only son, who had settled in America.

Radhey Mohan informs that his father longed for his return. He used to say that his son would be a big government man when he returned to India. He would say his son was coming back in one year, in two years, any time. Then he got information about his son’s marriage to an American girl and he was quiet for many months. But he started talking again. He said his son was the only American from his village. He continually talked about his son and what he has achieved for those who live in the village. Kundan Lal was so proud of his son’s achievement that he ignored the fact that his son had lost moral and cultural values by shattering his father’s hopes. He lived in his native place and hoped to see his son on his homecoming, but the selfish, materialistic, and unresponsive son did return neither during his father’s lifetime nor at the hour of his pathetic death. Despite all this, Kundan Lal never showed any disappointment. Even when he was severely ill, he accepted that his son was unable to visit him.

Radhey Mohan tells Dr. Khanna that once he asked Kundan Lal why he is so proud of his son? “We had a foot in the grave, all of us what did we care for your achievements; what you did, and what you did not do?” He further informs that Kundan Lal got livid at this question. Radhey Mohan further says Kundan Lal wished to visit his son and see his grandsons once. Dr. Khanna promised him to send a return ticket to America. Kundan Lal kept hoping to visit Dr Khanna in America but the ticket never arrived.

Suddenly, Radhey Mohan takes out a bidi from his pocket and begins smoking. Dr. Khanna feels nauseated by the smoke while he remains indifferent to his father’s sad story. Dr. Khanna says that he tried to visit his father when he was ill but couldn’t get time. Radhey Mohan says nothing to it and continues to talk about the old days.  He tells Dr. Khanna that his father belonged to a poor family. His father’s economic condition was always bad. When he was a student he had no money to pay his fees. He had only “two pyjamas and two kurtas and he had no shoes”. While going to school, he had to cross half a mile of boiling sand in which one can “roast corn” in May. So, he would have to stop at this end of the sand, take a handful of dhak leaves, tie them on his naked feet with a string, and then cross the sand. That is how the shoeless father used to cross the hot sand for ten years of his educational life. Radhey Mohan tells all this without any harshness but Dr. Khanna feels a bit disturbed. Radhey Mohan informs him that when Kundan Lal fell ill, he sent a telegram to Dr. Khanna who was in America. But he got a reply in a letter informing him about his inability to visit his ill father due to “some conference.” Radhey Mohan says that the letter shattered all hopes of Kundan Lal and never mentioned his son again.

At last, Radhey Mohan tells Dr. Khanna how his father got terminally ill and died. He says that after receiving the letter, Kundan Lal insisted on visiting their school again. While returning, they crossed the boiling sand of cho with dhak leaves on his naked feet, as he used to do in his school days due to the lack of money to purchase shoes. He stepped into the sand with dhak leaves tied on his foot while Radhey Mohan carried his shoes, trying to stop him. But Kundan Lal didn’t stop and while walking on the hot sand he lost the dhak leaves that were loosely tied to his feet. By the time he crossed the sand, he had a high fever. He was already ill and died the very next day. After telling this, Radhey Mohan goes away. Doctor Khanna too returns to America with his family but he feels a change in himself. He begins to feel guilty. He would often look at his feet as though it reminded him of his father and how he may have not served him well. Dr Khanna’s work output decreases dramatically and he begins feeling mentally disturbed. When he meets a psychiatrist, and confides that often feels a disturbing burning sensation in his feet. Dr. Khanna begins feeling as if he is cursed. On the other hand, his father’s sacrifices and sufferings went in vain as he failed to teach his son the significance of healthy values for a happy and peaceful life.

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!

To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘To His Coy Mistress’ is a metaphysical poem by Andrew Marvell written around the end of the English Interregnum (1649-1660). Due to political controversy and the popular tradition of manuscript circulation, most of Andrew Marvell’s poetry was not published during his lifetime. ‘To His Coy Mistress’ was first published posthumously in 1681.

Andrew Marvell is often associated with the 17th-century school of English metaphysical poets, including John Donne, George Herbert, Henry Vaughan, Robert Southwell, and Richard Crashaw. Metaphysical poetry is known for using elaborate figurative language, original conceits, paradoxes, and philosophical topics. Metaphysical poetry is like a puzzle, where the poet challenges the reader to think deeply about life’s big questions—love, death, and the divine—using clever metaphors and surprising comparisons to reveal new perspectives.

‘To His Coy Mistress’ is a beautiful love poem based on a gentleman wooing his mistress to make love with him. It is a carpe diem poem in which the speaker attempts to convince his beloved to seize the day and act on her passion.

Structure of ‘To His Coy Mistress’: The poem consists of 46 lines in rhyming iambic tetrameter couplets. Though metaphysical poets often preferred iambic pentameter or the Heroic couplet, Marvell used iambic tetrameter in this poem which offers a lighter, faster, and playful pace to the poem. There are a few metrical deviations in the poem. Using iambic tetrameter in place of Heroic couplets suggests that the poem is not quite as serious as a poem on a heroic subject should be.

The poem is organized in rhyming couplets and each couplet has its own rhyme, that is, the poem is composed in closed couplet form, and hence, each first line of the couplets rhymes with the next line and hence the rhyming scheme is (AABBCCDD….)

The poet used Metaphor, Hyperbole, Alliteration, Personification, Symbolism, Enjambment, Apostrophe, Caesura, and Allusion in the poem. The speaker is an anonymous lover trying to seduce his love. The speaker may be the poet’s mask trying to convince his "mistress" that she should make love with him. The poet uses many Metaphysical conceits such as comparing coyness and crime, vegetables and love, and time and chariot.

While the poem appears to be a simple seductive piece, it does have a spiritual aspect of its own. It was probably written at the beginning of the Age of Restoration, and it suggests the poet's break-free enthusiasm against the shackles of Puritanism during the interregnum. The poem also indicates the British mindset of colonialism and expansion during that era, as the poet mentions the ‘Indian Ganges’ in the first stanza.

Summary of To His Coy Mistress:

The poem is written in closed couplet form, it can be divided into three parts or stanzas. The first stanza contains 20 lines or ten couplets in which the speaker cajoles his lady to give in to his sexual advances. In the next 12 lines or the second stanza, the speaker shows his urgency and tries to instill fear of death in his lover’s heart. In the last stanza, the speaker again changes his tone to a lighter mood and says that he has a solution against the ephemeral nature of life, and they should embrace each other while they are young and living, without worrying about the future.

Stanza 1 Lines 1-20

“Had we but world enough and time,

This coyness, lady, were no crime.

We would sit down, and think which way

To walk, and pass our long love’s day.

Thou by the Indian Ganges' side

Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide

Of Humber would complain. I would

Love you ten years before the flood.

And you should, if you please, refuse

Till the conversion of the Jews.

My vegetable love should grow

Vaster than empires and more slow;

An hundred years should go to praise

Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;

Two hundred to adore each breast,

But thirty thousand to the rest;

An age at least to every part,

And the last age should show your heart.

For, lady, you deserve this state,

Nor would I love at lower rate.”

The speaker begins by creating various metaphysical conceits to suggest how he would love his lady love if the two lovers indeed had enough time. He suggests that if the two of them had ample time, if they were immortals, then his lover’s shyness and hesitation might have been acceptable. But since they are mortals, her coyness is comparable to a crime.
He then playfully imagines that the two have enough time, then they could have walked past the ‘Indian Ganges’ collecting rubies on its bank. The speaker then alludes to the Biblical flood narrated in the Book of Genesis (Allegory) and says that he could have loved his lady from ten years before the flood and she could refuse his advances up until the “conversion of the Jews,” which again is a Biblical reference to the end of time.

The speaker then uses a Metaphysical conceit ‘vegetable love’ suggesting that if they had enough time, his love could have grown slowly, but to a vast proportion (‘Vaster than empires’). The speaker indicates the phallic expansion. This slower rate of expansion would have allowed him to love and appreciate each and every part of his lover’s body, eyes, forehead, breasts, and heart for hundreds of years. He then says that his lady is indeed beautiful enough to deserve such a timeless appreciation and he would certainly have loved her at the same rate, he would never value her at a “lower rate” than she deserves, at least in an ideal world where time is unlimited.

Stanza 2 Lines 21-32

“But at my back I always hear

Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near;

And yonder all before us lie

Deserts of vast eternity.

Thy beauty shall no more be found;

Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound

My echoing song; then worms shall try

That long-preserved virginity,

And your quaint honour turn to dust,

And into ashes all my lust;

The grave’s a fine and private place,

But none, I think, do there embrace.”
In this stanza, the speaker abruptly exclaims that they are not living in the idealized timeless world. He pleads to the lady that there is not enough time, and whatever time they have, is passing by swiftly as he hears ‘time’s winged chariot hurrying near,’ he alludes to Greek mythology. He says that though her lover deserves all the praise and love till eternity, he doesn’t have enough time to worship her as he sees fit; time is always hurrying closer and closer. ‘Deserts of vast eternity’ await them, and her beauty will fade, her virginity will ‘turn to dust’ along with her honor, and all the waiting will be worthless. He continues to praise the lady's virtues but suggests that her limitless virtues are nothing against the radical limits of the time of their life. Once dead, he assures the Lady, that her virtues and beauty will lie in the grave along with her body as it turns to dust. He also mentions that his own lust for her will also turn into ashes with no chance for the two lovers to embrace each other.

Stanza 3 Lines 33-46

“Now therefore, while the youthful hue

Sits on thy skin like morning dew,

And while thy willing soul transpires

At every pore with instant fires,

Now let us sport us while we may,

And now, like amorous birds of prey,

Rather at once our time devour

Than languish in his slow-chapped power.

Let us roll all our strength and all

Our sweetness up into one ball,

And tear our pleasures with rough strife

Through the iron gates of life:

Thus, though we cannot make our sun

Stand still, yet we will make him run.”

After offering insights about the time limits, the speaker changes the tone and seduces the lady again. The poet uses another Metaphysical conceit, comparing the Lady’s skin to a vibrant layer of morning dew that is animated by the fires of her soul and encourages her to “sport” with him “while we may.” He then compares the two lovers with ‘amorous birds of prey,’ suggesting the intensity of their natural passion for each other. He again encourages the lady to embrace him and ‘roll all our strength’ into ‘one ball.’ He offers his lady to make such a rough love that may tear their pleasurable passion “through the iron gates of life.’ Or, raising their passion above human life and time constraints.
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 Passionate Shepherd to His Love by Christopher Marlowe | Structure, Summary, Analysis

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

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

Structure of The Passionate Shepherd to His Love:

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

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

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

Summary of A Passionate Shepherd to His Love:

Stanza 1 Lines 1-4

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

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

Stanza 2 Lines 5-8

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

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

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

Stanza 3 Lines 9-12

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

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

Stanza 4 Lines 13-16

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

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

Stanza 5 Lines 17-20

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

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

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

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

Stanza 6 Lines 21-24

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

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

Symbolism in The Passionate Shepherd to His Love:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Characters of The Cask of Amontillado:

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

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

Summary of The Cask of Amontillado:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Irony in “The Cask of Amontillado”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Structure of A Poison Tree:

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

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

Summary of A Poison Tree:

Stanza 1 Lines 1-4

“I was angry with my friend;

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe:

I told it not, my wrath did grow. ”

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

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

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

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

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

Stanza 2 Lines 5-8

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stanza 4 Lines 13-16

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

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

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

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

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

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