The Waste Land

                              Thinking Activity

              The Waste Land

                                                      

    Hello! Here I am going to write another blog. The blog spot is a response to the thinking activity assigned by Dr. Dilip Bard sir , Dept of English. In this Particular blog, I am going to write about allusions to the Indian thoughts in 'The Waste Land' by T. S. Eliot. 

Introduction  : 

   T.S. Eliot was an American-English poet, playwright, literary critic, and editor, who played a leading role in the Modernist movement of poetry. He is best known for his works The Waste Land and Four Quartets, which had a significant impact on Anglo-American culture from the 1920s to the end of the century. Eliot's innovative use of language, style, and metre helped revitalize English poetry, and his critical essays challenged old beliefs and established new ones. His masterpiece Four Quartets established him as the most important English poet and writer of his time, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948 along with the Order of Merit.

 About the Poem : 

 

       The Waste Land is a long poem by T.S. Eliot, first published in 1922 in London and New York.  It is widely regarded as one of the most important works of 20th-century literature. The poem consists of five parts and 433 lines, and it was dedicated to the poet Ezra Pound. The poem is divided into five sections, each with its own distinctive style and subject matter. The themes of the poem are wide-ranging and include disillusionment with post-World War I society, the search for spiritual renewal, and the decline of Western civilization.

     The work was highly influential and expressed the disillusionment and disgust of the post-World War I period. The poem portrays a world of fear and lust, where people are searching for redemption.       

        The poem initially met with controversy as its complex and erudite style was alternately denounced for its obscurity and praised for its Modernism.  The depiction of spiritual emptiness is not a simple contrast of the past with the present, but rather a timeless awareness of moral grandeur and moral evil.

   

"The Waste Land" is known for its complex structure, its allusions to a wide range of literary and cultural sources, and its use of multiple voices and perspectives. The poem's fragmented and discontinuous style reflects the dislocation and disorientation of modern life.

The poem has been interpreted in many different ways, and its meaning continues to be a subject of debate among scholars and readers. Some see it as a commentary on the spiritual emptiness of modern life, while others see it as a meditation on the possibilities of redemption and renewal.

Question : 1 : Write about allusions to the Indian thoughts in 'The Waste Land'. (Where, How and Why are the Indian thoughts referred?) 

   "The Waste Land" reflects Eliot's interest in Eastern spirituality and his belief that it offered a possible solution to the spiritual crisis of the Western world. By drawing on these ideas, Eliot creates a complex and multi-layered work that continues to fascinate and challenge readers to this day.    

      The third section of the poem, "The Fire Sermon," contains a prominent reference to Hindu pilgrimage to the Ganges River, where people come from all over to cleanse their souls by bathing in the river. The fourth section, "Death by Water," delves into the Buddhist concept of "samsara," or the cycle of birth and death, and the notion that desire leads to suffering.

    The fifth section, "What the Thunder Said," makes allusions to the Hindu god Shiva, who is known as the destroyer of worlds, as well as to the sacred Gangas River and the chanting of "Om", a sacred syllable in Hinduism.

The last part of the poem ‘What the Thunder said’ in this part Eliot use this allusion : 

"Ganga was sunken, and the limps leaves

waited for rain, while the black clouds

gathered far distant, over Himvant

The jungle crouched, humped in silence.”

Eliot has given Three Da which i elaborate in the below:

Da - Datta : To give (to give: not only charity but giving oneself for some noble cause – passionate participation, not) 

Da- Dayadhvam : sympathy 

Da - Damyata :  Self Control (control over one’s passions and desires)

    The poem's allusions to Indian thought demonstrate Eliot's interest in Eastern spirituality as a potential source of renewal and a way to address the spiritual crisis of Western civilization.

May there be peace in heaven, peace in space, peace on earth. May there be peace in trees, peace in vegetation and plants. May there be peace in our gods and in the entire creation. May there be peace everywhere and be it only peace. That peace, I pray, embrace my being !

Conclusion : 

   To Sum Up, Overall of the poem of T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" is a significant modernist poem that draws on various literary and cultural sources, including allusions to Indian thought. The references to Hinduism and Buddhism in the poem reflect Eliot's interest in Eastern spirituality and his belief that it offered a possible alternative to the spiritual emptiness of Western civilization.

    The allusions to the Hindu pilgrimage to the Gangas River, the Buddhist concept of samsara, and the Hindu god Shiva and the sacred syllable "Om" in the poem demonstrate Eliot's fascination with Eastern spirituality as a means of addressing the spiritual crisis of Western civilization. Overall, the use of Indian thought in "The Waste Land" adds depth and complexity to the poem and continues to fascinate and challenge readers today.

Thank You… . 

 

Assignment Paper 110 : History of English Literature from 1900 to 2000

         Name : Anjali M. Rathod

Enrollment no. : 4069206420220024

Roll no. : 02

Batch : M.A. Sem. 2 (2022-24)

Subject Code :  22403

Paper no. : 110 : History of English Literature from 1900 to 2000

Email Address: rathodanjali20022002ui@gmail.com

Submitted to : Smt. S.B. Gardi, Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar - 364002

Birthday party as a Comedy of Menace 

Introduction : 

Born :  1930,  London ,  England

Died :  2008 , London , England

Awards And Honors : Nobel Prize (2005)

Notable Works : “Moonlight”, “The Birthday Party”, “The Caretaker”, “The Dumb Waiter“, “The Homecoming” and  “The Room”

Movement and Style : Theatre of the Absurd

Harold Pinter was an English playwright who gained international recognition as one of the most complex and challenging dramatists of the post-World War II era. He used understatement, small talk, and silence to convey a character's thoughts and feelings, which were often hidden beneath their speech. Pinter grew up in London's East End and studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before becoming a professional actor. 

    Harold Pinter began writing for the stage in 1956 and his early plays, such as The Room and The Dumb Waiter, established the mood of comic menace that would characterize his later works. Although his first full-length play, The Birthday Party, initially puzzled audiences and had a short run, it was later successfully revived on stage and adapted into a film. In 2005, Pinter was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Pinter's plays are complex and original, with ambiguous plots, characters, and endings. They often feature a pair of characters whose roles and relationships are disrupted by the arrival of a stranger. Through bizarre yet ordinary conversations, the characters' hidden fears, jealousies, sexual desires, and loneliness are revealed, causing their psychic stability to crumble. In The Caretaker, for example, an old tramp disrupts the lives of two neurotic brothers and upsets their delicate balance, leading to his eviction. The Homecoming portrays the return of a professor and his wife to his London home, where they encounter a web of rage and confused sexuality in an all-male household. The wife's acceptance of the family's sexual advances leads to her decision to stay with them, despite her husband's detachment. Despite the ambiguity, Pinter's plays are powerful and impactful works.

Dialogue is of central importance in Pinter’s plays and is perhaps the key to his originality. His characters’ colloquial (“Pinteresque”) speech consists of disjointed and oddly ambivalent conversation that is punctuated by resonant silences. The characters’ speech, hesitations, and pauses reveal not only their own alienation and the difficulties they have in communicating but also the many layers of meaning that can be contained in even the most innocuous statements.

About the Play : 

     The Birthday Party, drama in three acts by Harold Pinter, produced in 1958 and published in 1959. Pinter’s first full-length play established his trademark “comedy of menace,” in which a character is suddenly threatened by the vague horrors at large in the outside world. The action takes place entirely in a shabby rooming house where Stanley, a lazy young boarder, is shaken out of his false sense of security by the arrival of two mysterious men who proceed to “punish” him for crimes that remain unrevealed. A birthday party staged by Stanley’s landlady soon turns into an exhibition of violence and terror. Pinter’s comic vision of paranoia and isolation is reinforced by his use of dialogue, including frequent pauses, disjointed conversations, and non sequiturs.

Meaning of Comedy of Menace : 

   Comedy of menace is an audience's laughter is quickly followed by a sense of impending disaster. The play contains a sense of danger or violence, whether it is actual or potential, that permeates throughout. The exact cause of the menace is often unclear, but it produces a feeling of uncertainty and insecurity in the audience. The comedy element in the play is often used to highlight and intensify the sense of danger. Overall, a comedy of menace creates a unique and unsettling theatrical experience that blends humor with an underlying sense of fear.

     The Birthday Party is a prime example of Pinter's Comedy of Menace, where a sense of danger and menace underlies the comic elements of the play. Pinter explores the existential view that danger is pervasive in life and cannot be escaped. The protagonist, Stanley, is suspected of having committed a serious crime and is on the run, which is implied through his behavior in the play. He rarely leaves his room and becomes agitated when he learns that two strangers will be staying at the boarding house. Stanley attempts to conceal his apprehension by bragging about his successful concert and a job offer. Pinter uses the juxtaposition of comedy and menace to dilute the comic appeal and emphasize the sense of danger that pervades the play.

Birthday party as a Comedy of Menace : 

          The theatre of Harold Pinter, however, is quite another matter. Pinter's theatre, to apply what Jacques Lemarchand said of Ionesco's theatre, is one of the strangest types of theatre to have emerged during the atomic age. It is certainly one of the most bizarre and unique to have emerged in the English language. The only other playwright whose plays seem similar in texture is Samuel Beckett, and his major plays were originally written in French.

Pinter's plays are frequently funny. They are also frequently frightening. Their meaning usually seems obscure. They are realistic plays, after a fashion, but not realistic in the sense that Roots or Look Back in Anger is realistic. The characters behave in a "believable" manner, but they are shrouded in a twilight of mystery. We are never precisely sure who they are, why they are there, or what they have come to do. Their motives and backgrounds are vague or unknown. We recognize that there is motivation, but we are unsure what it is. We recognize that there is a background, but that background is clouded. Each piece of knowledge is a half-knowledge, each answer a springboard to new questions. In The Room, it is never completely explained why a blind Negro named Riley comes to visit Rose Hudd, what his message to her means, or even why Bert Hudd, Rose's husband, kills him. 

In The Birthday Party, we never really know why the strange visitors, Goldberg and McCann, intimidate Stanley or why they take him away with them. In The Caretaker, we do not know the precise relationship of the brothers or even the reasons for the younger brother's changing attitudes toward their visitor, Davies. 

Pinter's plays have an unreal reality, or a realistic unreality. His symbols are unclear but pertinent, or pertinent but unclear. This description might make these plays seem dull and pretentious. But they are not: they are engrossing and exciting. A neoclassical critic would have no difficulty judging Pinter's theatre: "He does not write according to the Rules." Our currently fashionable phrases "These aren't plays: they're sketches for revues" or "I don't know what the hell this play is all about"-come to the same thing. 

Pinter's plays seem to be produced by Maxim Gorky out of Charles Addams with Samuel Beckett as midwife. He has been called an egg-head Hitchcock, and his plays have given rise to a new label, "Comedy of Menace," a term which is appropriate, which explains little, but which serves as a convenient label for people who need labels. The plots of Pinter's plays are straightforward almost to the point of simplicity. A recounting of the plot of The Caretaker leads one to expect the type of treatment found in Kind Lady.

In The Birthday Party, Goldberg and McCann visit a lodging house in a seaside resort town, where they drive Stanley Webber, a lodger, to a nervous breakdown, and finally abduct him. In The Dumb Waiter, two hired killers, Gus and Ben, arrive in Birmingham to do a job. When Gus leaves to go to the lavatory. Ben receives instructions from someone talking to him on a speaking-tube, and Gus returns to find Ben pointing a gun at him. In The Room, a blind Negro named Riley has been waiting in the basement until Rose Hudd's husband Bert leaves for work. When Bert leaves, Riley tells Rose that her father wants her to come home. Bert returns and kills him.

Conclusion : 

 

   Overall of  the play, Harold Pinter creates a sense of uncertainty and insecurity in the audience, which intensifies the feeling of menace. The comedy element of the play is used to juxtapose the underlying sense of danger, creating a unique and unsettling theatrical experience for the audience. In summary, The Birthday Party is a brilliant example of Pinter's ability to create a perfect balance between humor and menace in his plays.

Works Cited : 

• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Harold Pinter". Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Mar. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harold-Pinter. Accessed 31 March 2023.

• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "The Birthday Party". Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Nov. 2015, https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Birthday-Party-play-by-Pinter. Accessed 31 March 2023.

• Dukore, Bernard. “The Theatre of Harold Pinter.” The Tulane Drama Review, vol. 6, no. 3, 1962, pp. 43–54. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1124934. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.

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 Thank You… . 

Assignment paper 109 : Literary Theory & Criticism and Indian Aesthetics

         Name : Anjali M. Rathod

Enrollment no. : 4069206420220024

Roll no. : 02

Batch : M.A. Sem. 2 (2022-24)

Subject Code :  22402

Paper no. : 109: Literary Theory & Criticism and Indian Aesthetics

Email Address: rathodanjali20022002ui@gmail.com

Submitted to : Smt. S.B. Gardi, Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar - 364002

 Archetypal Criticism and Its Example by Northrop Frye    

Introduction of Northrop Frye : 

      

Born : July 14, 1912 , Sherbrooke , Canada

Died : January 23, 1991 , Toronto , Canada

Notable Works : “Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays” ,  “Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake”

Subjects Of Study : Literary criticism ,  John Milton

            Northrop Frye, in full Herman Northrop Frye was born on  July 14, 1912, Sherbrooke, Canada and died  on January  23, 1991, Toronto, Canada. He was a Canadian educator and literary critic who wrote much on Canadian literature and culture and became best known as one of the most important literary theorists of the 20th century.

         Northrop Frye was educated at the University of Toronto, where he studied philosophy and then theology, and he was ordained a minister in the United Church of Canada in 1936. He then received a scholarship to do postgraduate work at Merton College, Oxford. He returned to Canada in 1939 and taught at Victoria College, University of Toronto. Frye became chairman of the English department there in 1952 and served as principal and chancellor of the college. He gave lectures and taught throughout the United States and Great Britain and around the world.

        In 1947 he published Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake, which was a sweeping and erudite study of Blake’s visionary symbolism and established the groundwork for his engagement with literary theory. In Anatomy of Criticism (1957) he challenged the hegemony of the New Criticism by emphasizing the modes and genres of literary texts. Rather than analyze the language of individual works of literature, as the New Critics did, Frye stressed the larger or deeper imaginative patterns from which all literary works are constructed and the recurring importance of literature’s underlying archetypes.

       In later works Frye supplemented the examination of archetype and genre with practical criticism; he studied T.S. Eliot (1963), John Milton’s epics (1965), Shakespearean comedy (1965) and tragedy (1967), and English Romanticism (1968). The Stubborn Structure: Essays on Criticism and Society appeared in 1970, and The Great Code: The Bible and Literature, a study of the mythology and structure of the Bible, was published in 1982. Frye’s other critical works—The Well-Tempered Critic (1963), The Secular Scripture: A Study of the Structure of Romance (1976), Northrop Frye on Shakespeare (1986), and Words with Power: Being a Second Study of “The Bible and Literature” (1990)—similarly emphasize symbols and group myths in literature and the systematic classification of literary symbols, genres, and criticism.

What is Archetypal Criticism : 

                       

  Archetypal criticism is a type of literary analysis that focuses on identifying and interpreting recurring symbols, patterns, and themes, known as archetypes, that appear in literature across different cultures and time periods. These archetypes are considered to be universal and deeply rooted in the human psyche, reflecting common experiences and emotions that are shared by people throughout history. 

Archetypal criticism draws on theories and concepts from social anthropology and psychoanalysis to analyze how these archetypes function in a literary work and what they reveal about the human condition. The goal of archetypal criticism is to uncover the underlying meanings and messages of a literary work by examining the symbolic and mythological elements within it.

             It has its roots in social anthropology and psychoanalysis, and it became popular in the mid-twentieth century through the work of Northrop Frye. While it is not as widely used today, it still has a place in the study of literature, particularly in the analysis of biblical texts. Essentially, it seeks to identify universal patterns and meanings in literature by exploring the shared experiences and symbols that have endured across cultures and time periods.

         Northrop Frye was a prominent Canadian literary criticand he was also a significant advocate of archetypal criticism. In his influential work "Anatomy of Criticism," Frye developed a theory of literary archetypes that drew from the ideas of Carl Jung, as well as the structuralist and mythological approaches to literary analysis. According to Frye, there are four main archetypes in literature: the mythos of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. These archetypes correspond to different stages in the human life cycle and reflect distinct cultural and psychological experiences.

    Archetypal critics will have to continue to spend much effort convincing readers that there are things undreamed of in their philosophy, the readers' philosophy. Like Wordsworth, critics sometimes have to create the taste which they wish to cater to. People may not know what they are lacking unless the absence is pointed out to them. The archetypal critics' responsibility is largely to create the mental set that will allow the critical commentaries to be considered for their individual merit about individual works instead of, as is so often true, for the seeming limitations of the whole approach.

      The task is a formidable one, since most people are unwilling to believe that reason is not the proper-and only-way of understanding reality. We need a loosening up of our conceptions of truth, time, and space, until we can appreciate the validity of different ways of perceiving. People may be afraid to do so because they might lose the certainties that they have built during a lifetime. Yet even a small change is a gain. We might become more catholic in becoming more oriental. We might discover that "primitive" tribes are not invariably muddle-headed because they think that time is not a continuum from then to now, as we do, but rather a wheel or an oval or an ellipse or some other shape. We might learn, in a vibrant, not an academic, way that subjective, psy- chological truths are every bit as real as other facts, perhaps more real, because they direct and form thinking and behavior. 

Examples of Archetypal criticism : 

    

     Archetypes are recurring patterns and symbols in literature that reflect universal human experiences and shape our collective consciousness. The Hero archetype is one of the most well-known and common archetypes in literature, and the Hero's Journey structure involves the protagonist starting out in ordinary circumstances, being called to adventure, and ultimately transforming through a confrontation with their deepest fear. Luke Skywalker from Star Wars is a classic example of a Hero archetype.

      The Trickster archetype is another common archetype in literature and mythology. Tricksters are often androgynous characters who break the rules of society and nature, and love to play tricks on others. They represent the chaotic and complex realities of the world that are beyond human understanding. Tricksters can be evil or good, such as Loki or Bugs Bunny.

  The Anti-Hero archetype is a character who possesses some attributes of a traditional Hero, but is not a typical "good guy." Batman is an example of an anti-hero who fights crime and super-villains, but is also a moody recluse with a dark side.

   The Byronic hero is an archetype of the hero character, created by Lord Byron. This archetype differs from the traditional hero in that the Byronic hero is flawed and may exhibit qualities like cynicism, depression, and impulsiveness. They are often depicted as highly intelligent and cunning, and may also have a strong sense of their own beliefs. However, they may also appear emotionally tortured and conflicted.

    The symbolic archetype of light represents positive concepts such as hope, renewal, and dreams. Light has its origins in The Bible where it is called 'good' by God, and later associated with Heaven. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby , the green light is used as a symbol of hope, reflecting Gatsby's aspirations of being with Daisy. Light is often linked with the situational archetype of rebirth, representing a fresh start or new beginnings. Overall, light is a positive symbol in literature, associated with good things to come.

   The dark is a symbolic archetype that represents the opposite of light in literature. It is commonly used to symbolize death and the unknown. This archetype is often found in horror stories and tragedies. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, darkness is used as a symbol to represent death and the unknown. Joseph Conrad's The Heart of Darkness also uses this symbolic archetype to represent fear and death.

    The "Overcoming the monster" archetype is a story type that features a hero or everyman who must defeat a great evil that is causing destruction. This archetype is present in stories such as Beowulf, where the protagonist has to defeat three monsters. Sometimes, the protagonist may have to save a person or a kingdom, while other times the monster may be symbolic of a greater fear. A modern example of this archetype can be seen in Peter Benchley's novel Jaws.

  The sage is an archetype commonly found in literature, typically depicted as an older character who serves as a mentor, teacher, or scholar to the protagonist. This archetype is characterized by a quest for truth and a philosophical mindset. The sage can have a positive or negative influence on the hero, as they can either guide or manipulate them. Examples of the sage archetype can be found in characters such as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter, and Julian Morrow in The Secret History.

  

 Then possibly some of us may not insist on forcing our categories of reality upon others. Quite decidedly even today much of the missionary zeal of the nineteenth century lingers on in our attitudes toward people unlike ourselves; hence it is the job of the archetypal critic to convince readers that in epistemology, as in sex, there is nothing "sacred" or "natural" in the missionary position.

Walter K. Gordon: "The basic contention of archetypal criticism is that literary ex- pression is an unconscious product of the collective experience of the entire species. As such, literature is therefore integrally related with man's cultural past." 

      Archetypal criticism can aid in pointing out many of these non-literary aspects. Critics should exclude anything that might add to an understanding of literature. He usually does not have to surrender entirely to Some archetypes, but why insist on strapping initially at- one arm down and poking out one eye? e; some The battle of the books is difficult enough to understand fully armed.

 Conclusion : 

     Overall ,  The advantages of archetypal criticism do not in- depend to a considerable extent upon an acceptance of areas of the mind that most American readers probably do not accept in that is, regions of consciousness different archetypal from the logical. If people do not grant attention the ability of myth itself to invigorate the enclosing human mind, they most likely will reject W. K. criticism which attempts to reveal myth. -stay as What is needed is a re-thinking of basic y within assumptions about what maturity means, ee with about what intelligence means.

   works cited : 

• Britannica, The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia. "Northrop Frye". Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Mar. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/facts/Northrop-Frye. Accessed 30 March 2023.

• Brown, Daniel Russell. “A Look at Archetypal Criticism.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 28, no. 4, 1970, pp. 465–72. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/428486. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.

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