CHARLES LAMB'S TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE (THE TEMPEST)

THE TEMPEST

INTRODUCTION:

Tales from Shakespeare is an English Children’s tale book written by Charles Lamb and his sister Mary Lamb in 1807. The book is designed to make the stories of Shakespeare's plays familiar to the young children. Mary Lamb wrote the comedies and Charles Lamb wrote the tragedies. The Tempest is set on a remote island. The sorcerer Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan but his brother has conspirated with the King of Naples. He sent out Prospero in a boat. Antonio’s cunningness, King’s redemption, Marriage of Miranda and Ferdinand are portrayed in this play.

THE TEMPEST:

The story opens in the midst of  a storm. The ship contains king of Naples, his son, Antonio. Prospero, the Protagonist, has created the storm with  magic. Ariel, the little spirit, makes the ship to wreck. Prospero and Miranda watch the storm envelop the ship.

PROSPERO AND MIRANDA:

Prospero was once the duke of Milan. His interest towards magic books made him to lose his kingdom. He was forced to sail in a boat. Gonzalo loved Prospero and he kept the books, water and other provisional inside the boat. Antonio was proud and ambitious. He started thinking himself as a Duke. He also conspired with King of Naples.

ISLAND:

Prospero’s boat reached the island safely. Miranda was the only reason of Prospero’s existence. She was like a little cherub that Prospero’s arrival. She has imprisoned the spirits in large trees. With the help of magic, Prospero released good spirits.

ARIEL AND CALIBAN:

Ariel, one of the good spirits, released by Prospero. Ariel promised to serve Prospero. Ariel was invisible to everyone except Prospero. Caliban is an ugly monster. He is the son of Sycorax. He was employed as a slave. Caliban didn’t learn anything from Prospero.

FERDINAND’S LOVE :

As the ship wrecked, Antonio and the King were on the one side of the island. Ferdinand was left on the other side alone. Ariel brought Ferdinand towards the cave. Ferdinand saw Miranda and wondered her as the Goddess of the place. Miranda has not seen any men other than her father. Ferdinand and Miranda fell in love with each other.

PROSPERO’S TEST:                                       

Prospero was very ungentle towards Ferdinand. Miranda  and Ferdinand expressed their love. Ferdinand assured to make her as the queen of Naples. Prospero has given lot of works to Ferdinand for instance carrying log of woods. Prospero said “All your vexations were but trials of your love, and you have nobly stood the test”

CONCLUSION:

Ariel brought Antonio and the king of Naples to see Prospero. Antonio felt regretful for to his past deeds. He apologized for his mistakes. Prospero showed Ferdinand to the King Alonso. The king felt Happy to see his son alive. He also approved his son’s love. They all depart with the ship which Ariel kept safe under the sea. Prospero drowned his magic books in the sea and also broke his staff. They left the island happily. The marriage proceedings of Miranda and Ferdinand will take place in Milan.

RABINDRANATH TAGORE'S SUBHA

INTRODUCTION:

Rabindranath Tagore was born in Calcutta, India. He attended University College, at London for one year. He was called back to India by his father in 1880. During the first 51 years of his life, he achieved some success with his many stories, songs, and plays. In 1913, he received the Nobel Prize for literature. He was the first non-westerner to receive the honor. He wrote over one thousand poems and many books and essays on philosophy, religion, education and social topics. He also composed more than two thousand songs, both the music and lyrics. Two of them became the national anthems of India and Bangladesh. He died at the age of 80.

ABOUT THE SHORT STORY:

Subha is a short story written by Tagore. The story is an heartbreaking tale of the isolation deaf  and dumb girl named Subhashini. She is the daughter of Banikantha.   Subha is born into a comfortable family. She is the youngest of three daughters. She had an elder sisters Sukeshini and Suhashini. Tagore gives the theme of fear, isolation and loneliness. Subha’s mother feels a sense of shame due to Subha’s deformities. At the end, she is married to a man who marries without knowing her deformity

SUBHA'S LIVING:

 Subha lived in Chandipur. There was a small river beside her home. There were houses on either side of the river. Subha's mother tries to love her but she can barely force the emotion. Subha's father loves and accepts her.  In due time her older two sisters are married to proper men and given a proper dowry. The parents find hard to search a groom for Subha. Because the mother in laws  may fear she will give birth to children with the same impairments she has.

COMMUNICATION OF SUBHA:

Subha has learned to cope as best she can within the context of her family by communicating with gestures understood only within the family.   Her only friends are the two family cows named Sarbbashi and Panguki. She had no words to speak with the cows. She murmured lovingly in her language. The cows understood better than Men. She holded Sarbbashi’s neck with her arms. She visited them thrice in a day. She also had friendship with goat and a kitten. Along with Nature they are her connection to her emotions.

SUBHA- PRATAP'S COMPANION:

Subha had a friend named Pratap. He is an idle fellow. He was the youngest boy of the Gossains  The boy’s parents thought that he would not make his living. His only interest in life is casting his fishing net.His only ambition was to catch fish. The man appreciates her silence as talking might frighten the fish.  She comes to enjoy seeing him cast his net.

SUBHA'S MARRIAGE:

Banikantha decided to go to Calcutta with his family. Subha sat in the grassy couch beside her river and said

 “ Don’t let me leave you, mother. Put your arms about me, as I have put mine about you and hold me fast”

Even her tears do not register as sadness with her parents. Subha is sad because she is marrying a stranger who she does not love. Her parents do not take Subha’s feelings into consideration. Subha is not treated as the individual she is. She has become a problem for her parents. They consider her as a burden

CONCLUSION:

The end of the story explores the theme of isolation. Subha is married. and she is to live her life with a man she does not know. She is to live in a city in whereby she knows no one. It is at no stage in the story has Subha’s feelings been put to the forefront by her parents. Though Subha cannot talk her tears speak louder than words yet her parents do not realise. She feels alone in her husband's home.

NISSIM EZEKIEL’S THE NIGHT OF THE SCORPION

INTRODUCTION:

Nissim Ezekiel is a famous poet of in the Indian History. He was born in the year 1924. He is an actor, playwright, poet, editor and critic. He was awarded Sahitya Academy in 1983 for Latter Day Psalms. His works like The Unfinished Man, The Exact Man, Hymns In Darkness are famous among all. His works exhibit an insight into the hearts of the readers. He died in the year 2004

THE NIGHT OF THE SCORPION:

The Night of the Scorpion is a famous poem from the poetry collections of Ezekiel. The poem shows the superstitious belief of the people. The speaker of the poem remembers the night his mother was stung by a Scorpion. The poet explains the appearance of the Scorpion, the reaction of the villagers, and the father’s rationalism.

ON A RAINY DAY:

            The poet remembers the night when his mother was stung by the Scorpion. The Scorpion rice. The scorpion’s poison flash of the diabolic tail. It came into the dark room and has bitten the speaker’s mother.

THE PEASANTS:

The peasants came to see the mother who is suffering from the pain. The poet compares the peasants arrival to the swarm of flies. They all came and buzzed the name of God a hundred times for paralyzing the pain of the mother. They all came with lanterns and candles. The shadows of the peasants looked like Giant  Scorpion on the walls of the house. The peasants searched for the scorpion. But they didn’t find the Scorpion.

SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEF:

The villagers believed that the poison moved in mother’s blood if the scorpion moved further. They were in suspicion that the scorpion is still in the house. They told that the sins of the mother’s previous birth would be burned away in the night. They all said

‘May your suffering decrease the misfortunes if your next birth’.

The villagers wished that the sum of evil would balance the sum of good due to the pain. They also told that the poison would purify the mother’s flesh of desire and also the spirit of ambition.

More candles, more lanterns: more neighbours,

More insects, and the endless rain

THE FATHER’S REACTION:

            The speaker’s mother suffered in pain. The poet tells “My mother twisted through and through, groaning on a mat”. The poet calls the father as a sceptic and rationalist. He tried all the methods to cure the pain of the mother. He used powder, herb and hybrid. He also poured a little paraffin upon the bitten area. He also lightened the paraffin. The poet watched the flame feeding on the mother.

CONCLUSION:

            The holy man performed all the rites to tame the poison. He also tried to cure the pain with the incantation. The pain was lost after twenty hours. The mother woke up and told “ Thank God, the Scorpion picked on me and spared my children”.  The poet concludes the poem with the strong love of mother. The poem shows the uncontrollable affection and care of the mother

CHETAN BHAGAT'S MY STUPID SUICIDE PLAN

Introduction:

Chetan Bhagat is an Indian author, columnist, screenwriter and motivational speaker. His novels were sold over 7 million Copies. The New York Times cited Bhagat as "the biggest selling English language novelist in India's history". His first novel 'Five point someone' was a Fame. He visits educational institutions in India to give motivational talks. Some of his novels Five Point Someone, One night @ the call centre The three mistakes of my life, 2 States, Revolution 2020 and one Indian girl

About the Prose:

My stupid suicide plan is a blog article written by Chetan Bhagat in 2005. An IITian has committed suicide in November 2005. So Bhagat has written this article My stupid suicide plan.

IIT:

Chetan talks about the IITian's suicide. He questions about the IIT a place where bright and shining future exists. He also wonders why  hardworking, bright student commit suicide. IIT are great but the Dark Side of the IIT are afflicted by pressure. The Dark Side of the IIT is probably forgotten.

Childhood reverie:

Chetan Bhagat brings back his childhood memory. When he was 14 years old, He had a thought of committing suicide. His marks in chemistry was awful in half yearly exam during 10th standard. He had read about copper sulphate. It is cheap and poisonous. He had bought copper sulphate from kirana store for 2 Rupees.

Reasons for cancellation of his plan:

The first reason is the aunty. She is his neighbour. When Bhagat asked about copper sulphate she told him about the painful death of a woman. After consuming copper sulphate the Veins would burst and a person could suffer for hours. The second reason is a street dog. The dog was teased by the boys for taking scraps of food. The dog won't go to kirana store for copper sulphate. Instead the dog will plan for the next meal. Bhagat questions himself why he wants to die He threw the copper sulphate in the Bin.

Advice To The Reader:

Bhagat shows the situation of the family and friends of the IITian.  India had lost a wonderful, bright child. The author advises the Reader "Lend a supportive non-judgmental ear" to a distressed soul. He thanks the aunty and the dog who saved his life. He tells that God would have given the Power off button but he didn't give it. Hence, People have to live until Death approaches them.

SHAKESPEARE'S JULIUS CAESAR

 Shakespeare's Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 2

Summary

              Brutus and Cassius enter the Forum, which is thronged with citizens demanding satisfaction. They divide the crowd — Cassius leading off one portion to hear his argument, and Brutus presenting reasons to those remaining behind at the Forum. Brutus asks the citizens to contain their emotions until he has finished, to bear in mind that he is honorable, and to use their reason in order to judge him. He then sets before them his reasons for the murder of Caesar and points out that documentation exists in the Capitol that support his claims. The citizens are convinced and at the end of his oration, cheer him with emotion. He then directs them to listen to Antony's funeral oration.

              Antony indicates that, like Brutus, he will deliver a reasoned oration. He refers to Brutus' accusation that Caesar was ambitious, acknowledges that he speaks with "honorable" Brutus' permission, and proceeds to counter all of Brutus' arguments. The crowd begins to be swayed by his logic and his obvious sorrow over his friend's murder. They are ultimately turned into an unruly mob calling for the blood of the conspirators by mention of Caesar's generosity in leaving money and property to the people of Rome, and by the spectacle of Caesar's bleeding body, which Antony unveils.

              The mob leaves to cremate Caesar's body with due reverence, to burn the houses of the assassins, and to wreak general destruction. Antony is content; he muses, "Mischief, thou art afoot, / Take thou what course thou wilt!" A servant enters and informs Antony that Octavius has arrived and is with Lepidus at Caesar's house. Antony is pleased and decides to visit him immediately to plan to take advantage of the chaos he has created. The servant reports that Brutus and Cassius have fled Rome, and Antony suspects that they have heard of his rousing the people to madness.

DETAILED ESSAY

After the murder of Caesar:

               Brutus and Cassius enter the Forum with a crowd of plebeians. Cassius exits to speak to another portion of the crowd. Brutus addresses the onstage crowd, assuring them that they may trust in his honor. He did not kill Caesar out of a lack of love for him, he says, but because his love for Rome outweighed his love of a single man. He insists that Caesar was great but ambitious: it was for this reason that he slew him. He feared that the Romans would live as slaves under Caesar’s leadership.
               He asks if any disagree with him, and none do. He thus concludes that he has offended no one and asserts that now Caesar’s death has been accounted for, with both his virtues and faults in life given due attention. Antony then enters with Caesar’s body. Brutus explains to the crowd that Antony had no part in the conspiracy but that he will now be part of the new commonwealth. The plebeians cheer Brutus’s apparent kindness, declaring that Brutus should be Caesar. He quiets them and asks them to listen to Antony, who has obtained permission to give a funeral oration. Brutus exits.

Speech of Antony:

             Antony ascends to the pulpit while the plebeians discuss what they have heard. They now believe that Caesar was a tyrant and that Brutus did right to kill him. But they wait to hear Antony. He asks the audience to listen, for he has come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. He acknowledges Brutus’s charge that Caesar was ambitious and maintains that Brutus is “an honourable man,” but he says that Caesar was his friend (III.ii.84). He adds that Caesar brought to Rome many captives, whose countrymen had to pay their ransoms, thus filling Rome’s coffers. He asks rhetorically if such accumulation of money for the people constituted ambition. Antony continues that Caesar sympathized with the poor: “When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept” (III.ii.88). He reminds the plebeians of the day when he offered the crown to Caesar three times, and Caesar three times refused. Again, he ponders aloud whether this humility constituted ambition. He claims that he is not trying to disprove Brutus’s words but rather to tell them what he, Antony, knows; he insists that as they all loved Caesar once, they should mourn for him now.

Antony speaks about Caesar's will:

               Antony pauses to weep. The plebeians are touched; they remember when Caesar refused the crown and wonder if more ambitious people have not stepped into his place. Antony speaks again, saying that he would gladly stir them to mutiny and rebellion, though he will not harm Brutus or Cassius, for they are—again—honorable men. He then brings out Caesar’s will. The plebeians beg him to read it. Antony says that he should not, for then they would be touched by Caesar’s love for them. They implore him to read it. He replies that he has been speaking too long—he wrongs the honorable men who have let him address the crowd. The plebeians call the conspirators traitors and demand that Antony read the will.

Antony urges the crowd:

                Finally, Antony descends from the pulpit and prepares to read the letter to the people as they stand in a circle around Caesar’s corpse. Looking at the body, Antony points out the wounds that Brutus and Cassius inflicted, reminding the crowd how Caesar loved Brutus, and yet Brutus stabbed him viciously. He tells how Caesar died and blood ran down the steps of the Senate. Then he uncovers the body for all to see. The plebeians weep and become enraged. Antony says that they should not be stirred to mutiny against such “honourable men” (III.ii.148). He protests that he does not intend to steal away their hearts, for he is no orator like Brutus. He proclaims himself a plain man; he speaks only what he knows, he says—he will let Caesar’s wounds speak the rest. If he were Brutus, he claims, he could urge them to rebel, but he is merely Antony.

 

Conclusion:

              The people declare that they will mutiny nonetheless. Antony calls to them to let him finish: he has not yet read the will. He now reads that Caesar has bequeathed a sum of money from his personal holdings to every man in Rome. The citizens are struck by this act of generosity and swear to avenge this selfless man’s death. Antony continues reading, revealing Caesar’s plans to make his private parks and gardens available for the people’s pleasure. The plebeians can take no more; they charge off to wreak havoc throughout the city. Antony, alone, wonders what will come of the mischief he has set loose on Rome. Octavius’s servant enters. He reports that Octavius has arrived at Caesar’s house, and also that Brutus and Cassius have been driven from Rome

OSCAR WILDE’S THE HAPPY PRINCE

OSCAR WILDE:

             Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. He is remembered for his epigrams and plays. His novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is a famous work. Wilde published The Happy Prince and Other Tales. He wrote fairy stories for magazines. His stories like The Selfish Giant, The Model Millionaire and The Happy Prince are very famous.

HAPPY PRINCE:

The Happy Prince stood on the centre of the city. He was covered by thin leaves of Gold. He had two sapphires in his eyes and a large Ruby on his sword. He was admired by the people. He looked like an angel. The Happy Prince never dreamt of crying.

SWALLOW’S LOVE:

There was a swallow whose friends had gone to Egypt. The swallow fell in love with Reed. The reed didn’t even talk to the Swallow. She was very domestic. In autumn, the Reed flew away. The Swallow flew away bitting Goodbye to the Reed. He had decided to travel to Egypt.

UNDER THE STATUE:

The swallow decided to stay under the statue as it has become dark night. The Swallow sat in between the foot of the Statue. He was completely wet due to the tears of the statue. The Swallow enquired the Happy Prince’s misery. The Happy prince narrated his past Happy life and his present state of misery.

SWALLOW AS A MESSENGER:

The Happy prince was completely upset due to the miseries of the people around the city. He requested the swallow to be a messenger for a day.

1^st – a boy in a poor house

2^nd – a writer (young man in a garret)

3^rd – little match girl

A BOY IN A POOR HOUSE:

The Happy Prince told the swallow about a boy in a poor house. The boy’s mother is embroidering passion flowers for a mind. The little boy is ill. His mother has nothing to give him but only river water. The swallow took the ruby to the boy’s house.

YOUNG MAN IN A GARRET:

The Happy prince told the swallow about a young man in a garret. The man is writing play for the Director in the theatre. He has no fire in the grate. Due to his hungriness, he is almost fainted. The Happy Prince asked the Swallow to take out his one eye (sapphire). The Swallow plucked out the Prince’s eyes and threw it inside the man’s house.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL:

The swallow returned to the Happy Prince  to bid Farewell. He has planned to go to Egypt. The Happy Prince requested the bird to stay for a night. The Swallow stayed with him. The Happy Prince told about a little girl who is crying. She has lost her matches in the gutter. Her father will beat her if she fails to bring  money. She doesn’t have shoes. The Prince asked the bird to pluck out his another eye. The bird felt bad to pluck out the Prince’s eye. As the prince commanded the bird, it took the sapphire and slipped into her palm. The girl was very Happy.

THE BIRD’S STAY WITH THE HAPPY PRINCE:

The bird refused to go to Egypt. As the prince become blind, the swallow narrated the incidents around the city from the next day. the swallow helped the poor people with the golden leaves of the Prince. The winter has arrived, the swallow was wet and it returned to the Prince. The bird kissed the Prince and told him that it was going to the House of Death. The Happy Prince’s leaden heart broken into two. The Mayor came with the Town Councillors and replaced the statue because it looked ugly. There was a quarrel between the mayor and the councilors about the New statue. The dead bird was thrown in the dust- heap. The Prince’s lead heart was also thrown in the dust heap.

CONCLUSION:

The God asked his angel to bring the most precious things. The angel took the dead bird and the leaden heart. The God said “For in my garden of Paradise this little bird shall sing for ever more, and in my city of gold, the Happy Prince shall praise me”.