II nd Semester (General English)

                                   Sir Isaac Newton

-Nathaniel Hawthorne

Introduction

     Sir Isaac Newton a great scientist, mathematicians of all time, and it’s a biographical work done by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-64).  He is an American novelist and short story writer.  His well known novels are ‘The Scralet Letter’, ‘The house of the seven Gables’.  In this essay Nathaniel Hawthorne has portrayed the life and inventions of Sir Isaac Newton and also his varied interest in the subjects such as mathematics, dynamics, astronomy, optics and cosmology.  One of Newton’s major works is the Principia Mathematica.  Hawthorne also describes Newton’s various achievements in this essay.

Childhood of Newton

     He was born on Christmas day, 1642 in a small village of Woolsthrope in England.  He lost his father when we were a small child.  His mother married again so Newton was left under the care of his grandmother who was very kind and sent him to school.  In his early age he was not a very bright student and showed his full interest in making out mechanical tools and articles.  He made his own tools, so his neighbours looked him with a vast admiration.

     His grandmother never stopped talking about him she use to say ‘He’ll make a capital workman one of these days’ and ‘no fear he will do well in the world and be a rich man before he dies’.  Some said he would become a very good furniture maker with the help of mahogany, rosewood, or polished oak, inlaid (fixed or decorated) with ivory.  Few of his neighours said he would become a very good architect and build many churches, mansions in future.

His inventions

     As a boy he had a taste for mathematics.  This made people to say that he would become a very great clock maker one day.  He made a clock which worked by dropping of water and he also invented sun dial which he placed it in his garden.  Later he discovered a simple method of measuring the strength of the wind by jumping against it and calculating its force by the length of the jump.

     He also constructed a small toy windmill with a help of a model which was near his house.  Even a very little blow of air sets the sail to motion. He constructed a model of windmill using traps which was set to catch rats and squirrels.  He decided to use a hopper (funnel shaped container) which would convert wheat into snow-white powder.  He later found a mouse as a miller which fulfilled its duty as honest as many human millers.

Gravitational theory

     As Newton grew up he was curious about the stars, planets, galaxies and wondered what kept them in their courses (progress, movement).  One day he sat under the apple tree and suddenly an apple fell on his head made him to think about the force of gravitation.  He did not stop with his enquiry and stayed very patiently till he discovered the laws of gravitation and also the laws by which the planets are guided and arranged through the sky. His three laws of gravitation are as follows:

1. Any two bodies attract each other with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
2. The acceleration a of an object is proportional to the force F acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass m.
3. Every action has equal and opposite reaction.

Symbol of patience

  Newton was a man of exceptional sweetness of temper (mood), and this is clear from his attitude to his dog Diamond.  It upset the lighted candle and all the written scripts, the patient work of twenty years were burnt to ashes.  Newton never showed his anger towards Diamond he just patted the dog and said it did not know what mischief it had done.  This clearly portrays his patience and temper

Conclusion

     He later felt so mentally disturbed after those written scripts were burnt, which pushed him to a state of insane (mad).  Before his death he wanted his name of Newton should be written in the letters of light formed by the stars upon the midnight sky.

                                              Socrates

                                                                               -  Sir Richard Livingstone

Introduction

      Socrates is a biographical work written by Sir Richard Livingstone (1880-1960).  He was the President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford and Vice chancellor of the University of Oxford.  He was interested in Greek civilization.  His lectures on education appeared under the title Some Tasks for Education.  In this essay Sir Richard Livingstone has given the biographical sketches of Socrates regarding his life, works and death.  Socrates (469-399 B.C) was born in the city of Athens which belongs to the country Greece. He was a great philosopher who was engaged in questioning Truth and Virtue (purity), but finally faced death since he refused to give up the truth.

Topics for discussion in the lesson:

     The ‘Apology’ describes the last address of Socrates to the Athenians after the sentence of death was pronounced.  The second half of the lesson ‘Phaedo’ describes his last moments.  The author translated the dialogues of Plato in English. Socrates feels that the Athenians will get a bad name from the criticizers of the city who is about to kill a so called wise man.  If they had waited a little, their desire would have been achieved by the course of nature.

Views of Socrates about death:

     He feels that ‘death’ is supposed to be good.  He also talks about the two alternatives of death.  Death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or it is the migration of soul from this world to another. In another world no one will put a man to death for asking questions and he feels too happy to be immortal.  He is not feeling angry with his condemners or with his accusers; since they have not done any harm to him rather they did good unknowingly. 

     He asks for a favour from those who victimized him, to punish his sons as they grew up, if his sons seem to care about riches, or anything more than virtue.  If they do this, both he and his son’s would be happy to receive justice at their hands.  He feels that the hour had come for his departure from this mortal world, and finally uttering that the true justice is better known to God and only to him.

Golden words

     Socrates use to talk with his friends and share new ideas with them but he never put anything in the form of writing.  Plato, his close friend made notes of what Socrates spoke and they were written down and published after the death of Socrates.  Many thought that he is the wisest (one who have good knowledge) of all men.  Later he decided to spend his time towards Philosophy or love of wisdom.  His wise sayings are as follows;

§ ‘Truth is beautiful and enduring’

§ ‘The uncriticized life is not worth living’

§   The noblest of all studies is the study of ‘What a man should be and what he should do’.

Death Trial

     When he was at the age of 70 some people started to suspect and criticize him.  When he asked people to think they thought that Socrates was trying to destruct (destroy) the peace of Athens city.  They began to think that he was against the government and he was later accused as criminal.  But he was not worried at all.  There was a custom (practice) that every accused will be given a chance to speak and to defend himself.  For this Socrates said ‘I have been preparing this all my life’.  Meletus and Anytus were the two who said Socrates was going against the government and disloyal.

     He was later sentenced to death.  He was given a cup of poison.  His friends tried to save Socrates life by giving bribe to the guards of the jail. But Socrates refused it.  The day of putting him to death came and jailor gave him the cup of poison and he asked Socrates to drink it.  Socrates wanted to give a part of poison as an offering to God but the jailor declined (didn’t accept) it.  He prayed for good luck on his journey to death and he drank the poison.  Later he asked Crito to give a cock as a sacrifice to God of Healing (Asclepius, the name of the God of Healing). He asked Crito not to forget the offering.  He covered his eyes with cloak (loose cloth) and soon died.

Conclusion

     This was the end of a good man, the noblest, the wisest and the best of all men. Thus this summary consists of all the happenings in the life of a great philosopher Socrates which has been clearly portrayed by Sir Richard Livingstone.

History of Chess

-          Barbara Mack

Introduction

            Barbara Mack was born on October 26, 1952, in Des Moines, Iowa.  Her father owned a Venetian blind and Cloth merchant business and her mother stayed home.  She went to Catholic schools and she took her undergraduate degree from the Iowa State University.  She then worked at The Register as a reporter.  In the essay she talks about the real life tragedies, ceremonies and grandeurs of medieval times which have been portrayed in the form of Chess board.

People of Medieval Times

            Chess is the oldest skill game in the world.  It is more than just a game of skill, the games imitates the way people lived in medieval times i.e., during 8-14^th Century.  If we look at the way a chess board is set up we can understand that chess is a game about history.  Six different pieces represents the life with its many ceremonies, grandeur and war, but no one really knows in which country the game originated.  It was played many centuries ago in China, India and Persia.  During 8^th centuries, Arab army known as Moors captured Persia.  The Moors learned chess from them.  When Moors later captured Spain, the soldiers taught the people of Spain.  From them, the game quickly spread throughout Europe.

Role of Pieces

            The pawns on the chess represent Serfs (slaves) or laborers.  They are more in number than any other piece on the board and their role is to sacrifice their lives for the welfare of landowners or chattel (belongs to someone).  Life was tuff and hard for them, since they worked hard and died young.  They were left unprotected when there was war. 

            Castle piece on the chess board represents the home or refuge, and it was just a home in the medieval times.  In chess, each side has two castles; it is also called ‘Rooks’ (black crow like bird).

            The Knight on the chess game represents professional soldier and their job is to protect the higher rank during the medieval times and they are more important piece in the game of chess than pawns and less important than bishops, king or queen.  They are little similar to that of the pawns, who can be sacrificed to save the higher rank people in chess.

            Bishop represents Church.  It was a mighty and powerful force during 8^th century and religion played a vital role in everyone’s life.  He is the priest in the Catholic Church who had risen through the ranks to a very powerful position.

Single Woman, but the most powerful

            Queen represents a woman and she is the most powerful piece of the chess game.  During the medieval times queens held a very powerful but a risky position.  Even the King was guided by her advice and in many cases queen played games of secret plans at court.  Many Kings imprisoned their wives in nunneries with the approval of Church.  Though they were imprisoned they held more powerful position in the Kingdom than the King.

            King is the tallest piece on the board and had the least power in the game of chess.  In ancient times the surrender of the King means the loss of kingdom.  The same way if we do not protect our king we will lose the game.  It was to everyone’s advantage from the lowest to the highest rank officials to keep the king safe from any harm.

Conclusion

            Thus, the pieces on the chess board represented a way of life lived by the people during the 8-14^th century.  The life dramas that occurred during those times are now only game. 

To Know When to Say

‘It’s none Of Your Business’

-         McCormack

Introduction:

            Mark Hume McCormack was the founder and CEO of the sports management conglomerate International Management Group, which represents such celebrities as Tiger Woods, Andre Agassi and Venus and Serena Williams.  His 1984 book What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School was a best-seller.  In the essay, the author discusses about the importance of being strict, stiff and frank, especially in business.  As a general rule, we should be ready to say “It’s none of your business” to any person if at all he/she tries to invade our privacy.

Incorrigible Snoop:

            At the beginning, the author talks about an incorrigible snoop who worked in his company.  This snoop had a thirst to know what other people are doing.  He wasn’t sneaky.  He was charmingly open when he pried and he used some tactics too.  No one in the organization had the guts or courage to say “It’s none of your business” to this snoop when he tried to peep into other’s personal matter. The author says, many awkward (difficult to handle) moments in business occur because people can’t say, “It’s none of your business”.  Most people are curious in nature.  Even the highly curious people know what’s appropriate to ask and what’s not.  The snoop at the author’s office was actually innocent.  However if he started questioning people on confidential areas, they would have suspected him.

Two areas where we should maintain our secrecy:

            McCormack states that for two topics we should be ready to say “It’s none of your business”. It is about someone else’s money and personal life.  These are the two important areas where we have to maintain secrecy.  The author is surprised to see how aggressively people pry into these areas and how much they reveal on these subjects. 

First important area: Money

            If we take the case of money, certain types of money discussions are taboo (restricted).  Times have changed.  But still we know that another person’s salary is none of our business.  The author describes the story of a foolish agent who got into trouble.  The agent had a client who was a writer.  He was fixed to write the text of an illustrated book for a publisher.  One day the writer phoned the agent to know about the pay of the illustrator.  The foolish agent called the publisher who shouted back at her.  The author feels that this entire embarrassing event would have been avoided if the agent had told the client, ‘You have accepted the fee.  What the illustrator gets is none of your business”.

Second important area: Personal life

            McCormack suggests that our personal life is another area where we should maintain secrecy.  Yet a lot of people try to snoop over one’s personal life.  In a working environment where people work for more than eight hours a day, it is obvious to develop a friendly relationship with others.  We may share few personal details with them.  Sometimes our close associates whom we believe might pull our legs one day with our personal information’s.    

            He gives an example of the CEO accompanied by two of his senior staff.  As one of the staff was quite ignorant of the discussed topic, the CEO snapped briskly and suddenly at him in front of the author by saying “May be you would know more if you didn’t spend your evening on the phone with your girlfriend in Chicago.  The author was shocked by this event.  The staff trusted him as a friend and revealed his personal details, but the CEO abused that trust and he used that information to criticize him in front of the author.  This really weakened the Boss-Subordinate relationship.

Conclusion

            It is always good to maintain secrecy in certain areas to avoid such circumstances.  Through these incidents the author emphases the need to say “It’s none of your business”

Alexander Fleming

                                                                                     - Philip cane

Introduction

      Philip Cane, an electronics engineer from Untied States portrays the biographical life events of Alexander Fleming, by his discovery of penicillin, which has made a unique contribution to medical science.  This essay is from ‘Giants of Science’ written by Philip Cane.  The discoveries of Alexander Fleming have helped in relieving or minimizing (reduce) physical suffering of the people.  Penicillin is an antibiotic taken from a Latin word called ‘Penicill’ which means Brush.

Young age

     He was born on August 6, 1881 in Loch farm field, Southwestern Scotland.  He is the youngest in his family of Hugh Fleming.  His father died when he was only seven years old.  Later his mother looked over the family.  Until he was ten, Alexander attended the nearby Loudoun Moor School, after that he studied in Darvel School with his brothers.  He had to walk four miles to school and this four miles up and down helped him to observe nature well.  Poverty made Alexander to stop from school.  Later he worked in a shipping company, earned money and continued his studies.  He made up his mind to study medicine.

Topper in academics

     He joined as a student in St. Mary’s.  He was a very good student and stood first in every subject.  He won many prizes, yet he was not a bookworm.  He participated in rifle team, swimming, water-polo team, theatricals group and won many prizes too.  After his completion of studies he became a research student under Almroth Wright who was famous for his research on Phagocytes (Cells in body to destroy bacteria).

Almroth Wright and Fleming

     Louis Pasteur discovered microbes (micro organism that causes disease), this led to further discovery.  Elie Metchnikoff at Pasteur Institute discovered phagocytes in blood eaten up by bacteria.  Wright discovered phagocytes are not capable to fight against bacteria and it was done by opsonin (substance in blood to destroy bacteria) in blood.  This discovery led to doctors to inject into patient’s blood vaccine which help to destroy bacteria.  Alexander had to both laboratory work and hospital work and he felt that it was very difficult.

His Discoveries

     Alexander had not approved to use chemical antiseptics because instead to killing bacteria, antiseptics destroyed white corpuscles. One day he suffered from cold he grew a culture (bacteria grown) of the secretion, a yellow microbe was found.  He treated with nasal mucus (liquid from nose), he found the bacteria’s been killed by them.  He continued his research and found Lysozymes (enzyme to destroy bacteria) rich in tears, sputum (saliva) and also in cow’s milk, mother’s milk and in the white of egg.

     Fleming discovered ‘Penicillin’ was a piece of luck.  He found bacteria being contaminated (poisonous food) by a mould (fungus on food).  HE found that mould can destroy which was in the shape of a brush and he later named it Penicillin.  He began his research on other food stuffs and found mould has the capacity to destroy bacteria.  It showed that the mould produced a material to destroy the bacteria.  Alexander continued his tests in liquid medium and found mould very powerful in it too.  He found it was not poisonous too.

Oxford University

     Professor Florey and Dr. Chain at Oxford read Flemings report on Penicillin and decided to examine on it.  They experimented on patients and found tremendous power.  In 1941 Britain was at war, Florey and Dr. Chain asked American manufacturers to produce penicillin drugs and it saved many lives of soldiers.

Conclusion

    Alexander was awarded the honorable Noble Prize and also knighted (awarded) by the King of England in 1944.  Until his death in 1955 he was engaged in research in the field of bacteriology. 

                                       Mother Teresa

                                                                     -  John Frazer

Introduction

     John Frazer is an English architect, and influential teacher and writer on architect.  In this essay Frazer talks about a great women Mother Teresa who devoted her life to do to service for the poor people, who has been described as ‘the lady of the slums, the champion of the poor, the apostle (messenger) of the unwanted, the angel of mercy, the gently mother’.

Birth of Mother Teresa

     She was born in Yugoslavia of Albanian parents (26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), and she received training as a nun (sister in church) in Dublin, Ireland and came to Kolkata in 1929 as a teacher. She collected orphan children and taught them hygiene (Cleanliness).  In 1946, she decided to devote her life to the service of poor and those who suffered from diseases.  She started missionaries of charity.

Lady of the slums

     Mother Teresa came to Kolkata slums and she walked into the dirty slums wearing a white sari.  She had only five rupees with and yet she felt she could help the sick and the poor.  She knocked on the dirty house doors where the children were ragged (who wears torn clothes), and barefooted (no slippers).  She gave education to them under trees.  She is a best know woman in India.  Though poor, Mother Teresa in like Himalaya in wealth.  Her asset (property) includes 7500 children in 60 schools 9, 60,000 patients in 214 dispensaries (clinics) 47, 00 leprosy people in 54 clinics 1,600 orphaned or abandoned children in 20 homes and 3, 400 dying people in 23 homes.  This is her real asset.

 About her

     She established the Catholic order (organization) in 1950.  The Jawaharlal Nehru Award was given to her service to humanity without distinction of caste, creed (religious belief) and nationality.  She is nearly 150 cm tall.  She is calm and straight forward, who is always capable of good laughter with visitors.  She is hard to deal with when it comes to helping the needy.  She has a good listening capacity but there was some objection to the Pope inviting her to open slums in Rome.  She only travels by third class ticket and do menial service too.  She is very humorous (Funny), integrity (good), and fortitude (bold in taking pain)\

She is Simple

     Mother Teresa’s help to the poor is a sign of simplicity.  She will not worry about others those who discourage her.  She helps others and gives room to the poor’s and diseased people though there is no place for her in her room.

     Her first big venture (risk) was a home for the very poor sick and dying people.  She stared it when she saw an old woman being bitten by rats dying in the streets.  She went and complained to the Municipal authorities to provide place for the poor.  Later she was offered a vacant pilgrim hostel by side of Hindu temple, and the placed named Nirmal Hriday.  The sick and the dying are treated in Nirmal Hriday.

Peace Prize

     The missionaries of charity run ten schools in Kolkata with strength of around 2500 students.  Milk and bread are provided to the children.  This First International Pope John XXIII Peace Prize went to Mother Teresa in January 1971.  She used the prize money of Rs. one lakh to start a leper colony in West Bengal.  This was followed by the Templeton Foundation Prize for progress in Religion.

Conclusion

     The prize money of Rs. 6,46 lakhs was presented to Mother Teresa by Prince Philip.  Many branches of Missionaries of Charity were established in different parts of world.  At the age of 87 she passed away on 5 September 1997.  She is known as the angel of mercy and gentle mother.

Leo Tolstoy

                                                                                     -  Ronald Seth

Introduction

    

     Leo Tolstoy, the Great Russian writer and novelist, whose short stories deals with ordinary, humble people who are charged with a deep moral and spiritual importance.  Ronald Seth in this essay deals with the biographical sketches of Leo Tolstoy and also gives a picture of his writings and works, who mainly deals with clash of characters and moral conflict (fight) in his novels.

Life of Leo Tolstoy

     He enjoyed a very rich life in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1850’s.  The place looked so beautiful, and he also had very rich estates in the Province of Tula.  He was born on August 28, 1928 in a place called Yashnaya Polyana.  He lost his mother before he was six years and before nine years of age his father also died.  He had a number of brothers and since he was rich he had education at home.  He hated university studies.

Land of Slaves

     In Russia, during Leo Tolstoy’s days, the land was cultivated by the serfs (slaves).  Around forty five million slaves were set free by Alexander I, in 1861 and Leo Tolstoy took their sufferings and difficulties.  He tried his to help the slaves and support them but he had only little success when he tried to improve their life style and conditions.

His Works

      He later joined army in the year 1851.  It was that he started to maintain a diary and which he maintained throughout his life.  Later he started writing stories and books.  His first story was ‘Childhood’ published in 1852.  It gained lot of admiration (attention) from the public and the book become very famous amongst the readers.  Later followed by a book called ‘The Raid’ where he talked about the life led by the soldiers in the army and the battle field.  Turgenev, a Great Russian writer praised Leo Tolstoy that he will glorify (famous) all in writing.  Tolstoy followed writing a novel titled ‘The Cassacks’. 

Life time decision

      At the age of 22 he was to take a very important decision, his family expected him to take care of estates.  He was in a confused situation whether to take up the estates or to continue with army, later he took a bold decision and in the year 1857, he felt unhappy in the army and he retired from it.  He went back to his estates and helped the workers there.  He had a very big beard, when his neighbors and relatives asked he replied that he wanted to look very simple like a Russian peasant (farmer).

Love towards the Poor

      Once he went to Switzerland and an incident took place which revealed (show) his love towards the poor.  There was entertainment in one of the clubs and one day the door of the club was opened, it was too cold.  An old man with rags (torn clothes) wanted to close the door who was sitting outside.  When he went near the door, one of them from the inside threw his musical instruments and he stood useless.  He was not able to do anything against the rich people.  Leo Tolstoy was not able to tolerate after seeing the incident, he rushed near the old man and helped him to pass the hall.  Others made fun of him but he didn’t take it serious and helped the old man.  From that moment he took a liking for the poor. He was very kind to all the workers at the farm.

His last days

      He began writing and looking after his estates, later he wrote a novel titled ‘War and Peace’ (1864-69).  He wrote another book named ‘Anna Karenina’ (1877), followed up by a book called ‘The Confessions’ (1884), in this he revealed his personal life.  He then married and led a happy life. He had 30 estates; though he was rich he was not happy, later he gave away all his money for the welfare of poor people. He loved his brothers and sisters and he even did some menial (small service) works for them.

Christianity and Leo Tolstoy

 

      He preached a new religion based on Christianity.  “The foundation of a new religion corresponding to the development of mankind: the religion Jesus Christ”.  It was doing good to others, no creed (system of belief), no anger, no violence and no living on the work of others.

Conclusion

      He set out for Caucasus when he was 82 years of age.  But unfortunately on the way he suffered from pneumonia (pain in both the lungs) and he died.  Though he passed away all his works are still living with us.  His books live on, but his ideas are still ideals (perfect).

THE SECOND CRUCIFIXION - Larry Collins

INTRODUCTION:
Larry Collins is the author of fall from grace and co-author, with Dominique Lapierre of the best selling. Dominique Lapierre is the author of the best-selling city of joy and co-author of “O Jerusalem “

ALL INDIA RADIO ANNOUNCING THE ASSASINATION OF GANDHI:
The director of A.I.R anticipated that terrible violence would erupt if Gandhi’s assassin turned out to be a Moslem. So he took the responsible decision of ordering the programmes to continue as normal. He announced the death of Gandhi by a Hindu assassin only at six o’clock, nearly 40 minutes after the event, when sufficient security arrangements had been made in all places.

MOUNTBATTEN FELT THAT GANDHIJI WITH BUDDHA AND CHIRST:
On hearing the news of Gandhiji’s death, Louis Mountbatten rushed to Birla house where his body was kept. Mountbatten could not recognize Gandhi, with his spectacles removed. Gandhi’s look was full of repose and his features were as peaceful and composed as in life. He thought that Mahatma Gandhiji will be remembered in history on par with Buddha and Christ because he had sacrificed his life like them for the sake of mankind.

MOUNTBATTEN WITH NEHRU AND PATEL:
Mountbatten went up to Nehru and Patel and told them about Gandhiji’s dying wish. Gandhiji had been greatly worried that two of his supporter’s Patel and Nehru were drifting apart. Mountbatten informed Patel and Nehru that Gandhiji had asked him to prevail upon them to forget their differences and work together. Moved by this message, the two leaders embraced each other.

NATION RESPONDS TO GANDHIJI’S DEATH:
On hearing the news of Gandhiji’s death, the whole nation was filled with sorrow and silence. To mourn the Mahatma, the hearths in villages were cold. The streets of the cities of Bombay and Calcutta wore a deserted look. In Pakistan millions of women shattered their baubles and trinkets to show their grief. In some places mobs tried to attack the buildings of Hindu mahasabha and R.S.S villagers started marching towards Delhi to mourn the leader.
MOUNTBATTEN WANTS TO CARRY HIS BODY:
Mountbatten planned to carry Gandhiji’s embalmed body in a special funeral train throughout the country. So that millions of people could have a last darshan of their leader. But pyarelal Nayar ended the idea by pointing out that Gandhiji had clearly wanted his body to be cremated within twenty four hours of his death in accordance with Hindu tradition.

NEHRU AND PATEL RELUCTANT USE OF GANDHIJI’S CREMATION:
Mountbatten suggested engaging the military for organizing and conducting the funeral procession, as there would be a very huge crowd. Nehru and patel were shocked at thus suggestion as Gandhiji was always against war and violence which was the profession of the military. Mountbatten convinced them by saying that Gandhiji admired the military’s discipline and they finally selented .

GANDHIJI’S DEATH:
Filled with tears Nehru announced the death of Gandhiji on the radio. He said that “THE LIGHT HAD GONE OUT OF OUR LIVES” as the Bapu (Gandhiji) is dead. But he corrected himself and said that the light will be always seen as it represented the eternal truths of life guiding us in the right path.

HINDUSTAN HERALD PAYS ITS TRIBUTE TO GANDHIJI:
The most memorable tribute to Gandhiji was paid by the Hindustan herald .Its editorial page was left bank ringed by a black border. At its centre in bold letters there was a single paragraph which described the killing of Gandhiji as” A SECOND CRUCIFIXON” in the history pf the world enacted on the same day-Friday-on which Jesus was killed.

The listeners – Walter De La Mare

The poem starts as a horseman comes to visit a person he has once promised (someone) he would. But the mansion is deserted, occupied only by a bird and phantoms. His repeated enquiries, unexpectedly, are not answered. So he is feeling confused, lonely and awkward. His questions are heard only by a group of ghosts living there, who, disturbed by the traveler's knockings, huddle up along the staircase apprehensively, for the world of the living is as intriguing for them as is theirs for those alive. Unanswered, he leaves the place in it's quietness and goes back.
The poet creates a strange, eerie atmosphere by the use of likely words, phrases and situation. The turret suggests a medieval mansion; the bird shows that the house is deserted; the starry night adds up to the atmosphere's eeriness; the unchecked trees and fern about the house confirm its solitude. The poem highlights the two worlds the living i.e. the traveler and the dead i.e. the listeners. The poem basically tells us that the living and the dead are in a separate world and there is know way the dead can come back. Indirectly the poem tells us that a change is a must nothing will be with you for ever and thus time is valuable. The poem also teaches us to keep any promise which we make.

Hawk Roosting, by Ted Hughes

The hawk, a bird of prey, is seen in Ted Hughes' poem “Hawk Roosting” resting on a branch of a tree. The poem is written in the first person as though the hawk is speaking, so it is a dramatic monologue. The hawk seems to see himself as the centre of the universe and creates an impression of arrogance, as though the world were made for him and his purposes. 

In the first stanza Hughes introduces the hawk “in the top of the wood.” This high position is an indication of superiority. The bird is very still and its eyes are closed. Hughes uses alliteration of the “k” sound several times in the poem, creating a harsh feeling. The sound exists in the word “hawk” itself, of course, and there are further instances of it in line 3 where “hooked” is repeated. In the fourth line “kills” continues the alliteration. This line describes the hawk imagining killing and eating its prey even while it is asleep. A picture of ruthlessness begins to build up. Interestingly, lines 3 and 4 are the only lines in the poem that rhyme. 

The second stanza opens with the exclamation “The convenience of the high trees!” The hawk again refers to its high altitude, and the word “convenience” conveys the idea that its position is an ideal one. The bird can look down on the world below, and the impression is that the wood has been created to suit its needs. Hughes links lines 6 and 7 with enjambment to extend the idea that the hawk can fly with ease and make use of the light from the sun. They are “of advantage to me,” once again emphasising the fact that the hawk considers nature to have been created for its own purposes.

The second stanza closes with the hawk's comment that, from the top of the tree, it can see “the earth's face” looking up and easily observe the details. Everything is just right for this bird of prey. 

In the opening line of the third stanza, Hughes again uses alliteration with the hard “k” sound in “locked” and “bark.” The hawk has a tight hold upon the branch, whose surface is “rough.” Hughes uses enjambment once more to link lines 10 and 11, describing how features of the hawk's body were created. The word “Creation” is capitalised, thus making it synonymous with God. The fact that the hawk considers that it took “the whole of Creation” to make its feet and feathers gives the bird an arrogant air. In the final line of this stanza, the hawk sees that positions are now reversed; it holds Creation in one small foot, therefore having become all powerful. 

The end of the third stanza and the beginning of the fourth are linked by enjambment, as the hawk shows that it is free to “fly up” and circle the world below at its leisure. Line 14 is an extremely telling one: “I kill where I please because it is all mine.” The hawk considers that it has supreme power and owns the whole earth that it can see below. Its ruthlessness is apparent again in lines 15 and 16, as the hawk says it possesses no “sophistry” or subtle reasoning; it kills by “tearing off heads.” There is no attempt to soften the blow of its hunting methods. 

The fifth stanza continues the image of the hawk hunting with the brief phrase “The allotment of death.” The hawk chooses what it kills, and it is brutal. Enjambment again links lines 18 and 19, describing how the hawk's passage takes it “Through the bones of the living.” The stanza closes with the statement “No arguments assert my right,” giving the impression that the hawk's methods of killing are unquestionable. It does not need to justify its actions. 

The four lines of the sixth and final stanza are all end stopped, and read as concise, matter-of-fact sentences. They emphasise the idea that what the hawk says goes and cannot be contested. The hawk states “Nothing has changed,” but this is no accident. The bird considers, in the penultimate line of the poem, that it has not allowed anything to change. The poem closes with the line “I am going to keep things like that,” asserting the hawk's power over the whole of nature.

Hughes appears to be using the hawk in this poem as a symbol for power. A hawk would of course act instinctively and kill for the purposes of survival. The implications of “Hawk Roosting” are therefore that the poem is an extended metaphor for the behaviour of a tyrant or power-seeking ruler. Such a person would, as the hawk is in this poem, be self-centred and arrogant. An authoritarian despot would not allow himself or his methods to be questioned, and would see the world around him as being designed to suit his purposes. Ted Hughes, in “Hawk Roosting,” paints a picture of a creature that is ruthless and self-involved, showing how a lust for power can take over a being and end in brutality. 

The Mending Wall by Robert Frost

The poem literally says that a stone wall separates the speaker's property from his neighbor's. Every year the wall is damaged from harsh weather and hunters. In the spring, the two neighbors walk the wall and jointly make repairs. Also, the speaker sees no reason for keeping the wall because there are no cows to be contained or anything, only apple and pine trees.

The theme is that you won't get to know a person unless you put down your wall or barrier.

The speaker can be characterized as philosophical, amiable, and unconvinced. The philosophical aspect comes from figurative language and diction such as when the speaker says that "spring is the mischief in [him]" (line 28). The speaker is also amiable for he friendly converses with his neighbor about the necessity of the wall. The speaker remains unconvinced about why the neighbor wants to keep the wall. Lastly, the speaker's tone is one that is yearnful and inquiring for change and an end to the wall.

One auditory observation in the poem is its harmonious and dramatic quality that is created through the device of euphony. Also, a cold and harsh sounding quality is produced through the repetition of stones and boulders. Additionally, there's a cacophonous auditory quality that's produced by the improper grammar visible in line one that says "something there is that doesn't love a wall". It grabs the reader's attention.

The structure of this poem is that it is blank verse with no stanza breaks, obvious end rhymes, or rhyming patterns. The writer's intention with this form is that it sustains the natural speech and conversational quality of the poem. Also, the poem's physical structure and appearance on the paper resembles a solid stone wall which would explain the reason for no breaks.

One of the main literary devices visible in this poem is metaphors and figurative language. Its presence is all throughout the poem from beginning to end. This device functions to display ambiguity and inspire all kinds of interpretations of the text. It also functions as a means of portraying humor, which is discernible when the speaker tells the neighbor "[his] apple trees will never get across and eat the cones under his pines" (lines 25-26).

Another poetic device that's observable all throughout the poem is visual imagery. It produces a beneficial effect by aiding the speaker in elaborating the details of mending the wall. This can be discerned in line two and three because every winter, "the frozen ground-swell spills the upper boulders in the sun" (lines 2-3).

Another perceivable device is diction. There are at least ten lines throughout this poem that noticeably portray the speaker's intentional word choice. Diction functions to develop ambiguity such that is seen in line one. In addition, it provides emphasis in order to draw and focus the reader's attention on a certain concept or idea. This can be distinguished when the speaker states "there where it is we do not need the wall", because it is a main concept discussed (line 23).

Furthermore, symbolism of the wall is another device that is visible mostly in the heart of the poem. This stone wall symbolizes a divide between properties that puts up confinements and boundaries. This symbol develops a theme of barrier-building and segregation. The symbol of this wall also functions to develop the character of the neighbor as having an ancient and old fashioned way of thinking, which is noticeable through words such as "spells" and "elves" and an "old-stone savage".

Finally, irony is a device that's distinguishable in this poem. It is portrayed in several humorous remarks by the speaker, throughout the poem. The irony of the wall is that the speaker and his neighbor rebuild the wall every spring, only to have it broken again next year. Mending the wall is a pointless act because it will inevitably be damaged once again.

THE STONE – W.W. GIBSON

The poem talks about a young woman whose lover died in a stone quarry. She was stunned by the shocking news of her lover’s death. She is a picture of deep sorrow. The poem has an abrupt opening. It starts when the conversation is going on between two people. The woman goes to the poet and asks him for cutting a stone in the opening line.
Three days before a huge rock had struck her lover in a stone quarry. In spite of giving warning and shot fired, he was loitering and full of spirit. Suddenly a rock fell and he was found under the rock. When he saw the rock his eyes saw his end. The poet saw this and he wanted to break this news to his lover. He was afraid and very careful in his words. But before he could utter a word he saw she was standing like a stone because some poor fellow had already told the news. The fellow wide opened the door and told the news of her lover’s death without knowing the consequence and left the woman lifeless.
The poet can guess what would have happened by looking at the woman’s face. The woman stood like a stone, her heart was dead. She didn’t cry nor moan. The boy’s mother was weeping but she didn’t for three days and three nights. She did not stir.
She never closed her eyes, from sunset to sunrise. She didn’t cry but her eyes saw everything. The fourth day, when the poet came from work he saw the woman waiting for him at his door and said “And will you cut a stone for him?” and spoke nothing but followed the poet. When the poet sat in the chair she was just staring at his face. She was waiting patiently. The poet saw her gray eyes which were staring at him and he felt as if the eyes are plucking his heart and sucking the breath from him.
The poet could not wait any more so he stood and started to cut the stone in a square. As the poet was working she sat beside him watching everything day & night. When he was cutting the name of her lover she was watching each stroke but didn’t utter a single word. The stroke broke her silence.
Her eyes didn’t move from my hands. She was watching me with bloodless lips. Every cut of the chisel gave a deeper cut to her heart. It looked as if death was killing her inside. When the poet has finished his work she breathed his name and with a sigh passed through the open door and never came again. The next night the poet was working late because he was cutting her name on the stone.
Thus the woman represents the picture of silent and sorrow, it also shows how she was in love with her lover that she could not bare the sorrow of his death and so died after cutting his stone.

LEAVE THIS CHANTING – RABINDRANATH TAGORE

In this poem “Leave This Chanting And Singing” Tagore deplores all selfish and barren ritualism (mere performance of rituals without any thought of general being). Tagore bids the holy man of prayer to abandon the outdated method of chanting, singing and murmuring loud prayers by holding tight the chain of beads one by one. He stresses on the holy man to contemplate on the fact of finding God inside a lonely dark room with all the doors shut. He must try to open his eyes inside the dark room to see whether God is really there in front of him. Will he even come near to the presence of God and expect a positive interaction with the Great Unknown? God is not in the dark chamber where the so called devotee is meditating and chanting hymns turning his back upon the world of toiling humanity.
                    God is everywhere but His face can be mysteriously seen by the eyes of one’s heart in perhaps some of the most unusual places of the world. According to Tagore, God stands with the tiller who is tilling the hard ground and the path-maker who is breaking stones in the open air. He is with both of them in the heat of the sun and the shower of the summer rain, yet strengthening them unknowingly. Tagore even imagines that in the process even God’s garment is covered with dust. So he advises the holy man to at least try to imitate God by removing the ‘holy mantle’- the mendicant’s loose robe- and set foot upon the dusty soil.

                   After all man’s ultimate spiritual goal is to seek God’s deliverance. This is the liberation of the soul from the cycle of birth and death. God has bound himself in the process of creation and accepted its joys and sorrows. To be Godly is not to be restricted to self meditation and needless ritualistic flowers and incense, but let his clothes be tattered and stained for God’s sake. He should learn it the hard way to seek and find the face of God amidst the face of the world. God does not listen to his prayers, for he is with the poor and the down trodden. True religion consists in love of man and in lending a helping hand to the less fortunate men and women who struggle hard to make a bare living. Like Vivekananda and many other seers, Tagore believes that service of man is the service of God. That man is to be pitied who is seeking to find his personal salvation by running away from the world.