Summary of literary texts and key concepts of literature

  Flash fiction is a new genre of literature, which can be defined as an extremely short story. It is also known as, microfiction, postcard fiction, napkin fiction, microstories, nano tales, sudden fiction. Though this genre is relatively new in literature, it has its origin in fables, parables, Zen stories which were in vogue from the 7 th to 13 th century. Brevity is the most required characteristic of this genre. Though there is no standard word limit for Flash fiction, generally, it is supposed to range from six words to 1000 words. The soul of Flash fiction is the twisted ending that comes as a surprise to the reader and urges him to interpret the true meaning concealed within the text. The given Flash fiction is a classic example of this genre. Franz Kafka’s Give it up qualifies as flash fiction for its brevity which is one of the important features of this genre. It is indeed a condensed short story. The brilliant use of language is also commendable. The scene of the lonely

  The classic crime fiction's golden era concentrated on the detailed process of untangling the knots of mystery or the act of ratiocination but lacked the art of detailed character delineation. Most of the characters were either stereotypes or caricatures. For instance, the detached and taciturn detective, the parade of suspects, the servants, who are never involved in the crime, or never turn out to be the convict, female characters in a conventionalized role were the characters, the readers were familiar to particularly in the case of the detective novel of that era. According to E.M Forster, characters in a novel are of two types, flat character, and round character. A flat character is a character, which tends to remain in the reader’s mind and leaves a lasting impression. Such characters, also defined as a humorous characters in the seventeenth century, basically stereotype or sometimes caricatures, who are constructed as mere functionaries and not characterized at all, as Fo

  Dharma and Moksha is an essay written by J.A.B Van Buitenen which was published in a journal named, Philosophy East and West, Vol-7, in April-June issue, 1957. (pp33-40)   The essay is an elaborate discussion on the question, ‘what is the distinction between dharma values and moksha values.’ To find the answer to the question, Van Buitenen extensively discusses the historical background in which these two terms dharma and moksha originated. In his first argument, he mentions the concept of after-life and spirituality, ideas which are probably in every religion and culture, associated with the concept of heaven and hell. Other concepts of Brahma and samsara are particularly exclusive to Hinduism and Buddhism. In the ancient Indian religious texts, it is also mentioned that the soul passes its journey from one life to another on the basis of the acts performed in previous lives. He explains the idea of ‘moksha’ in his second argument, where he explains that moksha is basically '

Tracing the Roots of the Detective Fiction: The first instance of the prototype of a detective appeared most probably in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, where the most important classical detective is Oedipus, the protagonist, whose dual roles as an investigator and subsequently as revealed criminal, exemplify the obliterating boundary between morality and immorality, order and anarchy, with which the subsequent detective fiction managed to capture the reader’s interest. Definitely, Oedipus is the precursor to the modern detective as the way he directs the meticulous investigation to unravel the identity of the perpetrator. Similar conjectures can be made about the character of Daniel in the story of Susanna in the Old Testament Book of Daniel, and mythical larcenist Cacus who features in the work of several writers, including Virgil. Another work of a similar trajectory is William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It follows a similar mystery-driven narrative of modern detective fiction. Hamlet initiates

  According to Brooks, Wordsworth’s sonnet, Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, is one of the most successful poems of the poet. The true potential of the poem lies in the paradoxical situation designed by the poet, where the mechanical London is not only considered a marvel of man’s creation but also assimilated as an aspect of nature. The spectacle of mechanical urban life elicits the expression of ‘awed surprise’ from the poet. The beauty of the rising sun, the river, the smokeless air, and other objects of nature have been enhanced by the presence of artificial towers, domes, theatres, and temples. It is also interesting to note that the poet has imparted the organic life of nature to the mechanical and inanimate objects of the city when he writes-‘Dear God! The very houses seem asleep.’ Wordsworth had mastered the art of creating a paradoxical situation in his poems, as he himself mentioned in the second edition of his Preface to the Lyrical Ballads, that the purpose of a poet is to

    Cleanth Brooks   (October 16, 1906 - May 10, 1994) was an influential American literary critic, professor, editor of the Southern Review, (in collaboration with Robert Penn Warren). He was one of the skilled and exemplary practitioners of the New Criticism. He is best known for his contributions to  New Criticism  during the 1920s and for revolutionizing the teaching of poetry in American higher education. His most characteristic book of close readings is, definitely, The Well Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry  (1947).  Modern Poetry and the Tradition  (1939), is another outstanding work that proclaims the centrality of ambiguity and paradox as a way of understanding poetry. His critical works helped to formulate formalist criticism, emphasizing “the interior life of a poem” and propounded the idea of close reading.   ‘The Language of Paradox’, is the first chapter of Cleanth Brooks’  Well-wrought Urn, (1947) starts with the author’s assertion: ‘...the language of p

  The poem, Small Towns and the River by Mamang Dai expresses the poet’s notion about the uncomplicated life   in the “Small Towns” of Arunachal Pradesh. The phrase “The River” refers to the river that flows through Pasighat, the hometown of the poet. The poet starts the poem in a pensive mood asserting the fact that the river always reminds her of death. Her hometown resides amid the serenity of nature surrounded by huge trees. The climate of the place remains almost the same during summer and winter. The dust hovers in the air and the wind resonates through the valley of the mountain. When someone died the other day, the community endured the pain and mourned the loss of a dear one in ‘dreadful silence.’ Life and death form the cycle of human life and death is inevitable. Only the rituals and customs of a community are permanent, like offering a wreath of tuberoses to honour the deceased.  The poet imagines that the river has a soul. In summer, it cuts through the dry chest of th

  About the poet: Mamang Dai(1957-present) is a poet and novelist writing in English from Arunachal Pradesh, India. She belongs to the Adi tribe, of Arunachal Pradesh. Her literary works include romantic poems and short stories along with provincial myths and folktales. She was  honoured with Padma Shri, in 2011.The prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award was conferred on her for her novel, The Black Hill, in 2017.Dai was corresponding with the  Hindustan Times ,  Telegraph  and  The Sentinel  newspapers and later became the President, Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working journalists. She is also actively engaged with World Wide Fund for nature in the Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspots programme. Bipin Patsani once commented on her graceful, lyrical style of writing in River Poems, that dai writes with ‘rare passion and flow, fresh and full of the essence of tribal myths, mountains and an intense emotional involvement with her land.’ Y.D. Thongchi, the president of Arunachal Pradesh Liter

  Humanism is, specifically, an European phenomenon, that includes worldly and secular philosophy. It is anthropocentric. It aims to ennoble and dignify man. It was the product of European Renaissance. The term ‘Renaissance ‘was coined by French historian, Jules Michelet in his Historie de France , published in 1855.It has been defined as the birth of the new world of culture, literature, art and science out of the dilapidated remains of   the dark medieval ages. In the 16 th century, the term humanism was coined to signify studia humanitatis. The humanists were concerned with moral, educational and political themes. They were influenced by classical ideas of Aristotle, Plato, Cicero. Later in the 19 th century the term was applied to denote the view of general nature, general values, and educational ideas to which the Renaissance Humanists espoused to.(M.H.Abrams) . The humanists were scholars of literae humaniores, precisely, the Greek literature, and they were Latin poets, dramati

  In his Poetics, Aristotle defined tragic hero as a person, who is an ‘intermediate kind of personage, a man not preeminently virtuous and just, whose misfortune, however,   is brought upon him not by vice or depravity, but some error of judgement’( Bywater’s translation). Oedipus enjoys great reputation and a prosperous life. But his life takes a drastic turn from happiness to misery.Oedipus suffers primarily, due to an error of judgement resulted from ignorance or moral shortcoming. In his Poetics, Aristotle asserts that the tragic hero ought to be a person whose misfortune is brought upon him, not by any vice or depravity, but by some error. Oedipus impulsively kills his father and inadvertently ends up marrying his mother.

    Gothic   romance is the type of novel that flourished in the late 18th and early 19th century in England and has had a considerable influence on the evolution of ghost stories, horror stories and fiction.  Gothic  romances were also known as the novel of terror for   its supernatural aspects and mysterious plot leading to the dark underworld where an innocent heroine is tormented by an uncouth and lustful villain. The setting of the novel is usually dark and gloomy, either medieval ruins or haunted castles. One of the prototypes of this genre is Tobias Smollett’s Ferdinand Count Fathom (1753) .The pioneer of this genre was Horace Walpole, whose novel The Castle of Otranto: a Gothic Story became very popular at that time. His legacy was carried on by novelists like Ann Radcliffe, in her The Mysteries of Udolpho, William Beckford (Vathek), Matthew Gregory Lewis (The Monk), William Godwin and other notable gothic writers. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, is considered the progenitor

  In the first chapter, Mary Wollstonecraft, discusses about the prevailing opinion of woman as a sexual character. The concept of virtue has been discussed in the beginning of the chapter. The author argues that woman’s character is often judged in terms of virtue, but it requires sufficient strength of mind to acquire true virtue. The women are not a swarm of ephemeron triflers and one should not disguise ignorance under the name of innocence. From their childhood, women are told to follow the example of their mother, in short, to adapt their weakness, softness of temper, outward obedience and childish behavior. If a woman is pretty, then she can do without all these, for at least twenty years of her life. According to Wollstonecraft, Milton was the first poet to offer a deprecatory description of ‘our first frail mother, as in his description it was implied that women are soulless creatures, designed by ‘sweet, attractive grace and docile blind obedience’ to gratify man’s senses. Sh

  Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) was an English writer, philosopher, and the first female writer to raise her voice for women's rights. Wollstonecraft is regarded as one of the founding feminist philosophers who immensely influenced the feminist critics of subsequent years .Her remarkable treatise A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) is considered the first feminist text, where a female writer not only became vocal for women’s rights but encouraged other women to follow her example. Mary Wollstonecraft   's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is a treatise on overcoming the ways in which women in her time are oppressed and denied access in the political area of the society. As a result, women face various challenges and cope with them simultaneously in their households as well as in society. An eminent scholar Catriona MacKenzie states that, "Her targets are, first, Rousseau's claim that women are by nature inferior to men with respect to those capacities th

  In Hinduism, the term Moksha means liberation or release from the bondage of karma as well as samsara. In both religions, Hinduism and Buddhism, Moksha is a significant concept. It is also known as nirvana. The sole purpose of a man’s leading a spiritual life practicing various religious austerities, is the attainment of moksha. According to Oliver Leaman, It is often identified as being in a state equivalent to becoming Brahman, or realizing one’s true nature. J.A.B. Vanbuitenen tries to find out the possible relation between dharma and moksha. Both the concepts springs of the desire to know the Brahman. The original Vedanta subscribes to the idea of the combination of act and knowledge. Sankaracharya stated that there can be no direct relation between any part of samsara and knowledge of Brahman. The knowledge of Brahman puts an end in any activity, and he stressed on the necessity of sanyasa. Ramanuja, undoubtedly inspired by Shrimadbhagavad Gita advocated the path of moksha thr

  About the poet: Eunice de Souza  (1940 – 2017) was an Indian poet, literary and  feminist  critic and novelist . She was one of the leading literary critics of   late 20 th century, who was born in 1940 and raised in Pune, in a Catholic family in Goa. Her mentionable books of poetry are  Women in Dutch painting  (1988),  Ways of Belonging  (1990),  Nine Indian Women Poets  (1997),  These My Words  (2012), and  Learn From The Almond Leaf  (2016). She also wrote two novels,  Dangerlok  (2001), and  Dev & SImran  (2003). She was the editor of a number of anthologies on poetry, folktales, and literary criticism.  Eunice de Souza is widely acknowledged as one of the best Indian feminist poets in Indian English writing. Eunice De Souza believes that women, they are liable for their own maltreatment and she has been very specific about how woman should behave to avoid it.   Eunice de Souza’s “Advice to Women”  guides women to learn the art of being stoic in relationships . De Souza’

  Dharma, is not a specific religion, or creed, as it generally means from a layman’s perspective. It is, according to the tenets of   Hinduism and Buddhist doctrines, the order of the universe. Dharma (/ˈdɑːrmə/; Sanskrit: धर्म , (Pali: dhamma)) is a key concept with multiple meanings in many religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. There is no single-word translation for dharma in Western languages. The term svadharma has been used in the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, as equivalent to something socially beneficial that propitiates the way of personal harmony. It is loosely synonymous with the term duty. A sense is embedded in the term which denoted that one should treat a person as he treats himself. Dhamma, in Pali language, and Buddhism attaches a sort of distinct sophistication to the notion of Dharma. Failing to perform one’s dharma may incur misery, suffering (dukkha).Following one’s own dharma leads to bodhi or enlightenment. It is referred to as the path t

  In Sanskrit language, Karma means deeds. It is pronounced as Kamma in Pali language. It represents intentional action directed towards the fulfillment of a particular motive or result, which is known as Karmaphal. The intention of doing any Karma springs from desire. Inspired by that desire, a man performs his karma. But, every man is entitled to the result of their karma, whether good or bad. So, basically a person’s karma determines his fate.   According to Oliver Leaman, in both Buddhism and Hinduism, one can diminish the effects of evil karma by performing good karma. Jain philosophy detours from this line of thought propounding that karma is similar to a material essence, that is a part of each soul. A person’s karma attaches with his soul clouding the aura of a soul that differentiates it from other souls. Non violence and non harmful karma preserves the integrity of the soul, provides opportunity for spiritual growth to its full potential. In the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, Lor