Summary of literary texts and key concepts of literature

  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’