The Universality of Music and Literature

‘Thou dirge 

Of the dying year, to which this closing night’

(https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45134/ode-to-the-west-wind)

Shelley imagines the West Wind singing the dirge for the dying year in the poem “Ode to the West Wind”. Shelly believes that the dying year will always lead to hope and regeneration. As the year 2019 comes to a close this blog celebrates the musical spirit of the season. There is the jingling sound of the Christmas chimes and bells in the air. This music or the chanting is universal as Shelley describes in the last stanza of the poem. He wants the West Wind to scatter his words and thoughts in the world. This is a typical trait of the Romantic poets who firmly believed in the dictum of 'personal to the universal'.  Even though the poet is falling on the thorns of life and bleeding, he is willing to influence the world with his ideas and thoughts. 

“by the incantation of this verse, 

Scatter, as from an unextinguish'd hearth 

Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!”

(https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45134/ode-to-the-west-wind)

The universality of music is discussed in the article which appeared in the Science magazine which was followed by newspaper reports. The study on music reveals that the songs covering different languages and ethnic groups across the world show common behavioural patterns. The research area which studies the music of different ethnic groups is known as ethnomusicology. The research covered more than 300 societies across the globe. The researchers have discovered that the ethnic groups share common musical behaviours such as infant care, healing, dance, love, mourning and warfare. The Highland Scots in Scotland, Nyangatom nomads in Ethiopia, Mentawai rain forest dwellers in Indonesia, the Saramaka descendants of African slaves in Suriname and Aranda hunter-gatherers in Australia. The ethnic groups which were included in the study are some of the ethnic that were covered in the research. The study proves that songs sharing similar behavioural functions have common musical features. 

Would like to conclude this blog by mentioning the recent collaborative musical work by U2 and A.R Rehman titled as Ahimsa which has both English and Tamil lines. The track was released in connection with the U2’s concert in Mumbai two weeks back. 

April 2016 First Year Question Paper

Previous Year Question Paper

November 2015 - First Year Question Paper

Previous Year Question Paper

William Wordsworth and The Solitary Reaper

He was born in England in the year 1770. William Wordsworth is famous for his nature poems. His poems described the scenic beauty of nature in England and Scotland. 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud', commonly known as 'Daffodils', is one of the most famous poems in the English language and it is considered a classic of English romantic poetry. He is known as the poet of nature. All his poem describes his love for nature and the bliss that he found in nature. His most famous are: The Prelude, The Solitary Reaper, Ode: Intimations of Immortality, Lucy Gray, Lines Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, etc.

Quotes from William Wordsworth: 

“My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began; So is it now I am a man”

“The child is the father of the man.”

Sources used for this biography

https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Wordsworth/The-Recluse-and-The-Prelude

Leo Tolstoy and Little Girls are Wiser than Men

He is a Russian prose writer and novelist. He is famous for his two novels – War and Peace published in the year 1869 and Anna Karenina which came out in the year 1877. He is a master of realistic fiction and one of the world’s greatest novelists. A novel by Tolstoy is not a work of art but a piece of human life. Tolstoy was a man of peace. He wrote many good stories. Each story has a valuable moral lesson. Little Girls are Wiser Than Men' is a short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy first published in 1885. It takes the form of a parable about forgiveness. The lesson is a fable. A fable is a short story which conveys some useful moral lesson. The story talks about forgiveness and non-violence. Tolstoy and Mahatama Gandhi used to exchange letters. Some of the memorable quotes by Tolstoy are given below.

"In our world, everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself."

"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time."

"The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity."

"The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience."

Resources used for preparing this blog:
https://fee.org/articles/12-quotes-from-leo-tolstoy-on-truth-violence-and-government/
The Oxford Companion to English Literature - Edited by Margaret Drabble

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Little Girls are Wiser than Men - Task 1

https://www.pinterest.com/terrihughes7/little-angels/

Arrange the following events in the order they appear in the story:

1. Akulya splashed muddy water on Malasha's dress
2. Akulya’s mother came to support Akulya and both the mothers started fighting
3. An old lady tries to tell them to stop, but she is ignored.
4. Everyone calms down and goes home. 
5. In the meantime, the two little girls continue to play joyfully with the 
6. muddy water.
7. Malasha's mother noticed how her dress was dirty and scolded her and 
8. angrily slapped Akulya.
9. Moral of the story: Everyone should be like the little children, forgetting our worries and refrain from holding grudges, only then we will reach the kingdom of heaven. 
10. The muddy puddle on the road attracted their attention.
11. The old lady points to the young girls and tells the people not to bother 
12. fighting.
13. Tolstoy ends his story with a quote from the Bible
14. Two neatly dressed girls, Malasha and Akulya, meet after church on Sunday

Solitary Reaper - Summary

The poet, in the first stanza, invites the reader/listener to look at the Highland Lass who is singing a song standing alone in the field. She is gathering the crops and she is also singing a beautiful song. The poet asks the reader/listener to either stop and listen to the song or leave the place gently. The solitary reaper is cutting, and she is also binding the grain. Her song has got a melancholy tune to it. The whole valley is filled with the intense song of the girl. 

In the second stanza, the poet compares the song of the girl to the nightingale’s song. The song is more appealing than that of a nightingale. It is so soothing to the tired travellers taking rest in the shade of the Arabian sands. In the same stanza, the poet compares the song to that of the Cuckoo bird. The singing of the girl is so thrilling that it even broke the ‘silence of the seas’ which lay beyond the Hebrides. 

In the third stanza, the poet is guessing the topics/theme in the song of the reaper. He says that the sad song maybe is about ‘old, unhappy, far-off things and old battles’. The second guess is that the solitary girl is singing about some ‘ordinary sorrow, loss or pain which might have happened in the past and may happen again in the future.

The fourth stanza is about the way the poet left the valley. The poet says that the girl’s song didn’t have an ending. He saw her singing at work, bent over the sickle. He listened to her song, without moving. As the poet moved away, he carried the song in his heart and afterwards the song disappeared. 

Little Girls are Wiser than Men - Summary

It was the time of year when the snow started to melt and make nice mud puddles in the street. Two girls, Malasha and Akulya, meet after church on Sunday. Their mothers had dressed them neatly. There was a muddy puddle, and the girls just couldn't resist.  They were careful at first, but eventually, Akulya splashed on Malasha's dress. Malasha's mother noticed how her dress was dirty and scolded her. Malasha, of course, blamed Akulya so the mother slapped Akulya on the back of the head. That made Akulya cry, and Akulya's mother came to her defence. Both mothers argued heatedly, and then the men came out and joined in the argument.  Eventually, a whole crowd was arguing, almost coming to blows over this incident. An old lady tries to tell them to stop, but she is ignored and practically knocked off her feet. In the meantime, the two little girls continue to play with the muddy water and joyfully follow a piece of wood they put into the muddy stream they had dug. The old lady points to the young girls and tells the people not to bother fighting, the little girls themselves have forgotten about it and are playing again and that the others should follow their example. Everyone calms down and goes home. Tolstoy ends his story with a quote from the Bible: "'Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3) This statement means that unless you change and become like little children, who forget their worries and refrain from holding grudges, you shall not reach the kingdom of heaven. Children readily forgive and forget, and adults need to do the same. Russian author, a master of realistic fiction and one of the world’s greatest novelists. Tolstoy is best known for his two longest works, ‘War and Peace’ and ‘Anna Karenina’. A novel by Tolstoy is not a work of art but a piece of life.