Lit Notes

  ARCHETYPAL APPROACH SIMPLIFIED    It is an approach of literary criticism that attempts to understand a text by focusing attention on the myths and archetypes that keep recurring in the narrative. There may be certain symbols, images and types of characters who keep reappearing again and again in the literary texts. An archetype is a statement, a type of behaviour, a prototype or a model that others emulate, imitate or copy. Archetypal criticism became very popular in the 140s and 1950s. The most important critic associated with archetypal criticism is the Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye (1912-1991).  Archetypal criticism is also known as “the totemic, mythological or ritualistic” and it involves a very close reading of the text under consideration. More than a mere appreciation of the language and the way it is used to create the text, archetypal criticism focuses on the psychological effect of the work on the minds of the readers. It is sociologica...

SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH OF LITERATURE - WILBUR SCOTT     Sociological criticism firmly believes that the relationship between art and society is very important. The examination of this relationship between art and society is essential for a better and much more suitable understanding of art. It also plays a very important role in shaping our response to a work of art or a work of literature. Art and literature are always influenced and shaped by the society and the time in which the creator of that particular work of art or work of literature lives. The author is an important person because the author is someone who can express or communicate effectively. The critic who approaches a novel or a text from a sociological point of view or perspective is deeply interested in examining and understanding the social background described in the novel. The critic closely examines the effect of that particular social background on the author and also studies the response of the wri...

                                THE REFUGEE - ASIF CURRIMBHOY              Asif Currimbhoy is an Indian playwright who wrote exclusively in English. His plays have contemporary relevance as they deal with the complexities of life in modern post-Independence India. The Refugee is a one act play that deals with the influx or arrival of refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan or modern day Bangladesh into West Bengal in India in the aftermath of the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war.             East Pakistan was carved out of Bengal and became a part of Pakistan when undivided India was partitioned by the British in 1947. East Pakistan was predominantly Bengali speaking. They resented the domination of Pakistan which comprise...

                                    Tribute to a Great Teacher Great teachers must have empathy. They may never win awards, accolades, foreign scholarships or even have awards named after them. But they live on, for years, in the hearts of the students whom they have taught and helped to recover faith in themselves. I myself am a teacher, but I must admit that I too do not have the empathy quotient in adequate quantity. The country’s highest award for sports coaches- the Dronacharya or Drona Award is named after a man who lacked empathy, was arrogant and biased in his attitude. After all, he asked Ekalavya, the ardent tribal boy for his thumb. Drona foresaw that Ekalavya was an excellent archer, who if encouraged, had the capability to supersede Arjuna. Ekalavya was a poor tribal boy who aspired to learn archery from the greatest Gur...

A.K. Ramanujan begins his essay   Is there an Indian Way of Thinking? An Informal Essay  by framing the question in four different ways, following Stanislavsky’s method for judging the potential of actors. A.K.Ramanujan wonders if there is an Indian way of thinking. Ramanujan says that the Indian way of thinking is highly context-oriented. While the Western world celebrates egalitarianism and universality, India continues to uphold its caste- oriented, ancient principles and beliefs that indicate diversity, rather than universality.              India as a nation has always been adaptable to change. We have been able to successfully incorporate western ideas, beliefs, attire and customs with our very own traditional beliefs and attire. Ramanujan writes about his father, a South Indian Brahmin, who is an amalgamation of all the diverse cultures, beliefs and concepts that symbolise Indians’ ability to effectiv...

Two fears have assailed me since I started enjoying reading. The twin fears of memory loss and loss of eyesight have been present in MY subconscious mind for long. Reading fiction is something I love.  I love writing by women, not the acclaimed ones like Margaret Atwood, Doris Lessing and Nadine Gordimer. I love that which is usually dismissed as chicklit. But I find that it deals with ordinary people like me, with the same concerns and cares that I have. It comforts me that there are other women in other parts of the world who are experiencing the same worries, fears and anxieties that I experience.  It is very difficult to meet people who share our wavelength in every sense of the term, so when I meet somebody like that in a novel, I feel that someone somewhere has experienced what I have felt. So no matter what the world says, kudos to  CHICKLIT.