Subodh Bhattarai (English & Communication Notes - BBA/BBS/BBBS/BHM/BIM//MBA/MBS & +2)

  The Gift in Wartime            Tran Mong Tu (Translated by Vann Phan) Tran Mong Tu  was born and grown up in Hai Dong, North Vietnam in 1943. She frequently contributes poems and short stories to Vietnamese literary publications in the US and other countries.  “War is a terrible thing,”  says Tran, who has first-hand experience of the Vietnam War (1954-1975). According to Tran, “The Vietnam War is a shameful experience, for both Vietnamese and Americans.” Many people in both countries felt the terrible tragedy of the war. Losses in the war were heavy; more than two million Vietnamese and 57,000 Americans died. In the poem  'The Gift in Wartime' , Tran addresses an absent person (a loveable person). For example, as she says, “I offer you roses,” the person to whom she is speaking is not present and can neither hear nor understand what she is saying (because he is no more). The theme of the poem is the consequences of the war amongst the humans. War never brings peace, happines

  WHO ARE YOU, LITTLE i? E E Cummings  BACKGROUND : E(dward) E(stlin) Cummings  (1894-1962), often styled as e e cummings, was an American poet, painter, essayist, novelist, and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobiographical novels, four plays, and several essays, as well as numerous drawings and paintings. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As one of the most innovative poets of his time, Cummings experimented with poetic form and language to create a distinct personal style.    Cummings’ poem “ who are you, little i ”   describes a child looking out a window at the end of the day. It is about nature and the effect it has on the speaker. The speaker of the poem is the person “voicing” the words, recalling a childhood moment closely connected with nature. Perhaps the speaker is Cummings.    SUMMARY : This poem is related to nature and its effect on the speaker. This poem is quite short which contains only eight lines. The main theme of this poem is freshnes

 

 

  All the World's a Stage William Shakespeare  Glossary   Infant: child during the first few years of life William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Mewing: a week crying sound Puking: vomiting Whining: an unpleasant sound Satchel: school bag Creeping: to move slowly Unwillingly: not wanting to so something Sighing: to take and then let out a long deep breath Woeful: very bad or serious/sorrowful Mistress: a woman Pard: a leopard   Cannon: artillery/gun Capon: a male chicken that has been castrated (neutered) Severe (su’veer): serious/intense Slippered: shod with slippers Pantaloon: trousers worn in former times Hose: tights, thin trousers that men word in Shakespeare’s time Shank: the part of the human leg Treble: child’s high voice/high-pitched Oblivion: forgetfulness/a state of nothingness Sans: without/lacking There are two major literary devices used in this poem namely,  metaphor  and  simile . Simile examples: “creeping like a snail”, “soldier … bearded like the pard”, etc. Metaphor e

  A Red, Red Rose Robert Burns (1759-1796) A Red, Red Rose  is a poem composed by Scotland's national poet,  Robert Burns . It was first published in  1794  in a collection of traditional Scottish songs set to music. Burns poem was inspired both by a simple Scots song he had heard in the country and by published ballads from the period. The poem  'A Red, Red Rose'  is a lyrical ballad  (a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas. Traditional ballads are typically of unknown authorship, having been passed on orally from one generation to the next.)  that describes the speaker’s deep love for his beloved and promises that this love will last longer than human life and even the planet itself, remaining afresh and constant forever. The beloved of the speaker is as beautiful as the red rose and as sweet as the music. With the help of the literary devices (simile, metaphor, repetition etc.), the poet has sketched a very vivid and realistic picture of his profound (deep) lo

AN ASTROLOGER’S DAY R.K. Narayan Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayan  (1906-2001) was an Indian writer known for his works set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi. He was born in Madras, South India. He wrote many novels including  Swami and Friends ,  The Bachelor of Arts  and  The English Teacher , along with short stories and other works. He was among the best known and most widely read Indian novelists who wrote in English.  He highlighted the social context and everyday life of his characters .  Astrology is a form of fortune telling, originated in ancient Babylonia. It has been practised in many cultures, including ancient Rome, Greece, India, and China.  'An Astrologer's Day'   is a thriller, suspense story describing a day in the life of an astrologer who makes his living by selling cosmic insights to innocent villagers, though he has no knowledge of the cosmos or actual spiritual insight.    This story is about a day’s event in the life of an astrologer w

  "CORONA SAYS" Vishnu S Rai  (1951-) was educated in India, Nepal, and the UK. He taught English at Tribhuvan University for three decades and retired as Professor of English Language Education. Rai writes both in English and Nepali. He has written stories  Martyrs & Other Stories   (English), play  Realities   (English), travelogues  Nau Dandapari   (Nepali), and a novel  Paheli   (Nepali).  But above all he is a poet and he has published  Sudama   (a semi epic in Nepali),  Jeevan   (a collection of poems in Nepali),  Vagabond  Verses  (a collection of poems in English), and  Tritiyaki joon   (a collection of songs and gazals in Nepali, and  his English poems are taught in Nepal and abroad. Rai is known as a poet of human emotions .    The poem,  Corona Says ,  written on the theme of the present world crisis Corona and its devastating impact on human life, is an indirect satire on man's conduct and attitude. It views COVID – 19 as the by-product of man's treatm

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  THE WIFE BEATER Gayle Rosenwald Smith   Definition: Accentuated - to make more noticeable or prominent. Wife-Beater  1.              A man who physically abuses his wife 2.             A tank-style underwear shirt Gayle Rosenwald Smith  was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She's currently a lawyer practicing in family law. She's a part of the American Bar Association and Philadelphia Bar association. She mostly published articles for newspapers like Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer etc. She is also co-author of  What Every Woman Should Know About Divorce and Custody . This essay basically explains how the " Wife Beater " undershirt is misnamed and how she feels it glorifies men beating their wives. She hates that it only disturbs her and that people under 25 do not mind the name of the shirt and what she feels it represents. She states that only men that wear these undershirts beat their wives and that this undershirt equates to violence. The essay has a ve

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  THE TWO SOLDIERS Guy de Maupassant Following Summary is compiled version of summaries collected from different sources including text book (NEB Grade XI). Please copy accordingly. In mid Victorian literature there is not too much mention of sex in an American story. In America sex was a taboo subject. The writers who approached it so did very cautiously. This wasn't true during the same years in France. Love making was was considered undeniable fact of life and was treated as such in French literature. The story The Two Little Soldiers  was written by Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893). He was a French writer, who has written some 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse. Maupassant wrote short stories like The Necklace and Bel Amim, but he also wrote poetry and novels. He was an author of the naturalistic school. This story is a bizarre triangular love story which has a completely unexpected result at the end. This story has presented various flaws o