Class note- class 11

The Oval Portrait                - Edgar Allan Poe

CHARACTERS                                                                       

-The Narrator

-His Servant

The Artist

His Wife

Points to remember:

1. The story is narrated by a man who is seeking shelter from a storm in an old castle.
2. This story begins with an injured narrator seeking shelter in an abandoned mansion in the Apennines with his servant. They select one of the mansion's rooms.
3. As he explores the castle, he comes across a room filled with paintings.
4. The narrator discovers an unnoticed painting in an oval-shaped frame. It reveals a young girl's head and shoulders.
5. The narrator is fond of this painting because it appears to be alive.
6.  Soon after, the narrator searches the book for an explanation of the picture. 
7. He discovered that the woman whose painting was created was the artist's young bride, who cared more about his work than anything else in the world, including his wife.
8. The woman was the ideal wife in every way except one: she was jealous of her husband's talent.
9. On her artist husband's request, the bride becomes ready to be  the object of his painting.
10.  He begins painting his wife . He was so obsessed with capturing her beauty that he rarely took his gaze away from the canvas, even to look at his wife.
11.  The wife remained humble and obedient, holding the same pose for many weeks without complaining.
12.  But her health became worse as the work continued for weeks.
13. She didn’t tell her problem and her health getting worse to her husband because she was newly married and she didn’t want to disturb her husband’s creative spirits.
14. The artist was thrilled with his flawless work as the portrait came near completion.
15. When he looked at his wife after the sketch was over, he discovered that she was no longer alive.

16.    She had become sick and eventually died as a result of her prolonged exposure to the paints and chemicals.

 Answer the following question.

1. Where did the narrator and his servant make forcible entrance?

Answer: The narrator and his servant made a forcible entrance into an abandoned Chateau in the Apennines as the narrator was seriously wounded.

2. Which special picture did the narrator notice in the room?

Answer: The narrator noticed an oval-shaped picture of a young girl in the room.

3. Describe the portrait that the narrator saw in the room.

Answer: The narrator saw a very artistic portrait in the room that comes to life when rays of candel fall on it. This painting is in an oval shape with a very decorative frame and depicts a young girl who is quite beautiful and appears to be alive.

4. What is the relationship between the portrait painter and its subject?

Answer: The relationship between the portrait painter and its subject is of Husband and wife.

Long question and answer.

What is the central theme of the story The Oval Portrait? Who is the woman depicted in the oval portrait?

Answer: The central theme of 'The Oval Portrait,' a short story, is the relationship between life and art. The destructive power of art and love has been demonstrated in this story. Art and love can lead anyone to perfection, but they can also have a negative impact on our lives. The painter in this story has achieved success through his artistic works, but his wife has suffered as a result of his artistic endeavors. She adores her husband, which is why she conceals her sorrows. The story depicted the negative consequences of excessive passion for something. The woman in the oval portrait is the wife of a talented painter who created the oval portrait.

 Do you think there is life in art?

Answer: "The Oval Portrait" is a frame story about art and life. The outer story follows an unnamed narrator as he spends a night in an Apennine chateau. While there, he admired the impressive paintings but was more obsessed with an oval-framed portrait of a beautiful young woman. Then he goes into the inner story, discovering the tragic life of a beautiful girl whose husband was obsessed with his art. He created a beautiful art of his wife but lost his own wife. The portrait looked real and alive but had no life. I think life is more than the art. Life can be the subject of the art. But life should be more valuable than the art.

He has disconnected himself from reality. For him, his canvas became more real than reality itself, which is good for his art but bad for his real life. So, in a literary sense, the artist creates life in the art and tries to find life within it but with a general view, art is just a creation that is created to display and has meaning related to different things.

 Corona Says

           -Vishnu S. Rai

Summary

The poem, Corona says, written on the theme of the present world crisis Corona and the devastating impact of it on human life, is a subtle satire on man’s conduct and attitude. It views Covid-19 as the by product of man’s treatment to nature.

The speaker of the poem is Corona , a life threatening virus. Corona is speaking to humans in the poem. Since the title of the poem is clear, here we find Corona saying something to humans.

The name Corona needs no introduction. Even a child has heard of it. This pandemic has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

This poem is the speaker’s outlook (point of view) of the whole event. The speaker says that humans are accusing it of killing many lives of people .

It rejects the blame and says that while humans are counting the death of the people caused by corona, they forget to count the deaths of the people caused by their evil activities and wars.

The humans are responsible for such great destruction. It did not come by his own will  but was invited here by the bad activities of the humans themselves.

In fact, it was invited. Corona, (like other pandemics), is the result of human behaviors and activities that are not responsible for nature.

Here, the speaker shows a mirror to humans. Humans believe that they are the kings of creation and the rulers of the entire earth.

They think that all creation and other aspects of nature are their slaves, which they can use as they please. But that’s not it. All the creatures of the earth and plants have equal rights and should be preserved.

Then the poet shows another side of the situation. In the long lockdown period, almost all human activities have stopped. Humans are locked in their houses. The vehicles, industries have been locked. So, Motherland rested a little. And nature has returned to its original state: blue skies and a pollution-free atmosphere without dust and smoke.

That is a positive aspect of the corona period. It also shows that if we (humans) don’t abuse nature, it will calm down again.

Corona rejects the claim of the humans of knowing everything. In fact, the humans need to know themselves first. As the earth does not belong only to humans. The earth belong as much all the creatures and plants as humans. So,  It must be shared equally by all living things.

In the end, the speaker warns humans. Sure, this pandemic ,Covid-19 will go away one day. But without a doubt, Other pandemics like Covid-19 will come back one day if we don’t change our irresponsible attitudes and behavior towards nature. The humans should leave their ego that they are superior to all the creatures of the earth. Not only that, but such behavior will eventually take us back to prehistoric times when people used to live in caves and had to hunt for food, long long ago.

Answer the following questions:

a.) Who is the speaker in the poem?

➜ In this poem, the speaker is Corona which has caused severe impacts in the lives of human beings.

 b.) Who claims that they are superior to all?

➜ The humans claim that they are superior to all.

c.) Why has the speaker come to the Earth?

➜ Actually, the speaker hasn’t come to the earth on his own free will. Instead, he was invited. Speaker “Corona” has been here to take revenge of what human beings have done to the mother nature, to give her a little rest and to make human realize that they are not the almighty and the earth is the common home for all living organisms.

d.) What positive changes have occurred on Earth after the speaker’s visit?

➜ After the speaker’s visit, various positive changes occurred on the earth. The positive changes are as follows:

v  Environment pollution minimized.

v  Nature became dust-free and the air became fresh.

v  Human learnt to use natural resources properly.

v  Their egos have been transformed into fear.

a.)    What does the speaker mean when he says: 

But have you ever counted 

How many have died so far 

Because of you and your wars?

➜ These beautiful lines have been taken from Vishnu S. Rai’s wonderful poem “Corona Says”. Here, we find corona as the main speaker who is talking to the man of the present world.

The speaker is saying to the men about the bad aspects of war. Humans are crying and blaming Corona for killing hundreds of thousands lives of the people. He wants to make the men realize about the impacts of inhumane wars. Here, the speaker is blaming the human for killing many people through their wars. He is asking about the calculation of dead people that have been invited by humans’ war.

b.) Explain the following:

I will depart one day.

But remember

There’re many others like me.

They’ll come too.

If you don’t get rid of your inflated ego,

You’ll be back to your cave time

That you endured

Long, l o n g, l o n g ago …

➜ These beautiful lines have been taken from Vishnu S. Rai’s wonderful poem “Corona Says”. Here, we find corona as the main speaker who is talking to the man of the present world.

Here, the speaker is warning the humans that their future is going to be more frightening. Corona is informing here that there are many other pandemics, similar to it.

He says that one day he will surely depart from the earth but if humans don’t get rid of their inflated egos, other more frightening pandemics will come too. Then the situation will be more critical. Humans will be back to the caves as before (the stone age). That will be the worst situation for humans.

So, in these lines Corona warns the humans that they should treat the nature and natural creations as nicely as they treat their relatives and use them wisely.

c.) What does the speaker mean in the following lines? Explain.

The earth is not your property alone –

It’s as much ours as yours.

➜ These beautiful lines have been taken from Vishnu S. Rai’s wonderful poem “Corona Says”. Here, we find corona as the main speaker who is talking to the man of the present world.

In the poem, Corona rejects the blame of humans that it came to take hundreds of thousands of lives of humans. He claims that he has to visit the earth because the humans invited him to come by their ill-treatment to the nature and its other creations. Humans think that the earth is only their property which they can do whatever they like.

Corona as a speaker is making the human realize that the mother earth belongs to all the creatures not only the humans. He reminds the human saying that the mother earth isn’t their property alone. He claims that the earth belongs to other creatures also apart from humans.

A Red, Red Rose

   -Robert Burns

Explanation of the poem.

In this poem, A Red, Red Rose, the poet has expressed his romantic and deep love for his beloved. He also promises to love his beloved until the earthly seas have become dry, rocks have melted by the heat of the sun and human life has ended and makes it clear that he will love her till his last breath.

In the first stanza, he compares his beloved with a red rose that is newly sprung in the month of June. The speaker begins with an image of the beloved that emphasizes her youth and beauty, suggesting a love that is enthusiastic but likely to fade with time. Meanwhile, saying that the speaker`s love for her is like a new rose implies that this is a new relationship, with all the freshness and excitement of a developing romance.

If the speaker`s love is just like a new rose, maybe it won`t last very long. She is so delicate, fair and lovely as the red rose. Moreover he also compares her with a sweet melodious song that is sung in a sweet tune. It means her voice is so sweet that the poet always desires to listen to her voice.

The speaker goes on to emphasize how long this love will last. The speaker uses three images to measure how long these feelings of love will last: the seas going dry, the rocks melting, and the sands of life running out. It seems now that the speaker`s love, far from lasting only as long as a flower, will actually endure longer than human life.

So, in the second stanza, he goes on making promise for his beloved. He says that his beloved is so beautiful and fair. She is a lovely girl. He loves her and promises that the speaker will love her with a deep and strong passion the speaker's love will last until  all the seas have become dry.

In the third stanza, he further promises that he will continue to love her until all the rocks of the earth melt with the sun. Moreover, he promises to love her until the last breath of his life.

In the final stanza, the speaker bids farewell to the beloved, as if the speaker is planning to leave on a journey. The speaker reminds her that she is the only person he loves. Here, the speaker says it is their temporary separation and reaffirms his or her faithful love by promising to return even if the journey covers a very long distance and takes a very long time.

Answer the following questions.
a. To which two things does the speaker compare his love in the first stanza?

The two things to which the speaker compares his love in the first stanza are a red red rose and a sweet melody (music).

b. What does the speaker promise in the second and third stanzas?

In the second and third stanzas, the speaker promises to love his beloved until the earthly seas have become dry and the rocks have melted by the heat of the sun. Moreover he promises that he will continue to love her until the last breath of his life.

. c. What imagery does he use in his promise, and why do you think he uses such language?

He uses the imagery of dry seas, melted rocks, ended human life in the second and third stanza and an image of a long journey in the fourth stanza. I think he uses such language to show that his love is so deep and true for his beloved.

d. In the last stanza, what event is about to happen by mentioning the number of miles?

In the last stanza, the event of short separation between the lovers and re-union after some time even if the speaker has gone very far away is about to happen by mentioning the number of miles.

e. Which image in the poem do you find the most memorable or surprising and why?

The most memorable or surprising image I find in the poem is of the dry seas throughout the world, because the speaker’s promise is managed in a very interesting way.

Reference to the context
a. What can you infer about the speaker’s devotion to his beloved from the following lines?

And I will come again, my love, Tho’ it were ten thousand mile!

This beautiful promising lines have been taken from Robert Burns lovely poem ‘ A Red, Red Rose’. In the poem the poet compares his beloved with a red rose and a sweet music and promises to love her until his last breath.

We find these lines at the end of the fourth stanza. Here, the speaker is in deep love with his beloved. It is his fresh and pure love with her. He, thus  makes a promise with his beloved that he will continue to love her till all the seas go dry, rocks melt with the sun and till his last breath.

In these lines, he says goodbye to her for now and again promise that  no matter how far he has to go away , he will certainly return to her life as she is his life.

Explain with reference to the context.

As fair art thou my bonny lass,

So deep in love am I

And I will love thee still my dear,

Till a’ the seas gang dry

These beautiful promising lines have been taken from Robert Burns’ lovely poem ‘ A Red, Red Rose’. In the poem, the poet compares his beloved with a red rose and a sweet music and promises to love her until his last breath.

We find these lines in the second stanza. Here, the speaker is in deep love with his beloved. She is a very beautiful lady with whom he has decided to spend the rest of his life. It is his fresh and pure love with her. He, thus  makes a promise with his beloved that he will continue to love her till all the seas of the earth go dry.

These lines show his strong affection to his beloved as he says she is very fair and lovely like the red rose and a sweet music.

b. What is the theme of the poem?

The main theme of “A Red, Red Rose” is love and promise. In this poem, the speaker wishes to emphasize not just the love he has for his beloved, but the strength of that love and its power to endure in the most difficult situations.

The speaker is so deeply in love with his beautiful young girl that he compares his beloved with a red red rose that is so lovely and delicate, fair and soft and with a sweet music as her voice is the thing he wants to hear all the time.

Moreover it’s a promise poem. The speaker goes on making promise to his beloved that his love is not for a short period of time. He will continue to love her until all the seas go dry, the rocks melt with the sun and his last breath.

Even if he has to go away from her for short time, he promises to return to her as quick as possible as she is his only love.

 Do you think that love has power? Why do the poets compose poems addressing their beloved?

Yes, I think that love has power. In fact I consider love as a most powerful thing that exists in the entire universe. Love is the thing that bounds people and keep them together. Love can sometimes lead people towards perfection whereas it may bring destructive results too.

Most of the poets compose their poems addressing their beloved because poem is the beautiful and best medium to express the feeling of a person. Expressing love in poem adds more beauty to the story than in another form. Thus the poets compose poems addressing their beloved.

Sharing Tradition

Frank LaPena.

Summary

The essay ‘Sharing Tradition’ was written by Frank LaPena, an American writer. This essay is about passing on culture and values from generation to generation through oral tradition to maintain our traditional and cultural values in our lives.  For this, according to the writer, we must listen to our elders’ stories.

The task of sharing tradition is quite important, where both the elders and the young people play very vital roles in preserving the norms and values of our tradition and culture. As elders pass on, the young people fill their places.

As no one lives forever., no one dies if what they have gained by living is transferred to those who follow. The responsibility of preserving the tradition must be continued to the following generations. The transmission of information from one generation to another through oral means must be authentic.

It is very important to listen to our elders to understand the real values of our tradition and culture. The elders and their ideal positions in the society make

them the guardians and caretakers of our tradition. After them, their places are quite hard to fill. The young people have to show their interest in their traditions and their elders’ words. They have to follow their elders and share the information with the coming generation, being responsible for maintaining our traditions.

 In the present time, the task of sharing tradition seems a bit harder than expected. Various problems are seen in the area of oral tradition, which are as follows:

1. Difficulty filling up the niche of the elders in the matter of sharing tradition through oral tradition.
2.  The impact of modern technology.
3.  The modern educational system and its impacts.
4. Source of information and way of perceiving and sharing it.

Thus, an oral tradition is an art form where elders pass on their concepts related to culture and values to young people through oral means. It is an educational tool for understanding the natural world. The role of the elders and young people is so important in oral tradition. The concepts of elders remain immortal if their concepts are followed and properly transmitted by young people who are responsible.

Answer the following questions.

a. According to LaPena, what is the importance of the oral tradition? To what extent do you agree with his opinions and why?

Accordint to Lapena, the importance of the oral tradition is to preserve maintain and pass the cultural values of our tradition from generation to generation.
Yes, I agree with his opinion because our tradition and culture is our identity.

b. Who preserve and pass on the oral tradition?

Both the elders and young people preserve and pass on the oral tradition. In every culture, the oral tradition is preserved and passed on to the younger generation by the elders who again pass on to the next generation as their task.

c. What is the danger of not passing on information from generation to generation?

If the information from one generation to generation is not passed, our cultural and traditional values will be disappeared and our identity will be lost

d. What is the difference between oral tradition and literary tradition?

In an oral tradition information related to culture and values are transmitted from generation to generation through oral means whereas in literary tradition information is transmitted through written means.
e. How does LaPena establish a relationship between art and the oral tradition?

Both art and the oral tradition are the form of communication in which the author or story teller tries to convey a message to the listener/reader. LaPena presents the oral tradition as the source of our inspiration for art. He says that the oral tradition has an impact on how one visualizes the stories, the characters, the designs and color for art.