A brief analysis of the contributions of Wordsworth (Preface to the Lyrical Ballads), Coleridge (Biographia Literaria) and Shelley (A Defence of Poetry) on English Literature

MEG – 05: Literary Criticism & Theory

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

2. Attempt a brief analysis of the contributions of Wordsworth (Preface to the Lyrical Ballads), Coleridge (Biographia Literaria) and Shelley (A Defence of Poetry) on English Literature?

Answer.: Much before William Wordsworth started writing, the early Romantic poets like James Thomson (1700-48),Oliver Goldsmith (1728-74),Thomas Chatterton (1752-70),Thomas Gray (1716-71),William Collins-59),William Cowper (1731- 1800),George Crabbe (1754- 1832),Robert Burns (1759-95), and William Blake (1757-1827) deviated from the neo-classic insistence on rules. Wordsworth is perhaps the only romantic poet who made his poetic experiences the locus of his critical discourse. Unlike Coleridge, he was not a theorist. Instead he unravelled before us the workings of the mind of the poet, and therefore, Wordsworth’s literary criticism ceases to be criticism in its most literal sense. It comes out as the matrix where the poet’s mind generates emotions and feelings with that much of intensity and passion required for transmitting them into poetic experience which forms the basis of poetic composition. From this perspective, Wordsworth’s Preface to the second edition of Lyrical Ballads in 1800 can be seen as a poetic "manifesto," or “statement of revolutionary aims.”

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

The six elements of tragedy according to Aristotle and its relevance with regards to a contemporary play

MEG – 05: Literary Criticism & Theory

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

1. Explain the six elements of tragedy according to Aristotle and discuss whether it bears any relevance with regards to a contemporary play you may have read or watched.

Answer.: In the Poetics, Aristotle's famous study of Greek dramatic art, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) compares tragedy to such other metrical forms as comedy and epic. He determines that tragedy, like all poetry, is a kind of imitation (mimesis), but adds that it has a serious purpose and uses direct action rather than narrative to achieve its ends. He says that poetic mimesis is imitation of things as they could be, not as they are — for example, of universals and ideals — thus poetry is a more philosophical and exalted medium than history, which merely records what has actually happened.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

The rise of American English and its chief characteristics

MEG – 04: Aspects of Language

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

5. Historically discuss the rise of American English and its chief characteristics. 

Answer.: In many ways, compared to British English, American English is conservative in its phonology. Dialects in North America are most distinctive on the East Coast of the continent partly because these areas were in contact with England, and imitated prestigious varieties of British English at a time when those varieties were undergoing changes, and partly merely because many speech communities on the East Coast have existed in their present locations longer than others. The interior of the country was settled by people who were not closely connected to England, as they had no access to the ocean during a time when journeys to Britain were always by sea. As such, the inland speech is much more homogeneous than the East Coast speech and did not imitate the changes in speech from England.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

Four different approaches of looking at language and society (Unit 1, Block 6).

MEG – 04: Aspects of Language

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

4. Discuss in detail four different approaches of looking at language and society (Unit 1, Block 6). 

Highlight the differences between all these approaches. 

Answer: Language is both a system of communication between individuals and a social phenomenon. The area of language and society – sociolinguistics – is intended to show how our use of language is governed by such factors as class, gender, race, etc. A subsection of this area is anthropological linguistics which is concerned with form and use of language in different cultures and to what extent the development of language has been influenced by cultural environment.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

What is Theta theory? Which parts of grammar does it affect?

MEG – 04: Aspects of Language

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

3. What is Theta theory? Which parts of grammar does it affect? Discuss with examples of your own. 

Answer.: Thematic theory, or theta theory, is a sub-theory of universal Grammar, which deals with the valency requirements of verbs. As I mentioned in the previous section, it incorporates a set of principles regulating the assignment of thematic roles. In this way, Riemsdijk (1986) defines theta theory as the basic logical notion “argument of”, a notion that any theory of Grammar must account for. He goes on to add that the aim of this theory is to determine which NP can be an argument of a verb. That’s why to designate arguments of a verb, terms as agent, goal, patient ...are commonly used.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

Code mixing and code switching

MEG – 04: Aspects of Language

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

2. Write short notes on any four of the following, giving examples as far as possible:

i) Code mixing and code switching
 

Answer.: “Code” refers to language here. Both code mixing and code switching are only possible in case of bilinguals (or multi-linguals), i.e. people who know at least two (or more than two) languages. Code mixing is simply mixing of two or more languages while communicating. Now, it is common for a speaker who knows two or more languages to take one word or more than one word from one language and introduce it while speaking another language.

If I know French as well as English, for example, there will be times when I will mix some English words in my French sentences. That’s, in fact, very common. Languages have this kind of affect on other languages. It is rare for Bilinguals to utter sentences that belong to purely one language.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

Problems in defining a speech community

MEG – 04: Aspects of Language

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

2. Write short notes on any four of the following, giving examples as far as possible:

iii) Problems in defining a speech community
 

Answer.: Speech community is a term in sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology used to describe a group of people who share the same language, speech characteristics, and ways of interpreting communication. Speech communities may be large regions like an urban area with a common, distinct accent (think of Boston with its dropped r's) or small units like families and friends (think of a nickname for a sibling). They help people define themselves as individuals and community members and identify (or misidentify) others.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

Langue and Parole

MEG – 04: Aspects of Language

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

2. Write short notes on any four of the following, giving examples as far as possible:

 ii) Langue and Parole 

Answer.: Langue is a composite of all the traits of a language; think of it as a big container that hosts all the parts of language as we use it, particularly, the images and words that come to mind and the sound-to-symbol connection that occurs when we speak. All of those stored images, words, meanings, and sub-meanings comprise “langue.”

Parole is speaking. "Palabra," its meaning in Spanish, shares a similar meaning: the act of activating langue through the use of speech. Parole is the enabler of the langue. Langue embraces parole.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

Changes in the meaning of words from Old to Modern English.

MEG – 04: Aspects of Language

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

2. Write short notes on any four of the following, giving examples as far as possible:

i) Changes in the meaning of words from Old to Modern English. 

Answer.: Generation by generation, pronunciations evolve, new words are borrowed or invented, the meaning of old words drifts, and morphology develops or decays. The rate of change varies, but whether the changes are faster or slower, they build up until the "mother tongue" becomes arbitrarily distant and different. After a thousand years, the original and new languages will not be mutually intelligible. After ten thousand years, the relationship will be essentially indistinguishable from chance relationships between historically unrelated languages.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

The relationship between language and our perception of reality in terms of linguistic relativity and linguistic determinism

MEG – 04: Aspects of Language

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

1. Discuss the relationship between language and our perception of reality in terms of linguistic relativity and linguistic determinism

Answer.: When we talk about language, we often dig down to "universal" categories like nouns & verbs, consonants & vowels, phrases & sentences. We end up with these cross-language concepts that individual languages are built on, almost as if the colourful diversity found in the world's languages is just icing on the strong unity of the linguistic cake. And LANGUAGE is grounded in our way of thinking and processing information, which is itself universal among humans. So, languages and cultures are superficial, but language and cognition run deep.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

Why do you think Forster shifts the theme of the novel from history to philosophy?

MEG – 03: British Novel

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

(Based on blocks (1-9)

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

5. Why do you think Forster shifts the theme of the novel from history to philosophy?

Answer.: A Passage to India, published in 1924, was E. M. Forster's first novel in fourteen years, and the last novel he wrote. Subtle and rich in symbolism, the novel works on several levels. On the surface, it is about India—which at the time was a colonial possession of Britain—and about the relations between British and Indian people in that country. It is also about the necessity of friendship, and about the difficulty of establishing friendship across cultural boundaries.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

A detailed note on the three broad movements that defines the structure of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

MEG – 03: British Novel

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

(Based on blocks (1-9)

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

4. Give a detailed note on the three broad movements that defines the structure of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man details events which closely correspond with those of Joyce's first twenty years. According to Joyce's celebrated biographer, Richard Ellman, Joyce hoped that his Portrait would be an autobiographical novel, "turning his life into fiction." While scholars disagree on the extent to which Joyce's life affected his fictional narrative in the novel, most of them concur that Stephen Dedalus is both the protagonist of the novel, as well as the persona (Latin, meaning "mask") behind which Joyce paints his fictional "portrait" of the "artist" and of the "young man."

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

How many women characters are to be found in the Heart of Darkness would you consider Conrad to be a misogynist?

MEG – 03: British Novel

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

(Based on blocks (1-9)

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

3. How many women characters are to be found in the Heart of Darkness would you consider Conrad to be a misogynist?

Answer.: Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness has since its publishing, fallen under vast scrutiny for its supposed pro- racist, pro- imperialist message, whether it be blatant or implied. Upon closer analysis, and perhaps less obviously, the claim could also be made that Heart of Darkness is also a pro- misogyny piece. Heart of Darkness performs anti-Feminist literary theory- the novella does not uplift the “other sex”, nor is it meant to fortify and empower the female gender.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

Does modern critical perspective help us understand Wuthering Heights better or does it just confuse us?

MEG – 03: British Novel

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

(Based on blocks (1-9)

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

2. Does modern critical perspective help us understand Wuthering Heights better or does it just confuse us? Discuss.

Answer.: Any serious discussion of Wuthering Heights must consider the complex point of view that Brontë chose. Lockwood tells the entire story, but except for his experiences as the renter of Thrushcross Grange and his response to Nelly and the inhabitants of Wuthering Heights, he repeats what Nellie tells him; occasionally she is narrating what others have told her, e.g., Isabella's experiences at Wuthering Heights or the servant Zillah's view of events.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

Events and happenings in Fielding’s Tom Jones

MEG – 03: British Novel

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

(Based on blocks (1-9)

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

1. As a reader from the Third World can you relate to the events and happenings in Fielding’s Tom Jones? And would you agree that ‘Tom Jones is so simple that it makes no great demand on you as a reader’? Discuss with reasons.

Answer.: Fielding’s best-plotted novel, his masterpiece, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, probably was begun in 1746. When the novel finally appeared, it was “enthusiastically received” by the general public, though not by two groups, the Tory journalists, who strongly disliked Fielding for supporting the House of Hanover, and Richardson and his group, who saw Fielding as a “filthy and immoral writer,” even to the point of slandering Fielding himself, particularly for “marrying his cook.”

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

The qualities that set Murder in the Cathedral apart from other plays.

MEG – 02: British Drama

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

7. What are the qualities that set Murder in the Cathedral apart from other plays?

Answer.: Murder in the Cathedral is a fictionalized verse drama of the martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket written by TS Eliot and first performed in 1935. Written and performed at a time when fascism was on the rise in continental Europe, the play considers the agency of the individual in resisting temporal authoritarianism. In life, Thomas Becket was a close personal friend and chancellor of Henry II, though he had decided to devote his life to the (Catholic) Church from a relatively young age.

During this time Becket enjoyed the earthly pleasure of wealth and influence in the state and even led contingents of knights too fight alongside the king. It was ultimately Henry who suggested that the vacant Archbishopric of Canterbury Cathedral (the highest Church office in England) go to Becket, even though he initially refused.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

The relevance of The Playboy of the Western World to the present time.

MEG – 02: British Drama

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

5. Comment on the relevance of The Playboy of the Western World to the present time.

Answer.: The best way of answering this question is to think about the themes of this excellent play and to consider if any of them are still relevant to today's society given the fact that society has changed to such a great extent in the intervening years. This will help us to establish whether this play does have themes that are universal and whether it has a message that applies to us today.

Unfortunately, if we take this approach and examine the theme of social conformity, we can actually see how little the world and the people in it have changed over the years. The vast majority of the characters in this play act according to the norms and customs of society and show a complete inability to make decisions for themselves.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

The dominant quality of Hamlet’s character.

MEG – 02: British Drama

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

3. What do you think is the dominant quality of Hamlet’s character? Illustrate.

Answer.: Hamlet is an enigma. No matter how many ways critics examine him, no absolute truth emerges. Hamlet breathes with the multiple dimensions of a living human being, and everyone understands him in a personal way. Hamlet's challenge to Guildenstern rings true for everyone who seeks to know him: "You would pluck out the heart of my mystery." None of us ever really does.

The conundrum that is Hamlet stems from the fact that every time we look at him, he is different. In understanding literary characters, just as in understanding real people, our perceptions depend on what we bring to the investigation. Hamlet is so complete a character that, like an old friend or relative, our relationship to him changes each time we visit him, and he never ceases to surprise us. Therein lies the secret to the enduring love affair audiences have with him. They never tire of the intrigue.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)

The characteristics of Shakespearean comedy in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

MEG – 02: British Drama

ASSIGNMENT 2019 - 2020

                                                                          Max. Marks: 100

2. Identify the characteristics of Shakespearean comedy in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Answer.: Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of his most popular and enduring comedic plays. As with most Elizabethan comedies, this play is a light- hearted romp through many types of humor, all ending happily in the final scene. Also common to this era, comedy is centered on marriage and relationships, and a happy ending means uniting the courting couples.

High comedy can also be called situational comedy, in which the source of humor is the situation of mistaken identity or miscommunication. Low comedy involves silliness, inappropriateness, and sometimes references that can be taken as vulgar or sexual. Slapstick is physical humor: action rather than dialogue. Shakespearean comedy is the fast-paced, witty banter we see in all of Shakespeare's comedic plays: clever dialogue and play-on-words, often delivered in a dramatic manner.

(For the complete answer and also the full set of answers of 1st and 2nd year MEG  assignments/study notes mail me : ignousolvedassignmentz@gmail.com, you may also call or WhatsApp me to get instant reply: +91 99 471 471 85)