He Raped Her

Picture resource: https://medium.com/social-nuisance/the-link-between-sexual-assault-and-abstract-art-60fbd2af3f03

Dearest to the family

Little angel of the house

While cutting cake on her birthday

There came a mickey mouse

Jumping in joy, she followed him

Without even realizing who was under the mask

She sat on his lap and got a candy

The man touched her skin

One moment she was eating the candy

And the other, she saw

The blood washing off her vagina

She was scared and crying

The man ran off

Leaving her in pain

The girl could not understand that

'He raped her'

In her own house.

~Aniba Hassnain

FIRST TOUCH

 

I Remember, when the first time I touched you

We were supposed to say goodbye

And I wanted you to stay a little longer

So, I moved my hand towards you

You gave a perplexed smile

Still having the eye contact with you

I held your hand tightly in mine

My legs started shivering, I was leaning against wall

My heart almost burst out and I was rolling my eyes down

My voice was trembling,

But I manage to say you good bye with a heavy heart

Limitations

 

The evening was dark and cold enough,

Both were sitting on a bench,

waiting for each other to make a turn

New to love, did not know how to express

He broke the ice, with his vibrating voice,

She kept her eyes on him,

To capture his every sight

To give him comfort, she touched his knees with hers

And held his hand to her chest with great tenderness

She cut the background voices to listen to his heart

His rotating eyes were misted over;  

and she wanted to be drowned in them

His broken sentences were making sense to her

Their intimacy wanted them to come closer

But following their limitations, she gave a silly smile and

wrote her name on his hand, sitting by his side

----------------

"THE HEALERS IN THE CIRCLE OF HOPELESSNESS"

“I want to study but my Aba…. He does not allow us.” The girl said in utmost despair.

But why? I asked the girl whom I met yesterday while waiting for the university bus.

“Aba sends me along with my younger siblings to ask for money from people.

Only my younger brother has the luxury to get an education.” She said.

Her eyes were filled with fear and hopelessness. She stammered as if she was battling the “obedient daughter” who was compelling her to remain quiet.

“He…he buys drugs from that money and punishes us if we ask him to buy us food.

He even beats my mother when she “tries” to stand for us out of her maternal compassion. ” she said with her hands fisted together in anger and trepidation.

On the road, people blabbering with each other, Sun was shining on the top, but deep inside her, a storm was hidden in her fidgety appearance. She wanted to get out of that but couldn’t.

She was hopeless, living on the ground but wanted to touch the sky. She didn’t have money for food but her spirit to get an education was high. Although she was buried under cumbersome circumstances and unable to get an education but, she was helping her younger brother to study and fulfill his dreams.

Meanwhile, I saw two children coming towards me. Both of them were also hungry. I bought them some food and they ran away. And so came my bus and this en route to the world of hopelessness and the continuous struggle ended.

When I sat on the bus I thought that this is not the only case, there are a lot of children and families who are homeless, who do not have clothes to wear, food to eat, and books to read. Some children don’t want to study but their parents want them to do so. On other hand, some children want to fulfill their dreams but their parents are the greatest barrier in achieving their dreams. All these sapiens are battling their extraordinary inner traumas, outer worries, and life struggles, but they seem very ordinary and normal on the surface. We need to build compassion to see through these lives. We need more healers around as there are pretty many wounded souls to be taken care of.

-Aniba Hassnain

Save Humanity

 

“Hey, I am so tired. Let’s buy some food and go to the hostel” one of my friends told me as we were out shopping, two weeks ago. Laughing and chatting, the three of us entered the food area, placed our order, and sat on the corner table waiting for our food to get ready.

 After some time, I turned my face and what I saw next was heartbreaking and soul-stirring.

A family was sitting next to our table; a mother with her two children. They were eating food and a girl, frail and willow-wild, holding a handbag was standing behind the mother’s chair.

The girl looking tired and hungry and kept on stealing glances at the food. Her eyes were moving from the plate to the children’s faces where she saw joy and contentment. It was quite evident what she wished for in her heart.

 Everyone there was so busy eating that they did not even take notice of her. After a while, the boy said: “Mama this girl is making me uncomfortable. She is staring at my burger.” The woman lashed out at the girl. She unleashed hell: “Stop looking at my son’s food with your evil eyes. You can eat after we are done”.

The girl remained silent; her eyes cast down. There were tears in them. When the children got done with their food, the woman offered the girl the leftovers. She had merely dug into the fancy leftovers when the woman announced: “Hurry up! We do not have time for you. Let’s go!” The girl put the burger on the table and started walking behind them.

I was dumbstruck at what took place before my eyes and thought of doing something for her. But then I realized that she had to work for her livelihood and any of my impulsive actions or emotional outburst could cost her the job. So, I held myself together.

After fifteen to twenty minutes, our order got ready. We took our food and headed towards the hostel, but the image of the young girl’s helplessness kept on haunting me for a very long time. It raised many questions with obvious answers.

 Was the behavior of the woman, right?

What was the fault of that girl if she was born into a poor family? Why did she have to work at this age? Why were people so heartless and had no sensitivity for young and deprived children?

The poor need to be treated as humans and no one should treat another person as horribly as the woman treated the little girl.

Periods and Movements in Literature

 

a)    Medieval and Early Modern Literature: Dominic Rainsford (2014), says that medieval means ‘of the middle ages.’ So, the medieval period, which was considered as ‘Dark Ages’ and ‘Middle ages’ (English of this time is ‘Old English’ and ‘Middle English’ respectively), is the period between two glorified periods of the classical period and the Renaissance period. During this period, all Greek and Latin intellectual sources were overlooked. The medieval narrative is based on moral principles and have characteristics of genre. In addition, Old English of this period is related to Anglo-Saxon and the oldest literary work in English is the poem ‘Beowulf’ which is about mythical heroes. The Old English poetry was unique because it did not have any verse form or meter in it and the beliefs of Christians and Pagans were mixed in it. Furthermore, the chaotic condition at that time was highlighted through rituals, monarchy, and storytelling. In middle English period, the early literature blossomed, and Geoffrey Chaucer played a great role by writing the book of poetry ‘Canterbury Tales’.

 

                                                              Beowulf

Picture Resource: Encyclopedia Britanica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Beowulf

 

                                                          Canterbury Tales

Resource:https://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/literature/most-influential-fiction/canterbury-tales/

 

   b) Restoration English Literature:  During the colonial period, development in the literary genre was observed with the more printed text composition. The duration after the civil war is considered a neo-classical period. One of the neo-classical period's sub-periods is the restoration period, which was the recovery of kingship and the excluded culture in 1660. In restoration English literature, the geographical complexity, rise of literary criticism, and emergence of classical literature were observed. A famous poem "Paradise Lost (1667)" by John Milton has a significant part in responding to the political and religious conflicts of Civil war and unnecessary monarchy. John Milton's works show Biblical and classical work's intermixing and the conflict between literary figures and the church. So, his poem 'Paradise lost' is related to Greek tradition and Latin verse form. Apart from Paradise lost, another literary text, 'The pilgrim progress (1678)' by John Bunyan, was also based on religious context, but it never showed religion's supremacy. It depicts the evolution of divine authority to the human-centered viewpoint. 

The 'restoration plays' were prominent in British history because of comedies in urban, elegant, and sarcastic ways. Furthermore, these were directed to middle- and upper-class people to have their affection. William Congreve was considered as the famous play writer of that time. The poetry during the restoration period has the features of urbanity and creativity. Alexander Pope is a renowned poet from this period. Immanuel Kant from Germany, Voltaire from France, and Benjamin Franklin from America are considered the inventors of 'The Enlightenment' who developed the local English and culture.

                                                                    John Milton

Picture Resource: Poetry foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-milton

 

                                                            John Bunyan

Picture Resource: Roger Sharrock, (2020), “John Bunyan” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Bunyan

 

c) Renaissance English Literature: Early modern period is also known as the renaissance period, whose duration is 1500-1660, known as the age of discovery. The printing press is considered the major innovation of this period because it helped ease texts and ideas. Galileo's discovery (earth revolves around the sun) changed human perspectives that opposed the Biblical truth. Some other developments include the rebirth of classical texts, enlightenment, rethinking, and exploration. Renaissance period refers to Reformation (splitting of catholic church and rise of protestants), religious movements, and one's connection with God. Shakespeare's work has a significant role in the renaissance; for example, the central theme and narrative of 'Macbeth' made it to restage in different regional contexts. Likewise, Edmund Spenser wrote 'Farie Queene' during this period. Renaissance literature changed after the English civil war, and the monarchy never remained the same. Moreover, people started questioning the authorities and eventually moved to free literary culture, and human development took place. 

                                                            William Shakespeare

Picture Resource: Stephen Greenblatt (2020), “What Shakespeare Actually Wrote About the Plague”, New yorker.

 https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/what-shakespeare-actually-wrote-about-the-plague

                                                              Edmund Spenser

Picture Resource: A. Kentt (2020), “Edmund Spenser”, Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edmund-Spenser

 

c) Romantic English Literature: When Britain started a war with America to have control over them and after being defeated, they saw the emergence of romanticism in literature from 1785 to 1832. There are many causes for the rise of the romantic period, such as the French Revolution, industrialization, and Enlightenment. As far as romantic literature is concerned, William Wordsworth, Blake, and Samuel Taylor are known as the 'first generation.' Lord Byron and John Keats are known as 'second generation.' (Rainsford, 2014). 

Romanticism is related to 'Nature,' and a wide range of people, writings, and art come under the romantic world category. In addition, the ideas of societal and political betterment are associated with the character and beauty of the romantic period. Moreover, romanticism undermines the concept of Enlightenment because of the prominence of subjectivity and its recommendation for expressing human experiences. In the British romantic period, many female writers were neglected for so long, including Charlotte Bronte. One of the famous writers of this age, William Wordsworth, wrote about nature and related his writings to individual dilemmas. Similarly, John Keats (1795-1821) was observant of seasons and has written a lot about beauty. Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) has written about imagination, Lord Byron (1788-1824) has written about romantic ideas, and Percy Shelley (1792-1822) has written about Biblical myths.

 

                                                    William Wordsworth

Resource: Biography (2020), https://www.biography.com/writer/william-wordsworth

                                                                   John Keats

Resource: Biography (2020), https://www.biography.com/writer/john-keats

 

d) Postmodern Literature: Postmodernism is a contradictory term that emerged after being influenced by the architectural history of different eras. In general, it is the blending of all forms of traditions, art, and cultures. Dominic Rainsford (2014) explains, "Postmodernism is associated with a rejection of hierarchies of past, present and future, and of value, and with a reluctance to settle on specific meanings." (116). In addition, it has excluded the 'grand narratives' and accepted abstract meanings. As far as post-modernist literature's characteristics are concerned, the significant themes are individualism, experimentation, and absurdity. 'Theatre of the Absurd' is considered a substantial sub-genre of post-modern literature, which has neglected the traditional agreements of character and plot and made us fall into a world that lacks cultural and ethical growth. Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) is the prominent writer of this genre who has written 'Waiting for Godot (1953)'. Moreover, the famous American and Britain novelists in the Post-modernist era were Toni Morrison, Don DeLillo, and Angela Carter, Julian Barnes, respectively. These writers combined the uneven characters and undefined endings from past and future with the actual life.

 

 

                                                                Samuel Brackett

Resource: M. J, Esslin, (2020), “Samuel Brackett”, encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Beckett

 

 

Toni Morrison

Picture Resource: Margalit Fox, (2019), The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/06/books/toni-morrison-dead.html

References:

·           Dominic Rainsford (2014), "Periods and movement-Studying Literature in English an introduction” Routledge, Pg (73-118)

·           M. J, Esslin, (2020), “Samuel Brackett”, encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Beckett

·           Margalit Fox, (2019), The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/06/books/toni-morrison-dead.html

Form and Genre of Literature

 

The major form and genre of literature are

Poetry: Poetry is a piece of literature that has a meter, verse form, and rhyme in it.

o   Meter is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in the lines of poetry. It can be trochee (the stressed syllable come earlier to unstressed one), iambic meter (unstressed syllable is followed by stressed one), and dactyl (the three-syllable feet-pair of stressed and unstressed sound)

o   Poetry is also written in a group of lines that are composed together to form a stanza. The stanza can be quatrain (have four lines), sestet (have six lines), octet (have eight lines), or Spenserian stanza. (one iambic pentameter comes earlier to eight iambic hexameter).

o   Rhyme is considered the most crucial characteristic of poetry, which is the arrangement of words with respect to sound.

For example, the famous poems are ‘The Good Morrow’ by John Donne and “The Tyger” by William Blake. The following stanza from ‘The Tyger’ has all meter, verse, and rhyme in it.

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

 

William Blake

Picture Resource: Jstor Daily (2019), https://daily.jstor.org/william-blake-radical-abolitionist/

 

John Donne

Picture Resource: Biography, (2020), https://www.biography.com/writer/john-donne

 

Prose Fiction: According to Merriam Webster (1828), “a literary medium distinguished from poetry especially by its greater irregularity and variety of rhythm and its closer correspondence to the patterns of everyday speech” is known as prose. Rainsford (2014) says that prose fiction must have a narrative that can be metanarrative, epistolary, or free indirect discourse.  The narrative for prose fiction always has a plot, round or flat characters, and a setting where the event takes place. Prose fiction is further categorized into sub-genre based on the text’s length. These sub-genres are;

·       Novel: According to Dominic Rainsford, “Novel is a kind of fictional narrative that is long enough to be published as a book.” For example, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

                                                        Jane Austen

Resource: Biography (2020), https://www.biography.com/writer/jane-austen

 

·       Short story: It is sub-genre of prose fiction which is short in length and can be read in a single sitting. For example, Tell-tale heart by Edgar Allan Poe.

                                   

                                                     Edgar Allan Poe

Picture Resource: Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/story/the-mysterious-death-of-edgar-allan-poe

 

·       Novella: Short novels and long short stories are called a novella. It consists of 80 pages. For example, Animal farm by George Orwell.

 

Film: It is different from other kinds of literature because of its dramatic context. Moreover, films are played in cinema and have characters, plot, narration, dialogue, stage directions, acts, scenes, and shots in them. In films and plays, the images give narration while in novels, the narration is given by description. Similarly, the camera is considered as a narrator in the film. An example for the film is “Moby Dick (1956)”

                 

                         A scene from the movie ‘Moby Dick’

Picture Resource: Pete Laure, MOVIE REVIEW | Moby Dick, https://boredanddangerousblog.wordpress.com/2016/05/09/movie-review-moby-dick-1956/

 

Plays: Plays are performed in the theater. Plays that are written for television are known as a drama which is fictional or imaginative works that are recognized through performance or play-acting. These are different from the literary texts that are meant for reading as dramatic monologue has lyrics and narration. The plays have stage direction (current dramas have more stage direction than early modern dramas) and dialogue in them. For example, Sophocles’ Antigone and Shakespeare’s play Macbeth are famous plays.

 

                                            

                                                              Sophocles

Picture Resource: https://www.ancient-literature.com/greece_sophocles.html

References:

    i.         Dominic Rainsford (2014), "Form and Genre- Studying Literature in English An introduction”-Routledge (Pg 23-69)

  ii.         https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prose

 iii.         Pete Laure, MOVIE REVIEW | Moby Dick, https://boredanddangerousblog.wordpress.com/2016/05/09/movie-review-moby-dick-1956/

What is Literature?

 

Literature is a sort of writing that has some form, content, imagination, creativity, subjectivity, artistry, and greatness. It never existed from the starting, but individuals concocted and made it on different occasions, and eventually, it provides us entertainment and message. A literary text can be in the form of a monologue, but the words a writer chooses should be framed and must have some form and meaning to it. Furthermore, literature requires mental work from a reader to figure out what the author is trying to say. Literary text can either be a first-person narrative (tells the story from the narrator’s perspective) or third person narrative (third-person pronoun is used). The first-person narrative in a literary text either represents the author or any other person from the world or some imaginary character that may or may not exist. But it should be kept in mind that the persona ‘I’ does not always describe the author’s perspective. For example, in ‘Philosophy and mirror of nature,’ the writer has not discussed his view and kept himself away from getting involved in each piece of literature. Literature is writing in which the authors do not appear and let the reader understand the text as D.H Lawrance says, “Never trust the artist, trust the tale.” The famous literary works are “Old man and the sea” by Earnest Hemingway and “Bleak House” by Charles Dicken.”

 Rainsford, who is the writer of this book, exquisitely writes an excerpt that argues that literature is a constituent of “allegory and irony, play,” and these literature manifestations are in-between “form and meaning” which build meaningful debate between reader and writers. And the reader is always uncertain about interpreting that specific text through objective and subjective critique.  (Rainsford, 2014)

Earnest Hemingway

 

Picture Resource: Biography, (2020), https://www.biography.com/writer/ernest-hemingway

 

 

Charles Dicken

Picture Resource: Phillip Collins (2020), “Charles Dicken” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Dickens-British-novelist

References:

    i.         Dominic Rainsford (2014), "Beginnings, what is literature, and who does it belong to? - Studying Literature in English An introduction-Routledge” (Pg 8-14)

  ii.         Biography, (2020), https://www.biography.com/writer/ernest-hemingway

 iii.         Phillip Collins (2020), “Charles Dicken” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Dickens-British-novelist