WBSSC

                                                               Prasenjit Sarkar (M.A. WBSU)
Contact: 9432820215

Arms and the Man

1.     Comment on the title of the drama ‘Arms and the Man’.
Or Comment on the sources of the drama ‘Arms and the Man’.
Bernard Shaw borrowed the title from the opening line of Virgil’s great epic Aeneid, which reads as follows: “Arma virumque cano", meaning “Of arms and the man I sing”. Shaw’s obvious purpose was to satirise and puncture the inflated balloons—the romantic ideas about war and love.
2.      What is “drama of ideas”? Would you classify ‘Arms and the Man’ as a drama of ideas?
Or, Is ‘Arms and the Man’ a problem play?
Or, is ‘Arms and the Man’ a radicalist propaganda?

A drama of ideas or a problem play concerns itself with the problems of life—the maladies of society. The dramatist presents those vividly before the audience/readers with a view to bringing about radical changes in the real situation. Arms and the Man can definitely be classified as a drama of ideas since it deal s with the undesirable presentation of the romantic concept of love and war.
3.      Do you consider Bluntschli a Shavian hero/an anti-hero/numeric hero/anti-romantic hero?
Bernard Shaw deliberately created Bluntschli as an anti-hero or unheroic hero, who exposes the false romantic ideas of love and war. He brings all the characters round back to the practical problems of life, doing which, he shows that he is truly heroic in the sense that happiness actually lies in that. He is radically rational and logical in his actions and views about life.
4.     Character of Sergius: a foil to Bluntschli/a Byronic hero/romantic fool/romantic idiot.
G. B. Shaw created Saranoff Sergius as a romantic type made famous by the craze of Byronism in Europe, as a foil to Bluntschli in an obvious attempt to expose the hollowness of the conception of love and war, which, the character of the former believes to live by. Shaw shows that, in reality, Sergius is a romantic fool, a coward, full of contradictions. In spite of his higher love for Raina, he flirts with a maid-servant louka. In practical affairs, he fails utterly.
5.     Character of Raina:
Shaw presents Raina as a young girl with as head full of false conceptions of love and war. But very quickly she learns the truth as she comes in contact with Bluntschli whom she rightly chooses as her husband free from all the illusions. But above all, Shaw endows her with all the attributes of a woman, of a mother, which Shaw later on necessary for the creation of Superman.
6.     Character of Louka:
From the very beginning Louka knows her worth and judges all other characters correctly. With her physical charm, practical calculations and feminine tricks, she succeeds in winning over Sergius who in the beginning looked upon her as a mere maid at his disposal for flirting. Ultimately she boldly stands upright against the whole family to save her honour and win her object, Sergius.
7.     Character of Nicola:
Louka flirtingly describes Nicola as a man with the “soul of a servant”. It is true that he is of servile nature; yet Bluntschli describes him as the “ablest man in Bulgaria”. He is free all the illusions. He leads his life calculating for specific purpose of achieving his financial freedom. Above all, he knows himself and others very well.
8.     Raina: Some soldiers are afraid to die.
The Man: All of them...It is our duty to live as long as we can.
Compare and contrast the views of the speakers.
Or, Why does the man say that “It is our duty to live as long as we can”?
Or, How does Bluntschli counter the views of Raina?

Raina, under the influence of her romantic conception of heroism, mocks at Bluntschli. She thinks as he was afraid to die, he escaped from the field. Bluntschli, an experienced soldier, tells her that everybody is afraid to die, and that no soldier should sacrifice a precious possession as life for a false conviction in heroism.
9.     I thought you might have remembered the great scene where Ernani flying...an old Castilion noble”.
Who is the speaker? How does she find similarity between the conditions of Ernani and Bluntschli?
In the opera Ernani by the Italian composer G. Verdi, the hero Ernani runs away from his enemies and takes refuge in the castle of his rival in love, Ruy Yomet, who refuses to hand over him to his enemies. Raina thinks that Bluntschli’s taking refuge in Petkoff’s house is comparable with that of Ernani.
10.Character of Catherine:
Catherine, a housewife of over forty years, is a typical fashionable ragging wife, who, in spite of her false romantic conceptions of love, war, patriotism and aristocracy, bears some secrets with herself. She is also a typically concerned mother, whose aim in life is now to marry her daughter off to a rich aristocratic groom.
11.Character of Major Petkoff:
Petkoff is a typical husband about fifty. His life in the military has made him a coarse and proud man who can easily be duped by the women at home. He proves to be an affectionate husband and father.
12.“What a man! Is he a man!”
Who said this and about whom? Why did he say so?
After his engagement with Raina is made final, Bluntschli gives necessary instructions for sending off the infantry of Timok division. He requests Sergius not to get married until he returns and he promises to arrive “punctually at five in the evening on Tuesday fortnight.” Sergius is amazed at his businesslike attitude and almost superhuman efficiency. That is why he says this about him.
13.What is the kind of morality G. B. Shaw wants to propagate through the play?
Shaw believes that moral ideals are reflections of past social needs. Modern man has outgrown such needs and therefore the ideals of the past will cause unhappiness. What produces the most good and happiness should be regarded as moral. Such natural morality cannot be systematised into rules.
 
14.What does Shaw mean by ‘Byronism’ in the play?
Lord Byron, an English poet, the author of Child Harold’s Pilgrimage and Don Juan revolted against the conventional society of the day, against hypocrisy and oppression. Sergius’s Byronism is shown in his contempt for everything to do with caution, prudence, commerce and middleclass. He is moody, aristocratic and has an exaggerated sense of humour and also in his sensual fickleness. He has also like Byron a confused mixture of various personalities.
15.“Soldiering is the coward’s art of attacking mercilessly when you are strong and keeping out of harm’s way when you are weak” Who says this? Why does he think so? Is he honest about his claims?
Sergius accidentally won a battle in an unscientific and impractical manner. That is why he was not promoted to higher rank. To protest against this, he tells Catherine that he gave up the job. Now he intends to use his accidental victory to prove his heroism, which, in reality, is false.
16.“If pity is akin to love, gratitude is akin to other thing.”
Why does the speaker say this? What does he mean by the ‘the other thing’?
As Raina charges Bluntschli of his ingratitude and betrayal of faith by making the incident public, he answers that if pity leads to love, gratitude leads to hatred.
17.“You are a romantic idiot”
Who says this? Is her opinion justified?
Or, How does Shaw prove his theory that it is the woman who chases and chooses the man in the play?

In spite of his vast experience Bluntschli commits a mistake regarding the exact age of Raina. This enrages Raina. She succeeds in showing that he has not been able to know all woman. On the other hand, Raina knows all about him perfectly and has marked him and has been pursuing him for a long time. In fact, as a woman she outsmarts Captain Bluntschli.
18.Is the play solely a satire on love and heroism? Justify.
Shaw’s play’s is not limited to a demonstration of the utility of rational behaviour. If so, Raina would not have saved Bluntschli or Bluntschli would not have returned to the Petkoffs. Certainly there is romance and bravery enough in the play. Shaw is not criticising love, impulse, generosity or bravery; he is showing the foolishness of acting by false systems of behaviour.
19.What did Bluntschli say about the old and new soldier?
Bluntschli informs Raina quite unexpectedly and contrary to her romantic conceptions of heroism that experienced and practical soldiers know that food is more valuable in the battlefield than ammunition. He also means to say that old soldiers act from sagacity and prescience, while the young ones conduct themselves foolishly and sometime recklessly.
20.“This is a better weapon than a revolver”.
Who is the speaker and what is the ‘better weapon’?
According Bluntschli, Raina cloak is the better weapon that a revolver because without it, Raina will not be able to dress herself properly and that will prevent her from permitting Bulgarians to enter her room. So he will be safe as long as he has her cloak with him.


                                                                                                              Prasenjit Sarkar (M.A. WBSU)
Contact: 9432820215



Ulysses --- Alfred, Lord Tennyson [1809–1892]

"Ulysses" was written by Tennyson in 1833 and it was published with his Poems in 1842.

It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.

I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
Life to the lees; all times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea: I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known; cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honour'd of them all;
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy,
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world, whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!
As tho' to breathe were life. Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains: but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

    This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
To whom I leave the scepter and the isle—
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil
This labour, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and thro' soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.

    There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:
There gloom the dark broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me—
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads—you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Summary


Ulysses (Odysseus) declares that there is little point in his staying home “by this still hearth” with his old wife, doling out rewards and punishments for the unnamed masses who live in his kingdom.

Still speaking to himself he proclaims that he “cannot rest from travel” but feels compelled to live to the fullest and swallow every last drop of life. He has enjoyed all his experiences as a sailor who travels the seas, and he considers himself a symbol for everyone who wanders and roams the earth. His travels have exposed him to many different types of people and ways of living. They have also exposed him to the “delight of battle” while fighting the Trojan War with his men. Ulysses declares that his travels and encounters have shaped who he is: “I am a part of all that I have met,” he asserts. And it is only when he is travelling that the “margin” of the globe that he has not yet traversed shrink and fade, and cease to goad him.

Ulysses declares that it is boring to stay in one place, and that to remain stationary is to rust rather than to shine; to stay in one place is to pretend that all there is to life is the simple act of breathing, whereas he knows that in fact life contains much novelty, and he longs to encounter this. His spirit yearns constantly for new experiences that will broaden his horizons; he wishes “to follow knowledge like a sinking star” and forever grow in wisdom and in learning.

Ulysses now speaks to an unidentified audience concerning his son Telemachus, who will act as his successor while the great hero resumes his travels: he says, “This is my son, mine own Telemachus, to whom I leave the scepter and the isle.” He speaks highly but also patronizingly of his son’s capabilities as a ruler, praising his prudence, dedication, and devotion to the gods. Telemachus will do his work of governing the island while Ulysses will do his work of travelling the seas: “He works his work, I mine.”
In the final stanza, Ulysses addresses the mariners with whom he has worked, travelled, and weathered life’s storms over many years. He declares that although he and they are old, they still have the potential to do something noble and honourable before “the long day wanes.” He encourages them to make use of their old age because “ ’tis not too late to seek a newer world.” He declares that his goal is to sail onward “beyond the sunset” until his death. Perhaps, he suggests, they may even reach the “Happy Isles,” or the paradise of perpetual summer described in Greek mythology where great heroes like the warrior Achilles were believed to have been taken after their deaths. Although Ulysses and his mariners are not as strong as they were in youth, they are “strong in will” and are sustained by their resolve to push onward relentlessly: “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

 

Form


This poem is written as a dramatic monologue: the entire poem is spoken by a single character, whose identity is revealed by his own words. The lines are in blank verse, or unrhymed iambic pentameter, which serves to impart a fluid and natural quality to Ulysses’s speech. Many of the lines are enjambed, which means that a thought does not end with the line-break; the sentences often end in the middle, rather than the end, of the lines. The use of enjambment is appropriate in a poem about pushing forward “beyond the utmost bound of human thought.” Finally, the poem is divided into four paragraph-like sections, each of which comprises a distinct thematic unit of the poem.

 

Commentary


In this poem, written in 1833 and revised for publication in 1842, Tennyson reworks the figure of Ulysses by drawing on the ancient hero of Homer’s Odyssey (“Ulysses” is the Roman form of the Greek “Odysseus”) and the medieval hero of Dante’s Inferno. Homer’s Ulysses, as described in Scroll XI of the Odyssey, learns from a prophecy that he will take a final sea voyage after killing the suitors of his wife Penelope. The details of this sea voyage are described by Dante in Canto XXVI of the Inferno: Ulysses finds himself restless in Ithaca and driven by “the longing I had to gain experience of the world.” Dante’s Ulysses is a tragic figure who dies while sailing too far in an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Tennyson combines these two accounts by having Ulysses make his speech shortly after returning to Ithaca and resuming his administrative responsibilities, and shortly before embarking on his final voyage.

However, this poem also concerns the poet’s own personal journey, for it was composed in the first few weeks after Tennyson learned of the death of his dear college friend Arthur Henry Hallam in 1833. Like In Memoriam, then, this poem is also an elegy for a deeply cherished friend. Ulysses, who symbolizes the grieving poet, proclaims his resolution to push onward in spite of the awareness that “death closes all” (line 51). As Tennyson himself stated, the poem expresses his own “need of going forward and braving the struggle of life” after the loss of his beloved Hallam.

The poem’s final line, “to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield,” came to serve as a motto for the poet’s Victorian contemporaries: the poem’s hero longs to flee the tedium of daily life “among these barren crags” (line 2) and to enter a mythical dimension “beyond the sunset, and the baths of all the western stars” (lines 60–61); as such, he was a model of individual self-assertion and the Romantic rebellion against bourgeois conformity. Thus for Tennyson’s immediate audience, the figure of Ulysses held not only mythological meaning, but stood as an important contemporary cultural icon as well.

“Ulysses,” like many of Tennyson’s other poems, deals with the desire to reach beyond the limits of one’s field of vision and the mundane details of everyday life. Ulysses is the antithesis of the mariners in “The Lotos-Eaters,” who proclaim “we will no longer roam” and desire only to relax amidst the Lotos fields. In contrast, Ulysses “cannot rest from travel” and longs to roam the globe (line 6). Like the Lady of Shallot, who longs for the worldly experiences she has been denied, Ulysses hungers to explore the untraveled world.

As in all dramatic monologues, here the character of the speaker emerges almost unintentionally from his own words. Ulysses’ incompetence as a ruler is evidenced by his preference for potential quests rather than his present responsibilities. He devotes a full 26 lines to his own egotistical proclamation of his zeal for the wandering life, and another 26 lines to the exhortation of his mariners to roam the seas with him. However, he offers only 11 lines of lukewarm praise to his son concerning the governance of the kingdom in his absence, and a mere two words about his “aged wife” Penelope. Thus, the speaker’s own words betray his abdication of responsibility and his specificity of purpose.