Tuesday 30 November 2021

Thinking activity : ATale Of a Tub

Hello readers! 

I am Bhavna Sosa, a student of Maharaja Krishna Kumarsinghji Bhavnagar University. This blog is the part of classroom activity that is given by our prof. Vaidehi maam.

A Tale of a Tub by Jonathan Swift :-

A Tale of a Tub written for the universal Improvement of Mankind. Was the first major work written by Jonathan Swift, arguably his most difficult satire and perhaps his most masterly. The Tale is a Prose parody divided into sections each delving into the moral and ethics of the English. Composed between 1694 and 1697. A satire on the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches and English Dissenters, it was famously attacked for its profanity and irreligion, starting with William Wotton, who wrote that the Tale had made a game of " God and Religion, Truth and Moral Honesty, Learning and industry" to show "at the bottom contemptible opinion of every thing which is called Christianity." The work continued to be as an attack on religion well into the nineteenth century.




        " Power is no blessing in itself, except

when it is used to protect the innocent."

Here some discuss the symbols of A Tale of a Tub.

Symbols :-

The Three Coats :-

The Three brothers coats are the central symbol of A Tale of a Tub. Outwardly plain and simple, the coats are the brothers sole inheritance from their father, who promises that they will last for a lifetime if cared for properly. In his will, he warns them against altering the coats in any way. These coats represents the practices of Christianity as originally revealed and commanded by God and as stipulated in the Bible. Like the early Church written about in the New Testament the brothers initially do a good job of sticking to the rules laid down by the will. It isn't long, however, before they are finding ways to excuse themselves from following the will to scupubury when it conflicts with their immediate desires. This behavior is dramatized as a gradual altering of the coats in spite of the father's express with to the contrary.

The individual alternations represent the different ways in which Christianity, in Swift's view, deviated from the practices and beliefs given in the Bible. The" flame - colored satin" that makes up the coats lining, for instance represents the concept of purgatory, regarded in the Catholic tradition as a place of purification for souls not yet worthy of heaven but not condemned to hell. To Swift, an Anglican living in post-Reformation England, this was a false doctrine that lacked any demonstrable basis in scripture. The " indian figures" embroidered on the coats are the status and stained glass image present in many Catholic churches, which Swift saw as incompatible with the Bible's warnings against graven images. By the time the brothers finally realise the error of their ways, their coats have become barely recognisable.

  " Readers maybe divided into three classes the superficial, the ignorant, and the learned and I have with much felicity fitted my pen to the genius and advenge of each."

 Midway through the main narrative, however, Martin and Jack undergo a change of heart when a breach erapt between them and Peter. By showing how the brothers react to this disagreement, Swift praises or criticizes the three main chritian traditions represented in the England of his day. In the pre- Reformation era the brothers were all prone to the same extravagances, adorning their coats with lace, fringe, and many other ornaments. Peters, who represents Catholicism, sticks to those extravagances and even multiplies them; he deliberately avoids consulting the will to see whether he is going astray. Martin, named after Martin Luther, represents the moderate Protestant tradition. He carefully and diligently strips away the forbidden ornaments from his coat while taking care not be harm the undergoing fabric. Where something the original coat, he reluctantly lets it remain.

Jack, in contrast rips away every shred of embroidery and fringe, tearing up the original underlying fabric in the process. His brand of reform, which Swift identifies with the Dissenters, is aggressive, destructive and haphazard. Ultimately, Swift condemns Jack as motivated more by his hatred of Peter than by a concern to live a moral life. He is a reactionary anti-Catholic rather than a Christian in his own right. However and significantly, Jack's extremes end up closely resembling Peter's as the rage warn by the one man come to look like the fringed finery warn by the other. Thus,both are satirized.

The Father's will :-

The father's will represents the Bible, which Swift regards as Christianity's fundamental instruction manual. Swift's paramount claim in A Tale of a Tub is that the Bible should be consulted for basic, immutable guidance on all Church matters. Practices required by the Bible cannot simply be set aside. In their youth, the three brothers adhere to the prescriptions of the will, the happier they seem to be and the more peaceful their consciences are.

All three brothers start off faithfully following the will,but they are gradually corrupted by outside influences. They stray from its obvious intent and, increasingly, from its directly stated rules, becoming ridiculous and superficial in the process. This behavior is provoked by a desire to fit in with the rest of the world, as illustrated in the middle of chapter 2. There are brothers realise that they will have to get creative if they want to give the appearance of following there father's wishes while actually ignoring them. They use Latinate terms to add an aura of respectability to their dubious behavior failing to find permission to change their coats"totidem verbis" ,they start looking " totidem syllabus". Finally, they declare that their father's will allows them to add shoulder knots "totidem literis" because it contains the letters S,H, O, U, L, D, E and R.

Peter, the most scholarly of the brothers, undergoes great intellectual contortions to avoid the document's clear restrictions. In addition to the" totidem literis" episode above, he declares that certain premises must be added to the will or else " multa absurd sequerenture." All of Peter's interpretive practices along with the terms used to describe them, ultimately derive from a Catholic tradition that Swift views as legalistic, insincere, and self-serving.

  " But as human happiness is of a very short

    uration,so in those days were human fashion

           upon which it entirely depends."

 Clearly, Peter is not cast in a good light in A Tale of a Tub. That's not to say, however, that Swift viewed all reforms as equally salutary. Martin successfully obtain their own copy of the will, which gives them the all - important ability to read it for themselves and judge how well they are following it. In itself, Swift implies, vernacular access to the Bible is a good thing, but a person can still go overboard in relying on scripture. To this end, Swift ridicules Jack in chapter 11 for using his father's will as an umbrella,a nightcap, and a bandage the implication being that the Bible should not be viewed as a universal guide to mundane matters, such as diet and health care. Swift's stance seems to be that the Bible is the ultimate authority on Church doctrine and discipline but that it is foolish to see it as a substitute for all earthly wisdom.


Thank you...



Word count :- 1,214




Sunday 21 November 2021

Assignment of metaphysical poetry

 Hello viewers!

Here is my blog about my assignment work.

Name :- Bhavna Sosa

Sem  :-  1

Roll no. :- 4

Enrollment no. :- 4069206420210034

Paper no. :- The Renaissance Literature

Topic :- Metaphysical poetry

Submitted To :- Dilip Barad Sir department of English


* Characteristics of Metaphysical poetry :

Introduction :

 " Metaphysical poets " is a term coined by poet and critic Samuel Johnson,who describes a loose group of English lyric poets of the 17th century, whose work was characterized by  ample use of conceits, guess & speculation about topic as love, religion etc.

These poets were not formally affiliated; most of them did not know each other or read each other's work. Metaphysical poetry is extremely intelligent and witty. It is deeply religious but is also ironical.

It is a little bit different from other types of poetry poems classified in this category do share the same characteristics. They are  all of  highly intellectualised use strange  imagery and contain complicated thoughts.

Meaning & origin : 

The word "meta" means "after". Thus metaphysics deals with the questions that can't be explained by science.

It questions the nature of reality in a philosophical way. Metaphysics can cover a broad range of topics from religious to consciousness. Metaphysics is about exploration & philosophy, not about science & mathematics.

Characteristics :

Themes : 

Metaphysical poetry is spiritual and has often religious themes. Moreover, it focuses on love, as the union of soul.

Literary Devices :

Metaphysical poetry uses metaphors, puns, paradoxes & meter to create drama & tension. In addition, metaphysical poetry uses scientific, medical and legal words  & phrases to create arguments about the philosophical aspect of life.

Poets : 

Metaphysical poets were men of high intellect . They were all graduated from Oxford University or they studied at one of the inns of court in the city of London. With the help of their vast knowledge, they presented new ideas & stories to their readers.

Unclarity : 

Metaphysical poetry is considered highly ambiguous & obscure due to high intellect & knowledge of Metaphysical poets. The poetry is greatly challenging to understand at the first reading. It needs full concentration & full attention to getting to the roots of the matter.

Short poems : 

Metaphysical poetry is considered to be brief and concise. Every line convey a lot of  meanings in a few words. Every word is adjusted in every line like a brick in a wall and conveys the message of the author. Hence there is no wastage of words.

Sayings in the poetry : 

Metaphysical poetry is a vast collection of maxims and sayings. Thus programmatic equality is part and parcel of the metaphysical poetry. John Donne is a pioneer in this regard.

Metaphysical conceits : 

A significant feature of metaphysical poetry is the use of metaphysical conceits. It is the unique quality of metaphysical poetry. A conceit is a comparison of two dissimilar things, which may Ave very little in common. E.g. Abraham Cowley in his poem " The Mistress " compares his love for ladies to his habit of travelling in various countries of the world.

Originality : 

Originality is the hallmark of metaphysical poets. All the metaphysical poets were unique and original in their ideas & thoughts. They didn't follow the path of their contemporary poets. They stood against their contemporaries & followed their own way of writing poetry.

Wit : 

Metaphysical wit is also a noteworthy feature of metaphysical poetry. Metaphysical wit is the expression of one's ideas & thoughts, using aptly & technically, the words & various figures of speech in such a manner as to provide pleasure to the readers. John Donne is called the " "Monarch of Wit " in the history of metaphysical poetry.

Platonic Love : 

Platonic love is another feature of metaphysical poetry. Platonic love means, spiritual love, which is free from elements of physical love.

Conclusion : 

Metaphysical poetry is not intended to be read in a passive way. Its use of paradox, imagery,conceit & wit is meant to awaken the reader. Metaphysical poetry asks the philosophical questions about religion, faith, spirituality & being.


Word count : 644









Thursday 11 November 2021

Sunday reading task : Post truth

 Hello readers! 

We know The term Post truth is the word of the year 2016, So, as the sunday reading task given of Dr. Dilip Barad Sir, I would like to write my blog on the term 'Post truth'. I hope you will enjoy. My blog is below.

Definition of 'Post truth' :-




According to Post truth definition and meaning Collins English Dictionary....

 "A post truth situation is one in which people are less influenced by factual information than by their emotions or by beliefs they already hold."

According to definition Oxford dictionary....

 "Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief."

There are possibilities to have different perspective to see one thing. But we think that the truth is what we can see and  all are wrong. We believe in our beliefs.

Illustration of post truth politics :-

Post truth politics has been applied as a political buzzword to a wide range of political cultures; one article in The Economist identified post truth politics in  Germany, India and the United States.

Germany :-


In December 2016  "postfaktisch" (post factual) was named word of the year by the  Gesellschaft fur deutches sparache  ( German language society) , a rise of right wing populism from 2015 on. Since the 1990s ,"post democracy" was used in sociology more and more.

India :-

Amulya Gopalakrishnan, Columnist for  The Times of India , identified similarities between the Trump and Brexit  campaigns  on the hand, and hot button issues in India such as the Ishrat Jahan cases in ongoing case against Teesta Setalvad on the other, where accusations of forged evidence and historical revisionism  have  resulted in an "ideological impasse."

United States :-

In 2016, the "post truth" label was especially widely used to describe the presidential campaign  of Donald Trump, including by professor Daniel W. Drezner in The Washington Post,  Jonathan Freedland in The Guardian, Chris cillizza in The independent, Jeet Heer  in The New Republic and James Kirchik in the los Angeles Times, and by several professors of government and history of Havard.


Thank you!


Reference :

Post truth definition and meaning Collins English Dictionary

Post truth definition Oxford dictionary

Wikipedia


Word count: 363

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