Summary of Matthew Arnold's A Summer Night

            Matthew Arnold is a famous Victorian poet.  His works talk about human life as been spoilt by industries and modernization.  The poem A Summer Night is about the poet’s hatred with human living.  Matthew Arnold finds expression for his troubled feelings, which oscillates between betterment and human fallacy.

            The poet walks alone in a street.  The sound of his feet is echoed to him.  There is absolute stillness around him.  The windows of the houses in the street are all shut.  There is no one to care for the lonely poet.   The windows frown at him.  Moon could be seen between the housetops.  There is heaven behind the moon.

            The poet thinks of similar situation he experienced during the past, wherein he was standing in seashore.  The shore had mountains surrounding it.  The poet had moon as his company even during his past loneliness.  There are three things in common in the past and the present – the moon, the vain throbs of his heart and his restless mind that is moving to and fro.

            In his present, the poet imagines as if the moon is talking to him.  The moon asks the poet why he is still restless as he was in the past.  His heart neither dies nor gives the fiery glow.  It fluctuates to and fro between the passion and the benumbed thought of the world.

            As an answer the poet says that, he do not know how to react to the materialistic world.  The world has two kinds of people.  The first kind of people are those who work and work till the end of their life.  These people are said to live in a prison.  The poet condemns them for not coming out of their prison and relish the world out.  They toil until they become old.  The time when they retire and think of the life they have lost death comes to them.  Their life ends with nothingness.

            The second kinds of people are people who escape from the prison sort of life.  They are said to come out the prison and enjoy life outside.  They try to start life anew at a later stage of their life.  They also suffer because their new life brings them lot of challenges and sorrows.  They would suffer a lot.  The poet explains this with the metaphor of sailing in a sea.  These people face lot of storms and tempests and end their life by sinking in the miseries and empty-handed.

            The poet expresses his anger by asking questions.  He pities human predicament which allows him to choose life either of mad man or of a slave.  The poet seeks to live a better live, which is equivalent to the life at heaven.  He is willing to live a life of transparency and clearness which would make human life better in earth.

Summary of John Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies Lecture 1 -Sesame or The King’s Treasuries

            John Ruskin opens his essay by apologizing for the ambiguity in the title.  He says that the title is ambiguous and figurative in nature.  By king’s treasuries, he means the best books written by the most brilliant authors and not other material things.  The whole of the lecture is about books and the way to read them.

          He says that modern education is materialistic and it aims at advancement.  This aim is narrow.  The speaker says that love of praise and reputation moves humankind primarily.  On the other hand, duty moves them secondarily.  He says that clever persons wish to become high in status.  To achieve higher status we should have sincere and good friends.

          Best books are said to be best friends.  He divides books into four types:

i)             Good books of the hour – has enlightened talks of some persons.  They could talk about travels or in the form of novels.

ii)           Good books for all life

iii)         Bad books of the hour

iv)          Bad books for all life

          Great authors, statesmen, philosophers and thinkers write books for all life.  Nobody can enter into these unless they stoop.  We must enter into the thoughts of such writers, which is a difficult task.  They write long sentences and serious thoughts are hidden in those sentences.  So we should read them carefully.

          An educated man need not know all things but he must learn a few languages.  He must be aware of words and its origins.  English language is of a mongrel breed.  Their words are deceptive.  For example the word condemn originates from the Greek word “damno”.  It does not have the power of the Greek word in it.  A good scholar must know the vital meanings of words.  Ruskin asks the readers to read Max Muller’s “The Science of Languages” to understand English language better.

          Later Ruskin analyses Milton’s Lycidas.  He considers Milton as a great scholar.  Common minds are full of filth and prejudice.  It should be cleansed.  It is necessary to burn the jungle of bad ideas than to sow the fertile ground among thorns.

          The real gift of great writers is that they kindle passion in us.  Passions are good things but they must be tested and disciplined.  In England, passion means low-headed crimes.  Ruskin attacks English people.  They are under the control of passion.  English people spend a lot of money and time in horse and not in books.

          English people despise science.  There are very few utilitarian inventions in England when compared with other countries.  English arts are far behind other countries.  English people destroy nature and create racecourse.  English economics is also very poor.  There is wide gap between the rich and the poor.  The churches and the cathedrals are also current in England.

          Ruskin concluded his lecture by saying that a nation rich in literature would be the best in the world.  A king must be sympathetic to his people and he should encourage people to read more books.

Summary of John Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies Lecture 2 - Of Queen’s Gardens

Introduction             

            The theme of this lecture is how women can possess kingly power conferred to them by education.  If women get education, they become powerful and prestigious.  There is no difference between man and woman; they are complementary to each other.  Aim of education is to get acquainted with the wisest and greatest people through books.

Women in Literature

            Shakespeare is said to have no heroes but only heroines.  Othello, Hamlet, Julius Ceaser, Merchant and Orlando are all weaker than Desdemona, Cordellia, Isabella, Portia and Rosalind.  Tragedy occurs because the heroes does fatal mistake.  Shakespeare’s women are clever and intelligent.  Among Shakespeare’s women Ophelia is weak and Lady Macbeth, Regan and Goneril are wicked.  Thus, Shakespeare views women to be more capable than men.  He also quotes women characters of Walter Scott, Dante and Chaucer.  Women in these literature are real and not imaginary.

Role of Women at Home

            The view that men are always wiser, the thinker and the ruler is wrong.  Women are not dolls.  They play the role of a lover to encourage and guide men.  The lover has sense of duty towards her man.  Their marriage marks the change of temporary service into eternal affair.  Man works out of his home.  He faces a lot of trouble and he is hardened.  Woman is the mistress of home and she is to maintain peace and good atmosphere at home.  A good wife is a home in herself.

Education to Women

            Women must be educated in physical training.  They should gain good health and beauty.  The best poem that reflects this is Wordsworth’s “Education of Nature”.  A woman’s good nature is reflected in her face.  She should never suffer.  She should have three characters – physical beauty, natural instinct of justice and natural tact of love.  She must read history.  Theology is a dangerous science for women.  It makes her superstitious.  Her knowledge must of general nature.  She need not specialize in a specific field.  She must not read romantic novels and poetry, because they contain falsehoods.  Girls should be left in library.  They must be taught music, because music has healing power.  As boys are courageous, girls are also courageous.  They should not develop any complexities like superiority or inferiority complex.

Women in Society and Politics

            Later he talks about role of women in society and politics.  Man’s public duties are extensions of his duties at home similarly woman’s duty could be extended to public.  Man defends the country and a woman defends the family economy.  A woman is a queen, a queen of her lover, queen to her husband and children.  She can be called the “prince of peace”.  Ruskin is not surprised by the loss of life in war but the wasting of women power surprises him.

Conclusion

            The world is a big garden.  There is war all over the garden.  If women walk in the garden there could be change in war.  Women should come into the garden.  They must help men to get shelter.

Summary of John Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies Lecture-3 The Mystery of Life and its Arts

In this lecture, John Ruskin speaks about the mystery of life.  He attempts to touch upon religion, the foundation of art, without talking about the caste.  He also promises to use plain language.

He begins his lecture by saying that life is like a vapour that appears only for a while and then vanishes away.   For many persons life is dark, but they should know that life is not all dark.  For those who have lived a short period of life, life would seem to sad and filled with disappointment.  Such disappointments are like twilights, in which they may see the colours of things with deeper truth.  Ruskin presents himself as an example to this.  In his young years he was disappointed as an aspiring painter but later he was able to prove the excellence of the paintings.

Ruskin says that when human beings are very much disappointed in life they tend to consider life as a mere vanity.  He says that arts can never be right themselves unless their motive is right.  An artist should serve the society.  Art is considered higher than army and navy.  If an army or a navy is lost they could be created once again but arts cannot be done so.

Ruskin says that understanding the real motive of the life is the real mystery.  Not every person can indulge in finding this truth because of his or her daily activities.  Great and wise persons can seek these truths for the future welfare.  These people know how to live.  They could show other how to live and how to make the best of our lives. 

Ruskin speaks of practical men.  They are persons who are without vision.  They consider that life is not a mystery to them.  They could also show us how to live and how to get the best of our lives.  He then talks about persons who are determined to do something woeful.  They do the duty of human dominion even though they are materially poor.  We can learn the clear message of teaching from them.

Arts and labour teach us various lessons.  First lesson is that he more beautiful the art, the more it is essentially the work of people who feel themselves wrong.  The second lesson is arts against misrule bring happiness and arts with lies bring us unhappiness.

Ruskin also speaks of the sadder aspects of hard work.  He talks about people who work all their life and die.  There are three occupations and arts of men.  First is agriculture.  They face a lot of famine and hurdles throughout their lifetime.  Second is weaving.  Second is weaving. Third is building.  It is the strongest and most orderly art.

Summary of Philip Larkin's Born Yesterday

Introduction

            Philip Larkin is a famous English poet.  He has written many poems in English.  “Born Yesterday” is poem that wishes a newborn girl in a different way.

The newborn baby

            The poet describes a newborn girl as tightly folded bud.  He is willing to wish the baby.  The poet says that he would not wish the baby as all others do.  He says that he is going to be normal in wishing the baby.  Normally people wish the baby to be beautiful and have a pleasant life throughout its lifetime.  This is not practical and true, according to the poet.

The Poet’s Wish

            The poet wishes the girl child to have ordinary talents like all other women.  He does not wish the baby to be good looking or ugly looking.  He wishes the baby to be normal like any other human being.  He does not wish the baby to have any particular talent, which would destroy other talents of the baby.  He wishes the baby to be dull, which would bring in more happiness than being possessed with some special talents.

Summary of Anton Chekhov's A work of Art

Introduction

Anton Chekhov is a Russian writer.  He is a doctor.  He has written many short stories and dramas.  A work of Art, a short story, is about a statue, a work of art, which is disliked by many persons for its appearance.

Sasha Smirnov

Sasha Smirnov is a small boy.  He is the only son for his mother.  When the story opens runs in the streets with an object wrapped in a newspaper.  He goes to Dr. Koshelkov and unwrap the statue.  He presents the statue (candelabrum) to the doctor, as a thanking note for saving his life from a dangerous disease.  The doctor, at first, does not accept the idea of gifting by saying that he did his work and nothing extraordinary.

Dr. Koshelkov’s Reaction

Sasha compels the doctor to have the candelabrum with him.  The statue is made of bronze.  It has a couple of girls dressed like Eve.  The doctor admires the beauty of the candelabrum but he refuses to accept it.  He says that the candelabrum is not meant for public display.  The statue is obscene.  He also says that he is a family man and his children and many women visit him.  Sasha turns a deaf ear for all these reasons of the doctor.  Finally, the doctor is compelled to accept the gift.

The lawyer’s reaction

Sasha leaves the place happily by advising the doctor to see the statue just a work of art and not as a piece of obscenity.  He decides to give it to the lawyer, Ukhov, his friend, who never gets money for the legal services he does for the doctor.  He goes to lawyer and presents him thinking that he will not object the statue because he is a bachelor.  Ukhov says that his mother, his clients would come often and his servants may laugh at him.  Unmindful of his miserable cries the doctor leaves the candelabrum and goes off.

Shashkin’s reaction

The lawyer, in turn, bestows the candelabrum upon his friend Shashkin, a stage comedian. He gives the candelabrum when the comedian is in the sets. Everybody laughs at the comedian.  He closes the door and stays alone with the statue to avoid being ridiculed.  He is unwilling to talk with the visitors.  The wigmaker advises the comedian to sell the statue at an antique shop, run by an old woman.  Shashkin agrees to the advice and he sells the candelabrum at the shop.

Conclusion

Sasha and his mother run the antique shop.  The next day Sasha runs to the doctor carrying the candelabrum.  He goes to the doctor and presents it to him saying that the statue has a pair and thereby no one would think badly of the doctor.  The doctor’s jaw drops on hearing this.