Summary of Bacon’s “Of Friendship”

 

Introduction

Bacon is considered as the father of English prose.  He has written many prose pieces on various topics.  His language is to the point and short.  He uses powerful words.  In almost all his prose pieces, he tries to prove himself as an educated scholar.  He quotes Latin and Greek works and myth casually to prove his knowledge.  The prose “Of Friendship” shares Bacon’s ideas and views about friendship.

 

Lonely People

Bacon begins the essay by quoting Aristotle, who once said that people who are alone are either god or a beast.  He calls a lone human to be a beast because when we are alone we would hate society and behave like animals.  Bacon does not accept a lonely man to be godly because they cheat people in the name of higher conversation.  Bacon claims that people who are in crowd also would feel alone and look at others as pictures and mere sounds.  This is true for people living in big cities.  When a city is big, solitude is also big.

 

Principle Fruit of Friendship

The major advantage of friendship is that it makes us to share our heart in an open way.  It is a medicine that cures our hear.  We share our griefs, joys, hopes, suspicions and counsels with a true friend.

 

Friendship in the Past

In the past, kings would spend money over people and make them friends.  They raise their servants and ordinary people s their friends.  According to Bacon, such friendship should not be maintained.  He gives the example of Sylla and Pompey, Ceaser and Brutus, Augustus and Agrippa, Septimius Severus and Plautianus etc. All these men tasted a bitter fruit of friendship. 

 

First Fruit of Friendship

Friendship increases joy.  It reduces the intensity of sorrow.  If a man shares his happiness with a friend he feels more happy.  If he shares his sorrow, he feels lighthearted.

 

Second Fruit of Friendship

The second fruit of friendship is about understanding.  Friendship brings light when we are darkness or in confusion.  A friend is therefore a counselor.  He helps us to come out of our confusion.  It is better to share our problem with our friend than to meditate for a whole day.  If we are in a trouble we should think critically and friends would help us with our thought.  Friendship will help us and guide us.

 

The Final Fruit of Friendship

            The last fruit of friendship is the multi-purpose of friendship.  Friends are helpful to us in many ways.  For example when a friend dies at an early age, it is our duty to continue the noble works of our friend in his remembrance.  If we cannot talk something openly with our close relations, a friend can do that for us.  A friend is far better than any relation is.

 

Conclusion

Bacon concludes the essay by comparing life with a stage.  A stage needs many actors and a person cannot perform on his own.  If a man does not have friends it is better he exit from the stage.

Summary of Abraham Lincoln's " A Letter From Abraham Lincoln to His Son’s Teacher"

Introduction

Abraham Lincoln was the President of America.  His father was a hard working cobbler.  Lincoln worked harder than his father and he became the President.  After becoming the President, he fought for the equality of people and brought peace between the black and the white people.  “A Letter From Abraham Lincoln to His Son’s Teacher” is a letter written by Lincoln to his son’s teacher.  This letter shows Lincoln’s vision and his idea about real education.

Theme of Abraham Lincoln’s Letter

Abraham Lincoln’s son joins school for the first time.  Lincoln writes a letter to his teacher explaining what education is and his vision for the younger generation.  In his letter, Lincoln wants the teacher to teach his son not only subjects and books but to teach life.  He wants the teacher to teach him gently.  His son should learn that 10 cents earned is valuable than a dollar found.  It is good to fail than to cheat.  His son must not envy others.  He should learn to be glorious in failure and sad in success.

Teaching Faith, Love and Courage

            Lincoln says that to live life we need faith, love and courage.  He does not want his son to learn just from books but to go out and learn from nature.  His son should know that every scoundrel has a hero, for an enemy there is a friend and for every bad politician there is a leader.  His son must be courageous to be impatient and patient to be brave.  He must have faith in himself, so that he will have faith in mankind.

Idea of Listening

            Lincoln wants his son to listen to all people.  He should not believe in whatever he hears.  His son should filter what he hears and take only good things.  He must be unique.  He must believe himself and not follow the crowd.  He must be confident with his talents and brains.

 

Conclusion

            Through this letter Lincoln not only orders the teacher but teaches life to all of us.  Though this letter was written long back, it still holds truth and is applicable even today.

Summary of George Bernard Shaw's " Spoken English and Broken English"

Introduction

George Bernard Shaw is a famous English dramatist.  He has written many plays.  Most of his plays are called problem plays or social dramas because they deal with social issues.  Shaw tries to give solutions to social problems.  “Spoken English and Broken English” is a speech given by Shaw at BBC.  This talk is about spoken English.  Shaw tries to define and simplify what spoken English is.

 

Shaw’s Views on the BBC Committee

Shaw opens his speech by saying that the target audiences of his speech are foreigners who want to speak English and the native people, who want to speak perfect English.  Shaw says that there is no such thing called as correct English.  No two British persons speak the same way.  Shaw is included in the BBC to show the correct pronunciation of words.  His chairman is a Poet Laureate.  One of the members is an actor, who delivers dialogue in a fine way.  Shaw is selected because he is a playwright and a good speaker.  Shaw says that the committee members differ with themselves in pronouncing words like ‘yes’ and ‘no’.  Shaw himself is from Ireland and other members are from different countries.

 

Spoken English – Broken English

Shaw says that there is a variety of English.  People speak different English in public and different English at home.  In his home, Shaw’s wife would say that he always mumbles.  Shaw asks the listeners to eavesdrop on a couple through a keyhole on how they speak.  After some time we should knock on the door and enter the room and we would see that their language is entirely different.

 

Shaw’s Warning to Foreigners

If a foreigner visits England and he speaks good English, he would not be understood by the native speakers.  His English will have a different accent.  Even when he speaks correct English the native speaker will think him to be a beggar or a trickster.  Shaw advises a foreigner to speak in broken English because he will find many people to help him.  Shaw also warns people not to speak correct English because it would affect the sentiments of the native people.

 

Conclusion

Through this speech, Shaw simplifies English speech.  He proves that there is no correct English but only acceptable English.

Summary of Shakespeare's "All The World’s A Stage"

 

Introduction

William Shakespeare is the most famous English writer.  He has written many dramas, sonnets, and a few long poems.  He is the most translated English dramatist.  He is popular even today for his variety and characters.  “All The World’s A Stage” is an excerpt from Shakespeare’s famous play, “As You Like It”.  This poem is a monologue spoken by a character named melancholic Jacques.

 

Life is a drama

Shakespeare, as a dramatist, compares life with a stage.  He extends this metaphor throughout the poem.  Shakespeare compares the world with a stage.  All men and women are actors in the play.  Every human being has their entry and exit.  Every stage has an entrance and exit; similarly, our lives have birth as an entry and death as an exit.  Every person plays different roles in their short period of life.  According to Shakespeare, everyone plays seven different stages or roles in our lifetime.

 First Stage

The first stage is our infancy.  In this stage, we cry in the nurse’s arms.  We mewl like a kitten.  We vomit the milk that we drink.  We are totally dependent on others.

 Second Stage

In the second stage, we become a schoolboy.  The school boy’s face shines in the morning.  He carries a huge school bag like a snail.  He goes to school without willingness.

 Third Stage

In the third stage, we play the part of a lover.  Men fall in love with women.  They glow like a burning furnace.  They spend most of their time writing poems.  Most of the poems are about the eyebrows of their lady love. 

 Fourth Stage

This is the next stage of our life.  We play the role of a soldier.  In this stage, a man takes strange oaths.  He has a beard like a leopard.  He is jealous of honor.  He is quick in quarreling with people.  He stands bold and proud even before a canon.  He looks for a quick reputation and fame.

 Fifth Stage

            We become mature in this stage, after experiencing half of our life.  We must have read many books and try to prove ourselves as a judge.  We have a formal beard and a round belly at this stage.  We try to speak wisely.

 Sixth Stage

In this stage, a man steps into his old age.  He becomes lean and his clothes become loose.  He wears slippers and pantaloons.  He becomes physically weak.  He wears spectacles on his nose.  He has a purse in his side to hold coins and money.  His loud voice becomes shrill and feeble.  His speech is like whistling.

 Seventh Stage

This is the last stage of human life.  Shakespeare calls life a ‘strange eventful history.  In this last stage, we become very weak.  Shakespeare calls our last stage a second childishness.  We lose our memory, teeth, eyesight, taste, and our life and breath. 

 Conclusion

            Shakespeare proves himself as a genius through this short monologue.  He is able to explain the philosophy of life and life cycle in a very simple way.  He has compared life with drama, which is his profession.

Summary of Walt Whitman's O Captain! My Captain!

Walt Whitman is a famous American poet.  He has written many poems on the theme of democracy.  O Captain!  My Captain is an elegy written on the death of Abraham Lincoln, the President of America.  In this poem, Whitman compares Lincoln as captain of a ship that returns after the American Civil war.

The poem opens with the poet addressing the captain, Abraham Lincoln, who is returning to the shore after winning the civil war.  The poet imagines that he is standing among the people on the shore waiting to celebrate the captain’s arrival and victory.  The ship has passed through all hardships and it is grim and daring.  In the deck of the ships, the captain is lying dead and cold.  The hearts of the people are bleeding with drops of red blood.

The poet asks the captain to rise up from death on hearing the bells and bugles.  He wants the captain to wake up and see the flag, bouquets, the wreaths and the shore that is crowded with people.  The people on the shore are waiting eagerly to look at the victorious captain.

The poet addresses the captain as his father and asks him to wake up from death.  It is more like a dream for him to see the captain cold and dead in the ship.  For all the cries and calls, the captain does not open his lips, which has become very pale.  There is no pulse in his arms and the father does not feel the poet’s touch.

The ship reaches the shore and is anchored safely.  The voyage ends with the people after a victorious journey for the sake of the people.  The ship stops after achieving its objectives.  These lines could also be taken metaphorically.  The ship’s voyage represents the life of Abraham Lincoln, which has come to a halt after the strenuous and victorious journey.  The poet and the crowd are at a loss.  They do not know how to respond to this situation.  They came to celebrate the victory of the war and their captain but the captain is dead.  The poet asks them to ring the bells and he walks to the deck to see the captain, who is cold and dead.

Though the poem is an elegy, Whitman uses many figures of speech like extended metaphor, transferred epithet, simile, etc. to convey his grief in an effective way.  The poet, through this poem, expresses his true love and affection of the people of America towards their president.

Summary of William Wordsworth's Tables Turned

 

 

Introduction

            William Wordsworth is a famous English poet.  He has written many poems about nature.  People call him a nature poet.  Tables Turned is a short poem about the goodness of nature.  The poem is n the form a conversation with a friend who supports books.  Wordsworth argues that nature teaches better lessons than books.

Nature – A Better Teacher

            The poet opens the poem by disturbing his friend, who is busy reading a book.  He asks his friends to stand up, go away from the books, so that he does some physical activity, and stay away from becoming fat.  He asks his friend not to toil and trouble with books; instead, he can clear his looks by spending some time with nature.

            Wordsworth describes the world outside the books.  He looks at the tall mountains and the colourful green fields.  He also enjoys the different colours of the evenings.  The outside world offers a colourful life. 

            He advises his friend to listen to the song of the linnet (a small bird).  The song is sweeter and it offers him more wisdom than what a book gives.  Books are dull, compared to nature.  The throstle, a small bird, is better preacher than some moral books.  Nature is always a better teacher.  Nature is full of wealth and health.  It gives happiness to all people who approach it.

            A tree can teach better moral lessons than a sage can.  Learning from nature is always sweet.   It is human beings, who murder nature to understand it.

Conclusion

            The poet concludes the poem by asking his friend to close all the books on science and art.  He confirms that books do not offer any formal education.  He asks his friend and the readers to come to nature with a open heart and to learn by simply watching the happenings nature.

PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION

 

What is Communication?

Communication is an English word that has its origin from Greek word “communicare”, which means to share.  We communicate every second of our life.  We share our emotions and thoughts with others by using many ways.  Communication could be best defined as “everything we do is communication”.  We communicate through speech or writing, which are a set of symbols or lexemes created and used by human beings.  We use words to communicate.  Usually the words, we use in our communication, are compared with the tip of an iceberg.  Tip of an iceberg is seen at the surface of the sea but its foundation is hidden inside the sea.  The foundation is usually very strong and well rooted.  So the words we use is just the tip, very less in amount, and other factors like volume, tone, eye contact, etc convey more than the words we use.  Real communication is reaching out to people in the right way.  It is the message received and not what is said.

 

Process of Communication

 

 

The communication process starts with the formation of ideas by the sender, who then transmits the message through a channel or medium to the receiver. The receiver gives the feedback in the form of a message or appropriate signal in the given time frame to continue the communication cycle.

 

Components of Communication

1.      Context

Context is a broad field.  Every message we communicate has a context.  Context could be the message we are going to communicate and it depends of country, culture, organization and the persons who are involved in the communication.

 

2.      The Message

The message is what a speaker is going to convey or share with his audience.

 

3.      The Speaker/Sender/Encoder

Sender is the person who communicates the idea, information, material, etc.  He/she encodes the message, which he/she is going to convey, in the form of words, gestures, appearance, mime, etc.

 

4.      Medium

Medium is also called as channel.  A medium in communication is by what means a speaker is going to convey his message.  A medium could be telephone, email, message, facebook timeline, etc.

 

5.      The Audience/Receiver/Decoder

The receiver is the person who is going to receive the message is said.  Receiver is called as a decoder because he/she is the person who is going to receive the message and understand it in his/her own terms and respond.

 

Types of Communication

            The following are the different types of communication:

1.      Verbal communication

Communication, which is done by using words, is called as verbal communication.  Verbal communication is divided as oral communication and written communication.  Oral communication is information spoken by mouth or speech.  The following are the kinds of oral communication:

a)      Monologue

Monologue is a speech made by one person expressing his thoughts to the audience.  There will be silent listeners when this person conveys his ideas.  There are two types of monologues.  Exterior monologue is when the speaker speaks aloud to the listener and interior monologue is when the speaker speaks as if to himself.

b)      Soliloquy

Soliloquy is also like interior monologue, wherein a speaker expresses his inner thoughts, when no one is there to listen to him.

c)      Dialogue

Dialogue is a formal exchange of ideas between two persons.

d)     Short conversation

Short conversations are informal spoken exchange between two persons.  Body language plays an important role in short conversations.

e)      Long conversation

Long conversations happen in both formal and informal ways.

Written communication is by means of written symbols.

 

2.      Nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication takes place through sending and receiving wordless messages.  Messages sent through body language, gestures and postures are nonverbal.  Eye contact with the audience is the simplest thing you can do to establish a relationship.  Eye contact serves the following purposes:

It establishes that the audience is listening

It indicates receptiveness

It is basic expressive form

It fulfills the ego of the audience

 

3.      Formal communication

Formal communications happens through formal channels and usually through written modes like letters, notice, reports, etc.

The following are the advantages of formal communication:

Fixation of responsibility

Maintaining of the authority relationship in an organization

Disadvantages of formal communication:

It is time consuming

Leads to good deal of distortion

 

4.      Informal communication

Communications that take place outside formal communication are called as informal communication.  It is normally done to maintain and build social relationship.  Informal communication does not follow authority and it need not always be in written mode.

 

Barriers in Communication

Barriers to communication make a communication difficult or misunderstood.  The following are the common barriers in communication:

·         Physical Barrier – include large working areas and the distortions caused by the background noise and other acoustics

·         Perceptual Barrier – happens when we communicate with persons from the other world or culture

·         Cultural Barrier – every group has expressions unique to their culture and this could not be understood or misunderstood by the other group.  Idioms are good examples of this barrier.

·         Language Barrier – when a person uses inappropriate words while conversing or a different language that is unknown to us

·         Gender Barrier – there are different speech patterns between a man and a woman

·         Lack of subject knowledge

·         Stress

 

Overcoming Barriers to Communication

·         Orientation to employees

·         Developing proper interpersonal relationships

·         Protective listening

·         Using proper language

·         Communication through actions and deeds

 

Summary of Robert Browning's The Pied Piper of Hamelin

 

Introduction

Robert Browning is a famous British poet.  He has written many poems, which are more dramatic in form.  The Pied Piper of Hamelin is a poem written for child, William Macready, who was ill.  The poem has a subtitle ‘A Child’s Story’, which suits the purpose.  Browning retells the existing legendary story in a very poetic form.

 

Hamelin and its Troubles with Rat

Hamelin is a town in Brunswick.  River Weser runs near the town.  It is a very pleasant town.  Five hundred years ago, the town was plagued by rats.  Rats were found all over the town.  They disturbed everyone in the town.  They fought with dogs, killed cats, bit babies, ate cheese, drank soup, made nest in men’s hat and jumped on women while they had a chat.  People of Hamelin became restless and they warned the mayor to control the rats, if not he would not be elected the next time.  The mayor called his council and ate a lot but could not provide a solution for the rat menace.

 

The Pied Piper and His Demand

A man, the Pied Piper came to the town and said that he would kill the rats and free the people.  The man was wearing a yellow and red coloured cloth.  He was tall and thin, with loose hair and blue eyes.  Everyone admired him.  The pied piper said that he had been to many places and had killed many scorpions and snakes.  He promised that he would kill the rats from Hamelin and they had to pay him 5000 guilders.  The mayor accepts deal.

 

Rat Compared to Julius Caesar

The pied piper went to the street and played his pipe.  People heard noise from all over the town and almost all kinds of rats from the houses came running in the street.  They followed the piper as though they were charmed.  The piped piper played the music and went to the street and went near river Weser.  All the rats followed him and jumped into the river and they died.  Only one rat, which was stout, escaped from the river.  The rat was stout and it is compared with Julius Caesar, who won death.  The rat was believed to narrate it escape story to all other rats in other towns, by maintaining a personal diary.

 

Piper Changes His Fashion

The piper went to the mayor and asked for the money.  The mayor replied that all the rats were killed and the people were happy and they would not pay 5000 guilders, instead they would only 50 guilders.  The piper became angry and changes his fashion.  He took out his pipe and started to play.  Once again more sound was heard and all the children from every house came running to the street and started to walk behind the piper.  The Hamelin people did not believe their eyes.  They waited for a long time, thinking that the piper would stop playing the music.  The piper started climbing a mountain and it opened and closed.

 

The Lame Boy Debarred

            Almost all children vanished with the piper except for a lame boy.  He walked slowly and was left behind.  The boy was angry because he did not go to the new country.  He dreamt of the country, which his friends would enjoy in his absence.  The lame boy imagined that the country would have gushing water, fruit trees, flowers, brighter sparrows, bees without stings, horses with wings and much such fantasy. 

 

Text in “The Pied Piper of Hamelin”

The people of Hamelin stand helpless.  They send people in all direction to find the lost kids.  Nobody finds the lost children.  The people of Hamelin realized that they could have paid the money to the piper which would not have made them loose their children.  The text in the poem refers to a modern proverb that says, “Heaven’s gate opens to the rich at as easy rate”.  This text has two meanings – if they had paid the money they would not lived a life in hell and the second meaning is the lame boy thought that the other children were living in heaven and it was owned by the piper, who is richer.

 

Conclusion

The poem concludes by saying that there is still a street called the Pied Piper’s Street since 22^nd July 1376.  No one is allowed to play music in the street because it is sign of bad omen.