Saturday, November 17, 2018

Short Question on Volpone .


1. Discuss Volpone as comedy of humor?
Answer:

    The conception of the humor of the medieval age has a great impact in Ben Jonson’s Volpone, especially in the character development. Actually, Volpone is, to many extents, based upon the humor theory. In the play, Volpone, Mosca, Corvino, Corbaccio, Voltore, Sir politic Would be and this imbalance make the play a comedy since these abnormal characters pave the way for making the plot satiric and amusing. Each character is peculiar and singular in his own way. Here Jonson shows that the mental imbalance is more dangerous than physical imbalance as he shows that, the characters Nano, Castrone and androgyno being physically abnormal, are better creatures than the earlier ones. A comedy of humors focuses in characters, each character representing a type of personality. The characters in Volpone are stereotypes. All of the characters are imbalanced as well, so their “humors” are out of balance and they thus act in comical ways. Thus, Volpone is a comedy of humors.

2. Animal imagery in the volpone.
Answer:
     Animal imagery:The animal imagery, that runs alongside the animalistic names of the characters, is very important as it gives us insight into the (corrupt) nature of each character.

By giving them animalistic names, Jonson clearly sees the 'clients' as scavengers, after naming them after birds of prey. He sees their actions in fight for Volpone's wealth as primitive and malicious.

Textual Evidence:
'I shall have instantly my Vulture, Crow, Raven come flying here on the news, to peck for carrion'
'Give me my furs'
'He is not dead' / 'All good symptoms'
'A creature of delight'
'His furs and foot-cloths;waited on by herd-clients'

Character Names:
Most of the characters names' are Itlian words for animals:
Volpone = Fox
Mosca = Parasitic Fly
Voltore = Vulture

Animalistic Imagery in the language.
This beast/animal imagery in the language is used in Volpone to represent the deformity and degeneration of the characters and moral abnormality found in Venice, portraying the city as a hotbed of crime, knavery and lust.

'Begin their visitation! Vulture, kite, Raven, and gor-crow, all my birds of prey, That think me leaving carcass.'
Critical Quotes
'It is difficult to condemn real vultures for behaving like vultures.' - Robert Macdonald.

'In this strongly moralistic play, the presentation of man as a beast - specifically beast and birds of prey - is used as a satirical device' - James M. Welsh Corvino = Crow
Corbaccio = Raven

http://englishliterature24.blogspot.com


3. Characteristic analysis of  lagacy, hunters of Volpone.
Answer:
Three legacy hunters are Voltore, a lawyer; Corbaccio, an old gentleman; and Corvino, a merchant
Voltore
One of the three legacy hunters or carrion-birds—the legacy hunters continually circle around Volpone, giving him gifts in the hope that he will choose them as his heir. Voltore is a lawyer by profession, and, as a result, he is adept in the use of words.
 Voltore is, like all the legacy hunters, named after a carrion-bird. In the case of Voltore, that bird is the vulture; for Corvino, it is the crow, and for Corbaccio, the raven. Voltore is the most pleasant of all the legacy hunters, for he is the least crass and the least obsessed with seeing Volpone die.
His preferential status shows in Mosca's special regard for him: Mosca tries to make sure that Voltore gets enough payment for his services at the Scrutineo in Act IV. But Voltore comes to regret his actions at the Scrutineo. Of course, this regret only comes after he has been denied his inheritance, and it seems to stem directly from his bitterness at Mosca's leapfrogging over him on the social ladder.
And when Volpone whispers to him that he might still get his inheritance, he stops confessinghis lies to the Scrutineo and pretends that he was "possessed" by an evil demon. Theverbal irony is that Voltore, in that statement and action, reveals his greed.
Corbaccio
Another "carrion-bird" circling Volpone, Corbaccio is actually extremely old and ill himself and is much more likely to die before Volpone even has a chance to bequeath him his wealth. He has a hearing problem and betrays no sign of concern for Volpone, delighting openly in (fake) reports of Volpone's worsening symptoms. He goes as far as to testify against his own son. He is finally punished, sent to a monastery, and forced to turn his estate over to his son, Bonario.

Corvino
A greedy, rich merchant and an extremely cruel and dishonorable character, Corvino is Celia's jealous husband. He frequently threatens to do disgusting acts of physical violence to her and her family in order to gain control over her. Yet he is more concerned with financial gain than with her faithfulness, seeing her, in essence, as a piece of property. Corvino is another one of the "carrion-birds" circling Volpone. Corvino is punished in theend for offering up his wife, which results in her returning to her father, with her dowry tripled. Corviono is the third of the "carrion-birds" circling Volpone.

4. Character analysis Volpone Mosca
Answer:
Volpone
Volpone is the protagonist of the play. His name means "The Fox" in Italian. Jonson used him as an instrument of satire of money-obsessed society, and he seems to share in Jonson's satiric interpretation of the events. He is lustful, raffish, and greedy for pleasure.He is a creature of passion, continually looking to find and attain new forms of pleasure,whatever the consequences may be. He is also energetic and has an unusual gift for rhetoric. He worships his money, all of which he has acquired through cons, such as the one he plays on Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino. Volpone has no children, but he has something of a family: his parasite, Mosca, his dwarf, Nano, his eunuch, Castrone, and his hermaphrodite, And rogyno. Mosca is his only true confidante. Volpone hates to make money through honest labour or cold, he loves making it in clever, deceitful ways. This dynamic in his character shapes our reaction to him throughout the play. At times, this hedonism seems fun, engaging, entertaining, and even morally valuable, such as when he is engaged in the con on his fortune hunters. But his attempted seduction of Celia revealsa darker side to his hedonism when it becomes an attempted rape. The incident makeshim, in the moral universe of the play, a worthy target of satire. Through the play, welearn that he is the one who makes the satire but the satire eventually turns back on him,when he becomes a victim of Mosca's "Fox-trap." The reason he is ensnared by Mosca is that he cannot resist one final gloat at his dupes, oblivious to the fact that in doing so, hehands over his entire estate to Mosca. This lack of rational forethought and commitmentto his own sensual impulses is characteristic of Volpone. Therefore, he has threeweaknesses that might make his ‘plots’ fail: the first is his lust for Celia, the second is hisoverconfident behavior, and the last is his complete trust in Mosca.

Mosca
Mosca is Volpone's parasite, a combination of his slave, his servant and his lackey. He is the person who continually executes Volpone's ideas and the one who comes up with the necessary lie whenever needed. In the opening acts, Mosca appears to be exactly what he is described as: a clinging, servile parasite, who only exists for Volpone and through Volpone. In other words, he exists to serve Volpone, and all that Volpone wants he wants.But in Act Three, we have the beginning of his assertion of self-identity, when he begins to grow confident in his abilities. But then this confidence again is left unvoiced, and Mosca seems to go back to being Volpone's faithful servant, helping him get out of the trouble some situation with Bonario and Celia. Mosca himself is possessed by greed, and he attempts to move out of his role as parasite to the role of great beast himself. But his attempt fails, as Volpone exposes them both. Though initially (and for most of the play)he behaves in a servile manner towards Volpone, Mosca conceals a growing independence he gains as a result of the incredible resourcefulness he shows in aiding and abetting Volpone's confidence game. Mosca's growing confidence, and awareness that the

others in the play are just as much "parasites" as he—in that they too would rather live off the wealth of others than do honest work—eventually bring him into conflict withVolpone, a conflict that destroys them both.




Question on Western Civilization.


Western Civilian

1. Struggle between patricians & plebiant.
 Answer:The Struggle of the Orders was a climatic event that took place in the early Roman Republic. It was a conflict between the Patrician and Plebeian classes of Roman Society that saw the Plebeian Class demanding more rights.
The plebeians were the lower class.  They included everyone who was not a patrician.  They were sometimes just called plebs.
The patricians were the upper class. They were the wealthy landowners. All free adult males were citizens, no matter what their class.  In both classes, the oldest male was the paterfamilias or head of the family.  Old age was honored, and women had no rights.  If you could afford them, both classes owned slaves.  The houses of both classes were designed the same way unless you were too poor to own your own home.  Everyone worshipped the same gods, and observed the same festivals and holy days.  Everyone spoke Latin and everyone went to the baths and enjoyed the forum. Plebeians and Patricians rarely mixed socially. For a while, it was illegal for a pleb and patrician to marry. Under the Republic, that law was finally changed. Still, marriages between the classes was rare.

2. Puric wars(1st/2nd/3rd) wars with carthage.
Answer:
The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 BC to 146 BC. At the time, they were some of the largest wars. The term Punic comes from the Latin word Punicus (or Poenicus), meaning "Carthaginian",.
Punic Wars 1st War: First Punic War, also called First Carthaginian War (264–241 bce). First Punic War, also called First Carthaginian War.First of three wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian (Punic) empire. The First Punic War was fought to establish control over the strategic islands of Corsica and Sicily. Finally Carthage surrendered, ceding Sicily and the Lipari Islands to Rome and agreeing to pay an indemnity.
Punic Wars 2nd War: The Second Punic War (aka The Hannibalic War) was fought between Carthage and Rome between 218 and 201 BCE. One must consider the reasons for tensions being high enough to cause a second war so soon after the first had ended. The causes of the war were a result of both Roman and Carthaginian actions. The duration of second war is about 17 years. The second punic war are won by Rome.
Punic Wars 3rd War: The Third Punic War was fought between Carthage and Rome between 149 and 146 BCE. after Carthage technically broke its treaty with Rome by declaring war against the neighboring state of Numidia, the Romans sent an army to North Africa, beginning the Third Punic War. The third punic war are also won by Rome.
3. Slave Remove led by spartacus
Answer:  Spartacus lived the life of a gladiator. He was basically a slave who was forced to fight for the entertainment of the Romans. Some of the fights were to the death.He became tired of risking his life for the entertainment of others. He wanted to escape and go home.
In 73 BC, seventy gladiators, with Spartacus as their leader, escaped from the gladiator school.As Spartacus continued to have success against the Roman army, more and more slaves began to desert their owners and join up with Spartacus. The Romans became increasingly scared and worried about this large force of slaves and gladiators moving about the country. They gathered a large army of around 50,000 soldiers under the leadership of Crassus. At the same time Pompey the Great was returning from another war. The two generals defeated the slave revolt and killed Spartacus . he Romans captured 6,000 slaves in the final battle. They crucified all 6,000 along a road called the Appian Way that went from Rome to Capua where the rebellion first began

4. Contribution of the Rome in western civilization.
Answer: The Romans were very good at copying other peoples ideas, but they rarely gave other civilizations credit for these ideas.  According to the ancient Romans, everything was invented by Romans.
 Architecture: The ancient Romans are referred to as the great builders, and they were. They developed many new techniques for buildings and construction.
Public Health Programs: The Romans were great believers in healthy living.  They made sure that all the people of Rome were able to get medical help.
Religion: The Catholic faith, which kept learning alive after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
Roman Law/Politics: The ancient Roman republic allowed only Roman citizens to vote for leaders, who then created their laws. In ancient Rome, only adult free men could be citizens.
Works of Literature: The Romans wrote many plays including Virgil's Aeneid.
Satire:  The Romans used satire in plays and literature in a loud and rude sort of sarcastic approach, especially in comic theatre
Customs:  The Romans invented the use of rings to denote friendship, engagements, and weddings,
Roman Calendar: When Julius Caesar came to power, he decided to throw out the old calendar and invent a new one. The new calendar was Caesar's calendar. The new calendar had 365 days each year for three years, and 366 days on the fourth year, just like our calendar today.
Clothing: The Romans invented socks (called soccus by the ancient Romans) worn by both women and men. They improved footwear considerably for all kinds of shoes.
Games: Many board and ball games including knuckleball (jacks) and hoops.






5. Foundation of the Rome.
Answer: Romulus and Remus are the mythological twin brothers who founded the city of Rome. Romulus and Remus were twin boys born to a princess named Rhea Silvia. Their father was the fierce Roman god of war, Mars.The king where the boys lived was scared that someday Romulus and Remus would overthrow him and take his throne. So he had the boys left in a basket on the Tiber River. He figured they would soon die. But the boys did not die.
The twins eventually came to the place where Rome is located today. They both liked the general area, but each wanted to place the city on a different hill. Romulus went ahead and started building a wall around Palantine Hill. However, Remus was jealous and began to make fun of Romulus' wall. At one point Remus jumped over the wall to show how easy it was to cross. Romulus became angry and killed Remus. With Remus dead, Romulus continued to work on his city. He officially founded the city on April 21, 753 BC, making himself king, and naming it Rome after himself. From there he began to organize the city. He divided his army into legions of 3,300 men. He called his 100 most noble men the Patricians and the elders of Rome the Senate. The city grew and prospered. For over 1,000 years Rome would be one of the most powerful cities in the world.


“The Wanderer” Explanation


“The Wanderer”
 Explanation
1.Often the lone-dweller waits [ 1 ] for favor,
mercy of the Measurer, [ 2 ] though he unhappy
across the seaways long time must
stir with his hands the rime-cold sea,
tread exile-tracks. Fate is established!

Answer:  This lines has been taken from the poem “ the Wanderer”. The Wanderer is an Old English poem preserved only in an anthology known as the Exeter Book, a manuscript dating from the late 10th century.
    Here the speaker want to describe that it  is like a mini-prologue that sets up the initial situation of the poem: we have a mysterious character, the "lone-dweller," who is apparently in exile. He's hopeful that his situation will get better. The "Measurer" here refers to God. The reason might be for mercy. The image of the lone-dweller "stirring" the rime-cold sea with his hands is probably just a way of saying that he's rowing a boat. "Exile-tracks" means "paths of exile."  The lone-dweller must travel alone through an inhospitable, cold landscape. The introduction of fate in the final line refers  uncontrollable destiny. It  makes us wonder about the relationship of God and fate, since both of them seem to have some control over what happens to the lone-dweller.


2.      Often wretched with cares, deprived of homeland,20
far from kin – fasten with fetters,
since long ago earth covered
my lord in darkness, and I, wretched,
thence, mad and desolate as winter,
over the wave’s binding sought, hall-dreary, [ 4 ]25
a giver of treasure, where far or near.

Answer:  This lines has been taken from the poem “ the Wanderer”. The Wanderer is an Old English poem preserved only in an anthology known as the Exeter Book, a manuscript dating from the late 10th century.
   Here the speaker basically says in his poems  that we now know that to keeping your thoughts we have to bind our image of mind.  The speaker also explain  his unhappy situation –  that he's far away from home and without his relatives.   In the line 23 the speaker describe that  his lord has been died and been buried. The meaning of word ”mad and desolate as winter" is   winter-sorrowful. The winter weather is a problem for someone who's in exile. The image of the "wave's binding" echoes the language of binding the heart and mind from the previous few lines. It also creates the idea of the sea as a prison in which the exile is trapped. In the line 25 here the word  "hall-dreary" refers that maybe having a hall to chill out in anymore, since without a lord, he's also without the lord's center of power, the hall. The lord is called a "giver of treasure." Distributing treasure to his nobles was one of a lord's most important ways of maintaining power.

3.      He knows who tries it how cruel is sorrow,30
a bitter companion, to the one who has few
concealers of secrets, beloved friends. [ 5 ]

Answer: This lines has been taken from the poem “ the Wanderer”. The Wanderer is an Old English poem preserved only in an anthology known as the Exeter Book, a manuscript dating from the late 10th century.
    Here the speaker want to describe that Instead of real friends, the exile has sorrow as a companion. This passage marks an end to the earth-stepper's reflections on his own experience. Now, he begins to think about the fate of all exiles. The speaker explain that "beloved friends" or protectors, to characterize these friends as "concealers of secrets." He does this because the word after leofra is unclear in the manuscript. The characterization of friends as "concealers of secrets" fits well with the idea in lines 9b-14, that the earth-stepper's lack of friends leaves him with no one he trusts to talk to.

   4.       Spirits of seafarers bring but seldom 55
         known speech and song. Care is renewed
to the one who frequently sends

Answer: This lines has been taken from the poem “ the Wanderer”. The Wanderer is an Old English poem preserved only in an anthology known as the Exeter Book, a manuscript dating from the late 10th century.
    Here the speaker want to describe that   "seafarers" is actually the Old English word  fleotendra, or floating ones. So "spirits of seafarers probably refers to the companions who swim away in line 55. These visions of kinsmen fail to bring with them the familiar conversations and songs the exile misses from his days in the hall. Memories and dreams of better times bring no relief for the exile. Instead, they make things worse.

5. His winters in the world. [ 11 ] The wise man is patient,
not too hot-hearted, nor too quick tongued,
nor a warrior too weak, nor too foolhardy,
neither frightened nor fain, nor yet too wealth-greedy,
nor ever of boasts too eager, before he knows enough.

Answer:  This lines has been taken from the poem “ the Wanderer”. The Wanderer is an Old English poem preserved only in an anthology known as the Exeter Book, a manuscript dating from the late 10th century.
   Here the speaker want to Say that someone has many "winters in the world" is just a fancy way of saying that he's old. But saying that in this way also connects the elderly to the exile, who is defined by his exposure to wintry weather. The wise man is patient: he is not too "hot-hearted," meaning that he doesn't allow his emotions to make him do something stupid. We might call this "hotheaded."
He is not too "quick tongued," meaning that he thinks before he speaks.The warrior must have courage. He must also not be too "wealth-greedy." This last one is interesting because we've already seen that when the exile longs for his lord, he's longing for the treasure his lord gives him, too. A boast was an important way for a warrior to build a reputation among others, but failure to fulfill a boast brought horrible shame. The good warrior waits until he "knows enough," that is, until he is certain that he can fulfill his boast, before speaking it.
6        A wise man perceives how ghastly [ 13 ] it will be
when all this world’s weal desolate stands,75
as now here and there across this Middle-Earth
blown on by wind walls stand
covered with rime, the buildings storm-shaken.
Answer:  This lines has been taken from the poem “ the Wanderer”. The Wanderer is an Old English poem preserved only in an anthology known as the Exeter Book, a manuscript dating from the late 10th century.

 Here the speaker want to explain that the earth-stepper returns to the idea of the impermanence of existence. A wise man, he says, recognizes how horrible it will be when all the world's "weal" (prosperity or wealth) is deserted. The word translated here as "ghastly" is the Old English word gastlice, which can also mean "ghostly." Both meanings are appropriate here, since after all people have died, the world will have a haunted feeling.He compares this desertedness to that of abandoned buildings he sees "here and there" throughout his world. Just like the exile, these buildings are wracked by the wintry weather: they are "storm-shaken," and covered with "rime" (frost).
7.       All is the earth-realm laden with hardship,
fate of creation [ 15 ] turns [ 16 ] world under heaven.
Here goldhoard passes, [ 17 ] here friendship passes,
here mankind passes, here kinsman passes:110
all does this earth-frame turn worthless! [ 18 ]

Answer:  This lines has been taken from the poem “ the Wanderer”. The Wanderer is an Old English poem preserved only in an anthology known as the Exeter Book, a manuscript dating from the late 10th century.  
  Here the speaker want to explain that The speaker turns away from a contemplation of the fallen warriors before the wall to reflect upon what this sight teaches him. More specifically, the "fate of creation" turns the world, meaning that fate governs events in this world. With the idea of the world being governed by the "fate of creation," in Old English wyrd geschaeft, the poem returns to the idea from line 5, that "fate is established": that it governs events and can't be changed. the translator has given here as "passes" is the Old English word laene, or "loaned." The idea is that the gold-hoard, friends, kinsmen, and mankind are all "on loan" from someone. The owner might be fate or God. Just as the speaker remarked that the deserted buildings were worthless without occupants, so the "earth-frame" becomes worthless without people to occupy it.
  8.      So said the one wise in mind, at secret conclaves sat him apart.
Good, he who keeps faith, nor too quickly his grief
from his breast makes known, except he, noble, knows how beforehand
to do cure with courage. [ 19 ] Well will it be.

Answer:  This lines has been taken from the poem “ the Wanderer”. The Wanderer is an Old English poem preserved only in an anthology known as the Exeter Book, a manuscript dating from the late 10th century.
 Here the speaker want to explain that "So said the one wise in mind" marks the end of the earth-stepper's speech that began in line 8. Alternatively, this line might be the speaker's attempt to signal that the following lines come from the wise man that began contemplating the fallen warriors in line 89.We get one more piece of information about this mysterious wise man: that he sits apart from everyone else at "secret conclaves."  The wise man sits apart from others. Even in company, he is as isolated as he was in exile. The grief one would do well to keep silent about comes "from his breast." Once again, the poem returns to the image of the body as a container for thoughts and emotions. The idea that it's particularly important not to speak about sorrow occurred in lines 14-18. There, the reason given for this necessity was that speaking about one's troubles couldn't possibly make them better.

























1. Explain Narrative Point of view of the Wanderer?
Answer: The Wanderer is an Old English poem preserved only in an anthology known as the Exeter Book, a manuscript dating from the late 10th century.
   It is most commonly said that there are two speakers in the wander. The first speaker is a narrator who is reviving(পুনরায় জীবত করা) an ancient poem and not part of the original.  In this theory, the narrator is a later individual who has been converted from paganism(নিকৃষ্ট ধর্ম) to Christianity and who attempts to combine the non-Christian narrative of the tale(গল্প) with a Christian theology(ধর্মতত্ত্ব) of seeking mercy(line2) and refuge(আশ্রয়স্থান) (line 116) from the "Father in heaven," a definitive Christian reference. The wanderer(line-6) goes on what they call an exile to find a new king and kingdom that will accept him and which he can embrace because now he has no one who will accept his affection or give him 'consolation( সান্ত্বন).

2. Literary device of the poem “ The Wanderer.
Answer:  Literary devices include similes, metaphors and personification (the attribution of human nature or character to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract notions), etc.
Similes: The poem  the Wanderer at Line 24 " mad and desolate as winter" there is a simile. The earth-stepper describes himself as "mad and desolate as winter" in a simile that shows the way his mood is matched by the wintry weather through which he travels.
Metaphor: In Line Line-54  Memories of the wanderer's friends " Swim away" from him there is  Metaphor.
Personification: Fasten[ his heart] with fetters. Winter weather " attacking".

3. What is the Christian and pegan element of the wanderer?
Answer: The Wanderer is an Old English poem preserved only in an anthology known as the Exeter Book, a manuscript dating from the late 10th century.
   In "The Wanderer" The poet has lost his people; he is utterly alone in the world. There is none alive to whom he dares express his " innermost thought;" he contemplates the fallen state of the world-
  "Indeed I cannot think/why my spirit/ does not darken/ when I ponder the world/ life of men/ Throughout the world/ How they suddenly left the hall,/ the proud thames".
  In the Wanderer, the ultimate evil of the pegan world to be without kinsmen, utterly forgotten- is conflated with a kind of cosmic or spiritual destruction. : " all the foundation of this world turns to waste!" The Christian god is a fearsome agent of destruction, on the one hand, and, in the conclusion of the poem, the only source of mercy and consolation for the poet.

4. Why it's called an elegy?
Answer: An elegy is a sad poem, usually written to praise and express sorrow for someone who is dead.
  The Wanderer is an Old English poem preserved only in an anthology known as the Exeter Book, a manuscript dating from the late 10th century.
    In "The Wanderer" The poet has lost his people; he is utterly alone in the world. There is none alive to whom he dares express his " innermost thought;" he contemplates the fallen state of the world-
  "Indeed I cannot think/why my spirit/ does not darken/ when I ponder the world/ life of men/ Throughout the world/ How they suddenly left the hall,/ the proud thames".
  In the Wanderer, the ultimate evil of the pegan world to be without kinsmen, utterly forgotten- is conflated with a kind of cosmic or spiritual destruction. : " all the foundation of this world turns to waste!"
    That is why we can call the wanderer as  an elegy.