British Literature - 19th Century. University of Calicut. PYQ 2021.

British Literature - 19th Century 2020 PYQ - University of Calicut.

British Literature _ 19th century. University of Calicut. 2019 PYQ

Litmosphere _ The World of Literature.

Divided Times; How Literature Teaches us to understand the other

“Divided Times, How literature teaches us to understand the ‘other’”, is the opening speech delivered in the second international literature festival of Odessa in the backdrop of the heated discussions regarding the ‘other’, especially about refugees, sexual minorities and the marginalized people. 

In this essay, Amanda Michalopoulou makes a contemporary re- reading of the classics of European Literature such as Hamlet, Odyssey, Don Quixote and The Sorrow of Young Werther.

They are modern because they are marginalized anti heroes. We recognize them in the light of their popularity ; Odysseus as shipwrecked sailor, Hamlet as a prince who sees ghosts, Don Quixote is a dreamer and Werther is  ruled by passion. 

They all are represented as a great heroes. But in modern reading, we can realize that they are marginalized anti- heroes. So here Amanda re_ read these heroes against the majoritarian perspective of media.

Nowadays Media turns to be a medium for dominant classes. In order to find out truth from falsehoods, the author here try to deconstruct classical literature and find out contemporary realities from it. 

In Homer's epic, Odysseus reached the land of Phaeacians naked and despair. Once a great king, Odysseus then becomes a refugee. So through Odysseus we can see how refugees are treated in new countries. He resembles the contemporary refugees who have been arriving on the shores of Greece. 

Hamlet also an anti-hero, who was also a victim of his society, especially from his mother, Gertrude and Uncle, Claudieus. 

Don Quixote is a madman to his Villagers. He is wandering in a armour in peacetime by assuming as an' ambassador of God on earth'

Goethe's Werther also overwhelmed by an unhealthy passion. 

When we reread all these characters from European literature show us they are the one who struggles for their existence. We have to empathise with them. We have to change our attitude towards refugees. Never accept the view propagated by Media. That is not the reality. "It tells us: Other is not what it seems".

The Kuttipuram Bridge by Edasseri Govindan Nair.

Impact of urbanisation on nature as well as  human life has been a recurrent theme in literature since 1950s. Ecological degradation in the pristine environment of Kerala began during colonial times. Poetry has began to depict this tragedy during pre- independence days. 

Edasseri Govindan Nair's poem'The Kutippuram Bridge" is one of the first ecocritical work in malayalam literature. It describes

the dilemma faced by the poet, confronted by the merits and demerits of kerala's modernization and urbanisation.

 

The poem is an expression of the poet's anxiety and uncertainty about the modernisation. Here the 'bridge' symbolises the urbanisation happening in Kerala. 

The poem was born out of mixed feelings that the poet had experienced while crossing the bridge. First part of the poem describes how he feels proud while standing on the newly built bridge. It was built at a costs of Rs. 23 lakh. Initially the poet is proud of the fact that humans have triumphed over nature. 

The poet vividly portrays the beauty of nature before and after the industrialisation. The poet is nostalgic about a pre industrialized agrarian past, where people were very close to nature. Poet himself considered river Nila as his playmate. To him the river was Gramalakshmi, which glorifies the real beauty of the village. Wild range of paddy feild, fruit bearing trees, sweet smelling flowers, birds like kingfisher, crane, sparrow, and kite make the a scenic beauty of village as a feast to the eyes. 

In the later part of the poem, the poet expresses his anxieties regarding the onset of mechanisation and urbanisation. The serene beauty of nature is slowly fades away. He worries that all that constitute village life, the river, the kavu, the pipal tree, songs of the ploughman.. etc were destroyed by the advancement of urbanisation. 

The kuttipuram Bridge is described as a the 'threshold of a new world'. Through which urbanisation and modernity will come bringing with all its inevitable changes. As a result of urbanisation the neighborhood connections have lost. 

    Strangers are Neighbors!

     And Neighbors Total Strangers!

Poet fears that the alienation from nature will lead to alienation of human beings and ultimate dehumanisation. 

The songs of the day and the silence of nights are all moves away. Soot, stone, cement and steel are reigning over trees and flowers. Days and nights become noisy and the  Peace and prosperity of the village moving shortly. 

He prophesied that the Anthimahakalan kunnu will seem like a spinning top hurled by a hot-headed child robot and the  Mallorkayam deity will become a wayside deity. 

If man turns into a machine, Mother Perar will turn into a sad and foul smelling drain. He expresses his concern that humans also will turn in to mechines in the future, losing all traits of humanity.

As the first ecocritical work in malayalam literature, The Kuttipuram Bridge is a critique of mindless urbanisation. 

University of Calicut. PYQ Discussion. Literary Criticism. 4th Semester. short questions and answers

1.What is Criticism?

Criticism is the investigation,

assessment, and understanding of literature, work of art, film, and social patterns. 

Criticism is a critical study of some subject or theme which seems as: an interpretation, assessment, analysis, judging merits, unfavorable opinions and systematic inquiry. 

2.What you meant by Anagnorsis and Peripetia?

Aristotle introduces the concept of Anagnorsis and Peripetia in his Poetics 

. 

Peripetia is the reversal of fortune. 

Change in the course of storyline. 

Anagnorsis  is a change from ignorance to knowledge.

3.What is " Touchstone method "? 

Mattew Arnod introduced touchstone methode in his work 'The study of Poetry '

It is a method in which we can compare a piece of work with the early work written by great writers like Chaucer, Milton, Shakespeare... etc. 

4. Irony and Paradox

Irony - The use of words to covey a meaning that is the opposite of its literaral meaning. 

Paradox - It a Contradictory statements which reveals an inherent truth. 

Eg; War is peace

       My weakness is my strength 

       Freedom is slavery

5.What is Plot

Plot is a literary element that describes the structure of the story 

Plot is 'the soul of tragedy'. It is the series of events which form the story of the novel, drama, film, etc. 

A plot is sometimes referred to as the 'spine' of a story. 

The plot may be simple or Complex. 

4. Simple Plot

A simple plot cannot have any puzzling situations or confusing elements. 

 5. Complex Plot

Complex plot contains Peripetia and Anagnorsis. It makes the work complex. A perfect tragedy should be arranged by using a complex plot. 

6. Satire 

John Dryden is a reputed satirist of the Restoration age. Satire is artistic form. Dryden defines satire as a mode for moral reformation, sometimes with an intent to inspire social reform.

Dryden's Mac Fleclnoe is a satire written against Thomas Shadwell

7. Primary and Secondary Imagination

Cloridge divided imagination in to two; Primary imagination and the secondary imagination. 

Primary imagination is inborn. It exists in every human beings by birth. Primary imagination perceives through five senses. 

Secondary imagination is the creative or poetic imagination. Through secondary imagination, our mind can reconstruct events and situations in real world.

8. Fabula and Syuzhet

Fabula and Syuzhet are the terms introduced in Russian Formalism, to discribe narrative construction.

Fabula is the chronological order of the events contained in the story(time line). 

Syuzhet is how the author connects those sequence by using related events. 

 we can describe Syuzhet as the storyline or the plot. 

9.Romanticism 

Romanticism in literature is a movement which gives importance to emotion, subjectivity, individualism rather than logic and reason. 

It is a reaction against Enlightmnet movement. 

10. Hamartia 

Catharsis is the purification or purgation of the emotions (especially pity and fear)  through art. In criticism, catharsis is a metaphor used by Aristotle in the Poetics to describe the effects of true tragedy on the audience .

Plato on Poetry 

As a philosopher, Plato disapproves poetry as Immoral. He denies poetry bacause it is falsehood. He says philosophy is good and poetry is bad because it is not ethical. 

Rasa

Rasa in Indian aesthetics is the aesthetic pleasure that we have while seeing or experiencing a drama or any piece of art. 

Rasa literally means 'juice, essence, or taste' . It was introduced by Baratamuni in his Natyasastra. 

PYQ Analysis. Functional Grammar and Communication in English. 1st semester Common Paper

1. The house was painted by them when I arrived. 

2. I visited the Taj Mahal last month. 

3. It is a shirt which was blue. 

4.My friend, who is sick isn't at school today. 

5. Suhasini sings beautifully, doesn't she? 

6. At noon

    In summer

    At the gymnasium 

    On the step

7. The capital city of Spain, Madrid is to the north of Seville.

8. The man and his wife are waiting outside.

9. Is there any fun in doing that?

10. Many factories have a lot of me chines to do the work.

11. While We were driving through the country side, we saw many picturesque villages.

We drove through the country side and saw many picturesque villages

When we drive through the country side, we saw many picturesque villages. 

12 

We should change our behavior to make a difference 

You can make a difference! 

Donate more money to make a difference 

Spectrum; Literature and Contemporary Issues. 4th Semester UG. University of Calicut

Literary Criticism. 4th Semester BA English. University of Calicut

Appreciating Fiction. 4th Semester. University of Calicut

Functional Grammar and Communication in English

English Literature in the 21st century. PYQ 2022.

English Literature in the 21st Century. PYQ 2021

Barriers to Communication (5 Mark Paragraph question)

Communication is the process of conveying messages from one person to another. Those elements that break the free flow of information from sender to receiver  are the barriers to communication.

There are mainly five different types of barriers are there to check the free flow of communication. They are; 

* Interpersonal Barriers

* Intrapersonal Barriers 

* Organizational Barriers 

* Verbal Barriers

* Non Verbal Barriers 

* Interpersonal Barriers

Wrong Assumptions, varied perception and Differing background may causes breakage in proper communication.

Intrapersonal Barriers

Attitudes and opinion( Halo effect and Horn effect), emotional outburst, cultural variations and noise( physical or environmental) also work as a barrier to proper communication.

Organizational Barriers

Wrong choice of medium, fear of superiors and information overload may act as  a barrier in communication.

Verbal Barriers 

Lack of proper planning, selection of wrong variety of language, wrongly decoded or Badly encoded messages, semantic gap, diffrence in perception of messages, variatioj on language cause verbal barriers to communication.

Non- Verbal Barriers

Avoiding eye contact, continuous awkward gestures and pose are some examples of non-verbal barriers to effective communication. 

These are the major barriers to effective communication. 

Presentation on Water pollution

Presentation of Water Pollution 

[Introduction] 

Good Morning, everyone. 

Today I am going to present on the topic water pollution. I welcome each and everyone of you to my presentation. First of all let me thank you all for coming here today. 

Let me Start by saying a few words about my own background. My name is Anjana. I am a first year student. As you can see on the screen, our topic for today's presentation. 

[Body]

In my presentation, I will be focusing on three major areas. I have divided the whole topic into three. They are;

1. Causes of water pollution. 

2. Effect of water solution. 

3.How to control water pollution.

Water is precious resource and without it life is not possible on earth. Water is getting polluted day by day due to excessive and careless use and because of that available drinking water is reduced. Water pollution can be defined as the presence of solid, liquid, or gaseous contaminants in such concentration that may affect the quality of water.

There are various causes of water pollutions. Some of them are because of domestic waste sewage system, solid waste, acid rain, oil industry.... etc. 

Water pollution affects the stabilization of eco- system. Water pollution may cause disease or act as poison. Polluted water causes some of the deadly disease  like cholera, dysentery, diarrhea, etc.

About 80% of stomach diseases in India are caused by polluted water. 

Water pollution can be controlled if we can act accordingly. Some of the suggestion are;

* Dispose toxic chemical porperly. 

*Do not pour at and grease down the drain. 

*Dispose medical waste properly.

*Avoid using plastic. 

[Conclusion] 

That's all about my topic. I hope the content is clear to you. Water pollution is a crucial issue that we are facing today. Let's join together and fight against it. 

If you need any further information, feel free to talk to me. Thank you for your time. 

                        Thank you

Indian English Fiction 2022 MA English 4th Semester

British Literature from Chaucer to the 18th Century. PYQ 2021

British Literature from Chaucer to the 18th Century. PYQ 2020

British Literature from Chaucer to the 18th Century. 2019

Practice Prepositions with Answer key

Fill in the blanks with Suitable Prepositions. 

He is going to Canada ___ March

He is going to Canada ___18th March

He is going to Canada  ___10PM

He is going to Canada ___ a Sunny day

He is going to Canada ___their Anniversary

He is going to Canada __Winter

He is going to Canada ___ the second week of the July

He went to Canada ___ the morning.

Answer Key

He is going to Canada in March. 

He is going to Canada on 18th March. 

He is going to Canada  at 10pm. 

He is going to Canada on a Sunny day. 

He is going to Canada in their anniversary. 

He is going to Canada in Winter. 

He is going to Canada in the second week of the July

He went to Canada in the morning.

Collocation; Match the following— Answer Key

A bit of fun

A Clove of farlic 

A Game of cards

A loaf of bread

A Pinch of salt

A ray of hope

A scrap of evidence

A drop of blood

A speck of dust

A spoonful of sugar 

A piece of advice

Functional Grammar and Communication in English. Answer key. Model Question Paper.

1. He was pleaded that he was ignorant of the law.

He Pleaded because he is ignorant of the law

2. Neither of them is ready to undertake the journey. 

3. It was on a sunny day in January that she got married.

4. Gold is the most precious metal.

5. That must have been a terrifying experience. 

6. The window had been closed by him.

7.  The proposal was accepted by a unanimous vote. 

8. Hardly I reached the station when the train steamed off. 

9. You play tennis, don't you?

10. Don't you speak Tamil?

11. You are lucky. You came by car but I came on foot

12. It may rain tonight. Look at those dark clouds. 

JOU 1(2) C01_ Introduction to Communication and Journalism, November 2021.

Sample Sop for applying for MA in Language and literature at Oxford University

Literature is the replica of society. Literature allows a person to step back in time and learn about life on Earth from the ones who walked before us. English Literature studies help us understand our world in all its social, political, economic and cultural aspects through stories, novels, poems, and plays.

My career goal is to teach at the university level and research the relationship between literature and culture. For that I want to pursue a Master's Degree in English Literature. 

As I love literature since my early years, I can relate with characters, when I am deeply absorbed into novels and short stories. Telling stories, participating in debates and participating in dramas are some of the activities I love doing. Besides, my passion for English Literature encouraged me to explore different extra-curricular activities.

I also persued Four MOOC courses on psychology, which help me analyze the depth of literature.I would like to mention that as a part of our academic course, I have participated in more than 30 seminars and workshops. 

I would acknowledge that literature has significantly helped me broaden my insight.As I aspire to establish myself as an English teacher in India, I believe that a globally recognized degree will significantly complement my efforts to take me to my career goals. 

As one of the the top universities in the world, I would like to be a part of the progressive academic ambiance at your institution. I promise to deliver my best in terms of academic performance and peer learning.

Introduction to Communication And Journalism : 1st Sem complimentary Paper, University of Calicut. November 2020.