The Jugal Sir

 INTRODUCTION The poem is basically a conversation between a young man and a young woman who may be W. B. Yeats and a young girl named Anne Gregory. W.B. Yeats has tried to touch on an important topic, the conventional idea of beauty through his poem.  SUMMARY The first stanza of the poem is addressed to the young woman by the speaker, the young man. He says young men are thrown into desperation because of honey-coloured defensive walls (hair) at her ears. These men do not love her for herself but for the colour of her hair. The woman replies if she is noticed by her hair, she can get a hair dye and set there any colour they like. She desires the young men to love her for what she is and not for the colour of her hair. The speaker of the third stanza, the young man gives a reference to an old religious man who announced that he had found a text in which it is written that only God loves people for what they are and not for their physical appearance. The poet in this poem conve...

INTRODUCTION The central idea of the poem “The Tale of Custard the Dragon” by Ogden Nash is that one should not judge others by their appearance or underestimate their abilities. The poem shows how a cowardly dragon named Custard, who is mocked by his brave companions, proves himself to be the most courageous of them all when he faces a pirate who invades their house. The poem also conveys the message of overcoming fear and anxiety with courage and determination. GIST 'The Tale of Custard the Dragon' is a fanciful and unusual fantasy. Belinda lives alone in her house with four pets, a dog, a cat, a mouse, and a dragon named Custard. All other dwellers of the house except Custard, pride themselves on their fearlessness. They mock poor Custard for his lack of self-confidence and fear. However, when the real danger comes all others run away in a panic except Custard. Only Custard fights ferociously and swallows the pirate. The poem ends ironically. After the danger is gone, ev...

INTRODUCTION 'The Necklace' is one of the well-known stories of Guy De Maupassant. The story centers around Matilda Loisel, who is a beautiful woman. She suffers greatly because of her desire to appear rich and fashionable.  GIST + OVERVIEW She is married to a clerk and leads an ordinary life. But she wants to be rich and famous. Her husband gets an invitation to attend a dance party given by the Minister of Public Instruction.  Matilda borrows a diamond necklace from her rich friend Madame Forestier to wear at the party. She looks charming and everybody praises her.  But when she returns home, she finds that she has lost the necklace. She and her husband borrowed a large amount of money to replace the necklace.  Both of them worked hard for ten years to pay off their debt. Their life becomes miserable. One day, after the debt, is paid off. Matilda comes across Madame Forestier.  Matilda is shocked to learn from her that the necklac...

 INTRODUCTION Richard H. Ebright has contributed significantly to Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. When Ebright was a little child, he used to collect butterflies, rocks, fossils, and coins. He was an eager star-gazer also. But he was mainly interested in butterflies. During his school as well as college days, he did many experiments for which he was awarded many prizes. Most of his experiments were on butterflies. These experiments were a milestone in the world of science. SUMMARY Richard H. Ebright is one of the leading scientists. He has contributed significantly to Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He had been interested in science since his boyhood years. At the age of twenty-two, he excited the scientific world with a new theory. It was concerned with the working of cells. Ebright and his college roommate explained the theory in an article. It was published in the journal entitled "Proceedings of the National Academy of Science". It was the first of his man...

Introduction The chapter "Madam Rides the Bus" is a short story about a brave eight-year-old Valli who lives near a bus stop. She likes the hustle of the street, and the treasured part was the sight of the arrival and departure of the bus, and thus, she developed an unbeatable desire and courage to fulfill her urge to travel and enjoy the ride on a bus.  Summary The lesson is about an eight-year-old girl named Valli, who did not have friends to play with and so she would spend her time looking at the outside affairs going on the street. Her favourite part was to look at the bus that passed by her village every hour. It gave her endless joy to look at the new set of passengers each time the bus crossed by. Gradually, even she wished to travel by bus. Soon, the wish turned into a desire, and therefore, she made it her mission to fulfill it. She started listening to the conversations between her neighbours who frequently traveled by bus and in the process, would ask a few carefu...

Introduction 'Fog' is a poem that reflects Sandburg's interest in the natural world. The poet beautifully captures those moments when the fog came moving in over the harbour waters. The poet gives a powerful image of the fog through a metaphorical cat. Summary Fog is a very small poem written by Carl Sandburg. He has described the process of arrival of the fog into a city and the harbour. He has very beautifully compared it to a cat. The poet says that the fog which is generally seen during the winter season is coming towards the city and the harbour just like a cat. This means that it is approaching the city in a very silent manner so that no one can notice its arrival. He has compared its arrival to that of a cat because a cat always enters a place silently. Next, he says that the fog has covered the whole of the city and harbour and it appears as if it is sitting by folding its legs and looking around just the way a cat does when it sits on the haunches and looks a...

 Introduction The poem has a symbolic meaning, the trees are an extended metaphor for women. The poet says that the women have rested, healed, and recovered and are ready for their primary purpose - to renew the empty forest of mankind.   Summary The poet talks about trees symbolically. They refer to women who have been healed and are ready to move out of their houses to fulfill their primary purpose - to renew the forest of mankind.  As trees have remained indoors, the forest has become empty, and the birds and insects are left shelterless. The Sun’s rays do not have the tree trunks and leaves to fall upon and thus, reach the earth. She says that the forest will be full of trees the next morning. The roots of the trees are working hard to separate from the floor of the veranda where they have remained fixed. The leaves and branches are moving towards the glass windows. They are desperate to move out just like a newly discharged patient who has not recov...

Introduction In this lesson, the author tells us how his life changed after he decided to domesticate an otter after he lost his pet dog. He takes us through his journey of adjusting, playing, and travelling with Mijbil (or Mij) the otter, from Iraq to London and how during this journey, he developed an inseparable bond with him.  Summary The story begins with the author, Gavin Maxwell travelling to Basra along with his friend. During their journey, the author expresses his desire to domesticate an otter because after he had lost his pet dog, life had become lonely for him. His friend suggested that he should get one from the Marshes along river Tigris in Iraq. When they reached the destination, they found that only the friend’s mail had arrived. After a few days, the friend left while the narrator was still waiting to receive his mail. Upon receiving it, he went to his room only to find an otter (brought to him in a sack), accompanied by two Arabs with a note. It was a gi...

 Introduction The Poem Amanda by ROBIN KLEIN depicts a child‘s feelings about the restrictions the parents put on him/her. Children feel their parents don‘t let them do many things they want to do.  Summary In the poem, there is a girl named Amanda who feels her mother nags her too much. The mother scolds Amanda for biting her nails, hunching her shoulders, and not sitting straight. Amanda does not like it. On the contrary, Amanda lives in her dream world.  In her fantasy she feels like a mermaid swimming freely and joyously in the light green sea. The mother drags Amanda out of her dream by asking whether she has completed her homework or not. She also asks her whether she has tidied her room; she tells her to clean and polish her shoes.  Amanda then daydreams of being an orphan roaming freely, barefoot in golden silence enjoying uninterrupted freedom. The mother instructs Amanda not to eat chocolates because of her acne and pimples. She also scolds her for no...