Paper 106: The Twentieth Century Literature: 1900 to World War II

Class Assignment 

Critically Analyse Orlando-A biography by Virginia Woolf

Introduction 

           Orlando: A Biography is a novel by Virginia Woolf, first published on 11 October 1928,inspired by the tumultuous family history of the aristocratic poet and novelist Vita

Sackville-West, Woolf's lover and close friend. It is arguably one of her most popular novels,

a history of English literature in satiric form. The book describes the adventures of a poet

who changes sex from man to woman and lives for centuries, meeting the key figures of

English literary history. Considered a feminist classic, the book has been written about

extensively by scholars of women's writing and gender and transgender studies.

About the Author 

                    Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) was a major English writer and one of the most important figures in modernist literature. She is known for experimenting with narrative style and for exploring themes such as identity, time, memory, mental health, and the role of women in society.

Summary 

             The first chapter begins by presenting Orlando’s physical appearance and by

mentioning the fact that he is a young man from a noble family. Orlando hope that one day he will be able to go on adventures just like his family did.Instead of being an explorer, Orlando is a poet who likes to contemplatenature and spend his time on the hills overlooking London. One day, Queen Elizabeth I comes to visit and she likes Orlando instantly. Two years after they first meet, the Queen makes Orlando her treasurer and steward. Orlando makes the mistake of kissing another girl, and he is caught by the Queen. Orlando also develops a liking for spending his time with ordinary people, but he soon becomes bored of it and decides to return to the court.

               He finds out that the Queen has died and that she was replaced by KingJames I. Orlando thinks about marrying one of the ladies at the court. He decides to marry Euphrosyne, a woman coming from a noble family, just like him. The lawyers from Orlando’s side and from Euphrosyne’s side start to make legal arrangements, but the procedures stop when the Great Frost begins. It is during that harsh winter Orlando meets Sasha, a Russian princess, for the first time. They fall in love, but Sasha grows tired of Orlando’s moods and eventually runs off with another man.

                 Orlando begins to write extensively: plays, poems and other forms of literature. A few years later, he meets with Nick Green, a famous author whom Orlando admires. Green is described as being awkward, a short man who is out of his element inside Orlando’s big house. Orlando is disappointed by Mr.Green; after he finds that Green wrote a satirical story based on him, Orlando decides to stop writing and spend his time trying to find the answers to the big philosophical questions about life.

                After a while, he decides to write again but for his own pleasure. He also begins to refurnish his home; after he finishes, he invites his neighbors over to see his house and to hear the poem he finished. One day, he sees a woman from his window and Orlando falls in love with her. Not wanting to be trapped in a relationship where he is only attracted by the woman’s physical appearance, Orlando asks the King to send him to Constantinople to be an ambassador. From the third chapter, the reader finds that Orlando played an important role in the negotiations between King Charles and the Turks but the records about Orlando’s deeds were lost. Orlando is well received by the people in Constantinople and he organizes parties frequently. After one such party, the servants see Orlando letting down a rope and bringing a woman into his room. They later find that he married a dancer named Rosina Pepita, but they are unable to ask him details as he falls into a trance from which he doesn’t wake for a few days.

                While Orlando is in a trance, a civil war starts and the rebels find Orlando in his bed. Not knowing what to do with him, they steal his clothes and then they leave him be. After the rebels leave, three spirits appear around Orlando;each spirit tries to claim him but is unsuccessful. The spirits leave when they hear a trumpet blast; Orlando wakes up naked in his bed and in a woman’s body. Orlando is not scared and accepts the change that happened. Orlando leaves Constantinople with a gypsy on a donkey and then later joins a gypsy tribe. The elder of the gypsy tribe is displeased to see Orlando spending her time reading and contemplating nature, thinking that such actions are useless.One day, Orlando has a vision and sees her home in England destroyed. After that, she decides to return to England and leave the gypsy tribe behind.

               

                    Orlando buys female clothes and returns to England. While sailing to England,

she slowly becomes accustomed to being a female. While Orlando is happy that she is now free to think about love and nature as long as she wants, she doesn’t like the feeling of powerlessness she has when she is in the presence of men. When she arrives home, her servants start to serve her again, but she

also finds that some people have started lawsuits against her. Orlando sees Archduchess Harriet again, but she tells Orlando that she is actually a man called Harry and that he only pretended to be a woman so she could get closer to Orlando. Harry asks Orlando to marry him, but Orlando doesn’t answer right away. They begin to spend time together, but Orlando soon loses interest in him. Orlando goes to London and the narrator notes the changes that took place in her and how she changes more and more into a woman.While in London, she meets Harry again and Orlando is annoyed that she can’t get away from him. The ladies in London all want to meet Orlando, so she enters the London society. Despite this, she is unhappy and doesn’t find fulfillment in her life.

       

            One day, the Countess of R- invites Orlando to one of her parties. Orlando

goes, knowing that the Countess organizes parties where the best people are invited. It is there that Orlando meets Pope, and then she starts to spend her time with writers. She soon becomes unhappy because she realizes that the men around her don’t appreciate her for her intellect. Orlando begins to dress again in men’s clothes; then, one night, while she is in the park, she begins to talk with a prostitute named Nelly who invites Orlando to go with her. After Orlando reveals that she is a woman, Nelly and her friends tell her their life stories. From that point on, Orlando begins to switch from woman’s clothes to men’s clothes, depending on her mood and state. The end of the chapter presents Orlando sitting and watching the clouds over London at the turn of the century.

          The fifth chapter begins with a description about London that creates the impression of excess to the point that it becomes suffocating. The action takes place 300 years after Orlando began to write his poem, and the world has changed a lot since then. Orlando goes home, but her home feels cold and empty; there, she meditates on how much she has changed in the last years. She feels like the age in which she lives is too constricting, but she realizes that she must conform to the age, so she decides to marry. Orlando goes and takes a walk; in nature, she finds happiness. She falls down and breaks her

ankle when she is near a lake. She is saved by a man named Marmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine, and they get engaged immediately. They spend a lot of time together, and soon they realize that they are the opposite of what they said they are: Shel is a woman and Orlando was a man. Orlando and Shel spend almost all their time together, but their time comes to an end when the wind changes and Shel leaves to sail again. They are married in a simple ceremony before Shel takes off.

   

                    Alone, Orlando thinks about writing again but doesn’t want to submit to the

spirit of the age. Despite this, she finishes her poem, The Oak Tree. Orlando goes to London where she meets Nick Green, now a wealthy writer and critic.He reads her poem and promises to publish it while assuring her that the poem will be well received. After that, she goes to the park where she has a vision of her husband’s ship sinking. She goes then and sends him a telegram. Orlando returns home and spends a good deal of time doing little

there. When the narrator picks up the story again, Orlando has given birth to a son.

                   

                The year is now 1928, though Orlando is still in her mid-30s. Orlando is frightened by the present, but she is also amazed by the new inventions of the age. Orlando returns home; she thinks about all her past identities and how

the house was always with her. She is thrust out of her reverie when she hears an explosion. Orlando runs to the oak tree and plans to bury her book of poetry there, but eventually she decides not to. Orlando knows that her husband will soon come home again and prepares for her husband’s arrival.When the clock strikes midnight, it is October 11, 1928.

Conclusion 

       

                  In conclusion, Orlando: A Biography is a radical and multifaceted work that

challenges traditional notions of gender, identity, and historical narrative. By blending elements of biography, fiction, and fantasy, Woolf invites readers to rethink the concept of self and its relation to society. Through Orlando's centuries-long journey and gender transformation, Woolf critiques the social constructs that govern our understanding of identity and highlights the fluid,changing nature of the self.

                   The novel's playful, experimental style and its exploration of the boundaries

between fact and fiction further underscore Woolf's central themes, making Orlando not only a critique of gender and history but also a profound meditation on the nature of identity itself.

Home Assignment 

Critically Analyse the poem "The Second Coming" by W.B.Yeats.

Introduction 

    

     The Second Coming by W. B. Yeats is a powerful and symbolic poem written in 1919, after the devastation of World War I.It describes a world falling into chaos, where order and moral values seem to be collapsing.Through striking imagery, Yeats suggests that a new and frightening era is about to begin.The poem reflects his belief that history moves in cycles, and that one age is ending as another begins.

Summary 

           William Butler Yeats's "The Second Coming" is a short poem that blisters

with apocalyptic ominousness. Its first line, "turning and turning in the widening gyre," locates the whole poem inside an expanding gyre, or spiral, making it clear that something is moving and changing, and the world will never be the same.

      

           The poem's second line zooms from that gigantic, unclear beginning straight into a very specific and symbolic image—the falcon, which has lost touch with its falconer. This line essentially implies that the "falcon,"which likely represents humanity, has become detached from its "falconer," some sort of controller or holder that once kept it in order.Now the falcon is roaming free.

           Lines three through six describe collapse and turmoil, a dissolution of order and a rising tide of violence and revolution without cause.

Innocence and rituals celebrating purity have been destroyed, and a wave of violence is washing over the land, drowning everything in its path. In the seventh and eighth lines, Yeats mourns that the best people have become silent and resigned to their fate, while villains are the ones in power, speaking the loudest and caring the most about their causes.

           In the second half of the poem, Yeats looks beyond the present into the future. He has taken stock of all that is going on, and he knows that certainly something large must be happening—all this chaos cannot be accidental; it must be part of an event of apocalyptic proportions. This must be a Second Coming, he thinks—this must be an apocalypse like the one predicted in the Bible's Book of Revelations.

          Something about the words "The Second Coming" sends the speaker spiraling into a sort of dream state. He falls out of his physical self and gains contact with the Spiritus Mundi, or the world-soul or collective consciousness, which Yeats believed each person has access to in some part of his mind. This collective consciousness is full of strange,ancient, mythological images, and a few mythological archetypes appear to Yeats in this surreal dream space. He sees a desert in his mind's eye,and observes a lion with a man's head, also known as a sphinx, moving slowly around the desert, while angry, fearful birds flutter around, casting shadows on the sand.

           Then Yeats finds himself suddenly back in his own body and mind, out of this surreal, dreamlike scene. But he has seen something he cannot forget: something is happening now, something that will shake the world to its foundation. The world has been sleeping for two thousand years,he thinks, but something is brewing, something terrible, and it is on its

way, slouching towards Bethlehem to be born.

Analysis 

          In his poem, Yeats uses the Christian belief in the Second Coming of Christ as a metaphor for the dismal state of post-war Europe. The collapse of Western society is represented by a Second Coming that is devoid of salvation and instead gives way to a “rough beast” that makes its menacing descent upon humanity.

          

          W.B. Yeats' poem "The Second Coming" is a powerful reflection on a world in chaos, written after the turmoil of World War I. The poem opens with an image of the "turning" of a great Falconl, symbolizing theinstability and disorder of the world. Yeats uses the phrase "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold," suggesting that society is breaking down,and the usual structures of power and stability are no longer functioning.

 

           The poet then describes a vision of a "rough beast" emerging from the desert, which represents a dark and powerful force. This beast, coming to birth in a time of crisis, symbolizes the rise of something dangerous and destructive that may follow the collapse of the current world order.The "Second Coming" refers to the biblical idea of Christ's return, but in Yeats' poem, it suggests the arrival of something much more frightening—perhaps the end of the world as we know it.

          The poem conveys a sense of fear and uncertainty about the future, with Yeats warning that the world is headed toward an unknown, possibly catastrophic, transformation. The imagery in the poem is vivid and unsettling, reflecting the poet's concerns about the breakdown of society and the unpredictable forces that might shape the future.

Conclusion 

         In conclusion, The Second Coming presents a dark vision of a world overwhelmed by disorder and uncertainty.Through powerful symbols and prophetic tone, W. B. Yeats suggests the birth of a new but troubling era.The poem remains relevant as it reflects the fears and instability of modern times.

Essay 

Critically Analyse the poem On being asked for a war poem by W.B.Yeats

Introduction 

 

   “On Being Asked for a War Poem” is a reflective poem by W. B. Yeats written during the time of World War I. In this poem, Yeats expresses his reluctance to write about war. He believes that poetry cannot stop violence or change political situations. Instead, he suggests that poets should focus on creating beauty and comfort.

About the Poet

      W. B. Yeats was one of the greatest poets of the 20th century and a leading figure of the Irish Literary Revival. Born in 1865 in Ireland, he played an important role in shaping modern poetry. His works often explore themes of love, mythology, spirituality, and Irish nationalism. Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923 for his outstanding contribution to literature.

Summary 

        "On Being Asked for a War Poem" by William Butler Yeats is a reflection on the difficulties of writing about war. The poem addresses the question of whether a poet should respond to the horrors of war with a poem.Yeats expresses his internal struggle and disillusionment with the idea of war poetry. He suggests that the ideal of heroism and the romanticized notion of war are far removed from the grim reality of actual violence and

suffering.

       The poem is a rejection of the glorification of war, and it critiques the notion that poets should write about war as if it were something noble or inspiring. Yeats reveals his frustration with the idea of turning war into art, and he implies that war's true nature cannot be adequately captured in poetry. The poem ultimately underscores the gap between the reality of war and the idealized representations of it that are often found in literary tradition.

        The central message is that war, particularly in the context of Yeats’s own experiences, is something that cannot and should not be glorified or treated lightly.

Analysis 

        In "On Being Asked for a War Poem," William Butler Yeats shares his thoughts about writing a poem about war, particularly in a time when many people were eager to celebrate war. The poem begins with Yeats explaining that he was asked to write about war, but he immediately feels uncomfortable because of the violent and destructive nature of war.He reflects on how people often think of war as something noble orheroic, but Yeats believes this view is misleading.

 

        Throughout the poem, Yeats expresses his deep belief that war is not glorious, as some might imagine. Instead, it is full of suffering, pain, and death, leaving people broken rather than giving them honor. Yeats is aware of the suffering caused by war, and he refuses to romanticize it. He contrasts the idea of war being "heroic" with the reality of how it destroys lives and creates tragedy.

        

         Yeats also refers to historical moments, like the rise of leaders who have used war for their own power, showing that war often comes from political struggles rather than any noble cause. He seems to challenge the idea that a poet's job is to glorify war. Yeats feels that poets should speak the truth, not just write what people want to hear.

        Ultimately, this poem reveals Yeats's inner conflict. He understands that people expect poets to write about war in an idealized way, but he refuses to do so. Instead, he chooses to expose the harsh and painful truths about war, demonstrating the responsibility of a poet to be honest, even if that means not writing what others want.

Conclusion 

        In conclusion, the poem shows Yeats’s belief that poetry cannot stop war or influence political decisions. He suggests that a poet’s role is not to promote war but to create beauty and offer comfort. The poem reflects his thoughtful and independent attitude during a time of conflict.