Dr.M.Mazumdar

The Story of a Mother by Hans Christian Andersen (1848) A MOTHER sat by her little child; she was very sad, for she feared it would die. It was quite pale, and its little eyes were closed, and sometimes it drew a heavy deep breath, almost like a sigh; and then the mother gazed more sadly than ever on the poor little creature. Some one knocked at the door, and a poor old man walked in. He was wrapped in something that looked like a great horse-cloth; and he required it truly to keep him warm, for it was cold winter; the country everywhere lay covered with snow and ice, and the wind blew so sharply that it cut one’s face. The little child had dozed off to sleep for a moment, and the mother, seeing that the old man shivered with the cold, rose and placed a small mug of beer on the stove to warm for him. The old man sat and rocked the cradle; and the mother seated herself on a chair near him, and looked at her sick child who still breathed heavily, and took hold of its little hand. “You th...

The Happy Family by Hans Christian Andersen (1848) THE largest green leaf in this country is certainly the burdock-leaf. If you hold it in front of you, it is large enough for an apron; and if you hold it over your head, it is almost as good as an umbrella, it is so wonderfully large. A burdock never grows alone; where it grows, there are many more, and it is a splendid sight; and all this splendor is good for snails. The great white snails, which grand people in olden times used to have made into fricassees; and when they had eaten them, they would say, “O, what a delicious dish!” for these people really thought them good; and these snails lived on burdock-leaves, and for them the burdock was planted. There was once an old estate where no one now lived to require snails; indeed, the owners had all died out, but the burdock still flourished; it grew over all the beds and walks of the garden—its growth had no check—till it became at last quite a forest of burdocks. Here and there stood ...

1. The Old House by Hans Christian Andersen (1848) A VERY old house stood once in a street with several that were quite new and clean. The date of its erection had been carved on one of the beams, and surrounded by scrolls formed of tulips and hop-tendrils; by this date it could be seen that the old house was nearly three hundred years old. Verses too were written over the windows in old-fashioned letters, and grotesque faces, curiously carved, grinned at you from under the cornices. One story projected a long way over the other, and under the roof ran a leaden gutter, with a dragon’s head at the end. The rain was intended to pour out at the dragon’s mouth, but it ran out of his body instead, for there was a hole in the gutter. The other houses in the street were new and well built, with large window panes and smooth walls. Any one could see they had nothing to do with the old house. Perhaps they thought, “How long will that heap of rubbish remain here to be a disgrace to the whole str...

Hans Christian Andersen (often referred to in Scandinavia as H.C. Andersen) was a Danish author and poet. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersen is best remembered for his fairy tales. Andersen's popularity is not limited to children; his stories — called eventyr, or "fairy-tales" — express themes that transcend age and nationality. Andersen's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well. Some of his most famous fairy tales include "The Little Mermaid", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Nightingale", "The Emperor's New Clothes" and many more. His stories have inspired plays, ballets, and both live-action and animated films. Underneath is the complete list of Anderse...

1. Themes A: "The Emperor's New Clothes" focus on its themes of conformity, truth and falsehood, social dynamics, and the power of the collective versus the courage of the individual, exploring how the story serves as a philosophical and social commentary on human behavior and institutional weaknesses. Questions can delve into the story's narrative structure, the ethical dilemmas of characters, its enduring relevance in contemporary society, and how it can be interpreted through literary and philosophical lenses.  Themes and Social Commentary  1. Conformity and Social Pressure: How does the story illustrate the dangers of social conformity and the pressure to maintain appearances at the expense of truth? 2. Truth vs. Deception: Analyze the moral dilemma faced by each character when confronted with the Emperor's non-existent clothes. Why do they choose to lie, and how does this reflect broader societal tendencies? 3. Power Dynamics: Discuss the power of the two swi...

The Rise Of The Personal Essay The 18th century writers of the prose ( which is also known as romantic period ) were rather more concerned with subject matter and emotional expression than with appropriate style. They wrote for an audience which was less homogeneous in its interest and education that that of their predecessors. The autobiographical exploitation of personality manifests itself in a great variety of ways among writer of late 18th and early 19th century. It is a symptomatic of a significant change in the relation between the writer and the society. The romantic period came after the age of enlightenment which really had a focus on logic, reason, and science and the romantic period was a deviation from that. Thus we see an emphasis on emotions, imaginations, that can defy reason. The neoclassical prose focussed on realism, morality where as romantic prose focussed on connecting with the natural world. They tried to escape from troubles of world and quested for he peace of...

Mystery Plays: Mystery play is one of three principal kinds of vernacular drama in Europe during the Middle Ages (along with the miracle play and the morality play). The mystery plays, usually representing biblical subjects, developed from the plays presented in Latin by churchmen on church premises and depicted subjects as the Creation, Adam and Eve, the murder of Abel, and the Last Judgement. During the 13th century, various guilds began producing the plays in the vernacular at sites removed from the churches. Under these conditions, the strictly religious nature of the plays declined, and they became filled with irrelevancies and apocryphal elements. Furthermore, satirical elements were introduced to mock physicians, soldiers, judges, and even monks and priests. In England, over the course of decades, groups of 25 to 50 plays were organized into lengthy cycles, such as the Chester plays and the Wakefield plays. In France a single play, The Acts of the Apostles by Arnoul and Simon Gr...