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How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43) – Elizabeth Barret Browning

‘How Do I Love Thee?’ is a sonnet written by Elizabeth Barret Browning. The speaker
begins the poem by asking the question, “How do I love thee?” and responding with, “Let me
count the ways.”

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height…..

One may assume that the speaker is either musing out loud—as one might do when
writing a letter—or responding to a lover who may have posed such a question. The entire
sonnet addresses this lover, “thee,” who may also be considered the listener. As it is known
that Elizabeth Barrett Browning dedicated this poem to her husband, she is assumed to be the
speaker addressing her husband.

The speaker describes all the ways in which she loves her husband. Her love is
multifaceted, as it can be compared to many aspects of life. Initially, she describes her love as
a powerful force of her soul so great in extent that she attempts to measure it in three-
dimensional terms. Next, she illustrates a quieter love that sustains her in her daily life, just as
the light of the sun illuminates her days. She then compares her love to the experiences of
mankind as a whole, portraying her love as free, pure, and humble just as decent people strive
to do good in the world without expectation of reward or praise.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

She then compares her love to the passionate intensity with which she once tried to
overcome her past pains as well as the way in which she believed in good things as a child.
Lastly, she compares her love to what she once felt for people she used to revere but have
somehow fallen out of her favour.

Near the poem’s conclusion, she states that her every breath, smile, and tear is a
reflection of her love for her husband. The speaker concludes the sonnet by telling her husband
that if God allows her, she will love him even more after she is gone.

Smiles, tears, of all my life! – and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.
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The Laboratory – Robert Browning

Robert Browning was a Victorian poet, famed for writing dramatic monologues. The
Laboratory is a fine example for dramatic monologue. The setting for this monologue is in a
laboratory, where a vengeful wife oversees an apothecary as he blends a poison; its intended
use being to kill her husband’s lover. Despite the dark subject matter, the tone of the poem is
gleeful and energetic; Browning’s character is like a pantomime villain, and we see her
excitement mount as she witnesses the grisly process.
Browning immediately creates an eerie scene. We sense the villainous wife looking on
with deep interest, through the ‘faint smoke’. The use of the word ‘gaze’ suggests that she is
staring in wonder; fascinated as she looks on. Immediately we are aware that this is a sinister
place, as Browning employs the metaphor ‘devil’s-smithy’. Normally we would assume that
an apothecary is where one visits to find healing medicines, but this one is being used for the
opposite purpose.
The poem is narrated by a young woman to an apothecary, who is preparing her a
poison with which to kill her rivals at a nearby royal court. She pushes him to complete the
potion while she laments how her beloved is not only being unfaithful, but that he is fully
aware that she knows of it.

He is with her, and they know that I know

Where they are, what they do: they believe my tears flow

While her betrayers think she must be somewhere in grief, she is proud to be instead plotting
their murder.

She notes the ingredients he uses, paying particular attention to their texture and
colour. She hopes the poison will "taste sweetly" so she can poison the two ladies she has in
her sights. Though she is a "minion" unlike her competitors, she will have the last laugh by
having them killed in a painful way that will also torment her beloved.

When the poison is complete, she promises the apothecary both her fortune (her
"jewels" and "gold") but also lets him kiss her.

Now, take all my jewels, gorge gold to your fill,

You may kiss me, old man, on my mouth if you will!

Finally, she is ready to go dancing at the king's and end her torment.
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‘Thou art indeed just, Lord’ - Gerard Manley Hopkins

‘Thou art indeed just, Lord’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins is a fourteen-line poem that
conforms to the traditional pattern of an Italian or Petrarchan sonnet. Before getting to the first
line of the poem, a reader comes across the epigraph. An epigraph is a brief piece of
information at the beginning of a poem. It could provide details regarding the setting, or contain
a quote or statement about the piece. In this case, the epigraph is in Latin.
The poem begins with the speaker using a line from the Bible, specifically Psalm 119.
Through this passage, he asks God why everything he does comes to nothing, but that which
nonbelievers do is successful. He sees this as being very unfair. The next lines set out a possible
scenario in which the speaker turned from God. He wonders if his situation would get worse
or if everything would stay the same. There is clearly some doubt in his mind about God and
his ability to influence the speaker’s life.
In the first lines of ‘Thou art indeed just, Lord’ the speaker makes use of the lines from
Psalm 119. He asks God, through the words translated by St. Jerome, why sinners prosper. The
speaker is clearly of the same mind. He wants to know why, since he loves and puts his faith
in God, why others who don’t do so, are allowed to do well. This is a genuine question, but the
speaker does not expect to receive an answer.
It is followed by another question, this one asking why all his own “endeavour[s] end”
in disappointment. This phrase does not have any contextual information behind it. A reader
would be unaware of what the speaker is specifically referring to, and that’s the point. The lines
are meant to tap into a wide variety of situations. Perhaps someone hearing or reading this
poem will feel the same and be able to apply the concerns to their own situation.
The next two and a half lines of ‘Thou art indeed just, Lord’ are complex. Through a
jumble of syntax, the speaker asks how God would treat him differently if the speaker was not
so devout. It seems to him, in this moment of doubt and frustration, that being a believer and a
nonbeliever come out to about the same thing. It is also clear in these lines that the speaker
does not want to offend God. This is seen through the insertion of remarks such as “O thou my
friend.” He wants to make sure that God knows that he’s still on his side.
In the next lines, he repeats the same sentiment that was in the first part of the poem.
He refers to the “sots and thralls of lust.” These are the servants of lust, those who are in its
power, rather than in Gods. They are the nonbelievers and the faithless. The speaker feels as
though these people he considers to be bad, “thrive” more than he does.
The situation set out in the first eight lines is unfair to the speaker as he spends his “life
upon [God’s] cause.” The next lines are more complex than those which came before. He goes
into specific details about his own situation. First, though, he looks to the “banks and brakes,”
or thickets. They are “leavèd…thick.” He is speaking about the number of leaves that cover
them and then, about the “chervil” that is fretted over their surfaces. This connects into the
twelfth line.
In the last three lines of ‘Thou art indeed just, Lord’ the speaker continues his
description of this natural scene. The wind shakes the “banks and brakes,” but they remain
intact. It is there, that “birds build.” Unlike the speaker, who is unable to build anything.
Through these lines, he is implying that anything he sets out to do falls apart. What he does
have though, is “strain.” He is like “Time’s eunuch.” He has time, it passes, but nothing gets
made. The only things that he breeds are words that don’t wake.
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This is what he is asking from God; that he be sent rain to give his roots life and the
ability to make something of himself. In the last lines, he specifically asks God that he be
allowed, like the birds, to build something that lasts. Thus far everything he’s made in his life
has come to nothing.

The Bread of the People – Bertolt Brecht

Bread and justice are the most essential requirements of people, and the want of
either of them can result in the extinction of the human race. The poet talks about the
striking similarities between the two and the marked absence of them. The speaker is
wise enough to realise that badly-baked bread and poorly-dispensed justice can give
rise to a high degree of discontent in the hearts of the people. In the poem, Brecht
compares justice to a person's daily bread. The bread, which stands for justice, is both
plentiful and scarce at different times, and it has both good and awful flavours.

Justice is the bread of the people.

Sometimes it is plentiful, sometimes it is scarce.
Sometimes it tastes good. Sometimes it tastes bad.

Hunger is a result of a lack of justice, but discontentment is a result of a poor perception

of justice.

The poet continues by saying that in his opinion, bad justice is like a loaf of
bread that has been cooked without love and kneaded without wisdom but has a grey
crust. The bad justice is ultimately the one that is made too late.

The other meals can be skipped if there is delicious, ample bread or justice.
However, the reality is that a person never always receives justice. Similarly, bread is
a daily requirement that supports our ability to preserve our lives. Another constant
requirement that is unavoidable is justice.

Justice is required throughout the day in a variety of circumstances. Whatever

the circumstances—happy or difficult—we must eat to survive, and that is justice.

Finally, the poet poses a fundamental query, such as "Who bakes the bread of
justice?" And he provides an answer to that query. They have spent their entire lives
perfecting the art of breadmaking.

Like the other bread

The bread of justice must be baked
By the people.

The poet explains how individuals bring about their own justice. And he says,
both must be baked and distributed not from the above, but by the people.
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Bankers Are Just Like Anybody Else, Except Richer- Ogden Nash

In this poem, the narrator talks about the world of banking and how the people who
work there are the most despicable beings on this earth. He claims that the banks refuse to give
you money when a person really needs it and choose instead to give it to people who want to
splurge on unnecessary things and commit different excesses.

So they already have two million as security so you have no

hesitation in lending them two more,

When it comes to the poor who really need the money, the bank sends them to their
family and friends, refusing to help them mostly because the banks know they will not profit
as much from them. This poem is thus used to highlight the hypocrisy the banks manifest,
refusing to help the poor and instead making the rich even richer.

All institutions, put in place of capitalism, are marvellous places to celebrate the success
of human civilization. The tone of the poem is more than sarcastic; it borders on mockery.

The poem provides a sardonic insight into the operations of the bank and the frame of
mind of bankers. Bankers, by a little stretch of the imagination, can be deemed to be human
with a little more money in possession. The poet smugly remarks that a little greed on the part
of bankers does not dehumanise them beyond corrigibility.
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No Men Are Foreign – James Kirkup

In the beginning, the poet says that ‘no men are strange, and no country is foreign’. So,
the poet tries to remove all the borders of countries from the earth’s surface. Only then no country
will be foreign. Also, when there will be no borders then no county will be foreign. And we can
feel free to move around. In this way, the entire earth is one and all the people who live on this
earth belong to one human race. Moreover, inside the uniforms of soldiers from different
countries, humans are the same.

Beneath all uniforms, a single body breaths

Because God has made us all similarly. We all breathe in the same way. After that poet says that
all the soldiers are our brothers – as we all walk the same ‘Mother Earth’. And upon death, will
bury in the same earth.

In the next part, ‘they’ refers to people of other countries. We also fight with them,
discriminate them and call them foreigners. He also says that nature has given them plenty just
like he did to us. God has given everyone equal air, water, and sunlight which means God does
not differentiate. When there is no war, we all do farming. We live a comfortable life and eat
things given by nature. In addition, he points out that during war and winter we starve and the
people of another country also face the same things. So, the poet wants to say that we and
foreigners of other countries are the same. Further, he says that they have the same hand as ours,
and they work hard like us. The poet gives all these examples to express the readers that there is
no difference between people of a different country.

He further says that keep in mind that God has bestowed our enemies with a similar
appearance to us. God has given them similar eyes that open and shut like ours. God has also given
them strength which we can win through love.

Remember they have eyes like ours that wake

Or sleep, and strength that can be won
By love. In every land is common life
And on every land, life is the most common thing. Moreover, when we realize that they are like
us, then there will be no war.

When someone tells us to hate someone of another country and treat them as our enemy
and if we do that then we deprive, condemn, and cheat ourselves. The poet says that we should
stay away from such negativity. During the war both parties bear losses. This is the reason why
people say the war is not in anyone’s favour.

When we pick a weapon against anyone, we defile the earth with their blood. As in war,
there is fire, death, and bloodshed. The dead bodies make the earth impure. The war pollutes the
earth and impures the air. Lastly, the poet writes the first line in reverse saying remember, no men
are foreign, and no countries are strange.
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Caged Bird – Maya Angelou

In the first stanza, the speaker describes a bird taking flight and gliding on a wind current.

A free bird leaps

On the back of the wind

And floats downstream

Till the current ends

The bird revels in its freedom, feeling the warmth of sun rays on its wings as it flaps them. The
speaker describes the free bird's flight as "dar[ing] to claim the sky."

The second stanza introduces a comparison of the free bird to a caged bird. Imprisoned, the
caged bird stalks his cage and feels rage over having clipped wings and tied feet. The flight-
limiting cage, wing clipping, and tied feet prompt the bird to sing.

In the third stanza, the speaker says the caged bird sings a song infused with a fear of the things
the bird does not know but longs for nonetheless.

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird

sings of freedom.

The caged bird's tune reaches a distant hill because it is a song yearning for freedom.

Stanza four returns to the free bird, who contemplates the arrival of another strong wind and
thinks about the fat worms which await him on lawns in the morning. He claims the sky as his
own.

The fifth stanza shifts back to the caged bird, whose perch is "the grave of dreams" and whose
"shadow shouts on a nightmare scream." Because his wings are clipped and his feet tied, he
opens his throat to sing.

The sixth and final stanza is a word-for-word repeat of the third stanza. The caged bird sings a
song that is fearful of the things the bird does not know but for which it longs. The speaker
concludes the poem by repeating that the song reaches a distant hill because "the caged bird
sings of freedom."

Through juxtaposing the symbolic experiences of two birds—one free and one caged—Maya
Angelou explores themes of freedom, oppression, and resilience. The result is an allegory for
the comparative experiences of white Americans who take their freedom and privilege for
granted and Black Americans who face systemic racial and economic oppression, and yet
because of this oppression, have a deeper and truer knowledge of what freedom is.
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Stammer – K. Satchidanandan

“Stammer” is a poem which is written by Satchidanandan. In this poem, the poet says
that the way we see the world makes how we approach the life, people or things the poem
begins by telling the readers that stammer and “handicap” are different. But most of the people
have a tendency to assume that stammer is a disability. For the poet, it is a kind of speech.

A stammer is no handicap.
It is a mode of speech.

Stammer is a kind of gap that comes between word and its meaning. Then the poet
compares stammering in speech to lameness in walking. Those people who have lameness
could not do need when they talk about some actions or deed. Thus the poet says that most of
the people talk a lot. But when it comes to action a very few will do.

The poet asks a few confusing questions to the readers. He has a confusion whether
''stammer'' comes before or after language. Another confusion which he tells to the readers is
whether “stammer” is a “dialect” or a “language”. The poet believes that even these questions
could not be answered by the “linguists” themselves.

When a person stammers, he is creating different meanings. For instance, if a

stammering person utters “hello”, he will utter it as “he-he-hello”. The word “he” is a pronoun
and has a different meaning. The word “hello” is a noun and is used as a greeting. When all
people stammer, stammer becomes “mother tongue”. Through this, the poet says that everyone
stammers. Most of the people think and tell something. Hence it is very difficult to understand
what is inside a person. No one can understand a human being through his words.

The poet opens the last stanza in an ironic way. He tells his readers that when God had
created man, he must have stammered.

God too must have stammered

when He created Man.

Through this, the poet tries to tell that since human beings are not perfect, the God, who
is the creator of them, will also be an imperfect one. Since humans are imperfect, they utter
words which have different meanings. That is why whatever he is telling from prayer to
command have so many meanings like poetry. According to the poet, a poem evokes so many
meanings. When a critic deconstructs a poem, he gets different layers of meaning from a single
poem. Likewise, if one deconstructs a person's talk, one will get different layers of meaning.
Though the poem, Stammer, Satchidanandan tells his readers to develop a multiple perspective
nature for everything.
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The Story of an Hour – Kate Chopin

Many of Kate’s stories are concerned with the theme of widowhood, and The Story of
an Hour is one of them. Louise Mallard has heart trouble, so she must be informed carefully
about her husband’s death. Her sister, Josephine, tells her the news. Louise’s husband’s friend,
Richards, learned about a railroad disaster when he was in the newspaper office and saw
Louise’s husband, Brently, on the list of those killed. Louise begins sobbing when Josephine
tells her of Brently’s death and goes upstairs to be alone in her room.

Louise sits down and looks out an open window. She sees trees, smells approaching
rain, and hears a peddler yelling out what he’s selling. She hears someone singing as well as
the sounds of sparrows, and there are fluffy white clouds in the sky. She is young, with lines
around her eyes. Still crying, she gazes into the distance. She feels apprehensive and tries to
suppress the building emotions within her, but can’t. She begins repeating the word Free! to
herself over and over again. Her heart beats quickly, and she feels very warm.

Louise knows she’ll cry again when she sees Brently’s corpse. His hands were tender,
and he always looked at her lovingly. But then she imagines the years ahead, which belong
only to her now, and spreads her arms out joyfully with anticipation. She will be free, on her
own without anyone to oppress her. She thinks that all women and men oppress one another
even if they do it out of kindness. Louise knows that she often felt love for Brently but tells
herself that none of that matters anymore. She feels ecstatic with her newfound sense of
independence.

Josephine comes to her door, begging Louise to come out, warning her that she’ll get
sick if she doesn’t. Louise tells her to go away. She fantasizes about all the days and years
ahead and hopes that she lives a long life. Then she opens the door, and she and Josephine start
walking down the stairs, where Richards is waiting.

The front door unexpectedly opens, and Brently comes in. He hadn’t been in the train
accident or even aware that one had happened. Josephine screams, and Richards tries
unsuccessfully to block Louise from seeing him. Doctors arrive and pronounce that Louise died
of a heart attack brought on by happiness.
In “The Story of an Hour,” Chopin employs specific structural and stylistic techniques
to heighten the drama of the hour. The structure Chopin has chosen for “The Story of an Hour”
fits the subject matter perfectly. The story is short, made up of a series of short paragraphs,
many of which consist of just two or three sentences. Likewise, the story covers only one hour
in Louise Mallard’s life—from the moment she learns of her husband’s death to the moment
he unexpectedly returns alive. The short, dense structure mirrors the intense hour Louise spends
contemplating her new independence. Just as Louise is completely immersed in her wild
thoughts of the moment, we are immersed along with her in this brief period of time. This story
can be read quickly, but the impact it makes is powerful. Chopin surprises us first with Louise’s
elated reaction when she first murmurs “free” to herself. She shocks us again at the conclusion
when she dies upon Brently’s return. The “heart disease” mentioned at the end of the story
echoes the “heart trouble” discussed at the beginning, intensifying the twist ending and
bringing the story to a satisfying close.
Because such a short story leaves no room for background information, flashbacks, or
excessive speculation, Chopin succeeds in making every sentence important by employing an
almost poetic writing style. She uses repetition to highlight important points, such as when she
repeats the word open throughout the story to emphasize the freedom of Louise’s new life. She
has Louise repeat the word free over and over again as well, which is one of the few words
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Louise actually speaks aloud in the story and indicates how much she cherishes her newfound
freedom. Besides repeating words, Chopin also repeats phrases and sentence structures to
highlight important points. For example, Chopin writes, “She breathed a quick prayer that life
might be long. It was only yesterday that she had thought with a shudder that life might be
long.” The identical phrasing of the second half of each sentence reveals how drastically
Louise’s life has changed—she once shuddered at the thought of a long life, but now she prays
for it. Finally, Chopin makes the prose of the story beautiful by using alliteration and internal
rhymes. For example, Josephine “revealed in half concealing” when she tells Louise the news,
and Brently reappears “composedly carrying” his belongings. All of Chopin’s stylistic and
structural techniques combine to make this very short story powerful.

The Social Responsibilities of Scientists - Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell is a famous English prose writer. In his essay, ‘The Social
Responsibilities of Scientists’, he has expressed his views on science and its influence on
human life. The essay is about the need for scientists to be socially and politically mindful of
the world they claim to better understand and transform. Scientists seem to live in bubbles,
insulated from the social realities of their contemporary world. They have often allowed
themselves to be used by the authoritarian governments, little realising the moral implications
of lending their support to tyrannical regimes. Scientists are morally bound to seek to know the
consequences, resulting from their knowledge being put to use.

According to him science is a good servant but a bad master for man. The social
responsibility of scientists requires that they should also consider societal impacts of their
work, particularly as these discoveries impacts the safety, health or welfare of the society.

According to Bertrand Russell, the role of scientist in the society is as follows :

• A scientist is person with some special skills but he is also a citizen and he has duties
too for the society.

• A scientist should speak out the issues of public in his speech, as his speech will have
more values and can be heard more widely than a normal person’s speech.

• Scientist may provide more discoveries related to war and weapons but there is lot more
than war and weapon.

Bertrand Russell also mentioned that the scientists should work for the development of
knowledge and should share them with the public, it is the duty of the scientists to explain their
discoveries to the general public as people may not be aware of the good or the bad effects of
the discovery.
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A Devoted Son - Anita Desai

“A Devoted Son” is a short story by Anita Desai. The story appears in the collection,
Games at Twilight and Other Stories. Desai’s collection of stories was published in 1978 by
Vintage and received widespread popular praise. The stories, including “A Devoted Son,”
reflect contemporary urban life in India and the characters are from all walks of life. Desai
has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times and she served as the Emerita John E.
Buchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her daughter,
Kiran Desai, is a Booker Prize winner.

“The Devoted Son” centres around Dr. Rakesh. He comes from a poor Indian village.
His father, Varma, works as a vegetable vendor, and spent many years dreaming of having
an educated son. Rakesh is the first in the family to get any education. When Rakesh finishes
his medical examinations with top marks—the highest in the country—this is cause for
celebration.

Varma tells everyone who’ll listen about Rakesh’s grades and how it means he can
go to medical school in America. Neighbours come to pay their respects and wish them well,
but some townsfolk worry this will make Rakesh conceited and forget where he comes from.
Varma isn’t worried about this, however—he’s proud to have a son known now by everyone.

Rakesh spends a lot of time in America finishing his degree. He completes it with
ease and has job offers at prestigious US hospitals. Awards he wins are sent back to his family
for them to keep and admire. It’s Rakesh’s way of keeping in touch with them until he can
return home.

Although Rakesh loves America and is admired by his colleagues for his aptitude, he
loves his family more. He always planned on returning home, and this hasn’t changed. As
soon as he has enough experience and money behind him, he returns home with the intention
of working in his hometown.

His parents, however, aren’t so happy with his life choices. They don’t understand
why he wants to come home and leave all this behind. They also don’t understand why he
chooses to marry a village girl with no education—Varma believes he should have bigger
dreams. This is the first real sign of conflict within the family unit. Rakesh refuses to listen
to his parents, and he marries the girl.

He then starts working at the city hospital, which is quite different from the hospitals
he’s used to working in. Rakesh, however, wants to work here and make a difference in his
town. He quickly rises to the position of director, to the awe and joy of his entire family.
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Through all of this, Rakesh never seems conceited or ungrateful. There’s always a sense that
he remembers who he is, and that he won’t let this go. When he has a son of his own, his life
is complete.

Sadly, it’s not long before this that his mother passes away. Varma takes it especially
hard. Rakesh is pleased he at least made her proud before she died, but he worries for his
father and how he’ll cope. Now that Rakesh has a family of his own, he doesn’t have as much
time to dedicate to Varma, but he does what he can as his father’s health declines. He doesn’t
want to lose any time he has left with him, and he puts his medical skills to good use.

Rakesh imposes a ban on sweets for Varma, to look after his stomach. However,
Varma tries to get them through Rakesh’s son, which enrages Rakesh. He worries that his
father will make his grandson less honourable than Rakesh. Tensions rise between father and
son, and Rakesh starts resenting how much time he spends looking after him—although he
keeps doing it. For example, when everyone fears Varma is near death, they postpone a
birthday party, only for Varma to be entirely fine. Rakesh wonders if he’s doing it
deliberately for attention.

However, Rakesh doesn’t give up on his father—instead, he becomes more devoted

to him. He wants his son to have a good relationship with Varma, just as he did as a boy.
Varma tells Rakesh and his wife that he doesn’t like them, but even then, Rakesh looks out
for him. As relationships deteriorate, Rakesh must choose whether to stay devoted to his
father or leave him to die on his own.

Rakesh chooses to help his father. Desai’s message here is that we’re all faced with
similar choices eventually, and we shouldn’t forget to look after our elders the way they once
looked after us. Although Rakesh can’t make his father better, and he’s struggling to keep
his own life under control, he doesn’t abandon him. He shows Varma the same faith once
shown to him when he wanted to become a doctor. When Rakesh must finally let Varma go,
right at the end, he knows he did all he could for him.