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Online discussion: Oneness of Literature


  •  This Blog is a part of classroom activities in which students have to interpret two works one is T.S.Eliot's 'Wasteland' and another is the story ' The Joke' by Anton Chekhov.


  • We find oneness in whole literature. All literature connected with each other,all those which are already written,those being written and those yet to be written. One must have an understanding of this continuity.

  • T.S. Eliot's view :-
  • T.S.Eliot said  in his  Tradition and individual talent that the best and the most individual part of poet's work is that reflects maximum influence of writers of past. He also said that no poets ,no artist of any art has his complete meaning alone. His appreciation is the application of his relationship with dead poets.

  • Northrop Frye view :-
    He developed the theory of Archetypal criticism. He said that the whole literature has oneness of its existence. All share oneness and common DNA or skeleton.

  • And when we were children, staying at the archduke's,
    My cousin's, he took me out on a sled,
    And I was frightened. He said, Marie,
    Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
    In the mountains, there you feel free.

  • These are the lines from Wasteland. In this lines Marie feels Nostalgic. She is frightend to going over the mountain on the sled. During this time one male person who is her cousin tells her to hold her tight. So he take advantage of Marie fear and tells her to hold him tightly. So in this lines shows the sexual perversion. Also it shows that the girl is not free because of her fear. When they go down she feels  fearless and ultimately she feeling free. So without her cousin she can't go down alone. So we can see the spiritual degradation and sexual perversion and lust in this lines.





  • In this  story  by Chekhov Nadia and speaker stood at the summit of a high hill. Nadia was timid and frightened about to plunged into the abyss. But speaker urged her , and forces her for coasting .The sled flew like a shot out of a gun. Speaker whispered into her ears ," I love you Nadia !" It was question on her face of pride, of humour ,of happiness , of life itself , a very important question in the world may be for her at the time.Again and again they slide down the hill . But speaker not understand why he said those words and why he jested with Nadia ? 

  • We can find many similarities in short story of Chekhov and these lines of Waste Land. In both the context surrounding and incidents are same. In both the context driving on sled plays important role to evoke such emotions.
  •  It shows the same theme " Sexual Perversion ". There is no love and no wishes of happy life together , and no dreams but only attraction of body and " A Joke " .
  • Here we can interpret that  from " A Joke " by  Chekhov . Same theme as in " The Wasteland "  there all part reflects this theme and a  lustful relation of people in burning land . at some point both reflects same theme of ," Sexual Perversion "

  •  so it can be said that all literature connected with each other in terms of representing time, love , sexual Perversion, Good and evil , existence of God , nature of human beings this all things presented in one or another way.there is oneness in both, the poem.

  • Translation always is different than original works. We can not get the real charm or feelings of the work in translated version. Hence, there are many words like the title of the story "The Joke" and "Nanakdi majak" there is no appropriate word.



Thank you .............

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