COURSE TITLE : APPRECIATION OF ART, CULTURE AND

LITERATURE

COURSE DURATION : 2 hour per week for 15 weeks

COURSE CREDITS: 3

SECTION-A: APPRECIATION OF
LITERATURE

Lecture 1: Introduction
Essence of Literary Thoughts for a Manager
- Creativity: is of utmost importance to a
manager. She needs to be foresighted, take
decisions, generate new ideas, is responsible
for the growth of the company, has to face stiff
competition, manage, delegate responsibilities
etc. perform all d functions of a manager.
- Open-mindedness :in order to keep d
interests of d company above his own, a
manager needs to b open minded. He cannot
let petty prejudices tar d efficient working of d
organization.He should b open 2 new ideas n b
able 2 incorporate dem in2 it’s working.2 solve
conflicts etc.
- Value-systems : No matter how fast a
company wants to climb d corporate ladder it
needs 2 keep d value systems in mind. Our
forward looking president APJ Abdul Kalam
insisted on this.
Ethics, morals, respect, honesty etc.
- Stress Handling ability :A manager needs 2
keep his cool under all circumstances ,as not
doing so ,will b detrimental for him as well as d
company. A good manager knows how 2 deal
with stress n situations that lead 2 it. Managers
r taking the help of yoga
Tai-chi, playing games, attending workshops,
reading self- help books and keeping
themselves mentally and physically fit, in order
to deal better with stress. “ Laugh n work better
“is d new mantra, as being light hearted @ work
helps 2 keep stress at bay. A good manager
doesn’t take his domestic troubles 2 office and
vice versa.

A Brief on Literary Thought Leaders (Global

and Indian)
- William Shakespeare :-

William Shakespeare (1564–1616),

`The Bard of Avon', English poet and
playwright wrote the famous 154 Sonnets
and numerous highly successful oft
quoted dramatic works including the
tragedy of the Prince of Denmark,
Hamlet;
"Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of
husbandry.
This above all: to thine ownself be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell: my blessing season this in
thee!"
--Lord Polonius, Hamlet Act I, Scene 3
While Shakespeare caused much
controversy, he also earned lavish praise
and has profoundly impacted the world
over in areas of literature, culture, art,
theatre, and film and is considered one of
the best English language writers ever.
From the Preface of the First Folio (1623)
"To the memory of my beloved, The
Author, Mr. William Shakespeare: and
what he hath left us"--Ben Jonson;
"Thou art a Moniment, without a tombe
And art alive still, while thy Booke doth
live,
And we have wits to read, and praise to
give."
Over the centuries there has been much
speculation surrounding various aspects
of Shakespeare's life including his
religious affiliation, sexual orientation,
sources for collaborations, authorship of
and chronology of the plays and sonnets.
Many of the dates of play performances,
when they were written, adapted or
revised and printed are imprecise. This
biography attempts only to give an
overview of his life, while leaving the
more learned perspectives to the
countless scholars and historians who
have devoted their lives to the study and
demystification of the man and his works.
England's celebration of their patron Saint
George is on 23 April, which is also the
day claimed to be the birth date of
Shakespeare. Although birth and death
dates were not recorded in Shakespeare's
time, churches did record baptisms and
burials, usually a few days after the
actual event. The infant William was
baptised on 26 April 1564 in the parish
church Holy Trinity of Stratford upon
Avon. He lived with his fairly well-to-do
parents on Henley Street, the first of the
four sons born to John Shakespeare
(c1530-1601) and Mary Arden (c1540-
1608), who also had four daughters. John
Shakespeare was a local businessman
and also involved in municipal affairs as
Alderman and Bailiff, but a decline in his
fortunes in his later years surely had an
effect on William.
 In his
younger years Shakespeare attended the
Christian Holy Trinity church, the now
famous elegant limestone cross shaped
cathedral on the banks of the Avon river,
studying the Book of Common Prayer and
the English Bible. In 1605 he became lay
rector when he paid £440 towards its
upkeep, hence why he is buried in the
chancel. Early on Shakespeare likely
attended the Elizabethan theatrical
productions of travelling theatre troups,
come to Stratford to entertain the local
official townsmen, including the Queen's
Men, Worcester's Men, Leicester's Men,
and Lord Strange's Men. There is also the
time when Queen Elizabeth herself visited
nearby Kenilworth Castle and
Shakespeare, said to have been duly
impressed by the procession, recreated it
in some of his later plays.
Although enrolment registers did not
survive, around the age of eleven
Shakespeare probably entered the
grammar school of Stratford, King's New
School, where he would have studied
theatre and acting, as well as Latin
literature and history. When he finished
school he might have apprenticed for a
time with his father, but there is also
mention of his being a school teacher.
The next record of his life is in 1582,
when still a minor at the age of eighteen
and requiring his father's consent,
Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway (1556–
1623) married in the village of Temple
Grafton. Baptisms of three children were
recorded; Susanna (1583-1649), who
went on to marry noted physician John
Hall, and twins Judith (1585-1662) who
married Richard Quiney, and Hamnet
(1585-1596) his only son and heir who
died at the age of eleven.
It is not exactly clear what Shakespeare
was doing in the first few years after the
marriage, but he did go to London and
worked at The Globe theatre, possibly as
one of the Queen's Men whose works
were harshly anti Catholic in a time of
rising Protestantism. He was writing
poems and plays, and his involvement
with theatre troupes and acting is
disparagingly condemned in a 1592
pamphlet that was distributed in London,
attributed to Robert Green the playwright
titled "Groats Worth of Witte" haughtily
attacking Shakespeare as an "upstart
crow";
"Yes trust them not: for there is an
upstart Crow, beautified with our
feathers, that with his Tyger's hart
wrapped in a Player's hyde, supposes he
is as well able to bombast out a blanke
verse as the best of you: and beeing an
absolute Iohannes fac totum [Jack-of-all-
trades, Master of none], is in his owne
conceit the onely Shake-scene in a
countrey. O that I might entreate your
rare wits to be employed in more
profitable courses: & let these Apes
imitate your past excellence, and never
more acquaint them with your admired
inventions."
By 1593 the plague was haunting London
and many who were able fled the teeming
city for the cleansing airs of open
country. While it was a time for many
upstart theatres, the popular public
entertainment of the day, they were often
shut down and forbidden to open for
stretches of time. Shakespeare probably
spent these dark days travelling between
London, Stratford, and the provinces,
which gave him time to pen many more
plays and sonnets. Among the first of his
known printed works is the comedic and
erotically charged Ovidian narrative poem
Venus and Adonis (1593). It was wildly
popular, dedicated with great esteem to
his patron Henry Wriothesly, third earl of
Southampton, the young man that some
say Shakespeare may have had more
than platonic affection for. It was
followed by the much darker The Rape of
Lucrece in 1594, The Passionate Pilgrim
in 1599 and the allegorical The Phoenix
and the Turtle (1601).
At this time of prolific writing,
Shakespeare began his association until
his death with The Lord Chamberlain's
Men. With the accession of James I they
became the King's Men, who bought and
performed most of Shakespeare's plays.
The troupe included his friend and actor
Richard Burbage. They performed
frequently at court, and in the theatres
that Shakespeare was co-owner of
including the Blackfriars, The Theatre,
and The Globe in London until it burnt
down during a performance of King Henry
VIII. It is said that Shakespeare himself
acted in a number of roles including the
ghost in Hamlet and Old Adam in As You
Like It. In the late 1590s he bought `New
Place' on Chapel Street in Stratford, one
of his many real estate investments.
Shakespeare wrote most of his plays as
`quarto texts', that being on a sheet of
paper folded four ways. A few of his plays
were printed in his lifetime, though they
appeared more voluminously after his
death, sometimes plagiarised and often
changed at the whim of the printer. First
Folio would be the first collection of his
dramatic works, a massive undertaking to
compile thirty-six plays from the quarto
texts, playbooks, transcriptions, and the
memories of actors. The approximately
nine hundred page manuscript took about
two years to complete and was printed in
1623 as Mr. William Shakespeares
Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. It also
featured on the frontispiece the famous
engraved portrait of Shakespeare said to
be by Martin Droeshout (1601-c1651).
Under the favour of the court The Kings'
Men became the eminent company of the
day. Most likely Anne and the children
lived in Stratford while Shakespeare
spent his time travelling between
Stratford and London, dealing with
business affairs and writing and acting. In
1616 his daughter Judith married Quiney
who subsequently admitted to fornication
with Margaret Wheeler, and Shakespeare
took steps to bequeath a sum to Judith in
her own name. William Shakespeare died
on 23 April 1616, according to his
monument, and lies buried in the chancel
of the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford
upon Avon. While there is little known of
her life, Anne Hathaway outlived her
husband by seven years, dying in 1623
and is buried beside him. It is not clear as
to how or why Shakespeare died, but in
1664 the reverend John Ward, vicar of
Stratford recorded that "Shakespeare,
Drayton and Ben Johnson had a merie
meeting, and itt seems drank too hard,
for Shakespeare died of a feavour there
contracted." His tombstone is inscribed
with the following epitaph;
Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare
To digg the dust encloased heare
Blessed by y man y spares hes stones
And curst be he y moves my bones
Poetry
It is generally agreed that most of the
Shakespearean Sonnets were written in
the 1590s, some printed at this time as
well. Others were written or revised right
before being printed. 154 sonnets and "A
Lover's Complaint" were published by
Thomas Thorpe as Shake-speares
Sonnets in 1609. The order, dates, and
authorship of the Sonnets have been
much debated with no conclusive
findings. Many have claimed
autobiographical details from them,
including sonnet number 145 in reference
to Anne. The dedication to "Mr. W.H." is
said to possibly represent the initials of
the third earl of Pembroke William
Herbert, or perhaps being a reversal of
Henry Wriothesly's initials. Regardless,
there have been some unfortunate
projections and interpretations of modern
concepts onto centuries old works that,
while a grasp of contextual historical
information can certainly lend to their
depth and meaning, can also be enjoyed
as valuable poetical works that have
transcended time and been surpassed by
no other.
Evoking Petrarch's style and lyrically
writing of beauty, mortality, and love with
its moral anguish and worshipful
adoration of a usually unattainable love,
the first 126 sonnets are addressed to a
young man, sonnets 127-152 to a dark
lady. Ever the dramatist Shakespeare
created a profound intrigue to scholars
and novices alike as to the identities of
these people.
Tragedies
Some probably inspired by Shakespeare's
study of Lives (trans.1597) by Greek
historian and essayist Plutarch and
Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles (1587).
Some are reworkings of previous stories,
many based on English or Roman history.
The dates given here are when they are
said to have been first performed,
followed by approximate printing dates in
brackets, listed in chronological order of
performance.
Titus Andronicus first performed in 1594
(printed in 1594),
Romeo and Juliet 1594-95 (1597),
Hamlet 1600-01 (1603),
Julius Caesar 1600-01 (1623),
Othello 1604-05 (1622),
Antony and Cleopatra 1606-07 (1623),
King Lear 1606 (1608),
Coriolanus 1607-08 (1623), derived from
Plutarch
Timon of Athens 1607-08 (1623), and
Macbeth 1611-1612 (1623).
Histories
Shakespeare's series of historical dramas,
based on the English Kings from John to
Henry VIII were a tremendous
undertaking to dramatise the lives and
rule of kings and the changing political
events of his time. No other playwright
had attempted such an ambitious body of
work. Some were printed on their own or
in the First Folio (1623).
King Henry VI Part 1 1592 (printed in
1594);
King Henry VI Part 2 1592-93 (1594);
King Henry VI Part 3 1592-93 (1623);
King John 1596-97 (1623);
King Henry IV Part 1 1597-98 (1598);
King Henry IV Part 2 1597-98 (1600);
King Henry V 1598-99 (1600);
Richard II 1600-01 (1597);
Richard III 1601 (1597); and
King Henry VIII 1612-13 (1623)
Comedies, again listed in chronological
order of performance.
Taming of the Shrew first performed
1593-94 (1623),
Comedy of Errors 1594 (1623),
Two Gentlemen of Verona 1594-95
(1623),
Love's Labour's Lost 1594-95 (1598),
Midsummer Night's Dream 1595-96
(1600),
Merchant of Venice 1596-1597 (1600),
Much Ado About Nothing 1598-1599
(1600),
As You Like It 1599-00 (1623),
Merry Wives of Windsor 1600-01 (1602),
Troilus and Cressida 1602 (1609),
Twelfth Night 1602 (1623),
All's Well That Ends Well 1602-03 (1623),
Measure for Measure 1604 (1623),
Pericles, Prince of Tyre 1608-09 (1609),
Tempest (1611),
Cymbeline 1611-12 (1623),
Winter's Tale 1611-12 (1623).
Biography written by C.D. Merriman for
Jalic Inc. Copyright Jalic Inc. 2006. All
Rights Reserved.
The above biography is copyrighted. Do
not republish it without

- Bernard Shaw:-
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
was born in Dublin, the son of a civil
servant. His education was irregular, due
to his dislike of any organized training.
After working in an estate agent's office
for a while he moved to London as a
young man (1876), where he established
himself as a leading music and theatre
critic in the eighties and nineties and
became a prominent member of the
Fabian Society, for which he composed
many pamphlets. He began his literary
career as a novelist; as a fervent
advocate of the new theatre of Ibsen
(The Quintessence of Ibsenism, 1891) he
decided to write plays in order to
illustrate his criticism of the English
stage. His earliest dramas were called
appropriately Plays Pleasant and
Unpleasant (1898). Among these,
Widower's Houses and Mrs. Warren's
Profession savagely attack social
hypocrisy, while in plays such as Arms
and the Man and The Man of Destiny the
criticism is less fierce. Shaw's radical
rationalism, his utter disregard of
conventions, his keen dialectic interest
and verbal wit often turn the stage into a
forum of ideas, and nowhere more openly
than in the famous discourses on the Life
Force, «Don Juan in Hell», the third act of
the dramatization of woman's love chase
of man, Man and Superman (1903).
In the plays of his later period discussion
sometimes drowns the drama, in Back to
Methuselah (1921), although in the same
period he worked on his masterpiece
Saint Joan (1923), in which he rewrites
the well-known story of the French
maiden and extends it from the Middle
Ages to the present.
Other important plays by Shaw are
Caesar and Cleopatra (1901), a historical
play filled with allusions to modern times,
and Androcles and the Lion (1912), in
which he exercised a kind of retrospective
history and from modern movements
drew deductions for the Christian era. In
Major Barbara (1905), one of Shaw's
most successful «discussion» plays, the
audience's attention is held by the power
of the witty argumentation that man can
achieve aesthetic salvation only through
political activity, not as an individual. The
Doctor's Dilemma (1906), facetiously
classified as a tragedy by Shaw, is really
a comedy the humour of which is directed
at the medical profession. Candida
(1898), with social attitudes toward sex
relations as objects of his satire, and
Pygmalion (1912), a witty study of
phonetics as well as a clever treatment of
middle-class morality and class
distinction, proved some of Shaw's
greatest successes on the stage. It is a
combination of the dramatic, the comic,
and the social corrective that gives
Shaw's comedies their special flavour.
Shaw's complete works appeared in
thirty-six volumes between 1930 and
1950, the year of his death.
From Nobel Lectures, Literature 1901-
1967, Editor Horst Frenz, Elsevier
Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1969
This autobiography/biography was written
at the time of the award and first
published in the book series Les Prix
Nobel. It was later edited and republished
in Nobel Lectures. To cite this document,
always state the source as shown above.
George Bernard Shaw died on November
2, 1950

- Victor Hugo:-

Victor-Marie Hugo (pronounced [vikt?? ma?i

y??o]) (February 26, 1802 – May 22, 1885) was
a French poet, playwright, novelist, essayist,
visual artist, statesman, human rights
campaigner, and perhaps the most influential
exponent of the Romantic movement in France.
In France, Hugo's literary reputation rests
primarily on his poetic and dramatic output and
only secondarily on his novels. Among many
volumes of poetry, Les Contemplations and La
Légende des siècles stand particularly high in
critical esteem, and Hugo is sometimes
identified as the greatest French poet. In the
English-speaking world his best-known works
are often the novels Les Misérables and Notre-
Dame de Paris (sometimes translated into
English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame).
Though extremely conservative in his youth,
Hugo moved to the political left as the decades
passed; he became a passionate supporter of
republicanism, and his work touches upon most
of the political and social issues and artistic
trends of his time. He is buried in the Panthéon.
Victor-Marie Hugo was the third and last son of
Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo (1773–1828)
and Sophie Trébuchet (1772-1821); his brothers
were Abel Joseph Hugo (1798–1855) and
Eugène Hugo (1800–1837). He was born in
1802 in Besançon (in the region of Franche-
Comté) and lived in France for the majority of
his life. However, he was forced into exile
during the reign of Napoleon III — he lived
briefly in Brussels during 1851; in Jersey from
1852 to 1855; and in Guernsey from 1855 to
1870 and again in 1872-1873. There was a
general amnesty in 1859; after that, his exile
was by choice.
Hugo's early childhood was marked by great
events. The century prior to his birth saw the
overthrow of the Bourbon Dynasty in the
French Revolution, the rise and fall of the First
Republic, and the rise of the First French
Empire and dictatorship under Napoleon
Bonaparte. Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor
two years after Hugo's birth, and the Bourbon
Monarchy was restored before his eighteenth
birthday. The opposing political and religious
views of Hugo's parents reflected the forces that
would battle for supremacy in France
throughout his life: Hugo's father was a high-
ranking officer in Napoleon's army, an atheist
republican who considered Napoleon a hero;
his mother was a staunch Catholic Royalist who
is believed to have taken as her lover General
Victor Lahorie, who was executed in 1812 for
plotting against Napoleon.
Sophie followed her husband to posts in Italy
(where Léopold served as a governor of a
province near Naples) and Spain (where he took
charge of three Spanish provinces). Weary of
the constant moving required by military life,
and at odds with her unfaithful husband,
Sophie separated temporarily from Léopold in
1803 and settled in Paris. Thereafter she
dominated Hugo's education and upbringing.
As a result, Hugo's early work in poetry and
fiction reflect a passionate devotion to both
King and Faith. It was only later, during the
events leading up to France's 1848 Revolution,
that he would begin to rebel against his Catholic
Royalist education and instead champion
Republicanism and Freethought.
Early poetry and fiction
Like many young writers of his generation,
Hugo was profoundly influenced by François-
René de Chateaubriand, the famous figure in
the literary movement of Romanticism and
France’s preëminent literary figure during the
early 1800s. In his youth, Hugo resolved to be
“Chateaubriand or nothing,” and his life would
come to parallel that of his predecessor’s in
many ways. Like Chateaubriand, Hugo would
further the cause of Romanticism, become
involved in politics as a champion of
Republicanism, and be forced into exile due to
his political stances.
The precocious passion and eloquence of
Hugo's early work brought success and fame at
an early age. His first collection of poetry
(Nouvelles Odes et Poésies Diverses) was
published in 1824, when Hugo was only twenty
two years old, and earned him a royal pension
from Louis XVIII. Though the poems were
admired for their spontaneous fervor and
fluency, it was the collection that followed two
years later in 1826 (Odes et Ballades) that
revealed Hugo to be a great poet, a natural
master of lyric and creative song.
Against his mother's wishes, young Victor fell in
love and became secretly engaged to his
childhood friend Adèle Foucher (1803-1868).
Unusually close to his mother, it was only after
her death in 1821 that he felt free to marry
Adèle (in 1822). They had their first child
Léopold in 1823, but the boy died in infancy.
Hugo's other children were Léopoldine (August
28, 1824), Charles (November 4, 1826),
François-Victor (October 28, 1828) and Adèle
(August 24, 1830). Hugo published his first
novel the following year (Han d'Islande, 1823),
and his second three years later (Bug-Jargal,
1826). Between 1829 and 1840 he would
publish five more volumes of poetry (Les
Orientales, 1829; Les Feuilles d'automne, 1831;
Les Chants du crépuscule, 1835; Les Voix
intérieures, 1837; and Les Rayons et les ombres,
1840), cementing his reputation as one of the
greatest elegiac and lyric poets of his time.
Theatrical work
Hugo did not achieve such quick success with
his works for the stage. In 1827, he published
the never-staged verse drama Cromwell, which
became more famous for the author's project
than its own worth (the play's unwieldy length
was considered "unfit for acting"). In his
introduction to the work, Hugo urged his fellow
artists to free themselves from the restrictions
imposed by the French classical style of theatre,
and thus sparked a fierce debate between
French Classicism and Romanticism that would
rage for many years. Cromwell was followed in
1828 by the disastrous Amy Robsart, an
experimental play from his youth based on the
Walter Scott novel Kenilworth, which was
produced under the name of his brother-in-law
Paul Foucher and managed to survive only one
performance before a less-than-appreciative
audience.
The first play of Hugo's to be accepted for
production under his own name was Marion de
Lorme. Though initially banned by the censors
for its unflattering portrayal of the French
monarchy, it was eventually allowed to
premiere uncensored in 1829, but without
success. However, the play that Hugo produced
the following year — Hernani — would prove to
be one of the most successful and
groundbreaking events of nineteenth-century
French theatre, the opening night of which
became known as the "The Battle of Hernani".
Today the work is largely forgotten, except as
the basis for the Verdi opera Ernani. However,
at the time, performances of the work sparked
near-riots between opposing camps of French
letters and society: Romantics vs. Classicists,
Liberals vs. Conformists, and Republicans vs.
Royalists. The play was largely condemned by
the press, but played to full houses night after
night, and all but crowned Hugo as the
preeminent leader of French Romanticism. It
also signalled that Hugo's concept of
Romanticism was growing increasingly
politicized: Hugo believed that just as
Liberalism in politics would free the country
from the tyranny of monarchy and dictatorship,
Romanticism would liberate the arts from the
constraints of Classicism.
Actress Juliette Drouet, Hugo's mistressIn 1832
Hugo followed the success of Hernani with Le
roi s'amuse (The King Takes His Amusement,
used by Verdi for Rigoletto). The play was
promptly banned by the censors after only one
performance, due to its overt mockery of the
French nobility, but then went on to be very
popular in printed form. Incensed by the ban,
Hugo wrote his next play, Lucrèce Borgia (see:
Lucrezia Borgia), in only fourteen days. It
subsequently appeared on the stage in 1833, to
great success. Mademoiselle George (former
mistress of Napoleon) was cast in the main role,
and an actress named Juliette Drouet played a
subordinate part. However, Drouet would go on
to play a major role in Hugo’s personal life,
becoming his life-long mistress. While Hugo
had many romantic escapades throughout his
life, Drouet was recognized even by his wife to
have a unique relationship with the writer, and
was treated almost as family. In Hugo’s next
play (Marie Tudor, 1833), Drouet played Lady
Jane Grey to George’s Queen Mary. However,
she was not considered adequate to the role,
and was replaced by another actress after
opening night. It would be her last role on the
French stage; thereafter she devoted her life to
Hugo. Supported by a small pension, she
became his unpaid secretary and travelling
companion for the next fifty years.
Hugo’s Angelo premiered in 1835, to great
success. Soon after, the Duke of Orleans (son of
King Louis-Philippe, and an admirer of Hugo’s
work) founded a new theatre to support new
plays. Théâtre de la Renaissance opened in
November 1838, with the premiere of Ruy Blas.
Though considered by many to be Hugo’s best
drama, at the time it met with only average
success; in 1947 Jean Cocteau adapted it for
cinema, with Jean Marais in the title role. Hugo
did not produce another play until 1843. The
Burgraves played for only 33 nights, losing
audiences to a competing drama, and it would
be his last work written for the theatre. Though
he would later write the short verse drama
Torquemada in 1869, it was not published until
a few years before his death in 1882, and was
never intended for the stage. However, Hugo's
interest in the theatre continued, and in 1864,
he published a well-received essay on William
Shakespeare, whose style he tried to emulate in
his own dramas.
Mature fiction
Victor Hugo's first mature work of fiction
appeared in 1829, and reflected the acute social
conscience that would infuse his later work. Le
Dernier jour d'un condamné (Last Days of a
Condemned Man) would have a profound
influence on later writers such as Albert Camus,
Charles Dickens, and Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Claude Gueux, a documentary short story about
a real-life murderer who had been executed in
France, appeared in 1834, and was later
considered by Hugo himself to be a precursor to
his great work on social injustice, Les
Misérables. But Hugo’s first full-length novel
would be the enormously successful Notre-
Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre
Dame), which was published in 1831 and
quickly translated into other languages across
Europe. One of the effects of the novel was to
shame the City of Paris to undertake a
restoration of the much-neglected Cathedral of
Notre Dame, which was attracting thousands of
tourists who had read the popular novel. The
book also inspired a renewed appreciation for
pre-renaissance buildings, which thereafter
began to be actively preserved.
Portrait of "Cosette" by Émile Bayard, from the
original edition of Les Misérables (1862)Hugo
began planning a major novel about social
misery and injustice as early as the 1830s, but it
would take a full 17 years for his most
enduringly popular work, Les Misérables, to be
realized and finally published in 1862. The
author was acutely aware of the quality of the
novel and publication of the work went to the
highest bidder. The Belgian publishing house
Lacroix and Verboeckhoven undertook a
marketing campaign unusual for the time,
issuing press releases about the work a full six
months before the launch. It also initially
published only the first part of the novel
(“Fantine”), which was launched
simultaneously in major cities. Installments of
the book sold out within hours, and had
enormous impact on French society. The critical
establishment was generally hostile to the
novel; Taine found it insincere, Barbey
d'Aurevilly complained of its vulgarity, Flaubert
found within it "neither truth nor greatness,"
the Goncourts lambasted its artificiality, and
Baudelaire - despite giving favorable reviews in
newspapers - castigated it in private as
"tasteless and inept." Nonetheless, Les
Misérables proved popular enough with the
masses that the issues it highlighted were soon
on the agenda of the French National Assembly.
Today the novel remains popular worldwide,
adapted for cinema, television and musical
stage to an extent equaled by few other works of
literature.
The shortest correspondence in history is
between Hugo and his publisher Hurst &
Blackett in 1862. It is said Hugo was on
vacation when Les Misérables (which is over
1200 pages) was published. He telegraphed the
single-character message '?' to his publisher,
who replied with a single '!'.
Hugo turned away from social/political issues
in his next novel, Les Travailleurs de la Mer
(Toilers of the Sea), published in 1866.
Nonetheless, the book was well received,
perhaps due to the previous success of Les
Misérables. Dedicated to the channel island of
Guernsey where he spent 15 years of exile,
Hugo’s depiction of Man’s battle with the sea
and the horrible creatures lurking beneath its
depths spawned an unusual fad in Paris:
Squids. From squid dishes and exhibitions, to
squid hats and parties, Parisiennes became
fascinated by these unusual sea creatures,
which at the time were still considered by many
to be mythical.[citation needed] The Guernsey
word used in the book has also been used to
refer to the octopus.
Hugo returned to political and social issues in
his next novel, L'Homme Qui Rit (The Man
Who Laughs), which was published in 1869 and
painted a critical picture of the aristocracy.
However, the novel was not as successful as his
previous efforts, and Hugo himself began to
comment on the growing distance between
himself and literary contemporaries such as
Flaubert and Zola, whose realist and naturalist
novels were now exceeding the popularity of his
own work. His last novel, Quatrevingt-treize
(Ninety-Three), published in 1874, dealt with a
subject that Hugo had previously avoided: the
Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.
Though Hugo’s popularity was on the decline at
the time of its publication, many now consider
Ninety-Three to be a work on par with Hugo’s
more well known novels.
Political life and exile
After three unsuccessful attempts, Hugo was
finally elected to the Académie française in
1841, solidifying his position in the world of
French arts and letters. Thereafter he became
increasingly involved in French politics as a
supporter of the Republic form of government.
He was elevated to the peerage by King Louis-
Philippe in 1841 and entered the Higher
Chamber as a pair de France, where he spoke
against the death penalty and social injustice,
and in favour of freedom of the press and self-
government for Poland. He was later elected to
the Legislative Assembly and the Constitutional
Assembly, following the 1848 Revolution and
the formation of the Second Republic.
Among the Rocks on Jersey (1853-55)When
Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) seized complete
power in 1851, establishing an anti-
parliamentary constitution, Hugo openly
declared him a traitor of France. He fled to
Brussels, then Jersey, and finally settled with
his family on the channel island of Guernsey at
Hauteville House, where he would live in exile
until 1870.
While in exile, Hugo published his famous
political pamphlets against Napoleon III,
Napoléon le Petit and Histoire d'un crime. The
pamphlets were banned in France, but
nonetheless had a strong impact there. He also
composed some of his best work during his
period in Guernsey, including Les Misérables,
and three widely praised collections of poetry
(Les Châtiments, 1853; Les Contemplations,
1856; and La Légende des siècles, 1859).
He convinced the government of Queen Victoria
to spare the lives of six Irish people convicted of
terrorist activities and his influence was
credited in the removal of the death penalty
from the constitutions of Geneva, Portugal and
Colombia.[1]
Although Napoleon III granted an amnesty to
all political exiles in 1859, Hugo declined, as it
meant he would have to curtail his criticisms of
the government. It was only after Napoleon III
fell from power and the Third Republic was
proclaimed that Hugo finally returned to his
homeland in 1870, where he was promptly
elected to the National Assembly and the
Senate.
He was in Paris during the siege by the Prussian
army in 1870, famously eating animals given
him by the Paris zoo. As the siege continued,
and food became ever more scarce, he wrote in
his diary that they were now reduced to eating
things even though he was not at all sure what it
was: "we are eating the unknown," he wrote.
Because of his concern for the rights of artists
and copyright, he was a founding member of
the Association Littéraire et Artistique
Internationale, which led to the Berne
Convention for the Protection of Literary and
Artistic Works.
Religious views
Hugo's religious views changed radically over
the course of his life. In his youth, he identified
as a Catholic and professed respect for Church
hierarchy and authority. From there he evolved
into a non-practicing Catholic, and expressed
increasingly violent anti-papist and anti-clerical
views. He dabbled in Spiritualism during his
exile (where he participated also in seances),
and in later years settled into a Rationalist
Deism similar to that espoused by Voltaire.
When a census-taker asked Hugo in 1872 if he
was a Catholic, he replied, "No. A Freethinker".
Hugo never lost his antipathy towards the
Roman Catholic Church, due largely to what he
saw as the Church's indifference to the plight of
the working class under the oppression of the
monarchy; and perhaps also due to the
frequency with which Hugo's work appeared on
the Pope's list of "proscribed books" (Hugo
counted 740 attacks on Les Misérables in the
Catholic press). On the deaths of his sons
Charles and François-Victor, he insisted that
they be buried without crucifix or priest, and in
his will made the same stipulation about his
own death and funeral. However, although
Hugo believed Catholic dogma to be outdated
and dying, he never directly attacked the
institution itself. He also remained a deeply
religious man who strongly believed in the
power and necessity of prayer.
Hugo's Rationalism can be found in poems such
as Torquemada (1869, about religious
fanaticism), The Pope (1878, violently anti-
clerical), Religions and Religion (1880, denying
the usefulness of churches) and, published
posthumously, The End of Satan and God (1886
and 1891 respectively, in which he represents
Christianity as a griffin and Rationalism as an
angel).
"Religions pass away, but God remains", Hugo
declared. Christianity would eventually
disappear, he predicted, but people would still
believe in "God, Soul, and the Power."
Declining years and death
When Hugo returned to Paris in 1870, the
country hailed him as a national hero. Despite
his popularity Hugo lost his bid for reelection to
the National Assembly in 1872. Within a brief
period, he suffered a mild stroke, his daughter
Adèle’s internment in an insane asylum, and the
death of his two sons. (His other daughter,
Léopoldine, had drowned in a boating accident
in 1843, and his wife Adèle had died in 1868.
His faithful mistress, Juliette Drouet, died in
1883, only two years before his own death.)
Despite his personal loss, Hugo remained
committed to the cause of political change. On
30 January 1876 Hugo was elected to the newly
created Senate. His last phase in his political
career is considered a failure. Hugo took on a
stubborn role and got little done in the Senate.
In February of 1881 Hugo celebrated his 79th
birthday. To honor the fact that he was entering
his eightieth year, one of the greatest tributes to
a living writer was held. The celebrations began
on the 25th when Hugo was presented with a
Sèvres vase, the traditional gift for sovereigns.
On the 27th one of the largest parades in French
history was held. Marchers stretched from
Avenue d'Eylau, down the Champs-Elysees, and
all the way to the center of Paris. The paraders
marched for six hours to pass Hugo as he sat in
the window at his house. Every inch and detail
of the event was for Hugo; the official guides
even wore cornflowers as an allusion to
Cosette's song in Les Misérables.
Drawings
Many are not aware that Hugo was almost as
prolific in the visual arts as he was in literature,
producing more than 4,000 drawings in his
lifetime. (Some reproductions can be viewed on
the internet at ArtNet and on the website of
artist Misha Bittleston).
Originally pursued as a casual hobby, drawing
became more important to Hugo shortly before
his exile, when he made the decision to stop
writing in order to devote himself to politics.
Drawing became his exclusive creative outlet
during the period 1848-1851.
Hugo worked only on paper, and on a small
scale; usually in dark brown or black pen-and-
ink wash, sometimes with touches of white, and
rarely with color. The surviving drawings are
surprisingly accomplished and "modern" in
their style and execution, foreshadowing the
experimental techniques of Surrealism and
Abstract Expressionism.
He would not hesitate to use his children's
stencils, ink blots, puddles and stains, lace
impressions, "pliage" or folding (i.e. Rorschach
blots), "grattage" or rubbing, often using the
charcoal from match sticks or his fingers
instead of pen or brush. Sometimes he would
even toss in coffee or soot to get the effects he
wanted. It is reported that Hugo often drew
with his left hand or without looking at the
page, or during Spiritualist séances, in order to
access his unconscious mind, a concept only
later popularized by Sigmund Freud.
Hugo kept his artwork out of the public eye,
fearing it would overshadow his literary work.
However, he enjoyed sharing his drawings with
his family and friends, often in the form of
ornately handmade calling cards, many of
which were given as gifts to visitors when he
was in political exile. Some of his work was
shown to, and appreciated by, contemporary
artists such as Van Gogh and Delacroix; the
latter expressed the opinion that if Hugo had
decided to become a painter instead of a writer,
he would have outshone the artists of their
century.
Memorials
Victor Hugo cabinet card by London
Stereoscopic CompanyThe people of Guernsey
erected a statue in Candie Gardens to
commemorate his stay in the islands.
The City of Paris has preserved his residences
Hauteville House, Guernsey and 6, Place des
Vosges, Paris as museums. The house where he
stayed in Vianden, Luxembourg, in 1871 has
also become a commemorative museum.
The Avenue Victor-Hugo in the XVIème
arrondissement of Paris bears Hugo's name,
and links the Place de l'Étoile to the vicinity of
the Bois de Boulogne by way of the Place Victor-
Hugo. This square is served by a Paris Métro
stop also named in his honor. A number of
streets and avenues throughout France are
likewise named after him.
The school Lycée Victor Hugo in his town of
birth, Besançon in France.
Avenue Victor-Hugo, located in Shawinigan,
Quebec, Canada, was named to honor him.
In the city of Avellino, Italy, Victor Hugo lived
briefly stayed in what is now known as Il
Palazzo Culturale, when reuniting with his
father, Leopold Sigisbert Hugo, in 1808. Victor
would later write about his brief stay here
quoting "C’était un palais de marbre...".
Reference
^www.expositions.bnf.fr/hugo/pedago/dossier
s/mort/reperes/signe.htm
^ www.religioustolerance.org/caodaism.htm
Online references
Afran, Charles (1997). “Victor Hugo: French
Dramatist”. Website: Discover France.
(Originally published in Grolier Multimedia
Encyclopedia, 1997, v.9.0.1.) Retrieved
November 2005.
Bates, Alfred (1906). “Victor Hugo”. Website:
Theatre History. (Originally published in The
Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on
Civilization, vol. 9. ed. Alfred Bates. London:
Historical Publishing Company, 1906. pp. 11-
13.) Retrieved November 2005.
Bates, Alfred (1906). “Hernani”. Website:
Threatre History. (Originally published in The
Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on
Civilization, vol. 9. ed. Alfred Bates. London:
Historical Publishing Company, 1906. pp. 20-
23.) Retrieved November 2005.
Bates, Alfred (1906). “Hugo’s Cromwell”.
Website: Theatre History. (Originally published
in The Drama: Its History, Literature and
Influence on Civilization, vol. 9. ed. Alfred
Bates. London: Historical Publishing Company,
1906. pp. 18-19.) Retrieved November 2005.
Bittleston, Misha (uncited date). "Drawings of
Victor Hugo". Website: Misha Bittleston.
Retrieved November 2005.
Burnham, I.G. (1896). “Amy Robsart”. Website:
Theatre History. (Originally published in Victor
Hugo: Dramas. Philadelphia: The Rittenhouse
Press, 1896. pp. 203-6, 401-2.) Retrieved
November 2005.
Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (2001-05).
“Hugo, Victor Marie, Vicomte”. Website:
Bartleby, Great Books Online. Retrieved
November 2005. Retrieved November 2005.
Haine, W. Scott (1997). “Victor Hugo”.
Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions. Website:
Ohio University. Retrieved November 2005.
Illi, Peter (2001-2004). “Victor Hugo: Plays”.
Website: The Victor Hugo Website. Retrieved
November 2005.
Karlins, N.F. (1998). "Octopus With the Initials
V.H." Website: ArtNet. Retrieved November
2005.
Liukkonen, Petri (2000). “Victor Hugo (1802-
1885)”. Books and Writers. Website: Pegasos: A
Literature Related Resource Site. Retrieved
November 2005.
Meyer, Ronald Bruce (2004). “Victor Hugo”.
Website: Ronald Bruce Meyer. Retrieved
November 2005.
Robb, Graham (1997). “A Sabre in the Night”.
Website: New York Times (Books). (Excerpt
from Graham, Robb (1997). Victor Hugo: A
Biography. New York: W.W. Norton &
Company.) Retrieved November 2005.
Roche, Isabel (2005). “Victor Hugo:
Biography”. Meet the Writers. Website: Barnes
& Noble. (From the Barnes & Noble Classics
edition of The Hunchback of Notre Dame,
2005.) Retrieved November 2005.
Uncited Author. “Victor Hugo”. Website:
Spartacus Educational. Retrieved November
2005.
Uncited Author. “Timeline of Victor Hugo”.
Website: BBC. Retrieved November 2005.
Uncited Author. (2000-2005). “Victor Hugo”.
Website: The Literature Network. Retrieved
November 2005.
Uncited Author. "Hugo Caricature". Website:
Présence de la Littérature a l’école. Retrieved
November 2005.

- Bertrand Russel:-
Biography
 Bertrand Arthur William
Russell was born at Trelleck on 18th
May, 1872. His parents were Viscount
Amberley and Katherine, daughter of 2nd
Baron Stanley of Alderley. At the age of
three he was left an orphan. His father
had wished him to be brought up as an
agnostic; to avoid this he was made a
ward of Court, and brought up by his
grandmother. Instead of being sent to
school he was taught by governesses and
tutors, and thus acquired a perfect
knowledge of French and German. In
1890 he went into residence at Trinity
College, Cambridge, and after being a
very high Wrangler and obtaining a First
Class with distinction in philosophy he
was elected a fellow of his college in
1895. But he had already left Cambridge
in the summer of 1894 and for some
months was attaché at the British
embassy at Paris.
In December 1894 he married Miss Alys
Pearsall Smith. After spending some
months in Berlin studying social
democracy, they went to live near
Haslemere, where he devoted his time to
the study of philosophy. In 1900 he
visited the Mathematical Congress at
Paris. He was impressed with the ability
of the Italian mathematician Peano and
his pupils, and immediately studied
Peano's works. In 1903 he wrote his first
important book, The Principles of
Mathematics, and with his friend Dr.
Alfred Whitehead proceeded to develop
and extend the mathematical logic of
Peano and Frege. From time to time he
abandoned philosophy for politics. In
1910 he was appointed lecturer at Trinity
College. After the first World War broke
out, he took an active part in the No
Conscription fellowship and was fined £
100 as the author of a leaflet criticizing a
sentence of two years on a conscientious
objector. His college deprived him of his
lectureship in 1916. He was offered a
post at Harvard university, but was
refused a passport. He intended to give a
course of lectures (afterwards published
in America as Political Ideals, 1918) but
was prevented by the military authorities.
In 1918 he was sentenced to six months'
imprisonment for a pacifistic article he
had written in the Tribunal. His
Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy
(1919) was written in prison. His Analysis
of Mind (1921) was the outcome of some
lectures he gave in London, which were
organized by a few friends who got up a
subscription for the purpose.
In 1920 Russell had paid a short visit to
Russia to study the conditions of
Bolshevism on the spot. In the autumn of
the same year he went to China to
lecture on philosophy at the Peking
university. On his return in Sept. 1921,
having been divorced by his first wife, he
married Miss Dora Black. They lived for
six years in Chelsea during the winter
months and spent the summers near
Lands End. In 1927 he and his wife
started a school for young children, which
they carried on until 1932. He succeeded
to the earldom in 1931. He was divorced
by his second wife in 1935 and the
following year married Patricia Helen
Spence. In 1938 he went to the United
States and during the next years taught
at many of the country's leading
universities. In 1940 he was involved in
legal proceedings when his right to teach
philosophy at the College of the City of
New York was questioned because of his
views on morality. When his appointment
to the college faculty was cancelled, he
accepted a five-year contract as a
lecturer for the Barnes foundation,
Merion, Pa., but the cancellation of this
contract was announced in Jan. 1943 by
Albert C. Barnes, director of the
foundation.
Russell was elected a fellow of the Royal
Society in 1908, and re-elected a fellow
of Trinity College in 1944. He was
awarded the Sylvester medal of the Royal
Society, 1934, the de Morgan medal of
the London Mathematical Society in the
same year, the Nobel Prize for Literature,
1950.
In a paper "Logical Atomism"
(Contemporary British Philosophy.
Personal Statements, First series. Lond.
1924) Russell exposed his views on his
philosophy, preceded by a few words on
historical development.1
Principal publications
German Social Democracy, 1896
Foundations of Geometry, 1897
A Critical Exposition of the Philosophy of
Leibniz, 1900
Principles of Mathematics, vol. 1, 1903
Philosophical Essays, 1910
(with Dr. A. N. Whitehead) Principia
mathematica, 3 vols, 1910-13
The Problems of Philosophy, 1912
Our Knowledge of the External World as a
Field for Scientific Method in Philosophy,
1944
Principles of Social Reconstruction, 1916
Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays,
1918
Roads to Freedom: Socialism, Anarchism
and Syndicalism, 1918
Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy,
1919
The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism,
1920
The Analysis of Mind, 1921
The Problem of China, 1922
The ABC of Atoms, 1923
(with Dora Russell) The Prospects of
Industrial Civilisation, 1923
Logical Atomism, 1924
The ABC of Relativity, 1925
On Education, 1926
The Analysis of Matter, 1927
An Outline of Philosophy, 1927
Sceptical Essays, 1928
Marriage and Morals, 1929
The Conquest of Happiness, 1930
The Freedom and Organisation 1814-
1914, 1934
In Praise of Idleness, 1935
Which Way to Peace?, 1936
(with Patricia Russell editor of) The
Amberley Papers, 2 vols, 1937
Power: a new Social Introduction to its
Study, 1938
An Inquiry into Meaning and Truth, 1941
History of Western Philosophy, 1946
Human Knowledge, its Scope and Limits,
1948
Authority and the Individual, 1949
Unpopular Essays, 1950

1) The matter for this sketch is taken

from general English reference books.
From Les Prix Nobel en 1950, Editor Arne
Holmberg, [Nobel Foundation],
Stockholm, 1951
This autobiography/biography was written
at the time of the award and later
published in the book series Les Prix
Nobel/Nobel Lectures. The information is
sometimes updated with an addendum
submitted by the Laureate. To cite this
document, always state the source as
shown above.
For more updated biographical
information, see:
Russell, Bertrand, The Autobiography of
Bertrand Russell. (3 vols.) Allen & Unwin:
London, 1967-1969.

Bertrand Russel died on February 2,

1970.

- Rabindranath Tagore:-
 Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate poet,

writer, philosopher was the ambassador of
Indian culture to the rest of the world. He is
probably the most prominent figure in the
cultural world of Indian subcontinent and the
first Asian person to be awarded with the Nobel
prize. Even though he is mainly known as a
poet, his multifaceted talent showered upon
different branches of art, such as, novels, short
stories, dramas, articles, essays, painting etc.
And his songs, popularly known as
Rabindrasangeet, have an eternal appeal and
is permanently placed in the heart of the
Bengalis. He was a social reformer, patriot and
above all, a great humanitarian and
philosopher. India and Bangladesh - the
national anthems of these two countries are
taken from his composition.
Tagore was born on Tuesday, 7th May 1861 in
a wealthy family in Calcutta at the address of 6,
Dwarakanath Thakur Lane, Calcutta. He was
the ninth son of Debenadranath and Sarada
Devi. His grand father Dwarakanath Tagore
was a rich landlord and social reformer. Even
though he was from a very wealthy family, in
those days Jorasanko house ( Tagore house )
was a center of culture.

He was first admitted into Oriental Seminary

School. But he did not like the conventional
education and started home study under
several teachers. Later he went to Normal
School, Bengal Academy and St Xaviers
School, but all lasted for brief periods. At the
age of 7 he wrote a rhyme. Went to visit
Northern part of India and Himalayas with this
father.
In 1874, his first published poem
Abhilaash(Desire) was published anonymously
in a magazine called Tattobodhini. Poet's
mother Sarada Devi expired in 1875 when he
was 13 years old. For the first time a poem with
credit to his name was published in
Amritabazar Patrika (weekly). He translated
Macbeth into Bengali verse which was later
published in Bharati magazine. Following the
style of Vaisnava Padalvali (verses), he wrote
Bhanusingher Padavali under the penname of
Bhanusingha. In the beginning of his literary
works, there was impact of his elder brother
Jyotirindranath and his wife Kadambari Devi.
Two magazines, Bharati and Balaka - were
used to get published from the Tagore house
and he regularly contributed to those.

His first book of poems, Kabi Kahini ( tale of a

poet ) was published in 1878. In the same year,
he sailed to England with his brother
Satyandranath. He got admitted into the
University College in England and started
studying under Prof Henry Morley. Retuned to
India on 1880. Wrote two musical plays -
Valmiki Prativa (The Genius of Valmiki) and
Kalmrigaya (The Fatal Hunt ). Acted in these
plays too. Left for England in 1881, but changed
his mind and came back from Madras and went
to Mussorie to meet his father. In 1882, he
wrote Sandhya Sangeet ( Evening Songs )
which impressed Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
so much that he conferred his garland on
Tagore in a function. Wrote a famous poem -
Nirjharer Swapnabhanga ( The Fountain
Awakened from its Dream ).

Got married to Bhabatarini Devi in 1883 at the

age of 22. Later her name was changed to
Mrinalini Devi. In 1884 wrote a collection of
poem - Kori-o-kamal (Sharp and Flats).
Continued writing in different forms. His first
child (daughter) Madhurilata was born in 1886.
Wrote musical drama - Mayar Khela. Also wrote
dramas - Raja-o-rani ( King and Queen) and
Visarjan (Sacrifice). In 1890 daughter Renuka
was born.

In 1890, Tagore went to Shilaidaha (now in

Bangladesh) to look after the family estate.
Here, he was influenced by the natural beauty
and simple but elegant life of rural Bengal.
Attended session of Indian National Congress
and sang the song Vandemataram on the
opening day. Wrote famous dance/musical
drama - Chitrangada. His youngest daughter
Mira was born in 1892. In 1894 , wrote famous
collection poems - Sonar Tari (The Golden
Boat). Son Samindra was born in 1894.

In 1901 he took the editorial charge of the

magazine Bangadarshan. Got involved with
freedom fighting movement. Established Bolpur
Bramhacharyaashram at Shantiniketan, a
school in the pattern of old Indian Ashrama. In
1902, his wife Mrinalini died. Composed
Smaran ( In Memoriam ), a collection of poems,
dedicated to his wife. Within six months from
this incident his daughter Renuka expired. The
demise of father Debendranath happened in
1905. He strongly protested Lord Curzon's
decision to divide Bengal on the basis of
religion. Wrote a number of national songs and
attended protest meetings. He introduced the
Rakhibandhan ceremony , symbolizing the
underlying unity in undivided Bengal. Was
shocked by the sudden death of son Samindra
in 1907. In 1909 started writing Gitanjali from
Silaidaha. Composed Janaganamana in 1911
which later was selected as the national anthem
of India.

In 1912, journeyed to Europe for the second

time. On the journey to London he translated
some of his poems/songs from Gitanjali to
English. He met William Rothenstein, a noted
British painter, in London. He was first
introduced to Rothenstein in Calcutta in a
gathering at Abanindranath Tagore's house.
Rothenstien was impressed by the
poems, made copies and gave to
Yeats and other English poets.
Rothenstien arranged a reading in his
house where Yeats read Tagore's
poems in front of a distinguished
audience comprising of Ezra Pound,
May Sinclair, Ernest Rhys etc. Tagore sailed for
America ( for the first time) from England.
Reached New York, came to Urbana, Illinois,
gave a lecture and then went to Chicago. In the
mean time, India Society of London published
Gitanjali (song offerings) containing 103
translated poems of Tagore. Yeats wrote the
introduction for this book and Rothenstein did a
pencil sketch for the cover page. The book
created a sensation in English literary world.
Tagore was traveling America then. Delivered
lectures in Rochester, Boston, Harvard
University.

Ezra Pound's Poetry Magazine published from

Chicago had the honor of publishing first
English poem of Tagore. His six Gitanjali
poems appeared in Poetry in December, 1912
issue. Th epoet returned back to Calcutta. In
13th November of 1913, Indians came to know
that the Nobel prize for literature has been
awarded to Tagore for Gitanjali. On 26th
Decemeber, University of Calcutta conferred on
him the honorary degree of "D.Litt.". Received
Knighthood in 1915.

Proceeded to Japan in 1916. On the way gave

speech at Rangoon, Singapore, Hongkong. In
Sep 1916, got invitation from different
institutions in USA and reached Seattle
(Washington). Lectured at Portland, San
Fransisco, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Salt
Lake City, Chicago, Iowa, Milwakee, Detroit,
Cleveland, Philadelphia, Boston. At Columbia
Theatre, New York read translation from his
novel Raja. Returned to Calcutta in 1917. In
1918, his eldest daughter Madhurilata passed
away. In 1919, the poet started a tour to South
India. Delivered lectures on different topics at
Bangalore, Mysroe, Ooty, Coimbatore, Palghat,
Salem, Trichy, Sirangapatnam, Kumbakonam,
Tanjore and Madras. At Madras spoke as
Chancellor of National University, founded by
Annie Besant and stayed as a guest of Mr.
Besant at Adyar.

In 1919, he wrote a historic letter to Lord

Chelmsford repudiating his Knighthood in
protest of the massacre at Jalianwalabag,
Punjab. In 1920 he went to Gandhiji's
Sabarmati Ashram and visited Ahmedabad,
Surat and Bombay. Call came from Europe
again in 1920. Toured different places in
England and Paris, Hague , Brussells. Travelled
from Europe to America. Delivered lectures at
New York, Princeton, Chicago and came back
to Europe. His effort to raise fund for
Viswabharati was not very fruitful in America,
mostly because he was seen as anti-British and
pro-German. He continued talks at Geneva,
Zurich, Humburg, Copenhaegen, Stockholm,
Berlin, Frankfurt, Vienna, Prague and in other
cities.

1n 1921, established Viswabharati University.

He gave all his money from Nobel Prize and
royalty money from his books to this University.
Went to Bombay and from there to Poona.
Visited and lectured at Mysore,
Bangalore,Coimbatore, Trivandam, Cochin and
Colombo. Got invitation from China and visited
Sanghai, Peiking. Visited Japan again in this
tour. Went to South America. Met Argentine
poet Madam Victoria Ocampo at Buenos Ayres.
The poet gave her a name ,Vijaya and wrote
Purabi - a collection of poems dedicated to her.
On the return journey visited Italy and lectured
in Milan, Venice, Florence. Mahatma Gandhi
visited Santiniketan in poet's birthday. In 1926
visited Dacca, Moimonsingha, Comilla (all now
in Bangladesh). Visited Europe again and this
time went to Norway, Sweden, Denmark,
Czechslovakia, Huungary, Bulgaria, Rumania,
Greece and Egypt. In 1927 went to Malayasia,
Java, Thailand. In 1929 Canada. In 1930
Russia. In 1932 Iran, Iraq. And in 1934 to
SriLanka.

In 1940 Oxford University arranged a special

ceremony in Santiniketan to honor the poet with
Doctorate Of Literature. Tagore passed away
on 7th August, 1941 in his ancestral home in
Calcutta, the house where he was born.

, etc.

Lecture 2-10: CONCEPTUAL

UNDERSTANDING OF LITERARY
THOUGHTS THROUGH ANY 12 TEXTS
AMONGST THE FOLLOWING:
1. The Social Equation
• “Man & Superman” by Sir George Bernard
Shaw
• “A Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• “The Republic” by Plato
• “Roots” by Alex Haley
• “The Sane Society” by Erich Fromm
2. Ideal ideals
• “Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo
• “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte
• “Lord Jim” by Joseph Conrad
• “Don Quixote” by Michael Cervantes
• “The Fountain Head” by Ayn Rand
3. Great Classics
• “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville
• “Ulysses” by James Joyce
4. “Releasing Hyde”-A platform for catharsis
and growth
• “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare
• “Death of Salesman” by Arthur Miller
5. Did we Take the Wrong Turn
• “Skeptical Essays” by Bertrand Russell
• “Dances with Wolves” by Michael Blake
• “Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance
“by Robert Persig

SECTION-B: APPRECIATION OF ART &

CULTURE

Lecture 11-12: MANIFESTATIONS OF ART

AND CULTURE
• Attire and Customs
• Performing arts
 • Art and Architecture
• Ethnic History
• Language
• Social and Religious Adaptations
• Social conflicts

Lecture 13, 14 & 15: CLASSIFICATION OF

CULTURE AROUND THE WORLD
• Indian Subcontinent
• Far East & Orient
• Central African
• North African and Mediterranean
• West European
• North American
• Latin American