Beyond the Earthly Chariot: Shelley’s Journey from Passion to Spiritual Love

Percy Bysshe Shelley’s exploration of love spans his poetic works, revealing a profound evolution from personal passion to a universal force of redemption and liberation. This paper delves into Shelley’s philosophical journey as depicted in his major works, examining the themes of bondage and freedom in “The Triumph of Life” alongside the transformative power of love in “Prometheus Unbound.” Shelley’s examination of the Promethean legend serves as a backdrop for his exploration of love’s evolving nature. From its initial portrayal as a personal deity in “Epipsychidion” to its broader significance as a universal principle in “Adonais,” love emerges as a redemptive force, transcending individual desires to encompass humanity’s collective aspirations. In “Prometheus Unbound,” Shelley presents love as a heroic vision of rebellion against tyranny, symbolizing wisdom, justice, and peace in the face of oppression. Through meticulous analysis of symbolism and action, the paper illuminates Shelley’s profound insight into the transformative potential of love, culminating in the triumph of love over adversity. “The Triumph of Life” offers a more symbolic view of love, contrasting earthly passion with a spiritual love that grants liberation from the limitations of the material world. Shelley suggests that love, in its purest form, holds the key to individual and societal transformation, offering solace in suffering and rebellion against oppression. In conclusion, Shelley’s concept of love evolves from personal indulgence to mature, symbolic representation, emphasizing its role in individual salvation and societal renewal. The enduring message of Shelley’s works underscores the transformative power of love as a force for redemption and liberation

Traumatised Women Caught in the Whirlpool of Religious Fanaticism and Patriarchy: A Study in Tehmina Durrani’s My Feudal Lord

Since time immemorial, trauma has been an integral part of women’s lives. In every culture and milieu, women have borne physical and mental trauma and have suffered sexual and domestic violence by the patriarchal set-up. Patriarchy subjugated women, subordinated their existence and dehumanised them into objects. This widespread oppression of women is further intensified in Middle Eastern and South Asian countries like Pakistan with their fanatical attitude towards religious dogmas which further serves to marginalise women. Rigours of religion and shackles of patriarchy generate endless ordeal for these suffering women. Several memoirs published by women in Islamic countries talk about their brutalization and oppression by the religious fanatics. My Feudal Lord: A Devastating Indictment of Women’s Role in Muslim Society (1991) is one such memoir published by Tehmina Durrani. It bears testimony to the intense trauma and inhuman suffering endured by an educated Muslim woman at the hands of her powerful politician husband who takes away all her happiness, identity, dignity, children and leaves her psychologically wounded and damaged for life. The paper explores the trauma suffered by Durrani by virtue of being ‘doubly-colonised’ as a South-Asian Muslim woman, in the light of trauma studies. An attempt has also been made to see the exemplification of Hélène Cixous’ idea of L’ecriture feminine (which talks about writing through a woman’s body) in Durrani’s memoir

Exploring the Significance of Literature: A Humanistic Perspective

This essay critically focuses on the functions of literature in understanding the complexities of human life and society, perceiving cultural values, and evoking aesthetic relish from a literary humanistic approach. It is an attempt to answer two questions: why we should read literature? What are the functions of literature? Basically, literature is a form of art that has multidimensional functions to portray human life and human experience with its artistic pattern and organization that affects the readers in a certain way not only to rethink and feel about others and themselves but also to establish and change their worldviews whether subjective or objective. Though literature offers an alternative world view, it is not limited to ideas or thoughts, as it can reflect on any subjects. The prime object of literature is to depict human life, to delight, and teach humankind through its artistic principles and aesthetic effects and universal appeal – the use of literary language and imagination and affected readers. Literature has humanistic, aesthetic, and psychological roles in the presentation of human nature, wisdom, humanity, morality, resilience, aesthetic pleasure, inner consciousness, and self-restraint. Finally, the value of literature is immense as it a site from where one can write for the change of a dominant ideology by providing an alternative one and enrich himself or herself with wisdom, self-esteem, and inner consciousness

Colonial Subjugation and Cultural Erosion in Things Fall Apart

This paper deals with British colonizers’ colonization over Nigeria, subjugation and cultural Erosion in Nigeria. On the one hand, it shows how Nigeria is endowed with their different primitive cultural practices and natural resources. Native Nigerians were happy with their indigenous cultural legacy and identity before the British colonization started. But, they became unable to govern their nation developing their natural resources and preserving their cultural practices. On the other hand, it shows the encroachment of Britishers in Nigeria. The white Europeans start implanting seeds of Christianity, education system, establish courts, and their government in Nigeria rejecting the indigenous cultural norms, social values, their ancestral spirit and divine power of cultural society. As a result, the conflict between the white intruders and African indigenous people that gets reflected in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is clearly discussed in the research. Finally, the research reflects how the novel is written as a counter-narrative that opposes western views towards African civilization. Regarding research methodology, qualitative approach becomes very contextual since the novels deals with the fictional characters and details. For a broad theoretical framework, the postcolonial theory that incorporates the idea of colonization and after effects of colonization becomes very effective. Likewise, for the theoretical tools, Edward Said’s Orientalism becomes a very applicable tool as it shows how the westerners take the orient, subjugate, dominate, exploit and colonize. Besides, Frantz Fanon’s theoretical concept of racism and Homi K. Bhabha’s theoretical concept of mimicry become effective tools for the textual analysis of the primary text

Walking the Streets: Psychogeography and the Politics of Exclusion in Selected Works of Ruskin Bond

Psychogeography involves the study of the interrelationship between the human psyche and the surrounding physical environment. Both as a theory and as a methodological tool, psychogeography can be utilized to understand and analyze how space – especially urban space as the centres of capitalism, consumerism, and authoritative control by capitalist forces – impacts our lives and our attitudes and becomes an integral factor in the formation of our sense of self and identity. Integral to psychogeography is the concept of walking, often referred to as the ‘dérive’, which signifies a sort of aimless drifting through the city streets with the objective of resisting the lure of capitalist consumerism while simultaneously re-centering the gaze to the street level to draw attention to those who populate the fringes and the margins of society and whose lives and stories have mostly slipped through the fissures of history. The article provides psychogeographical analysis of selected works by Ruskin Bond to show how his writings document not only the changing landscape of many of India’s cities and small towns due to the impact of modern capitalist urbanity but also how the development and evolution of the hill stations from the time of the British Raj have, time and again, reconstituted the dynamics of power and position based on notions of race, culture and other socio-political factors. Through Bond’s fictional and non-fictional accounts, it is thus possible to examine the politics of social exclusion and marginalization which characterizes not just urban spaces but human spaces in general, thereby bringing to the foreground issues of identity and belonging which are essentially intertwined with the spaces that surround us and which we inhabit.   &nbsp

Academic Hardness Among University Students

This study explores the concept of academic hardness among university students, aiming to understand the factors that contribute to their ability to withstand academic pressures and challenges. Academic hardness, often referred to as academic resilience, encompasses students\u27 capacity to persevere through difficulties, maintain motivation, and achieve success despite adverse conditions. The research investigates how personal traits, environmental influences, and institutional support contribute to fostering academic resilience among university students. This study aims to achieve two main objectives: first, to explore university students\u27 academic resilience; and second, to identify statistically significant variations in academic resilience based on students\u27 gender and field of study. The current study targeted morning-session students at Wasit University, both male and female, during the academic year 2023-2024. To achieve the research objectives, the researcher developed an Academic Resilience Scale based on Pintrich and Lopez\u27s theory (2004). The final scale comprised 26 items distributed across three domains: commitment, control, and challenge. Psychometric properties including validity and reliability were established. The statistical analysis involved a sample of 374 students, and the scale was applied to the primary research sample consisting of 400 students at Wasit University. Data processing utilized appropriate statistical methods, yielding the following research results statistically: It was found that there is a statistically significant difference at the (0.05) level, with a degree of freedom of (373), indicating that university students have higher levels of academic Hardness compared to the general population. Additionally, no statistically significant differences were found in the correlational relationship between the variables according to gender and major factors. Based on these results, the researcher provided a set of recommendations and suggestions for future research studies

Urban Space and Epidemics: Narrative Reflections on Socioeconomic Disparities in The City of Ember

This study delves into the depiction of socioeconomic disparities amidst a city-wide crisis in Jeanne DuPrau’s novel The City of Ember. Framed within the context of epidemics and urban spaces, this research employs a qualitative analysis approach to investigate the representation of social inequality within the narrative framework. The theoretical lens draws upon disaster sociology and social inequality theories to unravel the differential impact of crises on various segments of the city’s populace. The analysis focuses on the experiences of both privileged city inhabitants and marginalized slum dwellers within the constructed urban landscape of The City of Ember. Through close examination of character dynamics, societal structures, and resource allocation within the narrative, this study reveals the stark socioeconomic disparities exacerbated by the crisis. The findings underscore the profound disparities in access to resources, healthcare, and living conditions between the affluent city residents and the marginalized slum population. The narrative reflections within the novel illuminate the compounded vulnerabilities faced by the urban underclass, emphasizing the amplification of existing inequalities during times of crisis. This research contributes to the discourse on epidemic narratives and urban spaces, shedding light on the portrayal of socioeconomic divides in fictional cities amidst catastrophic events. The study advocates for a deeper understanding of societal inequalities within urban contexts, urging for inclusive and equitable disaster preparedness and response strategies to address these disparities in both fictional and real-world settings

Language and Literature: A Reflection of Social Change

The terms social and society have been under a myriad of a definitions, perceptions, delineations and interpretations. A dictionary of sociology defines ‘society’ as: “A group of human beings cooperating in the pursuit of several of their major interests, invariably including self-maintenance and self-perpetuation” (Fairchild 300). The term social is explained as “having to do with the reciprocal relations of interacting human beings, either as individual or groups” (Fairchild 275). It is an all-comprehensive term concerned with man’s behavior, disposition and the mode in which he connects in society. Since no social interaction can take place without communication, every society must have a well- ordered language which can serve as a vehicle of expression. “Language is cardinal in rearing human young, in organizing human communities, in handing down the culture from generation to generation” (Whorf vi). It is not only a great force of socialization, a common speech but also serves as a potent symbol of social solidarity. It is a well- known fact that man has always belonged to a society of one kind or another and that without it he cannot exist. In the words of C.E.M. Joad, “Not only is man a being who only attains his real nature in society, he is a being who has always lived in some form or the other in society, even if his earliest society was only that of the family group” (36-37). As a well- known sociologist rightfully asserts: “That man has not only a ‘capacity’ for social life but also an intrinsic need of it, it is a self -obvious fact. Emotional development, intellectual maturity, the necessity of a certain amount of material goods and comforts for the full exercise of his liberty and progress in self-reflection, are unthinkable without society. No human being is known to have normally developed in isolation” (Gisbert 44). The natural social ingredient of which a man is an integral part is a well- established fact. Same is the case with literature which is fundamentally an expression of life through the medium of language. And since life in a large measure is a social reality, nothing absolute about life can be expressed that is unrelated to society. The writer or the poet is first and foremost a social being and happens to be in every way an intrinsic part or member of it. The very language and idioms, the turns of phrases and the figures of speech he employs draw their forces from the climate of the people among who he lives, imbibes and thrives. Further he is also a citizen and is bound to get involved in contemporary affairs, the socio-cultural flares which he or she imbibes and absorbs very naturally. In such a scenario he is bound to express views of social and political import. He not only gets influenced but also becomes a medium to influence the social temper of his age. Language, literature and society are therefore terms corelative, interrelated and interdependent. Furthermore, literature down the ages have been created in a society which is forever dynamic and vibrant subject to the flow of change. A study of such social change as reflected and evidenced in the language and literature of the region presents some significant facts about the society of that particular time. The reflection of society of that particular time should be of interest to not only to the linguists and scholars of literature but also to social scientists, sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists since language as the life line of human being concerns all. The present paper attempts to throw light on this socio-cultural aspect of language and literature by pontificating the changes they undergo related to the transformation taking place in society itself

Sant Kabir and Nirgunwad: An Exploration of Theism, Love and Universal Fraternity

Sant Kabir is basically a saint poet from Varanasi, U.P. India, whose relevance continues influential from his own era till the present century. It is wonderful reading about him that he was an illiterate person, without any kind of formal education, and he becomes one of the axes of education and philosophy for centuries to follow him. His hagiography and writings cast a great influence on the Bhakti movement of Hinduism and his verses contribute up to a great extent to the formation of the scriptures of Sikhism, Guru Granth Sahib, Sadguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das, and Kabir Sagar of Dharamdas. Sant Kabir’s ideas prevail over Hinduism, Sikhism, and Islam, especially in Sufism, and rectification of both Hinduism and Islam through his critical verses in terms of their unethical practices makes him the pathfinder of the truth. Due to his fearless vitriolic comments, he was always subject to threats of religious communities, sometimes even thrown to die. His teaching and preaching continue through Kabirpanth (“Path of Kabir”), an idea which declares him the founder of a new sect of the Kabirpanthees. His birth is supposed to take place in 1398 (Samvat 1455), in Brahmamuharta at Varanasi. Kabir Bijak, Adi Granth (Sikh), and Kabir Granthawali are some famous works of the poet under scholarly discussion. He was one of the disciples of bhakti poet-saint Swami Ramananda of Vaishnavism, a preacher of monist Advaita philosophy teaching that God lives inside all the people and every object. Many points from his biography are debate points notwithstanding people love his great spiritual ideas creating a new way to theism and essential fraternity across world. This research paper explores Sant Kabir’s contribution to theism through his Nirgunawad during 15th century and give an understanding to the message of love and brotherhood imparted time and again through his verses, the very basis of Bhakti Marg

The Uneasiness of the Crown: A Comparative Study of Nayak and Autograph

This paper presents a comprehensive comparative study of two acclaimed Indian films, Nayak (1966) and Autograph (2010), to shed light on their cinematic narratives, legacy, cultural contexts, artistic significance and ultimate messages. Satyajit Ray’s experimental movie Nayak tries to uncover the psychology and mental anguish of a movie star of great fame. Srijit Mukherjee’s Autograph explores the same theme but with much complex varieties giving us an alternative reality of Ray’s picture. Both the film set against the backdrop of the film industry, weave together a tapestry of narratives as they follow the lives respectively of Arun Chatterjee and Arindam Mukhopadhyay reflecting on their past and reconnecting with their roots. Apart from analysis, this paper highlights two of the main themes explored in the film: one is the idea of fame and success and another is the actor-director relationship. Furthermore, the paper also tries to examine whether Autograph can be regarded as a successful tribute to Nayak or not. The paper explores the stylistic devices used by Satyajit Ray and Srijit Mukherjee in addition to comparing Nayak and Autograph. It does this by examining how each director uses character development, narrative structure, and cinematography to portray the complex layers of their protagonists’ struggles. The goal of the paper is to explore how the Indian film industry’s dynamic actor-director relationship and changing views on success and fame are reflected in the societal and cultural shifts that occurred between the times the films were made