Happy New Year! 2018

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You are doing things you have never done before, and more importantly, you are doing something.

Good Luck!

External Degree-2017-BUSL

15 students are browsing my web site now. I am very happy. I want you to read it and come for the lecture tomorrow. Good Luck!

30.12.2017
D.N. Aloysius

Get ready for the Oral Test and Classroom Test -31.12.2017

Continuous Assessment-External Degree-2017, Bhiksu University of Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura

1. Classroom Test- 10marks
2. Oral Test-(Presentation)-10 marks
All the students are required to do the above tests.
External Degree-Bhiksu University of Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura
Next Lecture on Buddhist Literature 31.12.2017- 8.30 am -12.30 pm
Take Home Assignment
Discuss the kindness of the Buddha with appropriate examples.
The students are expected to discuss the above question in the classroom. Visit the university web site and dnaloysius.blogspot.com for notes.
External Degree-Bhiksu University of Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura
Next Lecture on poem, Fear No More- 31.12.2017- 8.30 am -12.30 pm
Please read and come for the discussion.
1. University website: www.busl.ac.lk
2. dnaloysius.blogspot.com

Twilight of a Crane

Summary of the Drama

Twilight Crane, a contemporary Japanese play by Junji Kinoshita (1914–2006), begins when a group of children arrive at the isolated country hut of Yohyo, a peasant. They are regular visitors because Yohyo’s wife Tsu will good-naturedly play with them and sing, even now in the snowy winter. They wake the sleeping Yohyo, and though he grouches at them, he comes out to play when they cannot find Tsu because she has gone out. When she does return, Yohyo lovingly persuades her to join him with the children.

Conflict arrives with the appearance of the remaining two characters who are men from the village: Sodo, who hopes to persuade Yohyo to let him broker the fine cloth Tsu weaves, and Unzu, who is Sodo’s sidekick, and previously has purchased this fine cloth. They barge right into the unoccupied house and only apologize when Tsu finds them. They question her about the fantastic cloth—could it be the famed semba ori (made from 1000 feathers plucked from a live crane), but she appears not to understand, and flutters, birdlike, away.

Sodo and Unzu want Yohyo to make Tsu weave more cloth, but he has noticed that every time she weaves she becomes thinner. They wonder at his luck in getting Tsu as his wife and find that she arrived at his door one night and has been loving wife since then. Sodo recalls to himself a folktale about a man helping a crane once. The crane became the man’s wife in gratitude. Could this folktale be happening in real life?

Because of Sodo’s promise of more money than he has ever imagined and travel to Tokyo, Yohyo persuades Tsu to weave more cloth, even though he had promised she would not need to do so. She knows she is losing her simple husband to the greedy villagers. She agrees to weave again, and reminds Yohyo he must NEVER look in on her while she is weaving.

Sodo and Unzu have been hiding nearby. When they see Tsu has gone to her weaving, they rush to fine Yohyo. Sodo intentionally breaks the “no look” rule and peeps into the weaving room where he sees a crane weaving in place of Tsu. Unzu and then Yohyo also peek.

When Tsu emerges very thin and weak, she has made not one, but two beautiful pieces of cloth. She knows he has broken the “no look” promise also. She tells him she has lost most all her feathers and now has just barely enough to allow her to fly back. She asks him to keep one piece of cloth because she has made it for him with her heart (not for material gain). Tsu disappears from the stage just as the children come once again to play. One of them sees a crane flying away in the distance.

Junji Kinoshita

Junji Kinoshita (1914–2006) was the foremost playwright of modern drama in postwar Japan. He was also a translator and scholar of Shakespeare's plays. Kinoshita’s achievements were not limited to Japan. He helped to promote theatrical exchanges between Japan and the People’s Republic of China, and he traveled broadly in Europe and Asia. In addition to his international work, Kinoshita joined various societies that focused on the study of folktales and the Japanese language.

Kinoshita was born in Tokyo as the son of government official Kinoshita Yahachiro and his wife, Sassa Mie. Kinoshita attended school in Tokyo until 1925 when his parents moved back to his father's hometown of Kumamoto to retire. Kinoshita was in fourth grade at the time. Although Kinoshita was teased very much by other students because of his Tokyo dialect at his new school, this experience in his childhood made him think deeply about the Japanese language and become more aware of the complexities of spoken language. He attended Kumamoto Prefectural Middle School and later went on to Kumamoto Fifth High School, where he received a degree equivalent to that of a western university.

Twilight a Crane

This play is derived from the folktale "Turu no Ongaeshi". One day, Yohyō, a poor, but kind farmer, helps a crane struggling who with getting out of a trap. Later, a woman named Tsu comes to visit Yohyō and tells him that she wants to marry him, and so they become a husband and a wife. Tsū weaves beautiful textiles. Yohyō makes some money by selling it, but Tsū never allows him to look into the room when she is weaving. Sōdo and Unzu, money-hungry people, tempt Yohyō to ask for Tsū to make more textiles. When Tsu complies, they and Yohyō finally break Yohyō’s promise and look into the secret room. It turns out that Tsū is a crane and she has been weaving the textiles by using her own feathers. When Tsū realizes Yohyō broke his promise, she changes herself back into a crane and flies away. Yūzuru has a wide range of scholarly interpretations. Scholar Brian Powell notes that “its appeal has continued over more than half a century, perhaps suggesting that Kinoshita’s rather pessimistic view of human nature is shared or at least understood by a wide cross-section of the population.” 

A.E. Housman

Alfred Edward Housman (1859-1936) was a popular poet and was born in 1859 in England. He was the oldest in the family of seven. His mother died on his twelfth birthday. He won a scholarship to St. John's College, Oxford. He began his life as a clerk. On the merit of his scholarship, he was lucky to secure a placement in the university college of London. In 1911, he became the professor of Latin in Cambridge. In 1936, he passed away in a nursing home in his sleep.

According to the above poem, it seems that probably an argument erupted between two brothers while they were at work and it resulted in one’s untimely death. The reason for this murder seems to be a triangular love affair. Two brothers loved the same young girl and fought for getting her hand and ultimately one brother killed the other.

The person, who was bidding farewell, was extremely shocked and refused to accept that he had done such a treacherous act. He addressed this ballad to the barn and stack and tree, his familiar surroundings, realizing the fact that he had already killed the only companion who had been there working in the farm along with him.

While bidding farewell to his familiar surroundings, the speaker brings out the feeling of urgency to leave the place immediately as he feels guilty. He bids farewell to his village, Severn Shore. Moreover, he requests his brother, whom he has just murdered, to look at him for the last time. It is understood that the speaker has decided not to return to his own village hereafter. He feels guilty conscious and highly irritated over the tragic death he has already committed.

"The sun burns on the half-mown hill,

         By now the blood is dried;

And Maurice amongst the hay lies still

         And my knife is in his side."

 The 'sun burn' being mentioned shows that it is probably noon time. While the 'half-mown hill' reminds us of the farming background and the country side, it is followed by an expression that it was a bloody murder, and it had happened somewhere early in the day, so that the blood was dried. The victim's name is introduced as Maurice and the murder is Terence, who is his own brother. Terence had committed the murder with his own knife, which he had left near his brother in a hurry to evacuate from the place where he had committed the crime.

"My mother thinks us long away;

         'Tis time the field were mown.

She had two sons at rising day,

         To-night she'll be alone."

        This stanza proves the point that they are brothers; the murderer and the victim. The speaker remembers his family, his mother, and obviously it is an impossible thing for him to face her ever again. He imagines with guilt how their mother will be waiting for her sons, who had left home that morning to mow the fields. In the morning, their mother had two sons with her, but today when the day ends, one of her sons is killed and the other has gone far away, running away from home in fear and guilt, unable to face the consequences of what he has done.

"And here's a bloody hand to shake,

         And oh, man, here's good-bye;

We'll sweat no more on scythe and rake,

         My bloody hands and I."

Remembering the times he and his brother have worked together, shared moments of both accomplishments and failures, as men who live together under the same roof in the same family, the speaker is even unable to say a proper heart felt goodbye. He would have never expected to bid such a farewell to his own brother, with such blood stained hands. He remembers that those moments are not going to be there again.

"I wish you strength to bring you pride,

         And a love to keep you clean,

And I wish you luck, come Lammastide,

         At racing on the green."

       

"Long for me the rick will wait,

         And long will wait the fold,

And long will stand the empty plate,

         And dinner will be cold.”

As he bids farewell, he remembers the festivals and celebrations that he had been celebrating with his family in the past. Why would he "wish" something for the dead person? especially, for the Lammastide or the racing on the green? Probably, it was the speaker’s imaginary thinking that his brother would at least enjoy and cherish the same things in his life after death. 

 He remembers all that he is leaving behind and going and also remembers that it is going to be a different life for him from now onwards. To make it more personal, he is also with the fear that he will even end up his life. To show that his return is never possible, he mentions the "long wait." But, the phrase also gives the reader a little bit of hope; a return after his suffering of guilt is over. 

Fear No More

 Fear no more the heat o’ the sun;

Nor the furious winter’s rages, (metaphor)
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages;
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney sweepers come to dust. (Simile)

Fear no more the frown of the great,
Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke:
Care no more to clothe and eat;
To thee the reed is as the oak: (simile)
The sceptre, learning, physic, must
All follow this, and come to dust. (Personification)

Fear no more the lightning-flash,
Nor the all-dread thunder-stone;
Fear not slander, censure rash;
Thou hast finished joy and moan;
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee, and come to dust.

No exorciser harm thee!
Nor no witchcraft charm thee!
Ghost unlaid forbear thee!
Nothing ill come near thee!
Quiet consummation have;
And renowned be thy grave!

This poem is about death and it says that everyone is going to be turned into dust. The author tries to say that we are all going to die, and that is there no need to stress or worry about life. No one needs to be anxious about tomorrow, about the way they are getting their food or clothe, or being scared of the people in a higher position. No matter, who you are and no matter how old you are, or what position you hold death will always be waiting for you and you’ll be turned into dust. Your family and friends won’t come down there with you, nor will your knowledge.

When death comes to us we won’t fear anything. He’s telling us that we won’t fear the heat of the sun, the winters rage, the frown of the great which are the people of a higher position than us in life, the lighting flash, the thunder stone, and the slander censure rash. Nothing is going to harm us when we are dead. You will be quietly consumed and renowned by the grave. I think the author wrote this poem about death because someone that he loved and was close to pass away, or maybe he was just thinking about death and what would happen after that.

The author is the speaker of this poem and he is generally talking to everyone. The poem is free of cliches, and the tone of the poem is serious, fearless, and careless. The tone doesn’t change throughout the poem. There are 4 stanzas with six lines each. There rhyme scheme of the poem is ababcc. Shakespeare used a figurative language in the poem. In the first stanza, second line “nor the furious winter’s rage”, is an example of metaphor. “Gold lads and girls all must, as chimney sweepers come to dust” is an example of simile in the first stanza, last line. In the second stanza, last line “The sceptre, learning, physic, must all follow this, and come to dust”, is an example of personification. The word fear repeats at the beginning of the first three stanzas in the poem, and so does the word thee. They are an example of repetition. There is no absence of punctuation, and it is a closed poem. I think the title is very good because it doesn’t give away too much of what the poem will be about, and it also gives an idea that it will be about fear and death. This poem is a very good one because I can relate to it. I lost my grandfather last year and this poem reminded me of him, and reminded me that I’m going to be following him someday. This poem succeeded of reminding me of death and that I should live life to the fullest, and not worry about tomorrow because you never know if tomorrow’s sun will rise upon you or not.

Fear No More

The poem, ‘Fear no more heat o’ the sun’ by William Shakespeare is a poem about that death can come at any age, and all the troubles and worries  happening while living will not matter while we are dead. In this poem, the persona reassures the responder about the notion of death numerous times. The imperative mood of the opening line, “Fear no more…” reassures the responder about the notion of death.  Shakespeare’s repetition of this line throughout the first three stanzas reinforces this idea, while the Volta created by the shift to the exclamatory mood in the final stanza serves to drive this message home for the responder as it soothes the human anxiety about death. The juxtaposition of the two extremes of the “heat o’ the sun” and the “furious winter” reinforces the idea that we have no need to fear even the most harsh seasons.  Furthermore, Shakespeare personifies the winter in order to dramatize this contrast while the diction of the adjective “furious” emphasizes this drama. The juxtaposition of the two extremes “Golden lads and girls” (“golden” symbolizing wealth and favor) and “chimney-sweepers” (symbolizing the poor street urchins) conveys the idea that death is inevitable, because these extremes represent the children of the richest and those of the poorest classes to symbolize that death equally to all humanity regardless of social-class. The diction of “must” creates high modality to emphasize death’s inevitability, which is represented by the metaphor and biblical allusion “come to dust”. This allusion, together with the diction “must”, is repeated at the end of the first three stanzas to highlight the poem’s central thesis about the inevitability of death.

Secondly, within the second stanza focuses the human condition to convey that death will liberate us from these concerns.  Shakespeare states that we need not fear the metaphoric “frown of the great” and “tyrant’s stroke” to highlight that death will liberate humanity from oppressive rulers. Similarly, we are reminded that in death we need not have physiological and safety worries, “to clothe and eat”, as Shakespeare suggests these are irrelevant in death.  Shakespeare lists the various professions through the synecdoches, “the scepter, learning, physic”, referring to everyone from the king, to the teacher to the doctor, to convey that all humankind, regardless of profession, will be a victim of death. In the poem’s final stanza, the exclamatory lines focus on the evils that trouble humanity, symbolized by “witchcraft”, “Ghost” and “ill”, building the tension that is then diffused in the softer diction of the final couplet. As the poem ends, “Quiet consummation have / and renowned be thy grave!” this leaves the responder with the idea that death is a time for peace. In conclusion, the poem juxtaposes the complex needs and fears of life, shelter, safety, food and love with the simplicity and finality of death as we all “must”, simply, “come to dust”.  

Fear No More

Fear no more the heat o’ th’ sun

            Nor the furious winter’s rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
            Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages.
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

Fear no more the frown o’ th’ great;
            Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke.
Care no more to clothe and eat;
            To thee the reed is as the oak.
The sceptre, learning, physic, must
All follow this and come to dust.

Fear no more the lightning flash,
            Nor th’ all -dreaded-thunder-stone;
Fear not slander, censure rash;
            Thou hast finished joy and moan.
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee and come to dust.

No exorciser harm thee!
Nor no witchcraft charm thee!
Ghost unlaid forbear thee!
Nothing ill come near thee!
Quiet consummation have,
And renownèd be thy grave!

William Shakespeare  (1564-1616)

In ‘Fear No More The Heat of the Sun’ Shakespeare uses pathetic fallacy, weather conditions representing human emotion, and images of earthly struggle or difficulty to portray death as a relief. Although he presents death as inevitable these images are meant to comfort and sooth the dead and mourning as the departed will be moving to a better place.

The poem opens with the phrase ‘fear no more’, which is then repeated a further three times in the poem, which suggests death, provides an end to particular earthly fears. The repetition not only serves to emphasize  many troubles we face in earthly life, but also acts as a soothing method for the poetic voice as if he is trying to convince himself that the deceased will be better off.

This repeated phrase is connected to natural images of weather conditions and seasons that are used by Shakespeare to represent human emotions. The contrasting weather of the ‘heat o’ th’ sun’ and the ‘furious winter’s rages’ represent emotional extremes of romance or passion and then misery, loneliness or despair. Although we often associate the sun with being a positive we must not forget its power to burn, which is also true of love that can give us unbelievable emotional highs, but is also prone to cause lasting pain and strife. Winter is used in a more traditional manner and the cold and harshness of the season clearly resonates with feelings of isolation and loneliness, but could also represent the ravages of old age (as winter represents the end of our lives as trees and flowers wither and die away) and the fact the deceased will no longer have to face this.

In addition, Shakespeare tells the deceased they will no longer have to worry about ‘lightning flash’ or ‘dreaded-thunder-stone’, both of which could represent emotions of shock or fear. I think he is uses these divergent weather conditions to suggest that death frees us from uncertainty and the ups and downs of human life. He presents our avoidance of this roller coaster as a positive journey, but I believe that the words of the poem suggest that the poetic voice is not completely convinced this is true.

In the third stanza, the poem claims the deceased has ‘finished joy and moan’. This is presented as a positive and that is understandable in terms of issues that cause humans to moan such as the financial difficulties suggested by having to care about ‘clothe and eat’ and being subject to a ruler’s whims and fancies implied by the phrase ‘the frown o’ th’ great’. These phrases both tell us that death allows us to escape earthly pressures, like supporting and feeding a family, and having to avoid upsetting others and becoming victim to their desire for revenge or punishment. However, Shakespeare also links death to the end of joy, which can surely not be  positive. This may just hint at the true feelings of the poetic voice, and gives the reader a hint of their regret that the deceased will never again experience the dizzying highs of life.

Alternatively this could be interpreted as being the state of things in the next life. Although heaven is supposed to be a kingdom of love it is also one free of extremes of emotion and thus romantic highs are not really something one would associate with the next life. There is a clear suggestion that the poetic voice feels the deceased will transcend to heaven in the opening stanza; Shakespeare says the deceased has gone ‘home’, which tells us that earth was only a temporary destination and has connotations of warmth and comfort. Further, they have ‘ta’en thy wages’ which implies that their actions on earth are converted to credit in the next life. This is clearly referring to heaven and the ‘wages’ must represent the morality and virtuous life the deceased has led, thus securing a spot in heaven.

Whether this person was truly virtuous we do not know, but the purpose of claiming they will ascend to heaven is again soothing. It is easier for the mourners to accept the death if they think that life will continue and be better for their loved one. In addition to this, Shakespeare repeats the idea that all ‘come to dust’ (whether they be wealthy or poor, distinguished or not, loved or loathed) to emphasize the inevitability of death. If all of us are going to meet the same fate then we need not fear it; death is thus presented as an inevitable part of life and something we should embrace and accept rather than curse and fear. However, the confidence in this ascension and in a peaceful life after death, expressed through the listing of various earthly worries, is undermined by the final stanza.

A series of imperatives command evil spirits and the likes not to interfere with the deceased. The use of exclamation at the end of each of these commands demonstrates the passion and intense mourning of the poetic voice. The prior calm and confidence of the opening three stanzas is completely dismissed and it is as if true grief has overcome the poetic voice at the end. However, the fact that the poet has to warn off ‘witchcraft’, ‘ghost’ and ‘exorciser’ suggests that the soothing confidence that everything will be better in the next life is not absolute. The warnings imply the poetic voice has worries about the afterlife and exactly what will happen to their deceased friend.

So, Shakespeare has used a combination of weather imagery and pathetic fallacy alongside images of aspects of earthly struggle and toil to present death as a positive and inevitable part of life and something that will beckon a happier existence. However, there are a few slips in this presentation and a sense of regret and lamentation can be traced in the fact that the deceased will no longer experience the highs of human existence and there is also an expression of fear in the final stanza as the poetic voice tries to ward off evil spirits.

Fear no more -By William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare utilizes simplistic language to emphasize the themes in “Fear no more;” however, he exercises complex metaphors to depict the struggles one undergoes during a lifetime and as a result urges the reader to overcome all melancholic sentiments that lead one to oppose a peaceful death. The diction applied in “Fear no more” efficiently creates emphasis on specific sections of the poem. In addition, the euphonic flow used by Shakespeare illustrates the author’s serenity and resignation towards the subject at hand. In essence, Shakespeare’s “Fear no more” employs rhetorical devices such as repetition, appeal to the audience, and imagery to reveal the desired theme. 

The fundamental theme of this poem is regarding the significance of succumbing to death, for after having a full life everyone must fearlessly face the end. In addition, the poem emphasizes that one should not fight against the arrival of death in any of its forms. In fact, this argument is first introduced in the title and further displayed throughout Shakespeare’s poem. In the first line of all three stanzas, the author begins with the phrase, “Fear no more,” openly showing his belief that one should willingly submit to mortality. Furthermore, the poem’s theme is displayed through the phrase “all must … come to dust.” By acknowledging that death is inevitable for all of humanity, the author attempts to emphasize his belief that one should not “fear” fate. The theme of the poem is also reinforced through repetition.