Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Lyceum International School Anuradhapura


My Heroic Deed
The New Year vacation begins tomorrow in our school. My younger sister’s only dream is to go to my grandmother’s house. Do you know why? We have enough space to play there. Every evening, the children play elle there in the paddy field. Whenever we go there, we also join them. Then, we feel as if we have gone to the heaven. The pond behind the house is also very beautiful. There are colorful flowers in it. The water we find there is really blue. I feel like jumping into it and have a bath.
That is why we went to grandmother’s house to enjoy its beauty. But, this year the environment has completely changed due to the recent heavy rain. The pond and the   paddy field are full of water. The children, who usually play there, are not there now. Earlier, I got into the pond and enjoyed swimming there plucking lily flowers. I also caught small fish. I went deeper into the water and built dream castles there. But, today I have lost all.
Grandmother said, “Baba, don’t go to the pond.” It is dangerous these days. When I asked father, he too said, “Sorry, I can’t.” Mother said, “Please baba, don’t go there.” All these words hurt me. Why did we come here?
In the meantime, grand mother went to aunt’ house and both my father and mother were having a nap. So, my sister and I secretly stepped down to our favourite pond. It was really a lovely place, which is full of water.
My sister saw this beautiful pond and told me, “Sister, I will have a bath till all this water is over.” She was unable to bear the happiness and at once jumped into the water. What to do now? I looked at every side, but there was none to help us. I cried louder and louder. That voice echoed and returned to me. I could not leave my sister and go to fetch some body. She was also shouting saying sister and sister. Gradually, she was floating to the deep side of the pond. She was drowned and I could see her head only.
At once I jumped into the pond and swam towards my sister’s direction and caught her by hair. After that, I swam towards the land dragging her. Anyway, I rescued my sister. Even today, I feel that terror. My whole body becomes cold when I remember that terrible incident. I could not have told this fearful incident to you if I was not such a heroic person that day.

Minthuli Grade 06
25.06.2019

Why do I like my friend?

We are all friends. We all have friends. We can’t do anything without friends. We need friends for playing, learning, working in the class, and for completions. We can’t do anything without friends.
Of them, you know that we have a best friend. He is known as our intimidate friend. Now can you tell me why I like my best friend so much?
One day, we were running to the classroom after playing. Suddenly, I fell down. All the other friends ran to the classroom leaving me there. But, my best friend didn’t do so. She stopped and helped me.
When I am ill, she is always with me near the teacher. She remembers my birth day and wishes me before the other friends. On the New Year day also, she is the first person to wish me.
She is like my mother. When I do something wrong, she advises me. I can’t stay without speaking to her. She is also a very clever girl at her studies. When she is not with me, I feel as if my mother is not with me.
How beautiful is our world if we have such friends?

Minthuli's Nangi  Grade 02
25.06.2019

Bhiksu University of Sri Lanka Anuradhapura External Degree Program-2019 English Literature


Fear No More by William Shakespeare 

“Death brings solace.” Discuss the validity of the above statement
with reference to “Fear No More” composed by William Shakespeare.

The following facts will help you write an effective answer.

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. For example, to emphasize his stance, the author repeats the phrase, "Fear no more" in the first line of the first, second, and third stanza of the poem. Once again this occurs with the phrase, "must… come to dust" in the fifth and sixth line of the first, second, and third stanza. This is of importance 
because it reiterates that the author's main purpose is to instill the notion that one should not struggle against mortal defeat because it will eventually come upon everyone, including those that have attained fulfillment from life. 
In Shakespeare's first stanza, the theme is applied to a wide audience that may have different fears. In this stanza Shakespeare explains that one should, "Fear not the heat o' the sun, /Nor the furious winter's rages; " for we have completed our "worldly task…/ Home art gone, and [have] ta'en [our] wages.
This poem has been taken from Shakespeare's play Cymbeline. This is a death poem having universal appeal. In this poem the poet has expressed his feeling for the rest of the soul of the dead. It is written for the consolation of the dead. The poet wants to say that a dead person becomes free from all kinds of worldly anxieties. It is full of moral lessons.
A dead person cannot feel the heat of the sun. A living person has to face the scorching sun and bitter coldness of the winter season. But after death, he gets rid of them. After death a person goes to heaven, which is his permanent home. As a laborer works and goes home after taking his wages, so a dead person goes home with his success and failures. The poet further advises a dead person not to be disappointed from death because death is the fate of every person. It lays its icy hands over all whether he is a handsome fellow, a beautiful girl or a chimney sweeper. All must die one day.
A dead person is immune from the anger of his master. In his lifetime, he is in financial trouble. He has no sufficient money for buying necessary cloth and proper fund. Consequently, he has no proper cloth to cover his body and proper food to satisfy his hunger. But after death, he does not feel any necessity of these things. Death is very impartial. It does not distinguish between the poor and rich. Kings, learned men, physicians and doctors must die one day.
A dead man does not fear the lightening flash nor thunder-storm. He is free from public criticism. Joy and sorrow are the same for him. In his life time sometime he is happy and sometimes sad. But after death, he does not feel anything. At last the poet says that death should not be the cause of sorrow because all persons, whether they are young lover or old one, must die and meet the dust. It is lyrical and follows a systematic pattern, example 'the sun' 'done', 'rages', 'wages' 'must' 'dust' etc.



Bhiksu University of Sri Lanka Anuradhapura External Degree Program-2019 English Literature


“We should take risks and face challenges during the span of our life.” Discuss with reference to the poem, “The Road Not Taken” written by Robert Frost.

The following facts will help you write an effective answer. You are kindly informed to study them carefully and attend the lecture. We hope to write a model answer.

Robert Frost-The Road Not Taken
"The Road Not Taken" is an ambiguous poem that allows the reader to think about choices in life, whether to go with the mainstream or go it alone. If life is a journey, this poem highlights those times in life when a decision has to be made. Which way will you go?
The ambiguity springs from the question of free will versus determinism, whether the speaker in the poem consciously decides to take the road that is off the beaten track or only does so because he doesn't fancy the road with the bend in it. External factors therefore make up his mind for him.
Robert Frost wrote this poem to highlight a trait of, and poke fun at, his friend Edward Thomas, an English-Welsh poet, who, when out walking with Frost in England would often regret not having taken a different path. Thomas would sigh over what they might have seen and done, and Frost thought this quaintly romantic.
In other words, Frost's friend regretted not taking the road that might have offered the best opportunities, despite it being an unknown.
Frost liked to tease and goad. He told Thomas: "No matter which road you take, you'll always sigh and wish you'd taken another." So it's ironic that Frost meant the poem to be light-hearted, but it turned out to be anything but. People take it very seriously.
It is the hallmark of the true poet to take such everyday realities, in this case, the sighs of a friend on a country walk, and transform them into something so much more.
All of Robert Frost's poems can be found in this exceptional book, The Collected Poems, which I use for all my analyses. It contains all of his classics and more. It's the most comprehensive collection currently on offer.
"The Road Not Taken" is all about what did not happen: This person, faced with an important conscious decision, chose the least popular, the path of most resistance. He was destined to go down one, regretted not being able to take both, so he sacrificed one for the other.
Ultimately, the reader is left to make up their own mind about the emotional state of the speaker at the end. Was the choice of the road less travelled a positive one? It certainly made "all the difference," but Frost does not make it clear just what this difference is.
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
What Is the Main Theme of "The Road Not Taken?"
The main theme of the "The Road Not Taken" is that it is often impossible to see where a life-altering decision will lead. Thus, one should make their decision swiftly and with confidence. It is normal to wonder what the outcome would have been if the other road, the road not taken, was the road chosen. But to contemplate this hypothetical deeply is folly, for it is impossible to say whether taking the other road would have been better or worse: all one can say is that it would have been different.
What Is the Central Message of "The Road Not Taken?"
"The Road Not Taken" suddenly presents the speaker and the reader with a dilemma. There are two roads in an autumnal wood separating off, presumably the result of the one road splitting, and there's nothing else to do but to choose one of the roads and continue life's journey.
The central message is that, in life, we are often presented with choices. When making a choice, one is required to make a decision. Viewing a choice as a fork in a path, it becomes clear that we must choose one direction or another, but not both.
In "The Road Not Taken," Frost does not indicate whether the road he chose was the right one. Nonetheless, that is the way he is going now, and the place he ends up, for better or worse, was the result of his decision.
This poem is not about taking the road less travelled, about individuality or uniqueness. This poem is about the road taken, to be sure, as well the road not taken, not necessarily the road less traveled. Any person who has made a decisive choice will agree that it is human nature to contemplate the "What if..." had you made the choice you did not make. This pondering about the different life one may have lived had they done something differently is central to "The Road Not Taken."
The speaker opts, at random, for the other road and, once on it, declares himself happy because it has more grass and not many folk have been down it. Anyway, he could always return one day and try the 'original' road again. Would that be possible? Perhaps not, life has a way of letting one thing leading to another until going backwards is just no longer an option.
But who knows what the future holds down the road? The speaker implies that, when he's older he might look back at this turning point in his life, the morning he took the road less travelled, because taking that particular route completely altered his way of being.
What Is the Mood and Tone of "The Road Not Taken?"
Whilst this is a reflective, thoughtful poem, it's as if the speaker is caught in two minds. He's encountered a turning point. The situation is clear enough - take one path or the other, black or white - go ahead, do it. But life is rarely that simple. We're human, and our thinking processes are always on the go trying to work things out. You take the high road; I'll take the low road. Which is best?
So, the tone is meditative. As this person stands looking at the two options, he is weighing the pros and cons in a quiet, studied manner. The situation demands a serious approach, for who knows what the outcome will be?
The entire speaker knows is that he prefers the road less travelled, perhaps because he enjoys solitude and believes that to be important. Whatever the reason, once committed, he'll more than likely never look back.
On reflection, however, taking the road "because it was grassy and wanted wear” has made all the difference all the difference in the world.
What Are the Poetic Devices Used in "The Road Not Taken?"
In "The Road Not Taken," Frost primarily makes use of metaphor. Other poetic devices include the rhythm in which he wrote the poem, but these aspects are covered in the section on structure.
What Is the Figurative Meaning of "The Road Not Taken?"
Frost uses the road as a metaphor for life: he portrays our lives as a path we are walking along toward an undetermined destination. Then, the poet reaches a fork in the road. The fork is a metaphor for a life-altering choice in which a compromise is not possible. The traveler must go one way, or the other.
The descriptions of each road (one bends under the undergrowth, and the other is "just as fair") indicates to the reader that, when making a life-altering decision, it is impossible to see where that decision will lead. At the moment of decision-making, both roads present themselves equally, thus the choice of which to go down is, essentially, a toss-up–a game of chance.
The metaphor is activated. Life offers two choices, both are valid but the outcomes could be vastly different, existentially speaking. Which road to take? The speaker is in two minds. He wants to travel both, and is "sorry" he cannot, but this is physically impossible.
What Is the Literal Meaning of "The Road Not Taken?"
Literally, "The Road Not Taken" tells the story of a man who reaches a fork in the road, and randomly chooses to take one and not the other.
What Is the Symbolism of "The Road Not Taken?"
The road, itself, symbolizes the journey of life, and the image of a road forking off into two paths symbolizes a choice.
As for color, Frost describes the forest as a "yellow wood." Yellow can be considered a middle color, something in-between and unsure of itself. This sets the mood of indecision that characterizes the language of the poem.
Frost also mentions the color black in the lines:
And both the morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Clearly, this is to emphasize that both roads appeared untouched, not having been tarnished by the foot of a previous traveler. The poet is the first to encounter this dilemma.
What Is the Point of View of "The Road Not Taken?"
The point of view is of the traveler, who, walking along a single path, encounters a fork in the road and stops to contemplate which path he should follow.
How Do the Two Roads Differ in "The Road Not Taken?"
The two roads in "The Road Not Taken" hardly differ.
The first road is described as bending into the undergrowth. The second road is described as "just as fair," though it was "grassy and wanted wear."
At this, it seems the second road is overgrown and less travelled, but then the poet writes:
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no steps had trodden black.
So, again, the roads are equalized. Yet, as if to confuse the reader, Frost writes in the final stanza:
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
With that, we are left to wonder how Frost knew the road he took was the one less traveled by. But Frost likely left this ambiguity on purpose so that the reader would not focus so much on condition of the road, and, instead, focus on the fact that he chose a road (any road, whether it was that which was less traveled by or not), and that, as a result, he has seen a change in his life.


Friday, June 21, 2019

BUSL External Degree Program Buddhist Literature First Year Students 2019

Dhammapada
1.
 If a person speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.
Manopubbagamā dhammā manoseṭṭhā manomayā
Manasā ce padu
ṭṭhena bhāsati vā karoti vā
Tato na
 dukkhamanveti cakka'va vahato pada.
2.
If a person speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.
Manopubbagamā dhammā manoseṭṭhā manomayā
Manasā ce pasannena bhāsati vā karoti vā
Tato na
 sukhamanveti chāyā'va anapāyinī.
3.
For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an eternal rule.
Na hi verena verāni sammantīdha kudācana
Averena ca sammanti esa dhammo sanantano.

 

Manopubbagamā dhammā,
manoseṭṭh
ā manomayā;
Manasā ce paduṭṭhena,
bhāsati vā karoti vā;
Tato na dukkhamanveti,
cakkava vahato pada.
1. All actions in this life are preceded by mind. Mind is their chief. They are made by mind. If one speaks or acts with an impure mind, suffering follows one like the wagon wheel that follows the foot of the ox.
Manopubbagamā dhammā,
manoseṭṭh
ā manomayā;
Manasā ce pasannena,
bhāsati vā karoti vā;
Tato na sukhamanveti,
chāyāva anapāyinī.
2. All actions in this life are preceded by mind. Mind is their chief. They are made by mind. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows one like one’s never-departing shadow.
Akkocchi ma avadhi ma,
ajini ma ah
āsi me;
Ye ca ta upanayhanti,
vera tesa na sammati.
3. “He abused me, he attacked me, he defeated me, and he robbed me.” Those who harbour such thoughts will never end their hatred.
Akkocchi ma avadhi ma,
ajini ma ah
āsi me;
Ye ca ta nupanayhanti,
vera tes
ūpasammati.
4. “He abused me, he attacked me, he defeated me, and he robbed me.” Those who do not harbour such thoughts will end their hatred.
Na hi verena verāni,
sammantīdha kudācana;
Averena ca sammanti,
esa dhammo sanantano.
5. Hatred never ends through hatred; by non-hatred alone does it end. This is an eternal law in this world.



BUSL External Degree Program Buddhist Literature

Dhammapada
1.
 If a person speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.
Manopubbagamā dhammā manoseṭṭhā manomayā
Manasā ce padu
ṭṭhena bhāsati vā karoti vā
Tato na
 dukkhamanveti cakka'va vahato pada.
2.
If a person speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.
Manopubbagamā dhammā manoseṭṭhā manomayā
Manasā ce pasannena bhāsati vā karoti vā
Tato na
 sukhamanveti chāyā'va anapāyinī.
3.
For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an eternal rule.
Na hi verena verāni sammantīdha kudācana
Averena ca sammanti esa dhammo sanantano.