Assignment Code: BEGLA-137/2021-22

Course Code: BEGLA-137

Assignment Name: Language through Literature

Year: 2021-2022

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Max. Marks: 100

Answer all questions.

Q1. Show your understanding of the distinction between literary and non-literary prose by citing examples and discussing them. 450 words (You may give the source)

Ans) The distinction between literary and non-literary might be made in a classical sense. This distinction is critical for Literature students. Literary and non-literary relate to stylistic elements in the context of ancient literature studies. This is also a distinction that individuals aspiring to be literary authors should be aware of.

Literary works with significant intricate and detailed literary devices, notably in metaphor and symbolism, are considered literary works. Literary factors like as chronology and psychological characterization are also significant. Metaphor and symbolism are important in distinguishing literary from non-literary texts because they incorporate deeper meanings in the text. A metaphor- and symbol-rich writing will convey both literal and figurative meanings, as well as deeper and more complicated subjects.

Because the present, past, and future can be utilised for more than cause and effect, before and after sequencing of events, the concept of chronology is important. Chronology can either generate unity or division; it can be harmonious or disrupting and upsetting. Psychological characterisation develops and exposes the mental, cognitive, and emotional processes that build or break relationships, drive or obstruct motivation, bring happiness and luck or despair and misery, and bring pleasure and luck or despair and anguish.

Non-literary, on the other hand, refers to works that are devoid of metaphor and symbolism in order to tell a tale and entertain. If there are themes rather than mere morals, the thematic elements and issues are simple and easily identified. The chronology is accurate, with a few flashbacks to provide backstory if necessary. Character development and psychological depth are prioritised over action and events.

These differentiating characteristics apply to both fiction and nonfiction, with minor differences. Biographies and autobiographies are examples of literary nonfiction that strive to explain universal qualities of human life through the metaphors and symbols given by real life experience. In order to examine the human condition and the driving forces behind success and failure, happiness and sorrow, chronology can be used to explore a wider range of related events and relationships, whereas psychological understanding drives the progress and depth of the narrative, revealing inner motives, confusion, restlessness, and so on, in order to examine the human condition and the driving forces behind success and failure, happiness and sorrow.

Simple distinctions are a good place to start. Newspapers, periodicals, leaflets, ads, and popular fiction and nonfiction genres all contain non-literary writings (informational, mass media texts and everyday text plus spy novels etc and with how-to books etc). Novels, short tales, and poems are examples of literary texts. Nonfiction in the popular genres is frequently non-literary. Biographies, on the other hand, are literary because of their engaging storylines.

Both sorts of prose tend to use various tactics, such as metaphors and analogies, which both compare one thing to another. In non-literary writings, analogies are used to clarify meaning; for example, my surgery's brochure depicted the detached retina as peeling away from the eye's wall in the same manner as damp wallpaper peels away from a wall. This ties in with one of the most typical goals of non-literary texts, which is to inform clearly about a new topic, such as in a school textbook. Other non-literary texts, such as a spy thriller, adventure or science fiction novel, or romance, aim to entertain.

Non-literary texts, on the other hand, are texts whose main aim is to deliver information and do not have the same narrative or fictitious aspects as literary texts. Textbooks, legal documents, academic journal articles, recipes, how-to books, and instruction manuals are examples of non-literary texts.

Q2. Fill in the blank in the following passage with suitable prepositions:

Mohan was playing cards ............................... some other people. He tried ............................... cheat the others ............................... using an extra card. Unfortunately, he was caught ............................... the act and was subsequently shot ............................... death

Ans) Mohan was playing cards with some other people. He tried to cheat the others by using an extra card. Unfortunately, he was caught in the act and was subsequently shot to death.

Q3. Make five words using the prefix 'Dis' as in 'Dislike'

Ans) Disrespect, Disappear, Display, Dishonest, Dismantle.

Q4. Correct the following sentences: (10)

(i) The Police is looking into the case.

Ans) The Police are looking into the case.

(ii) He has written to me yesterday.

Ans) He had written to me yesterday.

OR

He wrote to me yesterday.

(iii) We returned back from Mumbai yesterday.

Ans) We returned from Mumbai yesterday.

(iv) I have cooked lot of food.

Ans) I have cooked a lot of food.

(v) Each of the books were costly.

Ans) Each of the books is costly.

Q5. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

The tree crickets were a band of willing artists who would start singing at almost any time of the day. At the height of the monsoon, the banyan tree was like an orchestra with the musicians constantly tuning up. A small flute in my hand, I would add my shrill piping to that of the crickets and cicadas. But they must have thought poorly of my piping because whenever I played, the insects fell silent!

(i) Who are being talked about in the passage? (2)

Ans) The passage talked about the tree crickets. The tree crickets are an insects of the order of orthoptera. They were a band of willing artists who would singing almost any time of the day.

(ii) Describe the passage in your own words. (6)

Ans) The tree crickets were a troupe of eager singers who began singing at virtually any hour of the day, but especially in the evenings. They were delicate pale green creatures with transparent wings that were difficult to spot among the lush monsoon foliage; yet, once identified, a touch on the bush or leaf on which one of them sat put an end to its performance immediately. The banyan tree was like an orchestra during the monsoon season, with musicians continually tuning up. Birds, insects, and squirrels rejoiced at the conclusion of the hot weather and the arrival of the monsoon's cold, refreshing respite.

With a toy flute in my hands, I'd try to match their harsh piping. However, they must have disapproved of my piping because the birds and insects kept a pained and perplexed silence while I played. I'm not sure if they missed me when I left - I was sent to a boarding school in the hills when the War broke out, followed by India's independence. The house of Grandfather was placed up for sale. I went to live with my parents in Delhi during the holidays, and it was from them that I learned that my grandparents had moved to England. When I graduated from high school, I moved to England with my parents and spent several years away from India.

(iii) Make sentences with 'orchestra and 'tuning up

Ans) orchestra: She plays the flute in an orchestra.

tuning up: The musician suddenly started thing up with the beats.

All the musical instruments had been tuned up before the concert began.

Q6. Write a passage using rhetorical devices on a the person who has inspired you most in about 300 words. (20)

Ans) From September 28, 1929, to February 6, 2022, Lata Mangeshkar was an Indian background vocalist and occasional music composer. She is widely regarded as one of India's most talented and influential singers. She has been dubbed the Nightingale of India, the Voice of the Millennium, and the Queen of Melody for her contributions to the Indian music industry over the course of a seven-decade career. Her voice is so pleasant. Her affinities are the same as those of our family members. She recorded songs in roughly 36 Indian languages as well as a few other languages, though her Hindi, Bengali, and Marathi recordings are her most well-known. She received various prizes and honours throughout her career. In 1989, the Indian government honoured her with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

She was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 2001 for her contributions to the country, making her only the second female singer to do so after M. S. Subbulakshmi. Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, France's highest civilian honour, was bestowed to her in 2007. She received a plethora of awards, including three National Film Awards, 15 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards, two Filmfare Special Awards, the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, and a lot of others. In 1974, she was among the first Indian playback singers to perform in London's Royal Albert Hall. Isha Ambani, Mukesh Ambani's daughter, sang a rendition of the Gayatri Mantra at her wedding. Although she is no longer with us, her memory will live on in the hearts of all who knew her.

Q7. Read the following poem and answer questions that follow: Read the following poem and answer questions that follow:

Strange but true is the story

of the sea-turtle and the shark —the instinctive

drive of the weak to survive in the oceanic dark.

Driven,

riven by hunger front abyss to shoal, Sometimes the

shark swallows the sea-turtle whole.

The sly reptilian marine

withdraws, into the shell of his undersea craft,

his leathery head and the rapacious claws

that can rip a rhinoceros’ hide or strip a crocodile

to fare-thee-well,

now inside the shark,

the sea-turtle begins the churning seesaws

of his descent into pelagic hell;

then… then with ravenous jaws that can cut sheet steel

scrap,

the sea-turtle gnaws... and gnaws... and gnaws…his

way to freedom,

beyond the vomiting dark, beyond the stomach

walls of the shark.

i) What is the dominant atmosphere in the poem? (5)

Ans) : In “The Sea-Turtle and the Shark” by Melvin Tolson, the sea-turtle represents individuals, groups, or countries that appear to be weak but are really clever and work within the system to gain the upper hand through perseverance. The shark represents those who appear to be strong but actually underestimate those whom they believe to be weak.

ii) The sly reptilian marine withdraws, into the shell of his undersea craft  Comment on the use of the quotation in the poem.(5)

Ans) The sea-turtle begins the churning seesaws of his descent into pelagic hell. His claws can rip a rhinoceros’ hide or strip a crocodile to fare-the-e-well. He gnaws and gnaws his way to freedom, beyond the vomiting dark.

iii) Use the following words in your own sentences in a figurative sense: (5)

steel scrap, leathery head, oceanic dark, ravenous jaws,

beyond the stomach walls

Ans) : Strange but true is the story of the sea-turtle and the shark- the instinctive drive of the weak to survive in the oceanic dark.

She went and gathered all the steel scrap for her daily wages.

Kishore ate the entire meal in a absurd manner. His ravenous jaws tore apart the meat and he gulped it down without swallowing it properly.

His old leathery head was sweating and it started to smell due to the humidity.

His pangs of hunger went beyond the stomach walls.

iv) Comment on the allegory use in the poem? (5)

Ans) The sea-turtle and the shark are said to represent the American negro and the White American, respectively, because the poem is taken from the book Harlem Gallery, where it is listed as the work of a black poet. On a literal level, the narrative is about a sea turtle that manages to get out of a shark’s stomach. The storey of the sea turtle and the shark can also be interpreted as an allegory, describing the struggle of the weak or poor to survive in the face of the powerful or wealthy. However, a more specific sense refers to the struggle of American negroes against white domination. It depicts the history of the negro’s survival in the cruel atmosphere in America symbolized by the sea and the shark. Just as the turtle cuts its way out of the shark’s stomach, the negro attempts to be free of the oppression of the white.

Q8. Give the meanings of the phrasal verbs used in the following sentences. (10)

a. She is beating about the bush.

Ans) To avoid getting to the point of an issue.

b. We hooked up at the conference.

Ans) To meet or begin to work with another person or other people.

c. The boss called for the file.

Ans) Asked for something.

d. He has decided to hang the boots.

Ans) To retire from playing a sport.

e. She rounded up the argument and ended all confusion.

Ans) Completing or ending something