Transcription
Hello everyone, a very warm welcome to the channel, Shipra Mishra. This is Shipra Mishra, and I hope you guys are doing fine. So, you are most welcome to yet another episode of this unnamed series of completing English syllabus. I know that you must have felt a lot of lag in between because I was not keeping well, and then I had some commitments towards my job, and I had to travel because of it. But I appreciate that you people have supported me during this lag. But keeping my promise, as I would, because I am a woman of my promises, I will complete this. And today, we are going to complete "A Thing of Beauty." We have already completed two poems in this series, guys. We have completed "My Mother at 66." We have completed "Keeping Quiet." And this is going to be the third poem, "A Thing of Beauty," which we are going to complete from our OG notes. Okay, got it. Yes. So, let's start with "A Thing of Beauty" now. John Keats has written this poem. So, quickly, write down John Keats in the comments. "A Thing of Beauty" written by John Keats. Because it kind of helps you to start your answers. Because you get a kick start when you know the author's or poet's name. Okay? Anyway. So, John Keats has written "A Thing of Beauty." Let me tell you that this poem is just an excerpt of a poem written by him. John Keats, who is one of the most celebrated British Romantic poets. Basically, he comes from an era of literature. He is known for his sensuous imagery, love for nature, and the belief that beauty elevates the human spirit. He is known for stimulating the senses. Meaning, when he writes, you can actually feel the things he has written. He is known for his love for nature. Because somewhere in his poetry, you will see his inclination towards nature, his love for nature. And of course, he has a belief, which we are going to see throughout the entire poem. And that belief is that beauty enhances the human spirit. Meaning, you know, it motivates you. It inspires you to do better things in your life. So, beauty, somewhere, works to instill inspiration within us, to instill motivation within us. All right. Though trained as a surgeon, he devoted his short life entirely to poetry. He left us very soon. You and I were not even born then. And of course, he was trained as a surgeon, but he devoted all his time in his short life towards poetry. His work emphasized imagination, the permanence of beauty, and the healing power of the natural world. Very thoughtful, very poetic. Let's talk about why he gave this particular poem the title "A Thing of Beauty." Let me tell you, this poem is an excerpt from his poem "Endymion." Now, "Endymion" is a Greek legend, and in it, he explains how important a role beauty plays in our lives. And at the same time, he also explains that beauty is a matter of perception. How you consider something beautiful. So, it totally depends on your perspective. And that's why, somewhere in "Endymion," when he shows us this entire setup where there is a shepherd who lives on Mount Latmos, and one day he sees the moon goddess Cynthia. He had never seen such a beautiful thing in his life. So, when he sees the moon goddess Cynthia once, he thinks that he wants to see her again. He wants to see something equally beautiful again. He sets out to find the moon goddess Cynthia. But on the way, he finds other beautiful things. And then he realizes that beauty is in my perception. Meaning, if I consider something as beautiful as the moon goddess Cynthia, then it is equal to her for me. So, I am just seeking beauty in something, while beauty is right in front of my eyes. I just need the perspective. So, somewhere from there comes this poem, it's an excerpt from it. And hence, the title of this poem is "A Thing of Beauty." It is called "A Thing" because it is not limited. It is not limited to parameters. It is not limited to anything. It is basically everything. That's why it's called "A Thing of Beauty." Whatever perception you see, take that perception. "A Thing of Beauty" is basically anything that you can seek as beautiful. Anything that you think is beautiful is beautiful for you. That's the idea behind this title. And it highlights the central idea that beauty is everlasting, uplifting, and capable of removing sadness from human life. It is derived from the famous opening line, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." If we talk about the themes, then first, we will discuss beauty as a source of joy. Beautiful things naturally make you feel happy, joyous about life, and they inspire you and motivate you in many ways. The healing power of nature. We will talk about how nature has the power to heal your sorrow, your pain. Nature can remove sadness from you. Nature can remove gloom and despair from you. You can feel happy. You can feel better again. We can always relate to the human tendency towards hope. Because, you know, we are all living around hope. It's not that someone's life is better than another's. It's just that someone's struggles are on a different level, someone else's struggles are on a different level, according to how we perceive it. Wherever a person is sitting, their struggle is also at that level. So, you, me, all of us are living on the basis of hope. Our entire concept is based on hope, that one day everything will be alright. And this concept, this concept arises from beautiful objects. We also have to look at imagination and spirituality in this poem. You know, how far beauty goes in your mind, how far your imagination goes, things can be beautiful up to that extent. So, basically, we are being told how beauty is divine. How it is not just a concept. How it is not a parameter. It is basically, you know, divine, divine in nature, and it's spiritual. It is spiritual. It is connected with God. It connects us with God. After this, come the sub-themes. So, sub-themes are basically themes that come within your main theme. You can also use these in your answers. So, first comes the permanence of beauty, that beauty is of a permanent nature. Beauty is not going anywhere, anytime. So, beauty is of a permanent nature. There is a contrast between suffering and natural joy. We also see this here. On one hand, we see suffering, and on the other hand, we see joy coming through nature. Escaping negativity. Now, it's not that anyone will not see any negative things in life. It's not that sorrow and pain have never come into anyone's life. Everyone gets their share of sorrow, and everyone gets their share of happiness. So, basically, this is part and parcel of life. But how do we escape all those negative things? How do we focus only on the positives? And how do we count our blessings and increase them, that matters. The role of imagination in human survival, and finally, the celebration of nature and life. If we look at this poem, there are no traditional characters. Of course, symbolic representations are seen here. For example, we see human beings here who are struggling with hopelessness, with troubles. Elements of nature are seen here, like sun, moon, trees, daffodils, clear streams. "Mighty dead" is a point we see here. The phrase "mighty dead" is used here because we want to talk about people who have become immortal even after dying. There are many such people who have become immortal even after dying. Their names continue to live on even after their death. So, they are our "mighty dead." Basically, great heroes are remembered for their greatness. You will find some literary devices here. For example, you will find alliteration here, like in "noble nature," "cooling," "covered," you will find alliteration. Imagery you will find in "shady boon," "musk roses," "blooms." Metaphor you will find in "flowery band." Basically, a bond with the earth is called a flowery band. Anaphora you will find in "of noble," "of noble natures," "of gloomy days." Anaphora might be a slightly different literary device for you, because you might have read many literary devices before, but you don't hear this one as often. So, it's basically a word that repeats at the beginning of a phrase, or basically two consecutive phrases, or two consecutive lines. So, if two consecutive lines start with the same word, or if two consecutive phrases start with the same word, then we call it anaphora. It kind of creates that rhythm and repetition. Of course, you can also emphasize that particular phrase, that particular line. If we talk about enjambment, it means when a thought or lines flow without any punctuation. So, sometimes authors do this. They carry a thought from one stanza to another. In fact, the entire poem has a single thought. There are no final punctuations. So, what do we call it? We call it enjambment. Symbolism. Symbolism is basically, you will see symbolism in nature, of course, you know, symbolic of a healing force. Then we have hyperbole. Hyperbole is "endless fountain of immortal drink." Because you don't actually see something like that. It's just an exaggeration. And then comes contrast, because on one hand, there is gloom, on the other hand, there is beauty. On one hand, there is sadness, hopelessness, and on the other hand, there is inspiration and motivation. All right. Some important words with meanings that will be useful for you. For example, "bower" means shady shelter. "Despondence" is hopelessness. "Over-darken ways" means dark or gloomy parts. "Rills" means small streams or brooks. "Break" is basically a thick mass of ferns here. Because when you are in the middle of a forest, you see many bushes in between. These bushes are what is written about here. "Doom" is basically the fate of the mighty dead. Basically, death, people who are dead. "Immortal drink" is everlasting joy here. And "grandeur" is magnificence, greatness, splendor. All right. If we look at a little paraphrase here, and finally start the poem, we will emphasize a little, try to understand each word, each phrase, and where this poem is coming from, and what message it is trying to give us. First, if we look at its first stanza, it begins with "That a thing of beauty is a joy forever." The poet says, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Its loveliness increases. It will never pass into nothingness, but will keep a bower quiet for us, and a sleep full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing." So, my dear, when the poem begins, the poet says that a beautiful thing, meaning any beautiful thing that is beautiful in your sight, beautiful in your perspective. A beautiful thing is a source of joy. Seeing a beautiful thing gives you a strange happiness. You feel a strange happiness. This happiness is never-ending. It will never end. It will never have an expiry date. Because the joy that comes from beauty leaves an imprint on your mind. An imprint that keeps getting fresh again and again, or rather, gets refreshed again and again. Every time you think about it. So, the more you think about beautiful objects, the more joy they will give you. So, the joy that comes from beauty always multiplies. Now, what kind of beauty is providing us with joy that is multiplying? It is because the joy that comes from beauty is a feeling. It is a feeling. A feeling that you get when you go to a shade in a very hot season, go to a bower, go to the shade of a tree, and rest under it. The calmness, the peace, the coolness that comes from it, gives you a different feeling altogether. A feeling that you will probably never forget. Exactly like a sigh of relief, quiet breathing. Quiet breathing is beauty. Meaning, you are asking, what is beauty? Or what? Because there is no parameter. So, beauty is that quiet breathing. It makes you feel exactly like a sigh of relief. Any beautiful thing makes you feel that way. Along with this, if you consider health, you know, I know that many of us do not appreciate health, do not appreciate being healthy. But ask that person who is in the hospital, who is counting their last breaths, and they are probably praying to God, "Just give me one more day. Just give me one more day so I can say goodbye to people, so I can complete my unfinished tasks, or fulfill my desires." Ask them once. You will know the value of health. Beauty is health. Beauty is described as health here. Beauty is described as a sleep. A peaceful sleep in which sweet dreams come. Beautiful dreams, dreams from which you don't want to wake up. So, in the first stanza, the poet defines beauty for us. They explain how beauty is a feeling. Because it is a feeling, it is in your mind. It leaves an imprint on your mind. And that is why you can never forget it. Every time you see that beautiful thing, that feeling will revive, will multiply. They say that how a person looked, what they wore, what they ate, we don't remember all that. But how a person made you feel, you will always remember that. Because that feeling stays with you. It never goes away. It never fades away. So, this is what your first stanza says. Okay? Let's look at the next stanza. What does the next stanza say? The next stanza says, "Therefore, on every morrow, are we threading a flowery band?" Because beauty is so important, because beauty is associated with a feeling, because beauty fills us with inspiration, motivation. Because beauty creates a feeling that can never leave us. Okay? That feeling keeps multiplying. That's why we want more beauty. We want more beautiful things in our lives. Beauty is not a want for us. It is a necessity. This is what is told to us in stanza two, that beauty is a bond that we renew every day with Mother Earth. Beauty is a bond that is recreated with our first breath. It's like a flowery band. It's the end of a garland that is in our hand, and the other end is in the Earth's hand. Beauty connects us with the Earth. Beauty makes us feel alive, makes us feel like living. Okay? So, it's not a want, it is a necessity. It is not a want. It is a necessity. Now, why does it become a necessity? And why do we weave this flowery band every day? Why do we connect ourselves with it every day? It is because happiness will come in life, and sorrow will also come. So, in spite of despondence, hopelessness can come into your life. You can feel very disheartened. You can feel disappointed. Of "in human breath of noble natures." You might feel that, "I showed so much humanity to him, and what did he do to me?" You might feel that people lack humanity. People are not thinking about each other. People are only thinking about themselves. You might think that people lack goodness. It's possible that one day you will be disappointed. One day you will be hopeless. One day you will feel like there is no humanity left in people or in the world. It's possible that one day is going gloomy for you. "Of the gloomy days." One day is going sad, one day is going hopeless. You naturally don't feel like, "I don't think that this life is worth living." Many times, our days are going so bad, we are facing something in life that makes us feel that today is a very bad day. Sometimes it also happens "of all the unhealthy and over-darken ways." Sometimes it also happens that the path we are walking on is very unhealthy. It is full of negativity. That path is so dark that we cannot even see the ray of beauty on the other side. Sometimes we cannot even see what lies ahead. We choose a wrong path, and we walk on that wrong path, and that wrong path is not even leading us towards a positive, bright future. All these thoughts, in spite of, yes, where did it start? "In spite" is basically "in spite." It started from here. At the end of all these thoughts, we always look for a reason to live. Because this is an everyday struggle. It's not that it's happening only today, only tomorrow. This is part of life. It happens every day. Every day, some person comes along that makes you feel like there is no humanity in the world. Every day, something happens that makes you feel like today was a bad day. Every day, there is some moment where we feel defeated, broken, lost. And you know why we start the next day with new zeal? Because every time these negative thoughts come to our mind, whenever this negativity surrounds us, we search, in spite of all. In
Despite all things, we search for some shape of beauty. In some form, in some shape, we look for beauty. You are feeling very defeated, broken. And your father comes and he says that I am proud of you. You are feeling defeated, broken and your mom says and she says she comes and she says today I made your favorite food. A friend is saying, "Come on, let's go for a ride." You know, these small moments can come in any shape. Beauty has no shape, beauty has no description. It has no parameters at all. It can come in any shape. And these small moments can revive your day. They instill in you the will to live. They give you a reason to wake up the next day. So beauty can come in any shape and it can move away the pall from our dark spirits. It can come in any shape. And from our dark spirits, from our day filled with negativity, from our spirit, it throws out that pall, that cloud of negativity. And we feel all happy, energetic and joyous again. We get a hope that no matter how today was, tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow will be better. And with the support of this hope, we keep achieving things in our lives. We live. Beauty teaches us to live. And that is why I said that in stanza two, John Keats tells us that beauty is not a want. It is a necessity. So this is your paraphrase, then comes your stanza three. Such the sun, the moon, trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon for a simple sheep. And such our daffodils with the green world they live in, and the clear rills that for themselves a cooling covert make against the hot season. The mid-forest brake, rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms.
Now, when we go out searching for beauty, we find some beauty in nature itself. Because this entire poem has this idea that nature has healing properties. This entire poem has the idea that nature has healing properties. It can heal you. And to show this property, the poet mentions some things like the sun and moon. But these sun and moon, or whatever elements of nature, are not just literal. They have symbolic meaning. Yes, the sun is beautiful. Yes, the moon is beautiful. Literally, when you see them, of course, they are beautiful. But they also have a symbolic meaning. Because what happens is that we usually look for beauty in beginnings. But the moon is proof that there can be beauty in endings too. Beginnings can be beautiful, but endings are also beautiful. Like with the moon, the end of a day and a night. The moon comes at the end of the day, and just as the moon is beautiful, the ending can also be beautiful. So, just as the beginning is beautiful, the end is equally beautiful. Trees old and young. The talk is of an old and young tree. That means they are saying that beauty has no relation with age. Beauty has no connection with age. You cannot say that only that which is young is beautiful. It has become useless in old age. Have you ever seen an old tree? Yes, how strong it is. No storm, no tempest can shake it. How is its shade? Its branches are spread out, its shade is deep. How many people can it shelter beneath it? Just as that old tree is beautiful, so is a young tree that has just bloomed. It is equally beautiful. Sprouting a shady boon for simple sheep. A small seed that has just sprouted, thinking that it has just sprouted. Yes, thinking that I too will become a big tree. I will become a big tree, and by becoming a big tree, what will we give to simple sheep? Simple sheep, meaning us human beings. So it also thinks that I will also become a big tree. By becoming a big tree, what will I give to human beings? I will give them a shady boon. Basically, for human beings, for human beings, what will I create? I will create shade. So that small seed is also beautiful, which sprouts and thinks that I too will one day become a big tree. I too will one day become an old tree. I too will have many branches. Leaves will also emerge from my branches. I too will become a source of shade. For simple sheep, meaning us humans. Now, it is called simple sheep because Jesus Christ was a shepherd, and it is believed that sheep are us. Humans are very innocent. So sheep are us. So here it is told that from the seed to the old tree, everything is beautiful. So it doesn't matter what age you are, how much experience you have. Everything is beautiful. And then we say, we see such are daffodils with the green world they live in.
Now, son, sometimes what happens is when you look at the world around you, you also want to become like that world. But efforts do not do that. They are in a green bud. They are surrounded by a lush green world. But they never think that I also have to be green. They are yellow-brownish in color. Because that is their identity. They do not think that if the whole world is completely green, then I should also become completely green. So why do we think? Why don't we celebrate our individuality, our identity, our specialty? Why do we want to be like the rest of the world? Why don't we consider ourselves daffodils and be happy being yellow-brown? Our beauty lies in our individuality. It lies in our specialty. It lies in our uniqueness. And then he says, and clear rills that for themselves a cooling covert make against the hot season. Beauty is a feeling. Imagine in the hot season, in the heat, if you find a clear flowing stream with cool, clean water. I know when we say stream, you imagine a stream of dirty water. But here, clear rills basically means small streams coming from the mountains, which have cold water coming from the mountains. It is very clean water. If you find this clean water in the hot season, cool and cold, imagine how you would feel. Right? How would you feel? We see this very feeling here and see how much healing properties nature has. The mid-forest brake, rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms. You are going into a very dense forest, and you stop somewhere in the middle of the forest, and you notice bushes in the middle. Now, seeing these bushes, you stop, and you get a fragrance, a scent, and you see where the scent is coming from, and around you, musk roses, wild roses are blooming. Son, inside a forest, in a dense forest, there are big trees. Big trees with big branches. Okay? Creating big canopies. And within that same forest, there are also small bushes of musk rose. Now, those small bushes never think that I also have to become as big a tree. I also have to create a canopy. Everyone has their own job. That big tree has its own job. This small bush has its own job. Everyone is doing their own job here. There is beauty in this too. In what way nature has allocated its work to everyone, and how everyone is performing their job perfectly. There is beauty in this too. The fragrance that musk roses can produce. Those big trees that create canopies cannot produce it. Those big trees that create canopies cannot produce this fragrance. Every human being has their own job. Every human being has their own purpose, and that purpose itself is beautiful. All right. After this comes our next stanza. Stanza number four. And such too is the grandeur of the dooms we have imagined for the mighty dead. All the lovely tales that we have heard or read. And an endless fountain of immortal drink pouring on to us from the heaven's spring.
Now, some beauty, some source of healing, you found in nature. Now, there is some source that you will find in humans. Generally, as I told you, we like beginnings, not endings. The beginning of this life is celebrated, not the end. But there are some people whose endings are also celebrated. There are so many people whose dooms, meaning their deaths, also have grandeur. There are some people whose deaths are also celebrated. Such people whose stories our grandmothers and grandfathers told us after reading them. Whose stories we have read and imagined their deaths. The deaths of such people are mighty deaths. And therefore, these people are mighty dead. These are people who become immortal even after dying. Because there are people who gave their lives for their community, for their people, for their land, for truth, for correctness, for the right thing. Such people live on even after dying. In our thoughts, in our prayers, in these stories. So these stories are a source of motivation. They are a source of inspiration that if one person can give their life for us, then this life that we have gained by losing the life of someone else's son. Why don't we do something productive with this life? Why don't we do something new? Why don't we do something that will advance our family, our community, our country, our humanity, and choose the right path? Why don't we do that? Why do we give up? Someone gave their life to save us, so how precious must our life be? Why don't we do anything with this precious life? Why don't we produce something? Something that will be useful to this humanity. Something that will be a source of joy for this humanity. Something that this humanity will perceive as beautiful. Because these mighty dead, all their lovely tales that we have heard or read. See, these are sources of inspiration. These stories that we read, that we hear, give us enthusiasm. These movies that we watch, in which we see how people have done something for humanity with bravery. Done something for truth. Done something for the right. Done something for us. Done something for their people, for their land. How do we feel after reading them? We get enthusiasm, inspiration, motivation that I will also do it. I will also do something for this country. I will also do something for myself. For my people. For my parents. This is a source of inspiration, motivation. And these very stories, these very elements of nature, these bounties, have been compared to an endless fountain. It is believed as if God has poured it upon us. It is believed as if God is sitting in a corner of heaven and showering nectar upon us from that corner. Creating a fountain that will never end. This is because God has given us challenges, and along with them, these beautiful things to fight these challenges. This is a source of inspiration for us and a never-ending source of inspiration and motivation. It is going on for us as if nectar is being showered upon us. Because these bounties that have been given to us, these beautiful things that have been given to us. The joy that comes from them is also like this. This fountain will never end. The nectar in this fountain will never end. As far as your eyes can see, as long as you have the power to perceive beauty, you will be able to perceive beauty. It will never end, and that is a thing of beauty, written by John Keats.
Some questions arising from this, such as, why does the poet say that a thing of beauty is a joy forever? Why did the poet say that a thing of beauty is a source of joy forever? Questions like, what makes human beings suffer in life according to the poet? According to the poet, why do we suffer in life? What are the things that make us suffer? Question number three, like, how does beauty help humans overcome negative emotions? Because we are, you know, we are drowned in negative emotions. And how does beauty save us from these negative emotions? How does it pull us out? What is meant by the grandeur of the dooms? Meaning, some people have grandeur even in their death. Oh, how many people lived for 100 years and died, but did nothing for humanity, nor for themselves, nor for their people, nor for truth, nor for correctness. And how many people lived perhaps a short life but left such a big impact that there is grandeur even in their death, man. We say with great pride, "These are ours." "These are our martyrs." How proudly we say this. Next is, why does the poet refer to beauty as an immortal drink? Because it is a source of never-ending joy. It is a source that provides us with never-ending motivation, never-ending inspiration. I have also included long answer questions that need to be answered in 120 to 150 words. Such as, how does Keats contrast human suffering with the healing power of beauty? Describe the various things of beauty mentioned and their effect on human life? How does Keats use imagery to convey his philosophy of beauty? Explain the significance of the flowery band in the poem? Finally, why does the poet consider beauty similar to a divine fountain? I am sorry, some competency-based questions I have included here for you. If you try these questions, you will be able to test your knowledge of this poem. You will also be able to check somewhere how much you have understood this poem. So please do check this out. Along with this, I have also attached an answer key for your checking. And then we have previous year questions that can be asked in your exam, which you must definitely do. Along with this, I want to tell you that whenever you do any chapter, whenever you do any poem, I think there is a this issue with the camera. Anyway, coming back to what I was saying, that whenever you do any chapter, whenever you do any poem, you must recall it. And to recall it, you will create a 150-word summary at the end of it. And then you will match that summary with mine so that you know what things could have been written how. You can learn some words, learn some ways of writing, get some inspiration. I will add the summary to your notes, and you will be able to download them from my Telegram. You will find the link to my Telegram below. Having said that, because of course it is the festive season, the holiday season, the gift season, and Unacademy, where I work, has recently celebrated its 10 years. Their birthday was recently. So they are celebrating. So I thought I should share this with you too. So Unacademy is celebrating, and Pratishtha is going on on Unacademy. In Pratishtha, you will see this spin the wheel where you can win iPhone, snack coupons, tablets, discount coupons, smartwatches, AirPods, online test series, Amazon vouchers, all of this. You basically have to spin this wheel. Okay? So you will have to spin this wheel, and you can win any of these items. And I think you should do this now. Because you should try your luck. Trust me, whatever you win, you will definitely get it. Because I myself gave a tablet to a topper. I think there is something wrong with the camera. But I myself gave a tablet to a topper. So it's nothing like if you win something, you won't get it. Okay? So I think we are back. So you will definitely get it. To make sure that you register and you spin the wheel. And that's it from my side. Thanks for supporting me. And if you have subscribed to this channel, please do subscribe to the channel. Like this video, share this video with your friends, and do spin the wheel because you can win exciting rewards and gifts. And get ready for the next episode. You will get its PDF on your Telegram. You can download it from there. Okay? And thank you so much. I will see you in the next one. Bye-bye. Take care.