THERE IS A CERTIAN SLANT OF LIGHT : EMILY DICKINSON EMILY DICKINSON: Biography

 Emily Dickinson's life has always fascinated people, even before she was famous for her poetry. She was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, a small farming village, on December 10, 1830, to Edward and Emily Norcross Dickinson. Edward Dickinson was a well-respected lawyer and politician, descended from a prominent Amherst family; his father was a founder of Amherst College, where Edward was treasurer. Emily was very active socially, and was considered wellliked and attractive. In her late twenties, though, she suddenly cut herself all from all society, never leaving her family's home, and started ferociously writing poetry. Although there is a longstanding myth that the catalyst for this was her falling in love with a man who rejected her, it is more likely that it was a combination of several factors. She wrote prolifically, writing almost 1800 poems in her lifetime, but her genius was never recognized in her lifetime. She published only seven poems while alive, all anonymously, and all heavily edited. Only after her death from kidney disease in 1886 did her sister find her poems. Recognizing their genius, she convinced her brother's mistress, Mabel Loomis Todd, to help her publish them. The first book was published in 1890, and met with great success

SIR ROGER AT CHURCH: JOSEPH ADDISON

Joseph Addison, (born May 1, 1672, Milston, Wiltshire, England—died June 17, 1719, London), English essayist, poet, and dramatist, who, with Richard Steele, was a leading contributor to and guiding spirit of the periodicals The Tatler and The Spectator. His writing skill led to his holding important posts in government while the Whigs were in power. In 1712, Addison wrote his most famous work, Cato, a Tragedy. Based on the last days of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis, it deals with conflicts such as individual liberty versus government tyranny, Republicanism versus Monarchism, logic versus emotion, and Cato's personal struggle to retain his beliefs in the face of death. It has a prologue written by Alexander Pope and an epilogue by Samuel Garth. 

The best of his essays are those which centre round the figure of Sir Roger De Coverley, and hence are known as the Coverley Papers‘. Two things Addison did for English literature which is of immeasurable value. First he overcame a certain corrupt tendency bestowed by restoration literature. Addison set himself squarely against this unworthy tendency. Secondly, prompted and aided by the more original genius of his friend Steele, Addison seized upon the new social life of the clubs and made it the subject of endless pleasant essays upon types of mean and manners. Sir Roger at Church: Explanatory Notes The narrator is always very happy on Sunday in his village. And he thinks the holy Sunday is only human institution that can make people civilize. He believes that if there were no Sunday villagers would degenerate into savages. 

The return of Sunday saves them from being barbarians. On this day, the whole village assembles looking fresh and cheerful in their best dresses. The villagers share their everyday life's problem each other. Priest in church explains to them their duties social and spiritual. They pray together to Supreme Being. The author says that Sunday clears away the rust of six

days of a week both physically and spiritually. This refreshes their notion of religion and them thanks to god for his mercy. At this time everyone tries to impress their opposite sex by  their best behavior. They try to show their best quality before the whole villagers so that they are admired by all. In city area people can be seen in market while people can be seen like this

on Sunday in village. This occasion is utilized by the people to discuss the village politics before or after the sermon. Then they return to their houses as new and better human being.

Being a good church man, Sir Rogerde Coverley had made the church attractive and beautiful from insight through several quotations from the holy Bible at his own choosing. Like this he gives beautiful clothes of his own expense, and railed the communion tables. He told the author many times that when he came here he found people of this village very

irregular to church, in order to teach and make them kneel before God, he gave every one of them a hassock, and prayer book; and hired a singing master in order to teach right tunenow that now they can sing their prayer in better way. Indeed, it is the best church of all that the author seen before his life. Sir roger is the landlord of whole congregation, and he has all

the responsibility of church and prayer .so he is very strict for this rules and regulation and he keeps them in a very good manner in every way possible. And sir roger never let anyone

sleep while praying. It is other thing that sometimes he sleeps for a short time. If by chance after a short nap at sermon, he stands up suddenly and looks around, if he sees anyone sleeping either he goes himself to wake him up or send his servant to do this. He is like an old knight, who is littlewhimsical by nature and this type of particularities are seen on these occasions. Sometimes when all people have sung their psalms he is keep singing verse for a minute, sometimes when he became happy with his own devotion he says amen three or

four time in same prayer. And sometime when all people kneel before God but he stands up to count and to see if anyone is missing. The last day the author was very surprise to hear his friend sir Roger in the midst of the prayer, reminding a man name Johan Matthews not to disturb the people in church while praying. This Johan Matthews was famous for being idle

person and this time he was kicking his heels on floor to play, Sir Roger‘s behaviour appears very odd. He seems to excreting his authority as a knight in church but he is not peculiar to his behaviour that always with him in all circumstance of life, that inspire people to be a good man. There is not anything bad in his character to see. It is more so because they know that sir

Roger is essentially a man of good thinking. He is really a wellwisher by heart; therefore, they see the singularities in his and rhythm of prayer to the villagers. On this they feel proud behaviour in an opposite way. These do not hide his good quality rather it highlightsand has a deep effect upon the people. As soon as the prayer finished, nobody dares to Once priest told the author that on the day of religious practice, when sir Roger became happy with a boy, who answered sir Roger correctly. He gives him Bible to encourage and sometimes he gives piece of meat for his mother. Sir Roger increases five pounds every year to clerk‘s post. In this way he tries to encourage the youngers to became active in church services. 

He promised to give good value to new clerk according to his merit when present clerk would be retired. Relation between Sir Roger and with his chapman is very good, the importance of this relation is realized when they are compared with therelation between the squire and chapman of a nearby villages. These villages are famous for their quarrels between both. The result is that people are losing interest in church. Everyone tries to prove himself best upon other. A squire does not go into church and chapman criticizes him openly.

 This is very harmful. Priest always teaches peoples against the landlord, and landlord takes revenge on him. Sometimes he does not come to church. Landlord makes his villagers atheist and he advises them not to give funds to church. While priest teaches them every Sunday and tells them that in every prayer that he is a better person than landlord. After all this result has gone so far, that landlord didn‘t prayer either in private or in public this half year. Priest threats him that if he does not mind his behaviour he would pay for him before whole congregation. 

The quarrels between the landlord and priest are common in the village and also very harmful for the ordinary people. It is a common thing that ordinary people are deeply charmed by the wealthy people. Even sometimes, it became very difficult to convince by the priests when they come to know that many persons who earn five hundred pounds do not believe in church or God. These things impact upon all people; therefore, it is essential that rich and learned people should maintain a good relationship. Only then preaching of church can be effective upon common people. They go out until sir Roger is gone out from the church. Sir Roger comes down from his seat near to sitting people, and asks about their mother, family member or their relatives, whom he doesn‘t see in church. That is considered a hide insult

chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative.

 As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalric knight-errant portrayed as having heroic qualities, who goes on a quest. It developed further from the epics as time went on; in particular, "the emphasis on love and courtly manners distinguishes it from the chanson de geste and other kinds of epic, in which masculine military heroism predominates."

Popular literature also drew on themes of romance, but with ironic, satiric, or burlesque intent. Romances reworked legends, fairy tales, and history to suit the readers' and hearers' tastes, but by c. 1600 they were out of fashion, and Miguel de Cervantes famously burlesqued them in his novel Don Quixote. Still, the modern image of "medieval" is more influenced by the romance than by any other medieval genre, and the word medieval evokes knights, distressed damsels, dragons, and other romantic tropes.

Originally, romance literature was written in Old French, Anglo-Norman, Occitan, and Provençal, and later in Portuguese, Spanish, English, Italian (Sicilian poetry), and German. During the early 13th century, romances were increasingly written as prose. In later romances, particularly those of French origin, there is a marked tendency to emphasize themes of courtly love, such as faithfulness in adversity.

Hayy ibn Yaqdhan -Arabic philosophical novel - written by Ibn Tufail

 Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān  is an Arabic philosophical novel and an allegorical tale written by Ibn Tufail (c. 1105 – 1185) in the early 12th century in Al-Andalus. Names by which the book is also known include the Latin: Philosophus Autodidactus ('The Self-Taught Philosopher'); and English: The Improvement of Human Reason: Exhibited in the Life of Hai Ebn Yokdhan. Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān was named after an earlier Arabic philosophical romance of the same name, written by Avicenna during his imprisonment in the early 11th century, even though both tales had different stories. The novel greatly inspired Islamic philosophy as well as major Enlightenment thinkers. It's the most translated text from Arabic, after the Quran and the One Thousand and One Nights 

Hayy ibn Yaqdhan, along with three poems, is all that remains of the writings of Ibn Tufail (c. 1105 – 1185), who lived under the Almohads and served Sultan Abu Yaqub Yusuf. The book was influential among medieval Jewish scholars at the Toledo School of Translators run by Raymond de Sauvetât, and its impact can be seen in The Guide for the Perplexed of Maimonides. It was "discovered" in the West after Edward Pococke of Oxford, while visiting a market in Damascus, found a manuscript of Hayy ibn Yaqdhan made in Alexandria in 1303 containing commentary in Hebrew.[ His son, Edward Pococke Jr. published a Latin translation in 1671, subtitled "The Self-Taught Philosopher." George Keith the Quaker translated it into English in 1674, Baruch Spinoza called for a Dutch translation, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz championed the book in German circles, and a copy of the book went to the Sorbonne. Daniel Defoe (c. 1660 – 1731), author of Robinson Crusoe, was heavily influenced by the work as well as by the memoir of the Scottish castaway Alexander Selkirk.

The story revolves around Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān, a little boy who grew up on an island in the Indies under the equator, isolated from the people, in the bosom of an antelope that raised him, feeding him with her milk. Ḥayy has just learned to walk and imitates the sounds of antelopes, birds, and other animals in his surroundings. He learns their languages, and he learns to follow the actions of animals by imitating their instinct.

He makes his own shoes and clothes from the skins of animals, and studies the stars. He reaches a higher level of knowledge, of the finest of astrologists. His continuous explorations and observation of creatures and the environment lead him to gain great knowledge in natural science, philosophy, and religion. He concludes that, at the basis of the creation of the universe, a great creator must exist. Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān lived a humble modest life as Sufi and forbade himself from eating meat. Once 30 years old, he meets his first human, who has landed on his isolated Island. By the age of 49, he is ready to teach other people about the knowledge he gained throughout his life.