Lesson 5: India: The Mystic Land

• Rabindranath Tagore's art has a strong Bengali flavor
• Salutation to the Dawn by Kalidasa: 'Quote'
• Salutation to the Dawn is an example of free verse
• Kalidasa


  • Great poet and dramatist of India, sometimes called the Shakespeare of India
  • Produced three masterpieces including Shakuntala
• Written literature in India started with Vedic holy texts

  After 1500
• Panchatantra


  Collection of five books of fables and short tales interspersed with poetry
• Courts of the Mogul emperors inspired a literature in Urdu
• Shastras


  Seek to systematize all learning in the form of laws for the arts and sciences
• Historians think Kalidasa was one of the group known as the nine gems at the court of Indian king Vikramaditya
• Upanishads


  Body of religious prose writings philosophical in nature dealing with basic problems of existence
• Figurative language like similes and metaphors can express ideas or strong feelings more effectively
• Rabindranath Tagore received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for Gitanjali (Song Offerings)
• Colorful and effective language is achieved through the use of vivid verbs and masterful arrangement of words
• Seventh century A.D. saw the peak of classical poetry with drama and lyric poetry abounding
• Rabindranath Tagore


  • Poet, philosopher, and supporter of freedom for India
  • Saw God in all beauties of nature
  • Blended traditional and modern elements in writing
• Chandragupta II reigned

  A.D. 380 to 415
• Ghazal


  • Stylized form of lyrical folk song
• Major additions to the literature of India

  • Mahabharata
  • Ramayana
  • Puranas
  • Panchatantra
  • Shastras
• Using the library

  1. Know the best method of finding books

  2. Use the card catalog
• To follow instructions well, you have to listen carefully
• Comparison of two descriptions of death

  Both passages describe the same event, but the first conveys feelings about the event which are not present in the second passage
• Etymology


  The origin and development of a word
• Verse from Gitanjali: 'If the day is done, if birds sing no more, if the wind has flagged tired, then draw the veil of darkness thick upon me, even as thou hast wrapped the earth with the coverlet of sleep, and tenderly close the petals of the drooping lotus at dusk'
• Perfume comes from the Latin words per (intense) and fumare (to smoke)
• Intonation


  The rise and fall of the voice in speaking
• Reference materials for additional assignments are found in a library
• Suggestions for giving detailed information of processes

  1. Prepare your explanation

  2. Practice your talk

  3. Stand tall and straight

  4. Look at your listeners

  5. Use your voice effectively
• Instructions are usually given by the one assigning the task
• Preparation and practice can help in giving detailed information of processes
• Types of intonation

  • Normal
  • High
  • Low
• Verities comes from the Latin word veritas, which means truth
• Tracing the origin and development of words helps us understand their meanings
• Speaking skill is a valuable asset and requires correct pronunciation and proper intonation
• A library provides books and periodicals for leisure reading and for supplementing laboratory work and textbooks
• Listening well involves making eye contact with the speaker
• The Card Catalog

  1. Every book in the library is listed on a card in one of the drawers

  2. Cards are arranged alphabetically

  3. Three types of cards: Author card, Title card, Subject card

  4. Call number helps locate the book on the shelves
• Sharing and Revising

  1. Let classmates read and provide feedback

  2. Consider feedback when revising

  3. Check spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and organization
• Pronoun-antecedent agreement rules

  • Pronouns agree with their antecedents in gender, number, and person
  • When two or more antecedents are connected by 'and', a pronoun referring to them is plural
  • When the antecedent is 'each', 'either', or 'neither' followed by a plural modifier, a singular pronoun is preferred
  • When the antecedent is 'everybody', 'each', 'either', 'everyone', 'neither', 'nobody', or 'a person', a singular pronoun is preferred
  • When the antecedent is the impersonal pronoun 'one', the third person pronoun is generally used
• The Dewey Decimal System

  1. Classifies books into ten categories

  2. Each book is given a number in one of these categories

  3. Books are arranged in numerical order
• Writing a Synopsis

  1. To write a synopsis of a short story, concentrate on important events and major characters

  2. Leave out detailed descriptions, dialogues, and illustrations

  3. State events simply in the order they happen