Siddharth Chauhan

  Introduction This blog is written under the guidance of Megha Ma’am Trivedi , whose insightful discussions on Restoration literature inspired a deeper exploration of women’s voices in early modern drama. In the grand narrative of English literary history, Aphra Behn stands as a luminous yet often underestimated figure — the woman who transformed authorship from privilege to profession. Her play The Rover (1677) does more than entertain; it interrogates the patriarchal economy that binds women’s speech, desire, and autonomy. Long before Virginia Woolf urged women to claim “a room of one’s own,” Behn had already claimed a stage of her own , inscribing the female voice within the very structure of public discourse. Through characters like Hellena, Florinda, and Angellica Bianca, The Rover becomes a subversive dialogue between silence and self-expression — a literary rebellion that paved the way for Woolf’s later assertion that women owe their right to speak their minds to Aphra...

 1. Socio-Cultural Setting of the Neo-Classical Age (based on two texts) The Neo-Classical Age (1660–1798), also called the Age of Reason or the Augustan Age, was marked by a deep faith in rationalism, decorum, social order, and classical restraint. It arose in the aftermath of the Restoration, following years of civil war and Puritan austerity. Society now celebrated urban wit, political satire, coffeehouse culture, and journalistic discourse, reflecting a growing middle class and a rational, skeptical worldview. Two representative texts—Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock (1712) and Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726)—capture this socio-cultural ethos vividly. Pope’s The Rape of the Lock mirrors the aristocratic obsession with manners, fashion, and social reputation in 18th-century England. By transforming a trivial quarrel into a mock-epic, Pope exposes how the age’s preoccupation with surface elegance masks moral shallowness. His “Belinda” becomes an emblem of a societ...

 1) The Shift in Subtitle: “Serious Comedy for Trivial People” → “Trivial Comedy for Serious People” The change in subtitle completely reverses the moral gaze of the play. “A Serious Comedy for Trivial People” suggests Wilde was writing something weighty, perhaps a moral or satirical lesson aimed at exposing the triviality of society — implying his audience are “trivial people” in need of enlightenment. “A Trivial Comedy for Serious People,” however, flips the irony: Wilde presents triviality itself — cucumber sandwiches, fashion, names, and social etiquette — as a medium for serious reflection. This inversion is Wilde’s aesthetic manifesto in miniature: he elevates the trivial and mocks the serious, arguing that surface and artifice (appearance, wit, manners) can contain profound truth. It’s also self-referential — Wilde’s art is “trivial” (light, witty, elegant) but aimed at those intelligent enough to perceive its “serious” critique of hypocrisy, morality, and repression. In ess...

  Assignment under the guidance of  prakriti Bhatt ma'am  The late eighteenth century stands as a poetic bridge between the rational elegance of the Enlightenment and the emotional awakening of Romanticism. This transitional era witnessed poets like Thomas Gray and Robert Burns reshaping the boundaries of sensibility, voice, and vision. In Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” the quiet reflection on death and obscurity anticipates Romantic individualism, while Burns’ “To a Mouse” humanizes the smallest creature, transforming empathy into a moral force. Together, their works mark a movement from the classical ideals of order and intellect toward a deeper engagement with emotion, nature, and the ordinary life — the very pulse of the coming Romantic age. 1.   What does the term "transitional" mean? Which aspects of the late 18th century poetry can be considered transitional in nature? Meaning of “Transitional” In literary history, the term “transitiona...

  Introduction  Prepared under the insightful guidance of Prakruti Bhatt Ma’am , this blog explores how Samuel Richardson, the father of the English novel, weaves the threads of disguise, surprise, and accidental discovery into the moral fabric of Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded . Far from being a simple tale of virtue tested and rewarded, Pamela unfolds like a psychological labyrinth where truth hides behind masks and revelation arrives through shock or accident. Richardson masterfully uses deception and discovery not merely as storytelling devices, but as mirrors reflecting human weakness, repentance, and resilience. Through Mr. B’s false benevolence, Pamela’s strategic self-concealment, and the unforeseen moments of truth that alter both hearts and fates, the novel becomes a stage where morality and emotion wrestle under the gaze of Providence. In this study, we unearth how each disguise deepens tension, each surprise reshapes moral perspective, and each accidental discover...

When a Curl Becomes a Catastrophe: Vanity, Virtue, and the Mock-Epic Mirror of 18th-Century Society Prepared under the guidance of Prakruti Bhatt Ma’am , this blog delves into Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock , a masterful mock-epic that elevates a trivial incident—a lock of hair being cut—into a dazzling satire of 18th-century English aristocracy. Through wit, irony, and mock grandeur, Pope exposes a society obsessed with beauty, reputation, and appearances, where manners replace morality and vanity rivals virtue. The discussion explores the societal elements Pope satirizes, contrasts heroic and mock-heroic epics, critiques the religious and moral pretensions of Protestant and Anglican England, and provides a comparative analysis of Belinda and Clarissa , whose contrasting roles illuminate the tension between illusion and insight. Pope’s work, at once playful and piercing, holds up a mirror to a glittering yet hollow world—a mirror that continues to reflect the timeless dance be...

  Introduction  This blog is created as part of an academic assignment under the guidance of Megha  Trivedi Ma’am , aiming to delve deeper into the enduring world of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and its cultural impact across different mediums. Through a comparative lens, we examine how narrative strategies shift between Austen’s original 1813 novel and Joe Wright’s 2005 film adaptation , revealing how storytelling adapts to suit its form—literary irony giving way to cinematic emotion. The blog also offers a vivid portrait of Regency-era society , exploring how class, gender, manners, and reputation shaped individual destinies. Finally, by reimagining alternative endings—where Elizabeth and Darcy never reconcile, or Lydia’s elopement ends in disgrace—we reflect on the novel’s underlying tensions between love and social survival. This project not only honors Austen’s wit and wisdom but also questions the fragility of happiness in a world governed by rigid expect...