Siddharth Chauhan

  Introduction This blog explores the rich poetic landscape of the Victorian era through the works of Alfred Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning—two towering figures whose writings shaped the literary consciousness of their age. Assigned by Prakrutti Bhatt ma’am , this study aims to understand how these poets represent the intellectual, moral, and artistic spirit of nineteenth-century England. Tennyson, often hailed as the “most representative literary man of the Victorian era,” captures the age’s moral earnestness, spiritual anxieties, and longing for stability. Browning, on the other hand, brings a bold psychological depth, dramatic experimentation, and innovative narrative techniques that probe the complexities of human nature. Together, they offer contrasting yet complementary visions of art, society, and the human mind. This blog sets out to examine their ideas, themes, and artistic purposes, illuminating why Victorian poetry remains central to English literary tradition. 1. Ju...

  Introduction This blog has been prepared as part of the academic assignment given by Megha Trivedi ma’am , whose guidance continues to inspire us to explore literature with deeper curiosity and clarity. The purpose of this blog is to present well-researched, thoughtful, and student-friendly notes on major literary topics, helping readers understand the historical, social, and artistic forces that have shaped English literature. Through this platform, I aim to simplify complex concepts, highlight important authors and movements, and provide clear explanations that support both academic learning and personal interest in literature. I hope this blog reflects the spirit of inquiry and dedication encouraged by Megha Trivedi ma’am , and serves as a helpful resource for all literature learners. Lord Byron and His Relationship to the Victorian Age Although Lord Byron (1788–1824) is one of the central figures of the Romantic Movement , his influence on the Victorian Age (1837–1901) wa...

  Ambition, Politics, and the Gendered Self: A Comparative Study of Power and Desire in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel, and Behn’s The Rover Abstract This paper undertakes a comparative study of the relationship between ambition, political instability, and the gendered self as depicted in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (c. 1606), John Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel (1681), and Aphra Behn’s The Rover (1677). Examining the texts across three distinct generic and historical contexts—Tragedy, Heroic Satire, and Comedy of Manners—it is argued that while male ambition is primarily a destructive, publicly staged phenomenon focused on regicide or treason, female desire and ambition operate as a subversive force, either through psychological manipulation that violates natural order (Lady Macbeth) or through a deliberate, self-assertive quest for social and sexual autonomy (Hellena and Angellica Bianca). Ultimately, the study contends that the texts reveal a shif...

  Satire, Social Critique, and the Human Condition in Jonathan Swift’s A Tale of a Tub and Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock : A Comparative Study Abstract This paper offers a comparative analysis of Jonathan Swift’s prose satire, A Tale of a Tub (1704), and Alexander Pope’s mock-epic poem, The Rape of the Lock (1712/1714), to illuminate their distinct yet complementary critiques of the human condition in the Augustan Age. It argues that while Swift employs a chaotic, fragmented, and fundamentally destructive satiric vision to target the corruption of the mind —specifically intellectual enthusiasm , fanaticism, and literary pretension—Pope utilizes a polished, corrective, and meticulously ordered mock-heroic style to criticize the superficiality of society —namely, the moral triviality, vanity, and gender politics of the aristocratic beau monde . Ultimately, both authors share a core diagnosis: that the human condition is fundamentally defined by self-deception, the elevat...