Assignments for Ist Year Compulsory Courses

MASTER'S DEGREE IN ENGLISH

Assignments for Ist Year Compulsory Courses

Programme: MEG

Dear Student,

This booklet contains all the assignments of the Compulsory courses of MA (English) Ist year. Namely:

MEG-01British Poetry

MEG-02British Drama

MEG-03British Novel and

MEG-04Aspects of Language

Each course is comprised of three assignments Tutor Marked Assignments  TMA-01, 02 and 03. Normally TMA-01 deals with the first half of the course, TMA-02 with the second half and TMA-03 with the whole course. You are required to do all three TMAs of each course. These TMAs carry 100 marks each. The block-wise distribution of assignments is as follows:

AssignmentsCoverage

1 Blocks 1-4 / (5)

2 Blocks 5-8 / (9)

3 Blocks 1-8 / (9)

Aims: The TMAs are concerned mainly with assessing your application and understanding of the course material. You are not required to reproduce chunks of information from the course material but to use the skills of critical appreciation that you may have acquired during the course of study. These assignments aim to teach as well as to assess your performance. Please ensure that you read the texts and the accompanying study guides that we have prepared for you. Let me repeat: you must read all the texts prescribed. Do make points as you go along. If there is anything you do not understand, please ask your Counsellor at the Study Centre for clarification. Once you are able to do the assignments satisfactorily, you will be ready to take the exam with confidence.

Instructions: Before attempting the assignment please read the following instructions carefully.

1.Read the detailed instructions about the assignments given in the Programme Guide for

Elective Courses.

2.Write your Roll Number, Name, Full Address and Date on the top right corner of the first page of your response sheet(s).

3. Write the Course Title, Assignment Number and the Name of the Study Centre you are attached to in the centre of the first page of your response sheet(s).

The top of the first page of your response sheet should look like this:

ROLL NO: ...... ……………………………

NAME:…...... …………………………….

ADDRESS:...... ………… ……………….

………...... ……………………..

COURSE TITLE: ……………………………..

ASSIGNMENT NO:……...... …......

STUDY CENTRE………...... ………….. DATE: ...... ……………………………

4. Use only foolscap size paper for your response and tag all the pages carefully.
5.Write the relevant question number with each answer.

6. You should write in your own handwriting.

7. Submission: The completed assignment should be sent to the Coordinator of the Study Centre allotted to you. Please read the instructions given in your Programme Guide.

Now read the following guidelines carefully before answering questions.

GUIDELINES FOR TMAs

You will find it useful to keep the following points in mind:

1. Planning: Read the assignments carefully. Go through the units on which they are based. Make some points regarding each question and then rearrange these in a logical order. And please write the answers in your own words. Do not reproduce passages from the units.

2. Organisation: Be a little more selective and analytic before drawing up a rough outline of your answer. In an essay-type question, give adequate attention to your introduction and conclusion. The introduction must offer your brief interpretation of the question and how you propose to develop it. The conclusion must summarise your response to the question. In the course of your answer, you may like to make references to other texts or critics as this will add some depth to your analysis.

Make sure that your answer:

a)is logical and coherent;

b)has clear connections between sentences and paragraphs;

c)is written correctly giving adequate consideration to your expression, style and presentation;

d)does not exceed the number of words indicated in your question.

3. Presentation: Once you are satisfied with your answers, you can write down the final version for submission, writing each answer neatly and underlining the points you wish to emphasise.

You may be aware that you need to submit your assignments before you can appear for the Term End Exams.Please remember to keep a copy of your completed assignment, just in case the one you submitted is lost in transit. Good luck with your work!

MEG-01 : BRITISH POETRY

ASSIGNMENT-1

Max. Marks: 100

Before attempting the assignments please read section 36.5 in unit 36 in Block VIII, and unit 52, i.e. the last unit of Block X.

Write an essay on any one of the following in about 3000 words :

Medieval Scottish Poetry

Metaphysical Poetry

The Great Augustan Poets

The Minor Romantic Poets

The Mid-Victorian Poets

Major Influences on Modernist Poetry

ASSIGNMENT-2

Max. Marks: 100

Write an essay on any one of the following in about 3000 words :

1William Langland

2George Herbert

3Alexander Pope

4S.T. Coleridge

5W.B. Yeats

6Philip Larkin

ASSIGNMENT-3

Max. Marks: 100

Write an essay on any one of the following in about 3000 words :

1. ‘The Knight’s Tale’ or ‘The Wife of Bath’s Tale’

2. ‘Twicknam Garden’ or ‘The Canonization’

3.Mac Flecknoe

4.The Prelude

5.‘Fra Lippo Lippi’

6.‘Lapis Lazuli’

7‘The Applicant’ or `Fever 1030’

MEG-02 : BRITISH DRAMA

ASSIGNMENT-1

(Based on Blocks 1 to 5)

Max. Marks: 100

Answer the following passages with reference to the context in about 150 words each. (choose 4 out of 5 passages)

4x5=20

(i)My heart’s so harden’d, I cannot repent;

Scarce can I name salvation, faith or heaven

But fearful echoes thunder in mine ear’s

Faustus thou art damn’d

(ii)O, that this too too sullied flesh would melt,

Thaw and resolve itself into a dew,

Or that the Everlasting had not fixed

His canon ’gainst self-slaughter…

(iii)He bears

The visible mark of the Beast in his forhead,

And for his stone, it is a work of darkness,

And with philosophy blinds the eyes of man.

(iv)Why should you think that I woo in scorn?

Scorn and derision never came in tears.

(v)I hit a blow on the ridge of his skull

laid him stretched out, and he split to

the knob of his gullet.

Answer the following questions in approx. 500 words each.

Discuss Doctor Faustus’ appeal to 21st century.

Examine Hamlet as a revenge play.

4.Comment on the Mechanicals in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

5.Discuss the salient features of Synge’s language that make it distinctive.

ASSIGNMENT-2

(Based on Blocks 6 to 9)

Max. Marks: 100

Analyse the following passages with reference to the context in about 150 words each. (choose 4 out of 5 passages)

4x5=20

(i)The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach their children to speak it. They spell it so abominably that no man can teach himself what it sounds like. It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.

(ii)It is not in time that my death shall be known. It is out of time that my decision is taken. If you call that a decision. To which my whole being gives entire consent. I give my life. To the law of God above the Law of Man.

(iii)There are cruel steel traps lying about everywhere, just waiting for rather mad, slightly satanic and very timid little animals. Right?

(iv)Have you not done tormenting me with your accursed time? One day, is that not enough for you, one day like any other day……

d)“The tears of the world are a constant quantity: for each one who begins to weep, somewhere else another stops.”

Answer the following questions in approx. 500 words each.

Would you call Higgins-liza relationship platonic?

Outline the historical background of the play Murder in the Cathedral.

4.Discuss the concept of the angry young man in the context of Look Back in Anger.

5.Why does Waiting for Godot appeals to us in spite of not following the genre of drama?

ASSIGNMENT-3

(Based on Blocks 1 to 9)

Max. Marks: 100

Note: Attempt the following questions in approx. 250 words each.

Discuss the modernity of Elizabethan Tragedy with reference to Dr. Faustus.

What is the significance of “dream” in the title of the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Comment on Jonsonian Comedy with reference to the Alchemist.

Write short notes on the following:

i)Theatre as a theme in Hamlet.

ii)Romantic comedy formula in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

5.Critically examine the role of the chorus in Murder In The Cathedral.

6.Analyse the modernist conception of character in the presentation of Jimmy in Look Back in Anger.

7.Out line the plot of The Playboyof the Western World.

8.Comment on the mingling of genres in Pygmalion.

9.How would you reckon Godot’s contribution to Theatre and Drama?

MEG-03 : BRITISH NOVEL

ASSIGNMENT-1

(Based on Blocks 1,2,3,4)

Max. Marks: 100

Attempt all questions. All questions carry equal marks

Do the women characters in Tom Jones appeal to you? Discuss.

How does Austen inter-weave the themes of gender injustice with that of love and marriage?

Compare and contrast the characters of the Catherine that loves Heathcliff and the Catherine that marries Edgar.

Examine Pip as a self-improving hero.

ASSIGNMENT-2

(Based on Blocks 5,6,7,8 and 9)

Max. Marks: 100

Attempt all questions. All questions carry equal marks

Examine the theme of money and pecuniary-interests vis-a-vie that of birth, rank and class. Are these two themes inter-related?

Discuss the Heart of Darkness as an apocalyptic vision.

How does Joyce give textual density to style in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man?

Does Forster romanticise the landscape in A Passage to India? Discuss.

5.Is Miss Brodie a symbol of non-conformity? Discuss.

ASSIGNMENT-3

(Based on Blocks 1-9)

Max. Marks: 100

Attempt all questions. All questions carry equal marks.

Attempt a feminist reading of Pride and Prejudice.

Would you consider Heathcliff to be real? Is he presented as a realistic character or is he only symbolic?

Discuss the metaphor of the web in the context of events and people relating to Bulstrode.

Examine the significance of the Christmas dinner scene in A Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man.

Why does Forster shift the theme of the novel A Passage to India from history to philosophy? Discuss.

What perspective if any does The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie offer?

MEG-04 : ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE

ASSIGNMENT-1

(Blocks 1-4)

Max Marks: 100

Answer all questions

What are the factors which influenced English spelling through the ages? Give examples to illustrate your answer.

From your reading of Unit 1, Block 4 (English Morphology), how would you define a ‘Word’?

Write short notes on

a)Reduplication

b)Acronyms

Distinguish between vowels and consonants.

Write short notes

a)Nasal consonants

b)Division of words into syllables

c)Diphthongs in English

6.What are the characteristics of human language and how are they different from animal communication? Discuss.

7.Distinguish between (a) signified and signifier (b) langue and parole.

ASSIGNMENT 2

(Blocks 5-9)

Max. Marks: 100

Attempt all questions.

Write an essay of about 250 words, tracing the historical development of language planning from the 1960s to the 1990s. What were the shifts in focus at each stage?

Write a note on Grice’s four maxims. What do you think will happen in a conversation if these maxims are not followed by the interlocuters?

What did Labov attempt to study in his classic work ‘The Social Stratification of English in New York City’? What was his major contribution to sociolinguistics?

Write short notes on:

a)Coordinate and Compound bilinguals

b)Critique of Language Standerdization

There are atleast five criteria that can test whether a (randomly chosen) sequence of words in a sentence is a syntactic constituent. Discuss these criteria.

6.We no longer need to look to British English as a norm, Indian English is a variety in its own right. Elaborate.

ASSIGNMENT 3

(Blocks 1-9)

Max. Marks: 100

Answer all questions.

Discuss the role that attitude and motivation play in second language acquisition/learning. You may give your own examples.

Write notes on

a)The Structure of Conversation

b)Word Order from Old English to Modern English

What is foregrounding? Using examples from literature, discuss foregrounding through parallelism and through deviant constructions.

Describe the difference between code mixing and code switching. Give examples from your own language and English.

Which are the scope-bearing elements in English? Write on any one of them in detail.

Discuss the three major approaches that enable compounding in English. Give examples to illustrate your answer.

MASTER'S DEGREE IN ENGLISH-05

Assignments 1, 2 and 3

Programme: MEG

Course Code: MEG-05

Dear Student,

You will have three assignments for the Master's Degree in English-05. All three assignments are Tutor Marked Assignments (TMAs) and carry 100 marks each. The block-wise distribution of assignments is as follows:

AssignmentsCoverage

1 Blocks 1-4

2 Blocks 5-8

3 Blocks 1-8

Aims: The TMAs are concerned mainly with assessing your application and understanding of the course material. You are not required to reproduce chunks of information from the course material but to use the skills of critical appreciation and good expression that you may have acquired during the course of study. These assignments aim to teach as well as to assess your performance. Please ensure that you read the essays and the accompanying study guides that we have prepared for you. You may need to read the essays more than once. Do make points as you go along. If there is anything you do not understand, please ask your Counsellor at the Study Centre for clarification. Once you are able to do the assignments satisfactorily, you will be ready to take the exam with confidence.

Instructions: Before attempting the assignment please read the following instructions carefully.

1.Read the detailed instructions about the assignments given in the Programme Guide for

Elective Courses.

2.Write your Roll Number, Name, Full Address and Date on the top right corner of the first page of your response sheet(s).

3. Write the Course Title, Assignment Number and the Name of the Study Centre you are attached to in the centre of the first page of your response sheet(s).

The top of the first page of your response sheet should look like this:

ROLL NO: ...... ……………………………

NAME:…...... …………………………….

ADDRESS:...... ………………………….

………...... ……………………..

COURSE TITLE: ……………………………..

ASSIGNMENT NO:……...... …......

STUDY CENTRE………...... ………….. DATE: ...... ……………………………

4. Use only foolscap size paper for your response and tag all the pages carefully.
5.Write the relevant question number with each answer.

6. You should write in your own handwriting.

7. Submission: The completed assignment should be sent to the Coordinator of the Study Centre allotted to you. Please read the instructions given in your Programme Guide.

Now read the following guidelines carefully before answering questions.

GUIDELINES FOR TMAs

You will find it useful to keep the following points in mind:

Make sure that your answer:

a)is logical and coherent;

b)has clear connections between sentences and paragraphs;

c)is written correctly giving adequate consideration to your expression, style and presentation;

d)does not exceed the number of words indicated in your question.

3. Presentation: Once you are satisfied with your answers, you can write down the final version for submission, writing each answer neatly and underlining the points you wish to emphasise.

You may be aware that you need to submit your assignments before you can appear for the Term End Exams. Submit your assignments and please remember to keep a copy of your completed assignment, just in case the one you submitted is lost in transit. Good luck with your work!

ASSIGNMENT-1

(Based on Blocks 1,2,3,4)

Max. Marks: 100

Attempt all questions. All questions carry equal marks.

Write short notes (approx. 250 words) on:

a)Plato

b)Althusser

c)Deconstruction

d)Rasa and Jouissance

What do you understand by the term “structuralism”?

Write a note on the Platonic attitude towards mimesis.

How does the romantic or the expressive theory of art differ from the mimetic or the imitative-rationalist aesthetic? Elucidate.

Discuss Eliot’s concept of poetry and the importance he lays on tradition, with reference to his essay “Tradition and Individual Talent”.

ASSIGNMENT-2

(Based on Blocks 5,6,7,8)

Max. Marks: 100

Attempt all questions. All questions carry equal marks.