Know Your English Literature Part. XIV

Far from the Madding Crowd: Novel by Thomas Hardy published in 1874. It tells the story of farmer Batheheba Everdene and her three suitos- the good hearted Gabriel Oak, the dashing Sergeant Troy and the wealthy farmer Boldwood.

 The title came from the lines in Gray’s Elegy which says of those buried in the country churchyard: ‘Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife/ their sober wishes never learned to stray.’

Gray’s Elegy: Popular name for the poem Elegy written in a country church yard by Thomas Gray. The poem begins by considering the lives of those who lie buried in the village churchyard and then turns into a meditation on death. It contains many well known lines, such as ‘full many a flower is born to blush unseen, / and waste its sweetness in the desert air’.

Hamlet: Tragedy by William Shakespeare, written around 1599-1601. Before the play opens, the king of Denmark has been murdered by his brother, Claudius who has taken the throne and married the queen, Gertrude. The ghost of the dead king visits his son, Prince Hamlet, and urges him to avenge the murder. Hamlet tormented by this revelation, appears to be mad and cruelly rejects Ophelia whom he loved. Using a troupe of visiting players to act out his father’s death the prince prompts Claudius to expose his guilt. Hamlet then kills Ophelia’s father Polonius in mistake for Claudius, and Claudius tries but fails to have Hamlet killed. Ophelia drowns herself in grief, and her brother Laertes fights a duel with Hamlet. The play ends with the death by poison of the main characters and the arrival of Fortibras, prince of Norway, who assumes control.

Hamlet’s dilemma is often seen as typical of those whose thoughtful nature prevents quick and decisive action.. Hamlet contains several fine examples of Soliloquy, such as”To be or not to be” and the Hamlet’s earlier speech lamenting his mother’s hasty remarriage and Claudius’ reign which opens ’O! that this too too solid flesh would melt’. Much quoted lines include’ neither a borrower nor a lender be’, Something is rotten in the state of Denmark’, ‘Brevity is the soul of wit’, ‘To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the nub’; ‘the lady doth protest too much, methinks’, and ‘Alas, poor Yorick’.