’ Syllabus: T Year — Major Paper — I — Prose UNIT -I, 1. “Of Great Place” — Bacon 2. “Sir Roger at the Theatre” — Addison 3. “The Trumpet Club” = Steele UNIT -II 4. “Poor Relations” - Lamb 5. “The Fight”— Hazlitt UNIT - It 6. “The Worship of the Wealthy” — G.K. Chesterton 7. “Lectures” — J.B. Priestley UNIT -IV 8. “In Praise of Mistakes” — Lynd ~ 9. “A Fellow Traveller” — A.G. Gardiner UNIT-V Selections from E.M. Forster (ed) R. Krishnamurthy (Macmillan) and Essays of Orwell (ed) M.G. Nayar (Macmillan) From E.M. Forster = 10. “The Other Side of the Hedge” 11. “East and West” 12. “A Book that Influenced Me” From Orwell (ed.) M.G. Nayar (Macmillan) 13. “Propaganda and Demotic Speech” 14. “The Writing of History” 15. “The Bookshop Memories” 16. “The English Character” 17. “Why I Write”1. OF GREAT PLACE 5 : - Bacon Introduction ~ Bacon (1561 — 1626) - was the younger son of Sir. Nicholas Bacon, the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal under Queen Elizabeth I. He joined the Cambridge University but left it after three years. He studied Law and became a bencher of Gray’s Inn in 1596. He was ambitious by nature. He wanted. to reach the topmost position by hook or crock. - In 1613, he became Attorney Cicneral and he rose to be Lord Keeper of the Great Seal and in 1618 he became Lord Chancellor. In 1621, he was accused of bribery and removed from power. After that he retired from the public life and devoted to the pursuit of seen and literary activities until his death in 1626. Bacon wrote essays about 58 in number and his essays reveal a wealth of common and practical wisdom. The essays are marked by brevity and precision. The form essay was popularised by Bacon and so he is rightly called the father of the essay in English. & Summary Every man aspires to reach the topmost position in life. But Bacon says that the people at the top have no freedom at all. Power drives a man to exercise control over others but he loses power himself. Once a man reaches the top, the fear that he may fall at anytime is haunting him. Besides he has to adopt foul device to keep himself at the top. . There is a tendency among them that they cannot imagine themselves without power. The very idea of retirement or losing hold on power structure wili unnerve them. 2The happiness of those powerful people depends upon the opinion of others. If good reports about them are circulated, they will be happy. In short their happiness is all a matter of public opinion. Next, the powerful people will be tempted to commit evils. It is better if they use'their office to do some good to others. So Bacon suggests that the people at the top should set an example. They should bear in mind the evil deeds committed by others and should be- on guard against such evil deeds. Then the man occupying powerful position should act consistently. He should preserve his rights quietly. He should-keep himself away from the affairs of the inferior persons. The. vices of authority are delay, corruption, roughness and facility. The person in high place should not delay in taking action. He’ must maintain punctuality and should do one work at one time. Secondly, he should not accept bribes. To avoid corruption, he should not employ confidential servants. Thirdly he should avoid roughness of behaviour while dealing with subordinates. He should exhibit a polite attitude and his tone of order should not be biting. Lastly the man in the higher place. should not be swayed by any requests which will not allow him. to function independently. If a man follows the above suggestions, he will earn a good name. Questions & Answers 1., What advice does Bacon give to men in high positions regarding their attitude to their predecessors. and successors? the persons occupying ist positions should study the examples of those who had achieved greatness and fame. They should also study about those who had brought dishonour ‘to their office. The purpose of such study is to 3safeguard oneself from those forces which had. brought down great people. Next the persons in the high places should reform himself modestly. They should set good examples for their successors. 2. What are Bacon’s remarks on corruption? According to Bacon, corruption is one. of the vices of authority. He says people occupying high position should not indulge in corruption. They should not accept bribes. He should not change his decision frequently. If they do so he should declare it openly. Besides they should not employ confidential servants. 3. Bacon’s aphorisms. Aphorisms are short pithy maxims. For example he says men in great places are servants to the sovereigns, fame and business. _He also says that those who seek power. and fame lose their liberty. Rise to power is a laborious process; but the fall will be greater. .By using such aphorism, Bacon defines hig subject clearly.2. SIR ROGER AT THE THEATRE ~ Addison Introduction Sir Richard Steele (1672 — 1729) — was born in Dublin in the same year as Addison. He was educated at Charterhouse School in London where he met Addison. Their friendship developed into an intimacy at Oxford and later blossomed into a fruitful literary collaboration. Joseph Addison (1672 - 1719) distinguished himself as a classical scholar. When Steele started The Tatler Addison contributed Papers to the magazine. The object of The Tatler was to talk ~ to talk pleasantly and wittily about anything and everything. They started another periodical The’ Spectator in ‘1711. The Spectator Club members occupy an important place in most of the essays. The members of the club are Sir Roger de Coverley, Captain Sentry and Wil! Honeycomb, Sir Andrew Freeport and Mr. Spectator. The characters grouped under the club, represent “Considerable classes or sections of the community and are as a rule, men of strongly marked~ opinions prejudices and foibles: which furnish inexhaustible maiter of comment to the spectator himself who delivers the judgements of reason and common-sense. Sir Roger de Coveriey, with his simplicity his high sense of honour and his old world reminiscences, reflects the country gentleman of ‘the best kind. Sir Andrew Freeport expresses the opinions of the _ enterprising, hard-headed, and rather hard-hearted moneyed interest. Captain Sentry speaks for the army; Will Honeycomb the elderly man of fashion gives the spectator many opportunities for criticising the traditions ‘of morality and breeding ...” (Courthope)