UNIT-4 NOTES

POLONIUS’ADVICE TO HIS SON

-WILLIAM SHAKESPEARAE

INTRODUCTION: The poem ‘Polonius’ Advice to his Son’, written by William Shakespeare. He is
widely regarded as the greatest playwright in English. His plays remain highly popular and are
constantly studied, performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts. He is
popularly known as the “Bard of Avon”.

CONTENT: Polonius is the chief Counselor of King Claudius. The poem itself is a long list of
principles that he wants his son to follow when he is away in a foreign land. Laertes is Polonius’s
son. • The advice is given to his son by the father. Polonius gives this advice when Laertes gets
ready to leave for France. Laertes leaves for France to join a University. As a father Polonius
offers blessings and a few pieces of advice. The list of advice comprises important moral and
ethical elements. The advice given by Polonius shows his sincerity and moral values. He is
confident that these advices would build his sons character.

EXPLANATION:
In Polonius’s house, Laertes prepares to leave for France. Bidding his sister, Ophelia, farewell, he
cautions her against falling in love with Hamlet, who is, according to Laertes, too far above her
by birth to be able to love her honorably. Since Hamlet is responsible not only for his own
feelings but for his position in the state, it may be impossible for him to marry her. Ophelia
agrees to keep Laertes’ advice as a “watchman” close to her heart but urges him not to give her
advice that he does not practice himself. Laertes reassures her that he will take care of himself.
Polonius enters to bid his son farewell. Polonius advises his son to be cautious with his words
and actions. Polonius advised his son to think well before speaking and to think carefully before
acting. He asks him to be friendly with others but warns him not to cross the limits of decency
and privacy. He recommends making friends with others but cautions him to distingue between
a true friend and a false one. He exhorts his son to avoid fights, but if for some reasons cannot,
to put fear into the opponent. He suggests that his son should listen to all but speak less. He
also wants his son to receive advice from all but reserve his opinion to himself. His son may buy
nice clothes but should not look showy. His most famous piece of advice is not to lend or
borrow money. Lending leads to loss of money and friends. Borrowing proves our inability to
manage our budget. And to top it all, Polonius wishes his son to be true to himself that is to be
individualistic.

‘We must continue to dream big’: an open letter from Serena Williams

Writing for Porter Magazine’s Incredible Women of 2016 issue, the tennis star takes aim at the
barriers that still hold women athletes back
How feminists embraced the radical open letter

To all incredible women who strive for excellence,

When I was growing up, I had a dream. I’m sure you did, too. My dream wasn’t like that of an
average kid, my dream was to be the best tennis player in the world. Not the best “female”
tennis player in the world.

I was fortunate to have a family that supported my dream and encouraged me to follow it. I
learned not to be afraid. I learned how important it is to fight for a dream and, most
importantly, to dream big. My fight began when I was three and I haven’t taken a break since.

But as we know, too often women are not supported enough or are discouraged from choosing
their path. I hope together we can change that. For me, it was a question of resilience. What
others marked as flaws or disadvantages about myself – my race, my gender – I embraced as
fuel for my success. I never let anything or anyone define me or my potential. I controlled my
future.

So when the subject of equal pay comes up, it frustrates me because I know firsthand that I, like
you, have done the same work and made the same sacrifices as our male counterparts. I would
never want my daughter to be paid less than my son for the same work. Nor would you.

As we know, women have to break down many barriers on the road to success. One of those
barriers is the way we are constantly reminded we are not men, as if it is a flaw. People call me
one of the “world’s greatest female athletes”. Do they say LeBron is one of the world’s best male
athletes? Is Tiger? Federer? Why not? They are certainly not female. We should never let this go
unchallenged. We should always be judged by our achievements, not by our gender.

For everything I’ve achieved in my life, I am profoundly grateful to have experienced the highs
and lows that come with success. It is my hope that my story, and yours, will inspire all young
women out there to push for greatness and follow their dreams with steadfast resilience. We
must continue to dream big, and in doing so, we empower the next generation of women to be
just as bold in their pursuits.

Serena Williams.

The Necklace

-Guy De Maupassant
About the Author
Guy De Maupassant was a great French writer. He was one of the best short story writers in the
world. He was a representative of the naturalist school of writers. He depicted human lives
often in pessimistic terms. He wrote more than three hundred stories. He also wrote novels,
travel books, and poetry.
Theme of the Story
The story of ‘The Necklace’ is a satire that gives a strong message on human values. The very
first thing that this lesson teaches us is that everyone should be content in life with whatever
little that he has. One should live within one’s means or else he invites unnecessary problems,
anxieties, and confusion in life. The most important message of the story is that we should be
what we are. There is a facade among most of the individuals that they just want to be like
someone who they are not so that they can be liked by people. But all individuals need to learn
the fact that you can't change what your policy doesn't even need to be like someone. You are
best as you are and you are unique in your own way. Every individual has his/ her own style and
if you change that also, then what will make you unique from others will not be there anymore.
So you just need to accept yourself and move forward to improve yourself by inculcating good
qualities in yourself. If you want to improve yourself then you need to cultivate good qualities in
yourself so that you can lead the life of a respectable person.
It is often observed that people tend to be the ones whom they think people like more and in
that process, they eventually lose their own identity. Self-acceptance is what is lacking in
today's generation. It is not about thinking someone can not be superior to you, it is realizing
and accepting the fact that you are not inferior to anyone. You should be proud of yourself and
learn to accept your flaws and weaknesses. Only when you accept your weakness can you
improve yourself. If you seriously want to make some positive changes in your life, then start
accepting yourself just the way you are. False pride or show-off is the cause of our sufferings.
Mrs Loisel had lost the necklace that she had borrowed from her friend and instead of
confessing it to the owner, she got into more debt and poverty to repay the amount. The story
tells us about the negative effects of pride and vanity and emphasizes the importance of being
content with what one has.
Summary of The Necklace
The story ‘The Necklace’ was written seven hundred years ago by Guy De Maupassant in France.
Matilda Loisel lived in a small flat with her husband who worked as a clerk for the Minister of
Education. Matilda was a very pretty young lady. Neither did they live a luxurious life nor were
they poor. Matilda was very unhappy because she always thought that she was born for all
luxuries in the world but she had to live a petty and simple life.
Her husband brought an invitation to a dinner party organized by his office. He thought his wife
would be excited but instead, she was upset. She complained that she had nothing suitable to
wear to such a great occasion. Her husband generously agreed to give her four hundred francs
that he had saved to buy a new rifle to get herself a dress. Matilda became anxious in the week
of the party. On asking her she told her husband that she had no jewellery policy with her gown.
He suggested that perhaps she could borrow something from her friend Jeanne Forestier.
Jeanne heard her story of distress and she generously opened her box of jewels. Matilda
borrowed a sparkling diamond necklace.
Matilda and her husband attended the gala and had a great time. Matilda looked very pretty,
elegant, and graceful. Everyone at the party noticed her and they all wanted to be introduced to
her. She was so glorified by her beauty that she became very careless. They arrived home in the
early hours of the morning. When Matilda viewed her glory in the mirror, she realized the
necklace was missing. They searched for it everywhere in the house. They wondered if it fell in
the cab that brought them home but neither of them noticed the number. Matilda’s husband
went out to search the streets but returned empty-handed. He also went to the policeman and
to the cab offices to raise a complaint. He advertised in the newspaper and offered a reward. To
buy some time from Jeanne, Matilda wrote a letter that she broke the clasp of the necklace and
so she sent it for repair. In the meantime, they found a similar kind of necklace. The cost of the
necklace was thirty-six thousand francs. Her husband inherited eighteen thousand francs from
his father and he borrowed the rest of the amount from the moneylenders. Finally, they
purchased the necklace and Matilda gave it to Jeanne who did not care to look at it.
Matilda’s life changed dramatically in the next ten years. They moved to a much smaller
apartment where she cooked and cleaned herself. Her husband did multiple jobs and she also
did other work to pay all the money they had borrowed. After ten years, they were able to pay
all the money back but by then Matilda had aged a lot.
One day, Matilda met Jeanne Forestier. She decided to confess the truth about the necklace.
Jeanne was surprised to see Matilda’s state. Matilda told her that she had lost the necklace that
she borrowed from her and had to pay a huge amount for the replacement. Jeanne was
shocked to hear the entire story behind the necklace and she confessed that the necklace
Matilda borrowed was a fake, which was not more than worth five hundred francs.
Conclusion
The lesson of the story is ‘Honesty is the best policy. If Matilda honestly told her friend the truth
about the necklace, she would have learned that the necklace wasn’t made of real diamonds
and that would have saved her from living a miserable life for ten years.
It is a fact that many times people either hide the truth or they just simply lie so that they can
get saved from punishment or the anger of their loved ones. However, it should always be kept
in mind that the ones close to us will never hold us responsible for little follies, only if we tell
the truth and accept our mistakes.