M Ali's English Literature Notes

Aristophanes’ The Frogs is a comedy, a latter genre of literature, but beneath its extravagant caricatures, he has some serious purpose. In the second part of the play there is a debate competition at the dinner table of Hades between Aeschylus and Euripides to acquire the seat of 'Best Tragic Poet' . The contest is held with Dionysus as judge. Actually, through this debate we can trace a development of ancient Greek tragedy—how the Greek tragedy was developed, from Aeschylus, in the hands of  Sophocles and Euripides , especially  of Euripides.                                                 A long line of philosophers --which includes Plato , Aristotle , Saint Augustine , Diderot , Voltaire , Hume , Hegel , Schopenhauer , Nietzsche , Kier...

Helen   in Greek mythology,  the daughter of  Zeus   and   Leda  (or  Nemesis ),  wife of King  Menelaus  of  Sparta  is thought to be the most beautiful woman in the world.    Her abduction by Paris brought about the Trojan War . Anyone reading about this mythic character does not obtain any unified perspective by various writers. Some writers including Homer take on entirely negative views of Helen. While other writers bear both positive and complex views. Now we will evaluate the character of Helen in The Iliad . Though Helen does not have any active part in Homer’s The Iliad —she appeares before us only six times, all the incidents take place for her. The exquisite beauty of Helen is well known. If anyone wants to refer to any beauty, he mostly uses allusion, simile or metaphor of Helen, the paragon of beauty. Even characters like Dr. Faustus in Marlowe ’s Dr. Faustus long for having Helen beside them— ...