THE ELIZABETHAN PERIOD.

HISTORY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE

THE ELIZABETHAN PERIOD.

PROSE FICTION.

The period saw the beginning, among other things, of English prose fiction of something like the later modern type. First appeared a series of collections of short tales chiefly translated from Italian authors, to which tales the Italian name ’novella’ (novel) was applied. Most of the separate tales are crude or amateurish and have only historical interest, though as a class they furnished the plots for many Elizabethan dramas, including several of Shakspere’s. The most important collection was Painter’s ’Palace of Pleasure,’ in 1566. The earliest original, or partly original, English prose fictions to appear were handbooks of morals and manners in story form, and here the beginning was made by John Lyly, who is also of some importance in the history of the Elizabethan drama. In 1578 Lyly, at the age of twenty—five, came from Oxford to London, full of the enthusiasm of Renaissance learning, and evidently determined to fix himself as a new and dazzling star in the literary sky. In this ambition he achieved a remarkable and immediate success, by the publication of a little book entitled ’Euphues and His Anatomie of Wit.’ ’Euphues’ means ’the well—bred man,’ and though there is a slight action, the work is mainly a series of moralizing disquisitions (mostly rearranged from Sir Thomas North’s translation of ’The Dial of Princes’ of the Spaniard Guevara) on love, religion, and conduct. Most influential, however, for the time—being, was Lyly’s style, which is the most conspicuous English example of the later Renaissance craze, then rampant throughout Western Europe, for refining and beautifying the art of prose expression in a mincingly affected fashion.

Witty, clever, and sparkling at all costs, Lyly takes especial pains to balance his sentences and clauses antithetically, phrase against phrase and often word against word, sometimes emphasizing the balance also by an exaggerated use of alliteration and assonance. A representative sentence is this: ’Although there be none so ignorant that doth not know, neither any so impudent that will not confesse, friendship to be the jewell of humaine joye; yet whosoever shall see this amitie grounded upon a little affection, will soone conjecture that it shall be dissolved upon a light occasion.’ Others of Lyly’s affectations are rhetorical questions, hosts of allusions to classical history, and literature, and an unfailing succession of similes from all the recondite knowledge that he can command, especially from the fantastic collection of fables which, coming down through the Middle Ages from the Roman writer Pliny, went at that time by the name of natural history and which we have already encountered in the medieval Bestiaries. Preposterous by any reasonable standard, Lyly’s style, ’Euphuism,’ precisely hit the Court taste of his age and became for a decade its most approved conversational dialect.

In literature the imitations of ’Euphues’ which flourished for a while gave way to a series of romances inaugurated by the ’Arcadia’ of Sir Philip Sidney. Sidney’s brilliant position for a few years as the noblest representative of chivalrous ideals in the intriguing Court of Elizabeth is a matter of common fame, as is his death in 1586 at the age of thirty—two during the siege of Zutphen in Holland. He wrote ’Arcadia’ for the amusement of his sister, the Countess of Pembroke, during a period of enforced retirement beginning in 1580, but the book was not published until ten years later. It is a pastoral romance, in the general style of Italian and Spanish romances of the earlier part of the century. The pastoral is the most artificial literary form in modern fiction. It may be said to have begun in the third century B. C. with the perfectly sincere poems of the Greek Theocritus, who gives genuine expression to the life of actual Sicilian shepherds. But with successive Latin, Medieval, and Renaissance writers in verse and prose the country characters and setting had become mere disguises, sometimes allegorical, for the expression of the very far from simple sentiments of the upper classes, and sometimes for their partly genuine longing, the outgrowth of sophisticated weariness and ennui, for rural naturalness. Sidney’s very complicated tale of adventures in love and war, much longer than any of its successors, is by no means free from artificiality, but it finely mirrors his own knightly spirit and remains a permanent English classic. Among his followers were some of the better hack—writers of the time, who were also among the minor dramatists and poets, especially Robert Greene and Thomas Lodge. Lodge’s ’Rosalynde,’ also much influenced by Lyly, is in itself a pretty story and is noteworthy as the original of Shakspere’s ’As You Like It.’

Lastly, in the concluding decade of the sixteenth century, came a series of realistic stories depicting chiefly, in more or less farcical spirit, the life of the poorer classes. They belonged mostly to that class of realistic fiction which is called picaresque, from the Spanish word ’picaro,’ a rogue, because it began in Spain with the ’Lazarillo de Tormes’ of Diego de Mendoza, in 1553, and because its heroes are knavish serving—boys or similar characters whose unprincipled tricks and exploits formed the substance of the stories. In Elizabethan England it produced nothing of individual note.

***Will be continued***

THE CANTERBURY TALES

THE CANTERBURY TALES

CHAPTER SUMMARY / ANALYSIS

Introduction to the Sergeant at Law’s Tale

The host realizes that one-fourth of the day had already passed away and urges the pilgrims not to waste any more time. He then asks the Sergeant at Law to tell a story and reminds him in a legal sounding language of his to do so. While the Sergeant at Law has no intention of dishonoring his commitment, he complains that Chaucer has already written all the good stories that can be told. He further announces that he will speak in prose and tell his story plainly.

The Sergeant at Law’s Tale

Summary 
Once upon a time a group of wise, sober and honest traders lived in Syria. They exported spices, gold, satins, etc far and wide. It so happened that the leading traders of this prosperous group made up their minds to go to Rome for business purposes. During their stay in Rome the Syrian traders came to know about the incredible beauty of Constance, the daughter of Roman Emperor Tiberius Constantinus. Constance was commended for her remarkable beauty, humility, strength of character, holiness, generosity and graciousness. After finishing their business these merchants sailed back home to .

They were on good terms with the Sultan and after every foreign trip they would inform him of the news of various countries and the wonders that they had either heard of or seen. The merchants, among other things, told the Sultan about Lady Constance. The Sultan was captivated by Lady Constance’s description and resolved to make her his wife. The Sultan sent for his Privy Council and quite plainly told them that he would die if he could not win her over.

The Sultan’s problem engendered a great debate on the issue. Nothing except marriage seemed feasible. But the councilors foresaw that no Christian ruler would be willing to let his heir marry a Muslim. The Sultan was so much in love with Constance that he dismissed this religious objection and declared that he would convert. Soon all his Syrian subjects also converted Christianity.

The Roman emperor made magnificent preparations for his daughter’s wedding. When the day of departure finally arrived Constance was overcome with sorrow and wept at being sent away to a strange land and being distanced from her friends. An unhappy Constance tearfully set sail for Syria.

In the meanwhile the Sultan’s mother, who was very angry at her son’s renunciation of the teachings of the holy Koran for the sake of Constance, summoned some of her counselors and made them pledge that they would rather die than renounce their Muslim faith. The She told them to make a pretense of accepting and to kill all the Christians at the end of the banquet that she would arrange to celebrate her son’s wedding. The Sergeant at Law denounces the evil maliciousness of the Sultan’s mother.

The Sergeant at Law’s Tale - Part 2

Summary 
The Sultan received Lady Constance and the accompanying her with great joy. A splendid crowd of the Syrian subjects had turned out for the occasion. After the wedding ceremony, the Sultan, Constance and all the Christians went to the banquet hosted by the Sultan’s mother. Suddenly her conspirators entered and hacked all the Christians including the Sultan to pieces. Even the Syrian subjects who had converted to Christianity were not spared. Only Lady Constance was left alive. The widowed Constance was captured and set adrift in a well-provisioned sailing vessel. Her little boat tossed upon the stormy waves for more than three years and by divine grace finally landed in Northumberland.

The constable of the castle found the worn out Constance in the wrecked vessel and took her home to his wife. They took care of her and soon enough Constance’s tirelessness won everybody’s hearts. The and his wife, Hermengild, like the rest of the inhabitants of Northumberland, were heathens. Under Constance’s influence secretly converted to Christianity. One day Constance miraculously cured a blind man and converted the heathen constable to Christianity.

However this peaceful state of affairs was too perfect to last long. Satan made a young Northumbrian knight fall in love with Constance who spurned him. One night the knight burning with the desire to take revenge murdered and put the blood stained knife in Constance’s bed so as to implicate her. The grief stricken constable found the murder weapon in Constance’s bed and produced her before Alla, the King of Northumberland. Nobody in court could believe that Constance could have perpetrated such a foul act. The knight however publicly testified that Constance had killed . At this moment a mysterious voice was heard which condemned the knight for falsely defaming a disciple of Christ. This marvel astonished those present in court and everybody including King Alla embraced Christianity. The knight was sentenced to death for his perjury and King Alla married Constance. However Donegild, the King’s tyrannical mother, didn’t approve of this marriage.

Constance gave birth to a beautiful son while the King had gone on an expedition to Scotland. The child was christened Maurice. The constable sent a message to Alla to inform him of the happy news but the King’s evil mother interfered with the message and instead wrote a false letter saying that Constance had given birth to a horrible and fiendish creature. Although Alla was grief stricken he reconciled himself to his fate and accepted it as God’s will. The King wrote a message instructing the constable to keep the child and Constance safely until his return. However once again intercepted the message and wrote a letter commanding the constable to set Constance and her child adrift in a boat within 3 days. Accordingly Constance along with her son had to once again endure hardships to prove the strength of her faith.

The Sergeant at Law’s Tale - Part 3

Summary 
When Alla returned from his Scottish expedition, he was consumed with grief at the loss of his wife and child. Upon questioning the constable and the messenger Alla soon discovered Donegild’s evil hand in the plot and killed his mother.

Constance had to sail for more than five years and endure many hardships before her ship touched land. In the meanwhile, the Roman emperor heard about the massacre of the Christians in Syria and the tragic fate that befell his daughter. He dispatched a senator with an army to Syria to exact revenge. The Roman soldiers killed the Syrians and then victoriously set sail for Rome. On the return voyage the senator came upon Constance’s boat and brought her back to Rome. Constance had lost her memory and didn’t recognize Rome as her homeland and lived with the senator and his wife.

Alla decided to go to Rome to do penance for the bad luck that had befallen his beloved Constance. The news of Alla’s pilgrimage spread throughout Rome and the senator went to receive him. Alla invited the for dinner. Constance’s son, Maurice, accompanied the senator to the banquet. Alla was struck by the child’s resemblance to Constance. Alla then went to see Constance and explained his innocence and the role played by his evil mother in distorting the messages.

There followed a joyous reunion and Constance requested Alla to invite her father, the Roman Emperor, to dinner without revealing anything about her. Soon Constance was reunited with her father. Alla then returned with Constance to Northumberland and lived happily. But earthly joys are transient and Alla died after one year. The widowed Constance returned to Rome and lived with her father. Her son Maurice later became the Emperor of Rome.

Notes 
The story of Constance is also told by John Gower in ‘Confessio Amantis’ (Lover’s Confession) and is the basis of the verse romance ‘Emare’ but Chaucer’s immediate source was the Anglo-Norman chronicle of 1355 by Nicholas Trivet. Chaucer compressed Trivet’s story a great deal and has added philosophical musings to adapt it to the character of the learned Sergeant at Law.

The Sergeant at Law’s Prologue is a close translation of Pope Innocent III’s pamphlet titled "On Despising the World". The Prologue has little thematic connection with the tale that follows. This has led commentators to suggest that Chaucer perhaps intended the Prologue to function as the tale and only later added the tragic tale of Constance.

The Sergeant at Law declares in the Prologue that he will speak in prose but proceeds to deliver a story in verse form.

The plot of the Sergeant at Law’s Tale revolves around the central character of Constance who is the epitome of perfection and goodness. She embodies the highest Christian virtues and ideals of conduct. She is exceptionally beautiful, patient, humble, generous, optimistic and retains faith in the goodness of God during all her ordeals. She is the daughter of the Roman Emperor. She is married twice to a pagan ruler, converts both her husbands to Christianity, is treacherously betrayed both the times by a vengeful mother-in-law, and is set adrift on the stormy seas both the times. The plot does seem fantastically incredible but Chaucer makes no attempt to explain Constance’s good fortune. Chaucer simply accepts Constance’s survival as a miracle of the merciful God.

The focus of the tale is upon the goodness and perfection of Constance. Every incident serves to highlight her fortitude and faith in God. The reader feels compassion for her miseries and is happy when she is finally reunited with her second husband, King Alla. The plot is cumbersome and superfluous. The essence of the tale lies in magnifying Constance’s virtuous character.

The Epilogue of the Sergeant at Law’s Tale

The host congratulates the Sergeant at Law for narrating such an excellent Tale and requests the Parson to tell another handsome Tale. But the Parson checks the host for swearing in the name of God. Fearing that they will now hear a sermon, the Sea captain declares that they need to hear a merry Tale, one devoid of philosophy and the jargon of law.

*** Will Be Continued ***

THE CANTERBURY TALES
CHAPTER SUMMARY / ANALYSIS

The Cook’s Prologue

Summary

The Cook has thoroughly enjoyed The Reeve’s Tale and thinks that the Miller had justifiably received what he deserved. The Cook then offers to tell a funny story that actually happened in his city. The host jokingly adds that he must tell a good tale to compensate for all the stale pies that he has sold to the pilgrims. The Cook, named Roger, takes this joke in a good spirit and tells his tale.

The Cook’s Tale

Summary 
An apprentice Cook lived in London. He was a good looking man of a stocky build and had stylish long black hair. He danced so well that people named him Perkin Reveler (Peter Playboy). He would sing and dance at every wedding feast. He was fonder of the tavern than of minding the shop-counter. He spent most of his time in the company of his own sort of people and went with them for dancing, singing and gambling. His master came to know about his loose habits when he noticed money missing from the shop-counter. Although the master tolerated Perkin, one day he decided that one rotten can spoil the entire basket and dismissed Perkin. However Perkin was unaffected by his dismissal and was instead glad because he was now free to enjoy himself all night. He moved in with his friend whose wife kept a shop to mask her activities as a prostitute.

Notes 
The Cook is a repulsive figure. His suppurating sore suggests filthy personal habits and the Host accuses him of serving stale food. The Cook’s Tale is unfinished. It deals with an apprentice cook. It was probably intended as the last merry tale in the first fragment. Its plot is very similar to the earlier tales. The plot contains an eligible woman, the wife of the apprentice’s friend who keeps a shop to mask her activities as a prostitute. Perhaps this is an indication that there are two rivals vying for the hand of this lady - her dissolute husband and Perkin Reveler. However since the plot does not develop the reader does not get the full picture. Perhaps the Cook’s Tale was meant to be more raunchy than the Reeve’s tale through which Chaucer intended to depict the London low life. The setting of the Cook’s tale with its taverns and shops is a sharp contrast to the glamorous world of The Knight’s Tale.

*** Will Be Continued ***

Astrophil and Stella #9

Astrophil and Stella #9

BY SIR PHILIP SIDNEY

Queen Virtue’s court, which some call Stella’s face,

Prepar’d by Nature’s choicest furniture,
Hath his front built of alabaster pure;
Gold in the covering of that stately place.
The door by which sometimes comes forth her Grace
Red porphyr is, which lock of pearl makes sure,
Whose porches rich (which name of cheeks endure)
Marble mix’d red and white do interlace.
The windows now through which this heav’nly guest
Looks o’er the world, and can find nothing such,
Which dare claim from those lights the name of best,
Of touch they are that without touch doth touch,
Which Cupid’s self from Beauty’s mine did draw:
Of touch they are, and poor I am their straw

Astrophel describes the different elements of Stella's beautiful face. Her forehead is alabaster; her hair is gold; her mouth is made of red porphir; her teeth are pearls; and her cheeks are a combination of red and white marble. The windows of this palace, Stella's eyes, look over the world, but anyone looking will discover that there is nothing in the world that is as beautiful as Stella's face.

Analysis:                                            

Astrophel depicts Stella's beauty as a sort of architectural design of Nature. Not only does her face possess all of Nature's best "furniture" (or facial features), it is equipped with the very best materials: gold, alabaster, pearl, marble, and so forth. Compared to this wealth, Astrophel is nothing but a pauper who tracks in ink and paper. He recognizes that he is unworthy of entering "Queen Virtue's Court."

Astrophil and Stella

Astrophil and Stella #10

BY SIR PHILIP SIDNEY

Reason, in faith thou art well serv’d, that still
Wouldst brabbling be with sense and love in me:
I rather wish’d thee climb the Muses’ hill,
Or reach the fruit of Nature’s choicest tree,
Or seek heav’n’s course, or heav’n’s inside to see:
Why shouldst thou toil our thorny soil to till?
Leave sense, and those which sense’s objects be:
Deal thou with powers of thoughts, leave love to will.
But thou wouldst needs fight both with love and sense,
With sword of wit, giving wounds of dispraise,
Till downright blows did foil thy cunning fence:
For soon as they strake thee with Stella’s rays,
Reason thou kneel’dst, and offeredst straight to prove
By reason good, good reason her to love.

Astrophel mocks Reason for its attempt to cultivate his loving mind. He urges Reason to climb the Muses' hill or seek the inside of Heaven rather than waste time attempting to instill rationality in Astrophel's mind. Even if Reason did continue to fight, Astrophel declares, as soon as he was faced with Stella's eyes he would fall to his knees. Immediately, even Reason would be so overcome by Stella's beauty that Reason would give himself up in her name.

Analysis:

This sonnet mirrors Sonnet 4 in its presentation of Reason as a sort of grumbling old schoolmaster. Astrophel possesses a tone of familiar contempt for Reason, declaring that Reason is well served in his defeat. Astrophel only lessens his contemptuous tone when Reason succumbs to Stella and falls to his knees. In the final couplet of the sonnet, Sidney describes the truth behind the conflict between reason and love. Even the most intelligent person can succumb to rationalizations, putting reason in the service of desire. As in Sonnet 4, Astrophel emphasizes that public standards of reason and virtue are irrelevant in the private world of love.

Astrophil and Stella #10
BY SIR PHILIP SIDNEY

Reason, in faith thou art well serv’d, that still
Wouldst brabbling be with sense and love in me:
I rather wish’d thee climb the Muses’ hill,
Or reach the fruit of Nature’s choicest tree,
Or seek heav’n’s course, or heav’n’s inside to see:
Why shouldst thou toil our thorny soil to till?
Leave sense, and those which sense’s objects be:
Deal thou with powers of thoughts, leave love to will.
But thou wouldst needs fight both with love and sense,
With sword of wit, giving wounds of dispraise,
Till downright blows did foil thy cunning fence:
For soon as they strake thee with Stella’s rays,
Reason thou kneel’dst, and offeredst straight to prove
By reason good, good reason her to love.

Astrophel mocks Reason for its attempt to cultivate his loving mind. He urges Reason to climb the Muses' hill or seek the inside of Heaven rather than waste time attempting to instill rationality in Astrophel's mind. Even if Reason did continue to fight, Astrophel declares, as soon as he was faced with Stella's eyes he would fall to his knees. Immediately, even Reason would be so overcome by Stella's beauty that Reason would give himself up in her name.

Analysis:

This sonnet mirrors Sonnet 4 in its presentation of Reason as a sort of grumbling old schoolmaster. Astrophel possesses a tone of familiar contempt for Reason, declaring that Reason is well served in his defeat. Astrophel only lessens his contemptuous tone when Reason succumbs to Stella and falls to his knees. In the final couplet of the sonnet, Sidney describes the truth behind the conflict between reason and love. Even the most intelligent person can succumb to rationalizations, putting reason in the service of desire. As in Sonnet 4, Astrophel emphasizes that public standards of reason and virtue are irrelevant in the private world of love.

The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd BY SIR WALTER RALEGH

The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd 

BY SIR WALTER RALEGH

If all the world and love were young, 

And truth in every Shepherd’s tongue, 

These pretty pleasures might me move, 

To live with thee, and be thy love.

Time drives the flocks from field to fold, 

When Rivers rage and Rocks grow cold, 

And Philomel becometh dumb, 

The rest complains of cares to come.

The flowers do fade, and wanton fields, 

To wayward winter reckoning yields, 

A honey tongue, a heart of gall, 

Is fancy’s spring, but sorrow’s fall.

Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of Roses, 

Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies 

Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten: 

In folly ripe, in reason rotten.

Thy belt of straw and Ivy buds, 

The Coral clasps and amber studs, 

All these in me no means can move 

To come to thee and be thy love.

But could youth last, and love still breed, 

Had joys no date, nor age no need, 

Then these delights my mind might move 

To live with thee, and be thy love.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published on 16 October 1847, by Smith, Elder & Co. of London, England, under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was published the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York.

Summary:

Jane Eyre is a young orphan being raised by Mrs. Reed, her cruel, wealthy aunt. A servant named Bessie provides Jane with some of the few kindnesses she receives, telling her stories and singing songs to her. One day, as punishment for fighting with her bullying cousin John Reed, Jane’s aunt imprisons Jane in the red-room, the room in which Jane’s Uncle Reed died. While locked in, Jane, believing that she sees her uncle’s ghost, screams and faints. She wakes to find herself in the care of Bessie and the kindly apothecary Mr. Lloyd, who suggests to Mrs. Reed that Jane be sent away to school. To Jane’s delight, Mrs. Reed concurs.

Once at the Lowood School, Jane finds that her life is far from idyllic. The school’s headmaster is Mr. Brocklehurst, a cruel, hypocritical, and abusive man. Brocklehurst preaches a doctrine of poverty and privation to his students while using the school’s funds to provide a wealthy and opulent lifestyle for his own family. At Lowood, Jane befriends a young girl named Helen Burns, whose strong, martyrlike attitude toward the school’s miseries is both helpful and displeasing to Jane. A massive typhus epidemic sweeps Lowood, and Helen dies of consumption. The epidemic also results in the departure of Mr. Brocklehurst by attracting attention to the insalubrious conditions at Lowood. After a group of more sympathetic gentlemen takes Brocklehurst’s place, Jane’s life improves dramatically. She spends eight more years at Lowood, six as a student and two as a teacher.

After teaching for two years, Jane yearns for new experiences. She accepts a governess position at a manor called Thornfield, where she teaches a lively French girl named Adèle. The distinguished housekeeper Mrs. Fairfax presides over the estate. Jane’s employer at Thornfield is a dark, impassioned man named Rochester, with whom Jane finds herself falling secretly in love. She saves Rochester from a fire one night, which he claims was started by a drunken servant named Grace Poole. But because Grace Poole continues to work at Thornfield, Jane concludes that she has not been told the entire story. Jane sinks into despondency when Rochester brings home a beautiful but vicious woman named Blanche Ingram. Jane expects Rochester to propose to Blanche. But Rochester instead proposes to Jane, who accepts almost disbelievingly.

The wedding day arrives, and as Jane and Mr. Rochester prepare to exchange their vows, the voice of Mr. Mason cries out that Rochester already has a wife. Mason introduces himself as the brother of that wife—a woman named Bertha. Mr. Mason testifies that Bertha, whom Rochester married when he was a young man in Jamaica, is still alive. Rochester does not deny Mason’s claims, but he explains that Bertha has gone mad. He takes the wedding party back to Thornfield, where they witness the insane Bertha Mason scurrying around on all fours and growling like an animal. Rochester keeps Bertha hidden on the third story of Thornfield and pays Grace Poole to keep his wife under control. Bertha was the real cause of the mysterious fire earlier in the story. Knowing that it is impossible for her to be with Rochester, Jane flees Thornfield.

Penniless and hungry, Jane is forced to sleep outdoors and beg for food. At last, three siblings who live in a manor alternatively called Marsh End and Moor House take her in. Their names are Mary, Diana, and St. John (pronounced “Sinjin”) Rivers, and Jane quickly becomes friends with them. St. John is a clergyman, and he finds Jane a job teaching at a charity school in Morton. He surprises her one day by declaring that her uncle, John Eyre, has died and left her a large fortune: 20,000 pounds. When Jane asks how he received this news, he shocks her further by declaring that her uncle was also his uncle: Jane and the Riverses are cousins. Jane immediately decides to share her inheritance equally with her three newfound relatives.

St. John decides to travel to India as a missionary, and he urges Jane to accompany him—as his wife. Jane agrees to go to India but refuses to marry her cousin because she does not love him. St. John pressures her to reconsider, and she nearly gives in. However, she realizes that she cannot abandon forever the man she truly loves when one night she hears Rochester’s voice calling her name over the moors. Jane immediately hurries back to Thornfield and finds that it has been burned to the ground by Bertha Mason, who lost her life in the fire. Rochester saved the servants but lost his eyesight and one of his hands. Jane travels on to Rochester’s new residence, Ferndean, where he lives with two servants named John and Mary.

At Ferndean, Rochester and Jane rebuild their relationship and soon marry. At the end of her story, Jane writes that she has been married for ten blissful years and that she and Rochester enjoy perfect equality in their life together. She says that after two years of blindness, Rochester regained sight in one eye and was able to behold their first son at his birth.

Many years went away by Emad A. Ghani

Many years went away by Emad A. Ghani

Many years went away 

With their joy and pain 

But 

Their memories

In my land stay

A dry land without rain

Neither flowers with breeze sway

There no dreams or fain

In this land

The memories will die some day

And

Will be taken away 

By life's train