The story of colour names around the world

The naming of things and animals around us is heavily influenced by our environment and culture.

"In 1969, two Berkeley researchers, Paul Kay and Brent Berlin, published a book on a pretty groundbreaking idea: that every culture in history, when they developed their languages, invented words for colors in the exact same order."

The video is published by Vox. 

Analysis of Derivational Morphemes in Malay

Earlier borrowing from the three languages saw more of whole-word transfer, including the affixes which come with the lexical items.  However, in the course of time, education and knowledge of these languages had created an awareness of the meanings of specific morphemes. Therefore, later, morphemes of the languages are also transferred into Malay and used with other Malay lexical items.

In Malay, there are four types of derivational affixes: prefixes, suffixes, infixes and confixes. The following tables demonstrate affixes in Malay and their functions.

Prefixation is when a bound morpheme is added in front of the lexical item in the pre-positioning. In Malay, sometimes prefixes alter the word class of the lexical items.

	Prefix	Meaning in Malay	Example
1.	be	1.  to put on or wear	berseluar berbaju bertopi
		2.  to own or to show something	berumah berada
		3.  to change a word into a verb	bercukur berjalan belajar bekerja
2.	ke	1.  to change a word into a noun	ketua kehendak
		2.  to show collectiveness	kedua-dua kesemua
		3.  to show position (numeral)	ketiga keduapuluh
3.	se	1.  to show only one	sejenis sepadan sebaya seribu
		2.  to indicate entirety	sekampung senegara sedunia se-Malaysia
4.	ter	to change a word into an adjective	terendam tersayang teroboh tersenyum
5.	me	to change a word into a verb	meyakin melawat mendarat mencuba membawa membaling mengasah mengecap mengebom menyurat menyapu
6.	pe	to change a word into a noun	pewangi pemakai pembawa penjahit pendengar pengedar penulis pemanis pertapa pelajar
7.	memper	1.  to indicate extra effort	memperdalam memperkaya memperluas
		2.  to treat as something	memperhamba memperisteri
8.	di	to change a word into a verb	diumum diumpat diskru
9.	juru	to show a person who is an expert in an area/field	juruterbang jurukimia jururawat juruoptik juruprogram jurutaip juruwang juruukur jurugambar jurubahasa juruaudit jurulatih

Table 10: Prefixes in Malay.

As the table above demonstrates, there are nine derivational prefixes in Malay. These prefixes are have several functions, such as to change a lexeme into a verb (prefix be, me and di), change a lexeme into a noun (ke and pe) and change a lexeme into an adjective (ter). Other functions of prefixes are, prefix be is also used with other lexical items to show action of wearing (such as berseluar) and to own or to show something (such as berumah), prefix ke is also used to show collectiveness (such as kesemua) and numeral position (such as ketiga), prefix se is used to indicate singularity (such as sejenis) and entirety (such as sekampung), prefix memper is used to indicate extra effort (such as memperkaya) and to treat as something (such as memperhamba), and prefix juru is used to show a person who is an expert in a area (such as juruterbang).

Suffixation is a process where a bound morpheme is placed at the back of a lexical item, in post-positioning. In Malay, most of the times suffixes alter the word class of the lexical items involved.

	Suffix	Meaning in Malay	Example
1.	an	to change a word into a noun	masakan minuman hinaan jaminan
2.	kan	to change a word into a verb	tingkatkan timbunkan tetapkan
3.	i	1.  to show imperative	sayangi takuti kaburi
		2.  to change a word into a verb	lindungi naiki

Table 11: Suffixes in Malay.

There are only three derivational suffixes in Malay, which are an, kan and i. Suffix an is used to change a lexeme into a noun (such as masak becomes masakan), and suffix kan and i are used to change a lexeme into a verb (such as tingkat becomes tingkatkan, and saying becomes sayangi).

Infixation in Malay occurs when a bound morpheme is inserted within a lexical item, right after the initial consonant. Generally, infixes do not change the word-class of the lexical items.

	Infix	Meaning in Malay	Example
1.	en	to form a new lexical item of almost similar characteristics	tenusu (from tusu/susu)
2.	er		seruling (from suling) keruping (from kuping) rerambut (from rambut) gerigi (from gigi)
3.	el		kelemumur (from kemumur) telunjuk (from tunjuk) jelajah (from jajah)

Table 12: Infixes in Malay.

According to Heah, infixation is an obsolete morphological process which was revived recently to create lexical items. In Malay, there are only three infixes, which are en, er and el.

Confixation is a process where a bound morpheme occurs in front of and at the back of a lexical item, in pre-position and post-position. Most of the times, confixes change the word-class of the lexemes involved.

	Confix	Meaning in Malay	Example
1.	me…i	1.  having attributes of something	meragui membasahi
		2.  to indicate repeated action	memukuli
		3.  to change a word into a verb	membanjiri menasihati mengotori
2.	me…kan	1.  to cause something to happen	menaikkan mengakibatkan menakutkan
		2.  to change a word into a verb	membetulkan mencalonkan mengambilkan melarikan
3.	ke…an	1.  having attributes ofsomething	kejahatan ketaatan kehausan kebiruan
		2.  to change a word into a noun	kehadiran kedudukan
4.	memper…i	1.  to indicate becomingsomething	mempereloki memperteguhi
		2.  to change a word into a verb	mempersenjatai mempelajari
5.	memper…kan	to change a word into a verb	mempersuamikan memperdebatkan memperlagukan
6.	pe…an	to change a word into a noun	perbuatan pengambilan pembinaan

Table 13: Confixes in Malay.

As demonstrated in the table above, there are six derivational confixes in Malay, which are me_i, me_kan, ke_an, memper_i, memper_kan and ke_an. One of the main functions of confixes is to change a lexeme into a noun, as in confix ke_an and pe_an.

In the Tables 10 and 12, we can observe that in morphemes be, me and pe, each has a few allomorphs. The allomorphs for morpheme be are {be} as in bekerja, {ber} as in bermain and {bel} as in belajar. Allomorphs for morpheme me (in both prefix and confix categories) are {me} as in melawat, {men} as in mendarat, {mem} as in membaling, {meng} as in mengasah, {menge} as in mengebom and {meny} as in menyurat. Allomorphs for morpheme pe (in both prefix and confix categories) are {pe} as in pewangi, {pem} as in pemakai, {pen} as in penjahit, {peng} as in pengedar, {penge} as in pengecat, {per} as in pertapa and {pel} as in pelajar. This is perhaps due to the influence of the sounds after the morphemes in the lexical items, known as phonological conditioning. Thus, we can say that, for example, the morpheme pe is phonologically realized as seven different allomorphs based on the place of articulation.

References

Tatabahasa Bahasa Melayu (2004). Retrieved on 5^th Sept. 2004 from http://tatabahasabm.tripod.com/tata/index.htm.

Loga Baskaran (2003). General Linguistics: Phonetics and Phonology (Lecture notes). Faculty of Languages and Linguistics: University of Malaya.

Heah, L.H.C. (1989). The Influence of English on Lexical Expansion of Bahasa Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Discuss Caliban’s character in a comparative framework

“As the age progressed, [Caliban] grew more malign, but also less diabolical, more elementally human, at once more richly comic and more deeply tragic”

Discuss Caliban’s character in a comparative framework, with reference to the statement above.

The character Caliban has experienced development and changes since it was staged for the first time in the Shakespearean time.  In this paper, Caliban will be looked at in the historical, religious and political point of view.

Historical

According to Hulme (1986), English had already made voyages to America since 1170, and in 1600, England’s footing in America was established.  Some researches said that The Tempest is written by Shakespeare with the exploration of the New World in mind. He had read a lot of travel writings done by explorers, and thus, this somehow had influenced him in his play.

In The Tempest, the character Caliban has experienced several changes and developments since the first time it was staged during the Shakespearean time.  The character is interpreted differently in different eras.  When the play was staged in early 17th century, Caliban was seen as an opposite of Prospero.  Prospero is a perfect and good man, intelligent and self-disciplined.  Caliban, on the other hand, is seen as a savage and inhuman, as his name is associated to the word “cannibal”, being savage and evil.  This is actually based on the exploration writings then which stated that the natives in America, which looked very different physically from the English, were savages, inhuman, perfidious (Hulme, 1986).  His physical features also make him seen as an “earthy monster”, evil and savage.  We can see this in Act II, scene 2, lines 23-4 when Trinculo first set eyes on Caliban, “What have we here? A man or a fish?” and in Act I scene 2 line 359, when Prospero was angry with Caliban, “A thing most brutish”.  In short, nothing about Caliban is good, and he is all evil, as Dryden (1679) states,

“he has all the discontent and malice of a witch,
and of a devil, besides a convenient proportion
of the deadly sins; gluttony, sloth, and lust, are manifest; the dejectedness of a slave is likewise given to him, and the ignorance of one bred up in a desert island.  His person is monstrous, [as] he is the product of unnatural lust; and his language is as hobgoblin as his person….” (cited in Orgel, 1987)

In 19th century, that is, during the Victorian era, the play was interpreted from the colonial point of view.  Prospero is the coloniser and Caliban as the colonised.  Caliban is seen as uncivilised and uneducated, while Prospero is the one who makes the island prosper, the civilised and educated.  Caliban’s resistance to Prospero’s moral teachings makes him looks even more uncivilised.

Later, during the early 20th century, the play was interpreted in terms of class division.  Here, Prospero is the seen as the ruling class and Caliban as the worthy class.  Caliban is also said to a natural servant because he is the servant of Prospero, and his willingness to be the servant of Stephano.

However, in the late 20th century, the play is interpreted in the post-colonial point of view.  Prospero is the coloniser and Caliban as the colonised.  As Orgel (1987) stated, the play is staged with Caliban being more malign, and at the same time more human, comic and tragic.  Prospero is seen as the usurper of the island from Caliban, and thus, this makes him somehow evil.  According to Ng (1996b), Prospero is not perfect as he was seen before, because he fails to educate Caliban.  The island is rightfully his by inheritance from his mother, Sycorax.  We can see this when Caliban says, “This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,/Which thou tak’st from me” (I,ii,333-4). Being the colonised, we can also see Caliban’s plight for freedom.  For example, he is willing to be Stephano’s servant just to escape from Prospero, as he says, “Thou shalt be lord of it, and I’ll serve thee” (III,ii,55).

Caliban is also seen as innocent.  He is innocent in away because he does not learn from his mistakes and sufferings, when he welcomes Prospero and treated him kindly, but later, Prospero treated him cruelly after his attempt to rape Miranda.  However, according to Orgel (1987), the American natives practiced freelove, even with their own families.  Thus, Caliban’s act of attempt to rape Miranda is not seen as being lustful to him.  That is why he does not repent his action, and does not see why he should.

Caliban’s character is also seen as tragic because, not only the island is taken from him, but also he is verbally abused, tortured and punished by Prospero, as he says,

“… Lie tumbling in my barefoot way, and mount
Their picks at my footfall; sometime am I
All wound with adders, who with cloven tongues
Do his me into madness.” (II,ii,11-14)

Other than that, he also is also punished by Prospero, by giving him cramps at night, and having little creatures to bite him.  The late 20th century Caliban is seen to be more sensitive to music, and is poetic.  For instance, we can see this when he said,

“Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices,
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again.” (III,ii,128-133)

Religion

From the religious aspect, the character Caliban is said to be of a sinful lust and unholy union, that is, of a witch (Sycorax) and incubus (the devil).  Traditionally, Caliban is viewed as evil and lustful due to his nature.  This could be seen in his plot to murder Prospero, attempt to rape Miranda, and refusal to accept Prospero’s code of ethics.  As Prospero says, he is of a monstrous nature and will not be able to be good (I,ii,353-61).

However, in a modern view of Caliban, he is not all evil.  According to Ng (1996a), he is “a creature born of passion, the offspring of an unholy pleasure.”  Therefore, he is passionate and responds to his pleasure (his senses), unlike Prospero who is ruled by his intellect (his mind). His original love to Prospero and Miranda, which changes to hatred later, is because of their kindness to him, and this appeals to his pleasure, as he says, “Thou strok’st me, and made much of me….” (I,ii,335).  His attempt to rape Miranda is another example of how Caliban seeks pleasure.  In addition to that, Caliban’s plot to murder Prospero is due to his anger and hatred to Prospero, because he is always tortured punished (displeasure).  Moreover, his willingness to take Stephano as his god is due to the liquor that Stephano gave him.  In short, Caliban is somehow innocent, and acts largely based on his senses (passion and pleasure).

Political

In a political point of view, traditionally, Caliban is seen as the colonised, savage, evil, slave, and uncivilised.  He is the naturally ruled, while Prospero is the natural ruler.  Being the colonised, his character is marginalised, while Prospero’s character is centralised.  He is seen as perfect and a good man. Caliban’s act of looking upon Stephano as god and willingness to be his servant (II,ii,135) labels him as a natural servant.  He is evil and a savage because of his attempt to rape Miranda and murder Prospero, and his deformed physical makes him inhuman and a monster.

However, in the modern interpretation of his character, Caliban is put in the centre of the play.  Orgel (1987) states that it is Caliban who legitimates Prospero’s authority, as he says, “For I am all the subjects that you have,” (I,ii,343).  This is important because a ruler is a ruler because of the ruled, such as a master and a servant.  The usurper, in this case Prospero, depends on the usurped, as he says to Miranda, “We cannot miss him” (I,ii,313).  Besides that, according to Ng (1996a), Caliban is a product of Prospero’s failure to understand Caliban’s limitations and failure to accept them, and failure to teach what he can learn (appealing to his senses).  Prospero teaches Caliban like he does Miranda, and he forgets their differences.  Other than that, we can also see other weaknesses of Prospero, such as his verbal abuse, torture and punishment towards Caliban, and threats to imprison Ariel, making Prospero not a perfect man after all.

Besides that, Caliban’s voice is also given attention.  From his use of beautiful language, we can see him as poetic and affectionate towards nature, not all evil and savage.  For example,

“Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices,
That, if I then had waked after a long sleep,
Will make me sleep again.
And then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open, and show riches
Ready to drop upon me; that, when I waked,
I cried to dream again.” (III,ii,130-6)

Caliban also defends himself and his rightful island from Prospero, when he says, “This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,”(I,ii,333).  In short, Caliban is put in the centre of the play.

Conclusion

To conclude, we can see that the character Caliban has experienced many development and changes (from traditional and modern interpretation) since it was staged for the first time in the Shakespearean time, in terms of historical, religious and political point of view.

Bibliography

Hulme, P. 1986. Propero and Caliban. In Hulme, P. Colonial Encounters: Europe and the Caribbean, 1492-1797. London: Methuen

Orgel,S. 1987. The Oxford Shakespeare: The Tempest. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ng, E.C. 1996a. The Tempest – Prospero vs. Caliban.

Ng, E.C. 1996b. The Tempest – Prospero as a Ruler.

Shantini Pillai. 1998. Mass lecture: The Tempest. Faculty of Language Studies, UKM

Critical appreciation of "Clusterf**katopia"

Clusterf***atopia
by Anonymous

Stucco induced haze,
Tracts of endless maze.
Garage sale monotony,
Cul de sac cacophony.

Lakeside concerts ‘n chairs,
Land of the rightside squares. 
Sans culture,
Tastes for the vulture. 

Glucosamine in the air,
Like an AARP fair.
How they roar,
Full of nighttime bores. 

Open community skies,
Look what belies.
Planned master disjointment,
Fly in the ointment.

SUV parade,
Lifestyle charade.
Manicured lawns,
Society’s pawns. 

Suburban sprawl,
Of a mindset crawl.
Eleven pm last call,
My golly what a ball.


Critical appreciation of  Clusterf***atopia

The poem is a six-stanza poem, with rhyming scheme of aabb, ccdd, ccee, ffgg, hhii, jjjj. It is infused with visual imagery normally found in (or almost unique to) the suburban areas, such as Garage sale, Cul de sac, Lakeside concerts ‘n chairs, AARP fair, Manicured lawns, Planned master and Open community skies.

In each stanza, the first three lines describe almost impartially the persona’s observation and he hits is with the forth line in each stanza with ridicule, mockery and scorn. Obviously, he doesn’t like what he sees and observes in the suburbs. And so, we can say that the tone of the poem is disdain or contempt. The theme: the seemingly ideal lifestyle in the suburban is void of life.

The title is important. Linguistically, “Clusterf***katopia” possibly is a blend of three words: “cluster”, “fuck” and “utopia”. “Cluster” is referring to the suburban cluster. The word also means that people or things in the suburb are the same or similar in so many ways. “Fuck” is a vulgar slang in this case used to express anger, annoyance and/or contempt. “Utopia” refers to “a community or society possessing highly desirable or near perfect qualities” (from wikipedia.com). However, it could also be a blend of “clusterf**k” and “utopia”. “Clusterf**k” is a vulgar slang which refers to “a chaotic situation where everything seems to go wrong. It is often caused by incompetence, communication failure, or a complex environment” (wordnik.com). In this sense, it is a completely different meaning from the blending of 3 words – that the suburban is actually chaotic beneath all the perfection that our eyes could see. Therefore, we can say that the persona, as much as he admits that the suburban cluster is ideal and near perfect, finds it disdainful and loathsome.

The structure and pattern are not organized in any specific manner, which indicates that the observation made by the persona is also very random. It’s like he just turns to his left and right and jots down what he sees. He drives around in his car, and notes all the things he sees from his car. There is s sense of frustration in his voice. Nothing is right in his eyes.

Stucco induced haze,
Tracts of endless maze.
Garage sale monotony,
Cul de sac cacophony.

The consonance in the words “haze” and “maze” suggests that he head is buzzing, like a headache. “stucco” is causing the haze, in his opinion, and the roads seem endless. The “garage sale” is boring and the community in cul-de-sac is in discord. All these perhaps cause his headache, which could be induced by frustration.

Lakeside concerts ‘n chairs,
Land of the rightside squares. 
Sans culture,
Tastes for the vulture.

For an American persona to be calling another American’s lifestyle “sans culture” is interesting. The US as a country doesn’t really have any specific traditional culture or custom, unlike, for instance, Asian, African or European countries. The word “vulture” invokes the image of scavengers, rotting-meat eaters which would eat almost anything. The persona equates the people who attend these concerts with vultures – tasteless creatures, who would like consume whatever presented to them.

Glucosamine in the air,
Like an AARP fair.
How they roar,
Full of nighttime bores. 

“Glucosamine” could refer to the aging group of the population in the suburb, and that they are everywhere. The word “roar” creates auditory imagery; that the presence of the elderly is “loud”, which indicates inescapable and pervasive – again, they are everywhere. And because they are old, the nighttime is boring. The word “full” is used to contrast “bores”, as if making fun of the elderly – full of activities, but boring ones.

Open community skies,
Look what belies.
Planned master disjointment,
Fly in the ointment.

The suburbs are carefully planned in the USA. In some places in California, the suburbs are planned so that the houses are on the hills and the roads are in the valleys. One of the results is we have open skies. The persona makes fun of this, and calls it “disjointment”. “Fly” it being filthy and dirty, could symbolize something offensive to the persona. “Ointment” is supposed to help relieve pain, but having a fly in the ointment spoils it. Therefore, we can say that the planned community is offensive to the persona.

SUV parade,
Lifestyle charade.
Manicured lawns,
Society’s pawns. 

SUV are common in the suburbs. The lawns are well-manicured as well. But to the persona, all these are just fake and pretense. Perhaps shallow. We could imply that the persona accuses the people who drives SUV and have manicured lawns are leading a shallow lifestyle; simply pleasing the society at large, so that they feel they belong there.

Suburban sprawl,
Of a mindset crawl.
Eleven pm last call,
My golly what a ball.

When the persona says “mindset crawl”, he scoffs at the mindset of the community. To him, they are stuck in their thinking in every way possible. That also implies that they are not interesting. “Eleven pm last call” could mean that they go to bed at 11 at night. The persona uses sarcasm when he says “My golly what a ball”. The phrase usually refers to something fun and exciting, but here, he uses it to sarcastically say that the people in the suburbs are having a blast going to bed at 11 pm.

Meaning and Idea: "Barter" vs. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

1.   "Barter"
Sara Teasdale

Life has loveliness to sell,
      All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
      Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has loveliness to sell,
      Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
      Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveliness,
      Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
      Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.

2.    “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sounds the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.


Meaning and Ideas

Both of these poems present ideas, the first poem (“Barter”)more or less explicitly, the second (“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”) symbolically. Perhaps the best way to get at the idea of the second poem is to ask two questions. First, why does the speaker stop? Second, why does he go on? He stops to watch the woods fill up with snow – to observe a scene of natural beauty. He goes on because he has “promises to keep” – that is, he has obligations to fulfill. He is momentarily torn between his love of beauty and these other various claims that life has upon him. The small conflict in the poem is symbolic of a larger conflict in life. One part of the sensitive, thinking person would like to give up his life to the enjoyment of beauty and art. But another part is aware of larger duties and responsibilities – responsibilities owed, at least in part, to other human beings. The speaker in the poem would like to satisfy both impulses. But when the two conflict, he seems to suggest, the “promises” must take precedence.

The first poem also presents a philosophy but an opposing one. For this poet, beauty is of such supreme value that any conflicting demand should be sacrificed to it: “Spend all you have for loveliness, / buy it and never count the cost ... And for a breath of ecstasy / Give all you have been, or could be.” Thoughtful readers will have to choose between these two philosophies – to commit themselves to one or the other – but this commitment should not destroy for them enjoyment of either poem. If it does, they are reading for plums and not for pies.


From (please credit the following when quoting/citing):
Perrine, L. and Arp, T.R. (1993). Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense (6th Edition). Orlando: Harcourt Brace.

“Weird Al” Yankovic: “Word Crimes”

This is a fun song by “Weird Al” Yankovic, “Word Crimes.” It pokes fun at the popular trend these days of abbreviating words, misspelling and erroneous grammar in general. I should think English teachers particularly would perhaps find this a useful teaching aid.

All copyrights by alyankovicVEVO.

The complexity of the mother’s emotions in the poem “Mother of The Groom”

Discuss the complexity of the mother’s emotions in Seamus Heaney’s poem, “Mother of The Groom”.

By:  Zuraini Mokhtar (1997)

Faculty of Language Studies, UKM

The speaker of the poem Mother of The Groom by Seamus Heaney is the Persona while the setting is on the wedding day of a mother’s son.  The poem is mainly about the complex feelings or emotions of the mother towards her son’s marriage.  It seems like she does not give a warm welcome to the marriage but rather cold and sad, remembering that her son will be apart from her.

In the first stanza, the Persona describes how the mother flashbacks the moment when her son was still a very little child.  She remembers how she bathed her small son and the memory really touches her feelings especially when she recalls it during the wedding day.  She was very happy at the past, bathing her son who relied on her and seeing how the son shining in the bath.  However, that was just a sweet memory to her.  Presently, she is very sad. In contrast to the mother’s feelings, the word ‘glistening’ is used by the Persona in line 2.  ‘Glistening’ is usually connected with shine, flash, sparkle and twinkle which resemble beautiful, enjoyable and glorious.  For the mother, the beautiful, enjoyable and glorious time is only in the past, not during the wedding day of her son.

In the second stanza, the Persona describes the mother’s feelings when she realizes that her son has grown up and a daughter-in-law of hers is coming.  The first two lines of the second stanza shows that the son has grown up and about to get a daughter.  Another interpretation of the first two lines is now the mother has lost her son to another woman called a daughter-in-law and the daughter-in-law is welcomed that day.  The line “She hears a daughter welcomed” could mean that the mother’s son is about to get a daughter after he got married and the second interpretation is the mother herself is getting a daughter-in-law.  The word ‘voided’ in line 5 refers to empty, bare or blank which means that the mother’s feeling is also empty and worthless because she is losing her son.  The Persona compares the situation with the last two lines of the second stanza.  The mother’s feeling is described as shocked and scared just like whenever one loses hold of her child from her soapy hands.  The mother is shocked and scared to get a daughter-in-law because before, her son was always with her and now suddenly, she loses him and a daughter-in-law is coming into her life.  For the mother, the arrival of the bride means losing her son.

The last stanza is the Persona’s description of the mother’s prediction on her son’s marriage in the future.  She thinks of the possibility of the couple to get divorce one day because what the Persona means from the lines “Once soap would ease off, The wedding ring” is it is possible that the bride will sooner or later lose the wedding ring as well as her husband.  It is described as easy as when a soap can ease off a ring from one’s finger.  However, a paradox arises in the stanza because of the word “ease off” which is contrast to the word “forever”.  A marriage is always hoped to last forever, to be endless and to be eternal and yet, the soap can ease off the ‘everlasting’ marriage.  The last line of the stanza shows that the bride is happy on her wedding day yet the mother is not because she keeps thinking whether the bride could be like the mother who is caring towards the son or not.  Somehow she fears that the bride could not treat the son as good as the mother had done throughout her son’s life before.  Perhaps, the mother has another thought towards what is happening.  Maybe the mother hopes that the marriage would not last that the bride will lose the wedding ring because she somehow disapproves the marriage.  Thus, she wishes that what happens to her that is losing her son, will happen to the bride as well.  The words ‘forever’ and ‘clapping hand’ which are used by the Persona are contrast to the mother’s feelings.  Her feelings are not as ‘bright’ as the words.

As a conclusion, the mother’s feelings are complex as described in the poem.  She is confused, sad, shocked and scared because she cannot accept the fact that her son is now a man and a husband.  Although some words used by the Persona resemble happiness, joyous and bright, the mother is actually out of it.

“Biawak” in Malay figurative language

On 8^th March 2014, MH370 went missing. In the subsequent days, suddenly, almost everyone is a theorist, plane expert, SAR expert and a comedian. The internet has provided an open platform for the general public, including those without any thinking/rational capacity to express their thoughts and opinions, uninhibitedly.

At the height of senseless and irrational speculations about the flight disappearance, this was shared with me:

Biawak: the animal

In Malay (Malaysia), “biawak” is a type of varanus, living mostly in the forest. There are many types of its species, but a common one when spoken about in Malaysia is the monitor lizard.

The lexeme “biawak” can also be used as a verb, as in “membiawak”, which means to crawl, slither or slide (like a monitor lizard).

Connotation of “biawak” in Malay
 
Generally, the noun “biawak” carries negative connotation in Malay. This is due to the fact that a monitor lizard eats small animals, vermin, dead animals and decaying flesh (although some species do eat vegetation), and it scavenges human waste too.  It is perceived as ugly and highly temperamental. All these characteristics contribute to an unpleasant reputation.

“Biawak” in Malay figurative language

Figurative language such as similes, metaphors, idioms, idiomatic expressions and proverbs is very culturally specific. How it is structured, rhymed and intended to mean depends very much on real-world experience and perception of its native speakers. In the case of “biawak”, its status and how it is perceived are clearly depicted in how it is used in our figurative language.

i.   Simile and metaphor

Simile and metaphor	Literal	Meaning
Biawak hidup	A living monitor lizard	A useless and/or burdensome person
Bagai biawak mengulangi bangkai	Like a monitor lizard frequenting a carcass (to eat)	A man who likes to go to a brothel/immoral place; where there are immoral women, there are immoral men
Bagai lidah biawak	Of a monitor lizard tongue	A liar; an untrustworthy person
Bagai memegang ekor biawak	Like grabbing a monitor lizard’s tail	Doing something dangerous

ii.   Idiom and idiomatic expression

Idiom and idiomatic expression	Literal	Meaning
Biawak kudung masuk kampung	A legless monitor lizard entering the village	A well-known bad/immoral/ corrupt person; a thief
Mendukung biawak hidup	Carrying a living monitor lizard	An unnecessary occupation which is burdensome and/or dangerous; having a wife or child who is troublesome
Merendah terbang biawak	A monitor lizard flying low	A woman who shows herself off to men; an arrogant person
Niat di hati hendak memeluk gunung, sudah terpeluk biawak celaka/sial	One intended to embrace the mountain, but ended up embracing a wretched monitor lizard	One hoped for something good, but ended up with something bad
Menanti biawak duduk	Waiting for a monitor lizard to sit (like a human)	Hoping/waiting for something impossible

iii.  Proverb

Proverb	Literal			Meaning
Seperti biawak, masakan hilang kesatnya		A monitor lizard does not lose its roughness (of skin)	A person of no manners speaks harshly.
Bila pula biawak duduk?		When does a monitor lizard sit?	A question with an impossible answer; asking for the impossible.

As we can see above, figurative expressions associated with “biawak” in Malay all carry negative connotation and meaning; even its body parts, such as the tail and tongue. All the negative connotation is mostly due to the bad press these types of lizards is getting - perhaps the killing of livestock and/or destruction of farms. In an agricultural society, that simply means loss of means of income, and any animal which causes harm to livelihood is declared war upon.

In short, to be called a "biawak" is never a good thing in Malay.While it is an important animal in the eco-system, it is obviously under-appreciated and resented by the society. Reaction is generally hostile towards "biawak" (unless of course, you eat it, but that's a different story altogether).

References
 
Ding Choo Ming. (2009). Beberapa Sifat, Asal Usul dan Kepengarangan Peribahasa Melayu.  Sari - International Journal of the Malay World and Civilisation 27(2) (2009): 3-26

http://prpm.dbp.gov.my/. Retrieved on 1^st April 2014.

http://www.peribahasaindonesia.com/.  Retrieved on 1^st April 2014.

http://www.himpunanperibahasa.com/. Retrieved on 1^st April 2014.

“The Lotus Eater”: An analysis

by Sommerset Maugham

Background

•   Lotus eater  – a person who lives an idle, comfortable life, does not think/care very much about anything.

•  Setting - On the beautiful island of Capri, Italy. The places mentioned are the small, comfortable cottage Wilson lives in before the age of 60 as well as the woodshed where he lives after the age of 60. The time of the story is in the early 1900’s.

•  Point of view – The story is narrated from the first person point of view.

General summary

The Lotus Eater tells of a man who plans to live a happy life to a certain period of time, but faces difficulties when things do not work out the way he wants them to be.

Sequence of events (Traditional Plot)

Rising actions	Visits Capri for the first time Falls in love with Capri Makes decision to live on Capri Sells house and buys annuity for 25 years Lives happily for 25 years Runs out of money Landlord asks to leave cottage
Climax	Tries to kill himself
Falling actions	Does not dies Lives in woodshed Looks after goats and chickens Becomes a misfit Dies six years after he tries to kill himself

Sequence of events – Textual evidence

Before Thomas Wilson is 60:

“After my first visit here I went back to London. I was a bank manager.”

“I was on holiday in Italy at the time. I took a boat from Naples to visit Capri for a few days.”

“I fell in love with this island the first moment I saw it.”

“I had no family. I had no other relations and no close friends.”

“I decided that I was going to love here for the rest of my life.”

“But I did not decide in a hurry. I had to be sure that I was not making a terrible mistake.”

“I decided I was going to live a happy life before I die.”

“I had some savings and I sold my house in London. With this money, I bought an annuity for 25 years.”

“He lived in a small cottage. I found this cottage when I first came back.”

After Thomas Wilson is 60:

“It was thirteen years before I went back to Capri again.”

“When he reached the age of sixty, the money was finished.”

“He lived like this for over a year.”

“In the end, the owner of the cottage told him he had to leave unless he paid the rent.”

“That night, he tried to kill himself.”

“He was very ill, but was still alive.”

“Assunta helped him. She and her husband let him live in the woodshed behind their house. They gave him food and he looks after their goats and chickens.”

“It’s not very comfortable in the woodshed. Burning hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter.”

“What a terrible way to live. He was like a wild animal.”

“He had lived for six years in that woodshed. Wilson died last year.”

Character Analysis

Thomas Wilson

The friend

Assunta

The narrator

Name	Description	Textual evidence (examples)
1.   Thomas Wilson	Before the age of 60: •  about 50 years old with grey hair, and face burnt brown by the sun, •  careful person, does not make decisions in a hurry, •  idealistic, •  a loner, •  likes to meet people, •  lazy.	•  “The man was about fifty and he was dressed in old clothes. He had grey hair and his face was burnt brown by the sun.” •  “But I did not decide in a hurry. I had to be sure that I was not making a terrible mistake” •  “I decided I was going to live a happy •  “I had no family… . I had no other relations and no close friends.” •  “He was happy to be by himself…” “…he also enjoyed meeting people from time to time.” •  “For a long time, Wilson has lived an easy life”
	After the age of 60: •  indecisive •  does not recognise friends •  may have become insane •  like a wild animal	• “When the time came to make a decision, he was unable to do anything.” • “He didn’t know who I was.” • “Perhaps his mind was damaged by the smoke.” •  “He was like a wild animal.”
2.   The friend	•  friendly •  concerned •  kind and generous	•  “My  friend had invited him to come and have dinner with us.” •  “I went to visit him in hospital.” “I’ve tried to speak to him.” •  “I gave her some money so that she can buy some tobacco for him.”
3.   Assunta	•  hardworking •  helpful •  kind, considerate and sympathetic	• “She cleans the rooms and she cooks my meals.” •  “They (Assunta and her husband) took him to the hospital….” •  “Assunta helped him.” “She and her husband let him live in the woodshed behind their house.”
4.   The narrator	•  inquisitive •  practical	•  “What about your family?” “But what about your work?” “And you have no other regrets?” •  “But what about money? Did you have money to leave work and come here?”

Themes

Man’s quest for happiness

Thomas Wilson wants to live a happy life and goes through the trouble of preparing himself financially until he is sixty years old. When he is 60, he realises that he is incapable of taking his own life. He is then forced out of his home to live on the charity of others and lives in a deplorable state. He becomes a misfit in contemporary society. Wilson does not find happiness but has to pay a very high price for it during the last few years of his life.

Man proposes, God disposes

Man has only limited control over his destiny. Thomas Wilson plans out meticulously to ensure that he leads a happy life until the age of 60 after which he intends to kill himself (commit suicide). When he evicted from his cottage a year later, only then he made a futile attempt to commit suicide. In spite of all the trouble that Wilson takes to make sure that his life turns out the way he wants it to be, he has no control over his fate and destiny.

Literary Techniques – Some examples

Techniques	Textual reference
1.  Foreshadow (hints at the notion of suicide and death)	“Because he’s going to kill himself” “He’s going to die when he’s sixty.” “When his money is finished, he’s going to kill himself.” “That will be the end.” But I understood what he planned to do. “But it was his own life and he could do what he likes with it.” “It’s rather a sad story.” “But he was not the same.”
2.  Irony	Wilson wants to escape from routine work but the alternative life he chooses for himself is just as mundane. “If I stayed working at the bank, I would go on doing the same thing day after day, years after years.” “They gave him food and he looks after their goats and their chickens.”
3.    Contrast	“He lived in a small cottage” (refers to cosy, comfortable and beautiful cottage).  “She and her husband let him live in the woodshed behind their house.” (refers to an uncomfortable, crude and dilapidated building). “He was happy to be by himself, but he also enjoyed meeting people from time to time.” “He runs away whenever I go near him.” “He played some music by Beethoven.”(shows a refined man) “He was like a wild animal.” (shows an uncivilised man)
4.    Symbol	“moon”, “moonlight” may symbolize calmness, tranquility, peacefulness. From a distance the moon looks beautiful but in reality it is quite harsh. The moon also symbolizes irrationality (lunar – lunacy). “On my last night, I went for a walk to see the Bay of Naples by moonlight. It was a full moon that night – the same as it is now. And it was on that walk in the moonlight that I made my decision.” “It had been a full moon the night before. Wilson had died in the moonlight.”
5.    Images	“He has grey hair and his face was burnt brown by the sun.” “I could see the red smoke coming from the top of the Vesuvius.” Next morning, I went swimming in the bright, clear water. The crowd of people following the procession were laughing, dancing and singing. There was a huge flowering tree beside the door of the cottage. The tree was covered with large, brightly coloured flowers.”
6.    Simile	“He was like a wild animal.”

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