January 2017

January 31, 2017

William Morris' "The Proud King" as an Epic Poem

William Morris' The Proud King

An epic poem is a lengthy narrative poem ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. The main purpose of an epic is to tell the story or experience of a person or race.

Just like metaphysical poems, epic poems have unique features that distinguish them from other poems. From personal analysis, William Morris' 'The Proud King' can be best classified as an epic poem due to its epic features:

A notable feature of an epic poem is its length. An epic poem is a lengthy narrative that tells the story or experience of a person, people or nation. Inarguably, William Morris' 'The Proud King' is a lengthy narrative of about 849 lines that tells the story or experience of a very influential and affluential king, King Jovinian.

Again, the hero in an epic poem is a figure of great nationality or even cosmic importance. From the setting of the poem which is a very mighty and prosperous European kingdom, governed by a wealthy and very powerful king, one cannot deny the fact that the hero of the poem, king Jovinian is of great nationality and even cosmic importance, whose powers cannot be compared with that of other kings. Lines 23 and 24 delineate him as a king whose powers are unprecedented and unparalled. He is an absolute monarch who rules over a whole expanse of territory.

Another feature of an epic poem is its setting. The setting of an epic poem is ample in scale and maybe worldwide or even larger. This feature is also evident in William Morris' 'The Proud King.' The poem is set in the medieval period, at a time when kings in Europe ruled as absolute sovereigns of their land. Therefore, the image created in the mind of the reader of this poem is that the location or setting is a very large, mighty and prosperous European kingdom which has an affluent and influential king as its leader. Even in our present society, the European kingdom which is headed by the Queen of England, is a kingdom that is very mighty and influential when compared with other kingdoms in the world.

The actions of epic poems involve superhuman deeds and in this great actions, the gods and other supernatural beings take an interest or an active part. This feature is fully evident in William Morris' 'The Proud King.' There is an active involvement of the supernatural in the poem when King Jovinian due to his achievements, assumes the position of God. He compares himself with God (line 28) and this piques the interest of God in King Jovinian's case just like the case of King Nebuchadnezzar in the bible. While King Jovinian goes into the forest with his servants, God deceives him with 'a mighty hart' (line 64) which the king follows to a river, leaving his servants behind in the process. God further makes king Jovinian to parade himself naked before his subjects. He makes him unrecognisable and takes over his kingdom until King Jovinian realizes his mistakes and consequently asks for forgiveness. This is a clear indication that the supernatural takes an active part in an epic poem.

In sum, from the aforementioned points, it will be considered an error if anyone fails to consider William Morris' 'The Proud King' as an epic poem.

Question Tag: Definition and Rules.

What is Question Tag?

Question tags (also known as 'tag questions' or 'tail questions') are short questions that are attached to the end of statements or sentences, especially in spoken English. There is a general notion that question tags are mostly used by females for show off. I don't know how true it is because, as an ESL teacher, I use it often, and I am not a female.

The following are the rules governing the use of question tags:

1. One notable rule governing the use of question tag is the use of negative question tags for positive statements or sentences and vice versa. In other words, if the main part of the sentence is positive, the question tag is negative and if the main part of the sentence is negative, the question tag is positive.

Examples:

Emeka is a lawyer. Isn't he?
Emeka is not a lawyer. Is he?

2. In a case where the main sentence or statement has an auxiliary verb ('be' or 'have'), the question tag is made with the auxiliary verb.

Examples:

Tammy has done his assignment. Hasn't he?
My phone is not working. Is it?

3. In a case where the main sentence or statement does not have an auxiliary verb, the question tag uses the appropriate form of the verb, 'do.'

Examples:

She walks faster than her shadow. Does she?
I said it earlier. Didn't I?

If the main verb in the statement or sentence is in present form, the present form of the verb, 'do' ('does' or 'do' as the case may be) should be used in the question tag and if the main verb in the sentence is in its past form, the past form of the verb 'do' (did) should be used in the question tag. You can see it in the examples above.

4. If the sentence/statement contains a secondary auxiliary/modal verb, the question tag uses the same modal verb.

Examples:

He mustn't be there. Must he?
Joyce can't do that. Can she?

5. The question tag for 'I am' is 'Aren't I?'. Therefore, if the sentence starts with 'I am,' the question tag should be 'Aren't I.'

Example:

I am the strongest of all. Aren't I?

6. In a case where the sentence is negative but starts with 'I am,' the question tag should be 'Am I?'

Example:

I am not the strongest of all. Am I?

Why Do We Use Question Tags?

Question tags are used to know the real answers to statement made, or used in asking for agreement when the answer is already known.

January 28, 2017

Some Technological Acronyms With Their Meanings

ICT Abbreviations

Here are some technological acronyms often used by computer and phone lovers. Although they often make use of these acronyms, I am very sure 90% of them don't know their meanings. A friend of mine shared this with me and I wouldn't want to keep it to myself; hence the need for posting it here. Just check them out:

PAN: Permanent Account Number.
PDF: Portable Document Format.
SIM: Subscriber Identity Module.
ATM: Automated Teller machine.
IFSC: Indian Financial System Code.
FSSAI(Fssai): Food Safety & amp; Standards Authority of India.
WLAN: Wireless fidelity.
GOOGLE: Global Organization Of Oriented Group Language Of Earth.
YAHOO: Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.
WINDOW: Wide Interactive Network Development for Office Work solution.
COMPUTER: Common Oriented Machine Particularly United and used under Technical and Educational Research.
VIRUS: Vital Information Resources Under Siege.
UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System.
AMOLED: Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode.
OLED: Organic Light-Emitting Diode.
IMEI: International Mobile Equipment Identity.
ESN: Electronic Serial Number.
UPS: Uninterruptible Power Supply.
HDMI: High-Definition Multimedia Interface.
VPN: Virtual Private Network.
APN: Access Point Name.
LED: Light Emitting Diode.
DLNA: Digital Living Network Alliance.
RAM: Random Access Memory.
ROM: Read Only Memory.
VGA: Video Graphics Array.
QVGA: Quarter Video Graphics Array.
WVGA: Wide Video Graphics Array.
WXGA: Widescreen Extended Graphics Array.
USB: Universal Serial Bus.
WLAN: Wireless Local Area Network.
PPI: Pixels Per Inch.
LCD: Liquid Crystal Display.
HSDPA: High Speed Down-link Packet Access.
HSUPA: High-Speed Uplink Packet Access.
HSPA: High Speed Packet Access.
GPRS: General Packet Radio Service.
EDGE: Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution.
NFC: Near Field Communication.
OTG: On-the-go.
S-LCD: Super Liquid Crystal Display.
O.S: Operating System.
SNS: Social Network Service.
H.S: HOTSPOT.
P.O.I: Point Of Interest.
GPS: Global Positioning System.
DVD: Digital Video Disk.
DTP: Desktop publishing.
DNSE: Digital Natural Sound Begins.
OVI: Ohio Video Intranet.
CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access.
WCDMA: Wide-band Code Division Multiple Access.
GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications.
DIVX: Digital internet video access.
APK: Authenticated Public Key.
J2ME: Java 2 Micro Edition.
SIS: Installation Source.
DELL: Digital Electronic Link Library.
ACER: Acquisition Collaboration Experimentation Reflection.
RSS: Really Simple Syndication.
TFT: Thin Film Transistor.
AMR: Adaptive Multi-Rate.
MPEG: Moving Pictures Experts Group.
IFRS: Interactive Voice Response System.
HP: Hewlett Packard.

Some Commonly Used English Words You May Not Know Their Meanings.

Tammy's Blog

The English language is very interesting and I have never regretted my obsession with it. I found this very interesting after a friend of mine shared it with me and I know you will find it very interesting too. The most amazing part is that these words are not acronyms but are treated as such. Just check them out:

Newspaper: North East West South past and present events report.
Chess: Chariot, Horse, Elephant, Soldiers.
Cold: Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease.
Joke : Joy of Kids Entertainment.
Aim: Ambition in Mind.
Date: Day and Time Evolution.
Eat: Energy and Taste.
Tea: Taste and Energy Admitted.
Pen: Power Enriched in Nib.
Smile: Sweet Memories In Lips Expression.
Etc. End of Thinking Capacity
OK: Objection Killed.
Or: Orl Korec (Greek Word)
Bye: Be with You Everytime

January 27, 2017

"Is Buhari Dead or Alive?" The Second Most Searched Rhetorical Question on Google.

With over 100,000 Nigerians searching for the rhetorical question, "Is Buhari dead or alive?" on www.google.com.ng, this question has become the second most searched topic on google as at January 21 and 26, 2017.

It is important to recall that the President of the Federal of Nigeria, Mohammadu Buhari, departed Nigeria on Thursday, January 19, for a two week vacation in London where he would undergo medical checkups. Since then, the rumour of his death has been making its round among Nigerians in spite of the presidency's effort of refuting such rumour.

In order to be very sure, many persons have gone to Google (where you can get almost all the answers to questions asked on earth)with the question, "Is Buhari dead or alive?" to ascertain whether the president is actually dead or alive. Such uncontrollable inquisitiveness has showcased this rhetorical question as the second most searched topic on google.

Meanwhile, while the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo is the acting president, Most Nigerians are yet to believe that their president is alive until they see him back in the country.

January 26, 2017

William Morris' "The Proud King": A Corrective Measure to Societal Ills

Literature as a subject has never failed in performing its didactic function as it keeps on teaching individuals moral lessons through the exposition of societal ills in order to correct them. This time around, through William Morris' "The Proud King," literature has exposed a universal issue which is part and parcel of every individual.

The universal issue treated in William Morris' poem, "The Proud King" which also serves as the predominant theme of the poem, is pride. Through his epic, William Morris exposed one of the undeniable features of the human nature as he tells the story of a king (King Jovinian) whose affluence and influence make him compare himself with God. King Jovinian is a very influential and affluential king whose achievements cannot in any way be compared with that of his predecessors:

For no man now could give him dread or doubt,The land was 'neath his sceptre far and wide,And at his back would well-armed myraids shout. (Lines 22 - 24).

Unfortunately, king Jovinian allows pride to take over his senses which consequently makes him compares himself with God:

Then swelled his vain, unthinking heart with pride,Until at last he raised him up and cried,"What need have I for temple or for priest,Am I not God, whiles that I live at least." (Lines 25 - 28).

King Jovinian's insolence angers God who does share His glory with any man. Consequently, God reduces King Jovinian from a prominent man in the society to an ordinary man by making him walk naked before the people he governs and also, causes the hot sun to sorely burn his naked skin. (Line 100).

The lesson every human should learn from king Jovinian's story or experience is "pride goes before a fall." It is an undeniable fact that this moral lesson from king Jovinian's story is same with that of king Nebuchadnezzar and king Herod in the bible whose display of pride reduced them to nothing among their subjects. Whereas God caused king Nebuchadnezzar to eat grasses for seven years by turning him into an animal, He caused worms to feast on the living body of king Herod who consequently died.

In sum, from all indications, William Morris' "The Proud King" is an allusion to these biblical stories and as such, presenting a theme which conforms with the main theme of these biblical stories, thereby showcasing literature as a teacher of global issues which sometimes conform with biblical teachings. The lessons or experiences of the victims of these stories will no doubt serve as a corrective measure to all and sundry who sees pride as something worth displaying.

January 24, 2017

Some Nigerian Acronyms with Their Funny Meanings

Nigerian Acronyms

If you really need a fair judgment on anything you do, the best place to visit is Nigeria. Nigerians have changed the actual meanings of some known acronyms of organisations and institutions to meanings they feel suit these organisations due to the services these organisations render. Furthermore, it is not only restricted to organisations as the initials of the names of some individuals have also been given meanings which tally with either their performances in office or their behaviours.

Here are some of these acronyms:

1. BUHARI - Brought Unnecessary Hardship Among Reasonable Individuals.

Some Nigerians who have no chill came with this due to the hardship they are facing in this Buhari-led administration.

2. NEPA - Never Expects Power Always.

3. GTC - Government Trained Criminals.

4. PHCN - Please Hold your Candle at Night.

5. IBADAN - Igbo Boys Are Dangerous At Night.

6. SCHOOL - Six Cruel Hours Of Our Lives.

7. UST - University of Stress and Tension.

8. LONDON - Ladies Of Nowadays Depend On Naira.

9. CSS - Come See Suffering.

10. MMM - Money Making Machine.

11. APC - All Promises Cancelled/Amaechi Problems Continue.

12. PDP - People Deceive People.

13. SEX - Sweetest EXperience.

14. TINUBU - Trust In Nigerian Upper chamber & Be Underdeveloped.

15. EXAMINATION: EXplain All what your Masters In Nigerian Academy Taught you In One Note.

16. TEST: Testimonies Explain Someone's Test.

This is for your relaxation. You can also add to the list.

George Herbert's "The Pulley" as a Metaphysical Poem

What is a Metaphysical Poem?

The term 'metaphysical' simply means beyond the physical; and metaphysical poems treat subjects or give answers to questions that are beyond the physical. Metaphysical poetry flourished in England in the 17th century - a period characterized with religious activities. Due to the fact that society influences literature, poets who wrote during that period were not only secular but also religious as most of their works allude to some biblical stories. With John Donne being the originator of metaphysical poetry, other metaphysical poets include: Andrew Marvel, George Herbert, Richard Cashaw and Henry Vanghan.

Metaphysical poems are spiced with unique features which distinguish them from other poems; and George Herbert's 'The Pulley' is not devoid of such unique features; thus, making it a metaphysical poem.

One unique feature of metaphysical poems is that they give answers to questions that are beyond the physical. An in-depth analysis of George Herbert's 'The Pulley' will expose you to why human wants are insatiable. In other words, George Herbert's 'The Pulley' explains why man is never tired of satisfying his want irrespective of all he has acquired. According to George Herbert's 'The Pulley,' after God created man, He blessed him abundantly and endowed him with all precious gifts except rest. God withheld rest in order to always bring man closer to Himself. This is evident in the last stanza of the poem:

'Yet let him keep the rest,But keep them with repining restlessness;Let him be rich and weary, that at least,If goodness lead him not, yet weariness May toss him to my breast.'

In the very last two lines, God says 'if goodness lead him not, yet weariness may toss him to my breast.' This is an obvious answer to why human want is insatiable or why man is restless. The answer to this metaphysical question according to George Herbert is because God deprived man of rest after creating man.

Another unique feature of metaphysical poem is the use of conceit or fondness for conceit. In literature, a conceit is an extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs a poetic passage or entire poem. Also, a metaphor is the direct comparison of two dissimilar objects; and George Herbert in his poem, 'The Pulley' compares the relationship between God and man with a metaphorical pulley. A pulley is a wheel or set of wheels over which a rope or chain is pulled in order to lift or lower a heavy object. Similarly, in order to pull man (who is always distant from Him) back to Himself, God deprived man of rest.

Again, metaphysical poems are witty, that is, they are full of wits. Metaphysical poets are very clever and intelligent and such intelligence is showcased in their poems as they are fond of explaining bulky subjects in few lines. It is an undeniable fact that in twenty lines of four stanzas, George Herbert can recount the creation story in Genesis chapter one and also, give reason to man's restlessness.

Metaphysical poems have direct tone of speech and are also dramatic in nature. George Herbert's 'The Pulley' hypnotizes the reader with the feeling that God is dialoguing with other heavenly bodies while creating man and the tone of His speech is direct:

"Let us," said he "pour on him all we can." (L3)

The phrase "let us," is a clear indication that God is dialoguing with other heavenly bodies (perhaps members of the trinity).

The last stanza also projects the poem as dramatic in nature:

"Yet let him keep the rest,But keep them with repining restlessness..."

The above lines also create in the mind of the reader a mental picture of God discussing with other heavenly bodies why He withholds rest from man. The tone of His speech is direct as He talks directly to these heavenly bodies.

Metaphysical poems are religious in nature; they treat religious themes and this is as a result of the age they were written. Metaphysical poets really flourished in the 17th century when religious activities were the order of the day and that really influenced their poems. George Herbert's 'The Pulley' is never left out as it treats religious themes such as: the sovereignty of God, the creator and the creature, the unending blessings of God on man, divine providence etc.

Finally, another unique feature of metaphysical poems is concentration. Due to their high intelligent quotient (IQ), metaphysical poets remain focused on their subjects. An in-depth analysis of George Herbert's 'The Pulley,' will no doubt showcase 'the sovereignty/superiority of God over man' as a predominant theme that runs through the lines of the poem. God demonstrates His sovereignty over man by depriving man of rest which He feels will definitely draw man back to Him to totter under His feet (Lines 18 - 20).

In sum, from the above explanation and analysis, one cannot doubt the fact the George Herbert's 'The Pulley' is a metaphysical poem.

January 21, 2017

NYSC 2016 Batch B, Stream 2 Corps Members Set to Go.

It looked as if it wouldn't be possible but from all indications, the impossible has been made possible as the NYSC 2016 Batch B, Stream 2 Corps members who have printed their call-up letters, elatedly arrange their luggage for their orientation course which commences on January 24, 2017.

Prospective corps members who haven't printed their call-up letters are hereby informed to do so in order to know their states of deployment.

See the time table for the NYSC 2016, Batch B, Stream 2 orientation course below:

January 18, 2017

Literature Texts for 2017 JAMB Examination

Are you writing this year's (2017) UTME, here is the list of the recommended literary texts for the examination. This is a plus to SSS 3 Literature students who will be writing this year's UTME because the underlisted literary texts are not different from that of WAEC. It is better to start early because proper preparation prevents poor performance.

DRAMA

African

Harvest of Corruption by Frank Ogodo

Non African

Othello by William Shakespeare.

PROSE

African

Faceless by Amma Darko

Lonely Days by Bayo Adebowale.

Non-African

Native Son by Richard Wright.

POETRY

African

"Vanity" by Birago Diop.

"Ambush" by Gbemisola Adeoti.

"Piano and Drums" by Gabriel Okara.

"The Dining Table" by Gbanabam Hallowell.

"The Panic of Growing Older" by Lenrie Peter.

"The Anvil and the Hammer" by Kofi Awoonor.

Non African

"Crossing the Bar" by Alfred Tennyson.

"The Pulley" by George Herbert.

"The School Boy" by William Blake.

"The Proud King" by William Morris

Some Uncommon Examples of Alliteration.

What is Alliteration?

Have you heard of 'alliteration' in English Literature? Well, weather you have or not, 'alliteration' is the repetition of the same consonant sound in a line of poem. e.g. in the poem 'twinkle twinkle little star,' the consonant sound /t/ is repeated.

Today, I will be showing you some uncommon examples of alliteration:

1. The consonant /s/ = "Some Stupid Students Started Smoking St-moritz Since Sixteen Sixty Six."

Can you see the repetition of the consonant /s/ in the above sentence.

2. The consonant /w/ = "Why Warri Women Worry Warri Workers; Why Won't Warri Workers Worry Warri Women?"

In this case you have thirteen "w" repeated.

3. The consonant/m/ = "Many Mechanics Made Mary's Mother's Motor Move."

4. The consonant /b/ = "Betty's Boyfriend Bought Buttered Bread Because Betty's Buttered Bread Blessed Blessing's Belly."

5. The consonant /p/ = "Proper Preparation prevents Poor Performance."

6. The consonant /f/ = "Father Francis Fried Five Fishes For Francisco's Fishing Festival."

These are uncommon examples of alliteration because, in each of the examples given above, the consonant sound is present in the words that make up the sentence. If you have any, you can add to the list.

January 15, 2017

How to Respond to the Statement/Greeting, "How do you do."

How do you do.

I won't be surprised if 90% of the learners of English get the response to this statement or greeting wrong. I got it wrong when my professor first said it to me. My response was "I am doing fine."

My wrong answer prompted his laughter, which made me a bit sad. But I was glad when he told me the correct answer and said, "Don't feel bad my boy; learning is a continuous process. At my age, I still learn." That really relieved me.

The English language is very vast and kind of difficult. You can't learn it in a day, week or month; thus, I will be telling you the correct answer to this statement.

"How do you do" is a statement and not an actual question unlike it is perceived. It is not an actual question about a person's well-being but just a meaningless greeting. It is just like saying "Pleased to meet you" or "It's a pleasure meeting you" to someone you are introduced to, and in reply, the person tells you "It's a pleasure to meet you too." Similarly, when someone tells you "How do you do", your reply should be “How do you do."

"How do you do" used to be the case among some classes in England (at least), but it seems to be nearly out of place. In fact, most native speakers of English now perceive it as a question and, as a result, give their replies as "I am doing fine. Thanks!" These days, native speakers of English consider the actual response to this meaningless greeting as archaic and, as such, prefer using "I am doing fine" or "Fine" as response.

In a nutshell, the actual response to the statement/greeting "How do you do" is "How do you do", but if you are not satisfied with it, you can join the league of those who perceive it to be archaic and, as a result, have developed different response(s) to it.

Simple But Commonly Misspelt English Words

Misspelt English Words

There are lots of English words which seem very easy to spell but are commonly misspelt. In this article, we shall look at a few of them:

1. Continuous

This word is often spelt with the omission of the 'u' that comes immediately after the 'n.' e.g. 'continous.' This is totally wrong.

2. a lot

In 'a lot,' the 'a' is separated from the 'lot', but most persons join then, e.g., ‘alot’.

3. Separate

This word is often spelt as 'seperate' by most persons perhaps because of the way it is pronounced.

4. Pronunciation

This is a very common mistake among learners of English. I just told a friend of mine who spelt it wrongly some days ago that the correct spelling is 'pronunciation', not 'pronounciation.'

5. Indict

Most persons spell ‘indite’ instead of ‘indict’.

6. Occasion

This word has double ‘c’ and an ‘s’, not double ‘s’.

7. Phlegmatic

It is pronounced approximately as ‘flegmatic'.

8. Etiquette.

This word is pronounced approximately as 'eticket'. Its pronunciation has made most persons spell it wrongly.

9. Oblige

This word is pronounced approximately as 'oblarge'.

10. Archaic

11. Occurrence

Some persons omit an 'r' when asked to spell this word.

12. Effrontery

13. Vis-à-vis

Most persons are yet to know the correct spelling of this word. It means 'in relation to.'

14. Exhilarate

15. Exuberant

16. Pneumonia

17. Appalling

18. Privilege

Quite a good number of persons spell it as 'previledge.'

19. Grateful

You always see ‘greatful’ instead of ‘grateful’, especially on social media.

20. Connive.

January 13, 2017

Different Ways to Say "Friend" in English

Is there any language rich in synonyms that you know of? Show me that language and I will show you the English language. The English Language is the father of synonym and today I will be showing you different ways in which you can express the word, 'friend.'

1. Bestie

The first on my list is 'bestie' and it is commonly used in Nigeria. It is an informal way in which you can express the word, 'friend,' therefore most commonly used by youths and teenagers while chatting with each other. e.g. He is my bestie.

2. Mate

'Mate' as another way of expressing the word, 'friend' is most commonly used in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Although this is not a new word to Nigerian learners of English, only a handful of them are aware of the fact that it also means 'friend.' e.g. Tammy is my best mate.

3. Bezzie

Referring to someone as your 'bezzie' simply means that the person is your best 'friend.' Also, there are variations of this word such as 'bestie',or abbreviations like 'bff (best friend(s) forever)', 'bffl(best friends for life)'. Though this word would generally be understood all over the English speaking world, its variants(bestie, bff, bffl) are most commonly used in Nigeria, especially by the young ones while chatting with their peers on social media.

4. Pal

Although mostly used in the United Kingdom, this word and its meaning are not new to Nigerian learners of English(especially the youths) as one will always see an expression such as 'good morning pals' on their Facebook walls when greeting their Facebook friends.

5. Chum

This is an old fashioned way of expressing the word 'friend.' As a way of updating it, its adjective, 'chummy' is used instead of it. Though it could have a meaning which is more than 'friend', it is not totally out of place to hear someone calling another person his 'chummy.'

It is globally understood but not commonly used in Nigeria.

6. Buddy

'Buddy' is mostly used in the United States to mean 'close friend' and it is also understood by other English speaking world to mean the same thing. However, in the United Kingdom, it is a popular boy dog's name. This word is often shortened to 'bud' which still means the same thing.