MEG-1: British Poetry – Solved Answers (IGNOU MA English, June 2025)

Question 1: Explanation with Reference to Context

(a) Orpheus Passage – Edmund Spenser (Epithalamion)

The given lines are taken from Edmund Spenser’s celebrated marriage ode Epithalamion, written to mark his own wedding. Spenser refers to the classical myth of Orpheus, the legendary poet whose music could move nature and even conquer death.

Unlike Orpheus, who sang to recover his lost bride Eurydice, Spenser sings joyfully to celebrate his marriage. He claims that nature itself will respond to his song, with the woods echoing his voice. The passage reflects the Renaissance belief in harmony between poetry, human emotion, and the natural world.

The reference to Orpheus elevates the poet’s role and emphasizes the power of art, love, and imagination.

(b) Monk Passage – Geoffrey Chaucer (The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue)

This passage is taken from the General Prologue to Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer presents the Monk as a lover of hunting and worldly pleasures rather than strict religious discipline.

The Monk ignores religious teachings that condemn hunting and rejects the idea that monks must remain cloistered. Through irony and humour, Chaucer exposes the Monk’s hypocrisy and highlights the moral corruption within the medieval Church.

The passage is a fine example of Chaucer’s realistic characterization and sharp social satire.

Question 2: Comparison of Epithalamion and Prothalamion

Epithalamion and Prothalamion are both wedding songs written by Edmund Spenser, but they differ in tone, purpose, and structure.

Epithalamion is a deeply personal poem composed for Spenser’s own wedding. It follows the progress of the wedding day from morning to night and combines sensual joy with religious solemnity. The poem celebrates love, fertility, and marital harmony.

Prothalamion, on the other hand, is a public and ceremonial poem written to celebrate the betrothal of two noble ladies. Its tone is formal and graceful rather than passionate. Nature imagery, especially the river Thames and swans, dominates the poem.

Together, the two poems demonstrate Spenser’s mastery of lyrical and occasional poetry.

Question 3: Cultural and Political Factors Behind Milton as an Epic Poet

John Milton became a major English epic poet due to a combination of cultural, political, and religious influences.

The Renaissance emphasis on classical learning deeply shaped Milton’s education. He was inspired by classical epics such as Homer’s Iliad and Virgil’s Aeneid. Politically, the English Civil War and the Puritan Revolution influenced his views on authority, freedom, and obedience.

Milton’s Puritan faith emphasized moral responsibility and individual conscience. These influences culminated in Paradise Lost, which explores themes of rebellion, divine justice, and human free will.

Question 4: Salient Features of Romanticism

Romanticism was a literary movement that reacted against classical restraint and industrialization. Romantic poets emphasized imagination, emotion, nature, and individual freedom.

Important features include the glorification of nature, stress on personal emotion, belief in imagination as a creative force, and interest in the past and the supernatural. Poets such as Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, and Byron exemplify these characteristics.

Question 5: Imagist Elements in The Waste Land

Although not a purely imagist poem, T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land contains strong imagist features. The poem relies on sharp, concrete images rather than continuous narrative.

Images of dryness, broken structures, and spiritual emptiness represent modern disillusionment. The fragmented imagery reflects the fractured condition of modern civilization.

Question 6: Theme of Church Going by Philip Larkin

Church Going explores the decline of religious belief in modern society. The speaker visits an empty church without faith but with curiosity and reflection.

Larkin suggests that even when religious belief fades, churches will continue to matter as places of seriousness, history, and human contemplation.

Question 7: Critical Appreciation

A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning – John Donne

This metaphysical poem presents a love that is spiritual and enduring. Donne’s famous compass conceit illustrates the unity of lovers’ souls despite physical separation.

London – William Blake

In London, Blake presents a grim picture of urban life. He exposes social injustice, poverty, and moral corruption while criticizing oppressive institutions.