2. UNIT I : POEM
THE CASTLE
EDWIN MUIR
• Prepared by:
• Mrs. A. C. JAYAMALINI
• M.A., M. Phil., B.Ed.,
• P G ASSISTANT – ENGLISH,
• DANISH MISSION HR. SEC. SCHOOL,
• TIRUVANNAMALAI.
5. “THE CASTLE” by ‘EDWIN MUIR’
• Edwin Muir (15 May 1887 – 3 January 1959) was a Scottish[1] poet,
novelist and translator. Born on a farm in Deerness, a parish
of Orkney, Scotland.
• In 1901, when he was 14, his father lost his farm, and the family
moved to Glasgow. In quick succession his father, two brothers,
and his mother died within the space of a few years.
• His life as a young man was a depressing experience, and involved
a raft of unpleasant jobs in factories and offices, including working
in a factory that turned bones into charcoal.[2]
• "He suffered psychologically in a most destructive way, although
perhaps the poet of later years benefitted from these experiences
as much as from his Orkney 'Eden'."[3]
• In 1919, Muir married Willa Anderson,[4] and the couple moved to
London.
• They worked together on many translations notable of these are
those by Franz Kafka.
6. THE CASTLE
SHORT NOTES ON “EDWIN MUIR”
• Between 1925 and 1956, Muir published seven
volumes of poetry.
• From 1927 to 1932 he published three novels.
• From 1946 to 1949 he was Director of the British
Council in Prague and Rome.
• In 1955 he was made Norton Professor of English
at Harvard University.
• He returned to Britain in 1956 but died in 1959
at Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire, and was
buried there.
7. EDWIN MUIR (15 May 1887 -3 January 1959)
Scottish poet, novelist and translator.
• 15 May 1887 - Deerness, a parish of Orkney, Scotland.
• 1901, family moved to Glasgow.
• Unpleasant jobs in factories and offices.
• 1919, married Willa Anderson, moved to London.
• 1925 - 1956, seven volumes of poetry.
• 1927 - 1932 , three novels.
• 1946- 1949 Director of the British Council in Prague and
Rome.
• 1955 Professor of English at Harvard University.
• 1956 returned to Britain in 1956.
• 1959 died at Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire
8.
9. THE CASTLE
EDWIN MUIR
• Type of the poem: ALLEGORY POEM.
• It is a moving poem ; Confidence & pride about
the Castle ; lamentation for the greedy shameful
act .
• THEME :Greediness and disloyalty leads to the
capture and fall of well-guarded, mighty Citadel.
• MORAL : Greediness defeats not only the Castle
but also any Nation or any Humans.
• RHYME SCHEME : ABAAB
26. POETIC DEVICES
• ALLEGORY POEM [ noun] :a story, poem, or picture
that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning,
typically a moral or political one.
• Rhyming words : A rhyme is a repetition of similar
sounds in the final stressed syllables and any
following syllables of two or more words.
• lay; hay; away
• Alliteration: the occurrence of the same letter or
sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely
connected words.
• wizened, warder
27. FIGURE OF SPEECH
• SIMILE: comparing two unlike things using ‘like’ or
‘as’.
• Grew thin and treacherous as air.
• METAPHOR: is used to make a comparison
between two things that aren't alike but do have
something in common. ...
• A little wicked wicket gate.
• Oh then our maze of tunneled stone.
28. FIGURE OF SPEECH
• PERSONIFICATION: when you give an animal or
object, the qualities or abilities that only a human
can have.
• writers use it to bring non-human things to life.
• Our only enemy was gold,
• INTERROGATION : the act of interrogating;
questioning.
How can this shameful tale be told?
