SOME THOUGHTS FROM SHAKESPEARE’S WRITINGS

 

            SOME THOUGHTS FROM SHAKESPEARE’S WRITINGS

            The English playwright and poet William Shakespeare was born at Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom on 23 April 1564 and died there on 23 April 1616. He wrote 37 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems and a few minor poems. He is known as the world’s pre-eminent dramatist and most influential writer in the English language.

            What follows are some memorable thoughts from his writings.

*If the great gods be just, they shall assist the deeds of justest men.

*Friendly counsel cuts off many foes.

*Respect and reason, wait on wrinkled age.

*An old man is twice a child.

*Brevity is the soul of wit.

*Care is an enemy to life.

*Pitchers have ears.

*Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.

*It is a wise father that knows his child.

*How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.

*Conscience is but a word that cowards use.

*My crown is in my heart, not on my head.  

*Men are April when they woo, December when they wed: maids are May when they are maids, but the sky changes when they are wives.

*Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.

*Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

*I must be cruel only to be kind.

*He thinks too much ---such men are dangerous.

*As flies to wanton boys, are we to gods; they kill us for their sports.

*The empty vessel makes the greatest sound.

*Corruption wins not more than honesty.

*In delay there lies no plenty.

*Let your own discretion be your tutor.

*Dreamers often lie.

*Good wine needs no bush.

*Golden lads and girls all must, as chimney sweepers, come to dust.

*Allow not nature more than nature needs.

*The purest spring is not so free from mud.

*Be not afraid of shadows.

*It is sin to flatter.

*What can be avoided whose end is purposed by the might gods?

*Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly.

*A friend should bear his friend’s infirmities.

*Lord! we know what we are, but know not what we may be.

*We cannot but obey the powers above us.

*Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.

                                                ********

G. R. Kanwal

8^th May 2026               

THE LOOM OF TIME

 

                THE LOOM OF TIME

            “Loom” is defined as a machine for making cloth by twisting threads between other threads which go in a different direction.

            “Time” is defined as  ---the continuous, measured progression of existence –past, present, and future ---quantified in seconds, minutes, hours, days, and years.

            Some of the frequently used synonyms  of time are ---age, duration, span, period, interval, occasion, moment, epoch, era, while, spell, stretch, term, etc.

            Given below is an anonymous poem titled THE LOOM OF TIME. According to some of its literary interpretations the poem depicts life as a “web” or tapestry, where God controls the shutters i.e. events to create a hidden, beautiful, pattern.

            The poem says in the very beginning that man’s life is laid in the loom of time to a pattern he does not see, while the weavers work and the shuttles fly till the dawn of eternity.

            Man’s life is his fate which has its duration fixed by God. Its day to day events become visible only when they occur but what will happen in future remains a secret.

            The English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744) says in his An Essay on Man: Epistle 1

                        Heav’n from all creatures hides the book of fate,

                        All but the page prescrib’d, their present state

 

            The threads of life’s web do not depict the same colour day after day. They are changed by God as and when He likes. As the anonymous poet says:

                                    He only knows its beauty,

                                    And guides the shuttles which hold

                                    The threads so unattractive,

                                    As well as the threads of gold.      

The full text of the poem follows:

 

Man’s life is laid in the loom of time

To a pattern he does not see

While the weavers and the shuttles fly

Till the dawn of eternity

 

Some shuttles are filled with silver threads

And some with threads of gold

While often but the darker threads

Are all that they may hold.

 

But the weaver watches with

Skilful eye

Each shuttle fly to and fro

And sees the pattern so deftly wrought

As the loom moves sure and slow

 

God surely planned the pattern

Each thread, the dark and fair

Is chosen by his masters skill

And placed in the web with care.

 

God only knows it’s beauty

And guides the shuttles which hold

The threads so unattractive

As well as the threads of gold

 

Not till each loom is silent

And the shuttle cease to fly

Shall God reveal the pattern

And explain the reason why

The dark threads were as needful

In the weavers skilful hand

As the threads of gold and silver

For the pattern which he planned.

 

                                                            *******

G.R.Kanwal

7^th May 2026             

 

SOME USEFUL IDEAS

 

                                SOME USEFUL IDEAS   

            An idea is defined as a plan, thought, or suggestion, especially about what to do in a particular situation. But an idea of something is a picture or an impression in one’s mind of what some body or something is like.

            An idea also means: concept, thought, image, perception, notion, view, viewpoint, opinion, feeling, outlook, belief, impression, judgment, conclusion, intention, purpose, goal, target, design, pattern, vision, example, etc.

               Given below are some useful ideas to be stored in your mind. They can help you to express yourself impressively on appropriate occasions.  They are loaded with both theoretical and practical wisdom.

·        Every man is a volume, if you know how to read him.

·        Manners are minor morals.

·        A mob is a monster, with heads enough, but no heart, and little brains.

·        Good laws make it easier to do right and harder to do wrong.

·        Occupation is one great source of enjoyment. No man, properly occupied, was ever miserable.

·        Good actions ennoble us, and we are the sons of our own deeds.

·        A small debt produces a debtor; a large one, an enemy.

·        A light heart lives long.

·        Care keeps his watch in every old man’s eye; and where care lodges sleep will never lie.

·        Anxiety is a word of unbelief or unreasoning dread. We have no right to allow it. Full faith in God puts it to rest.

·        When anger rises, think of the consequences.

·        The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.

·        The history of human opinion is scarcely anything more than the history of human errors.

·        Philosophy, if rightly defined, is nothing but the love of wisdom.

·        The passions are like fire, useful in a thousand ways and dangerous only in one, through their excess.

·        It is to live twice, when we can enjoy the recollections of our former life.

·        Modesty is the citadel of beauty and virtue.

 

                        ************

G.R.Kanwal

6^th May 2026

THE COMMOM MAN

 

THE     COMMOM     MAN

            The common man is an ordinary man. He is found everywhere. There is no part of a village, city, or state where he is not available to provide some requisite information to you.

            He is not a learned person. He has not acquired education in a reputed  school, college or university. His knowledge has been acquired in the school practical life. He has no read books like a scholar. But he has practical knowledge. He has acquired skills. He can climb a tree, mount a hill, swim in a river, save a drowning man, can lift a lot of language on his shoulders, can help you in tracing somebody’s house, office, or  business place.

            If you want your vehicle to be pushed, he is available as an instant volunteer.

            The common man knows more about a place than an uncommon man does. He is an observer.  He mixes with all and sundry.

            The common man may not be able to read and write, but he can speak more efficiently about common life than a so-called scholar. His knowledge is more idiomatic than that of a linguist.

            I have found common men very helpful. They don’t hesitate to share with you whatever they have. They believe in charity. They never disown you. They are humble, not arrogant. They are more God-fearing than high-caste  people or the members of a religious organization. God lives in their hearts.

            They are contented, not ambitious. They spend as much as they can because they are not hoarders.

            Common men are friendly, faithful and loyal. They meet you with a smile on their lips. They not only know what gratitude is but also practice it.

            Common men have an uncommon interest in their environment. You find them with pets like sparrows, pigeons, cats and dogs.

            Let us be generous to common men and do whatever we can to alleviate their material poverty. Morally and spiritually they are sufficiently rich.

            Here are a few lines from the poem The Common Road written by the American poet Silas H. Perkins (1857-1934).

“I want to laugh with the common man

Wherever he chance to be,

I want to aid him when I can

Whenever there’s need of me.

I want to lend a helping hand

Over the rough and steep

To a child too young to understand---

To comfort those who weep.

I want to live and work and plan

With the great crowd surging by,

To mingle with the common man,

No better or worse than I.

                                                            *******

G.R.Kanwal

5^th May 2026            

 

QUOTES ON DEFEAT AND VICTORY

 

          QUOTES ON DEFEAT AND VICTORY

            Before having a look at some famous quotes on defeat and victory, let us familiarize ourselves with the literal meanings of these two words.

            According to dictionaries defeat means to win a victory over an opponent in a battle, game, or contest. As a verb, this word also means : to frustrate, to thwart, or to  render something ineffective.

            Defeat may also be defined as an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest.

            Some synonyms of defeat are: downfall, debacle, failure, breakdown, ruin, setback, discomfiture, rejection, and overthrow.

            Victory is the opposite of defeat. It means the successful outcome of a contest, war, game, struggle, competition, battle, election, etc.

            Win, success, triumph, conquest, mastery, subjugation, romp, gain, sweep, landslide, overthrow, upper hand, clean sweep, etc., are some of its synonyms.

            What follows are some famous quotes -- first on defeat and then on victory.     

            *Defeat is a school in which truth always grows strong. ---American clergy, H..W.Beecher (1813-87).  

            *It is defeat that turns bone to flint, and gristle to muscle, and makes men invincible, and formed those heroic natures that are now in ascendency in the world. Do not then be afraid of defeat. You are never so near to victory as when defeated in a good cause.----H. W. Beecher .

            *Victories that are easy are cheap.---Those only are worth having which come as the result of hard fighting.-----H. W. Beecher.

            *It is the contest that delights us, not the victory. We are pleased with the combat of animals, but not with the victor tearing the vanquished. What is sought for is the crisis of victory, and the instant it comes, it brings satiety.-------- French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal  1623-62).

            *Who overcomes by force hath overcome but half his foe.-----English poet John Milton (1608-1674).

            To conclude, here is a very  short but meaningful quote:

            “Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.”

                                                            *****

G.R.Kanwal

4^th November 2026

 

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

 

 

                                                RABINDRANATH TAGORE

            Rabindranah Tagore was a great Bengali poet, writer, essayist,   philosopher, educationist, composer, and artist,  

            He was born on 7^th May 1861 and passed away on 7^TH August 1941. Mahatma Gandhi called him Gurudev.

            He was a prolific writer. His works consist of poems, novels, short stories, dramas, paintings, and songs.

            Among his most  famous writings are two novels Gora (1910) and Ghare Baire (The Home and the World, 1916), as also two plays Dak Ghar (The Post Office, 1912) and Raktakarbi  (Red Oleanders, 1926).

            According to literary critics : “He transformed Bengali literature with short stories, notably Kabuliwala and Postmaster.

            He is said to have composed 2,000 songs.

            His internationally known book is Gitanjali (Songs Offerings) for which he was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.

            Tagore also composed the national anthems of India ---Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh (Amar Sonar Bangla).

            As an educationist, he is famous  for having founded  in Santiniketan Visva-Bharati University which blends Indian traditions with Western education.    

              Briefly speaking, Tagore was a key figure who promoted intercultural harmony in the Bengal Renaissance.  

            In his introduction to Gitanjali, William Butler Yeats,  the Irish poet, dramatist, writer and literary critic (1865-1939)  rightly says “All the aspirations of mankind  are in his hymns. “

            Most of the songs in Gitanjali are addressed to God. Here is the first one:

            “Though hast made me endless such is thy pleasure. This frail vessel thou emptiest again and again, and fillest it ever with fresh life.

            This little flute of a reed thou hast carried over hills and dales, and hast breathed through it melodies eternally new.

            At the immortal touch of thy hands my little heart loses its limits in joy and gives birth to utterance ineffable.

            Thy finite gifts come to me only on these very small hands of mine. Ages pass, and still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill.”

            To conclude, look at one of his famous quotes :

              “What you are you do not see, what you see is your shadow”.

                                                            *******

G.R. Kanwal

3^rd May 2026

 

                                                            .  

NOTHING IS ENDLESS

 

                                                NOTHING IS ENDLESS

            This is a world of dualities. If here is life, there is also death. Darkness does not stay forever, it yields place to light. The sun not only rises, but also sets  in the evening. Night is the opposite of day. No story, no tale, no poem is without its end. Every season stays for a fixed time and not for eternity. Progress and regress, upward climbing and  downward descending,war and peace, happiness and sadness,  prosperity and poverty are not endless. They have their limited tenure. Every change that occurs is short-lived. The overall scenario of the world is always changing yielding place to the new.

           

            Given below is a poem titled This, Too, Shall Pass Away by Mrs. Lanta Wilson Smith (1856-1939) on the fleeting nature of events. Its central idea  is that “all earthly things ---both good and bad –are temporary.”

            It is not a pessimistic poem. On the other hand it emphasizes that difficult times in human life are impermanent.

            She is right because there is a silver lining in every cloud and dark nights are followed by bright mornings. Death, too, is succeeded by rebirth because  the human soul continues to survive in a new form.

                                    Here is the full text of Mrs. Smith’s poem.        

 WHEN SOME GREAT SORROW , like a mighty river,

Flows through your life with peace-destroying power,

And dearest things are swept from sight forever,

Say to your heart each trying hour:

" This, too, shall pass away. "

 

When ceaseless toil has hushed your song of gladness,

And you have grown almost too tired to pray,

Let this truth banish from your heart its sadness,

And ease the burdens of each trying day:

" This, too, shall pass away. "

 

When fortune smiles, and, full of mirth and pleasure,

The days are flitting by without a care,

Lest you should rest with only earthly treasure,

Let these few words their fullest import bear:

" This, too, shall pass away. "

 

When earnest labor brings you fame and glory,

And all earth's noblest ones upon you smile,

Remember that life's longest, grandest story

Fills but a moment in earth's little while:

" This, too, shall pass away. "

             

             Mrs. Smith, wrote more than five hundred poems, articles and hymns, dealing with faith, immortality, moral and spiritual subjects.

                                                ********

G.R.Kanwal

2^nd May 2026