English Summaries

Million Man March -       Maya Angelou Introduction Maya Angelou was an American poet, singer, memoirist and civil rights activist. She has written seven autobiographies, books of essays poetry and plays. In her poetry she uses wit, sarcasm, imagery and diverse rhythm. Historical background The Million Man March was a large gathering of African-American men in Washington D.C. on October 16, 1995. It was held on and around the National Mall. The African-American men from across the United States converged in Washington to convey to the world a vastly different picture of the Black male and to unite in self-help and self-defense against economic and social ills plaguing the African-American community.   Synopsis In this poem, the poet seems to address the men on the march. She uses varied imagery to narrate how a million men had come out to demonstrate their solidarity against the government for its ill-treatment of the dark-skinned community in the

Fidelity -       William Wordsworth Introduction William Wordsworth is often said to be the harbinger of Romanticism in English poetry. He is known as one of the greatest lyric poets in the history of English literature. His poems are best known for their simplicity in terms of language and subject. Nature is a strong influence on the poet. Synopsis The poem “Fidelity” opens on a beautiful mountainous backdrop where a shepherd is startled to see a little dog barking unusually among rocks and fern. He wonders how the little dog could be there all alone in the rocky mountainous region away from human settlement. The shepherd sights a fish jumping out of a pool and a raven cawing as a mark of life in that isolated region. The sun’s rays and the howling wind seem to be rushing past the region. In the meanwhile, the shepherd anticipates something and follows the dog across the terrain only to be shocked to find a human skeleton on the ground. He realizes that it was the