ASIAN 226: Traditions of Poetry in India

Format of first hour exam

	The first hour exam is scheduled for Thursday, 4 March. It will
have 100 points and will count for 25 percent of the course grade. The
exam will have four parts: I. choose the best answer, II. fill in the
blank, III. brief identifications, and IV. an essay question. Questions in
the exam are organized as sets of options from among which you will select
the ones you prefer to have count.  By using an "X" or by leaving an item
unanswered you must make it clear which ones you want not to have count.

Part I. Circle the best answer. Pick ten out of twelve to answer. Then
cross out the other two. (20 points)

1. According to the secular view the Vedas date from approximately:

	A. 100,000 BCE		B. 1500 BCE	C. 300 BCE 	D. 1200 CE

2. Rumi wrote in:  A. Persian	B. Sanskrit	 C. Tamil	D. Arabic	

3. The list of rasas does not include:	

	A. the erotic	  B. horror   	C. envy       D. compassion

4. ...

Part II. Fill in the blank. Pick eight out of ten to answer. Then cross
out the other two. (24 points):

1. Sanskrit belongs to the Indo-European family of languages while Tamil
belongs to the _______ family.

2. The final sher of a ghazal often contains the __________________ .
	
3. ...

Part III. Brief indentifications. Choose five out of seven. Then cross
out the other two. (25 points)

1. Agni -

2. ruba'i  -

3.  ...

Part IV. Write a short essay on one of the three topics given. Do  not
 write two (or three) essays. (32 pts)

1. During the course we have engaged the concept of dhvani (= vyanjana: or
'suggestion') as a touchstone of Indian poetry (and even considered
whether it is applicable to poetic traditions outside of India). Briefly
define dhvani. Then give a fairly close reading of the following poem from
the kuruntokai, identify which landscape is evoked, indicate what the
situation is, and explain what is suggested by the images given in lines
3-4 and in lines 6-8.

		What he said

	1	Be good to her, O North Wind,
	2	and may you prosper!
	
	3	There among thin silver rills
	4	that look like hanging snake skins

      	5	high on the hill

	6	where herds of elk plunder the gooseberry 
	7	in the courtyards,
	8	there lies my good woman's village
	9	of grass-thatched cottages.					

					(Mayentan, kuruntokai 235)

Posted 2 Mar 2004.