Write the explanation of the essay entitled "Sir Roger at Church".

Write the explanation of the essay entitled “Sir Roger at Church”.

Ans.

Explanations

(1) Sunday…………………rings.

Reference to the Context: These lines presenting the role and importance of Sunday in the life of the villagers, have been extracted from the essay entitled Sir Roger at Church, written by Joseph Addison.

Here the essayist tells us that the observance of Sunday as a divine worship is a healthy practice, especially for the village people. This day brings purification and illumination to the hearts and souls of the country-people.

Explanation: According to the essayist, Country Sunday is a day of special occasion of great value in the life of English people living in countryside. The frequent returns of Sunday help in polishing and civilizing the people of the countryside. The essayist thinks that if there had been no Sunday, people, particularly of the countryside, would have remained savages and barbarians. The regular returns of Sunday provide them an opportunity to appear in their cleanliest habits and most agreeable forms. Sunday has a double beneficial effect on people of the countryside. First, it has a good effect on their minds and secondly, it makes them put on their best appearances. During the six working days of the week, people develop many vices and shortcoming: so often they tell a lie or cheat somebody or earn money by dishonest means or become selfish, idle and inactive. The rust of boredom, staleness and indifference which accumulates during the period of six working days of the week is shaken off on Sunday. It (Sunday) removes the deadening effect of the routine work of the week days from their minds. It refreshes their minds and renovates their belief in religion. It is a fresh change from the worldly business of making money. On this day, people come together and speak in friendly tones, casting off their professional manners. Their minds are also turned to a religious mood. It makes them put on cheerful faces and their best dresses. They are inspired with sermons so that they may be pure in their dealings. They try to impress others, with their refined manners, behaviour and attractive dress. They try to appear in the most pleasing forms in order to distinguish themselves before the whole congregation. They also discuss their personal, political and social affairs with one another. Sunday gives the village people the same social advantage and opportunity which the Exchange provides to the city folk.

Critical Comments: 1. The essayist has observed that Sunday means more to the young people for they put on their best dresses on this day, in order to show themselves off before the country-folks.

2. The educational value of a country Sunday is great.

3. A country…change: The churchyard can be regarded as important to the villagers, as the stock exchange is to the stock-broker or the merchant.

4. The half-serious, half-mocking tone is to be noted.

(2) As Sir Roger………………servant.

Reference to the Context: These lines presenting Sir Roger’s eccentricities and peculiarities during church service, have been extracted from the essay entitled Sir Roger at Church, written by Joseph Addison.

Here the essayist reveals Sir Roger’s behaviour at church where he presents ample evidence of his oddities. Sir Roger maintains perfect discipline during church service. He does not like any kind of idleness and disturbance.

Explanation: Sir Roger is the squire of the village and hence most of the villagers are his tenants and he is their landlord. Due to being a man of religious nature and the landlord of the village, he keeps his tenants under strict discipline during church service. He does not want that there should be any hindrance in the hours of church service. He carefully observes lest somebody should show the signs of laziness and drowsiness during church service. He does not allow anyone to sleep in the church service though he seems to exclude himself from this rule. If. by chance, he falls asleep during the sermon, on waking up, he at once stands to see if anyone else has fallen asleep. If he sees anyone dozing or about to fall asleep. he wakes him up or he sends his servants to do so.

Critical Comments: 1. The behaviour of Sir Roger in the church is extremely humorous, and one cannot help smiling at the queer ways of the knight.

2. Addison’s humour takes on an ironical turn as, for example when he says that the knight will suffer nobody to sleep in the church, besides himself.

(3) This authority…………….qualities.

Reference to the Context: These lines presenting Sir Roger’s odd and eccentric behaviour, have been extracted from the essay entitled Sir Roger at Church, written by Joseph Addison.

Sir Roger is a man of a very humorous character because he has some strange habits. His eccentric and ridiculous behaviour does not leave bad and harmful impact on the minds of the villagers who have great simplicity, and lack of intelligence and sensibility.

Explanation: According to the essayist, Sir Roger uses his authority and keeps all the villagers in a very good order during church service. When he is in the church on a Sunday. he does not allow anyone to have a nap and show the signs of idleness during service hours. He does not like that anyone of his tenants should disturb the congregation when the church service is on and the chaplain is delivering the sermons. He expects that the villagers should pay their total attention to the sermons and prayers. If he finds anyone of his tenants missing in the congregation, he makes serious inquiries about him. In this way, he exercises his full authority in the church, of course in an odd manner which has become part and parcel of his character. The people of the village are simple and unrefined. They have no proper intelligence and understanding, so they ignore his eccentricities and ridiculous behaviour and see the noble aspects of his conduct and character. Sir Roger’s innumerable good qualities fascinate the villagers and compel them to have high opinion about him. He has become an embodiment of great honour and reverence among his tenants. In fact, the knight is very sensible and intelligent and has a worthy character. Therefore, his oddities, do not strike as faults to the villagers. Rather, they serve as foils to set off his many good qualities. The greatness of his goodness shines all the better in contrast with the smallness of his faults.

Critical Comments: 1. The essayist presents the little singularities in the character of Sir Roger making his lovable and life-like.

2. Sir Roger’s singular ways mixed with his common sense raise his stature much higher.

3. These lines present Addison as a practical social reformer who suggests unsophisticated means for the improvement of uncivilized people.

(4) The parson………………….patron.

Reference to the Context: These lines presenting war-like state and bitter relationship between the chaplain and the squire of the next village, have been extracted from the essay entitled Sir Roger at Church, written by Joseph Addison.

Here the essayist tells us that there is a good understanding and sensible relationship between Sir Roger and chaplain. In fact, they complement each other. They settle every affair with mutual under-standing, but in the next village-the chaplain and square always remain in the state of war. They have great bitterness for each other.

Explanation: According to the essayist, Sir Roger has perfect relationship and sharp understanding with his chaplain. Sir Roger remains in perfect harmony with his chaplain whereas the squire of the next village has a perpetual fight with the parson. The parson in his sermons always seems to hint that he is preaching against vices which are being indulged in by the squire. He always tries to argue that squire is involved in all kinds of vices. The squire, in order to take his revenge against the parson has stopped attending the church. On account of bad relations between the squire and the parson, the villagers, who follow the higher classes in their behaviour, have slowly lost faith in religion and are turning atheists. As they see that the squire does not have any honour and reverence for the parson, they do not pay the tenth part of their farm produce for the support of parish priests. On the contrary, the parson teaches on every Sunday the dignity of his orders. In every prayer, at church, he tells his tenants that he is a better man than his patron.

Critical Comments: 1. In the days of Addison most of villages in England were notorious for the differences that existed between the parsons and the squires. They were at daggers drawn with one another. And the people had lost faith in the existence of God.

2. Tithe-stealers: Tithe is the tenth part of the produce of the lands as offered to the clergy. A tenth part of the farm produce was given to support the parish priests, but people began to steal it.

3. Here, the essayist is clearly didactic. He deplores discord between squire and clergy and condemns it for the bad effect it has on the parishioners.

(5) In short…………………..congregation.

Reference to the Context: These lines presenting the importance of good relationship between the landlord and chaplain, have been extracted from the essay entitled Sir Roger at Church, written by Joseph Addison.

Here the essayist points out that good and sweet relationship between the landlord and the priest plays a vital role in the lives of the villagers. If there is mutual understanding between them, they can work for the welfare of the villagers, but if they remain in constant state of war, they leave bad impact on the minds of the villagers. The essayist presents the example of the next village in which the parson and squire always remain at daggers drawn with each another.

Explanation: The chaplain of the church and Sir Roger both are in agreement in acting for the benefit of the country people. Their relationship is notable because the relationship between the parson and the squire of the neighbouring village is full of bitterness. This village is suffering from disputes between these two authorities. Their quarrel has assumed extreme dimensions. The squire has turned his tenants atheists and tax stealers. He himself has not offered prayers either in public or private for half a year in order to harass the parson. The parson has threatened him with a public insult if he does not change his behaviour towards him, and he would pray for him before the whole religious gathering.

Critical Comments: 1. The essayist is satirizing the imperfections of landlords and parsons.

2. The essayist tells the importance of good relations between the landlord and chaplain.

3. Squire: The chief landowner in a country church. He employs his chaplains who performs religious duties at the church.

4. Parson: Parson is known as rector or clergyman of a parish or church. He is a man of learning and preaches his parishioners and saves their soul from perdition.

(6) Feuds………………………believe it.

Reference to the Context: These lines presenting the terrific impacts of the disputes between the squire and parson on the minds of the common people, have been extracted from the essay entitled Sir Roger at Church, written by Joseph Addison.

Here the essayist points out that the bitter relations and conflicts between the parson and the squire leave harmful impacts on the minds of common and simple villagers.

Explanation: According to the essayist, most of the villages of England have been notorious for bitter disputes between the squires and parsons for a long time. A quarrel has been arising between them from time to time. They have been accusing each other for not mending their manners. Their disputes have produced a very unwholesome effect on the common people. They (quarrels or disputes) have caused a lot of harm to the villagers. Due to these conflicts between the squire and parson, the villagers have started worshipping money at the cost of humanity. They are dazzled by riches. They consider rich people to be intelligent and wise as well. They give equal respect to a rich man’s power of understandings and his wisdom as they do to that of a learned man. In fact, they respect a rich man’s judgement more than they do a learned man’s. They do not follow the advice of the learned priest. They do not believe the truth preached by the learned priest how important so ever it may be. It is very difficult to convince them that what a learned man says is true and useful if they are aware of that a rich man does not pay these statements any respect. Such villagers do not have an independent outlook and generally follow the views of the rich. When they find that the rich squire and the parson quarrel, they prefer to follow the squire and lose their faith in religion. They are attracted towards wealth when they see several men earning a lot of money every year without caring for what is taught to them by the parson.

Critical Comments: 1. The essayist’s being against the squires and their parsons indulging in a war of wits with each other for this invariably causes harm to the poor and simple villagers.

2. When…believe it: “The glimpse of mild satire. There is a gentle dig at the simplicity of a common villager.