ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.” “You have been the last dream of my soul.” “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” “A day wasted on others is not wasted on one’s self.”

Detailed explanation-2: -“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” The final line of A Tale Of Two Cities is one of the most celebrated in literature.

Detailed explanation-3: -A paradox is a contradictory statement, something that seems impossible, and most of Dickens’ contrasting pairings seem impossible here: the times are the best and worst, faithful and skeptical, hopeful and despondent.

Detailed explanation-4: -From the first paragraph, Dickens begins developing the central theme of duality. His pairings of contrasting concepts such as the “best"and “worst"of times, “Light"and “Darkness, "and “hope"and “despair"reflect the mirror images of good and evil that will recur in characters and situations throughout the novel.