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Study Material in the Subject of English

(Meant for the students of Degree 1 English Honours, Degree 3 English Honours, Degree 1 Subsidiary, Degree 1 MB

TIPS TOWARDS:

How to Write Critical Appreciation of a Poem

By Dr. Mohammad Shaukat Ansari

Associate Professor of English

MLSM College, Darbhanga, Bihar

Mobile – 9431467734 / WhatsApp – 9801607700

Email – [email protected]

Students have the poems, prescribed in their syllabus; and they are given important poems (ranging from three to five poems) in the examination to write critical appreciation of any one poem, and writing this question or prior preparation/practice surely requires them to deal with the aspects, being discussed below.

Critical appreciation of a poem is defined as the critical reading of a poem, preparing a brief summary, deriving its messages/objectives, exploring purposes behind the poem, examining influences on the poet while writing the poem, knowing the poet; his life and his age; his inclination towards the literary movement of his age, thinking of the contexts, judging thematic aspects, understanding the meaning of its words, its rhyme-scheme, the speaker, figures of speech, the references to other works (intertextuality), the style of language, the general writing style of the poet (if mentioned), the genre, the tone of the speaker and such other elements make up the edifice of critical reading or appreciation.

A critical appreciation of a poem aims to evaluate the work through a critical lens in order to elaborate some of the reasons that remarkably make it worth-reading and worth- understanding. It ensures creativity in approach. It is not a critical appreciation to simply state Page 2 of 7 that you like something; rather, you need to explain the structural, stylistic, thematic, and other reasons that you find the work interesting, touching, fascinating and effective.

Critical appreciation of a poem is, as a matter of fact, analyzing a work to evaluate its contents to discover hidden qualities and explain the reasons as to why it should be appreciated. There is more than one way to approach/write a critical appreciation of a poem, but generally, it is a good idea to determine the meaning (summary plus relevant ideas) of the poem as well as its context, and to also identify the language elements and the stylistic ways they have been artistically employed in the poem. These two things should then be tied together and used to determine the poem's effectiveness.

A critical appreciation helps in a better understanding of the verse. It does not mean criticising the poem. It, in broader sense, means to explore the treasure of merits in the poem, besides providing brief summary in line with thematic components and description of ideas and literary techniques, imported in the poem in course of conveying ideas.

Points to be considered before writing/preparing the critical appreciation of any prescribed poem

[It will be helpful if a checklist is simultaneously prepared.]

1. Title and meaning of the poem:

Before you begin to write, first read the poem more than once to get a clear idea of what the speaker or the poet is trying to say/communicate. Look up the meanings of difficult or unusual words in a thesaurus. Remember, the title of the poem is a key to the general meaning and summary of the thought presented. Sometimes it speaks a lot towards comprehension of the poem.

Hence, think about the title of the poem and deliberate how it relates to the poem. Titles often provide important clues about what is at the heart of a piece. They sometimes contain historical significance. They paint a picture that gives a specific time frame, setting or action or sometimes imply multiple possibilities.

2. Speaker and his tone in the poem:

Try to identify the speaker of the poem. It can be a child, an elderly person, a solitary reaper, a shepherd, a swordsman, a milkmaid, a sailor, an animal or even an object like a death or a place like a house or a mountain or even the speaker is the poet himself (like Wordsworth) interacting with the readers. Knowing about the speaker and his tone is important as every speaker speaks differently. Page 3 of 7

The tone of the speaker can be mysterious, provocative, ominous, festive, fearful, exuberant, pessimistic, optimistic, direct address, etc. As a reader, you need to speculate to elicit the appropriate tone, and this will help figure out the major theme of the poem.

3. Setting in the poem:

It is also necessary to know about the setting in the poem. The setting is the background of the poem and contributes to its meaning. Biographical elements or presentation of conflicts or philosophy towards the worship of Nature or espousing true love or reality about death or stark realities of life or immortality of life or recalling childhood or horrors of war – any one of these can construct the background and the setting in the poem, and it is pertinent to trace which one of these is a governing background. For example, the setting of a pastoral is very likely to be a grazing ground for a flock of ship. The setting of Eliot's “Preludes” is a modern city with its people leading a mechanical life. The setting is warning against worldly pursuits in Wordsworth’s poem, “The World is Too Much with Us” or a beautiful garden with dancing daffodils in his poem, “The Daffodils” which tends to depict a deeper meaning and pleads for the whole-hearted appreciation of subtle beauty in Nature.

4. Establishing context of the poem:

Then the next component like context for inspection is required. Context pertains to the time, location, political event, social scenario, personal cycles of shock and grief and the age of the poet too. It embarks upon the poet’s mood also. It also speaks of biographical touches as in the poem, “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats. Looking into the context is to probe and elucidate is what prompted the creation of poem. The context might be an event of great political significance like the French Revolution, it might be the war, it might be the singing of nightingale, it might be ideological differences/conflicts stemming in poet, it might be fallen love, it might be a disappointing scene of separation (Donne’s “Sweetest Love I Do Not Go”), it might be the lamentation over any dear one’s death, it might be an expression of painful struggle (Wilfred Gibson’s “From Holiday”), it might be embarking upon the horrors of war (as in the poetry of Owen, Graves, Sassoon and Nicholas), it might be the figurative presentation of life’s emptiness in a pointed and poignant vein (poetry of T.S. Eliot), etc. The French Revolution, for example, prompted the composition of P.B. Shelley's famous, "Ode to the West Wind." The poem beautifully upholds the spirit of the revolution and heralded the dawn of a new age.

Also, a reader is required to have information about the movements like Metaphysical School of Poetry, Romantic Revival Movement that were trending during the time of the poet. It is to keep under consideration that the movements have a significant influence on the poet or impart contribution to the poetic development of a poet as reflected in the fact that Romantic Movement shaped trends in the poets of the early 19th century. The Romantic Revival heralded Page 4 of 7 the birth of the new atmosphere in which the pure lyric could breathe freely and grow to its full stature.

5. Identifying the main theme/message contained in the poem:

The best starting point when writing a critical appreciation of a poem is to determine what the poet's message or theme is. Once you determine this key point, the rest of the answer falls into place much easier.

Start your critical analysis by identifying the major or specific theme in the poem that accords it a larger meaning. To identify this theme, you need to consider or study the entire poem including its title. Maybe the poem that you are analyzing is about losing innocence, growing old, or importance of preserving the environment. The overarching or major theme of a poem can come out clearly or it can be hidden in its presentation of words or it conveys the deeper message or universal truth as in the case with Keats’ “Ode to Autumn” wherein the central idea is quite different from what the words perceive.

Therefore, try to figure out the meaning of the poem. Ask yourself questions like: What happens in the poem? What is the poet trying to say? How forcefully does he/she say it? Which lines bring out the meaning of the poem? Note that the last lines of a poem are usually important as they either emphasize or change the meaning of the poem.

6. Knowing the purpose:

The purpose of composing a poem could be to inform with facts or to persuade with an appeal to reason or emotions or imagination or just to entertain the readers. It is, therefore, strategic to infer the apt purpose before writing critical appreciation.

It is to imbibe that the true poet is one who makes the readers feel what he felt himself about a thing when he wrote. For example, when Shelley laments – I fall upon the thorns of life, I bleed – we begin to search our own wound and become Shelley for the moment when we are reading his poetry.

7. Looking for influences on the poet while writing the poem:

It is also significant to form an idea about the influences on the poet in course of writing the poem. Or, the philosophy, the belief, the revolution, the art, the lifestyle, the prevalent temperaments, the guiding principles of some eminent poets, painters, philosophers, etc are to be properly traced in the poem which is being dealt with for writing critical appreciation.

8. Surveying elements of realism: Page 5 of 7

If idealism is the beauty of a great literature, realism is its strength; if idealism attempts to adorn and beautify literature with its sweet blossoms of imagination and fancy, realism vitalizes it with its analytical criticism of man’s activities in life. To quote, the poetry of Chaucer, Benjonson, Dryden, Pope, Wordsworth, Browning, Siegfried Sassoon also faithfully incorporates elements of realism. So it is needed to find out aspects of realism in the poem which has been taken up for writing critical appreciation.

9. Identifying genre/category/type of poem:

Genre roughly means the category of the poem. Determine the poem’s type. Is the poem a lyric? A sonnet? A narrative? An epic? What is the significance of this type of poem? What characteristics of this type of poem are found?

Remember, each genre has set rules and characteristics. For example, a very long narrative poem, running into a several thousands of lines, dealing with divine figures or demi-gods or great generals of the past and describing a terrible war or an incredible journey on which the fate of humanity rests can be termed as epic. “Iliad” (Homer), “Paradise Lost” (John Milton) and such poems are brilliant example of Epic. A short poem of 14 lines expressing intimate emotions is a Sonnet. For example, “Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds' (Shakespeare) is a sonnet extolling real love and devotion. “Song for St. Ceilia’s Day”, a best-known Ode by John Dryden shows the poet as master of melodious verse and of a varied style. There are several genre/categories/ types like satire, mock-epic, ballad, lyric, ode, parody etc.

10. Preparing brief summary of the poem and outlining major ideas:

Before writing critical appreciation, it is imperative to prepare notes/points as key summary of each stanza in the case of a short poem. In case the poem is long, the points to be noted in one paragraph for two or three stanzas together. Here it is an underlined that writing brief summary and explaining great ideas are two vital components of critical appreciation. Think of inserting textual references in support of your views. This, if incorporated in the body of your answer, is certain to add a good flavour to your writing critical appreciation.

11. Examining Language aspects/Literary techniques employed in the poem:

The language of a poem is the very vehicle of its thoughts and ideas. It is, therefore, advised that you study the language aspects of the poem in terms of the use of figures of speech like personification, irony, images, symbols, simile, metaphor, etc; its language styles, its tone, use of loan words or archaic words, length of sentences, the rhythm (meters- iambic, Trochaic or any other), number of lines etc. Note the introduction of new ideas and mark the place where it occurs. For example, in the poem, “The lamb” by William Blake, the lamb refers to both the Page 6 of 7 baby sheep, the little boy who is the speaker and the Lamb of God. Here the word, ‘lamb’ is a metaphor.

It is important to then look for literary elements you are familiar with. Do you see a simile? What about great imagery? Is there any example of personification? Is there any example of metaphor? Once you find these, the key point to remember is that the author made these poetic choices for a reason. How does that simile contribute to the tone or theme? How does the imagery utilized bring deeper significance to the tone or theme?

For example, in the poem "Because I Could not Stop for Death", Emily Dickinson chooses to personify Death. Why does she make that choice? The image provides a way for her to discuss the transition into the afterlife as though she is a passenger in a carriage with Death. By doing so, she is able to reflect upon the life she has lived in light of the knowledge of death that all people face.

In the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", Robert Frost uses imagery to convey the peaceful scene before him as he pauses in snow-filled woods on a dark evening. Why does he use imagery there? The peaceful imagery he utilizes contrasts with the "But" at the end of the poem; he has "promises to keep" and "miles to go" before he sleeps. He is in a hurry and does not have time to enjoy this peace often.

Each choice the poet makes is for a specific purpose. It is important, therefore, to not simply identify those literary elements but also to analyze how each one brings deeper significance to the poet's work.

Poetry uses a wide range of literary devices which include personification, metaphor, simile, metonymy and irony. Look for symbols. The poet may use images that suggest certain concepts like love, youth, and death. What meaning do these symbols contribute, and how effective are they? Apart from constituting the body, these devices also demonstrate the control of language by the poet. Therefore, it is recommended that you evaluate and analyze the use of figurative language in the poem.

12. Analyzing the format of the poem:

A poem can be a free form. This means that it does not have an identifiable pattern. It can also have a unique writing scheme. The format of a poem is usually a deliberate choice of style or act by the writer. Describe the format chosen by the poet in your critical analysis and what it could mean as well as how it hinders or help in communicating the message.

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13. Gathering evidence from the poem to support the controlling idea or deliberating statement (textual references):

In the body of your critical appreciation, you need to cite actual lines of the poem to support your highlighted statement. This will make your critical analysis credible and strong. Readers will get clues of where your thesis statement comes from because it will have adequate supporting evidence from the poem. Prepare a checklist in advance towards this end (purpose).

Final Step: Writing the critical appreciation

At this step, you already know how to write a critical appreciation of a poem and you have all the information required to write a critical analysis of a poem. Use your checklist to write your critical analysis.

Finally-speaking your writing critical appreciation should include the following:

A. INTRODUCTION . Introduction of the poem and the poet . Publication of the poem / analysis of the literary movement/the era, the poem represents . Title of the poem under analysis (write about the title and state how it relates to the poem. Is it appropriate?) . Background information about the poem . Purpose or topic statement or thematic analysis of the poem

B. MAIN BODY  Stanza-wise brief but critical description or summary of the poem  Evaluation and interpretation of the poem with textual references (quotes from text in support of your ideas)  Critical discussion on literary aspects/language aspects and your personal opinions as a whole

C. CONCLUSION

Draw conclusions from your analysis, ideas and deliberations. Tell readers what was the goal or theme of the poem that you were analyzing, tools that were used in conveying the main idea or theme of the poem, how they were used and whether they were effective.