Step 1 – Reading and thinking
Read the poem at least three times before you begin to
write anything.
While reading try to detect a ‘tension’ or more simply a
‘contrast’ in the poem (by trying to see what is positive or negative in the
poem. E.g., night and darkness vs light and day; mortality vs immortality; age
vs youth, etc.).
Try to identify the general behind the particular – by
asking yourself what could be the larger issue that underlies and informs the
poem. For instance, ‘The Welsh Hill Country’ is not just a description of the
countryside. It seems reasonable to suggest that the poet is dealing with the
difference between the superficial appearance of things and the grim reality of
life. The poet is talking about disease, waste and decay in life.
Step 2 – Starting an essay
Summarize the poem, establish your sense of the central
opposition in the poem, set up the controlling idea for the essay as a whole.
Summarize the poem stanza by stanza (one line for each
stanza) In the last line of your introductory paragraph merely touch upon the
larger issue you have grasped in the poem – You have now got the content out of
the way and can concentrate on pointing out the formal choices the poet has made.
Step 3 – The main body of your answer
After your general opening paragraph devote one paragraph
to each stanza. The best approach is to pick out particular words and phrases
for comment – not every word and detail but a few and really do justice to them.
Step 4 – Sum up your sense of the poem as a whole.
Taken from
Practical Criticism by Peck and Coyle
SOME DO’S AND DON’TS OF APPLIED CRITICISM
Do:
Read the poem carefully and cautiously – at least three
times before you begin to write anything.
Pay attention to how something is being said instead of
only what is said – since it is the ‘how’ that conditions the ‘what’. In other
words: the form shapes the content.
Be alert to unusual ways of putting things (language) and
keep asking yourself the difficult yet rewarding question, why. Your job is to
decide on the aptness of the choice that the writer has made.
Use a few technical terms now and then – it can add
sophistication and precision to your writing.
Adopt a logical and argumentative style of writing.
Look for tension, conflict or opposition in the poem.
Look for positive images and impression that can be set
against negative images and impressions.
Concentrate on the opening lines. You don’t need to sort
out the poem as a whole at this stage. You are simply concerned with getting an
initial confident hold on the poem.
Try to see the larger issue that lies behind the particular
details of the poem; the tension you have spotted should help you identify a
larger issue.
Don’ts:
Waste your precious time (and the examiner’s) with lame
technical descriptions which fail to say anything about the effectiveness of
the work form a critical or aesthetic point of view. E.g., this is a poem which
contains fourteen lines.
Use vague emotive terms like ‘poignant’ – they betray a
hollowness of response. Also avoid the use of empty superlatives and adjectives
which say nothing about the text.
Praise a poem to the skies because you feel you have to.
Merely saying fine things will not gain you extra marks. At the same time, shock
dismissive tactics will be equally counterproductive.
Try to analyze the whole poem in advance. If you try to do
this you are likely to tie yourself up in knots.
At the outset, worry about details you don’t understand in
the poem. Such details can be dealt with later.
Don’t get sidetracked. You are analyzing a poem.
Concentrate on the effects that are actually taking place in the poem rather
than talking about your own life and experiences.
Get over-ingenious. You aren’t searching for hidden
meanings in the poem. Stick to the plain sense of the poem and any larger
issues that the plain sense suggests.
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