1

‘
A’LEVELLI
TERATUREI
NENGLI
SH

PRACTI
CALCRI
TICI
SM

STUDYPACK

REVI
SEDEDI
TION

TURN-UPCOLLEGE

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PUBLI
CATI
ONSTAFF

Publ
ishi
ngDir
ector
Sam Madzi
ngi
ra

CopyProofReader
Curr
icul
um Devel
opmentUni
tZi
mbabwe

Gener
alEdit
or
C.
KMhur i

Cont
ri
but
ors
M Mahwehwe,
M Ndl
ovu,
NMl
i
bazi

TextPrint
ers
ChiedzaMuchena,
Cry
stabel
lMudzi
ngwa,
Art
wel
lNcube

Publi
sher
Turn-
UpColl
egeZimbabwe
Off
ice28,N0.131Tr
adeCent
reBui
l
ding

13th/
14thAVBul
away
o

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Copy
right©byTur
n-UpCol
l
ege

Fi
rstpr
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ed2012

Allr
ightsreserved;printedi nZimbabwe.Nopar tofthisbookmayber eproduced,stored
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tenper
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onf rom t hepubl
isher
oral i
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egaltor eproducei t.Shoul ditbe
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oduced,wewi l
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ther
eto.Forf ur
therinf ormat i
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For
ewor
d

Ihadt heoppor tuni

tyofdi scussingt hisbookwi thsev eraleducat ionists,teachersand
student swheni twasint heprocessofmaki ng,andIfel tatoncet hatitwasl i
kelytopr ove
unusual lyuseful
.Itgatherstogetheragr eatdealofi nf ormat ionwhi chmustot herwisebe
delvedf orinmanybooksandal lthisisar rangedjudi ciouslyandonpr acti
callines.The
authors’out l
ookmi ghtbedescr ibedasoneofl i
ber
alcommonsensecl arity
,simpl i
cit
yof
expressi on,andexami nation-ski l
ls-f ocused. Ourst udypacksar et heret oof fera
canv asf orZimbabweanst oshowcaset heirbestideast ohel ptransfor mt hecount ryinto
aknowl edge-basedsoci etywher eciti
zensar ef r
eet oexpr esstheircr eativi
ty,knowledge
andi ngenui t
y.Wehav esetchal lengingobj ecti
ves,butwebel i
evet hatonl ybyst riv
ingt o
achievet hehighest,canweel ev
ateour selvesabov et heel ementswhi cht endt oholdour
count r
yback.Howev er,ifyourseeany t
hingwher eyouf eelwemayhav ef ail
edt odeliver,
andwher ewemayhav ef ail
edoni ssuessuchascont ent ,depth,relevanceandusabi li
ty,
pleasel etusknowbyusi ngthecont actnumber s

(
09)61226/61247,0773247358;orBox2759By
o;emai
latt
urnupcol
l
ege@y
ahoo.
com.
Weareheretoli
stenandi
mprove.

I
nmyday sasat
eacherandasast
udentIshoul
dhav
ewel
comedt
hisbookwar
mly
because:

(
i) I
tappr
oachest
hesy
ll
abushol
i
sti
cal
l
y

(
ii
) I
tusessi
mpl
i
fiedexpr
essi
on

(
ii
i) I
thasani
n-dept
hcov
erageofcont
ent

(
iv) I
tpr
ovi
desexami
nat
ionski
l
lsatt
heear
li
estst
ageofst
udy
ing

(
v) Itprovidesl
ocal
,i
nter
nat
ional
andcommonpl
aceexampl
es;
il
lust
rat
ionsandcase
studies.

(
vi) I
tprovi
desi
ntel
li
gentquest
ionsandanswer
soft
heexami
nat
iont
ypeonachapt
er
bychapt
erbasi
s

(
vii
) Lastbutnotleast
,itpr
ovidesacl
earpl
atf
ormf
orsel
f-
eval
uat
ionasonepr
epar
es
fort
hefinalexaminati
ons.

Ihavenodoubtthatlearner
sandeducat or
swouldaswellf
indthi
sbooktobethebest.I
t
i
scertainl
yamanual forsuccess.Ever
yonewouldfi
nditwort
hytohavehisowncopy.I
shoul
dnotbesur pr
isediftheTurn-upColl
egeSt
udyPackbecamet hebestr
esour
cein
schoolandoutofschool.

Sam Madzi
ngi
ra

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Di
rect
or

Acknowl
edgement
s

Iwoul dexpressmysi nceregrati

tudet omember soft hecollegewhomadei mmense
contri
butiontothisedit
ion.Mor eso,It hankMrMgi yelwaNdl ovuandMl ibaziforthe
enormouscont ri
buti
onhehasmadei nbuil
dingupt hecontentofthisbook.Ishouldalso
thankMi ssChiedzaP.Muchena,Mi ssCrystabel
lMudzingwaandt helat
eAr twellNcube
whot ypedt hemanuscripts.Iwil
lnotl i
veoutMrC. KMhur iwhodi dthefinaledit
orial
attempttomaket hi
sbookhassl e-
free.

Wehavetakeneveryeffor
ttot
ryandgetholdofthecopyri
ghtholder
sofanyi nf
ormat i
on
wehaverepr
oducedwi t
houtacknowledgement
.Wewi l
lappreci
atethehelpfrom anyone
t
oenableuscontactthecopyr
ighthol
derswhosepermissi
onwehav enotyetobtai
ned.

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Preface
TheTur n-
UpCol legeLiteratur einEngl i
shadv ancedlevelstudypackisfocusedongi vi
ng
adv ancedlevellearner
sofl iterat ureinEngl i
shanexam-f ocusedappr
oacht othestudyof
l
iteratureinEngl i
sh.Itpr ovidest hebasi sf ortheunderstandingandcompr ehensionof
l
iteratureinEnglishtof i
rstt imel earners,eff
ectiv
elybr
idgingthedivi
debetweenor dinary
l
ev elandadv ancedl evellit
er ature. Thepr i
ncipal obj
ectiveofthi
smodul etheref
oreist o
dev el
opcr it
icalthinki
ngski l
lsi nst udent ssoast odev elopasoundappr eciat
ionof
l
iteratureinEngl i
shandal soi mpr oveex aminati
onper f
ormance.Thecr i
ti
calskill
sar e
veryv it
altot hestudyofl i
teratur eatAdv ancedlevel
.Thi smoduledealseffecti
vel
ywi th
thecur rentconcer nsoft hesy llabusi nahol i
sti
cmanner ,meetingthedemandsoft he
exami nati
onpaperonPr actical Criti
cism (Paper1).

Thisst udypackempower sthest udentinanumberofway s.Chapt erobjecti

veshav e
beeni ncludedatt hest ar
tofev erychapt er.Theseobj ect i
vesarev eryspecif
iconski l
l
dev el
opmentr equir
edint hatparti
cularchapt erorsect ion.Thewayt heobjecti
vesar e
arti
culatedt all
i
eswi ththeselfassessmentexer cisest hathav ebeenpl acedatcrit
ical
pointswi thinachapt eraswel last het y
picalexami nationquestionsatt heendoft he
chapter.Ther efor
e,usersshouldconsi dertheobjectivesatt hebegi nningofanychapt er
asaney e-openeronski l
lsaddressedi nthet ext
.Asaf urtheradvant age,thi
sstudypack
givesdemonst rat
ionsonhow t oappr oachquest ionsi nanexami nat i
on,aswellasgi ve
practi
cal hintsonexaminationquesti
ons

Agenr e-
specifi
capproachhasbeenadoptedint hisst
udypackinor dertoattendtothe
speci
ficrequir
ementsofeachgenre.Thi
sisdonei nvi
ewofthefactthatgenresmayhav e
cert
ain uniqueaspects,e.
g.onl it
erar
ydevices,dramahascer tain devi
cest hatare
peculi
artoit.

Acompl et
elynewchapterhasbeenincl
udedi nthi
sediti
on.Thi
schapterdealswiththe
cross-
genreanal
ysi
swhi chi
snotv er
ypopularbutpresentinthesyl
labus.Thisaspect
hasbeentreat
edinamannerthatenti
cesthestudentt
oenjoythesubj
ect.Onthisaspect
,
thi
sst udypackisuniquebecausemostl i
terat
ureresour
cesignor
et hecr oss-
genre
appreci
ati
onaspect
.

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TABLEOFCONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

‘
A’ LEVELLI TERATUREI NENGLI SH 1
PUBLICATI ONSTAFF 2
Acknowl edgement s 5
Preface 6
Chapter1 9
I
NTRODUCTI ONTOADVANCEDLEVELLI TERATURE 9
Whati sl i
teratur einEngl i
sh 9
Basisf orthest udyofl i
terature 9
Whyi sl it
eraturei mpor tant? 10
Educat ional value 10
Skil
lsassessment 11
Syll
abuscomponent s 11
Notesonpapersel ection 12
TheLi teratureexami nation 13
Exami nat i
onski l
ldevelopment : 13
Conclusion 14
CHAPTER2 15
COMMENTANDAPPRECI ATI
ON 15
Prel
imi naryi ntroductiont oli
terar
ydevi
ces 15
Form 15
Judgment 16
ELEMENTSOFPRACTI CALCRI TI
CISM 16
Compr ehensi on 16
Thesi tuation 19
Development 19
I
ntention 20
Exampl eone“ PianoandDr ums”byGabr i
elOkara” 23
ASUMMATI VEAPRPOACHTOPRACTI CALCRITICI
SM 26
Chapter3 28
APPRECI ATI ONOFPOETRY 28
6.Met aphor 31
12.Apost rophe 33
Demonst ration1: “PianoandDr ums”byGabri
elOkara” 36
Demonst ration2 42
Chapter4 53

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APPRECI ATI ONOFPROSE 53

Demonst ratedanswer 62
Gener al 62
KeyEl ement s 62
Tone 63
Chapt er5 83
APPRECI ATI ONOFDRAMA 83
Demonst ratedAnswer 89
Demonst ratedanswer 93
KEYELEMENTS 93
Raina 93
Sergius 93
Louka 93
Dramat icTechni ques 94
StageDi rections 94
Exami nationt ypeQuesti
ons 94
Chapt er6 106
Crossappr eciati
onoflit
eratur
egenr
es 106
Int
roduct ion 106
Theappr oach 106

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Chapt
er1
I
NTRODUCTI
ONTOADVANCEDLEVELLI
TERATUREANDSYLLABUSANALYSI
S.

Lear
ningobj
ect
ives

Byt
heendoft
hischapt
eroneshoul
dbeabl
eto;

a)Def
inel
i
ter
atur
e.

b)Just
if
ythebasi
sfort
hest
udyofl
i
ter
atur
einEngl
i
shatadv
ancedl
evel

c)I
nter
prett
headv
ancedl
evel
li
ter
atur
esy
ll
abus.

d)Out
li
net
heski
l
lsnecessar
yfort
hest
udyofadv
ancedl
evel
exami
nat
ion

e)Descr
ibet
hemai
nter
msusedi
nthel
i
ter
atur
eassessment
.

I
ntr
oduct
ion

Thewor ld’sacademi cand soci alspher ei sdr i

venbyagr eatquestf orknowl edge.
Every daynew knowl edgei sbei ngdi scov er
edorpr eser
v edfort henextgener ati
oni n
printedform.Ev eryoneev er
ywher ei sinterestedinonesor tofstudyort heother.I
nshor t
,
readingist hewor l
d’sgr eatestact i
vity
.Indeedr easonsforsuchani nt
erestarenumerous
aspeopl er eadf ordiff
er entactivi
ties.AswecommenceourAdv ancedlevelli
ter
atur
ei n
Englishst udieswewi lli nt
eractwi thal otofwr it
teninformation.Lit
eratur
ei nEnglish
thereforeformsonesmal lf
racti
onofwr i
tt
encommuni cat
ion.

Whati slit
eratureinEngl i
sh
Literaturespr i
ngsf rom ouri nbornl ov eoft ell
ingordescr ibi
ngt hings.Thisi sachi eved
throughar r
angi ngwor dsinpl easingpat t
erns,orexpr essi
ngsomespeci alaspectofour
humanex perience.Literat
urehasbeendef i
nedbyanumberofschol ar
sast hest udyof
wor ksofl i
teraryar t
,whi chi st heexpr essionofhumant houghtandf eeli
ngi nwr it
ten
formi nthemedi umsofpr ose, dramaorpoet ry.I
tisimpor t
antt onoticethatt hewr i
terof
l
iteratureisnott iedt of actsi nqui tethesamewayast hehi stor
ian,economi stort he
scient i
st,whosest udi esareabsol utelyonwhathasact uall
yhappened,Li t
er aryarti
sts
speci ali
zeincr eativ
elyput ti
ngt ogetherf actualandnonf act
ualaccount sandexper i
ences
i
nwr itt
enoror alform.I nshor ttheonl ylimitforaliterar
yar t
istisbasicall
yt hescopeof
onesi magi nati
on.Ourst udyofl iteraturei nEnglishi sconcer nedwi tht hewor ksof
l
iteraturepresent edt hroughthemedi um oft heEngli
shl anguage.

Basi sforthest udyofli

ter
atur
e
Iti
si mpor tantatthi
spointtonotethatt
hestudyofLiter
atureatthi
sleveli
snotf ormer e
enjoy ment.Ourst udyisguidedbyt hedemandoft hesy l
l
abust hati
si nli
newi t
ht he
expect ati
onsoft herequir
ementsofAdvancesLeveleducationortheequival
ent.Inother
wor dst her
ear ebasicskil
lswhichweoughttobeabl etodev el
opinourstudies.Iti
st he

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atur
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skill
st hatar
eexami nedattheendofourstudies.Whatwemeani sthat,aswestudy
dif
f er
entnov el
s,ourmajormandateisnotr eadingforenj
oy ment,butgivingalotof
thoughtt oanumberofi nfl
uencest
hatl
edt othewr i
ter
spr esent
ingtheirworksi
nt hat
mannerorhowl anguageandotherl
i
ngui
sti
caspect shavebeenusedt ocreatepar
ti
cular
effects.

Whyi slit
eratureimpor tant?
Thegr eatestpleasur eandsat i
sf actiont obef oundi nl i
teratureoccurswheni tbr i
ngsus
backt ot her ealiti
esofhumansi tuati
ons,pr oblems,f eelingsand r elat
ionships.The
wr i
tersofl i
terature,beinglesst iedt of actthant hehi storianorsci enti
sthavemor escope
tocommentont hef acts,ar r
anget hem inunusualway s,andt ospecul at
enotonl yon
whati s,butonwhatoughtt obe,orwhatmi ghtbe.Wr i
ter
sar e,therefor
e,somet imes
peopl ewi thvisionaryorpr ophet i
ci nsightsint ohumanl ife.Allofuswhor eadwor ksof
l
iterature willfind ourknowl edge ofhuman exper iences br oadened and deepened,
whet heri nthei ndividual,social,r acialori nternationalspher es;Thest udyofl iteratur
e
thereforeenabl esust ounder standt hepossi bil
iti
esofhumanl i
fe,bot
hf orgoodandev i
l;
Weshal lunderstandhow wecamet ol i
veatapar ticulart i
meandpl ace,wi thal lit
s
pleasur esandv exat i
onsandpr oblems; weshal lunder standt heway sonwar dswhi chare
opent ous,andweshal lperhapsbeabl et omaker ightr atherthanwr ongchoi cesi nour
everydayl if
e.

Educat i
onalval ue
Inourst udyofl i
ter
atureweshoul dnotunder estimatet heel ementofpl easureand
enjoymentwhi chcomesf r
om t hereadingofliter
atureasi tissur ely,initself,oneoft he
greatbenef it
swhi chcomesf rom beinganeducat edper son.Howev erwer ecognisethat
certai
not herfundament alskill
sandcapaci t
iesar edev elopedt hrought her eadingof
l
iterat
ure,whi char ei
mpor tanttousal lintheday -to-
dayexer ciseoft her esponsibil
iti
es
whichcomet ousi nourl i
feasar esultoftheeducat ionalqualifi
cationsweobt ain.“The
greatestofourwor l
dl eaders,phil
osophers,soci alscientist
s,lawy ers,
-
---wer ear dent
studentsofl it
eratur
e.”,said oneofourunsung her oesofeducat i
on.Ourst udyof
l
iterat
urei n Engli
sh atadv anced levelwi l
lenhance t he dev elopmentofski ll
si n
discri
minat i
on,judgementanddeci sionmaki ng.Theseski l
lsaredi scussedbr ief
lybelow.

Di
scr
imi
nat
ion

Thefir
stmotivef orthereadingofl i
teratureispl easureorent er
tainment .Thi s,howev er
,
i
snott hewholepur poseofourst udy,webegi nt or eal
isethatweenj oysomet hingsmor e
thanother
s,andt hatsomeofourr eadingexper iencesseem posi tiv
elydistast eful when
other
sbecomemor eandmor edeepl yabsor bing.Onewayofexpl ai
ningt hi
swoul dbet o
saythatwearebegi nni
ngt odevelopanappr eciationforsomet hi
ngsr athert hanf or
other
s.Inshortwear ebeginningtodi scri
minat e,toappreciateandt odifferent iate
betweenwhati sreallyi
mpor tantandt hatwhi chi stri
vi
al.Humanexper iencesar ealways
mov i
ngineverincreasingcompl exity.Obv i
ousl ythemor esur el
ywecangi v
eourat tenti
on
totheimport
antt hingsratherthant hetriv
ialones, themor eweshal lbenefit,indi vi
duall
y
andinthecontributionsweshal lbeabl etomaket othewor ldatlarge.

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 11

Judgementanddeci
sionmaki
ng

Inourst udyofl it
eratur ewecont inuet ogai nexperi
encei ndi scri
mi nationtocompar eour
discrimi nationwi thot herpeopl e’s.Wer eflectuponourdi scriminationaswedi scov eron
whatf act orssuchdi scri
mi nat
ioni sbased.Wet hencomet owar dsast ateofmi ndi n
whi chwef eelacapaci t
yt odeli
veranopi nionaboutt her i
ght sandwr ongsofasi tuat ion
orapr obl em,wedev elopacapaci tyt omakeani nf ormedj udgement ;maki ngdecisions
whi chot herpeopl eacceptandagr eet o,formingt hebestbasi sf ormanyki ndsof
pract i
calact ions.Iti si ndeed,qui ter eal i
sti
ct osuggestt hatt hequal i
ti
esdev eloped
throught het hought fulstudyofl iteraturear eofthegr eatestusei nlaterlif
einapr actical
humanenv ironment ,Suchski llofj udgementwi llbev er ycr i
ticalto,f orexampl e,t he
empl oy erwhohast odeci deont hebestappl i
cantfrom amongstanumberwhohav esent
wr i
tten appl i
cat i
ons;t othe publ isher ,who hast o choosef r
om amongstnumer ous
manuscr i
ptsher eceiv esthoset hatar emostwor t
hpubl i
shi ng;andt o anumberofwor k
andl i
fer elatedchal lenges.Ther eforet hest udyandappr eciationofEngl i
shlit
er ature
offersspeci al possibil
iti
esinapar ticularlyconv eni
entandconcent r
atedway .

Ski
ll
sassessment
Theadvancedlev
elZI
MSECandCambr
idgeAdv
ancedLev
elsy
ll
abusai
mst
odev
elopt
he
fol
l
owingskil
l
s.

1)Devel
opanawar
enessandappr
eci
ati
onofl
i
ter
atur
easat
ool
forper
sonal
,nat
ional
dev
elopment
.

2)Devel
opcrit
icalt
hinki
ngandanal
ysi
sski
ll
sinstudent
ssoast
oenablethest
udent
tounder
standhowwr it
ersmakeuseofl
anguageandfor
mtodev
elopthei
rworks.

Sy
ll
abuscomponents
TheZI
MSECSy l
labusi
sbr
okendowni
ntot
hef
oll
owi
ngpapercomponent
s:

1)Paperone;
Commentandappr
eci
ati
on

Thisi sacompul sorypaperf ormingt hebasi sofourst udyofl i

ter at
ureinEnglish.I t
testsourunder standingoft heskill
sout li
nedabov et hr
ought hepr esentati
onof
unseen t exts.I n otherwor dswear egi ven ext r
act sf rom t hef ourgenr esof
l
iteratur
e wher e we appl yourski l
ls ofj udgement ,discrimi nati
on and l i
terar y
appr eci
ationingener al.Fourquestionsar eusual l
yseti nthispaperandcandi dat es
shoul dansweranyt wo.Ther earequest ionsonpr ose,poet r yanddr ama.The
fourthquest i
onswi llr equir
et hecandi datet ocompar eandcont r
astwor ksof
l
iteratur
ef r
om t hesameorot hergenr es.Theext ractsar et akenf rom anyl i
ter al
wor kofar twr i
ttenf r
om AD1500t ot hepr esentday .Hencet herei sagr eatneedf or
extensiver eadingout sidet herecommendedt exts.Thiswi llbroadenourscopeand
enabl eusdev elopr efinedj udgemental anddeci si
onmaki ngski lls.

2)Paper2:
ZimbabweanAndAf
ri
canLi
ter
atur
e

Thi
spaperf
ocusesont
heappr
eci
ati
onofZi
mbabweanandAf
ri
canwr
it
ings.
Iti
s

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decidedi nt
ot wosections.Secti
onAi sdedicat
edt ot hestudyofZi mbabwean
l
iter
at ure.Twosetbooksar eexami ned.Thepr escri
bedt ext
swi llbeapoet ry
anthologyand a nov el.Student
s are expected to studyatl eastone oft he
prescribedt exts.From secti
onA.I nsectionB,f ournov el
sarepr escri
bedand
candidat esareex pect
edt ostudyatleasttwonov elsfrom thi
ssect i
on.Alli
nall
student sareexpectedtoanswert hr
eequest i
onsfrom thispaper
, t
hatis,
onefrom
sectionAandt wof r
om diff
erentt
extsinsecti
onB.

3)Paper3:
Shakespear
eandot
herdr
amat
ist
s

Thispaperi
sbasical
lybasedonthestudyofdrama.Iti
sdivi
dedintotwosecti
ons.
Insecti
onA,twoShakespear eanpl
aysareprescri
bed.Studentsareexpect
edt o
studyatleastonepl ayandanswer aquest ionont hatplay.Fourpl
aysf r
om
vari
ouswrit
ersfrom theworl
dareprescri
bedandstudentsareexpectedtostudy
anytwo.Assuch,st udent
sareexpectedtoansweronequest i
onf r
om sect
ionA
andtwoquestionsfr
om secti
onB.

4)Paper4:
Cont
empor
aryl
i
ter
atur
e

Paperfourisbasedonworksoflit
eratureinEngl i
shdevel
opedaft
ert heSecond
Wor l
dWarFi v
eorsi xsetbookscov eri
ngthet hr
eegenresareprescri
bed,and
student
sareexpectedtostudyanyt hr
eet exts.Thestudent
sareexpect edto
answerthr
eequesti
onsfr
om anythr
eet extsi
nt heexaminat
ion.

5)Paper5:
Wor
ldLi
ter
atur
e

Thi
sisanopenpaperthati
ncludesl
it
eratur
ewrit
tenduringdi
ffer
entper
iods.Fi
ve
orsi
xtext
sareprescr
ibedfr
om diff
erentgenr
es,studentsar
eexpectedtostudy
anyt
hreet
ext
s.

Not
esonpapersel ect
ion
Thef i
vepaper swehav eoutli
nedabov ecar
ryanequalexaminat
ionweighti
ngof33.3
percent.Thismeanst hatequalat
tent
ionshoul
dbeplacedinthestudyofthesel
ected
paperopt ions.Westatedearli
erthat
,ofthe5paperspaper,oneiscompulsor
y.This
meanst hatwehav etoselecttwopaper sfr
om thefour papersinordertomeet
syl
labusr equir
ements.Forexample,

Opt
ionA:
Paper1,
2and3

Opt
ionB:
Paper1,
2and4

Opt
ionC:
Paper1,
2and5

Opt
ionD:
Paper1,
3and4

Opt
ionE:
Paper1,
3and5

Opt
ionF:
Paper1,
4and5

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Thefol
lowing i
nfl
uencescan beputi
nto consi
der
ati
on when deci
ding on paper
combi
nati
ons.

1)Av
ail
abi
l
ityoft
hesetbooksont
hemar
ket

2)Thedurat
ionofthesetbooksont
hesyl
labus(car
efull
ychecksetbookci
rcul
arsas
someprescr
ibedsetbooksmaynotcompl
etethei
rful
lterm.

3)Lev
elofl
i
ngui
sti
cdi
ff
icul
tyofsett
ext
s(egcont
empor
aryv
sChaucer
ianl
i
ter
atur
e)

4)Env i
ronmental i
nfluences(Zi
mbabweanv sWestAf r
icanlit
eratur
e):Ast udentwoul d
appreciatebet
teraZi mbabweannov elt
hanaWestAf r
icannov elashei sf amil
iarwith
theset ti
ngsandt hei ssuesraised.Ther efor
ei tisadv i
sablet oi nt
roduceonet o
l
iter
atureusingat extthatonecaneasi lyrelat
ewi t
handgr aduall
ymov et hestudent
outoft hecomf ortzone.Inthisway ,li
teraturestudywillbeapl annedpr ocessofski l
l
development,st arti
ng from the known f ami
li
art er
ritor
y orwr i
terto compl et
ely
unknown, morecompl exworksofliteratureatal at
erstage.

Att heendofi tall

,itisadvi
sabletor eall
yputalotofthoughttothepaper sbeing
studied,andthi
spr i
maril
ydependsont hesetbookfactor
.Educator
sarediscouraged
fr
om selectingapaperbecauseoneoft hesetbookwasst udi
edbytheeducatorinthe
past,eitherasa st udentorint er
tiaryeducati
on.Setbooksel ecti
on should be
i
nf l
uencedbycr i
ti
calassessmentofthei ssuesi
denti
fi
edabove.Aft
erall
,thescheme
ofassessmentatt heendoft hedayi sbased,notont hepaperopt i
onsonehas
selectedbutont heschemeofassessmentpr escri
bedbyt hesy l
l
abus,andt hi
s
appliesunif
ormlytoallt
hefiv
epaperopt ions.

TheLi
teratur
eexami nat
ion
Theadv ancedlevell
i
ter
atureexaminat
ionisessaybased.Allf
ivepaperscar
ryati
me
durati
onof3hour s.I
npaperone, st
udentsareexpect
edtoansweranyt woquest
ions
whiletheotherfourpapersrequi
reast udentt
oanswerthreequestionswit
hint
hree
hours.

Twoquest ionsaresetoneachsetbookandst udentsareexpectedtoanswerone.

Thef i
rsti
sanessaybasedquest i
onthatisopen.Thi sistosayanyaspectinthatset
bookcanbeexami ned.Thesecondquest i
onisapassage-basedquest i
on(context
).I
t
basical
ly exami
nes t he appli
cation ofcommentand appr eci
ati
on ski
l
lsi n our
assessmentoft hepar t
iculartext.Thisexplai
nswhypaperonei scompulsoryand
ther
eforeshouldnotbet aughtinisolat
ion,butshouldf or
mt hecoreofourstudyof
l
iter
aturei
nEnglish.

Exami
nat
ionskil
ldevel
opment:
Witht
heexaminat
ioninmind,t
hef
oll
owi
nghi
ntsar
eint
endedt
ogi
veagener
algui
del
i
ne

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i
ndev elopmentofexami nati
onski l
l
s.Theref
orethedev el
opmentofappropri
at eskil
l
s
should bea process,notan ev ent.Theref
orefrom the onsetweshould hav ethe
expectati
onoft heexami nat
ioni nmind.Thesehi nt
sar etheref
orenotfort hefinal
examinationonl
y,butf
orallassessmentsduri
ngourstudyofli
ter
atur
eatAdvancedlevel.

1.Thinkcar eful
lyaboutt hequest i
onandunder li
net hekeywor ds.Tr yt osubst it
ute
thesekeywor dswi th synonymsso ast of ul
lyunder stand thedemandsoft he
question.Wr it
eanessaypl an.
2.Ensuret hatyouhav esuffi
cientpointstoanswert hequesti
on.Av oidrunningdr y
.Each
pointshoul dber el
evantt ot hedemandoft hequest i
on.Av oi
dr epeti
tionofal ready
i
dent i
fiedpoints.Thi sisv erycommoni nthest udyofl it
eratur
e,asonecanpr esent
oneideai ndifferentway s.
3.Selectt heappr opri
ateinformat i
ony ouwilluset osuppor tyourv iewst aki
ngnot eof
quotationswhi char eonlyrelevantbutbestil
lustr
at eyouri
deas.
AVOI Dunnecessar ytextreferences.Themai nissueher eistouset ext
ualevidencet o
suppor tourviewsandnott oshowcaseourexpl icitknowl
edgeoft hetextout si
det he
boundsoft hequest i
on.

4.Writ
ingaroughdraftbeforethefi
nalessayi
sadv i
sabl
eifyouhaveti
me.Point
swi l
l
do.Adr af
thoweveri sessenti
alfornonexaminat
ioncondit
ionse.
gwri
ti
ngacl ass
assi
gnment,presentati
on etc.(Remembert hattime managementis ofcruci
al
i
mpor t
ance).

5.Wheni tcomest othefi

nalessay
,makesurethaty ouri
deasarearr
angedinalogical
order
,intheorderthatbestanswersthequesti
on.Av oi
dfoll
owingthesequenceof
thepassage.Breakthepassageint
osegments/topicsaswil
lbedemonstrat
edinthe
l
aterpartsoft
hestudypack.

6.Thewayy oupresentyouri
deasisver
yimpor
tant
.Yourhandwr
it
ingshoul
dbeneat
andheadi
ngsshouldbeunderl
i
ned.

7. Eachparagraphshouldcontai
napoi ntorpoi
ntsthatanswerthequest
ion,with
support
inginfor
mationfr
om thepassage.AVOIDoff
eri
ngnarr
ati
vesoft
hest or
iesof
thepassage!Regurgit
ati
ondoesnotearnyoumarks!

8.Yourpr
esent
ati
onshouldcont
ainsi
mplest
rai
ghtf
orwar
dexpr
essi
ons.Themai
npoi
nt
i
sansweri
ngthequest
ionathandandnott
oshowoff.

9.Youri
ntr
oduct
ionshoul
dputtheex
aminerint
othepi
ctur
eofwhaty
ouhav
etosayand
i
tshoul
dbestrongl
yrel
atedt
othequest
ion.

10.
Theconcl
usi
onshoul
dconvi
ncetheexami
nert
haty
ouhav
eanswer
edt
hequest
ion
andi
tshoul
dbefor
cef
ulandconv
inci
ng.

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11.
Ifyourlanguageispoor
, t
hebestthingi
stodevel
opani nt
erestinr
eading.Readwi
th
thepurposeoff amil
iar
izi
ngy our
selfwi
thgoodEnglishwhilstatt
hesamet imeyou
entert
ainyoursel
fwit
hexciti
ngstori
esandwidenyourknowledgeoftheworl
d.

Defi
nit
ionofkeywor ds.
Thesearesomeoft hemostcommonl yusedt er msi nli
terat ur
equesti
ons.Thi sguidel
ine
gi
vesbriefexplanati
onsonwhatt heyr equire.
(
a) Assess: -weighev i
denceei t
herconf ir
mi ngordeny ingtheclai
m ofthest atement.
(
b) Cr it
ici
se:-gi vey ourreasonedandwel linfor medj udgementoropini onaboutt he
mer i
torconcr etenesst ruthof/aboutf act s.
(
c) Comment :-crit
iciseorf orm aper sonal vieworopi nionaboutsomet hing.
(
d) Di scuss:-expl oreani ssuebyr easonedar gument ,debateandgiv er easonsfor
andagai nst.Alsoof ferexplanation.
(
e) Exami ne:-considercl oselyanaccountgi vingreasons, doaclosestudy .
(
f) Anal yse:-toexami nei ndetailinor dert odi scovermeani ngofessent ialf
eatur
es,
tobreakdowni ntocomponent soressent ialfeat
ures
(
g) Consi der:-t
hinkcar efullyabout(apr oblem ordeci sion)thenmakeaj udgement.

Conclusion
I
tishopedthatt
hischapterhasgivenusersawor thyinsi
ghtint
ot heexpect
ati
onsof
l
it
erat
ureinEngl
ishatadvancedlevel.Mostoftheissuesdiscussedinthechapterwi
l
lbe
devel
opedful
lyi
ntherelevantsect
ionsofthestudypack.

Chapt
er2
COMMENTANDAPPRECI
ATI
ON
Lear
ningobj
ect
ives

Af
terstudy
ingthist
opic,
thestudentshoul dbeabl eto:
(
a) def i
nethetermli
teraryappr eciati
on
(
b) Assesst heimportanceofl iteraryappr eci
ati
oninliter
atur
estudies
(
c) Out l
inethegener
al guideli
nesi ncrit
ical
lyappreciat
ingagiventext
(
d) Def i
neandappr eciatet her oleofl it
erarydevicesi nthestudyofdiff
erent
li
ter
atur
egenres.
(
e) Appl ythestepst hatar epr escri
bedi nt heanalysisofdifferentl
i
ter
ature
genres.

Pr
elimi naryi
ntroductiontolit
erar
ydevices
Writ
er susedi f
ferenttechniquesandwr i
ti
ngst y
lestopresenttheirideas.Abov eall
,they
makeuseofl i
ter
arydev i
cest oenri
chtheirl
anguage,thusmaki ngt hei
rwor ksint
obei ng
morecr eati
veand enj oyable.Lit
erar
ydev icescan bedef ined ast hose aspectsof
l
anguaget hataidt hewr i
ter’
suseofcr eati
vewi t
heit
herinpoet r
y ,proseordr ama.Itis
i
nterestingtonot et hatev ery
oneatonet i
meoranot herhasusedl i
terar
ydev i
cesi n
ever
y dayspeech,al beit
,wi t
houttaki
ngnot i
ce.Thisisbecausel i
ter ar
ydev icesar
epar t

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andpar
cel
ofanyl
anguaget
oanext
entt
hatwear
enotr
eal
l
yawar
eoft
hei
rimpor
tance.

Inthest udyofadv ancedl evelli

terat
uret heknowl edgeoft het ypesandappl icat
ionof
thesedev i
cesisav eryessent i
alaspecti nt heanal ysisandevaluat ionofv ariousli
terar
y
worksf r
om diff
erentwr iter
s.Whati sessent i
alfort hestudentther efore,istheabilit
yto
i
dent i
fythediffer
entf ormsofdev i
cest hatar eusedbywr it
ers.Secondl yt hestudent
shouldbeabl etocommentonhowapar ti
cularwr iterhasemploy edt heuseofal i
terar
y
deviceandt owhatef fectthatdev i
ceordev iceshasi nones’appr eciationoft hewr i
ter
s
work.Thust hroughf urtherresearchandwi der eadingoft hev ariousf or
msofl i
terar
y
work,studentswillbeinabet t
erposi t
iont ocompr ehendthegener alscopeoft hestudy
andappr eci
ati
onofl i
teratur
e.

Li
terarydevicesther ef
oreform ani mportantaspectofdi ct
ioni npracti
cal cri
ti
cism.We
shal
l noti
cet hatwritersofpart
iculargenresapplysomedev i
cesf requentl
yt hanot her
devi
cesi ntheirwor ks.Theconclusionthereforeisthateachgenr ehasspeci ficdev i
ces
associatedwi t
hit.Thisdoesnotmeant osaythatbecauseapar ti
cularli
teraldevicei s
associatedwi t
haspeci f
icgenr
ei tcannotbeef f
ectiv
elyusedi nanot hergenr e.Thenex t
chaptersfocusonhowt oapplypr act
icalcri
ti
cism skil
lstodifferentgenres.Assuch
specifi
clit
eraldevicesandt hei
rgener aleff
ectsaredi scussedi ndetaili
neachchapt er
.

Form
Finallyiti
sof t
enimpor tantt oconsidertheef fectonapi eceofwrit
ingofi t
sgener alfor
m.
It
s‘ form’isbestt houghtofasi tsst r
uctureasawhol e,t
hegeneralar r
angementi nwhi ch
wor ds,phrases,cl auses,soundef fects,figur
ativeandr hyt
hmi cdevicesallcont r
ibut
et o
theef fectofthewhol e.Int hefi
eldofpoet rythi
squest i
onsmayseem easi ertodealwi th,
becauseagai nwehav eanumberofr eady -madet erms,suchasst anzas,ballad,Couplet,
sonnet ,BlankVer se,et c,whi chseemst osav eusagooddealoft rouble..Wemustbe
ablet oexpl ai
nt heef fectswhi cht hef or m contri
butestot hepieceasawhol e:how
conv enientl
y,forexampl e,doesitmar kt hestagesoft hedevelopmentofapassage/How
boldlydoesi tbr i
ngoutt heplanandt hei mpactoft hewhol e?Howconv enientl
ydoesi t
under li
netheemot ionalef f
ectintendedandsoon?

Prosei sl
essoftencastintoar ecognizableorsetform;never
thel
essaspect sofform can
oft
enbeseeni ntherepetit
ionofpar ti
cularwordorsentencepatter
nsandt herecur rence
ofsy mbols.Weshouldalsonot ewhet herthesentencesarehighl
y-cont
roll
edinst ructure,
whet hert
heyar eshortandbr oken,whethertheyflowonast houghrepresenti
ngt hef low
ofthought ,ofconversat
ion,ofinternalmonologue.Buti nthecaseofpr ose,agai n,we
shallalwaysseeknotmer elytodescr i
bewhatweobser veinthewayoff ormalpat tern,
buttoexplainit
seffectont hepassageasawhol e.

Judgment
I
tisav er
ygoodt hingattheendofanex er
cisei
nappreci
ati
ontoindi
cat
easacl ear
lyas
possi
bleone’
sopi nionaboutthepassagestudi
ed.Thegoodstudentwil
lfeelanatural
desi
re,af
terspendingsomet i
meonapi eceofwrit
ingtoexpresssomeki ndoffinal

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opinionabouti t.Iti shelpfultot hinkoft his,perhaps,asr at

herlikeav oteoft hankst o
societyori nsti
tution.Asmostst udentswi llknow,agoodv oteoft hanksmaywel lbe
quitebr i
ef.Itshoul dcer tai
nlybesi ncereandmaker ef
erencet omat tersofspeci al
i
nterestordi sti
nct i
vef eaturescont ainedint headdr ess.Thus,inthel i
teraryfiel
d,af i
nal
j
udgmentcannott akeanysetf orm,becausei tisaconcl usi
veexami nati
onoft he
parti
cularpassagewhi chhasj ustbeenunderexami nati
on.Thereforei twi l
lbeadi rect
ref
lectionoft hei nsight,mat ur
ity,reading,experience,andcapacityf orgener ali
zati
onof
thei ndiv
idualst udent.I tshould,ofcour se,bemor ethanasummar yofal lthathas
alr
eadybeensai d,t houghi tshoul dbei naccor dancewi ththedetailedobser v
ationsthat
havebeenmade.

ELEMENTSOFPRACTI CALCRI TICISM

Thissect i
ongi vesagener algui deonhow t o appr oachcommentandappr eciation
assignments.Thi sst ep-by -stepappr oachi sintendedt ogivelearner
sadequat etimet o
mast erpart
icularskill
s. Witht i
mey ouwilldevelopy ourownmet hodi sdi f
ferentfrom t he
onewehav eout l
i
nedbel ow.Suchi sthenat ur eoft hesubject.Ther ef
ore,iti squi te
advantageous t o mast ert he techniques out l
ined her efort he purposes off urther
development .Thest epsout li
nedbel owappl ytoal lthethreegenresofl it
erature,thati s,
prosepoet r
yanddr ama.Howev ergenr especi fi
ct echniquesarediscussedi ngr eater
detaili
nchapt ersdedi catedt oeachpar ti
culargenre

Compr ehensi on
Thisi st hef i
rstessent i
alst agei nappr eci ationandnoki ndofappr eci ati
oni spossi ble
unlesst her ehasf i
rstbeencompr ehensi on.Thi sbasi callyent ailsr eadinganext r
actf or
thesol epur poseofunder standi ng.I fwecannotmakeheadort ailofapar ticularpieceof
wr i
ti
ngt hent her ecannotbeanymeani ngf ul.Appr eciationf orbegi nner st hesur estway
ofget ti
ngt hesensesofapi eceofwr itingi st hr ought hepr ocessofv ocal i
zation.Thi s
referstoamet hodofr eadi ngwher et her eaderr eadsal l
owedorwhi spert ohi mself.You
can geta gi ston t he si tuation byr eadi ng t he passage t oy our self,i n a whi sper.
Vocal i
sat ionenabl esonet oat tendt owor dmeani ng,onewor datat imei nt hecor rect
order,whi chwi llbeofgr eathel pi nbui l
di ngupt hebasi cmeani ngofl ingui sticstructure
thatist hesent ence, andpar agraphuni t.Att heendwear eabl etogett hebasi csenseof
thegi venext ract.Under standi ngagi v enpi eceofwor kent ai
lsbei ngabl et ocreatea
ment alpi ct ureoft hei deasbei ngputf or war dbyt hewr iter.Ther eforeweshoul dcl osely
l
ookf ort hemai nv erbsi neachsent encet akingapar ticularnot iceofwhi chnounsar et he
subjectsoft hev er bsandhow t hesemai npar tsoft hesent encear emodi fiedbyot her
wor dsandcl auses.I naddi tionweshoul dnot icehowonesent encei sseti nr elati
ont ot he
next,whet heri ncont i
nuat ionori ncont rast,andsoon.Att hisst ageanat temptt o
paraphr asecanbeusef ul.Thi si sapr ocessofr ewor dingorst atingt hepr osesenseofa
l
iterarypassagei ncl earpl ai nt ermssomet i
mesatgr eaterlengt ht hant heor i
ginal.Itis
the inter pretation ort he expr essi on oft he wr i
ters mai n concer n accor ding to our
under standi ng.Not et hatpar aphr asi
ngshoul dnotel i
mi natet het extunderst udy,but
shouldai dourunder standingt hrought heexpr essionoft hecr it
icalideasi namannerand
l
anguagewear ef ami l
iarwi th.Par aphr asi ngi sessent i
alf ornewl iterarycr i
ticsandgr eat l
y

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assi
stsonet
o gr
asp t
hebasi
cst
ruct
ureofsenseonwhi
ch t
hel
i
ter
arydev
icest
o
el
aborat
e.

Exer
cise

Giv
enbel
owar
ethr
eeext
ract
s.Readt
hrought
heext
ract
sandat
temptt
het
askout
li
ned
bel
ow.

Ext
ractone

Youhav eof tenseent hesandont heseashor e.How f i

near ei tsti
nygr ains!Andhow
manyoft heset i
nygrainsgot omakeupt hesmal lhandf ulwhichachi l
dgraspsi nitsplay
.
Nowi magineamount ainoft hatsand, ami ll
i
onmi leshigh, r
eachi ngfrom theear t
ht othe
fai
restheav ens,andami l
li
onmi leswi de,extendingt or emot est,andami l
lionmilesin
thi
ckness,andofsandmul t
ipliedasof t
enast her eleavesi nthef orest,dropsofwat erin
themi ght
yocean,f eathersonbi rds,scalesonf i
sh,hai rsonani mal s,atomsi nthevast
expanseoft heair,andimagi net hatatt heendofev erymi ll
iony earsal i
ttl
ebi rdcamet o
thatmount ainandcar r
iedawayi ni tsbeakat inygr ainoft hatsand.Howmanymi l
li
ons
uponmi ll
i
onsofcent uri
eswoul dpassbef oret hatbirdhadcar riedawayev enasquar e
footofthatmount ain,howmanyeonsuponeonsbef orei thascar ri
edi tallaway ?Yetat
theendoft hatimmensest r
et choft i
menotev enonei nstantofet ernit
ycoul dbesai dto
haveended.

Ext
ractt
wo

Ti
redwi
thal
lthese,
forr
est
ful
Deat
hIcr
y,

Ast
obehol
ddeser
tabeggarbor
n,

Andneedi
ngnot
hingt
ri
mmedi
njol
l
ity

Andpur
estf
ait
hunhappi
l
yfor
swor
n,

Andgi
l
dedhonourshamef
ull
ymi
spl
aced,

Andmai
denv
irt
uer
udel
ytr
umpet
ed,

Andr
ightper
fect
ionwr
ongf
ull
ydi
sgr
aced,

Andst
rengt
hbyl
i
mpi
ngswaydi
sabl
ed

Andar
tmadet
ongue-
ti
edbyaut
hor
it
y,

Andf
oll
y-doct
or-
li
ke-
cont
rol
l
ingski
l
l,

Andsi
mpl
etr
uthmi
scal
l
edsi
mpl
i
cit
y,

Andcapt
ivegoodat
tendi
ngcapt
aini
l
l:

Ti
redwi
thal
lthese,
from t
hesewoul
dIbegone,

‘
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elLi
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atur
einEngl
i
shPr
act
ical
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 19

Sav
ethat
,todi
e,Il
eav
emyl
oveal
one.

Ext
ractt
hree

Deat
hofasol
dierbyChenger
aiHov
e

Deat
hofasol
dier

Hedied, mybr ot
her
Thorn-bittenandst ung.
Homel ess, aglori
ousr over
.
Noble–mi nded,butsof tinthought
Nimble-limbed, scul l
edandr ough:
Yetthest allofmer cyr ebuff
edhim
Torment i
ngt hespiritofshrunkenfai
th
Andbot toml essbelief.

Hediedinsummergr eens,andmud,
Enmeshed, bathedi nsor r
ow
Ofsti
nki
ngunshel terednat ure
Cagedinopenski es
Nothi
ngr omant i
c: Isawhi m
Fl
oodedwi thchristenedhat e
Andfoul
edwi t
hj usticeanddr ead
Si
nkingintopiggishdeat h
Asatbutcher’s

Isawthegreenl eaves
Whichswish-swashi nst ormydays
Towhispertomysunken, st
ormyhear
t
Whichhopsandki cksinme
Hisst
enchhar anguedmybowel s
Mixi
ngmynost r
ilswiththelongdead
Whosebowel shav ebeenembedded
Deepinthegloomsoft heearth.

Sure, hedi ed,nodoubt

Grav els,ditched,hewent:
Butf ullofgr avepurehate
Hedi edt ohauntt hesoul
less
Andt ocleanset helandhemanur
ed;
Praisingt hel i
vi
ng
Withwel l-nour i
shedgreens.

Brot
her,wheny oufol
low
Yourharvest
Thegrainofpaininmourneddeat
h
Whichtheliv
ingshall
scorn.

‘
A’Lev
elLi
ter
atur
einEngl
i
shPr
act
ical
Cri
ti
ci
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 20

a)Whati
deadoy
ougetf
rom t
heext
ract
?

b)Re-
readtheext
ractanumberoft
imes;
Doy
oust
il
lgett
hei
nit
iali
deat
haty
ouhadaf
ter
thef
ir
streadi
ng

c)Paraphr
aset
hesect
ionofy
ourchoicef
rom t
het woext
ract
s.Compareyourpar
aphr
ase
totheactual.
Inwhatwayshasy ourunder
standingoftheext
ractbeenenhancedby
paraphr
ase?

Thesi tuati
on
Thet askout l
i
nedabov ewebel i
evehasgi venoneadequat epr acticeinacquisi
ti
onoft he
skillofcompr ehensi
on.Themai nessenceofcompr ehensi oni st oidenti
fythegener al
pictureofwhatt hepassageisabout .Inothertermswear eabl et ogett hemaini deaofa
par t
icularpieceofwr i
ti
ng.Practicalappr eci
ati
oni sthereforeconcer nedwi t
ht hismai n
i
deawehav emader ef
erencet o.Ourbasi cconcer nl
iesint hef actthatwear egener ally
i
nt erest edinhow awr i
terhasdev elopedhisi dea,t
akingi nt oaccountahostofot her
i
ssuessuchasl anguage,int
ent i
on,st yl
eandsoon.Ther eforebei ngabletoident i
fythe
si
t uationenablesust oeffect
ivelyappr eci
ateagi vent
extsuf ficiently.

Development
Iti
sv er
yi mpor tantt oper cei
vehowapi eceofwr it
ingbegi ns,howi tdevelopsandhowi t
ends.Thi scont r
ibut estoourassessmentoft hedev elopment alaspect si npr act ical
cri
ti
cism.I nt hepr evioussectionwemader ef erencet ot hei dentifi
cati
onoft hesi tuat i
on
ormai nideai nagi v
enpi eceofwor k.Thenextst epi st ot racet hedev elopmentoft hat
i
deat hroughoutt heext ract.Weshoul dnot ,ofcour se,expectt hatt he situationand i t
s
subsequentdev elopmentwi llalway sbeneat lysetout ;att imesi twi l
lbenecessar yt o
i
nferthesef rom sl ighthintsandsuggest i
onsI tmaybet hatt hesi t
uationy oudi scov erin
apieceofwr iti
ngi sent ir
elystat i
c,i.
e.not hingi nitmov es,orchanges,ordev elops.Thi s
mightbet rue,especi all
yinapi eceofsceni cdescr ipti
on.Usual ly,howev er ,ther ewi llbe
someki ndofdev elopmentormov ementi ndicatedi nt hepassage.Some-t imest hiswi l
l
beaphy sicalmov ementofsomeki nd( asofal abour ergoi nghomeaf t
eraday ’
swor k).
Veryoftent hedev elopmentwi llbei nt henat ureofsomet hought sorr ef l
ect ionswhi ch
ari
se,andf oll
owoneanot her,ast hewr iterlooksuponacer t
ainscene, orcont empl atesa
cert
ainpr oblem . Ourmaj ortaskt hereforeist ot racehowt hemai nideadev el opsf rom t he
beginni
ngt ot heendoft heext ract.

Intent
ion
Hav i
ngident
if
iedt
hesi
tuat
ion/
mainideaofanextr
actandtracei
tsdev
elopment,weare
betterposi
ti
onedtomakeassumpt i
onsonthewr i
ter
’sint
enti
onindevelopi
ngcert
ain
piecesofwri
ti
ng.Wear
eabletorespondt
oquesti
onssuchas

1)Whatwast
hewr
it
er’
sobj
ect
ive?

2)Whywast
hemai
nideapr
esent
edi
nthatpar
ti
cul
armanner
?

3)Towhom i
sthi
spi
eceofwr
it
ingdi
rect
edt
o?

‘
A’Lev
elLi
ter
atur
einEngl
i
shPr
act
ical
Cri
ti
ci
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 21

Atypicalexampl eisint
hispiecewher et
hewritergi v
esaclearexplanati
onofhowt odo
somet hing;ori
ntendstogiveadet ailedimpr
essi onoflif
einacer t
ainci t
y;ort
oex pl
ain
themot i
vesbehindaper son’sactions;ortor idicul
esomet hi
ngwhi chi sunwort
hyor
undesirableandsoon.Hav ingabasi cunderstandi ngofthewri
tersintenti
onwil
lenable
ustoef fecti
vel
yappreci
ategivent
ext s.

Exer
cise

(a)I
denti
fythei
ntent
ionsoft
hewr
it
eri
nthepoem ThoughtonJune26byMazi
si
Kunenebel
ow.

ThoughtonJune26

WasIwr
ongwhenIt
hought
?

Al
lshal
lbeav
enged?

WasIwr
ongwhenIt
hought
?

Ther
opeofi
ronhol
dingt
heneckofy
oungbul
l
s

Shal
lbeav
enged?

WasIwr
ong?

WhenIt
houghtt
heor
phansofsul
phur

Shal
lri
sef
rom t
heocean?

WasIdepr
avedwhenIt
houghtt
her
eneednotbel
ove?

Ther
eneednotbef
orgi
veness,
ther
eneednotbepr
ogr
ess,

Ther
eneednotbegoodnessont
heear
th,

Ther
eneednotbet
ownsofskel
etons,

Sendi
ngmessagesofel
ephant
stot
hemoon?

WasIwr
ongt
olaughasphy
xiat
edecst
asy
?

Whent
hesear
osel
i
kequi
ckl
i
me

Whent
heashesonasheswer
ebl
ownbyt
hewi
nd

Whent
hei
nfantswor
dwasl
eftal
oneont
hehi
l
ltop?

WasIwr
ongt
oer
ectmonument
sofbl
ood?

WasIwr
ongt
oav
enget
hepi
l
lageofCaesar
?

‘
A’Lev
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atur
einEngl
i
shPr
act
ical
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ti
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 22

WasIwr
ong?WasIwr
ong?

WasIwr
ongt
oigni
tet
heear
th?

Anddanceabov
ethest
ars

Wat
chi
ngEur
opebur
nwi
thi
tsci
vi
li
zat
ionoff
ir
e,

Wat
chi
ngAmer
icadi
sint
egr
atewi
thi
tsgodsofst
eel
,

Wat
chi
ngt
heper
secut
orsofmanki
ndt
urni
ntodust

WasIwr
ong?WasIwr
ong?

b)Doest
heknowledgeofthewr
it
er‘
sint
ent
ionenhanceourappr
eci
ati
onoft
hepoem
abov
e?Just
if
yyouranswer
.

Di
cti
on

dicti
onr efer
st ot hemanneri nwhi chawr i
terhasusedwor dst oconv eyapar t
icular
meani ng.TheEngl ishlanguagehasr esour
ceswhi chenabl esonet oexpressthoughtsi n
anumberofdi f
ferentway s,accor dingt otheoccasi on;justasaper sonmayhav eone
outfi
tofcl othesf orwor k;anot herforspor t
;anot herfordancing’anotherforgoingt o
church,andanot herf orcer emoni aloccasions.A cor rectunderstandi
ngofdi cti
oni s
obv i
ouslyimportanti nthepr acticaluseofEngl ish,similar
ly,i
nor dertogetthecor rect
i
mpr essioninl i
teraryappr eciati
on,i tisnecessaryt obesensi t
ivetov ari
ouskindsof
dicti
on,andsomet imesofsuddenchangesi ni t
susage. Weshal lbri
efl
yexaminesome
i
mpor tantaspectsofdi cti
onwhi chweshoul dtakenot eofwhencr i
ti
call
yappreciating
givenextract
s.

Choi
ceofwor
ds

Thewor dswhi ch,ov erandabov ethebasi cmeani ng,carryther ealf

lav
orofapi eceof
writ
ingareusual l
yt hev er
bs, t
headjectives,andtosomeext enttheadv er
bs, andi
tisv er
y
wellworthwhi l
et ol ookatt hesecareful
ly.TheEnglishlanguage,weknow,i sv er
yr i
chin
alt
ernati
ves,andi tiswel lt
oaskour selvesinconsi
deringeachoft hesejustwhyitis‘so
andnotot herwise.’Somet i
mesi tisusef ult
oconsiderwhatal ternati
vescouldhavebeen
used,andwhet heranyoft hem woul dhav ebeenmor esui t
able.Thenwecanbegi nto
val
uet heeffectoft heonet hatthewr i
terhasactual
lyused.

Wor
dassoci
ati
on

Wor dswhichar ef air

lyclosetogetheri
nmeani nghavediff
erent’associat
ions’based
l
argelyont hewayt heyhav ebeenusedbygener ati
onsofbygonewr it
ers;infact,t
hat
‘
therearenosy nonyms. ’So,weshallt
ryt
odiscoverwhythewri
terhasdecidedtousejust
thosewordsr atherthanot her
s,andi nt
hinki
ngaboutthisquesti
onweshal lfi
ndouta
gooddealaboutt heef f
ectheistry
ingtoproduce

Soundsofwor
ds

‘
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elLi
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atur
einEngl
i
shPr
act
ical
Cri
ti
ci
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 23

Words,alt
hough chiefl
ysymbols,arenever
thel
ess sounds;andweknow t hatiti
s
possi
bletoselectwordswhi
ch,asindi
vi
dualsoundsandinthepatt
ernswhicht
heycan
bemadet oform,canhav easpecialef
fectinunderl
i
ning,emphasizi
ng,i
mit
ati
ngor
suggest
ingthewrit
er’
smeaning.

Connot
ati
veanddenot
ati
vemeani
ngofwor
ds

Di
cti
onorwor
dchoi
cecanbebr
okendowni
ntot
hef
oll
owi
ng:

a)Denot
ati
vemeani
ng:thi
sisthepr
imar
ymeaningofaword,
asdef
inedi
nanydicti
onar
y
.Somepeoplewoul
dli
ketoref
ertoi
tasthesur
facemeani
ngort
hegener
almeaning.

b)Connot
ati
vemeaning:i
tisthemeaningoft hewordasusedwithi
napart
icul
arcontext
assuch connotat
ivemeaningrefer
sto al ltheaddi
ti
ons,f
lav
ours’and‘
associat
ions’
whichapart
icul
arwordcancarr
yitcarr
ies.

Wear egeneral
l
yawar eoft hef actthat,whenanylanguagehasbeeni nusef orl
ongtime,
manyofi t
swor dsandexpr essionsacqui r
eapecul i
arri
chnessofsi gnif
icance.Assuch
wri
tersacrosst hegenredi vi
deof tendepend agr eatdealont hi
schar act
eri
sti
cof
l
anguageandobv i
ouslystudent swhoseacquai ntancewithalanguagehasbeenl i
mited
wil
lnotautomatical
lybeabl etogett hefeel
ingofthisri
chness.Therefor
et hemor ethey
canreadandbuilduptheirexper ience,t
hemor efull
ywill
theybecomesensi t
ivetoi
t.

I
ndi
rectexpr
essi
on

Itisver yimpor tanttonot eatt hisparti

culart i
met hatmostoft hel i
teratureext r
actswe
shalldealwi thwer ewr i
ttenbyex peri
encedwr it
ersf r
om acr osst hewor ld.Wemust ,
therefore,hav eitatt hebackofourmi ndst hat,mostwr it
ershav enotbeenwr iti
ngfor
schoolboy s,schoolgi r
ls,orstudent sonthecont r
arytheyhav ebeenwr iti
ngt o meett he
expect ati
onsoft hebook-r eadingpubl i
coft heirownday .Rememberr eadingwasoncea
preserv e oft he el i
te class and peopl e allov ert he world hav et ri
ed expr ess thei
r
i
ndiv i
duality t hrough t hei r personal ingenui t
y, magni f
icence, or iginali
ty, colour,
extravagance,ev ensomet imesbypuzzl i
ngandst artl
i
ngt hepubl ic.Onl yaf ew Engli
sh
writer
shav econsi stentlyusedt hesimplef ormsoft helanguage;ev ensomeoft hose
whichhav e,claimedt ohav enotal wayskeptt otheirpoli
cy.St udentsmustber eadyto
seet hepoi ntofsomeoft hemet hodsofi ndirectexpressi
onwhi cht heywi llencounter,
suchasmet aphor ,si
mi le,i
r onyetc

Task:Referclosel
ytothepoem ThoughtsonJune26.Commentonhow t
hepoethas
useddif
ferentelement
sofdi
cti
ontobringaboutmeani
ng.

b)Consi
dert
hei
mpactofwor
dchoi
cei
ntheexampl
esgi
venbel
ow

Exampl
eone“Pi
anoandDrums”byGabr
ielOkar
a”
Whenatbr
eakofadayatari
ver
side

‘
A’Lev
elLi
ter
atur
einEngl
i
shPr
act
ical
Cri
ti
ci
smPage23
 24

Iheart
hej
ungl
edr
umst
elegr
aphi
ng

t
hemy
sti
crhy
thm,
urgent
,raw

l
i
kebl
eedi
ngf
lesh,
speaki
ngof

pr
imal
yout
handt
hebegi
nni
ng,

Iseet
hepant
herr
eadyt
opounce,

t
hel
eopar
dsnar
li
ngaboutt
oleap

andt
hehunt
erscr
ouchwi
thspear
spoi
sed;

Andmybl
oodr
ippl
es,
tur
nst
orr
ent
,

t
oppl
est
hey
ear
sandatonceI
’
m

i
nmymot
her
’sl
apar
esuckl
i
ng;

atonceI
’
m wal
ki
ngsi
mpl
e

pat
hswi
thnoi
nnov
ati
on,

r
ugged,
fashi
onwi
tht
henaked

war
mthofhur
ryi
ngf
eetandgr
opi
nghear
ts

i
ngr
eenl
eav
esandwi
l
dfl
ower
spul
sing.

ThenIhearawai
l
ingpi
ano

sol
ospeaki
ngofcompl
exway
s

i
ntear–f
urr
owedconcer
to;

off
arawayl
ands

andnewhor
izonswi
th

coaxi
ngdi
minuendo,
count
erpoi
nt,

cr
escendo.Butl
osti
nthel
aby
rint
h

ofi
tscompl
exi
ti
es,
itendsi
nthemi
ddl
e

ofaphr
aseatadaggerpoi
nt

AndIl
osti
nthemor
ningmi
st,

ofanageatar
iver
sidekeep

wander
ingi
nthemy
sti
crhy
thm

‘
A’Lev
elLi
ter
atur
einEngl
i
shPr
act
ical
Cri
ti
ci
smPage24
 25

ofj
ungl
edr
umsandt
heconcer
to.

Exampl
etwo

1.Extracttakenf rom Hear tofDar knessbyJosephConr ad

‘
Ibegy ourpardon.If orgott hehear t
ache,whi chmakesupt her estoft heprice.And
i
ndeedwhatdoest hepr i
cemat t
er,ift
het ri
ckbewel ldone?Youdoy ourt ri
cksverywel l
.
AndIdi dn’
tdobadl yeit
her,sinceImanagednott osinkt hatst eamboatonmyf i
rstt r
ip.
It
’sawondert omey et.Imagineabl i
ndfoldedmansett odr iveav anov erabadr oad.I
sweatedandshi veredov ert hatbusinessconsi derably
,Icant el
lyou.Af t
eral l
,fora
seaman,t oscrapet hebot t
om oft heunpar donablesin.Noonemayknowofi t,buty ou
neverforgett
het hump–eh?Abl owont hev eryhear t
.Your ememberi t,youdream ofi t
,
youwakeupatni ghtandt hinkofi t–y earsaf t
er–andgohotandcol dallover.Idon’ t
pret
endt osayt hatsteamboatf l
oatedallthet i
me.Mor ethanonceshehadt owadef ora
bit
,withtwentycanni balssplashingaroundandpushi ng.Wehadenl i
stedsomeoft hese
chapsont hewayf oracrew.Fi nefell
ows–canni bals–i nt heirplace.

Theywer emenonecoul dwor kwi th,andIam gr atefultot hem.And, afteral l

,theydi dnot
eateachot herbef oremyf ace:t heyhadbr oughtal ongapr ov
isionofhi ppo-meat ,whi ch
wentr otten,andmadet hemy steryoft hewi l
dernessst i
nki nmynost ril
s.Phoo!Icansni f
f
i
tnow.Ihadt hemanageronboar dandt hreeorf ourpi lgr
imswi tht heirst aves–al l
compl ete.Somet imeswecameuponast at
ioncl osebyt hebank, cli
ngingt otheski rtsof
theunknown,andt hewhi temenr ushingoutofat umbl edownhov el
,wi thgreatgest ures
ofjoyandsur priseandwel come,seemedv erystrange–hadt heappear anceofbei ng
heldther ecapt i
vebyaspel l
.Thewor di v
orywoul dr i
ngi nt heairf orawhi le–andonwe
wentagai nint
ot hesi lence,alongempt yreaches,r oundt hest i
llbends,bet weent hehi gh
wallsofourwi ndi ngway ,reverber ati
ngi nhollowcl apst heponder ousbeatoft hest ern–
wheel.Tr ees,trees,mi ll
ionsoft rees,massi ve,immense,r unninguphi gh;andy etitwas
notal togetherdepr essing,thatf eeli
ng.Af terall,ify ouwer esmal l,t hegr imybeet l
e
crawledon-whi chwasj ustwhaty ouwant editt odo.Wher et hepi l
gr imsi magi nedi t
crawledt oIdon’ tknow.Tosomepl acewher et
heyexpect edt ogetsomet hi
ng,Ibet !For
mei tcr awledt owar dsKur tz–excl usivel
y;butwhent hest eam-pi pesst ar
tedl eakingwe
crawledv eryslowl y .

Exampl
ethr
ee

Ext
ractt
akenf
rom Ant
onyandCl
eopat
rabyWi
l
li
am Shakespear
e.

Ent
er,
bel
ow,
Ant
ony
,bor
nebyt
heGuar
d.

Cl
eopat
ra:
Osun,

Bur
nthegr
eatspher
ethoumov
’sti
n!

Dar
kli
ngst
and

Thev
ary
ingshor
eo’
th’
wor
ld.OAnt
ony
,

‘
A’Lev
elLi
ter
atur
einEngl
i
shPr
act
ical
Cri
ti
ci
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 26

Ant
ony
,Ant
ony
!Hel
p,Chai
rman;
hel
p,I
ras,
hel
p;

Hel
p,f
ri
endsbel
ow!Let
’sdr
awhi
m hi
ther
.

Ant
ony Peace!

NotCaesar
’sv
alourhat
ho’
ear
thr
ownAnt
ony
,

ButAnt
ony
’shat
htr
iumph’
doni
tsel
f.

Cl
eopat
ra:
Soi
tshoul
dbe,
thatnonebutAnt
ony

Shoul
dconquerAnt
ony
;butwoe‘
ti
sso!

Ant
ony
:Iam dy
ing,
Egy
pt,
dyi
ng;
onl
y

Iher
eimpor
tunedeat
hawhi
l
e,unt
il

Ofmanyt
housandki
ssest
hepoorl
ast

Il
ayupont
hel
i
ps.

Cl
eopat
ra:
Idar
enot
,dear
.

Dearmyl
ord,
par
don!Idar
enot
.

LestIbet
aken.Nott
h’i
mper
ici
ousshow

Oft
hef
ull
-f
ort
un’
dCaesarev
ershal
l

Bebr
ooch’
dwi
thme.I
fkni
fe,
drugs,
ser
pent
s,hav
e

Edge,
sti
ngoroper
ati
on,
Iam saf
e.

Yourwi
feOct
avi
a,wi
thher
emodestey
es

Andst
il
lconcl
usi
on,
shal
lacqui
renohonour

Demur
inguponme.Butcome,
come,
Ant
ony
-

Hel
pme,
mywomen-
wemustdr
awt
heeup;

Assi
stgoodf
ri
ends.

Ant
ony
:O,
qui
ck,
orIam gone.

Cl
eopat
ra:
Her
eisspor
tindeed!Howheav
ywei
ghsmyl
ord!

Ourst
rengt
hisal
lgonei
ntoheav
iness;

Thatmakest
hewei
ght
.Hear
dIgr
eatJuno’
spower
,

Thest
rong–wi
ng’
dMer
cur
yshoul
dfet
cht
heeup,

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Andsett
heebyJov
e’ssi
de.Yetcomeal
i
ttl
e.

Wi
sher
swer
eev
erf
ool
s.Ocome,
come,
come,

Theyheav
[ eAnt
onyal
oftt
oCl
eopat
ra.

Andwel
come,
wel
come!Di
ewher
ethouhastl
i
v’d.

Qui
ckenwi
thki
ssi
ng.Hadmyl
i
pst
hatpower
,

Thuswoul
dIweart
hem out
.

Al
l:Aheav
ysi
ght
!

N.BI tishopedt hattheassessmentoft henatureofdict

ioni nthethreeexamplesabov e
hasgi venapr act i
calinsightintothev ari
ousway sinwhi chwr i
ter
susedi ct
iontoconv ey
theirsituat
ions.I tispar ti
cularlyint
eresti
ngtonott hat writ
ersf r
om acrossthet hree
genres hav e giti nt
eresting way st o playaround wi t
h wor ds and generall
inguisti
c
structuretobringoutt heirintenti
ons.Ifwecar eful
l
ygoov erthethreeextr
actscarefull
y
wet akenot i
ceoft hefactt hatsomedi cti
onusedbyt hewr i
tersbri
ngoutspecifi
ceffects
such ascompar i
sons, emphasi srhythm etc.These par ti
culargroupsofwor dsar e
referr
edt oasliteraldevices.

ASUMMATI VEAPPROACHTOPRACTI
CALCRI
TICI
SM
Thegener
alappr
oach

Thepr
ocessofpr
act
ical
appr
eci
ati
oncanbesummedupasf
oll
ows

1.Thecompr
ehensi
onphase

2.Thedev
elopmentst
age

3.Thej
udgementandev
aluat
ionphase

Alotofapproacheshavebeenputfor
war
dbyschol arsi
nt hei
rattemptt
osi
mpl
i
fyt
he
pr
ocessofappreci
ati
on.Themostcommonisexpl
ainedbytheacronyms

S.
subj
ect S.
subj
ect

I
.i
ntent
ion E.
emot
ion

F.
feel
i
ng I
.i
ntent
ion

T.
tone

Therearei ndeedalotofacrony mswecanr ef

ert
o. howeverthebottom li
nei npractical
cri
ti
cism istheabil
i
tytoef f
ectivelyunder standagiventext,t
ot heextentofbeingabl eto
commentont hewri
ter
sabi l
ityandt echniquesinthepresentati
onoft hesubjectmat ter.
Thereforewhatisimportantisthei dentifi
cati
onofthecauseef fectr
elati
onships,whichis
tosayt hatinwhatway sdoest her egist
er,etcusedenhanceourunder standingoft he

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pieceofwr it
ing.Beingabletomakesuchj udgementt akesalotoftimei nt
eract
ingwith
various sources of li
terat
ure.Rememberappr eciat
ion i
s primar i
l
y based on our
relati
onshi
pwi ththegiventextandthi
sisgreatl
yinfl
uencedbyy ourlevelofcompetency
i
nt heEngli
shl anguageaswel lasnumerousenv i
ronmentalemot i
onalandsociologi
cal
considerat
ionsamongot her
s.

Cert
ai nlytheschemeout l
i
nedabov e needstobeusedwi thinsightanddi screti
on;The
appreci at
ionofsuchadel icateandcompl exthingasapi eceofl i
ter
atureisnotmer elya
matterofgoi ngt hr
oughandsi ft
ingoutanumberofconst it
uentelement s;i
nthewayt hat
anoi lchemi stmayanal yzet hecont entsofaspecimenofcr udeoi l
.Intheearlystagesof
l
earni ngappr eciati
onhowev er,itmaywel lbewor t
hwhi letoexami neapassagef or
anythingwor t
hsay ingunderanyoft heaboveheadi ngs,t
hiswillensurethatnoi mportant
aspect shav e been ov erl ooked. We mustal way srememberhowev ert hatlit
erary
appreci at
ioni sessent i
all
yani ntegrati
ng,aconstructi
veprocesswhi chinvolvesanalysis
andsy nthesis,‘buil
dingst oget her.Italsoinvolv
est heartofseei ngt hi
ngsi nt hef ul
l
accur acyoft heirdetail
,andy etatthesamet i
meseei ngthedet ai
lsaspar tofaf armor e
i
mpor tantwhol e.

Summar
y

Li
teraryappreciati
onrequi
resawholi
sti
cappr oach.Itishopedt hatt
henot
esgiveni
nt his
chapterwillcreateabasisonwhi chcrit
icalappreciati
onski l
lscanbedevel
oped.Thi s
chapterthereforeformsthefoundat
ionofpr acti
calcr i
ti
cism.Thenextchapt
ersfurt
her
developappr eciat
ionskil
l
sandappr oachesal l
udedt oint hi
schapter.
Now part
icular
att
entionisplacedont heappl
i
cati
onoftheseski l
lsi
nt heappr eci
ati
onofv
ari
ousgenres

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Chapt
er3
APPRECI
ATI
ONOFPOETRY
Learni
ngobj ecti
ves
Aft
erstudyingthistopic,youshouldbeablet o:
(a) I dentif
yanddi scussmai npoeticdevi
ces.
(b) Appl yt heappropriatestepsandtechniquesi
ntheanal
ysi
sofpoet
ry.
(c) Wr i
teacr i
ticalappreciat
ionofanygivenpoem.
(d) Compar eandcont rastanytwogivenpoems
.
Int
roducti
on

Thest udyofpoet r
yf or
mst hebasisofpract
icalcriti
cism.Manystudentsandt eacher
s
grossov erortotal
lyavoidtheeffect
ivest
udyofpoet ryatthi
slevel.Thi
strendcanbe
attr
ibutedtoanunconsci ouspoeticphobiathatexistswi t
hinsoci
ety.Teacher
sf indit
easiertoteachnovelsorplaysr
athert
hanpoetry.Itshouldbenotedthatpoet
ryshouldbe
approachedinthesamemannerasot hergenr
est hatarecommonl ytackl
ed.

El
ement
sofpoet
ry

Poet r
yi sawellst ruct
ured,skil
full
yengi neeredwr iti
ngt ocommuni cateani dea.Poet r
yis
usuallytheexpressi onofani nstantthoughtorar eacti
ont oagr eatstimulus.Hencemost
poeticcr i
ti
cswillmaker ef
erencet othepoet icmuse, whichbasicallyref
erst otheur geor
mot iv
ationt owr ite.Wr i
ti
ngsofpoet i
cnat urear ev erycondensedanddwel lonone
parti
cularelementori dea.Thereforewi ththeabov einmi nd,poetrycanbedef inedasa
condensedf or
m ofwr iti
ngi nwhi chawr i
terexpr essesone’ st houghts,exper i
ences,
valueset cinver se.Not ethatanov el
isthast helibertytodevelopani deaov ersev eral
chapters.Si mi
larlyadr amat i
stwoul dex pressi deasov eranumberofAct s.Poet ry
thereforeisuniquei nthatitmai nl
yf ocusesononei dea,exceptt hepoet rycl assi
fi
ed
undert hesubtypeknownasepi cpoetry.

Anyfor
m ofpoet
ryhast
hef
oll
owi
ngaspect
sbei
ngcent
ral
toi
tsdev
elopmentand
appr
eci
ati
on:

a)Thet
it
le

b)Thest
ruct
ural
uni
t(f
orm)

c)Thest
anza

d)St
yli
sti
cfeat
ures.

Themai nf ocusofthestudyandanal ysisofpoetryistheappreci

ati
onoft hewrit
er‘
suse
oflanguage,styl
eandt echniquesinpresentati
onoft hesubject
.Aswedoso,wegetan
i
nsightintothepoet’
sjoys,fears,t
houghtsandot herexperi
encesthatdrovehim orhert
o
presentthatsubjectinamannerandt echniquepor t
rayedinthatparti
cularpoem.The
fol
lowingsect i
onmakesapr act
icalskil
l
s-basedat t
emptt ode-my st
if
yt hestudyof

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poet
ry andlayafoundat
ionforadequateappreci
ati
onofpoet
ryforthepurposesof
meeti
ngt
hedemandsofadvancedl
evell
iter
atur
e,aswellasf
oral
if
elongenj
oyment.

Poet
ryanal
ysi
s

Doesoneneedt oli
keapoem t odoitwell?No.Underexaminati
oncondi
ti
onsonewil
lnot
haveenought i
met of al
linlovewithapoem andt her
eforewhatoneneedsist he
anal
yti
calski
llmoret hanthelovefort
hepoem.Enj oy
ingthepoem wouldbeanadded
bonus,butnotnecessaril
yarequir
ement.Whati sofparamountimport
ancet
heref
oreis
tobeabletoapplythebasicpoet
ryappreciat
ionski
l
lsonagi venpoem

Thef ol
l
owingsectiongiv
esageneralhintont
hemai
naspect
sofapoem t
hatconst
it
ute
poeti
canalysis.Inotherwords,whenweanal y
seapoem weshouldfocusonhow
part
icul
araspectsarepresent
edandi nter
wov
entocr
eat
ethefi
nal
poem.

Subj
ectmat
ter
:

Manywr it
ershavewr it
tenpoemsondeat horloveandt hei
rwor kswer epubli
shed.What
makesonepubl i
shmanypoemsorst ori
estalkingaboutdeath? Itisbecausepeopl e
havediff
erentexper
ienceswi thdeathoranysubj ectonecanthinkof.Remembert hatthe
artofwrit
ingdealswi t
ht heexpressionofonest houghtsandexperiencesinli
fe.Itisthe
experi
enceherewear erefer
ringtoassubj ectmat ter
.Thesubj ectmat t
eriswhatt he
poem isabout.Forexampl eOwen’ spoem “ DulceEst”isaboutwarandi t
sef f
ects-t
ir
ed,
outwornandexhaust ed,soldi
ersreturni
nghomeaf t
erwar,per
hapsaf tersuff
eri
ngsev ere
defeat
.

I
ntent
ion

Theint
ent
ionofthewrit
erist
hereasonwhyhewrot
ethepoem.Whatdi dt
hepoetwant
toachi
eveorwhataspectofli
fedi
dheaimt omakethereadert
obeawar eof.Agood
examplei
sthepoetWi l
fr
edOwenwhosewr i
ti
ngshi
ghli
ghtthesuf
fer
ingoftheordi
nar
y
peopl
eduri
ngthefi
rstworl
dwar.

Di
cti
on

Thepoet ’
schoiceofwor dsgi
vesthepoem apar t
icul
arpaceorr hythmi cpatt
ern.Thr
ough
thedicti
onpoet spresentstother eaderal otofdet ai
lrangingfrom t hebasicsubject
mat t
ertot hepresentat
ionofv ary
ingment alimages.Theuseofdi cti
onbyt hepoet s
perhapsi sonemaj orquali
tythatdisti
nguishespoet ryfr
om ot hergenr es.Ithasbeen
noted also t
hatwr i
ters ofothergenr es tend to be poeticint heirapproach when
present
ingaser i
ousconcern.Consi derthef amousbal conyscenei nShakespeare’s
RomeoandJul i
etorthef amoussol i
l
oquyt obeornott obei nthepl ay“Hamlet”
.Allthe
examplesr ef
err
edtoabov earefoundandt akenfrom thedr amagenr e.

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For
m

Formr eferst ot hephy sicalappear anceoft hepoem aswel lasitsst ructuralatt

ribute.
Poetsorr at her,thef ieldofpoet ryingener al,i
snotboundbypar t
icularr ulesasist he
casewi th ot hergenr es.Poet ryi nvolv
est hef r
eeuncont r
oll
ed expr essi
on ofhuman
thoughtandexper i
ence. Trytopicturealov epoem pr esentedintheshapeofahear tora
poem aboutdeat hpr esent edint heshapeofacr ossorcof fi
n.Cert
ai nlybef orewer ead
thepoem t hef i
rstt hi
ngt hatstr
ikesusi sthef orm oft hepoem.Ther ef orepoemscomei n
dif
ferentformsaswr itersstriv
et omaket hesubj ectoft heirpoemsunder stoodbyt he
generali
tyoft her eader s.Thusapoem maycomei nonest anzaofnumer ousl i
nes,orthe
l
inescanst artint hemi ddle.etc.Poeticformi sinf i
nitebecausewr itersorpoet salway s
seekt ocomeoutwi t
hnewmet hodst opr esentt heirideas.

Feel
ing

Feeli
ngsarebasicall
youremot i
onalreact
iontoapoem.Doest hepoem makeonet obe
sadorhappy ?Aswei nter
actwiththesubjectmatterofagi v
enpoem wegett omov e
al
ongt hepoet’
sfootstepsandperhapsadopthisl
ineofthi
nkingwhenhewr otethepoem.
Wecanev aluat
et hepoet ’
sstateofmi nd,alsothroughtheev al
uati
onoft hepoetic
str
uctureoft
hepoem . i.
e.f
ocusi
ngont hechoiceofwordspresentat
ionofsubj
ectetc.

Tone

Thet
oneoft
hepoem i
scl
osel
yli
nkedt
otheemot
ional
dev
elopmentout
li
nedabov
e

Tonereferstothev oi
cespeaki ngortheatti
tudeoft hespeakertothesubject.Thetoneis
usuall
ydescribedbyadj ect
ives.Soitisupt ot hestudenttofi
ndanadj ecti
vethatbest
descri
besthev oiceoft hespeaker.Thechoi ceofwor ds canbeusedaspr ooftoshow
thenatureoft one.Inmostcases,di ct
ionist hecentralpoi
ntofr efer
enceeg“ sorrow”
“miser
y”,“pain”,“death”,willpointto a sad t one whil
e choice of“lovely
”,“sweet”
,
” r
omantic”r
osy ”
,willpointt
oanendear ingt
one.

N.BTheaspect soutli
nedabov ebui l
dwhatwer efertoasacompoundpoet i
cst r
uctur e.
Thissimplymeanst hatdiff
erentaspect scanbedi v
orcedfr om thepoem andanal ysed
i
ndependentl
y.Indoingsowear eabletoev aluatehowt hatpar t
icul
araspecthelpsinour
overal
lappreci
ationoft hepoem.Forex ample,wecan makean ev aluat
ion on t he
i
nfluenceofToneont hesubj ectmat terwi thoutmaki ngref er
encet othefor m oft he
poem ortheintenti
on.Attheend, howev er,itisprudentthatwhenwehav ebr okendown
vari
ouscomponent sforthepur posesofanal ysi
sthatwebr ingt hecomponent stogether
showinghowt hey,asacompl eteent i
ty,helpedinourappr eciati
onofagi venpoem.Thi s
approachwil
lbedemonst rat
edl ateroninthi schapter.

Poet
icdevi
ces

Inthefi
rstchapterwemadeagener alr
efer
encetothebasi
cli
teraldevi
cesnecessar
yf or
thestudyandappr eci
ati
onofadv ancedlevell
i
ter
atur
e.Poetryisagenr ethatisbui l
t
aroundtheef f
ecti
veunderst
andi
ngoft heappli
cat
ionofpoeticdev i
ces.Thi
sismai nly

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becausepoetswantt
ohav eaninstantimpactont her
eaderthroughtheirwri
ti
ng.We
shal
lmakeanoutli
neoftheli
ter
arydevicesthatar
emainlyassoci
atedwiththestudyof
poetr
y.Pl
easenot
ethatt
hesedevicesarealsousedbywri
tersofothergenr
estoachieve
si
mi l
aref
fect
s.

1.Al
li
ter
ati
on

Thisi
stherepet
it
ionoftheconsonantsoundespeci
all
yatt
hebegi
nni
ngofwor
dsf
or
example-Thebl
eakli
vesofblackboys.

Eff
ect:Tocr
eat
eryt
hm andconti
nui
tyofsoundespeci
all
yinsongpoems.(
cfpoemson
pages5and32ofEver
ystonet
hattur
nsbyThomasSukut aiBvuma)

Exer
cise:

“
Pet
erPi
pperpi
ckedapackofpapermeal
”

a)I
dent
if
ytheal
l
iter
ati
oni
nthel
i
neabov
e

b)Whati
sthei
mpactofal
l
iter
ati
onher
e?

2.Assonance/
consonance

Assonance r
efer
stot he r
epeti
ti
on ofvowelsounds within a par
ti
cul
arline whi
l
e
consonancer
efer
stot
herepeti
ti
onofconsonantsoundswi
thinaparti
cul
arl
ine.

Ef
fect
:Tocr
eat
ethev
ibr
ati
ngsoundst
hatgi
vemusi
cit
snat
urei
npoet
icwr
it
ings.

3.Allusi
on-
Thisi sabri
efref
erencetoapersonorev entinhist
oryorprevi
ouslit
erat
ure,whi
chthe
readerisassumedtoknow.Forexample,therearealotofrefer
encestoShakespear
ean
l
iter
at ur
einmodernlit
erat
ure.Al
soref
erencest oCupidorErosinclassi
calandmodern
l
iter
at ur
e.

Ef
fect
:Toevoker
ecol
lect
ionsandar
ousef
eel
i
ngs.

4.Sy mbol ism

Asy mbolusual lyhast womeanings-
alit
erar
ymeaningandahi ddenmeaning.(
Iusethe
wordmeani ngforwantofabetterter
m)Fori nst
ance,aswordcouldbetakenjustasa
swor df orf i
ght
ingawarbuti talsocouldbeasy mbolforjust
ice.Symbol
saremost l
y
universal.Forinstance,adov
ei susuall
yasy mbolofpeace,white,asymbolofpuri
ty,
green, natureet
c.

Eff
ect:Torei
nfor
ceunderstandi
ngandmeani
ngsbypi
ctur
emet
hod.I
ntendedmeani
ng
ofthepoem i
sreveal
edusingsymboli
sms.

5.I
mager
y

Thisisater
mt hatref
erst
otheuseofl
anguaget orepr
esentobject
s,act
ions,f
eel
i
ngs,
thought
s,i
deas,st
ateofmindandanextr
a-sensor
yexperience?Theword‘ i
mager
y’i
s

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deri
vedfr
om t
hewor d‘i
mage’whichisament alpi
ctur
e.I
mageryist
heuseofl
anguage
thatcr
eat
esmentalpict
uresi
nther eader
.Forexampleinthepoem “
Dul
ceetDecor
um
Est”i
magesofdi
seaseanddefor
mi t
ydomi nat
es.

Ef
fect
:Todr aw outpi
cturesofapar t
icul
arsit
uat
ioni
nthemind;Thereal
it
yoft he
si
tuat
ioninthepoem i
spi ct
ured.Themeaningsofwor
dsareseeni
npictur
ef or
mt o
ar
ousefeel
ingsandemotions.

6.Metaphor
Thi
sisaf or
m ofcompari
sonwhichisnotexpl
ici
tl
ygi
venbuti
simpl
i
ed.Forexampl
e,one
canspeakofbeingonfi
re.Thisi
sacompar i
sonofwhatoneisf
eel
i
ngtofir
e,buti
tdoes
notl
it
eral
lymeanthatt
hepersonisbur
ning.

Ef
fect
:Hastheeff
ectofov
er-
emphasisandexagger
ati
ont
oappealt
osensor
yfeel
ing.
I
npoem thi
sser
vesasapusht
oemotions.

7.Concei
t

Aconceitcanbeexpr essedasafarfetchedmetaphororcompari
sonwheretwoabst r
act
thi
ngsarecompar ed.Thisdevi
ceispopularwi
ththepoetsofthemetaphy
sicalperi
od.At
ti
mest heanalogyormet aphori
sfar-f
etchedastheauthorwil
lcomparetwot hi
ngsthat
aretot
all
ydissi
milar.

Ef
fect
:Far-
fetchedfi
gur
ati
veshavetheeffectofr
einf
orci
ngthepict
urei
mageint
he
mindoft
hereaderort
heaudiencewhol
ist
eningtoapoem bei
ngresi
dedoradr
amaon
st
age.

8.Si
mil
e

Asi mileont
heotherhandi
sacompar
isonofonethingtoanot
her.Thecompar
isonis
expli
citandi
sshownbyuseofwor
ds“as“and“l
ike”
.Inthepoem bel
owOwenusest he
fol
lowing:

“
Likeol
dbeggar
sundersacks”

Ef
fect
:hast
heef
fectofr
einf
orci
ngt
hef
ull
nessofsense

9.Enj
ambement

Thisref
erstot
herunni
ngofasent
encei
ntot
henextcoupl
etorl
i
newi
thoutapauseat
theendofthel
i
ne.

Eff
ect:hastheeffectofgivi
ngasong-nat
uret
opoeti
cwri
ti
ngs,assongshaveno
ful
lst
opsandpunctuati
ons.I
fapoem i
sasong,t
hent
heenj
ambamenttechni
quemust
bepresenti
ntheverse.

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10.Euphemi
sm

Thisissubstit
uti
onofaharshorbl
untwordorphraseforamildorlessnegat
iveonee.g.
theuseof‘ passaway’inst
eadofdie.Sinceeuphemism i
sof t
enshownt odisgui
se
somet hi
ng horri
fyi
ng i
tcan be expl
oit
ed by sat
ir
ist
st hr
ough the use ofirony or
exaggerati
on.

Ef
fect
:It
sef
fecti
stoexagger
atet
hingsandpr
ovokef
eel
ings,
utmostormi
nimal
.

12.Personi
fi
cation
Thisrefer
stot heartofgi
vi
nghumanqual
i
tiest
oinani
mat
ethi
ngs(
non-
humant
hings)
“t
hetreewav edherarmsacr
osst
hesky
”.

Ef
fect
:

Meantt
obr
ingoutact
ionandl
iv
eli
ness.Al
lmat
ter
sar
ereducedt
othehumanwor
ld.

12.Apost
rophe
Thisi
saf i
gureofspeechwhenthespeakerspeaksdi
rect
lyt
osomethi
ngnon-humaneg
i
nJohnDonne’ spoem.Int
heRisingSunthepoetscol
dsthesunfori
nter
rupt
inghi
sni
ght
ti
meactiv
iti
es’

Busyol
dfool
,unrul
ysun.
Whydostthouthus
Thr
oughwi
ndowsandthr
oughcurtai
nscal
lonus.

Eff
ect:Nor
mall
yusedtoavoiddi
r ectat
tacksorconfrontati
onswi
thspeci
fi
cindi
vi
dual
s,
yetthepointi
ssti
llcl
earthatsomeonei sbei
ngt argeted.I
tisal
someantt odil
ute
emotionst
hatmaycomefrom provocati
onbywor ds.

13.Rhy me
Thisfeatureischar
act
eri
sti
cofpoetry.Thesear
ewor ds,usuall
yattheendofl i
nesof
poetry,wit
ht hesameorsimil
arsounds.Intheoldendayscer tai
nrhymepatternsfor
some f orms ofpoetr
y were pr
escri
bed,butwiththe adv entof“ f
ree v
erse”such
prescri
pti
onshavelongbeenabandoned.Ther
earevari
oust y
pesofr hy
mepat t
erns.We
willdi
scussthecommonones:

a)Shakespear
eanr
hymefol
lowst
hepatt
ernbel
ow:
ababcdceefefgg.

Thel etggi
astcoupl smadeupofwor dswithdi
ff
erentsoundsandcont
entf
rom t
herest
ofthepoem. Thelastt
wol inesar eter
medthef i
nalcoupletwhi
chexpr
essessome
commentandgi v
est
hesonnetfinal
i
ty.

b)Fullrhymeoccurswher
et wowor dsi dent
icalinsound,becauseoft hei
rst
ressed
vowelsthatar
efol
lowedbyident
icalconsonants,areusede.g.“
strengt
h”and“l
ength”
,
“shut
”and“cut
”.

Ami dr
hymeal
sooccur
sattheendofli
nesanditi
susedtoincr
easethespeedofa
poem.Awor
dint
hemiddl
eofthel
i
nerhy
meswithoneatt
heendofthel
inee.
g.

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 Theshi
pdr
ovef
ast
,loudr
oar
edt
hebl
ast
.

Thehalfrhymei snotatruerhyme–hencet henamehalfrhyme.Nor

mal
lyt
hevowels
won’tbet hesameorsomet imesast ressedsyll
abl
ei srhymedwit
hanunst
ressed
syl
l
able:e.g.“
faces”and“houses”or“
tray”and“grey”
.Itisusual
l
yusedt
oechosome
wordsthatwil
lbeimport
anttothesubj
ectofthepoem

Effect:Hastheeffectofcr
eati
ngryt
hme,cr
eat
ingcr
escendo,har
monyandr umblei
n
theso- cal
ledsongpoems.Itcapt
urest
heaudi
ence’
saudiocensoryi
ntheat
rical
recit
ations.

14.Coupl
et

Thi
srefer
stotwopoet
icl
i
nesusual
l
yrhy
ming;
Andr
ewMar
vel
inhi
sfamouspoem ToHi
s
CoyMistr
essopenswi
tht
heli
nes

Hadwebutworl
denoughandt
ime
Thi
scoy
ness,
lady
,wasnocri
me

15.Her
oiccoupl
ets

Thesear
econsecuti
vel
inesthatrhy
mei npairs.Lineoner
hymeswi
thl
i
net
woandl
i
ne
thr
eewit
hli
nefour
.Itmoveswithasteadybutundramati
cpace.

Therewasakni
ght
,mamostdi
sti
nguishedman
whofr
om t
hedayonwhi
chhefi
rstbegan

(
Takenf
rom Chaucer
’spr
ologuet
otheCant
erbur
yTal
es)
.

Eff
ect
:Tocreat
ery
thm andr
ambl
e
16.Hy
perbol
e

Thisi
sexagger
ati
onf
oreff
ect
.InMacbethLadyMacbet
hcr
ies,“
Wil
lal
lgr
eatNept
une’
s
oceanwashthi
sbl
oodcl
eanfr
om myhand”.

Ef
fect
:has the ef
fectofappeal
ing t
o emot
ions i
n oratmemor
ial
s.Feel
ings ar
e
hy
persensi
ti
sed.

17.Par
adox

Thi
sref
erst
osomet
hingt
hatmayappearst
range,
butbei
ngv
eryact
ual
ort
rue

Eg:
Napol
eonBonar
par
tebecameemper
orofFr
anceatt
heageof18

Ef
fect
:Toempowert
her
eal
it
ysensor
yint
her
eader
sort
heaudi
ence

18.Oxymoron:
Thisi
stheusageofacombi
nat
ionofwor
dsusual
l
yconsi
der
edopposi
tes:Forexampl
e,

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Itwasa“ bi
tter
-sweetpil
l
”t oswal
low
Mywi f
eissucha“ cr
uelangel
”
Exer
cise:Expl
aintheeffectoft
heoxy moroni
nthet
wost
atement
sabov
e.

Effect
:Hastheef
fectofpr
ovoki
ngcont
rast-
consci
ousnessandt
ofl
ext
hemi
ndoft
he
readerort
heaudi
ence.

19.Pun
I
tisdefi
nedasaplayonwordsthatareident
icalinsoundbutwi
thdif
fer
entmeanings.
Shakespear
emakesuseofthistechni
quewel le.g.I
nTwelft
hNightSi
rTobyinv
itesSir
Andrew to“Accost
”(i
.e.t
opr oposeLov eto)Mar i
abutSirAndrew t
hinksMar i
a’
s
surnameisACCOST!Youcani maginetheeffectthi
shas!

20.Onomatopoei
a:Thesear
ewor
dswhosesoundsenactt
hesoundst
heydescr
ibef
or
exampl
e-Acatmews.

Exer
cise:Readt
hef
oll
owi
ngl
i
nesf
rom Tenny
sonal
oud:

Themoanofdov
esi
nimmemorial
elms
Andt
hemurmurofi
nnumer
abl
ebees

I
dent
if
ytheonomat
opoei
aint
hel
i
nesabov
e?

Eff
ect:Tocreatevi
vi
dnessandaccuracyofdescri
pti
ons.Ameani
ngisconceiv
edinthe
contextofitsderi
vat
ivee.g.the“booming”isaunderst
oodinthecontextofheavy
art
il
leryofwarsuchasbazookasandmortarbombs.

N.B
Thepoeti
cdev i
cesoutl
i
nedabov eshouldbemast eredbylearners.Wemadeahi ghl
ight
ofthemostcommonl yusedforms andcertainl
yalotmor ewoul df il
lanothervol
umeof
thi
ssize.I
nt hi
sregardfurt
herreadi
ngi shighlyencouragedt hroughwhi ch st
udents
shoul
dexposethemselvestopoetr
yf r
om diff
erentperi
ods andpoet sthroughthat,
they
wil
lgainanunconsci
ousl ov
ef or poetryforattheendofi tal ltheywi l
ldiscov
erthat
poetr
yisnotamonsteraft
erall
,butali
ter
arygenrethatcanbeenj oy edbyall.

GENERALAPPROACHTOPOETRYANALYSI
S

Thest
epsout
li
nedbel
owser
veasabasi
cgui
del
i
neandar
ever
yusef
ult
ost
udent
s

engagi
nginpoeti
canal
ysi
sfort
hefi
rstti
me.Wit
ht i
mestudent
swil
ldevel
opt
hei
rown
stepsastheygetusedtopoet
ryanal
ysi
s.Ther
efor
e,t
hesestepsser
veasageneral
bl
uepri
nt.

Basi
cst
epsi
npoet
ryanal
ysi
s

A)Compr
ehensi
onLev
el

1)Readt
hepoem anumberoft
imes.Thi
swi
l
lmakey
ougetagener
ali
deat
hati
sbei
ng

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expr
essed.

2)Answert
hequest
ion:
Whati
sthepoem about
?

Thisgiv
esyouthegeneralthemeorsubj
ectmatterofthepoem.Not
ethatpoems
gener
all
yhav
eonepr
inci
paltheme,
egl
ovedeat
h,confl
i
ctet
c,

B)Anal
ysi
slev
el

3)Answert
hequest
ion:
Howi
sthesubj
ect
/Themepr
esent
ed?

Thisfor
msthecoreofpoet
icappr
eci
ati
onasyougett oexpl
oret
hemanneri
nwhich t
he
themeisdevel
oped.
Atthesametimeyouwil
lident
if
yandcommentonthepoet
’suseof
poeti
cdevi
cesandthegeneral
useofdi
cti
on

C)Ev
aluat
ionandSy
nthesi
slev
el

4)Commentont
hepoet
’suseofst
yle,
tone,
feel
i
nget
c

5)Commentont
heov
eral
lfor
m oft
hepoem andr
elat
eitt
otheconcer
nsr
aisedt
her
ein

N. Btheanal
ysisandappreci
ati
onofpoet ryisaholist
icexerci
se.Manyat i
mecandi dat
es
woul ddoast r
uct
uredapproachinwhi cheachcri
ti
calcomponenti sdealtwithini sol
ati
on
from themainanalysi
s.Forexampl e,givi
ngacommentonpoet i
cdev icesatt heendof
thepoem wi t
houthavingmader eferencetothem duringthecrit
icalpoint
soft hepoem
wher etheyareusedandt heireff
ect .Thisweakensanar gument ,theref
oreweshoul d
not ecri
ti
cal
comment sandobservationsatthepointwheretheyhav ebeenraised.

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Thedemonst r
ati
onsecti
onbel owatt
emptst ogui
destudentsthr
oughthebasicstepsof
poetryanalysi
sthatwerediscussedi
nthechapter.West at
eunequi
vocal
lythatt
his
demonst rat
iononlyser
vesasabl uepri
ntforpoet
ryanalysi
s.Rawmemor isi
ngofthe
techniquesandorapproachesusedishighlydi
scouraged.

Demonst
ration1:“
PianoandDrums”byGabr
iel
Okar
a”
Whenatbreakofadayatariv
ersi
de

Iheart
hej
ungl
edr
umst
elegr
aphi
ng

t
hemy
sti
crhy
thm,
urgent
,raw

l
i
kebl
eedi
ngf
lesh,
speaki
ngof

pr
imal
yout
handt
hebegi
nni
ng,

Iseet
hepant
herr
eadyt
opounce,

t
hel
eopar
dsnar
li
ngaboutt
oleap

andt
hehunt
erscr
ouchwi
thspear
spoi
sed;

Andmybl
oodr
ippl
es,
tur
nst
orr
ent
,

t
oppl
est
hey
ear
sandatonceI
’
m

i
nmymot
her
’sl
apar
esuckl
i
ng;

atonceI
’
m wal
ki
ngsi
mpl
e

pat
hswi
thnoi
nnov
ati
on,

r
ugged,
fashi
onwi
tht
henaked

war
mthofhur
ryi
ngf
eetandgr
opi
nghear
ts

i
ngr
eenl
eav
esandwi
l
dfl
ower
spul
sing.

ThenIhearawai
l
ingpi
ano

sol
ospeaki
ngofcompl
exway
s

i
ntear–f
urr
owedconcer
to;

off
arawayl
ands

andnewhor
izonswi
th

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coaxi
ngdi
minuendo,
count
erpoi
nt,

cr
escendo.Butl
osti
nthel
aby
rint
h

ofi
tscompl
exi
ti
es,
itendsi
nthemi
ddl
e

ofaphr
aseatadaggerpoi
nt

AndIl
osti
nthemor
ningmi
st,

ofanageatar
iver
sidekeep

wander
ingi
nthemy
sti
crhy
thm

ofj
ungl
edr
umsandt
heconcer
to.

Demonst
rat
ion2:Sonnet116byWi
ll
iam Shakespear
e[1564-
1616]

Sonnet116

Letmenott
othemar
ri
ageoft
ruemi
nds

Admi
timpedi
ment
s,l
ovei
snotl
ove

Whi
chal
ter
swheni
tal
ter
ati
onf
inds

Orbendswi
tht
her
emov
ert
oremov
e.

Ono,
iti
sanev
er-
fi
xedmar
k

Thatl
ooksont
empestandi
snev
ershaken;

I
tist
hest
art
oev
erywander
ingbar
k

Whosewor
th’
sunknown,
alt
houghhi
shei
ghtbet
aken

Lov
e’snotTi
me’
sfool
,thought
her
osyl
i
psandcheeks

Wi
thi
nhi
sbendi
ngsi
ckl
e’
scompasscome

Lov
eral
ter
snotwi
thhi
sbr
iefhour
sandweeks

Butbear
sitoutev
ent
otheedgeofdoom

I
fthi
sbeer
roranduponmepr
oved

Inev
erwr
it
,nornomanev
erl
oved

Compar
ingt
wopoems

I
nmostcases,quest
ionsf
rom t
hissect
ionar
egi
veni
nthef
orm“
compar
eandcont
rast
”

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Insomecases,t hequest ionmaybespeci fi

cast otheareast obecov ered.Forexample
“Compar eandcont rastt hest y
leandappr oachtothesubjectofthef ol
lowingpoems” .So
thi
sdi rectst hestudentt ot hestyl
eandappr oachint hesubjectmatter.Oneshouldtryto
readandunder st
andbot hpoemsbef or
ey outacklethequest i
on.Itisimportantt
onot e
thatitisnotanadv antaget obestronginonepoem andweaki ntheot her.Bothpoems
shouldbegi venequalt reatment.Mostst udentshav eahabi tofdoi ngonepoem and
brushingov ertheot her.Weal sodrawy ouratt
entiontothemeani ngsofcompar i
ngand
contrasting.Agai n,st udent shaveahabi tofdoingone[ ei
thercompar i
ngorcontrasti
ng
butnotbot h.

Compar
e–j
udgi
ngt
hesi
mil
ari
ty.

Cont
rast–j
udgi
ngt
hedi
ff
erences.

Theappr
oach

Thereisnosepar at
eappr oacht othecriti
calappr eciationoft wopoems.Thest andard
approachwedi scussedear li
erint hechaptersti
llappl i
es.Compar eandcontrastdoesnot
meant hatast udentwr itesami niessayonpoem andt henanot her
.Ast hekeywor ds
suggestsitentail
sanev aluationoft het wopoemsconcur rentl
y.Mostschol ar
sr eferto
thi
sast hetennisballappr oachort hecal l
-answert echnique. inthisinst
ancewenot ea
poeti
caspectinpoem A.Anal y seitandcompar eorcont rastitwi t
hanaspecti npoem B.
Iti
si mport
antt onotethatcompar eandcont rasti snotonl ypickingoutthesi milari
ti
es
anddi f
fer
encesi ngivenpoemsonl y
.Fullpoetryanal ysisski l
l
sshoul dbeempl oyedi .
e
giv
ingjudgementandev aluationont heuseofv ariouspoet icelements.Remembert hat
compar i
ng and cont r
ast ing poems i s sti
llgui ded by t he cor e demand ofcr i
tical
appreci
ati
onorpr acti
calcr i
ti
ci sm.Thusanessayf ocusingoncompar eandcont r
ast
shouldnotbeanydi f
ferentf r
om anessayf ocusingononepar ti
cularpoem

Demonst
rat
ion1:Compar
eandcont
rastt
hef
oll
owi
ngpoems”Ol
dSal
tKossabone

“
byWhi
tman(
1819-
1892)and“
Crossi
ngt
hebar
”byAl
fr
ed

Tenny
son(
1809-
17892)

Ol
dSal
tKossabone

Farbackr
elat
edonmymot
her
’ssi
de

Ol
dSal
tKossabone,
I’
IIt
ell
youhowhedi
ed

(
Hadbeenasai
l
oral
lhi
sli
fe–wasnear
ly90-l
i
vedwi
thmar
ri
ed

gr
andchi
l
d,Jenny

Houseonahil
lwit
hviewofbayathandanddi
stantcapeand
st
ret
chtoopensea)

Thel
astofaf
ter
noon,
theev
eni
nghour
sformanyay
earhi
sregul
ar

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cust
om

I
nhi
sgr
eatar
m chai
rbyt
hewi
ndowseat
ed,

(
Somet
imes,
indeedt
hroughhal
ftheday
)

Wat
chi
ngt
hecomi
ng,
goi
ngoft
hev
essel
shemut
ter
stohi
msel
f

Andnowt
hecl
oseofal
l
,

Onest
ruggl
i
ngout
boundbr
ig,
oneday
,baf
fl
edf
orl
ong–cr
oss-

t
idesandmuchwr
onggoi
ng.

Atl
astatni
ght
fal
lst
ri
kest
hebr
eezear
ight
,herwhol
eluckv
eer
ing,

Andswi
ft
lybendi
ngr
oundt
hecape,
thedar
knesspr
oudl
yent
eri
ng,

cl
eav
ingashewat
ches,

“
she’
sfr
ee–she’
sonherdest
inat
ion”-t
heset
hel
astwor
dswhen

Jennycame,
hesatt
her
edead,

Dut
chKossabone,
OldSal
trel
atedonmymot
her
’ssi
de,
farback.

[
b] Cr
ossi
ngt
hebar
.

Sunsetandev
eni
ngst
ar

Andonecl
earcal
lforme

Andmayt
her
ebenomoani
ngoft
hebar

WhenIputoutt
osea,

Butsuchat
ideasmov
ingseemsasl
eep,

Toof
ull
forsoundandf
oam

Whent
hatwhi
chdr
ewf
rom outt
heboundl
essdeep

Tur
nsagai
nhome.

Twi
l
ightandev
eni
ngbel
l
:

Andaf
tert
hatt
hedar
k!

Andmayt
her
ebenosadnessoff
arewel
l

WhenIembar
k,

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Fort
hou’
from ourbor
neoft
imeandpl
ace

Thef
loodmaybearmef
ar

Ihopet
oseemypi
l
otf
acet
oface

WhenIhav
ecr
ossedt
hebar
.

Demonst
rat
edAnswer

[
1] Thet wopoems,(a)Ol dSal
tKossaboneand( b)Crossingt hebarhav et hesamesubj ect
matter,t
hatisdeath.Deathasasubjectismoreexpliciti
npoem ( a)thani n(b)
.Whi t
man
speaksofOl dSal
tKossabone.Heev enspell
sitoutgr aphicall
y-“I
’tellyouhowhedi ed”.
On theot herhand (b)doesnotexpl ici
tl
ygivet hesubj ectasdeat h,butt her
ear e
suggesti
onsofdeat hshownbytheuseof“ oneclearcall”
.Acl earcallinli
terat
urecanbe
proverbi
all
yar ef
erencetodeath.Deathcanal sober epresentedbyt he“ bar”thatt he
sail
orhastocross.

(
Notet
hatt
hetwopoems’
present
ati
onofsubj
ecthasbeenef
fect
ivel
ydeat
hwi
thwi
thi
n
asi
ngl
epar
agr
aph)

Theuseoft heseaasani mageassociatedwithdeat hisfoundinbothi .

e.sail
i
ngoutt o
thesea. Inpoem ( a)theol dmanwat chestheshi psailwhichi sasy mbolofhi s
j
our neyi
nli
fe.Simil
arlythepersonain(b)embarksonasj our
neybysea–asy mbolofhis
j
our neyt
owardsdeat h.Whatcont r
aststhepoint
sgi venhereisthattheoldmanwat ches
theshipasi tsail
swhi lein(b)theper sonaactuall
yembar ksont hej ourneysoitisa
personalexperi
ence.Thepoem i n(a)i stol
dint het hir
dpersonwhi chmakesi tl ess
personalandl essintimatethanpoem ( b)wheret her
ei sactualinvolvementoft he
persona.

In( a)theol dmanseemst ohavehaddi ff

icult
iesinhi slif
e.Thisi ssuggest
edbyt he
disturbances and diff
icul
ti
es thatt he ships exper i
ence shown by ,“
one struggli
ng
outboundbr ig,
”“cr
osst i
des’and“muchwr ong” .Incont r
ast(b)seemst ohavecalm anda
tr
anqui ll
ifeasthe“ti
de seemsasl eep/toofullforsoundandf oam/Nosadness” .This
seemst o pai ntdeathaspeacef ul
.Acombi nationoft hemessageoft hetwopoems
givest heideathathavingsuffer
edf r
om at empest uousl i
feoneent ersapeacefulwor l
d
ofdeat hsuggestedbypoem ( b)whi chi schar acteri
sedbyser enit
yast heper sona
accept sthejour
neypeacefullywit
hacal m, t
ranquilandunt r
oubledmi nd.

Inbothpoemst her
ear eimagesofdarknesse. g.poem (a)ref
ersto“nightf
all
”,“
dar
kness”
and“Eveningoft helastnoon”
.Allthi
sissuggest i
veofthesett
ingofthesun,symboli
sing
theendofl i
fe.I magesofdarknessar ethereforemeantt oshowanendt oli
fe.Si
milarl
y
poem (b)refer
st oaf t
erthe“death”and“ t
heev eni
ngbell”
.The“ dar
k”and“ eveni
ng”are
suggestiv
eoft henight.Thesebringinther eader’smindtoanendoft heday,whi
chisa
symbol ofendofl i
feasthepersonarespondst othe“eveni
ngbell
”.

I
nthepoem Ol
dSal
tKossabonet
her
eisasenseoff
inal
i
tybr
oughtaboutbydeat
h.The

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speakeri
nthi
spoem r ef
ersto“cl
oseofall
”and“dest
inat
ion”
.Thesetwocar
rywiththem
asenseoff inal
i
tysuggesti
ngt hatwit
hdeathev er
ythi
ngcomest oanend.Ev ent he
announcementofthedeathofOldKossabonehasasenseoffinal
i
tyast
henarr
atorsays.

WhenJebbycamehesatt
her
edead.

I
nthi
ssense,
deat
hist
heend,
not
hingi
ssuggest
edaf
ter
.Incont
rast
,thepoem

Cr
ossi
ngtheBarseemstolook/
poi
ntbey
onddeat
hbyt
aki
nghopef
oraf
utur
eaf
ter
cr
ossi
ngt
hebarast
heper
sonasays.

Ihopet
oseemypi
l
otf
acet
oface

WhenIhav
ecr
ossedt
hebar
.

Thereishopeforanewl i
fe.I
tisthi
shopewhi chisnotgiveninpoem (a)throughthis,
the
poetissayingdeathisanend.Poem ( a)iswr i
tt
eninonest anzawi thlonglines.The
stanzaisunbrokensuggesti
ngasenseofur gency.Thenarratorwantst oconv eythe
messageonceandf orallwi
thoutanybreak.Thenar r
ati
vestyleemploy edalsoenables
thepersonatogivebiogr
aphi
cinformat
ionoft hedeadman.Wel earnthatheisf r
om the
narrat
or’
smother’
sside,hadbeenasail
or,andl i
vedwithagrandchil
d.

Whi l
e( a)isinoneunbr okenstanza(b)isdivi
dedintofourst
anzasal
mostofequall
ines
eachwi t
hf ourli
nes.Thispart
neredmov ementbr i
ngsoutorder
li
nessofthet
houghtsof
theper sonawhi chissy mboli
coft heor der
lymanneroft hesouloftheper
sona.This
direct
lycont rast
swi t
ht hechaoticflow ofthoughtsinpoem (a)shownbymi xupof
biographicinformati
onandt hemessageofdeat h.Thischaot
icfl
owisalsoar
eminderof
thechaot i
cl i
feofOldsaltKossabone.

(Notethatthewrit
erhasmadeanassessmentoft hestruct
uralaspect
softhet
wo
poems wi t
hint
hesamepar agr
aph.Thi
screat
esasenseofuni t
yandcohesi
onwit
hin
theessayenabl
inghimtost
ickt
othedemandofthequest
ion)

Howeveranothercrit
icmi ghtnotfeelthatt hepoem ( a)ischaot ic.Notethatpoem (
a)
hasbeenwr i
tteninadi f
ferentstyl
ealtogether.Iti
scol loquial.Thisobvi
ousl
ysaysalot
aboutthesubject.DutchKossabonei sj ustasimpl eor dinarymanandt hesty
leofthe
poem r
eflect
st hi
s.Itwoul dactual
lyhavebeenani ncongr uenceofst y
lei
fanoldrugged
sai
lorl
i
keDut chKossabonehadbeenwr i
tteninformal versewi tharhymescheme.

Thetoneofbot hpoemsi scal

m/ contentandcomposed.In(a)composur eissuggested
bywordsthatrefertot heship-“sheisf r
ee”,
-“shei
sonherdestinati
on”andthewayhow
Kossaboneaccept shisdeat h.I
ti scalm;hemut t
erst
ohi msel
ft hensuddenlycomest o
anend.“ Hesett heredead”suggest scalmnesswit
hwhi chKossaboneaccept edhis
deat
h.Composur ei n( b)isgiv
ent hrought heuseoft r
anqui
l
li
tyoft hesea.The“ t
ide
seemst obeasl eep”and“ i
tistoof ullf
orsoundandf oam”.Theper sonahasgi venin
wil
li
nglyin a composed mannert ot he f
lood.Thr
ough both poems ar e cal
m and

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cont
ained/
composed,
Ithi
nkpoem (
b)i
smor
ecal
m andcomposedt
han(
a).

NB;Ofi mportancet ost udent

sher ei st hef actthatt hewr it
eridenti
fiedt hepoemsas
poem ( a)andpoem ( b).
Thisav oidsthecont i
nuousr epetit
ionoft hetit
leswhi chmaybe
ti
meconsumi ng.Ther eforeatthest artofanessayt hest udentshouldmaker eferenceto
theact ualtit
leandpl acet heident i
fi
cat i
ont agi nbr acketst oguidet her eader.Also
studentsmustmakesur etheyusecompar ati
velanguage.Thi sisademonst rationanda
l
otofessent i
alelement swedi scussedear li
erinthechapt erwerenotf ull
yexhaust edin
thesampl eanal ysi
sgi ven abov e.St udentsar est ronglyencour aged t o exhaust i
vel
y
compar e and cont rasteach and ev ery aspectoft he poems whi ch t hey consider
signi
ficant.Theseaspect sshoul dbeexpl ainedinthel i
ghtofbot hpoems.

Demonstr
ation2
Compareandcontr
astthefol
l
owingpoemsbyGerardManl
eyHopki
ns,
Spr
ingandFal
l(t
o
ayoungchi
ld)andSpr
ing,payi
ngpar
ti
cul
arat
tent
iontot
oneandfor
m

Spr
ingandFal
l(t
oay
oungchi
ld)

Mar
gar
et,
arey
ougr
iev
ing

Ov
erGol
dengr
oveunl
eav
ing

Leav
es,
li
ket
het
hingsofman,
you

Wi
thy
ourf
resht
hought
scar
efr
o,cany
ou?

Ah!Ast
hehear
tgr
owsol
der

I
til
lcomet
osuchsi
ght
scol
der

Byandby
,norspar
easi
gh

Thoughwor
ldsofmanwoodl
eafmeal
li
e;

Andy
ety
ouwi
l
lweepandknowwhy

Nownomat
ter
,chi
l
d,t
hename

Sor
rowsspr
ingsar
ethesame

Normout
hhad,
normi
nd,
expr
essed

Whathear
thear
dof
,ghostguessed:

I
tist
hebl
i
ghtmanwasbor
nfr
o,

I
tisMar
gar
ety
oumour
nfor

Spr
ing

Not
hingi
ssobeaut
if
ulasspr
ing-

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Whenweeds,
inwheel
s,shootl
ongandl
ovel
yandl
ush;

Thr
ush’
seggsl
ookl
i
ttl
elowheav
ens,
andt
hrush

Thr
ought
heechoi
ngt
imberdoesor
inseandwr
ing

Theear
,itst
ri
kesl
i
kel
i
ght
ningt
ohearhi
m si
ng;

Thegl
assypeart
reel
eav
esandbl
ooms,
theybr
ush

Thedescendi
ngbl
ue;
thatbl
uei
sal
li
nar
ush

Wi
thr
ichness;
ther
aci
ngl
ambst
oohav
efai
rthei
rfl
i
ng.

Whati
sal
lthi
sjui
ceandal
lthi
sjoy
?

Ast
rai
noft
heear
th’
ssweetbei
ngi
nthebegi
nni
ng

IEdengar
den-Hav
eget
,bef
orei
tcl
oy

Bef
orei
tcl
oud,
Chr
ist
,Lor
dandsourwi
thsi
nni
ng

I
nnocentmi
ndandMay
dayi
ngi
rlandboy

Most
,Omai
dschi
l
d,t
hychoi
ceandwor
thyt
hewi
nni
ng.

Demonst
rat
edanswer

Thepoem “ Spri
ngandFall“
isanadv i
cetoachildabouttheexperi
encesoflif
e.Thechild
i
sconcer nedaboutthefal
lofl
eav esasshownbyt hechil
d’si
ntensefeel
ings.Thefall
of
l
eav escanber egar
dedasmet aphori
calf
orthetransi
enceofpeople’
sliv
es.Ont heother
handt hepoem “Spr
ing”i
saboutthebeautyofspringwhichfr
om amet aphoricall
evel
presentschil
dhoodasthebesttimeinone’sli
fe

Thevoi
cein“Spri
ngandFall
“isav oiceofexperi
encegi
vingadvi
cetoay oungchil
dthat
ashegrowsoldwil
lmeetmorereal
ist
icchall
engesandproblemsthatwi
llmakehim
weeporcry.I
ncontrastt
hevoi
cein“Spri
ng”iscal
mlyexpressi
ngthebeautyofthespri
ng.

Onadeeperlevel
,thepoem “Spri
ngandFall
”seem t
obesuggest
iveofdeat
h.Theword
“f
all
”mayberegardedasmet aphori
cal
,combi
nedwith“
bli
ght
”andmour ns–thewor
ds
carr
yanelementofdeath.Thepoetsays

I
tist
hebl
i
ghtmanwasbor
nfor

I
tisMar
gar
ety
oumour
nfor

Thewor dssuggestt
hatmankindmournforeachother.Thepoem “ Spri
ng”seem t
ohi
nt
atthefall
asthepoetref
erstothe“
Edengarden”,“
sourwi t
hsinning”thetwostat
ement
s
aresuggesti
veoffal
lint
hegardenofEden.Thisisabi bl
i
calall
usionwhi chi
smeantas
anencouragementforpeopl
etograbl
if
eandenj oysitbefor
eitisbad.

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Thetoneofthepoem “Spr
ingandFal
l
”i ssy
mpathet
ic.Thepoetsy
mpat hi
zeswit
hthe
chi
ldasthechil
dgri
evesandmourns.Itist
hesy
mpat hyfort
hechil
dthatleadst
othe
words

Mar
gar
et,
arey
ougr
iev
ing

Ov
erGol
dengr
oveunv
eil
i
ng?

Thoughsympathet
ic,
thetonei
salsocautionar
yandadv i
sor
y.Thepoetcaut
ionsand
advi
sesthechi
l
donl i
fe’
sexper
iences.Cauti
onissoundedinthewor
ds

Ah,
ast
hehear
tgr
owsol
der

I
twi
l
lcomet
osuchsi
ght
scol
der

Thecaut i
onandadv iceismeanttotonedownt hei
ntensefeeli
ngsofthechil
dfrom the
fal
lofleaves.Thesy mpathet
ict
onehelpsther eadertosympathizewiththechi
l
df or
whathei sgoingthrough.Whil
ethepoem “SpringandFal l
”iscauti
onaryandadvisor
y,t
he
poem “Spring”i
schar act
eri
zedbyadmirat
ion.Thet oneisofadmi r
ati
on,theper
sona
admi r
esthebeaut yofspri
ngandyouthorchildhood. Thepoem openswithastatement
expressi
ngadmi rati
on.

Not
hingi
ssobeaut
if
ulasspr
ing

Theadmi r
ati
onisalsoshownbyt hedicti
onused.Thepoetuseswor dssuchas
“l
ovel
y”,
”l
ush”,
”ri
chness”,
”joy”,
”j
uice”,
”sweet”
,”
innocent”,
”mai
d”asadmirati
onofthe
posi
tiv
equal i
ti
esassociatedwi t
hspr ingandchildhood.Thepoem i
sfil
ledwit
hprai
sefor
thespri
ngespecial
lythebeaut ythatnatureshowsi nspri
ngforexampl
et heweedsthat
arel
ovelyandlush,theracinglambsandear t
hsweet ness.

Thepr
aisehel
pst
her
eadert
oappr
eci
atet
hebeaut
yofspr
ing.

Justl
i
kei
nthef
ir
stpoem,
thepoetal
sopi
cksanadv
isor
ynot
ewhenhesay
s

Hav
e,get
,bef
ore,
itcl
oy

Bef
orei
tcl
oud,
Chr
ist
,lor
dandsour

Wi
thsi
nni
ng

Thi
sisanadv
icef
ort
hey
oungt
oenj
oychi
l
dhoodory
out
hful
nessbef
oresi
ntakesi
tst
oll
.

Thepoem “ Spri
ngandFal l
”iswr i
tt
eni nonecontinuousanduni f
iedstanzawhi challows
conti
nuousf l
owofadv icetothechildandshowsuni tyinthought.Theadv iceisgiven
conti
nuouslywhichalsoallowst hereadertobecar riedalongi nthought.Incontrastthe
secondpoem “Spr i
ng”isasonnetwhi chischaracter i
sedbyt hedivisionorbreachoft he
fl
owoft houghttobri
ngnewi deasthoughr el
atedtot hepointsunderdi scussion.The
l
ushgr owthofspri
ngi sdescribedinthefir
steightlines.Not ehowal l
whati scarri
edin

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theselinesisr elat
edt otheweeds, ti
mber,
peart r
ee,thebl ooms,racinglambs-allbeauty
ofthespr ing.Theei ghtli
nescanbeseenasoct ave.Int helastsi
xlinesanewi deaoft he
i
nnocenceoft heGar denofEdenandofchi l
drenbef oret heyare“souredwithsinning”
.
Thesel astsi xli
nescanbet ermedthesest
et.Theyal lowt hepoettointr
oducenewi deas
l
inkingt hem t otheoneunderdi scussi
onwhi l
ethefirstpoem empl oysar egul
arrhy me
schemewhi chhelpst ocreateunit
yanduniformit
ywhi chareconduciveforthe
continuousf lowoft houghts.Theunityi
sshowni nthef oll
owingl
ines

Ah!Ast
hehear
tgr
owsol
der

I
twi
l
lcomest
osuchsi
ght
scol
der

And

Nownomat
ter
,chi
l
d,t
hename

Sor
rowsspr
ingsar
ethesame

I
nsi
deli
nesandother
sinthepoem br
ingaboutt
heunityi
ntheideas.Ont
heot
herhand
t
hesecondpoem “
Spri
ng”usesrhy
mingcouplet
sforexample

Whenweeds,
inwheel
s,shootl
ongandl
ovel
yandLush

Thr
ush’
seggsl
ookl
i
ttl
elowheav
ens,
andt
hrush

Therhymingcouplet
shel
ptocr
eateuni
tyi
nthepoem andt
oint
roduceal
ter
nat
eideasof
beautyofthespr
ingandt
hespoi
li
ngofthebeaut
yandthej
oysuggest
edbytheil
l
usiont
o
GardenofEden.

NB; I
fwear etoexaminecl osel
ythetwodemonst rati
onsabove,wenoticethatthewrit
er
hasusedasl ight
lydif
ferentapproachi
nt heseconddemonst r
ati
on(2).
Themaj or
vari
ancewasi nthedemandoft hequestion,t
hefir
stdemonstrat
ionwasanopen
appraisal
ofthetwopoemsandt heseconddemonst rat
ionisgui
dedbyt hedemandof
thequestion,
thatis,
focusont heform andtoneofthetwopoems.I tshouldbenot ed
thattheseconddemonst r
ati
onfocusedont hetoneandf or
m butdi
dnotal soleaveout
theassessmentofal lt
heot hercri
ti
calel
ement softhepoems.

Ourl ogi
cal concl
usionthereforewil
lbet ounequi vocall
ystatethatpracti
calappreciati
on
ofpoet r
yi suniform acr
osst heboardr egardlessoft hefactthatonemayappr eciatea
singlepoem t obeaskedt ocompar eandcont rastgivenpoems.Ourmai nobjecti
vei sto
evaluatethepoet s’useoflanguage, personalexperience,poeti
cstructur
eetctobr ingout
theirintendedmeani ng.Wehopet hatthissect i
onhasdemy stif
iedthestudyand
appreciati
onofpoet r
yatadv ancedlevel l
it
eratur
ei nEngli
shinpar ti
cul
arandev erydaylif
e

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i
ngener
al.

Exami
nat
iont
ypequest
ions

1)Compareandcont r
astthefoll
owingt wopoems“ ShallIcomparetheet
oasummer
’s
day?byWi l
l
iam Shakespeare(1564-1616)and““ShallIcompar etheetoasummer
’s
day?”byHowardMoss( 1922-
1987)pay i
ngpart
icul
arattenti
ontotoneandf
orm.

Willi
am Shakespear e
Shall Icompar et heet oasummer ’
sday ?
Shall Icompar ewi t
ht heet oasummer ’sday ?
Thouar tmor el ov elyandmor et emper ate
Roughwi ndsdoshaket hendar lingbudsofMay
Andsummer ’sl easehat hallt
ooshor tadat e
Somet i
mest oohott heey eofheav enshi nes
Andof tenishi sgol dcompl exiondi mmed;
Andev eryf ai
rf rom f airsomet imesdecl ines,
Bychance, ornat ure’schangi ngcour seunt ri
mmed.
Butthyet ernal summershal lnotf ade,
Norl osepossessi onoft hatfairthouow’ st;
Norshal ldeathbr agt houwand’ restinhi sshade,
Wheni net ernal li
nest ot imet hougr ow’ st .
Sol ongasmencanbr eatheorey escansee,
Sol ongl ivest hisandt hisgi vesl i
fet othee.
Howar dMoss
Shall Icompar et heet oaSummer ’sDay ?
Whosay sy ou’relikeoneoft hedogday s?
You’reni cer.Andbet t
er.
Eveni nMay ,
theweat hercanbegr ay,
Andasummersub- l
etdoesn’ tlastf orev er.
Somet i
mest hesun’ st oohot ;
Somet i
mesi tisnot .
Whocanst ayy oungf orever?
Peopl ebr eakt heirnecksorj ustdr opdead!
Buty ou?Nev er !
I
fther e’sjustonecondensedr eaderl ef t
Whocanf i
gureoutt heabr i
dgedal phabet ,
Aftery ou’redeadandgone,
I
nt hispoem y ou’ llli
veon! .
[
2] Wr it
eacr i
ticalappr eciati
onoft hepoem,Wi nterSong(1755)byEl
i
zabet
hTol
l
et.
Paypar ti
cularat t
ent i
ont othet reatmentofsubj ectmatt
eranddict
ion.

WinterSong
Askmenomor e,myt r
uthtopr ov
e,
WhatIwoul dsufferformylov e.
Witht heeIwoul dinexil
ego;
Tor egionsofeternalsnow;
O’erfloodsbysol i
diceconfined
Throughf orestbarewithnorthernwi
nd;
Whileal lr
oundmyey esIcast,

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Whereal liswi ldandal li

swast e
I
ftheret het i
mor ousst agy ouchase,
Orrouset of ightaf iercerrace;
Undaunt edIt hyar mswoul dbear ,
Andgi vethyhandt ot hehunt ersspear ;
Whent hel owsunwi thdrawshi sli
ght
Andmenacesonhal f–y ear’snight,
Theconsci ousmoonandst arsabov e;
Shallguidemewi t
hmywander i
ngl ove;
Beneatht hemount ain’shollowbr ow;
Orinit’
sr ockycel l
sbel ow;
Thyrural feastIwoul dpr ovide;
Norenv ypal acest hei rpri
de;
Thesof tnessmossshoul ddr esst hybed,
Withsav agespoi lsaboutt heespr ead:
Whilefaithfullylovet hewat chshoul dkeep;
Tobani shdangerf r
om t hysl eep.

3Wr it
eacr i
ti
calappreci
ati
onofthef oll
owi
ngpoem thoughtonJune26byMaz i
si
Kunenepayi
ngattent
iontotheef
fect
ivenessoft
hepoet
’spoeti
cdev
icesi
nbr
ingi
ngout
hi
sthought
sandf eel
i
ngs.

ThoughtonJune26
WasIwr ongwhenIt hought
All
shallbeav enged?
WasIwr ongwhenIt hought
Theropeofi ronhol dingt heneckofy oungbulls
Shall
beav enged?
WasIwr ong
WhenIt houghtt heor phansofsul phur
Shall
r i
sefr om theocean?
WasIdepr avedwhenIt houghtt hereneednotbel ove,
Thereneednotbef or giveness, thereneednotbepr ogress,
Thereneednotbegoodnessont heear t
h,
Thereneednotbet ownsofskel etons,
Sendingmessagesofel ephant stot hemoon?
WasIwr ongt olaughasphy xiatedecst asy
Whent hesear osel ikequi ckli
me
Whent heashesonasheswer eblownbyt hewi nd
Whent hei nfantswor dwasl eftaloneont hehil
l t
op?
WasIwr ongt oer ectmonument sofbl ood?
WasIwr ongt oav enget hepi llageofCaesar ?
WasIwr ong?WasIwr ong?
WasIwr ongt oignitet heear th
Anddanceabov et hest ars
WatchingEur opebur nwi thi t
sci vil
izati
onoff i
re,
WatchingAmer i
cadi si ntegratewi t
hi t
sgodsofst eel,
Watchingt heper secut orsofmanki ndturnintodust
WasIwr ong?WasIwr ong?

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4)Compare andcont r
astthef ol
l
owingpoemsAh,AreYouDiggi
ngOnMyGr av
e?By
ThomasHar dy(1840-1928)andI sMyTeam Ploughi
ng?ByA.EHousman(1859-
1936)
payi
ngpart
icul
arattentiontotoneandmakingcleart
owhatext
entyourr
eadi
ngofone
cl
ari
fi
esyourunderstandingoftheother
.

“Ah,areyoudi ggi
ngonmygr ave?
“
Ahar
ey oudiggingonmygr av e
Myl ovedone?–pl ant
ingrue?”
Noy ester
dayhewentt owed
Oneoft hebrightestwealthhasbred
“I
tcannothurthernow, ”hesai
d
“ThatIshouldnotbet rue”.

“Thenwhoi sdiggi ngmygr ave?

Mynearestdear estki n?”
“Ahnotheysitandt hinkwhatuse?
Whatgoodwi llflower sproduce? ”
“Notendencyofhermoundcanl oose
Herspir
itfr
om Deat h’sgin”
“Butsomeonedi gsuponmygr ave
Myenemy ?–pr oddi ngsly
“Naywhenshehear dy ouhadpassedt heGat
e
Thatshutsallf
leshsoonorl ater
Shethoughtyounomor ewor thherhate
Andcaresnorwher ey ouli
e.
Thenwhoi sdiggi ngmygr ave
Say–sinceIhav enotguessed.
“Oiti
sI,mymi st ressdear

Yourl
it
tl
edog,whosti
lll
eavesnear
AndmuchIhopemymov ementshere
Havenotdi
stur
bedyourrest
.”

Ahy es!Youdi guponmygr ave…………….

Whyf lashedi tnotonme
Thatonet ruehear twaslef tbehind!
Whatf eelingdoweev erfind
Toequal amonghumanki nd
Adog’ sfidel it
y!
Mi st
ress,Idugupony ourgr ave
Tobur yabone, incase
Ishouldbehungr ynearthisspot
Whenpassi ngonmydai lytrot
Iam sor r
y ,butIqui t
eforgot
Itwasy ourr esti
ngplace
“Ismyt eam pl oughi
ng”
“Ismyt eam pl oughi
ng,
ThatIwasusedt odrive

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Andheart
heharnessj
ingl
e
WhenIwasmanal i
ve?
”
Aye,
thehorsest
rampl
e

Thehar nessj ingl

esnow
Nochanget houghy oulieunder
Thel andy ouusedt opl ough
“I
sf ootbal lisplayi
ng
Alongt her ivershore,
Withl adst ochaset hel eather
NowIst andupnomor e?”
Aye, t
hebal lisfly
ing
Thel adspl ayheartandsoul
Thegoal standsup, thekeeper
Standsupt okeept hegoal
“I
smygi rlhappy

ThatIthoughthar dtoleave
Andwasshet iredofweepi ng
Asshel iesdownatev e?”
Yourgirliswellcontented
Aye,shel i
esdownl ightl
y
Sheliesnotdownt oweep
Bestill
myl adandsl eep
“I
smyf r
iendhear t
y
NowIam t hi
nandpi ne
Andhashef oundt osleepin
Abetterbedt hanmi ne?”
“YesladIl i
eeasy

Il
ieasladswouldchoose
Icheeradeadman’ssweetheart
Neveraskmewhose. ”
5)Writ
eacr i
ti
calappr
aisalofthefoll
owi
ngpoem “
Remembr
ance“byEmi
l
yBr
ont
e
pay
ingparti
cul
aratt
enti
ontolanguageandt
one.

REMEMBRANCE
Col
di ntheearth-andthedeepsnowpiledabov
ethee,
Far
, f
ar,r
emov ed,col
dinthedrear
ygrave!
HaveIforgot,myonlyLove,tol
ovethee,
SeveredatlastbyTime’sal
l-
sever
ingwave?

Now,whenalone,domyt hought
snol ongerhover
Overthemountai
ns,onthatnort
hernshore,
Resti
ngthei
rwingswhereheathandf er
n-leav
escover
Thatnobl
eheartfor
ever
,evermor e?

Coldintheearth,
andfif
teenwil
dDecembers
From thosebrownhil
lshavemeltedi
ntospr
ing:
Fait
hful,i
ndeed,i
sthespir
itt
hatr
emember s

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atur
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Af
tersuchy
ear
sofchangeandsuf
fer
ing;

SweetLoveofyouth,f
orgiv
e,ifIf
orgotthee,
Whiletheworl
d’st
ideisbeari
ngmeal ong;
Otherdesi
resandotherhopesbesetme,
Hopeswhichobscure,butcannotdotheewrong;

Nolat
erli
ghthasli
ght
enedupmyheav en,
Nosecondmor nhasevershoneforme;
Al
lmylif
e’sbl
issfr
om thydearl
if
ewasgi ven,
Al
lmylif
e’sbl
issi
sinthegravewitht
hee.

But,whentheday sofgol
dendreamshadperished,
Andev enDespairwaspowerl
esstodestr
oy;
ThendidIlear
nhowexi st
encecouldbecher
ished,
Str
engthened,andfedwit
houttheaidofj
oy.

ThendidIcheckt het
earsofuselesspassion-
Warnedmyy oungsoulfrom y
earningaf
terthi
ne;
Ster
nlydeniedit
sburningwishtohasten
Downt othattombalreadymor ethanmine.

And,evenyet,Idarenotl
etitl
anguish,
Darenotindul
gei nmemor y’
sraptur
ouspain;
Oncedrinki
ngdeepoft hatdivi
nestangui
sh,
Howcoul dIseekt heemptyworldagain?

6)
Wr i
teacri
ti
calappreci
ati
onoft
hepoem Laur
aSl
eepi
ngbyCot
tonpay
ingpar
ti
cul
ar
at
tent
iont
oimageryandtone.

LAURASLEEPI
NG

Windswhispergent
lywhil
stshesleeps,
Andfanherwithyourcool
ingwings;
Whil
stsheherdropsofBeautyweeps,
Fr
om pure,andyetunri
val
l
’dSpri
ngs.

Gli
deov erBeauti
esFieldherFace,
TokissherLip,andCheekbebol d,
Butwithacalm, andsteal
ingpace;
Neithertoorude;noryettoocold.

Pl
ayinherbeams,andcri
spherHai
r,
Wit
hsuchagale,aswingssof
tLove
Andwithsosweet,sor
ichanAir
,
Asbreat
hsfrom t
heArabi
anGrove.

ABreathashust
’tasLoverssigh;
Orthatunf
oldst
heMor ningdoor:
Sweet,ast
heWinds,thatgentl
yfl
y,

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atur
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Tosweept
heSpr
ingsenamel
l
’dFl
oor

Murmursof tMusictoherDreams.
Thatpure,andunpoll
utedrun,
Li
ketot henew-bornChri
stalSt
reams,
Underthebrightenamour’
dSun

Butwhenshewakingshall
displ
ay
Herl
ight,
ret
ir
ewithi
nyourbar,
HerBreat
hisli
fe,
herEyesareday
AndallManki
ndherCreat
uresare.

7)
Writ
eacr i
ti
cal
appr
eci
ati
onoft
hef
oll
owi
ngpoem For
uwa(
Anon)f
ocussi
ngon
l
anguageandfor
m.

Foruwa
Shall
wesay
Shall
weputi
tthi
sway

Shal
lwesayt
hatt
hemai
dofKy
ref
aso,
For
uwadaught
eroft
he

QueenMot
her
,wasay
oungdeer
,gr
acef
uli
nli
mb?Suchwasshe,

Wi
thheadhel
dhi
gh,
eyessof
tandwi
dewi
thwonder
.Andshewas

Li
ghtoff
oot
,li
ghti
nal
lhermov
ing.

St
eppi
ngspr
ingi
l
yal
ongt
hewat
erpat
hli
keadeert
hathad

St
ray
edf
rom t
het
hicket
,spr
ingi
l
yst
eppi
ngal
ongt
hewat
erpat
h,

Shewasapi
ctur
etogi
vet
heey
eaf
east
.Andnobodypassedherby

Butt
urnedt
olookatheragai
n.

Thoseofherv
il
lagesai
dthatherv
oicei
nspeechwasl
i
ket
he

Mur
murofar
iverf
lowi
ngbeneat
hshadowsofbamboo

Leav
es.Theysai
dhersmi
l
ewoul
dsomet
imesbl
ossom l
i
keal
i
lyon

Herl
i
psandsomet
imesr
isel
i
kesunr
ise.

Thebut
ter
fl
iesdonotf
lyawayf
rom t
hef
lower
s,t
heydr
awnear
.

For
uwawast
hef
lowerofherv
il
lage.

Soshal
lwesay
,

Shal
lweputi
tthi
sway
,thatal
lthev
il
lagebut
ter
fl
ies,
themen,

t
ri
edt
odr
awnearheratev
eryt
urn,
crossedandcr
ossedherpat
h?

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Mensai
dofher
,“sheshal
lbemywi
fe,
andmi
ne,
andmi
ne,
and

Mi
ne.
”

Butsunsr
oseandset
,moonssi
l
ver
edanddi
edandast
heday
s

PassedFor
uwagr
ewmor
elov
esomey
etshebecamenoone’
swi
fe.

Shesmi
l
edatt
hebut
ter
fl
iesandwav
edherhandl
i
ght
lyt
ogr
eet

Them asshewentswi
ft
lyaboutherdai
l
ywor
k;

‘
Mor
ning,
Kweku

Mor
ning,
Kwesi

Mor
ning,
Kodwo’

Butt
hatwasal
l

Andsot
heysai
d,ev
enwhi
l
ethei
rhear
tst
humpedf
orher
:

‘
Proud!
Foruwai spr oud…andv erystrange.’
Andsot hemenwhent heygat heredwoul dsay :
‘
Theregoesast rangegirl
.Shei snotj ustst i
ff
–in–t he-neck
proud,notj ustbr east
-stuck-out-
Iam- the-only-
gir
l-
in-
thevil
lagepr oud.Whatki ndofpr i
dei sher s?
Theendoft hey earcamer oundagai n,bringi
ngtheseasonof
Festi
vals.Fort hegat heri
ng-inofcor n,yamsandcocoat her
ewere
Harvestcel ebrations.Ther ewer ebride-meet i
ngst oo.Andi tcameto
Thetimewhent heAsaf ocompani esshoul dholdthei rfest
ival
.Thev
il
lagewasf
ull
ofmanl
y
sounds, loudmusket ryandswel li
ngchor uses.

Chapt
er4
APPRECI
ATI
ONOFPROSE
Lear
ningObj
ect
ives

Af
terst
udy
ingt
hischapt
ercar
eful
l
y,y
oushoul
dbeabl
eto:

(
a) Def
inewhatappr
eci
ati
onofpr
oseent
ail
s.

(
b) Out
li
net
heessent
ial
element
snecessar
yforef
fect
iveappr
eci
ati
onofpr
ose.

(
c) Appl
ythepr
escr
ibedt
echni
quesi
ntheappr
eci
ati
onofpr
ose

(
d) Wri
te a cr
it
icalappr
eci
ati
on ofa passage,pay
ing par
ti
cul
arat
tent
ion t
othe
pr
escr
ibedfeatur
es.

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(
e) Compare and contr
ast gi
ven passages,pay
ing par
ti
cul
ar at
tent
ion t
othe
pr
escr
ibedfeat
ures.

I
ntr
oduct
ion

Thepr osegenreisper hapsthemostcommonandwi del

yr eadform oflit
eratur
einthe
wor l
dt oanextentthateachdayofourl ivesweinteractwithv ar
iousformsofpr oseinour
diff
erentenvir
onment s.Howev er,haveweev ergivenat houghtt othereasonwhywr iters
write?Theansweri sagr eatNO, becausewesi mpl yreadforenjoy ment.Appreci
ati
onof
proset her
eforedealswi t
hidentify
ingtheneedf orwr i
ter
stot akepent opaperand
cri
ticall
yfocusonthenat ureoft hei
rwor ksnotonlyasameansofper sonal enj
oymentor
dail
yr outi
nebutanev aluati
onoft heirt
echniques,thoughts,feel
ingsandar t
ist
icabi
li
ties
thatdiffer
enti
atesthem from otherwr i
ters

El
ement
sofpr
ose

Prosewr it
ingscanbedef inedascont inuouswr i
tingtocommuni cateani dea.Prose
formsthebasi sofwr ittencommuni cationineverydayl i
fe.Itcant heref or
ebedef inedas
thesimplestormostconv enientwaythroughwhi chhumani tyhasexpr esseddi f
ferent
aspectsoft heirexperi
encest oeachot her.I
nitssimpl estformi tinvolv esthewr i
ti
ng
downofi deasonapi eceofpapert ocommuni cateorst orepar t
icularr ecords.However,
seasonedwr i
terstakeal otofti
met hi
nkingofhowt oputt heirideast ogethersoast o
maket heirwriti
ngsenj oyabletothei
rintendedaudi ence. I
ndoi ngsot heydev el
opa
parti
cularstyl
eofwr i
ti
ngwhi chtheycancal l
theirown.

Anyfor
m ofpr
osehast
hef
oll
owi
ngaspect
sbei
ngkeyt
oit
sdev
elopmentand
appr
eci
ati
on

a)Thepar
agr
aphuni
t

b)Thesent
encet
ype

c)Thenar
rat
ivest
yle

d)St
ruct
ure

Theseaspect
swi
llbeexami
nedi
ndet
aill
ateroni
nthechapt
er

PROSEFORM

Prosef or
mr eferstohow apieceofwrit
ingispr esent
ed.Wr i
ter
swr it
ef ordiff
erent
audiences and as such some woul
dtellstor
ies,others gi
ve descr
ipt
ions etc.The
fol
lowingoutli
neat t
emptstoshedmorel
i
ghtont hev ari
ousformsofprosest udent
swi l
l
encounteri
nt heirst
udi
es.

Thenar
rat
ive

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Thisr eferst oanykindofprosewr i

ti
ngwhichseekst otellastoryort odev elopaplot.I
t
usesapoi ntofv i
ew:ei
therthefir
stpersonnarrator–“ I”
,thet hirdpersonnar rator–
“they/he/she”ort hest
ream ofconsciousness.Itseekst oprovidet hereaderwi thas
muchi nf ormat ionaspossiblesot hatthecharactersandsi tuationsi nthest oryare
sensible.St udentswil
ldi
scoverthatmostnoveli
stspreferthenarrativeform ofwr i
ti
ngin
theirnov els.Assuchmostoft hepassagesusedfordemonst rati
onsi nthest udypackare
narrativ
ei nnat ure.

Thedescr
ipt
ive

Thisref
erstoanyform ofpr
oset hatseekstodescribeorpointapi ctureusi
ngwords.It
off
ersdescri
pti
onsofcharact
er,situati
onsetc.Thedescr i
pti
veisev ocati
veandcreat
es
i
nt hereader
s’mind,pai
ntsaclearpi ct
ureoftheideathewr i
terisput t
ingacr
oss.Atit
s
besti
tcanbepoet i
cduetoalotoff i
gurati
vel
anguaget hatwri
tersuse.

Thedi
scur
sive

Thisr ef
ersto argumentat
ive orf actualform ofprose nor
mallyf ound i
nt reat
ise
(essays)
.Thelanguageisgener al
l
yt echni
caland for
maland subjectto a specif
ied
audiencee.gafinanci
alr
eport.Asar esul
t,ver
yli
tt
lefi
gur
ati
velanguagecanbeusedi f
ever.

Thecont
empl
ati
ve

Thisi
sasubf orm oft hediscursi
v ewediscussedabove.Howevertheargumentt
histi
me
bri
ngsinpersonalfeelings,wheret hewri
termusesoverpossi
bleperil
ousacti
onsthathe
maytake.Itisemot ionalandev ocati
ve.Mostnewspaperedit
orial
s( commentsecti
on)
fal
l
swithi
nthisform

Thephi
losophi
c

Thisi ssimil
artodi scursi
veandcont emplati
veintermsofbei ngar gumentati
veand
factual
.Themai ndiffer
enceli
esinthelev
elofcontemplat
ion.Whi l
stincontemplati
vethe
wr i
tertendstopersonali
sehisexperi
enceofthewor l
dinphilosophicwr i
ti
nghet endsto
view man’sacti
onsasdamagi ngthenaturalenvi
ronment.Thewr it
ertendstoi nvi
tethe
readertolovenature.Therear
eromanticandpastoral
i
sttendencies.

Thedi
dact
ic

Thi
sispr osewhichseekst ochanget hereader’
swayoft hi
nkingorbehaviour
.Itis
di
rect
iveandpersuasi
veli
kepoli
ti
calspeeches.Atit
sbesti
tismov i
ngbutatitsworsti
t
i
spropagandi
sti
c,thusdanger
ous.Agoodexampl earet
hemot i
vat
ional
speeches.

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atur
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Forexampl
e-Char
lesDi
ckensSl
aver
yfr
om t
hebookAmer
icanNot
es.

Thesat
ir
ic

Ital
so,li
kethedidact
ic,seekst ochanget her eader’
swayoft hi
nkingorhisbehaviour
.It
mocksandr idi
cul
esthr oughtheuseofi r
ony, sarcasm orcar
icat
urecert
ainvi
cesinsome
people.Thesatir
icform cor r
ectsthroughl aughter– thereaderi smeanttol aughat
cert
ainludi
crousandridicul
ousbehaviour.

Subj
ectmat
ter
:

Wet alkedaboutsubj ect/maintheme/t opicearli

eronandst ressedthef actt hatatthis
l
evelwear etal
kingaboutmaj orissuesoft hest oryorpoem.Thesubj ectmat teri
st he
materialthati
sint hetopic/subject/theme.Hav ey ouev ernoticedthatt herear emany
writ
erswhohav ewr i
ttenaboutdeat horl oveandt heirwor kswer epubl ished?What
makesonepubl i
shmanypoemsorst oriesthatmaker efer
encet odeat h?I tisbecause
peoplehav ediff
erentexper i
enceswi thdeat horany t
hingy oucant hinkabout .Iti
st he
experi
enceher ewear erefer
ri
ngt oassubj ectmat ter.Inthecaseofcr iticalappr eci
ation
thegivenpassagewoul dhav eoneort wocent ralideaswhi char eexplor edt here:¬t
hus
theknowl edgeofthesubj ectmattergivesusasoundf oundat i
ont ocarry outappr eci
ation
forwewi l
lseektof i
ndoutwhyandhowt hewr it
erchoset opr esentt hesubj ectinthat
part
icularmanner.

Di
cti
on:

Dict
ionisthewr i
ter
’schoi
ceofwor ds.Everywri
terwhenwr i
ti
nghasav ar
iet
yofwords
ofasituat
ionhemi ghtwanttodescri
be.Natur
all
yfrom t
hev ar
ietyhechoosesthemost
ef
fecti
ve.So,buthowcanthisbeimportant
?Considerthefol
l
owi ngtask:

Yougeti
ntoashopandyouwantt
obuyalightbul
b.Ther
eisanassort
mentoft
hese
bul
bsont
heshel
f,onet
ypei
scal
l
edSpar
k,t
hesecondglowandthet
hir
dglit
ter

a)Whichbulbwouldyouchoosei
fyouweretoconsi
dert
hel
i
ghti
ntensi
tyf
rom eachbul
b
asexplai
nedbythei
rnamesandthei
rdur
abil
i
ty?

b)Gi
ver
easonswhyy
oudonotchooset
heot
herones.

Di
cti
onorwor
dchoi
cecanbebr
okendowni
ntot
hef
oll
owi
ng:

a)Denot
ati
vemeaning:t
hisisthedict
ionar
ymeaningofawordwhenitisoutofcontex
t.
Somepeoplewoul
dliket
or ef
ertoitasthesur
facemeani
ngorthegener
almeaning.

b)Connot
ati
vemeani
ng:
iti
sthemeani
ngoft
hewor
dasusedwi
thi
napar
ti
cul
arcont
ext

Wor dsgathermoremeani ngwhenusedcol l

ecti
vel
y.Natur
all
yweassoci at
ewor dswit
h
certainthi
ngs,f
orinstance,
acannoncr ashes,adoorbangsduri
ngawi ndydayandsoon.
Sowr i
tersareaware,justl
ikeus,ofthemeani ngofwords.Dotheyev okefeel
i
ngi nt
he
reader.Wor dswit
hheav ysoundslikebang,boom,below,gutt
uralet
c.ar er
efer
redtoas

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masculinedicti
onandt hosewithsof tsoundsl ikesoft
,fl
ow,shel let
c.arereferredtoas
femini
nebutt hereisnot hingmal eorfemal eaboutwor dst hough!Itisimpor t
antwhen
deali
ngwi thdi
cti
ont onot ewhatty peofwor dst heaut
horwoul dbeusing-hemi ghtusea
l
otofadv er
bs,adject
ives,compar ati
vesand/orsuper l
ati
ves.AlsoDicti
onusedcoul dbe
oldfashioned,archai
c.I tcoul
dbemoder ndayorspeci ali
stdicti
on.Special
istdi ct
ionis
dict
ionthatisdrawnf rom acer tainfi
eld,forex ample“scarl
etti
na”,“
rubel
la”,“i
nfluenza”
,
“pol
io”aret ermsdr awnf r
om themedi calf i
eld,astudentshouldexplaintheimpactof
suchdictiononthegener al
devel
opmentoft hepassage..

Feel
ing

Thisistherelati
onshipbetweenthewr i
terandhissubject
.Youneedt oaskyour
self–
whatist hewr i
ter
’sfeel
ingtowardshissubject? Thi
sisderi
vedfrom t
hewrit
eruseof
dict
ionaswel laspresentati
onofhiswor k.Ourownfeeli
ngstowar
dsthewri
terar
ealso
verysi
gnifi
cantintheanalysi
sofaprosepassage

Tone

Thisr efer
st othevoicespeakingort heatti
tudeoft hespeakertowardsapar t
icul
ar
subject.Thetoneisusuall
ydescribedbyadjecti
ves,soiti
supt othestudenttofi
ndan
adjecti
vethatbestdescr
ibesthevoiceofthespeaker.Thet
onemaybe“ gent
le,
”“t
ender”
,
“comical”,“
sati
ri
cal
”,”
bit
ter”
,”sol
emn”,sad”,
happy”etc.

Nar
rat
ivest
yles

Thisrefer
st otheperspect
iveoft
hewriterashewr it
es.Forinstanceawri
termaychoose
tobet hemai nv oi
ceinthepassageorhecanbeaspect ator.Compareasoccerplay
er
givi
ngamat chcomment aryofamat chhei sinvolvedinandamat chcomment at
or
watchingfrom theterr
aces.Assuchthesoccerpl ayerwil
lexhibital
otofemoti
onaland
dir
ectinvol
v ementthanthematchcomment ator.Thenotesgivenbelowgiveusahinton
themai nnarrat
ivesty
lesusedbywri
ters.

a)TheFi
rstPer
sonNar
rat
ive

Thisistheindivi
dual“I”voi
cethattheauthorusestot el
lthestory
.Iti
sef fect
ivei
nthat
theauthorornar r
atorbecomespar tandparceloftheactioninthest
orythuswedonot
doubttheaut henti
cit
yoft heexperiencethepersonaornar r
atorwentthrough.Wear e
alsoablet
ogetanemot i
onalconnecti
onwitht
hewr it
er.

b) TheThi
rdPer
sonNar
rat
ive

Thethirdper
soni sadet achedvoi
ce,i
.e.thevoicet
hatisoutsidetheacti
onofthestor
y .I
t
uses“they”
,“he”,“she”.I
tisaGodl i
kev oiceoraknowal lvoicethatgui
desandcontrols
youreyeschoosingwhatt oseeandhearf oryou.Iti
salsor efer
redtoastheomniscient
narr
atori.
e.seenev er
ywhereatthesamet ime.Thisnar r
atorcant el
lusaboutwhati s
happeninginBul awayoandmov estr
aightawayt otalkaboutwhati staki
ngplacei n
MutareandHar are.Itisaubiqui
tousvoicewhichhasat endencyofeav es–droppingon

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peopl
eandconf
idi
ngwi
tht
her
eader
.

c)TheSt
ream ofConsci
ousness

Thi
si sthemoder nst yl
eofwr i
ting.I tusesaser iesoff ir
stper sonsanddel vesintothe
mentalfacul ti
esofi ndividuals.I t’
sl i
kesol il
oquyori nteri
ormonol ogue. Yourteacher
gi
vesy ouhomewor k:AJour neyt oHar are.Imagi neseat i
ngont hebusf rom RenkiniBus
Terminusboundt oHar are.Ar ey ougoi ngt owr i
teaboutt het hi
ngsy ousee,hearandeat
onl
y?No–acl everwriteralsoi ncludeshi sf eel
i
ngsandt houghts.Youf i
ndthatthereare
manyconv ersati
ons,quest i
ons,cel ebrationsandmi seri
esi nourmi nds.Themoder n
wri
terissay i
ngt hehumanmi ndi snotl inearbutv er ycompl exandsohei stryingto
i
ncorporatet hesecompl exit
ies,liket hinkingaboutmanyt hingsatt hesamet ime,inhis
wri
ti
ng.Hav ey ouevernot icedt hatev enwheny ourteacheri steaching,yourmindmi ght
beli
steningt owhathei ssay i
ngandwr i
tingnot es,butatt hesamet i
me,thesamemi nd
mightbet hinkingabouthomeoraf riendy ouaregoi ngt omeetaf t
erschool!Suchi sthe
complexitywear etalki
ngabout .Andt hewr it
ertri
est ocapt uresuchcompl exes.

Li
ter
aldevi
ces

Thissectiontakesusbackt otheanalysi
sofl i
ter
aldevicesthatwediscussedi
nt he
earl
ierchapters.Wenow t akepar
ti
cularfocusont hosedev i
cesthatarecommonl y
associat
edwi t
hpr ose.Weshouldtakenoteoft hefactthatpoeti
cdevi
cescanalsobe
usedbypr osewr i
ter
s.ther
eforeweareencouragedtorevi
stthepoeti
cdevi
cessect
ionin
thepoetrychapter
.

1. Per
soni
fi
cat
ion

Thiscanbeexpl
ainedasgivi
nghumanqual
it
iest
oinani
mat
ethi
ngs(
non-
human
thi
ngs)e.
g“t
hetr
eewav edherar
msacr
ossthesky
”.

2. Fl
ashback

Thisisamet hodwhichallowsthewritert
opresentevent
sthathappenedbefor
e
thet i
meoft hecurr
entnar r
ati
on.Itisusef
uli nfil
l
ing i
nther eaderabouta
characterorplaceoraboutthebackgr
oundtoaconfli
ct.

3. I
rony

Thisi samodeofexpr essiont hroughwor dsorev ent

sconv eyi
ngar eali
tydif
ferent
from andusual lyopposi t
et oappear anceorexpect ation.Ther eaderi susually
givenaddi ti
onali nfor
mat i
onwhi choneorsomeoral lficti
onalcharacterslack.
This,therefore,makest hechar acter’swor dshav eameani ngtothereadert hatis
notper ceivedbyt hecharact er.Ironycanbedr amaticironyorsi t
uat i
onalirony.
I
r onyi sacommonandef ficientt echniqueusedbywr it
ersasani nstr
umentof
tell
ingt hetruth.Itisimpor tantf orast udenttohav et heabi l
it
ytodet ecti r
ony.
Failuretodosocoul dbedi sast r
ous.Wr it
ersactuall
yhav et hehabi
toft ippi
ngof f
ther eadersthroughst yl
e,tone, anduseofcl earexaggerationwherethei r
onyl i
es.

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4.Sy
mbol
ism

Asy mbolusuall
yhast womeanings-
alit
eralmeaningandahi ddenmeani ng.Symbols
aregeneral
lyuniver
sall
yaccept
edobjectsthatareassoci
atedwithpart
icularev
entsor
experi
ences.Forinst
ance,adoveisusuall
yasy mbolofpeace,whit
easy mbolofpur
it
y.
Red-lovegreenfornatur
eetc.Aswordcoul dbetakenasweaponori talsocouldbea
symbol f
orjust
ice.Notethetwomeaningsintheexampl ebel
ow

Hel
i
vedbyt
heswor
dandhedi
edbyt
heswor
d

Notethecontextual
meani ngofthewordswor di
nthesentenceabove.Thefir
stswor
d
r
eferstobrut
alit
yandl ov
ef orwarandkil
l
ings.Thesecondswordrepresent
stheendof
t
hattyrannyt
hrought heswordthatisi
notherwordsjusti
ce.

Exer
cise:

I
dent
if
ythemai
nsy
mbol
sorsy
mbol
i
smst
hatweusei
nourev
ery
dayl
i
fey
etweseem not
t
onoti
ce.

5Al
legor
ies:

Thi
sisanarr
ati
vewhosecharacter
sorset
ti
ngsusual
l
yrepr
esentsomemor
alqual
i
ties?I
t
oper
atesont
wol ev
elofmeaning,t
hati
s:

a)The l
iter
al(
stor
y)l
evel
s whi
ch i
sthe sur
face meani
ng ofa st
oryusual
l
yepi
c
accompl
i
shmentand

b)Themoral(allegor
ical
)lev
elswhichi
susuallyarel
igious,pol
iti
calorsoci
alcr
it
iqueof
l
ife.
Agoodexampl ecanbet akenfr
om t
heChr i
sti
anbible:t
hepar abl
eofthesower.The
soweri
sthepr eacher,t
heseedi st
hegospelandthevar i
ousplaceswheretheseedfall
s
aret
hereci
pientsofthegoodnews.

6.Al l
usion:
Thisreferst
oabr i
efr eferencet oapersonorev enti
nhistory,anot herfi
eldorpr evious
l
iterat
ure,whichthereaderi sassumedt oknow.Forexampl e,therear eal otofreferences
toShakespear eanli
ter atureinmoder nli
teratur
eandal sorefer encest oCupi dorEr osin
classi
calandmoder nl it
erature.Thustheallusioncanbehi stor i
cal,bibl
i
cal ,
geographi cal
etc.Themosti mpor tantaspecti sf
oronet obeawar etother eferencet hatisbeingmade
becausef ai
l
ur etodosowi llr
esultinaninabili
tytorecogniset hepr esenceandev aluate
theeffectofapar t
icularal l
usion.

7.Ambi valence
Itref
er stoambi gui
tyi nt hemeani ngsoft hewor dsused.Ambivalenceist hewri
ter’
s
experienceswhi chexistwhenher espondstot hesamest i
mulus,eit
heraper sonora
sit
uationinsever aldif
ferentway s.Forex ample,theef
fectoft
hefir
esy mbolinCharlot
te
Bronte’sJaneEy re.Itrepresentstheabsenceanddeni alofwarmthbyAuntReedt oJane
atGat eshead,itemphasi zesther epulsi
onandt or
mentatLowoodor phanage,andthe
burni
ngsexual desi r
einMr .RochesteratThornfiel
de.t
.c.

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GENERALLI
NGUI
STI
CGUI
DELI
NES

I
naddit
iontotheli
terarydevi
ceswehavediscussedabov
e,pr
oseanal
ysi
sisassoci
ated
wi
ththefoll
owinglinguist
icconsi
der
ati
onswhichwillai
dusincri
ti
calappr
eci
ati
onof
pr
osegenres.

1.Di
sci
pli
nedpar
agr
aphi
cuni
tst
ruct
ure:

Thi
sreferstoapassageorpar agraphthatiswelldev
elopedint
oacoher entwhole.I
t
maint
ainsuni
tyofpurpose,poi
ntofv i
ewormoodunl ockingt
hemeanings/signi
fi
cance
oft
hepassage.I
tfurt
herreinf
orces/st
rengt
henstheimpressi
onther
ebyaddingmeaning
tot
hepassage.

NB:Apar
agraphcanbehaphazardwit
hnodefini
testr
uct
ureorsent
encecohesi
on.
itwi
l
l
showusl
ackofunit
yamongstthechar
act
ersconfusi
onet
c.

2.Longsent
ences

Thel ongsent
enceisusedt oest
abli
shthemoodoft hestoryaswellasgiv
enecessary
detai
l.
ltmayconveyaslowsadsol emnpr ocessionandcanbesl oweddownt obuil
dup
suspense.They al
so rev ealthe wri
ter
’st houghtst owar
ds a parti
cul
arevent.Itis
i
mpor tantt
onotethatlongsent encesaregener al
l
yusedi nnarrat
ionstobuil
dupt he
setti
ngaswellascreatingt heappropri
atemood,f orthedevel
opmentoft heplotcan
mov emuchmor esl
owlyt hanshort
erones, t
obr i
ngoutgenuineeff
ects.

3.Shor
tSent
ences

Theshor tsentencei
susedtoshowangr
yacti
onormoodofdesolat
ion.I
tal
sobui
l
dsup
suspensequicklyasswel
lasqui
ckeni
ngt
heacti
oni
nthepassage.

4.Wor
dchoi
ce

These conveyand suggestmeani ng eff

ecti
vely.Theyar eimportantintheirsound,
associat
ionandmeani ngi
nthattheyharmoniseandr einf
orcetheeffectoft
hepassage
ther
ebyunl ockingtheint
endedmeani ngoft hepassage.I funexpectedtheyhav ea
star
tl
ing effect.They al
so provi
de an emot i
onalat mospher
e as t hei
r sui
tabi
li
ty
harmonizeswi t
horrei
nfor
cetheeffect
.Adject
ivescanappealswiftl
yandcommandi ngly
toourimaginati
on,andinafl
ashwebegi ntoseepictur
es( i
mages).

5.Pl
ainLanguage:

Simpl
el anguagemi ghtsuggestrati
onali
tyofargument,honestand exact
nessand,
tr
uthf
ulnesswithoutfi
rewor
ks,flamboyance,j
ustli
ketheexperi
encei
tcommuni cat
es.
Thesimplici
tyoflanguagemov esthest or
yfast
erandnoi deaisbei
ngpushedi nan

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unwel
comeway
.Ital
sousedf
orst
imul
ati
ngav
iewpoi
ntt
hati
sfr
eshand,
ori
ginal
.

6.Rhet
ori
calquest
ions

Thesegener
all
ycreateaconv ersat
ionalt
oneort
hought
fult
one.Theyquest
ion t
he
reader
soncr
it
ical
issuesofsoci
ety

7.Di
alogue

Thisisused t
o cr
eateadramat
icfor
ceand i
mmediacy
,maki
ng prosemovemor
e
dramati
c,vi
vi
dandi mmedi
ateMnemoni
cdevi
ceshav
eamemor abl
equal
it
yandai
d
meaning

8.Dr
amat
icPunct
uat
ion

Forexampl e!Command,sur pri

se,anger–ei t
herquickent hepaceorabr okenst
accato
i
mpact .Elli
pses…mayi ndicatethatanotherthoughthasbeeni ntroduced,emphasizesa
point.Thesy mbol“ inv ertedcommasmayi ndicat
epassageoft imeandf ordr
amat i
c
eff
ect ,
addinganexpl anat ionordescr ipt
iontothesentence. :afullorsemicolonisused
anexpl anati
oni stof ollow,I tal
sosepar atestwosent encesori deaswher ethesecond
explai
nst hef i
rst,i
tal socancr eat
esenseofexpect ation–somet hingdramati
ci sto
fol
low

NB.Itshouldbenotedthatcomprehensionanal
ysi
sinvol
vestheabil
i
tytoevaluatealotof
l
ingui
sticaspect
susedbyt hewriterandquali
fyi
ngthem inthecont
extofhowt heyhave
beenusedi nthepassage.Thenotesgivenabovetheref
orearenotexhaust
ivebutgi v
ea
generalgui
deli
nes.Moreexampleswi llfol
l
ow inthepracti
caldemonstr
ati
onl ateronin
thechapter

Pr
oseappr
eci
ati
on:Thegener
alappr
oach

Theappreci
ati
onofprosefol
lowst
hegener
alsetgui
del
inesthatwedi
scussedi
nthe
ear
li
erchapt
ers.Howev
erthef
oll
owi
nggui
del
i
neswouldbehelpf
ul.

A)Compr
ehensi
onl
evel

Thi
sisthestagewher
ewer eadthepassagetogai
nagener
alunder
standi
ng.Wear
e
abl
etodeter
mi net
hemainconcernofthewri
teri
napar
ti
cul
arpassage.Thuswear
e
abl
etodeter
mi net
hewri
ter
’ssenseorsubj
ect
.

B)Judgementl
evel

Thisisthestageinwhi chwebr eakdownt hepassagei ntosmal l

eranal y
sabl euni
ts.
Thiscanbeei t
herbr eakingt hepassagei ntoparagraphicunitori nto groupsof
sentences.Wesuchasl engthofsentence,theeff
ectofcapitali
sation,narrat
ivestyl
e,
theeffectsof
,ti
meet c.Int hi
sstage,weshoul dbeablet odeterminet herelati
onship
betweent hecharact
ersi nvol
vedi nthepassage.Not ethatweshoul dgivecr edi
ble
reasonsonwhyandhowt hewrit
erisgraduall
ydevel
opinghissubj ectast hepassage

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i
sdev el
opi
ng.I
not
herwor
dsweshoul
dident
if
yandexpl
aint
hei
ssuest
hatwehav
e
r
aised.

C)Ev
aluat
ionl
evel

Thisisthest agewher ewemakeanassessmentoft hei mpactofthepassageasa

whole.Focusi sont heholisti
ccommentont hepresentati
onoft hewrit
er’
ssubj ectviz
av i
zhisintentionandorr elat
ionshi
pwi tht
hereaderorcr iti
c.Weevaluatethegener al
feel
ingsevokedbyt hepassageaswel lasthemoodandt oneofhispresentati
on. We
shouldnoteanychangei npar t
icul
arelementsoft hepassage.Forexampl e,arethe
feel
ingsconst antthroughout ,arethecharact
ersst at
ic,didthewrit
eruseauni form
styl
ethroughout ?etc.

NB:I tisv eryi mportanttonot et hatcommentandappr eci

ati
ondependsonour
personaljudgementandexper i
ence.I ti
sourdut yt oreadwi del
ysoast of amil
iar
ise
ourselveswi t
hanumberofwr itingstyl
esetc.Int hefinalanaly
siswest atethatthe
gui
del i
nesgi venherear enoti nanywayexhaust i
vebutser veasi mplepurposeof
establi
shingaf oundationonwhi chstudentsdevelopthebasi cproseappr
eciati
onand
analysi
st echniquesandi nthelongr undevel
opt heirownappr eciat
ionst
ylesthatare
commensur atewiththeirexper
ienceandl i
ter
alandl i
nguisti
cdevelopment.

Demonst
rat
ions

Thef oll
owingsectionseekst
ogi v
eabasi cdemonstr
ati
ononhowt hev ar
iousskil
lsand
approachesdiscussedinthechaptercanbeappl
iedinapract
icaldemonst rat
ion.Pl
ease
notethatthefocusonlyonthemainaspectsofproseanal
ysi
smeanst hattheycannever
beexhaustive.

2.Writ
eacr i
ti
calappreci
ati
onofthefol
lowingpassagefrom HeartofDar
knessby
JosephConradpay
ingattent
iont
ost
yli
sti
cfeat
uresofthepassage.

‘
Ibegy ourpardon.If orgott hehear t
ache,whi chmakesupt her estoft heprice.And
i
ndeedwhatdoest hepr i
cemat t
er,ift
het ri
ckbewel ldone?Youdoy ourt ri
cksverywel l
.
AndIdi dn’
tdobadl yeit
her,sinceImanagednott osinkt hatst eamboatonmyf i
rstt r
ip.
It
’sawondert omey et.Imagineabl i
ndfoldedmansett odr iveav anov erabadr oad.I
sweatedandshi veredov ert hatbusinessconsi derably
,Icant el
lyou.Af t
eral l
,fora
seaman,t oscrapet hebot t
om oft heunpar donablesin.Noonemayknowofi t,buty ou
neverforgett
het hump–eh?Abl owont hev eryhear t
.Your ememberi t,youdream ofi t
,
youwakeupatni ghtandt hi
nkofi t–y earsaf t
er–andgohotandcol dallover.Idon’ t
pret
endt osayt hatsteamboatf l
oatedallthet i
me.Mor ethanonceshehadt owadef ora
bit
,withtwentycanni balssplashingaroundandpushi ng.Wehadenl i
stedsomeoft hese
chapsont hewayf oracrew.Fi nefell
ows–canni bals–i nt heirplace.

Theyweremenonecoul dworkwith,
andIam gr at
efult
othem.And,aft
erall
,theydi
dnot
eateachotherbef
oremyface:theyhadbroughtalongaprovi
sionofhippo-meat,whi
ch
wentrot
ten,andmadethemysteryofthewil
dernesssti
nkinmynostri
l
s.Phoo!Icansnif
f

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i
tnow.Ihadt hemanageronboar dandt hreeorf ourpilgr
imswi tht hei
rst aves–al l
compl ete.Somet imeswecameuponast at
ioncl osebyt hebank, cli
ngingtot heski rtsof
theunknown,andt hewhi temenr ushingoutofat umbl edownhov el
,wi t
hgr eatgest ures
ofjoyandsur pr iseandwel come,seemedv erystrange–hadt heappear anceofbei ng
heldther ecaptivebyaspel l
.Thewor di v
orywoul dr i
ngi ntheairf orawhi l
e–andonwe
wentagai ni nt
ot hesi lence,alongempt yreaches,r oundt hesti
llbends,bet weent hehi gh
wallsofourwi ndi ngway ,reverberati
ngi nhollowcl apst heponder ousbeatoft hest ern–
wheel.Tr ees,trees,mi l
l
ionsoft rees,massi ve,immense,r unni
nguphi gh;andy etitwas
notal togetherdepr essing,thatf eeli
ng.Af terall,ify ouwer esmal l,thegr imybeet l
e
crawledon-whi chwasj ustwhaty ouwant editt odo.Wher et hepi l
gr i
msi magi nedi t
crawledt oIdon’ tknow.Tosomepl acewher et
heyexpect edtogetsomet hing,Ibet !For
mei tcr awledtowar dsKur tz–ex clusivel
y;butwhent hesteam-pi pesst artedleakingwe
crawledv eryslow.

Ther eachesopenedbef oreusandcl osedbehi nd,asi fthef or

esthadst eppedl eisurely
acrosst hewat ertobart hewayf orourr et urn.Wepenet rateddeeperanddeeperi ntot he
hear tofdar kness.I twasv eryqui ett here.Atni ghtsomet imest her ollofdr umsbehi nd
sust ainedfaintly
,asi fhov eringi nt heai rhi ghov erourheads,t il
lthef i
rstbr eakofday .
Whet heritmeantwar ,peace, orpr ay erwecoul dnott ell.Thedawnswer eher al dedbyt he
descentofachi l
lst i
l
lness; t
hewood-cut terssl ept, theirf i
resbur nedl ow; t
hesnappi ngof
at wi gwoul dmakey oust art.Wewer ewander ersonpr ehi stor
icear th,onanear tht hat
wor et heaspectofanunknownpl anet .Wecoul dhav ef anci edour selvest hef irstofmen
takingpossessi ononanaccur sedi nher i
tance,t obesubduedatt hecostofpr ofound
angui shandofexcessi vetoil
.Butsuddenl y,aswest ruggl edr oundabend, ther ewoul dbe
agl i
mpseofr ushwal ls,ofpeakedgr ass–r oofs, abur stofy ell
s,awhi r
lofbl ackl i
mbs, a
massofhandscl apping,off eetst ampi ng,ofbodi essway ing,ofey esr oll
ing,undert he
droopofheav yandmot i
onlessf oli
age.Thest eamert oiledal ongsl owl yont heedgeofa
blackandi ncompr ehensiblef renz y
.Thepr ehist ori
cmanwascur singus,pr ay ingt ous,
welcomi ng us-who coul dt ell? We wer e cutof ff r
om t he compr ehensi on ofour
surroundi ngs:wegl i
dedpastl ikephant oms,wonder i
ngandsecr etlyappal led,assane
menwoul dbebef oreanent husi asti
cout breaki namadhouse.Wecoul dnotunder stand
becausewewer et oofarandcoul dnotr emember ,becausewewer et ravell
ingi nt heni ght
offirstages, ofthoseagest hatar egone, l
eav i
nghar dlyasi gn–andnomemor i
es.

Demonst
rat
edanswer

General
Studentsmustnotethatthi
spassageusest
henarr
ati
veandt
hedescr
ipt
ivemodes.It
goesont ousethecontemplat
ivewher
etheaut
hori
sindeept
houghtmarvel
l
ingabout
themy st
eryt
hatsur
roundshim.

KeyEl
ement
s
- Atenseatmosphereprevail
s
- Ther
eisfearofthecannibal
sandofthelandscapei
ngener
al
- Atmospherei
sassociatedwithmy
stery

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- Authorand narrat
orare detached-hence do notshar
e an i
dent
it
ywi
th
envi
ronmentortheotherhumans.
- Descri
pti
veoff
ersmuchdet ai
ltopaintaclearpi
cture.

- Useofmyths-st
oryisbasedonorpedal
smy thsthatbl
acksar
ecanni
bal
s
andsav
ages.Thisi
smeanttodeni
grat
eblackpeople.

- I
mages-“
ofdar
kness”andt he“
night
”ar
esuggest
iveofbackwar
dnessor
l
ackofci
vil
i
sat
ioni
ntheland.

Imager
y-ofbl
ackpeopl easanimalsforexampl
e“burstofyel
ls”
,awhirl
ofbl
ackl
imbs”
,
“amassofhandsclapping”
,eyesroll
i
ng”,andunderfoli
age–present
sanimageofbl
ack
peopl
ecloset
ocreatures–thisagainmeanttodenigratebl
ackpeopl
e.

Ther acistimagesar ef urt

herpedalledt hrought hemet aphor
icalst at
ement“hear
tof
darkness”whi chismeantt oshow ent ranceintot hef
urtherpartswhi chwastheworst.
Againthisisanegat i
veviewaboutt hel and“nightoffi
rstages”,isalsometaphori
cal
.It
drawst her eadert othef i
rstperi
odi nt heexistenceofmanonear th– t
husi sal
so
suggestiveofl ackofciv
ili
sati
on.Thesl owmov ementismet aphoricalgi
venbytheword
“crawl
ed” ,
manyt r
eesbya“ curt
ainoftrees”.

Thepassagealsousessi
miles,t
heboatiscomparedtoa“sl
uggi
shbeetle”showingthe
belabour
edpaceatwhi
chitwasmov i
ng.Anothersi
mil
eis“
wegli
dedpastlikephantoms”
.
Thisismeanttoshow conf
usion,asthepeoplecoul
dnotunder
standtheenv i
ronment
theywerein.

Tone
-I
sofamusement .Thenarratorisamusedbywhathesees.The“ creatureli
ke”,people”
,
amuseshi m.Itisacombi nat i
onofbei ngamusedandappal ledatt hesamet ime.The
narrat
orsay s“wondering and secretl
yappall
ed,as sane men woul d be before an
enthusiasti
coutbreaki
namadhouse” .Besi
desamusementt hevoicei si
nsulti
ve,theland
i
spi cturedorseeni ntermsofa“ madhouse”,wor sesti
ll“
thewildernessstink”andt he
blacksthatarepartofthecrewar efi
nef el
lows“cannibal
s”–allt
hesear einsult
s.

Thedi cti
on–ismadeofnegat i
vetermsassomehav ealr
eadybeenpoi
ntedout.Ablack
readermi ghtf
eeli
ncensedorangeredbysuchraci
stdescri
pti
ons.Awhit
ereadermight
fi
ndi tamusingormightsympathi
sewitht
heblacks.Thi
sisoneexampleofasubjecti
ve
portr
ay al
ordescri
pti
on.

Demonst
rat
ion2Wr
it
eacr
it
icalappr
eci
ati
onoft
hef
oll
owi
ngpassage.

Hands

Uponthehal f-decayedverandaofasmallfr
amehouset hatstoodneartheri
dgeofa
rav
inenearthetownofWi nesbur
g,Ohi
oafatli
tt
leol
dmanwal kednervousl
yupanddown.
Acrossalongf i
eldthathadbeenseededforcl
overbutt
hathadpr oducedonl
yadense

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cropofyellowmust ardweeds,hecoul dseeahi ghwayalongwhichwentawagonf i

l
led
withberr
ypi cker sreturningfrom thefi
elds.Aboycl adinablueshirtleapedf r
om the
wagonandat tempt edt odragaf t
erhim whoscr eamedandpr otest
edshr i
ll
y.Thefeetof
theboyint her oadki ckedupal oadofdustt hatf l
oat
edacrossthefaceoft hedepart
ing
sun,overthel ongf ield,cameat hirdgi
rl
ishv oi
ce,“Ohy ouWingBiddlebaum comby our
hair
,it
’sfalli
ngi ntoy oureyes”,commandedt hev oi
cet othemanwhowasbal dand
whosener vousl it
tlehandsf iddl
edaboutt hebarewhi tefor
eheadast hougharrangi
nga
massoft angledl ocks.

WingBi ddlebaum forev erfri

ght enedandbesetbyaghost l
ybandofdoubt sdi dnotthink
ofhimsel fasinanywayapar toft hel i
feoft het ownwher ehehadl ivedfortwentyyear s.
Amongal lthepeopleofWi nesbur gbutonehadcomecl osetohi m.Wi t
hGeor geWill
ard’ s
sonofTom Wi l
lardthepr oprietoroft heWi ll
ardhouseshehadf ormedsomet hi
nglikea
fri
endship.Geor geWi l
lardwast her eporteront heWi nesbur gEagleandsomet imeint he
eveningshewal kedalongt hehi ghwayt oWi ngBuddl ebaun’shouse.Nowast heoldman
walkedupanddownont hev erandahi shandsmov ingner vouslyabouthewashopi ng
GeorgeWi l
lardwouldcomeandspendt heev eningwi thhim.Af terthewagoncont aining
theber r
ypickershadpassedhewentacr osst hef i
eldt hr
ought hetallmustardweedsand
cli
mbi ngar ai
lfencepeer edanx iouslyal ongther oadupanddownt heroadandf ear
overcomi nghimr anbackt owal kagai nupont hepor chofhi sownhouse.

Inthepr esenceofGeor geWi l

lard,Wi ngBi ddlebaum,whof ortwentyyear shadbeent he
town’smy st ery,l
ostsomet hingofhi sti
mi dityandhi sshadowyper sonali
tysubmer gedin
aseaofdoubt scamef ortht ol ookatt hewor l
d.Wi tht
hey oungreporterathi ssidehe
venturedint hel i
ghtofthedayi nt oMai nSt reetorst rodeupanddowni nt heri
cketyf r
ont
porchofhi shouse,t alki
ngexci t
edl y.Thev oicet hathadbeenl owandt rembl i
ngbecame
shri
llandl oud.Wi ngBi ddlebaum t al
kedmuchwi thhishands.Thesl enderexpr essive
fi
ngers,forev eracti
ve,foreverst rivingtoconcealt hemselvesi nhispocketorbehi ndhis
backcamef or t
handbecamet hepi stonr odsofhi smachi neryofexpressi on.Thest ory
ofWi ngBi ddlebaum isast or yofhands.Thei rr estl
essact i
v i
tyl
i
kebeat ingoft hewi ngs
ofani mprisonedbi rdhadgi venhi m hisname. Someobscur epoetoft hetownhad
thoughtofi t.Thebentf i
gurest r aightened.Wi thaki ndofwr i
ggl
el i
keaf ishret
urnedt o
thebrookbyt hefi
shermen, Biddl ebaum t hesi lentbegant ot al
kstri
vingtoputwor dsinto
i
deast hathadbeenaccumul atedbyhi smi nddur ingthelongy ear
sofsi l
ence.

WingBiddl
ebaunisastor
yofbir
ds.Thei
rrestl
essact
ivi
tyl
i
kedi
ntothebeauti
ngofthe
wi
ngsofani mpri
sonedbi
rdhadgi
venhim hi
snamesomeobscurepoetofthetownhad
t
houghtofit
.

Thehandsalarmedthei
rowner.Hewant edtokeepthem hi
ddenawayandlookedi
nwit
h
amazementatt hequi
etinexpr
essivehandsofthei
rmanwhowor kedbesi
dehimint
he
fi
elds,
orpassedordri
vi
ngsleepyteamsoncountryroads.

Whenhet al
kedtoGeorge,WingBiddl
ebaum cl
osedhi
sf istandbeatwiththem upona
t
ableoronthewall
sofhishouse.Theact
ionmadehim mor ecomfor
tabl
e.Ift
hedesireto
t
alkcamet ohi
m whenthetwower ewalkingi
nthefi
elds,hesoughtoutast umport he

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t
opboar
doff
encewi
thhi
shandspoundi
ngbusi
l
yandt
alkedwi
thr
enewedease.

ThestoryofWi ngBiddlebaum’shandsi swor t

habooki nitsel
f.Sympathet i
call
ysetfor
th
i
twoul dtapmanyst rangebeaut i
fulquali
ti
esi nobscuremen.I tisaj obofapoet .I n
Winesburgthehandshadat tr
actedattent
ionofmanybecauseoft hei
ract i
vi
ty.Wit
hthem
Winghadpi ckedashi ghasahundr edandf ortyquart
sofst rawberr
iesi naday .They
becamehi sdisti
nguishingfeaturesandt hesour ceofhisfame.Al sot heymademor e
grot
esqueanal r
eadygr otesqueandel usiv
ei ndi
v i
dual
i
ty.Winesburgwaspr oudoft he
handsofWi ng.

Demonst
rat
edanswer

Thebegi nni
ngintheappreciat
ionofaprosepassageistof i
ndthesubj ectmatterofthe
passage, f
orexampleinthepassage“Hands”bySherwoodAnder son,istherestl
essness
ofthehandsandt henervousnatureofWi ngBiddl
ebaum.Thest udentshouldr eadthe
passagecar ef
ull
ysoast ocomeupwi ththesubjectmatt
er.Pupi
lsshouldav oi
dr e-
tel
l
ing
thepassagebutshouldpickwhatthesubjectisandexpl
ainthei
rpoints.Inordertocome
outwitht hecorrectsubj
ectmat t
erthestudentshouldkeepanopenmi ndandav oid
prej
udice.

Hav i
ngidenti
fi
edthesubjectmatterdependi ngont hequesti
on, t
hewr itercanmoveont o
discussotheraspect
s.Thewr i
termayst artbylookingatsty
li
st i
cfeatures.Thesei
nclude
i
mager y,fi
guresofspeech,r epeti
tion,euphemi sm,humour ,dicti
onandt henarrati
ve
featur
es such as st r
eam ofconsci ousness,f l
ashback,r eminiscence,monologue,
exposit
ion,andomniscientnar
rator,fi
rstandt hir
dnar r
ati
ve.Thei mpactofeachf eature
shouldbeshown.

InthepassageaboveAnder sonusedamet aphorwhenhecompar esWingsfingerst o

“pi
stonrodsofhismachiner
yexpressi
on”
.Thisisusedtoshowt hatthehandsnolonger
operat
e natur
all
y,butar e now mechani
cal.Such a mechanicaldescri
pti
on oft he
operat
ionofhandsi sratherstr
ange.Ther
ear emanyi magesusedbyt hewr it
erf or
example,hewri
tesofthe“ghost
lybandofdoubts”.Thi
simagerybringsi
ntothereader ’
s
mindlackoflif
esuggestedbyghost l
y.I
talsobr i
ngsoutanelementofbeinghaunt ed.
Thewor d“band”suggestsmulti
pli
cit
yofdoubt s.Themult
ipl
i
cityofdoubt sisfurt
her
i
ntensi
fiedbyuseof“seaofdoubts”
.

Thetot
alimagecreatedisofanex tr
emedi ff
idence/l
ackofconfi
dencethatWingsuff
ers
fr
om.Thishelpst
oi ntensi
fythenervousstateofWi ng.Ander
sonalsousedsimil
es.For
exampl
e,thehappinessthatWi ngexper
iencesdur i
ngthepresenceofGeorgeWill
ardis
comparedtoawri
ggl eofafish.“Wi
thakindofwr iggl
e,l
ikeafi
sh”.

Thisshowstheintensehappinesst
hatWi ngfeel
swhenWi ll
iam i
spresent
.Ther est
less
acti
vi
tyofWinghandi sdescr
ibedas,“
likeunt
othebeatingofanimpri
sonedbir
d”.Thisis
suggest
iveofbondageandl ackoff reedom.Thehandsdonotoper atefr
eelybutar e
contr
oll
eddeli
beratel
ybyWi ng.Thi
sagai nisast rangecompar i
sonwhi chhelpst o
i
ntensi
fythemysteryofWing’
shands.

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I
nt hepassagehumouri salsousedt oshowt henerv
ousnatureofWi ng.Wingi sabald
headedol dman,sohumouri sshownwhent hegir
linthepassageteaseshim askinghim
tocombhi shair
.Wi ngrespondsbyf i
ddli
ngaboutt hebarewhi teforehead.Sucha
responseshowsdiffi
denceintheoldman.Thought hisismeantforli
ghtheartedness,i
n
thi
scasei ti
roni
cal
lyshowst hediff
idenceintheoldman.Thehumoural socomesouti n
thelastl
ine–“Winesburgwaspr oudoft hehandsofWi ng”
.

Thestudentcanthenmoveont olookatdicti
on.Forexamplewhatisofi nteresti
nthe
passageist heuseofadver
bsl i
ke,“ner
vousl
y”whi chshowst hestat
eofWi ng.Thi
s
adverbisrepeat
edtoemphasizeonthener v
ousst ate.Anot
heris“
boisterously”whi
ch
captur
estheshoutsofy
out
hsandmai dens.

Thishelpstobr i
ngthecont
rastbetweenthey outh’
sv i
vaci
ty,exuberanceandWi ng’
s
dif
fi
dence.Otheradv
erbsare“shr
il
ly
”,”
ghost
ly”
,“ anxi
ousl
y”,“
sympat heti
cal
ly
”.Al
lthese
shoul
dbeexpl ai
nedi
nful
landthei
mpacttothepassageasawhol eshown.

Student
scanal
soconsi
derotheraspectssuchassy mbol
ism e.g.t
heuseoft
hewor
d
“Wing”whi
chmaybesymbol
ism oft
her est
lessnessoft
hehandsofBi
ddl
ebaum.

Student
sshouldalsolookatthefor
m.Thi sist
hest r
uctur
eofparagraphsandhow the
writ
erti
esupt heclosi
ngparagr
apht otheopeni
ngpar agr
aph.Thepassage“Hands”is
charact
eri
sedbyl ongsent
ences.Theselongsentencesall
ow thewr i
tert
ogiv
emany
detai
lsatonce.Forexampl
einthefi
rstsent
encewelearnalotaboutWing.

[
a] hei
saf
atol
dman

[
b] hei
swal
ki
ngner
vousl
yupanddown

[
c] hei
sby
/nextt
oahal
fdecay
edv
erandaofasmal
lfr
amehouse.

[
d] t
hehousei
sneart
heedgeofat
ownofWi
nesbur
gOhi
o.

Al
lthesear
edet
ail
scar
ri
edwi
thi
nthef
ir
stsent
ence.Thesent
encest
hatf
oll
ow

ar
eal
sol
ong.

Thet oneoft hepassagemustal sobedi scussed.Thet onei ssy mpat heti

c.Thev oicein
thepassagei ssy mpat het i
ct othest rangeoldman.Deepdownt hesy mpathythereisa
ri
ngofconcer ni nthev oice.Thewr i
terisconcernedwi ththeol dman’ sst r
angehandsand
my ster i
ouslif
e.Heev encal lsforaconcer nedandsy mpat heti
cappr oachbyt her eader
when“ hesay ssy mpat het i
call
ysetf ort
hi t(story)woul dt apmanyst range,beautiful
qualitiesinobscur emen” .Thishel pst ogai nthesy mpat hyoft her eaderwhi chist he
i
ntent i
onoft hewr i
ter. Thewr i
terwant st oar ousesy mpat hyint her eaderf orWi ng
Biddl ebaun.Thest oryal soseemst osuggestt hatinobscur emenst rangeast heymay
be,t herearesomebeaut if
ulthingst olearnbutoncondi t
iont hatprejudiceiscastaway ,
soast odealwi ththatpar ti
cularindivi
dualwi t
houtf ear
.Thuswecoul dreadt hebook
i
nst eadofj udgingitbyi t
scov er
.

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[
3]Writ
eacr i
ti
calappreci
ati
onofthefol
lowingpassagefr
om “Feet”bySeamusDean
(
1988)”
.Whatfeat
uresoftheaut
hor’
sst
y l
edoy oufi
ndpart
icul
arl
ystri
king?

Theplast
ictabl
e-cl
othhungdownsofardownt hatIcoul
donl
yseethei
rfeet.ButIcoul
d
notheart
henoiseandsomeoft hetal
k,al
thoughIwassocrunchedupi
nsidethatIcoul
d
makeoutv er
yli
tt
leofwhattheywer
esay i
ng.

Besi
des,Smokywaswhimperi
ngashecuddleduponmyst omachandIcoul
dfeelhi
s
bodyqui
ver
ingever
ysoof
tenunderhi
sfur
;ev
eryqui
vermademedeaftot
heirwor
dsand
al
ertt
othei
rnoi
se.

Hehadf oundmeundert het abl

ewhent heroom fil
ledwi thf eet,standingatal langles,
andhesl opedt hrought hem andcamet ohuddlehimsel fonme.Hef eltt hedreadtoo.
Shewasgoi ngtodi eaftertheytookhertothehospi t
al.Icoul dheart hecl umpingoft he
feetoftheambul ancemenast heytr
iedt
omanoeuv r
eheronast r et
cherdownt hestairs.
Theywoul dhav et oli
ftithighov ert
hebanister;t
het urnwast oonar r
ow.Thest ret
cher
hadr edhandles.Ihadseent hem whentheshinyshoesoft heambul ancemenappear ed
ont hecentreoft her oom.Onehadbeenhol dingitf oldedupper pendi cularwiththen
handlesont heroom.Onehadbl ackshoeswhi chhadat i
nyr ednessi nonet oe-
capwhen
heputt hest r
etcherhandl esont otheli
nol
eum.Thel inoitselfwassoshi nyt
hatthere
wasr ednessinittoo,atanangl e,bur
iedi
nitl
ikewar mthj ustundert hesur face.

Unawassohott hi
smor ni
ngt hat,paleandsweat yasshewas,shemademet hi
nkof
rednesst oo.Itcameof fher,l i
keheatf rom gri
ddle.Herey esshonewi thpainand
pressure,i
nflat
edf r
om theinside.Thiswasanewi ll
ness.Ilovedthenamesoft heot
hers-
diphtheri
a,scarl
etfever
, orscarlett
ina,r
ubell
a,pol
io,inf
luenza,theyalmostal
waysended
i
nan“ o”oran“ a”andmademet hinkofIt
ali
anfootball
-pl
ayersorr aci
ngdri
ver
sorchess
players.

Besides,eachhadi tsownsmel l,especial

lydiphtheri
a,becauseoft hedisinf
ectedsheet s
thatwer ehungov ert hebedr oom door sandbel l
owedoutt heiracridfragrancesinthe
draughtst hatchilledy ourankl esont hest air
s.Ev ent hemumpswhi chcameaf ter
diphtheri
awasasi cknesst hatdi dnotf right
en,becauset hewor dwasasf unnyas
everybody’sface.Al lswol l
enasi ftherehadbeenat err
ibl
ef i
ght.Butt hi
swasanew
sickness.Thiswascal ledmeni ngit
is.Itwasawor dy ouhadtobi t
eont osay sit
.Ithada
fri
ghtandahi ssini t.Itdidn’tmakemet hinkofany t
hingexceptUna’ sey eswideningall
thet i
meandget ti
ngl i
ght erasi fhelium wer epumpi ngintothem f r
om herbr ain.They
woul dburst,Ithought ,unl esstheycoul dfindawayofget ti
ngallthatpur ehelium pain
out.Iwander ediftheycoul d.

Theywereatthebot t
om oft hestair
s.Allt
hef eetmov edthatway.Icoul dseeuncle
Manus’brown shoes;t he heel
s were worn down,and he was hesi tati
ng mov i
ng
backwar
dsandforwardal i
tt
le.UncleDanandUncl eTom hadident
icalshoes,heavyand
ri
mmedwi t
hmudandcementbecauset heyhadcomef r
om thebuil
dingsiteinCreggan,
Dan’swer
edir
ti
er,though,becauseTom wast heforeman.Buttheyweren’tgoodshoes.
Danputonekneeupont hechairandIsquir
medf latt
oseethescabsont hesoleofthe

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onethatwasinmid-air.Therewasputlockoilonhidessocksandblackbaronthesol
e.
Butitwasmymot her’
sandf ather
’sf
eetthatI
wat chedmost.Shewaswear i
nglowheels
thatbadl
yneededmendi ngandherf eetwerealway sswol
lensothatevenfrom t
hereI
couldseetheshoel
eatherembeddedv ani
shi
ngi nt
oherankles.

Demonst
rat
edAnswer

Theanswert
othi
squest
ionshoul
demphasi
zeont
he“
str
iki
ng”f
eat
ures.Expl
anat
ions

shouldshowt hatthefeatur
esidenti
fi
edarestr
iki
ngandalsoexplai
ntheimpact/purpose
ofthosest rikingfeatures. ThepassageisaboutUnawhoi sinacr i
ticalcondit
ion
suff
er i
ngf r
om meni ngit
iswhichisar el
ati
vel
ynew disease.TheexperiencesofUna
giv
en/ tol
dbyasmal lboywhoi sbeneatht
hetablewi
thSmokyhi sdog.Thewor d“feet
”is
domi nantint hepassageandi thasbeenusedi nastri
kingwayt ocapturethehast e
mov ementoft hepeople.

Thenarrat
or’sconcent
rat
ionont hefeeti
nst
eadofUna’ scr i
ti
calconditi
onshowshow
somecr i
ti
calissuestoadult
sappeartobeofl i
tt
lesigni
ficancetoy oungpeople.The
hastemovementi sal
soshownbyt heuseof“cl
umpingoft hefeet”
.Theusepar t
softhe
passagegiv
esasenseofur gencywhi
chshowsthecrit
icalcondit
ionofUna.

Thewr it
erusednamesofdiseasesinacomical
/humorousway .Thenar ratormakes
funnyofnames oft he di
seases.Names ofdi
seases such as scar
ll
etti
na,rubell
a,
i
nfluenzaandpol
i
oremindhim ofI
tal
i
anfoot
bal
lpl
ayer
s,chessplay
ersandr acedri
vers.

Thistonesdownt heheav
y/deepf eel
ingsarousedbyUna’scri
ti
calcondit
ion.Thisalso
enabl
est hereadertoseeUna’scondit
ionfr
om achildi
shpointofvi
ew.Atacr it
icalpoi
nt
thenarratorthi
nksoffoot
bal
l,raci
ng,andchess.Thi
sbr i
ngsoutanotherstr
iki
ngf eat
ure
ofcontrast.

Thedet ached“chil
dish”pointofv iewcontrastswit
htheconcernedtroubl
ed,andurgent
mov ementoft heol dasseent hrought heswiftmovementoffeet.Anothercont
rastis
betweent hedog( Smoky )andt heboy .Thedogcanf eelthedreadasshownbyt he
“whimperingandqui ver
ing”.Thi
sabi l
it
ybyt hedogtofeelt
hedreadisadeliber
atepl
oyby
Deannet oint
ensifythedegr eeoft hedread.Thedreadfel
tbythedog( Smoky)contr
asts
wit
ht heunmov edstateoft heboyashei slostinhi
schildi
shwor l
dv i
ew.Thisshows
nai
v et
yofchildr
en.

Thedi ct
ionemployedinthepassagei sal
sostriking.Ofinter
estisthespeci
ali
stdicti
on.
Wor dssuchas“ scar
let
ti
na”,“r
ubell
a”,“
inf
luenz
a” ,“poli
o”,di
phther
iaand“meningi
tis”are
alldrawnfrom t
hemedicalfiel
d.Theseareusedt ocr eat
ehumourandt onedownt hesad
feeli
ngs

Anotherstri
ki
ngfeat
ureofthepassageistheviv
iddescr
ipti
onthathel
pstocr
eatemental
pi
ctures.Thedisinf
ectedsheetsaredescr i
bedashav i
ng“bell
owed”out“thei
racrid
fr
agrances”.Thi
sheightenst
hesmel lproducedbythesheets.Thementalpict
uresare
al
socr eatedthr
oughcompar i
sons.Forexampl e“mumps”compar edto“swoll
enface”

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aft
eraterri
ficf
ight.Meni
ngi
ti
sisviewedmoreofasasnake.Theworditsel
fhasa“
fi
ght
”
anda“hiss”.Al
lthesevi
vi
dpict
urescreat
e/ar
ouseasenseoffr
ighti
nthereader
.

Theuseofcol oural
soseemst obeast r
ikingf eat
ur e.Thest r
etcheris“r
ed”
,t heli
nohas
“redness”.Thenarratorthinksof“ r
edness” .Thedomi nanceoft heredcolourhelpsto
remindt hereaderofUna’ scrit
icalcondi
tion.Inl i
fet hecolour“ r
ed”symbolisesdanger
.
Soi nli
newi t
ht hepassagei ti
sasy mboloft hecri
tical/dangerousstageofsicknesst
hat
Unai sin.

Thetoneofthepassageisamixt
ureofdet
achment
,comicandf
ri
ght.Inawayt het
one
canbesaidtobeambi val
entastheboyvaci
l
lat
esfr
om bei
ngdetached,t
hroughbei
ng
comi
caltobeingaf
rai
d.

Adet
achedt
onei
sshownbyt
heboy
’sconcent
rat
iononf
oot
bal
lpl
ayer
s,chesspl
ayer
sandr
ace

dr
iver
sinst
eadofUna’
sil
l
ness.

Thewayhowt heboyinterpretsthisalsomakesi tcomi cal.Af ri

ghtf
ultonei sgivenbyt he
ment i
onofmeni ngit
isandi tslinkto“fri
ghtandhi ss”andal sotheeffectoft hediseaseas
Una’sey esare“ wi
deningal lt hetime”andwoul dpr obably“ burst
”.Wehearaf ri
ghtful
voi
cedescr i
bingthesituati
on.Thepassagebegi nswi th“feet”
.Thenar ratorcouldseet he
“f
eet”oft hepeoplei nt her oom.I nt hesecondpar agrapht henar r
atoruses“ feet”to
detectthemov ementsoft hepeopl eint hehouse.I nthelastpar agr
apht hewr it
ertiesthe
passagebyl i
nkingthelastpar agrapht othefi
rst.Thel astparagraphconcent ratedont he
shoesandf eetoft hepeopl e.Whati sstri
kingher ei st hatt hr
oughshoespeopl e’
s
experi
encesar eshown/r elated.

Theheavyandmudr i
mmedshoesofUncl eDanandTom t el
lusthattheyhadcomefr
om
thebuil
dingsi
tei
nCr eggan.SoDeanneti
esupt hestorybytakingusbackt othef
ir
st
paragr
aph.Thi
shelpsremindther
eadert
hatthepassageisabout“Feet’

There are manystr

iki
ng f
eat
ures i
n Dean st
yles t
hathave been di
scussed inthi
s
present
ati
on.Iti
stheabil
i
tytousestri
ki
ngfeaturesthatmakesDeanne’spresent
ati
on
unique.

2.Thef ol
lowingtwopassagesar et akenf
rom bi
ogr aphies.Thefir
st(a)isfrom Samuel
Johnson’sLivesofthePoet s(publishedbetween1779and1781)andconcer nsJohn
Wilmot,EarlofRochester,anEnglishpoetofthemi d-seventeent
hcentury.Thesecond
(b)ist
akenf rom AbiographicalstudybyE.M.Forster,publi
shedin1905, ofGir
olamo
Cardano,anItal
ianphysician,astr
ologerandmat hemat i
cianofthesixt
eenthcent ur
y.
Wr i
teanessaycompar ingt hetwopassages, payi
ngat tenti
ontodiff
erencesinlanguage
andatti
tude.

(
a)Hehadv er
year l
yanincl
inati
ontoi nt
emperance,whichhet otal
l
ysubduedi nhis
t
ravel
s,but
,whenhebecameacour tier,
heunhappil
yaddictedhi msel
ftodissol
uteand
v
ici
ouscompany, bywhichhispri
ncipleswerecorr
upted,andhi smannersdepraved.He
l
ostal
lsenseofreli
giousr
estrai
nt;
and, fi
ndi
ngitnotconvenienttoadmittheauthori
tyof

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l
awswhi
chhewasr
esol
vednott
oobey
,shel
ter
edhi
swi
ckednessbehi
ndi
nfi
del
i
ty.

Asheexcelledinthatnoisyandli
centiousmer ri
mentwhichwineincit
es,hi
scompanions
eagerl
yencouragedhi minexcess,andhewi ll
ingl
yindul
gedi
t;t
il
l,
asheconf essedtoDr.
Burnet
,hewasf orf i
veyearst
ogethercontinuall
ydrunk,
orsomuchi nfl
amedbyf r
equent
nebri
ety1asinnoi nter
valt
obemast erofhimself.

Inthisstat
eheplayedmanyfr
oli
cs,
whichiti
snotforhi
shonour
st hatweshould
remember ,andwhichar
enotnowdist
inct
lyknown.Heoft
enpursedlowamour sinmean
disguises,
andalwaysact
edwit
hgreatexact
nessanddext
eri
tyt
hechar act
erswhichhe
assumed.

Heonceerect
edast
ageonTower-
hil
l
,andharanguedt
hepopul
aceasamount enbank;
and,
havi
ngmadephysi
cspar
tofhi
sst udy
,issai
dtohavepr
act
isedi
tsuccessf
ull
y.

Havinganact iv
eandi nqui
sit
ivemind,henev er,exceptinhispar oxysmsofintemper
ance,
waswhol lynegli
gentofstudy:hereadwhati sconsi deredaspol i
telearni
ngsomucht hat
heisment ionedbyWoodast hegreatestscholarofal lthenobil
ity.Sometimesheret
ired
i
ntot hecountry,andamusedhi mselfwit
hwr it
inglibels,inwhichhedi dnotpret
endto
confi
nehimsel ftotrut
h.

Thusinacourseofdr unkengai
etyandgrosssensuali
ty,
wi t
hi nter
valsofst udyperhaps
yetmorecri
minal,withanavowedcontemptofalldecencyandor der,atotaldisr
egardto
ever
ymor al
,andar esolut
edeni
alofeveryrel
i
giousobli
gation,hel i
vedwor thlessand
usel
ess,andblazedouthisyout
handhi shealt
hinlavi
shv oluptuousness;til
l,attheage
ofone-
and-thi
rt
y,hehadexhaustedthefundoflif
e,andreducedhi msel ftoast ateof
weaknessanddecay .

(b)ThenameofGi rol
amoCar dano,whowasbor natPavi
si n1501anddi edatRomei n
1576, wouldbef amil
iartoast udentofthehistor
yofmedi ci
neormat hemati
cs.Butthe
ordinaryperson,whoal oneconfersimmor tal
it
y,wil
lhesi
tatetoaccepthim onsuchtriv
ial
grounds,rightl
yconsideringthathissci
encehasl ongbeensuper seded,andthathi
s
cont r
ibut
ionstoalgebraar enownomor edeser v
ingofspecialcelebr
ityt
hanarethe
wat ersofar i
verwhent heyareoncemi ngledinthesea.

IfCar danoescapest heobl i

vionhesomuchdr eaded, itwillbenei t
herasdoct ornoras
mat hemat i
cian,butbecauseatt heendofhi slif
ehewr oteal i
ttlebookabouthi mself,
and
wrot eitinther i
ghtway .Hehadal way sbeeninterestedi nthesubj ect
,andfragment sof
autobi ographyoccuri nmostofhi swor ks.Nowhegi vesi tundi vi
dedat t
enti
on, and
endeav oursthroughf i
fty-
fourchapterstodescribehischar acter,constit
uti
on, and
fortunes.Hemi ghthav ebeent ousmer elyaper sonofsomei mpor t
anceinhist i
me, a
funnyol dmanwhopot teredabout,fourcentur
iesago, besidet hespr i
ngsofsci ence.
Hither t
ohi segot i
sm hasr escuedhim.Hei ssosupr emel yi nt
er esti
ngtohimsel fthathe
cannotbuti nterestothers;andhisl
ittl
ebookr anksamongt hegr eatautobi
ogr aphiesof
thewor ld.

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Thef i
rststatementi sinsomeway sthemostr emar kabl
e,andindicatesthespi r
itinwhich
hewi ll
reviewhisl if
e.“ Beforemybi r
th,mymot herendeav our
edt oprocureabor tion,and
fai
led”.Anot herwr i
ter,ifhehadt hecouraget omakesuchast at
ement ,woul dcer t
ainly
tur
ni ttosomel iteraryuse.Hewoul dbecomesent i
ment alov
erthepoori nfant,entering
thewor ldsounwi lli
ngly,soungr aci
ouslyreceived.Hewoul dtr
ytoar ousepi t
yor
i
ndignat i
on.Hewoul dpr obablysaythati
twasbet terforhimifhehadnev erbeenbor n.
Cardanodoesnot hi
ngoft hesort.Hereisaf act,andaf actofsomei mpor tance, t
obe
rel
atedwi thoutlament ation,andwithoutapology .Ifpeopleareshockedati t
,theyar e
sil
l
y ;
iftheypityhimf orittheyaresil
li
erstil
l.Hepr oceedstocalculatehishoroscope.

Itist hisabsenceofsent iment all

ythatgivesCar danohisvalue–onemi ghtsayhi scharm.
Strictlyspeaking,thereisnot hingv eryatt
ractiv
eabouthi m; t
her eiscer tai
nlynothing
poet ic.Buthehast heabi l
it
y ,aswel lasthewi sht obesincere,andhi swr i
ti
ngaf fectsus
wi t
ht hepowerofaspokenwor k,makingusbl ushsomet imesf orhi m, andmor e
frequent lyforourselves.Tr ut hfulnessisoneoft hefewvir
tuest owhi chhel aysclaim,
andf orthisreasonhi sbiogr apher shav eaccusedhi m ofuntruthfulness.“ Aman, ”t hey
argue, “
whomakessuchacl ai m, mustbeal iar:weshouldnev ert hinkofmaki ngi t
oursel ves”.Itisadif f
icultpoi nt;howev er
,iti
swor t
hwhileremember i
ngt hatevidence
agai nstCar dano’struthfulnessi sbot hscarceanddoubt ful.“Ithasnev erbeenmyhabi t
,”
hesay s,“totelll
i
es”.Hi saut obiographymaybeassumedt obeaf air
lytrustworthy,as
wel lasar eadablebook, andoni tthefoll
owingaccountofhi mi sbased.

Demonst
rat
edanswer

Thetwopassagesdeal withl
ivesofemi nentpeopl
e,JohnWil
mot
,apoetandGi
rolamo
Cardano,aphysi
cian.Thepresentat
ionont heli
vesofthet
woschol
arsshoworreveal
acutedif
fer
encesinlanguageandattit
ude.

Thelanguageusedinpassage( a)suggest sanunconv entionalandper verseli

fethatJohn
Wilmotled.Thewordsusedhav esomenegat iveconnotations.Thisist r
ueofwor ds
suchas‘addict
ed’
,‘v
icious’
,‘
li
centi
ous’
,‘dissolute’
,‘
low’,‘
mean’ ,‘
i
ntemper ance’,‘
negli
gent
’,
‘
sensuali
ty’
,‘
cri
minal’
,‘
decay’.Thewor d‘addicted’suggestsbeinggr osslyimmer sedin
badactivi
ti
esorcompanyasshownal sobyt hewor d‘vi
cious’.Thewor ds‘ i
ntemperance’
,
negli
gent’
,‘
cri
minal
’,and‘deprav
ed’all
showt heper ver
sit
yt hatcharacteri
zedWi lmot.

Ont heotherhand, passage(b)usesl anguaget hatissuggestiv

eofsimpli
cit
y,sinceri
ty
andt r
uthful
ness.Someoft hewor dst hatar edominantinthepassageare‘t
ruthful
ness’
usedr epeat
edly,
‘fact’usedrepeatedly,‘
sincere’
,‘
charm’,courage’
.Mostofthewor ds
usedher eshowt hev i
rtuesofGirolamoCar dano.Thesev i
rtuescontr
astwit
hthev ices
thatareseeninthel if
eofJohnWi l
mot .Thet wopassagesar etheref
oreastar
kcont rast
ofthel i
vesoftwogr eatscholars-
onef il
l
edwi t
hvice,t
heot herwit
hv i
rt
ues.

Thelanguageusedinpassage(a)doesnotonlyshowv i
cesbutr ev
ealsal
sothedegreeof
perver
sit
y.Theword‘addict
ed’i
ssuggestiv
eofbeing‘dependent’f
orli
feonbad
company ,
Wilmotcoul
dnotdowi thouti
t,t
heword‘depraved’showstheworstdegr
eeof
fal
lofWilmot,‘
i
nfl
amed’issuggesti
veofbeingunderextr
emepr essur
eandheat,

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‘
paroxysms’showsext remeorgreatmeasure,
soistheword‘
drunken’
.‘Drunken’f
urt
her
suggests‘ex
cess’intake.Theext r
emedegreeisal
sosuggest
edbyuseofadv er
bsinthe
passageforexampl e.‘Continual
l
y’toshowhowWi l
motimmersedhimselfinbeer,
‘whol
ly
’
toshowt hegreatnegligence.

Whi l
ethelanguagei
npassage( a)showst hedegreeofWilmot’sperversi
ty,thelanguage
i
n( b)ismeanttoshowt heli
feandthegr eatworkofCardanoinaposi tiv
el i
ght.The
writ
eruseswor dssuchas‘supremely’
,‘
mostr emarkabl
e’,
‘fai
rl
y’.Thesewor dsoffer
praisetoCardanoasascholar.Thewr i
ter’
slanguageinsomei nstancesisbl untfor
exampl ewhenheusest hewords‘si
ll
y’and‘sil
li
er’
.Thisshowst hepositivestancethat
thewr i
tert
akesindefenceofCardano.

Theat ti
tudeshowni npassage( a)contrast
swi tht hatofpassage( b)
.Passage( a)shows
acont empt uousat titudeaboutJohnWi l
mot ’
slife.Thecont emptuousat ti
tudeisshown
bynegat ivedictionusedi npassage.Thewr itercondemnst heirr
esponsiblenature,
i
mpi ety,Epicureanat t i
tude,andr ebel
li
ouslif
el edbyWi l
mot.Thecont emptisfurther
heightenedbyt hef actt hatWil
moti sanear lwhi chmeantt hatt
heywer esociet
al
expectationsthathedi dnotliveupt o.Thewr i
terseemedt obemaki ngadel i
berate
statementaboutt hel eader s,
assuchi nt hi
swayt hepassageal sobecomessat i
rical
becauset hepeopl et hatsocietylookedupt olikeJohnWi l
motwer egi ventorebelli
on,
i
mpi etyandper version.

Incontr
astpassage( b)isfullofadmi r
ationandpraises.Thedi f
ferencei ntheattit
ude
betweenthetwowor ksisthatt hefi
rstpassagedealswi thviceswhi letheseconddeal s
wit
hv i
rt
ues.Int hesecondpassageCar danoisprai
sedf orhisgr eatwor kasaschol ar.
Theadmi r
ati
onandpr aiseareshownbywor dssuchas‘ mostr emar kable’,
‘charm’,
supremelyi
nteresti
ng, ‘
undiv
idedat t
ention’
,‘ri
ghtway’.Alltheseandot hersareat ri
bute
ofprai
sethatisofferedt oCardano.Thewr it
erhasfalleninlovewi thCar danoandhi s
worktotheextentthatheappl audsanddef endshimt hroughandt hroughagai nsthis
cri
ti
cs.

Thel anguageusedinpassage( a)andt heat t

it
udeadopt edcreat easenseofr evulsi
onor
disgustinthereaderaboutJohnWi lmot .Thedepr avit
yanddecayt hatisshowni nhisl
if
e
revealreckl
essness.Ont heotherhand, thelanguageusedi npassage( b)andthe
atti
tudeadoptedresult
sint hereaderappr eci
atingtherol
eandcont r
ibut
ionofCardanoas
agr eatschol
ar.Onasi milarnotethereadermayappr eciatether ol
eofJohnWi l
motasa
greatscholarbutsympathisewi t
hhimf ort hefail
i
ngsinhi ssocial l
i
fe.

All
inallt
hetwopassagesar eastar
kcont r
astofthel
ivesofgreatschol
ars,
onegiv
ent o
ext
remef r
eedom andintemper
ance,theothergi
ventosincer
it
y,vir
tueandconsi
derat
ion.
Throughcontr
ast
inglanguageandattit
udestheli
vesofthescholar
shavebeenexplor
ed
ashasbeendiscussedinthi
spresentati
on.

2) Compar eandcont rastthefoll

owingpassagesf r
om JaneEy r
ebyChar lot
teBronte
(1816-1855)with Gul l
iv
er’
s Travel
s byJonathan Swif
t( 1667-1745)showing how
effect
ivethesubj
ectmattershavebeentr
eatedandconveyed.

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a) Arrai
gnedatmyownbar ,Memor yhavinggivenherev i
denceoft hehopes,wishes,
senti
ment sIhadbeencher ishi
ngsincelastni
ght-ofthegeneralst
ateofmindinwhichI
hadindulgedfornearl
yaf ortni
ghtpast
;reasonhav i
ngcomef orwardandtol
d,i
nherown
quietway ,aplain,unvarnishedt al
e,showinghow Ihadr ej
ectedtherealandrabidl
y
devouredtheideal;
-Ipronouncedj udgmenttothiseffect
:-

Thatagr eaterf oolthanJaneEy rehadnev erbr eathedt hebr eathofl i

fe:t hatamor e
fantasti
ci diothadnev ersur f
eitedher selfonsweetl ies,andswal l
owedpoi sonasi fit
wer enect ar.‘You’Isai d‘ af avorit
ewi t
hMr .Rochest er?Yougi f
tedwi ththepowerof
pleasinghi m?Ar ey ouofi mpor tancet ohi mi nanyway ?Go!Yourf oll
ysickensme.And
youhav eder ivedpl easur ef rom occasi onalt okensofpr eference–equi vocalt okens,
shownbyagent lemanoff ami l
y,andamanoft hewor ld,toadependentandanov i
ce.
How dar edy ou?Poorst upi ddupe!Coul dnotev ensel f-
interestmakey ouwi ser
?You
repeatedt oy ourselfthismor ningt hebr i
efsceneofl astni ght ?Cov eryourf aceandbe
ashamed!Hesai dsomet hinginpr aiseofy ourey es,di dhe?Bl indpuppy !Opent heir
blearedlidsandl ookony ourownaccur sedsensel essness!I tdoesgoodt oonwomant o
bef l
atteredbyhersuper ior ,whocannotpossi bl yintendt omar r
yher ;anditismadnessi n
allwoment oletasecr etlov ekindlewi thint hem, whi ch,ifunr et
urnedandunknown, must
devourt hel i
fet hatfeedsi t:and,ifdi scov eredandr espondedt o,mustl ead,ignisfatuus-
l
ike,intomi rywi ldswhencet hereisnoext ri
cation.

‘
List
en,t
henJaneEyre,toy oursentence:to-
morrow, placet
hegl
assbefor
eyou,
anddraw
i
nchalky ourownpicture,f ai
thf
ull
y;withoutsofteningonedefect:omi
tnoharshli
ne,
smooth away no displ
easi ng i
rregul
arit
y;write underi t
,Portr
aitofa Gover
ness,
di
sconnected,
poor
,andpl ain”.

‘
Af t
erwards,takeapi eceofsmoot hivoryyouhav eonepr eparedinyourdr awing–box:
takey ourpalett
e,mi xy ourf r
eshest ,fi
nest,clearesttints;choosey ourmostdel icate
camelhai rpenci
ls;deli
neatecar efull
ythelov el
i
estf acey oucani magine;paintiti
ny our
softestshadesandsweet esthues,accor dingtot hedescr ipti
ongi v
enbyMr s.Fair
faxof
BlancheIngram:r emembert her avenr i
nglet
s,t heorientaley e;-
what!Your everttoMr .
Rochester’sasamodel !

b) Iwaschi eflydisgustedwi t
hmoder nhistor y.Forhav ingst r
ict
lyexami nedal ltheper sons
ofgr eatnamei nthest r
ictl
yexami nedal ltheper sonsofgr eatnamei nt hecour tsof
princesf oranhundr edy earspast,Ifoundhowt hewor l
dhadbeenmi sl
edbypr ostit
ute
wr i
ter s,toascr ibethegr eatestexploit
si nwart ocowar ds,thewi sestcounselt of ools,
sincer itytof latt
erers,Romanv ir
tuetobet rayersoft heircountry,pietytoat heists, chastit
y
tosodomi tes,trutht oinformers.How manyi nnocentandexcel lentpersonshadbeen
condemned t o death orbani shment ,byt he pr act i
cing ofgr eatmi nistersupon t he
cor rupt i
onofj udges,andt hemal i
ceoff actions.Howmanyv ill
ainshadbeenex alt
edt o
thehi ghestpl acesoft r
ust,power,dignity,andpr of i
t:how gr eatashar ei nt hemot ions
andev entsofcour t
s, council
s,andsenat esmi ghtbechal lengedbybawds, whor es,pimps,
par asites, andbuf foons.Howl owanopi ni onIhadofhumanwi sdom andi ntegrity,whenI
wast rulyinf ormedoft hespringsandmot ivesofgr eatintegrit
y, whenIwast rulyinformed

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ofthespr i
ngsandmot i
v esofgr eatent erpri
seandr ev ol
utionsi nt hewor l
d,andoft he
contempt ibleacci dentst owhi chtheyownedt heirsuccess.Her eIdi scov eredt heroguer y
andi gnoranceoft hosewhopr etendt owr iteanecdot es,orsecr ethi st ory,whosendso
manyki ngst ot heirgrav eswi thgacupofpoi son;wi llrepeatt hedi scour sebet weena
pri
nceandchi efmi nister,wher enowi t
nesswasby ;unl ockt het hought sandcabi netsof
ambassador sandsecr et ariesofstate,andhav etheper petualmi sf ortunet obemi staken.
HereIdi scov eredt hesecr etcausesofmanygr eatev ent st hathav esur pri
sedt hewor ld,
how awhor ecangov er nt heback-st airst heback- stairsacounci l
,andt hecounci la
senate.Agener alconfessedi nmypr esence,t hathegotav ictorypur el ybyt hef orceof
cowar di
ceandi llconduct ;andanadmi ral,thatf orwantofpr operi ntelligence, hebeatt he
enemyt owhom hei ntendedt obetrayt hef leet.Threeki ngspr otest edt ome, thatinthei r
wholer eignst heynev erdi doncepr ef eranyper sonofmer it
,unl essbymi st
akeor
tr
eacher yofsomemi nisteri nwhom t heyconf i
ded; neitherwoul dt heydoi tiftheywer et o
l
iveagai n;andt heyshowedwi t
hgr eatst rengthofr easont hatt her oy alt hr
onecoul dnot
besuppor tedwi thoutcor rupti
on,becauset hatposi ti
v e,conf ident ,r estivet emper ,whi ch
vi
rtueinfusedi nt oman, wasaper petual clogt opubl i
cbusi ness.

Demonst
rat
edanswer

Thequest i
onhi ngesontheeff
ecti
venessofst yl
eandt hehandlingofi ssuesorsubj
ect
mat t
ersint hepassages.Thetwopassagesdealwi t
ht wodi f
ferentissues.Thefi
rst
passagef r
om JaneEy rei
saboutthesadex peri
encesofJaneEy r
ewhoseem t osuf
fer
fr
om al ow selfesteem.Thi
sisshownt hrought here-col
lect
ionst hatshehas.Ont he
otherhandt hesecondpassagedeal
swi t
hi ssuessuchascor r
upt i
on,hypocri
syinj
ust
ice
andlies.

BrontepresentsJaneEy re’
slowsel f-
est
eem thr
oughre-col
l
ections.Thesere-col
lecti
ons
comeast houghtsthatseem totroubl
eher.Thethought
scomeasav oicethatseemst o
denigr
ateher ,showingthei mpossibi
li
tyofmarryi
ngMr .Rochester.Ont heotherhand
Swiftusest hefir
stpersonnar r
ativ
e,thi
smakesSwi ft
’saccountaper sonalexperience.
Thisexperienceisnotar e-col
lecti
onofthoughtsasinthefir
stpassagebutachr onicl
e
orre-countofwhatt henarrat
orcameacr ossi
nhissearch.

Inthefi
rstpassage, Bronteusespersonif
icat
ion.Memor yhasbeengi venhumanpower s,
she is presented as capablet o presenthercause,ev i
dence,hopes,wi shes and
senti
ment s.Thisempower mentofmemor ymakest hatmemor yort hought stohav ean
everl
ast
ingef fectont her eader
.Thedomi nanceoft het hought scannotbemi ssed.
Reasonisal sopr esent
edascapabl eofcomi ngforwardandt akingupast and.Through
personi
fi
cat i
ont hewr i
terall
owst hereadert oseet heinterplaybet weenmemor yand
Reason.Thet woappeart obehumanbei ngsconversing.Intheendr easonseem t ohav e
anupper handandi nmaki ngher(Jane)believeinthei mpossi bil
i
tyofmar ri
aget oMr .
Rochester.

Bronteseemst obeblunti
nherstyle.Phrasessuchas“ f
oll
ysi
ckenme”“Bli
ndpuppy”
“senselessness”“
madness”
,“poorandpl ain”areallbl
untmeanttodeni
grat
eJane.In
contrastSwi f
tadopt
sasatiri
calst
ylewhichl aughsathumanfol
li
es.Thesat
irei
salso

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usedt
obr
ingoutt
hei
ronyassoci
atedwi
tht
her
uler
soft
heday
.

Swiftmakesmocker yoft he“socalled”writ

erswhopr esentwr ongandf alsei
nformati
on
to people.The hy pocrisyis exposed through the link orassoci at
ion between two
opposingorcont rasti
ngt hi
ngsforex amplethel i
nkbetween“ bravewor ds”andcowar ds,
wisestcounselat tri
buted to“ f
ools”“ si
nceri
ty”to“ f
latt
erer
s”“ chasti
ty”t osodomites.
Throught hesecombi nati
onsswiftl
aughsatt hef ol
lyofthewr i
ters.Theot heri
ronyisal
so
humor ouswher eSwi ftspeaksofawhor egoverningthebackst air
s.Thoughl i
ghtheart
ed
Swiftwant sthereadertoconsidertheissuesraisedseriousl
y.

Whil
eBr onteisbluntintermsofthephrasessheused,Swiftseemstohaveaf lai
rfor
wordsordi cti
onassociat
edwi t
hperv
asionorpervasi
veness.Forexampl
eher efer
st o
“
prosti
tute”“bawds”“whores”pi
mpsallmeanttoshowhowsoci etyi
snowperv
er seasa
r
esultofcorruptl
eaders.

Inbothpassagesthewr i
ter
susequestionswhichappeartober hetori
cal.I
nthewor kof
Bront
et hequest
ionsareusedtoprobeintot
het hought
sofJanewhi leinSwift
’swor kthe
questi
onsaremeantt opropelt
her eaderseri
ouslyconsi
derissuesunderdi scussion,
some oft he questi
ons are“How manyi nnocentand excell
entper sons had been
condemnedt odeath.Howmanyv il
lai
nshadbeenexal t
edtohighestplaces?”

I
nthewor
kofBr
onte,someoft
hequest
ionsare“
Yougift
edwit
hpowerofpl
easi
nghi
m?”
Ar
eyouofi
mpor
tancetohi
minanyway?.“Howdaredy
ou? .

I
nSwi f
t’
spassage“ How many,”hasbeenusedr
epeat
edl
yforemphasi
sandf
ort
he
r
eadertoconsi
dert
hemagnitude.

Incont r
astBrontehasusedasi mile“thatamor efantasti
ci diothadneversurf
eited
herselfonsweetl i
es,andswall
owedpoi sonasi fi
twerenect ar”.Thi
sismeantt oshow
thef ol
lyofbelievi
ngt hatRochesterwoul dmar ryher.Theel l
ipsi
shelpt oshow how
thoughtsquickl
ycomei nt
ohermi nd,att hesamet i
met hesel eavethereadert
oponder
aboutwhatisgoi ngoninJane’smi nd.Theex cl
amationmar ksareusedt oshowtheirony
i
nsomeoft hethoughtsofJaneandt ocapturethesurpr
iseatJane’ sfol
l
y.

Swif
t’
stonei
ssat i
ri
cal.Hemockshumanf ol
l
ieswit
ht heintent
ionofcorrect
ingt
hem.
Thetoneoft
hepassagebyBr onteisbl
untandcondescending.Thereadersympat
hiz
es
wit
hJaneasthoughtsseem t
otroubl
eherandeatawayherselfesteem.

Comment :Pupi
lsshoulddi
scussthepassagesindetail
,l
ooki
ngatallt
hekeyaspect sof
st
yle and comment i
ng on how the i
ssues orsubjectmatter
s have been handl
ed.
Comment sshouldshowacriti
cal
approach.

Compareandcontrastthefollowi
ngpassages,passage(A),descri
bingthedeathof
Li
ttl
eNellist
akenfrom CharlesDickens’
novelTheOldCur i
osit
yShop( 1841)and
passage(B),
descr
ibingDickens’owndeat hi
stakenfrom PeterAckroyd’
sbiogr
aphy

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Di
ckens(
1990)
,pay
ingpar
ti
cul
arat
tent
iont
othepr
esent
ati
onofdeat
h.

(
a) Shewasdead.Nosl
eepsobeautif
ulandcalm,sof
reef
rom t
raceofpai
n,sofai
rtolook
upon.Sheseemedacr
eat
urefreshfrom t
hehandofGod,
andwaiti
ngforthebreat
hof
l
if
e;notonewhohadl
iv
edandsuf f
ereddeath.

Hercouchwasdressedwit
hhereandt
heresomewint
erber
riesandgreenl
eav
es,
gat
heredinaspotshehadbeenusedt
ofavour
.‘WhenIdi
e,putnearmesomethi
ngt
hat
haslovedt
heli
ght,andt
heskyabovei
tal
ways.
’Thosewereherwords.

Shewasdead.Dear,
gentle,
patient,
nobleNellwasdead.Herli
tt
lebir
d-apoorsl
ight
thi
ngthepr
essur
eofafingerwoul dhav
ecr ushed-
wasstir
ri
ngnimblyi
nitscage;
andt he
str
onghear
tofit
schi
ld-
mi st
resswasmut eandmot i
onl
essforever
.

Wherewerethetracesofherearl
ycares,
hersuf f
eri
ngs,
andfat
igues?Allgone.Sor
row
wasdeadindeedinher,butpeaceandperfecthappi
nesswer
ebor n;i
magedinher
t
ranqui
lbeautyandprofoundrepose.

Andsti
llherformerselfl
ayther
e,unalt
eredinthischange.Yes.Theoldfir
esidehad
smil
edupont hatsamesweetface;i
thadpassedl i
keadr eam t
hroughhauntsofmi ser
y
andcare;atthedoorofthepoorschoolmasteront hesummerev eni
ng,beforethe
fur
nacefireupont hecol
dwetnightatthesti
llbesi
deoft hedyi
ngboy ,
therehadbeent he
samemi l
dl ovelyl
ook.Soshallweknowt heangelsintheirmaj
esty,af
terdeath.

Theol dmanhel donelanguidarmi nhi

s,andhadt hesmal lhandti
ghtfol
dedtohis
breast,forwarmt h.Itwasthehandshest ret
chedoutt ohim withherl
astsmile–the
handt hathadl edhim onthroughallt
heirwander
ings.Ev erandanonhepr essedi
ttohis
l
ips;thenhuggedi tt
ohisbreastagain,murmuri
ngt hatitwaswar mernow;andashe
saidithel ooked,inagony,t
ot hosewhostoodaround, asifimplor
ingt
hem tohelpher
.

Shewasdead, andpastallhelp,
orneededofit
.Theancientroomsshehadseemedt o
fi
ll
withli
fe,evenwhil
eherownwani ngfast–thegar
denshehadt ended–theeyesshe
hadgladdened–t henoiselesshauntsofmanyathoughtf
ulhour–thepathsshehad
tr
oddenasi twerebutyesterday–couldknowhernomor e.

‘
Itisnot’
,saidtheschoolmaster
, ashebentdownt okissheront hecheek,andgavehis
tearsfr
eev ent,
‘i
tisnotoneartht hatHeaven’
sjust
iceends.Thinkwhatitiscompared
withtheWor ldtowhichheryoungspi ri
thaswingeditsear
lyf
li
ght ,
andsay, i
fone
deli
beratewishexpressedinsolemnt ermsabov et
hisbedcouldcallherbacktoli
fe,
whichofuswoul dut
terit
!’

(
b) CharlesDi
ckenswasdead.Hel ayonanar r
owgreensofa–buttherewasroom enough
forhim,sospar
ehadhebecome–i nthedini
ngroom ofGad’
sHil
lPlace.Hehaddi edin
thehousewhichhehadf i
rstseenasasmal lboyandwhichhisf
atherhadpoi
ntedoutto
him asasuit
abl
eobjectofhisambi t
ions;
sogreatwashisfat
her
’sholduponhi
sl i
fethat,

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for
tyyearsl ater,
hehadboughti t
.Nowhehadgone.I twascustomaryt oclosethe
bli
ndsandcur tai
ns,thusenshr
oudingt hecor pseindarknessbeforei
tslastjourneytothe
tomb; buti
nt hedi ni
ngroom ofGad’sHi l
lthecur t
ainswer epul
l
edapar tandont hisJune
daythebr i
ghtsunshi nestr
eamedi n,gl
itt
er i
ngont helargemirr
orsaroundt heroom.The
famil
ybesi dehi m knewhowheenj oyedt helight,
howheneededt heli
ght ,
andt hey
understood, t
oo, t
hatnoneoftheconv entionalsombr enessofthelat
eVi ct
orianperi
od–
theyearwas1870–hadev ert
ouchedhi m.

Allthel inesandwr i
nkleswhi chmar kedt hepassageofhi slifewer enow er asedi nthe
stil
lnessofdeat h.Hewasnotol d–hedi edi nhisf i
fty -
eighthy ear–butt herehadbeen
signsofpr emat ureagei ngonav i
sagesomar kedandwor n;hehadacqui r
ed, itwassai d,
a‘ sarcasticlook’ .Butnowal lthatwasgoneandhi sdaught er,Kat ey,whowat chedhim
ashel aydead, noticedhowt her eoncemor eemer geduponhi sf ace‘ beautyandpat hos’.
Itwast hat‘ long-forgotten’lookwhi chhedescr i
besagai nandagai ni nhi sf i
ction.He
seesi tinOl i
v erTwi st,i
nt hedeadf acewhi chr etur
nst ot he‘…longf or gottenexpr essionof
sleepingi nfancy ’
,andi nt hatsamenov elheconnect s‘ ther i
gidfaceoft hecor pseandt he
calm sl eepoft hechi ld’.InMast erHumphr ey’
sdeat h,too,t herewassomet hing‘so
strangel yandi ndef inablyalli
edt oy outh’.I twast hel ookher ecor dedi nWi ll
iam Dor ri
t’
s
facei ndeat h;itwast hel ookwhi chhesaw i nthef acesoft hecor psesonv iew inthe
Par i
sMor gue.Thi sconnect i
onbet weendeat handi nf ancyisonet hathadhaunt edhim:
sleep,r epose,deat h,infancy,innocence,obl ivi
onar et hewor dst hatf ormedaci rcl
efor
him, bringinghi m backt othepl acef r
om whi chhehadbegun.Her e, i
nGad’ sHi ll,
closeto
thet owni nwhi chhehadl i
vedasasmal lchi l
d,herei nt hehousewhi chhi sf atherhad
onceshownhi m; her ethecircl
ewascompl ete.

Adeat hmaskwasmade.Hehadal way shatedmasks.Hehadbeenf ri

ghtenedbyoneas
achildandt hroughouthiswrit
ingt hereisthi
sr efrai
n-‘whatav eryalarmingt hingi twould
betof i
ndsomebodywi thamaskon…hi dingbol tupri
ghtinacor nerandpr etendi ngnotto
bealive!
’Themaskwasanembl em ofChar l
esDi cken’spart
icularfear;t
hatt hedeadar e
onlypretendingtobedead, andt hattheywi l
lsuddenlyspringupi ntoviol
entl i
fe.Hehada
fearofthedead, andofallinanimat ethi
ngs,risi
ngupar oundhi mt oclaim him; itisthe
fearofpre-eminentl
ysolit
arychildandsol it
aryman.Butwast herenotal soher esome
anti
cipati
onoft hefinal
quietus?Themaskwasmade, andhewasl aidinhisoakcof f
in.

Thiswoodenr esti
ngplacewast hencov eredwithscar l
etger ani
ums;theywer eChar les
Dicken’sfavourit
eflower sandi nthef i
nal pi
ctureofthecor psecov er
edwi t
hbl ossom, we
canseeat ruerepresentationofDi ckens’sownwor dsechoi ngacrossthey ears-
‘
Br i
ghtenit,bri
ghtenit,bri
ght enit!
’Heal way swant edcolourabouthim, andhewas
notori
ousf orhisownv iv
idcost umes, especiall
yy out
h:and, onthewal l
abov et hecoffi
n,
hisfamilyplacedapor traitofhim asay oungman.I twasnodoubtt hatpaintedDani el
Macl i
se,andi tshowst heDi ckensoft he1839l ookingupf rom hisdesk,hisey esablaze
asifinant i
cipati
onoft hegl orythatwast ocome.Geor gi
naHogar th,hi
ssister- i
n-l
aw,cut
alockofhai rfrom hishead.Onhi spr i
orinstr
uctions,hi
swor sewasshot .AndsoChar l
es
Dickenslay.

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Passage( a)isaboutthedeat
hofal i
ttl
esweet,i
nnocentchi
ldNell
.Anai rofi
nnocence
andpur i
tysurr
oundsthedeadchild.Ir
onical
l
ypassage(b)isaboutthedeathofCharl
es
Dickensthewr i
teroft
hefir
stpassage.Sowhi l
epassage(a)i
saboutt hedeat
hofal i
tt
le
chil
d,(b)isaboutthedeat
hofamani nhismiddl
eages.

Inbot
hpassages,thoughdeathi
sasensi t
iveissue,
hasbeenpr esent
edi nali
ghtmanner
asakindofsleepthatpeopl
eexper
ience.Inpassage(a)Dickensv i
ewsdeathina
posi
ti
veli
ght,heassociat
esitwi
thposit
iveelementssuchasbeaut y,
freedom,fr
eshness
andcalmnessforexamplewhenhesay s:

‘
Nosl
eepsobeaut
if
ulandcal
m,sof
reef
rom t
raceofpai
n,sof
airt
olookupon…’

Thishel
pstotonedownt hehorri
fi
cef
fectsofdeathandmakesthereadert
ov i
ewdeat
h
i
naposi t
ivel
ightwi
thoutfear.Onasi
mi l
arnotepassage(
b)descr
ibesdeathasasl
eep
forexamplewhenthewritersay
s:

‘
Hel
ayonanar
rowgr
eensof
a….
’

Ev
ent
hef
ami
l
ytr
eat
sthedeadmanasi
fhei
sst
il
lal
i
vebuti
nasl
eep.Thest
atement
:

‘
Thef
ami
l
ybesi
dehi
m knewhowheenj
oyedt
hel
i
ght
,howheneededt
hel
i
ght
…’

Thi
sli
kei
nthef
ir
stpassaget
onesdownt
heef
fect
sofdeat
h.

I
nt hef ir
stpassaget hedeathofNel lispresentedassy mboli
cal.Thedeathisseen
throughi magesassoci atedwithinnocence,purit
y,di
vinit
yforexamplethewr i
terrefersto
the“ sweetf ace”,
“youngspiri
t”thatwinged,“angelsi
nt hei
rmajesty”
,gentl
e”,“noble”all
in
referencet oNell.Sothedeat hofNel lcanberegardedassy mbolicofthedeat hofall
young, innocentandbeaut i
fulchil
dren,incontr
ast,Ackroydseemst opresentdeathof
Dickens, Ackroydshowshowt heci r
clebeginswithpercepti
onofdeat hinDicken’searly
wor ksandpar tofhisl
ifeasachi l
d,sohi sdeathcompl et
esthecircl
ethathadbeganon
hisfirstvisi
ttoGad’ sHil
l.

Inbothpassagesdeat hseemst obeanendt osor r

owandsuf fer
ing,iti
sanendof
tr
oublesoft hi
swor l
d.Inthef i
rstpassage(a)DickensspeaksofNel l’
scares,sufferi
ngs
andfatiguesasallgonewhi leAckroydin(b)speaksofthe“il
l
ness”and“ wr i
nkles”that
markedDi ckens’passageofhisl i
feas“er
ased”.Deathhasnotonl ybeenpr esentedas
anendt osor r
owandt roubles,butasthebeginningofpeace,happinessandbeaut y
.This
i
scapt uredinDicken’
swor ds:

‘
Sor
rowwasdeadindeedinher
,butpeaceandperf
ecthappi
nesswer
ebor
n;
i
magedi
nhertr
anquilbeaut
yandprofoundr
epose.
’

Thisissimil
artothe“st
il
lnessofdeath”andthesignsofpremat ur
eagingwhichwas
onceso“ marked”and“wor n”butnowwithdeathitwasgone.“ Beaut
y”isal
soseenon
hisfacethoughiti
sgiventogetherwit
h“pathos”
.Thepr esent
at i
onbythetwowr i
ter
s’
pointsdeathi
nabeaut i
fulmanner ;
iti
snotsomethingtofear,
butsomet hi
ngtolook
forwardto.

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Inthesecondpassage,deathhasalsobeenpresentedthroughtheuseofa“ mask” .The

death“mask”isasymbol ofDickens’f
earsi
npersonall
ifeofdeat h.Thewr i
terrefersto
Dickens’
fearoft
hedeadandofal li
nanimatethi
ngs!Thoughi nhispersonalli
fehemi ght
havebeenafrai
dofdeath,thepictureofhi
ml y
ingdeadisnotfierce,buti
sinact ualfact
suggesti
veofcalmness.

Inthepr esent ationofdeat hbothwritersseem tobr i

ngoutt hesenseoff inali
ty.Itis
certainthatdeat hhasoccur red.Inthef i
rstpassage( a)t hesenseoff i
nalit
yiscar r
ied
throught her epeat eduseoft hephrase“ shewasdead” .Onasi milarnote,Ackroydi n
passage( b)showssenseoff i
nal
it
ybyt heopeni ngwor ds:“Charl
esDickenswasdead. ”
Thissenseoff inali
tywasi sfurt
hercar r
iedinthewor ds“ Nowhehadgone” .Thi sshows
deathascer tain.Theopeni ngofbothpassagescr eatesuspenset othereader ,t
heybot h
begini nthemi ddleofact i
on.Char l
esDi ckensbegins“ Shewasdead” .Whi chl eavesthe
readert oponderaboutwhohaddi ed, whathadhappened.Onasi mi l
arnoteAckr oyd
startswith“ Char lesDickenswasdead” ,whichleavest her eadert
of i
ndoutwhathadl ed
tothedeat hofChar l
esDi ckens.

Bothpassagesshowhowdeat hofalovedorcheri
shedonedepr iv
esthoseremaini
ngof
thepersontheyador
e.Nel lwasador edbythecommuni ty,sowasDickens.Inthe
passagedeathseem tobepr esentedascommuni catedtoeven–t hebir
dthrough
tel
epathy.Thebir
dwas“ sti
rri
ngni mblyinit
scage”,t
hebirdhereisusedtoshowhow
evennatureisal
soaffect
edbyt hedeathofNell
.Whi l
ethebirdismadet osuff
erasa
resul
tofthedeathofi
t smistress,t
he“horse”i
npassage( b)al
sosuffer
sdeathasa
resul
tofthedeathofi
t smaster .

Thef r
eev entoft
ear
sbytheschoolmasteranddemandf
orj
ust
iceinpassage(a)andt
he
preparat
ionsofthebur
ial
forDi
ckensareatesti
monytot
hef
actthatdeat
htakesaway
thelovedones.

Thet onei npassage( a)issy mpat het ic.Thewr i

terissy mpat heti
cwi t
hNel landthe
peopl ear oundherwhohav elostsuchani nnocentandbenev olent,kindhear t
edy oung
girl
.Thesy mpat hymakest hereadert ol
ov eandcher i
sht hey ounggi rl t
houghshel ies
dead.Reader sal sosy mpat hisewi thpeopl esuchast heheadmast erfort othem t heloss
i
sgr eat .Ont heot herhand, thet oneofpassage( b)isdetached.Thev oiceseemst obe
ofanobser veratadi st ancechr oniclingthewor k,lif
eanddeat hofDi ckens.Fr om t i
met o
ti
met hewr i
terseem t obesat ir
ical ont hewor kofDi ckens,her eferst othe“ sarcastic
l
ook”“ beaut
yandpat hos”,therigidf aceoft hecor pseandt hecal m sl eepoft hechi l
d, and
alsof rom Ackr oy d’sowndescr i
pt i
onsar casm canbeseen, forexampl ewhenhesay sa
“pictur eofthecor psecov eredwi thbl ossom” .Sot het oneoft het wopassagesar e
differentmaybebecausei nthef ir
st ,Dickensdeal swi ththedeat hofachi ldisusual l
ya
touchi ngexper iencewhi l
etheseconddeal swi thdeat hofami ddleagedmanwhi chmay
notbeast ouchi ngast hatofay oungone.

Deat
hther
efor
eisnotsomet
hingt
hatpeopl
eshoul
dfear
,iti
ssomet
hingt
hatpeopl
e

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shoul
dlookforwar
dtoasitmar
ksanendtot
hesor
rowsoft
hiswor
ld.Thusdeat
hhas
beenpresent
edinaposi
ti
vewayorl
i
ght.

Exami
nat
iont
ypequest
ions

1. Writ
eacrit
icalappreciat
ionofthepassagebyGust
avoFl
auber
tpay
ingpar
ti
cul
ar
at
tenti
ont
ot hesty
li
sticfeat
ures.

Nextdaywasadayofmour ni
ngt oEmma.Ev er
ythingseemedwr appedi nadr ifti
ng,
cli
nging,darknessandsorr
owsankdeepinhersoulwi t
hmuf f
ledwail
ing,li
kethewi nter
windinader eli
ctchat
eau.I
twasthespel
lcastbyt
hedepar t
ed,thel
assit
udet hatf
ollows
theev entthepaincausedbyanyaccustomedmot ionbreaki
ngorpr olongedv i
brati
on
abruptlyceasi
ng.

Sombr ely
,melancholy,numbl ydespai
ri
ngaswhenshehadr et
urnedf r
om LaVaubyessar
d
wit
ht hedancet uneswhi rl
i
ngi nherhead.Shenow saw at all
erhandsomeandmor e
del
ightfulandav aguerLeon.Hewasf arawayandy ethehadnotleftherhewasher est
il
l
hi
sshadowseemedt ol i
ngeront hewal l
s.Shecoul
dnottakehereyesf r
om t
hecarpeton
whichhehadwal ked,thechai r
sinwhi chhehadsat ,t
heri
versti
llf
lowedby,pushingit
’s
l
it
tl
ewav esalongtheslipperybank.

Manyat imet heyhadst r

oll
edbesideitli
steningtot hatsamemur muringofthewater
overthemossypebbl es.Thef i
nesunnyday st heyhadhad!Thel ovel
yafter
noonalone
toget
herintheshadeatt hebottom oft
hegar den!Heusedt oreadaloudtoherperched
onaf oot
stoolofdrysti
cks.,bar
eheadedwhi l
et hecoolbreezeofthemeadowsf l
utt
ered
thepagesofhi sbookandt henast
urti
umsr oundt heharbour…………Hewasgone -her
onlyj
oyinli
feheronlyhopeofhappiness!

Whyhadshenotsei zedt hathappi

nesswhenitwasoffered?Whyhadshenothel dit
,
knel
ttoi
twheni tt
hreatenedt of
lyaway?Shecur
sedher
selffornothav
inggi
venLeonher
l
ove.Shethi
rst
edforhislips.

Ani mpulseseizedhert or unafterhim, tothrowhi msel fi

nt ohisar msandsay‘ itisIIam
yours!butatonceEmmaf eltdismay edatt hedi f
fi
culti
esofsuchanunder taking:and
vanit
y oft he hope ser ved butt oi ntensifyt he desire. Fr om t hatmomenther
remembr anceofLeonbecamet hecent r
eofherdi scontent;itcrackledther
emor efiercely
thanthef i
relef
tburningi nthesnowbyt r
aveller
si ntheRussi anst eppes.Sherant oi tand
huddledher sel
fagainsti t
,caref
ullystir
redi twheni tf l
aggedandcastaboutherf orf r
esh
fueltoreviveit
,andal lthatthedistantpastort heimmedi atepr esentcouldoffer,allshe
fel
tandshef anci
edi thersensuall ongingst hatnow mel tedi ntoair,herpl ansf or
happinessthatcreakedl ikedeadbr anchesi nthewi nd,herst eri
lev i
rt
ue,herfall
enhopes
andherdomest i
cmar tyrdom –any t
hingandev erythingshegat her edupandusedt of eed
hergrief

2. Wr
iteacrit
icalappreci
ati
onofthefol
lowingpassagefr
om BlackboybyRi
char
d
Wr
ightpay
ingattent
iontonar
rat
ivef
eat
ures,l
anguageandtone.

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Summer .Bri
ghthotdays.Hungersti
llavi
talpartofmyconsci ousness.Passi
ngr el
ati
ves
i
nt hehal l
waysofthecrowdedhomeandnotspeaki ng.Eat
inginsil
enceatat ablewhere
prayersaresaid.Mymot herr
ecoveri
ngslowly,butnowdef i
nit
elycri
ppledforl
ife.Wil
lIbe
abletoent erschooli
nSept ember?Loneliness.Reading.Job-hunt
ing.Vaguehopesof
goingnor t
h.Butwhatwoul dbecomeofmymot herifIl
eftherinthisqueerhouse?And
how woul dIfareinast r
angecit
y?Doubt .Fear.Myf ri
endsarebuy ingl
ong-pant ssui
ts
thatcostf r
om sevent
eent otwentydoll
ars,asum ashuget omeast heAlps!Thiswas
myr eali
tyin1924.

Wor dcamet hatanear-bybr i

cky
ardwashiri
ngandIwenttoinvesti
gate.Iwasfrai
l,not
weighingahundr edpounds.AtnoonIsneakedintot
heyar
dandwal kedamongt heaisles
ofdamp, clean-smell
ingclayandcamet oabarrowful
lofwetbri
cksj ustt
akenfr
om t he
machi net hatshapedt hem.Icaughtholdofthehandl
esoft hebarrow andwasbar ely
abl
et oliftit;itwei
ghedper hapsfourt
imesasmuchasIdi d.I
fIwereonl ystr
ongerand
heavier.

LaterIaskedquest ionsandfoundt hatthewaterboywasmi ssi

ng;Irant otheoff
iceand
washi red.Iwalkedinthehotsunl uggi
ngabigzi ncpai
lfr
om onelabouringgangofblack
ment oanot herforadoll
araday; amanwoul dlif
ttheti
ndippert
ohislips,takeaswall
ow,
ri
nseouthi smout h,spi
t,andthendr inkinlong,sl
ow gulpsassweatdr ippedi
ntothe
dipper
.Andof fagai
nIwoul dgo,chanti
ng:
“Water!”
Andsomebodywoul dyell
:
“Here,boy!”

Deepintowetpi tsofclay,i
ntosti
ckyditches,upsl i
pperyslopesIwoul dst
rugglewitht he
pail
.Istruckitout ,
reeli
ngatt i
mesf r
om hunger ,pausingtogetmybr eat
hcl amber
ingup
ahill
.Att heendoft heweekt hemoneysanki ntotheendl essexpensesathome.Lat erI
gotaj obi nthey ar
dt hat5pai
dadol larandahal faday ,t
hatofbatboy .Iwentbetween
thewal l
sofcl ayandpi ckedupbricksthathadcr ackedopen;whenmybar rowwasf ull,I
wouldwheeli toutont oawoodenscaf fol
danddumpi tintoapond.Ihadbutonef ear
here:adog.Hewasownedbyt hebossoft hebrickyardandt hehauntedtheclayaisles,
snapping,growling.

Thedoghadbeenwoundedmanyt i
mes, f
ort heblackwor ker
swer ealwayshurl
ingbricks
atit.WheneverIsawt heanimal,Iwoul dtakeabr ickfrom myl oadandtossitathim;he
woul dsl
inkaway ,onl
yt oappearagai n,showi nghisteeth.Sev er
aloftheNegr oeshad
beenbi t
tenandhadbeeni l
l;t
hebosshadbeenaskedt oleasht hedog,buthehad
ref
used.Oneaf t
ernoonIwaswheel i
ngmybar row towardt hepondwhensomet hing
sharpsanki nt
omyt high.Iwhi
rled;thecr ouchedaf ew feetaway ,snar
li
ng.Ihadbeen
bit
ten.Idrov
ethedogawayandopenedmyt rousers;t
eethmar ksshoweddeepandr ed.

Ididnotmi ndthest
inginghurt
,butIwasafrai
dofaninfecti
on.WhenIwenttotheof
fi
ce
torepor
tthattheboss’sdoghadbittenme,Iwasmetbyat allbl
ondewhi
tegi
rl
.
“Whatdoy ouwant?”sheasked.
“Iwanttoseetheboss, ma’
am.”
“Forwhat?”
“Hisdogbitme, ma’
am, andI’
m afr
aidImightgetani
nfect
ion.
”

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“
Wheredidhebi teyou?”
“
Onmyl eg,”Il
ied,shyi
ngfrom t
ell
i
ngherwheret
hebit
ewas.
“
Let
’ssee,”shesaid.
“
No,ma’am.Can’ tIseetheboss?”
“
Heisn’
ther enow,”shesaid,
andwentbacktohert
ypi
ng.

Ireturnedt owor k,stoppingoccasi onal

lyt
oexami netheteet
hmar ks;t
heywer
eswell
ing.
Lateri ntheaf t
ernoonat allwhitemanwear ingacoolwhi t
esuit
,aPanamahat,andwhite
shoescamet owar dsme.
“I
st histheni gger?”heaskedabl ackboyashepoi nt
edatme.
“Yes, sir
,”theblackboyanswer ed.
“Comeher e,
nigger,”hecalledme.
Iwentt ohim.
“Theyt ellmemydogbi tyou,”hesai d.
“Yes, sir
.”
Ipulleddownmyt r
ousersandhel ooked.
“Humnnn, ”hegr unted,t
henl aughed.“Adogbitecan’thur
tanigger
.”

3. Writ
eacri
ti
calanal
ysi
softhefol
lowingpassagefr
om TheTenantofWi
ldf
ellHal
lby
AnneBr
ont
e,payi
ngatt
ent
iont
ostyle,
languageandt
one.

Neart het opoft hishi ll

,aboutt womi lesf rom Li nden– Car ,stoodWi ldfellHal l
,a
superannuat edmansi onoft heEl i
zabet haner a,bui ltofdar kgreyst one,-v ener ableand
pict
uresquet ol ookat ,but ,doubt less,col dandgl oomyenought oi nhabit,wi t
hi tst hi
ck
stonemul l
ionsandl i
ttlelat ti
cedpanes,i tst i
me–eat enai rholes,andi tst ool onely,too
unshel teredsi tuat ion,-onl yshi eldedf rom t hewarofwi ndandweat herbyagr oupof
Scotchf i
rs, themsel veshal fblight edwi thst orms, andl ookingasst ernandgl oomyast he
Hallitself.Behi ndi tl ayaf ewdesol at ef i
el ds,andt hen,t hebr ownheat hcl adsummi tof
thehill;bef or ei t(encl osedbyst onewal ls,andent eredbyani r
ongat ewi t
hl ar gebal lsof
greygr anite-si mi lart ot hosewhi chdecor atedt her oofandgabl es–sur mount ingt he
gatepost s),wasagar den,-once,st ockedwi t
hsuchhar dlyplantsandf lower sascoul d
bestbr ookt hesoi landcl imat e,andsucht reesandshr ubsascoul dbestendur ethe
gardener ’st or tur i
ngshear s,andmostr eadi lyassumet heshapeshechoset ogi vet hem, -
now,hav i
ngbeenl eftsomanyy ear s,unt il
ledandunt ri
mmed,abandonedt ot heweeds
andt hegr ass, tot hef r ostandwi nd, t
her ainandt hedr ought ,i
tpresentedav erysingul ar
appear ancei ndeed.Thecl osegr eenwal l
sofpr i
vet ,thathadbor deredt hepr incipalwal k,
weret wot hir dswi t her edaway ,andt her estgr ownbey ondal lr
easonabl ebounds;t heol d
boxwoodswan,t hatsatbesi det hescr aper ,hadl osti tsneckandhal fi tsbody ;the
castellatedt ower sofl aureli nthemi ddl eoft hegar den, t
hegi ganticwar ri
ort hatst oodon
onesi deoft hegat eway ,andt hel iont hatguar dedt heot her
,wer espr out edi nt
osuch
fantasticshapesasr esembl ednot hingei therinheav enorear t
h,ori nt hewat ersunder
the ear t
h,but ,t o my y oung i magi nat i
on,t hey pr esented alloft hem a gobl ini
sh
appear ance,t hathar moni zedwel lwi tht heghost lyl egendsanddar ktradit i
onsourol d
nursehadt oldusr espect ingt hehaunt edhal landi tsdepar tedoccupant s.

Ihadsucceededinki
ll
ingahawkandt wocrowswhenIcamewithi
nsightofthemansion;
andthen,rel
inqui
shi
ngf ur
therdepr
edat
ions,Isaunter
edon,t
ohaveal ookattheold
pl
ace,andseewhatchangeshadbeenwr oughtinitbyit
snewi
nhabi
tant.Idi
dnotli
keto

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goqui t
etothefrontandst ar
einatthegate;butIpausedbesi
dethegar
denwall
,and
l
ooked,andsaw no change– excepti nonewi ng,wherethebrokenwindowsand
dil
apidat
edroofhadev identl
ybeenrepai
red,andwhereat hinwr
eathofsmokewas
curl
ingupfr
om thestackofchimney
s.

Whi l
eIt husst ood,leaningonmygun,andl ookingupatt hedar kgables,suckinani dle
reveri
e,weav ingat i
ssueofway wardfancies,i
nwhi choldassoci at
ionsandt hefairyoung
hermit,now wi t
hint hosewal l
s,boreanear l
yequalpar t
,Ihear dasl ightrustli
ngand
scrambling justwi thint hegarden;and,gl ancing i
nt hedi recti
onwhencet hesound
proceeded, Ibeheldat inyhandelevat
edabov ethewall
:itclungt othetopmostst one,and
thenanot herlitt
lehandwasr ai
sedtot akeaf i
rmerhold,andt henappear edasmal lwhite
forehead,sur mountedwi thwreathsofl ightbrownhai r,withapai rofdeepbl ueey es
beneath, andt heupperpor t
ionofadimi nuti
veivorynose.

4. Wr i
tea cr i
ti
calappreciati
on oft he f
ollowing passage f r
om Gr eatExpectat
ionsby
Char l
esDi ckenspayi
ngpar ti
cularatt
enti
ont omet hods,dicti
onandt one.
Iknockedandwast oldf r
om wi t
hintoent er
,Ientered,therefor
eandf oundmyselfi
na
prettylargeroom,welll
itwithcandles.Nogl i
mpseofday l
ightwast obeseeni ni
t.I
twas
adr essingroom.AsIsupposedf r
om thef ur
nitur
e,thoughmuchofi twasoff ormsand
usest henqui teunknownt ome, ”butpr ominentinitwasadr apedt abl
ewithagi l
ded
l
ooki ng-glassandthatImadeoutaf i
rstsighttobeaf i
nel ady’
sdressing-tabl
e.

WhetherIshouldhav emadeoutt hi
sobjectsosoon,ift
herehadbeennof inel
adysi
ti
ng
ati
t,Icannotsay.Inanarm-chair
,wit
hanelbowr est
ingonthetableandherheadl
eani
ng
onthathand,satthestr
angestladyIhav
eev erseenorshal
leversee.

Shewasdr essedinri
chmat eri
als-sat i
nsandl aceandsi l
ks–al lofwhit
e.Hershoeswer e
white.Andshehadal ongwhi t
ev eildependedonherhai randshehadbr idalf
lowersin
herhairbutherhairwaswhi te.Somebr ightjewelssparkl
edonherneckandonherhands
andsomeot herjewel
swer espar kli
ngont hetable.Dresses,l
esssplendidt hanthedress
shewor e,halfpackedtrunks,wer escat teredabout.Shehadnotqui tefinisheddressing,
forshehadoneshoeon–t heot herwasnearherhand–herv eilwashal fbutarr
anged,
herwatchandchai nwer enotputon, andsomel aceforherbosom laywitht hosetri
nkets,
and with herhandker chiefand gl ov es and some f l
owers and a Pr ayer-Book,al l
confusedlyheapedaboutt hel ocking–gl ass.

I
twasnoti nt hefi
rstfewmoment sthatIsawal lthesethi
ngs,thoughIsawmor eoft hem
i
nt hefir
stmoment sthanmightbesupposed.ButIsaw t hatev erythingwi t
hinmyv iew
whichturnedoutt obewhite,hadbeenwhi telong-ago,andlostitslustre,andwasf aded
yel
low.Isaw t hebridewithi
nt hebri
daldr esshadwi ther
edl i
ket hedr essandl i
ket he
fl
owersandnobr i
ghtnesslef
tbutthebrightnessofhersunkeney es.Isawt hedr esshad
beenputupont heroundedfigureofay oungwomanandt hatt hefigureuponwhi chi t
nowhungl oosehadshr unktoskinandbone.Once, Ihadbeent akent oseesomeghast ly
waxworkatt heFai r
,repr
esentingIknow notwhati mpossi
bleper sonagel yinginst ate.
OnceIhadbeent akentooneofourol dmar shchurchestoseeaskel etonint heashesof
arichdressthathadbeendugoutofav aultunderthechurch.

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Chapt
er5
APPRECIATI
ONOFDRAMA
Lear
ningObj
ect
ives

Af
terst
udy
ingt
hischapt
ercar
eful
l
y,y
oushoul
dbeabl
eto:

(
a) Def
inewhat“
appr
eci
ati
onofdr
ama”i
s

(
b) Out
li
net
hemai
nst
epsi
ndr
amaappr
eci
ati
on

(
c) Wr
it
eacr
it
ical
appr
eci
ati
onofagi
venext
ract
,di
scussi
ngt
hespeci
fi
edaspect
s.

(
d) Makeacr
it
ical
appr
aisal
ofdr
amat
ict
echni
quesusedi
ngi
venext
ract
s.

Int
roduction
Dramai saf orm ofl it
eraryar tt
hatisveryuniqueanddi ff
erentfrom t
heot hergenres.Iti
s
pri
mar i
l
ywr i
ttentobeper f
or medinfrontofaliv
eaudi ence.Inotherwordsi thastobe
actedoutbyi dent if
iedpr ofessi
onalswhowi l
lbr
ingthest or
yintolif
e.Thisexplainsthe
str
ucturalpresent ati
onofdr ama,thatistheuseofdialogue.Thest oryisdev el
oped
thr
ought hedi rectinteracti
onofchar actersandwear enotonl yconcernedbywhatt hey
say,butal sowi tht heiractionsandenv ir
onment.Atmostt i
meswear ecloselyguided
bytheplay wrightsont hedev el
opmentoft hecharacters.Thisisdonethroughanumber
ofdramat i
ct echniquest hatshal l
bedi scussedinthi
schapt er.

Dramati
ctechni
ques
I
nadditi
ontonumerousli
ter
aryandpoet
icdevi
cesdi
scussedinearli
erchapt
ersdr
ama
hasgenre-
speci
fi
ctechni
questhr
oughwhichpl
aywri
ght
spr esentt
heirpl
aysand

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character
s.Learnersshoul
dmakeanef for
ttorevi
sittheexplanat
ionsgivenonl i
ter
ary
devi
cesi ntheprevi
ouschapters.Thedr amati
cdev i
cesoutli
nedher eapplymainlytot
he
dramagenr eandar eusedbywr it
ersinconjuncti
onwi tht
heot hercommonl i
ter
ary
devi
ceswehav ediscussedearl
ier.Thesedramat i
ctechniquesandt hei
reffectonthe
developmentofapl ayarebri
efl
ydi scussedbelow.

Sceneint r
oducti
ons
Thisisthegeneralbackgr oundgivenbywr i
ters.Thisisgi venprimari
lytoaidl
ive
perfor
mer stocreat
et heirstageset,t
hatis,preparetheirst ageforli
veperf
ormance.
Sceneintroducti
onsforthepur posesofappr eciat
ioni ssignifi
cantasitest
abli
shesthe
sceneandi ntr
oducest hest or
y,t
hereforewecant ell alotaboutascenebasi ngonthe
descri
ptionofthesetti
ngandt henatureofstagear rangementaswel lasthedescri
pti
ons
ofthechar act
ers

Stagedir
ect ions
Thesearet hewr i
ter’
snotesont heact i
onofcharacter
sinapar t
icularscene.Through
stagedir
ect i
onswear ei
nformedoft heactualmov ementsthattakepl aceonstage.We
gettoknowofgest ures,
nonv erbal communicati
onsaswel lasthemannerofar ti
culat
ion
ofacharact er’
sspeech.Thust hr oughanassessmentofst agedi r
ectionsweareabl eto
getaninsightintoanumberofi mpor t
antmatt
ersinagi v
enext r
act.Thi swil
lbe
di
scussedf ur t
herinthechapter.

Sustaineddialogue
Thisreferstodi al
oguebetweent woormor echaractersinapl
ayorext
ract.Fr
om a
sustai
neddi aloguewear eabletodeter
mi netherelat
ionshi
pbetweent
hechar act
ersas
wellasgett heirviewsonapar t
icul
araspect.I
tisthroughsust
aineddi
aloguethatt
herest
ofthest or
yunf oldstoagreatextent
.

Monol ogue
Thisiswhenachar act
erislef
taloneonst aget
oexpr esshisthoughtsonaparti
cular
subject.Themaindi st
inct
ionisthefactt
hatthecharacterwouldbet al
ki
ngaloudto
hi
msel fandmaybedi stur
bedbyt heentr
yofanotherchar act
eronstageaswel l
assome
otherenv i
ronmentalconsi
derati
ons(lear
nersareencouragedt onotethedi
sti
ncti
on
betweenamonol ogueandasol il
oquy)

Solil
oquy
Thisiswhenachar acterexpressesone’ sthoughtsonapar t
icularsubject.Thi
spri
ncipal
ly
occursinthecharact
er’smi nd.Inotherwor dsasoli
loquyistheexpr essionofonesfears
andjoystoagi venaudience.Themai ndi st
incti
onbetweenasol i
loquyandamonol ogue
i
st hefactthatt
hechar act
erisr eveal
inghishiddenthoughtstot heaudi ence(
ament al
realmyetamonol oguei sbasicall
yaonemanspeech.Consi derthef ol
lowingexamples

Monol ogue;
adistressedwomantal
kingt
ohersel
faloudaboutherworr
iesonwher
eto
getthenextmeal
Soli
loquy;asui
cidalyoungmancontempl
ati
ngtaki
nghisli
fehavingsl
eepl
essni
ght
son
hi
sintendedcourseofaction

Task;
whati
sthedi
ff
erencebet
weent
het
woexampl
esnot
edabov
e?

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Aside
Theseareut t
erancesthataresaidonst agethatar
enotmeanttobeheardbyot her
charact
ers.Forexample, awhisperbetweentwocharact
ersonadetai
lthatshouldnotbe
heardbytheot herchar
act er
swouldbeaudi bletot
heaudiencet
houghthecharacter
s
wouldappeart obewhi speri
ngonst age.

Ir
ony
Thisisamodeofexpr essiont
hroughwor dsorev ent
sconv eyi
ngar eal
itydi f
fer
entfrom
andusual l
yopposi
tetoappear
anceorexpect at
ion.Thereaderisusuall
ygi v
enaddi t
ional
i
nformationwhichoneorsomeoral lfi
cti
onalcharacter
slack.Thi
s,therefore,makest he
charact
er’swordshaveameani ngtother eaderthatisnotperceiv
edbyt hecharact er
.
Ir
onycanbedr amatici
ronyorsi
tuati
onalir
ony .

Useofsensor yeffects/vi
sualandaudi o
Thisinvol
v estheuseofsoundef fectsordescr
ipt
ionsofenvi
ronmental
effect
sas
thunderli
ght ni
ng,etc.Ital
somakesr ef
erencetoaspect
sofstageli
ghti
ng.Whatisof
i
mpor tancei stheabil
itybyast udenttorel
ateanyeff
ectgi
venordescri
bedbyt hewr
it
er
tothedev elopmentoft heextractasawhol e.

Useofpropsandconsumes
Propsar
eobjectst
hatareusedbycharact
ersonstage.Theseincl
udefurnit
urebrooms.
Asweappreciat
edramaextract
sweshouldnotecareful
lytherel
evanceofparti
cular
pr
opsusedont hedevel
opmentofthecharact
er,
thescene, t
hesett
ing,andthegeneral
at
mosphereasawhol e.

Wor kingoutmeani ng
West at
edear l
ierthatdramai swrit
tenpri
mari
lyf
orstageperfor
mance.Itt
herefor
e
requiresconsciousappr aisal
.Thisi
sbecausewebringthestoryi
ntol
if
easwego
throughthet ext.Findi
ngmeani ngisther
efor
eacompl expr
ocessthatcall
sforcaref
ul
andr epeatedreadingoft heextract
.

Someguidel
inest oi
dent
if
ythethemesandworki
ngoutt
hemeaningcoul
dbeby
i
denti
fi
cat
ionoft hecl
imaxoftheext
ract
.Thecl
imaxoft
heext
ractmaygi
vehi
ntsoft
he
i
ssuesunderdiscussi
on.

TheGener
alappr
oach

Compr ehensionlev
el
Thei ni
ti
alstageindramaappr eci
ationisgetti
ngthesenseoft heextract.Remember
unli
kepr ose,wehav etomov ewiththeactionandut t er
ancesofcharacter sinordertoget
agr aspofthestory.Thiscall
sforattent
ivenoti
cet ot hewriter
’suseofdi cti
onand
presentati
onofchar act
er.Aswer eadweshoul dt akenot eofthestagedi recti
onsgiven
bythepl ayri
ght
.Thesegi vesusaninsightint
ot hest ateofthesetti
ngaswel lasother
bodilymov ementsthatwillai
dourunder st
anding. Takenoteoft hestagedi rect
ionsgiven
below:

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Ont
hedar
kst
aget
hescr
eeni
sli
ght
edwi
tht
hei
mageofbl
uer
oses.

Gr
[ adual
l
yLaur
a’sf
igur
ebecomesappar
entandt
hescr
eengoesout
,themusi
csubsi
des.

LAURAi
sseat
edi
nthedel
i
cat
eiv
orychai
ratt
hesmal
lcl
aw-
foott
abl
e.]

[Shewear sadr essofsof tvioletmat eri

alforaki mono- herhai ri stiedbackf r
om her
foreheadwi thar i
bbon.Shei swashi ngandpol ishinghercol lectionofgl ass.Amanda
appear sont hefire–escapest epsatt hesoundofheraccent .Laur acat chesherbr eath
thrustst hebowlofor nament sawayandseather selfst
if
fl
ybef oret hedi agram oft het ype
writerkey boardast houghi theldherspel l
bound.Somet hinghashappenedt oAmanda.I t
i
swr i
tteni nherf aceasshecl imbst othelanding:al ookthati sgr i
m andhope–l essand
l
ittl
eabsur d.Shehasnooneoft hosecheapori mitati
onv elvety-l
ooki ngcl othcoat swi th
i
mi tati
onf urcollar.Herhati sf i
veorsi xyearsol d,oneoft hosedr eadf ulclochehat sthat
wer ewor ni nthel atet went i
esandshei scl aspinganenor mousbl ackpat ent-leather
pocket bookwi thni ckelclaspsandi ni
ti
als.Thisisherf ull
-dressout fi
t,theonesheusual l
y
wear st ot heD. A.R.Bef oreent eri
ngshel ookst hrought hedoor .Shepur sesherl i
ps,
opensherey esv erywi de,roll
sthem upwar d,andshakesherhead.Thenshesl owl ylets
herselfi nt hedoor . Seeinghermot her’sexpr essionLAURA t ouchesherl ipswi tha
nervousgest ur
e.]
( Takenf r
om t heGl assMenager iebyTennesseeWi ll
iam (bor n1914)

Weshoul dnotet
hatalr
eadybeforewegett ohaveagr aspoftheinter
acti
onof
charact
ersourmi
ndshav ebeengivenageneralideaont hebackgr
oundsetti
ng.Weal
so
gettoknowthestat
eofthev ar
iouscharact
ers.Theref
ore,st
agedirect
ionsbui
ldt
he
foundat
iononwhichthewri
tecandev el
ophis/herstor
y.

I
tisalsoveryimportantt ofol l
owcl oselyt hedi aloguebet weenchar acters,t
akingnoteof
t
heirmannerofar t
iculationandt heuseofbodi lycommuni cation.Thisisexplained
t
hroughtheuseofst agedi rections. Thebasi cpoi nti
ncompr ehensionst ageisourabil
it
y
t
ohav eagraspoft hewr it
er’smai ni dea.Thusi tiscrit
icalt
onot et
hef ol
lowing
 Takenot eofwhatt hechar acterssay .
 Takenot eofthechar acters’ acti
ons
 Takenot eofthechar acter’suseofdi cti
on
 Takenot eofthemannerofar ti
culation
 Takenot eofst agel i
ght i
ng, costumeandr elev
anceofpr ops
 Establi
shthev ariousr elati
onshi psbet weenandamongchar acter
s
 Establi
shthet opical i
ssuesbei ngdi scussed.
 Takenot eoftheenv ironmentwher et hescenei sset(setti
ng).

Ther eaderhast olookatt heway sin whi

ch emot i
ons,ideasand mov ementsare
conveyed.Thesehelpt hereadert
ogainmor einformationaboutchar acter
sandt he
si
tuati
oni nthepassage.Thetoneisofimport
ancei ndrama.Thet oneasi napoem/
prosepassagewillhavetobeworkedoutbythereader.Somest agedirect
ionsmightbe
helpf
ulinworki
ngoutthetoneastheymayshowhowt hecharacteri
sspeakingeg

ESMERALDA;[Fur
iousl
ydisappoi
nted]Youpigl
et,
idi
ot,
col
dhear
ted
i
mbecil
eisal
lyousayafterall
thatsacri
fi
ce?

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ZWI
NGLI [Notmoved]whatdoIhav
etosay
?Ihav
esear
chedi
nmyhear
tal
lIf
ound
i
swhatIsaid.

Anotheraspecttoconsideri
nt heappreci
ati
onofadr amapassageist hemood.The
moodcanbev i
ewedast hefeeli
ngoftheplaywr
ightaboutt
hesubjectcommunicated.A
dramati
stuseslanguagetocreatet
hemood.Themoodmaybet ense,rel
axed,r
efl
ecti
ve
ordynamic.

B)Judgementl
evel

Thisisthestageinwhi chwebreakdownt hegi

vensceneint
osmal l
eranalysabl
eunits.
Wef ocusourat t
entiononi dent
if
iedli
nes.Themai npointistocommenton,f or
example,theeffectofdi al
oguebetweent wocharact
ersont hedevel
opmentoft he
play.Wenot ealsot heauthorsuseofdramatictechni
quesont heeffectofwhati s
being sai
d.Not et hatwe commenton aspect st hatare curr
entl
ybef ore us as
compar edtoonlymaki ngasummat iv
ecomment

(Forexampl
e:,
Inthisi
nstance,
stagedi
recti
onshel
ptorevealcharacterx’
sfrust
rat
ion
onbeingji
lt
ed,fur
thercompoundingav er
ytenserel
ati
onshi
pt hatisreveal
edatthis
point
).

Weshoul dal
socommentont heuseofl anguagei nthedev el
opmentandpr esentation
ofthecharacters,aswellast hethemat i
cpl otoftheext ract
.Alsoi nthi
sstage,we
shouldbeabl etodeterminether el
ati
onshipbet weent hechar acter
sinvol
vedi nt he
extr
act.Notet hatweshoul dgi v
ecr ediblereasonsonwhyandhow t hewr i
teri s
gradual
lydevelopi
nghissubjectastheext r
acti sdev
eloping.Inotherwordsweshoul d
i
dentif
yandexpl ai
ntheissuesthatwehav eraisedasandwhent heyhavebeenr aised.

C)Ev
aluat
ionl
evel

Thisist hest agewher ewemakeanassessmentoft heimpactoft heext ractasa

whole.Focusi sont heholi
sti
ccommentont hepr esentati
onoft hewriter’
ssubj ect
againsthi sintent
ionandorr elati
onshipwi
tht her eaderorcrit
ic.Weev aluatet he
generalf eeli
ngs evoked by the extr
actas wel las t he mood and t one oft he
presentati
on. Weshoul dnoteanychange,inpar ti
cular,el
ementsoft heext ract
.For
example, arethefeel
ingsconstantthr
oughout
, arethecharacter
sst at
ic,
didthewr iter
useauni form styl
ethroughout?etc.

I
nsummar
ypr
oseappr
eci
ati
onski
l
lsshoul
drespondt
othesequest
ions

[
i] Whati
sbei
ngsai
dbyt
hepassage?(
Meani
ng)

[
ii
] Howi
sthatbei
ngsai
d?(
sty
le)

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[
ii
i
] Whyi
sitbei
ngsai
dthatway
?(i
mpact
)

[
iv
] HowdoIf
eel
aboutt
hepassage(
per
sonal
judgement
)

NB: I
tisver
yimpor t
antt onot ethatcommentandappr eciati
ondependsonourper sonal
j
udgementandexper ience.Iti
sourdut ytoreadwidelysoast ofamili
ari
seour selv
eswi t
h
anumberofwr it
ingst ylesetc.I
nt hefi
nalanaly
sis,west atethattheguideli
nesgi venhere
arenotinanywayexhaust iv
ebutser veasimplepur poseofest abli
shingafoundat ionon
whichstudent
sdev elopt hebasicdramaappr eciat
ionandanal ysistechni
ques, andi nt
he
l
ongr undevel
opt heirownappr eciati
onstyl
esthatar ecommensur atewiththeir
experi
enceofli
teraryandl i
nguisticdevel
opment .

Demonst
rat
ions

[
a] Writ
eacr i
ti
calappr
eciat
ionofthef oll
owingext
ractsfr
om theGlassMenageri
eby
TennesseeWill
i
am (born1914)
, discussi
nghowdr amati
call
yeff
ecti
vethewri
teri
s
i
nestabli
shi
ngthecharacter
soft hetwowomenandt hetensi
onbetweenthem.

Ont
hedar
kst
aget
hescr
eeni
sli
ght
edwi
tht
hei
mageofbl
uer
oses.

[Gr
adual
lyLaur
a’sf
igur
ebecomesappar
entandt
hescr
eengoesout
,themusi
c
subsi
des.

LAURAi
sseat
edi
nthedel
i
cat
eiv
orychai
ratt
hesmal
lcl
aw-
foott
abl
e.]

[Shewear sadr essofsof tv i

oletmat er
ialf oraki mono.Herhai rist i
edbackf rom
herforeheadwi thar i
bbon.Shei swashi ngandpol i
shinghercol lectionofgl ass.
Amandaappear sont hef i
re–escapest epsatt hesoundofheraccent .Laur a
catchesherbr eat h,thrustst hebowlofor nament sawayandseather sel
fstiffl
y
beforethedi agram oft het ypewr it
erkey boar dast houghithel dherspel lbound.
Somet hinghashappenedt oAmanda.I tiswr itt
eni nherf aceasshecl imbst ot he
l
anding:al ookt hatisgr im andhope–l essandl i
ttleabsurd.Shehasnooneof
thosecheapori mi t
ationv elvet
y -
lookingcl othcoat swi thimitationf urcol l
ar.Her
hatisfiveorsi xy earsol d,oneoft hosedr eadfulcl ochehatst hatwer ewor nint he
l
at etwentiesandshei scl aspinganenor mousbl ackpatent-leatherpocket book
withnickelcl aspsandi niti
als.Thi si sherf ull-
dressout f
it
,t heonesheusual l
y
wearst ot heD. A.R.Bef oreent eringshel ookst hrought hedoor .Shepur sesher
l
ips,opensherey esv erywi de,roll
st hem upwar d,andshakesherhead.Thenshe
slowlyletshersel finthedoor .Seeinghermot her’
sexpr essionLAURAt ouchesher
l
ipswi t
haner vousgest ure.]

LAURA: Hell
o,Mot
her Shemakesaner
,Iwas– [ vousgest
uret
owar
dthe
char
t

onthewal
l. AMANDA l
eansagai
nstt
heshutdoorandst
aresat
LAURAwi
thamarty
redl
ook.
]

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AMANDA: Decept
ion?Decept
i Shesl
on?[ owl
yremov
esherhatandgl
oves,

cont
inui
ngthesweetsuf
feri
ngst
are.Shel
etst
hehatandgl
ovesf
all
onthefl
oor–abitofact
ing.
]

LAURA: shaki
[ l
y ]How wast heD.A.R.meet
i AMANDAsl
ng? [ owlyopensher
pur
seandr emovesadaintywhit
ehandkerchi
efwhi
chsheshakesout
del
i
catelyanddeli
catel
ytouchestoherli
psandnostr
il
s.]Didn’
tyou
gotot
heD. A.R.meeti
ng,Mother
?

AMANDA: [fai
ntl
y,al
mosti naudi
bly]No.-No [ Thenmor eforci
bly.
]Idi dnot
hav ethest r
etch– togot ot heD. A.
R.Inf act
,Ididnothav ethe
courage!Iwant edtofindahol einthegroundandhi demy selfi
nit
forever![Shecrossesslowl
ytot hewallandremov esthediagram of
thet y
pe-writ
erkeyboar
d.Shehol dsitinfrontofherf orasecond,
stari
ngati tsweetl
yandsorrowfull
y–t henbitesherli
psandt ear
sit
i
nt otwopieces.]

LAURA: [f
aint
ly]Whydidyoudothat
,Mother
?[AMANDA repeat
s t he
samepr ocedur
ewitht
hechartoft
heGreggal
phabet
.]Whyarey
ou-?

AMANDA: Why
?Why
?Howol
dar
eyou,
Laur
a?

LAURA: Mot
her
,youknowmyage.

AMANDA:
Ithoughtthaty
ouwereanadul
t;i
tseemsthatIwasmi aken.[
st She
crossessl
owlyt
othesof
aandsi
nksdownandst
aresatLAURA]

LAURA: Pl
easedon’
tst
areatme,
Mot
her
.

AMANDAcl
[ osesherey
esandl
ower
sherhead.Countt
en.
]

AMANDA:
Whatarewegoi ngtodo,whati
sgoi
ngt
obecomeofus,whati
sthe
fut
ur Countt
e?[ en.]

LAURA: Hassomet
hinghappened,
Mot
her
?[AMANDAdr
awsal
ongbr
eat
h

andt
akesoutt
hehandkerchi
efagai
n.Dabbi
ngpr
ocess.
]Mot
her
,has
–somethi
nghappened?

AMANDA: I’
l
lbeal lri
ghtinami nute,I
’mjustbewi l
dered–[ Countf i
v e.]–byl i
fe
…Iwentt othe ty
ping instr
uctorand i nt
roduced my selfasy our
mot her. Shedidn’
tknow whoy ouwer e.Wi ngfi
eld,shesai d. We
don’thaveanysuchst udentenrolledatt heschool!Iassur edhershe
did,thaty ouhadbeengoi ngtocl assessi nceear lyinJanuar y
.‘ I
wonder ,
’shesaid,‘
i
fy oucouldbet alki
ngaboutt hatt err
iblyshyl i
ttl
e
girl
whodr oppedoutofschool afteronlyaf ewday s’ att
endance?‘ No,
Isaid,‘
Laura,mydaughter,hasbeengoi ngtoschool everydayf orthe

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pastsi
xweeks!
’‘
Excuseme,
’shesaid.Shetooktheatt
endancebook
outandther
ewasyourname,unmistakabl
ypri
nted,
andallt
hedates
youwereabsentuntilt
heydeci
dedt hatyou’haddroppedoutof
school
.

Demonst ratedAnswer
Thestagedi r
ectionsintheext r
actar ever
ydet ai
l
ed.Thepl aywri
ghtusesthem tosett he
scene,createt heatmospher eandest abl
i
sht hetensi
onbet weenthet wocharacters.A
romanti
cat mospher eiscreatedbyt hement i
onof“ bl
ueroses”andthel i
ght
edscr eenon
thedarkst age.Thef actthatiti
sasof tcolour“bl
ue”androsesar esymbolsofl
ov e,ahint
atasof t
nesst hattheaudi encegoesont olinkwit
hLaur a.Themusi candthe“ deli
cate
i
v or
y”chairbuildupt heromant i
cat mosphere.Sheappear sgradual
ly,
givi
ngtheaudi ence
enoughr oom t omer geherper sonali
tyandt heblueroses,creati
ngacal m andsof t
romanti
cgi r
l.

Thesoftnessoft
hesceneandt hecharact
eristakenfurt
herthr
ough,thedescr
ipt
ionof
Laur
a’sdressi
ngas“ softviol
et”.Thusapictur
eofacal m domest
icsceneissetanda
char
acterwhoisdeep,serene,romanti
candsophisticat
edisproj
ect
edontotheaudience.

Thepl aywri
ghtempl oysdr amat i
ccont rast.Amanda’ sappear ancei ssudden,l i
kean
i
ntrusionont hepeacef ul scene.Theatmospher eisdisturbedandt ensionhangsintheai r
.
Theat tenti
onoft heaudiencei sheldthrought hisdev ice.Thi
sdr amaticcont r
asti
sfurt
her
exploredt hr
ought hedr essofLaur aandAmanda.Laur awear sadr essofsoftv i
olet
mat er
ialwhileAmandawear sacheapori mitati
onofv elv
etylookingcoatwi thathatfi
v e
orsi xy earsold.Thedr essspel l
st ensionasar esultofacut edi ffer
ences.Laura’s
catchi
ngofherbr eathisasi gnthatshei ssur pr
isedorev enf r
ight
ened.Theaudi ence
mightsy mpathise wi t
h Laur a because t heirhear ts would hav e been won byhow
beautiful
lyshewoul dhavebeendepi cted.

Howev er,Laur
a’sact
ionsofthr
usti
ngthebowlofornamentsawaydrawstheaudience’
s
suspici
on.The audience wonder
s whyshe is pr
etendi
ng and i
s worr
ied aboutthe
disharmonybetweenheroutl
ookandwhatsheisactual
lydoi
ng-
decei
vingAmanda.There
i
ssuspenseast owhatisact
ual
lygoingon.

Thesti
ff
nesswit
hwhi chsheseat satt
hetypewrit
eri
singreatcont
rastt
othesof
tnessof
theearl
i
eratmosphere.Itintr
oducesasenseofdi scor
di nt
ot heairandcapt
uresthe
att
ent
ionoft
heaudience.Itsurpr
isest
heaudience.

Thestagedi
rect
ionsbringoutthedif
fer
encesinthetwowomen.Amandaisdepi
ctedas
rat
hergri
m anddr y
,wher easLaur
aisdelicat
e.Eventhei
rnamesseem t
osuggestthe
same:Laura–ev okingasof t
nessandsweet nessandAmandabeingrat
herharshor
masculi
ne.

Thedescri
pti
onofAmanda’sact
ionsal
socr
eatessuspense.Ther
eisav iv
iddescri
pti
on
ofherfaci
alexpr
essi
onsandbodymovements.Al
ltheseareeyecatchi
ng.Forexample,
pur
singli
ps,openi
ngeyesver
ywideandrol
l
ingthem.Allthi
sisverydramati
c.Itmakes

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theaudi
encewonderwhatisgoi
ngonasi
tisanunl
i
kelyr
eact
iontothepeacefulcal
m
atmospher
eprev
ail
ingbef
oreshecomesi
ntot
hehouse.I
thei
ghtenssuspenseamong
theaudi
ence.

Dramati
ctensi
onisachi
evedbyAmanda’ ssl
owentranceandLaur
a’sreact
iontoit
.She
touchesherli
psnervousl
y.Thereissuspenseaboutt henatur
e oft herel
ati
onshi
p
betweenthetwowomen.Thesl ow ent
ranceofAmanda,andt helookingatthedoor
makesherappearl
acki
ngintr
ust,
suspi
ciousandal
solikeaneav
esdropper.

Tensioni
swor senedbyAmanda’ spictur
e-leaningagai nstt
heshutdoorasift
osaythere
i
snowayofescapef orLaura.Theaudi ence’sheartgoest oLaurawhohas“ amatyred
l
ook”.Iti
sasifAmandai sapr edat
orandLaur athepr ey.“Matyr
edlook”
i
salsosuggest i
veofsuff
eringgravely
.Thei deaisfurtherdevel
opedthrought
hepar
adox
“sweetsuff
eri
ngst ar
e”whichcapturesAmanda’ smixedf eel
ingforLaur
a.

TheaudienceisshockedbyAmanda’
sutt
erance“Decept
ion.Decepti
on? ”Theutt
erance
seemsoutofplacebecauseLaur
ainthemindsofmostoft heaudience,istoosweetto
bedecepti
ve.

Exagger ati
on is employed to expose Amanda’ s mel odramat i
c nat ur
e. Through
mel odrama,theint
enseemot i
onsofAmandaar eshown.Let ti
ngt heglovesandt hehat
fallont hefl
oori
sadr amaticactofhopelessnessanddi sappointment.Anditisdoneso
slowlywhent heaudienceisit
chingtoknowwhatt herealissueis.Thedr amacont i
nues
with Amandaspeaki ng fai
ntl
y,butt her
ei snot hi
ng yett o draw audiencesy mpathy
towar dsher.

Againt
her
eisdramati
ccont
rastwhenAmandasay
s“-
No-No.(
Thenmor
efor
cibl
y)“
Idi
d
nothav
ethest
rengt
h……”

Theaudiencemusthav
ebeenf ri
ghtenedbythi
s.I
tcouldev
enmaketheaudi
encej
ump
becausether
eisnowarningthatther
ewillbeachangeint
hepi
tchofAmanda’
svoi
ce.
ThisshowsAmandaasirateandbadtempered.

Thef actthatthereisnohi ntast

owhathashappenedsof ar
,isanef f
ecti
vewayof
creat
ingsuspense.Thereismoredramaint
hetear
ingoft
hediagram.Nowt her
eisalarm,
especiall
ywhent heaudienceandLaur
adoesnotknow whyAmandai sdoingit.Laura
andtheaudi enceareatl
ossast owhyAmandaisacti
ngoutofcontr
ol,makingthelatt
er
sympat heti
ctotheformer.Amandaispr
esent
edhereasshorttempered,t
ooemot ional,
i
rateandv iol
ent.

Thepauseswher eAmandacount
stof
ive,cr
eat
edr
amat
ict
ensi
ont
oget
herwi
tht
he
rhet
ori
cquest
ions;

AMANDA:
Why
?Why
?Howol
dar
eyou,
Laur
a?”

Theyal
soshowAmandaasbei
ngt
ooemot
ional
tober
easonabl
e.

Ver
ydr
amat
ici
sthef
actt
hatt
heunr
avel
i
ngoft
hemy
ster
yonl
ycomesr
ightatt
heend

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andi sabl ow tobot hLauraandt heaudi ence.Thechar acterofLauraint heaudience’

s
mi ndisshat t
ered.Thereisabi gcont r
astbet weent heLaur aintheextractandherr eal
character.Ther evel
ati
onitsel
fisv er
ydr amat icbecauset heaudiencedoesnotseet he
tr
ut hcomi ngunt i
lithi
tsthem.Ther ealchar act
erofLaur ai sofadecei tf
ul,di
shonest,
cunning,craft
y,ner v
ous,shyandpr etent
iousgi rl
.Ont heotherhandt herealcharact
erof
Amandai sofal ovi
ng,concerned,determinedandat ootrusti
ngmot herwhohasbeen
disappointedbyherdaught er
.

Demonst
rat
ion2

Writ
eacrit
icalapprai
saloft
hefol
lowingext
ractfr
om Ar
msandt heManbyBer nard
Shaw,payi
ng attenti
on t
othe ef
fectofthe dramat
ictechni
ques used t
o port
ray
char
act
er.

Theygoi nt
othehouset oget
heraf
fect
ionat
ely.Ser
gius,leftal
onewi thRaina,l
ooks
anxi
ousl
yather
,fear
ingt
hatsheisst
il
lof
fended.Shesmi l
es,andstr
etchesoutherarms
tohi
m.

SERGI
US[
hast
eni
ngt
oher
]Am If
orgi
ven?

RAI
NA[pl
acingherhandsonhisshoul
der
sasshel
ooksupathi
m wi
thadmi
rat
ionand
worship]Myher
o!Myki
ng!

SERGI Heki
US.Myqueen![ ssesheront
hef
orehead]
.

RAI
NA.How Ihaveenvi
edy ou,Sergius!Youhavebeenoutintheworld,ont hefi
eldof
bat
tl
e,abletopr
oveyourselfthereworthyofanywomani
nt heworld;whil
stIhave
hadtositathomeinacti
ve–dr eaming–useless–doi
ngnot hi
ngt hatcoul
dgive
metherightt
ocall
my sel
fwor thyofanyman.

SERGI
US.Dear
est:al
lmydeedshavebeenyour
s.Youinspi
redme.Ihavegonet
hrough
t
hewarl
ikeaknighti
nat
ournamentwi
thhi
sladyl
ookingdownathi
m!

RAI
NA.Andy ouhavenev
erbeenabsentfrom mythought sf
oramoment Ver
.[ ysolemnl
y]
Sergi
us:Ithi
nkwetwohav efoundthehigherlove.WhenIt
hinkofy
ou,If
eelt
hatI
couldneverdoabasedeed,orthi
nkanignoblethought.

SERGI
US.Myl
adyandmysai
nt Hecl
![ aspsherr
ever
ent
ly]
.

RAI r
NA[et
urni
nghi
sembr
ace]Myl
ordandmy–

SERGI
US.Sh–sh!Letmebetheworshipper
,dear
.Youl
i
ttl
eknowhowunwor
thyev
ent
he
bestmani
sofagi
rl
’spur
epassion!

RAI
NA.Itrustyou.Iloveyou.Youwi l
lneverdisappointme,Ser us.[
gi Loukai shear d
si
ngingwithi
nt hehouse.Theyquickl
yrel
easeeachot her
].Ican’
tpr et
endt otalk
i
ndif
ferent
lybefor
eher:myheartistooful
l
.[Loukacomesf rom t
hehousewi thher
tr
ay.Shegoest othetabl
e,andbeginstoclearit
,withherbackturnedtot hem].I
wil
lgetmyhat ;
andthenwecangooutunt ill
uncht i
me.Wouldn’
tyoul i
kethat?

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SERGI
US.Bequi ck.Ifyouar eawayf i
vemi nutes,i
twi llseem fiv
ehour s.[Rai
narunst othe
topoft hest eps,andt ur
nsther etoexchangel ookswi thhim andwav ehi m akiss
wi t
hbot hhands.Hel ooksafterherwi themot ionf oramoment ;thenturnsslowly
away ,hisf acer adiantwi t
hthel ofti
estexal t
ation.Themov ementshi ft
shisf i
eldof
visi
on,i ntothecor nerofwhi cht herenowcomest hetai
lofLouka’ sdoubleapron.
Hisat tenti
oni sar restedatonce.Het akesast ealthylookather,andbeginst otwir
l
hismoust achemi schievousl
y ,withhisl ef
thandaki mboonhi shi p.Fi
nall
y,.St
ri
king
thegr oundwi thhisheel sinsomet hingofacav al
ryswagger ,hest r
oll
sov ertothe
othersi deoft het able,oppositeher ,andsay s]Louka:doy ouknowwhatt hehigher
l
ov eis?

LOUKA[
ast
oni
shed]No,
sir
.

SERGI
US.Veryf
ati
gui
ngthi
ngtokeepupf
oranyl
engt
hoft
ime,
Louka.Onef
eel
stheneed
ofsomer
eli
efaf
teri
t.

LOUKA[i
nnocent
ly]Per
hapsyouwouldlikesomecof
fee,si
r?[
Shest
ret
chesherhand
acr
ossthetablef
orthecof
feepot
].

SERGI
US[
taki
ngherhand]Thanky
ou,
Louka

LOUKA[
pret
endi
ngt
opul
l
]Oh,
sir
,youknowIdi
dn’
tmeant
hat
.I’
m sur
pri
sedaty
ou!

SERGI
US[ comingcl earofthetableanddrawingherwithhim]Iam surprisedatmy sel
f,
Louka.Whatwoul dSergius,t
heheroofSl i
vnit
za,sayifhesaw menow?What
wouldSergius,theapostl
eoft hehi
gherlove,sayifhesawmenow?Whatwoul d
thehalfdozenSer gi
useswhokeeppoppi nginandoutoft hishandsomef igur
eof
minesayi ftheycaughtusher e?[Lett
ing go herhand and sli
pping hisarm
dexter
ouslyroundherwaist]Doyouconsidermyf i
gurehandsome,Louka?

LOUKA.Letmego,si
r.Ishal
lbedi
sgr
aced.[
Shest
ruggl
es:hehol
dsheri
nexor
abl
y]
.Oh,
wi
lly
oul
etgo?

SERGI
US[
looki
ngst
rai
ghti
ntoherey
es]No.

LOUKA.Thenst
andbackwher
ewecantbeseen.Hav
eyounocommonsense?

SERGI
US.Ah!That
’sr
easonable.[
Het
akesheri
ntot
hest
abl
eyar
dgat
eway
,wher
ethey
ar
ehi
ddenfr
om thehouse].

LOUKA[pl
aint
ivel
y]Imayhavebeenseenf
rom t
hewi
ndows:Mi
ssRai
nai
ssur
etobe
spyi
ngaboutaftery
ou.

SERGI
US[ st
ung:l
ett
inghergo]Takecare,Louka.Imaybewor
thl
essenought
obet
rayt
he
hi
gherlov
e;butdonotyouinsul
tit.

LOUKA[
demur
ely
]Notf
ort
hewor
ld,
sir
,I’
m sur
e.MayIgoonwi
thmywor
k,pl
ease,
now?

SERGI
US[
agai
nput
ti
nghi
sar
mroundher
]Youar
eapr
ovoki
ngl
i
ttl
ewi
tch,Louka.I
fyou

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wer
einl
ovewi
thme,
woul
dyouspyoutofwi
ndowsonme?

LOUKA.Well,y
ousee,si
r,si
nceyousayyouar
ehalfadozendi
ff
erentgent
lemenal
lat
once,
Ishoul
dhaveagreatdeal
tol
ookaf
ter
.

SERGI
US[
char
med]Wi
tt
yaswel
laspr
ett
y.[
Het
ri
est
oki
ssher
].

LOUKA[avoi
dinghi
m]No:Idon’
twantyourki
sses.Gent
le-f
olkar
eallali
ke:youmaki
ng
lovetomebehindMi
ssRaina’
sback;
andshedoingthesamebehindyours

SERGI
US[
recoi
l
ingast
ep]Louka!

LOUKA.I
tshewshowl
i
ttl
eyour
eal
l
ycar
e.

Demonst
rat
edanswer

Student
sareexpectedt odiscussthegeneralthemesofdeceitortreacheryandadult
ery
i
nl over
elat
ionshi
ps.Theyar ealsoex pect
edtodiscussthecharactersofRaina,Ser
gius
andLoukaandt hetechniquesused,showingtheimpactoft
hoset echniques.

KEYELEMENTS
- RainaandSergi
usoffer
ingeachot herlipservi
cewhenbehi ndeachother
’s
backstheyar
einvol
vedininfat
uation.
- Loukausedasacomment ator–of fer
ingcomment son“gentl
efol
k”.
- Notetheuseofdramati
cirony,exagger ati
on,suspense,
sati
re.
- Student
sexpect
edtocommenti ndet ailonthestagedir
ecti
ons.

Char
act
erTr
ait
s

Rai
na
- Fl
att
erer–f
lat
ter
sSer
gui
s

- Pr
etent
iousandhy
pocr
it
ical

- Doubl
efaced.

- Appear
st obeforgi
vi
ngbynatur
e,tr
ust
ing,
welli
ntent
ionedandaffect
ionat
e.
Butal
ltheseappeartobesmokescr
eenstohi
dehertruecharact
er.

- Unf
ait
hful
(thoughsuggest
ednotst
atedorseen)
.

Not
e:Thel
astsect
ioni
swhatwegetatf
ir
stsi
ghtont
hechar
act
erofRai
na.

Ser
gius
- Pret
enti
ous–cl aspsRai
narever
entl
y–makeshim apretenderorchar
lat
an.
- Mischi
evous,lustf
ul– steal
thylooksatLouka and beginstot wi
rlhis
moustache.
- Craf
ty
- Doublefaced–whi chmakeshim al
iarandhy
pocr
it
ical

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- Unfai
thf
ul
- Fl
ir
teousandseduct
ive

Louka
- Wi
tt
y,i
ntel
l
igent
,innocentf
rank,
honestandbr
ave.

Dramati
cTechniques
Dramati
cIrony
-tot heaudienceal
ltheactionsofRai
naofbei ngforgivi
ng,aff
ecti
onate,
tr
usti
ngandwel lintenti
onedareovert
urned.Thedramat i
cendoft hepl ayupsetsthe
audi
ence’
sexpectations,
asRainaseemstohav eanaff
airbehi
ndSergius’back.

StageDir
ecti
ons
Incl
udi
ng gestur
es-f
orexamplewhen Rai
nasmi
l
esand str
etchesherar
ms”Sergi
us
appear
st obef orgi
vingbynat
ure”
.Whenshepl
acesherhandsonhisshoul
der
,she
appear
stobeaf f
ecti
onate.

- WhenSer
giusst
eal
thl
ylooksatLoukaandt
wir
lshi
smoust
ache,
hei
smi
schi
evous.

- Whenheput
shi
sar
m ar
oundherandt
ri
est
oki
ssher
,hei
sfl
i
rteousandseduct
ive.

Exagger
ati
on

Rainal
ooksatSer gi
uswi t
h“admirati
onandwor shi
p”.Sergi
usalsoworshi
psRaina,vi
ews
heras“ mysaint”andr ev
erent
lyclaspsesher.Thewor ds“mysaint”becomesi r
onical
.
Thegentleaspect
sexpectedfrom them ar
enotwhatwesee.I ti
sactuall
ytheopposit
e.In
theuseofthewor ds,Loukaistherefor
esati
ri
cal,mocksorlaughsatthefoll
yofSergius
andRaina.

Note:st
udentsshouldexpl
ainindetai
l
,show andsupportt
hei
rpoi
nts.Whathasbeen
giv
enhereisagui del
ine.Astudentmayhaveadiff
erentar
gumentorvi
ew thati
ssti
l
l
accept
able.

Examinat
iontypeQuestions
1 Write a cr
it
icalappreci
ati
on ofthe f
oll
owing ext
ractfr
om Jul
ius Caesarby
Will
iam Shakespearepay
ingat
tent
iontolanguageandtone

Br
utus:Whatsai
dPopi
l
iusLena?

Cassi
usHewi
sh’
dto–dayourent
erpr
isemi
ghtt
hri
ve.

If
earourpur
posei
sdi
scov
ered.

Br
utus:Lookhowhemakest
oCaesar
.Mar
khi
m.

Cassi
us:Casca,
besudden,
forwef
earpr
event
ion.

Br
utus,
whatshal
lbedone?I
fthi
sbeknown,

‘
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elLi
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atur
einEngl
i
shPr
act
ical
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ci
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 99

Cassi
usorCaesarnev
ershal
ltur
nback,
ForIwi
l
lsl
aymy
sel
f.

Br
utus: Cassi
us,
beconst
ant
.

Popi
l
iusLenaspeaksnotofourpur
poses;

Forl
ook,
hesmi
l
es,
andCaesardot
hnotchange.

Cassi
us:Tr
eboni
usknowshi
sti
me;
forl
ooky
ou,

Br
utus,
hedr
awsMar
kAnt
onyoutoft
heway
.

ExeuntAnt
[ onyandTr
eboni
us.

Deci
us:Wher
eisMet
ell
usCi
mber
?Lethi
m go

Andpr
esent
lypr
eferhi
ssui
ttoCaesar
.

Br
utus:Hei
saddr
ess’
d;pr
essnearandsecondhi
m.

Ci
nna:Casca,
youar
ethef
ir
stt
hatr
ear
syourhand.

Caesar
:Ar
eweal
lready
?Whati
snowami
ss?

ThatCaesarandhi
sSenat
emustr
edr
ess?

Met
ell
us:Mosthi
gh,
mostmi
ght
y,andmostpui
ssantCaesar
,

Met
ell
usCi
mbert
hrowsbef
oret
hyseat

Anhumbl
ehear
t[
.Kneel
i
ng.
]

Caesar
:Imustpr
eventt
hee,
Cimber
.

Thesecouchi
ngsandt
hesel
owl
ycour
tesi
es

Mi
ghtf
ir
ethebl
oodofor
dinar
ymen,

Andt
urnpr
e-or
dinanceandf
ir
stdecr
ee

I
ntot
hel
awofchi
l
dren.Benotf
ond

Thatwi
l
lbet
haw’
dfr
om t
het
ruequal
i
ty

Wi
tht
hatwhi
chmel
tet
hfool
s–Imean,
sweetwor
ds,

Low-
crookedcur
tsi
es,
andbasespani
elf
awni
ng.

Thybr
otherbydecr
eei
sbani
shed;

I
fthoudostbend,
andpr
ay,
andf
awnf
orhi
m,

Ispur
ntheel
i
keacuroutofmyway

‘
A’Lev
elLi
ter
atur
einEngl
i
shPr
act
ical
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 100

Know,
Caesardot
hnotwr
ong;
norwi
thoutcause.

Wi
l
lhebesat
isf
ied.

1.Wri
teacr
it
icalapprai
saloft
hefol
lowingpassagef r
om TheTri
alsofBr
otherJer
oby
Wol
eSoyi
nkapay ingatt
enti
ont
ohi sport
rayalofcharact
er.

CHUME:Iam near
lyl
atef
orwor
k.

AMOPE:Iknowy oucan’
twaittogetaway .Youonl
yusey ourworkasanexcuse.AChi
ef
Messengeri ntheLocalGov ernmentOffi
ce– doy oucallthatwor
k?Yourold
schoolfr
iendsarenow Ministers,r
idi
nginlongcars…[Chumeget shi
sbikeand
fl
ees.Amopeshoutsafterhi
m, crani
ngherneckinhisdi
rect
ion.]

AMOPE:Don’tfor
gettobringsomemor ewaterwheny ou’
rereturni
ngfrom work.[
She
rel
apsesandsi ghsheavil
y.]Hedoesn’
treal
izei
tisallforhisowngood.He’ sno
worsethanothermen, buthewon’tmaketheeff
orttobecomesomet hinginl
if
e.A
ChiefMessenger.Am Itogotomygr av
easthewi f
eofaChi efMessenger?

[
Shei sseatedsot hatthePr ophetdoesnoti mmediatel
yseeherwhenheopens
thewindowt obreathesomef reshair
.Hest ar
esstrai
ghtoutforafewmoment s,
thenshutshiseyest i
ght
ly,
claspshi shandst oget
herabovehischest,
chinupl
ift
ed
forafew moment s’medit
ation.Her elaxesandi sabouttogoi nwhenhesees
Amope’sback.Hel eansoutt otryandt akeinther estofherbutt hispr
oves
i
mpossi bl
e.Puzzled,heleavest hewindow andgoesr oundtothedoor ,whi
chis
thenseentoopenaboutaf ootandshutr apidly
.
Amopei scalmlychewingkola.Ast hedoorshut sshetakesoutanotebookanda
penci
landcheckssomef i
gures.

Br
otherJeroboam knowntohiscongregat
ionasBrot
herJero,i
sseenagai
natt
he
wi
ndow, t
histi
mewi thhi
scanvaspouchanddi vi
nesti
ck.Helower
sthebagtot
he
gr
oundeasesonel egoverthewindow.]

AMOPE:[wi
thoutl
ooki
ngback.
]Wheredoy out
hinky
ou’
regoi
ng?[
Brot
herJer
opr
act
ical
l
y
fl
ingshimsel
fbacki
ntothehouse.
]

AMOPE:Onepound,
eightshi
l
li
ngsandni
nepencef
ort
hreemont
hs.Andhecal
l
shi
msel
f
amanofGod.

[
Sheputst
henotebookaway
,unwrapst
hebr
azi
erandpr
oceedst
oli
ghti
t
pr
epar
ator
ytogett
ingbr
eakf
ast.

Thedooropensanot
herf
oot
.]

JERO:[
Coughs.
]Si
ster
….Mydearsi
steri
nChr
ist
…..

AMOPE:Ihopey
ousl
eptwel
l
,Br
otherJer
o….

JERO:Yes,t
hanksbet Hemsandcoughs.
oGod.[ ]I–er–Ihopey
ouhav
enotcomet
o

‘
A’Lev
elLi
ter
atur
einEngl
i
shPr
act
ical
Cri
ti
ci
smPage100
 101

st
andi
nthewayofChr
istandhi
swor
k.

AMOPE:I
fChr
istdoesn’
tst
andi
nthewayofmeandmywor
k.

JERO:Bewar
eofpr
ide,
sist
er.Thatwasasi
nful
waytt
alk.

AMOPE:Listen,you bear
ded debt
or.You owe meonepound,eightand nine.You
promisedy ouwouldpaymet hreemonthsagobutofcour
sey ouhavebeentoo
busydoi ngtheworkofGod.Well,l
etmetel
lyout
hatyouarenotgoi
ngany wher
e
unti
lyoudoabi tofmyownwor k.

JERO:Butt
hemoneyi
snoti
nthehouse.Imustgeti
tfr
om t
hepostof
fi
cebef
oreIcan
payy
ou.

AMOPE:[f
anni
ngt
hebr
azi
er.
]You’
l
lhav
etot
hinkofsomet
hingel
sebef
orey
oucal
lmea
fool
.

Br
otherJer
oboam shut
sthedoor
.

Awomant
radergoespastwi
thadeepcal
abashbowl
onherhead.
]

AMOPE:Ei
,whatar
eyousel
l
ing?

[
Thet
raderhesi
tat
es,
deci
dest
ocont
inueonherway
.]

AMOPE:I
sn’
tity
ouI
’m cal
l
ing?Whathav
eyougott
her
e?

TRADER:[
stops,
wit
houtt
urni
ngr
ound.
]Ar
eyoubuy
ingf
ort
radeorj
ustf
ory
our
sel
f?

AMOPE:I
tmi
ghthel
pify
ouf
ir
stt
oldmewhaty
ouhav
e.

TRADER:Smokedf
ish.

AMOPE:Wel
l
,let
’sseei
t.

TRADER:[
hesi
tat
es.
]Al
lri
ght
,hel
pmet
oseti
tdown.ButIdon’
tusual
l
yst
opont
heway
.

AMOPE:I
sn’
titmoneyy
ouar
egoi
ngt
othemar
ketf
or,
andi
sn’
titmoneyI‘
m goi
ngt
opay
you?

TRADER:[
asAmopeget supandunloadsher.
]Well,j
ustr
ememberi
tisear
lyi
nthe
mor
ning.Don’
tst
artmeof
fwrongbyhaggli
ng.

AMOPE:Al
lri
ght
,al
lri
ght
.[Looksatt
hef
ish.
]Howmuchadozen?

TRADER:Oneandt
hree,
andI
’
m nott
aki
ngapennyl
ess.

AMOPE:I
tisl
astweek’
s,i
sn’
tit
?

TRADER:I
’
vet
oldyou,
you‘
remyf
ir
stcust
omer
,sodon’
trui
nmyt
radewi
tht
hei
l
l-l
uckof
t
hemor
ning.

‘
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atur
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AMOPE:[
hol
dingoneupt
ohernose.
]Wel
l
,itdoessmel
labi
t,doesn’
tit
?

TRADER:[
put
ti
ngbackt
hewr
appi
ng.
]May
bei
tisy
ouwhohav
en’
thadabat
hforaweek.

AMOPE:May
bei
tisy
ouwhohav
en’
thadabat
hforaweek.

AMOPE:Yeh!Al
lri
ght,goon.Abuseme.Goonandabusemewhenal lIwant
edwasa
fewofyourmiserabl
efish.Ideser
veitf
ort
ryi
ngt
obenei
ghbour
lywi
thacr
oss–
eyedwret
ch,apauperthatyouare….

TRADER:Iti
searl
yint
hemor ni
ng,Iam notgoingtoletyoui nf
ectmyluckwithy
ourfoul
tonguebyansweri
ngy ouback.Andj ustyoukeepy ourcursedfi
ngersf
rom my
goodsbecauset
hatiswhereyou’
l
l meetwiththefatherofall
devil
sify
oudon’
t.

[
Shel
i
ftst
hel
oadt
oherheadal
lbyher
sel
f.
]

AMOPE:Yes,goon.Car
ryt
hebur
denofy
ourcr
imesandt
akey
ourbeggar
’sr
agsoutof
mysight….

TRADER:Il
eaveyouinthehandsofy
ourf
lat
ulentbel
l
y,y
oubar
rensi
nner
.Mayy
ounev
er
dogoodinal
lyourl
if
e.

AMOPE:You’
recur
singmenow,
arey
ou?

[
Shel
eapsupj
usti
nti
met
oseeBr
otherJer
oescapet
hrought
hewi
ndow.
]

Help!Thief
!Thi
ef!Youbeardedrogue.Cal
lyour
sel
fapr
ophet
?Buty
ou’
l
lfi
ndi
tis
easiert
ogetoutthantogetin.

You’
l
lfi
ndt
hatoutormynamei
sn’
tAmope….

[
Shet
urnsont
het
raderwhohasal
readydi
sappear
ed.
]

Doy
ouseewhaty
ouhav
edone,
youspi
ndl
e–l
egt
oad?

Recei
verofst
olengoods,
justwai
tunt
ilt
hepol
i
cecat
chupwi
thy
ou….
.

2. Inthef ol
l
owingpassagefrom Wai ti
ngforGodotbySamuelBeckett
). Estr
agon
andVl adi
miraretry
ingto” t
aket hei
rli
ves”becausetothem t
heworldisful
lof
tr
oublesandmi seri
es.Theyhav etri
edtowai tforGodottohel
pthem endthei
r
suff
eringbutGodothasfai
ledtoturnup.
Wr
it
eacriti
calcomment ar
yoftheextractpayi
ngattent
iontoit
’sdr
amati
ctechni
ques.

ESTRAGON : Ohy
es,
let
’sgof
arawayf
rom her
e.

VLADI
MIR : Wecan’
t.

ESTRAGON : Whynot
?

VLADI
MIR : Wehav
etocomebackt
omor
row

ESTRAGON : Whatf
or?

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atur
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VLADI
MIR : Towai
tforGodot

ESTRAGON : Si
Ah!( l
ence)
.Hedi
dn’
tcome?

VLADI
MIR : No.

ESTRAGON : Andnowi
t’
stool
ate.

VLADI
MIR : Yes,
nowi
t’
sni
ght

ESTRAGON : Andi
fwedr
oppedhi Pause)I
m?( fwedr
oppedhi
m?

VLADI
MIR : He’
dpuni Si
shus.( l
ence.Hel
ooksatt
het
ree.
)

ESTRAGON : l
(ooki
ngatt
het
ree)
.Whati
sit
?

VLADI
MIR : I
t’
sthet
ree.

ESTRAGON : Yes,
butwhatki
nd?

VLADI
MIR : Idon’
tknow.Awi
l
low.

(Estr
agondrawsVladi
mirt
owar
dst
het
ree.Theyst
andmot
ionl
ess
beforei
t.Si
l
ence)
.

ESTRAGON : Whydon’
twehangour
sel
ves?

VLADI
MIR : Wi
thwhat
?

ESTRAGON : Youhav
en’
tgotabi
tofr
ape?

VLADI
MIR : No.

ESTRAGON : Thenwecan’
t Si
.( l
ence)

VLADI
MIR : Let
’sgo.

ESTRAGON : Wai
t;t
her
e’smybel
t.

VLADI
MIR : I
t’
stooshor
t.

ESTRAGON : Youcoul
dhangont
omyl
egs.

VLADI
MIR : Andwho’
dhangont
omi
ne?

ESTRAGON : Tr
ue

VLADI
MIR : Show al
lthesame.(Estr
agonloosenst hecordthatholdsuphi s
tr
ouser
swhicharetoobigforhi
m.Theyf al
lsabouthi
sankles.They
l
ookatthecor
d.)I
tmightdoatapinch.Buti
sitstr
ongenough?

ESTRAGON : We’
l
lsoonsee.Her
e

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atur
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Theyeacht
( akeanendoft
hecor
dandpul
l
.Itbr
eaks.They

al
mostf
all
).

VLADI
MIR : Notwor
thacur Si
se.( l
ence)

ESTRAGON : Yousaywehav
etocomebackt
omor
row?

VLADI
MIR : Yes.

ESTRAGON : Thenwebr
ingagoodbi
tofr
ope.

VLADI
MIR : Si
Yes.( l
ence)

ESTRAGON : Di
di

VLADI
MIR : Yes

ESTRAGON : Ican’
tgoonl
i
ket
his.

VLADI
MIR : That
’swhaty
out
hink

ESTRAGON : I
fwepar
ted?Thatmi
ghtbebet
terf
orus.

VLADI
MIR : We’
l
lhangour
sel
vest
omor
r Pause)Unl
ow.( essGodotcomes.

ESTRAGON : Andi
fhecomes?

VLADI
MIR : We’
l
lbesav
ed.

Vl
( adimirt
akesof fhi
shat(
Lucky
’s)peersinsi
deit
,feel
sabouti
nsi
de
i
t,shakesi
t,knocksonthecr
own,putsitonagain.

ESTRAGON : Wel
l
?Shal
lwego

VLADI
MIR : Pul
lony
ourt
rouser
s.

ESTRAGON : What
?

VLADI
MIR : Pul
lony
ourt
rouser
s?

ESTRAGON : Youwantmet
opul
lof
fmyt
rouser
s?

VLADI
MIR : Pul
lony
ourt
rouser
s.

ESTRAGON : r
(eal
i
zinghi
str
ouser
sar
edown)
.Tr
ue

Hepul
l
suphi
str
ouser
s.

VLADI
MIR : Wel
l
?Shal
lwego?

ESTRAGON : Yes,
let
’sgo.

‘
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elLi
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atur
einEngl
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Theydonotmov
e.

CURTAI
N
Wri
teacr i
ti
calappreci
ati
onoft hefol
lowingpassagefrom Ant
onyandCl
eopat
raby
Wil
li
am Shakespear
epayingat
tenti
ontolanguageandtone.

Ent
er,
bel
ow,
Ant
ony
,bor
nebyt
heGuar
d.

Cl
eopat
ra:
Osun,

Bur
nthegr
eatspher
ethoumov
’sti
n!

Dar
kli
ngst
and

Thev
ary
ingshor
eo’
th’
wor
ld.OAnt
ony
,

Ant
ony
,Ant
ony
!Hel
p,Chai
rman;
hel
p,I
ras,
hel
p;

Hel
p,f
ri
endsbel
ow!Let
’sdr
awhi
m hi
ther
.

Ant
ony Peace!

NotCaesar
’sv
alourhat
ho’
ear
thr
ownAnt
ony
,

ButAnt
ony
’shat
htr
iumph’
doni
tsel
f.

Cl
eopat
ra:
Soi
tshoul
dbe,
thatnonebutAnt
ony

Shoul
dconquerAnt
ony
;butwoe‘
ti
sso!

Ant
ony
:Iam dy
ing,
Egy
pt,
dyi
ng;
onl
y

Iher
eimpor
tunedeat
hawhi
l
e,unt
il

Ofmanyt
housandki
ssest
hepoorl
ast

Il
ayupont
hel
i
ps.

Cl
eopat
ra: Idar
enot
,dear
.

Dearmyl
ord,
par
don!Idar
enot
.

LestIbet
aken.Nott
h’i
mper
ici
ousshow

Oft
hef
ull
-f
ort
un’
dCaesarev
ershal
l

Bebr
ooch’
dwi
thme.I
fkni
fe,
drugs,
ser
pent
s,hav
e

Edge,
sti
ngoroper
ati
on,
Iam saf
e.

Yourwi
feOct
avi
a,wi
thher
emodestey
es

‘
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atur
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 106

Andst
il
lconcl
usi
on,
shal
lacqui
renohonour

Demur
inguponme.Butcome,
come,
Ant
ony
-

Hel
pme,
mywomen-
wemustdr
awt
heeup;

Assi
stgoodf
ri
ends.

Ant
ony
: O,
qui
ck,
orIam gone.

Cl
eopat
ra:
Her
eisspor
tindeed!Howheav
ywei
ghsmyl
ord!

Ourst
rengt
hisal
lgonei
ntoheav
iness;

Thatmakest
hewei
ght
.Hear
dIgr
eatJuno’
spower
,

Thest
rong–wi
ng’
dMer
cur
yshoul
dfet
cht
heeup,

Andsett
heebyJov
e’ssi
de.Yetcomeal
i
ttl
e.

Wi
sher
swer
eev
erf
ool
s.Ocome,
come,
come,

Theyheav
[ eAnt
onyal
oftt
oCl
eopat
ra.

Andwel
come,
wel
come!Di
ewher
ethouhastl
i
v’d.

Qui
ckenwi
thki
ssi
ng.Hadmyl
i
pst
hatpower
,

Thuswoul
dIweart
hem out
.

Al
l
:Aheav
ysi
ght
!

5. Wri
teacrit
icalappr eci
ati
onofthefoll
owingextr
actfrom TheRuf
fi
anont heStai
r
[
1967]byJoeOr tonshowi nghow ef
fecti
vel
yindramatict
ermsthewri
tercapt
ures
t
hethought
sandf eeli
ngsofJoyceasthesceneunfol
ds.

Mor
ning

JOYCEpausesi
ncl
eani
ngt
her
oom.

JOYCE.Ican’
tgot
hepar
k.Ican’
tsi
toncol
dst
one.Imi
ght

getpi
l
esf
rom t
hel
ower
edt
emper
atur
e.Iwoul
dn’
twant

t
hem ont
opofev
ery
thi
ngel
se.

Sheput
sdownt
hedust
er,
apat
het
ical
l
y.

I
’
dtr
y,may
be,
apr
ayer
.Butt
heVi
rgi
nwoul
dtur
nadeaf

eart
oaPr
otest .[
ant Pause]
.Ican’
tbeasal
oneasal
lthat
.

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Nobodyoughtt
obe.I
t’
shear
tbr
eaki
ng.

Shel
i
stens.Ther
eissi
l
ence.

Thenumberofhumi
l
iat
ingadmi
ssi
onIh’
vemade.You’
d

Thi
nki
twoul
ddr
awmecl
osert
osomebody
.Buti
tdoesn’
t.

Thr
eeshor
tri
ngsar
egi
venont
hedoor
bel
l
.

Who’
sther
e?

Noanswer
.

Whatdoy ?[
ouwant Maki
nguphermi
nd]I
;
IIanswert
he

Doort
onoone.Theycanhammeri
tdown.[
Pause]
.Isi
tthe

k?[
Mi
l Cal
l
ing]
.Ar
eyoudeaf
?No,
itwoul
dn’
tbehi
m.He

Onl
yri
ngsf
orhi
smoney
.

Shest
andsbehi
ndt
hedoor
.

[
Loudl
y]
.Ar
eyoui
nsur
ance?[
Pause]
.Buthecomeson

Fr
iday
.Thi
sisaWednesday
.

Shebacksawayf
rom t
hedoor
,anxi
ous.

.[
NobodycomesofaWednesday Shebendsdownandpeeps

Thr
ought
hel
ett
er-
box]
.Ifi
t’
smoneyy
ou’
reaf
ter
,ther
e’s

Notat
hingi
nmypur
se.

Shebi
tesherl
i
p,st
andi
ngi
nthought
.

[
Loudl
y]
.Ar
eyouf
rom t
heAssi
stance?Theycomeany

t
ime.Ihav
ehadt
hem onMonday
.Theycomewhenev
ert
hey

choose.I
t’
sri .Wi
ght thasmi
l
eandgr
owi
ngconf
idence]
.

You’
ret
heAssi
stance,
aren’
tyou?[
Herv
oicer
ises]
.Ar
eyou

Orar
en’
tyou?

Gl
assi
shear
dbr
eaki
ngf
rom t
hebedr
oom.Sher
unst
othe

ent
ranceoft
hebedr
oom andl
eapsback,
star
tl
ed;
api
eceof

br
ickhasbeent
hrownt
hrought
hewi
ndow.JOYCEst
ares,
her

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mout
htr
embl
i
ng.Anot
herpi
eceofbr
ickhur
tl
est
hrought
he

wi
ndow,
smashi
nganot
herpane.

[
Scr
eami
ng]
.It
’shi
m!He’
sbr
eaki
ngi
n.GodAl
might
y,what

shal
lIdo?He’
I
Imur
derme!

Shest
ampsont
hef
loor
.

Mar
y!Mar
y!

Sher
unst
othedoor
,opensi
tandr
unsouti
ntot
hepassage.

herf
rant
ict
onescanbehear
dcr
ying:

Mr
sO’
Connor
!Mr
sO’
Connor
!

Sher
unsbacki
ntot
her
oom;
slamst
hedoorshut
.

Thel
ockdr
opswi
thacr
ashont
hef
loor
.Shepi
cksi
tupst
ares

ati
tandt
henshr
iekswi
thf
ri
ght
.

I
t’
scomeof
f!I
t’
sbr
oke!

Shet
ri
est
ofi
tthel
ockbackont
hedoor
.

I‘
vet
oldhi
m soof
ten.I
’
vet
oldhi
mto–mendi
t!

Shegi
vesbr
eat
hless.Thenshet
ri
est
opul
ltheset
teeout

i
ntot
her
oom,
butgi
vesupandpi
cksupachai
rwhi
chshe

pushesagai
nstt
hedoorandsi
tson.

He’
I
Ieasi
l
yfl
i
ngt
hisasi
de.Oh,
Michael
,I
’mt
obemur
der
ed

Becausey
ou’
ret
oobonei
dlet
ofi
xal
ock.

Ther
eisapr
olongedr
ingi
ngont
hedoorbel
l

Letmeal
one!I
’
m goi
ngt
orepor
tyou.I
’
veseent
hem att
he

st
ati
on.They
’vesetat
rap.I
’
m saf
eher
e.Wehav
ean

ext
remel
yst
rongandr
eli
abl
eChubbl
ockont
hedoor
.So

y
ou’
ret
rapped.Ha,
Ha!Thedet
ect
ivesar
ewat
chi
ngt
he

house.

Thef
rontdoori
ski
cked.Thechai
rpushesawayandJOYCE

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i
sfl
ungasi
de.Shebacksi
ntot
hebedr
oom.

I
fit
’st
heguny
ouwant
,Idon’
tknowwher
ehe’
sputi
t.

He’
stakeni
t.[
Pause]
.Imaybeabl
etof
indi
t.I
sthatwhat

Youwant
?

Out
sidet
hedoorabur
stofmusi
cishear
dfr
om at
ransi
stor

r
adi
o.Ther
eisknocki
ng.Thebel
lri
ngs.Asuddensi
l
ence.

Laught
er.Si
l
ence.Aspl
i
nter
ingofwood.

JOYCEcal
[ l
sshr
il
ly
].I
’
vet
oldhubby
.He’
sseei
ngsome-

one.You’
I
Ilaughont
heot
hersi
deofy
ourf
ace.

Suddenl
y,gi
vi
ngupal
lpr
etence,
shebur
stsi
ntot
ear
s.

Goaway
.Ther
e’sagoodboy
.Idon’
tknowwhaty
ouwant
.

I
’
venomoney
.Pl
easegoaway
.Pl
easegoaway
.Pl
ease,
please,
please…….

[
Shesobs]
.

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Chapt
er6
Cr
ossappr
eci
ati
onofl
it
erat
uregenr
es

Lear
ningobj
ect
ives

Af
terst
udy
ingt
hischapt
eroneshoul
dbeabl
eto:

a)Showanunder
standi
ngofcr
ossgenr
eappr
eci
ati
on

b)Out
li
net
hemai
nchal
l
engesassoci
atedwi
thcr
ossappr
eci
ati
onofl
i
ter
atur
egenr
es

c)Exami
net
her
elev
antappr
oachest
othecr
ossanal
ysi
sofgi
vengenr
es

d)Compar
eandcont
rastgi
venpassages,
poemsandorpl
ays

Int
roduction
Thecor e-busi
nessofli
teraturestudyis“t
heAppreciation,”oft
exts;extr
actsort
heent i
re
setbook.Commentandappr eci
ationisusual
lydi
rectedt owardsonepar ti
cul
argenr e.
How, forinst
ance,dower eacttoasi t
uati
onrequi
ringonet ocompar eandcontr
astPr ose
andpoet ryordrama?Thischapt erai
mst ogivest
udent sandt eachersageneralhinton
howt ogoabouti twhencompar i
ngandcont r
asti
ngliteraryworkstakenf r
om di
fferent
genres.

Theappr oach
Thef undament alpointt onot eincr ossappr eciat
ioni st hatitt estsf orawhol i
sti
c
knowl edgeofal lt
hel i
teraturegenr es.Ther eforei nor dertoef fecti
velytackl equest i
ons
requiringcr ossappreciation,oneshoul dbeawar eofal lmai nst epsi nappr eciati
onof
l
iterature.Theski l
lsthatar er equiredwhencompar i
ngpr osepassagesoradr amaand
poet ryarethesame, butthecompar i
sonshoul dbei nthelightoft hegenr esused.I nt hi
s
l
ight,we woul d suggestt hatone r ev
isi
tst he ear li
erchapt er st hatdeal twi tht he
appr eciati
onofdi ff
erentgenr es.Crossappr eciationist herefor
eanov er
al lappr eciati
on
offal ll i
ter
aturegenr esst illcentering onv ari
ousaspect sofl i
terat
urer angingf r
om
treatmentoft hesubj
ect ,
at t
itudeoft hewr i
ters’tone, tostyli
sticandnar rat
iv efeat ures.

Met
hodol
ogy

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Thegener almet hodol ogywedi scussedi near l

ierchapt er
sappl iestocr ossappr eciat
ion
ofgenres.Themai nchal lengeispsy chological,thati nherentf earinourmi ndsof“ getti
ng
i
tright”
.Tot hisef f
ectweshoul dfir
ml ypl aceinourmi ndt hedef init
ionandv al
ueof
l
it
er at
urewhi chwedi scussedi nthef i
rstchapter ,thati sthest udyofwor ksofli
teraryart,
whichist heexpr essionofhumant houghtandf eelingi nwr itt
enf ormi nt hemedi umsof
prose,dramaorpoet ry.Ther efor
eliteraturegenr esal l springfrom onebasi cfoundation
whichis:thepr ofounddesi rebyhumani tytoexpr essi deasondi fferentaspectsofl if
e.
Ourpr i
ncipalmot iv
ei nappr eci
ati
oni st oestablisht hemai ni deabehi ndapi eceofwr i
ti
ng.
Weexpl orethev ariousway sinwhicht hewr it
erhaspr esent edthesubj ectaswel l
as
makeanev aluationont heef f
ecti
venessofl i
terar yandl inguistictechniquesint he
presentati
onoft hesubj ect.

I
mpor
tantpoi
ntst
onot
e

 Identi
fythemainsubj
ectofdi
scussioninbot
hgenr
es.Inmosti
nst
ancesthe
subjectbetweent
wodiffer
entext
ractsbei
ngcomparedist
hesame.Whatdif
fer
s
i
st hemannerofpresent
ati
on.

 Explai
nthedevel
opmentoft hesubj
ectmat t
ernoti
ngparti
cularuseofgenre-
specif
icl
ingui
sti
ctechni
quesinthedevelopmentofthemaini dea.Thi
swill
prov
e
tothemainpointofvari
anceasdiff
erentgenresar
epresenteddi f
fer
entl
y.

 Considertheuseandi mpactoflit
erarydevicesi
nt hedevelopmentofthesubj
ect
mat t
er.Atthi
spoi ntwet akeparti
cularnoteofgeneraldevi
cesthatapplyt
oallthe
genresaswel lasot herdevi
cesthatmaybegenr e-specif
icinnat
ure,t
hiswil
lform
areasofsimil
ar i
tyandcont rastr
espectivel
y.

 Ev
aluatethegener
alef
fecti
venessofeachwr i
teri
nthepresent
ati
onoft
hesubject
di
scussingi
ssuessuchasthemood. tonefeel
ingsetc.Att
hispoi
ntwecanmake
aj
udgementonwhi chpieceofwrit
ingpresent
edthesubjectmatt
eri
nastronger
manneretc.

Remembert hatwhencompar ingandcontrast

ingpiecesofworkweuset het
ennis
ballt
echniquewedi scussedinchapterthr
ee.Attheendoft hedayt
heessaywe
presentshouldbeinterwovenwithrefer
encesandev aluat
ionsf
rom bot
hgenres.

Compr ehensionlev
el
Theiniti
alstageincrossappr eciat
ionisgettingthesenseoft heextracts.Rememberwe
havetohav earoundknowl edgeoft hecharacter
isti
csofthegenr esbeing,contr
astedi
n
ordertogetagr aspoft hest ory.Thiscall
sf oratt
enti
venoticetot hewriter
’suseof
di
ctionandpr esent
ationofchar acters.
Ther eaderhastolookatt heway sinwhich
emot i
ons,ideasandmov ement sareconv eyed.Thesehelpther eadertogainmor e
i
nformat i
onaboutchar actersandt hesit
uationinthepassage.

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B)Judgementl
evel

Thisist hestageinwhi chwebr eakdownt hegivenext ractsinsmal l

erunitsthatcan
beeasi l
ydeal twith.Forexampl e,breaki
ngapoem i ntost anzasorl i
nes,apassage
i
nt oparagraphicunitsetc.Thi
swi l
lmakei tpossi
bleforust ofocusoni denti
fi
edlines.
Themai npointi stocommentonf orexampl et heef fectofdialoguebet weent wo
charactersont hedev elopmentoft heplay.Thewr i
ter’suse,oflanguaget opor tray
characterinapoem orpr osepassage.Wenot ealsot heaut hor
suseofdr amaticand
l
iterar
yt echniquesont heef f
ectofwhati sbeingsai d.Not ethatwecommenton
aspectst hatar ecur r
entlybeforeusascompar ed to onl ymaking asummat ive
comment

Weshoul dal socommentontheuseofl anguageinthedevelopmentandpresentati

on
ofthechar acter
saswellasthethemat icplotoftheext
ract,noti
nganysimilari
ti
esor
diff
erencesi nthemannerofpr esentati
on.Not ethatweshoul d alsogiv
ecr edibl
e
reasonsonwhyandhowt hewri
tersgr aduall
ydevelopt
heirconcerns.Inotherwords
weshoul didentif
yandexplai
nthei ssuesthatwehav erai
sedasandwhent heyhave
beenr ai
sed,commentingonanysi milar
ityofdif
fer
ence.

C)Ev
aluat
ionl
evel

Thisisthestagewher ewemakeanassessmentoft heimpactoftheextractsasa

whole.Focusisont hehol i
sti
ccommentont hepresentat
ionofthewrit
erssubj ects
vi
sav i
sthei
rintenti
onandorr elat
ionshipwitht
her eaderorcri
ti
c.Weev aluatet he
generalfeel
i
ngs ev oked byt he extract
s as wel
las t he mood and tone oft he
present
ati
ons.Weshoul dnot eanychangei npar
ti
cularelementsoftheextracts,for
example,arethef eeli
ngsconst antthroughout,aret hecharacter
sstati
c,didt he
writ
ersuseauniform styl
ethroughout ?etc.

NB: I
ti sv er
yimpor tantt onot ethatcommentandappr eciat
ionofdi f
ferentgenr es
dependsonourper sonal j
udgementandexper i
ence.Iti sourdut ytoreadwi del
ysoast o
familiari
seour selveswi thanumberofwr iti
ngst y
leset c.Weur gelearner stoengagei n
readingav ari
etyoft extsacr ossal lthegenreanddesi stf r
om thehabi tofbei ngensl aved
toonl yonef orm ofl i
terature.Indoi ngsoweshal lbeabl etogaincrit
ical appreciation
skil
lst hatwillenableust ot ackleal lgenreswithease, bei tcrossappr eciati
onort he
gener alindependentanal ysis.I
nt hef inal
analysiswest atethatthegui deli
nesgi venher e
arenoti nanywayexhaust ivebutser veasimplepur poseofest abl
ishingaf oundat i
onon
whichst udentsdev elopthebasi ccrossappr eciati
onandanal ysistechniquesandi nthe
l
ongr undev el
opt heirownappr eciationstyl
esthatar ecommensur atewi ththeir
experience, i
nl i
ter
ar yandl inguisti
cdev el
opment .

Demonst
rat
ions

1. Compareandcont
rastt
hef oll
owingpassagesfr
om “TheGrassI
sSinging(1950)
byDori
sLessingwiththepoem” ,TheZul uGir
lbyRoyCampbel l(1901-
1957).
Doesyourst
udyofoneclar
ifyyourreadi
ngoftheot
herinanyway?

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TheZul uGi rl
Wheni nt hesun, t
hehotr edacr essmoul der
Downwher ethesweat inggangi t’slabourpl i
es
Agirlfl
ingsdownherhoe, andf rom hershoul der
Unsli
ngsherchi l
dtor ment edbyt hef l
ies
Shetakeshi mtoar ingofshadowpool ed
Bythorn-treespurpledwi t
ht hebl oodoft icks
Whilehershar pnails, i
nslowcar essesr uled
Prowl t
hroughhi shai rshar pelect r
icclicks
Hissleepymout hpluggedbyt heheav ynipple
Tugslikeapuppy ,gruntingashef eds
Throughhi sf r
ail
ner vesherowndeepl anguor’sr
ippl
e
Li
keabr oadr i
versighingt hroughi tsreeds

Yetinthatdr owsystream hi sfleshimbibes

Anoldunquenchedunsot herabl eheat-
Thecurbedf erocit
yofbeat entribes
Thesullendignityoftheirdef eat
Herbodyl oomsabov ehiml i
keahi ll
Withi
nwhoseshadeav i
llagel i
esatr est,
Orthefirstcloudsot err
ibleandst i
ll
Thatbear sthecomi nghar vesti nit
’sbreast.

TheGr
assI
sSi
ngi
ng

Hi
sey eswer einf
lamed:shecoul dseehehadbeendr inking.Shesai dinkitchenkaf
fir
:
‘
Gettheboy sont othelandsint enmi nut
es’
.‘Thebossi sbet t
er?’heaskedwi t
hhosti
le
i
ndif
ference.Shei
gnoredt hequestion,
andsaid,‘
Youcant ell
them thatIwil
ltaketwoand
si
xofft heti
cketofever
y oneoft hem thati
sn’
tatwor kint enmi nutes.‘
Shehel douther
wri
standpoi nt
edtothewat ch,showinghimthetimeinterval.

Themansl ouchedandst oopedi nt hesunshine,r esenti

ng herpr esence;thenat ive
womenst aredandl aughed;thef i
lt
hy ,underf
edchi l
dr encrowdedar ound,whisperingto
eachot her ;thestarveddogssl unkint hebackgroundamongt hev i
nesandmeal i
es.She
hatedt hepl ace,whichshenev erenteredbefore.‘Fi
l
thysav ages!’shethoughtvi
ndictivel
y.
Shel ookedst r
aightintothereddened,beer -
cloudedey esoft heheadman,andr epeated.
‘
Tenmi nutes’.Thent urnedandwal kedof fdownt hewi ndingpat hthrought hetrees,
l
isteningf orthesoundsoft henat i
vest ur
ningoutoft hehutsbehindher .

Shesati nthecarwai ti
ng,besi dethel andwher esheknew t heywer esupposedt obe
reapingmai ze.Aft
erhalfanhouraf ewst rugglersarriv
ed,t heheadboyamongt hem.At
theendofanhournotmor et hanhalfoft hel abourerswer epresent :somehadgone
visiti
ngtoneighbouringcompoundswi thoutper mission,somel aydr unkinthei
rhuts.She
calledtheheadboyt oher,andt ookdownt henamesoft hosewhower eabsent
,wr i
ti
ng
them i nherbigawkwar dhandonascr apofpaper ,spel l
ingt heunf amili
arnameswi t
h
diffi
culty
.Sher emainedtheret hewholemor ning,wat chingt hestruggli
ngl i
neofwor ki
ng
boy s,thesungl ari
ngdownt hroughtheol dcanv ashoodont oherbar ehead.Ther e
reluctantl
y,i
nasullensilence;andsheknewi twasbecauset heyresentedher,awoman,

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super
visi
ngt
hem.

Demonst
rat
edanswer

Thepassageandt hepoem arebot

haboutoppressi
onandexploi
tat
iont
hatgroupsof
peoplearesubj
ectedto.Inbot
hthepassageandthepoem,ther
eseem tobeaspiri
tof
resi
stanceanddefiancethati
sbuil
dingupwit
hintheoppr
essed.I
nbothpresent
ati
ons
tensi
onhangsintheair.

Thepassagei si nt hirdper sonnarrat

ivewhichal l
owst henarratortogi vef ulldetai
lsof
theexploit
at i
onandsuf f
eringthatpeopl
ear eexposedt o.Thewr iterinterspacesher
narrat
ivewithgr aphi cdescr i
pti
onsofthepeopl e,thei
rdogsandt heat mospher ear ound
them forexampl et he“ fi
l
thy,underf
edchil
drencr owded”the‘st
arv ed’
dogs“ slunk,
”cr eate
pict
uresofsi ck,mal nouri
shedpeopl esuffer
ingundert hegr i
pofpov erty.Thisgr i
m
pict
ureisal sopor tray edint hepoem.Thechi ldi s“si
ckly”,hasa‘ sleepy’mout h,f rai
l
nervesandi sdr owsy .Sobot ht
hepassageandt hepoem showt hegr imr ealit
iesthatar e
productsofoppr ession.

Inbothi nstancest heenv i

ronmentunderwhi chpeopl ewor kisshownt obehost i
le,
unfr
iendl
yandunconduci ve.Thi sisshownt hroughgr aphicimages,forexampl einthe
poem thepoetr efersto“ r
edhotacr essmoul der”showingexcessiveheatfrom thesun,
thethornt r
eessuggest iv
eofhar dshi
ps,“ bloodoft i
cks”suggestiv
eofexpl oi
tati
onand
thefli
est hattormentt hechild.Simil
arlyint hepassaget heenvi
ronmentsseem t obe
fi
lt
hysqual i
dandunconduci ve.Thesuni s“ glari
ng”whi chissuggestiv
eofexcessi veor
extr
emeheatwhi chshouldbeunder stoodnotj ustli
terarybuti
sal sosymbol i
coft he
angerandt hespiritofdef
iancethatisbuildingupwi thi
nt hetwogroupsoflabourers.

Anger,resent mentandbi tt
ernesshangi nt heairinbotht hepassageandthepoem.The
writ
eri nt he passage capt ures the resentmentt hrough words such as “
slouched”
rel
uctantly”stoopedand‘ sull
en’.Thepoem showsi tthr
oughwor dssuchas‘unquenched’
“unsmot herable”“f
eroci
ty”“terr
ible”
,loomsand‘ sul
len’
.Whi l
ethedicti
oninthepassage
seemst obr i
ngoutdi si
nterestanddi scomf or
t,theonei nthepoem isami l
it
antprotest
againstoppr essi
on.

Thoughi tistr uetosaybot hthepassageandt hepoem deal withoppression,thelev

elsat
whichtheydealwi t
hoppr essiondi ff
er.Thepassageseemst odealwi thoppressionona
l
iter
arylev elwhi l
et hepoem t akesoppr essiontoadeeperl evelwhichi ssy mboli
calor
metaphor i
cal .Thisi sshownbyt heprevalenceofsy mbol sinthepoem asopposedt othe
passage.Someoft hesy mbol sint hepoem ar ethechi ld,i
tsgai ni
ngofst rength,asymbol
oftheawakeni ngofonceaweaknat ionthatisnowr eadyt odef enditsdignit
y.The“cloud”
i
sal sosy mbol i
coff orcesofchange,t hissy mboli sfurtherdev el
opedt hroughtheimage
of“harvest”.Thesy mbolofmot herandchi ldrepresent sanat ionthatisfosteri
ngspiri
tof
resi
stancet oi tsy ounggener ation.Themet aphoricallevelmakest heissuesraisedinthe
poem subt lert hanthoseraisedi nt hepassage.

Thei
ronyi
nthet
wowor
ksi
sthati
nthepoem,t
hewoman(
theZul
uGi
rl
)isav
ict
im of

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oppressionwhi leinthepassageawomanseem t obeaper pet

ratorofthatoppr ession.
Throught hepresentat
ionoftheZul uGi r
lt hepoetevokesfeeli
ngsofsy mpathyf ort he
mot herandt hechi l
dwhi l
ethrought hepr esent
ati
onoft hewomani nthepassage,t he
wri
terar ousesfeeli
ngsofr ev
ulsion,angeranddisgustasshei ll
-t
reatsthelabourers.The
womanher eisdomi neeri
ngandexact i
ng.Thiscontrast
swi ththewomani nthepoem
whoev ent houghshei sphysi
callyexhaust edsti
l
lfeedsand“ prowls”thechild’shai r
.
Thought heactseemsmechani calther
ei sanelementofl ov
ei nthewomanasopposed
tothecol dheartednessandresentmentshownbyt hewomani nthepassage.

Thet oneofthepoem i ssy mpathet

ic.Thepoetsy mpathizeswiththemot herandchi l
dfor
the diff
icul
ti
es and di scomfortst heysuf fer
.The t one helps to arouse feel
ings of
sympat hyinthereader .Thetoneisal sohopef ult
hatonedayt hesuff
eringswoul dcome
toanend.Theopt i
mi sm mani f
estsi tsel
fthroughthehopecar ri
edint hechild.Ont he
otherhand,thewr i
teroft hepassagesoundsdet ached,unconcernedornotmov edbyt he
stateofthelabourers.Thisall
owst her eadertoassessthesituati
onindependent l
y.

Thepassageclari
fi
esthepoem.Fr om ther eadi
ngoft hepoem onegetstheimpr ession
thatt
hepoem isjustaboutmot herandchi l
dorgirl
,butthereadi
ngofthepassager ef
ers
tothe“worki
ngboy s”“nati
ves”“savages”whi charesuggesti
veofthefactthatthisisa
groupofpeopl
e,mostpr obablyanationthatissuff
eri
ngunderoppressi
on.Thesubj ectof
thepassageislai
douti nacl ear
erwayt haninthepoem.I nthepoem ther
ear esubt l
er
i
ssuesthatonewoul dmisswi t
houtthehel pofthepassage.

2.Compar
eandcontrastthefol
lowi
ngpassagefr
om TheAdv entur
esofTom Sawyerby
MarkTwai
nandthepoem TheChi mneySweeperbyWill
iam Blake,
payi
ngpar
ticul
ar
att
ent
iont
othepresentat
ionofchil
dhood.

Huckleberrywascor diall
yhat edanddr eadedbyal lthemot hersoft het ownbecausehe
wasi dl
e,andlawl ess,andv ul
gar,andbad–andbecauseal ltheirchildr
enadmi redhi m,
anddel i
ghtedinhi sforbi
ddensoci ety;
andwi shedtheydaredt obel ikehim.Tom wasl ike
therestofther espectableboy sinthatheenv i
edHuckleberry,hisgaudyout cast
conditi
on,andwasunderst ri
ctordersnott oplaywithhim.Sohepl ay edwi t
hhim ev ery
ti
mehegotachance.Hukl eberrywasal way sdressedinthecastof fclothesoffullgrown
men, andtheywer einperenni albloom andf l
utter
ingwithrags.Hi shatwasav astruin
withawi decrescentl oppedoutofi tsbrim;hiscoat, whenhewor eone, hungnear l
yt o
hisheels,andhehadt her earwar dbuttonsfardownt heback; butonesuspender
supportedhist r
ouser s;theseatoft het r
ouser sbaggedl ow andcont ainednothing; t
o
fri
ngedlegsdr aggedi nthedi rtwhennotr ol
ledup.

Huckleberrycamei nandwentathisownf r
eewill
.Hesleptondoorstepsi nfi
neweather,
andinempt yhogheadsi nwet;hedi dnothavetogot oschoolortochur ch,orcal
lany
bei
ngmast er,orobeyanybody;hecoul dgof i
shi
ngorswi mming.Whenandwher ehe
chose,andst ayasl ongasitsui
tedhi m;nobodyforbadehimtofight;hecouldsitupas
l
ateashepl eased; hewasalwaysthef i
rstboythatwentbaref
ootedint hespringandthe
l
asttor esumel eat
herint
hefall
;henev erhadtowash, norputoncleancl ot
hes;hecould
swearwonder full
y.Inwor
d,ever
y t
hingthatgoest omakelif
eprecious,thatboyhad.So

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thougheverhar
assed,
andhamper
ed,hewasr
espect
abl
eboyi
nStPet
ersbur
g.Tom
hail
edtheromanti
coutcast

TheChimneySweeper
Whenmymot herdiedIwasv eryyoung
Andmyf at
hersoldmewhi l
ey etmytongue
Coul
dscarcel
ycry“weep!”weep!’weep!
’weep!’
Soyourchi
mney sIsweep,andinsootIsleep

There’
sli
tt
leTom Dacre,
whocr i
edwhenhishead,
Thatcurl
edli
kealamb’sbackwasshav ed;soIsai
d
‘
Hush,Tom!Nev ermindit
,forwhenyourhead’
sbare
Youknowt hatt
hesootcannotspoil
yourwhitehai
r

Andsohewasqui t
e,andthatver
ynight
,
AsTom wasasleeping,
hehadsuchasi ght!
-
Thatt
housandsofsweepers,Di
ck,Joe,
Nedandjack,
Wereall
ofthem l
ockedupincoffi
nsofblack?

Andbycameanangel,whohadabr i
ghtkey,
Andheopenedt
hecoffi
nsandsetthem all
free
Them downagr
eenplain,
leapi
ng,l
aughi
ng,theyr
un
Andwashinari
ver
,andshininthesun

Thennakedandwhite,
alltheirbagsl
eftbehi
nd,
Theyri
seuponcloudsandspoti nthewind;
Andtheangelt
oldTom, i
fhe’dbeagoodboy ,
He’dhaveGodforhisf
ather,andneverwantjoy

AndsoTom awoke, andwer oseinthedark,

Andgotwithourbagsandourbr ushestowor k
Thoughthemorningwascol d,Tom washappyandwar
m;
Soifal
ldothei
rduty,theyneednotfearharm

Demonst
rat
edanswer

Thepoem andt hepassagedealwithchi

ldhoodbutf r
om diff
erentperspect
ives.Twain,
in
thepassagefrom “
TheAdv entur
esofTom Sawy er”dealswithdeli
nquencywhi chseems
tobeawav ethatHuckleberr
yhadsetinmot i
onwhi l
eont heotherhandt hepoem
“Chi
mneySweeper ”dealswithabuseofchil
dreninindustr
iesfol
lowingthewav eof
i
ndustri
ali
zat
ion.Thepoem isaboutcrybyachildrenagainstchi
ldlabour

Inthepassagechi
ldhoodi
spr esentedthroughtwocont r
asti
ngchar
acter
s.Theseare
Huckleberr
yandTom Huckleberr
yis“ i
dle,l
awless,v
ulgarandbad“,t
hisshows
deli
nquencywhil
eTom isrespectable“.Tom’sdeli
nquencyisshownbyhisactof
disobeyi
ngtheparent
stoplaywithHuckl eber
ry.I
ncontrasti
nthepoem,thechil
drenare
seenwor ki
ngasChimneySweeper shav ebeendeprivedofthei
rchi
l
dhoodast heyarenot

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gi
venanopportuni
tyt
oenjoyitbutar
eexpl
oit
edi
nfact
ori
es.Thr
oughthi
spoem Bl
ake
at
tackst
hecruelworl
dthatdepri
veschi
l
drenoft
hei
rri
ghtt
oenjoychi
l
dhood

Inboththepoem andthepassage,
thereseemstobelament
ati
onsoversadnessandl
ack
offr
eedom inchi
ldhood.I
nthepoem, Bl
akeusednegati
vedi
cti
ontoshowhowsadness
charact
eri
sechil
dhood

Someoft hewor dsusedare“woe,”usedrepeatedl

y,“
cryi
ng”,
“misery”
,deat
h”.Onthe
otherhand,Twainuseswor dssuchas“harassed”and“hampered”toshowthelackof
fr
eedom thattheotherboy
ssuf fer
edfrom.Twai n’
spassagealsousescontr
asttobr
ing
outchil
dhoodv i
ewsanddr eams.

Thecont rasti
sbr oughtoutt hr
oughtwodif
ferentpercept
ionsaboutthesameper sonor
characterHuckleberry.Totheold,heisaj
uvenileoradelinquent
,buttotheyoungheisa
hero.Thisshowshowchi l
dhoodisbesetwit
hshor t
-sight
ednessandmy opi
cv i
ewsof
fr
eedom andadv enture.Throughthi
sTwainshowst heoldagegener at
ionclashbetween
parentsandchildren.

Whileparentsi
nthepassageareconcer
nedaboutchi
l
dhood,thosei
nthepoem seem
unconcernedastheyl
eavechil
drentowall
owinmiser
y.Thechil
dshowsthatonecan
si
ng, dancebutst
il
lbeunhappy,sot
hisshowshowhischil
dhoodischar
act
eri
sedby
unhappiness

Thepoem andt hepassagealsocont r

astt heunfair
nessofhowchi ldr
enoft hesameage,
i
nt hesameenv i
ronmentcanbeexposedt odif
ferentchi
ldhoodexper iences.Boththe
poetandt hewri
terwrotefrom aEuropeancont extandsur r
ounding.Whenot herchi
ldren
arebusyenjoyi
ngt hei
rchil
dhoodwi t
hpar ental
guidancet oguardagai nstdeli
nquency
somear econdemnedt ofactori
eswher etheyar eexposedt ounconduci veworking
condit
ions.Not
ehowt heword“ snow”inthepoem makest hecondi ti
onsunconduci ve.
Whensomepar entsguidechil
drenthroughchildhooddelinquencies,otherschooseto
condemnt hei
rchil
drentoindustry.

Thechil
dhoodexper iencesint
hepoem showt hehypocri
syofol
dpeopl e.Oldpersons
pret
endtopraiseorwor shi
pGodwhent heydepri
veyoungpeopleoftheirchi
ldhoodjoy
s,
whil
eont heotherhandi nthepassage,
theparentshaveapract
ical
reali
sticviewabout
chil
dhoodexperiences.

Thepoem i sasy mpatheti

cappeal orcallbychi ldr
enwhosuf f
erf r
om forcedl abourf or
thewor l
dt ogiveanearanddosomet hingt oletchildrenenjoyt heirchi
ldhood.Ont he
otherhandt hepassageisabal ancedpr esentationandassessmentofbot hchi l
drenand
parent sviewaboutchildhoodexper i
enceandi tschallenges.Thepoem ev okesfeelingsof
sympat hyforthechi
ldandot herswhosuf f
ert hesamepr edicament. Thepassagel eaves
ther eaderamusedbyt heviewsofchi l
drenaboutf reedom, advent ur
e,heroi cacts.The
writershowshowi tisimportanttoguidechi l
dr endur i
ngthechi ldhoodst age,ifnot
guidedchi ldhooddegeneratesintojuvenil
edel inquencywhi chischar acteristi
cof

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Huckl
eber
ry.

Thepoem andthepassagedeal wi
thchi
l
dhood,butfr
om di
ff
erentper
spect
iveswhi
ch
expl
ainswhyther
earediff
erencesi
nthepresent
ati
onofchi
ldhood.

NB:
Theor
eti
cal
andl
acksl
i
ter
aryev
idencef
rom t
het
ext
s.

Exami
nat
iont
ypequest
ion

1.Compareandcontrastthef ol
lowi
ngpassage,descri
bingDi
ckens’owndeathtaken
fr
om PeterAckr
oyd’
sbi ographyDickens(
1990)andt hepoem ,Remembrance“byEmil
y
Bront
e.Payi
ngparti
cularattenti
ontothepresent
ati
onofdeath.

Char l
esDi ckenswasdead.Hel ayonanar rowgr eensofa–butt herewasr oom enough
forhim, sospar ehadhebecome–i nt hedi ningroom ofGad’sHi llPlace.Hehaddi edi n
thehousewhi chhehadf i
rstseenasasmal lboyandwhi chhisfat herhadpoi ntedoutt o
him asasui t
abl eobjectofhisambi t
ions; sogr eatwashi sfat
her’shol duponhi slif
et hat
,
fort
yy earsl ater,hehadboughti t.Now hehadgone.I twascust omaryt ocl oset he
bli
ndsandcur tai
ns,thusenshroudingthecor pseindar knessbeforei tslastjourneytot he
tomb; butint hedi ni
ngr oom ofGad’sHi llthecur t
ainswer epul
ledapar tandont hisJune
daythebr ightsunshi nest r
eamedin, gl
itteri
ngont helargemirr
or sar oundt her oom.The
familybesi dehi m knew how heenj oy edt hel i
ght,how heneededt hel i
ght,andt hey
understood,t oo,thatnoneoft heconv ent i
onalsombr enessofthel ateVi ctori
anper iod–
theyearwas1870–hadev ert
ouchedhi m.

Allthel inesandwr inkleswhi chmar kedthepassageofhi sli

fewer enower asedi nthe
stil
lnessofdeat h.Hewasnotol d–hedi edi nhisf i
fty -
eighthy ear–butt herehadbeen
signsofpr emat ureagei ngonav isagesomar kedandwor n; hehadacqui red,itwassai d,
a‘sar casticlook’ .Butnowal lthatwasgoneandhi sdaught er,Katey,whowat chedhi m
ashel aydead, not i
cedhowt her eoncemor eemer geduponhi sf ace‘beaut yandpat hos’
.
Itwast hat‘l
ong- f
or gotten’ l
ookwhi chhedescr i
besagai nandagai ninhi sf i
cti
on.He
seesi tinOl i
v erTwi st,i
nt hedeadf acewhi chr eturnst othe‘ …longf orgottenexpr essi
onof
sleepingi nfancy ’,andi nt hatsamenov elheconnect s‘ t
her i
gi dfaceoft hecor pseandt he
calm sl eepoft hechi ld’.InMast erHumphr ey ’sdeat h,too, t
her ewassomet hing‘ so
strangel yandi ndef inabl yall
iedt oyouth’.Itwast hel ookher ecordedi nWi lli
am Dor ri
t’
s
facei ndeat h; i
twast hel ookwhi chhesawi nthef acesoft hecor psesonv i
ewi nt he
Par i
sMor gue.Thi sconnect i
onbet weendeat handi nfancyi sonet hathadhaunt edhi m:
sleep, repose, deat h,infancy ,i
nnocence, obl i
vionar et hewor dsthatformedaci rclefor
him, bringinghi m backt othepl acef r
om whi chhehadbegun.Her e,i
nGad’ sHi ll
, cl
oseto
thet owni nwhi chhehadl i
vedasasmal lchild,herei nthehousewhi chhi sf atherhad
onceshownhi m; her et hecirclewascompl ete.

Adeathmaskwasmade.Hehadal wayshatedmasks.Hehadbeenf r
ightenedbyoneas
achil
dandthr
oughouthi
swri
ti
ngthereisthi
srefrai
n-‘whataveryalar
mi ngt hi
ngitwould
betofi
ndsomebodywithamaskon…hidingboltupri
ghti
nacor nerandpr etendi
ngnotto
beali
ve!
’Themaskwasanembl em ofCharl
esDicken’spar
ti
cularfear
; t
hatt hedeadare

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onlypretendi
ngt obedead, andthatt
heywill
suddenlyspri
ngupintovi
olentl
if
e.Hehada
fearofthedead, andofalli
nanimatethi
ngs,ri
singuparoundhimtocl
aim him;iti
sthe
fearofpre-eminentl
ysoli
tarychil
dandsoli
taryman.Butwast her
enotalsoheresome
anti
cipati
onoft hefi
nalquietus?Themaskwasmade, andhewasl ai
dinhisoakcof f
in.

Thiswoodenr esti
ngplacewast hencov eredwithscarletger ani
ums;theywer eChar les
Dicken’sfavourit
eflower sandi nthef i
nal pi
ctureofthecor psecov er
edwi t
hbl ossom, we
canseeat ruerepresentationofDi ckens’sownwor dsechoi ngacrossthey ears-
‘
Br i
ghtenit,bri
ghtenit,bri
ght enit!
’Heal way swantedcol ourabouthim, andhewas
notori
ousf orhisownv iv
idcost umes, especiall
yyouth:and, onthewal l
abov et hecoffi
n,
hisfamilyplacedapor traitofhim asay oungman.I twasnodoubtt hatpaintedDani el
Macl i
se,andi tshowst heDi ckensoft he1839l ookingupf rom hisdesk,hisey esablaze
asifinant i
cipati
onoft hegl orythatwast ocome.Geor gi
naHogar th,hi
ssister- i
n-l
aw,cut
alockofhai rfrom hishead.

Onhi
spr
iori
nst
ruct
ions,
hishor
sewasshot
.AndsoChar
lesDi
ckensl
ay

Remembr ance
Col
di ntheearth-andthedeepsnowpiledabov
ethee,
Far
, f
ar,r
emov ed,col
dinthedrear
ygrave!
HaveIforgot,myonlyLove,tol
ovethee,
SeveredatlastbyTime’sal
l-
sever
ingwave?

Now,whenalone,domyt hought
snol ongerhover
Overthemountai
ns,onthatnort
hernshore,
Resti
ngthei
rwingswhereheathandf er
n-leav
escover
Thatnobl
eheartfor
ever
,evermor e?

Coldintheearth,
andfift
eenwi l
dDecember s
From thosebrownhil
lshavemel tedint
ospri
ng:
Faithf
ul,i
ndeed,i
sthespiri
tthatr
emember s
Aftersuchyearsofchangeandsuf feri
ng;

SweetLoveofyouth,f
orgiv
e,ifIf
orgotthee,
Whiletheworl
d’st
ideisbeari
ngmeal ong;
Otherdesi
resandotherhopesbesetme,
Hopeswhichobscure,butcannotdotheewrong;

Nolat
erli
ghthasli
ght
enedupmyheav en,
Nosecondmor nhasevershoneforme;
Al
lmylif
e’sbl
issfr
om thydearl
if
ewasgi ven,
Al
lmylif
e’sbl
issi
sinthegravewitht
hee.

But,whentheday sofgol
dendreamshadperished,
Andev enDespairwaspowerl
esstodestr
oy;
ThendidIlear
nhowexi st
encecouldbecher
ished,
Str
engthened,andfedwit
houttheaidofj
oy.

Thendi
dIcheckt
het
ear
sofusel
esspassi
on-

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Warnedmyy oungsoulfrom y
earningaf
tert
hine;
St
ernl
ydeniedit
sburningwishtohasten
Downtothattombalreadymor ethanmine.

And,evenyet,Idarenotl
etitl
anguish,
Darenotindul
gei nmemor y’
sraptur
ouspain;
Oncedrinki
ngdeepoft hatdivi
nestangui
sh,
Howcoul dIseekt heemptyworldagain?

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