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CRITICAL TERMS - PART I
Unit Structure
1.0. Objectives
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Simile
1.3. Imagery
1.4. Symbol
1.5. Let’s Sum Up
1.6. Questions
1.7. References
1.0. OBJECTIVES
In this unit, the students will be acquainted with the significance of literary
language and figures of speech. Further, they will be able to understand
three figures of speech namely, Simile, Imagery and Symbols. After
studying this unit, the students wil l be able to identify Simile, Imagery and
Symbols from the literary texts.
1.1. INTRODUCTION
Figure of speech is a kind of departure from standard usage. It is not
primarily in the meaning of the words but in the order or syntactical pattern
of words. It i s an expression that is generally not a part of common, ordinary
language, but a marked feature of a creative work. It represents the use of
words in ways different from their ordinary, literal use and are employed by
creative writers to produce figurative meaning, thus lending verve, vivacity
and force to their writings. It is a different kind of creative use of language
that adds beauty to literary works. There are various figures of speech. In
this unit, Simile, Images and Symbols are discussed as follow s:
1.2. SIMILE
As far as a simile figure of speech is concerned, there is comparison
between two distinctly different or dissimilar things, objects and it explicitly
expressed by using the word “like” or “as” to present an effective word -
picture.
Let’s con sider the fine examples of similes in the various genres of literature
in the work of art creative writers. William Shakespeare’s beautiful sonnet munotes.in
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2 ‘When I consider Everything That Grow’ in which the second stanza is the
finest example of a simile figure of speech.
When I perceive that men as plants increase,
Cheered and checked even by the self -same sky;
Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,
And wear their brave state out of memory.
In these lines William Shakespeare compares men with plants that men
grow similarly plants also grow. Like plants, men also begin to decline after
having reached their prime. The poet focuses on the similarity between
these two different things: that beauty and charm of men subsequently fade
away and are forgotten just as the beauty of the plants and flowers forgotten
after they have faded away.
P. B. Shelley, highly imaginative and genius poet who has dextero usly used
similes in his excellent ode ‘Ode to a Skylark’. Here are some examples:
i. Higher still and higher
From the earth thou springest
Like a cloud of fire;
The blue deep thou wingest,
And singing still does soar, and ever singest.
ii. Thou dost float and run;
Like an unbodied joy whose race is just be gun.
iii. Like a glow -worm golden
In a dell of
Scattering unbeholden
Its areal hue
Among the flowers and grass, which screen it
from the view.
This ode by Shelley is remarkable for its prolific use of similes each of
which is a picture itself. The qualities of skylark are compared with number
of beautiful things in these stanza such as the skylark climbs higher and
higher in the sky like a cloud of fire, it floats and run like an unbodied joy
whose race is just begun, The skylark is compared with glow -worm because
the skylark is unseen in the same way a glow -worm invisibly scattering its
light among the flowers and grass.
These examples of similes are unsurpassed for their romantic charm and
beauty and each simile brings a separate picture in front of the mind.
Actually, these examples of similes impart a rich feast for the senses.
Along with these examples, there are multiple examples such as: ‘My love
is like a red, red rose’, ‘My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun’, ‘Love munotes.in
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3 Critical Terms- Part I is like war, easy to begin but hard to stop’, and ‘Life without love is like
tree without blossom or f ruit etc.
Simile, as a literary device functions as a means of creating an equivalent
comparison or establishing similarity between two seemingly different
things. Simile from a reader's point of view is very influential and useful
because it can create an association between two unlike or different entities
or ideas that enhance the meaning of both.
The creative writers get benefitted by incorporating similes into their work
of art. There is no need for a poet to give excessive description or
explanation i f he uses finest examples of similes. Instead, by creating
similarity or resemblance through comparing two different things, an image
is created for the reader for better meaning and understanding. Through
similes the poet generates thoughts on the part of the reader regarding the
logic or truth by comparing two dissimilar things. These thoughts, in turn,
can evoke emotion in the reader through the realization that the comparison
is perfect and reflects a level of truth they may not have understood before.
Similes are especially effective in poetry as a means of portraying truths in
a lyrical yet concise manner.
1.3. IMAGERY
Imagery is a literary device that refers to the use of figurative language to
evoke a sensory experience or create a picture with wo rds for a reader. By
utilizing effective descriptive language and figures of speech, writers appeal
to a reader’s senses of sight, taste, smell, touch, and sound, as well as
internal emotion and feelings. Therefore, imagery is not limited to visual
represe ntations or mental images, but also includes physical sensations and
internal emotions. The term imagery is one of the most common in
criticism, and one of the most variable in meaning. The applications of it
range all the from the “mental pictures”, which it is sometimes claimed, are
experienced by the reader of poem, to the totality of the components which
make up a poem. The well -known poet, C. Day Lewis’ states in his “Poetic
Image” that an image “is a picture made out of words,” and that “a poem
may it self be an image composed from a multiplicity of images”. There are
three ways that imagery is used to make poetry concrete than abstract.
i. “Imagery” is used to denote all the objects and qualities of sense
perception referred to in a poem or other genre s of literature, whether
by literal description, by allusion, or in the vehicles of similes and
metaphors. William Wordsworth’s poem ‘She Dwelt among the
Untrodden Ways’ in this regard. The term ‘image’ should not be taken
to imply a virtual reproduction o f the object denoted; some readers
some readers of the passage experience visual images and some do
not; and among those who do, the explicitness and details of the
pictures vary greatly. Also, ‘imagery’ in this usage includes not only
visual sense qualiti es but also qualities that are auditory, tactile
(touch), thermal (heat and cold), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste),
and kinesthetic (sensations of movement). Tennyson’s poem ‘In
Memoriam’, number 101, for instance, in which the poet’s imagery munotes.in
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4 encompas ses not only things that are visible but also qualities that are
smelled, tasted, or heard, together with a suggestion, in the adjective
“summer” of warmth:
Unloved, that beech will gather brown….
And many a rose -carnation, feed
With summer spice the humming air…..
ii. Imagery is used, more narrowly, to signify only specific descriptions
of visible objects and scenes, especially if the description is vivid and
particularized.
iii. In many uses, “imagery” signifies figurative language, especially the
vehicles of metaphor and similes. The new critics after 1930s went far
beyond earlier commentators in stressing imagery, in this sense, as the
essential component in poe try and as a major factor in poetic meaning,
structure, and effect. Some new critics held that the implicit
interactions of the imagery - in distinction from explicit statements by
the author or the overt speeches and actions of the characters – were
the w ay that the controlling literary subject, or theme, worked itself
out in many plays, poems and novels.
Many good examples of imagery and figurative language can be
found in “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God”, a sermon delivered
by the puritan minist er Jonathan Edwards, for instance, Edwards
creates a powerful image by means of figurative language when he
says:
‘We find it easy to tread on and crush a worm
that we see crawling on the earth; so it is easy
for God, when he pleases, to cast his enemies
down to hell.”
The image Edwards creates here is the vivid mental picture of
someone crushing a worm. Edwards is also using figurative language
because he compares the ease with which God can “cast his enemies
down to hell” with the ease of our rushing a worm beneath our feet.
The point he is making is that human beings are as small and
powerless in th e eyes of God as worms are to us; just as a worm is at
our mercies for its existence, so we are at God’s for our existence. The
most important reason to analyze a writer’s usage of imagery and
figurative is to recognize how it contributes to the point he i s trying
to make or the effect he is attempting to create.
1.4. SYMBOL
A symbol is anything which suggests or signifies something else; in this
sense all words are symbols. As far as literature is concerned the term
‘symbol’ is applied only to a word or p hrase that signifies an object or event
which in its turn signifies something; or suggests a range of reference,
beyond itself. Actually, every word, sign, sound is a symbol because it munotes.in
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5 Critical Terms- Part I stands for something. The signs such as $, @ , + , -, & etc. we use in our
day to day life. In literature symbols are often characters, settings, images,
or other motifs that stand in for its suggestive meaning than its literal
meanings.
Symbols add layers of meanings to a story, poem or any other genre of
creative work. Th ey enable an author to give an idea or message within a
narrative, a message on multiple levels. Some symbols are “conventional”
or “public”: thus “the cross” , “the Red, White and Blue” and “ the Good
Shepherd” are terms that refer to symbolic objects of which the further
significance is determinate within a particular culture . Major poets use such
conventional symbols; on the other hand, there is other category of poets
who use “private” or “personal” symbols”.
The poets often do so by exploiting widely shared associations between an
object or event or action and a particular concept. For instance, the general
association of a peacock with pride and of an eagle with heroic endeavour,
the rising sun with birth and setting sun with death, or climbing with efforts
or progress and descent with surrender or failure. Some poets however,
repeatedly use symbols whose significance they largely generate
themselves, and they pose a more difficult problem in the interpretation.
The modern short story writer Katherin e Mansfield has used symbols very
beautifully to convey the implied meanings and emotions than its literal
meanings. Mansfield’s story ‘Bliss’ in which she has used two symbols such
as ‘the pear tree’ and ‘the moon’. The first symbol the pear tree provides a
kind of objectives co -relative to the principal character of this story,
Bertha’s desire for relationship based on “understanding” and communion.
It explores the sexual implications inherent in the pear tree, bisexual by
nature, through an understanding of its botanical significance. Its flowers
contain both male and female organs, therefore, it can self -fertilize. Bertha
not only unintentionally dresses to look like the tree, ‘A white dress, a string
of jade beads, green shoes and stockings’, she also a ssociates the tree as a
‘symbol of her own life.’ Bertha is identifying with the bisexuality of the
tree, and these images of dual sexuality are developed further as ‘womb -
phallus’ symbols. They begin with Bertha arranging the fruit for the party,
and alth ough the fruits themselves are all round, representative of the womb
– tangerines, apples, grapes, pears – she arranges them in ‘two pyramids
of... bright, round shapes’. Significantly, the shape of the pear itself
symbolises duality, as it is both long, an d therefore phallic, as well as ovate,
and womb -like. This ‘womb -phallic’ image is revoked later, when Bertha
and Pearl are observing the ‘slender, flowering tree’ that seems to ‘stretch,
to point… to grow taller and taller… almost touch the rim of the rou nd,
silver moon.’ We can observe, therefore, the unity of the two sexual images,
male and female, and the bisexual implications become clear.
Additionally, if the pear -tree is representative of Bertha and her sexual
duality, then the moon is the symbolic i mage of Pearl Fulton. As soon as
she arrives, she is ‘all in silver, with a silver fillet binding her pale, blonde
hair’, and again, ‘silver as Miss Fulton… her slender fingers that were so
pale a light seemed to come from them.’ There is also the symbolic
significance of the moon as a representation of femininity. Due to its munotes.in
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6 twenty -eight day cycles, the image of the moon is closely related to that of
the female menstrual cycle, and therefore, femininity. As Bertha’s
homosexual urges heighten, she identifie s with the phallic image of the
pear-tree that is so desperately growing ‘taller and taller’ in order to touch
the rim of the pale, silver moon. It is through Bertha that we witness the
symbolic union of the phallic pear -tree and the feminine moon,
represe ntative of the sexual union Bertha desires to have with Pearl. In
short, the writers use symbols to convey their implied meaning indirectly.
1.5. LET’S SUM UP
Simile is an important figure of speech which compares two dissimilar
objects for their common p roperties and the words such as " as…as, so…as,
like" are used in the example of simile.
Imagery is a kind of vivid description the poet uses to evoke the reader's
five senses and make the text lively.
And symbols is an object or action used to represent a nother thing or action.
It is used in such a way that the poet conveys deeper meaning in lesser
words.
All these devises are important tools in the hands of writers in general and
poets in particular. The students can analyse examples from your reading
and see how these are used by the writers.
1.6. QUESTIONS:
Write short note on the following:
I. Simile
II. Imagery
III. Symbols
1.7. REFERENCES:
1. Abrams M. H., Harpham Geoffrey Galt, A Glossary of Literary Terms,
Cengage Learning India Private Limited, Delhi, 2017
2. https://literarydevices.net/simile/ retrieved on 10th June 2022.
3. https://literaryterms.net/imagery/ retrieved on 21st June 2022.
4. https://literarydevices.net/imagery/ retrieved on22nd June 2022.
5. https://literaryterms.net/symbol/ retrieved on 4th July 2022.
6. https://literarydevices.net/symbol/ retrieved on 5h July 2022.
7. Katherine Mansfield, The Collected Stories, Penguin Classics, 2007,
p.97.
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CRITICAL TERMS - PART II
Unit Structure
2.0. Objectives
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Paradox
2.3. Ambiguity
2.4. Myth
2.5. Let’s Sum Up
2.6. Questions
2.7. References
2.0. OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, the students will be able to understand the meaning,
usage and significance of Paradox, Ambiguity and Myth in enriching the
literary works. They will also be familiarised with the prominent examples
of each figure of speech from t he literature so that the students can identify
more such literary devices and interpret them.
2.1. INTRODUCTION
Figure of speech is a literary language which is distinct from ordinary
speech. The proper use of figurative language makes the text more
persuasive and convincing. That also keeps the readers engaged in the
discourse or message the writers are trying to convey. In this unit, Paradox,
Myth and Ambiguity will be discussed.
2.2. PARADOX
As a figure of speech a paradox is an apparently self -contrad ictory statement
which is nevertheless found to be true. A paradoxical situation contains
contradictory elements that put together make sense. The purpose of a
paradox is to arrest attention and provoke fresh thought. This literary device
is commonly used to engage a reader to discover an underlying logic in a
seemingly self -contradictory statement or phrase. As a result, paradox
permits readers to understand concepts in a different and even non -
traditional way. The beautiful example of it is of the great dramatist G. B.
Shaw who famously stated the paradox that “youth is wasted on the young”.
At first, it is contradictory in the sense that the “young” are the ones that
embody “youth”, so therefore it cannot be “wasted” on them. However, this munotes.in
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8 paradox makes sense upon reflection. It illuminates the idea that young
people may not have the perspective of older people as far as what is truly
important or valuable.
Youth, in this case, implies a vibrancy and energy that can be put towards
those very actions that are important and valuable, yet young people may
not recognize what they are. Whereas older people, who may recognize
which actions have importance or value, often don’t feel such vitality or
willingness to take risks to do them. As a result, the very grou p who would
benefit from youth due to their perspective are the ones who, by definition,
aren’t youthful.
The concluding lines of John Donne’s sonnet “Death, Be Not Proud” is also
beautiful example of paradox:
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
The paradox is used occasionally by almost all poets but was a persistent
and central device in the seventeenth -centur y metaphysical poetry, in both
its religious and secular forms. “The Canonization,” for instance, by John
Donne is organized as an extended proof, full of local paradoxes, of the
paradoxical thesis that sexual lovers are saints.
In George Orwell’s anti -utopian satire ‘Animal Farm’ (1945), the first
commandment of the animals’ commune is revised into a witty paradox:
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Paradox has a function in poetry, however, tha t goes beyond mere wit or
attention -getting. Modern critics view it as a device, integral to poetic
language, encompassing the tensions of error and truth simultaneously, not
necessarily by startling juxtapositions but by subtle and continuous
qualificatio ns of the ordinary meaning of words.
If the paradoxical utterance conjoins two terms that in ordinary usage are
contraries, it is called an oxymoron. The fine example of it is Alfred, Lord
Tennyson’s “O Death in life, the days that are no more.” The oxymo ron was
a familiar type of Petrarchan conceit in Elizabethan love poetry, in phrases
like “pleasing pains,” “I burn and freeze,” and “loving hate.”
Paradox was a prominent concern of many New Critics, who extended the
terms from its limited application t o a type of figurative language so as to
encompass all surprising deviations from, or qualifications of, common
perceptions or commonplace opinions. It is in this expanded sense that
Cleanth Brooks is able to claim, with some plausibility, that, “the langu age
of poetry is the language of paradox,” in ‘The well Wrought Urn’.
In short, paradox is a statement or phrase which appears to be self -
contradicting but on closer inspection contains some sort of truth. It is used
frequently in both written works and in day to day conversations in order to
convey an idea. A paradox is the juxtaposition of two phrases which
contradict one another but reveal a truth. munotes.in
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9 Critical Terms - Part II 2.3. AMBIGUITY
Ambiguity is a kind of sentence which provides more than one meaning. It
leads to vagueness and confusion of meaning. It sometimes creates humor
too. For example, "Rakesh rode a black horse in red pajamas." is ambiguous
for two reasons/ meanings; one, Rakesh is in red pyjamas who rode a horse,
and two, Rakesh rode a black horse which is wearing red pyjamas. The
present example yields ambiguity due to the structure of the sentence.
Similarly, ambiguity can be created by using a word with multiple
meanings. For example, "Radhika is at the bank." The statement has more
than one meaning due to the w ord "bank" which means office/building of
bank and bank of the river. In such cases, it is the context that helps to get
the appropriate meaning.
Let's look at two other funny examples of ambiguity. In the sentence,
Foreigners are hunting dogs. It is not c lear whether dogs were being hunted,
or the foreigners are being referred to as dogs. Similarly, in the sentence,
"She loves her dog more than her husband", it is unc lear whether her love
towards dog is greater than her love towards her husband, or both he r
husband and she love their dog but her love towards dog is greater than her
husband's love towards dog.
Ambiguity enhances the literary text by giving it a deeper meaning. It also
gives liberty to the readers to explore multiple meanings and thus makes t he
readers actively participate in the process of deriving meanings from the
literary texts.
William Empson, one of the new critics, has written a seminal work called
Seven Types of Ambiguity. Let's see the four important types of
ambiguities: semantic amb iguity, syntactic/ structural ambiguity, Lexical
ambiguity, and narrative ambiguity. Semantic Ambiguity arises out of the
semantics of a word or phrase when it is i nterpreted out of its context.
Syntactic Ambiguity also known as Structural Ambiguity occurs when a
word or phrase has two or more possible meanings in the given sentence.
Lexical Ambiguity takes place when a word or phrase has two or more
possible meanings or there are two words having the same forms such as
homonymy, homophony, or polysemy. Las tly, Narrative Ambiguity occurs
in the plot due to unclarity about the actions of the characters or events or
situations or even conflict .in other words, this is when a plotline could mean
several things; the storyteller doesn’t let you know explicitly. For example,
a relationship between two characters could be ambiguous if it’s not clear
whether or not they like each other.
Thus ambiguity is one of the important tools of creative writers to write
literary work full of multiple meanings.
2.4. MYTH
In classical Greek, “mythos” signified any story or plot, whether true or
invented. A myth is a classic or legendry story that usually focuses on a
particular hero or event , and explains mysteries of nature, existence, or the munotes.in
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10 universe with no true basis in fact. Myth exists in every culture . But the
most well known in Western culture and literature are part of Greek and
Roman mythology. The characters in myth – usually gods. Goddesses,
warriors, and heroes – are often responsible for the creation and
mainte nance of elements of nature as well as physical, emotional, and
practical aspects of human existence. For example, Zeus; the god of the sky
and the earth and the father of the god and men, and Aphrodite; the goddess
of love and fertility. A culture’s colle ctive myth make up its mythology, a
term that predates the word “myth” by centuries. The term myth stems from
the ancient Greek ‘mythos,’ meaning a speech, story, rumour, and fable etc.
Most myths are related to social rituals -set forms and procedures in sacred
and pious ceremonies – but anthropologists disagree as to whether rituals
generated myths or myths generated rituals. If the protagonist is a human
being rather than a supernatural being, the traditional story is usually called
not myth but a legen d. If the hereditary story concerns supernatural beings
who are not gods and the story is not a part of a systematic mythology, it is
usually classified as a folktale .
It can be said that a mythology is a religion which we do not believe. Poets,
however, a fter ceased to believe them, have persisted in using the myths of
Jupiter, Venus, Prometheus, Adam and Eve, and Jonah for their plots,
episodes, allusions; as Coleridge, “Still doth the old instinct bring back the
old names.” The term “myth” has also been extended to denote supernatural
tales that are deliberately invented by their authors. The German Romantic
authors F. W. J. Schelling and Friedrich Schlegel proposed that to write
great literature, modern poets must develop a new unifying mythology
which will synthesize the insights of the myths of the Western past with the
new discoveries of ph ilosophy and physical sciences. In the same period in
England William Blake, who felt “I must create a system or be enslaved by
another man’s,” incorporated in his poems a system of mythology he had
himself created by fusing hereditary myths, biblical history and prophecy,
and his own intuitions, visions and intellection. A number of modern writers
have also asserted that an integrative mythology, whether inherit ed or
invented, is essential to literature. For example, James Joyce in ‘Ulysses’,
T. S. Eliot in ‘The Waste Land’, and O’Neill in ‘Mourning Becomes
Electra’ and many other writers have deliberately woven their modern
materials on the pattern of ancient my ths. W. B. Yeats like Blake undertook
to construct his own systematic mythology , which he expounded in ‘A
Vision’ and embodied in a number of remarkable lyric poems such as “The
second Coming” and “Byzantium”.
As far as the main functions of myth is to te ach moral lessons and explain
historical events. Authors of great literary works have often taken stories
and themes from myths. Myths and their mythical symbols lead to creativity
in literary works. We can u nderstand a culture more deeply, and in a much
better way, by knowing and appreciating its stories, dreams, and myths.
Myths came before religions, and all religious stories are, in fact, retellings
of global mythical themes. Besides literature, myths also play a great role
in science, psychology, and p hilosophy. munotes.in
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11 Critical Terms - Part II In conclusion, myths are legendary stories that have been a fundamental
part of man’s culture, history, and even religion for thousands years. They
have been utilized, adapted and retold by writer’s since the beginning of
storytelling - in other words for the majority of human existence.
2.5. LET’S SUM UP
The Paradox is ‘something said which seems contrary to common sense and
yet might be true.’ It is something that contradicts what we would expect or
assume. It aims to arrest attention and provoke fresh thought.
Ambiguity is something that yields more than one possible meaning. There
are different kinds of Ambiguity.
Myth is a tale told to explain why the natural phenomenon, event or person
is the way he/she/it is. The fables, fairy tal es, folktales, sagas, epics, legends,
and etiologic tales are considered to be forms or examples of myths.
Thus the Paradox, Ambiguity and myth not only increases the richness and
subtlety of language but also makes the readers derive multiple meanings
from the specific structures of words.
2.6. QUESTIONS
Write short notes on the following:
I. Paradox
II. Ambiguity
III. Myth
2.7. REFERENCES
1. Abrams M. H., Harpham Geoffrey Galt, A Glossary of Literary Terms,
Cengage Learning India Private Limited, Delhi, 2017
2. https://7esl.com/paradox retrieved on 24th June 2022.
3. https://literarydevices.net/paradox/ retrieved on 25th June 2022.
4. https://literarydevices.net/ambiguity/ retrieved on 4th July 2022
5. https://literaryterms.net/ambiguity retrieved o n. 4th July 2022.
6. https://literaryterms.net/myth/ retrieved on 8th July 2022.
7. https://literarydevices.net/myth/ retrieved on 8th July 2022
8. https://www.britannica.com/topic/myth retrieved on 8th July 2022 .
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12 3
NATURE AND FUNCTION OF
LITERATURE - I
Unit Structure
3.0 Objective s
3.1 Literature as Imitation (Plato -Aristotle debate)
3.1.1 Aristotle and Plato: Differences and Similarities
3.1.2 Art as an Imitation by Plato
3.1.3 The idea and the concept o f imitation between Plato and Aristotle.
3.1.4 Objection from Education, Philosophical and Moral point of view
3.1.5 Theory of Imitation by Plato and Aristotle
3.2. Literature and Imagination (the romantic idea of the Imagination)
3.2.1 Literature and Imagination
3.2.2 Literature, Imagination and Literary Creation
3.2.3 The Romantic Movement
3.2.4 Role of Imagination in Literature
3.2.5 Important aspects of the Romantic Movement
3.3 Let’s Sum up
3.4 Important Questions
3.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit will make the students aware with:
x The important critical terms
x The nature and function of literature and criticism
x The technique of close reading of literary texts
x The various literary theories and critical approaches
x The tenets of practical criticism.
With this knowledge the students will be able to use some important critical
terms and will become aware with the nature and function of literature and
criticism. Students will also be able to impart the technique of close reading
of literary texts and understand the various lit erary theories and critical
approaches. munotes.in
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13 Nature and Function of Literature - I 3.1. LITERATURE AS IMITAT ION (PLATO -
ARISTOTLE DEBATE)
3.1.1 Aristotle and Plato: Differences and Similarities
The eminent Greek philosopher Plato, was the most significant literary
critic before Aristotle . Plato was a teacher and he founded the Platonist
school of thought and the Academy, which was considered as the first
institution higher learning in the Western world. Aristotle was the biggest
disciple of Plato, and so Aristotle took up the challenge to exhibit that poetry
was not only amiable and pleasurable but also beneficial for man and
society.
x Differences between Aristotle and Plato
x Plato , was the eminent Greek philosopher and was a
transcendentalist, whereas Aristotle was the greatest
philosopher, and was the first genuine scientist in history , also
a biologist, and an experimenter.
x Plato was an idealist whereas for Aristotle reality was concrete,
and further states that reality does not make sense or exist till
the mind process it.
x Plato’s language is poetic hence he adopted a poetic language
while Aristotle ’s language is dogmatic.
x It was Plato who first used the word ‘imitation’ in connection
with poetry , however Aristotle breathed a new life and soul into
it.
x For Plato, poetry imitates only superficial appearance like a
painter. Although, Aristotle believed that poetry not only
imitates the external emotions but also the internal emotions.
x Plato condemned poetry on three essential grounds i.e. moral,
intellectual and emotional grounds. Whereas Aristotle justifies
poetry on moral, intellectual and emotional grounds.
x Plato defende d philosophy, wh ile for Aristotle poetry is not just
a mimicry or photographic representation of phenomenal world
so he defended poetry.
x For Plato emotions were undesirable and so advocated it as
repression. Whereas, Aristotle stresses the need of emotio nal
outlets. And he was the first person to use the word Catharsis in
his seminal work on Greek theatre titled, Poetics.
x Similarities between Plato and Aristotle
Apart from are few dissimilarities , the ancient Greece philosophers
Plato an d Aristotle do have some similarities. Following are some of
the similarities between Plato and Aristotle; munotes.in
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14 Literary Criticism
14 x Plato and Aristotle believe that p oetry is an imitative art.
x According to Plato and Aristotle poetry arouses and entices
emotions.
x They both fe el that poetry gives pleasure , delight and happiness .
x They believe that p oetry affects pe rsonality, traits, and
emotional behavio ur and approach .
x Both Plato and Aristotle c onsidered poetry from practical and
realistic view.
3.1.2 Art as an Imitation by Plato
Plato in his theory of Mimesis, exhibits that all art is mimetic by nature, he
says that art is an imitation of life. For Plato ‘idea’ is the ultimate reality.
He believes that art imitates idea and hence, it is imitation of reality. He
very beaut ifully gives the example of a carpenter and a chair. He says that
the idea of ‘chair’ first came in the mind of carpenter. Then the carpenter
gave physical shape to his idea out of wood and then he created a chair. The
painter imitated the chair of the car penter in his picture of chair. Therefore,
the painter’s chair is twice removed from reality. Thus, Plato believes that
the art is twice removed from reality. For Aristotle philosophy is much more
important, and hence he gives first importance to philosoph y, because
philosophy deals with the ideas, while the poetry deals with illusion – things
which are twice removed from reality.
3.1.3 The idea and the concept of imitation between Plato and Aristotle.
The great philosophers Plato and Arist otle argue and contend that artist
(Demiurge) and the poet imitate nature, therefore, a work of art is a
reflection of nature. Even though, both Plato and Aristotle have different
perspective and outlook on the functions of imitation in art and literature.
Plato believes in the existence of the ideal world, and for him, a work of art,
that reflects nature, is twice represented from the reality . Whereas Aristotle
does not deal with the ideal world, in lieu, he scrutinizes nature. Aristotle
further argues tha t a work of art does not imitate nature as the way it should.
Both Plato and Aristotle ascribe diverse meanings to the term Mimesis.
Plato c onsiders and acknowledge ‘mimesis’ in ethical and political context,
whereas Aristotle on the other hand sees ‘mimes is’ as an aesthetic
phenomenon. Plato and Aristotle agree and accept that that poetry is
mimetic, however, they both have differe nt idea and perception about
poetry and mimesis.
Plato uses the term Mimesis with diverse meanings and connotati ons in the
dialogues and change the meaning and significance of th e term according
to the context in which he uses it. Plato uses the term ‘mimesis’ in the
context of the education of the youth. Plato talks about the function of
‘mimesis’ as likening onese lf to another in speech and bodily behaviour,
and while addressing the lower pa rt of man’s soul. Plato also refers to the
epistemology and metaphysics of the concept. He uses the word Mimesis
with pedagogic aspects and hence, uses it in e ducational and eth ical context munotes.in
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15 Nature and Function of Literature - I when he says, guardians of an ideal state should be educated to imitate only
what is appropriate, relevant and useful. Plato in his third book of the
Republic , for example, bring forth further definitions and descriptions of
Mimesis. He centre s on the relation and connection between Mimesis and
Poetry, Mimesis and Education and Poetry and Education .
3.1.3 Objection from Education, Philosophical and Moral point of view
x Objection from Education Point of View
x Plato in The Republic, Book II, condemns and criticize poetry
as encouraging bad habits, sins and vices in children. Homer’s
epics were part of studies. Heroes of epics were not instances of
sound or ideal moralit y. In fact, they were robust, lusty, devious,
cruel and vicious -war mongers.
Hence, Plato objected on the ground that poetry does not
develop and propagate good habits and morals among children.
x Objection from Philosophical Point of View
x Plato in The Rep ublic Book X says that, poetry does not lead to,
rather drives us away from the realization of the ultimate reality
– the Truth.
x Plato says that Philosophy is better than poetry, for the reason
that Philosophy deals with idea and poetry is twice removed
from original idea.
x Plato says: “The imitator or maker of the image knows nothing
of true existence; he knows appearance only …. The imitative
art is an inferior who marries an inferior and has inferior
offspring.
x Objection from the Moral Poin t of View
x Plato in the book ‘The Republic’ says that: Soul of man has
higher principles of reason (which is the essence of its being)
along with the lower constituted of baser impulses and
emotions. Whatever emboldens and strengthens the rational
princip le is good, and emotional is bad.
Poetry waters , cherish and nourishes the baser impulses of men
– i.e. emotional, sentimental , poignant and sorrowful , mournful
and painful
3.1.5 Theory of Imitation by Plato and Aristotle
It was n ot Aristotle who invented the term "imitation" , but it was Plato who
first use the word ‘imitation’ in terms with poetry, though Aristotle breathed
into it a new definite meaning. Hence, poetic imitation is no longer
considered mimicry, instead, it is rega rded as an act of imaginative creation
by which the poet, drawing his material from the phenomenal and munotes.in
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16 Literary Criticism
16 astounding world, makes something new out of it. Aristotle asserts that all
human actions are mimetic in such a way that men learn through imitation.
Particularly, Mimesis is the distinctive quality of an artist.
From Aristotle's perspective , it is the principle of imitation that unites poetry
with other fine arts and it is this common basis of all the fine arts. I n this
way, it distinguishes the fine arts from the other category of arts. Plato
equated and compared poetry with painting, whereas Aristotle equates
poetry with music. It is no t any more a subservient and grovelling portrayal
of the appearance of things, rather it becomes a represe ntation of the
passions , affections and emotions of men which are also imitated by music.
Therefore, Aristotle by his theory expanded and intensified the scope of
imitation. He says that t he poet imitates not the surface of things but also
the reality e ntrenched within. Aristotle, in the very first chapter of his
Poetics, list different kinds of poetry; Epic poetry , Tragedy, Comedy ,
Dithyrambic poetry, also the music of the flute and the lyre playing in most
of their forms, which are in their general concep tion modes of imitation.
However, they vary from one another in three aspects, first being, their
medium, then second, the objects and third, the manner or mode of
imitation, in each case being disparate from each other.
The medium and mode of the poet and the painter are different. One imitates
through the form and colour, whereas the other imitates through language,
rhythm , peace and harmony. The musician imitates through rhythm and
harmony. Hence , poetry is more related and connected to music. In addition ,
the way and manner of a poet may be purely and merely narrative, as in the
Epic, or portrayal through action or movement , as that in drama. On a par,
dramatic poetry is differentiated into tragedy and comedy consequently as
it imitates man as better or worse.
Aristotle exhibits that the objects of poetic imitation are nothing but "men
in action". He further says that, t he poet represents men as worse than they
actually are. He can represent men in a much more -better way, than in real
life which is based on material supplied by history and legend , moderately
than by any living figure. The poet selects and orders his material and
recreates reality. He brings order out of Chaos. The irrational or accidental
is removed from it and attentio n is focused on the lasting and the significant.
In this way, he gives a truth of an ideal kind. The poet’s mind is not tied to
reality ; It is not the function of the poet to relate what has happened , rather
what may happen – according to the laws of proba bility or necessity.
Aristotle says that Poetry tends to assert the universal, and history the
particular. In such a manner , he expresses the superiority of poetry over
history. The poet is liberated and discharged from the tyranny and
despotism of facts, takes a larger or general perspective of things, represents
the universal in the particular and hence, shares the philosopher's quest and
search for ultimate truth. Aristotle therefore, equates poetry with philosophy
and exhibits that both are means to a higher truth. By using the word
'universal' Aristotle indicates; h ow a person of a certain nature or type will,
on a several occasion, speak or act, in accordance with the law of probability
or necessity. munotes.in
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17 Nature and Function of Literature - I Aristotle exhibits that , "Art imita tes Nature". By 'Nature , Aristotle does not
mean the outer world of created things , he rather meant "the creative force,
and the productive principle of the universe." Art reproduce s for the most
part an inward process, a physical energy working outwards, acts, events,
incidents, situation, being included under it so far as these spring from an
inward, act of will, or draw some activity of thought or feeling.
Aristotle by his theory of i mitation exhibits that the poetry is an imitation
of "shadow of shadows", and it is thrice removed from truth, and that the
poet entice and fools us with the lies. Plato condemned poetry that in the
very nature of things poets have no idea of truth. The phenomenal world is
not the reality but a copy of the reality in the mind of the Supreme. The poet
imitates the objects and phenomena of the world, which are shadowy , hazy
and for most part unreal. Poetry is, t hus, "the mother of lies".
Aristotle, further , tells us that art imitates not only the mere shows of things,
but the 'ideal reality' manifested and personified in the very object of the
world. He says that t he process of nature is a 'creative process'; and in all
around in 'nature there is a never -ending and upward progress' in everything,
and the poe t imitates this upward movement of nature. Hence, a rt moves in
a world of images, and reproduces the external, according to the idea or
image that he has in his mind. Therefore, the poet does not copy the external
world, but rather he creates according to his 'idea' of it. Poetry therefore,
imitates the ideal and the universal; it is an "idealized representation of
character, emotion, and action . Furthermore, he says that, p oetic truth,
therefore, is higher than historical truth. Hence, Poetry is more
philo sophical, more favourable, helpful and useful to understanding than
Philosophy itself.
To conclude, Mimesis has since the antiquity been discussed to refer to the
relation between reality and re presentation. So, the concept of Mimesis as
a theory o f art changes according to the person who discusses the term and
the way he deals w ith the term. Plato agrees that reality cannot be
represented, therefore he says that Mimesis is misrepresentation of truth
whereas, Aristotle becomes the defender of Mimesi s against Plato and
develops a th eory of art with reference to Mimesis and claims and asserts
that the art (mimetic art) is superior to philosophy and history.
3.2 LITERATURE AND IMAGI NATION (THE
ROMANTIC IDEA OF THE IMAGINATION)
3.2.1 Literature and Imagi nation
The significance and the impact of imagination on the creation and critique
of literature alters between and within distinct and disparate artistic eras. It
was o riginally and basically portrayed as a deviant function of the mind, and
imagination was greatly and intensely compliant to the powers of reason and
order. Art in tricated a mere replication of the real, a craft, instead, a unique
act of creation. To begin with, as early as that of Aristotle, howbeit , the human
imagination has been linked and associated to the power and value of art. munotes.in
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18 Literary Criticism
18 Imagination is nothing but a natural structure of the mind which ought to be
trained , instructed or attuned to comprehend the greatness and eminence of
art, to develop a significant standard of taste. Imagination is seen as both the
key and the impediment to Johnson's moral vision of art. Therefore, in order
to inspire and embolden an audience toward s goodness, an artist should
acquire a productive, abundant and an ever expanding imagination.
Imagination is good and acceptable when its powers are given the direction,
and moral purpose. Johnson to some extent, assumes and believes in a
utilitarian attitude toward s imagination . He says that the value of imagination
is reliant on its usefulness in achieving or supporting others to accomplish
and acquire virtue. Imaginative freedom should only exist within the confines
of an imminently rational moral code.
3.2.2 Literature, Imag ination and Literary Creation
It was from the 18th century when t he relationship between invention and
the imagination took place . Meyer Howard Abrams , the American literary
critic, best known for his works on romanticism , in his book The Mirr or and
the Lamp , which was published in 1953 claims that during this period, the
poet's invention and imagination were made dependent for their materials .
The ideas and image s on the external universe and the literary models the
poet had. He exhibits that until the romantics, literature was usually and
mostly understood as a mirror, which was reflecting the real worlds in some
kind of mimesis . while for the Romantics, writing was more like a lamp as
if, the light of the writer's inner soul spilled out to il luminate and brighten
the world. However, by the end of the 18th century , writers and the
philosophers presented and proposed the idea that the combination of the
elements which are taken from nature might be assembled in new ways , in
order to create somet hing new, which would possibly overtake or even
transcend nature.
3.2.3 The Romantic Movement
1. The Romanticism was a literary movement in the arts and literature that
originated in the late 18th century, and ending around the middle of t he
19th century, accentuating inspiration, subjectivity, and the greater
importance of the individual, although its influence continues even to
this day. Marked by a focus on the individual (and the unique
perspective of a person, generally guided by irrat ional, emotional
impulses), a respect for nature and the primeval, and a celebration of
the common man, Romanticism can be viewed as a reaction to the great
and extensive changes in society that took place during this period,
along with the revolutions tha t burned through countries like France and
the United States, ushering in grand experiments in democracy. The
poet hence, obtains and achieves a particular power: his or her
imagination becomes the rival of nature.
3.2.4 Role of Imagination in Literature
Much of the prose fictions are based on imaginary events, whereas some are
based on the events of real life for instance, historical or auto -biographical
events, but for the most part they are based on the fictitious stories which munotes.in
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19 Nature and Function of Literature - I are based o n the imagination of the writer. Imagination is nothing but a
cognitive process which is based on life experiences, trajectory of life,
moods or altogether and entirely new invented ideas and concepts through
which a writer creates scenes, people , animals etc. which is much more
different from the experiencing of the five senses , for instance Samuel
Taylor Coleridge’s poem , ‘Kubla Khan ’ or the ‘ The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner ’ and in fiction such as ‘Vanity Fair’ and ‘Jude and Obscure ’.
Imagination plays a n important and essential role in any piece of literature.
This is nothing but the aspect and essence of imagination through which a
writer makes his characters and scenes more a lluring, enticing and pleasing .
It can even make the dead thing s alive , for instance, the ghosts in
Shakespeare's plays or characters in allegories. It can make an impossible
thing possible, for instance, the characters and events in Gulliver's Travels
by Jonathan Swift , and in ‘ Utopia ’ by Thomas More. Imagination can give
beautiful, graceful and a lluring shape to what is grotesque and abhorrent,
for example, in John Keats' poem , ‘Ode to Autumn ’. Thus , it is the power
and influence of imagination that develops the readers interests and
suspense in the work of art.
According to the English poet, literary critic, philosopher and a theologian,
Samuel Taylor Coleridge , there are two types of imagination. In his book
titled, ‘ Biographia Literaria ’ he has discussed about the two types of
imagination, the first being Primary imagination and the second secondary
imagination. In primary imag ination, every human being has faculty of
developing images, scenes and ideas and give it an order. Whereas , the
secondary imagination is related with the unconscious ability a nd is not
being possessed by every human being but only by the genius poets. In fact,
it is the refined and polished aspect of primary imagination. Through
secondary imagination, a writer not only creates picture, scenes, people etc.
and give it a particu lar shape, but also through those pictures and scenes,
the poet creates a new world. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in the same book,
‘Biographia Literaria’ also makes a distinction between Fancy and
imagination. He calls Fancy the lowest form of imagination. Particularly,
he says that an ordinary man has fancy , while on the contrary a literary
minded person has imagination. He also relates Fancy to the mechanical
combination of literary devices like simile, metaphors and Oxymoron etc .
by the poet in order to mak e an opinion.
3.2.5 Important aspects of the Romantic Movement
There are six basic and essential characteristics of the Romantic literature:
celebration of nature, focus on the individual and spirituality, celebration of
isolation and melanchol y, interest in the common man, idealization of
women, and personification and pathetic fallacy.
x Imagination
For the Romantic writers, man's highest, and the most spiritual aspect
was his imagination. The English Romantics believed that, it wa s
imagination, through which the man can access not only his most
creative thoughts, but also his connection to the divine. Poetry and munotes.in
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20 Literary Criticism
20 other literature of that time emboldened and inspired the reader to use
the words as a way to access his own imaginative faculties, thereupon
connecting with his own personal sense of the divine. Even the artists
and musicians of the Romantic period used the visual and aural facets
of their works as an incentive and motive to the viewer or listener to
access his personal ima ginative powers.
x Nature
Romantic writers saw nature as a source of infinite beauty which was
imbued with the divine. They used common and day -today natural
elements such as flowers, stones, trees, leaves, sunlight and the
weather to be delineat ed as though they carried a bit of God within
them. In keeping with the move away from rational thinking towards
dependence upon the imagination, Romanticism and the romantic
movement emboldened a perspective of nature that inspired and
encouraged the arti sts of the time, to use their own subjective
perception and approach, while rendering and interpretating the sights
and sounds they found in the natural world. Hence, art, in such a
manner, moved away from the rational compositions of the Classical
and Bar oque and towards the subjective characteristics and features
which were found in the paintings of the Impressionists and
symphonies of 19th -century composers. The most famous and notable
work of the Romanticism is John Keats poem , ‘To Autumn ’ which
was composed in the year 1819 and was published in 1820. In this
three eleven - line stanza poem, John Keats personifies a progress
through the season and follows its progression from the initial arriv al
after summer, through the harvest season, and finally to autumn’s end
as winter takes its place.
x View of Self
Romantic writers admired and cherished self -directed and complacent
action and stepped to the beat of one's personal drummer. The
Romantic human ideal was the artist, creator, thinker or philosopher
who took a stance for personal opinion and belief at the peril of social
exile and banishment. For the English Romantic writers, the needs of
the one outweighs the needs of the many. The concepts of self -esteem
and self -expression, venerated today as two of our very important
invaluable human birth rights, are handed down to us from the ideals
of the Romantic period. The Romantics believed that the human being
was born pure and divine and it was a direct contrast to the "born in
sin" concept of many previous Christian teachings.
x Rejection of Modern Life
Even though the world moved into the Industrial age of factory
labour, steam power, and mechanization, the Romantic writer s
reacted by refuting this industrial age of mechanization and lived
more simply, and more closely connected and associated with the
natural world. Though the Industrial Revolution of the early 19th
century took hold, the Romantic writers clung and adhered more munotes.in
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21 Nature and Function of Literature - I strongly and powerfully to their veneration of the significance of the
individual's creative life and dignity. The American naturalist,
essayist, poet and philosopher Henry David Thoreau, presents an
example of the Romantic rejection of modern society's industrialism
through his commitment to simple living (and recording his
perceptions) at Walden Pond. Henry David Thoreau was also one
among the many English Romantics who rejected the modern
society's laws through acts of civil disobedience that accentuated the
rights of the individual over the laws of the government.
x Focus on the Individual and Spirituality
Romantic s turned in bound , valuing the individual experience above
all. Which eventually led to heightened sense of spirituality in
Romantic work, and the addition of mysterious, secret and
supernatural elem ents. Edgar Allan Poe is the best example. Poe’s
work epitomizes this a ttribute of the movement; for instance , Allen
Poe’s the narrative poem , ‘The Raven ’ is generally marked fo r its
musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere. It tells the
story of a man grieving for his dead love (an idealized woman in the
Romantic tradition) when a seemingly conscious Raven arrives and
afflicts him, which can be interpreted liter ally or can be seen as a
manifestation and indication of his mental instability
x Celebration of Isolation and Melancholy
The American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist and a poet ,
Ralph Waldo Emerson was a very famous and influential writer in
Romanticism. Emerson’s books of essays marked and scrutinized
many of the themes of the literary movement and established them.
‘Self-Reliance’ an 1841 essay, written by the American
transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson is a seminal
work of Romantic writing in which he emphasizes the importance of
individualism, and its effect on an individual’s satisfaction in life. In
this essay Emerson centres on the apparently insignificant details, by
explaining how life is ‘learning and forgetting and learning again’.
x Personification and Pathetic Fallacy
Romantic literature’s fascination and obsession on nature is
characterized by the hefty use of both personi fication and pathetic
fallacy. The English novelist, Mary Shelley used these techniques to
great extent in her gothic novel, Frankenstein .
x Interest in the Common Man
The English Romantic poet , William Wordsworth was one of the first
poets to embrace the concept of writing that could be read, enjoyed,
and understood by anyone. Word sworth eschewed overly stylized
language and references to classical works in favo ur of emotional
imagery conveyed and expressed in simple, elegant language, as in
his most memorable and remarkable poem titled, ‘I Wandered Lonely
as a Cloud’ . munotes.in
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22 Literary Criticism
22 3.3 LET’S SU M UP
The unit extensively studies the Literature and Imitation with reference to
Plato Aristotle , and in their debate on literature and imagination, Aristotle
successfully and finally refuted the charge of Plato and provided a defence
of poetry which has ever since been used by lovers of poetry in justification
of their Muse. He breathed new life and soul into the concept of poetic
imitation and showed that it is, in reality, a creative process. Whereas in
Literature and Imagination we have studied the importance and influence of
imagination on the creation and critique of literature . We have also seen how
imagination act as a source of creativity, and allows us to see what is not
immediately apparent.
With this knowledge the students will be able to use some important critical
terms and will become aware with the nature and function of literature and
criticism.
3.4 IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
x What is the difference between Plato’s approach and Aristotle’s
approach to imitation?
x How does Aristotle refute Plato’s view on art and imitation?
x How does Aristotle use Plato’s theory of mimesis to support
literature?
x Why does Aristotle believe t hat imitation is good?
x What is the role of imagination in literature?
x What were the aspects of the Romantic Movement?
x What is literary imagination?
x What were the main ideas of the Romantic Movement?
References
x www.allfree.blogspot.com
x www.thefreshreads.com
x www.jkppgcollage.com
x www.sites.google.com
x www.thepenandt hepad.com
x www.wikipedia.com
x www.thoughtco.com
x www.researchgate.net
7777777munotes.in
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23 4
NATURE AND FUNCTION OF
LITERATURE - II
Unit Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Literature as an Expression of the Writer’s Personality
4.1.1. Classification of Literary Theories
4.1.2 Romantic Theory of Literature
4.2 Function of Literature (Aesthetic, Moral and Cognitive Functions)
4.3 Conclusion
4.4 Suggested Questions
4.5 References
4.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit the learners will be able to:
1. Understand the concept that literature is an expression of the writer’s
personality
2. Explain the broad categories of the traditional and modern literary
theories
3. Examine the contribution of the romantic English poet -critics to the
expressive criticism
4. Recognize various functions of literature
4.1 LITERATURE AS AN EXPRESSION OF THE
WRITER’S PERSONALITY
Though many literary scholars have attempted to define literature,
contemporary critics and theorists are of the opinion that it cannot be
defined so they simply propose that literature means any use of language.
Ther e have been varied literary theories developed since antiquity which
attempted to grapple with the questions like what is literature and what is
the nature and function of literature etc. Following broad classification may
help us to understand them in a b etter way.
4.1.1. Classification of Literary Theories
M. H. Abrams in his ‘A Glossary of literary Terms’ classifies all the critical
theories right from classical to the modern time s into four type i.e. mimetic
theories, pragmatic theories, expressive theories and modern theories of munotes.in
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24 Literary Criticism
24 criticism with reference to their predominant orientation towards the
external world, the reader, the author and the assumption that a literary work
is an independent en tity.
1. Mimetic theory of criticism: Mimetic theory conceives of literature as
an imitation of nature and the basic criterion applied to literary work is
the ‘truth’ and ‘adequacy’ of its representation to the matter that it
represents or should represen t. The critical discourse developed by
Plato and Aristotle is still considered as the fundamental mimetic theory
of literature.
2. Pragmatic theory of criticism: As per the idea of pragmatic criticism
a literary work is created in order to achieve a specif ic effect on its
reader, the effect could be aesthetically pleasurable, didactic or
emotional in nature, and the work was judged on the basis of its success
in achieving that aim. This view of criticism was inaugurated by the
Roman poet-critic Horace in hi s famous work ‘ Ars Poetica ’ which
continued to be the major source of inspiration through 18th century.
Later this approach was revived as a Rhetorical criticism. Philip Sidney,
John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Samuel Joh nson, Jeremy Bentham etc.,
are recognized as the dominant theorists of the pragmatic criticism.
3. Objective theory of criticism: According to this view literary work is
an independent entity in itself which shares no relationship with the
outside world including writer and the reader or audience. Therefore, it
must be judged on the basis of its intrinsic criteria such as the
interrelation of its constituent elements. The modern theories developed
in 1920 such as new criticism and formalism are the dominant critical
approache s of objective criticism. The major theorists of this approach
are T. S. Eliot, I. A. Richards, Virginia Woolf, W. K. Wimsatt, Monroe
Beardsley etc.
4. Expressive theory of criticism: The writer and his work of literature
are closely associated with one another . The writer is a real man with
flesh and blood , as an integral part of society he writes about his
experiences, perceptions, difficulties and is sues in order to satisfy his
desires and solve problems and that of the others ; therefore, evaluati on
of his literary work becomes important endeavor for us . The Victorian
poet-critic Matthew Arnold believes that the poetry is a criticism of life.
The most valuable thing we acquire from literature is the sense of
instant connection with its creator. The language in literature as a
medium of expression embodies both object of representation and the
author ’s feelings. Expressive criticism views poetry as a “spontaneous
overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility” or it is the
result of poet’s imagination working on his knowledge, thoughts and
emotions. This critical approach attempts to evaluate the literary work
on the basis of poet’s expression of sincere attitude, vision and
temperament. It tries to find in the poet’s work the evidences of his
conscious or unconscious efforts to represent himself. These practices
have been developed by the 19th century romantic English writers and munotes.in
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25 Nature And Function Of Literature - II critics especially in the writings of psychological and psychoanalytical
writers of the modern period.
4.1.2 Romantic Theory of Literature
The Romantic English criticism is predominantly associated with the
Wordsworth’s Preface to the ‘Lyrical Ballads’ (1800) and S. T. Coleridge’s
Biographia Literaria . Wordsworth’s famous definition of poetry as a
‘spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling’ breaks the earlier notion of the
neoclassical age that the literary is the reflection of reality or imitation of
nature and establishes a new formula that the artist and his relation with the
work is the center of attention. Thus, literature was now considered as an
expression of the poet’s mind and not the mimetic art. For romantic critics
the poet i s an inspired genius stands above the society, a pro phetic and
visionary figure who is uncontrolled by the past and the guide of the future.
The revolutionary nature of the romantic age prompted contemporary poet -
critics to propose new ideas about the nature and function of poetry. The
romantic theory of poetry was in direct opposition to the 18th century
neoclassical theories which were imitative of human life and nature. The
romantics strongly held that the poetic stimulus lies within the nature and
poets mind and spontaneous emotional reaction. Therefore, their poetry
exhibits the poet ’s internal stat e of consciousness, it made ordinary things
or objects look miraculous and natural look supernatural with the help of
heightened sense of their power of imagination. Romantic poets and critics
gave more importance to the poet’s emotions than his logical reasoning. The
poetic persona of their works was directly connected with the poet’s self for
instance autobiographical works such as Wordsworth’s ‘The Prelude’,
‘Tintern Abbey’, Lord byron’s ‘Child Harold’, odes of keats etc.
S. T. Coleridge was one of the greatest English poet -critics who believed
that in order to find the truth there must exist both the knower as well as the
known in other words presence of the self and the nature as their interaction
and synthesis creates the literary work. The created work, however, is
neither the self not the nature but the different entity of its own and that is
governed by its own laws. Coleridge is known for his contribution to the
theory of imagination. In his ‘Biographia Literaria’ (1817) he distinguishes
between the primary imagination and secondary imagination. For him
primary imagination is a mental faculty common to all which helps us to
understand the outside world however, secondary imagination is a creative
force possessed by the gifted ones. Furthe r he proposes that in literature
there is a fusion of elements like poet’s emotions and thoughts that is
imagination, combination of the universal and the particular, the objective
and the subjective, and the general and the specific.
Percy Bysshe Shelly (1792 -1822) in his famous ‘ A Defense of poetry’
(1821) claims that poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world
who creates high ideals and employ poetry to achieve the platonic world of
utopia. He believed that human mind consists of two faculti es i.e. the reason
and the imagination. His reasoning mind replaces Coleridge’s primary
imagination and claims that t he imagination has a soothing power which munotes.in
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26 Literary Criticism
26 pacifies the people and makes them moral beings. According to him poetry
as a product of imaginat ion gives aesthetic pleasure and strengthens human
morality therefore imagination is bot h creative and pragmatic. A ccording to
him the poets create a good civil society and hence, he places them on the
high pedestal of honor .
John Keats (1795 -1823) was another notable poet -critic of the expressive
criticism whose letters (published posthumously in 1848) especially are of
immense importance for they consist of his famous critical term ‘negative
capability’. According him negative capability is the state of being in which
we are “capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts without any
irritable reaching after fact and reason… being content with half
knowledge”. Later he proclaimed that he was “certain of nothing but the
holiness of the Heart’s aff ections and the truth of imagination – What the
imagination seizes as Beauty must be truth – whether it existed before or
not – for I have the same idea of all our Passions as of Love they are all in
their sublime, creative of essential Beauty”. (Wikipedia ) Thus, John Keats
strongly believes in the imaginative faculty of the human mind which
creates truthful world of beauty.
During the 19th century romantic age there were many other significant
literary critics who helped shape the critical ideas of the ex pressive criticism
such as Charles Lamb, John Ruskin, William Godwin, William Hazlitt etc.
Thus, the view that literature as the expression of the writer’s personality
was the dominant perspective of the 19th century romantic English literature
which along with other modern critical approaches continues to influence
the present literary writers.
4.2 FUNCTION OF LITER ATURE (AESTHETIC,
MORAL AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS)
Literature plays a very significant role in our day to day life. As discussed
above there are various views on the nature and function of literature.
According to the classical philosophers literature is the mirror held up
towards the life or nature and th erefore truthful portrayal of life is the main
objective of the artist or creative writer . For sociological or Marxist scholars
literature is an expression of social consciousness. Thus, literature depicts
the mankind, their interactions, ambitions, frailt ies, suffering, happiness,
and emotions. We read literature for its values of entertainment and
instruction. And as romantic poet Shelley maintains that the literature helps
create good civil society. In fact in our day to day life we read literature for
various reasons such as – to achieve sheer entertainment and pleasure, to
simply pass the time, to acquire knowledge about the different places and
cultures, to get aesthetic pleasure out of beautiful literary styles and
imagery, to find solutions to our pr oblems, to escape into the imaginary
world of fiction so on and so forth. On the basis of these varied functions
literary critics have broadly deduced the following values of literature such
as aesthetic, moral and cognitive. munotes.in
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27 Nature And Function Of Literature - II 1. Aesthet ic Value of Literat ure: Aesthetic values are deeply rooted in
literature one has to skillfully identify them with the help of specific
literary techniques of reading which transform the work into aesthetic
symbol s. 19th century e xpressive criticism of English literature
emphasizes on the aesthetic value of literature as Jon Keats proclaims
that the thing of beauty is joy forever. “Aesthetics, in literature, is the
inclusion of references to artistic elements or expressions within a
textual work. It’s a method used to prom ote or educate readers about
important artistic expression in the society”. (Study.com)
2. Moral Value of Literature: With reference to morality the classical
Gree ks attempted to offer thoughtful account of the necessary human
activities so that one can understand the underlying principle in
pursuing them. The classical discourse on morality consists of many
ideas such as virtues, happiness and the soul. It has been believed that
the values of our life are closely connected with our behavior, traditions,
customs and mannerism. Literature teaches us what is good and bad and
helps nourish the good habits, thoughts and moral values in our life.
Morality determines goodness or badness of an individual’s thoughts or
actions. Moral values emerge from individual’ s consciousness that
helps develop his ow n self and that of his society. The representation of
moral values in literary works can guide us to live meaningful life.
Moral characters in the literary work influence our behavior, thoughts
and actions positivel y whereas antagonistic characters bring us on the
right path of life. For instance, the tragic characters in Shakespeare’s
tragedies have a cathartic impac t on our mind. When we watch his plays
the feelings of pity and fear are generated at a time and our mind gets
purgate d from bad emotions and passions that is because we as audience
or reader tend to relate ourselves with his tragic characters.
3. Cognitive Value of Literature: Literature develops our cognitive faculty
of mind in other words it is a source of our intellectual development.
The literature plays very vital role in our life because it develops our
understanding, imparts new knowledge and insights into various
matters of concern and teaches us good human values . The cognitive
ability of an individual helps him/her to identify what are good or
rewarding in literature, how he can learn them and pass on to others . It
has been psychologically proven that reading fiction can have cognitive
as well as emotive effects on our personality. The fiction alleviates our
beliefs, fosters our empathy and emotional understanding, and helps us
experience and understand the intricacies of our real life more clearly.
Our reading habits and choices can also help the psychoanalysts to
determine our unconsc ious traits of mind thereby leading him to treat
our neurotic disorders.
4.3 CONCLUSION
In this unit we have discussed that literature is essentially the expression of
the poet ’s personality and that we cannot study literature in isolation. We
cannot define literature since it consists of heterogeneous aspects. Since munotes.in
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28 Literary Criticism
28 antiquity many theories have been developed on the natu re and function of
criticism however M. H. Abrams identifies four major types of theories on
literature and criticism which helps develop our understanding about them
in a better way. Literature plays a very significant role in our life as it fosters
the c ognitive, aesthetic and moral faculties of our personality.
4.4 SUGGESTED QUESTIO NS
1. Explain the main types of literary theories.
2. Discuss literature as an expression of the poet ’s personality
3. Describe the major functions of literature
4.5 REFERENCES
Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Cengage Learning: Delhi,
1013
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_criticism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Keats
https://literariness.org/2020/12/11/romantic -literary -criticism/
https://academic.oup.com/jaac/article/73/3/273/5980951
https://www.um.edu .mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/30002/1/6.%20T
he%20Connection%20between.pdf
https://study.com/academy/lesson/aesthetic -concepts -in-literature.html
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29 5
NATURE AND FUNCTION OF LITERARY
CRITICISM
Unit Structure
5.0 Objectives
5.1 Nature of Literary Criticism
5.2 Functions of Literary Criticism (Explication, Analysis, Interpretation,
Evaluation, Theorizing)
5.3 A Survey of the Role of a Critic
5.4 Conclusion
5.5 Suggested Questions
5.6 References
5.0 OBJECTIVE OF THE UNI T:
i. To make them aware of the nature and function of literature and
criticism.
ii. To make them aware of the role of a critic.
Introduction:
The whole unit is a combination of three sections where students are
expected to be able to become aware of the nature and functions of literature
and criticism. The first section defines the nature of literary criticism as a
tool and art of evaluating. The second section provides the fu nctions of
literary criticism, which defines explication, analysis, interpretation,
evaluation and theorizing are the main functions of literary criticism. The
last section is a survey of the role of a critic, which defines the qualities of
a good critic. It is only literary criticism which provides us insights to love
any good book because without criticism we fail to know why we love them,
and what their good qualities are.
5.1. NATURE OF LITERARY CRITICISM
T. S. Eliot occupies a central position as the m ost influential poet - critic of
the modern age. His views on the nature and function of criticism, the role
and qualifications of a critic and his earnest desire to make criticism as an
objective and scientific as possible are expressed in The Sacred Wood , his
first collection, in "The Function of Criticism" (1923) and "The Frontiers of
Criticism" (1956). 'Eliot says that criticism "is about something other than
itself." He found English criticism so far divided between the conflicting munotes.in
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30 Literary Criticism
30 claims of classicism and romanticism, which respectively believed in an
outside authority and in individual liberty. In rejecting impressionistic
criticism which tends to become too subjective, he answered that the right
approach to criticism is the classical. Honest criticis m and sensitive
appreciation is directed not upon the poet but upon poetry. In initiating a
movement against all biographical approaches, Eliot stated, "Criticism must
always profess an end in view which, roughly speaking, appears to be the
elucidation of works of art and the correction of taste." He strongly believed
that criticism is a cooperative labour and critics should come together "in
the common pursuit of true judgement." He defined criticism as "the
commentation and exposition of works of art by m eans of written words."
True criticism is a scientific inquiry into a work of art to see it as it really
is, irrespective of what is outside it, who is the author, what is its social and
historical background. He rejects the thesis that the great artist is an
unconscious artist. If interpretation is the primary business of criticism, a
critic, Eliot says, "must have a very highly developed sense of fact." He
goes on to add, "This is by no means a trifling or frequent gift. The sense of
fact is something ver y slow to develop, and its complete development
means perhaps the very pinnacle of civilization." In this arduous task of the
critic, comparison and analysis are his chief tools. A good critic is objective,
his judgement is based on facts, and he is guided by tradition, the
accumulated wisdom of ages. In "The Frontiers of Criticism" nearly thirty
years later, broadening his viewpoint he says that the aim of criticism is "the
promotion of understanding and enjoyment of literature."
Literary criticism is the process of evaluation and interp retation of
literature . It means the judgement of any literary art or the work of any
author. Literary criticism is the exercise of judgement on works of literature.
To examine the merits and demerits and finally to evaluate the artistic
worth, is the function of criticism. Thus, literary criticism is the study,
discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Literary criticism
asks what liter ature is, what it does, and what it is worth. Literary criticism
helps readers to interpret the literature. Each literary theory gives us a
different way of looking at a given literary work, which can ultimately
reveal important aspects about it. Literary criticism helps us to understand
what is important about a literary text. For example: its structure, its context:
social, economic, historical and how the text manipulates the reader.
Literary criticism helps us to understand the relationship between auth ors,
readers, and literary texts. The act of literary criticism ultimately enhances
the enjoyment of our reading of the literary work. This criticism is possible
only if the author leaves his personality and his personal prejudices.
Literary criticism is a way to discover new things in the nature of literature
in all its forms that enables us, to begin with and to distinguish between a
good book and a bad book. It teaches us through its insights to distinguish
for ourselves between a good book and a great o ne, also it helps us to
recognize its literary quality. It opens up for us the whole world of pleasure
and imaginative experience and intellectual change, which we may not
discover without its help. Socrates was the first person to distinguish
between the ability to criticize and the ability to compose literature. If it had
suited his purpose, he might have said that the power to enjoy poetry is quite munotes.in
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31 Nature and Function of Literary Criticism different from the power to analyze it rationally. Socrates for the first time
pointed out that criticism i s a distinct species of literary activity and also
why it is distinct. This is probably the beginning of a discussion on
Literature (in fact, all fine arts), its enjoyment and literary criticism in the
western world.
The nature of literary criticism is occ upied by the activities of three distinct
powers: the power to create, the power to enjoy and the power to criticize.
The chief distinction of the power to criticize from the other two is the fact
that it can be acquired. Though criticism is an intuitive a s well as conscious
activity, its process appeals to certain intellectual principles that can be set
out, studied and put into practice in an orderly system. But there are no
principles that will tell you how to create literature or how to enjoy it.
Critic ism does not pretend to account for the state of the mind in which
literature is created, nor for that in which it is enjoyed. It assumes their
existence. That is to say, it assumes the fact that literature exists and then it
proceeds to enquire into the n ature of literature and to expound it. As soon
as a man becomes aware that it would suit his purpose to say something in
one way and not the other, criticism begins. In this sense, criticism begins
when literature begins. Though criticism begins with vague instinctive
preference, it goes on to become a distinct and conscious activity that can
be rationally justified; there is always an appeal to intellectual principles in
it.
However, criticism helps the creative writer as well as the reader who enjoys
literature. It enables the man who has the creative power to make the most
intelligent and efficient use of his creative power. Criticism, as distinct from
creation and enjoyment, consists in asking and answering rational questions
about literature. These are of two kinds: the first proceeds from literature in
general to particular pieces of literature and the second proceeds from the
particular to the general. In the first kind of enquiry, we start with the
general view of literature asking the following t ype of questions: what is
literature? What are the qualities common to all literature? What is the
function of literature? The results of such an enquiry can be set out in a
system of principles which express our understanding of the nature of
literature. These principles are intellectual principles but they are not laid
down a priori as prescribing the nature which literature ought to have. The
nature of literature is a fact, which exists, whether we investigate it or not.
Whether we criticize it or not, l iterature exists on its own as an objective
fact. The nature of criticism is to see the qualities of a good literature, which
give some particular work its individuality. Obviously, the mood and the
spirit as well as the choice of matter and its technique, and also the use of
language are all found the subject of nature of criticism.
5.2. FUNCTIONS OF LITER ARY CRITICISM
The function of literary criticism is to examine the merits and demerits or
defects of a work of art and finally to evaluate its worth. The chief function
of criticism is to enlighten and stimulate. The true critic is the one who is
equipped for his task by a sound knowledge of his subject. The true critic munotes.in
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32 Literary Criticism
32 can discover the qualities of power, beauty and depth of significance. A
critic can give us a fresh point of view. He is sometimes a path finder,
breaking new ground, with a friendly passion. As such the primary
functions of literary criticism are interpretation and judgment. Another
important factor to note is that the view of criticism is directly related to the
critic’s own intellectual philosophy or outlook of life. It is determined by
the likes, dislikes, and prejudices and this is equally shaped by the socio -
political sensibilities of the critic’s environment. As such, critical theor ies
are shaped by the spirit of the age.
Literary criticism brings in an expert’s opinion to examine a piece of literary
work. The expert is a literary critic who uses his talent and training to look
into merits and defects of a work in order to pass a jud gment upon it.
However, criticism is not a mere record of judgements. It includes the whole
mass of writing that is written about literature proper. The object of criticism
is analysis, interpretation and evaluation of a work of literary art. These
functio ns are different from critic to critic in that they combine one or more
of these according to their own viewpoints. Criticism deals with poetry,
drama, novel and other literary forms, which deal with life directly. If
creative literature is an interpretati on of life through various forms of
literary expression, criticism is an interpretation of that interpretation as
well as of the forms of literature. This does not mean that criticism has
nothing to do with life directly. Literature is interested in life a nd personality
is one of the chief facts of life. Criticism, which tries to interpret the
personality of a great writer as it is revealed in a literary work of art, truly
deals with life as literature does. We all know that a poem does not come
out of a ha t; it has to come from a head that is human. If a great writer makes
us realize the larger sense and meaning of life, a critic makes us realize the
larger sense and meaning of literature itself. As we have seen the continuous
change in the criticism from t he classical to the modern age, a shift from an
emphasis on the author to an emphasis on the text. The new critics made
use of such distinction to usher in a critical revolution by making the text
the centre of attention and not the poet as had been the ca se with romantic
critics like Word sworth, Hazlitt and Keats etc.
Literary criticism has two major functions to perform, one of interpretation
and the other of judgement. The history of criticism shows that these two
functions were combined till recent time s. The function of a critic is not just
to criticize a work but he has to present the facts then only a reader can make
his or her own judgement. A majority of critics have used interpretation as
a means to reach judgement which they have thought to be th e real end of
criticism. These two functions have been separated in modern criticism as
it is maintained that the critic's duty is not judgement but only interpretation
or exposition .A critic should compare different works of art and present
everything ob jectively. The real aim of a critic is to penetrate the heart of a
work, to separate its essential qualities of beauty and strength, to distinguish
between what is temporary and what is permanent in it and to explain and
examine the artistic and moral prin ciples that have guided the writer. In this
sense, a critic is expected to make what is implicit in a work of art. If the
task of a writer is to conceal his art, that of a critic is to reveal it, to exhibit
the interrelations of different parts of a work t o bring out the connection of munotes.in
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33 Nature and Function of Literary Criticism each to the whole. Thus, explaining, unfolding and illuminating are the tasks
of a critic -to reveal all aspects of its content, its art and its design. After this
he may evaluate it, justifying his stand. But his primary conce rn is to know
the book and help us know it. In this way only a critic provides the reader
the opportunity to develop the aesthetic sense and intellect. He need not pass
any definite judgement upon it based on his own taste or on any organized
body of criti cal opinions.
5.3. A SURVEY OF THE RO LE OF A CRITIC
The word critic comes from the Greek word Kritikos which means a person
who provides judgement on any literary work. A critic always
communicates and puts his opinion on various f orms of creative works su ch
as art, literature , music , cinema , theater , fashion , architecture , and food. A
critic may include a positive or negative personal response in his work,
however much principles and criteria may be invoked, and whatever efforts
may be made to eliminate the personal factor, all criticism is fundamentally
subjective and impressionist ic. We as a reader always depend on the critic’s
point of view which he provides to evaluate the work of any author. When
we talk about the characteristics of a good critic he must have or show the
ability to speak fluently and coherently. He must preferab ly use language
with a high level of appeal and skill. He must have Sympathy , sensitivity
and insight too. A critic must consider all form s, style s and medium s.
A critic must always be impersonal and objective whenever he criticizes
any work. He should not be subjective at all. A good or an ideal critic has
to undertake only in the light of what w e expect of a good critic and what is
his role in literary criticism. A good critic functions on the basis of the wide
range and depth of his reading of literature and his literary taste as a
dependable guide, an interpreter and a judge of literary works. At last he
has the general point of view who is able to formulate his own principles of
art and literature. A critic can mould the literary taste of his times in front
of the reader.
Alexander Pope said that critic must be very careful and humble when
critiquing any piece of literature. He should not presume himself to be far
superior to others. The critic, though he finds a work worth censuring,
should restrain his censure, in order to forgive his faults and discover the
merits of the reader. A critic mus t possess a knowledge of both books and
humankind. He must study human nature closely. He must praise, where
praise is due setting aside class, group, religious prejudices. Criticism as a
responsibility should not be abused. Critics must write with fire bu t judge
with coolness because they make more enemy than friends.
Wide and many -sided reading is basic to most of the intrinsic qualifications
that a critic should possess. Just as experience helps a person become mature
on the path of life, a wide rang ing and in -depth reading of literature makes
a critic more sound and dependable in his literary responses. Such reading
enables a critic to recognize the literary qualities of a genius who makes a
departure from literary tradition and conventional writing. A critic has to
recognize a genius, or what Eliot calls an individual talent, on first meeting munotes.in
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34 Literary Criticism
34 him in his works. He should be quick in responding to a fresh and virgin
sensibility. A proper estimate of an author always takes time, but a good
critic comes up with it when he comes across a literary genius for the first
time.
A good critic is valuable therefore in evaluating contemporary works -
books that have been published recently. Most of the review writers perform
this function. A good reviewer should p ossess the essential qualifications
for a good critic to guide readers on the right path. Of course, we would be
wrong in restricting the qualities of a good critic within the purview of
contemporary literature only. Reassessment of the literature and lite rary
tradition of the past is also a fundamental task of a good critic. Eliot's
reassessment of metaphysical poets and Elizabethan and Jacobean
dramatists which has proved his worth as a good critic is also valuable
literary criticism. Revaluation of the p ast is the built -in ability expected of
a critic.
A spirit of detachment has to evolve in a critic so that he would not succumb
to the pressures of personal likes and dislikes. The more sincere and honest
a critic is in his vocation, the greater will be hi s objectivity in reviewing
works of art. A critic is expected to be a judge, his basic function is to
interpret a work of art. An ideal critic does not confine himself to judgement
only. He is, first and foremost, an interpreter of literature. As he is end owed
with a fine sensibility and an analytical mind, he is able to offer an
unprejudiced interpretation of a work of art, and finally it is his interpretive
skill that enables him to pass a judgement on that work of art. He, in fact,
opens the entire world of imaginative experience of the work in question,
enabling us to respond to it and thereby derive aesthetic pleasure from it. G.
Wilson Knight's analysis of Shakespeare's language or Caroline Spurgeon's
brilliant study of Shakespearean imagery takes us t o the heart of his plays.
Many scholars considered Shakespeare's last plays as less artistic and
neglected them as romances, but it was to the credit of Derek Traversi to
prove the artistic merit of the last plays like The Tempest. Though their
methods of analyses are different, all these critics are good in their own way.
Even if the new critics have disapproved of the critical methods used by
Prof. Livingstone Lowes in his book on Coleridge entitled The Road to
Xanadu, the light it throws on Coleridge's p oem Kubla Khan cannot be
ignored. Whatever be a critic's method, it should offer a fresh insight into
the work of art.
Besides being an interpreter, a critic has his own theory or philosophy of
literature. Rather a critic reaches this stage when he becomes a generalizer
after he reaches, through a process of deduction, a set of principles or rules
that govern works of art belonging to that form or genre. The first western
critic to reach this was Aristotle. His Poetics offers a set of rules or
principles on the basis of his study of Greek tragic drama of his times. Most
of the critics of the classical and the neo -classical era accepted Aristotle's
tenets to review drama of later period. A critic always works within the
theoretical framework in which he belie ves. Whether as a judge, or
interpreter or generalizer, a critic has to offer a fresh insight into a work of
art which readers are generally likely to miss or unlikely to capture. munotes.in
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35 Nature and Function of Literary Criticism 5.4 CONCLUSION:
It is rather difficult to reconcile the claims of interpretation and judgement
as the two are not easy to separate. G. Wilson Knight says, “Criticism is a
process of deliberately objectifying works under consideration, the
comparison of it with other similar works in order to show in what respect
it surpa sses or falls shor t of these works.” A critic should avoid the value of
judgements, he should not take a moral stand and become a judge . We can
say that wide and in -depth reading, openness of mind, a never diligent
scholarly approach, analytical mind and a n attitude of judicious detachment
are among the most important qualifications of a critic. An ideal critic takes
his vocation as a journey, forever exploring and propagating the best that is
known and thought in the world of literature. A good critic, in short,
contributes something of unique value to our appreciation of literature and
to our ability to recognize and enjoy the greatest and the most aesthetic
quality in literature. He sees aesthetic in all literary work as it really is. To
achieve this end the critic requires a capacity to divest himself of all
preconceived notions in order to allow the text to speak to him and
communicate its message or meaning without the intervention of the critic's
passions or prejudices.
5.5 SUGGESTED QUESTIONS:
1- What are the chief functions of literary criticism?
2- What are the qualities of a good critic?
3- What is the nature and functions of literary criticism?
4- What are the major functions of criticism?
5- How do you describe the nature of criticism?
5.6 REFERENCES:
x Das & Mohanty. Literary Criticism, a Reading. Oxford University
Press, 1985.
x Enright & De Chickera. English Critical Texts, 16th to 20th century,
Oxford University Press, 1962.
x Goring, Hawthorn & Mitchell. Studying Literature: The Essential
Companion. London, Hodder Education, 2001.
x Matthew Arnold. Essays in Criticism. J. M. Dent & Sons LTD, London,
1965.
x M. A. Habib. Literary Criticism from Plato to the present, An
Introduction, New Delhi, 2011.
x Thorat, Lyer, Salunke & Nair. A Spectrum o f Literary Criticism. Frank
Bros & Co. Ltd, New Delhi, 2001.
x W. H. Hudson. An Introduction to the Study of Literature. Atlantic
Publishers, New Delhi, 1998.
x https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
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36 Literary Criticism
36 6
SCANSION - I
Unit Structure
6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Elements of Poetry
6.3 Scansion
6.4 Method of Scansion
6.5 How to Scan a Poem
6.6 Rules of Scansion
6.7 References
6.0 OBJECTIVES:
x To introduce students about scansion of a poem and techniques
involved in it.
x To scan poem, identify the base metre (iamb, trochee), variations
(pyrrhic, spondee, anapaest, dactyl, cretic, amphibrach , etc.)
x To identify rhyme scheme, stanza forms , and the metrical peculiarities
such as end-stopped lines, ru n-on lines, elision, caesura and other
basic concepts of versification.
6.1 INTRODUCTION:
Scansion is typically performed on poetry. It helps to analyse and
understand various devices and aspects used in the poem. Before moving
further, let us understand some of the important and frequently used
elements in poetry.
Poetry: Poetry is one of the oldest genres in literature. According to Arp &
Perrine (2005:2), the value of poetry is same as the language’ s value which
it has a universal contribution in the human civilization. They believe that
poetry have been used and civilized both primitive and civilized people. It
has been written and listened by all kinds of people in all ages around the
world. While Fabb and Halle (2008:1) said “Poetry is a form of verbal art
that has been found in all languages and in all times”. Most people use
poetry as their media to make an art of language, regardless of what kind of
the language they used. It can be denied that poetry is the kind of literary
works which the most old than the others. In every single era and period,
poetry has been se tted it self as the art of verbal language that being an
artifact in literature world. munotes.in
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37 Scansion - I Poems invoke an experience that may consist of event, feelin g, mood or
emotion and thought. Although poetry is the form of literature that uses less
word than other forms, it can explain the complete story through its
language. Poets tend to use his own language style to keep the message in
his poem that he wants t o transfer to his readers. Poetry is a kind of literature
that its presentation prioritizes the beauty of the language and the density of
meaning as well.
6.2 ELEMENTS OF POET RY:
a. Rhyme
Rhyme is the repetition the identical final syllables of words that may
appear in two successive lines, in alternating lines, or at intervals of
four, five, or more lines. If rhyming sounds are too far away from each
other, they lose their immediacy and effectiveness. The functions of a
rhyme are to delight, strengthe n a poem ’s psychological impact, and
support memorization o f the poem. According to Vendler (2009:72),
the simplest rhyme in grammatically speaking is the words that have
same position in part of speech: (weigh, neigh) which is two verbs,
and (cat, hat) wh ich is two nouns for instance.
In the rhyme perspective, there is a traditional pattern as the
continuation of it which called as rhyme scheme. Rhyme scheme is
the pattern used at the end rhymes of a poem in a stanza order. There
are several rhyme scheme of poetry such as abab, ababcc, aabb, and
so forth.
For example, a poem by William Wordsworth which used ababcc
pattern as its rhyme scheme is The Daffodils.
I wandered lonely as a cloud (a)
7Kat fOoats on KiJK oெer vaOes anG hills (b)
When all a t once i saw a crowd (a)
A host, of golden daffodils (b)
Beside the lake, beneath the trees (c)
Futtering and dancing in the breeze (c)
This is the first stanza in the daffodils poem by William Wordswor th.
We can see in this stanza, W ordsworth used the match ending syllable
which make the sound of this poem seems to be harmonic and ear
catching to the reader. This is actually the goal of a rhyme in poe try,
to create the similar ending l ine in a stanza organization.
b. Meter
Meter is an ordering of language with a particular set of the character
of its own. The order of language in English and several modern
languages is syllabic stress. The whole additional aspects of language
are gift, in fact the y take a main role to the verse’ s rhy thm, but the munotes.in
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38 Literary Criticism
38 meter does not order them. According to Arp & Perrine (2005:77), the
meaning of meter is measure. When we want to measure something
we need to have the measurement first. The inch, foot, and yard use
to measure length; whi le the second, minute , and hour use to measure
the time. The same condition occurs to verse, we need the foot, line
and stanza t o measure it. The metrical poem is a full package of
rhythms, which are composed of strong and weak stresses. Typically,
a set of one strong syllable and one or two unstressed syllable known
as a foot of verse. It must be stressed that meter is not abstract or
theoretical, although sometimes it is talked about as if it were; it is not
opposed to rhythm but is a way of organizing rhythm. But wh ile the
meter of the poem is som ething it shares with other poems, rhythm
involves many factors besides meter, and is unique to a particular
poem.
c. Rhythm
The first and most elementary pleasure in all poetry is rhythm.
Rhyth m basically is the music ality produced by the poems and which
include s the syllables in the line of poem. It is produced by the
repetition and emphasis that creates a rhythmic beat. Rhythm is used
by all poets and hear d by the readers of poetry . Rhythm freely plays
with or even against meter.
6.3 SCANSION :
Scansion is the act of scanning a poem to discover how the poem establishes
a metrical pattern, which syllables are accented (receive stress) and which
are not (receive no stress). Scansion is the method or practice of determining
and (usually) graphically representing the metrical pattern of a line of verse.
In classical poetry, these patterns are based on the different lengths of each
syllable, and in English poetry, they are based on the different levels of
stress placed on each syllable. To scan a poem is to give a visual
representation of some aspects of its rhythmic movement.
Scansion basically aimed to find out the stress and unstressed sylllable, we
need to understand what stress it is. Stress or accent refers simply to the
prominence some syllables have over others in speech. Stress is the way we
pronounce words , which syllables in a word are pronounced more
emphatically than others around them, which syllables in a line are stronger
than the ones around them.
6.3.1 Elements of Scansion
Scansion can be staged by using two symbols . ( / ) indicating the syllables
with stress (strong syllable) and ( x ) non-stress syllables (weak syllable) .
There are some elements in scansion method, they are:
a. Syllable and Stress
Scansion is a portrayal of poetr y’s rhythm through the fission of the
lines into feet, giving the symbols of accented and unac cented munotes.in
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39 Scansion - I syllables, deals with meter, and calculating the amount of syllables.
Typically, scansion is a scanning method of poetry analysis to indicate
the weak and strong syllable, hence syllable s hold an important role
in scansion analysis.
Syllables are the segments of sounds that make up individual words
(syllabics); A syllable, however, might be made up of a number of
phonemes: k/a/t go to make up the single expressed voic e of cat.
Instead of long and short syllables English scansion has come to
recognize stressed and unstressed sylla bles, with stress often marked
/ and unstressed x . Technically, from a lingusitic point of view, every
syllable has at least som e strees to it, because we wouldn ’t be able to
hear when it has not. A syllable has its own stress, typically divided
into strong or weak stre ss.
b. Line and Stanza
Because scansion deals with which syllables are stressed and which
syllables are unstress ed, we can identify every single syllable that are
arranged in a row, which are called as lines. Line is the fundamental
unit in versification. From the metrical point of view, a line of verse
is to be regarded as a row of syllables. To scan a line is to a ssign the
proper metrical value to each syllable, thus showing how the line in
question is rel ated to the metrical scheme. The number of line s will
depend upon the types of poems. It consists of the text that poet tries
to convey through his lyric.
Stanza is a group or set of lines that form the basic form of metrical
unit in poems. The original sense of stanza in Italian is “stopping -
place” , a place to take a stand, and more particularly “room” . These
associated senses are exactly appropriate to the estab lished sense of
stanza in poetry. A poem in stanzas is one comprising a series of
groups of lines shaped in the same way, and usually, although not
always of the same length. As each group ends, the poem has a
momentary stopping -place.
There are several k inds of stanza, they are: one line form, two lines
form, three lines form, four lines form, five lines form, six line form,
seven line form, eight line form, nine line form, sonnet (14 lines
form), rondeau and rondel (The rondeau became a fifteen -line form
divided into a quintet , a quatrain and a sestet , and employing just two
rhymes. Meanwhile rondel is the 14 lines stanza which consists of two
quatrians followed by a quintet stanza.
6.3.2 Metrical Foot and Metrical Lines
Traditi onally, scansion is the process of analyzing the rhythm of poetry
through its meter in each foot. In English, the accented and unaccented
syllables grouped into units called feet. In English, metrical patterns consist
of repeated patterns of stressed and u nstressed syllables. munotes.in
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40 Literary Criticism
40 a. Metrical Foot
The foot is the basic unit o f measurement in a line. While scanning a
line, one look for combinations of accented and unaccented syllables
and group them into these feet. Syllables are of two types, stressed or
accen ted ( / ) and unstressed or unaccented ( x ). If a word is stressed
or unstressed depends on how the word is pronounced in the given
line.
Major Feet in English: Foot Syllable Stress Pattern Example Monosyllabic 1 1 Accented (/) Know Iambic 2 1 Unaccented followed by 1
Accented (x/) Plenty Trochaic 2 1 Accented followed by 1
Unaccented (/x) Further Dactylic 3 1 Accented followed by 2
Unaccented (/xx) Tenderly Anapestic 3 1 Unaccented followed by 2
Accented (x//) Interfere Spondaic 2 2 Accented (//) Black Board Additionaly, there are two extra pattern to pointed the additional
syllables which typically appeared in the end of the line. They are
Masculine and feminine ending.
1. Masculine ending , the end of line which has stressed syllables ( /).
2. Feminine ending , the end of line w hich has unstressed syllable ( x ).
b. Meter:
Meter is a literary device that works as a structural element in poetry.
Essentially, meter is the basic rhythmic structure of a line within
a poem . Meter functions as a means of imposing a specific number of
syllables and emphasis when it comes to a line of poetry that adds to
its musicality. It consists of the number of syllables and the pattern of
emphasis on those syllables. In addition, meter governs individual
units within a line of poetry, called “feet.” A “ foot” of a poetic work
features a specific number of syll ables and pattern of emphasis. munotes.in
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41 Scansion - I Perhaps the most famous example of poetic meter is
iambic pentameter . An iamb is a metrical foot that consists of one
short or unstressed syllable followed by a long or stressed syllable.
The structure of iambic pentameter features five iambs per line, or ten
total syllables per line. All the even -numbered syllables in this metric
form are stressed.
Types of Meter: Name of Metrical Line The Number of Feet Monometer One foots per line Dimeter Two foots per line Trimeter Three foots per line Tetrameter Four foots per line Pentameter Five foots per line Hexameter Six foots per line Heptameter Seven foots per line Octameter Eight foots per line 6.4 METHOD OF SCANSION :
The primary aim of scansion is to show clearly the basic rhythmic structure
of a line or group of lines an d pointing the syllables that are strong or
accented, and the syllab les that are weak or unaccented . These syllables
show the basic metrical pattern in each li ne. There are several stages to scan
a poem, they are:
a. First, read the poem loud to find out a particular rhythm
b. Second, mark each syllable. Mark “ / ” over the syllable which has a
strong or accented pronunciation or sound , and mark “ x ” over the
syllable which has a weak or unaccented pronunciation or sound .
c. Third , after identifying a particular pattern, (/ x : / x, for instance), mark
a vertical line by using slash (/ ) between each unit of the pattern to
indicate the feet.
d. Four th, identify what kind of metrical feet have been used in the lines
of poem , i.e. whether they are iambic, trochaic, anapestic, dactylic, or
spondaic.
e. Fifth , count the amount of feet in each line to see what kind of metrical
line it is, i.e. whether monometer, dimeter, trimeter, tetrameter,
pentameter, hexameter, heptameter, or octameter. munotes.in
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42 Literary Criticism
42 f. At last , give name to the metrical pattern in each line by combin ing the
metrical foot and the metrical line, “iambic hexameter” for instance.
6.5 HOW T O SCAN A POEM :
Stress: The rhythm of poetry depends on rhythmic elements present in
ordinary speech. In English, speakers give more emphasis or stress to some
syllables than others. We learned what syllables to stress and what syllables
to leave unstressed more o r less unconsciously when we learned to speak.
Meter is, in English, the organization of stressed and unstressed syllables.
How to Scan a Metrical Poem: Almost all English poetry from the
Renaissance to the end of the nineteenth century is written in a me ter.
There are four possible accentual -syllabic meters in English, based on the
possible patternings of stressed and unstressed syllables. Two of them are
based on rising rhythms, patterns that come to a stress at the end, and two
on falling rhythms, patt erns that begin with a stress. The names for them
come from Greek. The Greek prosodists called each unit of the pattern a
foot, as if the meter walked. Here are the four possible foot types in English:
Rising rhythms:
the iamb, or iambic foot (x /)
the a napest, or anapestic foot (x x /)
Falling rhythms:
the trochee, or trochaic foot (/ x)
the dactyl, or dactylic foot (/ x x)
The Greeks distinguished many other meters based on other pat -terns of
syllables, but as a practical matter, the ear seems to hear all unstressed
syllables as organized around one stressed syllable pre -ceding or following
it—or at least that's the way writ ers in English have always thought about
it. So there may be these four possible meters. But, in fact, almost all
metrical poetry in English is written in an iambic meter or in a meter that
has an iambic base. In practice, dactylic meters hardly exist beca use the
unstressed syllables are subsumed by the rising rhythm of the next stressed
syllable, and the anapest can be thought of as a skipping iamb.
In a line of Shakespeare's iambic pentameter:
When to/ the ses -/-sions of/ sweet si -/ lent thought
certain syllables, when, ses -, sweet, si, and thought, receive an accent, but
one foot —/sions of/ —doesn't contain a lexical stress. Meter sup -plies it.
How do you know which syllable to stress in /When to/ or / -sions of/?
Normally the pattern imposed by t he meter tells you —it tells you that / -
sions of/ is a metrical foot in an iambic line and so you apply the pattern.
Sometimes rhetorical stress tells you. /When to/ is a metrical foot in a line
of iambic verse, so you know to consider the two syllables in relation to one
another. But the lexical rules tells you that in speech "when," an adverb,
receives stress and "to," a mono syllabic preposition, doesn't. What do you munotes.in
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43 Scansion - I do? The rules of speech rhythm trump the metrical rule. The pattern is
iambic, but the foo t is trochaic. This way of establishing a pattern and then
upending it from time to time is called substitution. It's very common in
metrical poetry, but more common in some parts of the line than others.
6.6 RULES OF SCANSION:
1. The first rule of scansion: If you think you hear a meter in a poem, it
is probably an iambic meter; the first thing to do is to test this
hypothesis by dividing the line into poetic feet.
Note: Ignore punctuation and meaning when you divide the line into
feet. All you're trying to do is determine whether or not a pattern
applies.
Note 2: Don't arbitrarily chop it into twos. There may be an extra
syllable in the form of an anapestic substitution.
You are reading Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snow y
Evening" and it sounds metrical to you. So you try to discover the
pattern by dividing the first two lines into feet:
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
and then you mark the stressed and unstressed syllables to see if Frost
was using an iambic meter.
2. The second rule of scansion is that, once you have determined the
division into feet, you only compare the level of stress in a syllable
with the level of str ess of other syllables in the same foot. For
example, in the second line, once you have separated the phrase "His
house is in" into two feet, /his house/ is in/, you only compare "his"
with "house" and "is" with "in." You don't compare "in" with "house."
This is to make sure that you are marking the meter an d not the
rhythm.
Rhythmically, you may hear a line with three strong accen -tual
stresses, followed by another line with three strong accentual stresses,
but the stresses are not the meter. The relation of stressed and
unstressed syllables is the meter. S o even if the rhythm sounds like
this to you:
Who se woods these are I think I kno w.
His ho use is in the village, tho ugh;
- the meter looks like this:
x / x / x / x /
/Whose woods/ these are/ I think/ I know./
x / x / x / x /
/His house/ is in/ the vil/ lage, though;/ munotes.in
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44 Literary Criticism
44 Often you will hear what feel like strong irregular emphases in
metrical poems. The irregularities are strong, because once a pattern
is established, you notice departures f rom the pattern. So, of course,
poets learned that one of the best ways to get emphasis is to establish
a meter and then vary it. You vary it by changing the iambic pattern
to some other pattern. There are three kinds of substitution in iam -bic
verse:
an anapestic foot (x x /)
a trochaic foot (/ x)
a spondaic foot (/ / )
Some people would add a fourth kind of substitution:
a double iamb (x x / / )
This is to accommodate a very common conformation in English, the
phrase based on preposition -article -adjective -noun, like "in a dark
time or "on a high peak." This isn't entirely necessary. You may think
of in a dark time
as a trochee – in a – and a spondee – dark time , but some poets have
felt that the piling up of two strong str esses in the second pair of
syllables mutes the effect of any comparative difference in the first
pair of syllables and have felt, therefore, that calling this configura tion
a double iamb reflects something about iambic rhythm in English
more accurately.
It is also not uncommon for a line of iambic verse to have a final
unaccented syllable. If all the lines have a final unaccented syllable,
you are in the presence of a r are poem written in a trochaic meter.
Prohibitions: Contrary to what you might read in some manuals of
prosody, there are kinds of substitutions that don't occur in iambic
verse. There are no pyrrhic feet —a pair of unaccented syllables —
because the pattern will impose relatively more stress on one syllable
in any pair in an iambic line. There are no dactylic feet. A three -
syllable pattern of stressed -unstressed -unstressed doesn't exist in
English because the rising rhythm will always assimilate the third
weak syllable to the next stressed syllable rather than to the previous
one.
And, though there are single accented syllables sometimes in the first
position in a line or an unaccented single syllable at the end, there are
no single syllable feet in the midd le of a line. If you find a pattern that
seems to demand one, rethink your perception of the pattern. (Yeats's
"Lake Isle of Innisfree" is the notable exception.) The most typical
substitution in an iambic meter is the use of a trochaic or spondaic
foot at the beginning of a line for emphasis. The first line in Yeats's
"Sailing to Byzantium," for example, has a trochee in the first
position: munotes.in
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45 Scansion - I That is \ no coun \ try for \ old men. \ The young
You can tell it's a trochee because th e rhetorical emphasis of the
demonstrative pronoun that requires it. There is a spondee in the first
position in another poem by Yeats written in memory of two dead
friends:
Dear sha \ dows, now \ you know \ it all,
The substitution called a double iamb often occurs at the begin -ning
of a line because of the usual structure of p repositional phrases in
English – preposition, article, adjective, noun: "in a dark time, on a
high peak." If you apply our second rule to these phrases, you wo uld
probably scan them this way –
/ x / / / x / /
\ in a\ dark time \ \ on a\ high peak \
- because the prepositions get slightly more semantic emphasis than
the articles. To an ear tuned to the phrase -rhythm and not to the meter,
they sound, of course, like this -
x x / / x x / /
in a dark time on a high peak
- and some poets tend to think of that pattern as a form of two -foot
metrical substitution, in effect, a double iamb, so that you could, for
example, scan a line from Robert Frost's "Birch es"—
He always kept his poise
to the top branches, climbing carefully
- like this:
x x / / x / x / x /
to the top bran \ ches, climb \ ing care \ fully
3. So, the third rule of scansion is to be alert to substitution. For e' ample,
look at these lines from Frost's "The Oven Bird":
str
lik
lik SO' say an tin yoi a!, "LI un It's fee are em the
There is a singer everyone has heard, Loud, a mid -summer and a mid -
wood bird, Who makes the solid tree trunks sound again. He says that
leaves are old and that for flowers Mid -summer is to spring as one to
ten.
First, divide it into poetic feet; then mark the stressed and un -stressed
syllables. You will have done w ell if you divided the lines like this:
/There is/ a sing/ er ev/ eryone/ has heard,/ /Loud, a/ mid -sum/ mer
and/ a mid -/ wood bird,/ /Who makes/ the sol/ id tree/ trunks sound/ munotes.in
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46 Literary Criticism
46 again./ /He says/ that leaves/ are old/ and that/ for flowers/ /Mid -sum/
mer is/ to spring/ as one/ to ten./
The only word you may have puzzled over is flowers. It is a word,
like heaven, that is sometimes treated as a one -syllable word and
sometimes as a two -syllable word, depending on how you hear and
say it. Frost is either hearing it as a one -syllable word or he is leaving
an extra unstressed syllable at the end of the line, as poets some -times
do. But when it comes to scansion there may be several feet that give
you pause. The first obvious substitution occurs in the foot / Loud, a/,
in which it's clear for both semantic and rhetorical reasons that "Loud"
is more strongly accented than "a." The pattern is stressed -unstressed,
so the foot is a trochee, and this is a trochaic substitution. It's the most
common one in English ve rse. You may also be unsure about how to
mark the second and fifth feet in the same line. Is /mid -sum/ a spondee
because both syllables are emphasized equally, or an iamb because
sum gets slightly more emphasis than mid -? And what about /wood
bird,/? This brings us to the fourth and fifth rules of scansion
4. The fourth rule is that a tie goes to the meter. That is, the point of
creating a metrical pattern is to draw the relation of stressed and
unstressed syllables into an order. Ezra Pound had a metaph or for this
order -making in art —"the rose in the steel dust." He was thinking of
the rose shape made when a magnet pulls random par -ticles of steel
dust into the pattern made by lines of electromagnetic force. Meter
pulls syllables into its pattern in the same way. So, if you are not sure
which way a scansion should go, give the meter the benefit of the
doubt. In that second line above, therefore, it's probably best to call
both feet iambs. But if you think that the whole structure of sound is
changed by th ose strong accents, then call them spondees.
5. Which leads us to the fifth rule: The point is not to be right; the point
is to listen and to train your ear into the deepest textures of the sound
of a poem. Once you notice what Frost is doing in that lin e, piling up
strongly accented syllables -
Loud, a mid -summer and a mid -wood bird.
-it doesn't too much matter whether you scan it
or
/Loud, a/ mid -sum/ mer and/ a mid -/ wood bird./
/Loud, a/ mid -sum/ mer and/ a mid -/ wood bird./
What matters is that y ou notice that Frost is trying to give you some -
thing of the energy of the bird's song. To summarize: 1. you determine
the meter by inspection —by testing your sense of what it is until you
discover what pattern the poet had in mind; 2. you mark stressed an d
unstressed syllables only by comparing the relative stress with other
syllables in the same foot; 3. you are alert to substitution; 4. you
assume, if you're not sure, that the metrical pattern pre -dominates; 5.
and you don't worry too much about whether you're right or not; you
listen to the sound of the poem. munotes.in
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47 Scansion - I METER LENGTHS
Poems with two metrical feet are written in dimeter. If in iambic feet,
iambic dimeter. And so on. Three feet is trimeter, four is tetram -eter,
five is pentameter, six hexameter. The commonest meters in English
are iambic tetrameter and iambic pentameter.
PAUSES IN A LINE
When talking about the meter and the rhythm of a poem, it is often
useful to pay attention to the changing position of the main pause in
each line. The term for th is pause is caesura, and caesuras are often
marked with a double line, H. For example:
/There is/ a sing/ er//ev/ eryone/ has heard/ /Loud,//a/ mid -sum/ mer
and/ a mid -/ wood bird./
You can see, if you imagine that brief silence moving around in
relation to the unchanging measure of the ten -syllable line, how it
would have a strong, subtle effect on the overall rhythm. And you
should notice also that the caesura can occur either in a foot or at the
end of one.
6.7 REFERENCES:
Arp and Perrine. 2005. Sound and Sense : Eleventh Edition . United States
of America : Heinle & Heinle Publisher
Attridge, D. 2014. The Rhythms of English Poetry . New York: Routledge
University Press
Eagleton, T. 2007. How to Read a Poem . United States of America :
Blackwell Pub lishing ltd
Fabb, N and Morris H. 2008. Meter in Poetry : A New Theory . New York :
Cambridge University Press
Gerber, N. 2013. “Stress Based Metrics Revisted : A Comparative Exercise
in Scansion Systems and Their Implications for Iambic Pentameter.
Think ing Verse III, 131 -168
Lennard, J. 2005. The Poetry Handbook : Second Edition . New York:
Oxford University Press
Pahlka, B. 2017. James Merills Secret Scansion. Texas Studies in
Literauture and Language, 59(4)
Withworth, J. 2016. Writing Handbooks Writing Poetry : Second Edition .
England: A & C Black Publishers Limited
Hariani, “An Analysis Of Scansion In William Wordsworth’s Poems”,
Faculty Of Teacher Training And Education University Of Muhammadiyah
Sumatera Utara , Medan , 2019 .
https://literarydevices.net /meter/
7777777munotes.in
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48 Literary Criticism
48 7
SCANSION - II
Unit Structure
7.0 Objectives
7.1 Scansion
7.2 Exercises
7.0 OBJECTIVES:
xTo introduce students about scansion of a poem and techniques
involved in it.
xTo scan poem, identify the base metre (iamb, trochee), variations
(pyrrhic, spondee, anapaest, dactyl, cretic, amphibrach , etc.)
xTo identify rhyme scheme, stanza forms , and the metrical peculiarities
such as end-stopped lines, run -on lines, elision, caesura and other
basic concepts of versification.
7.1 SCANSION:
Rhythm: The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line
Metre: The number of feet in a line
Scansion: Describing the rhythms of poetry by dividing the lines into feet,
marking the locations of stressed and unstressed syllables, and counting the
syllables
When we describe the rhythm of a poem, we “scan” the poem and mark the
stresses (/) and absences of stress (x) and count the number of feet.
In English, the major feet are:
Iambus:
x / x / x / x / x /
In all my wand’rings round this world of care,
x / x / x / x / x /
In all my griefs – and GOD has giv’n my share -
Trochee:
/ x / x / x / x / x
Never, never, never, never, never! munotes.in
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49 Scansion - II Spondee:
/ / / /
Drop, drop, slow tears
Pyrrhic:
x / x x x x /
Inglorious on the plain
Anapaest:
x x / / x /
From the shore come the notes
x x / x x /
To their mill where it floats
Dactyl:
/ x x / x x
Cold inhumanity
/ x x / x x
Burning insanity
Iambic and anapestic meters are called rising meters because their
movement rises from unstressed syllable to stressed
syllable . Trochaic and dactylic meters are called falling because their
movement is from stressed syllable to unstressed syllable.
Spondee and pyrrhic are called feet, even though they contain only one
kind of stressed syllable. They are never used as the sole meter of a poem.
But inserted now and then, they can lend emphasis and variety to a meter,
eg: Yeats in “Who Goes With Fergus?”
x x / / x x / /
And the white breast Of the dim sea,
A stanza is a regular pattern of lines which forms a unit in a poem. The
common stanza forms are as follows:
Couplet: stanza of two lines
Tercet/triplet: stanza of three lines
Quatrains: stanza of four lines
Quintain/quintet: stanza of five lines
Sestet: stanza of six lines
Septet: stanza of seven lines (most famous kind of s eptet: rhyme royal ) munotes.in
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50 Literary Criticism
50 Octet: stanza of eight lines
Nonet: stanza of nine lines (important example is the Spenserian stanza)
Sample passage (1):
Scanning:
/ x / x / x / x
/ Willows / whiten, / aspens/ quiver /, L1
/ x / x / x / x
Little/ breezes /dusk and /shiver L2
x x / x / x / x
Through the / wave that / runs for/ever L3
x x / x x x / x
By the/ island / in the/ river L4
/ x / x / x /
Flowing/ down to/ Camelot. L5
/ / / x / / / x
Four grey/ walls,ll and/ four grey/ towers, L6
/ x / x / x / x
Over/look a/ space of/ flowers, L7
x x / x / x / x
And the/ silent/ isle em/bowers, L8
x / x x / x
The La/dy of /Shalot. L9
Base Meter:
Trochaic Tetrameter
Modulations:
L3: 1st foot – pyrrhic
L4: 1st foot and 3rd foot – pyrrhic
L5: 3rd foot – cretic
L6: 1st foot and 3rd foot – spondee
L8: 1st foot – pyrrhic
L9: 1st foot – iamb, 2nd foot – pyrrhic
Metrical peculiarities:
L1: weak caesura after ‘whiten’
L2, 3, 4: enjambment (run -on lines) munotes.in
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51 Scansion - II L 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9: end -stopped lines
L6: weak caesura after ‘walls’
L5, 9: trimeter
Rhyme Scheme: a a a a b c c c b
Sample Passage (2):
Scanning:
x / x / x / x / x /
No long/er mourn/ for me/ when I/ am dead, L1
/ x x / x / x / x /
Then you/ shall hear/ the sur/ly sull/en bell L2
x / x x x / x / x /
Give warn/ing to/ the world/ that I/ am fled L3
x x / / x / x / x /
From this /vile world/ with vile/st worms/ to dwell: L4
/ x x / x / x / x /
Nay,ll if /you read/ this line, /ll remem/ber not L5
x / x / x x x / x /
The hand/ that writ/ it; for/ I love/ you so, L6
x / x x / / x / x /
That I/ in your/ sweet thoughts/ would be/ forgot L7
x / x x x / x / x /
If think/ing on/ me then/ should make/ you woe. L8
Base Meter:
Iambic Pentameter
Modulations:
L2: 1st foot – trochee
L3: 2nd foot – pyrrhic
L4: 1st foot – pyrrhic, 2nd foot – spondee
L5: 1st foot – trochee
L6: 3rd foot – pyrrhic
L7: 2nd foot – pyrrhic, 3rd foot – spondee
L8: 2nd foot - pyrrhic
Metrical peculiarities:
L5: two weak caesuras – after ‘nay’ and after ‘line’
L6: strong caesura after ‘it’ munotes.in
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52 Literary Criticism
52 L2, 3, 5, 7: enjambment (run -on lines)
L1, 4, 6, 8: end -stopped lines
Rhyme Scheme: a b a b c d c d
7.2 EXERCISES:
Given below are some poems to practice scansion on. Each is written in an
accentual -syllabic meter. Divide each into feet and mark the metrical pattern
and the sub stitutions. Mark the caesuras as well:
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
- Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
The Oven Bird
- Robert Frost
There is a singer everyone has heard,
Loud, a mid-summer and a mid -wood bird,
Who makes the solid tree trunks sound again.
He says that leaves are old and that for flowers
Mid-summer is to spring as one to ten.
He says the early petal -fall is past
When pear and cherry bloom went down in showers
On sun ny days a moment overcast;
And comes that other fall we name the fall.
He says the highway dust is over all.
The bird would cease and be as other birds
But that he knows in singing not to sing. munotes.in
Page 53
53 Scansion - II The question that he frames in all but words
Is what to make o f a diminished thing.
Neither Out Far Nor In Deep
- Robert Frost
The people along the sand
All turn and look one way.
They turn their back on the land.
They look at the sea all day.
As long as it takes to pass
A ship keeps raising its hull;
The wetter ground like glass
Reflects a standing gull
The land may vary more;
But wherever the truth may be –
The water comes ashore,
And the people look at the sea.
They cannot look out far.
They cannot look in deep.
But when was that ever a bar
To any watch they keep?
Birches
- Robert Frost
When I see birches bend to left and right
Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.
But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay
As ice -storms do. Often you must have seen them
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain. They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many -colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun’s war mth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow -crust —
Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away
You'd think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.
They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load,
And they seem not to break; tho ugh once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves:
You may see their trunks arching in the woods munotes.in
Page 54
54 Literary Criticism
54 Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground
Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair
Before them over their heads to dry in the sun.
But I was going to say when Truth broke in
With all her matter -of-fact about the ice -storm
I should prefer to have some boy bend them
As he went out and in to fetch the cows —
Some boy too far from town to learn baseball,
Whose only play was what he found himself,
Summer or winter, and could play alone.
One by one he subdued his father's trees
By riding them down over and over again
Until he took the stiffness out of them,
And not one but hung limp, not one was left
For him to conquer. He learned all there was
To learn about not launching out too soon
And so not carrying the tree away
Clear to the ground. He always kept his poise
To the top branches, climbing carefully
With the same pains you use to fill a cup
Up to the brim , and even above the brim.
Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish,
Kicking his way down through the air to the ground.
So was I once myself a swinger of birches.
And so I dream of going back to be.
It’s when I’m weary of considerations,
And life i s too much like a pathless wood
Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs
Broken across it, and one eye is weeping
From a twig’s having lashed across it open.
I'd like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
May no f ate willfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth’s the right place for love:
I don’t know where it's likely to go better.
I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree, munotes.in
Page 55
55 Scansion - II And climb black branches up a snow -white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.
Design
- Robert Frost
I found a dimpled spider, fat and white,
On a white heal -all, holding up a moth
Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth —
Assorted characters of death and blight
Mixed ready to begin the morning right,
Like the ingredients of a witches' broth —
A snow -drop spider, a flower like a froth,
And dead wings carried like a paper kite.
What had that flower to do with being white,
The wayside blue and innocent heal -all?
What brought the kindred spider to that height,
Then steered the white moth thither in the night?
What but design of darkness to appall? —
If design govern in a thing so small.
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