Literary Appreciation is simply
the ability to understand, enjoy and evaluate works of Literature. Evaluate
here means to make judgment about the quality or value of literary work.
Evaluation is usually an opinion about a given work, but it must be based on
facts. Literary appreciation focuses on the adequate grasp of the definitions
and applications of traditional literary devices such as plot, character,
metaphor, setting and symbolism which may be encountered within texts.
In addition, Literature has some
definition, there are: 1) The definition of 14th century: it
means polite learning through reading. A man of literature or a man of letters
= a man of wide reading, “literacy”. 2) The definition of 18th
century: practice and profession of writing. 3) The definition of 19th
century: the high skills of writing in the special context of
high imagination. 4) Robert Frost’s definition: performance in words. 5) Modern definition:
We can define literature as language artistically used to achieve identifiable
literary qualities and to convey meaningful messages. Literature is
characterized by beauty of expression and form and by universality intellectual
and emotional appeal. But, in other hand we can also define Literature as
imitation of Life. It is an imaginary composition. Literature is not a
faithful record of reality as History is. This means Literature merely
copies actual life people, events and situations.
Genre of literature, genre means category of artistic works: one of the categories, based on form, style,
or subject matter, into which artistic works of all kinds can be divided. In the
genre of literature, the term genre means branch of literature. There are three
main branches of literature, namely are: Poetry or Poem, Drama and Prose.
1) Poetry or Poem,
in Poetry or Poem has been variously defined by different poets. There are poetry
is natural, imaginative and emotional expression. Poetry is also defined as
“the art which uses words as both speech and songs to reveal the realities that
the senses record, the feeling salute the mind perceives and the harping
imaginations orders”. . It employs beautiful language in passing across its
message. A poem is usually written in verse, stanza and arranged in lines. In
addition, Poetry is language written with rhythm, figurative
language, imagery, sound devices and emotionally charged language.
For the types of Poem, There are
four basic types of poem, namely are: Narrative poem, dramatic poem, a closet drama
and lyric. Narrative poem, it is about tell a story. For example: Epic.
Dramatic poem, this is a poem that tells its story through the speech of a
character. A dramatic poem, in which only one character speaks, is termed Monologue. A closet Drama, it is a
play in a poem form that is designed to be read but not acted. Lyric, it is a
short song-like poem, often expressing strong feelings. Other poems classified
according to subject-matter are discussed below. There are Panegyric poem: It is a
poem meant to praise a person or object. Ode: It is a poem addressed to somebody or something
or an idea. It is often more or less a sober reflection on an object or a
personage. The following are examples of ode: Ode to the Grecian Urn, by John
Keats, Ode on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity-by Milton, Ode to Nightingale,
by John Keats, etc. Dirge: A
poem which expresses grief or mourns the dead. It is shorter and less formal
than Elegy. Songs of Sorrow, by Kofi Awoonor is an example of Dirge.
But, according to form, poems
described about: 1) Sonnet: It
is a poem of 14 lines long with a definite rhyme scheme. There are two types of
sonnets. There are: the Shakespearean sonnet and Pertrechan or Italian sonnet. Shakespearean
sonnet is also called English sonnet. It is named after William Shakespeare who
is a foremost writer of this type of poem. It has four divisions. From the
first to the twelfth line, it is divided into three stanzas of four lines each.
The last two lines form the fourth divisions. Pertrechan or Italian sonnet is a
poem named after the poet Francesco Pertrach. It is usually divided into two
stanzas, viz: The OCTAVE (eight lines) and the SESTET (six lines). The second
stanza has the following rhyme scheme: c d e c d e. However note that the rhyme
pattern of the sestet is not constant. It may have cde dde etc, as its rhyme scheme.
Usually, the octave creates a problem while the sestet resolves or comments on
the problem. 2) Ballad: It
is a narrative poem which tells a simple and dramatic story. It is often meant
to be sung. A ballad has strong rhythms and rhymes which give it its songlike
qualities. The following are features of a ballad: (i) Themes of physical
courage and love. (ii) Events that happen to common people. Every stanza
of a Ballad is made up of four lines with the following rhyme - scheme: ab ab,
the first and the third lines usually have four stressed syllables while the
second and the fourth carry three syllables. 3) Idyll: a short poem that expresses a peaceful and happy
scene.
For the elements of Poetry, there
are: 1) Diction: It
is the choice of words of a poet. A good diction passes its message with
suitable words. 2) Rhyme: It
is the repetition of similar sounds in different words. Rhyme often occurs at
the end of lines. E.g.(by / sky). For there to be a perfect rhyme, the
consonants preceding the rhyming vowel sounds must be different. E.g. ban /can,
corn/ born. 3) Internal Rhyme: If
the rhyming words are in the middle of a line of poem, the kind of rhyme thus
form is called internal rhyme. 4) End
Rhyme: It is a form of rhyme that occurs at the end of each line.
5) Masculine Rhyme: Rhyme
made up of single stressed syllable e.g. Word/work. 6) Feminine Rhyme: Double rhyme (when rhyme consists of two
syllables with a stressed syllable followed by unstressed syllable e.g. ending/
pending. 7) Rhyme- scheme: The
pattern or sequence of in which words rhyme with each other. It is usually
denoted aa, bb, cc, dd, etc. 8) Alternate
Rhyme-Scheme: It occurs when first line of a poem rhymes
with the third. The second, with the fourth, the fifth with the seventh etc. 9)
Tone: Tone is the
inner voice which sends the feelings of the poet or the poet’s persona to the
reader. A tone may be of sorrow, anger, resignation, ridicule, contempt,
sarcasm, joyous etc. If a student is asked to state the tone of a poem; he is
expected to use appropriate word as one of the ones listed above, to describe
the tone. The tone of a poem has direct effect on the mood. 10) Mood: It is the author’s
or poet’s state of mind at the time of writing his poem. Put differently, it is
the emotional attitude of the poet to his theme. 11) Rhythm: Is a word derived from a Greek word. It means
movement from one part to another part. Sounds are expected to flow in poetry.
As we unstressed or stressed word in a line of poem, flow of sound is
generated. Briefly put, rhythm is that element which gives a poem its musical
quality. 12) Stanza: It is
an Italian word for stopping place. Stanza in a poem is a group of lines
considered as one unit. Each stanza contains a single thought or idea. Stanzas
are to poem as paragraphs are to a prose. Stanzas are usually separated by
spaces. A stanza may be named according to the number of lines it contains.
There are: a) Couplet: a stanza
of two lines. b) Tercet: a
stanza that has three lines. c)
Quatrain: a stanza that contains four lines. d) Cinquain: a five-line poem. e) Sestet: a six-line stanza. f) Heptastich: a seven-line stanza. g) Octave: a stanza of eight lines. 13) Imagery: It is a language that produces pictures in the mind
of a reader or a listener. In other words, it is a form of language which calls
up picture in the mind.
2) Drama, Drama is one of
the three genres of literature. It is defined as a work of art acted on the
stage before an audience. We can also define drama as the recreation of life on
the stage. Sometimes, Play is often mistaken for drama. You must know that a
play cannot be termed a drama until it is produced on stage before an audience.
Because a play is therefore defined as a piece of writing designed for the
stage. For the elements of drama, they include: a) Story: it is the narration
of a series of events or happenings in chronological order. b) Plot: it is created
around a series of event that occur within a specific period of time. Plot
tells what happens to the characters. That is to say, the plot guides us
from a character with problem {somewhere} through a character confronting the
problem, {through somewhere} to the character overcoming or being overcome by
the problem {to a point}. c) Characters, These are the people we read about in
a literary work. In a literary work, a writer describing actions or ideas must
as well describe the characters affected by the actions or ideas. The major
interest of an audience is on the people in a drama. So also our central
interest is on the characters in a novel. The author of a literary work makes
his comments on society through his characters. A good writer must have
complete knowledge of his characters; the way they look, how they talk, etc.
There are two identifiable ways of showing characters, namely are, Motivation
and Setting. d) Act, it is a major division in the action of play just as the
novel has chapters so also a play is divided into ACTS. This division was
introduced by dramatist of the Elizabeth period. These Elizabethan dramatists
imitated a Roman playwright, by dividing the actions into five acts. e) Scene, it
is a logical unit into which an act is divided. In today’s plays, a scene
usually consists of units of actions in which there is no change of place or
break in the continuity of time. f) Dialogue, this means conversation between
the characters or actors and actresses in a play or drama. g) Settings, it is the
place in which a character’s story takes place. h) Stage, it is otherwise
described as the physical representation of the world of the play. i) Audience,
it is a group of people watching a performance of a play on stage. j) Catastrophe
and denouncement, this refers to the turning point in the life or actions of
the protagonist in an unfolding play. This turning point may result in success
or failure for the protagonist. The misery is solved or the misunderstanding is
cleared away at this point in the play. If the play is a tragedy, this turning
point is termed catastrophe. But in both tragedy and comedy, this change of
event is commonly referred to as Denouement. Denouement is also called
Resolution. k) Comic relief, it is a humorous scene or funny incident or speech
in a serious drama. In a tragedy such humorous scenes are usually introduced to
provide relief from emotional intensity.
3) Prose, Prose is the
third genre of literature. Prose is written in the ordinary spoken or written
language of man. The message of the prose is often conveyed without acting. A
prose work may be fiction or non-fiction. Fiction is an imaginary story created
or invented by a writer. While, non-fiction is a true-life story. Historical
novel is an example of non-fiction. After know about the prose, I will to
explain what the type of prose is. So, the types of prose have four types, they
are: 1) Novelette: It
is generally known as a narrative, longer than a short story but shorter than a
novel, especially a romantic novel which is considered to be badly written. 2) Short Story: It is
a narrative of event or many related events, which is less complex than novel. 3) Anecdote: It is a short
humorous or interesting story about a real person or event. It can show a
single aspect of personal life or event. For e.g. there was a man called
Tony who went to his friend’s party. When it was dancing time, Tony like other
people went to the middle of the arena to dance. He noticed something as he was
dancing: the people behind him applauded and hailed him tumultuously, while
those at his front just watched in silence. He thought that his backside was
doing more wonders than his front-side. He decided to turn his backside in
every direction so that he could gain the applause of all, which he enjoyed
very much. By the end of the party almost everybody had seen his backside.
He decided to dance before a
large mirror when he got home from the party to know for himself how
wonderfully he looked behind when dancing. It was then he saw in the mirror
that his trouser was torn behind. And since he had gone to the party without
underwear, his private part was in full view. It swung helplessly while he
danced and that was the cause of the uproar he had mistaken for applause. 4) Novel: It is a long
narrative fiction that has a more complex plot than a short story. It can also
be described as an ‘invented prose narrative of great length and a certain
complexity that deals imaginatively with human experience usually through a
connected sequence of events involving a group of persons in a specific
setting’. The novel shows life through plot, story, characters, conflict and
realism. The plot of a short story or novelette is simple and straight forward.
While that of a novel is complex and always include sub-plots.
After we know all of about the
literary appreciation, literature, genres of literature and elements of each
genre, so we can learn how to explore and analyze about that. And I hope this
essay can useful for me and other friend when they want to know more about
that.
References:
1. Posted
by OFFERO EDUCATIONAL SERVICES at 7:48 AM
2. http://marlindwinastiti.wordpress.com/2013/03/19/the-definition-of-literary-appreciation-and-criticism/
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