LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 14:7 July 2014
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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A Creative Response to Poetic Creation:
A New Aesthetic for Critical Appreciation

Dr. J. S. Anand, Ph.D.

Abstract

Poetry is coming into life of a moment, which then starts growing, and acquiring an entity of its own; it leaves behind its parent, the poet, and even the reader has no control over it. Controlling such a living object is fraught with dangerous consequences, and the utmost danger is that: its originality, its freshness, its identity, and its ultimate dignity and charm can be lost, if it is looked at through colored glasses. Whenever a reader approaches a poem, if he is a student of English literature, he immediately wants to know who the author was/is, then he goes on to determine his age, and then, before he has looked into the poem, he tries to locate the school to which the author belonged/s. Doesn’t this affect the originality of response? Doesn’t it affect the originality of the text? Doesn’t it compromise the dignity of the poem?

This article tries to analyze the effect of approaching a poem or a poet with a pre-formed mind, laden with pre-conceived notions. When a reader has already formed a view that the poet is from this school of thought, half the meaning of the poem is already super imposed. For example, a poem by William Wordsworth is expected to be a romantic creation, and before the poem is approached, a whole plethora of impressions regarding romantic poetry starts making a web in the mind of the reader, ultimately fixing the poem in those parameters, whether or not it was a romantic one. In other words, an attempt has been made to assess how far it is right to study a poem by first of all referring to a writer’s affiliations with a particular school of poetry.

The article further goes on to argue that dividing literature into various schools and then applying the parameters of these schools of poetic creation is a self-defeating exercise, because when a poem is created, the schools become non-functional, ideology takes a back seat, and the poem is complete in itself, without accruing to it any meanings beyond the text. Another argument that the author wishes to make here is that the school system is only an attachment; it makes the poetic flow develop a heavy weight of isms, and poetry, instead of being an original flight, turns into a highly calculated exercise, marring its originality, its freshness, and its individual identity. The critics often end up turning the poem into a cripple, unable to sustain itself, unless it is being given a prop of the ideology to which the poet belonged.

For Whom the Pen Rolls!

The major question here is: for whom the poetry has been composed. Is it only for students of English literature? Or is it for general consumption? It is difficult to believe that a poem has been written for a select few. Once a poetic creation has taken shape on the paper, after that, it belongs to the world. It belongs to society. Just as the kids belong to the human race, so does a poem, once created, joins its ranks among the mortals as well as the immortals of creativity. In the sky, there are some stars which are visible. There have been so many which are not visible. Same is the case with poets. Some are shining like stars. Some are simply invisible. But a poem once created ceases to belong to one person. By using copyright, a poet can claim his right over the body of the poem, but its mind belongs to the human race and its fragrance does not abide by the rules of the copyright.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

DR. J. S. ANAND, Ph.D.
Principal, DAV College
Bathinda 151001
Haryana
India
www.drjsanand.com
anandjs55@yahoo.com
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