Figurative Language

Figurative Language

Introduction:

I.A Richards, Who’s full name was Ivor Armstrong Richards, who was one of the most influential figure among the critics of the 20^th Century. He was born on February 26, 1893, Sandbank, Cheshire, England and also died on September 7, 1979, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, lived very long time and did also very notable things in the history of English Criticism. He was an English critic and poet. While a lecturer at Cambridge, Richards wrote influential works, including Principles of Literary Criticism (1924), in which he introduced a new way of reading poetry that led to the New Criticism. A student of psychology, he concluded that poetry performs a therapeutic function by coordinating various human impulses into an aesthetic whole. In the 1930s he spent much of his time developing Basic English, a language system of 850 basic words that he believed would promote international understanding. He taught at Harvard University from 1944.

He took education at Cambridge. In fact, T.S. Eliot and I.A. Richards are considered to be the pioneers in the field of New Criticism. They differ a lot in the views. Critics like John Crowe Ronsom, Kenneth Brooke, cleanth Brooks, R.P.Blackmur, and Robert Penn Warren William Empson were indebted to I.A. Richards.

Richards was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and was a lecturer in English and moral sciences there from 1922 to 1929. In that period he wrote three of his most influential books: The Meaning of meaning (1923) a pioneer work on semantics and Principles of Literary Criticism (1924) and Practical Criticism (1929), companion volumes that he used to develop his critical method. The latter two were based on experimental pedagogy: Richards would give students poems in which the titles and authors’ names had been removed and then use their responses for further development of their close reading skills. Richards is best known for advancing the close reading of literature and for articulating the theoretical principles upon which these skills lead to “practical criticism,” a method of increasing readers’ analytic powers.

A student of psychology and philosophy along with literary forms, Richards concluded that poetry performs a therapeutic function by coordinating a variety of human impulses into an aesthetic whole, helping both the writer and the reader maintain their psychological well-being. He valued poetry of inclusion that was able to contain the widest variety of warring tensions and oppositions.

I.A Richards is remembered today for his notable works as enlisted below

1. The Meaning of Meaning- 1923

2. The Practical of Criticism – 1929

3. The Principles of Literary criticism-1924

I.A.Richards differs from the New Critics in one important respect, while the New Critics limit themselves rigorously to the poem under consideration, I.A.Richards also take into account its effect on the readers.  For him, the real value of a poem lies in the reaction and attitudes it creates weather or not it is conductive to greater emotional balance equilibrium, peace and rest in the mind of the readers. For him the value of a work of art lies in its power to harmonies and organizes complex and warring human impulses into patterns that are lasting and pleasurable.

 In his work I.A. Richards discusses about the figurative language as well as metaphorical language, who was an orthodox advocate of a close textual and verbal study and analysis of work of verbal study and analysis of work of art. According to Richards there are three objectives to write The Practical criticism.

Four kinds of meanings:

 According to him the poet writes to communicate, and language is the means of that Communication Language is made of words and therefore it is a study of words is all important if the meaning of work of art is understood. Words carry four kind of meaning sense, Feelings Tone and intention, which are enlisted below

Ø  Sense

Ø  Feelings

Ø  Tone

Ø  Intention etc.

Let’s discuss these four kinds of meanings in detail.

Sense:

Sense is very much important in the any work of art or literature. Here Sense deals with the simple as well as plain meanings of any literary work according to I.A Richards. Because Sense is an integral element of the poetry due to it one can understand the entire meaning of the poem. By sense it meant something that is communicated by the plain literal meanings of the words. About Sense one scholar comments

“In most poetry the sense is as important as anything else;

It is quite as a subtle, and as dependent of the syntax as in

Prose; it is the poet’s chief instrument to other aims when it is not

Itself his aim. His control of our thoughts is ordinarily his chief means to the

Control of our feeling, and in the immense majority of instances we miss nearly everything"

Feelings:

Feelings are very much necessary for the poet and for the reader also because one is able to grasp the meaning but if he cannot understand the feelings of the poet or what the poet wants to convey his or her ideas through words then the poet fails in the field of poetry. Feeling Refers to emotional attitudes desire, will, pleasure, unpleasure and the rest words express feelings.

Tone:

As far as Tone is concerned, it is equally required in the poetry that tone should be there in any literary work. Tone deals with the tone of the poet because sometimes it is possible that tone helps us to understand the meanings of the poem. Tone here means the writers attitude towards his audience. The writer chooses his words and arranges them keeping in mind the taste of his readers. Feeling is only state of mind.

Intention:

Intention deals with the purpose of the poet. Due to Intention reader sometimes cannot or fails to grasp the meaning of the poetry. Many times it is observed that what the poet wants to say one cannot understand the entire poetry. Intention is authors conscious or unconscious aim, it is the effect that one tries to produce. Also intention controls the emphasis, shapes the arrangement, or draws attention to something of importance.

After discussing four kinds of meanings then I.A Richards proceeds further to convey his idea about Importance of Rhyme and Rhythm.I.A. Richards by his own work could make literary Criticism factual, Scientific and complete. It no longer remains a matter of the application of set ruler or mere ‘intiution’ or impressions analysis, interpretation and evaluation have exercised considerable influence on the New Critics everywhere.Words in poetry have an emotive value, and the figurative language used by poets conveys those emotions effectively and forcefully. Words have different meaning in different contexts. Words are symbols or signs and they deliver their full meaning only in a particular context. Sense and feeling have a mutual dependence.

Significance of Rhyme and Rhythm:

Rhythm and Metre are organic and integral and important parts of any integral and important parts of any poem because they determine the meaning of the words used by the poets Rhythm, meter and meaning cannot be separated they from together a single system. Rhythm and its specialized form, meter, depend upon repetition and expectancy. Equally where what is expected recurs and where it fails, all rhythmical and metrical effects spring from anticipation.

The Nature of poetic Truth:

Metaphorical language is important purpose of communication. The Nature of poetic Truth is very much important but it differs from the scientific truth.“It is evident that the bulk of poetry consists of statements which only the very foolish would think of attempting to verify. They are not the kind of things which can be verified. It we recall what was said in chapter 16 as to the natural generality of vagueness of reference we shall see another reason why references as they occur in poetry are rarely susceptible to scientific truth or falsity. Only references which are brought into certain highly complex and very special combinations so as to correspond to the ways in which things actually hang together, can be either true or false and most references in poetry are not knit together in this way.

Source of Misunderstanding in Poetry:

 In practical criticism a study of literary judgment, I.A.Richards has given the theory of Figurative language. He starts discussion first on sources of misunderstanding in poetry. He says that it is very difficult to find the source which creates misunderstanding. Further, he says that there are four sources of misunderstanding as far as are poetry is concerned. According to I.A. Richards there are four sources of misunderstanding of poetry. It is difficult to diagnose with accuracy and definiteness, the source of some particular mistake or misunderstanding of the sense of poetry. It arises from inattention, or sheer carelessness.

 I.A. Richards warns readers –In most poetry the sense is as important as anything else it is  quite as a subtle, and as dependent on the syntax, as in prose it is the poet’s chief instrument to other aims when it is not itself his aim. An over literal-reading is as great a source of misunderstanding. Careless intuitive reading and prosaic ‘over-literal reading are the simple-godes the justing rocks. Defective scholarship is a third source of misunderstanding in poetry.

The reader may fail to understand the sense of the poet because he is ignorant of poet’s sense. Afar more serious cause of misunderstanding is the failure to realise that the poetic use of words is different from an assumption about language that can be fatal to poetry. Literary is one serious obstacle in the way of a right understanding of the poetic words. According to Richards-poetry is different from prose and needs a different attitude for right understanding.

If we talk about another misunderstanding of the sense of poetry, we can say that some poets often themselves like to play all manners of tricks with their sense. Sometimes a poet dissolves the coherence of his sense altogether, and may seem chaotic and incoherent. The ordinary laws of syntax and grammar may be thrown to the window. These chaotic and in incoherent structure arise the complex situation in the poetry. Reader feels uncertainty to solve it. As a result, a reader fails to understand the concept of the poetry and feel complicated situation.

Mixed Metaphors:

The Value of Figurative Language:

Sometimes it is possible that figurative language may create some misunderstanding in any literary work. Therefore it is necessary to identify the figures of speech. It is difficult to turn poetry into logical respectable prose. Is combining with recognition of the liberties which are proper for a poet, and the power and value of figurative language. There are various comments on the above piece of the hyperbole of the sea-harp. The only concrete simile in the octave is the likening of the sea to a harp- surely a little extravagant.

 There is no doubt that the similarity between the sound of a harp and the sea but in poetry such things do happen. It is clear that the effect proposed by the poet is, an exhilarating awakening of wonder and a fusion of the sea,lightning and spring, those three most moving manifestations of Nature

The poet is rather negligent in the choice of means he has employed to attain his end. The enjoyment and understanding of the best poetry require s sensitiveness and discrimination with words a nicety, imaginativeness and deftness in taking their sense which will prevent the poem in question, in its original form, from attentive readers.

The Value of Personification:

Personification is the best way to express the idea of poet.Bacause personification adds more colours into the language of poetry. Sometimes it looks like very ornamental language. Personification comes naturally to us. Personification may not express sense but it expresses the feelings of the poet towards what he is speaking about. Personification enables the poet to clear and comprehend the difficult work.

Now about value of Personification I.A Richards comments  

“There are indeed very good reasons why poetry should personify. The structure of language and the pronouns, verbs and adjectives that come most naturally to us constantly invite us to personify. And to go deeper, our attitudes, feelings, and ways of thought about inanimate things are moulded upon and grow out of our whys of thinking and feeling about one another. Our minds have developed with other human beings always in the foreground of our consciousness we are shape, mentally, by and through our dealings with other people. It is so in the history of the race and in the individual biography. No wonder that if what we have to say about inanimate from only appropriate’ if strict sense is our sole consideration, to persons and human relations.”

The importance of visual memory:

Visual memory is very much necessary in any literary work according to I.A Richards. For a proper appreciation and evaluation of the imagery of a poem, visual memory is also an essential, and its lake misleads the critic and distorts his judgment. The use of the word pencil, meaning, produce the effect of pencilling – is highly suggestive in the poem. its suggestion, “both of the hard, clear outline of the clouds edge and of the shadowy variation in the lighting of its inner recess , is not in the least cancelled by climbed or by the sky scraper hoist of miraculous stocked .  

 Miraculous stocked seems at least to have clear advantage over ‘the tremendous triumph of tall towers’ in point of economy and vividness. ‘Puzzle’, has accuracy also on its side against these cavilers. Anyone who watches the rest less shifted of cattle as the shadow suddenly darkness there, would for them will endowers the poet’s observations. But if the cows never noticed any change of light the word would still be justified through its evocative effect upon men. Similarly with paint and ghost; they work as a rapid and fresh notation of not vary unfamiliar effect.

Conclusion:

A few words more, we can say that according to I.A Richards a proper understanding of figurative language required close study of the poem. Reader should read the poem into the context of close reading. its literal since must be carefully followed, but such literal reading must not come in the way of imagination appreciation of it judicious balance must be struck between literalism and imaginative freedom.