Critical Approach Of Prose And Poems

Form of the Poem

Describe about the Critical Approach of Prose and Poems?

Don Juan is considered as a poem that details the life and adventures of a young Spaniard. The difference with other epics present in English literature is that this particular poem uses humorous rhyme and stanzas making it easy to read. It is entertaining and lighthearted but at the same time, it is an attempt to explore the dark Gothic undertones and themes.

The form of the poetry Don Juan is epic. Epics are long and narrative poems where a heroic protagonist is found to be engaging in actions that are of much significance in history. The length of the poems are long and has a particular flow. A serious subject is usually taken up as the matter of the poem and details of the story is put forward in an appropriate manner. It is usually portrayed as a heroic deed. Events significant to nation or culture are mainly the subjects in the epics. Don Juan is such an epic that details the experience of a young person and his heroic deeds. The poem is divided into different cantos. Cantos are the long subsection of epic and long narrative poems. If said on a more definite manner, the poem is in particular a mock-epic. Mock epics are the epics that make fun of this particular form of writing. The style is emulated but on the other hand, the subject matter is trivial. The heroic figure is not with much worth. Serious aspects are present in the poetry as a whole but at the same time the comic verse is used by the poet. An Italian form of poetry, ottava rima, is used in this particular poem. Each stanza has eight lines in it. The rhyme pattern in this poetry is abababcc. This refers to the use of three sets of alternative rhymes, and a final rhyming couplet follows it. The first six lines make up a joke, and the final two lines contain the punch line.

The several stanzas of the third canto are on the subject of love, and it is found that the poet concludes that love and marriage are incompatible.

Literary devices and techniques are narrative techniques that are used up as specific methods that the author of a narrative uses for conveying what they need to express. It is like a strategy for helping the narration to relay the significant information to the target audience. The narrative is developed in this manner, and it is more complete and interesting.

Identification and Evaluation of the Devices Used

In the poetry Don Juan, the poet uses such literary devices in an effective manner. The first literary device used by the poet is alliteration. Alliteration is the stylistic literary device that is identified by the repetitive sound of the first consonant in a particular series of multiple words. It can also be the repetition of the same sounds at the beginning of the words used in the sentence. This refers to the repetition of a consonant in any syllables. In the section of the poetry, Canto III, such alliteration has been used in an efficient manner. This is evident by the line “A sad, sour, sober beverage – by time”. Here, the words ‘sad’, ‘sour’ and ‘sober’ start with the alphabet ‘s’ and, therefore, the sounds are repetitive.

The second literary device that the poet uses in this particular section of the poetry is the simile. A simile is a figure of speech that the narrator uses for comparing two substances by the explicit use of words that connect two parts, for instance, like, so, as, than. Such similes take into account the limitations and imperfections of the particular comparative relationship. Similes have the role of safeguarding the author against incomplete, outrageous and unfair comparison. The use of simile is reflected by the line “Marriage from love, like vinegar from wine”. The poet compares marriage from love with the process of having wine from vinegar.

The poet uses a particular metre in this particular poetry in an efficient manner. The poem is in eight line iambic pentameter, and such pentameter is one of the commonly used meters in poetry. In the poem, such meter has been used to describe a particular rhyme that the words establish in the lines. Throughout the canto, the similar poetic form is present for every stanza. This definite consistency of metre and rhyme scheme fulfils the aim of holding the poem together. The use of ocean imagery in the poetry makes it of much significance. A distinct combination of ambivalence and dynamism is found in the poetry.

A cure for Toothache’is the chapter no. 36 of a book named ‘Birds Without Wings’ written by Louis de Bernières. The book is based on a tragic love story of Philothei and Ibrahim. The book is written in a narrative form on a historical background. The story portraits a history of a coastal town in southwest Anatolia during the period of the first world war. One of the principal characters is Father Kristoforos and Abduhamid Hodja. They are a holy man of different beliefs. This reflects the picture of the social condition of a town with a different religious prospect. There is a man called ‘the Dog’ who is well known for his hideous aspect. The socio-economic condition can be addressed through the character named "Rustem Bey', who is the landlord of the town. It can be said that the story emphasizes an epic narrative-steeped historical fact that is yet profoundly human and dazzlingly evocative. The emotional and sensual details of the story are highlighted through the love story of Philothei and Ibrahim. A narrative story is written in a format where the order of the story line is in which it is told. There is the narrator, a group of characters who tell the story. Sometimes, the author also plays the role of a narrator. In chapter 36 (A cure for Toothache) the story is told in a narrative form. The narrative format of the chapter is the biggest example, which the story is written in a narrative form.

Discussion of Their Personal Responses

In chapter 36, the author beautifully utilized ‘symbolism' in his literature. Symbolism is one of the most used literature devices used by authors across the world. It is very hard to incorporate successfully symbolism in a narrative novel. Louis de Bernières applied these techniques scenarios of the story line. At first, Father Kristoforos sees the Archangel Gabriel in his dream, where the feather of his wing is so vast that it is stretched as far as the horizon. The description enlighten in this section is also quite fascinating. It can be concluded that in this section the author symbolized the holiness and godliness in the forms of a feather. The greatness of God and goodness is quite expanded which is symbolized. Another aspect of symbolism can be found at the end of the chapter where the townsman is complaining about the pain in the tooth. The pain in his tooth symbolized metamorphically. Toothache actually refers to the mental and psychological trauma of the townsman as everyone in the town is considering him as a traitor. The name of the title also carries a symbolic aspect. Birds without wings are actually considered as all human beings are actually birds who have no wings. The humans can also be categorized according to the different nature of birds like a vulture, eagle Robin, etc. Another aspect of metaphor can be found in the text where the narrator explains the cat’s yelling threats as love songs on walls and roofs.

The register is the language style used in literature. Syntax the length of the sentences. Imagery is the sensory details such as details of a particular scene in literature. The description of the details of the feather, the night where the townsman tries to visit the Armenian is a stout example of providing minute details. The syntax profile of the text is that the author used a narrative voice in this text in very short sentences. This emphasizes the fact the due to this kind of syntax profile the text is simple and easily understandable. Use of words is also very simple and pinpoint, according to different situation and scenarios. The author also used imagery tool at its best. The author invoked every detail was of surrounding situations. For example, when the townsman or Constantinos was going to visit the Armenian the author provided an imagery detail such as light conditions of the situation, descriptions of animals such as the dog, donkey, and cats, sound effects, etc. These minute details help the readers to design the entire scenario and relate to those circumstances. It helps the readers to relate the entire literature. It can be said that Louis de Bernières created a masterpiece where he applied all these aspects at its best .