Literary matters

K S SIVAKUMARAN

Most students' approach to appreciating literature is wrong. Here are some foreign universities exam oriented points.

Most Lankan students in the country offer English Literature as an optional subject, often as there is no other option. They dislike literature for lack of understanding of the subject. Some of them think that they have to memorize some facts and that's it. As we know it is not a subject that depends entirely on learning facts.

Learning literature is really learning the skills in appreciation of the subject and demonstrating it with evidence drawn from the book concerned. In other words students should show how they have understood and appreciated a work they have read. It is their interpretation that matters and not entirely how the teacher has expressed his or her views.

For the student to master the subject he or she should read the specific texts prescribed attentively and write effectively about what they have read.

As we know literature is composed of beautiful and magical words. Every single word is relevant and of significance. Therefore the students should read the texts fully by themselves and try to enjoy the work to the utmost. The more they read the more pleasure they would derive.

What the examiners expect from students is their critical appreciation. The word 'critical', as far as it applies to literature, means evaluating a work and finding both the strengths and weaknesses. If a book is very good, then there is hardly any criticism because the book may have many strengths. Consequently one does not go all the way to find faults in a book in such an exercise. That is not 'literary criticism'.

Examiners say that good critical writing is done on three stages:

One: Make a point or argument. Two: Illustrate with an apt quotation, Three: Show how the quotation explains the point. This serves to modify the student's original point and add subtle arguments along the way leading easily to the next paragraph.

Literature is basically about feeling. Sensible opinions and feelings depend on knowledge acquired by education. Knowledge is gained mostly by a wide reading. What matters is what the student has got to say about literature on his own findings and experiences. However any opinion is not sufficed.

The student has got to base his or her opinion on a sound working knowledge of the text. The student should be sensitive to the way a book is written, its suggestions and the way they are expressed. Students can take into account what other people have sad or written about the particular work. If needed they should be ready to reread to think further and be ready to change their mind. Usually there is no final word in exploring literature. Opinions can be tentative. It is wiser to use such phrases as 'maybe, might be, perhaps,' and 'in my opinion'.

Literary analysis is also looking into the style, form and structure of a work. What it all means can be classified as follows for the convenience of the students: The ordering of events in the telling of the story is one aspect of the analysis. Is there a strict chronological order in the narration of events is another. Does it use a 'flashback' technique or is there a foreshadowing suggested.

Students are aware that most novels are written by an omnipresent third person narrator, but some are first person narrations. Students will also note how the characters are described, times of the year, weather and the like.

How things create feelings and moods in a particular part of the novel can also be considered. One other aspect that can be looked into is the dialogue made use of. Do the characters speak in a convincing manner? Do grammar and vocabulary used contribute to the characterization can be also possible approaches in understanding literature.

To what extent things are explained by the writer. Does the writer leave the readers to come to their own conclusions? Do the events chosen contribute to the development of the novel? Are they natural or contrived? These are some ways which can be employed by students in analyzing questions in the literature paper.