Reality and Sincerity
F.R. Levis.
Introduction:-
Literary
criticism occupies its own position along with literary creation .I. A.
Richards, Ransom ,T.S.Eliot ,F. R. leavis and many such talented critics has
established ‘ New Criticism.R.leavis is a leading critics among this group. He has
a lasting effect on English literary criticism. His ideas on practical criticism
rather than theory have been widely welcomed .The present essay “Reality and
Sincerity” by him is a fine specimen of his genius as a critics.
Analysis of his three poems:-
Almost sixty years age F.R.Levis wrote a short story type easy which
handle this problem which he called “ Reality and Sincerity.R.Levis is the
greatest literary critic of the 20Th
century.
In this
present essay ‘Reality and Sincerity.R.Levis analysis poems. In This essay
he carried out a task of critical comparison involving three poems.
1) Alexander
Smith’s - “Barbara”.
2)Emily
Bronte’s - “Cold in the Earth”.
3) Hardy‘s - “After a Journey”.
Actually Levis analyzed only two poems can be easily found but ‘Barbara’ is slightly
more difficult. Levis says it s the ‘ “Oxford book of English verse”.
F.R.Levis was trying to establish how words in poetry enable the reader to
realize the experience that is given in the words. The purpose behind this
comparison is to understand.
“Why some poems
are better than other”.
1)Alexander Smith’s “ BARBARA”:-
The
comparison begin with Alexander Smith’s
“Barbara”
.Alexander was a member of “ The spasmodic school of the poet”. Who flourished
in the middle of nineteenth century .There
work enjoyed great popularity.
Ø
The First verse sets the scene using
adjectives like old, grey, crisped , yellow,etc.Which sets a tone of something
or something about end.
Ø
The Second verse ends with the
powerful images of ‘Barbara’ looking out of heaven which reminds D.G.Rossetti
powerful poem “The Blessed Damozel”.
Ø
The Third stanza concludes with the
exotic memory of wild morning when love embarrassed but one cannot understand
why kiss lives the purple stain on agony her mouth. Barbara’s ghost lingers on
like bad smell throughout the forth stanza.
She seats remembering
erotic feeling keeping breslet in her arm. She describes that though she has
sinned many times since her death, She has been faithful and loves him still.
This compassion of earth and heavenly love incredible for her love, earth is
empty without her. The poem ends with the wind, rain and the mourning of
wounded sea. Peace is with Barbara and death.
Levis
criticism of Smith’s poem has nothing to do with techniques reading through the
verse. It looks very personal .Each line is a memory there is almost a picture
in each line smith decides the verse as he himself sharing his thought with “ Barbara”. He is
talking to her and he knows what to say so that she will understand him. This poem
is not for us but for them….
“When
loves speak, they have their own language”.
2) Emily
Bronte’s “ COLD IN THE EARTH”:-
The next poem leavis discuss in his essay was Emily Bronte’s ‘Cold in
the Earth” in an earlier book Levis had called this poem as the finest poem of
the 19th century, but in his later essay. He describes Emily brote”s
poem as a fail for the work by Alexander smith.
This poem is read as plangent which suggest
that there is something dangerous in it. In stanza seven she describes that….
“Then did
I check the tears of useless passion.”
And we see an oblivious hint at the nature of
strength in following stanza.
“Then did I learn how existence could be chert; Strengthened and fad without the add the joy.”
“Cold in
the earth and the deep snow pied above thee, far removed cold in the dreary grow”
3)Thomas
Hardy’s “ AFTER A JOURNEY”:-
Levis moves
on his essay to discuss ‘After a Journey” by Thomas Hardy. Thomas hardy was
well known both of novelists as a poet. His wife died in “November 1912”. After
a short and painful illness. The marriage had become empty for both of them.
The shock of his wife‘s death failed hardy with feeling of remorse and regret
and that he produced a series of poems that are very powerful.
It is commented that hardy was a fraud. Who used his talents as a writer
to become famous in society? This poem is healing poem which sins to refer
back to the core of his life. F.R.Levis describes it as intimate or self communing.
It is like we are listening
to hardy talking to him somewhere inside our own mind. He describes his wife in
the poem.
“Nut colored hair, and grey
eyes and rose flush”.
It we
compare it with other two poems. There is absence of positive tone which leavis
describes as a having ‘A great reality’.
The
First word in the poem ‘ Hereto’
makes an immediate effect of balance
.Levis describe the poem as a journey
back though the time but actually we cannot go back through the time.Memory can
recall his wife but her presence in the
poem makes her absence .There is a detailed analysis of the line.
“But all is closed now,
despite time’s derision”.
This
line makes this point clear; this is the statement that says “Everything is
closed despite time standing”. There is a balance ‘All is over ’, The suffering
of lose Thomas hardy is expressing the reality of remembrance ,but he also say
that
“I am just the same”.
The point in this thread is try to understand how we
can recognize the truth of the poem or what makes a good piece of poetry what
is it about poetry that make people want
to write it.
While Emily
Bronte ‘ Cold in Earth’ is a striking
poem but when we go back to it from hardy ,we may come to judgment that she
is dramatizing herself in a situation
such as she has dearly not known in actualize experience.
Conclusion:-
Above all F.R.Levis
by comparing to peace of work-
Cold in
the Earth
After a
Journey
On the base of
reality and sincerity comes to conclusion that hardy ‘After a Journey’ is
more effective poem. It highlight the elements of reality and sincerity more
than the poem of Emily Bronte.
This is the wrong and probably the worst critical appreciation I've ever read. Many grammatical errors as well as broken sentences.
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