Assignment Writing - Paper No.109
● Name :- Hetal Pathak
● Roll No. :- 09
● Semester :- 2 (Batch 2022 - 2024)
● Enrollment No. :- 4069206420220022
● Paper No. :- 109
● Paper Name :- Literary Theory & Criticism and Indian Aesthetics
● Topic :- The role of Metaphor in Poetry and literature as discussed by I.A.Richards
● Submitted to :- Smt. S.B.Gardi Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University
● Email Address :- hetalpathak28@gmail.com
● Date of Submission :- 31st March 2023
' The Role of Metaphor in Poetry and Literature as discussed by I.A.Richards'
□ Table of Contents:-
▪︎ Introduction
▪︎ Definition of Metaphor
▪︎ Significance of Metaphor in Poetry and literature
▪︎ The role of Metaphor in providing Insight
▪︎ Final Thoughts on I.A.Richards's Contribution to our understanding of Metaphor
▪︎ Conclusion
◇ Introduction :-
British poet and Scholar Ivor Armstrong Richards was born in Cheshire and educated at Cambridge university’s Magdalene College.His Scholarship and research on how Students read Poetry helped shape the Foundations of the New Criticism and its emphasis on Close reading. Richard's Scholarly Work includes his three main works which are given below.
"The Practical Criticism"
1929
"The Philosophy of Rhetoric"
1936
"The Meaning of Meaning"
1946
In his Own Poetry, Richards Wove Philosophical arguments with musical turns. Critic Helen Vendler describes his Poetry as ;
"Gnarled , intellectual , angular and Unsparing."
With C.K.Ogden, Richards Created the teaching tool Basic English, a simplified Version of the English language that in the interests of clear expression, limited both the number of words and the rules of their usage. He taught at Cambridge University.
◇ I.A.Richards as a New Critic :-
I.A.Richards along With T.S.Eliot may be called the founding father of the New Criticism. He has been a constant source of inspiration to the New Critics - more Particularly John Crowe Ransom and William Empson - Whom have used his tools and techniques on an extensive Scale. I.A.Richards differs from the New Critics in one more important respect. While the New Critics rigorously to the Poem under Consideration, I.A.Richards also takes into account its effects on the readers.
For him ; " The real Value of a Poem lies in the reactions and attitudes it creates, and whether or not it is Conducive 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 harmonise and organise complex and warring human impulses into patterns that are lasting and pleasurable. In the view of New Critics, all such considerations are extrinsic and they come in the way of the appreciation and evaluation of a work of art as it is in itself.
◇ Definition of Metaphor :-
According to Merriam Webster Dictionary of English language,
" Metaphor means A Figure of Speech in which a word or Phrase literally denoting one kind of Object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them."
◇ Significance of Metaphor in Poetry and literature :-
Metaphor has Kong been acknowledged as a Primary tool for the writer. Literature without Metaphor would become less imaginative and Poetry would be so imparted as to become dull and Perhaps even trite. Writers and Critics have rarely denied the utility and activeness of Metaphor for their trade. Although many traditional Philosophers employed magnificent metaphors in their writing.
The growing favour that Metaphor has found with Philosophers has inevitably led to attempts to formulate adequate definitions of it and to embed it in the larger context of the Philosophical method. I.A.Richards called the two referents of a Metaphor the ' tenor ' and the ' Vehicle'. The former being associated with the usual Meaning and the latter with the suggestion. Along with that he also noted that it was often very difficult to tell which was the tenor and which was the Vehicle.
In literature, a root Metaphor may well form the dominant theme or image for the writer. An Interpretation of such a work will depend upon an understanding of the root Metaphor. Northrop Frye emphasis just this understanding when he claims that ;
" Literary works must be interpreted according to their internal Meaning."
◇ The Role of Metaphor in Providing Insight :-
A metaphor means comparing two things that in reality are not literally the same. This is the foundation of Metaphorical Thinking. By making a metaphorical comparison between a complex problem and a recognisable situation, other people can understand what is meant right away.
Metaphors are different from regular comparisons, or similes. Both compare different objects, but a metaphorical comparison is more powerful. That is because a metaphorical comparison uses the phrasing “is” instead of “is like”. In this way a metaphorical comparison can be taken to mean that the two objects in the comparison are completely the same in the view in which the metaphor is used. A metaphorical comparison points strongly to the essence of two objects that are the same.
A regular comparison compares objects which are only partly the same and therefore similar. A metaphorical and regular comparison can be distinguished based on the objects being the same or merely similar. This is mainly expressed in the phrasing.
A strong metaphor is the base of metaphorical thinking. It can form the base of understanding by explaining a new and unfamiliar concept with the metaphor of a commonly known idea. By substituting parts of the new idea for familiar concepts, metaphorical thinking can assist in explaining and creating understanding.
◇ Providing Insight :-
Metaphorical Thinking might seem strange, but eventually it will lead to more insight. Thinking in metaphors brings other solutions to the surface. Using metaphors encourages creativity. It is a soft thinking technique that connects and compares two different meanings. After all, people tend to look for similarities. That helps them to grasp complex issues.
Trying to understand things through logic alone disrupts the creative process. Metaphorical Thinking is a powerful tool for looking at things in a new way. So that is how We can understand that the use of metaphors and metaphorical thinking in Poetry and literature enhance our knowledge and way of thinking. Along with that, Metaphors also Provides a new Insight to the readers.
◇ Final Thoughts on I.A.Richards's Contribution to our understanding of Metaphor :-
According to Ivor Armstrong Richards;
" A Metaphor is a manifestation / image of thinking that is generally based on Comparison and Categorization. "
In Interaction Conditioned by Context A tenor and Vehicle both Work together. I.A.Richards interaction theory was developed by Max Black. He introduced Concepts of focus on Frame which represents two Co- acting systems of associations of common Phenomena ; from their Co - Occurrence a metaphorical Meaning is formed.
The value of art or poetry – and by poetry Richards means all imaginative literature – is that it enables the mind to achieve this poise or system more quickly and completely than it could do otherwise. In art there is a resolution and balancing of impulses. Poetry is a representation of this uniquely ordered state of mind in which the impulses respond to a stimulus in such a manner that the mind has a life’s experience.
The poet records this happy play of impulses on a particular occasion, though much that goes into the making of a poem is unconsciously done. It is to partake of this experience that the true reader reads poetry. Good poetry arouses the same experience in the reader too. Thus, poetry becomes a means by which we can gain emotional balance, mental equilibrium, peace and rest. Poetry organises our impulses and gives our mind a certain order, renders us happy and makes our minds healthy. What is true of the individual is also true of society. A society in which arts are freely cultivated exhibits better mental and emotional tranquillity than the societies in which arts are not valued. This moral value of art proceeds from the working of the human mind rather than from any ethical base.
Art or poetry is valuable in that it integrates our activities, resolves our mental conflicts and tensions and leads us to a liberated state. Richards calls this harmonised state, this balancing of conflicting impulses "synaesthesis". It is the simultaneous harmonious experience of diverse sensations and impulses resulting in a fusion of opposites or unification of differences. Synaesthesia is a condition in which one experiences equilibrium of harmonious elements. In the experience of , there is a sense of detachment that is conducive to the formation of a completely coordinated personality.
The Common idea is about the similarities between two things, two ideas, two People etc.
According to I.A.Richards :-
□ Metaphor takes an eye for resemblance
□ It can not be taught it as an added Power
The greatest thing of all by far is to be a master of Metaphor. It is the one thing that cannot be learned from others, and it is also a sign of original genius. Whenever Metaphor is created or it is done. I.A.Richards says that Metaphor can be created or coined by keeping in mind the dissimilarities or the disparities or the ambiguities even if the relation between the two things is not clear, then it can be joined to form a Metaphor.
Furthermore, Richards Says that through the history of Rhetoric, Metaphor is treated as an extra trick and that is what is Considered traditionally. But, What Richards says is that Metaphor is the Omnipresent Principle of language. So, he explained that;
" Metaphor is not merely a grace or ornament or added Power of language ; it is its Constitutive form."
He explains that it is the Omnipresent or Forever Present - a principle of language which is always present in it. In short, Metaphor is something commonly used , hence it is not an extra trick or something which is added.
Thirdly Richards says that when we use Metaphor, we have two Thoughts of different things active together, Supported by Single word or Phrase, meaning results from interaction. There are always two ideas and Thoughts. And from this I.A.Richards concludes that Whenever we use metaphor there are two ideas that are working together and it is the interaction between them that creates the meaning.
According to I.A.Richards thought itself is metaphorical because it is based on the ability to reassemble sense Perceptions in such a way that they are linked to other disparate sense Perceptions forming clusters which are conjured up in the mind forming Thoughts. These thoughts are expressed in language and thus thought and language became relational enterprises giving rise to transference of meanings which Richards refers to as Metaphors.
◇ Conclusion :-
To Conclude Ivor Armstrong Richards says that Metaphors work for a number of reasons, not simply, due to resemblances, they work due to disparities through ambiguities by creating new forms. He also adds that Poets are continuously engaged in creating new metaphors and if they stop such innovations, then language would be dead.
[ Words :- 1873]
[ Images :- 01 ]
Works Cited :-
“I. A. Richards.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/i-a-richards.
“Metaphor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metaphor. Accessed 30 Mar. 2023.
Metaphor and Literature - JSTOR. www.jstor.org/stable/3331393.
Thanks for Visiting...
No comments:
Post a Comment