I.A.R - Practical Criticism - Figurative Language:-

This blog is in response to a thinking activity given by our professor Dilip Barad sir https://blog.dilipbarad.com/2014/12/ia-richards-figurative-language.html This is a link of sir's blog here you can read more about this thinking activity.

1) Study reading material on Figurative Language in the first post and then,

2) Study the poem which matches your roll number. You shall problematize the poem by doing verbal close reading and then justify it with the help of arguments given by IA Richards in this essay.

-Base on these things we have to interpret this in a different way, or we have to question things which are imagined by the poet in this poem. My Roll Number is 5 so,5th poem. Here is a blog link of only poem:

https://blog.dilipbarad.com/2015/09/just-poems.html.

I.A Richards bring revolution in the theory of practical Criticism. He thinks in different manner. He was best known for his series of experiment in his university. In this experiment he gives a poem to his students without telling them about the poet and all the background history. His main theme behind this is to make students aware about the concept of poem not poet. He wants that students should focus upon the material and understand in much better way without any prior knowledge.

Let's start with poem:

5. A MYSTERIOUS MARRIAGE:

Once upon a time

A boy and girl were

Forced to leave their home

By armed robbers.

The boy was Independence

The girl was Freedom.

While fighting back, they got married.

After the big war they went back home.

Everybody prepared for the wedding.

Drinks and food abounded,

Even the disabled felt able.

The whole village gathered waiting,

Freedom and Independence

We're more popular than Jesus.

Independence came

But Freedom was not there.

An old woman saw Freedom’s shadow passing

Through the crowd, leaving by the gate.

All the same, they celebrated Independence.

Independence is now a senior bachelor.

Some people still talk about him,

Others take no notice.

A lot still say it was a fake marriage.

You can’t be a husband without a wife.

Fruitless and barren, Independence staggers to old age.

Leaving her shadow behind,

Freedom has never returned.

*When I put this poem as a prompt in AI- Chat Gpt it gave me this result:-

-This poem suggests that freedom is necessary for a successful and fulfilling life. Without it, one may find themselves in a lonely, incomplete state, like Independence. It is also a reminder to cherish freedom and not take it for granted. The poem implies that the bond between Independence and Freedom was strong, yet Freedom had to leave to find her own way. The poem serves to remind us of the importance of freedom in our lives and how it can shape our lives and relationships.

My Questioned about this poem:

First thing is that the title is also problematic, like how poets use Marriage as a metaphor. This poem can be interpreted in a political way also.. In this poem Relation between Independence and freedom. In this poem there are so many words like Fake marriages, armed robber, war, Jesus, disabled, fruitless, barren, etc. these words are very important to interpret in different ways.

What is Difference between Independence and freedom?:-

-independence is the ability to be free, freedom is to do whatever you want to do in the borders of what your abilities and independence gives you.

if you learn how to make money you’re independent, choosing what to buy is freedom.

some independence is given to you, like your rights in the law by the government, if you’re living in a good country; and some independence you must make it in your own, like getting a job and making money; some independence is taken away from you and you can’t make it, like the situations of sex slaves in ISIS, they don’t have the ability to be independent, therefore can’t be free.

independence can be given, but freedom is your choice.

depending on your independence level you will get a range of choices to make, freedom is to choose from these choices.

In some sense, freedom is dependent on independence, and independence's reason to exist is to give a wider range of choices to be free.

freedom is not a right, even if governments were built to give freedom, but still in the real world you’re not rightful to be free, but what life gives you is a chance to be independent, and then use your abilities to be free.

freedom is to HAVE choices open for you to choose from,

independence is to MAKE more choices available for you.

independent but not free: like a rich guy who has a very high range of choices, but not free from inside.

free but not independent: I honestly can’t think of an example, and I think there’s none, You can change my mind of course.

*What is the main difference between Freedom and Independence?

-Independent is defined as:

Not influenced or controlled by others...thinking for oneself

Possessing a competency, Self-confident ,Not depending on others for its value ,Synonyms for Independent include:

Non-parasitic, Strong-minded, Autonomous, Free-living.

-Freedom is defined as:

Personal liberty, Absence or release from obligations, Ease of movement, Power to exercise choice without internal constraints

Synonyms for Freedom include:

Liberated, Loose, Disengaged, Self-governing.

I have a best example for this, like, when we are going to watch a movie we have to stand for our National Anthem “Jana Gana Mana”. So here, you can see what is the difference between Freedom and Independence. In this poem in the end we can see this independence is husband without wife, and   

-What are the Impales to write this poem?

Poet of this poem is Freedom Nyamubaya was a rural development, gender and peace activist, farmer, dancer and writer who was born in Uzumba. Cutting short her secondary school education in 1975, she left to join the Zimbabwe National Liberation Army in Mozambique, where she achieved the rank of Female Field Operation Commander, later being elected Secretary for Education in the first ZANU Women’s League conference in 1979.

After Independence, she founded MOTSRUD, an NGO that provides agro-services to rural farmers, and she has worked on attachment with the United Nations in Mozambique. A founding member of the Zimbabwe Peace and Security Trust, she has spent much of the last five years promoting peace throughout Zimbabwe.

Freedom’s home was a game farm in Mangura where she sought to work with villagers in the area promoting agricultural and development activities, and defend her own game against poachers and predators.

Her first volume of poetry, On the Road Again (Zimbabwe Publishing House, Harare, 1985) was followed by Dusk of Dawn (College Press, Harare, 1995), both being attempts to grapple with a brutal world using powerful images and disconcerting rhythms. Her story ‘That Special Place’ was published in Writing Still Freedom had one son, Naishe.

In context of this you can imagine what is the situation when she writes this poem, she is a black so she has to bear some of the consequences of that time and the situation of war is also there.

Meaning of freedom in one way we can take this also. Independence and Freedom is used as a personification.

Thank you so much for reading this blog.

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