'appreciate'

Question

HiIn literary appreciation we tell the students to appreciate the literary features. For instance, we ask them to appreciate the use of simile in the poem.My question: Does appreciate mean that the student needs to express why the poet has used simile and what other thoughts and feelings the simile the evoke in the reader?

Englishmaven · Accepted Answer

Appreciate here means to identify and recognize the features and evaluate their effectiveness in the poem.

Vsuresh · Answer

Thank you Englishmaven.

So, if it is a simile the student needs to identify it correctly and explain how it enhances the effect of the idea conveyed.

Am I correct?

CalifJim · Answer

vsureshIn literary appreciation we tell the students to appreciate the literary features.

Just a few remarks.

Telling isn't teaching. It isn't even encouraging.

The objective here, if that's what it is, is not behavioral. You'll never know whether your students appreciate literary features — unless you happen to catch them petting and kissing certain lines of text

— or, more realistically, catch them talking to others about how much they enjoy a certain story or poem (when not asked to do so).

vsureshDoes appreciate mean that the student needs to express why the poet has used simile and what other thoughts and feelings the simile the evoke in the reader?

Not to me. Appreciation for the written word is a life-long attitude, and I don't believe it can be taught. As for why the poet has used a simile, you would have to ask the poet, wouldn't you? And as for thoughts and feelings evoked, wouldn't that vary from student to student? What are the "right answers" to these questions? I think all talk of "appreciation" is treading on shaky ground. But maybe that's just me.

I imagine the point is for the students is to find and identify literary features whether they appreciate them or not.

CJ

Vsuresh · Answer

Thank you CJ. After reading your remarks, I think I must be very careful about the questions I ask the students.

Your remarks reminded me of the days when one of the most common questions in tests and examinations in our place was "What is the poet saying here?" I refrained from asking such a question when I was told by one of my senior colleagues "How can anyone say precisely what he was saying, or what was his in mind?"

Please give your comments on this:

In the examinations we conduct for students of grade 9 and 10 "Write a critical appreciation of the poetic devices used in the poem" is one of the common questions.

Please tell me what is the student required to do in terms of poetic devices, for example simile or metaphor.

CalifJim · Answer

vsuresh"Write a critical appreciation of the poetic devices used in the poem" is one of the common questions.

Yikes! If I were the student, I wouldn't know where to begin! I could certainly locate, quote, and identify by name certain poetic devices, but whether that constitutes "a critical appreciation" is another question. Students are certainly not experienced enough to formulate a true critique of a literary work, so I doubt that is what is being asked of them.

vsureshwhat is the student required to do

If I were the student, I would probably rely on and imitate similar tasks done during the course work of the class. It is part of teaching to explain what such things (critical appreciation) mean in the context of the course, and to practice reading them and writing them as much as possible before the examination. It is not the goal of an exam to surprise the student with completely new terminology at exam time and thereby trick him into failing!

Within each curriculum, what is expected in a critical appreciation may be different. It is, after all, a somewhat vague term. That's why I can't give a one-size-fits-all answer to your question.

What is interesting, if not shocking, about your question is that you are the teacher and you don't seem to know what is required of a student who is to do "a critical appreciation". Do you not belong to a group of teachers who determine the content of your classes within the institution you work in? What do the others want from students when they ask for "a critical appreciation"? Have you (as a group) developed course materials which show students several critical appreciations and have them try their hand at writing them under your guidance? It seems to me that this is the direction you (all) ought to move in.

CJ

Englishmaven · Answer

CJ,

You make a good point. What I meant was that the student appreciates (as that was the word in question) to the extent that she/he has insight into the use of the literary features found in poetry or other works. We really don't require of our students that they like/enjoy literature, though we do want to see that they have the wherewithal to fully appreciate it, should they be so inclined.
The word appreciate should be taken in every sense that it can for this discussion. We can appreciate something without liking it. I can appreciate that someone is a good boxer without liking the sport or the athlete at all. That was what I meant by appreciate.

CalifJim · Answer

Point taken. Nonetheless, I'm not up for a philosophical discussion of the distinction between (1) and (2) below.

(1) to appreciate something (appreciate metaphor)
(2) to appreciate that (something) (appreciate that metaphor is used in literature)

Perhaps meaning (2) is intended, and I've gone off the reservation with my focus on (1).
Even so, I said what I thought had to be said.

CJ

GPY · Answer

vsureshIn literary appreciation we tell the students to appreciate the literary features. For instance, we ask them to appreciate the use of simile in the poem.

I understand "literary appreciation" to be a set phrase in which the word "appreciation" does not imply pleasure or enjoyment so much as understanding and appraisal. However, for me, this sense does not translate well to the verb "appreciate". I would not say that "literary appreciation" consists of appreciating literature, or, in this specific case, appreciating the use of simile.

CalifJim · Answer

Whatever we take 'appreciation' to mean, it is not measurable enough to be taken seriously as a teaching objective. This is my main point.

CJ

GPY · Answer

CalifJimWhatever we take 'appreciation' to mean, it is not measurable enough to be taken seriously as a teaching objective. This is my main point.CJ

I don't really agree that something has to be measurable in order for it to be a teaching objective.

'appreciate'

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