Poetry Appreciation: Turning a List of Devices into Scored Sentences
Section B of the paper prints two lines without the poet's name and asks for الشرح, الصور البيانية, and the purpose of أسلوب الأمر:
العلمُ نورٌ يُستضاءُ بهِ ... والجهلُ ليلٌ لا يُرى فيهِ فاسعَ إلى العلمِ ولا تَكْسَلْ ... فالعلمُ كنزٌ ليسَ يُفنى
Five marks are available: 2 for الشرح, 2 for الصور, 1 for the purpose of الأمر. A candidate writes: 'The poet says knowledge is light and ignorance is night. He uses تشبيه in العلم نور and أمر in فاسع. The word العلم is repeated three times. The poet is sad about ignorance.' He lists devices but gives no effect for any of them, misreads the tone, and never answers the third part. Three minutes of reading time remain, and he asks which part to repair first.
1. Rank what to fix in the remaining three minutes. Justify the order by the mark allocation and by what the candidate has already secured.
Read the worked answer
Order: (1) purpose of الأمر, (2) effects of the two images, (3) leave الشرح alone.
- الشرح (2 marks): the paraphrase already covers both lines in substance (light/darkness, the call to seek knowledge). It is probably worth 1–2 marks. Rewriting it is the worst use of three minutes.
- الغرض من الأمر (1 mark): currently zero, and one sentence secures it. Zero marks with a guaranteed fix always comes first.
- الصور (2 marks): identification is present but effect is missing, so at best 1 of 2. Two short effect sentences can recover the rest.
- The 'sad' claim earns nothing and signals a misreading; it should be replaced, not extended. The imperatives «فاسعَ» and «لا تكسلْ» plus «كنزٌ ليس يُفنى» mark a tone of الحثّ والترغيب, not sorrow.
2. Write the sentence that answers the purpose question and the two effect sentences the candidate should add.
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Purpose of الأمر:
الغرضُ من الأمرِ الحثُّ على طلبِ العلمِ والنهيُ عن الكسلِ.
Reasoning: «فاسعَ» is an imperative of urging, «لا تكسلْ» is a prohibition; together they address the reader directly and push him to act. Naming both halves of the pair is what earns the mark.
Effects of the images:
شبّه الشاعرُ العلمَ بالنورِ لأنّه يهدي العقلَ كما يهدي النورُ البصرَ، وشبّه الجهلَ بالليلِ لأنّ صاحبَه لا يرى طريقَ الحقِّ.
والعلمُ «كنزٌ ليس يُفنى» صورةٌ تجعلُ المعنى المجرّدَ شيئاً ملموساً باقياً.
Reasoning for the answer script: each sentence names the device, then states what it does (makes an abstract idea concrete; explains the comparison point). «العلمُ نورٌ» is a تشبيه بليغ - the tool and the point of comparison are deleted - and a candidate who says only 'there is a تشبيه here' has identified, not appreciated.
3. The candidate asks whether calling the tone 'sad' is wrong or merely unnecessary. Answer with reference to the evidence in the lines.
Read the worked answer
It is wrong, not merely unnecessary, for two evidence-based reasons:
- The line is built on imperatives - «فاسعَ», «لا تكسلْ». Imperatives direct the addressee towards action; sorrow does not urge anyone to do anything.
- The final image «كنزٌ ليس يُفنى» is an image of value and permanence, chosen to attract, not to lament.
The practical consequence matters: in a five-mark answer, a wrong claim usually occupies the space where the required claim should be. If the candidate writes 'the poet is sad' instead of the purpose of الأمر, he loses the purpose mark - the examiner credits what matches the scheme, and nothing in the lines supports sadness.
Correct tone words to use instead: الحثّ، الترغيب، التوجيه، الدعوة إلى العلم.