Poetry (Padya) - prescribed textbook selections
पद्य (Poetry): what is tested
Poetry questions in Hindi Applied ask for भावार्थ (meaning in your own words), काव्य-सौंदर्य, अलंकार, रस, छंद and sometimes कवि-परिचय. Marks come from naming the device AND proving it from the given lines.
Core rules
- Read the lines twice: first for the literal picture, second for the feeling.
- Write भावार्थ as a flowing paragraph; do not translate word by word.
- An अलंकार answer = name + one-line definition + the exact words that prove it.
- उपमा: comparison carried by 'सा', 'जैसा', 'सम'.
- रूपक: the object IS the other thing, with no comparison word.
- अनुप्रास: repetition of a consonant sound.
- मानवीकरण: nature given human action.
- Rasa: करुण for grief, वीर for courage, भक्ति or श्रृंगार as the tone demands.
- Name the छंद only when sure; a wrong छंद weakens a correct भावार्थ.
Worked example
Line given: 'चंचल चितवन चित्त चुरा ले' - identify the अलंकार. Step 1: which sound recurs? The consonant 'च' repeats at the start of words. Step 2: repetition of a consonant at close intervals = अनुप्रास. Step 3: word it as 'अनुप्रास अलंकार है, क्योंकि 'च' वर्ण की आवृत्ति हुई है।' Never stop at the name alone.
Traps
Naming an अलंकार without quoting proof; confusing उपमा and रूपक; writing a plot summary instead of भावार्थ; ignoring 'प्रसंग सहित' when it is asked; flattening poetry into prose with no feeling.