Two Poetry Items, One Standard: ઉપમા or રૂપક in a Two-Mark Question
A Std X Second-Language Gujarati teacher is moderating the poetry block of the first-term paper. Question 2(b), worth 2 marks, reads: 'ચાંદો જાણે આકાશનો દીવો થઈ ઝળહળે છે - આ પંક્તિમાંનો અલંકાર ઓળખીને કારણ આપો.' The key allows 1 mark for naming the અલંકાર and 1 for the reason, and says ઉપમા. Of 46 scripts, 14 named ઉપમા, 19 named રૂપક, 4 wrote શ્લેષ, and 9 left the question blank. Most of the 19 justified themselves with 'ચાંદાને દીવો કહ્યો છે', which is textually accurate as far as it goes. In the same paper, Question 4 asks about 'તારલા દીવા છે આભના' and the key there says રૂપક. A parent has already queried one poetry mark this term, and the head of department wants both items marked on one consistent standard.
1. Is the key for Question 2(b) correct? Explain the test that separates ઉપમા from રૂપક in these two lines.
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The key is correct. The deciding test is whether the comparison is stated or absorbed.
In 'ચાંદો જાણે આકાશનો દીવો થઈ ઝળહળે છે', the word જાણે marks an explicit simile. ચાંદો and દીવો remain two separate things, and the sentence says one is like the other. That is ઉપમા. The comparison is announced, not merged.
In 'તારલા દીવા છે આભના', there is no જાણે, જેવો, સમું or પરું. The sentence simply asserts that the stars are lamps: the ઉપમાન (દીવા) is superimposed on the વસ્તુ (તારલા), and the reader must recover the likeness himself. That is રૂપક.
The students' reason 'ચાંદાને દીવો કહ્યો છે' describes the similarity but misses the grammatical signal. It is a half-truth: the likeness is present, so the reason mark is partly earned. The naming mark is not, because the naming is what the signal decides.
2. State how many marks each group should get and how the 19 રૂપક answers should be handled, defending your decision against a possible parent objection.
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Award the 14 ઉપમા answers 2 marks where the reason mentions the explicit comparison, and 1 mark where the name is right but the reason is blank or circular.
For the 19 રૂપક answers: 0 for the naming. The reason 'ચાંદાને દીવો કહ્યો છે' is factually present in the line, so it would be harsh to zero the second mark entirely; award 1 mark in total (reason only) where the student has clearly identified the two compared objects. Record this in the mark scheme as 'partial: સાદૃશ્ય identified, અલંકાર misclassified'. That is defensible: it rewards what the student can see and penalises only the misclassification.
The parent objection will be 'my child wrote the same thing as the topper'. The answer is that Question 4 in the same paper uses the same test in the opposite direction, and both keys apply it consistently; this is not an arbitrary call but a rule the class can be shown. Do not quietly raise the 19 to full marks, and do not lower the 14. Blank answers (9) get 0 and are flagged for a remedial class, since nine blanks in one item signals a teaching gap, not a marking problem.
3. Design a short re-teaching exercise and a revised pair of items that will not produce this split again.
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Re-teach with a two-column contrast on the board, same image, one word changed:
A. 'ચાંદો જાણે દીવો છે આભમાં' - ઉપમા, because જાણે announces the comparison. B. 'ચાંદો દીવો છે આભમાં' - રૂપક, because the comparison is swallowed into the statement.
Ask students to underline the word that does the work; once they can point at જાણે, the concept is operational rather than memorised. Then give four lines, two of each type, and have them sort and justify in one sentence each.
For the revised paper, do not ask for the name alone. Use: 'નીચેની બે પંક્તિઓમાંથી કઈ એકમાં ઉપમા છે અને કઈમાં રૂપક? કારણ આપો. (અ) ચાંદો જાણે દીવો... (બ) ચાંદો દીવો છે...' The paired format makes the discriminating feature visible, so the item tests understanding of the distinction instead of a coin-flip between two labels, and the two marks can be split cleanly: 1 for each correct label with its reason.