Poetry (Kavita): Summary, ਰਸ, ਅਲੰਕਾਰ and ਛੰਦ
The Kavita section tests the prescribed Punjabi poems: central emotion, poetic devices, form, and the poet's craft. Unlike prose, an answer here must show awareness of how the poem says something, not only what it says.
Core terms you must handle
- ਰਸ (aesthetic flavour): the nine are ਸ਼ਿੰਗਾਰ, ਹਾਸ, ਕਰੁਣ, ਰੌਦਰ, ਵੀਰ, ਭਿਆਨਕ, ਬੀਭਤਸ, ਅਦਭੁਤ and ਸ਼ਾਂਤ. Name the dominant one and justify it with a line's content.
- ਅਲੰਕਾਰ: ਉਪਮਾ (comparison with ਵਰਗਾ, ਜਿਹਾ, ਵਾਂ), ਰੂਪਕ (direct identification), ਅਨੁਪ੍ਰਾਸ (sound repetition), ਯਮਕ (same word, different sense), ਅਤਿਸ਼ਯੋਕਤੀ (hyperbole), ਮਾਨਵੀਕਰਨ (human traits given to nature).
- ਛੰਦ / form: ਦੋਹਰਾ, ਸੋਰਠਾ, ਚੌਪਈ, ਕਵਿੱਤ, ਬੈਂਤ, or free verse - state the form only if you can defend it.
Worked example
Line: 'ਚੰਨ ਮੇਰਾ ਯਾਰ ਹੈ।' Identify the ਅਲੰਕਾਰ. Reasoning: there is no comparison word, and the two nouns are identified as one, so it is ਰੂਪਕ. If the line read 'ਚੰਨ ਵਰਗਾ ਚਿਹਰਾ', the presence of ਵਰਗਾ makes it ਉਪਮਾ. Always check for the comparison word before labelling.
Traps that cost marks
- Calling every comparison ਉਪਮਾ, even when no ਵਰਗਾ/ਜਿਹਾ/ਵਾਂ appears.
- Naming an ਅਲੰਕਾਰ without quoting the words that prove it.
- Writing the summary but skipping ਰਸ or ਅਲੰਕਾਰ when the question asks for poetic beauty.
- Reproducing a quoted line with wrong ਟਿੱਪੀ, ਅਧਕ or ਸਿਹਾਰੀ placement.