Prescribed Prose and Poetry
Prescribed prose and poetry reward close reading, not plot recall. For prose, track theme, character motive, author’s attitude and narrative voice. For poetry, track central emotion, imagery, poetic devices and prosody. Answers should name the device or quality, quote a short phrase, then explain its effect.
Core moves
- Prose: distinguish author, narrator and character; locate turning points; explain cause and effect.
- Poetry: identify ઉપમા (simile), રૂપક (metaphor), ઉત્પ્રેક્ષા (personification), અનુપ્રાસ (alliteration), છંદ and ગણ.
- Answer structure: પ્રસ્તુતિ → વિષય → ઉદાહરણ/અવતરણ → સમાપન.
Worked example
Line: “આશા દીપક જેવી છે, અંધારામાં અજવાળું પાડે છે.” Question: identify the device and explain. Reasoning: જેવી is an explicit comparison word, so it is ઉપમા, not રૂપક. The comparison is between hope and a lamp; the effect is guidance in despair. Answer: “ઉપમા; આશાને દીપક સાથે સરખાવીને નિરાશામાં માર્ગદર્શનનો ભાવ વ્યક્ત થાય છે.” Do not merely write “ઉપમા અલંકાર છે.”
Traps
- Retelling the passage instead of answering “કેમ” or “કેવી રીતે”.
- Naming a device without the quoted proof.
- Confusing the poet with the speaker.
- Calling every comparison a રૂપક.
- Ignoring the prescribed text’s ending while answering theme.