Thinking activity on I.A Richards: The figurative language

I.A Richards bring revolution in  the theory of practical Criticism. He thinks in different manner. He was best known for his series of experiment in his university. In this experiment he gives a poem to his students without telling them about the poet and all the background history. His main theme behind this is to make students aware about the concept of poem not poet. He wants that students should focus upon the material and understand in much better way without any prior knowledge.

Here I am going to talk about one of the famous poem which I studied in B.A level and the difficulty which I faced when I read that poem.

Anecdote of the Jar

By Wallace Steven

I placed a jar in Tennessee,   

And round it was, upon a hill.   

It made the slovenly wilderness   

Surround that hill.

The wilderness rose up to it,

And sprawled around, no longer wild.   

The jar was round upon the ground   

And tall and of a port in air.

It took dominion everywhere.   

The jar was gray and bare.

It did not give of bird or bush,   

Like nothing else in Tennessee.

Misunderstanding

    When I read this poem first time, I was put into trouble that what this poem is talking about. I am unable to think that what message this poem wants to convey. As this was absurd work of poet we only thinks of absurdity, and didn't  think outside it. The very first line brings misunderstanding when we read Tennessee, the place which we never saw in our life. We automatically put in difficulty to understand the concept of poem.

Tone of poem

    I.A Richards when speaks about the meaning of poetry he describes four things, that is sense, feeling tone and Intention. Tone means the language used by poet in poem. In this poem we find difficulty in understanding the tone.

Intention

   The intention speaks about the writers aim which may be conscious and unconscious. When we read this poem we thinks that the poet may be in unconscious state of mind, because what he wants to say by putting the imagery of jar is difficult to understand. The jar which was described in this poem is not usual jar which we think, It personifies something.

    In this way the figurative language used by the poet cannot be easily understood, we have to do experiment on it to understand the language.