Resource Index
- Passage 1: Poetry Comprehension
- Q91: The Person Described
- Q92: Sympathy in the Poem
- Q93: Imagery Utilized
- Q94: Interpretation of Line 3
- Q95: State of the Person
- Passage 2: Prose Comprehension (Practical Criticism)
- Q96: Methodology of Practical Criticism
- Q97: Purpose of I.A. Richards' Approach
- Q98: Defining 'Literary Canon'
- Q99: Value Judgements Promulgated
- Q100: Implications of Close Reading
- Active Recall Zone
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Final Trend Analysis
Passage 1: Poetry Comprehension
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow (91-95):
Most near, most dear, most loved and most far.
Under the window where I often found her
Sitting as huge as Asia, seismic with laughter,
Gin and chicken helpless in her Irish hand,
Irresistible as Rabelais, but most tender for
The lame dogs and hurt birds that surround her.
She is a procession no one can follow after
But be like a little dog following a brass band.
She will not glance up at the bomber, or condescend
To drop her gin and scuttle to a cellar.
But lean on the mahogany table like a mountain
Whom only faith can move, and so I send
O all my faith, and all my love to tell her
That she will move from mourning into mourning.
Question 91: The person described in the poem is
Answer: 3. a believer.
The person described in the poem is portrayed as someone with strong faith and belief.(Asked in Exam)
The phrase "But lean on the mahogany table like a mountain / Whom only faith can move" highlights the individual's unwavering faith. The speaker expresses sending "all my faith, and all my love to tell her / That she will move from mourning into mourning," indicating the belief in the person's ability to overcome grief or difficult times with the support of faith. This portrayal points directly to the person being a believer.
Question 92: The person described in the poem is sympathetic to
Answer: 3. disabled dogs and wounded birds.
The person described in the poem is sympathetic to disabled dogs and wounded birds.(Asked in Exam)
The lines "Irresistible as Rabelais, but most tender for The lame dogs and hurt birds that surround her" strictly indicate that she shows special care and tenderness towards these specific creatures.
Question 93: The poem uses
Answer: 1. cartographic and nature images.
The poem uses both cartographic and natural images to describe the woman.(Asked in Exam)
The phrase "sitting as huge as Asia" is a cartographic image that emphasises her massive presence and geography. The line "seismic with laughter" and leaning "like a mountain" use natural/geological images to convey her powerful force. Additionally, the references to "lame dogs and hurt birds" draw upon nature to describe her impact on her surroundings.
Question 94: The third line of the poem suggests something about
Answer: 1. the complexion of the person.
The line "Sitting as huge as Asia, seismic with laughter" suggests a connection to the complexion of the person.(Asked in Exam)
While "huge" refers to her expansive presence, the specific comparison to the continent of "Asia" in literary analysis often implies a dark or brown complexion. The use of the word "seismic" emphasises her vibrant and powerful laughter, further reinforcing the image of her being like a vast continent.
Question 95: The person described in the poem
Answer: 1. is alive.
The person described in the poem is alive.(Asked in Exam)
The use of present and future tense verbs such as "she is a procession" and "she will move" indicates that the person is currently living and will continue to be alive in the future. The poet actively expresses sending their love and faith to this person now. There are no indications in the poem that she is dead, deaf, or near death.
Passage 2: Prose Comprehension
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow (96-100):
At school, the study of literature can still involve a close reading or 'practical criticism' of a novel, play or poem without much or any recourse to external material. Practical criticism is the method of analysing a poem in isolation from the circumstances of its production, developed by I. A. Richards (1893-1979) in the 1920s. He felt that concentration upon “the words on the page, the technical aspects of the ways verse creates effects, would result in meaningful judgements upon whether a poem was intrinsically 'good' or simply reputedly so. The methodology of practical criticism seeks coherence in images, themes and patterns of language. Richards and his colleagues felt that this practice was 'scientific 'and led to objective value judgments. He was part of a group of lecturers at Cambridge University who played a crucial role in the development of the discipline of English Literature and whose methodology influenced the critical practices of the New Critics, John Crowe Ransom (1888-1974) and Cleanth Brooks (1906-94) and their colleagues in the US. Their scientific examination of literature asserted a hierarchy of texts, those that held universal meaning and significance through aesthetic form and those deemed too formulaic to warrant academic scrutiny. The first revered group of texts is often referred to as the literary canon.
Question 96: "The methodology of practical criticism seeks coherence in images, themes and patterns of language."
What could be the implication of this statement?
Answer: 3. Practical criticism prioritises on evaluating texts by adopting a purely literary mode of inquiry bereft of contextualization.
The implication is that practical criticism prioritises the evaluation of texts by focusing solely on literary aspects.(Asked in Exam)
It does not rely on external contextual information or historical background to understand or interpret the poem. Instead, it aims to analyse the poem in isolation, based exclusively on the words and technical elements present on the page, to make meaningful judgments about its intrinsic quality and artistic merit without delving into the author's biography or the era's politics.
Question 97: The purpose of I.A. Richard's 'practical criticism' was to
Answer: 2. usher in an objective approach to the study of texts
The main purpose of I.A. Richard's 'practical criticism' was to usher in an objective, scientific approach to the study of texts.(Asked in Exam)
He advocated for analysing a poem in isolation from its production circumstances, focusing on the words on the page and technical aspects to make meaningful judgments about the poem's intrinsic quality. Richards believed that this methodology would lead to objective value judgments about whether a poem was genuinely 'good' or merely reputed to be so.
Question 98: In the context of the above passage, what does 'literary canon' imply?
Answer: 3. A selection of literary texts established as part of a great tradition.
The term "literary canon" in the context of the passage refers to a selection of literary texts established as part of a great tradition.(Asked in Exam)
The passage notes that scientific examination asserted a hierarchy of texts—those holding universal meaning and significance. The literary canon includes those revered works that are considered to be of high cultural and artistic value, recognized as essential to the foundation of the literary tradition.
Question 99: What kind of value judgement did practical criticism as a radical critical movement promote or promulgate?
Answer: 4. Evaluating value in terms of universal truths.
Practical criticism promoted the evaluation of value in terms of universal truths.(Asked in Exam)
By analyzing a poem in isolation and asserting a hierarchy of texts based on aesthetic form, the movement aimed to identify texts that held "universal meaning and significance." This approach aimed to identify enduring qualities and truths in literary works that transcended specific historical or cultural contexts, actively rejecting intentionality or historical scholarship.
Question 100: In the context of the above passage, close reading implies
Answer: 4. reading a text by focusing on words and the technical aspects.
Close reading, as defined in the passage, implies reading a text by focusing on words and the technical aspects.(Asked in Exam)
It involves analysing the literary work in isolation from the circumstances of its production and delving deeply into the language, imagery, themes, and patterns of language used by the author to create effects. The purpose is to make meaningful judgments about the intrinsic quality of the work without relying on external context.
Active Recall Zone
Solidify your knowledge from the Reading Comprehension section (Q91-Q100):
- What was the primary goal of I.A. Richards when he developed Practical Criticism in the 1920s?
(To create an objective, "scientific" approach to judging literature bereft of historical context.) - In the context of Cambridge Criticism, what does the "Literary Canon" represent?
(A hierarchy of revered texts established as part of a great tradition holding universal meaning.) - What literary devices are heavily relied upon in the provided poem snippet to establish the woman's immense presence?
(Cartographic and natural/geological imagery.)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Practical Criticism and New Criticism?
Practical Criticism was developed in the UK (Cambridge) by I.A. Richards in the 1920s, focusing on the psychological and semantic effects of words on the page without context. New Criticism, led by figures like John Crowe Ransom and Cleanth Brooks, was an American formalist movement in the mid-20th century heavily influenced by Richards' methodology, focusing on paradox, irony, and tension within a text as a self-contained object.
How does one perform a "Close Reading"?
Close reading requires isolating a text from its author's biography, historical era, or political context. The reader evaluates the intrinsic merit of the text by meticulously analyzing its internal mechanics: word choice, structural patterns, rhythm, and coherence of imagery.
Set Conclusion: Reading Comprehension Trend Analysis
An analysis of the final 10 questions from the 2023 June Shift 1 paper reveals how the NTA evaluates both interpretive dexterity and theoretical foundational knowledge through unseen passages.
Poetry: Metaphorical Agility
The poetry passage bypasses basic plot comprehension to test structural recognition. Scholars must identify the exact type of imagery used (e.g., cartographic vs. astronomical) and infer nuanced subtext (e.g., interpreting "Asia" as a nod to complexion rather than geography).
Prose: Meta-Critical Assessment
The prose passage is highly reflexive. It does not just test reading skills; it tests the scholar's ability to read about how to read. The questions rigorously enforce the definitions of "Close Reading," "Practical Criticism," and the "Literary Canon," demanding that candidates separate historical contextualization from formalist objectivity.
