Why and How I Review

Why and How I Review

Why do I Review?

I review for the aesthetic pleasure it offers in the main. When I read a well-written poem or a story with imaginative concentration, a surge of emotion washes over me. I feel like expressing my feelings or thoughts, and the praise it deserves.

I find it difficult to remain unaffected when I come across the scene of Desdemona being strangled by Othello. He too possesses the basic instincts of love, hate and jealousy. Similarly, I am touched to the quick while reading of the agonizing dilemma of Raskolnikov, the dropout student in Crime and Punishment. A poor student’s desperate methods of survival surely impress on our mind. So I go into the details surrounding his desperate existence.

Likewise, I cannot miss Lear’s bitterness when he said,

“Is it the fashion that the discarded fathers
Should have thus little mercy on their flesh?”

I am drawn to the pattern of combination of “magic casements,” and “perilous” in Keats,

“...magic casements, opening on the foam
of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.”(Ode to a Nightingale)

And “window” and “perilously” in Eliot.

“The typist comes home at teatime clears her breakfast, lights
Her stove, and lays out food in tins,
Out of the window perilously spread
Her drying combinations touched by the Sun’s last rays...”(Wasteland)

I try to review the two poems drawing lines of comparison and contrast, the generation gap, the context, references and the emotive and imaginative quality.

Some poems have telling imagery, which makes me see its full import.

“Western Wind, when wilt thou blow
The small rain down can rain?
Christ, if my love were in my arms
And I, in my bed again!” (Anonymous 14th Century manuscript preserved in the British Museum.)

It expresses clearly one heartfelt utterance born out of restiveness of a lover through the night.

The lyrical quality of a prose passage inspires me not only to review, but also to learn how to wield my pen with care paying attention to the smallest of details, how to make every single word, each single image attain specialty.

“The house was left; the house was deserted. It was like a shell on a sandhill to fill with dry salt grains now that life had left it. The long night seemed to have triumphed. The saucepan had rusted and the mat decayed. Toads had nosed their way in. idly, aimlessly the swaying shawl swung to and fro. The thistle thrust itself between tiles in the larder. Swallows nested in the drawing room, rafters were laid bare...” (To The Light House by Virginia Woolfe)

The above passage is like an interlude bridging the action before and the one that follows it.

Reading, which is the most important requirement for reviewing, is a learning experience. It gives me a chance to look at genuine human experience clothed in excellent phrasing.

“Since there is no help, come let’s kiss and part.
Nay, I have done, you get no more of me.
And I am glad, yea, glad with all my heart,
That this so calmly I myself can free.
Shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows.
And when we meet at any time again,
Be it not seem in either of our brows
That we are one jot of former love retain...” (Since there’s no help by Michael Drayton.)

The detached tone, the relief, the final good-bye show how close the experience of the poet is to life.
At the moment of parting even single gesture of love renders me sympathetic to the lovers.

While reading an illuminating passage like that of Bertrand Russell’s essay on Happiness, I learn of human behavior.

“No man treats a motorcar as foolishly as he treats another human being. When the car will not go, he does not attribute its annoying behavior to sin; he does not say, ‘you are a wicked motorcar, and I shall not give you any more petrol until you go.’ He attempts to find out what is wrong and to set it right.”

The simple and profound analogy and the inference make me study it further.

Reading of different cultures goes a long way in broadening my outlook on life, improving my understanding of the world-view of people living in different parts of the world. My curiosity is kept burning.

A piece of instructive satire, an entertaining drama, a story of value or a spiritually uplifting poem, inspires me to convey my views on characters, setting, dialog, tone and flow and various other aspects therein.

Reviewing is an enjoyable experience because it improves my own writing. I have the chance to closely study the nuances of language, individual styles, American, English and various others used in Commonwealth countries.
I pay attention to study proper use of words and their connotations, and the apt use of basic tools of language like grammar, and punctuation.

Reviewing creative writing in different genres helps me in attempting to write in fields, which I never tried before. For example, the fact that I was able to write horror stories was truly amazing.

The thrill of reviewing a poem is one of its kind, an entirely a different kind from that of a story or a prose piece. Poetic language, its emotive and imaginative quality, figures, symbols, foregrounding, the silences, pauses, economy of expression, stanza, rhyme and rhythm help me to go beyond the lines and understand the mind and art of the poet.

When a poem or a story of mine is reviewed, I feel the satisfaction that someone out there cares, spending time in reading and reviewing it. As a reviewer, I owe the same to others. I view it as a pleasant and beneficent occupation.

The blessings of reviewing are unnumbered, and the pleasure it gained is endless.


How I Review:

When I review a poem or a short story, I tell myself to be careful. I know I am standing between the reader and the writer. I try to focus my attention on the aesthetic qualities inherent in creativity, and enjoy them. I prefer not to be like the doctor in Anton Chekhov’s story A Work of Art. The doctor in the story did not possess the skill of appreciating art, and therefore could not understand the significance of the beautiful candelabra given to him by Sasha.

I pick up the excellences rather than deliberately choose imperfections. If I stumble upon lapses, I would make sure to be extra careful in suggesting edits. The wisdom of Alexander Pope comes to my rescue.

" Launch not beyond your depth, but be discreet,
And mark the point where sense and dullness meet." ( Essay On Criticism by Pope)

If I have to review a philosophical piece like the following passage from Bertrand Russell what would I do? How would I approach it?

“Religion is based... mainly on fear... fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand.... My own religion is like that of Lucretius. I regard it as a disease born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race.”

I look at language first, and then the theme. I study the way words are repeated to enhance the effect of author’s opinions.
I note that “fear” is highlighted. The features of alliteration and assonance attract my notice. These devices contribute to its significance.
“mainly” “mysterious” “defeat” “death”(words that alliterate).
“fear” is repeated three times in the same context (it is used with assonance and alliteration)
Figures – metaphors: “Fear is the parent of cruelty and therefore... have gone hand in hand.” There is also personification of cruelty and religion.

The theme:
The author is of the opinion that religion harms human mind because it is based on fear. The author’s convictions gain ground because history bears proof to his point.
His implied admiration for Lucretius is justified. He compares himself with him with regard to religion..
Reference to Lucretius - Historical and literary figure. He lived between 99 BC- 55 BC. He wrote only one poem on the nature of universe in which he voices his radical views on metaphysics.
Lucretius is chosen because he was a rare human being with extraordinary views on the controlling influence of religion.

Significance of the topic:
It has a strong bearing on the present situation the world over. Today religion is used to fill people’s minds with fear. Cruel means are adopted to achieve harmful ends. Terrorist attacks have become everyday occurrences in many parts of the world.
Whether I believe in Russell’s opinions or not, I certainly admire his courage of conviction and sincerity of expression.

Reviewing a philosophical essay makes me contemplate on certain fine points raised in its course. Food for thought provided therein is truly exhilarating

I read any item several times before attempting to critically appreciate it. It takes time to get into the writer’s mind. I must imaginatively go through the sorrows and joys of the author. I become a vital part of his being.

How do I review a poem?

“ The fog comes
On little cat feet.
It sits looking
Over harbor and city
On silent haunches
And then moves on.” (Fog by Sandburg)

The whole poem, a free verse composition, is a like a metaphor.
The poet observes the movement of fog. He can see the way it pervades the landscape silently. Fog is animated. It takes the form of a cat. The point of comparison is the quality of silence. Anyone who knows of feline movement, can see the sense of this metaphor.

“On silent haunches”
Our knowledge of cat’s behavior convinces us of the behaviour of fog. It is silent, and swift. The way fog sits like a cat indicates its sudden movement like the sudden jump of the cat.
The use of a transferred epithet is an example of the poet’s originality.

“It sits looking,” says the poet. Cats have the habit sitting, and looking around as if observing, contemplating what to do next. Fog too stays steady for a while and then spreads to other places.
Fog however, is a much bigger a reality. For, it is not limited to one place, but spreads over the whole city. The poet mentions “harbor” implying a port city. So, the fog may be presumed to be coming from across the sea as much as from land.

There can be a number of inferences drawn from the poem. Fog is like situations in life. Some take us by surprise; some shock and a few others are just pleasant experiences. We move on; life moves on, as fog is seen moving.

Nothing is permanent. Everything is subject to change, and ends eventually. Fog too is a temporary phase bound to vanish.

Sorrow and happiness are like fog and the sunlight. Dark nights dawn so do our trials, and a new beginning is set.

Short stories are born out of great craftsmanship. In a limited time and space, the writer brings characters alive with a story that runs like backbone.

If I choose to review The Third And Final Continent, a short story by Jhumpa Lahiri, I’d first study the characters. The two main characters are Mrs. Croft and her tenant, a Bengali youth from India working as a librarian in the MIT, Boston. I would comment on the strangely fulfilling relationship between an Indian emigrant and his landlady.

Despite being a hundred and three, the Mrs. Croft is clever and discerning. She never speaks more than a few words to the young man. She often repeats,
“There is an American flag on the moon boy.”
I would study her loneliness, her natural reserve. Her “swollen knuckles” are a proof of her hard work. They are a result of teaching piano to make a living for herself and her only daughter.
Her sense of decency is perceptible when we come to know of her opinions on scantily dressed women.
Her tenant moved out once he got married. He visits Mrs. Croft with his wife.
She hardly talks to the tenant’s wife yet we are surprised when she tells him she is a “perfect lady.”

Miss Lahiri’s language and style are worth taking stock of. My review would contain examples from her story.
Besides characterization, the theme and setting would be my focus of review. In the above story, the author takes us from India to Britain, and finally to America. It would be interesting to comment on each of these settings, people and their culture.
 
If I have to review a piece, which is not of my liking, would I shun it? I would do my best to put aside my prejudice. The genre might not be of interest to me, nor the harsh reality or the insensitivity of the characters depicted. I would try to tell the author why this particular item failed to impress me.  I might tell him that he could make it readable by making the harshness presentable by means of using appealing language and style. Even a harsh truth is palatable if it comes in an acceptable form.

To be a good writer, I have to know the various aspects of life presented in fictional or poetic art. We learnt that any art is a representation of life, and it takes many forms. I am prepared to see life as the author visualizes it, or reproduces it from experience.

Even a fantasy story needs to be seen from a sensible angle. True, it is a reality far removed from ours. Yet we would like to know the author’s way of presenting it in convincing terms.


Word count: 2287.
First Place in March Madness contest.