Procedure
- Read the story or poem once to get a sense of the work as a whole.
- Read the story or poem a second time, annotating the margins with comments and questions.
- On the back of the story or poem, write a substantial paragraph in which you give a general response and make suggestions for revision.
- In class we will discuss each story or poem as a group. You should raise issues based on the comments you wrote in the margins. At the end of discussion, you will return your draft of the story or poem to the author, so you won't have to mention minute details, spelling errors, etc.
Guidelines
Be honest. If a story, scene, poem, image, character, etc. isn't interesting, you need to let the author know. Try to explain why it doesn't work for you in as much detail as you can. That will help the author locate the source of the problem.
Be gracious. Don't insult your colleagues or demean their intelligence or motives. You can often draw attention to problems by asking appropriate questions. If a character's actions don't make sense to you, you might ask "What is Sylvia's motivation in this scene?"
Be specific. Be as helpful as you can, marking problems in style and organization in the margins near where they occur. Let a writer know about mechanical problems, but don't feel obligated to identify or correct all of these items; correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation is the responsibility of the writer.
Don't just correct the writer's errors. It is much more helpful to both you and your colleagues if you try to pinpoint why a section is awkward, than if you simply reword it for them. If the only way to show what's wrong with a passage is to suggest another version, then put this in the form of a question, written in the margin.
When you can't be specific, explain your feelings or intuitions. A writer needs to know when a reader suspects something is not working--where he or she gets confused. Pay special attention to the shape of sentences. If a paragraph or a line feels padded or wordy, it probably is. In such an instance you might consider what is happening to the plot structure or the imagery when the language gets loose.
Look at the big picture. Respond to the ideas, shape, and strategy of the entire poem or story. Describe your overall impression; let the writer know what is working and what isn't.
Read the poem or story the author has written, not the one you would have composed. Don't expect another writer to treat a subject the same way you would.
Always mention the poem or story's strengths. Don't be stingy about praising good work. Even the most disorganized rough draft has some potential. Help the author find it.
Suggest a plan for revision. Let the writer know what you think the priorities for revision should be. What problems need to be cleaned up first? Which items are comparatively minor.
Guidelines for Receiving Criticism:
Bring work to class when you are ready to receive criticism. It shouldn't be too fresh or too finished. You need to maintain a critical distance from your work and be willing to make changes.
Remember that people's comments are about the draft they read, not about you or about the poem or story you envision. Negative criticism only shows you have more work to do.
Naturally I can't say everything there is to say about how poetry works in one page, but here are a few basic concepts to keep in mind when reading someone else's poem.
- Imagery
- Are the images in the poem new, fresh, exciting, or surprising? Or are they too predictable?
If the poet relies on "stock" images, are they used in surprising combinations or for parody?
Are the images in the poem concrete and specific? Or are they too vague?
Do all the images of the poem add up to one cohesive whole? Or do some stand out?
Does the imagery gradually accumulate? Or are there leaps between images? Could you follow?
- Rhythm
- Meter: it is still possible to use traditional meters. If the poet uses them, is the use consistent?
If there are shifts in the meter of the poem, do they happen at an appropriate spot?
If the poet doesn't adhere strictly to an established meter, the rhythms of the poem are still important. Consider whether the rhythm fits the mood of the poem, whether it sags in spots, and whether there are patterns that could be reinforced in other areas of the poem.
- Sound
- Musicality: most poetry has some sense of a melody to it. Some poems may be very harmonious, others may be dissonant. Does the tonality of the poem fit its mood?
Does the poet use other sonic devices such as alliteration to structure the poem?
- Rhyme
- It has never been necessary to rhyme poetry--blank verse and other unrhymed verse forms have always existed. Yet rhyme is still one of the most powerful poetic tools, when used well.
If the poet uses rhyme, do the rhyme words seem predictable? Or are you surprised it rhymes?
Are the words that do rhyme important to the poem? Is there a good reason to link them?
Could the poet use slant rhyme, off rhyme to make a more surprising connection?
Are there places where circular rhyme or internal rhyme could be used instead of end rhyme?
- Repetition
- Like rhyme, repetition of words or of similar sounding words can be very effective in poetry, if used judiciously. Are there words or phrases that repeat? Does this add to the structure of the poem or make it redundant? Are the repeated words important to the poem? Do they resonate?
- Language
- Is the language of the poem striking? Is the vocabulary specific or idiomatic?
Does the poet have a good ear for the way people actually speak? Is this language transformed?
Does the poet use grammar to structure the poem? Is the logic of the poem what is important?
Are there places where grammar gets in the way? Can you suggest a more concise diction?
Does the poet follow standard rules of punctuation, spelling, grammar, etc.?
If not, is there a good reason? Does the poet use other techniques such as spacing instead?
- Lines
- Does each line maintain its energy from start to finish, or does it sag in the middle?
Consider whether a caesura (a natural pause in the middle of the line) would be appropriate.
Are the lines too long or to short? (Consider the subject matter of the poem.)
Are the line breaks in the appropriate spots? Are there lines where enjambment might be useful?
- Stanzas
- Do the stanzas of the poem form a reasonable thematic unit. Does the sense of the poem advance between stanzas, or are there other reasons for breaking stanza (e.g. a longer pause)?
Do you make the mental leap between stanzas, or has the poet left out important material?
Is the transition between stanzas too smooth? Should there be a stanza break?
- Narration
- Most poems have an inner narration, whether that is told through actual narration or through dialogue, or simply through the flow of images. Do you have a general sense of what is happening throughout the poem? (If the poem is descriptive, the "action" may be the movement of the poem's camera around the scene being described.) Was the narrative obtrusive?
Once again, this isn't everything there is to say about a short story, but hopefully these suggestions will give you a place to start when criticizing someone else's fiction.
- Characters
- Are the characters convincing? Do they seem like real people you might meet on the street?
Are the characters well-rounded? Do you know enough about them or do you need more?
Are they meant to be stereotypical? If so, does this fit the mood of the story?
Do you like the characters enough to care about their story? (Do you dislike them enough?)
Do the characters' actions fit their personality, or do they do things that are out of character?
Are there too many or too few characters in the story or scene? Which character might you add?
- Plot
- Does the plot make sense? (Should it?) Or is it too confusing? Is it meant to be realistic?
Does the plot have unity? Is it more than just a series of related events?
Does the plot have energy--conflict, development, resolution? Is there too much or too little?
Can you tell what is at stake for the characters, and why they do what they do in the plot?
Should the plot be a more or less important part of the story?
- Setting
- Was it clear enough where the story took place? Where does it need more description?
Is the setting an appropriate one for the story or scene? Could you suggest a better setting?
Does the setting help highlight the conflict in the story, or does it distract from it?
Do the characters fit in this setting? Or are they meant to seem out of place?
Were there enough different settings? Or do you think the story moved around too much?
- Time frame
- Was the progression of time in the story clear?
If there are flashbacks, was the transition into them clear enough?
Did you know when the action was taking place? If not, was that confusing or helpful?
Was it clear when the plot jumped forward in time to a new scene? Would narration help?
- Pacing
- Is there a balance between full scenes (with action and dialogue), half scenes (brief dialogue) with narration, and pure narrative or descriptive passages?
Are there narrated passages that would work better as a scene? (To give more detail.)
Are there scenes that would be better as narration? (If nothing much is really happening.)
Are the scenes, descriptions, narrations, etc. developed enough, or should they be longer?
Does each scene have conflict and (partial) resolution? Does each scene advance the plot?
- Language
- Does the author use enough sentence variety to keep the prose interesting?
Are the paragraphs unified around a single subject? Or are they too long or too short?
Does the prose style of the narrative and descriptive passages fit the mood of the piece?
Is there a smooth transition between narration, description, and dialogue or scene?
Are there particular passages, words, or phrases that stand out as either good or inappropriate?
- Dialogue
- Does the dialogue sound like something people would actually say? (Natural speech)
Does the author use idiomatic language? If so, does it fit the characters who use it?
Is the dialogue integrated into the rest of the scene smoothly? Or is it (too) abrupt?
Do the dialogue tags (he said, she said, etc.) stand out, or are they unobtrusive?
Is it always clear which character is speaking?
Which scenes could use more dialogue, and which could use less?
Would a third or fourth party make the dialogue in the scene flow better?
- Closure
- Does the story have a real sense of concluding? Or is it more a 'slice of life' piece?
After reading the story, do you have an idea of what it meant or why it was told?
Is the story as a whole balanced? Is there a clear beginning, middle, and end?
Does the conclusion of the story tie up most of the important loose ends of the plot?