名人教你讲英文：Appreciation of English Poetry & Prose

名人教英文：appreciation of english poetry & prose

the greatest thing about learning any language is that such learning widens one's outlook and opens up one's mind to different cultures of the world.

learning a language is like going on an exploration. one needs to be equipped with maps and compasses so that one can take the right step, find the right direction or one might get hopelessly lost.

on such an exploration, to be properly equipped is to know where to look for signposts and pick up clues. (1)

through this column, i hope to chart the course of such an exploration, to equip the reader with the basic knowledge to follow signposts and find the right direction. above all, i hope to help the reader pick up clues so as to appreciate not only the language itself but its literature as well.

in this way, one will be able not only to appreciate poetry and prose but also to use english to express oneself accurately, cohesively, effectively and impressively (2).

skills developed from appreciating english language and literature have their practical uses too. (3) such skills will assist one in pursuing a number of different careers such as in advertising, journalism, teaching, writing, politics and many, many more.

i shall devote this column in the next few months to hone in on the essentials of appreciating poetry and prose. i shall start this week with "alliteration" and "rhetorical repetition".