Literary/Critical Theory and Orwell’s Idea of “A Good Bad Poem”: Thoughts on a Beginner’s Annotated Poetry Textbook for the Arabian Gulf Students

Abstract

This article is about what the author argues to be the ideal contents of an annotated poetry textbook for the native Arab students in the Arabian Gulf considering their not so well developed command/proficiency in English, their limited exposure to English, and their conservative society compared with the rest of the world. It suggests that only short, simple, and charming lyrics, containing moral and didactic lessons, about the love of God, country, humanity, pastoral simplicities of nature, religion (any religion), elegiac lament, local culture, and country house traditions would be the ideal contents of a textbook for the young college students in the Arabian Gulf. Poems about revolutionary politics, physical love, and queer sexual orientations being out of line/place with the culture of the region, the article considers the existing textbooks not suitable. The proposed textbook should also consist of what are called “good bad” poems by Orwell. At the same time, the textbook in question to be used during the delivery of a course on introduction to poetry should include some well-known definitions of poetry as well as some simplified basics of modern literary and critical theory.