All people are born with the ability to perceive and appreciate beauty, but not all people possess this ability to the same degree or in all branches of the arts. Linguistic perception increases, however, in direct proportion to the acquisition and mastery of verbal skills and understanding of poetic devices and symbolic and philosophical concepts. Can you hear, for example, the poetic quality of The wild wind whirled wantonly through the trees. As opposed to The wind was like a drunken woman dancing crazily among the trees. It takes time, study, practice and a lot of wide reading to learn to recognize a skillfully conveyed image for what it is.
Most people unconsciously know that some books are better than others without quite knowing why.
If a story affects you deeply and lastingly, it is probably because the author has written very skillfully, whether you can recognize his ability or not. If you are teaching a high school student and are unfamiliar with literary terms and poetic devices and want to familiarize yourself with them, obtain a copy of Basic English Revisited, A Student Handbook . 2 Study the terms on pages 85-92 right along with your student. Try putting what you learn into practice by choosing a standard piece of classical literature, searching for some of the literary devices as you read. You can also study the literary quality of your Bible.