Literary Interpretation :Literary Interpretation


What does it mean for something to have meaning? :What does it mean for something to have meaning? What does it mean to say a poem, story, or novel has meaning? Listen to the poem and read along. Gut reactions? Is it meaningful? Does it have meaning? Write in your journal for 7 minutes. Focus your response on what this poem “means”.


Questions to get you started :Questions to get you started Why entitle it “Hunger”? Is this poem about a literal hunger? What information do you need to know to fully understand this poem? What’s the significance of the last line / image? Why a fox? Why does it have a knife? Why are “you” stronger, even though the fox has escaped? What does this odd situation suggest about human nature? Have you ever thought or behaved like the “you” in the poem?


Meaning and Literature :Meaning and Literature How hard should we have to work in order to give literature (or any kind of art) meaning? Where does this meaning come from?


Where does meaning reside in a piece of literature? In other words, how do we determine it? :Where does meaning reside in a piece of literature? In other words, how do we determine it? The Author? The Text? The Reader? Something else?


The Author? :The Author? Author’s intention = meaning Not always Author may not see psychological forces underlying work (e.g. “Romeo and Juliet”) May not see cultural / societal influences (Huck Finn)


The Text? :The Text? Text is made up of marks on a page. BANANA If meaning resides in the text, then we could argue that we might all agree on the meaning. DOG GERMAN SHEPARD To say meaning is somehow encoded in the text is to ignore context and perspective.


The Reader? :The Reader? This makes sense - meaning exists only when something means something to someone, and art is composed in order to evoke sets of responses in the reader (there is no other reason for it to exist)


Transactional Theory of Reading :Transactional Theory of Reading A text is meaningless (just print on a page) until is mixes with the reader's ideas. The reader's ideas are based on his/her individuality, personal experience, memory, education, reading/viewing background, culture, etc. In this way, the reader's background shapes the meaning of the text. A reader's associations called forth by the text are the foundation of understanding.


Slide 10:Consequences for teaching literature from a transactional viewpoint: We will examine our gut reactions to texts. The goal of discussion will be to clarify and refine – not find the answer. You will read with two different perspectives: Efferent Stance: Reading = seeking information. The reader taking an efferent stance asks - What is the message? Aesthetic Stance: Reading = seeking the emotion, beauty, imagery created by a text. The reader taking an aesthetic stance wants to experience the emotion and beauty of a text.


But doesn’t this mean there’s no such thing as a right answer? :But doesn’t this mean there’s no such thing as a right answer? Yes and No. There’s no such thing as a right answer – but you can definitely formulate a wrong answer – or one that is not grounded in the text and/or the appropriate context. We will be developing literary interpretations . . .


Literary Interpretation :Literary Interpretation Interpreting a text means taking part in an academic conversation. The interpreter makes a text (book, story, poem, play, etc.) meaningful for a particular group of people. Interpreters look to literature for insight in the human condition. Interpretation is required when a text "resists immediate absorption” and/or when a text “stands out from the background and invites commentary.”


Slide 13:Interpretation takes the following into account: historical / cultural context of text the intention of the author the techniques of the author your own gut-level response


Slide 14:Interpreters are not concerned with finding the right interpretation -- they want to create a persuasive argument based on textual evidence and research. The truly persuasive argument is the one which takes into account the most textual evidence and historical / cultural / societal context.


Debates surrounding interpretation: :Debates surrounding interpretation: Does authorial intent matter? Can interpretation be objective? What makes an interpretation valid? From whose perspective should we understand or articulate the point? Your job as interpreter is not to solve a riddle, but to add something new, something thought-provoking and well-supported to the conversation.