2. Reading Literature
O Before we discuss responding and
reacting, there are some points to make
about reading literature.
O Most people read in a passive way.
O The allow the story or poem to carry them
along without asking many questions.
3. Reading Literature
O In reading literature, you must read
actively.
O You need to pay special attention to
various aspects of the text.
O This will also help you deepen your
enjoyment of the text.
O Let’s talk about close reading – anyone
familiar with it?
4. Close Reading
O Does anyone know what this is?
O It is a careful and purposeful re-reading of a
text.
O You, the reader, try to understand what the
author has to say.
O Is the most important skill you need for any
form of literary studies. It means paying
especially close attention to what is printed on
the page. It is a much more subtle and
complex process than the term might suggest.
5. Close Reading
O Close reading means not only reading and
understanding the meanings of the
individual printed words; it also involves
making yourself sensitive to all the
nuances and connotations of language as
it is used by skilled writers.
6. Close Reading
O Close reading can be seen as four
separate levels of attention which we can
bring to the text.
O Most normal people read without being
aware of them, and employ all four
simultaneously.
O The four levels or types of reading
become progressively more complex.
7. Close Reading
O Linguistic
O You pay especially close attention to the
surface linguistic elements of the text –
that is, to aspects of
vocabulary, grammar, and syntax. You
might also note such things as figures of
speech or any other features which
contribute to the writer’s individual style.
8. Close Reading
O Semantic
O You take account at a deeper level of
what the words mean – that is, what
information they yield up, what meanings
they denote and connote.
9. Close Reading
O Structural
O You note the possible relationships
between words within the text – and this
might include items from either the
linguistic or semantic types of reading.
10. Close Reading
O Cultural
O You note the relationship of any elements
of the text to things outside it.
O These might be other pieces of writing by
the same author, or other writings of the
same type by different writers.
O They might be items of social or cultural
history, or even other academic disciplines
which might seem relevant, such as
philosophy or psychology.
11. Responding to Literature
O Responding to literature is when one
expresses a personal response to a work
of literature.
O Although it does not require outside
research, it does require careful
reading, clear thinking, and honest writing.
12. Responding to Literature
O The purpose of a response essay is to
convey your thoughts and feelings about a
literary work.
O It is NOT a book report or summary.
O It is what a reader experiences in reading
and thinking about the text.
13. Responding to Literature
O In responding to literature you will reflect
on your background, values and attitudes
in response to the work.
O You may even think of the response as a
―conversation‖ with the text you have
read.
O What questions does it ask you?
O What responses does it elicit or stimulate?
14. Responding to Literature
O Focus on the important aspects of the
text.
O Main character, setting, them.
O Identify your main ideas and present your
point of view in a clear and organized way.
15. Reacting to Literature
O Along with responding to
literature, reacting to literature is also NOT
a summary or paraphrase.
O In reacting to reading you will analyze the
reading.
16. Analyzing the Reading
O To analyze something means to break it down
into smaller parts and then examine how
those parts work, both individually and
together.
O Literary analysis involves examining all the
parts of a novel, play, short story, or poem—
elements such as character, setting, tone, and
imagery—and thinking about how the author
uses those elements to create certain effects.
O A literary essay isn’t a book review: you’re not
being asked whether you liked a book or
whether you’d recommend it to another
reader.
17. Reacting to Literature
O A literary essay also isn’t like the kind of
book report you wrote when you were
younger, where your teacher wanted you
to summarize the book’s action.
O A college-level literary essay asks, ―How
does this piece of literature actually
work?‖ ―How does it do what it does?‖
and, ―Why might the author have made
the choices he or she did?‖
18. As you read, ask questions
O What struck you?
O Did a particular image, line, or scene linger in
your mind for a long time?
O If it fascinated you, chances are you can draw
on it to write a fascinating essay.
O What confused you?
O Maybe you were surprised to see a character
act in a certain way, or maybe you didn’t
understand why the book ended the way it did.
O Confusing moments in a work of literature are
like a loose thread in a sweater: If you pull on
it, you can unravel the entire thing.
19. As you read, ask questions
O Ask yourself why the author chose to write
about that character or scene the way he
or she did and you might tap into some
important insights about the work as a
whole.
20. As you read, ask questions
O Did you notice any patterns?
O Is there a phrase that the main character
uses constantly or
O an image that repeats throughout the book?
Ifyou can figure out how that pattern weaves
O through the work and its significance, you’ve
almost got your entire essay mapped out.
O Did you notice any contradictions or ironies?
Great works of literature are complex; great
O literary essays recognize and explain those
complexities.
21. As you read, ask questions
O Maybe the title (Happy Days) totally
disagrees with the book’s subject matter
(hungry orphans dying in the woods).
O Maybe the main character acts one way
around his family and a completely
different way around his friends and
associates.
O If you can find a way to explain a work’s
contradictory elements, you’ve got the
seeds of a great essay.
