Literature, Culture & Society Lecture 4: Solitary reading Dr C. Harrison 1 Last week… We considered the role of the implied reader in the reception of literature; We explored the crossover/ young adult fiction genres – their content and readership; We thought about the role of/ debates surrounding censorship in contemporary fiction; Seminars We explored the textual representation of the implied reader. This week… We will think about what is meant by the term ‘solitary reading’ and how it might be analysed; We will consider the Costa-award winning experimental novel The Shock of the Fall as a case study; Seminars We will explore the ideas of identification and observation/distancing through a close analysis of particular language (stylistic) choices in the text and in reader reviews. 2 Solitary reading & text analysis In solitary reading ‘the written literary text is the substance of the discourse; it is the language which cues text-worlds in the readers’ minds’ (Peplow et al. 2016: 37); The language of the text determines which schemas readers need to draw on in order to comprehend the text; The purpose of (cognitive) stylistic approaches to literature ‘is to explicate how the interplay between written text and reader results in a particular interpretation or emotional response to the extract under discussion’ (Peplow et al. 2016: 38; emphasis added). 3 Reading as an emotional experience: The Shock of the Fall Costa award for best first novel Experimental text: manipulates text and images Central themes: grief, mental illness Matt Homes, a 19-year-old schizophrenic struggling within the mental health system, is conducting his own writing therapy, urgently bashing out his thoughts on an old typewriter and interspersing them with letters, doodles and sketches. [The novel] is beautifully packaged, with drawings, varying typefaces and typographical tricks representing Matt's swelling bundle of papers. It is a gripping, exhilarating read. (Feay 2014; Guardian review) Nathan Filer was a mental health nurse 4 Experimental fiction Destabilize the real world Subvert a sense of the normal Introduce debates about the status of the text and the act of writing Present different world views Have free playing voices none of which is privileged Engage with the moving play of signifiers to construct endless cycles of meaning Employ intrusion into the text by the narrator and/or author Experiment with form and typography Develop new ways of seeing Apply multiple discourses Mix and/ or subvert genres Provoke the reader to consider new ideas and concepts Imagine alternative realities Use metaphoric qualities Engage the reader on an intellectual/philosophical level Deny closure (Armstrong 2014: 5) 5 ‘Typographical tricks’ 6 ‘Typographical tricks’ 7 ‘Typographical tricks’ Also the PLEASE STOP READING OVER MY SHOULDER examples 8 Reading experience How do these ‘experiments with form and typography’ impact on.

1. Literature, Culture & Society
Lecture 4: Solitary reading
Dr C. Harrison
1
Last week…
We considered the role of the implied reader in the reception of
literature;
We explored the crossover/ young adult fiction genres – their
content and readership;
We thought about the role of/ debates surrounding censorship in
contemporary fiction;
Seminars
We explored the textual representation of the implied reader.
This week…
We will think about what is meant by the term ‘solitary reading’
and how it might be analysed;
We will consider the Costa-award winning experimental novel
The Shock of the Fall as a case study;
Seminars
We will explore the ideas of identification and
observation/distancing through a close analysis of particular
language (stylistic) choices in the text and in reader reviews.
2

2. Solitary reading
& text analysis
In solitary reading ‘the written literary text is the substance of
the discourse; it is the language which cues text-worlds in the
readers’ minds’ (Peplow et al. 2016: 37);
The language of the text determines which schemas readers
need to draw on in order to comprehend the text;
The purpose of (cognitive) stylistic approaches to literature ‘is
to explicate how the interplay between written text and reader
results in a particular interpretation or emotional response to
the extract under discussion’ (Peplow et al. 2016: 38; emphasis
added).
3
Reading as an emotional experience:
The Shock of the Fall
Costa award for best first novel
Experimental text: manipulates text and images
Central themes: grief, mental illness
Matt Homes, a 19-year-old schizophrenic struggling within

3. the mental health system, is conducting his own writing therapy,
urgently bashing out his thoughts on an old typewriter and
interspersing them with letters, doodles and sketches. [The
novel] is beautifully packaged, with drawings, varying
typefaces and typographical tricks representing Matt's swelling
bundle of papers. It is a gripping, exhilarating read.
(Feay 2014; Guardian review)
Nathan Filer was a mental health nurse
4
Experimental fiction
Destabilize the real world
Subvert a sense of the normal
Introduce debates about the status of the text and the act of
writing
Present different world views
Have free playing voices none of which is privileged
Engage with the moving play of signifiers to construct endless
cycles of meaning
Employ intrusion into the text by the narrator and/or author
Experiment with form and typography
Develop new ways of seeing
Apply multiple discourses
Mix and/ or subvert genres
Provoke the reader to consider new ideas and concepts
Imagine alternative realities
Use metaphoric qualities
Engage the reader on an intellectual/philosophical level
Deny closure (Armstrong 2014: 5)

4. 5
‘Typographical tricks’
6
‘Typographical tricks’
7
‘Typographical tricks’
Also the PLEASE STOP READING OVER MY SHOULDER
examples
8
Reading experience
How do these ‘experiments with form and typography’ impact
on our experience of reading the novel?
Employ intrusion into the text by the narrator and/or author
Develop new ways of seeing
Destabilize the real world
Subvert a sense of the normal
Introduce debates about the status of the text and the act of
writing

5. Develop new ways of seeing
Apply multiple discourses
Mix and/ or subvert genres
Provoke the reader to consider new ideas and concepts
9
Filer develops Matthew's character with immense sympathy and
sensitivity and the simple prose is spot on as the plain, honest
voice of a teenager. Comparisons with Mark Haddon's The
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time are apt; both
writers capture young people with aplomb, and describe
illnesses of the mind in ways that convey the pain and confusion
powerfully while maintaining dark humour. Peripheral
characters are beautifully developed: Matthew's fussing mother,
consumed by grief; his equally devastated but solid father; his
doting grandmother; his friend Jacob who is unsure of how to
deal with the mentally ill Matthew. Filer ratchets up the
suspense masterfully: although we know early on that Simon
dies, the build-up to finding out exactly how it happened is
gripping.
(Sanai 2014; Observer)
10

6. Identification
Oatley (1999) talks about reading fiction as a type of meeting
that takes place between reader and text. A reader can
Assume a role as a spectator (Oatley 1999: 445) (In other
words, adopt a position external to story and that is unobserved
by characters), or
Identify with a protagonist or character.
In identification the reader takes on the protagonist's goals and
plans. The reader then also experiences emotions when these
plans go well or badly […] The meeting of identification is a
species of empathy, in which we do not merely sympathize with
a person, we become that person.
(Oatley 1999: 445-446)
11
Identification:
(aka. Psychological projection, self-implication, etc.)
Occurs when readers ‘take a cognitive stance within the world
of the narrative and interpret the text from that perspective’
(Segal, 1995: 15)
A process of ‘re-anchoring’

7. 12
Identification vs. Observation
(After Oatley 1999)
Texts can manipulate readers in order to invite reflection
(observation) or a full emotional experience (identification).
How can texts encourage observation or identification?
Mode of text can impact this. Third person = reader is more
distanced; first person = reader can identify more closely.
In the seminars we’ll be thinking about where reader reviews
can be placed at different points along this cline
13
Text example
(Third person; re-written)
Mum cleaned and dressed the wound, then she shouted at him,
for putting Simon in such a horrible position. Dad shouted at
him too. At one point they were both shouting together, so that
he wasn’t even sure who to look at. This was the way it worked.
Even though Matthew’s brother was three years older, it was

8. always him who was responsible for everything. Matthew often
resented him for that. But not this time. This time Simon was
his hero.
14
Text example
(First person; original)
Mum cleaned and dressed the wound, then she shouted at me,
for putting Simon in such a horrible position. Dad shouted at me
too. At one point they were both shouting together, so that I
wasn’t even sure who to look at. This was the way it worked.
Even though my brother was three years older, it was always me
who was responsible for everything. I often resented him for
that. But not this time. This time he was my hero.
15
How might we assess feelings of identification when we analyse
reader response data?
Metaphors used by readers to talk about reading (Stockwell
2009; after Gerrig 1993):
Reading is transport
Reading is control
Reading is investment

9. Assessing identification Language analysis
16
Reading is transportation
Filer has an ear for the dark comedy of life, and Matthew is a
charismatic lead character who draws you in even as his world
falls apart’ (Observer Magazine)
I have never read anything quite like this book before, it is a
unique experience traveling along in the mindset of a mentally
ill young man (RR1; Goodreads)
It seems that, by pure coincidence, I have stumbled into a
number of books regarding mental illness, however, the
depiction that this book utilises is purely unique. (RR2;
Goodreads)
The plot was often gearing towards how Simon died, which
really could have been told from the very beginning seen as the
story was told from the perspective of Matthew (who was a
witness) (RR3; Goodreads)
17
Reading is control
However, it grabbed my attention and held it so that I read the
work in a single day yet relished every word. (RR4; Goodreads)

10. I read the majority of this book within the last 24 hours. I just
couldn’t stop reading and even neglected some of the stuff I
should’ve been doing instead. Oops. (RR5; Goodreads)
I'm squite [sic] positive that this book will stay with me for a
while.
I feel helpless and at the same time devastated. (RR6;
Goodreads)
I found the story a bit unsettling but at the same time it was a
sort of addicting read. Once I started reading the book I had a
hard time putting it down. I actually ended up reading 200
pages without stopping when I started it and after that it didn't
take very long to finish it. Not many books manage to grip me
like that, that's for sure (RR7; Goodreads)
18
Some further questions…
(to pick up in seminar)
Part 1) Reader review data
What metaphors are the reviewers drawing on in order to
describe their reading experiences?
Do the reviews draw on language that implies
closeness/distance? How does this vary between the reviews?
Part 2) Further questions
Think of a text that you’ve read that brought about a strong
emotional reaction in some way. What was it about the text, in
particular, that brought about those feelings?
What factors might influence our feelings of identification/
observation of a character or text?

11. 19
Selected References
Armstrong, J. (2014) Experimental Fiction: An Introduction for
Readers and Writers. London: Bloomsbury.
Feay, S. (2014) The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer – review.
The Guardian (online)
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/18/shock-fall-
nathan-filer-review (retrieved 08/07/18)
Filer, N. (2013) The Shock of the Fall. London: Harper Collins.
Gerrig, R.J. (1993). Experiencing narrative worlds: on the
psychological activities of reading. New Haven: Yale University
Press.
Goodreads reader reviews (RR1 – RR7)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16120760-the-shock-of-
the-fall (retrieved 08/07/18)
Oatley, K. (1999) Meetings of minds: Dialogue, sympathy, and
identification in reading fiction. Poetics 26: 439–454.
Peplow, D., Swann, J., Trimarco, P. & Whiteley, S. (2016). The
discourse of reading groups: integrating cognitive and
sociocultural perspectives. London: Routledge.
Sanai, L. (2014) The Shock of the Fall By Nathan Filer, book
review: 'Moved by the dark humour in a poignant debut‘. The
Observer online: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-
entertainment/books/reviews/the-shock-of-the-fall-by-nathan-
filer-book-review-moved-by-the-dark-humour-in-a-poignant-
debut-9073069.html (retrieved 08/07/18)
Stockwell, P. (2009). Texture: a cognitive aesthetics of reading.
Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Whiteley, S. (2011). Text world theory, real readers and
emotional responses to The Remains of the Day. Language and
Literature, 20 (1), 23–42.

12. 20
LE2109 Literature, Culture and Society 2018-19 Dr Chloe
Harrison
Assignment 1
Due Friday 18th January 2019. 3,000 words. (100% weighting).
Please
submit via Turnitin.
The assignment tests your ability to understand and apply ideas,
theories and
concepts from this module, specifically:
respond to
contemporary texts;
text’s
reception;
ntify and analyse textual, critical and
literary
information; and specifically to retrieve reader response data
from

13. different contexts;
into your
argument.
Assignment focus
For example, you might explore the idea of crossover fiction
(e.g. implied
readers) through a language analysis (e.g. which metaphors are
used by readers)
of the top 20 Goodreads reviews of Philip Pullman’s Book of
Dust.
You should use the ideas and concepts learnt and discussed in
lectures and
seminars to frame your work. You cannot use all of these so
ensure that you
think about which are most useful for you and select these
carefully.
ing (e.g. reading and the emotions; projection)
-reading/ digital fiction/ ludonarratives (e.g. text
immersion/
interaction)
-writing
-reading

14. Select one of the texts and one of the topics (e.g. censorship,
popularity, re-reading,
etc.) introduced on the course.
Drawing on reader response data (e.g. literary criticism, online
reader reviews, a
reader questionnaire, etc.), develop an analysis of the text
alongside a consideration
of its reception.
LE2109 Literature, Culture and Society 2018-19 Dr Chloe
Harrison
Ethics approval forms
In your assignment you can carry out either a naturalistic study
of readers or an
empirical study of literature.
Regardless of which approach you take, you will need to
complete an ethics
approval form and send to Chloe Harrison ([email protected])
by
Friday 30th November. Guidance on this will be provided
during TP1.

15. If you are carrying out a study that involves primary data
collection from human
participants (e.g. if you are using a reader questionnaire) you
will additionally
need to send a copy of the consent form and a participant
information sheet
(examples of these will be uploaded to the Blackboard page)
that you plan to use
in your study. Copies of these should also be attached to your
assignment as an
Appendix.
A copy of the ethics approval form can be found in the
Assignments folder on the
Blackboard page.
Assessment criteria
(see assessment grid and Lecture 10 slides for more detail)
• Knowledge of subject and topic
• Critical awareness: selection and application of theory and
critical thought
• Argument and structure
• Expression, presentation and referencing
Structure of Assignment
Your assignment should have the following:
1. Title page: your candidate number and module code
(LE2109).
2. Introduction: a brief overview of your essay, the text studied

16. and its literary
reception (approximately 200 words).
3. Literature Review: this should cover the theoretical ideas that
you are going
to explore and any secondary reading on your text
(approximately 600
words).
4. Methodology: this should be a brief section outlining how
you have collected
your reader response data. You should include information
about where you
collected it from, how you intend to analyse it, plus any ethical
considerations
that need to be made (approx 200 words).
5. Analysis: this should provide a detailed analysis of the text
and its reception,
drawing on the reader response data (approx 1900 words).
6. Conclusion: this should briefly sum up your findings
(approximately 100
words)
7. References: using the Harvard style.
8. Appendix: include your (anonymised) reader response data
here.
Dr Chloe Harrison
September 2018
Candidate Number: 525685
Programme: English Language and Literature

17. Module Name: Literature, Culture and Society
Module Code: LE2109

18. Introduction
Based on Nathan Filer's experimental novel The Shock of the
Fall I intend to depict how readers identify themselves with
certain characters. Also addressing how the author uses
metaphors and different themes to position the readers in order
for them to interpret ideologies that are relatable universally.
To explore these ideas literary criticisms will be gathered from
websites such as Amazon and Goodreads, which has been
reviewed to understand how readers place themselves within
characters they read about. The book informs readers of a young
boy who is suffering with schizophrenia who

19. Armstrong, J. (2014). Experimental Fiction: An Introduction for

20. Readers and
Writers. London: Bloomsbury.
Ceccarelli, L. (1998). Polysemy: Multiple meanings in
rhetorical criticism.
Quarterly Journal of Speech, 84(4), p.398.
Cochrane, K. (2014). Costa winner Nathan Filer: 'This is huge,
isn't it?'.
[online] The Guardian. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/
books/2014/jan/29/nathan-filer-costa-award-shock
[Accessed 2
Jan 2019].
Oatley, K. (1999). Meeting of Minds: Dialogue, sympathy, and
identification in
reading fiction. Poetics 26: 439-454.
San, L. (2014). The Shock of the Fall By Nathan Filer, book
review: 'Moved by
the dark humour in a poignant debut.' The Observer
online: https://
www.independent.co.uk/arts-
entertainment/books/reviews/the-
shock-of-the-fall-by-nathan- filer-book-review-
moved-by-the-dark-
humour-in-a-poignant-debut-9073069.html
[Accessed 2 Jan 2019].

21. Student Research Ethics
Approval Form (REC1)
PLEASE NOTE: You MUST gain approval for any research
BEFORE any research takes place. Failure to do so could result
in a ZERO mark
Name Maria
Hasan_________________________________
Student Number
525685______________________________________
Module Name Literature, Culture and
Society_________________
Module Number
LE2109_____________________________________
Please type your answers to the following questions:
1. What are the aim(s) of your research?
The aims of my research is to look at the novel ‘The Shock of
the Fall’ and depict how we as readers identify ourselves with
certain characters. Furthermore, addressing how the author,
Nathan Filer uses metaphors and different themes to position
the readers in order for them to interpret ideologies that are
relatable universally.
2. What research methods to you intend to use?

22. The research methods I intend to use will be literary criticisms
of the text and reader/consumer reviews which will be accessed
online. They’ll all be available for the public to access online.
3. Please give details of the type of informant, the method of
access and sampling, and the location(s) of your fieldwork. (see
guidance notes).
I’ll be using well known websites to source the reader reviews
such as Amazon and Goodreads. The websites are open to the
public so everyone is able to gain access to it. I’ll be analysing
and focusing on metaphors and themes/literary devices within
the book.
4. Please give full details of all ethical issues which arise from
this research
The ethical issues that may arise from my research would be the
fact that the reader reviews on the two suggested websites I’ll
be using would contain names and account details which is
confidential information which I haven’t gathered consent to
use.
5. What steps are you taking to address these ethical issues?
To address this ethical issue and ensure the safety of the people
who have written the reviews, I will anonymise them in order to
keep their private information confidential.
6. What issues for the personal safety of the researcher(s) arise
from this research?
N/A

23. 7. What steps will be taken to minimise the risks of personal
safety to the researchers?
N/A
Statement by student investigator(s):
I/We consider that the details given constitute a true summary
of the project proposed
I/We have read, understood and will act in line with the LSS
Student Research Ethics and Fieldwork Safety Guidance lines .
Name
Signature
Date

24. Statement by module convenor or project supervisor
I have read the above project proposal and believe that this
project only involves minimum risk. I also believe that the
student(s) understand the ethical and safety issues which arise
from this project.
Name
Signature
Date
This form must be signed and both staff and students need to
keep copies.