Literature/Discussion

Week Four: Literature

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Literature

"The only end of writing is to enable the readers better to enjoy life, or better to endure it." —Samuel Johnson

Three Women Enjoying Literary Pursuits by Katsukawa Shunchō 

Metropolitan Museum of Art Open Access "The Met Collection" 

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What Is Literature and Why Do We Read It?

We gain pleasure from reading literature on two levels. First, on a surface level, literature offers us a form of escapism as we become engrossed in the world of the text. Secondly, we gain pleasure on a deeper level when we note literature's ability to imitate reality. Readers can find authenticity in all types of literature, from realism to science fiction and fantasy. Accomplished poets, for example, can recreate the exquisite beauty of a flower or the terrifying power of a storm in their poems. Authors can bring imaginary characters to life so vividly that we become intimately involved in their struggles and care about their fates.

When characters become real to us, we inevitably begin to ask questions about their behavior. What are their motivations? What are the consequences of their behavior? Their struggles with conflicts involving love, faith, or death often raise complex questions regarding the nature of human experience and help us to gain deeper understanding of those experiences.

In his Nobel acceptance speech, William Faulkner noted that great literature explores and illuminates the "problems of the human heart in conflict with itself" (179). C. S. Lewis expands on this theme, suggesting that "[l]iterature adds to reality; it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become."(2)

How Do We Read and Understand Literature?

In order to read literature with a fuller understanding and deeper enjoyment, we must become actively engaged with the text. An active reader, Virginia Woolf insists, becomes the "author's fellow-worker and accomplice."(3) She stresses the importance of a close collaboration between reader and writer, using the term "accomplice" to mean "assistant." In other words, the reader must assist in the writer's creation of fictional worlds. Woolf determines that readers "must be capable not only of great fineness of perception, but of great boldness of imagination if [they] are going to make use of all that the [author] gives [them]" (258).

We must be open to the author's presentation of new ways of looking at our world in order to gain insights into the literary work. We also must acquire the tools necessary to engage in close readings of, and critical thinking about, the text.

Here are some questions to consider when you are reading a piece of literature for the first time:

· How do you feel about the images, characters, and story?

· Why do the characters act the way they do and why does the story ends as it does?

· How can the story details be summarized or the lines in the poem paraphrased to ensure that you have a good understanding of its surface elements?

You should also read a work twice if you are going to interpret it, and during your second reading, you should begin to think more critically about the work. During your second reading you should:

· Ask questions. Look up any words that you do not know. Think about why the author chose a specific word, scene, or character to include in the work.

· Identify the individual parts of the text and their relation to the entire story or poem.

· Identify and apply the the literary components you have learned for each genre to the text.

· Determine what you think the work is about—what is the author saying?

· Examine how the author conveys an idea, what form and technique he or she employs to get it across to the reader.

· Identify specific details from the text that illustrate or support your hypothesis that the author is exploring a certain point.

A Note About Interpretation

We can never be sure what an author's intended meaning is. We only can arrive at a careful consideration of what the meaning appears to be. Therefore, we should avoid any conclusion that insists that there is only one correct interpretation of the work. Great literature often presents complex points of view and can support varied interpretations. Keep in mind, however, that not all interpretations are equally valid. We all bring our own experiences to the reading process and so inevitably, we look at works in different ways. Yet, when we present our interpretation of a particular work, we must provide careful evidence by pointing out specific patterns of imagery and/or story details.

Three Key Tools for Interpretation

There are three essential conceptual tools used in the study of literature for interpretation: (1) literary language, (2) literary genres, and (3) literary terminology. Below are some links to help you better understand each category.

1. Literary language vs. ordinary language : This is the difference between language you would use every day to communicate and language that is used in literature to convey more than one meaning, ambiguous meanings, or deeper meanings. 

2. Literary genres : poetry fiction, drama: These are the different types of literature which can often need a different approach to interpretation. 

3. Literary terms:  These are the building blocks of interpretation. More information about them is also available  here .

Methods of Studying Literature

So how does one analyze and interpret literature? There are many answers to this question, but basically, besides the three tools noted above, there are also there are many critical theories that are used, including psychological, cultural, sociological, historical, biographical, and political perspectives.

One example of a critical theory is called formalism. Formalism seeks to examine the text closely, weighing the significance of every sentence, every line, every phrase, every word. Formalism seeks to honor the complexity and richness of literary texts by interrogating their significance at a very small and detailed level. But having done this, the good student of literature then seeks to incorporate this analysis into a larger interpretation that might be grounded in one of the critical methods noted just now: psychological, political, etc.

Some of the key ideas from Formalism include:

· A work of literature should exist for its own sake.

· The author's biography, the time and place in which in which it was written, and the emotional response it evokes in its readers do not affect its meaning or value.

· The study of literature should analyze literary components to discover how those components interact and establish unity.

· The method used to accomplish this analysis is close reading, which promotes an examination of the complex interrelations, ambiguities, and multiple meanings within a work. These elements produce a complex interplay among tension, irony, and paradox, which are organized and reconciled around a central, human theme.

· The main fictional elements of focus are story, plot, narration, point of view, tone, voice, language, and symbol.

· The main poetic elements are form, imagery, figurative language, symbol, diction, meter, rhythm, and rhyme.

Formalists examine how these elements interact in sometimes contradictory ways but ultimately form a unified whole that provides a meaningful statement on the human condition.

Learning Outcomes

Following is a list of the Week 4 outcomes, mapped to the corresponding course outcome. The course outcomes give "the big picture," and the weekly outcomes provide more detailed information that will help you achieve the course outcomes.

Week 4 Outcomes

· Describe the differences between literary and ordinary language (2).

· Identify and apply distinctions among literary genres (1, 2).

· Identify and apply literary terminology (2).

· Explain some of the different methods used to interpret literature, especially formalism (2, 3).

· Analyze and interpret literary works in light of these categories and distinctions (2, 3).

· Analyze and interpret literary works within and across different cultures (3, 4).

Course Outcomes Met in Week 4

· Describe and analyze the way human culture is expressed through works of literature, performing and visual arts, philosophy, and religion in order to appreciate the depth and breadth of the humanities disciplines.

· Use basic vocabulary, concepts, methods, and theories of the humanities disciplines in order to describe and analyze cultural and artistic expressions.

· Identify and apply criteria in order to evaluate individual and collective cultural accomplishments.

· Examine individual and cultural perspectives in the field of humanities in order to recognize and assess cultural diversity and the individual's place in the world.

Footnotes

· William Faulkner, "Nobel Prize Speech." In Our Own Words: Extraordinary Speeches of the American Century, ed. Andrew Carroll (New York: Washington Square Press, 2000): 179.

· Paul Holmer, C.S. Lewis: The Shape of His Faith and Thought, (New York: Harper Collins, 1976): 139.

· Virginia Woolf, The Second Common Reader (Fort Washington, PA: Harvest Books, 2003): 258.