A GENERAL APPROACH TO READING LITERATURE

Textbooks focus primarily on presenting factual information, but works of literature are concerned with interpreting ideas, experiences, and events. Literature uses facts, description, and details to convey larger meanings.

The following general guidelines will help you read literary works effectively.

  1. Preview the work before reading it. Be ready to respond to the work; don’t make up your mind about it before you study the work in earnest. Read background information about the author and the work and study the title. Read the first few and last few paragraphs of a short story, and quickly skim the pages in between to notice the setting, the names of the characters, and the amount of dialogue. Read poems through once to get an initial impression. (For more on previewing, see Chapter 3.)
  2. Read to establish the literal meaning first. During the first reading of a work, establish its literal meaning. Who is doing what, when, and where? Identify the general subject, specific topic, and main character. What is happening? Describe the basic plot, action, or sequence of events. Establish where and during what time period the action occurs.
  3. Then reread slowly and carefully to study the language. Works of literature use language in unique and creative ways, requiring you to read them slowly and carefully with a pen in hand. Interact with the work by jotting down your reactions in the margins as you read. Include hunches, insights, feelings, and questions. Highlight or underline key words, phrases, or actions that seem important or that you want to reconsider later. Mark interesting uses of language, such as striking phrases or descriptions, as well as sections that hint at the deeper meaning of the work. Note that literature often bends the rules of grammar and usage. Writers of literature may use sentence fragments, ungrammatical dialogue, or unusual punctuation to create a particular effect. When you encounter such instances, remember that most writers bend the rules for a purpose. Ask yourself what that purpose is.
  4. Reread once again to identify themes and patterns and piece together your interpretation. Study your annotations to discover how the ideas in the work link together to suggest a theme. Themes are large or universal topics that are important to nearly everyone. For example, the theme of a poem or short story might be that death is inescapable or that growing up involves a loss of innocence. Think of the theme as the main point a poem or short story makes. To understand the work’s theme, consider why the writer wrote the work and what message, view, or lesson about human experience the writer is trying to communicate.
  5. Write one or more paragraphs identifying the conflict and how it gets resolved, and stating what you think is the main theme. Concluding your study of a work of literature with your own statement will help you move from interpretation of the work to your own analysis of its significance.

Literary works are complex; you should not expect to understand a poem or short story immediately. You will need to reread parts or the entire work several times. As you reread and think about the work, its meanings will often come clear gradually.