How to Read Literature

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Analyze –

review critically considering possibility of author bias, accuracy and completeness of information presented, use of language to convey message and influence interpretation, and  implications of the information presented.

Annotate –

taking detailed notes on specific words of importance, sometimes made in the margin of a book

Assumptions –

guesses; information that is not based on evidence

Commercial literature –

literature written to appeal to popular audiences and not written with any deeper meaning to be conveyed

Conventional theme –

a theme that has been commonly used

Conventions –

way of analyzing used by people in a community

Evaluate –

form a judgment as to information provided on content

Explication –

a close and detailed analysis of a work on literature in terms of one or more of the literary elements.

Facts –

the truth; information based on evidence

Genre –

categories of literature: fiction, poetry, drama

Highlight –

use of a mark such as underlining or a highlight pen to indicate important words in a piece of literature

Imaginative literature –

literature created by an author’s imagination to convey some personal feeling or observation or message

Interpretative literature –

literature intended to say more than just the story on a larger issue and to be interpreted; literature that can have more than one meaning.

Literary argument –

taking a position on a controversial issue concerning a work of literature such as that the use of symbols in “Hills Like White Elephants” is the predominant literary element or that the man in “Hills Like White Elephants” is not justified in his attitude about the operation.

Literary criticism –

essays that analyze, evaluate, and interpret literature

Literary canon –

a collection of literature that is generally considered significant

Literary elements –

ways that literature is analyzed including plot, setting, characters, imagery, symbolism, figures of speech, irony, allusion, allegory, and theme.

Opinion –

a personal evaluation

Personal perspective –

a position based on personal experiences

Safe reading –

a reading that interprets only on obvious, superficial elements of a piece of literature

Strong reading –

a reading that questions the piece of literature and challenges commonly held beliefs and makes interesting and novel interpretations of literature.

Style –

the way in which an author uses language and presents the content; generally described in terms of literary elements such as use of symbolism, irony, figures of speech, plot and character development, and theme.

Theme –

the central idea of a fiction