Responding to Literature

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Responding to Literature

• From your text Chapter 11

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Responding to poems

• and short stories requires both imagination and
  critical-reading skill.

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As readers,

• We anticipate,
• Imagine,
• Feel,
• Worry,
• Analyze, and
• Question.

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A story or poem

• Is like an empty balloon
• That we inflate
• With the warm breath of our imagination
• and experience.

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Our participation

• Makes us partners
• With the author
• In the artistic recreation.

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First, readers must imagine

• And recreate that special world described by the
  writer.

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The first sentences

• Of a short story
• Throw open a door
• To a world that
• -- attractive or repulsive --

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• Tempts our curiosity and imagination.

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In a similar way

• Poems invite the reader to participate
• In actively creating characters
• Images
• Places, feelings,
• And reflections.

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Responding to literature

• Also requires
• That readers REREAD.

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First, you should

• Reread for yourself.
• That is, reread to write down your ideas,
• Questions
• Feelings
• And reactions.

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To heighten your role

• In re-creating a story or poem,
• You should note in the margins
• Your questions and responses

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• To main characters, places, metaphors and images,
  and themes
• That catch your attention.

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Second

• You should reread with a writers eye.

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In fiction

• Identify the major and minor characters.
• Look for conflicts between characters.
• Mark passages
• That contain forshadowing.

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Pinpoint sentences

• That reveal the narrative point of view.
• Reread with a writers eye,
• And see now the parts of the story relate to the
  whole.

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In poetry

• Look for character, key events, and setting
• And ALWAYS pay attention to images and metaphors,
• To voice and tone, to word choice, and to rhythm
  and rhyme.

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Each critical term is a tool

• -- a magnifying glass
• That helps you understand
• And interpret the literary work more clearly.

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In addition to RE-READING,

• Responding to literature requires that
• Readers SHARE ideas, reactions, and
  interpretations.
• Sharing usually begins in small group or class
  discussions,

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But it continues

• As you explain your interpretation in writing.

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A work of literature

• Is not a mathematical equation with a single
  answer.

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Great literature

• Is worth interpreting precisely
• Because each reader
• Responds differently.

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The purpose of literature

• Is to encourage you to reflect
• On your life and the lives of others
• --to look for new ways of seeing and
  understanding your world

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And ultimately

• To expand your world.
• Sharing
• Is crucial
• To appreciating literature.