Judging a book by its cover
"The critic is right to think that the text should speak to us."
In any piece of literary work, we, as critics try to shift and mold the words on the page so that they pertain to us...whether that be our past experiences, or current situations. It's inevitable. No matter how good a work is, it can always be better if we can relate to it on the same level.
But, as critics, we must try to avoid doing this without having proper background information of the time period, the author, etc. It's like the old saying "judging a book by its cover". If we read something in EL312 without any background information on it, then we are passing judgment on it, even if it is just us trying to give the text a deeper meaning by having it relate to our lives. Hirsch puts it best on page 18 where he says that "a text cannot be made to speak to us until what it says has been understood". To understand a text fully, we must also take into account the author, his/her background, and what was effecting him/her at the time of penmanship.
Comments
I do this...I read a poem or a story and it often relates to events happening in my life. However, I agree that while criticizing literature we must look past what is going on in our own lives and search deeper in the literature for meaning and criticize it accordingly. Hopefully we can do this!
Posted by: Bethany Merryman | February 3, 2009 7:35 PM
Definitely you’ll receive training. There will be a period that you will not be working with people, learning how we do things, observing, and participating in practice sessions (all this time is paid). Even after you begin working with people, I stress ongoing professional development.
Posted by: Greta Carroll | February 4, 2009 10:07 PM
You make a good point Corey. It is very important to consider the context and background of the author. I usually like reading texts though first before I have any background. If I know the background and then read the work, it is simply too tempting to ignore everything else besides the relations between the author’s life and the text. I like to read the text without any prejudgments cluttering up my mind so I can form my own opinions and interpretations first and then taking the author’s intent and context into consideration.
Posted by: Greta Carroll | February 4, 2009 10:10 PM
I agree, and you bring up many good points! Often when I'm reading something and find myself really relating to it I think, "Wow, this author is wonderful; he/she seems to really know what I'm going through and how to get to people." It is important to keep in mind, that while the author is writing with an ideal reader in mind, they are also writing from their own life and background. The literature pertains to them just as much as it does to us.
Posted by: Bethany Bouchard | February 5, 2009 2:53 PM
We do have to take in consideration every aspect of the writing experience. The author is our only true link to the piece of literature we are reading and it helps immensely if we know at least a small portion of what their history and background was. The times in which we live greatly influence how we create.
Posted by: Mara Barreiro | February 5, 2009 4:03 PM
As soon as I read your statement that a work becomes better when we can relate it to ourselves, I realized that I was guilty of the same thing. I tend to pick things to read that could be about me, if I were a character, rather than things that I think I may be interested in.
Posted by: Jodi | February 5, 2009 4:46 PM