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[CCBC-Net] Tearing poetry apart vs. exciting literary analysis
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From: Daniels, Ann <adaniels>
Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2008 11:14:05 -0700
Robert Frost says that his poem means what it says. Monica Edinger writes to "confess that I enjoy analyzing literature and admire tremendously those who can lead others to do it in a way that is exciting not deadening." I venture my opinion that both are right.
I went to grad school in Classics in the late 70s, when Structuralism (and post-) were all the rage. I recall the seminar where everyone but me was arguing fiercely about the significance of a particular grammatical construct within a poem; silly me, I had been focusing on the fact that the poem was all about sex. To quote Ruth Gordon's post, boy did they tear the wings off that butterfly!
And yet ... surely there are authors for whom two roads, and miles to go before they sleep, might mean more than just chores waiting at home. It would be hard to read Joyce's Ulysses as just meaning what it says, for example. That's an extreme example, obviously. But sometimes literary analysis *can* give a deeper, richer, more vibrant and understanding and make reading more exciting.
Alas, we rarely have Robert Frost there to say "No, I just meant there were two roads and I chose one," and no one issues licenses to those who perform literary analysis, or takes them away from those who turn people off from reading literature. (As for me, I left grad school after my M.A.; I was afraid I'd turn into one of those pod-people if I stayed. I still dabble in literary analysis from time to time, but I also like to read poetry just to hear what it says.)
Ann Daniels Families for Literacy Coordinator Second Start Adult Literacy Program, Oakland Public Library 1801 Adeline Street, Oakland CA 94607 adaniels at oaklandlibrary.org <mailto:adaniels at oaklandlibrary.org>
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Received on Tue 08 Apr 2008 01:14:05 PM CDT
Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2008 11:14:05 -0700
Robert Frost says that his poem means what it says. Monica Edinger writes to "confess that I enjoy analyzing literature and admire tremendously those who can lead others to do it in a way that is exciting not deadening." I venture my opinion that both are right.
I went to grad school in Classics in the late 70s, when Structuralism (and post-) were all the rage. I recall the seminar where everyone but me was arguing fiercely about the significance of a particular grammatical construct within a poem; silly me, I had been focusing on the fact that the poem was all about sex. To quote Ruth Gordon's post, boy did they tear the wings off that butterfly!
And yet ... surely there are authors for whom two roads, and miles to go before they sleep, might mean more than just chores waiting at home. It would be hard to read Joyce's Ulysses as just meaning what it says, for example. That's an extreme example, obviously. But sometimes literary analysis *can* give a deeper, richer, more vibrant and understanding and make reading more exciting.
Alas, we rarely have Robert Frost there to say "No, I just meant there were two roads and I chose one," and no one issues licenses to those who perform literary analysis, or takes them away from those who turn people off from reading literature. (As for me, I left grad school after my M.A.; I was afraid I'd turn into one of those pod-people if I stayed. I still dabble in literary analysis from time to time, but I also like to read poetry just to hear what it says.)
Ann Daniels Families for Literacy Coordinator Second Start Adult Literacy Program, Oakland Public Library 1801 Adeline Street, Oakland CA 94607 adaniels at oaklandlibrary.org <mailto:adaniels at oaklandlibrary.org>
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Received on Tue 08 Apr 2008 01:14:05 PM CDT
