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Before
- Examine the work’s title. What might this story be about?
- Use and develop your background knowledge about this subject. If the title is “The Lesson” ask yourself what kind of lessons there are, what lessons you have learned, and so on.
- Look to any provided background information about the story. Prepare to read critically by educating yourself about the author, the work, and the setting for both. (Remember that setting includes time, place, and mood.) Context, context, context. This means that you aren't only studying literature, but you are also familiarizing yourself with history, philosophy, politics, etc.
- Establish a purpose for reading this story. “Because my teacher told me to” is one obvious purpose, but not a very useful one. Try to come up with your own question, one based perhaps on the title or an idea mentioned in the background material. For example: “Why do we always have to learn the hard way?” if the story is titled “The Lesson?”
- Orient yourself. Flip through the text to see how long it is. Take a look at the opening sentences of different paragraphs, and skim through the opening paragraph; this will give you a sense of where the story is set, how difficult the language is, and how long you should need to read the story.
- If there is an introduction present, read it. This may seem like just one more hurdle, but just as you (hopefully) wouldn’t trudge off into the jungle without a guide, so too does it help to transition into a piece of literature with the words of an expert.
- If there is a notes section, refer to them everytime.
During
- Identify and learn the names of the main characters. By “main” I mean those characters that make the story happen or to whom important things happen. Get to know what they are like by asking such questions as “What does this character want more than anything else––and why?” Is their name important in its own way? For example, if the character in a contemporary piece is named "Homer"... why do you think that is?
- Identify the plot or the situation. The plot is what happens. For example, Beowulf arrives to rid Hrothgar of his Grendel problem. Consider also what is NOT being said by the author.
- Annotate the text as you move through it. This means highlighting, dog-earing, underling, sticky-tabbing, etc. Indicate important or confusing parts so that you may return to them later. This can be a life-saver during exams.
- Pay attention to the setting. Setting refers not only to where the story takes place, but when it happens. It also includes details like tone and mood. What does the work sound like: a sad violin playing all by itself or a whole band charging down the road? Does the story have a lonely feeling––or a scary feeling, as if any minute something will happen?
- Consider the story’s point of view. Think about why the author chose to tell the story through this person’s point of view instead of a different character; why in the past instead of the present; in the first instead of the third person. Watch out for shifts in point of view, as authors often employ such changes to reveal an unreliable narrator or offer an important, but variant, perspective.
- Take notes. It might not be convenient to read with a pen and paper, but it is essential for properly engaging with the text. As you read, jot down your thoughts and feelings. Write out questions or ideas you have. Sometimes our best thoughts are fleeting and might just be lost forever if you wait until after dinner. Keep a running list of notes for each work, and you’ll be rewarded come exam time.
- Pay attention to the author’s use of time. Some writers will make a decade pass by simply beginning the next paragraph, “Ten years later....” Look for any words that signal the passage of time. Occasionally writers will also use extra space or a small icon between paragraphs to signal the passing of time.
- Look for the crucial moments. Every story has some conflict, some tension or element of suspense in it. Eventually something has to give. This is the moment when the character or the story suddenly changes direction. A character, for example, feels or acts differently than before.
- Remember why you are reading this story. Go back to the question you asked when you began reading the work. Bounce your ideas off your instructor or fellow students. Use the “Ask Your Guide” tab. Look at available study guides. These will help you to read more closely and better evaluate which details are important when you read. You might also find your original purpose is no longer a good one; what is the question you are now trying to answer as you read the story?
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After
- Read first to understand... then again to analyze. When you finish a work, check to be sure you understand what has happened. Ask: WHO did WHAT to WHOM? If you can answer these questions correctly, move on to the next level: WHY? Why, for example, did the character in the story lie?
- Return to the title. Go back to the title and think about how it relates to the story now that you have read it. What does the title refer to? Does the title have more than one possible meaning?
- Practice a post-mortem. Reevaluate the work now that you have completed it. What do you understand? What remains confusing? Look to your instructor, your fellow students, or the internet for answers.
- Reconsider the impact this novel made on history and society. Why do you think the author wrote or created this piece?