A View of Literature

1. What stage or stages of reading development was I at before the beginning of this
semester?
In my high school years, I would say that I looked at reading mainly through the text-other text view. Throughout my freshman and senior year, several of my English classes covered several mythologies. These mythologies included Roman, Greek, and Egyptian. We compared these three to each other as well as other texts. The Roman and Greek are very similar, but there are similarities to other religious literature. One text-other text example is the paper I wrote comparing several religious accounts of a great flood. The paper started with the two well known examples from Greek literature and the Judeo-Christian Bible. I noted that the timelines were different for both. In the Greek timeline myth, the population of the Earth happened after a nine day flood. According to the Bible, the flood happened after the population of the Earth. The flood also lasted forty days, according to the book of Genesis. The Greeks used stones to explain the repopulation of the Earth and the Bible does not give a clear example. Then I moved to explain similar flood stories from Babylonian, Chinese, and Aztec literature. These are different example of literature across time and space that I compared in several English classes.
In my early college years, I developed an interest in fiction writing. I wanted to adapt the complex twists in Shakespearean comedies to modern times. In reading Shakespeare for a modern adaptation, I had to think about the character’s dilemma and the modern comparison. For example in Much Ado About Nothing, having an affair is not as devastating today as it was in Elizabethan Protestant England. It was very hard to think about an equivalent for Hero’s situation. I had to put my modern Hero into a strong religious household to equate Hero’s shame at home. However, the view of women today would not equal to the shame given to Elizabethan woman felt by those outside her family. I believe that the reason Shakespeare, Austen, and Dickens are classics is because the emotions can be applied to current society.
2. What stage or stages of reading development am I at now?
I still maintain a text-other text view in my blogs. I blogged on Leonardo DiCaprio’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s Romeo. Shakespeare is known for his great use of language, but DiCaprio used “simple motions.” In the discussion of literature there must be an understanding of current social norms. In my last blog, I mentioned the fear of purgatory. This is relation to Hamlet’s famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy and this understanding of fear can help place the true situation of character. If a person does not place himself or herself in the times of that character the readers feelings and emotions may cloud the author’s true intent.
I also used several blogs to show a Text-World aspect. The best example was my first blog about the film Shakespeare in Love. There are several aspects that were shown to shape Shakespeare’s life. The first things I mentioned was the effect that Queen Elizabeth had on the arts. The political realm was in an uproar during Shakespeare’s time and had a great impact on his histories. The social norms were also mentioned in my blog. I was disappointed with the portrayal of differences in social classes, but there was a poignant difference in sexual roles. Then I made a point to talk about Shakespeares inspiration and stated that “Shakespeare's lover was not the only inspiration, but as well as the words heard everyday, fellow friends, and political dreams.” That is true of all of us that our situations and sphere of people influence and help us become who we are and who we may be.
3. How do I think I can move to the net sage of reading development?
There are three things that I can do to improve to include more text-world view. I need to be more aware of current events. I currently do not have a television, so I cannot watch the news. I also read the newspaper very sparingly. However, I still do not believe watching the just one news channel is enough because of a possible slanted view. As far as the newspaper, I need to read more than just the financial page and include articles related to the effects of society.
The second idea is to include “harder” classics in my repertoire of books. People have a definition of what is complex to them, but Tolstoy is my example of a “harder classic.” Tolstoy touches on the economic and social concerns of Russian society through a complex history. This could be relevant today, but I have not tried to broach the long and daunting novel.
A third ides is to read “professional” opinions. Most professors and teachers have seen more than I and by reading their ideas I can travel beyond my current means. Reading effectively can open doors that the economy, safety, and social norms have closed. These are a few ideas that will take effort on my part, but the rewards would be greater. The more I know the more I can help the people around me.