All readers?

“In any case, all readers come to the text already predisposed to interpret it in a certain way based on whatever interpretive strategies are operating for them at the time they read” (Tyson, 177)

The Ball Poem and other reading mistakes

      I find myself still thinking back on The Ball Poem, and of course the outlandish reading of it. But what really gets to me is the thought that in some instance I’ve probably done the same thing, if not quite to the same extent. To me, one of the most beautiful things about poetry is that it can mean so much in so few words. This poses another problem though, so much is left unsaid and we oftentimes make it our own. In all honesty I don’t think it’s a bad thing. There are poems I’ve read dozens of time and I’m always finding something new in them, something new in myself. We all share this collective consciousness, a conglomeration of ideas and notions, and we use it to read beyond ourselves, within ourselves. Maybe I’m too young to understand all of what that means, but I must remember to “let be be finale of seem” (The Emperor of Ice Cream, Wallace Stevens). To me this line has meant letting go, acceptance, remembering, and so much more than I could ever put into words. Just one line from the hundreds of poems I’ve read, and I think about it all the time its meaning changing with me over the years.  Perhaps this is the beauty of reader-response theory; the ability to make our own readings more real and better understood.

Day of the Poem?

In Louise M. Rosenblatt's The Poem as Event, she makes the statement that a poem, "must be thought of as an even in time. It is not an object or an ideal entity. It is an occurrence," which was confusing. How can a poem be an event in time? Writing can represent an event in time, but do you think it could really be an even itself?

Photo: https://images.pexels.com/photos/273011/pexels-photo-273011.jpeg?w=1260&h=750&auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb

Everyone's a critic. (But actually)

In Rosenblatt's The Poem as Event, she details the varying responses to the same Robert Frost quatrain that we read. One response reads:

"However, after a moment or two, the implied stage begins clearly to represent the world, and the actors, the world's population"; "On second thought, play metaphor—'all the world's a stage'—Life goes on in spite of quarreling, but it won't if the 'lighting' (moral? spiritual?) fails . . . Anyway, war, disagreement, etc., don't matter so much—so long as we still have the 'light' (sun—source of light—nature? God?)."

Later on in Rosenblatt's piece, she quotes a reader who claims the third line—"The only thing I worry about is the sun"—as a harbinger for the H-bomb. To me, though it may be a product of my own biased response as a reader, those explanations near the same uncontrolled and unkempt territory of that WWII interpretation of "The Ball Poem", read by Tim in a show of masterful elocution.

Looking for Alex's point like

Source: http://i.imgur.com/7PhLQGY.gif

Do we reward readers for those ultimate interpretations of a text?
("Ultimate" seemed the best word to illustrate that strange amalgamation of a response that is at once expansive, global, consequential, grand, etc.)

Obviously there is no achievable answer that is 100% right or 100% wrong in a reader's critical response, but it seems that at least in an academic environment—the study that Rosenblatt cites, the now-infamous "The Ball Poem" response, or even my own response to the Frost quatrain—we readers seek to over-perform. Question #2: WHY???

Poet v.s. Reader Influences on Literature

On page 957 of Tradition and the Individual Talent, T.S. Elliot explains that "he [the poet] must be quite aware of the obvious fact that art never improves, but that the material of art is never quite the same." 

"Material of art" could be seen as how the art is formed or written, which changes with new ideas and theories presented. 

How does this quote about a poet relate to the fact that T.S. Elliot believes that the reader's perception of a text is influenced by our past? (Does the reader and the poet approach a text in a similar way, or in a different way?) 

                                          Change in Draft = Change in Thought

                                                         

http://www.litpark.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/draft1.jpg  

Paragraph post info

A paragraph is an elusive thing: it seems like something really obvious, something we have known how to write since elementary school. But how do you define a paragraph? How can you tell a good paragraph from a lackluster one? And how do you write the kind of paragraphs that make it easier to communicate your ideas to your reader?

Simply put, a paragraph is a group of sentences that develop a single idea. That’s it. The correct length for a paragraph is however many sentences are required to introduce the idea of the paragraph, explain that idea, provide any necessary examples or evidence, explain that evidence, wrap up your idea, and (sometimes) transition into your next idea. However, you have to stick to a single idea!

If you can’t write a clear, well-developed paragraph, you can’t write a good paper, a clear memo, a convincing email, or an enticing cover letter. Those who master the paragraph are ready to take on the world!

Home Office photo by Free-Photos on Pixabay.com

On the days you are responsible for this part of the project, you will write a single paragraph of between 100-200 words. This will require you to limit yourself to a single idea that refers specifically to the theory we are working with and to develop it in a concise manner.

We will post our paragraphs here on the blog and read them aloud at the beginning of the day's in-class discussion.  This will help us ensure that we are giving all members of our learning community time and space to express their thoughts.

There are two additional requirements for posting your paragraphs here on the blog: your post must have two labels 1) the name of the theory for the week (they are listed below in my labels on this post), and 2) Paragraph. Your post must also include an image (static or gif) that illustrates the idea of your paragraph. Your photo should be captioned with a title and source. (Please note: the source for an image is NEVER "Google Images." Credit where credit is due, please!)