Reading Strategies
Because different literary forms often rely upon certain devices and styles, it is necessary to be able to properly identify these elements. These elements require different strategies for understanding these works. The overall structure of this guide is based on reading literature in context by relying primarily on its socio-political and cultural context- how it fits into the category of a literary movement and why it is considered defining in African-American Literature. Successful literary analysis requires a combination of different reading strategies that are appropriate for the text.
Modes of Discourse
To choose the best reading strategy, it is first necessary to identify the type of writing. As coined by Samuel Newman in A Practical System of Writing (1827), he refers to the 4 broad categories of writing as the "rhetorical modes". These are additionally defined in The Elements of English: a glossary of basic terms for literature, composition, and grammar by Malless and McQuain as:
"an attempt to recreate for the reader a person, place, or thing as if that recreating were a painting drawn with words. Unlike a painting, however, description is not limited to just the sense of sight; it appeals to our other senses as well. For example, the writer describes sounds, tastes, smells, and feelings, using details, metaphors, and images to recreate his or her unique point of view (place and attitude)" (31)
"an attempt to inform, instruct, or explain to the reader" (32)
"any story that someone tells. In literature, a narrative can be a novel, a short story, a ballad, or an epic" (14)
"an attempt to persuade the reader that one side of an issue is better than any other side of that issue . The first step in argumentation is to choose one side of an issue . The second step is to word very carefully a position on that issue . Next, evidence must be found both for and against that position. Evidence for that position must be proved strong, and evidence against must be proved weak. In this way, even the opposing evidence is used to an advantage; (27)
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Concepts and Forms in Literature - Guides and Handbooks
