Explication: act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text; usually involves close reading and examination of author's thesis, approach, technique.
Choose a piece of literary criticism that critiques a text of your choice from this year's reading.
I. Annotate it two ways:
A) Meaning: Summarize each paragraph with a word or phrase that indicatest he paragraph's contents and put it in the margin.
B) Response/Reaction: Highlight lines/phrases/passages where you agree, disagree, question or challenge an assertion, or where you are enlightened.
II. Response: Choose 5-7 passages that you hightlighted to respond to. Label them on your annotation as 1, 2, etc. On your separate document, respond to those passages.
You can discuss information that confirmed what you already know (and explain why you appreciated your author's discussion of that information), an interpretation you learned/found interesting, and aspects of the interpretation you challenge (Don't assume because it has been published that you do not have the authority to question an interpretation.
You've read the work; therefore, you are entitled to question an assertion made by another reader who may not have sufficiently proven a point). Is there an assertion that surprised you? Why?
How does it affect your reading/understanding of the text now? Does it instill confidence in our class reading/ interpretation of the work?
Does it challenge or further develop an idea we briefly touched upon? Does it provide an interpretation that did not occur to you/our class but makes sense?
-10 pages, excluding footnotes/ endnotes/references
- 250 words