1. Literary Lenses One Text – Many Ways of Seeing It

2. What are Literary Lenses?  The different perspectives we use to understand and interpret texts.  We bring different “angles” to texts.  We bring different background knowledge.  We focus on different parts of the texts.

3. Why are Lenses Important?  By focusing our reading attention on different parts of the text, we can move closer to understanding the text’s theme  Remember that theme is the author’s comment on the human condition!

5. How Many Pandas Do You See?

6. What Do You See?

7. Nice Vase…Ehh?

8. Woman in White?

9. Where is this young woman looking?

10. Back to Literary Lenses!  So what is the point?  Do we ALL see literature (or anything else we read) the same way?  What evidence do you have of your thoughts to the above question?

11. Types of Literary Lenses  Historical  Feminist  Marxist  Formalism  Reader Response

12. Historical  Looking at a text through its connections to history.  The Crucible - Cold War  Of Mice and Men - The Great Depression  Focuses on the social, political, and economic climate of the event

13. How to Look Through the Historic Lens  Examine the historical connections of the text.  Social, economic, political  What is the author’s role in the text? Consider background information on the author.

14. Feminist  Looking at a text through how gender is shown.  Males / females  Stereotypical gender roles

15. How to Look Through the Feminist Lens  Consider the gender of the author.  Consider the gender(s) of the characters.  What roles do gender and sexuality play in this work?

16.  Are gender stereotypes reinforced or challenged?  Imagine yourself as the opposite gender while reading this piece

17. Marxist  Looking at a text in terms of power  Oftentimes, power is related to money  Who has money; who doesn’t  Who has power; who doesn’t  Who is “rich”; who is “poor”

18. How to Look Through the Marxist Lens  Consider who has the power and who doesn’t  Consider who has the money and who doesn’t

19.  What role(s) do power, money, or class play in this work?  What happens as a result of these differences?

20. Formalism  Looks at the text AS a TEXT.  Meaning is discovered through close reading  NOT by examining outside sources

21. How to Look Through the Formalist Lens  Look at words, literary terms, symbols.  Analyze how parallels are established and create a unity within the text.

22. Reader Response LLooks at how the reader responds to the text. IIndividual meaning is derived as the reader reads

23. How to Look Through the Reader Response Lens  Ummm….just read (no…seriously)  Track what you think and interpret the text to mean!  Bring your own thoughts, moods, and experiences to the text.

24. So What is the Point?  Literal level  Notice these structures for each lens  Point out the history, the women, the powerful  Interpretive level  Answer the “so what…” question  What might the author be implying with a powerful woman, a class conflict, or similes throughout….. the THEME

25. Example to Ponder - The Lion King  Historical  Made in 1990s  Time of great political upheaval in world  Theme – “right” governments can overcome adversity?

26. The Lion King  Feminist  Helpless females  Females provide food and care for the young yet males have ALL the power  Nala is stronger than Simba, but she does not inherit the crown  Theme – Strong men should rule in the world while women support them?

27. The Lion King  Marxist  Males have all the power (Mufasa, Simba, Scar)  When Mufasa dies, Simba is the ONLY one considered for the crown.  Lions retain power over all other animals  Hyenas are weak (lower-class)  Class rebellion leads to the conflict of the film  Theme – Class distinction should be eliminated?

28. The Lion King FFormalist EExamine songs and messages? EExamine artwork? DDifferent with movies than with written texts.

29.  Reader Response  I like it because….  It reminds me of….  This connects to Hamlet….