“Every choice an author makes is intentional” (Interlude), claims Thomas C. Foster in, “How to Read Literature like a Professor.” Foster explains that to determine if something is intentional readers, “have to work with … hints and allegations, really, evidence, sometimes only a trace, that points to something lying behind the text” (Foster 92). Writers often use certain character names or plots to hint to an older text to create a deeper meaning in their work. Readers have to search for those allusions and parallels to find what the author did on purpose to create a more in depth sense about their work. Authors do this by, “the way [they] can keep their eye on the target, whether it be the plot of the play or the ending of the novel or the argument of the poem, and at the same time bring in a great deal of at least tangentially related material” (Foster 93). Writers must focus on the story their writing at all times of the process of writing but also be able to incorporate material from other works while staying true to their own theme. This requires a lot of time and reading to accomplish because writers must be familiar with a plethora of works that could possibly be integrated into their own work and integrate them in the best possible way. Fosters main point backing up the fact that every choice an author makes is intentional is that, “such baroque planning and complex execution don’t leave much room for naïve, spontaneous composition” (Foster 92). An author utilizing older works to influence their own is an obvious trend, but what people may not realize is how much that affects the original parts of the story. A writer must be careful how most of the story is written so that it does not contradict or interfere with the meaning he is trying to create with the allusions he utilizes so that leaves no room for random pieces to the story. Authors plan and choose parts to their writing to where no hidden meaning pops up that were not specifically chosen because they could affect the meaning in a way they did not want.
Every choice the author makes is intentional, and Thomas Foster explains this in the interlude of his book “How to Read Literature like a Professor.” When approached with questions such as “Can anyone really have all that [symbols, allusions, patterns] going on in his head at one time?” Foster simply claims that “Yes,” they can (Foster 90). Many stories have various different allusions or links to previous works, and the number of these allusions seems too great to be merely coincidental. In many stories, it’s clearly evident that a certain author is well read and educated in literature, as a plethora of themes or connections are made to various literary works from years past. In reference to authors prior to the 1900s, he states that they often could “count on their readers, moreover, having considerable training in the tradition [classic poetry],” and that if hundreds of people could “quote the Bard” that an accidental story paralleling his work was unlikely (Foster 92). As stated in previous chapters, writers often times will rely on the reader’s knowledge of particular famous works to understand allusions they make in their stories. What may feel like a coincidental plotline resembling a famous fairy tale could entirely be the author assuming that his reader’s would simply already know the fairy tale he is relating to. In relating to his own work writing this very book, Foster asks “Even assuming equal levels of knowledge about the subject, who probably has the most ideas – you in five minutes of reading or me in five days of stumbling around?” (Foster 93). Foster says this to emphasize the fact that authors take a long time to write what we may read in a matter of mere minutes. Our quick reading sessions are results of hours of work from an author, and any allusions one may find are more than likely born from that author’s long thought processes when they are writing these stories. Writing is an art, just as music or painting, and authors take the time to include these allusions and parallels to prior works to make their works all the more artistic.
Every choice an author makes is intentional, Thomas C. Foster explains in “How to Read Literature Like a Professor.” Foster tells that writers intend to allude and create parallels to other works. He stated how some writers are classified as “’intentionalists’- writers who attempt to control every facet of their creative output and who intend virtually every effect in their works” (Foster 91). Foster describes the way different writes have constructed their works for them to have exactly what they want. Every impact their work has on the reader is intentional. He uses himself as an example saying “the few pages of this chapter have taken you a few minutes to read; they have taken me, I’m sorry to say, days and days to write” (Foster 93). Foster describes how much time it takes him to write and he does a lot of thinking in between. He said that “we readers sometimes forget how long literary composition can take and how very much lateral thinking can go on in that amount of time” (Foster 93). He explains how authors have a lot of time to think and tend to bring in parallels or allusions. Writers have thoroughly thought out what to write about, so their choices are not by accident.
“Every choice an author makes is intentional” (Interlude), claims Thomas C. Foster in, “How to Read Literature like a Professor.” Foster explains that to determine if something is intentional readers, “have to work with … hints and allegations, really, evidence, sometimes only a trace, that points to something lying behind the text” (Foster 92). Writers often use certain character names or plots to hint to an older text to create a deeper meaning in their work. Readers have to search for those allusions and parallels to find what the author did on purpose to create a more in depth sense about their work. Authors do this by, “the way [they] can keep their eye on the target, whether it be the plot of the play or the ending of the novel or the argument of the poem, and at the same time bring in a great deal of at least tangentially related material” (Foster 93). Writers must focus on the story their writing at all times of the process of writing but also be able to incorporate material from other works while staying true to their own theme. This requires a lot of time and reading to accomplish because writers must be familiar with a plethora of works that could possibly be integrated into their own work and integrate them in the best possible way. Fosters main point backing up the fact that every choice an author makes is intentional is that, “such baroque planning and complex execution don’t leave much room for naïve, spontaneous composition” (Foster 92). An author utilizing older works to influence their own is an obvious trend, but what people may not realize is how much that affects the original parts of the story. A writer must be careful how most of the story is written so that it does not contradict or interfere with the meaning he is trying to create with the allusions he utilizes so that leaves no room for random pieces to the story. Authors plan and choose parts to their writing to where no hidden meaning pops up that were not specifically chosen because they could affect the meaning in a way they did not want.
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ReplyDeleteEvery choice the author makes is intentional, and Thomas Foster explains this in the interlude of his book “How to Read Literature like a Professor.” When approached with questions such as “Can anyone really have all that [symbols, allusions, patterns] going on in his head at one time?” Foster simply claims that “Yes,” they can (Foster 90). Many stories have various different allusions or links to previous works, and the number of these allusions seems too great to be merely coincidental. In many stories, it’s clearly evident that a certain author is well read and educated in literature, as a plethora of themes or connections are made to various literary works from years past. In reference to authors prior to the 1900s, he states that they often could “count on their readers, moreover, having considerable training in the tradition [classic poetry],” and that if hundreds of people could “quote the Bard” that an accidental story paralleling his work was unlikely (Foster 92). As stated in previous chapters, writers often times will rely on the reader’s knowledge of particular famous works to understand allusions they make in their stories. What may feel like a coincidental plotline resembling a famous fairy tale could entirely be the author assuming that his reader’s would simply already know the fairy tale he is relating to. In relating to his own work writing this very book, Foster asks “Even assuming equal levels of knowledge about the subject, who probably has the most ideas – you in five minutes of reading or me in five days of stumbling around?” (Foster 93). Foster says this to emphasize the fact that authors take a long time to write what we may read in a matter of mere minutes. Our quick reading sessions are results of hours of work from an author, and any allusions one may find are more than likely born from that author’s long thought processes when they are writing these stories. Writing is an art, just as music or painting, and authors take the time to include these allusions and parallels to prior works to make their works all the more artistic.
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DeleteEvery choice an author makes is intentional, Thomas C. Foster explains in “How to Read Literature Like a Professor.” Foster tells that writers intend to allude and create parallels to other works. He stated how some writers are classified as “’intentionalists’- writers who attempt to control every facet of their creative output and who intend virtually every effect in their works” (Foster 91). Foster describes the way different writes have constructed their works for them to have exactly what they want. Every impact their work has on the reader is intentional. He uses himself as an example saying “the few pages of this chapter have taken you a few minutes to read; they have taken me, I’m sorry to say, days and days to write” (Foster 93). Foster describes how much time it takes him to write and he does a lot of thinking in between. He said that “we readers sometimes forget how long literary composition can take and how very much lateral thinking can go on in that amount of time” (Foster 93). He explains how authors have a lot of time to think and tend to bring in parallels or allusions. Writers have thoroughly thought out what to write about, so their choices are not by accident.
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