A Note About Interpretation

As you work through the reading of this course you will often be asked to determine what a work or symbol "means."  Although this sounds intimidating, the critical aspect to remember is that the meaning exists only in the reader's head.  Because of this fact, there is no single "correct interpretation" of a work.  Your interpretation is as correct as anyone else's.  The critical issue is your ability to explain why you feel the work means what you believe it does and your ability to construct a verbal argument to defend your interpretation.

This is not to say that some meanings are not shared.  In fact authors utilize symbols that have meaning that is shared throughout the culture in an attempt to take the meaning that they are trying to impart when they tell their story and re-create that meaning in the reader's head.  The most obvious symbols that are shared across our culture are the words you are reading now.  Authors use words as symbols for things, ideas, feelings, and abstractions.  Words are not the only symbols available to authors.  Culturally, there are many symbols that we instantly recognize and understand their meaning.  When we see Superman, we "know" what he symbolizes:  "Truth, Justice, and the American Way." 

Most of the symbolism you will see in literature is not nearly as heavy-handed as the red, blue, and gold Superman costume.  For instance, Shakespeare literally splatters blood throughout his telling of Hamlet, using the blood as a symbol of Hamlet's guilt.  Or, on the X-Files, Agent Scully wears a crucifix which symbolizes her desire to believe in something beyond our mundane existence.  A common symbolic image in poetry is an intertwined rose and briar symbolizing the pain of ill-fated love.  Insects are frequently used as symbols for decay or rot.

If you find you have trouble recognizing this type of symbolism, you may want to invest in a dictionary of symbols.  Such a work will assist by showing you precisely what a critic or literature teacher is talking about when they speak of the symbolism of  (insert your favorite bit of literary jargon here).

Finally, recognize that the meaning of a work and its plot are two distinct things.  A plot is merely the retelling of the events that took place in the text.  A work's "meaning" is greater than the mere plot events.  The meaning, or theme, of a work is its "moral" (to use fairy-tale terminology), the moral or emotional message the reader is supposed to gain after reading the work.  If you have difficulty ascertaining the theme of a text, there are a number of tactics you may try to enhance your ability to grasp the meaning.  First, take your time with the text; don't rush through the story just to get done.  Next, write about what you read in your journal.  Writing about how a work made you feel may give you insight into the theme.  Third, isolate the type of conflict that takes place in the text.  Most thematic meaning is linked to the conflict upon which the story is built.  Finally, don't try too hard to find meaning; in truth, you probably know the thematic meaning.  The difficulty for most who think they can't see thematic meaning is, generally, a difficulty in putting their interpretation of the meaning into words.