Return to Literature Home Page

Assessment Objective iii Show ability to discuss your own and other peoples' interpretations of texts.

You should definitely enjoy this! As part of the examination you will be expected to respond to the texts you read as an individual and offer your own interpretations, thoughts and feelings. Furthermore, you will be expected to consider the interpretations of other people and what they have thought of the texts as well. Yes, this is your chance to be ORIGINAL! So, what are the issues here? Consider the following:

i) Everyone likes to think they have their own view of things. It's part of being an individual. And because literature has traditionally been seen as the expression of what individuals think, feel and have experienced and a means by which we can all express our individuality you will be expected to approach your reading with individuality and express that individuality. Sounds OK, doesn't it?! Here's a subject, then,- English -, in which YOUR INDIVIDUAL FEELINGS count.

ii) At the same time, as you are involved in the STUDY of literature (and are not just reading books for 'pleasure') you will be expected to try to be objective too. So, you are expected to read what other people have thought about the texts you are studying and, as a result, develop your interpretative skills and your understanding of the texts as well.

iii) There are also many people who have become 'professional' readers of texts. In the main these are university lecturers. They have, apart from teaching, dedicated themselves to the study and interpretation of texts. The result of these hoards of lecturers making a living by reading books has been the gradual development of a series of 'schools of thought', that is, groups of thinkers, their students and others who agree with them, who have a common perspective by which they approach texts and interpret them. Built into the examination criteria that you read the views of others is the intention that you become aware of these schools of thought and learn to read texts according to different critical perspectives. Examples of these schools of thought: Feminist criticism (which analyses the representation of women in texts) ; Marxist criticism (now called Cultural Materialists, Marxists explore texts in terms of the political and social class theories of Karl Marx);New Historicist criticism (an attempt to understand texts in the context of their historical setting and in particular in terms of the other texts of the time); Psycho-analytical criticism (those committed to this approach to the analysis of texts explore texts according to the principles of Freud and other psychoanalytical theorists). Phew!

Now, let's take 'Tess' as an example. For i) above you may have decided that the novel was a marvellous example of a modern tragedy. Many readers come close to tears at the end when Tess is taken away to her death. When you read up on the novel, however, there are a variety of views on the success of the novel as tragedy, some writers proposing that Hardy loads the dice against Tess so heavily that the novel becomes profoundly absurd; others have proposed that the novel drifts into sentimentality (something critics don't like in serious literature!) whilst others have seen the merits of the novel as a tragedy of 'ordinary folk', helping to establish a new form of tragedy (tragedy by tradition had dealt with kings, emperors and queens and other figures of high social rank). Others, again, have seen Hardy's concept of Fate as problematic, even a representation of his own pessimistic views about life (note how hard the narrator of 'Tess' is on God, the universe and everything!). So: here you are dealing with the views of a variety of people and added to your own views they broaden your appreciation of the novel and your ability to interpret. You are also being 'scholarly' when you research your texts in this way: you are studying the text using the available information , views and perspectives.

Consider now the main three characters of the story - Tess, Angel and Alec. Some writers have proposed that an analysis of the psychological make-up of the characters reveals characters trapped by their own characteristics as 'people'. It has been argued that they all bring their tragedies upon themselves. Alec's brute instincts rule his behaviour; Angel's life is ruled by his spiritual longings and Tess's life is ruled by her tendency to blame herself. Do you agree with this perspective? It sounds quite plausible. Another reader, however, could argue that Hardy really blames the nature of life itself: isn't Alec driven by his natural instincts?; isn't Angel the victim of his upbringing and the mores taught him by his parents and social class?; can we really blame an innocent girl for her own downfall when she clearly intended no evil? Isn't life itself imperfect?

TASK 1: Find evidence in 'Tess' for both of these views about the text as tragedy. Do you feel that both views are valid? One more than the other? Make a decision.

TASK 2: Consider 'Tess' from the point of view of social class. To what extent is the tragedy the result of class distinctions? If you like this type of exploration, read up on Marxist criticism.

TASK 3: Consider 'Tess' from a feminist point of view. To what extent is Tess's dilemma as a character the result of male power over women and to what extent does she accept her subservience? What is Hardy's perspective on all this? Consider the use of birds in the text as a means of deciding what he thinks. Is Hardy himself, then, a liberated figure? If you like this kind of exploration, read up on Feminist criticism.

OK? See how it works? Now try doing it. But be careful. Critics can be very persuasive! Don't allow other views to overwhelm your own judgement. And do note down the views of others, whether it is your teacher, your class mates or scholars who have been published. Keeping a record of a variety of views can only help you become a better reader AND help you meet examination criteria.

By the way, try this psychoanalytical approach to Chaucer's Wife of Bath. PRESS ME to read.