I want to study literature. I’m not an English Literature major or anything related, but I feel a pull to it. I wouldn’t mind dissecting and analyzing a text. So I figured I’d give it a try on my own.

I read about 80% of Paradise Lost and could follow along easily. On a surface level I understood the story. But then I watched a series of lectures from a Yale professor where he deep dives into the nuances of every line and what they meant to Milton on a personal level, along with hidden possible meanings and metaphors. I was left both amazed and feeling like I’m too dumb for this.

So I tried again.

I read the prologue of Beowulf… and there’s a lot I don’t understand. Just in the first few lines, whats a “foundling”? What’s a “whale-road”? I know I can watch videos of people explaining it, but that seems like having the answers just handed to me.

I want to have the skills to read a text and proficiently find an essays worth of insight within it. Maybe I’m just underestimating myself, but I feel like the world has so many highly intelligent, quick-minded people, and I’m sadly and frustratingly not one of them.

  • midasgoldentouch@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Being able to analyze a text is like any other skill - you need to keep doing it to develop proficiency. There’s nothing wrong with looking up various essays and videos that analyze a particular text - often times that can prompt a thought that takes you in another direction and depends your understanding.

    Generally, I’d recommend joining a book club discussion of a book. Online ones are great since you have the potential to hear from people around the world, while in-person ones are a great way to get out and meet people nearby.