Active Reading: How to Read Literature

Introduction

The writers think it is necessary to dedicate a special chapter which shows students how to

read literature as a part of our constant endeavor to make them understand what literature is.

This chapter is written because, on one hand, of the inevitable that the works of literature

employ some techniques which are most of the time not used in other types of texts. For

example, poetry may use a very compact language, thus it is difficult to be read and

understood. On the other hand, written texts of any kind are passive reading partners. In other

words, they will not tell you what they mean. Thus, it is the readers’ job to read actively, to

engage with the text to get what they want to say.

Active reading might sound tedious. Moreover, it spells a lot of works. But, this new skill

will be a great help for you when you read texts book related to your major. This new skill

will train you on how to conquer any texts or lecture materials which seem to be impossible

to be understood.

Soft skill : observation, assertiveness, internal motivation and passion,

intellectual horsepower and learning
Characters : curiosity, independent, tolerant, appreciation to achievement,
appetite for reading, hard work

Concepts and Definitions12

Silberstein (1994) confidently says that reading is the act of communication (p.9).

Moreover Rosenblatt (in Kellem, 2009) describes that reading is an activity involving non-
12
The discussion of the concepts and definition on how to read literature is adopted (with some adjustments)
from parts of Delvi Wahyuni’s article entitled “Active Reading in Teaching Poetry in EFL Class”. This paper
has been presented on the 2012 ISLA seminar held by the Faculty of Arts and Language, State University of
Padang, October 20th -21st, 2012.

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linear transaction between the readers and the texts in which meaning is not produced by a

predefined interpretation of the text but by an individual reader whose emotion, background

and idea generate meaning in a specific time and setting (p. 14). Then it goes without saying

that in the act of reading especially the work of literature, different readers will likely come

up with different meanings because of their differing experiences.

Active reading which is generally understood as a reading strategy that gets readers

engaged in the material can be of a great help in teaching poetry in EFL situation. This

strategy will even more helpful in college level literature class which involves writing task

either as final projects or other graded assignments because as Kirszner and Mandel (2000)

puts it… “active reading help [students] to interpret what [they] read and develop [their] ideas

into logical paper” (p. 16). Moreover, active reading will not just benefit students during

literature class, but will remain effective long after their literature class has ended because it

also develops their critical thinking skills. It is safe to say so because according to Hughley

Jr. (Active Reading, slide 2) active reading is also a process is helpful in developing students

critical thinking skill as it makes readers to analyze, synthesize and evaluate.

According to Kirszner and Mandel (2000) most readers are passive readers that hopes the

texts will automatically tell them what they mean without significant contribution from the

readers (p. 16). Whereas according to Hirsch (2006)… “poetry alerts us to what is deepest in

ourselves--it arouses a spiritual desire which it also gratifies…[i]t attains what it avows…

[b]ut it can only do so with the readers’ imaginative collaboration even complicity” (It is

Something of an Accident that You are the Reader and I the Writer, January 23 rd). Despite

Hirsch specifically discusses about the nature of poetry, his opinion can be applied to other

genre of literature, thus reader’s interaction with the text is essential because meaning in

created through details or information given by the text and readers’ response to it. All in all,

for an effective interaction which will result in meaningful understanding on the part of the

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reader, as any interaction should be, readers must actively reflects on, questions, even

challenges ideas presented in the text. To do so it is a smart move to employ active reading

strategies particularly previewing, highlighting and annotating.

Previewing which also means surveying is very helpful in preparing students for the text.

According to Kirszner and Mandel (2000) previewing is first useful in telling students the

text’s most obvious physical characteristics, such as the length of the poem or the number of

stanzas it has, form and title. Then, the answers for questions arising from this textual

physical distinctiveness will help readers to get insight into the work and raises questions to

ask later when they read more closely (p.16-17). For example, notifying the poem’s title like

The Eagle by Lord Tennyson help student’s in guessing what the poem is all about. Or, in

other case, notifying repeated words in the poem may help readers to guess that that word

may be the key to the understanding of the work.

It is important to note that most of the time to understand the work of literature, more

than one reading sessions are needed. This is especially true for poetry because of the

compactness of its language. As readers read closely, some elements, sometimes subtle

enough that it takes another reading to notice it, may be seen and beg for further examination.

So, in order not to lose the momentum, highlighting is employed. Highlighting is physically

marking the text to identify important ideas and show relationships amongst ideas (Kirszner

and Mandel (2000, p.18). From the highlighted part of the poem, or prose or play, readers

can ask questions like why this particular word is repeated; or what these repeated words

signify; or how a pattern of recurring images could proof that it is the subject of a poem.

Although symbols used to highlight certain things in a poem may vary depending of the

preference of the highlighter, Kirszner and Mandel (2000) come forward with some insightful

guidelines like:

1. Underline important ideas that you should read again.

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 2. Box or circle repeated words, phrases, or images.
3. Put question mark beside confusing passages, unfamiliar references, or words that
need to be defined.
4. Draw lines or arrows to connect related ideas of images.
5. Number incidents that occur in sequence.
6. Set of a long portion of the text with a vertical line in the margin.
7. Place stars beside particularly important ideas.
(p. 18)
Thus, with some marks on the paper, it is a lot easier to begin the quest to identify the idea in

the text which the writer tries to convey because now readers have a kind of map which is

equipped with important checkpoints as not to stray or lost altogether in the language of the

work.

Our response to a word, or a phrase in a prose, or an image in a poem can be just a

fleeting moment. So, it is important to annotate or record your reaction as a marginal note

while highlighting specific part of a poem (Kirszner and Mandel, 2000, p. 19). In this

activity, you may begin to answer questions arising from your previewing and highlighting

activities. Moreover, in this phase of reading you can begin registering possible ideas or

thoughts conveyed by the work or the significance of certain images or words; or define

words that you do not understand. All in all, annotation can be seen as a thorough reader’s

engagement with a poem. In this activity, readers interact with the text as to complete the

circle in which the text is meaningful and the readers get the meaning.

As for those with low English language proficiency can pace a little bit slower by adding

some more activities aside from previewing, highlighting and annotating the text. First,

students must allocate extra time and shed some more energy to peruse their dictionary’s

pages to look for the meaning of difficult words. Even those who are advanced enough,

sometimes, have to check their dictionary for certain words in the case of a new usage of
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them in a poem. This activity however time consuming is rewarding because in the end

students would have overcome the initial barrier to understanding foreign language,

vocabulary. Second, as proposed by Silberstein (1994) students must untangle the twisted

syntaxes and convert them into a more standard English (p. 92). This activity will enable

them to paraphrase the poem despite not all poem can be paraphrased. At least, as Kennedy &

Gioia (2010) points out, paraphrasing can make certain things clear (p. 7) thus engaging with

it become easier.

Activity 1

First, read the following poem by May Swenson. Then try to answer the questions that come

after it.

Text 1

May Swenson - Southbound On the Freeway

A tourist came in from Orbitville,

parked in the air, and said:

The creatures of this star

are made of metal and glass.

Through the transparent parts

you can see their guts.

Their feet are round and roll

on diagrams--or long

measuring tapes--dark
with white lines.

They have four eyes.

The two in the back are red.

Sometimes you can see a 5-eyed

one, with a red eye turning

on the top of his head.

He must be special-

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the others respect him,
and go slow,

when he passes, winding

among them from behind.

They all hiss as they glide,

like inches, down the marked

tapes. Those soft shapes,

shadowy inside

the hard bodies--are they

their guts or their brains?

Questions:

1. Where is the tourist probably from? If possible, name the city, the country or the

continent, or the planet of the tourist’s origin.

2. Make the illustration of what is being described by the tourist!

3. What is the object that the tourist sees?

Now, read Appendix 2. Do you have different opinion now? That is how to read a

literary work. Engagement with the text will help you see clearly experience being displayed

in a work. To make you more skilful in this technique, let’s do some more exercises. You

have to remember that active reading requires a lot of exercise to make you accustomed to it

and gain benefit from it.

Activity 3

Read another poem by May Swenson and answer these questions:

1. What/who is Body?

2. Who/what is the “I” speaking in this poem?

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 Text 2

Question
(May Swenson)

Body my house
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen

Where will I sleep

How will I ride
What will I hunt

Where can I go
without my mount
all eager and quick
How will I know
in thicket ahead
is danger or treasure
when Body my good
bright dog is dead
How would it be
to lie in the sky
without roof or door
and wind for an eye

With cloud for shift

how will I hide?

Assignment

Read this poem entitled “Will you marry me”. How would you respond to the speaker’s

marriage proposal? Please elaborate you answer and equip it with textual evidence.

Will you Marry Me

(Peter Onyancha)

I am different, how honest, sweet heart

When I shall choke you and strike your face

Baby, I will take responsibility

When I shall ambush you and cut your face

Honey pie, I will pay the doc’s bill

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 For every pint of blood to stain my hands

Sweet Sugar, I will say sorry

For all the broken limbs I shall scatter

Darling, I will seek them and return them

When I shall throw you down the balcony

My! I will run down the stairs and pick your body

Sweet Heart, while at it, if you die

I will write your epitaph

My words of undying Love

Great poetry the world will marvel

Angel of God, I’m down on bended knee

You are my all, can’t go on without you

Will you marry me?

Note

1. The best way to comprehensively grasp information being served in this chapter is

students’ active involvement in various activities available in this chapter. Failure to

do so will result in you being left behind or out.

2. Assignments are meant to be completed. So, do not put off doing things.

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