How to Read Lit Like a Prof Notes
From How to Read Literature Like a Professor
Thomas C. Foster
Notes by Marti Nelson
1. Every Trip is a Quest (except when it’s not):
a. A quester
b. A place to go
c. A stated reason to go there
d. Challenges and trials
e. The real reason to go—always self-knowledge
2. Nice to Eat With You: Acts of Communion
a. Whenever people eat or drink together, it’s communion
b. Not usually religious
c. An act of sharing and peace
d. A failed meal carries negative connotations
3. Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires
a. Literal Vampirism: Nasty old man, attractive but evil, violates a young woman, leaves his mark, takes her innocence
b. Sexual implications—a trait of 19th century literature to address sex indirectly
c. Symbolic Vampirism: selfishness, exploitation, refusal to respect the autonomy of other people, using people to get what we want, placing our desires, particularly ugly ones, above the needs of another.
4. If It’s Square, It’s a Sonnet
5. Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before?
a. There is no such thing as a wholly original work of literature—stories grow out of other stories, poems out of other poems.
b. There is only one story—of humanity and human nature, endlessly repeated
c. “Intertexuality”—recognizing the connections between one story and another deepens our appreciation and experience, brings multiple layers of meaning to the text, which we may not be conscious of. The more consciously aware we are, the more alive the text becomes to us.
d. If you don’t recognize the correspondences, it’s ok. If a story is no good, being based on Hamlet won’t save it.
6. When in Doubt, It’s from Shakespeare…
a. Writers use what is common in a culture as a kind of shorthand. Shakespeare is pervasive, so he is frequently echoed.
b. See plays as a pattern, either in plot or theme or both. Examples:
i. Hamlet: heroic character, revenge, indecision, melancholy nature ii. Henry IV—a young man who must grow up to become king, take on his responsibilities iii. Othello—jealousy
iv.
Thomas C. Foster
Notes by Marti Nelson
1. Every Trip is a Quest (except when it’s not):
a. A quester
b. A place to go
c. A stated reason to go there
d. Challenges and trials
e. The real reason to go—always self-knowledge
2. Nice to Eat With You: Acts of Communion
a. Whenever people eat or drink together, it’s communion
b. Not usually religious
c. An act of sharing and peace
d. A failed meal carries negative connotations
3. Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires
a. Literal Vampirism: Nasty old man, attractive but evil, violates a young woman, leaves his mark, takes her innocence
b. Sexual implications—a trait of 19th century literature to address sex indirectly
c. Symbolic Vampirism: selfishness, exploitation, refusal to respect the autonomy of other people, using people to get what we want, placing our desires, particularly ugly ones, above the needs of another.
4. If It’s Square, It’s a Sonnet
5. Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before?
a. There is no such thing as a wholly original work of literature—stories grow out of other stories, poems out of other poems.
b. There is only one story—of humanity and human nature, endlessly repeated
c. “Intertexuality”—recognizing the connections between one story and another deepens our appreciation and experience, brings multiple layers of meaning to the text, which we may not be conscious of. The more consciously aware we are, the more alive the text becomes to us.
d. If you don’t recognize the correspondences, it’s ok. If a story is no good, being based on Hamlet won’t save it.
6. When in Doubt, It’s from Shakespeare…
a. Writers use what is common in a culture as a kind of shorthand. Shakespeare is pervasive, so he is frequently echoed.
b. See plays as a pattern, either in plot or theme or both. Examples:
i. Hamlet: heroic character, revenge, indecision, melancholy nature ii. Henry IV—a young man who must grow up to become king, take on his responsibilities iii. Othello—jealousy
iv.