Chapter 14 How to Read Imaginative Literature
What are some of the points of reading fiction that the authors discuss – specifically how we judge or critique them, to what depth we read them. (p. 199)
The authors discuss the paradox that exists – that knowing how to read imaginative literature is much more difficult than expository books. One thing the authors point out is that readers deceive themselves about their ability to read fiction books intelligibly. While readers may report enjoying a novel, they may have some difficulty explaining what they enjoyed about the book, suggesting they are not able to serve as a proper critic of imaginative literature.
A reader who is unable to say what they liked about a novel probably has not read the book below a surface level. The authors also mention that imaginative literature primarily pleases rather than teaches, and since it is much easier to be pleased than taught, it can be difficult to know why one is actually pleased.
What are the basic differences between expository books and imaginative literature? (p. 199-200)
Expository books are written to convey knowledge about an experience the reader has had or could have. Imaginative literature tries to communicate the experience itself, an experience that can be shared by reading.
We experience things through our senses and our imagination. We know things by using our powers of judgement and reasoning (powers of intellect). The authors make it clear that that distinction does not mean thinking (and knowing) does not involve our imagination, nor that sensory experience is divorced from rational insight – rather it is a matter of emphasis. Fiction primarily appeals to the imagination, and expository books appeal to intellect. Understanding that imaginative literature is experienced through our sense, the authors caution readers “Don’t try to resist the effect that a work of imaginative literature has on you.”
Discuss the difference in how expository books and imaginative literature use language. (p. 201)
Expository and imaginative writing have radically diverse aims and so their use of language is different as well.
Imaginative writers want language that is rich with multiple meanings, maximizing the latent ambiguities of words. Metaphors are often used by writers. Imaginative writing relies on what is implied and not just what is written.
Expository writers, on the other hand, seek unambiguous explicitness. Nothing should be left to be read between the lines. Meaning should be explicit and as clear as possible.
While expository books aim to convey knowledge and imaginative literature tries to convey experience, the authors do mention that readers learn from imaginative literature as well, just in a different way. Discuss how readers learn from imaginative literature. (p. 202)
In our every day lives, we learn from experiences we have. So too can we learn from the experiences that fiction produces in our imagination. Expository books teach primarily (meaning, that is their primary goal), and imaginative writing teaches derivatively, meaning they create experiences from which the readers can learn.
General rules for reading imaginative literature can be developed by analogy to the rules of expository books discussed earlier. In expository works, the first group of rules deals with the unity and part-whole structure of the writing – these are the structural rules. Describe the analogous first group of rules as they apply to imaginative literature. (p. 203, 204-205)
For imaginative literature, the reader must first classify a work according to its kind. For example, a lyric may have a single plot, but novels and plays typically have more complicated plots. The means of narration may differ with different types of imaginative literature as well.
For an expository piece, the unity is in the main problem the author tries to solve. In an imaginative piece of literature, the problem the author is trying to solve is how to convey a concrete experience. What this means is that the unity of a story is in the plot. In order to understand the unity of the story, you must be able to summarize the plot in a brief narration.
When considering the part-whole structure of an expository work, you are considering how the whole is constructed out of all its parts, parts of the whole problem or partial solutions contributing to the whole solution. With imaginative pieces, the parts are the various steps that are taken to develop the plot – things like characterization, incident, crises, and aftermath.
The second group of rules for reading expository works consists of rules for identifying component terms of the book, propositions, and arguments – these are the interpretive rules. Describe the analogous second group of rules as they apply to imaginative literature. (p. 203, 206)
Similar to terms in expository works, the elements of fiction are the episodes and incidents, and the characters and their thoughts, speech, feelings and actions.
In expository works, terms are connected by propositions. In imaginative works, the elements of fiction are connected by the scene or background that they stand out against. So for fiction works, the analogous rule for finding the propositions would be to be at home with the imaginative world, know the imaginative world as if you were an observer on the scene.
In an expository book, the reader follows an argument – from evidence and reason to conclusions they support. In an imaginative piece, the reader is doing the same – after becoming acquainted with the characters and joining them in the imaginative world where they dwell, you follow them through their adventures as they move through the plot.
Finally, the third group of rules for reading expository writings include how to criticize the author’s doctrine in order to reach agreement or disagreement with them – these are the critical rules. Describe the analogous critical rules for reading fiction works. (p. 203, 207-208)
The advice when reading expository works, in general, can be summed up as ‘do not say you agree or disagree until you can first say you understand the book.’ For imaginative works, the analogous rule would then be ‘do not criticize imaginative writing until you fully appreciate what the author has tried to make you experience.’ When criticizing imaginative literature, it is important to distinguish between criticizing the world the author has set his story in, and what he has made of his story in this setting.
** Note – assume much of the content following each discussion question is a paraphrase and comes from the book How to Read a Book.
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