This paper argues that people can be trained to use language to respond to varieties of literature with more discrimination and with more confidence than in the past. This is true first, because there are now studies which detail categories of response to literature; and second, because clinical psychiatrists and psychological counselors have…

An alternative approach to the teaching of literature views the reading of a poem, short story, novel, or other literary work as an opportunity for a person to create his or her own immediate response. The approach suggests that there is no constant, objective meaning for a piece of literature, only individual responses reflecting the…