Offers a Pyrrhonist reading of "Hamlet." Describes an experiment in teaching that attempts to reconstruct for literature students the prudential-ethical context of human rhetoric, placing "prudentia," or practical wisdom, at the center of their own imaginative involvement. (PRA)

Explores themes relating to human transition as they appear in "Charlotte's Web" and four other stories using pigs as a subject. Discusses the motifs common to all these texts that recur in the film "Babe." Considers how the cycle of life and death is ceaseless, and pigs symbolize the necessary transitions that people must all…

In this article, the author redefines "text" and "poem" so that attention will be focused on the reader. The text, she argues, lies inert on the page until the reader comes along and brings it to life in the act of reading, reacting, and reflecting. A poem, then, must be thought of as an event in time. It is not an object or an ideal entity. It is…

There is an abundance of theory concerning the effects of reading literature. Some researchers do reveal effects, but few explain them. When they do, the textual features examined are neither necessary nor sufficient for literariness. Three experiments are presented here that study the relation between literary text quality and literary reading…

In a recently released report, "Poetry in America", the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), at the University of Chicago, presented the results of a study evaluating American attitudes toward poetry. Commissioned by the Poetry Foundation, one of the largest literary organizations in the world, the research finds that the vast…

Discusses ways in which reader response journals can be useful as a teaching method. (SRT)

Describes how one teacher uses children's literature to help children learn about the Holocaust. Shares reactions from some of the students to the literature. (MG)

Argues that recognition of the reader's role in the production of meanings in literary works has major consequences for the theory, research, and teaching of literature. Discusses the need to include the reader's role when writing the history of literature; develop new language for the description of the meanings of works; and develop new models…

Investigates the relationship between text type, tone, and readers' responses of 58 students. Finds that narrative and expository text were not responded to differently. Finds that subjects made fewer text-based and more reader-based statements when reading descriptive text than when reading expository or narrative text. (MG)

Discusses the conflict over deconstruction, explaining its usefulness in reading, writing, and responding to poetry. After defining deconstruction, presents five approaches to deconstructive reading (self-referentiality, reading from different positions, binary oppositions, figurative/literal language, and intertextuality) and concludes that…

In an effort to both challenge and engage adolescent students deemed to be academically "at risk," the purpose of this study was to examine the possibility of creating a pedagogical bridge between dominant (school sanctioned) and non-dominant (non-school) forms of literacy. The study was conducted within a setting where high school students were…

The advent of postmodern criticism has brought about numerous changes in the way those in the academy read and teach the reading of texts. From Michel Foucault's "What is an Author?" to Roland Barthes'"The Death of the Author" and beyond, critics and theorists have sought to decrease the author-ity of the material that is read.…

Reveals that both censors and adolescents interpret "Catcher in the Rye,""Go Ask Alice," and "A Hero Ain't Nothin But a Sandwich." Each group reacts only to certain subtexts (obscenity, sexuality, rebellion) rather than interacting with the books as a whole; thus misinterpretations are bound to continue. (SKC)

Claims that the real value of a response journal is that it enables readers to make meaning as they read, to be actively involved in their own learning process. Includes guidelines for keeping a response journal. (JAD)

Reasons that teachers of literature should have as their focus not what writers do but what readers do in the process of reading literature. Concludes that readers construct literary works based on their own experience, education, and ability to imagine in response to a writer's suggestions. (JAD)