In light of recent concerns in the United States and the United Kingdom regarding the rote and restrictive nature of English literature instruction, this article offers an approach to teaching literature rooted not in knowledge, as literary pedagogy is often conceptualised, but instead in understanding. Reading for understanding extends beyond extracting information to creating structures of patterns through which readers can examine concepts, events, and experiences. The goal of this article is to define understanding and argue that it is an important yet overlooked dimension of literary education.