Literature and Understanding: The Value of a Close Reading of Literary Texts

Literature and Understanding explores the cognitive benefits of close reading of literary texts, arguing that reading literary fiction as literature stimulates five senses of understanding that bridge the gap between our understanding of a text and the world beyond it.

Format: Hardback
Length: 182 pages
Publication date: 09 October 2020
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Literature and Understanding delves into the cognitive benefits of literature by emphasizing the close analysis of literary texts by readers. It explores the concept of "literature," outlines the major positions in the literary cognitivism debate, examines the practice of close reading from a philosophical standpoint, and provides a novel account of what we mean by "understanding." In doing so, it opens up a new area of research in the philosophy of literature.

This book offers a fresh perspective on the challenge that reading literary fiction cannot yield valuable insights. It argues that reading literary fiction as literature, rather than as fiction, stimulates five essential senses of understanding. The book showcases these senses through examples such as irony, metaphor, perspective play, and ambiguity. By demonstrating how these senses bridge the gap between our understanding of a literary text and our understanding of the world beyond that text, the book makes a compelling case for the value of studying literature.

The book will be of immense interest to researchers, scholars, and post-graduate students in the fields of aesthetics, literary theory, literature in education, and pedagogy. Its comprehensive approach and insightful examples make it a valuable resource for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of the cognitive and philosophical dimensions of literature.

Weight: 448g
Dimension: 162 x 240 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367337056