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True literary analysis is much more than a reader stating they did or did not like a book and the reasons behind their judgment; true analysis comes from experience and education. We often experience a different response each time we analyze the same materials over the course of time. The reason for this is that we bring new knowledge to the piece with subsequent readings. However, literary analysis and criticism go hand in hand, and without knowledge of literary criticism, we cannot participate in the dialogue of literary analysis. Literary analysis allows us to separate the mass reader from the elite.
A fine line exists between the possession of knowledge and that of intelligence, just as a comparative line divides the masses and the elite within the world of literary analysis. Knowledge allows one to recognize that a stimulus elicits a response; however, the characteristic of intelligence goes a step further. Intelligence empowers understanding and acceptance; intelligence allows a reader to recognize their response may not be ultimate, absolute, or unchangeable. True literary analysis is not possible without intelligence gained through knowledge in the field of literary criticism.
We can divide readers into two groups representing those who posses knowledge, or "mass" readers, and readers who possess intelligence, or "elite" readers. A mass reader will digest literature and feel that their emotional response is a result of techniques presented within the work. However, knowledge of literary criticism provides the intelligence necessary for one to become an elite reader; a reader who not only sees the correlation between cause and effect but delves further into the piece and looks to outside resources to question their response and possibly change responses in their future. Those who never receive instruction regarding literary criticism theories will be mass readers attempting to function at the level of elite readers within the world of publishing and literature. Success, for mass readers within this world, will always be just out of reach.
The twenty-first century consists of consumers. We buy material goods, services and products; however, we also buy intangible promises, beliefs, and ideas. Personal beliefs, and the extent to which we understand and acknowledge those beliefs, affect the choices we make each time an opportunity to buy is presented. Mass readers constantly buy into concepts presented in literature, as well. The difference here between
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For the millennia during which literature has existed, scholars, intellectuals, and lay people have unceasingly engaged in
True literary analysis is much more than a reader stating they did or did not like a book and the reasons behind their judgment;
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The nature and purpose of literary analysis
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