How To Get The Most Out of Literature - Literary Criticism 101

A short beginner's introduction to literary criticism and the importance of asking the right questions when we engage with literary texts.

Other Resources:
My course on keeping a writer's diary:
My playlist on Reading:
My collaborative novel about Melbourne: There's A Tale To This City:

Chapters:
Introduction: 00:00
1: Literature as art: 01:23
2: When Literature overwhelms us: 02:46
3: Leaning into confusion: 7:16
4: An Example: Kierkegaard and Abraham: 10:02
Sponsor: 12:10

[protohamartia]

5:13 - Very true about "the thing on the page not being the language that we speak on a daily basis". In this sense you could say that art is sometimes more real (or incisive) than daily life, because it hints at deeper truths that we often ignore due to more urgent concerns.

[cindyrosen]

This is my favorite video you’ve posted! You’ve nailed the deficiencies in our educational system. Students don’t learn critical thinking and therefore become less curious and lazier.

[Seele.mp]

I love how you immediately corrected yourself there 0:51
"Because as human beings we are very good at using words to communicate with one another... [miniature sigh] to a certain extent".
That made me laugh so much, really helped me relax after today's workload haha.

[aqualucasYT]

I will always fight for my own interpretation of a work of art, it’s something that I can say is truly mine like nothing else

[as_below_so_above]

One thing that has definitely helped me think more deeply about literature is simply reading how others have interpreted or analyzed the texts after reading the text myself. It gives me some ideas about what other people may have focused on more than I did and gives me a different perspective from which to look at the plot or main ideas.

[jordentomas]

I’ve always loved reading books but I really began to understand how beautiful language and written words were when I started writing books. I always thought that language was such a beautiful creation and it’s being built upon everyday. I mostly know English and German but I have been trying to pick up French and I have begun to feel that French is an art form unto itself. The same could be said for English which is a combination of French, Danish, Old Norse, Greek, and Latin.

Language and how we view it change every day and that is what makes it the creation of art that it is unknowingly cherished as.

[mtalhed]

Literature as an experience is very different to me than literature as an art. I found that when I started creating literature I started to understand it better in the context of art.

The other thing that helped me see it better in the context of art was simply reading a lot of books in different genres, because certain literary flares trend within genres.

[Fclwilson]

I like the idea of recognizing a mental cramp that leads to further exploration and depth of knowledge.

[ambreenali.]

This is one of your best videos easily. As a post grad student I always try to interpret literature from my own point of view and so far it has worked out pretty well for me. The essays I write are mostly based on certain theories without which my professors wouldn't give me good grades but I always make sure to add a touch of my own interpretation to it.

[Rupayan]

Love from West Bengal❤❤, Mr Waldun, I have just watched your video on learning history a few days ago, and fell in love with your content, I am a 14 year old boy and I have gained interest in history and philosophy just because of you .

[drendelous]

6:22 what am I SUPPOSED to feel? is it a legit question regarding art?

[alfredsams]

This is your best video. I agree that you can think through a text and arrive at conclusions of your own but since literature is about human beings it must dee the feeling side of human experience.itd not just about the head but the heart yoo

[sanic]

I have a little criticism for you, an old one, the question ‘What did the author mean by this’ is the wrong question. What makes the artist’s meaning built within his/her work more or less meaningful than your own? It implies that to understand a work, you must be the author. But, what if the author is dead and gone, all you have is the work, all it’s characters and themes, it’s imaginary hypothetical things, all of it begins to stand on its own merits. The question becomes ‘ what does the art have to say?’. Ronald Barthes came up with this one nearly a hundred years ago now, not in this form, but it clearly demonstrates it. Death of The Author. To understand a work means to understand it’s meaning, and that’s going to completely change depending on birth age sex etc. In realizing this, in realizing the destructive act of interpretation, that once one see’s a pattern in work the author did not put there, that a new meaning is created, a valid one. Looking at Francis bacons life is the wrong answer. What does the male form, nude and draped in shadow, mean in the context of your life. Fuck the authors life, it matters not.

[tr]

Thank you for this. I’m struggling with reading Hemingway, specifically, “The Sun Also Rises” - often considered to be his best work. Looking at it as a form of art is helpful since I don’t particularly like the characters, story, or even the way that he writes. My literature tastes aren’t “refined” enough I guess. 😂😂😂

[szvetlana]

Really helpful video! I’m struggling with the book assigned by my book club. It’s the blandest thing I’ve ever read and trying to crack it without looking up other reviews on it.

[reaganwiles_art]

Now that's really interesting. I never. I don't remember going through a time where I differentiated art from literature. But I guarantee that I did differentiate art from literature. So you have called me out on that

[LiterarischeAbenteuer]

Great analysis with lots of quality nutrition for thought, thank you! I wish I had been told to ask these questions during my literary studies in Germany. Possibly I should see how videos like this are received by audiences here. Thanks for the inspiration ♥

[saalmonella]

Hi! I recently started watching your videos of literary criticism, reading poetry, understanding literature, and I just want to say I’m a really big fan so far! I’m actually going into competitive literary criticism for the first time ever and your videos have been such a huge help so far because I genuinely have no idea what I’m doing. The books this year are The Poems of Emily Dickinson, The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow and Other Short Stories, and Much Ado About Nothing, so I’ve been very confused reading all of these, but I cannot emphasize how much of a help you’ve been to beginning to understand these texts. However, I want to expand my horizon and practice my skills with other books as well, so I was wondering if you had any books, magazines, journals, etc. that would be helpful/good to read? Also how would you go about writing a paper analyzing a particular writing or poem? Thank you so much, I send love and the best wishes! ❤

[viktoriiabobnieva-kmnm]

I like this channel. I wasn’t interested in literature that much in school but now I feel like I’ve missed a lot.

[homeonegreen]

Recently I went through J.R.R. Tolkien's "On Fairy Tales" and it has changed how I read literature. I would be interested in seeing how his idea of sub creator and primary art would fit into your thought here.