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mdevlin923's review against another edition
3.0
A fun, interesting, and non-judgmental book to help you read literature more critically. Each chapter is broken down into symbols and themes you might come across in literature. While there are particular meanings you can find in symbols, overall, the author stresses the importance of you exploring the book and creating your own deeper meanings.
oak_55's review against another edition
breaking: the collective creators of sparknotes, cliffs notes, and litcharts wrote a book and it’s Terrible
ec_newman's review against another edition
5.0
It's been a long time since I was in a literature class (over a decade if we're specific). Some of my favorite times of college were those classes. I teach now, high school English and I went into this as a book required for seniors-to-be. It's not super academic or probably helpful to students already with a literature background in undergrad or grad. But for someone like me who hasn't been in a lit class in awhile, or for a student still learning how to look deeper into classics, I think this is a great book. I found it fun to read and interesting. I haven't read a good portion of the books he mentions, but I don't think that takes away. In fact it just gave me a bunch of new books to add to my TBR list. It's engaging to read, and though other reviewers complain that he sounds condescending, I don't think so. He's a professor, trying to connect with readers who are not in the field like he is and I think he does an admirable job. He uses the occasional academic word, but knowing some professors, it could have been far worse.
Really enjoyed this. I'll probably read it again after I've given it time to sink in.
Really enjoyed this. I'll probably read it again after I've given it time to sink in.
tabithare's review against another edition
Time to write chapter by chapter analysis of this whos hyped
wander_er's review against another edition
3.0
My summary of this book: Stuff means stuff.
1) Anything in literature can be a symbol.
2) What the symbol means can be flexible and depends on you, the reader. In the author's own words (and probably my favourite quote from the book):
"...some symbols do have a relatively limited range of meanings, but in general a symbol can’t be reduced to standing for only one thing. If they can, it’s not symbolism, it’s allegory."
Overall, it's worth a quick read if you're interested in reading fiction and poetry at a "deeper" level, but it's nothing mind-blowing, especially if you've every taken a literature class. Obviously, just reading it won't improve your ability to spot and interpret symbolism. Think of it more as a primer that gets you into the right mindset for reading below the surface.
1) Anything in literature can be a symbol.
2) What the symbol means can be flexible and depends on you, the reader. In the author's own words (and probably my favourite quote from the book):
"...some symbols do have a relatively limited range of meanings, but in general a symbol can’t be reduced to standing for only one thing. If they can, it’s not symbolism, it’s allegory."
Overall, it's worth a quick read if you're interested in reading fiction and poetry at a "deeper" level, but it's nothing mind-blowing, especially if you've every taken a literature class. Obviously, just reading it won't improve your ability to spot and interpret symbolism. Think of it more as a primer that gets you into the right mindset for reading below the surface.
fiveferretsinatrenchcoat's review against another edition
5.0
I read this for school, however the teacher had us strip around so I didn’t read all the chapters.
Despite that I actually enjoyed this book and I think there’s a lot of ideas in this book that can be beneficial to not just readers but writers too.
Despite that I actually enjoyed this book and I think there’s a lot of ideas in this book that can be beneficial to not just readers but writers too.