Unpacking a Text
The World, The Text, and the Critic
Edward Said and the nature of art
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Edward Said was a
prominent literary scholar
from Columbia University.
In his collection of essays
The World, The Text, and
The Critic he argues that
we can analyze literature
in many different ways
depending on whose
point-of-view we look at.
Said’s Pyramid of Analysis
From the Text’s
Perspective
2. From the Author’s
Perspective
3. From the Critic’s
response to a text.
4. From the way the
World reacts to a
text.
1.
The Text
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Said’s first way to analyze
a text is looking at the text
itself.
As a way to analyze a text,
a reader can interpret a
text by what it literally
says on the page. Like a
dissecting a frog in
Biology, as a reader
unravels the text he comes
to an understanding of its
meaning.
Text Example: The US Constitution
► Legal
scholars known
as “originalists” believe
that the only way the
US Constitution can be
read is by what it
actually says in the
document, NOT how
we interpret it today.
The Author’s Perspective
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Said’s 2nd perspective of
analysis is from the point
of the view of the author.
By looking at the
background of an author
or why and how an author
wrote a text, we can
understand his/her
intended meaning to the
audience.
Author Example: Gulliver’s Travels
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Gulliver’s Travels author
Jonathan Swift was a
satirist and sharp critic of
English society.
To understand Gulliver’s
Travels the reader must
understand that Swift
wrote the story as a
critique of English
government.
The Critic’s Perspective
Said’s 3rd Perspective is
from the critic’s
perspective.
How do critics, that this
experts in literature
who criticize art, react
to a certain work?
Critic Example: Shakespeare
► Because
Shakespeare’s
works are universally
loved by critics, thus
anything written by
Shakespeare is
considered a high work
of art.
The World’s Perspective
► Regardless
how critics
respond to a certain
work, the world
(society, popular
culture, the masses)
may respond in a
different way and
transform a text into
something of their
own.
The World Example: Frankenstein
►
Though Mary Shelley’s
novel Frankenstein is
about a man named Victor
Frankenstein who creates
an intelligent Creature
from the remains of
corpses, the world knows
Frankenstein as an idiotic
monster who grunts, has
green skin, and bolts
coming out of his head.
Said’s application to class
Every text we read in class –
be it a novel, an essay, a
poem, a film, or a piece
of art – consider how do
we interpret it?:
1. Literally (the Text)
2. From the author’s POV?
3. From the critic’s POV?
4. From the world’s POV?
Use these perspectives to
help you come to
understanding of a text.
Homework for tonight
Write a 5 paragraph
essay using 1 of Said’s
tools of analysis to
analyze the assigned
reading tonight.
Your essay must be
typed and doublespaced. Please write
your ID # as your
heading.
Please Stand for Think on Your Feet