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Published by the
READING ASSOCIATION
OF THE PHILIPPINES

A National Affiliate of the
INTERNATIONAL READING
ASSOCIATION
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The RAP

Table of Contents

JOURNAL
1 From the editor
Panel of reviewers
VOLUME XXXVI

December 2013

ISSN 1908-8744 Perspective

2 On being a CAREFUL reader
in the twenty-first century

John Daryl B. Wyson

Research
Pagbas a . . .

Pag -asa!
10 Antas ng readability ng mga piling
Published by the
tekstong naratibo at ekspositoryo
READING ASSOCIATION
sa Filipino

OF THE PHILIPPINES Leonor E. Diaz

Dina S. Ocampo

23 Teachers’ support of students’ feedback
and types of peer feedback provided
in elementary classrooms
A National Affiliate of the Shelley Stagg Peterson
INTERNATIONAL READING
ASSOCIATION
Featured Author

32 Nakalagda sa dagat: Mga konteksto at
Portia P. Padilla

layunin sa pagsulat ng Anina ng mga Alon
Editor
Eugene Y. Evasco

Jaimee T. Baliton
Layout Artist
39 Call for papers
Diana G. delos Reyes
Encoder

The views articulated in the papers published in The RAP

Journal do not necessarily reflect the views of the Reading
Association of the Philippines. Correspondence regarding the
articles in this volume must be addressed to the author/s

concerned.

The RAP Journal accepts articles on reading, literature, language,

and literacy education, and related educational topics.
Research-based papers and theory-into-practice articles are
preferred.

The RAP Journal
Reading Association of the Philippines
3rd Floor, National Library
TM Kalaw St. Manila

E-mail: [email protected]
1

From the Editor

The four articles in this issue of The RAP Journal come in three categories: perspective,
research, and feature.
The Perspective section presents John Daryl B. Wyson’s discussion of some guidelines on
effective reading in the twenty-first century. It illustrates how this is done through the analysis of
a poem, using the reading guidelines in the acronym CAREFUL.
The Research section presents two papers. The paper of Leonor E. Diaz and Dina S.
Ocampo analyzes the readability of selected Filipino narrative and expository texts for Grades 1-6
through the following: a multiple choice comprehension test, a cloze test, students’ and
researcher’s assessments of text difficulty, and the University of the Philippines-Adarna House
Filipino Text Readability Index. On the other hand, the paper of Shelley Stagg Peterson reports on
a preliminary inquiry into teachers’ support of students’ feedback and types of peer feedback in
Grades 1-6 Canadian classrooms, using data sourced from class observations, interviews with
students and teachers, and actual feedback on students’ writing.
Finally, Featured Author Eugene Y. Evasco talks about the personal, social, and literary
contexts, and the different, yet connected, purposes behind his award-winning young adult novel
Anina ng mga Alon.
Through this issue, teachers can find some answers to their questions about the teaching
of reading and writing, especially in connection with text analysis and text composition.
Happy reading!

PANEL OF REVIEWERS

Larcy C. Abello (University of the Philippines Los Baños); Marie Yvette C. Alcazar (University of the Philippines Diliman);
Patricia B. Arinto (University of the Philippines Open University); Lourdes R. Baetiong (University of the Philippines
Diliman); Ma. Theresa L. De Villa (University of the Philippines Open University); Perlita P. Depatillo (Malayan
Colleges); Leonor E. Diaz (University of the Philippines Diliman); Lina B. Diaz De Rivera (University of the East);
Bernadette Dwyer (St. Patrick's College, Dublin City University); Zarah C. Gagatiga (The Beacon Academy); Leah
Blescila S. Labastilla (Christian School International); Jill Lewis-Spector (New Jersey University); Lydia B. Liwanag
(Philippine Normal University Manila); Maureen McLaughlin (East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania); Rosella S.
Moya-Torrecampo (University of the Philippines Diliman); Marla C. Papango (Philippine Normal University); Bernadette
Y. Santos (University of the East); Neil Armstrong M. Satoquia (University of Santo Tomas); Shelley Stagg Peterson
(University of Toronto); Melchor A. Tatlonghari (University of Santo Tomas, Philippine Normal University Manila); Ma.
Lourdes J. Vargas (University of the Philippines Integrated School); Aurelio P. Vilbar (University of the Philippines Cebu);
Cynthia A. Villafranca (Department of Education- Philippines); Julie Weygan-Aparato (Loyola Heights Interactive
Literacy Center); Lalaine Yanilla-Aquino (University of the Philippines Diliman)
2

 John Daryl B. Wyson INTRODUCTION

University of the Philippines Diliman
In his recently published essay,

University of the Philippines Professor Emeritus
Gemino Abad identifies the core of English
language teaching as the “business of freeing
iliman
ourselves” through “critical understanding

(2012).” By taking a look at the history of English
studies, particularly in the field of literary studies,

as a subject of academic study, we realize
that the central philosophy by which the
said field is established is liberal
humanism, which in the words of F.D.
Maurice, “would free us from the notions
and habits which are peculiar to our own
On being a CAREFUL
age” and link us with “what is fixed and
enduring (in Bertens, 2001).” In other
reader in the
words, English teachers have the primary
task of equipping students with language
twenty-first century
skills not only to perform rote or routine
tasks that will allow them to navigate
through different social worlds, but more

importantly, to make them more human,
in a sense, by enabling them to develop
The birth and rapid growth of the digital critical faculties that they would employ in their
era, which ushered in a multiplicity of texts and
exercise of the linguistic macroskills (Abad, 2012),
modalities such as e-books, e-journals, and blogs
on the Internet and other new media thereby making them not simply receptacles of
technologies, gave opportunities for a multiplicity knowledge but also harbingers of humanistic
of voices to make their presence known in the
development.
public sphere. Consequently, these
developments in information and communication
technologies have also posed new challenges in Among these critical faculties, perhaps
the area of reading. In an attempt to address
reading is the most potent tool by which one can
these challenges, I would like to propose some
guidelines for CAREFUL reading. CAREFUL is navigate through and learn more about the world.
an acronym that stands for some guidelines on Through the unlocking of words on a page,
how to be an effective reader in the twenty-first
electronic pages included, readers are offered a
century. In this paper, I am going to explain what
glimpse of the world presented by the text, and
CAREFUL reading is and how it is to be
performed. To better illustrate what CAREFUL up to a certain extent, of even the world where the
reading entails, I am going to apply these text was born.
guidelines as I read and interpret Jose Y.
Dalisay’s poem “At the Embassy”.
In today’s world where we are constantly

inundated by information, reading becomes all

the more important as people should now be

more perspicacious both to ascertain the
1This is not to say, however, that the CAREFUL reading literariness of the material and to decipher the
approach may be applied only to poetry; it can also be applied message it communicates, and appropriate it to
to other literary texts. The constraint on the number of words,
the setting of the contemporary interpretive
however, limits the application to only a one-stanza poem.
community. The latter objective becomes more

December 2013
3

challenging to meet when we read literary texts. like it to mean. In this paper, CAREFUL is an
Through the power of the Internet, almost every acronym which stands for a set of hermeneutical
voice, from the most obscure to the most famous, procedures which I find helpful in decoding
from the most distant past to the most recent, is literary texts in the twenty-first century:
given a chance to be heard. What makes the
situation even more complicated is the seemingly 1. C - Closely read the text.
infinite number of potential forms that literary 2. A - Ask the right questions.
texts can take in this postmodern era. While it is 3. R - Relate to the world of the text and
convenient to have so many texts available for our in which the text is born.
perusal and enjoyment, the task of textual 4. E - Examine linguistic nuances.
interpretation becomes more challenging since 5. F - Free yourself from fixed
one might not readily identify where the voice is interpretations of the text.
coming from, what it is saying, and what it could 6. U - Underscore the possible messages
probably mean. Perhaps what is even more the text conveys.
problematic is that the same voice we hear 7. L - Live out the lessons learned from
speaking may have equivocal meanings to its the text.
readers, and because of this, one might get too
focused on the search for which meaning is Adopting the philosophy of liberal
accurate. humanism as its linchpin, the CAREFUL reading
framework can be used in a humanistic way – that
In the Philippine education setting, we is, to empower the reader to transcend his own
are not alien to these challenges I have mentioned. limitations and focus on the “fixed and enduring”
With the introduction of the K-12 curriculum, (Bertens, 2001) things and ideas that the texts
which has Mother Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual present to us. While it seems at face value that the
Education (MTB-MLE) in the early grades as one CAREFUL framework is simply a hodgepodge of
of its principal tenets, the problem of reading and reading theories (i.e., formalist, reader response,
textual interpretation should all the more be and psychoanalytic) melded into one acronym, it
addressed. In this day and age, we are no longer does lend itself well to twenty-first century
confined to tackling canonical texts and their readers who presumably have access to all of
canonical readings in class. One of the stark these theories with the help of the Internet, and as
advocacies of such a system is to enable different such, are in a better position to offer multiple,
voices to be heard, from the local, global, and complementary, critical, and richer readings of
even “glocal” (which is the coalescence of local texts regardless of their origin. Indeed, the
and global cultural and linguistic perspectives in multiplicity of voices and perspectives in the
the creation of the text). Thus, it is but timely to twenty-first century calls for a dynamic reading
equip our students with critical reading faculties approach – a tool of empowerment for readers in
that will enable them to decipher these texts, the digital age.
properly contextualize the “voices” which have
created them, and relate or apply their meanings To illustrate my point further, I am going
to everyday experiences. to present an explanation of each of the points I
propose, followed by an illustration on how to

apply it on an actual literary text, which is Jose Y.
CAREFUL READING
Dalisay Jr’s At the Embassy, a poem which requires

a multi-faceted reading given its use of non-
In response to the contemporary
traditional stylistic devices crucial in
challenges of reading, I would like to argue that
communicating powerful insights regarding a
readers today should be CAREFUL, both in the
twenty-first century dilemma.
traditional sense of the word, and how I would
Wyson…On being a CAREFUL reader in the twenty-first century PERSPECTIVE
4

C - Closely read the text. Let us now apply close reading in our
analysis of Jose Y. Dalisay Jr’s poem.
This suggestion is largely inspired by the
close reading framework proposed by I.A. At the Embassy
Richards which eventually gave birth to Anglo-
Name: dickhead
American New Criticism (Bertens, 2001). The term
Date of Birth: you keep filling out
“close reading” refers to the close scrutiny of the
Place of Birth: this same stupid form
formal and linguistic elements of the text devoid
Country of Citizenship: only to be thrown out of
of information about its context. The underlying
Permanent Address: this goddamned embassy
principle behind this is that the text is alive and
Purpose of Travel: because you’re dying
can mean something its writer may never have
Duration of Travel: to live and die in
intended it to mean, thus the formulation of
Sources of Funds: their milk and honey
Wimslatt’s and Beardsley’s (1946) intentional

fallacy, which means that what the author meant
Taking an initial look at the poem, one
or intended when he wrote a work is not
can immediately notice that it follows the format
necessarily what the text means.
of an immigration form found in embassies,

probably at the US Embassy (as suggested by the
I believe that this framework has a salient
weakness, and that is, any text, regardless of its epithet “milk and honey” that alludes to the
United States as a country), where many Filipino
genre, is still written by an author, and this author
in turn, has been influenced in one way or another applicants for migration queue up. At the left
column, one will find the fields that require the
by his historicity. In fact, I would later on argue
that the use of background information about the applicant to supply information about, when he
applies for a US Visa. The peculiarity of the form
author and his context may also potentially enrich
the reading of the text. In this regard, I would like and language of the poem, however, lies in the
responses provided in the right column. All the
to clarify that what I am arguing for is simply the
use, and not the exclusive use, of close reading at the words on the right form one sentence intended to
onset of the reading experience, since through this be read by somebody aspiring to migrate to the
technique, the reader gets to closely examine the US. Nonetheless, reading only either the right or
linguistic and stylistic resources used in a the left column of the poem gives us an
particular work as a resource for interpretation. incomplete picture of the poem’s message. As
Thus, his critical faculties are honed, and he is suggested by the poem’s form, the words have to
then empowered to come up with his own viable be read the way we read a form – that is, read the
interpretation of the text without being influenced field required and information supplied as a
a priori by what other commentators have said response to the field – to create the intended
about it. By first looking at what others have said meaning or paradox that the poem communicates
about a text, he becomes disempowered to come as a whole. What the poem actually stands for will
up with his own interpretation, thus taking a toll be unlocked gradually as the other guidelines for
on his reading skills (Afsar, 2011). Nonetheless, by CAREFUL reading in the twenty-first century are
using close reading as a starting point for tackled.
interpretation, a reader is empowered to see a text
from his point of view through a close A - Ask the right questions.
examination of its nuances. This is a very crucial
step in meaning making since the words on the For close reading to be more effective as
page, by and large, constitute the corpus to be an interpretive tool, a reader should be able to ask
interpreted. the questions which will help him probe deeper
into the text to more or less grasp the message it
communicates. Mailloux (1995) sees interpretation
December 2013
5

as an act that connects the text to its readers – that another country, probably to the United States,
is, an interpreter should be able to provide a that the poem espouses. He addresses the
viable and acceptable rendering of what the text immediate “reader” of the poem – that is, the one
means to its audiences. For one to come up with a being addressed in the world of the poem - using
viable interpretation, he should consider the the derogatory term dickhead. Apparently, this
words or elements it contains (Approximating dickhead is somebody who keeps on filling out the
what?: What is the nature of the text being application form for migration in the hope of
analyzed?), the method to be used for interpreting basking in their milk and honey, a term which
it (Translating how?: How should the text be signifies abundance or prosperity. The form itself
interpreted?), and the audience it addresses is considered to be stupid because it is not
(Acceptable to whom?: To whom is the effectual in any way, because he keeps on
interpretation acceptable? Will the contemporary applying for a Visa only to be rejected. In fact, the
readers be able to relate to the interpretation?). juxtaposition of the terms Permanent Address and
There are no fixed and clear cut rules that govern this goddamned embassy suggests that the poem’s
the process of interpretation. Thus, the reader has addressee has been coming back to the embassy
to be discerning enough to determine the genre so often for re-application that it has become some
being interpreted (whether it is poetry, fiction, or sort of a permanent address or a second home. To
non-fiction), the method of interpretation to be this effect, it can be surmised that the term stupid
used (whether it is formalist, historical, or may refer not only to the form but to the applicant
postmodernist), and what it actually means to itself, who, after several repeated attempts to
contemporary readers. secure a US Visa, is still as zealous as ever to get
one, as evidenced by his perennial returning to
In the case of At the Embassy, one can the embassy to apply for one.
notice right away that the language featured in
the poem appeals to contemporary audiences, and Clearly, in this case, the formalist
so it implies that to be able to approximate what approach to interpretation would suit the poem
the text meant at the time of its writing, the well since it features stylistic devices as well as
connotations and denotations to be used in contemporary connotations to deliver its message.
interpreting the passage should more or less If the text were read, say, fifty to sixty years from
coincide with how such words are understood now, and the Philippines of the future would no
today, for “language does not exist simply in the longer exhibit the colonial mentality very
abstract, untouched and untouchable; it is used prevalent among Filipinos of today, then some
and reproduced in the service of local sort of historicizing would then be called for, in
communities” (Eckert in Coupland and order to determine the context in which a poem is
Jaworkski, 2009). The author, Jose Y. Dalisay Jr., written. In poetry interpretation, we do consider
comes from the very same era as the the historical context in which the poem is born
contemporary readers. Further explanation has to for us to better approximate what it actually
be incorporated, though, if the poem were to be meant to the people who first read it. In light of
read by other nationalities, especially those who the poem At the Embassy, the Philippines’ colonial
might not be able to relate to the experience of past may have a lot to do with the person being
having a strong desire to migrate to the United described in the poem as wanting to migrate to
States. They might not be coming from the milieu the USA; that ultimately, by means of migration,
where Filipino readers are situated. he would attain the socio-economic status enjoyed
by his former colonizers. Evidently, this reading
Upon closer examination of the poem, one was construed as a result of using the close
may immediately notice the condescending reading approach vis-à-vis a historical approach
attitude towards those who wish to migrate to to reading; this resulted in a rich interpretation of
Wyson…On being a CAREFUL reader in the twenty-first century PERSPECTIVE
6

the text which would have otherwise been meanings neither explicitly nor implicitly hinted
unarticulated had these two approaches not been at the text.
applied side by side.
Doing this nowadays would prove to be
Of course, it would not be enough for us much easier than it was in the days gone by.
to simply arrive at an approximation of what the Through the use of the Internet, a reader can
text meant for its original readers. We also have to easily access secondary references which talk
ask what the text would mean today, that is, how about the socio-historical milieu surrounding a
the text is relevant to modern-day readers, for text. One must take extra caution, though, in
literature, first and foremost, is an embodiment of doing this, for the multitude of information found
significant human experiences, and as such, its on the Internet can prove to be misleading at
significance should transcend the boundaries of times. While the Internet provides easy access to
space and time. Thus, it is but right to give several sources, it also provides several avenues
modern-day readers/reading students a voice in of “unrefereed” expression, thus putting the
echoing what the text means for them since credibility of the information one can access at
teachers, or even scholars, should not have a stake. In this regard, a twenty-first century reader
monopoly over the act of interpretation (Giroux, should be discerning enough to determine which
1990). In this light, an interpreter should not only sources of data are reliable. Those pieces of
consider what the text meant for its original information coming from reputable web sites
audiences, but what the text could also potentially such as those hosted by universities, journals, and
mean for the modern-day readers, who, for the other academic institutions are usually the ones
most part, come from multicultural societies, and which have undergone a thorough process of
in effect, reflect different ways of looking at review, and thus, are more likely accurate than
things. In the case of At the Embassy, a those that did not come from these.
contemporary reader might see the poem as a call
for nationalism through a critique of colonial Let us go back again to the poem as a case
mentality and the futility of one’s attempt to be in point. Upon glancing at the poem, we can sense
similar to his colonizer. However, a reader of the right away the possible frustration and
same poem in the future might not be able to see disgruntlement of the person who wishes to
the poem in the same light, especially if the socio- migrate to another country, say, the United States
cultural milieu he would be living in would be and the persona’s condescending attitude towards
different from that of the contemporary reader such desperation. In the Philippines, the country
and the author. where the text is born, such an occurrence is not
new; in fact, the long queues in the US Embassy
R - Relate to the world of the text and in which are a testament to the validity of the human
the text is born. experience being communicated by the text. There
are those who have been begging the consul for a
In the act of interpretation, Mailloux US Visa for decades -- to no avail. Those who are
(1995) advocates the examination of both the more fortunate do successfully migrate but only
world of the text and the world in which the text after ten to twenty years of constant begging and
is born. Looking at both worlds contributes rich praying. While migration seems to be a sign of
insights into what the text could have possibly disloyalty to one’s nation, it may also be an
meant, thus providing us with a richer, fuller indication of the dire economic conditions in
interpretation. While we can get to a good which many Filipinos find themselves, thus
approximation of what the text could have meant
solely through the use of close reading, examining
the world of the author can provide added
December 2013
7

creating a desire to search for a better quality of desire, through the powerful connotative meaning
life overseas.2 of dying, to spend the rest of one’s life, as implied
by the terms live and die, in the opulence of
E - Examine the linguistic nuances. another country, as suggested by the terms their
milk and honey, a Biblical allusion to Canaan, the
Both Abad (2012) and Eco (2004) prosperous land promised by God to the
recognize the importance and centrality of Israelites. Furthermore, the word live, which
language in the study of literature. When looking seems like a homonym of leave, may also have
at a poem or any piece of literary work, a reader been intended as a pun referring to the act of
has to take extra care in deciphering what leaving one’s country of origin. Finally, the use of
meanings can be unlocked through a close the word die may connote two things as a result of
examination of linguistic nuances present in the migrating, which are literal death since the
text. migrant will be mostly preoccupied by work
during his stay in the USA, and even cultural
Let us refer once more to Dalisay’s poem death, since it is presumed that a migrant’s sense
to demonstrate this point. In At the Embassy, the of identity might die once he is immersed in the
words used in the poem are so carefully selected culture of the host country. The use of such
that they carry very powerful connotative words, from a liberal humanist’s point of view
meanings which might have been otherwise (Bertens, 2001), makes the text sincere, as it does
absent if they were not used strategically. For not “tell of” the rigors, hardships, and heartaches
example, the term dickhead is written as a response one experiences in filing for an immigration visa.
to the required field name. In a literal sense, a Rather, it simply “shows” these exact emotions
dickhead is the part of the penis exposed upon through a skillful use of words.
circumcision. Nonetheless, in the contemporary
context, a dickhead can be someone stupid, F – Free yourself from fixed interpretations
moronic, or basically anyone possessing of the text.
unpleasant qualities. In a similar manner, the
adjectives same stupid, when used to describe the With the birth of I.A. Richards’ practical
application form, communicate some sort of criticism and Reader’s Response Criticism, the
disgust over the fact that filling it out quite a idea of a text’s having one, fixed, canonical
number of times is altogether ineffectual. interpretation has now been largely challenged.
Likewise, the use of the word goddamn, which Today, the text is now viewed as an independent
may probably have its origins from a Biblical entity, free from whatever the author could have
sense of God’s damnation upon the unrepentant, originally conceived it to be. I believe that this is
suggests that the embassy, as far as the persona is rightly so since the text, in itself, may produce
concerned, is an accursed place since the dreams meanings which the author himself might not
of the people who go there turn into have imagined. Thus, the reader is now seen as a
disillusionment after experiencing several subject, an interpreter of text not only for himself
rejections. Consequently, the phrase dying to live but even probably for the interpretive community,
and die in their milk and honey implies a very strong whose members are able to establish shared
meanings (Fish, 1980), rather than simply as an
object who would simply accept what so-called
2“The number of Filipino immigrants in the United States literary critics have said about a particular work.
tripled between 1980 and 2006, from 501,440 to 1.6 million,
making them the second largest immigrant group in the In effect, the reading of Jose Y. Dalisay Jr’s
United States after Mexican immigrants and ahead of the
At the Embassy which I previously proposed,
Chinese, Indian, and Vietnamese foreign born”(Terrazas,
despite its apparent coherence, does not preclude
2008).
Wyson…On being a CAREFUL reader in the twenty-first century PERSPECTIVE
8

the possibility of the poem’s having other England’s moral decline as a result of the
meanings although admittedly, such alternative capitalistic and materialistic ideologies that were
readings may be inconceivable today. Thus, pervasive during its era of industrial revolution.
dominant or canonical readings can either be What he meant by such statement, then, is that
challenged or reaffirmed depending on a reader’s literature has the capacity to instill moral values
repertoire of interpretive theories. And as history among its readers and give them a sense of
would attest, new reading and critical paradigms belonging in an age characterized by
are devised every now and then as a result of fragmentation. Eco (2004) agrees with this
intellectual, political, and social influences, and in assertion, as he also sees literature as a medium
effect, newer readings of texts are also offered. for fostering human values. In this light, it can be
said that reading literature without actually living
U - Underscore the possible messages out the lessons we learn from it is an exercise in
that the text conveys. futility.

After closely reading the text, examining For this reason, At the Embassy can be read
the world it portrays and the context in which it is as a call to action. By exposing the harsh
born, and deciphering the meanings behind the application system evident at the US Embassy, the
linguistic nuances present in it, the reader is then poem challenges its readers to rethink their value
enabled to come up with a synthesis of the towards migrating to the US, and at the same time
interpretive act, that is, to produce a viable invites them to turn their eyes towards their
interpretation or even multiple interpretations of country of origin, and perhaps, address its plight
a text. Meaning is now derived from the so that they may contribute in developing a better
multiplicity of resources available to the reader, quality of life there. In effect, the poem then
linguistic or otherwise. And as already asserted becomes not just a tool to delight and instruct its
earlier, a text may have equivocal meanings, each readers, but more importantly, an agent of change
of which is valid as long as it is derived with the in society. Thus, what would be at play if such call
use of a sound process of interpretation. is heeded is literature’s power to change lives and
question dominant yet oppressive beliefs; it is a
Taking a look once more at the poem and power that we have seen at work in establishing
the analyses that we have come up with, we can and toppling down regimes, in proposing and
then safely say that At the Embassy speaks of how repealing laws, and ultimately, in showcasing
a Filipino’s desire to migrate to another country to what it truly means to be human.
improve his lot is being constantly thwarted by
the representatives of the host country. Despite CONCLUSION
the frustration a Filipino might feel as a result of
being perennially rejected, he still persistently The CAREFUL reading paradigm,
applies for an immigrant’s visa time and again; although by no means the panacea to the
this reflects his probably distorted view of what a contemporary concerns in reading, may serve as a
“quality life” means – that it can only be achieved potent guide for both students and teachers alike
if lived out in a foreign country that does not even in decoding the multiplicity of texts and voices in
welcome him. the twenty-first century. Since employing it
entails the application of several reading theories,
L - Live out the lessons learned from the text. it can be said that it is an eclectic approach not
necessarily designed to help readers arrive at a
Matthew Arnold, during his time, viewed fixed, determinate textual interpretation, but
literature as a “substitute for religion” (Bertens, rather a richer interpretation which considers the
2001). He made this assertion during the time of words on the page, the work’s context, and the
December 2013