Term
What are the 5 Elements of Interpretation? |
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Definition
1. What type of literature has this author written?
2. How has the author used language? What kind of references were used?
3. What can we know about the author?
5. What do we know about the historical context in which this text was written?
4. Who was the intended audience of this work? |
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Term
What type of literature has this author written? |
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Definition
| To understand what’s being said, you must first identify how it’s said. How has the author communicated this message? Identify the kind of account you’re reading. |
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Term
| How has the author used language? What kind of references were used? |
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Definition
What types of references (literal, figurative) has the author used in this type of literature? How were the assertions made (declarative statements, questions, exclamations)? Was the author using words literally, metaphorically, symbolically, analogically, paradoxically, ironically, sarcastically, etc.? Pick out key words, phrases, and images, and determine what they communicate. |
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Term
What can we know about the author? |
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Definition
Identify the time, place, background, tradition, attitudes, assumptions, and important life events of the author. This will help you figure out where they were coming from and why they wrote this work. |
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Term
| Who was the intended audience of this work? |
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Definition
Identify as concisely as possible who the author was addressing; to what particular group of people was s/he talking, and why was s/he targeting this group? |
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Term
| What do we know about the historical context in which this text was written? |
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Definition
What were the relevant intellectual, cultural, social, political, and economic circumstances and events of the time and place in which this text was written? How may those events have affected how and why the author decided to tell this story? |
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