Over-analysing Literary Works!

[Nossa]

Hey everyone,
This question accured to me while I was studying one of the short stories I have in my short stories course this semester. It was by Ernest Hemingway, and being a big fan of his, I'm not going to bash the story now..lol
Anyways, I just wanna know if I'm the only one who feels this way, so have any of you ever felt like some story, poem, short story, play or any literary work you have studied or read about have been over-analysed? Ever got that feeling that there was NO WAY the author meant ALL these interpretations? Beacause this drives me MAD. Sometimes professors just say things that I feel like WAY over the top, I don't even feel that I need to take them down as notes cuz I feel that they sometimes don't even make sense.

[Lote-Tree]

Hey everyone,
This question accured to me while I was studying one of the short stories I have in my short stories course this semester. It was by Ernest Hemingway, and being a big fan of his, I'm not going to bash at the story now..lol
Anyways, I just wanna know if I'm the only one who feels this way, so have any of you ever felt like some story, poem, short story, play or any literary work you have studied or read about have been over-analysed? Ever got that feeling that there was NO WAY the author meant ALL these interpretations? Beacause this drives me MAD. Sometimes professors just say things that I feel like WAY over the top, I don't even feel that I need to take them down as notes cuz I feel that they sometimes don't even make sense.

Is there a difference between analysing and Interpreting?

[Nossa]

Is there a difference between analysing and Interpreting?

Well..as far as I know, analyse means examining the details, interpret has to do with the meaning as a whole for the most part.
I'm still not sure which part of your answer is relevent to my question..lol

[Annamariah]

Anyways, I just wanna know if I'm the only one who feels this way, so have any of you ever felt like some story, poem, short story, play or any literary work you have studied or read about have been over-analysed? Ever got that feeling that there was NO WAY the author meant ALL these interpretations? Beacause this drives me MAD.

Eh, only about every time we've discussed about a poem or a book at school

It's not so bad with novels, but some short stories are really way over-analysed. The worst situation is always with poems. They are never left to be just beautiful pieces of art. I think that poems can be just read and that everyone can think whatever they want about them. I'm not so interested in hearing what one should think about it.

No, at school the poems are always ripped apart. Every single verse and every single word has to be analysed. I sometimes feel that students come up with the weirdest analysations and interpretations of poems just to please teachers (who of course always say "well, that's a very good point" to everyone...)

[Lote-Tree]

Well..as far as I know, analyse means examining the details, interpret has to do with the meaning as a whole for the most part.
I'm still not sure which part of your answer is relevent to my question..lol

We need to be clear on what we are talking about don't we :-)

Definitions:

Analyzing - Examining and evaluating data. Presenting alternative actions in relation to the evaluation is frequently
Analyzing - The process that interprets data and transforms data into information.

Interpretation - a mental representation of the meaning or significance of something

Interpreation - an explanation of something that is not immediately obvious; "the edict was subject to many interpretations"; "he annoyed us with his interpreting of parables"; "often imitations are extended to provide a more accurate rendition of the child's intended meaning"

[Nossa]

@Annamariah: So true. I have studied some Donne poems this semester as well, I remember how the peofessor used to give each stanza upto TEN minutes sometimes to analyse eve word, by the end of the lecture I'm like..that guy MUST have been a genius..I mean he was a GREAT poet, but not THAT great...lol

@Lote-Tree: lol..well thanks for doing this, and you're right, I should have cleared it up, I just thought that people would understand what I mean.

[Lote-Tree]

@Lote-Tree: lol..well thanks for doing this, and you're right, I should have cleared it up, I just thought that people would understand what I mean.

OK then lets digress if you don't mind?

Is the question you posed same for Scriptural Works?

[Nossa]

OK then lets digress if you don't mind?

Is the question you posed same for Scriptural Works?

I think I made it quite clear that it's meant for 'literary works' as in written by an author, even though I know that you might say that sacred books ARE wirtten by people, these aren't the things I'm posing this question to discuss. So the answer is NO...I also stated that I meant anything over-analysed in a poem, short story, novel or a play...so these are pretty much the things I'd like for anyone to discuss. Any religious discussions are NOT part of my question and therefore are not required in the answer. Not to mention that religious discussions are not to be started in this section of the forum.

[kenikki]

From my years of studying Literature, I will forever always be over-analyzing literary works. It is constantly in my head to look at symbolism, meaning, literary devices etc. Sometimes it's frustrating but most of the time it is nice to see the different layers of a text almost instantly whilst reading.

[kandaurov]

I agree with you, Nossa. Sure, I think it's interesting to come up with wild interpretations, that's partly what's fun about analysing. As for actually believing that the author(ess) had all that in mind when he/she wrote it, that's just being naive.

And I do just like you: when I think the teacher's interpretation is too far-fetched, I disregard it. They can't make you believe in theirs; everyone is entitled to one's own interpretation as far as it's plausible.

[NickAdams]

"Then there is the other secret. There isn't any symbolysm [sic]. The sea is the sea. The old man is an old man. The boy is a boy and the fish is a fish. The shark are all sharks no better and no worse. All the symbolism that people say is ****. What goes beyond is what you see beyond when you know." - Ernest Hemingway

[Neo_Sephiroth]

Hey everyone,
This question accured to me while I was studying one of the short stories I have in my short stories course this semester. It was by Ernest Hemingway, and being a big fan of his, I'm not going to bash the story now..lol
Anyways, I just wanna know if I'm the only one who feels this way, so have any of you ever felt like some story, poem, short story, play or any literary work you have studied or read about have been over-analysed? Ever got that feeling that there was NO WAY the author meant ALL these interpretations? Beacause this drives me MAD. Sometimes professors just say things that I feel like WAY over the top, I don't even feel that I need to take them down as notes cuz I feel that they sometimes don't even make sense.

Heck yeah!

I should know! I've been analyzing almost every assignment given to me!

Now, I only dig deep when something interest me.

That's why I'm so cool and calm...Word.

[Nossa]

"Then there is the other secret. There isn't any symbolysm [sic]. The sea is the sea. The old man is an old man. The boy is a boy and the fish is a fish. The shark are all sharks no better and no worse. All the symbolism that people say is ****. What goes beyond is what you see beyond when you know." - Ernest Hemingway

Great quote..Thanks for posting it

[Hyacinth42]

Not only is it over interpreted, but there is also only one interpretation... How can your opinion be wrong?

[ladyofshalott]

Eh. I don't know. I guess my answer would have to be, "sometimes."

But I think sometimes the people writing the books are the same people seeing tons of symbolism in other books. So it would make sense that they put a lot of symbolism in their own books. I remember reading an anecdote about Joyce once... The short version is, he had this photograph of the city of Cork that he wanted to hang up in his house, and he really wanted a frame for it made out of cork. So he went to a ton of trouble to get someone to make it for him. That's just the kind of mind he had, always looking for connections...

I guess what I'm saying is that normal people would not put as much symbolism into books as literature professors claim is in there, but then, great authors are usually not normal people.