Steps in Practice

To put Cotton’s Sequence of Steps in a more practical light, consider the following teacher-student scenario:

In terms of the question presented, the sequence of steps might look something like this:

Teacher: Why is learning literary terminology and their meanings important for the complete understanding of a piece of literature?

Student:

I have just been presented with a question that is going to require my attention. I have heard the question. Now, let’s see what can be done with this question.

In this question, the teacher is asking me about the importance of literary terminology and how it affects my comprehension of a book or a poem I have read. I know that literary concepts such as metaphor, simile, tone, etc. are critical to my understanding of all of the elements of any literary piece I have read.

My understanding will be underdeveloped if I do not have an awareness of all the methods a writer uses to convey his message.

Without understanding the literary terms, I will not understand the piece of literature in its entirety. While I might have understood the message that is presented on the surface, there will be many facets of the poem that I will be unable to comprehend. In order to get a holistic view of what the piece of literature offers and wishes to transmit, I must look at the techniques that the writer uses to convey his message.

Teacher: Can you think of an example of a literary concept that might alter your understanding of a particular piece of literature?

Student:

If I do not understand the concept of tone, I might miss a character’s sarcasm and that might lead me to interpret the play, for example, in an entirely different light than what the author had intended.

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