Richards, I.A. "How to Read a Page"

From RhetorClick

In “How to Read a Page,” I. A. Richards writes at length about ideal strategies for interacting with and making meaning out of texts. He explains the difficulties involved in varying interpretations and outlines some common words that are important, but ambiguous. He then illustrates the complexities involved in reading a page by providing an example: a somewhat abstruse passage written by Aristotle. Richards rewrites this passage in plain English and highlights various distinctions he makes in his rewritten version. His analysis leads him to make the following conclusions about reading pages: it helps to read text keeping in mind vocal emphases to better discern structure (reading aloud), to read slowly and deliberately, and to read with an eye for comparison between meanings—or “translation” in the sense of figuring out the context in which different words are used.

Glossary Terms

The following key terms are defined in the glossary: affective fallacy, close reading, intentional fallacy, New Criticism