tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20782819.post4505804786234956013..comments2023-11-12T13:22:30.358+01:00Comments on andrewjshields: "Reading" and "Reading into"Andrew Shieldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02804655739574694901noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20782819.post-62965328669625038042016-04-13T16:59:22.234+02:002016-04-13T16:59:22.234+02:00The particular case that led me to write my post i...The particular case that led me to write my post involved a poem that was decried by some as racist (or at least unthinkingly using racist tropes) and defended by others who said that people were "reading racism into it". <br /><br />In a sense, that's a third category distinct from the other two. It's a misreading that does not involves deficiency (cultural mistake, anachronism) but excess: "You're seeing something there that is not there."Andrew Shieldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02804655739574694901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20782819.post-43719281308042913392016-04-12T01:13:43.031+02:002016-04-12T01:13:43.031+02:00You're right. I think those are the two most c...You're right. I think those are the two most common types of "reading into," a phrase I think is always used to indicate mistaken readings. No? I've never heard "reading into" in a positive way—praise for really getting into the layers—but I suppose it could be. Here's another example— http://www.jhwriter.com/?p=4358 —which I suppose, if you're a fan of the ridiculous, could be seen as a positive case of reading into....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20782819.post-66686912095410516992016-04-11T20:48:53.211+02:002016-04-11T20:48:53.211+02:00Thanks, Joseph. Isn't what your pointing at he...Thanks, Joseph. Isn't what your pointing at here a matter of interpretations that are demonstrably mistaken? Manson misread the song because he didn't know what "helter skelter" means in British English. Your student misread Sandburg because he didn't know the history of the slang meaning of "grass" (or more generally of a particular meaning of the word). The former is a cultural mistake, the latter an anachronism. Less a matter of "reading into" than of a poor translation across space (Manson) or time (your student).Andrew Shieldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02804655739574694901noreply@blogger.com