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1. what is the author trying to say? 2. what does the author maybe not realize they’re saying?

3. What are you, personally, bringing to your analysis of the art?

Art is, fundamentally, a dialogue between artist and audience. You’re going to have a very different take on the work if:

You have an intense emotional reaction to the work because it hits a bit too close to home/there’s other stuff going on in your life that you somehow connect to this work.

Your own personal context either lets you in on a shared experience with an author who has something in common with you/gives you a totally different perspective because the writer’s identity is totally different from yours. Did the author get certain things wrong? Is the author writing about something you’ve never personally experienced before?

A couple of things you should ask yourself before dropping that hot take:

Are there particular biases or beliefs that are blocking your ability to analyze the work accurately? Is your interpretation based more on your initial gut reaction to the story and characters than what’s actually in the text? Can you collect and provide evidence from within the text to back up your own interpretation beyond just how it made you feel in that particular moment?

Is this your own opinion of the text, or are you unwittingly mirroring the opinion of someone else whose analysis you saw before getting into the text yourself?

Do you recognize your own interpretation is unique to you and that others might see the same artwork differently? If other people disagree with you, do you understand why they disagree with you?

Analyzing the work, trying to guess the author’s intent, and backing up your arguments with evidence from the text are essential skills. However, recognizing your own role as audience and that you’re not necessarily a passive, unbiased observer is important if you want to take the next step towards more nuanced analysis and criticism.

[requested] Commander Lexa lockscreens

Octavia Blake lockscreens pt. 1