How to Deepen Your Appreciation of Literature: Slow Reading Techniques for Lifelong Learners

Practical Guide to Rereading and Slow Reading: Unlocking Hidden Layers in Classic Books

Discover actionable strategies to enhance your literary appreciation with Robert DiYanni’s expert tips. Learn how slow reading, rereading, and mindful engagement can help you uncover deeper meaning in books, improve comprehension, and transform your reading experience. Perfect for students, educators, and lifelong readers seeking to get more from every page.

Ready to transform the way you read and unlock the full richness of every book? Dive into our complete guide and start your journey toward deeper literary appreciation today!

There’s more to words than meets the eye. Deepen your appreciation of literature through the art of slow, attentive reading

Recommendation

If you thought Animal Farm was a quirky tale about anthropomorphic livestock or that Lolita was a love story, you might want to revise your approach to reading. In 2024, Nicholas Dames, a professor of literature at Columbia University, ignited a debate when he claimed that, due to flaws in the high school education system and a smartphone-fueled attention crisis, many Generation Z students have never read a book from cover to cover until reaching college, where, consequently, they struggle with the workload. Robert DiYanni, a professor of humanities at New York University, addresses the reading crisis by offering tips to help readers deepen their understanding and appreciation of literature.

Take-Aways

• An appreciation for literature is a learnable skill that enhances your understanding of yourself, other people, and the world.
• As you read a text, focus on the words, make observations, and ask questions.
• Develop a habit of rereading.
• Cherish the art of reading slowly.
• Reading texts aloud can heighten your reading pleasure.

Summary

An appreciation for literature is a learnable skill that enhances your understanding of yourself, other people, and the world.

Avid readers devour literary works, savoring the way a text can teach, amuse, provoke, and inspire them. They absorb books, essays, stories, and plays, relishing the opportunity to read between the lines and peel away the many layers of symbolism and meaning.

“In the process of reading literature, we…enrich our understanding of other people and of the world — and of ourselves. We become, in some sense, what we read.”

Prose and verse can take your imagination to places you would never otherwise visit and open your mind to ideas you wouldn’t otherwise consider. Alas, many people struggle to interpret literature, discern its nuances, and explore what lies beneath the words’ face value. Happily, you can learn to appreciate literature by adjusting your approach to reading.

As you read a text, focus on the words, make observations, and ask questions.

Pay close attention to the text’s details. Honing your focus from the very first line will prime you to reflect, engage with, and question the text in ways that provide depth and clarity.

For instance, consider the first sentence in Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel Anna Karenina: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Reflecting on this line, you might notice its parallel structure and mull over the contrast between happy and unhappy families. You might consider whether you agree with this statement or whether to reserve judgment until you’ve read the entire book.

Develop a habit of rereading.

To truly appreciate a literary work, a single read won’t suffice. No one can absorb all the subtleties of good writing with one superficial glance. Rereading sentences, passages, and even entire novels allows you to uncover new layers of meaning that might have eluded you the first time around. With increased familiarity, you can focus on the text’s structure, language, and underlying messages, deepening your understanding and appreciation of the text.

Consider the following two-line poem by Robert Frost called “The Span of Life”:

The old dog barks backward without getting up.

I can remember when he was a pup.

At first glance, you might notice that the poem is a rhyming couplet and that it’s about a dog. Upon rereading the poem, you might discern its rhythm. The first line is one syllable longer than the second, giving it a slower, heavier pace than the second. When you question why the poet made this choice, you might conclude that the rhythm effectively juxtaposes the image of an old, slow dog with a young, vibrant puppy. The title encourages the reader to consider the transience of time — the fleetingness of the poet’s life, as well as that of his dog. By analyzing the poem’s sounds and images, you begin questioning and uncovering its meaning.

Cherish the art of reading slowly.

When you speed-read through a novel or an article, you might grasp the plot or main points, but you’ll fail to notice the detailed descriptions, the layers of meaning, and the stylistic choices that give the work depth. Prolong the pleasure of an enjoyable text by slowing down your reading pace, especially when tackling longer, more ambitious works. After all, the goal of reading isn’t to finish the text quickly or to rush to interpret its meaning. Rather, your aim is to immerse yourself in the text and reflect on its message.

“We [ought to] give to our reading of a work the same kind and degree of care that the author took in writing it.”

To slow down, restrict your reading to, say, one chapter or half an hour each day, and set aside an additional 10 minutes to reflect on what you’ve read.

Reading texts aloud can heighten your reading pleasure.

Reading aloud is an excellent way to amplify your enjoyment of a text. When you read aloud, you begin to notice several aspects — for example, the musicality of the text, the pacing of sentences, and the cleverness of certain word choices — that you might overlook when reading silently in your head.

“The art of reading and the craft of writing owe as much to the ear as to the eye.”

Irrespective of the text, reading aloud can augment your sensory enjoyment of the material.

About the Author

Robert DiYanni is a professor of humanities at New York University. He is a co-author of Critical Reading Across the Curriculum and the author of You Are What You Read: A Practical Guide to Reading Well.