Reader Response Criticism Essay assignment

1. SPRINGBOARD
SENIOR ENGLISH
Writing a Reader Response Criticism Essay

2. Review Reader Response
Criticism
 Reader- what experiences have you had that
influence your reading of the text?
 Reading Situation- Why/Where/When
 Text- how does the text itself affect your
interpretation?
 Go to SCHMOOP to get a really good
explanation, especially if you’re still not sure…
 http://www.shmoop.com/reader-response-
theory/

3. Four different interpretations of “My Papa’s Waltz”
using Reader Response Criticism
Read the essay assigned to you- SEE MS
MORRISON FOR YOUR GROUP NUMBER
 Group 1 – Reaction to Poem- “My Papa’s
Waltz,” Theodore-Roethke
 Group 2 “My-Papa’s-Waltz”-Lost-between-
Love-and Abuse
 Group 3 My-Papa’s-Waltz-Analysis
 Group 4 Theodore-Roethke-”My-Papa’s-
Waltz”.html

4. Remember…
 As Peter Ellertson of Benedictine University
states, “reader response theory frees you up
from having to guess at the ‘hidden meaning’
an author may or may not have been thinking
about when he or she wrote a story, poem or
play.” Instead the reader is reading and writing
to find what the piece means to him or her
informed by their past reading, experiences
and learning.

5. Questions to Answer when writing
your own RRC Essay
 1. How do I respond to this text? Did you like it?
Dislike it? Were you confused?
 2. How does the text affect my response? What
went on in your head while you were reading?
What did you notice about the text as you read?
 3. How do other readers respond to this text? Did
other readers respond differently?
 4. How do my experiences shape my response?
 5. How is my understanding of the ideas/themes
in this text influenced by my personal experiences
and beliefs?

6. Writing Assignment
 Choose one of the poems we worked on in
class
 Write an analysis essay in which you use
Reader Response Criticism to interpret the
meaning of the poem.
 Use the questions above, as well as what you
discussed and marked in class, to help you
 Turn it in, on TURNITIN.com by 9/22- this is
only a rough draft
 500 word minimum (about 2 pages double
spaced)