2006年Mini-lecture(2/8)-英语听力

[00:00.00]Now let's take a look at the first approach, that is, [00:04.46]meaning is what is intended by the author. [00:07.94]Does a work of literature mean what the author intended to mean? [00:13.33]And if so, how can we tell? [00:16.50]If all the evidence we have is the text itself and nothing else, [00:22.12]we can only guess what ideas the author had [00:25.83]according to our understanding of literature and the world. [00:30.27]In order to have a better idea of what one particular author means in one of his works, [00:37.53]I'd suggest that you do the following. [00:40.56]First, go to the library and read other works by the same author. [00:47.36]Second, get to know something about what sort of meanings [00:52.23]seemed to be common in literary works in that particular tradition and at that time. [00:58.84]In other words, we need to find out what the literary trends were in those days. [01:05.56]And last, get to know what were the cultural values and symbols of the time. [01:11.99]I guess you can understand the author's meaning much more clearly [01:17.80]after you do the related background research.