How the fuck am I supposed to get the deeper themes of literature if I don't even know what I'm looking for? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Just read descartes anon he's all you need

Read a critical guide (Blooms’ are good). Google questions. Ask questions. Read other readers reviews. Read the book again and look for unusual or reoccurring words or situations. Read mythology and ancient drama and the bible as these are referenced lots. Picrel will help too.

>>24553605
i just got this book, gonna start it tomorrow

The dirty secret about “understanding literature” is that probably 5% of people are capable of doing it. The abundance of reviews, interpretation, analysis, etc that you see is absorbed from the profundity of that 5% and regurgitated. Read enough commentary and you start to notice the patterns. It’s all an ocean of dilettantes and charlatans. I’m one of them btw, I copied this idea from Twitter.

themes in literature is just stating the obvious. You read Paradise Lost, do you think God is good or bad? Ok, why is God good? Is Satan good or bad? Ok, why is Satan bad? There, you just solved Milton's exploration of necessary evil.

>>24553498 (OP)
annotated copy + youtube lecture. add books that were an influence to your "to read" pile. that is all.

>>24554124
good take.

>I’m one of them btw, I copied this idea from Twitter.
based

>>24553605
And talk to people about it. Consuming the thoughts of others is not enough, you need to try your own.

>>24553498 (OP)
Just keep asking why. Become Socrates

>>24553498 (OP)
>historical context
>context about the author
>knowledge in mythology, religion, basic philosophy, and history
That's all you need.

>>24553498 (OP)
"Religion" and "nationalism" aren't themes, a theme isn't summed up in one word. A theme is like an argument or a thesis.

>>24555618
That's a message

You shouldn't worry too much. They're fucking authors, dude. The essence of their job is to communicate things. If it was really important you can bet they would have made sure you could understand.

>>24555618
A theme is any topic or idea being discussed. Religion and nationalism are themes, albeit surface level and more precision would be useful. A thesis is something proposed about a theme, to then be argued for. Really crude example from Iliad
>theme: fate vs. free will
>thesis: humans are subject to fate regardless of how godlike they are because … … … that Homer says in Iliad

>>24554124
Regular people can do it it just takes psychedelics

read the introduction