Critical Approches for Interpreting Literature

1.
Out of all the critical approaches for interpreting literature put forth by Elizabeth McMahan in the "Literature and Reading Process" textbook, I found the psychological point of view and the readers response approaches to be the most relevant to my style of interpreting literature. I like the psychological approach because it helps put into perspective multiple different views of the human condition. The readers response approach also interests me because it gives me the opportunity to let my imagination develop personal meanings to portions of the work from my own self-experiences.

2. 
The poem I have chosen to analyze is "anyone lived in a pretty town" by E.E. Cummings. I chose to do so with the readers response approach because the writing style of E.E. Cummings is very unique and organized in a way that you have to interpret your own meanings, but a very powerful and concise point is still being made throughout his work. In "anyone lived in a pretty town" there is a man that lives in a town in which it's inhabitants are uncaring and unneighborly. The town seems like a very dull and unhappy place to live in for this man, until he meets a woman and they fall deeply in love with one another. The man appears to be unfazed by the ugliness of the town due to his newly found love. The man eventually passes and not long after as do his love. The towns people bury them next to one another, and in doing so they are left with a memory of love in their disconsolate town.