Against Interpretation

What might encourage interpreters to focus on an attention to form as opposed to interpretation or subtext? What are the personal or cultural benefits of doing so?

Sontag mentions a few instances of how art itself can avoid interpretation. Aside from the examples she offers, what others might exist and follow the model that she outlines?

What are other potential examples of authors or artists whose work has been interpreted in the way that Sontag critiques in this essay? In what ways do these interpretations fail to follow Sontag’s ideal?

How might we apply Sontag’s tenets to a critical perspective of authors like Kafka and Beckett in direct contrast with pre-existing interpretations of their work?

The essay argues that artistic commentary should make works of art more real to the viewer. How can we define what makes art more real, and what would allow criticism to accomplish this?

Because modern life desensitizes people with excess, Sontag stresses the need for sensational recovery. Identify some ways that modern society “desensitizes” people. How would Sontag’s approach to art alleviate this effect?

Compare Greek theories of mimesis to Sontag’s approach to art, paying mind to the distinctions between Plato’s and Aristotle’s perspectives. Are there any similarities? What are the cultural benefits of each approach?

Sontag mentions that interpretation can actually be liberating in its own right, depending on the cultural context. What is an example of a context in which an interpretive approach would be culturally beneficial or insightful?