Images in literary texts

0:00- [David] Hey, readers. Today, let's talk about images. Let's be clear. Words are great. I'm a big fan of words as a technology or a really good and efficient way of getting information from my brain into your brain. But images plus words, man, what a combo. That's like cherries and chocolate for me.

0:18When authors include images with text, it can really change the experience of reading. Words include information, but so do images. So when you run into an image as you read, ask yourself two questions. First, what's going on here? What information is included in the image that isn't in the text?

0:38And second, how does that help me? What does that new information tell me about the text? Let's give it a try with this passage. I'll read it and then let's put up an image. "I don't know why everyone thinks I'm so scary. I write poems. I gaze at clouds. I'm quiet at parties.

0:57I would never hurt a fly, and yet I can tell that I frighten others. Strangers at the bus stop back away from me. Dogs always bark at me. I wish I knew why." And now let's throw in that image, which I have skillfully drawn myself. Ta-da! Now let's go through our steps.

1:17Step one, what information is included in the image that isn't in the text? Well, what can we see about this person? Well, they're enormous. Gonna write big. Strong as an ox, big enough to lift a car or snap a tree like you or I might snap a toothpick, right? We can see that this person is very large and their size is not mentioned in the text.

1:40So this is an important detail. Second, what does that information tell us about the text? This enormous person doesn't know that their enormousness is literally a big deal. People might find them a little... The word is intimidating. That means causing someone else to feel fear.

1:59A little scary, a little impressive. But based on the text, I think this person does not know their own strength or how they look to other people. All they can see is the results. Dogs bark at them and strangers at the bus stop back away from them. So the image helps us understand why dogs and strangers react the way that they do.

2:23What if the illustration looked like this? Kind of alarming, perhaps. Most human beings don't have antlers after all. If you do, that is actually extremely cool. Or what if they looked like this? Kind of changes your impression of the text, right? Now, people don't want to be near this person because they smell terrible.

2:42Those are stink lines. It's a very technical term. Or what if there were no illustrations? Now we're back to where we started. You might have no idea why people are scared of this guy. So the next time you come across an image in text, think about what the image tells you that the text is not.

2:59How does the information in the image help you better understand what you've read? How does it change how you understand the text? Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to have some chocolate covered cherries. You can learn anything. David, out.