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Manquel discusses reading books aloud to ones self or to others. He debates the affects of the reading, the potential benefits and pitfalls but for me I have always loved to read aloud. I love to read to my family and I love to be read to. I enjoy other peoples interpretation of the work and their mimicking abilities. I enjoy getting lost in the comfort of another person's voice, the relaxation that overtakes my body and the serenity of knowing that the reader, myself and everyone else involved are experiencing something special together.
One of the most important experiences of my life was when an elementary school teacher read a novel to our class. It drew me in and fanned a flame of curiosity that still burns today. I do not know if I would have the same love for books or writing if not for that experience. Reading aloud also impacts me as a reader.
When I read aloud the work can change, the environments can seem more open and expansive. It is as if when the words come out of my mouth the barrier that is my head is knocked down. I can understand when on page 255 Manquel writes about how public readings by the author not only brought the text to the public it allowed the author to reconnect with the work as well. For myself the soothing sound of reading is like a lullaby to a baby. It puts my troubled soul at ease and allows me to lose myself in another person's world. I could not ask for anything more.
Reading aloud to an audience allowed Greek authors to obtain feedback from the public (251). In addition, reading to a large audience allowed Greek authors to collect such information without having to travel from city to city (251). During these gatherings, authors were able to see the reactions of the audience members when reading their best material.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, have never been a fan of having someone read to me. This derives from the fact that I have a very short attention span. When others read to me, my mind tends to wander and ultimately, I tune out the voice of the reader and replace it with the images of my imagination. Because of this, I rather read to myself so I am able to grasp the information I read.
For me, I like to be in control of the text. Putting it in someone else's voice makes it less appealing in my opinion because I am not able to read at the speed I like, in the tone I prefer, and I also don't get the images I would if I had read it to myself.
ReplyDeleteReading aloud used to be an art. They used all of the parts of literature to express the author's message. That in itself is something I do admire about reading aloud. The sounds of the words as well as the words are important, especially in poetry.