Getting an Idea How do you get an idea? To begin, read the text
carefully, as many times as you can. (If you are working with a
long work of literature, like an epic poem or a novel, select a
passage from the work that seems important to you, and re-read
it several times.) React to it: try to understand your
reactions. Underline, in the text, any words, phrases or ideas
that strike you as interesting or significant, and then take
notes in which you try to record and analyze your responses.
Read over your notes to see if any pattern is developing in the
way that you're thinking about the work. You may wish to focus
on an aspect of the work that for you is troubling, confusing,
or inconsistent. Clarify for yourself just what the problem is,
for you, with this image or idea or use of language. Then
concentrate on this particular aspect of the work, trying to see
how it fits, how it operates in the work as a whole. That is,
define a problem for yourself and attempt to solve it. Your
solution to the problem will b