Rorschach Test

Some of you may have seen the meme above - it's kind of classic for English teachers. I've thought about it a lot over the years, and there's definitely some truth to it. I've analysed things that Shakespeare has said and been damn clear that it wasn't what Shakespeare meant. That's not to say that Shakespeare didn't mean it, it's just that it's not what was going through his head when he wrote that line.

But that's ok - because this is English and the reality is that there's something more complicated going on.

English is like looking into a magical pool - like staring straight into Galadriel's mirror.

Some of what you'll see is put there by the writer...

but a good writer also builds a whole load of new stuff into the image, and what you see there is more like a mirror.

What you see in a piece of literature often says more about you than it does the author.

This is one of the most important lessons I ever do in English. It's like the holy grail of the subject.

The truth is that, in English, you're being asked what you see in something.

The trick is in understanding that this doesn't mean thinking about the author's intentions, it means looking at your response.

Below there is a photo gallery of what are called Rorschach Tests. They're made from a splash of ink being folded to produce a random images. Have a look over them and then read the commentary below...

So the idea of them is that you can see what you want in them. And you can - to a degree.

One of them is definitely two people sitting with their hands held together, in a kind of prayer.

BUT although everyone would know which picture I was taking about, the idea of their hands being held together in prayer was my own doing. The idea of prayer was something I brought into it - they could have been fighting, after all.

So a big part of English is just saying what you see in a piece of writing.