Reading for Transformation...

Out of the three assignments I read, I decided to write about "Reading for Transformation through the Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins" by Francis X. McAloon SJ. This was honestly the only one I found the least boring. However, it could be because I read it when it was stormy and gloomy outside so I was already feeling a little down and not very excited to read. Nevertheless, I did find this piece pretty interesting. I really liked how he took on the daily practice of lectio divina. Usually if I don't understand a poem, I don't take the time to sit and try to understand it. Mainly because I didn't know of any other way to read it to help understand it. I like this method of understanding a poem or any piece of literature really. I know I get frustrated many times with trying to figure something out or get a "deeper" view of it, but can't. I think doing this lectio divina is an interesting way of doing just that. I also like how McAloon talked about the transformation of reading a poem. I've never really thought about being transformed by reading a poem in this kind of way. He said, "In such instances, we not only read for information and aesthetic pleasure, we also engage in a sort of reading for transformation..." Another interpretation of poems used in prayer focused on the world of the text, the world behind the text, and the world before the text. I found that the of part was explaining unclear references, opening the door to perplexing diction, and uncovering intense imagery. The behind part was to clarify and challenge our biasness about a poet's situation. And the  before part made way for the option of new self-awareness. Francis McAloon just really opened my eyes to new ways of interpreting poems and being transformed. I really enjoyed this.