Interpretation of literary

§10. Role of the Title in Revealing Conceptual Information of the text

In virtue of its close interaction with the content of the text, the
title has great importance for revealing conceptual information. Sometimes in explicit and concrete form, sometimes in veiled and implicit form, the title expresses the scheme, idea, concept incarnated by the author in the text. Comprising the quintessence of the book's content, the title represents the nucleus of the content conceptual information. At
first the title denotes a vague abstract notion, later on it fills with concrete meaning.
In the course of plot development, the words chosen by the author for the title begin to acquire some additional, connective shades of meaning, extend their semantic structure. The title can be metaphorically depicted as a wound up spiral, revealing its potentialities in the process of unwinding.¹
As an example we can take the title of W.Saroyan's story "Lau- ghter". The story describes a small episode from school life. Its content can be briefly reduced to the following: the teacher, Miss Wissig, makes her pupil Ben laugh for a whole hour, because he had laughed at the lesson. Laughter— a punishment! Laughter under coercion! The conceptions expressed by the word "laughter" in the aspect of the described concrete situation distinctively contradict the general conception of laughter, containing a positive emotional evaluation. The writer imparts quite a different shade of meaning to the word "laughter". It is associated with something doleful, sad, joyless and even tragic. This thought is getting its development alongside in lime with the unfolding of the content-factual information.
Even the initial lines ("You want me to laugh?" He felt lonely and ill in the empty classroom ...) comprise the contrast of moods, rooting, on one. Side, in the word "laugh" and, on the other side, in the words "ill, lonely". This contrast is increased by the conveyance of feelings experienced by the boy: surprise, perplexity (it was strange), fear (it was frightening), disgust (it was disgusting), sorrow, sympathy (he felt sorry, he was sorry), shame (he was ashamed, shameful weeping in his voice). Revealing the child's inner struggle the writer shows how the text of the story is modifying the semantics of the title, which acquires the following implicit meanings: pity and sorrow, indignation and contempt, sympathy and support.
Very often the title of imaginative texts is connected with content- conceptual information only indirectly.
Sometimes the meaning of a title is veiled by a metaphor or metonymy. In E.Caldwell's story "Wild Flowers", the title, expressed by a metaphor, helps the reader to penetrate deeper into the content of the story, to understand its idea. The story shows tragic destiny of two young people dismissed and evicted by the landlord. The main idea of the story lies on the surface—-it exposes the brutal foundation of bourgeois society. Using the example of the young family which for failing to pay the rent
was turned out of the house in spite of the fact that the young woman was expecting a child, the author shows the calamitous position of the destitute working class and exposes cruelty and inhumanity of the exploitative class. The title of the story "Wild Flowers" prompts one more idea to us. Even before reading the story one can feel that the title presents a metaphor comprising a poetic image and this (act helps to create a certain emotional predisposition.
The character of the personages' mutual relations — their genuine love, care concern for each other — acquire special significance. In some of his stories Caldwell speaks about the influence of poverty in human soul, how poverty instigates hungry people to treachery, to mean actions and crimes. However in this story we see the opposite —torment sufferings and hard conditions do not embitter the hearts of people, don't kill their love. If we retrospectively reconsider the whole story in this aspect we'll sec the possibility of a new interpretation prompted by the title of the story. The poetic image of wild flowers which bloom irrespective of conditions and circumstances, irrespective of the soil, on which they grow, exhaling fragrance and giving pleasure for the eyes, helps the author to show courage, staunchness, strength of spirit and love of the two young people who preserved their tender feelings in spite of the hard human conditions in which they found themselves. "Wild Flowers" is not only a tragic story, it also symbolizes belief in kindness, love and beauty.
A title—symbol reflects the content-conceptual information in the most conspicuous manner. The title of J.Galsworthy's novel "The White Monkey" can serve as an example. The image of the white monkey, given in the title, symbolizes ravageness of the younger generation of English bourgeoisie. It is an image of the white monkey from the Chinese picture, which Soames presented to his daughter.
The monkey is eating an orange and throws about its rind, her eyes reflecting deep yearning and dissatisfaction. In the yearning eyes of the monkey, in her troubled look and dissatisfaction Galsworthy incarnates the perception of life by the younger generation of English bourgeoisie. The representatives of this generation have no faith, no aim in life, no moral principles to guide their conduct by.
It is possible to classify titles according to their form and CGI or
CFI reflected in them: I) a title-symbol, 2) a title-thesis, 3) a title— quotation, 4) a title—report, 5} a title—hint, 6) a title—narration.