Texts can be interpreted in many different ways. Being able to understand a reading is key in filling yourself with knowledge. In Ovid's collection of stories, Metamorphoses, different readers misconstrue what they are told, while others understand the true meaning of what is said to them. Pentheus is an eisegetic reader which means he interprets a text by forcing his own ideas upon it. Pyrrha is a literal reader which means she can only see one meaning and can not recognize symbols or metaphors. Acoetes is an exegetic reader which means he can interpret the text perfectly. It is important to be an exegetic reader because you always have to keep reading for the deeper part of a story to figure out the true meaning.
Pentheus’ single minded interpretation of the world led to his death. His arrogance and inability to listen to …show more content…
Pentheus is an eisegetic reader because he makes his own interpretations of the world, which leads him to believe that kidnapping Bacchus would be a good idea to prove he is not a god. He is proved wrong when he is outsmarted by Bacchus and gets ripped apart by his mother and aunts. Pyrrha, being a literal reader, only allowed her to take the literal meaning out of what the oracle of Themis said about throwing her mother's bones. She understood this as literally digging up her mother and throwing her bones to recreate humans. In actuality he meant “mother” meaning earth and “bones” meaning stones but she is not able to understand that. Acoetes is an exegetic reader and is the best interpreter because he is able to dig deep and realize that the little boy/girl is disguised as a god (Bacchus). Being able to interpret this correctly saved him from an unfortunate fate and he is freed by Bacchus for his ability to depict things greatly. Thus, it is important to be an exegetic reader because you always have to keep reading for the deeper part of a story to figure out the true
Pentheus’ single minded interpretation of the world led to his death. His arrogance and inability to listen to …show more content…
Pentheus is an eisegetic reader because he makes his own interpretations of the world, which leads him to believe that kidnapping Bacchus would be a good idea to prove he is not a god. He is proved wrong when he is outsmarted by Bacchus and gets ripped apart by his mother and aunts. Pyrrha, being a literal reader, only allowed her to take the literal meaning out of what the oracle of Themis said about throwing her mother's bones. She understood this as literally digging up her mother and throwing her bones to recreate humans. In actuality he meant “mother” meaning earth and “bones” meaning stones but she is not able to understand that. Acoetes is an exegetic reader and is the best interpreter because he is able to dig deep and realize that the little boy/girl is disguised as a god (Bacchus). Being able to interpret this correctly saved him from an unfortunate fate and he is freed by Bacchus for his ability to depict things greatly. Thus, it is important to be an exegetic reader because you always have to keep reading for the deeper part of a story to figure out the true