What type of reading emphasizes emotional understanding and personal responses to the text?

Aesthetic reading is a type of reading that focuses on the emotional understanding and personal responses of the reader to a literary text. This approach invites readers to engage with the text on a deeper, more personal level, allowing for a reflection on feelings, experiences, and interpretations. Through aesthetic reading, individuals often connect their personal life experiences and emotions with the themes, characters, and narratives presented in the text, fostering a rich and subjective engagement with literature.

This contrasts with other reading types. Critical reading, for example, emphasizes the analysis and evaluation of the text, focusing on its arguments and the validity of its content rather than personal emotional engagement. Efferent reading is aimed at extracting information and retaining facts for future use, prioritizing comprehension and retention over personal connection. Informational reading, similarly, concentrates on understanding and utilizing factual content without necessarily invoking an emotional or personal response. Each of these alternative approaches serves different educational purposes, whereas aesthetic reading emphasizes the intrinsic connection between the reader and the text.