28 pages 56 minutes read

Susan Sontag

Against Interpretation

Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1966

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Essay Topics

1.

At the end of “Against Interpretation,” Sontag argues in favor of an “erotics of art.” Based on her earlier points in the essay, how might this “erotics of art” manifest in reality?

2.

What might encourage interpreters to focus on an attention to form as opposed to interpretation or subtext? What are the personal or cultural benefits of doing so?

3.

Sontag mentions a few instances of how art itself can avoid interpretation. Aside from the examples she offers, what others might exist and follow the model that she outlines?