Meaning in Literature In reading literary works, we are concerned with the "meaning" of one literary piece or another. However, finding out what something really means is a difficult issue. There are three ways to tackle meaning in literature. I. Meaning is what is intended by (1) . Apart from reading an author’s working in question, readers need to — read (2) by the same author; — get familiar with (3) at the time; — get to know cultural values and symbols of the time. II. Meaning exists "in" the text itself. — in some people’s view meaning is produced by the formal properties of the text like (4) , etc. — in the speaker’s view meaning is created by both conventions of meaning and (5) . Therefore, agreement on meaning could be created by common traditions and conventions of usage. But different time periods and different (6) perspectives could lead to different interpretations of meaning in a text. III. Meaning is created by (7) . — meaning is (8) — meaning is contextual; — meaning requires (9) — practicing competency in reading — practicing other competencies — background research in (10) , etc.