{"id":27,"date":"2026-02-09T03:23:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T03:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/tster013\/?p=27"},"modified":"2026-02-16T00:04:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T00:04:33","slug":"enchantment-through-the-lens-of-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/tster013\/2026\/02\/09\/enchantment-through-the-lens-of-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"Enchantment Through the Lens of Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Different strategies are utilized by writers in order to promote enchantment. Two of the ways that I\u2019m going to touch on today would be the use of dramatic irony and the separation of identities. With dramatic irony, readers are consumed by literary elements as their beliefs are challenged as the characters\u2019 beliefs or experiences become their own. This experience as readers allows the questioning of identities to come into place, as readers have to learn how to navigate from their own identities and the ones established by the characters and narratives throughout the text. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enchantment is the path through which we travel through stories. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Enchantment? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enchantment is how we get lost in stories as readers. It\u2019s how we allow ourselves to let go and become enveloped into the lives of characters. As people, we go through stress throughout our everyday lives. Some people find solace in gardening, some find it in swimming, and others find it in literature. The forms of literature that solace may be found in consist of novels, short stories, poems, plays, and other forms. Enchantment is the process that allows us to find solace by encouraging our minds to let go of stresses as we become consumed by the elements of a piece of literature ranging from its characters to its plot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m going to exemplify strategies of enchantment described above through Rita Felski\u2019s Uses of Literature<\/em>, Shakespeare\u2019s Twelfth Night<\/em>, and Iser Wolfgang\u2019s The Reading Process: A Phenomenological Approach. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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How the Texts Described Above Contribute To Enchantment: <\/strong>
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    \n
  • Rita Felski\u2019s concepts of enchantment take play as Shakespeare takes readers outside of themselves and their world, and puts them into the characters and world of his Twelfth Night<\/em>. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Shakespeare\u2019s Twelfth Night <\/em>demonstrates enchantment as readers are engulfed with samples of dramatic irony. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Shakespeare\u2019s Twelfth Night <\/em>demonstrates enchantment as readers are engulfed with samples of dramatic irony. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
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    The Process of Enchantment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Felski had stated, \u201cDisoriented by the power of words, readers are no longer able to distinguish between reality and imagination” (Felski 23). With this, Felski had stressed that the effects of words used within texts have the power to blur the lines for us regarding what\u2019s real and what isn\u2019t. Twelfth Night<\/em>\u2019s reverse aspects for dramatic irony show this effect with readers. Reversed identities serve as a way to blur between what\u2019s real and what\u2019s not.\u00a0
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    The character Cesario is really a woman named Viola, who is in love with Orsino, who is in love with Olivia, while Olivia believes herself to be in love with Cesario(who readers know is really Viola). As readers find themselves enchanted into this world, they find themselves ping-ponging between identities and truths. 
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    Dramatic irony serves to confuse our truths as readers further with the conversation that would take place among these characters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In Act 2 of Twelfth Night<\/em>, Orsino had asked \u201cCesario\u201d in a conversation, \u201cHath stayed upon some favor that it loves. Hath it not, boy?” (Twelfth Night<\/em>. 2. 27-28.). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Within this conversation, Orsino had asked \u201cCesario\u201d about \u201chis\u201d love interest, little does he know that he himself is the love interest of \u201cCesario.\u201d With Orsino believing Viola to be Cesario, readers fight with knowing Cesario is Cesario as they identify with Orsino, but fight with their own separate identities as readers knowing that Cesario is Orsino. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Felski had stated, \u201cThe experience of being wrapped up in a novel or a film – whether \u201chigh\u201d or \u201clow\u201d – confounds our deeply held beliefs about the rationality and autonomy of persons” (Felski 54).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \ud83d\udc46
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    That\u2019s a quote to take home(or don\u2019t\u2026no pressure) for all of my quote-lovers out there. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Felski notes how our experiences as readers through text challenge our own beliefs about the different identities among people, and question the rationality behind these identities. Shakespeare expands on this very notion with Twelfth Night<\/em>, as with the conversation between Orsino and \u201cCesario,\u201d concerning Cesario\u2019s love interest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When Orsino had asked of the woman his \u201clad\u201d was interested in, \u201cCesario\u201d responded to Orsino with, \u201cOf your complexion (Twelfth Night<\/em>. 2. 31.).\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Oh yeah, I bet \u201cshe\u201d is of Orsino\u2019s complexion. Come on, Orsino, that\u2019s Olivia telling you she\u2019s in love with you. Her facade of a guy can\u2019t honestly be that good <\/strong>\ud83d\ude44<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Though, maybe it was. Viola had Duke fooled in that movie, didn\u2019t she?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \u201cCesario\u201d is telling Orsino that he\u2019s in love with a woman that has a similar complexion to him, though unbeknown to Orsino, he is that woman Cesario is describing. This confuses us as we all know that \u201cCesario\u201d is confessing his love for a woman, while there\u2019s another part of us that knows very well  that\u2019s really our girl Viola confessing to clueless Orsino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wolfgang Iser dives deeper into this separation of identities. Iser had stated, \u201cWhat is normally meant as \u201cidentification\u201d is the establishment of affinities between oneself and someone outside oneself – a familiar ground on which we experience the unfamiliar” (Iser 1230).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u261d\ufe0f
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    Feel free to take that quote home too(or not, like I said\u2026no pressure). <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Iser delves into how our identification with text consists of two separate entities between ourselves and someone who is being established by the text through the unfamiliar information we\u2019re being fed. This unfamiliar information creates a breeding ground for the formation of the other \u201cself\u201d being created by the text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Shakespeare\u2019s Twelfth Night <\/em>presents plenty of unfamiliar information that would force this form of identification on us with the unfamiliarity of the festive aspects presented through the characters\u2019 own wavering  identities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    After realizing Olivia\u2019s love for \u201cher,\u201d Viola had stated to Malvolio, \u201cWhat will become of this? As I am man, my state is desperate for my master\u2019s love. As I am woman” (Twelfth Night<\/em>. 2. 2. 36-38).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Viola had realized Olivia\u2019s affections for \u201cher,\u201d though they were really of Cesario (because our girl Viola played a dude so well that Olivia fell in love who she thought was \u201cCesario\u201d but really Olivia \ud83d\udc81) Viola was struggling with the realization of the identity she had on the outside as Cesario( who Olivia was in love with), and her inside identity as Viola who was in love with Orsino.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This struggle resonates with our own struggles of the separation that takes place when we read, soaking in multiple identities from multiple characters. The struggle is REAL<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I could be halfway through a book before remembering I\u2019m not actually a Viking on my way to save my people \ud83e\uddd1\u200d\ud83e\uddaf
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Enchantment, Enchantment, Wherefore Art Thou Enchantment? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u261d\ufe0f<\/strong>

    (Insert dramatic lovey-dovey music here)<\/strong>

    As readers, enchantment will be everywhere. Enchantment will be everywhere we decide to go and everyone we decide to be when we open up a piece of literature. It\u2019s what allows us to become so invested in stories and forget that we\u2019re not actually the woman that Edward and Jacob are fighting over (Team Edward, by the way \ud83e\udd1a).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Enchantment is what allows us to find peace in our stories, quotes, poems, and other forms of literature. Enchantment is what carries us through life as we find solace within the arts that literature provides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Whatever my insecurities in life, at least I know that enchantment will never ghost me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \ud83e\udd70
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Felski, Rita. \u201cEnchantment.\u201d Uses of Literature<\/em>. Blackwell Publishing. 2008. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Iser, Wolfgang. \u201cThe Reading Process: A Phenomenological Approach.\u201d The Act of Reading: A Theory of Aesthetic Response<\/em>. Hopkins Press. 1978. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night<\/em>. Edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. The Folger Shakespeare Library. 1932. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Different strategies are utilized by writers in order to promote enchantment. Two of the ways that I\u2019m going to touch on today would be the use of dramatic irony and the separation of identities. With dramatic irony, readers are consumed by literary elements as their beliefs are challenged as the characters\u2019 beliefs or experiences become […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7422,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/tster013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/tster013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/tster013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/tster013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7422"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/tster013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/tster013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/tster013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/tster013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/tster013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}