To develop students' abilities in independent literary interpretation and thus to foster in them a deeper enjoyment and appreciation of literature, teachers should attempt to impart an understanding of three basic structural areas in literature. The first of these is an awareness of man in relation to his physical, social, and cultural environment--how characters are affected by and how they react to the obvious and subtle factors present in their surroundings. The second area is an understanding of the various levels of meaning in a work, from the simplest level of plot, to the devices and techniques employed to express tone, symbolic meaning and theme. Finally, a familiarity with form and genre--specifically, an appreciation of how the artist selects and structures the events and ideas he wishes to convey--is essential for increasing the students' analytical literary expertise. (MF)