Charged with meaning

Charged with meaning ... The phrase originally comes from Ezra Pound, who argued that 'Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree'. We think the phrase resonates for teachers of English in many ways quite apart from highlighting the central place which literature has traditionally held in the profession. It is of interest that Pound's amorphism is contained in his How to read, a work whose title drips with educative intent. Meaning in language of course has always been at the centre of English. Take almost any syllabus from any jurisdiction and the production and reception of meaning will be at the core of curriculum aims. Charged with meaning captures our fundamental justification for why 'doing things with texts' is important work.