Three Basic Stages in Analysis That Vary Depending on What Theory You Use

1)  Determining the text: what are you reading and where did it come from?

2)  Performing the text: what are you doing when you read?; what should you not do when you read?; what does the text "mean" to a competent reader of the era in which it was composed (Hirsch)?

3)  Interpreting the text. what does the text mean?; what is the significance of that meaning?