Which term refers to the interpretive framework used to study texts?

• A. Hermeneutic
• B. Exegesis
• C. Semiotics
• D. Grammar

Answer: (A)

Hermeneutics is the interpretive framework used to study texts. It’s the field that asks how meaning is produced and understood, taking into account language, context, the author’s perspective, and the reader’s interaction with the text. In literary analysis, a hermeneutic approach guides how you interpret what a text is doing, what it means in its historical moment, and how readers come to knowledge through interpretation. Exegesis focuses on explaining specific texts, often within religious settings, and involves close reading to uncover intended meaning within a given context—it's a practice within interpretation rather than the broad method. Semiotics analyzes signs and how meaning is generated through systems of signs, codes, and conventions; it’s a toolbox for analyzing meaning, not the general interpretive framework itself. Grammar concerns the rules of language and sentence structure, essential for comprehension but not the framework for interpreting texts. So the interpretive framework is hermeneutics.