AbstractThis study applies the Foregrounding Theory and Transactional Theory of Literary Reading in analysing and describing the responses of 24 ESL learners reading one L2 literary text. Learners responded by identifying literary devices (foregrounding) and commenting on the character and event (story world) of the narrative text. Findings revealed that high proficient ESL learners scored better in literary device identification. In responding to the story world, learners took up a spectator or participant role depending on the question type presented to them. The significance of the results is discussed followed by discussion on implications of the findings for future research.