Essay on Reader Response Criticism - 976 Words

Fish’s Reader Response Criticism is composed of two interdependent ideas: first, that the meaning of texts is shaped by the reading experience itself, and second, that these meanings cannot be judged to be correct or incorrect, but merely belonging to one â€Å"interpretive community† or another. The first idea may be identified as the executive aspect of Reader Response Criticism because it analyzes the act of reading, while the second idea is the epistemological aspect of the theory because it circumscribes the knowledge we can acquire about a text to the merely relative. Studied independently, each aspect of Reader Response Theory offers by itself strong arguments countervailing the formalist stance of the New Critics. But as we will see,†¦show more content†¦This excerpt begins at the level of innate human concepts (flesh) and proceeds through the more concrete level of medical terminology (muscles, blood, epidermis) and onwards through an evocative metapho r (red cloud). Before the reader reaches the final clause (â€Å"whose soul is lightning†), he has built up an expectation that a culminating trope will be used to close the sentence, as is usual. Instead, the fragment ends with â€Å"whose soul is lightning† which refers not to the red cloud, but to â€Å"the flesh itself.† In other words, the red cloud is not the object of the concluding clause, but a â€Å"psychological multiplier:† the reader sees a red cloud (associated with storms) and then sees lightning exacerbated by the immediately preceding image. Now the reader possesses a clear mental picture of the passionate flesh, but the strange syntax (both in French and English) leaves him uncertain about what exactly the text has said: is lightning the soul of the flesh? Is the soul the lightning emitted by the flesh? This is an important point—is the soul passion? Or is passion simply one of several manifestations of the soul? Yourcenar has d eliberately shrouded this discussion in complex syntax because the distinction itself confounds us. If you are lost as to what exactly the text says right now, Yourcenar has achieved her aim. Now take a look at Grace Frick’s artful translation of the same text: The flesh itself, that amazing instrument of muscles, blood, and skin, thatShow MoreRelatedEssay on Reader Response Criticism of All Bears717 Words   |  3 Pagesauthor is often not over their shoulder interpreting the text as he or she meant it to come across. The readers are usually equipped with their own previous knowledge, as well as society biases based on his or her previous life experiences. Solely from the use of these tools, as well as the reader’s vocabulary, will a reader interpret the words in front of him or her. Reader Response Criticism argues this very point. The point of any piece should be subjective, as in, it should give everyone theRead MoreEssay on Reader Response Criticism to Gods Determinations607 Words   |  3 Pages Reader Response Criticism to Gods Determinationsnbsp;nbsp; For the reader demanding either rational sense or aesthetic pleasure from poetry, reading the preface to Edward Taylors Gods Determinations is humbling in ways unintended by the 17th century Puritan minister and poet. Rationality per se seems rejected at the start, where we are asked first to comprehend Infinity, and then to envision it (everything) beholding all things(also everything). Things get no clearer as weRead More Essay on Camus’ The Stranger (The Outsider): Reader Response Criticism2226 Words   |  9 PagesReader Response Criticism to Camus’ The Stranger (The Outsider)  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In The Stranger (The Outsider), Albert Camus anticipates an active reader that will react to his text. He wants the reader to form a changing, dynamic opinion of Meursault. The reader can create a consciousness for Meursault from the facts that Meursault reports. By using vague and ambiguous language, Camus stimulates the reader to explore all possibilities of meaning. Camus also intends to shock the reader into rereadingRead More Reader-Response Criticism of James Joyce’s Eveline from Dubliners2399 Words   |  10 PagesSubjective Reader-Response Criticism of James Joyce’s Eveline The subjectivity evident in literary interpretation is hard to deny. Though one person may feel that James Joyce’s writing proves Joyce’s support of the feminist movement, another may believe that Joyce views women as inferior. What could account for such a difference in opinions? Schwarz explains that subjective reader-response critics would respond to a question such as this by answering that each reader uses the Read MoreThe Theories Of New Criticism1472 Words   |  6 PagesDuring the early part of the 20th century, the formalist theories of New Criticism arose as the preeminent approach to teaching literature in college and high school curricula. Centered on the idea that there is a single, fixed meaning inherent in a literary work, New Criticism is text centered with no consideration given to the author or the reader. The text exists in and of itself, and New Critics advocate methodical and systematic reading, focusing on the structure of the text to define itsRead MoreEssay on Reader Response to The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien801 Words   |  4 Pages Position Paper: Reader-response nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;I read a book the other day. It was a wonderful book called The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. I really enjoyed it; it gives the background information on the creation of Middle Earth. In it, Tolkien tells us of Illà ºvatar, Eà ¤, the Valar and the birth of Elves, Dwarves and Men. But, you know, I don’t think it has anything at all to do with Elves, Dwarves, Men and some god named Illà ºvatar. I think Tolkien really wanted to write a BiblicalRead More Reader Response to James Joyces The Dead Essays1072 Words   |  5 PagesReader Response to Joyces The Dead       James Joyces story The Dead has a tremendous impact on the readers, especially those who are familiar with the political situation in Ireland at the time about which the Joyce wrote the final story in Dubliners.   In exploring the meaning of James Joyces long short-story, The Dead, there are many critical approaches to take.   Each approach gives readers a lens, a set of guidelines through which to examine and express ideasRead MoreDo We Write the Text We Read by Reed Way Dasenbrock802 Words   |  3 Pagesaltered and revised as the text permits. Dasenbrock argues that through this passing theory, readers develop a sense of value for the literary work and can progress their own learning capabilities. Dasenbrock utilizes other theorists to make this point, specifically Stanley Fish who postulates that individuals read texts differently because they interpret differently. He explains that interpretations of the reader are created through their beliefs and furthermore, that because people have such differentRead MoreA World Of Calamity, By Ross Gay883 Words   |  4 Pagespoetry to readers allowing them to gain understanding of the cruel world that one lives in. Moreover, the unusual brutalities that people are inevitable confronted with in life. The common denominators within Gay’s poems such as violence, love, fear, and loss allows the reader to visualize characters’ transfo rmation within his poems. In a world of calamity, Gay has created poems that portray the corporal conforming to gender and sex but also human development. Using a reader-response criticism lens,Read More The Shifting Narratee in The Turn of the Screw Essay892 Words   |  4 Pagesto whom a narrative is addressed. First, he establishes what a zero-degree narratee (or possessor of a minimum number of specific narratee characteristics identified by Prince) is and is not: A narratee is not the actual reader, the implied reader, or the ideal reader. The narratee is beholden to the narrator, because, Without the assistance of the narrator, without his explanations and the information supplied by him, the narratee is able neither to interpret the value of an action or to