Talk:Reader-response criticism

David Bleich

It appears that the David Bleich to whom this article wikilinks is not the correct person. The subject of the linked article doesn't seem to have made any substantial contributions to literary theory. I am reasonably certain that this David Bleich is the man in question. MeredithParmer 04:57, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

(Stanley?) Fish and "previous experience"

Fish explains reader-response criticism as how the reader interprets the text due to previous experiences in their lives. This is really broad, and all-encompassing.... so what is the "actual" definition? Does anyone have any side information? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.100.147.223 (talk • contribs)

Fish changes his scales pretty often, but in this context his idea of the "interpretive community" is most salient. One key objection to reader-response theory is that it open the door to anarchy -- every reading is as good as another. But Fish argues that readers interpret the text in ways that are compatible with their culture and time and so on, and in this way there is a boundary as to how they can read a text. Fish assumes a constructionist perspective in this answer: that culture and environment form the interpretive actions of readers.Pscisco 19:42, 19 October 2007 (UTC)

Cleanup

The article wants some revision or rewriting near the beginning to have a better introduction for people unfamiliar with the topic. I am not a critic or theorist, but I'll throw out this draft introduction for more knowledgeable people to improve upon:

Reader-response criticism is a school of literary theory that focuses on the reader or audience and their experiencing of a literary work, in contrast to other schools and theories which focus attention primarily on the author or the content and form of the work. Although literary theory has long paid some attention to reader experience as well as authorial intent and the form of a work, modern reader-response criticism began in the 1960s and 70s ..... [transpose some material from the Relation to Criticism section]

--Jim Henry 10:34, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

To the reader-response critic, however, reading is always both subjective and objective, and their question is not which but how.

This sentence is a bit cryptic... if someone knows what it is supposed to mean, please rewrite it. --Jim Henry 10:42, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

The article also wants references and probably external links. --Jim Henry 10:44, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

The article is wrong in its description of formalism (which is the same thing as New Criticism). Formalists don't deny a role to the reader (you have to read a text if you want to experience it), but interpreting a text means to examine its elements and not anything that is outside of those elements. It's nonsensical to say "the New Critics' position assumed an objective, fixed text that could be studied apart from any human" when nothing but a human can study and interpret a text.Pscisco 19:53, 19 October 2007 (UTC)