Encyclopedia of Opinion
Question
How should we think about interpreting literature?
Position2 of 4

Reader-Response Criticism

Reader-Response critics argue that readers play a significant role in determining a text's meaning. They disagree about the extent of this. Some argue that meaning inheres completely in the reader, while others insist that it resides in both text and reader.

Supporting arguments · 2

  1. Both the reader and text determine meaning
    Popularized by Louise M. Rosenblatt, this theory argues that the text and the reader make meaning together.
  2. A text's meaning depends solely on the reader's experience.
    Subjective reader-response critics argue that a reader's beliefs about and experience of a text determines meaning.