Literary Theory

Reader-response theory, a type of literary theory that arose in reaction to formalist literary criticism, has endeavored to shift the emphasis in the interpretation of literature from the text itself to the contributions of readers to the meaning of a text. According to literary critics who endorse reader-response theory, the literary text theory has a monopoly on divining meaning from a text, the formalists’ view appears unnecessarily narrow.

The proponents of formalism argue that their approach is firmly grounded in rational, objective principles, while reader-response theory lacks standards and verges on absolute subjectivity. After all, these proponents argue, no author can create a work that is packed with countless meanings. The meaning of a work of literature, the formalists would and make use of the rich stock of meanings created in encounters between texts and readers.

Emphasizing the varied presuppositions and perceptions that readers bring to the interpretations of a text can uncover hitherto unnoticed dimensions of the text. In fact, many important works have received varying interpretations throughout their existence, suggesting that reader-based interpretations similar to those described by reader-response theory had been operating long before the lively forms of discourse that can continue to support new interpretations long after their original composition.