Readers' Responses Versus Reader-response Theories: an Empirical Study

How do people interpret literary texts? Reader-response theorists David Bleich, NormanHolland, Stanley Fish and Wolfgang Iser havesuggested different ways of conceptualising literaryreading. This book examines how well their theoriesexplain tendencies found in readers? responsesto short fiction. A critical analysis of the theoriesreveals that they rely on problematic assumptionsabout language ? assumptions that Ludwig Wittgensteinquestioned in his late works. The empirical analysisgives rise to three main conclusions. 1) Readers tendto agree in their interpretations much more than theconventional idiosyncrasy thesis suggests. 2) Partieswith opposing interpretations often pay attention tothe same passages and acknowledge the possibility ofan alternative interpretation. 3) Situations wherememories of personal experiences seem to influence aninterpretation are rare, and in such cases the memoryhas a strong emotional charge. This book offersteachers, students, researchers and literaryenthusiasts reasons to re-examine commonassumptions related to literary interpretation and tobroaden their understanding of how readersmake sense of texts.