J E S S I C A R E N T Z A N D L I S O L S E NP D . 4

READER – RESPONSE CRITICISM

HISTORY OF THE THEORY

• Gained notable standing in the literary community in the late 1960’s.

• Predecessor: I. A. Richards

• Other main theorists include: Stanley Fish, David Bleich, and Wolfgang Iser.

MAIN IDEAS

• This form of criticism does not pertain to any particular theory; it instead focuses on the reading at hand.• The connection the reader forms with the text is

the most vital part of this theory.• Followers of this philosophy believe that the

reader must bring their own personal thoughts, opinions, moods, and experiences to understand the text.

MAIN IDEAS… CONTINUED

Individualists

• Focus on individual reader’s experience.

Experimenters

• Conduct psychological experiments on a defined set of readers.

• Assume a fairly uniform response by all readers.

Uniformists

KEY WORDS

• Subjective – based on somebody's opinions or feelings rather than on facts or evidence.• Individual – a specific person, distinct

from others in a group.• Variety – the quality of being diverse.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Pros

• Readers may interpret the text in a multitude of ways.• Allows for a more

personal experience.• Focusses on the

importance of the reader and their individual response.

Cons

• Can provide a skewed outlook on literature.

• Brings personal interpretations rather than examining the author’s meaning

• Focusses on the importance of the reader and their individual response.

YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN - JESSICA

My reading of “Young Goodman Brown” was affected by my own past experiences. When Brown started walking through a dark forest on his own, I was reminded of Ichabod Crane from “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, a story I was very familiar with. Because I drew that connection, I spent the story expecting Brown to die by the end, just as Ichabod did.

YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN - LIS

“Young Goodman Brown” takes place in Salem, Virginia. Having prior knowledge concerning the town I expecting heavy references to the witch trials. While the story did make small references to witches and fire, they were not the central themes of the story. Therefore, because of my focus on the witch trials I may have missed key things that would have otherwise been apparent if read through another lens.

SOURCES

•www.poetryfoundation.org•www.westga.edu