reader response criticism tyson chapter 6

7/27/2019 Reader Response Criticism Tyson Chapter 6

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Reader ResponseCriticism: Tyson

Chapter 6Sarah Watkins, Darcy Wallace,Brittany Kelley, Kaleigh YoungMegan Foster


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Summary

the ultimate goal of reader-response criticism is toincrease our understanding of the reading process byinvestigating the activities in which readers engage andthe effects of those activities on their interpretations. (188)

Contrary to popular belief, reader-response criticism is notan anything goes theory; instead it is a theory that usesspecific tools that help us analyze our response and theresponse of others.

You may partake in reader-response criticism even whenyou do not realize that you are, because any time an essayanalyzes the act of reading or readers responses, one couldclassify that essay as reader-response criticism (169).Reader response theorists believe that readers actively makemeanings as they read and that the readers role is importantwhen understanding literature. They also believe that awritten text is an event that only occurs within the reader.


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According to Tyson, reader-response criticism can be dividedinto the following five categories:

Transactional reader-response theory , whichis often associated with the work of LouiseRosenblatt, analyzes the transaction between thetext and reader. According to Rosenblatt, inorder for this transaction to occur, we must readin the aesthetic mode, which allows for us todevelop a personal relationship to the text thatencourages judgments and focuses our attentionon the emotional subtleties of its language

(173). Wolfgang Iser believes that in order tointerpret a text, one must use the text itself as aguide.


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Affective stylistics theory

Affective stylistics is the slow-motion, phrase by phrase analysis of how the text structures thereaders response (175). It is used tounderstand how the text, which does not have a

fixed meaning, affects the reader in the processof reading. Stanley Fish thinks it is important toask the question What does the sentence do tothe reader? in order to determine what the text

does. Affective stylistic critics show how thereaders experience is mirrored in descriptionsand experiences in the text.


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Subjective reader-response theory

Subjective reader-response theorists believe that readers responses are the text.In other words, the text is the writtenresponses of readers. David Bleich

believes that when we interpret themeaning of the text we are interpretingthe meaning of the conceptual experience

we created in response to the text (178).


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Psychological reader-response theory

Psychological reader-response theory focuses not onwhat readers interpretations say about the text, but onwhat those interpretations say about themselves.

Norman Holland believes that we use the same psychological responses when reacting to events in our every day lives and when reacting to literary texts.Therefore, the goal of interpretation is to fulfill our

psychological needs and desires and to restore our psychological equilibrium.This interpretive process consists of three stages: (1)defense mode, in which psychological defenses areraised, (2) fantasy mode, in which we interpret the text ina way to tranquilize those defenses, and (3)transformation mode, in which we focus on anintellectual interpretation to avoid an emotional response.


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Social reader-response theory

Social reader-response theorists, such asStanley Fish, argue that all individualsubjective responses are products of theinterpretive community to which we

belong. These interpretive communitiesare dynamic and determine how we willread the text in the first place. With social

reader-response theory, eachinterpretation will simply find whatever itsinterpretive strategies put there (186).


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Key terms and concepts

Reader Response criticism does not meanthat all reader criticism is correct.

Readers actively make meaning out of text depending on who the reader is. Tworeaders could read the same book and gettwo distinct meanings out of the textdepending on their social backgrounds,life experiences, and intellectualcommunities.


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The Five headings of Reader Response Theory:

Transactional: (Louise Rosenblatt) Analyzes the transactionbetween text and reader. Texts act as a stimulus to our responses to whatwe are reading. Texts also act as a blueprint that keeps us on track to whatwe are reading so we do not steer too far away from the actual meaningwith what we are interpreting.

a. Efferent reading: Just focusing on the information that we read inthe text. The reader only focuses on the facts and ideas.b. Aesthetic reading: We focus on the emotional connections that wemake to the characters and story lines in the text, we begin to make

judgments and put ourselves in the place of the characters.c. Determinate meaning: Facts that are given to the reader such as:physical character descriptions, dates, names, and certain events inthe plot.d. Indeterminate meaning: These are spaces in the text that are up forinterpretation. Certain events are actions can have many differentmeanings, these gaps allows the reader to be creative and allow themto create their own interpretation.


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Affective Stylistics

Texts are examines vary closely to determinethe meaning and how it affects the reader in theprocess of reading. Stanley Fish describesstylistics as the structure of the readers

response as it occurs from moment tomoments, not the structure of the text as wemight assemble it (pg 175). Stylistics does notask, What does the sentence say or mean, but

asks,What does the sentence do to the readeror how does the reader of this sentence make

meaning (pg 176).


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Subjective

(David Bleich) This theory claims that readersresponses are the text and there is no literarymeaning beyond what the reader infers. Lessabout the text on the page and more about thetext in our mind.

a.Real Objects: Physical objects such as the printed pages of a text.b.Symbolic objects: The experience created when someonereads those printed pages, much like language itself.c.Symbolization: The feelings, associations, and memoriesthat occur as we read a text.d.Resymbolization: Interpreting the meaning of theconceptual experience we created in response to the text,as well as our evaluation of the texts quality.


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Psychological

(Norman Holland) Our reaction to texts is heavily influencedby the same psychological responses we bring to events inour daily lives. Texts have the ability to tap into the readersunconscious which makes the reader dislike or like a text.

a.Interpretation: The way a reader conceptualizes a text torestore psychological equilibrium.b.Identity theme: The patters of our psychological conflicts andcoping strategies. Through this we unconsciously recreate thetext for a world that exists more realistically to us.c.Defense Mode: Our unconscious defenses are raised by acertain character or event in a text. d.Fantasy Mode: We start to interpret the text in a way thegives us a psychological equilibrium, such as, we start to tellourselves this isnt a real story. e.Transformation Mode: The readers decides to focus on amore intellectual interpretation of the text in order to avoid thesometimes painful emotional responses.


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Social Reader Response

(Stanley fish) There is no such thing as individual subjectiveresponse. Our responses to a text are largely tied to theinterpretive community to which we belong. The reader hasinstilled interpretive strategies from various institutions (highschool, University, churches) and these strategies shape what thereader defines as literary text. The reader can change interpretivecommunities at different times in their lives. Interpretivecommunities have a significant impact on how a singular readerreads a text.

a. Its point is that no interpretation, and therefore no formof literary criticism, can claim to reveal whats in a text (pg186).

Informed reader: The reader who has attained theliterary competence necessary to experience the textthe way the author does.Implied reader: The reader that the text seems to beaddressing. The implied reader varies greatly fromgenre to genre.


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Outside Resources

For a general description of Reader-Response Criticism: Wikipedia:Always a good start

Critical Approaches definition Defines Reader-Response criticism inmore general terms, but also provides information on other types of theory we study in this class, such as deconstruction, Feministcriticism, Marxist criticism, and others that may provide context for reader-response criticism

These sources can help you decipher Transactional Reader-Responsecriticism Reader-response Terms and Criticisms

This excellent website is a clear chart that outlines the types of reader-response criticisms including how each can be defined by thereader, processes used to study them, and terms of art. It even has aquiz where you can test how to apply Reader-Response criticism !
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reader-response_criticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reader-response_criticismhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/Virtualit/poetry/critical_define/crit_reader.htmlhttp://faculty.goucher.edu/eng215/reader_response_terms.htmhttp://faculty.goucher.edu/eng215/test_your_application_of_reader_response_methods.htmhttp://faculty.goucher.edu/eng215/test_your_application_of_reader_response_methods.htmhttp://faculty.goucher.edu/eng215/test_your_application_of_reader_response_methods.htmhttp://faculty.goucher.edu/eng215/test_your_application_of_reader_response_methods.htmhttp://faculty.goucher.edu/eng215/reader_response_terms.htmhttp://faculty.goucher.edu/eng215/reader_response_terms.htmhttp://faculty.goucher.edu/eng215/reader_response_terms.htmhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/Virtualit/poetry/critical_define/crit_reader.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reader-response_criticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reader-response_criticism


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More Outside Resources

Understanding Affective Stylistics: Northeastern Illinois University-Chicago Describes affective reader response as his or her emotionalresponse to the text. Also emphasizes the fact that reader- response isnt

just personal opinion about the text, but takes into account groups of

readers and the social constructs that cause a particular reaction.

University of Toronto: Affective Straightforward definition withattribution to Stanley Fish that calls affective stylistics created in part

by the interpretive strategy that the reader deploys.

Subjective reader-response theory: New York College of NewRochelle: Reader-response Criticism Defines subjective reader-response criticism as how readers interpret text, rather than focusing onthe author or analysis of cues from the text. This website also suppliesthree additional links related to Reader-Response criticism that may

help you further define key terms.
http://www.neiu.edu/~edepartm/dep/profs/scherm/html/readres.htmhttp://www.neiu.edu/~edepartm/dep/profs/scherm/html/readres.htmhttp://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/glossary/Affective_stylistics.htmlhttp://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/readercrit.htmlhttp://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/readercrit.htmlhttp://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/readercrit.htmlhttp://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/readercrit.htmlhttp://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/readercrit.htmlhttp://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/readercrit.htmlhttp://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/glossary/Affective_stylistics.htmlhttp://www.neiu.edu/~edepartm/dep/profs/scherm/html/readres.htmhttp://www.neiu.edu/~edepartm/dep/profs/scherm/html/readres.htmhttp://www.neiu.edu/~edepartm/dep/profs/scherm/html/readres.htm


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And Even More

The Author, the Text, and the Reader Discusses various points of view that can be common in readers, and emphasizes the role of language in creating meaning. Also, importantly, describes how areaders response is affected by his/her own perception of the world:However subjective a reader's response is to the text, it is thecontinuous shaping of the events of the reader's mental process that

slowly adjusts the thoughts to finally reach an understanding of theactual meaning of the text. Psychological reader-response theory: Google Books Let theReader Understand: Reader-response Criticism and the Gospel of Mark. This book can be found from Google or the library, anddiscusses the experience of the reader including empirical study of reading (how psychological mindset affects readers interpretation,developmental psychology, etc).
http://www.literature-study-online.com/essays/reader-response.htmlhttp://books.google.com/books?id=_Tb_oytWOx0C&pg=PA29&lpg=PA29&dq=psychological+reader-response+criticism&source=bl&ots=UeGwa3yJi_&sig=NfFIwDAXf7gREJLtFSgF6PMvM6o&hl=en&ei=pMLvSoT9O4rOsgPFkdz0BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBoQ6AEwBAhttp://books.google.com/books?id=_Tb_oytWOx0C&pg=PA29&lpg=PA29&dq=psychological+reader-response+criticism&source=bl&ots=UeGwa3yJi_&sig=NfFIwDAXf7gREJLtFSgF6PMvM6o&hl=en&ei=pMLvSoT9O4rOsgPFkdz0BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBoQ6AEwBAhttp://www.literature-study-online.com/essays/reader-response.html


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Some Examples to Consider


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Would you like to discuss?

Is reader-response criticism really a valid wayof criticizing literature? Or is it too dependent on personal opinion over f actual information?

Which, in your opinion, is the most accurate typeof reader-response theory?

How does psychologicalreader-response theory relateto Freuds view of the human

psyche? Do you think itsupports Freuds opinion,or goes against it?


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reader response criticism tyson chapter 6

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