Re: Still a "nice" theory...
WILL HOCHMAN (hochman@uscolo.edu)
Wed, 25 Nov 1998 10:46:24 -0700 (MST)
On Wed, 25 Nov 1998, Jon Tveite wrote:
> Whether the author likes it or not, that's what is
> happening any time somebody connects with a work of fiction.
One of my favorite literary theorists used the following words to describe
something of Jon's good point:
"Under the magnetism of the ordered symbols of the text, [the reader]
marshals his resources and crystallizes out from the stuff of memory,
thought, and feeling a new order, a new experience, which he sees as the
poem. This becomes part of the ongoing stream of his life experience, to
be reflected on from any angle important to him as a human being."
Louise Rosenblatt, _The Reader, The Text, The Poem_
Whereas I understand the need for authorial intention when composing, the
need dissipates when one focuses on readers. Good composition creates
ongoing meaning and I agree with Frank Kermode's notion that a classic
text is one that yields multiple meanings over time, so it may be right to
understand intention as part of the process...though what an author is not
seeing in his own work is also part of the process...
and the thing of intention for me is that it breaks down when I think
about literature as a process...yes, it breaks down into some mighty fine
"intentional" pieces among other chunks of lit...I guess I just don't
value it as much as others might...yeah, I'm simply saying intentional
along with lots of interesting guests could be invited to literature's
"party"...
will