There is a tacit assumption that interpretation comes naturally, that human beings live by constantly interpreting. In this sense, we might even rephrase Descartes by saying: We interpret, therefore we are. While such a basic human disposition makes interpretation appear to come naturally, the forms it takes, however, do not. In this work, Iser offers a fresh approach by formulating an "anatomy of interpretation" through which we can understand the act of interpretation in its many different manifestations. For Iser, there are several different genres of interpretation, all of which are...
There is a tacit assumption that interpretation comes naturally, that human beings live by constantly interpreting. In this sense, we might even rephr...
There is a tacit assumption that interpretation comes naturally, that human beings live by constantly interpreting. In this sense, we might even rephrase Descartes by saying: We interpret, therefore we are. While such a basic human disposition makes interpretation appear to come naturally, the forms it takes, however, do not. In this work, Iser offers a fresh approach by formulating an "anatomy of interpretation" through which we can understand the act of interpretation in its many different manifestations. For Iser, there are several different genres of interpretation, all of which are...
There is a tacit assumption that interpretation comes naturally, that human beings live by constantly interpreting. In this sense, we might even rephr...
Like no other art form, the novel confronts its readers with circumstances arising from their own environment of social and historical norms and stimulates them to assess and criticize their surroundings. By analyzing major works of English fiction ranging from Bunyan, Fielding, Scott, and Thackeray to Joyce and Beckett, renowned critic Wolfgang Iser here provides a framework for a theory of such literary effects and aesthetic responses. Iser's focus is on the theme of discovery, whereby the reader is given the chance to recognize the deficiencies of his own existence and the suggested...
Like no other art form, the novel confronts its readers with circumstances arising from their own environment of social and historical norms and stimu...
Iser examines what happens during the reading process, and how it is basic to the development of a theory of aesthetic response, setting in motion a chain of events that depends both on the text and the exercise of certain human faculties.
Iser examines what happens during the reading process, and how it is basic to the development of a theory of aesthetic response, setting in motion a c...
The pioneer of -literary anthropology, - Wolfgang Iser presents a wide-ranging and comprehensive exploration of this new field in an attempt to explain the human need for the -particular form of make-believe- known as literature. Ranging from the Renaissance pastoral to Coleridge to Sartre and Beckett, The Fictive and the Imaginary is a distinguished work of scholarship from one of Europe's most respected and influential critics.
The pioneer of -literary anthropology, - Wolfgang Iser presents a wide-ranging and comprehensive exploration of this new field in an attempt to exp...
Why do we need literature and what does this need tell us about human nature? Iser shows how these questions come from his work on reader-response criticism and that the answers may lie in the new field of literary anthropology. He relates theoretical issues to analyses of individual works.
Why do we need literature and what does this need tell us about human nature? Iser shows how these questions come from his work on reader-response cri...
The articulation of the unsayable, of negativity--that which has been excluded by what is sayable--is one of the most important areas of contemporary humanistic study. This volume brings together fifteen outstanding literary theorists and philosophers to examine ways to make the unsayable tangible.
The articulation of the unsayable, of negativity--that which has been excluded by what is sayable--is one of the most important areas of contemporary ...
These essays-which consider a wide variety of cultures from ancient Egypt to contemporary Japan- describe the conditions under which cultures that do not dominate each other may yet achieve a limited translatability of cultures.
These essays-which consider a wide variety of cultures from ancient Egypt to contemporary Japan- describe the conditions under which cultures that do ...
This succinct introduction to modern theories of literature and the arts demonstrates how each theory is built and what it can accomplish.
Represents a wide variety of theories, including phenomenological theory, hermeneutical theory, gestalt theory, reception theory, semiotic theory, Marxist theory, deconstruction, anthropological theory, and feminist theory.
Uses classic literary texts, such as Keats's Ode on a Grecian Urn, Spenser's The Shephearde's Calender and T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land to illustrate his explanations.
Includes key...
This succinct introduction to modern theories of literature and the arts demonstrates how each theory is built and what it can accomplish.
New, unpublished pieces by Wolfgang Iser on reader theory; the novel Tom Jones; fictionalizing; and cultural studies, among others.
Wolfgang Iser is a leading exponent of 'reception theory'. Wolfgang Iser's books include The Implied Reader (1974), The Act of Reading (1978), Prospecting (1989) and The Fictive and the Imaginary (1993). He has written books on Laurence Sterne (1988) and Walter Pater (1987). He is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Constance in Germany.
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EXTRACT FROM CHAPTER...
Stepping Forward: Essays, Lectures and Interviews
New, unpublished pieces by Wolfgang Iser on reader theory; the novel Tom Jones; fictionalizing; ...
