Critical Methods Assessment

Determinant of Literary Meaning: Author`s Intention or Reader`s Interpretation? Introduction Perhaps one of the greatest proofs of the degree of the development of mankind is the existence of literature. Indeed, the move from a strict chronological narration of events to a more artistic and colourful presentation of events, both real and fictional, can be seen as one of the marks of the time through which man has risen above his primitive instincts to focus more on the beauty and wonder of those around him. Literature also served both as an example and documentation of the civilizations man has come to develop. Along with the different civilizations of man, literature has undergone numerous developments and changes in its number, styles, forms, and numerous others. From long, detailed and sometimes laconic narratives to more vibrant prose and fictions, and even to shorter poems,1 the world of literature has changed greatly. Yet one aspect of literature that has not changed is its ability to describe the beauty and grandeur of the history of the human race, as well as convey the tragedy of man`s darker tendencies to destroy himself and those around him, even including his environment. However, literature can only really be appreciated if it is well-understood by the audience the author is trying to reach. It is then in here that literary meaning comes in. The said understanding of a work of literature is achieved most especially through literary theory. In its most basic sense, literary theory involves the interpretation and systematic study of literature, or of a literary work. In simpler terms, literary theory can involve the criticism and analysis of a literary work.3 Nevertheless, numerous literary and scientific scholars point out that in addition to the provided definition, literary theory can encompass a lot more aspects, but for purposes of clarity, the said simple definition will be used for this paper. Based on this definition, a more detailed exploration of literary theory, and its final product of literary meaning, will be provided in the next section of this paper. Yet before the said more comprehensive exploration or literary theory will be performed, it is important to note that in relation to literary theory, this paper will then explore literary meaning. More specifically, this paper will analyse what aspects of the literary work really determine literary meaning: is it the author`s intentions, or is it the reader`s interpretation of the message and symbolisms of the literature? This analysis will be conducted first through the delineation of what literary theory and literary meaning are, followed by a discussion of the roles of the author`s intention in literary meaning. Afterwards, the role of the reader`s interpretation in literary meaning will be presented and finally, an overall evaluation or comparison will be conducted. Most importantly, this paper will attempt to prove that as much as the author`s intenti...