Reader Response Theory Concepts

Reader Response Theory is a literary criticism approach focusing on the reader's role in creating meaning through interaction with a text. Emerging in the 1960s and 1970s, it counters New Criticism by emphasizing subjective experience. Key concepts include subjectivity, interpretation, and the reader's active role. Influences on interpretation include genre, historical context, and emotion. The theory identifies three reader types: efferent, aesthetic, and engaged. Key theorists like Rosenblatt, Iser, Fish, Holland, and Bleich contributed to its development. Critics argue it overlooks the author's intention, but proponents stress the reader's interaction as central.

What is the primary focus of Reader Response Theory?

• The author's intention

• The text's inherent meaning

• The reader's interpretation

• The historical context

What is the main focus of Reader Response Theory?

• The reader's interpretation

• The historical context

• The author's intention

• The text's fixed meaning

In which decades did Reader Response Theory emerge?

• 1940s and 1950s

• 1980s and 1990s

• 2000s and 2010s

• 1960s and 1970s

What does Reader Response Theory suggest about the meaning of a text?

• It is irrelevant

• It is determined by the author

• It is subjective and personal

• It is fixed and objective

What does Reader Response Theory suggest about the reader's experiences?

• They shape their interpretation

• They are irrelevant

• They are solely determined by the author

• They fix the text's meaning

How does Reader Response Theory view the reader's role?

• As a passive recipient

• As an active creator of meaning

• As a critic of the text

• As an irrelevant factor

How does Reader Response Theory view the reader's role in interpretation?

• As passive

• As solely determined by the author

• As active

• As irrelevant

What does Reader Response Theory suggest about the text's genre?

• It fixes the text's meaning

• It influences the reader's interpretation

• It is irrelevant

• It is solely determined by the author

Which aspect does Reader Response Theory emphasize in the reading process?

• Author's biography

• Objective analysis

• Textual structure

• Emotional response

What is the role of historical context in Reader Response Theory?

• It influences the reader's interpretation

• It is ignored

• It fixes the text's meaning

• It is solely determined by the author