Theories of Iser and Barthes - Essay Example

Compare/contrast the rhetorical theories of Iser and Barthes (in “The Structuralist Activity Try to identify areas of agreement and disagreement in their discussions of how readers read and/or how poetry affects its audiences. (151 words) Barthes has an approach to interpretation of literature known as structuralism. Barthes finds the works of literature interesting on what they reveal of the culture and one should not bother to understand what the intentions of the author has been. Both Iser and Barthes agree that concentration should be on trying to make sense of the work of literature rather than the author or the intention of the author. The only difference is that Iser impresses that the value of literature is in making sense of the literature itself while Barthes says literature is the product of the culture. According to Barthes, readers too read and find meaning in the literature just as anthropologists do. These are often expressed symbolically. Iser too finds gaps in the literature of which the reader is expected to make sense. The reader is also expected to make moral judgments of the characters, according to Iser. Compare/contrast the rhetorical theories of Iser and Fetterly. Try to identify areas of agreement and disagreement in their discussions of how readers read and/or how poetry affects its audiences. (186 words). Fetterly states that most of American literature has been written by male and from a male perspective. It also reflects the male oppressive attitude towards women and a woman is expected to identify against herself when she reads such literature. Fetterly further insists that a woman should resist what the literature wants her to do. In contrast Iser feels the value of the literature lies in trying to make sense of the literature. While Fetterly states that women should not allow this sort of literature to affect us as the literature carries the culture, Iser contends that we do not perceive or absorb all that the literature wants to convey at the same time. It takes place over a period of time. Fetterly believes that women should attempt to change the culture. They should not just try to read through the intention of the author but reject it if they find it objectionable but Iser feels that at times the effect on the reader is much later and this is true of a novel as well as poetry. Both however agree that literature affects the reader. . Compare and contrast what three of the following theorists say about the relationship of the individual writer and the literary tradition: Pope, Eliot and Woolf. (411 words) Woolf, Arnold and Eliot all three agree that the individual writer is influenced by the literary tradition but they disagree on the degree and extent. Eliot does not believe in the creative power of the artist at all. He believes that the forces behind the individual artist are at work. Woolf cites examples of women authors for whom conditions were so difficult to add their voices to the literary tradition. Social barriers and worldly experiences imposed on women, made it difficult for them to express their thoughts and feelings through literature. Even if a woman was born with creative talent, it would wither away and even adversely affect her mental state. The material and social conditions normally determined how the women authors wrote. Tradition strongly influences the writer’s work is what Eliot believed in. The writer must possess historical sense which compels him to shape the writing according to prevalent style of literature at that time. This implies that the work of art is not merely built on tradition, it even adds to it. According to Arnold these forces represented the ideas that were circulating in the culture when the piece of work was created. Arnold states that the power of man has to combine with the power of the moment. This implies that the cultural history shapes the work of art. While Arnold’s perception is that culture influences creativity, Woolfe argues that social suppression can hinder creativity. According to Woolf, women resorted to writing novels as this required less effort and concentration. This became the trend as families lived amidst middle class crowded household with little time to themselves. According to Woolfe, writing is influenced by and is an expression of one’s personal experiences in life. Women lacked formal education and they wrote based on their observation and analysis of the characters and their emotions. Others who wrote based on the male tradition bore symptoms of hatred and anger at the limitations being placed on the women. Thus while Woolf believes that writers are victims of circumstances, Eliot argues that there are forces at work behind the individual artist and Arnold calls these forces the power of the moment or the culture which is added to the power of the man. Eliot does not give any credit to the individual writer while the two contend that the tradition influences the writing. Eliot however states that the work of art adds to the tradition even while it is built on tradition. Write an essay in which you compare and contrast what three of the following theorists say we can or can’t learn from literature: Plato, Sidney, Shelley. (306 words) Plato believes that works of literature imitate reality. He argues that literature instead of bringing us closer to the truth takes us far from it as it imitates the imperfect reflection. The material world is itself an imperfect reflection and this when depicted through literature becomes an imitation of the imitation. Plato implies that there is a higher truth of which the world is a reflection but literature is an imitation. Shelly agrees with Plato that there is a higher truth but he does not consider expression through literature to be imagination. He contends that it is through imagination that we can perceive the truth and not through reason. Poetry offers knowledge beyond the reach of reason or science according to Shelley. Poetry enables individuals to sympathize with others. It enables human beings to love and understand each other, to become better human beings. As imagination widens through the poetry or literature, man learns to appreciate beauty, nature and thereby the higher truth. Sidney totally contradicts Plato in the sense he does not believe that poets imitate nature. Rather, according to Sidney, they create another nature. Poets never claim to imitate the world. Through feigning or use of fiction, the artist is able to teach the truth more forcefully. It is this sort of works that attracts people towards knowledge or the higher truth. Thus while all three agree that there exists a higher truth, Sidney and Shelly express that work of art reaches or at least attempts to attract people towards this truth. Work of art may be imagination according to Shelly but it is not imitation of the higher truth as stated by Plato. Imagination helps an individual to delve deeper within and gain insight to the truth. Sidney agrees with Shelly that with the help of fiction, truth can be taught more forcefully. How readers do or should respond to literature (i.e., your rhetorical theory) Refer to at least three theorists read this month in your response, using your agreement or disagreement with elements of their theories to help explain your own. (310 words) Our thoughts are the result of our interaction with the environment and the experiences gained through these interactions. Thoughts give rise to feelings and the feeling is expressed as emotion. Hence literature does not lead to the same response from everyone. We look for means and ways to express these emotions. Literature becomes a means to identify ourselves with the character and respond to it by releasing our emotions. If the piece of literature carries a sad story, we are able to understand it immediately. What is significant is that we learn a lot through these pieces of literature and it is immaterial if they are fiction. We derive meaningful teachings and attempt to implement them in our life. Thus literature is read for enlightenment. Secondly, literature is also read for relaxation or entertainment. People often select the piece of literature depending upon their real life situations. This conforms to Aristotle’s arguments that human beings learn through imitation. Identifying with the characters in the literature amounts to imitation. Aristotle believes that the pleasure we find in imitation is the pleasure of learning. When we identify with the character, we recognize the connection. Wordsworth thinks that a piece of literature or art should give pleasure derived from certain kinds of emotional experience. According to Wordsworth poetry enhances the power of sensitivity and we learn to appreciate the feelings of others. It can also make a poet of an ordinary human being. This again conforms to my theory that we derive meaningful teachings and apply them in life. Horace’s rhetoric is also in agreement as it says that a piece of poetry or literature should either delight or enlighten the reader. While Aristotle thinks a poet should be a little formal, Horace is more practical No formal theories about good and bad literature are necessary. What is required is that it should either enlighten the reader or provide pleasure, as I mentioned that we can derive teachings or we read for relaxation. Read More