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The Implied Reader: Patterns of Communication in Prose Fiction from Bunyan to Beckett
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Iser as mentioned in this paper analyzed major works of English fiction ranging from Bunyan, Fielding, Scott, and Thackeray to Joyce and Beckett, and provided a framework for a theory of such literary effects and aesthetic responses.Abstract:
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 solutions to counterbalance them. The content and form of this discovery is the calculated response of the reader -- the implied reader. In discovering the expectations and presuppositions that underlie all his perceptions, the reader learns to "read" himself as he does the text.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Perfect Prophets, Helpful Hippos, and Happy Endings: Noah and Jonah in Children's Bible Storybooks in the United States
TL;DR: In this article, a study of hundreds of children's bible storybooks available in the United States from 1850 to the present and focusing on the way the biblical stories of Noah and Jonah have been retold for children.
Journal ArticleDOI
Expressive Narration in Apollonius' Argonautica
Abstract: More than any other poetic device, similes define the genre of classical epic, since they are virtually absent from other literary genres;1 and the lively vignettes presented by similes are often among the most highly visible and memorable parts of a particular poem. In any poem, whether oral or written, the work an audience has to do in order to figure out the connections between a simile and the narrative makes that narrative more significant and emotionally engaging for the audience because they must actively participate in making its meaning (Tannen 1989: 17). As Fowler says about ekphrasis, which closely resembles simile in this regard, “precisely because ekphrasis represents a pause at the level of narration and cannot be read functionally, the reader is possessed by a strong need to interpret” (1991, 27). Fowler’s phrasing here – “is possessed by a strong need” – exactly captures the allure that similes bring to the audience of a narrative.2 The richly layered allusions to earlier poetry
Dissertation
Picturing transformative texts : anti-colonial learning and the picturebook
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the potential of critical picturebooks and critical pedagogy to counter the exclusion of children from social discourse in the West and propose an anti-colonization approach for picturebooks.
Dissertation
Picking up the Pieces: The Economic Crisis and the Transformation of the Contemporary Peninsular Novel
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine changes in the genre of the Peninsular novel resulting from the impact of the World Economic Crisis that deeply affected Spain beginning in 2008 and analyze how the novels published in Spain between 2007 and 2014 by ten contemporary authors explore the causes of the Economic Crisis and its impact on individuals, social structures and patterns of relationships.
Journal ArticleDOI
‘There's Our Catastrophe’: Empathy, Sacrifice, and the Stageing of Suffering in Beckett's Theatre
TL;DR: Fox as discussed by the authors argues that Beckett demands a different quality of empathy from his audiences, not through the artifice of a character's simulated pain but through the actuality of the performer's physical suffering.