The Interactive Relationship Between The Reader And The Text

Abstract

Reception theory gained significant importance in Western literary studies after a period of hesitation and reservation that accompanied its emergence, which contributed to its delayed spread until the late 1960s. This delay is attributed to the dominance of the realist and psychological schools in the critical field at that time. However, the emergence of this theory coincided with the rise of a group of critical theories that brought about radical transformations in the understanding of literature in general, and the role of the reader in particular.

A major contribution to the development of this theory is credited to the pioneer Wolfgang Iser, who created an epistemological break with the psychological approach and shifted attention toward the reader as the central axis in the process of text reception, along with the resulting experiences of pleasure, criticism, interaction, and dialogue with the text.

From here arises the question: how does the relationship between the reader and the text operate according to Wolfgang Iser’s perspective?