The Structure of Literary Understanding

Name: The Structure of Literary Understanding
Brand: Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press

The Structure of Literary UnderstandingAuthor(s): Stein Haugom Olsen\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9780521316316, 978-0521316316\nSynopsis\nHow does a reader respond to a work of literature and how does he begin to evaluate it? Mr Olsen attempts to answer these and related questions. The book is in two parts. In the first three chapters, the author demolishes established theories that literature has a special language, provides a heightened insight into 'truth' and has emotion as its prime currency. In the remaining chapters Mr Olsen constructs and fully illustrates the theory that understanding of a work of literature comes in two complementary stages: first, judgements about the author's aesthetic intentions (interpretation); second, appreciation of the aesthetic qualities of the work (evaluation). At the end of his argument, attempting an answer to the question 'Why is literature important?'.