Villa,+Mayra



= **Introduction**  =

Wolfgang Iser is a theorist mostly incorporated in Reader’s Response Criticism. He stresses the concept of "implied reader" and "implied author", which are both core elements in Reader’s Response Criticism. Iser is also known for challenging predisposed ideas of "text-centered" criticism, and demonstrated the importance of the reader, the reader's reaction or what the reader brought to the piece of literature, and that of the "implied reader".

= **Biography**  =

Wolfgang Iser was born on the 22nd of July in 1926 in Marienberg, Saxony, which was part of Germany before World War II, after which became part of the “Russian zone” (Thomas 2). Iser studied English, German literature, and philosophy at Leipzig University before exchanging to Tuebingen University following Hans Georg Gadamer, who was a professor that had been relocated (Thomas 2). Iser received his Ph.D at Heidelberg University, which was where he met his wife, Lore. Wolfgang Iser passed away on the 24th of January in 2007.



= **Overview**  =

Where different “old white guys” tend to sway towards text based criticism completely obliterating the reader and author, Wolfgang Iser promotes and emphasizing the importance of the reader. The type of criticism he agrees with would definitely and obviously be Reader’s Response. In this particular criticism, the focus is placed on the reader. Literature does not become worthwhile, unless it strikes an emotional reaction from the reader. If no such reaction occurs, then the piece of literature fails. According to Barbara McManus, “literature exists only when it is read; meaning is an even”. This a core belief for Reader Response, which makes sense that it would be a core belief for Wolfgang Iser, as well. Wolfgang Iser also promotes the idea of “gaps”. According to Iser well written pieces of literature are composed of “gaps”, which are holes within the written piece that allow for the reader to make logical leaps and fill them in. Using this concept allows for a greater importance when it comes to the reader, because the reader becomes an active participant in the work. When it came to literary criticism, Wolfgang Iser’s focus was primarily on the reader, rather than the text itself. . Unlike New Critics, Iser is consistently looking for areas in the text that allow for interpretation. Unlike New Critics, Iser does not attempt to find a single best reading, instead he looks for areas in a piece that allow for multiple interpretations, and all are considered accurate as long as any assumptions or implications expressed in the reading can be validated with the actual text.



= **Review**  =

“If it is not reality, this is not because it lacks the attributes of reality, but because it tells us something about reality, and the conveyer cannot be identical to what is being conveyed. Furthermore, once the time-honored opposition has been replaced by the concept of communication, attention must be paid to the hitherto neglected recipient of the message.” (Iser 54). The above excerpt from The Act of Reading (1978), shed light to the type of literary theory that Wolfgang Iser focused on. Reading solely the above the two sentences, a reader immediately notices the obvious tendency of Iser to sway towards Reader-Response. In the above noted passage, Iser states that “if it is not reality, … not because it lacks attributes of reality, but because it tells us something about reality”. Here, Iser means to say that written pieces tend to reflect real life situations, and the fact that fiction, which is most literature, does not depict reality it is enjoyable and worthwhile because of the fact that it tells us about our everyday situations and we, as readers easily relate. Iser also stresses that “the conveyer cannot be identical to what is being conveyed”. Here, Iser means to stress that the message cannot be identical to the delivery, thus expressing the different forms of language, such as metaphors, similes, etc. Lastly, he states, “attention must be paid to the hitherto neglected recipient of the message”. Here, Iser openly challenges the predisposed notion of the text being the most important aspect in literary criticism, and states that the “neglected recipient” should become the most important aspect. The “neglected recipient” becomes the reader of the piece, who is, in other forms of criticism, is ignored and neglected. The school of criticism that Iser favors is explicit in the two sentences derived from The Act of Reading (1978), Iser remains faithful and loyal to his Reader-Response preference. Throughout the entire piece this views remain the same, Iser stresses that the importance of the reader is under appreciated and often overlooked, while the text is held on a pedestal. Iser often challenges the importance of text-centered criticism, which was considered the norm during his time.

= **Critical Response**  =

Critics around the world both agreed and disagreed with Wolfgang Iser, but they all respected his opinions and views on literary theory. Although, Wolfgang Iser did have specific views that disagreed with the core of New Criticism, scholars still respected his work and input. Not many critics were happy having Wolfgang Iser question their original "text-centered" criticism, but were respectful to his views, due to the fact that Iser did not just say things because that is how he felt, he integrated himself in researched and proved what he was saying made sense.

= **Major Works** =


 * //Implied Reader (//1972
 * //The Act of Reading (//1978//)//


 * References**
 * Folkenflik, Robert. “Wolfgang Iser’s Eighteenth Century.” Poetics Today. 675-691. Duke University Press, 2006. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. 15 April 2011.
 * Hamilton, Craig A., and Ralf Schneider. “From Iser to Turner and Beyond: Reception Theory Meets Cognitive Criticism”. Style 36.4 (2002): 640. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. 15 April 2011
 * Hubard, Olga M. “The Act of Looking: Wolfgang Iser’s Literary Theory and Meaning Making in the Visual Arts.” International Journal of Art & Design education 27.2 (2008): 168-180. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. 15 April 2011.
 * Mailloux, S. “Prospecting: From Reader Response to Literary Anthropology (book).” Modern Philology 89.2 (1991): 312. Academic Search Premier. 17 April 2011
 * McManus, Barbara. “Reader-Response Criticism.” New York College/Catholic College/The College of New Rochelle. 15 April 2011. http://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/readercrit.html
 * Thomas, Brook. “Wolfgang Iser.” University of California. 15 April 2011. http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/senate/inmemoriam/wolfgangiser.htm
 * Yeghiayan, Eddie. “Wolfgang Iser: A Bibliography.” Home Page-UCI Libaries. 15 April 2011. http://www.lib.uci.edu/about/publications/wellek/iser/