John Benjamins Publishing Company
Three fallacies in interpreting literature
Abstract
There are three mistakes that are rather common in recent literary studies, the single context fallacy, the interactional fallacy and the non-referential fallacy, the first of which is particularly common in literary theory and literary pragmatics, the second in the theory and practice of literary interpretation and the third in the criticism of postmodern fiction. All three touch on central points in Roger Sell’s literary-pragmatic, communicational and mediating view of literature. When presenting them I shall speculate on what they are based on, why they are so prevalent, and how they are related and sometimes co-occur. Finally, I try to show that these widespread fallacies also have thwarted any efforts to construct a tenable pragmatics of literary interpretation.
Abstract
There are three mistakes that are rather common in recent literary studies, the single context fallacy, the interactional fallacy and the non-referential fallacy, the first of which is particularly common in literary theory and literary pragmatics, the second in the theory and practice of literary interpretation and the third in the criticism of postmodern fiction. All three touch on central points in Roger Sell’s literary-pragmatic, communicational and mediating view of literature. When presenting them I shall speculate on what they are based on, why they are so prevalent, and how they are related and sometimes co-occur. Finally, I try to show that these widespread fallacies also have thwarted any efforts to construct a tenable pragmatics of literary interpretation.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Tabula gratulatoria vii
- Contributors ix
- Introduction 1
- “This verse marks that” 17
- Humanized intertexts 31
- Appearance and reality in Jane Austen’s Persuasion 49
- Green flowers and golden eyes 61
- “When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean” 77
- Place and communicative personae 89
- Tony Harrison and the rhetorics of reality 107
- Truthful (hi)stories in Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost 119
- Pragmatic Penelope or timeless tales for the times 135
- Three fallacies in interpreting literature 145
- Index 157
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Tabula gratulatoria vii
- Contributors ix
- Introduction 1
- “This verse marks that” 17
- Humanized intertexts 31
- Appearance and reality in Jane Austen’s Persuasion 49
- Green flowers and golden eyes 61
- “When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean” 77
- Place and communicative personae 89
- Tony Harrison and the rhetorics of reality 107
- Truthful (hi)stories in Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost 119
- Pragmatic Penelope or timeless tales for the times 135
- Three fallacies in interpreting literature 145
- Index 157
