The Authority of the Reader A Reading of Classical Arabic Critical Thought

Abstract

This study seeks to explore the status of the reader and the extent of their role in the production of literary meaning. A literary text is founded upon the duality of closure and openness: it is, on the one hand, a self-contained linguistic structure, and, on the other, it requires the act of reading to unfold its semantic potential. From this perspective, modern and contemporary literary criticism has approached the production of literary and artistic works through the interaction of three competing authorities.

The first is the authority of the author, advocated by the historical, psychological, and sociological approaches, all of which regard the literary work as inseparable from its creator. The second is the authority of the text, characteristic of Structuralism, Poetics, and Deconstruction, where the author is marginalized or symbolically eliminated through the notion of the "death of the author." The third is the authority of the reader (or recipient), who actively engages with the text and participates in the construction and actualization of its meaning through the interpretative act.