On The Subjectivity Of Literary Appreciation

There have been many interesting commentaries in Chinese and western literarytheories on the subjectivity of literary appreciation. In the eyes of Chinese critics,"poetry makes different interpretation possible," and '' its interpretation can never beexhausted". They have entrusted readers with the power of recreation. Meanwhilewestern reception theories have contained such notions as "concretization", "fusion ofhorizons" "horizon of expectations", and "distantiation and aPpropriation". Theseliterary views, which provide an overall examination of the relationship among theauhof, the text and the reader, have established the subjective position of thereader(appreciator), bestowing upon him the undeniable power of interpretation.However, they are flawed by imprecision of expression and exaggeration of thereader's role.Chinese and western views on the subjectivity of literary aPpreciation have led tothe emergence of the traditional paradigm and the modern paradigm. The traditionalparadigm advocates the unity of understanding the author and creative departure fromhim. This approach holds that only on the basis of representing the author'sintention and the text's meaning can the reader undertake the work of limitedrecreation. By contrast, the modern paradigm has liberated the reader from anyconstraints of the test, entrusting him with the power to freely discover and creatingmeaning. The traditional paradigm limits the reader's creative departure, restraininghis imagination and recreation to some extent. Whereas the modern paradigmbroadens the reader's space of recreation, but endangers the representation of thetext's objective meaning. Generally speaking, the traditional paradigm is suitable foraPpreciation of literary works other than the modernistic pieces while the modernparadigm may be used to aPpreciate literary works of modernism and post-modernism.If employed appropriately, the two aPproaches may well complement each other.