The Study Of Harold Bloom’s Literary Reading Theory

Harold Bloom is a contemporary American heavyweight literary critic and literary theorist with outstanding academic achievement. Bloom academic literary criticism involves many aspects, including poetic theory, classical and religious criticism. Meanwhile, he also has a unique perspective on literary reading theory. This thesis mainly discusses the following aspects.The introduction briefly describes Harold Bloom’s literary reading theory based on reading the western literary canon. And it also refers to the domestic and foreign research status, research methods, significance and features, innovations of this thesis’ topic, and literary reading theory’s value and status as an important aspect of literary classic study.The first chapter discusses the ideological source of Broom’s literary reading concept. Bloom’s reading theory creatively inherits predecessors’ theory. He draws Derrida and de Man deconstructive reading rhetorical theory. And he regards rhetorical interpretation and aesthetic interpretation as classic elements of literary reading. In terms of psychological mechanisms of reading, he carrys on Freud’s concept of defense and put forward a strong reading concept to the readers. On the side of the purpose and value of reading, Bloom admires Emerson’s pragmatism and valued the importance of the readers’ unique reading concepts.The second chapter discusses literary readers’ powerful concepts on literary reading. Reading classic literature, the reader is facing the anxiety of the classical influence. Namely speaking, the younger reader is posed to be surrounded by anxiety. To counter this anxiety surround, the readers must rely on their own willpower to factual defenses and "misread" the classic. Thus they can open up a new space in the factual surround. Meanwhile, the writer is also a reader. Younger writers carve out their own space by creatively misread the elder’s works. Reading is a misreading. Misreading is a criticism. Creation is a misreading. This opposed power makes literary classic readers gain an ability of self-interpretation. Therefore, under the freedom of the willpower, the writers can create original classics.The third chapter discusses the principles of literary reading. Bloom’s reading is the aesthetic autonomy-oriented reading. First, Bloom strongly opposes annoying schools’ literary classic interpretation, advocates clear academic "Cultural Poetics", and praises the orthodox position of "literary criticism". Second, he believes reading is a way to construct a personal myth but not a kind of society irrespective of cognitive style. Again, Bloom believes irony literature plays an important role in the process of reading classics. Irony is a rhetorical criticism metaphor and also the essence of literature. Contemporary Literary Criticism should restore irony aestheticism and put aesthetic self-depth reading on literary classics.The fourth chapter is about Broom’s literary reading function. Bloom’s reading is about to experience loneliness and death confrontation, which goes beyond the limitation and faces the noble and great. Loneliness and death are metaphors. Loneliness is the freedom of individual self-reading experience, and death means the limitation of life and art. The purpose of literary classics reading is to pursue this kind of solitude and freedom, works against the death, pursuits the eternal value, and ultimately goes beyond the limitation, getting high and great.Epilogue briefly assesses the value of the significance and limitations of literature reading theory. First, his reading theory is an adversarial reading theory. This multidimensional combination of reading, criticism and creation provides new ideas for the western and Chinese literary criticism development. Second, Bloom’s literary reading theory insists to the aesthetic tradition, which makes active influence on the reform the literary criticism. Third, Bloom’s reading theory has specific limitation, such as the boycott of cultural external research and the over-reliance on individual spirit. Finally, Bloom’s outstanding achievements on literary classics study and persistence of the traditional aesthetic show his persistent criticism spirit and his unique critic’s character has a huge impact on his readers.