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lilmissbluejay:
exeggcute:
you know you don’t need an author’s permission to find symbolism in their work, right? literary analysis (or any form of media analysis, really) isn’t a game where you have to be “correct” about determining the author’s “true intended meaning.” you can just create your own meaning with supporting evidence and that’s perfectly fine, even encouraged! a truly good work can beget an almost infinite number of interpretations, some better than others, but very few are “wrong” unless you’re being obtuse on purpose
My polish teacher always says that we’re working with the art pice and not the author and I think it should be more commonly thought
It’s a critical perspective called “death of the author” - think of it as the artistic equivalent of “intent isn’t fucking magic” - and depending on who you associate with, it is very, very common. (IME it is especially prevalent in crit groups, which are useful as hell.)
((NB: on a personal note, it is not a reason to ignore what happens in the work, and if I hear one more read about how Jekyll was afraid because everyone knew he was Hyde I’m getting hardcovers for the express purpose of smiting.))
lilmissbluejay:
exeggcute:
you know you don’t need an author’s permission to find symbolism in their work, right? literary analysis (or any form of media analysis, really) isn’t a game where you have to be “correct” about determining the author’s “true intended meaning.” you can just create your own meaning with supporting evidence and that’s perfectly fine, even encouraged! a truly good work can beget an almost infinite number of interpretations, some better than others, but very few are “wrong” unless you’re being obtuse on purpose
My polish teacher always says that we’re working with the art pice and not the author and I think it should be more commonly thought
It’s a critical perspective called “death of the author” - think of it as the artistic equivalent of “intent isn’t fucking magic” - and depending on who you associate with, it is very, very common. (IME it is especially prevalent in crit groups, which are useful as hell.)
((NB: on a personal note, it is not a reason to ignore what happens in the work, and if I hear one more read about how Jekyll was afraid because everyone knew he was Hyde I’m getting hardcovers for the express purpose of smiting.))
