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Literary Meaning

Reclaiming the Study of Literature

  • Book
  • © 1996

Overview

Authors:
  1. Wendell V. Harris

    1. Pennsylvania State University, USA

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-v
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  2. Introduction

    • Wendell V. Harris
    Pages 1-8

  3. The Great Dichotomy

    • Wendell V. Harris
    Pages 9-19

  4. Hermeticism

    • Wendell V. Harris
    Pages 20-49

  5. The Fallacies of Hermeticism

    • Wendell V. Harris
    Pages 50-64

  6. Hermeticism and Science

    • Wendell V. Harris
    Pages 65-89

  7. Hermeneutics

    • Wendell V. Harris
    Pages 90-131

  8. The Pretensions of Theory, the Necessity of Pluralism, and Terminological Promiscuity

    • Wendell V. Harris
    Pages 132-156

  9. Historical Scholarship and Literary History

    • Wendell V. Harris
    Pages 157-178

  10. Professionally Speaking: Rhetoricity and Mimesis in the Classroom

    • Wendell V. Harris
    Pages 179-204

  11. Publishing the (Highly) Perishable

    • Wendell V. Harris
    Pages 205-223

  12. Back Matter

    Pages 224-240
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Keywords

About this book

Today's student of literature is faced with an overwhelming variety of critical approaches. The need to evaluate their usefulness in furthering our understanding of literature is therefore a growing concern. In Literary Meaning, Wendell V. Harris explores the fallacies behind the fashionable hermeticism that insists that the meaning of a text is indeterminate and divides language from any reality beyond itself. Harris then puts forward a powerful case for the return to hermeneutics, in which an understanding of the author's intended meaning is the first step in reading, and at the same time insists upon the hollowness of the current mode of professionalism in literature departments. Set to provoke fierce debate, this controversial book will become essential reading for all those involved in literary criticism.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Pennsylvania State University, USA

    Wendell V. Harris

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Literary Meaning

  • Book Subtitle: Reclaiming the Study of Literature

  • Authors: Wendell V. Harris

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24412-6

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan London

  • eBook Packages: Palgrave Literature & Performing Arts Collection, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Wendell V. Harris 1996

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-0-333-64015-9Published: 18 December 1995

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-349-24412-6Published: 18 December 1995

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: V, 240

  • Topics: Literary Theory

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