Interpretation as an Art

Abstract

An active form of literary criticism, “hyperconstruction”’ is a neologism that encompasses a plurality of interpretations, without meaning there will be no limits to interpretation. Following Eco, we must respect the text’s intention, but line-by-line analyses and essays for formal examinations militate against a love of books. Similarly, contemporary book reviews “interrogate” the text rather than showing a love of literature, rendering the book an “object.” Vernay instead offers a type of book review to add value to a literary work, rather than drowning it in metadiscourse. A critic should transmit a love of reading, but instead literature has been dehumanized and desensitized. To counter this, critics could write in the first person, to express their feelings, conveying the “pleasure of the text.”