What is reader response Criticism?

The Reader Response theory is an interesting approach to
literary texts in that it places the reader at the centre, and the process of reading itself is
viewed as a dynamic and ever changing experience depending on the readers, their background and
combined set of experiences. The reader’s participation in the text is required to infer meaning,
and "concretize" the words on the page. The readers will bring their own perceptions and
experiences to bear on a text, and no two will bring the same interpretation.

In order to understand the Reception Theory, another name for
Reader Response, some terms have to be identified:

Textual
Indeterminacies or Gaps

These are instances when a reader is faced
with insufficient information and as a result, he/she must bring his/her own interpretation into
play in order to make sense of the text.

Horizon of
Expectations

The “horizon of expectations” refers to the collection
of assumptions that particular “reading communities” (groups of actual or implied readers) have
(or had) when they read texts. The horizon of expectations concept recognises that ideal
characteristics or cultural/moral norms will change over time. Thus, new generations of readers
will bring evolving meanings and experiences to a text.

Implied
Reader

The “implied reader” is the “ideal” reader for any particular
text; this will generally be the reader whom the author “had in mind” when he wrote the text.
Characteristics of the implied reader would include:

1) Facility
with the language the text is written in;

2) Familiarity with the
cultural references and literary allusions explicitly used in the
text;

3) Familiarity with the social norms assumed but not
necessarily described in the text (so that the reader will have the ability to fill in the “gaps”
that the author leaves in, either to create literary effects or simply because she doesn’t think
of them as gaps);

4) For intentionally difficult works, someone
willing to read slowly and work hard at an understanding;

Thus, the
implied/actual reader would have the correct set of attitudes/beliefs to comprehend the text, and
obtain/take on board its full intended effects.

Actual
Reader

The actual reader is the reader who, in real life, can
appreciate/engage with a text without necessarily sharing the set of attitudes and beliefs to
understand the text.

Some of the theorists that helped to develop
the Reader response theory are: Hans Robert Jauss, Wolfgang Iser and Stanley
Fish.