Speech Act Theory and the Concept of Intention in Literary Criticism
Review of English Studies Canaria, Vol. 24, pp. 89-104, 1992
9 Pages Posted: 25 May 2010
Date Written: 1992
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to trace the outline of a speech act theory of literature, taking into account the work of critics who react against the prevailing anti-intentionalist schools of criticism, such as the New Criticism, some versions of structuralism, and deconstruction. The intentionalist critics prepare the ground for a theory of literary discourse considered as a speech act, since it is known that the concept of intention is central to the analysis of speech acts. Such a theory of literary discourse should not overlook the role played by criticism in expanding the meaning of a text, and should go beyond a narrow definition of interpretation as the identification of the author's intention.
Keywords: Literary theory, Pragmatics, Speech Acts, Speech Act theory, Intention, Intentionalism
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