The full-knowing reader
Subtitle: allusion and the power of the reader in the western literary tradition
By: Joseph Pucci.
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: New Haven, Conn
Language: eng
Number of pages: 263
Subjects: Allusions in literature.; Literature -- History and criticism.; Reader-response criticism.
Description: Literary allusions abound in Western literature, and those who study them tend to focus on the author's intentions to demonstrate erudition, embellish meaning, or exert control over tradition. Joseph Pucci contends that the key to grasping the meaning of an allusive text is in the hands of the "full-knowing" reader. Pucci shows how allusion authorizes the desires of such a reader - one who is active, engaged, and historically sensitive - at the expense of the author.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.