Arabic Literature

The Reader-Response Criticism of 'Alaa Shakir's Novel "The Tomb of England" Based on Wolfgang Iser's Theory

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Kolsoom Bagheri 1
Naser Zare 2

1 Ph.D. Candidate Department of Language and Literature, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr. Iran

2 Associate Professor Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr. Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22059/jalit.2023.362383.612705
Abstract
There are many studies on reader-response criticism; studies that require extraordinary precision in reading text. Especially if the text is narration. If the author is present in the narrative text, the work becomes harder for the researcher. Also, when he is beyond the text or there is a collection of narrators in the narrative. The research requires the study of literary systems, types of reader such as true reader and implied reader and its kinds, in order to disclose the interpretations that the text contains. Among the Arab novelists who have widely paid attention to the writing of unfamiliar texts is the Iraqi writer 'Alaa Shakir, especially in his fantasy surrealistic novel of "The Tomb of England" in which the events, characters, plot, and narrators are intertwined. In addition, there is a dead narrator who tells the process of his death, and another narrator who ends the novel in the form of a meta-narrative, so that the novel provides great spaces for the reader's interpretation. The research seeks the intrinsic point of view, the audience of the narrative, phenomenology, the implied reader and the horizon of expectations, the reader's experience, and the literary and psychological ability of the reader. According to the researchers' survey, ideal and comprehensive reader types were found in the novel. This research has a descriptive-analytical approach, and refers to the opinions of expert thinkers in the field of reader's reading. The most important finding of this research is that the reader in this novel is active, not passive. In addition, its text is not a closed text, but rather open to multiple readings. As Shakir has given the reader sufficient freedom to move through the scope of the text. His focus is on the pivotal role of the reader in creating the text. Actually, Shaker makes the reader participate in the creative process which leads to a strong interaction between the reader and the text

Keywords

Reception theory
Reader/Audience
Wolfgang Iser
'Alaa Shakir
Novel " The Tomb of England"
Subjects
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  • Receive Date 19 July 2023
  • Revise Date 11 November 2023
  • Accept Date 20 December 2023

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