Although I found many of the ideas presented in Louise Rosenblatt’s The Reader The Text The Poem very interesting, it seems as though this information could have been presented in about a third of the time. In fact, if this novel were to be condensed, devoid of repetition and ten lengthy examples for a concept needing one or none, I think that Rosenblatt’s ideas could have been presented in less than fifty pages. Perhaps the reason Rosenblatt takes such a long period of time to develop her ideas is because in 1978 these concepts may have needed further explanation. The things that Rosenblatt speaks about are for the most part common sense, but every once and a while he hits on an idea that makes one really think.

I enjoyed her preoccupation with the reader’s external influences, his or her life experiences, education background, mood, setting, all of which affect his or her reading of the text. Rosenblatt also claims that to have the same reading as the author is to discredit his or her process or purpose (49), which I thought to be a great argument against those claiming the author’s purpose to be higher than the reading by the reader. She explores the relationships between reader, writer, and text thoroughly, giving good insight into not only the purpose of each perspective but also discrediting theories which suggest one to be more important than the other. It is a system where every part needs the other.

I think I would have loved this text, had it been condensed a bit. I enjoy exploring language and its relationship with one who writes, reads, and the physical text itself. I would be interested to see if Rosenblatt would have felt the need to explore these concepts in such detail, with so much repetition, if she were writing a modern-day version of this text. Since this is obviously impossible, until then we will have to trudge through the over-explanation to find the gems.

-Melissa