Hans Robert Jauss Source Jauss H R 1969

Hans Robert Jauss Source: Jauss, H. R. (1969) “Literary History as a Challenge to Literary Theory”, pp 15501564 in Leitch, V. B. (Gen Ed) (2001) The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism, Norton: New York PP Created by E. A. Venz

Key Idea • Texts are received differently by readers at different historical moments because their horizons of expectations differ

Thesis 1: Key Idea: a reader’s preceding reading experience can influence his/her response to a literary work • “The historicity of literature rests not on an organisation of ‘literary facts’ …. but rather on the preceding experience of the literary work by its readers” “A literary event can continue to have a effect only if those who come after it still or once again respond to it. ” (p 1552)

Thesis 2: Key Idea: a literary work reflects the social and cultural ideas of the period in which it is written. It is possible, therefore, to gain an understanding of that period and the expectations for its literature from the literary work. • “The analysis of the literary experience of the reader avoids the …. pitfalls of psychology if it describes the reception and the influence of a work within the objectifiable system of expectations that arises for each work in the historical moment of its appearance” (P 1553 -1554)

Thesis 3: Key Idea: the expectations form a "horizon that determines the interpretation" • “The horizon of expectations of a work allows one to determine its artistic character by the kind and the degree of its influence on a presupposed audience” (P 1556)

Thesis 4: Key Idea: Reconstructing the social/cultural/political expectations of the period in which the literary work was created enables one to make judgements about how the work might have been received at the time of its creation • “The reconstruction of the horizon of expectations, in the face of which a work was created and received in the past, enables one on the other hand to pose questions that the text gave an answer to, and thereby to discover how the contemporary reader could have viewed and understood the work” (P 1559)

Thesis 5: Key Idea: Considering a literary work with other works from the same time period enhances the ability to recognize its historical position and significance • “The theory of the aesthetics of reception not only allows one to conceive the meaning and form of a literary work in the historical unfolding of its understanding. It also demands that one insert the individual work into its ‘literary series’ to recognize its historical position and significance in the context of the experience of literature” (p 1561)

Thesis 6: Key Idea: Literary works from a particular time period tend to have some degree of similarity, especially in their reflection of the society in which they were created. • “It must also be possible …to discover an overarching system of relationships in the literature of a historical moment” P. 1563

Thesis 7: Key Idea: Overtime, the history of literature establishes a chronology and sharing of dialogue that relates to history in general. The changes in dialogue are for the most extent a function of moral values. • “The social function of literature manifests itself in its genuine possibility only where the literary experience of the reader enters into the horizon of expectations of his lived praxis, preforms his understanding of the world and thereby also has an effect on his social behaviour” (p 1564)