Reconciling Rosenblatt and the New Critics: The Quest for an “Experienced Understanding” of Literature

Louise Rosenblatt’s transactional theory of reader response has been widely accepted as a means of resisting the hegemony of New Criticism. This article argues that Rosenblatt and the New Critics were pioneers of parallel, rather than opposing, pedagogical traditions, shaped by the shared influence of I. A. Richards and John Dewey. The article situates a close reading of Rosenblatt and the New Critics in the context of the historical conditions that influenced the reception of the two supposedly disparate methods of teaching literature. At a time when misinformed caricatures of both Reader Response and New Criticism figure prominently in professional and political discourse about the teaching of literature, a careful reimagining of Rosenblatt’s relationship with the New Critics may allow for more nuanced conversation about the place of close reading in the teaching and learning of literature.