Is There a Single Right Interpretation for Cryptic Texts
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4375733 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Shoshana Benjamin |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 519-562 |
| Publication date | 2013-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Poetics Today (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0333-5372 • E-ISSN: 1527-5507 |
| Publisher | Duke University Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1215/03335372-2389587 |
| OpenAlex | W1997705891 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 25 |
My essay argues for the proposition that there are uniquely correct interpretations for cryptic texts. By cryptic text I mean a narrative that is designed to pose perplexing problems, the answers to which constitute hidden meanings or secrets. As a test case, I choose Henry James's much interpreted and intensely debated story "The Figure in the Carpet." I identify the story as cryptic, single out three problems it raises, and go on to work out solutions. I use my results to develop an interpretation that can lay claim to being a single right interpretation, that is, one that accords with the understanding the author wished his reader to arrive at. The question of how that is determined hinges on the principle that cryptic puzzles have as a rule only one correct solution, which in turn may be assumed to be authorially intended, as is the case with the solution to the riddle of the Sphinx, which is right, single, and intended. I also consider various interpretations produced by other critics and show why they are not acceptable
Epistemology · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Narrative · Proposition · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Historical and Literary Studies · Philosophy
The Act of Reading
A Marriage of Opposites
The Concept of Ambiguity-The Example of James
Reweaving the Carpet (Reading Stephan Mussil Reading James)
The Concept of Ambiguity - The Example of James
The Figure in the Carpet
A Secret in Spite of Itself
"A Reading of "The Figure in the Carpet
On the Distinctiveness of Poetic Language
What's Watt
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |