Some Spot-on Literary Criticism Theories from… Reddit?
My son sent me a post from the r/tumblr by David J. Prokopetz. It is meant to be humorous but also a bit serious. As Prokopetz notes in the comments, “I am never more serious than when I’m joking.”
I am going to paraphrase his post, adjusting it more for Biblical Criticism. The areas in quotation marks are verbatim from the post.
Death of the Author. “Treating the author’s stated intention of their own work as merely one opinion among many, rather than the authoritative Word of God.”
Disappearance of the Author. Reading and interpreting a passage of Scripture as if it just popped into existence at that exact moment. As such, its history, context of writing, intended audience, and original language has no relevance to the reader.
Taxidermy of the Author. (Somewhat of a logical follow-on to the previous theory.) The interpretation of a Scripture passage, based on Disappearance of the Author, can be used to infer what the history, context of writing, intended audience, and authorial intent must be.
Undeath of the Author. Judge the writer, not for what they actually wrote, but on “every possible reading of their work, even one’s they could not reasonably have anticipated at the time of its authorship.”
Frankenstein’s Monster of the Author. Interpreting scripture not based on what the original text actually says, but rather on later translations, paraphrases, or adaptations of the passage.
Weekend at Bernie’s of the Author. Believing the author would personally support your interpretation and defend you against the ignorant rabble, if it were possible for them to be present.
