文学理论的功能(英文)

Functions of Literary Theory

文艺理论可以从三个方面使我们受益:它帮助我们建构知识(构建功能),它促进我们的批判性思维(分析功能),它提升我们欣赏文学作品的能力(美学功能)。文艺理论为我们提供一个理论框架,我们在这个框架中展开文学批评。没有理论基础的批评往往显得疲软、松散、缺乏逻辑性,因而缺乏说服力。文艺理论拓展了我们的批评视野,它不但提供了新的文本解读方式,同时也促使我们突破传统,不断尝试用新的观点,从不同的角度认识世界,体会人生意义。文艺理论不可能完全超越政治,但是,我们不应该忘记它的美学功能。在我们的阅读生涯中,我们间或可以忘记政治,"为阅读而阅读",体验文艺理论本身所具备的语言之美与思辨之美。

Literary theory can benefit us from three aspects.It helps to structure knowledge,to provoke critical thoughts,and to appreciate literary works.That is to say literary theory has structural,analytical and aesthetic functions.Literary theory provides us with a theoretical framework within which we can develop our criticism.Criticism without theory tends to be weak or illogical in argument,thus less convincing.Literary theory offers us new ways to read texts,and it may further influence or alter our presuppositions on what a text is about.The study of different literary theories and their interpretive strategies offers not only perspectives on works of literature that are new,interesting and exciting,but also helps to generate new ideas and understandings about our world and our own selves.Literary theory has its ideological concerns,but it also has an aesthetic function to play.In our life of reading,we may sometimes just'read for reading's sake',giving ourselves over to the beauty of language and argumentation of literary theory.