M-m-meaning! Let's define, is it 'meaning' or 'Meaning', or if there's any at all... - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

**The Saucepan Man** · 08-17-2005, 03:32 AM

Could I have another category please?

The individual reader's interpretation, as guided by authorial intent and the opinions of others.

HerenIstarion · 08-17-2005, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpM

Could I have another category please?

The individual reader's interpretation, as guided by authorial intent and the opinions of others

I suppose it (at least, roughly) falls under

Quote:

The Reader's collaboration with both the Author's intent and the opinions of others

dancing spawn of ungoliant · 08-17-2005, 04:51 AM

Hmm, the real 'meaning' - like the answer to the life, the Universe, and Everything?

Quote:

It does not have to have a 'meaning' at all, the books are entertaining, and that's sufficient.

Why should we give any less credit to a book if we just find it enjoyable and not a source of divine wisdom? Can't entertainment itself be a 'meaning' of a novel? I'm not sure how people understand this 'Meaning' vs. 'meaning' thing. I think we all have to answer the question, what is the meaning of LotR, before we can start looking where to find it. Surely LotR doesn't tell how to solve food crisis or prevent WWIII (World War, not Werewolf) but if I want to find a 'meaning' from LotR, I usually find it through its entertainingness. The 'meaning' of LotR may change as you get older and get new experiences, though.

To me an entertaining book means a story that provokes different emotions. Feeling for the characters, for example, can make you more compassionate and dicover a new perpective to some small mundane things. It makes you think and feel, and that's the key.

Reading a really impresive book may make you grow as a person - or then it is a nice way to spend time. I think both options are equally fine.

My answer to the poll would be a mixture of "the Reader's collaboration with both the Author's intent and the opinions of others" and "it does not have to have a 'meaning' at all, the books are entertaining, and that's sufficient".

**The Saucepan Man** · 08-17-2005, 05:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HerenIstarion

I suppose it (at least, roughly) falls under

Quote:
The Reader's collaboration with both the Author's intent and the opinions of others

It's the word "collaboration" that I have a problem with.

View Poll Results: The 'real meaning' of the Lord of the Rings is to be found in:
The Author's intent	2	7.14%
The Reader's individual opinion	6	21.43%
Mainstream Reader consensus	0	0%
The BarrowDowns Book Forum consensus	2	7.14%
A Glimpse of Divine Truth	1	3.57%
The Reader's collaboration with both the Author's intent and the opinions of others	4	14.29%
Divine Truth glimpsed by the individual Reader guided by the Author's intent	3	10.71%
It does not have to have a 'meaning' at all, the books are entertaining, and that's sufficient	5	17.86%
All of the above may be true up to an extent	5	17.86%
Current poll does not cover all possible options at all, we need another, refined one [if you choose this answer, please list other possible options in the thread. Thank you]	0	0%
Voters: 28. You may not vote on this poll

08-17-2005, 03:32 AM	#1
The Saucepan Man Corpus Cacophonous Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: A green and pleasant land Posts: 8,390	Could I have another category please? The individual reader's interpretation, as guided by authorial intent and the opinions of others. __________________ Do you mind? I'm busy doing the fishstick. It's a very delicate state of mind!