Teorias literárias pragmatistas: a função do autor

Abstract

Several contemporary theories focusing on the interpretation of literary texts call themselves 'pragmatists' or 'neo-pragmatists'. We could mention, among others, names like S. Knapp and Walter B. Michaels, Richard Rorty, Richard Shusterman, Stanley Fish and Joseph Margolis. Our purpose is to map the most important ones among these theories, comparing them and discussing their main presuppositions. We will try to demonstrate that if there is a common element shared by these literary theories, allowing them to be classified by the same concept (pragmatists), this common element is the excessive simplicity with which they build and characterize the literary phenomenon.