Abstract:
The combination of the tenets of New Criticism and the language and concepts of quantum physics, as expressed by Danah Zohar in The Quantum Self (1990), results in a type of reader-response criticism for interpreting literature. This initial approach provides for an objective reading that validates SUbjective elements brought to individual literary works by the readers of those works. The specific concepts of quantum physics applied to literature in this thesis include the particle/wave theory, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, virtual and real transitions, and Bose-Einstein condensates. Various elements of language and literature are explained in terms of the above concepts, and the concepts are then used to develop a critical approach to poetry--the Quantum approach. Three poems, Robert Frost's "Putting in the Seed," William Carlos Williams's "Portrait of a Lady," and Gary Snyder's "Riprap," are explicated using the objective approach established by the tenets of New criticism combined with a Subjective approach supported by the principles and theories of quantum physics.
The final chapter explains why certain tenets of New criticism are not applicable when the Quantum approach is used to interpret literature. Examples are given of the appropriate use of biographical information, authorial statements of intent, and other elements from outside the poem. The conclusion drawn is that New Criticism is deficient as a means for understanding literature because it disallows subjectivity and ignores the fact that readers cannot help but be subjective.
