ABSTRACT
The history of worries about the point of the study of literature, and about how to establish the meaning of literary texts, is a very long one indeed:
PROTAGORAS: In my view, Socrates, the most important part of a man’s education is to become an authority on poetry. This means being able to criticise the good and bad points of a poem with understanding, to know how to distinguish them, and give one’s reasons when asked. (Plato, Protagoras 339)
SOCRATES: Conversation about poetry reminds me too much of the wine parties of second-rate and commonplace people…. No one can interrogate poets about what they say, and most often when they are introduced into the discussion some say the poet’s meaning is one thing and some another, for the topic is one on which nobody can produce a conclusive argument.
(Plato, Protagoras 347)