人们常常看到这样一种批评观,即认为在作品的深处有一片神秘的领域,批评的功能就是为读者揭示这种神秘;因而一般说来,批评就是作品和读者之间的翻译。诚然,许多批评观在细节或在实质上与上述不同,然而批评作为一种评判所关心的,毕竟首先是价值问题,即为什么文学批评解释的是文学而不是历史、哲学或其它一些语言著作类的东西呢?文学的价值并不是一种不言而喻的直理;而且,它还必须于批评家在文学和读者之间找到自己的位置而从事批评活动之前就被建立起来。 One often sees the critical view that there is a mystical field in the depths of the work. The function of criticism is to reveal the mystery to the reader; thus, criticism, in general, is the translation between the work and the reader. Admittedly, many criticisms differ in detail or in substance from the above, but criticism, as a matter of concern, is, above all, a matter of value, namely, why literary criticism explains literature rather than history, philosophy or some other linguistic class What is literature? The value of literature is not a self-evident moniker; moreover, it must be established before critics can find their place between literature and the reader and engage in critical activity.