Linguistic analysis in literary appreciation. An approach through feeling

“The key to this linguistic approach to literary appreciation is the firm belief that in whatever we read, there can be but one interpretation: the one willed by the author. If the author is to convey what he feels, it is not enough for him to describe it: he must provoke a reaction which will evoke that self-same feeling in the reader. He must use all the means in his power to evoke that feeling. In the words of John Middleton Murry: to communicate an emotion is to impose an emotion’ I The effort the author makes is immense: the more strongly he feels about something, the more intense the emotion, the greater his need to share it, and the greater the effort he must make.” (dall’Introduzione)