Structuralist Poetics: Structuralism, Linguistics and the Study of Literature by Jonathan Culler
Published 1975 · 316 pages · 80,000 words · about 7 hours at an average pace · Essays & Criticism
How hard is Structuralist Poetics: Structuralism, Linguistics and the Study of Literature to read?
Structuralist Poetics: Structuralism, Linguistics and the Study of Literature scores 69 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it quite demanding. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.
- Vocabulary: 70 out of 100
- Translates French structuralist vocabulary into English with careful definitions; manageable with effort.
- Sentence structure: 64 out of 100
- Abstraction: 82 out of 100
- Primarily concerned with the theoretical structure of structuralist poetics rather than readings of texts.
- Information density: 78 out of 100
- Dense with theoretical argument and survey of the structuralist literature.
- Narrative indirection: 14 out of 100
- Expository and critical; claims are stated directly.
- Symbolic density: 100 out of 100
- Analytical register throughout.
- Ironic distance: 12 out of 100
- Critical distance maintained toward some structuralist excesses; generally earnest.
- Resolution withholding: 12 out of 100
- Each theoretical position is described and evaluated; conclusions are stated.
- Structural complexity: 48 out of 100
- Moves from Saussure through French structuralism to literary competence in a building argument.
How Structuralist Poetics: Structuralism, Linguistics and the Study of Literature is regarded
Structuralist Poetics: Structuralism, Linguistics and the Study of Literature holds a literary regard score of 87 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.