Literary word: power in the subject reader formative action

Abstract

This article addresses the literary word as a motivator for the construction of dialogues and personal interactions. “The word is a kind of bridge thrown between me and others. If it leans on me at one end, on the other it leans on my interlocutor. The word is the common territory of the speaker and the interlocutor” (Bahktin, 2006, p. 115). Our proposal with this work is to build up an investigative look at the power of the word in the literary text and the consequent speaker/interlocutor interaction which, according to our studies, may be responsible for personal, cultural, as well as social transformations not only in the educational context but also – and, perhaps, above all – in the extra educational one. Understanding literary reading in a more meaningful and pleasurable way, in addition to decoding and identifying elements of the narrative, is the starting point for the development of this research. We conclude that the literary word is, in addition to transforming, a right and an urgent need. To support this study, we approach the theoretical assumptions of Mikhail Bakhtin (2006) and his conception of language, Paulo Freire (1989) and the role of the reader subject, and Antonio Candido (1988) and his defense of the right to literature – among others.