28 pages • 56 minutes read
Against Interpretation
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Literary Devices
Juxtaposition
Juxtaposition, in which two entities are placed side by side in order to highlight aspects of comparison and contrast, is a commonly repeated literary device used in Sontag’s essay. Examples include her references to general experiences of art versus theories of art, Plato’s theory of art versus Aristotle’s, content versus form, and hermeneutics versus an erotics of art. These instances of juxtaposition effectively convey not just the contrast between the two entities in each pairing but the significance and preference of one over the other as well. While Sontag does not entirely condemn the act of interpretation—and even mentions its value in past forms of criticism—the comparison helps highlight the ways it fails as a form of experiencing art. By juxtaposing these elements, Sontag demonstrates how certain entities should be placed in positions of greater importance than others or even substituted for them entirely, as in the case of an erotics of art over a hermeneutics. This is a key literary device in the essay because it illustrates the grandeur of Sontag’s ideal form of artistic and literary criticism.
Allegory
To an extent, allegory can be defined as the representation of concrete entities through abstract ones. Allegory appears in two distinctly different ways in the essay: It is both explicitly criticized by Sontag as well as implicitly employed by her. First and foremost, the essay decries allegorical readings and interpretations of different works of art and literature, such as those by Franz Kafka, Samuel Beckett, and numerous others. However, the essay also allegorizes its own ideal form of criticism by introducing it in terms of the thematic overtones of content-based interpretation and by enunciating the abstract nature of its ideas through prescribed actions. The more rudimentary concepts of “content” and “form” take on higher meaning in that, in Sontag’s representation, they allude to an emptier or more sterile type of art versus a complete and emotional experience. The first way may be more readily apparent to the reader, but the second bears significance as well because it demonstrates Sontag’s own usage of allegory as a literary device. More importantly, though, Sontag makes a conscious effort to refer to examples of allegorical interpretation in order to enhance her argument against its absurdity as a systematic approach to art and literature.
Repetition
Sontag uses repetition as a clear attempt to emphasize her most central points. Examples of her usage of repetition include but are not limited to the following two phrases: “once upon a time” and “our task” (103-04). In the first example, Sontag emphasizes that a multiplicity of experiences and interpretations of art were initially “revolutionary and creative” but are no longer necessary for our purposes. In the second example, Sontag emphasizes the urgency of fulfilling the task of disregarding content in favor of form, particularly in contrast to the need to avoid falling prey to contemporary modes of interpretation. Through these moments of repetition, among others, Sontag illustrates and accentuates the significance of her argument and her impassioned voice that stands against interpretation and in favor of “transparence” and a form-based style of artistic and literary criticism. In this way, they serve to modulate Sontag’s rhetorical pitch and the persuasiveness of her assertions.
Polemic
Perhaps the clearest literary device that Sontag employs in “Against Interpretation” is polemic itself, which can be defined as a strong written or verbal attack on a person, an idea, or so on. In this case, Sontag is thoroughly attacking interpretation, as the title suggests. Throughout her essay, she criticizes the process and the tendency for viewers to conform to it by relying on a contemporary attention to content instead of form. This literary device is interwoven with the preceding three described in this guide because it orients the usage of the others in relation to itself. Instead of creating a less argumentative essay that acknowledges the values of both forms of perceiving art, the highly critical approach allows Sontag to further bolster a form-based, experiential approach as necessary, urgent, and culturally valuable. Because the essay is polemical in nature, it operates as a critique of the contemporary state of artistic criticism itself. Through this, “Against Interpretation” establishes its title argument and lays the foundation for the replacement discussed in its closing remarks.
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By Susan Sontag
