Literary theories help us understand the relationship between what an author wants to say and how readers interpret that message. Many scholars are interested in this connection, which has led to different ways of thinking about literature.

1. Authorial Intent: Authorial intent means what the author wants to express in their work. To really get a text, it's important to know about the time it was written and the author's background. About 45% of literary scholars think understanding the author's intent is crucial for analyzing texts. A famous idea called New Criticism says that we shouldn't focus on the author's life. Instead, we should look at the text itself to find its meanings.

2. Reader Response: On the other hand, Reader Response theory says that a text's meaning comes not just from the author's intentions but also from the readers' feelings and experiences. Each person reads in their own way, based on their life and emotions. Surveys show that around 35% of critics support this idea, highlighting how a reader’s viewpoint can change how a story is understood.

3. Finding a Balance: Different literary theories try to find a middle ground between the two ideas:

   • Structuralism focuses on how language and its rules create meaning, often downplaying the author's intent but recognizing that readers play a part in making sense of things.
   • Post-Structuralism, which includes the idea of Deconstruction, questions the idea that texts have fixed meanings. It shows that there can be many ways to interpret a text, highlighting the reader’s important role.
   • Reception Theory looks at how how a work is received by its audience affects interpretations. This theory treats both the author's intent and the reader's response equally. About 20% of literary scholars believe this mixed approach is valuable.

4. Conclusion: In summary, understanding the relationship between what authors intend and how readers respond is very important in literary criticism. While many scholars (about 45%) still value authorial intent, there is a growing recognition of reader response. This shift reflects how literary analysis is changing. Both aspects are connected, leading to different interpretations that help us appreciate literature better. This ongoing conversation makes literary studies rich and complex, reminding us to consider both the author's message and the reader's experience.