Transactional theory is a critical approach to interpreting literature in which each reader has a unique experience with the text. Louise Rosenblatt coined the term and is considered to be part of the “reader response” tradition in literary criticism. Before her theory, literature was thought to have a single meaning that the reader must discover.
In the classroom, the transactional theory promotes multiple interpretations of any kind of text. As teachers, we often have our own ideas about the meaning of literature, but we need to be open to how the text might affect our students. Such an approach gives students the opportunity to relate to what they read on a more personal, meaningful level.
Shakespeare’s plays, for example, are required reading for most high school classrooms. The ideas from the sixteenth century may not be relevant to today’s students, but they can use their prior experiences to relate to the themes in the text. If we tell them to interpret the text in one sp
ecific way, they are less likely to appreciate literature and enjoy the process of reading.
