New horizons of digital literary criticism

Abstract

Abstract Digital literature has undoubtedly brought about many changes to the literary system and has re-established our understanding of many concepts related therein, including how we conceptualize the reader, the author, and the text. Therefore, it is only natural for a change to also be brought about in our conceptualization of the critic who addresses this literature, and, consequently, the concept of literary criticism itself. Based on the above, this study aims to shed light on the new perspectives presented by digital literature in the field of criticism by exploring the critical process and suggesting new terminologies that can describe this criticism. This study is based on a previous study written by myself and my colleague, which was published in a book entitled Al-tafāʿil al-fannī al-adabī fī al-shiʿir al-raqamī: qaṣīdah ‘shajar al-Būghāz’ namūdajan (Artistic Literary Interaction in Digital Poetry: The Būghāz Tree, 2015). That said, the present study differs from the previous study in that the previous study aimed to uncover the digital aesthetics of the poem and therefore focuses on the end result of the criticism, while the present work aims to uncover digital criticism perspectives. Consequently, the present study focuses on the critical process itself, which shall be discussed below. The distinctiveness of our research lies in its focus on the interactive critical process in Arabic digital literature in order to delve into the horizons of digital criticism.