Roger Sherman Loomis

“Now the raison d'etre of any work of art lies in the responses of those who see, hear, or read it, but its value lies only in the responses of those who are attuned to it; and in the realm of literature that means those who understand it. In its fullest sense, understanding means knowing its creator, the materials he worked with, what he did with them, and why. When one cannot know the author, one must be content with some knowledge of his milieu and his age. The reader who is content with his subjective reactions alone runs the risk of interpreting the work of art in a fashion which would evoke peals of laughter from the author. He also shows his lack of interest in the creative process which produced the work of art.”
― Roger Sherman Loomis, The Development of Arthurian Romance