The Theory of Reading Between Aesthetics of Reception and The Act of Reading:  A Theoretical and Applied Study on "The Rain Song" by Badr Shakir al-Sayyab and "Le Pont Mirabeau" by Guillaume Apollinaire

Contemporary literary criticism has witnessed profound methodological shifts, moving interest from the author to the text, and then to the reader as an active party in the production of meaning. Reading theory has emerged as one of the most important modern critical trends that rehabilitated the recipient, particularly through the works of Hans Robert Jauss and Wolfgang Iser, the founders of the German Constance School. This study aims to present the theoretical foundations of the Aesthetics of Reception and The Act of Reading, analyze their key concepts, and then apply them to "The Rain Song" by Badr Shakir al-Sayyab and "Le Pont Mirabeau" by Guillaume Apollinaire to uncover the reader's role in constructing meaning and producing significance (Jauss, 1982; Iser, 1978).