Final answer:
Deconstruction differs from other literary criticism approaches by rejecting the search for a single, coherent meaning in literature, positing instead that texts have multiple interpretations shaped by readers and societal structures.
Step-by-step explanation:
Deconstruction is a strategy of literary criticism markedly different from other approaches because it challenges the notion of a single, fixed interpretation of a text. While many approaches to literary analysis, such as New Criticism, focus on examining the text's form and symbolism as representing its definitive meaning, deconstruction posits that meaning is not stable but varies with the reader's interpretation.
Accredited to Jacques Derrida, deconstruction examines how a text undermines the very concepts it seems to affirm, suggesting that the language of literature is inherently ambiguous and subject to multiple, often competing readings. Unlike theories that might emphasize the biographical or historical context of the literature, deconstruction operates on the belief that a literary text has no center or ultimate reference point. This means that instead of a text having one true meaning, it can have many interpretations that are shaped by the complex interplay of words, concepts, and assumptions of both the author and the readers.
Furthermore, deconstruction explores how interpretations are influenced by societal structures and power dynamics, thus connecting the meaning of a text to the social forces at play during its creation. Derrida and other deconstructionists argue that the significance given to certain interpretations over others is also a subject of critical analysis. The approach encourages critics and readers to look beyond what is being said to see what is not being said, or what may be implied in the spaces between the words.