Liberal humanism's idea of studying only the words on the page is an impossible way to study literature. How can one just look at words and achieve meaning? The meaning given to words is what makes them useful. Words have many contexts in which they are interpreted, which is unavoidable and necessary. In order to gain a general idea of the meaning of a piece, all possible interpretations should be considered.
Structuralism is the opposite extreme of liberal humanism, where everything is contextual and relational. I do not believe that one needs to compare opposites to achieve meaning, although it can make it easier for the reader to understand exactly what kind of relationship or specific aspect is important in the context.
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I think that in any case when someone uses only one form of criticism, such as "studying only the words on the page", you will only get as much from that critique as possible. I agree that you can't just study the words on the page, but at the same time, you can. However, you are limited to what you find when you only study the words.
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