Introduction to Literature
Mahoney 1
Henry Mahoney
1 December 2014
Period 5
Introduction To Literature Essay
Is it Literature?
What is Literature? What is literature? To some there may not be a difference between these two questions posed, but in reality these two questions have totally different answers. One somewhat consistent difference between the two words Literature and literature is that Literature refers to a much more exclusive group of writing pieces than literature. The focus of this essay is to identify a couple pieces of Literature, not literature. Because of this fact I must give the qualifications for a piece to be considered Literature. Literature is as defined by Arthur Krystal in the article titled, “What is Literature?”. To give a quick summary of his definition may be helpful. Arthur Krystal has a very exclusive definition of what can be considered Literature. He writes that Literature is “a recorded of one human being’s sojourn on earth, proffered in verse or prose that artfully weaves together knowledge of the past with heightened awareness of the present in ever new verbal configurations. The rest isn’t silence, but it isn’t literature either.”
Krystal has a very specific definition of what can be considered Literature. The piece must be lasting and enduring, in order to be considered Literature. To Krystal there is no such thing as bad Literature even if it is flawed because by his given definition anything considered Literature must be good Literature. Literature is exceptionally particular by definition.
Now that I have given the definition of Literature with a capital ‘L,” I will identify if a couple pieces are Literature or not. The two pieces that I will be looking at are
Ethan Frome by
Mahoney 2
Edith Wharton and
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare. I may ruin the incredible feeling of suspense the reader of this essay may have by saying that I would consider both pieces Literature based on my
Henry Mahoney
1 December 2014
Period 5
Introduction To Literature Essay
Is it Literature?
What is Literature? What is literature? To some there may not be a difference between these two questions posed, but in reality these two questions have totally different answers. One somewhat consistent difference between the two words Literature and literature is that Literature refers to a much more exclusive group of writing pieces than literature. The focus of this essay is to identify a couple pieces of Literature, not literature. Because of this fact I must give the qualifications for a piece to be considered Literature. Literature is as defined by Arthur Krystal in the article titled, “What is Literature?”. To give a quick summary of his definition may be helpful. Arthur Krystal has a very exclusive definition of what can be considered Literature. He writes that Literature is “a recorded of one human being’s sojourn on earth, proffered in verse or prose that artfully weaves together knowledge of the past with heightened awareness of the present in ever new verbal configurations. The rest isn’t silence, but it isn’t literature either.”
Krystal has a very specific definition of what can be considered Literature. The piece must be lasting and enduring, in order to be considered Literature. To Krystal there is no such thing as bad Literature even if it is flawed because by his given definition anything considered Literature must be good Literature. Literature is exceptionally particular by definition.
Now that I have given the definition of Literature with a capital ‘L,” I will identify if a couple pieces are Literature or not. The two pieces that I will be looking at are
Ethan Frome by
Mahoney 2
Edith Wharton and
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare. I may ruin the incredible feeling of suspense the reader of this essay may have by saying that I would consider both pieces Literature based on my