In Search of Literature’s Definition
As a literature student, I often get questions from others like, “Why do you study literature? Isn’t it boring?”, “What’s literature?”, “Isn’t literature is an abstract thing?”.
As a little background, I used to study English Literature in my Undergrad. Then, one day, I joined a class called “Introduction to Literature”. In the first meeting, my lecturer asked one simple question, “What’s literature?”. In a split second, all of us were silent & confused. We asked ourselves questions like: “Why didn’t we even think about this? We don’t even know exactly what literature is.”, “Perhaps, literature is a manifestation of art in the forms of novel, prose, poem, poetry, etc”. Yeah.. that was a stupid 17 year old me who doesn’t even know what literature is, even though I was a literature student, LOL.
Well, fast forward, I studied more in class & found an insight of what literature is. According to the recent data that I’ve compiled from various sources & a number of experts, I will try to elaborate the definition of literature and what kind of text that is considered as “literary work”.
What is literature?
Literary critics approach this question by offering 3 big factors that we must consider. Firstly, let’s begin by finding the distinction between “Literature with a capital L” and “literature with a small l.” Well, “Literature with a capital L” refers to a subset of all texts that have been written such as novel, short story, poem, poetry, etc. Whereas “literature with a small l” designates any written text on any given subject without much difficulty that we can find in our daily lives such as spoken form, narrative in ads, memes, and so on.
I believe the first point does not cover all explanations about Literature specifically. Thus, let’s discuss what makes a text literary or what makes a text “Literature with a capital L”? Let’s find out the meaning of the word itself. “Literature” comes from Latin, it originally meant “the use of letters” or “writing”. However, when the word entered the Romance languages that derived from Latin, it took on the additional meaning of “knowledge acquired from reading or studying books.” Conclusively, we can say that “Literature with a capital L” means writing that gives us knowledge or writing that should be studied.
Nevertheless, this definition sparked further questions: what kind of books or texts are worth studying or close reading? For some critics, answering this question also means to establish canonicity. A work of literature becomes “canonical” when cultural institutions such as schools, universities, or prize committees classify it as a cultural merit. On the other hand, we can’t depend on the canonical thing since it has proved to be problematic. The main reason is because the gatekeepers of the Western canon have traditionally been White & male. Then, at the beginning of the 20th century there was a greater inclusion of diverse authors. Next problem is that not every book that receives good reviews or wins a prize turns out to be culturally representative in the eyes of later readers. Take for an example, a novel written by Herman Melville entitled “Moby-Dick” which published in 1851, did not receive good reviews both by past readers & critics. On the contrary, today the novel has become one of the American literary canons.
Besides Canonicity, what’s the alternative way to decide something as “Literature”?
According to Derek Attridge, a literary critic, there are 3 qualities that define Western Literature:
- A quality of invention in the text itself
- The reader’s sense that what they are reading is singular. In other words, the unique vision of the writer him/herself.
- A sense of “otherness” that forces the reader to see the world around them in a new perspective.
From the categories above, it can be concluded that there is no limitation of the content of Literature. Instead, we label something as “Literature” when it affects the reader at the level of style and construction rather than substance. To put it simply, “Literature” can be about anything!
Conclusion
As we’ve discussed above, there were many problematic ways that people have defined literature. However, there’s one thing that is clear. In each of the examples above, what counts as “Literature” depends upon 3 interrelated factors: the world, the text, and the critic or reader.
The main reason is when the readers encounter a literary text, they expect something based on what they’ve heard about the text or author in question (the world), the way the text is presented to the readers (the text), and how receptive the readers to the text’s demands (the reader).
At the end of the day, only a small percentage of literary works that have been published will continue to be read in 10, 20, or 50 years from now. Despite the mechanisms that determine the longevity of a text are hardly neutral, there’s still a hope that individual readers at least have some power to decide what will stay in print & develop broader cultural relevance.
Last but not least, the only way to experience what “Literature” is then to keep reading. As long as there are avid readers, there will be literary texts from & in the past, present, and future that challenge, excite, and inspire us.
References:
_____. (2023). What is Literature?. Oregon State University
https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/what-literature-definition-examples
Lombardi, E. (2020). What Literature Can Teach Us
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-literature-740531
Rexroth, K. (2023). Literature
