LIT 01: WORLD LITERATURE
WHAT IS LITERATURE?
- Latin littera, “a letter of the alphabet”
- mankind’s entire body of writing
- body of writing belonging to a given
language or people
- individual pieces of writing
- the word writing when describing literature
is itself misleading
o oral literature” or “the literature of
preliterate peoples”
o art of literature is not reducible to the
words on the page
o literature is the organization of words
to give pleasure
o it elevates and transforms experience
o it functions in society as a continuing
symbolic criticism of values
WHAT IS CONTEMPORARY?
- living, belonging to, or occurring in the
present
CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE
- literature that is being written in the now
about the now
- literature written after World War II through
the current day (horrors of war, genocide,
corruption, injustice)
- writing completed after 1940
- Works of contemporary literature reflect a
society’s social and/or political viewpoints
show realistic characters establish
connections to current events and
socioeconomic messages illuminate
societal strengths and weaknesses
WHAT IS MASTERPIECE?
- chef d’œuvre
- an outstanding achievement of one
particular artist or writer
- a work that deserves reverence or
expects to be revered in a particular
cultural tradition
- lays claim to universality and is thereby a
lesson in humanity
WESTERN CANON – works of art that represent
high culture
CLASSIC – any work of art accepted as
exemplary or noteworthy, listed in a list of great
books, or through a reader’s personal opinion
ALLAN BLOOM (The Closing of the American
Mind)
Moral degradation results from ignorance
of the great classics that shaped Western culture.
But one thing is for sure, wherever the Great
Books make up a central part of the curriculum,
the students are excited and satisfied.
TODD COMPTON – American historian
Canons are always communal in nature…
there is no such thing as one absolute canon of
literature. Instead, there are many conflicting
canons. He regards Bloom’s “Western canon” as
a personal canon only.
JOHN SEARLE – philosopher
“In my experience, there never was, in
fact, a fixed canon; there was rather a certain set
of tentative judgments about what had importance
and quality. Such judgments are always subject
to revision, and in fact they were constantly being
revised.”
WILLIAM BENNETT IS CORRECT:
“The teaching of literature is the teaching
of values, is the teaching of an aesthetic and
political order in which none of the members of
the black community, the minority community of
color or the women’s community, were ever able
to discover the reflection of representation of their
images or hear the resonances of their cultural
voices.”
The notion of masterpiece is problematic:
1. AESTHETICALLY: because of the shifts
in tastes and in social realities
2. HISTORICALLY: because works are
determined by historical moments which
also determine them
3. IDEOLOGICALLY: because literature
creates and weaves ideologies and is in
turn determined and woven by them
4. POLITICALLY: because it can serve as
an instrument of cultural assertiveness,
even repressing other voices
 LIT 01: WORLD LITERATURE

For a literary piece to achieve greatness, it must BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTATIONS

possess the following qualities: • Directors and authors work together to
1. ARTISTRY bring the pages of their books to life on the
2. SUGGESTIVENESS screen.
3. INTELLECTUAL VALUE • These films are surrounded by lots of
4. SPIRITUAL VALUE hype, and are highly anticipated by lovers
5. UNIVERSALITY of the book which the movie is based on.
6. STYLE • Time and dedication play a key part in
7. PERMANENCE making sure that all details are to the
standards of the beloved book.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
CONTEMPORARY STYLE In Conclusion…
1. Reality-based stories
2. Believable storyline (sometimes portraying Like all historical eras, the era of
a harsher reality or degradation of society) contemporary literature has formed, and
3. Current, modern setting continues to form, the literature that is present
4. Well-defined, realistic, highly developed today. Events of this time period influence what is
and strong characters written and what is read. Important topics, issues,
5. Well-structured and current themes, all play a key role in what
6. Writing is more character-driven than plot- authors choose to write about, and what readers
driven choose to read. It greatly affects what is being
written and read today.
OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
CONTEMPORARY STYLE WHAT IS CRITICISM?
1. Subjects are taboo (aliens, abortion, - The term criticism derives from the term
terminal illness, apocalypse) kritikos, which was used in the 4th century
2. Point-of-view is flexible B.C. It means a “judge of literature”.
3. All voices are valid - In the 2nd century A.D., its place was taken
4. Structure knows no limits by the term criticus, aimed at the
5. Mixed media is all the rage interpretation of texts and words and
6. You might not get it (storyline) and it’s improvement of the works of writers in
okay. Greek or Latin.
7. Time is not linear - In English, Dryden used it in the modern
8. Slang is all good (“If thr r children, thr mst sense in his preface to The State of
b a fUtr, rt?” – Jennifer Egan Innocence (1677). He writes: “Criticism, as
9. Non-human perspectives – fairy tales, it was first instituted by Aristotle, was
dogs, rats meant a standard of judging well.”
10. Gender roles suck – females in Sidney - Today, the term literary criticism aims at
Sheldon the study of works of literature with
emphasis on their evaluation
GENRES OF CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE - Traditionally, literature was considered
- Genres of this time include novels and homogeneous
poetry. Flash fiction, short stories, slam - Criticism in modern times is classified in
poetry, plays, memoirs, and different ways
autobiographies are also popular. - mimetic theory – the critic views art in
- Authors find inspiration in the events of the terms of the universe or what is imitated
time period. They often write about the (classical)
realities and experiences that occur, no - pragmatic theory – the critic views art in
matter how brutal they may be.
terms of its effect on the audience (18th
century)
“The literary innovations of this period were
- expressive theory – critic views art in
largely influenced by the surroundings and
terms of the artist (19th century)
the changes that were occurring in it…”
 LIT 01: WORLD LITERATURE

- objective theory – critic views art

basically in its own terms, seeing the work
as a self-contained entity (New Criticism,
20th century)

Studying literature

Literary criticism
M.H. Abrams:
1) Work
2) Artist
3) Universe
4) Audience