“Introduction: What is literature?

” (1983) Terry Eagleton

Reading guide:

1. How many definitions of literature does Eagleton mention?

2. What objections does Eagleton present to the first definition he provides?
3. Does Roman Jackobson define literature or literariness? How does he define it?
4. What were the Formalists interested in? Form or content?
5. What are Eagleton’s objections to the Formalists?
6. What does Eagleton mean when he says “Some texts are born literary, some
achieve literariness, and some have literariness thrust upon themselves” (7)?
7. Does Eagleton agree with the definition of literature as “a highly valued kind of
writing”? Why? Why not?
8. “Literature is fine writing”. What objection does Eagleton have?
9. Does Terry Eagleton himself provide one definition of literature?