Literature as projections

of Desire~Italo Calvino

Lakshmipriya P Santhosh
What is The Uses of Literature all about?

● Calvino’s collection of essays that came up in the year

1982
● Discusses literature in relation to science, politics and
philosophy
● Anayses aspects of great writers of the past- Homer
and the Odyssey, Balzac and the city etc.
● Even pays tribute to contemporary writers such as
Eugenio Montale, Roland Barthes, and Marianne
Moore
On Fyre and Anatomy of Criticism
● Canadian literary critic
● Anatomy is a collection of four essays
● Frye is intending to lay out a strong claim for how literary
criticism should be done, attacking others for how they have
done it instead.
● Frye starts with modes in the “First Essay.” A mode refers to the
power of action that characters have in a work of literature.
● In the “Second Essay,” Frye looks at symbols
● The “Third Essay” is about myths, which are groupings of
symbols
● In the “Fourth Essay,” Frye turns his attention to genre
 “
WHAT IS DESIRE?
 Desire is ??!
● Not a simple response to a need
● Not a simple response to a want
● Nor a desire for something in particular
● Neither limited or satisfied by objects
● BUT IS A ENERGY WHICH LEADS HUMAN
SOCIETY TO DEVELOP A FORM OF ITS
OWN.
FYRE’S SEASONAL CYCLES
Calvino’s remarks
◎ Literature as history of inclusion and exclusion
◎ Identification of enemy to be expelled is the mechanism of detective story
◎ Most lively part is those dealing with comedy
◎ Intiguing part is that of romance
◎ Numerous examples from various literary sources- Bible,Homer etc
◎ EVEN THE SACRED BOOKS MUST BE READ BY THE LITERARY
CRITIC EXCLUSIVELY AS WORKS OF LITERATURE.
Thank You