Defining literature?

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R e m i n d e r

Please do not personalise your arguments.

Off-topic/inflammatory posts will be removed without further notice.

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Aye. Some people don't like uncertainty, but prefer the rod ... of the certain.

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I like uncertainty the one that does not interfere with my present certainties of course.

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Originally Posted by Paulclem

I dislike Jane Austen, it does not delight me, but I recognise it as literature because it is interesting, worthy of study and contributes to our stock of writing that inspires others and also delights some. Mine

The novels of Jane Austen delight me, that's why they are literature. Ulysses doesn't delight me, but it does delight some people, so it is literature. If it delights some person it is literature. Yours

I fail to see what the difference between these two are Mal.

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Nor do I :) Apologies.

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Originally Posted by mal4mac

Nor do I :) Apologies.

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None needed old chap.

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Originally Posted by Alexander III

I can't help but feel that cacian, maybe, just maybe; might in the slightest way possible deter potential new members from joining.

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And old members from staying. The threads annoyed Mark and he left, and when he left I had less incentive to stay because there were fewer good posts to read. You have to mug through a swamp of non sequiturs and stream of consciousness questions to find anything worth spending your time on, it's irritating.

It's all about perspective really. What a wonderful opportunity Cacian is presenting you to develop better skills in dealing with irritation!

cacian is one of the reasons i have stayed so far. i like his/her curiosity and willingness to explore any idea impartially and see where it goes, it seems fun and interesting and open-minded. she/he seems to have no conceit and i admire that greatly. i cant imagine him/her hurting even a fly.

Try the first part of Terry Eagleton's Literary Theory: An Introduction.

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Originally Posted by ralfyman

Try the first part of Terry Eagleton's Literary Theory: An Introduction.

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So how does he define literature? Is he a resenter?

"Longinus would have said that pleasure is what the resenters have forgotten. Nietzsche would have called it pain; but he would have been thinking of the same experience upon the heights." - Harold Bloom, "The Western Canon", p.18.

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Originally Posted by mal4mac

So how does he define literature? Is he a resenter?

"Longinus would have said that pleasure is what the resenters have forgotten. Nietzsche would have called it pain; but he would have been thinking of the same experience upon the heights." - Harold Bloom, "The Western Canon", p.18.

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He explains the different definitions of literature. You have to read the chapter to find out, although there are some summaries available online.