Questions tagged [definition-of-literature]
Questions pertaining to the various definitions of literature.
15
questions
4
votes
1
answer
376
views
Can cave paintings be considered literature?
Prehistoric cave paintings can be found in many countries, and are some of the oldest records of human activity in existence. At least some of them clearly depict people and animals, and can show us ...
- 71k
1
vote
0
answers
88
views
Was de Staël's On Literature Considered in Its Relations with Social Institutions influenced by late-18th-century German romantics?
In an answer to the question Can formal essays be considered as a literature in strict sense?, I wrote that our current definition of literature
reflects a concept of literature that originated in ...
- 44k
1
vote
1
answer
63
views
Can formal essays be considered as a literature in strict sense?
Francis Bacon wrote formal essays and Joseph Addison wrote periodical essays. (Periodical essays refers to essays that are written to be published in a periodical publication.)
The style of periodical ...
- 1,535
3
votes
3
answers
870
views
What is literature?
Since this site is called Literature Stack Exchange, one of the most basic questions we could ask here is how scholars of literature define literature. We have an older question on the ways academics ...
- 2,216
0
votes
2
answers
182
views
What does it mean to say "the future of the English language is grand but as far as its literature is concerned it seems bleak"?
An English professor commented that "the future of the English language is grand but as far as its literature is concerned it seems bleak".
How can this sentence be interpreted? What exactly is the ...
- 103
6
votes
2
answers
297
views
Is "The Most Dangerous Game" Literature?
Way back in high school, many many years ago, our teacher described to us what made something literature or not. This lesson always stuck with me for two reasons: 1) I didn't really think it was ...
- 251
3
votes
1
answer
213
views
"Literary theory": Genre or field?
I vaguely remember learning that "literary theory," according to some, is theory through which society and other artificial constructs are analyzed as though works of literature or art.
I recall ...
- 255
6
votes
0
answers
105
views
Do advocates of authorial intent theories consider conscious intent on the author's part mandatory for something to constitute literature?
Related: Does computer-generated poetry, stories, etc. fit in any common definition of literature?
And the associated reading challenge proposal that inspired the questions: https://literature.meta....
8
votes
2
answers
150
views
Do computer-generated poetry, stories, etc. fit in any common definition of literature?
My question is inspired by this reading challenge proposal about The Policeman's Beard is Half Constructed, which collects short stories, etc. that were generated (written?) by a computer program.
...
3
votes
1
answer
153
views
What is Bob Dylan's definition of literature in his Nobel Prize lecture?
Bob Dylan's Nobel Literature Prize Literature starts off with the following paragraph:
When I first received this Nobel Prize for Literature, I got to wondering exactly how my songs related to ...
3
votes
2
answers
321
views
Is poetry the art of giving different names to the same thing?
There was a poet who said this:
Poetry is the art of giving different names to the same thing.
They are copied all over the internet. But is this true? In the comments of that post @Randal'Thor ...
- 447
3
votes
0
answers
126
views
How does the Nobel committee define literature?
As you probably know, Bob Dylan, a musician, was awarded the Nobel prize. He was the first musician to receive the Nobel prize.
The Nobel committee, notably, seemed to avoid the word music when ...
user111
6
votes
5
answers
21k
views
Can music be considered literature?
This is based off of a recent meta debate. Although something being literature - or not being literature - does not automatically make something on or off topic, this is an interesting question that ...
- 23.3k
3
votes
1
answer
299
views
What are the ways academics have defined literature over the years?
One of the things that we've learned through this site's scope discussions is that literature has a very subjective definition.
I'm curious how academics define and have defined literature. Is there ...
user111
10
votes
0
answers
685
views
Are "choose your own adventure" books literature or games?
This question concerns "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. These are books that start out as a normal story, but then ask the reader to make a choice. (The book will say something to the ...
user111