The definition and scope of literature

¶ … arranged in a pleasing and informative manner, which thus brings us enjoyment. Literature is the representation of a period of time, of a culture, and of tradition. Through prose and poetry, we are transported to different times, new worlds, and new experiences. To read a piece of literature is to go on a journey of the soul -- or souls, our own and the writer's. Our souls are able to become one as we embark on whatever adventure -- sad, lonely, happy or curious -- the author has decided to take us on. We can analyze authors' works, bringing our own special meaning to a text, or we can use more formal paradigms to make sense of a text, which is why there are classes (such as this) devoted to understanding work throughout time. No matter how we come to a text, literature speaks to us in one way or another and is a universal tradition that cannot be replaced and is needed. In this paper, we will look at three writers -- Faulkner, Dickinson, and Shakespeare -- who are able to speak to the universal in all of us and are great examples of writers of great literature.

William Faulkner's short story, a Rose for Emily, is a great example of a piece of literature that speaks the universal concern of Time. We all have our own concerns with time, even if we are not aware of them, for this is something that is universal. Faulkner addresses not only the passing of an era in his short story, and the sweeping in of a new one, but he addresses the way in which time and death are related. We all have a set number of days in this world and we can choose to move with the times or not. Either way, we all must die. Faulkner's story reminds us that time is constantly changing around us and there is nothing that we can do to stop this. It is at once sad and exciting, scary and curious.

I believe that in order for literature to stand the test of time, that is -- become a classic such as Faulkner's a Rose for Emily, it must have an element in it that is of universal importance to the reader. For example, stories such as Faulkner's or works of Twain and Dickens are classics because they speak to all humans who read them; they are able to address a universal concern/question. Without even going back to the texts of Dickens, we know that he addresses very human feelings and problems in life. A Christmas Carol alone is a work that has stood the test of time because of its message about what it means to be a good person, to live a good life and bring good to those around you.

Emily Dickinson is a poet whose work has stood the test of time as well because of the beauty of her poetry, of course, the metaphorical simplicity that she employs, as well as the fact that she ventures into areas of the human soul that touch us. In the poem, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death," Dickinson has created a character out of Death. She has made Death a handsome gentleman who comes to pick her up to carry her to the grave. While the tone of the poem may seem to be a bit somber or even macabre, Dickinson takes us on a journey of life and death in the poem and we are aware throughout the journey that we cannot avoid it. Through her, we move through her town, witnessing the children playing, until we finally come upon the swelling ground -- the grave. Dickinson depicts a journey that is at once comforting, curious, and -- overall -- comforting. However, this is up for interpretation, which is an important thing to remember when thinking about what literature is: It is something different to every single person. While I may find the poem comforting, another person may find the poem to be horrifying. While the notion of Death being a handsome man who takes me so gently to eternity brings me comfort, others may find him to be sinister and may feel that the character doesn't want to be on that journey, that Death is simply in disguise.

I think Dickinson's poem is a work that is quite special because of the way she has taken the topic of death and she has made death into human form that is not at all like we would imagine him to be.

It is the sensibility that poets and others writers have, how they come to universal issues and human topics, that make a piece of writing literature. Some may argue that literature is only the classics, however, even popular books (e.g., the Harry Potter series or Twilight series) can be categorized as literature if they fulfill the purpose of the journey. Literature is literature if it speaks to people in a universal way and a lot of popular works can do that.

Within literature there are definite styles and movements. Henry David Thoreau was a writer who focused on what it meant to be human by comparing the human life with nature. In Walden, Thoreau stresses the importance of going back to nature. As a writer, he was someone who believed that the meaning of life could not be found in the city and within institutions and organized religion. Thoreau believed that the only way to get to the core of what it meant to be human was to get back to nature. His works are a special type of literature, so different from the works of Faulkner and Dickinson, yet they are so universal as well. This is the point, we can take all different types and styles of literature and even though they may come to a topic in completely different ways, as long as the topic is universal, we are moved. This is the task of literature. It is not just, as mentioned, to put pretty words into a structured syntax, but it is being able to create syntax as well as creating a world in which we, humans, are ready and willing to become a part of. This is the job of the writer of literature. Like Dickinson's character of Death who takes us on board his carriage, the writer takes the reader on the journey, stopping at all the sites we either want or don't want to see because they all have a purpose for us.