Hippolyta to consummate their love,

hings base and vile, holding no quantity, Love can transpose to form and dignity. Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind; And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. (1.1.238–41) Helena’s words might equally constitute a commentary on Titania’s first response to Bottom braying in his ass’s head: “What angel wakes me from my flow’ry bed?” (3.1.131). The fairy queen’s temporary devotion to a donkey is the play’s clearest and funniest indication of love’s arbitrary nature.

not to encapsulate love in a neat definition that would encourage us to measure our own and other people’s experience and find it normal or abnormal, mature or immature, wise or foolish.

It proposes that love is a dream, or perhaps a vision; that it is absurd, irrational, a delusion, or, perhaps, on the other hand, a transfiguration; that it is doomed to be momentary (“So quick bright things come to confusion” [1.1.151]), and that it constitutes at the same time the proper foundation for lifelong marriage.

No wonder the four lovers are virtually indistinguishable. Romantic love is in this sense oddly impersonal.

amorphous. What makes a work “artistic”? How do we define “superior” or “lasting”? Let’s break down some of the defining qualities of literature in a bit more detail, starting with the word “artistic.” Consider the following works of art. "Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog" by Caspar David Friedrich (1818) is in the public domain "stick figure self portrait" by marco Links to an external site. on flickr (2019) is licensed CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Which of these images do you feel is higher quality or more “artistic”? Which is lower-quality or less artistic? Why? So how does this relate to our attempts to define literature? Literature is art, but with words. While the artist uses different colors, paintbrushes, mediums, canvases, and techniques, the writer uses different genres and literary techniques called literary devices Links to an external site.. Just like different types of paint, paintbrushes, and artistic tools, there are literally hundreds of literary devices, but some of the most common are metaphor, simile, personification, and imagery. Genre is the type or style of literature. Each genre has its own conventions. Literary genres include creative nonfiction, fiction, drama, and poetry. Works that are literary tend to masterfully use genre conventions and literary devices to create a world in the mind of the reader. Works that are less literary tend to be for practical and/or entertainment purposes, and the writer dedicates less focused energy towards artfully employing literary devices. However, just because a work is not as literary as another does not mean it cannot be enjoyed. Just like a stick figure or cartoon character might be perfectly fine if intended for a particular audience or purpose, readers can still enjoy People Magazine even though it is not of the same literary quality as Hamlet. So, to use an example from earlier: Hamlet by William Shakespeare People Magazine Has lasted hundreds of years Is written by a master of his craft Covers deep, meaningful concepts like love, loss, war & political corruption Uses many literary devices such as metaphors Is often forgotten by the next issue Is written by a pop culture writer Covers shallow issues like what plastic surgeries a starlet has had Usually does not use literary devices in a masterful way, but merely to capture the attention of an audience While some literature falls into clear designations of literature or not literature, most works are open to debate. Given the sometimes difficult task of determining whether a work falls into one camp or the other, it may be more helpful to think of Literature less as a dichotomy than a spectrum, with popular magazines on one end and works like Hamlet and Beloved on the other, and most written works falling somewhere between the two extremes. The Literary Spectrum This spectrum can be a helpful way to think about literature because it provides a more open-ended way to discuss writing as art than simply labeling works as literary or not. After viewing the above chart, why do you think popular magazines and a Calculus textbook are considered "less literary"? In terms of popular magazines, they do not fit the definition of literature as "lasting" in the sense that they usually fade from relevancy quickly after publication. Additionally, the authors of such magazines are striving for quick entertainment rather than leaving a meaningful impression on the reader. They tend not to use literary devices, such as metaphor, in a masterful way. On the other end, Shakespeare's Hamlet definitely fits the definition of "lasting," in that it has survived hundreds of years. It is full of literary devices used for rhetorical effect and, one would argue, it touches upon deep themes such as death, the afterlife, murder, vengeance, and love, rather than trifling issues such as a starlet's most recent plastic surgery. Certainly, works of literature are up for debate: that is the quintessential question literary scholars might ask. What makes certain literary works survive the test of time? What makes a story, poem, or drama "good"? While literary scholars are less interested in proving a certain work is "good" or not -- and more focused on analyzing the ways to illuminate a given work -- it can be helpful for you to consider what kinds of literature you like and why you like it. What about the way it was written causes you to feel the way you do about it? Who Decides What is Literature? Now that we have at least somewhat clarified the definition of literature, who decides what works are or are not literature? Historically speaking, kings, queens, publishers, literary critics, professors, colleges, and readers (like you!) have decided which works survive and which works do not. Aristotle was one of the first writers to attempt to decide what works fall into the category of literature, and what works do not. While Aristotle was most famous for his contributions to science and philosophy, he is also considered one of the first literary critics. A literary critic is a person who studies and analyzes literature. A literary critic produces scholarship called literary criticism. An example of this would be Aristotle’s Poetics, in which he identifies the defining qualities of a “good” Tragedy. Aristotle’s analysis of Tragedy was so influential that it is still used today, over two thousand years later! When a work is officially decided to constitute literature, it enters something called the Canon. Not to be confused with the large metal tube that shoots bombs popular in the 16th through the 19th centuries (cannon), the Literary Canon is a collection of works that are considered by the powers that be to constitute literature. A work that falls into this designation is called canonical. So, to use an example from Aristotle’s Poetics, Aristotle defined Sophocles’ Oedipus Trilogy as the pinnacle of the Tragic Genre. From there, in part due to Aristotle's influence, Greek society valued Oedipus so much that they kept discussing, reading, referencing, and teaching it. Thus, it became a kind of shining example of the Tragic Canon, one which has lasted thousands of years and continues to be read and lauded to this day. Other tragedies, fairly or not, are often judged on their quality in comparison to Sophocles' works. It seems crazy to think but someone who died thousands of years ago still influences what we consider literature today! Memes and Video Games: Today's Literature? All this talk of thousands-of-years-old texts might seem out of touch. A lot of people think "old and boring" and literature are synonymous. Students are often surprised to hear that comic books and video games can, arguably, be considered literature, too. There are plenty of arguments to be made that comic books, such as Maus by Art Spiegalman (1991) or Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (2006) are literature. Cutting edge literary scholars argue video games like Kentucky Route Zero by Cardboard Computer (2015) can be considered literary. There is also literature that is published in tweets, like Jennifer Egan's "Black Box"  Links to an external site.(2012). Some might even consider memes literature! Generative question: do you think memes can be literary? A meme is an image or video containing cultural values or ideas, often represented through allusion (implied reference to another work, without naming that work or its author). Memes can spread rapidly spreads through social media. Why? Because the best ones are #relatable; that is, they speak to a common human experience. Usually memes take the form of text superimposed on an image. For example, the meme above conveys the dramatic reaction students sometimes give when I assign an essay. This is done primarily through a literary device called hyperbole, or exaggeration for rhetorical effect. It conveys its message comically through certain conventions that come along with the meme genre, such as the syntactic structure "me, a [insert noun]" and asterisks, which convey action. Just like in the Shakespearean drama, the colon indicates what each character (me and the students, in this case) is saying or doing. My chihuahuas' face looks silly and very dramatic. Through this use of image, text, format, and convention, the meaning I intended to convey was that I was making fun of my students for being over-dramatic about what to me seems like a fairly simple assignment. While some might dismiss memes as shallow, when you start to unravel the layers of meaning, they can actually be very complex and even, dare I say, literary! Think about a recent meme you have seen, or your favorite meme of all time. Imagine explaining this meme to someone who has no idea what it means. What is the message or idea behind the meme? What cultural reference points does it use to convey this message? In what ways might this meme be considered literature? How might this compare to a short poem, like a haiku? Not Literature Let's say you come to the conclusion that a meme, a gossip magazine, or the Twilight Series is not literary. Does that mean you have to feel guilty and give up reading it forever? Or that it is not "good"? No! Just because a work is not literary does not mean it is "bad," that it does not have value, or that one cannot enjoy it. Indeed, there are plenty of examples of written works that are on the less literary side of the spectrum but are still fun and enriching to read. Joe Dirt is not on the same artistic level of cinema as Schindler's List, but my husband still loves watching it. Nothing Taylor Swift has produced is as deep as Tupac Shakur's "Changes" Links to an external site. (1992) or Mitski's "Last Words of a Shooting Star" Links to an external site. (2014), but listening to Taylor Swift is my guilty pleasure. This is all to say that whether a text is literary or not is not as important as the methods of analyzing texts. In fact, texts which were excluded from literature are often argued into the literary canon through such analysis. Part of what makes analyzing literature so fun is that it means the definition of literature is always up for debate! This is especially important given the history of the canon. The Problem with the Canon In an ideal world, literature would be celebrated purely based on its artistic merit. Well-written works would last, poorly-written works would wither from public memory. However, that is not always the case. Works often achieve public prominence or survive based on qualities unrelated to skill or aesthetics, such as an author's fame, wealth, connections, or acceptance by the dominant culture. William Wordsworth, for example, was named Poet Laureate of England and has been taught as one of the #Big6 major Romantic-era authors ever since. Indeed, he is accepted as part of the literary canon. One would be hard-pressed to find a Literature anthology that does not feature William Wordsworth. However, how many people have read or heard of Dorothy Wordsworth, William Wordsworth's sister, who arguably depicted Romantic themes with equal skill and beauty? Or James Hogg, a Scottish contemporary of Wordsworth who was a lower-class shepherd? Similarly, while most readers have encountered F. Scott Fitzgerald or Edgar Allen Poe in their high school literature classes, how many have read Frederick Douglass? In short, all artistic skill (arguably) considered equal, why do some authors predominantly feature in the Canon while others do not? Let’s perform an experimental activity. On a scratch piece of paper, write down as many works of literature that you feel constitute “Big L Literature.” Perhaps they are works you read in high school, works which have been made into films, or works you have been taught or told are literary masterworks. Don’t turn the page until you have written them down. Try to think of at least 10, but a larger sample size is better. Once you are finished, continue to the next paragraph. Alright, now look at your list. If you know the author of the literary texts you named, write their name next to the work. If you do not know the author, Google the information and write it down. Continue doing this until you have named the author of each work. Once you are finished, read on to the next paragraph. Now, as uncomfortable as it seems, label the gender/race/age/presumed sexual orientation of the authors you listed. After you have categorized them to the best of your ability, consider the following questions: What percentage of the authors are male? What percentage of the authors are white? What percentage of the authors are old/dead? What patterns do you notice? Why do you think this is? Answer As a cultural relic, similar to art, many scholars suggest literature is a reflection of the society which produces it. This includes positive aspects of society (championing values such as love, justice, and good triumphing over evil), but it can also reflect negative aspects of society (such as discrimination, racism, sexism, homophobia, historical lack of opportunity for marginalized authors). For example, enslaved Africans were often prevented from learning to read and write as a form of control. When Phillis Wheatley published her book of poetry, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral Links to an external site. (1773) she had to defend the fact that she wrote it, as racist views that slaves were incapable of writing poetry were popularly held. Later, Frederick Douglass wrote about how his masters banned him from reading and writing, as the slaveowners realized "education and slavery were incompatible with each other" (Douglass). He later championed his learning to read and write as the means which conveyed him to freedom. However, even when trying to publish The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, his publishers were forced to prove that it was, in fact, a slave who wrote the story and not a white man who wrote it for him. Slave owners actively attempted to keep this book from circulation as it threatened the institution of slavery upon which they depended. Indeed, to this day, Douglass' book continues to be banned in some prisons (Darby, Gilroy). How could black writers enter the canon en masse if they were not allowed to read or write? Or if they were forced to spend all of their waking hours working? And if those who had the means to read and write had to jump through absurd hoops just to have their works published? And if even those texts which were published were banned? Similarly, throughout much of Western history, women have been discouraged from pursuing reading and writing, as it distracted from society's expectations for women to focus on motherly and household duties. Until the 1700s, women were not allowed to go to college. Even then, very few went: only the extremely wealthy. It was not until the 19th century that women truly began attending college. Virginia Woolf wrote in A Room of One's Own that if there are fewer works of literature written by women, it is only because society, historically, has not given women the time, education, funding, or space to do so. In this extended essay, she describes an imaginary sister of William Shakespeare who could have been just as great of a writer had she the same opportunities as her brother. I told you in the course of this paper that Shakespeare had a sister; but do not look for her in Sir Sidney Lee's life of the poet. She died young—alas, she never wrote a word. She lies buried where the omnibuses now stop, opposite the Elephant and Castle. Now my belief is that this poet who never wrote a word and was buried at the cross-roads still lives. She lives in you and in me, and in many other women who are not here tonight, for they are washing up the dishes and putting the children to bed. But she lives; for great poets do not die; they are continuing presences; they need only the opportunity to walk among us in the flesh. This opportunity, as I think, it is now coming within your power to give her. Woolf argues that in our time those who have been excluded from literature can now join the canon by adding their voices. The inequity of representation in literature -- which has arguably improved, but in many ways persists today -- can be remedied if more people from a wide array of backgrounds and walks of life are empowered to study and create Literature. That is one reason why the current study of literature is so exciting. As a student and budding literary scholar, you have the power to influence culture through your reading and analysis of literature! Links to an external site. Works Cited Bacon, Katie. "An African Voice."  Links to an external site.The Atlantic, 2000. "Battle of the Authors: Are The Most Popular Rated Fiction Books Written by Men or Women?"  Links to an external site.Wordery, 1 Mar. 2019. Darby, Luke. "Illinois Prison Bans Frederick Douglass's Memoir and Other "Racial" Books." Links to an external site. GQ, 20 August 2019. Douglass, Frederick. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. 1845. Friedrich, Caspar David. "Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog." Hamburger Kunsthalle Museum, 1818. Gilroy, Paul. "Banned Books of Guantánamo: 'An American Slave' by Frederick Douglass." Links to an external site. Vice, 14 Nov. 2014. "literature, n.; 3b & 5" OED Online, Oxford University Press, September 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/109080. Accessed 6 September 2019. Rollison, David. "Big L vs Little L Literature." Survey of World Literature I. College of Marin, 2008. Lecture. Wheatley, Phillis. Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral Links to an external site.. 1773. Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One's Own. 1929. Contributed by Heather Ringo & Athena Kashyap City College of San Francisco Links to an external site. Sourced from ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative Links to an external site.

owever, consider a story about Kim Kardashian’s plastic surgery in People Magazine. Can this be considered on the same level of literary achievement as Hamlet? Most would concede there is a difference in quality between these two texts. A blurb about Kim Kardashian’s latest plastic surgery, most would agree, does not constitute literature. So how can we differentiate between such works?

cultural erasure.

arbitrary.