Literature as common understanding suggests is a representative body of texts admired and appreciated for its formal properties as well as its thematic concerns Joejuan Williams Patriots Jersey , which most would term vaguely as artistic or even aesthetic. If asked on the relevance of literature the response would be that the study of literature is akin to appreciating the arts.


However, in the past few decades the notion of literature has itself been called into question by progressive theoretical debates, which if anything have made it impossible to decide what literature is and should be. The point that relegates literature to a subordinate position as opposed to the other humanities like history, is the problematic term of fiction. Today after the collapse of idealism, what we have in a strange twist of events is the return of the importance of language. Perennial questions like what is truth and reality are once again thrown up N'Keal Harry Patriots Jersey , this time in the study of literature. Where philosophy and later science, its successor have dominated this field of inquiry, literature seems to be this new platform for these very old questions.


Literature in the mid 20th century moved against its detractors in calling into question all forms of knowledge, because all discourses utilize language inevitably as the main vehicle of communication. As a result, all writings from political theories to psychology are regarded simply as different species of writing and hence Jarrett Stidham Patriots Jersey , come under the purview of literature. Since literary studies involves analysing writing itself, the field has widened to include other forms of writing instead of what is simply deemed as fiction. Although, the core texts of literary studies have remained traditional i.e. ?fictional? works, the methods and devices used are applied to non-fictional texts e.g. biography, journalistic writing etc.


Another point must be added in literature's recent response to sceptics and that is Sony Michel Patriots Jersey , since all writing must pertain to a recognisable form of expression, the question remains then, how valid is the truth content of so called non-fictional texts, when it is governed by pre-existing rules of expression? This discussion is an apt example of the fertile ground of modern literary theory, in particular Stephon Gilmore Patriots Jersey , the relationship between language and experience. Instead on dwelling on these modern issues of how a discourse like literary theory evolved out of the confusion of other disciplines, perhaps a historical look at literary studies must be revived; not in a nostalgic sense, but one that provides a definable shape where the future relevance of literature can be sought.


The study of literature is the study of modes of communication. The texts that are analysed and discussed are literary texts. It can include any writing of stylistic merit and works that contribute to the body of human knowledge. The aim of which is to use this method of inquiry in other fields. I have just outlined a position of literary studies that seems novel but in truth, it is an older attitude.


The study of literature did not exist in the way we know it today. In some ways, it is a very modern discipline Tom Brady Patriots Jersey , but it can also be said to be one of the oldest disciplines. If we allow ourselves to include the oral tradition of the ancient world, where poets studied the methods of narrating 'stories?, we understand there is a formal method to those ancient works. These poets had ?formalised? techniques in the form of rhythms and refrains, which were learnt and subsequently, performed. The fact that the earliest poets understood devices and techniques is evidence of literary methods. A modern may still make this association that the study of literature is connected to the act of performance in all its manifestations. Indeed Julian Edelman Patriots Jersey , a craftsman must learn the tools of the trade to understand and preserve a tradition, which scholars, in the case of ancient Greece have attributed to Homer, but in the modern day context the study of literature has lost that affinity for creating artistic products. Studying literature does not necessarily result in the production of great literature (whatever that may be).


Literature in the ancient world was inextricably bounded up with social life. We know for instance that poetry was part of religious ritual, rites and collective history. In other words Jake Bailey Limited Jersey , literature had a social function in the ancient world whose dominant form was poetry, which communicated to the community various aspects of its tradition and history. But what purpose does it serve to our present age, when we can read history from books and learn about the world around us through the media? The answer to this question lies in the way we should receive and look at writings. To explain this I will touch on the academic heritage of literature.